Mary Kay Beauty – Influenster Voxbox

Disclosure: WayfaringBeauty received these products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.

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I belong to a website called Influenster, which is a site where members give one another opinions on a variety of products and experiences. You can be an active member across all categories or narrow it down to the categories you are most knowledgeable about and interested in. Sometimes Influenster will send members exclusive discounts or products to review; last month I received two new Palmolive soaps to test, and this month I received something even better – a box full of Mary Kay beauty products! Woohoo!

This pretty little box contained five items – a lipstick, eyelash primer, mascara, brush, and eye shadow. I was excited to see and try everything in it, especially because these are my first Mary Kay products. I decided to try the lipstick out first.

The lipstick I received is the True Dimensions lipstick in Pink Cherie ($18.00). Mary Kay promises big things from this little lipstick –

• Instantly drenches lips in moisture and locks it in for endless comfort.
• Infused with advanced skin care ingredients, the formula smoothes the appearance of fine lines and helps lips look fuller.

I didn’t check the website first and had to pause for a moment to figure out how exactly to get the lipstick out of the tube. It’s housed in a sleek, seamless metal tube with a little clear window at the top to show the color, key term here for me being seamless – it didn’t click open like all my other lipsticks. Hmmm…

And then it hit me – you have to push the clear window down like a button, which releases the lipstick portion of the tube from the casing.  Voila! A little tricky, but very sleek. I also like that this little opening trick makes this lipstick very hard to accidently pop open in my purse or pocket.

Pink Cherie is a very light and lovely pink lipstick with a satin finish. The color of the lipstick itself is pretty true to color when swatched.

I swiped it on over bare lips. No balm first, no liner, no gloss after – easy peasy. I took photos with flash and natural light to check the color –

Mwah! With flash indoors

Natural light

The formula of the True Dimensions lipstick felt amazing and glided on like a dream. I always have dry lips and the lipstick felt wonderful and moisturizing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t lasting moisture, at least in my case. My lips did look and feel better for quite some time, but a few hours later my chapped lips started taking back control. Sigh.  Honestly, I don’t think this lipstick made my lips look any fuller. Like, at all. I really do love the color though; this is the kind of pink I was looking for when I picked up NYX Gala. The lasting power was pretty decent too! At least for my chapped lips, that is.

Next up is the brush. The Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush ($10) is a synthetic with short, flat bristles designed for, as the name suggests, cream products. Mary Kay recommends that you choose to use this brush on cream shadow or concealer but not both for hygienic reasons. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this brush. The bristles are soft and pretty dense. The pointed tip makes it easy to reach or cover small areas on the face or eye. I like synthetic brushes better than natural. I used this for concealer and it worked well. Overall, I like this brush! Nothing to rave over, but a good price for what you get.

I was intrigued by the lash products and grabbed for those next.  I started with the Lash Primer ($15) – Add dramatic definition to your eyes to create fuller lashes when used as a basecoat under mascara.  Or wear the clear formula alone for a natural look.

First I started with nekkid lashes, naturally. Mine are not so impressive when bare –

I gave them a quick curl with some ho-hum lash curler I own, then applied an even coat of the primer. As with my mascara, I wiggled the brush back and forth as I drew the wand up through my lashes. The primer did give my eyelashes a little more oomph on its own. My lashes looked a little darker from the gloss the primer gave and had more definition. I don’t know that it really helped my lashes stay curled longer like Mary Kay claims but my lashes, like my hair, usually refuse to stay curled. So it goes.

I let the primer sit for a moment, then grabbed the Mary Kay Lash Love Lengthening Mascara ($15) in I ♥ Black. Mary Kay makes quite a few claims about this mascara – Long, strong, seriously separated lashes. What’s not to love?

• Creates bold, instantly intensified length of lashes.
• Lifts, curls and perfectly separates lashes.
• Conditions and strengthens lashes.
• Nonclumping, flake-free formula wears all day for over 10 hours.

As with the primer, I swept the mascara up my lashes, wiggling back and forth as I went. I used two quick coats for the photos below –

This mascara definitely made a difference on my boring lashes! The curve of the brush gave my lashes a boost as they were already straightening out from when I curled them (of course). It also gave my lashes nice separation and a little more length. It didn’t dry to a crunchy finish as some mascaras do and did not irritate my contacts. The mascara also came off easily at the end of the day but never transferred to my undereyes. This is a great mascara for $15 in my opinion! Lash Love Lengthening Mascara is also available in brown for fairer girls.

Last but not least, I tried out the Mary Kay Cream Eye Color in Violet Storm ($14). This soft, creamy, long-wearing formula glides on easily, lasts for 10 hours and can be applied in multiple layers to deliver more noticeable color while retaining a lightweight feel.

Mary Kay and Influenster sent me a beautiful shade that I would have picked out myself had I been given a choice. Violet Storm is a deep, dusky purple with small flecks of sparkle that light up like rainbows when the light hits right. You can see that sparkle in the first photo especially if you enlarge it. I decided to just swipe this onto my lid without a primer because the site description says that you can use this cream as a primer under mineral shadow. I applied one layer across my lid and then added a little more around the outer edge of my eye.

