Favorites & Hate-its: August 2014

Jessup Brush

Left to Right: Vaseline Rosy Lips, Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss "Orange Glow", MAC blush "Fleur Power", Wet n Wild "Reserve Your Cabana"

Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Eyeshadow Primer: As you can see from the scratched-off writing on the packaging, this eyeshadow primer has been much-loved and much-used by me. This is my absolute favorite eyeshadow primer for my greasy-greasy eyelids. My eyelids are so oily that they shine even without any product on them, but this eyeshadow primer keeps my eyeshadows on all day and prevents creasing. It is slightly tacky and has a cream color to it that helps lighten my discolored eyelids and intensify my shadows. I much more prefer this $5 primer over the Too Faced Shadow Insurance which is too liquidy for me. 

Jessup Brush: I ordered a 10-piece set of Jessup brushes from eBay for about $16 awhile ago and I am so in love with them. The quality is amazing for the price, they are incredibly soft (much softer than the Real Techniques brushes imo) and they hold up well through washes. The brush pictured is the one that I've been using everyday to buff in my base makeup this month. I can't say whether or not these Jessup brushes are dupes for the Sigma brushes because I don't own any Sigma brushes, but I definitely think the Jessup brushes are worth a try if you are looking for some budget friendly brushes. The only negatives of these are that their handles are quite fat so storage is difficult and you can only get them from eBay. 

Vaseline Lip Therapy in Rosy Lips: I have never been a fan of lip balms that come in jars but I caved and bought this purely because of the rosy pink color and the adorable miniature vaseline tub that it comes in. I didn't like this at first because the lip balm doesn't completely sink into my lips overnight so I have to wash it off in the morning and I am not a fan of the sticky petroleum jelly residue. However, the fresh rosy scent of the balm just helps me relax before bed and it gives me plump and juicy lips in the morning. 

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Orange Glow: I am a huge fan of layering lip products and mixing colors so I had to have this when I saw it on eBay. This yellow-orange lipgloss has been my go-to lipgloss this month to warm up my cool-toned pink lippies. The formula of Revlon's Colorburst Lipglosses is non-sticky, pigmented, and gives you a nice watery-shine. This yellow-orange color kind of reminds me of a mango and when applied on top of pinks and reds it turns the color into gorgeous corals and red-oranges. Lip swatches of these will be coming soon!  

MAC Powder Blush in Fleur Power: My one and only MAC blush. I purchased this three years ago and have recently rediscovered it this month. Fleur Power is such a lovely warm peachy-pink color that blends really well into my bronzer to give me healthy summer glow. The blush itself has a very smooth texture and is nicely pigmented and long lasting. This is a blush that I can go back to time and time again. 

Wet n Wild Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana: Wet n Wild labels this as a bronzer, but Reserve Your Cabana is definitely a highlighter. It is a beautiful beige champagne highlight that comes in a ginormous compact and costs only $4. This highlighter is incredibly pigmented but there is no detectable shimmer or glitter particles in it all so it's hard to overdo it. It just gives a gorgeous sheen to the skin that makes you look like you are naturally glowing. Besides highlighting my cheekbones and nose bridge, I also like to use this as eyeshadow, especially as an inner corner and brow bone highlight. The sheen that this gives off is brightening but not overly shimmery. It also has SPF 15 which makes it perfect for summer!

I have one hate-it this month and it is The Body Shop's Vitamin E Moisture Cream. I really wanted to like this but it has such an overpowering baby-powder scent that actually irritated my skin and made it painful to use. I strongly dislike fragrances in skincare simply because they can be an irritant to sensitive skin which is exactly what happened in this case. Sadly, I will be tossing this or maybe dumping it out and using the jar for other things.  

P.S. What are your faves this month? :)

Maybelline Baby Lips: Melon Mania and Rose Rush

Description:

Maybelline Baby Lips in Rose Rush (LE), Melon Mania (LE)

Moisturizing tinted lip balm

Retails: ~$3-$4 for 0.15 oz

Left: Melon Mania, sheer pink, cool

Right: Rose Rush, pinky coral, warm

Bare lips

Melon Mania

Rose Rush

Packaging: These come in your typical lip balm tubes, but I love the coloring of the packaging; bright pink and pastel green always goes really well together. Sadly, the plastic top tends to crack after opening and closing the lip balm frequently. 

Quality: As you can see, Melon Mania is quite sheer but an be built up to a light pink color. Although, if you have pigmented lips Melon Mania may not show up at all for you. Rose Rush is nicely pigmented and in real life is more of a pinky coral. The balms give a nice shine but they are rather slippery. I find the color bleeds around the edges of my lips after some time, you can sort of see this in the lip swatch for Rose Rush. And as with other Baby Lips shades, these are less than mediocre in the moisturizing department.

Thoughts: I have to admit I purchased these purely because of the packaging and the color of the balms themselves. I couldn't say no to Melon Mania's bright neon pink and Rose Rush's pretty coral. I love the slight color and sheen that these give off. I have a soft spot for corals so Rose Rush is my absolute favorite because it gives a strong layer of coral but looks super natural. I am quite annoyed by the color transferring, however. Overall, I think they are decent tinted lip balms and give me just the right color and sheen when I'm in a no-fuss-lip kind of mood (which happens a lot). Sadly, these are limited edition, but you can still get them on Amazon or eBay. 

