But did they really live up to my expectations?
Check out my Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks review for Melted Peony and Melted Coral below.
Today’s review is going to be on these unbelievably beautiful Clinique Cheek Pop blushes.
Ugh! How pretty are these blushes! *hyperventilates*
Read on for my thoughts and swatches.
I’m new to this whole beauty blogging thing, especially on Instagram! I’ve been testing the waters on Blogger for a few months and have finally gotten a grip of it, and I’m still learning. Despite a rocky start (finding out I was pregnant when I was just about to start and having to postpone blogging for a while), I couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve just been so overwhelmed by the support I’ve been getting from fellow beauty Instagrammers and bloggers for the past two weeks, I didn’t know how embracing and supportive the beauty community on social media could be!
I was so pleasantly surprised. I’ve only been here for two weeks yet I feel like I’ve made so many friends, especially on Instagram. I have just started my @beautybucketeer account for less than 2 weeks, with only a few posts, and have surpassed 500 followers by now. I’m so happy and humbled.
So, as a token of my gratitude and appreciation, I’ve decided to host an International giveaway and there will be TWO WINNERS, chosen randomly, as there are two categories of prizes to be won!
One winner will win these MAKEUP goodies:
Another winner will win these SKIN/BODY CARE goodies:
These twist-up jumbo-sized pencil colored lipbalms certainly tickle my fancy! For the price, I think it’s certainly worth it, and I even like it more than the Tarte LipSurgence lip tints, which is about 2-3x the price of these ones!
I would love to show you guys how they swatch on my lips but my lips are currently very dry and chapped – been slacking on using lip treatments overnight and have been sleeping with the heater on all night, plus the crazy winter chills and pregnancy hormones! I will start treating my lips tonight and will post the lip swatches once I can.
Anyway, these balms come in two finishes: lacquer (glossy, moisture balms) and matte (velvety, matte moisture balms). The lacquers are definitely more sheer at first swipe, but its intensities are buildable and some of them leave a stain on the lips when they wear off. The mattes are seriously opaque but so easy to work with and does not dry out my lips.
These have a slighlty minty scent and tingles on my lips for a short while, but certainly not irritating at all – maybe it’s the hydrating ingredient? I wouldn’t say these could replace or function as “lipbalms, I just see them as moisturizing lip colors.
All in all I was really impressed with these. I find that these last a whole lot longer on lips that are smooth and well-moisturized, not dry/flakey lips!
Read on to see the individual reviews.
Oh, btw when I did the shoot for these balms I only had 5, but I recently purchased another one of the Lacquer Balms in the shade Coquette! The review for this one will be at the very end.
Since this has a rather sheer opacity, the color will translate differently on different people, depending on their natural lip color. The skin on my arm is a bit fair so that’s why the shade looks like a vibrant, bright pink. My natural lip color is a bit on the darker side, so this shade looked more like a warm, dark (pinky) red rather than a vibrant hot pink.
This shade, unlike the other two lacquers I purchased have no shimmer/glitter particles at all.
It lasted for a good 4 hours (fading a bit by the second/third hourbut there was still a slight residue of gloss by the fourth), but could probably last a bit longer, it’s just that I was so hungry by the 4th hour mark I had to eat! :p But even after eating, I notice that this balm left a slight pinky stain on the lips.
This applies very smoothly and there was no tugging at all, unlike some other matte lip products. The texture is thin though, unlike lipbalms in general, but the pigmentation is remarkable even at first swipe on the lips.
To make it last longer, I always apply a few layers and lightly blot the excess on a tissue paper. This lasts around 4-5 hours but will immediately fade once I start eating.
Sadly I can only use this on days when my lips are smooth and well-exfoliated, not dry and even slightly chapped. Throughout the day it can get a bit dryer and may cling on to dry flakes on the lips. If your lips are chapped or uneven, this might accentuate the flakes and unevenness of the lip surface. The shade just ends up looking blotchy and uneven on the lips. So, again, I personally never use this on days when my lips are chapped, which I think is a loss because this product is called a “balm” and conventional balms should be able to treat, or at least accomodate, dry lips!
It’s rather opaque at first glide on the lips, but is definitely buildable. I usually wait a few seconds after applying the first layer to apply another layer. I think this is the best way to apply this shade. Layer after layer, allowing each layer to dry out before adding another layer. This makes the color really intensely pop and stand out.
This shade has micro glitters in it and you can definitely see them on the lips if you look at it up close. But don’t worry, it’s not visible at all from a distance, you’d have to look at the lips super closely to notice the glitters. They actually accentuate the shine the balm has, giving it more dimension, which is just lovely.
However, I did notice some of the glitters gliding around my mouth area when I drank and wiped the sides of my lips, and it was darn hard to remove from the skin! But I wouldn’t worry too much about it, they’re so tiny no one would notice unless they look at your skin from a very close, intimate distance!
One thing I didn’t like about this is the fact that the micro glitters are difficult to remove, even with a makeup remover. I can always see bits and pieces of glitter left on the lips.
Like the Vivacious shade, this lasted around 4-5 hours, which is pretty damn good considering this is a “balm” and not a lipstick/lipstain.
I’m going to give this 4/5 because aside from the glitter issue, this shade is otherwise perfect!
The first layer applied is opaque but certainly does not feel heavy at all, which I love, but it is rather creamy and ever-so-slightly slippery so if you want to add a few layers, the color may glide around and become streaky if you apply the second layer straight away. When I’m in a rush, I just apply one layer and lightly blot it on tissue paper and apply a second layer, and so on.
Once this color dries and settles, it has the most beautiful satin/matte finish and the color is just strikingly beautiful. This is the perfect everyday lippie for me!
