Category: Product Reviews

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation

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So, while I won’t be posting a video on YouTube this week as we are gearing up for guests to stay with us and  a housewarming party, I did want to write a blog post or two. This one is about the new All Nighter Liquid Foundation from Urban Decay. Now, I am an avid Urban Decay lover. I use their eyeshadow primer potion, setting spray, B6 spray, have many of their palettes… When I saw that they launched this completely matte foundation, I knew I had to give it a try. I purchased it last Saturday and have worn it the last three days.

Unfortunately, this is one of the worst foundations I have ever purchased. I have tried with with different hydrating and moisturizing or tacky primers, but this foundation leaves my skin cakey, flakey and makes me look 30 years older than I really am.

When I first apply it, it goes on smooth – and when they say a little goes a long way, it really does. I applied a pump and a half on my damp beauty blender and dotted it all over my faced and then proceeded to tap it into my skin. It goes on flawless. Adding the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer in the shade Light Warm (one of my new faves) ties the whole look together.

After setting my face (just a little since it’s a full coverage concealer) my face looked really amazing. Flawless, even. Fast forward five hours later and the foundation has started to come off around my nose and chin (my oiliest points of the face) and has cracked and looks cakey. My not-deep laugh lines look deep (I’m talking, I need botox deep) and it just doesn’t look good.

Here’s a right after application photo (from Sunday) and a five hours later photo (from just now):

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As you can see from the first photo, it looks really pretty when it first goes on. The second photo is only after five hours of wear! That’s ridiculous. My chin looks all cakey and my laugh lines look so deep. Mind you, this is after blotting the oil away from my face.

Looks like I’ll be sticking with the Born This Way foundation from Too Faced for a while.

Have you tried the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation? Do you like it? If you have any advice on how to avoid the cakeyness, please leave me a comment below.

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August Ipsy Glam Bag | Haul & Swatches

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Hey guys! Check out my video for my latest ipsy glam bag! Loving the products I received this month, especially the 12-in-1 haircare. If you don’t know what ipsy is, it’s a $10/month subscription service where you receive customized beauty and makeup products. Plus you get to keep a super cute makeup bag, perfect for travel. If you’re interested in trying them out, here’s a link to get you started: http://bit.ly/2bBZMuA.

If you already receive ipsy I’d love to know what you got in your glam bag this month! Leave a comment below. 🙂

First Impressions: Andalou Naturals Coconut Water Firming Toner

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It’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks. We finally moved into our new house, but my office is still getting set up, so in the meantime I’ve been unpacking boxes and getting other things organized, but I wanted to do a first impressions on a product I received at my full-time job yesterday.

So if you recall from a previous post, I work for Marin Magazine based in Sausalito, CA (10-minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge) and in the July issue we featured a local beauty company called Andalou Naturals in our Made By Marin section. Andalou Naturals is a 100% Non-GMO verified beauty brand, using fruit stem-cell science in their products. Another great note is that they are certified organic, fair trade, gluten free, cruelty free, and certified vegetarian and vegan.

One of the founders and CEO’s dropped off a box of goodies to the office yesterday and what first caught my eye was Andalou Naturals’ Coconut Water Firming Toner. I love anything that has coconut or rose water in it, so I knew I had to try it. My coworker tried it the last time Andalou sent us a package and she says she loves it, so I had to try it.

First off, the packaging is super cute. It’s simple, clean and since it’s a quenching product, the coconut water is in a blue bottle (my favorite color!). After removing my makeup and cleansing my face, I followed the directions and shook the bottle well and sprayed all over my face and neck. My face had an even complexion and felt hydrated just minutes after use. I used it this morning prior to using my moisturizing primer before applying my makeup. I definitely will keep using after cleansing my face each morning and night. I cannot say enough great things about this product.

I have also used Andalou Naturals’ shea butter hand cream in clementine and it’s amazing. It hydrates my skin without feeling greasy and smells amazing.

Andalou Naturals is available in more than 22 countries and carried by Target, Whole Foods, Ulta, Pharmaca and others – and online.

Have you seen or tried Andalou Naturals products before? I’d love to know. Leave me a comment.

Grav3yardgirl x Tarte Swamp Queen Palette First Impressions

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If you’re an avid YouTube beauty vlogger follower like me, guaranteed you’ve stumbled across Grav3yardgirl’s channel. The quirkiness of Bunny is so appealing and her looks are super unique. So when other people like Jeffree Star and MannyMUA were reviewing her new palette (a collab with Tarte Cosmetics), I knew I had to buy it. I mainly purchase my makeup goods from Ulta, so the moment they told me it was available online, I added it to my cart and bought the palette. Unfortunately, the liquid lipsticks that came with the palette were sold separately and sold out when I last looked (I may have to go to my nearest Ulta location to purchase).

In Grav3yardgirl’s palette you’ll find a brush, a bronzer color, a highlight and a blush. You’ll also find nine eyeshadow colors including some matte, some shimmer and some glitter. The names are super cute. When I swatched after I got the palette (and then stupidly deleted the photo of the swatches), the colors are super pigmented. This palette helps you accomplish a full-face glam or natural look. I can’t wait to experiment more with these colors. Take a look at the palette below. I’m in love with the packaging and the sturdiness of it, too.

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Here are the color names and the type of shade from the Tarte website:

  • #SFS (rose gold)
  • natural peaches (peachy nude)
  • dogman (burnt sienna)
  • big baby (cream)
  • sassy bun (copper peach)
  • sippy sippy (glittery brown)
  • haunting (lavender)
  • uncommon (purple slate)
  • mancat (deep plum)
  • sweet tea (bronzer)
  • gator wings (highlighter)
  • does this thing really work? (blush)

Have you used this palette or created looks with it? Let me know in the comments.

