Beauty

[Funloving]

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible and hope it's helpful to some. Of course this is my own experience.

(I'm back to say as much as I try, writing & brief just aren't synonymous. I admire those of you who have that ability)

Starting with Mally and her most recent TSV- Initially I was disappointed and thoughts of returning this ASAP were already planted in my head. I first gave it a go a few nights after I received. While I was wearing very little m/u I didn't start with a clean slate and the eyeshadow looked muddy. I swatched the blush and highlighter on the lighter inner-side of my forearm which was a further disappointment. They didn't show up at all. I have medium/ tan skin.

Attempt number 2 was much better. Because I'm darker complected right now, the primer actually went on much lighter than my own skin-tone. Wearing alone I looked peaked.. and frankly.. sick. I'm sure the primer eventually sinks in.... I moved on with a light application of my foundation- Purple Lab Silk Sheets sheered w/ a beauty blender and my Mally cancellation concealer which I use daily. (actually I alternate w/Geller's tube concealer). Real or imagined, the primer seemed to give my skin a pretty boost.

I was able to do a nice eye in record time- however was disappointed with the amount of cream in the eyeshadow wand- (it seemed pretty chintzy to me). The cream shadow shade is a very close match to Tarte's EmphasEyes- the amazon clay waterproof cream eyeshadow in Rich Brown. <--name is deceiving. This is a golden color, like Mally's. They're almost identical really- though with Tarte you get a full pot as opposed to Mally's tiny amount. Also, Tarte's version comes w/ a full brush which really allows you to blend properly. I then followed w the powder end of the wand. OK. Nice enough look and not too dark for daytime wear w/ my coloring. The powder is a good compliment to the cream, imparting a sheen rather than glitter or something too sparkly for my liking. To polish off the look I added a bit of soft light brown shadow from a Stila palette. I normally steer away from warm colors though somehow this worked.

Once I actually used the blush and highlighter on my face it showed up just fine- I DID use my own brush. AND, again, somehow the warm peachy blush had enough pink to make it quite pretty and wearable. Believe me, I run far away from peaches and apricot. You'd never guess from eyeing the pan how different these translate on the skin. Both the blush and golden highlighter are more subtle and soft. They leave a light sheen rather than sparkles or glitter, unlike Tarte's Amazon Clay Blush (at least the one in the TSV).

The bronzer (I purchased "Lighter") was just a shade or shade and a half darker than my skin-tone right now. Very wearable. Thankfully it wasn't yellow but a true translucent light brown - easy to work with (use a big fluffy brush) - I'd imagine light skin-tones can use without a problem as a lovely bronzer or contour powder.

The other items were givens- I've used many times before. The liner- a true DEEP navy. The mascara- my all time fave. I used BE's Big Bold (or Bright?) mechanical liner in their version of blue for the waterline since the staying power is better for me.

After receiving compliments throughout the day I figured it's a keeper. However, besides the peachy blush I could probably duplicate the look with stuff I already own. I didn't mention the lip gloss and haven't used it. All-in-all this is a very nice kit. I DO wish there was more product in the eye wand. I can't imagine this piece lasting long at all. For those who think the shadow is too dark, it can easily be toned down with a lighter shadow on top. IT DOES last all day.. at least it did on me.

I also purchased some things from beautycrunch.com, thanks to some youtubers who raved about the products and prices on this site. There were a few real winners in my order of 6 items. I wanted to review, along with a few other recent purchases. Due to the length of this post I'll write a separate review on these later. If you haven't already check out the site. The prices are insanely low for some top quality products. I think inventory changes regularly. Right now there's some Stila, Senna, Du Wop and a few other brands. A lot of it is branded to a younger group. To be continued. Mwah!