Hello, everyone! What a break it has been. I am making a comeback, rejuvenated refreshed and ready to create content after becoming a licensed esthetician! It has been a long journey and an evolution, to be a bit dramatic, but I'm proud to have made it back here here. This post took me an entire week from start to finish as I'm rusty beyond belief.
It feels a bit unfamiliar since this is my first foray into blogging in over a year, and I'm learning everything all over again with a new camera among other aspects, so I decided to start with what is essentially a list of the products I've loved this year and am continuing to use into the Fall season.
Grab that cup of coffee or tea and let's get started!
Earlier this year, Bobbi Brown released the Skin Perfecting Retouching Powder collection, a set of six new corrective loose powders. She says, "Retouching Powders instantly make your skin look better − yet they're completely undetectable." The formula works magic with its gentle plant-based ingredients and natural mineral powders to help soothe and calm skin white absorbing excess surface oils. See swatches after the jump!
Today I am sharing with you my most recent favorite products from the drugstore, from face products to nail polishes! Drugstore product reviews are very highly requested by my readers and viewers these days, so I figured we could all take a break from the luxury brands' releases to focus on the best in the affordable beauty realm. I test drugstore products regularly, so I have been saving some items to review all at once in this video. I hope you enjoy it!
Makeup Reviewed:
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind The Lifter Makeup in Creamy Natural 200
Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer in 001
Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder in Beige
Lioele Skin Fix Twin Cake [Powder Foundation] SP F27 in 23 Natural Beige
Missha Safe Block Essence SUN SPF 45 Sunscreen
Essie Nail Polishes in Butler Please, Set in Stones, All in One Base
Wet-n-Wild Color Icon Bronzer SPF 15 in Ticket to Brazil
L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Crayon Concealer in W1-2-3
Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer in Aloe Fresh
Maybelline Color Explosion Eyeshadow Palette in 05 Caffeine Rush [wearing NYX Jumbo Shadow Pencil in Yogurt as a base]
NYX Slide On Pencil in Jet Black [which is not jet black]
NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural
NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee
Makeup Worn:
Maybelline Age Instant Age Rewind The Lifter Makeup in Creamy Natural 200
Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder in Beige
Lioele Skin Fix Twin Cake [Powder Foundation] SP F27 in 23 Natural Beige
Wet-n-Wild Color Icon Bronzer SPF 15 in Ticket to Brazil
L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Crayon Concealer in W1-2-3
Cle de Peau Eyebrow Pencil in Natural Black 204
Maybelline Color Explosion Eyeshadow Palette in 05 Caffeine Rush [wearing NYX Jumbo Shadow Pencil in Yogurt as a base and used the Sigma Tapered Blending Brush and Angled Eyeshadow Brushes to apply the colors]
NYX Slide On Pencil in Jet Black [with Red Cherry Lashes #47]
NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural
NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee
Nails:
Essie Nail Polishes in Butler Please
Essie Set in Stones
My first Chanel Summer 2013 makeup collection review post is dedicated to the lovely Azure. This is as much a review as it is a comparison post, so please enjoy!
I am a sucker for green nail polish. As soon as I saw the Chanel Summer 2013 press release photographs, I fell head over heels for the Azure Le Vernis. It is much less green and far more turquoise in comparison to the stock pictures, but Azure ($27 USD) did not fail to impress. See more photos after the jump!
The Nude 'tude is a neutral eyeshadow palette with the greatest versatility in its class. There are both warm and cool shades, with more than just brown tones. I prefer it to the original Urban Decay Naked because there is more variety in colors that can create natural or smoky eye looks, though I do enjoy and use the Naked II palette most out of the three. Nude 'tude boasts phenomenal quality, and it is definitely worth the splurge if you can find it at a discounted rate on HauteLook, as I did. It retails for $36 USD. I cannot say I am a fan of the packaging, as I prefer plastic and metal to cardboard, but it is thin and lightweight yet durable with a sizable mirror on the lid panel.
