June favorites
Another month, another set of favorites! I don't have any mumbo jumbo to discuss with y'all today so I'll just get to the favorites!
Chanel inimitable waterproof mascara available via Chanel, Nordstrom
When it comes to mascara, I think I'm exceptionally picky. Out of the dozens of mascaras that I've tried, there are only two that I truly love. I'm glad to say that this Chanel baby is lucky mascara number three. My personal goal when applying mascara is to make it look like I'm not wearing much mascara. I want those natural looking wispy lashes that you see on models in makeup campaigns.
Chanel claims it delivers volume, length, curl and precise separation all in one swipe. And it actually does! While I've accepted I'm never gonna have the lashes of a model, this mascara gets me closer to the goal than I've ever been! It gives me a whole lotta length but without making my lashes clump together into crumbly spikes.
The biggest hurdle I have when it comes to mascara is finding something that makes me lash stay curled all day long. A lot of waterproof mascaras hold up well for a few hours but inevitably slump throughout the day. I've worn this mascara for 12+ hours and honestly, my lashes look almost as good as they did when I first applied the mascara. Compared to every other mascara I've tried, this one hands down holds the curl the best.
The one con I noticed with this mascara is that it can smudge off a bit on super hot days. This may be because I accidentally touched my eyes or poked myself with my glasses. But I will say that I don't have this issue with my longtime favorite mascara, Dior's diorshow waterproof mascara. Either way, this doesn't really bother me much because most days I'm not spending 5+ hours outdoors in 85 degree weather.
MAC Brooke Candy vamplify lipgloss in Pamela (now on sale) available via MAC
I raved about this lipgloss in my MAC haul post and am now gonna continue raving about it in this post.
First off I don't think lipgloss properly describes this product. It's soo pigmented that I don't find it necessary to wear it over a lipstick or lip liner to appreciate its full pigmentation. If anything, I would describe it as kind of like a glossy liquid lipstick.
But unlike matte liquid lipsticks that dry down to a powdery finish, this one feels a bit... heavier since it sits on the lips in all its glossiness. If I don't eat or drink anything then I can easily wear this for 5+ hours. When I do eat or drink it fades away at the center.
I'm pretty sure I said this earlier, but this is my perfect my lips of better color. It reads as a true brown on my skin tone. To see more swatches of this lip gloss, check out my MAC haul post.
Jordana made to last liquid eyeshadow in not a wink pink available via Jordana
Since I did a full post reviewing this eyeshadow, I'm not really going to talk much about this shadow.
Like I said in my original post, I've been wearing this eyeshadow nonstop. It provides a beautiful wash of color on my lids and lasts all day long. Not a wink pink is a light pink shade with a whole lotta shimmer in it. It's so easy to apply that I usually just blend it out with my pinky finger.
Last weekend I helped my mom do her makeup for a wedding and applied it on her. Unlike some other cream eyeshadows, it didn't tug on her lids at all! It just glided over smoothly.
Too see more swatches, more shades, and my full review check out the original post!
Nars niagara satin lipstick available via Sephora, Nordstrom, Beauty.com, Saks
Way back when in April I linked a photo of Selena Gomez wearing the prettiest coral lipstick. Since then, I've been on the lookout for a similar shade.
I quickly realized that finding a coral lipstick that matched my skin tone would be a bit tough. I'm in that weird, middle range where I'm not pale enough for coral to look natural but also not dark enough for it to pop! Instead, most of the coral lipsticks I tried made me look sort of ill.
Nars Niagara works for me cause it's more of a muted, pinky coral. It's got a natural looking glossy sheen, which I have been allll about lately. Even though the lipstick is very pigmented, I do like to wear it over a nudeish lip liner, but that's only because my top lip is pretty dark. It wears pretty long but like most non-matte lipstick, it fades away if I eat or drink much.
Glamglow supermud single use clearing treatment available at Sephora
I was beyond ecstatic to see that glamglow released travel sized packets of their original supermud mask. I included my original, full sized pot of the stuff in my 2015 favorites. Unfortunately, after not using the mask for 3 or 4 months I was so sad to see that the remainder of it in the pot had dried up! I only had about 1/4 left and wouldn't have minded much if I had paid $10 or $20 for it. But this is a $70 pot we're talking about! 1/4 of $70 worth of product is a $17.50 loss!