Unlike Unapologetic, this somehow does not accentuate flakes and dry patches on the lips. However, I’m not quite sure if this lasts as long as Unapologetic. One time, it started to fade a bit around the 3rd hour mark, and was almost completely gone by the 5th. At another time, though, this lasted around 5 hours, even with drinking. I have yet to figure out why the longevity differs on different occasions, but I don’t mind reapplying this throughout the day because it’s so easy to apply. One layer is enough!
I am giving this 5/5 because it is hands-down my favorite!
At first I really didn’t like this shade because I feel like it made me look old, like, I’m-in-my-50’s old. But I realized that it was just a matter of application. If I apply just one layer on my upper lip, blot my lips together and let the color transfer on to my lower lips, it actually looks really nice and sophisticated. I really like the warmth in this shade!
It has a bit of sparkle just like the Whimsical, but somehow it doesn’t really show up as intensely as it did with the Whimsical. So I’m happy about that!
Finish-wise, I like that this shade doesn’t slide around even though it almost always feels like it will. It has a rather slippery, glossy finish when I apply both on my upper and lower lips. However, when I only apply on my upper lip and blot my lips together, the finish becomes matted a bit and I feel more secure.
Longevity-wise, I was really impressed with this. I was so dehydrated one day when I used this and drank a lot, but this shade stayed put and did not fade at all. It lasted for about 5 hours until I started eating. Even when I was eating, the color stayed on pretty well and only disappeared after I wiped my whole mouth with a napkin. I had a pretty messy dinner that day, I think I had a Grill’d burger!
I’m giving this one a 5/5 as well! It’s currently my go-to lippie when I want a more mature look 😉
For the past year and a half I’ve been trying different types of cleansing water solutions, and I’ve got to say, these were all pretty impressive. Some were exceptionally great, some falls short of the standard the others have set, but overall still impressive.
I’ve been using cleansing water solutions to remove my makeup for over five years, but only in the past two years has there been a sudden surge of them in the beauty industry. Ever since the Bioderma gained popularity, lots of companies in the beauty industry suddenly started to produce them too. So nowadays we can be overwhelmed by the wide variety of choices we are offered by these companies, whereas five years ago I just heavily relied on my Chanel cleansing water and Bioderma.
Since I’ve recently tried my fair share of them, I thought I’d give you guys a quick run down of each of these cleansers to help you decide easier.
I’ve also included comparison swatches of makeup products removed with one swipe of each solution on a saturated cotton pad for your guidance (click images to enlarge).
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| Liners L – R are Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette, Milani Liquif’Eye Eyeliner Pencil, Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil (WP), Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black (WP), and Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion (WP). |
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| Lipsticks L – R are Maybelline The Elixir in 075 Fuschia Flourish, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo, Rimmel Apocalips in 101 Celestial, and Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in Pomegranate. |
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| L – R are Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX09 mixed with SX08, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream Waterproof Cream Color in 6, MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist and Maybelline Color Tattoo in 55 Immortal Charcoal. |
Note:
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| Bioderma Crealine H2O Solution Micellaire |
However, the second ingredient listed, after water, is Hexylene Glycol, which is a type glycol that is known to produce the most severe skin irritations (click here for more information). But don’t worry, glycols in general only cause minimal to mild irritations, so Paula’s Choice has deemed this ingredient to be “Good” (i.e. safe).
The other ingredients listed (there are only 7 in total including water and Hexylene Glycol) are perfectly safe.
When testing the swatches (see images above) I actually had a hard time removing all the makeup residue with this one. I ended up having to use my Bioderma to remove the lipstick stains and some eyeliner stains that this cleanser couldn’t remove.
On the packaging, it says “no rinsing needed” which means this can work as a cleanser on its own. So I wanted to experiment and I tried removing makeup and cleansing with this and continued on with toner, serum and moisturizer as usual. I was surprised when I saw two new, shiny, red spots on my cheeks.
So, personally, for me, this did not work as a cleanser. Only as a light face makeup remover.
It contains Benzyl Salicylate, which is a fragrance ingredient, and also lists parfum/fragrances further down in the ingredient list. The last ingredient listed is rose flower extract. This thing is filled with fragrances! So those of you with skin that is sensitive to fragrances, please beware!
Click on the infographic below, provided by the FDA, which explains what parabens are and why they are safe to enlarge it.
So I’m not too concerned about the paraben in this. However, I am a tad concerned about the essential herbs in this because some people may be sensitive to these plant/herbal extracts. It is a little known fact that sometimes herbs and plants (and purely organic skincare) can cause much more irritation than processed chemicals such as glycerin and dimethicone.
I am happy about the Lactic Acid (AHA) and Arginine (Antioxidant) in this though.
I actually really like this one, but only for removing non-waterproof makeup. However, this did cause some irritation when I used it without rinsing. I brought this with me when I was travelling in the Middle East.
We were in the Mount Sinai area in Israel and the hotel was horrible, and the water was dirty. We were only there for a night (thank God!) and I had no choice but to cleanse my face with this because I couldn’t use the water to cleanse my face with water (I didn’t take a shower that day too!). So I used this to cleanse with a cotton pad and then just applied moisturizer. I had itching and redness all over my face the next day, the texture of my skin became gritty.
I guess it was all the herbal extracts that drove my skin nuts?
Expensive, but quite nice considering it removes makeup well (although not waterproof makeup). However, this does require double cleansing because the herbal ingredients are too strong not to be rinsed off.
So I hope you guys enjoyed my break down of the six cleansing waters I’ve tested, and I hope this will somehow help you decide if you’re not sure which one to get.
I know the Garnier one has been getting a lot of hype lately and lots of people out there will disagree with me, but this is just my opinion based on my experience.
So I’d love to hear what you guys have to say about these cleansers if you’ve tried them before!
Let me know in the comments below 😉
XO
