Something New: It Cosmetics CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream

 Sometimes I have the hankering to try something new, and when Ulta flashed its 20% off my way I decided I wanted to try a lighter weight foundation. My job as a Physical Therapist leaves my schvitsy at the end of a long day of lifting body parts and mobilizing joints. My Clinique Foundation feels like it slips a bit sitting on top of (or under?) my glistening sweat beads.  I've heard excellent things about It Cosmetics CC+ foundation so I thought I'd give it a try.

 I AM IT!

 The product comes housed in what looks like a squeezy tube but ITS NOT! It actually has a nice little pump leaving me to believe no cosmetic surgery will be needed at the end of this foundations life to get to every last bit of the product. The pump should get the job done. Also one pump dispenses the perfect amount of foundation. I chose the color 'light,' the second from the lightest shade. I think it suits me for the Summer but I may need to bump down a shade in the Winter. I dotted this on my face then blended with a beauty blender.

L: nothing on skin but moisturizer, R: It Cosmetics CC+ cream applied

This foundation ended up being far fuller coverage than I thought it would be for a CC cream. It also lasted all day long and paired well when I added concealer and powder to complete my look.
I think the color ended up being a little bit darker than I thought it would be so I think for the Winter I will go for the lighter shade.

Overall I love this product a lot. It feels light on the skin, provides enough coverage to make me happy, and doesn't break me out. The one drawback: the price tag. This product is $38, but you can always stock up when there is a sale at Ulta or the brands website.

Purchase this product HERE!

xxSJ

What I've been loving: Becca Mineral Blush in 'Flowerchild'

I am utterly drawn to BECCA's line of powder products. From their highlighters to their blushes, I think they KILL it with their powder game. During these warm summer months I've been wearing nothing but my blushes in Snapdragon and Tigerlily, and though those are both beautiful, they are both decently bright colors. I decided to snatch up an additional blush from BECCA in a slightly more muted tone.

BECCA's mineral blush in 'Flowerchild' is a pale pink color that is described as a 'peachy pink with golden highlights.' Peaches are my kryptonite so it is no wonder this bad boy made its way into my collection.

One of my favorite thing about BECCA is their packaging. The packaging is sturdy and looks like a petite UFO. Brown rubber makes up most of the compact with a sturdy metallic top. A tiny mirror is inside for application on the go.

The blush is soft to the touch almost to a fault- a simple tap of your brush will give you the perfect amount of color to sweep on your cheeks. These blushes blend beautifully as well with a powder blush or beauty blender.

bottom L: Flowerchild, Center top: Tigerlily, Bottom Right: Snapdragon

 Here is this Mineral Blush compared to my luminous flush mineral blushes from Becca.

L to R: Flowerchild, Tigerlily, Snapdragon

This blush is actually quite similar to Snapdragon--a tad less bright with a bit more peach to it rather than coral. I don't think owning both is necessary and I think I will be reaching toward Flowerchild more than I will reach for Snapdragon. Tigerlily reigns supreme as my favorite of the bunch, though.

You can purchase this product from Sephora HERE!
$32 for 5.6g of product.

xxSJ

Check out my reviews of other Becca products:
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush in Tigerlily and Snapdragon
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in 'Rose Gold'

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in 'Moonlight'

What's the best way to test out strange products? By doing it for free of course. I've seen many a Youtuber and Insta-rammer-jammer rave about these Enhancer Drops by Cover FX but whenever I see/hear/witness influencers going on and on about a product, you have to wonder--is this a great product for the purpose of camera ready makeup (which I certainly don't need), or is this a great product because it makes you look great in person? Ionno.
When I saw that these drops in the most talked about shade 'Moonlight' were on Sephora's Rewards Bazaar for a whopping 100pts, I snatched em up right quick.

For a 100 point perk I am pleasantly surprised that this packaging is a mini version of the full size product complete with a cute little dropper top. The dropper pipette is glass so mind yourself when handling this little guy.

Just one drop of this is super intense. The product description of this color describes it as imparting a 'soft silver glow.'

I wouldn't necessarily call the glow from this soft, at least not when swatched as intensely as I have it on my hand! This stuff is discoball level highlight if you applied it directly to your skin.

Above is the product applied gently mixed in with my foundation as well as spot applied to my nose, cheekbones, cupids bow, and collarbone. It provides an elegant glow when applied gently that I actually really enjoy. Beware though, the following day after applying this to just my collarbone I had sparkle ALL over my chest. I was glittering like one of those damn Twilight vampires. Its fine...just being a majestic unicorn over here.

This product is a whopping $42 for 0.5 oz of product....to break it down for you that means that the tiny bottle I got as a 100pt perk from Sephora was worth $7.98 for 0.095oz of product. This is expensive!

