Product Review: Milani Rose Powder Blush

Hello Hello! Recently, I stopped by Walgreens to pick up some items for an upcoming trip. Per usual, I could not help but browse through the new arrivals in the cosmetics aisle and the beautiful rose impression on the new Milani Spring 2014 Limited Edition Rose Powder Blushes quickly caught my eye. The blush can be found in four shades:

Coral Cove (05)

Lady Rouge (06)

Love Potion (07)

Tea Rose (08)

As tempting as it was to pick up all four blushes, I decided on coming home with Lady Rouge and Tea Rose for $7.50 each. 

 In the package, Tea Rose is a beautiful pinky brown shade while Lady Rouge is a bright pinky red. 

Pictures taken in natural light: Tea Rose (L) & Lady Rouge (R)

In the process of swatching, I noticed Tea Rose was much more silky to the touch while the texture of Lady Rouge was more course. Neither of the two blushes swatched smooth upon first swipe. Both blushes required a little blending to reach the texture shown in the swatches above and both blushes appeared to be the same hue after they were swatched.

My overall thoughts are that although the packaging is lovely and despite the difference in appearance of the blushes, I would only recommend picking up Tea Rose as the texture was much smoother than Lady Rouge. In comparison to the blushes in Milani's regular line of products, I think the quality of the blushes in their regular line are better.

Have you seen these limited edition blushes in the store yet? If yes, what are your thoughts on the shades? What are your favorite Milani blushes? I welcome your thoughts below!

♥ Joy ♥

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

Too Faced: Boudoir Beauty Collection 2013

Hello Hello! So glad it is Friday. Although I am currently in the midst of my last semester of graduate school and job applications, somehow I still found time to do some online shopping! I couldn't help but pick up these lovely new Too Faced products from their Boudoir Beauty Collection. 

 The items arrived in a pretty pink box!

Note on the inside flap.

I ordered 2 items and the order came with 3 freebies!

Boudoir Eyes Eyeshadow Palette

Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush

Double Ended Eyeshadow Brush (freebie)

Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder (freebie)

Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer (freebie)

Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in cardboard box packaging.

From L to R: Swatch of all the colors combined, Swatches of all the colors separately

Boudoir Eyes in pretty tin packaging!

The shadow names definitely seem to match with the boudoir theme...

Shadows swatched from left to right, top to bottom.

From L to R: In the Buff, Satin Sheets, Birthday Suit, Fuzzy Handcuffs

From L to R: Voulez Vous, Sugar Walls, Garter Belt, Lap Dance, French Tickler

Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder (it actually smells like chocolate ^___^ yummm)

First Impression

This is the first time I have purchased from Too Faced and I'm actually very happy with the purchase! The blush was the item that initially drew me to their site. I'm so excited to use the blush both separately and combined. I think it will be a perfect for both spring and summer. The eyeshadow palette seems perfect for travel and the colors turned out to be quite pigmented. I have also heard positive reviews about the bronzer and although it is sample size, it will most likely last me a while. Hopefully, it works well on my NC15/NW15 skin (yes, I am ghostly). 

Have you purchased from Too Faced before? What are some of your favorite Too Faced products? Comment below and let me know what you think below!

♥ Joy ♥ 

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

the Balm

Hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday! The weather is getting colder and I am looking forward to finishing up the semester. Can't wait until break! At the moment, my short-term goal is to survive the next two weeks. If I make it, then I should be home free...at least for a little while... However, I am taking a break from paper writing at the moment because I wanted to put up a product post for you all!

After hearing much hype, I gave in and purchased some "the Balm" products from Hautelook. I had originally seen some of the makeup products at Marshalls, but I didn't take the bait then. However, I only purchased three items including: Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette ($19.50), Frat Boy Blush ($10.50) and Down Boy Blush ($10.50).

 I really love the packaging. Yes, for some it may be viewed as being flimsy since it is predominantly paper and not plastic based, but I really like it because it is very slim and portable. Plus, I love the cut pics!

 There were three different palettes on sale, but this one appealed to me most. I think these shades are very wearable.

 I think the eyeshadows are really pigmented. These swatches were only created with one swipe! The swatches match their place on the palette above.

