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Friday, September 4, 2015

First Impressions: Colour Pop Haul

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Colour Pop is a brand that is beyond popular on YouTube right now so I had to see what all the fuss was about. Colour Pop is a cruelty-free brand that is available only online. The items are drugstore priced so I picked up a variety of products to try.

The packaging is okay. I didn’t expect anything fancy given the price point, but it does seem a little cheap. It’s pretty bulky plastic and the lid to the lip liner I got doesn’t stay on. Like, you turn it upside down, and it just drops right off. Also, some of the lipstick gets shaved off when you twist it up because the bullet isn’t lined up right in the packaging.

My order came with some cards that describe how best to use the products. Colour Pop eyeshadows and blushes are a unique formulation—not quite powder, not quite cream so there were some suggestions on how to apply (your fingers or a stiff synthetic brush). You also have to keep the cap on tight so that the product doesn’t dry out. They also included a cute note with my order!

Here’s what I ordered, and my first impressions:

Ultra Matte Lip in Bumble

I’ll start with what’s getting the most hype now. Colour Pop’s new Ultra Matte Lip liquid lipstick sold out immediately when they were first released. The second time around I picked out the color Bumble, a nice brick red (Colour Pop’s website describes it as a “dusty warm terracotta”). I love this color and it will be great for the fall. This product is matte, highly pigmented and dries fast. It applies nicely and smoothly—especially for a matte product—but I definitely recommend exfoliating before using. It dries down very matte and doesn’t budge. When I wore lip balm over it there was some slight transfer of the product to a glass, lips, etc. It settled into the lines of my lips (with or without balm). It has good staying power, but it did wear down around the inner part of my lips when I ate. Also, when it breaks down it kind of balls up which doesn’t look too good. YouTuber KathleenLights swatches the ultra matte liquid lipsticks here.

Lippie Stix in Lumière (Matte)

This lipstick (or lippie stix, as Color Pop calls them…) was made as part of a collaboration with KathleenLights, the same YouTuber mentioned above. This color looked gorgeous to me and I felt like it would be a good every day color year round—it is a berry nude. Even though this is a matte lipstick it isn’t drying like the Ultra Matte Lip, it is creamy like the Maybelline matte lipsticks, if you’re familiar with them. I still applied lip balm over it though. The product wore off in the middle of my lips after eating so I rubbed my lips together to redistribute the product. This is going to be a great color to take from the end of summer into fall.

Lippie Stix in Safari (Sheer)

Another new product line from Colour Pop is their sheer lip colors. I love sheer lip products, they look more natural to me no matter the color. Safari is a sheer orange color; it looks like you ate a popsicle. I’ve been looking for a good sheer orange all summer and this is it! It is easy to apply and reapply which is good because it wears off pretty easily. To me, this is to be expected because it is a sheer color that is balm-like. YouTuber EmilyNoel83 has a good lipswatch video of all these colors if you would like to check that video out here.

Lippie Pencil in BFF

creamy during application but then dries down, matte finish, goes on smooth good to wear alone (neutral on the brown side—90s lip that is in), as a lipliner for most lip colors or as a base to darken a lighter color or to top with gloss. BFF comes in 3 different shades depending on your skin tone, I got the lightest one, Browny nude. The one problem is I’m not quite sure how to sharpen it. The instructions say to sharpen it, but it’s made of plastic, not wood—and it seems silly to sharpen plastic. Maybe I’m missing something here.

Super Shock Shadow in Hustle

The consistency of the super shock (eye) shadows is not quite cream and not quite powder—it’s almost spongy. I picked this color because I have been looking for a deep brick red/cranberry eyeshadow. I was disappointed when I swatched this color and it was more along the line of plum instead of cranberry. It looks a little more cranberry-ish on the eyes which is good. This color isn’t very pigmented and it takes a lot of work to build it up. I applied it with my finger (but this is hard to do in your crease), so I ended up using the Modern Minerals Duo Fiber Mini Round Brush I received in my February Boxycharm (read my review here) which worked okay. I put the bareMinerals 5 in 1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow all over my lid, Hustle in the outer v/crease and finished the look off with Lumière—a great look for fall.

Super Shock Shadow in So Quiche

This eyeshadow is a beautiful olive green with a gold-pink shimmer duo chrome. Beautiful! I applied this with my finger all over my lid. Given the description this color had the potential to be obnoxious, but it is really quite nice. It has good staying color and there was no glitter fallout.

