Holiday 2015 : Limited-Edition Birchbox Exclusive "Luxe List"

I don’t find much appeal in beauty subscription boxes and I have already talked about it before. If I am spending any amount of money on anything, I want to be in control of what I buy. That is why I have never given any sincere thought on subscribing to Ipsy, Birchbox or any other subscription boxes. Anyway, Birchbox is a beauty subscription service that starts at 10$ per month. They have a whole lot of products in their website which you can directly buy. They also have an online store and physical stores in New York and Atlanta.

Today, I am sharing my quick thought on “Limited Edition: Luxe List”; it is one of their exclusive limited-edition gift boxes and is currently available on their website. 

This Black Friday and during Cyber Monday, I might have been possessed by some shopping demon. I was that crazy shopaholic girl with a laptop on Thanksgiving so that I can continue online shopping. Over the last few years that I have been here in the USA, I have never actively participated in Black Friday shopping, and it looks like this year I compensated for all of those missing years! Birchbox had 25% off coupon and with that discount, investing in this box seemed profitable. Laura Mercier, Tata Harper, Ilia Beauty, Oribe, Rituals – all these are very luxurious brands and I know for sure that they are a bit pricey for me to buy at a regular price. This was really appealing to me :-) This was my first Birchbox purchase and overall I am quite happy with it. It was fast, free shipping and they were very responsive to some of the questions I had. Like I said, it is still available here if you want to check it out. Before discussing the products, let’s first take a detailed look at the price.

Product	Amount in Kit	Amount in Full-Size	Full-Size Price (USD)	Value in Set (USD)
111 Skin Space Defence Bright Eye Lift Gel NAC Y2 (CRAAAAAY price)	0.5 oz/15 ml	5 ml	190	63
Candlefish Travel Candle	3.5 oz	3.5 oz.	$8	8
Cynthia Rowley Beauty Makeup Bag	Assumed	-	$15	15
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour	0.5 oz./1.64 g	0.5 oz.	$28	28
Ilia Beauty Tinted Lip Conditioner	0.14oz / 4g	0.14 oz.	$26	26
Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream	5 fl oz.	1.7 oz.	$49	16.66
Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer	0.5 fl oz./14 ml	0.5 fl oz.	$18	18
R+Co DEATH VALLEY Dry Shampoo  (travel size)	1.6oz	1.6 oz.	$17	18
Rituals Ginkgo’s Secret Hand Balm	2.5 fl oz./75 ml	2.5 fl oz.	$17	17
Tata Harper Repairative Moisturizer	1.7 fl oz./50 ml.	10 ml.	$100	20
Umbra Magnolia Jewelry Dish		-	$10	10

The price for this box is $65 and it is a one-time purchase only. With these highly coveted brands in full-size and generously sized samples already makes the cost of this box quite reasonable. But with my 25% off it cost me $48.75; I think I scored quite a good deal here.

Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner in “Bang Bang”: Let’s start with something that has been on my wish list for quite a while. Ever since I opened Beautylish account, I have been browsing their shop section from time to time and I have been mesmerized by these incredibly suave and royal looking products from Ilia Beauty. It’s also a natural brand. I am very much interested in their lipsticks but their steep price has always prevented me from biting the bullet! The product looks as gorgeous as I hoped. The lipstick bullet overall is sturdy but the cap could have been better! Being a luxury splurge-y item, I expected a bit higher quality. It is a lip conditioner; it is not meant to be super opaque pigmented. This has decent pigmentation and like mentioned in their website, you can build up the intensity gradually. “Bang Bang” is a sheer red that pulls of a more orangey tone on my skin. I have been using it since last week and I am amazed to see how long it can keep my lips protected from the drying and flaking up. I will admit that I don’t achieve the prettiest looking lips; it cannot hide the fine lines on my lips nor is it ultra-moisturizing. It’s very light weight and I actually don’t feel anything on my lips. On an average, I reapply my lip balm around 3-4 pm. But with this I don’t feel any need to do so! I think that’s incredible! While I don’t love sheer lipstick enough to go out and buy a full-size regular product, I am quite sure this is going to be a staple in my collection.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in “Gilded Gold”: The name of the product itself sounds so lavish! Ever since I started exploring this wonderful world of beauty products, I have heard everyone love and applaud these pencils. This is another quite expensive product, though. I don’t know why Laura Mercier as a brand has never intrigued me! But I got their baked highlighter in 2015 Sephora Favorites Superstars set and I love it. So I am very ecstatic to get this. I have worn it twice and the staying power is phenomenal. It applied so smooth and quite easy to blend. I am very happy with this by far. And as the name suggests it is striking gold and will be flattering on a variety of skin tone.

Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in “Dark Like Me”: What a beautiful shade! It’s a luxury nail polish brand and it’s definitely a very luxe looking bottle. It feels quite heavy too. This is a vampy, seductive deep berry shade in cream formula. I have similar shades from different brands, but when I wear this, it looks so beautiful and feels so sensual; I love it. It does need 2 or 3 coats; also it needs a bit of work to get an even layer. It does not stay as long as I would have liked. But I do love the look. I appreciate it being in here because I would otherwise never buy it on my own.

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Makeup Bag: I have accumulated countless number of little makeup bags, thanks to my rather unhealthy obsession with value kits. But they are not of the greatest quality. I currently use a flat cube-type bag I got from Ebags for travelling and I love it. But this bag is excellently made. It’s big enough to contain products for a 3-4 day trip. It also has a side pocket which can be quite convenient. I think this might be the new travel makeup bag for me.

R+Co DEATH VALLEY Dry Shampoo: I tried dry shampoo for the first time earlier this year. I don’t have much of a problem of oily scalp, but now that I know what dry shampoo I have suddenly have lot of respect for the product. I was not aware of this brand so I don’t have a lot of expectation. It smells awesome and that’s such a good thing. But I am not wowed by it. It’s not any better than the Batiste that I use which is just $3.99 for the travel size. I will keep on using it and will report back.

Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream: I am not big into trying hair products. But I have heard many good things about Oribe. I have used it twice and I am really liking it so far. First of all, the smell is wonderful and it immediately brings a lot of shine to my hair. It keeps it healthier and smoother till my next wash. I am really loving it. It is not full-size but will definitely last me at least for few weeks.

Rituals Ginkgo’s Secret Hand Balm: Another brand that I have been intrigued by for a long time. But I never really researched about it. I believe this brand is more readily available in Europe. It’s a nice hand balm with a very invigorating smell that lingers for a long time. It’s not oily and absorbs quickly. Also, that tube is so handsome :-)

Candlefish Travel Candle: It is in the number 082. Very spiritual, simple and refreshing smell. I have never heard about this brand but who would not appreciate a nice smelling candle? :-) It’s not super strong and it will burn out quite quickly but I do love it in this box.

Umbra Magnolia Jewelry Dish: Such a cute little piece of accessory. It is a jewelry dish, it will definitely hold some dainty pieces of jewelry, but I love it. It is so elegant looking :-) I have already used it my blog photography and I am 100% sure that it is going to be reoccurring quite often. I love this!

The next two products are skincare products!  Tata Harper Repairative Moisturizer for face and 111 Skin Space Defence Bright Eye Lift Gel NAC Y2 for eyes. These are also two smallest sizes in this box. And the price for a regular size is just insane. I have just tried them once or twice just to get a feel. So I am not quite comfortable about forming my final opinion as skincare products need some time to show their affect. And given the price, I really need to put good time in reviewing them. But they have not broken me out yet and I will report back once I am done with them :-) 

So, holidays are just right around the corner! If you are looking for a special substantial/hefty gift to someone and yet you are unsure and don’t want to stick to one big product, this could be a great gift! These products in here definitely will prove useful for almost every skin tone! “Bang Bang” is a very subtle red that can be built up to look flattering on a lot of skin tones, “Gilded Gold” is going to look flattering on almost everyone, the jewelry dish is just too cute. Also makeup bag is very well built. The dry shampoo, hand cream, hair cream and nail polish and the candle are all something that is definitely going to get used, no matter who end up getting this gift :-) The more I used them, the more I fell in love and wondered how good this box is! I am definitely going to get very good use out of everything in here. I highly recommend this!