I think I'll definitely finish this little bottle but I don't think I would shell out the cash for a full size. I can achieve the same effect with my powder highlighters I already own.

xxSJ

You can purchase this product from Sephora HERE!

Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer

 "If you like pina coladas.....and gettin' caught in the rain." This bronzer by Physician's Formula has completely made my summer. Not only is it light enough for my snow white skin and is fool proof to apply, but it smells like summer--kind of a savory coconut flavored sunscreen. I personally love it but it for sure has a decidedly smelly smell.

 The bronzer is housed in this cute colorful compact with a wave pattern sculpted into the powder. The powder is super soft to the touch and the perfect amount lands on your brush with a simple swirl.

 There is a powder brush (which I personally have not used and can not attest to!) housed underneath along with a simple mirror. I have never opened this in the months that I have used this product.

Bonus points for the orange croc in the bottom of this picture

The color is...not what I expected swatched. On my face it looks like a really nice neutral brown a la Benefit Hoola but a bit lighter. Obviously on my inner wrist the color is quite sandy but it really does look lovely on my skin.

This bronzer supposedly 'softens and moisturizes the skin' because of its ingredients. I don't know about that but it certainly gives a lovely lit from within glow. It can be found at Ulta, most drugstores, and even on Amazon for about $10 depending on the day!

This bronzer is really lovely and I will probably repurchase it. It does not double as a contour shade, however!

xxSJ

My Picks: MAC Buy 2 Get 1 Free Lipsticks- Barbeque, Coral Bliss, and Mehr

L to R: Barbeque, Coral Bliss, Mehr

 MAC giving away product for free?? Must be dreamin' amiright? No need to pinch yourself, ladies and gents. MAC recently ran a superb special where you could buy any 2 lip products and get a third lippie free. I took advantage of this deal and got three lipsticks I have had my eye on for a bit.

 I chose 'Coral Bliss,' a pinkier leaning cremesheen formula, 'Barbecue,' a matte red with bright orange undertones, and 'Mehr,' a matte mauve a la Kylie Jenner lip craze.

All of these colors have quickly moved into my summertime rotation with Coral Bliss being my go to for an easy and bright lip look that goes with any outfit or makeup. Thanks to my friend from PT school Virginia for drawing my attention to this shade! Mehr will transition with ease into the cooler months and Barbeque will be reserved for when I want that stand out pout.

xxSJ

NARS 'Sex Machine' Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

I frequently get inspired by rummaging through other people's makeup stashes. When I tried this lip product after digging through my sister's purse, I knew I had to get my hands on it! NARS' velvet matte lip pencils are ultra easy to apply with their pencil like application and their smooth finish makes them easy to glide on. 

The matte finish of these pencils are incredibly comfortable to wear and lost for about 6 hours before they start fading away. 

'Sex Machine' is described by NARS as a 'pink mauve' which is spot on. There is a bit of shimmer in this product that you can see in the pencil but not so much on the lips or when swatched. The name of this color is certainly cheeky, but I don't mind it! 

Here you can see one of the benefits of this lip product! It smooths imperfections and actually moisturizes while you wear it. The wear time is fantastic and it wears off to a natural blush of color rather than with the thick, dark line around the outside of your lips. 

This lip pencil is $27 for 2.4g of product. You do have to sharpen this pencil as the product runs low, but I don't see that as a major downside. This perfectly portable lippie is perfect for an everyday makeup kit. I love the wear time of this product because in my profession, I don't have time to stop and check my makeup every few hours. 

You can check out this product from Sephora HERE!

Check out my post about NARS Dragon Girl lip pencil HERE! (Taylor Swift's favorite red!)

xxSJ

'The Pretty Palette' by Ciate London

I have one of the sweetest boyfriends in the world! I found this little palette under our Christmas tree  and found out that he scoured my blog and makeup vanity to pick out something that I don't already have and that he'd think I would like. After watching more Youtube beauty reviews than he'd like to admit (love ya, sweetiepie! ;) ), he settled on the Ciate London 'Pretty Palette.' I was so excited to dig into this because I've yet to try anything from this brand and mostly know of them from their nail polish line.

The packaging of this is pretty cool. The petite palette has a holographic cover where the eyes are open or shut depending on your angle of viewing.

Inside are 9 colors, 4 shimmers and 5 mattes. The center color is a great, beige, all over base color with the brand's little logo, a petite bow, stamped into the shadow. I love how simplistic the inside of this palette is and how little space is wasted. There is a full size mirror on the inside lid.

The colors are very neutral and when looking at this palette, I can easily think of multiple looks.

The shadows are all buttery soft with very minimal powdery kick up (which is great considering how close the shadows live to one another in the packaging). I was pleasantly surprised by the gold color (bottom left in the palette, 2nd color from the top in the swatches). It looks like its more of a yellow-green gold in the container so I was happy to find its a wearable, neutral gold. The purples are beautifully pigmented and the burnt sienna color is awesomely pigmented and easy to blend on the lid. The one complaint I have is that there are two very similar colors in the palette. You can see in the swatches that one of the champagne colors is more peachy while the other is more neutral, but I wish they were exaggerated in finish because they are incredibly similar on the lid. It's not the worst color to have a near duplicate of, however! 

