Avery Mae Beauty - makeup reviews, makeup brushes, & beauty news

R.I.P. OCC? Thoughts on failed makeup brands, how brands make a comeback, & predicting who's next

2018-04-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

photo from makeup artist Kevin James Bennett

OCC, maker of the OG liquid lipstick Lip Tars and cult classic John Doe creme color concentrate, appears to be out of business. They recently shut down their website and social media after deeply discounting their online merchandise. The company has not confirmed the news, but it isn't a surprise to anyone in the makeup news sphere that OCC has been in trouble.

For more information and background info, I highly recommend checking out an article in the Revelist here, reading makeup artist Kevin James Bennett's statements on instagram here, and reading the OCC and Sephora 2016 lawsuit information on Justia here.

Why did OCC go out of business?

The short answer - businesses don't close because of strategy, marketing, product formulations, or design of store displays - they go out of business because they ran out of cash. I know that sounds glib, but it's true that the #1 job of a CEO is to not run out of cash.

The longer answer - the product that put OCC on the map wasn't relevant or user friendly to the market they targeted. Lip tars were one of the first liquid lipsticks (2009), one of the first lines to offer colors perfect for makeup artists to mix custom colors (tarred, feathered, traffic, nsfw, and rx), had packaging perfect for makeup artists concerned about hygiene, and were vegan. At the time, the product and value proposition was unique, compelling, and a great fit for their target market of pro artists. As OCC reached beyond their pro artist indie base into mass retail (like Sephora) and into more product lines (cream colors, nail polish, pencils, base products), they had growing pains.

I remember buying a lip tar in the most beautiful red shade, Stalker. I loved the color, the concept, the artistic DIY indie type marketing, the cruelty free vegan message, everything except actually using the product. Stalker was hard to apply, bled outside my liplines (I was only 23!), had no wear time, and I literally never even once wore it outside of the house because I knew there was a good chance I would end up with red all over my face.

Lip Tars were launched at Sephora, seemed to sell well, but were also frequently returned for being a pain to work with. Years later, OCC made a packaging change to the RTW version in a lip gloss style tube with a doe foot applicator, but by that time there were tons of other liquid lipstick formulas on the market with unusual colors in more user friendly formulas.

I think their bigger picture issue was: (1) selling formulas and products designed for pro makeup artists to mass consumers and (2) growing pains with cash and distribution. Reading their Sephora lawsuit makes it clear that they had some operations and cash management problems and also that they depended on Sephora for a substantial part of their retail distribution plan. Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of small companies going out of business (or growing big time!) after landing a big retail partner that makes up the lion's share of their retail business. I've read about this many times with WalMart, Costco, and many other large retailers, it is certainly not unique to OCC and Sephora.

Can OCC come back?

Let's be clear, I do not know anything about the internal workings of OCC and do not have any data on this question one way or another. We can, however, look at brands that have been dropped by large stores like Sephora, had product failures, or reopened under new ownership.

Other brands that used to be sold at large US beauty retailers:

Illamasqua - dropped by Sephora, now has no US distribution and is mostly only available in the UK, with select distribution elsewhere in Europe, Israel, and UAE
Ardency Inn - dropped by Sephora, available on their website, Beautylish, in subscription boxes, and other places online, but I haven't seen it in a physical store for over a year
Cargo - dropped by Sephora years ago, picked up by Ulta, dropped by Ulta in store and now only online at Ulta
CkOne - Calvin Klein has gone through a few failed makeup lines, most recently CKOne, which used to be at Ulta. Still exists in fragrance but the makeup is gone.
Fiona Stiles - new-ish brand that came into Ulta and was dropped a short time later, both in store and online. It appears to still be available on QVC and the brand's website. When the brand was discounted and moved out, online rumors said the brand would be repackaged and brought back, but that was almost a year ago so we'll see.
Jane - Jane was available years and years ago as a drugstore brand, was brought back to Ulta a few years ago, dropped, was unavailable for a while again, and now is back at Rite Aid with a limited selection.
New York Color NYC - NYC was a drugstore staple brand alongside Wet N Wild for many years but was dropped by Target, CVS, and others. Now the brand is only available in store at WalMart, KMart, and Family Dollar.
Kiko USA - Kiko is an Italian brand that tried to make a move into the US. They declared bankruptcy in 2018 and will be closing US stores, but it looks like they will still be online for US customers.
Sonia Kashuk - Sonia Kashuk's makeup line was recently phased out by Target but still is in stores with makeup bags and brushes. As far as I can see, the makeup is gone for good.

How can brands come back?

Clearly, even if a brand like OCC comes back, it will have changes on the business end. Likely the brand assets will be sold to new owners who have a new business plan and cash, the original backers may or may not be involved. Remember that brands themselves have value - bringing a new name to consumers is hard and expensive, so rehabbing an old brand can be a better pitch than starting from scratch. Let's assume that behind the scenes at OCC they figure out the finances, business plan, and retail plan - how can they re-enter the market?

Comeback strategy #1: rebranding at a new price point
There have been a few successful examples of this strategy, for example:
High to low price point:

Hard Candy
Bliss
TheBalm (arguably high to medium, but not a prestige brand anymore)

Low to high:

Eyeko (I'm really skeptical of this working for them, but you never know!)
If you think of another good example, leave a comment! I'm sure there are some that aren't coming to mind right now.

Comeback strategy #2: new products that people love

Stila - Stila was pretty close to being dropped from Sephora, only their eyeliner pens and limited liquid lipsticks were available in store for a while. Stila's new glitter and glow liquid glitter eyeshadow formulas were unique on the market, very popular with makeup buyers, and have earned back some store distribution for Stila.
Clinique - This isn't as severe of an example, but a few years ago Clinique was seen mostly as a boring skincare brand and didn't have a large branded presence in the cosmetics side of the store at Sephora. Their release of the cheek pops blush helped revitalize the brand in the eyes of the makeup community, even with people who weren't users of their skincare.

What are other brands in danger?

This is my own personal list of guesses, but based on my experience as a shopper and blogger, I don't think these brands are knocking it out of the park:

Almay
Mally Beauty
Jessie's Girl
JCat Beauty
Butter London
Bronx Colors
Japonesque
Stellar Beauty
Amazing Cosmetics

Well, this turned out to be a long post! Thanks for sticking with it, if you have any thoughts about brands or questions, please leave a comment! xoxo

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea radiance drops liquid highlighter review, swatches & TMO

2018-03-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Tarte's newly released extension of the Rainforest of the Sea line is their radiance drops liquid highlighter. My review of the Rainforest of the Sea foundation is here. I've been on a no buy (aspiring, in reality is a low buy / replacement only buy) but I have lots of unused Sephora points. I saw this as a 100 point perk and wanted to try it out!

If you're here for a TMO (talk me out of it!), just skim on down to the TMO header!

The Basics

Dropper style packaging - see the pooling right under the dropper and the residue smeared onto my hand from my fingers to behind my rings? Don't travel with this and be careful with the bottom of the dropper when you pull it out of the bottle.
Super super runny liquid
Only available in one shade, a clear liquid base with gold
Pieces of shimmer not metallic sheen or natural pearl
You MUST shake this aggressively, the clear base will somewhat come out of suspension with the shimmer particles
$30 for 1 ounce / 30 mL

Swatches

See that swatch dripping down the sides of my hand? I had about .002 seconds to take a photo before it dripped off onto my vanity...

Based on the internet and the packaging, I was expecting a pearly beige shade, but surprise, it's GOLD! In indirect light it looks almost like a cooler yellow gold, but in direct sun the gold flecks are very brassy/warm. On my cool toned skin, it looks bizarre in direct sun.

Let's compare it to a few other highlights I have.

For comparison purposes, L to R: NYX Away We Glow liquid highlight in Moon Glow (similar to Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl), Becca SSP in Opal liquid, Urban Decay Half Baked eyeshadow, Tarte Rainforest of the Sea radiance drops, and Becca SSP Opal powder.

Moon Glow is not at all similar, but is a cool toned brightened baby pink that shows how warm the others look by comparison. Becca Opal is a rosier gold than the Tarte. Urban Decay half baked eyeshadow is also very gold, but is a warmer gold. The Tarte drops cannot be built up to the blinding metallic place that Becca and Urban Decay get to with relative ease.

Please note that Becca opal, Tarte radiance drops, and Urban Decay half baked eyeshadow applied sheerly look very, very similar. I build up shades for swatches so you can see the subtle differences, but applied on your cheeks with a brush would be similar.

TMO: why you shouldn't buy it

Golds are dime a dozen. I bet you that you already own a gold eyeshadow, powder highlight, or liquid highlight - they all look so so so similar applied sheerly. There is seriously no need to go buy a basic gold anything.
Do golds actually look good on you? I have fair, cool toned skin and golds do not flatter me, yet somehow I own 4 or 5 anyway. Gold can be fun to play with, but gold is a 'going out' color on me not a 'wear to work' color because it doesn't flatter my complexion.
The watery formula is a royal pain. For real, it is a watery liquid. You have to shake it, the dropper leaks, it will run off your hand or face, it is hard to build up because the base is clear but the flakes are gold, and it will absorb into sponges quickly. Cream or gel based liquid formulas are easier to apply, easier to blend, and easier to build up.
Obvious shimmer particles. I don't like obvious, visible shimmer on my skin on a regular basis, so this is a going out / party product for me. Even for a going out product, it isn't as bright/metallic as many of the other options on the market.
Millions of highlighters and this one isn't different. It just isn't, it looks like a shimmery gold.

Conclusion: I'll use it up as a summer body shimmer oil and for going out, but it isn't groundbreaking or special. Worth spending 100 Sephora points on, but not worth much more than that.

2017 favorites

2018-01-03T14:58:00.002-08:00

Happy new year and happy 2018! I wanted to share my top 10 favorites of 2017 with you.

10. NYX Away We Glow in 08 moon glow - I ran out of my beloved Becca shimmering skin perfector in pearl and replaced it with NYX for two reasons: 1) I'm a grad student on a budget, and more importantly, 2) There is no known universe where I could finish a full size shimmering skin perfector. The mini spotlight size took me 2 years! The NYX isn't a perfect dupe (not as gel like of a texture, doesn't blend as well over powder), but is 90% there and meets my needs perfectly. Like everyone else on the planet, glowy skin and I were friends all year long.

