Tuesday, August 8, 2023

wet n wild Ultra Black Breakup Proof Skinny Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner Review

Today's eyeliner review is going to be on the wet n wild Breakup Proof Skinny Waterproof Eyeliner in Ultra Black.

I have this on the upper lash-line
AvailabilityThis ranges from around $5 - $7 and can be purchased at drugstores that carry wet n wild and Ulta along with their respective websites. This can also be purchased on wetnwildbeauty.com.
Would I buy this again? I'm not sure. 
Notes: I'd say that this is a matte black. It's waterproof and stays put nicely (about 8-12+ hours). It glides on very easily. The brush is fairly thin as its name implies; there was a bit of a learning curve for me to get it to create neat cat-eye wings but overall I would say it's not too difficult to use if you're someone who's used to these calligraphy pen style eyeliners. 

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself. 

Monday, August 7, 2023

Mask Review: pixi skintreats Rose Remedy Mask Nourishing Toning Jelly

 'Ello folksickles. Today's review will be for the pixi skintreats Rose Remedy Mask Nourishing Toning Jelly.

Availability:  This retails anywhere from $20-24  for 10 fl. oz (300 mL) and can be purchased at target.com, selfridges.com, and jcpenny.com along with their physical store locations along with pixibeauty.com.

Would I buy this again? Possibly.

What is this product? What is it supposed to do?
According to pixibeauty.com:
Nourishing, toning jelly packed with nutrients and botanicals to help refresh and deeply nourish your skin. Blend of Rose, Argan Oil, Cica and Turmeric refreshes, nourishes and hydrates
Hydrates & replenishes for softer skin
• Nourishes & smooths in an instant
• Restores & protects
• Suitable for all skin types
• Paraben-free
• Not tested on animals

Does this contain any special/beneficial ingredients?
Once again, according to pixibeauty.com:
Rosehip Oil moisturizes & restores
• Argan Oil deeply replenishes moisture & smooths
• Cica heals & soothes with antibacterial & anti-inflammatory properties
• Turmeric provides antioxidant protection

What is the texture like?
I would describe this mask's texture as being gelatinous and slightly balmy, it doesn't set as it dries and feels refreshing to apply.

Is this scented?
I would describe the scent as a(n) herbaceous, spa-like rose scent.

What has my experience with the product been like?
I have to start off with disclaiming that I don't follow the instructions on this mask in terms of them telling you to apply this in a thick layer. In fact, I'm convinced that instruction is there to have you go through this mask quicker and it's on the pricey end for something at the drugstore so I want it to last. Additionally I apply a thin (while still even) layer to my skin because honestly only the surface area of the mask touching the skin is having an effect on the skin and as this is meant to be washed off after 10 minutes, it's not like the skin has a chance to absorb the excess. Also, when I go to wash this off, even the thin layer puts up some resistance to being washed off. All that said, I really enjoy using this mask - it smells nice, it makes my skin feel very refreshed as its on, and my skin feels very soft and nourished when I wash this off. 
 
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

DisclaimerI purchased this myself.

Sunday, August 6, 2023

July 2023 Arrivals

 Ok folksickles! Look at me for a change, pretty much only buying essentials.

1. Grandma Agatha's (Agafia's) Recipe Nourishing Hair Mask with Eggs: Not the official name of the product but I did my best translating the Russian on the packaging. I understand with today's political climate I have to preface saying that I in no way support Putin or his war. I've tried and reviewed many international products on this blog so, since I have access to Russian pharmacies in my neighborhood, I've been meaning to try the product offerings there as well and since my hair has been dry lately, especially my ends, I decided to pick this up to see if it would give my hair that extra boost of hydration. 

2. Duo Rosewater & Biotin Striplash Adhesive: I liked this glue and found that it works effectively, I'm not sure if it's the glue but my natural lashes have been looking very full and curly lately so I figured since I needed to replenish anyway, that I'd get it again. 

3. wet n wild Ultra Black Breakup Proof Skinny Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner: Since my complaint with the original version of the liner was that I wished it were better tapered, I decided to give the skinny version a try. 

4. pixi Rose Remedy Mask Nourishing Toning Jelly: I'm running low on my masks and decided to pick this particular one up because it contains ingredients to help with hydration - my skin feels really dry since being out in the sun lately and getting a bit sunburnt. Additionally, this contains redness reducing and brightening ingredients so I felt like it would be a good mask pick at this time. 

5. Maybelline Fit me Loose Finishing Powder in Fair Light: Due to an unfortunate accident wherein my other powder messily spread all over my drawer (it has been cleaned up since then), I decided to purchase this powder as a replacement. I've heard good things about this particular powder formula so I decided to give it a try. 

4. L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation in n 1-2 Soft Ivory: Many years ago I had this in the silver pump and it was fantastic. Unfortunately it seems like they've changed the formula and it's not as full-coverage as it once was. This shade is also a touch too yellow for my skin-tone. 

