Coastal Scents Hot Pot Review and Swatch Island Breeze

Coastal Scents has a ton of shadows that can be purchased individually, for $1.95 each. They come in all shades and finishes. In my opinion their Hot Pots tend to be of a higher quality than the shadows included in the palettes. Hot Pots tend to have a smoother formula and are less likely to crease, from my experience.
I'll be reviewing and swatching a lot of these shadows as I try them.



Island Breeze

 

Island Breeze is a beautiful bright teal shade with a shimmery finish. It's a few shades darker than the photo on the Coastal Scents site (I know all computers are different, but it's something to keep in mind) This shadow applies like silk and is easy to blend. CS says it's semi-opaque, but it only just barely misses the opaque mark. In fact, I wouldn't be uncomfortable with giving it a fully opaque label, myself. You can sheer it out to a softer, and slightly lighter, finish and shade, but I wouldn't mess with it too much as you will lose some of its vibrancy.
Unfortunately the swatch above doesn't really do this shadow justice. It is much more bright and lively than I could capture on a cloudy day.

This shade will look good on most skin tones and will be especially good for those who have difficultly finding vibrant colors that will actually show up on their dark skin.




Neutrogena Nourishing Longwear Makeup Review and Swatches

*As a BzzAgent I received this product free of charge.

I haven't used many of Neutrogena's foundations, so I was pretty excited to try this one out. I usually give a bit of an eye roll anytime a foundation claims to improve the look of your natural skin. And while I haven't noticed any super obvious changes in my skin tone, the texture of my skin feels slightly better.

Natural Ivory - 20

My shade is Natural Ivory which is the second to lightest shade in the 8 shade range.

inside

in sun

This foundation comes in a glass bottle with no pump. I'm not one of those people who freaks out over the absence of a pump. It makes it a little more difficult to get the product out, and this formula is a bit on the thick side, but it's not horrible and I've had no issues with messes. And although the foundation is thickish, it's still easy to blend out. I have dry skin so I like to mix a bit of moisturiser in with my foundation during application, so that probably helped the application process. However I did try it without the added moisturiser and had no problems.

Neutrogena claims that you will get 12 hours of wear with this foundation and I found this to be true. Of course it didn't look quite as fresh as it does in the morning, but it wasn't patchy or fading at all and there was no oxidizing.  The finish is a lovely satin and despite the thickness of the formula, I don't feel this on my skin at all.

Coverage is medium-light. It does a beautiful job of evening things out, but I definitely sill have to use concealer in places. I usually prefer a more natural look for every day wear, so it suited me just fine. I love that it has spf 20, since part of keeping skin looking its best is protecting it from the sun, and I make a real effort to do that.

This retails as my nearest Target for about $13, which is an average price of a drugstore foundation. You get a full fluid ounce, so it's definitely budget friendly.

Peter Thomas Roth Power K Eye Rescue Review

The short story is, this product is awful!
For a whopping $100, this product claims to minimize the look of dark circles, puffiness and fine lines and to increase skin's firmness and elasticity. If it actually did any one of those things, it might be worth the hundred  bucks, but it fails miserably. In fact, this stuff dried out the delicate skin under my eyes so much that it aged me about 20 years. It actually created crepiness and lines where none existed before! And it only gets worse ...

This is a gel, serum-like formula with little "caviar-like beads" (lol - what a crock!) it applies easily enough without tugging at the skin and a little bit goes a long way. That's the only positive thing I have to say about it. Once I apply it, it burns like crazy! Then it creates a tight, crusty film on the skin, so you absolutely cannot apply makeup on top of it. In any case, I decided to keep using it (dumb, I know) , but only at night, because I was convinced that it would start to work eventually and that maybe I just had to build up a tolerance to the product. I saw the skin under my eyes get drier and with more crepines over the course of about two weeks, starting the morning after the first application!  Eventually I gave up and I'll be returning this stuff ASAP. It's horrible on every level.
I should add that I have never experienced a bad reaction to any eye cream or treatment before. It's not like I have abnormally sensitive skin. This stuff is just harsh.

The fact that they charge so much for a product that is so terrible, really puts me off the entire Peter Thomas Roth brand. I can't see myself buying another one of their products.

