Primer Time| NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer

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Availability/Pricing: Target, Walmart, major drug stores

$ 5.99 (price may vary)

What You Get:

• 1 primer, 1 fl oz/30 ml

What It Is & Does:

Can be worn alone or under your foundation to extend its wear. It minimizes skin imperfections, lines and pores for a perfect complexion. Skin feels smooth, silky & moisturized. Enriched with vitamins to help protect from damaging free radicals. Complexion looks luminous, natural & fresh all day long

PROS:

• Affordable
• Smooth, creamy texture
• Brightens and illuminates skin
• Provides a smooth application for concealer and foundation

CONS:

• Contains shimmer
• Does not minimize pores
• Does not extend the wear of face makeup
• Not suitable for oily skin types

OVERALL:  C+

The consistensy of this primer is rather thin but still feels smooth and creamy as you apply it. Upon inital application I instantly noticed how much more bright and illuminated my skin looked. This primer contains small shimmer particles that I wasn’t a fan of but once you fully rub this into the skin they shimmer turns into a more luminous type of look that is just beautiful.

I also found that this primer made applying my concealer and foundation a breeze. Everything seemed to glide on so effortlessly and my foundation did not sink into the frown lines on my forehead. This is great to wear alone as well if you just want to add a little bit of luminosity to the skin.

My only complaints is that this primer doesn’t really extend the wear of your makeup but just gives a better application. I also don’t reccomend this primer for my oily skin chicas/chicos because of the high shimmer and luminous effect.

Overall, this primer is a nice product that I will continue to use but probably will not repurchase.

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Disclaimer: All products shown or mentioned in this video were purchased by me, with my own money. I am not being paid, sponsored or compensated by this/these company(ies) or any other company for this video. This is my opinion.

Tags: color, cosmeticcandiesfyi, face, new, nyc, perfecting, primer, review, skin, smooth, smoothing, york

Prime Time| Revlon Photo Ready Correcting Primer & Perfecting Primer

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Availability/Pricing:  Walmart, Target, major drug stores

$12.99

What You Get:

• 1 primer
• 0.9 fl oz/27ml

What It Is & Does:

Lightweight primers that soften skin and diffuse light to help minimize flaws and even out skin texture. It creates a perfect canvas so that your foundation will glide on more evenly and smoothly. Primers can be worn alone or under foundation, and are oil free, talc free, fragrance free, paraben free.

Perfecting Primer:  softens skin, reduces the appearance of pores and fine lines, and smooths skins texture and tone.

Color Correcting Primer: brightens skin and neutralizes redness while evening out uneven skin tone.

PROS:

Perfecting Primer

• Pump dispenser
• Nice packaging
• Smooth consistency & texture
• Smooths skin
• Blurs fine lines & pores
• Makes for easier makeup application

Color Correcting Primer

• Pump dispenser
• Nice packaging
• Smooth consistency & texture
• Smooths skin
• Makes for easier makeup application & use of less foundation

CONS:

Perfecting Primer

• Too pricey

Color Correcting Primer

• Not enough color correction
• Too pricey

OVERALL:  

Perfecting Primer,  A

The primer is a shade of an almost whitish pink but applies transparently. These primers aren’t silicone based so there’s no powdery residue or feeling left behind once it’s absorbed into the skin. The formula has somewhat of a gel-like consistency to it that makes it feel a little hydrating but dries down to a satiny soft finish. Good for both oily/dry skin.

I don’t have large pores on my face but I do have a few fine lines or “frown lines” on my forehead and also some redness and discoloration on my cheeks and around my nose. This creates a nice soft focus to skin and reduces my fine lines but unfortunately I really didn’t notice a huge difference in the evenness of my skin tone. It does prep my skin beautifully for makeup, my foundation and under eye concealer seem to just glide on with so much ease and blend beautifully.

It does prolong the wear of foundation slightly, I didn’t really notice that much of a difference in longevity but I still loved the overall performance. I MAY repurchase…probably only if I can catch these on sale because $13 is a bit steep for a drug store friendly budget.

Color Correcting Primer,  B+

Unlike the perfecting primer this primer is a soft shade of lilac. Lilac is known for its ability to brighten dull skin and even out the skin tone. The primer dries down to a transparent look. As far as brightening the skin tone I was somewhat disappointed because it didn’t  technically do that. As stated previously this isn’t a silicone based  primer so it doesn’t have that powdery dry down but instead a satiny feel.

