A Little Bit of L'Occitane

L'Occitane is like my personal black hole of abyss nowadays. Well, for my wallet. I go in there and it's the weird sensation of wanting everything. Of course, I can't really give into every single one of my desires in that store, but I can name them all. Today was a bit of a L'Occitane kind of day for me.

As I was getting ready, I treated myself to the very lavish Almond Milk Concentrate which I adore. The scent is amazing as it is light and refreshing but it is also so incredibly moisturizing. I have very dry skin and this was just superb as it moisturizes and keeps that up all day. Supposedly it helps to tone and firm, but I use this so sparingly that I can't really attest to that. I can say that if you have dry skin, it would be very good (though the price in another thing). The texture is a bit silky though not too watery -- it is definitely not the same as some of the other lotions that I've seen.

After putting on the lotion and fixing my makeup, I decided to put on perfume and sticking with the L'Occitane mood, I opted for the Plum Blossom. Now I know it's not fair to mention it as since it was a limited edition last year and while there is the Plum Blossom Intense Eau de Toilette Roll-on, it is only available in the UK, I had to mention it. The scent is just right up my alley with it's floral notes and that hint of plum sweetness. Which is actually kind of interesting considering that this type of scent isn't what I usually go for but I think that given it was light and simple, I actually ended up liking it. As a result, I'm kind of interested in this year's floral limited edition which is peony.

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Product: L'Occitane Almond Milk Concentrate

Price: $44

Would Recommend? Yes.

Takeaway: Great for dry skin and it is very moisturizing and is absorbed quickly. Feels great but the downfall is probably attributed to the price.

Review & Comparison of Eyeshadows: Kat Von D's Beethoven and Tokidoki's 24 Karat Arte

Today has been a bit stressful and I couldn't get around to blogging earlier in the day even though I have a bunch of things lined up to write about. Last week I got my Bare Minerals and Sephora order and then today my Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfumes arrived. So destress I'm throwing on some The Honey Wilders music and trying to focus. One of my favourites songs by them is Light of Day, but yeah, go check them out because they are awesome. To the Sephora haul!

Let's make something clear though. I do not intend to post about my hauls however I kind of have to in order to talk about the comparison in eye shadows. Also, this might be a bit long cause I really got carried away with the pictures.

Kat Von D's Beethoven palette is no stranger to my collection. I fell in love with it way back... oh, about 4 years ago. It was one of the more pigmented palettes so I just had to have it. And I still love it (though I do plan to give other brands a shot). It was time to restock and so getting the palette was no real dilemma. My favourite colour which I wish they would sell separately or in a pan is Lucifer which is a matte charcoal black.

For purposes of trying something new, I decided to spring for the Tokidoki Arte palette in 24 Karat. (Which is amazingly now sold out online through Sephora and is going for $20 on eBay). Now obviously there's going to be a huge difference between testing Kat Von D's palette with Tokidoki's -- given the sheer size. Beethoven has 8 eyeshadows whereas 24 Karat Arte has 4 (and a blush). But there is a clear winner. Let's talk about packaging first.

Tokidoki Arte Palette - 24 Karat

The 24 Karat palette is quick and convenient because it's kind of on the go; wrapped in a plastic casing, you peel it off to flip it open and you've got your makeup all ready in the palm of your hand. The Beethoven palette is something to be enjoyed though as the packaging is thoughtful. The box itself opens in a smooth like motion to reveal a wrapped palette inside complete with the KVD sticker. The Beethoven palette is black with the outline of roses  and if you're a sucker for packagaing (like myself) then you will be sold on this alone. But of course, given the 24 Karat's nature or desire to be on the go, you have the typical Tokidoki illustrations on the front. They are both lovely for different reasons.

As for the eyeshadows, obviously they don't entirely align with one another so forgive the variety of comparisons that will occur from this point on. Right off the bat, there's a a blue, black, and silver to compare. There is no white in the Beethoven palette though I imagine you can get away with using Tequila which is a metallic cornsilk shimmer (the fourth one from the left).

Kat Von D True Romance - Beethoven

Blue: I have no control eyeshadow to make sure I wasn't biased. While they both appeared quite pigmented, it seems at though 24 Karat has a bit of opacity to it. I'd opt for Beethoven's Speed Blue for that high pigmentation.

Black: Must I say it? Beethoven's Lucifer comes in quite solid. Although I admit, it doesn't appear in the swatch test below -- instead as a test I checked it against Sonia Kashuk's Cocktail Hour black and L'Oreal Studio Secrets Singles in Lush Raven. I love the black in the KVD palette that I will clutch lovingly to it forever. Well, maybe not. But it has been the best I've used so far.

