Smokey Blue Glam Face of the Day

Hey doll hey! How’s your day/night going? Great I hope. I’m still in a heap of pain (I think that will be my new norm for a while, since it’s the rainy season here in Florida) but my energy levels are starting to get on the rise.

Today I am wearing Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne perfume. I also used 2 eye shadow palette for this look today …. I’ll be reviewing a few of my newer products in Final Thoughts….Let’s get into today’s Face of the Day ….

Base:

I primed my face using my 100 point perk of Dior Backstage Face & Body Primer ($36 at Sephora) and primed my pores using Tarte Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer ($39 at Ulta and Sephora). For foundation today I mixed equal parts of MAC Strobe Cream ($35 at Ulta and MAC) in Pinklite with Juvia’s Place I Am Magic Velvety Matte Foundation ($14 at Ulta and on the Juvia’s Place website) in the shade #650 Alexandria. I contoured using Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand ($38 a Sephora and on the Beautylish website) in the shade Medium/Deep and then bronzed up the face using Juvia’s Place Shade Stick Foundation ($16 at ulta and on the Juvia’s Place website) in the shade Guinea. I concealed my under eyes using a sample of the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra Longwear Concealer ($29 at Sephora) in the shade 1N – fair with neutral undertones. I highlighted the high points of the face using Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Light Wand ($38 at Sephora and on the Beautylish website) in the shade Spotlight. I set my under eyes using Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder ($28 at Sephora and Ulta). I set the rest of my face using Too Faced Born This Way Ethereal Loose Setting Powder ($33 at Ulta and Sephora) in the shade translucent. I then added a little ColourPop Pressed Bronzer ($8 on their website) in the shade Talk to the Palm to warm up the perimeter of the face. I added ELF Metallic Flare Highlighter ($6 on their website) in the shade White Gold to the high points of my face. For touch ups I am using Catrice Cosmetics Prime and Fine Waterproof Mattifying Powder ($7.49 at Ulta) in the shade translucent.

Eyes:

I set my brows using Believe Beauty Eyebrow Styling Gel ($4 only at Dollar General Stores) in clear and then filled in my bows using AOA Studio Sculpting Brow Pencil ($1 on the Shop Miss A website) in the shade Dark Brown. I carved out my brows using my BH Studio Pro Brow Highlighting Pencil ($5 on their website) on the matte side and then prepped the rest of my eye lids using Revolution Makeup Cut Crease Canvas Full Coverage Eye shadow Base ($9 on their website) in the shade Illustrate (fair flesh color). I set my brow line using the shade Canvas (creamy vanilla – satin) from the ELF Retro Paradise palette ($14 on their website). For today’s look I used the ELF Earth & Ocean Palette ($14 on their website) and the ELF Retro Paradise Palette ($14 on their website). I started with the Retro Paradise palette and set my brow line using Canvas (creamy vanilla – satin). I then used a combo of the shades Dijon (mustard tan – matte), Fuego (pastel coral – matte), and Sandy Bum (light toned brown – matte) as my crease shade. I then switched to the Earth & Ocean palette and went into a combo of the shades Oasis (slightly blue grey – matte) and Abyss (deep ocean blue – matte) for the outer 1/3 of my mobile lid and the outer v of the crease. I them used the shade Saltwater (silver with w opal duo-chrome – shimmer) for the inner 2/3 of the mobile lid and then into the shade Lagoon (powder blue – metallic) and patted that over the middle 1/3 of the mobile lid to blend the outer and inner 1/3 together. For the lower lash line I first used what was left on my crease brush (the one with the combo of Dijon, Fuego, and Sandy Bum) to create a drop shadow. I then went into the Retro Paradise palette and took the shade  Royal (classic royal blue – matte) close to the lash line and then buffed it out with a clean fluffy brush to blow and smoke the lash line out. I then took what was left on the brush I used for the outer 1/3 of the mobile lid (and the outer v of the crease) and buffed that close to the lash line to deepen it up a bit. I then went back into the Earth & Ocean palette and into the shade Drip Drip (vibrant blue – metallic) and buffed that into the lower lash line to add depth. I highlighted the inner corners of my eyes using the shade  Sip Sip (baby blue – metallic) from the Retro Paradise palette. I lined my lower waterline using Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner ($26 at Sephora) in the shade #74 Sunset (golden bronze- shimmer). I coated my upper and lower lashes with Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lash Mascara ($29 at Sephora and on the Beautylish website) in the shade Glossy Black and popped on a pair of ColourPop Falsies Faux Lashes ($8 on their website) in the shade Hunni.

