Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara Review

I have always struggled with mascara, kind of like a love and hate relationship.  I know this is a bit of a stereotype but unfortunately, I have Asian lashes that are short and straight.  (My daughter on the other hand is blessed with long and curl lashes, I hope it stays that way.)  Also, for whatever reason, most eyeliner and mascara will smudge terribly on me.  Therefore, the thing I look for most in any mascara is that it must not smudge or flake. 

Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara is a Japanese brand mascara that you can purchase either from Amazon, Ebay, Sasa or Imomoko, just to name a few.  I am totally in love with this mascara, it has everything I am looking for.  Most mascara will smudge after a few hours on me but this one is smudge and flake proof, even at the end of the day.  What make it even more wonderful is that it live up to its claim, it lengthen and hold curl on my straight lashes.  When you have short lashes, you really need that curl to make your lashes more visible.

Since it is so smudge proof, I was worry that it would be hard to remove.  Another winning feature of this mascara is that I have no problem removing it using Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover (one of my staple).  Overall, I couldn't ask for more.

Price: Around $16

Overall Rating:  5 out of 5 

Disclosure: The products being review was purchased by me. 

When to Toss Out Your Makeup?

It has probably been almost a year since I goes through and clean out my beauty stashes.  I ended up with a bag full of stuff to toss out, either due to the color not working with my skin tone, allergic reaction, and last but not least, expiration.  It makes me feel bad, like I am being wasteful.  On the other hand, what do you do with color that is not suited for you (well, I should have try to return what I can)?  More importantly, you should not be using old cosmetic, it could cause break out and other skin irritation. It makes me wonder, how long do you keep your cosmetic before you throw them out?

I am not very strict but here is a rough guide line how long you should keep things.

-Mascara – no more than 3 months (this is the one I am careful about because I do not want eyes infection and I never share my mascara with anyone, period!)

-Liquid Foundation/Tinted Moisturizer/Primer - 12 months.  I follow the same guideline for anything that is liquid or cream base.  I also smell and check the consistency if I have not use it in awhile.  If it changes color, smell funny, or separate even after shaking, I'd toss it out.

-Powder Foundation/Blush/Eyeshadow - up to 24 months.  With powder, I think you have more room to decide how long you should keep a product.  It does not go bad as fast as liquid base and easier to sanitize.  Sometime I use a cotton pad wet with alcohol and wipe both the container and lightly top layer of the product.  Wait for it to dry, if the top harden, just scrape it off lightly, a thin layer with a butter knife.

Off topic, I was looking forward to trying Alba products because they are natural.  Unfortunately, the toner burned my skin the second I applied it.  Both sunscreen gave me horrible rashes that lasted almost two weeks.  At first, I did not know what caused my rash until my husband and friend got the same allergic reaction from using these sunscreen.

2011 Most Loved Makeup

Sephora Waterproof Cream Eyeliner
This eyeliner is really smooth and pigmented, no dragging. It also last a long time, I have it for over 8 months now and it has not dry up. Therefore, for $10, I think it is worth trying out.

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Ultra Darling
I have MAC Sheen Supreme in three different shades, Full Speed, Gotta Dash, and Ultra Darling. I find that the consistency and texture is different among the different shades. Some are drier and Gotta Dash applies unevenly. My favorite is Ultra Darling, not only is it a flattering, easy to wear cool berry tone for Fall or Spring, it also has the best formula, moisturizing and glide on easily and evenly.

NYX Cream Blushes
One of the best drugstore (or drugstore price) blushes I have ever used.  It's pigmented and long lasting.  I love shade "natural" on me, it does look natural, add warmth and brighten my face.  You can check out my past review for swatches.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hours Blush
In general, I prefer cream blush over powder, I think they blend better and longer lasting.  However, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush have longer lasting power that most powder blush and it applies evenly as well.

Kevin Beautymaker Mineral BB Cream Concealer
Very pigmented, you only need very little.  It is creamy, easy to blend, long lasting, and does not cake.

Kevin Beautymaker Aqua Eye Concealer
Technically I reviewed this in 2010 but I wanted to add it with the other KB concealer because it is one of the best undereye concealer I have tried, HG for me.  I also use this on the side of my nose where the skin is dry and flaky to hide redness because this concealer is really smooth and easy to blend, it never cakes.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20
Since I have dry skin, it is generally easier to work with when using a tinted moisturizer.  What I love about LMTM is that it provides enough hydration without being greasy.  In addition, it also have enough coverage to even out my red spots.  Expensive?  Yes, but you don't have to use a lot so I think it's not too bad.

