Review on Milani Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry for not posting in over a week! =O I was so busy with school work and now it's like first round of midterms and everyone is cramming like crazy! I just turned in a mammalian physiology lab report today and it took me 5 hrs to work on figures and about 7 hrs to write the whole thing. I need a break, so that's why I'm here, haha. XP

So today I am reviewing the Milani Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner:

This product can be found at any drugstore like Target, Walgreens, CVS or at Ulta. It costs around $7.

Here's a couple pictures of what it looks like if you bought it:

What do I think of this product?
So this product was given to me by a friend. She said it worked really well for her and I decided to try it out. I was also looking for something cheaper than my K-palette eyeliner.
Overall, I think it is a pretty good eyeliner, not bad, but it does have its ups and downs.
This is a felt tip black liquid eyeliner that is easily accessible and very affordable. The consistency is smooth and easy to work with and the color is very black. The formula does not irritate my eyes. I do prefer brush or felt tip liners because I like some structure in the liner and I feel it gives me better control. It is pretty long lasting and the color does not fade the entire day and it is water resistant. However in certain situations it does smudge.
Because I have oily eyelids, if I draw the eyeliner too thick and eye, the folded area or double eyelid area can touch the eyeliner and smudge it to the upper region of my eyelids. I have small double eyelids, so when I open my eyes, the skin folds over, sometimes touching the eyeliner if it is too thick. So when this eyeliner comes into contact with the folded skin, the oils from my eyelids make it smear. =( (However, my K-palette eyeliner never does that!)
If I draw a thin line for my eyeliner, so that my small double eyelid folds don't touch my eyeliner, then I do not have smudging and I'm fine for the whole day! I can also use this to fill my lashline (the spaces between my eyelashes) and that works pretty well too.
I think this is great for a more natural look with a thinly drawn eyeliner on the eyes and filled in lashline. It would be great as a travel eyeliner because it is inexpensive and because it is not as perfect as my K-palette eyeliner, I would not be too sad if I lost it, haha.

Do I recommend this product?
I do not recommend this eyeliner if you have oily eyelids and you have monolids, hooded eyelids, and/or a small double eyelid or fold. Especially if you like to draw a thicker line for your eyeliner, this eyeliner may cause a lot of smudging in the folded skin area of you eyes.
If you have a small double eyelid or fold and still want to try this eyeliner, I suggest that you line your lashline and make the eyeliner as thin and as close to your eyelashes as possible. Because that area will not fold into your skin when you open your eyes, and will not smudge.
However, if your eyelids are not that oily and you have a larger double eyelid or fold, then I think this as a great product to try!

So I hope you liked this review! I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much, I will have a tough senior year at my university but gotta do what I gotta do. I will try to post as often as I can and even when I am not posting, I promise that I am always still working on and evaluating products! Thank you for reading and I will see you later! =)

Thank You! plus Review on "The Body Shop" Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been a while, sorry, senior year of university is definitely not giving me senioritis haha XP.

But I would like to thank all of you because I have OVER 20,000 pageviews!!!
Thank you for all of you who liked and read my posts! =) It makes me happy that people read what I write and I am open for critiques, comments, and questions in order to improve my blogging skills! =D

Thank you again!

Now, today I will review "The Body Shop" Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo

This product can be found online or at the store "The Body Shop". It costs $22 and contains
10mL or 0.16 US fluid oz of producdt total. Each side contains 5mL of product.
It is supposed to brighten, refresh and revive sensitive and delicate skin around the eyes and minimize the appearance of dark circles. 

