Review: Skinfood Avocado & Honey Lip Serum

SwannaLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

Now that I have established a lip care routine of sorts, I am looking into exploring other options for the steps I have. One of these steps involves using a thin ‘lip serum’ type product in the morning. It has to be really quick and easy to use and play well with my lipsticks and lip liners without compromising them. So for this, tubs are a no and sticks are okay… But I really love tubes as there is no time taken to ‘melt’ any product onto the lips – lanolin products being a sort of exception.

 

By the way, lip balms were not part of my no-buy. Tinted ones… well, I didn’t realise this one was tinted… I certainly don’t wear it in lieu of a lipstick, so I wouldn’t count this particular one… I don’t normally buy/wear tinted ones at all…

 

The product I used for this step prior was Dr Organic’s Hemp Lip Serum. It’s an oily gel sort of texture, in a tube, and in a thin layer, works really well for what I need it for without being too runny. But lip ‘serums’ are a rare product category and I wanted to see what other options I had. Lip essences are interesting too and I think the two terms might be used interchangeably and of course, lip oils are not to be ignored although true oil consistencies are not what I’m looking for.

I bought this product for £3.97 for 10 ml from RoseRoseShop on ebay, a known reputable seller of Korean cosmetics and skincare. As usual, it took about two weeks to get to me here in the UK.

This appealed to me as a morning lip balm because it has a little sun protection at SPF8 and has a tube packaging. to be honest, as I pat off the lip balm later the SPF is not a deal breaker as it won’t stay on. The avocado and honey extracts are supposed to help keep the lips moist. It smells of a typical lip balm in a stick – I think it’s lypsyl that comes to mind or the classic Nivea lip balm scent. That means it also doesn’t taste very nice.

I was really surprised to see the product come out so dark – a very deep berry colour! However, once I spread it on the lips this colour all but dissipates into a not-even-noticeable tint. It doesn’t appear too glossy or too matte – just a creamy shine.

When I am only wearing this balm during the day at home, the product lasts two or three hours on the lips before I have to reapply it again. This is with drinking water and a bit of snacking in between. It won’t last a meal, but as the tint is so light you’re not going to notice, visually, that it’s gone. At the same time, the tint makes my lips look healthier and less washed out. If you have more pigmented lips, though you won’t notice a difference.

It plays well under lip products. I usually press my lips against the back of my hand to remove excess and leave a thin layer. It doesn’t cause my lipstick to go on patchy and I can use my lip products as usual.

I wasn’t sure about this lip serum at first. I’m not sure I would still call it the kind of serum I was expecting. It’s definitely more just a thin balm. However, it’s really grown on me and I do enjoy using it now, especially the healthy flush it gives to my lips even if I do pat it off later on. I don’t think I will repurchase this again, though.

Until next time,

X

Review: Revolution Conceal & Define Liquid Concealer

SwannaLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

Like every other makeup enthusiast I was super excited to hear about Revolution’s new concealer and its shade range. It was something I insisted on buying in person but its popularity proved so immense I couldn’t even find teasers in store, let alone the actual product! After its launch, it took almost two whole months for me to get my hands on the concealer to try!

Revolution Conceal & Define costs only £5 and is available at Superdrug’s stores and website, as well as the Tambeauty site.

Not surprisingly, the packaging is a very trendy rose-gold, and the tube a little bulky compared to my other products. It’s pretty and looks lovely in photos, though.

The doe-foot applicator is nice and really pleasant to use, although sometimes I find it picks up a little too much product. This is a minor gripe, though, and I find the amount plenty for the areas I use base products on. The product doesn’t set too quickly either so it’s not a problem that I’ve got way too much concealer on one side of my face.

I don’t use foundation all over my face normally, and in hindsight, I actually use foundation and concealer the same way – mostly around the centre parts of my face where redness most often shows. I am also not fussed about concealing my dark circles – I am a student after all, and it’s a perfectly normal thing in the exam season! With this in mind, my base products have to match well to the outer parts of my face.

