Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream to Powder Foundation Review

Foundation; the hardest and yet sometimes the most essential part of a woman (or man's) makeup regimen. First you have to find the right formula that will work with your face, then right shade, then the right tone. Do you go high end or buy from a drug store? Will it make you look too ashy or too orange? Does it provide enough coverage? And just when you think you've found THE ONE... your skin goes and changes on you. And then you're on that search for the perfect foundation... again.

Such is the plight for me. I used to wear MAC's Studio Fix Foundation with SPF in NC40 and for awhile, it worked really well. It gave me the coverage I needed and almost flawless when I applied it with a duo fiber brush. I've worn this brand and shade for almost five years. I'd found the one!

And then I turned 28 and all of sudden my skin changed. AGAIN! *sigh* The foundation I'd been wearing was no longer working for me. It felt too heavy and began to cause a lot of break outs on my skin.

BREAK OUTS = NO BUENO!

So off I went in search of another foundation. I was in my local Macy's and I stopped by the Urban Decay counter to check out some eye shadows and what not. I wasn't really going to buy foundation since I was on my last leg of MAC NC40 foundation anyway. And then a really perky and bright eyed UD Girl got a hold of me and we began talking about what I was looking for. She asked me about my skin type and after I told her, she suggested the Surreal Skin Cream-to-Powder Foundation which is good for normal to oily skin. She applied the foundation to my skin and at first I was kinda *meh* about it. But I figured it was just the lighting. I bought it though and even then I felt like kicking myself in the butt for being talked into buying it. But I took it home and set in on my dresser and left it there for a few days.

And then Christmas day came and I was out of my MAC foundation. I glanced at the little purple compact on my dresser and decided "now or never" when it came to the foundation. I remember thinking about how I really hoped it worked because honestly, who likes to buy ANYTHING and find out it's a dud. Money's lost, we lose, the company wins, etc.

I checked out the little brush that came in it and thought it was pretty funny looking but I did like the way it felt on my fingers. I applied it on and it felt...

AH-MAY-ZING!!!!

It literally felt like I was applying silk on my face and it gave me the coverage I wanted plus blended easily. I didn't have to layer it on like I do my MAC foundation and it doesn't make me feel like it clogs my pores. I don't know if there are any luminizers in the foundation itself, because there is a little bit of shine but not something that would make me not want to buy it again. I just used my Make Up Forever HD Powder to matte it down if necessary.

The staying power is great too! I wore it for over 12 hours Christmas day and it looked just as good as when I first applied it! I didn't have to touch it up at all during the day.

I can't say there are any cons about this product for me. I love the way it looks, the way it feels, even the little brush that comes with it because it applies the foundation so well for me. I have read other reviews and found that it doesn't do well with dry skin, but it could be a case by case kind of thing.

I am so extremely pleased that I took a chance on this foundation and ended up really liking it! It retails $34 on the Urban Decay's website and at Macy's where I bought it from their counter.

What's your favorite product from Urban Decay?

*pictures are mine. please do not steal.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Pallet Review

Urban Decay came out with this pallet awhile ago, and I've had it since they first hit stores. Unfortunately I haven't been able to really do a review on it until now.

For Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary they came out with their anniversary pallet. I haven't bought anything from Urban Decay in a long time, aside from some Primer Potion because they have a tendency to use duplicate colors in their pallets. There were several pallets I wanted, but because they used repeat colors, I opted out of buying them. This pallet has 15 brand new colors and one color in particular that shares my namesake. Knowing that made me want to snag the pallet just for that one color. LOL.

They ended up selling out on their website almost immediately, but I read on Temptalia's website that they were selling it on ULTA.com so I made my way over there and bought one for myself before it could go out of stock. I waited about a week to get it and when I did... It was like Christmas!

The pallet comes encased in a purple velvet box whereas the actual pallet itself is plastic with a metallic finish. I really like the jewel embellishments on the face of the pallet. The material used for the cover picks up fingerprints like crazy though, so my OCD kicks in and I'm constantly wiping it to remove smudgy fingerprints. LOL.

When you open the pallet, the colors are displayed in all their glory and looking at them seriously made me want to squeal with happiness... actually, I think I DID squeal.

