REVIEW: NYX FULL COVERAGE CONCEALER (HG)

I originally purchased this concealer to replace one of my favorite heavy duty concealers (Benefit's Boi-ing Concealer) and when I had purchased it, it was a newer product from NYX. There weren't any testers so I basically had to guess which color would match my skin-tone. I used the Boi-ing concealer in shade 03, which I believe is the darkest or at least second to darkest shade in the Boi-ing line. What I liked about the NYX concealers is that there was a decent shade range. I ended up using 06 Glow and it's a perfect match for me. 

It does a great job at evening out any discolorations, like my dark circles, acne scars, pimples, etc. without adding too much cakey-ness. I don't notice it settling into any fine lines (which I noticed with the Boi-ing concealer), it's extremely long lasting, and it's light weight. 

I have somewhat long days, usually ranging from 9-12 hours, and when I come home at night or even when I look in the mirror after 5-8 hours, I can still see my concealer doing it's job. 

I haven't had any trouble blending out the concealer and I don't notice any streakiness. On days where I don't feel like wearing much makeup, I'll just use this concealer to even out my skin and then set it using another HG powder and I'm good to go; and the surprising thing is that it lasts for a decent amount of time and when my powder fades, the concealer is still there. 

It's an extremely affordable product and I like the color ranges a lot more than the Benefit color range, and I get a lot of bang for my buck! I've been using this concealer for about a year and I have about 1/3 of the container left!

I haven't had any skin problems (like breaking out or extra oil/grease) and once blended, it's extremely breathe-able. 

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As usual, each picture, once clicked, will take you to a website where you can purchase the product. 

If there are any products I should check out leave a comment! I love checking out and trying new products :]

REVIEW: BENEFIT BIRTHDAY BUNDLE (2013)

 

One of the best perks about having a Sephora card is being able to collect a birthday gift from them. The gifts are usually a sample size of some brand's product. My birthday is in October and I had been anxious to get my hands on the birthday gift for 2013 which is the Benefit sample size of the They're Real mascara and the Watts Up highlighter. 

I tested each product out for about a 1 1/2 weeks and I put them to the test.

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They're Real! Mascara

Full Size - $23.00

First up is the They're Real mascara. Overall I wasn't too impressed with the mascara. I have pretty long, but stick straight lashes and I love using a drier mascara (which is usually a waterproof formula) because it helps to hold the curl throughout the day. I noticed with the They're Real mascara it did a great job at lengthening my lashes, but I didn't notice and added volume and I noticed that I immediately lost the curl to my lashes. 

The formula itself is a wetter formula than I'm used to. The pigmentation is great and I didn't notice any fragrance to the product. 

The actual wear time is decent, but I did notice a little bit of smudging towards the end of the day. 

If your lashes are great at holding a curl, and you're looking for something to add length, but not so much of volume, then I think you'd definitely want to check out this mascara. As for me, I'll stick to my HG Maybelline Falsies Flared - WP mascara. 

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Watts Up! Highlighter

Full Size- $30.00

I was extremely excited to try out this product because I love highlighters. I love the way they can add that extra glow to the face that makes you seem awake and almost heavenly like. 

The Watts Up! highlighter is a golden stick highlighter with very fine shimmers added in. When I first applied it, I was worried that it might break because it felt extremely dry (it could be due to the fact that it's such a small product with a lot of room in the packaging), but once it warmed up it glided onto my skin well. I didn't feel any tugging and I didn't noticed any streakiness; it blended in well too, I just used the warmth from my fingers to blend it in. It added just a very natural healthy glow/shimmer and since I lean more towards a warmer undertone I feel like it really enhanced my foundation and added more dimension. 

Throughout the day, as I got oilier, it actually ended up making me look a lot greasier especially in pictures, but once I blotted my face I feel like it faded away. 

Overall I feel like this is an okay highlighter, but at the same time I think that it's either too much added shimmer or not enough. It tended to fade away once I blotted my face, but if I were to leave it it made me look a lot oilier than I actually was. 

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At the end of the day, I wouldn't personally invest in the full size of either product. They're okay for me, but there's nothing spectacular about them. 

Each picture is linked to the Sephora website, so if you're interested in purchasing either product you can simply click the picture and it should take you to the website. 

If there are any products that you think I should try let me know by leaving a comment and I'll definitely go and check them out :] 

Too Faced - A Few of My Favorite Things Palette

Too Faced has come out with three palettes for the Holiday season. The first of the palettes, and the priciest, is the A Few of My Favorite Things palette. Currently at Sephora it’s selling for $56 (an original $436 value). I think this is a great palette for any individual; there is a variety of products and I think it’ll be a good gift for someone who just wants an all in one palette. 

