cosmetics – Page 24 – Forty, Flirty & Fabulous

Brand Review — Flower Beauty

Happy Monday! I was recently sent Flower Beauty products for my honest review. Flower Beauty was founded by Drew Barrymore to give women the best quality makeup at affordable prices.

I haven’t reviewed Flower Beauty for a few years, and have been wanting to try some of their current products.

I was so excited to try this foundation! I’ve heard really good things about it. Light Illusion Liquid Foundation ($13.99 USD) — This claims to have buildable coverage, while imparting your skin with the most flattering soft luminosity imaginable. All with a weightless, nude skin feel. Imperfections and uneven skintone are diminished. Only a flawless, smooth, and incredibly natural complexion is revealed.

I do really like this! I received the four lightest shades (above) They all kind of look the same in the bottle. But they are different. Right now my perfect shade is a mixture of Ivory L2 and Nude L3. The L2 is a bit light and the L3 is a bit warm, so together, they are perfect! I think Warm Beige L4 will work when I faux tan, and I’l probably give Porcelain L1 to my daughter.

This is about medium coverage, which I like. I don’t enjoy full coverage, it feels like I’m wearing a mask. It does have a little bit of an illumination, but it doesn’t make my skin shiny. My skin has felt dry lately, and this is so comfortable on. And it lasts for hours, too!

Available in 12 skin-perfecting shades.

I love trying new concealers. These are the Flower Beauty Light Illusion Full Coverage Concealer ($9.99 USD). This contains blurring pigments to help diffuse dark circles under the eyes. It’s full coverage, dries down quickly and gives a hint of illumination. The formula contains an infusion aloe, chamomile extract and caffeine.

The shades above are Fair on the left and Light on the right. I am using Fair now and will probably use Light in the summer, when I have a bit of a tan. Four darker shades are also available.

FLOWER Beauty’s Seal The Deal Long-Lasting Setting Spray ($12.99 USD) creates a sweat-proof & rub-resistant barrier that maintains your makeup for a fresh just-applied look that lasts all day. The invisible formula will keep your skin looking beautifully matte all day long.

This has a fine mister and feels so good when applied. I have noticed that it helps keep my makeup fresh. I’ll probably use it more in the summer, when it’s hot and humid and I need to mattify. My skin is usually a little dry, but not in the Kansas City summers!

Lift & Sculpt Contouring Palette ($14 USD) is the perfect all-in-1 tool to define your face in a flash! The powders blend easily and layer together seamlessly for a professional sculpted effect.

I have the Light to Medium kit. I believe it’s also available in Medium to Deep. Here are swatches:

The bronzer and blush are a bit powdery and there’s some kick up in the pan. They are really pretty, though, and look nice on my cheeks. The highlighter is gorgeous! It’s a creamy powder and can be very blinding!

FLOWER Beauty’s Petal Pout Lip Colors ($8.99 USD) Pure color pigments apply smoothly, while conditioning & protecting lips with healthy antioxidants. Available in a soft matte and cream finish that wear comfortably all day long. With a spectrum of luxurious shades from bold to nearly nude, there is a perfect shade for every look and occasion.

I love the packaging of these, and all of the Flower Beauty products. They are an amazing mix of fun and elegance.

The shades are 015 Peachy Nude, a cream and 120 Fuchsia Flush, a matte. Peachy Nude is more my shade, because I like lighter colors. The formula is very hydrating. The matte one is nice, too. I might pick that up in a lighter shade. There is a matte color called Naked Blush that looks amazing!

Flower Beauty is available at Ulta Stores and Ulta.com

Have you tried anything by Flower Beauty? What’s your fave Flower Beauty product?

Last Minute Mother’s Day Beauty Gift Ideas!

Can you believe Mother’s Day is in a week! I had to face that fact, I just mailed my mom a package (full of beauty goodies) yesterday. I live in Kansas City and she lives in Oregon, so I have to mail it ahead of time each year.

