Sunday, October 30, 2016

Current Daytime Skin Care Routine

Hey everyone!!

 This is my first skin care post so I'll include all my exciting skin info.

 I have combination skin (oily t zone/dry on the rest of my face).
Most of my issues are pigmentation based. I have light dark circles and pigmentation on my lids, redness around my nose, cheeks, and chin, uneven skin tone, and scarring (splotchiness) on my chin, cheeks, and around my mouth. 
My skin scars and marks so freaking easy, most of these marks are from past dry patches and small blemishes.
(my scarring was a lot worse, darker, and almost purple. find out what I'm using in Pt. 2).
I actually don't break out much, sometimes just a blemish or two around shark week.
I have enlarged pores and am prone to blackheads on and around my nose (oily zones).
That's pretty much it for my skin I think, so let's get to the fun stuff.

 Current Daytime Skin Care Routine (in order of use)

Olay Total Effects Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser and Olay TotalEffects Refreshing Citrus Scrub:
($9.99 each)
I alternate these daily (so I pretty much exfoliate every other day)
This combo leaves my skin feeling super smooth.
The foaming cleanser works great for my combo skin, no tight dry feeling and not too hydrating for my oily zones.
The citrus scrub is medium grain, for me it's not too harsh for every other day use.
I've used it multiple days in a row before and even then I didn't find it harsh on my skin, plus it smells like minty citrus. I use both of these with a face brush.
I've been using these daily since January. (I've used these off and on for years, started again because my skin was freaking out).

SkinFood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Toner and SkinFoodPeach Sake Toner:
($15.00 each)
I multi tone because my t zone and face are so different and I have yet to find a single toner that can battle super oily and dry skin at the same time.
I use the Peach Sake Toner only on my t zone. I've seen a significant decrease in my oil production since I started using this. I mean obviously I didn't stop producing oils but on a scale from 1-10, I went from an 8 to about a four. My foundation used to break up around my nose all the time because I was so oily, even matte foundation, even with a matte primer. I haven't had that problem lately so that's a huge improvement for me. I wouldn't use this on any parts of your face that aren't oily, it's strong (in a drying way not harshness). The scent of this is so good, you almost wanna drink it or pour it all over yourself.
I've been using this since January (remember the skin freak out lol).
I use the Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Toner on the rest of my face. The first thing I noticed about this one was the scent, ughhh I'm telling you SkinFood makes amazing smelling products. It's the perfect light and fresh cucumber with a hint of soft floral. I know that sounds crazy but it's not overly scented at all.
This toner feels cool, refreshing, and soothing when applied, and most importantly my skin feels hydrated not stripped after using this. I've been using this since June.

Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Eye Treatment Cream
($22.99)
I use this generously on my eyes (duh). I take it down to the top of my cheekbone and up to my brow bone.
I have mixed feeling about this one. It feels nice when applied, a little goes a long way, and it really did help with the dryness around and under my eyes. I don't know though, seems like it's just a basic moisturizer.
If you have dry under eyes this would be great for you and it really did help with mine but I have dark circles, fine lines, puffiness, and I don't see any changes in any of those areas at all.
I've been using this since January.
I'm almost out of this one and I'm on the hunt for a new eye cream, so spill those eye cream secrets in the comments.

 SkinFood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Emulsion and SkinFood Peach Sake Pore Serum
($15.00 & $16.00)
The Peach Sake Serum I only use on my t zone. I had high hopes for this after falling in love with the Peach Sake Toner, and decided to try it out when I ordered another toner. I have to say I don't really see any differences with this, besides a slight mattifying. I bought this expecting it to minimize my pores, fight blackheads, and help with oil control. You know the things that you would think of when they say pore serum.
Instead it works kinda like a pore filling and mattifying primer, and doesn't actually help with your skin problems, just helps mask them.
All those things are great for a makeup primer but not for a skin care product and not at all what I was expecting or looking for.
I continue to use this mostly just to get rid of it and only as a primer but I wouldn't purchase again.
That being said this really is a good product but not for it's intended purpose.
This would make a great primer for someone with normal to slightly oily skin.
I use the Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Emulsion after on the rest of my face, absolutely love this stuff.
This gives my skin an added light layer of moisture and leaves my skin feeling fresh and hydrated.
It absorbs quickly and a little goes a long way. I prefer to use this light emulsion layer on my face before moisturizer rather than just using a heavier cream moisturizer.
I've found it works better for me because my skin is combination and most combo products target normal to dry or normal to oily and I am neither of those.
Which makes it harder to find one product for my skin.
If I use a heavier cream instead of doing it this way I tend to get little white heads by the next day in oily areas from over moisturizing my oily zones.
I've been using both of these since June.


Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
($26.00 regular & $38.00 jumbo)
This lotion right here has literally changed my skin. My skin was freaking out bad. I had dry patches that just wouldn't going away and were leaving marks all over my face. The dry patches and scarring got so bad you would have thought I had bad acne and I started getting really bummed about my skin.
I was trying a bunch of different moisturizers, nothing was working on my polar opposite combo skin and I started thinking I was going to have to multi moisturize now too.
I got a sample of this when I bought a Clinique foundation. Within 2 days of using this I noticed my skin and dry patches healing and clearing up. I was super excited because I had gone months with nothing helping my skin. On day 4 I noticed some of my dry patches were completely gone, it wasn't too heavy on the oily parts of my skin either. It was a miracle and I ordered a full size bottle that night. My dryness has completely cleared up and I haven't had any dry patches since then.
I find 3 pumps is the perfect amount for my fat head and also gives me more than enough to drag down my neck. I've been using this since June.
(I used the lotion version in high school when I had normal skin and loved that one too)

 *FYI - The Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer comes in 3 formulas, so let's do a quick breakdown.
Moisturizing Lotion – Normal Skin
Moisturizing Gel – Combination/Oily to Oily
Moisturizing Cream – Dry Skin

 Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Actively Hydrating Daily Lotion SPF 15
($12.99)
I only use this on days when my skin is feeling more dehydrated and drier than normal.
I apply this after my Clinique moisturizer and since it's very hydrating I only use this on the dry areas avoiding my t zone.
If I'm going to be outside though I will mix 1 pump into my Clinique lotion and apply over my whole face.
This gives me added hydration and SPF without making me greasy.
Make sure you don't get it in your eyes because it burns like hell from the SPF (so I've been told lol).

 So that's my current daily daytime skin routine.
I also do various masks, sheet masks, and eye masks a few times a week.
I do my masks after I cleanse and tone, then continue the rest of my routine like normal.

 Part 2 Nighttime Skin Care Routine coming soon.

 Let me know in the comments below or on my social media, your thoughts on any of the products mentioned, or if you have any recommendations.
Don't forget to let me know of any good daytime eye creams too.
__________

Product Details:

Olay Total Effects Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser

 Olay Total Effects Refreshing Citrus Scrub

 SkinFood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Toner

 SkinFood Peach Sake Toner

 Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Eye Treatment Cream

 SkinFood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Emulsion

 SkinFood Peach Sake Pore Serum

 Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

 Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

 Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream

 Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Actively Hydrating Daily Lotion SPF 15
__________

BoxyCharm:

Ebates/Rakuten:
__________

In case you missed it, check out my last post!
___________


FTC:
Not sponsored.
All opinions are my own.
Some links are affiliate links.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

ULTA Brand Makeup Review

ULTA Brand Makeup Review

Hey everyone!

 So while browsing ULTA I noticed they were having a buy 2, get 2 free sale on all their ULTA products so I figured I would at least go take a peek (their evil scheme was working).
Since this pomade was calling out to me (*touches hand to the wind*), I decided I was going to give the Ulta brand makeup a try.

 I took advantage of the sale and settled on 4 products to try.


ULTA Brow Pomade – Dark Brown (used with ABH Duo Brush #12)
I was really surprised how much I liked this pomade. 
It was very pigmented but still easy to work with, the pomade is creamy with the right hint of dryness which helps it set down and still blend really nice without clumpiness. 
The formula is seriously the perfect combo of creamy and dry that I was even able to draw the individual hairs in the beginning of my brows with precision and ease, and without smearing.
I was able to do natural and dramatic brows very easily with this.
Haven't had any issues with the product drying out in the pot and I've been using it for 3-4 weeks but it will inevitably dry out as all pot pomade do.
My only disappointment was that this dark brown shade was the darkest shade offered and was not not only a tad lighter while worn than I'd like having black hair but it also warm toned even though it said a cool undertone, it actually seemed to lighten and turn more orange throughout the day.

