Category: review

Product Review: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

The Too Faced Shadow Insurance is an eyelid primer that acts as a base for your eye shadows and brings out the colors in your shadows. I have been contemplating for some time now whether to get this product, I was unsure whether to get this one or the Urban Decay Primer Potion. But I think this offers better packaging as you are able to get the product out more easily. I got mine from eBay since there are no stores here in Malta that sell any Too Faced products or I don’t know of any. It came wrapped in this cute organza bag and also some bubble wrap. You can find more detailed information on the Too Faced website.


What they claim:
Your full-coverage insurance policy against eye shadow fading, creasing, and melting. Our silicone-based eyeshadow primer transforms any eye shadow into a perfectly blendable, color-drenched, intensified version of itself, then locks it down perfectly until you take it off. Our skin soothing formula evens out the skin tone on your lids and smoothes out lines while it secures a barrier between the oils of your skin and your makeup, so no shadow catastrophes will ever happen again.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Apply to clean, dry, lids using your finger.
2. A little goes a long way, the product will blend in without being visible.
3. Create shadow intensity for smoky eyes by placing Shadow Insurance on lids only, wait 30 seconds, then apply shadow.

Benefits:
Vitamin E – Conditions, soothes and calms the delicate eye area.
Unique Binders – Volatiles lock down eye shadow pigments for amazingly long wear.
Tocopherol – Anti-aging, antioxidant moisturizer.
Versatility Galore – Use with powder or cream eye shadow products.
Reliable Beauty – Anti-creasing formula holds eye products in place.
Concentrated – The size of a rain drop covers the entire lid.

What I think:
I really like this product as it has a nice creamy consistency where a little product goes a long way and it is easy to blend on the eye lid. I have oily lids, which means that if I am wearing makeup for some long period of time, I have to apply a primer, otherwise the shadow will crease. I love using this product when I am going out and I am applying more shadow than usual. For normal days I usually make use of my Elf Mineral Eye Primer which works really well too. This product retails for $18.00 on the Too Faced website but I got it a little cheaper since I got it from eBay. You get 11g/0.35oz of product in this cute shiny tube. I will definitely be repurchasing this product but I am sure this will last me a long time.

Random fact: There seem to be two designs for the Too Faced Shadow Insurance, the one I have is as is shown on the Too Faced website, then there is another design as is shown on the Sephora website. Apart for the design they are identical products.


Have you ever tried the Too Faced Shadow Insurance? What do you think?


Product Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist



I bought this product some time ago as I wanted to try a face mist to use during the night when I didn’t want to be bothered with applying a moisturizer before going to bed. I love The Body Shop items and their values and the ingredients they put in their products so I decided to give it a go. I got mine from eBay but on The Body Shop Website it has a retail price of $16.00 for 3.2 fl oz.

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What they claim:
Give your skin an instant pick-me-up with a go-anywhere, rosewater-scented mist that moisturizes, conditions and protects.

How it works:
♥ Vitamin E is a nourishing natural antioxidant that moisturizes and protects against premature aging and environmental aggressors.
♥ Glycerin moisturizes skin to improve softness and maximize hydration.
♥ Liposomes and lecithin help skin to quickly absorb vitamin E and restore skin’s natural moisture balance.


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My Conclusions:
I love this product for a light but hydrating mist all over the face. It dries up fast on its own and it has a nice rose scent to it! I find this particularly useful when I am studying and I don’t go out that much.

Do you like The Body Shop? Have you tried anything from the Vitamin E range?

Favorites: Everyday Eyeshadows

 

I wanted to do a post on my favorite shadows that I use the most for everyday use. The two shadows that I reach for the most are these two that I got from the Elf Studio Single Eye shadow range called Butter Cream and Pebble. I love to use Butter Cream which is a sheer golden tone shadow as an all over the lid color as it brightens up my eyes and gives a little color without it being too much. On the other hand Pebble is a very versatile color which can be used for various looks. I love using it lightly in the crease to give a little more depth and definition to my eyes or as an all over the lid color for that muddy look that looks great through all the day. As you can see from the photos below both shadows have a little dent in them but I still have not hit pan on these even though I use them nearly every day. 

You get quite a lot of product in these pans, 2.75g/0.097oz. for €4.00/£3.50 which is a good amount of product. I got mine from the Elf website HERE. They have various other colors to choose from and I am looking forward to try many more, I especially love the color Amethyst which is a gorgeous deep royal purple.

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Butter Cream

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Pebble

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Left Butter Cream, Right Pebble

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My Conclusions:
I love both these shadows and will definitely repurchase them once they finish although I don’t think that it will be any time soon. I love to try out various shades but most days in the mornings I am feeling lazy and just want a slap of color on the lids to look awake and these are perfect for this. Even more since I still go to University, I don’t want to apply too much color to my lids and these are very neutral and blend nicely.

What are your favorite eye shadow colors for everyday? Have you tried the Elf Single Eye Shadows?

Product Review: Elf Eyeliner and Shadow Stick

 
Some time ago I bought these eyeliner and shadow sticks from Elf and I have been using them quite a lot. I had been really looking forward to having some kind of cream shadows to use as a base for my eyeshadow and these were a good buy to start using these bases. I got them in these two shades, which are midnight/blue and plum/purple. There are other combinations to these two including some very neutral ones but I was really curious to try out these two as they are the latest addition to these sets. You can buy these from HERE which is Elf’s UK website. I have put some swatches of the products for you so you can see for yourself just how gorgeous these colors are.
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Shadow Stick in Purple

Liner side in Plum

Left Purple, Right Plum

Shadow Stick in Blue

Liner side in Midnight

Left Blue, Right Midnight
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My Conclusions:
As you can see from the swatches above the colors are super pigmented and they are so soft and easy to apply to your eyes without having to tug or press down hard. What I do is I apply the product from the shadow part directly to my eyelid and then use either a synthetic brush or my fingers to blend the product well. Be sure to apply a primer underneath as they will crease on their own. These are not cream shadows that will dry and not crease. They do dry and stay put for a long time as when I applied to my hands they wouldn’t budge but you have to apply a primer and shadow over to keep them from creasing over time especially if like me you have oily eyelids. I then use the liner part to line my eyes and these are also good for the water line.

