Makeup Forever Aqua Essentials Kit: Keeping me Weather Proof!

As promised, I'm going to try to get a lot of my Sephora haulage from the Friends and Family sale last month done. I've photographed and tried the majority of them. All that's left is finding the time to write a full article on everything! I have to leave out some things I'm returning however, because I feel like it's not even worth mentioning (AHEM NARS' Turkish Delight).

I had been wanting the Makeup Forever Aqua Essentials Kit ($69) for well, forever (Well, that's a lie, maybe for about two months). It's a Sephora Beauty in a Box exclusive that combines a lot of top selling "waterproof" products into one handy kit. I finally pulled the trigger during the sale because the price was brought down to $55. I felt like it was a really good deal because you get these full sized products:
Aqua creams in 13 Warm Beige and 15 Taupe
Aqua Eyes eyeliners in Mat Black 0L and Dark Grey 21L
Aqua Smoky Lash in Extra Black
Aqua Lip lipliner in Nude Beige 1C

Tell em what else they get!!
...And a little bitty bottle of Sens Eyes eye makeup remover. Yay...

I had been wanting to dry MUFE's Smoky Lash for awhile, so I felt it was a good idea to go with waterproof since I'm always walking in the rain.

If you open the box flap, All Sephora In A Box sets come with instructions for different looks. Useless.

And the makeup remover was so dinky I forgot to picture it alone, but here's a picture I took of it earlier:

First up is the mascara. The wand is a typical wand, nothing special to ooh and aah about here. I don't really know what to say but that I was very disappointed. I had read such lovely reviews on this "amazing" product, but I didn't get it. It does make my lashes nice and dark, but It also made them tragically clumpy. (Is that what the reviews meant by volumizing?). I can only suffice using it for about a coat and a half, the second coat is clumpy. The thing with the layering, is I love to layer. I tried it a few times with this mascara but it was just so unattractive and my lashes lookes heavy and had virtually no separation. I'm thinking about trying the regular formula since it's a cult fave.

 

 Taupe and Warm Beige

I was really excited to try out the Aqua creams because I've been a bit obsessed with cream shadows lately. It's also a deal sweetener that they're neutrals. I like the idea of just slapping some cream shadow all over the lid and calling it a day. Taupe is a nice golden brown, and warm beige is a shimmery highlighting-esque color. They look pretty nice swatched, but that's about it. I was very disappointed with these creams. The Taupe applied very unevenly. It looked splotchy on my lids and the pigmentation wasn't as good as I would have liked. I had to slap some eyeshadow on top of it to make it wearable. As for the Warm Beige, it wasn't very unique, just the typical shimmery highlighter. The consistency was oily. As for wear time, they were faded by the end of the day. The Taupe made my lids look messy, and the Warm Beige was barely visible. All in all, I won't be buying any more of these. 

 Nude Beige Lipliner

Dark Grey and Mat Black Eyeliners

Nude Beige lipliner, Dark Grey and Mat Black eyeliners

I don't find buying new lipliners very important. I use the same lipliner everyday (Sephora's Nano Lipliner in Native Nude), and I always rebuy it as well. I gave this MUFE one a try since, well, it was included. The color is a little darker than what I normally go for. I usually look for lipliners that will lighten the color of my lips, and this one is just about the color of my lips. It's smooth and nice for when I'm not doing nude lips. I also "overline" my lips to make them appear more full. This color makes my lips look very natural, but I don't think it's very long lasting. Nice nonetheless

As for the eyeliners, both glide on very smoothly. I've been using the Mat Black pretty often. It's a simple pure black that's long lasting. I don't think it's by any means "waterproof", but I didn't expect a miracle. I actually don't like the Dark Grey. It swatches nicely, but it doesn't show on my eyes very well. It's not as smooth as the Mat Black and I can barely see it when I line my eyes. 

I think the consensus for the SensEyes makeup remover is that it's pretty bad. Especially when it's paired with the mascara. But to give it credit, a good amount of my eye makeup removers had to work EXTRA hard to remove the Smoky Lash. 