Super Shock Cheek in Bonus

Colour Pop blushes have the same unique consistency of the eyeshadows. This blush is a matte orangey color that would be great for spring/summer. I used the e.l.f. small stipple brush to apply this. It is very natural looking and you can build the color up. It has really good staying power too. I was looking for a good orangey/peach blush and I finally found it!

Swatches (left to right): Bonus, So Quiche, Hustle, BFF, Safari, Lumiere and Bumble

What do you think of the Colour Pop items I reviewed? Have you tried Colour Pop? Let me know your thoughts!

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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Review of the New e.l.f. Hydrating Under Eye Primer

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I was in Target one day looking for the e.l.f. face primer (read my review here) and came across this under eye primer. My first reaction was: oooh, I want to try that. My second reaction was: do you really need an under eye primer? Followed by: yes, I must try this. I usually smooth some of my face primer under my eyes, but I wanted to see what this was about. It is $3 for 0.35 oz. A normal face primer is 1 oz for at least $6 so this isn’t an overpriced product. The packaging is the typical e.l.f. studio black packaging and the product is dispensed through a pump. The color is slightly pink, which should help cancel out under eye discoloration.

I dispense a little bit onto my ring finger (a little goes a long way), dab a bit under each of my eyes and then blend. According to the e.l.f. website, this under eye primer has vitamins C and E, green tea, aloe and ginko biloba and does not settle into fine lines. It claims to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles and puffiness. I think it reduces the look of fine lines (thankfully, I don’t have wrinkles yet) because it prevents concealer from settling into them. When the concealer does settle, I find that the under eye area is hydrated enough from the primer to re-distribute the product. I can’t speak for the reduction in the appearance of puffiness because my under eye area doesn’t get puffy. It is definitely an added moisture boost which is good for the under eye area.

I do notice a difference when I use this product. My concealer goes on smoother and it doesn’t settle into the fine lines under my eyes as much. I don’t think it extends the wear of concealer, but it is easier to blend the concealer out if it does start to fade in some areas.

When I was looking up information on the size of this product, I saw on the e.l.f. website that you are supposed to put a couples dabs of the primer and a couple dabs of your concealer under your eyes at the same time and then blend the two together….

**Cue waiting room music**

Okay, I just tried mixing the primer with the Maybelline Master Conceal. This concealer is very thick and a bit difficult to blend (read my review here) so I was hoping that mixing it with the primer would solve that problem. It did! The mixture blended very nicely to my under eye area and had a brightening effect. This concealer was much easier to apply mixed with the primer than it is even when I use a beautyblender to apply. So glad I read the e.l.f. website! If the under eye area gives you troubles, I would recommend checking out this primer.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Review of Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Redness Correcting Primer

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Welcome to post 2 of 4 on face primers. Make Up For Ever recently released 10 (yes, 10!) face primers called the Step 1 Skin Equalizer. Each primer is targeted toward a certain concern and/or skin tone (e.g., hydrating, smoothing, illumination for medium skin). These primers are $36 for 1 oz—so definitely on the pricier side.

You could receive a sample of one of five MUFE Step 1 primers with a qualifying purchase (spend $25, I believe) at Sephora.com. The sample I received was 0.16 oz. This is not a bad size for a deluxe size sample and I have gotten plenty of use out of it. I chose the Redness Correcting Primer because I have a lot of redness to my skin.

The packaging is a squeeze tube, which I prefer because it gives you more control over how much product you dispense, as opposed to a pump. The tube and product itself are green because green cancels out red on the color wheel. The product does have a slight smell to it. I can’t describe it, but I don’t mind it. Once the product dries the smell goes away. It feels like moisturizer when it comes out of the tube, but it is not very spreadable. It absorbs into the skin very quickly so I would recommend working in small areas.

This primer definitely has some color correcting power. If you have only slight redness issues, I think this would pretty much eliminate any redness you have. If you have slight to medium redness issues, I think this would work great and probably allow you to only wear a tinted moisturizer/BB cream and not have to go for full coverage foundation (if redness is your only concern). I have a lot of redness and it is pretty dark so this did not eliminate the look of redness on my skin, but it definitely did reduce it and I looked paler. I would still need to wear some type of base, but I could definitely tell the difference. It also kept my makeup in place all day.

I’m not sure how to classify this primer (silicone- or water-based) because I cannot find the ingredient list. While this face primer is not as hydrating as primers I normally use, it had the unique benefit of reducing the redness of my skin. I wonder how it would perform if I mixed it with a silicone-based primer.

Bottom line: I would definitely recommend this primer.

