Tag: cosmetics

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Beauty Review: Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint

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In my latest Sephora sample goodies, I received a lipstick that I’ve never tried before. In fact, I’ve never tried anything from this brand. I figured that a review would be fun, since it’s all new to me and I have no bias when it comes to the brand.

The brand, (you already know what it is if you read the title!), is Tarte, and today I’m trying the Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint. I am a huge fan of liquid lipsticks and glosses, so I was stoked to try a new one. I looked up Tarte and I was really impressed with the eco-friendly stance of the brand, so I had really high hopes for this product.

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Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit (photo courtesy of Sephora)

Tarteist Lip Paints come in two different finishes (matte or glossy) and over 40 different shades. I received Birthday Suit, a pinkish nude that I suspected would be a bit too light for my complexion. As always, my eyes didn’t fail me: Birthday Suit was not the nude for my skintone. It was too light, too much salmon/peach, and it came across a bit chalky. To be honest, the color was hideous. That isn’t Tarte’s fault, nor is it Sephora’s: I was sent what was available, and it was free, so no complaints from me!

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My sample of Birthday Suit

However, I don’t believe in quitting, so I figured I would fix it up. A little bit of inexpensive dark brown lip liner, some blending, and I had a wearable nude shade that didn’t look pasty nor did it clash with my cool/neutral undertones. I wore it for several hours before reapplying, and it did a pretty good job of holding up during lunch.

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Before liner and blending: Yikes!

 

After liner and blending: MUCH better!

As part of my review, I looked at some of the comments on Sephora, made by others who tried this lip paint. The consensus was that the formula was drying, and most people really didn’t enjoy the product. I wondered why I didn’t have the dryness that they reported, then I remembered: I used a lip balm about 10 minutes before I applied the lip paint. I tried this later, without lip balm as a base, and I too found it a bit dry. For that reason, I can’t give it a glowing recommendation but I can offer this tip: if you find a shade of Tarteist Lip Paint that you love, just know that you can prevent dry lips by applying balm to your lips first.

Overall, if I had to rate the product, I’d give this product a 3 out of 5 stars. The fact that you need to apply a balm first is a bummer, especially since this product is $20 per tube. For the price, there should be more moisturizing ingredients included. However, it’s a matte liquid lipstick, so too much moisture would probably keep it from having the matte finish that is expected from the product. I hope that Tarte continues to experiment with this formula and perfect it, because I love the company’s environmental and ethical stance, and I would love to support hem in the future! It’s worth a try if you’re committed to using vegan, eco-friendly products and don’t mind using additional products to preserve the moisture in your lips.

 

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Beauty Review: Fenty Beauty Lil Match Stix Duo Mini Shimmer Skinstick Set

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During a lunchtime stop into Sephora, I was searching – in vain – for Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 420. Fenty Beauty is Rihanna’s uber popular makeup line that continues to break records and shake up the beauty industry. It’s sold out every time I go to this particular Sephora location, and I’m dying to try it, so I ended up just ordering it online.

However, the trip wasn’t in vain: I spotted some new Fenty Beauty products as I walked through the checkout line (I found some cute makeup brushes that I had to get). As it turns out, Fenty Beauty has designed some miniaturized versions of their popular products. I picked up the Lil Match Stix Duo Mini Shimmer Skinstick Set to try out some new shimmer skinstick shades.

The set contains two match stix shades in Sinamon and Starstruck.

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Review: KoyVoca Glossies

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In late March, one of my favorite indie cosmetic companies, KoyVoca Cosmetics (you remember them – I reviewed them in this post and in this post) announce the upcoming release of their new lip gloss line. The product, Glossy, is, as the company puts it, “[…]the lip gloss you’ve been looking for! Its long-lasting formula provides a glass-like look to the lips.” The company launched 8 lip gloss shades in April and I, ever eager to switch it up from the matte lip trend, made sure that I preordered.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhPFWoRn0_C/

I ordered three shades: Panther, Princess Cut, and Rude Gyal. I got my glosses quickly after the release date and I’ve had a chance to play with all three, so I’m ready for this review!

