Today I bring you a new product from Hydropeptide. You may remember me talking about Hydropeptide in the past. I will link that post right here, so you can get a feel for them and more info about the company. What we're talking about today though, is the new LumaPro-C Serum . Which basically is a non-harsh, drug free, skin brightener and awesome dose of Vitamin C which you should be using daily. This also has Reversatrol in it. It actually has the most stable forms of Vitamin C and Reversatrol on the market as of right now.
Reversatrol is part of a group of compounds called Polyphenols. They're said to act like antioxidants. As we know antioxidants protect the skin from higher risk of sun damage, and environmental dangers that your skin comes into contact with. To be quite technical antioxidants: " inhibits oxidation or reactions promoted by oxygen, peroxides, or free radicals". Now we're seeing a lot of skin care items pop up that now are using Reversatrol but in my eyes it's relatively new. There's still a lot of speculation about how much it does actually help. Make no mistake it does help with anti aging and free radical protection capabilities, but some still say they aren't sure how effective it is as a supplement as something you would take orally. I've had nothing but good things come from it as part of my skincare though. Aside from this I've been using other products that have Reversatrol in it and it's always benefited my skin. Thus, one reason why I love that this isn't just Vitamin C but it's Vitamin C + Reversatrol. So as you probably know Vitamin C is great for skin brightening along with its other pigmentation bonuses. Most Vitamin C that I've used is in a serum form. This is more like a lotion to me, which I like better, it's a bit thicker than most of my serums. Although it is marketed as a "serum". Also most Vitamin C serums are recommended as part of your morning routine only. This is to be used morning and night. Which I also like. It also smells like Grapefruit. Just thought I'd throw that in there. I'm going to provide the ingredient deck at the end so you don't have to look it up for yourself but until then what I appreciate is that this is fragrance free. I, unless I'm testing something, like to have skin care that is fragrance free. That's just my personal preference. Now this does smell strongly of Grapefruit, so it has a smell but what I mean by "fragrance" is added fragrance/parfum to the product which will be towards the end of the ingredient deck listed as "fragrance" or "parfum". This is also safe for pregnant women. Still check the ingredient deck of course to make sure this is safe for you, but it is marketed as safe for pregnant women. I'm not pregnant, nor have I ever been, so I can't speak much to that but I do find it so restricting when trying to find good skin care that maybe a client or friend who is expecting can use. There's more products they can't use than they can and I'm really really pleased with Hydropeptide for addressing that and introducing this gem into the skincare world. So I'm gonna leave some statements from the company about the product below for you: "Safely brighten your complexion with this drug-free pigment corrector that minimizes the appearance of all types of hyperpigmentation including age spots, sun damage, and pigmentation from acne and “pregnancy mask” with a potent combination of corrective skin brighteners.- 3 Peptides including a Brightening Peptide and Preservative Peptide to improve overall skin radiance and health while reducing pigmentation activity to lighten skin." "How It Works: 8 key brightening ingredients at their clinical levels have been combined to powerfully address existing hyperpigmentation by encouraging resurfacing and prevent excess pigmentation from accumulating in the future by blocking key factors that cause uneven complexion." KEY ACTIVES: DermalRX SRC - Breaks down hyperpigmented cells which enhances skin texture and brightness. Stable Vitamin C - BV-OSC is the most effective and stable vitamin C available. Algaktiv LightSKN - A select blend of microalgae clinically proven to brighten age spots. FREE OF: Gluten Artificial Fragrance Parabens Phenoxyethanol PEG’s Phthalate Sulfates My experience with this product is first I find it very hydrating and I enjoy that. I feel like it's refreshing thanks to the scent and how it melts into the skin. Serums most of the time, absorb quickly which can be great if you're in a hurry. Sometimes though it feels like you did nothing. This feels like lotion (even though it says it's a serum) and I like to take my time, especially at night, massaging it into the skin alot of times using "facial massage" techniques, which I have a post on as well. So I feel like I'm