Kokie Professional Cosmetics | Demo,💋 Swatches, & Review

Story time!

Hello, everyone! I know I have been MIA. I apologize for my absence, but it was for genuine reasons. I appreciate that y’all have been patient with me. I was not in my element to film, but now I am back. I hope y'all connect with me on my Instagram page @strawberryheartschocolatedarts, where I post on a daily basis. Today on the Chai Time menu: Kokie Professional Cosmetics.   

I first discovered the brand Kokie Cosmetics through posts on Instagram that showcased the brand’s beautiful nail polish selection. I started following the brand on Instagram and learned that their nail polishes – a select variety - are sold in select Bed, Bad, and Beyond Harmon’s stores.  So I ventured out to my local BBB Harmon’s to check the Kokie Cosmetics nail polishes, but the colors that I was interested in were not available at the locations near me.  This took Kokie Cosmetics off my radar until this past Spring when the brand announced on Instagram that they not only have nail polishes, but makeup and brushes too, which would soon be releasing in select Walmart locations. Soon after their announcement, Kokie Cosmetics displays were spotted at Walmart stores. Hence, my hunt commenced! 

To find out if a Walmart near you carries Kokie, visit the Kokie Cosmetics website, select the Walmart tab, and enter your zip code.  This is how I searched for a display near me rather than hopping from store to store, wasting my time.  I really appreciate that Kokie Cosmetics has this locator feature on their website because unfortunately Walmart is so disorganized in my opinion.  I am a Target gal, no ifs or buts about it!

Now let us circle back to today’s video.  I was able to find a display right after it had been freshly set up.  For those of you familiar with the chaos that is Walmart –especially its makeup isles, which sometimes look like a storm has passed through – will appreciate the sanctity of a fresh untouched display.  I got to the apples first y’all, fresh and juicy for the picking.

Although I would have liked to try several products, I limited myself to just the liquid lipsticks.  I am not much of a base wearer nor do I like to switch it up much – I stick to what works.  The color products, like the eye shadows and blushes, didn’t speak to me because they appeared better suited for lighter, fairer skin-tones.  Also, I am a fledgling beauty blogger and invest my own money in purchasing products to test and review so I cannot get carried away.  Basically, I am a lipstick gal and that’s what triggered my love for makeup artistry and blogging.  So let us take a look at what I picked up, shall we?

Demo & Swatches

Review

Kokie Cosmetics has two formulations of liquid lipsticks: the Kissable Liquid Lipstick and the Lip Poudre. 

·      Kissable Liquid Lipstick claims – “love the matte look but not desert-dry lips? Never fear, Kokie Cosmetics is here with our Kissable Matte Lip Gloss! These liquid lipsticks glide on like velvet and dry into a soft, kissable matte … Comfortable, transfer-proof… “ (Kokie Professional website)

·      Lip Poudre claims – “our formula provides water-resistant, intensely pigmented, weightless color that wont flake or dry out lips. Plus, it’s reapplication-friendly! Glides on as a cream and dries to a feather-light, velvety soft, matte lipstick.” (Kokie Professional website)

Let me give it to y’all straight, if you have dry lips, despite your efforts to keep them hydrated, and most (like 99%) matte liquid lipsticks do not suit you, then the Kissable Liquid Lipstick formula is ideal for you. The Kissable formula has a gel-cream hybrid texture.  It’s gel-like characteristic is what makes it adhere well to the lips so initially it has that slight tackiness of a gloss and you can feel it on your lips.  It takes a few minutes to set to a semi-matte finish.  Although it is very comfortable as Kokie Cosmetics claims, it is not transfer-proof.  If you don’t like your lipsticks to have sheen and prefer that they set completely matte, then you will not be a fan of the Kissable formula. 

The Lip Poudre formula is difficult to explain. In fact, it is somewhat “powdery” as its name implies.  It has a thinner, more of a liquid-cream consistency in comparison to the Kissable formula.  However, once it sets, it felt and looked gritty and enhanced every nook and cranny of my lips.  I loved the Lip Poudre color Duchess, but despite being such a pigmented mid-tone plummy mauve shade, it looked dry, but not dry in the sense that it set fully matte. It still had dimension to it, but appeared so textured.  I think the Lip Poudre might work for someone who has really hydrated and naturally plump lips, which a good half of us don’t.  I don’t have dry lips, but I do have natural lip lines, which I was just born with, and medium sized lips, so this kind of powdery formula just doesn’t fit the bill for me. 

Between the Kissable and Lip Poudre formulas, I prefer the Kissable formula even though I like my liquid lipsticks to set to a smooth, velvety matte, sheen-less finish.  There are comfortable fully matte liquid lipsticks out there in the market, especially because every beauty brand is coming out with their version of a matte liquid lipstick. 

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♥ Yours Truly,

The Lipsticks-Ninja

Meesha ♥

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HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey Curl Care Collection Review

Affordability. Quality. Performance. Results. Natural. This is what we - the consumers - look for when investing money in beauty products. Shampoos and conditioners are staple products in our beauty regiments. Let’s be honest – they are simply not sexy like a coconut sea salt spray to get those exotic beach waves or a new shade of a hot-orange lipstick or bakery scented body butter. I mean I would rather buy a new lipstick than the basic amenities, right! However, we just cannot skip out on the shampoo and conditioner dynamic-duo because after all it is a matter of personal hygiene at the very least if not a “me-time” pampering sort of moment in the shower involving a soothing scalp massage.