The formula of the Cream Shadow glided on easily and didn’t irritate my contacts at all. However, this shadow is too sheer for my liking, or at least this shade is. I tried to build up the shade along the outer edge and crease of my eye but could not really see a huge difference. This is a nice wash of color for a subtle look though.

This was a great introduction to Mary Kay products! My favorites were the lipstick and mascara  🙂   Do you own any Mary Kay products? What do you think of them or which products are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

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Disclosure: The products in this review were sent for consideration by the brand or its PR office. Wayfaring Beauty’s first commitment is to the reader – this means reviews are honest and personal opinions, not guaranteed product endorsements.

 

 

“On the Wild Side” Ipsy June 2013 Glam Bag Review & Swatches

New month, new Glam Bag! I worked my rumpus off all day but got an amazzzinggg call at the end of the work day – I got hired as a full time teacher by the school I just long-termed at. Woohoo! My summer job is just down the street from my home, so I skipped my way home in happiness over my new permanent gig…and then got home to find a pretty little Ipsy package waiting at my door for me. What a great way to end the work day, right?!

The theme for the June bag is “On the Wild Side” and, honestly, I was really excited to see what the bag itself looked like. May’s chevron bag was cute, but I (still) dig animal prints. Lo and behold – I love the bag. It may be a smidge Jersey-Shore-esque, but I can’t help but love it. This will be replacing my plans to use May’s bag as my beach clutch. Unless July’s bag is cuter, that is.

Like May’s bag, June’s bag seems to be made of some sort of nylon material. I’d value it roughly at about $5.00. I could be biased though because I love leopard/cheetah print.

This cute little bag contained five goodies: Cailyn Cosmetics Line Fix Gel Eyeliner in Iron (11); Starlooks Lip Liner in Bare; JCat Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette in Scp106 Volta; Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil; and NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Bronze Goddess.

Let’s just go in the order I named the products in, which means we’ll start with the Cailyn Cosmetics Line Fix Gel Eyeliner. Let me preface this by saying I was super impressed with the swanky packaging. I pulled it out of my Glam Bag and was immediately like, “Ohhh, this box!” Pretty, sturdy, and caught my eye – A+ Cailyn marketing/packaing department. I also liked the eyeliner packaging itself. The bottom of the container twists off and is the gel pot, while the brush pops out of the handle. Nifty!

…in case you didn’t know how to use eyeliner, Cailyn puts it on the box. So no excuses!

I was like “Wooooo, this is so nice!” …until I used it. According to the Cailyn site, the “highly concentrated pigment of the liner creates lusciously smooth lines” – pfffff. Maybe it’s just the shade I received (Iron), but my liner was most certainly not highly concentrated in pigment. For the photo below, I used one pass on the left and a few thinner ones on the right. Granted, this is a gray liner, but still…not as dark as I usually like.

This product won’t be a total waste though; I will probably use this for light smoky eyes or for days when I want a subtle liner look. I can also say that Cailyn is not lying when they describe this product as water and smudge proof – it didn’t want to come off my arm! Cailyn Cosmetics Line Fix Gel Eyeliner retails for $21.00/0.14oz on the company site.

I have actually been meaning to purchase a lip liner, so I was really pleased to find Starlooks Lip Liner in Bare in my bag.

Maybe I have unusually pink-ish lips, but “Bare” was a smidge brown-nude on me. I really liked the formula of this liner though – it was smooth and blended well. I really wanted to get the Tipsy shade (a coral-type pink), but am actually glad I got Bare so that I can use it for nude lips or to stop deeper lipstick shades from bleeding. Starlook Lip Liners retail for $12 online.

Bare lips

Wearing StarLooks Lip Liner in bare on entire lip

From far away, no flash. Please ignore the crazy-train hair.

Next up is the JCat Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette in Scp106 Volta. Where to begin with this one…ugh. First of all, let’s be clear – girlfriend loves her some sparkle. This product was originally promoted as a sparkly eyeshadow, though both Ipsy and JCat backtracked on that one. Due to that original description though, I was hoping this would be UD Moondust-ish without the fallout because of a cream consistency. However, no such luck. Not even close.

In the case, all looked pretty, especially in the sunlight. The Volta palette is made up of blues, grays, and golds. It came with those useless little eyeshadow applicators (hellllo, those are for eyeshadow JCat!), which I tossed.

Then I dipped my finger in the gold pan to swatch. Mmmmm, super gritty! Like, never-put-this-near-your-eyeballs gritty. Gritt-tacular, if you will. I took one for the team and swatched it on my arm anyways – yikes! The gold left me with a rather scattered swatch; the in-betweens were a little better; the last was best, although still a little painful to rub against my skin.

Curious, I decided to check out the JCat site while I let the cream set a little bit on my arm. The site proclaims,

Sparkle is everyone’s best friend! Give yourself a healthy dosage of sparkle with the cream palette that comes in a variety of complementing colors. The creamy texture allows the sparkle to be applied easily with an applicator onto your face.

* This product should be used with caution and attentive application around the eye area and on the body.

