New Drugstore Beauty Finds // Spring - Summer Edition
THE REVIEW >
EYES:
This first one actually has a why involved. After missing the boat on a now sold out limited edition MAC skin finish (that I didn't know I actually wanted until I saw someone else wearing it) I decided to poke around for drugstore highlighters. The perfect gossamer sheen across the lids basically sums up my beauty goals for 2014 and a highlighter seemed the best place to start. Physicians Formula's new Nude palettes were very similar to what I had been looking for. A multi-purpose, creamy powder it can be used on the eyes (my plan), on the cheeks as a blush and as a bronzer. It even has a little tutorial and brushes in a secret compartment in the back. Coming in a warm and cool version the warm veered closest to the MAC. Well, it's truly beautiful. Funny enough these Physicians Formula palettes are only a few dollars under the MAC product I wanted but it really does work for all over your face and gives 12 shades instead of 2. Another unexpected benefit was how close the two top squares of the Warm Nude palette look next to Stila's Kitten eye shadow. Can you tell which is which? A serious upgrade from last years version I love that they kept the very gift worthy fishnet packaging.
The next set of eye shadows are not going to garner such a glowing review sadly yet they've still made it on the list because the concept is awesome and they're great when you're traveling and in a pinch. These Revlon Colorstay single shadows can be snapped together to create custom palette bars. The pigmentation can be hit or miss and even the hits such as Taupe is not the best but finding a matte or even sateen shadow without chunky glitter in the drugstore is surprisingly challenging. These have a ton of pretty, understated shades for only $3. a pop. Some of the cheapest of them all.
Last for the eyes is Rimmel's brand new Scandaleyes retro glam mascara. We're talking Twiggy retro and this has to be one of the first times ever a mascara has delivered advertised results. My lashes looked bang on for the models even though she was wearing false eyelashes. This has zoomed to the top of my list as a favorite even though the huge hourglass brush takes a bit of getting use to. No flaking, minimal clumping, zero transfer, feathery doll lashes that keep their curl. Really, really impressed Rimmel.
NAILS:
Now for these I've previously posted a review but I wanted to include Revlon's new Parfumerie scented nail polishes here as well. The colors are beautifully vibrant, dry shiny and they really do smell lovely for a few days. Well all but China Flower red which smells of absolutely nothing but I love the color and finish too much to feel sad about that. Also, while not pictured, Revlon's Colorstay base coat is amazing. It works with any polish and has made a huge difference in wear time.
FACE:
Along with the Physicians Formula already mentioned above there are a few new foundations that I look forward to using throughout the heat of summer. Especially during the evening. One is Neutrogena's new nourishing long wear makeup with tone correcting properties and SPF 20. They claim 12 hour wear with this one and already I can say no to that. A rather thick foundation which is good for moisturizing my dryer skin it does start to dry out and look, well let's just say my face no longer has the fresh smoothness to it. Still it does not transfer even in sweltering heat and there has been zero irritation or breakouts. Tone correcting? Who knows but I like the ring of a serum infused base. Mine is in 60 natural beige which is a tad too deep but goes nicely with a bit of summer body (non-sun induced) bronzing.
The other is Rimmel London's Stay Matte mouse foundation which has now landed in the US. They claim this is a lightweight, shine control liquid mouse. No, yes and no. This is a thick, full coverage foundation with zero SPF. If you've enjoyed Revlon's Colorstay whipped foundation definitely try this. The price belies how serious this is for covering everything up and creating a velvety matte finish. Velvet skin has always intrigued me after silver screen legends were described this way yet finding the effect in a very glow obsessed modern world can be hard. Then this shows up in of all places the drugstore. The lack of SPF, finish and zero transfer makes this especially nice during an evening of picture taking and candlelight. It's lasting power is not the best as it starts to become dry much like the Neutrogena one above and oxidized. The color selection and pink undertones are sad. If you're quite fair and have a hard time finding your shade Rimmel is great. I'm one of the next to deepest at 203 true beige, again slightly too deep, but the yellowest of undertones made this the best match.
To put all of these on I've been wanting to try one of those pointy beauty blending sponges. I ended up finding this one, supposedly infused with vitamin E, in CVS by Essence of Beauty. A brand I believe is exclusive to them. The pointiest ones of all I was hoping that it would swell up when wet but it remained the same size. That's when I actually saw others using their authentic beauty blenders and how squishy they're supposed to be that I now see I'll have to go and get something else. This one is rather hard but it does do a really nice job with creamy concealers.
Moving on to skincare is the new body BB cream by Jergens. Thinking this would be an actual BB cream inspired product for all over the body, similar to Sally Hansens leg makeup, this was a let down. While a beige color when it comes out of the tube there is absolutely no immediate change or covering up of anything with this product. Still I kept using it and I must say a week later it dawned on me how nice this was and how much I've been enjoying it as a daily moisturizer. While I'm hard pressed to put my finger on it, their's something different about it, the more you use it, the better it gets.
Having an order for skin cream on it's way, taking days and then running out is not fun so this Skin Renew radiance Moisture cream by Garnier jumped out at me and into my basket. Turns out this seems to be a switch with a version once sold only in Asia. Garnier makes all sorts of potions not marketed in the US so this was a rather interesting discovery. Loaded with vitamin C, caffeine and kiwi fruit water it's a nice, light weight moisturizer that does not feel sticky. Since I use a lot of serums I can't say if this has actually done anything other than moisturize but my skin does feel pretty smooth after a full night of this.
Then to wash it all off I've been really loving this new Nourishing Cleansing Oil also by Garnier. Oil on oily, acne prone skin? A recipe for disaster for so many years but coconut and Argan oils have been life changing so I keep pushing and trying new oil based products. Over and over I tried cleansing oils from Shu Uemura to Tatcha with nothing but breakouts as a result. Even recently, after making major strides in healing my skins sensitivity, I tried Shu Uemura again and it was not good. Garnier's version uses jojoba and macadamia nut oils which does a really nice job of removing makeup. Especially around the eyes. After massaging it on, I add a little water so it becomes emulsified and then follow up with a foam cleanser. This is a nice way to inexpensively see if cleansing oils and oil pulling are for you.
HAIR:
Lastly good old hair. If you could only see all the things I'm testing in that area. One that deserves a mention here is Suave Professionals moisturizing light oil spray with macadamia nut oil. After Suave made an exact clone of M Moroccan oil (it even smells the same) I'm always up to trying anything new from them. This new one is a winner too even though they weren't able to capture Macadamia Natural Oils scent this Suave one smells pretty good. Best of all it's so nice for keeping saltwater from wrecking hair.
Now we come to the end and lips seem to be missing in action. Aside from new limited edition colors in Revlon lip butters and Kate Moss' matte lipstick collection for Rimmel, two all time favorite drugstore lip products, none of the new releases (mostly glosses of some sort) were really appealing nor particularly kissable. Que sera, sera. Still I'm thoroughly amazed at all the goodies waiting to be discovered. Drugstore brands have seriously stepped things up.
Rimmel mascara c/o Influenster
Makeup bag c/o My Other Bag
Makeup bag c/o My Other Bag
Image: mam for Gave That
Comments