An ode to the YSL lipsticks, but specifically the line called rouge volupté shine. I never understood what the different rouge volupté formulations were, and what each line was. But, I have since been intrigued by their brand and decided to, once and for all, understand what their lipsticks were like! I've currently tried and bought one from each of their line.
But, I have come to the conclusion that the volupté shine are my favorite and what I think are the best. As I mentioned in my Beauty Haul post here, I am someone who loves to wear bold lip colors. Sadly though, I don't find myself in enough situations where I can boldly wear these bold shades. So, I am always looking for lipsticks that can give me the best of both worlds-- romance and reality.
These volupté shine lipsticks are absolutely practical in the sense that they are sheer enough to wear comfortably everyday in all situations, but not sacrificing the color payoff. I have gone for two particular shades, no.19 and no.14.
No.19 is drop-dead perfect. I love purple lipsticks, and this has got to be one of the best. I find most purple lipsticks being either too lavender, too red, too cherry, too dark, or too pastel. I like that saturated kind of purple. I find it so flattering for my skin tone and so many others. One that I found was quite spot-on with getting that exact purple shade was the 3 Concept Eye lip lacquer that I blogged about here.
But that one is really bold, something you can't wear everyday. But this YSL rouge volupté shine in no.19 is both purple and practical at the same time. The color power is also amazing. It's also super creamy and moisturizing.
No.14 is a beautiful coral. It's seems to be a really popular color since I see it constantly sold out. It is pinker than the other corals that they have in the same range (from my memory, no.15 and 16 were pretty orange-corals). It's perfect for that sweet and tarty summer look! :)
And need I say the packaging? It's YSL...
Because the rouge volupté lines all have the same packaging, I've always been confused as to what is what. Some YSL counters even have their lipsticks mixed all together so you can't tell the difference. Some even have the same number for goodness sakes! But now I know, this rouge volupté SHINE line is the best.
I waited about a month for all these products to finally come in the mail! But now, since they are all here I thought it was about time to please your eyes with these beauty goodies. I did film a Beauty Haul video but (personal note begins here...) I am hesitant about continuing my Youtube channel. If you are a subscriber, I think you could still see the video but I may close my account soon... still thinking about it.
But as for blogging, I really enjoy it so I'm definitely continuing this! So, on that long note, I wanted to share with you the products I've recently bought. I'm going to post a more detailed review of each of these product when I get the time, but I've swatched some of them for your viewing pleasures haha :)
High-End Makeup
My most exciting purchase was the YSL rouge volupté shine lipsticks. Guys, I'm still new to YSL lipsticks, and little did I know about their different lipstick ranges. But recently, I've become so intrigued by their line and I really wanted to know what was best for me. Because I am someone who loves bold colors but finds so little time to wear them, I wanted something with medium pigmentation that has a slightly sheer finish so it wouldn't be too off-setting when I wear them around. So, YSLhas their "rouge volupté sheer candy" and their normal "rouge volupté" and then, the "rouge volupté shine". Their "sheer candy" line was something I was most interested in, but found that they really are super duper sheer. So much that I found it pointless to even get them. The regular "rouge volupté" is a richly pigmented lipstick. It is very creamy and moisturizing, but it also pretty dense.
The "sheer" version of that is the ones I got in the number 19 and 14. No. 19 is my current obsession. You know I have a thing for purple lipsticks. The fuchsia lipstick from the YSL matte line looked a bit too cherry and not purple enough. But the rouge volupté shine no.19 is that beautiful true purple shade that I was looking for! It seriously looks so flattering. What I love about these lipsticks are that even if the colors are bold, you can wear them without fear that they are too in your face. They are subtle but rich at the same time. And goodness, they are also super moisturizing, and the color stay? Amazing.
No. 14 is a coral-pink shade. One can't have too many of these right? Beautiful, and always out of stock, I finally got my hands on these. Just a good fresh pop o' color, you know?
I also picked up the NARS Creamy Radiant concealer in the shade vanilla. I wanted "custard" but the lady at the Nars counter insisted I get "vanilla" which is a lighter shade than "custard". I caved and got the "vanilla" soon finding that the color "custard" actually may be the better match! HUMPH. But in terms of formulation, it is pretty amazing. I am in love with the Collection 2000 concealers, and thank goodness I now found Nars because it's a perfect replacement, I must say!
DRUGSTORE Makeup: From the drugstore, I picked up two makeup bits and two haircare bits. For makeup, I got one L'Oreal MagicLumi under eye concealer shade 862, and a L'Oreal Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner in black.
HAIR CARE: For hair, I got my forever-repurchase L'Oreal Damage Repair Erase Balm (read it here), and It's a 10 miracle-leave-in hair product. It's a new one, but I'm hoping I'll love it!
