MARC JACOBS BEAUTY Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayon ::: Flaming-Oh! & Send Nudes

Recently, I have been very lucky with my Influenster Vox Boxes! I got the Eye-Conic Multi-Finish Eye Palette in "750 Edgitorial"  from Marc Jacobs 2-3 months ago from them (reviewed here). And these beautiful new Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayons from the same brand arrived at my address on Christmas Eve! I did not indulge much holiday shopping for myself last year so timing was absolutely perfect :-)

The idea of liquid lipstick in lip crayon is wonderful; almost too good to be true. As found in their website - "LE MARC LIQUID LIP CRAYON IS EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ABOUT A LIQUID LIPSTICK IN A CREAMY CRAYON.THIS CREAMY CRAYON MELTS INTO LIPS WITH A LIGHTWEIGHT LIQUID SENSATION, PROVIDING POWERFUL ONE-SWIPE COLOR WITH BOLD IMPACT. A DOSE OF INNOVATIVE "GHOST PEARL" GIVES THE MATTE LOOK A DIMENSIONAL SHEEN FOR A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN FINISH. WITH THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF PLAYTIME, YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: INSTANT COLOR THAT LASTS FOR 16 LUXURIOUS HOURS OF LONGWEAR." 

Price & Availability: This lip crayons are priced at $26 for 0.07oz/2g it is a typical Marc Jacobs price. The packaging is also per standard. It's luxurious and hefty. It has a snap on process, so i feel like they have thought of minimizing air exposure to the crayons. However, time will tell if it is effective or not. These are available in Sephora and Marc Jacobs website. 

Formula & Weartime: I think this creative idea of putting liquid lipstick in a crayon formula works. It goes on smoothly and it feels really lightwight and definitely feels like a think liquid lipstick, not at all like a traditional lipstick. When I first got it, I wore it constantly for three days. It is a liquid lipstick so it is going to be drying, but I was able to wear it without much discomfort. After 3 days of constant wear of course, I need a little bit of pampering for my lips; exfoliation, extra coat of lip balm etc. Also, the so-called ghost pearls does give that extra sheen. However, the sheen is not prominent in all the shades of this line. I personally am not that excited about the sheen! 

I also do not agree with the claim of 16 hours of longwear. It does last a long time - say 7-9 hrs. I wore it for my pre-christmas dinner and it did really well though dinner. It faded a bit but it was even and I did not really need to reapply. But 16 hrs is a bit much :-)

Shades:

Flaming-oh!: I enjoy this shade- it is a happy, eye catching hot pink. There is that ghost-pearl sheen that sort of looks a tiny little bit blue. It looks flattering on my skintone. I am sure I will enjoy wearing this shade more in summer and spring.

Send Nudes: I see how this can be a popular color but for me, I could not make it work. The sheen here is very, very prominent and it appears weird against my skintone. I have similar feedback from my Insta-friends. I feel like it makes me look aged. I don't see myself wearing it much. 

What is a last item you got from Influenster? If you have not join already, what are you waiting for?

Love,

~Arrru

Review & Swatches ::: Kat Von D Beauty Studded Kiss Creme Lipstick - Lolita II

Do I need a new lipstick?
-Absolutely No!
Do I want a new lipstick?
-Yes, Yes & Yes!
Should I buy a new lipstick?
-No, why would you? You have hoarded too many lipsticks.
Did I buy a new lipstick?
-Hell YES! :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

The lipstick that I did not need to buy but I bought anyway, is the new and improved Studded Kiss Creme Lipstick from Kat Von D Beauty in the shade Lolita II. I wanted to get an everyday shade so that I get more use out of it, and Lolita II did not disappoint me. As found in Kat Von D website -

Introducing the new and reborn Studded Kiss Crème Lipstick, the creamiest, most cushiony and unbelievably pigmented lipstick to ever cross your lips. Discover your new go-to color from Kat Von D’s biggest, boldest shade range—40 shades, 3 finishes and never-before-seen shades made to match Everlasting Liquid Lipstick bestsellers.

