Brazen Cosmetics

Yet another indie brand, I don't remember their turnaround time (TAT- basically processing time, but typically used for indies because they actually need to make your product and then pack and ship it) being overly long, but in the holiday receiving season I totally forgot what I even ordered. 

The note on the side explains that she was
out of the shade I ordered and instead replaced
it with two similar shades of the same size. 

It came in a bubble mailer which looked like it had already been used and was closed with a cutesy piece of tape. I think that's adorable and environmentally friendly, but your eccentric grandmother who loves handmade things but also must have fancy packaging in order to see them as being valuable might not appreciate it.

There were several hand written thank yous and notes. One on the bubble mailer, one on the actual packing slip. A lot of indies don't give you a packing slip, but I really happen to like them so this is a bonus for me. 

A 3g petite jar of eyeshadow costs $3.50 this is actually quite cheap compared to other indie brands I have looked at and ordered from. 

The liquid lipstick cost me 8$

The 2g sample of the under eye brightener cost me 2$

 Alright, here is the loot. It isn't exactly a comprehensive representation of the brand but will give both you and me a little bit more of an idea of what to expect.

To be fair though, I chose the most difficult things for indie companies to create- which are matte eyeshadows, liquid lipsticks, and concealer/brighteners.





Everything except the two liquid lipstick samples are in completely clear containers that look quite nice, they also had the heat shrink plastic seals on them and proper labeling of the product and the shade of the product on the container.

 Here is the under eye brightener in light. I did try to swatch it, but it blended in surprisingly well and won't show up on camera. It has a kind of chalky feel, but if it works anything like their matte shadows I imagine I will be impressed.

Carpe Diem Lipstick, Brazen Lipstick
Harmony Eyeshadow, Leading Lady Eyeshadow

The image from their website

Harmony and Leading Lady are the matte shadows I ended up with. I'm fairly certain I chose Melody because I have a friend named Melody but it wasn't a gift so it worked out just fine.

Harmony and Leading Lady are on either side of the spectrum from Melody, and they are impressively strong. These swatches were done with one pass and very little product. On my hand they feel rather chalky and they don't blend well at all, but they stay on and have great pigmentation without a primer.

Adorable labeling and a high quality tube were my first impressions of Catalyst. It was also a lot pinker than I thought I would have ordered- which I was right about, I didn't look at all the pictures in the listing, only the picture on the right.



The swatches she gives do happen to be very close to how the product is in real life though. It is an incredibly metallic light/midtone pink color, absolutely gorgeous. It dried down without losing the finish, and feels comfortable but not like you have a thick layer of goo on your lips. It partially passes the kiss test, because your lipstick will look fine, but your significant other's face won't.

The Brazen (Red) sample I got was rather disappointing. It's not particularly opaque, and it has no luster or metallic finish. Carpe Diem however it vaguely a beige/ballerina pink color with an intense gold finish to it. She also has a shiny red one called wanton which looks absolutely gorgeous.

Haus of Gloi Perfumes

Perfumes are incredibly personal, so what it smells like on me may not be what it smells like on you. I am also quite picky about my perfumes, and for me this is a rave perfume review.

I had heard good things about Haus of Gloi, and so I went online and got a ton of their perfume samples for a collective total of 30$. It came very well packaged with a sweet hand written note and a little candy (which I almost never eat, but the gesture is sweet). They also threw in an extra free sample for me, it's the vial on the far right, and it has a different label design than the others. Haus of Gloi's perfume samples are 2.50$ each, and get free shipping.

 Using perfume samples is not an entirely accurate way of judging the scent of bath and body products because if a scent needs to settle on the skin in a perfume, it is a gamble as to whether or not it will work properly in a different product. There is also the issue of the ingredients in a particular product altering the perfume's intended scent. However, it works a lot better than just going in blind.

















Peach Mama- on me, it smells like regret with the faintest whiff of fake peach. I let it sit on my skin to see if it changed it's scent, I tried covering it up and washing it off. I thoroughly regretted every second I wore it. My little sister described it as vaguely tangeriney whilst she scrunched her nose in disgust. ★☆☆☆☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✦✧


Vice- When I first put it on, I didn't like this.  However, I let it settle on my skin for a minute and it morphs into the smell of powdered hot chocolate with the little dehydrated marshmallows. They say it is based on coffee, and I do get a faint coffee scent, but it is very unobtrusive.★★★★☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✧✧ This was strong enough for me to smell, but it mellowed out quite well. This is where I like my perfumes to be, personally.


