Tag Archives: Pop Beauty

Empties – May through July 2014

201408_empties

Garbage time!

My empties bag has clearly since better days. Poor guy.

As per usual, makeup items first.

Benefit They’re Real mascara
Benefit They’re Real mascara

It’s a mascara graveyard here today. I had so many bite-sized mascara samples to use up and they got completely mauled throughout the last few months.

Anyway, back to the actual product. Benefit’They’re Real is amazing. I’ve never given in to high end mascara hype because I don’t WANT to love the product. I really do not want to develop a habit of enjoying $30 mascara at all! However… My mom even thought I was wearing false lashes when I had this on. Having used this sample size, I have to say that there’s a high chance I’ll actually end up dishing out the money on this one in the future (once I run through all my deluxe mascara samples!).

Purchase? More than likely.

L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black waterproof mascara
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black waterproof mascara

I used to love this mascara, but this time round the block L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara just didn’t cut it for me. I’ll leave it for a while and then revisit it in a year or so. Maybe.

Repurchase? Eventually.

Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash Extravagant
Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash Extravagant

A surprising favourite out of the bunch. MUFE’Smoky Lash Extravagant builds up quite well and doesn’t clump. It dried up after a month or two though. I didn’t love it more than the Benefit one though.

Purchase? Unlikely.

Pop Beauty mascara
Pop Beauty mascara

No. Just no. Useless and dry.

Purchase? Hah. NO.

NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Love this. I’m one of the unfortunate people that NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base doesn’t actually work on its own to prevent creasing, but it does work in conjunction with Urban Decay‘s primer potion to kill all creasing so I love it for that reason. Word to the wise though, even when the wand pulls out nothing from the tube, cut that baby open and get out the remainder. There is MONTHS more product in there even after it feels empty.

Repurchase: Definitely.

Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee
Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

Absolute favourite. Revlon’Creme Brulee lip butter is my favourite nude lip. This is my second tube of the stuff and it’s one of the easiest lip shades to wear on my complexion.

Repurchase? More than likely.

MAC Omega eyeshadow
MAC Omega eyeshadow

*The* eyebrow shade for blondes. MAC‘s Omega has the right kind of grey tint to the powder that makes my eyebrows not look overly ridiculously blonde (not that I have much in the way of eyebrows to begin with). I loved this eyeshadow, but I’m currently plugging through my Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade to try something new because this eyeshadow lasted me longer than a year even with daily use!

Repurchase? Maybe eventually, but for now I’m having fun exploring other options.

MAC Prep + Prime for lips
MAC Prep + Prime for lips

Second… third maybe? tube of MAC’Prep + Prime for lips. Fantastic for preventing lipsticks from bleeding outside my lipline.

Repurchase? Already have!

Murad – Oil-Control Mattifier
Murad – Oil-Control Mattifier

I didn’t notice Murad’s mattifier working especially well, but then I also noticed the expiry date was roughly four months prior to when I used it. Whoops. It also smelled like glue. Ew.

Purchase? No thanks.

Barry M – Diamond Glitter
Barry M – Diamond Glitter

 

Ohhhh yes. Barry M‘s Diamond Glitter nail polish had a lovely home on my toenails for about six months this past year. The bottle is dead empty now which is a shame since you can’t buy Barry M in Canada!

Repurchase? If I find myself in the UK again, I will *definitely* pick this one up!

Quo – Nail Polish Remover
Quo – Nail Polish Remover

I swear Quo is the only brand of nail polish remover I can ever find at the drugstore. I default to this because it’s there, it’s functional and it’s relatively cheap.

Repurchase? Yes, because I don’t know of anything better out there!

Neutrogena Wipes
Neutrogena Wipes

No shocker here. Neutrogena‘s makeup removing wipes are the only ones I use now. Definite preference to the hydrating ones.

Repurchase? For sho.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover
Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover

 

I’ve used several bottles of Neutrogena‘s makeup remover now and have another one cracked open. It doesn’t work as well on waterproof makeup as my Marcelle stuff did so I think I’ll be reverting back to the Marcelle one.

Repurchase? I have an open bottle, but aside from that I think I’m going to try something else out next time.

MOR Hand Cream – Kale and Watercress and Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer
MOR Hand Cream – Kale and Watercress and Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer

The foil packets of the lot.

MOR Hand Cream in Kale and Watercress smelled nice, but it’s a hand cream… Nothing amazing here.

Purchase? Pass.

Urban Decay‘s Anti-Aging Primer Potion is basically the same as the Original really. I didn’t notice it really having any anti-aging properties (I basically think that anything that claims that is utter hogwash really) so meh.

