Sunday, April 6, 2014

Revealing my UniVoxBox from Influenster!

Okay we all know how much I (and a million other people) love Influenster and you can't blame us! I love being able to try out the latest new products even when it's not makeup. I always get these useful things that I would have never thought to try out but I always end up totally loving! This time I was lucky enough to receive the UniVoxBox which contained all these little goodies to prep a girl for college (hence the "Uni" name!). In my box, I found the following lovely items:
  • Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation
  • Playtex® Sport® Fresh Balance™ tampons
  • Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure
  • Pilot Acroball Pure White Pen
  • Red Rose Real Tea Premium Water Enhancers
  • NYC New York Color Expert Last Lip Color (in Fushia Fashion)
So of course I need to share my opinion on all of these products, but in no way was I paid or told to say what I'm going to say cause well.. I'm not that good first of all (haha!) and because that wouldn't be fair to you guys .. making you buy bad products?! I wouldn't want that for myself or for anyone so I promise my review are 100% my opinion and full honesty~!

Let's start with my favorite... (can you guess?) .. the Stay Matte foundation by Rimmel London! Woot woot! I've been loving so many products from Rimmel London like their Kate Moss lipsticks (they smell good and have great pigmentation and are super smooth!), pencil liners (comparable to the Urban Decay 24/7 liners - no kidding!), and their Scandal Eyes mascara (just got it and I'm loving it!). The Rimmel London Stay Flawless foundation was actually the first foundation I ever bought because I remember Michelle Phan saying what great coverage it had. If you go on my Youtube channel and check out my older videos, you'll see me using it! I loved that foundation (although after some time I noticed it did oxidize a bit on me) but this Stay Matte one is even better! It goes on super smooth and is so easy to blend into your skin. It gives medium to full coverage without being too cakey looking and gives me a flawless MATTE (hence the name) finish. Even if you have dry skin, this is okay because of the mousse texture and it's great for oily skin because it dries down to a matte finish. If you have super oily skin though you probably will want to still use a translucent oil absorbing powder, but otherwise, I can get away without powdering! I would highly recommend you guys to try this foundation if you're looking for a great drugstore foundation (and it's not just me who's loving it, I've heard a ton of Youtubers talk about how great this foundation is!).

Moving on, I was excited to see the Pilot Acroball pens because all of my pens seem to just be dying or disappearing on me (oh my diminishing free pen supply Q.Q) and these are wayy better than all of my other ones. The ink comes out really smoothly and I love Pilot pens in general so I couldn't complain really! As for the Playtex Sport Fresh Balence tampons, well.. isn't this a strange topic haha. It's hard to really review a tampon although.. I guess if you've ever seen those 25 cent ones in public restrooms, you'd know that the ones you buy are definitely of higher quality haha. Playtex is my go to brand for buying my sanitary products (is that the correct term?) and these ones don't fail my expectations. They do the job and go in and out fine (okay maybe that's a bit awkward haha) so I'll definitely be buying these once I run out!

As for the Red Rose Real Tea Premium Water Enhancer (what a mouthful... or typful..or letterful? LOL), I'd actually never heard of the brand or really the product itself. I mean I know there are ton of water enhancers out there, but the thing is that I loveee water. I don't really understand it when people say water is too bland or boring because I find water to be refreshing! I mean when I'm thirsty, it's water I'm craving! Not juice or sodas (I actually can't drink soda because I can't handle the gas.. TMI probably but it's true) or milk or what not.. WATER! But I know there are tons of people out there who like their fruity drinks and sodas so I can understand the appeal of water enhancers for us weight-conscious girls and guys out there (sigh oh the struggles of loving food and trying to not be fat Q.Q). I like the flavor this adds to my water and it's nice since it's a tea flavor but since I can just add it to my cold water and I don't have to steep it in hot water like normal tea bags, it's perfect for any hot spring or summer day.