WordPress converts all my text to the same size, but the asteriked line is uber teeny on the JCat site. Sneaky, sneaky. Intrigued, I headed over to the Ipsy FB page, where the company is telling all my fellow complainers, “It is meant to be used as body glitter, not eye shadow. Use it for body art, body glitter, or a little added shine to your lipgloss!” First of all, I second all the commentors who start off their comments regarding this product with, “I am a grown-ass woman!” That line just makes me laugh a lot, but lets be real Ipsy – WTF am I gonna do with body glitter? Secondly, I advise you to only use this to “add shine to your lipgloss” if you are looking for an exfoliating lipgloss. One that simultaneously scratches and shines.

Much laughing-over-and-agreeing-with-comments later, I decided to wipe the junk off my arms. As it turns out, the sparkle wasn’t ready to go anywhere. Instead, it smeared liberally all around my arm. I soaped. It stuck. I wiped. It stuck. I make-up removed. It stuck. I frantically rubbed my sparkling arm on my bath towel. It stuck. I rubbed my arm with my finger and this is how it came away, even after all the scrubbing –

Frustrated, I have resigned myself to sparkling in the sun like Edward Cullen. Maybe if I want to be a gypsy, fairy, or other glittery creature for Halloween, I will bust this palette out again. Until then, it is going to the dark recesses of my makeup cabinent. Should you still choose to purchase this glitterbomb, you can purchase it in Volta or another shade combination through JCat’s site for $4.49.

I don’t know if I genuinely like the next product because it followed the JCat disaster or just because it’s good, but the next product up to bat was Chella’s Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil.

This fresh and pretty neutral pencil will brighten and visibly lift your eyes when lightly applied on the brow bone, dark circles, blemishes and redspots. Draw a line under the brow bone with this creamy pencil and then pat gently into place using your 3rd (“ring”) finger.

Disregarding the directions because I already had a little highlighter shadow on, I swiped some onto my bare forearm. I swiped the pencil back and forth for several passes, then did the same and blended it out immediately to the right of that first swatch.

Flash

Indoor

There is no way I could use such a pink formula over red spots, but I can certainly see myself using this on my brow bone to highlight or to brighten up dark circles. The pencil glided on and blended out easily (maybe too easily? if that makes sense). You can purchase this highlighter or other eye/brow pencils from Chella for $18.00.

Last but not least was a familiar face – NYX. To be more specific, NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Bronze Goddess.

More delicious than peaches and cream? We like to think so. Our velvety smooth mineral Rouge Cream Blush offers a sheer wash of radiant color. The glorious payoff is dewy, sultry and long-lasting.

This oily girl usually avoids “dewy,” as that does not help tame my oil-slick look. I have also never used a cream blush because I set my foundation with powder. However, I’ll try anything once. This “blush” (let’s be real, it’s a cheek bronzer) was super smooth and creamy. It had a sheer payoff, but that let me build up the color in my swatches.

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

I think I’ll give this a shot in the summer when I’m at the beach and just rocking some tinted moisturizer when I go out at night. I think it will give me a little glow and color. Other than that, I’m not tan enough yet for this to look natural. I feel bad for any pasty girls who may have received Bronze Goddess – they will need a light touch for sure when using this product. NYX’s Rouge Cream Blushes retail for $6.00.

Overall, June’s bag was so-so for me. I didn’t really see how any of the products besides the cute bag fit the “Wild” theme, except maybe that crazy-@ss JCat sparkle cream. And, honestly, I’m not wild enough to pull that off. Nor am I willing to wear it as part of any body art like the staffers over at Ipsy (go check out their FB page to see what I mean…). The liners were more subdued than wild.

I love the bag, like the liners, think the blush could turn out okay, and hate the sparkle palette. I do have to keep in mind though that, with my year-long subscription, I only paid about $9 for this bag. Had I bought each item at full price, it would have cost me about $66.50. Holy cannoli, right??

What do you think of June’s Glam Bag? Do any of the products catch your eye or do you already own any of them? In keeping with the “wild” theme, what’s the wildest thing you’ve done lately (provided it’s PG13-esque in case of younger readers!)?

Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil Review

A few months back, Essie was offering customers a sample of its new Apricot Cuticle Oil. Sign me up, right?! I thought maybe they would send out mini sample bottles…nope. I shouldn’t have been surprised but was a smidge disappointed when I got a postcard with a sample pod on it instead. Hmph!

Womp, womp

Essie instructs users to start your mani with its cuticle oil. Or, according to the back of the above postcard:

I can follow directions pretty well, so I started with bare, plain jane nails. Here are my naked nails before using Essie’s Apricot Cuticle Oil –

Up close & personal

Next, I wrestled with that little pod for about ten minutes. It has a perforated tear off top – handy, right? You’d think, but no. I folded the flyer at the perforations, tore, andddd…nothing. It didn’t open. I pulled. I tugged. I bit. Finally, I cut. Then I had to squeeze and squeeze to get a dribble of the oil out. Man did Essie make me work for it!

I dabbed the oil on my fingertips, then massaged it into my nails and the surrounding nail beds.

Immediately after applying

After massaging the oil in

After letting the oil sit

The Apricot Oil does have quite a few pros. It’s quick to absorb and doesn’t leave your fingers feeling greasy after it is massaged in and given time to sink into skin and nails. It left my cuticles and nails looking both smoother and healthier. The best thing about this oil? It smells light and fruity  🙂  The con is that this oil was hard for me to control. I think the majority of this problem was due to packaging though – using a brush and bottle will probably make applying this oil a breeze. Darn you and your pod samples, Essie!

