Naked and Naked 2 Review

My video above gives an in depth comparison of the two Urban Decay Naked Palettes

Naked Original:

-warm palette for warm toned girls

-black has shimmer, not usable for everyday

-a lot more shimmer than satin and mattes, the shimmers are chunky

-the packaging is felt and shut with magnet, less travel friendly, has the risk of getting ruined in the suitcase

-really unique dual toned colors

-a few bucks cheaper, only $48

-no brush, dual ended pencil in black and brown

-less suitable for cool toned individuals

Naked 2:

-cool palette for cool toned girls

-matte black color more usable for everyday

-good range of satin, matte and shimmer but the shimmers are less chunky

-the packaging is metal case, snap shut, very durable and very travel friendly, not likely to get ruined in suitcase

-a few bucks more expensive, $50

-dual ended brush with flat end for packing on color and fluffy end for blending, no pencil

-really unique dual toned colors

-less suitable for warm toned individuals

Overall, I am cool toned so I prefer the Naked 2 palette but both are good quality so it largely depends on personal skin tone and preference. 

Swatches of all the Naked 2 Palette Colors, in order from left to right in the palette:

I'm BACK! Jewelmint Update Review and GIVEAWAY!

Hey there beauty girls! Its been such a long time, so many changes but I am EXCITED to be back in the beauty world! No time to waste, getting right down to business.

I did a Jewelmint review back in June and honestly, I was not impressed. However, I got Jewelmint as christmas gifts from some of my very generous friends and so I needed to use them and give Jewelmint another chance. I have to say my impressions the second time around are not significantly better, only slightly.

Black Swan Cuff

Wel made and sturdy, however, the opening of the cuff is not adjustable and it is HUGE on my wrist. I have to wear it up high on my arm and then it leaves marks and indentations in my flesh. If I move around to much or move my arm a certain way, it comes off. Got this as a gift from my friend because it was too big for her as well.

Humanity Bracelet

Well made and can't see anything wrong with it but its so overly simple. In my opinion, not worth $29.99 so thank goodness I got this with credits instead of actually having to pay for it. Probably worth $2-$3 because it doesn't really take much work or craftsmanship and the material they use is cheap.

Laurel Drop Ear Rings

Only piece of the bunch that I actually liked, its very elegant and good for a number of occasions. Since its long, you can wear it with hair up or down and it will get noticed. Its well made and again I can't see anything wrong with it. In all honesty, do I believe its worth $29.99? Still no, the material again is cheap and to charge $29.99 is too much, probably$10 for this pair of ear rings. I like that it has a metal backing this time so it stays put on your ears.

and now finally the giveaway!!

Santa Fe Sunset Ear Rings

 I haven't even taken it out of the box, it looks to be well made and nothing wrong with it. I'm giving it away simply because its not really my style and I don't see myself ever wearing it.

Giveaway Rules:

1) must be a subscriber of my youtube channel

2) must be at least 18 years old

3) write something in the comment section, "enter me" or anything you like

Giveaway runs from Saturday 1/28/2012 until Saturday 2/4/2012 11:59pm PST. Winner will be chosen randomly. Good Luck!

May and June Birchboxes

I've been busy traveling the last two months that I didn't get a chance to update my blog much and neglected to update my May and June birchboxes. Now that I got a chance to relax and catch up, its time to show off those goodies.

The May Birch Box included two of the Deborah Lippmann nail polish remover mittens, a sample of the Kate Spade twirl perfume, a sample of the Weleda wild rose face mask, a sample of the molecular face mist and a full size of the Laura Geller N' Brighten mineral blush in Honey Dipped.

For awhile I was on the fence about Birch Box but I was really impressed with the May box because they included a full sized product which I never expected. The Laura Geller mineral blush is very similar to the MAC mineralized skin finish. This product alone is worth over $20 so to receive this product in the box and to have paid only $10 for the entire box was well wroth the price.

The June Birch Box did not disappoint as well and I think over the last two months, fully redeemed my faith in Birch Box.

The June Birch Box included a large sized sample of Redken Shine Brilliance shine spray, a small sized sample of the Zoya nail polish color in Shay, a sample of the AHAVA mineral hand cream, a sample of Philosophy Purity cleanser, and a almond & apricot granola bar.

I was more than happy to receive another of Philosophy Purity cleanser because its my holy grail cleanser already so the more the merrier.

I had received samples of the AHAVA mineral hand cream before and I really liked the results. It dries really fast and doesn't leave a residue so I was again happy to receive this product.

I love the color pay off of Zoya nail polishes and I own quite a few of them already so I was glad to add this color to my collection especially since its from their new collection.

This was the product I was most excited about, the Redken shine brilliance shine spray and I was glad that it was a large sized sample to dry the product. I used it a few times and it does add shine to my hair without weighing it down. However, the shine wasn't really enough for me personally. I just like that it was so light weight so I think I will use it more before giving it a final verdict but so far I do like it.

This was an interesting add to the box because it was not related to beauty os skincare or anything of the sorts but I'm also a lover of food so I was happy to get this product.

