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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Sometime in October, Algenist sent me their new Luminizing Drops along with some more skincare. As you know, I'm a huge Algenist fan in general. I was so excited to see their Luminizing Drops which I had almost bought the day before. So as I looked at them I was immediately thinking "Pearl" was the shade I would use most. It's what I went to right off the bat. I loved it.
I apply these two ways, one is mixed in with a matte foundation. I love mixing it with the Marc Jacobs Re-marcable foundation. Especially Pearl and Rose those are my fave. In the summer I think Champagne would work just as good. Not that it doesn't look good now I just like the lighter shades. My second way I love to apply this is with the Morphe flawless beauty sponge that's dry. I don't know why but that sponge, when it's dry, doesn't absorb the liquid and it's super easy to bounce and dab on the skin evenly. It's the only sponge I've found that works for that. The Beauty Blender nor Real Techniques does it the same way. Next up I find that this does not emphasize fine lines or pores as much as a regular highlighter. It's the only illuminator that looks even and nice all the way around. That's why I feel like this is a good fit for all ages and all skin types. It's very soft but still noticeable. It's not as stark as the Cover FX drops cause they're like liquid metal, I actually like these better. Of course if you want more intense highlight these also work well as a base too. So they're very versatile. I've used them everyday since I've had them. I just genuinely love how they make my skin look. So smooth and yet lifted and luminous without being overwhelming. I'm going to insert some pictures below of me wearing them. Some are much more soft than others just depends on how I was feeling that day It's kinda short and sweet I know, but I don't have anything bad to say about these I simply love them. No, this wasn't sponsored. They did send them to me but I did not have to talk about them. I just actually love love love these! You can find them at Sephora and right now I think Sephora has a duo pack out that has two shades in smaller bottles and for reference I only use about 1 to 2 drops when I apply these. So a little goes a long way. You've probably heard a ton about the new Morphe Flawless Beauty Sponge. It's on everyone's favorite list right now and for good reason. I bought it totally because of the claims people were making. I thought at first I wasn't going to like it as good as the Beauty Blender cause I think it feels completely different and obviously it's shaped different. However, when I dampened it and started using it, it quickly took it's seat at the top of my fave beauty sponges which are just: Real Techniques, Beauty Blender, and now this Morphe sponge. I can't speak for the black one and the shape doesn't appeal to me at all with that one because I like a more pointed tip. This one, I love, it gets really big and it applies makeup so fast. It also is the best at not soaking up foundation out of all the sponges I use. Plus you still have that pointed tip to really get into those small spaces and blend out the under eye. I'm just all for this sponge. It's $6.99 and I don't think that can be beat, especially for how good it is. There are plenty of affiliate codes out there from some of your fave gurus. So definitely find you one. Next is their concealer. This is $4.99 and you get 12g of product the packaging itself is only around 3" tall but it's still a good amount of product for a price point that can't be beat. I don't hear a lot of people talking about this and for God's sake I don't know why. In my opinion, this is really REALLY good. I'm gonna put this out there, and feel free to disagree with me, but I think this is just as good as Tarte Shape Tape. It's not necessarily as creamy, per se, I find this one more "mousse like" in texture (kinda like NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer only way better) where the Shape Tape has more oil that makes it more shiny more creamy looking at first. I feel like the consistency is the same. and the coverage is really close if not the same. I did one eye with the Shape Tape and one with the Morphe Concealer and I didn't see a difference. The Shape Tape may have just a bit more coverage and longer wear but when used with the Morphe Sponge I don't think the Morphe Concealer looked any different. Which is my next point. I think it works best with a sponge. It works well with a brush or your finger don't get me wrong but it blends better, doesn't crease hardly any, and keeps it's coverage better with a sponge. I'm just super impressed by it. Plus, they have a really nice shade range. From pale to deep skin tones they have a lot to offer. I have shade Sand in the Morphe Concealer and I feel like it's a more neutral base than Shape Tape "Light". However, the Shape Tape has the same performance whether it's used with a brush, your finger, or a sponge. Where I think Morphe's concealer performs best with a sponge, and still does quite well with a brush or your finger either one but I do notice just the tiniest bit of creasing toward the end of the day when used with something other than a sponge. I'm wearing it here in this look. I set it with the Laura Mercier Translucent powder and even baked it with that, I think. I also use the Tarte CC Cream that is a corrector for under the eyes to cancel out dark circles, but I always use a corrector, cause momma has some dark circles kids. Also I'm using the Makeup Forever Ultra HD Foundation Stick as my foundation.
