Review: L'OReal Infallible Eyeshadows

Hey Beauties! 

If you recently have gone to CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Ulta, or any kind of drugstores, you would see L'Oreal new stand of their latest collection. It has eyeshadows (Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadows), blushes (Magic Smooth Souffle Blush), highlighters (Magic Lumi Highlighters) and lipglosses (Infallible 8 Hour Le Gloss). However, this time I just bought some of the eyeshadows and the LUMI Highlighter, and today is a review post for the eyeshadows :) 

The L'OReal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadows have twelve different colors, but since I just wanted to try it out first, I bought three of them. The colors that I got were:
Eternal Sunshine: a shimmer gold color
Iced Latte: a shimmer silver-champagne color
Continuous Cocoa: a really deep brown color, almost black with just a hint of shimmer

Left to right: Iced Latte, Eternal Sunshine, Continuous Cocoa

The formula is really unique, it is like a texture of pigment powder eyeshadows, but it glides so smooth like a cream eyeshadow. It applies really easily and even though the consistency is like a powder, but it won't leave you a mess. No matter you are using your fingertips or a brush to apply, it really won't give you a mess.

The color is really intense and pigmented, and long-lasting (I never skip eye primer though!). The best thing of all is these eyeshadows are also water resistant and crease resistant. It means that it won't just easily go off with water, and it won't fade throughout the day.

Left to right: Continuous Cocoa, Eternal Sunshine, and Iced Latte

Overall, I love these products! I definitely will purchase for more colors! Oh, I forgot to tell you that each eyeshadow costs $7.99. I know this might be the only downside of it, but it is really worth the price. And plus, these eyeshadows will remain on the stand for quite a while, so you can always collect it slowly, so you do not need to buy all your favorite colors at a time! :)

Now you tell me, have you tried these eyeshadows yet? If so, what do you think? If not, will you buy it in the future? Leave the comment below, or tweet me @alexandrauby. :)


love YOU all,
Alexandra 

NARS Mandchoure tutorial

Hey Beautifuls! 

If you have read my haul post, you know that I just got a duo eyeshadow from NARS holiday collection, and I have promised to all of you to make a tutorial using the product (click here if you haven't seen it). If you do not have this product, don't worry! Because you can find the dupe colors in any beauty stores. 

So lets get into the tutorial! It is really easy and quick! :)

Products Used 

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Mandchoure (MAC Knight Divine is the best dupe for the light blue denim color, and MAC Nehru is the best dupe for the deep blue color)

MAC Soft Brown 

MAC Brule

Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Onyx 

Sephora Advanced Last Booster Mascara 

Brushes: Stila #15, Sigma E35, Sigma E40 

Steps by Steps 

The Finished Look 

Face Products 

COVERGIRL & Olay Simply Ageless Foundation in Medium Light 

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Set 

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair 

Bare Minerals Original Powder Foundation in Light 

Benefit Hervana Blush 

Lip Product

Smashbox Nylon Nude (current favorite!)

loVe, 

Alexandra 

MyGlam Bag: January

Hey hey hey! 

Today I am going to show you what is on my MyGlam bag. If you do not know what MyGlam is, it is basically you pay $10 per month, and each month you'll be receiving some beauty goodies - some of them are deluxe sample size, but some of them are full size too! MyGlam started its first bag in December 2011,  I subscribed to it on December, so I did not get my December MyGlam bag. If you are interested, just go to www.myglam.com, register and you're done! I like the feeling when my MyGlam bag arrives because I do not know what to expect. 

Ok, so here is the January bag (each month it has different theme, this month is a 'back to nature' theme). So, the bag consists of great brands that are good for the planet, and of course, good for you too! :)

What's inside???

First, lets talk about the Sheer Cover Duo Concealer. I got it in Light/Medium, which is perfect for me! I tried it on this morning. I applied the lighter color first on my imperfections, then I applied the darker color on top of it. That way, it will give me better coverage and better match with my skin color. I never tried this concealer before, nor its other products, but I am pretty impressed on the results. It gives me a good amount coverage and I can build it up as much coverage as I want. 

Second thing, which is probably my favorite, is a single eyeshadow from theBalm called All About Alex (Haha it is funny since a lot of people call me Alex ;p). Anyway, as you can see the swatch below, it is a dark army green with a little bit of shimmer. I love this and can't wait to try it on! I might do a tutorial with this. Stay tune! 

Third thing is a hair conditioner from Wen called Sweet Almond Mint. I honestly never heard this brand before, but I went to my local CVS today and saw this at the counter. It is supposed to leave you hair thick and hydrated. All you need to do is massage it into your scalp for 1-3 minutes, then wait for 3-5 minutes. Rinse, and you'll have smooth and healthy hair! :)

Last but not least is a facial mask from Freeman called Facial Peel-off Mask Cucumber. I tried it on last night, and my skin felt so smooth afterwards. What you need to do is really simple: just apply evenly onto your face, wait for 5-10 minutes, or until it dries (I honestly waited for 15 minutes), then peel the mask off, and rinse with warm water. The mask was kinds hard to be peeled and I did not have patience for that LOL. So what I did was just rinsing it with warm water and I felt so fresh and clean! This mask is basically like a clearing mask, it removes dirt and impurities from the day. So, I do not think it will remove acne or blemishes or something like that. 

So that's all in my MyGlam bag! If you have not subscribed, will you subscribe in the future? What do you think of this program?

