Blush -Milani - Smooth Finish Blush - Luminous
kasiecakes 10/7/2011 6:03:00 PM
This review is for the old Milani Luminous, not the new mineral Luminous! I ordered one on eBay, expecting the newer mineral version and I got the older one. Oh well, all the same to me! :) What else can I say about this blush that hasn't been described already?! Its pretty amazing and it lives up to it's hype. I'm about an NC35, very yellow/golden based and I was scared this would be too shimmery for my oily, giant pored face. This comes off more as a subtle sheen than a true shimmer (unlike Orgasm)! I prefer this one to Orgasm, actually. Which is so awesome because I'm saving so much money for other goodies. This comes up a pretty pinky-peachy glow on my medium warm skin. It is pigmented and easily buildable for a full flush or a sheer glow. It comes in a small, travelable flip top packaging with no brush/mirror opening on the bottom unlike the newer Milani Luminous. The sheen on this is gold and universally flattering on all skin tones. If you're a darker skintone and find that this doesn't show on your skin as much, I would pick up the Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso. It is a truer peach with a punch of peachy color and subtle shimmer as well. I bought it because I thought it was a different version of Luminous. It is definitely more of a true peach, so if you're wishing Luminous is more peachy, check out Luminoso! Anyway, I digress. So, luminous is overall a very pretty everyday color that isn't top overwhelming like Orgasm can sometimes be. It is very subtle and ethereal on the cheeks and imparts a gorgeous glow. I hear good things about the mineral luminous as well. It is slightly pinker than the old luminous and comes in a pan with a mirror and a brush. If you wish luminous was a touch more pink, pick up the newer Luminous! Overall, I would definitely repurchase again and again. This blush is to die for :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Skinfood - Peach Sake Pore BB Cream SPF20 PA+ (Shade 02)
kasiecakes 10/1/2011 8:49:00 PM
Update: The shade #2 was too light for my tanning summer skin, which is now closer to NC30. I just found newer shades of this bb cream all the way up to #8, which is a super deep tone for African American skin! YAY! I chose #3, which matches me perfectly now! My shade: NC25 I bought: #02 Natural Beige Texture: Light, creamy, easily blended Finish: Slightly dewy, is NOT matte, sheer (max coverage is light-medium) Scent: Sweet peachy fruit, very delicate and yummy Oil control: Medium SPF: 20 PA+ I spent 15 dollars on this at my local Skinfood store in California. It sucked me in with promises of controlling my oily skin while giving me flawless coverage and a natural finish. Since I don't have very blemished/acne prone skin, the finish on this looked great on me since it's sheer. I could see my skin through it and it looked fairly flawless. The color of this comes out looking like a peachy-yellowish color that blends out beautifully and matches my yellowish medium asian skin nicely. It comes in a 30ml tube with an iffy pump at the bottom I'm not really digging. It seems to get stuck sometimes and pump out too much, wasting the product. Oil control is pretty good, it controlled my T-zone for a few hours while I was working in a hot kitchen. I had to blot once today, but it wasn't a big deal. If I'm just at school or I'm cashiering instead of working near the oven, the oil control is great. Again, this is not a matte finish! I can see very subtle shimmer in the cream that is not overwhelming at all. It gives my oily skin a natural, no-makeup kind of look that I really love. I haven't had any trouble with breakouts or any kind of sensitivity to this bb cream. The scent is addicting! It smells fruity and peachy, but not overwhelmingly so. The scent is very delicate. Overall, it's a great cream at an inexpensive price locally, or online. I would definitely repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Primer -Urban Decay - Eyeshadow Primer Potion - Original (UDPP)
kasiecakes 9/27/2011 5:44:00 PM
Update: My tube is still fresh and going strong. By this time with the genie bottle, I would have decanted it into a container because of dryness and such. Make sure that you squeeze out extra air in the tube! I think its essential to keeping the primer moist. So squeeze until you almost push out some product, then twist that cap on TIGHT! :) ---------------------------------- I bought the new tube shaped UDPP. As long as it is in this tube forever, this will be my official eyeshadow primer. So long crappy genie bottle. Okay, so first off let me start by stating that this is an eyeshadow primer. It is meant to help your eyeshadow last and last. And that is exactly what it does! Thank goodness for that. I've tried E.L.F. mineral primer, and TFSI so far. I feel that UDPP is by far the best at holding onto eyeshadow and keeping it there the longest. On a normal busy work day, my shadow lasts 12+ hours without budging, smearing, creasing, or fading with UDPP. There is a lot more dryness in this product than with TSFI for those of you wondering. TSFI has a lot more blending and moisturizing capabilities, so if you aren't extremely oily lidded (like me), TSFI is a definite option for you that might work even better. I sometimes feel like I have a hard time blending UDPP, but it's okay because the benefit of it lasting so long is worth it. There is a slight scent, but nothing too harsh that I can't deal with. UDPP has 4 shades/finishes right now. Original (invisible), Greed (gold shimmer), Sin (soft champagne), and Eden (matte yellowish tint to conceal). I prefer the original, but if I had to pick between the other three, it would be probably be Eden because I prefer a matte finish before using shadows. Sin is actually very soft and pretty if you like a bit of shimmer. I would steer clear of Greed though, it is way to shimmery and gold. Overall, this is definitely a repurchase for me if they keep the tube packaging. It's much more sanitary and easier to dispense. I don't feel like I have to chop open my genie bottle and nearly slice my finger open anymore! YAY! :)
