The packaging is very sleek and I appreciate the frosted glass bottle. It feels very luxurious and high end. Another great feature is the pump mechanism. To apply, I just pump it out onto the back of my hand and dip my brush in and then apply all over my face using a buffing motion. I’ve yet to try this foundation with a sponge, but I’m thinking it would work great. I will provide an update after attempting to apply it with a sponge. (Update as of 2/14/24: I applied the foundation with my Real Techniques sponge and it applied so smoothly. I even prefer this method of application! My skin looked absolutely flawless!)
Everyone who knows me knows I’m an SPF junkie, so the SPF 20 is an added bonus!
I’m wearing shade Fair 10 Warm, which suites my skin tone perfectly
As you can see, my other makeup products layered beautifully over the Barepro foundation and my cream blush as well as cream contour were a dream to blend out over the foundation.
It’s the middle of Summer and blazing hot so I was happily surprised when Pixi by Petra sent me three of their Sheer Cheek Gels along with three of their GelTint & SilkGlosses.
Typically, I’m not a minimalist when it comes to makeup but on hot summer days, I ocassionally tone down my makeup application.
Left to right: Natural, Flushed, and Rosy
Upon opening up the Sheer Cheek Gels, I found that they are thin in consistency but not runny. They have no detectable scent, which is good for those of you that are sensitive to smells. The instructions on the back of the box read: “Sheer, long lasting, moisturizing cheek gel for a healthy natural look. Apply to cheeks with fingertips or a sponge and blend well.”
The three shades I received include, “Natural”, “Flushed”, and “Rosy”. My favorite of the three is Rosy because it seems to have the most color payoff. The cheek gels are buildable which is nice. That prevents you from going overboard upon first application of the product. The least pigmented of the three is “Natural”, naturally lol. They perform well on bare skin and I didn’t have any issues with them being patchy. I used the duo-fiber Small Stipple Brush by e.l.f.
As you can see below, the shades are all very similar and are quite sheer as the name describes. I feel that they are geared more toward, light to medium skin tones.
Pros of Sheer Cheek Gel:
Long-wearing
Buildable
Oil-free
Fragrance free
Hypoallergenic
Paraben free
Not tested on animals
Cons of Sheer Cheek Gel:
Very sheer
Shades look very similar when applied to the skin
Mainly for light-medium skin tones
Left to right: Berry Tint & Sweet Gloss, Beach Tint & Fresh Gloss, and PinkTint & Pretty Gloss
Next up were the Gel Tint & Silk Gloss combos. Honestly, I was more excited about these lip products just because I’m an absolute lip product junkie. The back of the box stated, “Long-lasting lip tint gives a stained effect, while the jojoba infused lip gloss keeps lips hydrated & nourished.”
The shades included were Berry Tint & Sweet Gloss, Beach Tint & Fresh Gloss, and Pink Tint & Pretty Gloss. Upon opening each tint and gloss, I noticed a light scent that was hard to place. It smelled somewhat minty almost. However, the scent is very mild and shouldn’t upset most people.
As you can see in the pictures above, the tube is double-ended and each side contains a short wand and long flat doe-foot applicator. The applicator is rather stiff, which can make it difficult to apply the product. Each tint was very long lasting and even left a stain after I removed them with a waterproof makeup remover (Bi-Facil Makeup Remover by Lancome). Each gloss was very thin and liquid-y, which is not a consistency that I normally gravitate toward. I prefer a thicker gloss because they tend to last longer and lips and don’t feather or fade as quickly.
Each lip tint shade does pair well with the accompanying gloss shade. My favorite duo is Beach Tint & Fresh Gloss, which is a unique orange shade.
