[FIRST IMPRESSION] Maybelline - The Nudes E/S Palette

Hey Beauties! This is a late post, but I really wanted to get this up right now! Words can't describe how excited I was when I saw this palette in stores and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This retails for $9.99, but I had a $1.00 of any Maybelline coupon which made my final price $8.99.

Likes:
Packaging: This is a great sleek packaging, and although it may look small, each individual e/s is the same size as the ones you'll find in their original quads (before they changed the packaging). It's sleek and doesn't take up too much space, which is great for traveling.

Color Choices: I love the thought process that went into this palette. The colors are great and very versatile which means that you can create so many different combinations. Each color works great together and if you usually use charcoal/taupe colors to fill in your brows, you'll have a great option in this palette and you can lighten it up using another color.

How it works: So basically the breakdown of this palette goes as follows:

Duos: The colors directly next to each other (L-R) can be used together as duos.

Trio: The three colors next that are next to each other, for example the first 3 colors on the top row, can be used together.

Quad: If you used one of the older Maybelline quads, it works basically the same way; the first two colors on top will work with the corresponding colors below to form a quad.

I love the fact that I basically get: 6 duos, 4 trios, and 3 quads all in one, and they're all Maybelline which is one of my favorite drug store e/s brand.

Pigmentation: The pigmentation is the usual quality as you'd get with any Maybelline e/s product, which is okay to amazing. The pigmentation is something that I've always appreciated about Maybelline's products and the texture is also one of my favorites, but just be wary because some of the light-matte shades can be a bit chalky. The top left corner e/s was one of the least pigmented e/s that I've used out of the palette, but surprisingly, it worked really well with the other colors I used.


Dislikes:
Powdery: The one thing that I'm used to with these e/s is that every time I place my brush in it, there's a lot excess powder. This doesn't particularly make this product an automatic fail for me, but it's just something that usually comes with buttery/soft e/s.

Overall:
So far, I love the convenience of this product. I was originally going to bring my NYX Champagne & Caviar palette with me on my trip, but I opted for this so I can test it out. It's extremely versatile and I can transition any look no matter what the occasion calls for. It's great for someone who usually never knows what they're going to be doing throughout the day/night. Stay tuned for a full on review!

Have you tried this out? What are your thoughts? Let me know on Twitter @ciaociaoreview or in the comments below! I heard this was a potential dupe of Urban Decay's infamous Naked palette.

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[MINI REVIEW] China Glaze - Ruby Pumps

This is one of my holy grail colors when it comes to nail polishes. I love everything about it. In the bottle it looks like your typical red (blue based) nail polish with red glitter. You would think that the glitter doesn't show up, but let me tell you, once you put a top coat on it, that's when the glitter comes to life and adds a great accent to the actual color.

I love using this color during December because it reminds me of Christmas, but honestly, it's great for any time of the year. It's best to apply some type of base before using this color, because it does have a higher chance of staining your nails a pink color (since it's red), an it'll help remove the polish since there is glitter in it. To get a great look, you'll want at least 2 medium coats, this will give you an opaque red, but also give you more opportunity to get more glitter on your nails as well. When it comes to the top coat, that's when you're going to want to make sure you have a really good one. Personally, I would go with a top coat that's fast drying because they seem to give a great gel-look to your nails.

[MINI REVIEW] China Glaze - Rainbow

This nail polish is pretty neat. Once it dries it gives your nails a pearlescent look.

The concept sounds like it'd be great to use as a top coat, but it's a bit too opaque for that. On it's own, in certain lights it'll look like you have nothing on your nails but a glossy top coat, but once you start moving your hands, you can see the pearlescent look. If you place it on top of another color, especially a real opaque/bright color, it'll end up looking a little murky and you end up not really seeing the bottom color through the pearl finish.

If you're going to use this color, it's best to just use it on it's own or with a light pink/cream color (especially if you don't want your bare nails showing). A single heavy coat is best, that way you don't have to worry about it becoming streaky or applying too much. A single heavy coat would give you the opportunity to make sure that your entire nail is coated without having to worry about streaks or applying way too much.

[MINI REVIEW] China Glaze - Ingrid

China Glaze has a wide variety of colors in their lines and this color came out a while ago, I picked it up because it's a color that is really uncommon when it comes to nail polishes.

Looking at the actual bottle, it looks like a camo brown, but when you apply it you can see golden shimmers in it. After two coats, it dries a little darker than what it looks like in the bottle.

Before applying, I would put on a base coat (if you don't usually put one on) because there's a good chance that it'll tint your nails yellow. 2 even coats of the actual polish will be enough to give an even coverage. You can get away with putting just one thick coat because it'll be opaque, but it's easier to work with 2 coats.