Cheeks and Lips:

For blush today I used a combo of 2nd shade of the first row (pale coral) and the 1st shade of the 2nd row (pale mauve) of the ELF Cream Blush Palette ($8 on their website) in the colorway Soft colorway. I lightly set the blush using the shade Spiced (a red based mid-toned coral – matte) from the Retro Paradise palette. I lined my lips using ColourPop Lippie Pencil ($6 on their website) in the shade Another Round (rosy nude) and filled in the lips using ColourPop Lippie Stix ($7 on their website) in the shade Cookie (warm brown nude – matte) and then topped off my lips using the ColourPop x Kathleen Lights Ultra Glossy Lip ($8 on their website) in the shade Moon Child (pinky nude with gold glitter).

Final Thoughts

I grade this one a solid A- : It’s billed as a  lightweight, universal primer that helps makeup last longer, blurs imperfections, and delivers up to 24 hours of hydration for an enhanced complexion.

I would have graded this one an A+ save for the fact that there is a strong rose scent. It does dissipate but it’s very strong at first application.

It’s very smoothing of the skin, I almost didn’t need my pore primer (almost). It’s also very hydrating and sinks into the skin quickly. The site says this can be worn alone as sort of a smoothing step to your skin care …. I honestly agree with that claim.

I did notice that it leaves the skin slightly tacky but not in an uncomfortable way.

Foundation went over this primer flawlessly.

I did enjoy this primer and think I may be purchasing the full sized once I’m out of the 100 point perk bottle.

I grade this one a solid A- : It’s billed as a medium to full coverage, weightless concealer that perfects, hydrates and blurs, with 12 hours of crease-resistant wear that won’t crease. It claims that it flexes with skin to seamlessly conceal under eye darkness and facial imperfections with all day hydration creates a crease-resistant, natural finish.

It comes in 22 shades with 5 shades for deeper skin tones and I tried it in the shade 1N fair with neutral undertones.

This is a very nice concealer, with the perfect shade and tone for me however it did look a bit crepey. Now, this could be because I’ve slacked on my skin care routine this past week so my under eyes are not a supple as they normally are or purchase I used a touch too much for my under eye.

At any rate despite the crepiness it was a very nice concealer …. full coverage … no need for a color corrector…. sets well and did not seep into my fine lines.

I only graded it a A- because it’s not as hydrating as I expected from the description and it also looks very dry when you set it with powder …. this does change once you add setting spray and lightly press it with your damp beauty sponge but until then it does look very dry.

I have enough left from my sample card for another 2 more uses …. I will decide after I’ve used it up whether or not I will purchase the full sized.

I grade this one a solid A++ : It’s billed as a multidimensional, high-luster glow that’s buttery soft.

This is such a pretty highlighter! It gives such a beautiful glow to the skin without emphasizing texture and without having there being any glittery mess. It’s not a beaming highlight but it’s a seamless glow.

I grade this one a solid A++ : It’s billed as a vibrant, Bahamas-inspired eyeshadow palette with high-shine metallics and ultra-pigmented mattes in bright and neutral shades.

This is such a gorgeous palette!!! The mattes are super pigmented, finely milled, and buttery smooth. The mattes blend smoothly and buff into each other perfectly with no skipping, patchiness, or muddiness.

