Review: Philosophy Hope in a Jar SPF 30 Moisturizer

After I've used up all of my First Aid Beauty 5 in 1 Facecream with SPF 30 (for the third time) I decided to give another product a try.  I picked up Philosophy Hope in a Jar SPF 30 Oil-Free Moisturizer.  I wear sunscreen everyday, so I try to pick a product that incorporates high SPF with it.  I also find that the moisturizer sunscreen is less harsh on my face.  I opted for the Philosophy Hope in a Jar SPF 30 Moisturizer because it had more contents than the First Aid Beauty 5 in 1 at a same price. 

It comes in a tube of 2 oz. for $39.00.  The moisturizer is a bit thick and I usually add Philosophy Turbo C boost powder to add in the extra benefits and protection of Vitamin C.  This usually makes the moisturizer a bit more liquidy.  I've been wearing this for last couple of weeks, and I have to say, I will not be repurchasing this product.  I'm actually debating whether I should return this or not.

My major complaint about this product is that after I apply this thin, pat it in and wait for it to dry to do my next step (make-up), it leaves this strange filmy residue on top.  When I feel it, or rub it, it comes off like an eraser residue.  First I thought it was because I may have had dry patches or skin, but I quickly learned that it's the product itself.  I tried rubbing it on my arm and neck and it did the samething.  I also tried exfoliating.  It was not my skin.  It was this moisturizer!  Then I remembered, this happens with some of the other body sunscreen too.  It's quite disappointing because I love Philosophy products.  But I guess not everything from Philosophy is for me.  Also this product is quite thick.  It isn't oily, but really thick product.  Regardless, it should not be leaving residue on your skin, especially your face.  That's just a No No... I would not recommend this product.  I'm going back to First Aid Beauty 5 in 1.

More Hello Kitty

Yes, I'm a Hello Kitty Junkie.
But wouldn't you say my collections complete? (singing like Ariel) lol
Got the laptop case from Best Buy, and the Hello Kitty mouse, iPhone case from eBay and the Hello Kitty USB/iPhone cord from Sungwin.

Happy Easter Nails!

Have a great Easter everyone!
Try fun Easter nails! Instead of drawing on your eggs, try it on your nails! ^_^

My Favorite Concealers! Thank Gawd for Concealers!

What would I do without concealers!  Seriously, if I had choose one thing to put on my face before leaving the house, it would be concealer!  Just by dabbing these little suckers around the eyes, it can brighten up the whole face and it can also make you look awake!  You do not want to look like you got socked in the face!  lol.... also it can cover up your blemish, scar, or any other imperfections you'd want to hide.  So being that this is one of my favorite makeup product, I thought I share some thoughts on different concealers and my favorite ones!

First of all, there are many types of concealers out there.  It can come in all forms- powder, liquid, creamy, on a stick, compacted, etc...  And they all have different purpose.  Also you should pick out what works for you.  I'm not saying, because it worked for me, it'll work for you.

I guess it'd depend on what type of skin you have and what type of foundation/ base you use, but in general:
Eyes: You want something 1. brightening, 2. creamy/liquidy, and 3. moisturizing concealer. 
1. Brightening, obviously to brighten up your dark circles. 
2. Creamy, so it's easy to spread underneath your eyes.  Dry formula can tug on your fragile skin underneath your eyes and create more wrinkles!
3. Moisturizing, since the skin is thin and get wrinkly if you put on a dry product.  Also all those hours of wearing makeup can dry out the skin underneath your eyes.  Which also means ugly cracked skin.  Which is not pretty!  And typically moisturizing concealer will reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

I have two favorite under eye concealers that I absolutely love!  I have been using them for years and years.  And if I buy the same product more than twice, it's definitely a good sign.

First one is Clinique Airbrush Concealer.  It's $19.50 for 1.5 ml of product.  Which doesn't seem like a lot, but you only have to use very little.  Sometimes I use this as a highligher as well because of the light diffusing factor.  This unfortunately only comes in 3 colors.  Fair, neutral, and medium.  I like to use one shade brighter than my skin. I use neutral or fair.  Both work for me.

This is really light, liquidy creamy concealer and with great coverage.  Very easy to blend.  So easy to carry around too since it has a brush tip.  I dot three or four dots near the sockets (under the eye) and take the ring finger and lightly blend and dot it.

My other favorite under eye concealer is Benefit's Erase Paste.  This one comes in a pot of  0.15oz for $26.  I swear to you this will last FOREVER!!!!!  And it does what it says.  It seriously erases your imperfections like you never had it.  This one is more creamy and not really liquidy like the clinique one.  When I want more coverage then I choose Erase Paste over Airbrush Concealer.  This also can be used on the face too, but I try to stay away from creamy for the face if I want the coverage to last for a long time.  Creamy liquidy tend to shift around the face. 

This one definitely has full coverage.  This one also comes in three shades.  Fair, Medium, and Deep.  I use Fair.  This comes with a little mini spatula to scoop out the product, but I just use my concealer brush to scoop it out and lightly pat it on.  This product, you have to use even less than the Clinique one.  Try not to use too much or your eyes can look cakey!  Which can make you look more wrinkly!

