Everyday Resort Palette & Small EDM Haul

PIC HEAVY and LONG! Yup, I want to show you all the details.

Everyday Resort ($10) is a new item from Everyday Minerals that consists of 4 loose shadows in a mirrored compact, which reminds me of a limited edition item from Revlon. The push-button release on the front is fairly easy to use. It also comes with a tiny bamboo brush with soft synthetic bristles, which rattles around in the compact and can be quite annoying. If you were wondering if this was hard plastic, rather than flexible, it is.


There's not a lot of product in here. (Ingredients also listed at the bottom of this post.)


EDIT: Whoops, I meant a 5 g jar, which contains 1 g of product.


Parasail: Matte, pale pink; Late Checkout: Soft pearl light pink; Kayak: Rosy brown; Spelunk: Russet brown. The latter two have semi-matte finishes rather than shimmery ones. Late Checkout has a satin finish. (Swatched over a shimmery, champagne base)


The four little containers ARE NOT jars that sit in the compact. They are plastic CAPS with a sifter hole and a FLIPTOP LID, which snaps down very well. You can pry off the caps to refill the compact by sticking some tweezers under the hinge on the back of the fliptop lid. Beware of the mess! I also experienced a little mess when I popped up the fliptop lids.


The little brush fits perfectly into the sifter hole but what am I going to do with that? It's good as a pencil brush to line the lashlines or draw an outer-V but what about for shading?


I used e.l.f.'s Defining Eye Brush as a shader brush (this is the new one and they haven't updated the picture on their website). Although it's wider than the hole, I was still able to get the product onto the brush.


You can use the top of the cap, not the lid, to smoosh the product into the bristles or to wipe, or tap, off the excess. The lid will cover the entire diameter of the cap and the peg on the lid snaps securely into the sifter hole.



English Muffin Lip Balm ($4) is definitely more pigmented than their horrible, pasty, older formula but it's still sheer. It moisturizes so well and feels like butter (like buttah, baby). It's a basic sheer, nude color that applies like a creamy lipstick. The chunks you see in the swatch is the broken edge from my first swipe, but after that, it was all good. Product amount was not listed on the sticker label that keeps peeling off on me. (See ingredients at the bottom.) EDIT: The BAD THING about this lip balm is that each time you apply it, the surface will be dry and will not glide on easily, but after a few swipes, it re-moistens itself.


Free Gifts: Cellulose sponge (which I'm happy to get because I need a new one). It's no different than a regular, rectangular sponge you clean with, except that it's half as thick and disc-shaped. I use it to remove facial masks or just when washing my face. Bird Bath is a shimmery dark blue, which I already own. *groan*


If you have Best Friends blush, then you don't need to get Time Share. They're both cool-toned, mauve-pinks - dupes. Time Share, however, is slightly darker than BF and has very minimal shimmer in it but it's definitely not a sheen finish - still good for lovers of matte blushes.



Lastly, I bought an EMPTY pressed powder compact ($3.50, limited run) because they still haven't release Golden Medium yet. *groan* I might get the Summer Bronzer later, though. The new pressed powders are pressed with caprylic oil instead of jojoba and I hope my skin doesn't react badly to that ingredient.

The compact is about 7 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick. It's about the same size as a MAC Studio Fix compact but with less rounded edges.

To see how to depot any old EDM pressed powders and how to magnetize a compact, as seen below, click here for my video.


The hole on the bottom of the new EDM compact will make it easier to switch out the pans, especially if you make the compact magnetic. BTW, the pans are about 58 mm in diameter.


*A CON about this compact is that the clear, plastic flap that goes over the blush, or whatever you put in there, DOES NOT SNAP OR LATCH IN PLACE - so that sucker rattles in there.

*ANOTHER CON is that I still prefer the design of a MAC compact or a Physician's Formula compact, because they have an empty compartment on the bottom, below the powder, that can house a brush or disc sponge.