Coastal Scents Hot Pot Review and Swatch - Indigo Dream

Coastal Scents has a ton of shadows that can be purchased individually, for $1.95 each. They come in all shades and finishes. In my opinion their Hot Pots tend to be of a higher quality than the shadows included in the palettes. Hot Pots tend to have a smoother formula and are less likely to crease, from my experience.
I'll be reviewing and swatching a lot of these shadows as I try them.

Indigo Dream

 

Indigo Dream is a deep blue shade - It's darker than the picture on Coastal Scents' website - and is highly pigmented. "Indigo" is a good name for it, because it darn near dyes your skin! It's not difficult to remove with makeup remover but if I get any on my hands when I'm doing my makeup I can't just wipe it off on the nearest towel. It requires soap, water and some scrubbing. Needless to say the staying power of this shadow is great. You could probably wear it for days, although I haven't tried.

As for the finish, I really thought this was a matte shade. I didn't inspect the pot up close and once applied, it certainly looks matte to me, but then I saw that CS considers it a shimmer. So, upon further inspection I did notice a few very finely milled shimmers in there. They are only visible if the light hits the pot just right and  I have to put in quite a lot of effort to see any shimmer once I've applied it. The photo on the Coastal Scents site shows a considerable amount of shimmer, but it's barely there at all in my pot. Maybe I got a dud. I don't know, but I prefer this one without all that shimmer.

This blue is quite versatile. It goes on opaque but it's really easy to blend and sheer out to a lighter shade, that's just as vibrant. If you're a lover of blue shadows this is a must-have for your collection.



Coastal Scents Hot Pot Review and Swatch Miami Spice

Coastal Scents has a ton of shadows that can be purchased individually, for $1.95 each. They come in all shades and finishes. In my opinion their Hot Pots tend to be of a higher quality than the shadows included in the palettes. Hot Pots tend to have a smoother formula and are less likely to crease, from my experience.
I'll be reviewing and swatching a lot of these shadows as I try them.

Miami Spice

Miami Spice is a sheer, medium brown shade with blue shimmers. I don't really know what to make of the blue shimmers, to be honest. They almost seem like an after thought and they're not very noticeable, once applied, unless you go looking for them. I suppose they liven up what would otherwise be just another matte brown crease shade that you probably already have.

This shadow applies smoothly and is easily blended. I haven't had any issues with creasing, but I always wear Coastal Scents Step One Eye Primer underneath it.

It's hard for me to get excited about this shade, mostly because it's kind of a blah brown, but sometimes that exactly what you need.

Ponds Luminous Finish BB+ Cream Review and Swatches

I've been wearing Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream for a few days now and I'm loving it!

This formula is creamy and super easy to blend. It provides light coverage but you can build it to a solid medium without things looking cakey. It's emollient and does not accentuate dryness, even on these super dry and cold winter days. And the fact that it has an spf 15 will make it great for summer days as well. It's not greasy at all, but I'm not sure how those with oily skin will fare with this.

Pond's says the finish is matte but to me it's too skin-like to be matte. I'd say it's somewhere between matte and satin. And there is no shimmer or glitter. A lot of products these days put words like "luminous" in the name, when what they really mean is "shimmer" but that's not the case here.

 So far the longest I've worn this is 10 hours and it still looked as good as it did when first applied - And that's without a primer or setting it with powder. I found that it feels a bit heavy on my skin when I wear a primer underneath it, but I can't feel it at all if I use it alone.

Light Shade

The Light shade is perfect for my fair skin. Depending on the line of foundation, I tend to find my shade matches in the lightest or second to lightest shades that are offered.  This one is light with neutral undertones. I think it will blend seamlessly into skin tones from the light to light-medium range, but it might be a bit too dark for those with extremely fair skin.

Ponds claims that this cream will fade dark spots, but I don't really have any so I can't say whether it delivers there.

This retails around $10-$12 depending on where you make your purchase, with is a great value if you ask me.

Coastal Scents Camo Quad Light Review and Swatches

So begins another chapter in my quest for the perfect concealer

Camo Quad - Light

I really wanted to love Coastal Scents' Camo Quad. (I want to love every concealer I try!) I started out being really disappointed but then I figured out the perfect method of application and now I'm a fan.  