I swatched some of their colors on my skin over Urban Decay Primer Potion and *OMG* they are SUPER pigmented! The several looks I have done with this pallet, every time I dipped my brush in and applied the shadow on my eye, I was always surprised with how much pigment was deposited on my eyelids.

The colors swatched (clockwise) are:

~ Midnight 15

~ Junkshow

~ Deep End

~ Half Truth

~ Black Out

~ Omen

~ Chase (yay for my namesake!!!)

The pallet retails for $55 dollars and because times have gotten a little rough, it wasn't a buy that I would normally make. But considering there were 15 brand new shadows, with the addition of tax, I was only paying about $4 per shadow. I felt like this was a good deal since Urban Decay shadows usually retail for almost $17 separately.

This is a really great product and ILOVEIT so much! I've always been a fan of Urban Decay and so for them to come out with something new was nothing short of exciting to me. LOL

Hope you enjoyed this review.

*pictures are mine. please do not steal*

Profusion Beauty Gift Set Review

So this is my review on the Profusion Beauty Gift Set I got from Walgreens a couple days ago. Due to the holiday season, there are a lot of deals going on so I bought this set for $14.99. It came with:

~6 nail polishes

~5 lipsticks

~4 eyeshadow pallets

~4 color corrector/concealers

~4 lip sugars

~2 lip glosses

~2 lip liners

~2 eye liners

~2 blushes

~2 face powders

~a variety of sponge applicators and brush applicators

Not a bad haul for $14.99. This is going to be a pretty long review, so I've only taken pictures and swatched items I'm more likely to use.

So here we go....

The Eyeshadow Pallets

So there were four that came in this gift set. Since the pallets had varying colors but specific themes in them, I'm going to refer to them as my "Spring", "Summer", "Fall" and "Winter" pallets to better differentiate between them.

I swatched two colors from each pallet on my hand over Urban Decay Primer Potion in the order: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. I also did a look using the Winter pallet and I will include a link down below to take you to my LOTD.

The shadows gave pretty decent pay off but were a little hard to blend. I also had to pack on a lot of the shadow to get the opacity I wanted, but considering the look I was doing, I probably would have to do that with other shadows as well, so I can't complain.

The Lipsticks

The lipsticks that came with the set were all right. Nothing I'd be overly thrilled to get. The reddest lipstick gave the best color payoff but it wasn't as pigmented as some lipsticks I've used in the past (MAC, L'Oreal, Wet n Wild, just to name a few). I had to really rub it on to my skin just to get them to show up on my skin. The lighter pinks and peach colored lipsticks had a little too much shimmer for my taste and I don't think they were the right tone to compliment my skin.

The Lip Glosses

I actually really liked the lip glosses. The red lip gloss reminded me of the holly berries that people decorate their homes with and showed up very nicely, even on my darker toned skin. And the peach colored lip gloss had little bits of gold shimmer in it (at least that's what I saw, lol) which I really liked. I could see myself using these lip glosses over lipsticks.

The Lip Sugars

These were way too sticky for me and the colors screamed "pre-teen" to me. Plus there was too much "buble gum" shimmer in them. I might give them to my daughter or include them in a giveaway I'm thinking of having.

The Lip/Eye Liners

Their your pretty standard lip and eye liners. They give decent pay off. I like the red lip liner though. I could see myself using it to do a red lip sometime in the future.

The Color Correcter/Concealers

They blended right into the skin which I suppose is a good think, but they almost completely disappeared which leads me to believe that I would have to use a lot of product to make a difference in correcting and concealing skin blemishes and there really isn't that much product in a pot. I might throw these into my PROkit just for back up purposes.

As for the nail polishes, blushes, and face powders, I don't think I'll ever really use them, but I wouldn't mind giving them to my daughter to play around with.

All in all, I really liked the eye shadow pallets and lip glosses. I don't think I lost out on anything knowing what many eye shadow pallets and lip glosses run for these days.

This gift set is cool for what it is and is a great starter kit for someone getting started in makeup and wanting to experiment with using different colors.

I hope you liked this review!


link to LOTD using Winter pallet: http://chaselovemakeupartistry.blogspot.com/2011/11/lotd-winter-snow-princess.html

Estee Lauder's DayWear Moistizer and Idealist Review

So I bought these two products from the Estee Lauder counter in Macy's and I've been using them for awhile now, but haven't really had a chance to do a review on them yet. So without further ado....