How long it'll last truly depends on the top coat you use. I like using any type of quick dry top coat because they seem to last a lot longer than any other type of top coat. This is a great neutral color for fall/winter and it could be office appropriate because it is neutral.

[REVIEW] L'Orèal - Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (WP)

Happy hump day beauties! For today's review I have a highly talked about mascara, and I must admit I went ahead and purchased it because of all the amazing reviews it was getting, but of course I had to get the waterproof formula due to my watery eyes. I've been giving this mascara a try for the past month and I finally decided I've used it enough to be able to give a full review; so let' jump into it shall we? :]

Breakdown:
Packaging: The one thing I've always liked about L'Orèal's packaging (with the newer mascaras) is the that when you close the tubes it clicks shut and you don't have to worry about the product drying out or extra bacteria getting into it. I also love how the weight feels evenly distributed between the handle of the applicator and the tube itself; one thing I've noticed with mascara tubes is that the handle can sometimes be a lot lighter than the actual tube which could make the application process pretty difficult.

Formula: I actually like the formula of the mascara, but I feel like it'd be almost 100x better if it had a different wand/applicator (I'll explain in the next section). The formula itself is great: it's long-lasting/wearing, it doesn't flake, great pigmentation, evenly distributes, leaves a pretty matte finish on the lashes. It holds up great in the Las Vegas heat and at the end of the day, I don't notice any flaking, which can happen quite often with a waterproof formula.

Wand/Applicator: This is where I run into trouble with this product. The wand is a plastic type of wand, in other words the bristles are made of little plastic spikes. It does a good job of evenly coating my lashes, but I think that they're too far apart to provide any volume. I think if it came with a brush that had actual bristles it would be amazing, but without the plastic it'll be difficult to create that unique shape the brush has. Which leads me to the second problem I have. The shape of the brush is definitely innovative and hasn't been done before, but I feel like Maybelline's Falsies has a similar shape brush. What  I mean by that is that there's a curved side of the brush and the rest is rounded; the main difference is near the base of the wand. The way the wand curves and is raised (near the base) on the L'Orèal mascara is great for really coating the outer half of your lashes, thus giving your lashes a more winged out effect. But when it comes down to it, I like the Maybelline wand a lot more because it's made of actual bristles. A lot of the newer mascaras come with a plastic wand and believe it or not, it actually irritates my lash line because it kind of pricks/scratches it.

Overall:
For what it is, I think it's a decent mascara, unfortunately I don't notice any added volume to my lashes, but it does a great job at separating all my lashes. I like how it lasts throughout the day and doesn't weigh down my lashes. I'm curious to know if the regular version is any different from this formula, because it is waterproof and naturally it's drier than non-waterproof formulas. I don't know if I would repurchase this mascara (I paid $7) although I enjoy the formula, I get a better bargain from Maybelline's line of mascaras.

Have you tried out this mascara? What do you think about it? You can let me know down below in the comments or tweet me @ciaociaoreview :]

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] L'Orèal Colour Caresse - Pink Cashmere (171)

Happy Monday Beauties! Hope you all had an amazing weekend, and if you went to EDC, I hope you had an amazing time and I'm glad that you're safe :] For today's review it's on another lip product (can you tell I've been obsessed with lip products recently?!) Let's quit wasting time and get right into the review!

Breakdown:
Packaging: Oh my, how the packaging looks so luxurious and high-end. It's feels like it's made with really great quality and it's not too heavy which is nice. I also love how it's gold, which adds to it's luxuriousness.

Color Options: I honestly loved the range of colors they had (I bought mine from Walmart and they didn't have the reds/berries, only the nudes and pinks), but if you shop online, you'll be able to find a lot more colors.

Pigmentation: So, this isn't somethings that's supposed to be extremely opaque like a lipstick, according to their website, it's supposed to add just a vibrantly sheer look, but in my opinion, it adds a decent amount of color. Comparing the type of pigmentation it's supposed to have (a sheer/barely there type of look), it's definitely a lot more pigmented and you can add more layers/coats or wear a lip liner underneath to add more color.

Texture: When I apply it, it feels really buttery on my lips and smooth, but I did notice that sometimes it'll end up feeling a little greasy as it fades off. It's comfortable on the lips, but if you apply too much it's going to feel extremely slippery on the lips.

Longevity: By no means does this product say that it's supposed to provide long term color/pigmentation. Once you apply it and eat something, it does fade away and it does transfer on to other surfaces.

Overall:
I do like this as a sheer wash of color on my lips, it's convenient, easy to apply, easy to wear, looks sleek, and everything. I really like it and I am definitely interested in picking up more colors to try out, especially the berries and reds. I like to keep it in my purse to have when I want to apply some color and it's great because it pairs well with anything. I do notice that after it fades off, and when I don't reapply it, it does leave my lips chap. If you have dry/cracked lips, it'll settle into the lines and cracks which can make for a patchy application, but what I notice is that if I take my ring finger and blend it out, it blends out and looks fine.

