Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer

As someone who has struggled with acne and acne scarring, foundation has been an important part of my routine for a long time, but it's only been about a year that I've been trying out foundation primers. So far, I haven't really found one that has completely wowed me.

When I saw the Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer in CVS, I figured it was worth a shot. It cost $13.29 and contains .91 oz of product.

Going off of first impressions, the packaging is nice. It is in a glass bottle with a pump, which I know a lot of people prefer. I would rather have a squeeze tube that makes it easier to get the last of the product out and to make it more travel friendly, but I don't hate the pump.

The pump itself does a good job of dispensing the right amount of product. One pump gives me what seems to be the right amount for covering my face. The feel of this primer is less slick than Smashbox's Photofinish primer  or Tarte's Clean Slate primer. It feels soft and a little powdery to me, and, thankfully, it doesn't have any of the shimmer associated with the PhotoReady line.

One pump of product.

Blended out.

 I don't notice a huge difference in pore size or in how my foundation applies after using this primer. It does, however, seem to add about an hour or so of extra wear to my foundation. I tested it on back-to-back days, going the first day without it and the next day with; I purposely checked the condition of my foundation right after work. On the day that I wore the primer, my skin was less oily and my foundation looked better overall.

When I first started testing this product, I was worried that it was breaking me out. I seemed to be getting a couple of pimples popping up every day I wore it, but after giving it a break for a few days and trying it again, I haven't noticed any extra breakouts from it.

Overall, I think this is a decent primer. Like the other primers I've tried, it hasn't wowed me. I doubt I will repurchase it because I want to keep looking for a primer that does really impress me, but I'm not annoyed that I spent the money on it. If you are looking for a drugstore primer, this one might be worth checking out.

Have you tried this primer yet? Do you plan on it? What are your favorite foundation primers?

L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail eye liner

I picked up the L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail eye liner in Navy last week to get to the $15 mark required for an ExtraBucks deal at CVS. I figured it was worth a shot since I only had one blue pencil liner that is brighter than I prefer for everyday looks. The full retail price for this liner was $9.79.

Claims/Features:

• Rich creme formula for smooth application
• Smudge-resistant, up to 16 hours
• Built-in sharpener and smudger
• Ophthalmologist tested
• Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers

 I thought the smudger was interesting because it was rubbery instead of the typical sponge tip. I'm guessing that might make it more sanitary because bacteria can't build up in it, but that's just a guess. I would also assume that it would hold up better than the sponge-tip smudgers.

When I swatched this liner for the first time, I wasn't thrilled. It didn't swatch very well.

In the above picture, the top swatch is one swipe with the pencil. As you can see, there isn't a lot of color payoff, especially when you compare it with something like Urban Decay's 24/7 liner pencils. The second swatch is two swipes, and the third is multiple. The last swatch was lightly blended out with the smudger tip.

Note: I just swatched this liner again, and the color-payoff with one swipe is a lot better than the above picture, so it appears to have softened up a bit with some use.

Now on to the standard staying-power test. After letting the above swatches sit on my hand for a few minutes, I rubbed them with my fingers with a good amount of pressure and speed. Here are the results:

Not exactly outstanding results for something that claims to be smudge-resistant (notice that it doesn't claim to be smudge-PROOF).

On Monday, I wore this liner to work, and here's how it looked when I got home (sorry there isn't a before picture):

This picture was taken after about 9-10 hours of wear. I do still have color on the outer corner of my eye, which is good. That tends to be where liner disappears on me. However, you can see that it looks faded and the color has smudged down a little bit under my eyes. From a normal distance, this wouldn't be noticeable, so I was happy enough with it. If I were going out to dinner in the evening though, I would probably feel the need to do a quick touch-up before heading back out the door. While I can imagine that there would be a decent amount of product left at the 16-hour mark, I don't think it would hold up well enough to live up to its 16-hour claim.

Overall, I would say this is a decent liner. I will continue to use it because I do like the color of it, but I don't plan on repurchasing it. There are better liners out there. From my somewhat limited collection of pencil liners (I used to almost exclusively wet-line with eye shadows), I much prefer the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips eye liner trios. They are more smudge-resistant and you can get a pack of three for about $1 more than I paid for the L'Oreal liner.

What are your favorite pencil liners? Have you tried these L'Oreal Infallible ones? What was your impression of them?

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer

I am constantly battling with dark under eye circles. Being fair, they tend to make me look like a zombie. Think I'm exaggerating?

Here's my eye area without makeup:

Zombie eye - Eeek!!!

Okay...maybe not quite a zombie, but I swear they are darker in real life.

I have been testing out the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Radiant to see if it can keep me from looking like I want to eat brains for lunch. 