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Thursday, April 30, 2015

First Impressions: Cover Fx Custom Cover Drops in N10

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I was so, so, so excited to try the Custom Cover Drops by Cover Fx. I have never tried anything by Cover Fx before and this foundation-type product intrigued me. The Custom Cover Drops is not a regular foundation, it is pigment meant to be mixed with other products (e.g., moisturizer, primer, sunscreen). You can customize the coverage from sheer—1 drop—to total coverage—4 drops. I am always looking for full coverage in a foundation so I really wanted to try this product. It’s $44 for 0.50 oz. (typical foundations are 1 oz.) and I picked it up at Sephora during the VIB Rouge sale.

There is a nice range of colors—24 colors in neutral, pink and golden undertones ranging from very light to pretty dark. This is a huge plus because it is often hard for people with very light or very dark skin tones to find a product that matches their skin. The product is dispensed through a dropper since you measure the amount of coverage you want by the number of drops you add to your moisturizer (or whatever you’re mixing the pigment in). It’s nice that this eliminates a step since you can combine skin care and foundation into one. The drops contain “Flash Fusion Technology” that instantly transforms your moisturizer, etc. into a foundation when you add the drops—a ton of mixing was not needed. Cover Fx promises a smooth application with ingredients similar to what is in skin. For full coverage, I mixed three drops of this with my primer and set to applying it.

*Sigh* I wanted to love this. I really did. I thought it would be a game-changer, enough that I spent almost $40 on it. The Custom Cover Drops did not apply well for me at all. It clung to the dryness on my skin (dryness I’ve never even seen with my other foundations) and just sat on my skin weirdly. It did not blend well and it definitely did not give full coverage. It was light coverage at best so I added more pigment. It was still only light coverage. I gave up and applied my MAC Fluid Fix foundation over it.

Since I’ve tried this, I’ve seen many beauty YouTubers rave about this product so I’m disappointed that it did not work out for me. Needless to say, I returned it. I picked up some lippies instead J (review(s) to come!).

Disclaimer: This item was purchased with my own money and all opinions are 100% honest and my own. I do not provide positive reviews for payment. Products that work for me may not necessarily work for you.

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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

New! NYX Spring 2015 Lippies

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NYX has released a bunch of new lip products for Spring 2015. The shelves have been cleared at Ulta (right now, the new lippies are only available at Ulta and NYX) for weeks so I finally placed an online order at Ulta after swatching testers in the store. NYX products are often buy one get one 50% off online at Ulta (they were when I ordered, and they are now). I recommend swatching in stores if possible (or looking up swatches online) because the color blocks on the NYX and Ulta websites are not true to the actual color of the product. Below are reviews and swatches of some of the Intense Butter Glosses and High Voltage Lipsticks.

Intense Butter Glosses

From left to right: Toasted Marshmallow, Orangesicle

I love the regular Butter Glosses. They are perfect to wear on their own for a natural lip look or to put on top of lipstick. The new Intense Butter Glosses (BGs) are very different. First, they are definitely intensely pigmented. You get the pigmentation of a liquid lipstick. Second, they are a tad (just a tad) sticky while the normal BGs have the feel of a lip balm—very smooth. Third, the Intense BGs are thicker, I’m guessing because of how pigmented they are. Normal BGs are like a normal gloss. Both have a slight vanilla smell, with the Intense BGs even reminding me of Trefoil Girl Scout Cookies (if you know what those smell like).

Since it is a gloss, the Intense BGs do transfer quite a bit. They would be longwearing if you didn’t eat, drink or touch your lips to anything…but since I’m guessing you’re not putting on lipstick just to lay down all day, reapplication is needed. I would recommend a lip liner with these because they are so pigmented. The applicator is a long, flat doe foot and it takes some time to work and blend the product onto your lips.

There are 12 Intense BGs in total. I picked up two colors (swatches below):

Toasted Marshmallow, a deep plum-mauve. Gorgeous!
Orangesicle, a brigh, intense orange. Good for summer

High Voltage Lipsticks

From left to right: Tiara, Flutter Kiss, Rockstar, Hollywood, Burlesque, Wine and Dine

The High Voltage Lipsticks have a narrow bullet. They also have a slight vanilla/Trefoil Girl Scout Cookie smell. These are very creamy, very pigmented lipsticks making them a little difficult to apply—if you’re not careful it can get messy fast. I would definitely use a lip liner, since it is so creamy it can easily go out of the lip line. I find it better to dab the lipstick on instead of applying like you normally would (swiping) so that too much product doesn’t go on your lips. I would also recommend exfoliating with these as they can accentuate dry skin/lines. This isn’t my favorite lipstick formula. Even though it is difficult to work with I will still use them because the colors are awesome. I had no red lipsticks before, and now I have my whole red lipstick wardrobe!

