Blush -Tarte - Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful
Syllionya 5/2/2013 2:45:00 PM
I bought this when I was in Ulta, gathering supplies to remove my calgels at home. I wanted a peachy, pinky color and liked the swatch I made on my wrist. I'm an olive-colored person, but untanned, so I wear a dusting of this to brighten up my complexion. I really like it. It is matte and has a high color pay off. It stays on me all day at work. If I wear just a bit, I have a nice peachy glow for my yellowy olive skin. If you think you need to see pigment on the brush to get an effect, you are not going to like what you do to your face. The powder really doesn't show on the brush. I would recommend tapping the brush on the pan and tapping it lightly to your face, blending after you've gotten the color you want. A little goes a long way. For real.
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Foundations -Tarte - Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full-Coverage Foundation SPF 15
Syllionya 2/15/2013 3:04:00 AM
I've been using this product for a few weeks now. I purchased it at Sephora at the recommendation of the (rude) store rep, who said it was a good full coverage foundation for oily skin. I go between liking and not liking this product, but I don't love or hate it. If there was anything I DID love, however, it would be the yellow consistency of this foundation. It's great because I happen to be very very, yellow for a caucasion person. This is due to my Basque heritage, I guess. It comes in a nice tube with a wooden screw-top. The texture, as many have mentioned, is a gel mousse and very pleasant. I have learned the hard way that you only need a little bit, and also that you need to blend this bit out. If you use too much this foundation definitely looks like corpse makeup, so don't make that mistake. I don't have a buffing brush so I blend it with my fingers and then do little touchups with my Cargo magic brush. This works for me. I don't think this product builds all that well because of the afore-mentioned blending issue. It really defines my pores and makes weird greasy lines when I "over apply". I have freckly acne scars from a serious cystic break out and this product kinda covers the scars. I use concealer under it, and, most recently, bare minerals matte to set. These steps cover me up fairly well. I would say that this foundation gives acceptable coverage for a thinish layer. I don't like that I can't build my coverage. I added the matte mineral foundation at the end because this product comes off VERY easily for oily skinned girls such as myself. If you have oily skin, you need to set this foundation with a good powder or it's going to rub off all over the place. It will still rub off a fair bit. I won't buy this again. I would much rather buy Laura Mercier matte since I know I can just pat on extra foundation on problem areas without worrying about corpse looking buildup. I would even rather wear Smashbox studio foundation, although it isn't as nice to my skin. Both products stay put when I wear them.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Clarisonic - Mia
Syllionya 12/28/2012 8:39:00 PM
I got this as a very thoughtful Christmas gift from my mom, whose lament the past 5 months has been, "Aine, your skin used to be so lovely :((." And I DID have perfect porcelain black Irish skin, until I broke out in aggravated cysts all over my face last spring. For MONTHS. The cysts have cleared and I've used jojoba oil to improve my skin's tone and fade my scars to a light(er) color, but the scars are still there. 3 days: I use my Mia in the shower with my Acne Free wash. This kinda dries out my skin, but it's my own fault and I might even ditch the wash for Cetaphil instead. The device makes my face wash super effective, so I'm going to stop using medicated products at night before switching to Cetaphil. I was going to do that before I got the Mia, anyway. Also, the exfoliation, paired with my nightly jojoba oil routine, has noticeably faded my acne scars. My mom thought I was wearing (sheer) makeup today when I wasn't! I don't know if my scars will disappear completely, but they have definitely improved after only 3 days using my Mia. I might be able to use a bb cream instead of industrial strength foundation in a few weeks. :] I'm a little leery of the breakouts some of the other users have reported; I've never had a "purge" experience with my skin before, so maybe it won't happen. I agree with some of you that the lack of charging dock is a little sad, but the Mia IS a travel model and an excellent value so I'm not very annoyed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Falsies
Syllionya 9/13/2012 10:19:00 PM
Volum' Express "The Falsies" mascara is alright. It lengthens and gives volume to my eyelashes; but, when I apply the mascara, I have to take extra precaution so as not to clump my lashes. This is annoying, so I took away 2 lippies. Obviously, a drugstore mascara isn't going to apply perfectly and requires a few tricks. I had better results when I batted the base of my eyelashes with the wand before applying the stuff through the lashes. After doing so, my lashes fan out a little more and I'm able to catch the hard-to-reach ones at the corner of my eye. I also have a habit of jiggling my eyelashes around after applying mascara. I do this to prevent clumping if I don't trust the mascara formula. This particular formula has a habit of balling up at the tips of my lashes. The wand is interesting: It is crescent shaped to replicate the concave of the eye. I like this for when I smack the base of my lashes with the wand because I can get up-close and personal. The shape also allows me to grab the stubborn bitty bastard eyelashes at the corner of my eye. Summary: clumpy-ish formula, neat wand, volume + length. I guess I'd recommend this to someone who doesn't mind working with their makeup products, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this to someone who can't. I will not buy this product again, I never buy the same mascara twice and it's because I haven't found a formula that does exactly what I want...