Cozy Sweater- This one smells almost detergent-like but not overpoweringly so. It smells exactly the same in the vial as it did on my skin. It isn't something I would repurchase, but if you like clean linen scents, I would give it a shot. ★★★☆☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✧✧


Mango Sticky Rice- I have no idea what mango sticky rice as an actual food would smell like, but I do get both of the notes in this perfume, I'm just not sure how I feel about it, I like the mango smell, but the sticky rice is strange to have in a perfume. ★★★☆☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✦✧


Parkin- This was my added sample, it smells quite sweet and very harvest time autumn-esque. I get notes of cinnamon and a few other spices I'm not recognizing right now. Maybe some pumpkin. I put almost none of it on my skin and it is still quite strong. ★★★☆☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✦✧ particularly with the spice notes, I think I would like this to be softer.


Lychee Milk Tea- It smells very floral, but also very interesting. I would recommend this to people who like traditional perfume scents because while it is unique, it does contain notes that remind me of traditional perfumes. ★★★☆☆
-Potency ✦✦✦✧✧

Rose City- Smells like roses, obviously, but a little more leafy (for lack of a better word) than my preferred body products. I don't think I will be repurchasing, mostly because I don't typically wear rose scented perfume. When I do go for rose scent I go all out, I use my rose cleansing conditioner and a rose body spray all over. However, if you are looking for a bit of a softer or more natural rose scent try this out. ★★★★☆
-Potency ✦✦✦✧✧


Troika- When I first opened the vial, it smelled like marzipan. On my skin it mellowed out, and morphed into an interesting combination of marzipan and florals. It's quite good though. ★★★★☆
- Potency ✦✦✧✧✧ It might be a little on the weaker side, but I think this will really be a hit or miss scent for a lot of people so I can appreciate the lightness.


Satyr- Blackened vanilla and orange are supposed to be the main notes in this perfume. The first time I tried it out, when I was rather sick and perhaps not at my best perfume testing ability, it reminded me more of lemons than oranges. Trying it the second time around I do get both notes, though I'm kind of eh about them together. ★★★☆☆
- Potency ✦✦✦✦✧

Elevensies- Is a hard scent to describe. It evokes the idea of breakfast pastries and tea, but does not truly smell of either. If I had to try and identify the notes, I would say there is some vague lemon and maybe some musk, it's on the sweeter side. ★★★☆☆

-Potency ✦✦✦✧✧


Twice is Nice- It smells heavenly in the bottle, and on the skin it smells a lot like samoas.
★★★★★
-Potency ✦✦✦✧✧


Final Thoughts
This is a sweet company, and for the most part I have been very happy with their perfumes (given that I hate most perfumes, this is pretty miraculous).  The scents themselves don't last exceptionally long though, so you may need to reapply.If you aren't willing to reapply your perfume, this might be an issue, especially since they don't offer roller balls.

 A few of these are very potent scents, you need almost nothing and the smell is very strong.
I'm told you can cut indie perfumes with Jojoba oil, which I may consider doing for some of these. I would also like them in a roller ball (although it has been quite fortunate that the dabber sample vials force me to get at least some perfume on my skin, otherwise I would not have realized that I actually quite like some of these.

I have never been able to truly enjoy sweet scented perfumes before this, and the strength of their perfumes is almost always on point. I find their fruit scents accurate (which was part of my problem with mango sticky rice because I don't like the smell of actual mangoes), but the ones that I tried were paired with strange things which I am not entirely sold on. However, I think this is something that goes hand in hand with the uniqueness of each of the perfumes.

Nothing I have tried out is anything like what I could get at a department store, and unlike your typical fragrances, all the notes in the description are present in the actual perfume.

