Month: March 2016

What’s New at Ulta: Including Fiona Stiles Foundation

.Reading time 6 minutes.

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Happy Easter/Passover everyone! I recently ordered some new items from Ulta and wanted to do a look with them/test them out. This post will not feature full reviews, I will let you know my initial thoughts, but if you guys would like those let me know if you’d like an in-depth review of any of these products. I will probably do a post about the Fiona Stiles Luminous Finish Foundation Concentrate which retails for $30 and can only be found at Ulta. Below are the products I picked up and this makeup look. Now dig into that Easter candy and get your makeup on!

New Items from Ulta

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So far I really like this; it isn’t over dewy but it gives a nice luminosity to the skin, and my highlight actually showed up! Believe it or not because I have freckles, I have a hard time getting that glisten from within glow that I so so envy. I also haven’t felt oily at all, I have pretty normal/dry skin but with luminous foundation I can feel a bit oily on my chin after a bit. I also think the shade Porcelain is a great match for my skin; fair foundations have been a bit dark as of late and can look warm on me, but this one is perfect. So, so far so good! I will give a full update after a few days of wear, that’s really the only way to give a solid review. I also may review the Tarte Maracuja Oil if you guys would like. I also picked that up in this haul, but haven’t tested it yet, it is on sale for $25 though!

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I’ve been debating purchasing this palette since I saw its PR on temptalia.com. It’s got every color I love and gravitate towards, but I wasn’t super impressed with the other Too Faced Palette I own, the Stardust Palette. Needless to say, I’m already obsessed with this palette. It has stunning coopers, a show-stopping purple, and a light gold that you don’t see in many palettes. The matte crease shades are also to die over, and it has a great off-white to highlight the browbone. All the colors are pigments and blend like a dream, oh and did I mention it smells like peanut butter!? The only disappointment I have if there isn’t a shade named Fluff, because I love me some PB&F. Definitely pick this up, it’s limited edition! Too Faced Peanut Butter & Jelly Palette $36.

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The NYX Ombre Blush in Strictly Chic was another win for me. I thought this product looked a bit gimmicky, but I saw Nicole Guerriero rave about the pigment in her February Favorites and I decided to test one out. This blush is a beautiful coral that is pigmented but not overly in your face. I just swirl the colors together and it’s a perfect pop of peach that blends easily. NYX Ombre Blush Strictly Chic $9.99.

Makeup Look

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Primer: Makeup Forever Step 1 Primer (sample size). I normally use a hydrating primer but I didn’t want to over-hydrate as I did a mask last night and tested a new foundation. I will try the Fiona Stiles foundation with my BECCA primer though!

Foundation: Fiona Stiles Luminous Foundation in Porcelain

Concealer: Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Fair/Neutral

Powder: Maybelline Master Fix Setting Powder

Brows: Colourpop Pencil and Brow Colour in Bangin’ Brunette. (all their brow products are currently sold out, but they’ve updated on social media they’ll be back soon!) Another affordable option is the NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Brunette. Used NYX Brow Mascara in Espresso to set.

Eyeshadows (all Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly Eye Shadow Collection)

  • Crease: Peanut Butter
  • Lid: Bananas
  • Outer V onto the outer lid: Peanut Brittle
  • Lower lashline: Jelly
  • Browbone: Extra Creamy

Liners: Jordana Cat Eyeliner in Black Leather on top and L’Oreal Silkissime in Black on waterline.

Mascara: L’Oreal Carbon Black Telescopic on top and bottom

False Lashes: Ardell Demi Wispies (Red packaging) with House of Lashes lash glue.

Blush: NYX Ombre Blush in Strictly Chic

Highlighter: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Champagne Pop on the bridge of my nose, cheekbones, above the brows and in the inner corner.

Lips: Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip in Magic Wand (review of these coming next!) topped with NYX Butter Gloss in Madeleine.

Setting Spray: Mac Fix+

 

Fresh Faced Spring Makeup: L’Oreal Lumi Cushion Foundation Review

.Reading time 5 minutes.

IMG_4663Spring weather seems like it’s finally going to make an appearance in New Jersey this week and I’m itching to wear some of spring’s newest trends (blog post to come on spring trends!) and try out some new looks. I purchased the L’Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation, also is it just me or are foundation names getting longer than texts from your Mom? Anyway, I wanted to review this probably 3 weeks ago but I still couldn’t determine how I felt about it. So after week of trying this out I have a verdict! Read on below for the review and as always this drugstore makeup look.

Review

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So cushion foundations are all the rage right now, this spring is definitely stepping out of the matte looks we’ve been seeing for the past two years. This cushion foundation is light to medium coverage, as are most cushion foundations. It features a puff applicator that may be useful for touch-ups throughout the day, but I didn’t like the way it applied my foundation. This foundation is on the pricier side for a drugstore foundation at $16.99 and you only get 0.52 oz of product, whereas you normally get 1 oz for most foundations. There’s also 12 shades, but if you are extremely fair you may have a hard time as I did. There isn’t a standard N1 or W1 like the original True Matches which I find to be frustrating. But, N2 works okay for me when I blend it out.

I’ve found that the best way to apply this foundation is with a Real Techniques sponge, rather than a brush or the puff applicator. I can build it easiest this way; this foundation will only build to a medium coverage so keep that in mind. For being a “lumi” foundation this formula dries my skin out like crazy, even with a moisturizer or primer underneath. This is why it took so long for me to test because I wanted to make sure another product wasn’t drying out my skin! I also typically don’t have sensitive skin, but this gave my skin tiny textured bumps (they go away after a day or so, but still not thrilled). I’m not saying this won’t work for your skin type, but I really, really wanted to like this and I just can’t with the way my skin is reacting.

I think I can use it up, but I will not repurchase. I personally think Maybelline’s Dream Matte Hydrating Foundation is  better value and more hydrating, with better coverage. Or if you love L’Oreal’s foundations go with the original True Match Lumi, which is an old favorite of mine. An overall score for me is 5/10. Let me know your favorite cushion foundations because I think they’re great for spring and summer!

Makeup Look

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Moisturizer: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel SPF15 (found mine at Walgreens in-store; can’t find on their website).

Foundation: L’Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation in N2 Classic Ivory

Concealer: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair 

Powder: Maybelline Master Fix Setting Powder 

Brows: Maybelline Brow Define and Fill Duo in Deep Brown (just used pencil side) and Maybeline Master Brow Drama Palette in Deep Brown to fill in. Set with NYX Brow Mascara in Espresso

Eyeshadows:

  • Crease: NYX Matte Shadow Dance the Tides and Milani Earthy Elements Palette 3rd shade (orange color) in the outer crease.
  • Lid: Dance the Tides in the outer lid, wit Earthy Elements Palette 2nd shade (camel brown) on the center and inner lid.
  • Browbone: 1st shade (frosty beige) Milani palette.
  • Lower lashline: Orange and camel shades mixed.

Eyeliner: Top: Jordana Cat Eyeliner in Black Brown. Bottom: Maybelline Gel Pencil Liner in Glazed Toffee.

Mascara: L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black with Maybelline the Rocket on top (an oldie but a goodie)

Blush: Colourpop Supershock Cheek in Bonus (discontinued) similar Holiday.

Highlighter: Colourpop Highlighter in Wisp (on tops of cheeks, bridge of nose and cupid’s bow).

Lips: Lipliner: Jordana Easy Liner in Sedona Red. Lipstick: Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip in Cozy (review of these coming soon!).

Top: Marshall’s.

Fun Fact: Look created while throwing it back to Fall Out Boy’s Under the Cork Tree