My April Beauty Favorites

I wanna go ahead and do my beauty favorites for the month of April because I'm excited to show you these amazing products!!!

I'm not sponsored by any of these companies, and I did buy these products with my own money.

Also, I just want to say that my giveaway is CLOSED. The winner will be announced on April 25th.

If you want to find out what my favorite products are... please keep reading :)

What are my favvvvv/go to products?!

So I only have 5 this month because I've been really trying to use tons of different products, so I can review a lot for you guys & let you know what I think.

I'm also going to include the link to and price of each product in case you're wanting to purchase it.

#5. Smashbox Primer Water

This primer is one of my absolute favorites. I have combination oily skin, so it's really hard finding products that help both my oily and dry skin spots. THIS PRODUCT IS AMAZING for that. It isn't oily, so it doesn't make my oily spots look dewy and it doesn't completely dry out my dry spots. It also has an amazing, refreshing smell that totally wakes me up during the day. Also, I usually spray this 3 times on my face, and that's all it takes. I hate using products that I have to cake on my face, and that is not this product whatsoever. 

I know a lot of people don't want to spend $30 on a "bottle of water" and that's totally okay, whatever works for you has & will always be my motto. I just went and splurged, and it worked out because I love this product.

Here's the link: Click here!

Price: $32

#4. Lorac Dazzing Dozen 2 Eye Shadow Collection

I'm freaking obsessed with two of these colors. I've been wearing them like basically every day this month. The two colors I'm in love with are Gilded and Acai. Acai reminds me of a matte dark cranberry color. It's beautiful. And Gilded is a shimmery gold color. Here are swatches:

These eyeshadows are so super pigmented. I have wore them with and without primer and literally cannot tell the difference, other than whenever I don't wear primer there is more fallout whenever I am putting them on. OTHER THAN THAT they're perfect, and I love them. 

This collection is exclusively for Ulta, and there are 12 eyeshadows in this set.

Here's a link: Click Here!

Price: $39

#3 Beauty Blender - Original

Okay, so I know just last month I posted my March Beauty Favorites, but I couldn't resist the temptation. I went and got myself a beauty blender because so many people told me that it was the bomb.com!

I must say, they are SO much better than the blending sponges I've been getting from Dollar General. After using my beauty blender for a couple days, I tried to go back to using the Dollar General brand one, and it actually felt really rough. It has no bounce to it, either. The Beauty Blender is soft, it doesn't absorb any makeup, and it is bouncy, like it does all the work for me. I love it. It's a smart investment if you like sponges better than brushes.

It's quite pricey, but if you don't mind, I'd recommend this to you.

Here's the link: Click here.

Price: $19.95

#2 Nyx Butter Lipstick - Gumdrop

This lipstick is INEXPENSIVE. It doesn't dry my lips out like most lipsticks, it's almost like it's moisturizing. And Gumdrop is hands down one of my most favorite shades of lipstick EVER. I literally throw this on whenever I just want a little lip color.

I did a lip look with this shade and another butter lipstick shade as well. If you wanna read that blog, click here.

I'm telling you guys, these Butter Lipsticks are HANDS DOWN my favorite line of lipsticks right now.

Link: Click here!

Price: $5.99

#1 Clinique Airbrush Concealer Illuminates

Guys. 

This is my MOST FAVORITE product right now. 

When I got this, I had actually planned on getting their 2-in-1 foundation/concealer duo and they didn't have a shade that was light enough for my under eye circles.

I love a good concealer anyway, because I have bad under eye circles and this hides it soooo well. I use the lightest shade - fair because I like for my under eyes to be a bit lighter than the rest of my face. 

I just wanna talk about the way to use it. Basically you twist the bottom and it squirts some into the brush on top, and then you just wipe it on your face. It's no mess. You don't even have to stick your fingers in it or anything, or dump it on the back of your hand. 

Hands down my favorite right now.

Clinique, yall are on POINT. I love it.

Here's the link: Click here

Price: $20

& those are my favorite beauty products for the month of April!