You can purchase Essie’s Apricot Cuticle Oil for $8 at mass beauty product stores like Target, major beauty retailers like Ulta, or online.

Have you tried this cuticle oil yet? What’s your holy grail cuticle treatment?

 

Related articles

• Essie Summer 2013 Collection – The More the Merrier & Naughty Nautical Swatches (wayfaringbeauty.com)
• Resort Ready ’13 – Essie In the Cab-ana and First Timer Swatches & Review (wayfaringbeauty.com)

KBShimmer Summer Press Release

Press Release from one of my favorite indie brands, KBShimmer:

KBShimmer is excited to announce the addition of 9 new colors to their 3-Free glitter polish line and an expansion to their nail prep line.  Owner Christy Rose says “With warm weather and sandals popping up, June is the perfect time for bright, bold colors and patriotic themes to celebrate a fun and exciting summer.”

The summer lineup includes one glitter top coat, two glitter crellys in a white base and six bright, bold polishes, two in a matte finish.  KBShimmer will also be expanding their nail care line to include two scented cuticle oils and liquid nail prep. “Our new line was created to play off the bolder palette of summer, some inspired by the 80’s and 90s, but also to celebrate the patriotic season. One of our polishes plays off the color of the year, Emerald Green, and will ease people into the summer while two others were inspired by the fall 2013 Pantone colors Koi and Vivacious. Both will make for an easy transition through the summer and into the fall.  We are also excited to unveil two scented cuticle oils in an easy-applicator pen.  We hope to inspire and motivate people to go out in the sun and show off their nails!” says Rose.

KBShimmer– SUMMER 2013 COLLECTION

What’s Your Damage? – White crelly polish with neon green, neon pink, and black glitters.

Don’t Pink Twice –Bright near magenta pink with subtle blue shimmer – matte

24 Carrot Bold –Orange red polish with gold shimmer – matte

Blinded By The Bright – Neon yellow polish with a scattering of hex glitters in the 6 primary and secondary colors

The Dancing Green –A almost neon green with blue undertones, accented by fuchsia, sapphire,  green and chartreuse glitters in different shapes and sizes

Totally Tubular – A blue-green crelly polish with fuchsia circle glitters in two sizes and fuchsia micro slices, aqua circle glitters and sapphire hex glitters.

Totally Razzical – A red-violet shade leaning towards the purple side of raspberry. Loaded with holographic hex glitters in magenta, silver and pink.

Grayscale – Black, White, and Gray glitters are suspended in a clear base. Circles, hexes, rectangles, and squares in so many sizes complete this glitter top coat.

Pimp My Pride – This white based polish features metallic red and blue glitters. Best worn in three coats, or 1-2 coats over your favorite white.

Shipping June 1, 2013

KBShimmer products can be found at Http://www.KBShimmer.com.  For sales outside of the US visit http://www.HarlowandCo.org.

Drool, right? I think these look beauuuutiful, but am especially itching to get my hands on Grayscale and Pimp my Pride. Which of these polishes are calling your name?  🙂

My 1st Glam Bag! Ipsy May 2013 (Spring Fling) Bag

As a beauty junkie, I have been eyeballing subscription beauty boxes and bags for months now. For those of you unfamiliar with the subscription bit – you sign up for a monthly or yearly service and pay a set price per month; in return, a company sends you a random mix of beauty products, usually with some kind of theme behind the blend of products. It’s a great way to try a variety of beauty products for a fraction of the price.After going back and forth (Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes. Will it save me some money instead of me shopping for new products? Probably. Is it worth the money? For me, probably. …and so on) and doing my research, I finally decided at the end of last month to subscribe to Ipsy. I chose Ipsy because they send a lot of full or deluxe sized products as opposed to sample sizes, it’s only about $9 a month (for a year subscription), and they feature great beauty brands.

My first bag came in the mail today! I was so excited to come home to this little pink beauty waiting for me at the front door –

This month’s theme is Spring Fling. There were a number of different products that you could receive, and Ipsy has been releasing teaser Sneak Peeks the past few weeks. The company chooses which of the products to send you based off of a beauty and lifestyle survey that you take when you sign up for the site. The Spring Fling bag is a cute little nylon chevron-print and, man, do they pack the products in there! Here is a good look at the bag and a quick peek at the products I received –

The bag itself is growing on me. It felt a little chinsy at first because it’s thin nylon, but I actually like the material. I think that this will make a nice little bag to toss some odds and ends in for my beach bag. It’s got a nice zipper closure, is easily wipeable, and has a cute print. I’d value it at a couple bucks maybe? I’m going to go with $5, although my hubby says that’s lowballing it.

