April Ipsy Review and A Blog Make Over!!!

Hi! As you can probably tell, I re-did my blog! Yay! I haven't changed it up since early last year, which is a shame. It got to the point where I didn't even want to post anything on it- as you can probably tell again! So yeah I'm pretty excited about it. There are a few finishing touches {like centering my sidebar. I had a code for it awhile back and then one day, the code stopped working for some reason}. So what do you think?! I love it.

Ok, now for the Ipsy review. I literally love the Glam Bag. You get 5 beauty products for only $10 which is a steal. I realize my blog has been taken over by Ipsy things lately. I blog about what I love and Ipsy is just the best.

Urban Decay 
24/7 Velvet Glide On Pencil // Black Velvet

This month, the Urban Decay eye liner alone is worth more than the bag. It has been some time since I have worn black in the inner rim of my eye. I used to all the time then I got comfortable with brown eye liner up top, nude liner on the bottom, and the usual black liquid liner on the lash line. Today, I used this liner in my inner rim and on the upper lash line. I didn't want to over do it, so I used a matte light brown in the crease and a matte creamy white all over the lid (both shadows from the Stila Dancing With The Stars palette) and it looks really simple but also polished and finished. This liner is a velvet finish, which reminds me of a matte finish but once applied, I can't tell any sort of difference of the finish of this and any other black liner I have. The wear is pretty good- you have a few seconds to play with it- weather you want to smudge it or what but once it sets, it pretty much stays. I did have some product collecting underneath my bottom lash line by the middle of the day but it was nothing I couldn't wipe away. Other then that, it is nice and black and easy to use.

Cailyn
Tinted Lip Balm // Apple Pink

I have gotten a Cailyn product in my Ipsy bag before. I would have liked it if it was in a different color but they make pretty good quality stuff. The format is a pot of product, with a lid and attached to the lid is a nice lip brush. I found the lip brush is extremely nice for lining your lips with the product before hand. I ended up filling in the rest of my lips with it too but that can be a little time consuming considering the size of the brush. The product itself is more or less a lipstick in a pot. The consistency is thin and is pigmented even at that. it didn't take much to get pigment and it didn't dry out my lips either. It's neither hydrating nor drying so even though it is labeled as a lip balm, I wouldn't consider it one. I think of a balm as hydrating. The color is a peachy nude. This color would be perfect for a medium skin tone- it looks a little dark (not too dark) on me, but also like nothing I have. Side note: The name Apple Pink is so cute.

edit:
me wearing Apple Pink. It actually looks better than I thought it did.

City Color
Mousse Eyeshadow // White Gold

at first glance, I thought this was a fine micro shimmer powder. Once I touched it, I realized it was mousse. The consistency is weird! Not like other mousse's I have tried in the past- this one is wet and it has that silicone feeling to it like a primer would. Really strange! As you can see in the swatch, it is a very pretty duo chrome shimmer. I have yet to wear it and honestly, I am a little frightened to wear it. Every time I do the swatch-and-rub test I get shimmer everywhere! It doesn't dry down to anything. I think it tries to be a cream-to-powder but it fails. Maybe I am applying too much? All I know is that I need to double up on the primer and use a very thin layer when I finally use this. I will probably just pop this on the center of the lid- anywhere else may just be too messy and unforgiving. But the color is so pretty! 

St. Tropez
Gradual Tan Anti-Ageing // Multi Action Face

This is apparently gradual face tanner with anti-aging properties. I used it once and I am a little intimidated by it. I don't necessarily want my face tanner than my body. I use bronzer and that is usually enough for me. So yah know this isn't something that I would repurchase or recommend. If it was a gradual body tanner it would be a different story. 

Such a Tease

So Seductive // Lashes

I've said it before and I will say it again- I am not one for fake lashes! I wear them for events and that is about it. My cousins wedding is coming up so I am going to try them out then. Ill post a photo of my FOTD on my Instagram! {@MeetMissJackson}

here's the swatches:

Thank you for viewing!
<3
Erica

Favorite Drugstore Matte Bronzers

Most of my bronzer collection is shimmery- mostly higher end bronzer's as well. Those are great for all over the face, and they do just fine for contouring but won't look as flattering as a matte bronzer. I always heard of contouring with a normal face powder a few shades darker than your skin tone {which is a great idea} but I found a couple bronzers that are even better and depending on sales, are most likely even cheaper.

The brush that I use almost every single day for contouring is Sigma's Large Angled Contour Brush F40. I bought it a couple years ago and it is still going strong! I really like to use Real Techniques Contour Brush which is much a much smaller dome shaped brush. It get's right into the hollows of your cheeks so well but I try to reserve that brush for highlighter only for cross contamination pigmentation reasons.

NYC Color Wheel Mosaic

All Over Bronze Glow

I have heard about this bronzer over and over again and never pulled the trigger until my bff bought it. It is only a few bucks and is worth every penny. This is the only thing I own from NYC. I usually pass them up for some reason but I want to try some more of their products. If this bronzer is a testament to their other products, NYC could be one of the best brands at the drugstore. The texture of it is kind of hard to the touch {which made it hard to swatch} but it goes on so lightly and looks so subtle while still contouring because of that. There is no need to worry about being heavy handed with it.

Revlon Photo Ready

Bronzed and Chic

This bronzer feels more velvety to the touch. In comparison to NYC it is a little bit more softer, which makes it more pigmented. It is also a little deeper than NYC's bronzer- just a touch.  Either of these bronzers will work well for fair skin tones but this one will work better than NYC for a medium skin tone- the lightest color out of the four colors is deeper than the lightest color in NYC's {clearly}.  This one is also easier to use for skin tones ranging in color because it is easy to choose your color. As you can see, you have 4 choices and can dip your brush in all of the quadrants, half of them, or just one color. The quadrants are just big enough to fit any angled contour brush into. I tend to swirl each color and that is how I got the color you see in the swatch.

Something that these bronzers have in common is the pigment. These aren't like blushes I have used in the past or an eyeshadow that is so pigmented that even if you touch it, you will get one heavy swatch. The swatches you see here are heavy handed swatches. I really wanted to show you each color and how they are different. However, I don't think this is a deal breaker in the world of matte bronzers. When I use my angled contour brush with these bronzers, they apply just fine and look like a natural contour. You can see a difference on the face. If they were more pigmented, it would be harder to get a subtle difference. So when you use a face powder or an eyeshadow to contour, it doesn't look as natural in my opinion. Each of these bronzers have that same medium brown color with a slight orange background  which makes it a bit more forgiving on the face. Cooler, deeper, bronzers seem to look muddy on my skin. I have fair, cool toned skin.

I hauled Revlon's bronzed and Chic in this video along with a ton of other drugstore makeup! Check it out-

till next time,

Erica