So in order I go: Corrector Foundation Concealer Set Bake (optional) Where have I been?!?! I know usually I'm posting 3 blog posts a week or more but it's been a very hectic week and I've taken a step back to be with my family and husband in my spare time. I'm super active on Snapchat though, (loveandmascara) so check that out for mini reviews and Get Ready With Me's, first impressions and uncensored randomness. So today I'm gonna talk about the Jouer Highlighters. I got two of the 3 that released because the shade Topaz is just not a color that I ever choose. So I got Rose Quartz and Citrine. I also got the Skinny Dip Lip topper which I will discuss in another post because I have some of the new fall shades of the lip cremes coming as well. Originally when I got these I swatched Rose Quartz and I don't know if it was just the initial swatch but I wasn't impressed, I was really let down at first. It was however super SILKY out the gate. I know the words, soft, buttery, creamy are very overused to describe powders. This one feels like you are touching silk. It's also a legit powder. There's not a crazy amount of oil in it to make it kinda heavier feeling much like Becca Skin Perfectors which are fantastic highlighters but they almost feel like cream, This doesn't, and I love that. It's silky but it's definitely a lightweight powder. Fast forward to when I applied it with a brush, if you'd seen my snapchat you would've seen my reaction. I was so unimpressed swatching them, I didn't think they would be as intense as they seemed online and so on, BUT I applied it with my brush and holy crap it was a different story. You could catch a satellite signal off these. I'm convinced. I was absolutely shocked. It's just as intense as Becca, better than Pat McGrath, as awesom as ABH glow kits, etc. These hold their own. These are $24 which is actually a good price when you compare it to leading highlighters (I'm looking at you Pat McGrath and Becca). My one thing is that these are deceptive in size. I thought they were gonna be quite bigger and when I opened the box there was so much extra space in the packaging. So they are slightly bigger than the Urban Decay highlighter (packaging wise) that released for summer like Sin that you know is near and dear to my heart. These have .16oz, Becca has.25 oz, Urban Decay, which is a smaller package, has .23oz. So that's just some reference for you. Aside from the size and amount that you get these perform insanely well, and stay on ALL day. I tested a different highlighter the next day and it was gone within a few hours. So these are there to stay. Overall I really like these. I wish they housed just a little bit more product but none the less the clincher for me is that they stay on all day without getting patchy and the fact that they feel like literal silk which is nearly unheard of in the highlight game these days. Plus being as lightweight as they are and having the intense glow and pigmentation anyways, is a major bonus. I get mine at Frends Beauty, which is where I get all my Jouer products. If you sign up for a free membership with them you get 10% off your purchases. So save a little money and go through them. I'm not sponsored to say that I just really love Frends Beauty and their shipping costs and how quickly things arrive. Rose Quartz is on the top and Citrine on the bottom. Both are super wearable with Citrine being slightly more warm and Rose Quartz having slightly more silver. I will say these kick up a lot of product so tap your brush off before you start to apply these because a little will go a very long way. Again Rose Quartz on top and Citrine on the bottom with no filter. You can see that Rose Quartz doesn't pull pink as much as it pulls silver and Citrine isn't overly golden. They're both super wearable. Here I'm wearing Rose Quartz. As you can see light just bounces off of it and it's a opaque coverage. Here I'm wearing Citrine and not in direct light so you can see that it keeps it's glow.