I definitely think that this is a great product to just keep in your bag and use whenever you're just looking for a hint of color or a little moisture.

Have you tried this product out? What is your favorite color from the line? Let me know down below in the comment section OR tweet me @ciaociaoreview! Hope you guys have a great day...

Until my next post,
Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW/DEMO] CoverGirl Tropical Fusion E/S Quad

Hey Beauties! If you aren't subscribed to our channel (FourUsToCelebrate), WHY NOT?! jk, but you probably didn't see my review and demo of the the actual palette. Don't worry because I'm also doing a full review here! :] Let's jump in to the review!

(Click the picture to see the demo)

Breakdown:
Color Palette: What I mean by color palette, I'm really talking about how the colors look/work together. I really like the thought process behind the color selection for this palette; I mean when I think about the tropics I immediately think of these colors. In the pan you have a royal blue, teal/jade, peachy orange, and a muted lime green. The two middle colors have small specs of gold in it while the outer colors are matte.

Pigmentation: This is where my main gripe is with this palette. The middle two colors are beautiful and there's a decent amount of pigmentation to them. The royal blue isn't as saturated/pigmented as you would expect, but it still works decent. The muted lime  green is ridiculous; it swatches chalky and once I blend it in you can't even see where I placed it, which is extremely unfortunate because it would be a really nice inner corner color (especially if it had some shimmer/pearlescent look to it). In order to get the most out of this palette you'd definitely would want some kind of colored base to it. You can't go in with a regular primer or skin-tone base, it needs to be an actual color like an eyeliner, jumbo e/s pencil, paint pot, etc.

Longevity: With a colored base it has a decent wear time (if you use the teal all over the lid you'll notice some fading after 3-4 hours). If you wear it by itself, you're definitely not going to get a lot of wear time from it because it's applies patchy and not pigmented at all (if you have no color in the first place, it'll be extremely difficult for anything to fade.

Price: Fortunately for me, I was able to snag this on clearance from Target, but I believe that CoverGirl's quads go for about $5-$6 (please correct me if I'm wrong). I definitely don't think that this is worth paying that much. If I was asked how much I thought this palette sold for based off of the pigmentation/quality, I would say that it would be around $1-$2.

Overall:
If you're a beginner that wants to experiment with some color, but you're too intimidated to jump into the extremely saturated colors from brands like Urban Decay or LimeCrime, then you may be interested in this palette. The two middle colors are so beautiful and I think if you have a skin tone that is lighter than mine or even darker, it may work a lot better for you than it did for me. Don't get me wrong, I still think that this is an okay palette, but it's nothing that I would go completely crazy over. I do see myself using this palette whenever I want to use some color but I don't want it to be too crazy. This is a great subtle color type of palette.

Have you tried out this palette? What do you think of it? What are your favorite CoverGirl palettes? Don't forget to let me know what products you want to see me review! You can tweet them to me (@ciaociaoreview) or leave them in the comments down below!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[GRWM] Pretty Little Liars Aria Inspired - Date Day: How To Train Your Dragon 2

Hey Beauties! Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to watch How To Train Your Dragon 2! It was a really good movie but first off, let me list down the products that I used:

Eyes:

• NYX Eyeshadow Base - 03 Skintone
• INGLOT Freedom System - #360 (Taupe)
• NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil - Iced Mocha
• Too Faced - Honey Pot
• Too Faced - Erotica
• NYX Champagne & Caviar Palette - Dark taupe mixed w/ matte brown
• NYX Single Eyeshadow - Taupe
• NYX Champagne & Caviar Palette - Light Champagne color
• INGLOT Freedom System - #330 (Matte Peach/Creme)
• L'Orèal Linear Intense - Carbon Black
• Ulta Eyeliner Pencil - Black
• L'Orèal Butterfly Mascara (WP) - First Impression/Review coming soon :]
• Christina False Lashes - 747 M

Face:

• L'Orèal True Match Lumi Foundation - W4
• Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser - Medium
• e.l.f. Pressed Face Powder - Light Beige
• Lancôme Star Bronzer - Suntan
• Victoria Secret Highlighter/Bronzer Trio - Angel (Discontinued Product)

Lips:

• Softlips - Strawberry
• NYC City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color - Brooklyn Brown Stone

Mini Movie Review:

If you really liked the first one, you'll definitely enjoy this one! They did an extremely good job in developing each character (even Toothless and all the other dragons) and the plot was an extremely creative one. There are two death scenes, but they're not too graphic, but just be wary if you're bringing younger children to see this movie because it is a darker kids movie (kind of close to Lion King dark). 