What do I think of this product?
So my previous eye cream review was on the Vitamin E eye cream also from "The Body Shop". I felt that product did not work the best for me so I decided to try another.
My friend recommended that I buy something with Vitamin C because it helps with dark circles.
So I saw this at the store and decided to get it. The price was expensive to me, but if it worked for me, it was well worth it! My dark circles were getting worse from staying up late at  night studying for my finals Q_Q.
So I have been using this product for about 3 months. And overall, I do not think it does much for me.
It has two ends. A roller ball with a serum of Vitamin C is first applied around and under the eyes after a cleanly washed face. Then a stick applicator with the eye cream is applied around and under the eyes.
I like to apply the eye cream after the refreshing serum is almost dry. I feel that more serum is absorbed first that way.
Neither the serum nor the eye cream irritate or harm my skin in any way. The skin around my eyes are thin and sensitive but they were not hurt by any product.
So the serum feels nice and cool on my skin and it does help reduce eye puffiness a little when I wake up in the morning. However, I feel that the rollerball is a little too small and I would prefer it in a larger size. It can cover more surface area in one stroke that way and with a smaller ball, it tends to not move as well.
The eye cream does moisturize my skin, but it is just as moisturizing as the Vitamin E eye cream and sometimes I still feel a little dry around my eyes and need to apply more. Over time, I did not really see a change in my dark circles or skin. My dark circles did not look less dark or reduced and my skin did not look brighter.
What I disliked most about this product was the packaging or applicator stick of the eye cream. Using this applicator I know I will never ever be able to get out and use all of the product in the little bottle. Which is a waste of money. And now that I am near the end of its use, the applicator does not have much product so I have to reinsert it more than a few times to get the amount of product I need.
A recap of my thoughts: this product did not work for me and I probably should not have bought it because I will never be able to use up all of the product which is a waste of my money.

Do I recommend this product?
I do not recommend this product. Mainly because it is quite expensive and the applicator eye stick does not allow maximum use of all of the eye cream in the little bottle. About the properties and benefits of this product, I am doubtful because it did not work for me. Perhaps if you have less severe dark circles or different skin, it may work for you, but I cannot guarantee anything.
The only good thing is that it does not irritate or harm the sensitive skin around my eyes. However, there are other "The Body Shop" eye creams and other eye creams out there that will provide the same benefit.
The only thing I can see this product for is an expensive travel dual eye serum and eye cream because it does save the space of one extra product. But even that is not worth it alone. =P

So a bit of a sad review, because this product didn't work well for me. But I hope it is informative for those of you looking for eye creams to buy! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment in the comment box below. Thank you so much for reading and I will talk to you later! ^_^

Review on K-Palette Kuma Cover Control Concealer! =)

Hi Everyone!

So a while back when I reviewed my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, I said I would not repurchase this product and that I believed that I would find better. Which I did! 

I'm sorry it took a while before I reviewed my new favorite concealer, but since I don't wear concealer very often, I had to try it out on the days I do wear concealer often enough to write a more comprehensive review!

Today I am reviewing the K-Palette Kuma Cover Control Concealer in 01!

This product costs $13.50 on Amazon (and has 2 day free shipping if you have Amazon prime!) and contains 13 grams of product.

You can find this on Amazon, Sasa, and in Takashima. 

If you think K-Palette sounds familiar it is because I reviewed their amazing 1Day Tattoo Eyeliner!

There are 3 versions/color tones of this product:

From left to right is 01, 02, and 03.

01- natural beige

02- yellow beige

03- orange beige

What do I think of this product?

I use the 01 in natural beige. Even though my skin tone and undertone are yellow, it is on the lighter side and not that yellow or tanned.

I first heard of this product from Bubzbeauty and I wanted to try it so I got it! I have been using this concealer for about 2-3 months now and I really like it!

The formula has a thin smooth consistency. It is not thick or watery but very smooth. The coverage is pretty good and (to me) is strong and opaque.

A little goes a long way because this color is so strong, I only need a tiny dab under my eyes to cover my dark circles and then I just blend it outwards. If I put too much, it stands out in a really bad way. =P

It has good coverage but is not heavy, thick, or cakey, and does not feel sticky or heavy. I really like to use this to conceal my dark circles under my eyes, the redness around my mouth and problem spots like pimples or freckles. This product does not settle into the fine lines around my eyes and the look is really natural.

It is a buildable concealer so if I need more coverage, I will just add a little more. The best way is to add a little and blend, and then add a little and blend everytime until you like it.

So far, I really like this concealer. It is my favorite concealer for now and I love using it!

