REVIEW: Too Faced Sweet Heart Blush - Peach Beach

Hey guys happy Wednesday! Today's review is on this little cutie right above. I'm not too sure exactly how I want to start the review because I'm a bit bias towards this product because of how long I've been lusting over it, and Too Faced is also one of my favorite brands because of their quality and packaging/designs. 

I have a medium skin tone and I knew when I purchased this blush, it wouldn't really work like a blush for me, but it would be a decent highlighter. I was pleasantly surprised by the warm glow it adds to my face. As you can tell by the swatches the colors barely show up for me, but the darker/warmer bottom two shades add a lot of warmth and glow. 

In all honesty, the staying power for me isn't that great. I start to notice it fade half-way through my day (so after about 4 hours of wear, give or take an hour), which is unfortunate because I love it on my skin. It just adds the tiniest bit of shimmer/highlight without over doing it, which is great for someone who is new to highlighting or wanting to experiment with highlighting. 

For those of you with a lighter complexion, you can definitely build the product to show up as an actual blush. It'll be like a warm peachy color (not too orange), and it'll have a golden sheen to it (if you swirl all the colors together). 

The pigmentation on each shade alone, as you can see in the swatches, aren't the greatest (granted it's supposed to be just a flush of color), but when you mix them together I feel like you get a richer color which is great. Also, if you want to do extremely light contouring you can take the bottom color and use it for that. This color doesn't seem to have as shimmer in it as the other two. 


This blush retails for $30 and you can purchase it at your local Ulta or Sephora. You can also order it online through TooFaced.com

REVIEW: INGLOT - Freedom System

If you’ve been around the beauty world for a while, you’ll definitely know about INGLOT and their amazing freedom system. Personally, I wish they would get more exposure on YouTube because I think it’s a great system that’s worth the price. If you don’t know about the freedom system, here’s a quick rundown.

You go to your local INGLOT counter, store, or you can even order it online, and pick out what type of palette you want.

Eyes (e/s):

- Single Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $7.00

- Duo Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $8.00

- Trio Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $9.00

- Quad Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $10

- 5 Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $11

- 10 Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $16

- 20 Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $23

- 40 Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $39

- Single Freedom System Palette w/ Mirror (e/s) - $6.00

- Duo Freedom System Palette w/ Mirror (e/s) - $7.00

- Trio Freedom System Palette (e/s) - $8.00

- Trio Freedom System Palette (e/s) + Blush - $11

- Duo Freedom System Palette (e/s) + Blush + Face Powder - $16

Face:

- Single Freedom System Palette (Blush) - $8.00

- Single Freedom System Palette w/ mirror (Blush) - $11

- Quad Freedom System Palette (Blush) - $16

- Single Freedom System Palette (Pressed Powder) - $9.00

- Duo Freedom System Palette (Pressed Powder) - $16

- Quad Freedom System Palette (Pressed Powder) - $23

In the picture, you’ll se that I went with the 5 Freedom system palette for eyes. So far I only have 4 of the compartments filled up. The next thing you’ll want to pick out is what you want to fill your palette with! Don’t feel obligated to fill up every slot of your palette. Here are the pricing:

Freedom System:

- *Eyeshadows: $7.00 Each

- *Rainbow Eyeshadows: $9.00 Each

- *Lipsticks: $7.00 Each

- *Brow Wax: $7.00 Each

- *Concealer: $7.00 Each

- *Brow Powder: $7.00 Each

- Pressed Powder: $13 Each Blush: $11 Each

The ones marked with an asterisk (*) indicate that they can fit in the e/s freedom system palettes, they come in a pan that’s similar in size and can be interchangeable. As you can tell from the prices, they’re extremely affordable. What I like to do is pick up colors that are my basic everyday/multi-purpose colors. In my palette I have a shimmery cream, a burnt orange w/ gold shimmer, a matte cream (more on the pinky side), and a taupe-gray color. I use the matte cream and the taupe color everyday for my highlight and brows. Every once in a while when I’m wanting color I’ll put the shimmery burnt orange on my lids or even some in my crease and I sometimes like to that shimmery cream/beige color as a highlight (it reminds m a little of my favorite highlight from MAC called Femme-Fi, which I believe was limited edition).

The e/s from INGLOT are decent quality. You will have to dal with a lot of fall out, especially from the shimmery shadows; I also noticed that some of the matte colors can look a little chalky, but if you find one that matches your undertones, you shouldn’t have a problem.

I give the Freedom System at 4/5. I love how sleek the packaging is, it takes up very little room in my makeup drawer and the magnets that attach the cover to the palette itself is extremely strong and durable. I love traveling with this palette and I love how customizable it is. You could even purchase a Z-palette and put the shadow, blushes, or pressed powder there as storage and then fill up a smaller freedom system palette with the colors you need. I also love the variety of e/s and blushes they offer. It’s not all shimmery and it’s not all matte which is great. The lasting power on the e/s are pretty good as well. Like I stated before, I use the taupe/gray color to fill in my brows and if I don’t wash my face (gross, I know) it’s still there the next day.

My only gripe is that it’s not widely available. Luckily for me I have an INGLOT store in my area which carries almost everything. I also kind of wish that the top of the packaging was see-through, that way you can easily see what colors your palette has, especially if you have multiple palettes.

