Pressed Powders -Revlon - Nearly Naked Pressed Powder
glamstep 5/4/2013 2:26:00 PM
I find this to be one of the best drugstore powders out there. Ive tried Maybelline dream matte, Rimmel stay matte, WnW coverall & Milani multi-tasker. This ones I enjoyed just as much as Milani if not even better because of the less bulky packaging. This is much more sleek, has a decent mirror you can actually use while facing the powder, no flipping top/bottom like most. Useless sponge though, would've appreciate full rectangle powder vs the circular peep. Nonetheless its super finely milled, so not powdery at all. Its quite lightweight on the face and unlike what others warned it did NOT oxidize on me. Im NC25 & originally bought Fair because I was waiting for this effect, but it remained as pink and ashy on me as when I first applied it. I then picked up Light that has more of a neutral undertone, it looks wayy darker in the pan then it actually goes on & is a decent match. PROS: Packaging, price, formula, effect on my skin. I love this as a setting powder, unlike Milani it haS no coverage to be worn as a foundation alone but it does seem to blur & even out minor imperfections. Will I repurchase? I already have, in the Medium this time. Its appropriate for summer & it makes my Asian BB creams look more natural on me. The Skin79 leaves me gray & this in medium gives me color back. CONS: Longevity & wear. I have dry skin so I set my concealer/foundation to prevent transfer not to keep me oil at bay because I have none. It does seem to cling to dry spots so I mustt be well moisturized. Towards the end of the day, this does seem to get ever so slightly blotchy. Its the best Ive found at the price point but not HG.
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Eye Shadow -Maybelline - 24hr Color Tattoo Shady Shores
glamstep 5/3/2013 8:25:00 PM
This is part of the new LE color tattoo that have the unique duochrome finish--basically reflect different color in different angles catching the light. Shady shores appears yellow in the tub with streaks of mossy green running through it. Has a very pearly frost finish and applies rather sheer. The swatches online weren't accurate, appear wayy more opaque on the hand vs pigmented lids. The consistency is also different, its a lot thinner then original line, almost oily to the touch. Luckily the greasy feeling quickly vanishes and the true tattoo stuck on effect is the same as the regular ones. It does go on a bit patchy and unlike the regular ones doesn't apply any different with a brush. I guess as a base for neutrals this would wiork but I have the barely branded & barely beige shades for this purpose as stand alone shades/bases. Tough as taupe doubles up as a liner & crease color. Shady shores on the other hand just doesn't work as either. And its meaningless as a base.I was really looking for the punch of color + the natural goodness of crease free long wear this line provides. Sadly its lacking that for me.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Jordana - Blush- Touch of Pink
glamstep 5/3/2013 9:42:00 AM
One of my favorite blushes from Jordana (coral sandy beach is a close tie) Pretty coral color; with a touch of pink, 100% matte. Its not powdery one bit; I've poked it several times with a knife in the attempt to depot (hUge fail btw) & a few dusty particles disappear no huge condensed clumps like others I've tried. The pigmentation is excellent; its not crazy like WnW where you have to carefully barely touch the pan & not light like Maybelline fit me where you have to stab the brush across several times. Its just right. Its blends evenly with a good brush (I use sigma F40) ofcourse its not like NARS buttery smooth in one fluffy touch but equal to other good quality ds blushes-Revlon, L'oreal, E.L.F., Rimmel. The staying power is great too; I swatched it on my hand and plain old tissue paper couldn't wipe it off; I needed to add lotion. I do have dry skin though. Overall its the best blush for the price tag. I adore it more than the other cheapies WnW, N.Y.C (those are great too) this one is just simpler to use, longer staying power and easy color to work with daily. Sadly I wont repurchase because (as you can probably predict) I own a TON of blushes & without depotting into z-palettes theres no way I could see/use/go through them all and Jordana blushes just don't depot! The bottom silver round pan is too thick and perfectly fits the thin pan of the blush; its glued in hard. No heat/xacto knife could loosen this thing. If there was a compartment for mirror/brush on the bottom maybe then but this doesn't have either so its impossible. I've ruined the edges of this beauty already; I couldn't bare to anymore but if anyone's figured out a way, please contact me!!