Pretty Gloss
Pink Tint
Fresh Gloss
Beach Tint
Sweet Gloss
Berry Tint
Left to right (Without flash): Pink Tint, Berry Tint, and Beach Tint — The photos don’t really do the shades justice…
Left to right (With flash): Pink Tint, Berry Tint, and Beach Tint
Top left to right (without flash): Pink Tint & Pretty Gloss layered, Berry Tint & Sweet Gloss layered, Beach Tint & Fresh Gloss layered Bottom: Pretty Gloss, Sweet Gloss, and Fresh Gloss alone
Top left to right (with flash): Pink Tint & Pretty Gloss layered, Berry Tint & Sweet Gloss layered, Beach Tint & Fresh Gloss layered Bottom: Pretty Gloss, Sweet Gloss, and Fresh Gloss alone
Pros of Gel Tint & Silk Gloss:
Tint is very long lasting and has great staining power
Each tint shade and gloss shade go well together
Very quick and easy to apply
Paraben free
Not tested on animals
The wand is short, which can give you more control when applying
Cons of Gel Tint & Silk Gloss:
The gloss is rather liquid-y and thin, which can lead to feathering and fading quickly
Pretty Gloss is super sheer and there is hardly any color payoff’
The wand is stiff, which can make it difficult to apply the product
Overall, the Pixi by Petra Sheer Cheek Gel and Gel Tint and Silk Gloss are perfect Summer products. They’re easy to apply and have nice lasting power.
From left to right: Manbun, Crop Top, Rave, Choker, Grunge, Brownie, Selfish, Cray-cray, Yaassss, Naughty
I was recently lucky enough to try out the new Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paints and I really do enjoy them. They come in a pretty wide range of shades. I don’t have every color but I did receive 10 different colors that I’ll be swatching on my arm as well as on my lips.
The formula reminds me of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. However, the Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paints do not dry down. So they’re pretty much guaranteed to transfer. The formula is also very wet feeling so it tends to get on your teeth like a lip gloss would. Normally I prefer a formula that dries completely matte just because it’s much more low maintenance and I don’t have to continuously touch up. But I do like the fact that these don’t dry out your lips since they aren’t a true matte formula like, for instance, ColourPop Ultra Matte Lips that leave your lips feeling like the Sahara Desert lol. Another thing to note is that all of them have a sweet minty scent that I really love.
Cray-Cray and Manbun had a drier formula than the rest. Cray-Cray went on somewhat patchy but after layering on the product I was able to even out the color. Also, even though Manbun and Cray-Cray were thicker in formula, they appeared more matte than the other shades.
They come in a short cylindrical tube. I’ve attached a picture comparing the size to a ColourPop Ultra Matte Lips tube. The Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paints have a doe foot applicator that is rather long compared to a standard doe foot. I would’ve preferred a standard applicator just because I find it easier to apply the product and I have more control. The actual applicator wand itself is short.
Below are lip swatches of all 10 shades. My favorites are all of the nudes of course!
I have recently received an array of Youngblood products and I’m happy to report that they’re amazing! Youngblood prides itself on being a luxury mineral cosmetics line which is wonderful in my opinion. I can’t get enough of mineral makeup since it’s so gentle on the skin.
The products I’m most impressed with are definitely the Precious Metal Liquid Liners. You get a generous amount of product in the tube–4.5 ml or .15 fl oz to be exact–, they’re pigmented, and they are super smudge-proof! As soon as I applied the liner I was blown away. It only took one swipe for an opaque line and was completely dry in under 30 seconds.
Sterling, as you would imagine, is a gorgeous metallic silver and 18 Karat is, of course, a beautiful metallic yellow gold. The liner comes in a tube much like a lip gloss. You twist it open and reveal the wand which has a nice thin brush that’s perfect for creating winged liner or adding small details to your eye makeup. One thing I will note is that the liner is not waterproof. However, this may be a good thing for some because it’s easily removed with water. I will insert pictures below.
Sterling and 18 Karat without flash
The next product is the Outrageous Lashes Mineral Lengthening Mascara in Cobalt. To be honest, this was my least favorite product mainly because of how liquidy the formula is. It did nothing for my lashes and the color was hardly noticeable. Maybe is will dry out over time and the formula will get better but for now I’ll stick with my regular mascara.