I purchased Estee Lauder's Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator after seeing the commercial, and I figured I'd try it out. I know it's a bit of a pricey buy (retails for $58) but I don't really go out and spend a lot of money on makeup or skin care products. At least not like I used to. I decided to buy it because I noticed that my skin has been changing a lot lately. Dry patches on areas that were once more oily, hyper pigmentation becoming more pronounced, all that jazz. And my skin has become a little more sensitive to my make up as of late, but I simply cannot wear light makeup. I'm one of those women who has to wear full coverage if I have on any makeup at all. But now that I see my skin changing, I want to be able to go without wearing makeup but still having beautiful skin. I've been using this product for awhile and I personally cannot tell if my skin has gotten better. But apparently others have. People tell me that my skin is flawless. I seriously wonder who their looking at sometimes. But I figure as much as I paid for it, it better be doing something. LOL. The product feels really nice going on. It feels a bit greasy at first but as you apply it to your face, it smooths out and the greasy feel disappears, replacing it with a smooth, almost silicone like feel. It also absorbs into the skin very nicely. Also the lemony citrus smell is refreshing as you apply.

The second item I purchased was the Day Wear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Lotion. I LOVE how this makes my skin feel after application. It's so soft and smooth and I find myself touching my face a lot, though I know I shouldn't. LOL. It smells like cucumbers which makes application a pleasant experience. I've put on lotions that said they'd smooth out skin or moisturize but ended up smelling a little too fruity or medicinal for my taste. This product retails for $43 at Estee Lauder counter.

I like these products a lot, and would more than likely buy them again. The Day Wear Moisturizer especially.

Hope you enjoyed this review!

*pictures are mine. please do not steal*

www.esteelauder.com

Moist's Hemp Body Moisturizer "Acai Berry" Review

I'm sure some of you who shop at Sally's Beauty Supply or Cosmo Prof or any other beauty supply store has seen this brand of lotion from Moist called "Hemp". *insert marijuana jokes here. go ahead, I have. LOL* When I saw it, I was like, "oh cool, that's nice." Standard brush off.

Then one day, during Breast cancer Awareness Month, we started selling a pink Hemp lotion in my salon. Again I was like, "oh cool, that's nice." Then came that fateful day I needed some lotion. My hands had become way too dry from one too many shampoos. LOL. So I tried some lotion. It ended up smelling very nice and softened my hands very well.

That stayed in my mind when it was time for me to stock up on body lotion so on my next trip to Sally's I made my way to the body lotion aisle and perused their selection of Hemp lotions. I ended up choosing their Acai Berry lotion and I have to say I really like it.

The smell is more floral than fruity which I like since strong perfumey lotions give me headaches and the feel of my skin after working the lotion is soft and smooth. The lotion isn't very thick, or creamy which I like because I find the thicker lotions to be too greasy for me. The lotion does require you to work it into the skin for it to be completely absorbed but it doesn't take as long as it would if you were using a body cream or body butter.

Another nice thing about this lotion: It was less than $6 for 18 fluid ounces of product. The online prices are more expensive so I don't know if they've raised the prices since I bought mine in the actual store, but I still figure $8 a much better price than spending over $10 at Bath and Body or Victoria's Secret for 16 ounces.

Have you ever tried the Hemp products? If so, which one do you like?

*picture is mine. please do not steal*

http://www.sallybeauty.com/hemp-lotion/HEMP01,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH

Curlformers Review

(I've cut my hair since this review but I wanted to share it anyway.)

I saw these while shopping at Sally's Beauty Supply and I thought I'd give them a try. I usually don't like curling my hair that often because of all the heat damage and the time consumption, so I decided to try these out. They're called "Curlformers" and if you buy the kit you get a little hook that comes with it as opposed to buying it separately.

They're fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it and can be done fairly quickly. They're not the worst thing to sleep in either.

The price on the Sally's Beauty Supply webiste (www.sallybeauty.com) is $69.99, or $63.99 with a Sally's club card. In the kit you get two sets of medium sized curlers and set of short small curlers as well and even if you have A TON of hair, there will be more than enough curlers leftover.