Purchase? I’ll just stick to the Original one I normally use.

Fortune Cookie Soap – Captain’s Berried Booty Whipped Cream
Fortune Cookie Soap – Captain’s Berried Booty Whipped Cream

FCS‘s whipped cream body butter is an awesome formula, however, their Captain’s Berried Booty scent was totally nauseating to me. It’s fruitloops and cardboard, basically.

Repurchase? Not in this scent!

Fortune Cookie Soap – Tick Tock Whipped Cream
Fortune Cookie Soap – Tick Tock Whipped Cream

Another FCS whipped cream. I liked their Tick Tock scent quite a bit. I have no idea how the scent relates to the Hunger Games, but anyway… it basically smells like clean laundry to me. Very detergent-y, but it doesn’t bother me.

Repurchase? I liked it, but not enough to repurchase it. There are other things I like more.

Tree Hut Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter
Tree Hut Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter

Sample size of Tree Hut‘s Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter. This was okay, but not amazing. The smell wasn’t really my cup of tea either.

Purchase? Nope.

Dermal Therapy – Hand, Elbow & Knee Moisturizer
Dermal Therapy – Hand, Elbow & Knee Moisturizer

This stuff isn’t fancy, or pretty, but oh man does it ever work. Dermal Therapy products are a godsend for anyone with incredibly dry skin. I get pretty scratchy elbows and ankles and this works miracles on them.

Repurchase? Definitely.

Dermal Therapy – Heel Care Moisturizer
Dermal Therapy – Heel Care Moisturizer

And this ganked up nasty jar is Dermal Therapy‘s Heel Care. The best thing EVER for heel cracks. This can repair the Grand-freaking-Canyon of heel cracks and make your heels look baby-butt smooth in the span of a week. I’m not kidding because I’ve seen it happen on me. (You’re welcome for that visual.)

Repurchase? Forever and a day.

Burt’s Bees – Almond & Milk Hand Cream
Burt’s Bees – Almond & Milk Hand Cream

Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk Hand Cream smells nice, but it’s super thick and super greasy.

Repurchase? Nah.

Clean & Clear – Deep Action Cream Cleanser
Clean & Clear – Deep Action Cream Cleanser

One of my usual cleansers. I like how this one has a cool tingle on the skin. I do find your skin gets used to that tingly feeling though, so I tend to swap out my cleansers pretty frequently.

Repurchase? Definitely.

Boots No7 – Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser
Boots No7 – Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser

Snagged this from a friend who didn’t want to finish it up. Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser is good but the scent is a little bizarre to me. This may be completely offputting to some, but it smelled faintly like cigarettes. Or like the afterburn of a cigarette. It truly wasn’t as gross as I’m making it sound, but there was that scent to it that was really hard to place.

Purchase? Maybe, if on sale.

Fortune Cookie Soap – Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot Microdermabrasion Scrub
Fortune Cookie Soap – Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot Microdermabrasion Scrub

FCS‘ first skincare item. I liked it at first, but the scent started to bother me over time. Nicely abrasive though.

Repurchase? Nah.

Philosophy – The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash
Philosophy – The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

Another product I swiped from that same friend as before. Philosophy‘s Exfoliating wash smells terrible to me. Did not enjoy it at all.

Purchase? Nope.

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant
Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant

Dr. Brandt‘s Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant was AMAZING. It completely cured me of a milium spot I had on my lower left eyelid. This stuff packs a hefty price tag, but I fortunately received this sample size in an Ipsy bag. If I had milia again in the future though, I would absolutely pick this up even at the full price.

Repurchase? If necessary due to skin problems, then absolutely yes!

Aveeno – Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer
Aveeno – Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer

A staple daily moisturizer for me. The packaging’s all messed up though. I normally get the Radiant one, but this one says Clear Complexion in English… but Radiant in French! What the hell? They’re normally two different types!

Repurchase? Definitely. I’m almost done another bottle in the bathroom already.

Eva NYC – Therapy Session Hair Mask
Eva NYC – Therapy Session Hair Mask

I wouldn’t normally post hair stuff, but this came in an Ipsy bag so I thought I’d mention it. This is nothing more than a hair conditioner. I don’t feel it did anything extra special to my hair, even when I left it on for a good ten minutes in the shower.

Repurchase? Nope.


PHEW! That’s a lot of garbage to get through. Looking at some of these products, I kind of wish I’d saved them for Kalyn’s Sample Killah month. Darn!

