NEW Physicians Formula Youthful Wear

I purchased these products at CVS. It was a crazy discount, 40% off the original price.  SCORE!  I only picked up the concealer and the Foundation.  I love the packaging,  purple, my fave.  I normally do not pick up Physicians Formula products only because it’s one of the most expensive brands in the drugstore.  Normally these products would retail 12 – 15 dollars a product.  I have used the BB line which is okay.  (Comment if you would like my full review on that)

CLAIMS:  Look 10 years younger instantly.  The formula helps UNDO the visible signs of aging, restore firmness and elasticity and improves skin’s appearance.

Even the package has the word “spotless” that it is supposed to reduce the appearance of spots,  but products never say what types of spots it will reduce.   I hoped it would clear up my scars from old blemishes.  My first impression was very skeptical,  how can a foundation from the drug store INSTANTLY make me younger.  If it claims that I will look younger by ten years then that means that I will look 22 again.  Don’t hate but what if I still look like I’m 22?  I knew that I had to zone in onto the subtle differences and focus on other aspects of the foundation.


This is a BEFORE.  You can see some reddness, scars and a blemish above my eye

This foundation is very “liquid-y” instead of a pump PF put a dropper so you can drop the product onto the provided brush.  I won’t mention it again but the brush SUCKS, don’t use it.  This brush will hinder more than help.  Does it smell?  Oh my YES.  I will try to describe the smell.  It smells as if I left my carmel Frappuccino out for a couple of days and it’s starting to turn.  It smells like a moldy sweetness!  Eww, Sorry but it’s not so bad that I gag.  Moving on.


This is the AFTER as you can see it evened and covered fairly well with a dewy natural finish.

Coverage is light to medium I have to build up if I want to cover up something. It gives me a dewy finish, at times sometimes I think it’s too glow-y.  If you are wondering if I am talking about the concealer or the foundation, it’s the foundation.  I am still working with it, but I am not impressed with the concealer.  I thought that the concealer would be a bit thicker than the foundation to actually cover, but it’s more liquid-y than the foundation?  WTF,how am I suppose cover spots? If I am not careful enough I can wipe, stipple or dab away the product?

I notice I pick up this foundation as a quick fix to even out my skin tone that results in real look skin.  Also it moisturizes my face very well and does not accentuate my major dry patches.  I am still in need to powder my tzone because it's to shiny.  I like this foundation,  I am not sure it this well be part of the regular line a products but I suggest you try it blogreaties.

 

Online Shopping Spotlight: Cherry Culture

Online Shopping Spotlight: Cherry Culture

Online shopping is the only shopping I do nowadays.  “How do you know if you like it?”  “How do you know it fits?”  “How do you know it’s the right color?”  Those are the many questions I hear from people who clearly are uncomfortable with online shopping.  But for a “get in get out type of shopper” who is not only plus size but petite, it’s not like my purchases were ever going to be perfect anyways.  Online shopping is my form of gambling for me.  I will have good and bad but the good will always outweigh the bad. 

Cherry Culture is an online makeup store that sells inexpensive brands of makeup.  Youtube makeup Gurus like Beauty Broadcaster mentions their site every now and then when talking about inexpensive makeup sites. You can find some expensive brands there like BeautyBlender, Japonesque and Model in a Bottle yet it doesn’t offer the products that made them famous to begin with.  Bad marks in my book for that, I originally hoped that I was able to try these products at an affordable price because it was out of season or it was the old packaging.   But if you are hoping to find cheap Japonesque Brushes or finally try Model in a Bottle setting spray, no luck Cherry Culture doesn’t sell that.

NYX looks to be their most popular brand offering their newest products of the season.   Cherry Culture prices match what you see in Target or Ulta, but Cherry Culture will sometimes have decent discounts of products that will always make me come back to buy more. 