9. Whole Foods organic lip balm - I went through about a dozen of these in 2017, 50/50 lost vs. used up. I love the honey vanilla version, it moisturizes without irritating my skin and only costs about $3. Sold for life <3

8. Sheer glossy lips - My skin is too dry and I am too impatient for the perfectly carved out lip line and matte liquid lips. I need my skin and lips to feel comfortable and I'm permanently running late, so for me that means tinted lip balm, glosses, and sheer lipsticks I can apply on the bus without a mirror. Some of my favorites: Urban Decay and Too Faced La Creme lipsticks layered over lip balm, Clinique almost lipstick in black honey, Fresh tinted lip balm in rose and petal, and Bite's (discontinued?!) lip gloss in currant.

7. My Japanese brushes - My everyday brushes never fail me and I'm still amazed that some of these brands aren't more popular. Chikuhodo, Hakuhodo, Koyudo, and Mizuho all have some relatively affordable brushes (MAC or MUFE price range) that blow everything else out of the water in terms of quality. I like more natural and sheer looks with powder products, so my soft natural hair brushes deliver. Pictured: Hakuhodo tapered candle 5521, Hakuhodo J521 eyeliner, Chikuhodo Z-5 large eye shader, Mizuho PM11 brow brush, Koyudo 035 medium shader, Hakuhodo K022 blush/powder . I don't think everyone needs these exact brushes, but I do think it is worth buying high quality brushes of which ever shapes you use every day.

6. NARS Laguna - Check out that huge pan! I wear bronzer everyday and Laguna was easily my most reached for this year. Even on my cool toned fair skin, this is never too orange. I don't know how, but Laguna always makes me look healthy and pretty.

5. Anastasia Beverly Hills brow products - My favorite ABH trio - the perfect brow pencil, dipbrow pomade, and brow gel are everything I want. Excellent longevity + good shade match (I use medium brown) + easy to use textures = happy brows

4. Silica HD powder - I love lightweight translucent silica powders, my two current ones are the Essence All About Matt and the loose silica microspheres from TKB trading (basically the generic version of the branded HD silica powders). I love the mattifying and smoothing effects of silica powders, plus they are ultra lightweight. I apply mine with a damp beauty sponge to look extra poreless and smooth. (FYI - these can leave a small white cast, medium - tan - deep skintones may want a tinted version instead).

3. Skin79 BB cream - I know the K-beauty world has moved on to trendier BB creams, but the Skin79 range still has me twitterpated. I love how easy these are to use and how natural they look on my skin. I often need to mix shades together to get the right one for the right time of year, but they mix with each other, moisturizers, liquid highlighters, and sunscreens easily. I can apply with my fingers, brush, or sponge and go from light tinted moisturizer to medium coverage with no need to do anything special or cross my fingers to make it work. The pink BB pumping cushion isn't my favorite, but I have repurchased the Pink 3 or 4 times now and have also gone through at least 2 VIP Golds and a full size of each the Orange and the Green.

2. Aquaphor - Favorite sleeping mask, favorite lip mask, favorite eczema treatment, favorite cuticle balm, favorite all around salve. I use up and repurchase Aquaphor about 4-6 times per year and have for almost a decade. Even as I'm paring down my collection and beauty spending, I sill buy backups for my Aquaphor backups.

...
and
....

1. Using and loving what I already have! - From panning products to reusing packaging of high end empties, my low-buy makeup year went well! It feels great to reduce my collection to only the items I use regularly or products that excite me and start using things up. I'm more appreciative of what I have and love the personal challenge of rotating through and using what I own. I challenge all of you in 2018 to make an effort to love what you have already!

xoxo AM

New Make Up For Ever $2 refillable palettes (artist face color refillable case) S & XL review

2017-08-20T18:13:00.001-07:00

Hi guys, this is going to be a quick post, I wanted to show the new Make Up For Ever $2 palettes. These palettes are designed to be refillable cases for the artist face color range, but I picked up two to use as travel palettes for other depotted makeup. At $2 each (without having to buy the MUFE blushes/bronzer/highlight pans!) they are a great deal.

Small palette / empty single size (magnetic area ~2 1/4 in long x 1 3/8 in wide)

I was so excited when I saw promo pictures for the small palette, because I've been wanting a travel option for my Inglot single blush. It normally lives in my large MAC palette, but that palette is too large for travel. Last time I took my Inglot blush on a trip, it broke (good as new with rubbing alcohol & time!). The Inglot freedom system blushes DO fit in the new Make Up For Ever palettes! The pan size seems identical, but the Inglot pan seems a hair deeper. Even though the pan sticks up a little on the edge, the palette shuts with no problem at all.

The small palette has a little semicircle at the top edge so you can stick a pin down to get your pan back out. The front cover window is transparent and hard plastic. The closure is a clasp you press in to open, I would not be worried about this coming open in your bag.

Extra Large XL palette / empty trio size (magnetic area ~3 3/4 in long x 2 1/4 in wide)

The XL palette is a great size for taking a few items out of a larger palette for a weekend trip. The XL is designed for 3 MUFE artist face colors and has an opaque lid with a nice mirror inside.

Sorry about the bad photo quality, I just wanted to quickly show the XL palette with a few other shapes of items. In addition to 3 Inglot freedom system pans or MUFE artist face color pans, you could do 2 Benefit face colors plus a few eyeshadows (these are Too Faced base shades from their 9 pan palettes) or you could do eyeshadows (shown with a standard round Urban Decay single and a Laura Mercier single). Also shown for size comparison below, a Bare Minerals ready eyeshadow pan depot and Wet N Wild single on the left and a standard size face powder depot (L'Oreal True Match) on the right. Check out reviews on reddit (r/makeupaddiction) as well - I have seen users fit 6 rectangular Inglot eyeshadows or 6 standard round eyeshadows into the XL size.

Comparison to other empty magnetic palettes I have:

Z Palette 4U - I actually regret my Z Palette. The front window is flimsy and the internal fabric/coating on the cardboard is not sturdy or easy to clean. I think this size is about $20, which is way too much for what it is.
MAC Pro Palette Large - The MAC pro palettes are heavy plastic, sturdy, and affordable, but iffy from a magnet standpoint. I use non MAC items in mine with magnet tape, but the magnet isn't secure enough for travel.
Make Up For Ever Palettes - Super sturdy, great magnet, reasonable prices, available in many sizes. I think MUFE is making the best value freeform magnetic palettes on the market.

Overall, I'm really happy with these. The small is a great alternative to the Inglot Freedom System single blush palette and the extra large is the perfect size for a travel bag. The quality is great and I can't believe they are selling them separately for $2!

New updates to my "Who Owns Who" post

2017-08-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! Every 6 - 9 months, I like to pop back into my blog's most popular Who Owns Who post for updates. 2017 has been a slower year so far for corporate makeup M&A, but we have had some big news. I have also added some brands from comment requests.

Updates to the post include corporate ownership details for:

Hourglass
Burberry
Milk
Younique
Clarins
Seed (ColourPop, Kylie)

I'm also thinking about a separate post for influencer / instagram / online brand ownership. I've been wondering lately where all of these brands come from and how they get their funding for quick product launches and huge marketing spending - looking at you Juvia's Place, Smith Cosmetics brushes, Storybook Cosmetics, Morphe... If this would be interesting to you or you have any brand suggestions, please leave a comment!

xoxo

How to tell if a blush shade has a warm, cool, or neutral undertone

2017-08-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

We read a lot about makeup undertones online, but it can be really tricky figuring out our own undertones and the undertones of our products. I personally find blush to be tricky because blush sneaks up to the THIS IS TOO MUCH line so quickly.

Thing 1: Find your own undertone

My bare skin, photographed in natural light with no edits at all

Wearing foundation, plus neck comparison (I do not blend foundation down my neck)

There is a lot out there on the internet about undertones and how to find yours, I'll just say this - you might not fit neatly into a category. For example, not all yellow undertones are warm, you might have an olive undertone, redness in your skin from acne or eczema might be masking your actual undertone, etc.

I would describe my own undertone as fair cool, but I don't think I'm that far off from fair neutral. Data points: I enjoy both gold and silver jewelry, many "neutral" eyeshadows pull very warm on me and most warm browns look like straight up orange on me, I steer clear of warm or peachy lip colors unless I want it to be a high contrast look, powders with a yellow cast look out of place on my skin (Laura Mercier's not-actually-translucent powder), cooler toned blush and eyeshadow look more natural / no makeup makeup on me, many fair netural foundation shades work better for me than the very pink cool ones (L'Oreal True Match N1 vs C1).

Thing 2: Comparison swatch

Don't just look at products in the pan, actually swatch them next to each other to get a better idea of undertone. Take a look at the blush picture above - if you only saw Bobbi Brown Pale Pink next to Inglot's #20, you would think Inglot #20 looked pretty warm. Similarly, if you only saw Inglot #20 next to Nars Orgasm, it would look like a cool pink. Blush is often worn sheerly, which makes it harder to tell, so I do comparison swatches at full opacity to clearly show contrast.

I chose these three because Nars Orgasm is one of the warmest (look at the burnt red-orange coming through) in my collection, Bobbi Brown Pale Pink is one of the coolest (look at those blue tones!), and Inglot #20 is a more neutral pink.

Another example, the Sephora free birthday gift Tarte Party is in the middle.

There is a lot out there on the internet about undertones and how to find yours, but the best I have been able to figure out for myself is to take pictures in natural light and compare shades against shades you know to be obviously warm or cool to help see the subtlety.

If you are shopping online and don't have the product in front of you, search online for swatch and review pictures that show the product compared to other items in natural light. Youtube ring lights and filters can be very deceptive about the actual color, so do your research carefully.

Thing 3: Wear what you like best

Cool toned blushes look the most natural and classically flattering on me, but makeup doesn't always have to be beautifying. Sometimes I still wear warm blushes for fun or for a higher contrast look.

Over the last year +, I have been destashing and paring down my collection substantially. Most of the blushes and bronzers that left my collection were warm toned because I found myself reaching for them much less often. I kept a few favorites, but most were passed along to my warm toned sister.