The first item I pulled out was the Island Vanilla Perfume Rollerball by Pacifica. Pacifica describes the fragrance as – “Inspired by the unique magic of Tahitian vanilla, this sensual blend sets sweet and sultry vanilla absolute, with honey-jasmine notes and a touch of fruitiness, against a deep and beautiful base of tea.” This is certainly a unique summer fragrance. It’s sweet but deep, a little floral but with a strong vanilla note. My favorite thing about the fragrance may not be the scent though – the perfume is vegan, cruelty free, made without junk ingredients like parabens or phthalates, and a portion of the proceeds support clean water. You can smell pretty and support a good company – score! The Rollerball retails for $12/.33 oz.

Rollerball

Next I pulled out another Pacifica treat, a 2oz. Coconut Crushed Pearl luminizing body butter. Pacifica’s site says “Shimmer and glow from the inside out with our Luminizing Body Butter.  A little goes a long way with this generously sized, multi-tasking product that brings you healthy moisture and instantly illuminates skin with just-right shimmer.  Ultra-nourishing phytonutrients and natural powerhouse ingredients like coconut, argan oil and tamanu, hydrate and make skin healthier and younger-acting long term.” A little does go a very long way with this lotion and the luminizing shimmer is nice and subtle. This will be a really nice lotion to use during the summer to make my summer tan look more glowy. The scent is okay. At first it smelled a little too synthetic-coconut for me, but once it started to wear away it became more sweet and wearable in my book. Like the rollerball, this body butter is vegan, contains great ingredients, and a portion of the proceeds support clean water. This 2oz. body butter retails for $7.

Smeared on left, blended into skin on right

The next product out of the bag was a full-sized Zoya polish from the Spring Lovely collection. I had my fingers crossed that I didn’t get Blu, which I already own and swatched! As it turns out, I got Julie, a “soft wisteria” lavender purple with shimmer in it. According to Zoya, Julie is a metallic shade. I only swatched Julie on paper for now (regular swatch post to come), but it looks like a lovely, soft, feminine polish shade. I don’t have many purples and I think I’ll like this one. My brush was a little wonky (see below), but looked okay once I ripped out the weird bristle. Zoya is Big 5 Free and retails for $8.

Whoa brush, calm down

There were a couple different lip products that went out in the May bags to subscribers, some the same product but in different shades. I received a Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig, a rosy bronze shimmer. Juice’s Reflecting Gloss is made with all organic ingredients like healing sesame seed oil and a large number of antioxidant-rich ingredients, designed to nourish your lips while providing color and high shine. I loved that this gloss was slick and not sticky, gave the perfect amount of color, and made my lips feel taken care of. And it smells good, which is always a plus! I wasn’t big on the color at first, but I actually think it will look really nice when I have more of a tan (I’m a tad pale at the moment). I still kind of wish I had gotten the pink, but that’s okay! This gloss on the site is listed as $15/0.28oz, but the one in my bag looks a little different in terms of the tube and is marked on the bottom as 0.14oz. As it’s half the size of the listed gloss, I’m pricing it at $7.50.

Fig

Bare lips

Wearing Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig

Last but not least, I received a full-sized Yaby concealer refill in cc008 buff. This is an itty-bitty concealer at 3.5 grams – I thought it was a sample size until I got on the Yaby site to check out pricing. Ipsy used my user profile to color match me and got my shade spot on  🙂  I just swiped my finger through the pan, but the concealer feels creamy without being so soft that I fear it will settle into fine lines or crease. Swatched against my forearm, it appeared to give good coverage and didn’t pull much for a pan concealer. The concealer is vegan and comes in a wide range of shades, including correction shades (yellows, greens, etc).  This Yaby concealer retails for $4.85/3.5grams.

Swatched below watermark, indoor w/ flash

Swatched below watermark, natural low light

I signed up for the discounted yearly subscription (vs. paying month by month), so this bag cost me $9.16. The total value of this month’s bag comes to $44.35 (with what I estimated the bag itself at). What a fantastic deal!

I’m really happy with my first Ipsy bag. It came with brands I’ve never tried before and probably would not have otherwise, is a great value, and I love that it contained so many vegan/cruelty-free products. My only gripe is that I’m very impatient and wish the bags came sooner in the month. Also, I really was hoping to get the St. Tropez – I like everything I did get though! I can’t wait to see what next month’s bag brings   🙂

(Sorry that was a novel. Go rest your eyes now.)

Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Blush in Heather Silk – Swatches & Review

Way back in January I reviewed one of my basic beauty steals, Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Blush in Pearlescent Pink. The cheap blush is a wearable, lovely pink that can be compared to Nars Orgasm…nice, right? 🙂  This past month, I happened upon a $1 off coupon for a Wet n’ Wild product and decided to pick up another blush because it would only be $2 after the coupon. Yes, $2. How could I pass that up? Blush lasts me forever, so there was no point in getting another Pearlescent Pink. I decided to branch out and try Heather Silk (832E).

Heather Silk is a warm, matte rosy pink blush. Each photo is finger-swatched on the left and brush-blended on the right with just one pass of color. Yes, just one pass – this is a very pigmented blush!

Indoor w/ flash

Natural lighting

Indoor w/o flash

The pros:

1. Heather Silk is a beautiful medium pink blush. I think this would look especially pretty on tanned, summer skin or darker skin tones.
2. It’s soft and blends pretty well.
3. You don’t need to use much, so this will last you forever – you’ll probably have to toss it for makeup-hygiene reasons before you hit the pan.
4. Quality texture and pigmentation for a cheap price – my wallet and my face are happy with this one! Unless you like to avoid talc, in which case your face  might not be happy.

