Beauty Product Reviews | Page 4

I could wear this EVERY DAY!

I gave this a shot recently and was NOT disappointed! First off, it smells fantastic without being heavy. It wears light as silk, and doesn't dry with the same texture of your classic mud mask. It actually dries much more softly, with much less pulling at the skin and general tightness. My skin is TOUGH -- I give it the rough stuff: full-on bentonite clay masks and the like. This is NOTHING like that. Feels so light, almost like you don't have product on. Applies very evenly and smooths to completely cover the face. I find this made the most difference on my lips (which tend to air on the side of dry) and my nose/forehead area (which actually airs on the OILY side) and that really blew me away because it made me feel like this is a suitable option for any skin type, be it oily, dry or anywhere in between! Washes off super easy, leaves your skin feeling.... fuller? It's like a straight shot of hydrating cleansing awesomeness! My skin took my moisturizer like a dream, and the next day I noticed the high points of my face looked SO smooth! Like, MODEL GLOW with no makeup on.

A special formula...

I've sat around with this palette for a few months now, kickin' it back and forth, trying new application techniques, this, that and the other. I think I've got a base to give a good review with now. There are two matte shades in this palette that I DIE FOR and LOVE USING. They are so very pigmented that it pays to use a softer brush (maybe white goat or squirrel) so that you have the control you will need. I have absolutely no problems with these matte formulas -- in fact, they perform up to the same standard as my favorite eyeshadows from Sugarpill or Kevyn Aucoin. I really do find that they make me very happy. The superior performance of these matte shades almost makes up for the fact that I'm not very good with using the shimmer/glitter/metallic shades. These metallic shadows are very reminiscent of the new formula of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows in their shimmer shades. Highly pigmented, beautiful to look at, but vexing for many. I have heard many recommendations that it is ideal to apply with fingers and blend with brush. Also I have heard that swiping is not the preferred method, that "dipping" or "patting" bears better results. I don't use my fingers with eyeshadow, so that was an immediate pass. "Dipping" helps but I find I still have not mastered these shadows, and with so many other wonderful options on the market, I'm not really TRYING to use these. If makeup fights me, I don't fight back. I'm on the fence, personally: I know these are high quality, top-knotch eyeshadows, they just don't suit my method of applying makeup. If you are a fan of MUFE's shimmer textures, or maybe the texture of Sugarpill's Pumpkin Spice (very foily metallic) these will suit you very well! I gave them 5 stars because the ones I use work SO well and I don't believe in discounting a product just because it doesn't work for my preferred method. These are a wonderful option if you prefer the formula/texture!

Effective, luxurious, FUN!

There are few things in this life I enjoy more than a quality mask. When I saw the price tag, my eyebrow lifted significantly. Don't let that jar you too much -- you're already on an online luxury boutique! The ingredients truly speak for themselves! I suggest applying this product with a brush as depicted in the video tutorial. Applying with fingers moves the product too much and it doesn't sit in a clean layer the way it needs to. I used one of my old synthetic foundation paddle brushes (not good quality, kind of a knockaround) and it did the job fabulously. I let it sit for a long time. I think it said 45 minutes (or until dry) but I went over a hair. When you apply the mask, you feel it "activate" right away. That's one of my favorite concepts with this mask: it remains inactive and as a result, maintains a more stable shelf life, which is invaluable since masks aren't an EVERY DAY thing. You can smell the different elements of this gorgeous earthy mask and it's SO satisfying. You pick up the bamboo-ey nature of the charcoal as a wave of cacao hits you, all the while this lovely tingly sensation sets in as the mask begins to sink into the skin and dry. At the end of it, I washed with water and a very slight touch of castille soap. My skin felt COMPLETELY recharged. This diverse blend of herbs, cacao and charcoal is a TRUE treat for your skin. Oh, and the best part? (at least for me) This mask OPENS up your skin so it can drink in all the nutrition you feed it after. If you have an extra penny and love healthy skin, this is the ticket, girl!

Top 3 lash brand!

For me, there are only 3 brands whose lashes I trust: Ardell, Sugarpill, and Kryolan. I don't believe in buying 30 dollar pairs of lashes; I'm more from the school of stacking a few (hundred) pairs for a desired effect. Kryolan are my absolute favorite but they are at the higher end of my range. (most still under $15) Ardell's aren't the BEST quality but they're a wonderful price. Sugarpill is the happy compromise: many different wonderfully unique shapes, fantastic quality, and relatively low prices considering the amount of uses you get if properly maintained! Fortress is one of my favorite lash shapes -- just works gorgeously with my eyes and stacks well with other lashes to give a beautiful emphasis. I can't say enough good things about them.

Whoa!!!!

I find myself left nearly-speechless at the intense pigmentation and glorious color of this fabulous nail polish. I am so blown away at how beautiful this color is. I really am floored. Man By Man is the ultimate mermaid fantasy, as though it was plucked from Ariel's own personal nail polish collection. Cascades of gorgeous sky-blue glitter packed deep into this shimmering and fantastic base of perfect blue-green. Glides on easily with superb coverage, and dries lickity-split for your runway debut! I feel like a L'oreal commercial going on and on about it, but DAMN I love this nail polish! I want to BATHE IN IT! I want to paint my WALLS with it! THANK YOU OCC! Now all you have to do is release this in Lip Tar form and I can die happy.

