Review: Beyond; Save Us! Lipstick

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be reviewing the ultra-cute Beyond, Save Us! Lipstick. I bought these from Sasa a little while ago, although they are no longer available to purchase from there. I paid $13.90(USD) for each lipstick, making them one of the most expensive Korean lipsticks I've ever purchased (which is nothing compared to the $40 MAC lipstick in reality!)

I was obviously really drawn to the lipstick bullets themselves, which are shaped like little animals! The bullets aren't evenly seated inside the lipstick tube, which makes my photos look lopsided, and resulted in the Beige Otter having his face shaved off every time I wind the lipstick up and down -.- I'm sorry little otter!!

"Beyond SPF8 Save Us! Lipstick with vivid color, refreshing scent and cute little seal design. Solid type of moisturizing ingredients melt as soon as touching the lips, creating vivid and smooth color. Enriched vitamin C creates vivid and smooth lips. Long lasting color and moisturizing.(1)

I was initially very surprised about the opacity of the swatched lipstick, with the exception of the pale pink which I didn't expect to be pigmented anyway. They aren't particularly matte, but also not overly glossy.

I've done a few lip swatches for you Princesses! Please remember that I have naturally very dry lips, therefore, if you have beautiful plump lips these lipsticks might look a lot nicer on you!

No.01 - Pale Pink

I was initially very frightened of this lipstick since pale pink shades tend to make me look like a clown/Nikki Minaj, but this sheer pink actually looked quite beautiful! It has the most glossy finish of the lipsticks I purchased, and doesn't make my lips look disgustingly dry when I apply it fully. It looks equally as good mattified/blotted. It does tend to migrate to the edges of my lips if I apply too much or rub my lips together. This lipstick lasts just under one hour before losing all colour.

 I have quite pigmented lips, so if you have pale lips, or blank your lips out with a concealer the pink colour will show through a little more.

No.02 - Pink

This was my favorite lipstick out of the four I purchased. It's a natural, neutral looking pink that is very moisturizing and flattering on dryer lips. It looks perfect with a lighter hand as well as a heavy hand. If you want to purchase one lipstick from the collection, I would recommend this one!

This lipstick lasts just under 2 hours, without eating or drinking. The whole set of lipsticks are not particularly long lasting to be honest, which is a little disappointing.

 No.03 - Beige

I'm still on the fence about this shade. I suppose it's because I don't often rock a nude lip, but this colour is not exactly kind to dry lips and shows flakes quite clearly. However, if you have lovely plump lips, this is a wonderful nude colour that doesn't look like you have invisible concealer lips.

 I forgot to close my drawer -.- How embarrassing.

  No. 04 - Orange

This is unfortunately my least favorite lipstick out of the four, which is a pity because the little bear face and chubby body looks soo cute! I'm not sure what it is about this colour that makes it so gross to look at on my lips, but even when it's applied super sheer it clings to the dry patches of my lips and in any nooks and cranny's it can find. Not flattering. The colour is quite beautiful though!

 Why can't it look like it does in this picture all the time!? :C

Here is a comparison of all of the colours so you can see how they look against each other!

What I Love

- Good colour range

- Relatively inexpensive

- Citrusy Scent

- Animal shaped bullets!

- Moisturizing

- Build able colour

What I Don't Love

- Not very long wearing

- Some colours highlight dry lips

Final Thoughts

I really really wanted to love these lipsticks with all my heart, but I just can't. The two pink colours are my favorites of the four, but they just don't last long enough and don't fade well, which is a massive pity, because, I mean, animal shaped lipstick!! I think I will hold onto the two pink colours, but the Orange and Beige will probably be sold onto someone with lovely lips.

What do you Princesses think of these super cute lipsticks? Will you be purchasing some?

Manicure Monday: Last Friday Night

Hello Princesses!

Today I have another super cute glitter gradient! I think that glitter gradients must be my most worn style of nail art (if you can even call it nail art) because I just love the way they look on my nails!

I used OPI's You Callin' Me A Lyre? for the pink base and Last Friday Night for the blue gradient. I stained my pinkie nails with the OPI's Planks A Lot from last weeks manicure, which causes the nail to look a little bruised, but overall I really like the manicure! ^.^

Blogging 101: How to Edit and Watermark Photos (Part One)

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be showing you how I watermark my photos! There are two ways that I use to watermark my photos, one for swatch, product or vanity photos, and another way for nail photos. 

But why do bloggers watermark their photos in the first place? There is a lot of theft in the blogging/vlogging business, and if you think that stealing one measly photo doesn't matter, please read this blog post that Jessie from Nailed it NZ has written about her experience with Nail Art Theft. It's illegal and annoying as heck.

With my vanity or swatch photos I have subtle/ish watermarks in the corners of each picture. I use a free online photo editor to create these watermarks called Picmonkey.

To create the watermarks on Picmonkey, first open your picture in the photo editor. Click the text button, choose your font, (Mine is Geo Sans Light) and click Add Text. 

