Tarte Coupon Code - 15 % off

Use promo code SAVINGS today for 15%. Expires Sept 30 2013

Zoya Promo- Get the Color Lock System FREE with purchase

Check it out. Zoya is giving away their Color Lock System set for free when you buy 3 of their Fall or Pixie Dust Collection colors. I've got my eye on Sailor and Livingston.  And Chyna and Chita will be perfect for those holiday festivities that are fast approaching!

The more I look, the more difficult it is to choose. Ahhhh!

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse

LOVE IT!

First off, This isn't a mousse. It's a cream. A creamy cream, but a cream nonetheless.
Anyway, I like cream foundations  and I love Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse.  It gives me almost full coverage without looking like I'm wearing a ton of foundation. You can easily sheer it out by dampening your applicator of choice for a more natural, fresh skin look. But Beware! A little bit goes a long way, so start out light, blend it out and then add more if you must. It will look cakey if you smother your skin with it. Applied correctly and it gives me a VERY natural, yet flawless look. I didn't even know that was possible! This stuff seriously looks like my skin.

It comes in six shades, which means you might not be able to find one that matches you perfectly. I got Porcelain Ivory, the lightest shade, and it's a tad too dark and beige/pink to really match seamlessly in winter, but it warms up my super pale winter skin so I wear it anyway. You can see the product through the clear bottom of the package in the picture (yeah I hit pan a LONG time ago)

The packaging is a bit clunky but there's not a lot of product in this so don't be fooled. They gave a lot of real estate to the lid and chamber place that keeps the sponge. This doesn't bother me at all, just giving you a heads up.

It blends easily with a sponge or brush.I don't have to set this with anything, but if you've got oily skin you will probably need to.  It stays put all day. I imagine for those with really oily skin it might slip a bit but I'm not sure.

It's comfortable on my skin. It didn't give me a dewy finish but it wasn't matte either. Just even and natural. I will keep buying this until ..... forever!

Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask

Okay, so I get black heads. I get them on my nose mostly, but I get a few on my cheeks. And just like everyone else I HATE them. I've been using Neutrogena's Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask for longer than I can remember at this point and I've been taking it for granted! Recently I left it at home when I went on an extended vacation thinking "Oh, my skin looks great and I need to cut down what I take with me, so I'll leave this one behind"  Such a mistake! The black heads came back and I had nothing to combat them! Until I got home, of course,  and after using this just once I noticed an improvement. (for the record I WAS washing my face! The philosophy cleanser I was using just wasn't doing anything for my blackheads)

The active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide (3.5%) You can use it ever day as a cleanser or once a week as a mask. Isn't that awesome! If you've got really sensitive skin the mask might not be for you. At least you won't want to leave it on for the full 5 minutes that recommended. I usually only keep it on for about 2-4 minutes and my face is bright RED when I get out of the shower. I don't mind though, because it clears my skin right up. I use this 2-3 times a week and that's enough for me to keep those nasty suckers at bay.

It's only about $7 for 4.2 fl oz and you can get it anywhere.

L'Occitane En Provence Cuticle & Nail Cream

I get dry cuticles and hangnails year around. My hands can look smooth and moisturised and STILL the area around my nails look crusty and gross. So, I picked up a tube of L'Occitane's Cuticle & Nail Cream  (0.5oz for $18) to try it out. I was getting a little tired of all the lemon cuticle butters out there. A lot of them work well, but I would rather my hands not smell of Lemon Pledge.

This comes in an easy to squeeze tube (I can tell I'll be able to get every last bit of product out without resorting to cutting the packaging apart) with a tiny opening for the product to come out of so it's super easy to control how much you get out. The cream itself is not greasy at all and has a beautiful soft scent. It's similar to baby powder without actually smelling like baby powder. It definitely smells grown up.

