 Yes another face palette. The reason I wanted to do this right after the Too Faced Face Palette is because it's easier for you to compare them since they're both a face palette.
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 I'll be the first to tell you I'm not the biggest Too Faced fan. I haven't liked a product of theirs since the original Chocolate Bronzer came out which was YEARS ago. I'll be honest if I see one more mythical themed collection come out I'm going to scream. It seems like Too Faced does that left and right. However, the "Natural" line isn't childlike toy makeup thank God. It's actually super pretty and heavy with a lace detail inside. Some might think it's too "old" for the line, I think it's a fantastic turn in a good direction so far.
I haven't done one of these in a while. Now is a good time because I'm loving a lot of stuff from Wet N Wild. That makes me happy because they're really affordable, they've put out some really cool, and equally as great performance wise, products lately. So let's get into some of my faves that I think you need to consider getting.
 I've been playing with the Natasha Denona Diamond Blush palette for about 3 weeks. I didn't know if I wanted to review it or not because I genuinely got it for myself and I picked the Citrus one because I loved that gold/yellow highlight over the coral pink blush. I already knew there would be things I didn't like about it so that's what gave me pause briefly.
 I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, I certainly did. It was such a blessing to be with my family and feel well enough to really enjoy the company. It really was a blast. I've not even taken a second look at my presents unless they were food, lol. There was just so much love.
So today I wanted to give you my thoughts on a contour/bronzer palette I've been using for over a month I guess. It's the Tarte Princes Ave. Chisel Palette. This has 4 bronzer/contour shades and two highlight shades. Two bronzers have a satin finish and two are matte they all have different undertones as well. The highlight shades are different in undertone as well one is more yellow and one is more pink.  It's well past time for a "Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?" post. I've had a lot of skincare posts and campaigns lately and I love skincare probably more than any other "thing" or "possession" I have. I also love makeup though just as much, and sometimes that line gets a little blurred. Makeup was what started this blog and this journey so just wanted to clear that up.
This time we're gonna talk about a product that I've actually been using for months. I kept waiting for everyone to start talking about it but no one ever did really. Or not that I've seen. I've only heard it mentioned a few times here and there. It's the Bare Minerals Invisible Bronze powder bronzer. Baked powder to be exact.
It's time for another "WIATAT". This time I want to discuss two products from Fiona Stiles. Which has now piqued my interest so much that I need every product she's EVER. PUT. OUT. So I got the Sculpting Palette first, just on a whim while I was shopping on Ulta's website. I wanted to give it a whirl cause I'd seen Tati Glam Life Guru use some of her stuff. I was blown away with how amazing this was. I have medium to deep. I always prefer to go darker. I just do. These powders blend so amazingly well. The undertone is amazing. It's absolutely perfect for contour from light sculpting to heavier sculpting. They work with any brush and even a sponge. That's right folks. You can sculpt with powder on a sponge. A damp sponge even. So since that was amazing I went back to get the Multidemensional Color Palette because there are 3 blushes with different finishes, a bronzer, and 2 highlight shades. Again it was amazing. The blush is SUPER pigmented. It's shades that I wouldn't typically go for but I was so sold on the Sculpting palette that I didn't care what shades were in the Face Palette. SHE COULD'VE SOLD ME A GREEN BLUSH FOR ALL I CARE. I STILL WOULD'VE BOUGHT IT. Cause I know the formula would be awesome and somehow, someway it would transform into something amazing. They have a hashtag that is "#mistakefreemakeup and they're right. I've really thought I had ruined my makeup one day with too much blush but no. No my friends, I blended it with my powder brush and it turned into, what I can only assume, is pure magic on my face. The bronzer is absolutely perfect with it's golden tone and the highlight shades even the darker one is super wearable and pigmented. Not to a strobing effect and blinding highlight mind you but a lovely sheen. More noticeable than say the Laura Mercier Highlight 01, but less intense than Becca Opal I feel. Formula wise every powder I've tried is consistent and soft and smooth not chalky or dry. I've already stated that they blend like a dream and they do no matter what tool you're using which I think is part of why I love it so much. It's not so much about your tools because the products, in this case, do the work for you. That's hardly ever the case I find. Aside from the fact that her products are amazing she's a highly sought after makeup artist for A list celebs, photographers, and so on. What I think stands out about her work as far as a makeup artist is no matter if it's editorial work, red carpet, runway, whatever, it always has a flawless and fresh look to it somewhere in the makeup. They might have a bright blue wing but somewhere you're going to see that signature style of fresh and flawless makeup. Not necessarily "dewy", "grunge", "everyday", or "bold" but it's perfect and flawless. It's blended but sculpted, it's enhancing your natural brow shape but clean, it's natural lashes that look like falsies. Again I say, because there is no other word that comes to mind, it's flawless. Her signature is "flawless" makeup. I don't feel like she's talked about as much as she should be, and I don't feel like her products are talked about as much as they should be for sure. I highly recommend you at least try some of her products I definitely recommend any powder for the face whether it's a blush, a bronzer, highlighter, contour, whatever it may be, I love everything she's put out for the face especially. Of course I'm going to try more of her stuff. I want to try her shadows, loose powder, foundations, all of it. Eventually, I will own the entire line, I'm just saying. You can get this on Ulta that's what I recommend you do. Get you some points it's just the best way overall.     