Birchbox June 2012

I finally broke down and subscribed to Birchbox.  Although I love my BeautyBar subscription for skincare samples, I wanted a subscription with variety. I love how Birchboxes are themed and are made up of lifestyle, cosmetic and skincare samples.

This month's "Jet Set" Birchbox was travel themed.  My box consisted of the following:

The designer Band-Aids from Cynthia Rowley are adorable. I'm glad I got them in my box because I would never pay 15$ for them at the pharmacy.  It's a fun little "Life Style" extra.

I'm excited to try the brightening mask from Masquelogy (at home, not during my next flight ;)) and the Likewise SPF 50 moisturizer will come in handy on my next trip to San Diego.  I love travel size skincare because I hate decanting my stuff into plastic containers.

I'm always happy to try another blush. The Balm's Stainiac in Beauty Queen is a nice sheer watermelon color. I'd probably use this on my lazy days where I don't want to wear full makeup and just want a touch of color on my cheeks.

I've never heard of Ada Cosmetics, so it will be fun to try something new. The sample sent was a mineral style bronzer, it seems similar to Bare Escentuals.  I'm not that crazy about loose powders though, they are hard to use and always end up making a mess.  The bronzer was a little shimmery and orange on my skin but I think I can make it work as an eyeshadow.

Steamcream

I confess, I bought these just for the tins. I have yet to open them and test out the cream which they say is freshly handmade using high-quality natural ingredients fused together by a shot of steam.

I just want to collect all the tins :)  

Check out Steamcream's current gallery of tins.

UNE cosmetics

Along with the Bourjois haul, I also picked up something new from Superdrugs.  They were having a buy 2 get 1 free on all their products.

A brand that I have never heard of called UNE caught my eye.  I love their packaging.  They come in sleek rectangular cases that slide open and shut magnetically.  They even have a handy mirror built on the outside of the case so it doesn't get all greasy or powdery from the cosmetics on the inside.

I ended up picking 3 products: BREEZY CHEEK Blush in B02,  GLIMMER EYES shadow in G16 and SFUMATO EYES shadow in S02.

After doing a little research, I found out that this is a sister line to Bourjois that is organic and eco-friendly.  According to their website, UNE uses :

• formulas 98-100% natural in origin
• no oils derived from petrochemistry
• no parabens or silicones
• no artificial colorants or synthetic fragrances
• eco-friendly packaging to minimise the impact on the environment
• no ingredients of animal origin

I'm loving their products. I should have taken advantage of the sale at Superdrugs and picked up more blushes and some of their foundation products. ARGH. I was being cheap because of the exchange rate and now I am regretting it.

Anyhow on to the swatches :

They Glimmer Eyeshadow is just gorgeous. It shows up a little gold in the swatch, but  in person it is more cool toned.  The staying powder is up to 6 hours without primer and it doesn't crease on my lids (but keep in mind my skintype is normal to dry).

The blush in S02 is just the perfect rosy pink. I should have picked up all the other blushes they had in stock that day. It's a cream to powder finish that just looks so natural on the cheeks.

Sewing Pattern makeup bag

I don't know how long I can resist this. It appeals to the crafter, sewer and makeup lover inside me.

Isn't this cute ? It's by Disaster Designs at modcloth.com

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation and Unifying Powder Swatches

On my latest trip to the UK, I stopped by Superdrug while they were having a sale and I finally picked up the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum gel foundation and Healthy Balance Unifying Powder.  I have heard a lot of good things about them. I love that they have testers for all the cosmetics in the UK drugstores. I had no problem finding a match for my NC30 skin (53 Light Beige for both the gel foundation and unifying powder)

I love how this foundation feels on my skin. It feels very light and moisturizing. It's easy to blend and provides light to medium coverage. It's definitely great for the spring and summer when I'm looking for a more natural finish.

I have never ever finished a foundation in my life but I have a feeling I'm going to finish this.

I don't have much to say about the Unifying Powder at the moment, I haven't been using it since my skin has been feeling really dry lately. I do love that it's the exact match to the Gel Foundation and can be used for touch ups when I'm out and about and need something portable.

Definately two thumbs up for these two products.

Benefit Push Glosses

I'm really excited about the new Benefit Push Glosses. I'm already such a huge fan of their boxed powders and now I will soon have my hands on the matching glosses.

I'm even more excited by the deal I got when I purchased the First Class Travel set off HSN.  With the code 10OFF25BEAUTY I was able to get the set for 16$ and FREE SHIPPING!

Photo from hsn.com

I can't wait, they should be arriving any day now :)

Bourjois Intense 03

What they say : Intense color, twice as coloring within the first stroke. 16 hour hold.

What's nice about it:  The pretty light pink color with intense silver sparkles. It's not metallic, it's *sparkly*. When I swatched it at the store, I knew I had to have it !! Unlike the blushes that I own from Bourjois, the eyeshadows are unscented, so a huge plus for me.

What I don't like about it: The fallout.  Like most eyeshadows with sparkles, you have to deal with some fallout :)  I do find there is less when I apply the eyeshadow wet.

Bourjois Blushes

Wow, my first beauty post.  I never realized how much work beauty bloggers put into taking pictures and swatches of their haul.   I had the worse time with the swatches. I couldn't get my arm far enough for the camera to focus. Haha.

Anyhow, so here are the blushes.  They are both the same color, I just couldn't resist the cute Paris stickers so I had to buy both. The one on right has the Eifel Tower and the one on the left has a picture of the Opera National de Paris.  The color is called Rose D'Or, a very pretty bright pink with gold undertones.  I think this must be a special edition packaging because the rest of my purchases did not look so cute :)

I love the cute packaging from Bourjois. The compact comes with a mirror and a cute little brush that fits perfectly inside. 

Taken with natural light

Taken inside with a flash

Recently, Lola from Lola's Secret Beauty Blog told me that Bourjois is Chanel's baby.  I had never realized that but once she pointed it out, I could immediately see the similarities.  I thought just for fun, I would take pictures of them side by side.

The Chanel blush I have pictured here is #67 Rose Tourbillon. Side by side it's definitely brighter and instead of gold flecks, this blush has silver and pink flecks.  However, swatched - they look REALLY similar.

The swatch with the asterix is the Chanel Rose Tourbillon. 

Both blushes (Bourjois and Chanel) are  heavily perfumed, which I'm not a huge fan of, but I definitely prefer the smell of Chanel's Rose Tourbillion.   The Bourjois blush smells like perfume my grandmother used to wear, so I'm definitely not a fan.  I guess that's why I rarely use it ;)  The smell does not go away after I apply the blush.  

They are both definitely made in France at the same place (92299 Neuilly sure Seine) - which I thought was pretty cool.

Overall assessment: I have 3 of the same blushes.