Josie Maran Argan Tinted Moisturizer- Fair

Since beginning Accutane, I have had to abandon all of the foundations in my beauty arsenal because I felt nothing looked or felt good on my dry, sensitive skin. Because my skin was/is very red, I didn't want to completely forgo color correction, so I turned to tinted moisturizers.  The few I tried definitely weren't for me, and then on a very desperately dry and red day, I found Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer. This is my review. (cue Law and Order sound effect)

PRODUCT: Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer (let's call it ATM for short) seems to be more of a foundation with a broad-spectrum sunscreen than simply a tinted moisturizer. It has a thick consistency, and I recommend either putting this on immediately after washing/towel drying your face OR wear over a bit of moisturizer. Using this just on a dry face made it really difficult to blend out. Yes, this does moisturize your skin, but I think the oil in it makes it more difficult to distribute the product without something to help it. 

Upon initial application, my face was pretty shiny; however, after a few minutes the product sunk in and I was left with a natural, semi glowy complexion. I usually prefer a matte face (which isn't an option right now because of how dry my skin is), but I really like the finish of ATM! Also, despite this being a thick texture and having decent sun protection, the product never felt like I was wearing a mask.

A kind of big downside is that when my skin is driest, over the course of the day my foundation will pool in my pores. Using a separate moisturizer usually helps with this, but not always. (to re-distribute the ATM, I'll either press and roll my clean fingers against my skin, or I'll do the same motion with the sponge from my powder compact. Note: these methods don't always work  depending on how dry my skin is.)

Left: my bare skin Center: ATM blended out (I left some streaks so you could really tell the difference) Right: ATM not really blended.  

PIGMENTATION: ATM is medium coverage.  Corrected my general redness pretty well, but I still need concealer for old acne marks and what not. The shade "Fair" has a warm undertone, so if you are cool-toned, this may not work for your coloring.

PACKAGING: The squeeze tube ATM comes in has an easy flip top cap. No frills-- which is great when I'm rushing to get ready in the morning.

PRICE: $38 for 1.7 oz

All in all, Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer is definitely more like a decently pigmented moisturizer. It has become what I use when I A. barely have any time to get ready B. am not going anywhere fancy but want to look polished. Yes, this covers 95% of my life. If you have super oily skin, I would say to proceed with caution.  Thinking back to my oily days, considering I was a constant oil slick, I think this might have felt gross on my skin and not dried down.  HOWEVER, if you are combination, normal, or dry, check it out. 

You don't have to take my word for it! Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer is available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick: L'ecole Des Femmes and Lullabye

The long awaited Studded Kiss lipstick collection from Kat Von D became available on Monday-- a week early than what Miss Von D posted herself on Instagram quite a few weeks back. AND THANK GOODNESS! Even though my lips are sad and peeling from Accutane, I was too excited not to pass up a few colors. I wanted colors that I thought I'd wear, but didn't have 100 variations of (like red), so I settled on L'ecole des Femmes, "salmon pink," and Lullabye, "matte magenta violet."(*both shade descriptions come from Sephora.com)

Lullabye Studded Kiss Lipstick

L'ecole Des Femmes (Let's call it LDF for short): Coral pink. It's pretty close in color to the Jeffree Liquid lipstick, but slightly warmer and a tad less bright.

Although blurry, this is much closer to what  LDF looks like in real life

L'ecole Des Femmes

Lullabye: Iridescent magenta with pink micro glitter.

Lullabye Studded Kiss Lipstick

Lullabye

PIGMENTATION: LDF was fully opaque in about two swipes in the swatch above. Lullabye took a little bit more to build up. I feel like there is an underlying sheerness to it.

PRODUCT: LDF had a drier texture than Lullabye, probably due to it being matte.  There is a 10-hour wear time claim on these, which I will have to test when my lips can wear lipstick for more than 10 seconds. (wah) The Studded Kiss line has been scented with Creme Brulee, which has a slight plastic-y smell. Another update is that the lipstick bullets have been stamped with the KvD insignia, which I am loving-- it looks really nice.

