Saturday, May 24, 2014

Ipsy - May 2014

FRESH PICKS
IPSY GLAM BAG MAY 2014

 
"It's a month of crisp air, vibrant flowers, and fresh Glam Bag products! Getting your beauty to bloom all month long will be as easy as lying in the warm grass and basking in the sunshine." - ipsy.com
  
Hello my darlins! I've missed you so! I can't wait for the Summer to begin, so I can get back to a regular schedule. So quick catch up on me. The ballet studio I work at is having it's two big recitals tomorrow (which is going to be a whole day of rehearsals, work and shows). For an example of how big these shows are - we only have them once every other year, haha! We're going to be performing Mother Goose and Magical Moments (a selection of excerpts from Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Swan Queen, and Snow White). I'm so very excited, not only do I have some awesome students performing in it, but I've been honored to perform the character roles of Mother Goose, The Little Old Woman Who Lived in the Show and The Evil Queen in Snow White! Eeeee! Can't wait! However, since I'm the Office Manager, one of the instructors and we're only a small staff of four, this has meant 12+ hour work days and rehearsal and working on the weekends. I told my Hubby just to make sure I have a daily supply of Starbucks DoubleShot Espresso cans, teehee. 

After tomorrow, we have one more week of classes, then I'm going to be flying to Chicago for a weekend, THEN I'm officially on a two week vacation! I should be able to catch up on a ton of posts then, so stay tuned. 

 But enough about all that, let's jump into this review!...

I received: a hair product, face product, eye product, lip product and body product

Ipsy is looking fresh and green this month with products just right for a day out in the fresh air and under the sun! 

All ipsy subscribers received five products this month including one of two eyeshadow duos from Pacifica, one of two sunscreens, one of four hair products, and the last two products were a part of a product variety selection.

The bag itself was a little different than the typical ipsy bag. It's made from a beautiful soft canvas material, with green leaves climbing up the sides and a green zipper.


I'm not a huge, huge fan of earthy looking designs, but it's a good size, and I love the feeling of the canvas, so it will certainly go to good use!


Here's a closer look at what I received:


EVA NYC
THERAPY SESSION HAIR MASK


"The Therapy Session Hair Mask deeply conditions, repairs and strengthens dry and damaged hair. Argan Oil nourishes and revitalizes, while Keravis Protein drastically increases hair’s strength and elasticity. The results are hydrated, soft and manageable hair." - eva-nyc.com

::giggles:: I remember at one point I complained that I never had any hair masks...I think I now have about six or seven different ones sitting in my shower! However, that being said, this definitely has to be one of my absolute favorites now. 

First off, the packaging is adorable, I really love the fresh brightness. I did actually receive a travel-size tube, so I'm excited about that. The full-size comes in a jar.


The formula has some awesome ingredients including Panthenol, which is a form of B5, excellent for moisturizing and softening, Jojoba Seed oil, Keravis, which is a protein that's wonderful for hair strengthening, Sea Buckthorn oil, which is also great for strengthening as well as growth, and Argan oil

It's a very smooth texture, but not quite as heavy and rich as some hair masks are. Depending on your hair type, I'd say you could use this as a day to day conditioner as well as deep conditioning (leaving it on a bit longer and using more product to coat the hair). 

The smell is my favorite part...it smells...hmmm...how can I describe...like a sweet chamomile tea. Mmmmmm. Although, I did see a couple of ladies from Makeuptalk absolutely hated the smell! Isn't it funny how different people can smell things differently? Although, I'm wondering if it was just a bad batch, because everyone that I've had smell my tube of the mask thinks it smells fantastic. 

I've been using this mask off and on for a few weeks now, mainly as a light daily conditioner, especially since I recently um....changed my hair (which you shall see at the end of this post!), so it's needed a bit more love lately. My strands have definitely felt softer, more manageable and have been looking smooth. It lessened my split ends a bit, and did I mention they smell yummy? The smell isn't overwhelming, but my Hubby got a whiff of it about two hours after I showered and he just buried his head in it, took a deep breath and said: "Mmmmmm, what IS that?". Heehee, I'll take it! 

The product has lasted a good long while, as I said, I've been using it for a few weeks now off and on every other day and I still have quite of bit left. My hair is still quite long (nope, I didn't cut it!) so I do use a bit more product to completely cover all the ends of my hair and up towards my scalp. I'd say this tube, at the rate I'm using it, should last a little over a month. 

Now, although I absolutely LOVE this mask, I will say this, I'm a bit disappointed with the pricing on EVA NYC's website. It seems as though they raised the prices since ipsy subscribers were offered a discount code along with their ipsy Glam Bags this month. I cannot say what the prices were before the month as I had never heard of EVA NYC before, but I do know that on EVA NYC's website, the full-size Therapy Session Hair Mask (500 mL) is $40, and on Ulta's website, it's listed as $14.99 (on sale currently for $12.99). Um, hello. That's a BIG difference! I'm also seeing prices similar to Ulta on Walgreens, as well as other drugstore websites. That just doesn't seem right! So, unless EVA NYC lowers their prices, I certainly won't be purchasing directly from them. Heavens! Again, I can't confirm that EVA NYC raised their prices just because of their ipsy feature, however, it does seem a little odd, don't you think?

