May 2014 Glossybox Review

I was super freaking excited to hear that Glossybox was doing a collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman for the month of May.  I was most excited because of all the skincare goodies that were possibilities in the box. We would all also receive a gift card for $25 to use at Bergdorf Goodman online or in stores. I just so happened to have enough glossydots to redeem for a free box this month so it was just all free, free, FREE!!! I earned it after sticking with them for a year and just reviewing the items on the site. Took long enough! Sheesh! 

But I really regret not buying a gift box for myself on top of my usual box because I got some really good stuff. I wouldn't have minded getting two of everything plus I believe the gift card was stack able. Oh well, I still am glad I got a good deal anyways. I liked the box and was happy with all the purple as it is my favorite color. I used the giftcard online on the very last day before it expired on Dior Show Mascara and shipping was free plus I wasn't charged tax. All I had to do was enter my card number and they sent it to me super fast. I was super happy I found something I wanted for the exact amount on the card. I will be reviewing the Dior Show later because it has been years since I have used but I remember liking it. I sure hope my opinion hasn't changed about it. 

I got everything I wanted in my box. I really wanted more skincare items and the ones offered this month were mostly serums and I got a face cream. I had also gotten the Hair CC cream, a primer and hand cream and a hand cream. I was a little disapointed that the hand cream was so small but it smelled like heaven and I have yet to touch the hair cc cream or the primer. All I really want to talk about for now are the top 3 items I am excited for in my box. 

I think this face serum was the most exciting thing I got in the box. So far I have barely discovered serums so trying a new one and comparing it to my other one should be fun. This is a brand I have not heard of before but am willing to try anything to help preserve my skin. This so happens to be the lifting serum with pure gold and plant stem cells that is supposed to keep skin moisturized. 

I know that some people say that your really don't need anything special for undereyes and some people say you do. I feel that maybe you don't but it really wont stop me from trying a product that is aimed to be for eyes only. I really don't have many lines around my eyes but I do feel that isn't an excuse not to take care of the skin around there. I see it as me being proactive and taking care of something before it happens to get in the habit of doing it. If in the process my skin looks good then I'm good with that. I would just rather have a good habit now than to try and develop it when I really need to. So I will see if this works on my fine baby lines and if it does I will report back to you. 

I have seemed to get this brand Sulwhasoo confused with The History of Whoo which is an amazing brand (which is also on the pricey side) but The History of Whoo works like nothing else I have ever used. I am hoping to see something awesome to come from using this because I really have faith in my Korean face care products. I will probably be using this after my serum and face oil but before my sunscreen. The texture is very heavy so if it doesn't work out with my normal everyday routine I will probably switch to using it at night. 

So there you have it! I think this is one of the better boxes I have received because there is NO mascara or nail polish. I seriously need a break from those two items. Is it possible to send a note to them all stating I am going on hiatus and no longer accepting mascara and nail polish? Says the person who bought a mascara with her gift card....Until next time lovelies!

XOX

Veritypretty

Jewelmint May 2014 box

I have been wanting to try a jewelry subscription box for a long time now and now that I have kind of given up on Julep I decided to swap it out for a Jewel Mint VIP box instead. By stalking people on Instagram and reading a few blogs I decided on this one because the jewelry didn't look too cheap and usually wasn't too flashy looking. I actually thought I was purchasing a collaboration box but then soon realized that it was the regular old VIP box. I was okay with that as it still was a mystery to me as to what I would be getting. It was also the same price of 29.99 for 3 pieces. It came pretty quick as I think it ships from somewhere in LA and I live close by. I can easlity say this is up there in the pretty packaging rank with the sturdy black box and blue ribbon. 

When I opened it I honestly thought to myself "Oh gawd, not dingle dangle earrings!" I have absolutely no earlobes and most hanging earring hurt me or make my ears itch like nothing else. I think they're allergic to fabulous. I just can't stand how they usually make my ears feel like they're dragging but they look so dang pretty. I'm cursed I tell you. As for the rest of the items, I didn't notice them because I was too busy dreading trying to figure out what to do with the earrings. 