I hope this was helpful! Do you have any tips about blush undertones? Please leave a comment below!

Thoughts on decluttering, reusing makeup containers, and actually using samples

2017-04-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I have talked about my decluttering / simplifying / no-buy journey several times on my blog (see here, here, and here), but today I want to share how it's going and talk about finding creative ways to use what you have.

First up: an update on my decluttering progress & no buy. I pretty much stopped decluttering / simplifying my collection within the last three months because I was satisfied with the state of my collection. Everything I own is something I use and enjoy. Some items only come out to play seasonally or in certain moods, but that's a-okay by me.

I went about a year-ish on a very minimal purchase streak (an informal no-buy if you will) but I feel like that phase is also over. I no longer think about trying to force myself not to buy or limiting my urge to purchase, I am more naturally skeptical and inclined to ask myself if I *really* *actually* want it. I have purchased a few things lately that I have loved - a sunscreen replacement, a few eyeshadow singles from Essence, a new mascara - but nothing over the top.

I'm on my second year of not making Sephora VIB or Ulta platinum - it felt nice to pass the anniversary of not making the cut. I have also been continuing to reform my social media habits - I don't follow any beauty related stuff on snapchat, pretty much quit instagram, and have continued reforming my youtube subscriptions. I am down to two nail polishes plus a top coat, my favorite red and my favorite nude, which is a HUGE improvement from my previous collection of ~25 polishes. I have also been nurturing my reading and baking habits. I am pleased to announce my currant almond scone habit is still going strong :)

Let's talk about reusing what you have - quite a few of my everyday favorites are items with recycled packaging. If you love a product's packaging, keep on using it, even if you declutter the product inside. Some examples:

- I finally used up my Chanel loose powder. I absolutely love the jar and didn't want to toss it, so instead I filled it up with another powder. My favorite pressed translucent powder is the Essence All About Matt, but they tend to break around the edge when there is pan showing in the middle. I smashed up the powder ring around the edge of the compact and now am finishing it up as a loose powder.

- My tiny Laura Mercier translucent loose powder sample was hard to get face brush in, so it is being used up in my empty Urban Decay loose finishing powder container.

- I used up an Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel (which is fantastic!), and I kept the brush out. I washed off the residue with Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, and it is now my brow spoolie brush.

- Instead of buying a lash comb, I use old mascara wands. My current favorites are the discontinued Maybelline One By One brush and a L'Oreal wand (voluminous million lashes if I remember correctly?). I didn't like either mascara formula, but I kept the brushes to use for separating my lashes and combing out clumps.

- When I depotted my Bare Minerals eyeshadow quad, I only kept two of the shades. I kept the compact and covered the inside in magnetic tape. It now lives on as my travel compact - currently it has a franken-powder creation (pressed remnants of a L'Oreal True Match powder mixed with a Bare Minerals powder). I have also used it for traveling with blush, most often my Benefit Sugarbomb or Inglot #20, neither of which have a compact.

Finally, let's talk about how to actually use samples. We all get samples and minis, but it is so easy to let them sit for eternity in a drawer instead of getting used up. My tips:

- Put samples in a cute container that lives on your vanity. I bought this cute ceramic box on clearance at J Crew ($5!) because I loved the cheerful yellow. Look around your house for a tray, basket, box, or something that would draw your attention sitting on your vanity.

- Curate a selection. If you jam a container full of things, you won't be able to see what it inside at a glance. I also don't keep only one type of sample in my box at a time.

- Rotate through different options. I like rotating samples in and out, depending on what I want to use. If I get bored with a perfume, I replace it with another mini. I wasn't impressed with the Tarte tartiest birthday lip mini from the Sephora birthday gift upon first impress, but I want to try it a few more times before getting rid of it.

I hope this was helpful! If you have any tips for recycling makeup packaging & using up samples, please leave a comment down below :)

Before & after: Tarte rainforest of the sea foundation in porcelain - pale dry skin review & swatches

2017-03-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea is supposed to be a 12 hour lightweight, water based, full coverage formula with SPF 15. When the new lightest shade Porcelain came out, I was excited to give it a try. I usually try to get foundation samples at Sephora because my skin is sensitive and acne prone, but the dropper format is unhygenic for getting samples.

After trying it for the past few weeks, it is definitely a lightweight fluid, but I don't think it is full coverage. I would rate it a light-medium coverage - building serious coverage would require quite a few layers. I get light coverage with one dropper and medium with three. I could see someone using up 5-6 droppers full of foundation to get maximum possible coverage with this one. The dropper system gets messy, so I wouldn't advise traveling with this.

Swatches

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation, shade 2
L'Oreal True Match foundation, shade N1 Soft Ivory neutral
Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation, shade Porcelain
NARS Sheer Glow foundation, shade Siberia
Giorgio Armani Power Fabric foundation, shade 1
It Cosmetics CC Cream, shade Fair
SKIN79 Green BB cream (Skin79 BB cream in the green bottle is much lighter than the VIP Gold, Original, Diamond or Hot Pink)
Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer, shade Fair Neutral

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation before & after

As always, no editing of any kind. I think foundation reviews should show what skin actually looks like to give you an accurate idea of what the product could do for you. I took these in natural light standing in front of a window. Feel free to zoom in :)

Before 1: Bare skin. I moisturized with the Clinique DDMG, a gel moisturizer that sinks in quickly and doesn't leave the skin feeling tacky. No primer, no sunscreen.

After 1: Tarte rainforest of the sea in porcelain (the lightest shade) 2 thin layers. For each layer I patted in a thin amount of product with my fingers and then blended with a damp real techniques sponge. No powder, concealer, or any other products used. I see a big improvement with general tone correction - look at the area beside my nose and jaw. This foundation leaves a matte finish, but my skin doesn't look dead or flat. It would look more natural if I had used a more emollient moisturizer or a hydrating primer.

Before 2: Bare skin. I struggle with hormonal acne and dryness on my chin - I currently have some hyper pigmentation and redness from past spots.

After 2: Same as before, 2 light layers of foundation applied with my fingers and blended with a damp sponge. The redness on my chin is evened out nicely, but I would still need concealer to look flawless. My upper lip/ little peach fuzz hairs are standing out and foundation is sitting on top of dry areas on my chin, but I like the natural matte finish and even canvas. No settling into my smile lines.

Again, my chin really could have benefited from a more emollient moisturizer, hydrating primer, or dewy setting spray - I think this looks a little dry.

Overall, this is a nice product and I can see why so many people are hyping it up.

It suffers from the same drawbacks as other liquidy high pigment products - you have to be careful with application and blending. If you're not careful, the liquid base will soak into your skin or beauty blender, leaving you with chalky or unblended pigment, especially around dry patches. I have had the same issue with other base products of a similar viscosity like the Cover FX custom cover drops or the Urban Decay naked skin concealer, so if you like those, the texture of Rainforest of the Sea won't cause any issues. If you are used to creamier, more forgiving textures of BB creams or tinted moisturizers, you may have a learning curve with application.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea does not mix seamlessly with other products. I like to mix foundation with moisturizers to create lazy tinted moisturizers when I'm in a hurry, and this foundation doesn't mix well. It's not a dealbreaker, but in my ideal world I would like my foundations to be a little more foolproof to apply.

For me, the biggest selling point is the color match - the new shade porcelain matches me wonderfully. This foundation does a good job evening out the skin, but I wouldn't call it full coverage. I don't think Tarte Rainforest of the Sea is my favorite foundation of all time, but I'm enjoying it.

UPDATE: After wearing daily for ~3 weeks, a few items I wanted to update/note.

My preferred application method is with a dense synthetic brush (holla Real Techniques buffing brush) in one light layer
1 dropper with a brush = 3 droppers with a damp sponge coverage wise & accounting for the sponge soaking up tons of foundation
The second layer looks nice at the time of application, but if I layer up to get more coverage my skin looks heavy by the end of the day

Review & comparison swatches: Giorgio Armani Power Fabric longwear high cover foundation shade 1

2017-03-26T15:05:00.001-07:00

I recently went to Sephora looking for a new foundation and the SA recommended a sample of the new Giorgio Armani Power Fabric foundation. I was matched to shade 1, which is the lightest shade in the range and is meant for pink undertones. One my all time favorite foundations is Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk - I have shade 2, but it is a little too dark and yellow for me in the winter.

Swatches

As always, I take swatch pictures in natural light and don't edit the photos at all except to add labels. I like to swatch heavily to show the differences in shade - worn sheerly, all of these work on me. I have fair skin with netural undertones.

Left to right: Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer in Fair Neutral, Giorgio Armani Power Fabric foundation in shade 1, Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation in Porcelain (the new lightest shade), and Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation in shade 2. Please do note that my bottle of Luminous Silk is about 2 years old and running low - I think it oxidized a little since it was new.

For more foundation swatches: I have a full review of Luminous Silk shade 2 here, comparison swatches of more light foundations here, and comparison swatches of light BB/CC creams here.

As you can see in the swatch pictures, Power Fabric shade 1 is very light and has a peach undertone. It swatches and wears lighter than it looks in the container - it seems like it has a white base, which reminds me of very light nude peach lipsticks. Power Fabric is much more opaque than Luminous Silk, so be sure to color match well or this foundation will be a disaster.

If Power Fabric shade 1 matches you well, you would probably also be suited to Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer in Fair Neutral. I find Power Fabric to be a shade too light and too peachy for my skin - Tarte Rainforest of the Sea in porcelain is a much better match for me.

Application

Unfortunately, I forgot to take bare skin pictures today, but you can see recent pictures of my bare skin in my Clinique sunscreen review from a few weeks ago and my Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation in porcelain review. I moisturized with the Clinique DDMG before applying. I have dry skin, so I don't wear a primer. This is one layer applied with a damp real techniques sponge. I am wearing a tinted lip balm but that's it.

I think shade 1 is too light and too peachy for me - I feel a little ghostly. It's hard to show in pictures, but in real life my neck is about a shade /shade and a half deeper and more yellow than my face. It kind of looks like I applied a mineral sunscreen with a heavy white cast underneath a perfect matching foundation? I could make Power Fabric shade 1 work for me, but it isn't as harmonious as the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea in porcelain.