The swatch below shows the concealer next to my two favourite current matches in concealer and foundation- the Maybelline Eye Eraser in Light and the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in 1W2 Sand. Both of these current products I want to avoid repurchasing if I can find cruelty-free alternatives, which is unfortunate as they match really well and I have found that I do have a difficult skintone to match – a neutral – yellowish tone that many products fail to match by turning too orange. Oxidisation also really annoys me so I’d much rather my base products didn’t do that, too.

 

I always get define and conceal mixed up and corrected it three times on this blog post alone…

 

I liked the match for C6 against my skin. Surprisingly, Superdrug labels C6 for ‘medium skin tones with peach undertone’ although I have never labelled my skin tone as such and C6 doesn’t obviously seem like that kind of shade either. It’s also surprisingly light and less yellow compared to Maybelline Eye Eraser in Light and Double Wear in 1W2 Sand. It blends out well with a natural, very slight brightening effect due to the difference in shade whereas 1W2 is perhaps the darkest I could go without it looking horrible.

In terms of lasting power, it fares pretty well. I have oily skin and this will inevitably break down on the nose despite a generous dusting of powder. However, it looks far better after a few hours than the Eye Eraser does especially on the upper lip and beneath the chin where the product can also break up at times.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with it and would probably repurchase this again over my other options. Let me know if you’ve tried this and what you thought of it!

Until next time,

X

 

Review: Etude House Dr Mascara Fixer for Perfect Lash

Swanna4 Comments
Hi everyone!
For my birthday a few months back, I treated myself to some stuff from Jolse. Initially, the total was about £50 but I common-sensed it down to about £30. The power of rational thinking is my best weapon against impulse buying. The only thing it doesn’t work on is food… Anyway, I picked up another loose powder, repurchased my favourite Bbia gel liner in new shades and also this eyelash fixer.
I had heard some things about this eyelash primer/top coat product but it was Hoi Yin Li who finally convinced me to pop it onto my shopping list. She was totally right – this is am amazing product that really ups your lash game.
This product costs about $6.46 (£4.89) from the online store, Jolse. It takes two weeks for their orders to reach me in the UK from Korea, and it’s free shipping for all orders.
On the packaging, it states that Dr Mascara Fixer can be used underneath mascaras as a lash primer or over the lashes as a ‘top coat’. The fixer itself has a slightly milky silicone texture, which goes on smoothly and dries to hold the curl. It does stick a few lashes together sometimes so you may have to quickly brush out the lashes before the fixer sets for a fluffy look.
The greatest thing about it is that it really improved the performance of sub-par mascaras, particularly with improving curl-holding. I have an issue with volumising mascaras as my lashes cannot hold the curl with them, but this problem is pretty much eliminated with the addition of the Dr Mascara Fixer, for all the mascaras I have tried with it. I feel like it doesn’t make the mascara pop more in intensity, but it will improve longevity and reduce smudging a bit, used as a primer. After my ‘meh’ review of the Urban Decay Troublemaker mascara, I am now using it up but only with this primer!
20180315143826_IMG_9253-01.jpeg
I’ve found that it can pick up a little too much product at times, so I try to scrape off a lot or just to work quickly. It also dries quite stiffly which makes my lashes feel quite different. It does work on the lower lashes as well. However, I didn’t like to use it on its own or as a top coat layer as it does not dry completely clear, with a bit of milky whiteness that tones down my lash colour or the black pigment of my mascara.
When I used this as a top coat and attempted another coat of mascara on top, it mostly caused my lashes to stick together to form the clumpy, spidery effect. So it really only works best with one layer underneath your preferred mascara.
I really love this and I’m sure I’ll buy backups for the future, which won’t be expensive either. Etude House has some real gems in their collection – last year I gifted a bunch of their Proof 10 eye primer out to my friends and it looks like this year I’ll be doing the same with this!
Have you tried any lash primers before?

