Korres Lip Butter

I'm not a lip color person. At all. Occasionally I'll go out on a whim and get something tinted or colored, but in all honestly, I probably won't wear it. I mean, I like color, but I would choose something moisturizing over something pretty any day.

But now I don't have to choose!

Yay for Korres Lip Butter!

Tub shot! Wild Rose.

Side shot.

I know it looks really gross, but I've had it for a while, forgive me.

Swatch!

Naked lips.

With Korres Lip Butter.

Application:

Yeah, I know, you have to stick your fingers in the pot or use a lip brush. GROSS! I personally don't really mind though, because I would have finger blended in most cases anyway. Not much of a let down!

Formula:

This stuff is super sheer, but it can be built up for a more intense look. I prefer it on the sheer side though, and even then it adds a very very subtle brightening effect, very "your lips but better". Even with a very thin coat, this stuff is super moisturizing, but never greasy! It feels great on my lips.Wild rose has a slight rose scent to it. I'm not a big fan of the rose scent, but it fades really quickly.

Claims: 

Deep hydration. CHECK! This stuff is great at moisturizing, even with a thin coat. Shiny tinted finish. Eh. It's not really shiny; I mean it's not matte either, but it's no lipgloss that's for sure. I would but this in a balm like kind of finish, even though it does look like lipstick in a tub.

Other:

The little counter thing at Sephora said to use this on your cheeks. I did that, and I will warn you that it's a bit too hydrating for that. If you have dry cheeks, good for you! Go for it! But my normal skin is actually a bit oilier on my cheeks, so it's shine city for awhile. I'll use this on some days under my normal blush, just to add a tiny bit more color on the apples of my cheeks. It's great for blush to stick to. 

I actually bought this a long while back but wasn't too impressed. But I fell right back in love with it just about a week ago!

Rating: 5/5

I bought this at Sephora for $12. I think it's also available in a tube form, but that's more of a gloss. From the reviews I've read, it's similar but WAY SHINIER (not my thing). Get it at Sephora and anywhere else Korres is sold.

Maybelline XXL Pro Curl Mascara

After that super grody L'oreal Telescopic Mascara fiasco, I had to get a new mascara. Like, honestly, I would not be able to handle that stuff for another three months. I chose Maybelline XXL Pro Curl Mascara in Very Black. It's one of those two in one mascara things with a primer on one side and a "topcoat" on the other.

Tube shot!

Step 1: Primer

Step 2: Topcoat

Bare lashes, curled. Sorry if the blue eyeliner is distracting, this is my daily look.

Primer.

One coat of topcoat

Two coats of topcoat.

Application:

Pretty easy; it takes a little bit of time to get used to the curved brush, but it's kind of like the Maybelline Falsies Flared brush. Only it's better, because it's not as weirdly flexible. It gives pretty decent definition too. However, it does start to collect around the neck of the bottle after awhile, which is annoying but harmless. 

Formula:

It's a bit on the wetter side of the mascara spectrum, but not annoyingly so. It offers pretty good length and volume. It's pretty much scent free. It is more or less smudge free, but I do notice a little bit of flaking on particularly humid days, no big deal. It'll even last through lacrosse practice, which is some pretty intense sweating. This mascara takes a tiny bit longer to set than most mascaras, but nothing too bad. Also, it's actually  BLACK, and not a dark grey (although that doesn't really make a difference on my dark lashes).

Claims:

This mascara claims length and volume, the usual (which it delivers pretty well on!), but it's real claim to fame seems to be its curling power. I wouldn't really say it's extraordinary in that category. It's not bad at all and it'll hold a curl all the way until the end of the day, but nothing to really write home about; I still go through my normal routine of pulsing up my naked lashes with the eyelash curler and then giving one last quick pinch after applying mascara.

Other:

I think this mascara handled the primer concept pretty well, but in general I don't think I'm much of a fan of this idea. Sometimes, I can get to the really far lashes in the corner of my eye with the primer (since it doesn't really show up in my skin) but not with the topcoat. Also, sometimes I'm trying to be really careful with the topcoat since it's so dark and I end up not reaching all the way to the roots of my lashes. It kind looks weird with white roots and edges but super dark everything else. I only really had this problem the first few times I wore it because I was trying to be careful, and it's not really noticeable at all unless you look for it. 

Also, I added another coat of topcoat later in the day (like, 8 hours later), and to my surprise, it worked pretty well. Even though my mascara was completely dry, it didn't clump up weirdly or anything! This would be great for someone who wanted a little extra oomph after the day was over.

Rating: 4.5/5

Almost perfect! It's actually about tied with my beloved Lashblast Fusion if that's any indication to the quality.

