Ipsy June 2015 Overview Reviews, Swatches, Pictures

JUNE 2015 IPSY GLAM BAG

Here are some product pics and swatches of what I received in this month's Ipsy bag, along with some mini reviews. I hope you enjoy!

J-Cat Beauty Liptitude 24/7 Hydrating Lip Stain - LLS117
The stain lasted decently. I didn't reapply it all day and after 11 hours, having lunch and a few snacks and drinking from my water bottle all day, there is still a bit of color on my lips. It was a red color to begin with and by the end of the day it was more pink, but there was still some sort of color there. All I did was reapply lip balm throughout the day. It didn't cake up or look strange with just a lip balm on top. And just to mention, this product does transfer onto things. I drink from a water bottle all day at work and this product definitely shows up on the straw.

Tresqtique Eyeshadow Crayon
This works great as an eyeshadow base. It is very creamy to apply straight from the crayon; however, when you go in to blend it out with a finger, it has a surprisingly dry texture. It doesn't crease all day long, I tested it for 12 hours and it looked great by the end of the day. It can be a little patchy blending out, but if it's just going to be a base for other shadows, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I used it alongside the J-Cat eyeshadow I got in my first Lip Monthly bag and it looked awesome.

It Cosmetics Universal Taupe Brow Pencil
This is a great quality brow pencil! And the sample size we received has a decent amount of product inside. :) It is an excellent color for my brunette self. It's not reddish, not too light, not too dark. It is a great consistency between soft and hard, wet or dry. It's awesome. Plus the spoolie on the opposite end is nice and soft and super easy to work with. I would have purchase a full size of this pencil just a few months ago before all of these amazing brow products started appearing in drugstore brands.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
I can't justify spending high end money on a primer. This one is nothing special if you ask me, and there are plenty of drugstore primers that will do the same thing for me. It is nice that Ipsy included this high end product for us to try, but I just don't think it's any spectacular. I don't find that it does anything for my pores or oiliness in particular, which are my two issues.

Lavanila Laboratories : Pure Vanilla The Healthy Body Butter : Instant Hydration
OMG this may be my new favorite lotion! It's a decent consistency. I like a thicker lotion because I primarily use them on my hands. And this stuff is not too thick or too thin. It also smells similar to Lush Twilight, which is my favorite scent in the whole wide world. Ha! :) It's like a slight twist on the Twilight scent, but it's similar enough to make me super happy when I use it. It seems to have a soap-y scent at first but once it settles into your skin and mixes with your own skin chemistry, it reminds me of Twilight. It doesn't absorb away to nothing immediately, but it leaves just enough moisture on the skin to make it feel like it's still doing it's job keeping things moisturized, but at the same time, it's not too sticky or wet to be a bother.

I really hope this post was helpful or entertaining in some way!
Do you subscribe to Ipsy? What have been your favorite products?

Thanks for reading.
Love,
Alaina

Loreal Le Matte & La Lacque + True Match Lumi Powder Illuminator : New at the Drugstore!

I just happened to come across a few new Loreal products at the drugstore today and thought I would throw together a simple swatch and photo post for my lovely readers. Full reviews to come, but I thought I'd give a little sneaky peaky today.

Here's what I picked up at Walgreens (And apparently the BOGO 1/2 off Loreal deal does not work on these new products?).

Loreal True Match Lumi Powder Glow Illuminator Blush & Highlight - N202 Rose - $12.99 

Loreal La Lacque Shiny Full Coverage Lip Colour - 209 Choco-Lacque - $9.99 

Loreal Le Matte Velvety Full Coverage Lip Colour - 108 Matte-R of Fact - $8.99 

(Why is La Lacque more expensive than Le Matte?)

I can already tell the rose gold trim on this packaging is not going to look good for long. As I was peeling off the seal sticker, I already scratched some of the color off. Other than that though, the packaging feels nice. It's not too cheap feeling, it has a bit of weight to it, which I like. 

The four shades inside look beautiful!

It comes with a nice large mirror and one of those brushes nobody uses in the bottom.