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Blush -Boots - No 10 Peach
glamstep 5/2/2013 8:19:00 PM
Gorgeous spring shade. Veryyy similar to NARS lustre although not quite a dupe. The shade is a tad lighter but the peach pigmentation, gold micro glitter that translates into a peachy tan is all the same. Its super softt and sooo easy to blend. I LOVE how Target has testers, mirrors even makeup removers out to try out all the new boots products. Its part of the Boots Botanics power of plants-mineral blusher line. The blush itself is circular but in a small thin light square container. No extra fluff, brush or mirror. Simple yet sweet! P.S. The gold glitter is prettyyy obvious in sunlight/outdoors so be aware of that. Building more color=more glitter, less sheen. This is where the deal breaker is for me. I usually top my cream blush with this lightly if I know Ill be outdoors. For night outs I go crazy layering as usual.I have ALOT of coral/peach shades so I can't say this will find a home in my collection again once its all out; but I do plan on using it all up & enjoying it while Im at it .
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Blush -Unlisted Brand - Elle cosmetics - #4 blush
glamstep 5/2/2013 7:39:00 PM
Pretty matte peach! Has very good pigmentation and I love the testers that prove this to you. I tried this & walked over to the American Beauty section that also carries a peachy pink but that one was wayy sheer. This one definetly wins in the pigmentation criteria. Even the staying power really reminds me of HE dept store quality. This can go on heavy so apply with a light hand, doesn't have the best blendability either. I have to work a little harder than usual with my F40 to get a natural distribution, its not terrible really. I just DISLIKE the price tag, especially for Kohls! I was expecting more affordable options at a otherwise budget friendly store. DS even SK at target carries similar if not superior quality/range of colors for less!
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Eye Shadow -Maybelline - Expert Wear The BrightSide Palette
glamstep 5/2/2013 10:14:00 AM
EIGHT bright fun spring shades for the price of less than a buck per eye shadow is such a steal! Even at a higher cost it soo worth it. I URGE you to GOOGLE images/swatches of this! Ive been using it religiously for those pops of colors in sooo many looks lately. I can’t believe its not made its way into the hall of fame here on MUA. Well let me tell you ladies this is a gem from the same line of mini palette as “sunbaked neturals” it’s the same size/quantity/ with the same 3 finishes concept –shimmer, matte, pearl. The colors included are: TOP ROW: pearl Pastel blue, pearl Mint green, Matte Coral, shimmer Moss green BOTTOM ROW: pearl Champagne, pearl Coral, shimmer yellow, shimmer Sky Blue The matte coral is nearly identical to the new Fergie WnW Desert Festival orange coral (which is the only selling point in that palette IMHO); makes a lovely spring-y crease color on a neutral eye. The pearl champagne make a stunning brow bone highlight; looks exceptional especially on warm tone tan skin. I use the bottom right bright sky blue as a pop of blue LINER! It’s the best bright blue liner to imitate the popular new trend right now. Lastly I love LOVE to add the shimmery yellow to the center of my lid on an otherwise neutral, boring nude brown sorta smokey eye. It INSTANTLY wakens up my eyes and gives me a bright eyed look. The other colors are all highly pigmented, opaque full on fun colors that are super creamy and blendable as well and add a little extra something to different looks. These are just ways/combos I use religiously with this palette. Maybelline needs to put some of these shades in there trios/larger single-duos. Good thing there nicely pigmented so you get good pay off with fewer brush taps vs other ds shadows but you’ll hit pan quite easily still with soo many uses.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Fresh - Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15
glamstep 5/2/2013 9:35:00 AM
Overrated!!! Talk about rip off. The scent (that I only noticed after yt gurus raved on and on and on about) is obviously super subtle & evaporates quicker then the 'treatment' aspect of this. Its basically a thin film of oil that sits ON TOP of your lips, never actually penetrates/hydrates/treats any dryness. My lips feel too greasy, too slippery to ever actually layer a lipstick on top & again because it doesn't sink in I can only use this at night. Mind you my uber dry cracked lips return to almost normal in the morning; yes this gets rid of the flakes overnight but no I don't wake up with softer lips. On the contrary it sorta sucks OUT the moisture and leaveS me with smooth (I guess is a decent word to describe it) tight lips that I immediately need to coat some real moisture on before I feel like they will crack/bleed. People that are LOVING this obviously don't have terribly dry lips or like the slip feel and not the healing feel. If your in my category your muchh better off with Nivea or plain old Vaseline or any carrier oil.
