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| Freebies: Lioele lotion, sticker gems. Brush (free with coupon code) |
Fyi, you can't "stack" coupon codes (duh, I know >_<). I got greedy and typed in both 'ekilove' (a bunch of samples. $50 minimum) and 'frmheadtotoe' (foundation brush, $30 minimum) in the coupon box. A minor quibble: I would've really preferred eki's stuff (I even spent more to reach eki's $50 minimum :P) but they sent me the foundation brush instead which goes to a purchase of lesser value *sigh* I really should've specified in the comment box (or not be so greedy heehe). Regardless, it's a really nice foundation brush (I'll review it below) and it was free so it's all good.
Anyway! The stuff arrived very quickly I recall - less than a week after my purchase. It was regular shipping too so I was quite impressed.
If came exactly like this - I like how they placed the brush on top all aesthetically :D nice attention to detail. Really cute business card, it has a sparkly sheen to it.
Packaging/Shipping
Packaging was excellent, came in a box full of peanuts not just a bubble wrap + envelope. I paid $4.95 for regular S&H and I'd say it was very fair. I got my package really fast, 2-3 days after I ordered and everything was in perfect condition when it arrived.
Cost
Some of the products on P&C are a little overpriced and you could probably find individual items for cheaper on Ebay. However, P&C definitely has is a wide range of items, they practically carry every Lioele product there is including a lot of hard-to-find Lioele items! This is very helpful if you're new to the Lioele brand and just want to browse and see what Lioele products are available. Also the vast majority of the Lioele items are priced very fairly such as the AC Trouble Control Patch.
P&C is particularly good at picking up "trends" quickly, now they're selling the famous Koji Dolly Wink lashes, R&R etc. So the convenience of being able to browse and buy many trendy items on one site balances out with the extra cost since sometimes it really can be a hassle to bargain shop for items one by one. I think that in the end, everything evens out and you'll probably end up with a fair deal when you're buying more than one item.
Customer Service
Their site design is simple and easy to navigate and like I said before, it's great having such a large range of Lioele items at your fingertips among other trendy items. The checkout process was simple and easy. I received a detailed receipt of my purchases in the box too. Great communication as well, when I emailed them about the coupon codes, they responded within 24 hours.
Silky Highlighter BB Touch
First impression: I'm glad it's not baby pink and white. I like cuteness as much as the next person but some of Lioele's packaging can get way too saccharine for me. I think this deep pink + black just looks a lot more upscale and elegant. It's a nice twist on the typical bubbly princess girl look. The packaging is excellent, the tube is made of a heavy plastic that feels and weighs almost like metal. And boy you get a lot of this product - this thing is huge O_o 20mL~
I'm not complaining though, I really like this product so the more I have of this the better. I think it is cost-wise actually a steal considering the quality of the contents.
The brush is super soft :D The product gives you glowy/dewy finish. Fuzkittie uses this as a makeup base to give herself a dewy finish but since I'm very oily, I just use this as a spot highlighter. It comes out kind of gray-ish peach but once it sets on your face it matches with your skin tone (in that respect, I'm reminded of Skinfood's Mushroom BBcream). I do not think people who are NC25+ can use this - this highlighter does not set clear but as a semi-opaque dewy beige. It actually covers up blemishes a bit (altho that's a bit useless since you don't want to highlight random bits of your face ^_~). I love the silky finish of this highlight, it feels so smooth during application too. The brush is a little big for the nose area but it's all good :)
Now that I think of it, my only criticisms are of the packaging - I have no complaints about the actual makeup, it's really quite perfect for me. Smooth, silky, long-lasting and does it's job.