 Along with the eyeshadow palette, I purchased two blushes as well. One is more peachy toned and the other is a more cool toned pink.

 

I have very fair skin as you can see via the picture, so both blushes show up pretty well. I swatched them in the order they are shown above.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchases! Have you tried the Balm products before? What did you think?

 ♥ Joy ♥

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

BH Cosmetics: Palette Reviews and Swatches

Hi everyone! Finals week has arrived at school and I have been bombarded with exams and projects. However, I did make a purchase a while back that I have been itching to write a review on and was in the mood to do so today. As you can see in the title, I will be reviewing and swatching some palettes from BH Cosmetics (warning, this post is pic heavy)! The company always seems to have promotional codes and I figured I would invest in some palettes rather than spend so much monies on eyeshadow singles.

Without further ado ^__^ here goes!...

Above is the packaging I received the palettes in as well as the outer packaging for the palettes themselves. I was very happy at how quickly the order was shipped and received.

Shiny plastic outer packaging for all three eyeshadow palettes. On the inside, all three palettes come with a mirror and some double sided disposable eyeshadow applicators. I do wish this came matte though since after a while, your fingerprints show (I tried to be careful, but I think you can see an example of this on the bottom of the case in this pic :(.) 

Just to give you a measure on how large each of the shadows are.

The 88 Standard Matte Palette in natural light.

Closest true to color picture I could get of the 88 Standard Matte Palette. Love how the colors are so vibrant and that there is such a wide variety!

Some random color swatches on MAC NW15 skin. Not sure why I picked these specifically.

Closest true to color picture I could get of the 88 Shimmer Palette. Color assortment is very similar to that of the 88 Matte Palette, but only difference is that these are shimmery.

I was very surprised at how pretty the colors swatched!

Closest true to color picture I could get of the 88 Neutral Palette. Again, lots of variety if you don't own that many eyeshadow shades.

Some swatches on MAC NW15 skin. I tend to wear more neutral makeup for class, so this palette definitely lets me create more professional makeup looks.

Pros

Good pigmentation

Wide variety of colors

Good starter palette

Versatility in creating varying makeup looks

Cons

Some of the shadows can be a bit chalky

Some of the eyeshadows were unevenly placed in the palette(as seen above)

Overall Rating: A-

Although the eyeshadow quality is not the best I have seen, I think this is a great buy for someone that wants to experiment with different colors or who wants to create different looks, but does not want to spend crazy amounts of money.

Note: I did read in some reviews that sometimes single eyeshadows would fall out. Although that has not happened to me as of yet, I thought I would just mention that as well.

Along with the eyeshadow palettes, I also purchased a blush palette...

10 Color Professional Blush Palette. This picture as true to color as I could take for the blush palette. I was very excited when I saw the colors in this palette!

However, when I swatched the blush colors(depicted in the same order as the colors in the palette), some colors definitely were more pigmented than others(as seen above).

Pros

Good variety in colors

Some colors come pretty pigmented

Easy portability

Affordable

Cons

Wished some of the colors were more pigmented

Overall Rating: B+

One of the major downfalls for this palette is that the blushes were not very pigmented. I really liked the variety of shades available in the palette, but it was disappointing when the colors were so pretty in the palette and did not swatch the same way on my hand. However, if you are someone that applies blushes with a heavy hand, this palette might turn out to be very good for you and for the amount you pay, you get a lot of colors to play around with.

Hopefully, this review was helpful! Post below if you have questions at all and since the holiday season is here, let me know if any of you find any cute gift ideas. I have a lot of girl cousins(ranging in all ages) and would definitely appreciate the help in brainstorming!

 Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

E.L.F. Haul Part 2: Face

Hiyas everyone!  Sorry for the late post!  It has been crazy this past week because I just finished up my last week at work and am currently preparing to head back to school for this fall.  School starts in two weeks.  Eek!  So excited, but scared too because I am not sure how difficult my classes will be!

Yay! So this will be the second part of my e.l.f. (eyeslipsface.com) haul.  I warn you now though because some of the items are new and some of the items are products I purchased a while back.  I figured if you were interested in purchasing some of these items, might as well put everything together and review all the products I have.

