Review - Estee Lauder Face Set

*This was a gift from a friend, but reviews are 100% honest and are in no way affected by the whole 'free' thing.

 This little Estee Lauder set is amazing.  I'm going to call it the 'Soft Clean' set since that's what most of the packaging seems to say.

The creme cleanser is super gentle and leaves your face feeling crazy soft.  It has a light perfume-y smell, but nothing that is offensive of strong.  It didn't break out even my sensitive skin.

This is the Soft Clean Silky Hydrating Lotion.  I've used up all of the products except for this one.  That isn't because it isn't good...In fact, it is the complete opposite.  I've hoarded it because it is SO GOOD for dry skin from allergies.  I tend to get dry skin around my nose from rubbing it a lot when my allergies go haywire and this is perfect to just dab around with a cotton ball so you're not having to do extra rubbing to just irritate things more.  Love.  It *is* technically a toner, but I usually just use Witch Hazel to tone and save this for the aforementioned skin problem.

This is the Advanced Night Repair, which I don't think is technically part of the set, but we're gonna throw it in there because...because.  I can.  That's why.

This stuff is good, but I found the smell to be off-putting.  While everything else on this review has the nice, soft, perfume-y smell I mentioned with the cleaner, this one smelled like vitamins and dirt.  I guess that could be good for your skin, but I'd find myself trying not to sniff it when I applied it.  Still, since it did make me wake up all moisturizey, that is something I can over look.

The only other con with this one is that I would apply it, let it dry, then apply a coat of the below moisturizer before going to bed...Maybe that isn't how you should use them because it would create a residue on my skin you could 'roll' off if you rubbed the moisturizer in too much...Like when you get glue on your hands.

Please to ignore my cold people bumps.

The Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme - What can I say about this stuff?  I really love it.  It is so thick and creamy and moisturizes wonderfully.  The only con with it is that since it is so thick, you have to wait 5-10 minutes after applying it before you can apply makeup, but that isn't a big deal.

While we could sit here and argue for days over how high-priced these are, I can say that if I could afford to keep them around all the time, I probably would.  As stupid as it sounds, the gorgeous scent of (most of) these, the consistency of their formulas, and the gorgeousness of the packaging just make you feel like you're pampering yourself and your skin so much when you use them.  I know I've said it before, but everything should have cute packaging!!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipsticks - Swatches and Reviews

Time for another great review!  I always love doing reviews like this.  Even though I started the whole 'makeup breakup' name to try to make the shit reviews a bit more fun to do, I still don't care for doing them.  It doesn't bother me as much if the product just isn't for me, but if it is something I feel is just truly shoddy quality, then I don't like to write the reviews!  In the interest of being honest about everything I try, though, I do it anyway.  For, like, all 3 of you who actually read this.  LOL

As per usual, the gorgeous 'EL' embossed onto the tops...

...but in a different color tube than usual!  I do adore that clean white and gold packaging over their normal navy!  So much brighter and happier, yet it still smacks of something a bit luxurious.

The colors here are Pure Color Rose Envy Shimmer Crystal Lipstick (20) and Pure Color Tiger Eye Shimmer Long Lasting Lipstick (86).

While they are both sort of sheer, I also found them to be buildable and they do have a lovely shimmer.

You can see they are a bit darker here after another swipe across.  The Rose Envy is my favorite as it looks very natural on the lip with only one coat, or at least it does for my lip color.  It more gives you this nice flush to your lips instead of an in-your-face color.  While you'd still have to pry my red lipstick from my cold, dead fingers, this stuff has been nice for summer.  When it is too hot to do a full foundation routine without it melting off, you need something a bit more natural as I don't personally care for the look of a super dramatic look with a mostly-bare face.

Pros: They had a super creamy consistency and weren't drying at all, which is a plus!  Consistency and moisture-wise, they rather remind me of my Maybelline Baby Lips, which is a good thing.

Cons:  I didn't find either one of them to be particularly long-lasting.  They're not unusually bad, but they just require a periodic re-application.

<3WW

Listening to:  'Dead Tree' - Dir En Grey

The Brown Liner Showdown!

I received a massive, amazing makeup care package from a friend fairly recently (though, as usual, I will still be 100% honest in my opinions) and, since then, have been feverishly trying out products to review.  In this particular package, there were A LOT of brown solid liners!  I figured that instead of reviewing them one-by-one, why not take some of them that had the most similar shades and pit them up against one another to see which one has the nicest quality and is the easiest to work with.  So cue up some old Western gunslinger soundtracks and let's get on with it!