The thing about this concealer is that it probably works best for people with light skin tones/colors. If you tend to be tanned or darker, this will not work for you.

Here are a few swatches of the product:

Here's a swipe of the product. I know it looks very yellow on my hands. But that's because my hands are more pink in color but my face is paler and more yellow toned.

On the left is a spread out version of swatch. It is the spread out version of the little dot near the bottom. As you can see, the coverage and color is very strong and opaque. Therefore, when yo use this on your face, you only need a tiny amount! 

 This is when the concealer is blended out on my hand in the appropriate amount as you can see, it really helps with the redness/pink color on my hands and my veins. Though, I didn't put a lot and I can build layers for a more full coverage.

Do I recommend this product?

If you can get your hands on it without too much trouble, I recommend this concealer. I think the price is decent and the quality is pretty good. If you are not sure what version fits your skin best, you should probably go with 01-natural beige. It is the most neutral of the 3. If you are more orange or yellow toned, go with 03 or 02 respectively.

The formula is light but opaque. You need very little product for each use and it is very blendable and buidable. =)

So I hope you liked this review! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below. Thank you for reading and have a great day! =D

Review on "fresh" Sugar Lip Polish!

Hi Everyone!

It's been longer than normal since I've post and I'm sorry about that. =(
I have a very busy quarter with about 7 hrs of class and work every weekday, not counting how many hours I study, so sadly I am very busy this quarter. >.<
The first week of school is done and I was in the library today and yesterday for about 5 hours!

I will try to post as much as I can and I have been working on my posts gradually, I'm just not done with testing the products of most of them yet!

Today I am reviewing "fresh" Sugar Lip Polish!

This product costs about $22 and contains 0.6 oz or 17 grams of product. It can be found online or at Sephora.

What do I think of this product?
This product is a lip scrub, a substance used to exfoliate dead skin cells off the lips in order to make the skin smooth and soft.
I had been eyeing this product for a while, reading reviews, and talking about it with my friends. My friends love it and so do many others so I decided to try it. The only reason why I did not buy this product earlier was because of the price, it is expensive!
So I have to say, this is an amazing product! I love it and I love using it!
The formula is grainy and on the thicker side, with sugar granules to exfoliate the skin. It does a really good job of making my lips really smooth and soft!
The formula also tastes good, like sugar! Haha, but I don't recommend that anyone eats it. If it just happens to get in your mouth, you know it won't taste bad. =P
A little goes a long way, I need a very very small amount for my lips to get the job done so this thing will last me forever!
Using this product does not damage or irritate my lips in any way. But! In order to not damage your skin, be as gentle as possible when scrubbing your lips. You do not need to use a lot of pressure. Scrubbing too hard will hurt your lips and make your skin red and raw, which exposes it to pollution and bacteria in the air, which increases chances of infections. So, use a very light pressure on your lips. I barely use any pressure on my lips and it works beautifully ~<3
I use it on my lips at most once a week, but I usually use it once every other week. And I have been using this product for about 3 months without any trouble!

Do I recommend this product?
If you do not mind the price, I recommend this product! It works very well with very little pressure and very little product.
If the price concerns you, see if you can find a deal for a mini size at Sephora. I know sometimes they do that or have it in a pair with another mini product for a cheaper price. This will probably work just as well for you because you barely need any product!
Just remember, when using this product, be gentle! =D

So I hope you liked this review! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below. Thank you for reading and we will be in touch soon! =)

Review on the Beauty Blender Sponge! =D

Hi Everyone!

University classes have started and I already have work XD, how terrible =P. I hope work and school is starting off well for you guys!

Today I'm going to review on the Beauty Blender Sponges!

This product costs about $23 for 2 sponges on Amazon. You can buy 1 for $19 on Amazon but that is a total rip off, so I bought 2! I have been using one of the sponges for at least 5 months.
Directions: squeeze and soak sponge in water until it absorbs water and swells into a larger size. Then squeeze out as much water as possible. Apply foundation or concealer as dots on the face and use the sponge to bounce (not wipe or spread) product over face until well blended.