I personally think that everything was tied together really well, I just wish the dialogue at the end was a little better. The graphics were amazing and they did a really good job with the different types of dragons and the details for each dragon species. I would definitely see this movie again and I can't wait to get it on DVD!

Have you guys seen this movie?! What do you think about it?? Let me know down below OR on Twitter (@ciaociaoreview)! 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] Maybelline - Baby Lips Crystal (Pink Quartz)

Hey Beauties... Guess what day it is?! Hump Daay whoop whoop!! Hope you guys are having a great week so far and just remember, You're half way through the week! Today's review is on the Maybelline Baby Lips, Crystal version. With this version, there's a lot more glitter/shimmer in the actual product, but let's just jump in to the review!

Breakdown:
Packaging: This has very similar packaging to all the other Baby Lips in terms the container it's in and how it works. The one thing that I loved about the Baby Lips packaging is how the cap snaps on to the bottom. In order to set it apart from it's cousins this one has holographic circles on it to make it look like glitter and it's also in a light pink tube. 

Scent: There's a light berry/candy scent to it that reminds me of some of the older types of lip products that I would use. It's nothing to overwhelming and once you apply it, it fades away and you don't notice it. However, when you first apply it you can smell it and you can also lightly taste it when you open your mouth to talk or inhale. 

Pigmentation: My lips are highly pigmented on their own, and this doesn't add much to it. When I apply it I do see some light coloring, but nothing to extreme. The thing that you do notice is the glitter. In the actual product you can see chunks of glitter, thus the name Crystal. The one thing I love is that you can see it, but it's subtle and you don't feel any of the glitter on your lips. It's extremely fine and you don't feel any of the grittiness on your lips when you press them together. That was one of the biggest things I was concerned with when I purchased this; I saw the glitter and I immediately thought that this product was going to be uncomfortable, gritty, and too much, but I was pleasantly surprised with how this wears. 

Moisturizing: This isn't as moisturizing as the Dr. Rescue version that I have, but it does help my lips when my lips are extremely chapped. I suffer from really chapped lips so once I apply this a couple of times my lips are back to new! 

Tackiness/Stickiness: I haven't suffered from my hair getting stuck to this product or even it feeling sticky on my lips. It's great because once it really soaks in, it feels like there's nothing. This is great when you want that lip gloss type of look, but don't want to deal with your hair sticking to it or any tacky feeling on your lips. 

Overall:
This is a great product if you're looking for something that you can keep in your bag that'll give off that lip gloss look, without actually using lip gloss, and it'll moisturize your lips. I'm not sure if you can find it everywhere, but I did find it at my local Target. Personally, I would like to pick up a darker berry color, but I could only find this color. I like the convenience of it and how it looks like I'm wearing lip gloss, when I'm not. I love the lip gloss look, but I can't stand how it'll either dry out my lips or be extremely heavy or tacky on my lips. 

Have you seen this product around? Have you tried it? Let me know on Twitter (@ciaociaoreview) or down below in the comments! 

Until my next post,
Stay Beautiful! <3

[FIRST IMPRESSION] Revlon - ColorStay Gel Envy (Pocket Aces)

Happy Monday Beauties! Hope you all had a great weekend and a good start to the week! Recently I've been really in to trying out different gel nail type of kits/sets. When I saw this set at Target I definitely wanted to try it out because it was so reasonably priced and there weren't too many steps involved! So let's jump in to my first impression: 

Likes:
- Variety: I love the color variety there are about 30 different shades that you can choose from, and I love how they all have names that are based around gambling (table games more specifically). This allows you to have endless possibilities!

- Brush: I love how this is one of the wide brushes. It allows me to get a good amount of product so I only have to apply one coat to get it really opaque and saturated. It also allows me to coat most of my nail in a single stroke, which prevents streakiness from occurring.

- Color: This is a great vibrant color, it's a little darker from what it looks like in the bottle, but it still has a vibrant and saturated punch of color which I love! This particular color is great for summer. 

- Price: So I originally saw this at target for $5 each which is extremely affordable in my opinion. I do want to try more colors, and I'll go to Target to pick them up. However, I picked these two up at Ulta and I was able to save about $1 from purchasing these two there; here's how I did it: Ulta usually has $3.50 off a $10 purchase - and they usually have a sale on drugstore products (buy 1 get 1 50% off). At Ulta these were going for $7.99 each so after the Buy 1 get 1 50% off my total came to $12 something, and with my $3.50 off coupon, my resulting total was $9.42 (or something like that).

Dislikes:
- Bubbling: With the top coat, I had a lot of bubbling while it was drying and it ended up staying in my nails (unfortunately). 

