Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Medium to Full Coverage Radiant Concealer with Hyaluronic Acid in 4.5 – I ended up returning this because it was too light
bareMinerals BAREPRO 16-HR Skin-Perfecting Powder Foundation in Light 25 Neutral – I returned this one as well because it was too dark lol
Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil: Eye, Lip & Brow Pencil in 612 Dimension Dark Brown
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Joy
Urban Decay Mini Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Waterproof Eyebrow Definer in Shade 6
Shu Uemura Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil in Stone Gray 05
Did you pick anything up from the friends and family sale
I’m sharing my Sephora sale haul today! I bought a few things for my mom and then I finally purchased some products that have been on my wishlist for a few years.
Currently, I have Sephora VIB Rouge status, but I haven’t bought much makeup or skincare in the past two years, so my Rouge status will be downgraded next year. I decided to make some purchases with the 20% off while I still have it.
Charlotte Tilbury Darling Eyeshadow Palette | $72
I have been looking at eyeshadows for a while, this one was a bit of an impulse purchase, but the shades are so pretty. lately, I’ve been leaning toward warmer colours.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in 2 – Fair | $53
I’ve had this on my wishlist for a long time. I hope it lives up to my expectations.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light | $69
The bronzer came broken :/ I contacted customer service to get a re-shipment, so just waiting for the new one to come in. This has also been on my wishlist for a long time. It was sad to open it and see some powder on the outside of the packaging. I knew right away that it was probably broken.
MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Blush in Sweet Enough | $35
I bought this for my mom. She previously really loved the powder blush in Mocha, which I also bought. I thought she might like a baked blush more since she got hard pan quite often with the powder blush.
MAC Cosmetics Powder Blush in Mocha | $32
Sephora Collection PRO Powder Brush #50 | $45
I got this brush for my mom. She mentioned that her powder foundation was providing more coverage than she wanted. She prefers a more sheer coverage. Right now, she’s using a denser brush, so I thought a slightly fluffier one might do the trick.
Sephora Collection PRO Highlight Brush #98 | $40
I have a Sephora PRO powder brush and it’s one of the softest brushes I own. I currently have a highlight fan brush from Winners. I thought it was time to get one that had a name brand.
Today, I’m reviewing and swatching the Stila All Over Shimmer Powder in Kitten. I picked it up from Winners a while back and I was so excited because I’ve never tried any Stila products.
All Over Shimmer Powder in Kitten
Introducing a gorgeous all over shimmer powder with Kitten and a pale iridescent pink. This multi-purpose powder instantly enhances the complexion with a fresh, radiant glow.
Inspired by light, Stila’s All Over Shimmer Duo in Kitten creates a luminous, youthful glow. Packaged in a convenient compact with mirror, this powder can be used as an eye shadow, highlighter, cheek color and décolleté.
I use the light one as highlight and the dark one for my eyes. It’s a pretty pop of colour for the inner corners of the eyes, but I don’t use it on the lids. For me, it’s not the right colour for a blush and the darker shade is too bronze for highlight for me.
RATING: 4/5
It was great for the price (less than $15, I believe), but I don’t think I would’ve paid the full price for it. I have swatched Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighters though, and they are absolutely gorgeous. I would buy those at full price because they come in a pretty package and bigger pans.
Get a gorgeous, healthy glow using the MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite! I bought mine at the MAC sale. They have other shades now: goldlite, peachlight, silverlite and redlite. I love how you can wear it on its own, or wear it under or over foundation to give a beautiul, dewy look. I don’t use it all over my face, I just put it on the places I would put highlighter.
Every Pixi product I’ve tried, I absolutely love. The Pixi Glow Tonic is no exception. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now. After I get out of the shower, I use it before applying my serums and moisturizers. I bought the Glow Tonic as part of the $25 Peel & Reveal kit from Shoppers Drug Mart. It came with the Rose Flash Balm and the Peel & Polish. I wanted to see if I liked them before purchasing full-sized versions. The Glow Tonic has a nice scent to it (not too strong). It has definitely made my skin feel smoother because it gently exfoliates. I am definitely going to purchase the full-sized bottle once I finish the little one I have. After using it for a longer period of time, I noticed that the redness under my nose was worse when I used it. I stopped using it and it got better. I think I am allergic to witch hazel (read about it here).