Price & Availability: These are available in Sephora and Kat Von D. The lipstick contains a total of 0.12 oz (3.4 g) of product and will cost you $19. Compared to a lot of high-end brand available at Sephora, this is a much better price. What I love about Kat Von D is that she puts such tremendous effort in continuing to make vegan and cruelty-free products without compromising on pigmentation and vibrancy. She has beautiful and unique shades! There is a pure black shade, a white shade and bunch of other cool colors like Seafoam green, navy and lavender. And look at this beautiful packaging, I love it.

Formula & Quality: This formula, as mentioned before, has been reformulated from what has been the studded kiss formula. The main promise here is a much smoother, creamier formula and the immense color payoff. Color payoff is absolutely there! I can get very even, opaque application in just one layer, but I still like to apply two layers. However, I was just a bit underwhelmed with the formula. I am so very used to very creamy Bite Beauty lipstick formula but this was not as creamy as those! In comparison to them, this dragged just a little bit. It was however very light wight on the lips; after 4-5 hrs of wear I see that it starts to wear off. It is also gets a bit drying at that point so I need to put a balm over it as well. I did not really feel the formula is anything extraordinary! May be I expected a lot! I would not mind the dryness, if it was absolutely budge proof. The finish however is very matte. I can see how it will appeal to a lot of people.

Shade: I took a bit of time to decide between Lolita, Lolita II, OG Lolita and Cathedral. Lolita II is described as a terra cotta nude. I am very happy with the shade. It is the perfect everyday shade for me. You can see from the pictures here - it is such a nice flattering shade on my skin tone. It works perfectly with crazy colored eyeshadow looks as well as absolutely no makeup just-moisturized face! I have a lot of my-lips-but-better shades from different brands but I am glad that I added Lolita II to my collection.  

Here are some comparison swatches of my everlasting liquid lipstick in Lolita and Double Dare against Lolita II from this new line. As you can see it is more closer to Double Dare than Lolita.

What is your most recent purchase? 

Love

~Arrru

Sephora Birthday Gift - 2018!!!

Unlike the last 3 years (or 4 may be?), I took a few days this time in order to get a hold of my free Birthday rewards from Sephora! Otherwise, I try to order it as soon as it is available on the website. I love talking about this reward in the first two weeks of the year; it is one of the few nice-to-have perks of being a January born!

Sephora no longer adds an extra item for VIB Rouge but like last year, there are 3 options to choose from - a Lip Set from Bite Beauty, a Skincare Set from Glamglow and a Haircare Set from Bumble and Bumble. Read more here. 

I, of course picked up the Bite Beauty set! I have always reviewed the makeup option in this blog, so it made sense :-) If you are interested - 2017 gift (from Tarte) is reviewed here, 2016 gift (from Marc Jacobs) is reviewed here, 2015 gift (from NARS) is reviewed here & 2014 gift (from Make Up For Ever) is reviewed here.

Bite Beauty is a Canadian Brand founded by Susanne Langmuir and it is exclusively available in Sephora. They have lip labs in Toronto, New York and San Francisco where you can go and create custom lip shades. I really wish to visit one of these one day! Anyway, I am no stranger to Bite Beauty products. Ever since I bought Cin Cin, I have fallen deeply in love with the brand. I am positive that almost 25% of my embarrasingly big lipstick collection is from Bite Beauty :-) It is almost a miracle that I did not already own the shades in this set! I have reviewes quite few products from Bite Beauty. 

This cute little set comes with the following products -

• a deluxe size Matt Lip Crayon in Glace
• a deluxe size Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Chai
• samples of Agave Lip Mask and Agave Sugar Lip Scrub 

I know that the sizes for the lipsticks look very small, but I am telling you from my personal experience that you will get a lot of usage out of these.

