I Took the Plunge Into Liquid

Since Maybelline discontinued their Great Wear liquid foundation, I have not used another liquid makeup...until now. I still remember the name that was the perfect match for me and didn't break me out- True Beige. I even kept the bottle that is somewhere in the closet and it's probably all nasty.

I thought I'd take a break from my mineral foundation (Everyday Minerals) and give liquid another try. So I picked up Revlon Colorstay liquid foundation in Warm Golden (#310) for combination/oily skin.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

• 1 ounce for about $12.99 at drugstores
• Contains SPF 6 (Titanium Dioxide 7.3%)
  
• Two formulations: Combination/Oily skin or Normal/Dry skin
• Available in 20 colors ranging from fair to dark
• Patented SoftFlex formula
• Transfer resistant

• Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (7.3%)
• Inactive Ingredients: Aqua (Water, Eau), Cyclomethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Boron Nitride, Dimethicone, SD Alcohol 40B, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Nylon 12, Tribehenin, Isododecane, Polyisobutene, Sodium Chloride, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Bisabolol, Serica (Silk Powder), Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Malva Sylvestris Extract (Mallow), Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract (Lily), Lactobacillus/Eridictyon Californicum Ferment Extract, Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Serica Soie (Silk), Alumina, Polydimethylsiloxane/Polymethysilesquioxane Copolymer, Ethylene Brassylate, Methicone, Trisiloxane, Sorbitan Sesquiolate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, May Contain (+/-): Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499)

Warm Golden (#310)

(All pros and cons are based on my personal opinions & experiences)


PROS

• Great oil control- I didn't even need to use blotting sheets all day, just an occasional blot with a tissue. Being an oily gal, I was amazed!
  
• Very minimal color transfer- When I blotted with a tissue there was hardly any color transfer
• Medium to buildable coverage
• Seemed to be waterproof
• Long-lasting- Didn't wear off throughout the day
  
• Oil-free- See ingredients above. Also contains silk powder, vitamins A & E.
  

CONS

• Couldn't find a good color match- Their tones are not yellow enough for me. (See the swatch below) The blob looks yellow-toned but when blended out you can see it turns pinkish.

(Swatched heavily on the inside of my arm- one of the lightest parts of my body)

• Dries quickly- You have to work on a small area at a time and blend quickly.
• Hard to remove- The only thing that removed the swatches was my eye makeup remover. Facial wash, liquid soap, shampoo and baby wipes did not take it off! I used facial wash and a soft cloth to wash my face and it seemed to come off. The swatches required more effort to remove.
• Strong, sweet alcohol scent- Can be bothersome
  
• Broke out- After the second and third times I used it, I noticed a few new breakouts. I got one blemish on my forehead where I rarely ever break out so I attribute that to the liquid foundation.
• Messy to work with; no pump; clean-up was horrible- People say loose mineral makeup is messy but oh my gosh, this was SO messy. I used an empty jar (see below) to pour my makeup onto and used a stippling brush to apply. It took 4 cotton balls of eye makeup remover to clean my brush and another one to clean the jar (used as a palette). There's no way I can leave that makeup to dry on my brush and jar all day but I don't have to time to clean up after getting ready in the morning. With my mineral makeup, I don't have to wash my brush until a whole week.

The leftover, stuck-on mess

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the list of cons, if you can find a good color match and if you don't break out, then it can be
MAGIC IN A BOTTLE.

ALTERNATIVE USE: Since I don't want to waste $13 plus tax, I tried it as an eyeshadow base and it works pretty good. It creased on me half way through the day. I haven't tried it over TFSI yet but that would probably help with creasing.

Hope this helps! =) I'm sticking with mineral makeup =P

NOTD: "Playful Preppy"

I've always loved pink and gray together; It's kind of "preppy" to me. I couldn't decide if I wanted pink with gray tips or gray with pink tips....so I did both! Definitely something playful for me. Though the pink tips needed another coat, you get the idea. I'm not great at free handing a smile line anyway. (Finger Paints can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and Carolyn New York is available online. Sadly, both are not formaldehyde-free.)

It's hard to find any true gray nail polishes in drugstores that aren't silver. You'll probably have to order something online. Carolyn New York's Hangin' on the Stoop and Handball Courts are lovely true grays. China Glaze Recycle is also another good one and then there's MAC Hello Kitty On The Prowl. Know any others?...

