Hard Candy Sheer Envy Hydrating Primer Mist Review

       I spotted this primer mist at Wal-Mart about three weeks ago and I couldn't resist snatching it up. I know I'm supposed to be on hiatus but there are very few reviews for this primer mist out here on the internet and I just want to quickly share the knowledge with anyone who might want to know how this primer functions on combination oily skin. 

       Claims from the packaging: This lightweight primer mist hydrates skin and revitalizes radiance You will get the benefits of priming, hydrating and refreshing your face. Coconut water infused to boost hydration benefits for up to 12 hours. Leaves skin soft, smooth and supple.

       This product retails for about $9.98CDN which is quite expensive for Hard Candy which has always been an inexpensive brand. It's even more expensive than their setting spray which cost me $6-7CDN when I bought it during the summer.

      The packaging also says you can use this mist as a setting spray in addition to a primer spray.

   

     Here are the ingredients. Hard Candy really impressed me with this ingredients list. They said it was infused with coconut water and that's definitely true. Coconut water is high up on the list as well so they didn't skimp on the active ingredients.

     Coconut oil makes me break out like crazy. I've tried using coconut oil to remove my makeup and the next day I had a cluster of cystic pimples on my cheeks. I don't even like using it on my hair, because it causes me to break out all around my hair line and nape. But coconut water doesn't make me break out which I'm happy for. 

      I've used this primer every day since I've bought it, as the first step before I apply the rest of my makeup. This primer doesn't promise to control oil, and I've noticed it doesn't control oil at all. It doesn't make me greasier than usual, but it doesn't inhibit my oil either.

     The spray nozzle on this bottle is much much better than the Hard Candy setting spray nozzle. That thing would drench my face even if I held it a full arm's length away. The nozzle for this mist is very fine and delivers a light mist of product onto my face.

     The primer didn't smell the way I thought it would. I expected it to have sort of a coconut smell but it smells sweet and faintly spicy. It's not a strong smell and it fades very quickly after application.

     I do notice this primer makes my skin extra soft and makes my makeup slide on extra smoothly. After applying the mist my skin feels really soft and supple, so it delivers on those claims. It does make a great primer as it is slightly sticky, which helps makeup adhere to skin.

     As for the 12 hour wear? Normally, I don't wear my makeup for that long. For the usual eight hours that I do I've noticed this primer doesn't extend the wear of my makeup or inhibit it. It gives my skin a nice hydration boost which is why I really like it, but it doesn't make a difference in the wear of my makeup and that is what a primer is supposed to do. At the same time, Hard Candy doesn't say it's supposed to extend the wear of your makeup; it just says its supposed to "boost hydration benefits for 12 hours" and it delivers on the promise of lasting hydration. 

    In short; I like the hydration without extra greasiness this primer gives me and I really enjoy using it every day. It doesn't affect the wear of my makeup or decrease / increase my oil output. It does keep my skin hydrated which it promises to do. 

Likes:

1. Delivers on it's hydration promises

2. Delivers on it's skin softening promises

3. Mists finely

4. Makes my makeup go on smoothly

5. The coconut water doesn't break me out

6. Doesn't make me oilier

Dislikes:

1. Smells kind of odd

2. Doesn't extend the wear of my makeup
3. Doesn't control oil

A-

Maybelline Baby Lips Winter 2015 Limited Edition Review + Swatches on Dark Skin

 

 

    I spotted these lip balms at Walmart a couple weeks ago in a display and I picked them up. One of my first reviews on this blog covered Maybelline's limited edition baby lips collection for Winter 2014 and I can't believe we've went full circle and come back to this point!

     I picked up this lip balms for $3.97 or so at Walmart. I only picked up Mint Please, Sprinkled Pink and Spice it Up! There's a fourth shade called Cocoa Crush but it was all sold out so I never got a chance to swatch it!

      I'm not going to give an in depth review of Baby Lips because I've done that countless times on this blog so I'm just going to show you what these lip balms look like on someone with NW45 skin.