I absolutely love both Matt Lip Crayon and Amuse Bouche formulas. I have been using both of these formulas in different shades for a long time now and I really, really enjoy them. I was a bit sour when they discontinued their Luminous Creme Lipstick to be replaced with this Amuse Bouche formula but I have made my peace with it. These are some beautiful formula; highly pigmented, extremely moisturising and has incredible staying power! What more do you want from your lipstick? :-) Additionally, they claim that their lip products are made of food grade ingredients. I am not sure if I will be able to point out major differences between the two formula, they are kind of same but also different! The point is, I love them both :-) 

Here are the shades -

Glace: The color on the packaging looks a bit grey-lilac; I was very concerned that it would be quite pale and unflattering on my skintone! But the actual shade is much deeper; it is described as "dusty mauve" in Sephora website. On my skin tone it appears a bit pink than mauve. For those of you who loves a real, hard-core matte finish, you may not like the final finish from this lip crayon. As you can see, these is a still a satin type look. I personally have no problem with it though. If you have lighter skintone than me, you will adore this shade.

Chai: This is an instant LOVE! I have heard a lot about this particular shade but I never relly wanted to try! The moment I applied it, I knew it is going to be a perfect everyday shade for me. Have you ever tried the oh-so-famous shade "Lolita" from Kat Von D? Chai is like a demure sister of Lolita, in a much cremier formula. I absolutely enjoy this shade and I am sure I will wear it a lot!

Shown below are some of the similar shades I have from Bite Beauty in different formulas. I think this year, Sephora did a great job in selecting the shades; both Glace & Chai are going to be flattering for a lot of different skintones. Of course, both of these shades will appear a bit different on different skintones but I am very hopefull that they can be easily worn by all Beauty Insiders!

I am quite happy with this year's gift. I was not extremely happy with Tarte set last year but this year, I know for sure that I would love and use both quite a lot. And if ou fall in love with these colors, you can easily buy the full-sized ones, as these are permanent shades.

Are you excited about this year's gift? You have to be enrolled in their Beauty Insider program to be elligible for this reward. If you still have not enrolled, this might be a good time. Read more here to enroll!

Love
~Arrru 

Products I've Used Up/Empties Vol. 13

I know I just did my last empties post just in November, but I wanted to record all the items I finished this year. What's the point to carrying the empty tubes and jars to a brand new year! 

Parachute Coconut Oil: Nothing new here! I go through a huge bottle like this every six months, I use it as overnight mask before washing my hair. It is a must-have for my hair.

Tree Hut Tropical Mango Moisturizing Body Wash: I love the Sugar Scrubs from Tree Hut; that's why I wanted to try this shower gel too. It is a very runny shower gel; I liked using it. It has very nice subtle fruit-y scent from the mango. It contains organic shea butter and is sulphate-free. I also love that Tree Hut does not test on animals :-), Anyway, I enjoyed using it but towards the end, the gel kind of solidified at the bottom and I could not completely use it up. I would not repurchase but I enjoyed while it lasted.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash: I did not really like the from Soap & Glory. This, however is ok. It does a good job as a body wash. Plus, the smell is very nice & refreshing. But the product itself look weird to me. It is white in color and looks like milk but thicker. I am not personally fond of the appearance of this product. For this reason alone, I am not going to repurchase.

The Body Shop Moringa Shower Gel: Some of the fragrance lines from Body Shop sometimes feels a bit too strong for me. However, this one I liked. The vegetable from Moringa Tree is regularly used in Assamese cuisine. I think that’s why I can this fragrance feels a bit familiar. I loved using this gel. However, not enough to repurchase.

Alterna Caviar CC Cream: A got a bunch of free hair care samples from Ulta in one of their awesome promotional codes. This was one of them. I do not switch out my hair products at all. But I am also sick of all the sample products I have been hoarding from my purchases here and there. So, I am outing good effort in using them up. This tiny sample gave me 4 uses. I have long, thick hair! I used it after washing my hair skipping my regular conditioner. It helped in preventing any freezing in my hair. That way it performed well. But I am not blown away by it, so I won’t repurchase. But I loved the color of the tube; useless observation! :-)

Murad Acne Spot Fast Fix: I actually enjoyed using this. It helped tackling with my acnes, at least to some extebt. I dont think I will repurachse just yet though! We will see!

Ahava Mineral Hand Cream: I am lovingthis hand cream, it smells really nice and faint enough for me. It provides good moisturization as well. I have one or two sample sized tubes. But I can definitely see myself repurchasing.  

