Hello Friends!
Normally I'm try to keep things pretty positive on this blog... But everyone needs a rant sometimes, don't they? If you're not up for a rant today, now would probably be a good time to click away...
Anyway, it all started with Sephora's 15th birthday party. I had gone in to get a refill of my Caudalie cleansing water the week before, and one of the attendants offered my mom and I appointments for "Free Smashbox Makeovers!!!" that Saturday. It seemed like a good plan to me, so we signed up for the last two spots.
As I've said before, I have several friends who work in Sephora, and so I'm used to getting treated like a princess there... so this might be a bit of an overreaction, but bear with me. When we arrived, there were two "guest artists" from Smashbox waiting to do our makeup.
The whole experience was a little strange. Neither of the artist introduced themselves. The one working on my face (let's call her Jen), asked what my skin type was, and a general idea we wanted to go with. Since I tend to wear either natural or purple-ish toned eyemakeup, I asked that we stay away from those (so she used a dark champange color with a palette of purples.. but I digress), and left the rest of it up to her. (Apparently the other one, [who we'll call Katie] had similar listening skills... My mom was also unimpressed.)
Jen said that she also has oily skin and that their Photo Finish Targeted Line and Pore Primer (above) was the only thing that worked for her, so I was game to try it. She put it on my T-Zone, and across the tops of my cheeks.
Fast forward through a truly unimpressive appointment (which they then informed us was "free with purchase," not free) to Friday, the date of my graduation ceremony.
I got up that morning, and went through my normal morning routine, not noticing anything unusual, until I went to put on my foundation. It wouldn't stick to my forehead. At all. I use a great primer, and I've never had any problems with it before... it just wouldn't stick. So I tried another foundation. And another primer. Nothing would stick. I should have taken a picture. I looked like a baby with an angel kiss/stork bite birthmark on my forehead (google it, if you're not sure what I'm talking about). It was bizarre.
In a bit of a panic, I asked my mom what she thought I should do, and we tried several more things... Nothing worked. Eventually, it clicked. Jen, the Smashbox artist, had gone back over that area (the one that would not hold makeup) with that primer a few times- more than anywhere else on my my face.
Totally discouraged, we called Sephora and arranged an appointment for that afternoon (this time with someone I knew). At the appointment I explained my theory. SB, my friend at Sephora agreed. She had heard some bad reviews of that product (and those artists- it really was free, not free with purchase!), and reported the incident to her manager.
Inspecting my "bald" spot, she decided that the top layer of skin had died, and gave me a free chemical peel. Afterwards, the spot gave her a little trouble, but she went well over the normal 40 minute appointment to make sure I looked okay, and really saved the day.
I'm not sure if there's a moral to this story... more of just a rant. I also don't recommend that primer!
Have you ever had bad makeup counter or makeover experiences? Let me know in the comments below!
Always,
Nani xx
Hello Friends!
Once again, I have fallen off the face of the planet- this time to graduate! (I am now the possessor of an Associates degree!) ...And once again, I'm back, telling you that I'll be more posting more consistently. Maybe this time it will stick?
When I began this post back in May, I had planned on doing a simple 3 part unboxing post. The upside of me taking forever to post is that I've now had time to try many of the products, so I can give a true review. :)
This time around, I was a little disappointed when I opened my Birchbox. Maybe it was in comparison to the other boxes I got, but it seemed like it was a little sparse and unimpressive.
This month I received five samples, one of which was a duplicate to one I received a few months ago. Additionally, from what I've been hearing on the internet, a few of these are left overs from last month's Birchbox Man boxes. I'm not really sure how I feel about that- I don't have a problem with the samples, but part of what sets Birchbox apart is that they customize the box to your profile, and if they're just reusing left overs, that doesn't seem very customized to me. HOWEVER, like I mentioned, I don't have any problems with the samples themselves.
Okay, let's get to it.
Marvis Toothpaste in "Classic Strong Mint" ($10.50 full size)
First impressions: I love the packaging of this toothpaste. It's very vintage inspired, and looks great. It also smells very good, and seemed like a pretty good sized sample.
After using twice: While the packaging is neat, the toothpaste itself is pretty average.The ingredients are comparable to your basic drugstore toothpaste, including the nasty stuff, like sodium lauryl sulfates. It's very minty- like real mint, not fake, candy mint- but otherwise not memorable. Also, the package was about half-full of air.
Verdict: I probably won't buy this stuff, since I think $10.50 is a lot for a basic toothpaste, but I will probably finish the sample next time I go out of town.
Runa Guayusa Tea Sampler Pack ($7.00/16 tea bags)
What it is: Guayusa (pronounced gwy-yoo-sah) is an Amazonian traditional tea. It's selling points are that each bag has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, and more antioxidants than green tea. I think they're going to try and bring this in like the other designer teas. My sample came with four flavors: traditional, mint, ginger citrus, and cinnamon lemon grass.
After one cup: I tried the the ginger citrus tea yesterday morning. On first impressions, I didn't notice a lot of difference from any other herbal tea. It's tasty, especially with some honey added. As far as the caffeine, I'm not normally affected by it much, so I'm not the best to judge that.
Verdict: I think I would buy this again if I saw it in a store. I will definitely try the other flavors, as well.
amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask ($40/500ml)
First Impression: Mixed feelings. I really hair masks, but I've received this sample - from Birchbox- before. I have received duplicated products before, but it's always been multiple colors of of a nail polish, that sort of thing. I like the product, so I didn't complain to the company, but if it happens again, I think I will.
After using: As I mentioned, I've used this before, so I already knew my hair was in for a treat. I like this hair mask a lot. It's very strong, so a little goes a long way. I have very thick, butt-length hair, and I was able to get two uses out of this. My hair felt great afterwards, and the product smells wonderful!
Verdict: I'm not sure if I will purchase this product. The price is a little high for what I normally spend on hair, if you take in to account that I got two uses from 20ml, then it works out to about $0.80 a use, so that would be a negative factor for me. This might be something that I would spend my Birchbox points on.
Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner ($11) (in Raina and Black)
First impressions: I was pretty excited to see one of these when I opened my box (my mom gave me hers, since it didn't work for her). Since I have trouble getting eyeliner that lasts, I was excited by the long-lasting properties they're known for. The colors we got were Raina, the lovely navy (Left above, and bottom below), and Black (Right above, and top below).
After several uses: As you can see above, the colors are true and vibrant. As far as color pay-off, I think they're on par with Urban Decay 24/7. They also have a similar texture to the 24/7 pencils, and go on really smoothly. Unfortunately, they just don't last on me. They look great on, but after a few hours, I find that they've traveled or are just smeared. I'd love to hear if someone with a less-oily eyelid had similar problems? The reviews on Birchbox all seemed really positive.
Verdict: I won't be buying these again, even though they are beautiful!
Alright- that was my May Birchbox. Stay tuned for my Glossybox and Green Grab Bag reviews, as well as a bit of a rant post - consider yourself warned!
Always,
Nani xx
