Birthday Love

My birthday just passed, and as usual, most of my gifts came in the form of a small plastic card. I've already got down to business putting them gift cards to work!

MAC Lipglass in 'Lovechild'

Lovechild is a beautiful mauvey plum with golden shimmer. Anything mauve goes well with an olive complexion, so even though I don't normally gravitate towards darker colors, I knew I'd like this one.

MAC Eyeshadows in Mythology, Saddle, Soft Brown (no base)

Just some swatches of some well known colors. I needed medium and light warm browns, so I picked up Saddle and Soft Brown. Mythology is one of my favorite crease colors.

Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer in Light-Medium
Left eye (your left) completely bare, right with concealer
I really don't want to jinx it, but I think I might have just found my holy grail under eye concealer. I'm usually weary of anything that claims to "self-adjust", but I've read too many good things about this concealer to not try it. Cover FX describes this as being self-adjusting, water-resistant, and 'hi-definition'. It also has a built-in primer. It went on yellow when I first applied it, and I was instantly dissapointed because I thought it was another bad color match. But as I blended more, the pigment magically harmonized with the coloring of my foundation. It might not be totally seamless around the edges, but the coverage factor and texture of this concealer beats that of any I've ever tried. I know this line is over-used, but since you need so little to achieve full coverage, this product is a great value. $25 at Sephora.

the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

LOVE. That pretty much sums up my feelings towards this highlighter. Unless you like an extremely subtle highlight, I can't think of any reason to not like this luminizer. I fully expected it to be chunky and glittery, but it isn't either of the two at all. It gives you a gorgeous glow. You have to see it in person to understand exactly what I'm talking about. I much prefer powder highlighters to creams/liquids, because the latter make me look greasy. This is hands down the most flattering highlighter I have ever used. The packaging is adorable, and the compact has an sturdy mirror built right on. Plus you get a ridiculous amount of product.


Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Liner in 'El Dorado'

Lastly, a UD 24/7 pencil. I've been wanting this one forever. El Dorado is a true gold, creamy and pigmented as are all of the 24/7 liners.

That's all for now. Hope you're all enjoying your summer :)

The Balm Time Balm Concealer

I picked up the Balm's concealer a few weeks ago. I actually went in for Cover FX's liquid concealer, but I loved the Balm's bronzer, so I made a last minute decision change and came out with the 'Time Balm' concealer instead.

So on top of my hereditary dark circles, I now have reddish rings around my eyes because I've started using RapidLash (which is amazing so far, by the way). They've subsided a lot, and the picture below is right after I rubbed off all my eye make up, so don't be put off by how scary they look, haha.

Before foundation & concealer:

Left eye (your left) with just foundation, right with concealer:

What It Is: A full coverage concealer with anti-wrinkle properties.

Consistency: The concealer is very creamy. I actually dislike this because of the greasy look. It spreads very easily, though.

Coverage: The color I got, Medium, is very yellow, so I thought it would cover darkness well. The concealer itself is extremely pigmented, but the color wasn't right at all. It left me with a greenish tint under my eyes. You can tell in the picture the edges look unblended.. it was hard to get it to blend with my foundation.

Staying Power: The coverage lasts about 5-6 hours on my skin. I didn't like how my under eye area looked after a few hours though.. kind of creasey and bumpy and weird.

Final Thoughts: I wasn't impressed by this. This might work for other imperfections on the face, but for under eye circles, it was too shiny for my liking. Plus the texture wasn't amazing. It might work better for more mature skin, since it's drier.. and the concealer fights wrinkles. I'm going back for that Cover FX one I've heard so many raves about. I'll review that bad boy as soon as I get my hands on him.

Biiig Haul

I've really been into blushes lately, with summer coming up. Tan skin goes well with bright blush and some lip gloss. So I've spent way more on blushes this past month than I should have been spending.. but they're all so pretty! Here's some stuff I've bought recently:

Laura Geller baked blush palette, Bare Minerals "Precious Pearl" blush, Nars "Madly" blush, Mac "Tilt" and "Steamy" eyeshadow, Mac Studio Finish concealer in NC25, MUFE HD foundation in shade 120, and Mac Dazzleglass in "Sugarrimmed"

Woo!

Here's a close up of the blushes:


Laura Geller blush swatches:

I love the finish on these blushes. I do love my matte blushes, but sometimes I don't like how done-up they make me look. These blushes are pigmented, but not too dark in color. The shades themselves are gorgeous, and versatile too. Sunswept would make a pretty highlighter, in my opinion. The swatch is heavy, but one swipe gives a sheer, iridescent silver-pink.

I picked up the Nars blush on a whim. It looked so pretty in the store. It's a muted pink-brown, with shimmer. I was hoping it would be a nice hybrid of blush and bronzer, but unfortunately it's not that spectacular looking on my skin. It just looks muddy. Also, it's shimmer doesn't translate onto my skin, which was a disappointment. The Bare Minerals blush, on the other hand, is my new love. It's a mauve-pink that I think looks beautiful for every day when applied lightly, and even better applied a bit more heavy-handed with dramatic looks.