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper: The Stay All Day Waterproof Liner from Stila Cosmetics is my all-time favorite eyeliner. However, I enjoyed this liner too! I wish I could have this brush with the formula from Stila. That will be a match made in heaven. I would enjoy another sample but I don't I will repurchase it anytime soon. 

Burberry Brit Eau De Parfum: I don’t like strong, warm perfumes. This was not my favorite, it was very long lasting though. If you like this kind of notes, you may like it.

Nest Dahlia & Vines: Same experience above Lasts a very long time. But because I don’t like this type of notes, at the end of the day I get headaches. So, will not repurchase.

Origins Out of Trouble Clear Improvement Mask: This is one of my favorite masks. I have a full size that I am using, but this small pods are great for travelling. I typically use it for my trouble spots so the small pods can last a few uses. 

May Lindstrom Skin The Honey Mud Mask: Out of all this products that I finished here, this gives me the most pleasure and most sad. Joy - because I fell in love with the experience from the very first time I used it. It smells so divine; I mix with a few drops of water and some clean dirt and it polishes up my skin. I then use some blue cocoon and the whole experience is AMAZING! But I am sad - because this was the sample I got from my black friday order last year, and right now I cannot really justify buying this expensive of a mask where I already have a bunch of other masks to finish up! I hope I can purchase this full-size some day soon!

Amorepacific Moisture Bound Rejuvenating Crème: I really enjoyed this sample. Although it looks a bit substantial in size, the product here is very little. It hardly lasted me 4 usages. It was of silky smooth consistency, absorbed very quickly and gave me ample moisturization. It did not feel heavy. I also absolutely enjoyed the smell. I would love to try this in full size, but it is CRAZY expensive!

Dr Jart Ceramidin Cream: Very thick, but not heavy. I can see why dry skin people absolutely adore this product. This was very tiny sample, but I enjoyed using it. I don’t even need to think about buying any moisturizer has I have plenty of backup.

Nivea A Kiss of Milk & Honey Lip Balm: I love this. This is one of the best lip balm money can buy. I have quite a few backups already and I will buy it again.

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum & B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel: First of all, I have fallen prey for Drunk Elephant Packaging. It is so adorable, immediately grabs your attention and it is not trying hard or extra girlish or such! I have been using their full-size night serum for 2-3 weeks now and it has actually helped in smoothening the texture of my skin. The other two items are sample size and I have been enjoying the set. Not 100% sure yet if I want repurchase just yet; these are very expensive stuff.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser: I love Origins as a brand and I love their GinZing line. However, this one was not that mind-blowing. It acted great as a good, simple cleanser. The smell is fantastic; its refreshing to use in the morning. However, as an exfoliating cleanser it was not much effective. I have other scrubs that really are effective and that I liked way, way more. So, I will not be repurchasing.

Ole Henriksen Truth Facial Water: I bought a set of these travel Facial water sprays a while back. It had Nurture Me Facial Water and Grease Relief Facial Water. I am halfway through the Nurture Me one and I have not yet started using the Grease Relief one yet. But This Truth Serum is my most favorite. I love their Truth Serum; my mom loves that too! This spray is lovely in all weather and is quite refreshing. It contains Mandarin, White Tea and Pomegranate – very lovely concoction. I loved using it before bed or during the day! Would I repurchase? I may, once I finish all of the Facial Sprays I have been hoarding. (PS: I believe this is now called Fountain of Truth Water - please correct me if I am wrong?)

Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe, Herb and Rosewater: This is without doubt one of the best facial spray in very affordable price. This was one of the first spray I bought and I did like it. I have expanded my spray collection. I do recommend this, but I am not sure if I will repurchase just yet.

Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula: I have reviewed this product here. This is one of my HOLY-GRAIL products. I cannot do without this oil, especially during the winter! And when winter lasts 8 months in a year, it's a savior :-) I have gone through many, many bottles of these and I am pretty sure I am gonna need many more.