For starters, kudos to KoyVoca for quickly shipping their products! Every time I order from them I’m impressed by the speed of order delivery. That being said, I also was very impressed with the size and presentation of the glosses:

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(top to bottom: Rude Gyal, Princess Cut, Panther)

There’s a good amount of product in each tube. These also have a light fruity smell that I enjoyed. Here are the descriptions of the shades as written by KoyVoca:

 

Panther – a blue and purple duochrome with red and blue flecks

Princess Cut – a golden pink with holographic shimmer

Rude Gyal – a shimmery wine

I swatched the shades then I swooned. The colors are gorgeous, perfectly pigmented and thick without being sticky (basically, the glosses are perfect).

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(left to right: Panther, Princess Cut, Rude Gyal)

Here I am rocking each of the shades:

Princess Cut

Rude Gyal

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Panther

I find myself frequently reaching for Princess Cut because it’s such a wearable shade. But my favorite, by far, is Panther. It’s deep, dramatic and memorable.

But all that being said, there are still a few things I want to mention about these glossies. These are VERY long wearing! It takes a while for these to wear off, and they have some real staying power even as you eat and drink. The shine is INSANE: highly reflective! I love that these are true glosses and not semi-shine formulas like a lot of companies are selling right now. The smell is pleasant and the formula is nonsticky, so they are very wearable.

I highly recommend these! Check out all of the shades and see which one should be in your collection!

 

 

beauty

Review: IT Cosmetics

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I recently received a bag full of IT Cosmetics products from one of my grandmas. Why did she give me makeup? you ask. Perhaps you think that it’s because I love makeup and she would know how much I love it. Well, that’s only partially true.

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Simply put, my grandma loves to buy stuff but rarely uses any of it. All of the products she gave me were brand new and unopened. She ordered the products from HSN because she loves shopping from the comfort of her television!

But, before you assume that I hit the makeup jackpot, let me show you the gag.

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Yeah, none of the complexion products are in my shade. My grandma bought the products suited for tan skin (closer to her complexion) while I’m clearly on the deeper end of the color spectrum. But I’m still a makeup junkie so I’m gonna wear these products regardless of the color mismatch.

This post is both a review and a how-to. If you’ve found yourself stuck with products that are too light for you, this may help you get some use out of them. Who knows: you may be able to “mix up” your perfect shade once you get comfortable mixing stuff together.

That’s exactly what I did: I mixed IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation in Tan with my summer foundation shade (L’Oreal True Match in N8 Cappucino). I applied the Bye Bye foundation as if it were a primer: it even made me a ghostly shade like some of my best primers do (LOL!) Then I blended the True Match right on top.

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At the end of my day

*Tip: if you have a foundation that’s too light, mix it with your summer shade to find a hue that should be pretty close to your winter shade. I generally use a 25%/75 percent ratio (25% too light foundation, 75% summer shade). Your mileage may vary, but if you invested a lot in a shade that’s just a little “off”, this may help you save your money!

The resulting shade matched my chest perfectly! It also held up during the day, even though I didn’t use a primer underneath. Bye Bye Foundation is buildable, so if this was my ideal shade, I could make it go from light to full coverage easily.

Next is the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Concealer, also in Tan. Again, I mixed it with my L’Oreal True Match, and it did a great job of concealing any discoloration under my eyes. Warning: use a light hand with this concealer. A little goes a LONG way, and it is very full coverage.

Both complexion products were lightweight on the skin and looked very natural, after I fiddled with the shade. I finished the look off with the Bye Bye Pores loose finishing powder in (you guessed it) Tan. I only applied that to my undereyes, and I used a light touch (I didn’t want that raccoon eye effect). The powder was nice: no heavy perfumed scent and didn’t settle into any creases. The color was also the perfect shade: not too yellow or too gray. I’ll be adding the powder into my makeup routine for setting my undereye concealer going forward.

