Alletse Aesthetic: November 2016

Hey everyone!!

It's finally starting to get chilly here.
You know it's getting cold when you try to hover over the frozen toilet seat at 3am because it's too cold to sit on (hahaha), I know I'm not the only one.

Today I am reviewing the NYX Cosmetics Studio Finishing Powder ($9.99).

This is a loose translucent finishing powder. It does say it's HD but I could give two craps about flashback because let's face it I'm not walking a red carpet anytime soon. It also says that it's mineral based and the only ingredient is silica.

I absolutely love NYX cosmetics. I have a crap load of their products and use a lot of them regularly.

So of course I had high expectations and was super stoked to try this powder that I've been eyeing for far too many months.

I've used this product about 10 times maybe even more, to make sure I got a good feel for it.

First thing I noticed was the smell, it smells very different than any other powder I've used.
It has a very light, lingering, powdery, chemical smell. It's not necessarily bad and wouldn't keep me from using it but it's definitely different and noticeable.

The formula of the actual powder is also different, it's super fine and almost silky if that's even possible (it is btw), probably because it's made from silica (silicon).
Packaging was a simple black and white, like most of their products (my fave).
I also really liked the sifter on this powder, it allowed for you to get a nice amount out easily and wasn't overly messy.

When the exciting moment to bake the fuck out of my face finally came, that is when it all kinda went down hill.
As soon as I pressed the powder against my skin (I used a damp sponge) it erupted into a giant powder cloud. It went in my eyes, up my nose, and in my mouth.
I had to leave the room to catch my breath and also to clean my contacts because powder was literally stuck to them in my eyeballs (wtf).

After going back to finish my bake same thing happened but I pushed through and another strange thing I noticed was the powder doesn't really stick to your face at all.

Which is probably half the reason it causes the death cloud in your face.
I put as much on as I could get to stay and then set the rest of my face with the using a brush.

I didn't give up and tried it numerous times with a sponge, puff, brush, with my eyes closed (hahaha) and the death cloud is inevitable. I even tried to do it super slow and lightly pressing to prevent the cloud but this powder just doesn't stick to your face so that didn't work.
This powder is definitely not made to be used for baking and worked best used lightly with a brush.
I do still use it with a damp sponge you just have to be careful to pick up VERY little product.
You know when I stopped and realized that this said it's finishing powder not a setting powder, it all kind of made sense and I don't know how I missed that bold white lettering on the lid or I could have avoided that whole almost dying situation (hahaha).

With all that being said, here's my final thoughts on this powder.

My face felt silky smooth after using this powder, I'm talking super fucking silky and smooth that I wanted to keep touching my face.
If you don't like silicon primers, you probably won't like this because that's exactly how this makes your skin feel.

It set my makeup beautifully, lasted all day, kept my oily ass in check, matte, didn't feel cake-y or dry, and I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the final results.
It almost made me forget about how it tried to kill me before.

Would I recommend this? Yes & No.

Yes! It's amazing to set your makeup as long as you make sure to tap all the excess off your brush.

No, if you're looking for a baking powder or if you have asthma because this clouds up really easily and it was seriously pretty crazy, it also makes it a little more difficult to work with.

Even after all that I actually love this powder for my face and will continue to use it.

UPDATE (2/5/17):
The more I use this setting powder the more I love it!
Not only do I use it to set my face, I love using it to dust away bake.

Leave those comments below or stalk my social media.
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Products Mentioned (clickable links)

NYX Cosmetics Studio Finishing Powder

Hey everyone!!

So today is part 2 of my current skincare routine.

Let's just start by saying my nighttime skin care routine is a mess right now, I'm on the lookout for new stuff to try, I desperately need to switch it up soon.

GarnierSkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water & Makeup Remover &

GarnierSkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water & Waterproof Makeup Remover

($8.99 each)

I absolutely love, love, love these micellar cleansing waters.

I never skip this step of the routine, even if I'm wearing very little or no makeup.

I think it's important to take all the makeup, oils, and daily buildup off my face so that the cleanser can really get into my skin and do its job.

It works amazingly fast and gets off all my eye makeup, and sometimes I wear a crap load of eye makeup. I use the pink more often and the blue one when I'm wearing liquid lipstick or waterproof makeup. As long as you saturate your cotton pad thoroughly it's a super quick and easy step.
Does not irritate my eyes or skin at all.

I would not recommend you use this or any other makeup remover without washing your face after, even if it says you don't have to. Don't be gross or lazy with your skin care, because I promise you'll be glad you did it 5-10 years down the road.

The biggest complaint I see with makeup removers (including these) is that they leave a residue.

It doesn't really bother me when a makeup remover leaves a residue or film on my skin because I wash it right after. It's only a problem if there's a film or residue even after washing.

I've been using this since February.

Olay Total Effects Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser

($9.99)

This is one of the same cleansers I use in my daytime routine, I'm currently wanting to use a different one at night though just to switch it up.

(read here:Daytime Skincare Routine )

Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Treatment**

($25.99)

This serum is fucking amazing. I can't even tell you how much I love this stuff. I have some serious scarring or marks (whatever you wanna call it) on the lower half of my face but my chin mostly.

Like, I'm talking intense deep reddish purple scarring that shows through medium coverage foundations (without corrector) and was very hard to cover. All these intense dark scars are from dry patches that would get so extreme I'd have skin flaking and almost scabbing (gross, I know).

While some of the smaller dots are from blemishes.

I know that scars can differ depending on type or cause so that's why the TMI.

This serum has lightened the marks on my face so significantly and even made some smaller ones disappear completely that I honestly can't even believe it myself. The marks that still remain on my face are now light, pink/nude, and easy to hide now even on a more natural makeup BB cream day.

They recommend using it twice daily (morning and night) but I only use it at night and still have had amazing results.

What's even more crazy is I have only been using this since August.

OlayRegenerist Micro-Sculpting Eye Swirl Gel Cream

($28.99)

This cream is okay. I'm about halfway through the bottle and I'm not sure yet if I'll be repurchasing it, but I'm leaning on the no side.

It doesn't wow me at all, I don't really see any changes, and it burns the shit out of my eyeballs.
At first I thought it burned because I had the Luminous serum on my fingers still, so I tried reversing those steps and it still burned so it definitely is from this eye cream.

I bought it because I love a lot of other Olay products and just thought I'd give it a whirl.
I've noticed it's a lot harder to find a good eye cream than any other skin care product.

I've been using this since August.

OlayRegenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturizer Fragrance Free

($25.99 (also available with fragrance $28.99))

I bought this pretty much only because it matched my eye cream (lol but true).

This one I actually really like though. Once again because my combo skin is dry/oily it's harder to find one cream that works good on my whole face.

When I wake up in the morning my skin feels hydrated and soft without being greasy in my t zone, which is super important for me because over moisturizing my greasy ass t zone gives me those weird white head, lotion clogged pore things by morning.
This one does not have an SPF but I bought it knowing that and I only use it at night so that doesn't matter but they do have a day one with SPF if you'd prefer.
Obviously I didn't try that one though so if it sucks, don't put that on me (lol).

So that's about it for my nighttime skincare routine, I know it's so sad right now.

Keep in my mind these are my routine items, I do use various masks, sheet masks, eye masks, and try a bunch of stuff in addition to these throughout the week.
I'm always on the look out for new skincare products, I feel like I've been using a lot of these for a long time and frankly I'm bored with this routine.

Let me know about any bomb ass skincare products I should be using below in the comments or on my social media.

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