Beauty Product Reviews
E! Live From the Red Carpet set
I picked up two liners in the E! Live From the Red Carpet set: "Oscar Fish" (brown) and "Stargazer" (black). They’re very soft pencil liners, and swatched super smoothly. I really wish that Oscar Fish’s color out more on my waterline though. I feel like I have to really struggle to get the color on there, which is a shame because its what I wear everyday. Maybe if it were a darker shade of brown? I did have the same issue with another brown eyeliner I use (Revlon Colorstay) but over time the color started to go on really easily, so maybe it just takes time. Stargazer, however, goes on nice and dark! Both these liners have just a little bit of shimmer in them, but its not very noticible once its on.
Natural stain!
I really like this cheek stain! I don’t use it as a lip stain, but for cheeks it leaves you with a very natural, light amount of color. It would probably be too light for someone who likes very pigmented blushes, but for me its perfect. Very easy to use too! I put it on my fingers, first, before applying it to my cheeks.
Good Beauty Balm!
This is the first BB Cream I've tried (although I assume its more like a tinted moisturizer). I chose it because it got the highest rating on <a class='textlink' href='http://Beautypedia.com' rel='nofollow noopener' target='_blank'>Beautypedia.com</a> and I've always liked Too Faced products. Its a little pricier than I’d like at $32, but that seemed to be in the range of tinted moisturizers or BB Creams that Sephora had. The shade I picked up was “Cream Glow” which is the second lightest (there’s only 4 shades total). The shade is a teeny bit dark on me, but it should even out better once I get more tan.
There is not a whole lot of coverage at all, which I expected. It does work to cover some redness and generally even your skin out a bit. Its very moisturizing and leaves an extremely dewy finish (powder is a must!). I’m not a fan of how it kind of stings a little bit when you put it on, at least on my skin…this may not be that common of an experience. This BB Cream hasn’t broken me out at all and it lasts pretty well! There is absolutely no caking and no heavy feeling, and it has the added bonus of SPF 20! Its perfect for those days where you just want something light and natural. I usually wear my regular moisturizer under this, but I’ve gone without that before and its been moisturizing enough for me. I don’t know if this is the perfect BB Cream for my skin, but its pretty darn good and I’ll definitely use it up!
Great curling iron, but expensive
I purchased this curling wand in the color hot pink! The wand comes with a glove to protect your hand from burning. Although I tried it a couple times, I actually don’t like using the glove because I can’t really feel where the piece of hair I am curling ends. But I do think its great to include and probably necessary to use if you’re just starting out with a clip-less curling iron and may not be used to holding it yet. The curling wand itself is very very lightweight. It is tourmaline-infused to prevent damage and has Negative Ion Technology to reduce static and frizz. There is only one heat setting (which is extremely hot) and it heats up very quickly as well. The one feature I really wish it had was an indicator light, because I always seem to forget to turn it off!
I definitely think this is a great curling iron and I love it (my results are in the picture on right), but I don’t really think it is worth the price tag of $155. I only paid $55 since I had a gift card, and I think it is probably worth that much, not the full price it lists. The advantages this has over my previous curling iron are that it curls my hair slightly faster (maybe 10 minutes instead of 15) and the curls are very defined and are a little less frizzy. Besides that, this doesn’t do much that my previous curling iron didn’t do. There are also many good curling wands that are made of the same material (tourmaline) that retail for well under $100 that I’ve come across, and I assume they would give the same results. This does get rave reviews, though, so if you really want a good clip-less curling iron (and have the extra cash) then you can’t go wrong with this one!
Great eyeliner!
I wasn’t sure about this eyeliner when I first purchased it. It seemed to take forever for the color to deposit onto my waterline. But once I started using it regularly, the pencil became much more soft and easy to apply. Its a twist-up pencil, so no sharpening is really needed though it does come with a sharpener. As for lasting all day, I'm not so sure. I wear it on my waterline, and while it does seem to last a while its definitely not there when I get home from work. I'm not sure any eyeliner will last that long on the waterline. Its still a great eyeliner though!
Great foundation, but pricey!
The feel and coverage of this foundation is very smooth and creamy. It is medium-full coverage (depending on how much you apply) and gives a dewy, but not too dewy finish. While you do still need to set with powder (especially if you have oily skin), I could probably get away without it. It blends very easily and looks incredibly natural as long as you don’t over-do it (which could cause it too look cakey). You only need a tiny bit of this (which is good since the tube is so pricey) and the coverage is very build-able. I’ve found that I always need less than I think I do! I’ve also found that this foundation gives such great coverage that I usually don’t need a separate concealer. My color, "beige ivory", is slightly more yellow than I'd like...I may try out Medium Ivory at some point.
Unfortunately, this foundation kind of melts off your face throughout the day. This is usually the case with more moisturizing and creamy foundations. I haven’t tried this with primer or setting spray yet, so using those may help in keeping it on until the end of the day.
I would definitely suggest this foundation if you have the money to splurge on it! If you don’t, however, I feel like there are comparable options out there that are less expensive. Its best for skin that is dry or combination…if you have really really oily skin you will probably find this to be too moisturizing for you. I haven’t decided yet if I would repurchase this when I run out, but its definitely a possibility!
Like the color but does not last
First off, the packaging is adorable! I much prefer it to the Revlon lip butters packaging. Its very sleek and looks more like a high-end product. I absolutely love the color…it reminds me of the Fresh Rose lip treatment. Its very much a “your lips but better color”. The color (at least with this particular shade) is not super pigmented (no where near that red shade that is pictured). I’d say its more like a tinted lip balm. Its very moisturizing when you first put it on and it goes on very smoothly, but after that is when I started having issues with it.
It fades away SO quickly. I’ll literally put it on and 10 minutes later I’ll have to reapply it. Now, I know you can’t expect what is essentially a tinted lip balm to be long wearing, but I feel like it should last much longer than it does. Overall, I’m torn on this balm because I really love the color and it gives me everything I want in a tinted lip product, but I wish that it didn’t fade so quickly.
Not worth it
Not for me! I put this on, waited ten minutes, and tried to “peel” it off…I couldn’t get it off! I might have put on too thick of a layer (the directions didn’t indicate thickness), but the mask was not even dry yet after 10 minutes. Trying to get it off with water proved a disaster, so I ended up having to use my Clarisonic to sort of scrub it off. Also contains alcohol, which is too harsh for skin.
Nice cuticle pen!
I won this product in a giveaway and was super excited to give it a try! I have pretty terrible cuticles, so having a product like this which is super easy to use is great. The oil is very soothing and my cuticles are starting to heal up since I’m taking better care of them. I'm not sure how this compares to other cuticle pens, since this is the first I've tried. I may try others in the future to compare (especially ones where you brush on the oil instead of a marker format). The marker format does make it super easy to use, though. Only takes a minute to get the oil on all of my cuticles, and it isn't too greasy in my opinion.
Great exfoliant!
I actually use the 1% version of this BHA Gel Exfoliant and even with the 1% I have noticed results! My acne scarring has faded a little bit and my skin feels smoother with less dry patches. The consistency of the gel is great...very lightweight and easily absorbs, but doesn't dry out my skin. Unlike the 1% BHA lotion which I've sampled, this doesn't have an unpleasant smell. I use this every night and follow up with Paula's Choice serum!