Zulily- A Rant

They have good prices on good things, but everything else about the company is a nightmare. I'm not talking about the long shipping, because that is to be expected. They make bulk orders from companies when they host an event, so they don't place the order until the event ends (which makes you wonder why there are still items that sell out though). After that, they have to receive the items from the company, and then pack and ship them. What I am talking about is cancelling orders, shattering products in shipping, using ridiculously large boxes for no apparent reason, and their inability to honor a guaranteed Christmas delivery commitment.

 My very first order from them came pathetically packed, my products were not only in a ridiculously huge box for their size, but also had no padding and rattled around loosely. As such, one of my eyeshadows came to me broken. However, upon emailing their customer service they did refund me my money and added a 10$ credit to my account, so I forgave it.

Since then I have made several orders from them, and have noticed the same poor quality attention to product packing. I remember once I ordered a mug and it was an absolute miracle that it was in perfect condition because of how poorly they had packed it.  Their company response when there is a problem is to add a 10$ credit to the person's account. With that in mind, I have been given $50+ in credits due to their incompetence.

There have been several times where they canceled my order on me because they miscounted their stock, and TWO of my orders both with guaranteed Christmas delivery were delayed. On one it was fine, I didn't need it before Christmas though I had ordered it in November. However, the second one was a gift for someone, it did not arrive, and they did not communicate to me about it.

Bottom Line: This company has incompetent staff and horrific shipping, order at your own risk. I have had better experiences with dicey Chinese clothing companies.

Ipsy Unboxing- December 2014

 This is my Ipsy bag for the month. It is a nice small size, feels like it's pretty good quality, looks very sophisticated-- until you see the zipper pull.

If I needed another makeup bag, I would totally be keeping this though.

 The card says "You are a: Fearless Heroine" and there are several different options for what you could have gotten: talented being, creative genius, brave soul, and inspiring original. To my amusement, a fearless heroine is probably what I am least like, considering I am afraid of everything.

 Oh look, another cleanser which I won't ever use. I've gotten several cleansers from Ipsy in the months that I have had the box, but I don't like trying out cleansers.

It's from Beauty Without Cruelty though, and a lot of their samples they send out are from cruelty-free companies, which I like.

 Crown Brush Infinity Shadow and Crease Brush. This feels like it's really good quality, and I have always wanted to try out a double ended brush, because I see the advantages, but also the problems with it. Because of those issues, I have been kind of reluctant to go out and purchase one, so it's really cool that I got one in this bag.

 I want to try out the Nyx Butter Lip Balms so badly, but I don't wear red. Well, sometimes I do a red lip, but that is such a commitment I don't like to do it with my lip balms. Also, I find often times red lip balms do not sheer out very well and it looks so weird on my lips when the coloring doesn't spread evenly and I have patches of red coloring.

 The small little tube is the tube from my Ipsy, it is a .1oz tube. I would be so excited about this, except I already have a larger sample of this (.13oz), and way too many mascaras to go through.

Finaly, I got this Pixi eyeshadow. At first I was horrified because I had a terrible experience with similar packaging, but it opens cleanly. The brush is less like a brush and more like a smudging sponge, but it works. I did try and swatch this but it's a metallic light pink and the lighting didn't feel like cooperating.












Now, I did decide to cancel Ipsy, so this is the last Ipsy unboxing you will be seeing from me. I was spending ten dollars a month on products I was never that jazzed about.  Even this month though, I'm only keeping two of the products. It has nothing to do with the quality of Ipsy: I think if I hadn't had the Tarte mascara already, if I needed more makeup bags, if I wore more red colored products, I would have liked everything about this bag. It would have been the best bag ever actually, but I don't.

Ipsy and Birchbox were my first subscription boxes, and from the reviews I had expected Ipsy to be my favorite. I do love the bags, but I never get that jazzed about the products inside of it, and I don't need any more makeup bags. Also, their points system is horrendous.

Influenster Vox Box Unboxing

**I did receive this box for promotion, all items were given to me for free from Influenster. I will always tell my readers when I do receive items for promotional purposes, but this will not affect my review.**

Influenster is an online review site, basically you write reviews on their website and connect with your social media accounts and you can earn points and badges and such things. They will occasionally send out surveys to see if you qualify for a Vox Box, which is a box of new drugstore products that they will send you for free. In exchange, you write reviews on the products and get the word out about it.