Overall thoughts:

If you wished Luminous Silk was more opaque and more matte, this could be right up your alley. It looked matte for ~2 hours and then melded into a nice satin for ~4 hours. I was ready for a blot around hour 6, but it never got to an oily or greasy place.
The finish is really pretty, I feel like I have perfect doll skin. The lasting power is better than Luminous Silk (probably because it is more matte), but it isn't a turbo-longwear foundation.
If you have fair skin and always buy the lightest shade of any foundation range automatically, go actually swatch these in store. Shade 1 is the lightest foundation shade I have ever worn and is one of only several that has been too light for me. The Power Fabric shade range looks totally different from Luminous Silk/Lasting Silk so be careful with ordering online.
The shirt I'm wearing is a new t shirt I bought at Muji, it is 100% cotton and I bought it for $10. It's a comfy weekend shirt, highly recommend!

The best sunscreen for wearing under makeup - Clinique Bbroad spectrum SPF 30 mineral sunscreen fluid for face review

2017-03-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased the new Clinique SPF 30 mineral sunscreen fluid for face and am excited to share my thoughts on it. My previous favorite sunscreen was discontinued (big glare to Paula's Choice) and I have been trying a ton of sunscreen formulas this year. I enjoy the Clinique DDMG and DDML moisturizers, but have hesitated buying Clinique sunscreens in the past because they tend not to publish full ingredients lists online. I decided to go for it anyway, and I'm glad I did!

Clinique Sunscreen Ingredients

Unlike many other liquid mineral sunscreens, the Clinique mineral sunscreen fluid formula isn't loaded with alcohol or fragrance. I have very sensitive skin and it is very difficult to find a sunscreen formula that wears well under makeup that isn't greasy, gritty, heavily scented, or alcohol heavy. I am prone to eczema, acne, and redness, and have dry skin. My skin also reacts poorly to chemical sunscreens.

If you have normal skin, you may want to also consider Japanese and Korean sunscreens. Asian sunscreen formulas often do a great job of being lightweight, easily blendable, and generally having more elegant formulas and advanced ingredients than American counterpart formulas. Unfortunately for me, they often are loaded with alcohol and irritants. If you don't have irritable skin, you may also want to try a sample of the Shiseido urban environment spf 42 fluid sunscreen, which has an elegant lightweight formula and a matte finish.

The Clinique mineral sunscreen fluid for face ticks off the ingredient boxes for me neatly: a combination of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, water based, dimethicone and other silicones for easy blending, emollients and skin conditioning agents friendly to dry skin. Most importantly, it doesn't sting around the eyes, make my skin burn or itch, blends in easily, and doesn't leave a chalky white cast. Clinique also claims this is oil free if that is important to you.

Clinique Sunscreen Texture

Just as the name suggests, the mineral sunscreen fluid for face is a fluid. I have had an issue before with fluid sunscreen formulas feeling gritty or prone to separation, but this is a well mixed smooth texture. I find it very easy to apply, but I dump the product into the palm of my hand instead of on the back of my hand because it is so runny.

Before: Bare skin

All I'm wearing in this picture is the Clinique dramatically different gel moisturizer and my Rosebud salve lip balm. As I'm sure you can see, I haven't edited or filtered my skin in any way.

After: Clinique Mineral Sunscreen Fluid

I don't notice any white cast, it blends into the skin quickly and easily, and has a natural satin finish. This formula doesn't dry down looking shiny - you could absolutely wear this with or without makeup. I also don't notice it settling oddly into pores. I would be very interested to see if there is a white cast on skin deeper than mine, as I usually don't notice a white cast with sunscreen unless it is very pronounced. Foundation sits the exact same over this sunscreen as it does on my bare skin.

Parting thoughts

Be still my beating heart. I have tried what feels like trillions of sunscreens and this one does everything I need it to without freaking my skin out.
Update: I have used this up and repurchased! One bottle lasted me about 5 months.

Affordable Japanese makeup brush - Mizuho PM11 eyebrow brush review

2017-02-20T10:42:00.001-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting a review of my favorite eyebrow brush - the Mizuho #11. I bought this on a whim from CD Japan about a year ago because I was curious about the brand and needed a brow brush. The PM-11 is very affordable (1500 yen, ~$13 USD before taxes & shipping) and has a pink handle.

About Mizuho (瑞穂) Brushes

Compared to other Japanese artisanal makeup brush brands like Hakuhodo, Koyudo and Chikuhodo, Mizuho is not as well known in the United States. Mizuho brushes are handmade in the Kumano area of Japan. Like many other traditional Japanese brush making companies, Mizuho does sell private label. If you are curious about Japanese brushes, I have reviewed quite a few others on my blog.

The PM series is relatively affordable compared to some of their other lines and features cherry blossom pink handles. They do make other lines with different themes if pink handles don't appeal to you, but I personally think the pink handles are cute.

Water Badger Makeup Brushes

I know what a badger is, but I've never heard of a water badger. When I kept seeing "water badger" hair in makeup brush descriptions, I wasn't quite sure what I should expect. Compared to other handmade natural hair brushes, badger brush fibers are less soft, more resilient, and more elastic / springy.

This particular brush is not really soft and offers a stiffer fiber that keeps its shape and disperses product well. A hardy, elastic fiber is an excellent choice for an eyebrow brush that can handle creams, pomades, gels, and powders. The only downside to an angled badger brush is that it isn't soft enough to be equally good as a gel eyeliner brush - the shape works well, but it can feel rough compared to my favorite eyeliner brushes. I don't notice any roughness from the brush when using it in the brows.

Badger makeup brushes are a good option for specific purposes, but it isn't as multipurpose as goat.

PM-11 Eyebrow Brush Details

Full 132mm - similar length to other Japanese eye brushes, many full size Japanese eye brushes have shorter handles than other full length brushes (for example Sigma)
Hair Length 6mm
Hair Thickness 2.5mm
Looks and feels the same after more than a year of regular use and many washes

Parting Thoughts
I don't understand why Japanese brushes aren't more loved in the online beauty community. Mizuho brushes are more affordable than many mid-range brush brands and the quality is way ahead. I would definitely recommend this one!

Fresh Sugar Cream Lip Treatment in Blush & Buff review and swatches

2017-02-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

I love Fresh so I was so excited to see the new sugar cream lip treatments pop up in my local Sephora! I got samples of Blush and Buff to try.

I chose Blush because I can't resist mid tone mauve pinks (similar in tone/concept to Buxom Dolly or Bite Currant) and the Sephora SA talked me into a sample of Buff because she said it was the sheer balmy one. I have no idea why they are selling Buff as a sheer balm - it is a strongly pigmented coppery nude.

As you can see, the texture of the Fresh sugar cream lip treatment is thick and goopy. Both of these shades contain shimmer. The texture of the product seems inappropriate for the packaging they chose - these are so thick and pigmented that they should be in liquid lipstick style tube and wand applicators instead of a squeeze lip balm type tube. They are much too pigmented to apply with your fingers or without a mirror.

Swatches

A note on my photos: I don't do any editing except to add descriptive text and a watermark. None of these pictures are retouched for color or texture, so feel free to zoom in and check out my pores :) For my lip swatches, the left side is my bare lips and the right side shows Blush on my top lip and Buff on my bottom lip. I am wearing the Skin79 green bb cream topped with the Essence All About Matt translucent powder on my skin in both pictures.

Overall Thoughts:

On my fair, cool toned skin, Buff is a really unflattering color. If you have similar skin to mine, expect it to pull orange.
The pigmentation with this formula is a double edged sword - it does provide more color than the more sheer Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment stick formula (like Rose), but it is tricky to apply in a flattering way. I often find it looking streaky and have to pay special attention to making sure I don't apply outside of my lip line. If I am using a tinted gloss balm in a squeeze tube, I expect to be able to quickly swipe it on, and I wouldn't dare apply these without a mirror.
The formula is not super moisturizing and is pretty sticky
Most of the shine from the formula seems to come from the shimmer, the gloss finish isn't that long lasting
Same sweet lemon scent as with other Fresh products
The formula is odd. These are too sticky to be a lip cream, not moisturizing enough to be a balm, too metallic to look natural, packaged wrong to be a liquid lipstick, and aren't actually that glossy aside from the shimmer. I don't really get what these are.

The bottom line is this - I am glad I got samples, because I am not planning on purchasing full sizes. If you have tried these, leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought! I predict this formula will be very polarizing.

Elf Studio Tone Correcting Powder in Cool review & swatches // comparison to Essence All About Matt

2017-01-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

I recently ran out of my beloved Essence All About Matt powder, so I decided to play around and try something else this time around. I have heard great things on YouTube about the elf Studio Tone Correcting Powder in Cool, so I gave it a try. I paid $3.99 on the Target website.

Here's the long and the short of it: it is absolutely inferior to my favorite Essence All About Matt. It is also not the worst powder I have ever tried.

I always keep a touch up powder compact in my commuting tote bag because I get shiny throughout the day. I'm always looking for powders that are pressed in a compact, don't look cakey on the skin, and keep my shine at bay for a few hours at a minimum. Unfortunately, the elf tone correcting powder broke immediately and doesn't keep my skin matte for more than 30 minutes. I'm not particularly rough on my travel bag (I have never broken an Essence All About Matt or L'Oreal True Blend traveling) and I don't have oily skin. The elf studio tone correcting powder didn't cake up on top of foundation, but it also didn't seamlessly melt into the skin the way hd silica powders do.

Swatches

The big selling point for this powder is that it is supposed to provide tone correcting properties. I swatched all 4 shades heavily on my finger and then swiped them together on my arm. As you can plainly see, there is no tone correcting to be had. None. Also, as you can see, if you apply heavily you may get some settling into fine lines.

The powder is functionally a very sheer white - translucent on fair skin and almost surely ashy on medium or tan skin. I did try to concentrate my brush on the green square to apply only that shade to my cheeks and I noticed zero redness tone correcting.