Love,

~Arrru

Holiday 2015 ::: Kat Von D "Mi Vida Loca" Remix Palette Review & Swatches!

I guess I did way too much eating and shopping during Thanksgiving & Black Friday! I have been very lethargic ever since. I am not exercising, I am not cooking much or eating better; work has suddenly become a bit hectic as well! After I reach home from I have not been wanting to do ANYTHING! And hence this brief of a gap between my regular posts. But I am here today to compensate! I have quite a unique palette from the very edgy, very cool Kat Von D! This is going to be a very detailed review and there are a ton of pictures! :-) :-)

This is the Mi Vida Loca Remix palette is a newer version of her fan favorite Mi Vida Loca palette. There are a total of 24 shadows with 0. 04 Oz. (1.1g) of product each. It’s a limited-edition Sephora exclusive palette; unfortunately it is not available as of this moment in US Sephora.com. I am hoping it may come back in stock sometime. Also, it may still be available in some stores. There are a huge variety of bright colors in many different finishes, so at a price of $59 for 0.96 oz. I think it is totally worth it. Plus, I had around 11$ of discount with my 20% coupon.

Packaging of this palette is quite unique and innovative! The actual palette that hold the eyeshadow pans is made to look like an old-time record. This palette slides into the outer cardboard packaging. There is a little “*” on it to indicate which way to slide it in. The palette is of almost-square shape (I am an engineer and this is not a perfect square for me :-) ) I was not paying attention one day and I put in the wrong side. That side is slightly longer, (see I told you, it’s not perfectly square) so it took me a while to slide it out; I was almost paranoid that I broke the shadows. Compared to average palettes in the market, this is huge in size. It’s definitely a challenge to find a place in your vanity area to store it. Luckily it fits quite well in my palette holder. I don’t find any discomfort in doing my makeup while holding it. Also because the sliding action can occur rather quickly, I don’t think it will be wise to travel with it. I am not taking this with me while travelling as I know for sure that I would not use this many bright colors during any trip! 

I always adore an artistic mind but I know that this design might not appeal to a lot of people. It does not have a mirror and it’s a very big, difficult-to-store palette. But I personally love it. Her drawing and overall design on the palette is simply “amazing”! I like how despite having a very successful & popular makeup line, she is still an artist at heart. I also enjoy how she can seamlessly and very successfully incorporate her fabulous art in her products. Also, I will always favor artistic, edgy or experimental packaging over a cute, heart-shaped one :-) The only thing I have to complain here is that even though the palette closes tightly to the outer packaging, I still think dust can pass into the product as this is not completely enclosed.  

Before going into the detail about the shades I have to state that this is not a palette for the faint-hearted. If you know for sure that you don’t like this much color on your look this is not for you. Also, if you are just wondering about adding some colors to your collection, I am not sure if this is the best palette for you. But if you know that this will encourage you to have more fun with your makeup, I definitely think it’s worth looking into. I don’t see myself using it more than a few times a month but I know that it will inspire me to create some playful looks or practice on some popular techniques in my extra time.

Alright, onto the shades; it is going to take a while :-) We will discuss the neutrals first and then move on to the fun part.

There is a very nice range of neutrals in matte & shimmery finishes! They together does a very good job in complimenting the colorful looks that you will create with the other shades. Not to sound like a Negative Nancy, but my sincere complaint about this palette is the lack of crease-shade in warm medium brown. If you have pale/lighter skin tone, it should not be an issue as noble and strutter will work great! vox is great for the same purpose on deeper skin tone. But for medium range skin tone like me, nothing is quite the perfect crease shade; vox is a little too dark and noble is not deep enough. Every time I use this palette, I feel the absence of that brown shade. I have to force myself not to pull out similar shade as I was testing this palette exclusively. Especially for a palette as big as this, it’s an extra hassle to seek help from a different one. But should this fact deter you from trying this palette? Absolutely not! Personally, I am not going to travel with it. And hence when I am at my vanity doing my makeup, I do not have any issue pulling out another palette. But if there have been a shade like Makeup Geek “Cocoa Bear” that would have made me a very happy girl! :-)

Black Metal: A big thank you to Kat Von D for including a kickass matte black. No matter how many black you already have, it’s never a bad idea for a palette to have a black shadow. Especially in a palette like this! It is a very pigmented and very controllable matte black. Smooth to swatch and very blendable.