Jordana Easyliner For Eyes Retractable Pencil Review and Swatches

Price: $1.99 at Walgreens

Pros: It is super cheap! It works! These eye pencils are pigmented, easy to glide, no tugging and they stay in place all day, without smudging. I also love that they are retractable so I don’t have to deal with sharpening them. I love using the purple on the bottom lash for a pop of color. It goes very well with my brown eyes.

Cons: I have not seen this brand outside of Walgreens so it may be hard to find if you don’t have a Walgreens nearby.

Swatch: Purple Fusion and Denim Blue

Overall: If you can find them, I would highly recommend giving these a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed with the formula and there are many shades to pick from. Plus, they are only $1.99.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.

Rachel Roy Eye Palette

Fashion designer Rachel Roy has made her first foray into beauty with the launch of the Rachel Roy Eye Palette! It contains 2 brushes and 10 shades of eyeshadow for either an effortless natural makeup look for day or an electrifying smokey look for night.

You can also snap the QR code on the back of the palette to learn from Rachel how to create her signature day and night looks.

Please check out the Rachel Roy Eye Shadow Collection HERE. Beginning November 1st, the palette is available at select Macy's, macys.com and rachelroy.com for $32.

Staying at Thompson Hotels in New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago? Look out for the Rachel Roy Beauty Palette in top tier rooms across the country. There will also be a QR code on the bathroom mirror linking to a how-to video from Rachel that shares tips for creating day/night looks. If you spot a palette in your room, be sure to tweet @Rachel_Roy and @ThompsonHotels!

NYX Eye Brow Kit with Stencil Review and Swatches

The review today is on NYX Eyebrow Kit with Stencil in color For Everybody.  The kit also come in For Blondes and For Brunettes.  Each kit comes with 4 colors, 3 stencils, an eyebrow comb and an eyebrow brush.

Price:  $13.50

Pros:  The brow powders are pigmented and come in large size container, about the size of a MAC eyeshadow.  The shades in For Everybody palette is really versatile, it would be suitable for everybody maybe except for light blond.  Last but not least, the inclusion of make it convenient and travel friendly.  

Cons:  I feel that the packaging is a bit thick, they have room to slim it down and make it less bulky.  Also, the eyebrow brush and comb are just okay.  I would use them if I am in a pinch but I mostly use my own separate set.

Overall:  I feel like I cannot give constructive comments on the 3 included stencils because I simply have never use a stencil.  I hardly have to pluck or groom my eyebrows and I have been filling them in stencil-free for the past 15 plus years so I find using a stencil just slow me down.  However, I have to note that I was able to find a stencil that closely match my eyebrow thickness and arch angle.  Overall, I think the brow powders are of high quality and the stencils may come in handy for most people.

Rating: 4/5

Disclosure: The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.

New Too Faced Lemon Drop Primer

If you have read my review, you know that I love Too Faced Shadow Insurance, the original formula. They came out with Candlelight (shimmery) and now Lemon Drop version. Lemon Drop is a color correcting eye shadow primer with yellow tone that will neutralizes redness and ruddiness while ensuring eye shadow shades are clear and true every time.

Happy 4th of July to those that are in the U.S.!

Revlon CustomEyes in Rich Temptations Review and Swatches

Hi, I hope you all have a great Memorial weekend.  Today, I am going to do a quick review on this Revlon CustomEyes palette in Rich Temptations. I bought it because I am a sucker for green eyeshadow and it is indeed a nice dark green color. The green and two plum/brown colors are pretty pigmented and average in term of texture and smoothness. However, the two lighter colors, champagne and warm pink are big disappointment. They are sheer and chalky, an unflattering combination. Overall, get this if you want to try the darker color and not too picky about texture.

Price: $8.99

Rating: 3/5

Disclosure: The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.

Beauty Regrets

Most of the time when I write reviews, I tend to write about products that excite me in some way. However, I figure it would also be beneficial to share with you my regrets. Afterall, it could potentially save you some money.

Earth Therapeutics Bamboo Body Sponge : I was looking forward to the soft texture but all this does is turn into a ball of cloth when wet, worse bath accessories ever! You are much much better off with just a wash cloth.

Dior Eyeshadow in Petal Shine: Totally was looking forward to Dior makeup. For some reason, even after trying this with different primer, within 2 hours, it creases like there is no tomorrow. I really want to like it but unfortunately the obvious creasing was unattractive.

