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Monday, March 21, 2011

A Relatively Small Makeup Haul and Mini Reviews!


I bought a few things over this past week from a collection of stores: Target, CVS, Belk, Sephora. The only completely planned and intentional purchase being the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. I would almost call the Hourglass concealer intentional as well because it is something I fell in love with the first time I tried it out at a Sephora but they were out of all three shades. Much to my surprise and absolute excitement, they brought some of the Hourglass line to my local Sephora store. And this time, they had one left in my shade, Pearl. So, you see, although I didn't specifically go to Sephora looking for it that day, it was always on my radar and therefor I had to buy it. While in Target today, I decided to check out their Elf line. I remember when Elf first came to Target, they had a few odds and ends and then slowly added more to their supply. I've only ever purchased the $1 items from Elf and I've been curious about their "Studio" line which is around $3 an item. I picked up their false lashes which you don't see pictured because they are in the trash can. After spending about .44 seconds on my lids, I made the absolutely definitive decision that even $1 was too much to spend on Elf false eyelashes. Also in the line-up, a Pureology hair care product, Revlon Nude Lustre Super Lustrous Lipgloss,Revlon Colorstay Concealer, and Nivea Lip Care lip balm in Milk & Honey (not pictured).

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation: I would like to touch more on this in my Foundation Frustration post but just in case you don't care to read that one, I am going to make sure you find out about this product one way or another and so I've snuck it into this post as well! I like this stuff. Its nothing particularly fancy but I find that the fancy foundations are the ones that give me the most trouble. And it turns out that what I thought I was looking for (a full-coverage foundation) wasn't actually what I needed. 

Pros: 
It feels very lightweight on the face
It's sheer coverage so its a great summertime foundation when you don't want to be plastered with a thick layer of makeup to eventually just sweat off by the end of the day
Good shade selection for both yellow and pink undertones
You can apply it with your fingers
Very easy to work with and easy to blend
Tube applicator is more sanitary
Doesn't look cakey or cling to dry patches
SPF 15

Cons:
For someone looking for full-coverage, the sheerness can be a negative thing
It isn't extremely long-wearing
I noticed a little bit of color transfer but not very badly
Some people prefer a higher SPF content
Must remember to shake it a good bit or it will come out very runny!

Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer: Pearl
This is the one I've been wanting for a very long time! And right before I purchased this one, I purchased the Revlon Colorstay Concealer to ease my stick-concealing craving until I got my hands on the Hourglass one. It was worth the wait. 
 
Pros:
Very easy application especially for under eyes
Creamy but not sticky
Has enough tackiness to stick rather than slide off your face
Good for both under eyes and various other skin imperfections
Very blendable!

Cons:
$32 for a concealer
Only 3 shades
Isn't an all-day wear concealer, you do have to reapply from time to time
Hourglass on the left, Revlon on the right (both are the lightest shades)
Revlon Colorstay Concealer: Light
I saw a fairly positive review on YouTube, which I will include, that inspired me to try this concealer. I've never actually owned and routinely used a drugstore concealer before. I've tried drugstore concealers but they usually never saw the light of day beyond the initial experimentation. 


Pros:
Easy application
Pretty easy to blend
Easily accessible at most drugstores
Cheaper alternative to Hourglass

Cons:
Doesn't have the tackiness that Hourglass has, making it prone to rubbing off sooner
Does appear a bit cakey in the under eye area, which can be a problem for fine lines
Most Colorstay products really do STAY but this one doesn't really live up to the name
$12.99 fairly expensive for a drugstore concealer

Elf Studio Line Pink Passion Blush:


I was drawn to the Elf blush because of how the packaging mimics that of the NARS blush. However, it is only $3 so it doesn't quite measure up to that of NARS. Its a matte blush that is heavily pigmented but also very powdery. Yes, it has great color payoff but you will have a lot of loose bright pink powder particles to contend with and that can be a bit messy. Normally, I like a soft and smooth powder product but it is almost too soft. The shade that I chose, Pink Passion, is similar to NARS Desire which is another bright pink matte shade. Another bonus is that you get a fairly good sized mirror inside of the compact. Overall, I like it and think it is worth the $3 price tag.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss Nude Lustre:

After falling in love with Peach Petal, I got on Makeupalley.com, my most trusted beauty site for product reviews, and noticed that the shade Nude Lustre was a definite fan favorite. Everyone loves a good nude gloss, right? I'm no exception! In fact, I prefer them. So I made sure to keep my eye out while at any of my drugstores, only, I couldn't ever find one. They had even taken the little name plate out for Nude Lustre and doubled up on the Peach Petal shade. My thought was that it was being phased out. While in Target, I was very happy to have spotted a full supply of the shade I'd been longing to try. This shade would be a very good match for the Soft Nude lipstick I just recently reviewed. It is basically the gloss version of that lipstick. Overall, I do prefer Peach Petal and that one will be hard to top, but I really like this one as well. While Peach Petal is more on the fleshy nude side, Nude Lustre is more of an orangey-nude. I hope that doesn't scare you because it is by no means orange. My love for the Super Lustrous line has been going strong and I'm 2 for 2 as it now stands. I'd say it is definitely worth the leg work it took to find it. $5.99

Pureology Thermal Anti-Fade Complex: Super Smooth Relaxing Serum

I haven't tried this yet but I'm pretty sure Pureology can't make a bad product. At least not one that I have tried. I've been on the hunt for a good serum that will keep my ends from frizzing. So far I haven't come up with anything that I really love so I shelled out the big bucks to splurge on Pureology. This product is supposed to smooth flyaways and promote shine while protecting your hair color. And since my hair has zero pigment to it, there isn't much color to protect. This serum has camellia and sesame oil as well as shea butter which work to condition the hair. I'm excited to try this one and I hope that it will reduce my need to try every single comparable thing that comes on the market. As always, Pureology is expensive. So far, the price has been worth it. $31

Nivea Milk & Honey Lip Balm:

Nivea can do no wrong in my eyes with their lip balms. I love every single one I've tried and the Milk & Honey is the newest addition to my collection. I am a big fan of anything honey. I love the smell and the moisturizing component that honey has (honey is a good moisturizing face mask for dry skin, btw). This stuff wears perfectly under lipgloss or lipstick and also serves very nicely as a nighttime lip balm if you are into moisturizing your lips overnight. I was quite pleased to wake up with soft lips that still had a tad bit of honey taste to them. And its yellow. No SPF though but they do make another one with SPF 30 that would be more of a daytime wear lip balm. So far, I've tried four of these and I just adore the texture and the appearance of my lips while keeping up with this product. One thing I hate is a slippery greasy feeling lip balm like certain ones I've tried from Blistex. On the flip side, I hate it if they are too thick because they don't wear nicely under my other lip products. I honestly think the Nivea Lip Care is the perfect balance. $4

PRODUCT REVIEW VIDEOS! YAY!

Here are some (trusted and reputable) YouTube videos you may enjoy if you are looking for further product information on any of the ones I've I've reviewed!










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