Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration & Luminizing Black Mask Reviews

Lately I've been rushing out the door sans makeup because I'd rather get to sleep for 15 minutes longer and because quite honestly, my skin has been looking and feeling sensitive and super acne prone. I'm almost definitely sure that it's hormonal acne because there's always a week during the month when my face is covered in huge zits. It takes the next three weeks for the scars to heal and then the vicious cycle repeats.... Oh, lucky me.

The Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration SPF 15 Moisturizer was part of this year's Sephora Sun Safety Kit. This is currently my daytime moisturizer because the SPF 15 is just the right amount for me since I pretty much only spend time outdoors when I'm walking to and from the train station to school, work, home, etc. This moisturizer is super lightweight with a slightly runny texture. It smooths onto the skin very easily and absorbs quickly which I love. It does not make my oily skin oilier but it does not keep my oils at bay throughout the day. The biggest downfall of this product, which is the reason why I will not buy the full size, is the scent. This has an annoyingly "natural" scent which is hard to ignore. It reminds me of mushrooms as strange as that sounds. I love eating mushrooms but I don't want my moisturizer to smell like them.

The other product is Boscia's infamous Luminizing Black Mask which is only available through Sephora. Thankfully this product does not have a nauseating scent like the moisturizer. Nonetheless there is a detectable scent that is somewhat minty. The mask is relatively simple to use. Just squeeze out the product onto your finger and apply a layer on your skin. I put enough so that the mask is opaque yet not too thick. If you apply the right amount, the mask should harden in about 15 to 20 minutes and be easy to peel off. I feel no pain when I peel off the mask so if you have sensitive skin, this should be fine.

I assumed this mask would work similarly to the Biore Nose Strips which pull out all the gunk that's stuck deep down in the pores. However, the Boscia mask doesn't seem to pull out anything but tiny hairs and a few flakes of dead skin. I normally apply the mask onto my forehead, the inner parts of my cheek on the sides of my nose, and my chin. I usually don't bother applying the mask to my entire face because I feel like it doesn't do much in the way of drawing out the impurities. The only difference I see after using the mask is that the areas of my face that I covered are more matte after the mask is removed. The pores do seem a bit more refined although this effect is temporary.

If you expect this mask to do wonders for your skin, you better look elsewhere. Don't expect this to pull out blackheads or whiteheads. You're better off using a regular nose strip or The Face Shop's White Mud Nose Pack. Maybe it's because I exfoliate weekly that I don't have as much buildup in my pores but overall, the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask wasn't all that great. It's a nice product once in awhile to give your skin a gentle pick me up but for the price and performance, I will not buy the full size. I'm glad I got to try out the mini because I had this on my wishlist.

If I were to recommend one product out of the two, it would be the moisturizer. Aside from the horrible smell, the Boscia Oil Free Daily Hydration is a good product. The Luminizing Black Mask is a safe skip but it's still a Sephora best seller. As always, skincare is very personal and it really depends on your skin type and what your personal preferences are. These are just my personal opinions and feelings on these products. Let me know if you've tried these products before and what you think about them! Have you tried other Boscia products? Tell me about any products you like or didn't like from Boscia in the comments below!

A Rainy Fall OOTD

Although Fall weather can be a bit gloomy, especially if you're surrounded by concrete skyscrapers everyday, I really like Fall fashion. Wearing lots of layers and different textures allows me to mix and match my outfits up easily. I'm starting to really enjoy doing OOTD posts. Please leave me some feedback if you like them too :D

What I'm Wearing:

Jacket - Miss Sixty 

Tank Dress - Forever21

Leggings - Forever21

Boots - Nine West

Purse - American Eagle

Nail Polish - Rimmel Lasting Finish in Steel Gray

Check my super short OOTD video HERE. I'm thinking about just linking some videos instead of embedding it into my blogposts as they take up quite a bit of room. Let me know what you guys would rather see! :)

Fall Beauty Must Haves Pt. 1

Fall has just begun which means my beauty counter top has gone through a makeover. Out with the corals and in with the taupes! I picked through my collection and found a bunch of products that I will be loving for the upcoming months and ones which I highly recommend to all of you. I have talked about a majority of these products before so I will link the separate reviews and swatches (just click on the product names to access the link).

