 So this months Sephora Play! box got lost in all the chaos of these past few weeks. Plus it was actually a really good box. So my apologies for not getting this posted sooner. Like always I'm going to tell you each thing that was in the box and then briefly give you my thoughts on each item.
Items: Chocolate Soleil Bronzer by Too Faced Blotterazzi by Beauty Blender Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer by Smashbox Deep Cleanser by First Aid Beauty Citrine by Nest Wave Spray by OUAI Chocolate Soleil Bronzer: This was in a thin plastic casing of the famous bronzer from Too Faced. I actually own the full size and I love it. It smells like chocolate and to me I like the Chocolate better than the Milk Chocolate Bronzer because the Chocolate works better for contouring. I like my bronzers a bit cooler in tone so that I can use them as bronzer and contour. It's really really nice. This was quite small but still the pan itself was decent sized. Blotterazzi: I'll be honest, for some reason blotting oil with a slice of sponge really grosses me out. I feel like that would breed bacteria especially if you're just throwing it in your bag without a casing. Aside from that I still don't see the point in having a thin sponge to absorb oil that you have to wash. I much prefer oil sheets. I understand this helps with touch ups and I could totally see that but for blotting I just am not interested in it. Sorry!! BUT I do think it's very cool that they included one in the box because as you know Beauty Blender isn't a cheap brand. Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer: I don't like the original Photo Finish primer by Smashbox that is super well known. So I didn't have high hopes for this but I actually love it! I like this better than most of my smoothing primers I have that are also pore minimizing. I truly do like this primer I wish it was a tad bigger in size but I understand the size based on how big some of the other stuff was. Deep Cleanser: This is a Red Clay cleanser. First Aid Beauty is really coming up strong in the skin care game I feel, and are making themselves known. There's no doubt they have some amazing products. I had never gotten to try this cleanser. I've been using it with my Foreo Luna and I really like it. I don't know if I notice that much of a difference but it's still a nice cleanser that does it's job. So it's neither here nor there for me so far but I will continue to use it. Citrine perfume: I see NEST everywhere I look in Sephora. As you already know I'm not keen on perfumes since I'm so particular with scents and how they mess with my head. This was ok, but it smelt super similar to Clinique Happy or maybe Clinique Happy Heart. Which used to be my favorite perfume when I was younger but now it just gives me a headache. Wave Spray: I was so, so, so pumped to see this in the box. This is such a HUGE size that is actually sold at Sephora in the travel section for like $12 I think. Which is more than this whole box costs. Plus this is a really buzzed about hair product line from Jen Atkins who has been a celebrity hairstylist for years and recently launched her own line into Sephora. Everyone loves the entire line and honestly it's fair priced. I have the Texturizing Hair Spray as well, it smells amazing and it works so good. This Wave Spray is no different, it smells amazing also and gives you that beachy wave you're looking for. So this is what made the box for me this month. I think this box has been my favorite so far. Mind you I've only had 3 boxes. I'm gonna leave the link here where you can sign up for the subscription service if you're interested. It's $10 a month, well $10.93 when it's all said and done. It comes with a pamplet and then a bonus card that if you present it in store, you get an extra 50 Beauty Insider points with any purchase you make and that card expires in a month I believe. So it's a really cool subscription service (the only one I was interested in doing) and I really love what I'm seeing so far.
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 Mmk so Jaclyn Hill and Becca Cosmetics extended their collab to include some Split Pans and Slim Lights. I got one of the split pans. I wasn't too interested in the face palette as you know and I wasn't too blown away by the eye palette. So when I seen they were coming out with split pans, which is a highlight on one side and blush on the other, I got excited because I could still try the Prosecco Pop highlight and also a new blush without having to buy the palette. Sign me up!  So this is Prosecco Pop/Amaretto split pan. There are 4 pans in the line. Two have Champagne Pop as the highlight and two have Prosecco Pop. I already have Champange pop so I wanted the ones I didn't have. Thus, I got this one. I knew I'd automatically like the blush so I was pretty excited. The blush is a neutral brown undertone that seems to be satin finish. It's not dark by any means it's super wearable and nearly a bronzer almost but it's not "dark enough" to be one, if that makes any sense. Not that bronzers have to be dark but this is so light in tone that it works best as a blush. Now that I've adequately confused you probably lol... let's move on. This is a super natural looking blush it gives you a hint of warmth and doesn't deposit a ton of color on your cheeks so it's not too intense. Now on to Prosecco Pop. I'll be completely honest guys... I really don't care for the color itself. The formula is good but it's such an intense gold that I just don't really like it. Of course combined with Champagne Pop it's beautiful, but alone I just don't like it. I know I'm so weird. Everyone loves it. I'm the only bird who doesn't. Being fair though, like I said, the formula is spot on its a nice pigmentation and application but the color isn't for me. I think on darker complexions it might be amazing though.  Here I'm wearing it and hopefully you can see how warm and golden the highlight is on the skin and also that the blush is really wearable and natural looking.
