Review: ELF Studo Tinted Moisturizer

ELF recently came out with a new Tinted Moisturizer in their Studio line. When seeing the packaging, I thought it looked exactly like Smashbox's Tinted Moisturizer. But seeing it now, I think Smashbox's more stubby. I can't comment on the quality of that one versus this because I have not used the other one. I am a fan of tinted moisturizer, or so I am a fan of the skin matching makeup like the Revlon and the Almay one, they offer natural coverage on days you don't need a lot and feel comfortable on. I thought this ELF one would perform a similar way. This product is described as a "lightweight and hydrating formula, breathable and provides anti-aging sun protection with UVA/UVB SPF 20. Achieve even skin tone and naturally radiant skin with this moisturizing sheer tint of color. The smooth formula enhances your complexion with the nourishing key ingredients Aloe, Cucumber and Vitamins A, C & E."

The packaging is similar to that of the Almay/Revlon skin matching products. However the ELF comes with 20ml, while the other has 30ml. And that brings me to my first issue with this product, it may say 20ml on the bottle but I have my suspicions about whether you actually get that much. My tube feels 1/3 filled when you shake it. I know this product is only $3, but still I expected something more. Also, the back of the tube is just black with nothing on it at all, it would of been good if they added ingredients on the back (list does come on the box however).

This product comes in 7 shades, I bought the lightest one in "Porcelain". On the package it states this colour is for "very fair skin tones with yellow undertones". I would say this would definitely not suit very fair skintones, this stuff is very yellow and not very light at all. If you have strong yellow undertones, this might work for you, if you are neutral or cool, definitely will not. The next shade up is much darker, so it's a no go for me.

The coverage on this is very light, and it has a sheen when first applies (as seen in my terribly focused picture above), but it does try semi-matte. I would use a powder to set this for sure. The consistency is like a mousse. I find this product very hard to blend. The worst part of this product for me is the wretched smell! This smells of sunscreen, very strongly of it. I have a hard time keeping this on my face, every time I used this, I wanted to take it off immediately. Also, it separates very easily, you can see that in the little window on the tube. You have to shake it up well, and when you do shake it, it doesn't feel like there is anything in the tube. I think it's obvious I do not like this product, I would be curious to read what others think, there hasn't been much talk about this product yet since it is fairly new.

Have you tried the ELF Studio tinted moisturizer?

Monthly Favourites: November 2010

I am super late getting this one, I am usually pretty good about getting these on time, but several things have kept me from not posting lately. 1) I moved and am busy unpacking and getting everything together 2) I couldn't find my camera for the longest time 3) Now that I have found it, the thing has a mind of its own and won't focus well on pictures anymore (as you will notice in the picture below). Time for a new camera, maybe Santa will bring me one this Christmas. My favourites this month are some old and some new items.

Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse may be my favourite drugstore foundation of the year. This product is great for the winter when your skin is dry (mine is extra dry). It gives good coverage, and feels smooth on your face, see full review here.

Sigma's F10 Powder/Blush brush which is supposedly a dupe for the MAC 129. I find this a bit large for blush, but I do like it for finishing powder, bronzer, powder in general. it's soft and fluffy. Sigma should make a MAC 116 dupe.

Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion was not a favourite of mine at first, in fact I found it very similar to the original Last Blast, see review here. But since throwing out my overly-expired Lash Blast I have started using up this one this month and like it a lot.

MAC's Creme D'Nude is probably my most favourite MAC lipstick ever, and it has a special place in my heart because it was my first MAC purchase ever. This colour works well on anyone, has great formulation and a pretty colour.

ELF's Lipstain in Birthday Suit has been my go-to gloss for the month. I don't think of this as a stain really, and only use the coloured end, but I do like the light barbie pink colour that the gloss gives.

Clinique's Redness Solutions makeup is a great foundation. I picked this in the month of November and really like it. It's the first Clinique foundation I've ever used. Does it help tone down redness over time? I haven't used it exclusively enough to tell a difference, but I like the coverage and neutralizing effects that it has. Planning to do a full review of this one soon.

What were your favourites for the month of November?

Sigma Beauty: Holiday Special Complete Pink Kit with Brush Roll $79

Sigma just posted their Holiday Special offer, they had a very successful Black Friday sale (free shipping) and had to postpone their Cyber Monday deal until now. They are offering their Complete Pink Brush Kit with Brush Roll for $79, a savings of $20 off the regular price. If you want to try out Sigma brushes this is a great time to do it. I would of preferred if they had offered the black kit instead but this is still a great deal, the colour doesn't really matter.

