Colourful Sephora VIB Sale Haul ::: Spring 2018

I have not blogged in a hot minute. But this time around, I had a legitimate excuse. You see, I appeared for my PE Exam on 13th of this month. For those of you who don't know, I am an Electrical Engineer working as an Engineer-in-Training with a consultancy firm. PE is short form for for Professional Engineering Exam. Once I pass the exam and complete other requirements, I can get my PE licensure! It is such a tough test and honestly, I don't think I did too well. The whole process of preparing for the exam and travelling for the exam (that is different story for some other day) has been mentally and physically quite exhausting. I am not even confident that I will pass! :-(

Basically, that's what has been keeping me busy! The Sephora Spring VIB Sale, luckily started right after my exam was over and you bet, I participated in the sale. I need some retail therapy after all!  Before I dive in, a small snapshot of VIB Sale. Sephora offers discounts on their entire store twice a year - 15% for VIB and VIB Rouge, 10% for Beauty Insider during Spring and 20% to VIB and VIB Rouge, 15% for Beauty Insider during Fall.

This are all the products I picked up! Somehow these products turned out to be in happy and colourful packaging; I love it! 

Drunk Elephant Acid Trip™ Kit: I bought the "AHA Moment" set back in Fall Sale '16 which contains a full-size of  T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum. I absolutely loved it along with having a overall good feeling of all the mini sizes I tried from Drunk Elephant. Hence I decided to invest in this. I have other backup serums etc that I need to finish so I am not going to start using these right away but I cautiously hopeful that these skincare items will work for me. This kit contains the following- 

0.5 oz/15 mL C-Firma™ Day Serum 

0.5 oz/15 mL T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum 

0.5 oz/15 mL T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial™

0.27 oz/8 mL Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil 

L’Occitane RIFLE PAPER Co. for L'Occitane Always & Forever Favorites: This is a collaboration between Rifle Paper Co and L'Occitane and honestly I grabbed this kit just just for the captivating print. I like to use these cardboard pretty packaging to store stuff around my house! Also, I have used & loved some of the the products before and had a generally good experience. This kit contains the following- 

1 oz/30 mL Shea Cleansing Oil 

2.5 oz/75 mL Cleansing and Softening Shower Oil with Almond Oil 

0.5 oz/15 mL Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil 

0.34 oz/10 mL Shea Butter Hand Cream 

0.34 oz/10 mL Shea Rose Hand Cream 

0.14 oz/4 mL Immortelle Divine Cream 

Amika Perfectly Polished Gift Set: I have naturally thick but frizzy hair. I typically do smoothening treatment when I go home in India but I have not been almost two years now and my hair has grown so much. All of my natural frizzy, uncontrollable waves are back and it is really driving me crazy! Hence, I wanted to try this Straightening Brush which looks like I have to put less effort than using a straightener. This brush itself is 120$ but in the set you are getting additional products! I tried the brush today and honestly, I am so happy with its performance. Obviously, this is just the first try and I will see how it performs in due course! Also, how bright and beautiful packaging on the mask and the sprays! This kit contains the following- 

Polished Perfection Straightening Brush 

5.3 oz Un.Done Volume and Matte Texture Spray 

5.3 oz/ 153 g Perk Up Dry Shampoo 

8.5 oz/ 250 mL Soulfood Nourishing Mask 

Moschino Moschino Mini Gift Set: This was an impulse buy! I gave in to the packaging! They are just way too cute too resist :-)

0.17 oz/ 5mL Moschino Fresh Couture Eau de Toliette

0.17 oz/ 5mL Moschino Fresh Pink Couture Eau de Toliette

That's all for this time! As you can see, I am big fan of kits or sets :-) Also, I did not pick up any makeup products this time around. I am super proud of that! 

Love,

-Arrru

URBAN DECAY x Kristen Leanne Kaleidoscope Dream Eyeshadow Palette ::: First Impression!!!

I keep promising myself that I will not buy limited-edition palettes anymore, but what do I do when the colors just speaks to my soul!? I really could not help but purchase this Urban Decay and Kristen Leanne Kaleidoscope Dream Eyeshadow Palette! The extreme disregard for symmetry in the layout of the palette is driving me a bit crazy but the eye-catching shades were just too hard to resist! Those two blue shadows are incredibly enticing, especially for me.

I will have to be honest and admit that before this palette, I was totally unaware about Kristen Leanne. I do watch a lot of YouTube videos, still! She is a cruelty-free Beauty Vlogger and in general, color crazy person! :-)  Her collaboration also includes a neutral eyeshadow palette, a highlighter palette and 3 lipsticks; i think there is another single eyeshadow as well.

Let's dive into details about this Kaleidoscope palette, as the name suggests it is very vibrant one. Also, beware - this post has a ton of pictures :-)

Price and availability: The palette retails for $39 for a total of 0.34 oz. of product. The price is very on-brand for Urban Decay. I also feel they did a good job in matching the pan sizes colour wise. But I do wish that the orange shade was a bit bigger; it is a stunning shade & I want more of it. The pan shape and sizes are all over the place, so here is a breakdown of shades with the product amount -

LEO + BRIXTON and STAY GOLD 0.05 oz. each.  