Hope this helps! =)
The small pictures on EDM's website of white-colored products on white backgrounds aren't very helpful, don't you think?

Everyday Resort Eye Palette Ingredients: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77489, CI 77492, CI 77491), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Manganese Violet (CI 77742).

English Muffin Lip Balm Ingredients: Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, Astrocaryum (tucuma) seed butter, Mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, Euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax, Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, Olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, Passiflora edulis (passionfruit) seed oil, Punica granatum (pomegranate) seed oil, Mauritia flexuosa (buriti) seed oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, Tocopherol. May Contain: Iron oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide.

Time Share Blush Ingredients: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Manganese Violet (CI 7777742).

******************************

*UPDATE*

Now that I've had the chance to use the "Everyday Resort" LOOSE PALETTE a few times, I can do more of a REVIEW:

PROS:

• Good for travel
• Refillable
• Has a mirror (although it's a small strip)
• Push button release is easy to use
• Good when trying to sample a collection of 4 colors
• Flat, stackable packaging
  

CONS:

• Less than 1 g of product in the entire palette
• Purchasing samples sizes of each color (1 g for $2.50 each) is the same price as the palette, but you get much more product by buying individually
• Small pencil brush is good for lining lashlines or getting the product out, but not for anything else. It's also very stubby and hard to hold.
  
• Hard to get product onto a regular-sized, shader brush
• It's not easy to tap off excess product from your eyeshadow brush as it is when using a sample jar with a lid that you can turn upside-down
• Somewhat messy; there is product mess when opening the flip-top lids
• Flip-top lids of each color can be quite hard to pop open
• Matte formula (Parasail) is a little chalky
• Kayak is categorized as a shimmer, but the finish is more semi-matte
• Spelunk is categorized as a pearl finish - the same as Late Checkout - but it's more of a semi-matte
• I personally don't like the oval-shaped packaging (I guess it's not sexy enough, lol). I'd prefer something square or rectangular

FINAL THOUGHTS:

• I won't be grabbing for this palette very often.
• EDM, just make pressed eyeshadow quads, already! Hopefully, something small, sleek and more user-friendly.

~HOW TO MAGNETIZE YOUR NEW COMPACT~

I have depotted my old "Spring" eye palette and magnetized my new compact. Check it out.

Depot your old pressed powder (click here for video) by using an Exacto-like knife to cut a slit on the side of the cardboard halfway down, then flip over the compact and do the same thing until you slice all the way through. Pull the ring apart and the pan will be stuck to the cardboard disk on the bottom. Drop in alcohol (isopropyl) between the pan and cardboard until the pan releases easily. Don't force it! Wait until the glue is dissolved well by the alcohol.

Magnetize your new compact by cutting a rectangular strip from the metal sheet on the bottom of an elf compact ($1) and super glue it to the center of the compact. Try finding something around the house or the craft store if you don't own an elf compact. Then cut and add a rectangular-shaped "peel & stick" magnet (available at craft stores) on to the bottom of your blush/eyeshadow/foundation pan. Try to match up the magnet with the metal sheet, but it doesn't have to be perfect. (Use this same method to magnetize anything you have, like an eyeshadow palette.)

Your pressed powder ain't going anywhere! DO NOT try to use another "peel & stick" magnet in place of the metal sheet because it WILL NOT HOLD as strongly as the metal. If you do, your powder will come out easily and break!


Peel the product sticker off the bottom of your old pressed powder and stick it to the bottom of your new magnetized compact. You may have to trim it. Notice the hole at the top center. When you want to switch out your pan with something else, insert a push-pin - or whatever will fit - into the hole to release your pan. Be careful not to let your pan fall because EDM pressed powders are very delicate.


