Sephora Collection Face Masks

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

I know that facial sheet masks are quite common in Asian skincare lines, but coming across them in Western brands is few and far between.  So, when I saw that Sephora has a collection I decided to try them out.  As a point of reference, my skin is oily, congested, and prone to breakouts.  I have relatively few wrinkles for my age, but I do have sun damage and hyperpigmentation.  Sephora has a code (MASKLOVE) where you can get 5 masks for the price of 4, and I chose:

• Lotus:  Refreshes tired skin and reduces signs of strain and fatigue. 
• Ginseng:  Tones and energizes while providing a tightening effect for a plumped and supple complexion. 
• Pearl:  Perfects and brightens with natural-origin pearl to create high luminosity. 
• Pomegranate:  Awakens, energizes, and protects the skin with antioxidant-rich natural pomegranate extract. 
• Honey:  Nourishes and balances to soothe and refresh dry or sensitive skin. 

I won't list the ingredients for each mask, but they do have core ingredients plus extras based on what the focus of the mask is:

Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Glycosyl Trehalose, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Triethanolamine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Tremella Fuciformis (Mushroom) Extract, Piroctone Olamine, Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract, Polyquaternium-51, Maltodextrin, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Citric Acid, Fragrance, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate.

 The additional ingredients for the Lotus mask are:

• Lotus Flower Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, and Rice Extract: Refresh and provide natural moisture. 
• Corn Starch Extract: De-stresses and relaxes skin, leaving it rested. 

The masks are heavily saturated with essence and fit well on my face.  I like to use them at night while watching TV, and leave them on for as long as 30 minutes although 15 is the recommended time.  There is enough essence still left in the mask even after 30 minutes that I wipe it on my neck, chest, hands, etc.  The essence does absorb into the skin nicely and did not feel overly tacky, although I wouldn't be able to do this in the morning and then apply makeup without feeling I had too much on my skin.

After using the masks, my skin does feel refreshed, soft, and plump.  I find masks to be more of a pampering experience as opposed to something that produces long term effects, but to be fair I use them infrequently at best.  My favorite versions of the four I tried were the Ginseng and Honey, and I particularly enjoyed using one while relaxing in my hotel room after flying all day (air travel and security checkpoints that included a full body pat down in the 'private' booth, ugh).

My final thoughts are that these are expensive ($6) and I think they would be better priced at about $4.  I'm glad that Asian skincare products are becoming more accessible to Western consumers who know where to look, but mass market options are still few and far between and Western comparable products are always more expensive, it seems like:-(

ColourPop Super Shock Cheek in Tasty

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Tasty is the second of the Super Shock Cheek highlighters I purchased back in June.  Why does that seem so long ago?  I loved my other choice in the iridescent Monster (review here), and Tasty reeled me in with it's coral toned color.

If you are not familiar with ColourPop and their growing stable of products, you should be.  They get my vote for fun and well performing beauty products at a reasonable price.  The blushes/highlighters are $8 while eyeshadows (reviews here and here) and lipstix (reviews here and here) are $5.

The cream to powder formula is easy to apply with fingers, although I buff Tasty with a brush after applying.  This helps with smoothing out pigment that settles into larger pores, something I experience with this type of formula.

As you can see, there is a lovely pink sparkle hanging out in Tasty, although it's not super obvious unless the light hits it just right.  I'm a bit sparkle averse (said pores and all), so I apply Tasty first, buff it out, and then apply a more matte blush like Clinique's Peach Pop on top.  This gives me just the right amount of luminosity, although those with better skin could probably get away with Tasty on it's own.

I don't need much to achieve color, and I find the formula wears a good 7-8 hours on my oily skin. Taking into account the incredibly hot and humid weather we've been experiencing (August in Mobile is um, hellish), and I'm guessing wear time will be better in cooler temps.

In both pictures I'm wearing Tasty layered with Clinique's Peach Pop blush on top.  I can see this becoming a go to combo for me when I'm craving peach coral cheeks.

Tonic Body Treatment Oil by Clarins

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I've embraced oils of all kinds - hair, facial, body - you name it, I lik'em. The Tonic Body Treatment Oil by Clarins was part of the Sephora Favorites Skin Wonderland set ($56, no longer available) I purchased during the November F&F sale. I'm still working my way through the items included in the set, but so far it's ranking as one of my favorites of the "Favorites" sets:-)

 

The Clarins' body oil claims to improve skin's elasticity, making it ideal for pregnant women and those going through puberty.  I fall into neither category, but what interested me was the ingredient list that is 100% derived from pure plant extracts:

Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Seed Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Citral, Benzyl Benzoate.

The fragrance definitely smells "herbal' to me, which I find pleasant.  I apply immediately after my shower to damp skin and that seals in moisture nicely, leaving my skin soft but not greasy or oily. This is a lighter oil that absorbs quickly, and I don't worry about fabric coming into contact with it. I've got some heavier body oils that did not play nicely with some raw silk pants I own, lesson learned.

