028: battle of the makeup removers

It's time to duel! I'm here this time with a makeup remover battle review.

 

In the stadium today, we have:

• Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover
• Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
• L'Oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
• Purity One-Step Facial Cleanser
• Make Up For Ever Sens'Eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

This makeup remover was the one I was using until currently. When I ran out of it, I decided I'd try something new. It is two separate liquid solutions which you combine by shaking before you use it. It's oil-free and super gentle on my sensitive skin. It effectively removes all waterproof makeup. The solution however does seem to feel a bit greasy and I'm still left with some eye makeup residue under my eye.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Granted, this is a lotion rather than a makeup remover, however, I've been told by various friends that they remove makeup with things such as Vaseline and olive oil. I know that things like cold cream also works to remove makeup, so I thought I'd experiment with my go-to lotion as an impromptu remover. It worked quite well and has to be massaged in. It removed all my makeup and got rid almost all of the under eye makeup residue. It's not as fast working at the Neutrogena, but it does the job. It's a great and inexpensive replacement for makeup remover if you don't have any.

 L'Oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

I only need one sentence to describe it for you guys. Worst makeup remover I've tried thus far. It advertises that it removes waterproof makeup and on its site the product is called Gentle Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover, but it really doesn't do much at all. I tried to use it to remove false lashes and Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil eyeliner. It barely dissolved the glue and it did not even budge the eyeliner after completely soaking a cotton pad with the solution! Extremely disappointing. Not only did it not remove any makeup product, but it's waaay too harsh! My eyes can get extremely sensitive due to eczema. The solution feels way too strong and soapy. I felt like the solution was pretty much watered down industrial hand soap. It felt like it was an astringent or toner rather than makeup remover. Definitely will not buy this again, and definitely don't recommend this product. Seriously, L'Oreal, step up your game.

Philosophy Purity One-Step Facial Cleanser

I really really like this product. It great because it's a cleanser, but advertises it that it cleanses, tones, and removes makeup gently. I'm able to be lazy and skip a step in my regimen. It works well removing my eyeliner and/or false lashes. However, I feel as it I have to work at it a little bit to remove every last bit of makeup or face dreaded under eye residue. I prefer to use this as a follow up to a conventional makeup remover, and wash my face with this to get rid of every last trace of my makeup. I don't get under eye residue when I do this~ Yay~ It leaves my skin fresh and clean without being too drying like other cleansers. I also think it feels pretty bland, so for the most part it doesn't irritate my skin or flareup my eczema.

Make Up For Ever Sens'Eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser

I find it HILARIOUS that this is called "eye cleanser" due to the fact I'm imagining someone polishing their eyeballs with this. Despite that, this makeup remover is made of MAGIC~ It basically melts all the makeup I'm wearing within seconds. It is AMAZING. It's super gentle and doesn't leave a bit of a greasy film. Downsides are, I'm still left with some amount of under eye residue, however, not as much as I would with other makeup removers. It's also the most costly of the makeup removers I've mentioned, though it is definitely worth the price.

OVERALL, the winner of the makeup removers would have to be Neutrogena. The price point is right, it works well, and is gentle. Make Up Forever is a close second, due to the fact that it's AMAZING, but super expensive (it retails $28 at Sephora, yikes). Third is Purity because it does double duty, but I'm a bit skeptical using it to take off my false lashes because I fear I might wash them down the drain. Then comes Aveeno lotion for working well as something impromptu, but not being a marketed makeup remover. Then L'Oreal places negative one hundred because it's awful and I really hate it. Seriously, it sucks.

That's all my opinions on the makeup removers I've tried so far. If you have anything to suggest, feel free to comment :)

Later days~

027: lush butterball bath bomb review

On my way home a couple days ago, I tripped over a snow bank and landed on my knee. I ended up with a swollen and stiff knee, and couldn't move it well to climb up stairs. I remedied this by using one of my reserved Lush products (Geo Phyzz bath bomb, y'all) and the next day, no pain! I decided on the spot that I needed to take more baths and use more Lush bath products~

Fast forward, I bought this as a New Year treat to myself. 2012 had been a rough year, so I thought a great way to start the year would be with a nice long bath~ Enter, Lush Butterball bath bomb.