Vox: In lack of my very beloved warm medium-brown crease shade, I am forced to use this lot as crease shade. It’s a matte cool toned very deep brown shade. It is so deep that it almost works as black. Not too powder-y, super pigmented! I had to blend a lot for the first 2-3 application because it was way too harsh! Now I start with a light hand and it is quite blendable. A very good matte shade.

Noble: Very light brown shade. Perfect crease shade for pale & fair skin tones. I do see a bit of powder when I dip my brush in it but there is no fall out during application. Personally I use it to buff out my crease shade! For neutral everyday looks, I use it with vox on the crease and outer corner. Another great quality shade.

Strutter: Honestly, I don’t see a lot of difference between Noble and Strutter; Noble is just a hair deeper and a bit warmer! The quality is as blendable as Noble but I tend to prefer “Noble” just a tiny bit more.

Moulder: Such a pretty matte banana shade. Pigmented but not adamant! Very blendable. I use this as a crease blending shade that I can drag up to my brow bone. I am not one to apply powder to set my under eye area but I have used it for that and it works just fine. Love this shade.

Skulls: Kat Von D did such an amazing job with the highlighter shades here. So pigmented and no fall out as well. Buttery smooth to apply and blends in without any effort. This has a opalescent pink hint to it. I have worn it as highlighter on my cheekbones and it looks BEAUTIFUL. It’s definitely has a light pink in it and I am very pleasantly surprised on the way it looks on my warm skin tone. 

Rewind: All these days that I have been playing with the palette, rewind has been one of the shades that I have been wearing the most. It’s a gorgeous shimmery deep maroon. The quality of the formula in this shade in phenomenal! Extremely pigmented, very buttery and a delight to work with! I have used it by patting it all over my lid and also in my crease & outer corner by blending with a crease brush. Blends so smoothly and no fall out at all. With primer underneath it stays for at least 10 hr. I am extremely happy with this shade.

Harpsichord: Another great quality eyeshadow! On the Sephora website it is described as metallic bronze but I see a whole lot of orange in it and I love it for that. :-) Quality and performance wise exactly similar to rewind. Harpsichord, analogue and rewind make a quick foolproof Fall/Winter eye look. I Love this shade.

Analogue: Another kick ass shade, this is a true burnt deep orange in matte finish! Great quality matte shade. It is highly pigmented, quite easy to blend and you just need a tiny bit. It stays vibrant though out the wear time.

Fran: It is a true deep mustardy yellow. It has a matte base but I can also see a very beautiful subtle gold shimmer throughout. If you use patting motion to apply, the color payoff is quite true to pan but when I buff it to blend more it can get sheer and there is a bit of fall out as well. Don’t forget to tap off your brush before using.

Overall I think this entire red-orange corner is excellent.

Greens are not my most favorite shade in the color wheel but I think the greens are of great quality.

Legend: It’s a shimmery pale yellow with strong gold undertone. Beautiful unique shade but it is something that everyone can use in some way! I love the shade very much, but quality wise it is not at per with the other fabulous shades I talked about. I was applying it on my lid in a very naturally lit area of my house and I could see the color particles flying all over my eyelid. Even though it is not super pigmented you can definitely build it up! I love to use this for finishing up maroon or green eye looks.

Vinyl: It is almost similar to legend in formula. It has a very soft matte base. It’s powdery and dusty; when I dip my brush in it I see a lot of powder kicking off. I don’t enjoy that but that does not really impact its performance.  This is a very sophisticated fluorescent green; I would never pick this shade for myself but I am glad it’s here! These shades are definitely inspiring me to be adventurous and try out some fun looks!

Misfit: Another unfamiliar shade for me! It has extremely subtle green micro shimmer on a very soft matte bright true green. Very blendable; it has a bit of fall out but once you are done with the application, that does not create any problem. Very pigmented as well.

