Tag: review

2021 Project Pan- Update 1

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Today, we are doing an update on my project pan. For those who missed my first post, here is a quick overview of this project: I am doing a rolling project pan with check-ins every other month. I am running a little late with this post, but I’ve actually made some good progress!

The first product I wanted to work on was the 100% Plant-Derived Hemi-Squalane by the brand The Ordinary. This product has gone down minimally as I have been very bad about using it. I have noticed that while pregnant, this is not providing as much hydration as I need, so I have been using other moisturizers and often forget to add this as a second layer. I am going to make more of an effort to use this product, even if it’s on the body also.

Next was the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Exciting news! I finished up my mini! I will be rolling in another product to replace this one. A mini review on this product: I loved it! I have very oily eyelids and therefore my eyeshadow tends to crease easily. This primer creates a matte surface on the lid so the shadows don’t crease, but still allows for enough slip to blend shadows on top of it. If you suffer from oily lids, I highly recommend checking this primer out.

The next product in the project was the single eyeshadow by Wet n Wild in the shade Sugar. My goal was to hit pan and we have another success! I have created a decent-sized pan in the shadow and will continue to use it, but for now, I am going to remove it from the project since I completed my initial goal. As you might be able to tell, I enjoy this shadow and I plan to continue to use it regularly. For this project though, I will be rolling this product out and replacing it with something new.

The last product was the ColourPop Pretty Fresh Hyaluronic Tinted Moisturizer. I have made some progress on this product but not as much as I would have liked. If I’m honest, I did a lot of “no makeup, makeup days” where I didn’t use a base or foundation product. I have also been trying out a new base product and I am finding I might like that one a little bit more. As we move into warmer months, I might remove this product and replace it with something else, but for now, I think I will keep it in the project and see if I can get further use out of it.

Now, it’s time for the exciting news, the new products that I will be adding into the project! The first product is the Morphe x Jeffree Star Set and Refresh Mist. I am not a supporter of Jeffree Star, and I only picked this up because I wanted to try the formula that everyone was raving about (and it was on sale at the time). I would like to finish this up and remove it from my collection.

The second item I am adding into the project is a Super Shock Shadow from ColourPop in the shade Sailor. Keeping with my “achievable goals” theme, I do have a pretty sizable dip in this shade, but I would like to hit pan in this shadow. If possible, I would like to uncover the first round disc in the bottom of the pan, not just see the pan. This is one of my favorite shades and it shouldn’t be hard to achieve this goal, but again, I’ve never hit pan on a Super Shock Shadow.

Bonus: I wanted to also toot my own horn as I was intending to add in a brow product. I use the Ulta Beauty eye shadow in Desire to fill in my brows. My goal was to hit pan on this product, but it turns out I already have so I will not be adding it into the project, but I was still very proud of this accomplishment and wanted to share.

  • The bonus item!

Favorite Brands: Drugstore Edition

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Today, let’s talk about my top five drugstore prices brands. Some of these might not surprise you but I know some of my favorites will be polarizing. I will be doing a high end list down the line as well, so if you are more interested in those brands, just stay tuned.

The first brand will come as no surprise. ColourPop is my number one drugstore-priced brand. You can find this brand in Ulta stores but they don’t carry all of ColourPop’s products, so you’ll have to check their website for the full listing. I love this brand primarily because of their prices in conjunction with their quality. There are very few products I would not recommend and even those will likely work for some. It’s just personal taste rather than bad product. It’s a bummer that you have to order from their website for their full catalog, but they do ship for free in the US with purchases over $30 or internationally with orders over $60. Besides the quality being great, the brand has a wide range of products and shades within their lines that make the products work for a wide variety of people.

Next on my list of favorites is e.l.f. Cosmetics. This is another brand with many products, but unlike ColourPop, e.l.f. is better about keeping things in stock and easily available. They are sold in many stores so it’s much easier to access and they are great at creating staple products. While most e.l.f. products aren’t super innovative, the products are great quality at an affordable price. I highly recommend trying out their makeup if you haven’t yet.

The next brand is a bit controversial. I’m a fan of Makeup Revolution. Now it’s worth noting that some of their stuff stinks but their collaborations in particular are extremely well done. Keeping that in mind, I have not tried one of their collabs that I didn’t love. My go-to palette for everyday is the Soph x Revolution palette and for that reason, it had to make my top five brands.