 The above eye look was achieved using every color from this palette with the charcoal black color smudged into my lash line as eyeliner.

Overall, I'm so pleased with this palette and think that it's great as an everyday, no thought needed makeup look. I also think this palette would be great for travel. You might have to pair it with additional transition colors or deeper hues if you crave variety, but I think this little palette would totally suffice.

This palette is $35.00 for 0.52oz of product and is available from Sephora HERE!

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie 'Starry Starry Night'

This nail polish by Essie is absolutely gorgeous in the bottle. Starry Starry Night is a deep navy blue with flecks of silver and bright blue glitters suspended through out. Its stunning in the bottle and looks pretty good on the nail. The polish is somewhat thick though easy to apply and work with and is fully opaque and chalk-full of glitter in 2 coats.

Though I like the way this polish looks on the nails, it has one of the worst wear times of any polish I own. This polish immediately starts chipping and lifting on the edges within hours of application leaving your manicure disheveled by the next day. I wouldn't recommend this nail polish, though it is very pretty in the bottle and upon first application.

This nail polish has a different top because it is part of Essie's 'Retro Revival' collection where they sought to bring back favorite limited edition polishes from past collections. This polish apparently has a different formula than the original Starry Starry Night and simply isn't as good.

Save you $8 with this one, folks!

xxSJ

Clinique Beyond Perfecting foundation and concealer in 'Breeze'

My skin began acting crazy after spending a very humid Summer in NYC. My foundation was oiling up by the end of the day and yet my skin was breaking out while looking quite dry in some areas. I decided to splurge on a higher end foundation that would give me the coverage I need for my breakouts but was designed for my combination oily/dry skin. I went to Sephora and picked up the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer.

This foundation is your standard 1 fluid ounce and it is housed in a glass container. One interesting part of this foundation is the gigantic doe foot applicator. Some people think that this doe foot is not 'sanitary' for application directly the face, but I don't mind. I use one dip of the brush and put the foundation on my cheeks like wiskers, a stripe down my nose, and then a few dots on my forehead and chin. I've been using a beauty blender to blend this out which works beautifully. 

L: no makeup on at all!!!**GASP**, R: one coat of Clinique foundation applied with beauty blender

I got shade matched at Sephora to the lightest shade of this foundation which is the color 'Breeze' (0.5 VF-P). I noticed that this shade range is a little limited as far as lighter shades. A lot of the shades had quite a yellow undertone to them which on me makes me look a little sick. This color 'Breeze' was more pinky which is why I selected it. I think it might be a bit light for me but with blush and some bronzer it looks just fine. I find this foundation wears really well over an entire work day and does a beautiful job at evening out my skin tone while my freckles can still peek out to say hello. I find this foundation does well with a powder on top to set it and performs fine with products layered on top without caking up or emphasizing pores or fine lines. The finish of the foundation is quite natural (as in NOT MATTE) and allows for some light dewiness without making me look like an oil slick by day's end. 

This foundation costs $27 which is pricey compared to drugstore, but a very fair or even inexpensive price compared to other brands at Sephora. I am finding this foundation lasts quite a long time as well. I think I am only about 1/3 of the way finished and I have used it daily for 2 months. That is much better value than the L'Oreal cushion foundation (Click HERE for my review on this foundation!) which costs $15 but only lasts for a month...think about it. 

I'm all about this foundation, you guys, and I highly recommend it if you have similar skin to me. It just does what its supposed to do which is so refreshing. 

Check it out from Sephora HERE!

xxSJ

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in 'Double Dare' and 'Lovesick'

 The liquid lipstick trend has hit the beauty world hard and I don't think its going anywhere any time soon. I decided to hop on this trend after thorough research on what I thought the best liquid lipstick formula would be for my dry, depraved lips. I settled on trying out Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks due to their reputation of having a long-lasting and very comfortable formulation.  I settled on picking two neutral colors to try this trend out.

R: Lovesick, L: Double Dare

 I picked out 'Lovesick,' a mauve pinky nude, and 'Double Dare,' a dusty rose mauve. The products come housed in a slender plastic tube with ornate black designs on it. I like the sleek packaging a lot, and the slimness may make it seem like you get less product, you actually get 0.22oz of liquid lipstick which is double what you get in an Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick. The applicator is a standard doefoot applicator which I found very easy to use to get a relatively perfect application.

