Drugstore Blush Review

Good morning my sweet peas! Hope everyone is doing well. Today I decided to round up my more recent drugstore blush purchases to just have a good old fashioned chat about them. For reference, I have fair-light cool-toned combination skin.

The first is a Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Blush in Keep it Peachy. It was purchased at clearance from Walmart for $0.25. The only other Color Icon blush I had was Blazen' Berry, which I really enjoyed until it broke in the pan- the shimmer formula was way too soft. While this seems to be of a stiffer, matte formula, there is a lot of kick-up in the pan, and it is quite powdery.

Keep it Peachy is a matte powder peach, definitely on the more yellow side. I do prefer peach/corals like this in the Spring and Summer, because the color seems to glow off my skin. The product is simple, and easy to use, and I don't regret bringing it into my collection.

The next one is very similar, color-wise. This was another one I got from clearance ($6.50). It is the L'Oreal Paradise Enchanted blush in the shade 191, Fantastical. The formulation is a lot less pigmented than the Wet 'n Wild one. Though this blush is also peach, it is pinker with a more satin finish. I've been reaching for this one a lot lately, due to ease of use. I don't feel like I can over-do it with this blush. As for the scent, in the pan it is noticeable, but the peach scent is really light. I am very sensitive to smells and easily get headaches from them, but this one doesn't bother me at all. Nor does it linger once you apply it to the face.

Now that the more neutral, every-day blushes have been discussed, let's talk about the more unique blushes.

First is the Nyx Sweet Cheeks Matte blush in the shade Silence is Golden ($7.50). Once I found out that Nyx was releasing a yellow matte blush, but only in select places, I was intrigued. I asked people what they thought about yellow blush, but was met with incredulity. I scoured the internet for pictures and articles about yellow blush, hoping to see if it could work for me. With the release of Its Likely Makeup's Clown face palette, a quad of bright blushes- including yellow- I thought I was surely on the pulse of the yellow blush revolution.

No such revolution really took off, but I bought the Nyx blush and have pulled it out a couple of times. My own personal preference is to use this yellow blush with others (especially the two up-top), for an ombre blush effect, similar to what one would do with eyeshadow. That in particular has really been fun, and when used in that way, I do not regret purchasing it at all.

Our last blush is another clearance item, this time from Marshall's. After I purchased the yellow blush, I wanted to see if I could curate my own version of the ItsLikely clown quad. While I wasn't interested in the purple tones, there is a red one I thought I would give a go. It came to me in the form of Elf primer-infused blush in the shade Always Fiery. ($2.50)

This is a pure scarlet matte-blush. It is easy enough to use, blendable, and looks pretty "natural" on the skin, but I have not been reaching for it. I think when I apply it, it feels too cool-toned. Which I know, doesn't make much sense. But I feel because I am cool-toned, certain blushes read strange on my skin, and I just don't want to use them (see also: purple blush). I will certainly keep trying with the elf one, but I am just not that impressed.

And, now, onto the swatches! From top to bottom, it is: L'Oreal Fantastical, Nyx Silence is Golden, Elf Always Fiery, and Wet 'n Wild Keep it Peachy.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! Thanks, as always, for reading.

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows: Golden Sage

We are going to preface this review with a look at two eyeshadow palettes of a bygone era (i.e., a year or two ago).

The Kathleen Lights and Morphe collab:

And the Laura Lee and Violet Voss collab:

Now, these are the same palette. But both spoke to me for the longest time due to one color, and one color only: the green.

Now, the green in the KL palette was a little too blue-toned for my liking.  Swatches of Smashlee genuinely look impressive, but again the shadow has a very strong blue base.

Being someone who wants to steer away from blue-toned eyeshadow, but really wants to wear green shimmer, what was I to do?

Hello, Golden Sage.

Golden Sage is an interesting color from the L'Oreal Infallible line. It is a silvery green, without the blue base of the shadows mentioned above. For people, like me, who don't want to stray very much from neutral colors, this is ideal.

This is what it looks like:

And below is the quick look I created using it, in conjunction with the Carli Bybel deluxe palette. My allergies were pretty bad today, which is why my eyes are a tad swollen. Next time I use the shadow, I think I might just use it all over the lid. 

Mini-Reviews: Empties, Purchases, Tossed Things

Another post! I actually have some empties and recent purchases to talk about. Let's get started.

1. Physician's Formula 2-in-1 Eye Booster Liner, $9. I ran out of this liner two days ago, so I ordered another from Amazon immediately. It is the only liner I've found I can use. Because I had Grave's Disease, my eyes bulge a little. They get irritated and water easily. If I wear regular pencil liner, even waterproof, it becomes a mess by the end of the day. Though this liner is not as black as I would like, it stays put and is easy to apply. I have not mastered wings yet, but who cares. Love this liner. Five stars.

2. Assorted Fyrinnae shadows. Am I down the rabbit hole yet? All this started because I wanted a proper mid-tone purple sparkly shade. A very specific need. Wicked Faeries fulfills this. It is a truly beautiful coppery purple shade. I also love Serendipity and have worn it to work three times now, with shades of taupe and red in my crease. Many reviewers will say that there is a learning curve to this brand, and I am inclined to agree. I have learned to buy a larger-sized Pixie Epoxy. I love that stuff, and can use it with other brands. I have also learned to avoid, for me, shades with a grey/black base. They don't work well for me. For example, Lady Glamis was a total disappointment because of this. Reviews made this shade look almost iridescent, like the surface of mica. But it comes off as a sparkly cloudy mess on me. I would definitely order from Fyrinnae again, though the turnaround time is very very long. 4.5 stars.

3. The Ordinary. Okay, so I haven't actually received my order. I placed it three days ago. But I am so excited. I ordered the foundation and the 2% Retinoid and hope it lives up to the hype. When it comes to skin care, I clean and moisturize, use eyecream, and the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. For me, I am a little skeptical and far too lazy for the complicated regimens some list. If I can keep it simple, then good enough for me. I am also on the eternal quest for an ideal foundation. More on that below.

4. L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte. Hated it. Fell for the hype. This stuff dries way too fast and is impossible to mix and blend. Very fussy with primers. Not impressed. I think I'll keep it to use as spot concealer, so that I can layer over it. We'll see how that goes.

5. Liquid Lipsticks, in general. I need to stop trying. I just need to give it a rest.