L’Oreal Paris Infallible Pro Matte Les Chocolats Scented Liquid Lipstick Review and Lip Swatches

L’Oreal Paris Infallible Pro Matte Les Chocolats Scented Liquid Lipstick

On Ulta Beauty’s website, they describe the Infallible Pro Matte Les Chocolats Liquid Lipsticks as cult-favorite Pro Matte Liquid Lipstick that’s enhanced with an indulgent chocolate aroma, Infallible Pro Matte Liquid Lipstick Les Chocolats scented provides all day full, matte coverage. They’re the long wear liquid lipstick feels light for all day comfort, never sticky. They comes with a pro-sculpt applicator, shape and add dimension to lips. Claims to be Liquid Matte Lipstick, up to 16hr of longwear, chocolate Scented lipstick, and comfortable Wear.

So far, they have came out with six difference shades: Candy Man, Sweet Tooth, Does of Cocoa, Box O Chocolate, Bitter Sweet, and 70% Yum. I have the shades Candy Man, Does of Cocoa and Box O Chocolate; below, please find hand swatches of these three shades:

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They’re super pigmented and goes on smoothly with velvety matte finish; when first apply, it does feel somewhat sticky, it takes about 10 minutes to dry down. Once it’s dried down to matte finish, I don’t feel the stickiness anymore. I have tried million liquid lipsticks out there, they’re pretty much the only lip products I wear on a daily basis. These Infallible Pro Matte Les Chocolats Lipsticks are by far the longest lasting ones I’ve tried; they even lasted through my dental teeth cleaning appointment! They indeed lasted from the morning I applied, till end of the day when I removed with Makeup Cleansing Oil. That being said, they do tend to dry out my lips more than other liquid lipsticks; I have to really exfoliate my lips and put lip mask on the night before, if I’m planning on using them for the next day. I now only use them during the weekends, when I know I will be out all day; so that I don’t need to worry about touching up at all.

My favorite shade is Candy Man, here’s the lip swatch on my NC15 skin tone:

luvsummeikup candy man

And here’s the lip swatch for the shade, Box O Chocolate:

luvsummeikup box o chocolate

And here’s the lip swatch for the shade, Does of Cocoa:

luvsummeikup dose of cocoa

Below, please see swatches of all 6 shades (image credit to Target.com):

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I also like how they all smell like delicious chocolate, but not overpowering; the smell goes away after application. I do wish they will come out with more shades in the future; I will be purchasing a lot more.

Kerstin Florian Makeup Product Swatches & Review

Kerstin Florian Luminizing CC Cream

To see the list of other foundation shades I usually wear, please visit this link:

LuvSumMeiKup: List of my Foundation Shades

Let me start off with the Luminizing CC Cream; it comes with 3 shades: Porcelain, Natural Beige, and Sand. Each tube comes with 1.7 fl oz of product, and it’s $46.00USD each. On Kerstin Florian’s website, it described as Lightweight, hydrating color corrector imparts a smooth, radiant, even-toned complexion. Plus these benefits to finish what your skincare starts • Enhances Tone & Clarity • Reduces Redness & Pigmentation • Refines Texture. Here are the shade comparison:

CC Cream

The top swatch is the MAC Studio Fix in shade NC15, which is my perfect shade. The Porcelain is a shade and a half too light for me; and the Natural Beige is about half a shade darker than my skin tone. However, since it’s a CC Cream and has sheer to light coverage, it looks fine after I blend it out. I apply two layers with my BeautyBlender for a sheer light coverage, just to cancel out my redness when I run errands during the weekend. I find this CC Cream does not really set; if I do not set it with a powder, it will transfer even after 2 hours of wear. It can add slightly more coverage if I apply it with a brush; however, it tends to slide around and leave brush marks when I apply with a brush. It does not last long, I would say up to 3 hours max if I set it with powder; however, it fades nicely on my skin, so I do not mind wearing it for errands. For everyday work, I would want at least medium coverage; so I use this as a primer to give my skin a healthy luminous base before applying foundation.

