Tag Archives: review

Review: Loving Tan Bronzing Mousse in Medium

October 9, 2014Reviews, Self-Tanning, Skin CareBefore and after, Loving Tan, Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse, Product review, review, self-tanner, self-tanning productCassie

Personally, I love a good tan. It makes you look healthier and slimmer. However, I’m not a fan of tanning beds or laying out in the sun since it’s so harmful to your skin and your health. A great alternative to achieving a nice tan is using self-tanning products. I recently tried Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse in Medium and it’s a great product. Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse is available in three shades, Medium, Dark, and Ultra Dark. As with all products it has pros and cons.

Pros:

Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse has a nice scent. Oftentimes self-tanning products have an unpleasant smell but this one is nice.
It provides a natural-looking tan. Some self-tanning products give you an orange look, but this one provides a natural looking olive color because it contains DHA and Erythrulose.
It’s long lasting. I applied this on Saturday and it has lasted five days so far. Supposedly it will last up to 10 days if you keep your skin moisturized.
It dries fairly quickly after application.
It’s Organic and contains natural ingredients. It’s also free of parabens and alcohol.
It contains an instant bronzer that gives an instant color boost and acts as a fool proof color guide to show where the product has been applied.

Cons:

It doesn’t come with a mitt. (**However, use the code beautybycassie and receive a free mitt with your purchase)
You have to move pretty quickly when applying the product because it dries fairly fast and can leave streaks if you’re not careful.
It can feel a bit tacky after application but it goes away within a few minutes.
You have to avoid water or perspiration for six hours after application so the tan can develop.
To maintain the tan you have to avoid swimming pools.

Left: Before application. Right: After 6 hours of development time. Pictures taken in outdoor sunlight.

As you can see Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse gave me a natural looking bronzed look.

Overall, I do enjoy this product. It’s not my favorite self-tanner just because you have to work quickly during application and I’ve gotten better results with Tarte’s Brazilliance™ skin rejuvenating maracuja face and body self tanner but it does a nice job nonetheless.

Review of Bella’s Boutique Jewelry

October 1, 2014Jewelry, ReviewsBella's Boutique, earrings, Jewelry, necklace, review, Statement earrings, Statement necklaceCassie

Over the past few months I’ve received a few pieces of jewelry from Bella’s Boutique. Every piece has been well made and great quality. Of all of the pieces I have, I haven’t had a single one break or have any stones fall out. I actually dropped a crystal encrusted pair of earrings on a tile floor and was impressed that none of them fell out. Bella’s Boutique carries everything from statement necklaces, bracelets, and earrings to watches. Most of the jewelry on the site is quite flashy, which I enjoy. I definitely recommend purchasing from the site because, in my opinion, everything is very reasonably priced and many pieces come in sets.

I have a few pairs of earrings from Bella’s Boutique. Each pair is extremely bold and beautiful.

The above dangle earrings retail for $7, which is an absolute steal in my opinion, considering a similar pair from a department store would probably be double or triple in price.

The gold and teal diamond shaped dangle earrings I’m wearing above are one of my favorite pairs. They also retail for $7. They are somewhat heavy but that’s to be expected for a pair of earrings that large. To be honest, after the first few minutes of wearing them I forget I even have them on.

The above necklace is absolutely stunning. It’s definitely a statement piece. I actually created a gold and teal eyeshadow look inspired by the necklace. For a list of products used, check out my Instagram account.

The above asymmetrical pearl statement necklace is very classy and on trend for the season. It retails for $14.95.

Review: de Prettilicious Lashes

September 17, 2014Lashes, ReviewsFalse Lashes, falsies, lashes, reviewCassie

At first glance De Prettilicious Lashes reminded me of the bulk false lashes that come in packs of 10 on Ebay. I’ve tried those and found them to be extremely hard to work with and cheaply made. To my surprise, however, these turned out to be great. They are made of high quality synthetic hair, are handmade, and really natural looking. Even though these lashes are synthetic they look and feel like human hair lashes. I love the fact that they have very thin bands because it makes them reallly easy to apply and blend with your natural lashes. I also like how the pack of lashes comes with 10 different styles. Included are a good mix of dramatic, as well as more natural looking lashes.