Like I also said previously, I don’t have super large pores but I do have some redness in my cheeks and around my nose and also various spots of discoloration and scarring on my face that I was hoping this would help out. When I first applied this to my face I didn’t really notice any color correcting whatsoever. However, once I began to apply my foundation I noticed that I was using much less product to cover my problem areas. This primer also made my foundation glide on perfectly and blend with ease. It slightly prolonged my wear of foundation but nothing extraordinary.

Overall, I liked the Color Correcting primer but I wasn’t able to give it a “grade A”, simply because I honestly don’t feel it’s a necessary product if you plan on purchasing it just for the color correcting claims. Even though it allowed me to use less product to cover my redness I didn’t see any big enough difference in the look of my skin tone to say I’d repurchase. In my opinion, this is still a pretty good primer but you’re better off going with the Perfecting Primer.

Tags: color, correcting, cosmeticcandiesfyi, perfecting, photo, primer, ready, review, revlon

Favorites| January 2012

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• NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in All Over Bronze Glow

• Nude Lip Combo: e.l.f. Essentials lipstick in Fantasy & MAC Viva Glam GaGa 2

• Nicki Minaj for OPI Nail Lacquer in  ‘Save Me’ & ‘Pink Friday’

    

• Essie Luxeffects Nail Lacquer in ‘A Cut Above’

• e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Camilia (discontinued)

• e.l.f. Studio blush in Gotta Glow

• Naked 2 palette

• Benefit Eye Bright

• Paris Presents High Definition Deluxe Concealer Brush, Mini Powder Brush and Foundation brush

• Ardell Brow Grooming Pencil

• Revlon PhotoReady 3D mascara

Tags: 2012, cosmeticcandiesfyi, favorite, favorites, january, month, of, products, the

Tutorial| Winter Makeup Series: Neutral Daytime Eyes & Lollipop Lips

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Eyes:

• MAC Pain Pot in Bare Study
• e.l.f. Beauty-On-The-Go palette in Day at the Beach
• Sephora Nano e/l in Pearl Beige
• Maybelline Volum’ Express Turbo mascara
• Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara
• Nicka K. liquid e/l
• e.l.f. Dramatic Lash Kit

 Face:

• Avon Healthy Makeup foundation (Pure Beige)
• NYC Blushable Creme Stick in South St. Seashell
• e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Camilia

Lips:

• Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Lollipop

Tags: appropriate, color, cosmeticcandiesfyi, day, eye, eyes, lips, look, neutral, of, pop, time, tutorial, wearable, work

Review| Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage Foundation

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Availability/Pricing: $11.00

Contact an Avon Rep. or shop Avon.com

Ready to purchase?! Get it here!

What You Get:

• 1 foundation w/pump
• 30 ml / 1 fl oz

What It Is & Does:

Complete coverage that looks and feels 100% natural. Looks great from every angle. Lightweight and oil-free. Dermatologist-tested; suitable for all skin types. Convenient pump dispenser for mess-free application.

PROS:

• Dewy but natural finish
• Pump dispenser
• Affordable
• Nice packaging
• Smooth, creamy texture

CONS:

• Easily transfers
• Not suitable for oily skin
• Oxidizes on the orange-y side
• Short wear time

OVERALL:  C-

I personally am a HUGE fan of Avon products, so when I saw this in one of their campaigns I was immediately intrigued (mostly because of the pump. Ha!)

This foundation comes in a nice sleek bottle with a pump dispenser. I love the fact that I’m starting to see a lot of “lower end” brands include pumps with their foundations. The pump works fine, however I’m not able to fully control how much products I dispense. It’s kind of hard to get small amounts out at a time.

The texture of this foundation is a smooth, creamy, almost mousse-like feel that glides and sits nicely on the skin. Once I applied it, I found that it gave a slightly dewy finish but still managed to look pretty natural, which I liked. This does contain an SPF of 15 that for the most part doesn’t affect the way the foundation photographs. As far as coverage goes, I would have to disagree with the “complete coverage” claim. I usually don’t have much blemishes or scares to cover but lately I’ve been experiencing some break outs that I want to cover and I’d have to say  that this foundation has a buildable medium coverage at best. Definitely not full coverage.