Wet n Wild is another brand that might be a surprising pick, but I think that they come out with very unique collections. The Goth-o-Graphic collection that released a couple years ago was so different and eye-catching. It was the first collection I felt the need to buy the entire thing. It’s true that not all of their collections are a hit but honestly, if it looks appealing, I say it’s worth a try. Their prices make this brand another stand out.

Lastly, we have Maybelline. Now this brand is product-specific. I have very sensitive eyes so finding a mascara I can use is often difficult for me. If you find your eyes tend to itch or start to water or burn, it might be your mascara! Maybelline, though, has never failed me. I know I can pick up any of their mascaras and not have to worry about an allergic reaction. My personal favorite is the Snapscara, but like I said, I could truly use any of them.

Did I miss your favorite brand? Do you have any that you know you can buy anything from them without concern? Leave a comment down below!

Meet My Stash: Too Faced Sweet Peach

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This week we return to my collection, in particular my enormous eyeshadow collection. A little history, Too Faced was one of the first high end brands I purchased and I was just getting into makeup when the Sweet Peach palette was first announced. I was unable to get it on the first round, I managed to pick one up when it restocked. To be fair, this is far past the expiration date, but it has many good memories for me, so I have kept it in my collection.

This palette has a lovely peach scent and even though it is past its prime, the scent has not gone away. As with many of Too Faced’s palettes, the scent is meant to match the theme of the palette. Many were concerned that the scent would be annoying, and it is noticeable when you open the palette, but it does not linger on the skin, nor has it ever irritated my eyes and I have very sensitive skin and eyes.

With 18 shades, it is one of my larger palettes and I probably would rethink purchasing it if this palette was re-released today. A mix of neutrals and a couple pops of color, this is a pretty standard Too Faced palette. I was surprised by how deep this palette is. While there are some lighter shades, this palette seems to be a time capsule of the style of makeup in 2016. I remember smoked out looks being very popular and this palette is perfect for that. However, now the trends are a bit lighter with a bright shimmer on the lid and that is missing in this palette.

As for the fact that it is expired, the only thing that I notice as a change in the formula is that the colors aren’t as vibrant. It’s important to note that I don’t recommend using expired makeup. I use at my own risk and if I notice any other changes, I would not be using it, but since I don’t use this palette that often, I don’t mind having it in my collection still.

Do you have any makeup products in your collection that hold special memories and you keep around? Leave a comment below if you would like to see a post about my most memorable makeup products!

Anti-Haul of Pat McGrath Labs

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I’ve never done a post like this, so let me know if you want more of them. This post idea came from the anti-hauls on YouTube but instead of covering new releases, I wanted to cover a specific brand which I happen to feel is not worth the price tag.

To start, I know nothing about Pat McGrath as a person other than her status as a famous British makeup artist. With this knowledge, I am sure she knows more then enough about makeup to recognize good quality and would release nothing less. I respect her and her goal in creating a strong business and makeup company.

With that said, I feel that while her products are likely of great quality, her price tag for the products are too high for mainstream makeup fans. The main item that really enforces this idea for me is her eyeshadow palettes. I realize that color stories play a small part in my opinion as I have not seen a palette that meets my color-loving interests, but even looking as objectively as possible at the palettes, there are only 10 shades in each palette and they retail for $125. That breaks down to $12.50 per eyeshadow. Now while that’s not completely unreasonable if you were to buy an individual eyeshadow, by committing to a full palette, you would have to believe that you will get enough use out of each shade to justify that high price tag per pan.

When it comes to working makeup artists, they are more likely to be willing to spend that kind of money for their kit as they need a wider range of shades to create looks on all types of skin tones, but at that price tag, you can spend $4 more and get 5 extra shades in a Natasha Denona palette, which then gives you more range.

I think that something Pat McGrath Labs forgets is who their clients are. Perhaps they are making these palettes for working makeup artists (I believe the pan sizes are larger in her palettes than in a typical palette) but then she isn’t at the top of the pack because of her limited shades.

And before someone says, “well, she does have smaller palettes”, I’m aware but even those palettes I take issue with. For one thing, and this is absolutely a personal preference, the layout of her smaller palettes is random. The shades zig-zag in the palette which means that they also are wasting space and therefore much larger than they need to be, plus the pan sizes are extremely small. These palettes retail for $28, $3 more then a Natasha Denona mini 5 pan which I would much prefer based on overall presentation.

