Face Off: Face Powders

Top: Benefit Get Even in Light

Bottom Left: MAC Studio Fix Powder in N3

Bottom Right: MAC Minineralized Skin Finish Natural in Light

I took this picture a while ago when I was putting together blog ideas, but I have used up all of the Benefit powder and the MAC MSFN (and repurchased a new one). I stopped using the MAC Studio Fix powder and am Back-to-MAC-ing it.

To compare these products...........

Benefit Get Even is more of a blot powder or setting powder. It does okay controlling oil, but tends look cakey, and I noticed it made my skin look dry in places I didn't even realize may be dry. I like that it had a mirror and the inside of it was actually big enough that I kept a wedge sponge in there that I changed every week. I also liked that it was yellow based so it helped with midday redness. However, overall, I wouldn't purchase it again or recommend it. In the end, this was just your basic blot powder.

MAC Studio Fix Powder is a powder foundation. I've blogged about this plenty of times, but I don't really get along with liquid foundation (although that hasn't stopped me from trying to find one that I like), so I tend to stick with powders. Surprisingly though, this powder made my skin oily! More oily than some liquid foundations. It was really weird. The coverage and is great, but after two hours, I was an oil slick. And, unfortunately, it broke me out :( but most MAC foundations do. I personally would not repurchase, but I think it may work for some people so I would tell a friend to check it out.

MAC MSFN: Holy Grail for sure! Love, love, love this powder. This is a pressed mineralized powder and it is amazing!!!! I plan on doing an updated foundation routine soon, but basically, this has sheer to close-to-medium coverage (depending on what you apply it with. I personally like applying it was a Kabuki brush which gives me more coverage). I notice I don't get as oily throughout the day when I just have this on which is great! Two down sides: it doesn't last all day, so I do reapply if I'm going out in the evening, and no mirror. If this came in a mirror I'd keep one in my purse and one in my makeup drawer, but since I need a mirror for touch ups I use a blot powder that has a mirror. Still, definitely think everyone should check this out!

What are your go to powders?

Have a great week everyone!

Cheers!

January Finds: Hits and Misses

Hits and Misses blogs are going to sort of be like a monthly haul video. I'm going to go over products I bought or tried out for the month and tell you which ones I thought were hits and which ones weren't.
Diorskin Nude Fresh Glow Makeup: Hit. I stopped in at Macy's earlier this month to look at a Dior powder. I wasn't impressed with it, but the sales woman talked me into trying this product. I really like this foundation. It truly looks like my skin only better. It goes on quite sheer, I think it would be easy enough to build up, but I like a sheer coverage so I didn't try that. This looked great with MAC MSFN over it. It did look a little oily after two hours, but once I touched up it looked (almost) the way it did when I first put it on. And surprisingly, my face never looked that oily after that. I still had to touch up one more time in the course of the day, but my face didn't look oily. The product itself is a hit, however the price is not. It's over $40 and I haven't decided if I want to spend that much money on it so I'm looking at trying some cheaper foundations and seeing if they're just as good.

Benefit High Beam: Hit. I've been wanting this product for a long time yet I always manage to talk myself out of buying it. Well I'm glad I didn't do that this time. I LOVE this highlighter. It's so much prettier than any powder highlighter I've ever used. It's very easy to use a light hand with this. I would recommend blending this with your ring or pinky finger though, because when I use another finger, the product ends up over a larger area then I wanted (if that makes any sense?). I'm still playing with this trying to find the best way to use it, but this really was a good purchase.

Lancome Definicils: Fail. I got this as a sample from Sephora, so I'm glad I didn't waste any money on it. Basically this is a fail because when I put it on, it makes me look like I have only 5 lashes. Not pretty.

On a trip to MAC, I picked up these four products....

Pinch O' Peach: Hit. This is a sheertone blush. I talked about this in my January Favorites blog, but basically it's a great pink color for my skin tone and brightens up my face. I really like it.

Rubenesque Paint Pot: Fail. I've heard so many great things about this paint pot but it didn't do anything for me. I have Painterly for an eyeshadow base, so since this color doesn't really show up on me, I didn't see any reason to keep it. It went back a few days later.

Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick: Hit. This product came out with one of the January collections. I haven't been following the MAC collections much but January had three new collections come out so I was curious enough to check them out. This is the only product that stood out to me because it's so different. It's like a champagne highlighter in stick form. I like putting it on my lower waterline and lash line the most.

Face and Body: Fail. This went back as well. I actually really liked this product when it first went on. It looked a lot like Diorskin Nude. But this has no staying powder at all. I was oily after just 1 1/2 hours, and this does not look good after touching up. Plus, after about five hours, there was no makeup left on my face.

Let me know what you guys think of this type of blog. Should I continue to do this each month?

Cheers!

January Favorites

Yeah! First favorites blog of the year! This month I really haven't been wearing much makeup. I've been trying out a couple foundations, but that's about it. However, there have been some products I've been grabbing more often, so here they are...

1. Unii palette: I got this for Christmas and I love it! It's very durable which means it'll be great for when I travel. It is a bit small, I wish it was slightly bigger so I could fit more in it. Right now it's just holding my blushes and some highlighting powder, but I can't wait to travel with it and see how it works out.

2. MAC Sheertone Blush in Pinch o' Peach: Not sure where the peach is in this blush, but it's a really pretty pink that brightens up my whole face. I still love my Tenderling blush which is a great nude blush, but when I want some more pop on my cheeks, I reach for this.

3. Well Groomed Brows: Since I haven't been wearing lot of makeup, I've been trying to keep my brows looking really good. First I use MAC eyebrow pencil in Lingering to fill them in, then I run a spoolie through them, and lately I've been using my sample of Anastasia Brow Gel to set everything.

4. Smooth lips: My lips have been dry lately so I haven't worn much lipstick and lipgloss. I first buff them a few times a week with C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Buffer. Then I've been making sure I lipbalm throughout the day. My favorite lip balm of all time is C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Balm Stick, but I'm really into Lipsmackers because of their cute packaging and yummy smelling chap sticks.

5. MAC Viva Glam Cyndi: When I have worn color on my lips this month, it's been this lipstick. Like the Pinch o' Peach blush, this lipstick is a quick and easy way to brighten up my whole look and make me look put together.

What have you guys been loving this month?

Cheers!

Skincare Routine

I've been excited to post this blog because I've been using this same system for a few months and my skin has been clearer it's ever been in my adult life. I've been getting less acne, my skin feels smoother, and my my complexion looks brighter. Actually, since my skin has gotten so much better, I've been rethinking my foundation routine since I don't have as much to cover up anymore. Anyway, here are the products I've been using and the way I use them...

Morning:

1) Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub: Long name, but great scrub! This is the best one I've ever used. I love that it's a foaming scrub, not just a scrub, so it's not as harsh on my skin, but still cleanses really well. I dig the smell of this too. It wakes me up in the morning in the shower. BTW: I do use a scrub everyday, but I have oily acne prone skin and my face can handle it. For a lot of people, using a scrub only a few times a week may be enough.

2) Biore Dual Fusion Moisturizer: Absolute best moisturizer ever! This is light weight which works great for my oily skin, it sinks right in, and it has spf 30 in it. I've been using this product for over a year now and as long as it works and I can find it, I'm going to keep using it.

Night:

1) Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes: These work pretty well. They get most of the makeup off my face, even Revlon Colorstay. They don't take 100% off because there have been times I've just used these and then toner (skipping face wash) and a bit of makeup comes off on the pad with toner on it, so I know these don't take everything off, but they're great for eye makeup because they're very gentle. They don't irritate my eyes. And this, plus my face wash, does remove all makeup, so as long as I wash my face after, there's no problem.

2) Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Facial Cleanser: I picked this one out of the other Neutrogena Oil Free Acne washes because I do have redness in my cheeks. I don't think this has helped with it, but it is a very gentle wash so it doesn't irritate my skin and cause it to get redder.

3) Neutrogena Clear Pore toner: During the summer I use a toner 2x a day, but since my skin has been drier this winter, I've only been using it at night, and not every night. Maybe 5x a week. Really good toner though. Neutrogena makes good toners.

