L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Pencils : Review

It's been a little while since I've done a product review or it at least feels like it's been a while. I was at Target a few weekends ago with my friend, Chelsea, when we saw these and decided that we both needed to purchase them to try out. We were both confused at first because we thought that they were marker tipped or something, but when opened, it was revealed that they are more like a very skinny lipstick. Here are the facts...

The Facts

Price: $7.99 each (this was at Target in Kansas)

Amount of Product: .03 oz

Number of Shades: 4 in each formulation (I believe)

Claim: No idea. The L'Oréal website doesn't even have these online yet!

Shade(s) that I used: Lacquer-ized and She's So Matte

Coverage: These are very opaque, full color lipsticks!

Application: I apply them straight from the tube. While you could use a lip brush, I think you might lose the special finishes that accompany each type of product.

Wear Time: The wear time for the Le Matte is amazing; I ate an apple with it on my lips and while some color came off, it was still pretty good looking. Both La Laque and Le Matte will stain the lips a bit so that your lips will look good after color transfer. La Laque is meant to look like, you guessed it, lacquer, so it doesn't wear quite as well.

La Laque is amazingly shiny and completely non-sticky; it may be the best solution for those of us who love shiny lips but hate lip gloss. I was completely baffled the first time I put it on because it was just so incredibly shiny, but it had come from a lipstick. I would really like to know what goes in to this product to make it like that, but I guess I'll have to wait until L'Oréal releases some information on this line.

(this looks a bit shiny because I applied it over lip balm. On its own, it is completely matte like the swatch above)

Final Verdict: If you are a lipstick lover of any sort, get yourself to Target or Walmart or wherever you find L'Oréal products and pick these up in one of the eight shades. They are seriously awesome and insanely affordable for the final outcome. Even if you aren't a lipstick lover, check these bad boys out!

(all photos copyright Allison Richardson Photography and not available for use without permission)

Purple on Purple : Tutorial

I was thinking the other day of doing a monochromatic look, but I was having trouble thinking of a color that I could use on both my lips and my eyes. Obviously, the first color that comes to mind is pink or red, but I wanted to try something different (since I've already done an all pink look... several times), so I decided on purple. The purple on the lips doesn't show up perfectly true to life since I find it to be more purple toned rather than the pink it looks in the photos and video. 

Take a spin through the photos and if you're interested in how to recreate the look or what products I used, watch the video! 

Shiro Cosmetics : Eye Tutorial

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you would know that I purchased some Shiro Cosmetics eye shadow samples about two weeks ago. After thinking about it for a few days, I decided that I wanted to press the shadows to make them easier to use and I decided to test out my finished product this morning.

I pressed 4 shadows last night and use three of them for this look; those being Sweet Honey (top), Unforgettable (right), and Chimera (bottom). The fourth shade is Steve and I haven't used it yet, but it swatches beautifully. Now, on to the look!

Blank canvas. My skin and I are still not getting along very well... 

Much better! I used my Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser, and L'Oréal True Match Super Blendable powder.

Prime those lids! I pressed my shadows, but they came to me loose. If I had chosen to use them loose, I would be using a primer and a base, such as NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. The pressing makes them much more manageable, but you do have to work a little bit harder to get the color as dense as when you use them loose. In the end, it all comes down to preference.

Using a small shadow brush, I applied Unforgettable over most of my lid. I avoided the tear duct and the outermost corner.

Using a Sephora Crease Brush, I applied Chimera to the outer corner and completely along the socket bone. I blended as I worked since I wasn't sure how well the Shiro eye shadow would blend. Honestly, this is maybe one of the easiest shadows I have ever blended with. It is so soft and so easy to work with... Sigh, it's the eye shadow that dreams are made of.

Using the small shadow brush again, I brought Chimera down under the eye on the outer half and brought Unforgettable down on the inside half.

I applied some winged liner (Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner) and dusted Sweet Honey on the brow bone and the tear duct. I had to be careful with that shade since I messed it up a bit in my pressing extravaganza last night... 

I filled in my brows just a touch with Espresso from Stila and then used my Chella brow gel over the top of that. I applied mascara on top and bottom lashes using Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara.

I finished off the look with very subtle blush and highlight and did a quick ombré lip using Bite Beauty lipstick in Pomegranate and a discontinued Smashbox Be Legendary lipstick (anything that is a dark wine will work). If you guys want, I can do a very quick video tutorial on how to do the ombré lip!

That's the look. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below. More video tutorials to come as well... :D

Sorry!

I know that there has been a serious lack of updates this week, but this week has been insane for me. I've had two doctor's appointments and have a third tomorrow morning. Everything is fine, but it makes it so that I can't shoot tutorials or reviews. Labor Day weekend is coming up (hooray!) and I should be able to get a ton of stuff shot and readied for next week. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Beauty Box Roundup : August 2013

'Tis that time again boys and girls; time for the beauty box roundup. Coming in a little bit late this month (thanks UPS... geez), but here nonetheless. 

