Lipstick -Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Honey
Shelbsca 2/4/2013 10:57:00 PM
I think this would look better on those with less pigmented lips. I have been starting to realize that the reason so many lip products don't work for me when they seem so beautiful and perfect swatched online is because of how pigmented my lips are! I gave this 3 lippies because, while the shade itself was too dark and muddy for me, the actual product's quality, lasting power, and moisturizing effect are all fantastic. As for the shade Honey, online all the swatches looked like a pretty nude mid-tone pink that would look neutral enough for fair skin tones to wear every day. Even swatched on my own hand it looked so fantastic! Unfortunately when I put it on, it translated into a muddy reddish-purpley uneven mess. Once it faded into a lighter stain hours later, I liked the shade a lot better, it muted down into more of a pink, but I still didn't like it enough to keep it. I bought this in the shade sweetheart too and just like honey, the faded version was far more complementary on my lips. It seems like the two major problems with Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain are the shade selection, and that the shades all seem to look better once they have faded a lot. Besides that, the product itself is AMAZING. I am so sorry to be returning this. I am always afraid when buying a lip stain that it will dry out my lips or make them flaky. Even in winter with my easily chapp-able lips, this balm stain not only did not dry my lips out at all but moisturized them completely! This felt smooth and lightweight on my lips. As for its staying power, I am beyond words. When I first bought honey, I swatched it on my hand. I washed my hands multiple times, showered, even scrubbed with a paper towel, and the freaking stain was still there the next afternoon! Basically it stayed like 14 hours, and it would have stayed longer if I hadn't literally scrubbed my skin raw to get it off! It didn't stay quite that long on my lips but I can easily say you could wear this without reapplying for 10 hours. Great product, unfortunately bad shade selection and prettier after it has faded for a few hours, at least for my fair skin and pigmented lips. However, if you don't have fair skin and can pull off more intense colors, this product is absolutely worth the money and I promise you'll swear by it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Ecotools - Bamboo Blush Brush
Shelbsca 2/3/2013 11:11:00 PM
Hmm I'm not quite sure what everyone loves about this blush brush. It's way to big to apply blush. I had to work with this for months to actually get used to this brush because it makes applying blush so much more difficult. It does pick up a lot of color, and the brush seems good quality, and it'll work temporarily until I find a better blush brush, so that's why I gave it two stars.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Texture
Shelbsca 2/3/2013 4:50:00 PM
My favorite eyeshadow in my entire collection (and I have the naked eye palette, so that's saying something!) It's really hard with my very pale skin to find a neutral eye shadow that would look good going to class or a night out, but this fits the bill. I would describe the color as a coppery soft, light brownish tan with very slight red undertones. This color looks amazing with my blue eyes and almost matches my coppery strawberry blond hair! Staying power/creasing isn't a problem for me, since I use Mac Paint Pot in Painterly underneath. When I first started using this eyeshadow, I thought it would only be suited for a crease/outer vee color (I thought it might look too intense over the whole lid). It does look fantastic as a crease color- I love to use this in the crease, Mac's Mulch in the outer vee, and something like Urban Decay's naked on the actual lid. However, I will let you in on a little secret involving application and how I get this product to look best on me. What I do is use Mac's 217 brush and lightly dab some all over the lid- not too much, the 217 is very good at applying a light layer of it. If you don't have the 217, use some sort of eyeshadow fluffy brush or blending brush. Now, take a small pointed crease brush (I use the one in the pair from CVS) and swipe it directly in the crease (I start from around 2/3 in, I don't go all the way in because my eyes are very close to my nose already). Now, take a blending brush, like Sonia Kashuk's tapered one, and lightly blend the color with a skin-tone color, (I use naked from the palette) moving it slightly upward every now and then. If you want to keep deepening the color in the crease, reapply texture with the pointed crease brush and continue blending lightly. This is the eyeshadow that made me realize that I can use one eyeshadow for the lid AND crease by simply going from a fluffy brush to a pointed, more narrow brush!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Revlon - Peony Colorburst Lipgloss 008
Shelbsca 2/3/2013 4:38:00 PM
I would probably give this a 4.5 if I could. It is so hard finding good neutral pinks for my extremely pale skin, and this is a winner! It's a beautiful, glossy medium pink that would look so pretty on fair and warm skin tones. (I think I'm a mix of both?) Overall Pros: -beautiful, natural pink -makes my lips look plumper! -not too shimmery Overall Cons: -staying power is good, better than a lot of lip glosses, but not great. I'd say it lasts 3-4 hours on me with no eating and minimal drinking -i'm not really a fan of the applicator it comes with- it doesn't seem to pick up a lot of product I would definitely buy this product again and would recommend it for all skin tones. Just a perfect, pretty, natural everyday lipgloss!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter - Berry Smoothie