I was a bit salty about it and decided to try other charcoal masks on the market. I tried Boscia's luminizing black mask, Origins' clear improvement mask, H&M's charcoal and volcanic soil mask, and Freeman's charcoal and black sugar mask. And while I liked some of them, none of them gave me the same results as glamglow. Glamglow made my skin less oily, reduced the amount of new acne spots, and worked as a gentle chemical and physical exfoliant. Not to mention seeing the oil and gunk be physically sucked out by the mask was soo satisfying. When I saw they released glamglow in these travel sized packages, I went ahead and bought two (cause they were listed as limited edition.)
First and foremost, the packet packaging is a lot more hygienic than the original pot/ jar packaging (to learn more about the downsides of jar packaging, you can read this Paula's choice article.) Second, the travel size is a better bang for your buck! For $22 you get .5 oz of product which equates to a $44/ oz price. In comparison, the full size is $69 for 1.2 oz which equates to $57.50/ oz. That's a pretty significant savings! In addition, it's a lot easier to swallow a $22 purchase made every other month rather than a $70 splurge at one point.
Each packet comes with .1 oz of product and while they are intended for one time use, I find that I can get two or three uses out of each packet. I make sure to make the tiniest rip, apply the mask, then quickly seal the rip with some tape. It's not the most elegant of methods, but hey, it works!
I do wonder if the product in the travel size is a bit thinner than the product in the original pot. I'm not sure if I'm remembering incorrectly but I remember the mask being a bit thicker in consistency. Then again, perhaps glamglow changed the formulation to make the masks thinner in general. I'll have to try out the tester the next time I'm at sephora to find out for myself!
Phew, and finally we're done. This favorites post was considerably longer than my last few. Do you prefer longer, more in depth favorites or something shorter and more direct? Do you like reading more about the different products or seeing more photos? Or are you like me and like reading favorites posts of any length as long as they've got some sort of visuals? Do you care about stylized photos or do you prefer straight up swatches?
Any and all feedback is highly appreciated :)
Chanel inimitable waterproof mascara available via Chanel, Nordstrom
When it comes to mascara, I think I'm exceptionally picky. Out of the dozens of mascaras that I've tried, there are only two that I truly love. I'm glad to say that this Chanel baby is lucky mascara number three. My personal goal when applying mascara is to make it look like I'm not wearing much mascara. I want those natural looking wispy lashes that you see on models in makeup campaigns.
Chanel claims it delivers volume, length, curl and precise separation all in one swipe. And it actually does! While I've accepted I'm never gonna have the lashes of a model, this mascara gets me closer to the goal than I've ever been! It gives me a whole lotta length but without making my lashes clump together into crumbly spikes.
The biggest hurdle I have when it comes to mascara is finding something that makes me lash stay curled all day long. A lot of waterproof mascaras hold up well for a few hours but inevitably slump throughout the day. I've worn this mascara for 12+ hours and honestly, my lashes look almost as good as they did when I first applied the mascara. Compared to every other mascara I've tried, this one hands down holds the curl the best.
The one con I noticed with this mascara is that it can smudge off a bit on super hot days. This may be because I accidentally touched my eyes or poked myself with my glasses. But I will say that I don't have this issue with my longtime favorite mascara, Dior's diorshow waterproof mascara. Either way, this doesn't really bother me much because most days I'm not spending 5+ hours outdoors in 85 degree weather.
MAC Brooke Candy vamplify lipgloss in Pamela (now on sale) available via MAC
I raved about this lipgloss in my MAC haul post and am now gonna continue raving about it in this post.
First off I don't think lipgloss properly describes this product. It's soo pigmented that I don't find it necessary to wear it over a lipstick or lip liner to appreciate its full pigmentation. If anything, I would describe it as kind of like a glossy liquid lipstick.
But unlike matte liquid lipsticks that dry down to a powdery finish, this one feels a bit... heavier since it sits on the lips in all its glossiness. If I don't eat or drink anything then I can easily wear this for 5+ hours. When I do eat or drink it fades away at the center.