IT IS UH-MAY-ZING! It's absolutely perfect for the cold winter season because it's super moisturzing. It has a sweet vanilla frosting sort of scent. It fizzed like crazy as soon as I dropped it into the tub and unleashed CHUNKS of cocoa butter!!

 

It's a bad picture, but the aftermath is slightly cloudy bath water. You also can't see the butter chunks >_<

My only complaint with Butterball is that it doesn't keep the water as warm as a bath bomb with salt, or bath salts would. I like to stay in the tub for a long time, and it didn't keep the water as warm for enough of a time as I would've like.

Overall, Butterball is definitely a buy. The scent is great. It fizzes well, making it super fun! It's super moisturizing thanks to the cocoa butter. I will likely buy this again before the winter is over. :)

Later days~

024: lush superbalm review

A close friend of mine is a Lush pimp. He works at Lush and basically tells me I need everything they have. I picked Superbalm up after finishing a sample of it I received in store.

Confession time: I have a really bad flaky scalp problem. I've suffering from some eczema in my scalp, so my head is constantly itchy and the itchiness leads to scratching and sometimes even scabbing. Gross.

I decided to try Superbalm after reading up about it on the Lush website, then hearing about it in store from the associates.

Superbalm comes in a metal twist tin, which is unlike a lot of Lush products. If you're familiar with Lush, a lot of their lotions and creams and similar products come in their iconic black pots. They also have naked products (no packaging), such as soap and massage bars

Superbalm is a vegan-friendly product. Featured ingredients are chamomile, coconut oil, candelilla wax, and salicylic acid. It has a very pleasant coconut scent.

As in the name, Superbalm is a blue-green coloured balm. To use, scoop some up into your fingers and massage it into your scalp- not hair. It's semi-solid, but softens substantially due to body heat. You leave it in your scalp for a couple of minutes, then shampoo it out. You need to shampoo it out because it leaves your head fairly greasy.

I've been using Superbalm for almost a month now every time I wash my hair, and it is FAN-FRACKIN'-TASTIC. I've used so many things on my scalp- apple cider vinegar, Lush's Hair Doctor hair treatment mask, extra virgin olive oil, conditioning lotion- just to name a few, but they are messy and provide so-so, temporary results. However, not only is Superbalm low on mess, it gives noticeable results!

After a month, my scalp has been so much better. It's still been dry and flaky due to the cold weather, but my flakes have been visibly reduced. It would be so dry, itchy and flaky everyday, though, since using Superbalm, I've been able to escape a few days of dryness and flakes. I've also noticed that my scalp hasn't been as itchy.

This wins over the other treatments because I don't need to use this every day for it to be effective, nor is it extremely messy. I love that it comes as a solid balm, but melt in your fingers for easy application. It doesn't make you smell, and you get a lot from one tin. Vinegar works really well, but I need to use everyday to see results and it will leave my hair smelling if I don't wash it after. Olive oil is much too messy and greasy, and with The Hair Doctor, you only get about three uses. I believe I've used my tin of Superbalm about four times already and there is still a lot left. The small sample I received before purchasing this gave me 3-4 uses.

Overall, I love Superbalm, and if my scalp still needs it after finishing the tin, I will purchase it again. It might just be a Holy Grail item for me. It's definitely worth it's price for something that works~

That's it for now~ Later days~

008: elf natural lash review & dress up!

Here's another lash review, as promised~ I probably review the last one tomorrow or so, haha. I really should have done all three in one post. :P

As you can see, yesterday I dyed the blonde of my hair blue! Woooohoooo~ It turned out a lot lighter and vibrant than I expected, even after mixing in a bit of black.

Close up of lashes

I really like the elf natural lashes! As these ones are a lot wispy and lighter than the dramatic lashes, I can definitely see myself using these often for sweet and simple daily looks. They blend in very well with my lashes and look very natural as they're named~ I also found that the natural lashes didn't feel as plastic-y as I did with the dramatic lashes. The band on these lashes are also really thin and flexible, which is good for clean and natural looks.

Additional face shot :P

As you can see, they add just an extra bit of attention to a look without being too overwhelming. These are probably something you can get away with a very light liner and minimal make, but still want a bright look~

I also played around a bit with different outfit coordinates. I always find it fun and interesting coming up with new coordinates when I get bored. Even from just changing socks, a coordinate can feel like a really different look.

