I'm back?!

*phew* That's one thing that is off the Technical Difficulites list! 

Now it's time to figure out this live situation!

 Yessss!

I have been waiting for this moment for so long now! Time to visit my home: Las Vegas! 

I miss you Vegas!!

Trying on different brands of makeup is such an interesting experience because you never know how it is going to look at the end of the day. I find this exciting but at the same time it gives me a bit of anxiety as I'm afraid of looking overly tired or messy. I'm glad that for the most part these Revlon products stood up well through my tests. There are a few other foundations I would like to try so I don't want to give my final opinion just yet. What I have thought so far is that Revlon is a great line of makeup for those just beginning to wear it.

I'm going to start this blog with my favorites. These are the products that I'm going to keep because of how they worked.



I want to give a big WOW to the Colorstay Lip products! It's Utimate liquid lipstick was a definite keeper. The first lipstick I bought was Iconic Iris and the staying power made me want to try other shades, especially a red. Not too long after that I picked up Top Tomato, which was a true red shade and it worked beautifully. I decided to try it with the Colorstay Lipliner in Sienna to give it a more precise line. LOVE LOVE LOVE!! KEEP KEEP KEEP!!

Then came the Photoready 3D Volume Mascara in Blackest Black. This one deserves a double-WOW from me. All day my lashes were long and 'fluttery', I just felt very feminine with it on. It also comes in a regular black and a dark brown, but I love my lashes as dark as they can get. I didn't get any fall out, or smudging...ahhh, it's simply a great mascara!

And THEN I tried the Colorstay Eyeliner in Black. It's a twist up pencil which alone wins my heart over, because it beats having to sharpen before every use! When I used this for my smokey eye look, I was very impressed by the longwear formula. It didn't smear or smudge and for the most part, it lasted all day long. The liner is waterproof so yes, when it comes time to wash your face, you are definitely going to need to use a makeup remover, THEN a face wash.

The next two items I wouldn't say that I am completely in LOVE with but they did what they were supposed to do and that was enough to put them on my "keep" list. The Photoready Eye Primer was the only primer that I could find. What I did like was that it served as a highlighter as well. It brightened up my eyes nicely so that made me want to spend more time with this product. I also liked the twist up bottom. It saves you from wasting product and that is always a plus! Now the Colorstay Creme Gel eye liner, is a yes and a no for me. I tried it in Charcoal at first, and since I am used to usually wearing a black liner I wasn't impressed by it. So I went back and bought it in Black which I was able to give it a better opinion on. It fades, but not terribly. I think the main reason I decided to keep it was because it's a simple gel liner. I have a soft spot in my heart for gel liners as they have a more intense lasting power in my eyes. I also had a love/hate relationship with the lid. Very clever idea to give the consumer a tool to use this product and keep it safe and concealed within the lid! Very bad idea to not have it "lock in place" when you use it. When you flip the brush around to 'snap' it into the lid, it pops right out as you're using it. You need to have a very light grip on the 'handle' and to me that's a negative. I'm already focused on making my eyeliner even on both sides, and having to worry about the brush falling apart is a bit of a pain. Nevertheless, I am keeping it.


And now the stuff that didn't win my heart over...

I'm going to have to include the stuff I've already returned because even they need a review.
The Photoready products claims to give off an "airbrush" finish but in my opinion, no product can give you that finish unless it's applied with an airbrush!
Illuminance Creme Shadow - Thumbs way down. What's the point here? I tried the Twilight palette and every color looked the same! As soon as I used them, they creased up! They are very sheer as well, which would have been fine if you were able to tell the difference between the colors. Using them as a base for eyeshadows? No way. I tried it on the back of my hand, and you'd think that they would dry down and set but instead they skipped, looking unappealing. Pass.
CustomEyes : Sweet Innocence - The description says "4 shadows, and 1 liner." There was a liner?? Where? Every color had the same consistancy! They were better off saying "5 shadows - or 5 liners!" The packaging was cute because the pattern on the shadows reminded me of a knitted sweater but at the end of the day, these were not for me either. They were way too sheer for my taste, and reminded me of something I would get my 11 year old cousin as a stocking stuffer. As I've said in the video, these shadows are great if you are completely NEW to makeup, and don't want anything too opaque.
Powder Blush : Tawny Peach - Bleh. Way too sheer. "Blends smoothly and easily for a streak-free finish." Yeah. That's because you can't see it. Once again, pass. Or just give it to your 9 year daughter, she'd love it.
Photoready Compact Makeup : Shell - Okay. This is NOT a setting powder. It's a creme foundation that sets to a powder finish. It comes with a sponge and a screen on top of the foundation. Why a screen? Why not just use it as it is? I'm assuming that is so you don't use too much on your face, but it's awkward. I went online to Revlon's website to see if they had any directions on how to use this product (which I shouldn't have to do) and it says that you need to press down on the screen with the sponge, then start from the center of your face and blend outward. Let me tell you this. That is a hassle. I ended up taking off the screen and applied it on my troubled areas first then blended out which I gained the same results from. Streaks. Don't worry, the streaks eventually go away when you sit there and try to blend it out with the foundation soaked sponge. (Haha.) I tried to use a dense brush but it started to MOVE the product, rather than blend it... so, I didn't like it.