What do I think of this product?
I have heard a lot about this beautyblender sponge. There were many positive reviews from different sources such as Amazon, youtube, blogs, etc. The reason why I didn't buy it until later was because of the price. If you think about it...it's just a sponge, why is this sponge more than $10! XD
But I decided to try it out, and after more than 5 months of using it, it's time to review it! =P
Overall this is a fantastic product! After absorbing water, the sponge swells up to almost twice its size! The quality and material of the sponge is great! It is light, soft, and bouncy and does not irritate or scratch my skin. The sponge does not rip or tear easily and is long lasting. If you have long nails, then be sensible and don't pinch the sponge with your finger nails but hold it with the flesh of your fingers.
The damp sponge is great for sheering out foundations to give a dewy finish and makes foundation or concealer less cakey on the face. With the first layer, it gives a very natural look but only gives light coverage. However, using the beauty blender sponge makes it very buildable to put on 1 or 2 more layers if you want more coverage. If you don't like the dewy finish, you can always use translucent powder or a finishing veil to mattify the face, and this also helps the foundation last longer.
It is easier to wash than brushes, and because you need to use it when it is damp, you don't need to wait for it to dry either. To wash, you can buy the cleaning solution they give you, or just use a little soap and wash your foundation or concealer out. Using either the cleaning solution or hand soap does cause the pink dye to wash out a little, but it's fine. No pink dye will cover your face when you use it after washing and it will not stain your hands, sink, or anything else.

Here are some pictures of the beautyblender sponge and comparing the sizes before and after it absorbs water:

This is the sponge when it is dry. 

This is the sponge after it has absorbed water. 

 Comparing the size difference of a water absorbed, damp sponge to a dry one. The damp sponge is significantly larger than the small dry one.

Do I recommend this product?
If you are looking for a natural finish, no streak marks from brushes, and a non-cakey face, I definitely recommend this product! What might bother you is the price, which is understandable (I thought about it for a while before buying it). However, I think this is a great investment and after this you probably won't need any brushes to apply your foundation or concealer anymore.
I use this sponge all the time and I still haven't used the 2nd one yet. It is great as a back up after the first one gets too old. I always use this sponge to apply my concealer and/or foundation and I have not used anything else since! (makes me kind of sad haha, because I have a lot of foundation brushes that I just wasted my money on before I bought this =P)

So I hope this review was helpful to you. =) If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below! I will talk to you later!

Urban Decay "smoked" 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set for $24!!

Hi Everyone!

I am posting a lot today haha! XD

I went to Ulta today and I got an Urban Decay eyeliner set for a great deal!

This is the "smoked" 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set for $24.

You can find the set online here:
http://www.urbandecay.com/Smoked-24-7-Glide-On-Eye-Pencil-Set-By-Urban-Decay/343,default,pd.html?start=3&cgid=12_2

I have never bought an Urban Decay product because even though it is a good brand with pigmented colors, it is too expensive for me.
But I saw this, and I had to try this! The Glide-on eye pencils of regular size are around $18. And I thought 6 travel size ones for $24 was pretty good!
I think that all of these colors are great and can be used often, so I will have fun playing with these for a while! ^_^ First Urban Decay product that I got! Whoot!

Just wanted to show you...

So, it recently started raining earlier and then a beautiful rainbow showed up! =D

And then a second rainbow appeared!!! Double Rainbowww! XD

I was so excited haha, I basically screamed: OMG RAINBOWS! =P

But it is a bit rare to see really strongly colored and large rainbows in California.
In Hawaii though, there's like one every other day. =P

Lol, so, my exciting story for today. haha
Hope you guys liked this random piece of fun!

Review on Living proof Prime Style Extender

Hi Everybody!

Today I will be talking about the "Living proof" prime style extender!

This product can be found online or at Sephora. It costs $20 and contains 5.0 fluid oz or 148 mL of product.
The product is designed for all hair types. It is supposed to feel light and weightless, keep hair cleaner for longer, work as a heat protectant from hair tools, and keeps hairstyles lasting longer.
You can use this product alone or with other styling products.

