Beauty reviews, Apr/May - YouLookFab Forum

Hi y'all. How's your seasonal shift of makeup & skincare going? I'm staying with my parents at the moment, helping clear out their house so they can sell it and downsize. So most days I'm in grubby clothes, hair in a ponytail, and no makeup. I've been using the Supergoop oil sunscreen - which doesn't always work well under foundation but is very nice on its own, giving a bit of glow and physical protection.

I wanted to post these reviews before I completely forgot - some items I've tried in the last couple months. As always, add your own and the products you've been loving or hating.

Brush egg (Amazon)
This is a silicone egg-shaped cosmetic brush cleaner that’s meant to go on your finger and has little nubby bits that are supposed to help clean brushes. I didn’t invest much in it - ones are available on Amazon for a buck or two from China. Although the actual cleaning surface was fine, I found the hand-held nature of it to be quite annoying - I had to keep putting it down to squeeze out more brush soap or to be able to dry a brush, and then get it back on with wet hands. I think I’ll look for one of the kind that is flat and sits on the surface of the inside of your sink.

La Roche Posay cicaplast baume (Walgreens)
There’s some magical French shenanigans in this stuff, for sure. A little thick and comes in a tube, but not greasy like vaseline or zinc oxide. Every time I’ve used it it’s helped my skin calm down from damage and be more resilient.

Sephora collection wonderful cushion lip color in magenta and red
The youtuber Tati Westbrook fawned about these so I picked them up when they were on discount. The foam ‘cushion’ at the tip makes it messy to apply, in my opinion, and it’s hard to avoid getting it outside the outline of your lips. The color is vibrant and bold. I don’t love these but maybe I’ll figure out how to use them more effectively.

Acure marula oil (Amazon)
I’m kinda meh about this oil - it’s a midweight one that feels pretty slippy and comes in a nice glass pump bottle. But the oil itself doesn’t seem to do that much for me; I’ve had better luck with Tarte maracuja or just no-name almond oil.

Green cream level 3 (Dermstore.com)
I’ve been wanting to level up my retinol and picked up this and a sample of the MUAC retinol oil. The green cream is actually green - neon green! - and comes in an airless pump. I haven’t noticed any irritation or breakouts. It takes a long time to dry down and remains quite sticky, which I don’t love, but I’ll use it up before I move onto something else.

The Ordinary - Buffet serum & rosehip oil (Beautylish)
Finally trying something from The Ordinary! The Buffet serum is a mixture of anti-aging ingredients like peptides and animo acids along with hyuralonic acid and a bit of lactobacillus filtrate (the skincare equivalent of taking probiotics). It comes in a glass dropper bottle and is a watery gel. Any anti-aging benefits will take a while to manifest, but it’s a nice hydrating serum that goes under makeup well and seems worth the reasonable price.
Rosehip oil - is a dry oil that absorbs quickly and smells not like roses but like some combination of dust and seaweed, although the scent fades quickly. I’ve heard that rose hip is supposed to be good for acne-prone skin so I”m looking forward to trying it out longer.

Buxom eyeshadows (Ulta)
So Ulta has/had a deal with Buxom (available in Sephora in Canada) where you could order 5 shadows and a palette to hold them for only $40. The case is very nicely designed - the shadows are rectangular and slide into the case from one side, so you can take them in and out or reorder them whenever you want, but they stay put otherwise. The quality of the shadows seems nice, too, although I haven’t used them a ton yet. I went for a cool-toned pink/plum theme with the colors Hot or Yacht (taupey gray), Jetsetter (taupe), Spoiled Sexy (plum pink), Lingerie Lover (medium matte pink), Champagne Buzz (shimmery light pink), and Silk Sheets (shimmery ecru).

GNC moisturizing creams - Cocoa butter & aloe
I read a rave for these on the internet, and picked up some when I was at a mall with a GNC. They are a great deal - only $1.99 per 2 oz jar. The cocoa butter was very emollient but smelled strongly of chocolate, which is not what I like in a hand cream (don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate, but I don’t like food scents for makeup/skincare). The aloe was lighter and stung my skin a little. They also sell an argan oil version which I haven’t tried yet. I wouldn’t go out of my way to get these again but if I was in a strange place without moisturizer they would be a great low-price option.

ELF volumizing and defining mascara (Target)
I accidentally went on a trip without any mascara so I picked this up during my travels for a couple bucks. I actually really like it. It has a small (silicone?) brush, which lets you get down to the roots easily and provides definition without crazy spider lashes (I am a low-key mascara/lashes person). I noticed some migration onto below my eyes by the end of a long day, but not horribly so. I’m actually much more impressed with this mascara than I have been with mascaras 10 times the price. If it were waterproof, it would approach holy grail status for me.

RCMA no color loose powder (Beautylish)
This is one of those ‘cult products’ from a small company based in LA that’s been around for a long time. I needed to up my order a bit on Beautylish to get free shipping so I ordered it. It comes in a plastic shaker bottle akin to a Parmesan cheese container, so I decanted it into a Muji loose powder compact. I like it - it doesn’t amaze me or anything but it does seem truly no color and gives a nice, matte but not cakey appearance.