As you know, I love Frends Beauty. With all my heart. I love them even more now because......they started carrying Inglot!! I had never tried Inglot before, I'd always heard great things but it was not anywhere around me and I didn't know much about the line other than seeing people use it occasionally as professional makeup. So when Frends Beauty started carrying it, I jumped on it. I bought quite a few products to test out and see what this line was really about and some things I loved, other things not so much. I really feel like Inglot is about mid line in their prices, kinda comparable to MAC. Definitely not as expensive as some brands at Sephora like Urban Decay or Too Faced, etc. Not as cheap as drugstore for sure though. Some things I'm surprised at how high the price actually is and others I'm pleased with how affordable they are. First up, what I wanted to try before anything else was their AMC Pure Pigments. I'd seen swatches of these pigments and some duo chrome looking ones. So I got three 2 are kinda similar but they're so pretty that I don't care. I got shades 84, 86, and 120 (Same order as swatches left to right). 86 was the shade I wanted without a shadow of a doubt. It has a rose gold type shade, a very vibrant duo chrome of pink and gold tones. Shade 84 has blue and purple tones with a darker cranberry/ red brown base. Shade 120 is like a duo chromed bronze green. It's not exactly olive though. They're great. I expected no less. I apply them with a damp brush that I just spray with setting spray or use contact solution to wet it so they're even more intense. I love that these are bigger chunks of pigment instead of finely milled pigment because it just looks like straight up metal on the lid and I think that's why, because this isn't a finely milled loose pigment. These are $16 a piece. If you add in the "Duraline" which is a water less clear liquid these pigments can turn into: liner, lipstick and more. Next I knew I wanted to try their gel liner because that is what I always associate Inglot with is their creme gel liner. They didn't have it in black so I got it in charcoal which is shade 78. Everyone is right this is so creamy and pigmented it glides on like a dream. I find it's easy to pick up too much product sometimes and also because of how creamy it is it's easier to make mistakes. However, eyeliner is one of the easiest things to clean up. Just take a clean angled brush and dip it into some remover and sharpen those wings like knives. This is $14. Something that I got that I really wasn't impressed with was the Long and Curly Mascara. I don't know what possessed me to buy this because I never like most mascaras. I just felt like this one didn't do anything at all including coat my lashes. I felt like it was so thin in formula that you could barely tell if I had any mascara on at all. So that was a fail. This is $14 I tried one of their foundations and this was the biggest surprise out of all of this. I think it's my all time favorite foundation. Like my holy grail. Which is the Inglot YSM Cream Foundation. Now, before hand my fave was probably the NARS Sheer Glow but this one has taken it's place. There was limited shades. So I was just shooting in the dark. The one I chose was #49 when it got here it looked so dark. In the container and on my hand both, it looked incredibly dark. So I was thinking "well that's just great". However, once applied because of it's medium coverage and healthy glow it was a perfect match! I've never had a foundation match my skin that good. Its super light weight, it feels like nothing and it also doesn't have to sit on the skin for a minute before it looks good. This looks beautiful on the skin as soon as you blend it in. I use a kabuki brush for it so that I have a little more coverage. Also because it has some luminosity to it so I don't want a damp beauty sponge to mess with the finish or coverage of it. It was one of those things I noticed right away, Most times when I try a foundation it's like mid day before I notice if my skin looks noticeably good, for those foundations that have made me notice my skin that is. This wasn't like that I blended it in and just stared at my skin. Before powder, concealer, or anything I was just so in love with how nice and healthy my skin looked. It didn't get super shiny through out the day. It did just a touch but basically it stayed the same finish and color (didn't oxidize) the entire day. So this is A+ for me. This is $18 Lastly I got the Under Eye Corrective Illuminator. I have dark circles and I always use a corrector. So I got this because it's pen style much like the MAC Light Boost, and YSL Touche Eclat pens. This has a good amount of pigment. It came kinda broken though their was a ton of product in the lid so it was super messy. The product itself is nice but probably not something I would get again. So it's just "eh" in my opinion. Nothing wrong with it but didn't blow me out of the water either.
