Finished Products / June

I have finally finished enough products to do a post! I haven't been able to do these posts for the past several months as I was away and didn't have any products with me that I can actually use up. But now that I am back, it's all about finishing products! What you see below aren't the only products I have used up, these are just the more makeup related ones. If you want to see mini-reviews for haircare or body care products let me know and I will include them next time :)

Sonunda bir post hazirlayabilecek kadar urun bitirebildim! Epeydir bitirdigim urunler hakkinda yazamiyordum. Hem aylardir Turkiye'deydim hemde yanimdaki urunlerin hic biri oyle kolay kolay bitirilebilecek seyler degildi. Dondugumden beri bir an once bitsin diye uzerine yogunlastigim urunleri bitirdim sonunda. Tabii ki burada gordugunuzden daha fazla urun bitirdim ama bu post icin daha cok makyaj uzerine olanlari sectim. Eger sampuan, vucut bakimi urunleri vs. hakkinda mini reviewlar gormek istiyorsaniz haberim olsun bir daha ki yazimda onlarida dahil edeyim :)

Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover

If you don't already know, this amazing Sonia Kashuk eye makeup remover is my favorite of all time. I mention it every chance I get because I honestly think it's that great. I think this may be my 5th bottle - I lost count :) It gets every bit of eye makeup off, it doesn't leave any oily residue on face and is easily accessible at Target. The only drawback for some may be the price factor as it is $9.99 for the 4.75oz bottle. (You can find Sonia Kashuk coupons on Target's website most of the time) For comparison, Neutrogena eye makeup remover is approximately $5.99 for a 3.8oz bottle.

Eger bilmiyorsaniz hemen soyleyeyim, bu Sonia Kashuk goz makyaj temizleyicisi kesinlikle favorim. Sanirim bitirdigim 5. sise olabilir. Bu urun hakkinda soyleyecek negatif birsey bulamiyorum. Bir goz makyaj temizleyecisinde olmasi gereken hersey mevcut. Makyaji en kucuk zerrisine kadar cikarmakta ustune yok, cok nazik, geride yagli bir tabaka birakmayan ve de Target'tan cok kolayca temin edilebilecek sahane bir urun. 

MAC Fix+

Fix+ gets quite a bit of rave in the beauty world and I respect those of you that swear by it. However it doesn't seem to be working for me. I don't see or feel any kind of difference whether I set my makeup with it or not. On a happier note, I have found that Avene thermal spring water spray does a fantastic job for setting makeup which is what I use these days.

Guzellik dunyasinda epey sevilen Fix+ malesef benim icin pek tatmin edici olmadi. Makyajimi Fix+'la sabitlesemde sabitlemesemde pek bir fark goremiyorum. Ama fark yaratan baska bir urun buldum o da Avene thermal spring water spray, bu spreyle gun sonunda makyajim neredeyse sabah yaptigim gibi!

Revlon Photo Ready

Revlon Photo Ready has been my favorite drugstore foundation pretty much since it came out few years ago. It works wonderfully with my normal skin. It is a medium-full coverage foundation that photographs well in my opinion. I love the smooth, almost air-brushed finish it gives my skin. On my skin it lasts about 8-9 hours.

En sevdigim drugstore fondotenim olan Photo Ready normal cildimle cok iyi uyum sagliyor. Kapaticiligi orta derecede ve fotograflarda cok iyi ciktigini dusunuyorum. Bitisi ne cok mat ne de cok parlak, ikisinin ortasinda. Kaliciligi ise benim cildimde ortalama 8-9 saat.

L'oreal Voluminous

Voluminous has been my favorite mascara for years. I do occasionally feel adventurous and try out mascaras from other brands but always end up coming back to Voluminous. I find it to be lengthening and volumizing. It definitely holds the curl throughout the day without clumping or flaking. What else can I ask for!

Voluminous senelerdir favori maskaram. Arada bir maceraperstligim tutup baska markalarin maskaralarini denemiyor degilim ama her zaman donup dolasip Voluminous'a geri geliyorum. Kesinlikle akma, bulasma sorunu olmayan Voluminous'un kirpikleri uzun ve dolgun gostermekte ustune yok.

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse

This was my first Maybelline foundation. The main reason I wanted to try it out was because of its mousse consistency as I have never tried a foundation of that sort before. My favorite way to apply it is with a Sigma F80 flat kabuki brush which results in a flawless, velvety finish. It does feel a bit heavier on skin whether applied with a brush or fingers, so I don't really recommend it for summer. Because it's a medium-full coverage foundation, most of the time I can just skip the concealer step as it does a good job concealing as well. Another thing I love about it is that I never really have to set it with powder.

Dream Smooth Mousse ilk Maybelline fondotenimdi. Denemek istememdeki ana nedenlerden biri kremsi yapisiydi. Sigma F80 kabuki fircasiyla adeta harikalar yaratiyor diyebilirim. Yapisi biraz agir oldugu icin yaz icin tavsiye etmiyorum. Benim alisik oldugum fondotenlerden daha agir bir yapiya sahip oldugu ve kapaticiligi iyi oldugu icin Dream Smooth Mousse'u kullandigim zamanlarda kapaticiya ihtiyac duymuyorum. 

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

 I first saw Maybelline's new foundation Fit me about three weeks ago while aimlessly walking through the cosmetics aisle at my supermarket but picked it up just couple weeks ago, because something just didn't feel right after coming home without it, in other words I just had to try it!