So that's my thoughts. You can buy this at Sephora. It's $38 it's the same price and same size packaging wise as the other compacts for their highlighters or "shimmering skin perfectors". The blushes that were in the face palette are also available in the splits. So Hyacinth/Champagne Pop, Prosecco Pop/Amaretto, Prosecco Pop/Pamplemousse, and then Champagne Pop/Flowerchild. Flowerchild is a permanent color but was picked for the split pans because Jaclyn Hill loves the shade. So Champagne Pop and Flowerchild are both permanent and available as single compacts as well. 
Today I want to talk to you about a brand I recently got to try. It's MyChelle Dermaceuticals and they are not exactly new (they've been around since 2000) but I'd never had the pleasure of trying their products before. I'd seen them in Ulta some and I know they're available a few other places. I've also heard people speak on their products before.
What really caught my attention was the Remarkable Retinal Serum. I had been wanting to try something with "Retinal" for a couple years, I'm just 28 but then again I could also word that as....oh my I'm almost 30. As of late I've noticed more fine lines around my eyes mainly. I've had to be really picky with concealers and you'll note from my last concealer review I did, I didn't like the concealer because it went into my fine lines and made them more apparent. So after that I really decided to step up my "anti-wrinkle" game. I've always used moisturizer, toners, all that good stuff but eye cream wasn't something I used until about 5 years ago. So now I feel like I'm paying for that. Thus, back to "Retinal". Retinal is a form of Vitamin A (a strong Vitamin A at that), also an antioxidant, helps promote collagen, and prevents and helps stop the aging process such as wrinkles. Now some people hear "Retinal" and start worrying because it has a reputation of "irritating the skin". That's more likely for the "prescription retinal" more so than the non-prescription kind. Which could still be irritating to skin I'm sure, but if you have sensitive skin in general a lot of things can be irritating. So this particular product is 3 fold. It has Retinal (called IconicA which is a patented, strong form of Vitamin A), Ceramide 3, and Orange Plant Stem Cells. These combined combat dark spots and discoloration, promote skin renewal, and help make those pesky lines and wrinkles look better and less visible. It's Dermatologist and Allergy Tested. While looking on the site I also seen that it was EWG Verified and I'm just going to quote you this straight from the site: "Made without GMO, Gluten, Parabens, Petroleum, Phthalates, Silicones, Sulfates, Ureas, Artificial Fragrances, and Artificial Colors. Vegan. Cruelty-free." So that already is a huge plus. So far I'm really loving this serum I use it every night after I've cleansed my skin and I apply about 2 pumps and then I wait for 30 minutes and apply my moisturizer. You don't have to do that, but it does say "for maximum benefit, wait 30 minutes before applying your moisturizer". It hasn't bothered my skin in the least (for reference I have normal skin) and I love the way it feels. I've not been using it for that long but honestly my skin seems to love it and I feel like it's tightened it up though it's been a short amount of time. Really impressed with this and it is my favorite out of the 3. Next up is also a serum and it's the Perfect C Serum. This has "17% L-Ascorbic Acid Vitamin C " which again helps against lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C also is very helpful in "brightening" the skin but this specific one is the only one as of yet with an effective anti aging benefit.. You'll note that Vitamin C is used in skin care a lot but this serum actually has "Buddleja Plant Stem Cells" which is actually where you're getting the brightening from in this case. This is of course Dermatologist and Allergy tested as well. It's good for all skin types It's also EWG Verified. I use this in the morning before my regular moisturizer. I can honestly say that my skin looks super healthy and bright. Almost glowy even. The consistency of this is like a typical serum in my opinion where the Remarkable Retinal Serum is a bit thicker in consistency. Either way it definitely makes you look more awake, healthier, and fresh looking first thing in the morning. Lastly is the Sun Shield Unscented SPF 28 Broad Spectrum. I believe this also comes in Coconut if you prefer a scent. Now what I think is cool about this is several things: it says it's "gentle enough to use on infants that are 6 months or older", it's a clear matte finish, it has Vitamin E and Aloe in it which both soothe irritated skin and help with sun burns (if you already had one) plus it's using "Translucent Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide" in place of some rather harsh ingredients that other sunscreens use. Also for those of you who are especially sensitive to fragrance this is obviously unscented. It also is said to be "environmentally safe" with UVA/UVB defense. So to sum all that up, it's a powerhouse of a sunscreen that has everything you could probably want in one bottle. It's super light weight and truly matte finish (at least for me anyway). It's something I don't think twice about putting on because I know that it's doing more for my skin than just protecting