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Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Body Butter Shea
kasiecakes 9/26/2011 5:43:00 PM
Though the price of this butter is high, I feel it is so worth it. I just bought a full sized 400ml shea butter for 25 dollars at my local Body Shop. I hope it lasts me a lot longer than the mini I had before when I was just testing! :) Anyway, the consistency of this butter is very creamy and smooth, and it just melts into your skin when you start blending it in. Inside the tube, it actually looks and feels sort of like the Victorias Secret butters. It doesn't move much, so there isn't a worry of spillage (unless you leave it in a hot car to melt). This is ultra moisturizing. I use it daily on my hands, elbows, feet, and dry areas that need extra attention without a greasy feel. I bought this mainly at first for the scent because I fell in love with it! Its light and cozy for wintertime. It definitely has nutty tones in it with the slightest fragrance mixed it. It lingers on my skin, and I get a loy of compliments! Overall, I would most definitely repurchase even if its pricy. I <3 you Body Shop! (Word of warning: beware of the Born Lippy products. They are a total miss.)
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Primer/ Corrector -Unlisted Brand - Monistat - Chafing Relief Powder-Gel
kasiecakes 9/24/2011 3:34:00 PM
I did a double take when I saw the reviews on this and the ratings. I thought it was some kind of joke. So after digging and reading every positive and negative review I could, I went out to my local Target and picked up a 5 dollar tube of Monistat Anti Chafing gel. Though this is supposed to be used for areas that skin that rub together and create irritation/redness, I bought it as a primer for my face. WTH you ask?! Why put vajayjay cream on your face?! Well, first off for those of you in question, this is NOT a cream/gel for yeast infection. This is an anti chafe gel with 1.2% dimethicone, which is why its so comparable to Smashbox Primer. Packaging wise, it comes in a slim tube with a twist on cap. It is fairly easy to squeeze out a perfect amount of gel. On to the actual product - it has a gel-like consistency, not unlike Photofinish. It is cloudy, but spreads on invisibly. I use about a pea sized dot for my whole face, concentrating more on my t-zone. Let it dry a few minutes, then follow up with foundation etc. The product itself is very easy to spread when applied and dries to a shine free, silky finish. My liquid foundation glides on effortlessly and my gigantic pores are practically invisible!! :) You can only imagine my excitement. Overall, this is EXTREMELY inexpensive at 5-6 bucks a pop, and seems to work miracles. I have fairly oily skin and throughout my workday, I didn't need to blot even once. My makeup looked like I just applied it. Word of warning: this may cause breakouts for some of you because of the silicones/dimethicone. Wash off everything at night carefully. Overall, I would definitely repurchase again and again. Goodbye Photofinish!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Revlon - PhotoReady Makeup
kasiecakes 9/21/2011 9:59:00 PM
This was going to be my HG. Seemingly perfect with its creamy texture and wonderfully springy pump, I felt that I would keep coming back to this and shove aside Colorstay. I could apply this with my fingers, a brush, a sponge, ANYTHING, and it would look flawless. Enter sunlight. I took a glance outside with my handy compact mirror and to my horror, I see shimmer on my face. Though it is slight and subtle, my oily face looked even oilier, not dewy. Other reviewers are right when they say this photographs beautifully though. It is gorgeous. If not for the slight shimmer, I would love this because of the perfect color match (008 Golden Beige, NC35 in MAC). The pump also lets out the perfect amount everytime and you can even get a baby squeeze out to pat under the eyes or around your nose. Sigh... Back to Colorstay. If only they made a more matte version of this, I would be so in love. Those of you with normal/drier skin looking for a dewy finish? This is heaven for you guys.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -Smashbox - Brow tech
kasiecakes 9/16/2011 10:42:00 AM
UPDATE: I took a look at my brows in the sun and realized that this does have quite a dose of red against my almost black brows. It looks great indoors, but in natural light I feel that the color doesn't match as well as I had hoped. I will still use it and finish up the powder before moving on to another one. This is my holy grail of brow powder/wax. I have natural dark brown/black Asian hair and my brows are sparse and hard to fill in. I always had trouble finding a product that would look natural, but thank GOD I found this miracle in a little jar. I own brunette. Its split evenly between brunette and the wax. I do believe they now have a trio of powder, which has two shades and wax for color mixing and such. The powder is very pigmented. I just take a quick dip of my stiff brush into the powder and that takes care of one eyebrow. The same goes for wax. I dont see myself running out anytime soon! The only gripe I have is price and the packaging. It would be more convenient as a flip-top instead of a capped product. Price wise.... Well, I got it at a great price online (10$ for a full sized brow tech)! All in all, I would definitely repurchase!!