really getting the benefits from these ingredients in LumaPro-C, more so than my regular Vitamin C serum. My skin doesn't have a lot of sun damage. I have a very extensive and regimented skin care routine both morning and night,which includes weekly personal microdermabrasion, so I feel like I have pretty good skin. My skin is Normal/ Combo. So, I don't see a lot of "brightening" effects with this on MY skin. Not to say it doesn't do that I just don't see a huge change. I will say that while I've been using this for almost 2 months morning and night, my skin texture is better, because I do have texture issues. My complexion as a whole as far as my hereditary dark circles and minor redness has decreased so I agree with the "lightening" effect claims. It's not perfect skin but it's definitely changed for the better. Before this I was using a Vitamin C serum and a cream with Reversatrol in it seperately so this has replaced those products and combined it into one product. Which makes it less steps for me to do, which I also like. Let's face it sometimes you just wanna wash your face and go to bed. I LOVE skincare. I love doing my skincare routines. I take my time and I enjoy the whole process, it really relaxes me and makes me feel very confident but we all have those days when we're just like "not today". I know I do at least. So I appreciate something like this where I can use it on those "bare minimum" days. When I just want to wash my face, put on something hydrating and go to bed. This does that for me on those days and on the days when I'm doing my normal stuff it doesn't get too "heavy" or "too much" for my skin. So it works out really well for me. With this product you get 1 oz. It retails for $148 BUT I have a coupon for you. This coupon does not benefit me in any way it's just something for you from the company so thank you Hydropeptide for that. Use code "BBLUMA20" to recieve 20% off your LumaPro-C purchase. http://shop.hydropeptide.com/lumapro-c/#.WDS5xS0rI9Y I wanted to leave this "key ingredient summary list" from their page, that I thought was interesting. To help you learn more about what is in this exactly and how this or that works for your benefit. "KEY INGREDIENT SUMMARY: Belides™ NP - An extract from flowers of Bellis perennis that contains saponins, polyphenols and polysaccharides has been shown to decrease ET-1 protein production in the tyrosine pathway. Brightenyl ® - This new generation skin melanoregulator is activated by the stratum microbium and restores a perfect and even skin tone by blocking the melanogenesis process at several levels. It also protects the skin and prevents inflammation, therefore controlling skin redness. SymWhite® 377 - This new generation skin melanoregulator is activated by the stratum microbium and restores a perfect and even skin tone by blocking the melanogenesis process at several levels. It also protects the skin and prevents inflammation, therefore controlling skin redness. Metabiotics ™ Resveratrol - A proprietary fermentation of resveratrol with the yeast strain Pichia pastoris delivers a multi-dimensional approach to cellular modulation with enhanced skin brightening benefits. SymVital ® AgeRepair - Antioxidant-rich extract that reduces pigmentation and redness while improving skin radiance." Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Sodium Oleate, Oligopeptide-68 (Brightening Peptide), Disodium EDTA, Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid Copolymer, Lactic Acid, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate (Raphanus Sativus Root Extract) (Peptide Preservative), Lactobacillus Ferment (Peptide Preservative), Propanediol, Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract, Lysolecithin, Sclerotium Gum, Xanthan Gum, Pullulan, Resveratrol, Isohexadecane, Isododecane, C13-15 Alkane, Dimethylmethoxy Chromanyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Silybum Marianum Ethyl Ester, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Menthyl Lactate, Allatoin, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Limonene, Citral, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal Also I wanted to add that when you go to the Hydropeptide site, you can sign up to recieve free samples. Now I don't know what those samples are but if you're interested in this company, and I hope you are, then you can try some samples. *This post was powered by Brand Backer* 
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I'm sitting here, covered up in my purple mermaid tail blanket (Thanks J), drinking my Birthday Hot Chocolate (secret recipe), and watching it snow. I'm also sitting here pondering on some very hyped up products that I just.....don't get. A lot of it is very good advertising and marketing.