it from the sun. It's also good for all skin types as well. So here's my thoughts on this company. I have looked through many products and what I find through reading and also using their products is they want to be as healthy for the customers using it and also for the planet, as they can be. Which you don't see that much of. These days you're lucky to get a company that's cruelty free, vegan, or gluten free. To have that and so much more is really such a huge compliment that they value your health and skin that much to go the extra mile. They're products are very "clean" and "natural" so you won't find much that is questionable in them. in my eyes they really engineered a new way of thinking when it came to "nautral" skin care products. Let's be honest, natural products to us is usually just Shea Butter or something with Coconut Oil in it. Or a mixture of Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and assorted things that are similar. They really changed the game by introducing plant stem cells. anti-aging peptides, and so on. I'm gonna leave their motto or statement below from their site which I feel sums it up best. "MyChelle’s scientifically advanced formulas are based on clean, natural bioactives that provide unmatched, professional results. All MyChelle Dermaceutical products are Vegetarian, Cruelty-free, and Free of Phthalates, Parabens, Sulfates, Ureas, Artificial Fragrances and Colors, Petroleum, GMOs, and Gluten." When I look at these things their products are formulated without above, it makes me so appreciative that there is a company willing to cover all bases like: Gluten Free ( I know all too well about gluten), Vegan, Cruelty Free, Sulfate free, etc, etc. It's not made with just one person or group in mind, but everyone in mind. They don't cut corners on the more natural route even though I'm sure it's probably made things harder for them or more tricky I guess in formulating their really advanced skin care, to put out such good products and be so health and environmentally conscious. If you think this is just a pitch then go check out some drugstore or even high-end skin care and see who has a cleaner product as well as a more effective product. I'm willing to bet this brand will win most of the time. I'll leave the link here. Or just go to http://mychelle.com to check out what they have. Super easy to navigate through their system an find what you're looking for, **sponsored post  This foundation is new from Urban Decay. It's from the Fall 2016 line. It's not available in stores just yet. It is available on the UD website now. I will link it here. I've been using this for a few days. I got the shade 1.0 because I like yellow bases in my foundation. So here's how I think the shades seem to work: If you like a somewhat yellow base like me get the shades that end in .0. So 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and so on. 1.0 is the lightest shade in the yellow bases. If you like a bit more of a pink base then get the shades that end in .5. So .5, 1.5, 2.5 and so on. ,5 is the lightest shade in the entire line. There are 24 shades all together. It's a pretty nice range of colors that would fit the palest skin tones and some darker complexions. My shade is actually a bit paler than I am and I'm quite pale at the moment, so I probably could've went to 2.0. The packaging is sick. I mean look at it. It claims to be "waterproof, long wear, and oil free". Which I feel that's probably true. I had some on my hand and I had to scrub it HARD to get it off. Plus it felt like it took a lot to remove it from my face as well. The first day I used this I applied my usual moisturizer which is light weight, a smoothing primer, and then I applied the foundation with a flat top kabuki. Which used more product and made it even fuller coverage on. It also didn't work well with the brush. It really made my skin look dry, it seemed harder to buff out and looked kinda cakey. After it set for a few minutes it looked really nice. It felt fine. After about 5 or 6 hours I noticed one slightly dewy area and then some places where it looked like it was breaking up around dry patches. So I touched it up and it looked even worse. Super dry. Again after it has set for a few minutes it looked better. I used dewy sprays and everything to help the skin from looking so dry but then again it's waterproof so thus that didn't work. The next day I had a better game plan. I used a heavy moisturizer, no primer and a damp sponge to apply it. WORKED SO WELL! FOR THE WIN! It didn't look dry, it required less product and it didn't look cakey. So I'm 100% on board with this, just not for using a brush. Now maybe if you have super super oily skin then that would be the way to go for you, using a brush because the oil from your skin won't let it look cakey and it won't cling to dry patches obviously.  This was the day I used the Kabuki brush. It looks super full coverage in my opinion although it didn't seem to mirror the dry-ness in pictures or on camera at all. Just when I looked in the mirror. It lasted 10 hours which is when I took it off so I think it would've went even longer.  Here I used it with a damp sponge and heavy moisturizer. In my opinion it looks more natural and more like "skin". This lasted about 6 hours before I noticed it was starting to get dewy on me and need to be touched up.