The only downfall is that there are no printed style names on the package. To figure the names out you have to visit @deprettilicious on Instagram. Having printed names would be convenient so people could tell others what style they’re wearing.

De Prettilicious Lashes come in a pack of 10 and retail for around $13 on Amazon.com. In my opinion, that price is a steal since each pair equates to about $1.30 each and basic good quality lashes go for around $4 to $6. The direct link to purchase them is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J1MYWES.

Review: New Anastasia Beverly Hills Products- Maya Mia Palette, Waterproof Creme Color, and #3 Brush

September 16, 2014Makeup, Beauty, ReviewsAnastasia Beverly Hills, eye liner, Eyeshadow Palette, makeup, new products, reviewCassie

Anastasia Beverly Hills has recently launched three new products. These include the Maya Mia Palette, Waterproof Crème Color in Jet, and #3 Brush which can all be purchased on www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com.

First off, I want to talk about the Maya Mia Palette. It was designed in collaboration with @maya_mia_y on Instagram. I’ve been playing around with this palette for the past few weeks and I must say it’s easily become one of my go-to eyeshadow palettes. I enjoy the fact that it contains mostly neutral shadows but also incorporates a few pops of color. As far as pigmentation goes, these shadows are great quality. I’m also a big fan of the packaging. I like how it’s made of cardboard, has a magnetic closure, and is relatively thin and compact. Not to mention the design is too cute! The palette is cruelty free, retails for $29, and is reasonably priced in my opinion, considering it includes 10 eyeshadows, a double ended eyeshadow brush, and “Get the Look” cards that show you how to achieve five different eyeshadow looks. Below, I’ve included swatches of each shadow.

(No flash) Shadows from left to right: Vanilla, Warm Taupe, Sienna, Deep Brown, and Nude

The swatches above are of the first row of shadows in the palette. Vanilla has a satin finish, Warm Taupe, Sienna, Deep Brown, and Nude–which blends in with my skin tone– are all matte. One thing I’d like to mention is that this palette, like the Lavish Palette also by Anastasia Beverly Hills, includes Sienna. However, that doesn’t bother me seeing as Sienna is one of my favorite transition shades. The only shadow in the palette that I’m not head over heals about is Nude just because it doesn’t really show up on my skin. Having said that, it does work as a base shadow. Also, I’d like to make note that all of the photos in this post are unedited.

(No flash) From left to right: Aqua, Fresh Peach, Glisten, Caramel, and Gold Bar

The bottom row of shadows only contains one matte shadow, that being Caramel. Aqua, Fresh Peach and Gold Bar have satin finishes and Glisten is shimmery.

The accompanying brush is double sided and is well-made. The bristles are soft and the flat shader brush side is good for packing on shadows, while the pointed pencil brush side is nice for applying shadow along the lower lash line or deepening your crease.

Next up is the Waterproof Crème Color in Jet. It retails for $18 and comes in a glass pot just like the ABH Dipbrow Pomade. I really like the texture of this product and the fact that it’s matte. I’m not really into the whole glossy/shiny eyeliner look so this is right up my alley. This can be used as a liner or a cream shadow. It would make the perfect base for a dark, dramatic black smokey eye because it doesn’t crease or smudge. As for the waterproof claim, they aren’t kidding! I applied the product to my wrist, let it set, then rubbed vigorously and it didn’t even budge. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the intensity of the product. This stuff is black! Not an off-black or grayish black, but a true inky black color. Below is a swatch of the Waterproof Crème Color.

Lastly, we have the #3 Brush. It retails for $18. It’s flat and tapers to a point which makes it ideal for lining the eyes. You can flip the brush on its side and create a super thin line or use the other side and create a much thicker line. I also find that this brush is helpful in creating winged liner looks. Below, I’ve drawn some lines using the #3 Brush and Waterproof Crème Color.

