Repost: HG Blush & Bronzer

My Holy Grail blush and bronzer do not get much recognition.  Thus, this repost. =) You can find my original review here, posted on November 2009.  Please click for that detailed review.

• Number One: I love matte blushes, because shine and shimmer does not flatter oily, large-pored skin.  
• Number Two: I want something that is oil-free and talc-free, because talc clogs my pores and tends to get cakey.  
• And finally, Number Three: I want a pressed blush/bronzer (that is also talc-free), which is almost non-existent.  Some loose mineral blushes are talc-free but sometimes I like the convenience of a pressed product.  

So what product fills these requirements? Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush (whew, long name).  Not only are these well-pigmented, but you can easily find them in the drugstore or at Target.  Hopefully, their not being discontinued...ever!  However, they only come in five colors.

 

My favorite blush is called Blushing Glow, a tan peach, while my favorite bronzer is Warming Glow.  Most of the time, I just wear the bronzer shade.

Swatched lightly

BTW, I'm still waiting for my three free Zoya polishes to come to me but they still haven't shipped.  I'm definitely getting their Spring collection, though.

Have a great weekend! ^_^

My 10 Fave "Drugstore" Beauty Items

Here's a list of my 10 favorite "drugstore" beauty-related items. I say "drugstore" because a couple of items can only be purchased at Walmart or Target. So let's get to it...

#1: Softlips

Mmm, Softlips. They're priced under $3 for a two-pack and come in Vanilla, Cherry, Strawberry and Raspberry, as well as a few limited edition scents and flavors such as Coconut Cream, Peach Mango, Sugar Cookie and Winter Mint. All go on clear and are flavored and scented depending on it's name. The untinted Softlips will moisturize and protect your lips with SPF 20, while the tinted shades - Bronze, Rose, and Pearl - have a citrus scent and flavor, and have SPF 15. I like them better than Carmex.

MY PICKS: Vanilla, Coconut Cream, and Cherry

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#2: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Color Comfort Lip Color

These lipsticks go for about $9.99 but they are worth it! They're so creamy, moist, and pigmented, and contain sweet almond oil, grapefruit extract and cocoa butter. I usually skip lipgloss when wearing these because I feel that it's not needed. These lippies are paraben-free and come in 21 colors. My only gripe is that there isn't a nude, beige color.

MY PICK: Rosy Brown - a creamy brownish-pink.

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#3: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush

It's so hard finding a pressed blush that's talc-free and oil-free, especially in a drugstore - I think this is the only one. These are wonderful for those with sensitive, acne-prone skin, but any skin type can use these blushes. Price: ~$11.99 in drugstores.

MY PICK: Pink Glow, a matte peachy-pink that would look nice on most people.

Click here for more swatches and a review

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#4: Revlon ColorStay Eyeliners

When they say ColorStay, it's no joke. I have hooded eyelids and used to have a problem with eyeliner smudging onto the middle of my eyelid, but since I've discovered these, it's not a problem. They come in 8 colors (I'm missing Navy) and they have a pull-out sharpener at the other end. I only wish it also came with a sponge tip smudger at the end. Price: ~$7.49 at drugstores.

MY PICK: Black Brown, not as harsh as black but still friendly for brown-lovers.

Click here to see my video with a dry rub and water rub test

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#5: Milani Single Eyeshadows

There are some good brands of drugstore eyshadow but Milani is probably the best because of it's awesome pigmentation and texture. You can find them at Walgreen's, some Targets, and at a few perfume shops in malls for around $4. Twelve colors are usually easy to find but there are some rare colors - like Almondine, Antique Gold and Taffy - that you won't be able to find in a store. Fortunately, Nonpareil Boutique has them all (24) while Cherry Culture doesn't.

The only color I have that I didn't like was Sheer Sand because if it's gritty, sandy texture. Maybe I just got a bad one.

MY PICK: Java Bean, a gorgeous warm brown that I use almost everyday.

Click here to see the 3 Milani shadows in my GoTo Palette

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#6: Studio Tools Medium Shadow Brush

This is the one brush you'll need if you're feeling a little lazy. You can pack on color onto your lid, line your lashlines, do your highlight and outer-v with this baby. If you hold the brush head vertically, you can blend and do your crease area or the area right above the crease. Hold the brush head horizontally for more precision and get shadow right into your crease. You'll find this brush at Target for only $2.49 and it's super soft. Get five of them!