Shelbsca 2/2/2013 11:35:00 PM
I don't really like this lip balm and am really disappointed. After reading the reviews online, and seeing all these swatches that looked so pretty I honestly thought I would love this lipstick! Unfortunately, I cannot jump on the revlon lip butter bandwagon :( I know the product is called "berry smoothie," but everyone talks about it being this lovely pinkish shade with a hint of berry that is very subtle. However, on my extremely pale skin it leaned extremely berry with the slightest hint of pink. Due to my pale skin, darker berries tend to look purple on me, I guess I just thought this would be a lighter berry. Also, the application and packaging are great, but the wear is by no means long lasting, not even average lasting. Without eating, kissing, drinking, and just sitting in class, I got about 1-2 hours of this lip butter with substantial fading. I looked in the mirror and was actually surprised that I could barely see it anymore. I've tried wearing it several times now and each time come to the same conclusion- not for me! I suggest those who have pale skin and want longer lasting lipstick to try something else.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -L'Oreal - Colour Riche Caresse in Sunset Angora
Shelbsca 1/29/2013 11:50:00 PM
I love this lipstick. Being extremely fair skinned, I have a very hard time finding coral shades that aren't too orangy on me. Even lip products and blushes that look so pretty and pinky on other girls just honestly always end up looking more orange than pink! Finally, finally, finally I have found the perfect, prime coral shade. It isn't too orangey, and it's honestly the essence of what every coral shade should look like. It's a perfect corally pink color, and it's so hard to find something I can wear daily that doesn't stand out or clash against my pale skin! I could see myself wearing this a lot in the spring, but it's the sort of color I can also pull off in winter when I want to. Even though this would work for pale skin, I can see this being lovely on all skin tones. (I picked this up based on a review of a darker-skinned girl, and in the video she wears it, and it looked like such a lovely, wonderful and wearable shade). The staying power, however, isn't great. But even for lipsticks that don't have good staying power at all, I have a trick I learned online, which is basically to apply it normally from the tube- then, using a one ply tissue and a makeup sponge or cotton pad, sort of stamp the sponge/pad on your lips with the one ply tissue covering your lips. Then, apply the lip product with a lip brush, and voila! Even after eating and kissing, while obviously the majority of it will be gone, there is a stain of the original color because of how I stamped it onto my lips when I first applied it. If I could, I would probably give this product a 4.5, simply because the staying power could be better, and also because while it is a beautiful color, I just don't think it could be an everyday, all seasons shade, at least not for my skintone. On less pale people, it might wear a tad less corally, which would slightly mute the color but then again also make it more wearable. For reference, I haven't tried this yet but I'm going to say with certainty that in the spring, this lipstick would look beautiful and match almost perfectly with ELF's cream blush in Tease.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked Palette
Shelbsca 1/23/2013 5:05:00 PM
I like, but do not love this product. I really wanted to fall in love with the palette, and I'm sorry to be in the minority of such a well-loved palette. I have pretty fair skin with freckles so maybe that is why I had a different experience. These colors would, perhaps, look much more neutral on those with tanner skin, or at least with less fair skin than me. First I just wanted to say that I expected more neutral shades. The only everyday shades for me are Buck and Naked- I put Naked all over the lid and apply Buck to the crease and sometimes the outer vee. The rest of the colors are not exactly neutral- hustle, creep, and gunmetal are not shades I would ever wear casually because they are too dark. Virgin is a good highlight color, too light for the actual lid though. It's also a tad too shimmery to use as a highlight in my opinion. Shades like Half-Baked and Sidecar are way too goldy to look natural-unless you only use a teeny, tiny bit, gold usually doesn't look nude, at least not on my eyes. That brings me to the shimmer- a little shimmer is okay- for example, Gunmetal, Creep, and Hustle all have a wearable amount of shimmer to them, but on me shades like Sidecar, Smog, Half-Baked, Sin, Darkhorse, and Virgin all are way too shimmery to wear on a day-to-day basis. The shimmer in this palette is possibly what's making these shades less neutral and more night looks. I like this palette enough to not return it, especially since there are so many looks you could do with the shades. However, I expected this palette to be mostly neutral, and a lot of the shades ended up being too shimmery or dark for a neutral look. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this palette for beginners- if you are very experienced with makeup, don't have fair skin like me, and can pull off less neutral shades during the day, then you should definitely give it a try.