What I received:

• Mor Emporium Hand Cream in Snow Gardenia
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius Waterproof Top Coat 
• Vapour Organic Beauty Elixir Lip Gloss in Hush
• Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant 
• Coola SPF 30 Face Classic Sunscreen in Cucumber
• Pixi Beauty Endless Silky Eye Pen in No. 5 Deep Plum
• Carita Paris Magique Biologique Mask 
• Philip B. Maui Wowie Beach Mist

My Thoughts: Not a horrible bag by any means, but it doesn't live up to last month's box, unfortunately. Also, I cut all of my hair off, so the beach spray doesn't seem as useful as it once would have. None of the products that I received in my box are duplicates of things I've receive before, but there is lot of brand overlap. Pixi came in Ipsy this month, I got Anastasia in an Ipsy a few months ago, and Coola is just popping up everywhere. Also, I know that these beauty boxes love to send out lip gloss, but I hate lip gloss and I've already received a Vapour gloss previously... and gave it away. I don't mind the brand overlap too much, but I am getting sick of seeing Coola and if I never saw another Pixi product again, I'd probably be perfectly happy. Also, the Mor Emporium Hand Cream is a discontinued item on blush.com, which in theory doesn't bother me too much, but what if I fell in love with it and wanted more? 

Monetary Values

Mor Emporium Hand Cream - $10 (full size)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius Waterproof Top Coat - $12.16 (.11 oz - full size: $21/.19 oz)

Vapour Organic Beauty Elixir Lip Gloss - $20 (full size)

Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant - $11.43? (no size on sample, guessed 1 oz - full size $48/4.2 oz)

Coola SPF 30 Face Classic Sunscreen - $4.33 (.23 fl oz - full size $32/1.7 fl oz)

Pixi Beauty Endless Silky Eye Pen - $15 (full size)

Carita Paris Magique Biologique Mask - $26 (.5 fl oz. - full size $90/1.7 fl oz)

Philip B. Maui Wowie Beach Mist - $22 (full size)

Total Bag Value: $120.92

What I received:

• Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 69
• Michael Todd Pumpkin Nutrient Rich Facial Mask
• Nailtint nail polish in Mai Tai
• Pixi Lash Booster Mascara
• Mica Beauty Shimmer Powder in Bronze

My Thoughts: I definitely think Ipsy stepped it up this month, but it is still on the chopping block for me. I keep noticing that I receive one good month, then one bad month, then one good, then bad, etc. I really lucked out this month and only received one item that I truly didn't want. There was a lot of, for lack of better words, drama about the Ipsy bags this month. 1) The price discrepancy between some of the bags was almost $20 and 2) the shipping of the bags was totally effed up. I didn't get caught up in the shipping mess and I got one of the high dollar bags, so good for me? I'm not a fan of the polish color, so this will be given away. The mascara is maybe one of the worst mascaras that I've ever used and lo and behold, it's from Pixi... The pumpkin mask, the lipstick, and the eye shadow are all really nice though. The bag this month, I hate, but I don't ever factor that in to whether or not I like the contents and I will probably end up donating it. This month was definitely good for me, but I'm still keeping an eye on Ipsy.

Monetary Values:

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick - $7.33 (.03 oz - full size: $22/.09 oz)

Michael Todd Pumpkin Mask - $10 (1 oz - full size: $34/3.4 oz)

Pixi Lash Booster Mascara - $7.14 (.105 fl oz. - full size: $17/.25 fl oz.)

Nailtini - $13 (full size)

Mica Beauty - $14.95 (full size)

Total Monetary Value: $52.42

If you want to subscribe to Ipsy, you can follow my referral link here or visit ipsy.com

What I Received:

• Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive
• Model Co. Party Proof Lipstick in Dusk till Dawn
• Jasmine Seven Fresh Feet Wipes
• Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner in Hansa
• Miss Jessie's Original Super Slip Sudsy Shampoo

My Thoughts: I'm really torn on this box, because I love three of the items so much and kind of don't understand the other two. On one hand, I received two full sized makeup items, which is kind of rare for Birchbox, and I love them. I am so in love with the Model Co. lipstick, it's the perfect MLBB shade and I am seriously considering picking up a three pack of the "Classics" shades. The lipstick smells like Starbursts and is really moisturizing and amazing. I'm also pretty stoked about the Sumita pencil; it doesn't budge and it's in a color that I don't have (kind of a dark olive green). I'm also really excited to try the Juice Beauty Peel once my skin calms down a little bit more. The two items that I'm not so thrilled with are the shampoo and the foot wipes. It's not the fact that I got shampoo and foot wipes that upsets me, it's the size of the samples. The Miss Jessie's sample is technically a "beauty extra" but it also has the word "FREE" on the front. I know, for a fact, that I could email their company and ask for a sample and this is what they would send me. I want Birchbox to send me samples that I can't obtain on my own... you know? And the foot wipes. I like them, I actually do, but I got two foot wipes, that cost a whopping grand total of $0.66. I'm irritated with the foils and once use products, step it up with that Birchbox.

Monetary Values:

Juice Beauty Peel - $4.88 (.25 fl oz. - full size: $39/2 fl oz.)

Lipstick - $8 (full size)

Sumita Eyeliner - $11 (full size)

Miss Jessie's Shampoo - $0.75 (.43 fl. oz - full size: $14/8 oz.)

Jasmine Seven Foot Wipes - $0.66 (2 wipes - full size: $10/30 wipes)

Full Monetary Value: $25.29

If you want to subscribe to Birchbox, you can follow my referral link here or visit birchbox.com

Overall, I'm pleased with all of my boxes, but nothing blew my socks off EXCEPT for the Model Co. lipstick; that's the hands down winner. Other than that lipstick though, everything has been fun to play with but nothing too life changing. August is my least favorite month of the year, so I'm not surprised by the boxes not being amazing. Next month will be the true test since my favorite season starts up in September and I'm curious to see what the boxes will bring. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know!