*SKIP THIS PART IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN MARKETING AND ADVERTISING* Now before we get into it, I'll tell you a pretty simple definition of marketing and advertising. Ad's are a very appealing shot, testimonial, video, post, billboard, commercial, etc by one person or company. Advertising is part of marketing. Marketing is the big picture which is the placement of ads, when to time them, where to put them, so they'll have the most impact and so on. Like, can you imagine how ideal and awesome a time slot to air a commercial during the Superbowl would be? When that many people are watching? So there's that, now you know a little back ground information. I have no issue with ads, lot's of times it's actually very good products that they're talking about. I'm not opposed to sponsors, affiliates, or sponsorships because I do a lot of those and I'm an affiliate to a lot of things. Just because you're sponsored does not mean that you are lying by any means. So today I find myself thinking about products I've purchased because of very very persuasive advertisment and excellent marketing skills. Two in particular stand out but I'll throw a few more in for good measure. First is the Karity 21 Eyeshadow Palette. If you have Facebook I'm sure you've seen the ads for this and I believe it's an article in Huffington Post. The headline is super catchy about how these inexpensive shadows are disrupting a $63 billion dollar industry. So I read the article. I seen the swatches they provided, in said article, which I'll link here. I looked up their Instagram and then I bought a palette. I got the Smokey palette. Fully believed this was going to be amazing. Now, not to say that this is terrible it most certainly is not. However, does anyone remember the first palettes that Morphe had? Where there was inconsistencies in the shadows? This is similar. Some shades do very little, other shades do remarkably well. There's more good shades than bad, but nothing like what I expected it to be which simply, I thought it would be better. I prefer my Makeup Geek shadows that are also very inexpensive. Moving on, and I believe this was also in Huffington Post, I seen an article where this young woman was talking about Dr Jart Cicapair correcting cream that had changed her life. To the point that she no longer needed foundation. I love Dr Jart, we all know this. So I was pumped! It was sold out in my Sephora, then I went to another one and got the very last one. Pretty sure it was selling out online just as quickly. Concept is it's green and turns beige or adjusts to your skin tone. It corrects pigmentation issues, soothes the skin and has a bit of a blurring/masking quality to it for pigmentation issues as well. This was around $50, maybe more? You get 1..7 oz. It comes in a glass jar. It's mint green. Let's be clear, I do like this and it does do what it says. However, unless you have great skin or minor issues with your skin, you still need foundation to have coverage. At the very least you'll need concealer under your eyes or somewhere. So that being said you're paying $50 ish dollars for a correcting cream that has no long term skin care benefits that I can find and also no claims for long term benefits. The you would proceed to foundation. Which is costing you more money when you could use a full coverage foundation and get the same effect of masking your imperfections without the extra step of the Cicapair. So let's say that your foundation costs around $25. For a lot that's really low and then for some it's mid line, and for others it's still expensive. So together you're spending $75 roughly on your foundation/base. Which if that's what you want to do then go for it because make no mistake it is good. However, when I read this article I was under the impression that after using the Cicapair for a while, it changed the appearance of the skin so much you can get away with wearing absolutely no foundation. I could've read that completely wrong but still that's how I took it. So that being said I can't really justify purchasing this product because there are other ways to achieve the same effect which is much more inexpensive and less time consuming. The product is good though, so if it's something you want then go for it, it will help your base makeup for sure. I don't view it as a "need" right now. Another product that was really hyped up for quite a while, is Butter London nail polishes. Let me say I've tried to love these. Over and over again. I have quite a few of these actually. They just, in my opinion, not great. I much prefer Formula X or Essie, or anything else for that matter. These look cool, they have beautiful colors, but there just isn't anything special about them I don't think. I'm also not a huge fan of the Glam Glow masks except the firming one and that's only because it smells good and I like peel off masks. I got the white one that everyone and their uncle was talking about and I tried to use it cause it was not cheap.....it just didn't work for me. I have other masks that do a better job like the Aztec Indian Healing Clay mask. It's way more product, and costs way less. I wanted to love these and I don't think they're useless, I just don't have much luck with them. I'm on a roll now. Laura Mericier secret brightening powder. Secret's out: there is no secret. I'm sorry, it just didn't make my under eye area look any better. It actually made it look worse. I can not use it.. I am not a fan, simple as that. Loving Tan 2 Hour Express Tanning mousse. This. Does. Not. Work. For. Me. I have a whole post on it. People talk about this like it performs miracles but it's super uneven and patchy on me. The color is gorgeous don't get me wrong but it looks very patchy on my skin. I've tried everything, followed all the rules, then tried changing it up. No such luck. Maybelline Age Rewind concealer. This has no coverage in my opinion. I have pretty dark circles though so even using a corrector and then this, I have no luck. It looks like I didn't use anything at all. This is hailed as one of the very best drugstore concealers and I just do not understand why. It still baffles me to this day. Pretty much Tatcha anything. I'm not trying to be mean but the only thing I like from Tatcha is the Triple Indigo cream and I LOVE that cream. It's wonderfully soothing and I think it's fantastic. I'm not a fan of the rice powder that everyone loves, I don't feel like it does anything. I don't like the Luminous spray merely because that just doesn't work for my skin type. I'm not a huge fan of the serum. I just haven't used much from them that has been a hit and it's so expensive. It's widely talked about but I don't get it. Luckily you can always return stuff to Sephora. Another thing that everyone loves is the Bumble and Bumble Pret A Powder. Which is a dry shampoo voluminizing powder. I bought it thinking unicorns would appear and give my hair the boost it needed. NO that didn't happen. Not in the least, not at all. It was a complete waste of my time. I'll leave this here right now. I don't want this to get too lengthy. I guess my advice is, take everyone's recommendations (including mine) with a grain of salt because what works for some, won't work for others. As for things that are heavily marketed by ad placement, do your research. Don't go off that one ad, that links a certain article. Find your own articles.  It's time for another Adore Box! If you're familiar with it, you know that I get the Premium Quarterly box. Which has 10 full size products in it that range from all things beauty and lifesyle. This is only the 2nd box that I've received but I think it's definitely been the best. They really impressed me by all the areas that they include in their boxes.
