Review: Mini Lorac Haul from Hautelook

Dear beautygeekblog readers (population: 0),

As you may have noticed, I have mentioned "Hautelook" a few times in blogs.

www.hautelook.com

Hautelook (pronounced OAT-look, not hot-look, like I have heard too many Youtubers say) is an amazing discount site where every day there are new sale events by designers or cosmetics companies. The sales usually last around 3 days, but some stuff sells out pretty fast. You need an account, but it's free and they send you a little email every day showing you the sales. They had a great Lorac sale, and an amazing UD sale, both of which I purchased stuff from. Semi-recently I bought two Lorac lip products.One was the Lorac Lip Polish in Groovy Fruit and the other was a Lorac Mocktail in Razberi Cosmo! Just saying- both of these products are glosses.

Polish:

When I saw the image I thought it was nail polish. It comes in a short glass bottle with a black top and a nail polish brush/applicator. For the color, think super-hot pink coral orange blend with sparkles. It smells kinda funny and doesn't really taste good. It comes off easily and is too sparkly. Thumbs down. Oh well. It was only $3 on Hautelook!

Mocktail:

Pretty color! It's like a natural berry enhancement of my natural lip color. I do like it a lot, it is shimmery, not glittery, it smells and tastes nice, and has a brush applicator similar to the stila pens or the pixi lip boosters. The only issue is that it's a bit messy. A good snag for $3.

xo,
beautygeek0

P.S. I have no readers. If you are there, please give me a sign.

Review/Haul: Urban Outfitters

So, for Christmas my aunt gave me a $50 Urban Outfitters giftcard. :)

Since I have a UO around the corner, I've been back 3 times since I got the giftcard, and it's not even 2011 yet! They've been having a mega-sale. So far with the giftcard I have bought:

-Cargo Pro Picks Collection ($86 value, retail $39), $10.
-Lip Gloss (no idea what brand, just a gloss, retail $8), $1
-Button-front skirt (retail $50), $5
-Suede Flats with a metallic bows (retail $40), $10
-NYX white eyeliner (not on sale), $3.50

So, since I can't tell you the brand of gloss, and this is a cosmetics blog, I'll just talk to you about the Cargo Pro Picks Collection and the NYX liner.

Cargo Pro Picks
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I am stoked about this kit (yes, stoked). It contains an eyeshadow quad with green, purple, blue, and white, along with my personal favorite mascara and lipgloss of the moment, plus a cool lipliner I will tell you about later.

Quad:

The quad is the most disappointing product. The shadows appear to be very pigmented, but on the eyelids, you really need to build up a lot of product for any real color. Just sort of a meh for me. Plus, green, purple, and blue aren't really my colors. And I have a lot of highlight colors, especially now with my Urban Decay shadow in Skimp. But the rest of the products are just so great, I don't care about this.

Mascara:

I got the blu-ray mascara. It is my favorite! The applicator looks like a comb, it is one sided. It is the best mascara I have ever owned, keep in mind, I have not owned too many, I'm bad at remembering to replace them. I'm so glad I got this kit too, because had I not, I would be stuck with my new UD Skyscraper mascara. :(

This lengthens, separates, defines, you name it. I love this product. On its own, I think it goes for about twice the price that I got the whole kit.

Lipgloss:

Simply the best gloss I have ever tried. A nice coral-y color with just enough shine and shimmer, but not sticky at all. It even comes with timestrip technology, a small strip you put in the cap of the gloss, which is marked with the numbers 1, 3, and 9. These are months. The strip will fill up as the gloss gets older. When it reaches the 9-month mark, Cargo recommends you replace it...well, of course they do. Best. Gloss. Ever. I would probably buy it again at retail price. I might check UO to see if they have another kit.

Lipliner:

This is called the reverse lipliner. I had too look it up to find out how to use it. It's a fair pencil you apply just outside your lipline and blend so that you dont have to darken your lipline, just lighten what's around it. An innovative, young approach to lipliner. However, I think it goes for around $17, so you might just use this trick with a cover stick you already have or something.

I love this kit so much that if I run out, I would probably buy it for retail price and gift the quad? Four full size Cargo products (discontinued at Sephora, still sells at ULTA) for not $86, not $39, but $10! Wow, I struck a bargain. <3

Oh, I forgot about the NYX pencil. It's not that creamy, but it won't smudge...it's a white liner, what do you want me to say...go buy it from NYX for four bucks if you want one.

xo,
beauygeek0

Review: Buxom City Slickers

Hello! For Christmas I received the Buxom City Slickers set, which includes four glosses and four lipsticks. This will be a quick review, because I don't have too much to say. I really, really want to like these, but the both products are so tingly to the point that a friend asked if she was having an allergic reaction. The lipstick is not very creamy, and the gloss is super sticky, and not sheer at all. I have better products. I just do. Anyways, I will continue to use these but I am still not convinced I like them. I do like the colors.

xo,
beautygeek0

Haul/Review: Urban Decay Beauty in a Box

My first review- how exciting!

