Reviews and Other Stuff

FASHION & BEAUTY

Glossier Mini Haul

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glossier generation g

 

Hey there! Heard Glossier got a new addition to their beloved Balm Dotcom salves. Upon checking out their website, it looks like they’ve also added/updated a few more other products as well, including the newly reformulated Glossier Generation G sheer matte lipstick. Curious as always, I decided to try their newest Mango Balm Dotcom flavor, and I also ordered another flavor from the same line which I haven’t tried before. Also, in this review, I’ll feature one new Generation G lip shade.

 

glossier balm dotcom coconut

 

See below.

 

glossier review

 

Balm Dotcom (0.5 fl oz: $12) – This is probably my most favorite Glossier products of all and I keep buying this because I really love how versatile this balm is. You can use it for just about anything and it doesn’t irritate the skin. It’s a very thick salve that truly soothes and moisturizes the driest area of the skin no matter what the season may be. Also, the flavor/scent of this is always very rich and definitely true to its description. On top of that, the packaging is so cute and easy to store or carry.

 

glossier balm dotcom review

 

  • Coconut – Untinted. This is the scent/flavor I didn’t talk about during my previous Glossier review, seen HERE. I’m usually not a fan of strong coconut scents, but this one is not overpowering. While this definitely smells like true fresh coconut, this actually kinda reminds me of that dreamy tropical paradise escape we all have in our bucket list.

 

glossier balm dotcom mango flavor

 

  • Mango – The latest addition to the Glossier Balm Dotcoms, and this does not disappoint. It’s got a true juicy mango scent with a hint of bubblegum perhaps, and it has a light coral tint that disappears easily upon application. The scent of this travels easily across the room and you can notice it as soon as you unscrew the cap. It is that good.

 

glossier generation g lipstick in like

 

Generation G ( 0.1 oz: $18) – This is Glossier’s sheer matte lipstick line that has recently been reformulated. I got so curious about this, and guess what? I actually prefer this new formula compared to the old one. See the Leo shade in its old formulation HERE. The old formula tends to get really dry on the lips over time.

glossier generation g lipstick in like

  • Like – Described as light cool pink according to Glossier’s website, this appears like a light nude mauve on my pigmented lips with a soft-focus blotted effect, even though it looks kind of dark purple-violet inside the tube. I find this to be perfect for my lips this Spring and coming Summer for a sheer mauve pop of color, and it’s quite moisturizing as well. This also feels light, comfortable, and it doesn’t transfer much. Since this is sheer, the lasting power is around 2-3 hours after eating or drinking. I think the Dior Lip Glow in Matte Raspberry (seen HERE) is very much similar to this in terms of texture and finish. Further, this has a light jasmine scent that goes away a few minutes after application. I really like this sheer matte lipstick/balm a lot, and this “Like” shade definitely deserves a lot of likes because it seems universally wearable enough as an everyday lip shade with its perfect natural nude-mauve tone. Since I like this lipstick a lot, I’m planning to review the whole newly-reformulated Glossier Generation G lipstick soon. So, stay tuned for the swatches.

 

glossier

Have you been loving any Glossier products lately? Which ones?

 

The Glossier Balm Dotcom in Mango and Coconut and the newly-reformulated Generation G lipstick in Like are currently available at glossier.com

 

 

Clean Fragrance Review

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clean scent review

 

This Spring and for this coming Summer, I’ve made it a point to venture into light clean fresh fragrances. I’m kind of tired of wearing heavy scents, especially those with strong alcohol notes. As the sky gets brighter and the daylight gets longer, I needed a few new light scents that could lift up my mood and inspire me throughout my activities. I wandered inside Sephora a couple of weeks ago and stumbled into a few Clean fragrances. We all have known, seen, and probably tried some Clean scents before, but on my part, I feel like I haven’t really taken a closer look and tested their fragrances thoroughly. I do know that their stuff seems to really gear towards light scents.

 

Clean scents are definitely scents that are meant to be light and clean. They’re made of simple, sustainable, and cruelty-free ingredients, with the concept of giving back to the community and improve their lives with every Clean fragrance made.

 

Upon trying a few scents at Sephora, I noticed that some of the scents really appealed to me, while a few also repulsed me, and there were also others that made me nostalgic or even gave me a few mixed emotions. Ultimately, I brought home three travel-size scents that I knew will be the ones I’ll be reaching out the most this season.

 

Clean Reserve

 

clean citron fig

 

Citron Fig (0.34 oz: $28, 3.4 oz: $98) – This has a very citrusy green scent, but it’s quite light, fresh, and somewhat tart. I like this note of citrus a lot because it’s not so acidic and you can’t detect any alcohol content in it even if it’s in there. It’s just pure lemon and citrus from the beginning ’till the end, and it’s the kind of scent you would wanna wear from Spring until Summer.

 

clean reserve rain

 

Rain (0.34 oz: $28, 3.4 oz: $98) – Also available in Clean Classic, which is a lighter note compared to the Clean Reserve line, this Rain scent is the complete definition of a no-fuss, fresh, light, scent. It reminds of me of fresh morning dew, light rain, misty grass, fresh water, and delicate flowers along the meadows. Now that’s deep, LOL, but yeah, Imagine that! It smells simple but describing it is actually complicated. All I know is that it is so fresh, interestingly light, dreamy, and just beautiful. This gotta be my most favorite Clean scent of all.

