Bronzers -Physicians Formula - Bronze Booster Pressed Bronzer - Med to Dark
EmilyyGrace 5/31/2013 4:58:00 PM
This is simply put the best. It sat in my makeup bag for awhile then I rediscovered it. Easy to work with- on my "no makeup, beach makeup" days, some concealer, mascara, this over my cheeks and temples with a powder brush--VOILA. Warms up my whole face. I am NC20 and the Medium Dark i fine for everyday use. Love.
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Bronzers -TheBalm - Bahama Mama
EmilyyGrace 5/31/2013 4:52:00 PM
Ok. This is a tricky one and I feel about it the way I feel about my HG Kat Von D foundation. Great, phenomenal product. If you're willing to work with it. If you're not it's going to be one of the worst you've encountered (just like the foundation). I am pale. NC20, NC25-MAYBE NC30 in the summer. (maybe). The packaging is beyond adorable. I'm not one of those hung up on packaging but TheBalm deserves recognition for it's adorableness. The actual product is smooth but if you swipe a brush across this, just once, you will pick up A LOT of product. I don't even want to think about what would happen if you swirled a brush in it. :::Shudders::. VERY pigmented. Very. I obviously cannot use this as a bronzer, (I use their Betty Lou-Manizer for that), but right now as a contour it is as good as it gets. My favorite ever was the MUFE sculpting kit #2 (discontinued) and this shade is very similar to that. It takes awhile to blend it out not going to lie. If I used the technique I do with my Hoola bronzer (swiping it once across cheekbones, temples ect), it would be a disaster. It takes A LOT of working in. But again, if you're willing to put the time in, even if you're fair skinned, go for it. If not, you will have wasted $20.
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Concealers -NYX - HD Photogenic Concealer Wand
EmilyyGrace 5/29/2013 2:49:00 PM
This product is the balls. I bought it on a whim when I saw the bright yellow. Didn't expect anything literally. I am one of those that can't possibly BELIEVE that this works 100x better then my Lancôme and Tarte so there are days I don't use it, and those are the days I feel my makeup fails. I could use just the yellow, and have been, but I just picked up fair to see if it could possibly get any better. The yellow BRIGHTENS like nobody's business. And if blended can easily be used alone. Medium coverage. The bottle probably lasts about 6 weeks, but it's $5 people. $5 every 6 weeks. Run, don't walk to get this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Yves Saint Laurent - Teint Touche Eclat Foundation
EmilyyGrace 5/17/2013 5:46:00 PM
Oook. Like many, I have a love hate relationship with this. Immediately after application, I look flawless. I mean glowing, radiant...medium coverage AND it passed what I call the boyfriend test (when he doesn't know I've done anything differently and still comments) and in this case he was sitting next to me and said, "your skin today...what's going on. You have a glow". Well- fabulous. Except that this bad boy fadessss. Quickly, and I have dry skin. I have a weird habit of layering foundations, so I will apply my Kat Von D as per usual and just top it off with this (with a beauty blender) for the perfect finish-- but then, when it inevitably fades, my trusty Kat Von D is still there. So just for that purpose, no, it is not worth the $55 at least to me. It is too similar to Loreal True Match Lumi for the price.
