Review: Neutrogena Microclear Skin Clearing Foundation

Hi everyone! Hope everyone has been well. This blogpost is going to be a review on the Neutrogena Microclear Skin Clearing Foundation.

For skin color reference, I'm about a MAC NC30-35 and I bought this Neutrogena foundation in shade 60 Natural Beige. I also have sensitive skin with some acne and acne scars.

I've been testing this foundation for about a month now, and I'm going to have to end up returning it. But first, let me just mention the pros about this foundation. It's a medium to full coverage foundation, and I use a damp sponge to apply it onto my face. It gives a really great satin finish to the skin and I really love the coverage. It doesn't take much to build up to full coverage, and I do have quite a bit of acne scarring on my face. It's easy to blend out, it's not cakey, and it's a perfect match for my skin tone. I don't think I've ever found a foundation that matched this closely to my skin color. As far as wear time, I've found that I could go about 6 hours before my face starts getting shiny. I'd say my skin is combo/slightly oily. This is also a drugstore foundation, so it's very affordable.

Here's the deal breaker: IT BREAKS ME OUT. I couldn't believe it because, well, look at the name of the foundation!!! I didn't really think that it would help clear  acne, but I expected it to not break me out. At first, I thought it was something else that was causing the breakouts, but it is definitely this foundation. I use a new makeup sponge every time that I apply this foundation, so it's not a dirty brush/sponge that's causing me to break out. I always cleanse my skin, tone, moisturize, and prime my skin before I apply any type of foundation. The only difference in my routine has been this foundation. I stopped using it after my first application when I noticed two or three new blemishes on my face. Then, I waited for my face to clear up and tried using the foundation again. Same result. I used it about six other times and finally just gave up on it. As much as I love this foundation because of the finish and coverage it gives me, it's just not worth the acne that comes with it. I was so bummed out. This would be the perfect foundation for me if it didn't break me out.

Neutrogena needs to relabel this foundation because it definitely doesn't help people with sensitive and acne prone skin, and that's really the consumers that they're targeting. It's misleading and unethical. I would not recommend this foundation to anyone with sensitive skin/acne prone skin.

First Impression: Garnier Fructis De- Constructed Beach Chic Waves Hair Spray

Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a fantastic week so far!

Over the weekend, I spotted the Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Beach Chic Waves Hair Spray at Target and decided to give it a shot.

I've used it twice so far, and I really like the way it makes my hair wavy without the crunchy feeling. My hair feels soft and touchable. Both times I've used this, I sleep with my hair in a bun overnight and fix my hair in the morning. I don't use any heating tools. I just run my fingers through the curls and it turns out beautiful. Some people have mentioned that this spray seems to leave the ends of their hair really dry, and I'd have to agree with them. To fix that problem, I've been using a morrocan oil and applied it to the tips of my hair.

The best part about this hair spray is that I don't have to apply any extra hair spray on top of it. I was afraid that this stuff wouldn't work on my hair because I have very straight hair. Every time I've curled my hair with a flat iron or curling iron, it always goes back to being straight within a few hours unless I've sprayed a good amount of hairspray on my hair. With this hair spray, my curls lasted THE WHOLE DAY. I'm seriously loving this product because it gives me that beach sexy hair without having to mess with all the heating tools.

Highly recommend it.

First Impressions review: Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo

Hello fellow bloggers and readers! It's been awhile. I'm so glad I actually have time to actually post a blog! School has been taking up most of my time, but my New Year's resolution is to blog at least once a week. (Let's hope I can keep this up!)

Ok, so I've been really curious to try dry shampoo for awhile now. I finally caved yesterday when I went to Target and saw this baby:

My first thought: Omg this is sooooo cute!!! This is the travel size version of the Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo. I decided to buy this small version ($1.99) instead of the full size version ($4.99) because I wasn't sure if I was going to love it or not. I've heard several youtubers talk about their favorite dry shampoos, but I haven't heard anyone mention this one. All the ones that I have seen in various favorites videos were the kind of dry shampoos that were in powder form. I didn't really see the attraction in buying a product that looked like baby powder and then having to massage it into your scalp. When I saw this was in a spray bottle, I figured I'd give it a shot. I used it this morning, and it smells amazing! There's a slight minty smell to it, but it's not something that's overpowering. I have a very sensitive nose, so I try to avoid products that have any sort of strong smell to them. This smells amazing when you spray it on and it's not heavy at all. It's like putting hairspray in your hair, minus the crunchy, greasy feeling. It also doesn't leave any white residue in your hair.