Have fun! =)

New Vibrating Mascara: Maybelline Pulse Perfection

Maybelline has come out with the first vibrating drugstore mascara called Pulse Perfection, which comes in two colors: Blackest Black and Very Black. It's being offered exclusively online, for now, at four different places until it hits stores. Walmart has the cheapest price at $12.88, Target is offering it for $12.99, while both CVS and Walgreen's has it priced at $14.99.

Product Description:

• Patent-pending elastomer brush vibrates 7,000 times per stroke
• Provides clump-free definition, intense color and shine
• Waterproof; also available in washable formula
• Builds lash volume, length, and adds curl
• Buildable formula
• Ideal for all skin types
• Contact lens safe
  

Other vibrating mascaras that are available are Lancome's Oscillation, which goes for $34, and Estee Lauder's TurboLash ($32), which is packaged in a tube reminiscent of Ancient Egypt.

I can see it now, we'll be bombarded by an influx of vibrating drugstore mascaras because I'm sure other brands will follow Maybelline. Although I haven't tried any vibrating mascaras - the department store brands are too pricey - I don't think I'll shell out $13-$15 dollars on a gimmick. Shoot, I can make my own vibrating mascara the ghetto way by vibrating my hand! LoL. And if a mascara gives me good results without the vibrations, then why would I need to succumb to a trend? I'd rather spend $14 dollars on my most favorite lash definer, Clinique High Impact, and avoid the tremors by my eyeballs.

Are you going to try it? I can't wait to read or see reviews about Pulse Perfection.

*UPDATE*

I just went to Walmart today (May 23) and saw this mascara for a little less than $12.88. So despite the email and the website saying it's only available online, it's not true!

*~Getting It All Off: Eye Makeup Remover Review~*

IMPORTANT NOTES: "Slip Factor" refers to how well each product glides smoothly against my skin, using a cotton ball. A 1 out of 5 rating would be something that tugs and drags along my eye area while a 5 out of 5 rating would be something that glides on my skin like silky, smooth butter. (Like buttah, baby!)

All product reviews are based on my own personal experiences.

Click on each product title for additional information.


Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

~PRICE & AMOUNT: Around $7.99 for 5.5 fl oz (162 ml)
~DUAL LAYER LIQUID: Yes
~OIL-FREE: Yes, as stated
~RESIDUE & RESULTS: No oily residue and removes makeup easily, even waterproof
~CONS: Dried my eye area out after 1 week of use
~SLIP FACTOR: 4.5 out of 5
~CAP DESIGN: Screw-top cap
~ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd love it as much as my favorite remover (I'll get to that later) if it didn't dry out my skin. However, I would repurchase it, as long as I use an eye moisturizer every night.
~INGREDIENTS: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Dipropylene Glycol, Poloxamer 182, Allantoin, Tripotassium EDTA, Benzalkonium Chloride, Glycerin, Cucumber Fruit Extract (Cucumis Sativus), Potassium Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate. (Made in Canada)

Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

~PRICE & AMOUNT: Around $7.29 for 4.2 fl oz (125 ml)
~DUAL LAYER LIQUID: No
~OIL-FREE: Yes
~RESIDUE & RESULTS: No oily residue and it DID NOT remove my eye makeup easily
~CONS: Requires more pressure, time, and rubbing to remove makeup; slightly irritated my eye; skin felt dry afterwards
~SLIP FACTOR: 2.5 out of 5
~CAP DESIGN: Flip-top lid
~ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm never buying this again!
~INGREDIENTS: Water, Poloxamar 184, Sodium PCA, Disodium Cocomphodiacetate, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Panthenol. (Made in Monaco)

Lancome Bi-Facil
Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover

~PRICE & AMOUNT: $26 for 4.2 fl oz (125 ml)
~DUAL LAYER LIQUID: Yes
~OIL-FREE: Yes
~RESIDUE & RESULTS: No oily residue and removes makeup very easily, even waterproof
~CONS: Pricey
~SLIP FACTOR: 5 out of 5
~CAP DESIGN: I believe it's a push-down safety sealed cap (like a medicine bottle)
~ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This is a beauty splurge for me at $26 for a 4.2 fl oz bottle. I admit, I've only owned one bottle of Bi-Facil but never repurchased because of it's high price.
~INGREDIENTS: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane, Sodium Chloride, Poloxamer 184, Hexylene Glycol, Dipotassium Phosphate, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Phosphate, Quaternium-15, Benzalkonium Chloride, Parfum, Citronellol, Geraniol. (Made in USA?)