Coastal Scents offers these quads in 4 shades - Light, Medium, Dark and Color Corrector. I got the Light, which is a decent enough match for me but I think Medium probably would have been fine for me, since they provide a white shade in each of the three concealer quads allowing you to lighten any of the three colors to match your skin tone. I was drawn to Light due to the inclusion of the yellow toned concealer as yellows seem to really work for my ridiculously dark purple under eye circles. Also included in the Light Quad are a salmon toned shade and a more flesh toned shade. The salmon shade has actually turned out to be the best shade for me, giving me the most natural finish. The others are a bit too light.

Camo Quad Swatches - Light - in sunlight

They currently cost $7.95 which is a great value considering how much product you get. So often products I buy online end up being much smaller that expected, but this was actually bigger! And CS has frequent sales so you might be able to get it for even less.

When I first saw my quad in person, I was disappointed because the shades looked quite dull in the pan to me. However once applied, they are actually rather brightening, so no worries there. All of the shades seem to be lighter once applied than they look in the pan.

These concealers are a cream to powder finish and I personally don't think anyone over the age of 27 has any business putting anything even remotely powdery under their eyes, unless of course you have some major oil issues, which I don't. Without primer, each one of the 4 shades immediately looks cakey under my eyes and they only get worse throughout the day. With primer, things are a bit better to begin with, but they still eventually cake up, rendering this product almost unwearable. I say "almost" because I can get away with wearing them if I have a short day planned AND I'm wearing my glasses (which cover up any weirdness that may be going on in the eye make-up dept)
The key for me is to apply my regular eye cream right before applying all my makeup and to not apply any primer. This sheers out the coverage a little (it's still medium-full though) and provides a nice, smooth and natural finish.

These quads are definitely worth a try especially at this price. You might have to do some experimentation of your own to get your desired results though. I'm glad I didn't give up on this right away because I'm quite pleased with it.

Laura Geller Spackle Primer Review and Swatch - Champagne

I had super high hopes for Laura Geller's Spackle Primer in Champagne. Spackle has a fairly decent reputation and I love the idea of my primer adding a bit of glow, especially in the winter months when things are pretty dry and dull. Overall I'm quite pleased with its performance. Is it the end all be all, knock my socks off, never going to look for another primer again product? Not quite, but I've been using it every day and will probably repurchase it.

I think I should start by mentioning that this contains shimmer. A lot of it. So if you are one of the many that have a serious aversion to shimmer, this is not for you. It says that you can apply this on its own, for a more flawless look, which really excited me, but that's not happening. This primer doesn't reduce the look of pores so if you don't apply foundation on top of it you'll just be walking around with a sparkly face, which is not a good look on anyone. Having said that, most foundations cover the majority of the shimmers, leaving only a hint of them behind. I personally like the effect, but some will hate it. 

Champagne Spackle with no foundation

This primer does a really good job of perfecting the finish of my foundation, making it look more skin-like from the start. It also keeps my foundation from fading or becoming patchy almost all day. I'd say I get at least a full 10 hours wear with this primer. I've got dry skin which can sometimes make wearing even the lightest coverage foundation in the dry, winter months a total nightmare! Spackle keeps all those dry patches and weird, tiny flakes that foundation loves to cling to in check. I can't say that it's moisturising but it is a friend to my dry skin. This might mean trouble for those with oily skin. I'm not sure though.

It retails for $30. Seems a bit much at first glance, but you only need a little to cover your entire face and since it improves the finish of my foundation I think it's a fine investment.

Bath and Body Works Shea Cashmere and Silk Hand Cream

I'm really on the fence about Bath and Body Work's Shea Cashmere & Silk Hand Cream (part of their True Blue Spa line). I like the fragrance, if I don't over do it, but it's not great as a hand cream, if you ask me.