What I recommend instead

Instead of the elf Studio Tone Correcting Powder, I highly recommend the Essence All About Matt powder. It provides just as much tone correcting (none!), costs the same, also comes pressed into a compact, and keeps the skin matte for 3-4 hours. The Essence looks very natural over foundation and doesn't settle into fine lines. The Essence compact does not include a mirror, but it also won't break and coat the inside of your tote bag with powder.

Both powders will likely look ashy on medium to tan skin, so if you are paranoid about so-called translucent powders that leave a white cast, your search continues. On my fair skin, I have never noticed a white cast, but I also don't notice a white cast from most sunscreens.

elf Studio Tone Correcting Powder Pros:

I've tried worse powders in the same price bracket. I do like this better than Rimmel Stay Matte, which looked cakey for touchups. This powder doesn't meld invisibly into the skin, but it doesn't sit on top and cake either.
The price is pretty decent.
The packaging is better than some others in the same price bracket. Mirrors are nice.

elf Studio Tone Correcting Powder Cons:

I guarantee this will break. 100% guaranteed. Mine broke in my travel makeup bag on the morning of day one and I'm not super rough on my travel tote bag.
My skin looks nice after I apply this powder, but I'm back to shine city in 30 minutes
There are better options for the same money - the Essence All About Matt blows the Elf tone correcting powder out of the water
Zero tone correcting happens. Zero. It is basically a white toned translucent powder.

Conclusions:

If something is your favorite, be happy with that. Don't go out buying different things because they might be better - they probably won't be!
Be wary of internet hype. Lots of reviews for mediocre cheap makeup are SO POSITIVE because people go in expecting that cheap=bad, so when cheap=meh they are impressed. There is a difference between a good product and a good for the price product.
You probably shouldn't buy this.

Haul & Review: Essence The Velvets 05 Taupe Secret / 01 Fluffy Clouds (bonus: Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Hot Chocolate)

2017-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

I recently ran out of my all time favorite mattifying & touchup powder, Essence's all about matt, so I placed an order on Essence's website. For some reason, the Ulta website doesn't have the new The Velvets eyeshadow line and I was excited to try them out. I chose 01 fluffy clouds and 05 taupe secret.

A quick shoutout to for the Essence US website - a $15 free shipping minimum is great, they shipped quickly, and they threw in a free nail file! As always, I paid for everything myself and Essence has never heard of me.

As far as I can see, you can only buy the Essence The Velvets eyeshadow line on the Essence website in the US. I expected to be able to buy them on the Ulta website, but they aren't listed there.

Essence The Velvets packaging

The Velvets eyeshadows come in clear acrylic compacts that are thin and easy to store
I paid $2.49 each
Each eyeshadow has 2.8 grams of product
The main ingredients are talc, mica, and corn starch, followed by some other minerals like zinc, dimethicone, pigments, and the usual (and necessary) ingredients to keep everything sanitary and shelf stable
The Velvets have a matte appearance in the pan and in swatches, but if you look up close they are NOT 100% MATTE! I'm guessing that due to mica being the second ingredient, there is some subtle sheen that shows through in some lights. They look matte on first application, but after a full day of wear or in direct sunlight, you might see some sheen.
They have a cute quilted pattern stamped on the top

Swatches of 01 Fluffy Clouds & 05 Taupe Secret

All swatches were done on bare, unprimed skin.

01 Fluffy Clouds is a matte very light white ivory. It leans a little yellow, but not nearly as yellow as Urban Decay Foxy. This shade is lighter than a traditional ivory, but isn't a pure crisp white. On very fair porcelain skin you may see some difference between this shade and a pure white, but on fair to medium to deep skin this will look straight up white. This shade is too light for me to use as an all over base eyeshadow shade but works nicely under the brow or in the inner corner/tearduct.

05 Taupe Secret is a matte light cool toned taupe. In my mind, Taupe Secret is like if Urban Decay Naked2 and Laura Mercier Cashmere had an eyeshadow baby - it is lighter and a little more mauve than Naked2 (but 90%+ similar in color), but is clearly more taupe brown than Cashmere. Again, this is such a light shade that the difference between Taupe Secret and Naked2 might not be as noticeable on warm toned fair skin or anyone much deeper in skintone than me. This shade works great for me as a subtle crease defining/blending color.

If you have medium to tan skin, taupe secret will probably be ashy and unflattering. Shade 06 mr. mocca-bean might be a more appropriate alternative depending on your skintone.

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Hot Chocolate swatches

As a bonus, I wanted to pop in swatches of the Essence long lasting eye pencil in 02 hot chocolate. This liner seems like a standard issue retractable gel pencil eyeliner and the shade hot chocolate is a basic matte dark brown. It dries down matte and gives you a short amount of time to smudge. I have no complaints for the ~$1.50 I spent.

Overall thoughts on The Velvets:

Pros:

Affordable, matte eyeshadow options are hard to come by in this price range. Quite a few of these shades are exactly the type of basic shadows most people would use all the time. I would have also picked up Smooth Caramel and Mr. Mocca-bean if they had been in stock.
Soft texture
Easy to use
Very good formula for the price, I can't think of a matte cool toned taupe I would rather have for less than $5.

Cons:

A little powdery and lacking the cling factor in the formula. I wouldn't expect any serious longevity without a primer. The swatches wipe off my hand very easily, but I did get a full work day's wear out of these with a primer.
Lacks the smooth elegant formula of higher end mattes (like Urban Decay's or Laura Mercier's), but I don't expect that level of refinement for the price. I do prefer the formula of Wet N Wild's color icon eyeshadow single in Brulee to these, but the Wet N Wild singles line has no color range so they really aren't an alternative.

I hope this was helpful! I know I'm going to get a lot of use out these and I think they are going to be pretty popular. If you have tried them, please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Sephora & Ulta - 2017 Free makeup birthday gifts with swatches

2017-01-04T16:37:00.000-08:00

I do this post every year, and I'm so excited about the 2017 free makeup birthday gifts! I love getting makeup freebies, plus I have a February birthday so I'm happy to share swatches & my thoughts early in the year. It's snowing like crazy today in Boston, so no outside pics this year.

Sephora 2017

Sephora has three birthday gift choices for the year of 2017. I saw two available in store in the Boston area. The options are:

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Paaarty & Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit
Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum and Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet
Jack Black Deep Dive Glycolic Facial Cleanser and Clean Break Oil-Free Moisturizer. This one looks like its online only, but let us know if you see it in your local store!

As always, I did no photo editing so you can see the most accurate color - I only edit to add watermarks and shade labels. The Paaarty blush (why couldn't they just name it Party?!? Tarte makes me feel like a grumbly old lady) is matte and is a peachy nude. A+ for choosing a matte shade, I rarely wear shimmery blushes because they look horrible with pores/skin texture.

For context, I swatched this shade next to some shades you may be familiar with. I threw in Bobbi Brown Pale Pink on the end so you could see it next to an actual cool toned shade for reference. Compared to Tarte Thankful, one of the most basic warm pinks ever, you can see Paaarty is more nude and peachy. NARS Douceur, my favorite nude blush, is more plummy and brown. In case you thought Paaarty was too tan, I swatched NARS Laguna at the other end for reference.

On my fair cool toned skin, Paaarty shows up and looks pretty, but it isn't my favorite. I personally prefer cooler toned pinks, but I could see this shade working well for most fair-light-medium skintones. If you have skin deeper than a medium tan, I doubt this would work at all.

The Tarte tarteist creamy matte lip paint mini in Birthday Suit is not at all my cup of tea. On my cool toned skin, I feel like the shade pulls too muddy orange to be a convincing nude. The tarteist matte formula is relatively lightweight, but emphasizes lip lines and dries out my lips. I am in my 20s and matte liquid lipsticks make my lips visually age about 20 years, so heaven help you if you are concerned with lip lines or have chapped lips.

As you can see by my comparison swatches, I don't own any peachy, tan, brown, or brick liquid lipsticks to compare. What I do have are a few shades that are in the same color family in finishes that actually work for me - if you like the idea of this shade but can't tolerate the finish, Fresh sugar lip treatment in Petal will be your friend. If Fresh sugar lip treatments are too sheer and glossy for your taste, the new Fresh sugar cream lip treatments may be a better compromise and Buff is in the same color family. I do have a full review of the Fresh sugar creams here. The YSL glossy stain in #7 is a peachy coral that is flattering on my fair, cool toned skin. To show how truly muted and earthy birthday suit is, I swatched Clinique sweet pop as well.

Ulta

Ulta's free birthday gift changes quarterly, so January, February & March birthdays will get a mini Benefit Porefessional primer. I wish Ulta let you choose your gift like Sephora does because I have gotten so many Benefit Porefessional samples over the years!

Unfortunately, Benefit Porefessional (and other silicone heavy pore filling primers) breaks me out badly. It is also basically colorless, so no point in swatching.

I'm sure most people will be happy about Porefessional, especially considering it is nicer than the Ulta store brand palette from last year. My all time favorite Ulta gift was the CK One full size mascara from a few years ago, but this one isn't the worst. I will update for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter birthdays when they release info.

I hope this was helpful to you! Happy birthday!

Cover FX custom cover drops N20 - comparison swatches

2016-11-22T07:52:00.001-08:00

I'll keep this brief, but I had to share comparison swatches for Cover FX custom cover drops in shade N20. I am late to the custom cover drops hype train, but I really wanted to try them. I went to Sephora to get color matched because I wasn't sure what shade I would be. The guy at Sephora color matched me to N20.

Let me be the first to say that N20 is not my shade and color matching at Sephora is a total crap shoot.

Let me also say that N20 is not a neutral toned shade - it is surprisingly peachy and warm. For comparison, the It Cosmetics Fair is cooler toned and more yellow, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk #2 is less peachy, and Skin79 hot pink BB cream is cooler and more grey. I included L'Oreal True Match N1 as a standard bearer for what I think an actual neutral toned base product looks like.

I think it's time to go back to Sephora for another shade sample! Has anyone else found that the CoverFX neutral shades aren't very neutral? Leave me a comment which shade worked for you...

Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre loose powder swatches & review // 20 Clair (translucent 1) on dry pale skin

2016-11-21T17:30:00.001-08:00

Basics:

$52 for 1 ounce / 30 grams, which is a pretty good price considering that many loose powders contain less grams of product. If you use up loose powders regularly, it pays to shop in price per gram.
Comes in a huge mouth jar with a puff. The puff isn't great, I only used it a few times. I love the packaging for home use, but I wouldn't recommend traveling with loose powders.
This powder is talc, nylon-12, and silica based, making it one of the most finely milled and delicate of the 'traditional' loose powders. The texture is more substantial feeling than the 100% silica powders or corn starch based formulas on the market.
Soft matte finish, great for setting foundation. Not as good for touchups.
It can be applied to look natural on the skin, but you will have to pay special attention to application to achieve a truly invisible look. If you are heavy handed or tend to sweep powder on with a brush, it could look dry or visible on the skin.

Can fair skin use 20 Clair?
One of my concerns was if the shade 20 clair was appropriate for very light or fair skin. I'm neutral and very fair (L'Oreal True Match N1 or Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk 2) and was worried 20 clair would be too dark. As you can see in the swatch below, 20 Clair works for fair skin. I tapped the powder on heavily for a swatch because a sheer swatch is translucent on my skin.

How long does the Chanel loose powder last?
I use loose powder every single day to set my foundation / bb cream and I bought mine in April 2015. I have used up 95% by November 2016, so between a year and a half and two years. The Chanel powder has 30 grams, which is more than most loose powders.

Swatches & Comparisons:

Compared to the yellow toned Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder, the Chanel is more beige. The Laura Mercier and Chanel have very similar textures and performance, as both are heavy in talc and nylon-12. The Chanel powder features silica high on the ingredients list while the Laura Mercier powder uses corn starch. I use these interchangeably, but I prefer the Chanel because the yellow tone of the Laura Mercier isn't my cup of tea.

The Chanel loose powder is very different from Bare Minerals mineral veil. Mineral veil is peach toned and is basically just corn starch. Corn starch based powders do a great job blurring and looking natural on my skin, but they have poor longevity on me. I prefer mineral veil for cake-free touchups, but the Chanel is better for setting foundation in the first place.

As you can see in the blended swatches, all 3 of these powders are basically translucent on my skin. The Chanel and Laura Mercier can look powdery on the skin and don't blur or smooth the way mineral veil does.

Would I repurchase?

After a year and a half of regular use, I don't plan on repurchasing. The Chanel poudre universelle libre is a solid workhorse formula, but it doesn't have a refined texture that disappears on the skin. I prefer the newer HD silica based powders that are more invisible on the skin while still mattifying. I see why this is such a popular cult product and I like it more than most of the powders I have tried, but it isn't my favorite.

Update: Who owns who? Corporate ownership of global makeup brands

2016-11-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

My mega post on the corporate ownership of cosmetics brands is one of the most popular ever on my blog, so with all of the new news lately I thought it was time for an update.

Unsurprisingly, L'Oreal and Estee Lauder have continued with substantial M&A activity, notably with L'Oreal's purchase of It Cosmetics and Estee Lauder's purchase of Too Faced and Becca. Shiseido has also been busy, creating a new prestige makeup division and purchasing Laura Mercier. E.l.f. has gone public under the leadership of TPG Growth.

The post update includes:

Updated 2016 information
New graphics accounting for 2016 news
New information on which makeup brands are not owned by a conglomerate or private equity company
Reader requests to include new brands

Click here to read the updated post! If you have any questions or requests for info on a brand you are curious about, please leave me a comment.

Is it a dupe? Urban Decay sin vs Stila kitten eyeshadow

2016-11-13T12:28:00.001-08:00

I totally get why Stila Kitten and Urbay Decay Sin are popular eyeshadow shades - both are shimmery champagne nudes that light up the eye. What I don't get is why people online treat them like dupes. I have owned both for a long time and they serve totally different purposes in my collection.

Let's take a look at some swatches and the differences will make themselves clear.

A photo posted by Avery Mae (@averymaebeauty) on Mar 22, 2016 at 8:37am PDT

Looking at side by side swatches, it is very clear that Stila Kitten is has a more yellow peachy tone, while Sin is cooler and more ballet pink. Kitten's shimmer leans golden, while Sin's gleam leans silver. Kitten has very obvious shimmer particles, while Sin has a smoother satin finish. Kitten has a softer texture, obvious shimmer, is more opaque, and has a definite 'notice me' bling quality. Sin can be worn softly and sheerly for a natural effect, which is impossible for Kitten.

Both shades are absolutely beautiful, but are in no way dupes. If you only like no-makeup-makeup, Sin could have a place in your collection, but Kitten will be too loud for you. By contrast, if you like shimmer and bling, Kitten will be right up your alley but Sin is likely to be underwhelming. I don't feel comfortable wearing Kitten in a corporate office setting, but Sin feels appropriate at work. I save wearing Kitten for parties or when I want to feel movie star glam.

I hope this was helpful! If you have any other champagne eyeshadow favorites, leave me a comment and I would love to check them out.

How long does it take for cream products to dry up?

2016-11-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

Seriously though, how long do cream products actually last before they are so dry and crusty you can't use them? Makeup packaging has little icons that say when you should toss a product, but I personally ignore those suggestions unless the product changes in smell, texture, or function. In the name of science (ish), let's take a look at some of my super duper old cream products:

Inglot gel eyeliner: Currently 2 years and 2 months after purchase. I saw no changes at all for a year and then product pulling away from the edges and hardening slightly after a year. By the second year anniversary, there was a huge crack down the center of each and the texture is a dense, dry putty instead of a smooth cream. Now, at 26 months, they are basically useless. If you were desperate, you could probably use Inglot duraline to limp along to the 2.5 year mark. Gel eyeliner shelf life is about 2 years.

Maybelline color tattoo cream eyeshadow: Currently about a year and a half after purchase. I like Maybelline color tattoos, but they aren't incredibly long lasting. I have owned several matte and several metallic shades, and the matte shades have a much drier, firmer texture initially and dry up faster. My metallic shades have all been fine for the first 6-9 months but show serious dryness at 9-12 months. Now, a year and a half in, the product has pulled away from the edges of the pot and the texture is incredibly dense and flaky. I can only use this by patting the product on the lid with my finger because it flakes/pills with swiping motions. It's basically dead. I recommend repurchasing annually or finding a formula with better longevity.

Anastasia dipbrow pomade: Currently 2 years and 2 months after purchase. I noticed product pulling away from the edges of the pot after about 6 months (!), serious dryness around 9 months, and then no changes at all in year 2. Oddly, I prefer the dry, stiffer texture because less pomade picks up on my brush. It still works okay for doing natural brows, but its days as a gel eyeliner or serious instagram brow pomade are OVER. Weirdly, I'm loving it more as it dries out. If you love the texture of the brand new product, you will start getting crabby 6 months from purchase.

MAC paint pot in painterly: Currently 2 and a half years after purchase. MAC paint pots are the OG cream eyeshadow and they last for a really, really, really long time. Even when new, the paint pot texture is more oily/emollient than a typical cream shadow, so they have an impressive shelf life. After 2 years, I noticed serious pulling away from the edges and a slight increase in density, but the product still looks the same on the eyelid. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy the MAC formula that much compared to more modern formulations so I won't repurchase. Good shelf life but old fashioned formula.

Bobbi Brown corrector: Currently 3 years and 1 month after purchase! I don't understand how this works, but.... the texture is the same. Maybe because the texture started out relatively dense and emollient? This corrector formula is heavier than a lot of the newer versions, so it isn't my favorite anymore, but I can't knock the shelf life. Holy crap, it still works after 3+ years?!?!

Laura Mercier caviar eye sticks: Sandglow is almost 3 years after purchase, Amethyst and Rosegold are almost 2 years. Rosegold and Sandglow are basically as good as new, but Amethyst is showing serious signs of aging. If you tip the pencil down, the cream shadow in Amethyst will fall out, but I have been using it with a brush. I have no idea how Sandglow is a year older than Amethyst with no problems, but I'm not complaining. I might actually use these up before they dry out!

Laura Mercier secret camouflage concealer (SC-2): Currently 2 years and 5 months after purchase. I noticed zero changes in texture until 2 years of use, and then I started noticing oily seeping on the edges of the pans and hairline cracks on the surface of the smaller pan. Secret camouflage is a brilliant concealer, but can be challenging to work with because of the dense, solid texture. I can still use it, but I have to pay extra attention to warming it up between my fingers before applying. Challenging texture even when new, but even drier after 2 years.

Note: YYMV. I store my makeup in acrylic drawers in my bedroom. If you keep your makeup in the bathroom, the humidity very well could change your results. I also make sure to twist the lids on firmly and store cream pot products upside down. I store my cream pencil products flat in a drawer instead of vertical in a cup.

The moral of the story is this - if you have a large makeup collection, your products will probably dry up before you can use it all. Don't bother buying backups.

Swatches - Urban Decay summer 2016 collection // afterglow highlighters, beached bronzer, & 24/7 pencils

2016-04-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today I have quick swatches to share of the Urban Decay summer 2016 collection. These just came in to my local Ulta store, so I wanted to get swatches up fast. As you can tell by the photos, I decided to swatch before purchasing so I wouldn't be impulsive. FOMO is a real thing with limited edition / seasonal collections, so do your research first to consider if the item really is what you are looking for and if it will work with your skin.

Beached bronzer

Urban Decay's beached bronzer comes in 2 shades - sun kissed and bronzed. Both are matte and feel very silky smooth. The texture in the pan reminds me of the smooth texture of Benefit Hoola, but more silky than buttery. The powders feel harder pressed than Hoola but a looser texture than the Too Faced chocolate line. Sun kissed is more pink, lighter and less pigmented than Bronzed. Bronzed is darker and more yellow and reminds me of a less pigmented and dense Hoola. Both swatches below are several swipes with my finger to show the difference in color between the two.

I love the texture and compact of both bronzers, but I'm not planning to purchase because the tones aren't going to be flattering on my fair, cool-neutral toned skin.

Afterglow highlighter

The Urban Decay afterglow highlighter is in the same packaging as their afterglow blushes and comes in 3 shades - Sin, Fireball, and Aura. Of the three, Sin is the most metallic and Fireball is the least metallic. Each shade felt soft and creamy, and the texture felt on par with other highlighters in the same price bracket.