This foundation is also extremely moisturizing so it’s not one that I would recommend for those of you with oily skin. If you’re an oily gal (or guy) and you still want to try this out I would highly suggest using a mattifying primer before and a great setting powder after application, to avoid looking like an oil slick by the end of your day.

I did find that this foundation transfers to my hands, paper, clothing and other things quite easily which isn’t good. The wear time of this is so-so. I probably got about 4-6 hours of wear time before I noticed my redness start to peek back into the mix.

The thing that really disappointed me was the way the foundation oxidized. I picked this up in the shade “Pure Beige”, which is the shade I always select in Avon foundations. I have 3-5 other Avon foundations in Pure Beige but this particular foundation was the most orange/reddish looking by far, while the other shades contained a lot more yellow (which is the undertone of my skin). When initially applied the foundation it was clear that the shade was a tad too orange and dark for me and by the 4th hour of wear it had oxidized into a completely different shade!

Overall, I had real high hopes for this foundation (and kind of still do). I loved the natural finish and feel but was totally let down at the lack of inconsistency when it came to keeping the shades true to description and the short wear time. I may give it another try and purchase a shade or two lighter just to see if I have better luck, but for now I’m forced to put this in the back of my foundation drawer.

Tags: avon, cosmeticcandiesfyi, coverage, flawless, foundation, ideal, invisible, review, shade

Tutorial| Disco Purple

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Eyes:

• Laura Geller Inkwell Gel Liner in Purple & Black
• e.l.f. Beauty On The Go palette in Happy Hour
• Deep Purple Glitter (Icing Body Glitter Stack)
• Sassi #82 False Lashes
• L’Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lash mascara

 Face:

• Avon Ideal Flawless foundation (Pure Beige)
• Bronzer (e.l.f. Beauty On The Go palette)
• e.l.f. Cream Blush in Vixen

Lips:

• Purple-y Berry l/s (e.l.f. Beauty On The Go palette)

Tags: beauty, club, disco, drage, dramatic, elf, eye, fun, glitter, go, look, makeup, night, on, purple, shimmer, smokey, stage, sultry, the

Prime Time!| L’Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

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Availability/Pricing: $12.95 (prices may vary)

L’Oreal online

Target

Most drug stores

What You Get:

• 1 illuminating primer
• 0.68 fl oz/20 ml

What It Is & Does:

A unique liquid light formula that blends seamlessly into the skin to boost its liveliness and luminosity. Texture is smoothed and toned for a natural looking complexion.

PROS:

• Light weight
• Leaves a silky feel to the skin
• Gives a soft glow
• Very natural look and feel

CONS:

• No noticeable difference from any “illuminator” I’ve used
• Does not improve longevity of foundation
• Too pricey

OVERALL:  C

This will definitely be one of my shorter reviews.

When a products claims to add luminosity most people think of a high shine or sheen-y highlighted effect. That’s not the case with this primer.

This product is nice and light weight with a smooth and silky feel. When you initially pump the product out you see a beautiful opalescence but as you rub it in, it virtually disappears.

On bare skin it does make a slight difference in the way your face looks. You aren’t able to tell right away but if you look closely this primer gives the skin a “lifted” appearance and almost a slight sheen that catches and bounces light quite nicely. It seems to perk you up just tad.

The effects of this primer are a little bit harder to notice underneath foundation, especially if you are using one of heavy coverage. The instructions suggest mixing it in your foundation, a method I actually prefer. By mixing it in the foundation itself, it gives your overall appearance a more brightened but soft glow-y look.

This primer can also work as a highlighter to add definition and dimension to the face. I have tried it this way and I do in fact like the way it sits on top of the skin.

With all that being said, I had high hopes for this product but somewhere along the lines it fell short. If I’m going to use a primer to add luminosity to my skin I’d like it to be more visible.

Overall, this primer is ok. I love the packing and concept. The performance was simply nothing special. While it does give a nice brightness to the skin, it doesn’t bring the luminosity I had hoped for. I’m not too fond of the nearly $13 price tag either. This is definitely something I’d skip out on if you’re looking for some serious glow.