Ok, so last week I purchased the Urban Decay Beauty in a Box set exclusively by Sephora from their website. It was $39, plus I think I had 20% off with the code "extra". I don't think that works anymore, just saying. The kit was originally $52, but was recently reduced in a big sale that Sephora is having on a ton of random, assorted products. Oh, and by the way, there are two UD Beauty in a Box kits at Sephora. The other one was too glittery for me. This particular set contains:

Mini Size
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-24/7 Eyeliner in Zero (matte black)
-Eyeshadow Primer Potion in...Original(?)

Full Size
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-Eyeshadow in Romp (dark purple, shimmery)
-Eyeshadow in Skimp (champagne, shimmery)
-Skyscraper Multi-benefit Mascara (black)
-Lipstick in Wicked (mauve, a little shimmery)

Ok, I'll go one at a time, and then I'll give you my overall impression of the kit.

Eyeliner

The Urban Decay 24/7 liner is a matte black. It's the best-selling shade in the line. I have also tried it in Rockstar (dark purple) at a friend's house. It seems as though it should twist up, the liner is not actually in line with the pencil, but it is a sharpening pencil. You might not know what I'm trying to say, but if you see the product or look closely at the tip in a picture, you might get me. Look at where the product meets the pencil... Anyways, although I do not currently have a good sharpener, this is better than a twist up. It won't get all blunt, and won't have bacteria build up on the tip. Regarding the product, I have mixed feelings. This eyeliner has won awards; it's supposed to be awesome. For me though, it just seems too smudge-able, and the line is a bit spotty. It's not really jet black. Maybe it's not supposed to be. Maybe that's what liquid is for. For now, however, this is going to be my go-to black liner. I'll test out its lasting power and get back to you. Full-size goes for $17 a pop. For me and most people, that's a lot. Right now however, you can buy sets of two for $26. I mean, you don't get to choose the colors, but I think one of the sets has Zero. It also includes the normally $9 sharpener. This is a travel size or a mini. It's ok though, I'll never get through the whole thing before I find a new black eyeliner. I'm looking into MAC's blacktrack fluidline gel liner for next month's splurge. That was a bit rambly, let's get on with it.

Primer Potion
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I'm pretty sure I got the original. Now however, they also make matte tawny (Eden), champagne (Sin), and gold (Greed). I got what's called a "travel size". It's reeeeallly small. The applicator almost fills the whole thing up. Not sure how many uses it'll get. I want to try this especially under my eyes, to prevent "racoonage" and simultaneously conceal dark circles. I might creative and see if it works as a highlight on my nose. After all, it is a matte liquid that is a little big lighter than my skin tone. This is for making eyeshadow last. The product claims shadow will last for 12 hours. I'll try it out on New Year's Eve and get back to you. ;)

Eyeshadows
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The product:

Beautiful. Amazing pigmentation and great shimmer (not glitter!).

The colors:

Skimp: My favorite out of the two. It's this beautiful shimmery champagne color that I can use as a highlight, or a soft-spoken shadow for my lids. I think this will also go well under my eyes. It is too light for a liner in my opinion. I will not try this as a highlight on my nose because it is shimmery. It has a perfect amount of shimmer for me. I love this color!

Romp: It's a really dark purple. It's beautiful, and well pigmented, but unless I want super dramatic, I'll stick to using it as a liner. Nice, but not for me.

Mascara
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Hmph. I really dislike this product. It's sooo clumpy and makes me look like I have four giant eyelashes. It also looks flaky. I like the applicator. It has short bristles and a bendy tip, but the product is a miss. Not for me. It's so big that I don't want to throw it away though. Usually I figure something out for products that don't work well for their purpose, but this is mascara. Since my brows aren't black, I just don't know. I'll keep it in the cupboard below the sink. It seems so sad, but it just doesn't work. I am getting another UD mascara in the mail soon; I bought the discontinued Big Fatty Colored Mascara in Indigo, but one of my friends has it and loves it. I got it on hautelook.com for $2. Score. Meanwhile my friend got it at retail price... like $17 or something. :) Don't buy Skyscraper. It's $22 on its own.

Lipstick
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What surprised me was how much I like this. When it came, I told my mom she could have it if it was too dark, but when I showed her the color, she told me it would be fine for me. It has the perfect amount of shimmer, smells nice, a beautiful color, the only thing is it tastes a little bitter. It does keep me from licking my lips! I would put on a little bit of clear, sweet gloss if it really annoyed me. I have the set of Buxom lipsticks, but this to me is my first real lipstick. It is tied for first favorite in the set with the eyeshadow in Skimp, retail $17. This lipstick isn't super long, but it retails for $22 anyway. Oh well. If I run out, I'll wait for the next sale on hautelook. One final thing to mention about this lipstick is the packaging. The tube is purple metal, and the cap is clear, heavy plastic with purple designs printed on. A little tiny sword sticks out of the bottom. Amazing packaging, but very heavy product...

So, overall I am pleased with this. I will give Skyscraper another chance another day, but all the other products, I am excited to use. I would not buy this for $52, but or $39, with a $25 giftcard, with 20% off, with free shipping, I would buy it any day. Go for this if it is still $39, people.

xo,
beautygeek0

P.S. Sorry I was rambly. I hope I gave you some good insight. Remember, I'm new at this.