Store Review: BB Cream Boutique

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about my shopping experience with BB Cream Boutique! I stumbled upon this store while searching for the elusive sold out four shades of Etude House's Lovely Cookie Blushers! I found out that I could add these items to my cart and quickly emailed them to check if they were actually in stock or just a stock error! BB Cream Boutique emailed me back within 12 hours to confirm that they were there in real life and that there was only one of one shade left, so I ended up grabbing all four as soon as possible because I'm a massive hoarder!

Website Practicality

I found this website very pleasing to shop on, the only odd quirk is that there is no "sign up" page! You can create an account while you check out an order, but not beforehand which I find really quite odd. Otherwise, it's easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing and overall lovely to use.

Price Comparison

The shipping price on BB Cream Boutique is MUCH higher than I would like it to be. The good news is that the shipping didn't increase with three more blushes, but as it is it is quite expensive. The price on the blusher itself is comparable to most sites, albeit on the higher side. I will just point out that the shipping at BB Cream Boutique is tracked and super fast (5 working days), while the other two stores are un-tracked and do take a while to get to New Zealand (20-40 working days).

BB Cream Boutique
Blusher $8.99 + Shipping $18.00 = $26.99

Cosmetic Love
Blusher $6.94 + Shipping $0.00 = $6.94

Roseroseshop
Blusher $4.66 + Shipping $4.25 = $8.91

Shipping and Packaging

My order cost $18NZD in shipping for the four blushes (dividing up into $4.50 for each blush), and I placed my order on the 11th of May. It was shipped on the 12th of May and arrived at my house on the 18th of May! I was really glad that this expensive shipping came with a tracking number for my own peace of mind! 

My package was well wrapped in a bubble wrap packet, inside a box with big bubble wrap, and generous samples in a SUPER CUTE Etude House bag! I love the cute little extra touch of the little baggie filled with samples rather than them being thrown throughout the box, it's just adorable!

 Products

I picked up the four extremely hard to find shades of the Etude House Lovely Cookie Blushers!  I actually found two of these shades while I was in Taipei, but didn't end up picking them up because I didn't think I had the space to bring them back. I kicked myself so hard when I came back and couldn't find these online! ><

01 Strawberry Mousse

This is the lightest of the pink shades and it's so super cute! It's really, REALLY light, so I can imagine this looking incredibly chalky on darker skin, it barely shows up on my fair skin as it is!

 05 Apricot Pudding

This is the lightest of the Orange shades, and is quite truly orange rather than a Peach shade, which surprised me a little. It's still a lovely shade though!

08 Blueberry Pie

This is a gorgeous Lavender shade, and actually my first purple toned blush! It's nowhere near as scary on the skin as it looks in the pan, looking rather like a very, very cool toned pink rather than a purple.

12 Plum Mousse Cake

This is the darkest of all the shades, and it's amazing! I did find it a little hard to blend evenly, so it's easier for me to use a duo-fibre brush to apply it so it's not too heavy handed. It's super pigmented, and just gorgeous!

What I Love

- Extremely fast shipping (5 business days)
- Amazing customer service
- Stock hard to find items
- Easy to navigate website
- Safely (and cutely) packed shipping

What I Don't Love

- Quite expensive shipping at $18USD for International shipping ($6USD US Shipping)
- Relatively small range of products

Final Thoughts

Although the customer service was amazing, and the shipping was super quick, I'm not sure how often I could justify shopping with BB Cream Boutique because their shipping is much higher than I would usually allow for my budget! I wouldn't hesitate to purchase with them if they had a limited edition product in stock that I needed, or something that I needed really quickly, but for general orders I would shop elsewhere, solely based on the shipping expense.

I would absolutely recommend shopping with BB Cream Boutique if you are based in the USA because they have a flat shipping rate of $6USD and it is super fast! The website is lovely to navigate, the customer service is amazing and they do stock some hard to find items. International orders will be faced with a larger shipping bill than they may be able to budget, so be aware of that before ordering. ^.^

Dark Rhinestone Manicure

(Sponsored)
Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be showing you another super cute manicure using nail art supplies from Born Pretty Store! ^.^

120Pcs/Box 2mm-4mm Shiny Color Nail Art Studs Mixed Size Flat-back Stud 3D Nail Art Decoration - $2.47 

These rhinestones are quite big, and completely flat on the back so they don't fit the nails very well. I don't believe that the smallest size is 2mm, because they are much bigger than the pearls and rhinestones that I already own in that size.