Empties – February till April 2014

201402_empties1

I hadn’t planned to do an Empties update for another month but this bag was getting way too full and I didn’t want the post length to be too ridiculous. So here we go! Makeup first because I know that’s the interesting stuff.

MAC – Haux and Brule
MAC – Haux and Brule

Not one, but TWO eyeshadows done! Can I get a “HELL YES!”? The top right was MAC‘sHaux, my oldest eyeshadow. After 19 years, I can finally retire it , but it has definitely had a good long life. The bottom right is MAC‘s Brule. Brule only took me about 3 years to finish up as it was my daily browbone highlight.

Repurchase? No, but not because they were bad, but because I have a great many other shades that are near identical. Plus I clearly didn’t like Haux that much if it took me 19 bloody years to finish it up!

MUA Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand
MUA Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand

I really liked MUA‘s Matte Foundation at first – their Shade 1 Soft Sand was a great match for my skin and it went on my face really well… but the niceness stopped about an hour after application. It started out looking really good, but this foundation eventually dissolved into a greasy mess by the end of the day or night. I’m not even prone to oil but this certainly induced it! I went through about half the tube, so I definitely gave it a fair shot, but I decided this wasn’t worth finishing when I had other products I much preferred.

Repurchase? Definitely not.

MUA All In One Beauty Balm in Light
MUA All In One Beauty Balm in Light

Another “meh” product from MUA. (So far, the only thing I’m liking from this brand is their eyeshadows.) Their BB Cream in Light was overly thick and not much fun to wear. It had more coverage than I expected (which may be good for some people), but for me it looked like I’d applied a paste to my face. I just never fell in love with it after using half the tube so I decided enough was enough and chucked it in the garbage.

Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black
Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black

I’m not sure why this hasn’t been included in an empties post earlier, because I’ve been done with this liner for a very long time. Physicians Formula Eye Booster liquid liner inUltra Black made me fall in love with brush tip pen liners (NOT felt tip – those are the devil). Very black and easy to wear although slightly lacking in the waterproof department. I’ve since heard that the Ultra Black shade has gone slightly grey which is a bit of a disappointment. This, thankfully, was a liquid liner that didn’t seem to have the horrible reflective properties of other liners (I’m looking at you MUFE Aqualiner).

Verdict: I wouldn’t repurchase this right now as I’m firmly attached to my gel liners, but I would recommend it to others.

l-r: Duo eyelash adhesive, Pop Beauty Fuchsia Freesia, Too Faced Better Than Sex
l-r: Duo eyelash adhesive, Pop Beauty Fuchsia Freesia, Too Faced Better Than Sex

Duo eyelash adhesive is my staple eyelash glue. This tube is very old (~3 years) and needed replacing.

Verdict: Forever repurchase

As I said in my Ipsy Haul for February 2014Pop Beauty’s Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia smelled bad. Well, it turns out there was a bit of a to do with Ipsy and Pop Beautythat month and I could’ve gotten a replacement for my rotten smelling lipgloss. It’s a shame that I didn’t, but I’m not using this sucker and it’s going straight into the garbage.

Verdict: Just based on the toxic scent and how the whole thing was handled (poorly and secretively) I’ll be avoiding this brand.

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara: Loved this stuff, but hated the wand. The formula of the mascara is fantastic, but the wand made it really, really annoying to apply. There’s nothing easy about an hourglass shaped wand!

Verdict: Won’t rebuy – the formula isn’t worth the hassle of the brush.

Blistex Lip Medex
Blistex Lip Medex

Blistex‘s Lip Medex is like medicine in a tube for your lips. Nothing heals my parched, dry, cracked lips like this stuff does throughout the cold winter months.

Verdict: Love it and will repurchase it in the winter.

Marcelle Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes
Marcelle Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes

Marcelle‘s Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes is a forever favourite. This is the best makeup remover I’ve ever purchased and it works wonders on waterproof makeup. I usually wait to buy this on sale and then get a bunch of them all at once.

Verdict: Repurchase most definitely

Clockwise starting at the top: Marcelle Cleansing Cloths (x2), Garnier Moisture Rescue, Neutrogena Hydrating, Neutrogena
Clockwise starting at the top: Marcelle Cleansing Cloths (x2), Garnier Moisture Rescue, Neutrogena Hydrating, Neutrogena

Marcelle Cleansing Cloths are adequate, but nothing to write home about. They only remove waterproof makeup “so-so”.

Verdict: No repurchase


Garnier Moisture Rescue wipes: Useless and stinky. Dry and irritating. YUCK.