Hard Candy Fox in a Box Blush in Smooth Talker
Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Smokey Hazel and Hazel Eye Candy
Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow in Taupe Temptress
Loreal HIP Duo in Electrified
Wet n' Wild Coloricon Palette in Lust
Wet n' Wild Coloricon Single in Nutty
Inglot Eyeshadows
Mac Unflappable Eyeshadow

Dior Addict Lipcolor in 783
Nars Lipgloss in Dolce Vita
Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine
Mac Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Bare Again

This is only part 1 of my fall favorites so stay tuned for part 2 which will be my fall nail polish picks as well as some skincare and bodycare.

Depotting NYX Jumbo Pencils

I have a soft spot for DIY projects whether it be making jewelry or depotting makeup. Usually I can't be bothered depotting my makeup and I often like original packaging. However, I didn't want to buy a special pencil sharpener for my NYX jumbo eyeshadow pencils and I tend to sharpen a lot of product away. To minimize waste and just because I was quite bored, I decided to try depot these cream shadows into empty Lush sample containers.

The before... and after. You can see that depotting is a messy endeavor, another reason why I don't depot often.  I used a candle to melt the product as that seemed like the most easy and safe way. There are a variety of methods on how to depot these pencils on Youtube so check those out for other methods.

You want to be sure to remove the metal cap at the end of the pencil so that the product can drip out of the tube. I heated the whole stick and extracted the product out of both ends of the stick by tapping it gently back and forth into the containers. This is probably not the most effective, economical way as the product has a tendency to drip everywhere. A few seconds above the flame melts the product really easily so if you're patient, you can just wait for the product to drip out by itself. You will know when you're done because the stick will be hollow. 

The colors I depotted are Cottage Cheese, Iced Mocha, and Yogurt (left to right in the picture of the containers). As you can tell, the product settled and dried  into strange shapes but it doesn't really bother me. I like that I can now easily dip my finger into the pot and that I do not have to worry about sharpening the pencils. Since the containers I used are all identical, I stuck some stickers on them to differentiate them. They're super random but they sort of make sense if you think about it because cottage cheese contains milk, iced mocha is a type of coffee, and I really like to eat yogurt.

So far the consistency of the shadows have not changed but I'm a bit worried they might dry out sooner than they would have if they were in pencil form because the containers are not air tight. I'll have to try to use these up quickly then, won't I? :)

In My Stash: Black Eyeliner Pencils

Black eyeliner pencils are one of the most basic makeup products that I can think of and I do not know any makeup brand that does not produce one. Unfortunately, not all black eyeliners are made equal and that's where this post comes in! I haven't tested too many eyeliners out but I think I've found my holy grail (HG) black eyeliner pencil already.

Covergirl Liquilineblast - This is my holy grail black eyeliner pencil due to its rich pigmentation, creamy formulation, and affordable price tag. I had low expectations for this relatively new-to-the-market eyeliner but I snagged a pack of two at the beginning of the year for around $5. Turns out that this is a drugstore gem! This liner is creamy yet long lasting (if you set it with eyeshadow like I always do) and even after 15 hours of wear, I develop minimal smudging on my oily eyelids. Bottom line: get this NOW!

Revlon Colorstay (Automatic) - This is another drugstore eyeliner which I quite like but do not love. This liner is very black and pigmented but the formula is a bit on the drier side of creamy. It applies well but is a bit harder to smudge. The retractable packaging makes it convenient for traveling and applying on the go as you don't have to fuss about sharpening. I would recommend this liner to those of you who can't be bothered to sharpen your eyeliners and who want a decent drugstore product.

Lancome Le Crayon Khol - This is my least favorite eyeliner of the bunch because it has a hard, scratchy texture which does not glide on smoothly. This liner reminds me so much of a normal pencil in almost every way. This is also very pricey at almost $25 for the full sized version (mine was part of a gift with purchase). The pigmentation is average but the dry formula makes this impossible to set with eyeshadow. In turn, the lasting power of this liner is poor. I would say this is one of those things where you don't get what you pay for. 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil - Of course, you all knew this was coming. The infamous Urban Decay pencil liner. This is a great eyeliner that is super smooth with decent pigmentation. I find that the black pigment is not as black as some of the other liners but it's not really an issue after I apply black eyeshadow over top. My only gripe with this liner, aside from the hefty $18 price tag, is that after a day's worth of wear (give or take 10 hours) the liner starts creasing. It does not smear or smudge in a horrible way but I find the line is noticeably less intense than when I applied it. Nonetheless, this is a great liner to have and Urban Decay regularly includes these with their palettes and sets.

So these are the four black eyeliner pencils currently in my possession and to be frank, four is already more than enough given that I have other formulas and colors of eyeliners to work with. Hope this post and video was helpful to all of you :)