Although I won't be buying from their direct website, I do still love the mask, and would like to continue using it, so it's definitely something I'd recommend!





DERME E
MICRODERMABRASION SCRUB


"This award-winning, salon treatment alternative buffs skin, helping to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and acne scars." - dermae.com

I was actually so very excited to be getting this product in my Glam Bag, as they've featured it before and I missed out on receiving it!

I've heard SO many amazing things about it, and it definitely did not disappoint!

The packaging I'm not a big fan of, but it's simple and looks professional. Almost like something a doctor would prescribe. I know some ladies that absolutely love this type of look for their face products. 


This scrub has one of the most amazing lists of ingredients I've seen for this type of product, including: Lime oil (inhibits growth of bacteria and tightens pores), Irish moss (softens skin), Volcanic sand and Dead Sea salt (pumice, exfoliates), Lemon peel oil (brightens skin and fights acne), Grape Seed and Sweet Almond oil (moisturizes skin), Vitamin E, Kaolin clay (wonderful for soothing), Jojoba Seed oil (skin conditioning) as well as other various ingredients. 

The mixture of the tiny particles of volcanic sand and dead sea salt makes this product certainly live of to it's name of being a microdermabrasion scrub, and a serious one at that. If you can see in the photo above, it is completely filled with the rough particles, but they're so finely milled that and well mixed with soothing ingredients, that I didn't have any problems at all with redness or irritation, although I don't have any skin sensitivity problems. While using a product such as this, it's best not to press down heavily onto the skin or use much force, but instead to lightly work it in small circles all over the entire face. If you have problems with skin sensitivity, I'd recommend doing a small spot test on the side of one cheek before doing the entire face, or you could mix the scrub with a gel or cream face wash for a lighter exfoliation. I do that all the time with my Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel and Epice International Purifying Exfoliant, it feels amazing! 

The smell is so delicious, it has a soft citrusy scent, probably from the mixture of the Lemon Peel oil, Lime oil and Sweet Orange essential oil. The smell alone makes this a must-have for me.

My skin absolutely loves this product! Because it's a pretty heavy-duty microdermabrasion, I only use it about three times a week, but since I began, my skin has been looking clearer with less acne, and a bit brighter from the removal of dead skin! Gotta love a good exfoliant. I barely need a nickle-size amount for an all-over scrub on my entire face, although I will use more if I want to do a deep scrub (once a week) and work it into the skin longer.

 You'd better believe that I'll be keeping this product around! The scent, results and extended length of time it takes to use up the product makes it a winner for me.





PACIFICA
MINERAL EYESHADOW DUO
in Duo #1


"The Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Duo are coconut infused mineral eye shadows that are a perfect addition to any makeup collection. Packaged in a beautiful travel ready recyclable container, these exclusive duos are customized just for ipsy! These shades can be found in the Pacifica Mystical and Charmed Palette. Smooth application with gorgeous color pay-off." - ipsy.com

It's always both exciting and such a bummer when there are products made specifically for ipsy, and won't be available for non-ipsy subscribers to purchase from the brands website, but in this case, I am happy that these shades DID come from already available products that contain MORE than what we're receiving! That way if you do decide you'd like to own these shades, you'll receive these along with some surprises! Yay!

The packaging is simple and clean. It's a small compact case with a clear plastic lid and a pretty white swirl design over half, along with the Pacifica brand name. The inside contains two pressed shadows in a single pan, with no material separating them.


These two shades are from Pacifica's Mystical Supernatural Eye Shadow palette. The shades including in this palette are: 
  • Opal- Opalescent pinkish-white perfect for highlighting and creating a natural look. 
  • Moonbeam- Pearlescent greyish moody violet to use on lids or create a subtle smoky eye.
  • Celestial- Creamy dreamy beige with a little bright pearl ideal for lids and highlights.
  • Stargazer- Heavenly hot blue-violet to smudge, smoke or line your eyes.

As you could probably tell, I received the shades Opal and Celestial in this duo. 


Both of these swatches are done without primer and are about three swipes each. Opal (shown on the bottom of the back of my hand), although not very pigmented, has a beautiful soft pink sheen that picks up decently well in sunlight. Over a white primers, the sheen is much more visible, and over a white shimmery primer (such as NYX's Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese), the color is a teensy bit more vibrant, but it's very shimmery with a stronger sheen. It is easy to blend, but it can be a bit dry and does have a bit of fall-out. I do love using this in the inner corners of my eyes and on my brow bone as it does provide a gorgeous soft highlight.

Celestial I absolutely adore! It's such a gorgeous shimmery beige-gold that is very soft and easily blendable. It's much more pigmented than Opal, and can be worn more pigmented over a good primer. It's still not as buttery and pigmented as, say, an Urban Decay shadow, but it's still gorgeous, can be applied easily and blended out nicely.