Clinique Take The Day Off
Makeup Remover of Lids, Lashes & Lips

~PRICE & AMOUNT: $17.50 for 4.2 fl oz (125 ml)
~DUAL LAYER LIQUID: Yes
~OIL-FREE: Yes
~RESIDUE & RESULTS: No oily residue and removes makeup very easily, even waterproof
~CONS: Honestly, I can't think of one. Well, it is a little pricey, but not as much as Bi-Facil.
~SLIP FACTOR: 5 out of 5
~CAP DESIGN: Push-down safety sealed cap (like a medicine bottle)
~ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My absolute favorite! This leaves my skin non-oily and feeling like velvet. I was in a rush one day and completely messed up my eyeshadow, so I decided to use this product to remove my makeup to redo it. I didn't need to rinse my eye area with water, nor wipe it with a tissue; my eyelids were ready to be painted up again. I also love when this is included in a GWP.
~INGREDIENTS: Water, Isohexadecane, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trisiloxane, PEG-4 Dilaurate, Lauryl Methyl Gluceth-10 Hydroxypropyldimonium Chloride, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Dipotassium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol. (Made in USA)

NYX Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

~PRICE & AMOUNT: $6 for 2.8 fl oz (80 ml)
~DUAL LAYER LIQUID: Yes
~OIL-FREE: Yes
~RESIDUE & RESULTS: Very oily residue, even if it's oil-free. Must be all those fruit extracts? Removes makeup fairly easily, even waterproof
~CONS: Oily residue; not readily available (probably only online)
~SLIP FACTOR: 5 out of 5
~CAP DESIGN: Screw-top lid, but there's a peg in the cap that fits into a hole at the top of the bottle
~ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I think the blue coloring is unnecessary; I don't like the oily residue but I take a shower right after removing my makeup, so it's fine.
~INGREDIENTS: Water, Cyclomethicone, Isohexadecane, Butylene Glycol, CI 61565, Sodium Chloride, Poloxamer 184, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Oryza Sative (Rice) Hull Extract, Vigna Radiata Seed Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract. (Made in Korea)

~FINAL THOUGHTS~

Ranked in Order of Preference

1. Clinique Take The Day Off
2. Lancome Bi-Facil
3. Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover
4. NYX Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
5. Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

It looks like the bi- or dual-layer eye makeup removers have a nice "slip" quality. I'm never repurchasing that Rimmel one again, although it has received good reviews (that's why I bought it in the first place). It just didn't work out for me and it didn't glide on my skin as smoothly as a dual-layer liquid.

Try comparing the ingredients of each product because it's interesting, well, at least to me it is. =P

I'm still on the lookout for a great drugstore eye makeup remover that is as good as Clinique's. For some reason, the Neutrogena one dries my eyelids out, but it works very well. If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Hope this helps! =)

NOTD: Jungle

If you took the colors of the spectrum from golden yellow to blue and put it into a bottle, you'd get NYX's Jungle nail polish ($4 for 0.5 fl. oz.).

~For this particular color~

MAJOR PRO: NO BRUSHSTROKES!
PROS: Dries fast, long-lasting
CONS: Thin formula (like painting with watercolors), requires 3 coats

INGREDIENTS: Ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, phthalic alkyd resin, dibutyl phthalate, isopropyl alcohol, stearalkonium hectorite, camphor, benzophenone-1, titanium dioxide.


