Bronzers -Too Faced - Chocolate Soleil
sushiiflower 5/6/2012 6:15:00 PM
I disagree with the reviews that this doesn't suit dark skin. I am anywhere from an NC40-44 and it looks fantastic as a bronzer. I was looking for a bronzer that doesn't lean orange or red because I have golden undertones and wanted something to act strictly as a contour or to warm up my complexion on tanner days. This is the perfect color for my skin tone. This is a matte bronzer with no shimmer and a warm gray based brown. It gives me a wonderful chocolate hershey brown. It's very natural looking shadow. I always seek out a contour with a natural gray undertone to give the most natural looking shadow. I have no issues with blending. There is a fair amount of product in the container. It's large enough compact to get a powder brush in there should you need to. It also smells divine, like cocoa! It's not always about what shade works and what doesn't. It's how YOU work the product. Also, for a great brown smokey eye, this makes the perfect transition color. It's very buildable. For me, this is a hit, I would definitely repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -MAC - Fluidline Eyeliner Gel Dipdown
sushiiflower 4/22/2012 8:04:00 PM
I've had this for a couple of years and it hasn't dried out. Personally I love black liner, so I found little use for this. Till one day I was watching UmaPreve on youtube and I saw her using this on her brows. I previously used powder but I noticed in pictures it made my brow hairs look sparse towards the inner corners when the flash went off. So I started using this. It's a made a HUGE difference in photos. In real life, it looks natural, so not harsh as I thought it would have originally looked. In pictures, my brows look completely filled in. It lasts all day and doesn't require setting since it dries completely in minutes but, for special events, I still comb through with clear brow gel. Also, I use a spoolie to get rid of any harshness and make it look more 'natural.' If you have black hair, I highly recommend trying this out. I apply this using an angled brush like MAC's 266 or 263. I would definitely repurchase this but I know it's going to be a while before I run out.
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Liquid -Illamasqua - Rich Liquid foundation
sushiiflower 4/2/2012 11:21:00 AM
I love this foundation. Dare I say, almost HG status? This foundation is absolutely one of the fullest coverages you can find. It covers my tattoos very well. It's thick and you only need the tiniest bit of product to cover your entire face. It contains no SPF and photographs wonderfully. See my profile for photos of me wearing this. I purchased this at Sephora, which has a limited selection of shades. I apply this using my fingers or a dense brush like Sigma's F82 or Sonia Kashuk's flat top Buffer Brush. Synthetic bristles work best for me because it makes it easier to spread because it's thick and the hairs don't absorb product. It wears well and lasts with a primer and a setting powder on top. The foundation is sticky, has a satin finish and definitely requires setting. It feels light weight, doesn't settle into fine lines, pores or wrinkles. Doesn't feel like I am wearing makeup. It isn't transfer resistant, so be wary. It has a slight hint of vanilla scent that doesn't linger. It's pretty far down on the ingredients list. It doesn't break me out. I would definitely repurchase this foundation.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Rimmel - Lasting Finish - Kate Moss 12
sushiiflower 3/5/2012 9:06:00 AM
I picked this up on clearance at my local Walgreens for $2. It's a bright coral orange. Maybe it's just my tube, but my lipstick is more of a creamy amplified finish rather than a matte or satin. I appreciate there is no shimmer or glitter. It's a beautiful color for WoC. It does need a liner for a more precise look. I can see it sliding around if not set with liner. Beautiful color for summer.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Sephora - Keep Kohl! Eyeliner in Black
sushiiflower 12/18/2011 10:40:00 AM
I wanted to give this a try because I am looking for something to rim my eyes and give it a dark, smoky and sultry look. It glided on easily. It was a rich dark jet black but not more than an hour later, it faded away and smudged under my eyes. The migration was terrible. There was faint hints of kohl but the dark inky line I drew was gone.The container reminds me a lipstick, it's a twist up with a pointed tip. I will stick to using this as a smudge kohl and setting it with powder so I don't feel like I wasted my money, but I will not repurchase.
