Monday, February 16, 2015

One Note: Wet n Wild Kabuki Brush

Not a full review because I am still trying to make this work, but I wanted to talk about why it is taking so long to see if I can make it work.



My husband picked this out for me, probably because I had been watching a video that talked about how great Kabuki brushes were at making some aspect of makeup easier and my husband is all about making things easier for me. Because it takes me a while to start using new things when I get them, it sat unused for a few months. When I finally opened it I found it to be very scratchy against my hand so I set it aside for washing to hope that would soften the bristles. I then forgot to wash it for a while because it was off to the side and not where I normally store the brushes to wash. I finally washed it.

First thing to note: This brush has a smell and it is not a good one. I don't remember it smelling before I washed, but afterwards it smelled like wet dog or maybe horse, I am not really sure which, and not a nice clean smelling wet, but a stuck out in the rain and mud and probably rolled in something it shouldn't have wet. I actually washed it about four times and soaked it for a while which I will explain my reasoning for in a minute, but it does appear that the smell is dissipating so from that aspect, it may eventually be usable against my face.

Second thing to note: It did get a lot softer after the first washing. I used Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo just incase you have this brush and are trying to find something to help soften the bristles.

Third thing to note: The reason why I soaked the brush for several hours on the day that I washed it was because it leaks dye. It leaks a lot of dye actually. Every hour I would ring out the brush and replace the water in the bowl I was using and every hour when I went back the water was dark brown again. I still haven't gotten it to stop leaking dye. This problem is actually what is preventing me from actually using the brush against my face with makeup. I plan to continue washing it with my regular brushes once a week to see if it will eventually stop leaking dye. If I do manage to get this to stop leaking dye I will try and remember to update this post, but no promises. 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sample: L'Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream in 01 Light

This sample was received when my husband bought me some L'Occitane skin care.



This was not a case of saving the best for last it seems with my run through all of my foundation samples. The fact that the BB Cream was too dark wasn't really the big problem for me, although it would have been enough to tell my husband not to buy it. My problems with the BB Cream were as follows: 

It dries very quickly. I tapped it on my skin, then tried to blend it in, I had an orange circle in the exact shape of the tip of my finger. I thought the damp beauty sponge would help, I had a bunch of round circles now on my face. I filled in all the gaps with more BB Cream and used a brush, my arms were very sore afterwards but I eventually made most of the round circles disappear.

It doesn't cover anything. All this did was make my skin that is not red or freckled looked like it had been stained orange. Any bits with discoloration appeared to repel the product even when it was applied directly over that area because if you touched it again it immediately disappeared. But it clung to the bits of skin that looked fine normally, only making them look like I was using a really bad fake tanner.

It sunk into the pores on my nose. My nose is where my most obvious pores are and if something is going to give me a problem with how it looks, this is always where it happens. My nose looked like it had been stained orange and that I had tiny bright orange poka dots all over it.

I would never buy this. I know L'Occitane is supposed to be well regarded for their skin care, I think that is probably all I will ever want from them in the future. Also as I type this I have the sample sitting next to me, and I can smell a fragrance that I had not noticed while applying but does appear to be coming directly from the product. That probably would not have gone over well for me over the course of the day because this has been open for a few hours now and it still has a scent. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Sample: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

The sample of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in 30 Beige was pulled from a magazine.



This foundation claims to be ultra-light skin perfecting sunscreen makeup. I did not see any skin perfecting going on, although I was able to blend it into my skin enough to feel like even though it was too dark it wasn't very obvious that I was using the wrong shade.

On the back of the sample it says: 

Before opening, shake or press sample to blend. Apply with fingertips or foundation brush and blend gently.

I first shook the sample and then pressed it a few times to make sure it was well blended before opening. I opted for applying it with my fingertips. There was enough in the sample to get more than one use out of but I was only able to apply it once because after about 20 minutes of wear the skin on my face started to tingle and I had to remove the makeup.

This foundation did not cover my freckles or the redness of my cheeks which is the main thing I look for in a foundation. Also the two blemishes on my face didn't look like anything had changed in their appearance and my under eyes actually looked worse when I blended the foundation over the light brown circles I had which changed to looking like I had bruises under my eyes. Even if I was not having an allergic reaction to it, I would not be impressed with this foundation. Have to remember to tell my husband I am allergic to it.

Follow up note: When I cleaned the small jar I put the sample into so I could use it again in the future, I discovered that the Foundation left something behind that made where it had touched very sticky and no amount of soap would get it off so I ended up having to throw the jar away. I need to figure out where to buy more of these jars.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Sample: Hourglass Tinted Moisturizer in Ivory

This sample was received through Sephora; this sample lasted several days.



The first time I applied this I used my fingers and had a hard time blending it out and getting finger marks out of the tinted moisturizer. Also, for a product labeled as Ivory, I was surprised how much darker than my skin tone it is, keeping in mind that I am very pale and rarely get any direct sunlight and when I do I am covered in sunscreen because I burn in 15 minutes or less. The rest of the time when I applied this I used a knockoff beauty blender instead and the appearance of the tinted moisturizer on the skin does look less obvious when using a sponge of some sort. It does not cover redness on the cheeks if you have very much or it, nor does it cover blemishes, but it did very slightly even out skin tone. On the days when the normal redness of my cheeks was already less noticeable it did look very nice. This product was kind of predictable for me in how it worked because on the days I didn't have red cheeks it looked really good and on the days when I did, it did almost nothing for me.