PACKAGING: The updated packaging looks very nice, however, it feels like a thinner plastic so I'm concerned about breaking tubes when I'm less-than-graceful. When I saw the new packaging on KvD's instagram, I was disappointed that the color window of the old packaging was scrapped. Thankfully, the labels on the bottom reflect the lipstick color. I rarely care about outer packaging, but the Studded Kiss boxes had a raised studded pattern which was pretty cool.

PRICE: $21

Despite the weird new scent, the wide shade range, sleek packaging, and great color payoff, make Kat Von D's new Studded Kiss lipsticks a worthy buy in my opinion.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. The Studded Kiss lipstick range is available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Spellbinding Lipstick Set

Dear readers,
I broke down and bought the KvD "spellbinding" holiday 2013 collection.  Here's my take on the lipstick set:

For $39, you get 10 mini (1.2g) lipsticks.  There are 5 permanent colors, and 5 colors unique to this set. 9 shades are matte (some moreso than others), and 1 is the "foiled love" formula (which just means it's super sparkly).  I do already have 2 colors from this set-- Ritual and Lovecraft-- but there were a few I was interested in trying (mostly Thin Lizzy!!). Plus, I feel like I am either wearing red or nude lips these days and I wanted to branch out without buying a full lipstick.

Mau5: Purple tinged magenta. On the sheer side upon first swipe, didn't quite build up to being fully opaque.

Thin Lizzy: Sheer rose with a ton of copper sparkle. Much different than what I was expecting!

Bachelorette: Cool-toned pinkish red cream. This is really similar to Dita Von Teese's Follies Pink

.
L.U.V.: Mauve. When I removed the swatch, it left behind the most noticeable stain (other than Vampira).

Underage Red: True balanced red. One swipe delivered opaque color.

Ritual: Warm nude-tan.  For some reason, this color is different than my tube from the permanent line.

Backstage Bambi: Cool toned semi-bright bubblegum pink

A Go Go: Orange that leans a touch red. Pigmentation-wise, this was the best of the bunch.

Lovecraft: Cool pink nude

Vampira: Burgundy with more than a hint of purple. Pretty similar in color to KvD's Rosary lipstick, but this has a creamier texture. This was the first one I wore in real life, and I was a tad disappointed.  It applied a bit patchy, and it only wore around 4 hours.  It did, however, leave behind a pretty stain.

All in all, I think this set is worth it if, for no other reason, you (or a friend!) are lipstick phobic and/or want to try some new colors.  The textures seem to be a little better than the KvD lipsticks I have, BUT mine are old so either they're a little dried out or it's been reformulated.

You don't have to take my word for it! The Spellbinding Lipstick set is now available at Sephora.

Review: Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation in L45

For summer/2013 KvD for Sephora released the follow up to the best-selling liquid foundation: the Lock-It Powder Foundation   For years, I've been using StudioFix powder foundation from MAC for on-the-go touch-ups.  Since MAC changed their policies on animal testing, I have been looking for a new compact powder.  Let's see how it measures up!

PIGMENTATION: This is billed as full coverage, but I would say this is more medium coverage.  I was disappointed it wasn't as high coverage as StudioFix, but it's enough to cover minor redness.  In MAC, my perfect match is NC15, and I felt that L45 is a perfect match in the Lock-It Powder Foundation.

PRODUCT: The powder is silky smooth, and doesn't feel like I'm wearing any makeup.  It kind of floats over my skin and makes it look poreless and not powdery.  My pores on my cheeks and nose are on the larger side, so pretending to be poreless is pretty exciting! It also does a pretty good job at battling shine. 

PACKAGING: It's a heavy-duty plastic compact with a raised KvD logo and roses printed on the lid.  In the compartment for the powder sponge applicator, it's completely closed.  (Not sure if this is a good or bad thing-- I'm just used to my StudioFix compact with the airholes. I would think that it would keep the puff cleaner bc if you have a messy makeup bag like me, any broken eyeshadow or leaking lipgloss won't get to it.)  The applicator compartment may be big enough to house a bigger puff or sponge or whatever suits your fancy.  Also, the sponge that comes with it is the exact same one that MAC sells.  So if you're willing to buy from MAC, you can buy replacements.