Jewel Mint Review

I give a very detailed review of the jewel mint pieces that I received, below are some up close pictures

First is the Versailles ear rings:

 Summation: I like that the ear rings are true to the pictures on line and are very sparkly and shiny, however, they do not stay on my ears. Ear rings that don't stay on your ears are pretty much useless in my opinion so I actually didn't end up liking this product. I paid $14.99 before taxes and shipping was free, I got it for half off because you can usually find coupon codes online for half off your first jewel mint purchase.

Second is the Black Keys Bracelet:

Summation: this piece did no have a clasp, making it very difficult to slip in and out of it. Also, it means that it is not a one size fits all because those with a wider hand probably will not be able to fit into this bracelet. The red arrows in the picture show some examples of the black spots on the bracelet that I talk about in the video, making it look very cheap. I paid full price for this which was $29.99 before taxes and again shipping was free. I do not think that it was worth $30 because it was made so cheaply.

Overall, I personally do not recommend jewel mint, I think the price is too high for poorly made products. However, I do keep in mind that perhaps I just had bad luck and got some bad pieces so for those interested please try out the products for yourself.

May Haul: May Showers Me With Lots of Products

Although I was away from the blogging world for a little bit (booo schoool) I wasn't at all away from beauty products. In fact, I stretched the phrase shop until you drop to the maximum. In addition to all the Naruko skincare products I purchased, I also purchased a lot of other additional goodies.

First stop, Sally's Beauty Supply store! They were having a sale on a lot of hair products from coloring systems, shampoos and conditioners to heated styling tools. I've wanted a professional grade straightening iron for awhile now but they are so expensively, retailing generally for a bout $100 USD. I didn't want to pay that much for a product. Sally's had a GVP or their generic version of a CHI straightening iron on sale for $50 USD. I also had a $5 off coupon for being a card member so I got the product for $45 USD before taxes. It came with a free mini hair straightener and most of all its pink and so pretty!

From Ulta, I picked up the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque $3.99 USD before taxes because I was having some major pimple problems in the last month. I also picked up Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion for Acne retailing for $9.99 USD before taxes and its suppose to be a dupe of Mario Badescu's drying lotion. Lastly, I caved and picked up the NYX Grow Lash Serum retailing for $23.99 USD before taxes because I just wanted to jump on to the lash enhancing bandwagon.

The Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque is a mid-green color and clay-like texture. Smells very minty!

 The NYX Grow Lash Serum has a very skinny wand perfect for reaching the roots of the eyelash. Fingers crossed that it works!

Simply based on appearances this Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion does look exactly like the Mario Badescu drying lotion. Haven't tried it yet but hopefully it works well!

From The Face Shop, I picked up more of the Migamsu Brightening Rice Water Cleansing Oil $15 USD before taxes. I love this product and I ran out to I needed more! I also picked up Clean Face White Intensive Blemish Clear Patch $10 USD before taxes. Comes with a set of 50 in the small box and claims to blemish pimples overnight. Haven't used it yet either but hopefully it works. I got a Fresh Fruit Aloe mask for free, it usually retails for $2 USD and some skincare samples.

I was in Diamond Plaza in Rowland Heights, CA (a very Asian area in the San Gabriel Valley) just enjoying pho and boba when I came across this cute little beauty boutique. It carries a lot of various Japanese and Taiwanese beauty product brands such as My Beauty Diary, Shiseido, Koji, Dolly Wink, etc. I picked up some pink hair velcro, 2 pack for $3.99 USD before taxes. I also picked up the Koji Eye Talk Double Eyelid Glue (pink case), it was $10.99 USD before taxes. I LOVE the hair velcro and I'm liking the double eyelid glue so far but haven't gotten the best hang of it yet. 

Beauty Corner
1388 Fullerton Road Suite 107
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Phone: (626) 581-3300

they accept credit cards, not sure about the return and exchange policy, should probably call to ask.

Lastly, from Target I picked up the Eco Tool Retractabe Kabuki Brush retails for $7.99 USD before taxes as well as the Loreal Revitalift Complete Anti-Wrinkle and Firming Eye Cream retails for $11.99 USD before taxes. I LOVE both these products, reviews will be coming soon!

also from Target, I got these Ardell Brow Trimmers a pack of three for $3.99 and they are seriously the worst products ever! They don't remove any hair and they scratch up your skin! Waste of money!

and I got two gratis products this month one from Origins and another from Shu Uemura.

I had placed an order with Origins last month and for some reason they decided to send me another free cleanser. I had gotten the checks and balances cleanser but now I have the perfect world cleanser as well. I'm not going to complain about free products because its awesome! Not sure how much these generally retail for though.

the Shu Uemura 24k Gold Lash Curler was a limited edition product from Sephora last year and I was never able to get my hands on it. My friend actually decided to gift me her backup because she loved it so much and she knew I couldn't get it anymore. I think this retails for $24 USD before taxes and I haven't tried it yet. I must say though, its so damn pretty!