Overall, I don't think the set is worth it. Even though the price is amazing for full price products, I was disappointed with 5 out of 7 products. I did like the eyeliner, but my Urban Decay Zero or Korres Black work just as well. I was considering returning this kit, but I'm lazy and feel a little guilty since I've tried all the products =(. Hopefully I'll find some good uses for them.

Do you own any of these products? What do you think?

I'm a NARS Junkie

If you didn't already know, Sephora has this habit of making awesome boxed sets. I recently hauled this during the Friends and Family sale. No, this was not the only thing I bought from the sale. I have four more packages coming in. *BLUSH*. It's that time of year again. This NARS Junkie Beauty in a Box ($69) is exclusive to Sephora, and is a $121 value. After the 20% off, I got it for about $55, which is typically the price of the eyeshadow palette alone.

What's in the box:
-Nars Essential Eye Palette
-Lipgloss in Ophelia
-Mini multiple in Orgasm
-Mini bronzer in Laguna

 The main reason I wanted the set was for the eyeshadow palette. The colors included are: Unconditional love (cream shadow), Night Star, Galapagos, Nepal, Ondine, and Thunderball. Thunderball is a lot darker than pictured above. The complete palette is the size of a NARS bronzer.

Unconditional Love, Night Star, Galapagos, Nepal, Ondine, and Thunderball

Unconditional love is the cream shadow included. It's a "peach-beige shimmer", which is pretty spot on, but in my opinion is more beige than peach. The consistency is nice, but I really had to layer it on. Night Star is a "sheer peach with gold pearls". Translation: It's a light almost crappy sheer cream with chunky glitter. Yech. I don't like. I'll use it as a highlight but the glitter throws me off. Galapagos is a "rich bronze with gold flecks". This is one of the most pigmented colors in the set. This is where NARS quality really goes to work. I'm still not a fan of the glitter, but the color is so deep and rich, I can oversee its mild downfall. Nepal is a "rose with shimmer" and it an overall nice natural lid shade. Ondine is a "plum with gold shimmer". It's probably my favorite color out of the kit. It's a great crease color, and they dismissed the glitter for a nice shimmer. The last, darkest color, is Thunderball, which is a "midnight grey". It looks more like a blackened navy to me. As you can see, I swatched it really poorly, but it IS pigmented. Overall, even though there were a few disappointments, I can say I love this palette. I can easily, and probably will, incorporate this into my new everyday look.

The mini Laguna bronzer is by all means MINI in every sense. You can see it compared here to a full size as well as the size included in the blush/bronzer duo. I've already talked about how much I like NARS' Laguna. It's a pretty tan shade with a nice golden sheen.

I'm not a very big fan of NARS' lipglosses. I find them to be sticky, drying, and I SWEAR they accentuate every fine line I have on my lips. Even if my lips are moisturized, these glosses still make them look dry. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Ophelia. I expected a darker color, but fortunately, it's a medium strawberry pink. It is a sheer color, but looks nice on the lips. I'm forced to believe it's NARS' lighter colors that are more drying.

Here's NARS' cult favorite Orgasm blush in stick form. NARS' Multiples are called multiples because they can be used for multiple purposes. I don't see myself putting this anywhere but my cheeks though. From the get-go, I already think that Orgasm is overhyped. I own it, and I don't get what the big deal is. The multiple is super cute in its mini form and is nice to try. I would use it under Orgasm's powdered form, or to add a nice sheen. Other than that, it's passable.

Laguna, Ophelia, Orgasm Multiple

And, here's the samples I got. I love samples! (Er, even though I rarely ever use them).

Overall, I think this is a great set. It's a good value for the price and products included are super nice =).
I'll be posting more of my Sephora hauls as they come in. I feel like I've been waiting for years! Worst part is, now that the sale is over, I found more products I want. Luckily, the VIB in-store event is fast approaching!

How do you feel about these products? Have Orgasm? Love it? Hate it?

Off to go mooch around for the rest of my Sunday! And, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Sephora 500 Point Perk: Too-Faced To Go

Eesh. I have so many points in my Sephora Beauty Bank that I decided to cash some in. I've been waiting for a good 500 point perk since the last good one, the Kat Von D palette. I don't like to get the dinky little 100 point perks, because I feel like they're just not worth it. As soon as I saw this Too Faced kit, I had to cash in. I was instantly giddy at the thought of free, where in reality it cost me a MERE $500. Arr...