There are 22 High Voltage Lipsticks in total. I picked up six colors (swatches below):

Wine and Dine, a deep plum-berry.
Burlesque, a dark red.
Hollywood, more of a classic red with a slight blue undertone.
Rockstar, a bright red-orange. Helllloooo summer!
Flutter Kiss, mauve with a hint of pink.
Tiara, a nice bright coral-pink. Perfect for spring!

From left to right: Toasted Marshmallow (Intense BG), Orangesicle (Intense BG),
Wine and Dine, Burlesque, Hollywood, Rockstar, Flutter Kiss, Tiara

These definitely aren’t my favorite lip product formulas. They are a bit messy and difficult to work with. I really, really love the colors though so I will work with them. However, I feel like the drugstore, and NYX, have better offerings (e.g., original NYX butter glosses, Maybelline Color Sensational, Revlon lip butters).

What are your thoughts on the new NYX Spring 2015 lippies? Are you picking any up?

Disclaimer: These items were purchased with my own money or by my lovely husband and all opinions are 100% honest and my own. I do not provide positive reviews for payment. Products that work for me may not necessarily work for you.

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Monday, March 23, 2015

HUGE Drugstore Haul | Walgreens, Target & Ulta

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Yeah…I did some damage at the drugstore J I have one more order coming in (new NYX Spring 2015 lippies) and then I’m on a no buy until May. Don’t worry; I’ll still have plenty of stuff to tell you about! Here’s what I picked up at the drugstore in the last couple weeks:

Walgreens

Rimmel was 50% off at Walgreens a couple weeks ago so I wanted to pick up some of their newer products and one classic. The first thing I picked up was the Provocalips 16HR Kiss Proof Lip Color in 750 Heart Breaker. It is a nice brick red color. I’ve been looking for a lip color like this for a while. One end is the actual lip color and the other end is a thicker clear gloss to lock in the color and add shine. I was curious to try Rimmel’s Long Lasting 25HR Skin Perfecting Full Coverage Foundation with Comfort Serum in 091 Light Ivory. I also wanted to include it in a full coverage foundation Beauty Battle (coming soon!). Finally, I picked up the Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in 001 Transparent. This product is raved about a lot online so I wanted to try it out. I never really have good luck with powders, but we will see—a ton of people seem to love this one.

I’ve only seen Jordana products at Walgreens. I featured the Jordana Fabuliner in a previous post on liquid eyeliner. They have a new line of “Modern Matte” lipsticks out so I wanted to pick one up to try. I chose the shade 10 Matte Pretty. It is a dusty pink-coral color. It has a slight vanilla smell. The formula is quick dry so I definitely need to put lip balm over this. There are much better matte lipsticks (Maybelline) at the drugstore. I love the color though so I’m willing to work with it. I also picked up the Jordana FabuBrow eyebrow pencil in 03 Dark Brown. It looks to be a pretty good match with the color of my brows. Jordana is a very affordable line, I believe the lipstick was, like, $2.50.

Target

e.l.f. (eyes, lips, face) galore! e.l.f. products are usually pretty wiped out at Target, probably because they are so affordable. Target must have just restocked so I picked up a bunch of stuff. I’ve heard good things about e.l.f.’s primers so I got the Mineral Infused Face Primer and the Hydrating Under Eye Primer. I also got the Lip Exfoliator which I have been in search of for awhile (YouTuber Andréa Matillano swears by it). I’ve also been hearing a lot of good things about e.l.f.’s new Smudge Pots (like a cream eyeshadow/base) so I chose Ain’t That Sweet—it’s a light pink color. I’ve really been into pinkish-reddish colors on my eyes lately. The last e.l.f. product I got was the Flawless Concealer Brush. e.l.f. has AMAZING brushes and they run $1-$3. I plan to use this brush to blend my eyeshadows.

I re-purchased the Simple moisturizing face wash (now parabens free!). I’ve tried a few other face washes since I ran out of this one and my skin was not happy. I also picked up the Simple cleansing micellar water. I want to compare this to Bioderma to see if it can be a drugstore dupe. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Garnier micellar water but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere.

Two more things at Target! I got the Wet ‘n Wild Fergie Take On The Day eyeshadow primer and the NYC Matte Me Crazy mattifying top coat. I believe it was JAMbeauty89 on YouTube who said to check this primer out. I’m curious to see how it will compare to my Urban Decay primer potion. The NYC mattifying top coat just intrigued me. Nail polishes always leave a shiny finish so I want to see what a matte finish would look like!