(You can kind of see the bubbles that are trapped in my nails)

- Embedding: On some of my nails I noticed that there was some embedding of my hair on my nails (from me sleeping on my hand). I don't usually have this problem when I use my quick dry top coats, but I do have this problem when I use regular top coats. 

- Finish: The only thing I wish was that the gel top coat looked a little thicker. It looks like my usual top coat that I use, just a lot shinier. 


So Far:
As of right now I'm on the fence with it. I love the colors that are available and I love the concept and affordability, but I don't feel like it truly gives that gel look. It's also doing an excellent job of holding up, in the picture you may notice that there's a chip on my index finger, but that was my fault. It still has the high gloss finish and I absolutely love the color. I'm going to try and use this color base with my regular top coat and see what happens, but that's for my actual review on this product! 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3



[UPDATE] One Week of Wear:
I wanted to put an update in here because there's a good chance that I'm going to take it off to work on my nail polish gallery. So far here's what I've noticed: 

• Bubbling went away after like 2-3 days. 
• There's still a lot of embedding and it got worse as the days went on. 
• The shine is awesome! It's still going strong after 7 days of wear which is nice. It looks like I just did my nails. 
• My nails started to chip on the tips of my right pinky, pointer, and left ring finger. 
• The color is just as vibrant as it was the first day I applied it. 

Right now, I don't feel like this is anything special. I feel like some of the colors are very unique, but I still need to try and see if the only thing that really makes a difference is the top coat. 

Have a great week Beauties! This week I'm posting Monday,Wednesday, and Friday and on Tuesday and Thursday I'll be posting on our YouTube Channel :] 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[PRODUCT REDEMPTION] Benefit - They're Real Mascara

Hi Beauties! If you guys follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I was planning to start this new series called Product Redemption. In this series, I'm shopping my stash and trying out products that I had negative reviews on. For the first installment of this series, I went back to the ever so popular Benefit They're Real mascara. I have a little baby one from Sephora's free bday gift, and before I get anybody saying, "You can't review this product from a baby sample, you need to get the actual sample!" Calm yourselves, because this is the same formula and it even has the same wand :] 

The Verdict:

I still don't care for this formula or mascara lol. I tried it and haven't seen anything extraordinary about it. My eyelashes have a difficult time holding a curl and it does better with drier waterproof formulas. The formula of this isn't wet too wet which I like especially since it's not a waterproof formula, but it still doesn't hold my curl. I don't find anything to extraordinary about this product although, I love how intense and dark this is compared to some of the other mascaras I've tried.

It's decently long wearing and I don't notice any smudging or flakes which is impressive. Personally, the wand is a bit too stiff for my liking; when I use this on my upper lashes, I can feel the bristles poking my the lash line which is extremely uncomfortable and can sting a little. The wand is also a little too long for my eyes, which makes it a little difficult to maneuver to coat my inner lashes. 

Let me know down below if you have tried this and whether or not you like it and let me know why! You can also follow me on Twitter (@ciaociaoreview) for more updates or follow my team's website (believeinfour.wix.com/fourustocelebrate) for more on fashion, food/travel, and beauty! 

Have a great day and until my next post,

Stay Beautiful!

[REVIEW] Nutra Nail - Gel Perfect (Cha-Cha)

Hey Beauties! So if you follow me on Twitter (@ciaociaoreview) then you would know that I was originally going to post a video, but I had the inspiration for another video. To make up for it I decided to post a review on the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect kit. Let's get into the review shall we?!

How It Works:
You're given three different bottles in the kit: activator, gel color, and brush cleaner. Once your nails are clean and you've pushed back your cuticles you need to brush on a layer of activator, you'll want to place a layer thick enough so it won't dry too quickly, you'll also want brush some on the tip of the nail to seal it. Then you're going to take the gel color and place it on top of the wet activator. They say it's okay if it applies streaky because you can add another layer. Then you'll repeat those steps until you're done! The only thing that makes it complicated is that you need to switch the brush in the gel color with the brush from the brush cleaner, this is to prevent build up on the brush.

Breakdown:

Ease of Use: I was extremely hesitant to use this product because it looked a little complicated to use, but you begin to get the hang of it once you have a rhythm going. It says that you need to place the activator on all 5 nails before going over it with the color, but I noticed that it would dry way too fast, so I needed to go back and do it nail by nail. You also need to make sure that you double up on the paper towels you use because if you get the activator on it and it's not thick enough you can damage the surface you're working on. 

Brush: The one thing that irked me about the brushes was that all three of them felt like the cheap brushes that come with the mini-baby sized nail polishes. It made applying the gel color difficult and the brush was so thin that it applied to my nails extremely streaky. The brush that came with the activator was ridiculous! I've never had a brush that was so bad! The bristles were coming off, some of them had kinks in them, and it was so uneven that it was nearly impossible to not get it on my skin or cuticles. 
The brush also made getting an even coat impossible. On some of my nails I would get a really thick coat and then on others it would be extremely thin. 