What I am actually trying to say is that hair care is important. I think a good hair day plays a role in seizing the day! We feel confident and put together when our hair looks healthy and well maintained. Our hair frames our face and our face is what people look at (or should be looking at) during a conversation. It is no fun to spend $15-30 on a bottle of shampoo and/or conditioner and that too multiple times a year.

My favorite affordable drugstore hair care brand is HASK. I was introduced to HASK a little over a year ago when I was accepted to review their Bamboo line. In fact, my husband is a loyal HASK user as well! He and I have purchased and tried the Monoi Coconut Oil, Argan Oil, and Keratin Protein lines over the past year.  I have also introduced HASK to a few of my close friends when they asked me for a recommendation of a “healthy, natural, and affordable shampoo brand that actually works.” Now they are all HASK fans and have thanked me for inspiring them to wear their hair naturally (i.e., not heat-styled or loaded with styling products) and feel confident about doing so. 

Recently, I was given the opportunity to try one of the latest HASK lines – Coconut Milk & Organic Honey Curl Care.  Doesn’t that sound delicious, especially as we are amidst the summer season? It literally sounds like a summery beach-time cocktail, but for our hair.  If you are a fan of the virgin coconut oil scent, you are going to love this line.  The coconut scent of this line is even more dominantly coconut than the scent of the Monoi Coconut Oil line. 

I am glad that I was already using the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner (purchased myself from Bed, Bath, & Beyond Harmon’s) before I was sent the HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner for review purposes because I think I am able to give a more informed review to those of you contemplating which one of the two Coconut varieties to purchase. 

The consistency of the HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner is thicker than the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner.  However, once you massage the Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo into your hair, it lathers into a heavier, more emollient and creamier consistency than the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo.  I also noticed that I felt the need to use more of the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey conditioner than the Coconut Monoi Oil conditioner because the latter is more emollient and only two-quarter size squirts of it is needed for my long (below-waist length) hair. 

My hair is naturally curly, voluminous, and frizzy.  I have dealt with frizzy hair since I grew out my hair (from a no-fuss boy-cut) during my pre-teen, early adolescent years. I rarely heat-style my hair and have never used bleach or lightener on it so it is just naturally frizzy and constantly in major need of conditioning.  I love having long hair and don’t want to compromise on the length of it because of the frizz.  About five or six years ago, I started getting keratin conditioning treatments annually, which helped eliminate the unmanageable volume and frizz, and gave my hair a smoother, wavy look, and allowed me to keep my hair long.  However, keratin conditioning treatments alone are not enough and I would not recommend getting them too often… only as needed because one, you don’t want your hair to become desensitized to the treatment (as with over-doing anything) and two, it is quite an investment monetarily.  Even though my stylist recommends using the shampoo and conditioner that comes in the Keratin treatment product line, I don’t because it is very expensive for the quantity you get and I prefer my affordable, sulfate-free HASK shampoo and conditioners instead. Yes, indeed the HASK line not only helps maintain the Keratin treatment by not stripping it, but also adds to the conditioning my hair needs. 

Personally, I find that the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner is better suited for people with long, thick, voluminous, coarse, dry, and frizzy hair, while the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner is better suited for people with short to medium length, fine, thin, brittle, and frizzy hair.  Both lines of shampoo and conditioner provide the needed moisture and hydration to combat the frizz and get a smoother, shinier look to your hair.  For some people the effect of the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey might not be enough and for others the effect of Coconut Monoi Oil might be too much so deciding which one you think you might need, I will leave that up to you.  As for the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey line’s curl care claim, I did not observe anything noticeable when comparing it to the performance of the Coconut Monoi Oil line or any of the other HASK lines I have tried previously (Bamboo, Argan, and Keratin). 

HASK products are available at Ulta (in-store and online), Target (in-store and online), and at select Bed, Bath, & Beyond (Harmon’s) stores. 
 ♡  http://haskbeauty.com/
 ♡ http://www.ulta.com/brand/hask

FTC Disclaimer: I would like to thank HASK and Brandbacker for providing press sample for this post.

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♥ Yours Truly,

The Lipsticks-Ninja

Meesha ♥

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Bare Minerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lip Colors | ChaiTimewithMeesha

If the "liquid to ultra-matte" liquid lipsticks are not for you, then you must try out the new Bare Minerals Gen Nude Liquid Lipcolors line.  Not only does this line focus on wearable neutral aka "nude" lip shades for all skin-tones, but a comfortable semi-matte liquid lipstick formula.  These lipsticks dry down to a semi-matte finish once they have been on the lips for a good few minutes and maintain a smooth and creamy feeling on the lips.  If you prefer a true matte liquid lipstick, then this is definitely not your cup of tea. 

They do transfer, very slightly, especially when freshly applied. These are easy to reapply and layer because they're indeed weightless.  These do take longer than the average matte liquid lipsticks to dry down so initially you will notice a sheen for sometime. These shades did wear off a bit after I eating. I wish there were more deeper shade options than the shade Scandal, but perhaps the brand will expand the shade range in the future. 

If y'all are looking for a comfortable liquid lipstick that is available in subtle, everyday-no-fuss kind-of-shades, then I would recommend these Gen Nude matte liquid lipcolors. One does not necessarily need all or even several of the shades because the line consists of only nudes - geared for different skin-tones/under-tones - thus far. As an added bonus, these smell delicious... like a sweet warm freshly baked dessert.  If you like your lipsticks to smell like brownies, cupcakes, cookies, or the like, then you will be sold on these at first sniff. Honestly, don't judge me, but that was a major attraction for me personally. 

Please view my video above for demo-application and lip-swatches. Thank you! 

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♥ Yours Truly,

The Lipsticks-Ninja

Meesha ♥

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