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Liquid -Revlon - ColorStay Makeup
sushiiflower 11/2/2011 8:01:00 PM
I normally prefer pressed powder and concealer for blemishes for day to day use. However, I was looking for something to give my face a more flawless finish the multitude of weddings I will be attending this year. I've heard wonderful things about this foundation. After reading a ton of reviews and watching you tube videos, I decided to give this a try.
My skin changes through out the year. I range from normal to dry to combo depending on the time of year. I opted for the normal to dry version. It still worked great when my skin was a bit more oily than usual. The color selection for the oily skin version seemed too varied and the dark shades seemed too dark for me. Caramel in normal to dry was not the same in the oily version. It was very dark. I was debating between toast and caramel. Toast was a touch too light for me when I purchased it during the summer and caramel worked for the summer but now since my skin is adjusting for the winter weather, it seems a touch too dark. I might pick up toast again and see if that works for the winter. Coverage wise, this is buildable from medium to full. I prefer to sheer it out using my beauty blender sponge or a foundation brush for heavier concentrated application. The Elf powder brush is a dream for blending this foundation.
It buffs in wonderfully and doesn't give me an orange or gray cast, which is the reason why I stray from liquid foundation. It comes in a bottle where you pour out the amount you need but I transferred mine to a glass airless pump for convenience (purchased on ebay). It was easy to transfer and I am able to control just how much I need. It photographs wonderfully and although I was skeptical because this does contain SPF 15 but it doesn't translate on film nor is there a line of demarcation in my photos.
It's matte coverage, doesn't need setting and best of all, it looks like skin! No mask-like appearance. I would highly recommend this great drugstore find. It's affordable, especially when you catch it on sale at your local drug store. I had no problems with fading, creasing into lines, migration or transfer to my clothes or cell phone when I am on the phone. It feels light on the skin and no can tell when I am wearing it. Believe the hype, it's worth it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - I Love Matte Palette
sushiiflower 10/31/2011 11:17:00 AM
Wet N Wild's 8 pan "I Love Matte" palette is very impressive for it's $4.99 price tag. This palette is exclusive to Walgreens and they were having a buy 1 get 1 half off, so I paid $2.50 for this. This is my first palette by WnW.
The right side has stark white, cool toned green, purple and pretty bright blue. All are mattes except the blue which has a slight sheen of a satin finish. It's not shimmery or glittery but not completely matte as the palette indicates. The left side are all mattes and includes a neutral flesh toned highlight, a nude pink with a brown undertone, dark brown and a very intense black.
What I like most is the contrast between the warm side and the cool side. You can mix and match and create a look that suits all shades of skin tones. The shadows themselves can be on the chalky side if you swipe them on, but this is not a problem exclusive to this palette. All mattes are supposed to be packed on to get the benefits of a matte look otherwise you risk fallout and uneven patchy application. I did not have issues with fallout, creasing or migration. I always use TFSI as a base. The packaging is the standard clear case with a sponge tipped applicator on one side and an angled brush on the other. The sponge tip is not bad for packing on color but for blending, skip the brush, it's too hard and scratchy for the delicate eye area. I've heard bad things with traveling with this palette. I would forgo attempting to travel with this because the shadows are fragile and quite powdery. I can see this cracking very easily. I had no issues with blending the shadows. The blended quite wonderfully.
The star is definitely the matte black. It's so hard to find a pigmented black that doesn't show up grey or muted. It's great to use as a liner or setting liner on the waterline. I love the skin tone shades. They aren't stark and worked great with my skin tone. The slightest disappointment is the purple shade. It's not horrible but it's not as bright as it appears. You must build this color up to achieve full brightness. It's definitely a muted grey-ish purple & slightly patchy, so you definitely will need a good base. I recommend the sponge for packing color or even using it wet. Unfortunately since this is LE, this will not be available for repurchase but I don't think I will be running out anytime soon.
