• My First Haul from Tarte | September 2018

    September 10, 2018

    Hi Everyone!

    I made an order from Tarte because I wanted to finally try the Amazonian Clay Foundation (the powder one). I’ve been eyeing it for a long time now and I finished up enough of my foundations that I allowed myself to buy a new one (read my makeup goals post). I wanted to get a powder foundation for lighter days where my skin is good and I don’t want to put on liquid or stick foundation. I had it narrowed down to a few different powders, but I decided to go with this one because I love Tarte.

    I got two other products I’ve never tried before and a fave of mine: Shape Tape (a cult fave), the Timeless Smoothing Primer (a fave of Tati, Beauty YouTuber) and the Frxxxtion Stick.

    After making the order, I now have 9 products from Tarte which makes it the brand I own the most products from; at most, I think I only own 1-4 things from a single brand.

    Rainforest of the Sea Frxxxtion Stick 3-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser (read my review) – My friend told me about this and I got a deluxe sample of it. I loved it. Originally, I thought it was too expensive, but the deluxe sample lasted a while, so I was able to justify the price.

    With a clarifying cleansing gel powered by the Rainforest of the Sea™ complex & suspended diatomaceous earth microexfoliants, the vegan friendly formula draws out surface oil & reduces shine, while purifying pores for the deepest clean possible.

    The hypoallergenic gel stick gently sloughs away dead surface cells & polishes skin as it cleanses to fight dullness & pump up the radiance. Great for all skin types, it can be used on a regular basis without stripping skin’s moisture or left on as a treatment mask to absorb toxins & reveal smooth, sexy, glowing skin.

    Shape Tape Contour Concealer in 12N Fair-Neutral – I chose the shade Fair-Neutral because it’s the next neutral shade down from the foundation I chose (Light Neutral). I swatched it on my hand and I think it will be good for the under eyes. I’ve seen/read so many reviews on it, but no one ever mentioned that it has a scent to it. I thought it would smell like other concealers, but it has a slight perfume-y/cologne-y scent. I also didn’t realize how much fatter it was from other concealers. I knew the doefoot applicator was bigger, but I guess I never looked that closely when other ladies have posted pics of their concealers. The tube is almost as big as my Bobbi Brown stick foundation.

    • Full coverage with flawless matte finish
    • Conceals all imperfections & doubles as a contour/highlight product
    • Creamy, easy-to-blend formula won’t flake or crease
    • Nourishes with mango seed & shea butters
    • Helps illuminate skin for a lifted effect

    Timeless Smoothing Primer – I picked up the limited edition one because it was $8-9 cheaper than the regular one. I assume it’s the same product with a different coloured lid to match one of their themes. I used it yesterday and it really smoothed out my pores. I will do a proper wear test and post a review later this month. Be careful with this product, I was tilting it to smell it and it must’ve melted off of the jar because the product fell out in one clump. Luckily, I was able to pick it up from my chair and press it back into the jar.

    • Formulated to fade out your biggest beauty boundaries such as large pores, fine lines and wrinkles
    • Antioxidant-rich formula gently melts into the skin delivering a surge of moisture, peptides and other naturally-derived elixirs for a firmer, smoother appearance
    • Has a lightweight texture and fresh powder scent as it provides the perfect blank canvas to enhance the look and wear time of makeup

    Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation in Light Neutral – I’ve swatched this at Sephora, but I haven’t used it yet. I think this is the closest match based on the description.

    Powered by Amazonian clay & light-reflecting gemstones, this hypoallergenic foundation gives you natural radiance & matte coverage in a weightless, flake-free powder. The full coverage formula is all you need to cover redness, unevenness & pores, with Amazonian clay to help control oil & make your makeup last. Precious gemstone tourmaline works to energize skin & diffuse light for natural dimension, & the custom mesh applicator offers buildable & breathable coverage without settling into fine lines.

    Other products from Tarte that I’ve used are the Amazonian Blushes (love these), the Maracuja Oil (I’m still testing it, but really like it so far), Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint and the Tarteist Sculpt & Slim Contour Brush.

    What are your faves from Tarte?

    Love,

    jen

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  • First Impressions with Milani Cosmetics

    September 5, 2017

    Hi Everyone!

    I hope you had a wonderful long weekend! Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while, I’ve been painting and reorganizing my room…I will share pics of my beauty corner as soon as I can! I went shopping last week and I went to Rexall and they had a sale for cosmetics, Buy 1 Get 1 50% off, but what caught my eye was the Buy 2 Get 1 Free for Milani Cosmetics! I just had to buy some of their products because they are such a good price and they come in beautiful gold packaging. Unfortunately, they didn’t have testers for the items I bought, so I went by swatches online. Here’s what I got:

    20170905_063130Eye Tech Perfection Liquid Liner – The shape of this is really interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever used a regular liquid liner pen, I prefer kohl liners (I usually wear eyeliner on my lower waterline or tightline my upper waterline). I’m not very good at doing a winged liner look, but this pen was really good and I got a very sharp wing. I compared this to the Maybelline Master Precise Curvy Liquid Liner (read my review).

    RATING: 5/5

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    Color Statement Lipstick in 26 Nude Crème – This is a beautiful shade that almost matches my lip colour. It’s good for days where I don’t want to just wear lip balm, but want something natural looking. It’s super smooth and smells like a Watermelon Jolly Rancher.

    RATING: 5/5

    20170905_063113_001Keep It Sweet Sugar Lip Scrub – This smells like candy. The directions on the back say “Apply a small amount with finger and gently scrub lips to buff away dry flakes. Tissue off.” Just using a tissue didn’t really work, I still had some sugar granules on my lips, so I just used some luke warm water. My lips feel super smooth and hopefully this will be an awesome product for the winter time…my lips already get a bit chapped now, so I really need to keep a lip balm handy. I’m not sure if I would use it 2-3 times a week as recommended, that seems like it would be bad for your lips, but I will definitely be using it once a week.

    RATING: 5/5

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    Retouch + Erase Light-Lifting Concealer in 02 Light – At first, I thought this was a really small tube for $10 when I could get another concealer by Maybelline or Rimmel, but I compared it with my fave Wake Me Up Concealer by Rimmel and they’re both 7mL. The Milani concealer is a lot thicker than I expected, I wasn’t sure if I would like it because I thought it might cause creasing under my eyes, but I wore it for over 8 hours and it didn’t crease (I set it with The Everything Powder by Cake Beauty).

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    Tip: it comes with a sponge tip, but those are filled with bacteria if you don’t clean them regularly, so I pulled mine off and I squeeze a dab onto my finger and apply to my under eyes. It’s also better because the warmth of your finger makes the thick concealer blend nicely.

    RATING: 5/5

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    Bronzer XL in 01 Bronze Glow – I loved how this was less than $12 and it’s so big! This has a very light fragrance, but I don’t know how to describe it. With the exception of the lipstick, this is the only thing that’s scented. This is a bit too orange for me, you have to go in with a very light hand and blend well so you don’t look like an oompa loompa.

    UPDATE (July 30): I think the fragrance in this was causing me to breakout on my cheeks.

    RATING: 2.5/5

    20170906_103212.jpgBaked Blush in 01 Dolce Pink– I was originally planning to put this in a giveaway, but I kept it so long that I thought I should try it myself and then purchase a new one. It’s a really pretty shimmery pink.

    RATING: 5/5

    BLOG TITLES- JC
    These swatches were taken at different times (hence the shade difference between my arm and hand). On the left is the bronzer and blush swatches and on the right, the concealer, liner and lipstick.

    What are your fave Milani Cosmetics products? Let me know in the comments section below!

    Love,

    jen

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