Recently the site offered a 40% off sale on their entire site.  NXY’s new stuff wasn’t out yet (they were probably clearing out some room for it)  so I took advantage of the sale and got a bunch of Ardel Lashes.  Usually the Ardell 110 Multipack runs 10.78 but I got them for almost 6.50 for my fave.  There are some diamond in the rough on that site especially if you want to try some unknown brands or you want to put together a great inexpensive gift for the makeup lover in your life.

But I can’t say that the site is perfect,  any avid online shopper will do their research.  In my case I tend to do my research after I put my order in.  (Remember I told you it’s like gambling for me).  In my lastest order in which I placed on March 6^th, I didn’t receive my order in the mail by USPS until March 24^th. That is a really LONG time for standard shipping (what are they E.L.F.?) I couldn’t fathom why it would take so long.  I am glad that Cherry Culture offers online tracking, but if your order take 15 days to process fake lashes then clearly the company needs to work on their process.  Beautylish had a great discussion on their forums of the different experiences others had with Cherry Culture.  Many stated that Cherry Culture actually contacted them to ask for their ID to verify payment.  WTH?!?  Since when did a cheap makeup sites turn into a  TSA screening?  Since they took so long I feared that I would get that email.  What would have I done if that happened? I would have cancelled my order and start the long process to ask for my money back ( I hate that)  I paid for my order with Paypal and I should warn you some were still contacted to verify ID even though they paid through paypal.  I would contact paypal to complain.

 

I have ordered three times from CherryCulture.com and have been satisfied with all the outcomes.  They packaged all of my orders very well, so well that sometimes it's hard to open.  But nothing was ever received as damaged.  So I feel bad of my next statement. 

Sadly I would give the overall grade of a “C”  though I deem the site as legit and never had a truly bad experience with them except a long time to receive order, its their lack of consistency with the general public that brings them down.  Me as the simple blogger doesn’t have to state it makes sense,  but when you are getting mixed messages from a popular site like Beautylish it will just confuse the person who wants to buy on the site.  So Blogreaties, CherryCulture.com  buy at your own risk and I hope it pays out well.

 

Skinn Cosmetics - Old Hollywood Look

So Sorry my Blogreaties,  I have totally neglected posting  this month.  Honestly I haven't really had a chance to even put on a full face because i have been so busy at work.  Lately I have been playing with a brand that I am not familiar with, Skinn Cosmetics.  I bought two sets from the brand on Hautelook.com and finally received it in the mail. ( Darn Hautelook “hella-long” standard processing and shipping)

Skinn Cosmetics is the beauty brand from creator Dimitri James. Dimitri James is a professional make-up artist whose work has graced the runway and the red carpet as well as national and international television shows and magazines.  He is also the author of Becoming Beauty and Naughty Makeovers for Nice Girls. 

Skinn Cosmetics is a brand that claims to have high quality ingredients in their products.  Skinn sells both skin care and makeup.  Looking at this website it is more skin care based rather than makeup. Skinn Website.Yet just looking at the ingredients I automatically see that the eye shadows do not contain TALC.  That is a good sign.  Talc is commonly used in cosmetics as a filler or color additive.  Though it is said that it clogs pores, it does explain a good difference between prices of makeup. 
 

DEFINITION – Talc: very soft mineral that is a basic silicate of magnesium, has a soapy feel, and is used especially in making talcum powder

When I first opened the packaging I honestly freaked out.  I spent a decent amount of money on a brand that I didn’t know to realize that the packaging reminded me of something that I would pick up from a 99 cent store.  Wah Wah!  Cheap plastic case even some of the shadows popped out if the case.  Thank goodness it didn't break but cheap glue was used to secure the products.  See the picture below,  can you tell which packing is which?  Left is Skinn, right is a very cheap makeup brand.  The palette on the right retails for 10-15 dollars.  The left I will feature on my Palette Series at a later time.  Skinn does claim on their website that it focuses on the quality of the actual products not the packaging.  But really packing is apart of the product, thats my opinion.  All products are said to be ani-aging, anti oxidant