So I wanted to do a post about concealers, because I have some new ones. Also I wanted to not forget some great products that have been ride or die for me personally. Then I will sling in some that of course I don't care for and I bet you can guess what one of them is. Recently, I got the new Tarte Shape Tape Concealer in Light. It's only available at Ulta and on Tarte's website. I really thought I wasn't going to like it because it oxidized like crazy on my hand when I swatched it. So I was sweating it. I also originally wanted the shade Fair. After I applied it while doing my makeup though, I LOVE it. It didn't oxidize, the shade couldn't have been any better and it didn't make my under eye area look "older" or "dry". It was actually amazing. This is now one of my faves. It's right up there with Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer which IS my favorite. This reminds me a lot of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, formula wise, only this is more hydrating on me. The NARS.... I was one of the few who didn't like it. It made my eye area look super old and dry. This doesn't do that but still the same great opaque coverage and great color. The wand is gigantic though! The packaging is also very bulky as well. Which is fine with me but I've never seen a wand that huge on concealer. This is $24 for .33 oz which is a good price in my opinion. Also, I got the new Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Concealer. This one I'll be honest is just, eh. There are things I like about it and nothing I really hate, but it doesn't "wow" me. This is a super hydrating and luminous concealer. When I say "luminous" it has light reflecting qualities to it, not that it highlights the under eye area or anything. Honestly, that's why I don't love it. I got the 2nd to lightest shade (Fair) and swatching it was really deceiving. It looked more full coverage and much brighter/lighter shade wise. However, when I applied it, it seemed to lose some of it's coverage and the shade just kinda became the shade of my skin and didn't keep it's original color. Which not everyone likes to brighten and highlight with a concealer and if you are one of those you may truly love this. It's wonderfully hydrating like I said and gives a healthy look to the skin especially paired with the Becca Under Eye Brightener/Corrector pot. It doesn't crease terribly bad. I did notice that it did crease some as the day went on, and that it seemed like I lost even more coverage as the day went on as well. So if you don't have dark circles or if you have very mild ones and are just looking for a nice concealer that will help cover them and not be super full coverage but look very healthy and luminous, you may love this. This is $30 for .18 oz. A bit pricey in my opinion I would've like to seen it around $28 for .20 oz. That's just me though. Next I have the Too Faced Born This Way concealer in the shade Very Fair which is the lightest shade. The first 3 I think I could've worn but I wanted something bright. Luckily, I got this shade because once applied it was actually darker than how it swatched so it was perfect color wise. This also smells like coconuts or something really refreshing to me. Which is cool. The formula is pretty thin but provides a good amount of coverage at the same time and I really like that. I will say that I like the Shape Tape over this though. Specifically because the Shape Tape has and maintains better coverage and keeps it's color through out the day better than this one. None the less this is a very good concealer. I think it would be great for people who have some texture issues around the eye, dry under eyes, or they get cakey fast. Because of the thin formula this is, it won't emphasize that texture or really set heavy. People love this and I totally understand why. This is $28 for .23 oz. Now lets jump back to something that's not new and that's the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless concealer. I have this auto delivered to my home. I love this so much, I make sure to never run out of it. I use shade Light Warm. It's a serum style concealer with amazing coverage. Which is why I love it. It's the perfect pale yellow undertone based concealer that I prefer and super light weight and the coverage is legit the whole time. I don't know how they do it but it's amazing. This is $28 for .16 oz and they also carry travel size in select shades for $12. That price kinda stinks but a little goes a really long way so I think one tube of this usually will last me about 6 months because it's thinner consistency and full coverage so you don't need a lot. Going back even farther, the