Sin the highlighter is more yellow-golden than Sin the eyeshadow and was surprisingly metallic. As you can see in the swatches, Sin looks more champagne beige in indirect light and flashes metallic light gold in direct light. I think this shade would be a good choice for someone who wants a highlight with some bling factor and doesn't have a lot of texture on the cheeks.

Fireball is the darkest and most subtle in finish of the three afterglow highlighters. Fireball has a beautiful warm glow in indrect light and a magenta pink flash in direct light. I love the duochrome complexity in the shade and I think the finish of Fireball will be the most forgiving for those with pores or cheek texture.

Aura is an icy light pink that leans silvery pink in direct light. The finish is standard for a powder highlighter and is less metallic than Sin but more shimmery than Fireball. Aura is an interesting, unique shade but is going to be a tricky one for most people to wear. I think Aura would be a good choice for fair, cool toned skin. I would bet Aura would go ashy very quickly on those with deeper skin and would clash with warmer undertones.

24/7 eyeliner pencils

The Urban Decay summer 2016 collection also has two eyeliner pencils - the 24/7 waterline eye pencil in Walk of Shame and the 24/7 glide on eye pencil in Heartless.

Walk of Shame the eyeliner pencil is darker and more yellow than the Walk of Shame eyeshadow. On my skin, the Walk of Shame waterline pencil is too dark and too yellow to be a true "nude" shade, but I think light-medium skin would like the color. The swatch set quickly on my hand to a budgeproof finish, but did oxidize a shade deeper and warmer over about 30 minutes.

Heartless is a smooth metallic cool toned lilac pink eyeliner pencil. The cool toned pink shade combined with the bright metallic finish and lilac flash is going to be a tricky color for most people to wear. I think it could be brightening and lift the eye if used correctly, but it is too out of my comfort zone for everyday wear for me. The swatch set nicely (felt like it set much better than my 24/7 perversion black eyeliner) but was easier to remove than the WOS waterline pencil.

Out of the whole collection, the item I am most interested in is the Aura afterglow highlighter. I think the highlighters will be the most popular, but all of the items I swatched and played with felt nice. The bronzers and eyeliner pencils are good ideas, but none of the shades are right for me.

I hope these swatches were helpful & leave me a comment if you have tried anything from this collection! I would love to know how these worked for you.

Decluttering strategies for makeup - How to simplify & trim down your collection

2016-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

There are so many different ways to declutter and simplify your makeup collection, but today I want to share what has worked for me. Over the past six months I have reduced the size of my makeup collection by half. I realized that my collection was much, much too large for me - I was feeling anxious looking at my makeup, guilty over the amount of money I had spent, and guilty that I owned products I hadn't touched in months. You can read more about my thought process here in my first post of the series if you want more details.

It can be hard to get started on a large organization or decluttering project. Personally, I have an issue with inertia - it is hard for me to get started, but once the ball is rolling it is much easier for me to continue.

So, here are my steps for decluttering your makeup collection!

Step 1: Set goals

This might sound hokey, but think about what your goals are for decluttering. For me, my goal was to regularly use every product in my arsenal. This breaks down into a few different components. First, if I am going to use every product I own often, I can't own a bajillion of everything and still meet that goal. Second, if I want to enjoy using my products, I have to like or love every product in my collection. Third, if I am successfully rotating through my collection on a regular basis and am happy with those products, I need to reduce my shopping to keep my collection a reasonable size going forward.

You might not have the same goal as I do - maybe you live in a small apartment and want a small, minimalist collection. Maybe you are happy with the size of your collection, but it is organized in a way that feels overwhelming to you. Maybe you bought a crap ton of metallic eyeshadow before realizing that mattes are your jam.

Regardless of your goal, think about what you want and set a goal for yourself. It's important to stay positive - don't punish yourself and don't focus on guilt. This is about enjoying and appreciating what you have!

Step 2: Garbage can

Check through your collection for anything that needs to go into the garbage. Do any products have mold? Have any products expired? Has the smell gone rancid or off? Be ruthless and throw them away! Don't risk an infection or bacterial contamination by using a product that has gone bad.

If you want to take it a step further, I tossed every open mascara that was over 3 months old and every open lip gloss that was over a year old. I also did a harsh cull of my samples - I committed to either try the foil sample packet within the week or toss it. Be honest with yourself and don't keep 'backup' foil packet samples you don't actually intend to use soon.

It might feel sad throwing things in the garbage, but there is no using something up if the formula has gone bad and you can't pass expired products along to a friend.

Step 3: Put it all away

I cleared out the bottom drawer of my dresser and put my makeup collection inside. The idea here is to put it all away - maybe you have an Ikea Alex with opaque drawers, maybe you put it in a tote box in the closet, maybe you put it in your travel makeup bag, but put it all away where you can't see it. You have put it away in the right place when it would take intentional effort to take a product back out of storage.

Step 4: Pack for a staycation

I hate what YouTube has done to this phrase, but it's time to "shop your stash" - open up your storage and pack for a minimalist staycation. Plan for being "gone" from your collection for a week and pack the bare essentials back to your vanity. Pack your favorite, most used, most loved item from each essential category, but no doubling up! One eyeshadow palette, one mascara, one powder, etc.

Use only your staycation kit for a while. It might take a few days or a few weeks, but give yourself enough time to feel like you have had enough time to give each product some love. If, after some focused use, any of the products you "packed" aren't satisfying to you, put it aside to get rid of and pick something else out of storage.

Life is way, way too short to force yourself to use a product that doesn't make you happy!

Step 5: Reintroduce products to your daily routine a few at a time

Over the next few months, reintroduce a product back into your vanity if you find yourself missing it or wanting to use that specific product. You know it is something you enjoy if you want to use it even if it is stored out of sight.

Keep reintroducing products slowly and let them into the regular rotation. Over time, (a few months in my case) you will notice that you haven't pulled items out of storage in awhile. At this point, everything that is in your vanity should be loved, enjoyable to use, and used regularly.

Step 6: Deal with the items still in storage

At about the 5 month mark, I opened up my dresser drawer again. Most of the items in the drawer hadn't been used in over a year and they didn't tempt me to bring them back out over the past few months. 90%+ of everything in this drawer is leaving. If you have a few sentimental items in this drawer, I give you permission to keep them :) I kept an old favorite Covergirl eyeshadow that was my first ever eyeshadow single. I kept it because of the memories, not because I want to use it, but I think it's okay to have a few things like that.

Sort the items in storage into three piles: (1) sell, (2) give away, and (3) keep part of the item.

Step 6a: Sell what you would like to, if any. I had a group of items that were lightly used, higher end brands, and relatively new. I sold a bunch of items on Reddit's Makeup Exchange subreddit, but I'm sure there are other places you can sell items online. Don't fall into the trap of pricing the item according to retail value, because 15% off retail + paypal fees + shipping doesn't give your potential buyer much of a discount. Think about this instead: these products are offering you NO VALUE and the money you spent on them is already gone! Price your items to sell and move them out fast. If your items don't sell in a quick time frame, accept that no one wants to buy them and push them into your give away pile.

I got a couple hundred dollars selling makeup on Makeup Exchange, used that money to pay my utility bills for two months, and it felt great!

Step 6b: Give away products. Remember, only give away products that someone else will be able to enjoy. This means products need to be sanitized (lots of great tutorials on YouTube for this if you don't know how), not too old, and still functional. I am very lucky that my younger sister loves makeup, has a warm undertone (I'm neutral-cool), and is about a shade deeper than I am. I happily gave her and some of my younger cousins lots of products that I liked, but weren't flattering shades or finishes on me. I also passed some items along to friends and my sister's friends.

Don't forget about sample minis, makeup bags, and tools in this step! I packaged some give away items in bundles to give away to my cousins - I included a brush appropriate for the item and put it all in a makeup bag. I also gave away unused samples, like mini mascaras and mini primers that I thought might be useful.

If you don't have family or friends to pass items along to, consider women's shelters (often they only take unused items, so call ahead and check their policies!) or some internet friends (like Random Acts of Makeup on reddit).

It felt kind of sad to give away products I had loved, but a few weeks ago I met up with my sister for a weekend getaway and she brought a makeup bag that I gave her! She was getting ready in the hotel, and she was using a mascara mini, blush, and blush brush that I gave her. It felt so great to make my sister happy! If you are having a hard time letting go of products, think about the joy you can give someone else instead of just letting products sit in a drawer.

Step 6c: Only keep part of an item. Do you have a palette that you only use a few shades from? Do you have a duo that you only use half of? Don't keep the whole thing if you only use or like a piece of it. Depot what you want to use and dispose of the rest. (If you don't know how to depot a palette, I have a tutorial here.)

I used to think that if I depotted an eyeshadow palette, I was somehow obligated to keep all of the pans. I actually filled up a whole z-palette with pans of eyeshadow I didn't like just because the rest of the shades from those palettes were in my everyday use z-palette! I also caught myself keeping items from a value set just because I loved some of the other products from the same set. Kind of bonkers, I know.

I give you permission to get rid of the shades and pans from depotted or disassembled palettes and sets that you won't use.

Step 7: Assess your progress.

At this point in my journey, I had successfully pared down my collection by half and was meeting my goal of using the products I owned regularly! Go back to your original goal you set months ago and honestly assess how you did. Do you need to go back and revisit some steps? Maybe it's time for a new goal or a second goal. Maybe you did a great job and deserve a pat on the back!

Step 8: Plan for the future.

Once you are satisfied with meeting your goals or making good progress towards them, it's time to think about how you can set yourself up for future success. For me, I knew I had to pay close attention to my shopping and online media consumption.

Now, I don't buy new makeup unless I have researched it (positive AND negative reviews!) and thought about how it would fit into my collection. Would I honestly use it regularly? Is it a replacement of something I used up? If you want to buy something new, wait a few days and assess if you still want it or not.

I also started paying closer attention to which Instagram accounts, YouTube channels, and blogs I follow. I like content that is educational (come on guys, not everything can give you life and is finely milled and SO PIGMENTED!). Make sure the content you are consuming is making you happy. If the internet in general isn't adding a lot of value to your life, take a break from Instagram and YouTube for a week and spend that time outside, reading a book, or going out to coffee with a friend instead.