ULTA Ultra Slim Brow Pencil – Dark Brown
Another absolute hit! 
I loved this pencil and the fact that this brow product also listed the undertones as I prefer a cool undertone makes it super easy to choose a color. 
Perfect combo of creamy and dry once again, it has a super fine tip (micro tip) and I was able to draw individual hairs, maybe not the thinnest but pretty close to a brow brush (although softer), which made this pencil work beautifully for a natural brow and wasn't overly pigmented.
It also built up nicely to create a more dramatic brow without moving around product.

ULTA Brow Tint – Deep
I really wanted to love this but it just didn't work for my needs. 
The color is great, they nailed my cool undertone desires, you can see the little fibers in it. The problem is (*cue dramatic it's me, not you scene*) I have VERY sparse eyebrows from past years of over plucking and shaving, so I was hoping for magic here (ha) but I think my eyebrows are just too sparse for this, there's not much to cling onto. 
The formula was super wet and kinda globbed onto my eyebrow and created a mess and clumps every time I tried to brush it through. 
Plus because the formula was so wet, it took a while to dry down. 
The brush was small which I need for my bald ass brows. 
Strangely when I did the swatch on my arm it dried down quickly.
I think this would be awesome for someone with fuller brows, or even sparse areas but not completely sparse brows because this formula needs to be combed through to prevent the gobs.
I'm not going to give up on this one, I feel like it'll be bomb ass in a month or two after it dries down a little.
I used this with both the ULTA Pomade and the ULTA Ultra Slim Brow Pencil.

(Left to Right: ULTA Brow Pomade, ULTA Ultra Slim Brow Pencil, ULTA Brow Tint)


ULTA Full Coverage Concealer – Light Warm (yellow undertones)
I didn't have high expectations for this last one but holy shit guys, good stuff, good freaking stuff.
They had a pretty decent range of shades and undertones more importantly. 
I hate when I have to guess on shades but ULTA is really good about labeling undertones in their products, which I love.
I'm all about a concealer with yellow undertones, it really helps correct all my pigmentation and uneven skin without having to use an additional correcter and I really love how brightening it is on my skin.
It has your basic doe foot applicator and was thick, creamy, and almost gel like, it blended out quick and even. 
It dries down kinda quick (like a matte foundation almost) so don't let it sit too long and also like matte foundation might not work well for someone with dry skin or dry under eyes. 
I have pigmentation, veins, redness, and this covered everything quickly with one light layer. A little goes a long way and more importantly this shit did not crease on my under eyes when set, or even on my lids when I used it to prime.I'm absolutely obsessed and will definitely repurchase.
Tarte shape tape dupe? I've been using both and I'm convinced of this.

So out of the 4 ULTA brand makeup products that I tried, I liked 3 of them which really surprised me.
I loved the cool tones available in all the brow products and all 3 dried down matte and didn't easily rub off even after a nap.
I kind of went it with low expectations and was beyond surprised, they're definitely stepping it up and there's so many new products continuously being released.
If you've been wanting to try some ULTA makeup, I think you should go for it just be wary of their powder products (eye shadows, blushes, etc.) swatch in store if possible for those because I've had no luck with any of those things.
__________

Products Details:
Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette
(no longer available)

Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Culver City Coral)

Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Malibu Berry)

Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Pacific Coast Pink)

Smashbox Step by Step Contour Kit
__________

BoxyCharm:

Ebates/Rakuten:
__________

In case you missed it, check out my last post!
___________


FTC:
Not sponsored.
All opinions are my own.
Some links are affiliate links.
Posted by No comments:

Friday, October 14, 2016

Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette & Review

Hey guys!!

Today we're talking about the new
Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette: Contour. Blush. Highlight.
(damn, that's a mouthful).


