Eyes
People have raved and raved about L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows. They have been on my list to try but I never got around to picking up any. Weeellll I picked up 3. I got Burst into Bloom and Purple Priority after hearing good thing about the colors and as you can see they are both purple shades. So how could I resist? These two shades are limited edition. So if they are speaking to you then don't wait on getting them. Then Jennifer Wan had mentioned Gleaming Bronze in a recent video. She said it's a must have shade. It's a limited edition shade, so I took to Amazon and found a seller selling it with free shipping. These shadows are nicely pigmented and go on smoothly. They are perfect for one eyeshadow looks. I see more of these in my future.
I pre-ordered the Bare Minerals More Than Meets the Eye March TSV back in February. This kit primarily focuses on the face and the complexion. Their March TSV uses focuses on the skin and your overall complexion. I enjoyed all the items in this kit. An eye product was included in the set that I really enjoyed. It's a newer product called the 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow with SPF15. The shade is called Blushing Apricot. When I first got this product I was like ummmmmm??? But when I used it, I was like oh ok, I got cha. This product is so easy to use. I applied it with my fingers, added a little dark brown shadow to my outer corner and crease and was DONE! I really liked the look. It was easy and didn't require a lot of thought. I went to QVC to see if any other shades are available but I went on auto deliver for the TSV, so I'll wait to see what the other shades I'll get first before purchasing additional shades.
Two eyeliners I reached for a lot this month are Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Violet Ink and Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil liner in Rockstar. Both are purple liners. It's a nice changes from brown and black. These two liners go well with the Naked 3 palette. More on that palette and the lovefest I've been having with it next month.
Lips
Was randomly digging through my lipstick drawer and pulled out Wet n' Wild's Wild Shine in Lustful. This shade is purrrty! I had another lighter shade that I can't find. it So I think I gave it away or it's hiding from me. I want to say that these were the precursor to the Revlon Lip Butter and Maybelline Color Whispers. I feel that this is a tad more moisturizing though. Re-applying it throughout the day wasn't an issue and it wore nicely throughout the day.
I picked up the MAC Cremesheen in Playful Petal. It's part of the Fantasy of Flowers collection. It is described as electric magenta. When it comes to MAC glosses, cremesheens are my favorite. This color is in my happy place and I could wear it everyday. Trying to talk myself out of getting another one. I picked up the Heavenly Hybrid lipstick from the collection as well. I like it. It's a purple shade. How can I not like it right?
When it comes to lip products, dark vampy shades are my happy place. So color me tickled and surprised when I opened a box from by beauty pusha with Mally Beauty's Sweet Berry and Nars NARS Bougainville!!! I was shocked! They are both somewhat similar in color. Sweet Berry is a little deeper. NARS Bougainville is described as a sensual pomegranate and indeed it is! Both shades wore very nicely throughout the day for a lip gloss. I alternated between both glosses for about a week.
Face
I've mentioned some newer liquid foundations that I played around with or had already ordered. Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation did go back due to the shade. It was a little red on me and the formula was kind of the watery side. Not baaaad but it wasn't in my happy place. I may go by the counter and get matched. So I went back to rotating Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation in Cappuccino which my Bare Minerals foundation. As soon as I put it on I was like THIS IS MY HAPPY PLACE for liquid foundation! I raved about this initially in my December 2013 favorites post. It easy to apply, blends nicely into the skin and covers what I need for it to cover. I now kind of what to try the matching power since I've heard good things about it. I have some CVS extracare bucks. I currently use Bobbi Brown Loose Powder in Brown to set it. So we shall see.
Another item from Bare Minerals March TSV that I REALLY enjoyed most was the Ready All-Over Face Color in Elation. It is described as a blissful pink. You can use this however you want since it is an all over face color. I used it primarily as a blush/highlighter. There were a lot of morning that I absentmindedly reached for it. Like every day. I was like oh. It's nice to have a product that you don't have to "think" about and it just works. Excuse my fingerprint in the picture and my messy desk in the background. Oye vey.
The Original Foundation from Bare Minerals is one of the products on my list to use up for the year. I can say that I have used up the jar from my post woot! When I've raved about their foundation, I have always mentioned the matte foundation. Since I have been using the Original lately, I have been really really loving. It says that it gives you a luminous finish and for someone with oilier skin, luminous can be kind of iffy. But I have not had any issues with this making more oily. I have the foundation in Golden Deep which I feel is a very good match for my skin tone. Since I ordered the Bare Minerals March TSV on auto delivery, I won't be lacking in this shade option. So I won't be getting the matte version anytime soon. I say this now lol but I have the matte version in Warm Deep.