This palette includes 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 bronzers, 1 Lip Injection Color Bomb, 1 mascara, a chevron clutch, and a how-to guide. Talk about a great value!

The 20 e/s colors are: 

- Snowflakes: shimmery beige
- Whiskers on Kittens: shimmery salmon
- Chocolate Milk: matte medium-dark brown
- Cream Colored Ponies: matte light tan
- Honey Honey: Shimmery gold
- Buche de Noel: Dark shimmery brown
- Coquet: Light pearlescent pink (slight orange undertone)
- Taffy: Matte medium pink
- Crisp Apple Strudel: Pearlescent medium brown

- Moon on Their Wings: Shimmery medium beige
- Dark Chocolate: Dark Matte Brown (this is one of the darkest browns I’ve ever seen!)
- Evergreen: Pearlescent forest green
- Blue Satin Sashes: Matte navy with silvery/golden specs
- Woolen Mittens: Matte brown (lighter than Chocolate Milk, but darker than Cream Colored Ponies)
- Soiree: Deep burgundy with golden specs

- Tinsel: Pearlescent taupe beige
- Bluff: Muted purple with slight shimmer
- Ooh la Orchid: Matte orchid (purple) 

- Party Time: Shimmery/glittery dark teal
- Pure Glam: Black/purple with a lot of silver/golden shimmer/glitter

2 Blushes:

- Raindrops on Roses: Rosey pink with golden shimmer
- Melt into Spring: Matte salmon/orange

2 Bronzers: 

- Chocolate Soleil: Matte brown (typical bronzer)
- Sun Bunny: Shimmery bronzer with 2 different shades - the darker of the shades isn’t as dark as Chocolate Sleil, but it’ll give a nice shimmer to a matte bronzer. The lighter of the shades can be a great highlighter if you’re on the tanner side, but can be versatile. 

1 Lip Color:
Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting: Rose pink 

1 Better Than Sex Mascara 

There’s a lot of great value in this set and I would definitely consider picking this up. The thing about Too Faced is that they don’t sell e/s individually. Their e/s are great quality, but a lot of the glittery ones tend to have a lot of fallout from the glitter/shimmer. If you want them to stick you’d need to use a tacky base, the usual base like Too Faced E/S Insurance and UD’s Primer Potion isn’t tacky enough to hang on to the glitter. 

The Chocolate Soleil is one of their best selling bronzers and is a great product. Their blushes are also pretty pigmented as well. 

If you want a palette that has a lot of bang for the buck, definitely consider picking up this palette. 

Sephora Favorites - Glitz & Glam Set

The Sephora Glitz & Glam is a great set, in my opinion, and it has perfect travel size products and it also has a great (and stylish) travel clutch. The set includes:

Urban Decay Moondust E/S in Space Cowboy

NARS Lip Gloss in Gold Digger

Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar Gel Effect Plumping Top Coat

Jose Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Lancome Hypnose Star in Noir Midnight

Stila Stay All Day 10-In-One HD Illuminating Beauty Balm w/ SPF 30

1 Sephora Collection False Eye Lashes in Celebrity

Too Faced 3 Way Lash Lining Tool

This set is being sold at $45 ($159 value) which is almost a 72% savings, which is incredible (in my opinion). I think there is a wide variety of products that someone, or possibly you, could try out. I would personally invest in this set because I could try out a bunch of products from not just one, but multiple brands. 

Keep in mind that most of these things is not the full size, a lot of these products are mini/travel sized products. This would be great to give someone who is just starting out in makeup. I think that there are some staple products that they could use to create really natural and effortless looks. 

Lancome - Hypnose Drama Mascara Set

This set offered by Sephora includes a bottle of Bi-Facil, Artliner (eyeliner) in Noir (black), and Hypnose Drama in black. This set is going for $33 ($66 value), so that’s a 50% savings, which really isn’t bad. Lancome is one of my mom’s favorite brans and the artliner is her favorite liquid eyeliner and the bi-facil is her favorite eye makeup remover. I personally really like the Hypnose Drama mascara, but because it’s not water proof, I can’t use it on a daily basis.

Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover

Lancome - Percision Artliner 

Lancome - Hypnose Drama 

I think this set would be great for someone who loves their eyeliner and mascara and you would want to introduce them to a high-end line. This would also be great if you’d want to try Lancome’s liquid eyeliner, mascara, and the eye makeup remover. The eye makeup remover doesn’t leave an oily residue like other products, but personally I didn’t like it because it was too harsh for my eyes.