Kerstin Florian Skin Renewing Foundation

The Skin Renewing Foundation comes with 3 shades: Warm Beige, Vanilla, and Tawny. Each tube comes with 1.0 fl oz of product, and cost $48.00USD each. On Kerstin Florian’s website, it described as Long-wearing, soft-focus foundation provides smooth, buildable, skin-healthy coverage. PLUS these benefits to finish what your skincare starts • Minimizes Lines & Wrinkles • Attracts & Maintains Moisture • Boosts Firmness & Elasticity. Here are the shade comparison:

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Again, the top swatch is the MAC Studio Fix in shade NC15; the lightest shade Vanilla is a shade too dark for me. However, after using a lighter shade powder, it can make it work. Same as the CC Cream, I like to apply this with my BeautyBlender; it gives a more skin-like natural look. This foundation gives a light to light-medium coverage when applying with my BeautyBlender. It can be a full-medium coverage if I apply with a brush and two layers. However, it tends to separate around my nose and forehead when I apply with a brush, right around the 3-4 hour marks. So what I have been doing is to apply the CC Cream as a primer using the BeautyBlender, then apply the Foundation using the same Blender, and set it with a powder for everyday look. It will cover my redness and even out my skin tone; this method lasts 5-6 hours without separation. But it does start to separate after 6 hours of wear; not too noticeable though, unless I look super close to the mirror. And, for days when I need even more coverage, I would apply their concealer; which I will talk about next.

Kerstin Florian Brightening Concealer

Their Brightening Concealer comes with 3 shades: Ivory, Beige, and Honey. It comes with 0.3 fl oz of product, and it’s $28.00USD each. On Kerstin Florian’s website, it described as Luminous age-defying concealer offers buildable coverage and lasting wear without settling or dehydrating. PLUS these benefits to finish what your skincare starts • Minimizes Fine Lines • Reduces Dark Circles • Combats Puffiness. Here are the shade comparison:

Concealer

Comparing to the MAC Studio Fix in shade NC15 on top, the lightest shade Ivory is about the same (if it’s not darker), so I cannot use it for brightening my under eye areas.  However, I can use it as all over face Concealer to cover redness and mild blemishes. I find it’s the best to apply with BeautyBlender as well; I tried blending it out using my concealer brush, but it gave intense brush marks on my skin. I do like the formula of this concealer though; it’s very creamy and hydrating. Just wish they would come out with lighter shade options, so that I can use it for my under eye areas.

I have been using these 3 products for the last few weeks; so far I’m enjoying it. They did not break me out, and they keep my normal but dehydrated skin hydrated all day.

L’Oreal RevitaLift Intensive Moisturizer Review

Thanks to @lorealusa @LOREALSKIN for sending me this L’Oreal RevitaLift Intensive Moisturizer, Triple Powder Intensive Anti-aging Day Cream to try out. This is a triple power intensive anti-aging day cream Moisturizer that claims to improve our skin in just 14 days. The #RevitaLiftChallenge claims to hydrate the skin and  improve skim texture in 1 week, then reduce wrinkles and firming the skin in 2 weeks; it’s recommended to use day and night for 14 days after cleansing and use sunscreen during the day.

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I had been using this as instructed and completed the 14 days challenge. I used it after cleansing and toning during the day, followed up with SPF50; then at night, I used it after makeup removal, cleansing, and toning. I did not use any other skincare products because I wanted to make sure that I see the result only this cream gives. Unfortunately, I did not see result in improving my pores nor skin texture, I don’t have wrinkles yet so I can’t say if it in fact improves wrinkles. As far as firming and appearance go, I did not see big difference in firming, but it did soften my skin overnight. And, it did hydrate my skin and kept it moisturized the entire night and day; perhaps I need to continue using it longer to see greater result. You only need a tiny bit for entire face, using too much might cause break-outs because it can get very heavy. It has Parfum/Fragrance as one of the ingredients, but it’s very light as it appears at the end of the list; it did not cause any allergic reaction to my skin, I also like the fresh smell of the cream. However, if you’re sensitive to Parfum/Fragrance, you might want to avoid this. I recommend this for Dry Skin Type; so far for me, it’s a nice moisturized cream for my Normal to Combo skin, when using it with thin layer.

