Jane Iredale PlayOn Lip Crayons Swatches, Review and Ingredients Analysis

Jane Iredale's PlayOn Lip Crayons are new for Fall 2015, just in time to catch in on the jumbo lip crayon trend (these things are still trendy, right? I don't know about you, I'm still loving them!). And they come in 7 shades to boot, so there's something for everyone.

Jane Iredale PlayOn Lip Crayons: New for Fall 2015

These are advertised by Jane Iredale as having a "creamy formula [that] glides on and stays on", although these are not retractable so you'll need a jumbo pencil sharpener to sharpen the pencils. Jane Iredale has their own Jumbo Pencil Sharpener, but in my humble opinion any appropriately-sized one will work too.


Jane Iredale PlayOn Lip Crayons: 7 shades, from light nudes to berries
I'm pretty excited about these PlayOn Lip Crayons, so let's get started with the ingredient analysing and the swatching, and the reviewing! Without further ado, let's look at the ingredients list first!

MAC Waterweight Foundation and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water: Dupes and Similar Products

MAC's Studio Waterweight Foundation SPF30 is the latest foundation from MAC, and it has been getting tons of raves online for its lightweight, water-like texture. However, the foundation really made its way onto my radar because I was asked by my colleague at work whether I was going to review it or not. After sheepishly admitting that I probably wasn't (not because I don't want to, but because I'm already backlogged on my reviews), she told me that she had heard that it was a dupe of a Smashbox foundation, the Smashbox's Camera Ready BB Water SPF30. So I just had to check it out!

MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation SPF30 vs Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF30: Dupes or not?

Of course, the ingredients nerd in me was piqued by this. Certainly this wouldn't be the first time a product has had a dupe, and is hardly surprising to me. In my 5 years of blogging, I've encountered beauty dupes for everything from brush-washing tools to colour-changing lipbalm to face creams, so nothing fazes me. But it is interesting to see a product being duped so early into its release.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water: A new Smashbox product, rumoured to be a dupe for the MAC Waterweight Foundation (Source)

Turns out, as you might guess, the MAC Waterweight Foundation SPF30 and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF30 are indeed extremely close, if not identical. But I wanted to find out more - what if there were other similar products out there? So began my journey into ingredient nerdiness.

Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen SPF30 Review and Ingredients Analysis

Supergoop! is a US-based niche brand dedicated to sunscreens, and the humorous brand name belies its goal: to "formulate products that you and your family actually want to put on: they are lightweight, never greasy or sticky and easily absorb into skin". That's great, since sunscreen can feel kinda icky to wear and apply (and also to reapply), although in recent years there have been quite a few non-greasy options from both Asian brands as well as Western ones (as a quick look through some of my previous sunscreen reviews will show. Still, it's always good to have another sunscreen brand to choose from - as I've mentioned in my blog before, I'm a pretty big fann of sunscreen, and I think it's one of the skincare products everyone should use.

Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen SPF30: From a brand that specializes in only sunscreens

Supergoop! is also one of those brands that will appeal to those who like their skincare to be more natural (as far as sunscreen can be "natural" I guess) - they proudly brag on their packaging that they are free of "controversial ingredients" like parabens, synthetic fragrance, and oxybenzone. While I'm all for fragrance-free stuff, it always annoys me a little when brands pander to greenwashing, because not all controversial ingredients are unsafe, and some (if not most) of them actually have been shown to be safe time and time again. The hype and noise surrounding an ingredient often doesn't match up to the science, so just because an ingredient is currently making the "OMGZ WILL CAUSE CANCER AND MAKE YOU DIE" rounds, doesn't mean it is actually harmful. Specifically for parabens, I've written a blogpost about parabens and safety and whether they cause cancer or not that pretty much summarizes my view - but, in short, parabens are safe for use in cosmetics as they are currently used. I'm cool with natural brands advertising themselves as being natural (although it seems almost every brand is jumping on that bandwagon), but I would like it much better if they didn't have to resort to relying on spurious science and "chemicals are bad" bashing when they undertake their marketing efforts. (And as I've also mentioned in my parabens post, EWG is not actually a good source for science-based info!)


Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen SPF30: The sunscreen's claim to fame is its light, non-greasy texture
Anyway, marketing aside, I have the Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen With Cellular Response Technology Broad Spectrum SPF 30 for review. I got mine from Luxola, which seems to have sold out of this particular sunscreen but still have many others, but you can also get it from the Supergoop! website or Nordstrom. We're going to check out whether the Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen lives up to its claims - whether it really does feel lightweight and non-greasy, whether it does provide adequate sun protection, and while we're at it, we'll also take a look at what the deal is with this Cellular Response Technology. And to do that, we'll start at the ingredients list!

Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence, Black Mask Sheet Review and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's Wonder Pore skincare range is a pretty popular one, targeting the concerns of oily skin and enlarged pores which are common among young women. Now, Etude House's Wonder Pore range has expanded to include two new products - the Wonder Pore Tightening Essence, and the Wonder Pore Black Sheet Mask. I had previously reviewed the Wonder Pore Freshner, which is one of the key products of the Wonder Pore range, so I decided I had to follow up and review the new additions too!

Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet

Etude House makes some interesting claims about its Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet. It claims that the Tightening Essence "tightens pores for smooth and firm pores", while it claims that the Black Mask Sheet "controls sebum and cleans pores with its black sheet containing oak tree charcoal cooked in a kiln with temperature over 1,000 degrees". So just like the rest of the range,


Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet: New additions to the Wonder Pore skincare range for oily skin
I decided to review both products, and while I don't quite have the young, oily skin these products are geared for (I do have some oiliness, but a lot of oil-control skincare is too harsh for me), I figured I could still break down the products and see how they worked, in addition to just sharing my experiences with the products. So, of course to do that, we start at the ingredients list!

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation Review, FOTD, and Ingredients Analysis

Too Faced's Born This Way Foundation is one of the newer base products from Too Faced, and judging by the reception on my Instagram feed and Twitter, it seems to be getting a lot of love. So naturally, I was super curious about it!

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation: The new foundation has been getting lots of love online

Too Faced claims on their website that the foundation is a "medium-to-full undetectable coverage", making you look like you were, of course, Born This Way. Now undetectable foundation is quite a tall order, because in my years of beauty blogging, I've found that nothing looks exactly like skin except skin, although of course a good foundation should be a good colour match and walk the fine tightrope between having great coverage and yet as realistic a finish as possible, and also hold up to whatever activities or weather you face. Still, achieving the perfect base is always worth a shot right?


Too Faced Born This Way Foundation: Touted as a high-coverage foundation with a natural finish, like you were "born this way"
I had high expectations for the Born This Way Foundation - I mean, in addition to all the raves I had been hearing, the foundation's box also has the results of some consumer study survey conducted by the company, that basically said that the foundation was awesome at blurring imperfections, making skin look perfect, and giving natural coverage. So we're going to put these claims to the test. And, we're also going to look at the formula of the Born This Way Foundation, to see how the magic works!

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Essence Lotion, Facial Oil, Gel Creme Review and Ingredients Analysis

The Body Shop's Oils of Life skincare and bodycare range launched in Singapore recently, and I have here 3 of the products from the collection: the Intensely Revitalising Essence Lotion, the Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil, and the Intensely Revitalising Gel Creme. There is also an accessory, the Twin-Ball Revitalising Facial Massager, which is meant to massage the products into your face. The Oils of Life launch date was 3rd September, so for once I'm not super late with my reviews, haha.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Skincare Collection: With "3 precious seed oils"

As you might guess, the selling point of these products is the oils in them. The Body Shop advertises them as containing "3 precious seed oils", which are black cumin oil from Egypt, rosehip oil from Chile, and camellia oil from China. And the packaging for this line is pretty gorgeous and luxe-looking too, with the rich, golden amber hues of oils and lotions. I'm not that much of an oil kinda person, but I really like the look of these! I mean, don't tell me that shade of gold doesn't look appealing. And the name "Oils of Life" - doesn't it sound so tempting?


The Body Shop Oils of Life Skincare Collection: The 3 oils are black cumin oil from Egypt, rosehip oil from Chile, and camellia oil from China
Anyway, since we have 3 (or 4, if you count the Facial Massager) products to review, this post is going to be on the long side! But if you're read, I'm ready, so let's cut to the chase and jump straight to the meat of the post! We're going to look at the ingredient in the products, and also, their textures and how oily/light they are.

Etude House Bling Me Prism Swatches: Color in Liquid Lips and Eyeshadow

Etude House's Bling Me Prism collection has just been released here in September, and these are very summery bright pops of colour! Two of the products that seem to be getting a lot of attention are the Bling Me Prism Eyes, which are cream eyeshadows, as well as the Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips, which are a lipgloss-liptint hybrid.

Etude House Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips: 5 new shades

As is always the case with Etude House, the packaging for this is uber-cute, and super girly and princess-y to boot. I'm not sure if the shades are added to the permanent collection, but the packaging is usually a limited edition thing. So if you're eyeing any of the items for the packaging, you probably might want to get them earlier, rather than later.


Etude House Bling Me Prism Eyes: A cream eyeshadow in 5 shades
Anyway, enough of my chatter - let's get to the swatches!