Last but not least are the Perfect Pair Mineral Eyeshadow Duo in Desire, Charismatic, Graceful, and Virtue. These shadows are good quality. Some are better than others. Below are swatches on bare skin–no primer.
The first duo swatched from left to right is Virtue which consists of Passion and Pure. Passion is a very pigmented rusty red metallic shade, while Pure is white satin to matte shade.
The next duo is Graceful which consists of Azure and Apricot. Azure is a dark midnight blue with some shimmer running through it. Azure is somewhat flaky when swatched alone. Apricot is exactly what it sounds like with a shimmery finish.
Next is Desire which contains Iris and Pink Rose. Iris is a purple with a satin finish and Pink Rose is a pinkish purple with a satin to matte finish.
Last up is Charismatic which consists of English Tea and Calla Lilly. This is my favorite duo of the bunch because I’m a huge fan of neutrals. English Tea is a medium to dark brown matte shadow, while Calla Lilly is peachy pink shimmery shadow.
If you’re anything like me, you love a good highlighter. I’m particularly obsessed with shimmery ones. Gerard Cosmetics has recently launched three beautiful skin highlighters which they call Star Powders. They are made in the USA and each contain 12 grams of product. Ingredients include mica, jojoba oil, magnesium stearate, and kaolin. The packaging also states that they may contain iron oxides, and titanium dioxides. Star Powders come in three different shades: Audrey, Lucy, and Marilyn. Use the code cassie for 25% off of everything on Gerard Cosmetics and Whitening Lightning.
Audrey is described as a warm champagne gold that is reflective and high shine.
Lucy is described as a rosy highlight with a hint of golden shimmer.
Marilyn is described as a golden luminous powder.
Each Star Powder is extremely gorgeous and has an excellent sheen. I love the fact that there are three completely different shades for light, medium, and dark skin tones. They are also long-wearing. I applied Audrey to my cheek bones and down the bridge of my nose before work–around 6:30 a.m.– and it was still going strong when I took off my makeup around 10:00 p.m.
Overall, I’m really impressed with these highlighters. Out of the three shades, Audrey is definitely my favorite just because it’s the lightest and most flattering on my light to medium skin tone. It’s a champagne tone which is usually the type of highlight I gravitate toward.
Swatches from left to right: Marilyn, Lucy, and Audrey (With flash)
Swatches from left to right: Marilyn, Lucy, and Audrey (Without flash)
The new Anastasia Beverly Hills Summer 2015 Collection is filled with a bunch of fun, bright colors. I’m glad they’ve also included some neutrals as well. All products will be available on May 15th on Anastasia’s website, Macy’s website, and Macy’s stores.
The products from the collection that I’m most excited about are the new liquid lipstick shades, which include Craft and Unicorn. Craft is my absolute favorite out of the two. It’s a gorgeous dusty plum looking shade. The sheet included with the products states that it’s a sparkly plum but I don’t detect any sparkles whatsoever. That’s perfectly fine with me though since I prefer matte shades.
At first glance Unicorn reminded me a lot of Bambi, another liquid lipstick shade in Anastasia’s line. However, after swatching Unicorn I definitely realized it’s more of a muted lavender. I prefer it over Bambi because Bambi is more of a neon, in your face color.
Left to right: Unicorn, Craft. Taken with flash (Not completely dry. When dry they appear matte)
Next up are the new Waterproof Crème Color shades. Every shade is absolutely beautiful and highly pigmented. Every shade just screams Summer. There are a total of 6 new colors: Ice Blue, Yellow, Coral Reef, Sunset, Barbie Pink, and Ocean. The crème colors can be used as eyeliners or eye shadow bases. They’re crease-proof and smudge-proof which is a bonus. Each one dries to a matte finish and contains no sparkles. I think it’s interesting how they included two pink shades because it’s not everyday that you come across pink eye shadow bases or even pink eyeliners.