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Moisturizers -Trader Joe's - Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion
Shelbsca 1/23/2013 4:47:00 PM
This might actually be a 3.5 instead of a 4 :( I really like this moisturizer, especially for $4, but I dont like it enough to buy it over and over or take the time to look for something better. This is a very basic, simple SPF moisturizer that doesn't make me break out or make my skin more oily! So that is why I would probably buy it again if I don't find anything else (finding a good face moisturizer is SO hard!). Overall Pros: -very cheap -has SPF! -feels light/non-greasy -doesn't make me break out -just simple, great, everyday moisturizer for year-round wear Overall Cons: -small container -wish SPF was higher :( but oh well! -I make my own tinted moisturizer using 2 parts moisturizer and 1 part foundation, and this does not seem to mix together as well with my foundation as my previous moisturizer Overall, I would recommend this moisturizer but I'm sure there are better out there. This didn't seem to do anything special and I hate the fact that it doesn't mix well with my foundation. I love everything else about it though- if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't waste time looking for another one! So if you don't make your own tinted moisturizer, you really can't go wrong with this product!
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Powder -Milani - Multitasker
Shelbsca 1/20/2013 8:55:00 PM
I would give this a 3.5 if I could- it's really not as bad as a 3, but a 4 would be giving it too much credit! I am very pale with freckles, very sensitive combination skin, and was looking for a pressed powder that was light enough for my skin, mattifying but not too much, and just overall covers up imperfections slightly...maybe a slightly less matte version of Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder. What I got was a very basic powder- good, but not great. I like this powder but I don't love it, because it just doesn't wow me. Overall Pros: -good shine control -a natural, not over-mattified look -shade matches skin tone Overall Cons: -only lasts about 3ish hours, have to reapply more often than I'd like -packaging sucks! a few weeks after use the clear top in the middle popped right off, now I have to put it in a plastic bag to store it! -sometimes it sort of dulls out my skin- like i said before, it just doesn't wow me or make enough of a difference to buy again If you have less oily skin than me and need less shine control, are looking for a pressed powder for winter, and just need a basic powder that doesn't do anything special then I would definitely recommend this powder. I think it runs about $7-8 at CVS but I bought it on ebay (because the shade "light" is very hard to find in the store) for only $4, which is pretty good! If you have combination skin that is slightly more on the oily side, want really good staying power, or are looking for a powder for the summer, I would probably not get this powder. If I can't find a better powder (I'm thinking of trying Maybelline's Matte Powder) then I suppose I will settle for this one and repurchase, as long as I can find it for a cheap price. But in my opinion, a powder I'd settle for doesn't deserve a 4/5, which is why I gave it a 3/5- an average, basic powder for those who only need a simple look.
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Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Studio Blush Brush
Shelbsca 1/16/2013 8:45:00 PM
I only use this blush brush when I have super pigmented blushes that aren't as buildable, mainly because this brush is not very good at picking up color. It seems like I have to apply so much more blush than I do with my Ecotools blush brush to yield any results. I have used this with the two studio elf blushes in "candid coral" and "tickled pink," and you really have to pack the blush on with this brush in order for the blush to even show. Maybe this brush would work better with super pigmented blushes that are a bit harder to work with or less buildable. The size is pretty good- Maybe a taddd too small, but I prefer that than being a tad too big. If it weren't for the fact that the brush doesn't seem to pick up that much color, it might just be perfect! Unfortunately that's sort of a big deal when applying blush- I don't want to have to stand in front of the mirror for 5 whole minutes layering blush over blush 2 billion times just to get it to show. I'll try using this when applying my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful and post an update. I find that blush to be extremely pigmented and not as buildable as my other blushes.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Painterly
Shelbsca 1/15/2013 8:24:00 PM
I love this product and use it almost every day, regardless of how much makeup I'm wearing. It can be used either as an eyeshadow primer, which intensifies the color so much it's insane, or you can just dab some on your eyes and actually use it as an eyeshadow (assuming you have the right coloring-I'm very fair, so it's a perfect natural shade for my eyes). I usually apply this with my MAC217 brush, but when I don't have time I just dab some on with my fingers and it still looks flawless. I use a little more when I'm using it an an eyeshadow alone, and I use a little less when I'm wearing it underneath eyeshadow as a primer. You only need a tiny bit to have the eyeshadow stay all day without fading or creasing. When I use this as an eyeshadow, it looks natural but so pretty and eye-enhancing! The best thing by far about this product is its ability to make eyeshadow colors look more vibrant and intense. It makes every eyeshadow look the way I actually want it to