SKINCARE. You know I love Mario Badescu so when the opportunity comes, I'l stock up on what I love. I got my favorite toner Cucumber Cleansing Lotion and a new toner I wanted to try, Glycolic Acid Toner. Then I got the Dry Cream I love so much and the Enzyme Revitalizing Mask that seems like a good everyday mask. I also got a good well-rounded moisturizer called Buttermilk Moisturizer and I also got a newbie, Hylauronic Emulsion w/ Vitamin C which sounded like my two favorite skincare ingredients merged into one!
NAILS.
Ok, so I went a little cray you know? I do have a lot of nail polishes, but I wasn't feeling any of them. I splurged on some Topshop nail polishes. They have such cute packaging. The shades I got:
left to right: fly trap venus, carnival, mannequin, threadbare, tidal, rainy day, varsity, parma violet
The Benefit Porefessional Primer isbetter than the Hourglass Veil Mineral. I have quite a few posts talking about primers, and each time I talked about summer products or anything about keeping makeup on all day, the Hourglass primer was always featured. (Read the primer posts hereandhere). But on a whim, I thought I'd give the Benefit Porefessional a try -- not expecting it to do as well or better than my Hourglass. Well... that kind of changed.
Here's what I love about it. It, as in theBenefit Porefessional. First off, it seriously keeps the makeup on all day. Each time I use it, I keep checking to see how my makeup is fairing and sometimes, I go eight hours without having to touch-up at all. Which, if you're an oily-skinned person, you'll know 8 hours is a pretty big deal... and in the summer too! Second, it diminishes pores like nobody's business I tell you! I knew Benefit Cosmetics really do what they say they do, but it really blew my mind when it truly made a veil over my pores so that whatever I apply over it smoothes and glides on top! That really was the difference between the Hourglass primer. Though I love the finish of my makeup and it does a swell ol' job in keeping my makeup on throughout the day, it didn't help with the appearance of pores. But with this "Porefessional", I mean, it's like masking them pores...
Third, I love the consistency. It is slightly more jelly-like(?!?!) than the Hourglass primer. I guess what I mean by that is that it feels less slippery and as though it was really sticking to the skin. It still has a velvety finish once you apply it, but at first, it does feel more in-tact. If you know what I mean! Also, it has color so you can kind of see where it goes as you apply it. That gives me comfort, don't ask me why, when I see what I'm applying on the skin. The Hourglass primer is white and invisible, so you've got to apply it with a bit of trust and a little bit of pixie dust... heh. Hoping it'll be spread out evenly on your face. With the "Porefessional" you don't need so much trust. Ya know?
And finally, I guess I really love the packaging. Sure, Benefit has a bit gimmicky packaging, but it's also pretty cute. But what I really love is that it is super lightweight and travel-friendly. Although the Hourglass primer I have is also in a tube, this was a limited edition JUMBO size from Sephora. Their originally packaging it actually glass and with the pump, it's sometimes hard to take out all the products stuck to the bottom.
So, there. I've said it. I've vowed my love for this new primer and it is an absolute staple in my makeup routine.
I didn't want to make my previous Josie Maran post super long, so I've cut it into two. You can read the other product review here. This time though, I'm going to be talking about a hand cream. I featured this both in a favorites and a haul post.
The Josie Maran product I tried and fell in love with was their "Whipped Argan Oil Intensive Cream" for the hands. Now this, I am quite decided on! I talk about it in my May Favorites here *(you can watch it right down below), but I find this hand cream to be very very unlike the other hand creams I've tried. I mean, what more can be different?
Well first of all, when you put it on, it feel as though you are coating your hands with these super soft gloves. They neither feel entirely like butter-cream, or like water-infused gel type. It's somewhere in the middle. And, I have often found that hand creams have a way for DULLING my nail polishes which really annoys me! But because this is made with "whipped argan oil", I find it helps my nails remain shiny.
At first, you do feel a bit of residue, but as you continuously lather it in, your hands are feeling so super soft I find myself asking everyone I meet to touch my hands! Also, I found this to be great for cuticles. It feels like you have applied cuticle oil on your nails in cream form so that it doesn't just disappear!
The smell isn't all that great or bad. There is a slight scent of apricot, so it reminds me a little of the Essie Apricot cuticle oil. Other than that though, this is a very unique formulation of a hand cream I haven't tried before, and that I am currently loving!
I would sometimes dwindle around the Josie Maran counters at Sephora but nothing had really triggered me for some reason. That was, until the past few months when I tried out their Argan Love your Lips Hydrating Lipsticks. I, both fortunately and unfortunately, work next to a Sephora and that means popping into that store every chance I get. It must have been both the professional setting and the dry office air that made me want to pick these lipsticks up, because soon, I found myself picking out two of these lipstick shades. One in "Happy Honey" and the other in "Playful Pink". Quite the simple names I must say!