Tags: cosmeticcandiesfyi, highlighting, infusing, l'oreal, light, lumi, magic, new, overview, perfecting, primer, review

Tutorial| Nude On Nude: A “No make-up” Look

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Eyes:

• Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (shades used: Foxy, Tease, Bootycall and Busted)
• L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara
• Benefit Eye Bright

 Face:

• Nuance by Salma Hayek Front & Center Concealer & Brightener (shade: medium [under eyes])
• MAC Matchmaster Foundation (shade: 5.0)
• L’Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer
• Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush Blush in Fresh Love
• e.l.f. Shimmer facial Whip in Camilia

Lips:

• Sephora Lip Attitude Glamour l/s in Innocent Beige

Tags: clean, cosmeticcandiesfyi, date, easy, fresh, get, how, little, look, makeup, minimal, night, no, nude, on, quick, simple, that, to

Review| Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation

 

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Availability/Pricing: $10.99 (prices may vary)

Target

Most drug stores

What You Get:

• 1 foundation
• 1.6 oz/46g

What It Is & Does:

An air-infused foam foundation that provides a nude perfect finish.

PROS:

• Light weight feel and texture
• Decent shade selection
• Natural look
• Gives skin a smoother appearance

CONS:

• Hard to blend & streaky
• Messy
• Flat matte finish
• Very little coverage
• Wears off quickly

OVERALL:  C-

YET AGAIN another product that I had such high hopes for! Lately these new products have been drawing me in with ther innovative designs and cool features, only to leave me wondering “Why did I buy this?!”

I picked this up at my local Target and was really excited to try this foundation, mostly because of the foam formula.

I was also happy to see that there was a shade that had a very yellow undertone to it, which is the shade I purchased ( Sun Beige 265). It does come out looking extremely yellow-orange, but once you blend it, it goes away.

I decided to try this for the first time on a recent date night (why?!).

This product is supposed to give a naturally flawless, air brushed look just like the other foundations from their Dream line.

Upon initial application I noticed that the pump dispenses quite a lot of product and since it’s recommended that you work in sections, that didn’t work out too well for me. This foundation has a light airy feel to it and doesn’t really feel like you’re wearing anything. However, don’t expect heavy coverage. I find that this has a  little bit more coverage than a tinted moisturizer but you can build the coverage to an almost light-medium finish.

It also takes a little while to dry, especially if you’re looking to build on the coverage and feels quite sticky at first but once it does dry you’re left with a soft powdery finish, making you look airbrushed (minus the streaks!).

According to the bottle, you’re supposed to apply this in small circular motions with your fingers, which I hated! I’m not a fan of applying foundations with my fingers. I like to keep them clean and I found applying this foundation with my fingers made it pretty hard to blend, leaving my skin looking uneven and streaky. Even after I let the first layer dry and went back over it with another layer, I still couldn’t get the unevenness to smooth out. I finally ended up trying a stippling brush and it blended a lot better but still left behind a bit of streaking.

The finish of this foundation is a matte, which I found can be very flat and  almost too powdery if you apply too much.

I ended up using this as a “tinted base” (which is probably what I’ll continue to use it for),  applying my mineral powder foundation on top and found that it helped my powder foundation appear smoother  and more natural and gave a clear even finish to my skin. Alone however, this belly flops into the deep end of crushed hopes.

Overall, I don’t hate this foundation but at the same time it’s not a love for me. It’s just blah. Nothing horrible nor extraordinary. Personally I think this is a hit or miss type of product, depending on who uses it.

On the other hand I recently found out that Revlon has a similar foam product in their Color Stay line, so I may give that one a go and do a review, just for kicks.

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Tags: air, cosmeticcandiesfyi, dream, foam, foundation, maybelline, nude, overview, review

Favorites| December 2011

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* To follow me on Twitter: Click the “Follow Me” section to your right

 

• Avon Magix Face Perfector

• Avon Extra Lasting Liquid Foundation

• Victoria’s Secret PINK Pretty & Pure Eau De Toilette

• Glimmer Wonderland Eighteen Piece Mini Nail Colour Set

• Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector Straightening Mist

• L’Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes mascara

• Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara

• Nuance Salma Hayek Front & Center Concealer & Brightener 

• NYC Sun ‘N’ Bronze Bronzing Powders (Hamptons Radiance & Mantauk Bronze)

Tags: 2011, cosmeticcandiesfyi, december, favorites