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Eyeliner -Jordana - Punk Rock Purple Glitter Rocks
glamstep 5/2/2013 2:01:00 AM
Just picked this up today at Walgreens on sale for a little over a buck! Its a pretty sparkly purple, reminds me of the starry sky with its dark background and little flecks of silver. Creamy, smooth, opaque & retractable! What else could I ask for!? Looks great paired with a smokey eye or cool tone neutrals. Its a very darkk purple, could be mistakened for black grey? from a distance, not loud in your face neon bright--which I like. The silver did disappear after a few hours; although the glitter is sooo tiny that I couldn't really detect them on my face either! TIP for FALLOUT: I would suggest wiggling an eyeliner/pencil brush to attempt to smoke out the liner (it won't budge at all! its sets super well but the silver should eventually wipe off). If your a fan of the sparkles and its breaking your heart to see them float away, top it with clear brow gel! Ive used a q-tip/my favorite $1 ELF smudge brush in the past for different liners & it works wonders at preventing fall out :)
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Lipstick -Wet 'n' Wild - Fergie - Bebot Love
glamstep 5/2/2013 12:39:00 AM
I picked this up after loving Fergie's Daily & this being the next shade up. But that's where I got tricked its not quite the next shade up, its significantly darker than FD(x4 atleast if I could quantify it). While FD is more of a pinky beige nude this is more of a mauvey brown. Beautiful color & would look more natural/maybe even MLBB for alot of tanner skin tones or pigmented lips. Im NC25 with the lightest pink lips so this translates to full opaque brown; more of a winter shade/ daring night out look for my preference. I simply cant use it as a daily staple lippie (which is something I look for in all my lipsticks-there all quite wearable/natural pink-nudes. To each their own) I do find this to be more creamier than FD, even more of satiny finish; which I like. I will use & treasure it while it lasts but leaning more towards repurchasing FD only for now :) P.S. Only sold at Walgreens (as far as ds go) also these have yummy Vitamin E, Amino Acids, Avocado and Rice Bran Oil ingredients AND spf 15. May I also add-LOVING the actual names (not # only from mega last line) on the bottom of the tube; not just the useless plastic wrap you peel off & toss!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -L'Oreal - The OneSweep Blush
glamstep 5/1/2013 9:44:00 PM
Wow talk about ZERO pigmentation. I should have read closely, its the infamous One Sweep by L'oreal that also created the ingenious one sweep eye shadow; the U shape trios your suppose to swipe in one stroke to instantly deposit shades in the natural contours of your eye? (Ring a bell?) Yup same concept here, swipe brush between blush & bronzer side to get the "sculpting" look. Great concept, especially because the surface area of the pan is larger so its quite possible if there was any color payoff. I picked up Nectar; a beautiful looking matte peach blush and a olive matte brown bronzer on the other side; perfect combo---NOT. Mind you Im NC25 so pretty light skin and you know how the inside of your finger tips are naturally lighter/pinkier if you may? thats the exact shade of the blush after I 'rubbed' my finger in it, repeatedly. No light swatches here; the bronzer was the same poor quality. I turned my extra lamp on in my room and threw on my reading glasses to inspect the barely there color. HUGE disappointment. Girls that even like the barely there look are better off with NYC blushes, please don't bother with these. These look ALOT prettier in the pan then you can imagine/appreciate.