If you've been with me for a while you will know that I used to get Sephora Play! boxes. I cancelled that subscription in December. I wasn't that pleased with it and it didn't warrant the $10 each month in my opinion most of the time. So let me get how much this costs out of the way, and how you can save money. The Premium Quarterly box is $40 a month. There is also a monthly box that is $15 and a 2x monthly box which is two of the same box each month for you and a friend ideally, for $25. You can use code " HALF OFF" to get 50% off your first purchase. As I did last time I'm going to give you all you need to know about the service itself. So here's how this breaks down:
This box adds up to right under $140. The stand out product for me is the Kate Spade mug. It's because I have a SICK obsession with mugs, tumblers, travel mugs. I just love them. All of them. Any of them. So I think this was basically......pretty bad ass. My second favorite this is the Go Sonic tooth brush. It has up to 30,000 strokes per minute and it is incredibly soft. I have veneers and electric toothbrushes often seem too harsh for my liking due to the vibration. This doesn't feel like that at all which makes me super happy because your sure to clean the teeth more thorough with it. It also comes with a replaceable head too. I really appreciated that. I've also used the St. Tropica Organic Coconut Hot Oil Hair Mask. This is a solid and you warm it up in the microwave. I love this. I'm actually going to purchase more of these because it was super effective and very relaxing. Most Hot Oil hair mask's especially with Coconut Oil, it's so hard to get my hair clean and get that oil out of it. This was not the case with this one, which is why I love them. Also it's a must for a "pampering" night or day. It's only $5 and it is super relaxing. I have very long hair and this coverage and saturated my entire scalp and all my hair. BH Cosmetics Tulip duo blush. I already had this but it is very nice and a very good blush. Both colors are very pretty. Especially on darker skin it's very very beautiful. The DSR Global Body Cream smells amazing. I don't actually like body lotion or any lotion for that matter. This however smells wonderful. I keep it in my bathroom. I also love the packaging and presentation of this product because it feels like a luxury product for sure. On it's own it's $30 so it's pretty much worth the price of the whole box. Shisedo Oil Control Blotting Papers. I have these in my bag. I'm not someone who uses blotting papers often on myself but I do keep them in my kit to use on clients. Especially for weddings. Gem Gem Ginger Candy Bon Bons. I've not tried these yet. The are all natural and the flavor of these are Oh Oh Orange. They're Gluten Free, Real Indonesian Ginger, Kettle Cooked, and Non GMO. The lip mask is the next thing I'm going to try. I have never tried a lip sheet mask but I've wanted to and I'm very excited. The VS Lip Silk Sheer Gloss is very sparkling and beautiful and is beautiful on it's own as well as a topper for other lip shades. The PocketBac is antibacterial gel that you take with you on the go. For quick sanitation. It's always useful to have some in your purse, backpack, baby bag, car, anywhere and everywhere. So that was my Quarterly Premium Box for January. I absolutely love it. They do send me the box free of charge but all thoughts are my own. I genuinely love this and I feel like you would too.  Hey guys, I'm hoping to start a new series called: Why Is No One Talking About It? I want it to be dedicated to awesome products flying under the radar. Whether high end or inexpensive, if it's great then I want to talk about it, especially if no one else really is. What inspired me to do this is actually this product right here, the Elf Instant Lift Brow Pencil. I got this for $2 and the first shade I got was Neutral Brown. Then I went and got the 2 other shades: Taupe, and Black/Brown. So that's three pencils for $6 all together. My advice is start with Neutral Brown and go from there shade wise. This is a mechanical pencil with a brow brush/spooly on the other end. Much like the ABH Brow Wiz or other brow pencils for that matter. In my opinion this is quite similar to the Brow Wiz from ABH, except the pencil or crayon itself inside is just a bit thicker than the Brow Wiz pencil or crayon. For the price though I would totally take the gamble and at least see if it's similar enough for your liking. To me I prefer pencils that are angled like the Brow Definer from ABH and the Goof Proof from Benefit. However, for $2, I'm more than happy to use this Elf one and save myself a ton of money. Which is the point of this, the product is good, the pigmentation and easy use is there, so for $2 I feel it's worth your time. I find that I can do my brows just as easily and just as quickly as I had been with other pencils, and much faster than I use a pomade or Wunderbrow. Which I do like just fine. Like I said earlier I would start with Neutral Brown. It's not dark, it's cool toned so it won't be too warm, and it would fit everything from ashy blonde hair to dark hair like mine. Of course there are two other shades you can choose from as well. I just feel Neutral Brown is kinda a universal color or at least useable until you find your color. I can use black/brown as well but I use a light hand with it so it doesn't get too "sharpie" looking. I've not tried taupe just yet. It seems a bit more warm in my opinion though, I bought all 3 shades to have for clients and so on. You can find these at Ulta, Walmart and I guess anywhere else they sell Elf Cosmetics. It's definitely worth checking out. Ulta always has a coupon for $3.50 off $15 so you could buy something else and basically get an Elf Brow Pencil free since it's $2.  