Ofra Cosmetics: Rodeo Drive

I would have posted about my Boxycharm of the month to tell everyone about all the great products I received, but I was only impressed by one thing in the April box. You can find me sporting this item frequently on my cheekbones and forearms (Instagram swatching), and I've gotten so many compliments on this. If you paid attention to the title, you know I'm talking about the "Rodeo Drive" highlighter from Ofra Cosmetics.

It's so beautiful. That's really all I can say. It's up there with Anastasia Beverly Hills glow. This buttery formula is easy to apply and blend with a fan brush or whichever brush you prefer for highlights. I will say, this one is blinding! This is not for anyone with a timid heart. Look what happens when we put it in direct sunlight:

BAM! Now it's gold! I was worried this would be too dark for my skin tone when Boxycharm posted its sneak peak back in March, but it's perfect. Peep the glow 👀

Those blinding spots on my cheek and nose? Rodeo Drive. Thank you Ofra Cosmetics!!

Since this is the only product I liked from the Boxycharm this month, and it may be featured in a Spring favorites blog, I'll keep this short and sweet. Ofra never fails to impress me! (BTW, they're coming to Ulta! This will be the brand's first in-store launch.)

Thanks for reading 💕

Are You Using the Right Foundation?

There are a lot of foundations out on the market now, and picking the correct one for your skin type can be a headache. I've spent a lot of money on foundations that I've barely used because they don't work for me, and I wish I had known what I know now. I'd like to clear some things up for anyone who just wants to find the perfect foundation for a flawless finish.

Today we'll be covering the four most common types of foundations: liquid, cream, powder, and stick. Another popular type right now is cushion, but cushion foundation is literally just liquid in a sponge compact. Everything we talk about in the liquid portion will apply to cushion foundation.

Liquid Foundation 
Not all liquid foundations are made alike, and packaging can be very misleading when it comes to formulations. To clarify, when I talk about liquid foundations, I'm talking about watery or runny formulas. Anything too thick to run, although it may be labeled "liquid," will behave like a cream foundation. Always test a foundation (duh) before you buy it to see what kind of formula you're working with.

Liquid foundations work best for people with dry or combination dry skin. A standard liquid formula won't cling to dry patches, and they can give full coverage without looking cakey when applied correctly. If you have oily skin, most liquid foundations will look too shiny, and you'll find yourself constantly reaching for blotting powder throughout the day.

My favorite liquid foundation is Born This Way from Too Faced. This was the first foundation I ever purchased from a prestige brand, and it's absolutely wonderful. I've been using this for about two years, and it was my favorite foundation for a long time. It's a tad thick, but it still runs a little when it's pumped out of the bottle. It contains coconut water, so it's perfectly hydrating for the days my skin is on the drier side. It's medium coverage, but it can build to full coverage. This retails for $39, and you can find it at Ulta, Sephora, or on the Too Faced website.

Cream Foundation
Many "cream" formulas are marked as "liquid," but a thick, creamy foundation like Tarte's 12 hour Amazonian Clay will not behave at all like Makeup Forever's watery Ultra HD formula. Like I said before, not all liquids are the same, so you need to distinguish between a runny formula and a whipped, creamy one.

These thicker foundations work beautifully on almost all skin types. If you have normal to combination skin, these formulas are your skin's best friend. If you have dry skin, be sure to moisturize and prime your face, or they may cling to dry patches. If you have severe oily skin, this will suit your skin better than a liquid foundation, but be sure to carry a little bit of setting powder for problem areas.

I highly recommend Tarte's 12 hour Amazonian Clay foundation, because it's full coverage that can really last all day. It's the only foundation I've ever tried that can withstand hours of Alabama heat and humidity, and as a bonus, it has SPF 15! You still need to set it, though! That goes for any foundation, but especially when you live in a hot, humid place. Buy it online or at your local Ulta or Sephora for $39.

Powder Foundation
Many in the beauty community rave about the convenience of powder foundation, because it takes significantly less time to apply than any other type of foundation. Sadly, it can look disastrous on certain skin types. If you suffer from extreme dry skin, STAY AWAY. It WILL cling to every dry patch, flake of skin, texture, you name it. Take the extra 5-7 minutes and go with a liquid formula. If you have severe oily skin, this can clump up and look cakey around your problem areas.

The Confidence Creamy Powder Foundation from Tarte's Double Duty Beauty line is wonderful. It's medium to full coverage, and it's enriched with moisturizing and anti-aging ingredients. You can buy it here for $35, but it's only available for sample at Ulta.

Stick Foundation
Last but not least, we have the Holy Grail of oily and combination-oily skin types: stick foundations. I don't care how "creamy" a stick foundation claims to be, they are drier than bottled cream foundations. To someone with dry skin, these would be nearly impossible to blend smoothly because there's not enough moisture in the actual foundations. I do not recommend beauty oils, but you can use a skin mist to help move around these drier formulas. However, if your skin produces a lot of natural oils, these will be so easy for you to use, and they will look fantastic. Many of these are full coverage, too.

Although pricey at $46, the Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick from Hourglass is the best of its kind. It's the most full coverage foundation I've ever tried in my life, and you don't have to use a lot of product for a rich color payoff. It's very concentrated, so one stick goes a long way. Sephora carries Hourglass, but the JC Penny Sephoras do not. If you only have a JC Penny Sephora, Makeup Forever and Anastasia Beverly Hills also have popular stick foundations.