I should mention that I have straight hair that gets really oily if I don't shampoo it often. I know a lot of people say that shampooing your hair everyday is a terrible thing to do, but I do it because my hair is just so oily. I also have some acne and acne scars on my face, and I don't want the oils from my hair to transfer to my face. It's been about 4 hours into the day and so far, it's been controlling the oils in my hair pretty well. Even though I've only tried it for one day, I'm really enjoying the results and I'd recommend it to others. I kind of regret buying the small size version now, but at least I know I like the product. I'll definitely be buying the full size version once I'm out.

Drug Store Lipstick Reviews and Swatches: Colour Riche Balm, Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, Covergirl Lip Perfection in Darling and Sweetheart

Hey everyone! Long time no blog haha. I've been putting this post off for a long time and finally had the time to finish it today. There's recently been a lot of reviews on new products that drugstore brands have released such as the Revlon Lip Butters, Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Eyeshadow, and L'Oreal's Infallible Eyeshadows. I am planning on posting a review on drugstore eye shadows but this one is going to focus on drugstore lip products that I've bought in the last couple months.

First up is the Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipsticks. I bought two shades: Darling and Sweetheart.

The packaging is really sleek and sophisticated, but it does scratch easily. If you plan on throwing this lipstick in your purse, I recommend that you try to put it in an isolated area away from your keys.

I find that the colors at the bottom don't exactly match the actual color you will get when you apply it to the lips. The color aren't totally off, but I can tell you that when I put Sweetheart on my lips for the first time, I was shocked at the frostiness of the color.

On top is a swatch of Sweetheart and the bottom is Darling. Sweetheart is a nice light frosty pink, but I find that it's a little too frosty for my taste and it's definitely not a lipstick I can pull off for an everyday look. Darling, on the other hand, is a nice rosy pink shade that I absolutely adore. It's a really gorgeous color on and I think it would suit a lot of skin tones as well. The formula has a creamy texture and it's not drying on my lips. For those of you that have drier lips or lips that crack easily, I recommend using a moisturizing lip balm before applying your lipstick. I personally like to use L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balm in #218 Rose Elixir, but I'll go over this one in a little bit.

Jen at Frmheadtotoe recommended this particular Revlon Lip Butter shade in Peach Parfait to me via Twitter and I went out to buy it at Ulta. I saw her review of these lip butters on her blog and videos and I really loved this color. This lipstick is very moisturizing and the color payoff is really nice. It's really easy to apply just a sheer coat of this on your lips or build up the color. I'd highly recommend this lip product to people who are just beginning to get into lipsticks or to those of you that are looking for a moisturizing lip product.

I tried my best to take a picture of my Colour Riche Balm in Rose Elixir but my camera just wouldn't focus so I decided not to post pictures of it. Anyways, here are swatches of Peach Parfait (top) and Rose Elixir (bottom).

Apologies for the bad lighting as well. The sun was setting and this was the best picture out of the different light settings I tried. Peach Parfait is a really nice peachy pink color, but I find that it has a ton of glitter in it that can feel a little gritty on the lips. I kissed my boyfriend one time when I had this lipstick on and his lips had glitter particles on them afterwards (oops). Rose Elixir is VERY sheer and I find that it has absolutely no color payoff on my lips. It is, however, very moisturizing so I use it on days whenever my lips are feeling dry and right before I put on a lipstick. It has a slightly greasy feeling, probably from the Argan oil, but it really doesn't bother me. The L'Oreal Balm was pretty expensive in comparison to other drugstore lip products and the fact that it really didn't have any color payoff made me kind of regret buying it. It's not a bad product, but I don't think I'd buy it or recommend it to anyone.

Hope this review was helpful to some of you and leave any questions/comments below.

Review: Make Up Forever Mat Velvet Plus Foundation and Lioele Triple Solution BB Cream

Happy New Years everyone! I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and ended 2011 on a good note.

