Sorry for my little hiatus, as mentioned in my goals post I tend to have phases of obsessing over beauty and then phases where I want nothing to do with it. I’m excited to get back into sharing my thoughts on beauty, but spoiler alert, we’re starting with quite the doozy.
Color: The 01 shade is a classic YSL shade; bright red as described by the Sephora website. Normally I would add a little more of my own thoughts but honestly, I think bright red is about as descriptive as you’d need! It’s got a pinky/orange base to create the incredible vibrance.
Finish: On application, due to the way the formula is (more on that later), it is high shine but dries down to a completely matte finish.
Packaging: The sample packaging I have varies from the full size packaging, unfortunately! My product is a clear tube with a shiny gold lid and a black YSL sticker on it. The full size tatouage product is a square shape, with a gold metal lid and “YSL” engraved into it. I will admit it does have a beautiful and luxurious look to it!
Applicator: The applicator is another huge difference between sample and full size, which I can’t help but wonder might be why application was so different and uncomfortable. The sample size product is a regular fluffy doefoot, which absorbs a lot of product and I think applied way too much. The full size applicator looks to be flat and mostly plastic, with just a small bit of fluff for comfort on application; I imagine this also regulates how much product will apply onto your lips.
Today I have a wordy one for you all! I want to share all of the goals I have for this blog and my other social media platforms, as well as my personal makeup goals for 2023! I hope that by telling everyone what my goals are, it’ll help keep me more accountable to them! I might do quarterly updates sharing where I’m at, depending on if people are interested in hearing about it.
Instead of rambling on, let’s get into the goals, because there are a LOT of them to go through!
Listen, I know what you’re thinking: Karissa, why are you reviewing a product from a brand that is completely defunct? And I would reply that yes, it is kind of silly to be doing that since you as a consumer can no longer purchase it. However, I am acutely aware of makeup waste, and in my mind, if I have a product that I don’t do any sort of review or use in any sort of capacity, it adds to that drastically. I want to make sure that even if a product is no longer available for purchase that its original purpose of being purchased for review is satisfied.
I hope that even if you can’t buy some of the products I review, you’re still entertained or learning something!
Color: Nori is an oxblood. It’s a very deep reddy-brown shade; on my lips it actually does look more brown than red, but there is so much red pulling through that I can’t confidently call it a brown.
Finish: The Amuse Bouche formula is a cream lipstick. The finish isn’t high shine like a gloss, but definitely reflects light, creating that pretty creamy look.
Packaging: The packaging of this particular lipstick is a mini, but the full sized packaging is identical to this, just bigger. It’s a soft touch matte grey tube, and the cap has a piece taken off (a bite taken out of it, if you will), reminiscent of the standard shape of a bullet lipstick.
Applicator: The shape of this is a standard bullet lipstick; the point is a bit sharper than most other bullets so that does make a difference with a shade like this.
This product is extra special for me, as it was won in a giveaway from a small creator who does not seem to be around anymore. Now I see it and I think of her!
Color: Strawberry Whip is a cool toned pink that almost looks purple; kind of like a very subtle magenta.
Finish: Being a lip lacquer, this product has a very shiny and creamy finish! It also smoothed the look of my lips, creating a plump effect.
Packaging: The packaging of this product is quite unique and I like it! It’s hexagonal, so it doesn’t roll around when set to the side. The tube is a clear acrylic, and the cap is a shiny deep charcoal color. Two of the six sides have the brand name and product information printed on it in matte black, and there is a matte black stripe along the top of the tube. The bottom has a sticker with the color name on it.
Applicator: This is the first time (that I remember) seeing an applicator shaped like this! It’s a doefoot, but is shaped like an hourglass. The end has a round tip to it, which tapers in and back out again at the base. The part that tapers in seems to hold a lot of product.
Switching it up from my usual lip product reviews, I wanted to try out this amazing palette I snagged while I still received Ipsy bags (I was a total sucker for their addons!). Not only did I snatch up this palette, I grabbed another color way as well! This palette has pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it’s been a fantastic experience!