Swatches: 

Heavy swatch on the right; Blended out on the left

Aside from offering Radiant, which is their peach correcting shade, this line also has 5 other shades that are more flesh toned. The name of this product implies that there might be shimmer in it, but, thankfully, I can't detect any shimmer at all.

Here's the results:

The only products I've applied here are my Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer and the Maybelline Lumi concealer. It, of course, blends in a better around the edges once I apply foundation.

 This concealer is packaged in the click up brush applicator like the one used for Stila lip glazes.

I don't particularly care for this type of packaging. I find it harder to get the correct amount of product out, and it also tends to be packaging where you get less product. This particular concealer only comes with 1.5 mL/.05 oz of product. My Hard Candy Glamoflage concealer has .71 oz, and my Maybelline Super Stay Concealer comes with .18 oz. That's a pretty big difference in size, and I think (it's been a long time since I bought the Glamoflage or Super Stay concealers), that the Lumi concealer was the most expensive of the three.

As you can see from the pictures above, this concealer has a pretty thin consistency. It doesn't have completely opaque coverage, but I think it does a decent job of covering the circles under my eyes. I do get a little bit of settling into the fine lines under my eyes, but because the formula of this product is so thin, the settling isn't really obvious like it is with a thicker, creamier product.

I also get pretty good staying-power with this concealer. I still look human when I get home from an average work day. I would want to touch up under my eyes (and a little bit everywhere else) if I was doing something else in the evening because I wouldn't trust it to last all the way through, but it would probably make it through part of the evening as well.

Overall, I like this product enough to overlook my annoyance at the packaging, and I will probably end up repurchasing it when I run out unless I happen to run across something better before then.

Do you struggle with looking like a zombie? What helps make you look human again?

Kreative Blogger Award

I was just awarded a Kreativ Blogger Award by Kori from The Musings of an Awkward Panda. Thanks Kori!

Rules for People I Award, if they choose to do it:

1. Link back to the person who gave you this award. 


2. Complete the form below/answer the questions.


3. Award ten other bloggers, and let them know.


4. Share seven random thoughts about yourself.

The form..

1. What is your favorite song? This is going to sound odd, but I don't have one. I enjoy so many songs and different songs at different times that I can't pick one.

2. Name your favorite desserts. Cheesecake, creme brulee, ice cream, cake...there are very few desserts that I don't like.

3. What ticks you off? When technology doesn't work correctly (like my printer). People who lie. A million other things that I can't think of right now.

4.When I'm upset I? Read. It takes enough focus that I can usually forget about what it bothering me for a little while. 

5.What's your favourite pet? Pets owned by other people. I love animals, but I don't want to deal with the mess, so I enjoy pets that other people own.

6.Black or white? black

7.Biggest fear? Not being successful (even though I have no idea how I would personally define being successful.).

8.Everyday attitude?It really depends on the day.

9.What is perfection? Something that doesn't exist. 

10.Guilty pleasure?  Cheesy romance novels - I know that they aren't exactly quality literature, but I like picking up books that I know will have a happy ending. 

Seven Random Facts: 

My fiance and I bought a house back in August. 

My hometown didn't get a gas station until I was in college.

I read the first 10 books in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series in one week.

I just got my first smartphone. 

My current job is substitute teaching.

I enjoy cross stitching.

My favorite meal to make for a low-key holiday with my fiance is carbonara.  

I am passing this award on to:

Swatch Storm

Jennifae's Beauty Blog

Darling Girl Cosmetics

Just Peachy

LipGlossFiend

Kookith

JennySueMakeup

Phyrra

Adventures in Beauty

Caribbean Beauty Blogger

Check them out!

EOTD - Amber Glow

I finally tried L'Oreal Infallible eye shadow in Amber Rush yesterday. I still want to try the idea of using it with a burgundy type of shade, but for my first time wearing it, I went for something a little safer.

Here's what I ended up with:

Products used:
TFSI
L'Oreal Infallible eye shadow in Amber Rush on the lid
Urban Decay Buck in the crease
Wet & Wild Brulee to blend and highlight
The light golden color from the Wet & Wild Baked, Not Fried palette for the inner corner and just under the browbone
Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in Bourbon to line (in hindsight, I wish I had gone for a warmer brown liner color)
Wet & Wild MegaProtein mascara

I ran across another beauty blogger the other day who mentioned using a sponge-tip applicator to apply these L'Oreal shadows, which was a fantastic tip! I can't get a brush to work well for these, but a sponge-tip applicator worked really well. I wish I could remember where I read it so I could give her credit. If it was you or know who it was, please let me know.