It absorbs pretty quickly so you can apply it before going out or going to bed without worried about smudging it all over everything you touch. Most importantly, it works almost immediately. My cuticles look better right after application and they're basically perfect after 2-
3 days of use. It's supposed to make nails stronger and less brittle, but my nails aren't usually brittle to begin with so I can't say if it works on that front. It definitely does its job on those cuticles though.

It contains shea butter, honey, apricot oil, sunflower seed oil, rosemary leaf extract, myrrh oil and bunch of other stuff.

Nivea Daily Essentials Rich Regenerating Night Cream

I get dry skin in the winter making my face look terribly blah and wearing any makeup on my face difficult. Hello dry patches!!! I've tried so many different moisturizers and a lot of them made my skin feel pretty good, but none of them were this luxurious and just .... PERFECT!

I picked up some of Niveas's Daily Essentials Rich Regenerating Night Cream for £2 at ASDA when I was in the UK. I got it because it was cheap and I wasn't really hunting for the perfect moisturizer - just one that would work enough until I could afford something great. Little did I know this would end up being my favorite moisturiser EVAH! And not only because it was so inexpensive, although that doesn't hurt. A little bit goes a long way, and when I wake up in the morning my skin looks well taken care of and feels divine! Seriously, it feels super smooth, firm and soft. I've tried other night creams that claim to do just that but none have ever delivered quite like this.
This is an essential part of my skin prep, especially if I'm going to wear foundation. Without this foundation ends up accentuating dry, flaky skin that I didn't even know was there!

You get 50ml in a sturdy jar. It's a really thick cream with that familiar Nivea scent.
Unfortunately I don't know if this is available in the U.S. Nivea has HUGE range of skin care products in other countries, but not so much in America.

I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone with dry skin.

Coastal Scents Smacks Lip Gloss - Near Peach

Coastal Scents has 21 shades in their Smacks Lip Gloss line. I ordered Near Peach.

It's a nicely pigmented gloss with the perfect amount of shine (glossy but not distractingly so)  It's not sticky and will look good on most skin tones. It prodives a decent amount of moisture and doesn't cling to chappiness too much. (it does a tiny bit though)

Near Peach is a creamy shade. The website shows that it is more pink than it actually is. It's more on the orangey side (the picture isn't quite picking that up though)  and I had a moment of "Can I really wear this?" when I first opened my shipment, but I've come to like the shade.

At $3.95 it's a great value.  I'll definitely get more shades when I place my next order with Coastal Scents. They've got a lot of pinks and O'Scarlett looks AMAZING!




More Coastal Scents Reviews
Warm 88 Palette
Mineral Makeup Foundation

Coastal Scents Mineral Makeup Foundation

Ivory

Coastal Scents' Minderal Makeup Powder Foundation is not a new product, but it IS a good one. It's super finely milled,  easy to apply and feels velvety soft on the skin. If applied correctly (no need to go overboad, ladies!) I'm left with a nice, even and natural finish, without looking cakey or dry. I love that I can quickly sweep this on before heading out the door and know that my skin looks fresh and that all the slight redness I sometimes get is no more!

I would say this is a light coverage foundation. I suppose you could build it to medium, but I don't recommend powdering with a heavy hand. It goes well over concealer so if you have a few minor things that need covering, just apply your concealer first for a seamless look.

If you're in for a looooong day, you may need to touch up after several hours, espcially if you've got super oily skin. That's the case with all powders though, isn't it?

Coastal Scents offers 20 shades and you can order samples for $0.49 each, so you can find the right shade before purchasing the full sized product. I'm currently wearing Ivory, which is a great light shade, with neutral undertones.  I ordered samples of the 4 lightest shades, and they all have subtle difference.



More Coastal Scents Reviews
Warm 88 Palette
Lip Smacks

E.L.F. HD Mattifying Cream Foundation

I am partial to cream foundations. I think they give a more skin-light finish and you can usually adjust their coverage from light to full by tweeking your method of application. So, I was VERY interested in what E.L.F. had come up with with their HD Mattifying Cream Foundation.