I also included goodies for my sister and sister-in-law. Beauty gifts are my favorite for Mother’s Day. Here are some great ideas for little, or bigger gifts to give:

No7 Matte Liquid Lip ($9.99 USD) — Switch up your look this season with the NEW No7 Matte Liquid Lips – bold colors that you can really feel good about. Get ready for a long lasting, comfortable wear with an on trend matte finish that will keep your lips moisturized all day. Available in a selection of six motivation-inspired colors:

Inspire (pink) Conquer (rich berry) Grace (nude) Captivate (coral) Fearless (red) Courage (plum)

This are very pigmented and comfortable on the lips. If mom (sister, aunt, friend) love long-wearing lipstick, this is perfect for them! Available at Target, Target.com, Walgreens, Walgreens.com

My Other Wig Is A Tiara

All The Queen’s Bling

Curls & Pearls

Coming this spring, Morgan Taylor & Gelish’s Royal Temptations Collection. Inspired by the lavish life of Marie Antoinette, the collection includes six delicious shades and an additional special effect glitter top coat that you can’t help but love.

Indulge yourself (or mom) with these seven NEW glamourous shades:

My Other Wig Is A Tiara – Sea Foam Metallic
Ruffle Those Feathers – Teal Crème
All The Queen’s Bling – Purple Pearl
All My Heart Desires – Hot Pink Crème
Beauty Marks The Spot – Coral Crème
Curls & Pearls – Pale Pink Crème
Over-the-Top Pop – Multi-Glitter Special Effect

I always send nail polish for Mother’s Day, and these are gorgeous! Purchase at www.morgantaylorlacquer.com

The Beauty of Dirty Skin by Dr. Whitney Bowe ($23.00 at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com). Celebrity NYC-based dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe shows readers that skin health is so much more than skin deep. With simple explanations of science, DIY practical at-home tricks and tweaks to make to your diet and beauty routine, and a life-changing 21-day program, this book is your roadmap to glowing skin from the inside out and the outside in.

Josie Maran Argan Beauty Canvas

Josie Maran Good for You, Good for Planet Kit

Here are a couple of gorgeous Josie Maran kits:

Josie Maran Argan Beauty Canvas ($45 USD) — Includes Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm, Argan Lip Sting Plumping Butter in Be It Boysenberry, and the Argan Moonstone Drops.

Josie Maran Argan Nourishing Kit ($100 USD) — Includes Argan Milk, 100% Pure Argan Oil and my favortie, the 100% Pure Argan Oil Light.

What are you giving the ladies in your life next Sunday? Do you have any fun plans?

Maybelline New York Lemonade Craze Palette

I love eye shadow palettes and also love reviewing them, too! I received the fun new Maybelline New York Lemonade Craze Palette for my honest review. I was so excited, because I really wanted to try it!

I want to show you the back of the palette. There are three different look tutorials:

I have been testing this for about a week, and have been using the same shades each time. So these were helpful in giving me new ideas!

Here is the beautiful palette before I dug into it!

Here’s the swatches:

These swatches are of the top half of the palette. The shades are Sherbet, Berry Ice, Strawberry Lemonade, Sunnies, Lemonade Craze and Main Squeeze. My favorite shade in the palette is Strawberry Lemonade. It’s so gorgeous and shimmery. I love the color. And I want to apply it every time I use this palette!

I first swatched these on my inner arm, but they didn’t show up because I’m so pale! So I swatched these on the top of my arm and the next ones on the inner arm:

These shades are Citrus, Ice Pop, Old Fashioned, Coral Punch, Sugar Coated and Sweet Tea. These are perfect for adding color to the look!

So now to the formula. The shades are gorgeous, but the formula isn’t the best. There is a lot of kickback in the pan, but luckily I don’t get a lot of fallout on my eye. It does take a few layers to get a pigmented look. And the shimmers work best when wet. I use a little Mac Fix+.

I am going to keep playing with this because I really love the shades and think it will be so gorgeous for spring and summer. Plus, the palette has a light citrus scent and I love that!

The Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow Palette is available now on Amazon at a suggested retail price of $13.99. It is listed at $10.99 right now, so if you want it, that’s a great price!

Do you have this palette or are you going to pick it up?

Project Pan April-June 2018 — First Update

Hi all! This is the first Project Pan update for my April to June pan. It has been going well! I started out with 12 products, but as you can see from my photo above, I only have 10 left! I panned two. You can check out my original post here.

Of the products left, I am almost finished with the Reclaim Botanical neck cream, the Philosophy Eye Hope eye cream, the Ofra Cleanser and the Neocutis night cream. And maybe the H2O+ day cream. I’m also doing well with the body lotion. The eye shadow, powder, hair cream and face mask weren’t used as much as the other products. I have to make a point to use those more this month!

Here’s what I used up:

I used the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer and Bye Bye Lines foundation. Plus I have two empties that I didn’t include in my haul — the IT Bye Bye Pores loose powder and the No7 Early Defence Serum. I used up my Bye Bye Pores before I really dug into the Fit Me! powder, but now I am using it exclusively. The Fit Me! had more in it than I thought. There is a lot in the container!

Two more months to go! I should pan more products by the end of May I love doing these because I’m forcing myself to use my skincare and other products. And I can tell that my skin looks better for it!

Are you doing a project pan? How’s it going?

April 2018 Beauty Favorites

It’s almost May! This is going to be a busy month for my family. Besides Mother’s Day, we are still in lacrosse season for my youngest daughter and my middle daughter is graduating from high school!

I tried a lot of great new makeup in April. Above our my favorites, and below you can see the shades:

I purchased the Too Faced Life’s A Festival Eye Shadow Palette and the Better Than Sex Mascara during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale. The palette was not on sale (but I really wanted it), but the mascara was. I love them both! I still have to do a review of the palette. I’m hoping to post that this weekend.

The gorgeous nude lipsticks are the Lipstick Queen Nothing But the Nudes Collection. They are The Truth, a pink nude, The Whole Truth, a peach nude. There is also Nothing But the Truth, a beige nude. It’s a bit darker, so I’m saving it for the summer when I faux tan. These are creamy and so gorgeous on!

The last makeup items is from the ColourPop x Eva Gutowski collab. It’s the Mermaid Glow Pressed Powder Face Duo. The shades are:

Golden Hour: matte blush; neutral peach
Ethereal: pearlized highlighter; soft golden champagne

I would think this would be better for a bit darker tones than my light-toned skin But it looks so pretty on. I love the blush and the highlighter is a soft color that can be built up to blind!

The Merle Norman Skintelligent Cleanser is exfoliating. It has little beads in it that give a vigorous scrub! It instantly makes my pores look smaller.

The last thing is my Real Techniques Brush Crush 300 Powder Brush. I’ve had this for a few months and love it so much. Its so pretty and soft. It makes me happy just to use it.

What products were your faves this month?

Mother’s Day Beauty Gift Guide

Mother’s Day is a couple of weeks away. I always give my mom the gift of beauty. I love sharing my favorite products and ones I think she will love.

Below are wonderful skincare, makeup and other beauty ideas for the lovely ladies in your life:

Radiance Face Oil

Radiance Lift Cream

Pamper your Mom this year by giving her the gift of radiance with the Eve Lom Radiance Range:

Start by cleansing the skin with the classic Eve Lom Balm Cleanser
Apply the Eve Lom Radiance Lift Cream to moisturize and firm the skin
Finally, apply a few drops of the Radiance Face Oil for an extra boost of hydration and brightening

Purchase at Sephora stores and Sephora.com

Intensive Triple Exfoliating Treatment

Youth Activating Melon Serum

Environmental Protecting Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF50 Sunscreen

Overnight Retinol Repairing Crème

Give the gift of flawless skin like Cindy Crawford with her amazing skincare line, Meaningful Beauty:

These are available at Ulta stores and Ulta.com

EO Ageless Skin Care Collection ($124.99 USD. or you can purchase each item separately) — Complex in formulation, simple in use. Based on the essential principles of synergy, performance and simplicity, the EO Ageless Skin Care Collection brings over eighty of the Earth’s most powerful botanical extracts into one simple daily regimen. Over twenty years of expertise culminates in a collection of skin care essentials that will transform the way you see yourself.