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Blush -Milani - Baked Blush in Luminoso
kasiecakes 9/15/2011 8:39:00 PM
I'm an NC35 with warm yellow undertones. This blush is extremely pigmented and on the shimmery side. It comes up a warm peachy color with a hint of pink. It gives me a glowy warmth that doesn't look like a glitterbomb on my face. Think of it more as a healthy sheen than shimmery. Unfortunately, it does accentuate large pores if that's a big issue for you ladies. Overall, its a beautiful shade of blush. The packaging is a little tough to open, but its not a dealbreaker. And its only about 7 dollars, so you aren't breaking the bank either. Give it a try! :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Kat Von D - Ludwig Palette
kasiecakes 9/6/2011 2:56:00 PM
I've had this palette for almost 2 years now, and with almost daily use, I finally hit pan with the lightest shimmery shade (the names faded on the back), and the matte brown. I'm getting close to pan with the other 2 shimmering warm browns. I dont really use the nudeish color next to the lightest shade because I find it to be extremely chalky and hard to blend/apply. The greens are beautiful for a night out. I find the shimmer shades are very smooth and velvety and easy to apply. The matte brown and black are a bit more brittle and prone to cracking and breaking if you aren't careful. I broke a piece of the matte black off on accident when I dropped the palette, but the others are fine. The mirror is HUGE, which is great! Its easy to handle and the packaging is sturdy and cute and hasn't broken on me for 2 years! I will definitely repurchase, just because its inexpensive at Sephora. You get 8 almost full sized shadows (when comparing to one single shadow from MAC) for the price of 35$-40$. The colors are for the most part universally flattering and very easy to work with.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -E.L.F. - Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 - Candlelight
kasiecakes 8/29/2011 1:20:00 PM
Update: So I'm trying it again and again and it still comes up a grapey, goopy, frosty mess on my lips. I don't know if it's because of my pigmented lips or if I got a dud. I just can't stand this gloss. It's going into the trash today. This smells like grape medicine/candy. Its texture is thick and strange, like no matter how many times I rub my lips together, the gloss feels like it won't move. I personally like a little slide to my glosses. This is excessively sticky and hard to spread. The color of this is opaque. What you see in the tube is what you're going to have all over your lips. I was hoping for something a little more sheer and nudish, but this turned into a frosty mess on my lips. It looked extremely unnatural. I would not repurchase.
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Eye Primer -Too Faced - Shadow Insurance, Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer
kasiecakes 8/27/2011 11:58:00 AM
Update: So I lowered my rating to 1. I just dont see what the hype is. My eyeshadows look nice on for about an hour before they start creasing and migrating. It seems udpp is the only thing that can control my oily lids. Though the consistency and feel on my eye is very comfortable, this just isn't working out for me. I'm glad it works so well for others though :) I like this, but it doesn't live up to its hype. The tube packaging is preferable and hygienic, but the product itself is is average. It is creamy and a lot more blendable and moisturizing than udpp, but I find that I start creasing after 3 hours. With udpp, I don't crease for up to 6-8 hours. I only apply a very small raindrop sized amount on each eye and blend away. I also gave it time to dry down, and the finish was beautiful at first. My shadows blended on fine and were still vibrant. Overall, I wouldn't repurchase on the fact that this just didn't last long enough for a full work day for me. I'll deal with the wonky genie bottle udpp has because the product they have just works better for me.