I love the Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder with Jeju natural mineral and natural originated mint. I bought it from Chuusi.ca (see my haul) for $9 CAD, and I have been using it to set my makeup. It comes in a small plastic container with a twist-off top and a puff. The puff is incredibly soft and squishy and super useful if you like to carry your powder around (or you can purchase the compact which is $16 CAD). The powder is very finely milled and translucent so you don’t have to worry about matching your skin tone. It leaves my under eye area silky smooth and my concealer has never creased. The mint smell is a bit strong and smells like Chinese herbal medicine.
Back when I bought the Winterberry Palette from Coastal Scents (read my full review), I also bought the Eclipse Palette (a cream concealer palette). It comes with fifteen shades: white/silver, mint green, pale yellow, lavender, and 11 skin-coloured shades (pale to dark).
Coastal Scents Eclipse Palette
We’ve got you covered—literally. Neutralize under eye halos, conceal blemishes, banish breakouts, and reduce redness with fifteen cream-based shades. Designed to conceal, highlight, and custom blend to your skin tone, watch your flaws disappear.
The mint green shade counteracts redness or pinkness caused from rosacea, blemishes, or capillaries around the nose and cheek areas.
The pale yellow shade conceals black, blue, or purple imperfections such as bruises or unsightly under eye halos.
The lavender shade neutralizes areas with excessive yellow pigmentation and corrects olive skin tones.
The white/silver shade can be used as a highlighter to add sheen to cheekbones, nose and eyes.
I’ve tried applying these concealers with a brush and with my fingers. I find the best way is to use my fingers or apply with the brush, but then blend out with fingers. Using a brush requires a little more effort to blend in, and this isn’t exactly ideal for your under eyes. With the warmth of my finger, the cream blends out smoothly. I’ve been using either the hydrating or smoothing primer from Make Up For Ever under these concealers. To apply, I use my ring finger and swirl it in the concealer, then lightly dab it onto my face.
How I Use the Shades
I got the palette mostly to try the green and lavender shades. I’ve tried the green corrector from NYX, but the green is a bit too pale (I’ve swatched it next to the Urban Decay one- see here). I haven’t used the pale yellow too much. The green has been covering up redness really well. I’ve been using the lavender for under eyes to cover up dark circles, although I should test out the yellow for under eyes too.
For any colour-correcting concealer, you don’t blend it in all the way. You blend it just enough so that the colour is spread evenly, but you still want to see the purple, yellow or green. If you blend it all the way, then whatever you’re trying to cover up won’t be covered!
I was testing out the shades to see which would match my face and Shade 11 is pretty close. I could probably mix it with one of the others.
I’ve tried Shades 6 and 7 under my eyes, but I prefer using a more fluid concealer instead of a cream-based concealer to avoid cakey under eyes (especially when I might already be using the lavender one).
I’ve been using Shade 14 and 15 for contour. A small amount goes a long way, so I do a very thin line. I like to use my finger. When I contour my nose, I use a concealer brush to apply so it’s more precise, but then use my ring finger to blend out.
I don’t really use the other skin-coloured shades since they’re not a good match, but I could probably use them as cream eyeshadows or something.
At first, I didn’t really know what to do with the white/silver shade. I tried it as a highlight, but since it’s cream, it’s hard to blend out nicely without accidentally taking off your other makeup. Since the lavender, green and yellow shades are used for underneath your makeup, I thought I would try the white/silver one UNDER my foundation. I applied it to my cheeks where I would apply highlighter and blended it in. I didn’t blend it in all the way- similar to the colour-correcting shades, I blended just enough so that I looked like I was going to put on some galactic makeup. I applied my foundation on top of it and it leaves you with glowy, but natural look. It’s perfect for the day time when you don’t want to apply the most poppin’ highlighter you have, but just want a subtle glow and dewiness.
Another way to use the white/silver shade is to apply it under eyeshadow. It made my metallic eyeshadows go from beautiful to gorgeous! It’s like a primer that makes your shadow so metallic that it gives it that wet look.
RATING: 4/5
I really like this palette. I wish I could pick and choose the shades I wanted, but for less than $10, you can’t go wrong. I read reviews on the Eclipse Palette and a lot of people had problems with it blending well or looking cakey. I think you need a really good base (I always use a moisturizing or smoothing primer) and the best way to apply is with your fingers. Also, since this is a cream concealer, if you have any dry patches, they will show. So, unfortunately, your skin can’t be too dry or the concealer will emphasize the dryness.
I definitely want to try higher end cream concealer palettes or even drugstore ones because I don’t love that this palette was Made in China (which I didn’t know when purchasing). Check out my blog post- Where Were Your Beauty Products Made?
Also, since I’m Canadian, ordering from Coastal Scents costs a lot of money because they charge shipping, so I’d prefer something where I don’t pay more for shipping than the product.