The cons:

1. A little goes a long way with this blush, so just watch how much you put on your brush. This blush is darker than Pearlescent Pink, which means it can look a bit clown-ish if applied too heavily. I suggest starting lightly and building up color to where you’d like it – it’s easier to add more after than to take it all off and start over again because you were too heavy-handed the first time.
2. I hate those little blusher brushes that come with it but I just use my own brush so it’s no big deal.
3. It could just be me or my blush in particular, but Heather Silk seems a little more powdery than my Pearlescent Pink.

I really like Heather Silk, although Pearlescent Pink is still my favorite out of the two. This one doesn’t blend out quite as easily if applied too heavily, and I’m not always graceful with my blush application. You can snag this little drugstore gem for about $3.00 in most drugstores or places that carry mass beauty like Walmart or Target.

What do you think of Wet n’ Wild products? What’s your go-to blush? How was your Monday? Let me know in the comments!  🙂

Benefit They’re Real! Mascara Swatches & Review

I don’t know about you, but I love me some fabulous eyelashes. Here is my problem though – I don’t have those eyelashes naturally. I have longer(ish) eyelashes, but they’re pretty thin. Plus they’re stick straight and, like my hair when I curl it, slowly straighten themselves out after being curled. Lame, right? I’ve tried falsies a few times, for special occasions or when I just want to look super swanky. The problem there is that I either a) get glue everyyyywhere,  b) end up with a thin gap between my real and fake lashes that just won’t disappear, and/or c) end up feeling like something is in my eye and blinking furiously, nonstop, until the lashes fall or are taken off. Which means that instead of looking super swanky when wearing falsies, I look like I’m having major issues (which, technically, I am).

So what’s a girl to do? One of my coworkers at my beauty gig has been listening to my lash grumblings for some time now and recently was like “would you puuhhhlease just listen to me and buy They’re Real already?” She’s been telling me that for awhile but I was like “$23 for a tube of mascara?! Do you know how many polishes I could get for that? Pssh, no.” Just call me Stubborn Sally I guess because I never listen. Anyways, I finally gave in to peer pressure and snagged myself a tube of Benefit’s They’re Real! mascara.

See all those percentages on the front of the box? That’s Benefit telling you all about what its mascara will do for your lame lashes. According to Benefit,

“They’re real! lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts & separates. Our jet black, long-wearing formula won’t smudge or dry out. A specially designed brush reveals lashes you never knew you had!What else you need to know:
94% saw dramatic length & volume*
90% saw base-to-tip curl*
94% saw visible lift*
100% saw long-wearing results*
*Results observed in a consumer panel survey” 

Yowza!

Here is my gripe with some people who rave about certain mascaras – they’re like “look at my fabulous lashes, can you believe them with this mascara??” buttttt…what if I don’t know how your lashes naturally look? What if you have these crazy voluminous lashes and your mascara just gave you some length – how can I tell? With that in mind, here are my plain jane lashes, just doin their thing (although I did curl them, not like they wanted to cooperate) –

Before

Then I grabbed They’re Real! and put on two coats. Benefit gives you a little insert explaining how to apply the mascara, but I actually apply all my mascaras that way – use the long side horizontally along your lashes and gently wiggle back and forth as you move up your lashes (this helps separate your lashes and give them volume and lift); then use the tip of the wand to reach the outer/inner corner lashes and/or to separate any clumping lashes. Voila! That’s all there is to it. So I did that with They’re Real! and here’s the result –

After

I had assumed my mom would know what my lashes normally look like – turns out she doesn’t. I had the mascara on both eyes and was like “Eh? What you do think? Look at that, huh?” And she was like “Sweet, Jay…eyelashes.” Pfff, whatever. Turns out she needed to see mismatching eyes because when I put the mascara on just one eye, my mom was like “HOLY CANNOLI, go buy some backups of that.” Here’s the dual eye shot –

The pros:

1. Va-va-voom, right?? My lashes were certainly more noticeable and I got much more of a winged look along the outer lashes.
2. The lengthening claims were true for me, at least to a certain extent.
3. The mascara is a deep, glossy black, which is what I love in my mascaras.
4. It didn’t smudge or move on me but was easy to remove.
5. The spiked-mace-looking tip made it super easy to grab every lash.

The cons:

1. I don’t think it volumized so much as it clumped. Separation? Psssh, not on me! My clumped lashes make me think of doll lashes (is that bad? I’m on the fence).
2. It’s 23 bucks. I’m used to buying $8 Cover Girls (although, admittedly, they’re not as full of oomph as They’re Real!)
3. This doesn’t come in different colors. This doesn’t bother me, but could be a con for those who prefer browns or brown-blacks.
4. It’s not water-proof BUT I showered with it on and it only smudged around under my eyes – none of that running-down-my-face nonsense I’ve seen from other non-waterproof mascaras. So I’d deem it “water-resistant.”

My verdict? I’ll admit it, I’m sold. I mean…c’mon, look at my dual-eye pictures. My natural lashes look like weenies next to my pumped-up mascara lashes. You can purchase Benefit They’re Real! mascara for $23 on the Benefit Cosmetics website or at major beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta.

