Showing posts with label mascara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mascara. Show all posts

September 1, 2015

PUR Minerals Love Your Selfie Palette: swatches, before & after, and photo tutorial!

Hello, Beautiful!

Pur Minerals recently came out with their Love Your Selfie travel-friendly kit, which is part of their Fall 2015 collection. They were kind enough to send me two; one I am giving away on my Instagram (giveaway ends September 7, 2015). I couldn't wait to swatch this palette and get to playing! I've been using it now for a couple of weeks so I've formed a good opinion on it.

This kit is filled with eight limited edition eyeshadows, their #1 selling lip gloss and mascara, and their top selling powders (Mineral Glow Bronzer, Savvy Blush, Afterglow Illuminating Powder).

They want you to share your selfie on Instagram by using the hashtag #PURselfie


Pur Minerals Love Your Selfie Palette Info & Review
Cost: $39.00
Availability: Available on the Pur Minerals website and at Ulta (in-store and online).
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Kisses



Pur Minerals Love Your Selfie
Travel-Friendly Kit
Includes: Eight eyeshadows (Exposure, Fade, Filter, Photobomb, Flash, Capture, Sepia, Closeup), Mineral Glow Bronzer, Savvy Blush, Afterglow Illuminating Powder, Big Look Mascara (black), and Chateau Kisses Lip Plumping Lip Gloss in Exposed.


Here is what the front of the palette looks like:



And here is what the back of the palette looks like:



This is what the back of the box (that the palette comes in) looks like. The front of the box looks exactly like the front of the palette so I didn't think I needed a second photo of that (since they looked identical) 




Here's a look at what the inside of the palette looks like. On the inside of the front of the palette is a mirror.

You get eight shadows, plus a bronzer, blush and illuminator. Nestled in this palette is a mascara (on the left) and a lip gloss (on the bottom). You can keep them in there if you are traveling (hence the name, Travel-Friendly Kit) or keep them out separate (which is my preference, as I have an insanely organized makeup collection and storage).



You'll also receive a look card that includes two looks: Earlybird (daytime look) and Slumber (nighttime look). I did do a photo tutorial later in this blog post, and it's not either of these looks. It's just the first look I did with this palette, upon first using it. Any looks you do make with this palette, upload them to Instagram and hashtag them #PURselfie



Here is a closer look at the eight included shadows. They are all nicely pigmented. The texture is nice too, and they blend out nicely. They're all very wearable shades, and I'm glad they included a matte black - which I think is a must-have in any palette. I also like the  four basic matte shades. You also get three shimmer shades, that are really nice; Flash and Filter are gorgeous lid shades, while Photobomb is that pop of plum shimmer that can really take your look to another level.



Here are descriptions of each shade (from the Pur Minerals website):
  • Exposure  - vanilla matte
  • Fade - sandy peachy brown matte
  • Filter - rose gold shimmer
  • Photobomb - dark plum shimmer with black flecks
  • Flash - champagne shimmer
  • Capture - taupe matte
  • Sepia - milk chocolate matte
  • Closeup - muted black matte

Each shadow is 0.04 oz

Here are the swatches of the shades. They are swatched over non-primed skin and applied with my finger. I really love Capture as a crease shade; it's perfect! Filter and Flash are prefect shimmer lid shades. When applied wet (I use a makeup setting spray), they look even more beautiful.




Then you have your Mineral Glow Bronzer, Savvy Blush and Afterglow Illuminating Powder.

Each powder pan is 0.08 oz

The bronzer is warm toned, but doesn't pull orange on me. It's not a matte, but it's also not a shimmer. There is a slight sheen to it that allows your skin to have that glow.
The blush is nice; your standard soft pink shade. I like that it's a matte, which is a plus, but it's not my favorite shade of pink on my skin tone. It's not intensely pigmented - making it a softer look - which is good if you are heavy handed when applying your blush. You can build it up if you prefer a more noticeable blush look.
The Afterglow Illuminating Powder is gorgeous! I used it as a my inner corner shade in my eye look tutorial below. It's also really pretty on the skin, used on top of cheek bones!


Here are the swatches:



You also get their Chateau Kisses Lip-Plumping Lip Gloss in the shade Exposed. This is a nude shade, which Pur Minerals describes as a pinky nude. It's definitely has pink undertones to it, but I think I see more peach. Especially on my lips. I think the shade is pretty and is a perfect pairing with this palette. Goes on really smooth and has nice pigmentation. I didn't notice too much plumping, but the shine made my lips look great! Non-sticky.