The full sized body oil is $58 for 3.4 ounces, which makes it a bit on the pricier side.  I do like it, but am on the fence about purchasing after I finish my smaller travel sized version due to the price and having a surplus of body moisturizers I should be using before they go bad.  Although, a good sale or GWP, which Clarins offers several times a year, could sway me otherwise!

Tipsy Glossy Lippie Stix by Colourpop

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I picked up 3 of the ColourPop Lippie Stix's back in June, each in a different finish:  matte, satin, and glossy (you can see the matte Toucan here).  Today's offering is the glossy Tipsy, a light peach, or as ColourPop describes it, a light neon yellow peach.  I love light peach lip colors, although I'm finding they can be tricky to pull off.  Let's see if Tipsy goes into the yea or nay category.

The consistency of Tipsy was definitely creamier, more glossy, and with a more dense consistency than the satin or matte Lippie Stix.

I did have some issues with Tipsy settling into my lip lines, although no more than some of the other lipsticks I have in similar shades.  It just seems like lighter shades are a bit more temperamental and benefit from either a lip primer or nude color lip pencil worn underneath.

I found Tipsy to be comfortable for about 3 hours of wear time.  The formula does contain shea butter, mango seed butter, and avocado oil for lip conditioning benefits, which is nice to see in such an affordable lipstick ($5).

Overall I like Tipsy, although I wouldn't say I'm in love. I think it's possible I'm just in love with the idea of creamy peach lips, which no doubt explains my quest to find the perfect peach lipstick.

Orange Vanilla Body Butter and Pit Putty Cream by Bubble & Bee

I've been a fan of Bubble & Bee's products for several years now, in particularly their body butters and their natural deodorant Pit Putty Creams. A recent scent offering in Orange Vanilla had me pairing both for a deliciously scrumptious scent that reminds me a bit of orangesicle cake. Yum.

Orangesicle Bundt Cake, source Simple Nourished Living

I noticed that this version of Bubble & Bee's 100% organic body butter had undergone a slight formula change from one I bought a couple of years back in the Sugar & Spice scent (review here), in that macadamia and olive oils are no longer in the mix.  I think that helped cut down on the greasy after feel I experienced with Sugar & Spice, although I love that scent to death. It's a go to cold weather body butter for me, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Orange Vanilla is still a dense body butter with exceptional skin conditioning ingredients, namely organic shea butter, organic coconut oil with retained coconut meat, organic jojoba oil, organic sunflower oil, organic vanilla extract, and organic sweet orange essential oil.  If the zombie apocalypse does come, I'm pretty sure I could eat these and be okay.

I know some people don't like having to apply cream deodorants with their fingers, but it's not a big deal to me.  I've had good success with the Bubble & Bee Pit Putty Creams in a variety of scents (you can previous reviews here and here), and Orange Vanilla's formula did not let me down.  I live in a semi-tropical, hot and humid climate and I find that I can get through an average day just fine with these. Do they keep me scentless when I'm mowing the grass in 90+ degree weather?  No.  Nor do these take me through say, 18 hours of wear. These natural deodorants do have their limits, but I like 'em.

The body butters come in two sizes, 4 oz for $16.95 and 8 oz for $24.95.  I just ran out of the 4 oz version I bought, and I'll be going back for more! The Pit Putty Creams are $10.85 and a jar lasts me about 3 months with daily use.

Body butter

Pit Putty Cream

Essence Soft Berry Lip Liner

I had a good experience with Essence's lip liner pencil in Wish Me a Rose, so I decided to try a few more.  Enter Soft Berry, a muted, warm leaning wine.

I like wearing lip liners topped with a little gloss as an easy but fairly long lasting lip color.  At about $1.50, these are definitely a good budget friendly option for both a liner and a lip color.  It's not hard to get smooth color that wears comfortably, no doubt aided by the coconut oil and Vitamin E in the formula.

There are 8 different shades available at Ulta, and while the range is fairly limited to neutral tones, reds, and a few pinks, I like the formula.  I hope they add some more diverse shades so I can indulge in a few more!

Fierce Blue Total Intensity Eyeliner by Prestige: Review and Comparisons

I bought Fierce Blue last year and somehow never got around to either wearing or reviewing it.  Til now, that is.

Fierce Blue has a dark blue shimmer in a blackened base, and it is indeed fierce.  It glides on easily, although to get opacity you will need to make a few passes with it.  Once it sets it does not budge, flake or otherwise diminish on my oily lids for a good 8 hours.  Impressive.

I've got more than a few blue pencil eyeliners and yet none are dupes for Fierce Blue.  I'm always fascinated when I do comparisons at how many variations of a color there are and that rarely do I have an exact dupe.  Take a look:

1. Fierce Blue by Prestige
2. Cute Robot by Tarina Tarantino
3. Navy Smoke by Julep
4. Deep Ocean by Rimmel
5. Sabbath by Urban Decay
6. Binge by Urban Decay
7. LSD by Urban Decay

The Total Intensity eyeliners are about $6 and Fierce Blue holds it's own against brands that cost three times as much.  Really, really nice.