So glad I didn't miss out...

I finally got a chance to do a face with Androgyny this past weekend and it was so beautiful. I've been doing auburn/red hair lately and my GOD, Androgyny is so complimentary. Seen here with my manly-ass arms, it's a gorgeous color in general, leaning more towards a browny rose than an actual mauve but I knew that going into it and I wanted it anyway. Unfortunately, I noticed that even with exfoliated lips and priming (I understand it is advised to wear without primer, I have done this as well with the same results) there is light settling into creases. This is not a dealbreaker for me because like I said, it's not very noticable and the depth of color is not a huge difference. Also, when you top with a gloss it's absolutely undetectable. Overall I'm down with Androgyny. I'll make sure this tube gets used, haha!

BLOW PONY = ELECTRIC LAVENDER!

Blown away by the pigmentation and formulation of Jeffree's liquid lippies. I own about 5 or 6 now, and they truly appear to be the full package - light and airy on lips, dries with a fully matte, no budge-no smudge finish. If you're really paying attention, you can apply this without bleeding, whether you have a lipliner or not. If you time it right, it even works with other liquid lipstick formulas (OCC for reference works for me) and if you have a gentle hand you can layer and blend in pencils -- even after it has set! Blow pony is a gorgeous, almost-neon lavender that I am so pleased to try. BEWARE IF YOU HAVE YELLOW TEETH (be real) -- THIS SHADE WILL ACCENTUATE YOUR YELLOW TEETH. Some of the shades have it more than others, but there is often what's described as a sort of root-beer float scent. Of the colors that I own, Blow Pony appears to have the least amount of fragrance. I don't care either way whether I have fragrance or not, just figured some people might get freaked out that some smell and others don't. (I got one of these for my upstairs neighbor and she thought the smell was rotten. That's the word she used -- "rotten". And it smelled completely normal, that 'root-beer-float' scent that I love. I had to tell her what they were 'going for'... poor dear!)

So glad I didn't miss out...

What a gorgeous color! Tipsy is a truly grass-green, with high-shimmer and just the slightest lean towards blue (but still very even toned! Think Kentucky Bluegrass on steroids!) I am a huge fan of their loose shadows -- they have a very workable, middle-of-the-road consistency that is neither too buttery or powdery. I truly love them!

In Texas, bigger is always better!

First, let me start by saying that I own quite a few of Kevyn's brushes already and have been wowed by each of them in terms of design, aesthetic, performance, and durability. I have admired this brush from afar for such a long time. Nobody I follow owns this brush or has reviewed it so I kind of had to go out on a limb and buy it for myself -- just to see!! I was particularly looking for something to set creams with loose powder, and (I know I was being greedy here) I wanted something that I could use to buff and blend powders between contouring/blush stages. Warning: After its first wash, you better hope you have a shaper to put it in, because this baby gets about 1000000x bigger. Like seriously, it's half the size of my face. When I finished drying it and finally got a look at it, I was so blown away at what a gigantic tool of luxury it truly is. Then came the true test -- I use RCMA foundation, which can become a bit 'moist' when applied the way I do (I cake it on 10 tons at a time -- MORE is MORE in drag makeup) so when I dipped the monstrous brush into my loose powder and started setting, I was amazed at the finish I was left with. It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears -- THIS ONE WAS JUST RIGHT! My face was completely dusted and set with a secure layer of powder, and yet it looked so much more natural and fresh than when I use a powder puff and then dust off excess. This method also uses less product!! PLUS!!!! Next, I laid down my contour powder and used THIS brush to buff and blend the color out. It didn't eat the color up, it didn't move my foundation. It blended it exactly where I wanted it to be blended and left me stunned at the result. This brush is huge but for boys/girls with perhaps a little more room on their face it's an invaluable setter/blender brush.

$300 of product for $165!

I have had this beautiful palette since Christmas and it RULES. Stunning pigmentation, universal shades, pleasantly stable consistency and classy packaging! However, I see so many reviews on different websites that this is 'too expensive' or 'not worth the price'. In that vein, I decided to do a little bit of digging on this beautiful AND cost-effective gem:

Kevyn Aucoin Eyeshadow Singles are $30 for .07 oz. These eyeshadows are .04oz. which stands at a little over 17 dollars per pan of eyeshadow, of which there are 12 in this palette. Even if I round down to 17, 17x12=204. Current price = $204

Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder is $44 for .11 oz. The amount you receive in your palette is actually .14 oz, which ends up being 56 dollars in total. (Now we're at $260)

Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder is also $44 for .11oz. The amount you receive in your palette is a staggering .17 oz, totaling $68 dollars of product.

The grand total for all these products ends up being right at 320 dollars if you don't round down any of your calculations, using individual product pricing per unit. Do you feel like you're getting a deal yet? Because you are. This is a stunning purchase, and is just as much an indulgence as it is an investment for any serious makeup artist.