The only thing I did not like about this product is that when I take the curlers out of my hair in the morning, the curls are so tight and springy that I feel more like Shirley Temple than 27 year old woman. But with some de-frizzing serum and a little bit of spray in conditioner, I'm able to tame and style it into a nice updo or side ponytail with lots of curls.

The curls hold well throughout the next day if you don't plan on washing them out right away and I had pretty "waterfall curls" after some of the springiness had fallen out.

My hair is coarse usually has a hard time maintaining a curl, but these worked rather well.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of my hair the day after but the two pictures I did take of my hair are from two days after using the Curlformers.

These are a great alternative to curling your hair without a curling iron or flat iron and I would suggest them to anyone who is looking for a healthier, less damaging way to curl their hair.

You can also buy Curlformers from www.curlformers.com. I just happened to get mine from Sally's.

Hope you enjoyed this review!

 *pictures are mine. please do not steal. picture of model using Curlformers are from the Curlformers website where you can also buy pieces separately if needed.*

Almay's Purple Amethyst Mascara Review

So I bought a mascara made by Almay, called "Purple Amethyst". It's part of their line that's supposed to enhance the color of your eyes.

I tried it and I have to say that it's only so-so for me. I'm not extremely impressed by it. I have short lashes and the description on the packaging says it's supposed to volumize and lengthen. My lashes still look short, just with mascara on. And I don't know if it's my make up and the colors I used, but you can hardly tell I have purple mascara on.

Also, the little thing on the inside of the opening of the mascara tube that pulls off the excess mascara (sorry, don't know the name of it, LOL) ends up pulling off too much so you're only left with the mascara brush rather than the actual mascara.

So this product might okay for those lovely women with the long lashes, and not looking for too much color (although that was the point in buying this mascara), but if you're looking for something to brighten and lengthen and volumize as promised, you're better off sticking with Benefit or Urban Decay which are the mascaras I use when I want to thicken and lengthen my lashes.

Sugarpill Cosmetics Swatch/Review

I first heard of Sugarpill on YouTube while watching one of my favorite Makeup Gurus, Petrilude. He was reviewing a local (I live in California) cosmetics line called Sugarpill created by none other than Shrinkle herself (if you don't know who that is, check her out on eBay. She sells her clothing line as well as other cosmetics.) From the moment I saw Petrilude's swatches and the pretty boxes and packaging it came in, I knew I had to have this cosmetics line.

Now, I know there are tons of reviews out there singing it's praise as well as many beautiful swatch reviews... and this swatch/review will be no different.

So without further ado, here is my Swatch Review on Sugarpill Cosmetics.

The website from which you can order is www.Sugarpill.net. It's a melange of pink and black print with flashing images of pretty models wearing the pretty makeup. There are tabs near the top that help you navigate your way around the site. Of course upon the site loading, the first tab I click is "Shop". It brings me to a page where potted shadows and pigments are on display, bedazzling my senses with what I call Sparkle Overload.

Her line carries 9 pressed shadows, two eye shadow palettes that carry four eye shadows at a time, and 18 loose shadows. She also sells lashes and other fun stuff like stickers that you can put on your cosmetic boxes. Each shadow is sold for $12.oo each and each eye shadow palette is sold for $34 (which, as I said before, come with four shadows in them. If you got both palettes, you would get 8 out of the 9 pressed shadows and would essentially be buying 3 shadows and getting one free. I'll go over the palettes when I swatch). When you click on each shadow to view it, you can also see the information of ingredients and whether or not it is vegan.

So after staring at the website for several hours (yes, literally, hours) I finally chose several pieces to buy. I ended up buying both of the eye shadow palettes and four loose eye shadows. Shipping took the standard 3-7 days and I waited impatiently every single one of those days, LOL. When it finally did arrive, it came in a non-descript white box that had what is becoming Shrinkle's signature pretty kitty stamped on the outside. When I tore it open, it was wrapped in hot pink tissue paper and came with a hand-written note from Shrinkle herself, thanking you for your purchase. Awesome customer service if you ask me. It also came with a sample of one of her loose shadows, a Sugarpill logo sticker and two business cards with bomb looking models wearing the makeup. I haven't even bothered to throw them away. I keep them in my makeup train case, haha!

Now comes the fun part! PICTURES!!! These are the pieces I bought.