I also tried the IT Cosmetics Hello Lashes mascara. I LOVED it! No clumping, defined my lashes and gave them a lengthened appearance, and it had a round tip that is good for applying mascara to the lower lashes. I have seasonal allergies, so it was nice to wear a mascara that didn’t irritate my eyes. Also, I did a light rub test, and the mascara DIDN’T BUDGE! No dark circles after a long day is always a win. This mascara is a keeper.

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Hello Lashes Mascara making my eyes POP! (And a few particles of eyeshadow on my cheek)

The last product I tried is the Vitality Lip Flush in Je Ne Sais Quoi. Now this product is really intriguing: it looks like a clear balm, but when you apply it, it turns into a “flush” color: pinkish red that just looks like a lip stain with some sheen/shine. It reminds me of those color-changing lipsticks from the 90s, that were blue or green in the tube but turned to pink or coral when they warmed up to your body heat. It’s a cool product that I’d use again, especially on a day where I’m doing a “no makeup” look.

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The Vitality Lip Flush in Je Ne Sais Quoi

I also got the Live Love Laugh Vitality Face Disc but the colors were much lighter than I could work with. The disc features a bronzer, blush and highlight that would be well suited for a lighter complexion, but looked pale and sort of flat on me. I may try to work the shades into my eye makeup routine, because it’s a LOT of product and I’d hate for it to go to waste.

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Overall, I liked the line. The colors weren’t for my shade, but the products performed well, didn’t have any weird smells, and applied easily. I do have one critique for the product: I wasn’t a fan of the hygienic sealing on the foundation and concealer. The seal is difficult to remove (both because of the hard-to-locate perforation and small size of the sealing), which I normally don’t take issue with when it comes to cosmetics (better safe and hygienic than sorry!) But this was sold through HSN, whose customers are overwhelmingly older women, many of whom may have some vision and physical limitations. I’d guess that customers have difficulty getting into the products because of the wrapping. It would be fantastic if the company explored alternate method of sealing the products that isn’t so difficult for older hands and weaker eyes.

Other than that, I really enjoyed IT Cosmetics. Who knows: maybe I’ll try some of their products in my actual shade in the future! Shoutout to my grandma for giving me some new products to try!

beauty

Review: Life of a Bombshell Mini-Haul

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I bought some Life of a Bombshell products several months ago but never got around to doing this review. Between work, travel and the bazillion other reviews I did, I missed reviewing these items.

But now I’m back, and I’m ready to talk about them!

I’ve reviewed Life of a Bombshell before in this post. The gorgeous rose gold brushes are still holding up well (though I broke the handle on one of them – clearly *my* issue, and not anything wrong with the brand itself). I’m a fan of the brand because it’s a small, woman-owned company.

I purchased three of the liquid matte lipsticks, in Passion, Purpose and Master Plan, as well as the High Maintenance eyeshadow palette. I also order the creme sheen lipstick in Barbz, but I haven’t worn that one yet, so I won’t be reviewing it in this post (I’ll probably review it on Instagram in the next couple of days).

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So, let’s talk about the liquid lipsticks first. These did have a matte finish but they were non-drying and applied smoothly. The colors were GORGEOUS, vibrant and long-lasting. Passion is an intense fuschia, Purpose is a lovely purple shade – not as dark as plum but not as light as orchid – and Master Plan is a rich, gingerbread hue. I often combined Passion and Purpose for a bright and eye-catching lip shade. At work, I reach for Master Plan when I want an easy neutral shade to wear.

Swatches (top to bottom: Master Plan, Passion, Purpose) without and with flash

Wearing a combination of Passion and Purpose

Now about the palette. I. LOVE. IT! The colors are beautiful and applied easily. The pigments are smooth and can be easily intensified for dramatic looks. I like that the palette combines shimmers and mattes, and, instead of having a strictly “rose hued” palette, the company wisely included a green shade for variety. Genius!