Verdict: Never, EVER repurchase


Neutrogena All-in-One Makeup Cleansing Wipes: These are okay, completely satisfactory, but I bought these by accident when I thought they were the same as:

Neutrogena Hydrating Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths: These are holy grail. Not buying any other makeup removing cloths after trying these. They’re wetter than any other cloth I’ve tried and they actually remove waterproof mascara well.

Verdict: Would repurchase the Neutrogena Hydrating wipes

Lush It’s Raining Men Shower Gel
Lush It’s Raining Men Shower Gel

I love Lush‘s Honey I Washed The Kids soap, but the darn thing just runs out way too quickly. It’s Raining Men is their shower gel equivalent and it such a better investment in terms of money. This stuff lasted me absolutely forever (about a year, using it intermittently with other washes and soaps) and easily outdid the longevity of the bars of soap. This smells like honey and caramel and *edible*. To confirm: It is NOT edible, in a moment of weakness I tested it with the tip of my tongue and it tastes like soap. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible!

Verdict: Definite rebuy!

l-r: Fortune Cookie Soap: Native Nectar Body Wash, Venus Fly Trap Perfume Oil, Make it Rain Whipped Cream
l-r: Fortune Cookie Soap: Native Nectar Body Wash, Venus Fly Trap Perfume Oil, Make it Rain Whipped Cream

Fortune Cookie Soap Native Nectar Body Wash: A very liquid body wash, but lovely nonetheless. It had small shimmer particles in the product, but they didn’t stick on the skin (so it just looks pretty, really). It has a very clean coconut smell – very lovely.

Verdict: Would repurchase


Fortune Cookie Soap Venus Fly Trap Perfume Oil: This stuff is amazing. It smells like sickly, sweet flowers but not in a revolting way. It doesn’t smell like old lady perfume and it’s pretty light and not cloying (as in it won’t give you a headache with its thickness). I never, ever thought I’d like a scent like this (FCS indicates that it has “Bergamot, narcaisse & musk lurk beneath delicate notes of water orchid, sparkling lemon & pink jasmine.”) but this is just beautiful.

Verdict: Would repurchase


Fortune Cookie Soap Make it Rain Whipped Cream: Love this so much! The formula and it does feel like whipped cream on the skin. I also really, really love the scent. I’ve heard some people say it smells too much like musk, but I actually get a very clean, very laundry scent out of this.

Verdict: Definite repurchase

Foil Packets
Foil Packets

DERMAdoctor wrinkle REVENGE: Completely forgettable in every way.

Verdict: Would not purchase


Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser: I don’t have acne problems (and this contains salicylic acid to help with breakouts) so I can’t really say if this helped combat anything, but it did feel nice on the skin.

Verdict: Purchase if on sale


Benefit The Porefessional: I genuinely do not get the hype with this product. It seemed fine as a primer, but nothing earthshattering.

Verdict: Would not purchase


H20 Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment: I don’t even remember this stuff, so it definitely couldn’t have been amazing.

Verdict: Would not purchase


H20 Aquafirm+ Micro-collagen Moisturizer: Can’t remember this one either.

Verdict: Would not purchase


NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska Light2: Quite liked this one actually. I got enough out of the foil packet for a single use and it smoothed on nicely and had light coverage, which was nice because it didn’t cover my freckles (which I like). [Click for a pic of the foundation on my face.]

Verdict: Will consider purchasing when I finally run low on other foundations.

Orange Whip Body Butter
Orange Whip Body Butter

My friend Ali made this wonderful Orange Whip body butter for me for my birthday. I used up the whole jar really quickly and loved it to pieces.

Verdict: No need to repurchase, I’ll just poke her when I need more!

Adidas – Pure Lightness
Adidas – Pure Lightness

Monumental effort here – I finished a perfume! I really liked AdidasPure Lightness. Fragrantica.com indicates that it has “Top notes of melon and red apple; middle notes are jasmine, magnolia, violet and lily-of-the-valley; base note is musk”. But to me, this just smelled aquatic. It’s light and crisp and has quite decent lasting power.

Verdict: Would repurchase

Ipsy – February 2014 Glam Bag

201402_ipsy3

Time for Ipsy‘s February glam bag! Gotta say, not keen on the super pink (and rather bland, I might add) bag, but to each their own. As a new subscriber though, I have to wonder what the heck does one do with all of the bags that you end up accumulating every month?

J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes ($3.99 USD)
J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes ($3.99 USD)

I haven’t tried these J. Cat eyelashes yet because I really only wear false lashes maybe once a month. They do, however, look very similar to the Ardell 102 Demis that I wear so I’ll be happy to try these out.