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Here is the ingredient list for your reference:

 

Aqua/Water, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Isopropyl Isostearate, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Propylene Glycol Nylon-12, Octyldodecanol, Cetyl Alcohol, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide/Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Behenyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, C13-14 Isoparaffin, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitic Acid, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Aid, Laureth-7, Polyacrylamide, Polyethylene, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, CI 15985/Yellow 6, CI 19140/Yellow 5, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Linalool, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Citronellol, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum/Fragrance.

BECCA First Light Filter Face Primer, Soft Light Blurring Setting Powder, Soft Kabuki Brush

Reviews on BECCA First Light Filter Face Primer, Soft Light Blurring Setting Powder, Soft Kabuki Brush

Thanks to BECCA and Influenster for sending these amazing products for me to test out. Especially the Filter Primer, it was already on my Shopping List before they sent it to me. They also sent me the Soft Light Blurring Powder and its matching Soft Kabuki Brush. 

 

becca

 

Let me start with the First Light Filter Face Primer since it was the most exciting item to me. I used this immediately after I received it and I have been using it everyday since then. I currently have normal to dry skin at the moment; this primer gives my skin a very nice sheen and a smooth surface before foundations. It blurs out my pores and hydrates my skin. I tend to use matte finish foundations a lot; after applying the foundations, I have a healthy glow and natural skin look because of this primer. I absolutely love this primer and I can now stay glowy the entire day!

primer

Now onto the Soft Light Blurring Setting Powder and its matching Soft Kabuki Brush. The Soft Light Blurring Setting Powder is not completely translucent, as you can see from the photo below. It does definitely set my makeup nicely and acts as a veil to blur my pores. It also gives my skin a natural and pore-less finish. This setting powder is infused with ceramic microspheres and it creates an even complexion. It has a light tint to it but doesn’t interact with my foundation colors and it’s an universally shade. I realized whenever I used this to set my makeup, my makeup last all day without being greasy. I usually get somewhat oily on my T-zoom towards the end of the day, but it doesn’t give me that when I wear this. It’s amazing!

The Soft Kabuki Brush on the other hand, is an ultra-soft, synthetic fiber kabuki brush that’s designed to provide full, flawless coverage. It’s also suppose to use for setting the face and for contouring, it will ensure seamless makeup application. However, I don’t find it working for contouring because of how soft the bristles are, plus the round top just doesn’t seem to work as a contour brush (to me). I tried using it on pressed powder and it doesn’t pick up the powder easily. I would recommend only using this for loose setting powders.

powder

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Hope you’re enjoying your week and will see you next time. Don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page for daily hauls and reviews.  

Play! By Sephora, February 2017

Play! By Sephora, February 2017 – The Soft Side

Sorry for the delay in posting February’s box, it’s been extremely busy at work the past month. This box’s theme is The Soft Side, stellar products are only the beginning. I like how they include a silky bag this time to go with the Soft theme. I would say this box provides semi-decent products, there are some lip products that I wanted to try out for a while.

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Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Milkshake. It’s a lightly tinted gloss that’s made with botanical-infused formula for plumping lips instantly; will also hydrate and soften the lips over time. I always wonder how well these work and boy the tingling sensation is strong! While I don’t mind the tingling part, the gloss did not plump my lips or hydrate and soften my lips. I was a little disappointed, but I guess I saved myself purchasing a full-size.

Too faced

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Bound. It’s a semi-matte finish liquid lipstick that’s supposed to stay on all day. I like Nars Velvet Lip Glides, I have a few full sized ones at home, it’s nice to try out an additional shade; Bound is a very pretty nude pink. I won’t say it stays on all day though, unless you don’t plan on eating anything all day. I often find myself reapplying after eating light lunch (salad); if I don’t, the color will fade away. It does wear very comfortably on the lips, it will last as long as I drink my coffee/tea out of a straw and not eating.

Nars

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. It’s depuffing eye cream that’s infused with coffee beans, gingseng, and magnolia extract. I used to use this eye cream during the day a few years ago and I remember myself enjoying it, it did hydrate my under eyes and brighten them up underneath makeup. Not too sure about the depuffing part because fortunately, I don’t get puffy eyes. It’s nice to have this deluxe sized for travel.