      Here's Mint Please. It was called Mint Candy in the UK and honestly I like that name better than this one! I love the little earmuffs on the package though. It's almost clear with a pale pink base. I really wanted it to be clear like all the other bloggers said, but it's got a white base in there that shows up on pigmented lips. Mint Please smells faintly of mint but doesn't tingle on the lips like other minty lip balms that I've tried.






















      This pink shade is Sprinkled Pink. It was called Sugar Cookie in the UK. Sprinkled Pink is a cool toned pink with silver shimmer. Sprinkled Pink smells faintly of vanilla.





















       The red balm is Spice it Up! It's called Sweet Apple in the UK and I love that name! Spice it Up! is a pink red shade. It's much more pigmented than Cherry Me from the original and permanent Baby Lips line. It smells mostly like cinnamon and ginger with a faint apple note in the background.

       So here's a swatch of all the shades side by side.

 

Mint Please swatched on lips. It looks fine in the picture but in real life it looks pale and completely washes me out. 

    

 

Sprinkled Pink swatched on my lips. This shade was a huge no-no. It sinks into all of my lip lines and I can never get an even application with this shade. This one left my lips much drier then the other ones and I'm guessing it's because this one has shimmer in it.

 

Spice it Up! swatched on my lips. Easily my favourite shade on the collection. It applies very evenly and smoothly and looks great on my lips, no sinking into lines or being patchy. It's deeper and more red in real life.

I can't wait to see what shades Maybelline will come out with for the Spring 2016 collection! 



CoverGirl Ready, Set, Gorgeous Liquid Foundation 320 Soft Sable Review + Swatches

This foundation has been reputed to be a true drugstore gem in the online beauty community. Poor reviews of this foundation are few and far between. That, along with the fact that this foundation retails for a $7.97CDN caught my attention immediately. I'm almost done this tube of foundation and I'm ready to give you my verdict on it.

 Claims from the packaging: One simple step for a flawless, natural look that lasts all day. This formula blends easily to even skin tone and reduce shine all day.

Those claims are true! This foundation is so easy to blend into the skin, I barely have to do any work. Using fingers I can get a great finish, but when I use a blending sponge - like the Quo one I reviewed here - I get a flawless finish.

The left side of the back of my hand has a blended out swatch of the foundation on my hand. The right side of my hand has a drop of foundation, which is a really great match for my skin in the summer and the summer transitioning into fall. Shade 320 Soft Sable is a good colour for my NW45 skin when I've got a bit of a tan. During the winter and the winter transitioning into spring it's just a little bit too dark.

I'm proud of CoverGirl for a while they didn't have Soft Sable in Canada, the darkest shade they had was Tawny and Tawny is much lighter and much more golden. Though they could do better as Soft Sable is the darkest colour they offer and I know there are girls who want foundation who are darker than I am.

This foundation has no detectable smell which is always pleasant, I'm not a fan of scented foundation.

The foundation has a somewhat thick texture but spreads very easily on my skin. After about a minute the foundation sets into a satin matte finish. It's matte, but it's not a flat matte as CoverGirl's 3-in-1 foundation is. It gets dewier as the day wears on, but never gets super greasy.

I find this foundation keeps me matte in all areas aside from my nose which gets oily in two to three hours no matter what I do to it. The longevity of this foundation is really nice. When it fades, it loses its power to mattify and my skin gets dewy but doesn't break up and get patchy.

My skin is combination, slightly sensitive, and acne prone and I've never broken out from this foundation which is really nice.

This foundation feels so weightless on my skin and I love it! I love how this foundation has a thick and creamy texture, yet it feels like absolutely nothing on my skin. This foundation is as comfortable as a moisturizer all throughout the day.

In short, I really like this foundation because of the satin finish, how long it lasts and how weightless it feels. It's honestly one of my the better foundations that I've purchased and I'll repurchase it again, once I finish my grand tour of the foundation world.