Directions:
-apply a generous amount onto clean damp hair from root to hair ends
-comb product through with a brush
-then style your hair however you want (and of course, blow dry first before using a hair straightener or curler)

What do I think of this product?
I saw a youtube video by Bubzbeauty on this product and really wanted to try this!
So since then, I have bought it and used it at least six times. It comes out as a white gel-like cream and smells really nice. =) I do use it from root to tip and this formula does not make my hair feel sticky, greasy, or oily. It is definitely lightweight and does not weigh down my hair.
First I tried to use this alone without any other styling products. I applied it into my hair as instructed, blow dried my hair and curled it with a 1.25 inch curling tongs. I wanted to see how long lasting my curls would be after using only this product. Sadly, I guess because I have a lot of long hair, my curls fell out into loose waves in about 3 hours.
Then, another time I used this product, blow dried my hair and then used my Chi Silk Infusion heat protectant serum on my hair before curling. And after this, my curls lasted much longer. And then the next day, they became curly loose waves which was very pretty too.
So as a hairstyle extender alone, I do not think that this product is sufficient enough. =( I would need another hairstyling product with it to help my curls last longer.
However, sometimes I like to just use this primer alone without styling my hair afterwards. I just spread the product throughout my hair and just let it air dry for the rest of the day. Doing this makes my hair very soft, silky, and smooth. It gives my hair a great shine and makes it smell wonderful! =)

Here are a few pictures of my hair with this primer AND with my Chi Silk Infusion:

 So this picture above, is the first day with my hair curled. As you can see, it is pretty curly XP.

This is the second day after I slept on my curls and they became nice waves. =) By the way, I'm sorry that I look so pale, I don't have makeup on. X(

I'm sorry but I did not take pictures of my hair using only this primer alone. I was in a hurry at the time and I did not think about taking before and after pictures. You just have to trust me on this. I was pretty dissappointed in how the curls fell and lost their shape so quickly after about 3 hours.
If I can compare it to the pictures above, my fallen curls were flatter and looser than then 2nd day hair (that became waves) in the picture above. So, yeah...I was a bit sad that it didn't work as well for me.

Do I recommend this product?
Perhaps if you have thinner hair, or less hair, or thinned out hair, then I recommend this as a good product to try for the purpose of extending hairstyles and making them last longer. If you have longer, thicker hair, then I don't think it would work as well if you used this primer alone, but with other hairstyling products, yes.
If you are looking to make your hair cleaner for longer, softer, silkier, and shinier, I definitely recommend this product! I love how my hair feels, smells, and looks after using this product without heat styling it. My bf liked it too! XP

So I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below. =) Thank you for reading and I will talk to you later!

Review on Origins Zero Oil Pore Purifying Toner! =D

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a great winter break!
I can't believe that the holidays pass by so quickly! Class starts in a couple days for me! =O

So, today I am reviewing the "Origins" Zero Oil Pore Purifying Toner

This product can be found at an Origins store, online, and at Sephora. It costs $20 and contains 5 fluid oz. or 150 mL of product. It is supposed to get rid of excess oil without over drying the skin, clean and tighten pores and reduce breakouts.
It's main active ingredients are:
-Saw Palmetto: The extract of this berry provides antiseptic properties and controls excess oil.
-Salicylic Acid: Promotes the exfoliation of dead skin cells that would otherwise block pores and cause pimples. 
-Mint: Rejuvenates and purifies pores, and helps reduce blackheads and sweep away impurities.