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But today is St. Patty's Day and I don't own any green nail polishes. I've been looking for a mint colored one. Anyway, I snagged up this teal stunner at the drugstore today for $0.99. I can't wait to try it. =)

*~UPDATE~*

I love it! This Wet n Wild Wild Shine polish is a teal that is definitely more green than blue, however, the flash in the third picture below makes it look even more blue. But IRL, it still looks more green than in the pictures. It was hard to get the true color to show up on camera and I strongly feel they didn't do this color justice.

The formula is actually pretty good; it's not watery or sheer and all I needed was two coats. So far, it hasn't chipped either. *UPDATE* OK, I just came home today and my whole left hand is chipped while the other hand isn't. Don't ask me why! LoL.

REVIEW: elf Studio Brushes & Makeup

e.l.f Studio brushes are made of Taklon and claim to be anti-bacterial, which I don't put too much faith in. Everything in their Studio Line costs $3, except for three of their larger items, like their Mini Makeup Collection, which is reminiscent of a Sephora makeup palette.

I thought I would never purchase anything from e.l.f. again because of a previous customer service hassle (they almost ripped me off; it was just a dollar but it's all in the principal of things) and because their shipping used to take 4 weeks. I'm pleased to say that I received these items in less than a week and in a bubble wrapped package instead of a box stuffed with nothing (another previous incident).

NOTE: After using all brushes for at least a week, I have experienced NO SHEDDING and NO DYE BLEEDING after washing. Thumbs up!!! All handles are plastic instead of painted wood like their original $1 brushes.

So on to the review...

COMPLEXION BRUSH
~ Love It ~

If you're going to buy one e.l.f. Studio brush, then this one is it. I was so surprised at how soft and dense this brush is! It's so nicely tapered that it feels smooth on the face without any pokiness or harshness. You can use it for blush, bronzer or any other face powder.

The brush is almost 7" long while the bristles are 1 ³/₄" long & 1 ¹/₂" wide.

The complexion brush also comes with a vinyl cover for the brush head, which helps to keep it clean and also helps to keep the shape of the bristles. This is very convenient for travel!


POWDER BRUSH (FLAT TOP BUFFER)
~ Love It ~

The powder brush is basically a flat top kabuki/buffer brush which is also soft and dense. This is great for buffing in your mineral makeup. I think I heard someone using this with liquid foundation and they loved it. I still heart my EDM Flat Top brush better though. =) But don't get me wrong, this is a really awesome brush for only $3 and I highly recommend it along with the Complexion brush. If you like brushes with longer handles but not as long as craft brushes, then you'll be pleased with the size of these.

The brush is almost 7" long while the bristles are a little over 1" long and just under 1 ¹/₂" wide.

The Powder brush also comes with a vinyl brush head cover like the Complexion brush.


SMALL ANGLED BRUSH
~ Love It ~

This is another brush that I like because it's soft and precise. You can use it with eyeshadow or your gel liners. It might be a little narrow for some people but I don't mind it.

The brush is just under 7" long while the bristles at their longest edge measures ¹/₄" and just under ¹/₄" wide.

CONCEALER BRUSH
~ Meh =/ ~

This brush is not dense at all. It has a very flat edge which is not ideal to use with mineral concealers but better with cream or liquid concealers. It might be a little too wide for spot concealing blemishes on the face but this is probably better for the under eye area. I use it to apply cream eyeshadows to my eyelids. For concealer, it's not narrow or pointy enough in the center for my liking.

The brush is just under 7" long while the bristles are ³/₈" long and a little over ³/₈" wide.

CONTOUR BRUSH
~ Hate It! ~

Finally, my regretful buy, the contour brush which is pictured below in the center. If you see in the picture, the bristles are so short and non-existent. They're even shorter than my two pencil brushes and the ferrule seems to swallow up the brush head. The bristles are so short that when I try to use it, the ferrule sometimes touches my skin. Basically, this brush is CRAP. I DO NOT recommend this but I do recommend the regular $1 e.l.f. Blending Eye brush, pictured second from the left. I don't think they updated the picture of this brush on their site but this is the redesigned one.

I'm not even going to bother to measure this brush. I think I'll use it to dust my computer keyboard.