If you are in Canada like me, shipping is very reasonable, I did a test order and it was $6 something to ship this. This offer comes with 12 brushes and a brush roll! Plus you will get the free bonus blending eye brush with this order as a gift. And just a quick note, I will be choosing my winner of the Synthetic Kit soon, I am just processing through all the entries now.

Click here to shop Sigma Makeup.

Sephora MUFE Haul and New Almay Hydrating Makeup

I went Sephora shopping over the past two days and picked up some Makeup Forever, along with some other items. During trip #1 I got the HD foundation and Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I wanted to try the MUFE HD foundation for the longest time and finally got it in the shade 117. Then trip #2 I returned the Too Faced Shadow Insurance because it was a watery runny mess, see yesterday's rant here. Now correct me if I am wrong, but I am not happy with Sephora's return policy when using a coupon. I purchased the MUFE HD foundation $46CAD, and the TFSI $24, and used a $20 off VIB discount, the way they do that is take a portion of the $20 off each item (I had two). Then when I returned the TFSI I only got $19.37 back instead of the full amount. I tried asking the cashier why, and she agreed with me, but that's how the system does it. If I had used the $20 off on the foundation and then did a separate purchase with the TFSI I would of not run into this problem. Have you encountered this before? I know it's just $5 but it bothers me you know? I am getting penalized for returning it, but the foundation alone was the $40 minimum purchase.

I also picked up the MUFE Face and Body in the shade #20. I really wanted to get the Mat Velvet +, but after reading review after review about how it's not good for dry skin (which I have) I felt it was better to leave it out. The Face and Body comes with a pump which surprised me because the youtube videos that I watched people do, it did not. And despite being very watery and not great coverage, I think it's a good bet for my skin.

I am a Sephora newbie, but I tried my best to get samples today, since on the first day I got nothing, too scared of the staff there. Today I told the girl that I have dry skin and am looking for a hydrating foundation, she suggested Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Smooth, which was no surprise to me since I heard it recommended before by beauty reviewers, she got me samples in the shades Blush Ivory and Warm Ivory. However, I am probably more likely to buy the one that comes in the pump bottle, which is moisturizing too, we shall see how this one works out. Then I got some MUFE HD blush samples, that at point, she staff girl seemed irritated with me, I got the lilac colour and a peachy coral one, not sure of the numbers, I think it's #13 and #6.

I also picked up the Sephora #55 brush (picture above). This was $44, I know a lot but it was on my "to get" list for a long time and despite having a ton of makeup brushes, I thought this one would be sweet to have. Like others have said before, the packaging on this brush is ridiculous, took me like 5 minutes to get it off. The brush is soft, not super dense, but looks like it will be good for liquid foundation.

I also picked up the new Almay Wake up Hydrating Makeup in the colour 020 Buff. I read about this and the Revlon Mineral Makeup on Nouveau Cheap and noticed it was on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. Both products are pretty much the same I think, marketed to do the same thing, Revlon has coconut water and Almay has cucumber something or other, both look to be good for dry skin. Almay was $13.99 and Revlon was $15.99 (both are around $20 normally!) so after humming over it for a few minutes I grabbed the Almay. First impressions: The brush is nice, but I won't use it, the powder has a sifter so I left the peely thing on in case too much comes out for me. The powder does have shimmer which annoys me (zoom in on 2nd image above to see it), I wonder if the Revlon one does too.

I am loving Toronto living so far. I can take a streetcar to Union station and then two stops and I am at the Eaton Centre, which is crazy good. But I am afraid I won't be seeing Miss Sephora for a while now because I have no moola to spend on her. But I am excited to try out these new beauties.

Have you tried any of these products? And have you encountered that hassle with returns at Sephora too? Le me know your thoughts.

Review: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

I picked up the Too Faced Shadow Insurance as part of my Sephora haul recently. I had the $20 off $40 VIB coupon and was so excited to finally be able to pick up some goodies. Sephora is like a makeup candy store and for makeup hoarders (or lovers to put it nicely haha) it can be very dangerous. Too Faced Shadow Insurance was one of those products that I'd heard about years and years back, but being a UDPP kind of girl, I put it in the back of my mind. I did finally pick it up and man, I am severely disappointed unfortunately.

Essie Fall 2010 Collection Swatches and Review

I know we are into winter now, but I have the Essie Fall 2010 collection today to swatch and review, hope you don't mind. I purchased the Winter 2010 collection first, and then this one. You can read my review of the Essie Winter 2010 set here. This fall set definitely feels fall-like to me, the colours remind me of falling leaves: red, green, brown and a taupe mixed in, they had to add in that taupe it was the hottest colour for a while now and people still love the purple greys. The opacity of these is amazing, I found 2/4 of them (Limited Addiction and Little Brown Dress) went on with one coat coat only that's how pigmented they are.