Chanel Joues Contraste - 65 Espiègle

I have a love-hate relationship with blush. I love the effect it gives other people, but it's hard for me to find a color that is both flattering and unassuming on me. My strong olive undertones make it so that many colors clash against my skin, while my square-shaped face makes it a little tricky for me to apply it naturally. I wish I could wear blush all the time, but sometimes I find that it's just not worth the effort.

However, my favorite blush that I've found so far is Chanel Joues Contraste in 65 Espiègle. It came out with the Les Perles de Chanel collection this past spring, but it is a permanent color. It's a gorgeous peachy blush with pink undertones that is shot through with tiny golden shimmers. It's pretty sheer, so it'll be difficult to overdo this. In the swatch picture below, I swiped three times, but I don't think it looks harsh:

swatched heavily - blended out

I went through my collection to find comparable colors, and I decided the two most like it are NARS Orgasm and Benefit Coralista.

I will upload a comparison picture when the lighting is better.

Orgasm is warmer with more shimmers, while Coralista is pinker with a sheen finish. Of the three, I prefer Espiègle. I was a little disappointed with the overhyped Orgasm (too sparkly and pigmented), but Espiègle is what I wanted Orgasm to be. When I put Orgasm on top of Coralista, the color was very similar to Espiègle but more pigmented.

One thing to note is that I own the European version of this blush. It differs from the American version in that is a baked formula. I remember when I went to an American Chanel counter a while ago, I thought the color looked more orange, but I didn't have my own blush with me so I can't be for certain. Furthermore, the lighting there could have affected the way I perceived the color.

It has a rosy floral scent which I like, but maybe it's not the best for those who are sensitive to scents. I also want to comment on the packaging. Despite the label and price, I do think the packaging is a bit cheap--both in look and feel. It feels pretty flimsy, especially if you shake it a little bit.

I bought my blush at Printemps in France for __.

July Birchbox

Late in May, I subscribed to Birchbox after reading about it in the Polish and Pearls blog.

Not to be dramatic, but it's seriously the best thing that's ever happened to me.* For $10 a month or $110 a year, you get sent a little monthly box filled with deluxe samples and goodies. There's an array of brands that are associated with Birchbox, and most of them are high-end if that's important to you. For any beauty junkie, I think this is an amazing deal.

I wanted to show what I received in my July Birchbox before the month's end, so of course I waited until the last day like the procrastinator I am. I personally love reading other people's blog posts about what're in theirs since not every box is the same. They are somewhat personalized by a survey taken when you first sign up for the service. I read there are ten different variations of this month's Birchbox, so I thought I'd post what I received in mine too.

This is only my second one, but I was really, really excited for it because this month's box is in collaboration with designer Cynthia Rowley! I stalked my mailbox for the week leading up to me finally receiving this. They shipped it to me on July 8 from New York, and I received it on July 14 in Atlanta.

So, anyway, on with the contents! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm a sucker for packaging. Birchbox is shipped in this pretty hot pink package, which I think is just a really nice surprise in my mailbox:

Since this month's Birchbox was in collaboration with designer Cynthia Rowley, the box came with a pretty sleeve that it usually doesn't come with.

When you first open the box, you will be greeted by a nice card. It explains the month's theme on one side and lists the products included on the other. This month's theme is Cynthia Rowley.

Look at that gorgeous aqua paper! You can just see the thought that goes into packing the Birchbox. It was packaged prettier than this when I first got it, but I had already disposed of the extra bits by the time I took these pictures. Still, I can really appreciate the little details the Birchbox team put into their business.

Korres Guava Little Showergel

I love Korres products for being natural, but I have never used anything outside of their makeup collection. I like this body wash a lot, but I must say that the scent isn't to my taste. As its name suggests, it smells like guava--a really tropical scent. Personally, I prefer lighter scents.

philosophy purity made simple one-step facial cleanser

I was so excited to see this product! I've always wanted to try it, but since I'm a hoarder with approximately 27 million cleansers, I forced myself not to buy it until I at least finished my others. Well, if it came in my Birchbox, there was nothing I could do about it.

It doesn't foam (which I like), and the consistency is runny (which I can handle). I followed the instructions on the bottle and massaged it onto my damp face for a minute before washing it off. It took off all my makeup but didn't strip my face of all moisture. I think this is great for people with sensitive skin because it's so gentle, but honestly I don't think it's some amazingly special product that's unique in the market. It definitely won't replace my current HG cleanser, but don't get me wrong; it is still a really good cleanser! I guess I had just gotten really hyped up about it so it didn't meet my unrealistic expectations.

Redken shine flash 02

Redken markets this as a "glistening mist" with mild hold power, and it holds true to the latter claim. I tried to use it on my bangs to hold them in place, but it didn't work. That was fine because I think it's aimed mostly as a product that adds shine to hair. However, I couldn't tell if it really made my hair shiny either. I couldn't tell the difference, but even if it had added shine, I'd rather use a serum anyway because it isn't as messy as hairspray. I don't like using hairspray because I don't like the thought of breathing it in or it settling on my face.

ybf beauty Automatic Eye Brow Pencil - Universal Taupe

heavily swatched - lightly swatched

I have pretty full eyebrows, so I never fill them in and am not used to doing so. However, I did try it out, and surprisingly I was very impressed. Even though I have black eyebrows, the lighter color doesn't clash against them and make my brows look unnaturally light. It is a double-ended product, so one end has a spoolie brush to use for blending.

KIND Fruit & Nut Bar - Almond & Apricot

Birchbox always includes an "extra" that's thrown into their boxes that doesn'tt always pertain to cosmetics. This month, they included this all-natural bar. I know this sounds weird, but after the philosophy cleanser, this was probably the product I was most excited about. I've been really busy lately, so unfortunately my diet hasn't been its best. Sometimes I'll go a day without eating a single decent meal, so I'm saving this for one of those days. I haven't eaten it yet, but it sounds amazing!