Enjoy 3.3 oz. cleansing milk, 2 oz. face moisturizer, 1 oz day face oil, 1.5 oz. scrub, and 1 oz. night face serum.

Availability: www.eoproducts.com

Nothing But The Truth

The perfect nude lip lies within the Nothing But The Nudes collection by Lipstick Queen. I love these and think these would be great gifts for the lady who likes classic or natural looks/ Here are the shades:

The Truth — Pretty pink nude
The Whole Truth — Perfect peachy nude
Nothing But The Truth — Beautiful beige nude

Purchase at Ulta stores and Ulta.com

Daily Concepts Daily Hair Towel Wrap ($18 USD) — This hair towel wrap is great for any length hair. With the soft cotton material, it makes getting ready after your shower super easy and pain free without having the hassle of a heavy towel on top of your head. The super soft cotton fabric also allows for quicker hair dry time giving your hair less time under the use of a hot blow dryer.

Purchase at dailyconcepts.com

Everyone Pure Essential Oils Kit with Ultrasonic Diffuser ($64.99 USD) — The Everyone Aromatherapy Kit is the perfect gift for aromatherapy first-timers and experts alike! Included in this set is an Everyone Aromatherapy Ultrasonic Diffuser, 2 single note essential oils: Peppermint, Lavender, and 4 blends: Uplift, Balance, Focus, and Fresh.

$64.99 Availability: www.eoproducts.com

Do you give beauty gifts for Mother’s Day?

Ulta Spring Haul — Two Weeks of Great Sales!

Right after Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, they had two weeks of Spring Hauls, where certain products were marked down 30-50 percent off. This left me with no money for the Sephora VIB sale, but that’s okay. I got some great deals at Ulta!

The deals were different each week. Here’s what I picked up the first week:

I purchased the Hempz Pomegranate Daily Herbal Moisturizing Shampoo and conditioner, the Pacifica Crystal Power Hydro Mist, Fizz & Bubble
Rainbow Sherbet and Mint Mojito Large Bath Fizzies and the Morphe
M500 Deluxe Pointed Blender Brush. The brush wasn’t on sale, but you get free shipping with $50 purchase, and I’ve been wanting a brush like this! I’ve never had a Morphe brush before and I like it. It’s pretty nice.

The rest of the items were an 8 piece Spring Haul Sampler, which was an online free gift with purchase w/any $30 Spring Haul Offer purchase. I am loving trying these products!

Yes to Cotton Comforting and Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes, Soap & Glory
The Righteous Butter, Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge + Travel Sponge Case and Dual-Ended Expert Sponge, Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation (Nude Ivory), Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer and J.Cat Beauty
Mattifying Face Primer.

I have really been wanting to try the Wet n Wild foundation and the Butter Bronzer for a while now. The foundation was half off it’s already affordable price and I think the bronzer was about 40 percent off, which is amazing! I have been testing them and will probably review these soon.

Let me know if you’d like me to review any of these products.

Did you shop Ulta’s Spring Haul? What did you get?

Merle Norman Brand Review and Spring Launches

Look at the elegant, classic packaging! This is the brand Merle Norman. It was created 85 years ago and is only available through independently owned and operated Merle Norman Cosmetic Studios in the United States and Canada.

I was recently sent a selection of the products for my honest review.

I received the Skintelligent skincare system to test. The line consists of a toner, cleanser and moisturizer. The cleanser is exfoliating and it gives a rigorous scrub. I don’t know if I would use this every day, because it is such a strong exfoliator. But, boy did it exfoliate and help reduce the size of my pores! I do like it and will use it a few times a week. If you do like stronger exfoliation, this would be a great pick for you!

The toner, on the other hand, is very gentle. It claims to protect against environmental stressors with probiotic technology. Extracts of Alpine Willowherb and Ginseng energize, hydrate and help tighten skin while reducing the appearance of pores. Together these ingredients leave skin refreshed and help absorption of serums and moisturizers. I do really like how this feels on, it doesn’t sting or irritate my sensitive skin and I will continue to use it everyday.

The moisturizer is nice as well. This also protects against environmental stressors and contains Elixir-IRTM and Resveratrol to help improve elasticity and texture. I typically use a moisturizer with SPF in the day time, but I will use this at night more and see if I see any changes in my skin.

On to makeup!

These are products from the spring 2018 collection. There are other great products like a pink toned blush, an eye shadow quad and eye shadow sticks.

The Lasting Cheekcolor ($17 SRP) blush compact is gorgeous! I love the holographic cover. The shade above is Halo, a fresh peach shade. It’s very pretty on.

Soft Touch Eye Pencil ($14 SRP) This pencil is very creamy and is easy to blend. It comes in a new shade called Ocean Blue. It’s a pretty turquoise perfect for spring and summer.

Lip Pencil Plus ($14 SRP) This dual-function wood-clenched lip pencil is one versatile product, with 2/3 lip color and 1/3 lipliner. This is in a new shade Sweet Marmalade. This is one of my favorite makeup products from Merle Norman. The lip liner is gorgeous and creamy, and stays put. The lip color is creamier and blends nicely over the liner. It also has shimmer so makes lips appear larger. The line has a whole bunch of shades, so you can find a perfect one for you. I love this color combo for spring and summer, but would love to try other shades!

Creamy Lipcolor ($15 SRP) A supremely cushiony moisturizing formula which offers luxurious color in one creamy stroke! The newest shade is Gold Plated Bronze.

Lip Topper ($15 SRP) This is another favorite from the collection. A gloss which creates a shimmering, magical effect on lips. Available in shades Cosmic Rose & Sugar Crystals.

I also received a couple other favorites from the brand:

Fat Lash Mascara — Features a unique flat yet slightly curved brush designed to hug the curve of lashes, even those pesky fine lashes. Flake-, smudge- and transfer-proof formula separates while enveloping each lash to maximize its biggest potential.

I really like this. It separates and defines lashes really nicely. It also gives my short lashes volume and some length. This is a great every day mascara!

Knockout Nudes palette — features ten sensational neutral shadows so you can explore looks from soft and romantic to sophisticated and dramatic. Includes ten shades. There’s a nude for every mood: Moonstone (matte), Rose Quartz (luminous), Gold Star (luminous), Smitten (matte), Caramel (matte), Bold as Brass (metallic), Beauty Mark (matte), Tiger Eye (metallic), Cosmic (luminous), Cafe Society (matte).

I don’t know if you can see from the photo, but I didn’t get the Beauty Mark shade (4th from the right). Instead it looks like a second Tiger Eye shade. I think it’s just a mistake made when putting together the palette. It’s still really pretty! The shades are nice for everyday looks and blend really well.

Merle Norman Cosmetics can be found at a studio near you. You can look on their website at http://www.merlenorman.com/find-a-studio.

Have you tried Merle Norman? What do you think?

Maybelline New York Color Sensational Matte Metallics and Powder Matte Lipsticks

I recently received some gorgeous Maybelline New York Color Sensational Lipsticks to for my honest review. I love Maybelline New York. The products are really nice quality and affordably priced.

I want to focus my review on two of their lipsticks lines — the Color Sensational Matte Metallics Lipstick and the Color Sensational Powder Matte Lipstick:

So pretty! Doesn’t this make you want to play with lipstick? This is almost the full shade range of the Metallic Mattes ($7.49 USD). I am only missing the shade Silk Stone. The shades I have are from left to right — White Gold, Pure Gold, Copper Spark, Hot Lava, Copper Rose, Molten Bronze, Smoked Silver, Gunmetal and Serpentine.