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Foundations -Boots - Botanics Age Defense
glamstep 4/29/2013 12:48:00 AM
I picked this up on a whim as my current fav-Boots Botanics Colour adjusting foundation ran out & was sold out at target :/ This seemed like the same range of yellow tone goodness that the newer revamped boots foundations are lacking (their ALL) cool toned. For reference Im NC25 and wear Ivory in the colour adjusting, for this one I got Almond. At first this looks slightly darker-maybe NC30 more but blended out nicely from the lovely tester. It leaves the same dewy natural skin finish as the colour adjusting. I just need ALOT more of this and it lasts wayyy less throughout the day. The texture is basically run down water (L'oreal TM even seems thicker in comparison to this) I needed about 3-4 pumps to get light to barely medium coverage. The plus points was it still looked super natural, no cakey, obvious makeup look. Nice glass bottle, nice ingredients. The minus-poor wear time and coverage. I still needed concealer (my skin is at its best right now too so very limited minor hyper-pigmentation; on about 25% of my face) To add to this huge drawback, it transfers onto my phone/shirt anything that touches it. Also broke down on my rather quick~4 hrs and got oily sooner than that (btw my skin is dry). Overall I was veryy disappointed in this foundation. Yes it has some nice ingredients-ginkgo=antioxidants but it certainly did not make me look younger-smoother instantly as the box claims. If your looking for a yellow toned, affordable, natural looking, dewy finish foundation grab the Colour Adjusting by botanics (its in a tube format) instead. I HIGHLY recommend that.
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Blush -Revlon - Matte Powder Blush in Rose Rapture
glamstep 4/24/2013 7:07:00 PM
Soft, matte, cool toned baby pink. Gives a doll like flush to pale cheeks, incredibly easy shade to wear on a daily basis. Good pigmentation and excellent staying power. I'm not into cool undertones but this one is so subtle and natural I can't even detect it; applies very neutral. Its one of Revlon's underdog products.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Hard Candy - Fox in A Box - Skinny Dipping
glamstep 4/24/2013 7:01:00 PM
Oh my Benefit's Sugar Bomb replacement, please don't get discontinued! Ive heard heart breaking rumors, hopefully their just repackaging this perfection. The box is quite loose although colorful & cute; it sits on my dresser with my most used rings inside! Ive depotted this duo. If your into peachy cheeks, this is a winner. One side is a bright coral that leaves a silvery sheen to glowing cheeks, while the other is a mid-tone brown with the slightest red undertone. Combined it gives my NC25 skin a perfect natural sculpted tan. Individually/paired with other blushes/bronzers it still excels. I own dozensss of blushes & this is definetly one of my favoritesss. I cannot cannot imagine my collection without it. One of Hard Candys best products, right up there with the glamoflauge concealer!!
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Blush -New York Color - Riverside Rose 651A
glamstep 4/24/2013 6:52:00 PM
Ive worn this one for months at a time, in a row, especially in my teenage years. Its such a universal color that goes with anything and everything. Its a 100% matte pinky brown with a mauve undertone, not pigmented enough for tan + skin but shows up naturally on my NC25 yellow skin. Its not powdery at all but sort of dries up quite often. I have to go in with a harsh, stubby brush (much like the one it comes with) and scratch off a layer of the too smooth surface to reveal the soft texture underneath. Its so cheap that I don't mind wasting away the excess blush every couple of days when needed. Although I do prefer Revlon matte in barely buff (a similar shade) much more, mainly due to the superior quality & better pigmentation; but this still gets good use. Will use it up while it lasts.
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Eye Shadow -L'Oreal - Wear Infinite-Classic Khakis duo
glamstep 4/24/2013 6:39:00 PM
Classic STAPLE for fair/light skinned gals, gives a beautiful polished, chic, effortless work appropriate look. I use it most days actually it has a perfectly matte cream shade (beige undertone) that easily cancels redness/veins/darkness on my lid. The darker shade is a matte taupe-brown with olive undertones, a truly unique shade whether its ds/HE. There is absolutely no fallout and blends nicely. I have this depotted & in my small z palette for quick and complete eye look anywhere in virtually a minute. No guesswork involved, fool proof every time. Love, love, lovee this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No