Color: I wish that this was more opaque. Because of the way the brushes applied the product, some of my nails had great coverage and the color looks really opaque, but for majority of my nails I can still my nail bed. The color isn't as intense as it looks in the bottle which can be good or bad (depends on what you like). 

Longevity: If you don't seal your nails very well, your nails will chip easily. After two days I already had chipping on my nails (I've never experienced this before with any other nail polishes). Which makes it somewhat complicated to use because I personally don't like my nails being too long and I tried to seal it, but because my nails are short it kept getting on my skin. Even on the nails that I did seal it, those were the nails that had the most chipping. 

Overview:
I don't like this product. I was thinking that if they had neutral colors it would be great for those who work and need to have a manicure, but don't want to spend all the money or time. Unfortunately you're better off just getting a regular polish and buying a fast-drying top coat. I've noticed that the fast-drying top coats can provide a gel-like finish as well and you don't have to worry about it too much. 

If you're really into gel nails, I would say you should invest in an actual LED lamp or kit because you'll be able to save money in the long run. I'm going to be picking up the Revlon Colorstay version and see how that works :] 

Have you guys tried this? Would you want to try this? Let me know down below or on Twitter (@ciaociaoreview)!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[FIRST IMPRESSION] e.l.f. - Duo E/S - Mocha Swirl

Hi Beauties! Hope you all had a good Monday, and are having a good Tuesday, if not get yourself some tacos cause it's Taco Tuesday lol! Today's first impression is on an e/s duo. When I purchased this I was hoping that it would be a great everyday e/s that could be a no brainer type of thing. 


In the look below I used my usual e/s base as well as a colored base from Revlon's Not Just Nude creme e/s palette. I took the darkest color and placed that all over my lid and I mixed the two colors to blend into my crease. I then took the pink color and blended it between my brow-bone color and my crease. I then took a tiny amount on my ring finger and dabbed it on the middle of my lid to add a little dimension. I then took the light pink color on a small detail brush and placed it on my lower inner third lash line, my tear duct area, and then blended it into my crease a little. 

Likes:
- Convenience: I like that these two colors are neutral and great for everyday.

- Affordability: It's extremely affordable. I got mine from the Dollar Tree and you can pick these up for about $1 on the e.l.f. website. It's great if you're just getting in to makeup, but you're not ready to get into the higher end stuff. 

- Color: I like how the color is suitable for everyday purposes and you can transition this look to a more sultry look by intensifying the darker color. 

- Quantity: I love how you get a decent amount of product. This will last you for a good amount of time and you probably get more from this than you would with some other palettes out there. 

-Texture: I'm surprised how buttery these feel on my fingers, but if you dab a brush in it, just be wary of some of the fallout you'll get. A lot of the time with softer e/s, it's easier to get a lot of fallout when you dip your brushes in it. 

Dislikes:
- Pigmentation: This isn't the most pigmented e/s out there. Without a base you'll notice the color fades after about two hours of wear, but with some type of a base (it's better if it's colored) you'll get more pigmentation. 

- Packaging: I'm not a big fan of having to twist the cap open and close. When I'm in a rush, it's easier to have a lid that flips open and close. Another reason why I don't like the twist open cap is because I feel like I'm more likely to drop it and crack the e/s. 

Overall:
 The main gripe I had with these e/s is the fact that it didn't last a long time without some type of a base. After my first use, I wasn't impressed, but I'm not ready to give a full review yet, so be on the look out for that! Follow me on Twitter: @ciaociaoreview or follow my team's website: believeinfour.wix.com/fourustocelebrate for more info! 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[FIRST IMPRESSION] Covergirl - Tropical Fusion (E/S)

It's almost the weekend Beauties! Hope you guys are having a great week, today I have a first impression for you guys featuring a CoverGirl Palette that I recently hauled! It's the Tropical Fusion E/S quad and this is the look I created: 

The first thing I did was use my NYX E/S Base in 03 (Skin Tone). I then used NYX's Jumbo E/S Pencil in Cottage Cheese all over my lid, and as my transition color I took NYX's single E/S in Taupe and placed that in my crease. I took the Aqua/Sea Foam Green color and placed that on my lid (on top of the NYX Cottage Cheese). I used the coral/peachy color in my crease to blend out that green, and I used the light lime-green on the inner third of my lid. Finally, I took that royal blue color and I put that in my outer "V" as well as my lower lash line on top of NYX's Satin Blue eyeliner. I applied my usual mascara and eyeliner, and also tight-lined my eyes. 