This gloss is 0.14 oz





I like the thin, flat, longer doe-foot applicator. It makes applying this gloss easy without needing to re-dip.



The swatch shows how it is a pinky nude shade. There are peach undertones to it too.


But on my lips it pulls darker, but still peachy. I lose most of the pinky tones that the swatch has.


And finally, you get their Big Look Mascara. For me, I liked this mascara, but I know how it can greatly vary from person to person. The formula is wet, so if you prefer dry mascaras you may want to let this dry out a bit first. I think it's perfect; I prefer wet mascaras though. The wand is rubberized, which isn't my favorite (they can hurt!) but I didn't experience any of the pain associated with rubberized wands (such as how Benefit's They're Real Mascara can hurt sometimes!).

The mascara is 0.12 oz






Below is my Before & After using the mascara. I was really happy with the results. It was a nice black shade, provided length and a little volume too.





And if you want to see the very first look I did with this palette, then here is a photo tutorial for you. I tried to explain the steps in addition to showing you what I did. I'm not great at creating photo tutorials, so hopefully it's not too bad and you can follow along (if you like the end result, of course).

I also only used this palette and nothing else; since there is no eyeliner included in the kit, I used the matte black as an outer corner liner. You could take it all the way in if you wanted. Typically though, I would use a liquid or gel liner to form a wing but I kept the look soft and with just the products included in the palette.

Also, studio lights tend to wash out colors, so keep that in mind. In person they were much more vibrant and more smokey in tone. It looks much softer in the photos than in real life. 

You can click on each photo to view them larger.
















So there is a complete review and summary of the Pur Minerals Love Your Selfie palette!

Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of this palette? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine


Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. However, these products were sent to me for consideration. I am not being paid to make this post, nor has the company influenced me in any way. I have made this post because I wanted to, not because I had to. These are my honest opinions, thoughts and experiences.

June 1, 2015

Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara - 9 shades - swatches, pics, review!

Hello, Beautiful!

If you have been looking for an affordable colored mascara, then get ready to get giddy because Jordana has hit the nail on the head with their Dramatic Effects Mascaras! Available in 9 shades, which I have all 9 to show you in this post - including showing you what they look like on my lashes - and the best part is they're only $2.99 each!

NOTE: As I was swatching these mascaras my eye was getting really irritated from the eye makeup remover and rubbing my eye, so please excuse how red/pink the skin around my eye was getting in some of the on-the-lash swatches. That was not caused by the mascara. There is also left over color from the pink shades because they were more difficult to fully remove. I still think you'll get the point of how they look even with those swatch complications.

Out of the 9 shades there are personal favorites and ones I personally wouldn't wear again, but everyone has a preference. For me, my absolute favorite is Teal Frenzy!

Check out all the product info, along with my full review, after the pics!

Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shades: Bold Burgundy, Fearless Fuchsia, Electric Pink, Powerful Plum, Vivid Violet, Sapphire Chic, Aqua Flash, Teal Frenzy, Green Glamour
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.








My FAVORITE shade... Teal Frenzy!!!!




Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 51 Bold Burgundy







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 52 Fearless Fuchsia







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 53 Electric Pink







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 54 Powerful Plum







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 55 Vivid Violet







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 56 Sapphire Chic







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 57 Aqua Flash






Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 58 Teal Frenzy







Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara
Shade: 59 Green Glamour






Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara Info & Review
Cost: $2.99 (full size)
Availability: Available on the Jordana Cosmetics website, at Walgreens, at KMart and everywhere else Jordana Cosmetics are sold.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION...

Full pigment, instant color payoff with the Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara. Wear alone or layer over your mascara. Volumizing and lengthening formula. Made in the USA.

There is no size shown on the tube of mascara or listed on the Jordana website, but these are a typical size mascara tube.


MY REVIEW...

I love wearing colored mascara from time to time, but I wear it so infrequent that I hate to spend a lot of money on it in fear it may dry out before I get many uses out of it. The Jordana Dramatic Effects Mascara is very affordable - at just $2.99 each retail (and sometimes you can get them on sale), so even if I don't use up an entire tube before it dries up I won't feel like I wasted my money. Now the normal rule of thumb for mascara is to replace it every 3 to 4 months, but with colored mascaras that are only used every so often you can keep longer. I personally keep mine until they dry out but I'm not sure that's the proper procedure (nor do I personally care, because I've never gotten an eye infection or irritation -- if you have more sensitive eyes you may not want to be as lax as I am).