I did have some fall-out during the day, but not quite as bad with Celestial as I did with Opal. Because the shades are very vivid, it did seem to fade faster than usual, even with primer and a setting spray. I had full color for about three hours, then it began to fade softly. By the seven hour mark, you couldn't make out the colors much at all.

I'd never tried Pacifica's eyeshadows before, so it was awesome to finally test out some. I'm a bit intrigued now, I'd be curious to try out some deeper shades to see how pigmented and soft they'd be, and for the somewhat low prices, I just might! 





REVLON
COLORBURST
MATTE BALM
in Elusive


"A Matte finish that’s beyond plush. Balm that’s beyond comforting. Our Triple Butter Complex of Shea, Coconut and Mango butters nourishes lips. In 10 collectible, craveable colors." - revlon

If you've been a follower of The Charming Cheshire for a while, you'd know that I've already had the pleasure to review a few of these awesome Matte Balms, but luckily, in different shades! ::giggles:: Well, I was determined to collect them all, so how fabulous was it that I happened to receive one in my Glam Bag! ::happydance:: (Click on shade names to read my reviews on the others: Mischievous - light bright orange, Unapologetic - warm deep pink, Shameless - deep purple). 


Elusive was next on my list to buy from the Matte Balms, as it is the softest pink shade, and the ones I've previously purchased were all a bit more on the brighter, vivid side. The packaging, as with all the Matte Balms, is a standard twist-up stick, very typical for the all the stick lip balms we're seeing everywhere now. The outside of the tube matches the shade of the product, and is completely matte to show it's from the matte collection.


I really, really love the color! It's such a gorgeous warm deep pink and can be easily built up or blended out for a soft color. As you can see, it is very pigmented and even with one swipe it glides on easily.


I applied a fairly thick coat so you could see the full color, as as you can see, it is drying. I used a lip balm to moisturize my lips during my makeup application, but even after, this product still dried up my lips a bit. My problem with these types of products is, that since my lips are naturally full of lines and creases, any drying or matte product just enhances those lines and creases tenfold. I HAVE to use a moisturizing lip balm before I apply this every single time. Even then, it still feels drying after hours of wear. With this shade I found that if I lightly blend it out over my lips, then apply a clear moisturizing balm over it, then apply ANOTHER layer of the Matte Balm over THAT, then my lips look their best and I'm still able to wear the shade in it's full vibrant color, rather than just blended out. Because it's pink, I didn't have quite as much trouble applying it as I did the light orange (Mischievous) or deep purple (Shameless), as it blends better on my lips natural color. I really like the shade, it's like a brighter, more vivid version of my own lips!

As for it's wear, I had full color for about two hours, then it began to fade to a softer pink till the five hour mark, where I had to wipe it off some, since it faded more on the outside of my lips, but built up a line where my top and bottom lip touches (ew, I hate that!). 

I still absolutely love the Matte Balms, and I'd love to continue to collect them. I think when used in a way that's right for you (with or without moisturizer, blended or not), they're can be absolutely gorgeous! 





HANG TEN
SUNSCREEN
CLASSIC BODY SPF 50


"Protect and nourish your skin with our clear, lightweight, naturally scented sunscreen. Provides maximum water resistance and full body coverage against harmful UVA/UVB rays." - hangtensunscreen.com

First of all, let me say, this brand is powered by COOLA and I seriously cannot begin to tell you how much I wish I didn't receive any more COOLA sunscreen products! Not that I dislike COOLA personally, but really, out of all the sunscreen products I've received (and I've received more than I could possible want), I do believe they've ALLLLLL been COOLA! So this isn't exactly COOLA, but close enough. 

Secondly, I really just don't have a need for sunscreen, so I'm kind of disappointed that ipsy made every subscriber receive one. I know sunscreen is important, and taking care of your skin, especially in regards to sun damage is very, VERY important, but having very pale skin that burns easily, even with multiple applications of sunscreen frequently, I just prefer to avoid the sun altogether. I don't like the beach either (I'm sorry! Don't hate me, I just have sensitive eyes and being out in the bright sun with it reflecting off the water and getting salt water in my eyes is just no fun for me at all. Plus I don't tan!) so I really never have a major need for sunscreen. Although, I am glad that I did at least receive a slightly higher SPF. 

It is a classic (or chemical, if you will) sunscreen, meaning it absorbs sun rays, rather than reflecting them like mineral/physical sunscreens do. The good thing about this type of sunscreen is that it doesn't leave that white cast on your skin when applying. 

Now, I haven't used this product myself, as the best type of testing I could do on it would be to wear it outside and stay in the sun for lengths of time. I love all of you, you know I do, but I don't really want to burn (which I know I will!). I found a test subject though! A handsome one at that ::eyebrow wiggle::. Mr. Cookie! He wore it several times while out biking. His thoughts:

"It seems effective. I rode for about an hour and a half and I didn't burn. It rubbed straight in to the skin, wasn't greasy at all, didn't leave any type of sheen and didn't have any unpleasant smell. I did get a very light tan, but I do tan easily (which my wife hates me for, haha) and I didn't reapply at all, so I'd say it works pretty well!." 

