E.L.F. Small Stipple Brush

Can't live without this brush!

This brush – OMG! I have four backups as I'm writing this review. I fell in love with it a couple of years ago, and since then – there is no going back to anything else when it comes to applying a cream blush or a highly pigmented product of any kind. And it can be used for so many other things as well! Some of my friends use it to apply concealer because they find it very soft, gentle and perfect for using in that area. Other people use it to apply their highlight, because it gives a very natural glow. I don’t even know where to start with this brush. It’s just perfect in and out. I think it’s important to mention that “e.l.f.” also has a large stipple brush in their “Studio” line, which is not the brush we are talking about here. The large stipple brush would be more comparable to a MAC 187, although 187 is larger and denser. So it’s the small stipple brush that we are talking about here. The beauty of this small stipple brush is really in its shorter, but yet still very soft bristles. The fact that they’re shorter allows a much better control of the product we are applying because the bristles don’t splay all over the place as it often happens with larger stipple brushes. Its circumference/size is also optimal in my opinion. It’s big enough to apply cheek products but yet small enough to use in other areas (such as our under eye area). And the length of the bristles is such that we can concentrate the product in one specific area if we want to, but yet the bristles are soft enough to blend out if we need to. I can go on about this brush forever, but I honestly think that everyone should have at least one of these in their collection. I can’t possibly imagine someone trying this brush and not loving it. And by the way, you can also use it to apply blush, even if you’re not worrying about picking up too much pigment. Whenever I use a BB cream or a foundation which I know won’t totally set to a dry finish, I will use this brush to apply all my cheek products (except for bronzer; I use the 187 for that) because it allows to gently add on products without disturbing whatever else you already have on your face. I would very highly recommend this brush to everyone!

February 24, 2015

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner Universal Looks

Sticky, patchy, problematic to apply, don't blend out at all... ;(

I got two of these palettes, one in “Nude” and one in “Smoky Blue Eyes”. I didn’t purchase both of them at the same time; the “smoky” one was the first one I had purchased. Loved the range of colors and I felt like I really wanted to like the quality of the shadows, but they just had a really strange consistency… It reminded me a little of those shimmery shadows that you can sometimes buy at the dollar store; very pretty when you look at them but problematic to apply and definitely don’t look the same way on the eyes. These shadows were a little sticky and patchy at the same time if that makes any sense, and once you apply them, the color that transfers onto the eyes is very muted and quite different from what you see in the palette. You can build them but they look cakey and even though you get more color payoff when you build them, the color still looks dull. The “Nude” palette – I just couldn’t resist the packaging and since that was about a year or so later, I had hoped that the formula had been changed but no luck. Very similar experience with that palette as well. I love the idea of these because you get a good range of colors, the packaging is very attractive and compact, but these two were a total fail for me unfortunately, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who’s on the fence about them. Especially because they are quite pricey for a drugstore product and to be honest, if you are on a budget, I would much rather recommend the “nude” and “smokey” palettes from “e.l.f.”. Their “Endless Eyes Pro Mini” in the “Studio” line ($6) has the nudes, the pinks and a good range of dark colors for smokey looks, and it blows these two out of the water. By the way, generally, I’m a very big fan of this brand and I own and love many of their products such as their translucent powder (been using it for years), mineral blushes, the new “shimmer pots” they had recently come out with, their yellow concealer and a few other things as well. So I’m not happy at all to say that I didn’t enjoy these cute palettes, but I have to be honest.

February 4, 2015

Physicians Formula Enhancing Shadow & Liner Bronze collection

Sticky, patchy, problematic to apply and don't blend out well... ;(

I got two of these palettes, one in “Nude” and one in “Smoky Blue Eyes”. I didn’t purchase both of them at the same time; the “smoky” one was the first one I had purchased. Loved the range of colors and I felt like I really wanted to like the quality of the shadows, but they just had a really strange consistency… It reminded me a little of those shimmery shadows that you can sometimes buy at the dollar store; very pretty when you look at them but problematic to apply and definitely don’t look the same way on the eyes. These shadows were a little sticky and patchy at the same time if that makes any sense, and once you apply them, the color that transfers onto the eyes is very muted and quite different from what you see in the palette. You can build them but they look cakey and even though you get more color payoff when you build them, the color still looks dull. The “Nude” palette – I just couldn’t resist the packaging and since that was about a year or so later, I had hoped that the formula had been changed but no luck. Very similar experience with that palette as well. I love the idea of these because you get a good range of colors, the packaging is very attractive and compact, but these two were a total fail for me unfortunately, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who’s on the fence about them. Especially because they are quite pricey for a drugstore product and to be honest, if you are on a budget, I would much rather recommend the “nude” and “smokey” palettes from “e.l.f.”. Their “Endless Eyes Pro Mini” in the “Studio” line ($6) has the nudes, the pinks and a good range of dark colors for smokey looks, and it blows these two out of the water. By the way, generally, I’m a very big fan of this brand and I own and love many of their products such as their translucent powder (been using it for years), mineral blushes, the new “shimmer pots” they had recently come out with, their yellow concealer and a few other things as well. So I’m not happy at all to say that I didn’t enjoy these cute palettes, but I have to be honest.

