Lancome L'Absolu Rouge Lipsticks Lacewood and Rose De Ville Review & Gift with Purchase

This review is quite belated as I got these lipsticks a few years ago, but figured better late than never? I purchased the Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge lipsticks in Lacewood (a brownish pink) and 305 Rose De Ville, mainly out of desire to get the free gift with purchase that Bloomingdale's had at the time (see the set above). I have to say the gifts with purchase are always quite worthwhile, with the above coming with a primer, lipstick, blush, face cream, eye cream and a handy bag (Lancome's tend to be good quality).

As a caveat though, in retrospect I would probably not make this purchase, as I find a lot of European brands like Lancome tend to feature cheap ingredients and spend most of their money on nice packaging. For instance, the lipsticks are definitely made of petroleum jelly and has that very distinct petroleum scent and feel. Personally they make my lips flake and peel after long wear as well, which is never great. 

They're also pretty pricey at $30.50 each, which is in line with typical high end lipsticks but in my opinion not worth the splurge.

The lipstick featured above is Rose De Ville, which is a straight pink and very flattering on my olive-toned skin. 

The one above is Lacewood; you can see the more muted tone.



Left is Lacewood swatched, while right is Rose De Ville. I love that Lacewood has almost a coral pop mixed in when you apply with a light hand.

The set came with a choice of blush, and the above swatch is for the color I chose, Shimmer Mocha Havan, which is a brownish pink that's surprisingly flattering on the skin.

It also came with a free lipstick which I got in the color Pale Lip (Nude), which while clearly lower quality and in simpler packaging, is still useful. It's just a bit subtle for me but it's nice nonetheless.

Petite Bunny Gloss Bar Review: Shade No.05 - Juicy Peach

Wanted to share photos of the Petite Bunny Gloss Bar I purchased (shade Juicy Peach) for ~$4.00 off YesStyle.

Overall, it smells and tastes faintly of peach which is nice, and the color payoff is super subtle (a bit too subtle for my liking, which is more related to the shade than the opacity of these lipsticks.

I find them to be generally moisturizing thought nothing really stands out. Photos after the break.

Ipsy: May 2016 Glam Bag Unboxing

Another month, another Ipsy, and I'm really becoming a big fan. May featured some products which I've now been able to take the time to adequately trial. There was a good mix of luxe and usable products.



Formula 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask

I'm honestly not the biggest fan of mud masks, mainly because I have dry skin and rarely if ever see any noticeable results. I suppose they may help a bit with breakouts, but I've never really seen success with that, and my view is the only way to prevent breakouts is to have a thorough daily cleansing routine and not overdo your skin with too many pore-clogging moisturizers.

That said, this mask has a lovely berry smell, which is quite unexpected. It goes on smoothly and performs about par. Nothing of note, but nothing bad either.

 SLMissGlam Small Contour W07 Brush

This brush is soft, though fairly small. The brush is about the width of my thumb, and is a good size for contouring the cheeks and such.

BellaPierre Cosmetics Nude Gel Lip Liner Pencil



This product has proven to be quite a dud. The main reason is that try as I might, I can't figure out how to get the rest of the product out of the tube. Or maybe the tip is all the product that you get? I'm not sure what's going on, because otherwise I quite like the color and texture of this lip liner. It's a subtle my-lips-but-better shade of pinky nude.

The other negative is that this is manufactured in China, so who really knows what ingredients are in it.

 

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lavendar Moisture Rich Balm

While not the most exciting of products (it's just a stick of clear balm), I quite like it. The scent is a mild lavendar, it's super rich and moisturizing on the lips, and while I wouldn't use it anywhere else (too rich), it's quite a good lip balm.

Smashbox Cosmetics X-Rated Mascara

I unfortunately haven't given this a whirl yet as my mascara stash is a bit out of control, but it certainly looks good. Will follow-up if it's worthy of a mention.

Ipsy: March 2016 Glam Bag Unboxing

March was a great month for me on Ipsy, as I wound up with a batch of good, useful products. 

Beau Gachis Eyeshadow Brush

This was the one dud in the bag. I needed an eyeshadow brush, but the bristles on this one were just so rough that they feel like they're scratching my lids, and thus makes it pretty much unusable. My recommendation for soft brushes are The Body Shop, and I'm still using that one.

Manna Kadar Eye Shadow in Fantasy

This is a beautiful shadow, and is absolutely perfect to sweep all over the lids. I mean, just look at the swatch above - so rich and shimmery and with a slight deep shade that's flattering for most skintones. 

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in color 04, Soft-Spoken 



I've only used this a handful of times, but was surprised by how flattering this deep shade is (I normally go for brighter lip colors). True to NYX's reputation, this product is incredibly long-wearing, even after drinking and eating. The only thing is I prefer more natural ingredients in my lip products, and this definitely isn't it.