I really couldn't recommend this product one way or another, I'd say my Hubby likes it well enough, but as for myself, I'd rather just stay out of the sun altogether and take some Vitamin D supplements!





WORTH AND PURCHASE

1) EVA NYC Therapy Hair Session Mask:
  • Full-size (500 mL) - $14.99*
  • I received a 60 mL travel-size - $1.80

2) derme e Microdermabrasion Scrub:
  • Full-size (2 oz) - $32.50
  • I received a 1 oz sample jar - $16.25

3) Pacifica Mineral Eye Shadow Duo #1 (Opal and Celestial):
  • Full-size (Mystical Supernatural palette - 4 shades - 0.25 oz) - $14
  • I received 0.07 oz sample duo - $3.92



4) Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms in Elusive:
  • Full-size (2.7 g) - $8.99
  • I received a full-size!



5) Hang Ten Sunscreen Classic Body SPF 50:
  • Full-size (6 oz) - $12.99
  • I received a 1 oz sample tube - $2.17



TOTAL PAID FOR BOX: $10


TOTAL WORTH OF BOX:  $33.13


Not too bad! Over three times what I paid, I love four of my five items, and the fifth item was only $2.17, so I'd say definitely a good month's worth. *I used Ulta's pricing for the EVA NYC. 









FINALE

Aaaaand now, for some makeup! I took my inspiration for this look from the Fresh Picks theme, as well wanting to do a fresh Spring to Summer transitional look.


Oh and hello, I'm a blonde now! ::giggles:: 


For the eyes I used a white matte primer, then I blended the shade Opal, from my Pacifica Duo, in my crease and lightly in the inner corners of my eyes. I then applied Celestial over my lid and lightly just under under my bottom lashes but you can barely see it there in these photos. I finished the eyes with a deep green eyeliner (I was feeling a green theme with this month's bag!) and a few coats of mascara.


Of course, on the lips I have on Revlon's Matte Balm in Elusive! 


Well that's it for this month's Ipsy Glam Bag review, I hope you enjoyed! I can't wait to see what's in store for us for next month! Did you receive a Glam Bag this month? What products did you love?  Thinking of joining Ipsy? Please feel free to use my referral code to sign up! Click HERE to start to subscription sign-up process!


Happy Fresh Makeuping! 

 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Beauty Spotlight - ft. BA STAR Spicy Natural Palette & Glitter Base


BA STAR
SPICY NATURAL EYE SHADOW PALETTE
and EYE SHADOW & GLITTER BASE


"Create a Perfect, Natural, Smokey Eye. Makeup Artist Selected Colors. High Pigment, Long Lasting. Great in Cheer, Dance or Stage Makeup Kit." - bastar.com

Hello everyone! Sharing with you today this GORGEOUS five shadow palette from BASTAR, which I'm actually super excited about! For those of you who may not know, my main career is being a dancer and dance instructor. I've been dancing since I was seven, and even started training to be an instructor at eleven. I danced professionally with a company for a season, but when I developed two herniated discs, I had to end the professional career and just stick to teaching, which was always my love. I am ALWAYS looking for gorgeous and affordable makeup to share with my students for performances and recitals and not to jump ahead of myself in my review...but I LOVE this product!

BASTAR's website caters to Cheerleaders, Dancers, performers of every sort including products such as glitters, face and body stickers, eye shadow palettes, singles, mineral shadows, mascara, liners, lashes, blush and bronzers, lip pencils and gloss, tools, cosmetic bags, you name it! They also have several kits to choose from. They offer free samples and face charts to select before you buy, as well as featuring a link on their website to their YouTube channel that has a variety of makeup tutorials for performers.

Let's get on to the review!....
    

EYE SHADOW & GLITTER BASE



Along with the shadow palette, I received a shadow and glitter base. The packaging is a simple twist cap clear tube with a doe foot applicator.
  


The applicator is soft, and what I really like that it doesn't pick up a huge amount of product. Usually one pull of product from the tube is the perfect amount of coverage for a single eye. It's very easy to use, I just wipe it right on the eye, then use my fingertip to blend it evenly out where I want it.
  


The product goes on almost completely clear, just a light sheen. It's not very sticky when first applying, the texture is more like a light lotion, but once it starts setting it becomes a bit more tacky.



It's very thin, lightweight and makes an absolutely FANTASTIC base and primer. I've tried this along with the BASTAR shadows as well as various other brands and types of shadows and I have to say, it works just as awesomely as my favorite eyeshadow primer! It makes the shadows look more pigmented, smoother, and keep the color look fresh and fade slower throughout the day. I had no trouble at all removing the shadow and primer when taking off my makeup. It wiped off easily and cleanly with a cotton pad and eye makeup remover as well as with a makeup wipe. 

Love it! I'll be using it in the eye shadow swatches below, so keep on reading!





EYE SHADOW PALETTE
in Spicy Natural


How preeeeeetty is this!? So gorgeous. The packaging is a black plastic case with a clear cover that snaps close. It comes with a dual sided applicator containing a flat bristle brush and an eyeshadow applicator. The bristle brush side I really didn't like, it's much too rough. I felt like I was scratching my eyelid when using it, however, the eyeshadow applicator side was just fine!
  