With all of this said, I’m sure that the products are extremely good as they have continuously gotten great reviews, but I’m not sure who the palette is for. I suppose if you have a gift card or you are willing to spend that kind of money to have only one palette, maybe it’s worth it to you, but I personally would rather spend my money elsewhere. I could see myself looking back into the brand if the prices drop, but for now, this brand is on my watch but not purchase list.

Meet My Stash: Lumi Blush’s

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Today we are covering a couple of affordable blushes. Are they any good? Actually, they are very impressive. From the Shop Miss A website, I ordered two of their Lumi blushes in the shades Ravish and Rose Dawn.

I have to say that I was originally introduced to this brand/website from the YouTuber ShanShortcakeBeauty (check her out if you haven’t because she is amazing!!!). She loves the shade Ravish so I had to pick it up but I also love more of a pink toned blush so I picked up Rose Dawn.

After having tried out both blushes, this formula is extremely pigmented and long lasting. I expected to like Rose Dawn most as it is a pink with gold shimmer marbled throughout but I was wrong. Rose Dawn was a pretty blush shade but it did not look as natural and pretty as Ravish.

Now for the paragraph where I wax poetically about the shade you absolutely have to try. Just kidding! But I do highly recommend Ravish. If you are looking to try one shade, Ravish is the one I recommend picking up. These blushes are only a dollar each so if you see other shades that pique your interest, pick them up because the formula is great, but also throw in Ravish. You won’t regret it!

So in case you can’t tell, I am a big fan of these blushes. Eventually, I would love to have more blushes from this line but I am trying to not just collect the whole line. Be sure to check these blushes out!

New Makeup Alert! Ofra x Samantha March Collaboration

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First of all, I’m sorry I missed an upload. My husband had the day off and I decided to spend it with him, but I’m back! Today’s post is about two exciting new additions to my collection. Ofra is a brand I have only dipped my toe into so I am very excited to have two new items from them. They did a collaboration with the YouTube influencer Samantha March. They released a whole collection that included a bronzer, highlighter, blush, liquid lipstick and gloss. I was fortunate enough to pick up the blush and highlighter.

The blush, which is called Chick-lit, is a unique new shade to the Ofra collection. This is a split pan blush, one side a matte powder described as a nude pink, and the other a shimmer powder described as a deep rose. When combined together, the blush gives a lovely satin rose shade to the cheeks. I’ve only worn this shade one time so far, but it was on the recent holiday so it was put to the test. The blush stayed on all day and night and looked just pigmented when I went to take it off, which is especially impressive considering I was wearing my mask. Just based on this I would recommend this formula. If my thoughts change I will give an update later on to reflect this.

The other product I picked up was the highlighter in the shade Start Inspired. This highlighter is also a split pan, but it is divided into four. The two shades are the previously released shades Star Island, a soft gold, and Pillow Talk, a soft pearl pink. I am not familiar with Ofra’s highlighter formula and know that they are no joke. They pack a punch, with a mighty reflect to back them up. This formula is also long lasting and something I would highly recommend. I do feel they may be a little icy on deeper skin tones though, so be careful if you have a deeper skin tone.

To be honest, I mainly picked up these two items to support Samantha March, as I am a huge fan. I can say though, after an initial wear test, they add to my collection in ways I did not expect. The blush especially, is so unique in color that if you like nude or punk-toned blushes, I think you need this one. I will say, it does kick up a lot of powder in the pan but even so, it never looked like too much. And the highlighter, while not original shades, are not ones I had in my collection to begin with so I am glad to have them now.

Meet My Stash: GlamLite Cake Palette

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As the month of June comes to an end in America, we reflect on yet another month of Pride. As an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, it would not be appropriate to end this month with any other review then the GlamLite Cake Palette. This is by far my favorite rainbow palette and was an excellent addition to my collection earlier this year.

This is my first GlamLite product and I was not disappointed! From the first swatches with this eyeshadow palette, it was evident that the formula was top quality. Pigmented and comfortable to wear, the formula glides on the lid with any tool you would use to apply eyeshadow (and I’ve tried them all, brush, finger and sponge tip applicator).

