Spring Day FOTD with Lise Watier Pastel Power

Since Wednesday was the official first day of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, it was only apropos to pull out my Lise Watier Spring 2013 Pastel Power goodies for a FOTD. For swatches and my review of the Pastel Power collection visit this post.

Products used: 

1. Apply coral shade from Lise Watier Pastel Power Quartet over entire eyelid;
2. Apply light grey shade to brow bone;
3. Apply teal shade to outer V and crease;
4. Use pale blue shade to blend the teal shade into the coral and light grey;
5. Line upper lash line with Clio Urban Khaki liquid liner;
6. Line lower lash line with Lise Watier Vert Sarcelle Eye Shine liner;
7. Lise Watier Pink Powder blush on cheeks;
8. Lise Watier Corail Punch and Gosh Cool Lip Jam in 104 on lips;

Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge swatches and review

I first came across the Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge on Rasilla's post on her Korean cosmetics lemmings. Being on a bit of a lip tint kick I put in a group Gmarket order for these lip tints.
This was my first Gmarket order and I've decided I hate Gmarket. They overestimate the shipping costs so ridiculously and will only refund the excess in the form of Gcash which you can then only spend at Gmarket.
They estimated the weight of 10 of these lip tints to be 2 FLIPPEN KILOGRAMS!! and charged me a whopping $32 for shipping!!! They then "refunded" me $16 worth of Gcash. Which is just sitting there...in my Gmarket account...doing nothing.
On top of that, the seller sent me the wrong colour for one of the lip tints and I'm still waiting for Gmarket to resolve that issue -_______-"
Argh, ok, enough bitching, onto the review!

Swatches from left: 05 and 01

Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge 05 swatch:

Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge 01 swatch:

I can't find any information in English on these lip tints. I only know that Innisfree is very big on being eco-friendly and ethical, and use only or mostly organic ingredients. If you can read Korean, feel free to head over to Innisfree's Korean website to read the product description. I did however, gank this image from their website which shows the various colours available in this collection. I got colours 01 (a blue based pink) and 05 (an orange/coral based red).

Click image to biggify:

These are basically Innisfree's version of the YSL Glossy Stains and L'Oreal Caresse Lip Stains. Their formulas are, however, quite different. The L'Oreal Caresse stains have a very watery formula, the Innisfree tints have a gel formula. Both the L'Oreal and Innisfree stains dry down to a slightly tacky, glossy finish. The intensity of these stains vary by colour, 01 left an "OMFG I CAN'T GET THIS OFF MY LIPS!!!" stain, but I was able to remove most of 05 from my lips with oil based makeup remover and some creative scrubbing. I got about 4-5 hours of wear out of 05 and about 7 hours out of 01. I went to bed with bright pink lips the night I did these swatches, Mr. Nunu laughed at me and said my lips looks like two pieces of raw tuna...
Due to the gel formula, these stains take longer to set compared to the L'Oreal stains, and if you disturb it before it sets, it will smear. These tints did not dry my lips out and I did not feel like I had to wear a balm underneath. These have a very artificial fruity scent which lessens as the stain dries. 
Overall I like the squishy gel formula of the Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge more than the watery formula of the L'Oreal Caresse stains but the difficulty in obtaining these outside of Korea is too prohibitive.
The Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge retail for 10,000 Won (US$9ish-10) in Korea and I paid about US$13 each on Gmarket including shipping from Korea to Canada.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Colour Caresse lipstick and lipstain review

These have already been reviewed and swatched to death by the beauty blogging community, but since they are still relatively new to me and I happen to like them a lot, I am going to blog about them anyway. Bear with me!

Colour Caresse Lipstick in Pink Cashmere:

Swatch of Pink Cashmere:

The L'Oreal Colour Caresse lipsticks continue the trend of lightweight, glossy, lip colour. According to L'Oreal, these lipsticks are formulated with 50% less wax than the traditional lipstick and contain jojoba butter for extra moisture. The collection is available in 12 different shades here in Canada.

These are a lot more pigmented than the Colour Riche Balms and the formula is quite reminiscent of Dior Addict lipsticks although with less slip. Very effortless to apply, the silky smooth formula glides on and does indeed feel very lightweight on my lips. I've experienced more moisturising lipsticks but these aren't bad and I didn't feel the need for balm underneath. There is a slight fruity scent to these lipsticks, but it's not unpleasant.
The downside to these lipsticks is that they don't really last, I only get around 3 hours of wear time. They are also slightly pricey for a drugstore brand lipstick at CAN$12-14 each. I'll put these in my "nice to get when they are on sale" category.