To kick off the start of the New Year, I wanted to do a review on the Make Up Forever (MUFE) Mat Velvet Plus foundation that I got during the Sephora Friends and Family Sale. I have a total of three foundations that I own: Bare Minerals, Lioele Triple Solution BB Cream, and the MUFE Mat Velvet Plus. I haven't touched my Bare Minerals foundation for a looooong time because it doesn't give me the coverage that I want and I find that it accentuates some of the flaky patches I have on my face. For the past month, I've been alternating between my BB Cream and the Mat Velvet to see which one I like better, but there are things that I like and dislike about each product.

Oil Control: The MUFE Mat Velvet Plus wins on the oil control. This didn't surprise me, and if it didn't perform better than the BB cream, I would've returned it because the most attractive selling point (for me, at least) about this product was that it was a matte foundation. I have combination oily skin and I really wanted a foundation that would help to prevent/control the shine that I get as the day goes on. This product definitely has a matte finish, but it doesn't make my face look cakey/powdery or overdone. It's a very natural matte finish and I don't have to blot at all whenever I wear this foundation. If you're really worried that this foundation won't stand up to the oils on your face, I'd recommend buying MAC's blot powder and using that to set your foundation. I use it all the time and it works wonders. I've found that if I don't set my BB Cream with the blot powder, I get oily around my T-zone after about 5 hours of wear. With the Mat Velvet Plus (MVP) I can go up to 8 hours of wear without using the blot powder and not look overly shiny.

Color Matching: Again, the Mat Velvet takes the cake for this category. The BB Cream was a little too light for my skin tone because of my tan from the summer so I have to use a small amount (half a pump) for my entire face. I believe my skin color right now is NC 30 but moving more towards NC 25 since it's winter time. I got the MVP foundation in shade #40 and I picked this color because Frmheadtotoe has about the same skin color as me. This shade matches me perfectly. The BB Cream I have only comes in one shade, so MUFE foundations obviously have a wider range of color selections.

Application: The BB cream wins this one. I like using my stippling brush to apply the BB cream to my face because it gives a nice even finish. For the MVP, I've heard that you can apply it using a stippling brush or your fingers. I've only used my fingers to apply this foundation because it dries extremely fast and I hate wasting product. I don't mind using my fingers to apply the foundation but I prefer using a brush to fingers.

Coverage: BB Cream wins this category. I find that it has slightly better coverage than the MVP for my acne scarring and it also minimizes my pores. The MVP doesn't accentuate my pores, it just doesn't do much or as much as the BB cream.

Price: The MVP is $34 while the BB cream (depending on where/who you buy it from) is about $30. You get more product in from the BB cream (50 ml) than the MVP (1.01 oz) so from the standpoint of getting more bang for your buck, BB cream takes this category as well.

I find myself grabbing for the BB cream more than the MVP lately, but it's probably because my skin is drier now that it's winter time. I'll probably be using the MVP around spring and summer time to help control my oily face. Some other things to consider between these two foundations are the features such as SPF, whitening and waterproof properties. The BB cream has 30SPF, whitening, and wrinkle care properties. The MVP is waterproof.

So, which one do I like better? As of right now, I prefer using my Lioele BB cream, but that's not to say that I don't love the MVP foundation because I do. I'm really glad that I took the plunge to buy it during the Sephora Friends and Family Sale. It honestly all boils down to what I need at the moment, and since it's winter time, I prefer the BB cream because it feels more moisturizing than the MVP, which has a drier feel to it.

I hope this comparison was helpful to some of you. If you have any questions about these foundations, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

Review: Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Powder Brush

I'm a huge fan of the pixiwoo sisters and when I heard that Sam was launching a brush line, I knew I had to check them out. Before they were released, the only brushes I owned were the Bare Minerals Kabuki Brush, Concealer Brush, and Flawless Face Brush. They work fine for mineral foundation (obviously) but they weren't the softest brushes in the world and I really wanted to experiment with a stippling brush to apply my Lioele Triple Solution BB Cream.