I got this at HEB for about $6, but it should be available wherever Maybelline is sold. Also online!

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara Carbon Black

Ok. I'm going to warn you right now. This is one of the worst mascaras I have ever tried.

Packaging

More packaging; sorry about the glare!

Really wimpy brush...

Tiny bristles!

Bare lashes; curled.

One coat, top and bottom.

Ew. Two coats, top and bottom.

My depressing attempt to salvage this mess; combed out with a lash comb.

Ok. This stuff is really really really bad. Allow me to explain.

Application:
The mascara makes a mess. Everywhere. The little brush? Yeah, it doesn't really get the mascara onto my lashes; instead, it gets it pretty much EVERYWHERE. There's more or less no definition whatsoever. I end up having like 6 big, clumpy lashes. Yeah, really bad.

Formula:
This stuff flakes. After two coats and a couple of hours at school, my eyes were gross and spotted. It literally melts off in water, so if there is ANY CHANCE you'll be getting emotional, don't wear this mascara. It's on the wetter side of the mascara spectrum, and it refuses to set quickly, so this mascara will get on everything it touches. I will admit it is pretty scent free though. Also, it doesn't hold a curl.

Claims:
This mascara claims to give amazing length. And yeah, it does after two coats, but with a whole lot of set backs.

Other:
I will at least admit that I think the packaging is nice, and very creative. Also, it stands on its own, which is a little thing I appreciate. But the mascara itself? Not so great. One coat looks pretty decent, aside from the major smudging. It has length and decent definition. But after that, ew. This mascara is so odd; it either relaxes my curl or it's do this weird thing where it sweeps my lashes to the side....I don't get it either. One coat doesn't offer enough WOW, two offers way too much bad stuff. There's no in between!

Rating: 1.5/5

I got this at Kroger for around $10, a little on the steep side for no good reason. It's also at L'Oreal's website, but I don't recommend you purchase it.

Thanks for reading!

Forever and Always, Aileen.

Jordana Easyliner

More blue eyeliner! Awesome! I purchased Jordana Easyliner in Bliss from my local Walgreen's.





Bliss is a beautiful bright turquoise with some lovely shimmer running through it.



Application:

I really love the fact that this is retractable (no sharpening!) but honestly, it kind of needs to be sharpened. This pencil isn't terribly large, but then again, it's not quite the definitition I was looking for.

 When I applied it, it was a bit too firm, and I had to sort of press down hard to get any color going (I applied it to my lower lash line). I had to swipe back and forth several times.

Formula:

Not amazing. It didn't make my eyes water or anything, but it usually starts to fade towards the end of the day. Also, it washes off really easily in the shower, which just gives a hint to the staying power. It's nowhere near terrible though!

Other:

The packaging was pretty cheap looking, and the pencil doesn't retract all the way down. The pencil wasn't even sealed in a cardboard backing; it just had some plastic around the cap to seal it. I do like that the pencil is the same color as the the eyeliner though; that really made it easy to choose a color! Also, the cap doesn't close all the way down too easily.

Rating: 3/5

I bought this at Walgreen's for $1.99. Also available in 12 other colors from Jordana.

Thanks for reading!

Forever and Always, Aileen.



Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette

Hehehe...Um, yeah sorry about being late again. BUT I'M ACTUALLY HERE so yay!

Anyway, I bought the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette. 8 beautiful colors!

So pretty!



Whoo!




Artsy!



Swatches! Starting from the bottom right up to the bottom left up. No primer.

 Ok, so Comfort Zone is absolutely beautiful. Starting from the top left, we have a pale peach shimmer, then a tan color, almost copper but paler, a green color that appears to lean gold when applied, a darker brown with some goldish shimmer, a sort of steely gray, an olive green, a dark charcoal with lots of metallic shimmer (glitter-sized, almost), and lastly a gorgeous reddish brown with blue shimmer; DUOCHROME!

Application:
Wow, sort of terrible. I didn't take a picture, but the brush in this palette is terrible. It has a sponge applicator on one side and a brush on the other, but they're both horrid and cheap. I used the sponge applicator to swatch, and it broke off! Terrible. The brush side is plastic and scratchy and gross, but hey, I don't really use either to actually apply make up anyway.

Formula:
Pretty nice, I must say, but I've come to expect that from Wet n Wild! The colors were pretty smooth, although I had a tiny bit of trouble with the pale peach color (maybe because it was so light?). I did have a little problem blending, but nothing a little elbow grease couldn't fix! I can't really say much about creasing, since I don't have creases.....But I will say that this eyeshadow has a bit of fallout. Just some shimmer, so I would recommend using a primer.