All of the shadows are a shimmery-satin finish. The colors in the Spicy Natural palette are a soft white-cream (Nude), rusty copper (Bronze), cool deep brown (Chocolate), royal purple (Deep Plum) and yellow-gold (Gold).
  

As you can see, even without a primer, the colors are decently pigmented! Each shade was swiped three times, over bare skin, and over BASTAR's Glitter and Eye Shadow Base. It was a bit difficult to see exactly how much of a difference the base made since the shadows are so satin-shimmery.



Here's a bit of a better angle. You can DEFINITELY see a difference from here! The shadows apply very smoothly, and are ridiculously soft, just like butter! In fact, I accidentally stabbed a nail into one of the shadow, and I tried to gently press it back down...it just...smoothed right over. I'm not saying the part sticking up broke off...nono, I pressed it back down...like I said, like butter!

The lightest shade, the pale cream-white, is the least pigmented, but makes a fantastic highlighter/eye-catcher. It's the most glittery looking, and looks gorgeous in the inner corners of the eyes, below the eyebrow, all over the lid, or over another shade for some shine.

The rusty copper shade, cool deep brown, royal purple and gold are all gorgeously pigmented, and smooth. They apply very easily, and blend so well. The one thing I will say, is they seem much more colorful and bright swatched on the hand than they do on the eyes, even with different types of primers. Not that I'm saying that's bad, in fact, they blend so beautifully with each other because of that, really seamless. On the eyes, the color is still vivid, but softer in appearance. 


LONGEVITY AND WEAR

I had awesome wear with these shadows, especially used along with the BASTAR primer! I had full color and pigmentation for at least 6 to 7 hours before it began to fade. Even at the 12 hour mark, I still had soft color with no major fading or any streakiness, smudging or fall-out!





PURCHASE

This palette and primer are available for purchase on BASTAR's website. The palette retails for $8.75, as well as the Glitter and Eye Shadow Base. The price of the palettes drop from $8.75 to $5 when you purchase six or more, though! A couple of the other palette shades are currently listed as being $2.99, as they are being discontinued soon. Here are the links to the main site page, as well as direct links to the products:

www.bastar.com

BASTAR - Spicy Natural Eye Shadow Palette

BASTAR - Glitter and Eye Shadow Base






FINALE

Look #1 - Sugar and Spice 
(fancy everyday eye)



I always love a little drama, so I couldn't resist a flared out cat-eye but I wanted to show a look that's great for both a daytime and nighttime look
  


The colors, as you can see, aren't over pigmented and bright, but they still have strong color and look soft, yet vivid, on the eyes.



For this look I began by blending the pale cream shade below the eyebrows and on the inner corners of the eyes for highlight, then I softly blended the deep cool brown on the outer edges of my eyes, pulling them into a V shape for the wing. I pressed on the royal purple shadow on the center of the lid, spreading it and blending it into the brown, as well as lightly pulling it up above the crease, then I patted on the yellow gold on the inner 1/3 of the lids, towards the inner corners of my eyes. For the bottom lashes I lightly blended what was left of the cool brown below the bottom of my lashes, just on the outer half, then I lightly blended a bit of the copper shade on the center. I finished the eyes with some dark brown eyeliner in a V-shape (with the wing being a bit thicker, but the top part of the V being thinner and fading into the crease) and a few coats of mascara!




Look #2 - The BA Star Ballerina

Did I mention I was a ballerina? Hahaha, you didn't think I could review a palette that's meant for performers and NOT do a ballet look, now did you?



Now, I didn't go full-on recital stage makeup, because that always looks just so bizarre close up (big oversized eyes, huge false eyelashes), so instead I chose my typical smaller stage, closer-to-the-audience makeup that I teach all of my students to wear for up close performances.This makeup is meant to be more natural looking, but still bring out your features for the bright lights and have a bit of drama!




For the eyes I blended the pale cream under the eyebrow, on the inner corners of the eyes, as well as all over the eyelid. I used a white eyeliner on my waterline, then patted on the cream shadow over it to make my eyes look wider and brighter. I used the deep cool brown in the crease, blending it both lightly downwards, as well as upwards and pulling it out towards where my winged liner would end. I then blended it below my bottom lashes to enhance the cream on the waterline and make my eyes appear larger.



I very softly blended the copper shade from the inner corners of my crease and outwards towards the middle of it just to lighten and warm up the deep brown a bit. I finished the eyes with winged liner on my upper lids as well as heavy coats of mascara, and gently drawing lines under the bottom edge of my eyeliner wing with a pale nude eyeliner to make the black liner pop out more. Yes, yes I know I look extraordinarily pale with my hair pulled back into a bun. Hush.



Well, that's it for my BA STAR palette and glitter/eyeshadow base review! I hope you enjoyed it! Even though it's geared towards performers, I think it's a gorgeous palette even for everyday use. the shadows are soft, so blendable and the palettes come in a variety of shades, including both neutral and bright colors! 
  • Midnight Smokey - greys, silver, black, pale blue
  • Tropical - lime, blue, purple, pink, silver
  • Spirit - green, blue, coral, yellow, cream
  • *Pretty N Pink - pinks, lavenders, silver
  • *True Blue - blues, silvers, green

*Being discontinued soon.