One thing I love about this product it the way it glides onto and into your skin. "Cashmere" is definitely not a misnomer here. The formula isn't greasy at all and leaves your skin feeling just like the cream's namesake. The first time I used it, I was really impressed. I don't think any other hand cream I've tried before has had this effect. Unfortunately it isn't as moisturizing as I had hoped. With "SHEA" so big on the label I expected something quite rich. My hands, especially my finger tips, get really dry and cracked in the winter time and this hand cream just doesn't cut it. It's not useless or anything. It'll do for days when light moisturization is needed, but if your hands are chapped and in need of something serious, this won't do the trick.

The fragrance of this cream is a mixture of almond, vanilla and sandalwood and it lingers on your skin for hours, even after you've washed your hands. It can become a bit too strong for my liking if I apply too much (almost perfumey), which I have done several times hoping I could get the moisturization I needed. But I usually really like the soft scent it leaves behind.

Coastal Scents Step One Eye Primer Review

I can sum up this product in one word. Perfect. So I won't drone on with a long review.

This is a dense, cream formula and it's really easy to apply and blend. It has a light beige tint when it comes out of the tube, but sheers out completely. This primer has intensified the finish of every shadow I have tried with it so far.  And there is no creasing, smudging or fading for a full 12 hours. Step One Primer has given new life to shadows that I had given up on, due to their tendency to majorly crease. Even my super cheap Dollar Store shadow lasts all day long with this primer underneath.

I also apply it on my under eye area before my concealer which gives me a better finish from the very start and gives me several more hours of wear time before I need any touch ups.

This tube is $9.95, and I think it's totally worth that, but Coastal Scents has frequent sales so you can probably get it for less.

Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil Reivew and Swatch

As soon as I heard about these jumbo eyeshadow pencils I knew I had to try them. I wasn't really expecting to be very impressed but I loved the idea of a drugstore shadow pencil and I was curious to see if they could deliver. So I grabbed one in Melted Caramel.

I love shadow pencils for their ease of application. I can get a much more precise application with these than I can with brushes.

These pencils come in 10 shades. None of them appear to be matte - they seem to range from shimmery to glittery depending on the shade. These are not twist up chubbies, but true pencils that you will have to sharpen. The formula is creamy - not as creamy as Laura Mercier Caviar sticks or Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow Sticks - but they are still easy to blend. The stick feels really cool on the lid which was unexpected and the wear time if fantastic! Without primer it still looked completely perfect, as if I had just applied it, after 6 hours and after 9 hours there was only the tiniest bit of creasing that you wouldn't even notice without a close inspection.

Melted Caramel

 

Melted Caramel is a beautiful chocolatey brown shade, with golden shimmers. It's basically the perfect shade for just about everyone. You can apply it with a light touch as a base shade or build it a bit for a beautiful crease. I like to use it alone or to create a neutral smokey eye. It does require a couple sweeps to get more than a sheer color, but it is easy to build so that doesn't bother me.

I will definitely be purchasing more shades as they are all really wearable and pairable with other shades to create depth and dimension. Overall I think these shadow pencils  are a great addition to drugstore offerings. 



Lancome Maquicomplet Concealer Review and Swatches

As my quest for the perfect product to conceal my dark circles continued, I ventured over to the Lancôme counter to see what I could find. Lancôme's Maquicomplet Concealer is not a new product by any means, but you can definitely file it under "oldie but goodie." This concealer performs on every level.

The Maquicomplet Concealer comes in a whopping 14 shades, which includes one yellow corrector. So there's a high probability that you will be able to find the right shade for you. Below are the 4 lightest shades. (the quality of the photo isn't great but you can still get a pretty good idea of the shades)

(R to L)  Porcelaine, Ivoire, Camee, Claire II

As you can see, Porcelaine is really pink. Saying it's got pink undertones doesn't do it justice. This stuff is straight up ballet slipper pink, so I passed and went with Camee, which looks somewhat beigey in the tube, but once applied it's actually a nice, light, yellow-undertoned shade that is somewhat brightening, without being overwhelmingly so.

The formula is a velvety, creamy, liquid and it's a dream to blend under the eyes. It dries down to a powdery matte finish, which can and will look cakey if you over do it. Unless you've got super oily skin, I don't suggest that you set this with any powders. You won't need to anyway as this wears well for at least 6 hours on me and then only light touching up is needed.