Pretty, huh? It's enough to make you want to keep the boxes. So of course, I immediately opened up each box to see the treasure inside and of course, did swatches. First up are the palettes.

(back of the box the palette came in)

(cover of each eye shadow palette with the outside box removed)

So as I said before, she sells two palettes that carry fours shadows each. They are called the "Sweetheart Palette" and the "Burning Heart Palette".

The boxes are made of heavy cardboard which seem durable (although I don't plan on tossing it around any time soon) and also have a full sized mirror inside.

The "Burning Hearts Palette" contains the four pressed shadows called Flamepoint, Buttercup, Love+ and Poison Plum.

The "Sweetheart Palette" contains another four pressed shadows and they are called Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori and Tako.

The only shadow not featured in these palettes is the pressed shadow Bulletproof, which is a matte black shadow. I didn't get that one as I already have several matte black shadows in my makeup kit.

I swatched them on my arm over Urban Decay Primer Potion, no base.

Flamepoint, Buttercake, Love+, Poison Plum

Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori, Tako

The colors went on very smoothly and I love the color pay off Love+, Poison Plum, Dollipop and Tako. Buttercup's color pay off impressed me as yellow tones that contain no shimmer don't really show up very well on my skin without a white base underneath. Flamepoint was also impressive but being a warmer tone, it is still something I would use with a white base in order to get a more truer shade without my skin tone contributing anymore warmth to it. Afterparty and Midori are beautiful colors as well and I love the coolness of each color, especially Afterparty. I do feel that I had to rub on a little more of Midori for it to show up on my skin, so again, it's another shadow I would use with a white base if I wanted to get a truer shade out of it.

The two that stood out to me most of the 8 shadows would Dollipop and Afterparty. I could definitely see an eye shadow combo using these colors.

Next are the loose shadows. Each loose shadow jar contains a net weight of 5 grams and for only $12.00 that's a huge amount of pretty sparklies that will get any Makeup Junkie addicted quick. The lids of the jars are twist on tops with the label printed on.

The loose shadows I picked out were:

Stella, Goldilux, Absinthe and Asylum

The jars come packed with loads of product and sparkles. I found myself "ooh"ing and "ah"ing over each jar that I opened. Shrinkle was surely not stingy with distributing her product.

First up, Stella:

Stella is a beautiful black based pigment with tons of sparkle that are almost chameleon like as they change in colors from blues and purples to greens and pinks. In the jar it is very pretty to look at, but this shadow is one that I would suggest be used wet. When applied dry, the shadow needs to be packed on which results in a lot of fall out. Also, when I attempted to brush it on, it only seemed to smudge the black base of the shadow and sweep off the sparkle. Something that I did find that helps with keeping the glitter on is using a duo-fiber crease brush.

Next, Goldilux:

There is so much to be said about this shadow. It is beautiful applied wet or dry. When applied dry, it creates a beautiful shine on the lid that is visible in any light. And when it's applied wet... all I can say is OMG!!!. It creates a dramatic, metallic sheen on the lids that is sure to catch anyone's attention. It stays its true color in either form and is almost too decadent to wear. Almost being the operative word....

Now for Absinthe:

The name itself made want to have this shadow. It is a beautiful metallic lime green shadow with a multifacetous glitter that changes in the light. The glitter color ranges from golden sparkle to pink and then green. This shadow can be used wet or dry but I prefer to use it wet so that it shows true on the skin.

Lastly, is Asylum:

This shadow is one that I actually had to wait to order because it was sold out. As soon as it came back into stock, I made sure to order it right away. When I first opened the jar, I thought that it looked a little darker, maybe more smokey, than the swatch that was shown on the website. This was definitely one that had to be swatched in order to see what color it would show on the skin. It is a pretty red brick color with lots of redglitter and one I cannot wait to use. I can already tell that this is something that I would use a lot during Halloween time.

These are the swatches on the skin.

(Dry/Wet over Urban Decay Primer Potion)

I see lots of sparklies in my future... ;-)

I know this has been a lengthy review, but I wanted to express my thoughts on a great line and let all of you know that it is truly worth the buy and wait. Thanks for sticking through the whole review and I hope that you enjoyed it.

Oh, and thanks, Shrinkle, for creating such a wonderful cosmetic line!