Origins

Clinique Pep-Start Hydroblur Moisturizer. It’s a oil free moisturizer and primer in one; supposedly to blur imperfections and provide all day hydration. To be honest, I haven’t had nice surprises trying out Clinique’s products. Their acne line worsen my skin condition so badly back in college and I spent a year on prescription skincare before my skin went back to normal; I’m afraid to try out their products since then. So I might give this to my colleague and see if she likes it, I will report back.

Clinque

Sephora Collection Lashcraft Length & Volume Mascara in Jet-Black. It’s a volumizing mascara that also lengthen and lift lashes. I personally prefer water-proof mascaras, so this one will be added to the friends & family gift box.

Sephora

Lastly, the bonus fragrance sample. This month is the Marc Jacobs’ Divine Decadence perfume; description says it’s a effervescent, floral, and bright; top notes are champagne extract, orange blossom, and bergamot. I have a full-sized at home and I love it. This is added to the fragrance sample box that I give away to my friends once a while.

MJ

Alrightly, that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoy your Play! boxes. I am still deciding if I should cancel my subscription, I just don’t find myself liking most of the products they select. I will probably wait till after I get my May box since that’s my birthday month. Happy Tuesday lovely! Don’t forget to check my Instagram for more updated posts!  ^.^

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Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask

6weeks

I received this mask about 6 weeks ago from Briogeo and have been using it since. It is an intensive weekly treatment to restore essential hydration and enhance hair’s resilience and strength. It is formulated without parabens, sulfates and phthalates, also free of silicones, DEA, and artificial dyes. It is color-safe, which is good for my hair because I dye my hair to cover the greys regularly; this does conditions my hair nicely every time after I use it. I use it just about once a week and I wash my hair 2-3 times a week.

They suggest to apply the mask and leave on for five to ten minutes after shampooing, then rinse. That’s what I do on a regular basics; however, when I dye my hair, I like to leave it on for 30 minutes, with my hair wrapped in a towel for extra hydration. Sometimes when I feel like my hair is damaged from the sun after a vacation trip, I would use this mask in place of my hair conditioner for a week, the vitamin B, rosehip oil, argan oil, and collagen will transform my damaged hair back to healthy-looking hair.

I would highly recommend getting this mask, it totally beats all of my other hair masks.

Pharmaskincare® Skincare Products Review

I received this lovely package from Pharmaskincare about two months ago for review purposes. Pharmaskincare products are the unique result of modern biotechnology and dermatological research combined with centuries of scientific observation; they believe in making sure the ingredients are beneficial to beautiful skin, the blend of the ingredients works synergistically, and that the ingredient blend is balanced.

They sent me the Lightening Cleanser, A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick, Anti-Age Serum Plus, and the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol.

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My skin type: Normal to dry in the Winter, Normal to oily in the Summer. To clarify, I do patch test every new product before putting it on all over my face; however, it’s not guaranteed that a product works on my sensitive areas (pulse point, behind the ears, or neck), doesn’t cause reaction to my face.

Disclaimer: Skincare is very personal, it works for my skin doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for your skin. Please do consult with your Dermatologist if you have skin issues. We should all know our own skin type and find out what we need before testing out the products.

 

Lightening Cleanser 7oz. for $47.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Lightening Cleanser is the first step in the battle against hyper-pigmentation, patchy skin, and age spots. This active, cleansing formula is enhanced with Certified Organic Japanese Green Tea and Apple Fruit Extract. Both ingredients work to lighten dark spots while promoting healthy, youthful skin, and an even, toned complexion.”