SPITFIRE and TAJIN 0.02 oz. each

LCW, TRM, DYE and CORONA 0.04 oz. each 

13TH FLOOR 0.03 oz.

LIME TIME 0.01 oz.

It is a limited-edition palette and currently available on Urban Decay, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Macy's, Nordstrom and JC Penny (in store). I am not entirely sure how long it will be available though!

Packaging: It is a pretty palette to look at, of course! Kristen was talking about how they created the pattern on the packaging by photographing squishing lipsticks; quite interesting! I think the palette is made of paper which feels like lower quality than their standard packaging. And as you can see, the layout is extremely asymmetrical! It literally hurt my eyes the first time I saw this palette in store. But now that I have been using it, I am getting used to it. Kristen mentioned in her video that this layout encourages to flow through the colors and create more unique looks but I did not find that to be the case for me. I also feel that the layout takes more space; it is a smaller palette but there is a lot of unused space! The lid/mirror does stand in its own!

Formula, Quality & Weartime: It As you can see, the palette has different shades in different finishes. When you touch the shadows, they do not feel that smooth; that is kind of weird. I also experienced a bit of fall-out. Quality-wise I think they are per Urban Decay standard. The mattes really impressed me. The metallics needed a little bit of work. When I was working with the blue shades for the look below, it was a bit of work. There was a lot of fall-out, so much so that I had to use a makeup remover to wipe out my under eye area before applying my foundation/concealer. But I absolutely loved the look at the end, so I think I am ok with having to put up the extra work. Weartime also varies depending on how I applied it. I used TRM over hastily applied MAC paint pot on my upper lash-line as an eyeliner and after 4-5 hrs it transferred to my lid, above the crease. But for the bold blue look I created, I took my time and applied my primer with patience and the shadows stayed in place till I removed my makeup.

Shades: 

Corona: It is described as metallic soft bronze with gold shimmer. I have been wearing it every day past week to work. I love how I can shimmer down the metallic-ness of the shade to make it more work-appropriate.

Dye: It is described as violet satin. Again beautiful shade, I have not played with it much so not really that sure if it also has a lot of fall-out. But it is not really unique.

TRM: It is described as metallic deep navy blue. If you read my blog regularly, you know that my heart just explodes when I see these type of shade. But it is a familiar blue and I do have similar shadows from other brands.

LCW: It is described as metallic teal blue. I thought this was more of a sky blue but it is actually a teal. Teals are not my favorite among blue eye shadows but it is a lovely shade.

Spitfire : It is described as bright pink satin with purple shift. I absolutely love the shift in this shade; it is very pronounced and of course, I love it. I want to wear it all over my lid :-)

Stay Gold: It is described as metallic yellow-gold. Another common shade; with the over flux of warm eye shadows in the market, this is a common shade to find. This shade feels even more rough-er but that does not really affect on the performance. 

Tajin: It is described as orange matte. This is my absolute favorite shade from this palette. It is a true orange and a true matte. So easy to work with; it is so pigmented and yet blend like a dream. I feel like I will use it a whole lot. Morocco from Makeup Geek Cosmetics is very similar but Tajin has more punch to it.

Lime Time: It is described as metallic neon green. Although, I am a color crazy person, but I don't really play a lot with green shadows. This has a much softer texture than the rest of the shadows. Very easy to work with as well.

13th Floor: It is described a matte black. Very black, very matte, but its not too harsh. 

The next two shades are undoubtedly the most unique shades; I went through my collection and I did not really find anything similar to these; love the formula as well. I applied LEO on the center of my lid for the blue look and it adds so much dimension to the look. I applied Brixton over Diorskin Luminizer 001 with an extremely light hand. I applied Mac Fix+ Spray, and it started beaming like no other :-)  ha ha. Love it!

Leo: It is described as holographic green pearl shift. 

Brixton: It is described a holographic red-green pearl shift. 

DUPES:

I really don't have a strong faith on the concept of dupe. But as you can see there are a lots of similar shades in the market. I have a medium-size collection for a beauty blogger, but i was able to find some similar shades. I like to mention that except for Morocco, I would not call any other shade as dupe; they were very similar but not dupes. As you can, some of they "look" similar but they don't swatch similar. But I am pretty sure, these similar shades can be used interchangeably. I think the brilliance of this palette is the shade selection; although I can see many colored palettes these days, personally for me these are the best shades per my personal choice.

Check out the photos below. (FYI - CP SSS: Colourpop Super Shock Shadows, AI: Aredency Inn, MUG FS: Makeup Geek Cosmetics Foiled Shadows, CP PS: Colourpop Pressed Eyeshadows)

All the left over swatches from the palette

This was more a first impression post than a full review but I think I will continue to love this palette! It is interesting that I do not have any interest in the other items from her collection :-)

Love,

~Arrru

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