I'm pretty sure I said this earlier, but this is my perfect my lips of better color. It reads as a true brown on my skin tone. To see more swatches of this lip gloss, check out my MAC haul post.
Jordana made to last liquid eyeshadow in not a wink pink available via Jordana
Since I did a full post reviewing this eyeshadow, I'm not really going to talk much about this shadow.
Like I said in my original post, I've been wearing this eyeshadow nonstop. It provides a beautiful wash of color on my lids and lasts all day long. Not a wink pink is a light pink shade with a whole lotta shimmer in it. It's so easy to apply that I usually just blend it out with my pinky finger.
Last weekend I helped my mom do her makeup for a wedding and applied it on her. Unlike some other cream eyeshadows, it didn't tug on her lids at all! It just glided over smoothly.
Too see more swatches, more shades, and my full review check out the original post!
Nars niagara satin lipstick available via Sephora, Nordstrom, Beauty.com, Saks
Way back when in April I linked a photo of Selena Gomez wearing the prettiest coral lipstick. Since then, I've been on the lookout for a similar shade.
I quickly realized that finding a coral lipstick that matched my skin tone would be a bit tough. I'm in that weird, middle range where I'm not pale enough for coral to look natural but also not dark enough for it to pop! Instead, most of the coral lipsticks I tried made me look sort of ill.
Nars Niagara works for me cause it's more of a muted, pinky coral. It's got a natural looking glossy sheen, which I have been allll about lately. Even though the lipstick is very pigmented, I do like to wear it over a nudeish lip liner, but that's only because my top lip is pretty dark. It wears pretty long but like most non-matte lipstick, it fades away if I eat or drink much.
I was beyond ecstatic to see that glamglow released travel sized packets of their original supermud mask. I included my original, full sized pot of the stuff in my 2015 favorites. Unfortunately, after not using the mask for 3 or 4 months I was so sad to see that the remainder of it in the pot had dried up! I only had about 1/4 left and wouldn't have minded much if I had paid $10 or $20 for it. But this is a $70 pot we're talking about! 1/4 of $70 worth of product is a $17.50 loss!
I was a bit salty about it and decided to try other charcoal masks on the market. I tried Boscia's luminizing black mask, Origins' clear improvement mask, H&M's charcoal and volcanic soil mask, and Freeman's charcoal and black sugar mask. And while I liked some of them, none of them gave me the same results as glamglow. Glamglow made my skin less oily, reduced the amount of new acne spots, and worked as a gentle chemical and physical exfoliant. Not to mention seeing the oil and gunk be physically sucked out by the mask was soo satisfying. When I saw they released glamglow in these travel sized packages, I went ahead and bought two (cause they were listed as limited edition.)
First and foremost, the packet packaging is a lot more hygienic than the original pot/ jar packaging (to learn more about the downsides of jar packaging, you can read this Paula's choice article.) Second, the travel size is a better bang for your buck! For $22 you get .5 oz of product which equates to a $44/ oz price. In comparison, the full size is $69 for 1.2 oz which equates to $57.50/ oz. That's a pretty significant savings! In addition, it's a lot easier to swallow a $22 purchase made every other month rather than a $70 splurge at one point.
Each packet comes with .1 oz of product and while they are intended for one time use, I find that I can get two or three uses out of each packet. I make sure to make the tiniest rip, apply the mask, then quickly seal the rip with some tape. It's not the most elegant of methods, but hey, it works!
I do wonder if the product in the travel size is a bit thinner than the product in the original pot. I'm not sure if I'm remembering incorrectly but I remember the mask being a bit thicker in consistency. Then again, perhaps glamglow changed the formulation to make the masks thinner in general. I'll have to try out the tester the next time I'm at sephora to find out for myself!
Phew, and finally we're done. This favorites post was considerably longer than my last few. Do you prefer longer, more in depth favorites or something shorter and more direct? Do you like reading more about the different products or seeing more photos? Or are you like me and like reading favorites posts of any length as long as they've got some sort of visuals? Do you care about stylized photos or do you prefer straight up swatches?
Any and all feedback is highly appreciated :)