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick First Impression

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While making a purchase on Ulta.com, I needed an add-on item to get free shipping. That day, Urban Decay had just launched their Vice lipsticks (100 different shades in 6 different finishes), so I decided to pick a color and lip liner and add it to my bag to get that free shipping.

What a good decision that was! I’m in love with the color I got, as well as the finish. I am obsessed with matte finishes right now, so when I saw that the Vice lipsticks come in a comfort matte, I had to try it. The shade I purchased was Backtalk (a mauve-nude pink) in a comfort matte finish. The comfort matte finish feels like a regular, creamy lipstick, but looks 90% matte after it dries. I am really digging it. I will probably purchase a few other colors. Look at that packaging! Loving it. The Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on lip pencil in Rush (pictured) is super pigmented, so keep that in mind. Ulta’s site has a perfect couples section that matches a shade of the Vice lipstick to a lip liner, so give that a whirl if you’re interested.

Have you tried Urban Decay’s new Vice lipstick? Let me know in the comments.

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YouTube channel coming soon! Stay tuned for how I get this look. 

Born This Way Concealer & Lip Injection Glossy Review

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Finally! My Too Faced Born This Way concealer came in on Monday (I teased a photo on my Instagram). When Too Faced teased this concealer weeks ago, I was so excited. I swear by the Born This Way foundation and I had high expectations for this concealer. Let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed. I purchased the concealer in Light Medium, which is one shade lighter than my foundation (in warm nude), giving my face a highlight.

The concealer smells amazing due to the coconut water ingredient. The applicator is perfect for big areas (like under your eyes) or smaller areas, like near your nostrils or your laugh lines. You don’t need to blend this concealer right away (which I do anyway) in order for it to look great on your skin. I find it super hydrating. I have not been disappointed with this concealer. It provides a flawless look all day, which is great for me.

I also purchased the Lip Injection Glossy in the color Angel Kisses (a super sheer light pink color). I haven’t used a lip plumper lipgloss in quite a while, so I totally forgot about the subtle burning sensation it has in order to plump your lips. I applied  the lipgloss before leaving the house for work at around 8 a.m. and the burning sensation didn’t really subside until about 8:45 a.m., but it wasn’t super intense either. I’d say that’s the only thing I don’t really like about the lipgloss. The color is pretty and the gloss lasts. I didn’t put a lip primer on, so surely it’ll last longer with that (mine lasted a little past lunchtime). I’d probably layer it with another pink lipstick.

All in all, it was a good purchase. I will keep using both products. Have you tried either of these yet? Let me know in the comments.

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Mascara Melt-Off Review

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In my last big Too Faced haul, I had purchased their Mascara Melt-Off as I always seem to have trouble getting all the mascara off my lashes. After having dinner with my father-in-law in San Francisco (if you’re ever in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, highly recommend Beso), it was time to take off my full face of makeup. First thing’s first – get rid of the mascara. Per the instructions, you’re supposed to coat your lashes with this conditioner and leave in for 60 seconds. The applicator looks like a traditional mascara wand, with way shorter bristles.

All in all, I think the product works really well. Even better if you wipe off the mascara with a makeup wipe (which Too Faced suggests in the instructions, too). I do, however, feel like if you leave it in for more than 60 seconds, you’ll be better off. I still had a little mascara on my lashes this morning.

All in all, I am loving this product and will continue using! 😀

Have you used the Mascara Melt-Off by Too Faced? If not, what’s your way of removing all your mascara? Leave a comment below.

Update: Letting the conditioner sit on my lashes for 2 minutes worked better. Still use a makeup wipe to remove it all. 

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Too Faced Cocoa Contour Review

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I finally took the plunge – I contoured my face. Now, I have never ever contoured before, so if you think I did a horrendous job, please leave some tricks and tips in the comments section. It took me long enough to use the cocoa contour palette after purchasing a whole slew of other things from Too Faced, but I gave it a shot this weekend. I didn’t go all full glam, but just wanted to play around with it. Per the “instruction manual” as I like to call it, I went for the natural look.

I do have to say that this palette smells amazing (obviously, the cocoa) and is not as pigmented as I thought it would be. I used the small contour buki brush provided and while it did pick up a good amount of color, it didn’t look pigmented on my cheeks. I applied medium cocoa near my temples and on my cheeks to define my cheekbones, and lined my jaw bone with it, too. I then applied light cocoa in my T-zone.

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As you can see, I only contoured a little. I still need to get comfortable with it, but I’ll eventually get there.

Do you have any contouring tips and tricks? Let me know in the comments.

Solid BeautyCleanser Review

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So, I gave it a whirl. I tried the Solid BeautyCleanser that I purchased from Sephora a couple weeks ago on my beauty blenders. The product is actually really cool and smells nice, so I wanted to write up a little review about it for you all. First, here’s a before and after photo.

As you can see, my beauty blender looked horrendous. I think I had only cleaned it one time prior. Afterwards, however, it looks brand spanking new. As for the beautycleanser itself, it’s a great product. The soap formula really works to break up all that makeup on the sponge and it comes off with ease. Prior to actually cleaning my sponges, I watched the video showing how to use the solid beautycleanser and it offered a couple tips and tricks on how to clean it.2016-05-08 18.33.29
The suggestion of tapping your beauty blender onto the pink silicone pad didn’t work well for me. I got better results from rubbing the beauty blender on the silicone pad as it got more of the makeup off quicker. It took me about a half hour to clean both my sponges, which isn’t horrible. I have yet to use it on brushes, but plan on doing so this weekend since I am reorganizing my makeup caddy.

Do you use the beautycleanser? If not, what product do you use and have found successful?

Have a happy weekend!