(Click to enlarge)

BRUSH PACKAGING

All brushes come packaged in a shiny, Zip-Lock sealed packet. It was kind of like opening a package of deli meat. You can pop your brushes back in here if you want.

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EYE PRIMER & LINE SEALER DUO
~ Hate It~

The primer is basically a concealer stick and you can probably just use a regular concealer as your base and achieve the same results. This will crease on you so if you do use it as a base for your eyeshadow, make sure to use TFSI or UDPP underneath it to prevent creasing. (It contains mineral oil)

The line sealer is nothing special either. You can get the same results by using mixing medium, water or a baby wipe with an angled or script brush. It will also ruin your eyeshadows in pan form by making the area you dipped the brush into hard. It works best with darker colors and it's a nightmare to use with loose pigments.

UPDATE: Every time I use this, the next day I get a little bump on my eye skin, like a tiny zit. Thumbs down!

EYELINER & SHADOW STICK
~ Love One Side, Hate the Other ~

The eyeliners (pictured on the right side) are so waxy that they smudge off easily and you'll get raccoon eyes in no time. For me, they work best when tightlining. The shadow sticks, on the left side, remind me of the Physician's Formula Color Eyes Cream Shadow Sticks that are some of my favorite bases. I love the dark gray one, Smoke, as a dark base for smokey eyes. But these are a little inconsistent! The golden colored one, Basic, is slightly less creamy than Smoke, while the white one, Glow, is horribly dry and hard to blend. The tip of the Pearl eyeliner actually broke off when I did swatches. So it's a hit or miss with some of these.

EYEBROW TREAT & TAME in MEDIUM
~ Hate It ~

If you have black eyebrows, do not get this in Medium. It is way too light and has a strange peach undertone to it. It actually lightens my brows and if you get this gel onto your skin, you're left with that ugly, weird peachy-brown color that just doesn't match your brows. This does hold better than their regular $1 clear brow gel though. The other side is a clear gel that is supposed to make your sparse eyebrows grow fuller. I tried it once and didn't think much of it. Personally, I think that side is just a waste of space.

I'm happy to report that I feel so much better than I did in my last post when I had the flu. I haven't felt that bad since the last time I had food poisoning. I still have a lingering cough though but thank you for your comments and I hope you all are doing well.

Related Link:
elf Studio Haul & Review: Pic Heavy! (second haul)

The Bare Minimum

Hello ladies!! After almost 2 years of not getting sick, I finally caught the flu. =( That's why I've stayed off the computer the past few days. But by being sick, I don't really want to fuss with my makeup. Shoot, even my eyeballs hurt! LoL.... Then I ask myself, what is the bare minimum? What is the least amount of makeup I can wear out? So here's my list:

• Concealer: for dark circles & blemishes
• Foundation: to even out my skin tone
• Blush: to have some kind of color on my face so I don't look too dead
• Mascara: on curled lashes, it instantly opens up my eyes, brightens them & makes them bigger
• Brow Filler: to frame my face
• Nude Lipgloss: for shiny, luscious lips

As for eyeliner I can really do without it, but if my eyes didn't hurt, I would only tightline. So it's only 6 products that I need. Do I really need all this other makeup in my collection?..... Hmm......yes! =D Well, I'm going back to bed. Hope you guys don't get sick.

I got some Mochi to cheer me up! The different colors aren't supposed to taste different but the greens ones are a little funky. o_O

UPCOMING POST: I bought some e.l.f. Studio brushes and I was both surprised & disappointed....

Skunkless Foptic Brush & EDM Haul

I got some goodies in the mail today and decided to post this up just for you Everyday Minerals fans. Their new skunkless Foptic brush ($10) came out last week, skunkless because it's a 100% vegan brush with no animal hair, and foptic because it's a play on words by combining fibre and optic. Basically, it's a STIPPLING brush. All their brushes are made with renewable bamboo handles and synthetic bristles and might I add they are UBER soft, plush & lush! If you hate their makeup, try out a 6-piece brush kit for $34. That would average out each brush to about $5.67.

Below are some size comparisons between the 2 other stippling brushes I have.
For further review of the MAC & Flirt! brushes, click here.