One of the most intimidating aspects of rainbow or colorful palettes is how to apply the colors in a way that they blend together and not come across muddled, or patchy. You need not worry with this palette. The shades blend smoothly into one another and it’s a great deal of fun to try different color combinations that typically don’t work.

It is worth noting that the colors in this palette pack a punch and therefore you may want to start with a light hand. This should not deter you from trying this formula, though. The other con to this palette (which it might not be a con for you) is that it is rather large and bulky, not ideal for travel and a bit difficult to store. It does come in an adorable box (pictured below) which does make it a bit easier to store but again, with its size, it will take up a lot of room.

All in all, this is by far one of my favorites in both formula and design/color story. If this looks like something you would be interested in, you can find this palette and others on the GlamLite website.

Meet My Stash! AOA Studio Wonder Baked Eyeshadows

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Today we are diving into some affordable makeup that can be purchased for a dollar on the Shop Miss A website. I picked up a whole bunch of makeup and some things worked out for me and some didn’t. Today we are covering their baked eyeshadows from the AOA Studio line. I tried two shades in Gatsby and Créme.

These shadows are baked and come with a large amount of product, having 3g of powder per compact. As a baked formula, these shadows can be used wet or dry. Sadly, this formula, when used dry is extremely powdery with a LOT of kick up in the pan. The dry form did have problems with staying on the eye, creasing greatly after only an hour of wear.

When applied wet, I did not notice as many problems with the longevity but it did not have as much of a punch as I hoped it would. The white one named Créme has a beautiful gold flip when wet but it loses any semblance of the whiteish tinge it originally had, only showing its newly golden flip. It works well as an inner corner highlight but it’s not my favorite shadow. The blue shade called Gatsby is a rather dull navy blue. The shadow is extremely messy and difficult to use.

Ultimately, these shadows are not my favorite. I think they work well enough for the price tag but sadly, I think you get what you pay for here. These shadows would be great for a younger person just getting into makeup but as a lover of eyeshadow, it’s not a product I’m likely to reach for ever again.

Indie Brand Spotlight: F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics

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Today we are talking about the indie brand F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics. Back in February, I picked up three eyeshadows from this indie brand, as they had produced a shadow where all of the proceeds went to support the Australian wildfire fighting efforts. The shadow that they created was called Roo and is a beautiful duo-chrome.

I had never tried this brand before but their single shadows were well priced (currently priced at $6) and looked unique compared to some of my other single shadows. The three shadows that I picked were Roo, Enchanted Forest and Treasure Trove. Sadly, Roo is no longer available but the other two are still available under their Marble Eyeshadows.

The formula is very creamy and is easy to apply to the eyes. They are long lasting and I had no problems with creasing. The marble formula stands out to me because it has two shades combined together, one providing the main color and the other providing a shadow topper.

Enchanted Forest is a green shade with a white pearly flip. This shadow is extremely sparkly so if you are looking for a subtle look, this is probably not the shade for you, but the other shadow that I picked up (Treasure Trove) is not as glittery. Treasure Trove is more of a blue shimmer with a gold flip to the shadow. It still provides light to the eye as it does have the shimmer to it, but it is less then Enchanted Forest.

I highly recommend checking them out. I look forward to procuring more shades. These shadows did add to my collection and if you find a color that looks interesting, they had quick turn around and the shadows were well packed for transport.

Meet My Stash: Nyx Ultimate Shadow Palette in Brights

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Today, we are taking a look at one of my rainbow palettes, in honor of Pride Month. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, rainbow palettes are a personal favorite and this was one of my first. The Nyx Ultimate Shadow Palette in Brights covers a wide spectrum of color with 16 shades present in the palette.

This is one of Nyx’s older palettes in their permanent line, but the quality is actually pretty solid. This formula is very beginner-friendly too, a big plus. Nyx does not have my favorite formula but these colors are quite buildable allowing for the wearer to blend seamlessly into each other.

There are a few shades in the palette that have glitter particles throughout (the industry has dubbed these sequin shadows), however, like many sequin shadows from a few years back, the particles blend away and mostly appear as matte shades. The rest of the shades are matte shadows causing the entire palette to perform as a matte palette. For this reason, this is a great complimentary palette, best used with another shimmer shade.