bareMinerals Goodies: a blush, shadow, liner, and lipgloss, oh my!

My mom gave me a little kit full of bareMinerals goodies and I was so excited to try some stuff out from this brand! I love their pressed eyeshadows so was eager to try out some different products. This kit came with a blush, an eyeshadow, an eyeliner, and a lipgloss.

The eyeliner is called the 'Round the Clock 7PM Intense Cream-Glide Eyeliner waterproof.' This liner is a warm chocolate brown and has a very creamy consistency. I find it does have some nice staying power and is easy to apply, though I still find myself reaching for my brown Smashbox always sharp liner when I'm in the mood for brown...more on that later!  The lipgloss is called the 'Marvelous Moxie' lipgloss in 'Smarty Pants.' It is a nude peach color with gold shimmer through out. I LOVE this lipgloss. It smells minty and gives a plumping, tingling sensation to the lips. I feel like it makes your lips look luscious and supple! 

Here are the eyeliner and lipgloss swatched next to other popular brands. The eyeliner is much warmer and redder compared to the Smashbox always sharp brown eyeliner and Urban Decay's 'Demolition.' It has a similar consistency but I definitely prefer the deeper toned browns.  The lipgloss is actually really unique compared to other lipglosses I thought would be similar. It is peachier and more nude than NARS Orgasm and MAC Nymphette and more peachy and less sparkly than Stila's Apricot. 

The two loose products included were a blush and an eyeshadow and are the first loose powder products I have ever tried!

The products come housed in little plastic pots with screw on caps. 

The eyeshadow is in the color 'Sex Kitten' and the blush is in the color 'Sunkissed.' The instructions for the eyeshadow are to just pick up some product that has come through the sifter and tap off excess then begin applying to the eye. The blush instructions are to open the sifter, pour some product into the cap and swirl your blush brush into the product until it is all deposited into the brush. Then buff it onto your cheeks. 

Kitten is a medium brown color with golden sparkle. Sunkissed is a nude, warm peach shade.  Here's how I wore 'Sex Kitten' eyeshadow on my eyes:

I have Urban Decay's 'Combust' eyeshadow in my crease and then 'Sex Kitten' blended all over my lid and into the crease. I thought this shadow created a warm, toned-down, brown smokey eye.

You can see how nice the blush looks in the photo above! I found it easy to blend and very natural looking. It reminded me a lot of MAC Melba blush.

Overall I really enjoy these bareMinerals products! The blush was definitely my favorite from the bunch.

What are your favorite bareMinerals products?
My review of bareMinerals quad in 'The Truth' HERE!
My review of bareMinerals quad in 'The Happy Place'

xxSJ

Sephora Favorites: Draw the Line Eyeliner Sampler Kit

Sephora often releases these 'Sephora Favorites' kits and I thought this one would be worth a try. It is the 'Draw the Line' eyeliner sample kit complete with some great brands and well known eyeliners I already know and love. I thought this kit would be a great way to try some other products out with out fully committing to them!

The kit contains 3 full size eyeliners from Tarte, Stila, and Smashbox. There are 3 sample size liners from Urband Decay, Sephora brand, and Kat Von D.
Included in the kit are:
- 0.007 oz Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in 'Trooper' (deluxe sample)
- 0.028 oz Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear in 'Black Lace' (deluxe sample)- 0.01 oz Smashbox Cosmetics Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner in 'Sumatra' (FULL SIZE)- 0.01 oz Stila Cosmetics Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in 'Stingray' (FULL SIZE)- 0.034 oz Tarte lights, camera lashes precision longwear eyeliner in 'Black' (FULL SIZE)- 0.03 oz Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in 'Vice' (deluxe sample)

One thing I really like about this kit is the varied types of eyeliners included. There are 2 liquid pen eyeliners (Kat Von D and Tarte), 2 smudge stick formulas (Stila and Smashbox), and 2 classic pencil liners (Sephora and Urban Decay).

I wish the color selection in this kit was more varied. I appreciate the bright purple and that there was a brown thrown in, but I think a deep navy or forest green would have added a lot to this kit in place of an additional black liner.

The Good:
-I love the Kat Von D pen liner in 'Trooper.' The brush tip gives a very nice and precise wing and I find it really easy to use.
-I really enjoy the Smashbox Always Sharp kohl liner in 'Sumatra.' I find the color flattering and this eyeliner is always sharp meaning its easy to use and apply.
-I like the Stila smudgestick for lining my waterlines as it is very pigmented and doesn't look too harsh since it smudges out a bit. I have to be careful around my outer corner as the color can travel a bit.
-I love Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliners so I will definitely be getting some use out of 'Vice,' though I tend to reach for my eggplant, deeper purples over brighter ones.

The not so good:
-I was not a fan of the Tarte pen eyeliner. I loved it at first because of its ultra sharp tip and the way the pen feels in my hand, however I felt the product dried up very fast!
-The Sephora brand eyeliner was not very pigmented and so I haven't been reaching for it over my other eyeliners.


I really recommend trying kits like this out if you're interested in a brand inside! This kit was $30 for SO MUCH EYELINER. Fall Out Boy couldn't even go through this much eyeliner.

Give these Sephora kits a shot if you're on a budget and want some different brands and products to add to your stash!

xx, SJ

Youtube Favorite: Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in 'Nude'

This product has been so hyped by some of my favorite beauty girls on youtube its unreal! It is the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Eye Kohl in the color nude.  Now you might be wondering, 'A nude eyeliner??? What the heck are ya supposed to do with a nude eyeliner??' Well let me tell you, not much. The purpose of nude or light colored eyeliners is to make your eyes look bigger by tightlining your upper lash line or lining your lower waterline. The nude color makes your lids kind of blend in with your eyeballs and creates the illusion of bigger, brighter eyes.

The concept is awesome and I've found it really does work. When I want to create the illusion of big and bright eyes, I usually just dab some light shadow on my waterline and it does the trick.  A pencil would be so much easier than precisely tapping shadow onto my lid, so I gave this product  a shot.  

This product is inexpensive at only $4. When I swatched it and played with the color it was very creamy (important for eye products! You don't want to have to pull on your delicate eye area too much if a product is too stiff!) and had nice pigmentation.

When I applied this to my waterline, I noticed it went on smoothly and gave that brightening effect that its supposed to create.
HOWEVER. Less than an hour later, this product was completely GONE. This is not a waterproof product because the wetness of my own eyes removed this right away from my eyeline. I know that the waterline is a tough area to maintain color or products, but its doable. This product unfortunately just doesn't get the job done. It might work for photos since it gives an immediate but short effect, but for day to day wear, this won't be a staple for me.

I'm so disappointed! I always feel kind of duped when a product is recommended by multiple people and it just doesn't work for me. It feels like a terrible joke.

I'll just have to stick with using my good old fashioned light eyeshadow in the waterline trick if I'm looking to create that doe-eyed effect!
xxSJ