Cosmetics from Apothica - Cargo, Paul & Joe and Too Faced

Hello and Happy Easter to you all :3 I wish the 5-day long weekend here made a difference for me but it doesn't because it's part of my 2-week break! Oh well, it's an excuse to binge on chocolates/Easter eggs xD

I'm excited for this post because it's been a while since I blogged about makeup! I haven't hauled cosmetics in ages and to finally do so again is awesome :) Let me share with you what I got and my thoughts on them:

3 brands/products not available in Aus/my city: Cargo, Paul & Joe and Too Faced

I'd like to introduce you to my newest blog sponsor - Apothica.com. They are an online beauty store based in Salt Lake City and they allowed me to pick products from their site up to a certain amount and I managed to pick these babies up! Thanks Apothica

3 products and 6 free samples

Usually with an Apothica order, they'd only come with three samples but my order actually came in two packages - they had two of the products I wanted in stock so they sent those out first and sent my third product after restocking.

So now I can introduce you to the product I was looking forward to receiving the most!

CARGO Blush - Catalina

Price: $29.00

Metal tin and lid

Swatch

Yay I have a Cargo blush now ^^ I don't think they're that popular but I have seen them in Youtube videos and I really like the packaging. It may not be super pretty however the casing is unique and the pan size is perfect to swirl a blush brush into it for picking up an adequate amount of powder. My other blushes have smaller packaging and less product overall thus I'm happy to add this to my collection.

Apologies for the swatch being a little unclear. The shade is a bright, cotton candy pink and it may seem a little light for my skin tone but I don't think it does. When I wear foundation, it brightens up my complexion so dabbing some of this colour onto my cheeks is perfect!

A swatch using my finger shows up really well however when I smooth the swatch on my finger onto the back of my hand, it appears to be less pigmented. Which for me is totally fine because I don't find pigmented blushes to be ideal. It's better when they're a little opaque so you can build the colour intensity onto your cheeks if needed.

My new favourite blush

Paul & Joe Beaute Waterproof Mascara - 01 Black

Price: $23.80

Gorgeous floral box and mascara

Love the detail on the lid

So about Paul & Joe... believe it or not I actually found out about this brand from the blogging community! I used to read blogs religiously (not so much now due to being more busy) and this led me to discovering new cosmetic brands with pretty cute packaging such as this one :) Are there any Paul & Joe products available in Aus?

This is the prettiest mascara I have owned and not only is it a beauty on the outside but also on the inside! And I'm not surprised that it is because I only just realised that this is a product of Japan =] Many cosmetics from Japan are known to be good quality and good looking at the same time. Do I even need to list out the well-known Japanese brands?!

Bare lashes, no makeup

Curled lashes, no makeup

Curled lashes, with Paul & Joe mascara

What's my verdict? I like it!

In a good way, it makes my lashes look very natural after applying multiple coats of mascara. It doesn't give me any clumps and although the lengthening or volumising isn't spectacular, I still love what this mascara does to my lashes. It holds the curl for the whole day and because it's waterproof, I could confidently cry without having to worry about getting panda eyes haha. I HAVE to use a waterproof mascara, I can't stand non-waterproof ones!! The wand is the perfect size ^_^

Final note on this mascara is that it does require effort to remove! I noticed that the formula sticks to my lashes stronger than regular drugstore mascaras that I normally use. It may depend on the type of makeup remover you use but I even brought out the big guns aka Lancome Bi-Facil (known as one of the best eye makeup removers ever) and I still needed rub my lashes a number of times to successfully remove it. Usually with Lancome Bi-Facil, a few gentle wipes does the job for other waterproof mascaras.

Too Faced Lip of Luxury Lipstick - Cupcake

Price: $19.80

I'm going to start by saying that I chose this PURELY because of the packaging :) It's totally cute for the purse or makeup bag.

I am a girly girl and when I see something pink and shiny I am like *__* I want! However I don't get everything that's pink and shiny thing because... I'm not materialistic to that extent xP Just this once I thought, "yeah why not".

A plastic diamante to 'top' it off

 Which shines under the light

Swatch

 L-R: 1 swipe, 2 swipes, 3 swipes and 4 swipes

Drenched in Shea butter, rich colour and diamond shine our exclusive formula smoothes out fine lines and creases while it pampers your lips with a fizzy moisture surge of pure champagne essences. This billion dollar blend of pure pigments has serious staying power and feels as soft as satin on the lips.

I think I can presume that most beauty bloggers/enthusiasts would know of Too Faced, especially for their popular Too Faced Shadow Insurance primers. I don't own one 'cause I opted for an Urban Decay Primer Potion however I was still interested in trying a Too Faced product, hence I chose this lippie.

The shade 'Cupcake' looks lovely in the tube but it appears lighter on my lips. I was expecting a darker pigment, instead I found that this was quite sheer (as seen in the above swatch). Was I let down? Mm, a bit. Though I do admit that it's still a pretty shade.

Swatched on one side

Left: Bare lips

Right: Too Faced lipstick

It sort of looks like an enhanced shade of my natural lip colour with lots of shimmer. Looks kind of fuchsia (pinkish purple) when I was hoping that it'd be a deep pink! Since it is so shimmery I don't think I would wear this on a daily basis therefore I will save it for special evening outings.

Now to refer to what I typed out in grey:

• I haven't worn this enough to say whether or not it smoothed out my lips' fine lines and creases butttt I can say that in my above picture, my lips were slightly cracked and the lipstick kind of... covered it up o_o I can't guarantee that this lipstick would be able to 'cover up' severely cracked lips, though it might be able to help :D ?
• Billion dollar blend of pigment? I don't get it... wahh
• Staying power is quite good and it does feel soft on my lips

I want to address this last one separately because I have quite a bit to say about it... the scent, that is. On the box it says that it's infused with champagne essence and um... to be honest I'm not that familiar with alcoholic drinks so I don't really know what champagne smells like *blushes* But anyway back on topic...

I don't find the scent to be very pleasant :/ Maybe I'm just not a champagne person? Haha... it's kind of distracting. And since it's worn on my lips, the scent can enter my mouth which results in me 'tasting' it :S Doesn't sound good but it's true lol.

I can't describe it, it's sort of sweet but then it has a strong musky punch to it which puts me off. I really need to smell champagne! I really hope it doesn't smell like this =| Perhaps someone should describe it to me to keep me from being absolutely clueless about it!

*~~~*

I haven't tried any of the samples yet but if I end up liking any of them, I'll be sure to mention it on my Twitter or in a future favourites post.

I have a FOTD look which is just all 3 products on my face. A very quick, natural (and lazy) FOTD where I am wearing no eye makeup besides the Paul & Joe mascara~

Products used:

Geo Fresh Brown Lenses from iCandy Style Lens

MeMeMe Flawless Cream Foundation in 03 Honey Lush

Paul & Joe Beaute Waterproof Mascara in 01 Black

CARGO Blush in 01 Catalina

Too Faced Lip of Luxury Lipstick in Cupcake

QVC Eyelash Curler

Sigma Large Angled Contour and Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush

I'll leave you now with a questjen:

Which of the 3 is the most important to you:

blush, mascara or lipstick?

I'm so curious to find out :)

My answer: Mascara!! Because the eyes matter to me the most hehe

♥ Jen xx

Disclaimer: Products were sponsored by Apothica. The opinions present in this review are 100% honest and I am not monetarily compensated. I am not affiliated with Apothica. Clicking on any of the links provided in this post do not affect or benefit me.