I originally wanted to go for only the nude, but I found that the pink was also a very nice everyday kind of pink. Pricing at $22, I was spilt between whether these sheer lipsticks were worth it or whether they were a bit too sheer and high maintanence. They felt really hydrating, and the color was really nice, but they were really quite sheer. You have to rub these against your lips for a good five or more times to get color on your lips. But when you did, the color was quite sheer and it just gave you a nice flush of the color of the lipstick. Sometimes, you need that sheer shade for places you don't want to make obvious something is on your lips!
The color of the lipstick is surrounded by the signature Josie Maran argan oil balm. It hydrates your lips all over, and it really does feel great. However, what I did find was that, perhaps because it was argan oil based, the oil did evaporate very quickly leaving with just the color on the lips and less of that shine you first get when you apply it on. If you love lip tints, this one is for you.
I did find that I had to reapply it a bit often because one, I found that I liked that creaminess of the argan balm on my lips, and two, because I found that I am more of a definite color lipstick-gal than a sheer-tint-of-color kind of gal.
I can't say these lipsticks are my fave yet, but if you do love a balmy lipstick with a tint of pretty colors for an everyday kind of thing, you might love this. It really is hydrating, and I'd imagine makeup beginners or the not-so-huge makeup wearers would enjoy these very much. I especially love the "Happy Honey" shade since I find it to be such a nice nude shade.
I thought it was about time to do an updated skincare routine, but this time, dividing the topic into an Evening and Morning part. I decided to start with my Evening Skincare Routine because this is the time I spend the most time taking care of my skin. It's the best time to get your skin to recover and reconstruct overnight, and prep your skin for a dewy start in the morning!
I am currently so happy with my skin and I think I owe it to this routine. By all means, don't take everything I say as something permanent because I especially switch up my skincare, a lot. I think switching up skincare it crucial with hormonal changes, climate change, and whatever else gets in the way!
I wanted this video/post to be a way where we can all share our skin troubles and give each other advices. This is my advice, but leave a comment below and tell us what some of your advices are.
My very first advice for good skin is hydration. I explain it in the video, but for those of you who are more "readers" than "watchers", I'll ramble on here in this post if you don't mind! My skin is combination-to-oily, sensitive, very dehydrated, and acne-prone skin. I call it, the worst of all things put together. I battled with acne and just bad skin all throughout high-school, and then a bit through college. Then I suffered from adult acne and went through Acutane and other laser treatments.
Besides drugging my body with Acutane nothing else seemed to work. I stopped taking medicine for my skin when I saw how much negative effects it had on my body. Since then, I've been trying to find products that work for me.
I've come to the conclusion that my skin behaves well when I feed it water-based, water-infused products. These are products that are not just creams and butter-y products that are heavy and block the pores. I favor products that feel like water in some cream or gel form that hydrates the skin for hours. You can see by the products I talk about, what those products all have in common. Water.
Removing makeup I start by removing my makeup with the all-too-well-known Bioderma Miscellare Crealine H2O. It's simple. Take a few cotton pads. Dap it with this magic water. Wipe your face. Makeup off. Boom!
But here's a note to remember. Don't replace this for a proper cleansing session! You want to let the Bioderma be a preliminary step, and then go on to really washing your face with a good cleanser.
Cleanser I currently use two cleansers on and off. Both I love, both I'm almost done with, and both I will repurchase again! One is the IPKN Pore Refresh Cleansing Foam. Don't care anymore what skincare gurus say about foaming cleansers, because at the end of the day, this particular cleanser gets deeeeeep into my pores and really washes everything out and away! I use this in the morning sometimes too, and I have no trouble with it at all :) The other cleanser is the CliniqueTake the Day Off cleansing balm. The only balm I've used. Seems pretty good. It does the job, takes the remainder makeup off, cleanses skin, makes it feel fresh... what more to say? Toner I'm a toner junkie. If there is something I will never leave out, it is toner. Peeps, do tone your skin. It preps the skin for all that luxurious product you apply afterwards. It cleanses the skin somehow too! I am a total fan of the Mario Badescu toners. All of them, but in particular the Cucumber Cleansing Lotion. I know it says lotion, but don't be put off by it. It is a toner. What I featured in my video though was the Seaweed Cleansing Lotion. Equally good, more gentle because it is for the dry-skinned peeps. It has "witch hazel" that took the skincare blogs by storm! So if your looking for an alternative to the Pixi Glow Tonic you might consider this. But *cough cough* I prefer the Mario Badescu one!