J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes – EL13
J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes – EL13

They look a tad bit thiner than the Ardells, but that’s fine by me as I’m not overly fussy in the fake eyelashes department.

Pop Beauty – Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia (4g for $7.50, full size is $16 for 8.5g)
Pop Beauty – Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia (4g for $7.50, full size is $16 for 8.5g)

There’s no doubt this is a beautiful colour. Pop Beauty‘s Fuchsia Freesia is a very vibrant fuchsia (duh) that goes on the lips fairly opaque. Unfortunately the lasting powder is on parr with other lipglosses and for that reason I’m just not that drawn to it. I haven’t got the patience to be fiddling around with my gloss every damn hour during the workday.

Pop Beauty – Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia
Pop Beauty – Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia

As you can see from the shot, it really is gorgeous. I just wish it stayed that way! The top right shot is right after I’d applied it. The bottom right is after an hour of wear time.  It’s almost completely rubbed off and I wasn’t even eating or drinking anything! Way too high maintenance for me. I’ll end up bringing it to work and leaving it there for those days where I forget to pack a lipstick or something. It does have a weird burnt cinnamon/plastic taste and smell to it too, but not as bad as some things I’ve worn.

Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette $18
Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette $18

I didn’t have much hopes for a cream shadow that I had to apply with a wand applicator, but this one surprised me. Tini Beauty is a company I’m completely unfamiliar with, so $18 for a cream shadow seems kind of steep. It is, however, quite beautiful on the eyes.

Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette
Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette

The product does indicate that it has a built in primer, but since I always wear primer I can’t let you know how this holds up by itself. Shot on the left is the Eyetini alone over NARS‘ primer. And the shot on the right has MAC‘s Blackberry blended into the crease with nothing over the Eyetini itself. The texture of this product is very smooth on application (I even used the built in applicator and didn’t bother with another brush!), but it does dry to a very paper-like texture. It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just a bit odd. It feels a bit similar to a Maybelline Color Tattoo in that sense. When I wore this eye look, I didn’t put anything over the Eyetini and it wore for a solid 14 hours. I experienced minor creasing and a very slight bit of bunching/flaking. Overall though, two thumbs up on this product!

Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask ($~6)
Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask ($~6)

Face masks don’t really make my heart go pitter-patter, but it was in the bag (and apparently I’d filled out my profile to indicate I wanted masks… go figure) so I may as well give it a shot.Skyn Iceland‘s Fresh Start Mask did… nothing. Sure, it made my skin really uncomfortably hot in an oh-my-god-I-want-to-scratch-it-off kind of way, but did it actually really DO anything for me? Not that I can see.

Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask
Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask

I used it once a week as the instructions indicated (I got two uses out of the foil packets), and mixed them how they said to (“blue” clay first, then the gooey gel one on top”). And uh yeah. I did a face mask. It didn’t make my skin worse, or better. /shrug

Zoya Dot Nail Polish ($9)
Zoya Dot Nail Polish ($9)

I was eager to try Zoya for the first time! I have a friend who swears by them but I’d never owned a bottle before. Zoya describes Dot as a full coverage pink-petal cream.

Well.
No.

No, it is not full coverage. Or opaque. Have a look:

Zoya Dot Nail Polish
Zoya Dot Nail Polish

Aside from my painted cuticles and the random cat hair, you can see that it took four coats before I got opaque, streak-free colour. That’s without a base coat or top coat too. I don’t know about you, but if I have to apply six coats of nail polish to my nails, that stuff is never going to dry and it ends up going all mushy. Definitely not pleased with this one. For those people it does work for, this is at least part of Zoya‘s Spring 2014 collection so it’s a very recently released shade.

Ipsy February 2014 Breakdown

  • J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes – $3.99 USD (full size)
  • Pop Beauty Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia – 4g for $7.50 (full size is $16 for 8.5g)
  • Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette – $18 (full size)
  • Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask – $6.50 (full size is 6 masks for $39 USD)
  • Zoya Dot Nail Polish – $9 (full size)

BOX TOTAL: $44.99

My Thoughts

It’s funny… while writing and editing this review, I can see that I was pretty displeased with a lot of these products. However, my lasting impression from the bag isn’t a bad one. I was happy to try out the stuff that was new to me, and even though it didn’t work out, or I didn’t notice much of a difference in my skin (looking at you Fresh Start Mask), I was still happy to give these products a shot.

The only real hit for me out of this bag was the cream shadow (love it) and I hope to like the eyelashes when I get around to trying them out.