This is in response to the past couple Birchboxes I received and the samples I tried out. I hope this helps some of you if you have doubts about the products.
Eyeko FAT Eye Stick – dark teal with shimmer
To be honest, I’m not too fond of this Fat Stick. Perhaps it’s the color, because I really have no use for this. The lines that it draws are so thick, I can’t even use this as an eye liner…
If this color is for an eyeshadow, that could possibly work out ok. But for a eye liner, the point of the pencil is not fine enough to draw on the eye lid. It’s not a light color either where you can work with it to blend the extra away..
Quality wise, it does glide on quite smoothly. It also smudges very easily too. If that’s something you’re looking for, then I’d say go for it!
One thing I did notice was that this is made in China. After hearing all the horror stories of what they do to replicate products and sell it to the public, I’ve developed a biased opinion for products made in China especially beauty/make-up products. So because of this, I really try to avoid China made items because you want to be extra careful with what goes on your face and what will be touching your skin! I’m sure they went under quality control. Though, I’m just sensitive…
Likewise Daily Skincare – 50 SPF moisturizer
This is labeled as a moisturizer but I disagree. I’ve only used it once when I went down to the shore and this is DEFINITELY more like a sunscreen than a moisturizer. In other words, I would not use this everyday… only during times of need. It’s ironic because the brand is called “Daily Skincare” but I highly doubt you need SPF 50 for walking around the city… Anywho, I think this is suitable for those who visit places with the sun blazing constantly. I don’t plan on using this until I go to the beach again.
Quality wise: The smell and texture resembles a sunscreen 100%. They say this is water resistant and anti-wrinkle~ Another ironic thing.. if you want less wrinkles, perhaps you shouldn’t be under the sun lol but that only applies to people who sun bath. I put this on thinking the white trace of a sunscreen will fade away b/c of the moisturizer trait. but for this, you still have to rub it out. So yeah, I can’t say I’ll invest it one for long term use, but I’m happy to have it for the summer 🙂
Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB (Blemish Base) Cream SPF 25 PA++
This really lives up to all the hype. The first time I used it, I had doubts… 2nd time I put it on, I was able to work with it. This product is truly revolutionary. Of all the things people say, I have to agree with them. One thing I want to highlight is that, using this, my skin doesn’t feel irritated and the bb cream doesn’t induce breakouts. The coverage is superb. You might have to put more on your problem areas. But it won’t leave behind the feeling of having too much foundation on. In fact, when using this, I can do away with other products such as more foundation or moisturizer. Usually, I just add on some blush or bronzer and I’m good to go! As you can tell by the picture, I’ve pretty much used up this sample bottle. This petite thing (2 ml) lasted me for a good 10 days of use! That’s quite impressive!
I’ve done some brief research on this and looked it up on Dr Jart’s official website. There are other options in their line of BB cream. Also note each label only comes in one shade. However, the shades of all the BB creams are different! See below for a comparison on drjartstore.com (the chart below is in Korean). Since I can’t read Korean, I really can’t tell you much more than what you see on the chart. But one important take away is that it does display the different tones of the various labels of BB cream. So if you are considering the Dr. Jart’s BB cream line, but let’s say: the water fuse shade doesn’t suit you, you can try a different label for a closer match to your skin tone.
Stainiac – Cheeks and Lips Stain
First impression, I’m not very impressed by the packaging or the gooey look of the product. In essence, this is just a very basic lip stain. If you go on the site, http://www.birchbox.com/shop/makeup/the-balm-stainiac, they do teach you how to apply this on your cheeks. The brush head is very soft. Even though it looks like jello in a tube, the product is actually quite moist. umm… you know.. this is not uber fabulous but it does what it does. I wouldn’t use this on a special occasion, but on a daily basis, it’s not a bad idea to have this in your make up case. Though, I don’t think I will pay $17 for this…
Stila – Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
I’ve already mentioned this and did a swatch in my last Birchbox post. I am loving this eye liner 🙂 It’s very shimmery and the olive color with gold shimmer compliments my brown eyes and black hair. The picture is just to show you what kind of stylus it is and it can draw a fine line no problem. I know some people received this in blue? ELECTRIFYING~ ! 😀
that’s it for now! I’m sure there are more to come! Let me know what you think about these products 🙂
food2wear 