Coverage is medium. Lancôme says it's full but I've got some serious dark circles and while this seriously diminishes their appearance, it doesn't conceal them completely.  However I do think this will provide enough coverage for most people. It's certainly more pigmented than most concealers. The most impressive thing about this concealer is that it doesn't start creasing until after my work day is over.  Yep, I said it. So many concealers begin to crease within the first 2 hours of application but this is still crease free when I get home! Having said that, if you leave this on for 10+ hours, things are going to start looking cakey and it will start to crease.

This is currently retailing for $30. You might suffer a bit of sticker shock from that, but to me this formula is worth it, if you're having trouble finding something with enough coverage to hide really dark circles. Of course, I'll keep looking for one that performs just as well for less ;)

Living Proof Full Thickening Cream

I was really excited about this product when I first got it. A cream that makes your hair look thicker all over? Count me in! Plus I'm a pretty big fan of the Living Proof Full products that I've tried so far, so I had really high hopes.  So let's jump right in.

Living Proof Full Thickening Cream is meant to create "beautiful, natural fullness and touchable body that lasts throughout the day. Because it's a completely felxible technology your hair won't collapse or become stiff and crunchy."

Living Proof says that finding the right amount of product to use can take some experimentation and I've read some reviews that said their hair looked greasy after applying this stuff, so the first time I used it I decided to play it safe. I used about a dime sized amount (which is what the directions suggest) Actually I may have used slightly more. But it turned out that I had played it too safe as this wasn't enough for my long, medium thickness hair. The results were still nice - it had an obvious smoothing effect and my hair was definitely shinier than usual as well! but it didn't look any thicker than usual. Having said that, my hair looked and felt super smooth and shiney for a couple of days, so I was pleased.

My second attempt was more succesful. This time I used about two nickle sized amounts, spread it evenly throughout my damp hair. The results were smooth and shiney, just like the first time, but this time my hair had a thicker appearance, while maintaining a lightweight feel and plenty of bounce. It looked so good, I didn't feel the need to style it any more! To be sure, this product does not provide a va-va-voom Dolly Parton-esque type look, but a you've-got-naturally-thick-and-beautiful-hair look. If you want something really dramtic you'll have to continue styling.

I expected things to be limp the next morning when I took my hair down from its nightly pony tail, but to my surprise everything was looking just as full and bouncy as the day before! cutting the time I had to spend on my hair down to about a minute. Perfect!

When using this product, keep in mind that it is not a lifter. So if you're wanting lift at the roots you need to use a root lifting product before applying this thickening cream.

Overall I like this product and recommend it to anyone troubled with flat, lifeless hair. I think Living Proof's Full Shampoo and Conditioner do just as good a job at providing lightweight body and bounce though, so I'm not sure that I will be purchasing this cream in the future for myself. (I don't see the need to use both) This thickening cream does have the added bonus of providing beautiful smoothness and shine, which I loved.

This product retails for $26 for a 3.7 oz bottle.

Clinique - A Different Nail Enamel For Sensitive Skins Fall 2013

I've never had sensitivity issues from nail polish, but I was drawn to the new beige shades sitting atop the Clinique counter so I decided to test some out today while doing some shopping.

My plan: Paint my nails with the testers at the counter. Walk around the mall, window shopping while I decide which shades I have to have, go back and purchase some beautiful polish.

The short story is. I didn't purchase any of them. While I love all of the shades - they are flattering, beautiful and classy for all - this formula took forever to dry! I tried to be super careful for a good 10 minutes after applying the enamel but I sill ended up with smudges and scrapes everywhere! I really don't remember touching anything. It was really frustrating. I'm not sure what changes were made to make this "For Sensitive Skins" but I cannot recommend these to anyone who doesn't have at least 20 minutes to sit still, not moving their hands at all, while their nails dry.

If you're used to having reactions from nail polishes then maybe the $12.50 price tag is worth it to you. But I can get the same shades from Zoya for $8 and those suckers dry fast!

Edited to add: This stuff chipped like crazy about 24 hours after application. Definitely not worth $12.50.