I'd like this to be the start of a series where I answer frequent questions about foundation. Let me know if you'd like me to tackle a certain topic!

Thanks for reading 💕

Sol Theory: My First and Last Box

I was recently approached on Instagram by a Sunglasses subscription box called Sol Theory to be a brand ambassador. This was the first time a brand reached out to me to test their products, so I was pretty excited to get their message. I was given an ambassador code for 20% off all boxes I purchase, and then I was set up with a coupon code for my followers for 20% off their first box. I wasn't offered payment: instead, I would receive a free box for every three sales made with my code. 

There were a couple of red flags. At the time, I didn't even have 100 people following me. They didn't offer payment, commission, or PR to be sent to me. Three people had to use my code for me to even get a box from this company. An account with under 100 people following isn't likely to make any sales, and they know this.  After I did some snooping around, I found that almost all of their ambassadors were like me: small accounts with little to no influence in the beauty community. Sol Theory is trying to get smaller accounts to subscribe by promising free stuff. I was asked in my DMs to provide my email during sign up so I could be alerted when someone used my code, but there was no place on the website to enter my affiliate code so they knew I was an ambassador. Most of their pictures on Instagram are of random models wearing sunglasses that didn't come from this subscription box. Nevertheless, I ordered a box to see if it was anything worth talking about. 

J. Cat Beauty Blinkle Shimmer Eyeshadow in "Honey Amber," K.T.B Cosmetics Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in "Black," Beauty Creations "Exposed" Blush Collection, Sol Theory Sunglasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's ok. It's not worth $20. I unsubscribed after I opened this. The sunglasses were the only thing I liked at first glance. I don't buy anything from the makeup brands included because they're cheap, but I will be holding on to the eyeshadow from J.Cat Beauty. 

Swatch of J. Cat Beauty's shadow in "Honey Amber"

 

Girl! That's pigmented! This is just an arm swatch, so I'll need to try this on my eye before I can say that it's a good shadow. But so far, I am impressed! The cheek palette is being donated or given to a friend, because the shades are entirely too dark for me. The eyeliner will also be given away, because I don't ever use liquid liner anymore. 

I would not recommend the beauty version of the box to anyone, but Sol Theory has some other box options that you might want to try. They have a box with sunglasses and jewelry, boxes with men and women's sunglasses, and more. If you like sunglasses, you will like the boxes that just come with the shades. However, you could buy better sunglasses at Versona for the same price (or less) than the price of the Sol Theory boxes.

If you're interested, you can use code BEAUTYCON to save 20% off your first box. 

Have you tried this brand? Leave a comment about your experience.

Thanks for reading 💕
 

Boxycharm: March 2017

March was great, as far as my makeup subscriptions go. I received some amazing products, including five items from Boxycharm. The March box theme was "Creepy Cute," even though they probably should have used that in October for Halloween. The artwork on their Instagram and the card in the box included ghosts, skeletons, spider webs, you name it! It was cute. But it just didn't seem to make sense for the first month of Spring. 

See what I mean?? The colors and the theme itself are so adorable, but this just doesn't add up for a March box. But anyway, on to what really matters: the products.

Left to right: Naked Cosmetics eyeshadow trio, RealHer Makeup lip liner and liquid lipstick, Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Primer, Crown Brushes Kabuki Fan brush

 

 

I was overall impressed with the products in the box. The Urban Rustic eyeshadow trio from Naked Cosmetics is stunning. The shadows swatch and apply so easily with generous amounts of pigmentation. Again, I feel like this trio would have been perfect for a fall box, because these colors just scream "autumn" to me. However, I can't complain about quality, and I can always wait a few months before I use this. The lip liner and lipstick are also very beautiful. I'm all about those plum shades! The lipstick is nice, but I was most impressed with the liner, gliding on the lips as smoothly as one from Kylie Cosmetics or Urban Decay. My liner matched with the lipstick, but I read in some Instagram comments that this was not consistent with all of the boxes. I must have gotten lucky. 

Surprisingly, my favorite thing in the box was the item I was looking forward to the least! I LOVE the Jumbo Kabuki Fan brush from Crown Brushes so much! This is perfect for achieving an all-over glow with your favorite highlight. Sometimes those precision highlights look a little too fake for me, and the kabuki fan applies product to a larger area of the cheek bone. I think it's beautiful. I haven't tried this, but it would also be perfect for a softer contour around the cheekbones. And if you don't like to highlight or contour, it can also be used to sweep setting powder from the face.

I have one big no-no for the box. I have burned through a few bottles of the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, and I love it like just about everyone else. So of course, I was thrilled when Boxycharm announced it would be featuring the OG of Smashbox primers. I was quickly turned off when a watery fluid came out of the bottle upon removing the cap. Maybe Smashbox had a bunch of extra, nearing expiration samples of this primer that they needed to get rid of, because after reading some other comments, I was not the only one who witnessed the gross fluid. Whether to heat, age, or manufacturer error, some of the primers had denatured in the bottle. Luckily after the initial drippage (eww), the formula came out correctly. Still, three or four faces worth of primer went down my bathroom sink. 

So there you have it, my thoughts on the March Boxycharm. Despite the issue with the primer, I highly recommend this subscription to all of my readers and followers. It really is a goodie.

Thanks for reading 💕