I got the lightest (Porcelain) of the six shades they offer. Here are ELF's official shade swatches from their instragram.

 

 

So I'll just get right down to it. I'm pretty impressed. This foundation is really easy to apply and blend. I usually sheer it out a bit with a dampened brush to get a more natural look for every day wear, but it looks good straight up too. I HIGHLY recommend setting it with a translucent powder. This will help prevent slippage and creasing.  I tried ELF's HD powder, Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder, and the Sephora Collection Smoothing Setting Powder.  It looked great every time. Just be sure not to go overboard with the powder ladies. It's better to have to touch up a bit later on than to cake that stuff on and look a powdery mess!

 

This does begin to fade after several hours of wear. It faded evenly on me though, not all splotchy.

 

If you've got oily skin I suggest you use an oil control primer with this as well as a setting powder. Most oily skinned girls I know stay away from cream foundations all together though.

 

The packaging on this one is nice too. Well done ELF! It's black, sleak and comes with a nice mirror.

 

Hmm.... anything else? It's $6, but you probably already knew that.

That about covers it. Have you tried it out yet? What do you think?

 



Zoya Nail Polish - Kristen

Zoya has a huge color selection, but "Kristen" was my first Zoya product.
And I LOVE it!

This shade is a nice cool, neutral tone - mostly grey, with a hint of pastel blue and has a cream finish. It's a beautiful shade that can be worn in ANY season.
Opaque with just one application (just make sure you load up the brush)
Dries quickly.
Lasts for days on fingers without chipping at all. I can wear this on my toes for several WEEKS and it still looks perfect.

After this, I can't wait to try more of Zoya's polishes!

Klorane - Mango Oil Spray

 

This product doesn't impress me much, though I had high hopes for it. Klorane Mango Oil Spray is suppose to "nourish and protect sun exposed hair and leave hair silky and radiant" (that's according to their website) it doesn't really deliver.

The first thing I noticed that was really off-putting is the fact that on the directions it says "Do not inhale. Use in well ventilated areas." I mean, that's the kind of thing you find on cans of toxic paint! It shouldn't be on a product that is meant to be sprayed on your hair, very close to your mouth.

Now that I got that out of the way, I find it difficult to get the perfect amount of product onto my hair. The directions say to apply it to dry or towel-dried hair. Applying just a little and I get no results, but by applying too much my hair looks greasy for pretty much a full 24 hours. It seems in order to see good results I have to apply too much, let it look oily for a day, then the following day it looks and feels well nourished. lol Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I can't commit to experimenting too often because it has a really strong scent. When applied with a VERY light touch the scent it nice, but too much and it gives me a major headache.

It's paraben and silicone free, which is nice.

Have you tried this? Did you have a better experience than me? Please leave comments :)





Full list of Ingredients - Isodecyl Neopentanoate, SD Alcohol 39-C (Alcohol Denat), Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Water (Aqua), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter (Mangifera Indica Seed Butter), Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Oil (Elaeis Guineensis Oil), BHT, Citronellol, Fragrance (Parfum), Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carbo-Xaldehyde, Limonene, Linalool

Coastal Scents Warm Palette

Coastal Scents has a really great array of eyeshadow palettes. I recently got the Warm 88 Palette and I'm really liking it.

This is a great palette for anyone who likes a natural look for the eye but still wants some color and variation from day to day. It's got plums, browns, blues, greens, greys, corals, yellows and various shades of white for highlighting. You get a wide range on light to dark tones as well as a mix of matte and shimmer shades, which I love! In other words, there are a ton of possibilities with this palette. I've been using this palette every day for weeks now.

Most of the shades are not super pigmented. (If you're looking for electric, vibrant colors Coastal Scents has a few other palettes that you might want to try). There are some dramatic darker colors, but for the most part this palette provides soft, more natural looks, while still giving you some color. Some of the shades are pretty much identical to each other once applied. The only shades that are duds for me are the more pink toned ones, but that's because pinks just don't work with my eyes/skin, so it's a personal issue. lol
If I don't use some kind of primer (and it doesn't even have to be a real primer. I've been using a stick concealer lately and it works great!) then some of the shades begin to crease after a few hours. But with a primer there is no creasing. All of the shades are easy to blend.