Hopefully tomorrow, I will be posting a tutorial for applying false lashes. Look forward to it~

Goodnight, sweeties~ (●3●)<3

006: elf dramatic lash review

So, I tried out the elf dramatic lash today. I was going to review all three dollar store lashes today, but I kept getting kicked out of the washroom by my bro when I tried to take pictures~ haha. I have yet to find a suitable place to take pictures and the like in my house, but that's okay. Onto the lashes!

This is the look I did today

Last night I figured out how to put on full lashes easily after about 4 failed attempts. I used the elf dramatic lashes with these. They're obviously more full than the natural lash. They're definitely more dramatic in looks than I'm used to! I have a rather conservative family, so I usually do really simple make up.

Close up of the lashes

I'm quite neutral about how I feel about these lashes. However, seeing as I picked these up at the dollar store, they're a lot better than I expected. I find them just a bit plastic-y looking and feeling by themselves, but once you put them on they don't look like it. They blend in fairly well with my short lashes! The band is really thin and flexible. It's good so you can tuck them really close to your lash line, but if you're new to putting on lashes these might not be ideal. I find it's a bit easier to put on false lashes with bands that have a little more weight to them.

Here's a few more view of my hair in case you were interested. The little monster in my hair is a button I got from a friend. Also.check out my octopus ring! I lo~ove it. I got it during FanExpo from an AA vendor. It's band is adjustable which means it was able to fit my small fingers~ The only issues I have is that is has a tendency to catch on wires and things like that because of its style, and that the band sometimes pinches. Still, it's such an interesting piece! One of my favourite rings I own~

<wink>

Peace out, guys! I'm off to watch Merlin~

003: make up haul and perserverence

This post almost didn't happen because I'm lazy. But, I set myself a goal, I should do my best to follow though~ :P

 Anyways, a while back, a friend placed an order during the big Urban Decay sale. Seeing how I already own a bit of palettes and eyeshadows I don't often use, I grabbed a few of lip products. Some time after that, I realized my mom had borrowed my eyeliner pencil with no intention of returning it. I ended up picking up an Urban Decay liner when I stopped by Sephora to get my Beauty Insider birthday gift~ :D

 
My make from my post the other day and the products I used as well as the make up I recently picked up. From top, left to right: Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No.23, Duo Lash Adhesive, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Perversion,UD Pocket Rocket in Colin, UD Lipstick in Hotpants and Gash, NARS Blush in Orgasm, Sephora Flutter False Lases, Almay One Coat Dial Up mascara, Tokidoki Gelato Lip Balm in Ciao Ciao, fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment in fresh and rose, and UD Lip Love Honey-Infused Lip Therapy in Stung. I guess this is a lot of make up for one post. (*_*) I layered Colin over Hotpants for my make.

Swatches of the UD products. Vertical are the lipstick Hotpants and Gash. Horizontal are Stung and Colin. Hotpants is a bright pink with iridescent shimmer. Gash is a brick red which looks pretty much matte except for a barely noticeable hint of red shimmer. Stung is a delicious sheer berry colour. Colin is a nice sheer orange red.

I lo~ove the UD eyeliner Perversion. I compared it to my other current eyeliner which is Buxom Lashliner in Leatherette. Perversion is the single line to the left and the two black lines are Leatherette applied in two different ways.

I usually have to warm up the Buxom liner in it's pot for ease of application, but it's a really nice waterproof liner that can be smudge. :3 It also lasted me TWO years! Lol, so maybe that's why I now need to heat it up for a creamy smooth line. Not that it matters since I usually end up layering liquid liner on top. However, Perversion makes lining really quick and easy. It's also SU~PER creamy and as dark as liquid liner, so it's great for a lazier make day. I'm not entirely convinced if it's totally worth the buy. :S Although UD Perversion is such a quality product, the fact that my Buxom liner lasted so long for the same if not less of the price kind of weighs heavily in how much I love it. I feel as if the pencil will disappear quickly~ (*_*);;

Below are pictures of the lip products in action. I feel like action shots are always better in reviews so the readers can tell how it looks and acts when the product is applied. It helps as a second deciding factor for whether or not I want to buy a product. If not, I would have ended up picking up more UD lipstick~ LOL (^_^;)

UD Lipstick in Gash

UD Pocket Rocket Colin

UD Honey-Infused Lip Therapy in Stung

UD Lipstick in Hotpants