For more information on Birchbox, check out at their website here. Products that were included in this month's Birchbox ship for free!

*I was being dramatic.

Hello + Skin79 Absolute Total BB Cream

Hello blogosphere!

I'm pretty terrible when it comes to keeping up with this kind of thing, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. As a makeup junkie, I rely heavily on beauty blogs for swatches, comparisons, and overall reviews of products I'm interested in before I make the decision to go out and buy them. I figure there's no harm in adding another resource for others to seek, and I hope even one person may one day find something here useful.

To start off, I'm going to review the product that first sparked me to begin this blog: Skin79 Absolute Total BB Cream. As usual, I was searching for reviews of this product online before I purchased it, but unfortunately I came up short. There aren't many reviews of this out there, so I thought it was a good place to start.

First of all, let me briefly explain what a BB cream is. At it's simplest form, it's Asia's preferred version of foundation. It's heavier in coverage than tinted moisturizer but is much lighter than a regular foundation. However, unlike both, BB creams are supposed to have anti-aging and healing properties. (I personally doubt the latter claim since it is still makeup, but to each their own.) If you're interested in knowing more about BB creams, I suggest checking out Kimoko's blog. She explains it much better than I do, and I don't necessarily want to steal her words.

Anyway, despite being Asian, I was never interested in BB creams. I thought it was just another product that people had convinced themselves is more amazing than it actually is. What really caught my attention was a recent email I received from Sephora that showcased BB creams.

I was intrigued because I never knew BB creams existed outside of Asia. After a little help from Google, I finally gave in to the hype and decided it was time I try one out for myself. Instead of being rational and just buying one, I went ahead and bought three: Etude House BB Magic Cream, Skin79 Absolute Total BB Cream, and Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream. I might do reviews of the Etude House and Missha ones later, but today I'm going to focus on the Skin79 BB cream.

To be completely honest, I bought this because I thought it was pretty. I'm one of those sad girls who love packaging, and I can generally convince myself to buy anything if it's pretty enough. What kind of sent me over the edge was the ingredient list. It contains diamond, amethyst, pearl, tourmaline, coral, and ruby!

Now, I'm very much aware that the amount of each of these is so minimal that they most likely provide no sort of benefit, but I fell for the gimmick anyway.

I want to point out how to open the darn thing because I was confused when I first got it. You have to twist the top dial 90 degrees clockwise, and then you'll be able to push down on the pump. I really like this detail because it's hygienic, and, if you decide to carry it around in your purse, you don't have to worry about it hitting something and making a mess.

I decided to swatch it on my wrist because it's closer to my face color than the back of my hand. As you can see, it is much too light for me. This is one of the downsides of BB cream. Since they were formulated for pale Asians, they usually only come in 1-3 shades. This particular one only comes in one shade. BB creams are supposed to oxidize and blend into an array of skin tones, but I would take that with a grain of salt. I'm an NC30, and I can barely pull it off.* Here's what it looks like after thirty minutes:

As you can see, it is virtually undetectable, but I really do think my skin color is at the cutoff for how dark you can be.

Another thing I dislike about BB creams is how most of them tend to have a gray undertone. This BB cream definitely falls into that category. I've read that it's supposed to balance out the strong yellow tones of Asian skin, as well as help lighten the skin since Asians typically prefer pale skin over tans. In my personal opinion, I think it just washes people out and makes them look like ashy ghosts, such as in the example below:

That being said, my undertone is olive rather than yellow, so perhaps it just clashes more against my complexion. My Caucasian friend with NW20 skin tried this, and it matches her much better.

As for its advantages, it really does feel like nothing. I never wear foundation because I just don't like how it feels like I have something on my face. None of the BB creams I've tried have ever been detectable on my skin, to others or to me. I really must commend them on that, and to me that is BB creams' biggest advantage. It feels like a tinted moisturizer but with a touch more coverage.

Lastly, I want to mention some things that personally don't bother me but may be turn-offs to others. I prefer unscented products, but this has a rather pleasant floral scent. It doesn't really linger after you put it on your face, but it might be important to note for those with sensitive skin. The finish is dewy and essentially stays like that all day. I have normal skin and it's fine, but people with oilier skin may have to powder after application. It lasts all day from morning to night, but I've never found a foundation, tinted moisturizer, or BB cream that hasn't. If your makeup has a tendency of fading throughout the day, I can't really comment on its lasting power. Finally, BB creams are somewhat notorious for being hard to take off. It's beneficial because it's less likely to melt off or transfer onto clothes, but it can be a pain to wash off. I use a Clarisonic and don't have a problem, but I would recommend making sure that it's completely off before going to bed. Remember, despite BB creams' claims, it's still makeup and must be washed off at night!

I think that pretty much sums up all I have to say about this BB cream. Sorry for how lengthy and wordy this post is. I have a tendency to take something that can be summarized in a sentence and turn it into a novel. Here's a more condensed list in case I lost you somewhere in the middle (with a couple more points):

Pros:
- Creamy liquid texture that isn't runny
- Feels and looks extremely natural
- Dewy finish
- Medium coverage for a BB cream, which is still pretty light coverage
- SPF 37 PA+++
- Hygienic packaging with a pump

Cons:
- Only comes in one shade, which will probably fit NW20-25 the best given its undertones
- Grayish pink undertone

You can buy this BB cream at Skin79's US website for $38.00.

*If you are NC30 or above and are interested in BB creams, I suggest checking out the Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream I mentioned earlier. Unlike most companies, they offer four colors, and the last two (23 and 31) are reasonably darker than most BB cream shades. My shade is 23, and it matches me quite well.