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The only two things I wish is that the company named the shades and included a mirror in the lid. It would be a lot easier to describe the combination I used for my eyes if the shades were labeled (for easy reference). However, absent of shade names, I’ll do my best to describe what I’ve been rocking recently. I love using the matte tawny (top row, 2nd shade) as a transition color, oat (bottom row, 1st shade) on my brow bone, shimmery cerise (top row, 3rd shade) on my lid and the deepest shade – the soft raisin one (bottom row, 3rd shade)- in my crease for depth. It’s a soft, easy look that’s both polished and pretty.

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Swatches of the eyeshadow shades: the first 4 are the top row; the remaining shades are from the bottom row

The products are reasonably priced and perform well. I’ve been complimented on several of the looks I’ve created with the lip and eye shades. I highly recommend that you try them for yourself!

beauty

Review: Beauty Benefits Haul

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It took me longer than I anticipated to write this review, for two reasons:

1) I bought a bunch of products, so it took time to try them all; and

2) I was underwhelmed each time I tried a product, so I didn’t know if I needed to even bother writing about them.

But, since I bought the products, and I know that some of you may enjoy reading about inexpensive beauty hauls, I figured, why not write about it?

Initial excitement about the products soon turned to apathy LOL

I enjoy using super-luxurious products that deliver BIG on their promises. But I’m also intrigued by bargain brands. I know, for a fact, that many exclusive brands use the same manufacturers as the companies that can be found in a local drugstore. So well-made products can be had at any price point.

However, Beauty Benefits is not a maker of those products. I overwhelmingly disliked the brand but there were a few items that I enjoyed and will use until they are used up.

Here’s what you need to know about Beauty Benefits:

  • The products are CHEAP.  Each product cost $1 at a local Dollar Tree store.
  • The cost correlates to the quality. That isn’t the case for all cheap makeup, but for this brand, it applies. Overall, they don’t apply that well and the textures are subpar.
  • The powder products that should be matte actually have quite a bit of reflective ingredients in them, so you get a little unintended shimmer. That may be find for eyeshadow or blush, but foundation powders shouldn’t sparkle on your face.

That moment when your pressed powder is shimmery and you have to speak up about it

  • The shades aren’t labeled on the products, so once you throw away the packaging, you won’t have any way to recall the name of the shade. I used some stickers to keep them straight, but that’s a bit much for such an inexpensive product: would it really have hurt the manufacturer to put the shade names on the actual product, instead of just on the exterior package?

The blushes before I opened the packages

Blush swatches (with color details in the caption)

 

  • The eye products are surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the eyeliner (the applicator brush isn’t very thin, but the product applies smoothly, albeit with a touch of shimmer. I also liked the lengthening mascara, though it doesn’t “length”. It did a good job of defining the lashes without clumping. Avoid the volumizing mascara: it doesn’t have an interior “rim” to wipe excess product off of the wand before applying to your lashes. You’ll end up with a ton of mascara on your wand EVERY. TIME.
  • I also liked the lip liner. It applied smoothly and is VERY pigmented. I’d purchase it again.
  • I also enjoyed the lip glosses. Shiny, not too sticky, easy to remove (which also means they need frequent reapplications, but that is normal for lip gloss), and doesn’t stain the skin.

With and without flash. (Top to bottom) Lip liner in Red, lip gloss in Terra, Rouge (yes, rouge is basically clear), Geranium, Berry and Ballet

  • While I disliked the brand overall, these actually make really good “intro to makeup” products for young girls. These are great to gift to your daughter, niece or goddaughter, when they want to play in makeup but aren’t responsible enough for the more luxurious stuff.

So, while I disliked the powder products from Beauty Benefits, the liquid liner, mascara, lip liner and lip gloss were okay. And since each product was only $1, I’m not mad at this minimal investment!

Do you all enjoy any bargain beauty brands? Let me know all about them in the comments below!

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Review: KoyVoca Mini-Haul

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After trying KoyVoca’s incredible Hi Life Highlighter in $1,000,000,000 Babe, I was eager to try some more of their products. I initially reviewed a few of their items in this post, but I really wanted to try their foundations and lipsticks. So I ordered two of the Classic Cream-to-Powder foundations in the shades Savannah and Mali. I also ordered the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity.