Review: New Violet Voss Eyeshadows

April 11, 2014Makeup, Beauty, Reviewseyeshadows, makeup, New, review, violet vossCassie

I received seven super pigmented eyeshadows from www.shopvioletvoss.com (@shopvioletvoss on Instagram) and they are amazing! I was tempted to buy the new Urban Decay Electric palette prior to receiving these but decided against it since these are so vibrant and blendable.

Some of the shadow do appear to have slight shimmer particles running through them but they aren’t noticeable when applied to the eyelids– they appear to have a matte finish.

The shadows I received are

Patty, a matte purple
Bridgette, a matte sky blue
Giselle, a matte green
Yvette, a matte yellow
Ophelia, a matte orange
Giana, a matte pink
Ryder, a matte red

Overall, I definitely recommend these shadows! They’re easy to blend and are matte, which I love! Sometimes it’s hard to find nicely pigmented brightly colored shadows(especially matte ones!).

Here are the swatches of all seven colors (Keep in mind I didn’t use a primer or base.) :

As you can tell, they are incredibly bright and beautiful!

I created a purple cut crease look using Patty, a gorgeous matte purple.

Here are some pictures– All product details can be found on my Instagram page, @BeautyByCassie93.

Review: Elegant Lashes New Collections for April and May 2014

April 10, 2014Lashes, Makeup, Beauty, ReviewsFalse Lashes, lashes, New, reviewCassie

I’m excited to let you all know that one of my favorite lash companies is releasing two new collections!

Elegant lashes–@elegantlashes on Instagram– is a great company that offers lashes in bulk at amazing prices! Their website is www.FalseEyelashesSite.com. For a FREE pair of #415 Black lashes use the code BeautyByCassie93 at checkout.

The “Black Velvet Collection” will consist of their new premium luxury lashes. It will be launching in May 2014. This collection will include four pairs of upper lashes–one is a pair of accent lashes– and two pairs of lower lashes. The lashes are all made of cruelty-free synthetic hairs and are extremely durable and jet black in color.

Here is the new “Black Velvet” Collection launching May 2014 (Click image to enlarge)

The next collection, “Sexy Undies,” consists of their three best-selling bottom lash styles and three NEW bottom lash styles. Each pair is made of 100% human hair.

If you were wondering, I’ve never tried bottom lashes before since I never feel the need to use them but I’m excited to try these guys out! 🙂

“Sexy Undies” Collection launching April 18th. (Click image to enlarge)

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Pro Series Concealers

March 5, 2014Makeup, Beauty, ReviewsAnastasia Beverly Hills, concealer, new produtcs, reviewCassie

As you all may have heard, @anastasiabeverlyhills will be launching 10 Pro Series Concealers on March 15th. I was lucky enough to receive them prior to the 15th so I decided I would do a mini review and swatch them for you all. 🙂

The concealers arrived with a little “handout,” if you will, which had all of the information regarding the product. It read:

“10 shades to perfectly match skin tones. The shades feature warm and cool undertones for perfect color matching and blending.”

Will not settle into fine lines and wrinkles.
Long wearing. Will not fade off or smudge.
Formula is extremely blendable and sets to a long-wearing finish.
Full-coverage formula masks all sorts of discoloration, blemishes, and even dark circles.
Formula “floats” on top of skin and will not cake or fade.
To conceal discoloration or dark circles, simply apply concealer with the tip of the ring finger and tap to blend. Be sure not to rub.

It also showed the available shades and their numbers. Another thing it showed, was how to “carve” out your brow with concealer.

Now for my thoughts…

First off, I want you guys to know that these are literally the creamiest concealers I've ever used in my entire life! No joke! When I dipped my finger in the jar I was so surprised at how smooth and creamy it was! Also, they really are amazingly moisturizing and blendable.