 

Skinn Cosmetics Three-Piece "BB Your Best" Color Collection

 This Set included:
Absolute Perfection BB Cream - 1.3oz
Luxe Premier Eyshadows - Seduction - 0.4oz
Hollywood Lip Palette - 0.3oz

Absolute Perfection BB Cream -  there was no color labeled on the bottle.  But it was a perfect light medium color for my face.  Did it cover OMG yes.  This was practically a foundation it covered well.  It didn’t  cake onto my face and looks like healthy skin.  This was great. This is not a matte finish and I did use a setting powder on my look.

Luxe Premier Eyeshadows - Seduction: Has 12 eye shadow shades, of all finishes.  The colors honestly are all similar to each other and are neutral browns and creams.  very pigmented not chalky.  but I can do without it the colors didn't offer enough variety to make tons of looks for later.

Hollywood Lip Palette:  All red colors.  Cool and warm reds thats it.  you can mix them together but you will just create another red color.   All have a staining effect and did'nt dry my lips but it's still nothing to go out and get specifically. 

Usually this set can run you up to 80 bucks.  But I got it from Hautelook at a ridiculous discount.  Also the type of BB Cream it came with is the older version.  The newer version has more color selection and a change in formula.  I hope they didn’t change it too much because I love this stuff. The BB is the only thing that impressed me for my first review of Skinn.  The BB gave great coverage and it held up to all the benfits that the calims stated.  But other than that,  I wouldn't go for this set.  It's a great gift for a makeup wearer but honestly it not a gift that a person will remember.  Wah! Wah! For my look, I took the inspiration from the name of the Lip palette "Hollywood" and created an old hollywood look with a cat eye, red lips and a Veronic Lake-like hairstyle to top it off.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I don't know what it is about this day.  In no way am I Irish in my Guamanian -Asian heritage.  But I love this day.  So i bust out with my best irish accent and sing along to all the irish songs, because it's St. Patrick's Day!

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

Palette Series: LORAC Pro To Go Palette

 

Palette Name: LORAC Pro To Go Palette ($38USD)

Palettes, palettes, I love me some palettes.  I have posted that  I love having everything in one.  Well welcome to my new Palette Series. I am going to go into my major collection of makeup palettes and test what works and how much one can get done with the amount of products offered. What else is needed to get a complete look? It is travel Friendly? Stays tuned for my palette series and tell me what you think.

LORAC Pro To Go Palette – I knew as soon as I saw it, I wanted it.  I was hoping my husband would get it for me for Christmas so I told him it’s like a transformer.  ( I had to hit the heart of a nerd).  We as usual he didn’t get the hint so it was up to be to look into it.  At first it was hard to come by.  I had to sign up with Sephora to be notified when it was going to be available.  If it was anything like the Pro palette I was going to be impressed.   Sephora sent me an email and I immediately placed my order online.  Now don't mistake this as the other LORAC Pro to Go package that was released as an exclusive from Ulta,  which I don't even think compares to this one.

The LORAC Pro To Go Palette features 3 shimmer and 3 matte eyeshadows, 2 Blushes, a bronzer and 2 brushes. 

Percentage of FACE it covers:	60%
Face (Foundation) - NO	Blush - YES	Eyeshadows(3) - YES
Concealer - NO	Bronzer/ Contour - YES	Eyeliner - YES
Setting powder – YES (touchup for fair to light)	Highligter - YES	Mascara - NO
Lipstick/Lipgloss - NO

The LORAC Pro To Go Palette can cover a whopping sixty percent of my face.  I push it to 60 only due to the palette making the wearer be very very creative. Yea I know I too think it’s weird that the palette with the least amount of product can take care of more of covering the face.  But read on and I will explain.