5. beautyblender blendercleanser solid pro: As you may know, I absolutely love this brush soap because it restores my brushes to looking nearly brand-new and removes all excess product from them. I like getting the pro size because this usually lasts me a year at the very least, which makes it an economic purchase despite it being somewhat pricey upfront.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I purchased everything listed above.

Saturday, August 5, 2023

July 2023 Favorites

Hey folksickles,

Alright, all the goodies I've been enjoying in July :) 

1. Tocca Gia Eau de Parfum: Since I ran out of my last perfume I used a randomizer to pick the next one I was going to use and it landed on this. I haven't used this fragrance in a while and I just remembered why I love it so much - this is a great combination of sweet, floral, yet lightweight and fresh. I absolutely adore it!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased the product discussed above myself.

Friday, August 4, 2023

July 2023 Departures

Ok folksickles. Departure blogs will contain items that aren't empties but that are going to be given away for one reason or another. I'm working hard to curate my makeup collection and want it to include only the products that I think truly work well, that I reach for often and do what they're supposed to do.


1.  Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow in Apple Mojito, Surfin USA, Sailor Kiss, Pop Idol, and Full Moon Romance; Midnight Swim , and First Glance: While these shades look beautiful, I just hardly ever reach for them, if at all, so I figured it best to pass them on to someone who'd get more use out of them. I also do not love the way that the navy shade blends, it's a bit blotchy in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I purchased the products mentioned above myself.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

July 2023 Empties

 All my monthly trash on display for you to see. :P

1. Bath & Body Works PocketBac in Winter Candy Apple: This hand sanitizer smells delicious and has a strong, apple scent. I really enjoyed using this.

2. Dr Teal's Shea Butter & Almond Oil Shea Sugar Scrub: This is a fantastic body exfoliator that's nice and gritty, which I prefer because I feel like it really gets my skin smooth and my circulation going. This one has a subtle, sweet scent to it.

3. Charmed Aroma Peach Sugar Kiss Candle: This candle smells absolutely delicious but unfortunately this didn't contain any jewelry inside of it and, instead of jewelry, this tiny mosquito decided to get in there instead so I will not be saving the wax to use inside of my wax warmer. 

4. Secret Waterlily 48 HR Invisible Solid Antiperspirant Deodorant: I feel like I have such a bad habit of waiting until my deodorant falls apart entirely until I replace it, as is the case with this one. This has a nice, fresh scent and does a good job of keeping me smelling decent as well as staying somewhat dry in this summer heat. 

5. Physicians Formula Eye Booster Waterproof Ultra-Fine Liquid Eyeliner: This is my favorite eyeliner of all time and I am sad to be done with it. I had this particular tube for several months now and it's really beginning to dry out so it's time. 

6. NARS Explicit Black Climax Mascara: I really enjoyed using this mascara despite my initial review of it not being the most positive; it coated my lashes nicely while giving them a lot of length and volume. 

7. DUO Rosewater & Biotin Striplash Adhesive: I initially purchased this lash glue hoping that it would be gentler on my lashes and I have noticed some lash growth and thickness, although I attribute it mostly to the eyeliner above, this might also be helping. 

8.  Trader Joe's Grapefruit & Lemon Hand Sanitizer Spray: I really love these sprays because they're lightweight, non-sticky, and smell great. Plus they're easy to throw in a handbag or anywhere else you might need a hand sanitizer on hand.

9. berkley jensen Scented baby wipes Refreshing Green Tea & Cucumber: Since I personally use these for wiping down surfaces I don't really mind that they have a scent. In fact, I think they smell really nice. I love these because they have nice thickness to them, contain a large amount of wipes per package, and when I store them upside down they don't get dry so every last wipe remains wet. 

10. Shop Miss A Precision Eyebrow Razor: Honestly, despite this being a brow razor, I use it to clean up any straggling facial hairs. Because it's so small, it's great at getting into precise spots like right under the nose.

11. Trish McEvoy Blackberry Beauty Booster Lip and Cheek Balm: This has developed a really off, fish-like scent to it, so I'm discarding it from my collection.

12. Palladio rice powder in translucent: I found that this powder was cakey and didn't set smoothly on my skin at all. I would venture to say that it's probably best for someone with oilier skin. Additionally, unfortunately this powder got caught on something while I was trying to get it out of my drawer and I had the powder just spill all over the place, which is why it seems that I went through it so quickly. 

13. Dove deep moisture body wash: I like to use these to shave with because they provide a nice glide to my razors, last a long time, and leave my skin feeling hydrated. 

14. Pearlessence Faux Mink Lashes Wispies: Despite them being faux mink, I find these lashes are easier to apply and have thinner lash bands. They have a pretty, natural appearance that gives a voluminous, full lash look.  

