Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Pool Party Lip & Cheek Pop

I got these Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Pool Party Lip & Cheek Pop (what a long winded name!!!) last summer. It wasn't a hard decision on my part, since these copied the super cute Stila Color Push-up's packaging. Also, prior to spotting these VS ones I found out Stila Color Push-ups have been discontinued (at least I don't see them on Stila's website anymore...), so yeah, I went for them and bought all 3 colors available, thinking they might make decent substitutes.

Peach Pop


Pink Splash


Berry Cooler


Well, turned out they didn't make good substitutes at all. The two formulas were totally different. Where as the Stila ones were more of a blend-able cream-t0-powder, the VS ones were more like thin stains. They didn't blend well on my cheeks, and they dried really fast. So if I wasn't careful or if I didn't know exactly what I was doing, these VS Lip & Cheek Pops would make me look like a clown and I'd have to start over. These were not much better as lip stains either. Because they dried so quickly, my lips ended up with uneven colors. Let's just say eating a popsicle would have produced a better effect.

- Peach Pop: it looked more like neon orange in natural light, but somehow turned up neon coral in the picture :) Unfortunately, it also applied a neon coral too. My least favorite out of the 3 colors.


- Pink Splash: this was actually my favorite color out of the bunch. It looked a super hot and bright pink in natural light as well as in the picture, but it applied a demure and sheer bubblegum pink. This was the easiest color for me to wear with the lowest risk of giving me a clown face.


- Berry Cooler: this applied exactly as it looks in the picture, a translucent violet. It was pretty, just a tad too cool for me.


Anyway, upon application these VS Lip & Cheek Pop all had this cooling sensation, which led me to suspect heavy alcohol content that will dry the product out after a while. To test this, I didn't post the review for these right away after my several weeks of use last June. I just rotated them out and planned to check back on them after a month or so to see if they would dry up, then I would post my review with conclusion. Mind you, I didn't purposely leave them out uncapped to dry or left them in the boiling sun or anything. I simply put them back into my cabinet with all my other cosmetic items.

So why is this review appearing now, half a year later? Because I forgot :X Yeah, I left the post as Draft and totally forgot about it. Sorry...

But hey, at least my theory is correct and all 3 VS Lip & Cheek Pop are shriveled up and as dry as dough now! I had to rub pretty hard, crushing 2 of them just to get some color on my finger. The bottom of the tubes say they should last 12 months after opening, but nope, they didn't even make it past 6 months. So yeah, my conclusion is that these are crap, unfortunately. And just so you know, the Stila Color Push-ups are still doing just fine. Considering I bought them back in late 2007, that's impressive! It's just really really too bad Stila discontinued them, or I would have collected one of every color.

Anyway, so here's the fate of the VS Lip & Cheek Pop after 6 months. Sad, huh?

Peach Pop


Pink Splash


Berry Cooler


Guess what, I checked VS's website the other day and found that they have newer versions of these called the Lip & Cheek Tint. To check them out in person I even made a trip to the store and was told they were actually reformulated to work better on the lips this time around. We'll see about that, but I'm happy that at least they are still in the same super cute Stila knock-off packaging. And being super curious to know how the new formula will perform, I bought them again in all 3 colors :D I'm a total irredeemable sucker, am I? I guess I'll update this post after another good trial of the new ones.

See my previous reviews on a similar product:
- Stila Color Push-ups
- Stila Color Push-ups Part II

DHC Olive Virgin Oil

For the past few months, I've been using the tiny little Olive Virgin Oil from the DHC Olive Essentials Travel Set, so I thought it's about time I review it. Yes, the Olive Virgin Oil is pure extra virgin olive oil. Yes, it is meant for use as a facial moisturizer. And yes, I have been putting it on my face.

Wait, wait, before you conclude that I'm a total nutcase for rubbing oil on my face, you might want to check out my OCM - Oil Cleansing Method post first :) I used to be averse to the thought of putting oil on my face. Not anymore, thanks to OCM, which opened my mind up to try other oil-based skin care products, including this DHC Olive Virgin Oil.

The DHC Olive Essentials Travel Set includes (from left to right) travel sizes of Deep Cleansing Oil, Mild Lotion, Olive Virgin Oil, and Mild Soap.


This is what I do: right after I get out of the shower, when my face is still soaking wet, I take 1-2 drops of this oil, rub it to spread among my fingers, and then massage onto my wet face, including the eye area, until all the water on my face dries up. I only use this oil every 2 nights as a treatment for my dry skin, and I don't put on any moisturizer or eye cream afterward.



Anyway, so how did DHC Olive Virgin Oil fare? It is fantastic! It works pretty well, very moisturizing, not too greasy (I do try not to use too much), and it calms my skin on days when it's irritated. It even seems to help with occasional breakouts, believe it or not, and I don't wake up with oil slick t-zones.