Crescent Falls Earrings 

They are pretty cute though, I felt so bad that I actually tried them on and figured I could pass them onto my sister or something if they really did bother me too much. But they actually didn't. My ears didn't feel itchy, they were lightweight and felt like I was just wearing regular ol' studs. I ended up wearing them all day at Genbeauty on Saturday with a black cowl neck romper and sandals for a more casual cool vibe. Another complaint I usually have about dangle earrings is that they get caught in my hair and these ones didn't.

Robin 1 - Box 0 

Rayonnant Pendant 

The necklace upon further inspection is pretty cute and all but I really wish that the chain was thinner. I like a thicker chain usually because they are harder for me to ruin but this one calls for something more delicate. I feel that the chain being too large distracts from the actual gems and sparkle. I have yet to find a good outfit to wear it with but will most likely pair it with a simple V neck tshirt maybe in white or grey to lend a more hippie vibe to my look. I am not a hippie dippie person but have been leaning more towards the style lately. 

Robin 1 - Box 1

Helena Bracelet

Ugh, the more I look at this bracelet the more I dislike it. I sit all dang day at a desk typing and trolling and wearing this to work would just be a waste because I would end up taking it off so I don't cut off my circulation. I don't really wear bracelets or bangles to begin with and probably would have preferred that I got something not so stiff. On top of that I hate how it fits. It just feels so tight and stiff and doesn't move up or down my wrist. No movement. Nadda. A little bit more wiggle room would have been nice. But yes, this one might definitely go to my sister if I do not warm up to it. 

Robin 1 - Box 2

Do I feel they captured the Midsummer's Night Dream inspiration that they were going for? I guess they did with the earrings, not so much the other two. I would have rather received a necklace with a donkey head on it because the one included looks more like a sand dollar or a funky daisy to me.  Please someone make one because I would wear it. but I guess they were trying for something along the lines of romantic more than literal inspo. I would have preferred something along the lines of magical with fairy looking elements than a "romantic" feel. Or maybe I am being too nit picky. All I know is that my first impressions after opening it were blown away and ended up liking the one thing I thought I would hate the most. 

For $30 I don't think I would do this every month. Maybe every once in awhile or if there is another collab where I feel like it might be worth it. I do like how it makes me think more out of the box for my outfits as I really don't purchase much jewelry because I end up just buying the same style over and over. The quality of the items are pretty good except for the bracelet where I thought the plastic "gems" just made it look cheap. Maybe if it was a better quality plastic I would deem it okay but everything seems very sturdy anyways. If I get anymore of the boxes I will let you all know what I think but I might try a different jewelry sub box before I do. 

XOX

Veritypretty

Mac Sheertone in Pinch Me

I bought my very first Mac blush a few months back and ever since then I have been itching to get at least one more. Fast forward to now and I have finally bought my second one. I was looking for something that wasn't too shimmery or even something that was a bit on the matte side and something that would look good on summer skin or just in general. I am more into a natural looking blush but I am not afraid to play around and make the blush the star of the show. But blush is definitely something I can't do without in any makeup look. Just a light dust gives my face the "I'm alive!" glow. 

The color I ended up getting the color Pinche Me which Mac describes as a medium dirty rose coral and is apart of the sheertone line of blushes. I really like how it is more rosey than coral and it looks very natural with any look. I think it gives a nice flush that doesn't look too overdone with a smokey eye or bold lip. It just brings the right amount of color to my cheeks so I don't look so flat. I feel it can also be the star of the show if you decide to do a bolder cheek. 