Juice Beauty Antioxidant Serum: It has good ingredients, affordable but unfortunately, it didn’t do much for my skin. (Review)

Cover Girl Lash Extract Waterproof: Hard to remove and it smudges. Smudging mascara is my biggest pet peeves.

Vitacreme B12: I bought this last year because it got so much publicity and rave from other blogger. It’s the most hype product for me because it does nothing for my skin. It is not even moisturizing enough to use as a basic moisturizer.

Alba Hawaiin Hibiscus Toner: It stings and burns my skin immediately. Ouch!

Disclosure: The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.

Sephora Collection Color Palette

Allow me to introduce you to Sephora Collection Color Palette, currently retail for $24.  It contains an array of gorgeous color for your eyes, lips, and cheek.

This palette includes:
- 32 must-have eyeshadows
- 16 beautiful lip colors
- 3 blushes
- 1 shimmery bronzer

I didn't get a chance to use these shadows extensively.  I swatch and also wore them for a few days.  I think this palette is a a mixed bag.  Some color are so lovely in both pigmentation and texture, very smooth and creamy.  Some of the lighter shades tend to be chalky and of the shades have chunky glitter.  The ones that are chalky have a bit of fall out and doesn't last as long.

I would recommend this palette for beginner or someone who just want some extra fun bright colors.  For $24, you get so many options and some wonderful color payoff.

(Sorry I don't have swatch for the bottom two rows.  Somehow it got deleted from my camera and I already returned this to my friend, she lends it to me)

Etsy, Etsy, Etsy!!!

I am sure many of you have heard of Etsy by now. However, I was surprise that there are a lot of friends I talked to whom still have no clue what it is. Etsy is kind of like Ebay and Amazon except most if not all of the goods are handmade by Artisans. I didn't start shopping on from Etsy until last year when I started planning my wedding and now I am hook. I love it as you can really find some unique pieces and all the sellers I came across have been wonderful. I also like spending my money and support the small business folks :)

I ordered my wedding invitation from Appleberryink, Teresa was such a wonderful lady to work it, I highly recommend giving her shop a try if you are getting marry.  I also bought this gorgeous hair piece for my wedding on Etsy.

My latest handmade jewelry purchase from etsy is this very cute and dainty earrings from Julie's Adorable Bowls.

Also some sample eye shadows from Willow Tree Minerals.

That is all for now folks. Until next time...

Sephora Waterproof Cream Eyeliner Review and Swatches

Last year I was excited to discovered a great and cheap eyeliner, you can get the details from my review for Wet 'n Wild Mega Eyes Cream.  As great as it was, it dried out on me in 3 months.  Recently, I found another wonderful budget friendly eyeliner alternative, Sephora Waterproof Cream Eyeliner.

Price:  $10 a jar, available at Sephora stores and online.

 (Shade Must Have)

Pros:  It is incredibly creamy, smooth and pigmented.  You know how some eyeliner can be sheer and you have to layer again so your skin won’t show through?  Not this baby.  I find it easy to work with too.  Great price and it comes in many different shades such as blue, green, purple, brown, bronze, grey and this black one I own, which is call “Must Have”.

Cons:  Nothing bad here.

Overall:  I have also tried Sonia Kashuk and Maybelline cream liner and all three of these are around $10.  In comparison, this one beat the other two hands down.  Rating: 5/5.

Disclosure:  The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.

Clinique Lash Power Mascara Review

Clinique Lash Power Mascara is a long lasting smudge proof mascara.

Price: $15.50 each.  Available at Clinique counters or Sephora.

Pros: They were not kidding when they said it is smudge proof. I frequently have issue with mascara smudging but even after I felt asleep, had teary eyes, I found no smudges. I am also a fan of their small spool brush; it allows you to get the corner lashes. It also separate exceptionally well.

Cons: Now it’s a little bit easier to clean as the formula thicken a little maybe? When I first started using this, it was a pain the ass to clean. It came off in tiny flakes that are all over your eyes and doesn’t rinse off easily. I had to wipe my eyes multiple times which I hate because all the tugging can cause sensitivity and possible wrinkle. Another negative is that it can flakes sometime.

Overall: It gives decent length, separate well, and best of all, worry free smudge proof. There is not much volume so you may need a primer or layer it over another mascara. I do hate the removing part of this though. Rating: 4/5

Bare / With Mascara

Bare

With Mascara (1 coat)

Disclosure: The product(s) being review was purchased by me for personal use or review purpose.