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



Best of 2011 in Review: Avon's Smooth Minerals Foundation

Hey there! I was going to do a whole post of best 2011 products but I haven't really reviewed any of the products I love but I have included them in favorites. I figured this would be a lot more helpful to give an extensive review on the stuff I loved (& still love) last year. Be on the look out for a couple more of these in the next few weeks!

As one of my absolute favorites I cannot believe I haven't mentioned it yet. I use this on a daily basis weather it's using it over a liquid foundation or using it all by itself on those days I want to let my face breathe. Here we go:

Skin Type: I have skin that is ance-prone and for the most part, oily. It can become dry sometimes. My skin has a mind of it's own! I also have acne scarring and discoloration.

Smooth Minerals Powder Foundation by Avon

"Get the perfect amount every time! No more mess, no more spills. Our innovative design dispenses a single application…with no waste. Medium coverage. Natural luminous finish. Now includes mirror. Made with pure mineral pigments for luminous color. Free of talc, oil and fragrance so it’s great for sensitive skin. .2 oz. net wt." -avon.com

Price: Regular price is $12 but 9 times out of 10 you can find a sale. In this case, they are on sale right now for $7.99

Where to Find it: I recommend finding a rep in your area on Avon.com because I percentage of the price will go to her (or him). If you order from a rep, you don't have to pay shipping either. I have had experience selling avon, and I do know that I liked to put all my orders in at once. So if someone ordered from me on the 8th of the month, and I dont put in the order until the 18th, they wont be getting it as quickly as they would if they simply ordered online.  If not, you can order it online from Avon.com. One con about it is that Avon isn't sold at any store, once in a blue moon you may find a kiosk in your local mall but that's not too likely. So there are pro's and con's to each way of going about it.

Thought #1: They mention it's medium coverage but I do get pretty full coverage - I guess a perfect way to describe it would be medium to full as it covers discoloration, makes my skin all one tone. Some breakout's that I have on my face tend to create a red bump so I like to use concealer because Smooth Minerals powder will not cover them fully.  I do like to wear this over liquid foundation, but I prefer to wear it alone. It is extremely light weight when I wear it alone.

Thought #2: I personally have 2 different shades that I like to mix together to get the perfect shade for my skin tone. I highly recommend using 2 shades as our skin tone changes depending on the season and other variables. I have been using the same 2 shades all year round and how ever I need to mix and match they have been doing so perfectly. 

Thought #3: Something else I really love to do is mix it with a liquid foundation. I used to mix it with Revlon Colorstay as it was a few shades too dark a few months ago and Smooth Minerals blends perfectly with it to create the perfect pigment. The next picture is Soft Ivory Smooth Minerals mixed with my Neutrogena Healthy Glow

 here's what you get when you mix it together- not saying this is the color of my skin tone by any means, I just wanted to demonstrate that it will blend well and also get the color you want

Thought #4: The packaging it comes in is a great idea as it dispenses just enough for 2 application's for me.  I really love it because I feel like I am not wasting any of it. It has a stopper to dispense just enough. I find that I need to shake it 2x, which is fine. It does say to just simply shake the package for powder to dispense, but I like to tap the top of the package on the counter- It works better. The next picture I have is in the shade Light Beige

Thought #5: I like to apply this with a flat top kabuki. I do not tap off the excess when I apply it. I find that it works much better when I don't. Maybe that's the trick to get medium to fuller coverage as opposed to how is is advertised, medium coverage.

Thought #6: When I wear it alone, it doesn't look cakey or powdery on my skin. It seriously makes my skin look flawless. I actually get comments from time to time from people that know me saying my skin looks flawless.

Overall: It is my favorite powder foundation but the one con about it is that I cannot easily go down to the drugstore and pick one up, I have to order it too, which I can't say that I mind too too much. If you are willing to order it and wait a week or so. I am running out and I luckily know an avon lady so I will be putting my order in soon enough, along with some other must haves.

I hope my review was thorough and simple! If you have any ?'s, please feel free to leave a comment! Other wise I would love to know: 

What is your favorite powder foundation? What is your favorite Avon product?

Current Obsession & a Stila Haul

Hey guys! I ordered from Stila during black friday weekend when it was %80 off and I wanted to share it with you guys.

My Current Obsession is this Stila Garden Bliss All Over Shimmer Powder and it was the pretty flowers that reeled me right in and I am so glad it did because I am seriously in love with it. It really does illuminate my face and gives me a healthy glow. I wasn't sure if it was going to match my skin, but when I got it, I realized it would be perfect for almost any skin tone, it is so versatile & i'll tell you why.

I personally really love pale pink blush and the flower in the middle lightens up the powder and makes it good for a blush. The over-all brown color of the powder makes it great to use as a bronzer for all over your face. I wouldn't say it is good as a contour powder, unless you are extremely fair. For the darker girls out there, I think it would be a great blush. I have a lighter skin tone and this powder is darker then my skin but it dosen't look horrid on my face and blends really well. It really does liven up my face and creates a gorgeous glow. I really like using this as a blush and then taking it all around my face. I also like to apply it after using a blush. My favorite face powder to amp up my look to date by far. Next pic is a swatch of the pale pink flower in the middle along with the surrounding colors, unblended.

Lesson Of The Day: Buy makeup because of the pretty packaging! haha!

Wanna see the rest of the stuff I ordered too? k!

I ordered these eye shadow pans. I have Stila's Coco shadow, a matte brown, I got from my birch box but it didn't come with a pan so I thought now was a perfect time to grab one, considering the price. I bought 2 of them because of my next purchase.

Kitten Eye Shadow: I honestly bought it because of the hype it gets and I think it does deserve it, as it is highly pigmented, soft, & easy to wear. Just like the face powder, I think a range of different skin colors can pull this one off As you can see, mine came broken! I contacted Stila and they are actually going to send me another one, thank God. Well, I dont want to sound too vein so maybe I shouldn't thank God, lol.

Lip Glaze in Mango: This was just an impulse buy. I have never tried a lip glaze so I figured now was the time. I honestly don't think its anything special- it is actually pretty sheer, which is fine- but I am not wowed by it.

 Below: Swatch of Mango Lip Glaze and Kitten Eye Shadow

So there yah have it! Overall, I am really happy about my purchase and im so glad I caught the sale w/in the last hour!

Did you guys order anything from the 80% off sale? If not, have you tried Stila? What do you love from Stila? Hate? let us know in the comments! 

As always, thanx for stopping by!

xoxo

Erica



oh yeah wanna know who won the give-away? I will give you one hint: This girl is a true southern belle! I will post the winner tomorrow, but if you think you may know who won, comment!