Claims:
Well it pretty much claims to be shimmer eyeshadow, which it is.

Other:
I thought the color variation was pretty good, with a few cool tones and few warmer ones. This could work for girls who want to try out little pops of colors that aren't necessarily complementary to their skin tone, and I really like that. Although I do want to add that the two greens are pretty similar. One leans a bit golder and the other is more olive, but still, they're way to similar to be in the same palette.




Here's a look I did on my friend Camille! Sorry for the really awkward angle...the lighting was terrible so we kind of propped her on a table.




This is with the duochrome and the copperish color, but it's really hard to see in this light.



Rating: 4/5

I bought this at Walgreens for $4.99. I personally have not seen an extensive Wet n Wild collection anywhere but Walgreens and Fred Meyer's, but if you have any luck, you should definitely check these out! Also availabe at Wet n Wild's website.

Thanks for reading!

Forever and Always, Aileen.

Back from the dead, kind of.

Oh blog world, I'm sorry for neglecting you. With school and all....Oh dear god, please forgive me.

I have been stressing stressing stressing over school! It's almost finals week...but nevertheless I decided I owe you people SOMETHING.

So here's what has been going on so far; I'll try to write another review tonight because I stopped at Walgreens today and got new stuff (YAAAAY!) but I haven't swatched in a well lit room or anything, so sorry, but you'll just have to wait until I finish my geometry project and my English final questions. In the mean time, here's a quick personal post to show you what's been going on in my life for the past...4 months?

First, my laptop charger broke AGAIN. Yes, the new one. So I ordered a new one. But it didn't work either. So more waiting, yuck, but luckily I have a desktop computer in my study now, wheeee!

Second, my school had a cross dressing day! It was, uh "spirit week", which should technically be before homecoming. We don't have a homecoming. We just have spirit week.

Oh dear, well aren't we spirited.

Third, I went to the fabulous but very cold Oregon over Thanksgiving break.

Hace frío!

Annnnd lastly, school has been driving me crazy. I've been trying to associate work with food (like how you're supposed to pet a cat while it's eating the first few times you meet it because then it learns to associate you with food and it will love you), but so far, no luck.

I took 20 pages of notes for this chapter. Front and back. Color coded.

I detest geometry so much, I've reduced my homework to a serving platter. That'll show you, homework.

Other miscellaneous things: I got an instagram! If you have an instagram, please follow me if you like my pictures! I'm not going to force you to or anything, that's just annoying. I am foreverandalwaysaileen, no surprise there amirite?

You should follow Bo Burnham on Twitter, he is incredibly funny, so if you like funny things, that would be good for you (but really, who doesn't?).

I found out how to curl my hair where it DOESN'T hurt overnight, yay! I'll post a tutorial....hopefully.

I'm deleting the popcolor lip thing video because I look god awful and it wasn't very helpful anyway.

Lastly! I love you all and I'm so sorry I haven't been updating. I promise promise promise I will do AT LEAST weekly posts, hopefully more, because I have a whole lot of fun new toys to show off!

Please come back, I've missed you all!

Forever and Always, Aileen.

Click and Be Happy Makes Me....Well, Happy.

URGH! First week back of school was GRUELING! They are not showing us any mercy over here! But it's Friday (thank the lawd!) so I have some free time and a slightly high endish new product.

Ok, so on my trip to China my mom decided to flip through duty free and tell me that all my drugstore cosmetics were too cheap and that I would die or break out in hives or something and she very kindly offered to buy me something off of duty free. And I said no! Because I honestly don't need that stuff, I'm perfectly happy with my under $10 makeup. It works fine!

But nevertheless, my mother still constantly bothered me about it until we settled upon some perfume. Specifically, Clinique's iconic "Happy" perfume. Well. Mentally we settled on it, we didn't actually buy it there. Fast forward to back to school shopping at the outlet and LO AND BEHOLD a beautiful, wonderful, fabulous, amazing COSMETICS COMPANY OUTLET! Sorry about all the caps lock, I'm am super excited! And so we picked up Clinique's "Click and Be Happy" Product. It contains 3 of their "Long Last Glosswear SPF 15" in "air kiss", "cabana crush", and "clearly pink" and it cost about $25 (with tax). The concept is actually really quite cool, it gives you this little 4.5ml rollerball perfumes in the original "Happy" perfume as well as 2 variations ("A hint of citrus" and "A wealth of flowers"). The lipglosses come with these tubes that sort of extend outward a bit more, so you're supposed to be able to put the perfume you want with the lipgloss you want and carry it around- INGENIOUS! Oh I love little gimmicks like that, they're fabulous and my makeup bag is small.