 

It's a pretty simple look that is great for summer. So let's get into my first impression:

Likes:
- The color choices: I love how these colors work together! They compliment each other great and they work really well together. It's also extremely versatile which I love when it comes with palettes; you can create smokey eyes or really easy everyday eyes. 

- Texture: The two middle eyeshadows are smooth and buttery to the touch. The lime-green color comes off a tad bit chalky, and the royal blue color doesn't come off as intense as I would hope, but if I use a smaller brush with tightly packed brush it applies extremely intense. 

- Blendability: I was a tad bit hesitant with some of the colors (specifically the royal blue and lime green), but they ended up blending together wonderfully. They each blend well with each other regardless if I'm using a brush or fingers. 

Dislikes:
- Intensity: I wish the colors were a little more intense. The sea-foam green isn't as intense/opaque as I want it to be. I'm going to work with it to see what base I can use to make it opaque. The coral/peachy color blends well into my skin so it's hard to tell that it's even on, which is sad because I really like the color, but I know that I'll be able to get it to show up with a colored base underneath. 

- Fallout: In the pan itself, the lime-green color has quite a bit of fallout, but since I was using a small brush it didn't get everywhere. The royal blue has just a slight fallout, but nothing too extreme, which is nice because you can do you face makeup without having to worry about taking it all off to clean up the fallout. 


Overall:
So far this palette isn't anything amazing. I like the colors, but I just wished they were a bit more pigmented. The color combination is great for Spring and Summer, and I think the sea-foam green/aqua color is unique to this palette. I haven't had any color like this before; I also think it's extremely flattering for anybody's skin tone :] 

Have you tried out this product before? What are your favorite Spring/Summer time palettes and what kind of colors do you like to wear?! Let me know in the comments below or Tweet them to me @ciaociaoreview 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] Formula 10.0.06 - Pores Be Pure

Another skin care review?! I say YES! Hope you Beauties have been having a good week so far, and if not, take a deep breath and remember you're half way to the weekend! Today's review is from one of my favorite skin care brands, Formula 10.0.06, and it's their Pores Be Pure mask! Let's get into the review!

Breakdown:

Packaging: Like most clay masks, it's in a squeeze tube. It's compact and cute, so you can keep it on your sink area or vanity. It does the job, and I think we all know how I feel about face masks being in a squeeze tube right?? I love it and I think it's the most efficient way to store a face mask!

Smell: This definitely has a fruity scent to it, it's supposed to have strawberries and yarrow in it; I don't know what yarrow smells like, but from the google images it looks like a flower. It's extremely light and refreshing and the scen doesn't linger after you wash it off. 

Product: This is supposed to be a clarifying mask that gets deep down into your pores, unfortunately I don't notice it getting deep down into my pores, but it does a decent job of cleaning them out. It doesn't get as deep as a regular alcohol cleanser, but it does go beneath the surface. After rinsing it off I don't notice any tight feeling on my skin and it feels so smooth (like a baby's butt! Actually, I don't know what a baby's butt feels like so don't take the expression too literal). Most people will worry about something like this making them oilier the next day, because it's stripping your skin and your skin will over compensate by producing more oil, but I don't notice my skin becoming any oilier. 

Size: Some of the other clay masks out there are quite larger compared to this one and is a little cheaper. This has 3.4 fl oz and my Freeman ones have 6.0 fl oz which is almost twice the size of this one. Since you don't need a lot, it's still worth the price; I paid about $4-5 for this one. 


Overall:
If you're just starting out with clay masks, I think this would be a great option. It's not too harsh on the skin and will leave your skin feeling extremely clean, almost like you're starting with a fresh canvas. Personally I like to use this when I feel like my pores are clogged or if I haven't been able to really take care of my skin. It's my personal restart button, and I can begin the week with a fresh face. I don't suffer any irritation, but you should definitely read the ingredients before you use, because I know that there are some people who are allergic to strawberries and if you use this, you may actually get skin irritation or redness. Just be wary when you use this or any type of clay mask! 

What is your favorite clay mask to use? What type of scent do you go for? Let me know in the comments down below or Tweet me @ciaociaoreview so I can check them out! 

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] Freeman - Facial Clay Mask - Chocolate and Strawberry (YUM!)

Happy Tuesday Beauties! Hope you all are having a good day, if not, I have something for you that you may be tempted to try! It's Freeman's clay mask in chocolate and strawberry, you read it right... CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY! How delicious does this sound?! Let's get into the review before I start drooling because of the chocolate lol

Breakdown:
Packaging: Like the other Freeman clay mask I reviewed, this product is a squeeze tube. It's honestly the best way you could package a clay mask in my opinion because: 1. sanitary reasons, I don't like the thought of stick my fingers into a tub and 2. there's no risk of the product drying out or forming a crust at the top like it could if it were in a tub. Also, the chocolate and strawberries in the picture just make it look so enticing. 