February 4, 2015

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner, Eye Candy Collection

Sticky, patchy, problematic to apply and don't blend out well... ;(

I got two of these palettes, one in “Nude” and one in “Smoky Blue Eyes”. I didn’t purchase both of them at the same time; the “smoky” one was the first one I had purchased. Loved the range of colors and I felt like I really wanted to like the quality of the shadows, but they just had a really strange consistency… It reminded me a little of those shimmery shadows that you can sometimes buy at the dollar store; very pretty when you look at them but problematic to apply and definitely don’t look the same way on the eyes. These shadows were a little sticky and patchy at the same time if that makes any sense, and once you apply them, the color that transfers onto the eyes is very muted and quite different from what you see in the palette. You can build them but they look cakey and even though you get more color payoff when you build them, the color still looks dull. The “Nude” palette – I just couldn’t resist the packaging and since that was about a year or so later, I had hoped that the formula had been changed but no luck. Very similar experience with that palette as well. I love the idea of these because you get a good range of colors, the packaging is very attractive and compact, but these two were a total fail for me unfortunately, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who’s on the fence about them. Especially because they are quite pricey for a drugstore product and to be honest, if you are on a budget, I would much rather recommend the “nude” and “smokey” palettes from “e.l.f.”. Their “Endless Eyes Pro Mini” in the “Studio” line ($6) has the nudes, the pinks and a good range of dark colors for smokey looks, and it blows these two out of the water. By the way, generally, I’m a very big fan of this brand and I own and love many of their products such as their translucent powder (been using it for years), mineral blushes, the new “shimmer pots” they had recently come out with, their yellow concealer and a few other things as well. So I’m not happy at all to say that I didn’t enjoy these cute palettes, but I have to be honest.

February 4, 2015

E.L.F. Essential Blush

Not the best from "ELF"...

I have to start by saying that I’m a huge fan of many products from “eyeslipsface” and I’ve tried all their blushes from the “Studio" and “Mineral” lines. So I purchased a couple of these “Essentials” blushes just out of curiosity. Wanted to know how they would compare to the ones from their slightly more expensive lines. For reference, I’m not a huge fan of the “Studio” single blushes because I find them too powdery, but I love their newer blush quads because the formula is a lot more soft and creamy. And I do love the “Mineral” blushes, both the pressed and the lose powder kinds. So the ones I purchased from the “Essentials” line are “Glow” (planned to use as a subtle highlight after reading some of the positive reviews) and “Shy” (for a natural, kind of muted flushed effect). The formulas of these two are not the same. “Glow” is very similar in texture to the “Studio” single blushes, but it’s a lot less pigmented, so yes, you can use it as a warm highlight and possibly as a blush with a hint of coral glow if your skin color is very pale. But again, as with the “Studio” single blushes, I do find it a bit too powdery and I won’t use it because there are other highlights in my collection I prefer to this one. But! I have to say that if you are a beginner or on a budget, for $1 – this is a very good product. I just wouldn’t recommend it to someone who already has a few highlighters they use and like. “Shy” is a lot smoother and creamier than “Glow”, probably because it’s completely matte. It’s a very muted, light mauve color. It is not very pigmented at all, once again. I have to say that if you are above NC/NW 20, this color will not show up on you at all. But if you are lighter than that and you are on a budget - get it! It will look natural since it blends out very well and isn’t very pigmented. The same con goes for this one, unfortunately – it is a bit too powdery. So if you are someone with a significant collection of other blushes, you probably won’t reach for this one at all, especially if you want to get more pigment out of it. It’s not that buildable because of it being so powdery, so it will start looking cakey if you try to layer it. So to conclude, good for a beginner or someone on a budget, but not the best from “E.l.f.”. I would definitely recommend spending just a couple of dollars more and getting something from their “Mineral” line or the “Studio” blush quads.

January 23, 2015

Wet n Wild 8 Pan Eye Shadow

"Comfort Zone" - everything you've heard about it and then some!

