Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Review | NYX Illuminator for Face and Body in "Ritualistic"

Product: NYX Illuminator for Face and Body in "Ritualistic"
Price: $9.00 (Ulta) | $11.45 (Amazon)
Review: So I'm back with another review. I didn't really see a whole lot of reviews for this particular NYX product so I decided to add this to try and fill that void. I mean, since highlighting and strobing have become super popular in the past year, I thought this would be a good drugstore alternative to the more expensive higher end brands. I thought I could save a lot by going for this one. I love NYX products and have never really had any issues with them. Of course, I've only used their lip and eye products, I haven't really used any of their face makeup. To start things off, out of the five shades offered I got the shade "Ritualistic" which is a champagne highlight. I initially swatched it and found it to be smooth and almost creamy. It didn't feel cheap, overly powdery, or chunky with cheap glitter particles. It felt nice and it swatched nicely. I seriously thought that this could have been a drugstore dupe for the Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector in "Moonstone". Having had and used this product for three days and eventually returning it on the third day, I realize now that I'm just gonna pay the $38 for the Becca highlighter because at least with that, I know that it'll stay on all day and I can adjust the highlight to be subtle and luminescent to strobe queen bright. 
Basically, I did not like this product AT ALL. It felt so nice but it wears and applies terribly. You can't get a strobe-strength highlight with this product let alone a subtle natural glow. It applies patchily and as it wears throughout the day (or night), it emphasizes your pores and/or fine lines all while fading. I even set it with the Smashbox Priming Water and it still faded. It was so disappointing when it felt so nice and swatched so nicely. It just didn't last and it didn't even get me to that "lit from within" look that I've been doing recently. If you thought about getting this, definitely don't. Save your money and just pay the extra $28 for the Becca Cosmetics highlighters. The one good thing about this product is how big the mirror is. Other than that, there aren't any redeeming qualities. I am disappointed because up until now, NYX has been a total hit for me. Unfortunately, unlike my recent reviews, I don't have a lot to say about this product other than what I've already said about it being a waste of money. 
Rating: 1.5/5
 For some reason, this photo made the product look quite white in the pan and in the swatch. I'm not sure why my camera did that, but the actual product is quite goldy.
Left: No product on my brow bones, cupid's boy, and cheekbones
Right: Product applied to my left brow bone and to the top of my left cheekbone


Thursday, April 14, 2016

Review | The Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava Clay Nose Mask

Product: The Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava Clay Nose Mask
Price: $8.00 (UO price) | $8.29 (Amazon price)
Link: Purchase from UO | Purchase from Amazon
Review: Hello! So I recently purchased this from work the other day since I was curious about it and wanted to try a new mask. I was surprised when I first opened the package. Instead of it being creamy or liquidy, it was rather tacky. It's a pale pink almost white color and like I said, it has a tacky texture. Now, the brand is The Face Shop, a Korean brand that I rather like. I've tried a handful of their skincare products and have had good experiences so I went into trying this with very high expectations. When you use this, make sure your face is is clean so I suggest using this after you've washed your face with your cleanser. It says to apply to nose area in a thin layer and let dry for 10-15 minutes. Now I have oily combination skin and I found that this dried my skin out just a little so if you have dry skin, I would suggest using a very creamy and thick moisturizer and then using a facial mist after. For me, I used this on my nose and on my chin. I applied it with my fingers and I found that it was a little difficult to spread out an even layer over my skin but it didn't really bother me that much since I was still able to get out a nice layer. It's a peel off mask so after 10-15 minutes, you just kind of peel it off your skin which feels really cool and when you look at all the crap that comes up with the mask, it's still very cool. I did have difficulty pulling the mask off but I think that was my fault. I didn't have enough product to really lift up so with my boyfriend, I used a thicker layer on the edges and we were able to lift it off in one piece. The product doesn't have any real scent that I think would be an issue to anybody. It's kind of a calming floral scent but nothing too overwhelming. I do dislike that the product is small but I mean, it's only supposed to be used on your nose not your whole face and you're only supposed to use it once a week or so. But still. For $8, I'd like a bit more product.

In terms of actual usefulness, I'd say this product works very well. Also, I noticed that the texture of the skin on my nose and chin felt softer than they had before and that there was less spotting on my skin. A spot I had on my chin looked less red and was smaller after I had used the mask as well. After I took the mask off, I used Etude House's Wonder Pore Freshner for my toner, I then used an acne spot cream, and then Tonymoly's Panda's Dream White Sleeping Pack for my moisturizer. I finished everything off with a quick spray of the Evian facial mist. The next morning, my skin felt softer and brighter. I also noticed that the skin on my nose and chin felt rather smooth. I would definitely recommend this mask to anybody looking to get into nose masks. It's fairly affordable, you get a good amount to last you at least three months, and it seems to work for sensitive skins (both my boyfriend and I have sensitive skin). If you try out this mask, please let me know how this works out for you and if there are any other nose or full face masks that you could recommend for me. Pictured below is the item in question as well as a photo of how I've been using this.
Rating: 4/5

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