Thanks for reading. Love yall.

What are your fav/go to products? I want to know.

Leave a comment below for a chance to be featured in an upcoming favorites blog :)

XOXO,

The Makeup Diva

Tarin

PRODUCT REVIEW | Revlon Colorstay

After what has felt like years, I am finally BACK to blogging, even though it's only been like 4 days.

Anyway, today I'm going to do a product review, so let's get started!

Product Review: Revlon Colorstay Foundation

So guys, I have never tried these two products before, so this is also a first impression.

The liquid I purchased is for combination/dry skin. I picked up the wrong product as I do have oily skin. If you guys want me to, I can do a review of the combination/oily skin too, just let me know in the comments below.

I went to my local CVS and purchased these products. They were inexpensive and I believe they were around $10 a piece.

If you'd like to purchase them, I've seen them at Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. Here's a direct link if you want to buy them directly from Revlon: 

Liquid: http://www.revlon.com/products/face/foundation-makeup/colorstay-makeup-with-softflex-for-combination-oily-skin#309975410013||0

Powder: http://www.revlon.com/products/face/finishing-powder/colorstay-pressed-powder#309975424010||0

Product Names:

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation 150 Buff

Revlon Colorstay Pressed Powder - Light

Let's dive right inn!

Packaging:

Liquid: So overall I like this packaging. There's a lot more I'm going to say that I don't like about it, but over all I really do honestly like it. Okay, so I like the fact that it's see through, so whenever you go to the store to match it up to your skin, you can see exactly what color it is. Here are the things I dislike... I don't like that it's glass. I am a very clumsy person, so I can just see myself dropping this, and it shattering and making a mess. A lot of the liquid foundations are glass though, so I'm going to have to get used to this! Another thing is that it doesn't have a pump, which is sort of messy. But I normally just pour a bit on the back of my hand because I find that it's easier that way. The last thing I dislike like is that the font on the bottle is white, so with my shade, I find myself squinting to see what it says. This might have been why I picked up combination dry instead of combination oily. 

Powder: First I just want to say that the compact this pressed powder comes in reminds me of the compact that the pressed powders from Ulta come in! Anyway, moving on. Over all, I don't think this really matches the Colorstay liquid packaging at all, which is weird because I know most brands that have a liquid and powder set match? Weirdddddddd. I actually don't have a problem with this compact. I like everything about it. I like how it snaps shut. I like that it is clear at the top so you can see the color of the powder, just like with the liquid. I also like that there is actually a decent sized mirror underneath, like where the pad is. I actually don't like the little pad it comes with, but I don't use those, so I'll be okay!

Overall, the packaging is just plain & sleek, which is find with me. The packaging does not define the product. That's my motto.

Texture:

Liquid: For me, this liquid was very creamy. It wasn't very runny, but it wasn't a thick paste either. It was the consistency that I love with liquid foundation makeup. I actually love this texture. 

Powder: Good for a more full coverage look, but to me, it felt very heavy, and I didn't like it at all. 

How Did It Apply?!:

Liquid: This foundation was actually so easy to apply. And in my opinion, it went on very evenly. I love how my face looked after. I actually felt like it didn't look like I was wearing makeup at all, which I love sometimes. This makeup is perfect for a natural look, but it can also be built up with layers to do for a special event. So, this makeup is really ideal for any occasion and makeup look.

Also, I did not have to apply a lot to get coverage over my face & neck. I poured on the back of my hand the size of a nickel and it was plenty.

-Light to medium coverage; Medium to full when built up.

Powder: This powder seals the deal when wanting a more full coverage look. I put this on and I swear you could not see not one blemish at all on my face. I looked like a doll, which is really good except I wanted a more natural look because I was only going to school, so I felt like it was a waste.

-With liquid: full coverage.

Long lasting?!

The bottle said 24 hours, so I got REAL excited.

before & after foundation.

these pictures are awkward, excuse me.

8am - when i first put it on.