I chose these four:
Estee Lauder Automatic Eye Pencil Duo in Walnut (which actually I found the title to be misleading as it has a sharpener and smudgey-thing on the other end instead of another color)
Maybelline Unstoppable in Espresso
Estee Lauder Eye Defining Pencil in Deep Brown
Ulta in Chocolate (nothing special on this packaging, really, so I assume it is sort of their standard, and this was a twist-up).

In order to easily tell them apart since the colors are so similar and also to test the control and consistency, I just used them to label themselves on my inner forearm.

This Estee Lauder Duo walnut one was the lightest of the bunch, but I threw it in there anyway.  As you can see in the photo, it straight-up flakes off and leaves glitter-sized chunks of itself all over.  The control wasn't too bad, but no one wants to have to go back over their liner with a brush or q-tip to get rid of the gobby and/or dark parts.  I'll give this one a pass on that, though, because since it comes with the smdugey thing, it is likely that it is SUPPOSED to be as soft and move-able as it is, so I don't think this one is actually designed for a clear, concise line.  Once you factor that in, it is quite nice (and it does smudge and blend well).

The Maybelline Unstoppable in Espresso was extremely similar in quality to the Estee Lauder.  Chunks aside, had it been a blind test, I'd have assumed it was same brand, different shades.  The color, however, I wasn't too stoked with, but that's just personal preference.

This Estee Lauder Eye Defining Pencil in Deep Brown was surprisingly great.  I just sort of scrawled the name, so that's my fault, not the liners, but even with my quick scrawling, the control and the color is quite nice and the color just glided right on.  The liner was soft and manageable, yet didn't leave weird clumps, I didn't have to go over anywhere twice, and I was pretty happy with this one!

This was my least favorite of the bunch.  I was pretty surprised with the shoddy quality of this one since other Ulta products I've tried are pretty rockin'.  This, however, was extremely hard to control and was so dry that the color just didn't transfer well.  You can see how it took me a few tries to actually press hard enough for it to really transfer clearly.  Definitely not the winner.

So what's my verdict?

Oddly enough, the Estee Lauder Eye Defining Pencil was, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.  I didn't expect this as, of the four, it was the most plain-jane and the only one that wasn't a twist-up.  History has proven that I will choose a twist-up 9 times out of 10.  I'd say that Estee Lauder has nailed the art of a standard, oldschool pencil liner.  Honestly, my money was on the Ulta for being the best of the bunch and we see how *that* worked out, so I guess that just goes to show that you shouldn't necessarily rely on the brand!

<3WW

Listening to:  "Monster Party" - Kasstrick Bacteria

Estee Lauder Brush Review

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

No, your memory is not failing you, nor is it that funny taste that may have been in your drink.  Although, if that actually happened, you may want to look into it.  You may have seen this post before.  In an attempt to make everything easier to navigate for everyone, I am working on transferring all of the old beauty and craft posts from the recipe blog to their appropriate homes on the newer wings.  I'll be only one a day so as not to clog up your feeds, so please bear with all the boring re-caps!

<3

-WW

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*This was a gift from a friend, but opinions are 100% honest and my own.


Yet another review from the Big Box o' Awesome, this Estee Lauder brush set.

They are clear with a black pattern and gold colored accents.  I'm not sure what they are made of, but as clear as they are and as durable as they seem, I'd guess maybe acrylic.

The brow brush is...well...a brow brush.  I needed one and this works great, but I don't judge brushes based on those as I've yet to see anyone be able to fuck one up.  :)  None of these had numbers or anything on them, so it is anyone's guess as to how to find them!  >.<

These are the other two brushes and they are wonderful.  That smaller one has become a go-to for me.  It makes detailed eye shadow application so much better.  My MAC set came with some nice eye shadow brushes, but they were all closer to the larger brush's size, so that tiny beauty was a welcomed addition to my collection.

All in all, I'd say these brushes are good quality.  They are soft and hold their shape, and I've cleaned them several times since I've had them and have had no shedding and they apply like a dream, even with cheaper shadows.  I'm enjoying them and I hope they hold up for years to come, so if you see a set I'd recommend snapping them up.

<3
WW

Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Review

*These were a gift from a friend, but all opinions are 100% my own.

As promised yesterday, here's today's Estee Lauder eye shadow review!

These two palettes were in the big box o' awesome and since they are the same colors I figured I'd review them at the same time.  The larger palette is above and I love the way the case opens.  One side flips up and slides out and there is a mirror inside.  Both palettes came with the standard, crappy sponge applicators, but that's normal and I don't count against a product for it.

These are Estee Lauder Pure Color Eye Shadow in Mocha Light, Mocha Dark, Smokey, and Rose Confetti.

I swatched these over a primer and had to lay them on very heavy to get them to show up in the pictures at all...So heavy, in fact, that you can see even in the pictures how cake-y they are!  >.<

The second palette only has two colors which are, as you can see, the same as the bottom two on the larger palette.