The new Chanel Complexion Complete CC Cream is the part of the newest crop of skin performance products, CC cream. The 'CC' in CC cream supposedly stands for color correct, and there are only a handful of these products available. Most notably the Chanel, since it is quite difficult to procure, the Olay drugstore version since it is the only one easily accessible to Americans, and the Rachel K version that is most popular in Asia, especially with those who are too tan for the Chanel version.
Hello, everyone! I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays, so much Christmas cheer! Today I am going to share with you my new skin care regimen, ideal for those with dry skin. And remember, many of those with "oily" skin have what is actually dehydrated skin.. stop using all those harsh oil-stripping products and give your skin the hydration and care it deserves! I would recommend starting with a great night time moisturizer like the Purely Bright and use a hydrating mist like the Rosewater in the mornings if you have oily skin. If you have dry skin, you can go ahead and use the Rose Moisture Cleanser, Mist, and Cream every morning to combat dryness. This stuff really works! And no, I am not paid to say that ;) Great product at a reasonable price.. what's not to love? Best of luck to all with the giveaway!
Holiday Gifts Set for Giveaway [Guidelines are posted at the end of the video!]: Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Essentials, $70
Jurlique Hydrating Essentials, OOS :( Win it through the giveaway! *Remember, the giveaway is open internationally!
Make-up Worn in Video:
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso 04
YSL Teint Touche Eclat Foundation in B40
Benefit Hello Flawless Powder Foundation in Honey
Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess
Benefit Most Glamorous Nudes Ever.. Eyeshadow Palette
Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink
Lancome Hypnose Drama WP Mascara
Ardell Wisipies False Eyelashes
Chanel Glossimer in Sweet Beige
Cardigan:
OLD from Banana Republic
Beanie:
NEW from Adidas store
Nails:
Guerlain Lou Ling
Lenses:
Clear prescription only [I stopped wearing circle lenses]
My lovely Tom Ford addicts, thanks so much for your patience as I put this video together. I will try to feature more Tom Ford in the future, as I know many of you would like to see his products in action more often. And I do realize not everyone is interested in Tom Ford Beauty, but whatever your rationale, please be considerate and try to understand that I am covering everyone's requests and preferences as best as I can. Thank you very much for supporting this channel and all my efforts!
Make-up Reviewed/Worn/Used:
Tom Ford Traceless Liquid Foundation in 05
Tom Ford Traceless Stick Foundation [Concealer] in 04
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in 04 Espresso
Becca Mineral Powder Foundation in Nude
Becca Mineral Bronzing Powder in Duende
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Tom Ford Eye Color Eyeshadow Palette in 02 Emerald Lust with MAC 239 & 226, Sigma E35
Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink with MAC 231 and Velour Lash In the City False Lashes
Tom Ford Cheek Color Blush in Narcissist with Shu Uemura 20H Blush Brush
Tom Ford Lip Color Lipstick in Aphrodisiac
Chanel Glossimer in Glaze
*Shown: Tom Ford Lip Color in Flamingo
Nails:
Tom Ford Dominatrix Fall '12
Glitter - YSL Holiday '12
Hello, everyone! This is probably the longest collection review + tutorial duo video that I have produced in ages. But there was a lot to be said, so many questions to address that I could not afford to leave out. Please note, if you did not properly hear during the review.. Notorious is officially my favorite contouring powder. It might be a satin finish powder, but it is so versatile! D&G's Tan would be my next favorite contouring product for everyday use since that can actually be used as a blush. It just depends on your preferences, but both products should work on all fair and medium to medium tan skin tones! Happy shopping :)
P.S. I didn't even mention the limited edition gold Illusion D'Ombre from this collection because it was very sheer. It fell short of my expectations, for it was missing the lush mousse texture of the Mirifique or Epatant Illusion D'Ombres.