Final Verdict
It is really hard to make a mistake with this palette since they are all warm, soft colors, which makes this a great purchase for anyone from make-up experts to novices.



More Coastal Scents Reviews
Mineral Makeip Foundation
Lip Smacks

Maybelline's Mineral Power Powder Foundation

Classic Ivory Light

I first bought this powder foundation years ago, when it was still relatively new. I'm about to repurchase it, which reminded me that I never got around to giving it a proper review. It deserves one though, so better late than never. Right?

Maybelline's Mineral Power Powder Foundation comes in three shades. Mine is Classic Ivory Light


2. This shade it light but not super light and has pink undertones. I find that it warms up my super pale winter skin and matches perfectly in the summer.

This powder foundation is light-medium coverage with a nice natural matte finish. It does not get cakey and photographs beautifully! It's super easy to apply too. Seriously, if I'm dashing out for a quick ... whatever, and my skin is looking a bit "meh" I can quickly brush this on and know that I don't need to be self-conscious about uneven tones, or just generally tired skin. This is a great product for a fast, easy and natural look. Just conceal spots that need it, then apply this powder foundation and you're set. As with any powder you have to be sure not to over do it or it will look chalky. So go easy ladies and you'll get natural results. It can feel slightly drying when first applied but that goes away after a few minutes. I suspect this is due to the mineral aspect of the product.

It controls oils even on hot, humid days. In fact, this is my go-to foundation when I'm going to be spending a lot of time out in the sun and heat. I don't what to mess around with liquid foundations after I've smeared high-spf sun-screen all over my face, so I just conceal what I need to, buff this in and I'm good to go! I've worn this while out on my bicycle for 8 hours and I still look pretty good at the end of the day.

This product comes with a small kabuki style brush. I've read a lot of negative comments about this brush but I like it. Yes it looks cheap compared to higher end brushes and feels rougher, but it gets the job done perfectly and is small enough that you can travel easily with it.

Final Verdict
I love it! Give it a try.

Elf - Professional Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter

Elf's Professional Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter is a nice concealer for $3. The
highlighter is more or less worthless though.

I have fair skin so I got the shade glow/fair. It's a perfect shade match for the under eye area - light enough to conceal but not so light that you get reverse raccoon eyes! It's a thin liquid formula so it's super easy to apply and blend out, even with your fingers, which is super important when dealing with the delicate under eye area. It takes a little bit of time to dry completely so there's no rush.

 I have relatively dark circles under my eyes and this is only a light (maybe light-medium) coverage concealer so it doesn't conceal things completely for me, but it makes thing look a lot better. If you're only dealing with light to normal discoloration this will probably work really well for you.

After a few weeks the concealer broke off from the highlighter, which was fine by me because I don't like the highlighter anyway. It's a white liquid with just a little shimmer to it and just looks all sorts of wrong when applied. You either can't see it at all, or if you apply more, it looks like you just smeared white liquid on your face. I've never gotten a nice highlighting effect with this product. I have read some reviews from people saying they love it though.

FINAL VERDICT
Give it a try. It's only three bucks and you might end up really liking it. I do. :)


More concealer reviews
Cover Girl Invisible Concealer
Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

I usually always end up with the lightest shade of any line of foundation so I stuck with what I knew and got 110. It is REALLY light. In the winter months it is just wearable and in the summer (even though I don't get much sun at all) it makes me look like a ghost! I thought 115, the next shade up, looked too pink in swatches I'd seen online, but I probably would have been better off with it. As it is, I can only wear this in the winter when I'm super pale.