I put this makeup on at 8am because I had an early wakeup because I had some errands to do that day. I applied my moisturizer, Smashbox primer water, and then applied both types of foundation and then set it with NYX matte finishing spray.

I checked it again at 3pm and I was really excited because it actually still looked decent. I did see some oiliness on my forehead and the bridge of my nose, but that might have been because I got the combination dry formula.

this was at school at around 7pm. 

you can see that I look dewy on my nose, forehead, & cheeks.

At around 7pm is whenever I noticed it was settling into my fine lines, and moving a little bit.

I took my makeup off at 12am that night because I wanted it to last as long as possible. Whenever I looked in the mirror, I was shocked because besides it settling in my lines and it moving, it actually still didn't look bad. It looked really good, in my opinion, for not having been touched up all day. 

At the 12am point, I was so ready to get the makeup off my face, this is how I am with every type of makeup I wear. By the end of the day, I. Want. It. Off.

I can't say that it wouldn't last 24 hours for some people, but for me, it was starting to look kind of bad, so I don't think I could have went 24 hours with it. However, I don't ever have a need to wear it for 24 hours, so this was really good coverage for me.

Bottom line:

Liquid: I would recommend this product to everyone. I was actually shocked that this formula did so well with my skin. I was expecting to look SO dewy and just sweaty and nasty; However, that was never the case and I looked alright. Maybe next time I'll get the right kind.

Powder: I would recommend this to only people who are wanting a full coverage face. I wouldn't wear it just to be wearing it.

PRODUCT REVIEW | Too Faced Sweetheart's Blush

PRODUCT REVIEW <3

Hey guys! 
I'm going to be doing a product review on the Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush.

This product comes in three different shades: Something About Berry, Candy Glow, & Peach Beach.

The one I'm going to be reviewing is Something About Berry.
Here are pictures of the other two from the Too Faced website:

Candy Glow:


Peach Beach:


If you're wanting to purchase either one of these products, you can get them on the Two Faced website.
Here's a direct link: https://www.toofaced.com/p/blushes/sweethearts-blush/something-about-berry/

They're kind of pricey, they're $30 a piece.
I was lucky and got mine during Ulta's previous 21 Days of Beauty sale.

So let's get started.

Packaging:

I think it's really cute. I love the "sweetheart love" theme. The pink & gold box that Something About Berry comes in is SO pretty. I'm obsessed with that color combo.

My only complaint about the heart shaped packaging is that, in my opinion, it was cheaply thrown together. I would have liked to see a more sturdy box for this blush. Also, if you're going on a trip, I think it's sort of a hard product to take with you because the packaging would be hard to keep closed. I would have liked a compact blush better.

Colors/Shades:

First picture: With Flash | Second picture: Without Flash

COLORS: The top three colors go from top left to bottom right color in the blush palette. The bottom color is all three swirled together.

I absolutely love blushes that come in more than one shade like this Sweetheart Blush. I think it's totally cool that you can either blend them all together or use them individually and make your own look.
I actually really like the fact that it's a baked blush as well. The website says that baked blushes are for a "buildable finish" which basically means that you can make it darker with more applications. This product does just that. It's very pigmented anyway, but the more coats/applications you do, the more the color intensifies.

Smell:

This is one of the more important factors to me whenever purchasing makeup. I do not like makeup with any fragrance just simply because I do not like whenever my face smells like 5 different kinds of makeup.
This product has NO smell at all. GOOD JOB TOO FACED!!

Complaints?
Like I said earlier, the heart shaped packaging seems really flimsy to me, but I can get over that.
Also, the blush does last a long time, but it tends to wipe off whenever I put my hand on my face or something like that.

Bottom line: 
I would definitely recommend this blush to everyone who wants several blushes to choose from in ONE product. There are several color combinations to choose from and THREE blushes to choose from as well. I love this. It is definitely one of my favorite blushes!

If you want to know anything else about this product
just comment below
or
email me at tarin@themakeupdiva.net

Thanks for reading
XO