I’ve really been having fun playing around with this palette.

I grade this one a solid A+++ : It’s billed as being inspired by grounded, earthy vibes and mesmerizing ocean views with a mix of mattes, satins, and shimmers ranging from warm browns to yellow hues and rich blues that are smooth, creamy, blendable, and ultra pigmented for effortless application.

This truly is a stunning palette! There are several color stories all in 1 18 pan palette ….. the only thing missing is a brow bone shade and a deeper matte brown … I feel that would have rounded this palette out nicely.

The mattes in this palette, again, are buttery, finely milled, and blend like a dream … they buff into each other without going patchy and do not go muddy either.

I grade this one a solid A +++ !!! : It’s billed as a gel pot eyeliner in a crayon that delivers intense color and 12-hour waterproof wear and amazing glide with an extreme-wear, waterproof eyeliner that glides on effortlessly to deliver instant color payoff. It comes in 37 shades and 3 finishes.

This is a freaking amazingly beautiful eyeliner! It’s creamy and doesn’t tug at the delicate eye area. It doesn’t skip or smudge or transfer outside of the line. There is high quality pigment payoff from 1 swipe of this liner.

I enjoyed using this one so much that I already put 13 other shades in my cart to purchase later this month.

I also love that it’s a self sharpening pencil so I never have to worry about wasted product whilst sharpening.

I grade these a solid A++ : It’s billed as having the fullest lashes with these criss-crossed patterned faux mink falsies with longer fibers in the middle of the lash creates a volumized doll-eyed look.

I did not have to cut these lashes down… they were a perfect fit for my eye width.

The band isn’t super thick but it’s thick enough not to be flimsy.

They seem to be top notch quality for this price point and I can tell I will probably be able to get 10 uses out of these 1 pair of lashes.

The ends did not poke or stab at my inner or outer edge of the eye lash line and I didn’t need to add liner to hide the band.

I’ve super impressed with these lashes.

I grade this a solid A+++ !!! : It’s billed as being richly pigmented buildable, and give you gorgeous, customizable color and are formulated to last all day. It comes in 2 color ways : Soft (the one I have) and Bold.

Out of every single cream blush product I have tried this one is the best of the best! Hands down better than even the high end blushes I’ve been testing out.

The pigment is rich but not over saturate so you don’t have to worry about too much pigment at first application. You can build up the intensity without worrying about the blush gong patchy or lifting up the products underneath. This bush palette even layers well over light powder.

This formula is so amazingly beautiful. Unlike most of the cream blushes I have tried …. this one does not loose it’s pigmentation once you set your face with powder.

It doesn’t emphasize texture (not even the pores), it doesn’t skip or go on patchy, and you get the same even , seamless coverage whether or not you use a sponge, your fingers, or a stippling brush to apply the product.

This is a definite always will keep in my collection.

I grade this one a solid A+++ : It’s billed as a high shine gloss with medium-coverage, pearlescent finish in a moisturizing and non-sticky, comfortable formula.

It’s such a shame that this one is limited edition! I could see me repurchasing this one time and time again.

It’s the perfect formula! Not at all sticky, very hydrating, and even though there is fine glitters in this formula you can not feel them … there is zero grittiness to the glitter base.

It lasts fairly long and evenly on the lips and did not transfer out of the lines.

The only thing keeping me from giving this a grade with exclamation marks after it is the scent! This one smells like old kid’s makeup. Like a cross between plastic and old Vaseline. It doesn’t linger but does stick around for sometime. This is one of those cases I wouldn’t have minded a slight vanilla scent …. or even no scent at all…. now I don’t know why it has this scent that it does, but I just didn’t like it at all.

Other than the scent this is an amazing lip gloss!

Well that’s all for now dolls. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day/night and that you are in good spirits and health.

Remember …. Save a spoon for a bit of lipstick.

XOXO, Nita