In the picture above, I used Black/Brown very lightly and I always brush out the brows to blend any product build up that's maybe too much and give the brows a "softer" look. In the picture below I used Neutral Brown like I usually do. It's a bit easier for me to work with because the color is lighter.   Recently L'Oreal released a new foundation called the Infallible Total Cover. I got mine at Ulta and as far as drug store prices go it was kinda pricey. It is $12.99 at Ulta and comes in 12 shades. Definitely not as expensive as some foundations of course but still that's kinda high for a drug store brand in my opinion. I believe Wal-Mart is a bit cheaper. None the less I think it's a very nice foundation. You can not however, go by the color on the tube. For example my shade is 302 but the tube looks quite pink in my opinion when actually it's more of a neutral beige as far as the product goes, because the tube is actually colored and not clear so that's why it's gonna differ in color. The texture is very light and mousse like (also just my opinion). I really love it because it is light and because it does cover really really well. It's not going to cover absolutely everything but I'm comfortable saying this is full coverage. It can easily be made medium coverage but it's intended to be full and I feel like it is. My favorite way of applying it is with a stippling brush. I do feel like whether you use a sponge, brush or whatever, that it's going to apply beautifully. It has a nice satin finish. I won't say it "looks like skin" because it doesn't. Pores aren't incredibly visible under it, and lines are more filled in so you look better than your natural skin. Which should be the goal of any foundation. I find that where I kinda have combination skin I have a certain routine in getting the best long lasting and flawless finish when using this certain foundation. First I use a mattifying toner in my skin care. A lot of toners say they are for combo/oily skin but I've only found one that works best during the day with oil control. Which is the Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Toner. I also recently got this as well at Ulta but it's also available at Target. I absolutely love it, you have to shake to activate it, it reminds me of sulfur in it's appearance and then you apply like any other toner. Botanics is a more "nature driven" line which I like, because there is no added fragrance. This toner is around $9 on Ulta and I feel it does a better job than my Clinique toner that is for Oily/Combo skin. It's basically the best toner I've ever used for "oil control". Keep in mind I'm normal to combo skin and not super oily. The next step is using a smoothing primer. I'm using the Bronx Colors Pore Minimizing Studioline primer. Which is actually the same price as the foundation, it's online only at Ulta. I find it just as good as all my high end smoothing primers. With the toner and the primer combined, my foundation looked fresh all day long. After a few more tests removing both toner and primer, an then another test removing just the primer. I've found that for optimal results it's better combined with the other 2. Using it on it's own it lasted about 4 hours and then I started to looks a little shiny. By 8 hours it was pretty much done. However using the 2 steps before it, it went for about 10 hours without any touching up. For those with dry skin, I think you won't have that issue. It's not a hydrating foundation in my opinion so I actually don't think any skin type would have a hard time with it but I do notice some shine as I do with most foundations after a few hours. I didn't set my makeup any of these times with setting sprays either. So there's that as well. This is a squeeze tube which I like because you don't get out too much and waste any. It's 1 oz like most foundation which I'm very happy about because since it was a liquid. I had my concerns that they wouldn't do the standard amount of foundation you usually get. I'm glad to see that. Like I said earlier it's very weightless. Often I find myself forgetting that I even have makeup on and touching my face and then realizing that I do in fact have makeup on. The only complaint I can think of is the price and I wish the color of the tube was truer to color of the product. I never would've bought it had I seen that first. The good news about the price is there is always a coupon available for L"Oreal or Ulta. Especially if you're getting the Botanics toner as well. So you can at least save some money. Like I said you may find this cheaper at Wal-Mart or Target possibly.     