Pricing: When I saw the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and glanced at the price on Ulta's website, I was a little shocked that it was only $10. Ulta usually has coupons that you can use on non-Prestige Cosmetics items and I was extremely excited to find out that you could use their coupons on Real Techniques Brushes. So really, you're only paying about $8 for each individual brush instead of $30+++ for others. Many people like to assume that a more expensive a product is going to perform better than a cheaper one, but that's not necessarily true. Granted, I've never tried out any of the expensive brushes so I can't really compare Real Techniques to any other brand aside from Bare Minerals, but I can say that I'm not tempted to shell out $30 for a brush. It's just too much! You could buy three of these brushes for $30.

Performance: Anyways, aside from the awesome price point, the brush itself is REALLY soft and made from synthetic fibers. I've washed my brush several times and I haven't experienced any shedding whatsoever. The stippling brush works wonders for me whenever I apply BB cream to my face. Before, I used my fingers but now I always use this brush to apply it to my face. It blends the foundation into my skin and gives it a flawless finish. I also use the stippling brush to apply powder blush and it works beautifully. I absolutely adore this brush. After falling in love with my stippling brush, I also decided to buy a powder brush to apply my MAC blotting powder and other translucent powders. This is a pretty large brush compared to the stippling brush, and it does the job. It is too big to use to apply blush, so if you're looking for a multitasking brush, like the stippling brush, the powder brush is probably not the one to get.

Both of these brushes have a rounded wide end to the brush that allows it to stand up on a flat surface. Lots of people think it's a neat feature while others think it's unnecessary. I personally like the fact that it can stand up on its own but I also recognize that the wider end makes it harder to carry it around if you're travelling. The ends probably won't fit into the slots of some makeup brush roles which could be a turn off for some. I personally just use a cosmetic bag to store my brushes at home and while I'm travelling.

I'd definitely recommend this product to anyone who's looking for a good quality makeup brush without a hefty price tag. Thank you, Sam Chapman, for making such awesome and affordable brushes.

Review: Etude House Fantastic Rouge LuciDarling Lipstick/Lip gloss and Darkness Lashes

I must say that the Korean cosmetic stuff I've tried so far has really impressed me. Here's a pic of my small collection of Asian cosmetic products.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying new products from these brands soon!

On my way back to the States from Thailand, my flight stopped at Korea (I took Korean Air) and took advantage of the cheap cosmetics there. I bought a couple of lip products from Etude House and I absolutely LOVE them all. I bought two lip glosses, one in the shade No. 4 and the other in shade No. 2.

I got these for $8 USD each. They have a nice scent to them that's not too nauseating or strong and they taste really good! Below are some swatches.

No. 4 and No. 2

These glosses are pretty pigmented and they're by far the best lip gloss I've ever tried. I heard a lot about Etude House products on YouTube and many people said that this particular brand has some really awesome lip products. I was a little skeptical at first, but now I totally understand why people like them. This lip gloss glides on smoothly and doesn't leave a greasy feeling on your lips. It feels very moisturizing and looks good on its own or on top of a lipstick color.

These are two of the lipsticks I bought from the Korean airport as well. I think these were $6 USD each.

No. 9 and No. 3

I love No. 3 because it's a nudey pink and it's very similar to my MAC Shy Girl lipstick. My sister really likes No. 9. I find that No. 9 is a little too bright for my taste but I still love it. These lipsticks don't crack my lips or make them feel chapped/dry throughout the day. In one of the swatch pics above, you can see some glitter in both lipsticks but it doesn't have a frosty overly glittery finish to it at all, which I love. The packaging of these lipsticks is also super adorable. If you're looking for a new lipstick or lip gloss, I'd definitely recommend checking out any of Etude House's lip products. I only own the ones from the LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge collection but I've heard a lot of good things about the Miss Tangerine line as well.

Last, but not least, Darkness Lashes!! I spotted these inside H-mart and paid $4 for each of them. I like them, but I'm not really loving them all that much. I have to cut a little bit off because it's a little big for my eyes. When I wear them, I feel like they're really long and dramatic lashes, so if you're looking for some natural looking false eyelashes, these particular models are not the ones to get. I find that they're really great for a night out but not so much for everyday wear. I won't repurchase these again but I am willing to purchase other models from Darkness like the WOS one that Jen (frmheadtotoe) mentioned in her Nov. hits and misses video.

What are your favorite lip stick product/color and what are some good natural looking pair of false eyelashes that you've tried?