Here's a pic of all the products together ^^.  

 e.l.f. products from (L to R) top to bottom:

Studio Bronzer - Warm Bronze ($3.00)

Studio Tone Correcting Powder ($3.00)

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder ($3.00)

Studio Translucent Matifying Powder ($3.00)

I purchased these products a while back.  Ignore the dirty makeup sponge please...

Studio Bronzer: I think the studio bronzer works pretty well, but since I am pretty pale, I definitely have to use a subtle hand when applying this product.  I do not normally use bronzers often, but the texture of this one is pretty good especially for the price and if you need to, you can always pick from which color block you want.

 Note: First color in this set of swatches are all the colors combined and then it is just swatched L to R

Studio Tone Correcting Powder:  I think this product actually used to be referred to as Complexion Perfection Powder.  I originally purchased this item to help cover up hyper pigmentation because I used to have pretty bad acne.  I think the product is okay for use in covering up/neutralizing light redness.  However, if you are looking to cover up acne or looking for medium to heavy coverage, it probably is not the best choice.

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder:  I think the blush/bronzer duo works well and the combination makes it easy to take on trips/for travel.  I think since again, my skin is pretty fair, this product needs to be applied with a light hand.  The blush is a pretty shade of coral and gives a nice pop of color for the summertime!  I think if you are looking to save some money, this is definitely a product to look into.

Studio Translucent Matifying Powder:  I think out of all the products mentioned above, I used this product the most.  My skin gets pretty oily and this definitely helps to reduce the shininess.  It comes with a makeup sponge, but I usually apply this with a brush.  It also goes on translucent (as mentioned in product name) and did not leave a ghostly hue to my skin, but sometimes did make me break out.  For the price, the product is good for people without uber sensitive skin like mine.

In this last haul, I decided to pick up some blushes since I had never used e.l.f. blushes before!

 e.l.f. studio blushes from (L to R) top to bottom ($3.00):

pink passion

tickled pink

peachy keen

gotta glow

I love these blushes!  Yes, the colors are pretty subtle, but all are very wearable without producing a clown effect ^__^.  I think my favorite out of all the colors would be 'pink passion'.  I feel that 'pink passion' had the best color payoff compared to the other blush colors.  'Gotta glow', I would definitely consider using as a highlight though (eyebrow more so than cheek).  Some people say this is a dupe to NARS Albatross, but since I have never tried NARS blushes, I can't justify this claim.  Overall quality of these blushes are pretty good and packaging is nice and sleek.

I also picked up this e.l.f. studio line pressed powder in Porcelain (I have NW15-20 skin) for $3.00.  I think this pressed powder works well.  Thankfully, it does not break me out!  It pretty much serves the purpose of matifying and does a good job in doing so.  The product also applies well and does not go on chalky, which is a definite plus!

Along with the pressed powder, I also picked up the e.l.f. studio line Flawless Finish Foundation in Porcelain ($6.00).  I actually like this more than my MAC Studio Fix Fluid because that thing broke me out with each application.  I do not think this product provides heavy coverage, but closer to light to medium coverage.  For the price, you get a good amount of product as well!

Lastly, I repurchased a new studio line kabuki face brush ($5.00).  I think the bristles of the brush feel very soft.  For as long as I have been using it, I have not experienced much bristle fall out.  This is a definite product I would recommend if you like to apply makeup via kabuki!

Overall, I am very happy with the items I purchased.  For the price, I would definitely shop at e.l.f. again and they always have online coupon codes so that you can get their products for even cheaper.  Gotta love a bargain!

Random thought, but I noticed HauteLook.com has NYX cosmetics on sale Friday, 8/12.  If you are not familiar with Hautelook.com, it is a website that sells name brand/designer items for discounted prices.  NYX cosmetics are usually pretty cheap already, but just figured I would throw it out there if anyone was interested in purchasing.

My personal referral link to HauteLook is: 

http://www.hautelook.com/invite/JJin437

However, if you were interested in visiting the site without using the referral link you can do so as well at:

http://www.hautelook.com  

Happy Thursday everyone!

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.