Have you tried cream concealers/colour correcting concealers? What are your faves?
A few years back, my mom mentioned to me that it’s better to buy products that are made in North America or Europe instead of China, Taiwan, etc. because you never know what they’re putting into the products. Ever since then, I’ve always been a bit conscious about checking where a product is made before purchasing, but sometimes I do slip up and accidentally buy something Made in China.
Do you check the back of cosmetic and skincare products to see where they are made before you purchase them?
There are so many different brands out there that have products that are made in North America or Europe. So, why buy products that are made in China when you don’t know what kind of rules and regulations they have? Especially when it comes to makeup that absorbs through your skin and that you could accidentally ingest from putting on your lips. Even drugstore brands are made in Canada or Germany, so it’s not like you have to splurge on high end products.
For powder products like highlighter or blush, it’s not as bad because I don’t use the same products every day. Same with eyeshadows because the ones I have from China are more vibrant colours that I wouldn’t wear on a day-to-day basis.
For liquid products like foundation and concealer, I am very careful to check that it’s made in North America or Europe because your skin absorbs the product and these are the products that cover the largest area of your face. Same goes for mascara, eyeliner, lipstick and lip gloss. Eye products can easily get into your eyes when you rub them or when you’re removing makeup and lip products are easily ingested.
I went through my makeup stash to see where everything was from and I’ve mapped it out in purple. Most of my products were from the usual countries like the US, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, and then there were a few Made in China. Some products surprised me- I had eye products made in Czech Republic and Mexico.
Asia– China (also listed as PRC- People’s Republic of China), Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia
Mexico
Maybelline EyeStudio Brow Precise Shaping Pencil in Deep Brown
Czech Republic
L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Grey
Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in White
Poland
Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base
Indonesia
Benefit Cosmetics Prima Donna Fake Lashes
Although I do my best not to buy products from China, I have purchased a few here and there. The following are Made in China:
Coastal Scents products
Winterberry palette
Eclipse palette
Shadow pots
Revealed 3 palette and Lipstick don’t say where they’re made and I no longer have the boxes they came in, but I’m assuming China because the lipstick is less than $5 and the Revealed 3 palette goes for $20 (and goes on sale for less).
Wet N Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder
NYX Matte Setting Spray
I went through my makeup collection to see if I had any other products Made in China/PRC and I was shocked to find some Tarte products had been made in China. Here are the products I have:
Essence Light Up Your Face Luminizer
Most of the other Essence products are Made in Europe, i.e. Germany or Luxembourg
Eyeko Fat Eye Stick (Made in PRC)
Smashbox Blush Soft Lights Duo
other Smashbox products I have are made in US or Belgium
Tarte products- it really surprised me that my Tarte products are Made in China, however; the Tarteist Lip Paint from the Sephora Birthday Gift is Made in US
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Paarty (deluxe sample)
Tarte Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer in Park Ave Princess (deluxe sample)
Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder
Wet N Wild Mega Protein Mascara
My friend has multiple full-sized Tarte products and she let me know where they were made and I also went to Sephora to take a look at the full-sizes of the blush and bronzer:
Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blushes (full-size)- USA
Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer in Park Ave Princess- China
Tartelette Tease Palette- USA
Shape Tape- Korea
Amazonian Clay 12-Hr Full Coverage Foundation- USA
Maracuja Cheek Tint- Formulated in Japan, Made in China
Other things I found when going through my products:
Milani’s Retouch + Erase Lightlifting Concealer (Made in US with US & Non-US components)
Milani Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation (Made in US with US & Non-US components)
Wet N Wild Photofocus Foundation (Foundation Made in USA, Filled in China)
Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara (Manufactured in Italy, Assembled in Taiwan)
Tarte Gifted Mascara (Manufactured in Italy, Assembled in Taiwan)
Although the concealer and foundation from Milani both say Made in US with US & Non-US components, I think that’s just for the liquid products. The Color Statement Lipstick was Made in USA, and the XL All Over Glow Bronzer and Baked Blush were both Made in Italy.
I remember I had a Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation and Mineral Blush that I bought from a mall kiosk and they were made in the US. But, I have seen kits at Winners for $14.99 that have smaller sizes of the foundation, bronzer, illuminator and concealer. I checked the back of one and it was made in PRC, but there was another kit with other products and it was made in the US. So, make sure you check where kits are made. Even if full-sized products are made in the US, the smaller, trial-sized ones could be made elsewhere.
Do you avoid buying products depending on where they’re made? Are you more cautious with certain types of products?