4) Clearasil Ultra Overnight Face Lotion: I think this product should get most of the credit to my nearly acne free skin. I saw a huge difference when I started using it. It has 2% salicylic acid in it and sinks into my pores overnight. One thing about it though is that it's not very moisturizing. This was fine when I started using it, but like I said, my skin is drier than usual, so this doesn't provide enough moisturizer at the moment. But I put it on, wait about 15 min, then on the areas that feel dry, I put a thin layer of my Biore moisturizer.

Extras:

1) Twice a week I use a face mask: Freeman facial clay mask one night and Freeman peel off mask another night. Both work well and help my skin stay clear and have improved my complexion.

2) When I do get a zit, I put a dot of the clay mask on it over night, but it's during the day, I dab on a bit of Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2 in 1 Fight and Fade Gel. I don't like this product. It does help with pimples, but it doesn't do anything for fading acne scaring, and if I spread it all over my face then put on moisturizer, my moisturizer balls up, no matter how long I wait. I've waited once for nearly half an hour, and same thing happened. I'm just waiting until I've used it all up so I can get a better spot treatment. Any suggestions?

I hope this was helpful. What are some face products you can't live without?

Cheers!

Dilema...and Makeup Counter Tips

I went into Macy's today to the Dior counter because I've been hearing really good things about Diorskin Nude foundation. Like usual, I spent a couple days reading and watching reviews on it and it seems likes a good foundation and I wanted to try it. Well it's almost $50 so I was not going to walk into the store, buy the foundation, and go home without trying it and getting a sample first.


On a side note: I recommend you always ask for a sample for a couple reasons: 1) a lot of the time the makeup artist applies the foundation too heavily or with a different method than you do. For me, I apply a very light layer of foundation whether liquid or powder, and when I use a liquid, I use a dry sponge or my fingers. I have tried foundation brushes and I don't like them at all, but that's another story. The point is, you want to apply the foundation your way to see how it works out. 2) For me at least, I want a foundation that fits into my routine. I don't want to have to get a new primer and powder, and maybe even skincare routine, just to make a foundation work, so I want a chance to apply the foundation with my other products I use everyday. 3) Sometimes it takes a few days, maybe even a week, to see if a foundation is going to work for you. It can also take that long to find out if that foundation makes you break out.


Alright, back to my story. All I wanted was to try the foundation and come home with a good size sample to try out for the next week. I got more than I bargained for and I'm not quite sure what to think of it. The makeup artist told me a few things that I've never heard and that seem contrary to what I've been told for years, yet at the same time, seem worth investigating: 1) primer isn't good for your skin because it clogs your pores; 2) I have oily skin because I use oil free products. If, after washing my face, I put on a moisturizer with oil in it, my face wont have to produce oil. Now I know if you have oily skin you still need to moisturize because if you dry out your skin it will produce more oil, but can using an oil free moisturizer really be making my face oily throughout the day? Have you guys ever heard these things? What do you think of them. I may still have oily skin, but I also have acne prone skin and it doesn't make sense to me to put oil on my face. At the same time, my skin has been dryer this winter but is still producing the same amount of oil...? I don't know. I've found a skincare routine that's really been helping me with breakouts and keeping my skin clearer. I don't know if it's worth changing up a skincare routine that is working? What do you guys think? I'd love to hear anything to have to say about this.


Have a great week! Cheers!

Depot Benefit Boxed Powders

Benefit's boxed powders come in cute, but annoying, packaging. They take up a lot of room and they're not travel friendly. I've been wanting to depot most of my makeup to keep it in palettes instead of containers, and I got everything done except my Hoola bronzer and Dandelion. I looked on youtube and different blogs but I couldn't find anything on how to depot them. I decided to just take the initiative and go for it, and I found that depoting Benefit's powders is a lot easier than depoting MAC. So I want to share with you how I did it because I know quite a few people don't care for the packaging on these and maybe you'll be able to depot your boxed powders and save room in your makeup drawers. :)


Step 1: Use a pair of wire cutters to make a single cut alone each corner, then pry the pieces of the box down (pic 1)

Step 2: Using a knife, gently pry the pan away from the box (pic 2). Some cardboard will come off with the pan (pic 3).