Infinite Fuchsia:

Berry Persistent:

The L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stains are relatively new in Canada. I remember stalking quite a few pharmacies for these and finally resorting to whining to American friends. Of course the moment she got them for me, I found them at my local pharmacy.
I'm told that these are a dupe for the YSL Vernis a Levres glossy stains, but since I don't own any of those, I can't compare. YSL is owned by the L'Oreal group so perhaps they use the same formulas.
I must confess my love of flat, wide, applicators, they are great for lazy bums like me because they cover so much surface area in one swipe! Bonus point for that xD.
These feel quite watery on application. Once they dry down they retain a slightly tacky finish. I can't decide if these are moisturising or not, the watery formula tells me they aren't but my lips don't feel too dry either. As you can see from the swatches, the pigmentation is incredible, and I slightly regret getting the 2 brightest colours in the line instead of getting more wearable colours, but wearing bright lip colours makes me a beauty blogger right?! Anyhoo, the stain lasted for a full 6 hours before any noticeable fading, it somehow managed to do this despite me chugging endless cups of tea and a Lara bar during those 6 hours. How is that for long lasting?
I also noticed that these stains don't transfer much. Whilst I won't recommend wiping your lips on your SO's crisp white shirt, I definitely didn't see the usual telltale lipstick marks when I wore these.
I think they're about US$9 each in America. Shoppers Drug Mart sells these for around CAN$13.99. At a fraction of the price of the YSL gloss and with such great lasting power I definitely recommend picking up a few to try.

 Swatches from left: Pink Cashmere; Infinite Fuchsia; and Berry Passionate.

Kiehl's 10 Day Change Your Skin Challenge

I was recently invited by Kiehl's to participate in their 10 Day Change Your Skin Challenge. The challenge was simple, use Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate for 10 days and report the changes it made to your skin.
What Kiehl's says about their Midnight Recovery Concentrate:

" This lightweight, readily-absorbed elixir effectively restores skin’s healthy appearance overnight, resulting in smoother, more radiant complexion by morning. Enriched with Squalane, a botanical lipid similar in molecular structure to natural skin lipids, Evening Primrose Oil, rich in Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Essential moisture to depleted skin. These naturally derived oils instantly penetrate the skin surface to help replenish it. Our recovery concentrate works at night when skin is most receptive to repairing itself from daily aggressors. With skin hydrated, supple and soft, rest assured you can say goodnight to tired-looking skin. Paraben Free. Fragrance Free. Mineral Oil Free."

 

I must confess that I had a bit of an unfair advantage when it came to doing this challenge, I have actually been an avid user Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate for the last 2 years, and is is my absolute favourite Kiehl's product.
Oil is often vilified in skincare, especially by those with blemish prone skin. If anyone had suggested that I put oil on my face back when I was a teenager, I would think that they were deranged! We believed that oil causes breakouts and tried our utmost to remove any trace of oil from our skin. Little did we know that by doing so, we were robbing our skin of the sebum crucial to protecting our skin as well as sending our sebaceous glands into hyperdrive. Hyperactive sebaceous glads = excess sebum = clogged up pores = pimples. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I've learnt that keeping my skin moisturised goes a long way towards keeping it healthy.
Keeping skin hydrated at night is especially important. Medical studies have shown that skin is more permeable at night making it more receptive to active ingredients but also more susceptible to rapid water loss. Indoor heating during Winter makes protecting our skin at night even more of an imperative.
I have combination skin, it is oily around the T-zone with dry cheeks, in addition my skin also gets very sensitive during Winter. After using Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate, I no longer wake up with tight, blotchy red skin, instead I have radiant, soft and supple skin by the morning. My skin tone is noticeably more even and the lines under my eyes have become fainter. In addition to using it on my face, I also use it on my knees and elbows and anywhere else that needs an extra boost of hydration.
Despite being an oil, the Midnight Recovery Concentrate is easily absorbed and doesn't leave any greasiness behind. It it very easy to apply using the enclosed dropper and has a soothing lavender scent
I really have nothing but good things to say about this product, I've purchased it for my mom and godmother and they both love it on their more mature skin.
There is a reason why the Midnight Recovery Concentrate has 63 pages of 5/5 customer reviews on the Kiehls.ca website and why it is recommended by 388 out of 389 reviewers (haha I sound like a toothpaste advert xD), the reason is simply that it works.
The Midnight Recovery Concentrate can be purchased at Kiehls.ca and Kiehls retail shops for $48