Somewhere in the chaos between Christmas and New Years, Kat Von D Beauty released the Alchemist Holographic Palette. Which is 4 shades of duo chrome powders that can be used as eyeshadow AND highlight. Now as you know there's been several products of Kat Von D Beauty that I didn't like. I'm happy to say, this is not one of those. So this is like a "holographic" palette packaging wise, and also with the duo chrome highlighters/shadows. The 4 shades are the size of regular eye shadow pans. Like the same size Makeup Geek or ABH single shadows. It's $32 and shaped like a triangle. The shades are as follows: " 4 x 0.05 oz/ 1.53 g Holographic Shades in Emerald (green), Saphyre (blue), Amethyst (ultra-violet), Opal (pink) " My favorite is the Amethyst and Opal. Those are the ones I use the most. At first I didn't really like that these were eye shadow size pans but now I actually really appreciate it. First of all, my highlight brush is a small tapered brush that works perfectly with the size. Second of all, I am more likely to use this palette on eyes and face because it looks like a eye palette. Now you can use a highlighter for eyeshadow anyway, but just seeing this as it is in the palette subconsiously makes me gravitate toward it and I use it more. Sounds odd but it's true. I'll go ahead and tell you not all the shades feel the same in texture, but in my opinion they all perform the same. Which is really all I care about. There's just not much more I can say about this. It's very cool. It's a bit compact and small so it's easy to store even though it's a triangle. Packaging is A+ per usual. The duo chromes are fantastic and noticable in person, not necessarily in pictures. Which I also like. It's made like an eye palette, but also really easy to use as a highlight palette as well and hey if it doesn't work as highlight for you then you have some nice eyeshadows. It's still a decent price even if it's only being used as eyeshadow. So to give a price comparison between what some shadows would cost if you bought 4: KVD = $32 MUG = $24 ABH = 4 for $40 usually MAC = $24 Melt Stacks = around 50 for 4 shades which are a bit bigger than these. Of course there are plenty of other single shadows out there but these were the most popular I felt. So this is around the mid line with price I guess you could say. I'm going to say though that I've not seen any duo chromes like the ones in this palette except for Opal which is done often in duo chromes. This is available in Sephora now. I'd definitely check it out if you like duo chromes. The swatches above are in a darker light on the left with camera flash and the right is with no flash and just a regualr light. With duo chromes you tend to see the shift when it's darker or on a dark base. From top to bottom swatches are: Emerald Saphyre Amethyst Opal   Over Christmas, one of my gifts was some brushes from Smith Cosmetics. My mother, being the saint that she is, got me some as a Christmas present because I had been wanting to try some but they were a bit expensive and my brushes were doing just fine. So I got 4 brushes. I got 2 face brushes and 2 crease brushes. I picked the ones I knew I would use the most and those are the ones she got. I've heard so many good things about the line from beauty gurus and body paint makeup artists and so on saying that these were incredible and could not be duped! So I was super excited to get to have some of my own and also see if they really were Holy Grail because my most expensive brushes are Sigma. That was before they doubled their prices too. So I didn't have really nice expensive brushes that were worth every penny, you know? Sadly.... and I really hate to say this but I'm disappointed. So let's get into this. I got the: Smith 115 Smith 118 Smith 232 Smith 230 So lets start with the Smith 115. This was the one I was most excited for and wanted to love so much. Unfortunately for me, whether it was just a really bad brush or a fluke cause, hey that does happen, it was really really dissapointing. When I say disappointing I don't mean it just was underwhelming, no....I mean it was very scratchy so it didn't feel good on my skin and it shed A LOT. I was picking hairs off my face for a good 2 minutes after using it. My Morphe Y8 is similar in shape and does a better job at this point. Have I had worse brushes....absolutely. Is this complete trash, not really. It's just not what I expected after the claims I heard and I really feel like for the price it shouldn't be shedding or be scratchy on my skin. Next I tried to use the 118 which is bigger. I actually changed about 15 seconds in from this to a $3 Elf brush I had because again it was very scratchy and irritating. I will say this one didn't shed like the 115 but it wasn't soft and didn't feel amazing on my skin at all. My Elf brush felt a lot better. So again that was a bit disappointing. Moving on to the crease brushes..they both had some wild hairs that came out the