Until next time,

X

A Peek at my Skincare Diary #1: Short and Sweet

Swanna5 Comments

Gasp! A Saturday post? Yeah, I forgot to schedule some new posts whilst I was panicking over an essay. I have some time to get some posts up and scheduled now, though, so you all have something to read while I am contemplating the inner workings of the mind for my degree!

I initially planned to start this series two months ago, around the time of year I share my skincare wardrobe. Instead of presenting it all as a giant wardrobe last year, I thought it would be interesting to keep a diary and record what I was using on a day-to-day basis. But then I suddenly stopped taking care of my skin, going nights without bothering with a moisturiser, although I could never forgo my thick layer of lip balm. But it meant I stopped keeping track of my skin using my diary, too.

So very slowly, I’ve been reintroducing my skincare routine based on what I am feeling. I’m not sure how long it will last seeing as my exams are really quite fast approaching and I habitually tend to wreck my sleeping and skincare around that time…

But anyway, here’s what I have been reaching for when I actually did bother with basic self-care.

Morning

Dr Organic Hemp Oil Lip Serum

After using this in the morning for at least a year now, I think I am finally using up the last of it! This has an oily but also gel-like texture that’s quite unusual, but I do like it as I want something thin that won’t interfere with my lipstick. It’s only £2.49 from Holland and Barratt, too. I wear it in the morning as soon as I have washed my face, and it stays on mostly until I get to the lipstick stage, when I press it off a bit with the back of my hand before applying lipstick. Of course, the smell will take some getting used to if you’ve never used hemp before – it can be a little unpleasant.

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Emulsion

I think this is actually the first emulsion type product I have tried, and I really like it. It’s most similar to the Western ‘lotion’ although not quite the same thing to me. It’s basically a light moisturiser and sinks in super well which is great in the mornings when I need to layer sunscreen and makeup on top without pilling but also don’t want my skin to be too dry.

I’ve been meaning to write a full review for ages but now I realise there’s not much to say! I’ve been using this for months and I’m only halfway through the bottle, but I will finish this up. I probably won’t repurchase it in favour of something with more ‘wow’ to it.

Kose Suncut Aqualy UV Protect Gel SPF50+ PA++++|Full Review Here

Something about this sunscreen texture is super pleasant so I never shy from reaching for this. It also works really nicely under makeup without pilling which I am very grateful for. However, if oil is a major problem for you then this might not be the best option at all. I really liked using this over the last winter (I just… accepted my oiliness haha) although admittedly I didn’t wear sunscreen every day… I’ll look at other options because I’m a blogger, after all, but this will definitely be repurchased in the future. It’s been over a year of sporadic use and I’m finally getting to the last quarter of the bottle.

Evening

Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser| Review Here

A very gentle and pleasant cleanser! For days of light makeup only. It will also make a good attempt at non-waterproof mascaras without stinging the eyes at all which is a nice bonus, and the rose smell is lovely. I actually don’t have many rose-scented products – for some reason the M&S body product sets that haunted my childhood come to mind – but maybe that can change! My only gripe is the price for the amount but honestly, for this lovely of a cleanser, I would not mind repurchasing it anyway.

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream

Again, this eye cream actually isn’t anything special. But I’m twenty and only looking for a standard eye cream that isn’t too rich or too thin, and it doesn’t need to have anti-ageing ingredients at this stage. This is actually the perfect consistency – sort of buttery but not greasy at all – and the scent is actually quite minimal. All that means this is super pleasant to use for me and I’d happily buy it to use again. I’ve almost reached the bottom of my tub which means I need to stop buying new emulsions and essences and buy a new eye cream!! Any suggestions for products with a similar consistency?

COSRX AHA Whitehead Power Liquid

As I often lost track of my routine I have erred on the safe side and avoided my acids. I’m trying to reintroduce it starting weekly but even that is kind of a struggle at the moment! Besides the slightly funky smell which I am sort of used to now, there’s not much to say thus far.