I'd recommend this foundation to people who have slightly oily skin. I think it might be a little drying for people with dry skin. People with oily skin will benefit from it, but don't expect it to put a lock down on your oil, it'll keep it at bay but not for an extended period of time.

Likes:

1. Weightless feel on my skin
2. Blends really well
3. Lovely satin matte finish
4. Hasn't broken me out
5. Affordable

Dislikes:

1. I wish it would keep my oily nose under control
2. Needs deeper shades

A+



Milani Eyeshadow Primer Review

 

 

 

Some people don't think shadow primer is necessary. For people like me with oily lids, primer is a must. For a long time I really disliked wearing eye shadow because it would crease and look awful on me really quickly. I tried another eyeshadow primer from Essence - The I Love Stage shadow base - that did nothing to prevent creasing.

 

 

 

The most important thing to me with primer is one that will keep my lids from creasing. The second most important thing is that the primer keeps my eyeshadow from fading. The least important thing to me is having the primer make my eyeshadows more vibrant.

 

 

Here are the claims on the back of the packaging. I bought it for $8.99 from Well.ca. It is sold wherever Milani is sold such as Loblaws, Superstore and select Wal-Marts. It says the shade number is 01 Nude as if it comes in other shades, but it doesn't. Perhaps Milani is planning to release other shades, like a primer with a shimmer finish or dark finishes for smokey eyes. The nude shade is completely invisible on my skin unless I over apply it. 

 

The directions on the back of the package are right; apply it to clean dry lids. I've tried applying cream under the primer and that compromised the wear of the primer. If I apply cream I wait until my lids are dry. 

What I love love LOVE about this primer is the fact that its a squeeze tube primer! When shadow primer has a doe foot I absolutely hate it. For me it always ends up applying way too much onto my lids. I hope Milani never changes the packaging on this like certain other brands that will remain nameless *cough Urban Decay cough*. 

 

 

Here's a dot of primer on my hand (much larger then what I would actually use for both eyes). On the right side of the dot is a completely blended in dollop of primer. It's basically sheer with the slightest hint of beige.

 

I've had this primer for several months now and I absolutely love it. Whenever I use eyeshadow, this is the first step in my routine. The shadow proved it's worth to me this August. I wore it for eight hours and during that time I was out in the heat, I was sweating, and when I came home I was amazed to see my eyeshadow was still uncreased. If I hadn't been wearing the eyeshadow primer, it would've been faded, and badly creased. After wearing the shadow for ten hours I noticed there was light creasing. My shadows don't fade when I use this primer!

 

Caveats with this primer: When I apply too much primer it makes my lids look ashy. In addition to that it makes my shadows difficult to blend because they just stick in place and won't want to budge.

 

All in all; I absolutely LOVE this primer. It works incredibly well and the price is lovely. I love using it and I love how well it works.

 

Likes:

 

1. Keeps my eyeshadow from creasing

2. Keeps my eyeshadow from fading

3. Dries invisibly on my lids

4. Doesn't irritate my lids

5. Has a squeeze tube!

6. Affordable!

 

Dislikes:

 

1. If I apply too much I get a white cast and it's difficult to blend but that's my own fault

 

A+

Blistex Soft & Lush Lip Balm Review

 

 

I was browsing Walmart as I am wont to do and I spotted this cute little tube. It called to me immediately. Maybe it was the soft cherry blossoms on the packaging, or the pearly pink tube or the fact that I promised me a "creamy smooth texture for supple, kissable lips", maybe it was all of the above.

Claims from the packaging: Blistex Soft & Lush brings lips to a deeper level of softness for the ultimate in soft, kissable lips. A smooth, rich, blend of moisturizers and conditioners for unparalleled softness. The super lush, ceramide-enhanced formula helps lips retain moisture leaving them supple and deeply hydrated. Plus SPF sun protection. This lip balm retails for about $3.67.

If you've been following my blog for some time you'll know that I abhor greasy, thin lip balms and love thick creamy lip balms. This lip balm doesn't disappoint. While it isn't as creamy as a Nivea lip butter, it's wonderfully creamy and feels so comforting on my lips.