I have normal skin, I don't have oily skin or anything that makes me dewy but it's friggin hot in Tennessee kids. So I was outside a lot this day and heat and foundation just don't like each other. So for my dry and normal girls that want a high powdered long lasting foundation use this with a heavy moisturizer and damp beauty sponge. For my oily and combination ladies I still say start with a damp sponge and if you're still super oily try a kabuki brush.  You've probably heard everyone and their uncle talking about the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops. They're like liquid metal, and I know that everyone says that but they literally are. However, that can kinda be intimidating but when you actually apply them, they are less intense than when they're swatched. So I have shade Moonlight. I wanted Celestial but it was sold out on the Cover FX site and now there are only two shades in stock on their website. All the shades except Sunset are sold out on Sephora, as I'm writing this post. There are 6 shades total. You get .5oz which is half the size of a foundation so it should last for a very long time because the littlest amount goes a long way. They are kinda pricey, it's $42 a pop and for liquid metal/highlighter that's kinda expensive but I digress....  This is the swatch of Moonlight. Which I hear is the more wearable one out of them all. This is a beige-y silver. Wear Celestial seems more straight up silvery pearl from what I've seen. I think it's absolutely gorgeous though. This shade is a bit more toned down. It looks super intense but honestly it's not that insane on. So I've applied this a few different ways or used it a few different ways I guess I should say. I first applied it with my finger and just tapped it on the top of the cheekbones and blended it out with my fingers as well. Another time I used a damp sponge to apply it which makes it less intense and blends really well. Then I've used it as a base for other highlighters in case I want to blind someone that day. I don't like the feel of it initially on my skin when I first put it on, before it kinda dries, because it feels slippery and strange to me, but applied with a sponge I didn't feel that way. Putting a highlight powder over top of it takes that feeling away too because it kind of sets it faster. Now I know that since these are drops they can be mixed into foundation. I've not done that and I honestly don't want to because I don't like super luminous foundations. I prefer to add the luminosity as I go. Keep in mind though that you can absolutely do that if you want. They're obviously very thin cause they are liquid drops so that's why it's so easy to add into other products like foundation, primer, or moisturizer. I don't know how the liquid by itself would work on oily skin, I would imagine that it wouldn't be super horrible because it is so thin and sets pretty quickly. I just wouldn't add it to areas that you get super oily throughout the day. My favorite way to use these are as a base, under a powder highlight. I know that other things can be used for that but I love how this looks with powder highlight more than other "bases". It's much more intense though just let me warn you. On it's own it's still gorgeous and definitely noticeable. I do think I would like Celestial on it's own more than this one possibly, but this one is still beautiful and it's so easy to wear.  This is me wearing it on it's own. As you can see super pigmented and noticeable.  Here I'm wearing it with a powder highlight over top. Which is still very intense but it's blended a little better in my opinion.
My final thoughts are: yes I do really like this, it's different and a very cool concept and the pigmentation alone is A+. You get a lot of product and they're pretty versatile on how they can be used. It's not necessarily something I would buy again but I like using them since I have them. If you're super into strobing and major highlight then I think this is right up your alley. Here's a tip though: If you're going to use a sponge to apply it, don't try to touch up foundation or anything with said sponge after you've applied the drops because you will illuminate areas you probably didn't want to. Learned that by mistake. So that's my thought's on that. I know they're pretty much all sold out right at this moment so hopefully soon they'll be back in stock if you want to try them.  Recently I got introduced to JD Glow cosmetics. In particular their eye shadows. I'm just gonna tell you right off the bat and spoil the surprise, I love them. Go get them. Now. I'll wait. Then we can talk about how wonderful they are together and eat popcorn and what not. So I originally seen the Galaxy shadows and wanted to check them out. Then I realized they had more than just Galaxy...they have Matte, Shimmer, and Metallon lines as well. The majority of the shades I have are Galaxy though because I was really intrigued by the color shift in them. They're a mainly "duo chrome" shadow I feel or at least the ones I have seem that way, which you know I love. Some have shimmer, some are more foiled. They're just a big ball of fun.....or pressed pan of fun. These are $7.50 a pan. Which is really good. Especially for the size. I'm going to say these are almost double the size of a MAC, ABH or MUG single shadows. If they aren't they're impressively bigger. So for that alone the price is so insanely affordable. Quickly I want to mention that they have an array of other beautiful products that I haven't got to try yet from lips to highlighters. So they're actually a pretty good sized company in my opinion. With a lot more to offer and I'm going to bet that since these are so insanely good the rest of their products are probably just as good.  