Product Review: NYC Individual Eyes Palette

I received this NYC Individual Eyes Palette from Influenster, and it's one of the many amazing products inside the Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012. It was a pretty interesting kit, because it had all the essential eye products that you’ll need in one compact palette.

I have always been loyal to my favorite high end brands - so naturally, I didn't know if I'd like this product/brand or not. Also, some of the product were all over the palette (may have been caused by shipping), so I did not know what to expect as far as the quality goes. I have never used this brand before so I was also very interested in the pigmentation of each individual eye shadow color.

Pros and Product Highlights:

• The suggested retail price for this palette is $4.99 – very affordable!


• It has 4 eye shadows that were respectively labeled (contouring, highlight, crease) according to how/where they should be used which makes it ideal for pros and beginners alike.


• This little palette also comes with an eye base/primer and an illuminator. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how these two components work – the quality is good! I have been using the illuminator on my face as well, as part of my “contouring” routine. I really like it!


• The eye shadows are highly pigmented – what you see is what you get.

Cons:

• The colors don’t flake or bleed around the eye area when used in conjunction with the eye base/primer and MAC’s Fix Plus. It smudges/bleeds under the eyes a wee bit (where I like putting extra color before using a kohl pencil to line my lower lash area – hope I made sense!) if you don’t use setting sprays like Fix Plus or Skindinavia.

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Influenster’s Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012

I finally got my first Voxbox from Influenster. Needless to say, I was pretty excited because not only do I get to try a couple of new items for free so I can decide if I want to purchase them again in the future – but I also get to share my insights with my blog readers as well!

One thing that I want to commend Influenster on, is the fact that they have a very “well-rounded” mindset when it comes to mixing and matching products that they send out to their product reviewers. As you can see from the photos that I posted below, they sent a couple of products that complement one another (e.g. cosmetics, hair products, candles, etc.).

Without further ado…here are the things that Influenster sent to me for review:

This NYC Palette's pretty interesting. It has 4 eye shadows that were respectively labeled (contouring, highlight, crease) according to how/where they should be used. This little palette also comes with an eye base/primer and an illuminator. I must admit...I have never used this brand before so I am very interested about the quality and pigmentation.

I rarely use fake lashes because I'm lazy (lol...hey, at least I'm honest about it, right!) and I have read so many "eye articles" that discourage the use of falsies. I am willing to give this baby a try tho...because if it doesn't irritate my eyes (and that happens a lot), then I just might jump into the false eyelashes bandwagon!

I am a complete and utter failure as far as fixing my hair goes. So when I saw this tiny hair contraption at Walmart....I had all kinds of questions running like athletes on a caffeine high in my brain. I would always hover, inspect and read the instructions at the back of the boxes but I never bought any...because I was too skeptical about the product.

When I found this in my Voxbox, all I could do was look at my husband and give him the goofiest smile I could muster. I am so excited to try it...and I will let y'all know how my adventure with Goody's Spin Pin goes in a more detailed product review!

I have wavy hair that can get extremely curly on some days and straight/flat/icky/lifeless on others. I guess it all depends upon the weather and humidity...but there are those days when my hair makes me wonder if it has a separate working brain that was genetically engineered to irritate the living bejezzuz out of me. My hair just randomly goes on zombie mode sometimes (or so I've noticed)...too much "The Walking Dead", perhaps?!

I am joking of course. Lol. Not about my hair tho...just about the tv show.

I always switch from one brand to another to tame/shape my curls and to keep the curls err...curly?! Wait...what?! Lol. I know...I don't make sense sometimes but neither does my hair *dramatic sigh*. Anyway, I am very thrilled to get this in my voxbox because if it works...then I have another hair product to turn to when my hair's being evil to me. *crosses fingers*

I am a big Emergen-C fan...so I was pleasantly surprised to find this in my box. Beauty should always go hand in hand with health - so I love the fact that on top of the other cool things that I got for product review, I got this too!

I am of the opinion that prevention is always better than cure. A healthy person... is a happy person... is a beautiful person.

Candles and "Smell Good" Stuff - I have all kinds of room in my heart of hearts for these things! I like keeping my home neat and organized - and smelling good all year round! I love plug-ins, diffusers...but candles are my absolute favorites because there is just something sexy and relaxing about lighting them.

This candle from Bath and Body Works is my nose's idea of heaven - more like baked goods heaven. It is just so YUMMY smelling! I cannot wait to get the full-sized jar with the coupon that came with the candle! Hooray for me and my nose!

 I wanted to share the lovely items that came in the voxbox that Influenster sent to me for review purposes. I will do further product reviews with more information on the quality and price of each individual product - so stay tuned!

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes.