*side note - The shade 110/Porcelain Ivory in Maybellines Dream Smooth Mousse is a few shades darker than the same number in Fit Me. The 110 Smooth Mousse foundation is slightly too dark on me and the Fit me is too light. This makes it difficult to find the perfect color in a new line even within the Maybelline brand. It's a mystery why they didn't notice and remedy this*

The foundation has an spf of 18 which I LOVE. Sunblock is probably the best ant-wrinkle product you can use. I hate getting burned or even "kissed" by the sun. I love my pale skin!

The product has a sort of baby-powdery fragrance. It's not particularly unpleasant and it mostly goes away several minutes after application (you can still smell it a little) but I prefer my cosmetics to be fragrance free.

It's quite thin and really easy to blend out and looks amazing right after application - natural and satiny - but after just a couple of hours something starts to go wrong. It starts looking powdery and cakey and blotchy. It makes well moisturized skin look really dry, even though it isn't. BUT when I set it with a powder this doesn't happen and I get a nice natural finish for several hours. I don't have oily skin so I'm not sure what the issue here is. I only know that when I wasn't setting it, it wasn't working well with my skin.

I've tried applying it with my fingers, brushes and sponges. All methods have worked just fine, but I find that I get the best results by blotting and pushing the foundation into my skin with a  moist sponge.

FINAL VERDICT
If you love a light, natural look give this a try! There's a large shade range so you should be able to find one that suits you. It's at the lower end of the price range and available just about everywhere, so you don't have much to lose.

 

Shade 110

Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer - Ultra Light

This concealer has gotten so many rave reviews I had to try it for myself. It's hard to say how I really feel about this one though.

Let's start with shade selection:

It comes in five shades - Ultra Light, Light, Medium Light, Medium and Tan. I have fair skin so I knew I should get Ultra Light or Light but they looked the exact same in the tube so I guessed and picked Ultra Light. The first time I used it I immediately regretted that choice because let me tell you, it is indeed ULTRA LIGHT! So unless you have vampire-pale skin, don't be afraid of passing by the lightest shade they offer and going for the second lightest. Otherwise you'll have to make some effort to conceal your concealer with foundation.

Onto application:

A little bit goes a really long way. If you're using it to conceal a freckle, or pimple, you won't need much at all. I'm talking a little tap with your finger on the pointy opening of the tube and you're just about set. This tube will last you forever (unless you're using it to cover tattos or large scars) and at $6 for 20 grams, that's a really good deal.

The ultra light shade really let me down though.  After applying it on my face and blending it out (which is hard to do) I was left with a Calamine Lotion effect. You know that powdery pinky-white stuff you smear on poison ivy rashes? That's what I'm talking about. Even after setting it with a pigmented powder the white splotches still stood out. This might not happen with a better color match but since the color options are limited and this is a very thick and heavy concealer I would suggest applying it BEFORE your foundation so you don't end up with obvious blotches of concealer on you face. Sometimes this method works form me and sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on how much concealer I have to use. It sometimes start popping through whatever I used to cover it up to reveal a white patch of concealer.

Don't even think about using this on the under eye area. This product swatches beautifully on the back of your hands and probably does a good job concealing tattoos, but it is WAY too thick for the delicate undereye area, (pulls the skin something terrible) looks super cakey on that thin skin and creases like you wouldn't believe.

I have a scar on my leg, a little smaller than a dime, and if I apply a thick layer and set it with powder it conceals it pretty well. You can apply a lot of this on your body without it standing out too much. You can't do that on your face though.

This stuff is not easy to wash off. Water balls up on the product so while I don't think the product claims to be water proof, it's very close to it

The pencil:
This concealer also comes with a concealer pencil. The directions say to outline a tattoo with the pencil and then fill it in with the concealer from the tube. Since I don't have any tattoos I decided to use the pencil to line the waterline of my eyes and it is PERFECT for that.  This is a nice light fleshy color that gives your eyes a natural, bightening boost! that lasts all day. So even if you can't use the pencil for its intended purpose don't throw it away!


More concealer reviews
ELF's Studio Concealer & Highligher
Cover Girl Invisible Concealer