When I first saw this (staring me in the face on my phone at 3am) I knew I had to have it, even after I discovered that I already owned the top row in the L.A. Lights Blush & Highlight Palette in Culver City Coral.
The Smashbox L.A. Lights Palettes rings in at $35 for 3 pans (2 blush, 1 highlighter) and comes in 3 different color options: Culver City Coral, Pacific Coast Pink, and Malibu Berry.
This here Smashbox Light It Up Palette is $39 for 9 pans (6 blush, 3 highlighters).
Clearly this was a deal and I figured it was still more than worth it for the 6 shades I didn't have.

I absolutely love the packaging (all black matte with shiny black logo and red trim) I really dig simple, clean, and especially black packaging which Smashbox does well. Something about it makes me just wanna touch it all over. Plus the mirror is to die for, it's huge, it's the entire freaking lid.
(Quick Note: I bought this online at Ulta and although it didn't say Ulta exclusive, I was unable to find it on Sephora or even the Smashbox website.)

The Blushes:
The blushes in this palette are gorgeous even just to look at and in person the bright, rich, and highly saturated colors almost scared me, they seemed quite bold for everyday colors. Yet I couldn't wait to ruin them with finger smudges.
Exactly as you'd expect they're very pigmented but they're also smooth and almost creamy that they blended nicely with little effort. I'm the kind of girl who goes light on blush so literally one or two tiny taps were more than enough, these will last a long time for you if you're like that too.
These were not powdery whatsoever even after a bit of swirling (since they're quite pigmented you don't have to swirl, I just did it for testing purposes and because I couldn't stop touching them).

This palette includes the Culver City Coral & the Malibu Berry options from the L.A. Lights Palettes, which make up the first and second horizontal rows.
The first row of corals seem like they would be “summery” colors, super bright, and not very functional for everyday use but once blended out they're really not scary at all and actually wearable on the daily even as the colder months approach (makeup has no season in my opinion, it's all personal preference). I was shocked how much I loved these coral shades because I tend to choose more neutral shades and although I do have coral blushes mine are all very muted shades.

The second row of berry shades is probably the prettiest row in the palette, (I actually wanted this one when I bought my L.A. Lights Palette but I'm a chicken shit).
The deep berry vibes of this row practically laughed in my face and scared the crap out of me at the same time, even when I saw it online. My skin is pretty light (which is why I passed on it before) and I was sure the first purplish pink hue (rich berry) wasn't going to work for me but somehow it actually does.
The berries even played well on my “no makeup” makeup days, and will be a perfect winter color. I'm telling you this formula allows these super pigmented colors whether bright or dark to work for even pale and light skin tones without coming off harsh, I found them to be quite natural and seamless with a light hand yet also still pigmented and rich for those who prefer more color or have deeper skin tones than myself.

The third row (this is where things start to go kinda south) consists of 3 shades not available in their L.A. Lights collection. The blushes in this row actually consist of a bronzer and a pinky nude blush.
A bronzer is a great addition to this palette in my opinion, you can definitely get a lot of use out of this palette with the addition of the bronzer in there. The bronzer shade itself is quite neutral, a cool tone with some warmth but not too warm or ashy. They did a good job picking a shade that was useable by both parties (ashies vs. warmies hahaha).
It'd work great for light to medium skin tones and could even be used as a contour depending on your contour undertone preference. If you're darker than a medium skin tone I don't think this will show up on you. As I was swatching this bronzer I thought to myself I kinda like this bronzer which is not common for me (I do not wear bronzer daily FYI) which led me to bust out my Smashbox Step By Step Contour Kit in Light/Medium ($45) and just as I suspected that two timing tramp was the same bronzer from my contour kit (tells myself it's still a good deal).

On to the nude blush, it's probably my favorite in the palette (I can't help it) and they've named it True Flush which is right on because it reminds me of that natural flush of color when someone blushes.
It's more of a pink-y nude and would look good on everyone, any day, with any style of makeup.
This one although a more toned down color is also super pigmented so don't be fooled and go at it like a maniac. With so many bold choices in this palette I think adding some daily staples in this third row was a wise choice on their part.
Rich Bronze, True Flush, Highlight Gold)

The Highlighters:
There are 3 highlighters in this palette.
The first two rows are from the Smashbox L.A. Lights Palettes therefore they match perfectly with their matching blush colors. The coral and berry highlighters are also nicely pigmented, buttery smooth, not powdery, and they both have a slight golden shimmer (not glitter) to them that reflects in the light beautifully. These definitely give you that wow factor in glow and pigmentation.
They're so pigmented and bold though that I can only use them as blush toppers and blush (I knew this when I bought it because I already owned the coral one) but the colors are so beautiful as blush that it's still worth it for me.