Another product I hadn't really had much experience with was the Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure. These were all the rage for a bunch of nail companies a little while back and the idea of it was super cool but I didn't bother picking any up because I didn't think they would fit my nail right or wouldn't look right. However, my friend had got some for free with a nail polish purchase and tried it out on me and I was pleasantly surprised. I haven't specifically tried the Broadway nail brand press-ons so these were my first pair and they turned out to be super nice! They went on well and easily and fit my nails quite nicely. They also stayed on for some time and didn't fall off so that was quite nice too.I guess the only downside is that you can't "trim" the size down since they're plastic so it might get annoying if you don't like your nails that long!

Lastly, the NYC New York Color Expert Last Lip Color in Fuschia Fashion! All these products have such long names haha my fingers are getting tired! Anyways, this lip color was definitely a bit out there for me. I'm usually a "my lips but better" girl or on my especially daring days I'll go with my red lip butter (I love Candy Apple by Revlon) but fuschia pink .. definitely a new color for me. But I was quite pleased with the way it turned out! It actually didn't look super scary on me and it's definitely perfect for spring and summer! I like pairing this with crop tops and high-waisted shorts or flowy sheer tops because it really just adds to the cool "summer" vibe ^__^ The lip formula is also decent and doesn't settle into my fine lines and the packaging is actually quite nice for NYC!


Okay enough of my rambling and I hope you guys enjoyed this mini review on all the products. Once again I have to thank Influenster for letting me try out these products and share my thoughts with you guys because it gives me something to blog about (haha!) but yea! Have a wonderful day everyone and talk to you soon ~<3

Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer Haul + Review and Swatches!

If you didn't already know, Ulta had this special event called  "21 Days of Beauty Madness" where each day (since March 16th all the way till April 5th), they had one or more "Beauty Steal(s) of the Day" with certain products discounted or on sale for a pretty good price. They also had a different in store events every day where they either teach you beauty tips and tricks or share new products! It's pretty cool and the nice thing is, they released all the specials of the day that they'd have on their website so you didn't have to keep checking back or checking your email to find out what items might be on sale that day. Click this link if you want to check out what goodies they had on sale so the next time it come around, you have sort of an idea what to expect! :)
From left to right: Sprog, Rosie Lee, Kerfuffle, Goss, Bit Faker, and Lucy in the Sky
Anyways, why am I mentioning Beauty Madness at Ulta - besides trying to save you some bucks? Because on March 20th, the Beauty Steal of the Day was buy one get one free for Butter London nail polishes. Say whaat?? Yea you heard me. Those polishes that sell for $15 a piece for only $7.50?! Woot woot, count me in! Unfortunately, that week was my finals week for school so I was locked up in my room studying that day and knew I wouldn't be able to go in stores to get the polishes so I decided to purchase them online.. which I wouldn't say was a bad thing because (1) all of the nail polishes were in stock and available and (2) I was "forced" to buy more than just two polishes since I wanted the free shipping which required a purchase over $50 haha. I ended up buying 6 polishes and a toner that cost about $6 which got me just barely over $50 and the free shipping! I'm planning on returning the toner to my local Ulta though since I don't exactly need a new one and I might actually be returning one of the Butter London nail polishes just because I realized I have a color similar to it already (but who knows!).
Top to bottom and Left to right: Rosie Lee, Sprog, Kerfuffle, Bit Faker, Goss, and Lucy in the Sky
Below is a photo of how the polishes came in their bundled original bubble wrap packaging. Thought I'd just share this to show how nicely packed the polishes were to avoid breaking during the shipping process. I commend Ulta for their shipping services as I received the tracking ID in a timely manner via email and my package arrived in about 4 business days (it was supposed to take 2-5 business days). My order came in a nicely packed cardboard boxed that was filled with air bags and bubble wrap to keep everything secure and safe :D
All nicely bundled up to protect from injury during the ship!