P.S. I'm thinking of doing swatches of all of my lipsticks. A lot of them are Wet n Wild Megalast lipsticks which are amazing but don't get much use. Maybe I will do one lipstick swatch a day? 

Almay Intense i-Color: 401 Smoky-i for Browns

AKA: my favorite eyeshadow trio EVARR

Description: 

Almay Intense i-Color Eyeshadow in 401 Smoky-i for Browns

Retails: $4.99 at Target, $6.57 at Amazon, $7.79 at CVS for 0.12 oz 

Left: satin, bronze/medium brown, warm/neutral

Middle: light lavender/purple with silver shimmer, cool/neutral 

Right: shimmer, champagne with gold shimmer, warm/neutral

Packaging: Clear plastic top with white base, snap closure, includes two sponge-tip applicators (not pictured because I lost them, oops). There's also a step-by-step tutorial on the back for an eye look (bronze shade all over lid, light purple shade in the crease, champagne shade on the brow bone). 

Quality: Although these aren't the most pigmented eyeshadows at the drugstore (the prize for that goes to Wet n Wild trios), they are definitely not the worst either. The bronze shade has the strongest pigmentation and is very smooth, the light purple and the champagne shade has a bit of glitter fall-out but it's not extreme. The champagne shade has the least pigmentation (it's mostly glitter) but it makes for a decent highlight. The light purple shade is fairly pigmented and has a gorgeous sheen to it. I also find that these shadows blend nicely and last very well on my lids with and without primer. Swatches are done with my phalanges, no primer. 

Thoughts: I love love love this eyeshadow trio! When I first swatched this I was put off by all that glitter in the top two shades, but when I wore it for the first time it. was. amazing. The bronze shade is the most perfect warm-but-not-too-warm bronze and the light purple shade is one of those Jekyll-and-Hyde shades; in some angles it's a pinky-purple, and in others it leans more blue-purple with a silver sheen. All three shades go beautifully together and make the trio extremely versatile. You can go fairly neutral with just the champagne and bronze shade or pair the light purple and bronze for a more glam look. The bronze shade can be used with a light hand or built up for a soft smoked-out eye, talk about MVP. The only qualm I have with this is that the eyeshadow pans taper at the end and make it kind of difficult to pick up eyeshadow. 

I really can't stop using this trio because it's just so easy and it looks good no matter what. I highly recommend it especially if there is some sort of deal going on. I think I basically paid 50 cents for mine at CVS using coupons and CVS extrabucks. 

P.S. Should I do some tutorials with this? I'm no makeup expert so it can be really beautiful or it can be a disaster...

LORAC The Skinny Palette in Nude (Limited Edition)

Description:

LORAC The Skinny Eyeshadow Palette in "Nude"

Fall 2014, Limited Edition

7 eye shadows (3 matte, 4 shimmer) 

Retails: $15 for 0.45 oz

Get it here

1. matte, off-white, cool

2. metallic, gold, warm 

3. matte, light brown, warm

4. matte medium brown, warm

5. metallic, orange copper, warm

6. shimmery/satin, brown/light olive, cool

7. matte dark brown with red/pink shimmers, cool

Packaging: Light yellow with a sheen, cardboard with a reptilian texture and magnetic closure, large mirror with LORAC printed on the top (the larger LORAC text in the picture is just apart of a clear cover sheet that you can discard). The palette is slim and about 2/3rds the width of a LORAC Pro palette.  

Quality: The shadows are very pigmented and smooth, although not as buttery soft (or as powdery) as the shadows in the LORAC Pro (which I kind of prefer). The most pigmented are the metallics (shades 2 & 5) and least are the mattes (1, 3, & 4) but even then they are stellar quality and blend nicely. Swatches above are done with my phalanges, no primer. 

Thoughts: This palette is perfect for the gold/copper/bronze goddess type of looks. Even though these shades are pretty standard and easily dupe-able, having them all together in one slim pretty package well makes up for the lack of creativity. I was disappointed that it doesn't include a shimmery champagne highlight and shades 6 and 7 aren't as green or purple as I had hoped (they are actually just different hues of brown). However, for only $15 for 0.45 oz it is a major steal considering the LORAC Pro palette retails for $42 with only 0.32 oz. LORAC even labels it as a "Value of $133" (but let's be real, they can say whatever they want, we will never know the true production cost). Lastly, this palette is limited edition (sadface) and is currently sold out on the LORAC website (even sadder face). But if you have to have it, you can snag one on eBay for ~$30, which is still a good deal in my opinion. 

P.S: I really wanted the Plum version of this palette (just look at it!!) but I can't find it anywhere :( I know it was supposed to be a Hautelook/Nordstromrack exclusive released in July (yes a Fall 2014 collection in July, what is summer) but I can't even find swatches of it. Does it even exist??