Pixi by Petra Beauty Blush Duo in Rose Gold

While the packaging for this is beautiful, the pigmentation is pretty weak and the texture is rather chalky. You can barely see the pink upon application (as above). It works well though for a subtle highlighter.

Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect Blow Dry Cream
Heat protectants are always useful for me as I regularly blowdry and heat style my hair, so this was certainly a useful product addition at the very least. I can't say it works any better than any of the other heat products I've tried. It comes out a light white cream and has a subtle scent. Not bad

Overall, March was a solid Ipsy month and I was very happy with the products I received.

The Best Tinted Lip Balms: Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

This has truly been a life-changing discovery for my lips, and I don't say that lightly. I have the worst dry lips ever, which seemed to always get flaky during the day no matter what balms I put in. Traditional lipsticks usually would make them worse, and cause them to start peeling.

But not with these Burt's Bees lip balms. These were so hard to track down as they were sold out in almost all drugstores, and for good reason as they're truly an amazing product. The pigmentation is incredible on the lips - I know it's hard to tell from the swatches since I used a fairly light hand on them, but on the lips they are rich and vivid, better than most lipsticks. Even better, they never make my lips chapped. In fact, after a week of regular use, my lips actually improved in texture, and I stopped getting so much flakiness! I'm not exaggerating either - try it out!

From left to right: Rose, Zinnia, and Hibiscus

I love that Burt's Bees products are always made of natural ingredients, which is especially important for the lips since you wind up eating most of the products you apply.

From top to bottom: Rose, Hibiscus, Zinnia

I can't recommend these enough. My favorite color out of the three I've tried is Hibiscus - it's a beautifully rich pinkish red shade that's so flattering on my Asian skintone. Rose is also good, though oddly enough is less pigmented upon application and more of a warm red relative to Hibiscus. Zinnia is close to my natural lip color and makes for a nice nude shade. They all have a faintly floral scent and give your lips a slight shine. For those who are also not fans of the pepperminty feel of the original Burt's Bees balms, don't worry as that's not present here.

Overall I plan to stock up and use these for years to come.

Tarte Blushing Bride Set

As part of the Sephora sale, I also picked up the Tarte blushing bride set, for ~$25. I've tried the Tarte blushers, but never their lip products or mascara before so thought it was a good opportunity. Considering that the retail price for one of their LipSurgence glosses alone is $19 (ridiculous I know), this is seemingly a great value. 

The set included the following:

Lingerie bag

The design of this is actually quite cute, and the quality surprisingly nice. It has a silken sheen and is about the size of a shoe bag. Now, considering that I'm not actually a bride-to-be I may just use this as a general travel bag rather than a lingerie bag. 

Cheek stain in blushing bride

I'm honestly not super impressed with this. I feel like I'm more of a powder blush kind of girl, as cheek stains are a pain to blend. The color is also more barbie pink on the skin (see below swatch) rather than the coral it seemingly is in the tube. Not terrible, but I wouldn't buy it.

  

LipSurgence lip gloss and power pigment, both in blushing bride

These I love. I used to be afraid of bold colors, but something about this cool-toned violet pink lipsurgence balm is just perfect for my skintone and I've received numerous compliments when it's on. It's super pigmented and not drying. I also love the color of the gloss - it's such a peachy, pretty pink that's natural but also done up.

The only negative I have to say about these lip products is that they contain artificial color ingredients, e.g., red 7 etc. I've read that artificial colors are basically poison to your body if you ingest them, and considering that it's near impossible to not wind up eating some of your lip product, this is a bit worrisome. I'm not bothered enough to stop using them, but I think next time I'll try for a more natural pigment based brand. I'm just surprised by Tarte using such cheap ingredients, considering their price point and seeming reputation for being an all-natural brand. But these days I don't trust in most big-box brands.

Lights, Camera, Splashes Mascara and blotting sheets

I haven't tried either of these as I'm still finishing up another mascara and I don't really need blotting sheets in the winter. Will report back. 

All in all, I'm happy with the set, especially due to the lip colors. I don't think I'll be repurchasing any of the items once I'm done trying them out, but it was fun to open up and experiment with this here. 

Bite Beauty: Agave Lip Mask and Rhubarb Lip Crayon

Update: I have to say the packaging for this brand is HORRIBLE. This is after about six months of use and throwing the items in my purse, but the gray paint on both the metal tube and the lid of the lip gloss are peeling like crazy - they leave little gray bits around everywhere. The metal tube is also proving to be very difficult to squeeze now that it's no longer completely full. Products themselves are good, but when every application leaves you with gray clingy stuff all over your hands / lips it makes it far less appealing.

Forget the Bath and Body Works lip balms I reviewed earlier. Bite's Agave Lip Mask is about 1000000x better, and is literally a miracle treatment for my constantly chapped lips. I cannot go without this stuff anymore, it's that amazing.