Lanolips 101 Ointment|Review here

Dr Pawpaw Original Balm|Review here

One of my favourite combinations recently. I like to use a thin layer of Lanolips before applying a thick layer of Dr PawPaw, which makes my lips super soft in the morning and easy to exfoliate or even just wipe away the dead skin after morning cleansing. Both are slightly pricier options for lip balm and the PawPaw I feel could easily be replaced with Vaseline or Carmex. As you can see, I currently prefer products in tubes, even over stick-type products.

Overall, this routine takes less than ten minutes out of my morning and evening, and hopefully I can build it up a bit more over the next few months without going too heavy as the summer approaches.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of skincare and hopefully, as this project develops, we’ll be able to see how my skincare routine evolves and adapts to change to all the seasons!

Until next time,

X

Review: NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Chocolate Crepe

Swanna2 Comments

Hi everyone!

It’s no secret that I have been loving glossy finishes as of late, so instead of rambling about it, let’s get straight to the snap review.

This was a birthday gift from my friend AT earlier in the year, swiped from my wishlist. I had tried the regular Butter Gloss in Praline, and it was great for a practically-clear gloss with minimal colour. I love layering it on top of nude lipsticks. But as you all know, my true love of glossies lies with really pigmented lacquers and stuff, so the intense version was on my radar.

The NYX Intense Butter Gloss costs £6.00 in the UK and is available at counters in Boots and Debenhams, and online at FeelUnique.

When I first swatched it on my hand it seemed a bit too dark and too cool-brown like Maybelline’s Brown Sugar. It ended up being a super nice shade on my lips, though – a slight warm pinkiness to it. A bit deep, but a great everyday shade.

It’s quite lightweight but you can still feel it on your lips because of the texture. Of course, being a gloss I don’t expect it to last at all but it will survive at least four hours without eating and with small sips of water during my work shifts. It does bleed more noticeably which is understandable as there is more pigment. But overall it actually doesn’t bleed that much. A lip liner is all that’s needed if that’s an issue. The pigment doesn’t settle into lip creases either and, as expected, it’s quite forgiving on flaky lips although those are still noticeable.

Yes, it’s a little sticky and my hair flies into it when I’m darting between shops with my siblings. But it doesn’t all adhere to my hair at once which is a little plus, I guess?

I’ve been wearing this an awful lot. Out of all the choices in my rotation this month, this one has been the most worn so far. I’ve just been loving the fact that I can wear this all day and have my lips still be plush and lovely by the evening. My mom, just before the aforementioned shopping, even made a comment on how glossy and nice they looked (so much so that she wanted to bite them, which I acknowledge is weird but I took it as a compliment so…). BASICALLY. I love this stuff.

I might not buy it in any other shade, though. This is literally the only shade that appeals to me in a gloss, as it would be the most forgiving. Bolder colours in a glossy finish are intimidating to me, especially the thought of them bleeding or wearing much more obviously.

Overall, this is a winner for me. I can imagine myself re-buying this a lot and it fulfils my need for a pigmented gloss perfectly.

Until next time,

X

Days since I last bought a lipstick: 116

Review: Eyeko Sport Waterproof Mascara

SwannaLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

Yes, I’m back at the mascaras again and hoping to find my dream one. Today, it’s Eyeko’s Sport Waterproof ‘Catch & Curl’ Mascara.

Some details from the outer packaging:
The original tube mascara
Created in London
Made in South Korea
Against animal testing
From the Eyeko Website: 
“Make perfect lashes your goal with our ace brush to grab and catch every lash teamed with our winning fibre-enhanced, waterproof formula. Create dramatic lashes plumped to perfection that will see you through your morning workout and beyond.
 