These mascaras make me happy because they are everything I want from a colored mascara - they actually color my lashes, not just tint them like so many other colored mascaras on the market. Of course how bold they turn out will depend on your natural lash color and if you are applying them over a black mascara. If you have very light colored lashes it's very likely that all these will turn out bold on your lashes.

Over my dark natural lashes, some of the darker shades weren't as bold but you could certainly still see them -- especially in the photos under my studio lights. Trust me when I say that the studio lights made the darker shades appear a bit bolder than they actually are in person. With that being said, there  are some shades that still appear very bold on my lashes - the pinks both show up very well and the Teal Frenzy shade (MY FAVORITE), shows up great as well.

You can apply these to bare lashes or over your mascara. I prefer to use them over my mascara because even though this mascara formula will lengthen and volumize your lashes a little, it doesn't do as good of a job as my usual mascara - but as far as application, there wasn't much difference with how it showed up over mascara or on bare lashes. Keep in mind my lashes are naturally dark though anyway, so it may make a huge difference for you if you have blonde or very light lashes.

I didn't experience any flaking or smudging. It's not listed as waterproof anywhere on the tube or website, so I'm assuming it's not. Wear time was great; I even went to bed in it and woke up without any issues.


Now let's talk about the individual shades and my opinion on the colors....

The shade Bold Burgundy would be great for Halloween - or it could be your everyday thing; do you! For me, a red mascara isn't necessarily everyday; but I do think it has its place for sure. However, it is the most messy in both application and especially removal. Here is a pic to show you:

Yet, even with the messy application and removal, I still think it would be worth it for a cool Halloween look, and I already plan to get use of this during October without question.

Electric Pink - which, in my opinion, should be called baby pink - had the weirdest look to my lashes in person. It was very pastel and not flattering at all. I looked weird. Not sure I'd ever wear that one again. The hot pink shade - which for whatever reason is called Fearless Fuchsia (yet should be the one called Electric Pink, as there is not fuchsia in it) - showed up really well and looked better on me. It's one of the shades with the most bold color payoff.

Powerful Plum is a nice deep purple shade, which looks more subtle in person than it does in the photo taken with my studio lights. Purples look really good on my eyes so this was a winner for me if I want to wear colored mascara more for everyday.

Vivid Violet is a really pretty shade; Jordana has a Cat Eye Liner in the same shade and I love it. This shade as an all over mascara is a little too pastel for my features, but I still love purple so it works.

Sapphire Chic falls into the same type of category as Powerful Plum; it's more subtle in person but way more wearable/everyday. I love this one!

Aqua Flash was nice, but it's very similar in looks to Teal Frenzy - which is my FAVORITE shade, and for me, Teal Frenzy wins over Aqua Flash. You certainly don't need both shades, as they are so similar. Here is a side by side of the two shades so you can see just how similar they are on the lashes.

My personal preference of the two is that Aqua Flash is pretty but Teal Frezy is GORGEOUS and shows up much better on my bare lashes. Aqua Flash also has a metallic finish to it, which really doesn't translate to the lashes like it does in the swatch.

Green Glamour was iffy on me; I'm not a fan of green eye shadows or liners, so I didn't think I'd be a fan of green mascara either. And I'm not really, but it is more wearable - as just like Powerful Plum and Sapphire Chic, this is one of those that is more subtle in person than how is appears in the photos. I think if you love green shadow or find greens compliment you, then you'll probably really enjoy this one.


If you're too timid to go full on colored mascara on both top and bottom lashes, why not start by applying to your lower lashes only and keep your eye and lip makeup very simple. Another way to get double duty from this product is to take an eyeliner brush and use the mascara as a colored liner.

In conclusion, for $2.99 these mascaras are a must-have! Pick up a few shades if you can't decide between them. If you don't know which one to pick up, go for Teal Frenzy or Sapphire Chic!

Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of these colored mascaras? Have you tried them, or would you consider adding these to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine


Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. However, these products were sent to me for consideration. I am not being paid to make this post, nor has the company influenced me in any way. I have made this post because I wanted to, not because I had to. These are my honest opinions, thoughts and experiences.