So let’s start with the less complicated.  The Blushes and bronzer.  These blushes are standard, one matte  that is a very bright pink but looks natural and the other it much lighter with sparkles that one would assume can be used as a highlight but I recommend not to use because it’s more blush color than highlight. It will look like your cheeks are right under your eyes!

The eyeshadows,  6 eyeshadows total, 3 matte, 3 shimmer.  But two shadows that are bigger than the rest?  Interesting.  Why?  Clearly you are to use more of these compared to the rest. Both cream in color, one shimmer one matte.  Both can be used as a highlight for the face and eyes. And for the fair/light skin blogreaties the matte shadow can also be used as a setting touch up.

Lorac eyeshadows are creamy and very pigmented you can create such bold looks or sheer them out into a very sweet subtle look.  The selection of colors, though plain can create all the go to eye looks from minimal to Smokey fierce.  The Four darker shadows can  all be used as liners and brow fillers for some which is a plus for me.

Matte brown (café), matte black(black), shimmery bronze (chai) shimmery dark taupe purple (mink) with the two cream color peal ( shimmer) finally shell (matte)

Yes this palette comes with brushes,  but come on really?!?  They are soo tiny and thin.  It’s like this:

Travel Friendly? - YES	Can you double up on products? YES
Does it include application tools? - YES	Mirror? - NO
Do you need additional application tools? YES
Still need to bring:  Foundation/Concealer – mascara – Lipstick/Lipgloss	Factors of uniqueness:   The minimal products can double or even triple as products. No mix of textures, all powder.

 

If this palette states that it is "To Go" then their claims are right.  This is so petite and travel friendly that I can comfortably leave this in my car's glove compartment without fear of melting into the dash board.  Think about it since this palette contains nothing but pressed powders a little heat won't effect it.  Yes I know it is not the ideal place to store makeup but hey we are talking about the REAL world here people where I personally don't find myself in places that are at perfect room temperature.  I love this palette it was one of my favorites in my Perfect Palette Tag Post.  It is definitely NOT available at Sephora anymore and Ulta may still have it in store but you can order it online directly from Lorac Below is two looks that I created to show you can play it up or down.  Look 1 is a natural look and of Look 2 is a cat eye sparkle.  Hope you Blogreaties enjoy!

Pallette Series: BH Cosmetics Forever Glam Palette

Palette Name: BH Cosmetics Forever Glam Palette ($21.95 USD)

Palettes, palettes, I love me some palettes. I think I have posted before but I love having everything in one. I want to have my entire face beautiful and find everything in one palette. Yea, I know blogreaties that doesn't quite exist. Yet can you tell me what palettes come close to it? Ha, that a hard one huh? Well welcome to my new Palette Series. I am going to go into my major collection of makeup palettes and test what works and how much one can get done with the ammount of products offered. What else is needed to get a complete look? It is travel Friendly? Stay tuned for my palette series and tell me what you think.

BH Cosmetics Forever Glam Palette - I bought this palette along with the Forever Nude palette ( A previous post.  which were on sale I think 2 for twenty dollars. BH Cosmetics is still a fairly new brand in my collection. I was very impressed with the Judy Time Palette so I thought I would try some their other palettes.

The BH Cosmetics Forever Glam Blush and Lip Color Palette features 6 deluxe size eyeshadows in shimmer, satin and iridescent finishes along with 2 silky blushes and 2 creamy shades of lip color. Create endless looks that are ravishingly sexy and fun by mixing and matching these pumped up shades of GLAM!

 

Percentage of FACE it covers:	40%
Face (Foundation) - NO	Blush - YES	Eyeshadows(3) - YES
Concealer - NO	Bronzer/ Contour - YES	Eyeliner - NO
Setting powder - NO	Highligter - NO	Mascara - NO
Lipstick/Lipgloss - YES

The BHCosmetics Forever Glam palette can cover at least 50% of my face. I still need the appropriate face makeup but a 50% rating fetches well in my book. Unlike the Forever Nude palette that offers a matte cream color in the middle,  the Forever Glam offers a glitter lavender shade that I am still trying to figure out how to use.