Although the product looks gorgeous in the pan, it comes off on the skin a lot more shimmery than I would have thought. The two deeper shades seem to have a nicer and finer texture than the other two upon first swatches.

Just after testing this once with a stippling brush swirled in the powder, I noticed it kicked up a lot of powder, as you can see. 

My full review of the New Lumi Powder HERE!

Loreal La Lacque & Le Matte Full Coverage Lip Colour
See full review HERE!

Loreal La Lacque Choco-Lacque (top)

Loreal Le Matte Matte-r of Fact (bottom)

(above pic) Le Matte Matte-r of Fact on left & La Lacque Choco-Lacque on right 

Loreal La Lacque/ Le Matte vs. Maybelline Color Blur

Here you can see just how much product you are getting (above pic).

As you can see, it looks like the Loreal (left) and Maybelline (right) have the same amount of product (the Maybelline has been used once or twice here).

But in fact, the Maybelline product has slightly more product (see below pic). 

Maybelline = .04 oz, Loreal = .032 oz.

You can see my full review on the Maybelline Color Blur Lip Pencils Here!

The Maybelline (right) also twists completely down into the pencil, as opposed to the Loreal (left) which pokes out a bit at the top. I realize this will no longer cause an issue once the Loreal is used a few times, but I just thought I would point it out. I like that the Maybelline twists completely down so you don't risk accidently nicking the lip product or making a mess on the lid.

I hope this post was entertaining to hold you over until I can fully review these new products!

Thanks so much for reading!

Love,

Alaina

New Maybelline Color Blur by LipStudio Cream Matte Pencil & Smudger Review, Swatches, Photos

Price: $7.73 at Walmart

See the rest of the new Maybelline stuff I picked up here!

The packaging is very true to color.
Applies so smoothly.
Feels very lightweight.


Lasts really well. It somewhat wears away in the center after eating, but it reapplies beautifully and doesn't get cakey or uncomfortable when you just add an extra coat on top of the existing product.
Does not bleed or feather all day, even without a lip pencil, not even in the inner corners of my mouth, which can sometimes be a trouble spot on my lips.
Pretty transfer resistant. It leaves some color behind, but not nearly as bad as so many other lipsticks, including the Creamy Mattes from Maybelline.

At about 5-6 hours, I want to apply some lip balm because they start to feel dry. Applying some balm refreshes my lips but doesn't alter the color. It brings a little bit of a sheen to it, so it's not completely matte anymore, but it doesn't tone down the color or make the product behave strangely. There are some products out there that just act differently if you add a balm on top, I'm so glad to say that this is not one of them. Adding the balm does make it less transfer resistant though.

When I purchased this product, I thought the smudger on the end was just silly and gimmicky, I didn't think it would be necessary or useful. BUT I actually really like it. Usually I just use my finger to smudge out lipstick that I want to be more sheer, which leaves me with a stained fingertip because so many lipsticks these days are intensely pigmented and stain the skin (this one is no exception, it is intensely pigmented). This smudger is a nice shape and it's soft and comfortable to use. I like that it's just plastic and you can wipe it down and clean it, unlike a sponge-tip that just gathers product endlessly.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

New Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Foundation & Concealer First Impression & Full Review

Found at Walmart
Foundation $9.98
Concealer $7.82

See the rest of the new Maybelline stuff I picked up here!

This is my review of the NEW Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Foundation & Concealer. I will include both my first impression wearing it for a full day and also my review over a week's time. I hope you enjoy!

1st Impression

Upon application this foundation looks great. Although it may be a tad dark for me at this point, I'm looking past that. It looks natural, not cakey whatsoever. It builds up nicely too and doesn't look cakey with a second layer. I applied a full layer, then went back in on my cheeks for some extra coverage and it still looked really good. I used by Beauty Blender to apply it (like I almost always do with any foundation). I did not use a primer, just moisturized my skin as usual before application.

This foundation definitely needs a setting powder to top it all off (especially since I have super oily skin and it's now pretty much summertime and the humidity is in full force). However, it's not too shiny without a powder on top, it looks very natural, I just have a fear of wearing foundation with no powder because of my oily skin, I always set my foundations.