Help Me Dark Circle Eye Cream
Gahhh...I wanted the concealer not the cream xD! I need to learn how to read ><
This is more indicative of Lioele typical packaging. I don't have much to add beyond what I said in the video. I'll add Before & After pics around the end of October so show if this has actually been working at all or not. At the moment....I don't know. I still have under-eye bags :\ At least it feels good going on my face :)
10/26/2010: UPDATED WITH BEFORE & AFTER
AC Trouble Control Patch
AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGG! It's so simple yet...effective. I originally got this just to spend at least $50 to get the eki package so I had almost no expectations of this item. When I opened the package I was like...uh, I got 5 nose pore strips wtf
Tea tree oil and salicylic acid are the key ingredients here. I'm mildly allergic to Benzoyl peroxide so salicylic acid is actually one of the few acne treatments I can use. When you open the packet, you can smell the tea tree oil too ^_^
I did a little research on the main ingredients because I was a little troubled by how much preservative is in this :\ So just to let you know Acrylates copolymer and Propylene glycol, two main ingredients in here are preservatives that have caused contact dermatitis in some people (very few). I don't normally research this much into my products btw ^_^ I only do this for acne treatments because I basically went through one of those "horror stories" you read about on the Internet - aka you have perfect skin one day, get a pimple, go to the derm and take meds then BOOM, next day you're covered in acne (well, in my case just pustules and cysts) because you're allergic. One day I'll toss up some pics of what I looked like. I'm really not one to complain over my skin (believe it or not) nor am I the irritating type to freak out over anything less than four pimples. Just to give you an idea of what I went through - I was left with 3rd degree chemical burns and dead skin that had to be lasered off. So yeah, it always makes me laugh when someone says to me I have no idea what it's like to have bad skin.
Back to the topic! Unless you are sensitive to preservatives I highly recommend this product:
I had two pimples show up on my cheek literally the day I got this so I got to do the purr-fect experiment! The last pic is the next day when I removed the patch (the circle around it is just the print the patch left ^^) and omg! The whitehead came out, there was no blood and the pimple healed very cleanly. The pimple next to it is healing on it's own. Ever since my skin fiasco, I stopped "treating" any pimples I had - I would just let them grow, pop and heal on their own - all of which normally takes 1-2 weeks. But this patch cuts the popping and healing down to 4-5 days for me! It heals cleanly too with no scars.
Be sure to follow the directions exactly. Make sure your face is clean and don't put any products (no toner/lotion etc) and put the sticker on first. You can wash you face with the sticker on and put lotion around the sticker. When removing the sticker, use clean tweezers to lift off the edges instead of picking at your face with your fingers. You'll want to use clean tweezers to peel and remove the patch from the strip anyway, it's very sticky. It doesn't leave a sticky residue on your face though, so no worries. I literally have no complaints about this product. You get 60 patches per box (16 patches/sheet) and I've used two sheets already because I just stick this on as soon as I see a pimple about to form. If I catch the pimple early enough, sometimes the pimple just goes away without forming the whitehead. For larger pimples, sometimes the whitehead won't come out with the sticker but it definitely still heals faster and cleaner than it does on its own. And don't be afraid to leave on the patch for 12+ hours xD On weekends I just leave this on my face all day ^^;; I don't want to waste any precious patches and I haven't had any adverse affects at all :D Very, very recommended and totally worth $8.
Dariya Hair/Fridge Pad
Comes in Pink or Blue with 2 pieces. It's really a glorified piece of velcro if you look at it xD but it's totally worth the money cuz it does it's job perfectly. Besides you get two in one packet and they last forever. It holds back hair/bangs as you're doing make up without leaving a crease :)
P&C Foundation Brush
This brush very soft and dense; it does not shed hairs during application. I haven't washed it yet so I can't comment on what it's like after washings though. Comes in a nice plastic pouch covering. The handle is a nice iridescent pearl white and quite sturdy, a bit on the heavy side actually. My favorite aspect of this brush is how it's tiger-striped ^_^ It's pretty~ Anyway, this is definitely not a cheap item and it's a very nice freebie (use coupon code 'frmheadtotoe'.)
I also got a little sample of Lioele Beyond the Solution BBcream sample + tiny diamond stickers~
I haven't actually used this BBcream sample yet but when I do I shall post swatches and my thoughts about it in another post. This one is getting way too long xD
*whew* That's it! Overall, ordering from Pretty & Cute was a great experience and the products I bought were worth the money (except the eyecream :\); I recommend the Silky Highlighter and AC Trouble Control Patches particularly.
Coming up next --- a NYX Haul review! I've also been putting together a Halloween look...lots of flowers ;)