The set comes in a cute/dorky furry leopard print makeup roll. It includes a mini mash injection, shadow insurance primer, and the glamour to go palette.

The palette is really tiny, but cute nonetheless. The colors are decent (I always like Too Faced shadows because they have pretty good pigmentation) and the blush is a nice pink-coral. I could care less for the lipglosses. I absolutely hate lip products in pan form that come with palettes. They're never as good as their tube counterparts you know? I'm always pulled in my cute little things and palettes, they're so portable! The only problem with this philosophy is that I'd never actually carry any of these "to go" kits with me. As cute as they are, I just never carry palettes. The other downside is that I rarely ever use any of my palettes, because I'm so lazy I stick to the single shadows in front of me.

Anyways, I just wanted to share with you guys the new 500 point perk. I got mines in store last week, but hopefully they have more online =).

What are you saving your points for?

Bright Eyed With Smashbox?

Sephora currently has the Smashbox Bright Eyed Eyeshadow Quad for only $6. I was like "$6 dollars? HAND IT OVER". The quad is pretty big, .31 ounces to be exact. Something with the name "Bright Eyed" gives me high expectations, my eyes better be bright by the time I'm done with you my little Smashbox cookie.

 The colors included are "taupe, ivory, soft peach, and chocolate brown"

I am hereby re-naming the names to "crap taupe, big crap ivory, super crap soft peach, and ok chocolate brown".

Why you ask? Well, this has got to be some of the poorest pigmented eyeshadows I've ever owned. Seriously Smashbox? Why must you hurt me so? I've loved you for so long, and you do THIS to me. Yeah, I understand it's $6, but $30 value it is NOT. I wanted to do swatches on my arm, but they wouldn't even show up, even after I burned a hole into my arm with my eyeshadow-clad finger. On the finger they look decent enough, but don't let the pretty neutrals fool you. Aye, I was so disappointed. The colors are simply just too light and poorly pigmented, with a slight exception of the dark brown which is decent (as all dark colors should be, if you fail at this, shame on you).

I did manage to complete a look with the shadows though. The peachy color was placed all over the lid, and was barely noticeable. Ivory as a highlight (decent once piled on), and the crap taupe in the crease (BLAH). The outer corner color (dark chocolate) showed up pretty well. Overall, once applied on the lids, the colors can lend an ok wash of color for the minimalist.

Other products used:
Lorac primer
MAC Blacktrack fluidline
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
Prestige white eyeliner
Loreal Voluminous Mascara

By the way, this quad belonged in the family of my Sephora haul:

Yeah, I have to go study for my midterm that's tomorrow now...

Sephora & Korres Haul w/ Swatches

I got two packages in a few days ago. One from Sephora, and one from Korres.com. I'm not going to swatch everything, because I feel like that would be a bit excessive. I will swatch and review the Korres eyeshadows from Korres.com and the Korres blushes I got from Sephora.

Blushes (L-R): Orange, Purple-Brown, and Brown
Eyeshadows (L-R): Base, 24K, Orange, Golden Brown, Golden Bronze, Olive Green

Don't they have the most BORING names EVER?!


Swatches of blushes: (same order as above)

 First off, the packaging is really nice. It's simple, durable, and sleek. The blushes themselves are well-pigmented. The colors aren't exactly what I expected when I bought them though. The orange is simply scary in the pan. It's a bright Red-orange. It's actually really UGLY in the pan. However, with a light touch on the cheeks, the color is very subtle and gives a nice peachy-orange glow. Purple-brown is more of a rosey-plum color. I have yet to wear it, because it's not exactly my color choice. Brown reminds me a lot of Benefit's Dallas. It's a rusty brown-rose. I'm pretty sure I'll be using it more as a bronzer/contour. But hey, they were a steal at $10 a pop!