I really like how warm and natural it looks on my skin and how buildable it is. I think this is up there as one of my new favorites. It also looks great with a little bronzer or contouring and lasts for most of the day without having to worry about touch ups. I feel that if there is any shimmer in this then I really cannot see it at all. If i do happen to want some slight shimmer all I have to do is add the tinniest bit of highlighter to the tops of my cheek bones and Voila! The right amount of glow for daily wear. So far it has been one of my favorite Mac purchases to date but then again, I don't have many Mac products to begin with! But lately I have been passing up on using my favorite Nars Orgasam in favor of this and that says more than any words here on the blog as Orgasam has been my HG since 2010. Overall this is an awesome blush and I really can't wait to hit pan just so I can get it again. 

XOX

Veritypretty

Bare Minerals Bareskin Serum First Impression

When I heard Bare Minerals was coming out with a liquid foundation I got super excited. I am a Bare Mineral Foundation groupie, I seriously love it and the mineral veil but sometimes it can feel weird wearing a powder foundation during the day in the summer. I almost caved and bought it when it first came out but i held out for a prayer and my prayers were answered. I had bought a ticket to GenBeauty and Bare Minerals was going to be there again. Last year they did the whole shade matching and then gave you a full size of the powder foundation and a brush and it happened again this year. They matched you and then sent you on the way with a full size bottle and a brush. 

I got mine the second day by sheer dumb luck and by being in the right place at the right time. my plan earlier that day was to come 30 minutes early and get in line fast. I did get in pretty fast but then some really rude security people cut off the line right in front of me. Now I had gotten up early and rushed for no reason. I gave up because I had no luck getting my foundation last year. Why would this year be any different? Then during happy hour they got rid of the line and I had finished getting my last goodie bag at the vendor next to Bare Minerals and low and behold a line barely started forming! I quickly made my way over and got in line and a few people got inline after me before they closed it again. It was happening this year and I was super freaking excited beyond belief. 

When I finally got to see someone to match me She took a quick look at my skin then applied the shade Bare Natural 07 and it looked like a pretty darn good match. In the powder foundation I am a N20 and I never really need to switch shades for summer, I just dust a little bit of bronzer lightly over my face if I need to. I never tan but I tan easily but I am in an office setting for 8+ hours a day so the likelihood of that happen is slim to none. 

The Girl recommended to shake the product very well before applying, when I open the box it says to shake well and on the bottle and the back of the box it says to shale well. I shake very well because I am super paranoid about not following that direction. When you do shake yo hear the clicking kind of spray can sound which means that this stuff must really settle and separate inside the bottle if they need a blender on the inside. I believe that's why some reviews of this say that it can feel gritty when applied. I didn't feel any grittiness myself and I shook it like a Polaroid picture. 

The top dropper is pretty small and lets out just enough of a drop at a time. The foundation is very watery and I had to keep my hand flat when trying to warm it up a little. I then used my beauty blender to apply on my skin which probably isn't the best way to apply it. But I refuse to buy a brush when I know I will probably end up switching to something different like I did with the powder version. No need to waste my money on that! plus I never have used any sort of brush when applying any of the foundations I own. If you really insist that it is the best way to apply then let me know until then I will be figuring out the best way for me to apply it. But I will say I started out using the powder version of the foundation and used the brush that came with it and liked it but loved the foundation more when I switched to the Ecotools retractable kabuki brush. I just have this feeling that I am going to buy it then discover I like using something different down the line and never using it again like the last one. 

As you can see I have some acne scarring but nothing major. Most of it is disappearing from using a skin care regimen. I do have some very slight redness around my nose but nothing major and I got plenty of sleep so Not mush under eye darkness here. My problems really only need a nice even coat of foundation and some spot treatments where needed. 

I feel in pictures it looks like it covers everything but in real life I can see the marks still. It took forever to try and learn to cover it all and eventually I gave up. Medium coverage is better than nothing but I like something that is a bit easier to build up where I need to. Applying with my fingers then bouncing the Beauty Blender kept it looking a bit natural. 