The concealer matches the shade of the foundation, so it isn't being used to highlight the face or brighten in any way, it's more suitable for just concealing blemishes than brightening the undereye area in this shade. At my Walmart, this was the lightest concealer shade, but I sure hope they have a lighter one for those with pale skin and those who want to use concealer to brighten. My freckles poke through the foundation every so slightly, but the concealer covered them right up.

I have the original SuperStay concealer and love it because it lasts all day long. However, it dries super fast and you have to work quickly with it (I always do one undereye at a time, that's how fast it dries down). If you don't work quick enough with the original, it can get a funky texture to it, so I am glad to report that this new Better Skin concealer doesn't dry that fast and doesn't do weird things as it sets. Yay!

2 Hour Update

The foundation is still looking good. It still looks very natural and awesome. Maybe even more natural than upon first application. No creasing along my smile lines (which I usually get with pretty much any foundation), so it's going good so far. My undereyes do look a tad dry, but I also did not apply an eye cream this morning, just a regular moisturizer all over. (undereyes do not look dry when I apply an eye cream)

4 Hour Update

While it is a humid day, I have been inside for the majority of the morning. The foundation is looking good. There is a little bit of creasing or settling into my smile lines by this point, but it's not as bad as some foundations can be. Undereyes are looking less dry. Concealer is holding up. It looks like I could use a bit of powder on my cheeks to tone down the glow (I won't call it oily because to me it looks very natural and not greasy). So far, so good. I don't see any breakdown of foundation anywhere.

9 Hour Update

I have two shiny spots on my cheeks. The foundation has somewhat sunk into my smile lines and around my nose. It almost looks powdery in other parts of my face that aren't oily. By now the oil looks shiny and oily, not just glowy. My pores in those oily spots look pretty big too, but keep in mind, I didn't use a primer.

My Overall Thoughts/Summary

I really like the concealer. I have no issues with it, just as long as I moisturize the eye area, it looks great, wears well, blends easily. It's a nice concealer, I just need to go find myself the lighter shade because my Walmart only had the Light/Medium in stock and I'd like to have the lighter one to brighten my undereyes. I would definitely recommend this concealer!

On the other hand, after wearing this foundation for several days both on it's own and mixed in with some of my favorite foundations to create a better shade match, I have really mixed feelings about this foundation. It looks natural on the skin but it's not suitable for me and my oily skin, especially here in the heat and humidity of the summer. It transfers easily onto your fingers if you touch your face, and definitely onto clothing, people, pets, etc. :-p

This foundation feels like it is just melting right off of my face when I am outside in the heat. It gets heavy feeling when I wear it outdoors for any significant amount of time (but pretty much any foundation feels heavy to me and my oily skin). However, it doesn't look too bad when I go back inside and check it out.

Maybe I'll just break it down by likes and dislikes...





What I like about the Better Skin Foundation...

Long-lasting
Looks really natural on the skin

What I dislike about the Better Skin Foundation...
Transfers very easily
Looks oily halfway through the day (I have very oily skin and I live in hot and humid St. Louis)

I just don't know what to say about it! This is a pretty frustrating review because I don't know if I would recommend this or not. Perhaps if you don't have oily skin and don't live somewhere super hot and humid in the summertime, this might be a great foundation for you. But I don't think I'll be returning it either.

After having worn this foundation every few days over the week, I am unable to make any remarks on it's claim to the title "Better Skin." However, although I hate the transfer, it will probably be good for my skin to not have a heavy cakey foundation on everyday I wear makeup (I don't wear foundation everyday, I average about 3-4 days per week, or the days I actually wake up early enough to get to play with makeup). I like to use long-wearing intense foundations like Revlon Colorstay and Loreal Infallible Pro Matte, but I think my skin will benefit from this less intense foundation in the long run. This foundation is long-wearing (as long as you don't touch your face or blow your nose, etc.) but it removes easily, making me feel like it's a benefit to my skin (compared to the other foundations I mentioned especially).

I know this review is somewhat indecisive, but I truly hope this was somewhat helpful for somebody out there! Once again, I think the concealer is great but I'm on the fence about the foundation.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina