Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation Review

*Disclaimer* I received this product free from Influenster to test, but the opinions are all my own.

 

I was recently selected for the Stay Matte Vox Box by Influenster and was sent the new Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in Light Ivory to test out. First off, I want to say that since my skin is so fair and I have freckles it can be very hard for me to find foundation that matches my skin tone nicely. Usually even the lightest options from most brands are still too dark. Rimmel's Stay Matte foundation actually matches my skin really well! I was very impressed. It's very light and airy and blends well.

elf Mineral Infused Face Primer & Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

I would recommend applying it over a primer as I noticed that it can stand out a bit on dry areas. I use e.l.f.'s mineral primer and it works fabulously. I also set with a translucent powder. The coverage isn't too heavy, I would say about medium. It's enough to cover light blemishes, but not enough to cover heavy marks. I've been wearing it for a week and I've noticed that it does keep my skin fairly shine free, which is saying something since I wear makeup from 5:45am-9pm. I haven't had to touch up or reapply yet.

Me after 10 hours of wear, no reapplication of any foundation or powders

My Vox Box

The foundation will be released in stores in January 2014 and I highly recommend keeping your eye out for it!

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Garnier

BzzAgent was kind enough to send me a bottle of the new Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free B.B. Cream in light/medium to test out.

I hadn't tried a BB cream before, but I knew they were all the rage. I would put this in the same family as a tinted moisturizer, offering spf protection while still giving some coverage for blemishes, etc.

My "before" face - no makeup

I wasn't prepared for how liquidy it would be. It's extremely runny when you open the tube, so be careful! A little goes a long way.

I have very fair skin, and tried the light-medium shade. It was a little darker/orange-y for my skin tone, but was able to blend it out pretty well. It does a good job of covering most blemishes and helped even out my freckles and all over skin-tone.

My "after" face - Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free B.B. Cream

I added some bronzer, blush, eyeliner & shadow, mascara, and filled in my brows (of course) and was ready with a quick, fresh, everyday look. I wish I had this when I went to Jamaica! It would have been perfect for those days at the beach when you don't want a full face of makeup but still have some coverage and sun protection to boot. One of the only downsides is it can wear off fairly quickly. On days I wear it to work, by the time I get home most has disappeared. It's oil free, but but I wouldn't say it's completely shine free as advertised. I used a powder to set it. I haven't tried it with a primer yet, but I figured as a BB cream it shouldn't need one. It's meant to be a quick coverage, and in that is does quite well.

**Disclosure: I received this product free from BzzAgent but all the opinions are my own.

Lorac Unzipped Palette

Thanks to my Platinum rewards status through Ulta, I received a $10 credit to use in my birthday month and I was also given a gift card. I hadn't been keeping up with the different products available lately, so I went to the store with nothing really in mind. I spent some time looking through the Urban Decay, Smashbox, Tarte, Too Faced, and Stilla Cosmetics displays, but nothing really caught my eye. Then I came across the Lorac Unzipped Palette.

I have never paid much attention to Lorac products, I'm not sure why, possibly because of the hefty price tags, but I was really drawn to this collection of shadows. I'm a huge lover of browns and natural shades since they work really well for everyday and dramatic looks, and I can wear them for work. I walked away, took a few more looks around the store, at the nail polish racks, clearance sections, but I just kept coming back to the palette. I figured if I came back to it 4 times, it was probably the product I should leave the store with.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The shadows are very creamy and pigmented. They glide right on and don't take very much at all to get the look you're going for. I have only used the sample of eye primer a few times since I still have so much of my Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but It seems to work fairly well. 

It has an assortment of shimmer and matte colors for several different looks. I would highly recommend this palette for anyone who is looking for a versatile selection of natural browns, creams, and pinks. 

Saturday's Look

Saturday's look just sort of happened... I didn't go into it with any plans, but it turned out pretty pin-up-esque. I've been practicing my winged-liner technique lately, and after applying my foundation thought I'd give it another go, but with brown instead of the normal black. After that was done and I finished applying my mascara, I decided on a red lip and this is how it turned out. After I saw my completed makeup, I did purposely do my hair in this  fashion to give it more of the 40's style, while keeping it modern.

I don't remember all of the products I used, but I know some of the brands were E.L.F. lipstick and bronzer, Rimmel mascara, Too Faced Blush, Smashbox highlighter, CoverGirl & Maybelline concealers, and an old brown liner I have that the brand has rubbed off of.

Lavender Look inspired by Dawn from Beautyful Thoughts

This is my attempt to recreate Dawn's Edgy Lilac Eyeliner look. I put my own twist to it. Since black can look too harsh on me sometimes, I opted for a chocolate brown liner to tight-line with and a darker purple shadow, mainly because I don't have any lilac colored shades. Also, instead of using my NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese, I ended up using the E.L.F. eye widener because I wasn't completely sold on outlining the purple until after I had applied my mascara and I didn't want to use a large pencil and risk clumping my lashes. I also didn't use false lashes since I was going to work. Please don't mind my hair, it was a bit out of control today.

Products:

Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 205 - Very Light

E.L.F. Bronzer in Golden

Revlon ColorStay Palette - Lavender Meadow

Brown eyeliner that the label is worn off of...may have been Revlon or Maybelline

E.L.F. blush in Twinkle Pink

L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable powder in n1 - soft ivory

E.L.F. eye widener - pearl white

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Lavender

Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara in black

L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition mascara in black/brown

Smashbox in Aurora with Mulberry lightly in the center of my lips

E.L.F. Eyebrow Studio Eyebrow Kit

China Glaze's The Hunger Games Nail Polish Collection

I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but China Glaze has reached an agreement with Lionsgate and are officially teaming up for create a collection based on The Hunger Games! Apparently there is some backlash from fans about this, but I think it's awesome! I am a huge fan of the books and couldn't be more excited that they're creating colors inspired by the books and upcoming film. I'm going to try my best to get my hands on this set! It's set to release on March 1, 2012, just before the release of the movie. What do you think? Are any of you as excited as I am?

Source

The names have changed since the original announcement, I'm not sure if this has to do with the lawsuit that American International Industries (AII - China Glaze's parent company) had with Lionsgate for ending the licensing deal they originally had, but from what I can tell, the colors are still the same. I'm glad they're back on and headed my way!

Source

Lancome & Urban Decay Face of the Day

My coworker recently asked me if I used lipgloss, to which I replied "yes!". This apparently was the correct answer, at least for me, because it led to her giving me a bunch of lipglosses and other make-ups that she received as free gift/samples but never used. See my haul post here :)

Well I decided I wanted to try a look from these new goodies and this is what I came up with.

Face:

L'Oreal True Match liquid foundation in C1 - Alabaster

L'Oreal True Match compressed powder in n1 soft ivory

E.L.F. blush in Tickled Pink

E.L.F. bronzer in Warm

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Lancome e/s in Latte

Lancome e/s in Kitten Heels

Lancome e/s in Mannequin

Urban Decay e/s in Sin

Urban Decay e/s in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again

Rimmel London Lash Accelerating mascara in black

L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Lashes mascara in black-brown

Lips:

Lancome Juicy Tubes Moulin Rose

Lancome Color Design "It" Girl Sheen

FOTD - 8/24/2011

My face of the day for August 24, 2011 using the Wet n Wild Color Icon eye shadow trio in Sweet As Candy.

No flash/flash

Face: Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in #205- Very Light

         Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Luminous Matte Pressed Powder in #1002-05 - Light
         E.L.F. Bronzer in Golden
         Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher in #831E - Pearlescent Pink

Eyes: Ulta Eye Shadow Base

         Wet n Wild Color Icon eye shadow trio #381B- Sweet As Candy

         E.L.F. Essential Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Purple

         Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara in #001 - black

         E.L.F. Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light

Lips: Estee Lauder Pure Color Lon Lasting Lipstick in #182 - Pinkberry

Beauty by Krystal Giveaway Goodies

So my goodies from Beauty by Krystal arrived on Monday! I was so excited to see the box in the mail! My cat Spike was very interested as well :)

Everything was packaged very well and individually wrapped. It was like a mini Christmas in July! Or a late birthday gift, depending on how you look at it :) I couldn't wait to open everything up and start using some of the products. Krystal even included a little card with some extra Target coupons! Those will come in handy.

I've had the pleasure of using the matte shade from the CND The Look - Perfectly Bare Nail Polish duo pack and love it! The CND Sentsations Hand & Body Lotion in Mango Coconut is amazing as well. I apologize for my lighting, my apartment receives no direct sunlight. It's nice to not be woken up by the sun at 5am in the summer, but when it comes to natural light it's no good.

I managed to snag e.l.f. products I didn't have yet but was itching to pick up, so that was a total score! The 141 piece Master Makeup Collection will last me for ages and I love all the options it has! I can't wait to try out some new looks with it. I've really been wanting to test out some different bronzers with my skin and this is perfect!

Thank you again to Beauty by Krystal! This prize is amazing and I am so happy to be able to try out these new products!

I'm a Blog Giveaway Winner!

This is a few days late, but along with some of the other things I've been winning lately, one that I am super excited about is Beauty by Krystal's Krystal's BIG Thank You Giveaway! I was searching for information about a new makeup company I had discovered, e.l.f. (which I have posted about before), and found her videos. They're extremely helpful for someone like me who had never ordered anything from them before to see what the products actually look like and to get her opinion on them. So I decided to enter her giveaway. Well, I won first prize!!! I'm so, so, so excited to receive this.

1st PRIZE INCLUDES (items asterisked were received from PR):

ELF 141 Piece Master Makeup Collection

ELF Blooming Eyeshadow Collection

ELF Brightening Eye Color in Drama

ELF Nail Polish in Clear

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Sexy Silhouette

*Peacekeeper Cause-Metics "Perfect As Is" Lip Balm in Tinted Rose

*Peacekeeper Cause-Metics Eco-Sheer Lip Gloss in Stillness

*CND The Look - Perfectly Bare Nail Polish duo pack

*CND Scentsations Hand & Body Lotion in Mango & Coconut

*CND Scentsations Hand & Body Wash in Mango & Coconut

*Cricket Technique Thermal #390 2" Tourmaline Ionic Brush

iViScents iSmell Soap in Sandcastle

iViScents Towel Treat in Chocolate Cupcake

ULTA 4 Piece Lip Glossary Set

ULTA Anti-Bacterial Hand Lotion in Pomegranate

ULTA Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap in Pomegranate

Cherry Culture Lip Balm in Bubble Gum

Kitten & Vixen Liner Pencil Sharpener

VALUE: $180

I haven't tried any of these products aside from the clear e.l.f. nail polish, so I'm so excited to get a chance to try out new things. Thank you so much for hosting the giveaway Krystal. Head on over to her blog and youtube pages and check her out! I'll post photos when I receive the items. 

Extremely Good Luck

I don’t mean to brag, but I have won 3 things since Saturday! I’m so excited! I've had some extremely good luck these past few days. My boyfriend s a little disgusted by this since he says he never wins anything, but this past Christmas at his work party he won an iHome, so I don't know what he's talking about, lol :)

First, on Sunday, I found out that I won a Schick Giveaway hosted by the lovely Beauty By Krystal. The prize was a Limited Edition Schick Quattro for Women Razor AND a Schick Quattro for Women Trimstyle, both featuring a NEW conditioning strip enriched with Acai Berry and Jojoba Complex designed for a comfortable and incredibly smooth shave you could skip a day or two. Hopefully they’ll arrive soon!

Second, I received a notification this morning that I was one of 25K to win a NEW HD Advanced Lip Color from Milani. I entered on their facebook page some time last week. I didn’t get to choose the color, but they said “We made every effort to match your preferred color and truly hope you enjoy your new makeup.” I can’t wait to see what they’ve matched for me!