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My thoughts:

This Cleanser has a very strong fragrance scent; if you’re allergic to fragrance, this might not be good for you. To me, scent usually doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t dislike the scents or it doesn’t irritate my skin. At the beginning, I only used this at night after removing my makeup since it’s a lightening cleanser, and used it without a cleansing device; then I started to have some breakouts after about a week. I thought it was because of other product that I was testing out, so I stopped using that product and continued with the Cleanser for another week; and of course, it broke me out even more. At that point, I stopped using all new products completely and went back with my trusted products; it took me almost two weeks before my skin was all cleared up. Then I decided to give it another try with my Foreo Mini, this time it did not break me out; hence, I continued using the cleanser with Foreo for another two weeks, and it never broke me out again. So it came to my conclusion that this Cleanser is way too gentle to remove leftover dirt and makeup on my face and that caused breakouts over time. As far as lightening goes, I haven’t noticed any difference, perhaps the cleanser doesn’t stay on my face long enough to do its magic. Now I do enjoy using this Cleanser, it foams up very nicely and extremely gentle on the skin. If you don’t have a cleansing device, I suggest you to only use this in the morning (when you have a bare face with minimum skincare products from the night before); please do make sure to put on enough sunscreen (I always use SPF40 and up) to protect your skin from the sun since lightening products can cause sensitivities from the sun. If you want to use this at night and you do wear makeup during the day, I highly recommend using this with a cleansing device.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Cleanser:

 

A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick 1oz. for $55.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“The A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick provides the benefits of a face mask without the mess. It is clean and quick, yet contains the most advanced bio-active skincare ingredients to beautify and regenerate skin affected by environmental stress. The Masque Stick helps nourish, restore, and diminish the appearance of existing lines and wrinkles caused by age, dryness, sun exposure, and environmental damage. It also works to smooth out acne scars and blemishes.”

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My thought:

I use this regularly, once a week for the past month. I don’t usually get pimples; but when I do, it would be around period time, where one or two would pop up on my chin. Besides the time that I broke out from the Cleanser, I would say that this mask does help minimizing the chance of getting pimples during period time. So far, I haven’t seen any pimple popping out, not even one during my last period. However, my skin doesn’t seem to like this mask if I use more than once a week; I tried twice a week and it dried out my skin badly, I had to do heavy moisturizing masks and a lot of facial oils to get my skin back to normal. After two months of using this mask, I find the base is getting really loose, perhaps I am too harsh when using it. Other than that, I would recommend this mask, it’s convenience to use and travel with, and it keeps my skin cleared.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Mask:

 

Anti-Age Serum Plus 0.33oz. for $70.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Anti-Aging Serum is a highly effective and scientifically formulated serum that gently penetrates the top layer of skin to help repair tissue damage. Combining pure vitamins, hydrolyzed silk and yeast extract, this Serum works to promote collagen and elastin production. It helps tighten and smooth wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin to maintain youthful and vibrant skin.”

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My thoughts:

I started using this in the morning and at night; the serum provides hydrations to my skin and it absorbs quickly which I like. However, I noticed it made my foundation balls up every time after I used this serum. I did wait 5min to let the serum absorb completely, didn’t work; I tried different type of foundations, still the same. Hence, I ended up using this at night only and I did let this sit on my skin for at least 10min before the next step. Overall, I still do like this serum, just wish it doesn’t ball-up my foundation so that I can use this in the morning as well. Overall, it’s a good serum for hydration; although I finished the entire bottle, it doesn’t contain enough product for me to see major anti-aging result.

 

Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol 0.5oz. for $71.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Ph Parfait Vit a Antioxidant Retinol System combines the powers of biological derivatives with soya plant and grape seed plant extracts to create an effective anti-aging system which is gentle enough for sensitive skin yet tough enough for skin damaged from the sun or premature aging. The balanced combination of natural and active products creates a powerful antioxidant formula which stimulates the production of collagen in facial skin to help with reversal of the thinning epidermis so skin will grow healthy, wrinkle-free and youthful in appearance. Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol will aid skin to be naturally moisturized while accelerating skin rejuvenation promoting even skin texture and clarity by reducing the appearance of blemishes and protecting skin from future breakouts. Fine lines and aging signs will be visibly reduced leaving skin looking and feeling younger.”

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My thoughts:

Since I have had bad reaction to retinol products before, I gave the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol to a friend, she’s been using retinol products regularly. I did ask how she likes it and she said that it goes on to her skin smoothly, again, it doesn’t contain enough product in the bottle for her to see any result.

Thanks again to Pharmaskincare® for sending me these products! Image result for corgi smile

 

You may find more information from their website and Instagram:

https://pharmaskincare.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pharmaskincare/