side but they did the job. I don't expect every hair to be perfectly in place. The 232 was really awesome I love the shape of both of them and it was super soft. The 230 had some wild hairs that actually got in my eye so I had to cut those off but other than that it was fine. I will say though that I feel like the original Elite collection from Morphe the E28 is a tapered crease brush and although it's not exactly the same shape, it does the same thing and it's just as good and it was only $7. I don't want to bash this company, I really don't. It's just, I hate that my Mom paid good money for something that was, at the very least, not good pieces. Plus I'm disappointed by the fact that a lot of great reviews from youtubers and so on, made me so excited and pumped for brushes that I personally, wouldn't purchase now. They're absolutely gorgeous by just looking at them. I love how the handles are and how nice and elegant they look but they didn't perform like I thought. Now, I know we all have different tastes, I may like certain skin care that you don't, or I may like eyeshadows that you don't but I feel like brushes are pretty cut and dried. Either they're soft and really good and worth investing in, or like in Morphe's case they're awesome quality for a lower price. Not just Morphe has good brushes, but Elf like I said earlier had a brush I liked better than the one I was using from Smith. Real Techniques also has lovely brushes. I could go on. So here I have 4 brushes, 2 that I don't care for and won't use, and 2 that are alright. I wanted to do this review becuase these are my first genuine impressions. I've not talked to the company, they didn't send these to me, they were a gift from my Mom like I said. I wanted to do this first impression basically because I wanted you to hear my true thoughts about something that is, what I would consider, an investment that I don't really get the "hype" for. When it comes to brushes unless you're in store, it's hard to tell whether you're getting good brushes or not so good. Therefore, ordering can sometimes be a gamble. I don't know their process of manufacturing, the claims that they say theirself, or anything. I'm not going to go and find those claims and try to pick them a part. I have no interest in doing that. I'm just going to say that these particular pieces disappointed me for the price point and I expected better from all that I had heard. Like I said it could be a fluke, but I wanted to get a review out so that at least if you stumble across this you will know how my experience was. Just to be clear you can return these and pay the shipping expense to have them sent back. Also, you can "email them if you think you have a defective brush". So you aren't stuck with them if you do happen upon some that aren't so good. If, in the future, I do try more of these and they are worth every penny, I will absolutely let you know cause I have no issues with investing in good brushes. Right now I'm just not on board.    
Ok guys I wanted to get this post up now, but there will be a more in depth post later and possibly one showing the rest of my watches that I have cause I love watches. However, Jord Watches recently was so kind to send me one of their wood watches. Safe to say I'm in love and actually my husband loves it as well. They have womens watches and mens watches each one is beautiful with several different styles to choose from like: square face, larger boyfriend face, etc. They are offering a giveaway for $100 e gift card code to 1 of my readers/followers but anyone who enters gets a $25 e gift code to use regardless. So enter and get $25 off right off the bat. I'll leave the link below on how to enter it's also in the bio of my instagram as well. The giveaway lasts through the 22nd of January and they will be the ones contacting you, not me.
Here's your link:https://www.woodwatches.com/g/loveandmascara The watch I'm wearing is the Frankie 35 Mint Dark Sandalwood. They have so many beautiful watches, there is an emerald green one that is absolutely stunning but they're all stunning. Many different colors of wood. They can size these watches for you as well. The box it comes in is also all wood and gorgeous with magnetic closures. I'm so impressed. It comes packaged very well with a cleaning cloth and there is a little drawer at the bottom that slides out of the box for you to put extra links in and stuff. They done a fantastic job. Like I said I will be talking more in depth about this later (with a few more ways to style it) I just wanted the giveaway to be posted as soon as possible for you. 
 I've had the pleasure of using an awesome lip duo from Preventative Measures 101 for the last couple of months. Honestly, I almost forgot to talk about them because they had become such a staple in my skin care routine both in the morning at night. Just another routine step. For the record for those of you disregarding taking care of your lips.....how bout you stop doing that. It's a new year so, fresh start, why don't you start paying as much attention to your lips as I hope you do to protecting your skin.
