YBF Beauty: Your Best Friend Beauty Haul/ First Impressions (pic heavy)

Hey guys! I am not sure if everybody is going to know the brand YBF. It could be because the only place you can buy stuff from the brand would be on HSN. I personally love YBF.  When I first found out about YBF a few years ago I was watching HSN but never ordered anything from the brand. But I did love watching her (Stacy, creator of YBF) using everything on camera and I lusted over it.   Then last year, I got a chance to try the Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe from my Birchbox. I quickly realized it was one of, if not my all time, favorite brow product. You guys have seen it showcased on Meet Makeup many times. This kit was the "Today's Special" and was $25 + $5 for shipping and handling. I think it was a great deal and a great way to try out some new-to-me products from this brand.

Everything Included In The Kit:

Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe

Brighten, Hide, & Scuplt Concealer

Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush

Neutralizing Pressed Yellow Powder

Illuminating Creme & Neutralizing Creme

The main thing that used to get me wanting her makeup was the mention of the booklet you get which tells you how to use all of the products. I love that kind of stuff (obviously)! Here's some photo's of the booklet you get with all of the goodies. FYI, the booklet is a rubbery paper. It's neat. Some of the things it covered was brows, eyes, face, & lips complete with diagrams and the like. It is an awesome little book that any beauty blogger would love. I also think this would be a perfect little gift for a teenager because of the booklet. Here's some photos of a couples pages

Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe: Like I mentioned, this value pack came with another brow pencil. I didn't open it just yet because my other hasn't ran out yet. If you frequent Meet Makeup, then you have seen this Brow Pencil many times! The product itself is very skinny, making precise application achievable. That last sentence makes me sound very smart (:

Brighten, Hide & Sculpt Concealer: Ok as far as concealer goes, it isnt thick enough to be any type of concealer. I have never really thought of using a creamy product to contour so this was quite new to me. However, I have been loving the results it gives when I use the darkest color as a contour. For night time looks, I can even go back in with a contour powder and it's not going to look like it's too much. In the day, it is perfection. With the lightest color I think it is a nice subtle highlight since it is lighter then my skin color and it does have some sheen to it, but no shimmer. If you guys want a kind of "how-to" of sorts on how I use this, let me know because I would love to show it off!

Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush: This is the one product that I am really exited about. I have been using it almost every day. When I swatched this blush, I thought it was the most beautiful blush I think I have ever swatched. Im not going explain, im just going to show you

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Neutralizing Pressed Yellow Powder: I do have a lot of redness on my face so since yellow does neutralize red, I couldn't wait to try this out. When used with any powder brush it does not come off yellow on your face. When I swatch it though, it looks yellow.

 here it is, blended in. It looks almost non-existent, like it should.

Neutralizing Creme & Illuminating Creme: 

Neutralizing Creme: This is basically to neutralize any redness and it even mentions that it actually covers up fine lines and wrinkles...im not too sure how that would work though. I don't have any wrinkles just yet but it isn't anything different then your run-of-the-mill neutralizer. This is something I am going to have to keep using however it is much creamier than the "concealer" and will cover up much more then the concealer.

Illuminating Creme: I am one for highlights, it is my new obsession and I think I may do a blog post on my faves. But anyways, I was exited try this one out too. This formula is exceptionally creamy. So creamy that I make a dent from the slightest touch. I think this would be good in a tube/stick. Regardless, I really like it. It's a nice highlight.

these are the swatches from both the Illuminating Creme (top) and Neutralizing Creme (bottom).  The Neutralizing Creme I actually blended out for some reason.

So that's that for my YBF haul. Have you guys ever tried anything from YBF? If so, what have you tried? If not, are you thinking about trying any of these products now?

p.s. Shout out to Alyssa & Alex if you ya'll are reading!!! Shout out to the rest of yah too! love all you guys!

yours truly.

Erica J



June Favorites

hey guys! As usual, my favorites are a little late- I always seem to do mine a few days into the months. Either way, im sure you can see that my layout & header are new- I made them with gimp! So, my blog will be a construction zone for next couple of days.

Maybelline Superstay Concealer- Great for any blemish or under eye circles. This stuff is long lasting, trust me! It really sticks to your skin! For that reason, I think it can really double as a shadow primer for a simple look. A little goes a long way with this stuff! and I also find that if I apply just a bit with the doe-foot applicator and then take my finger and kinda press/roll it into my skin with as opposed rub it in, I find it blends really well into my skin and creates a really even skin tone- no concealer lines on this face!

Victoria Secret Sun Dust Bronze Shimmer Body Powder- This is a very shimmery bronzer for your body as opposed to your face. I do love this bronzer but I do have to go back over where I applied the bronzer with another blush brush. i find that you really can't blend it out w/ the brush it comes with, even when the thing is closed- the bronzer will still keep flowing out of the top of the brush! If you are familiar with the Bronze Beach sexy line from VS, you know this smells like. Sun-Kissed.

NYX Milk Jumbo Pencil- As everybody else does, I like to put it in the inner corners near my tear ducts to brighten em up a bit. I also like to put this on after my eye-shadow primer and before my actual eye-shadow, I find it really makes the shadow pop. I haven't had to sharpen this thing yet, Ive had it for about 2 months now & use it daily. At around $3-4 it's pretty much a steal. Here's a pic demonstrating how this pencil can make any shadow pop:

Mark. London Bridge Eye Shadow- I used this in my Kourtney Kardash FOTD it has been one of those shadows that ive had for months but haven't picked it up in a while- love. this. color. Its a taupe color but with a silver dimension to it. I think it is a really complex, beautiful color- I love it! (swatches above) I think this shadow is exclusive to the Flip For It London Palette but I am pretty sure you can still purchase this on either the Avon or Mark website- If your interested, I would recommend checking Avon first, honestly. I sell mark so click here to shop

And Lastly True Blue Spa Shea Cashmere Hand Cream- I lather this on my whole body after the shower or the bath- I could really put this stuff on a piece of toast- yummy! It smells really buttery and cashmere-y. This has been my favorite since I purchased it! Love this stuff!

Just another favorite it using a Sponge instead of a brush to apply foundation. Wow, I wish I would have done this all along. I like to put some of my liquid foundation right on the sponge and dot/smudge it on my face in circular motions (if that makes any sense). It really blends beautifully and isnt streaky like how it can be when applied with a foundation brush! The foundation also goes on really even when applied with the sponge- if you haven't tried a sponge for foundation, give it a try! A downfall is that it kinda sucks alot of foundation up, so you may need to use more foundation but I dont care- i would rather have an even tone face!

So thats all for my favs (: did you do a favorites post for last month? if you did, please link em in the comment! Thanx for reading guys and have a great night! (or day, depending on where you are in the world)