mini haul

First Impression: BH Cosmetics and Wet n Wild Mascaras

/ Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

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I know what you’re probably thinking by the title, “That’s two very different and random brands to try at the same time.” I know, I know. I scored some amazing deals on bhcosmetics.com and at walgreens right before Labor Day. I snagged a thing of foundation from bh cosmetics for $2.95 and some blushes at the same price! I also found Wet n Wild mascaras and foundation (will review on a later post) for $1 a piece since I ordered about 10 coupons to try some things out.

I had said in a previous post that I do not own very many Wet n Wild products other than their lipsticks. Well, now I have nail polishes, foundation, blush, mascara, and a highlighter to try out. Okay, now I’m going to start this review.

BH cosmetics foundation in light olive- I was super excited when I read “light” and “olive” in the same sentence. I have an Italian background, and even though I am extremely pale I also have an olive tone. Many lighter foundations tend to either have a pink or yellow undertone. Pink is obviously the one I gravitate towards because yellow undertones make me look kind of sickly (okay, more sickly than usual) but I rarely see anything with a distinct olive tone to it. This foundation claims to be medium-full coverage and is supposed to last all day. Did it succeed in that? Eh, mostly. It is medium-full coverage. It blended fairly easily with my real techniques beauty sponge.
It does have pretty good staying power, but it started to settle into the fine lines under my eyes pretty quickly. This is a common problem with me with most foundations though. My eye shape is a bit odd (giant eyes) and concealers and foundations just love to get in their and make themselves comfy.
The only thing that I really dislike about this product…the smell. Oh my gosh, it reminded me of old lady perfume. I almost didn’t even put it on my face because of the smell. When I smell perfume-y scents in face products it automatically makes me assume my face will break out. I am extremely sensitive to heavily scented products. Luckily, I have tried this foundation 4 times and have not had a breakout. The smell does fade, but I still hate it. That’s really my only problem with the foundation itself though.

Pros:
Medium-full coverage (as promised)
Long lasting (when set with powder or setting spray)
Matches my skin fairly well
Affordable
Cruelty free
Blends easily

Cons:
Smell
Settles into fine lines fairly quickly

Blush duos in “Rose” and “Lilac”

I also snagged a few of BH Cosmetics blush duos during their Labor Day sale since they were also $3 a piece and come with a blush and highlighter. I figured that for the price and the fact that they highlighter came with the blush…why not?

Rose- A very deep peachy almost red color with a gold-bronze highlight. I was so surprised by how much product comes with these blush duos! Also, look at the packaging. It’s so cute! I love the blush in this duo. It’s pretty pigmented, so if you are fair use a light hand. I think this rosy color would look so well on many different skin tones though. I have no used the highlighter much since typically gold highlighters are not very flattering on my skin tone. I typically use champagne or light pink, and the gold highlighter in this was a bit too shimmery for me to try it as a contour. Overall, this was well worth the money solely for the blush.

Lilac- Oh, I love this shade of pretty pink. I wish I had discovered it in the spring or earlier in the summer because it would have been the perfect shade of pale pink for spring. The highlighter in this duo is a very pale almost champagne color with a little pink in it. It’s actually the perfect highlighting shade for me, but I find it to be a bit chalky. It’s not too bad though. For the price, I absolutely love these duos and will probably purchase a few more during another sale. There are several other duos on the site that look gorgeous! I would recommend these to anyone that just likes to play around with different blush colors like myself.

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Mascaras:
Wet n Wild Mega Volume mascara- I am not entirely impressed with the formula of this mascara. It’s a bit of a dry formula in my opinion. I like more wet formulas since I tend to put on several coats of mascara, and dryer formulas tend to clump up faster. This could be a good mascara to use on days that I am wearing false lashes and need to blend them in with my natural lashes though.

Wet n Wild Mega Length mascara- I have been loving this mascara for my lower lash line. The brush is small and slender so I can really get my lower lashes evenly and easily. I don’t think I would use this mascara for anything but my lower lash line because it is that same dryer formula, but I have found a purpose for it so my Wet n Wild mascara adventure was not all lost.