Click here for my Studio Tools Brushes review

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#7: Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets

Are you getting shiny in the summer heat or are you like me and suffer from oily skin? These blue, flexible, plastic-like sheets sop up the oils on your face without smudging your makeup or adding excess powder, like some blotting sheets do. These are not papery and they don't make crunching noises when you use them. I usually fold them in half and put a piece of tissue or toilet paper behind them before blotting my face so I don't get sebum on my fingers. Price: $4.49 - $5.29

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#8: Dove go fresh Beauty Body Wash

I hate when body washes lose their lather after just washing the front part of my torso. Every shower gel that I've tried from a designer perfume line or from a drugstore brand just don't stay foamy. I still have to put a decent-sized glob on my loofah when using this, but the lather lasts for my whole body and leaves my skin feeling soft. This body wash comes in four different scents: Burst, Energize (has little beads), Refresh, and Cool Moisture. Price: $5 - $7

Another good thing about this is that it does not contain the evil Sodium LauRYL Sulfate, which is an ingredient that dries out your skin and hair. It does contain Sodium LauRETH Sulfate, but that is not as harsh as the other. Just remember that Lauryl ends in "l" like evil - that's how I always distinguished between the two.

I love Dove! Their shampoos, conditioners, and body bar are also great.

MY PICK: Burst, a fruity scent of nectarine and white ginger.

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#9: Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum

I have thick, wavy hair and I always use this after straightening or curling my hair to get rid of fly aways and frizzies. If you don't like strong, citrus scents then you'll hate this but I think it smells great. This is a lighter oil than Baby Oil, which some people use in their hair. Now, there is a trick when using this. Do not pump a full pump into your hand and glob it onto your hair because then you'll look greasy. Pump half a pump's worth and rub it between your hands. Then, apply this little by little starting from the ends of your hair and fingercomb it upwards until you get your desired results. It's also best to section off your hair when applying this oil. I don't apply this near the roots of my hair because it will weigh it down. Since my hair is so static-prone, I still need a bit of hairspray afterwards. Price: $4.79 - $6

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#10: Pure Ice Nail Polish

I've only seen Pure Ice at Walmart so I don't know if you can find them anywhere else. These polishes are only $2 each and they come in a wide range of colors and finishes that will please everyone's tastes.

I once bought two bad bottles where the formula was horrible, only because someone at the store played around with them and didn't screw on the tops tightly. I hate when people do that. So if you get a bad bottle, don't let that discourage you into trying another one.

MY PICK: I love all the colors! Their creme and shimmers are great but, beware of their chrome/metallic formula.

Twinkle, a beautiful orange-coral with gold shimmer, kind of like a deeper Nars Orgasm. (That sounds nasty)

Coral Reef, a lovely pink-coral with small flecks of silver glitter.

Click here for some of my Pure Ice swatches

UPDATE: I bought another one of Pure Ice's chrome/metallic colors because the first one I tried - First Time, a mint green - applied horribly and the color would slide off my nail; I thought I just got a bad bottle since all the other colors applied so well. But after trying out another one called Outrageous, a pretty pinkish-lilac chrome, the formula was the same. It slides off your nail the more you stroke it with the brush. But I found if I applied it thickly, and brushed it on very lightly with no more than 3 or 4 strokes, then I could work with it. You also have to let it dry well before applying another coat. They have some really pretty chrome/metallic colors but stay away from them because of the formula. What a shame since their cremes and shimmers are great!

Thank you for reading and commenting!

<3

Review: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush and Baked Eyeshadow

The Physician's Formula Talc-Free Mineral Blush (5.5 g) is oil-free and talc-free so it's ideal for people like me with sensitive, break-out prone skin. I picked one up at 25% off last week so it was originally $11.99 but I got it for $8.99. It comes in 6 matte colors: Natural Glow, Pink Glow, Blushing Glow, Rosy Glow, Nude Glow, and Warming Glow (which I use as a contour color or a bronzer).

Warming Glow

The website claims that it's the first mineral, bi-colored pressed powder blush...and it's talc-free. And let me tell you, I'm sensitive to pressed powders containing talc after years of experience and it's very hard to find any pressed blushes sans talc. Actually, I think this is the only one I've found and so far I've had no bad reactions to it.