12 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Maybelline - Shine Sensational in Tempting Toffee (#55)
sushiiflower 10/30/2011 8:25:00 PM
I love the way this smells! It's sweet and doesn't have an artificial taste. It's a pretty natural pink brown shade with no shimmer or sparkle. It applies nicely but is tad sticky, but not overly so. On my pigmented lips, it doesn't show up the color in the tube. I was expecting an opaque shade but this goes on very sheerly, so I was pretty disappointed. It's still pretty nonetheless but I am not sure if I would have paid $6 for a glorified lip balm-gloss. If it was on sale, I could have justified the price and then it may be worth it. But I am on the fence. I don't know whether or not I would repurchase because the other colors did have fine shimmer, which I don't like on my lips. If they had a darker color with no shimmer, I would give that a go if it was on sale.
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Lip Treatments -Maybelline - Baby Lips lip balm
sushiiflower 10/30/2011 8:19:00 PM
I tried this based on the youtube videos raving about the Baby Lips balm. I wanted something tinted to keep in my makeup bag that would deposit a bit of color when I am not in the mood to reapply my lipstick. I picked up Cherry which smells like cherry Popsicles. I have very pigmented lips so this leaves behind the slightest hint of pink, like I was just eating a popsicle. Nothing to write home about. It reminds me a lot of cherry chapstick (which is my favorite chapstick ever). I like the packaging though I could see the plastic covering breaking/cracking very easily. I would try the other ones if I ran out but it doesn't replace my chapstick but it's a nice alternative to have. I paid about $4 at my walgreens. I would like to try the purple one and maybe the pink one next.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous False Fiber Lashes
sushiiflower 10/26/2011 5:23:00 PM
I am going to be in the minority for this review. I have thick long lashes that have a natural curl. I purchased this because I was intrigued by the fiber mascara and the appearance of false lashes. Even though my natural lashes are lush, I love playing them up and making them look super dramatic. The formula is rather dry, I think this is the driest mascara I have ever used. It's not a bad thing though especially because you want those fibers to adhere to your lashes once you swipe this on.
That's the one caveat of this product -- because it's so dry, you have to work quickly, ONE eye at a time and do NOT wiggle your brush at the base. The brush's design will clump at the base and will not allow you drag the brush through your lashes in a clean sweep. This mascara is meant to be used the traditional way by combing through with the wand. I was able to build up four-five coats (with slight clumping). The clumping though, once it's dried, doesn't look bad nor does it give me spider lashes if that makes sense. My lashes do not stick together and are defined. But you will NOT be able to get a brush through your lashes. It would defeat the purpose and you would end up brushing off the fibers. My bottom lashes only needed two coats. My lashes looked great and it definitely gave me more volume (from the clumping drying and making my base look lusher and more full) and made my lashes look longer. I was able to remove this easily with my normal face cleanser. The brush is kind of odd. It's almost cone shaped that tapers at the tip & picks up a lot of product. Never really used or seen a brush like this. But that's not a bad thing. Every once in a while, when I notice the performance is lagging, I wash my brushes to get rid of build up on the brushes and clean around the rim with a cotton bud to remove excess dry mascara. This mascara does take a little more work, but hey, I'm okay with that as long as it makes my lashes look this good. I can see why people dislike this mascara, so purchase from a reputable retailer with a good return policy. I did not notice any flaking and it wore well through the day. Despite the dry formula, my lashes were flexible and not brittle. A definite repurchase for me. It's up there with my favorite mascaras.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Primer -E.L.F. - Eyelid Primer
sushiiflower 10/23/2011 12:28:00 PM
For $1, I picked this up at my local target. My favorite primer is two faced's shadow insurance. I like the thin consistency and this works with my skin color a lot better than UDPP. I wanted to give ELF's a try since I have been into trying different brands. It's a thin light colored consistency. A lot thinner than TFSI. I gave it go and it worked very well. It's a little harder to blend into your skin because you can still see a light tint of color but since I was using shadows to cover it up, it wasn't a big deal to me. It comes packed like a lip gloss with a doe foot applicator which I use to dot on my lids and blend with my ring finger by patting it out. I also used it this under my lash line to prevent my waterline liner from transferring (this works for my skin tremendously) preventing raccoon eyes. But I noticed in pictures this does reflect light on my skin under my eyes so I definitely will not be using this primer for pictures or any big events. I don't like when my skin looks brighter than the rest of my skin under my eyes. If this is your thing, you might like this primer if you're my skin tone. It's a great every day primer when you don't want to use up your more expensive primers. I had no trouble packing color on or blending shadows out on top of this primer. I did use a thin layer. You get what you pay for but overall, it's not bad. I would repurchase and I recommend trying this out.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Telescopic Explosion
sushiiflower 10/21/2011 10:47:00 AM
I love L'oreal mascaras and this one is no exception. The wand is actually a small spiked ball. The formula is very black and a little wet. It definitely does take work to get this mascara right but I am not disappointed by the results. It lengthens my lashes, so much so that I cannot blink when I have my sunglasses on. The reason why I gave this 3 lippies is because this does clump and you really do need patience when working with this brush. The plus side is that the ball grabs each lash but definitely does not separate each lash. It can flake if you rub your eye. Volume is okay, not too shabby but if you're looking for length, this definitely a mascara to try out. I would continue to repurchase this because despite it's flaws, it does really make my long lashes looks spectacular. I also recommend washing the wand once a week to get rid of build up on the ball.