These rhinestone are really beautiful, but on the whole just too big for me to incorporate successfully into manicures. I think they would be amazing on regular deco den phone cases though because they reflect a lot of different colours and they're nicely shaped with the flat top! But they overwhelm my nails, even when using the smallest sizes.

Thank you so much to Born Pretty Store for sending these to me for review You can use my coupon code LPP10K31 for 10% off your order! ^.^

First Impression: Clinique Superbalance Foundation; Breeze

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about the Clinique Superbalanced Foundation in the shade 32 - Breeze. I was given this foundation sample by the generous girls at the Clinique counter, but the tester sample was so full that it spilled throughout the lid and made it a little gross looking to photograph.

 What Does It Do?

"The smart makeup. Liquid foundation with adjustable, oil-free coverage provides moisture and absorbs oil when and where needed. Silky upon application. 

Benefits: Balances Skin, Controls Oil" (1)

I absolutely love how this foundation sits on my skin when it's fresh, it's silky smooth and gives me a really flawless finish! It gave me really great medium coverage which is more than enough for me, but the colour is a little off because it's a little too orange. It's wearable, but it's not ideal.

I love how this looks initially, but it does get quite oily after 6 hours even though the foundation claims to absorb oil when needed. I did find that it made my skin feel a little dry on the cheeks due to the oil free formula.

Would I Purchase This Product?

Probably not. The colour and oil control isn't great which is my main concern. I absolutely love the initial finish of the foundation and how easy it is to apply, but it's just not perfect for me.

I think this foundation would be amazing for anyone that doesn't have very oily skin and fits within their colour scheme! ^.^

Review: Etude House Sweet Recipe Candy Stick

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about Etude House's Sweet Recipe Candy Sticks! ^.^ These super cute candy cane shaped lip tints are still being sold everywhere (yay!) for a very decent price, and are almost the perfect handbag companion if you frequently don't have time to do your makeup. 

I have all three colours/flavours of these cute lip tints, Lemon, Orange and Strawberry. Each colour tastes different, the Strawberry like Strawberry, Orange like Orange, and Lemon (unfortunately) like Lemon. The tints wind up and down easily, but the Orange flavour tends not to wind down without help since it's the eldest of the three

Each shade can be worn with one coat of product, or many. The colour is easy to build and doesn't look or feel thick! The tints moisturize my lips and stop them getting dry or chapped which is lovely. The glossiness of the tint wears off after about an hour or after eating, but they leave behind a gorgeous stain on the lips. I find that if I apply too much the colour can migrate towards the outside of my lips after a while.

Lemon

The lemon colour appears yellow in the tube, but swatches a very light pinky peach. I really hate that this tint smells and tastes like Lemon, but the scent and taste wears off quickly enough that it's not problematic!

This is such a natural colour on my lips, and one of those products that you don't need a mirror to apply since the formula is very forgiving.

Orange

The orange tint is much more vibrant in colour than both the Lemon or the Strawberry, and still remains my favourite of the three! 

Luckily I enjoy the taste and scent of the Orange tint (some artificial Orange scents are absolutely awful) and this tint is really enjoyable for me to wear.

Strawberry

The strawberry tint is absolutely gorgeous, it's the perfect candy pink! It is much sheerer than the other two tints on my lips unless I really pile it on.

It looks great with one coat or two, but I prefer to layer it on to get a brighter pink colour! I don't find wearing many layers uncomfortable as the tints aren't sticky, but more waxy in texture.

What I Love

- Easy to use 
- Moisturising formula
- Super cute packaging

- Great colours for all skin types

What I Don't Love

- Lemon scent and taste isn't my favourite
- 3 or more coats can make the colour slide off a little
- Packaging isn't ideal for travel or handbag storage since the caps pop off

Final Thoughts

I love these sweet lip tints! There is a reason that I purchased the whole colour set, of course because the packaging is extremely adorable, but also because I love the texture and colour payoff of these tints. They sooth my chapped lips while not exaggerating the flakiness, and they're easy to apply in a hurry because you don't really need a mirror for precise application. They're not too handbag friendly because of the protruding cap (Tonymoly Bunny Tint Gloss are a great alternative) but if you're careful with your bag contents you won't run into any trouble. ^.^