Ulta

Lastly, Ulta. Ulta has high end and drug store brands. I got two NYX butter lipsticks—Candy Buttons (BLS09) and Fizzies (BLS21). Candy Buttons is a pale peach nude and Fizzies is a sheerer bright coral on the red side.

I also picked up a bunch a few things from Essence. I’ve only seen this brand at Ulta. I got a Longlasting Lipstick in 13 Love Me (peachy-coral), a lip liner in 11 In The Nude (perfect on its own or as a liner) and the gel-look plumping top coat (review to come). This brand is also inexpensive (e.g., the lip liner was $1.50).

Let me know if there’s anything you want a first impressions or review of. What have you picked up at the drugstore lately?

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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Saving Series: Wednesday, March 11, 2015

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CVS is my favorite store to grab great beauty deals. If you haven’t already, sign up for their ExtraCare card. You can swipe it in the front of the store at a kiosk and get tons of store coupons (that you can combine with manufacturer’s coupons). CVS will also email you coupons (e.g., $3 off a $15 dollar purchase, 30% off your regular price purchase) and you can get ExtraCare Bucks—these are essentially money, just money you can only use at CVS. You get ExtraCare Bucks by buying certain products (e.g., spend $12 on Revlon products and get $4 in ExtraCare Bucks back). You can use the ECBs on your next purchase. Also, if you sign up for CVS’s Beauty Club you get $5 ECBs when you spend $50 on beauty products. The $50 total is BEFORE coupons!

So sales + coupons + ECBs make CVS my favorite couponing spot.

Just two products this week, but they were almost free!

This week, CoverGirl was spend $15 get $5 in ECBs.

What I got: 1) I re-purchased the Ready, Set Gorgeous concealer in 105/110 Fair. This is the only drugstore concealer I have found that is light enough for my skin tone. This is great for concealing and brightening under the eyes. 2) I decided to try out the Full Lash bloom by lashblast mascara in 805 black. This is a newer mascara and I want to see what it’s all about. Let me know if you want a first impressions on this mascara.

Breakdown: Before coupons and taxes, my total would have been $16.98. Coupons used:

$3 of any $15 purchase CVS coupon (received from CVS via email)

$5 Extra Care Bucks (from buying two Maybelline products last week)

$5 Extra Care Bucks (from spending over $50 [before coupons] on beauty items)

$3 off any CoverGirl lashblast mascara (Manufacturer’s Coupon)

$0.50 off any CoverGirl product (Manufacturer’s Coupon)

I paid $0.48 (before tax) for two items—a 97% savings!! I also have $5 in ECBs toward my next purchase from spending $15 (before coupons J) on CoverGirl products. So even though it looks like I spend a ton of money on makeup (e.g., ECB for spending $50), once you start accumulating ECBs you’re not actually spending any cash. You’re just “rolling” the free money CVS gives you into the next purchase.

Let me know in the comments below beauty deals you’ve picked up recently. Happy couponing!!

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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

First Impressions: bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream in 02 Vanilla

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This is a new product from bareMinerals and I received a free sample with a purchase at Sephora. It claims to hydrate, replenish, and energize skin and leave skin with a dewy, healthy-looking glow. My skin is on the drier side so I thought this would be a good fit for days when I want lighter coverage. It also has an SPF of 30.

The sample came in a booklet with four different shades: 02 Vanilla, 05 Natural, 07 Tan and 09 Chestnut. I went with 02 Vanilla as I have a very light complexion. The consistency was a gel-mousse like texture. It was definitely light coverage for me and was not buildable. I layered more product on and the look did not change. That’s okay though, since it is a tinted cream I did not expect medium to full coverage. The color was too dark for me even though it’s the second color option in the range. It did make me look like I had a very nice tan though so the color would be a good option for the summer or if I self-tanned.

It definitely gives a dewy look (read: oily) when first applied. I decided to give it a few minutes to absorb into my skin and set. After a little while my skin still looked very oily so I used an oil blotting sheet. The sheet did not remove the oil look, but did remove some of the product (this has never happened with any other makeup I use). Throughout the day this product remained oily-looking which was disappointing. It wore very well and I really did like how tan it made me look, but I was not impressed. I looked like an oil slick all day and I am very, very rarely oily. My forehead looked like I basted myself in olive oil.

The Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream wasn’t a total disaster, but this product is a pass for me. Maybe it would work better for someone with a different skin type or complexion.

Disclaimer: This item was received as a free sample with a qualifying purchase at Sephora.com. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. I do not provide positive reviews for payment. Products that work for me may not necessarily work for you.

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