So I finally got the “Comfort Zone” palette. I have to be honest and say that even though I have read and heard so many reviews about these shadows and this particular palette, I just couldn’t get myself to buy it because it simply didn’t appeal to me. On my recent trip to Plattsburgh (I live in Canada but very close to the US border), I went to “Walgreens” and these were on sale for $2.50 (50% off of $5.00), so I finally caved in. I figured that even if I never use it $2.50 is less than a price of a coffee at “Starbucks”, so I wouldn’t be losing much. I am SO GLAD that I made that decision!!! Since coming back to Montreal, I’ve ordered a backup for myself and purchased two more as a gift for my sister! You just have to try these to understand how amazing they are. I truly believe that if these were “depotted” and sold at a department store under a different name with a much higher price tag, people would start raving about this new, mysterious amazing product out there. It’s just that it’s hard to grab people’s attention with a 5 dollar palette, because we are so conditioned to believe that in order to be good, the product has to be much more expensive… The texture of these if buttery and smooth, without being too powdery. The pigmentation is amazing and it blows many other more expensive brands out of the water. I use the top left color as my tear duct highlight on a regular basis and the top right as my crease color. These two go with so many different looks, even if I don’t use anything else out of this palette that day. All of the shades are gorgeous and I do think that a couple of them are very unique as well, especially the two bottom ones on the right. The bottom right is this amazing duo-chrome brown/bronze/copper satin color. It’s very difficult to describe, but this is actually one of the colors that made this palette less appealing to me because it kind of looked like a weird shade of blue (don’t know why it looks that way in the pan), and it turned out to be one of my favorite colors. And the one on top of that is a dark green/black duo-chrome with micro shimmer in it. Very special color as well with crazy pigmentation. You literally have to just gently touch it with your brush in order to pick up more than enough color. I could go on about this palette but all I can say is that if you are on a fence about it you should 100% get it, and if you’ve never heard of it and get a chance to own it, you should do it as well! ;) It’s definitely worth every penny and more!

January 23, 2015

Neutrogena Deep Clean Oil-Free Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes

These work, but way too harsh on my skin!

I got these after having heard so many amazing things about the “Neutrogena” makeup wipes. When I was getting them, I didn’t realize that there are so many different variations and I just kind of grabbed the first one that caught my eye. Right away, I will say that the only thing I liked about these wipes is that they are very saturated with the product and there is quite enough to remove everything off your face when you wear very heavy makeup. However, I will never repurchase these. I’m still open to trying a different kind (maybe the hydrating ones). Why? These wipes, in my opinion, are oversaturated with fragrance and alcohol. Yes, they do remove the makeup well, but my skin definitely didn’t appreciate the ingredients in this product. I can’t say that I have very sensitive skin, but it’s sensitive enough to dry out when I use too much alcohol or to tingle when a lot of fragrance is contained in certain products. My skin completely dried out after the very first time I used these and the fragrance was definitely overpowering. The worst thing is that the fragrance lingered on and irritated my skin. I did finish the package eventually, but I always cleansed with a proper facial cleanser afterwards (which I have to admit, I don’t always do with my preferred makeup remover wipes) and I made sure to moisturize my skin well. If you check the ingredients list, you will notice that the second ingredient on the list is alcohol and the third ingredient is butylene glycol which is also a type of alcohol and can also be very irritating to eyes, nose and your skin in general. The fact that these two ingredient are in the top three is enough for me to never repurchase this product. If you absolutely have to use these, I would definitely recommend avoiding the eye area. This can literally burn off a very thin layer of the already thin and sensitive skin under our eyes, and cause a lot of redness. If you have dark circles under your eyes (my case), this look isn’t flattering at all, even before going to bed . ;) And moisturizing your skin properly is definitely a must with these!!!

January 23, 2015

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Single

"Brulee" is one of my all-time favorites!

Ok, I know everyone knows about these and they have been reviewed many times over, but I had to leave my two cents because I use one of them almost every single day! First of all, I just wanted to say that I’m not crazy about the glittery version of these, so I’m really talking about the matte colors here (I’m not sure if this page was intended for both finishes). So the color I can’t live without is “Brulee”, because it matches my skin color perfectly (I’m about NC/NW 20-25) and it is a perfect base for whatever else I decide to do with my eyeshadow. The only times I don’t use it is when I use glitter because I use a stickier primer with glitters and apply the glittery eyeshadows directly on top of that primer. You can “google” for color swatches, but if I had to describe it, I would say that it is a very neutral light beige. It doesn’t lean too warm or too cold and it just allows everything else to blend seamlessly over it. I’ve seen someone else use it as a setting powder for their undereye concealer, which doesn’t work for me but I guess it’s something that could be tried as well, because we obviously all have different needs and preferences when it comes to concealers and the way we set them. The texture of the matte colors I love and use ("Brulee", "Nutty" and "Panther") is very soft and buttery (not creamy, but just a bit buttery). There is a little bit of kick off if you “stab” it with your brush, so you do need to be gentle when you use these, but the color payoff is amazing. Talking about “Brulee” again, I can say that I was very surprised the first time I used it, because it’s not easy to find a good base for our eyeshadows. I loved the color in the pan when I first saw it, but I was almost a 100% sure that it wouldn’t transfer much pigment onto my skin. I was definitely wrong. So if you are looking for a nice, light base for your powder shadows – “Brulee” is perfect. “Nutty” is a natural, taupe based brown with a beautiful satin finish. It’s a very unique and just as pigmented as the other two I’m mentioning in this review. “Panther” is your standard black. Very good as well, but I do have to say that this isn’t my favorite black. For the price, it’s definitely amazing. It’s just that I have more pigmented blacks from other brands that I prefer, but otherwise – it is a very good black. I still use it very often but if I’m using a good palette and it’s got black in it, I’ll just use that palette. I’m just saying that it’s not special enough to always gravitate towards it, but it is a good black. If I had to recommend just two colors out of this range, I would most definitely recommend trying “Brulee” and “Nutty”.