    
Happy Makeuping! ::bows, curtsies::






*Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and experiences are my own. This entire review was written only by me and was in no way influenced by the brand provider. Sponsored post, powered by Brandbacker.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Julep - April 2014

THE VIVID COLLECTION
ULTIMATE UPGRADE


Hello my lovelies! I just have a couple more April items to share with you (Summer cannot come too soon, I can't wait till my work schedule slows down!) and this was one that I've been super excited about. When I saw all of the shades for Julep's April Vivid Collection, I KNEW I just couldn't say no to a single one, they looked FANTASTIC! Plus, they featured blushes, bronzer, and makeup brushes?! Be still my beating heart. ::makeup swoon::

So here are all of the products featured in this month's Vivid Collection...
   

*Blushes and bronzers were customizable in profiles

Boho Glam
  • Sunny - overexposed yellow chrome
  • Phoebe - vibrant jungle metallic
  • Glow Pore Minimizing Blush - Peach Bellini*



Bombshell
  • Kayla - electric iris sheer with violet sheen
  • Tatum - neon chartreuse chrome
  • Glow Pore Minimizing Blush - Petal Pink*



Classic With a Twist
  • Caitlin - shocking hibiscus with gold shimmer
  • Mariska - juicy tangerine shimmer
  • Glow Pore Minimizing Blush - Peach Bellini*



It Girl
  • Flora - exotic dragonfruit with blue shimmer
  • Bailey - hyped cobalt sheer
  • Maren - electric bubblegum sheer with blue sheen



Modern Beauty
  • Glow Pore Minimizing Blush - Peach Bellini (not customizable)
  • Glow Pore Minimizing Bronzer - Light Golden Bronze*



Featured Add-Ons
  • Julep Blush Brush
  • Julep Bronzer Blush
  • Felicia (polish) - bright green creme with dashes of black



POLISH LOVER UPGRADE (+$25)
  • All nine polishes in Vivid Collection - Bailey, Caitlin, Flora, Kayla, Maren, Mariska, Phoebe, Sunny and Tatum


DELUXE UPGRADE (+$35)
  • Includes all nine polishes in Vivid Collection
  • Glow Blush shade of your choice (Peach Bellini or Petal Pink)*



ULTIMATE UPGRADE (+$55)
  • Includes all nine polishes in Vivid Collection
  • Glow Blush in Peach Bellini
  • Glow Bronzer shade of your choice (Light Golden Bronze or Medium Tan)*
  • Julep Blush Brush
  • Julep Bronzer Brush



On to what I received!.....



BOHO GLAM - PHOEBE & SUNNY


Phoebe (left) - vibrant jungle metallic
Sunny (right) - overexposed yellow chrome

These two shades are definitely very unusual, but if you're looking for some fun and funky Spring into Summer shades, I'd say look no further!


All swatches were done with two coats each, no top coat.

Sunny - Out of all the shades in this collection, Sunny was definitely the most difficult to work with, but I still love it. It's incredibly streaking, even when working slowly, carefully and with as few brush strokes as possible, you're going to have stroke lines. It's fairly opaque with two coats, you can barely see through, and it has a nice glossy finish. My Hubby wasn't too keen on the color, I think it's a little too crazy for him (what, darlin', it's not like this yellow isn't a stinging shade that completely overpowers everything else in the room, haha!). I think the name is perfect for so many reasons, not just because it's yellow and bright like the sun, but it makes me think of egg yolks splashed on my fingertips! Sunny side up anyone? ::giggles:: I didn't have any problems with it being runny (hardeeharhar) or pooling, just a lot of brush lines.

Phoebe - This shade is just beautiful. It too, is streaky and will have brush lines even after two coats, but to me it's not quite as bad looking as Sunny. The color is rich, vibrant and so flattering. It was perfectly opaque with two coats (nearly a one-coater) and I had no problems with running or pooling. It has a light glossy metallic finish.





BOMBSHELL - KAYLA & TATUM


Kayla (left) - electric iris sheer with violet sheen
Tatum (right) - neon chartreuse chrome

Haha, so this is actually my favorite combo, as well as my Hubby's for one very specific reason....he took one look at it and said: "Oooooo, do a Ninja Turtles mani!" I looked down at the colors and replied: "Oh yeah, Donatello!", then he said: "See, that's why I love you." ::blushes:: what can I say, I'm a geek (proud of it!). 


I have to say, this picture does NOT do them justice by far. These shades are AMAZING. 

Kayla - I adore this polish so much, I JUST took it off after wearing it for a week! I had so many compliments on it, as well. People even asked me if I had fake nails on or had gone to get them done, the color is so amazing and with a glossy top coat, it just has this beautiful shine and finish. I could go on, really. In this picture, it appears that it's not completely opaque, but in person, I really didn't notice at all. It glides on like an absolute dream and I did not have any problems at all with running or streaking. It has a soft demi-gloss finish.