look. If you're thinking about buying this product, go to MAC and ask to test it. Then go to one of MAC's tester eyeshadows and swipe it one or two times on the back of your hand. Then swipe painterly right next to the eyeshadow swatch alone, and swipe the same eyeshadow on top of painterly. I can guarantee you that the color will be slightly darker, vibrant, and noticeable. The difference is astounding. I will never use eyeshadow again without using the painterly paint pot, unless I'm using a color that I don't want to be more intense. The two cons are A) it's expensive- but once you know you like it, buy it from Ebay and get it cheaper! Plus, for a product this amazing I don't mind shelling out $20! Regardless, I don't think I'll even need to repurchase this all that much because this is going to last me forever! and B) the packaging doesn't really suck, but it could be better. It doesn't seem like the lid closes all the way and I could possibly see this drying out before I'm done with it if I don't make sure to tightly seal it all the way every time I use it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Cover Girl - Natureluxe lip balm Hibiscus
Shelbsca 1/15/2013 7:23:00 PM
I love this lip balm. I will continue to buy it again and again. It is SO hard to find a product/shade that has the stain effect of a lipstick, but the glossiness of a lip gloss. If that's what you're looking for, this is it! I have very fair skin, and I find it extremely difficult to find a lip shade that works for me. Corals that look beautiful swatched online are orangy on me, mauves that look so sophisticated and pretty have purple tints once I apply them, and nudes that look natural and beautiful on other people's lips wash me out and make me look like a corpse. So when I say it's hard to find a good everyday, lovely lip shade that will make you smile every time you catch yourself in the mirror, I mean it. But finally I have found it! I was afraid that this would be too dark on my fair skin and could lean purpley. But this is such a buildable lip balm- if you want more of a lip-popping look, add a few more layers. If you want a subtle, your-lips-but-better color, add one or two layers and you're good to go. CONS: -buildable is good, but it seems like you have to add quite a bit in order to get a normal color -the packaging is a bit fragile- I'd be careful just throwing this in your pocket or bag. I dropped one at the store, and the lid came off instantly! PROS: -buildable -wonderful pink shade, my-lips-but-better -stain of a lipstick with the glossiness of a lip gloss -only like $7! -goes with lots of looks (heavy or neutral makeup) just FYI, Hibiscus looks absolutely GORGEOUS when worn with Physician's Formula Mood-Boosting Blush in Rose. I just wore that blush and this Covergirl lip balm on top of some face powder and it was just about the prettiest makeup look I've ever done.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -L'Oreal - Translucide
Shelbsca 1/15/2013 7:12:00 PM
This powder did not work for me. It does not give a flawless finish whatsoever and it's staying power is maybe two hours, tops. I would have returned this if I had not gotten it through ebay, after seeing all the good reviews on it. I generally use pressed powder instead of loose powder, but decided to give this a try because I have heard many good things about loose powder. You have to apply SO much of this to even get any results, and the container is a tad too deep so when you pour a tiny bit into the lid to dab with the brush, it all gets everywhere and is very messy. This product never claimed that it mattified the skin, but a lot of people said it would mattify a little bit! I never saw any matte going on! This product does claim to make skin luminous, which is a taddd true. It does have more of a glow-ish effect than other powders but most of that "glow" is because it fades so quickly, leaving the skin oily and shiny. I'm all for a natural glow, but not for oiliness that I'm trying to get rid of by putting this powder on!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Tarte - Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed Tarte Blush
Shelbsca 1/15/2013 7:02:00 PM
I just cannot jump on the bandwagon with this blush! I would give this blush a 2.5 if I could. I have very fair skin with freckles and the shade Exposed looked reddish and muddy on me. I tried applying less of it, and it still looked clownish and almost as bad as a sunburn! The finish was, as I said before, sort of muddy and not at all flawless. I have tried the Tarte tipsy blush and was much more impressed by the color and finish than I was with this shade. For those of you with very fair skin, I would suggest staying away from this shade. However, I could see this shade being stunning on someone with darker or olive skin. Pros: -cute, convenient, and sleek packaging -pigmented and buildable -really does stay on forever! Maybe not a full 12 hours but at least 8-10 hours with minimal fading! Cons: -shade is too dark (reddish) -unven/muddy finish -it's expensive! -i know i said it's buildable, but it seems like one second you barely have any on, and then after you add a tinyyy bit more, WHAM! You suddenly have a clown face! I exchanged this blush for Blissful and am hopeful!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Manicure in Hidden Treasure
Shelbsca 1/11/2013 6:26:00 PM
So I guess this has been reformulated, because when I put this on it doesn't look anything like the swatches online. Online it looked so beautiful over a variety of nail polish- when I apply it, it's not thin, flaky, or beautiful at all. It's a disgusting whitish opaque mess. I will be returning this. So disappointing.
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