What do you think of They’re Real!? Have you tried a mascara that you think blows this one out of the water, or is this your go-to mascara?

*All products in this post were purchased by me

NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick – Gala & Haute Melon Swatches

I used to be strictly a chapstick girl – no fuss, just the basics. For some reason though, I’m starting to find myself drawn to lipsticks and glosses. Is it because I realized that lipstick can change your whole look in a hot second? Because it turns out my lips look much better now that they aren’t cracking and looking like sandpaper as they have in the past? Who knows. The thing is, I don’t want to drop a ton of money on oodles of lip products if this turns out to just be a whim of mine. I mean, a girl’s gotta spend her money on important things…like nail polish.

So instead of dropping big bucks on a bunch of high-end lipstick, I decided to try NYX for the first time (say what?? I know. First-timer right here). Matte lipsticks are pretty sweet but they dry my already-dry lips out some, so I decided to pick up the Extra Creamy Round Lipstick instead. Plus NYX makes them sound good – “The mineral-based emollient formula offers a beautiful velvet texture, saturated color and it resists wear and smudging.” Ulta was having a BOGO half off sale on NYX when I went, soooo…I got two. Naturally. NYX has like a bajillion Extra Creamy Round Lipstick shades (actually just 124. Just? Pssh, that’s still like…a bajillion), so it was a smidge hard to choose only two to take home with me. I have been wanting a pink lipstick though, so I snagged one of those; a bright coral also caught my eye, so that was my second. Meet my newest additions, Gala and Haute Melon –

Gala (L) & Haute Melon (R)

Gala (L) & Haute Melon (R) in natural light

Gala (L) & Haute Melon (R) indoor w/ flash

First up is Gala. Gala is a soft, blue-based pink. It’s a smidge pearlized, which reads on the lips as a bit of an almost frosty shimmer. Gala was a bit sheer – I needed a few swipes. This shade was most certainly extra creamy, like buttah. The only downer to such a smooth, cream-tastic formula is that the staying power was so-so. It also settled a bit into lip lines. Here’s how Gala looked on me –

Bare lips

Gala – natural light

Gala, indoor lighting

Haute Melon is a bright coral cream, which is perfect for the summer. This shade didn’t feel quite as buttery/creamy as Gala, but I actually liked that about it because it lasted a bit longer and didn’t appear to settle into lines. It also seemed more pigmented than Gala. If you can’t tell, Haute Melon is my pick out of the two shades.

Bare lips

Haute Melon, natural light

Haute Melon, indoor lighting

You can purchase Gala, Haute Melon, or another one of NYX’s 124 (!) Extra Creamy Round Lipstick shades on their website for $4 – what a steal for a lipstick, right? You can also purchase it through Amazon (prices vary) or Ulta. I think I paid a little over $4 at Ulta, but it evened out with the BOGO half off sale.

Have you tried NYX lipstick? How does it hold up against other brands? What do you think of Gala vs. Haute Melon? Let me know in the comments!

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The products in this post were purchased by me for review.

Urban Decay Ammo Palette (Original) – Review & Swatches

If you can’t tell from past posts, I’m a big lover of Urban Decay. My favorite products by the brand are eye products, like shadows; for the most part, they are pigmented, smooth, and blendable. I’m still fairly new to the brand though, which means I’m missing a lot of older releases. It’s no surprise then that I occasionally raid Urban Decay’s site sale section to snag some new (but technically old) goodies.One such recent purchase is the Ammo palette. This palette was originally released a few years ago (I think), although it was rereleased in January with Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow formula. New formula = old ones get sent to sale. I don’t mind the old formula so that works for me!

The Ammo palette contains 10 of Urban Decay’s best-selling shadow shades, each in 0.03 oz. The case is sturdy cardboard with a magnetic click-shut design; inside are a mirror and dual-end, sponge-tip applicator. This palette is small but packs a lot of punch in such a small design. The new version of the Ammo palette features a different exterior/interior design, as well as a small brush instead of a sponge-tip.

Palette in hand

The ten shadows are as follows:

1. Smog – a medium, bronzed brown with a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
2. Mildew – a mossy, warm green with olive tones and a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
3. Oil Slick – black with microglitter; ok color payoff – this one was needed to be built up as it was a touch sheer for my taste and blends out to a gray-black
4. Last Call – a red-plum with a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
5. Chopper – an orange-based copper with a frosted finish and microglitter; great color payoff
6. Maui Wowie – a dirty, bronzy light gold with a frosted finish and gold microglitter; great color payoff
7. Shattered – a sky blue dirtied up with a hint of teal and a frosted finish; good color payoff
8. Polyester Bride – a creamy, frosted white with a touch of microglitter; ok color payoff
9. Grifter – a sheer pink-lavendar with a frosted finish and silvery microglitter; needs to be built up but intended to be a sheer color wash
10. Sin – a warm, rosy champagne with a frosted metallic finish; great color payoff

Click to enlarge for a better view of finish and text:

Natural light

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/o flash

The pros:

1. Most of these shades had great pigmentation and were UD’s usual smooth, blendable formula (although the older version).
2. There are some really unique shades here but they’re mixed in with enough “everyday” shades that you can come up with a lot of versatile, wearable eye looks.
3. The palette is small and sturdy, so you can toss it in your purse or take it on vacation without worrying about it.
4. The pans are small, but this lets you try shades that you may not have bought a full-size of for fear of not getting your moneys worth. It will still take you a long time to hit the pan though because a little goes a long way with UD shadows!