Step 3: Use a blow dryer on the back of the pan (on low setting) to soften the glue. Try 15 sec intervals, until you can easily use the knife to remove all the cardboard from the pan (pic 4).

Step 4: (my camera battery died at this point sorry) Cut a magnet to fit on the back (just a small square or circle works--you don't need one the size of the pan) and label your powder, then put in a palette and you're done!


I hope this helped! Cheers!

TOP 2010 Makeup Finds

I can't believe how fast 2010 went by. This year was a big makeup year for me because it was my first time really getting into makeup. I didn't realize this until I had uploaded the photo, but almost all of these products are MAC. I apologize for this if you are someone who doesn't like MAC or if MAC is out of your price range, I just tried to narrow down my choices to 10 products and I think most of them are MAC because I discovered MAC this year. It was my first year using any of their products and I really love the brand, so I am sorry.

On a side note: I'm only including makeup because I'm doing an updated skin care routine this month of products I've been using for the past3-4 months. Also, I didn't feel any hair products stood out enough for me to include them in the top for 2010.

All these products are 2010 finds. I could have included ones that I've used for years, but I wanted my top 2010 makeup products to be ones I purchased in 2010. Here it goes...

Face:
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Light: This is the best powder I have ever used. It does not have a lot of coverage, so days when I need to cover more, I use a liquid foundation first, then put this over it. It blends easily, it lasts almost all day (If I'm going out at night, I add a bit more of this powder so it'll last me through the night). It's also great for my oily skin! If I could only choose one product to use, this would be it--I love it!
MAC Select Moisturize Cover in NC15: I've had this concealer for almost two months now, and I've used it every day to cover my underrate circles. I only need a tiny amount of this to get the coverage I want. I do have to be careful not to use too much though because if I do, it settles in the crease under my lower lash line.
MAC blush in Tenderling: On it's own this blush doesn't look special. It actually looks pretty blah and boring in the pan, but it's a beautiful color on my cheeks. It's a nude pink sheertone which means it doesn't have any shimmer, but it's not completely matte either. It gives my face a nice natural flush.


Eyes:
MAC eyeshadow in Mulch: It was really hard to chose just one eyeshadow color because I have so many, and I use different ones all the time. The most common eyeshadows I wear tend to be nude or beige shimmery ones, but I chose Mulch because it's the most unique color I own. It's not just brown, it has both warm and cool tones in it and it has a shimmer that appears to change color, depending on what I pair it with. It looks more golden if I use gold eyeshadow, or more bronze if I pair it with a copper or bronze shadow. I also think it works well with pinks and purples, which I like wearing. Basically, I haven't paired it with a color that it hasn't worked with yet.
MAC paint pot in Painterly: I think I've mentioned this on more than one occasion, so I wont talk about it too much here, but basically, it's a great base for eyeshadows. It makes them last longer and makes the colors more vibrant.
MAC eye kohl in Fascinating: I use this eyeliner all the time. It's great on my waterline, the inner corners of my eyes, and on my brow bones.


Lips:
MAC lipstick in Hue: This is a beautiful pink nude color that looks good with any color lipgloss over it. It's slightly lighter than my natural lip color, so it looks really good with my skintone. I love the finish because I can put this on straight from the tube and wear it with nothing else--it's very moisturizing.
Dior Lip Glow Balm: This is a 2010 favorite because it's moisturizing, it looks great on my lips by itself, or over pretty much any lipstick. It adds just enough of a punch of color without being too strong.
Benefit Benetint: Awesome lipstain! It's not drying (although I don't like it on its own, I put either a gloss or balm over it), and it's easy to apply once you get a hang of the brush. BTW: if you do have trouble with the brush, take it out completely, put your ring finger over the top if the bottle, shake, and then rub your finger over your lips.


Fragrance:
Vera Wang Princess. I mentioned this one in my last favorite blog and it is my favorite perfume of the year. It smells amazing and it's very light, so it's hard to put too much on.

What great finds did you find in 2010?

Happy (late) New Year everyone!!!!!!!!!