I found some of my notes for previous reviews that I never posted so I’m including those as well as some new stuff I’ve tried this month.
Colourpop Pretty Fresh tinted moisturizer (fair 4N, Ulta)
Overall I liked this but didn’t love it. It’s quite hydrating with light coverage; I was able to swatch at Ulta so the 4N isn’t too bad a match but it is a bit too yellow. None of their light shades were cool-toned, which I thought was odd. If I hadn’t bought the W&W just afterwards which is just as good, a better shade match for me, and half as expensive I’d probably be more of a fan.
Wet & Wild Photofocus dewy foundation
This one’s all over the beauty interwebs at the moment; I liked the original Photofocus but it was a bit OTT for me for every day. The Dewy version has similar shades and a similar price. I like it a lot. It’s not a 12 hour foundation for me but it does last longer than the Colourpop. Well worth the 5 bucks or less on sale to try.
Maybelline Brow define & fill
I’d earlier gotten this in Auburn when my hair had been dyed more red, and have now picked it up in soft brown too. It’s got a brow pencil on one end and a ‘filling powder’ in a foam applicator on the other end. I like the Nyx brow pencil better when I’m trying to be exact, but the filling powder is great for a super-quick brow look; it just adds a bit of color and definition without any of the clumpiness of brow gel.
Revlon Root Erase
This product is genius and I can’t believe no one’s done this design before. It’s a permanent hair dye for coloring roots that comes in a canister with two separate sides. When you press the pump both sides dispense and you can mix them together. That way you can just use the amount you need and save the rest for next time. Performance of the dye was good; I felt like it went a bit darker than shown on the box but I might have left it on too long. Gray coverage was excellent. Unfortunately they only have about 4-5 shades right now, in the brown to black range.
No. 7 Line correcting Booster serum (Target) [15 ml, ~$30]
This has a bunch of peptides and is supposed to be an OTC serum for wrinkles. I haven’t found it makes that much of a visual difference, but peptides are more of a long-term thing, not an instant fix. My only issue with this is that it makes my eyes sting, so I can’t use it on my crow’s feet. I’ve been using it up on my forehead and will continue to do that but likely won’t repurchase.
Good molecules ultra-hydrating facial oil (Beautylish) [12 ml)
This is a mixture of camellia and sea buckthorn oil in a dropper bottle. It’s pretty thick and doesn’t really have a smell. It does have a yellow tint because of the sea buckthorn oil, so I wouldn’t wear it during the day (if you’re darker skinned you probably could). I’m meh on this so far – it seems nice enough as an occlusive layer but nothing special.
Kristen Ess Signature Gloss in Smoky Topaz (Target, ~$15)
This is a hair gloss/toner aka semi-permanent dye. This shade is designed to tone down warmth and brassiness on dark blonde and light brown hair. The old highlights in the longer part of my hair were getting kinda orange, thanks to time and sun and pool chlorine, so I thought I’d try this as a lower-effort step before redyeing my whole head. I was reasonably pleased with the result – it didn’t get rid of all the brassiness but it toned it down and didn’t fry my hair in the process. I think next time I’ll try using just half the mixture (since it comes with plenty and is kinda pricey for drugstore hair dye) and leaving it on longer. It’s very liquid – both good and bad since it’s hard to control precisely, but it does spread easily.