The swatches from top to bottom are as follows: Peacock, Haze, Anomaly, Whip Appeal, Lit, Emerald and Sunray  So here's my brief description of what I see in these shadows: Peacock: This is a satin borderline foiled finish shade. Which has the teal and blue shifts in it. Haze: I thought this was purple online but it's actually a bright blue with purple shifts to it but predominantly blue. This does seem to have a bit of shimmer in it but not much. I still would say it's mainly a crazy pigmented satin-ish finish Anomaly: This shade friends....this is what dreams are made of. This is a blue and purple shift with crazy shimmer and the color shift is SO noticeable. It's just the prettiest thing I've ever seen. It looks like a bright blue online but it's much darker actually. Whip Appeal: This is a satin-ish finish that is medium orange and dark pink shift. It's more subtle than the others but still just as pigmented and so pretty. Lit: This shade is another one that just gives me life. I want to wear it or Anomaly every single day of my existence. It's a bright light pink or light coral pink, pretty much foiled finish, all types of wonderful, shade. I wouldn't really say it's rose gold, it's much more pink than what I vision as a rose gold. It does have a golden shift almost and it's quite shimmery much like Anomaly. It's so insane. GET THIS ONE. Emerald: This is from the Metallon line. It's a perfect emerald green. When I seen it I thought "finally an emerald green that isn't too dark". Which is the case most of the time they are too dark so they don't look green, they look black, or they're too bright. This is a perfect jewel toned green Sunray: This is from the shimmer line. This is the most intense cool toned yellow I've ever seen. Like a lemon yellow. It's absolutely beautiful. It is shimmery but it's also insanely foiled too so it's not like a "glitter" eye shadow. It's my favorite yellow I have. Strictly because of the shade of yellow that it is. Which you don't see often. All the other shades aside from Sunray and Emerald are Galaxy shadows. They all have a scent to them as well, I can smell it as soon as I open my palette. It doesn't bother me, it's not an offensive scent at all but I thought I'd mention it. Also the shadows are really super soft and creamy. I've found the only ones that have a different feel to them I personally think are: Anomaly which feels a bit more dry but not much, and Emerald which just doesn't feel as soft as the others. Either way it's not a huge difference and that doesn't bother me either, both of those shadows still perform insanely good and are incredibly pigmented just like the rest and when I say the "feel is different" it's just barely different. So obviously you know my thoughts. Go get them. I actually ordered 4 more right before I started working on this blog post. I love them and I can't stress it enough. The link to their site is at the top of this post. Seriously....go get them. Try them you will not be sorry! Below I've posted some photos of me wearing some of them. The first picture is Anomaly, Peacock and Emerald. The second picture is Lit and Whip Appeal.    So we're back at it with another mini review...because new products just keep rolling in. This review will be on, if you can't tell, the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer. It's not going to be so much as a complete review as it will be first impressions and swatches. My first impression is the packaging is so cool and it's super heavy! Which I really really like. It's bigger and thicker container wise as opposed to other wand concealer types. So I really like that. It's not bulky I would say it just feels really nice. The shade I got was Light Warm 3, There are 21 shades including.....a pure white. Yes pure white! Which in all honesty, I'm gonna get it. It's sold out right now (of course) but seeing as I love the most bright under eye area possible, I think I could make it work. Nikki Tutorials uses a white Kryolan stick to highlight the face so why not give this a shot. I really feel like there was about 3 or 4 shades I could've worn excluding the white. Plus, it has a decent range for darker skin tones as well. Which I always like to see. Fist off this is super super full coverage and tacky feeling. I feel like it's pretty thick but keep in mind I've been used to using weightless and serum concealers for like a year. So could be why I feel that way. Yes it gives amazing coverage and blends nicely, but it took a long time for me to set it on the first day. Bear in mind I was using my Algenist pressed powder....so perhaps a loose powder would work better like the RCMA No Color powder that won't oxidze on you. I didn't use a sponge (which I feel you probably should), I just tapped it out with my ring finger so I could see how opaque it was. So it took a long time for me to actually get it set. When it was set though it seemed to do fine. So I wish it wasn't so tacky and sticky but as long as I can set it then we're all good. The second day I used it and blended it out with a tapered kabuki brush which I liked better than my finger. However, before I started to set it with powder I noticed a lot of fine lines under my eyes and basically everywhere the concealer was applied. So that was before setting it, then after setting it, it didn't seem to help that issue. It got a little worse and creased some within the next 3 hours but not a lot. Let me say though that I expect a lot out of a concealer though. I tend to like more serum style concealers like the UD Weightless Concealer, Bareskin Serum Concealer, and the Sephora Future Serum even. I do not like the NARS Creamy Radiant concealers because they magnify my fine lines as well. Although formula wise I don't think they're anything alike it reminds me of that some in how opaque it is and the fine line issue for myself. This is much more hydrating and creamy and the NARS one is more dry in my opinion. Today I applied it again with a tapered kabuki brush but I had on a bb cream first in the morning so it was over top of that and I also set it immediately. Like applied on one side, blended and