Yes you can't see my whole face here but I think my hair looked pretty awesome for once and I did absolutely nothing to get it to look like this. LOL  I would say the foundation does look pretty natural but now looking at it I think it might be a little too light for me. Or maybe I am a little paranoid. I don't think it's anything too drastic though and can and will be solved by a light dusting of bronzer and I normally do a little bit of light contouring around my jawline anyways. I ended up having to use 6 drops to get medium coverage with my Beauty Blender which to me feels like a lot. It says that 6 will get you full coverage but that's if you use the brush. 

With flash I think it looks a little white but that's my own personal opinion of it. it does look really pretty but you can definitely see the large acne scar on the left cheek. I think it is something I could live with given what my skin used to look like growing up as a teenager. The formula is supposed to be scentless but I do detect a hint of a powdery smell to it. But the smell isn't like a baby powder smell, it's more like a face powder smell and I didn't even apply any setting powder to my face. 

As for performance, I was lounging around all afternoon and evening and by the time 10pm rolled around I took a look in the mirror and discovered it clung to dry patches on my skin and I find it strange because I moisturize the heck out of my skin. The color was even and didn't really budge except for where I rub my nose. I also saw these little white strand looking things on the bottom of my chin almost like it drew out the stuff from my skin which was gross. I don't know what happened because when it happened I did use a face scrub that day so my skin was super smooth. I have never seen that happen with any of my foundations. The color looked great and didn't turn any sort of orange or pink on me or get darker which is a plus in my book. 

Overall I do like how light the foundation feels and how long it lasts and I like how there are so many colors in the range for everyone to choose from. As for how I like it for my skin, I don't know. I have some pretty mixed feeling for it since I was really hoping I could use this instead of my HG BM powder foundation during the summer. I feel it just takes too much work to get it looking how you want it and isn't practical for me since I do not like to spend too much time on my base. Plus that funky white stuff on my chin wasn't too attractive. But I will say that when I wore it the first time I didn't see it happen. I hope its a one time thing. 

Other makeup I have on in this post:

Pixi mascara in black

NARS blush in Orgasam

Limecrime lipstick in Centrifushia

So there you have it! I will keep using this and hopefully I like it more and it grows on me but as of now I don't think I would buy it for myself when I do run out. Thank goodness I got it as a goodie when I went to GenBeauty. 

XOX

Veritypretty

Mac Peach Blossom - Review and Swatches

Ah..the joys of buying a new lipstick. I really don't buy Mac all the time and honestly have never even been matched to any of their colors. But one thing I do love from them is the lipsticks. They just last so long and look beautiful to boot. I have been on a mission to find more suitable nude toned lipsticks as I already have my weights worth in mauve and red colors. I had this crazy thing where I tried on nude/pink lipsticks and just thought they made me look dead and lifeless until I got an Em lipstick in Cabana Beige and I tried it on and for once it worked on me. I was just trying the wrong shades of nudes, I needed something a little bit more on the pinky-sheer side than straight up opaque beige. 

Usually I don't get helped out right away when I go to Mac but for once the clouds opened up and someone made a beeline towards me to help me. There's a first for everything. But I do notice that I get better treatment at the Mac counters in Nordstrom than Macy's or the stand alone stores. My first trip to Mac was me standing around and everyone else being helped and all I wanted was black eyeliner. I left and bought different eyeliner in Sephora instead. So seeing as my luck had changed I decided to ask for some recommendations for what I was looking for. She really listened and pulled 3 out for me to test and made it really hard to pick only one. I ended up with the Creamsheen Peach Blossom and I really had to stop myself from using it before taking blog pictures. The struggle is real. 

For myself I would file the color under a nude rather than a pink. Nude colors for me personally isn't about just beige or browns or completely hiding my lips, its about having the illusion that you're not wearing any lip product. While it looks more pink as a swatch, on my lips it just looks like I was born with a pretty pout.