The third row highlighter (remember when I said that things went south on this row when I found out my bronzer was sleeping with my contour kit) at first glance it had me giddy like a school boy, I mean who doesn't love a golden highlight am I right?
Well her flirty advances definitely had me fooled. When I swatched this it I immediately noticed the formula was different from the others. This one was powdery when I swirled around in it but in a weird chunky and flaky kind of way (dun dun dun) it still felt creamy though. The swatch was glittery, very glittery, I figured maybe that was just because it was a holiday palette (you know people go ape shit for glitter around the holidays) and had still not given up on it yet. When I applied this to my face though, most of the powder just fell off and all you could see were the glitter and shimmer specks. There was a very sheer hint of gold but mostly just glitter. For some reason this also didn't apply well with a highlighting brush or a fan brush but when I used my fingers it just left flakes of the powder on my face that kind of looked cakey and lumpy. As you can see below the berry and coral look smooth while the gold has texture.
(L to R: Highlight Gold, Highlight Berry, Highlight Coral)


When it comes down to it, there was only 1 pan that sucked in this palette which still makes this a great deal. If you happen to love glittery highlighters then that one won't be a problem for you, although the formula still seemed a little off on that one.
The colors are all so versatile and pigmented that you can easily go from daytime, to glam, to clown. They blend out so effortlessly even a beginner could easily work with this palette.
If I had to do it over again knowing what I know now, I'd still buy it.
If you don't like all the colors in this palette or you're reading this when it's no longer available, then I'd still recommend their L.A. Lights Blush Palettes and their Step by Step Contour Kit.

Let me know in the comments below or on social media if you have this palette and your opinions, especially on that gold highlight (*lol*).
__________

Products Details:
Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette
(no longer available)

 Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Culver City Coral)

 Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Malibu Berry)

 Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush Palette
(Pacific Coast Pink)

 Smashbox Step by Step Contour Kit
__________

BoxyCharm:

Ebates/Rakuten:
__________

In case you missed it, check out my last post!

___________

__________

FTC:
Not sponsored.
All opinions are my own.
Some links are affiliate links.




Posted by No comments:

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog post!

So who is this chick anyways? *insert annoyed eye roll*

I'm Alletse (it's actually just my name backwards, aren't I clever?)
It started as a nickname and I guess it kind of grew on me.
I started wearing makeup in the 6th grade (I know, I know) nothing too crazy though, but I was full blown obsessed and cake faced by the time I entered junior high (don't judge me). After 15 years of being a (basic ass bitch) makeup and beauty obsessed girl, I'm taking my addiction to the next level.

Disclaimers:
  • I am not a writer (*thinks back to emo poetry days*), I will have errors but I'd like to believe I can get by well enough to have a kick ass blog.
  • Sailor mouth (or so I've been told). I could say I won't curse on here but then I wouldn't be being me, so... Fuck it.
  • Sarcastic and sometimes inappropriate sense of humor (I'm so funny, really *laughs to self*).

If you're still reading this, "Did we just become best friends?"

So as you might have guessed by now, I love makeup and pretty much all beauty and skin care products.
I spend way too much time playing with makeup (funny story: after my shower today I took so long doing my makeup that I forgot to get dressed and realized I was still in my robe (not even kidding)), trying new techniques, new products, swatching anything I can get my hands on, stalking new arrivals pages, adding things I can't afford to my online shopping carts and wish lists, watching YouTube, you name it I'm probably doing it.

So why am I here? (Finally ugh)

I'm here to blog about all things beauty with some chit chat and over sharing thrown in. I'm hoping to crank out 1-2 posts a week while I find my groove and learn how to use this blogging thing. I know my content might not be on par yet but expect improvements.
I'm new to the whole blogging world so yeah, don't be dicks. Leave comments, constructive criticism, or just say hi.

Stalk me on social media, add me even (find my info in Contact tab), let's talk makeup.


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