Packaging: This 5 pan palette is thin and features a metallic copper front. The name of the palette is on the front in white, along with the Dose of Colors logo. The inside has a slot for a brush and comes with a double sided brush, has a shiny black plastic packaging around the shadows, and features a large mirror. The mirror is obviously covered by the outer box, since I didn’t want to deal with the reflections – we all know what a good mirror looks like!
Something that might shock you guys (I don’t know if I mean that sarcastically) is that I do buy new makeup occasionally, and this ended up being one of my most recent purchases. I wanted to make a rule to myself that if I’m going to buy a new product, I need to test it within a month or pass it along to someone else. Well, it’s been a little longer than a month, BUT I did at least start wearing it right away! I was just a bit slow to actually write the review. Alas though, we are here!
I wasn’t sure about this one when I bought it, but it was the only color that wasn’t blue on clearance, and I just couldn’t say no. I’m working on not even looking at makeup so I don’t have to make those decisions/so I can’t talk myself into buying more (seriously, if you saw how much I have you’d throw rotten tomatoes at me). I was just so intrigued by the idea of an orange gloss I had to grab it!
Color: As the name suggests, this is definitely orange. It’s got a red undertone, and when on my lips honestly looks more like a red; this could definitely be because I have pigmented lips but still want to point it out! You can really see what I mean in the swatches, too.
Finish: This product is glossy, and has a cream finish. There’s no shimmer in this particular color.
Packaging: The packaging is clear plastic, which means when you’re looking at it and see a color, the color is actually the product. I thought that was a pretty neat touch, and if you like to use up your makeup this would be super motivating! The cap matches the product color and is also plastic.
Applicator: The applicator is just a standard doefoot that I feel works well with the formula!
Application: Due to the color, I find that application of this product is a bit difficult. It was hard for me to get an even coat, and I wanted it to be just a light wash. I struggled to build it up in any meaningful way when I did want more, as it looked the same color on my lips but just got more orange on the edges; it also sunk into lip lines right away.
While I personally wouldn’t want to have this built up as boldly as the swatch below or more, it is something I thought was important to point out. It doesn’t look like the super impactful orange in the tube with one swipe!
Transfer: With this being a lip gloss, you can expect it to transfer a lot, and keep transferring until it’s gone. It came off the same amount whether I was eating food or just drinking from a glass. It will leave behind just the tiniest hint of red, but not enough to make any sort of meaningful difference (at least for me).
Fading: Unsurprisingly, this does fade really quickly, but I wasn’t expecting much more. It seems to last through talking, but fades quickly when eating or drinking. It’s not sold as a long-lasting gloss, so as long as you’re ready to reapply whenever you eat or just do frequent checkups, this shouldn’t be a huge issue.
Comfort: I find this lip gloss to be incredibly comfortable! It feels very hydrating, to the point where I’d feel comfortable using this when my lips felt dry in place of a balm.
It’s only got a tiny bit of stick when it wears down a bit, such as after I drink and it comes off on my glass but is still on my lips. This is only felt when I press my lips together. I think if I weren’t paying specific attention to it, I wouldn’t notice.
Overall: This color is extremely out of my comfort zone, but I kind of like it! The formula is very comfortable, and this would be a super easy gloss to just have around in the summer time when I needed to rehydrate my lips and want a pop of color.
Price Point: The Nyx Butter Gloss is an incredibly affordable gloss, and can be purchased on the Nyx website or Ulta for $5. It can be purchased for a couple cents cheaper at Target or Walmart. If orange gloss isn’t your vibe, but you love a good gloss, I don’t think this will be a miss! I do have a lot of other colors in this formula that I’ll be sure to share as I try!
Back when I was first getting into makeup, my grandma bought me the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette for Christmas – I was drawn to the beautiful pink packaging and I knew that Too Faced was well known for their chocolate palettes.
Just like every other chocolate bar palette, this one smells like chocolate when you open the packaging! It’s not overpowering in my opinion, and you can’t smell it after applying to your eyes.
Packaging: The packaging is a pink metal tin with a magnetic closure that feels sturdy and like it will keep the eyeshadows safe if I were to take it traveling. There is also a rectangular mirror; it’s not large, but it does fit into the palette nicely and you can see your eyes clearly. The palette name is written along the bottom third of the mirror.
Karissa Talks Beauty 