Here's why: Skin Cancer is the most common cancer. As statistics stand right now, 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer at some point. The lips are not uncommon to skin cancer, but you don't often here awareness about them. Turns out most people who develop lip cancer is usually occupation related, and then tobacco and alcohol related. Also males are "3-13 times more likely to develop lip cancers" because of those reasons. So while you should be protecting your skin make sure you're protecting your lips. So this duo of lip balm from Preventative Measures is really cool. Firstly, a portion of the proceeds go to skin cancer research. Then here is the clencher.... "After 20 years of experience as a chemist in the skincare industry, Anjani Singh was inspired to create her own line of unisex skincare products. Concerned with the growing population of skin cancer she set out to create a unique, preventive SPF 30 by incorporating the technologies of a time-release moisturizer. Lips 101 has reinvented the ordinary lip balm with innovative technology and a SPF 30 protection. Made with shea butter, safflower oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E, chamomile and a medley of "super fruits" (pomegranate, red grape, grapefruit, apple) for anti-oxidant properties. Lips are protected and hydrated throughout the day and receive ultimate moisture throughout the night!" So let's start with the time-release moisturizer. It's so cool. I just don't have better words than that, so lets just be real. The idea is you smack your lips together to get the release of more anti-oxidants and more hydration to the lips. Which in turn will help heal them and get consistent doses of hydration to keep them more plump and not cracked or chapped. I'm fascinated by this cause you can feel it. It's really really innovative and I haven't seen anything like this out. The ingredients in the SPF 30 are: Active Ingredients (Purpose: Sunscreen): Benzophenone-3 (Oxybenzone) 5% Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate) 7.5% Homosalate 6% Meradimate 4% Inactive Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cetyl Alcohol, Flavor, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch (and) Isomerized Safflower Acid (and) Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit (and) Palmitoyl Tripeptide 5 (and) Hydrated Silica (and) Resveratrol (and) Matricaria Recutita (Chamomile) Extract (and) Zea Mays (Corn) Starch (and) Punica Granatum Oil (and) Menthyl Sulfonyl Menthane (and) Glyceryl Stearate (and) Glycerin (and) Ceramide (and) Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Mineral Oil, Ozokerite, Petrolatum, Sucralose (and) Polysorbate 80 (and) Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax (and) Zea Mays (Corn) Starch (and) Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherol. Here's their statement on the 101 SPF 30: "Our goal was to create a lip balm product to prevent and limit the amount of damage from UVA /UVB rays to the lips. We incorporated the cutting edge technology with SPF 30 for maximum protection for the lips. A point of difference: not JUST a lip balm! SPF 30 with an encapsulated time release formula. When you smack your lips together you release the super fruits to moisten and keep your lips hydrated!" The After Hours formula is something I refuse to go without. I love it. It's not super waxy or thick and greasy like a balm that comes in a pot (these are sticks). Your lips feel nice but not like there is product just sitting on top of them. It's like you feel the moisture sinking in. It's almost like water being poured on your lips cause it works that fast and feels that refreshing. The scent is lovely and light. Doesn't have a weird taste in my opinion. It's just all around good. The ingredients for After Hours are: Petrolatum, Paraffin, Mineral Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Retinyl Palmitate, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil (and) BHA (and) Propyl Gallate (and) Citric Acid, Hydrolysed Corn Starch (and) Isomerized Safflower Acid (and) Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit (and) Palmitoyl Tripeptide 5 (and) Hydrated Silica (and) Resveratrol (and) Matricaria Recutita (Chamomile) Extract (and) Zea Mays (Corn) Starch (and) Punica Granatum Oil (and) Menthyl Sulfonyl Menthane (and) Glyceryl Stearate (and) Glycerin (and) Ceramide (and) Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Sucralose (and) Polysorbate 80 (and) Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax (and) Zea Mays (Corn) Starch (and) Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Flavor. Here's a statement from the company about the 101 After Hours: "We created Lips 101 After Hours with the same extraordinary technology and innovative ingredients without the SPF 30. We increased the moisture ingredients to maximize its benefits to the lips. In Lips 101 after hours, we have formulated the product to intensify the benefits to relieve cracked, wrinkled and dry lips. Increasing the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory delivery system technology." The products house some of my favorite ingredients which are: Cocoa butter, shea butter, jojoba oil, Chamomile, Aloe, etc. These are awesome not just for hydration but for soothing effects as well. So in my experience this has been like "neosporin" for my lips kinda. I know that's an odd comparison but the way Neosporin heals a cut or wound faster, this is what this does for my lips. I tend to bite my lips sometimes out of nervousness or they'll crack from time to time and bleed this heals them really fast for me and protects them all at the same time. So while this is kinda short and sweet, I gotta say I really like this product. I would totally recommend them to anyone and I have because I feel like it's doing more than any other lip balm out on the market right now. This duo was $28 but it's now $21. You can of course buy them seperately but I say get them both. Here's the link: https://preventivemeasures101.com/ **These were sent to me complimentary but these are my own opinions** |
ErinI'm from Tennessee. I'm a makeup and skincare lover. I have always enjoyed creating looks but I love to help people with product knowledge and application even more. I've been able to start blogging and do these things I love because God has seen fit to bless me with the opportunity. Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me! 
  
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