Primer/ Corrector -BeneFit Cosmetics - That Gal
x0kerbear 10/17/2010 4:15:00 PM
This is the first primer I've ever bought and I had really high expectations because: 1. It's Benefit 2. It's supposed to make my makeup last longer 3. It's supposed to brighten (which I really need cuz I have a dull complexion!) I can't say that this really does what it says. I do love the feel of this on my skin - it definitely smooths out my skin and makes my makeup glide on. I can't see a difference in lasting power of my makeup, but I've never really had an issue with makeup not lasting. As for brightening, I don't really notice any. I think it makes my skin look better, but not brighter. I've found mixing a VERY small amount of MAC's Vanilla Pigment with my foundation gives me a nice bright complexion. I really love Benefit products, and I will continue to buy my favorites. I don't hate this product and I probably would repurchase if it were cheaper because I do like the feel of it and I love the packaging. However, it's too expensive to buy it just for that reason. So, I will use up what I have and look for a different primer!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Omega
x0kerbear 10/17/2010 4:07:00 PM
Omega is the eyeshadow I bought for my eyebrows and I use it every single day for filling them in. It's a great natural color and doesn't show up too dark or too light. My eyebrows are light brown, but my hair is dirty blonde so omega is the perfect color for me. I also use it as a lid color and a crease color. It's so versatile and great for natural looks or even darker looks! I have had it since May and I've just hit pan on it. This will definitely get repurchased very soon so that I have a backup!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Face and Body Foundation
x0kerbear 10/17/2010 4:01:00 PM
This foundation is absolutely wonderful!! I was shopping at a CCO at the end of July and saw this there and I decided to pick it up for around $22. I had my eye on it for a while, so when I saw it for cheaper I figured it was a good time to try it out. I bought it in N2, which matched my skin perfect (with a tan). My first impression: Went on very smoothly and melted into my skin Light - medium buildable coverage Good lasting power (~8 hours was the longest I've worn it) After using it for a few months I have learned that the best way to apply Face and Body is with your fingers. A stipling brush works too, but you will end up wasting a lot of product. If you use your figners it really melts into the skin and gives more coverage than a stipling brush. I do like to take a stipling brush (Sonia Kashuk) and go over my face after I've applied it just to blend it even more and that works well for me. Now that my tan is fading, I bought N1 and I like to mix it with the N2 for my perfect color, N1 alone will be perfect for winter. 2 shades probably isn't necessary depending on how drastic your color changes, because it's so sheer it's very easy to blend in that you wouldn't really notice, but I do like having the 2 shades. The coverage is buildable, I like 2 layers for medium coverage. I do use a concealer underneath of this (Maybelline Dream Smooth Concealer) and it works out really well. By putting the concealer on first it covers any blemishes or redness and then putting the foundation over it evens everything out and makes my skin look very natural. If I don't have any blemishes, I can skip the concealer and the Face and Body evens out my skin tone well and does cover minor redness, but I do like using concealer underneath most of the time just for a really flawless look! I don't use Face and Body every single day because I have 2 other foundations that I love as well - Neutrogena Healthy Skin and Bare Minerals. I rotate between the 3 because I can't pick just one! I also like having different foundation options because I find that if I use the same one for a long period of time it doesn't look as nice. So rotation works best for me! Another thing I love doing is adding some Vanilla Pigment by MAC to this - I just dip my finger VERY lightly into the pigment and then blend it together with the foundation and apply to my face. This really brightens my dull complexion and it doesn't look shimmery (just don't use too much!). I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a natural looking makeup. Even if you have some skin issues you can use a good concealer underneath and still get a natural looking makeup. You get a lot of product and I love the squeeze bottle packaging - makes it easy to dispense. The cap can get messy, but I always wipe mine off so I don't really have any problems with it. Give it a try - it's really good stuff!!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Bourjois - Liner Clubbing
x0kerbear 10/15/2010 6:59:00 PM
I LOVE this liner!! I am seriously eyeliner impaired and this applies so easy for me. I have pretty small eyes, so I only need a very thin line for some definition - this product is perfect! I have the Brown Vibes and it's great for daytime, this shimmer isn't over the top it's just enough to brighten my eyes. I have found that the liner is very wet (took one lippie off for that) and if you don't wipe off excess from the brush on the sides of the opening, it goes on too thick. Although the liner is very wet, once it dries it stays in place ALL day and night! I could never use other liquid liners - i.e. L'Oreal Linear Intense because it would apply it too thick no matter what I did. This brush is so precise you could do a very thin line or thicken it up. I want this in every color!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -MAC - Paint Pot in Rubenesque