The eyeshadows:

Steamy is a well-known colors. It's a teal with a very pretty sheen. Tilt is another popular color. It's a iridescent sky blue, but with violet undertones that reflect light in a gorgeous way.

Ohh my goooodnessssssss do I love this lip gloss! The camera doesn't do it any justice.. it's the perfect color in real life. Normally I don't pay any attention to the colorless shades in a set of lip glosses, but I'm so glad I got this one. It's an extremely pale, milky pink with allll different kind of pearl in it, the most prominent being blue (yay for whiter teeth!). However it may look in the picture, this gloss looks amazing in real life. On it's own and topped over any lipstick, this gives me shimmery, full lips. Go to your nearest Mac store or stand and try this on!

Lastly, the concealer:

I've used Studio Finish in the past and hated it. I thought I'd give it another try, though, with a darker color this time. NC 25 is very peachy (almost orange-y), so I thought it would work well to counteract the colors I got going on under my eyes. Well, it did, but just like my last go with this concealer, the pigmentation faded once the concealer had set. It may look alright up above, but after 10 minutes I'm left with a gray cast under my eyes. Worst of all is the finish on this concealer. It's really chalky and highlights everything on my skin. The only thing I like about this is it's brightening properties. Oh well, on to the next one

I'll be doing a review on MUFE's foundation soon.. it was the first thing I bought of the whole haul, and I've been wearing it for a few weeks now. I'll have that post up soon :)

MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream

On my never ending quest to find the perfect undereye concealer, I thought I'd check out some of the cult classics. With pigmentation on the mind, I headed straight to the Make Up For Ever display in Sephora. Does MUFE make anything sheer? I avoided the palette, because from my experience those scream cakey under eye's. Instead I opted for the liquid, "Full Cover". Here's the verdict:



What It Is: This is described as a full-coverage liquid concealer, oil-free and waterproof, and able to cover everything from blemishes to scars and hyperpigmentation.
Application: I used this before foundation. I applied about 2 pinpricks of product on the back of my hand. I dipped a flat concealer brush into it, and began patting it on at the darkest part of my circles, under one eye. I let it sit while I did the same to the other (no more than 4 or 5 seconds). I went back to the eye I started with and blended the concealer into the rest of the undereye area, using only patting motions. Then the same with the other eye. I like to use this method when I work with liquid concealer so there's some time for the product to set on the darkest part's of my circles. It's important to work quick initially though. You can always go back in with more product.
Look: Once the concealer was fully dry, I didn't like the finish that much. It was almost kind of fuzzy. The pigmentation was good though. After I applied foundation, the area looked better but some product did rub off. I don't think this color could work for me over foundation, so I didn't like how that worked out.
Feel: This concealer dried quickly, which some might find makes it hard to work with. It did feel a bit dry, but didn't seem to dry out the area by the end of the day.
Staying Power: This did not budge for a solid 6 hours, but by the very end of the day my undereye area did have that (inevitable) grayish cast.

Excuse the pasty skin, terrible lighting:




Final Musings: All the fabulous ratings aside, I don't see what the big deal is. It had good pigmentation, but the lack of color correction left me with uncovered circles. I didn't like how the product highlighted my imperfections, more so than covering them up. Maybe it's just not a good concealer for the undereye area. On blemishes and redness around the nose, this worked great. I tried it on a tattoo by the way, since I've heard this can cover them up, but it didn't come closer than any others I've tried. You'd definitely need to bring in the color wheel and full coverage foundation. C+

Full Cover costs $40 at Sephora.

Sephora Haul

I've been realizing lately just how much make-up I've accumulated over time that I don't even use. Whether it be from gifts, something I couldn't resist because of a good deal, or whatever.. I have so many shadows and lipsticks and glosses,the area I'm really lacking in is the basics. Eyeliner, primers, things of that sort. So I did a little shopping at Sephora recently and picked up these goodies:

I got Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Zero, Benefit Boi-ing in 'Medium', Tarte's primer, a Josie Maran lip palette that was on sale (I couldnt resist), along with some samples I could test out. The lip palette and concealer not pictured were big dissapointments for me, so I took them back.

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil

I don't wear black eyeliner often. I usually opt for brown or no eyeliner at all. I've tried the other UD eyeliners and loved the pigmentation and texture, and this is no exception. These are really pigmented, which I appreciate. The second picture shows how it held up after I allowed it about 30 seconds to set, then did a rub test. This is definitely a pencil you can smudge out, which makes it good for smokey looks. You can get a precise line too, but I'd recommend setting with black shadow as these do smudge. As for staying power... no pencil liner stays on my water line for more than 10 minutes. I'm serious. I don't have oily lids, or get teary eyed easily. The liner does not smudge or run and give me raccoon eyes. It simply dissapears. With a layer of black shadow, liner dipped in blacktrack fluidline, and another layer of powder to set... I'll get an hour of black-rimmed peepers. I know other people who use this say it has great staying power, so I'd trust that opinion more than mine.