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Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter
Syllionya 5/19/2012 6:19:00 PM
I purchased Tutti Frutti and Cupcake after seeing all the buzz about Revlon's Lipbutters. The packaging is ok. It looks cheap but that is to be expected. Another thing to note would be that this line isn't necessarily a balm, at least not on me. The lipcolor lasts for about 30-40 minutes before fading on me. Tutti Frutti leaves a tint on my lips but Cupcake does not. I find that, once applied on the lips, lipbutters have an interesting jelly texture. However, while applying the lipbutters, I notice a strange roughness in the product itself and this roughness scratches my lips just a bit. Is this a botched attempt at a "sugary" exfoliating sensation? No clue. My lips are just a bit dryer than usual after lipbutters fade out so I won't buy any more of them, although I do wear the ones I have. Tutti Frutti is very nice if you want a wearable orange/coral tint.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Physicians Formula - Happy Booster™ Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural
Syllionya 5/1/2012 12:18:00 AM
PF's Happy Booster caught my eye a loonngg time ago, but I never bought it because I often buy makeup without knowing it WILL be my HG after what I've read about formula and color. I read a few reviews and picked it up. This blush is lovely and velvety and has all my skin's most complimentary colors. The texture made the hearts sultry and grown-up, which is disturbing in some ways but true nonetheless. The packaging, however, isn't too good. It's cute but I broke one of the latches when I first opened the compact! The blush has a top latch containing the powder (thank GOD I didn't hurt that one) and a second latch that opens to reveal a cute little brush. I am very pleased with this because it reminds me of my Polly Pockets (particularly the unsound plastic, haha). The brush isn't any good, but it is cute and looks like a 90's doll accessory. The color lives up to PF's claim: it really does look like a glow. The closet thing I've had to this was NYX's Dare mosiac powder, which is also shimmery and "glow"-y. The first time I put Dare on, my little brother said (rather snottily I thought) that I looked very sunburnt and stupid. Well, this is the opposite. This blush is natural and blends very, very well. I have a couple stubborn open pores on the apples of my cheeks and this glazed and glimmered over very well, giving the false appearance that I've got flawless skin. -1 lippie for the packaging. If I'd broken the top latch, I wouldn't have been able to keep it for long.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Garnier - BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One 
Syllionya 4/30/2012 11:51:00 PM
I picked this up because I was very impressed with the tester. Everyone else's comments are dead on; this product is excellent if you're looking for moisturizing, sheer color. The packaging is very sensible, which is more than I can say for the majority drug store products. I generally look like a zombie due to anxiety and mal-nourishment. This product hydrates my skin and makes it look more lively than it really is. It DOES have a very light coverage, but I like this as I prefer to even my skin tone rather than match it. If you have blemishes, all you really need to do is dab a bit of concealer if you want a full coverage look. Personally I think that full coverage looks draw more attention to zit mounds, especially as I live in a city full of punk-rock/rockabilly MAC lovers with this issue. EDIT: Just kidding, I hated this stuff. It's kinda streaky and it isn't very good for my oily skin. This stuff MAY HAVE contributed to a very serious cystic breakout that lasted for a very long time... There's a shimmer to this, too, that I didn't like, even initially. I fixed it by setting with a bit of rice powder. All in all, this isn't worth the purchase. You're better off buying a real BB Cream off Amazon with the same amount of money.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No