PRICE: $34

All in all, if you're looking for a lightweight powder that blurs imperfections that doesn't get cakey and gross, the Lock-It Powder Foundation is a good choice.  As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Kat Von D's Lock-It Powder Foundation is available now at Sephora.

Review: Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance Eyeshadow Palette

Quick story: When Urban Decay's Naked Basics palette came out, I was pretty excited because it was a palette comprised entirely of matte shadows, but the colors were so blah.  I never ended up buying it, and boy howdy am I glad I didn't.  Dare I say it, this is my HG matte palette.

L-R: Für Elise, Vespertine, Renholdër, Siouxie Sioux

Für Elise- Matte plum
Vespertine- Matte pale peaches & cream
Renholdër- matte taupe (leans more grey)
Siouxie-Soux - Blackened blue-grey with faint blue sparkle

L-R: Unrequited, Harlow, Wolf, Cleopatra

Unrequited - Matte nude with peachy undertone
Harlow- Matte sandy brown with a hint of olive
Wölf- Matte medium brown with red undertone
Cleopatra - Matte rust (best performing shade)

Immortal Love Autograph Pencil Eyeliner

Immortal Love

Immortal Love (Autograph Eyeliner Pencil) - Slightly blackened dark brown. This had excellent color payoff in one stroke, and a creamy texture.  Once it dried, it stayed put!

Pigmentation/Product: All 8 shadows and the eyeliner are decently pigmented.  I feel like, in past KvD palettes, there's always (at least) one dud.  Für Elise was the "worst" performing shade of the bunch, but it really wasn't bad.  It was a tad dry and I had to work with it a smidge more than the other 7 to build up the swatch (2 passes instead of one!).  I've used about half the palette thus far, and of the shades I used (Unrequited, Harlow, Cleopatra, Vespertine), next to no powder was kicked up with my brush.  Pretty awesome for how buttery soft these shadows felt when I swatched them!

Packaging:  This is the same metal case of the last few palettes, and just like her other metal palettes, the lid doesn't stay up on its own.

Price:  $36.  

All in all, Ladybird is my new favorite KvD palette.  If you're into pigmented (mostly) warm neutrals, then you might love this Ladybird too.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Kat von D's Ladybird palette is available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D True Romance Eye Shadow Trio- Fever Ray

Fever Ray is one of the new Kat Von D True Romance Eye Shadow Trios to come out for Spring 2013.

Left side: Sheer frosted pink.
Middle: Matte burgundy.  This swatched a bit sheer, but when I applied it to my lid with a brush, the pigmentation was opaque.  The color is very similar to MAC's Sorcery.
Right side: Dark metallic brown with fine copper shimmer.  This was the most pigmented of the three, and reminds me of the KvD pigment Rooftop.

The package has a clear window with molded roses on the lid.  There is a button to release the lid, but I felt like it didn't do a great job.  Not quite sure if this is made of a really cheap, thin metal or of a really hard plastic.  It doesn't feel like it's of the same material as the more recent 8 shade palettes.

All in all I am pretty happy with Fever Ray.  The colors compliment my green eyes very well, and I can see these shades working across a variety of skintones/eye colors.

You don't have to take my word for it! The True Romance Eye Shadow Trio in Fever Ray is available now at Sephora.com

Kat Von D Everlasting Face Shaper Blush- Bellisima

Bellisima is one of the new Everlasting Face Shaper Blushes from Kat Von D.  Sephora describes it as "peachy pink."  I'd describe this as a pink tinged peach with a soft shimmer.  It was a bit on the sheer side, but it is easily built up.  Texture was like velvet & really blendable.

On my fair skin, this creates a nice natural flush.  However, due to the sheerer color payoff, I can't see Bellisima showing up on darker skin tones.

The package has the signature rose pattern embossed on the lid.  It opens by what I guess is a button, but it doesn't fully depress, and the lid doesn't immediately release when you press it.  With that said, it's not particularly difficult to open.  It has a nice mirror inside the lid,

All in all, I'd say Bellisima is a worthy purchase if you've got a lighter skin tone. (for you dark skinned ladies, there are darker shades available-- check em out!)

You don't have to take my word for it! Bellisima Everlasting Face Shaper Blush is available now at Sephora.com.