Here are the swatches:

This give a very matte finish with a subtle metallic gleam. It feels comfortable on even though it is matte. It does have honey in it for hydration.

I really love most of these shades and can see myself wearing the first three. They will be especially gorgeous in the summer time The others are a bit bold for me, but maybe for nights out. But if you want a bold metallic matte, try one of the more fun colors like Copper Rose or Serpentine.

These are the shades available in the Color Sensational Powder Matte Lipstick ($7.49 USD). These colors are cool, concrete colored shades: Cruel Ruby, Nocturnal Rose, Carnal Brown, Concrete Jungle and Smoky Jade.

Swatch time:

You can tell that this is an extreme matte finish. It goes on matte and stays matte for hours. Cruel Ruby looked the best on me, which is strange because I usually only wear nudes and pinks. This is a gorgeous shade, though. Really rich. I think I can pull it off because it is a matte.

I think both of these collections are really different and fun. I think that if you like unusual shades along with pretty reds and pinks, you will enjoy these lipsticks!

What’s your go to lipstick brand and shade?

Eva Gutowski + ColourPop Collab Review!

I have a ColourPop haul and review to share. I just realized that the lip trio’s box is upside down. Oopsies! I have other photos that I will add below that hopefully won’t be as crazy!

I placed a ColourPop order a few weeks ago for items from the Eva Gutowski collaboration, plus a No Filter Concealer. The were selling a bundle with the cheek duo, lip trio and one of the eye shadow quads for $35. I think I had a 20% off coupon and paid about $32 for everything including the concealer (+free shipping).

There, that’s a better photo! This is the She’s a Beach Babe Lip Bundle. It includes one Ulta Glossy Lip in Just Surfed (warm beige gloss drenched in silver and pink glitter) and two Ultra Blotted lips — Love Bite (soft pinky nude) and Party Wave (soft terracotta).

I love all of these colors. I like lighter lip colors, and these are perfect for me. This is the first time I’ve tried their Ulta Blotted formula. I like it. I’m not much of a matte lip girl, but the colors are really fresh, and the glossy lip is a good topcoat that helps with moisture.

This pretty palette is the Mermaid Glow Pressed Powder Face Duo. I have lots of ColourPop eye shadow palettes, which have cardboard packaging without mirrors, so I was excited to see this is plastic and has a mirror! It’s so cute and is great to pop in my purse. I love having a mirror for on the go.

I think these shades may be better suited for a little deeper skin tones than mine (light). but I do really like them. The blush is a matte peach, and the highlighter is a soft golden champagne. So pretty! I think it will look amazing when I get my faux tan on this summee. (I have swatches of everything below).

There were two choices of eye shadows (two different bundles). I chose the one with the cool toned palette Vacation Mode Pressed Powder Shadow Palette. There is also a warm toned palette called It’s All Wild. That has orange and brown mattes and a copper gold metallic. I have tons of orange and brown ColourPop shadows and I wanted to try a cooler toned palette. And these colors are so pretty. They are creamy powders that blend really well!

On to the swatches:

On the left is the concealer. I will review that below. Then the lip colors, blush and highlighter and eye quad colors. Here’s close ups:

None of the powder products swatched very well on my arm, but they are pigmented on my face.

This bundle is not available any more, but you can purchase that products separately.

Last but not least, I did finally purchase the ColourPop No Filter Concealer. The claim on this is, “Our lightweight, creamy concealer was formulated with soft blurring pigments to give you a creaseproof, matte finish. No filter needed.”

They have added a lot and renamed most of their concealers. When I ordered it, it was called Fair Neutral 10, when I received it, it was called Light 12. The shade is pretty good. I might need one shade lighter.

I’ve used this a few times and I like it okay. It does have a matte finish and it covers well. I think I need to use it more, though, because it hasn’t left much of an impression on me. I’m not a fan of the applicator. It’s kind of flat and scratchy. I don’t know…meh.

I do love ColourPop as a brand. Their products are mostly gorgeous and so affordable for the quality.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think? And, what’s your current fave ColourPop product?