What do I think of this product?
So, this was something I just wanted to try out. I still really like my "The Body Shop" Aloe Calming Toner. But I kind of wanted to try something new for fun.
I have used this toner for at least 2 months and I am about halfway done. It is expensive for a toner, costing about twice as much as the Aloe Calming Toner. Which can be a make or break for me.
However, this toner really refreshes my skin without drying out my skin. It does tighten my pores a bit, making them smaller. Which made me pretty happy. =) It does not irritate, dry out, or redden my sensitive skin or the dry combination areas of my skin.
Because it has salicylic acid, I only use this in the evening before going to bed because salicylic acid makes the skin sensitive to the sun and can cause hyperpigmentation of acne or acne scars. So, I do not know how well the oil controlling properties are during the day when you go out. =/
This definitely has helped prevent breakouts for me. Sometimes I will get very small breakouts it between my eyebrows and they have been significantly reduced after using this product!
It is a great toner, and it really does clean the rest of the dirt off my face and neck that my facial cleansers couldn't get. I put some drops in a cotton pad and wipe it over my face and neck. The cotton pad becomes a bit tan or gray colored after using it on my skin, showing how much dirt and dead skin was picked up! Sounds kind of gross, sorry, but it works well!

Do I recommend this toner?
If you do not mind the price, then I recommend this product!
You can try this to help reduce excess oil on your face but it definitely cleans your skin well, reduces acne break outs, and helps minimize pore size.
Because of the price, I will not buy this product again, sadly, but maybe in the future when I am making more money! Luckily my Aloe toner works very well, so I will stick with that for now. =)

So I hope you liked this review. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below. Thank you for reading and I will see you later!

Review on "Clean & Clear" Advantage oil absorbing cream cleanser! =D

Hi Everyone! =D

I hope you guys had a great New Years celebration and are ready for the year 2013!

Today I will be reviewing the "Clean & Clear" Advantage Oil Absorbing Cream Cleanser!

This product costs about $7-8. You can find it at any drugstore or online. It contains 5 oz or 141 grams of product. It is supposed to have POWDERPARTICLES^™ technology that absorbs oil—even after you wash and leaves a soft, powdery-finish that helps control oil so your skin stays less shiny for the whole day. It contains 0.5% salicylic acid as an acne treatment.

What do I think of this product?
So I ran out of my regular Neutrogena sefdf cream cleanser and when I went to the store, they were sold out! =O But I needed a salicylic acid facial cleanser so I decided to pick this up instead.
And this turned out to be a fantastic choice! Currently, this is my favorite salicylic acid facial cleanser and I love using it!
First, I love the fact that this is a foaming cleanser! It does not say or tell us on the label that it is, but it foams up when I am using this to wash my face and I love foaming cleanser! To me, it makes me feel cleaner and that it works more effectively. Or maybe it just feels like it does something because it foams up. But I also enjoy the soft foaming texture as I wash my face.
This cleanser does have exfoliating beads, but they are the tiniest beads I have ever seen and felt! There are also not that much because this is not meant to be an exfoliating cleanser, which means it is more gentle on the skin.
Because this cleanser contains salicylic acid which makes skin sensitive to the sun, I only use it in the evenings before I go to bed. However, because of this, I cannot tell if it really controls the oil on my face during the day because I don't use it during the day. =P However, when I wake up in the morning, my face does not feel as oily as it used to and I have read reviews saying that it was pretty good in controlling oil on the face.
This is my current favorite acne facial cleanser with salicylic acid that I like to use at night! It is affordable, easy to find, and works great for me! =)

Here are a few pictures of the cleanser:

As you can see, it is quite a soft and creamy cleanser.

The exfoliating bead is super super tiny, I'm not sure if you guys can see it! It took me a bit of time to find it, but I can definitely feel it  when I was rubbing my hand and washing my face.

Do I recommend this product?
If you want something to help prevent acne or calm down red and inflamed acne I recommend this product! It does have salicylic acid so would rather use it in the evening (since salicylic acid makes the skin sensitive to the sun and you are more likely to get hyperpigmentation from acne and acne scars). But if you use it in the morning, it should be okay as long as you put on sunscreen afterwards.
This cleanser is gentle, foams up into a soft lather and the exfoliating beads do not irritate or damage the skin.
Also, this is an affordable easy to find product, which is something great to try without putting too much effort to find it or spending too much money at once. XP

So I hope you liked this review and it was helpful to you. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write them in the comment box below! =) Thank you for reading and have a great New Years Day!