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Maybe I’m suffering from short-term amnesia, but I barely remember Fall happening…however, I still managed to test out plenty of new beauty and skincare products. These are some of my faves:
Revlon Colorstay Makeup for Combination/Oily Skin
Normally, I wear my Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream mixed with tinted moisturizer every day – however, I turn to this long-wearing foundation when I need more coverage and staying power. Holy smokes, this makeup DOES NOT BUDGE. If I have a long day ahead of me or I’m going out at night with friends, this foundation is a must-have, especially because I don’t have to worry about sweating it off. I’ve found that the best way to apply this is with my fingers, as opposed to using a brush or a sponge. I also love that compared to higher end longwear foundations, the price is affordable (about $12, give or take a few bucks, and depending on whether you’re using coupons). I absolutely HATE the packaging though – it’s really wasteful. I don’t understand why Revlon hasn’t put a pump on this baby yet.
(FYI – in the summer I wear the shade Early Tan; in the fall/winter I wear the shade Warm Golden.)
Fellow beauty addicts – if you have ever stepped foot in a Sephora store, you have probably heard of the Clarisonic Sonic Skin Cleansing System, which comes to us from the makers of the Sonicare toothbrush. Basically, it’s a similar device intended to deep clean your skin.
FROM CLARISONIC.COM: Sonic skin cleansing improves skin tone, reduces the appearance of pore size and helps skin care products work their best. The Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth skin. In just 60 seconds, the micro-massage action removes 6X more makeup and 2X more dirt and oil than cleansing with your hands alone. Removing more dirt and oil from your pores also helps products work more effectively.
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A few months ago, I reviewed the beauty sample subscription service, Birchbox. I’ve been a subscriber for over 6 months now, and with the exception of my August box, I’ve been really pleased with the deluxe beauty samples I’ve received.
However, there’s a new beauty subscription service from Seattle-based nail salon Julep that might give Birchbox a run for its money – at least with nail polishaholics. The Julep Maven program costs $20 per month, but they were offering a promotional code to receive your introductory box for only $9.99. I initially signed up after being lured in by the promotional code and the contents of their introductory box, with a retail value of $60 (confirmed by browsing their website and doing the math), but I subscribed with the intention of “probably” canceling after that.
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CONFESSION: I’m not a huge fan of foundation. Luckily, being Asian, I’ve been blessed with fairly obedient (and even-toned) skin, so for most of my adult life I’ve been able to get away with just wearing tinted moisturizer as a base. Alas, soon I shall be on the wrong side of 30, and I’m starting to get paranoid that it’s starting to show in my skin tone. However, I’m not quite ready to start slathering layers of foundation and concealer on like spackle. Solution? BB cream.
What the heck is BB cream, you ask? The short answer to that question is that BB cream is kind of hybrid face product – foundation, concealer, primer and tinted moisturizer in one. BB creams originated in Asia, and were initially targeted as a treatment for post-plastic surgery patients. Most tend to contain a fairly high SPF, which is great in my opinion, as I’ve always had problems finding tinted moisturizers with good sun protection. Another claim you’ll usually spot on BB cream packaging is “whitening” – as in, scar, freckle and blemish fading, NOT toothpaste-like whitening. I’m not completely sold on that claim…but I figure that it can’t hurt, either.
As you may have noticed, “crackle” or “shatter” nail polish is all the rage – it seems as if every well-known nail polish brand has come out with its own version of this textured polish in the past couple of months. China Glaze has its own line of Crackle Polish, which comes in a wider variety of colors, including a soon-to-be-released collection of metallic crackles, while Nicole by OPI is releasing a line of “Texture Coats” this month. OPI’s Black Shatter, which was first released as part of their Katy Perry collection, was the first crackle polish I remember seeing, both commercially and in person, when my friend Kim wore it over OPI’s Teenage Dream to a party. While I was intrigued by the unique look of her manicure, I wasn’t completely sold on the trend and decided to hold off on purchasing the polish.
Fast forward to this past Friday – after spotting Sally Hansen’s Crackle Overcoat in my local CVS several weeks ago, and armed with $3 in CVS ExtraBucks, I decided that now was the time to test it out. I purchased the white shade, Snow Blast, with the intent of displaying my patriotism in the form of a red-white-and-blue manicure.
To kick off my guest column here at Wonderpug, I thought I would do an in-depth review of one of my new favorite things, Birchbox. For those of you who have never heard of Birchbox, it’s a beauty sample subscription service – for $10 a month, you receive a “Birchbox” of 4 to 5 deluxe, high-end samples of skincare, makeup, and lifestyle products. The samples you receive are based on a beauty profile that you complete when you sign up for the subscription.
The Birchbox website also hosts an online store, where you can purchase full-size versions of the products featured in your Birchbox. The site offers free shipping each month for that month’s featured Birchbox products.