I swatched the colors on the smaller palette over the top of the ones from the larger one they correspond to.  They are even less pigmented as I tried to put them just as heavy, but this was the best result I got.  I will say that they do go on nicely and have very little fallout, to their credit.  I tried them both alone and over primer and had good results on both days.

The outside of the cases.  From what I can see, the quad goes for about $18 on amazon and the duo for around $5.

As you can see, they are the same colors as the ones on the other palette - Pure Color Smoky Ember and Rivera Rose - the names changed a touch, but the numbers are the same - 07 and 11 - and the 'Pure Color' is the same line, so I have no clue why they come out so much differently than the others.

Someone pointed out yesterday that Estee has less pigment in their shadows due to the fact that the crowd they cater to would tend to prefer lighter, less dramatic colors, and that makes sense, but it escapes me then why their blush is so bright!  *.*  If you like light, natural, neutrals with very little pigment, I could see this working for you.  I could see these also being great for anyone just learning to use makeup as they would take a concerted effort to over-do.

All in all, they aren't bad and go on nicely, so if they are what you are looking for, I'd say they are an okay buy.  I tend to still hold it against them a bit that they don't have much pigment and I also am pretty turned off by the fact that the quality seems to be so much different between batches.  I like to know I'm getting the same product every time when I find something I love enough to repurchase, not a crap shoot.  Consistency is key.

<3
Wookie Wifey

Estee Lauder Bronzer and Blush Review

*This product was a gift from a friend, but opinions are still 100% my own.

Well I guess you guys already figured out I'm really bad at making the fancy little deedelee-doos over foreign words (bad me).  Sorry.  You still get the concept, I hope!

Let's face it:  Estee Lauder is sort of a hoity-toity brand that people should be able to trust, at least for the money they shell out.  Fair?  Well, that is the exact reason I want to grab whoever is in charge of their make up line and give them a shake and ask them what the hell they are thinking.

Now, this isn't a bad product.  The colors are nice, but they are VERY pigmented, as you will see in the swatch.  You have to be quite careful when applying.  (HELLO Mario bewbs.)  >.<

The bronzer is Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer, the blushes are Pure Color Blush in Pink Kiss Satin and Lover's Blush Shimmer.

The Lover's Blush, as you can see, is light and goes on nicely and looks incredible on, and it is my favorite, but the other two are HOLY PIGMENT, BATMAN!, and I didn't even swatch them heavily.  I will give them credit in that the Pink Kiss satin blush is truly a satin...that bit of shimmer you see in it is where I accidentally dusted it while swatching the Lover's Blush.  Whoops.

Now, the problem I have is this:  I plan to review their eye shadow tomorrow, so you will see exactly what I'm bitching about then, but their eye shadows are extremely lightly pigmented you almost can't see them at all, to the point where I had hell getting the swatches.  Why, why, WHY aren't these guys applying the pigment technology they obviously have to their eye colors?!?  It is like they are perfectly capable of making their products better, but just don't!  GAAAH

*ahem*

Sorry.

Anyway, this isn't a bad product, and I do love the Lover's Blush.  The other two aren't bad, you just have to be careful applying them as they are amazingly easy to over-do and quite hard to cover up or fix without washing your face and starting over.  Also, as with most of these kits, the brush is rubbish, but that is to be expected, so I don't count it against them.  I found this exact trio, with the bag, which I didn't take pictures of because I'm good like that, but it is a really cute purple snakeskin mini bag, on amazon for about $9.  If you're good with blush and can make use of all 3, then I'd say it is a good deal for you, but for someone like me who would only be after the one color...a bit of an indulgence, maybe.  However, I am glad I got to try it simply because I will enjoy using the Lover's Blush so much!

<3 WW

Estee Lauder Mascara Review

*This product was a gift, but opinions are 100% honest and my own.

This is Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lasting Mascara.  And that is a mouthful.

For such a pretentious-sounding name, I have to say it doesn't really raise the bar.  While it is something that was fun to try and I did get a bit of mileage out of it, my feelings on this are simply, "meh".

It has a standard brush, but I didn't notice a particular boost of volume OR length.  It colored my lashes nicely and lasted all day, though, so that's a plus.  If you already have long, thick lashes then this may be for you as all it seemed to do for mine was coat them, but if you're looking for something more, then don't look here, especially as their products tend to be rather pricey.  I didn't look this one up, but I can guarantee you that if it is more than 4 bucks, you won't be getting your money's worth, so this won't be something I'll be buying.  It isn't a bad product, just seems a bit mis-leading as I didn't see any extra volume from it.

<3
WW