I feel like when it comes to Smashbox, I've always kinda looked over their products. Not intentionally, I knew they had good products, I just never got into them so much. They are consistent. They are professional grade. They're a huge brand. In short they're almost intimidating. Not in a bad way though. I feel like for their price point, they're professional packaging that has no bells and whistles because it doesn't need it, and because they're aren't named as much as say Make Up For Ever or NARS within the beauty influencer and youtuber world, that's what makes them intimidating in a way. Basically, you know its probably gonna be good but are you sure you know what to do with it?? Cause let's face it unless we've seen 4,000 youtubers talk about 3 times a piece and use it, then we aren't sure if we're gonna use it correctly. (That part was a joke, relax) None the less, some of their products you don't hear much about. Now some products you do. Their PhotoFinish primer the clear one, that's a cult favorite. Personally I like the Pore Minimizing (purple one) better. They have a whole range of those and they're all really good. The BB Cream is also a cult favorite. For yearssssss. At one point I'm pretty sure everyone in the world had tried it. Maybe not everyone but a lot. More recently they have had a lot of popular success with their Be Legendary liquid lipsticks which I must say are very good. I really enjoy them. Around Christmas they released several palettes for $29 a piece, which is very inexpensive for this brand, they have 6 colors in them and from what I can tell very consistent in quality. Although I've not seen as many influencers or youtubers talk about them, they seemed to be very popular with regular customers. I must say I find them beautiful, especially Smokey and Ablaze. Moving onto the products I would like to talk about, these are newer and not much has been said as of yet about them that I have seen. I actually have only seen one talked about so far and it was only on Wane Goss' instagram post. So what I have here is: ⦁ Photo Finish Radiance Primer with Hylauronic Acid ⦁ Studio Skin 15 hr Wear Hydrating Foundation ⦁ Photo Op Under Eye Brightener Pretty sure all of these are new I know the primer and the foundation are, can't be sure about the under eye brightener though, I don't think it really is. It looks like they've released a highlighting pen style called the Halo Wand with different shades that seems to be similar but much bigger than the under eye brightener, and it's actually a highlighter pen. The reason I make mention of this is because I don't care for the under eye brightener and to me with highlighting pens they're so subtle that many people use them under their eyes so perhaps that would work more so than this. Either way I wouldn't get the under eye brightener. I just wouldn't, it's too watery, it doesn't brighten and all I can see is that is has a bit of glitter. However that is my only fail product from them here and it wasn't a major loss. What I want to talk to you about the most is the Radiance Primer. This is not something I really suggest for very oily skin because of the fact that it is a moisturizing primer, thanks to the Hyaluronic Acid. Now, if you are determined to try it then perhaps use it in place of your moisturizer although I don't really recommend you do that if you're going to lose out of some skin benefits (aside from hydration) that a moisturizer provides you with, that this does not. Don't compromise your skin care for a subtle, yet beautiful glow. You can accomplish a glow with other things if you're skin is more oily and can't handle this primer. For those of you that are going to give it a go I have a few thoughts on it. First of all, as of right now this can only be purchased on Smashbox.com. It is not in Sephora or Ulta stores or on their websites as of yet. I do think it will be eventually. So don't go scouring for it, it's only on Smashbox website. This is a peachy/bronze tinted primer but don't let that scare you if you are lighter in skin tone. I'm very pale and I still use this and enjoy it immensely. This is a golden bronzey color because it mimic "golden hour lighting". Which is essentially the one part of the day where the lighting is absolutely perfect for photos because the skin looks radiant and glowy against the golden and amber colors of the sun, but it is also gone super quickly. It's usually the first hour or the last hour of sunlight in a day, more commonly associated with the closest the sun gets to the horizon, so either sun rise or sunset. You'll hear in professional photography, or photography tips in general that time of day is super important. So what this product does is mimic the glow the actual "golden hour" would give your skin. So that it glows that way all the time. That glow comes from "Micro-fine amber & bronze pearls that create a warm glow" which in turn gives you the subtle golden tint of the product. Along with Hyaluronic Acid this also is packed with Shea Butter for all day moisture. Also it has "4K, high-definition spheres blur imperfections". If you're wondering what 4K means, it's basically better than HD. There are now cameras out that film in 4K to give you the most high definition of an image possible. As far as the claims of this product. I feel like they're true. I've used this everyday since I've got it, I apply it with a sponge everywhere except my t-zone area where I tend to get shiny at the end of the day. In which I use a mattifying primer in that area actually. This can be worn alone for a glow to the skin, under foundation as a back light effect or glow from within look, and on top of foundation on the cheek bones for extra luminosity because it is very luminous. It's not like a strobing cream or anything but you can't have crushed pearls and it not be luminous, you know? This is $39 for 1 oz. I personally feel like it's worth it. Especially if you have more dry skin. I believe the blurring claims are true. You don't need a lot of product either so I think they did a fantastic job with this. I don't feel like my skin has a golden or amber tint by any means it just has a nice glow to it that looks natural. I do want to give you the ingredient deck. I'm trying to do that in my reviews more because it's useful to know so this is from the product page on their website: "Water\Aqua\Eau, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Potassium Aluminum Silicate, Nylon-12, Lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Silica, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Tin Oxide, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491)] <ILNILN43325> Please be aware that ingredient lists may change or vary from time to time. Please refer to the ingredient list on the product package you receive for the most up to date list of ingredients." Moving on to the StudioSkin 15 hr Wear Hydrating Foundation. I thought I would hate this. I actually swatched it in store at Ulta, and was like "no" because it didn't dry down as quickly as other foundations so thus I thought it would stay "tacky" feeling for a while and I didn't like that. My friend then purchased it who has oily skin and told me that she loved it. So when she said that I was super intrigued because this is a hydrating foundation and most oily skin types steer clear from that. So I bought it online without swatching it again because I didn't want that to make my decision. When I got it I put it on the back of my hand and really looked at it. It was very luminous and then after about maybe 1 minute or less it had dried down to a satin/matte finish. I was absolutely shocked. It didn't oxidize. The color was dead on and you honestly couldn't tell I had foundation on my hand, my skin looked photo-shopped people! So I was super stoked for that. I tried it the next day with the Radiance Primer and I've loved it ever since. It's not heavy but I feel comfortable saying it's right at full coverage and even buildable on that. It's definitely more than a medium coverage, I think, although it isn't going to mask a tattoo or anything. As far as hiding blemishes and discoloration, I feel like it does that very well. I have minor redness and very few blemishes, if any at times, so I'm easy to please with the coverage aspect of foundations. I feel like this could be a foundation for every skin type though and I think that's truly amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It is super hydrating when it first goes on and then it dries to a beautiful satiny/matte/ but natural finish that looks like perfect skin. I full blown believe in this product kids! It's not as full coverage as Milani Conceal and Perfect but also doesn't look as cakey or show texture as that, nor is it as heavy. It's not as matte as Marc Jacobs ReMarcable foundation but again it doesn't show texture or dry patches like that one either. It's not a dewy foundation once it's dried down. I feel like it's a dream in a bottle and I full out bought this so I'm not sponsored. Pretty sure Smashbox hasn't ever read my blog or anything. I just really really love it and I don't know why more people haven't tried it or realized how good it is and I'm afraid it's because they're not giving it a legit try. This is $42 for 1 fl oz and they have 22 shades. As with most of their Photo themed products this is tested under different lights and photography labs. They are the "only brand with a Flashbox Photography Lab" where they can test the consistency of their shades in different lighting. Not just photography flashes but different natural light as well since light changes as the hours go on throughout the day. This is available at Sephora and Ulta as well as the Smashbox website. Here is the ingredient deck and there is a seperate one for Canada apparently: "All Shades Contain: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Trimethyl Pentaphenyl Trisiloxane, Silica, Phenyl Trimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Bis-PEG/PPG-14/14 Dimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Methicone, Tetramethyl Hexaphenyl Tetrasiloxane, Phenyl Methicone, Dimethicone, Laureth-7, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cellulose Gum, Propylene Carbonate, Alumina, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone Silylate, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin. May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891). Canadian Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Trimethyl Pentaphenyl Trisiloxane, Silica, Phenyl Trimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Bis-PEG/PPG-14/14 Dimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Methicone, Tetramethyl Hexaphenyl Tetrasiloxane, Phenyl Methicone, Dimethicone, Laureth-7, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cellulose Gum, Propylene Carbonate, Alumina, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone Silylate, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)." So that's that. Those are my thoughts. We had one miss but that's okay because the other two products more than made up for it. I truly underestimated Smashbox with these products and didn't believe they were going to live up to the claims or perform as well as they did and they blew me away so, I'm sorry Smashbox for underestimating you. lol In both pictures below I'm wearing the primer under the foundation. The under eye brightener I just mixed in with my concealer to brighten it up. The 2nd picture I had been wearing the primer and foundation for about 6 hours or so.     