x0kerbear 10/15/2010 1:16:00 PM
I am really loving MAC's paint pots - I also own Painterly and Bare Study. Rubenesque is a really pretty goldy-pink shade that is absolutely gorgous on my eyes! It really makes my green eyes pop and gives me some warmth. It looks really pretty under All That Glitters on the lid and then Texture in the crease. As others have said, it was hard to work with at first (it went on spotty and wasn't very smooth), but I solved this but rubbing my finger around to warm up the product and break through the top layer - worked like a charm and it's now just as creamy as Painterly and Bare Study! I also love using this on the apples of my cheeks as a blush with benefit's coralista over top - so pretty!!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -MAC - Paint Pot in Bare Study
x0kerbear 10/15/2010 1:11:00 PM
I'm fairly new to MAC and have owned Painterly Paint Pot for a few months now and I love it. So, I decided to buy Bare Study and Rubenesque. Bare Study is a beautiful shimmery champage color and works well under whatever eyeshadows I put on top! It adds a beautiful sheen and isn't overly shimmery - even with shimmery shadows on top. It doesn't crease and wears all day, with or without another primer underneath. I noticed a lot of reviews stated that it didn't go on smooth - I didn't have this problem with Bare Study, but Rubenesque seemed very dry when I first used it. I solved this by rubbing my finger over in a bunch of times to warm up the surface - worked great, it's now very creamy. Love paint pots so much and I look forward to trying some of the darker colors!
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Concealers -Physicians Formula - Concealer Twins Yellow and Natural
x0kerbear 9/30/2010 9:32:00 PM
This concealer doesn't cover well at all, and settles terribly into my fine lines under my eyes! I like the concept of the "twins" since it's nice to have them both together, but there wasn't enough coverage for me. It had a nice creamy consistancy though. This may be a good concealer for those who want really light coverage and don't really have any little lines under their eyes!
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Styling Products -TRESemme - Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for Oily/Straight to Normal Hair
x0kerbear 9/30/2010 9:19:00 PM
I really tried to like this, but it's just not a good product. It doesn't really do anything to soak up oil and make my hair feel fresh. I find the smell to be decent and I like the concept, but it just doesn't do what it should! This was my first dry shampoo, so I don't really know what they are supposed to be like, but I'm sure this isn't it! I have had better results with just baby powder - it soaks up oil and gives me volume. I really love TRESemme's line of products, but this one isn't a winner.
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Concealers -BeneFit Cosmetics - Erase paste
x0kerbear 9/30/2010 3:52:00 PM
I bought erase paste about 5 months ago - so I gave it a fair trial before writing this review! The first time I used it, I really loved the coverage and thought it looked great. Then for a few weeks I felt like it looked really cakey under my eyes and I would blend and blend, just for it all to disappear. I have really dry skin - especially under my eyes and I now know that is the reason it looked cakey - it sat into my flaky spots. I was really determined to get this to work (because it was so expensive and I really loved the way it covered my dark circles) so I started using a really thick eye cream (Yes To Carrots) and I use Jojoba Oil mixed with my moisturizer. This has gotten rid of all of my flakiness!! Now, the erase paste goes on so smoothly and covers and brightens my dark circles (I also use eye bright underneath for extra brightening) really well. I find the best application is to dab a concealer brush in the pot very lightly as you only need a little bit, then place the concealer where you want it and blend with your fingers. I like using a brush to get out the product because I find my fingers pick up too much and so does the spatuala, unless I'm really really careful. As long as I don't use too much, I don't have issues with this settling into little lines under my eyes. I am also able to dab a little powder over top without it being cakey and I have no problems with this lasting - lasts all day for me!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Expensive Pink (Veluxe Pearl)
x0kerbear 9/28/2010 5:06:00 PM
I really love looking at this color in the pan, but I just can't make it work for me! It looks awful on my eyelids - it's so orange and doesn't look pink at all. I am neutral-cool toned, but I can wear a lot of warmer colors. I keep trying to make it work, but everytime I end up wiping it off because it just looks scary! I will continue to play aronud with different bases and try and make it work somehow, but for now it will get no use. It's a very bronzy-pink color and I've seen it used in youtube tutorials and it looks beautiful on others, just not me. Oh well, they can't all work I guess!