The entire system is great if you’re interested in freelancing or if you’re already freelancing and don’t want too carry a ton of extra products with you. This allows you to keep everything organized in a palette. Or if you’re starting with makeup and you want to build your collection, definitely take the time to check out INGLOT and all the products that they offer! 

REVIEW: L'Oreal - Total Repair 5 - Dry Oil - Hair Treatment

I must say, I was hesitant in trying out this product because it does have some oil in it and my hair can get oily extremely quickly, but I wanted something that’ll just add a little more health to my hair. I ended up purchasing this product on a whim because it said it helps with damage, and trust me my hair can look extremely damaged easily.

Let me just say I give this product a 4/5. I could definitely see a difference in my hair when I used it and when I don’t use it. Before I use it I shake up the bottle, since the oil does separate, and then I spray it in my hair while it’s still damp. I use two sprays per side and then I brush it through. I think one of the biggest things that makes a huge difference is the spray nozzle. It does a really good job of distributing the product without the stream being too narrow or too wide.

Once I blow dry my hair and straighten it, my hair looks shiny and sleek. The one main concern I had was that my hair would get oily extremely quickly, but I was surprised that my hair looked fine towards the ending of the day. The one thing that I did notice was that my hair looked pretty flat. I also wasn’t able to have second day hair because it would look way too greasy (even though it didn’t feel greasy).

The one gripe I had with this product was that the two sprays that I would use, took up a lot of the product. This spray didn’t last as long as I hope it would, and if I remember correctly, it lasted me about 1-1 1/2 months.

I also liked the price point on this product, if I remember correctly I think it was about $5-7 depending where you buy it from, I bought mine from Wal-Mart and I have been waiting forever for them to restock it. I also enjoyed the scent to it, it was extremely light and definitely not too overbearing which I also appreciated.

At the end of the day, I would definitely re-purchase this product and I would’ve repurchased it, but unfortunately I still haven’t been able to find it at Wal-Mart.

FIRST IMPRESSION - TOO FACED: SWEETHEART BLUSHES

So Ulta had an awesome deal for their 21 days of beauty and it was for the Too Faced Sweetheart blushes. They usually retail for $30 each and Ulta had it for $15, so basically it's buy 1 for 50% off or buy two for the price of one (depending how you look at it), but regardless it's an awesome deal; I saved $30!! I had to go to my local Ulta early to get my hands on these babies and even though I got there 30 minutes after it opened and they were out of their main stock! 

Peach Beach:

This color is a nice natural color that would definitely show up on the lighter chicas, but not so much on the medium-darker chicas. If you're lighter, it'll be a great peachy golden sheen to your cheeks. You could also concentrate your brush on the bottom darker two shades to give you that peach flush and concentrate the golden top color as a highlight. For the medium-darker chicas, you can definitely mix all three to provide you with a great highlight or if you're looking to add just a little glow to your cheeks with minimal color you could also use this color. 

Something About Berry:

Talk about a beautiful berry magenta color. The thing I liked about this color when I swatched it was that when you blend it out, it becomes a great flush of color. It gives that, I just worked out and I could use some water OR I just came in from the cold, type of look. You can also concentrate your brush in the bottom two colors and provide yourself with a darker/richer color and the top color is great as a highlight. I wasn't planning to pick up this color originally because it seemed a bit too intimidating and too shimmery, but I'm extremely happy that I picked it up because it would be perfect for spring. 

I'm extremely excited to have gotten these two. I didn't pick up the lightest pink one (the original) because it was way too light and cool-toned for me; even when I swatched it, it just looked extremely chalky. 

They're so cute and I'm so happy that I was able to get my hands on these two babies, a part of me really doesn't want to use it because they look so perfect, but I can't wait to try it out and let you know what I think!

TREND: LIP BALM STAINS

L-R:

1. Wet n' Wild - Megaslicks Balm Stain - Lady and The Vamp (124)

2. Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Honey (001)

3. Jordana - Twist & Shine - Rock n Rogue (07)

4. NYC - City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color - Brooklyn Brown Stone (011)

5. Jordana - Twist & Shine - Honey Love (05)

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What I Like About This Trend: I love this trend because as a F/T college student I need the products I use to be low maintenance and long lasting. I also like how a lot of the drug store brands have their own version and they're easy to obtain. I always wanted to try out Clinique's Chubby Sticks and Tarte's Lip Surgence, but I could never justify paying those prices. Since this trend became really popular a lot of the lower end drug store brands (NYC and Wet n Wild) came out with their own versions.

The great thing about these balm stains is that it allows people to experiment with color. Some of the colors don't apply as opaque as they do swatched on one's hand, but I personally like it because I know I can add more once I get comfortable using colors.

The drug store alternatives are great because they're a fraction of the cost and most of them do really work. The color variety isn't as large at Clinique's or Tarte's. In fact, it took Revlon a while to come out with more colors (and when I say color, they actually came out with different finishes), and the other brands featured here only have about 6-8 colors in their line.

I'm interested to see if Jordana, Wet n Wild, and NYC will add in more colors and what those colors will be.

I will be doing a separate post reviewing each brand individually, once I've had a chance to pick up a couple more colors from Wet n Wild and NYC. 

What are your favorite brands and colors for the lip balm stains?