Alright, for the things pictured above.

Back to the drawing board Revlon. I just wasn't sold on these products. I feel like they've could have been better! The Photoready Perfecting Primer smelled weird. It was supposed to make your skin look smooth and softer... but instead it made my skin look flat and dull. The Photoready Airbrush Mousse Foundation was just ugly. It looked as if it was just sitting on my skin, rather than blending in. It also had a grainy look to it, and under certain lighting made me look pale and tired. Then there was the Photoready Makeup, a liquid foundation with medium coverage. In all honesty, it wasn't bad. Something you should definitely try if you are interested. The packaging was great, I love the the pump it came with. I'm just a fan of other liquid foundations so I have no use for it. Same goes for the Photoready Powder. I just don't need it. I will say that it is great that these products contain SPF, so if that's a question on your mind, the answer is yes. The Photoready concealer I was not a fan of. It's a creamy - yet powdery concealer that creases up under the eye if you apply too much. The product is too sheer to give you that "flawless" look, so you HAVE to apply a lot to cover up any blemishes or lighten dark circles. That was a no-go. I was also not a fan of the Photoready Sculpting Blush Palette. So far, every blush product was just too sheer! I thought it was a great idea to include a highlighter and bronzer with a blush, but it's hard to tell what is what on your face. Plus, if you're trying to use an actual blush brush, GOOD LUCK trying to use the colors separately. The palette was so small that you couldn't even get to the highlighter or bronzer. This might have flown in the 80's but not anymore. To lighten things up, the Brow Fancy is a good product for the brows. The combination of the pencil and gel is great. I bought the darkest I could find which was Dark Brown, and that still was a bit light for me. I saw that they had black online, but it's a shame that wasn't carried in the store. And finally there was the Just Bitten lip stain : Twilight, and the Colorburst Lip Butter : Creamsicle. Both of those lip products were good too, but they were items that I don't use on a regular basis. I did like how the lip stain was transfer resistant, but as I said in the video, you have to be careful with HOW you use it. If you try to rush through the initial application, you will get a streaky/uneven look. The lip butter is just a good lip balm - but because of the intensity of color, it's a little confusing. Are you trying to be a lip balm...or lipstick? "It's a buttery balm with beautiful shiny color to give you baby soft, healthy glowing lips." Hmm, shouldn't lipstick do that anyway?

From this blog it might seem as if I disliked the products more than I actually liked them and that just isn't the case. I was completely surprised by how impressive some of these items were. I'm definitely planning to try their other foundations. So the Revlon adventure continues.


xoxo
Lana

 This is what happens when you try a new brand. You return. Then exchange. Then Return. Then Repurchase...

It's hard to find your best match colors right from the start, and it isn't easy buying every single shade that MIGHT match your skin right at the beginning! People have budgets, as do I!

I think I've been to Ulta 4 times in the past week, returning and exchanging. I am pretty sure by now, my name is blacklisted in their store. Haha. I should probably ask. 
I also wonder if I should give the manager a heads up. Because I'm only on Revlon now. This will not end because there are many other brands to try! I'm a beauty blogger. And until these makeup companies want to help me out with gratis so I'm not looking like a weirdo at a retail store, I am not keeping what I don't like! I don't have money to throw away. Although, I'm trying to think of it from a retail end too. 

I used to work for a high end retail store, and I remember this group of people who were CONSTANTLY exchanging their makeup. it almost looked as if they were just "borrowing" makeup because they were constantly changing it out. My manager hated them and there were times when she tried everything she could to stop them. As a sales person, it sucked because they kept messing with your quota, and commission. It doesn't seem AS bad because when you exchange, you aren't getting your money back, the store gets to keep that... but the store DOES lose money in the products you exchange because they have to damage them out. 

But! It's also not fair to expect a consumer to keep items they don't like, just because they don't want to get 86'ed out of a store! 

So where do we draw the line? As a blogger... I have a tough job here. From a retail end, I AM "borrowing" makeup. I buy to blog, then return. From a consumer end, I am buying, blogging, and if I like it I keep it, nothing wrong in that. 

Right?

xoxo
Lana

 Alright I gave e.l.f. another try. I decided to use e.l.f. brushes as well! I figured it's good to give a company it's best shot with their own tools. You guys know how the video came out, but here is a look at the products I wore on my face:



e.l.f. products used:

Flawless Finish Foundation - Porcelain
Under Eye Concealor & Highlighter - Glow/Light **
Pressed Powder - Sand
Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - Blushed/Bronzed **
Eyelid Primer - Sheer **
Brightening Eye Color - Butternut
Cream Eyeliner - Black **
Volume Plumping Mascara - Black
Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara - Black
Eyebrow Kit - Medium **
Luscious Liquid Lipstick - Baby Lips
Hypershine Gloss - Fairy

The products with the asterisks were my favorite to use! My overall thoughts about the brushes were neutral. I didn't think they were bad, but they weren't my favorite. For the price of $3-6, I think they were good tools for 1st timers! 

If you try it, let me know what you think and what you liked! =)

xoxo 
Lana