Blue (left), first stroke is KVD and the second is Tokidoki.
Black (center): first stroke is L'Oreal, second is
Tokidoki, & the third is Sonia Kashuk.
Silver (right): first stroke is Tokidoki and the second is
Sonia Kashuk.

Silver: Again, not pictured below but I'm pretty sure you didn't even see it on my skin. While the 24 Karat palette picks up a lot of glitter and magically places them about -- you can't really see it. In comparison is the Sonia Kashuk's Cocktail Hour in silver. You can see the glitter of the 24 Karat but that's it. KVD wins this round with Razor Gray.

Left is Bobbi Brown, center is Tokidoki, and the right is
Illamasqua.

Blush: To be fair, I had to test against what I know. I wear Bobbi Brown everyday (my aim is to hit the pan) and in reserve I have the Illamasqua in Hussy (and if you missed it, I did a review on the both of them called "Rosy Cheeks").

My arms a bit darker than my face or something like that so swatching on my arms doesn't always translate to how it will look. So if you look at the image, you'll notice how barely noticeable Bobbi Brown and Tokidoki are. Illamasqua just barely stands out (but trust me, it shows on my face).

I did try the Tokidoki blush out but it vanished pretty quickly. It also comes out much lighter than the Bobbi Brown but has a bit more shimmer to it.

So very sadly, as much as I love some Tokidoki products, the 24 Karat Arte Palette just did not cut it. And for some reason my love for the KVD Beethoven goes on and slowly ferments like a good wine.

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Product: Kat Von D True Romance - Beethoven
Price: $34
Would Recommend? Yes.
Takeaway: Great palette with a bit of versatility to it -- I did not review the lighter shades or the purples, but they are great. The black eyeshadow in this palette has long been a staple of mine and continues to trump all. (Fandom glee is over now).

Product: Tokidoki Arte Palette - 24 Karat
Price: $10
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: I love Tokidoki for their eyeliners (yes, I know I didn't touch upon that in this review but it beats KVD's liquid liners) so I thought this palette would be convenient. The problem is that pigmentation wise, it just doesn't hold up -- not the eyeshadows or the blush. It's probably better to pass.

Review: Renpure Organics Shampoo & Conditioner

Last month I wrote about Renpure Organics My Hair is Pretty Parched! and it was quite positive. I found myself not really have to use much of my argan oil in order to add back in moisture to my parched hair. The bottles, being a bit on the small side and my hair being the long side meant that I ran out of it a little while ago. I've now been using the "I Love My Hair!" which I admit, is probably not the best for my hair. As the names suggest, the former (My Hair is Pretty Parched!) is for moisturizing and the latter (I Love My Hair!) is for shine.

As with the other two, the consistency of both the shampoo and conditioner were just right. Sometimes when you get these types of hair care products (No parabens, sulfates, gluten, phthalates, or propylene glycol), the consistencies tend to be a bit weird. (Not all the time, but this has been my experience as of late).  The scent was also light and a bit on the floral side so it was very pleasing to me.

But how did it hold up? Well, my hair did get quite shiny which is exactly what these bottles boast. They delivered and for that, I am quite happy. Problem being that my hair requires... no demands extra moisturizers which is not something these two can deliver. As a result I had to use a lot of argan oil in order to balance my hair out.

Does that mean I'd recommend against them? Absolutely not. If you're looking for shine, it's all right there. But do not expect a moisturizer as well. Expect to use some extra oil (doesn't have to be argan, it could be coconut) in order to balance it out. It's definitely worth it but just not a "please all" kind of product.

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Product: Renpure Organics I Love My Hair! Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner
Price: $6.99 each
Would Recommend? Sort of.
Takeaway: Fantastic for shine but if your hair requires more than shine then expect to pair it with another product that delivers (such as moisturizer, which was my case).

Coming Soon: Guest Bloggers!

I'm really very excited about this because I've finally reached out to a few people about this and I've gotten some positive responses. (Translation: I finally asked some of my friends to come on-board). Anyhow, I'm sure they will get around to making their own introductions but I just wanted to announce it as they are in the process of getting ramped up. The ladies that I've asked to come on-board for now are amazing when it comes to makeup (I either look up to them when it comes to makeup or tend to go to them for suggestions) so I can't wait for them to get started.

Review: Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio

I trully am a sucker for kajal which means that this latest spike in making kajal eyeliners accessible has me all the more intrigued. Of course, the Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio (for brown eyes) flew off the helves at my local store and I had to wait the longest for it to be back in stock.

But let's get one thing out of the way right now. They are incredibly soft and creamy which sounds great but you need to be very careful with them. I noticed that an awful lot of them were already broken in the store, so just be aware of how easily they can break if you end up purchasing them.