MAC Pro Longwear concealer is an old stand by that I still love. It's more liquid type formula in a pump and it's anti-crease. It works amazing as an eyeshadow primer as well. This is another that I always have just in case. This was probably the first great concealer I ever tried, that satisfied me and it still does. It can be somewhat wasteful with product because mine pumps out a lot and I never use as much as it pumps out, but what can you do. This is $22 for .30 oz which is a good price and a good amount of product. One bottle lasts me a year usually. No joke. These are available on the MAC website, free standing stores, and dept stores that have MAC counters ie: Dillards, Belks, Macys, etc. One that I think goes unnoticed a lot that probably shouldn't is the Anastasia Beverly Hills concealers. They've been out for a long time, they come in a pot type packaging, they are amazingly full coverage. These, I feel, are really great for correcting circles and also for spot concealing because the formula is very thick and creamy. Also it's very shiny. Some might would say it's heavy. I think it's really good and they have a huge shade range per usual. It's also good for "sculpting" the brows or cleaning up liquid lipstick. It's very beneficial to have in my opinion. I personally like this under the eyes, I apply the tiniest amount with a concealer brush and it works really good for me but I know some don't like it for that and to each their own. The shade I have currently is .75 which I think is a more neutral base (incredibly pale as well) so I'm going to get shade 1.0 which is a bit more yellow-ish in tone which .75 works just fine.. This is $20 for .35oz. Which is a good amount for that price. Judging by how little you actually need I honestly don't know when you'd run out of this. Of course I'm gonna throw in one that I don't care for. I've tried and tried to like this and use it or find a way to use it and I swear it just gets worse even more so now than when I initially reviewed it and that's the new Kat Von D Lock It Concealer. This takes forever to set, it settles into ANY fine lines you may have or didn't know you had, and for as opaque as it comes out it just doesn't keep that coverage. I have tried everything under the sun to make this work and I always look about 10 years older when I have it on, it requires a lot of touching up and just doesn't jive with me man. I know I'm like the 1% that doesn't like it apparently, if you believe anything on social media, but I can honestly say that after giving it NUMEROUS attempts, I officially hate it. This is $26 for .22 oz. Also, my friend Edie at my Sephora (Hi Edie!!) introduced me to one of her fave stand by concealers which is the Lancome Effacernes Waterproof Under Eye Concealer. I love it when concealers are especially made for the under eye. This is a cool concealer, it comes in a squeeze tube, it's good coverage, and it's actually pretty thin formula wise in my opinion. Usually in squeeze tubes they're very thick. This really isn't. So thus it doesn't feel heavy or look cakey on your skin. It also doesn't budge. Once it's on there, it is on there folks, and lasts a really long time as well as not creasing (I find). So this is great for brides and big occasions because you really don't have to worry about touching up. It's been out for a long time as well. My shade is Light Buff. I feel like this doesn't get talked about enough and a lot of times they're still sold out of certain shades on Sephora. It's $31 for .52 oz. (Which is a TON of product). Like that's half the amount of a regular foundation kids.
These are just the ones that came to mind for me to talk about, but some honorable mentions of some that I do really like are: Baremineral Bareskin Serum Concealer $20 (similar to UD Naked Skin concealer) Sephora Bright Future Serum Concealer (more so for brightening rather than concealing) $14 NYX Gotcha Covered Concealer (for spot concealing) $6 Maybelline Fit Me Concealer $7 MUFE Ultra HD Concealer $27 Here's some promos for Sephora: Free Sephora Collection Mini lip product w/ $25 purchase code: SCLIPS Free eye care mini with $25 purchase code: EYELOVEIT Free skin clarifying mini with $25 purchase code: CLEARDAYS Free Formula X Top Coat Mini with $25 purchase code: TOPTHIS Free Too Faced Mascara Remover Mini w/ $25 purchase code: MELTOFF Ulta coupon right now: 20% off qualifying purchase (excludes prestige brands) "407339" 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. 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. 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! Categories
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