 Swatches of eyeshadows: (same order as above eyeshadow picture)

First off, these were a lot smaller than I had anticipated. They's cute little squares with 1.8 grams of product (bigger than a MAC shadow, but sure doesn't look the part). These were a hit or miss. Some had better color payoff than others. I'm reviewing them from the bottom of my arm. First color is base. Base sucks. You can barely see the swatch HUH?! It's kind of a weird grey-ish tan, and I'm not sure what to do with it. 24K is NOT gold. The name is very misleading. It's a pale shimmery beige, with just ok pigmentation. But, as we go to the darker shades, the colors get a lot better. Orange is actaully a peachy color with a golden sheen. Golden brown and golden bronze are exactly what theire names say, as well as Olive green. My fav by far is golden bronze. It's the most vibrant, maybe thats why they plopped it into different packaging??

Overall, I was a bit disappointed in the eyeshadows, but for the most part because I'm not digging the packaging and some of the sucky pigmentation. The blushes are simply OK for me. They're not the best colors (whatever happened to peaches and pinks?). Between the two, I say the blushes are a much better buy than the shadows.

Have you guys tried Korres shadows or blushes?

Korres blushes on sale at Sephora!

Sephora.com currently has a deal on four shades of their blushes. $10 each! That's amazing since they're originally $24! Shades are: Purple, Purple Brown, Orange, and Coral. Coral is sold out, but I did order the other three!

check em' out here! 

I just felt I should share this amazing deal with you guys =)

Products I Regret Buying

I'm sure this has happened to everyone. You go to the store, see something you have to have, just to go home, try it, and be mega disappointed. Here are 10 items I shouldn't have bought. (Not to say them won't work for you. they just didn't for me.)

1) Mac's Hello Kitty Blush in Fun and Games

 

I tried so hard to like it, and managed to even persuade myself it was perfect. However, I've come to the realization that the pigmentation is so sucky, I'm not really getting much color out of it.

2) Loreal HIP Duo in Wicked

Seventeen magazine sucked me into buying this along time ago. It won best eyeshadow of the year. HAH. Yeah, right. Those 12 year olds obviously don't know good pigmentation. The bronzey side is ok, but the purple side is awful. I've tried to use this about 2 times now and the color isn't smooth and it gets muddy. YUCK.

3) NARS Concealer duo in Custard/Ginger

I was really excited for this one. I mean, c'mon it's NARS. Sadly, it doesn't conceal much. I use it on my eyelids now. AND, I still believe Nars has THE crappiest packaging. Fingerprint alert.

4) Urban Decay Blush in Exhale

It's super sparkly. Meaning, theres huge glitter chunks in this. I expect this out of their eyeshadows. But blush too? The color is nice but doesnt show up great, plus, did I mention the huge craft glitter?

5) Victoria's Secret Femme Lipstick

Yeah, it's a nice nude color and all in the picture. But it has crappy quality up the wazoo. It's drying on my lips and the color is strange on me. Again, DRYING.

6) Rimmel Lipstick in Airy Fairy

I had heard a lot about this one so I decided to try it. I HATE, ABHOR, DESPISE the color (on me anyways). And I really don't know why. I think I'm disappointed from the hype.

7) Sephora Lipliner in Chair Lift

First of all, the brush end is plain retarded. Second, who the hell invented the wood on the pencil. It's so harsh! The color would be nice if it didn't go on unevenly and chunky. Yeah. (note: try out Sephora's native nude lipliner, that stuff is geat).

8) Stila Major Lash Mascara

Doesn't do anything for my lashes. No volume, no length. Major lash? More like major a**. End of story.

9) OPI for Sephora Nail polish in A True Romantic

Tried this out once. Not doing it again. It's one of THOSE colors. The one's that come on two sheer, the ones for french manicures. I was not aware of this when I bought it. I was expecting a pink pastel.

10) Maybelline Superstay Foundation

I knew I shouldn't have gone behind colorstay's back. I'm a big fan of anything that says it'll "Stay". This is supposed to be transfer-proof. It's not. It transfered on EVERYTHING that touched it. A napkin, my shirt, my boyfriend's pillow. Freakin Fantastic huh?

I actually have a very important number 11 to add : Loreal HIP Cream eyeliner in Eggplant. IT SUCKS. pigmentation is poor. It's very sheer. I like the black one they make, but the purple is ridiculous.

What are the products you guys regret buying? I'm tagging everyone! (Because I love looking at products I SHOULDN'T buy)