As far as the texture, pigmentation and packaging, they're awesome. The texture is smooth, the pigmentation can be buildable if you use a light hand but it's very pigmented, and there's also a mirror with a brush underneath. The lid is clear so that you can easily see what color you have. I hope to get more soon when there's another sale since PF products are pretty pricey but well worth the money.

Pink Glow is actually a peachy-pink color. Rosy Glow is a pink blush that's darker in tone and slightly more mauve.
Pink Glow swatch

Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush Ingredients: Mica, Lauroyl Lisine, Boron Nitride, Squalane, Silica, Zinc Oxide, Kaolin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May Contain Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Carmine.

The second PF product I bought was the Baked Collection Wet/Dry Eyeshadow in Baked Sands (2.1g). Even though I'm not going to use the sponge-tip applicator, I love how it's clipped in there so it won't annoyingly fall out. The packaging is a little big with it's dome shaped cover and it comes in 9 different color trios. The eyeshadows are well-pigmented but I have not tried it wet because I think it's a good natural, neutral look when used dry. It's also not powdery and I haven't experienced any fallout when using it. This is one of my favorite go-to palettes, but I just wish the packaging was sleeker.

I'm very happy with PF products. My favorite bases are the ColorEyes Cream Eyeshadow Sticks that I found at the Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent store earlier this summer. I swear by them. UPDATE: They're now discontinued! BOO! =(
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UPDATE: More PF Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush Swatches

The new one I picked up recently is Blushing Glow...love it.

Here's a recap of all three of my Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blushes (jeez, that's a long name).

• WHERE: Find it at any drugstore as well as Walmart and Target stores
• PRICE: Around $11.99. PF rarely has BOGOs so if there is one, swoop them up as fast as possible. There are usually BOGOHOs (buy one get one half off) instead. Sunday paper ads may have a $1 off coupon.
• AMOUNT: 5.5 g
• INGREDIENTS: Scroll above, and yes, they're talc-free and oil-free. Woo hoo!
• SKIN REACTION: I haven't have any bad reactions with this blush; it's a keeper.
• APPLICATION: I like to use my elf Studio Complexion Brush with this.
• PIGMENTATION: 5 out of 5. I swipe my brush very lightly about 2 times.
• PACKAGING: 5 out of 5, though the brush isn't that special, it's still useable if you don't have anything else. It has a clear cover and a mirror that flips up underneath.
• COLORS: Blushing Glow- matte tan peach; Pink Glow- matte peachy-pink; Warming Glow- matte warm brown; also available in Nude Glow, Rosy Glow and Natural Glow.
• PROS: Great for those with and without sensitive skin who like good quality matte blushes.
• CONS: A bit pricey and not offered in many colors

WEBSITE DESCRIPTION

• First-ever mineral, bi-colored pressed powder blush!
• Ideal for sensitive skin, the talc-free, minimalist formula allows skin to breathe and can help minimize irritation and breakout.
• Minerals provide color that achieves soft, sheer shades for a long-lasting smooth, natural finish.
• The marbleized design features two shades-in-one for a flawless and even finish.

Makeup Haul Preview

HAUL! Review and swatches for each brand will be coming soon.

PHYSICIAN'S FORMULA
Click here for review/swatches

• Talc-Free Mineral Wear Blush in Warming Glow
• Baked Collection Wet/Dry Eyeshadow in Baked Sands

SALLY GIRL
Click here for review/swatches

• Connecting eyeshadow singles [I've always hearted them =), I got 3 new ones]

NYC
Click here for review/swatches

• Mod Quad in Far Out Fawns (50% off @ Long's Drug)
  
• Eye 2 Eye duo in Pink Ink (")
  
• Cherrywood Liquid Lip Shine
  
• Snowcone Ultra Last Lip Wear
  

SALLY HANSEN NATURAL BEAUTY inspired by Carmindy
Click here for review/swatches

• The Ocean Eye Palette

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS
Click here for review/swatches

• Brow Powder Duo in Brunette (the most natural looking filler for black eyebrows!)

e.l.f. STUDIO
Click here for review/swatches

• Eyebrow Treat & Tame in Medium (getting Medium was a BIG mistake. Get Dark if you have black brows)
• Eye Primer & Line Sealer
• Eyeliner & Shadow Stick