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 

Purple Matte

Hello beautifuls! 

Since it is still winter, I like to wear matte eyeshadows more rather than shimmers. Eyeshadows with satin finish are still wearable during winter. A satin finish means it is not too shimmery, but not to matte either. It kinda gives you a metallic eye look, but not most of the time. 

Purple eyeshadows are always great on any eye colors. It really makes your eyes pop and looks appealing. So today I am going to show you on how to achieve a purple look, but with a matte finish. 

Lets get started! 

(keep scrolling down for face and lip products I used) 

Products Used

MAC Poisen Pen (Limited edition, but use any matte light purple color. This color isn't that unique, MAC Scene and MAC Shell are the best dupes) 

MAC Graphology (Not available anymore apparently, sorry! Just use any deep matte purple, MAC Shadowy Lady is the best dupe) 

MAC Wedge 

Sephora Advanced Lash Booster Mascara 

Kiss Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Black 

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 (I did a review on this, click here to read)

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Light (I use this as a setting powder, but just a little bit) 

MAC Powder Blush in Peachykeen 

Lip Products

Burt's Bees Lip Balm 

Smashbox Lipstick in Nylon Nude 

loVe, 

Alexandra

Tweet me @alexandrauby

Review: Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette

Hello everyone! 

It is a review post today! Who miss it? ;p I decided to switch things up a little bit, so that I won't keep posting tutorials, but also beauty products reviews. I am also thinking to post more haul posts because I honestly one had one haul post before. The reason why is I do not want you guys think that I am bragging about what I bought, but you like haul post, please leave in the comment below! :) 

WHAT: As the title says, today's post is for a concealer palette from Sonia Kashuk called Hidden Agenda. It is basically has three shades and a translucent powder. 

WHERE TO BUY: I bought it at Target (click to buy) for $9.99. I have been wanting to buy this palette, but it is always sold out! Even when I got it, it was only one left at the counter. So, after you read this review and you like it, go ahead and buy it when it is available!

HOW TO USE: Most people use concealer on top of their foundation, that what I was used to do. However, since I owned this concealer palette, I figured it works best when I used it before the foundation. I use a small concealer brush like Sigma F70, and since there are three different shades, I only use two of them that match with my skin tone. Here are the few steps I do: 

1. Get your concealer brush, the smaller the better because it concentrates more in the area you want to conceal and the brush is more packed. 

2. I take shades number one, and place it on my acne/blemishes, redness, dark circles under my eye. 

3. Since shades number one is kinda too light for me, I take shades number two and place it right on top of the shades number one. This will give me a perfect color match. 

4. After all imperfections are covered, I apply my foundation, focused more on the parts that I put concealer on to get more coverage. 

WHY I LOVE IT: This concealer palette is an almost full coverage concealer. It covers all the imperfections really well. The more you apply it, the more coverage you get, so it is a really build-able coverage concealer. Ten dollars for this palette might sound too pricey, but I think it is worth the price because you get multiple shades and a translucent powder, and it is a high quality products. 

WHAT I WISH FOR: Well, since I only use two shades of the palette, I do not know what to do with the third shade. I almost hit the pan for the two shades I always use, so it will be such a waste if the third one is not used :( So, I wish Sonia Kashuk came out with more palettes, like for light, medium, and dark skin. ;) 

RATINGS: I give this 4.5 out 5 ratings. 

WILL I PURCHASE IT AGAIN?: Definitely will! 

So, what do you think of this palette? Have you tried it out? If you haven't, will you buy it? 

That's it for now! Oh btw, I have so many posts coming up soon! Give me your requests! You can always tweet me @alexandrauby :) 

loVe, 

Alexandra