First Level Aqua I have no name for this stage. The product is called a serum, but it feels too light to be anything really. It just feels like water. I call this the "First Level Aqua" because I like to use a really replenishing, hydrating, water-infused product before I begin with proper serums and creams. This is because when a water-infused product lays as the foundation to my other skincare, I find that thicker and heavier products soak in better!!! And that's so important for me. Currently I'm using the ISOI Bulgarian Rose Blemish Serum. All natural, no chemicals, and gel-type serum that feels exactly like water that doesn't drip off. It soaks into the skin in less than a few seconds because the skin loves it. It's like watering a tight skin, and giving it instant satisfaction.
Serum After I lay a good foundation for the skin, only then do I apply a thick oil-based serum. Currently, I am loving the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. When I used this oil serum by itself without a water-based foundation, it did nothing. My skin did not eat it up. But with a good water foundation, this did sink it deeply and I found my skin improving so much. It's helped with the scarring and blemishes and overall good skin quality! As a side note, I also like to use the Mario Badescu Vitamin C serum at times. That also is an oil-based thick serum great for acne-skinned, hyper-pigmented skin types.
Second Level Aqua I am sandwiching products by layering them with water, water, water! I recommend this light-weight moisturizer to everyone! It is the Missha Water Supply Essence. It replenishes the skin, and your skin will love it. That is all. It's just so great, and it is thicker than the ISOI product and lighter than a regular moisturizer so it's that perfect layer to go on top of my serum.
Third Level Aqua - final I want my skin to remain nourished all night. I'm going to finish everything with the thickest and heaviest product. But don't be put off by the sound of "heaviest". It is still a gel and it will help your skin remain bouncy and youthful. It is the Missha Cell Renew Snail Cream. I talk a bunch about this in my last monthly favorites here: May Favorites It's a great finish off!
Eye Cream I either do this at the beginning or at the end. Either way, I like to take care of my under eyes before I regret it later on! I currently using the Kiehl's Avocado Eye cream. Great hydration and not too heavy on the skin!
I was organizing my lipstick collection when I was looking through my Nars lipsticks and thought I don't really talk about them, and felt I should have a blogpost dedicating it to my cult faves from their lipstick collection. I don't have a lot of shades, but I do have one of each kind of color (a nude, a pink, a cherry, and violet)-- and I feel that really is enough. I love the shades I have, and I've repurchased them loads. And even though I love them, you know how they've become so normal for you that you find you forget to feature them in blogposts and videos? Well, that's the case with these lipsticks. I genuinely love them!
The four shades I want to share with you are: Full Frontal , Honolulu Honey , Funny Face , Roman Holiday.
I don't think the picture came out true to color. That's the thing about lipsticks. Sometimes, they are hard to capture their true shades. And again, colors look different for each skin color.
Full Frontal - seriously, NARS has some names for these lipsticks. Anyway, these limited edition lipstick is such a beautiful purple/violet lipstick. It is really purple -- not fuchsia or cherry-toned, or any of that. It is a true purple violet and I find it so flattering and different from other lipstick shades that attempt at a purple but fail by making them too pastel, too red, too pale, or too dark. I find this to be a perfect blend, and I do hope they make this a permanent collection!
Honolulu Honey - yellow-toned girls, this one is for you. A beautiful nude shade that blends like cream with your skin tone. It is more natural than say MAC's "Shy Girl". It's a gorgeous nude that is hydrating and easy to use.
Funny Face - this is the kind of fuchsia you want. As I was saying before, this is that blend of cherry-red and blue-toned purple. The color is very complex I have to say. In the pictures, it may look pretty red but it really has more dimension than that. I would think that different tones of the lipstick shade would shine through under different lightings. If you look close at the lipstick, you'll see the pearly blue-toned purple! This is on the more intensely-pigmented side of their lipsticks. It is super, super pigmented and it literally tattoos the lips.
Roman Holiday - guys, really. I've bought this lipstick four times. FOUR TIMES. And, that's after using each lipstick to the very very bottom. Can you tell how much I love this lipstick. It is a pink that Audrey Hepburn would wear. Something feminine, something soft, something classic, and something PINK. It is a light pink, but it's not too pale that it'd wash you out. I love it so, and the formulation is similar to Honolulu Honey. Creamy, hydrating, and pigmented (but not as intense as Funny Face).
I filmed a May Favorites on my Youtube channel. Although I wanted to feature a lot more skincare products I've fallen in love with the past month, I thought it'd end up being a very long video. So, instead I've decided to do a separate skincare routine.
Watch the video and don't forget to give it a thumbs up if you've enjoyed it! Also, I love reading your comments. Do tell me what you've been loving or really anything :)
Products mentioned:
Rose of BulgariaBody Balsam *forgot to take a picture of this one
Living in New York, blogging about beauty to de-stress from everyday life and nurture the girl within ♥ My love for makeup and all things beauty inspired me to create this blog. Here I share my beauty trends, tips, and reviews.
