sephora

Brand Product Review: Ole Henriksen Skincare

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My mom introduced me to the brand Ole Henriksen a couple years ago.  She purchased a sample trial kit and loved it so much that she convinced me to try it out (we have very similar skin – olive tone semi-acne prone combination skin).

I’ve tried MANY products from their line but decided to focus this post on the ones that I loved and repurchased and the ones I didn’t enjoy or find effective.  I have included links below directly to the Ole Henriksen website.

Please note, that they do not ship to Canada or internationally  however you can purchase many of the products at Sephora. 🙂

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My Sephora VIB Fall 2016 Sale Haul

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It’s that time of year again….the SEPHORA VIB SALE!

Twice a year Sephora launches a brief 20% off sale for their VIB and VIB Rouge Beauty Insiders (ie. second and third tier loyalty members).   I took advantage of this sale and picked up a selection of my beauty essentials, new favourites, splurges, an anniversary gift, and a free point purchase.

In today’s blog, I decided to only include images and descriptions (from the Sephora website) instead of including my full reviews and/or swatches of each product, like I usually do.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to hear from you about which of the listed products you would like me to review, swatch, compare to competitors…etc (not to mention, prevent this post from being insanely long).

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Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

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One of the staples in my daily makeup look is a medium-thick jet black black liner.  I line my eyes on the top lashes from the inner corner to the outer, sometimes with a small wing.

For years, I used Mac’s Carbon eyeshadow with a small damp angled brush… but when I started blogging, I decided to start testing out some new products.

After hearing all the hype about the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, I caved and decided to try it out.

Product Description

img_3260“A liquid eyeliner with an innovative brush tip for effortless, precise application. Achieve eye perfection with this high-pigment, waterproof liner that stays put all day for a fade-, melt-, crack-, and run-resistant finish. The superfine and flexible brush tip glides across the lashline for incredibly fluid application, allowing you to create a variety of looks with ease. Unlike traditional felt tip liners, this brush tip will not fray.” (sephora.com)

My Pros & Cons

What’s great about this product?

  • It’s easy to apply.
  • The thin tip creates a precise line and perfect cateye wing.
  • It’s a true jet black colour.
  • The formula is very opaque so you only need one coat
  • It’s long wearing.  I fell a sleep with it once and when I woke up it was still almost perfect.

What could be improved?

  • There is a plastic-y / sheen finish.  As it was called “tattoo” I expected it to be more matte and natural looking (which I prefer).
  • If you push too hard with the tip, the product may bleed a bit…especially in the inner corner of my inner corner
  • One or twice I noticed that the bottom part of my winged liner flaked off.
  • Once the product has dried it feels a little stiff on the eyelid (when I blink, I can sometime feel a little tug)

Would I buy it again?

Would I recommend it to other?  Yes!  Would I buy it again? No.  Overall, it’s a wonderful product, I just prefer a matte finish.

Here’s the list of my favourite matte eyeliners:

What are your favourite eyeliners?  Have you tried the Kat Von D Tatoo Liner? If so, what do you think?

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(For full disclosure, please note that a couple of the links are shopstyle affiliate links. There are many retailers I could have linked for info on the same products, so I figured why not link ones that reward me for selecting them so I can buy more products to review for you!  I want to re-assure you that the featured products were not selected on that basis. )  

 

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick (Part 3+)

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Saved the best for last!

Urban Decay recently launched 100 new Vice Lipsticks in a variety of different finishes comfort matte, sheer, cream…etc).

I discovered that Sephora had a special promotion giving out a FREE Urban Decay Lipstick 24-Shade Deluxe Sampler with any $25+ order.  So, I jumped on this opportunity to try them out and do some swatches for you!

Going to the store and looking at 100 different shades with several different finishes can be overwhelming, so my goal of this post is to help you decide which colours you may want to try out. 

(NOTE: I just found out that the Sephora promo is still going on.  To take advantage of it, use the code UDVICES)

 

As I mentioned in my Urban Decay Vice Lipstick Part 1 and Part 2 posts, I’ve decided to divide up my swatches into three posts (a) so this isn’t the longest post of all times (b) some of the colours left a stain so I didn’t want it to effect the swatches (c) to save my lips from swatch misery.

These are the samples that I was most excited about – the nude-ish section!   I liked so many of the colours in this section of the kit that picking my favourites was a tough endeavor.

Why the “+”?

img_3161After trying out all these lipsticks, I decided to visit my local drug store to see if there were any colours that I hadn’t swatched that were worth trying on.  I fell in love with the colour Trance and decided to purchase it (see swatch and description below). 

As I now own a real full Urban Decay Vice lipstick, I can finally show you what the actually packaging and tube look like (yay!).

The tube is very modern and “urban” looking (true to brand).  The dark grey metal top/lid looks like it has been hit with a hammer a couple times (not in a bad way lol!).  The only negative is that, because the lid covers 95% of the tube, it sometimes get’s stuck and I have to twist and pull hard to get it off, but this has only happened a couple times.  Over all, very unique and futuristic looking packaging.

It’s Swatch Time!

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Urban Decay Vice Lipstick (Part 1)

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Swatches, swatches, and more swatches!  Hooray!

Recently, Urban Decay launched 100 new Vice Lipsticks.  Yep – that’s right 100 shades with a variety of different finishes (comfort matte, sheer, cream…etc).

When I first saw them at my local Sephora, I was a little overwhelmed – SO MANY to pick from!  I couldn’t decide which one to try so I didn’t buy any (and my bank account thanked me…).

Shortly after, I found out that Sephora was giving out a FREE Urban Decay Lipstick 24-Shade Deluxe Sampler with any $25+ order.  I was in need of a new Beauty Blender, so I jumped on this opportunity to try them out and do some swatches for you!

FYI – just giving my marketing “two-cents”, I would have suggested launching them in batches.  Think Colourpop – they launch a new product every month or two – not only does it drive traffic to their site, but we buy more (we want to try one of the new products) it also adds excitement, continuing the buzz for a long time.  That being said, launching the sample pack was brilliant (and not just because I got one…)! 😉

Here’s what the sample pack looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve decided to divide up my review & swatches into three posts.  Here’s why:

  1. So this isn’t the longest post of all times.
  2. Some of the colours left a stain so I didn’t want it to effect the swatches
  3. To save my lips from swatch misery (avoiding sore swollen lips and less attractive swatches…I learned the hard way after doing my ColourPop Lippie Review & Swatches)

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