Holy Grail! Too Faced Primed & Poreless Pressed Powder

"Primed & Poreless Powder turns any foundation into high definition makeup. Our high-resolution, reflective, powder technology transforms skin by visually minimizing pores, fine lines and imperfections for an airbrushed looking finish. Our weightless powder can be worn alone, or under and over foundation to prep skin, lockdown makeup and control shine for a complexion smoothing, flawless finish." (From the Too Faced website.)

I doubted it. So many products come with a too-good-to-be-true description and an army of beauty guru's praising them on social media and still don't deliver what they promise once I test them - after spending what I consider to be way too much money for a tiny amount of product. Compared to most women who would classify their skin as "oily", I would say mine is worse. At least this summer. Between the heat and some hormonal issues, my skin has gone into overdrive. I had been using setting sprays and powders in the mornings, going through multiple blotting sheets before late afternoon and returning home after work with my makeup literally sliding around under my finger tips. What could this product do that all the others couldn't?

Answer: everything. 

After seeing one of my favorite Youtube queen's (Claire Marshall - bow down!) rave about this product, I decided to give in and shell out of the $30.00 on Sephora.com. This product does what it says - plain and simple. I don't worry about making my foundation cover every little imperfection because I know that this will finish the job. My huge (and I do mean huge) pores look like a "normal" persons. Plus I'm blotting maybe once at lunch time. If I apply this again halfway through the day, my makeup is still holding strong when I get home at the end of the day. I blot (don't swipe!) this on and trust that it will do what it says. You could have had me sold with that alone, but Too Faced is also one of my current favorite cruelty free brands. Not many high end brands are certified and proudly mark their boxes with PETA's seal of approval. (And yes, I know that PETA is not the strictest with their certifications in the cruelty free world, but Too Faced does pass my personal moral requirements.) The e.l.f. HD Powder claims similar effects and I would just like to go on the record and say that while the e.l.f. powder is much less expensive, it does not even begin to compare. 

Buy it here and thank me later. 

Cruelty - Free Beauty : Newest Favorites!

Hi guys! Long time, no talk! My love of trying new makeup products has grown so much in the last few months and I'm having so much fun with it. I've been really exploring the animal cruelty - free world and have discovered a few new (to me) brands. These are my favorite new products:

Milani Easy-Brow Pencil : Shade 03 Natural Taupe
I went back and forth between this shade and 02 Dark Brown but decided to give the taupe a try since I had recently read that you should buy your eyebrow products in a color a shade lighter than your natural brow color. Plus, my hair recently went to an even lighter shade of bleach blonde and I wanted something a little less dramatic. This pencil  has been great! It is a twist up pencil, so there is no sharpening necessary and it has a spoolie brush on the other end for super quick blending and brushing. It's available for $5.49 on the Milani website, but I found mine at CVS. (I think I payed a little over $7.00 for mine in store.)

e.l.f Studio High Definition Powder : Translucent
I'm a huge fan of e.l.f. products, especially anything from their Studio collection and this did not disappoint. I had been on the hunt for a good loose powder to set my makeup and heard rave reviews about this one "blurring" imperfections. I'm not sure that it blurred as much as I was expecting, but it definitely adds a softening effect. There is also a corrective yellow shade as well as a shimmer version available on the e.l.f. site and all shades are $6.00. I bought mine at Target (I've also seen it at Walmart) for the same price.

NYX Powder Blush : Pinched
I have never been impressed with blushes. I found that even though I have pale skin, they never showed up the way I wanted them to. Then I found the Wet 'n Wild Color Icon blushes, which showed up great but were so highly pigmented I found them difficult to apply. I had heard that this particular shade in the NYX Powder Blush line was comparable to the highly praised NARS Orgasm, so I gave it a go. It is gorgeous! It's a very pretty coral pink shade with some warm shimmer to it. It goes for $5.00 on the NYX website, but it's currently sold out. I found mine on Amazon.com for around the same price.

NYX Round Lipstick : Chic Red
I am a red lipstick collector. I gravitate toward them and I can't help myself. Even so, I was convinced that I didn't own the perfect shade of red worked well with both my pale complexion and my not always blindingly white smile. Chic Red is all of that for me. I was pleasantly surprised that it is also long lasting even though it's not advertised to be a long wear formula. Available for a crazy $4.00 on the NYX website (along with another 123 extremely tempting shades). I grabbed mine on Amazon.com for a bit more.

Real Techniques Makeup Brushes : Expert Face Brush
I have been hearing rave reviews about the Real Techniques brushes and always assumed they would be pricey - good thing I finally looked into them! This particular brush sells for $9.00 on the Real Techniques site and has quickly surpassed every other brush I own. I have been applying my foundation and blending in my concealer with the Expert Face Brush and am noticing that I'm using so much less product than I did with a sponge. The bristles are stiff enough to blend the product in but soft enough to be comfortable on skin. I will definitely be buying more of these brushes - I'm itching to order the whole Core Collection. I found mine on Amazon.com for a similar price as the website.

While, I've got you here :  I found a fantastic article on animal testing. What exactly it means, why it even exists, and what to look for in a product to ensure that your money isn't being used to pay for these tests to be done. Check out The Truth About Cruelty Free Beauty - Part One : What Is Animal Testing? And don't worry, the article is truthful and informative without being too graphic.