Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipsticks-A Review

Hello, Everyone!

I received three out of thirty-four of the new Amuse Bouche lipsticks by Bite Beauty from Influenster to review! Bite Beauty replaced their Luminous Creme line with the Amuse Bouche line in February. I only have one lipstick from the Luminous Creme line, so I'll be able to tell you the difference (if any) between them.

If you're not familiar with Bite Beauty, they focus only on lip products, and everything is made with food-grade ingredients. You could actually eat your lipstick, if you wanted! I don't recommend it, but to each their own. ;) Considering studies say we eat four to seven pounds of lipstick throughout our lifetime, I'd say having a lipstick made with food-grade ingredients is a good thing! The three colors I received were Beetroot (bold berry), Gazpacho (true blue-based red), and Pepper (dusty rose). I think Influenster did a great job choosing the colors for this box, because even if you don't love all of the colors, you're bound to like at least one. The Amuse Bouche line is made with "12 edible oils and triple milled pigments, providing saturated lip color with weightless coverage and a citrus flavor made from fresh pressed fruit." These do have a citrusy scent and flavor, which the Luminous line didn't have (to me), but it's not unpleasant. All three colors are extremely pigmented, so a lipliner and a light hand will be your friend. I don't think I own any other bullet lipsticks that are this pigmented. I find all three to be very moisturizing and, even though they aren't marketed as such, long-wearing.

(Top to Bottom: Pepper, Beetroot, Gazpacho)

The above swatches are two swipes of each color. Beetroot gets a lot darker with each layer.

The above is Beetroot applied with a light hand and even then, I blotted some off. 

The above is Pepper, my favorite of the three. It's a perfect neutral, and I love it. I couldn't get a decent picture of me wearing Gazpacho (it was rainy the day I wore it), but it is as described, a true blue-based red. 

The Luminous Creme lipstick I have is in the color Vouvray, which is a light pink color. I love that lipstick, but it doesn't have the opacity that the new line does. Weirdly, that's one of the things I like about it. My lips are naturally pigmented, so sometimes I like a lipstick that isn't full coverage so my natural lip color can peak through. Super opaque lipsticks can sometimes look strange on me. The Luminous Creme line was also $24 a lipstick, and the Amuse Bouche line is $26.

To sum it up, the Amuse Bouche line is creamy, moisturizing, long-wearing, and highly pigmented. If you want a quality lipstick and don't mind spending $26 on it, these are a great pick! 

Which colors are you looking forward to picking up on your next trip to Sephora?

 Thanks for stopping by and reading!

*Some links above are affiliates. 

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. 

*All opinions are always my own. 

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara-A Review!

Hello, Everyone!

If you've been reading my posts, you know that I'm a part of Influenster, and sometimes they send me products to try and review. I am NEVER paid for these reviews, though. I just get to try out new products and let you know my thoughts!

My most recent box contained a full size Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara to try out. I received this before it even hit shelves!

The full size is .32oz and retails for $26. If you haven't heard about this mascara, it was inspired by Marc Jacob's first beauty memory of his mother shaving fibers from a velvet ribbon to create her own faux lashes. That is lash dedication! The wand has a traditional, bristle brush that looks similar to the hourglass wand of the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara, but not quite as large. I actually prefer the brush in the Velvet Noir mascara.

Due to Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's Disease, my eyelashes have thinned over the last four years, so large mascara wands tend to deposit mascara onto my eyelids during application. I experience a negligent amount, sometimes, with this wand. Tip: if you ever get mascara anywhere besides your lashes, wait until it dries before trying to remove it. Once dried, it will come right off. trying to remove it while wet will just cause a mess!

There are some crazy statistics with this mascara, such as 1800% more volume in three strokes and 300% more volume in one stroke. I don't know what kind of nifty gadget they have that calculates those claims, but I don't have one. What I do have, is my experience with this mascara for the last 22 days.

My lashes are blonde, so I always need mascara if I want my lashes to be visible. It is one thing I CANNOT skip. Velvet Noir is supposed to have  "super-concentrated black pigment" and the "Flash Volume Complex" that creates "instant, smudge-proof length and volume in three strokes or less". I agree that this is a super black mascara, which I love. The darker the better. I have experienced no flaking or smudging with this mascara, but I have NOT used it on my lower lashes; I use a specific mascara there. I love the Too Faced mascara, but because it is such a dry formula, it flakes. The "three strokes or less" I also find accurate. 1=Good, 2=Better, and 3=Best, in my opinion. My preference in my lashes is the more dramatic, the better! I don't mess with falsies, so I expect my mascara to really deliver a punch. The formula in the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir is more on the wet spectrum, but it doesn't weigh my lashes down, or cause the curl to fall. I've used this mascara with and without primer, and I love it either way. I love this mascara so much, I used 100 points at Sephora to pick up a deluxe sample as a back up!

(My full size tube next to the deluxe sample from Sephora)

My final thoughts on this mascara are this: I adore it! The formula isn't too wet or too dry, which makes it pretty much perfect. It holds my curl, gives amazing volume, and doesn't flake or smudge. Mascara is one of the most fickle things to recommend to someone. What works for me may certainly not work for you! However, if you have the opportunity, I recommend trying it! As of right now, it is still available as a 100 point perk here. This is my absolute current favorite mascara, and I fully intend on finishing this tube and diving into my small one! I wanted to include it in my December Favorites post, but I didn't receive it until 12/22/2015, so I didn't think it was fair. I bet it shows up in my January Favorites, though! ;)

This was my favorite Influenster box, and I couldn't wait to share how much I love this mascara! 

Have you tried the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir? Will you give it a shot? Let me know what you think!

*Some links above are affiliates.

*The above mentioned product was sent to me complimentary by Influenster, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  

YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer and Perfector Review!

Hi, Everyone!

I recently received my first VoxBox from Influenster, and they included two new products from YSL to review!

 Inside my box were the new YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer and the Touche Eclat Blur Perfector. I was sent a deluxe mini (.33 oz) of the primer, and a full-size Blur Perfector (.33 oz). The full-size primer is one ounce and retails for $52, while the full size of the Blur Perfector retails for $55.

Let's start with the packaging. The pale pink and gold is absolutely beautiful! It has such a classy and elegant look and feel to it. I've never purchased anything from YSL, due to the price, but I have had a few items on my wish list for a while! I obviously cannot comment on the packaging of the Primer since I only have a deluxe sample size, but the packaging of the Blur Perfector feels very sturdy, and has a great closure. It snaps closed tightly, so I'm not afraid of it coming open and being damaged in my purse.

First, let's talk about the Touche Eclat Blur Primer.

 The full-size primer comes with a pump, but because this is a sample size, it has a spatula applicator. It is described as being an "illuminating primer that blurs imperfections and boosts the radiance of foundation". 

 As you can see in the picture above, there are tiny flecks of gold glitter in this primer to provide the luminous finish. If you do not like glitter on your face, you may not like this. Indoors, this provides me with a pretty glowy finish, but in direct sunlight I can see the gold flecks on my skin. The consistency is the best part about this primer, though! It has a silicone feel to it, similar to the Smashbox Photo Finish primer, but it dries down to a velvety feel as opposed to remaining "slippery" feeling. I always feel like my makeup is sliding around on top of the Photo Finish, and the YSL Blur Primer doesn't make me feel that way. As the name suggests, I do feel like it does a great job of blurring my pores and the small lines under my eyes. It's also a great one to put in the areas where your foundation can tend to crease, such as your laugh lines or in between your eyebrows. I am enjoying it right now during the summer, but I may not use it as much come winter time when I'll be more into matte skin.

Next, is the YSL Touche Eclat Blur Perfector.

Once again, look at that packaging! Even the boxes are beautiful! The Touche Eclat Blur Perfector is a balm-to-powder product that is used to "soften the skins imperfections, while creating a subtle rosy glow effect". You can use it in different ways, such as alone to soften and blur the skin, to set your makeup, or later in the day to remove any oiliness. As I've mentioned before, I have dry skin, so this product idea is genius for someone like me! If you're familiar with the Mally Face Defender, this is a similar concept. It has a silicone, balmy feel to it, that when applied to your face with the sponge, reduces shine and the visibility of pores. One of the things I like better about the YSL Perfector over the Mally one is that once I apply the YSL, it dries down and I can't see or feel it. The Mally is supposed to be the same way, but I don't find that to be true on my skin. Mally's product has a slick, greasy feel to it, and even though it is invisible, I can still see a residue left behind, The Blur Perfector comes with its own small sponge and a velvety black pouch, with two pockets, so that you can carry it around with you, I love the way this performs, but I do have a few complaints. First, when I apply the Perfector over my makeup (to reduce shine or blur pores) it lifts my face makeup off onto the sponge. Which in turn, transfers my makeup from my face into the compact. I can imagine that in the long run, the compact will end up very dirty looking on the inside and could start to harbor bacteria.

All in all, I do think both of these products have some great qualities to them, and I will definitely continue to use them! I haven't experienced any reaction or breakouts from using either one of these, and I have used them both on a daily basis since receiving them.

If you've tried these, I would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave me a comment below and subscribe! Thank you for stopping by and reading!


*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all opinions are my own.

*None of the links above are affiliates.