Write whatever you would like for your watermark, mine is just my blog name. You can edit the size, colour and opacity of the text using the pop up bar to the right of the screen. 

I drag mine to a less annoying place on the photo, but to deter theft it's good to place it somewhere that won't be cropped out! That's it for the main portion of my watermarked photos. Simple right?

I've also started watermarking my nails in a more complex fashion, with a curved text around my cuticles. I found out how to do this by following Nailed It's instructions (which are bound to be better than mine!) but here is how I do it.

Open your photo in Photoshop. I use the free version (CS2) which you can download here. The first thing you need to do is to click the pen tool (P) and make sure the top settings is clicked on "Paths" rather than "Shape Layers". Shape Layers will create a big coloured splotch instead of a transparent one.

Use the Pen tool to set two anchors where you want your text to start and finish. Simply click for your first anchor, but when you click down for the second anchor you must keep the click held down to arrange your curve. You'll know what I mean when you try it!

Once you have created the line with the pen tool, click the Type Tool to add your text. Hover the cursor directly over the line (preferably in the center) and click. You can then type your text which will wrap around the line you created with the pen tool! After your finish typing you can change the size, colour and type of font. You can use the downloaded fonts I wrote about here in this Photoshop!

After your watermark looks perfect, right click onto the picture layer on the bottom left. This will bring up a bunch of options, but you want to click the one that says "Flatten Image". You won't be able to edit the text after you flatten the image, so make sure it's perfect!

Save your image, and your watermarking is done! ^.^

I quite like using the watermarks around my cuticles because I feel like they intrude less than a corner watermark, but of course they are a little more effort!

I hope you guys enjoyed this mini tutorial! If you're living in New Zealand, don't forget to enter my giveaway! ^.^

Next week I'll be showing you how I edit my nail photos!

First Impression: Lancôme Bienfait Teinté Beauty Balm - Porcelaine

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be doing a quick first impression on Lancôme's Bienfait Teinté Beauty Balm - Porcelaine! I've had this sample pot for a wee while, and you may remember it as the smallest sample pot I've ever had in my Customer Service rant post. I didn't love this product when the sales assistant applied it, and took a sample out of politeness really, which is why it's taken 8 months to do a first impression!

What Does It Do?

"Comprehensive protection meets healthy-looking perfection. Bienfait Teinté Beauty Balm Cream gives skin natural, even coverage while serving as your daily source of vitamin- and antioxidant-enriched hydration for 24-hour nurturing moisture with no greasy feel. This unique formula contains Broad Spectrum SPF 30 to protect skin. Available in seven shades for a perfectly even complexion and ideal hydration all day. 

Results:
This lightweight tinted formula provides moderate, natural coverage, giving skin a healthy hint of color and a healthy glow. See an even, flawless-looking skin tone.
NON-COMEDOGENIC
DERMATOLOGIST-TESTED FOR SAFETY 

Ingredients:

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: OCTINOXATE 7.5%, TITANIUM DIOXIDE 5.8%, COSMETIC INGREDIENTS: WATER, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, GLYCERIN, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, HEXYL LAURATE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, MORINGA PTERYGOSPERMA SEED EXTRACT, TRIETHANOLAMINE, TRIHYDROXYSTEARIN, SILICA, ALUMINA, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, MAGNESIUM SULFATE, ALCOHOL DENAT., ASCORBYL GLUCOSIDE, DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, ACETYLATED GLYCOL STEARATE, PANTHENOL, CASTANEA SATIVA (CHESTNUT) SEED EXTRACT, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, METHYLPARABEN, PHENOXYETHANOL, DIAZOLIDINYL UREA, LINALOOL, GERANIOL, ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE, CITRONELLOL, BENZYL ALCOHOL, BENZYL SALICYLATE, FRAGRANCE, MAY CONTAIN: TITANIUM DIOXIDE, IRON OXIDES" (1)

I could only use this sample twice, but both times I was seriously underwhelmed. This BB Cream is more like a primer in my opinion, because it offers little to no coverage. Powdering my face gives me coverage, but it's the same coverage as it would be if the BB Cream was not there. The BB Cream did not last well on my skin, looking oily after 2 hours. I can only assume that this BB Cream is designed to be worn underneath foundations, but since the sample size was so small, I had no chance to try that out for myself! These photos make it look like the BB Cream cancels out some redness, but that's not actually true.

Would I Purchase This Product?

No. In my opinion it's just a glorified primer, and at $45USD that's an expensive and average primer. It didn't fufill any of the BB Cream criteria for me, providing no coverage and little skincare benefits that I could immediately feel. It does contain SPF 30 which I like, but I'd rather just wear a sunscreen as it's substantially cheaper.

If you want to check out some colour comparisons involving the Lancôme BB Cream, check out my BB Cream Swatches and my Foundation and BB Cream Swatches!

If you're living in New Zealand, make sure you check out my latest giveaway, the Eye of Horus Gift Pack!