The hydration on this lip balm is fantastic. I feel like this lip balm is sinking into my lips and hydrating them, not just sitting on the upper layer.

Soft & Lush is clear with no hints of whiteness which certainly is impressive considering the fact that this lip balm has an SPF of 15. I remember I bought Nivea's Sun Protection lip balm and that thing was like applying white lipstick to my lips, no word of a lie! So Soft & Lush certainly impressed me.

The smell of this lip balm was a surprise as well. I was expecting it to be scentless or softly floral but this balm had a totally different smell. It smells so good! Literally like a French Vanilla from Tim Hortons. Or like a coffee cake drizzled with vanilla icing. It's really a delicious smell. It's sweet and delectable without being cloying.

It tastes pretty inoffensive too if you happen to taste a little of it. It's mostly tasteless with a slight sweetness from the saccharin.

In short I really like this lip balm and I actually reach for this more then my Holy Grail Nivea Essential lip balm.

Likes:
1. Creamy, rich texture
2. Hydration
3. SPF without whiteness
4. Delicious smell
5. Affordable price

Dislikes:

None, I'd be nitpicking.

A

Essie Gel Setter Top Coat Review

 

I've never been big on top coats but Essie's latest entry into the top coat arena piqued my interest. 

 



Claims from the Essie Canada website[sic]: everything you love about gels, but in a perfect top coat you can wear anywhere and everywhere. gel.setter tops any of your favorite essie colours with all the cushy rock-hard shine of a gel in a foolproof formula for your manis and pedis

 

  This topcoat retailed for $10 at Well.ca at the time I purchased it. The package advised me to use it with an Essie polish and I decided to give Essie the benefit of the doubt and used it with my all time favourite Essie polish Bikini So Teeny. But I fully intend to wear this topcoat with all of my nail polishes which are from a wide and varied variety of brands.

 

So I applied two coats of Bikini So Teeny and then one coat of Gel Setter. I even capped the free edge of my nails and usually I don't do that and I think that might have effected the wear of this polish. 

Here's a picture of my nails after a dried coat of gel setter. The shine difference is virtually the same but I find my nails are always incredibly shiny on day one and lose that luster the next day. The top coat wasn't thicker then a regular nail polish which kind of disappointed me because I did want that thick gel look but I'm also glad because the top coat dried quickly. 



 

Here's my nails after five days of wear, including work (After five days I was tired of the colour). I was seriously shocked. The chipping is there but minimal. Usually my nail polish chips after two days and it's extreme so this after five days was incredible. Considering the shine factor my nails stayed shiny right until the day I removed the polish. My nails looked freshly polished days after I polished them! I was really impressed.

 

In short; I really like this top coat. I love how shiny it keeps my nails and how it reduces the amount of chips I get. It might be pricey but it's definitely worth it.

 

Likes:

 

1. Keeps my nails super shiny

2. Extends the life of my polish

 

Dislikes:

 

1. Slightly pricey

 

A

Freeman Feeling Beautiful Diamond Mineral Rinse Review

 

 

Freeman has been knocking it out of the park with their fantastic face masks. Totally curious I picked up the Diamond Mineral rinse to see how well it would work for my skin. And I had never experienced a mineral rinse so I was excited to see how that would go as well. The mask claimed it had diamonds in it and true enough diamond powder is listed in the ingredients!

Claims from the website: Dazzling skin is a girl’s best friend! Our delightfully indulgent mask with Sparkleberry Extract helps fight off environmental assaults to enhance skin’s look and feel over time. Dazzling Diamond Dust flecks glisten as you wear this clarifying clay mask…plus, they polish away dullness to reveal multi-faceted radiance! Unique mask rinses clean for a lasting, super-cool finish. Perfect for all skin types.

This mask trial size packet retails $1.99. You can squeeze two to four uses out of this mask if you store it well which makes it a good value. I've only used it once and I believe I have enough for one to two more uses.