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Liquid -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup SPF 20 (2009 formulation)
x0kerbear 9/28/2010 4:47:00 PM
I've wanted to try this foundation for a while, but everytime I would look at it I thought "do I really need ANOTHER foundation?" I seem to always fall into the hype of a "wonderful foundation" and end up not loving it so much. Well, I eventually gave in and bought this. I am SO happy I did! I bought this in the summer when I had a tan so I went for "Buff 30". Now that I'm kind of losing my tan I bought the next shade lighter - "Natural Ivory 20", which is too light still. I mix the 2 shades together for my perfect color (for now!). I am really happy with this foundation - it has a gorgeous finish, gives great coverage, and does make my skin look so healthy!! I'd say it's a medium coverage foundation - which is fine for me as I don't really need a lot of coverage. However, if you need a lot of coverage you may not like this, but I'm sure you can build it to your desired coverage because it goes on very natural for me. I've found the best application to be with a stippling brush (I use the sonia kashuk highlighting brush from target). I get an airbrushed finish this way, it seems that when I used my fingers it didn't look as natural and blended. I have pretty dry skin and this works great for me - doesn't cake on my flaky areas and it gives me a nice glow. When I'm having a normal skin day it can be a bit shiny, but I just apply some powder and it takes care of that - and it lasts all day! I do believe oily skin types could use this as well - you would just need a good powder to keep oilyness at bay. Also, you don't need a lot of product - if you use to much it looks mask like and gets difficult to blend so a little goes a long way!! I do hate the packaging - no pump and it's very liquidy, so it's easy to get too much product, but I really love the product so I will just have to overlook that!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Alba Botanica - Hawaiian Sea Salt Body Scrub
x0kerbear 9/27/2010 5:59:00 PM
This salt scrub is amazing!! I have been searching for a long time to find one that doesn't irritate my skin since a lot are made with mineral oil and other crappy ingredients that make me itch like crazy. I saw this while shopping in Wegmans one day and I read the ingredients and everything sounded great, so I bought it. I didn't really expect much because I 've had the same results from every scrub I buy- they always feel like they did nothing! I like how coarse this is, I find that it really does a great job at exfoliating, my skin literally glows after using this! For those that said it was painful - you only need to gently rub it in circles on your skin for it to be effective! I like how I don't have to scrub and scrub and use tons of product for it to work. My skin is in the best shape it's ever been and I owe it all to this product!!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - All That Glitters
x0kerbear 9/27/2010 5:53:00 PM
I bought "All That Glitters" due to the hype and I was SO excited when I got it. When I first tried it I thought it was really nothing special. However, this is one of my most reached for shadows! The more I use it, the more I see how great it is. The other day I mixed it with naked lunch for a change, added some texture in the crease and my green eyes were so bright - it looked awesome. I can definitely see myself hitting pan on this one. It's truly a great peachy champagne color and mixes well with naked lunch for a little more oomph!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Mulch eyeshadow
x0kerbear 9/27/2010 5:48:00 PM
Mulch is an eyeshadow that I thought I would only reach for once in a while. I find myself reaching it for it every day!! It's my favorite shadow to use as liner - especially over powersurge eye kohl. It also works great to darken the outer v or even a light wash all over the lid. Mulch makes my green eyes pop and it looks good with so many other shadows. I wear it a lot with naked lunch, all that glitters, patina, woodwinked, era, and grain. I just love it! It's a warmer brown, but not too warm that us cool-tones can't pull it off. It warms up my eyes nicely and it's such a beautiful brown-bronzey color. Definitely give this one a try!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Cork
x0kerbear 9/19/2010 5:02:00 PM
When I first bought this shadow, I thought it was just average and boring. However, the more I use it, the more I like it. I love it as a crease color - gives a great contour and can be built up for a more dramatic look, or just a sweep of color gives you a nice natural look! I use naked lunch on the lid and then cork in the crease, great for a quick neutral eye!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No