So anyway. PICTURES!

Full Product! I love the silver box!

Clinique's original "Happy" perfume.

A "Happy" variation, with added citrusy notes (now under the name "Happy Heart" I believe)

"Happy" with more floral notes. This is under the name "Happy in Bloom" currently I believe.

Clearly Pink

Air Kiss

Cabana Crush

For reference, I will offer some information about the perfume, but keep in mind that the overall review and rating DOES NOT factor in the perfume's scents! This is very very personal stuff guys....everyone has a really different opinion of their favorite scents, so I am not including the SCENT as a factor. Wear time, packaging (application), and some really basic stuff will factor into the review, however.

Let's begin!

Application: 

1. Perfume- This perfume is a roller ball. But! It is not a particularly good roller ball, I must say. My $6 gap perfume roller ball is better than this one, honestly. The "ball" part of the roller ball is made of plastic, and it gets kind of...well it doesn't really "roll". Or at least it doesn't really roll unless you apply a good amount of pressure. Ergh. 

2. The lipgloss has a doefoot applicator. It's honestly nothing special. The tube is pretty easy to hold, and you will need to use a mirror in order to apply the gloss, but the applicator does its job.

Formula:

1. Perfume- this stuff....I mean, honestly, it doesn't last all that long on me. It goes on pretty strong, especially wealth of flowers. And gradually it fades and all, but I can't detect too many scent changes as the day goes on. It's eh. I know that even with my super cheap perfume I catch whiffs of it 12, 13 hours later, but this (which is an eau de parfum for gods sake!) fades after 3 hours....I dont' know, it might just be that I get used to it and it doesn't change much though.

2. Lipgloss- THICK! Wow. Very very thick. It's not too sticky though. It lasts for maybe 3-4 hours with limited drinking. And no, it doesn't last through meals. The glosses are sheer. They do add tint though! Just not to an insane "matte lipstick" kind of amount. "Air Kiss" is shimmery and sort of pales out my lips a bit, but doesn't WASH them out. It's this pale pink, a little darker than baby pink. Nice. Cabana Crush and Clearly Pink are the same kind of medium slightly blue based pink, but Cabana Crush tends to lean slightly more to the warmer side because of the shimmery gold in it. It's not super sparkly, but it's there and it's noticeable. Clearly Pink is not quite creme, but the shimmer is so so tiny, I wouldn't even consider it a shimmer. You will not be able to see the shimmer on your lips unless someone is staring at your lips from an inch away. And if that's happening, you shouldn't be worrying about the shimmer in your lipgloss.These feel very smooth, no grit from the glitter, yay! BUT! Because they are long wearing they are kind of drying (not a lot), so I do recommend a light balm underneath. They have a very very slight sunscreen scent and flavor, probably from the SPF. Unless you sniffed the tube like I did, you shouldn't even be able to detect it, especially on your lips. 

Claims: I guess the product as a whole is supposed to be convenient, with the switching thing. And yeah it is, it fits in my pencil case very easily without taking up too much room. But really, if they were pushing that sort of thing, they should have put a mirror on the tube. Although the middle band is really shiny, so I guess it could work. 

Other: The packaging works pretty well, nothing is really falling apart. But I do have one complaint, and it's probably just my tube- one of the caps for the perfume won't screw on right! Just one. And it's lopsided. It's not a problem when it's connected to the lipgloss (much less noticeable), but when it's just alone it looks bent. URGH. Oh well, it works fine and nothing spills. Also:

Happy: A hint of citrus. A wealth of flowers. A mix of emotions. Our best-selling women's fragrance interplays fresh, vibrant notes-ruby red grapefruit, bergamot-with soft, sensual ones-Hawaiian wedding 

flower, spring mimosa. 

Just so you know (:

Good for Girls Who:

• Are on the go.
• Like to switch things up a little
• Want a gloss for looks.
• Like SPF (natch!)
• Like Clinique's "Happy" perfume
• Want to dabble and try new products.

Bad for Girls Who:

• Want a lot of product
• have dry lips.
• Dislike thick lipglosses.
• Don't like citrusy scents

Rating: 3/5

You can get this at the Cosmetics Company Store (located at various outlet malls). 

You can get the full sized Happy perfume and Happy heart here and here or anywhere that sells Clinique.

You can get full sized Happy in Bloom only through Duty Free Airline magazines and stores.

You can get the lipgloss here.

Disclaimer: I am not famous enough to get sent free things, so of course this was obtained using my own (dear mother's) money. Therefore, I am not lying.