Lemmy: Another buttery silky smooth highly pigmented all-in-all great quality shade! Beautiful emerald green in a gorgeous frosty shimmery finish. Definitely one of my favorite shades in this palette. Very opaque; quite easy to get an even layer. It lasted for at least 7-8 hrs. on me before I removed my makeup.

Next we have the blues, purples and pinks! I am a massive fan of blue eyeshadows but unfortunately, the blues included in here are not my personal favorites.

Hyperballad: It’s a very pigmented sea blue matte shade that has a very smooth but kind of powdery texture. So there is some fall-out and you need a few layers to get even un-patchy application! Basically it is not easy & comfortable to blend like the matte “Analogue”! The shade is kind of unique to my collection though. I always use primer & with primer it stayed for 7-8 hrs. before taking my makeup off.

Synth: Quite bright, almost neon-y electric blue. Such a fun, bold shade! Very matte in appearance on the palette, but once swatched on the back of my hand it appears to have almost an undetectable satiny finish to it. But again, I don’t see this finish on the eyes once applied. Otherwise the color payoff is incredible. I do need to put in a bit of effort in blending but not as much as hyperballad.

Dark Wave: I sincerely hoped one of these blues to be of shimmery metallic finish like Rewind. But anyways! Dark Wave is described as deep navy but I see more teal than navy. The same undetectable shimmer on a matte base. Extremely strong pigmentation! Definitely not one of the best blues that I have worked with but not the worst as well. Personally I like sky blue or deep dark midnight blues! So I am not particularly satisfied with these shades!

Echo: This shade had so much potential to it. On the pan, it looks so beautiful! It has maroon-gold glitters running across a matte purple base with a very strong blue undertone. This is the only glitter shade in the palette. The glitters stays on the lid if you just pat the product on your eyes, but if you try to blend it of buff it, the glitters will vanish. So despite its promise, performance wise it was not at par with some of the other shades; it is one of the shades that needed a lot of work.

Muse: This shade is so dusty. You can see the color particles flying around when you work with this shade. It’s a very elegant soft lavender shade. But like I said its bit dry and hence the powdery-ness. But once you are done with the application it does not create a huge problem.

Anthem: Beautiful purple plummy shade. Same texture and finish like synth and muse. I love the shade but quality wise I expected better. It’s a bit powdery and dusty so it needs a little more effort to work with.

Anthem: Beautiful purple plummy shade. Same texture and finish like synth and muse. I love the shade but quality wise I expected better. It’s a bit powdery and dusty so it needs a little more effort to work with.

Love: Very soft, pigmented lilacy pink in satin finish. Especially beautiful to apply on the inner lid. It’s much better in formula then the previous ones and easy to get an even opaque look.

Swoon: The same “shimmery running on matte” base formula. This definitely is the most prevalent formula in this palette. Anyway Swoon is a corally fuchsia pink. Quite pigmented and not a lot of trouble to work with.

Destroyer: It is a matte shade. Very similar to swoon in color but I see a strong orange tone in it. It is a beautiful formula to apply. Definitely an unconventional alternative to a typical neutral crease shades. I love using it on my crease.

Staying power of these shades is quite typical, but I love that it stays mostly vibrant during the whole time. I always use primers and it stayed on for around 12 hrs. It’s vibrancy starts to wear of only towards the 10-11^th hrs. I do think this much staying power is more than enough to impress me. I also love how buildable they are despite being quite pigmented. Otherwise, pigmented shadows like these can sometimes become very unmanageable and non-buildable! But these you can totally control to get a sheer wash of color or get extremely opaque application for most of the shades in just one swipe. E.g., I can wear legend an edgy yellow shade or I can sheer it to wear as a neutral inner lid color. Apart from the powdery-ness in few shades I am actually quite enjoying this palette. Rewind, harpsichord, skulls and lemmy are my personal favorite shades. 

I am hoping that this will come back in stock. You can find Kat Von D in Sephora stores and in Sephora.comhttp://www.sephora.com/kat-von-d. I am really enjoying playing around with this palette and I am so glad that I decided to pick this up :-)

Have a great weekend everyone :-)

Love,

~Arrru