Makeup/Tools Used:
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Liquid Foundation in B30
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso
MAC Painterly Paint Pot as eyeshadow base
Chanel Harmonie du Soir Eyeshadow Palette with Sigma E45 Brush, Chanel 2 Brush [old]
Chanel Automatic Pen Liquid Liner in Black & Inglot AMC Matte Gel Liner in White with MAC 239
Velour Lashes in Lash in the City with Lancome Hypnose Drama WP Mascara
Chanel Notorious Sculpting Veil with Suqqu Cheek Brush
Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Narcisse with Shu Uemura 20h Cheek Brush
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in L'Impatience
Chanel Glossimer in Sweet Beige
Makeup Also Shown/Mentioned in Review: Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Tan Dolce & Gabbana The Blush in Tan
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for beauty updates! @RAEview
Hello, everyone! I wish this video's quality and lighting would have turned out better, but I recently bought a Nikon point and shoot and I am still learning my way around it. I love the results when I use my Canon 7D to film, but my Macbook Pro's OSX was recently updated and I ran into way too many compatibility issues. Canon, I love you but you need to keep up! The Nikon is a lot easier to use since it is a point and shoot, but the color quality is a bit dull and I need to play with lighting tools until I can find the perfect setup. I just barely became fluent with manually controlling all elements of the 7D, but now it is time to start over with the Nikon. I brought out more artificial lighting just to see how it would turn out, and I left the ISO on Auto mode to see if it was any good.. bad Bad BAD BADDD IDEA. The lighting was jumping all over the place, so I sincerely apologize for the wonky results! Plus, iMovie wouldn't allow me to render the video in HD. Sorry! I almost wanted to refilm it and upload it tomorrow, but I am so busy these days that I cannot afford to do that. Nonetheless, I hope you found the review and the additional pictures in the video helpful! I posted some of them here again (plus an extra) just in case you wanted to reference them.
P.S. I just purchased Chanel & YSL Holiday 2012 products, will start photographing them and testing them tomorrow.. and I have a special Tom Ford video coming up! Stay tuned, lovelies..
Makeup Worn/Used:
Burberry Sheer Cover Foundation
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-4 for blemishes
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Dior Holiday Fairy Golds Eyeshadow Quint with MAC 239 & Sigma E35
Inglot Gel Liner in 90 with MAC Angled Liner Brush
Ardell Demi Wispies False Lashes with Maybelline Falsies WP Mascara
Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Ave Princess with Sigma F25
Dior 'Diorific' Lipstick in Diva
Nails:
Dior 'Diorific' Vernis in Lady [white]
Dior 'Diorific' Vernis in Diva [black with gold]
Earrings:
Forever 21
Shirt:
Victoria's Secret Pink
Lenses:
Clear Prescription ONLY
Dior Holiday '12 Picks:
I didn't mention it in the video review, but there is another palette in the Grand Bal collection. It has two gorgeously smooth, highly pigmented eyeshadows with two lip glosses in the palette, but I was not a fan of the lip products and it was quite expensive so I had to pass. If you love metallic eyeshadows and are willing to pay the hefty price tag, then this is definitely worth taking a look at.
Then we have the Night Golds palette, which I do not recommend. I purchased and used Fairy Golds in my tutorial, which I found to have smoother texture. The Night Golds was cohesive in color, but not as well executed as Fairy Golds. Night Golds's shadows were more patchy and flaky than what I have generally seen of Dior in the past few years. Fairy Golds might not be to everyone's taste, but Night Golds definitely isn't worth the price tag. Just my two cents :)
*Oops, this is what happens when I'm delirious. The Chanel lipstick swatch is Palpitante. Sorry!
And of course, here are the Diorific lip swatches. The model in the ad campaign was wearing Diorling, but I have enough deep red lipsticks. I wanted something brighter, so Diva was my pick!
As many of you know, one of my favorite eyeshadow palettes of all time is Tom Ford's Cognac Sable. Because I am so devoted to the palette, I was reluctant to try any of the others in fear that I would be disappointed. Golden Mink, however, is a more subtle alternative to Cognac Sable and I am happy to announce it is a lovely addition to my Tom Ford arsenal. I have been mixing and matching all eight of the shades, what a lovely natural pair. I will show you swatches after the jump!