The color is pretty long lasting for a shimmery lip product and usually they slip off of me. That's why I tend to lean more towards matte colors but this really impressed me. It lasted me two rounds of beers before I had to reapply so I can see this tube lasting me a good while. It was also very moisturizing which I can always appreciate. I am someone who absolutely can never wear a frost color and was a bit worried the shimmer would make me look blah but nope, didn't happen. Overall I really love everything about this lipstick. I will no longer just stick to mattes and shimmerless cream colors. 

But you know, I am always going to be looking for more nudes. I mean, how can you only have just one of any color? Is it possible? I don't think so. I don't think I would even want to live in a world where it's possible. Keeping your options open is the spice of life. 

Peripera Lip Tint in Cherry Juice - Benetint Dupe

I just bought this today but have had my eye on this little baby for months now. This is the Peri's Tint Water from the Korean beauty line Peripera. When I bought my lipstick this is one of the items that had caught my eye as I have been looking for a good lip tint. I had swatched it on the back of my hand and it miraculously stayed on all day even through a hand washing and was really impressed. I saw it again in a little store in Little Tokyo but...ended up not buying it for some stupid reason I cannot remember. 

There are a couple other colors in the line including a pink and even orange one but I decided to go for something a bit more on the classic side of things. This color is called Cherry Juice and is a super bright deep red. 

Uhh...someone please translate? Peripera is a Korean beauty line which doesn't seem to be very popular or well know because I asked my coworker who is Korean and loves Korean beauty/skin products herself but she had no clue about the brand. I myself have found it by dumb luck. 

I really love the little cartoon girls that are on all the bottles and it just makes the whole feeling of putting it on a fun experience. It's cute without feeling childish to me. maybe if I was a bit older it might be an issue but then I think nah...I like feeling like a kid. As for the bottle itself, the top is made from plastic and the bottom is a nice sturdy glass. 

The wand is a little short but I really like how it has a doe toe. i feel it soaks up more liquid than a brush would so I don't have to work very hard to get good color payoff. The nubbyness of the wand isn't a deal breaker because any little bits at the bottom could probably be shaken and soaked up into the toe. I just really hope my theories are true. 

Now for what you've been waiting for...the comparison of the Peri tint and Benetint. I had been looking forward to trying out Benefit's Benetint for years. Yes, I said years. Ever since I was in middle/high school I had wanted it for all my own. My mom at the time would not let me have makeup and was not willing to risk having the precious liquid snatched away from me as my previous stashes of makeup had been. It was also too expensive as I would have to squirrel away portions of my lunch money for at least a month or two to buy it. Then when I subscribed to Birchbox I got it in my first box. I was overjoyed at the tiny magical potion bottle that promised to stain my lips the prefect red color. I applied and was totally disgusted as it clung to my lips in uneven patches and in less than fives minutes of just talking most of it had disappeared into nothing. That was the most devastating day in my makeup buying life. 

As you can see, Peri's Lip Tint is a deeper darker red and doesn't smear or disappear before I get a chance to blend it in. they bloth bleed like nobody's business so care must be taken to not over do it close to the edge of your lips. Also remember, it's best to use a lip scrub before using any lip stain or it will cling to any dry patches you have.   

Once blended in the Peritint keeps it's vibrancy and stays on much longer than Benetint ever could on me. As for the color comparison of each, Peritint looks more like a tomato red while Benetint seems more pinky red to me. Both are pretty but the Peritint is just more practical. I bought mine for $13 at a little store called Maneki Neko in the mall but have found it at another store, might be the same store but I can't remember, in Little Tokyo. So if you have any little Asian beauty/skin care stores popping up around you just take a peek inside because you just might find these or something even better. You can also purchase it online starting at about $8 a pop but it ships from out of the U.S. and the only place that ships within the U.S. is Urban Outfitters but they only have the cherry juice, orange juice, and mandarin juice colors but not the candy juice color. 

So there you have it! Overall I think the Peri's Lip Tint Water is just a better option for me as it has a better color payoff, it's cheaper, and small enough to carry in my purse or a small bag for touch ups. i f you have any other recommendations for other lip stains let me know, I am always looking for some good ones.