Tatam - Somewhat in between Sunny and Phoebe, it's streaky, but still manageable. The brush lines are visible but the color is so vibrant and well enough opaque that it doesn't look bad (I think yellows are just difficult to begin with). It applies nicely, and has a beautiful glossy metallic finish.





CLASSIC WITH A TWIST - CAITLIN & MARISKA


Caitlin (right) - shocking hibiscus with gold shimmer
Mariska (left) - juicy tangerine shimmer

I'm happily surprised at Julep at their Classic With a Twist color selection! I'm used to seeing nudes, reds and tans for this profile, so when I saw this vivid orange and hot pink, I was pretty much screaming Yes Please! 


Caitlin - It's funny, because they're both listed as a shimmer and they both DO have shimmer slightly showing in the bottle, but it doesn't translate to the nail much at all. In person, you can barely see the gold shimmer in the polish, unless you look very, very close. Mainly you can just tell there's shimmer because it doesn't look completely smooth and glossy. It does apply beautifully, though, and it's opaque in two coats. In has a nice semi-gloss finish.

Mariska - Again, where's the shimmer? Haha! The finish is nothing like any shimmer I have, it has an almost satin or matte finish. It applies a little thick, but workable, no streaking or running and is perfectly opaque in two coats. If you want to keep it more like a matte, you can use a mattifying top coat, but you could also add a super shiny top coat to gloss it up! Even with the lack of shimmer, both of these shades are gorgeous!





IT GIRL - BAILEY, FLORA & MAREN


Bailey (right) - hyped cobalt sheer
Flora (left) - exotic dragonfruit with blue shimmer
Maren (center) - electric bubblegum sheer with blue sheen

Cobalt, dragonfruit and bubblegum...can you imagine a better trio of colors to put together? So gorgeous!


Bailey - I love wearing cobalt shades in the Spring and Summer, it's so fresh and one of the deeper colors that still translate well into all seasons. The polish glides on very smoothly, but it definitely more sheer. Even with two coats, you can see the white of my nail, but it still looks lovely. If you'd prefer a more opaque look, you can easily wear three coats, it's smooth and applies easily, and evens itself out so it won't become too thick looking. It has a nice semi-gloss finish.

Flora - This was another favorite in the collection for me, I just have a thing for dragonfruit! The color is sooooo pretty. The shimmer in this is subtle as well, but much more visible than Caitlin and Mariska. It glides on smoothly and evenly, and is nearly opaque in one coat. 

Maren - This was definitely the sheerest of the collection, even with two coats (shown above) you can still easily see through to the nail. Frankly...I don't care, it's gorgeous! It needs about four coats to be completely opaque, but that is very doable, it's thin, evens itself out and doesn't streak. I love, love, love the blue sheen it it!





MODERN BEAUTY - BLUSH & BRONZER

GLOW PORE MINIMIZING BLUSH
in Peach Bellini


"Glow’s groundbreaking formula diffuses the appearance of pores and imperfections, while diamond powder gives cheeks a luminous shimmer. Packed with vitamin B6 for a truly healthy glow." - julep.com

First of all, this packaging is so gorgeous! It's a snap shut case with a matte lid and full cover mirror on the inside of the lid. The inside plastic sleeve has a beautiful leaf design the the letter J (I'm going to take a wild guess and jump out on a limb here saying that it stands for Julep, teehee). I really couldn't bring myself to throw the sleeve away, it's too pretty! The case is very sturdy and well built, not at all plastic and cheap feeling, which I'm very happy about. 


 The shade is just lovely. It a soft peachy-pink with very subtle shimmer that is much more apparent in the pan than when applied on the cheeks.


The product is SO smooth. As I said, the shimmer isn't very apparent when applied on the skin, instead it looks more satin-matte with a veeeery soft shimmer dispersed throughout. It's easily buildable and can be blended out beautifully without looking splotchy, streaky or dry. On my skin it looks much more like a soft babydoll pink than a peach. The peach tint is very minimal. 

As for it's wear, worn with a primer, over a foundation or BB creme, the color will last at least 4-5 hours before beginning to fade. With a setting spray on top, it extends the full-color wear time to around 8 hours. Afterwards, it begins fading softly, but it still remains smooth looking and natural. I do believe I need to get my hands on the other shade, Petal Pink!





GLOW PORE MINIMIZING BRONZER
in Light Golden Bronze


"Glow’s groundbreaking formula diffuses the appearance of pores and imperfections, while diamond powder gives cheeks a luminous shimmer. Packed with vitamin B6 for a truly healthy glow." - julep.com

Bronzers have always been tricky for me. I'm very pale with peachy pink undertones and rosacea, so any yellow undertoned or warm bronzers end up looking very dirty on my skin.

The packaging is very similar to the Blush, except it's a tad longer (having 0.01 oz more).


 I had a hard time deciding between the two shades Julep had available for customization (Light Golden Bronze and Medium Tan). With no swatches, it was hard to tell if the Light Golden Bronze was for fair and light skin and the Medium Tan for medium to dark skin, but I was also thrown off by the fact that the Light Golden Bronze looked more yellow and the Medium Tan looked more pink undertoned. I was so torn! Eee! I went ahead and went for the Light Golden Bronze, because I'd rather it have a bit of a yellowish undertone that I could probably work with than have something too dark.