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BB Cream -MISSHA - M Perfect Cover BB Cream
kasiecakes 8/14/2011 3:00:00 PM
I'm about an NC25/30 in skin shade. I bought the 27 shade and got the 23 as a free promotion. Both shades work, 23 is slightly ashy on me. I use about half a pump for my whole face and a little extra patted around my nose and eyes. This blends like a dream. I use my fingers and I get a flawless finish. There is an alarming contrast between 27 and 23 for those of you wondering. 27 is extremely yellow tinted. There is no hint of grey cast as you would get from 23 or 21. It blends really well into my yellow/golden based skin. It is slightly darker than the 23 and lighter than 31, I would say anyone from NC/NW 30-40 could probably pull off the 27 shade. Texture wise, this is extremely creamy and easy to blend. I also find it moisturizing on my combo skin, so I didn't feel like I needed a moisturizer underneath. Probably in the winter when my skin is a little more dry, I'd use a moisturizer. I haven't noticed any real difference with the texture of my skin or any whitening effects. I'm fairly young, so I'm not sure about the wrinkling effects either. There is a slight scent to this. I actually really enjoy it. Its very feminine and it does linger for a little bit for those of you sensitive to scents. I have the 50ml tube, which comes with a convenient pump that dispenses an exact amount everytime. I have no problems from a baby pump to a full pump. I do need to blot during the middle of the day, but my skin is a little more oily than dry, so its just a must for me no matter what I'm wearing that day. Overall, I would definitely repurchase! Missha scored when they made this. So long, Revlon CS.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Revlon - ColorStay Liquid Liner
kasiecakes 8/1/2011 7:21:00 PM
I have this in Black Brown and I absolutely love the pigmentation of this liner. It is very dark and close to black, but not completely black, so it isn't as harsh. The black shade is very true to black. The only gripe I have about this is that the liner runs a little bit on my oily eyelids, so I have to use UDPP before I apply this. With the primer on, this lasts ALL DAY without reapplication. I love this, I love the felt tip applicator, and I love the color range. Will definitely repurchase.
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Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Studio Powder Brush
kasiecakes 8/1/2011 7:16:00 PM
This is an incredible brush for the teensy price of 3 dollars. I have high standards when it comes to brushed I use all over my face. This brush is dense, soft, and easy to handle. It has not shed one bit through all my weekly washings and buffs on my liquid foundation with ease. It works well with powder, bronzer, and blushes as well. I just stipple on a bit of my foundation and buff it in with this brush. It is amazingly soft, and SO worth the 3 bucks I spent at Target. I've recently bought two more, just to give out to my mom and a friend. They've also fallen in love with it. I don't really like the E.L.F. cosmetics, but the studio brushes work wonders. I suggest grabbing the C eyeshadow brush as well. What a great buy!!
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Foundations -Cover Girl - Natureluxe Liquid Silk Foundation
kasiecakes 8/1/2011 7:13:00 PM
This foundation is more of a thick tinted moisturizer. It is very hydrating, and smells very crisp and fresh. I usually am put off by perfumes inside of my foundations, but this smelled pretty nice and dissipates right after application. I love the squeeze tube it comes in. It is thin, easy to travel with, and very easy to squeeze out the perfect amount, so there is no product waste. I have this in the shade Maple, and I am about an NC35 in MAC foundations. It is a close match to my face, but thankfully these foundations are forgiving when it comes to shades because of the more sheer tint. I'd say the maximum coverage you'd be able to get with these are about medium. I noticed that most of the 14 shades lean more towards pink than yellow, a word of warning to those NC gals. Also, there doesn't seem to be a shade for very deep skintones. This foundation leaves a wonderously silky satin finish when you're done applying. It feels great for the first hour or so until you need to blot. I found that this formula seems to make me pretty greasy. Those with dry skin may really enjoy this for the summer, because it is very light and the application is so easy because of the blendability. I just applied straight with my fingers and I looked fairly flawless for a little bit of time. Then again, I don't have many problems with my skin other than giant pores. The pricing on this was a little bit high for me - $13.00 at Target. Overall, I would probably not repurchase because this makes me pretty greasy halfway through my day. I will use it up and return to Revlon Colorstay foundation.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No