This mask is a creamy white. It's a little softer then the usually stiff, paste like Freeman masks and has scrubbing granules in the mask. Going on the mask feels very cooling and minty. It pairs nicely with the scrubbing action. It's got a berry scent with a slightly artificial lean to it but it's not unpleasant.

When the mask was dry I could see the diamond dust specks glittering on my face. After rinsing I noticed that the mask had a good exfoliation, comparable to an actual mask. It's not too rough so it doesn't make my skin red, it just leaves me with soft skin. It's less abrasive then Freeman's charcoal and black sugar mask (which totally obliterated the clogged pores in my nose).

I wouldn't recommend using this mask before going anywhere, unless you like having random specks of diamond dust on your skin. It's not like I turn into a discoball, but when I turn my head the light will catch a piece of glitter and I'll get annoyed.

In short; I like this mask. I like the minty fresh tingle, the exfoliation, how soft it and fresh it leaves my skin feeling. I feel like this mask is the first successful two in one mask from Freeman. With the clay and pumice in this mask, it functions both as a mask and a scrub whereas with the other two in one mask was more suited to one function (In my opinion, the charcoal and black sugar mask was best suited for scrubbing). While this mask doesn't replace a scrub or a clay mask, it's a nice weekly treatment on it's own merits.

Likes:

1. How soft and fresh it leaves my skin
2. Moderate scrubbing action
3. Says it has diamonds in it and it really does
4. Combines the function of a scrub and a clay mask

Dislikes:

1. Diamond specks are difficult to remove

A

Maybelline Matte + Poreless Pressed Powder in Translucent Review

   My new daily makeup regimen involves translucent powder and after finishing an Essence one which didn't really leave me totally satisfied I decided to try a pressed powder from Maybelline.

Claims from the packaging: For normal to oily skin. Natural poreless-looking finish. Up to 12 hour wear. Long lasting shine control.

This powder retails for $7.96CDN at Wal-Mart and has 8.5g of product in the package. This powder says translucent put the powder in there has a slight yellow peachy tone to it and that got me scared. My old pressed powder was completely white in the compact but translucent on the skin.

The package feels very sturdy and not likely to break. Inside the compact, the powder lifts up to reveal a mirror and a sponge. I have an old Maybelline Fit Me powder (360 Mocha which I think has been discontinued up here in Canada) and that powder came with a powder puff, not a sponge. Both are totally useless at any rate.

The powder is finely milled and devoid of sparkle. It is more pigmented then other translucent powder I've tried. It has some pigmentation to it. Applying the powder with the sponge was a complete disaster. It caked the powder on and made me look like I was dusty in the most literal sense of the word. If you're very pale, applying with the sponge may do you some good as it will add some coverage along with this powder.

If you're not pale, don't use the sponge. I used a brush and I achieved a translucent dusting of powder without the pigment. It looked translucent in artificial light as well as sunlight, so I was covered on all bases.

The powder does completely mattify my skin upon application and leaves it looking soft and perfected. My pores didn't look as emphasized as it did before.

The texture of his powder is rather dry and thin. There's no creaminess to this powder.

Now I don't expect any powder to mattify my skin, I've been dissapointed too many times. The best powders can only keep my extremely shiny nose under control for an hour before succumbing to the oil. I've fared better with primers then powders, so I had really low expectations for this powder.

This powder keeps the rest of my face matte, but my nose continues to shine through after an hour or two of wear. So this powder has the same wear time as my old essence one but with added negatives; a steeper price and less translucence.

So all in all, I didn't really like Maybelline's matte + poreless translucent powder. It works well as a finishing powder but I bought it to keep me mattified throughout the day and it doesn't live up to that claim. It works well as a setting powder but it doesn't succeed at it's intended purpose which is being a mattifying powder.

Likes:

1. Sturdy packaging
2. Affordable price tag
3. Mattifies upon application
4. Works well to set makeup
5. Included mirror

Dislikes:

1. Doesn't mattify for 12 hours like the packaging claims
2. Texture is dry and thin
3. Has some pigmentation and is supposed to be translucent

C