The colors are really pretty and they give so much intensity to any color you apply on top. I really love these and will definitely try to get my hands on all the other combinations they have on the site. These retail for €4.00/£3.50 on the Elf website and you get .24g/.86g of the liner and shadow respectively.

Have you tried any of these liner and shadow sticks from Elf? What do you think?

Product Review: Avon Blemish Treatment

I have acne prone skin, so I include a blemish treatment for my spots or any acne that appears on my skin, in my daily facial routine. I have tried several of these blemish treatments over time and the Avon Clear Skin Blemish Treatment is one of my favorites. This blemish treatment is in the form of a clear gel that dries to an invisible finish on the skin so it is very useful if you want to apply this and leave it on your face as it leaves no trace. This product contains 2% Salicylic Acid, which works to dry out the blemishes and the product comes in a tube with 15ml of product. This product can be found on their website HERE.

What they claim:
Clears up acne pimples & helps prevent new blemishes. Attacks acne on the spot. See results in 24 hours!

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What I think:
This product is quite a mild treatment and if like me you have some bad acne on your skin, then this treatment is not enough. However, I find that if I’m having a good skin day but I still have some mild spots coming on, this treatment is quite helpful as it reduces the spots without drying out the skin around it which can happen with many other more aggressive blemish treatments. What I do, is apply a tiny amount on the spot and let it sit on my skin. I sometimes also use this product through the night, I apply it before going to bed and in the morning the blemish is visibly reduced.

I have bought this product with my own money from eBay, but I’don’t remember how much it cost exactly, but as with all products Avon, it is quite affordable. I also did a Neutrogena blemish treatment review HERE.

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Have you tried any blemish treatments? What do you think about this product?

Product Review: Karin Herzog Vita-A-Kombi 3

During the Christmas Season the lovely people at R8 Beauty where holding loads of Give Aways or Sweepstakes as they are called and I was lucky enough to win one of the Karin Herzog Face Creams. The product is called Vita-A-Kombi 3 and it is a face cream that you put over areas where you are having blemishes or break outs. I was thrilled at the idea of such a product as I have very acne prone skin and it is also very sensitive.

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I’d never tried any of the products from this brand and to tell you the truth had never even heard about the brand before I saw the products on the R8 Beauty Facebook page HERE. Therefore when I received the face cream in the first weeks of January I went onto the Karin Herzog website and looked at the description given for this product HERE.

What they say on their website:
A simple and extremely effective natural way to banish spots, cold sores, boils blisters, pigmentation etc. Using Vita-A-Kombi 3 directly on to the area to be treated allows the drawing effect of the oxygen will work like a vacuum to literally VAK the spot off. Acne cream containing 3% oxygen and vitamins A & E.

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My Thoughts:
This cream is not like any other blemish cream that I have. After reading through the leaflet that came with it, I found that you can either apply it to your blemishes and leave it there or wipe it off as the product is immediately absorbed into the skin. This contains hydrogen peroxide which is really good for clearing up acne from the skin and delivers oxygen that is required by the skin. The jar contains 16ml and on the site it retails for £21.50, which is quite pricey for me!

What I usually do is use it at night before I go to bed. I gently pat it onto blemishes on my face and let it to sit there. I have not seen any break outs because of this product which is always a good thing since my skin is so sensitive. The product itself is very thick but easily absorbed by the skin. A little goes a long way and once absorbed it leaves the skin a little dewy but not too much. However, I would not apply makeup on top of it and would not use it during the day if going out as I’m sure it would look too shiny for me.

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My Conclusions:
I have seen some results with this cream, that is my blemishes are still visible, however I must say that after applying this product regularly the amount of breakouts has diminished a lot and blemishes that were there are either slowly getting better or at least not getting any worst. I will keep using this product as I think it will help me to fight against the marks that acne leaves behind on my skin and that take so long to fade away.


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Have you tried any Karin Herzog products? What do you think?

Haul: Mail Package!

Today I had an exam and was again feeling super tired and sad! But when I got home this is what I found waiting for me. The lovely people from Montagne Jeunesse sent me this huge package filled with goodies to try out and review for you! There are so many different face masques to try out and two face tonics which I had been dying to try out. I have found some shops which sell these masques but the range they have is always very limited. I have tried some masques from this brand already and did a review HERE.

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(Left to Right) The Face Tonic and Cherry Tonic
It will take me some time to go through all of these masques but I will try to review them in batches so that you don’t have to read a super long post. I love this company as they never test on animals and always try to use natural ingredients in their products. I will also try to take pictures to show you the consistency of each of these masques, so that you have a good idea what they look like. 🙂 I am also looking forward to try these heating masques as they are supposed to make your skin really soft and smooth. 

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(Left to Right) Passion Peel Off and Sauna Masque
I will as always share with you my honest opinion and give you my experience with the products tried whether this is good or bad! I value your trust a lot and will only do reviews and tell you what I really think about a product, no matter where I get it from.

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Have you tried any of the Montagne Jeunesse Masques? What do you think? Where do you get them from?