Left to Right: Ocean, Barbie Pink, Sunset, Coral Reef, Yellow, and Ice Blue (No flash)
Left to Right: Ocean, Barbie Pink, Sunset, Coral Reef, Yellow, and Ice Blue (With flash)
Last but not least are the new eye shadow singles. They retail for $12 each, four for $40, or eight for $70. Included in the collection are Fawn, Star Cobalt, Peach Sorbet, Amber, Labyrinth, Surface of the Sun, and Cognac. As always they are excellent quality. They’re super pigmented and easily blendable.
Fawn: Soft, neutral olive. (Ultra-matte finish)
Star Cobalt: Electric, galaxy blue. (Metallic finish)
Peach Sorbet: Sultry, rose champagne. (Metallic finish)
Tarte sent me their Spring 2015 Collection and I’m excited to share all of the new products with you! The item I’m most excited about is the Tartelette Palette that contains 12 matte neutral eye shadows. This palette is ideal for any neutral shadow lover or any makeup obsessed person like myself. I really love how Tarte put the shadow names on the actual palette rather than on a piece of plastic that is likely to get lost and is a nuisance in my opinion. The Tartelette palette is perfect because you can easily take your look from day to night in a split second. It has a variety of light, medium, and dark shades. The pigmentation of the shadows is great as well.
Swatches from left to right: Multi-tasker, Dreamer, Force of Nature, and Free Spirit (Taken with flash)
Swatches from left to right: Multi-tasker, Dreamer, Force of Nature, and Free Spirit (Taken without flash)
Swatches from left to right: Bombshell, Best Friend, Natural Beauty, Caregiver (Taken without flash)
Swatches from left to right: Bombshell, Best Friend, Natural Beauty, Caregiver (Taken with flash)
Swatches from left to right: Fashionista, Power Player, Wanderer, Super Mom (Taken with flash)
Swatches from left to right: Fashionista, Power Player, Wanderer, Super Mom (Taken without flash)
The next new product is the Tarte Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in Celebrated. It’s a really light matte, soft, neutral pink shade. I couldn’t get very good pictures when I tried swatching it but it’s a really nice soft color.
Next is the Park Ave. Princess Contour Palette which comes with a nice big mirror. It contains a 6.5 gram Park Ave. Princess bronzer and 3 gram blush in Posh and 3 gram highlighter in Champagne Gold. I absolutely adore this palette because it includes everything you’d need to contour your face, except maybe a matte highlighter, but that’s not a big deal. The bronzer is the perfect shade for contouring–not too dark and not too light. It has easily become my go-to contour powder because of its ease of bendability, color, and the fact that it’s waterproof! However, it may not be dark enough for deeper skin tones. The blush is a nice matte light, dusty rose shade. And let me just say, the highlighter is amazing! It’s super buttery smooth and is exactly what the name says, a beautiful champagne gold with a nice sheen.
Swatches from left to right: Champagne gold, Posh, and Park Ave. Princess (Taken without flash)
Swatches from left to right: Champagne gold, Posh, and Park Ave. Princess (Taken with flash)
Next is the Tarte smooth operator Amazonian clay tinted pressed finishing powder in Light. I’ve already tried the untinted version and I loved it. I do enjoy the fact that this one has a tint just because it’s able to give you a little something extra when you’re touching up throughout the day.
Taken without flash
Taken with flash
Now we have the LipSurgence Lip Tint in Glitzy. It’s a beautiful shimmery rose gold looking color and I’ve been wearing it a lot lately. It has a slight minty scent as do most Tarte LipSurgences–if not all.
No flash
Taken with flash
No flash
Taken with flash
Another lip product in the line is the Tartelette Amazonian Butter Lipstick in “Ethereal Pink”. It’s a nice sheer light pink that’s perfect for everyday wear.