Yay! Thanks for reading!

Forever and Always, Aileen.

Super Terrible News....

Hey guys! Um, so school started again...and as it turns out, I have VERY VERY VERY little free time nowadays! Urgh! So the blog will remain, and when I have spare time I'll try to write a whole bunch of articles and queue them up, but honestly, this website will remain pretty desolate for the next while. SINCEREST APOLOGIES! I'll try to get back up here as soon as I can.

The Highlights of my Overseas Trip

I'm not sure if you know this, but this year's China trip was not my first one. It's an annual (sometimes semi-annual) trip that usually lasts no more than 3 weeks. Usually. This time, however, since there was no winter trip last year I was forced to spend FIVE WEEKS there. And I know some people would think I'm sooooo lucky but, I've heard it all before. Honestly, if you really wanted to go, you'd switch places with me. I mean, shouldn't you vacation to better places? What is the point, exactly, of spending several thousands to go to a place your children have detested since 3rd grade? Oh, well, up until this point ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 

That is, until I discovered a certain beauty product only readily available overseas. 

Just a warning, by the way: A lot, and I do mean A LOT of Chinese beauty products are really low quality or even fake. If you go to market places, people try to sell you BONOFIT cosmetics. Not Benefit. BONOFIT. How cruel to raise my hopes like that. If you happen to take a trip to China, just be very careful about what you're buying! 

My all time favorite find in China was a lip tint by Mentholatum (it's an international brand that also created softlips!). It's called a "Water colour" and the packaging boasts the catchphrase (or maybe it's the name of the line?) "Think pink!".

I bought one of them, but ended up buying another because my mom loved it so much she took it from me!

This is back packaging of the lip tint in the color Rockin' Pink. 

Outside tube.

Inside!

Tube once again.

Swatch (Look veeerrry closely!) Rockin' Pink appears to be a bright red in the tube, but applies sheerly. It is an almost neutral red and is subtle enough to add a pop of color to any skin tone! Also, my pictures don't show it, but there is a GORGEOUS golden shimmer in there! It's pretty, erm, rockin', if you catch my drift. It does show up on the lips, but only slightly.

I actually bought this one first, this is the same product in "Kissy Pink"

And the spectrum!

Same tube

Inside product

And again!

Swatch! Kissy Pink is a coral on the lips that almost leans hot pink. But it's nice and sheer, so nothing too loud! It's good for brightening up the purple undertones that some people have in their lips.

Application: This is very simple to apply; just a couple of swipes straight from a tube and you're all set! I don't think you would need a lip brush for this because it is sheer enough that few mistakes won't really matter. The tint is slanted for easier application. It glides on smoothly and easily. Both colors apply very well! It won't emphasize dry flakes though!

Formula: This is an extremely consist product so far, I'd have to say. Both colors glide on and leave a slight glossy sheen, but aren't thick or greasy. Despite the shimmer in Rockin' Pink, the tint feels just as smooth and non-gritty as Kissy Pink. The tints are lightly moisturizing, though I wish they had an SPF....The moisturizing properties last for only about an hour or 2, but the color stays through 3 if you don't eat. I allowed myself a few sips of ice tea though, with no problems. They are sheer, yes, but pretty pigmented, if that makes sense. I've tried a salve from the Mentholatum brand as well, but it smelled quite strongly of, well, menthol. But these tints are completely scentless and tasteless! 

Claims: I'm not really sure what this product claims to do...sorry. I can't read characters.

Other: This lip tint (as you can see) is available in 6 colors. Also, it winds all the way down, no nicks! However, the tube has no way that you can see the inside color or even the name! So you better remember... Mine cost around 30RMB, around 5 or so dollars! I got it at this drugstore called Watson's. Well...I guess we can call it a drugstore. It was a bit like an American drugstore, but without the drugs! Turns out real Chinese drugstores ONLY sell medicines (much of them herbal), so I guess Watson's is more of a convenience store. But whatever it is, it's a fabulous place! It seems to be based in Hong Kong but is now all throughout Asian, although their website is in English.

Good for Girls who:

• Like a little bit of a glossier look
• Like a subtle pop of color
• Have drier lips
• Have easy access to a Watson's

Not for Girls who:

• Strongly prefer a matte lip
• Are looking for something more bold
• Don't live near a Watson's drugstore.

Rating: 5/5

This is available wherever Mentholatum brand products are sold (like Watson's!). You'll probably have to go overseas though....And here's the Mentholatum website for more information. And here's a bonus link to Mentholatum's China branch.

Thanks for reading!

Forever and Always, Aileen.