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Crème -Revlon - ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup
EmilyyGrace 5/17/2013 2:15:00 PM
Ohhh I wanted to love this so badly. I am NC20 and Sand Beige is ALMOST a perfect match- probably not noticable to someone else so no big deal. I bought this only a few days ago, applied it with a stippling brush and was pleasantly surprised with its blendability. The finish is.,,not dewy, Id say satin, and this is keeping in mind I have dry skin. Staying power (on DRY SKIN ) average- 4 hours before it started to fade. Now comes the fine print. So I had this on for a few hours and I ran my hand over my face. Imagine my surprise when I felt not one, not two, but THREE "under the skin" pimples forming. (on someone who never gets them). Now to be fair, MAYBE the planets collided and that day was a bad day, but I'm not willing to risk it- especially when all other aspects of it were mediocre. Not bad, but not good. Don't know why I keep looking, Kat Von D lock it is never getting replaced.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -NARS - Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder
EmilyyGrace 3/26/2013 9:35:00 PM
I'm a little confused, and I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I ordered this off Sephora's website, due to all the amazing reviews.Uh. To the touch the powder feels like plastic, I literally had to rub my finger back and forth a bunch of times to check and see if there was still a covering over it. I swatched it on the back of my hand and there is visible shimmer in this, FOR SURE, 100%. It feels, amazing. The best powder I've personally ever felt. On my skin, it feels like silk and gives a blurred effect but um, who cares if you get pretty close to me and can see what looks like glitter/shimmer on my face. There is no mistaking it if you get close enough. I'm not so worried about a night out, or even a work day. But for me, the ultimate accomplishment in makeup is to be in bright sunlight with a glowy complexion and I am actually terrified to wear this in the sun...which kind of defeats the purpose. Ugh. I'm so torn. $34 for a "work day" powder? :/ ***Edit. Ok so I have changed my mind slightly about this. The shimmer, somehow, is not actually present in sunlight. Feels like silk on the skin, blurs nicely. Definitely feeling better about it, not regretting the purchase, still don't love enough to buy again but for someone with dry skin, powder is always going to be touchy.
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Liquid -Kat Von D - Lock-It
EmilyyGrace 3/26/2013 5:05:00 AM
Kat Von D. Who knew? So after hearing amazing review after amazing review, I impulse bought Light 44 the second it became available on Sephora.com, (I am NC20-25 and was waffling between the two but 48 wasn't available). So while waiting for it to arrive I went to Sephora and got a sample in 48. Oh.my.sweet Jesus. I have dry skin that I've never, and I mean never found a perfect color match for. This is spot.on. I have 0 problems with cakeyness, I dotted it over my skin, buffed with real techniques expert face brush and blotted with a beauty blender (all told takes about 2 min) my skin looks airbrushed. My boyfriend was 2 inches from my face tonight and said "your skin is....flawless". When i said "its my new foundation" he replied "seriously? Didnt think you had face makeup on". Sold. Onto MakeupAlley to do a review. I do use my Clarisonic every morning before I apply makeup so that could be why I don't experience the dry look others are. Again, if you're dry don't be scared off. Maybe you take .2 seconds more to moisturize your face- if you're not beyond lazy, the extra 30 seconds of effort might be worth it. I touched it up after the work day by just spritzing my Beauty Blender with Fix+. This is great. I looked flawless, color match was amazing, and if you can believe it, this covered my undereye issues better than my tarte Amazonian clay concealer AND my lancome concealer. Beauty obsessed junkie tested....boyfriend approved.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Cover Girl - Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation
EmilyyGrace 3/21/2013 2:20:00 PM
I haven't written a review in quite some time, but for some reason I feel compelled to. I got this because of all the rave reviews, despite my normal-dry skin. When I first put it on, it covered everything. (I have pretty decent skin as it is, just uneven). But needless to say I was still impressed. Fast forward 5 minutes and my face looked....powdery? Noooo. So I wiped it all off and started over. After facing east and making a small sacrifice, turning around 3 times, and jumping on one foot I realized how I can make this work for me. I mixed my True Match Lumi with an equal part of this, put it on with my fingers, and buffed it in with an Expert Face Brush. Voila!!! Angels started singing. So that was all well and good, went downstairs, made dinner, did some laundry, watched TV, came back upstairs a few hours later, and my face looked, and I mean literally, like I had JUST put it on. The reason this is good and bad is because personally I like that "melted into" look foundation gets after several hours, before all hell breaks loose around 4-5 hours of wear. The point of my rant was, people with dry skin, don't be scared off, mix it with a little moisturizer and warm it with your fingers. I took a lippy off because it was $13? What the hell for a drugstore foundation. And because I seriously doubt it would work if I didn't perform my ridiculous ritual. This will definitely be my go to on long days. Last sidenote. I am NC20 and Buff Beige is a DEAD ON match.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Bobbi Brown - Long Wear Even Finish Foundation Spf 15
EmilyyGrace 9/6/2012 9:39:00 AM
This stuff. Finally. My prayers have been answered. I don't usually write reviews. My skin is dry and sucks any and every foundation into my pores like a sponge soaking up water. This MELTS into my skin and only looks better as the day goes on. Going on it still does look a BIT dry, but that is because my skin is like the Sahara. Holy grail for every day foundation for SURE. Still want to try the Graftobian Cream HD & Kevyn Aucoin SSE for special events, because I don't think this gives a TON of coverage, I'd say light-medium.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Chanel - Vitalumiere Aqua
EmilyyGrace 4/12/2011 6:02:00 PM
I don't understand people who are saying this foundation has moved around. Maybe it is because my skin is naturally dry so this being a "glowy" foundation has done just that and given my skin a completely amazing glow. (Which is awesome because I have completely dull skin) and it seems to wear BETTER on me after several hours. (as i sit here it has been on for 6 hours and counting, and if possible my face looks more flawless than it did this morning. If you have oily skin obviously this will slide around, it is NOT a matte finish and it is water based. All in all, fantastic, especially for dry skin. Gives the best glow, great color match, dust some MUFE HD powder over it and you'll be set.