I've been pairing the Original Bare Minerals foundation with Rimmel's new Matte Primer. I think I picked this up in January after hearing rave reviews on it. When I first used it I was like meh and was going to list it as a "meh product" for that month. But I said let me play around with it some more. I have been really enjoying it. It feels good on the skin and does help with my oil. It'll be interesting to see how this works when the hotter temperatures arrive.
Kate Sommerville's ExfoliKate is another product on my use up by the end of the year list. I typically use it in the shower when I wash my hair. Every time after I use it I am blown away by how my skin feels. It is super soft, smooth and the skin care products I use afterwards just sink into my skin. I also love that the exfoliating beads in it are not abrasive at all. So if you look for an exfoliating product then check this out. It's pricey but I feel it's worth it. I have some other products to use up, so I will not be repurchasing it any time soon. If I didn't have these other products on hand right now then I would repurchase it.
Remember last month I mentioned that after I used up the Aveeno Makeup Wipes that I wasn't going to purchase anymore? Yea well I lied lol. I picked up a travel pack of the Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Towelettes from Ulta. I have heard nothing but good things about these and I can see why. They really do get your makeup off! They're a little bigger and a little more moist than the Aveeno ones. I picked up the CVS version of the Neutrogena wipes since they had a double pack for a good price. So we shall see if they perform the same. I may pick up another travel pack for my work trip.
Nails
I played around with a lot of Essie nail polishes in March and 2 that stood out are great neutral polishes for my skin tone were Very Structured and Lady Like. Both are from the 2011 Carry On collection. I also really like Cocktails & Coconuts. I mean how cute is the name? It's a pretty creamy light brown putty shade that went nicely with my skin tone.
I picked up 2 Milani glitter polishes from CVS. Sugar Rush is a really pretty lighter colored glitter polish that I think is very unique. Perfect glitter polish for spring and summer. Sugar High is a pretty blue multi-glitter polish.
Body
I reached for Philosophy's Amazing Grace a lot in March. Been trying to use up a shower gel and body butter by Korres and Amazing Grace pairs nicely with it. I hadn't worn it in a while and of course I'm thinking to myself why? It's an easy scent to wear. It's described as a clean floral fragrance. It's one of their popular scents, if not the most popular. It you are not that into fragrance and perfumes then check out Philosophy. Their scents got me back into wearing fragrance. I have some favorites outside of Philosophy but I could seriously just stick with Philosophy for my fragrances. I recently picked up Living Grace. Philosophy will have a TSV next month and it's a good one! I have a good feeling that it'll show up in my April favorites.
Brushes
Another new section this month. But there are quite a few brushes that I have been liking this most. So a brush section was fitting. Most of them are Real Techniques brushes. These are some great brushes that are inexpensive and very good quality.
I've been into smaller eyeshadow brushes. I have been loving using the Real Techniques Shading Brush. It's only $5.99 and small enough to get shadow on the innermost part of your eyelid as well as blend. It's a great brush to use for a one eye shadow look. I liked this brush so much, I went and picked up another one from Ulta.
Two face brushes from Real Techniques that I've enjoyed using are the Duo Fiber Face Brush and the Duo Fiber Contour Brush from the Limited Edition Duo Fiber Collection. The Face Brush I enjoyed using with Bare Minerals new BB Mineral Veil from the March TSV. I also enjoyed how it blended in my foundation. If you feel that you are heavy handed with face powders, try using a stippling brush. Watching several of Jennifer Wan's videos prompted me to reach for my stipple brushes more and to use them with my face powders. I've used other larger duo fiber brushes but I really really like this one. The Contour Brush I used with various blushes. If you're heavy hand or scared of blush then this a great brush to use. I'm debating on if I want to get another set from Ulta. We shall see. I have other stipple brushes in my stash that I can reach for so maybe I won't get another set of the Real Techniques brushes.
Another Real Techniques face brush I enjoyed using this month is the Buffing Brush. This brush is in the Core Collection set. I used it mainly with Revlon's Nearly Naked foundation. But I've also used it with Bare Minerals foundation. It's a great brush for applying foundation. I wish it was available outside of the set. I would definitely get another one.
