Friday, August 10, 2012

Beauty Review - 10 Face Products

One of my favorite things to read online is beauty product reviews.  With all the countless options out there at all the different price points it would impossible to try everything so I let others try them and benefit from their experience!  I always check the reviews on products before I buy them to find out if they're worth spending my hard-earned cash on.  Now it's time for me to give back and do a little beauty review of my own.  One of the items on my Bucket List is to find a good beauty regimen that is tailored to my skin so this will also be a great way to catalogue the products I've tried and liked or didn't.  Today I'll cover some of the face products I've recently tried and I hope it helps you out!



1.    NYX High Definition Eye Shadow Base  $6
After finishing my tube of Too Faced primer I picked this up from Ulta based off the reviews I saw online.  With just as much staying power (maybe even more) than the higher priced brands, this little beauty babe rocks!  The only thing I don't really like is the applicator because it puts too much on if you use it directly so I end up dabbing it on my finger anyway.  Since doing that with this type of tip isn't the most sanitary I try to apply it shortly after getting in the shower so my hands are still squeaky clean.

2.    Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum  $29
I'm on probably my fifth bottle of this so that should tell you how I feel about it.  Especially since I hardly ever buy multiples of the same product because I love trying new ones so much.  This size bottle lasts at least 4 months, usually more depending on how often you apply.  I use it in the mornings as the first thing on my skin so I can get a good layer of nutrients and it doesn't make my skin any shinier.  I also started using it alone at night like it suggested and my skin felt moisturized and healthy, although it was sort of sticky to the touch.  There was a noticeable difference almost immediately when I first started using it a few years ago, but I think now my skin might be getting used to it so I may need to take a break for awhile.

3.    Juice Beauty Perfecting Foundation  $35
After using powder foundation for as long as I can remember, I just wanted to switch it up a little so I decided to try this out.  I love this brand because it's organic and I had good results with the serum so this was my first try in the liquid world.  When I applied it with my hands I felt like I wasted a lot of product and wasn't getting that great of coverage.  Once I tried a foundation brush, the coverage was fabulous and the color blends perfectly with my skin.  It covers all my blemishes, even big ugly red ones, but doesn't really help my undereye bags (I held off on branching into concealer, but I may have to add that in next).  As a happy bonus, all of their products smell fruity and fresh, which is always nice as a morning pick-me-up.  After a couple months of use I did start having problems with it coming out of the pump (squirty and sporadic), but it sounds like I still have plenty of product when I shake it so I'm hoping I'm not going to have to waste all that's left in the bottle!

4.    Origins All and Nothing Sheer Pressed Powder  $26.50
I was in the market for a sheer powder to mattify my skin after foundation and I read great reviews online about this one so I decided to try it out.  It definitely takes care of my shine problem, although I do have to reapply a few times a day if I want to keep the matte look.  The powder does change the overall coloring on my face very slightly when I use it, but it still looks great and I got complimented on clear skin from the day I started using it so it did a great job hiding the things that got past my foundation.

5.    Avalon Organics Vitamin C Refreshing Cleansing Gel  $9
My sister used this brand before for other products and liked it so when I needed a new face wash I decided to try it.  Sad to say, but I was less than impressed with this cleanser.  It smelled fantastic but I never really felt like my face was very clean afterwards.  I didn't notice any changes in my skin one way or another but I just wasn't a fan so I won't be getting this one again.

6.    Minted Rose Lip Balm  $7
Yet another product I decided to try based on all the great reviews I read and boy, am I happy I did!  I've always used Burt's Bees Pomegranate chapstick which worked nicely but I always had to reapply over and over.  This balm is seriously amazing!  It gives my lips a little color and the right amount of shine to highlight without looking ridiculous.  It lasts a long time, especially if I'm not eating or drinking, and it always makes my lips feel soft, even hours later.

7.    Alba Rainforest Hydrating Oil-Control Moisturizer  $14
This product was ok, but not great.  On the pro side, it's hydrating and leaves my skin nice and soft, not to mention it smells ah-mazing!  Unfortunately, I didn't notice any oil-control action going on, which was the whole reason I purchased it.  Now, I use it at night before I go to bed and I'm happy with it for that so if you're looking for a nice moisturizer this could be it, but for a shine-control lotion, not so much.

8.    Sephora Favorites Lashstash  $32
This is the second set like this that I've gotten from Sephora and it doesn't disappoint.  This one has 8 mini mascaras, 2 full size, and a mini bottle of remover to cover all your eyelash needs.  Each mascara is different so you can pick and layer depending on the look you're going for.  I like it because the full size tubes tend to dry out before I can use them all so by only using one or two minis at a time I can eliminate that problem.  It's also perfect if you're anything like me and love to try new products all the time because you save money doing it this way.

9.    Clean & Clear Finishes Mattifying moisturizer SPF 15  $7
With such hot and humid weather, my combination skin needs shine control every day.  I got this "moisturizer" in hopes to combat it but I hated it so much I could only use it a few times.  It comes out liquidy but when you try to rub it into your skin it doesn't really absorb and it becomes pasty, leaving a white film on your skin.  It acts exactly like sunscreen (and sort of smells like it too) so it could be good for that I guess, but it makes me look so ghostly I'd opt for a SPF tinted moisturizer before this.

10.  Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Moisturizer - Ivory  $29
This product has left me sort of torn...  I've used it everyday for that past 3 months and I still have plenty left, so it is a good bang for your buck.  It does a great job of blending away the smaller, lighter imperfections in my skin (which is an obvious pro), but it leaves me extremely shiny and feeling sort of greasy.  This is the first tinted moisturizer I've used so I'm not sure if this is par for the course, but I usually have to go lay under my bedroom ceiling fan after I apply to avoid feeling like it's all dripping off.  I also have to admit, I did notice a slight improvement in my overall skin condition when I introduced it to my morning routine.  Overall, it has sold me on a tinted moisturizer but I think I'll look around for another brand that doesn't leave me so greasy feeling.



What products have you tried?  How do you decide when making a beauty purchase?
Happy Friday everyone, enjoy your weekend!


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