All posts tagged: primer

Unboxing & First Impressions: Glossier Phase 1 Set

Published by

OK, so I think it’s kind of obvious that I’m a sucker for great visuals and aesthetics. I am a total slave to “things that look nice,” and so I was suckered into getting the Glossier Phase 1 Set, despite not really needing anything from the set. If you are not familiar with Glossier, it’s the off-shoot beauty brand of beauty blog Into the Gloss, which I used to read very regularly. Sidenote, but I find their content a little “off” and different these days. Anyway. Launched just a couple of months ago, Glossier’s Phase 1 Set is comprised of 4 products: a face mist, a priming moisturizer, a tinted base, and an all-around salve. Despite my disappointment at the fact that “Glossier” is pronounced “glossy-yay,” I went with it, because… well, why not? I’d seen many glowing (and not-so-glowing) reviews and—STICKERS! It looked so sleek and so much fun at the same time. A gif, because half the fun of this experience was the actual unboxing! Though the items can be purchased individually, I …

Sample Stash Sunday feat. Benefit: BDJ Box 7 Day Challenge

Published by

I’m not sure for how long these monthly BDJ Box challenges run, but there was so much stuff to sample from the Benefit exclusive box by BDJ last month that I felt I should try and do it, so I could try everything out, at least! Here’s a diary I began some time in June. The products were used, collectively, for seven days. I tried to get a rotation going, but I missed using all my other makeup, too. 🙂 The eye cream was a mainstay, though, but I’ll put it out there right now—it wasn’t my favorite of the bunch! DAY ONE And on the first day, I used the It’s Potent! Eye Cream, and I saw that it was good. Intended for “brighter, younger-looking eyes,” It’s Potent! fades dark circles and helps smooth fine lines. I noticed that it has a more emollient texture than my current eye cream (Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream), but it also sinks in much faster and isn’t sticky. I’ll try to use this under makeup/concealer during this …

Unboxing: BDJ June 2014 Box*

Published by

Happy Monday everyone! Here’s a quick unboxing post, courtesy of the awesome surprise the ladies at BDJ Box left for me on Saturday. The June 2014 BDJ Box is another brand exclusive by Benefit. I’ve had great experiences with Benefit as a brand—in fact, one of my first base products was their tinted moisturizer, You Rebel Lite—but when I decided to focus on cruelty-free beauty brands, Benefit fell by the wayside, which was a tiny bit frustrating for me, as they have been releasing quite a few products that have been in development for a long time. One thing that Benefit does well is minis. I know that sounds really dumb, but when they want you to try their products, they really go all the way. Each sample in this box, for example, come as a mini version of their regular packaging, with some card packaging to mimic the boxes that full-size items may come in.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Prelude in the Clouds Aqua Primer

Published by

I know, I know. I said no more primers. But I am a stupid bint. A lucky one, though, because the Rouge Bunny Rouge Prelude in the Clouds Aqua Primer is quite good. Not the best I’ve tried, but certainly not the worst. I got it at about 40% off the retail price. Product Description: “This water-based texture is so light and refreshing on your skin that you will feel like floating through the clouds, but it contains plethora of active ingredients. Sea-Buckthorn Berry Extract serves as a superb-antioxidant and anti-ageing ingredient that promotes cell tissue regeneration. Iris Florentina Root Extract smoothes out fine lines and wrinkles to create a perfect canvas for other products to be applied to the skin. Saccharide Isomerate provides intensive hydration, firming and smoothing; Bisabolol is used for its anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Vitamin E Acetate and Retinol Palmitate improve skin texture. Now you know why we are so excited to bring you this miracle in a bottle.” The bottle is actually quite pretty. It’s in a frosted white glass …

Recent Acquisitions: Rouge Bunny Rouge

Published by

Oh look, a haul this early in the year. Typical. I bought a couple of Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows because a couple of places, namely Luxola and the RBR site itself, had them on sale. I ended up buying one of the primers also (???) and a few items not on sale. Agh. Let’s begin? I only have one other RBR shadow (Solstice Halcyon), which I wasn’t super crazy about, but I knew that Belly, Sunny, Teri, and Shari all love the formula, so this purchase was pretty much a long time in the making.

Concerning Primers: A review of the BECCA Resurfacing Primer + some thoughts

Published by

Face primers are one of the hardest beauty products to review, in my opinion. After trying a plethora of them, I know what my favorite one is (I’ll get to that later), and yet the lure of trying another one is just so strong. Primers often promise a) longer wear for makeup, b) oil-control and mattification, and c) magical pore disappearance. The BECCA Resurfacing Primer “smooths skin to create the perfect complexion.” It is a “velvety matte lotion that helps control unwanted shine and reduce the appearance of pores.” The lotion itself is opaque white, similar to Hourglass Veil Mineral, but the BECCA Resurfacing Primer has a lot less slip and is a bit thicker/harder to work into the skin. Here it is, under the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector (Opal) and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Ethereal Light), in natural light (left) and indoor light (right): It’s a mattifying primer minimizes the appearance of lines and pores. Because I used a super luminous base, though, I think it defeated the purpose. (Sorry about that!) I …

Verikos Ultra Matte Velvet Primer*

Published by

Today, I have a review on the Verikos Ultra Matte Velvet Primer*, which is something I got from my bntgirls beauty box. It claims to cover pores and control sebum (oil), like a usual primer would. Product Description: “Porous powder gives light and silky texture while absorbing excessive sebum from the skin to balance the moisture and oil of the skin. The oil-free primer tones the skin texture and corrects the skin tone without causing irritation Tocophery lacetate and Retinyl Palmitate removes harmful free radicals from the skin for healthier skin tone. Also, GLA from evening primrose oil and polyphenol from the green tea seed oil helps to protect the skin.” Pretty lofty claims, if you ask me! Let’s see how well it fares. First of all, this primer is not like the primers I’ve used in the past. It’s not very silicone-y and I was a little worried that it would feel heavy on the skin. However, if you work it into your skin well, it eventually sets to a velvety finish. There is …