then set, and then same for the other side. I didn't even put foundation on I don't think before hand and while it still creased some it looked better. I meant to use the beauty blender but we were leaving and I was in a rush. So I just applied concealer and lashes and left. I definitely think setting it faster was key. I will eventually use my sponge with it and update this post but until then, I think the best way, so far, to use this is to apply it where there's not going to be as much product for it to lay on or under. So maybe, if you're like me, go light around the eyes when you're blending out your foundation if the foundation is full coverage. Or use a bb cream if you can and possibly use the concealer as added coverage if you have a shade that matches your skin. Then my next tip is do one area at a time and set it immediately. I do find that it shows my fine lines more so than say the UD Naked Concealer or the Bareskin Serum but this is a much heavier product than those so it's kind of expected almost. So for right now, it's not something I hate. I'm going to keep using it. It's not something that I love though either because possibly I haven't found the correct way to use it (like I said sponge might do the trick) or it's just heavier than I like. It has really good coverage and it doesn't feel like your smothering the skin because of it's hydrating qualities so that's good. I feel like if you have fine lines as an issue that bothers you then maybe a "serum" style concealer is a better option than a heavier concealer. I will update you though at the bottom of this post in the next few days and tell you how the sponge technique worked and if it changed my thoughts about it.  So here is the swatch of Light Warm 3....It looks far more yellow based in this picture than it actually is. I would say it's more neutral based. Kinda like NARS Vanilla concealer only a touch more warm. Just a touch. So I recommend swatching these first when you buy one.  I'm wearing it hear and as you can see my under eye area doesn't look much lighter than the rest of my face which is fine but I would've like to have had it a bit lighter.
So you get .22 oz for $26 at Sephora. However, Urban Decay is .16 oz for $28 with the same amount of shades but less amount of product and more money, Bareskin Serum is $20 for .20 oz but only a few shades to choose from ( I'm talking like 6 ). This claims to be "crease proof and hydrating" which I can see the hydrating part. Don't know how much I agree with it being "crease proof" on me. I will be updating you though so look out for that. **UPDATE** I finally tried this with a damp sponge. I use the Real Technique sponge but any other beauty sponge in the same genre as the Beauty Blender would work. I know Morphe has either released one or is coming out with one soon, and I think a brand named PUR might have one. Anyways, I applied it this morning with my sponge to see if that would help and I don't feel like it did. It soaked up some of the product, or thinned it out rather, because of the moisture in the sponge. Though I knew that would happen I realized without the original coverage I found that not only did my under eye area have the same apparent fine lines it also wasn't covering my dark circles as good which made it look worse in my opinion. So I'd much rather have the coverage and deal with the fine lines. So my final, final thoughts are that for me personally I prefer a lighter weight or "serum" style concealer in general. I don't think this is bad...I just think it's best suited for people who don't have fine lines this can seep in to. If you're looking for full coverage and moisturizing concealer then I would say give it a shot. As it is both of those things. None the less if you don't like it then you can return it to Sephora. They have a wonderful return policy. I still really want the white one just for highlighting the face in certain areas of the face other than the under eye. So I still plan on buying that one. Which technically it's to be used as a "mixing" or "customizing" shade buttttttttt............you know me. Always going against the makeup grain.  Here's what I love about ABH...they just drop new products without any warning and it catches you buy surprise and it's always something awesome also. Let's look back on the Modern Renaissance palette, which still takes the cake for palettes this year in my humble opinion. So they dropped not one but TWO glow kits last week. They are a bit different than typical highlight palettes your seeing, especially from them. I got the Sweets kit they also released a 6 shade one which was called Moonchild palette. The Sweets glow kit is a bit more mainstream and the Moonchild is more out of the box and it looks majestic as can be. So like I said I got the Sweets Glow Kit. It's got some really beautiful versatile shades not all in the same color family and I LOVE THAT.!!  First off, the first palette I got....butterscotch was broken. Like smashed. So they sent me a new one. Long story short I wasn't expecting it at all, I had already binded the powder back together and then Norvina said "send her a new one" and you know what....they sent me a new one. So that was super kind and I appreciated it SO much because not many companies are that generous. It was also very sweet that they pay so close attention to social media and what their customers are saying about their products and that means a lot to me. So if you're reading this thank you again Norvina and also thank you to Mary who handled my new package and sent it out. It was great customer service and so much appreciated I really just can't say that enough. ANYWAYSSSSS....... What I hope you can see from this glow kit verses the others, is that you don't have a specific color family for this. It's not mainly golden shades, pink shades, silver shades, etc etc. It's got a nice mixture of different hues which is why I didn't think twice about buying