Third, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a member of a program called House Party. You sign up and apply to host parties that are supplied by different groups and organizations. They held a “Twitter Party” earlier this morning, and I was the first to answer a particular question with the correct answer. The question in particular was “In what year did Congress recognize the Pledge of Allegiance?” Now I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that I knew this off the top of my head, because I didn’t, but I was able to successfully Google my way to the correct answer and respond within 15 seconds. That I am proud of :) My prize? I won a VIP Party Pass which allows me to host any party of my choosing so long as I match the criteria the company requires for their party demographic. So, if the company/organization wants families with children as their hosts, I wouldn’t be able to host since I do not have children of my own, etc. I don’t mind though. I’m hoping to host a party with really awesome loot. I love free stuff and I know my friends do as well!

Now I've entered quite a few giveaways so far and I plan to keep on entering as many as I can. Here's to hoping I can bring home some sweet stuff!

e.l.f.

I recently discovered e.l.f. (eyes-lips-face) makeup. They're a company that produces inexpensive cosmetics that are supposed to compete with the high end brands such as Urban Decay, Smashbox, MAC, etc. I didn't know anything about them until Groupon had a deal last week for $35 worth of makeup for $15. I decided to take a look at their website to see what they had, and I immediately wanted so many things! Their products range anywhere from $1 - $6 for individual items. They also have kits and packages you can purchase, that are more expensive, but I’ve noticed they’re not necessarily a better deal. They cost the same as buying the items individually, so if there’s something in the kit that you’re not very interested, search for the items and add them to your cart separately. Then you can still have all the items in the kit, but you at least have them in your choices of colors, styles, etc.

So, after discovering e.l.f., I called my mom and asked if my parents had any plans for my upcoming birthday gift yet. She said no, so I asked for money to buy their makeup. My current makeup collection is several years old and makeup can go bad, and I had been hoping to update/overhaul it anyway, so it all worked out! After signing up for e.l.f.’s mailing list, I was sent a code for 50% off their Studio line of products so I wanted to order before the code expired. 

I hear from a lot of different people  on their message boards and fb page that their basic shipping was pretty terrible. It’s $6.95, you have to wait approximately 5 days for processing, then another 5+ days for the item to ship to you. I paid and extra $4.95 ($11.90 total) for the 3 day shipping, which was 1 day processing time, then 3 days to ship FedEx Priority. Unfortunately, they won’t deliver on weekends, so this extended my ship time, but I think it was worth the extra money not to have to wait 2 weeks for my order to arrive. My shipment came in yesterday and this, ladies, is what you can get for $100 (plus shipping) and 50% off the Studio line from e.l.f.:

My dear boyfriend went down our apartment complex's office to pick up the package for me and he was very surprised by the size of the order also. He was expecting a small box, but nope! This is everything:

e.l.f. Studio Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Palette – Limited Edition

e.l.f. Essential Professional Complete Set of 12 Brushes

e.l.f. Essential Nail Polish Sets (5 piece) in Hot

I wasn’t able to order everything I needed to revamp my makeup collection, so I went back and placed a much smaller order to pick up a few more things. That should be here on Tuesday. I also lucked out because e.l.f. also has a special coupon code for their facebook fans on their fb page that gives 52% off of the Studio line. The code expires Monday, June 27th, so if you’re interested, hurry on over there!

I’ve tried a few of the items and so far I’m in love! The foundation is fabulous. It doesn’t feel greasy or heavy on my skin. The e.l.f. Essential Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss (#2806) is great. It’s a bit sticky, but it smells and tastes great. I’m wearing my e.l.f. Essential Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Plum (#7307) and I found that it was easy to apply and have had no problems with it. The e.l.f. Studio Blush in Candid Coral (#83133) looks great with my complexion. I was iffy about this, thinking it would be too pink, but it’s not. I’m so excited for my other products to arrive! If there’s anything you would like me to review or take more photos of, just let me know!


Thank you mom and dad for helping me get all this! Great birthday present!