Product Review: L'Oreal's Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. Cream in Medium

PRICE: FIVE STARS

L’Oreal has always been good about providing its patrons with coupons – which  makes this product very affordable. It retails for $7.96 at my local Walmart and L’Oreal had a $2 coupon that I used so I only paid a total of $5.96 (taxes not included) for this product. Not bad, huh? Pretty darn affordable.

QUALITY: TWO STARS

Pros:

• The product starts out green when you initially squeeze it out of the tube – so it also acts as a color corrector, if I’m not mistaken.


• The color contours/matches your skin and the product itself is easy to work with.


• It does what BB creams are supposed to do – it blots away minor imperfections on your skin and makes pores appear smaller.

Cons:

• This cream has tiny beads that are supposed to help exfoliate and beautify the skin.  However, my face does not respond well to products with “exfoliating ingredients” so I had a major breakout after using this product a couple of times. I wasn’t very happy about that.


• My t-zones are VERY oily (they should be called oil spill zones….no, really) but the sides of my face are extremely dry.  I bought L’Oreal’s Magic Skin BB Cream because it claims that it’s supposed to act as a hydrating product that is suitable for combination skins. It didn’t work for me though…and after all was said and done, all I was left with were battle scars – aka zits.


• I have extremely dry skin on certain spots, so I use moisturizers formulated for sensitive skin before putting any kind of makeup on. I was determined to make this BB Cream work, obviously – so I decided to use it with my favorite moisturizer from Origins.  *Insert Horror Music Here* Very bad move.  L’Oreal’s BB Cream does not work well with moisturizers. The product always ends up looking weird and caked up when I apply it in conjunction with another moisturizer. Let’s not even talk about applying it on the eye area – that’s a whole ‘nother horror story in itself.

WOULD I PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT AGAIN?

If I wanted to be the official endorser of “ProActiv” in my area complete with “before and after” shots – then I guess I would continually use this product.  Kidding aside, L’Oreal has a lot of good products that I’ve used before…but this “Skin Beautifier BB Cream” just doesn’t do it for me. If anything…it had me stressed out because my skin reacted violently to it and I had a major breakout that took forever to go away.  I guess I’ll stick to my old reliable “cleanse-tone-primer-foundation” routine for now. ..and no, I will not buy this particular product again.

DISCLAIMER:

I’m not a makeup artist or cosmetic expert. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. That is why I am paying it forward and giving reviews/opinions of my own on products that I have bought and used. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Product Review: NARS' "Hungry Heart"

PRICE: TWO STARS

This product retails for $41 and I feel like I really didn't get my money's worth on this particular purchase. I am a big NARS fan/consumer...but this blush/hi-lighter duo just didn't do it for me.

QUALITY: THREE STARS

I don't like "overly shimmery" makeup or products on my face. A wee bit of shimmer on my eye products is okay but on hi-lighters and blushes...not so much. I purchased this particular product from NARS because I've read a lot of good reviews about it. I don't have a NARS outlet in my area so I had to resort to online shopping. Unfortunately, the item does not look anything like what it's "supposed to look like" based on the photos on NARS' website. I still don't know how I feel about the product but if you like the "glittery/shimmery" look - then this would work for you.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: N/A

I never had problems with shipping or anything and I never had to contact them for problems with my order...so I don't really have a lot to say about their Customer Service. Maybe I'll update this portion sometime in the future...if and when the need to contact their CS Department arises. =)

WOULD I PURCHASE THEIR PRODUCTS AGAIN?!

They have products that I purchase regularly - like their blushes and other face items. So yeah, I would still purchase their items in the future - but not their Hungry Heart Blush Duo.

DISCLAIMER:

I’m not a makeup artist or cosmetic expert. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. That is why I am paying it forward and giving reviews/opinions of my own on products that I have bought and used. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Fall Favorites

 

MAC's Wonder Woman Eye Quad in Lady Justice

This palette is so much fun because of the colors. Some gurus are not big fans of this eye quad but I'm not a guru...I'm a regular consumer and I love it. Blue is supposedly one of the favored  colors this fall - so I intend to mix and match it with some of my other eye palettes. It's a limited edition eye quad...so it's not available on MAC stores anymore but you can always try your luck online! ♥

Mally's Beauty Professional 24/7 Blush System in Light

I love Mally's Beauty Professional 24/7 Blush System Duo 'coz it's a powder and cream blush in one gorgeous packaging. It also comes with its own dual ended brush. The colors are highly build-able...so a little bit goes a long way with this baby. Nars has always been my go-to brand when it comes to blushes but lately...I've been grabbing this palette more often.

 

 

 

 

Coastal Scents' 6 Contour Blush Palette Review

 I bought several Coastal Scents palettes and items a few weeks ago but never had a chance to blog about any of them 'til now. I have been having too much fun with them...so I totally forgot about doing this review.

PRICE: FIVE STARS

You can get this palette for under $20 and you get a LOT of product for that price too!

