Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream

This is the first BB cream that I tried, ever. I automatically liked it. Everyone else hates it. I don't really know why. I have since tried a sample of the Stila HD BB cream that I received in my Birchbox, but I don't like it more than this. I think this one has the same amount of coverage, a more pleasant smell, and I like that it has SPF in it which the Stila one doesn't. SPF is pretty important to me this time of year. I've been trying to make sure I either use a moisturizer or foundation with SPF in it every day. This is both, go figure.

Hopefully you can see from the swatch that it matches my skin pretty well. It applies sheer to medium coverage. People say it's just a glorified tinted moisturizer but I disagree. This gives me much fuller coverage than even my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. Coverage is important to me as I have very red cheeks; I feel comfortable wearing this out of the house with the amount of coverage it gives me.

Am I missing out terribly when it comes to higher end BB creams? Please let me know! Tell me what your favorite BB cream is or if you've used this one, let me know what you think!

The Body Shop Primers

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

These are two primers from The Body Shop, one of my favorite places to find skin care!

Now I've had the Vitamin C Skin boost for a long time. I love the way it feels on my skin. The smell has gone from great to not so great, but it still works really well. It has something in it that makes your skin glow! It also really helps my make-up to stay.

I haven't had Matte It for that long, but so far I like it. Its clear and has no scent. It seems to help with oil better than the Vitamin C Skin Boost. As far as the longevity of make-up, it seems to be pretty on par with the Skin Boost.

I would recommend both these products although I like the Vitamin C Skin Boost more. Check them out!

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Tarte The Starlet Makeup Vanity Review

Closed Palette

Open Palette

 Traditional Smoky Eye

 Top to Right: Celebrity, Superstar, Luminary, Opening Night

Left to Right: Celebrity, Superstar, Luminary, Opening Night

Earthy

Top to Right: Talent, Idol, Cameo, Virtuoso

Left to Right: Talent, Idol, Cameo, Virtuoso

 Plum Smoky Eye

Left to top: Stardom, Icon, Siren, Major

Left to right: Major, Siren, Icon, Stardom

Blues

Left to Top: Fame, Big Break, Toast, VIP

Left to Right: VIP, Toast, Big Break, Fame

 Browns

Left to Top: Popular, Timeless, Trophy, Prestige

Left to Right: Trophy, Prestige, Popular, Timeless

 Pinks

Left to Top: Ingénue, Prima Donna, Diva, Leading Lady

Left to Right: Leading Lady, Diva, Ingénue, Prima Donna

 

Left to Right: Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess, Blush in Glory, Blush in Starlet, Shimmering Powder in Rose

Left to Right: Park Avenue Princess, Glory, Starlet, Rose

There is a lot here. A lot a lot. First of all, the entire palette is set in a beautiful mirrored jewelry box. The idea is that you can pull out the glittery trays that hold the makeup and use the box as a jewelry box. I haven't done this because I really don't have a protected place to put the make-up. Maybe if I ever invest in z-palettes I'll do it but for now I like to keep the box on my vanity.

Onto the colors. There are a lot of shimmery colors and a lot of matte colors which is nice to see in a large palette like this. The matte colors tend to be lighter and therefore less pigmented but that's ok too as the mini palettes aren't all overpowering. The shimmery colors tend to be amazingly pigmented, especially the cooler ones.

I spent a lot of time debating whether to get this or the Lorac palette that was along the same lines as this. I had never tried Lorac and I wanted to, but then again I've had such fantastic luck with Tarte so far that I knew I wanted this one. In the end I went with what I knew and I'm pleased I did. Not only did I get a bunch of new eyeshadows handily arranged in matching groups of four, I also got four cheek colors and two mascaras.

The cheek colors are amazing. I've wanted to try the amazonian clay blushes for a long time and based on the two that are in this palette I think I will order some more. The pigmentation on them is spectacular. The bronzer is also very nice, but the highlighter is probably my favorite. It's that perfect shade of pinky glow that I look for in a highlighter.

The mascara is great too. The lights camera lashes mini will be the third lights camera lashes mini that I have received. You won't hear me complaining though as it is my favorite mascara. I also love that they included a lash primer in the set. I currently use a Clinique lash primer but it is nice to have another one for when I'm on the go!

I love this set. If it is still available I would recommend it to anyone who wants a ton of makeup! Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Clinique Redness Solutions Foundation in 01

So first off, if you have really fair skin, don't purchase foundations from Clinique. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating it is for me (with my alabaster skin) to buy these foundations from Clinique in the store where they look great even on the jawbone and then go home and see I look orange. This is in the lightest shade that Clinique has to offer but it still isn't light enough. When they color matched me in the store, they tried to convince me to buy 02 but luckily I was smarter than that.

I do like the product even though it makes me look like Lindsay Lohan. It covers up my excessive redness like no other. I think this will be perfect for summer when I'm just a little darker and when I have awful sunburns. It's also very water resistant. If this was in my shade it would be my HG foundation. It does not move off your face. One way I get around the color problem is to just put the foundation on my red patches and use my MAC foundation on the rest of my face. Another way I do it is to mix my MAC foundation with the Clinique foundation. This works too.

If you're fair, I would avoid this product. You can get others from other brands that I'm sure work just as well. If you can accurately match to one of the colors and you have redness problems I would definitely invest in this as it works really well. Clinique gets 1/2 out of 1 points for this just for sheer lack of color selection.

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Philosophy The Present

I read online that this was an amazing primer so of course I had to try it out. Not only is it a primer, but it also moisturizes your face. After you put in on your face, you have to wait for two minutes before you can apply your make-up or else it doesn't work correctly. I really like this product. There are some things that won't stay on my face no matter what (Bare Minerals Foundation) but this works really well for other things like my MAC mineralize foundation. I would definitely suggest this product to anyone who feels like their foundation doesn't stay on their face well!

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Foundation Woes

Is anyone else having difficulties with foundation lately?

As I have only recently started wearing make-up (April of last year), I haven't yet undergone the transition from summer to fall. Over the summer my skin was incredibly oily and absorbed my make-up like crazy, I even had a hard time keeping it on.

Now it seems completely different. As the weather gets colder my foundation seems to have turned on me. When I use my foundation brush to apply my MAC mineralize foundation and then dust my mineralize skin finish natural over it, my skin gets all scaly and I can see my foundation on it. It's disgusting. I've realized I definitely need to use more moisturizer and primer. Also, I have to use my beauty blender or everything looks streaky.

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