8 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Speaking of the ordinary, I have been using their retinol and their matryxl serum. It is hard to know, but I have a good feeling about them. The retinol is drying though.

Gigi

I am enjoying the Evan Healy Argan Intensive Serum. It is extremely moisturizing! I needed it to repair the damage the Even Healy Rose line did to my face. After only a week's time using the Rose line, my skin was so dry it was shedding (this was not the good shedding that comes with exfoliation). So a big no to the EH Rose line, but a big yes to the argan serum.

I am using a blue mascara from W3ll People that is really nice. Doesn't smudge and isn't garish. It has a funky brush (maybe like the mascara wand you mentioned) that really helps separate the lashes. I'm very pleased with this mascara so far.

I also am enjoying the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask from Sephora. They were out of the stuff in the squeeze tube, so I got the stuff in the lip balm formulation. Boy, this stuff is thick! It is so helpful for my chapped lips. Annagybe recommended this product a couple of months ago when I was asking for help with chapped lips, and I think it's amazing.

I started using the SkinCeuticals Physical Defense tinted sunscreen (SPF 50) last month. It is very light and liquidy, so it doesn't make my face feel like an oil slick. I got the tinted version, which is the only tinted sunscreen I have found that doesn't make me look sick or orange.

I also bought several lippies that have been wins.

I have been busy the last couple of months. My credit card is not too happy.

texstyle

I've been enjoying Kiehl's avocado eye cream. It is *very* thick and not especially slippery so patting it on is recommended. It's more of a night eye cream I suppose, but I love the feeling and the shine so I even put a little on under my eyes after my makeup (I don't wear much eye makeup) in the morning and do the same with the facial moisturizer. Neither of these seem to cause me to break out. Angie sold me on the "dewy face" thing and I've been doing it ever since I read her tips on it.

Other makeup I use has stayed the course for the most part, Origins foundation (I use it more like concealer, just where needed), their mascara in brown and Bare Minerals products. Their lightest allover face color I use for blush for a very subtle shimmer and pale pinky color. I use their brow powder as well. Once I'm done I wait for a while, then gently pat a small amount of moisturizer on top of my cheeks, nose and chin.

I use various lipcolors Burts Bees, Aveda and similar.

minimalist

Hadn't heard of most of these, thanks.

Are you on makeupalley as well? Or truthinaging? I need to review some eye-area products I've been using. So good to get the benefit of others' experiences!

Runcarla

Laura! So glad you started this thread. (Missed you )

During a customer appreciation sale (25% off everything!) I got into a conversation with a lovely red-headed woman with beautiful skin who was buying up a product called Dr. Morelli. She thought I might like it, since my skin and colouring was similar to hers. I picked up a tester package of cleanser, vitamin C serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen SPF 35.
I've been using it for one week. At fist I thought the serum was irritating my skin, but the tingling feeling doesn't last long. More importantly, my adult sons spontaneously volunteered that they thought my face was looking less red. (This was after the gym, and a make-up less face!) That is a lot to happen in 7 days. I'm going to keep using the product (a little goes a long way) and maybe invest in the full size version at the next customer appreciation event. It's spendy!

I also picked up a tube of Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Curl Envy - a leave in conditioner. It has a mild lemony scent that is quite nice. Very similar to Sebastian Potion #9, but with a better smell and about 1/3 the price! Curls are more formed then with #9, but I break them up by running my hands through my hair after it is dry. We have had a couple of rainy/humid days and it is good at keeping frizz at bay.

I'm giving Nivea Q10 CC cream a try. It is a tinted moisturizer and easy to use. Applying it over Smashbox Photo Finish green foundation primer. I like the Smashbox primer better than the Clinique green corrector I was using before.

Minimalist, that is a good idea to post reviews on Makeup Alley. I have a username there but have not posted any reviews. I should take some time to do that.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

I used to post a lot on MakeupAlley a few years ago, but recently I've just used my account to look up others' reviews. I find the forums at sephora.com really useful, and a couple of subreddits. Also YouTubers, of course.

Carla, sounds like the Dr. Morelli is really working for you - that's a new brand to me. I'm gonna check out that leave-in conditioner - with the increased humidity in the midwest where I am now, I need anti-frizz help like whoa.

shedev

I'm a makeup junkie, so I have a lot of product. I like the Buxom shadows and I think the quality is on par with others in their price range. I have 3 of their palettes, Dolly's Wild Side, Suede Seduction, and White Russian (which is one of my favorites). They have been in regular rotation along with the Sweet Peach and some older MAC palettes. My go to lip color has been Anastasia's Metallic Rose.
My hair care routine focuses on keeping my curls moisturized. I use As I Am co wash, and Shea Moisture products. I'm alternating between the dragons blood and some Deva Curl that I'm using up and do not plan to rebuy. Then I'm using a Shea Moisture leave in. The dragons blood is supposed to be volumizing, it isn't great for that, but they have a spray that is better. I also use a Shea Moisture hair mask that leaves my hair unbelievably soft.

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