The EDM Foptic brush is about 6 3/4" long, while the bristles are about 2" long. I haven't used it yet but the bristles seem like they're too long. My only gripe is that I feel the ferrule is also too long while the bamboo handle isn't long enough. If you see in the first picture, it feels natural to grasp the brush right in the middle, which is where the end of the ferrule is. Oh well, but the brush has a good weight to it and of course, it's soft. Oh yeah, and it's really dense and wide so it's going to pick up more color than an average stippling brush. I can just slide the plastic sleeve that it came with down the bristles so that it's not too flared out. I'll try it out tomorrow and update this post on the bottom.

Did you notice the new square logo instead of that ugly target or CBS eye symbol that they used to have?

Next is the EDM pressed Spring Eye Palette ($8), which is in stock for a limited time only. I hate the cardboard packaging and this particular top is impossible to squeeze back on because it's so tight. Their plastic compacts are supposed to come out late March.

Butterfly Kisses is a strong orange-yellow with a pearl finish, Leaps & Bounds is a light sage green with a shimmer finish and Postacards is a matte, dark forest green that can be used as a liner.

On the left, the new palette is pressed with Jojoba Seed Oil while on the right, the old one is pressed with just Jojoba. I don't know if all future pressed powders are going to be pressed with the Jojoba oil but I would like to see their face products kept oil-free. I did notice that the new palette is still soft and powdery but not as much as the old one which is very loosely pressed and fragile.


This is what happened to my All Smiles when I dropped it 2 and a half feet above a carpeted floor. *groan* I love this color though! You can depot these, click here.

New logo and colors! I like this better than the old dark brown and purple lid with the ugly target symbol. If this was a blush, "base" would say "cheek" instead and the text color would be different. Also, their jars are made with recyclable plastic...a very green company, huh? =)

Beige Neutral Intensive (Buff category) is similar to Golden Medium Intensive (Olive category) except that this is more beige and less yellow than GMI. Currently, I'm mixing the two since GMI seems to be a tad too dark yellow for me right now. Hmm, 6 grams? Didn't it used to always be 8 grams? Maybe it's a label mistake.

Here's a closeup of their awesome closeable and adjustable sifters. I don't want to hear anymore complaining now! LoL There's a semi-circle shaped piece of plastic that can rotate 360 degrees, so that you can expose only a few holes or all of them. After you're done, just slide it over all the holes and no more mess.

I also picked up another sample kit, cuz it's free (not pictured), and here's my two free gifts that I've never tried before.
They came in puff jars. I've got so many free puff jars I don't know what to do with 'em. They're ok to use with finishing powders but it takes a little effort getting the product out. Sometimes, you have to pat it on your hand a few times before the powder dispenses. The puff part is removeable, like a shower cap, so you can wash it. I like the mirrors on top of them though.

So that was my EDM haul. Just thought I'd share what "March" looks like in the Hello Kitty calendar. I liked the colors and thought it was so girly and cute... all frilly and Marie Antoinette-esque. Doesn't it look like HK is giving us the birdie? LoL =P

*~*UPDATE*~*
EDM Foptic Brush Review

SHEDDING: While washing, 4 or 5 of the bristles shed, which was disappointing since EDM brushes don't shed.

BLEEDING: Sadly, the dye on the dark bristles bleed just a little bit on the paper towel I laid it on to dry.

USE: Since I mainly use stippling brushes for blush, I felt that it still did a good job, even though these bristles are more dense and the diameter is more wide than my others. I keep the plastic sleeves on my brushes to protect the bristles from my fingers since I have to reach down into my brush box to grasp my face brushes. (see pic below)...

If you find that the brush is not stiff enough because the bristles are too long, or that the brush head flares out too widely, just slide your plastic sleeve that came with your brush over the bristles about half way to adjust it. When you're done, slide the sleeve all the way up and it will help to keep the shape of your brush heads and protect the handles. If you threw them out, I'm pretty sure you can just make your own sleeves with paper and tape.

BRISTLES: Upon further inspection, it seems like there's not enough short dark-haired bristles while there's too many longer white-haired bristles. There's not much a definition between the two but it's still really soft.

FINAL THOUGHTS: After the long wait, the Foptic brush didn't really live up to my expectations. EDM needs to do some redesigning because it's not really a stippling brush. The bristles and ferrule are too long while the bamboo handle is too short.
Other than that, it's still useable, but it's a Foptic Flop.

EDIT: For a review on a better stippling brush,
click here for the Studio Tools Dual-Finish Brush review.