Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Estee Lauder Pure Color Sculpting Gloss Has Me Changing My Tune About Lip Gloss

April 20th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 14 Comments

Estee-Lauder-Pure-Color-Sculpting-Gloss-face — Wearing Estee Lauder Pure Color Sculpting Gloss in Reckless Bloom. Spy the ~~noodle~~ snake mesmerized by my shimmer…

As a kid of the ’90s/early ’00s, me and lip gloss have a long history. One of my favorites was Bonne Bell Lip Lites Lip Gloss. I can’t remember the exact shade I used to beg my mom to get me, but I do remember the tacky, pasty feeling on my lips after I applied it.

I lost my general interest in lip products sometime in high school, opting instead for just (far too heavy) eyeliner and mascara, and since I started actually wearing makeup more frequently a few years ago, I haven’t touched gloss, mostly because, all I remember about it is that awful tacky feeling.

I feel like a lot has changed in lip gloss formulas over the years, especially when it comes to higher end products. Lately, since I’ve been trying to break out of my regular makeup routine, I’ve been experimenting again with glosses, like these two amazing glosses from the Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Gloss collection — Reckless Bloom (a shimmer gloss) and Copper Ego (a shine gloss) — which I’ve been all about this week.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Gloss ($26)

These really surprised me!

Estee Lauder Reckless Bloom (top) and Copper Ego (bottom)

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Sephora Radiant Luminizing Drops

April 20th, 2016 by Adia Goss 23 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

Like Jen, a lot of the beauty products I end up buying are things I’ve heard good things about from other bloggers and makeup lovers, and so they aren’t necessarily “unsung.” But I do find myself coming back over and over again to the Sephora brand products, because I feel like, in general, Sephora brand products are super underrated. Like, everything is really good, but it’s just like when you go to Sephora, you’re overwhelmed by everything else, so I feel like the Sephora brand stuff just gets overlooked.

There’s actually a Sephora right across the street from my job, which is both awesome and horrible, LOL. So, one day on my lunch break, I was just going to the mall to walk around, and I go into Sephora like I usually do to pass the time and see what they have, and I see this little display of the Sephora brand Radiant Luminizing Drops. There’s a pink one, a gold one and maybe a bronzey-colored one ($14 each), and I did a little sample of the light pink one, Starlight, right then on my hand.

Wow! It was super pretty! It’s this liquid highlighter that’s pink…but it’s, like, warm enough that it actually shows up as pink, and I love pink. It’s my favorite color, especially when it comes to makeup. Like, I’m drawn to anything pink and shimmery, but a lot of times on dark skin, pink, shimmery products appear white and super harsh, so even though I love the color, when it comes to liquid or even powder highlighter, when I see pink, I steer clear, because I think, “This is gonna look super chalky and just crazy on my face.”

So when I tested this on my hand and saw a really pretty soft glowing pink, I thought, “You know what? I’mma just buy this!” And I did! And I love it!

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The Best in Beauty From the Boot, Vol. 7: KIKO Milano

April 20th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 31 Comments

KIKO Milano Italian Makeup — It’s KIKO time! 🙂

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?

Well, it’s actually not always greener on the other side, but I think it’s human nature to want what we don’t have and take for granted what we do have.

Look at me for example: I always lust after makeup products I don’t have access to, but often ignore those I have within easy reach.

You know, like, KIKO stores here in Italy are literally everywhere, and I can easily walk past them without even entering (sometimes, LOL). But if, say, a ColourPop store magically appeared in my local mall, I’d get as excited as when I heard there would be a Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix (any fellow fans out there?). That is, super. Freaking. Excited. Bordering hysterical. 😉

Which, you know, is totally unfair to KIKO, since they actually make some truly kick-*ss products, like the ones I’m showing you today, for example. Definitely worth getting very excited for!

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipsticks in 106 Mauve & 117 Papaya ($12)

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya 106 Mauve — If you click the golden button at the top, the tube comes out the bottom… NICE!

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 106 Mauve Swatch — KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick in 106 Mauve (which to me doesn’t look mauvy at all)

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya Swatch — KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya

The gorgeous packaging is what first drew me to the Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipsticks, but I was delighted to find out that the formula is not half bad either. Their texture is creamy in a non-slippery way, so that they’re comfortable on the lips, but you don’t need to worry about getting lipstick all over your face and teeth.

Shades 116 Mauve and 117 Papaya are nicely pigmented and pretty long-lasting, but I’ve heard that some colors (the range features 30!) are sheerer and have a shorter wear time than others.

Actually, now that I think of it, I also have 130 Black, which I used for my 2015 wearable Halloween look, and it definitely is sheerer. And, by the way, if you want to go black (or any other very dark shade) on the lips, I’d recommend opting for a matte formula, so that you don’t need to worry about it smearing or getting on your teeth. Just saying…

KIKO Flawless Fusion Bronzer in 03 Cinnamon ($18)

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The 5 Lip Colors I’ll Be Wearing This Spring

April 20th, 2016 by Jen Clark 32 Comments

Once springtime rolls around, I get this crazy bug where all I want to do is change up my lip color. Not gonna lie, things get pretty boring for my lips once the weather gets gloomy… So, now that the windows are open and the sandals are out, so are my spring lip colors.