This is my box opening, initial thoughts post. There will be more reviews on the individual products coming along as I get the chance to properly test them. I apologize for any poor quality photos, I decided to open and photograph everything just after I got home from a party late in the evening.

 This is how the box came to me, you can see its not very well packed but nothing is broken or damaged in anyway, so I guess it worked out.









Next, I got this gentle eye makeup remover from Rimmel. I do already have a gentle eye makeup remover, but I'm not in love with it by any means so I will definitely test this out.

 Then I got some thyme from McCormick. I already have plenty of thyme in my spice cabinet though, which I think is also McCormick. However, I am slowly accruing some spices in fancier glass bottles from another company, and I wonder if this is McCormick's attempt to keep up with them.

 Now, some NYC lipstick in the color Sugarplum. I think it looks redder in the picture than it actually is, it reminds me a lot of marsala, the Pantone color of 2015. I will try it out and tell you what I think of the color, formula, etc. I have never tried New York Color products before, though I have wanted to.

 This is an anti-aging serum foil packet from Boots which I'm pretty sure is a drugstore brand from the UK. I don't need any anti-aging products as I am quite young, and also a foil packet is not enough of a sample to determine if you would like to purchase any sort of anti-aging product.

 There was also the Ecotools sleek and shine finishing brush. The label says it dries wet hair faster and nourishes the scalp for healthier hair. I'm all for brushes that I can use when my hair is wet, so this is probably the first time I will ever be reviewing a hair brush for you.

 It seems a little late to be sending out candy cane tea, given that it is now the 20th and I got this box on the 19th of December. However, I will drink it, and while I won't be doing an extensive review I will mention what I think of it in an upcoming post.

The Rimmel Waterproof Scandaleyes eyeliner pencil. I will test out both this and the eye makeup remover in a separate post. I might end up making it into a mini brand review, since I have one or two other products from them.










 This is from Redvines, and while I personally hate Redvines I am morally obligated to try all the candy offered to me because I have a huge sweet tooth.










Update- they smell strongly like fake fruit, you know like smoothie flavored candy, and they taste like fake fruit, but I actually kind of like them. They are somewhere in between a redvine and a fruit snack flavor strength wise, though they have a very fruit snack like texture. You can pull each bite into three separate strings, which is fun, and they look like they cost 2-3$ so if you like these kinds of candy or this sounds interesting, give it a shot.

Also, I did the water test (you know because when you eat fruit snacks or gummy bears plain water tastes absolutely awful for reasons I do not understand) and these pass. I can drink water after eating these without it tasting terrible. A little disappointing because you're expecting sugar, but not terrible.

Birchbox December 2014 Unboxing

 This month's box is another pretty box, though I accidentally drew on it try trying to open up the outer packaging. I did already peak, and I chose a sample this month, so I know what I am going to get, just not what they look/feel/smell like in person.

Here is what it looks like once you get beyond the paper. The first visible things are the Rusk Texturizing Spray, and a Rosemary Shower Gel.

I actually forgot how much I liked the smell of Rosemary until I opened this up. It is a very well done genuine smelling fragrance, they stay true to the base scent but have other notes that make it smell like something one would expect from a high quality brand.



Typically, rosemary is hard to make perfumey, but people do tend to make it smell like the kitchen spice cabinet. While I love my spice cabinet, I don't really want to smell like it-- not the kind of edible I'm going for. I don't use shower gel too often, so I imagine I won't be repurchasing it unless it is some miracle product, in which case you will hear about it.

I have no idea why I got a texturizing spray, as on my profile I mentioned I had very thick hair that I almost always let air dry. There is no styling involved in my day to day hair. Some days I can't even be bothered to brush it, since I know it will just look like I rolled out of bed two minutes later. So, I won't be using this product.

 Next, the Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara. It isn't a waterproof mascara, so I'm not sure how they expect it to stay on all day, and I know that water based mascaras are often not good at holding curl, but we'll see.

This was the sample I chose, because I've been on a mascara hoarding kick as of late. I don't like to put on waterproof mascara everyday, but my lashes hate to curl just as much as my regular hair does. The full size of this is like 30$, which is insane, but I thought I might give it a shot.