Love,
~Arrru

Beauty Favorites - 2017

I love editing my blog post for my yearly Beauty Favorites blogpost; I keep an alert mind about the products that I have used & loved the most throughout the year. And then when the Christmas holidays starts, I devote a day to take pictures and sum up my thoughts. For me, it is a creative process that gives me much joy!​​

This year, however, this process has not been that exciting or enjoyable. First of all, I have not been wearing or experimenting much with makeup this year. Actually, I have not been buying a whole lot of makeup (I think that's definitely a good thing). I also have not continued my monthly favorites series mostly because I don't have much to talk about. I still figured, that there are a handful of products that I have been constantly using this year; they definitely deserve some love :-)

Let's start with something glamorous!!

Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer in 001 & 003 (full review here): These highlighters cost me an arm and a leg. But they are so pretty! I have 001 & 003. 003 has been a strong candidate against Champagne Pop from Becca Cosmetics which is my all-time favorite highlighter to use! The powder here is soft, easy to apply on bare skin as well as over foundation and it has great staying power. The luxurious feel of the compact also makes me feeling special.

Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan in 104 Tan-Tastic! (full review here): I have a very detailed review of this here; I have explained why I was not 100% in love with the product. But this has been my most used bronzer this year. Even when I am not wearing any type of makeup I do love a bit of bronzers. The powder has a lovely smooth texture and is very easy to wear on a bare, just-moisturized skin. Also, now that it is winter, it shows up more on my skin allowing me to wear and love it more!

Nars Blush in Goulue: I was not able to wear wear a lot of blush this year, mainly because of acnes! But this has been my most used this year. It is a deep muted maroon-rosey shade. It gives my cheeks some healthy color. Very pigmented but easy to blend and has excellent staying power. It appears to have some sheen but on application the glitters does not really make my porous acne-ridden cheek look bad.

Colourpop Pressed Shadows in Come and Get It: Such a great shade. It is a bliss to wear in the morning - perfect one-lid color - I love it.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Plum (full review here): I simply adore this eyeliner. It's actually an eyeshadow stick and designed to be layered on the lids to wear alone on apply eyeshadow over it. I have used it that way but I mainly use it as eyeliner. You can see that it is a wider pencil so I can’t get any thin eyeliner shape, but I just slap it on and it immediately adds a definition to my eyes – makes me look alive! The texture of the product is so smooth and it glides effortlessly without any tagging! It is a bliss to use in hectic, task-heavy work weeks where I cannot simply bother to worry about my makeup. Also, you get so much of product! Not sure if I can use it up. I started using it in May and have not stopped since. 

Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia (full review ): I wore this non-stop for the first half of the year, you can see the dip I made in the product. It is a beautiful beige-y gold shimmery shade. Absolutely brilliant for my rushed mornings. I just lightly pat it on my lid with my fingers and some days I dont even need to use any matte crease shades.  

Ilia Beauty Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang (full review here): I don't have a load of products from passionate green beauty creators. But I do love the ones that I have! This particular one is called a lip conditioner - a somewhat fancy name for what essentially is a tinted lip balm. Personally, I don't like such balms. I like to wear full pigment on my lips; not some “tint”. But this one has won my heart! It has such a smooth consistency - keeps my lips moisturized. The shade provides a subtle, easy hint of red. I love layering it over my everyday lip shades like Mac Amorous, Bite Beauty Meritage etc. to get that extra layer of moisturization and color. I have almost used up half of the tube and I can definitely see myself repurchasing. 

Mac Satin Lipstick in Amorous: I think I mentioned it in my last year's favorites (see here) too. I think about 60% of time this year, I have worn this to work. It is such a great everyday shade for my complexion. And because it is satin finish I don't find it drying at all. It stays put all day! Because of the subtlety of the shade, it is also very easy to layer it. 

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil in Meritage: Another of my workhorse lip products this year. You can see, I almost finished it up. It is a beautiful everyday rose-ish color! It's a good formula, stays comfortably the whole day! 

CoverFx Custom Enhance Drops in Candlelight (full review here): It was in my last year’s favorites and it is still a favorite. About 90% of the time, I have worn foundation this year I have mixed a drop of this. I love the subtle illumination it gives me. 

NAILS Inc. Nail Polish in Rainbow Wishes (full review here): Last 3 year, there has been a nail polish that will jump out at me - that I have loved that year. This year, it took me a while to figure out. Nonetheless this beautiful soft purple shade with multicolor sheen has to be the favorite this year! It is beautiful, glamorous and easy to wear to work. I really enjoy it. The staying power is also very satisfactory!

