A Pretty Disappointing Product Review

I was actually really excited to try this product but it turned out to be pretty disappointing. While browsing through Walgreens a while ago I was debating between getting the Revlon Colorstay foundation and the new Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage. I decided to try the latter. First, let me tell you how great it was to see a drugstore foundation that had a wide variety of color shades. As a girl with pretty fair skin most drugstore foundations can be too dark and sometimes too yellow. My skin really needs a foundation with more of a rosy undertone than a yellow undertone. This foundation had a great ivory shade that was actually a pale ivory with rosy undertones. From the first pump I loved the color!
However, that is where the love ended with this product. I tried multiple ways to apply this product to try to get the right coverage and never really did. It does go on quite smoothly but really thick. A little goes a long way and takes quite some time to blend it into the skin.
Then, during the day the coverage actually fades pretty quickly - even after setting with powder! At the halfway point during my workday you could already see the shine coming from my nose!!
After several attempts at trying this product I was really disappointed and will not be using it again.

Sephora and Drug Store Haul

Hey everyone! This past week I finally found my way back to Sephora to use the VIB coupon before it expired. Decided to try some new products that I always wanted to. So I got the following:

1. Benefit Ultra Shines Lip Gloss "Life on the A List"- It is a really nice light pink color with a lot of shine to it. The packaging is great as the lid really does tighten down nicely. The only thing I am not too sure about the few times I have worn it is that the brush applicator is pretty small - not a lot of coverage on your lips with the brush stroke. Still a pretty nice lip gloss over lipstick or even by itself.

2. Sephora Lip Attitude Lipsticks - I actually really do like the Sephora brand for some of their staples. I have been a fan of some of the Nano eyeliner shades for a while now. So, I decided to try out the lipsticks as I was looking for some good neutral/pink colors and they were on sale! (Always nice to see) The two lipsticks that I got were Mauve Emotion (#G09) which is a sheer cool raspberry color and Romantic Rose (#G18) which is a sheer light nude rose. These lipsticks go on extremely creamy and smooth and you can either wear it with the nice shine that they give off or blot the lips leaving a great matte color. These do not dry out the lips at all and they last for a good chunk of the day as well. So far, I would recommend these lipsticks from Sephora.

3. Make Up Forever HD Powder - Ok, this was an impulse buy at the sample/travel size aisles before checking out. I did want to try this product just never really wanted to spend that kind of money for the full bottle of this loose powder. Well, Sephora had it in a trial size for a pretty good price (I think either $10 or $15 but cannot be too sure) So far, not much to say about this powder. Have not noticed any real difference to the setting of my makeup yet. Will keep you posted.

4. With my purchase and my VIB points I decided to splurge on the Tarte sample sizes bag which included the following: Tarte Smooth Operator - an Amazonian Clay illuminating serum; Tarte ReCreate - a silicone-free primer with wrinkle rewind technology; Tarte multiplEYE lash enhancing mascara and primer; Tarte natural lip sheer; and, Tarte park avenue princess mineral bronzer. Out of this pack I have only tried the primer and the lip sheer. The primer was ok - a little thin as I am used to Smashbox Photo Finish or NARS Pro-Prime but it really did not feel oily and my makeup did go on smoothly. The lip sheer was a very nude color for me as it is just a tad rosier than my natural lip color so it was really just like a nice nude lip balm. Nothing much too it. Not too sure about trying the bronzer as it really does look dark - even for a skin test and I do have very fair skin but we shall see if I can use it at all for a contour.

Then, while perusing Walgreens I decided to try wet n' wild's eyeshadow palettes. They were really cheap and I have heard great things about them (they even qualify for some MAC eyeshadow shade dupes!) Got the 3-color palette Sweet As Candy (#381B) which is a neutral bone shade, a nice brown and then a pink shade. I also picked up the 8-color palette Blue Had Me At Hello (#737) which is a nice palette with shades of blue, grey and black. I have been looking for a matte navy as an eyeshadow palette I have from the Sephora brand has some nice dark blues in it but the navy has a lot of sparkle to it and I am not that great of a fan. The nice thing about this palette is that it has a matte black and a sparkly black as well! Looking forward to trying some nice smokey eyes with this palette!

And finally I decided to pick up a new foundation as I need to start expanding my collection. Right now I use Clinique Even Better Foundation (#02 - fair) and I just love this foundation! It has an SPF 15 and really evens out my complexion and gives good coverage without covering up my freckles (which is a really tough task!) After doing some research I was trying to decide between Revlon's colorstay foundation and Revlon's Age Defying foundation. Well, the Age Defying foundation was on sale at Walgreens so I decided to pick that one up in Fresh Ivory (#05). I will keep you advised as to how I like it!

New Product of the Week

I have read so many blogs and seen so many posts on YouTube regarding this product. It is Revlon's Color Burst Lip Butters. With so many people raving about this product I just had to try it. I chose #050 - Berry Smoothie. This actually goes on with a very nice color - a little bit more than my natural lip color.

It goes on very smooth and does not dry out my lips. Now, this product is extremely soft so you need to be careful when applying it to you lips that you don't press too hard and it can get caught on the sides of the tube if you did. It does not last very long, but if you are ok with that than this really isn't too much of a negative. The packaging is gorgeous and unlike other drugstore lip products you can see the actual color from the top of the packaging with is clear. This product is really more like a lip balm than a lipstick but the colors are not sheer like other lip balms so you do get more bang for your buck. There are many colors to choose from and I have decided to purchase another one so I guess this gets my approval. You can buy these at your local Target - where I purchased mine - but do not be surprised if a few of the colors are sold out!