 

Clean Classic

 

clean fresh laundry

 

Fresh Laundry (0.34 oz: $24, 1 oz: $44, 2 oz: $74) – Inspired by freshly laundered linens under clear blue skies (per Clean Beauty’s website). A lot of people love this scent. This has a soapy cotton and linen scent that will definitely remind you of freshly cleaned clothes, whether dried under clear blue skies or baked out of a dryer, LOL. But yeah, the concept is there, and though I find the soapy scent of this to be a little bit too much, I still like its unique scent. It’s quite similar to the Clean Warm Cotton fragrance, but that one is just way too strong for me. Now, a lot of folks are saying that this particular scent smells like the Vicktor&Rolf Liquid Diamonds, which is one of my most favorite scents ever, reviewed HERE. Honestly, this Clean Fresh Laundry doesn’t really smell like the V&R Liquid Diamonds. I think they’re way too different from each other, even though they both have this hint of “freshly cleaned clothes” smell. Fresh laundry mainly smells like pure clean linen, while Liquid Diamonds has a lot of floral notes to it.

 

Other Clean scents I’ve tried and not photographed here in this review.

 

Acqua Neroli – exactly like Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino. Not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg? Hmmm, seems like Tom Ford had it first.

Sel Santal – very much like Le Labo’s Santal 33, though a bit lighter, and cheaper as well.

Skin – not a fan of this. The scent is too much. Like sweat.

Solar Bloom – so intrigued by this. I couldn’t quite discern the complicated notes of this. It’s like fresh floral, earthy, and somewhat has coconut in it. I may wanna purchase it soon.

Warm Cotton – way too strong. It’s very soapy.

 

clean beauty collective fragrance

 

What I love about Clean scents is the fact that they tend to have this linear type of fragrance. The scent pretty much smells the same from the moment your first spray it on the skin until the very end of its lasting power. Their top notes and their dry down don’t change that much and I really love that in a fragrance. However, since these are light fragrances, expect to notice that they do fade a lot sooner than most perfumes.

 

Are you a fan of Clean fragrances? What’s your favorite?

 

The Clean Classic and Reserve scents are currently available at Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, andย Birchbox

 

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatch

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Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow

 

Just when I thought Urban Decay would add another type of Naked Eyeshadow palette this season, it didn’t occur to me that they would completely redo and update their first Naked palette at all. For me, it kinda came as a surprise because I love the first Naked eyeshadow especially its color scheme. I was gonna skip on this one but seeing how beautiful the colors looked in-store, I decided to try it and see if it can keep up with the first ever popular Naked Palette.

 

The Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette ($44) has 12 shades that are meant to be universally flattering for everyone, just like the first Naked Palette. The two outer pans on each side are slightly wider which are composed mostly of neutral mattes and soft shimmery shades. These are the shades a lot of us typically use the most as base colors on our lids. The rest of the colors are a mix of wearable mattes, earthy metallics, and micro-shimmers. There is one standout shade that looks like a salmon-matte color called Retro.

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow review

 

The packaging of this eyeshadow palette feels satiny to the touch but it could get stained easily because it’s pretty much made of cloth. It has a vintage look that I don’t like much because it’s not really eye-catching.

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow

 

Application-wise, first of all, unlike most UD Naked Palettes, this doesn’t come with a brush, which would have been so useful right? And I do like most of the brushes that came with the Naked Palettes, so yeah. I find the mattes of this palette to be soft and pretty much easy to blend and apply, and also surprisingly very pigmented, even more so than the original Naked Palette. The metallic shades have mostly no fall-outs and are really pigmented as well. The shimmery ones as I expected, are not that pigmented but they can be worked on the lids easily, especially if you use your finger to apply it and pack the colors. There are also minimal fallouts from the shimmers as well, but they’re so fine that you probably won’t be bothered by it.

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow

 

My favorite colors from this palette are Bucked (warm basic bronze matte), Burn (copper), Reputation (shimmery rose gold), Blur (creamy light neutral brown), Distilled (bronze), and Boundaries (terracotta). I was a bit worried about the Retro shade which is the most standout color of this palette that looks like a matte salmon-pink at first glance. I thought it may not look great on me, given my light-medium skin tone, but it actually turned out to have a pink terracotta-ish finish on me, which doesn’t look totally bad at all.

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow swatch

 

I did notice that after using this palette a couple of times, my skin started to react to it. I managed to catch it on time and had stopped using the palette since then, but it was enough to make my eyelids look puffy, red, and super itchy. I had to apply an antihistamine cream on my lids because it was starting to burn quite a lot. My lids normally don’t react like this to most powder eyeshadows, especially not with Urban Decay or with most UD Naked eyeshadow palettes at all, but this Naked Reloaded got to me, unfortunately. So, I won’t be using this from now on. It’s a pity because I really love the color scheme of this palette. I feel like this is such a fresh take of the original Naked eyeshadow that is so timely for this Spring and coming Summer.

 

Urban Decay Naked Reloaded eyeshadow

 

Overall, at first, I thought this update to the first Naked Palette was not necessary but I must agree that the colors and pigments of this Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow will make you think otherwise. While I’m not quite sure if the color scheme of this palette is really universal since most of the shades may be too deep for lighter skintones, I do think that this is worth a try, but be wary that this may cause an allergic reaction for some.

 

Have you tried palette already? What do you think?

 

The Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette is currently available at Sephora, Ulta,ย QVC, and Nordstrom