The polishes I purchased are Goss, Lucy in the Sky, Sprog, Bit Faker, Rosie Lee, and Kerfuffle. Goss and Lucy in the Sky are from the Boho Collection, Bit Faker is from the Summer Collection, and Kerfuffle is from the Spring Collection. Rosie Lee and Sprog are part of the permanent collection. Sprog is a beautiful pond blue cream shade with no sparkles and is quite opaque (you can get away with one coat but two is always advised). Kerfuffle is also another cream polish that comes in a peachy-coral-pink shade. It's not exactly the type of pink I've been searching for (I'm on a hunt for the perfect pink base shade that I can do nail art and designs on) but it's definitely a really pretty pink with warm undertones. 

If you want, I can do a shade comparison to other pinks I have to show the difference as many pinks can be too cool or too orange and this is definitely a nice different shade from anything I have. I also am quite pleased with Kerfuffle in it's opacity and non-streaky nature (I only needed one coat of it and it looked fantabulous!). Rosie Lee and Bit Faker are both dense glitter packed polishes and I know they're going to be a pain in the butt to get off, but they're soo gorgeous. Rosie Lee has pink glitter specks while Bit Faker has a mix of gold and bronze glitter specks giving it a really nice multidimensional look. Because they're both intense glitter polishes, they dry with a textured rough finish because of all the glitters but that's not a problem for me (especially since I always top with my Seche Vite top coat)


Goss is one of the most unique polishes I've ever tried since it's a foil or metal finish meaning it's SUPER glossy and shiny and makes it look like you have metal on your nails! It's absolutely stunning and actually might be my favorite polish from this haul because of it's unique look. It reminds me of my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish in Silver Sweep (click here for a swatch of it) which also has a metallic/foil finish but Goss is a rose gold color which makes it extra special. The only downside to Goss is that it is a bit less forgiving to any bumps or lines on your nails as they WILL show up through the polish and I would advise 2-3 coats to get an even finish (in addition to a base coat and buffed&smoothed nails). When I was deciding if I should purchase Goss or not, I was reading reviews and quite a few people had mentioned the streakiness and how you could see "brush strokes" when using Goss. I agree that it is a bit more difficult to use than other normal polishes, but nothing that can't be fixed with multiple coats of polish! And last but not least, Lucy in the Sky! It is a beautiful glitter top coat with gold and silver glitter particles. These glitters are different from the ones in Rosie Lee and Bit Faker because they're just a tad bit larger and there are less of them which makes it better as a top coat than to be worn by itself. Because it has less glitters and the glitter particles are slightly larger, Lucy in the Sky has less of a rough finish.
I paired Rosie Lee by itself (two coats) on my left thumb and found it to be quite a glitter packed polish. While it can look nice over another solid polish, it definitely can be worn by itself since the glitter flecks are so densely packed. On my right thumb, I did one coat of Kerfuffle and topped it with two coats of Lucy in the Sky. I'm not sure how much I like the pairing but I do like both nail polishes separately! Lucy in the Sky is really pretty and layering one coat vs. two coats can create very different effects.
Picture taken indoors with flash.

Photo taken indoors without flash. From thumb to pinky (left to right): Rosie Lee (two coats without redipping brush into bottle), Kerfuffle (one coat!), Lucy in the Sky (one coat all over the nail) and Bit Faker at the bottom half of the nail (one coat), Goss (two coats), and Lucy in the Sky (two coats all over the nail) with Bit Faker at the tips.
Index finger to pinky (top to bottom): Goss (one coat so you can see some brush lines), Bit Faker (two coats but without redipping brush into bottle), Rosie Lee (one coat) over Kerfuffle (one coat), and Lucy in the Sky (two coats with redipping back into polish bottle)


Overall I'm extremely satisfied with all the nail polishes so far. They all apply super smoothly and evenly and look amazing! I'll post an update later on how long they last before chipping so I won't apply a top coat. I'll also post pictures of Sprog once I get to testing it out but I hope this post was helpful to any of you guys thinking about purchasing one of these Butter London shades! They're all quite unique in my opinion and I'm glad I purchased them when they were on sale :)