Hope you all a had lovely holidays! Tell me about your favorites, this year?

Love,

~Arrru

Detailed Swatches & First Impression ::: Stila Cosmetics "Eye for Elegance Set"

So, how was your Thanksgiving, folks? I am very sad that the long weekend is over. I cooked a lot over this weekend; it was tiring but I am glad that I have a freeze full of left-overs now.

Today, I have a first impression review at the Eye for Elegance Set from Stila Cosmetics! I love doing detailed review for this sort of sets but I thought I would rather share this first impression while the set is still available and is still relevant.

Price & Availability: This set is available on Sephora and Stila Cosmetics website. It includes three Glitter & Glow shades from their existing Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow line and three new Shimmer & Glow shades from Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow line that are antiipated to launch during Spring next year; all in deluxe size. It will cost you $45. Each shade includes 0.07 oz. of products, I love the size and the price, because honestly this is more than enough product I can ever attempt to use up!

Packaging: The tube shape mimics their full-size counterparts but I believe the full-size are of glass where as these are of plastic. It feels like the golden impression on the packaging rubs off quite quickly. If you watch the picture for Twig and Next to Notte tubes, the lettering are already fading up! The applicator, however is very practical. It makes ithe application easier and fuss-free.

Shades: The swatches on the hand are two swipes over bare skin. The swatches on the eyes are over Mac Paint Pot in Layin' Low and just a bit of matte crease shades. I apologize for my extremely bushy brows, and very haphazard-unblended application. On the bright side, you can see how the shades look in real-life!

Kitten (Shimmer & Glow): Kitten is an iconic shade from Stila. Why wouldn't it be? It is such gorgeous very nude pink shade. It is also very universally flattering. It is little brighter for my taste but I think I can pull it off. 

Peachy Keen (Glitter & Glow): As the name suggests, this shade has much more peach in it than Kitten. It is of course, glittering and I love that! As you can see from the swatches, this shade seems to be a bit less dense than the other two Glitter & Glow shades.

Grace (Shimmer & Glow): I think Grace & Smoldering Satin are my most favorite shades from this bunch. They flatter my skin-tone the most :-) Grace appears to be the Shimmer & Glow version of Peachy Keen to me. I love it!

Smoldering Satin (Glitter & Glow): This shade has a lot of  taupe glitter particles on a very shiny similar shade base. The result is a very nice, glittery opaque shade. I love it; may be it is my most favorite shade. The applicator works great and it is very easy to get an even layer. 

Twig (Shimmer & Glow): This is a rich brown shade and it reminds me of Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Bronze. That is a liner that I typically used as one-shade shadow on my lid. My pot has kind of dried up now so I think Twig will be a very good alternative. 

Next to Notte (Glitter & Glow): This is a red/maroon shade with pink/magenta glitter particles. Even though the swatch on the hand looks perfectly opaque, the application on the eyes can prove to be a bit patchy. I had to put two layers and then also I thought it was not perfect. I love the shade though!

Quality & Formula: I have not had the chance to thoroughly use and experience these shades. On a general level, I love the Glitter & Glow shades; they are very easy to apply and lasts all day long. You get about 45 seconds with these shades before they set. There are some fall outs though which is not uncommon. But I would have liked to avoid that. The Shimmer & Glow shades are nice if you don't want the glittery look but still want to have that va-va-voom effect :-) You get about 30 seconds with these Shimmer & Glow shades before they set. The staying power is good if I apply it in even layer on my whole lid. The other day, but I applied it as a blended eye liner but it smudged and almost vanished after 3-4 hrs.

I got this set with my VIB Sale 20% off code. With that price and 6 different shades to try, I think this was a good buy. I have been very interested in the Glitter & Glow shades from the beginning. Everybody loves those at $24 each, it seemed way too expensive, so this set made sense to me. I love the color selection here but I would have appreciated a bit more variety. 

What is your favorite Glitter & Glow shade from Stila?

Love

~Arrru