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Concealers -MAC - Select Moisturecover
EmilyyGrace 4/9/2011 4:59:00 PM
Oh MAC. How I want to love your products. Sadly I never do. This is super moisturizing but even the smallest amount creased on me even set with a powder... returned it today after having it for about 4 days. The color & formula slide around during the day because it is SO liquid, even if you let it dry a bit before blending. Unfortunately, MAC never seems to do it for me. :X
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Illamasqua - Cream - Rude
EmilyyGrace 4/2/2011 2:04:00 AM
This blush is AMAZING. Creamy and pigmented, sooo lovely. I am super pale and it looks pretty bright orange in the package but a little goes a LONG way and it gives just the right amount of color. Never liked corals but love this. Holy grail for summer for sure. :)
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Makeup Brushes -Sigma - F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki (was SS197)
EmilyyGrace 4/1/2011 11:34:00 PM
Epic brush. Epic. Airbrushed finish x100 on my relatively bad skin. Dense, soft, amazingggg I need to buy a backup for it ASAP and get the rounded kabuki. But does anyone have any advice for cleaning it? I'm afraid I ruined it washing it :( It's kind of misshapen now and not as soft and I am so so sad.
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Liquid -Revlon - PhotoReady Makeup
EmilyyGrace 3/29/2011 5:52:00 PM
Oh. My. Dear. Lord. It looks like a pigment exploded on my face. Do not let anyone tell you there is not a FAIR amount of shimmer in this product. The ONLY way you would not see it is if you were in really terrible indoor lighting or outside on a darkish/grey day. This is NOT an everyday summer foundation, maybe for a night out but if you walk into the sunlight you WILL look like Edward Cullen. The only other way I can think to use this is mixed with a bit of regular lighter foundation for under-eyes as a brightener/tops of cheeks as a highlight. Or if you are going to be inside all day. Yes you will get a "glowy" look because you are quite literally, glowing. DO NOT WEAR IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN SUNLIGHT!!! No bueno. There's really no more explanation necessary of the coverage ect. because obviously no one want's to look like they just stuck their face in glitter. Yikes :X
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Liquid -Revlon - ColorStay Makeup
EmilyyGrace 3/29/2011 5:13:00 PM
First of all, if you are saying this is cakey and you have dry skin you NEED, NEED to moisturize a few minutes before with a THICK hydrating moisturizer, but that goes for anyone with dry skin. My skin is basically the sahara desert and this foundation has been the source of far more compliments than my $60 Giorgio Armani foundation (which I despise). If you moisturize and use a SMALL amount it will not cake. It is medium to full coverage ladies you do not need a lot!!! And yes, it dries kind of quickly, which means yes, you have to alter your routine a bit. Do only one part or side of your face at a time. I do my chin, jaw first, blend, then nose/under eyes, blend. Then my forehead. It takes all of three minutes. Also something to note is people complain of this not helping their acne or not covering their acne. I understand that not every foundation will work for everyone, but if you have severe acne as some people are claiming they do, liquid foundation is not the answer, especially a moderate coverage one, it will only draw attention to it. This is not a skin care product! All of that being said, the coverage is good if you use the right amount, the color match is flawless (I am Buff) and I own 3 department store foundations all of which cost more than $40 and this is right up there with my favorites. Thumbs way up.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No