For starters, my products arrived fast, as in, less than a week. Kudos to KoyVoca for consistently getting their products out quickly! Next, I squealed when I saw the package: the products came in a gorgeous, festive envelope. Can we get into this shiny red packaging?

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Next, I was impressed by the size of the foundation compacts. There is a lot of product in them! These also have really nice mirrors in the interior of the compact.

Wrappers on, wrappers off

 

(left, Savannah, right, Mali)

I’ve swatched the products below. Can you tell which foundation is Savannah and which is Mali? I’ll give you a hint: Savannah has neutral undertones and Mali is warm-toned. In person, I could clearly see that one foundation was warmer than the other.

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I was really glad to see that Savannah (the shade that most closely matches the skin on my face, top swatch) is truly neutral: not too warm or too cool. Mali (bottom swatch) will be perfect during the summer, when my skin gets a bit warmer toned (even though I don’t necessarily tan every summer).

The product picked up easily with a swipe of my finger, though they work best with sponges (I wish the compacts came with sponges! Oh well.) I actually applied Savannah with a flat top powder brush and it buffed into my skin perfectly. It looked like my skin but better!

Now these are cream-to-powder foundations, so I was surprised that I had to apply powder on top of them to mattify the finish. Normally, cream-to-powders dry down and look flawless, but these still had a bit of shine to them. No matter: a good mattifying primer and a light application of translucent powder does the trick.

Next, I tried the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity. KoyVoca has only a few lipsticks, and each of them are designed to flatter women with deeper skintones. Vanity was one of the deepest shades available and looked like it would be a gorgeous hue, so I got it. I wasn’t disappointed.

First, the tube is magnetic, so the top of the lipstick tube is extra secure (it’s unlikely that the top will just “pop off” while in your purse). Next, the lipstick has a pleasant smell. It’s difficult to describe, but it doesn’t reek of the cheap chemicals that can occasionally be smelled when purchasing inexpensive lip products. And then there’s the color.

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This gorgeous shade looks like a grown up nude hue on me. I love it! It’s moisturizing, smells good and looks great. It’s been my go-to “throw it on and go” shade. It may even be taking the place of my Liya Nude, since Vanity is a richer hue with a little more red to keep it from being a “flat” brown.

Overall, this KoyVoca mini-haul was a hit! I have 3 products that I know I’m going to enjoy using over the next several months. The prices are reasonable ($10 for each foundation compact and the lipstick is also $10), and the quality is great! I still highly recommend that you give KoyVoca a try!

beauty

Review: Dr. Gross Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel

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Hey friends! I’m in the midst of a very  busy – but fun – week, so I wanted to make a quick post about a product that I absolutely adore.

I started using Dr. Gross products last year, when I got serious about improving and perfecting my skin. The salesperson at my local Sephora directed me to the brand’s Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel for sensitive skin, since I was experiencing a bout of sensitivity and I was unsure how my skin would react to the product.

The price of the product – $88 for a 30 day supply – was not for the faint of heart, but desperate times call for desperate measures and believe me, I was DESPERATE. I held out hope that the product would improve my skin’s texture and clarity.

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The description of the product on Sephora’s website is as follows:

A daily peel in pre-soaked pads that contains three gentle acids, anti-agers, and soothing botanicals to exfoliate and nourish sensitive skin and combat the three most common signs of aging.

Lactic acid, mandelic acid, and willow bark extract all work together to exfoliate the skin, refine the texture and clear the pores gently. The product is easy to use: each peel consists of two wipes, conveniently attached in a connected dual-pouch configuration. You gently wipe your face with Wipe 1, until the wipe feels dry to the touch. Then you wait for two minutes, and follow up with wiping your face with Wipe 2. Wipe 1 is the exfoliating chemicals, and Wipe 2 neutralizes the chemicals (so you don’t accidentally burn your skin).