Farm House Fresh Sugar Sugar Gift Set Review

If you're looking for a sweet gift to give, this just might be it. This was given to me as a thank you gift, and I love it so much I feel like I should give a thank you gift for the thank you gift!
This gift set, comes with a tub of Sweet Cream Fine Body Scrub, a tube of Whoopie! Shea Butter Hand Cream - in white velvet buttercream - and a cute little wooden spoon you can use to easily scoop out the sugar scrub.

The butterceam hand cream smells unbelievably good! It is absolutely my new favorite hand cream. It smells so sweet, yet soft. It doesn't make you smell like frosting or anything. It smells better, if you can believe it.  And it leaves my hands smelling delicious for hours! Seriously, this stuff lasts. A lot of popular vanilla and baked goods-type scents kind of have a fake, chemical fragrance to them. Like they just couldn't get it quite right, but Farm House Fresh found the secret recipe with this one.
The forumla is creamy, hydrating and not greasy.

The Sweet Cream Fine Body Scrub is almost as yummy smelling (nothing can equal the whoopie cream though) The sugar granules are a nice small size and not too abrasive on the skin. It has a creamy vanilla scent that leaves your skin smelling sweet for hours. After I used it last night, I kept wondering which lotion I used to make my skin smell so great. It took a while to convince myself that I had indeed used a fragrance free lotion and that the scent was actually left by this scrub.

I definitely recommend this gift set. I love it more every time I use it.
You can buy it online for $36.

I'm loving the Whoopie! Cream so much I think I'm going to have to buy the Body Cream in the same scent for $30.

FREE Sample of Pond's Luminous Finish BB + Cream

At Target.com.  http://samples.target.com/
It looks like it only comes in Light and Medium, and you don't get to choose which sample Target sends you. Oh well.

I'm definitely trying this one out. I'm interested in anything "luminous" since my skin gets so dry and dull in the winter, but more often than not "luminous" just means that they threw in some crazy shimmer. I would love it if this BB Cream turned out to be something really amazing.
I'll let you know what I think!

Pixi Illuminating Tint and Conceal Review and Swatches

Pixi's Illuminating Tint and Conceal has been calling out to me every time I walk by the display in Target. I was initially drawn to the packaging, which includes a dome-shaped cream concealer inside the lid of a tinted moisturizer, making it easy to travel and just convenient.  I don't usually bother with tinted moisturizers but decided to give this a try.

The concealer is a full coverage creme-to-powder finish. It's really creamy upon application and easy to blend out but it turned a little cakey after a while. The three lighter shades are practically identical once applied even though they look different in the cap.

(L to R)  1, 2 and 3 concealer

The tinted moisturizer was a pleasant surprise to me. This formula isn't too runny and it felt nice and hydrating, yet lightweight (I couldn't feel it on my skin at all) and silky on the skin. It blends out smoothly and easily and it does a beautiful job of evening out my skin tone and masking redness. This is an illuminating product so it contains some shimmer. I think the amount of shimmer is nice. It adds a fresh faced overall glow. Definitely not overkill, but the shimmer is there. So if you're against all-over shimmer you'll want to avoid this. Overall this gives the apperance of naturally beautiful skin and with spf 20 you'll be helping your skin stay beautiful.

I find it odd that they paired a full coverage foundation with a tinted moisturizer. The moisturizer gives such a light and natural finish while the concealer is pretty serious business. Applied with care it's not a horrible combination but it is an odd one, in my opinion.

At $30 this seems a bit pricey for a tinted moisturizer, but it does come with a decent concealer so it's kinda worth it.

Coastal Scents Warm 88 Palette Review Revisted

About 2 months ago, I reviewed the Coastal Scents Warm 88 Palette. The review was fairly positive, and while I still enjoy using several colors in this palette, after having used it for over 2 months now, my overall opinion has gone down a bit.

My chief complaints are these:

There are too many shades that are nearly identical. In the pot they look different enough, but once applied they look the exact same. Particularly the orangey/coral-esque shades, but also the shimmery blues, purples and whites. This palette could definitely be condensed and you wouldn't lose anything in terms of shade selection.

The quality of each pot is quite variable. Many are much more chalky than I'd like. Some have barely visible pigmentation and are very difficult to build. And several of the shades crease like crazy without a primer.