Here's NYX's swatch on their website; it's not very reliable. I thought I was getting something turquoise.

This is a blue-based blue-green polish with sparkly shimmer. Outdoors in the sunlight, it looks more blue, while indoors, it takes on more of a green tone.

I was definitely not diggin' the thin, sheer formula on the first coat. However, although it was thin, it was not runny like Sinful Colors and it went on smoothly and easily. It improved on the second coat and by the third coat, it was perfection. After 4 days, the polish held up very well, with just one little chip on my left pinky nail- which always chips, for some reason, with any brand or top coat I try. (Ignore my gross, sweaty hands. It was hot!)

In the sun, although this picture isn't in the sun, it will look more blueish.

Finally, a shimmery nail polish with no brushstrokes! I can't say the same for the other shimmery NYX colors because I don't own them. But for Jungle, it's a hit. Ta-ta. =)

NYX Haul: Pix & Swatches

Happy Mother's Day ladies! I hope you are having a wonderful day.


We had my favorite dessert today, tiramisu cake....yum. There's a slew of different ways to interpret tiramisu, but it's basically lady fingers soaked in espresso or strong coffee and layered with mascarpone and whipped cream, topped with a sprinkling of cocoa. Tiramisu in Italian means "pick me up" and I surely felt better after eating it!

Anyway, my NYX package came in yesterday so you know I had to take pictures of everything and do some good swatches to help you out.

You'll mostly see nude and pink lip products, and eyeshadow colors I don't really have yet. That 50% off sale was just too good to pass up.

I must say, NYX Cosmetics packs their products EXTREMELY well. Cutting through that huge ball of layers and layers of bubble wrap was like performing surgery. What am I going to do with all those packing peanuts? You know they're bad for the environment!

The Black Label Lipsticks are more moist and glossy than the Round Lipsticks but I feel they are less pigmented. I prefer more opaque lippies but these are still nice- love these colors! I also adore the packaging, however, they are a little hard to pop open.

I bought another Rea to add to my 4 backups. Haha! I use it almost everyday to neutralize my lips. I pat it on, never rub.
(Click to enlarge)

For more NYX lip swatches, click here.

I tried to heavily swatch this on my arm but it wouldn't show up. Hmm. It's a matte blush that contains talc, which I stay away from, but it's the second ingredient so I'll just try it out. This is a popular contour color. I love my EDM and Physician's Formula blushes, though!

On to the eye products. I just got trios I didn't already have (I forgot Lake Moss). I picked up another Nude pigment since it's good to mix with other colors. Lilac Pearl has a slight blue opalescence to it. The yellow trio is going to be great for summer! I am loving Antique Gold right now.

I'm disappointed with the light gray in this trio; it's not very pigmented. This is what Maite is supposedly wearing on her eyes in the picture on the website.

I decided to try a couple of the Ultimate Pearl Eyeshadows, which I don't see a lot of. They have the texture of a baked eyeshadow but I think the single eyeshadows have the best pigmentation. Some colors in the trios are better than others. Silver Pearl should definitely be renamed "light blue pearl" and Charcoal Pearl should be renamed "silver pearl."

The pink is very pale but if you pack in on over a good base, then it will come out this way. Silver & Charcoal Pearl are quite sheer on my eye. (Ignore the nasty arm hair!)

Brown, the single eyeshadow, is one of my favorite matte warm-toned browns, but in the Highlight/Brown/Suede trio, it's a completely different color. Boo! The same goes for Golden. It's hella different in those two trios. What's up with that?

Review coming up for the Eye & Lip Makeup Remover!

I also bought a nail polish in "Jungle" but I'll save that for a NOTD post. Hope the swatches helped! =)

NYX frappucino, rea, dusty rose, taupe, vanilla, lollipop, sky pink pearl, lilac pearl, antique gold, yellow pearl, golden, casablanca, highlight, brown, suede, silver pearl, charcoal pearl swatches