The Sigma E25 Blending Brush is a dupe for MAC's 217. Various brush brands have a similar brush to this one. This is a great all purpose eyeshadow brush. I have 4 mini ones that I got as a gift with purchase. I always have 2 in reach when I do my eye makeup.
Random Stuff
Wen's Remoist is my favorite deep conditioner. I love that it has a small amount of protein and more moisture. Most of the ones I've used usually have a lot of protein and my hair needs more moisture vs protein. Usually what I'll do is wash my hair and sleep with it in my hair overnight and wash it out in the morning. This makes my hair super soft and moisturized. When my new growth really starts coming in, this is a big big help with keep my hair manageable. I got this small size in a kit but I recently got the big 8oz that Chaz brought to QVC during his March visit. I plan to do this weekly until my next visit to the hair salon.
Surprise Products of the Month
There have been waaaay too many trips to CVS lately. Doesn't help that there's one directly across the street from the job. I said I wasn't going to pick up any of the Maybelline Color Elixirs. I saw Charming Cocoa in a display and the display picture had a model that in my shade range wearing this gloss. I hadn't paid attention to it the last time I was in the store and looked at the collection. Well I got a good look at it and the gloss looked super pretty on the model so I was like *yonk* you're coming home with me. This is a great nude from my skin tone. It also feels very very nice on the lips. I maaaay get the purple or fuchsia shade from the regular line. This shade is limited edition. So if you're interested pick up now.
I picked up the Bobbi Brown Bronze Eye Palette which I think was a part of the holiday collection but I think it in a fantastic quad for the spring and summer. My beauty pusha did a blog post on this quad. I thought the colors were really nice and I kinda wanted to get it but was like no I'm good. Then Musings of a Muse had posted one of the other quads on her Instagram and we "chatted". She said that the Bronze Eye Palette was her favorite of the three quads that were released. So of course I was like gaaaaah!!!! *head palm*. So as you can see I caved and got it. It doesn't look like "much" but applied on the eyes, the colors are so pretty and Bobbi Brown eyeshadows are fantastic. You don't have to keep building and building for color to show up on your lids. They blend effortlessly and the shimmer/metallic shades are "too much" and no fall out. I can go on and on. Y'all know I love me some Bobbi Brown!
Another Bobbi Brown product I pick up was the Shimmer Brick in Nectar. Can we pause to enjoy the loveliness of this?? I saw this online and was like I kind of need this in my life. Bobbi Brown receives rave reviews for her Shimmer Bricks. Surprisingly enough this is my first one but it will not be my last. I have my eye on the Bronze Shimmer Brick next. It is mainly a highlighting product but as with any powder product you can use it however you like. I've seen these used on the eye and depending on the color as blush. This is grown up shimmer ok! It's is not glittery, it does not make you super shiny. It gives you a nice subtle glow to your skin that is so pretty. It's just er'thang!!!! If you are someone who doesn't really like highlighting products because they are too glittery or make you look shinny then check out Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks. They are a price product but I think they are worth the price tag. In some case you get what you pay for and this is the case to me for this product.
Meh Products of the Month
Ok soooooo I mentioned in Palette Play for March that I'd be play around with a bunch of duos. I had a bunch of elf one's to play around with. I did not like these at all. I played around with one from the evening set first. I had to apply, apply, and apply to build up some doggone color on my lid! So after that I took the rest from the evening set and put them in my giveaway bag. From the day set I pulled out the 2 that I liked the color combos to see if they were any better. But in end, the shadows from the day set went into my giveaway bag as well. Elf has hit and miss products. They were definitely a miss. I got them out sale and it came with their eyeshadow brush. So I'm not terribly disappointed.
I picked up the EcoTools Buffing Brush from Ulta. Emilynoel83 did a review of it on her express channel. So I said why not. It's was only $7 and I'm sure I have a coupon or reward dollars to use. I have 3 other face brushes from EcoTools that I reach for a lot and I like to use. This brush on the other hand was very disappointing due to the fact it shed so much! It shed when I washed, it shed when I used, it shed if I just picked at the hairs! So disappointed! I keep meaning to look on Ulta's website to see if anyone else had the same problem with this brush or maybe I got a bad one. If I could return it I would. But I threw away the packaging that it came it. Oh well.
Phew! And there you have it. On to April!
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