QUALITY: FOUR STARS

I love the fact that the product is highly pigmented but it is a wee bit on the chalky side. However, it is "build-able" and easy to work with and you can easily work around the "chalkiness" of the product. Setting sprays like the one made by Skindinavia addresses this too.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: FOUR STARS

Coastal Scents have good customer service people. It may take them a few days via email before they get around to contacting their customers regarding whatever issues they have...but unlike the big cosmetic players out there - they WILL contact you. I don't always have the time to wait on the phone for customer service inquiries...so email is my best buddy - for the most part.

I gave their customer service four stars because their website's kinda uuuh...wack-o. Also, I never received any confirmation/tracking information from them...which led me to snoop around their site for details. I dunno if tracking info is important to any of y'all...but it is to me! Anyways, I am a technical person and for me to get all confused because of their "My Account" page's set-up says a lot. It was impossible for me to track my purchase/s because of how the website responds.

I dunno...maybe it was just a glitch in the system but I haven't been on their website as of late to check if it's gotten any better. *shrugs*

WOULD I PURCHASE THEIR PRODUCTS AGAIN?!

Most probably. This palette is not as "affordable" as most drugstore finds that I've encountered (e.g. NYC, Wet N' Wild, etc.) but I am pretty satisfied with the quality of the stuff that I purchased.  As previously mentioned, you get a lot of product for the amount that you spend - ergo, you get more bang for your buck!

My skin has not reacted to the ingredients of this palette either - and that is a very big deal to me, as I have very sensitive skin. I'm pretty much a happy camper right now.

Thanks, Coastal Scents!

My Coastal Scent Haul

I finally got my Coastal Scent stuff in the mail and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by their products. This company piqued my interest, as it got a lot of great reviews from the pros and from regular make up aficionados like myself. I love their palettes...the packaging is simple, easy to open (trust me, I've bought brands in the past that were a mother bear to try and pry open). Note that I used my iPad as a point of size comparison in some of the photos below. Yup, their palettes are BIG...that's how much product you'll be getting. Pretty sweet, huh?

My entire haul

Camo Quad Color Corrector (I used my camera's lens cap to show y'all the size of their concealer quad)

Brushes: Pro Blending Fluff, Classic Stippling, Classic Buffer Flat Head. I love my MAC brushes but these CS brushes are so soft! I love them already!

Contour Blush Palette: It's all about creating natural shadows on the right spots. The lighter shades in the palette are the colors you wanna use for highlighting while the dark shade (brown) is what you would use for contouring your facial structure. If you want to make your cheeks look slimmer, make your cheekbones appear higher, make your nose looks slimmer...or if you simply want to emphasize your best features - this brown color pot should do the trick. The last two are obviously colors typically used as a blush. My personal favorite blush shades are Violet Orchid by Laura Mercier, Dirty Burgundy from MAC's Mineralize Blush Collection and Orgasm from NARS. These two blush shades from Coastal Scents look build-able and promising tho and I must say that I am very excited to try 'em!

28 Neutral Eye Palette: I love palettes that are "build-able". I love colors that I can use for daytime and pump up for a night out.

Shadow Worx Matte Eye Shadow Primer: My favorite eye shadow primer to date is Prep + Prime Eye from MAC which retails at around $18.50. I sorta kinda love Urban Decay's primer but I have a beef against their packaging - not a big fan of that tiny bottle and wand they have going on. Coastal Scent's version is only $9.9 and it comes in that squeeze tube that I like. We shall see how good it works...

Freebie: Mineral Eye Shadow in Swiss Chocolate

I will always love my "cosmetic bff's" - Laura Mercier, MAC, Urban Decay, Stila (to name a few)...and a few other drug store brands that have treated my skin oh so well, BUT I am always up to trying new brands. I did my research and have watched/read a lot of fantabulous reviews about this brand and I am so excited to try it out!

I'll let y'all know how my adventure with Coastal Scents go...

Beauty...is it really skin deep?!

One of my favorite palettes.

This Woman Is Trying Out Something New...

I have heard/watched/read so many wonderful things about Coastal Scents make up brushes and cosmetics. I love my MAC brushes but always kept an open mind (and wallet) for other brands. I fell in love with Eco Tools' brushes actually - soft, pliable, easy to manipulate and work with! Their palettes are on sale...so yay me for timing my purchase perfectly!

Anyways, the pros are saying that they like some of their CS brushes better than their MACs (hmmmm....we'll see). I decided to take their products for a test drive. I didn't wanna go too crazy so I just picked out the bare minimums - basic items that I can play with.

Order's been placed so all I have to do now is play the waiting game and stalk our friendly neighborhood mail-woman - God bless her heart! =D We'll see how good the pro make up artists say these products are...*crossing my fingers, toes and eyes*