The Light Golden Bronze definitely has a yellow undertone, and although it looks just....woo...yellow here in these swatches...it really looks fantastic on my face! I was shocked! I seriously had to do a double-take! It's very, very buildable and easily buildable if you wanted to deepen the shade, however I always contour softly and lightly because I'm so fair. 

The bronzer has just as great of longevity and wear as the blush. My contour is one of those things that I really hate to wear off during the day, it just leaves my face looking tired, flat and lifeless. Even after teaching class and dancing for hours, the bronzer still stayed relatively fresh looking! I'm so curious about the Medium Tan, now. As blendable and smooth as they seem to be, even if it's a bit darker, I'll bet it can be blended out nicely and hopefully will look less yellow than the Light Golden Bronze!




ULTIMATE UPGRADE ADD-ONS

JULEP BLUSH BRUSH


"Designed for specific use with Glow Blush, the angled bristle design hugs the contours of your face--a natural pairing for a beautiful finish." - julep.com

Is it silly to love makeup brushes as much as makeup? Naaaaaah. And if you like makeup brushes, I'm here to tell you, you would LOVE these. The handle of the brush is very thick, but it's strong, nicely weighted and easy to hold for me, however, I have larger hands. If you have smaller, more dainty hands you may not feel as comfortable with it. One side of the brush says JULEP, while the other side says Blush.
   

 I've never typically used an angled brush for blush, usually I use this type of design for contouring, but I really enjoyed using this with the Peach Bellini!


The brush is VERY densely packed, and so soft. I've had absolutely NO issues at all with bristles falling out, even after several washes. (Although, it does take a bit longer to dry because it's dense). Another thing to note because it's so full, is that you end up getting quite a bit of product on the brush when swirling or dabbing it in, so I do recommend tapping it to drop off excess powder before blending it on the cheeks. You can even swirl it lightly on the back of your hand to build up the product even slower on the cheek. I haven't tried it as anything but a blush brush yet, but I think it's a nicely versatile brush! I'd definitely use it for contouring as well as powder foundation!





JULEP BRONZER BRUSH


"Our comfortable, weighted handle and the unique tulip shape evenly pick up & distribute bronzer for a natural, sun-kissed glow." - julep.com

Also, another must have if you're a makeup brush lover. I just can't believe how gorgeously packed and soft these bristles are! The design is very similar to the Blush brush, except one side says Bronzer instead (well, obviously, haha).


 This brush has a dome shape, with a softly rounded peak. It's just so...so fluffy!


What's funny, if I hadn't looked at the names written on the brushes (Blush, Bronzer), I would have totally used them the other way around. I have a couple of blush brushes that were MADE to be for blush that were similarly shaped to this. Just goes to show you that brushes can be very versatile in their use, regardless of their design! 

I loved using this for my bronzer, it made it so very easy to blend out and I felt I had good control of where I was applying product. I could lean the brush more on it's side for larger coverage or angle it more straight on dome for narrower application. I even lightly used it for contouring on the sides of my nose (with the dome tip) and it worked fairly well! Again, no issues at all with bristles falling out. Well done making some awesome brushes, Julep! I'd absolutely purchase a brush set if they had one (nudgenudge, hint hint).





WORTH AND PURCHASE

1) Nail Polish (8 ml ea.):
  • $14 ($11.20 for Mavens) x 9 polishes = $126 ($100.80 for Mavens)

2) Glow Pore Minimizing Blush (0.25 oz) in Peach Bellini - $24 ($19.20 for Mavens)

3) Glow Pore Minimizing Bronzer (0.26 oz) in Light Golden Bronze - $28 ($22.40 for Mavens)

4) Blush Brush - $24 ($19.20 for Mavens)

5) Bronzer Brush - $28 ($22.40 for Mavens)


Total Paid for Box:  $74.99*

Total Worth of Box:  $230 ($184 for Mavens)


I did pay a pretty penny for this set, but I feel I got my money's worth, especially with the fabulous brushes and blush and bronzer. They're all excellent quality! Definitely an awesome month! (*$19.99 for the monthly sub + $55 for the upgrade). 






FINALE

So we've already seen the polishes, but here's a quick little makeup finale in which I used the Peach Bellini (with the Blush Brush) and the Light Golden Bronze Bronzer (and Bronzer Brush)!


I lightly contoured my entire face with the bronzer, including the hollows of my cheeks, lightly below my bottom lip, on the sides of my nose (with a small contour brush) and jawline. As you can see, it really doesn't look that yellow on me at all when blended out well! Like I said, I contour very lightly. But OOOOOOOHHHH my goodness, isn't Peach Bellini just to die for! Gah! I adore it so much. It's so sweet looking! It's perfect for a buildable, soft flush! Seriously, in love. 

    
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Well it's a good thing I'm not! Teehee! 


Happy Makeuping! Stay Vivaciously Vivid!