After simplifying my collection, I feel excited about my getting ready in the morning time again. I also don't feel overwhelmed or anxious looking at my makeup because it is better organized and curated for me and my routine. I also have a much better idea of my preferences for color, texture, and finish of products, so I can be confident that a new purchase is a good idea for me. I still buy makeup sometimes (and I still enjoy buying makeup!), but I am going about it in a more balanced, intentional way and I feel good about that.

Remember, makeup is makeup. This isn't a super serious thing and it is supposed to be creative and fun! I hope this has helped you enjoy what you have and enjoy the present moment! Good luck decluttering :)

Free makeup birthday gifts 2016 - Sephora, Ulta, Urban Decay

2016-03-26T12:23:00.001-07:00

We all love birthday gift freebies, so as someone with an early in the year birthday I wanted to share what I got! Sephora, Ulta, and Urban Decay all have rewards programs that offer birthday perks.

Sephora birthday gift 2016

Sephora offers two choices for your free 2016 birthday gift - a skincare set from Fresh or a makeup set from Marc Jacobs. Normally I choose the Sephora makeup set over the skincare, but this year's Marc Jacobs duo didn't interest me. I prefer thin eyeliner pencils over the thicker gel pencils to get a precise, thin line or to tightline and I prefer tinted lip balm or lip gloss to full on lipstick, so I went for the other option.

I was really excited to try Fresh minis of the rose face mask and soy face cleanser - I have loved everything I have tried from Fresh in the past, especially their lip treatments. I am pleased to report both of these are quite nice and don't irritate my sensitive skin. My favorite of the two is the rose face mask - it smells like real roses! Neither product is a game changer, but I enjoy using them.

I didn't love either one of last year's NARS pencils (Rikugien was fine but nothing special and Cruella was crazy drying on me), so 2016 is a step up.

Ulta birthday gift 2016

Unlike Sephora, Ulta's free birthday gift changes quarterly. My birthday is in February, so I got the January - February - March freebie, which is a Benefit roller lash mascara mini! Compared to last year's Ulta house brand palette, roller lash is downright luxurious. My favorite Ulta birthday gift to date was the free full size CK mascara (2014 if I remember correctly?), but this is better than last year for sure. No word yet on what next quarter's Ulta gift will be, but I will come back and update when they announce.

So far, I'm liking roller lash much better than Benefit's they're real mascara. The brush on they're real was sharp and pokey and the formula was much too wet and clumpy for my taste. Roller lash is much more separating and lengthening than they're real, but can also get clumpy and weigh down the lashes with too much product.

The roller lash wand is similar to Cover Girl's clump crusher, but a little less curved and with a more dramatic difference in short vs long bristles on each side of the wand. Clump crusher does a much better job than roller lash at providing lash separation and buildable length, but roller lash offers more volume and drama.

Urban Decay birthday gift 2016

Urban Decay's beauty junkies rewards program is brand new and there isn't a ton of info about it online yet. When I first read about the Urban Decay free eyeshadow on your birthday offer, I was worried that they were trying to clear out an unpopular shade or a mini or something, but no! You get to pick your own shade and it is a full size! The bad news is that it does require a purchase, but this is a great offer if you were planning a UD purchase or if you want a better value way to get a single eyeshadow shade. If you don't have it already, I highly recommend Sin. I like this style of rewards program because it allows you to customize the shade of what you want and get a full size product - I hope more brands get on board with birthday bonus gifts!

If you want to sign up for Urban Decay beauty junkies, you can use my referral link here (the referral program is open to all, if you sign up with my link we each get 10 points) or sign up through their website.

Happy birthday!!! I hope this roundup was helpful to you and enjoy your freebies! If you know what next quarter's Ulta gift is or know about any other makeup birthday offers, please tell me in the comments.

2017 UPDATE: Click here for info on the 2017 gifts!

Dear makeup diary - feeling overwhelmed by my makeup collection

2016-03-24T18:47:00.001-07:00

Those of you who follow me on Instagram or chat with me on Reddit may already know this, but the tail end of 2015 to now beauty wise has been all about trimming down my collection and appreciating what I own. I wanted to write a little bit about how I've been feeling about my collection - maybe it will help you refocus on your own collection, declutter, plan purchases more, or something else. Who knows.

I have been thinking about writing this post for a long time, but I decided to go for it after reading or hearing other people say things that really felt like what I was feeling. Notably, Dustin Hunter's YouTube video (his #1 tip for saving money on makeup? Don't buy any.), the subreddit Makeup Rehab, and Kimberly Clark's excellent Anti Haul series.

Where I went wrong

I wish I could tell you that I arrived at my desire for a smaller, more edited collection in an inspiring, zen way. Or I wish I could tell you that I dialed back on buying makeup and beauty products because I found my holy grail in every category or new releases stopped catching my attention. I wish, but no. I started realizing as I was getting ready in the morning that I had much, much more makeup than I was using. I realized that I had products I forgot about for months. I started feeling overwhelmed looking at my makeup table and then I started feeling guilty about the money I had spent on beauty products. I never spent money that should have gone to bills or something more important, but I realized that they money I spent on beauty products a little at a time could have added up to larger more durable joys - a really nice camera, fancy dates with my husband, the comfort of a larger savings account, and a bunch of other things.

The hype machine

Probably like many people, the items I bought when I first started getting into makeup years ago were the products I saw on blogs, YouTube, and on Instagram, not the products that were thoughtfully purchased with my own preferences in mind. In the beginning, buying items based on internet reviews from strangers felt so rational. By comparison to my impulsive Walgreens eyeliner purchases in junior high, YouTube reviews made me feel like I was being smarter with my money. The problem, of course, is that my makeup collection snowballed. When I was first introduced to the YouTube and Instagram beauty community, I was naive enough to not think about where these people were getting their products, photo blurring and overexposed video lighting, how long they had used the item before giving it a thumbs up, and reading between the lines to infer a negative review from a relentlessly positive 'guru'.

Not only was I literally buying into the hype machine, I didn't know my own preferences well enough to discern the difference between "this color is perfect for everyone!!!" and a shade I, personally, would use often in my routine. I wish I could have learned what my preferences were another way, but I learned what I didn't care for by buying products, trying them, and then realizing that I didn't like a specific shade or finish on my skin. Combining decades of untapped makeup curiosity, the disposable income from a professional job, and the proliferation of makeup focused beauty communities/channels online in the last five years has brought me to the place of having a large collection.

So, I felt super, duper guilty. I realized that I was spending my precious resources - my hard earned money, my time, my mental energy - on something that wasn't giving me the joy it had before. I still enjoyed my getting ready time in the morning, but I felt like my relationship with the online beauty community and shopping had to change.

What I did to help myself change my behavior:

1. A seriously big declutter. Over the last six months, I have reduced my makeup collection by half. My goal is to only have products in my collection that I actually use regularly and love using. (I'm thinking about writing a post about the strategies I used to prune my collection? Leave me a comment if you are interested)

2. I took a break from the internet. One of my goals was to finish Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series (over 3 million words in 10 volumes!). I spent lots of time reading, cooking, and playing board games in the time I would have otherwise spent online in the evenings or on weekends. Minimizing my time online helped me refocus on other hobbies, which helped me enjoy my getting ready in the morning time again.

3. I took a break from shopping. The first few months of stopping going to Ulta or CVS just to see what was new were hard, but the $10 here and there adds up. I have been working on only going shopping when there is something I need to buy and spending my money on an intentional purchase instead of buying impulsively.

4. I focused my blog posts on reviews. Writing detailed reviews, especially on products I have been using for a long time, has helped me focus on the products I already own instead of products I would like to buy.

5. I unsubscribed. I culled a ton of 'subscriptions' to YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, boards on Pinterest, blogs, and store email blasts. I thought about the kind of content I want to keep watching, seeing, and reading and made sure my online subscriptions reflected that.

I really hope this was helpful! If you have experienced something similar, how did you handle it? Any tips for the rest of us? Please share in the comments!

Concealer comparison swatches - NARS Radiant Creamy / Urban Decay Naked Skin / Maybelline Instant Age Rewind

2016-03-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

Today's post is a quick swatch comparison of the three under eye concealers I have in rotation right now. I have fair, dry skin with blue-purple dark circles, so I am always looking for a concealer that will be pigmented enough to cover discoloration, brightening enough to make me look awake, and not exaggerate dry skin or fine lines.

Urban Decay Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla is my favorite of the three for all purpose use. Especially now that I'm nearing the end of my tube, the drier texture can look cakey on dry skin under my eyes. I find it has the best coverage of the three, especially for post acne pigmentation or blue - purple dark circles. The shade Vanilla is a hair too deep for my face and doesn't provide any brightening under the eyes - I wish they made a shade between Vanilla and Chantilly!

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Fair Neutral is the newest concealer to my collection. I kept seeing it in 2015 favorites videos on YouTube, so I wanted to give it a try and see if it lives up to the hype. Fair Neutral is quite a bit lighter than I thought it would be, but the next shade deeper is quite a bit deeper and more yellow. Even on my fair skin, Fair Neutral can give me a reverse panda effect if I am heavy handed. I absolutely love the thin texture - it blends into my skin beautifully and brightens well. It is pigmented compared to a standard concealer like Maybelline Fit Me, but it has less coverage than NARS RCC or Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Fair is in between textures of the NARS and Urban Decay. It feels a little more creamy than the Urban Decay, but is much more thin than the NARS. This is a great concealer if you are worried about dry skin texture and want a little bit of coverage and brightening. It isn't as high coverage as the NARS and it isn't as brightening as the Urban Decay, but it is a good compromising formula. I'm sure a different shade would be more brightening, but this is the lightest in the range as far as I know. This is my hands down favorite drugstore concealer - I haven't found anything with as nice of a texture around the same price.

I swatched each concealer heavily so you can see the differences in color and texture, but keep in mind that the colors look much more similar when used with a light hand. As always, swatches were on bare, unprimed skin.

I hope these swatches were helpful to you if you are trying to decide between them! I also have comparison swatches of NARS Vanilla and Maybelline Fit Me #10 here.