Having said all that, I do really love several of the shades in this palette. There are some really nice taupes, shimmery caramel type shades, and some deep browns and plums that are really fantastic to play with, especially for the Fall season. I just wish I could eliminate all those shimmery, silvery blues and replace with them golden .... well golden anything really.

In the future when I'm jonesing for some awesome shadows I'm going to stick with Coastal Scents' Hot Pots. You can pick and choose the individual shades that you want and the quality is WAY better than even the best shadow in a CS palette. The dud shades in these large palettes cry out "I am money wasted!" every time I open it up.

Living Proof Full Shampoo and Conditioner Review

The short of this review is, I think I've found the shampoo and conditioner I never knew I was always looking for. Seriously, I'm in love with these products and my hair!

I've never put too much thought into my shampoo or conditioner and to be honest I didn't know much about Living Proof products, but then a few months ago a friend started raving about them, so I decided to give them a try. And let me tell you, I'm SO glad I did!

The Living Proof Full Shampoo is sulfate-free and is formulated for daily use. It is apparently safe for color treated hair, but my hair is not color treated so I can't attest to that. What I CAN tell you is this stuff delivers on every other level. I used it with their Full Conditioner - an oil and silicone free product -  and my hair was left feeling super clean and had way more volume than usual. Honestly I didn't even think that was possible, especially not from just shampooing and conditioning. I didn't use any styling products at all and my hair had so much body! What was equally impressive was the fact that it felt so light and SO clean while still feeling healthy - not stripped. And that feeling lasted for about 3 days. I don't wash my hair every day. It's not necessary and it's such a pain to dry it! And usually by day three, things are looking really limp and just sad. But with Living Proof my hair still looked great on day three. Crazy, huh?
Crazy good!

Another thing I love about these products is the fragrance. It's a nice, soft, kind of herbal scent and it leaves my hair smelling amazingly fresh for days.

In the past, if I wanted voluminous hair I had to slather on a bunch of mousse, or spray my roots and massage  and apply heat to activate. But with the Living Proof Full Shampoo and Conditioner I don't have to do anything extra, if I don't want to.
I recommend these to anyone who wants extra bounce without the extra work!

You can buy Living Proof products in the US at Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta and QVC. In Canada at Sephora. In Europe at SPACE.NK.apothecary. In Australia at Mecca Cosmetica. And of course you can buy from their website which offers free shipping on every order. How awesome is that?

I will be reviewing more Living Proof products in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

NP Set It Takes Two Concealer and Foundation Pot Review and Swatches

I love getting a concealer and foundation in one package. It means I only have to reach for one product, it's easy to travel with and I only have to make one purchase. So I was automatically drawn to this dual-purpose product.

While we're on the packaging ... The cream concealer is house in the lid of the foundation. The top flips up to reveal not only the concealer but a nice little mirror as well, which is a really nice touch. There is a white star in the center of the concealer pot, which according to NP SET is a bonus highlighter, but honestly it's more a gimmick, if you ask me. In order to access ONLY the highlighter you have would have to use a small brush and avoid mixing the pigmented concealer into the star every time you use it and I can't be bothered with that.  Anyway, to access the foundation you screw off the lid which has a small spatula attached to it for you to dip into the foundation. People will either love or hate that feature. I think it's fine for now, but when there's not much foundation left I predict that it will be difficult to get the rest out since the opening is quite small.

Okay, on to the good stuff. The formula.
The foundation applies really smooth and is creamy easy to blend without being greasy or shiny. The finish is semi-matte and coverage is light-medium. This won't be right for anyone with serious imperfections that need to be covered, but it's very nice for evening skin tone and brightening things up a bit.

Unfortunately the shade selection really let me down and makes this unwearable for me.  It only comes in three shades - light, medium and dark - and light was way too orangey for me. It makes no sense to me to only offer a foundation in only three shades, since very few people will be lucky enough to find a nice fit.

 

The concealer is pretty meh, for me. It's smooth and emollient which made it a dream to blend, but the coverage is sheer and that just won't cut it for my under eye circles. It should work for anyone needing only to conceal light discoloration, but anything significant will need a product with more coverage.

 

Overall this product is a disappointment. I wanted to love it and I really do love the formula of the foundation but the shade selection is horrible and the concealer just won't conceal much of anything.