Finally, inside of the pillow box was the Amika Hair Mask, and the Embroylisse moisturizer. I will try out both of these, though I have heard mixed reviews on Embroylisse. However, I am completely stocked up on both of these types of products (3 hair mask samples, 1 full size hair mask, and 4 moisturizer samples) so it may take me a while to get to these.

Japonesque Brush Cleaner- First Impressions

I picked this Japonesque Brush Cleaner up at Ulta on Sunday, in the little impulse buy kiosk by the checkout. It was 6$, and as I had previously been using rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle (which doesn't remove much coloration from the bristles, but does seem to keep colors from bleeding over on your face), I thought I would try something more professional.  In full size (30$) it will cost you 2$ per ounce.

The instructions are fairly simple, spray product 6 inches away from brush, gently buff brush against a terry cloth to remove excess makeup. Ensure product is dry before using. This is my paraphrased version.

 Ingredients (quoted exactly): C11-13 Isoparaffin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethyl Trisiloxane, Limonene, SD Alcohol 40

There are warnings about the product being flammable, and you are supposed to keep away from eyes and face  (although I imagine this applies for the wet product, as rubbing alcohol is also something you don't want to get into your eyes).

This product smells a lot like my Julep Bare Faced Cleansing Oil, but upon doing research they share nothing ingredient wise, though they both have citrus based products in them, which is where the smell comes from.

The Elf Small Stipple Brush
is great for applying my powder
blushes

 In this photo, you can see my dirty makeup brushes, the cleanser, and my makeup cleaning terry cloth (which gets replaced weekly). So, I sprayed the product, buffed out the brushes, you can see the results on my individual brushes here.

BH Cosmetics Contour brush
is my favorite for bronzer

The brushes are a lot cleaner than they were, though this does not take the place of a proper shampooing. Overall, the brushes do feel softer than they were before, and this is way gentler and more effective than rubbing alcohol. 

Flat topped buffing brush
I use this one for my foundation, powder
foundations especially. The small angled
buffing brush is fabulous for cream
to powder blushes. 

Here are the freshly cleaned brushes. I will continue to use this for daily use, and will update this post or create a new post if any new developments come up or my opinion changes.

The brushes I used were not high end brushes, but they are some of my favorites:

BH Cosmetics Sculpt and Blend Set

Elf Small Stipple Brush

Clinique Acne Fighting Foundation Dupe

 Foundation and concealer are almost always things I splurge on, because I am a huge believer in high quality basics, but I found a dupe that I really like for my everyday foundation. 

Clinique's Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup is my everyday foundation. It looks wonderful with a primer, but it doesn't exaggerate my pores when I don't wear one. The finish isn't overly dewy, so I can wear it everyday and only need to set it with a powder when I feel oily. I have applied this foundation with and without a sponge, and while I do prefer the finish of the sponge, I can also apply the product comfortably with my hands. Because it is such a low concentration of salicylic acid, I can use it when my skin is perfectly clear without it drying out or feeling abused, but it helps overall with my breakouts. 

Clinique's foundation in Fresh Alabaster
 (their palest shade at the time though they now
have an even fairer shade for those who are paler than me)
and Elf's foundation in Ivory ( also palest)

The dupe: Elf's Acne Fighting foundation. 

Exceptions:

- The color range is a little different and not as wide as Clinique's, and I think Clinique ultimately has a coloring to it that would work better on all skin tones. 

- Elf has a thicker texture than Clinique's, which is much more liquidy. I happen to like this, because I am into cream foundations. 

Here are my swatches (Clinique on the left, Elf in porcelain in the middle, Elf in Ivory on the right).

I did scan over the ingredients list as well, both foundations contain the same concentration of salicylic acid, and look to have very similar ingredients, some in a slightly different order though. 

These are the products blended into my hand, so you can see how they match and how the finish is exactly the same. 

Now, just to make extra sure that I had truly found a dupe, I wore both foundations on separate halves of my face for the entire day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, that way I was able to get opinions from friends and see myself in different lighting during different parts of the day.  You can see the photos from two of the days on either side, in different lighting and during different parts of the day.

Julep December 2014 Unboxing

This is my second Maven box I have gotten, though I did not show you the first one because it was an absolute fiasco. If I have an experience with a company's customer service, I will always try to make a point and tell you because, particularly with a subscription box company, customer service is a serious part of one's opinion on the company.