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   I'm sitting here eating a fudgeround for breakfast....just thought you may want to know. It's good too. Moving on.... As you may or may not know Makeup Geek, Queen Marlena, has blessed us with highlighters. Officially part of their permanent line and there are colors for everyone plus Duo Chromes as well. Which you know that what I was going for. There are 13 highlighters all together (not including the Kathleen Lights palette that may still be available) 7 regular highlights and 6 duochromes. These come in at 7g/ 0.25 oz for $20. Which to give you some reference the Becca Skin Perfectors are .28 oz for $38 and Urban Decay highlighters are .23 oz for $26. I gave you those two as reference because I feel formula wise these feel alot like those, which in my opinion is very soft. So while I think this is their highest priced item they have in the brand the quality and quantity is really good as always with them. So if you're willing to pay $38 for Becca why don't you save some money and try Makeup Geek instead. They also have bundles as well for each complexion, where you get 3 highlights for $48 (which is the better deal obviously), the only bummer is you can't choose your shades. I think you get a duochrome in every bundle though. Like I said these are soft so they're easily broken. Keep that in mind if you're gonna pack them to take with you or whatever. Try not to drop them. Also Marlena put out a video on the launch of these which I will link here, and I remember her saying something about the top layer almost having a "film" over it so to rub your finger across it to get that off. I didn't have to do that with mine, they were just fine but just remember that if you're having some issues. She also said she made these to be "buildable" and not overly intense when first applied. The duochromes I feel are more pigmented when you apply them first. I use a small but dense tapered brush to apply highlight though so naturally it's going to pick up more product than say a fan brush. The regular highlight seems to have the "buildable" quality like she said. The duochromes can be built up, I'm just saying that you may not need to because I think they're pretty heavily pigmented in the beginning anyway. I have 4 shades. Which are 1 regular and 3 duochromes. I didn't really need regular highlighters and I was still on the hunt for really good duochrome highlights so thus I have 3 from MUG. The shades I have are: Celestial which is a neutral base with a violet or lavender shift Moonphase which I feel is an Ivory base with a blue or teal shift Lit which is a warm ivory with a peachy pink shift Glitz which is a cool toned almost silverish pale pink highlight The three duochromes are Celestial, Moonphase and Lit of course. The regular one being Glitz. My favorite by far is Lit and then probably Celestial. Moonphase is nice as well but the blue shift throws me off sometimes. Glitz came in a bundle so I didn't choose it. I'm not one to use pink highlights but this is nice as a blush topper and as a highlight as well I just usually prefer something more Ivory or neutral. The duochromes are pigmented but the duochrome is hard to catch on the face. Especially in pictures. In real life you can see it if you catch the light just right but it's not super noticeable which I tend to like because often times that's what makes them unwearable. I feel like Lit and Celestial especially are super wearable because unless you really pack it on your only going to see subtle hints of their duo chrome shifts. As I said earlier there is something for everyone which includes duochrome as well as regular highlight. From the palest of skin tones to the deeper ones. I have the ones for pale skin obviously. I really love Makeup Geek for the simple fact that they do their best to include everyone and every skin tone in their brand. Unfortunately in makeup brands it's very limited for some skin tones esepcailly if you're very pale or a deep skin tone. Makeup Geek does a really good job catering to eveyone though not just with highlighters with everything they've put out thus far. So I'm going to try and do swatches, but the duochrome may be hard to catch but I will try my hardest to get pictures of the duochromes for you. So from top of my wrist down in both pictures its: Glitz Celestial Moonphase Lit I tried my best to get catch the duo chrome shifts in them. They get more noticeable the more you layer them. Which again is something I like but if you don't want to layer the product to get a beaming efect (which I don't like layering product either) then you may not like these.    I'm wearing Lit here but as you can see it's not overly noticeable also light isn't shining directly on my cheek either. However, just so you know it is everyday wearable for sure.
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ErinI'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 do these things because God has seen fit to bless me with the opportunity.   Click to set custom HTML
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