NYX Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Lace Detail

What’s been living on my lips lately and making appearances in too many of my Instagrams and blog posts? NYX Lingerie liquid lipstick in Lace Detail. It is the best nude I have ever owned in my whole life.

Yes, that is a bold statement, but I am sticking to it.

It’s right on trend, too, with its slightly deeper shade, right between a pink and brown. And, it’s matte. You can’t forget about the matte finish.

Yes, it is drying and slightly uncomfortable…but I don’t care! It just looks so good!

NYX Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Lace Detail

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes

If you’re one of those gals who just can’t stand a drying liquid lipstick, no matter how hard you try, let me show you this one. It’s the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes. It’s a matte, but it doesn’t feel like one. It’s more like a mousse-y texture, and I find it oh, so delightful.

Not to mention, it smells like delicious vanilla. It’s like my spring version of a wintery maroon shade — a little bit deep, but it still feels like it’s meant for warmer weather.

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Blur the Line Between Drugstore and High End with Maybelline’s Master Contour Kits

April 19th, 2016 by Jessica Revitte 23 Comments

Maybelline Master Contour Kit in Light to Medium 10 — Mid-application of Maybelline’s Master Contour Kit in Light to Medium 10

I seriously love me some Maybelline. The first palettes I gravitated to as a tween makeup lover were Maybelline, and, as an adult makeup lover, the brand continues to be, by far, the most purchased affordable makeup in my collection. At their price point, I often find their quality to be unrivaled — finely milled powders, fabulous cream shadows that apply like By Terry’s Ombre Blackstars and long-lasting pigment for days.

First time I saw the new Master Contour Palette in Light to Medium 10, which goes for $12.99 (available in Medium to Deep 20, as well), I was immediately reminded of Estée Lauder’s 2016 Bronze Goddess Summer Glow Multi Palette, which retails for over four times as much!

Comprised of a contour shade, a coordinating classic pink blush and a champagne highlighter, this gem poses as an excellent and wallet-friendly substitute to some similar, considerably more expensive summer 2016 releases.

Maybelline Master Contour Kit in Light to Medium 10

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder SPF 15

April 19th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 13 Comments

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder 50 Review — For a subtly sunkissed look, I love wearing Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder SPF 15 in shade 50 dusted all over my face, focusing on the areas that would naturally tan first

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

Have you ever seen the Gisele Bündchen ad for the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder? She’s literally glowing! I think it was that and the amazing-looking beige compact that made me want to buy it… And god, am I glad I did… I mean, it’s become one of my favorite makeup products of all time. It’s definitely my favorite bronzer of all time. You know, with it Chanel invented a new concept of bronzer… A sheer bronzer that’s impossible to overdo. Like, you really need to load your brush for it to show up, but that’s what I like about it, because, really, you can pack it on as much as you want, like you can keep packing it on, and it’ll never look too much.

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Tabs and His Protégé

April 19th, 2016 by Karen 24 Comments

Everyone in our family takes turns watching Connor Claire, even her big brother Tabs! 🙂

Although, to be honest, sometimes he’s not too thrilled when I ask him to babysit…

I guess he’s got places to go and people to see? Whatevs.

Because he’s all about multitasking, Tabs takes his responsibility as an opportunity to teach his protégé everything he knows about kitty super modeling. Currently, they’re working on a patented Tabs pose called “the distant disinterested stare.”

She’s getting pretty good at it!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

3 of My Favorite Affordable Unsung Makeup Heroes

April 19th, 2016 by Jen Clark 34 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

When I was looking through all of my makeup, trying to decide what I should write about for a Makeup Unsung Heroes post, I realized that most of what I have are things that everyone else loves, and that’s probably why I bought them. Rarely do I just go out and buy a product because I think it looks good. But sometimes those are the best ones!

Here are three products that I sort of took a chance on and ended up loving, and I think you might like them, too. 🙂

Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder

When I heard about Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder, it was only about $7 bucks, and I was using a super expensive Makeup Forever powder at the time. I wanted to find something cheaper, and I was really loving how loose powders worked, especially for baking under the eyes.

The first time I tried it, I used my beautyblender and pressed it into my concealer under my eyes. The soft formula made my under-eye area feel like silk, ’cause it kind of absorbed the concealer. It made everything look perfect under my eyes, and that’s mostly why I love it.

I also use it to set the rest of my face, and here’s a trick. If you put a little bit more than you normally would where you’re going to be putting your contour, that helps your contour not go all patchy, like mine tends to do sometimes. It just helps everything blend so much better on top.

If you’re really sensitive to scented makeup, this is probably the strongest smelling makeup item I have. It literally smells like the strongest synthetic floral scent in the word, and it reminds me of how my mom’s makeup used to smell in the ’90s. Good thing I can only smell it when I’m applying it, and I don’t smell it on my face the rest of the day.

But just a fair warning if you’re super sensitive to fragrances.

unsung makeup heroes coty airspun powder — Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder ($7)

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