Wednesday Roundup: Benefit Gimme Brow

After reading this article on Refinery29 a couple of days ago, I'm happy to report that it looks like the big brow trend is going to be around for a little while longer. I'm mostly excited about this because my brows are naturally voluminous (some might say bushy), but also, I just dropped $22 on Benefit Gimme Brow and I'm not trying to relegate it to the bottom of my makeup caddy just yet.

Gimme Brow is a funny little product. First of all, it comes in a teensy package, which actually makes it perfect for toting around in your bag for touch ups. But also, its brush is itty bitty, way different from the mascara-esque brow gel brushes many of us are used to. It's really nice change up, though, as the little bristles make it easier to apply to bare spots without over doing it.

You see, when I was younger I hated my eyebrows. Like many people, high school for me was the era of the over plucked and overly self-conscious. Everyone was trying to make their eyebrows do something they weren't meant to do and as a result many of us suffer from sparse hair placement in certain areas.

Before

After

Gimme Brow and its little brush is my new favorite product to use towards the beginning of my eyebrows, the area suffered the most as a result of my tweezer happy ways. I use the Medium/Deep shade since my eyebrows are pretty dark. It's a great color and very neutral, meaning it doesn't have any weird red or yellow undertones. Benefit only offers one other shade in Gimme Brow and that's Light/Medium, but they're both pretty universal. Unless your brows are absolutely black, one of these two shades should work for you.

As far as lasting power goes, I can't attest to much since I have yet to use Gimme Brow for a long day, but I can tell you that it does give at least 5 hours of solid wear. That's pretty good if you ask me. At $22, Gimme Brow is a little more expensive than your average brow pencil, but I think its performance goes above and beyond your typical brow enhancer. If you're looking to purchase, click here or here.

What do you think about Benefit Gimme Brow? How about the big brow trend in general?

BITE Beauty Lip Lab

There's some things in life that seem too good to be true. A place where you can go and turn your dream lipstick shade into a reality is one of them. Except it's actually not too good to be true. The BITE Beauty Lip Lab is here, now making lipstick fantasies come to life since May 2013.

Addie's Oxberry on a deceptively blond-looking yours truly.

It all started with an experimental pop up shop a few years ago that BITE popped up (haha) in the Big Apple. Apparently, customizable lipsticks turned out to be such a hit that they decided to make their Lip Lab a permanent part of the Soho landscape. And boy, am I ever glad they did.

Admittedly, I was not lucky enough to visit the Lip Lab myself, but my best friend, who spent the past few months in NYC, made the visit for me. Prior to her visit, I provided her with specific instructions for a lip color that was equal parts berry and oxblood, nothing too shiny and with a hint of mint (is this sounding like a Give-a-Mouse-a-Cookie situation?). If you can't tell from the picture above, she executed the assignment wonderfully. My "Addie's Oxberry" is semi-matte, or technically Luminous Créme, minty and the perfect mixture of colors!

Forever grateful for a bestie that knows what I want in a lipstick.

Now, since I can't describe the actual process to you myself, I will just have to show you with pictures Katie took on her cellphone, more than likely as I was annoyingly texting her my color and flavor requests.

Ah, doesn't the table of colors just make you want to scream? I think BITE has truly stepped up the lipstick game with this one. If you're interested in visiting the Lip Lab, hours and location can be found by clicking here.

So, tell me... have you had the chance to visit the BITE Beauty Lip Lab? What do you think?

Weekend Ramblings: R.L. Linden & Co. The Bee Charmer

I don't think I say this enough on the blog, but I love honey. I love it in my tea, on my oatmeal and of course, on my face (hopefully I'm not the only one here). So you know that as soon as one of my favorite brands, R.L. Linden & Co., put up an Instagram picture of their latest honey cleanser/ exfoliant/ mask, a.k.a. The Bee Charmer*, I could not wait to get my hands on a sample. Thankfully, I did and I'm happy to report that Robin and Lynn have done it again!

Hello, adorable product description card.

Product description courtesy of R.L. Linden & Co.

At first when I read its ingredient list above, I was thinking The Bee Charmer* would be a little more abrasive than it actually is. The ingredients are as follows: raw honey, ritual chocolate (organic cacao and organic cane sugar), white clay, organic cacao extract, organic cacao nib and shell, poppy sees, essential oils of bourbon vanilla and Bulgarian rose and the flower essences of arnica, buttercup, corn lily and nasturtium. I think it was the "cacao nib and shell" that had me wondering whether or not this product would be okay for daily use, but I'm telling you that it totally is. The cacao nibs are there and they do exfoliate, but ever-so-gently so you're not going to over do it. 

The Bee Charmer in action.

As for the base of the product, the rich honey/chocolate/essential oil mixture smells good enough to eat,  like a big hunk of fancy chocolate in the best way. It's really kind of luxurious. However, the best part about this product isn't the smell or the exfoliant factor. It's the fact that this morning when I woke up (after using the mask last night), my skin felt incredibly soft. And now, I may be addicted. 

   
All that's left to do at this point is just anxiously wait until a full size of The Bee Charmer* is available for purchase. If you're feeling particularly impatient, though, The Bee Charmer* is available for purchase with R.L. Linden & Co.'s Travel Set. It includes a waxed canvas cosmetic bag and bunch of other goodies from R.L. Linden & Co.  It would actually make a great gift for someone!

So, what do you think about this new product? Are you a fan of all things honey-based as well?

The * denotes a product which I was sent free of cost.  Reviews will remain objective, regardless of how the product came to me.