Beauty Product Reviews

Great Coverage for dry or normal skin, oily skin beware!

This has an amazing full coverage, it can even cover tattoos. For those with dry or normal skin who want full coverage or need something to combat discolorations, imperfections, or break outs, use this! But, for people with oily skin, stay away! Even if it's set with powder afterwards and then re-set constantly with blotting powder (and i mean constantly, like every 30 minutes) it will still look cakey and smudged.

Not the best, not the worst

For a pencil these work pretty well. They are somewhat creamy/waxy so they do to tend to smudge after a while. With that said, they are GREAT for the smokey eye! Me personally i like clean precise lines and I hate when my eyeliner smudges or clumps up into the corners. I recommend the Fluidline or Liquidline over these, especially if you're going to be using it on your water line. BUT the browns are GREAT to use as a cream contour. I always use a cream contour before using a powder to set it and I was working an event when I realized by normal cream contouring wheel was missing. I used this instead and seriously haven't stopped using it as such since!!! It blends AMAZINGLY well into skin and has the perfect shades for every skin tone!

Ehhh

These smell wonderful and do get most of your makeup off, but not all. My problem with these is that they leave the skin greasy and kind of oily as if they have too much cleanser and oil on them, which i know is needed to effectively remove makeup, but it's just too much. I love MAC but as a makeup artist you need to know when to splurge and when to scrimp and makeup wipes can be a scrimp product. I prefer ones that are cleansing "clothes" because they are more cloth like instead of a wipe, have a little more texture to them so they pick up makeup without leaving skin greasy or oily, and they tend to be softer and gentler on the skin. Personally I use targets brand because they are soft, don't have much oil and them, and work and smell good, and Hello! are cheap. My clients love them and always ask me which brand they are because they aren't heavy or oily. But just note you may have to use a few to really get everything off, but at their price who cares???

Easy and Fast

As a makeup artist I am CONSTANTLY cleaning my brushes, like multiple times a day. This stuff is powerful, even works better than antibacterial soap at removing pigment (though you still do want to wash your brushes in anti-bacterial soap every so often depending on how much usage your brush gets to kill any bacteria which can cause irritations, infections or break outs...sanitation is key!). Plus it is really gentle on your brushes and keeps them conditioned, some brush cleansers can be stripping to the hairs.

great, but not for oily skin

First off, this product is a great primer and I use it on my clients who have normal or dry skin. It's really smooth and gives you a flawless base to apply your makeup. It has a light shimmer/iridescence to it which is nice because it's not too much but adds a nice little glow to your skin and makeup. Also, this bottle lasts a pretty long time since the product is so silky you really only need a little to go a long way. However, if you have oily or shiny skin this probably wont be a good fit. I personally have oily skin and though it did help my makeup to stick during the application process, after a couple hours you will start to cake up and get oily, so be prepared with blotting papers and powder to re-set your makeup throughout the day. Unfortunately, for those of you with oily skin like me, liquid or cream primers are going to do this no matter what...you're better off with a powder formula or a setting powder. Note too that really oily skin is ALWAYS going to show shine at some point during the day, it's just how it is. There is NO product that keeps shine away all day for those with really oily skin, it's just how it is (but hey, at least your skin wont wrinkle as fast!) but a good marker of products for oily skin is if it can keep shine away for 4+ hours. 2 hours is the typical blotting mark for those with oily skin, so a product that can go beyond that is really good. My clients who have normal or dry skin just look perfect with this product though...this girl is super jealous!!!

wonderful pigmentation

These lip glosses have AMAZING pigmentation. They are bold and pretty true to what you see in the container. I'm more of a lip stick girl but for glosses these are great. Beware though because they are super thick and kind of sticky...Ladies don't drive with the windows down with this stuff on because the product will end up in your hair! Because it is thick it does last longer than other formulas but be prepared for your lips to be sticky. I recommend this more for a running errands type of day when you want color and/or a punch of color but don't want to do a full lip or use lip stick. Definitely not suitable for kissing! And really test the colors out before buying, that's why there are samples out! I say this because some have more color to them than they look like they do ( I've tried a few that looked stunning in the tube but when I put it on it was just way to much or way to bright for my liking), whereas others are a few shades lighter than what you see. For example, when I chose pink poodle it was probably the 5th or 6th shade a tried on and in the tube it looks outrageous so that's why I was hesitant, but on my lips it was gorgeous. Also, when I took it up to the counter the MAC artist who rang me up said "wow that color is amazing on you i love it which one is it" and i told her and she said "it looks awesome on you but I've tried it and It doesn't look like that on me!" so just know that obviously every color is not for every one.

Nice

This liner is great for your water line. But don't think you're set for an all nighter with this stuff...though it is long lasting and doesn't smudge it does tend to clump up into the corners of your eyes after a while, though a lot longer "while" than other gel formulas. I use this pretty much every day but do note that to get that "solid" black line you will probably have to go over it a few times since it is a cream/gel formula and can sheer out in spots during application. Also, if you're looking to do a wing tip look or a heavy line on the top of the eye and want that sleek precise look, go for MAC's liquidline instead it is much better and lasts MUCH longer because it is water-proof instead of being water-resistant like this product. The Liquidline is the only MAC eyeliner that is water PROOF.

One of my Favorites

This is a GREAT contouring powder because it can fit most skin tones. I am pretty fair with yellow undertones and it doesn't make me look like I'm on jersey shore. I have used it on a majority of my clients, ranging from Caucasian ruddy skin to medium-dark tones (think Tyra Banks or Beyonce) and those with pink, violet, olive and tan undertones. Anyone darker than this I tend to use something with a bit more color... Do be light handed with this product though as it does have great pigmentation so a little bit does go a long way. Also great as a blush or bronzing powder. This is also amazing because there is NO shimmer which is hard to find in a bronzer. I know a lot of people like that "iridescent glow" but I'm particular to a more polished look, and besides, once highlighter is added there will be enough brightening that you wont look like a manikin!

ehhh

For something that isn't cheap this sure does work like it's cheap. This may because I tend to have oily skin but this stuff cake up on me after a couple of hours. It did cover well but whats the point of it covering well if it doesn't stay put? Not a fan...

It's ok....

I have a really oily T-zone and I was told that this works wonders over makeup to keep it from getting oily or streaky or caked up. I do love this product as a refresher or as an equalizer to use after washing my face but before putting on moisturizer, but don't expect it to make your makeup "stick to you like glue" which is what I was told it would do. If you’re looking for something to matte-ify your makeup and make it last all day, this isn’t it. It may be just because I have oily skin but this isn't as good as I was hoping for...and I am a faithful MAC girl so sadly I was a bit disappointed. This is pprobably meant more for people with dry or normal skin.