And Please Please Please becareful not to choose a shade too light.  You don't want to look like these unfortunate celebrities....  This is a big big NO NO!!!!
Ask someone at the counter to help you pick a shade. :)

 Now on to the face concealer.  As I mentioned earlier, you want something that will last... I've used MAC and Bobbi Brown ones, which tend to be on the dryer side in my opinion.  They did the job, but I didn't really love them.  So I used to use the Benefit's Erase Paste on the face too.  But I felt like I needed to go back to something more solid for the face.  Now I'm using Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage in SC-02.  This one seriously has a lot of product and seems to be never disappearing for only $28!!!  It comes in this cute compact with mirror and two shades, which is kinda like buying two shades.  One to brighten and correct your dark spots and one to mix or put over.  Luckily, this one has big range of color choices.  Anywhere from SC-1 which is very fair to SC-8 which is very deep.  This is supposed to be medium coverage, but I think it has full coverage.  It covers up my scars and hyper pigmentation really well and staying put all day long (don't forget to pat on powder!).  Also I wear Urban Decay's All Nighter Spray for longer wear. (which I looove btw).  I use the concealer brush or a small eyeliner brush to pick up the product and gently place where I need to cover. And gently using my finger pat once or twice.

So these are some of my favorite concealers.  I don't know what I'd do without them!!!

Review: Wet n Wild Palettes: Blue Had Me at Hello and Petal Pusher

I was at CVS the other day picking up some toothpaste and I wondered off into the beauty section.  It seems like drugstore beauty products have been getting more spotlights lately.  So I decided to see what's new and might be worth checking out.

I picked up Wet n Wild 8 Eye shadow Palettes in Blue Had Me At Hello and Petal Pusher.  I decided to pick these two up because they were cheap- $4.99 for each palette.  And these were colors I wouldn't normally pick up paying more money for the eye shadows I wouldn't use on a normal basis.  I tend to stick to pinks and neutral colors, which I wouldn't mind investing in.  Also when the Wet n Wild Comfort Palette came out (which is all neutral colors like the Urban Decay's Naked Palette), all the beauty gurus went nuts and they were sold out EVERYWHERE!  I never looked for them, but that's what I heard.

Petal Pusher on the left and Blue Had Me At Hello on the right.  I bought these because of the purple, green and blue shades.  I always wanted those sets of colors in my collections but didn't want to fork out $15 and up per shadow when I knew I wouldn't get good use of them.

Swatches of Petal Pusher.

Out of all the sets, this four set was the lightest and most sheer.  I think this set of colors would be great for a light romantic look.

Swatches of second set of Petal Pusher
This set was much richer and much more pigmented colors.  This could be used for going out and also I think if used correctly, it could be used everyday as well.

Swatches of Blue Had Me At Hello

This set contained more metallic gray blue-ish shades.  I'm not a big fan of gray metallic colors, but I think I could use the crease color and the mixing the eyelid colors for a night out.

Swatches of second set of Blue Had Me at Hello. This my favorite set of all of them.  I'm really loving the greenish blue-ish shade for the eyelids. I think it could be really fun for the summer. :)

I haven't used Wet n Wild products forever!  But I'm really glad I gave this a chance.  I'm so impressed by the price and the quality of these eye shadows.  It's almost creamy, silky and well pigmented.  I tried wearing it for 12 hours with eyelid primer and it did not crease or flake.  Lasted all day.  I think for $4.99 for 8 eye shadows, it's totally worth checking out.  Check it out at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart or Target.

MAKEUP FOREVER DANY'S POUCH and RIP Stila's Brush Holder

I had to replace my trusty Stila's makeup brush/ makeup pouch I carried with me everywhere.  After about 10 years, I had to retire it.  It finally ripped.  : (  I was quite sad.

I've been searching for a replacement that could hold my brushes and eyeliners and whatever I have to travel with ease.  After searching for the right one that would do the job, I saw a makeup artist at the Smashbox Launch Party use a MAKEUP FOREVER tube looking thing. It caught my eye.

I purchased the MAKEUP FOREVER DANY'S POUCH.  After looking for this high and low I was able to find it on good 'ol trusty eBay.  It was pricier than what I wanted to spend, but it was what I was looking for.  I purchased it here (sorry my seller ran out, this is another seller) on eBay for $35 plus $7 for shipping.

This is my Stila's brush pouch I was replacing.  It had a zippered pouch with a brush holder and a velcro latch that kept the pouch together.  This was a great makeup pouch.

 

Zippered pouch on the left and brush holders on the right.

And the ripped pouch.  RIP pouch... : (

The Makeup Forever Pouch which is more like two cup holders one side bigger than the other that come together and is attached by a stretchy band and holds it together with a plastic buckle.  The great thing about this is that it makes finding your brushes or pencils, eyeliners easy.  It also does a great job of protecting your brushes when traveling.  Only bad thing is if I put smudge pot or eye shadows in this thing, it'll fall to the bottom and it'll be harder to find.

when you are traveling, you can put brushes and whatever you need to on both sides.  It fits quite a bit. :)

Only bad thing is that this stretchy band is a bit long and it can come apart a little.  If you don't have anything small you are carrying you don't have anything to worry about, but if you do, and the cup holders come apart, it can fall out!

For the most part, it does the job.  I like that it stands up and it will work great when I travel. And it's sturdy that I know it'll keep my brushes protected.  But I don't think it'll ever fully replace my Stila Brush Holder.