So what's the problem? 1 fl oz. of this Olive Virgin Oil goes for $39. Yes, f*cking, absurd. For OCM, I used an organic grocery store bought extra virgin olive oil, and it worked wonderfully. As far as I'm concerned, there's really no difference between that store bought olive oil and this DHC one. Except for the price, that is. So as fantastic as this DHC Olive Virgin Oil, I will never ever buy it, unless it goes on sale for, like, 90% off. Yep, I would pay $3.90 for this DHC Olive Virgin Oil, all of its miniscule 1 fl oz., and not a penny more.

See my previous DHC Olive Essentials Travel Set post.

L'Occitane Immortelle Cream Mask

Somehow, I became a recipient of L'Occitane junk mails, but because of that, I ended up with a bunch of samples of this Immortelle Cream Mask. Of course I kept the goodies and recycled the rest :P Yeah, I'm heartless. Totally.



So being a cream mask, I'm supposed to goop this stuff on, leave it for 5-10 minutes and then tissue off the excess. Umm...no. While I'm sure this usage is beneficial for some, I preferred to use this cream mask like any other night cream, i.e. putting on a small amount, just enough to moisturize my face (and neck and decolletage). So just one sample packet lasted me 5-6 weeks, using once every 2 nights, and after finishing 2 packets, I...got sick of it...

Don't get me wrong, the stuff was nice. My skin felt super soft just after application, and the next morning it wasn't oily, which was very impressive considering how thick the cream was. Immortelle is an anti-aging line, so I had the expectation that this cream mask was going to be rich and greasy. And it was rich, but surprisingly was not greasy at all! In fact, it absorbed so quickly I couldn't spread it around fast enough and would often end up applying too much, which would then leave my skin with an odd dampness (thank goodness it wasn't sticky) that I didn't like.

Oh, and the fragrance. I must warn you that not only the cream mask was scented, it had a fairly unique scent I haven't seen among skin care items. It smelled like crushed dandelions. Given that the stuff contains immortelle flower essential oil, that fragrance made perfect sense, but that didn't change the fact that the scent was very different. So different, in fact, that according to the reviews I read, most people either hate it or love it. I happened to like it.

So why did I get sick of it? Probably because of the price. A 4.4 oz jar goes for a whopping $60! Yeah, that just sums it up for me - no thanks. I know that gigantic jar is probably going to last me lifetime considering one sample packet lasted 5-6 weeks, but I really don't feel like shelling out an outrageous $60 for a night cream, let alone wasting it as a mask. Why can't they make a smaller size and charge less? Hmph.

View my previous L'Occitane posts.

Maquillague Jewelling Palettes

I know I should have gotten over it, but until a year ago I was still mourning T'estimo and didn't let either Maquillage or Coffret D'Or tempt me with their many palettes. That was, until Maquillage unleashed its ultimate test of my loyalty, the winter 2008's limited edition of Christopher Kane's Maquillage Jewelling Palettes: 10 Noble Glamorous and 20 Princess Tiara. Yeah, let's just say I definitely failed that test because I bought both of these beauties :D

10 Noble Glamorous


20 Princess Tiara


Can you blame me? Just look at that absurdly gorgeous packaging! Normally, the pretty packaging trick doesn't even get anywhere near my consciousness (cute packaging, however, is a whole other story...). This time, however, it was a bull's eye on my wallet and I just had to have them both. Luckily for me, this was a first as neither Maquillage nor Coffret D'Or's other palettes and holiday offerings rarely register on my radar. Phew!

10 Noble Glamorous


20 Princess Tiara


Anyhoo, I must admit that although the compacts are beautiful and thin, they are quite long and wide. I think they are bigger than my hand! And yes, I didn't get around to using them until my trip to see my parents but, hey, what's the rush? If they wouldn't last a year then, well, I guess I'd be out of my money LOL!

Each of the compact contains 4 eye colors, a highlighter powder, a powder brush, and eye applicator. And yes, the compact does have a mirror that runs the span of the entire compact lid. A rather big mirror, I'd say :) Pretty nice!

10 Noble Glamorous


20 Princess Tiara


Oh, and I almost forget that these compacts were actually my first encounter with Maquillage's eye shadows!!! I collect the individual Eye Colors but I haven't even touched any of them! I've read rave reviews of Maquillage eye shadows everywhere but I'd always get distracted from trying them. So yeah, these Jewelling Palettes were my very first experience with Maquillage eye shadows.

10 Noble Glamorous


20 Princess Tiara


And let me tell you, WOW. Those rave reviews were right! I was shocked at how soft these shadows were! They were buttery, as in spreadable butter, and I seriously couldn't tell whether they were a cream or a powder (I still can't)! On top of that unbelievably fine and smooth texture, they were pigmented, super blendable, had excellent staying power, and never creased on me. My thoughts after trying these? I was so glad I failed that loyalty test. I would have totally missed out if I passed these palettes by.

