Beauty Product Reviews

Ew

I was on the hunt for a moisturizing, long wear lipstick. I bought two when I found it, I was so excited, but alas! They go on very heavy and cakey - almost crumbley? Ew! My lips looked creased almost immediately. They also dried out my lips, which didn't help with the cakey, creasy, crumbly mess. I've tried both of them exactly twice. And each time, I end up wiping it off before I even leave the house. It may be long-lasting, but it never gets the chance to be for me! I'm sad. Did anyone else have a better experience with these?

yes indeed, good coverage!

This is my go-to concealer for blemishes and flaws. True to the name, it is highly blendable (I tap with the pad of my ring finger) and it looks flawless. Seriously, I'm 34 and will I ever stop getting blemishes? Guess not! This concealer lives in my purse. The only reason it isn't getting a full, 5, glowing gorgeous stars is because it's too heavy-duty for my undereye circles. It looks cakey & thick no matter how thin I try to apply it. (I use Neutrogena 3-in-1 for undereyes). Nonetheless, I love this concealer. Great bang for your buck.

My go-to lipstick

This is the lipstick that lives in my purse & goes everywhere with me. It has just the right balance for me - moisturizing and good color payoff without caking or creasing. So many lipsticks leave me chapped & dry, this Benefit lipstick is definitely *silky smooth*. The only reason i gave it 4 1/2 stars and not perfect 5 is that I don't find the color to be long lasting. I definitely need to re-apply a couple times at work. However - the trade off for having non-chapped, flawlessly colored lips is totally worth it.

It's a little spendy (well, for me) but I can't wait to get another shade! "Dessert First" is a yummy, rich mauve color. I'd like to have another in a different hue so I can wear it with everything!

sexy, but not overpowering

I was pacing in front of the wall-o-perfume at Sephora, spraying every single one on the little paper strips, looking for the right "deep & sexy but not knock you over" scent. I usually love crisp, clean, fresh scents (DKNY Delicious is my go-to) but I wanted something a little richer & warmer for autumn. But they were all SO expensive, and none really caught my nose. So - DUH! - BENEFIT! Gina was just my style. So many perfumes have this "tangy" (for lack of a better word) quality ... they kinda have a high "note" that makes my nose pinch. Know what I mean? Tangy or sharp or something. Gina is NOT that - it's deeper & sexy, definitely woodsy & warm, but not in a hippy-I-love-pachouli-and-hemp way. It's like Goldilocks - JUST RIGHT. And the price... you can't beat it. A+, thanks Benefit.

Copycat for Benefit "High Brow"!

Once again, I stood in Ulta holding some $20+ product thinking "there's gotta be a cheaper alternative". Today it was the Benefit "High Brow" pencil - a super pale, icy pink applied below your brow arch for highlight and lift. Then I spotted the Maybelline Cool Effect pencils. I had tried them years ago & really liked them. Turns out the color "Ice Princess" is alllllmost identical to the Benefit pencil. It's a pale pink, creamy, "fat" pencil with a nice sheen to it (not glittery or shimmery) just a slight pearly sheen. And true to its name, it does feel cool when applied, which feels great on tired eyes.

I think you'll like using "Ice Princess" as a brow highlighter, but they're all great for liner and shadow as well.

Palest pink for wet line!

I like using a white pencil *on* my wet line, to make my eyes pop (and to look a little more awake in the morning). But the white has been bothering me because it looks too stark, so I looked for another option today at Ulta. And I found this $2 pencil by Essence, in "Almost Famous" which is a very light, pale pink. It's just a tad lighter than my wet line itself, so it works perfectly!

yummy, crisp, fresh

This just might be my new signature scent. It's so fresh & clean, not overpowering. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because the scent doesn't last very long on me (maybe it's because I have the to-go size, without the spray nozzle?) Regardless - it's absolutely DELICIOUS and I'll use up every drop of this crispy crunchy appley fragrance!

Grippy!

It's really the darnest thing - it's rubbery! Once it dries you really can feel the "rubberized" kind of texture on your nails. The texture of the Bonder is very fine and you can't feel it once your color is applied. I'm such a "bull in a china shop", so my poor nails are always chipping the day after a mani. This Orly bonder definitely helps the polish stay put much longer than normal.

(As a side note - I love that Orly has the rubber/grip lids. I'm always trying to open polish after I've put cuticle or hand cream on and can never get any traction. I used to keep a kitchen rubber jar-opener in my mani kit! Thanks Orly!)

$1, white is perfect for wet line

I did that thing in Ulta, where I was holding the $16 white pencil liner by a fancy brand... then I swapped it out for a $9 drugstore type brand. Eventually i said "aww, screw it, it's just for my wet line & to dot the corner of my eyes", so I got the $1 Essence white eye pencil. But girls lemme tell you, this is a nice pencil!! I haven't tried any of the other colors as regular liners, so I don't know whether they're smooth or tug, etc. But using the white one for my wet line is a no brainer... applies clean & easy. It does it's job & was $1. SERIOUSLY, can't beat that!

they live up to the hype

I just picked up three of them at Ulta today ($2 each) and they're so fabulous. I definitely understand why girls keep saying "i have one of every color"! They go on so smooth and creamy, the color are deep, highly pigmented, rich & blendable. I really can't believe they are $2. They're rock stars.

I got "purple", "purple velvet" and "slate". I didn't mean to get two purples, but the "purple" pencil looked like a bright royal blue, which is what I was wanting. But it's totally my fault for not testing. Just thought you might like the heads-up that if you see royal blue, it goes on purple. So read the label, don't be a dork like me :)

....PS: as you might have guessed by all of the other comments, "milk" was completely sold-out in the store! Gotta be the best! Gonna try Christina's tip about depotting them.