Benefit Boi-ing

Where do I start with concealer? I, like most, am still on the search for the perfect (undereye) concealer. Why is it like that, seriously? It can't be THAT hard to create something with ample coverage and decent texture. Many a brand has one or the other down, is it really so imossible to have both in an undereye concealer? I've tried so many different ones, and they all leave my under-eye area with a greyish cast. Corrective concealers are always overly creamy, and look terribly cakey when set with powder. Well, I was hoping getting this cult classic end my search. Well, it didn't. At alll. My shade, 'Medium', worked fine with my foundation color, but I could not, for the life of me, get it to look decent. Under foundation, over foundation, under and over.. it was terribly blotchy, and didn't even give me semi-decent coverage, let alone "industrial strength" concealer coverage. I know they've changed the formula, which is probably to blame. I'm so dissapointed :/

Tarte Clean Slate Primer

I like Tarte, as I love natural make-up and prefer to wear it most days of the week. I've heard nothing but praises sung about this primer. I know its said that silicone can't actually cause us to break out.. nonetheless, I was convinced my old primer was the cause of some pimples. I took the plunge anyway and chose this over Korres's silicone-free primer, which I read reviews for, and the popular opinion is that it feels more like a moisturizer than a primer. I'm happy I did, as this really does deliver. You get .16 ounces more for $6 less compared the Smashbox, plus the benefit of not slathering your face in propylene glycol every day! I couldn't be happier. This makes my foundation last all day, no more patchy red spots. I also love it for days I go sans foundation. I dab a little under my eyes, follow with concealer, and it makes it lasts through the whole day I spend lounging around the house with my boo.

JOSIE MARAN "MY FAVORITE LIPS" LIP PALETTE
This little lip palette was the biggest disappointment. It's about the size of a credit card, and includes 4 glosses and 4 lipsticks. The glosses are completely sheer on my lips, and leave nothing but a hint of sparkle. As for the lipsticks, all but the fourth red one are a similar ugly brown tone on me. The worst part is the smell. I used to think I couldn't be bothered by funky smelling cosmetics, but I've realized I'm extremely particular about how my lip products smell. These smell plastic-y and horrible. Even as I sit now with the palette open a foot away from my face, that smell is creeping up... needless to say, I'll be passing it on. No wonder it was on sale for half off.

The samples I got were Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, Benefit's new 'Stay Don't Stray', Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Cream, and Pangea Organics Balancing Oil.

Forgot to add these guys to the haul pic:

RECAP:

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is a gentle cleanser that claims to remove dirt and makeup without irritating the skin, or stripping it of it's natural oils. It emulsified nicely upon application and smelled really good to me, though I can see some people not liking it. It smells like what you'd expect.. soy. It didn't remove all my makeup, which I found out when I followed up with toner. It did get off more than my other cleansers do though, and did the job without making my skin feel tight afterwards. In combination with a moisturizing toner, I was able to skip moisturizer and my skin really did feel smooth as a baby's.

Bliss Triple Oxygen blah blah Cream seems like, as with all Bliss products have seemed to me, a waste of money. I mean, it's $54 for the full size. The sample had .34 fl oz, and lasted me about three weeks... and to be honest, I felt like I was spreading watered down yogurt on my face. I don't know if it's because this is probably more targeted towards mature skin, but I just didn't see a difference. The mask is supposed to "recharge dull skin", but I didn't find it gave me any sort of brightening effect. And on top of all that, it did not moisturize well at all. And I have combo skin. I would not recommend this as a moisturizer for dry skin. And seeing as how it's supposed to be good for mature skin, I'd expect it to be way more rich. Chronic dry skin = wrinkles.

Pangea Organics Himalayan Geranium & Pomegranate Balancing Oil is marketed as a natural balancing oil with antioxidants and other anti-aging properties, as well as a moisturizer. It claims to reduce acne scarring and sun damage, with "Tamanu Oil" antioxidants. Sweet almond oil is good for reducing the appearance of spots too. But anyways, on Sephora's site, they suggest adding a drop to your night cream for added moisture. I mixed a little on the back of my (clean) hand with the Bliss cream, applied it, and fell in love. The oil made the cream more spreadable, and the effect afterwards was amazing. I really did have glowing, clear skin that felt moisturized through the next day. I've also been using it around the eyes at night, since it's completely non-greasy. That area tends to be dry and irritated, and this oil is the best thing I've used so far for angry red patches in the corners of my eyes. The full size, which contains one ounce, costs $50, but you need so little I really think it could be worth it. Oh yeah, and the smell is divine.

Benefit Stay Don't Stray is primer than can be used under concealer and under eyeshadow. I didn't use it as a eyeshadow primer, since I prefer to use colored bases, but I did use it as an undereye concealer primer. The product is a pigmented concealer color itself, and I bet some could get away with this alone on the undereyes. Not me though, I need some color correcting in that area. Besides, the finish is soft or chalky. As a primer for my concealer, I did notice a slight difference in the one eye I used it on at the end of the day. Not enough to make me go out and drop the $24 I think it costs.

(All images other than own courtesy of Sephora.com)