sephora

Summer Days!

Hi, Everyone!

It’s been sometime since I’ve posted.

Summer in Philadelphia has been fabulous. Hot and steamy, just how I like it! Not much rain until recently, but that’s July and August!

Sweaty summer months call for an awesome matte powder, and one that I’ve been loving comes from H&M and is only around $10! Really need give this product a shout out! … We’ll come back to this…

For the past few months, I’ve raved about Cinema Secrets Pro Cosmetics Ultralucent Colorless Setting Powder. This product is AMAZING! I’ve used this setting powder on male and female clients, for film and stills, as well as on myself.

You can find me rocking this powder at work, at the gym, and everything in between. It holds so well, keeps everything in place, and totally allows me to sweat (SUCH A FACE SWEATER) through the 90+ degree days in Philly, with zero transfer.

As much as I love this product, I’ve been cheating on it with the powder I found at H&M. Unlike the Cinema Secrets loose powder, the H&M Matte Powder comes in a pressed compact.

I tend to highly dislike pressed powders, because they eventually break. I’ve spent hours of my life resetting compacts and pressed powders, eye shadows, bronzers, highlighters, etc. with alcohol, attempting to piece them back together. In the past this technique has worked, but I’ve found that its not really worth my time.

When the H&M matte powder was almost finished, it finally broke (not surprised). However, it did last WAY LONGER than compacts I’ve purchased in the past. The compact itself is slender and houses a mirror. This product easily fits in any tiny clutch and had been my go to for months, for the one or two products I’d always carry. I haven’t made an H&M trip recently, but when I do, I will absolutely pick up another one.

The H&M matte powder was a random purchase. The line was long that day, and what else do I have to do except put my head down on my phone or play with the impulse products that stare at you while you wait, right? I find that the products I impulsively buy the most are lipsticks, mascaras and translucent setting powders. Impulse buys are usually on the cheaper side, so I’m never very upset if they’re not that great. The H&M matte powder was a fabulous impulse buy, and I would highly recommend it!

Comparing these two products, I’d say they’re very similar, both in texture and transparency, and both last HOURS. With both, they tend to come up a little light, and require a sweep of bronzer or color, to avoid looking washed out. The hold on both is wonderful. I hate to say it, but some of my longer days, I totally fall asleep with my makeup on (BAD MOVE). Early am perfect cheek bones, check. Both of these products last THAT long.

Guy’s, snag these if you can. Both are on the more inexpensive side and last thru TONS of uses.

Cinema Secrets products can be found at Sephora or you can purchase it here.

The H&M powder is (obviously) in stores but can also be purchased online at this link.

Like always, I love reader feedback. If you’ve used either of these products, I’d love to hear your opinon! Comment below or send me an email with your review!

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Until next time, Friends!

Stay FAB,

-R

Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon

I remember being so excited for the Marc Jacobs cosmetic line to debut. I even wrote a post on how the line was previewing early at Sephora.

I also remember when I received the Highliner Gel Crayon in Brown(out) as a free gift shortly after the debut. I may have used it once, was not very impressed and tossed it in my kit thinking I’d use it for something. Which, I’d like to add, was very upsetting seeing as how I was so excited about the line, and the press the brand was receiving was incredible.

Well, until yesterday, I had not used it. I randomly saw the pencil and decided I’d play around with it. Immediately I was reminded of why I didn’t like the pencil to begin with and ultimately decided I was going to write about it.

Now, almost all of my posts are about products that I love and think everyone should know about. I rarely have negative feedback and tend to only write about the positive.

However, I think this pencil needs some critiquing.

First, the pencil, which is called a “gel” liner, is incredibly hard and far from other gel liners I have loved in the past. The first time I used the twist-up pencil, It broke.

The color looks beautiful, with hints of gold. However, the color does not directly transfer to the skin. It’s very light and hard to blend.

I was really expecting this product to be more “high-end” and of better quality.

Now, in the products defense, I have not used another Highliner color. There is a possibility that different colors hold different qualities, and may be a softer material or truer to it’s color. This is something I’m curious about and am looking forward to exploring next time I’m at Sephora.

I’m curious if my readers have used any of the Highliner Crayons and if so, did you like them? What colors have you tried?

I love interacting with my readers and it’s always fun to receive comments and emails! Please feel free to contact me… let’s discuss!

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Until next time 🙂

-R

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

A product that I’ve recently acquired but have yet to write about is the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette.

kat von d

Available at Sephora and retailing for only $46, this magnetic palette is a key item to throw in my bag and keep with me all day. Unlike the Anastasia contour kit, this palette has a huge mirror which is great for on the go applications and touch ups.

3 lighter shades and 3 darker, all provide fabulous pigmentation while still keeping their blend-ability. The lightest highlight and banana colors, Lucid and Lyric, are pretty standard to most contour kits in the past year or so. The third lightest shade named Levitation is more of a peach color. I find this color to work well for under eye circles, layered as a base blending the other lighter shades out. The 3rd tray in most other powder palettes, is usually some kind of shimmer highlight. I rarely find myself using those shimmer shades however, they do look nice on Brides.

Now, all of the contour colors in the palette are great. The darkest shade, Subconscious, reminds me of the deepest color in my Master Class palette, just slightly warmer. The medium shade, Sombre, is fabulous for all over bronzing. And the lightest contour shade is Shadowplay. This color reminds me of the muddiest color in the Anastasia palette, but again slightly warmer with some orange tones. Blending all 3 of these colors starting with the deepest into my highlight, sculpts the perfect cheek bone. I also like the tiniest bit of the deep Subconscious shade around the hair line and jaw bone to bring color and shape to the face.

Something fun I’ve used this palette for: Smudging out my eyeliner using the darkest shade Subconscious. Personally, I love to wear my eyeliner to the shape of my eye, not too overdrawn, and smudged out. To achieve this look I first start with a gel pencil liner. After smudging my liner with a brush to the shape of my eye, slightly higher on my outer corners, I then set the liner with a black shadow. Using the darkest color in the Kat palette, I create a shadow above my liner, ultimately blending the black shadow with the brown shadow, blending up towards my crease. The color seems to fade out with no distinctive lines. Give it a try!

Overall, I really enjoy this palette. The price point of $46 is incredibly reasonable for the size of the pans but the colors are truly what make the Kat Von D Shade + Light Palette shine. Long lasting and rarely requiring a touch up, this has been my favorite highlight and contour purchase thus far. I don’t know that I’ve found anything negative about it and would highly recommend it to others! 🙂

Have you tried this palette? Please share your reviews!

Questions? Leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!

Stay fabulous, friends!

-R

Quickie post: some late night thinking out loud

Hi guys!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and reading my posts! I really appreciate all the inquiries, emails, comments, shares and likes I receive! This blog wouldn’t be much without that critical feedback 🙂 Keep it coming!

… I was just restlessly sitting here thinking about how much I love writing, updating, editing and posting new content on this site. It’s literally like a dear diary sometimes.

It’s such release to sit here and think out loud. I think, I type, I dont like it, I delete. Too easy. And then I start all over again…

…I’m dying to purchase and write about these new NARS Audacious matte lipsticks. I think I’m going to raid Sephora tomorrow for some new purchases. I’ve also been seeing a lot of the holiday kits and palettes… And we all know how much of a sucker I am for an awesome palette.

I’ll keep you guys updated on my purchases. Keep a look out for some more “old blog content” posts, I have a few more id like to add to rachealdoucettebeauty.com

Stay fabulous babes 🙂