Thanks for stopping by!


loVe,
Alexandra 

Review: Benefit Hervana

Hey everyone! 

Another review for you guys! I always love Benefit blushes and bronzer. If you guys read my previous tutorials, I always used Benefit Hoola Bronzer and Sugarbomb Blush. These two are like my favorite! So, recently Benefit just came with a new blush called Hervana. I am pretty sure this name was derived from words 'Her,' and 'Nirvana.' Benefit describes it as "a good karma face powder." Pretty creative, isn't it? 

WHAT: Hervana comes with four shades in a box, and they are: lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight. It also comes with a mirror and a brush, but I am never a fan of the brush. 

WHERE TO BUY: It is available at Sephora and Ulta for $28. Click here to buy it online. 

HOW TO USE: It may be impossible to get each color on your cheeks because each color has a small part, so what you do is swirl these shades together with a blush brush (I like to use MAC 109), and sweep it on your cheekbones. When these four shades blend together, it gives you a really rosy pink color. Pretty! The website also says that you can apply high beam (a Benefit highlighter) from the cheekbones to temples to give you that dewy and glowy look. 

This is the rosy pink color after the four shades are blended together

WHY I LOVE IT: I love how the rosy pink color is achieved after you blend the shades together with the blush brush. Also, you can use your eyeshadow blending brush and take the lucky shell color, and the apply it on top of your cheekbones to temples, the center of your nose, and under your brow bone. It will highlight your face! :) 

WHAT I WISH FOR: Definitely the price. Benefit blushes and bronzers have always been $28, and that is pretty expensive for a blush! So, I wish they can lower the price, please? And this blush gives you a soft satin finish, almost matte in my opinion. So, if you are into a matte blush, this definitely for you. I personally like it with a little bit hint of shimmer, so it makes your cheeks glowy! 

WILL I PURCHASE IT AGAIN?: I am pretty sure this product will last a long time :)

RATINGS: 4.8 out of 5. 

So, what do you guys think of this product? Have you tried it out? If now, will you purchase it in the future? I am positive that this blush isn't a limited edition, so you can grab it from the counter anytime you want! :) 

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, all opinions are my own. Benefit does not know me, nor gives me the product. 

loVe, 

Alexandra

Haul: Sephora Vol.1 (NARS and Benefit)

Hello beauties! 

Guess what? It is a haul post today! Last haul post I did was back in 2011. How crazy is that? The reason why I did not do too many haul posts is because I do not want you guys think that I am bragging about what I bought. I really saved my money before I splurged it on something, and buying makeup makes me happy! Don't you feel the same way too? :) 

Today's haul is from Sephora. I went to Sephora a few days ago, but I did not get too many stuffs. What I got: Benefit POREfessional face primer, Benefit Erase Paste concealer and NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Mandchoure (lucky I do not need to pronounce this to you, haha).

First, lets talk about Benefit POREfessional face primer ($29). The reason why I bought this was because I heard so many good reviews about it, and I tried it on my friend's face because he got pretty large pores (I forced him to do it! Haha!), and this really close his pores, so I was like amazed! I was also in between buying this or Make Up For Ever HD Foundation Primer, but I decided to try this out first. 

So, what does it exactly do? It is to minimize the appearance of pores. I have pretty obvious pores around my nose, so I apply it mostly on that area. I like it because the texture is very lightweight and silky. It does have a yellow tint to it, but when you apply it, it becomes translucent. I also like it because it is oil free and makes my face really smooth. Oh by the way, I apply it before I put my foundation on. The box also says that you can apply it over your make up for touch-ups. It also comes with a small guideline on how you can apply it. 

Alright, move on... 

Next is going to be NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Mandchoure ($33). This product was from their holiday 2011 collection, but is still available at Sephora! I got it because I fell in love with the blue denim color with a gold hint on it, pretty unique, huh? While the deep blue color is really common. However, I just realized that the denim color is kind of similar to MAC Knight Divine, and the deep blue is almost exactly the same as MAC Nehru. So, if you already have those two, you might not need this duo eyeshadow. I love NARS, but why does it have to be so expensive?! :( 

Oh, by the way, I am working on tutorial using this duo eyeshadow. I'll let you know when it is up! :) 

Last but not least, a product from Benefit (again?!!!). It is a concealer called Erase Paste ($26). It comes with three shades: fair, medium and deep. I got the fair one. I have been wanting to get this for a while, but I was always not sure about it. So, I finally decided to give it a try. For me, I think this works best to hide under eye circles (dark circles). When I tried to cover my acne with this, it was too orange, so I have to put a concealer that matches my skin on top of it. 

The box also comes with a small guideline, and it says that you can conceal and brighten your dark circles, camouflage those shadowy areas from nose to the lip and conceal imperfections. I still do not get it what the second one does - shadowy areas? I tried it, but I honestly do not see a difference. For concealing imperfections like blemishes or discoloration, I need to build it up in order to get a full coverage. However, the more I build it up, the more orangey it looks. So, I gave up. I think I am just going to use this for dark circles around my eyes. 

The box also comes with a spatula, it recommends you to take the concealer with a spatula and place it on the back of your hand. But I just take it with a clean finger or a concealer brush. Now that I am writing this, I am thinking to try taking it with the spatula, should I? 

It looks like it matches my skin tone, but actually it is not! :( 

So that's all what I got guys! What do you guys think of these products? Have you tried any of these? If you have, does it work for you? Which one you would recommend to keep/return? Let me know in the comment below! :) 

loVe, 

Alexandra