it. The other glow kits although they are amazing just aren't my favorite because I can only wear two colors MAYBE. This is not like that, I've literally worn every shade. Also, mixing the shades are soooo much fun. It's very cool. The first shade Marshmallow: this is a dead on dupe for Pat MaGrath Skin Fetish 003 in Fine Gold. Only more pigmented on it's own. It has a heavy yellow to it like the skin fetish but I love that, I think it looks so good with a tan. It's super pretty. The next shade Sassy Grape: this is one that I didn't think I would love or wear...but I wear it a lot. I probably wear it the most honestly. It definitely has a purple hue to it but it's a very wearable one if that makes any sense because of the silver reflects in it. Especially if I'm not wearing blush and just bronzer and apply this highlighter it looks like I applied a blush and it shifts color the higher up it goes. I like to apply it over the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops too sometimes. For extra blinding hazards. Butterscotch: I thought this shade was gonna be too dark and it seemed to have bigger specs of shimmer in it. Honestly though, it's probably the most neutral shade. It kinda reminds me of Becca and Jaclyn Hill, Champagne Pop, but not as warm. It's a bit more of a neutral champagne shade that if no other shade will work for you then this one will. All the time, all day everyday, in my opinion. Taffy: This is like a darker coral shade that you wouldn't think I could wear but I actually can, especially over top of a darker blush like Becca Songbird or just bronzer as well. I also love mixing it with Marshmallow. Or apply Marshmallow higher up on the cheekbone and then Taffy lower.  From top to bottom the swatches are: Marshmallow, Sassy Grape, Butterscotch, and Taffy.  Wearing Marshmallow and Taffy here.  Wearing Butterscotch here  Wearing Sassy grape here and also Marshmallow is on the tear duct and Sassy Grape is over Rio Liquid Lipstick as well.
I do not know if these will be made permanent yet or not. They haven't said. I do know that as of right now they are only available on the Anastasia website and they don't have plans of going to any stores as of right now. I've never been the type to do "monthly favorites". I used to do a "fave product of the week" post but I got lazy with that. So I'm just gonna do a mash up of some products that I freaking love as of late.  **The image above is from the Sephora site.** So this is the Foreo Mini that I got when my Luna Play went down for the count after like 20 uses (fail). I've actually went ahead and got the even bigger one now as well because I love these so much. My skin texture is what is most noticeable. It's so smooth. This is a 3 area style cleanser. It will pulse when it's time to go to your next area. So how I use it is, I do one cheek, side of the nose and half the chin, then once it pulses I switch to the other cheek and do the same thing, then lastly I do my entire forehead and bridge of the nose. I love this thing. It's rechargeable and lasts for quite a while on a full charge. This is less expensive than the others but it's still pretty expensive.  **this picture above is from the Sephora site** I got this in a trio set of Amore Pacific products. This is the Moisture Bound spray. I have a video using the products here from my Instagram. I just like how nice this feels on the skin and how refreshing it is. Plus it smells really good. I also have their mositurizer and their cleanser which also smells amazing but this is the stand out product for me and I use it every night after I've used my Foreo Mini. I usually use it especially if my skin is feeling really sensitive and uncomfortable. It's not super dewy it's a very fine mist. It's a brand you don't hear much about but I think the whole line is at Sephora now.  **this picture is also from Sephora's site** I've already done a blog post all about the Benefit brow products that were recently released. I'll leave that link here, it's more in depth. This is the Goof Proof. I've not put it down since I got it though. It's simple to use and it makes it easy for me to both define, sculpt and fill in my brows. It allows so much pigmentation and it doesn't feel heavy on the brows.  I got these press on nails from Static Nails on a whim, they weren't very expensive and I just decided to buy them. I don't know why because I've always hated press on nails. These are no joke though. Not at all. I swear these are better than professionally done acrylics. They are even paintable. So if you get tired of the design you can paint them. The only down side is that my glue actually glued the lid shut to it when I used it the first time. So you're supposed to be able to take these off whenever you want and then pop them back on when you want them on again. In my opinion you might get two separate wears out of it. None the less they are awesome. My advice is when you apply them at first just plan on wearing them as long as you can. I did paint mine and the nail polish chipped easily on them. So I don't think painting them is always the best option but maybe on the solid colors it would work better. This is the "Shattered Glass" style. They have others with crystals on them and some with "red bottoms". They're very cool.  I've done a whole blog post talking about my devotion to the Jouer Lip Cremes. I'll leave the link here for that. I will eventually have every color because they smell like cupcakes and they're honestly the best liquid lip I've ever used. They are so comfortable and wear so well it's amazing honestly.  Lastly, it's not makeup related at all. This was sent to me from Ettika and Free People. I believe it's called the "velvet star choker" and has about 5 shades. I got the tan/camel shade cause well....obviously it's gorgeous. This is my first choker and I love this. It just looks so different. This can be found in Free People stores and on www.freepeople.com.