Smell: If you're a big time choco-holic like me, then you're going to love this. It smells just like you smothered chocolate all over your face and as it's drying you can still smell the chocolate. I seriously start to crave chocolate while waiting for the mask to dry. 

Product: This is a tad bit thicker in consistency compared to the other mask, but applies the same way. Don't be intimidated by the color or even the way it comes out of the tube (it's brown and when you squeeze it out of the tube... I think you catch my drift lol). 

Benefits: It claims to hydrate and tone your face, I don't really notice it moisturizing my face, but then again I only use whenever I really want to indulge myself. But I don't notice it drying out my face either. After I rinse it off my skin feel clean and not taunt, but not to the point where I feel like it itches when I move my face. A great thing about this is that I'm not oily the next day and my oil feels more under control <--- is that a weird saying? I mean that it controls my oil throughout the next day. 

Overall:
If you're looking for a product to really indulge yourself and relax (and you don't mind a little chocolate overdose) this is definitely your item. When you eat chocolate it releases an endorphin called serotonin, which is what causes you too feel a sense of pleasure/happiness :] but you'll experience the same thing while wearing this mask. I'm not lying when I say that every time I use this mask I end up just smiling and I'm in such a good mood, my mask ends up drying with lines in it because I smile so much from the smell. 

I don't suggest using this mask everyday because it'll eventually start drying out your skin, unless you use a super saturated type of moisturizer. It can get a little messy when you apply it, as you can see from the picture of the tube, but if you want everything to stay neat, you can just wipe it off with a wet paper towel or rag. 

What is your favorite clay mask to use when you want to indulge yourself? Let me know in the comments below OR tweet me @ciaociaoreview so I can check it out :]

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3 

[REVIEW] Rimmel - ScandalEYES Retro Glam (WP)

Happy Monday Beauties! To start the week, I thought I'll review a product I featured in my May Favorites and Unfavorites. It's the Rimmel ScandalEYES Retro Glam mascara. 

If you watched my video, then you'll know that I didn't care for this product, but let's get in to the review:


Breakdown:

Packaging: I'm going to admit that the only reason why I even looked at this product was because I saw the tube and loved it! My favorite color is blue and I'm a sucker when it's this type of metallic-blue on the package. It's a pretty big tube compared to most mascara, but similar to the size of Covergirl's Lash Blast. 

Wand: This has a figure eight-shaped/hour glass shape wand and the bristles are actual bristles (not like those plastic type bristles). It doesn't pick up too much product, except at the very tip. It does a pretty good job at dispersing the product evenly on my lashes and coats all of my lashes.

Product: The formula of this product is extremely different from what I'm used to, especially with waterproof mascaras. With most waterproof mascaras, you'll experience a drier formula which will allow it to really cling to your lashes, and with the non-waterproof version, you'll usually experience it to be more wet/liquid. I was extremely thrown off with how liquid this was when I first opened it. 

Longevity: Once the mascara actually dried, it lasted the entire day. I didn't suffer from flakes coming off throughout the day. I did notice that because the formula is more wet from what I'm used to, it didn't hold my curl as well as the drier formulas do. 

Application: I applied it using my usual routine and let me tell you, it was a gigantic mess. Once I applied it, I blinked and there was product under my eyes and on my eyelid. It was ridiculous. I had to remove some of my eyeshadow to get the product off and it took about 5 minutes for the actual product to dry. It does a good job at separating my lashes and didn't clump on the first coat. To be honest I haven't bothered to try layering this because of the mess it creates. The packaging claims to add volume, separate lashes, with no clumps. I don't notice it adding any volume but I do notice it separating lashes without any clumps. 

Overall:

If you have the patience to work with the product or you have no problem working with a really wet formula, you may be interested in it. It's supposed to give you a doll-eyes like effect, so if your lashes don't get weighted down easily and you have thick lashes this may be perfect for you. I really suggest if you want to try out this product, you should get it from some place with a good return policy.

I wouldn't go back to purchase this and there's a good chance that if this formula doesn't dry up I won't go back to using it. I prefer to stick with my Maybelline The Falsies Flared (WP). It's not worth it to deal with the mess it creates, especially when I work so hard on my eye look. What'a good Rimmel mascara to try? I really want to branch out and try different mascaras. The Falsies Flared (WP) is my holy grail mascara and I've easily gone through at least 4-5 tubes of it. Let me know what you favorite mascara is on twitter (@ciaociaoreview)!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[VIDEO] May 2014 Favorites

Hey Beauties! This is my first ever monthly favorites (at least I think it is) lol I hope you guys enjoy it! 

If you're interested in any of these products, check out my reviews on the products! Have a great weekend Beauties, and until my next post...

Stay Beautiful <3