As for that highlighting powder, it was okay, which is really too bad because Maquillage clearly can do much much better as they had before with the Precious Design Powder. The texture of this highlighter was not nearly as soft as the Precious Design Powder, but it wasn't as dry as the Design Face Color either. It was somewhere in between, like Maquillage forgot that they had improved or something and took a step back in quality before the time of the Precious Design Powder. What a shame, as these Jewelling Palettes could have been unparalleled all-star knockouts, but instead they are just all-star knockouts. Don't get me wrong, I would recommend them wholeheartedly if you can find them still (Ebay?), but if you're listening, Maquillage, I want my palettes perfect, if that's not too much to ask.

May be that is too much to ask -.-

10 Noble Glamorous: the warm palette with a pale marzipan yellow highlighter with fine shimmers. This highlighter worked better for me than the pale pink highlighter in the 02 Princess Tiara palette. Also, it didn't really highlight but instead brightened my face.

The 4 eye shadows include:
- Top left: ivory, shimmer, medium intensity. It didn't turn frosty on me, but it was pigmented enough that I had to be careful of putting on too much.
- Top right: true gold, metallic, high intensity. I have yet to come across a gold truer than this gold! It's a beautiful metallic 24k gold that reminds me of the gold temples in Thailand! Being so...golden (lack of better word here), color intimidated me at first, but once I tried it, I fell in love with it. I was always afraid of true golds because they tend to turn a bit red/orangey/coppery on me. This gold did not. In fact, it complemented my skin tone really well.
- Bottom left: golden olive, shimmer, may be even semi-metallic, medium intensity. This is actually my least favorite color in the compact, not because it's not pretty (it's gorgeous if you ask me!), but because it was difficult for me to use. It was too dark for me to use as a crease color, but at the same time, it was not dark enough for me to use as a liner either.
- Bottom right: warm wine, shimmer, high intensity. This color has shimmers that didn't really show up, probably because I mainly used it as a liner color. It's kind of similar to T'estimo Color Eye WN-32, only the WN-32 is prettier (:P) being more vibrant with more violet, thus making this wine appears warmer and flat.


20 Princess Tiara: the cool palette with a pale powder pink highlighter that is a bit more shimmery than the pale marzipan highlighter in the 01 Noble Glamorous palette. I didn't like this highlighter as much because it can turn frosty on me if I accidentally apply too much.

The 4 eye shadows include:
- Top left: airy pink, shimmer, medium intensity. A very, very pale pink that's on the cooler side.
- Top right: cloud blue, shimmer, medium intensity. This color is actually quite pretty. Too bad I haven't figured out how to wear blues yet.
- Bottom left: taupe, metallic, high intensity. A beautiful taupe with hints of eggplant. Loved this color, even though it was another difficult color for me to use. Again, it was a tad too dark for me to use as a crease color, but at the same time way too light for a liner color. I tried using it as a crease color anyway (because I like it that much!), but as expected, it drowned out the liner color. May be I should try using a gel or a more dramatic liner.
- Bottom right: inky blue, shimmer, high intensity. Similar to the wine color in the 01 Noble Glamorous palette, the shimmers in this ink blue didn't really show, probably because I mainly used it as a liner color.

Canmake Color Wishes

These Canmake Color Wishes may appear gimmicky to a lot of people, after all they're about the size of a quarter, yeah, itty bitty, but I like them! I only have 2 colors, and I don't plan on buying more or collecting any other colors, but I did like the 2 colors I have. They made perfect makeup for my lazy days, which is most of the time :P Oh, and they were great for travel too, due to their tiny size.

Their texture were decently soft but was sort of crummy, if that even makes sense. How can anything be soft and crummy at the same time, right? But they were, probably because of the densely packed shimmer content. And yes, these sparkles did fall out on me too, which is another turn off for most people. So why did I like them then? Probably because of how these 2 colors turn up on my skin. I didn't mind the glitter fall out because somehow, they ended up scattered on my cheekbones and gave me an unexpected highlighting effect. And they lasted really well with no creasing all day!


- 01 Sparkling Diamond: shimmery, very sheer. A silvery white that is pretty much translucent. On me it provided a veil of sparkles and that was it, exactly what I wanted :) So on my lazy days, I swiped this color on, brush on on some blush, and be done in a couple of a minutes. In the swatches below, I had to layer this color several times just so it shows up in the picture.


- 02 Pink Ruby: shimmer, low intensity. Now this color was amazing. It looks like a carnation pink, but on me, it turned a strawberry milk color and blended right in! I've never had a pink eye shadow that blended in so well with my skin tone, brightened up my whole face without making me looking like a tween-wannabe. It was a bit more pigmented than the 01 Sparkling Diamond above, not exactly translucent, so I didn't need much to begin with.


Over all, I so happened to like these Canmake Color Wishes a lot. I think these make good lazy eye shadows for someone who's color-shy like me. They were so easy and nowhere as intimidating as the other eye shadows out there. If you like sheer but sparkly eye makeup, these make a decent choice that is also gentle on the budget (retails for only 460 yen each). If you are actually looking for eye colors, however, I would recommend skipping these because you'll probably hate them :P