The Company, the product, my customer service experience:

Julep is a high quality polish (and beauty) company. All of their products are vegan and 5-free (the link opens in another window and will tell you what 5-free means because I didn't know at first either), as well as allows more oxygen to pass through your nails, has strengthening ingredients, all of those good things. However, it's healthy ingredients weren't what actually drew me to their polishes, instead it was the vast array of gorgeous colors, impressively fast drying formula, and strong finish. 

The average polish costs 14$, but with Maven pricing it comes down to $11.50, and on sale or in sets it is a solidly Mid-range polish price. Mavens get special access to a Secret Store at certain times of the month, and get special coupons, it's actually a pretty sweet deal if you like the polish, a lot more than other subscription services offer you. 

The box is 25$ a month, cheaper if you buy more months, as always. They promise, I think, at least 40$ of beauty products in each box. You take a quiz and it comes up with the polish/beauty product sets they think you will like the most. HOWEVER, this is the cool part, during the end of the month they will reveal what is in your box and allow you to swap out your individual products for ones of your choice (up to two polishes and one beauty product, three polishes, or two beauty products), as well as add on up to 6 products for discounted pricing and of course free shipping. 

Now, my first box contained Roc Solid instead of the color Dana, and was completely missing my cleansing oil add-on. I emailed customer service, it took them a little longer than I would have liked to get back to me, but nothing outrageous. They said there was a problem with the polish I had selected (though it was available on their website later on when I was shopping for polishes), and they gave me enough rewards points to get another polish in my next box. You can only redeem your Jules on boxes, which kind of sucks because you then have to get another box. Also, in order to cancel your subscription you have to call, BUT they do allow you to skip the month, so that is nice. 

Actual Unboxing

This month's box looked roughly like this when I opened it. I did however take down the card that names the collection/theme of the month because It was hard to see through the glare. Julep has a tendency to use pretty large boxes and then fill them with a TON of the crinkled paper. It is very pretty, but also very wasteful. Other brands, like Fortune Cookie Soap and Treatsie also use the paper crinkles, but they are much less wasteful about it. 

 This is the Countdown collection, I assume as in countdown to the holidays. A lot of the polishes are either very bright, metallic, or glittery this month, which fits well with the season.





The first thing I got in my box was this shader brush. I had to choose between showing you the whole brush or just the bristles, and I thought the bristles would be more informative.





This is a very high quality brush, the handle feels sturdy and heavy, the bristles are soft, secure, and well-shaped, they label the brush's intended purpose for those days when I wake up and forget what all my brushes do, it is lovely.



Then, I got this mattifying eye primer, as I have been very happy with all of Julep's products and have been testing out quite a few eye primers as of late.






Now, for the add-ons

I got a mystery polish (because as much as I love customizing my box, I still want to be surprised). This color is Sylvia, which looks like a cream finish purple. This will get used at some point, probably for rainbow nails.

Then, I got the polish Nell because it was cheaper to do the two beauty products in the box and then purchase the polishes at a discount than the other way round. This is a textured glitter finish, containing mainly blush and silver colored microglitter. I love it, though I will probably finish it with my freedom polymer top coat because I can't stand rough texture on my nails, and the glitter polishes tend to be a little more fragile than their cream finishes.

I got their plie wand a while back, and while I don't think it helps me out all that much (it is designed for people who don't choke down on their brushes, as I always have with every brush and pencil I have ever owned), it is nice to have the alternate tools.

Bonus, when you add three or more add-ons, you get an added bonus gift. I ended up getting their Blank Canvas Mattifying Lip Primer. I never would have bought this on my own as I have only tried two previous lip primers and never saw the point, but after some testing I kind of like this one. Maybe there is hope for me after all.



This is what it looks like out of the tube. On the back there is a little push button that you use to expel the product, but I pushed the button WAY too many times, and it sort of oozed out a lot.

This primer is not overly opaque, but it does have some color to it. It also has a plumping function, which felt awful on my lips, but it went away a few minutes. I went ahead and used my Looking Glass Wonder Paint over it with the Elf Lip Lock lip liner.

Bare Lips with Looking Glass

With primer and Looking Glass