Top: Double Dare, Bottom: Lovesick

I love this product a lot.  I am someone who LOVES lipstick to death but can't be bothered to reapply it through out the day when it fades. I also have a profession that doesn't allow me to look in mirrors often or take frequent restroom breaks for touch ups so I tend to avoid putting on lip products at risk of fading or smearing in an unflattering way. I think this product solves this issue for me as I get a full 8 hours of wear time out of this lipstick with no touch ups needed. This stuff lasts through eating and drinking and best of all, it doesn't make my lips feel uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn't say that this lipstick makes my lips feel moisturized while I wear it, but I'm certainly not bothered by it.

As an added bonus, I noticed in the morning following wearing this product my lips always looked and felt very refreshed. After some light investigating I discovered this product is infused with Vitamin E and sunflower seeds which my lips apparently respond really well to!

I'm in love with these lipsticks and will surely pick up more shades in the future. It's a beautiful product that works and costs the fair price of $20 per tube. Its not cheap, but its not going to break the bank if I hold off on my normal Starbucks purchases for the week!

Find these liquid lipsticks HERE!

xxSJ

MAC Goodies: Flamingo Park collection

MAC has recently done some out of character things for the brand such as lowering their eyeshadow pan cost to a meager $6 as well as starting a loyalty program AND providing free shipping, no minimum. After a recent browsing sesh on their website, I noticed that MAC now has a 'sale' section online! MAC and 'sale' are two words I never thought I would see in the same sentence, but I suppose they are attempting to move some old stock out of inventory.  The MAC Flamingo Park collection was a collection full of deliciously gorgeous pinks that I completely drooled over. I repeatedly added products into my shopping cart only to have them sit there for days, unable to pull the trigger (being that I am a grad student with low funds for my makeup hoarding!).  After seeing some of the Flamingo Park collection on sale for 30% off, I finally felt like I could pull the trigger!

I purchased a lipstick and a blush. The lipstick is in the color 'Flocking Fabulous' and is a hot coral color.

The blush is the color 'Spring Flock' and is a bright peachy coral in the pan but shows up a bit more subdued when swatched.

Wearing Spring Flock blush and Flocking Fabulous lipstick

MAC blushes wear for about 6-8 hours on my skin and this shade of lipstick lasted about 4 hours through light drinking. This creamy shade needs to be reapplied after meals though!

I recommend stalking MAC's website for the random sale you may stumble across! You never know what goodies you might find...I think these two products were awesome items to add to my collection that I'll get plenty of wear out of.

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie Coconut Cove

Essie's 'Coconute Cove' is a member of the Summer 2016 collection, inspired by the brilliant bold colors found in Antigua, Guatemala. I am always drawn to neutrals and how can you get more neutral than white? Coconut Cove is a white cream color that was surprisingly easy to work with given its pure coconut coloring. I have to say that this color was the easiest white I've ever applied and was opaque in 2 coats. This polish wore for 4 days without chips.

Essie polishes are $8.50 a bottle and can be found at drugstores, Ulta, and even on Amazon!

xxSJ

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush: Tigerlily and Snapdragon

I am a woman OBSESSED with BECCA cosmetics. I have problem skin and ever since discovering BECCA's highlighting products I feel like my skin has had life breathed into it! Recently while browsing around Sephora and touching ALL THE THINGS, I was drawn to my favorite little spaceships over at BECCA cosmetics and I saw the most gorgeous blushes ever.

L: Tigerlily, R: Snapdragon

I picked up the colors Tigerlily, a bright orange tangerine color, and Snapdragon, a vivid coral. Both blushes are part of the 'luminous blush' line with shimmering flecks running through out the blushes.

The blushes are a bit smaller than BECCA's famous highlighers, but these puppies are so pigmented that I feel they are a fair size for a blush. They come housed in the familiar UFO shaped containers with brown rubberized plastic and a silver brushed metal top. They have high quality mirrors on the inside perfect for application on the go. 

L: Tigerlily, R: Snapdragon

These colors are rich with pigment and yet are easy to blend. You need the tiniest boop of your blush brush into the little compact to pick up enough color to complete your makeup look.
Tigerlily is a vivid orange that blends seamlessly with my complexion and gives me the perfect sunkissed look. I don't think I will be able to pull this blush off in the Winter time, but I've been using it nearly everyday this Summer. Snapdragon is the perfect coral that I think is the perfect year round blush for the my skin tone. Both of these blushes leave a perfectly radiant finish that makes me look healthy and happy!

I've seen comparisons between Snapdragon and NARS' infamous 'Orgasm,' so I swatched those below:

L: Snapdragon, R: Orgasm

Similar, but not quite the same. I think Snapdragon is richer with a radiant sheen where as Orgasm is more shimmery and light in color.

These blushes are not cheap at $34 a pop, but oh my goodness they have made me a happy camper! I think its worth checking them out the next time you're in store and perhaps treating yourself if you see a color that speaks to you!

Check them out HERE!

xxSJ