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Mascara -Maybelline - The Falsies in Black Drama
sushiiflower 10/15/2011 10:23:00 AM
I really love the brush of this mascara. It has a slightly curved almost funnel shape that helps to definite each individual lash. The formula itself is true to its name -- its very dark, rich and black. Unfortunately it can clump BUT I do highly recommend cleaning your brush with soap and water to get the build up off because wiping it off doesn't seem to do any justice. Once I do that, I find it performs very well. It can slightly flake if I am not too careful about rubbing my eye, but I can deal because it doesn't give me raccoon eyes. It's not an easy mascara to work with but I will continue to buy it because I really like the effect of the dramatization of my lashes (which are already long, thick and curved). Your mileage may vary depending on the nature of your natural lashes. You can always find this on sale so it won't break the bank. I would repurchase this mascara.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Satin Lipstick in Brave
sushiiflower 10/14/2011 10:00:00 AM
I bought this color after watching some youtube videos on reviewers that loved this color. It looked so pretty in the tube, I wanted to give it a whirl. This color is a pretty nude pink on my lips with slightly warm undertones. The formula is a bit drying for my lips compared to other MAC satin lipsticks I own. But the color just works with my skin to give me a very finished polished look. Then while reaching for this color this morning, I realized this was my second tube. I actually owned this color without realizing it! I know why I never reached for it -- I was always hesitant about these types of colors on my pigmented uneven lips. Using a matching lipliner or one that is slightly dark helps a lot. I also love mixing this with peachstock to make it more wearable. Definitely a new staple for me.
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Concealers -Maybelline - Super Stay 24 Hour Concealer
sushiiflower 10/3/2011 9:57:00 AM
Based on reviews I saw on youtube, I decided to give this a go. My previous go to concealers were MAC's concealer in the pot in NW35 or NW40 or Dermablend in Bronze. The downside to Maybelline's line is the limited shade range. I chose the darkest color, #750 in Deep Beige. This color looked too light for me but I figure I would try it anyway because if it didn't work out, I could have always returned it. When I put it on my face, the color was very light but I did notice the coverage was opaque which what I liked. When I used a natural hair brush to blend the concealer it really blended into my skin and the color worked. What was better compared to my usual concealer, was this did not blend out or push the concealer around. When I blended my other concealers, the more I blended, the more sheer the coverage was. This had the opposite effect. It worked with my skintone, covered up blemishes and best of all, no transfer and the edges blended seamlessly. The coverage lasted until I removed it -- which is usually a full work day and travel time so about 12 hours. It does dry fast, so I suggest working in smaller areas. The applicator is doe foot lipglass type applicator, since I use a brush to apply, I don't have an issue with the applicator. The amount of product for the price is definitely pricey, so I recommend purchasing this on sale. And the biggest downside is the color selection. Very poor especially because I can imagine this will not suit a multitude of skin tones. Nonetheless, it works for me, so I will continue to buy it for the opaque & budge proof coverage.
EDITED TO ADD: I absolutely ADORE the coverage but this does not photograph well on my skin. It looks great in person but in pics, it definitely reflects light. Please make this in darker colors Maybelline.
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