February-March Faves and Fail

It has been a hot minute, has it not? And by that I mean this blog has been a bit of a ghost town. My sincerest apologies. I know I have explained on the blog before that this period of time gets pretty hectic, and I don't have much room to sit down and prepare posts.

Enough excuses. Just know that there is more to come. As for my favorites, some are things that have already been in my collection, but I have since really come to appreciate. Others are brand new. Most of them, oddly enough, were purchased at Target.

None of them are eyeshadows, which is shocking to me. Eyeshadows are typically my makeup favorite. Right now I am holding off, though, because I am currently trying some Sydney Grace shades. I want to devote an entire post to them, so we will forego any discussion of eyeshadow for now.

Let's get this show on the road. As always, click on the pic for higher-res. 

The first is the PIXI Milky Mist. It cost $15 at Target, for 80 mL of product. I bring this one with me to work. I am very much a fan of facial mists, and I especially enjoy the fact that this provides hydration. Though I have combination skin that can get quite oily throughout the day, I find that the lines on my face are more pronounced by the end of the day, and my skin just feels tired, which this spray helps with. As of now I am not sure if I would repurchase, because there are plenty of facial mists out there, but in the meantime I am very much enjoying this one. I have been using it for a month now.

Soap and Glory Puffy Eye Attack Gel, $14.00 for 18 mL. So this one has pretty mixed reviews on the internet. I am always on the hunt for eye gels, because my eyes are prone to getting a bit swollen in the morning. On my sensitive eyes it seems to prep my skin pretty well. It doesn't sting my eyes in the morning, but at night if I removed makeup and rubbed the skin and then applied the gel, it most certainly stings, which makes sense. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave the skin sticky. I personally like this gel, and appreciate how it calms my eye area in the morning and night. However, I am always open to different alternatives.

Good Chemistry Body Mist in the fragrance Brainiac. I bought this about a year ago after trying out the tester. It cost $10.00. In addition to a positive first impression from using the tester, the name of the spray was intriguing and reminded me of the Justice League/Supergirl/Superman villain. Brainiac is unlike anything else in my collection. While I usually wear gourmand, creamy, and very sweet fragrances, Brainiac seems very masculine at first, and peppery. It eventually wears down and you can smell a bit of Vanilla. Even though this is a body mist, the fragrance lasts the whole day, which I appreciate. It is a really cool, clean scent, and I would recommend checking it out.

Next, we have a new shade of Butter Blush from Physicians Formula, in the shade Saucy Mauve. It seemed to me that the initial Butter Blush release from PF wasn't very successful, because the shades were a bit too chalky and similar. I think PF is trying to rectify this. Saucy Mauve is similar to Wet 'n Wild's Blazen Berry, but not as sheer. It also lasts the entire work day for me, which is about 7 hours. Now how can I get Butter Bronzer to stay on that long?? I have been using Sauvy Mauve as my only blush for about two weeks now, and I don't know why. I just think it goes with both cool and warm toned looks. It provides warmth and color to the face and has a somewhat lustrous, natural, finish. I highly recommend it.

Then we have two brushes from Elf, both $3.00 each. The left is a tapered highlighting brush, which I now use to set translucent powder under my eye. The other is a concealer brush, which I use now to blend in concealer under my eye. They have replaced my Real Techniques brushes, which I think are not precise enough for that area of my face. The elf brushes are quite fluffy and soft, which is important when working on such a sensitive area of skin.

Makeup Revolution, Supersize Concealer in the shade C1. C1 is the second lightest shade in the range, with neutral undertones. The concealer cost $10.00, and you get more than double the amount of product in the original, which is excellent. I used up the original sized Conceal and Define in about 3 months. I just wish they didn't make the supersize option an Ulta exclusive. Maybe one day.

Alright, so my last two favorites are part of a team, in a way. One "major" makeup revelation I had these past two months has been cream/gel eyeliner. I am a total convert, and no longer want to mess with eyeliner pens. Mac Pro Longwear Fluid Line in Blacktrack, which cost $18.00, is working for me. I use it with the Luxie lip brush. I feel that this option gives me the most control. I also think it is the more economical version, as I was getting overwhelmed with the amount of dried up eyeliner pens that were piling up. My only caveat about this product is that is does leak to my lower lid when I inadvertently apply too much product towards the outer corner of my lid. But that does not happen too often.

And finally, I have one fail, but it is major. Target and CVS are now carrying the Creme Shop, which used to be a K-Beauty brand (I think). I bought their wispy mascara for $9.00, and all I can say is....Nope. Stay far away. This product did literally nothing for me. And this is what it looks like:

A clumpy nightmare.

So, that's all I have on the docket for today. Have you tried any of these?

Thanks for reading!  😊