15. Sage Goddess Perfume Sample: Unfortunately I'm unsure which scent I had, this smells like jasmine but also has an earthy quality to it, as though there is also sage or incense. It was quite lovely and i enjoyed it.  

16. Beauty of Joseon Revive Serum: This is a wonderfully hydrating serum - I'm not surprised that I liked it because I tend to like snail mucin serums, they help smooth and hydrate my skin which I appreciate.

17. Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub: I absolutely love this scalp scrub - while it is pricey, the tub lasts me about a year with once weekly use. It does a fantastic job of scrubbing off any dandruff flakes and plaques I might have and leaves my hair feeling super clean while also rinsing out easily. I do, however, suggest following this up with a deep conditioner or mask of some sort because the sea salt in here can be a bit dehydrating. 

18. TONYMOLY I'm Rose Revitalizing Sleeping Mask: This is a nice, hydrating sleeping mask. I like that this has a gel texture because it adds a nice boost of hydration while being lightweight. It also felt cooling on the skin, which is a nice touch in this summer heat. 

19. e.l.f. Stay All Day Blue Light Micro-Setting Mist: I found this setting spray to be just ok - I'm not entirely sure if it did anything to protect me against blue light but that's not something that's visible to the naked eye so I'll never know. It did work to keep my makeup on but my issue is that the atomizer sprays in such a way that I end up choking on the fine mist particles. For this reason, I will not be purchasing this setting spray again. 

20. Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Hydrating Body Wash: Technically I bought this body wash by accident, as I had meant to order the Uplifting scent instead and somehow severely messed up. In any case, this is nice but I wouldn't buy it again. This smells like a creamy vanilla sugar cookie situation and I say it's nice because it felt hydrating and produced a nice foam. I was ok with the scent but it's a bit too sweet for my personal tastes. 

The following products all developed an unfortunate foul odor and I've decided it's best to discard them:







29. Dr Teal's Shea Sugar Scrub in Prebiotic Lemon Balm: This scrub smells incredible - it's very citrusy and lemony. That being said, I found that it was softer and more liquidy than their other scrubs. 

30. Charmed Aroma Cafe Latte Candle: This candle has a delicious, creamy, latte scent to it. It burned quite nicely/evenly as well and had a nice throw. 

31. beautyblender blendercleanser solid in lavender: I love this for washing my brushes as it gets them super clean and brand-new looking. That being said, this completely fell apart so it was time to replace it. 

32. Freeman exfoliating scrub mask: This was a really nice exfoliating mask that lasted me a long time. My only issue with this is that it seemed to kind of just melt into a liquid toward the end of the tube which was kind of odd and made this difficult to finish. 

33. Wander Beauty Nude Illusion Liquid Foundation: While this foundation has a beautiful, dewy/glowy formula, I do have a few issues with it. Firstly, I purchased this in the lightest shade available and it's still a bit too dark/yellow for my skintone. Additionally, the packaging for this is just, unfortunately, atrocious. Initially, the top of this burst out of seemingly nowhere and leaked product everywhere and then, toward the end of my using this, the wand wiper came apart from the tube which also made it difficult to finish up the product. For such a pricey foundation, I feel like it belongs in a nice glass bottle with a pump and ideally one of those vacuum type situations that allows you to pump out every last bit. 

34. Biore UV Aqua Rich Water Essence SPF 50+ PA++++: I absolutely love this sunscreen and am glad that I bought a backup of it. This is very hydrating while also being very lightweight. It feels more like a thick, hydrating serum than like a traditional sticky, heavy SPF which I highly appreciate.  

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the above with the exception of the Bath & Body Works, beautyblender, Wander Beauty and Sage Goddess  products. 

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Love It Or Leave It; Review 2.0: naked cosmetics #IV-04, #RF-01, #RF-02, #TI-01, #IV-05, #TI-05, #TI-03, #TI-04 Loose Pigments

Hello folksickles. As a makeup junkie and blogger you may have realized that I review a LOAD of eyeshadow palettes and I like to think of myself as being largely an eyeshadow junkie. In order to declutter a bit  I've decided to pick out a palette or series of eyeshadows for the month and have that be my monthly selection for those instances where I'm not doing a tutorial for the blog. Every month I'll do a recap on the eyeshadows - how I feel about them and whether I'll be keeping them or giving them away (and why :P) as well as if I think it's worth its price tag. 

naked cosmetics #IV-04, #RF-01, #RF-02, #TI-01, #IV-05, #TI-05, #TI-03, #TI-04 Loose Pigments
These are the looks I created this month:
So as you can see I created mostly soft, colorful looks with these eyeshadows. I really love the quality of these shadows - the color payoff is excellent, they're beautiful and they blend well. I've really enjoyed creating what I would describe as these soft, romantic, colorful looks and feel like they're very "me" in terms of the kind of style of makeup I both like to do and to wear. Additionally, I love the multi-dimensional colors, they're quite beautiful. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased these myself.