But the question is, how well did it work?

Well, Dr. Gross didn’t disappoint. After 30 days, my skin look transformed! In fact, my skin was looking better after one week, and continued use just made it look even better. By the time I got through the box, I was running to Sephora to get another one! I noticed that some of my scars were starting to fade, and my pores looked smaller. I looked like I may have even gotten a professional chemical peel!

I wish I had taken photos: the difference was noticeable. The results were so good, I plan to purchase another box and start up on another round of exfoliation: I’d like to ring in the new year with my skin looking extra flawless!

I have an upcoming post, describing how I’m winterproofing my skin. I have some other product recommendations that I think you all will enjoy. I’ll talk to you all soon!

beauty

Review: Life of a Bombshell Brush Set

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Happy Tuesday, beloveds! I’ve got another beauty review for you all.

I bought these rose gold makeup brushes back when I did my big beauty haul in August. These came from Life of a Bombshell, the company responsible for my Bronze Bombshell palette (I’ll be reviewing that soon!). My order arrived quickly and I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the products I received.

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I selected these brushes because I love anything in rose gold. The set has ten brushes and, while I didn’t get a guide naming the function for each brush, I’m comfortable outlining the brush types based on my own experiences with certain brush shapes and sizes. Here’s what I *think* these brushes are for (from left to right):

  • Large powder brush
  • Concealer brush
  • Blending brush
  • Angled liner brush
  • Contour brush
  • Eyeliner brush
  • Crease brush
  • Highlighter brush
  • Flat eyeshadow brush
  • Blush brush

Closeup of the blush brush

 

But, being “pretty” doesn’t matter if the brushes don’t perform well. The real test is how well the brushes work when using them to apply makeup.

So, how did these brushes work?

I was VERY impressed with how well these brushes worked! These picked up product and applied with ease. The brushes are soft and the bristles are tightly packed, allowing for an even application. The bristles didn’t shed during product application and they didn’t absorb too much of my liquid products (a bit of a problem when using sponges and other absorbent tools).

These brushes also cleaned easily. I used baby shampoo and hand soap for cleansing. Even when the brushes were brown, black and pink from my foundation, eyeshadow and blush, I easily got the bristles back to white and pink again.

The set was $19, and I feel it was well worth the price! I plan to get another set as backup brushes. If you’re so inclined, check them out!

 

beauty

Review: The Ordinary’s Argireline Solution

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Happy Friday, beloveds! We made it through another week!

As part of my ongoing review of the products I’ve purchased from The Ordinary, I will be sharing my experience with the company’s Argireline Solution. Much like the squalane oil, I’d never heard of argireline until I started shopping with The Ordinary.

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Argireline is a trademarked solution that works on facial lines, reducing the depth and improving the overall appearance of wrinkled skin. According to The Ordinary’s website,

“[…] Argireline improves the appearance of facial areas prone to developing dynamic folds, including around the eyes and in the forehead area. “

With those kinds of promises, I was eager to give it a try. I don’t have any deep wrinkling but, as with any skin issues, it’s better to be proactive than reactive. That being said, I bought a bottle and tried it out.

The directions for use are as follows:

Apply a few drops on the forehead and around the eyes twice daily before heavier treatments.

I applied the solution under my eyes, on my forehead, and my nose-to-mouth lines. I made the mistake of applying the solution liberally: it was runny like water. It’s definitely a “solution”: it doesn’t have the consistency of a serum. The product is clear, odorless, non-greasy and lightweight. It absorbed into my skin easily and wasn’t sticky.

I used it for a few days and saw a difference within a week. My forehead – which I’m known for frowning up – was noticeably smoother. I didn’t see much difference in my eyes and nose-to-mouth lines,  other than just general softness and feeling more moisturized.

I used up the entire bottle, and I intend to purchase again! I wish I’d taken before-and-after photos, so that you all can see the difference. But you don’t have to take my word for it: try it for yourself! It’s only $7.90 per bottle. I think it is well worth the investment!