First Impression: Mini Elf Haul

/ Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

Elf (EyesLipsFace) has to be one of my all time favorite makeup brands. They are cruelty free and super affordable. They are so affordable that sometimes I look at their site and say, “I want to try that,” about things completely out of my comfort zone, and that’s fine because usually it’s $3.

Anyway, they’ve had some things on their website that I have wanted to try for a bit so I bought somethings with a $5 off coupon code that was active. Many of the things in this blog I have only tried once, with the exception of the foundation. I tend to try foundation a bit longer before I want to formerly review on it because they tend to change on the skin in some cases.

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Matte blush and bronzer duo in “Fiji”- I was so excited when this came out. I love the blush and bronzer duos, but I am not a shimmer kind of girl. I like a mostly matte look, especially in the fall and winter. This duo is BEAUTIFUL to say the least. They work perfectly together, and even look great on my pale skin. I will say that using a light hand is essential if you have a pale complexion though.

Powder brush- I have heard several beauty bloggers rave about this brush so I needed to try it for myself. Now I understand why they rave about it. I use this brush to set my under eye concealer, and it makes it so easy. Just a quick swirl into my powder and this brush lightly sets my under eyes flawlessly. For $3 you can’t beat it. Ah-mazing.

Baked Highlighter in “Moonlight Pearls”- While browsing on elf’s website, I came across these (new to me) highlighters and thought, “Hello pretties, come live with me.” There are 3 colors, but I decided to try one for now to see how I like them since highlighters can be so hit or miss with my skin tone. I went with moonlight pearls since it seemed like the most subtle highlight on the website. It is truly a beautiful hightlighter. I have used it almost everyday since it came in the mail. I lightly tap my Sonia Kashuk fan brush in it and dust the tops of my cheeks and I always have the glow I want. I think I may end up getting the pink color as well.

Mascara Primer- I have been all about the primers lately? It seems like there are so many things to prime nowadays! Prime your face, prime your lips, prime your eyes, prime your brows, prime your hair. Okay, maybe not prime your hair, but you see my point. This was definitely a “I just wanna try this” purchase. Still not sure about how I feel about this exactly. I didn’t see much of a difference in my eyelashes. I curled my lashes before “priming” them, so I don’t know if I am even doing it right. I may give an update on my thoughts about this product in my next first impression post.

Under Eye Primer- Another primer! Surprise! This one was not so much of a random purchase. I have HORRIBLE under eye circles due to asthma. They are permanent. They make me look dead most days if I don’t cover them up. This primer promised to hydrate the under eyes and prevent concealer from creasing (a huge problem for me) and help concealer to stay all day. I put this primer on at about 9 am the morning I tried it and did my normal housework and kid-friendly activities, and when I checked my makeup at about 1 pm my concealer was still intact! I was fairly blown away and extremely excited! Probably my favorite purchase from them in awhile. Apparently, this is the dupe for a Smashbox under eye concealer, but I don’t own the Smashbox one so I wouldn’t know.

Acne Fighting Foundation in Ivory- Oh man, I love this foundation. I truly love it. Does it actually fight my acne? I have no idea, but based on coverage and quality alone this is the best affordable foundation I have ever tried. I even like it more than some of my higher end foundations. The coverage is flawless and full. It covers up all of my blemishes and leaves a very satin matte finish. It’s not tacky. Elf nailed this foundation. This will now be a staple in my makeup routine, especially since the weather is cooling down and I can wear fuller coverage foundation on an everyday basis.

Blending Brush- I had seen a couple of bloggers talk about this brush and compared to the Mac blending brush, so I decided that for $3 I would give it a try. It’s pretty nice. My only complaint is that it is not “fluffy” and if I blend for a bit it can feel a bit scratchy. It’s a nice affordable blending blush to add to your collection though if you’re in the market for a new one.