Travel Friendly? - YES	Can you double up on products? YES
Does it include application tools? - NO	Mirror? - YES
Do you need additional application tools? YES
Still need to bring: Foundation/Concealer - powder - eyeliner - mascara	Factors of uniqueness: hard plastic case – Large mirror -  Dark combinations.

The palette is very travel friendly just like the other palette. The palette is encased in a hard plastic that will survive checked luggage, carry on or slip it in purse for everyday use. The mirror is perfect to serve as your lone mirror if you are in a pinch and will remain upright once open great for travel.

Yet compared to the lighter version of the Forever palettes this doesn’t rank top of my favorites.  The colors are different and very pigmented but  honestly doesn’t give me enough variety of looks that I can go for especially if it was the only palette I had hand.  The lip colors are the same as the forever nude which I believe doesn’t match well with the eye shadow colors.  I know it sounds bad but the color combinations looks drag queen-ish to me. I will need other colors from other palettes to use this palette.  But see below for the look I posted and see what you think but I think I may give this one away.  L

Sephora Divergent Multi-Piece Collector's Kit

Divergent,  another book turned movie, most likely turning into another trilogy for us consumers to spend three times more money!  So  Ta Da!  Introducing Sephora's Divergent Multi-piece collector's makeup kit!

 

To me it's all about timing.  Everyone knows the popularity of the Hunger Game and I am thinking that studios want to continue the hype.  Cover Girl started a bit late with their release of the Capitol Beauty Studio Collection.  12 different looks based on the 12 districts of the Hunger Games.  http://www.covergirl.com/catching-fire Well Duh!  Covergirl created new colors of nail polishes, eyeliners and eyshadows to market the Hunger Games Fans.

 

Sephora is starting early with Divergent. 

 

What it does: Divergent—what makes you different makes you dangerous. This enormous multi-piece kit allows you to be brave, selfless, intelligent, honest, and kind all at once. Each of the three Eye Shadow Palettes contains four coordinating High Pigment Eye Shadows plus one High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadow to draw immediate attention to the eyes. The High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows impart a shimmery, diamond-like reflection that is transparent when applied dry, and translucent when applied wet. Mix and match the shades to achieve a unique look every time. The kit also includes a cheek palette with two Long-Wear Blushes, a Shimmering Bronzer, and a Radiant Glow Illuminator. Four High Shine Lip Glosses round out each faction’s look. Use the double-ended eye and cheek brush and the included Get-the-look cards to choose and proclaim your faction.

This Set Contains: (http://www.sephora.com/divergent)
- 12 x 0.059 oz High Pigment Eye Shadows in Burnt Mahogany, Radiant Initiation, Peaceful Shimmer, Humble Sheen, Dauntless Ink, Abnegation Stone, Erudite Sapphire, Serene Vanilla, Bold Espresso, Intrepid Moss, Golden Honesty, Altruistic Almond
- 3 x 0.059 oz High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows in Choose, Diverge, Transform
- 2 x 0.11 oz. Long-Wear Blush in Obscure Coral, Misty Rose
- 0.11 oz. Shimmering Bronzer in Intelligent Bronze
- 0.11 oz. Radiant Glow Illuminator in Gleaming Pearl
- 4 x 0.13 oz. High-Shine Lip Glosses in Temptation’s Choice, Fear Not, Supreme Ritual, Natural Virtue
- Double-ended eye and cheek brush
- 3 x Get-the-Look cards

The movie comes out March 21st and is currently released as a VIB Rouge exclusive purchase.  Will I get it?  Probably Not.  Though I LOVE the selection of neutral colors and Sephora brand has really great high quality pigmented products.  It retails for $59.50USD  A bit pricey but perfect addition for the Divergent fan!  I am sure it will be on normal release once the movie comes out.  Check out the movie Trailer

divergentthemovie.com/