The cons:

1. Glitter fallout on half of these shades! I just put some tissue under my eye while I apply to catch as much as possible, but this is a usual problem with UD. That pretty microglitter? Yeah, most of it just ends up on your cheeks. Try a sticky base and patting on your shadow if you’re deadset on the glitter staying where it belongs.
2. That sponge-tip applicator is useless! I’m not surprised that the revamped version of this palette features a tiny brush instead.
3. Some of the shades are a tad sheer for my taste (Polyester Bride and Oil Slick, I’m lookin’ at you!).

My verdict? I don’t think I’d pay $34 for the new version of this, but I’m really glad I picked up this original version on sale for $19 (plus I got it during the family & friends sale so it was even a little less, woohoo!). There are some really fun colors in here that I can see working beautifully with shades in other Urban Decay palettes I already own. Although the shadows are the older formula, I still think they’re great – they blend, are smooth and buttery to the touch, have great color payoff, and last well throughout the day. Look at it this way – if you snag this original palette, you’re only paying $1.90 a shadow. Pretty fabulous if you ask me. Do only some of these colors call your name? Good news – each of these colors is a part of the permanent collection and can be found individually and in some other palettes. You can purchase the old or new Ammo palette on Urban Decay’s website; new palettes can be purchased at a UD store or a beauty retailer like Sephora or Ulta.

Related articles

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• Disney Beauty with Jay – Let Your Dark Side Out with Urban Decay’s Theodora Palette (disneyways.com)
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The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream Review

Not a very catchy title, I know, but I didn’t know how to make a night cream sound exciting. But if you’re looking for a new night cream or have been checking out The Body Shop products, read on!

I snagged The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Oil skin care kit not too long ago (the review is here if you missed it). I just so happened to buy the kit during a Body Shop buy one get one half off sale – pssh, no way can this girl let a good deal go by. Some of The Body Shop’s products are a little pricey! My skin is oily but sometimes gets really dry. How does that even happen? I certainly have no idea, but it makes a nourishing night cream sound good. Which is why when I spotted The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream a few shelves away from the Tea Tree Oil kit, I decided to check it out.

The Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream is a formula designed to revitalize and repair your skin by replenishing and balancing antioxidant and moisture levels – while you sleep! Your skin does all the repairs and resting it needs while you sleep, and this night cream is meant to capitalize on and help that process. This cream is usually $20/1.67 oz (what an odd number of ounces, right?), but with the sale? 10 bucks! Alright Body Shop, I’ll try it for $10.

Yay for no animal testing!

I bought this pretty little pink container and took it home, excited to try a new night cream. I was a little disappointed when I opened it because the tub was sealed, but it looked like someone had taken a big scoop out of the inside. This is usually $20 bucks and isn’t even completely filled? Body Shop – tsk, tsk!

What the devil is this?

At the bottom of the scoop slope, you can see the bottom of the jar. I hit the bottom of the jar without even using it; that’s impressive. Sigh. Anyways, I scooped some out and dabbed it on my arm, then smoothed some out next to it so that you could get an idea of the texture:

The pros:

1. This cream has a light, delicate scent to it that dissipates once it’s on your face.
2. It feels lightweight and rich at the same time and glides smoothly onto skin.
3. Although it is a rich cream, it absorbs fairly quickly into your skin.
4. A little goes a long way with this product.
5. It feels great on dry, winter skin…it’s like I can hear my thirsty skin saying “thank you!” as I’m massaging it in.

The cons:

1. If you have oily skin, you may want to use this sparingly, only on dry spots, or every other day. I used it every night when I first got it and I woke up every morning with my face looking/feeling significantly oilier than usual. I don’t like looking like an oil slick (does anybody?), so I had to really cut back.
2. The Body Shop is kind of a con artist with this product. The Shop website lists the container as having 1.7 ounces, but it only has 1.67 ounces (plus a big empty spot in the tub itself. Can you tell I’m a little salty over that? Cuz I am). Sneakiness is not appreciated Body Shop, just so you know.
3. My really dry spots that I focus it on are still dry by morning, although not as much as they were prior to applying the cream. However, the rest of my face is moisturized and soft.

My verdict? I don’t know, the verdict is still out on this one. I don’t think I’d buy it again for $20 since it doesn’t seem to mix well with my oily combination skin. However, it does feel really nice on my face after the winter weather has dried it out. Luckily, this container will last me awhile so I have plenty of time to decide whether or not it’s worth repurchasing.

You can snag this for $20 from The Body Shop or beauty specialty stores like Ulta. It’s listed as no longer available through Sephora’s website, but they may have it in store. The Body Shop is currently having a sale – buy 1 get 1 50% off, buy 2 get 1 free, or buy 3 get 2 free – so if you’re interested in trying this product, now might be a good time.