Due to how much this costs normally and how little coverage it gave I would not buy this or ask for it. The redness of my cheeks comes and goes depending how a variety of factors so having something that isn't going to cover that really isn't helpful for me.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Sample: Olay Total Effects 7 CC Cream

This sample was pulled out of a magazine.



I doted this over my face and proceeded to blend it in as usual for me. As I looked over my face to see how it was looking I noticed that all of the CC cream that had been applied around the eye area had completely flaked off and gave me the reverse raccoon appearance. It was too dark to begin with, but it deepened up even more once on the skin to look like I had applied a light brown dirt to my face even though in the package it looked beige. I only had this on for about five minutes before I went ahead and washed it off because any part of the skin that was moving it was lifting off of and falling of. I could also see it peeling away from my cheeks as it dried.

Even if they were giving this away for free I wouldn't take it. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Sample: Maybelline FitMe Stick Foundation

The two samples of this that I had were sent to me in the mail because I ended up on a mailing list or clicked on something, not really sure.



Each sample contained three shades, 120, 220, and 355. The first time I tried the samples I used the 120 in the center of my face, the 220 around the edges, and the 355 as a contour. I also did not use a primer or setting powder on the first day as it has a powder core so I thought it shouldn't need one, turns out it did because the blush I applied over it appeared to be running down to my jawline after a few hours. The second time I used it I applied a primer first, the 120 through the center of the face and the 220 around the edges but did not contour. I topped it with my normal Physicians Formula setting powder but did not apply blush to be sure what I was seeing. It did show a little of the redness through from my cheeks, but the coverage stayed good enough for 10 hours that it just looked like I was wearing a light pink blush.

This foundation can be easily blended away, but when applied thoughtfully does seem to give enough coverage to even out skin tone and hide redness. It did not cover blemishes, concealer would be required for that.

This is one I would consider buying if I ran out of the foundations I already have.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Sample: Garnier BB Cream



This sample was pulled from a magazine a while ago and I finally decided to use it up.

This was a sample set that included both BB Cream samples for Normal to Dry skin and Combination to Oily skin as well as three shades in each. Fair/Light was probably the best match for me, but the Combination to Oily seemed to give the best coverage of the two options.  

I used the Normal to Dry samples on the right sides of the face and the Combination to Oily samples on the left side of the face. I used the first shades in each set on the center of the face to the edge of the eyebrows and the second shade in each set around the perimeter of the face. The third shade in each set was used as a contour under the cheeks and under the chin. Because these were not matching shades for each set the left side did need to be blended out more than the right side did to bring it in line with the right in terms of appearance. The samples were set with the Physicians Formula translucent setting powder I have been using for some time now.

Neither side gave a great deal of coverage, and the redness of my cheeks was still visible on both sides, but I did feel the Combination to Oily side looked the best overall in terms of coverage and looking slightly less red to the cheeks. I don't actually intend to buy this BB Cream, but if my husband ever finds it on clearance and asks which one I want I would ask him to get the lightest of the Combination to Oily BB Cream because it worked better and I could set it with a foundation powder to improve the appearance even more.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Keep in Mind: January 2015

ColorMates Eye Shadows and Blushes



While I have not tried every ColorMates Eye Shadow or Blush that I own yet, the ones that I have tried so far seem really nice. The color in the pan usually translates well onto the lid and the wear time, while not actually timed yet, seems decent. I have not yet actually tested the products the way I would for a review, due to the dying of the laptop and having to refigure out how I am going to do them, but so far during general wearing of them I have been happy.

Reminder Not To Buy Again

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Radiant Makeup Removing Wipes



I love the Aveeno moisturizers that I use, I do not love these, and for one reason and only one reason. These makeup remover wipes, while they do remove makeup well and did seem very soft, are also very highly fragranced. The scent also lingers for a couple of days from the trashcan when I threw one away in my makeup room. I am mildly sensitive to perfumes, several of them give me headaches and when more than one spritz is used, they all give me headaches, this was more fragrant than most of the perfumes I have tried. I can't even use what is left to remove swatches from my hands. Just sitting near the package to type this is giving me a headache. I am surprised that a product line that is all about being natural and gentle would be so perfumed.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Empties: February 3, 2015

e.l.f. $1 eye lid primer



I have another one already ready to go. I am now going to just be using this for reviewing as I am trying to make sure that I also use my other eye lid primers and I never would if I didn't use them for general makeup wear. I like use this primer for testing because it works really well for me and is only $1 so I feel like most people could afford that if they are getting into makeup and want to use an eye lid primer. It generally extends the wear time of most eye shadows by a few hours and can, though not greatly, make the color of the eye shadow slightly more intense, remembering that this is a very minimal improvement in appearance.

Donna Michelle light 1 Make Up Foundation



I am so glad this is finally done. I have used my fingers, three different types of brushes and two different types of sponges, and I have never managed to make this work well. If I have no redness to my cheeks it looks okay, but on most days I have some level of redness and this never managed to cover it or even out my skin tone at all. My husband already knows to never buy this again as he has heard me complain about it many times. Probably why I have so many foundations, because he was trying to find something to replace it. But I am someone who has to use things up even if I don't really like them because sometimes you do eventually find a way to make it work, this just wasn't one of those products.