With Sport Waterproof Mascara, you benefit from award-winning Korean technology creating a high-performance waterproof formula that promises no running, smudging, crumbling or flaking whether you’re hitting the gym or at the beach; caught in a downpour or sweating it out. And it’s all 100% cruelty free.
  • 100% Waterproof Thixotropical gel formulation repels water
  • Unique brush with curved edge to lift lashes and flat back to volumise
  • Fibre-enhanced conditioning formula with Collagen & 11 different fruit extracts
  • Contains fibres suitable for sensitive peepers
With all of these claims, I was really excited to try out this mascara!
Eyeko’s Sport Waterproof Mascara is normally in a compact 8ml tube that can be stuffed in a pocket or bag without difficulty. It normally retails for £19 for an 8ml tube.
However, I have the 4ml tube which I picked up for only £6.99 at TK Maxx, which normally costs £10.00 on Beauty Bay.
The brush is curved and with bristles. I thought the brush was quite large, but due to the curves I was still able to reach all my lashes without an issue. I could either use the curve facing inwards to get as many lashes as possible or use the curve facing outwards to aim more specifically for certain areas that needed more.
The bristles are a little dense so I found that it didn’t pack product on well, although it also meant that the lashes never looked clumpy or overdone. However, a lot of product accumulated at the end of the brush which is visible from the photo, and this had to be wiped away before I could do my lashes more precisely.

Overall, the effect on my lashes was quite natural and subtle. I found that due to the dense brush, I had to really push on my lashes to get product onto them and sometimes it meant that I ended up with product on my eyelid or underneath my eyes. What I did like was that even without a primer, this mascara holds a curl really well. I liked to use it when I wanted a natural look with a curl that’d last all day.

 

Damn the sudden weather changes in Birmingham! Sigh.

 

As usual, I’m not sure if I’d buy this again because I am always wanting to try something new – but this gets a solid thumbs up from me for now.

Oh, but in the end, I’m not sure about how a tube-shaped packaging benefits a mascara. I guess you could squeeze it to get more product onto the brush which helps with drier formulas. Let me know what you think if you’ve tried more tube mascaras!

Positives:

  • Holds a curl without primer!
  • Natural look
  • Lasts all day
  • Brush can reach most lashes quickly.

Negatives:

  • Can get messy due to brush.
  • Not a dramatic difference in lash length.

Until next time,

X

 

Books of 2018, #3: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

SwannaLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

I am slightly behind on my reading schedule of a book per month. A lot of the books I have are actually quite bulky or read slowly and with university studies and work, and the hectic week before Easter, March was almost completely devoid of reading.

I’d been making my way through the books in this post – books that I’ve started but were on pause. All my books sat on the spare desk until Derp came home for the holidays and Twerp refused to give his room back again, so he’s living with me and needed the spare desk. I moved my entire TBR pile back to a corner of my desk where it’s three books away from reaching the G-Dragon poster on the wall… again.

In the re-shuffle, A Thousand Pieces of You ended up right at the bottom of a 17-book reading pile because I didn’t think I would get around to finishing it. So when I suddenly felt like finishing it last week, I almost didn’t bother trying to move it from under the pile. On the other hand, it’d been bothering me that I’d only read half, and I needed my March book…

As I am sure I have mentioned eons ago, this was a birthday gift from my friend Nicole, picked from my wishlist and mostly on the list because of its delectable, breathtaking cover. I thought I knew not to judge a book by its cover but I’ve noticed – in the years since not having my school library and buying my own books – that a great cover really makes me scream ‘take my money!’ But alas, the proverb had to ring true sooner or later, and it certainly did for this.

Or rather, my eyes must have skipped over the romance in the description of the book. That would have made me run in the opposite direction.

My main opinion is that this was utterly and totally ‘meh’. The idea of jumping into alternate universes is super promising and seeing as it’s a romantic sci-fi YA, the story… wasn’t that surprising, if that makes sense? It was quite predictable, and I felt there was so much left to explore that I was a little unsatisfied at the end. It’s full of tropes and stuff that made me go urgh (it’s been a while since I read about a love triangle!) but that my younger self might have absolutely loved. Then again, Twerp has also read the book – she’s the same age of the ‘younger self’ I’m referring to and she doesn’t like the book much either. Maybe it’s just us!

Anyway, once I set my mind to it, this was a speedy read, not too complex, and I finished it in two days. We shall see how long it survives on my bookshelf, too… I’ve already started my April book as well so hopefully, I’ll stay on track now.

Until next time,

X