January 23, 2015

Yves Rocher Hydra Vegetal Hydrating Cleansing Milk

Left my skin impeccably clean! I was very surprised at this product's performance!

I honestly think that this is one of the best cream cleansers I’ve ever tried! Now that it’s summer, I’m back to my liquid “Bioderma”, only because I don’t need the extra hydration at this time of the year and I feel like a liquid solution works best for me in this crazy humidity. But! I was using this all winter and most of the spring. I must say that I had underestimated this product in the beginning because I found the scent a little too overpowering, so I didn’t really give it a chance. I had been using “Vichy” in the cream form prior to that. But when I ran out of “Vichy” I decided to give this a try because I didn’t want it to go to waste. What I realized was that this has amazing cleansing properties without irritating or drying out your skin in any way. I really don’t know how these guys do it. I have a habit of always using “Witch Hazel” on my face after removing my makeup, and the way I apply it is with a cotton round. So usually after finishing up with my “Witch Hazel” there is always just a tiny little bit of makeup residue still on the cotton round. When I use this “Hydra Végétal” – the “Witch Hazel” cotton round is always clean. I really couldn’t believe that a cream cleanser could work so well. Final verdict, if you like cream cleansers and you are not very sensitive to scented products, I would 100% recommend this cleanser. And I do have to mention that this doesn’t smell bad or anything like that. It smells like a mixture of grass, herbs and cream, so the scent itself is not too sweet or obnoxious in any way – it’s just that I personally prefer not to have that much fragrance in a product that would prepare me for bed time. So it’s totally up to your personal preference. In spite of it being scented, I would still consider repurchasing this product because of its performance. ;))

January 1, 2015

Rimmel London Match Perfect 3 Tone Blush

Honestly - the worst blush I have ever tried! Any blush from a dollar store blows this out of the water.

I’m sorry but this gets 2 stars from me. I think that this honestly is the worst blush I have ever tried using in my entire life! As a preface, I would like to say that I’m a big fan of many “Rimmel” products, including their “Stay Matte” powders and their infamous bronzers. I actually use their bronzer on a steady and regular basis. I do enjoy many of their eye shadows and mascaras as well, and love their “Kate Moss” lipsticks. But! This blush – I honestly don’t know how they “let these out”. I got these in four shades because I got so SUPER excited when I saw the color combinations – I just fell in love with them because they looked magical and I was 100% sure that they would be amazing on the cheeks! When I got home, I watched a couple of “YouTube” reviews which were not very positive (to say the least) but I told myself “to each their own” and I was still convinced that I would love these. When I swatched them altogether, almost no color came off on my finger. When I swatched them with a brush, a ton of powder immediately came off and when I applied whatever was on the brush onto my cheeks, I saw absolutely no difference. I’m talking about all the four shades I got. I was VERY worried! Next thing I did was try and swatch each color individually, hoping that I might possibly use the lighter parts as a highlight – all I kept seeing was more powder and absolutely no color payoff on my face. You can tell that there is something on your face because of the powdery residue, but trust me, it’s not something anyone would ever want to see after applying blush. I’m really not someone who likes bashing product qualities and I ALWAYS give credit when it’s due (even more than I should probably) but these are just absolutely awful… By the way, I’m NC/NW 15 in the winter and 20 in the summer, so I’m pretty fair skinned as you can see. I truly believe that my review of these is fair and the only people I can imagine using these are albinos. If you are albino – then this blush is perfect for you. Since this product is not advertised as such and is targeted at the majority of us – I cannot possibly give these more than two stars. And to make things even worse, the lids don’t really stay on as well as they do on the “Stay Matte” powders or the bronzers. Honestly, anything and everything about these is just wrong. Sorry, “Rimmel”… Will definitely never recommend these to anyone.

January 1, 2015