The lip mask is made with Lanolin and smells mildly like vanilla. It's a pale yellow cream with a very sticky texture, but goes on smoothly like a balm. 

Most people probably use it as what it's intended to be, a mask, but for me I treat it like a daily chapstick and reapply multiple times a day, whenever I feel my lips starting to tighten. While other balms leave my lips feeling peelly and horrible less than an hour later, this will last for several hours if I don't eat or drink. 

Moving on, I've also tried one of their matte creme lip crayons in Rhubarb. I was afraid the color would be too dark, but it applies so lightly and is surprisingly flattering. 

It's also very moisturizing, although it's definitely no where near the level of the lip mask. I usually put the lip mask on first, then apply a layer of this. I like that there's not much need to sheer it out, unlike with the Rimmel lip glosses. 

On the lips the color is much more subtle than in the swatch above. My only issue with it is that the color rubs off very easily and thus doesn't last long. But the creamy formulation makes it very easy to apply.

Overall, I'm very impressed with Bite, and believe their products are worth the hype. The items are a bit pricey though, with the lip mask retailing at $26 and the crayon at $24. However, they are supposedly handcrafted and contain all sorts of good-for-you ingredients like Manuka honey and resveratrol, so that at least makes me feel less bad about the splurge.

Rimmel: Show Off Lip Laquers

These were quite the hit online a few months ago, and I admit to getting suckered in to the hype. My verdict? Definitely not the best lip glosses I've ever tried given the thick, hard-to-spread formulation, but at least the color payoff is solid.

Left to right: Aurora, Celestial, Luna

My main problem with the product is the formulation. It is ridiculously thick and difficult to smooth onto the lips. When you first apply it with the wand, the product just sits in a sticky clump. I have yet to figure out how you can spread it out with the wand, because it quickly turns into a big mess that leaves way too much pigment on your lips (seriously, you'll look like a clown if you don't sheer this out, especially with Luna).

Colors when blended out - Aurora, Celestial, Luna

Instead what I do is rub it with my fingers or with a clean wand to spread it out. The image above is after I rubbed over the initial color spots with my fingers. Still far too pigmented for my liking, and generally it takes quite a bit of work to even it out. What's worse is if you're not careful, the color will easily smear outside of your lips. This is NOT a blindly-apply type of gloss - you better be glued to the mirror when you're putting this on, or risk splotchy, bright orange lips (a lesson I learned the hard way).

The wand is designed with a hole on one side, I guess to drop off more color. I have no idea who in the world would want that much on one application - that's just asking for colored teeth and messy smears in random places. What I end up doing is dabbing a single spot in the center of my bottom lip, then blending out with my finger to the rest of my lip. Good news is this will last forever.

The three colors I purchased are Aurora, a nice, reddish pink, Celestial, a baby-doll pink, and Luna, which becomes a lovely nude once sheered out. This product is not a stain, so even though it'll be quite pigmented when you first put it on, I find the color quickly goes away upon eating / drinking. The smell and taste is a bit tangy and sweet, which I personally quite like.

I got these for half off the retail price, so about $2.80 each from Walgreens during their 50% off Rimmel sale. I wouldn't recommend paying anymore than that, because I think there's far better formulations out there. Unless you like the look of super sticky, scary-bright lips, I'd recommend staying away from this.

Bath & Body Works: Fresh Picked Lip Butters Review

I've been suffering from chronically dry, peeling lips for months now (maybe too much info, but seriously, a huge pain). I've tried multiple lip products in the period, and unfortunately most seem to provide only temporary relief, or in some cases even make my lips feel worse. I tried these on during a visit to B&BW, and to my surprise they've worked wonders in making my lips feel normal again.

I can apply these about once every few hours, and my lips are left nourished. I even put them on overnight and wake up with soft, moist lips despite having the heater continually run. They're definitely a bit shiny on the lips, but don't feel sticky. Since they were on a buy 2 get 1 free deal I went ahead and purchased all three flavors (Market Peach, Pink Passion Fruit, and Garden Strawberries), and so far all three seem about the same in texture.

The product is generally colorless, leaving only a faint sheen of color on the lips that mostly blends out. The flavor is quite pleasant but very subtle - you can smell it just slightly after application, but it's not distracting (unlike some of The Body Shop lip butters).

The consistency is quite firm and buttery, a little thicker and harder to spread than petroleum jelly. I was relieved to see that they don't contain any petrolatum, as experience has taught me that my lips really don't agree with that. Unfortunately the stick versions of this line do contain petroleum, which is why I opted for the tins despite their less application-friendly design.

They retail at $8.50 each, so compared to other major brands are a decent deal when stacked with the promotion. I expect this to last quite a while.