 So recently I got the opportunity to review some new products from The Estee Edit. I have the Pore Vanishing Stick, Beam Team, Flash Illuminator in shade 4 Day Light, and The Barest Lip Color shade 05 In The Buff. So Estee Lauder is known more so for appealing to maybe an older target if you will, even though we all know we love some Double Wear. Don't play, if you don't love it you've at least owned 1 bottle. I'm not kidding Double Wear is the OG of good foundation. Moving on, they have introduced The Estee Edit line which is full of tons of cool and innovative products. When I say innovative I mean it. I shit you not, they have a lip stick transformer (2 actually) that LITERALLY makes doing an ombre lip a piece of cake as well as just making a lip color into something entirely different. It's incredible. They have a ton of new products, I actually viewed them all in store with my friend Edie who works at my Sephora in Knoxville. If you live around here go in and ask for her she really knows what she's talking about. Anyways, from packaging to the line itself it's all REALLY REALLY GOOD. I'm so impressed with what they've done and all I can say is it must have taken a long time to get all of that together because..... it's a lot. So starting with the Pore Vanishing Stick. I love this product. I don't know about you but when I use other pore filling or minimizing products, that you apply before makeup or touch up with, they tend to have that "slip" feeling which is usually from a silicone ingredient and for whatever reason that makes my foundation and makeup slide right off my face. It makes me super oily, it just doesn't work for me. This on the other hand is stick form and thus goes on the skin and then when you touch the skin, after applied, it feels.... like skin. Like you didn't do anything at all to it, but your skin looks smoother or mine did. Now I'm not saying it made every large pore disappear but I was able to wear a ton of highlight and pretty much apply it to my entire face without making my pores look humongous. So I really like this. Now, for whatever reason after I used it my stick started to get bumps in the product which is why I'm not showing you what the product looks like in this post. It's not a big deal but it is something that I feel when I apply it to my skin, I feel the bumps in the stick now when it used to be smooth. So I still use it and love it but just so I'm being honest that has happened to mine. Next is The Beam Team. This is a cool product. This is basically an illuminated cream/moisturizer with a cream poured highlighter on top of the twist off cap. I don't used the highlighter in the cap that much but this cream is so nice. Mine comes out quite golden but when rubbed in, it sinks into the skin and feels good like a really good moisturizer would. I have used this applied after foundation, with foundation and on it's own and I like it every time. I will say that if you don't want specific areas to have some "glow" to them you may want to apply this before foundation or to specific places after foundation. This is also great if you don't want to wear foundation but you still want to look healthy and well....glowing. So days on the beach, lake, or just running errands this is perfect for those "skin focus" kinda days. Next is the Barest Colour lipcolor in 05 In The Buff. This is a sheer to medium, high shine, super creamy neutral lipstick. This shade is actually pretty dark on first glance but swatched it's a medium mauve with a hint of brown. Applied it gives the lips just enough color. No it's not gonna last all day but this is great for those who are running late, don't want to think about it, don't want to worry if your lipstick is jacked up in a meeting, or whatever because it will apply easily but as it fades it will do so unnoticeable. Plus we all carry lipstick in our purse for touch ups anyway. Last is the Flash Illuminator. This comes in a few other shades and my shade is Day Light. I probably wouldn't have picked this color for myself because it has kind of a pink undertone, but this makes great cream blush that can double as a highlight, or be a base for both blush or highlight. Which is actually how I like using it, as a base. I will be honest though and say in general I don't use cream blushes or highlights often. They've never really been my thing but this is a pretty thick formula and beautiful product that does what it should do so I have no complaints as far as how it performs or is made. Below I'm gonna add in some pictures of swatches and me wearing the products. I applied the creams with a damp sponge and you'll see once they're on they just make you look really healthy and glowing. **I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.**  Wearing Flash Illuminator in Day Light, the Beam Team all over, and The Barest Lip Colour in 5 In The Buff. Pore Vanishing stick was applied before foundation.   Flash Illuminator in 4 Day Light   Barest Lipcolour in 5 In The Buff    So this is the Beam Team. The color in the lid is not super pigmented, so don't let the color fool you or intimidate you. The color of the cream looks super yellow gold but worked into the skin it's not so yellow gold. Don't let that fool you either.
You can get this at Sephora, Nordstrom, Belk, and Dillards I'm sure. Here's some promos for Sephora. Use Ebates and get you some cash back. Sephora has 8% cash back right now. For VIB and VIB Rouge: Code "3FORVIB" pick three Fresh Minis with a $35 purchase. While supplies last. Code: "Sparkle" for 1 free Summer Essential which there are 4 to choose from. $25 purchase. You can still get 5 samples at check out rather than 3, until July 11th. First Aid Beauty Mask Mini. Code: "Bouncy" with $25 purchase. |
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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