Category: Angela

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The Last Resort: AmorePacific Resort Collection Sun Protection Cushion and Stick Mini-Review

For the summer, AmorePacific came out with a Resort Collection comprised of sunscreen products.  I came across the Resort Collection Sun Protection Cushion SPF30+ ($40 for 0.52 oz.) and the Resort Collection Sun Protection Stick SPF 50+ ($40 for 0.24 oz.) at Sephora and couldn’t resist testing them out because they were unused testers!  For a beauty addict enthusiast, that’s like stumbling across a winning lottery ticket.  Check out the glam gold and white packaging.

01 AmorePacific Resort Collection Sun Stick and Cushion ReviewUltimately I decided against buying them for reasons I’ll explain below, so these are purely my initial impressions from trying them in the store.

Continue reading “The Last Resort: AmorePacific Resort Collection Sun Protection Cushion and Stick Mini-Review”

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Rainbow Connection: Dior Diorsnow Rainbow Powder Review + Swatches + Comparisons

Double rainbow all the way across the sky! Oh my God…Oh my God…Oh, God! What does this mean? Ohhh…Oh my God… -Unknown wise man

01 Dior Diorsnow Rainbow Powder ReviewThe Diorsnow Rainbow Powder (officially Les Neiges de Diorsnow Colour Correcting Radiance Powder in 001) is an Asia exclusive that Renee brought back from Taipei at my request. I thought this might be of interest because (1) it’s so crazy beautiful (serious makeup p0rn ahead!), (2) many of you live in Asia, and (3) sometimes Asia exclusives pop up in the U.S., such as during Nordstrom’s summertime Anniversary Sale (although that’s starting July 17th and I haven’t heard anything yet…).  Update: The beauty specials for the Anniversary Sale are now up and they definitely don’t include Rainbow Powder. Update #2 (Feb. 2016): An almost exact dupe–in appearance at least–can be found in the Guerlain Meteorites Voyage Exceptional Compacted Pearls of Powder ($179 with the case or $59 for the refill pan).  I updated this post with a comparison below.

Continue reading “Rainbow Connection: Dior Diorsnow Rainbow Powder Review + Swatches + Comparisons”

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Layer Cake: Code Glokolor N. All-uid Foundation in 20.5 Medium Review

01 Code Glokolor N All-uid ReviewThis will be a short review.  I hated this.  I even thought about giving it a second try, and then I thought, Why?  Incidentally, I received this in the K-Beauty Box/Get It Beauty Box promoted by Soko Glam last year, which also contained another hated foundation, the Dr. Jart+ Bounce Beauty Balm.  The most positive thing you’ll see in this post is the GIF.

Continue reading “Layer Cake: Code Glokolor N. All-uid Foundation in 20.5 Medium Review”

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Matte About You: Shu Uemura Tint in Gelato in AT 02 Sugar Plum & BG 01 Puffy Chocolate Review

Shu Uemura Tint in Gelato ($28) is a creamy, super-pigmented liquid intended as a lip and cheek color. I’ve only used them as lipsticks since I’m generally not too skilled with liquid blushes.

01 Shu Uemura Tint in Gelato ReviewLovely Indya at Bella Noir Beauty gave me AT 02 Sugar Plum and BG 01 Puffy Chocolate (the shades are inspired by gelato) and will be helping me swatch and demonstrate the colors. Sugar Plum is a rich, strong, cool-toned pink with a touch of purple. Puffy Chocolate is a tan beige, not nearly as dark as its name suggests.

Continue reading “Matte About You: Shu Uemura Tint in Gelato in AT 02 Sugar Plum & BG 01 Puffy Chocolate Review”

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Pour Some Sugar On Me: Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum Review

01 Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum ReviewThe full name of the product is Black Sugar Perfect First Serum No. 1 Original (as opposed to No. 2 Fraud?).

>>Oct. 2016 Update: Skinfood discontinued this and in fact came out with a No. 2 version: 2X Essential for dry skin, reviewed here, and 2X Light for oily skin.  2X Essential is slightly reformulated and has a pH of 5 but is otherwise indistinguishable from the original, so everything in this post still applies.<<

It’s basically a first treatment essence that claims to exfoliate, brighten, fight wrinkles, and hydrate.  As with other “first essences,” I use this as a toner.  (Skinfood classifies this as a serum, not a toner, but its directions are to use immediately after cleansing.) I tested the pH to be between 4 and 5.  Continue reading “Pour Some Sugar On Me: Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum Review”

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Dupe-plicity: Embryolisse vs. Charlotte’s Magic Cream

01 Charlottes Magic Cream DupesOne of the recurring searches that leads to our site is some variation of “Is Embroylisse a dupe for Charlotte’s Magic Cream.” Wanting a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream is understandable: it’s now an eye-popping $100 for 1.7 oz. ($58.82/oz.). Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre is a bargain at $16 for 1.0 oz. or $28 for 2.6 oz. ($10.77/oz.).

In my review of Magic Cream, I stated that they weren’t dupes based on trying Embryolisse on the back of my hand. Since then, I’ve tried a sample of Embryolisse and can do a more detailed comparison of the two.

Continue reading “Dupe-plicity: Embryolisse vs. Charlotte’s Magic Cream”

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Flip-Flopper: Why I Switched from PocketDerm Anti-Aging to Acne

Previous PocketDerm posts: Getting Started and Weeks 1 through 4 Update

NOTE: PocketDerm has rebranded itself as Curology and eliminated the distinction between “Anti-Aging” and “Acne” goals.  All ingredients are now fair game for inclusion in your Curology prescription–regardless of whether they’re anti-aging or acne.

When I signed up for PocketDerm Anti-Aging last November, my main concerns were fine lines, brown sunspots, and red marks left over from long-gone blemishes.

Fast forward to March: I developed a giant honker on my right cheek that didn’t go away and in the subsequent weeks, I increasingly developed more blemishes on my cheeks and jawline, minor at first but recently of the festering, tender-to-the-touch variety.

04 PocketDerm Progress
WTF, face?

Continue reading “Flip-Flopper: Why I Switched from PocketDerm Anti-Aging to Acne”

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All My Cushion: Ranking My Favorite Cushion Compacts

Cushions cushions cushions!  -Jan Brady

There are now cushions as blush, highlighter, and eyeliner, colorless cushions, cushion pens for concealer and lip color, cushions for your hair, even cushions for your butt!

(Haha, gotcha.)

Now that I’ve used my 7 (yes, 7!) cushions for a while and found myself reaching for certain ones over others, I wanted to share my personal ranking of my favorites.

01 Rank Best Cushion Compacts Continue reading “All My Cushion: Ranking My Favorite Cushion Compacts”

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Flashed Hopes: REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial Review…Sort Of

01 REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial ReviewI felt finally ready to review the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial ($48 for 2.5 oz.). I had two deluxe samples that I’d been using every 3 to 5 days for the last 5 weeks. I thought I had enough information to assess the pros and cons. And then I thought of looking up reviews to see what others were thinking…and was shocked at what I found out.

Continue reading “Flashed Hopes: REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial Review…Sort Of”