Review: Lip Balms

Winter is officially upon us here in the Midwest so as I am sure like everyone does, your lip balms get a nice workout this time of year. I have tried numerous lip balms throughout the years as my lips tend to get extremely dry during the winter months. With all the drying heat in stores and at work I need to keep my lips hydrated. Here are my top three lip balms:

1. Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil. This has a little bit of a nice reddish-pink color which gives off a nice natural lip. The balm is not greasy and goes on very smooth. As with all lip balms you do have to reapply it but not that often throughout the day. This can be bought at any drugstore and at Walmart and Target (which is where I purchased it)


2. Chapstick Moisturizer Lip Balm. Now, there are many Chapstick products that I like, especially the Chapstick Naturals as well, but this one is my favorite of the bunch. It really goes on smooth, does not have any of the weird scents that Chapstick has started putting into this line - it also comes in Green Apple scent which can I just say - ugh! But it really just glides on and lasts especially outdoors. I have also used this on my lips at night before I go to bed. This can be bought at any drugstore as well as Walmart or Target.



3. L'Occitane En Provence Ultra Rich Lip Balm. This is my absolute favorite lip balm of all time. You know it's one of your favorites when you have gone through this product more than twice and you have multiple of it - one in your purse, one on your nightstand, and the other on your desk at work. This is so smooth and not greasy at all. With the shea butter in it, it smells amazing! Also, really protects from the elements outside - wind and snow. I also use this product all year round. It is just that good. When you put this on at night as a moisturizer your lips the next morning are very soft. Now this one is a little bit pricier than the other two and I but it a Sephora. (There are actually L'Occitane stand alone stores in the mall as well) I believe that it can run about $10.00 but well worth it.

New Product of the Week!

I have been looking for a cream eyeshadow to try and while at Target - yes that is one of my favorite stores - I noticed the Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow Quad in Just Nudes. They are a quad of cream eyeshadows in various shades of neutral browns. Very creamy. This product works best well if applied with your finger tip to the lid of the eye. I have even used the very lightest color of the quad - a light taupe color - as a base for a smoky brown eye that I did earlier in the week. Does not crease! Worth giving this one a try!

DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT

I have been loving my Neutrogena Makeup Remover and Cleansing Towelettes, the hydrating ones that are new. As I am running low on them I ran over to Target last night to purchase another package. However, they were out! So, I decided to purchase the regular towelettes (not the hydrating ones which are relatively new) and then decided to try the Pond's Original All Day Clean with vitamin E as there was a little travel version in the travel isle. DO NOT USE THESE!! They were extremely rough on my skin and made my skin so dry after just one use. NOT A GOOD PRODUCT! Also, it have a very strong alcohol smell to them as well. The package states that it "gently" lifts away make-up and "nourishes". Neither one is true. Awful product and will NOT use them again. In the trash they go!!

New Skin Care Routine - For the Eyes

So, I am a little late to the game. It took the discovery of two wrinkles, one under each eye. While some of my friends say that they cannot see them, they look like huge crevices to me!! I am in the process of trying on different eye products to try to either lessen the lines or stop new ones from developing. I have researched, talked to friends, family and I even asked the people at Sephora (which is my new favorite store!) for their advice. I am trying the cheaper stuff first because, well, let's face it...who wants to really want to fork over at least $90 for an eye cream??

So - here is the list with some of my ratings:

1. Neutrogena Anti-Oxident Eye Cream - I got this from a friend for a present and have used it sporadically until recently. While the wrinkles are still there, and haven't diminished at all, my eyes are very moisturized. No dryness at all.

2. Garnier Ultra Anti-Wrinkle Eye Roller - I received this recommendation from my sister - "Say hello to your new best friend". While I wouldn't call us friends just yet, it has reduced some of the puffiness in the morning. Although more sleep would probably do that as well. It has caffeine in it so that is what decreases the puffiness. I roll this under my eyes in the morning if I have not had much sleep the night before and it does seem to do the job. Again, still the two huge wrinkles!

3. Shiseido Benfiance Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream - I received this as a sample from an earlier purchase at Sephora. Decided I would give it a go until the sample ran out. After a week I had to stop. It was way too much. This product is so creamy and thick that it made my eyes really, for lack of a better word, oily. At least that is what it felt like. Always felt like I needed to wipe away excess product when I only put on a little more than a pin prick. Not good at all. Plus...still the two wrinkles.

While I know that I will probably never get rid of these two wrinkles, you can't blame a girl for trying. And yes, I am hoping for a gift certificate to Sephora for Christmas so I can get the $90 bottle of eye cream that I so want!

Will keep you posted!!

Who knew?

Who knew that it would take me 20 years to realize that a girl should take the time to take care of her skin, put on some makeup, and try to take care of her body. Well, two out of three ain't bad! I'm still working on the taking care of my body. That seems like a never ending roller coaster that hopefully with this blog I just might get a hold on. I hope to share my insights and things I am learning alone the way. I may be almost 40 but it is never to late to learn how to really live!