I really had to scrub this stuff off of my arm so it's definitely long lasting! These will be great for under eye circles, blemishes, and I would even use these to contour. To say the least, I'm in love!

I also want to point out the fact that Anastasia has really created a great range of colors for the palest people to the darkest ones. She even mentioned that she plans on releasing 7 more shades this coming June (exciting, right?!).

They will be available in 10 shades on www.anastasia.net on March 15th. Each one is $20 and contains 10 grams or 0.35 oz. of product so they should last foreverrr! The #18 concealer brush will also be available on March 15th(not sure about the pricing yet).

Here are swatches of the new Anastastia Beverly Hills Pro Series Concealers. FYI, these are raw and unedited photos so you can see the true colors. The first set of swatches is without flash and the one below is with flash.

P.S. I will be adding additional photos and updating this review after I’ve had some time to use the concealers.

Update: I’ve been using these concealers daily for the past 5 days and I’m absolutely in love! I’ve been applying them with my finger tips under my eyes and they are really great for dark circles. These stay put all day long as long as I set them with powder, which isn’t an issue since I always set any type of cream or liquid product I use with powder. These concealers are also great for concealing any blemishes or scars you may have.

Review and Swatches of Tarte Spring 2014 Power Pigments

February 25, 2014Makeup, Beauty, Reviewslips, makeup, power pigments, review, spring, TarteCassie

How cute are the new Spring 2014 power pigments by Tarte?! As I stated in my previous post about the Tarte Spring 2014 Cheek Stains, the packaging is adorable. The power pigments have coordinating shades in the cheek stain line and each shade has matching packaging. The eight shades available are True Love, Natural Beauty, Exposed, Blissful, Tipsy, Blushing Bride, Flush, and Fearless.

These new power pigments are extremely pigmented and I really do enjoy them. In this post I’ll be showing swatches on my wrist and lip swatches.

If you were wondering if these are similar to the LipSurgences, they are similar in shape but they are definitely much skinnier and contain less product. A regular LipSurgence contains 0.10 ounces of product, while the power pigments contain 0.04 ounces.

The power pigments retail for $24.00 USD each for 0.04 ounces.

*Click images to enlarge.

Here are close ups of each power pigment.

First up is True Love, a sheer watermelon color.

Next is Natural Beauty, a sheer rosy red.

Then we have Exposed, which is a nude pink shade.

The next shade is Blissful, a warm peach color.

Next up is Tipsy, which is a sheer coral color.

Then there’s Blushing Bride, a rosy pink color.

Next is Flush, which is a sheer berry shade.

Finally, we have Fearless, a pink coral color.

Now, here are swatches of the colors on my wrist–in natural light and direct sunlight.

And now for the actual lip swatches (Click image to enlarge).

Review of Tarte Spring 2014 Cheek Stains

February 20, 2014Makeup, Beauty, Reviewsblush, cheek stain, makeup, review, spring, Tarte, tarte cheek stainsCassie

All of the 8 cheek stains for Spring 2014

Here are the new Spring 2014 cheek stains by Tarte. I’m really loving the cute new packaging! These cheek stains are nicely pigmented and can be built up to achieve more intense stain if desired. The eight shades include True Love, Natural Beauty, Exposed, Blissful, Tipsy, Blushing Bride, Flush, and Fearless. The rounded top cheek stains are gel based, while the flat top stains are a cream based formula. All of the cheek stains are easy to blend and can be applied with your finger tips or a brush. I prefer using a small stipple brush to apply them.

Besides wearing the cheek stains alone, I like to layer a similar powder blush shade on top for even extra lasting power. This technique is especially great for hot, humid Summer days.

Tarte cheek stains retail for $30.00 USD each and contain 0.5 ounces of product. Even though 0.5 ounces sounds like a small amount, the stains are very well pigmented therefore they should last a long time.

Each of the eight cheek stains have a coordinating Tarte Power Pigment shade. I will be posting pictures and swatches of the power pigments in a separate post.

*Click images to enlarge.