No flash
Taken with flash
No flash
Up next is a huge dense powder brush. To be honest, I haven’t used it much and could probably live without it. However, it is a nice, sturdy, well-made brush that would probably be good for powder foundations. Also included in the collection, is their famous Maracuja Oil. Personally, I don’t use this as a beauty oil on my face just because I think it may have broken me out a while back. Instead, I like to mix in a few drops with my body creams and hand lotions for extra skin hydration. I also use it to moisturize my neck. The next product is the Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Brown. Let me just say, this a fabulous cream liner. It stays put all day long without smudging or traveling. I also do really love the shade of brown. It’s a matte color, which is something I look for in cream and gel liners. I’m not really a fan of liners that dry and have a shiny finish. The last thing in the collection is this double-sided liner brush with pairs perfectly with the Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner. I like the fact that the brush has a bent liner side(I find bent liner brushes the easiest to work with when creating a super precise line using gels and creams. Overall, this collection has really impressed me and I’m enjoying all of the products.
So I’ve had this product for a few weeks and have just gotten around to trying it out. It’s a soft, pink cloth that claims to be able to remove 100% of makeup with just water. At first I was pretty skeptical but after trying it out, I’m happy to say that it actually works! I did a test where I applied a few layers of products to my face and heavy eye makeup and this cloth was able to remove everything without any problems.
It’s really easy to use, gentle on the skin, and makes makeup removal a breeze. All you do is drench the Makeup Eraser in warm water then start to rub off your makeup in circular motions. You can then flip the Eraser over to the long nap side to exfoliate. The Makeup Eraser can then be washed as needed–it’s washer and dryer friendly. I definitely recommend this product because it will save you tons of money on makeup remover and cotton pads and it’s good for your skin since you’re just using water and no chemicals.
Front side used for removing makeup (Without flash)
I recently received the Sedona Lace 20 Color Eyeshadow Palette and I’m quite impressed. I have never tried any Sedona Lace products before. This palette includes 16 eye shadows, three blushes, and a highlight.
The eye shadows are all very nicely pigmented and extremely suitable for the Fall and Winter seasons. You can obviously rock these any time of the year but the palette has many taupes, mauves, and a beautiful cranberry shadow that are definitely appropriate for this time of year. The only con about this eye shadow palette is the fact that almost all of the shadows are shimmery or have a slight sheen to them. This can pose a problem when trying to create a complete eye look because, normally, incorporating matte shadows is best. For instance, if the palette at least included a matte cream highlighting shade, a medium matte brown, and a darker matte brown it would be a lot easier to create an entire look and you wouldn’t have to also rely on another eye shadow palette.
The first layer of the palette consisting of 16 eye shadows (Without flash)
(With flash)
Top row of shadows from left to right (With flash)
Top row of shadows from left to right (Without flash)
Second row of shadows from left to from left to right (With flash)
Second row of shadows from left to right (Without flash)
The blushes are also pigmented as well and I love the fact that the palette includes a matte cream highlight, which will definitely come in handy when contouring the face. The blushes are located underneath the eye shadows. To access them you pull out a little “drawer” on the bottom part of the palette.
The “drawer” the pulls out to access the blushes and highlight (With flash)
(Without flash)
From left to right: The matte cream highlight shade, a shimmery peach blush, a shimmery coral blush, and a matte baby pink blush (With flash)
(Without flash)
Overall, I really do enjoy the Sedona Lace 20 Color Eyeshadow Palette. I love how pigmented each shadow and blush is. Also, it’s really affordable at only $15.95.
**For $4 off your Sedona Lace purchase use the code beautybycassie93 at checkout.
As many of you may know the Sephora 20% off VIB sale is going on now. I took advantage of the sale and picked up a few new things as well as some long-time favorite products. Sephora rarely has sales so this is a great time to stock up on products and/or try new products. I filmed a haul video talking about each item. In the video I also talk about some Elizabeth Arden products I’ve received lately–I’ll post pictures/swatches below.
Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencils- $25 for set of four.
Sephora Favorites Draw the Line- $30
Peter Thomas Roth Skinstant Mask Magic- $45
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel- $22
Sephora The Beauty of Giving Back Face Palette- $15(on sale)
Elizabeth Arden products:
Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Powered by Ceramide Eye Gel-$40
Flawless Future Powered by Ceramide Caplet Serum- $60