Given my brown eyes, of course I opted for the appropriate pack. I already knew that the brown would be useless so I figured that out of this trio at least two might work for me. the other two colours are plum and black.

I adore the packaging though I can see how the cover might nick the top of the kajal stick. Luckily if you know how to use them (remember that you apply them by holding them horizontally and swipe across your eyelid rather than holding them vertically) you should be fine, even if you take a little bit off the top. Creamy consistency and easy to apply. The only thing I was disappointed by a few things.

On the left is the plum eyeliner. Application was easy though a bit messy as you will notice that the scalene triangle at the edge of my eye was a bit off -- and ran a bit. Creaminess is great, but not so good when you're looking for precision. The liner also ran on my bottom eyelid. Additionally it looks as though it was an uneven application -- except that it wasn't. If you go with this eyeliner I would highly recommend that you pat some powder on it. It came off quite shiny so many of the pictures I took just looked messy or uneven. The eyeliner runs and that isn't a perk.

As for the black, I apologize since I know the application was uneven. Unfortunately I ran into the same exact problems as I did with the plum and by that point I wasn't amused. The pigmentation of the black is great and as you can see, it seemed to hold up well in photographs -- additionally it was easy to apply with that creamy texture but it ran.

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Product: Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio
Price: $9 - $10
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: While this product seems like it would be great for smudging, it's pretty bad in terms of precision. The product runs (more so than your standard liner) and ends up being a bit messy -- not to mention is liable to break.

Review: CoverGirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm

Forgive the sloppy nature with which I applied the NatureLuxe Gloss Balm but I was really excited (translation: I had a headache). 

I was really a bit excited about this one because I'm a sucker for lip balms (and lip gloss). I was hoping to get a bit of colour out of it but also afraid to go too sheer so I opted for 210 Tulip which looked like a bright pink. Knowing my skin tone, I knew that it probably wouldn't be that distinguished (meaning that it probably wouldn't really show) but I was hoping that a bit of colour would pop given the pink colour.

Mango and shea butter? Yes! I love the creamy feel of the lip balm but the thing about it was that the colour didn't show. The picture on the left shows the lip balm, which isn't really showing up at all -- you can tell my lips are moisturized but what really sets this one apart from a normal lip balm?

Nothing. 

For $6 (which is what it costs), I could spring for a tin of Rose Salve and I'd be all the more happier knowing that the salve has multiple uses. While I love the idea behind the gloss, I couldn't rationalize getting it when there were better lip balms out there. I think that if you can find a complementary colour, it would be worth it but otherwise, you might want to pass.

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Product: CoverGirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm in Tulip
Price: $6
Would Recommend? Perhaps.
Takeaway: While it feels good and has a good pitch, you have to find the right colour otherwise it's useless. The colour just disappeared on me which left me wanting.

Review: CoverGirl Blast Flipstick Lipcolor

I picked up 815 Flashy of the line (or at least, that's what I think it was). The Flipsticks seem to be quite popular at my local store so the selection was reduced.

When I first tried the darker colour, I was amazed. I loved how it looked as it was amazing. I didn't even really see how the second colour looked but I was in awe of just how pretty it looked. The picture to the left shows the initial application -- heavy on the darker colour with just a bit of the lighter colour to accentuate it. The lip color was creamy and had a sheen to it, which I adored. 

But obviously, there was a drawback. After I took it off for the night, I noticed a slight residue but didn't pay too much attention to it. The next day though, that residue became all too... annoying. Yeah, there, I said it. The residue was ever present and came off on everything. Morning coffee to afternoon coffee, when the talk about this thing lasting it does -- much much to my own chagrin.

Okay, that was a little bit annoying so I decided to try again, but instead of direct application I decided to try a lip brush. The third picture on the left is what it looked like applied with a lip brush and note how soft the colours come off. Not as strong, definitely do not pop so I'd recommend not applying with a lip brush. 

After the second application, I decided to use a makeup remover in order to get rid of any residue from the lip color. Much better during the second try but I admit, I was already kind of annoyed that I had to use it in the first place. The colour is long lasting, which is a plus, but the downside is that it takes a while to go away which is just downright frustrating. 

Last critique before the wrap-up is the container itself. On the right is a picture of what happened right after I opened the container. The lip color doesn't fully retract into the tube and given it's angle, it will easily get nicked. I haven't even been paying attention (which is probably why this happened in the first place) when I realized the lid had already been attacked.

Obviously at this point I am not a fan when any brand packages lipstick like this.

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Product: CoverGirl Blast Flipstick Lipcolor
Price: $6
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: While the colour is vibrant and the texture is creamy, the colour lasts and it took me two days to finally be rid of the colour in it's entirety. Not cool.