For those that weren't aware, I had a few family and friends die just before Christmas and through the start of the new year. I started a new semester of school in January as well, so between all of the coursework on higher level courses and struggling to stay afloat emotional wise, I kept away from social media for the most part. Over the last week, I've been starting to feel better, minus the stress of school, so I have been trying to get back into the groove of interacting with all of your lovely faces.
In my time away, however, I was being a tad productive... I wrote a lot of reviews for products I would have normally put in empties videos and so, I shall also be sharing those with you here now and then until I have more time to get YouTube back up and running. If you didn't hear, my MCN, MakerGen is downsizing from thousands of it's creators, to around 300. This is because Disney feels it wants the channels to be of a certain genre with the opportunity to integrate these people into their shows. I unfortunately will be one of those cut I'm sure - I'm not a big face on YouTube and my content is not necessarily for families, so it's just safe to say I'm included, especially since I received the dreaded generic "You'll be hearing from us shortly" e-mail. With this looming over thousands of our heads, I'm not sure how I want to go about uploading more content - if I will do more blogging in the meantime, until everything is decided, or if I should just say screw it and continue to give them most of what I earn while they continue to not be supportive of their content creators. I would love to hear your opinions. Onto the actual post shall we?
As a bit of a disclaimer: All of what I say here is just my opinion. Just because a product didn't work for me well, or I did not happen to like it, doesn't mean my word is final on it. If you love one of these because it works well for you then I am glad and I would love to hear your thoughts on what worked out.
Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base SPF 15 - [$30]
I am a big fan of Clinique products and I have used them for years,but this product in particular has been a huge let down. While this has minimal SPF and is lightweight, I don't have anything else good to say about it. It never stayed in place or provided a smooth surface to work with. I found that it worked better as a spot type of treatment for redness more than anything. I would not recommend this unless you can bring a sample home to test it yourself. I don't happen to have a personal photo of this one as I had exchanged it for another product right away. |
Cover Girl CoverGirl Trublend Liquid Make Up - [$12.43 DISCONTINUED]
I heard a couple people say decent things about this but this has been the worst foundation I have ever used! It did not cover well nor did it stay in place as the day went on. I got the shade 430 - classic beige and I'm not sure if it was the "blendable minerals" the product boasts about, but it actually changed colours on my skin and I ended up with literally a grey face. I did try it a few times because I thought I may have done something weird, but nope - it's just the product. I see that they have discontinued a couple versions of this foundation since 2008 or so, and the newest one has decent reviews. I still don't think I would try this again even as a new formula to be honest. I'm just entirely too put off by my first experience using this. I would really like to try another Covergirl foundation maybe. Leave me some of your suggestions? |
Bellapierre Cosmetics Cheek and Lip Stain - [$26.60 bb]
I received this in a beauty box and was excited to try a combination product - who isn't? I was a bit disappointed, however. I dislike having to use my fingers to apply lip product directly from a container, as I feel it is unsanitary - no matter how clean my hands are. I suppose I could have used a brush, but I wanted to test the consistency while applying - no complaints there. It is oil free and has a smooth application. I tested the colour Pink and it was a lovely natural looking hue on my lips. On my cheeks, it didn't quite look natural at the first application - you have to work with it a bit. I used it a couple more times but only as a lip colour. I still was not happy with how dry it made my lips (perhaps it was because I needed to keep reapplying), so I will not be using it again. I didn't get much use out of it as you can see from the photo. There are just better single and duo products out there in my opinion. |
NIVEA Lip Butter Tin Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss - [$3.29]
While this has a shelf life on the tin as 12 months, the scent changed in about half that time and turned a sour smell. I don't like the tin design as it was super hard to open, especially when my nails were a bit longer. There is a great amount of product in the tin for the price you pay and the application is creamy, smooth and the product is soothing. You do need to be careful not to apply too much as it will turn your lips white from the colouring. I don't think I would recommend this. I got in a spur of the moment - Oh crap I can't find my chapstick and my lips are killing me moment, so I probably wouldn't have picked this up otherwise, especially not in a tin. |
Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil - [$4.89]
I was super excited to give this a try and while I didn't hate it, I didn't end up loving it either. The formula for this type has to be different than the others - even the old version, because it just didn't work as well. The smell is meh..the taste is not so great - it does not last long. It initially moisturizes, but tended to dry my lips shortly after so I would constantly need to reapply. I enjoy the company's other products (even for lips) but not this one in particular. I think I will stay away from these specialty ones and stick the the original from now on. |
Xylitol Xyla Gum Spearment - [$1.42 DISCONTINUED?]
I really wanted to be excited about this gum. I love the hard candies and was looking for a gum with similar benefits and ingredients. While those are the same, the quality of this gum was not. The first minute or so was nice - there was flavour and it was chewy. After another minute passes, the taste fades into nothing. Immediately after this, it is no longer proper gum you're chewing on. It turns all stringy and falls apart in your mouth and starts to dissolve. I bought a few packs at once and I couldn't even force myself to finish half of one. |
- What products would you warn others about after purchasing and not having them work out?