city color – Beauty Playbox

I’ve got half a year of Lip Monthly subscription bags to catch up on, woo hoo. The reason I haven’t been writing about them much was because I felt disappointed in the products at first glance, and it continued for a while. But then I actually sat down and spent time with these, and found out that my first impressions were incorrect in many cases.

City Color Cosmetics Be Matte Lipstick in Cammi

Didn’t like this shade in the tube. No, that would be wrong. I loved the shade, but since I’m so pale, I thought it wouldn’t look good on me and came up with a list of friends with darker skin tones to whom I could pass this on. Didn’t even want to open it at first, but then curiosity kicked in, I swatched it, and what do you know: It looks great on my lips. It’s a very autumn/ winter shade. The longevity is OK. It’s a true matte, but it’s not very drying. I can see this getting a lot of use during the next couple of months.

L.A. Girl Lipstick in Last Night

My first reaction was, wooooo bright bright bright. I thought I wasn’t going to keep it, but then it grew on me. The quality is decent. The formula is very creamy. One of the things I didn’t like about it was that it stains. Although the colour is intense, you can turn it down a notch if you just pat the bullet on your lips and then go in with a brush to even things out. It’s a very spring/ summer colour. I might bring it out in the dead of winter to brighten things up, though.

Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lip Gloss in Sahara

Can I just stop for a second and say how I love Cargo Cosmetics packaging? I’ve previously received their eye shadow, and both the box it came in and the tin the shadow is in are so pretty, I can’t even.

Haven’t yet used this gloss yet, but in the tube it looks similar to the Milani gloss I received via Lip Monthly not long ago, perhaps a bit lighter. I’m weird about lip glosses, as in I really don’t like using them for longer than a certain amount of time after opening. So I kinda want to go through at least two other glosses I’ve got going before I open another one.

Other reviewers posted about a Cargo gloss in Anguilla, and I have to be honest here, I wouldn’t have minded getting that shade instead of this one. On swatches it looks like this really pale milky kind of pink, and it’s something that I’ve been looking for for ages now. But ah well, I suppose Sahara is a more universally flattering shade.

Ofra Universal Eyebrow Pencil

Once again, I have yet to use this one, but the colour, a cool-toned medium brown, looks like a match, and I really enjoyed using all the other Ofra products I received via Lip Monthly. Their Laguna Beach is one of my favourite lipsticks.

OFRA, City Colors, and LA Girl swatches. The City Colors lipstick looks streaky, but it really isn’t. It’s just my mad swatching skillz on display here.

Lip Monthly subscription is $12.95 + shipping (outside US & Canada – I live in Europe, and it’s $5). Each box contains 4 products, usually full-sized. The products come in a make-up bag.

(This post contains affiliate links.)

I’m not a big shopper, especially now that I’m saving money, but over the course of the month things end up weaseling their way into my hands. Some months it might be a lot, others not so much. These are the things I bought or received during the month of December. Rather a lot of stuff this month, now that I think of it, probably because of the holidays.

Oriflame The One Nail Polish in Black Noir, Steel, Platinum, and Gold Splash

I’m a nail polish addict — well, a beauty addict — but aside from that unfortunate predilection I happen to really like the revamped main line of Oriflame polishes. It is my superficial goal to own every single one, so expect quite a few of these to pop up in the Incoming! posts.

VeryMe Mirror Gloss in Clover Haze

Clover Haze is exactly the cool-toned pink lip gloss that suits my skin tone and doesn’t take any trouble to coordinate with the rest of the look, as it’s practically just an improved version of my lips. The texture of this is what you’d expect a squeeze tube lip gloss texture to be — a bit gloopy during the application and rather sticky, but smooth-looking and -feeling when on the lips. I enjoy using this if only for its scent and colour.

AVON Care Rich Moisture Body Lotion and Milk & Honey Bubble Bath Moments

Haven’t tried these yet, as I’ve this thing where I try to finish the current product before I start anything new, otherwise I find myself under a mountain of half-finished shower gels and hand creams. The lotions seems to be fast-absorbing and a little on the thin side, which is exactly how I love mine. The scent is a little on the strong side, but it’s not unpleasant. And you can never go wrong with Milk & Honey.

Oriflame soap bar; In Style earrings; Giordani Gold lipstick sample

Giordani Gold Voluptuous lipsticks have been on my list of things to try for a bit now, so I was quite happy to receive this sample. It’s in the colour 26607 Red Organza, which I don’t think is in catalogues any more. The lipstick itself is a warm-toned sheer red with a lot of glitter to it. My photos don’t translate the colour well, but an idea of coverage can be seen in a swatch below:

On the left is one swipe, and on the right (the thicker line) I tried to build up some more colour. I succeeded but only just. The formula of this is more of a rather pigmented balm than a lipstick, to be honest. It also leaves glitter everywhere in its wake. It’s moisturising, though. I’ll use up the sample, but I don’t think I’ll be buying a full-sized lipstick in any colour.

Milk & Honey Gold is an old Oriflame series. It’s lived that long, because it’s pretty good. The scent of all the products in the series can be a bit too strong for me, but for products that I wash off immediately, like soaps and shampoos, it works well. The packaging of this particular bar is limited edition for winter holidays, as I understand.

Aren’t these earrings just gaudy? They were a gift from my brother, who knows I enjoy all kinds of sparkly stuff, even if I’m not going to wear it, so he buys something every time he makes a trip to his local version of Poundland. These did see the light of day, though, for the New Year’s Eve in the office (yep, yesterday was a workday for me). I felt like a proper Christmas tree, but I didn’t mind one bit. So jingly and sparkly and ugh.

In Style costume jewellery

Here’s the rest of the things my brother managed to grab on his trips to the shop. Bracelets give me a bit more of a spring/ summer vibe, so I’ll be wearing them come April or so. The yellow one is so dainty! I’m used to big bangles and thick leather cuffs, so this is a bit of a novelty for me, but I figure it’s good to branch out. My favourite thing is the necklace. I love it so much! Pretty sure it’ll become a staple for me.

Giordani Gold Illuminating Pearls; Oriflame HyperStretch mascara

I’ve been hunting down these Giordani Gold Dreamy Moments Illuminating Pearls for roughly a year now, and finally they cropped up! These should definitely be used as a highlighter, otherwise one might end up looking like a member of the Cullen family under the sun. Oriflame HyperStretch mascara was a bonus programme exchange. I had it before, and while it’s not the best mascara, it’s an okay one. And hey, can’t argue with free, can you?

Allure, Elle, Glamour

A stack of magazines. Little excites me more than beauty and printed word, so when these two are merged together, I’m just lost to the world for a couple of hours.

Lip Monthly November ’14

A proper Lip Monthly post is coming your way next Thursday, but here’s a preview of the products. Loving the colours of lipsticks, and I’ve been blown away by the eye shadow.

That’s it for the month of December! What made its way into your drawers and onto your shelves that month? Do share, do share.

(Above items, with an exception of mascara and lipstick sample, were either bought with my own money, or received as gifts from family and friends. Mascara was received in exchange for loyalty points; lipstick sample was a gift with purchase.)