I would also like to point out the bit of mascara on my browbone. This is an issue that I'm having with the MegaProtein mascara. It is a really wet formula that takes a while to dry, so unless I'm really careful, I always end up with small bits of mascara on my browbone. I don't notice is smudging after it dries though.

Goal for my next EOTD - mix up my application techniques. I used the same techniques for both this one and my first one.

CVS Haul - Hooray for Coupons!

I had a bunch of CVS Extrabucks and a couple of other coupons burning a hole in my pocket, so I went in today and picked up:

Almay intense i-color shimmer-i kit for green eyes - original price: $8.29 - on sale for $5.99 with card
L'Oreal Infallible eye shadow in Eternal Sunshine - $8.29
L'Oreal Infallible eyeliner in Navy - $9.79 (Ouch! This was more expensive than I thought.)

My haul

I used the following coupons:
$3 off any Almay color cosmetics item
$13 in ExtraBucks
20% off my  entire purchase

With all of my discounts, I ended up paying a total of $6.33 today AND...

I also walked out of there with $8 in ExtraBucks ($3 for the Almay product and $5 for buying $15 in L'Oreal products).

Needless to say, I'm quite pleased with the results of my little shopping trip. Have you gotten any good deals lately?

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes

When I first saw that Maybelline was coming out with a product called Dream Bouncy blush, I was intrigued. I wanted to know how a blush could be described as bouncy. It didn't help that I've been addicted to cream blushes over the past several months. When I happened to run across a display for these blushes before Christmas, one of them practically leaped (or should I say bounced?) into my hand. I've since gone on to pick up three more, so I now own Fresh Pink, Plum Wine, Pink Frosting, and Rose Petal.

Top row: Fresh Pink and Plum Wine / Bottom row: Rose Petal and Pink Frosting

While these aren't bouncy in the literal sense of the word, it still seems to be a fitting word to describe these blushes. They have a fascinating (at least for me) spongy, play-doh like texture that shifts around when I lightly press down on them, but they still mostly stick within their molded, dome shape. I will admit that I've had a bit too much fun poking at these blushes and watching them shift around in the pan, which you can see from the above pictures (note to self: take pictures BEFORE you start playing with the makeup).

I have applied these with both my fingers and a stippling brush. I prefer using my fingers, but the brush worked as well. They blend into the skin easily and smoothly with very little tugging on the skin. It's a nice cream-to-powder type of formulation that doesn't feel sticky/tacky while applying or after it has been applied.

Several reviews I have come across about these blushes complain about the lack of pigmentation of these and how sheer they are. I would agree on both counts; they aren't overly pigmented, and they go on quite sheer. For me, I consider that a positive thing. I usually have to be really careful when it comes to applying blushes because they are so pigmented. With the lighter shades of these blushes that I own (Fresh Pink and Rose Petal), it is pretty much impossible for me to over-apply. It also makes it possible for me to grab for the darker colors because I know I can blend them out and make them work.

Swatches:

Top row: Fresh Pink and Rose Petal / Bottom row: Pink Frosting and Plum Wine

Fresh Pink: heavy swatch and blended out

Rose Petal: heavy swatch, blended out, applied more heavily and blended

Pink Frosting: heavy swatch and blended out

Plum Wine: heavy swatch (sorry it is blurry) and blended out

 These blushes have good lasting power for me. I can apply them at around 7 a.m., and when I get home at 4 p.m., they still look pretty good. From the times that I was able to check, it looked like it was around 6-7 p.m. when it had faded enough that I would have felt the need to reapply. Every time I have applied them, it has been over a face primer, foundation, and powder. Most of the time I end up applying a little bit of powder on top as well, especially with the darker shades to help blend them out. I purposely went one day without applying powder on top, and it didn't seem to affect the lasting power. I would also like to note that I didn't use any blotting papers or powder during the day to touch-up.

Although I have been enjoying these, I had a minor issue last week when I tried Rose Petal for the first time. It is such a light color that even I had to pile it on a bit to get it to show up. When I looked closely in my mirror, the product had caked into my pores. Thankfully, I grabbed a kabuki brush to blend it out, and it was no longer an issue. I haven't noticed this with any of the other colors that I own. I also haven't noticed them settling into my pores throughout the day.

Bottom line: Would I recommend these blushes? If you like cream blushes, I say it is worth giving them a try. I would suggest starting with one blush though because I have read and seen a lot of mixed reviews on these, so you might not enjoy them like I do. Consider the depth of your skintone and pick a color accordingly. When in doubt, I would suggest grabbing a darker color. Even with my fair skin, I can wear Plum Wine with just a little bit of extra blending and a light dusting of a tinted powder on top.

Have you tried these yet? How would you describe the texture? Since I'm obsessed with cream blushes, what other ones should I add to my wishlist?