Maybelline is on a roll with its testers (first Dream Smooth foundation testers & and now this new line!) it's now more easier than ever to find your perfect shade! All you have to do to is to place your wrist under the cut-out below each shade. In addition to that, there are tiny bottles of testers for us to try. These foundations are numbered in a way so it's easier for you to find your coordinating liquid concealer as well as pressed powder. There are also four blushes and four compact bronzers in this line.

I love the idea but no matter which shade I put my wrist under, the colors were just way off. I usually don't even test on my wrist when I am foundation shopping, do you? I mean wrists must be some of the lightest areas on anybody as they don't really get much sunlight. So I did what I always do and grabbed a shade which I thought would suitable for me and hit the mirrors for neck comparison. Because it's winter and I am lighter (and I don't tan at a tanning salon or use self-tanning products) I picked shade 235 and I think it is a pretty good match.

The design of the glass bottle is a pretty unusual one for Maybelline as their previous foundations came packaged in cylindrical bottles or round compacts such as in the case of their Dream Smooth Mousse foundation. I actually like this rectangular bottle with black cap much better, it's sleek and has a more expensive foundation kind of feeling to it. I am bummed, however, that it doesn't have a pump! I know it's a personal preference but for me it's more convenient not to mention more hygienic.

Here is Fit me! compared to my other foundations; Revlon ColorStay, Revlon PhotoReady & MAC Studio Fix Fluid. This has to be the lightest shade I have ever used!
 

First off, I love how light it feels on my skin. Texture and finish-wise it's almost reminiscent of a tinted moisturizer with just a little more color thus offering light-to-medium coverage. It is essential to use a concealer if you have areas that need concealing as I haven't found it to be covering up the slight discoloration and some acne scars that I have. I do love its texture as it's very creamy and light. Even when you're blending it, it feels totally weightless. I think this would be the perfect summer foundation, as a matter of fact. It does have a faint powdery and pleasant scent (then again my nose picks up the faintest of scents) It dries to a satiny, dewy finish which I set with Mineralize Skin Finish Natural because I just prefer a matte finish. One con people will more than likely have about this foundation is its staying power. I can't really complain about it because it's not a heavy coverage foundation by any means, naturally it will not last as long as a heavy coverage foundation. I would say it lasts 5-6 hours on my normal-combination skin. So it will require a touch-up during the day. I think this foundation will definitely be a hit because of its very affordable price! It currently retails for $7.99, I did spot it for $5.99 at Jewel-Osco the other day. Overall I do like this foundation especially for its weightless feeling on my skin and its texture.

Here I am wearing the fit me foundation alone on my face with Elf concealer & highlighter duo under my eyes plus Bare Minerals concealer in Bisque to set. Foundation by itself looks really dewy and youthful in my opinion.

But I love the matte look! In the above photos, I am wearing Fit me + MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, Benefit Hoola Bronzer and  Illamasqua powder blush in Lover. (excuse my crazy static hair!)

What are your opinions about this foundation?

New Year, New Loves

I wanted my first post of 2011 to be sort of a sneak peek of products that I'll be reviewing in the upcoming days. I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start and it'll have the same effect throughout the year! :) My resolutions for 2011 don't really include anything that pertains to make-up/spending but I will try to control myself from buying products I don't really need any more of, such as highlighters!

Which brings me to my next point, I purchased a new highlighter which I've been lusting over for a long time. Goodbye Rose Ole & Too Chic! (both from new MAC collections which I'll happily return!) I'm sure a lot of you, if not all, have either seen/heard about or even own this beauty. It's none other than Dior's famous Amber Diamond. I used to only occasionally, or make that rarely, use highlighters on my face. This all changed after I began blogging and seeing all sorts of amazing products in fellow bloggers' blogs and Amber Diamond was only one of them.

Diorskin Poudre Shimmer Amber Diamond

My last tube of L'oreal Voluminous mascara just gave me hell...I bought it about 2 months ago and was happily using it until it started clumping like nobody's business huh!? It wound up becoming so clumpy, gooey and disgusting that I had to chuck it. Not sure if this particular one was old to begin with or what? I thought this was the perfect timing to give Makeup Forever's Smoky Lash a try! Tried it, loving it...Happy Lashes!

Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

Very surprisingly my local supermarket seems to get new products way before Walgreens or CVS and I think faster than most other cities in the U.S.? I have already seen the new Wet n Wild goodies, new L'oreal foundation, and Maybelline's Fit Me! foundation prettily sitting on shelves last week! I am nearly finished with my beloved PhotoReady and while I know that I will definitely repurchase it, something inside me wanted to try this Fit Me! foundation so here it is! It feels amazing on my skin but it's no PhotoReady. First impression of Fit me!; I like!

Maybelline Fit me!

Vintage Selection is one of the four paint pots in MAC's Cham Pale collection which is currently in stores. I initially wanted all four of the paint pots but Vintage Selection was the only that truly captured my heart while swatching in store so it came home with me! It's a beautiful shimmery champagne color that I love using as a base under many different eye shadows!

Vintage Selection Paint Pot

 I had no idea Covergirl was even bringing out a new lipstick collection but I'm very happy to eventually have found out about them :) There is a pretty good selection of colors, Delish (top) and Fairytale were right up my alley so here they are! I love the effect these lipsticks have on my lips, they are super moisturizing!

CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipsticks

Here is one of the Color Icon trios I mentioned above. I feel like this trio in it's entirety may be a good dupe of something, I'll let you know in my review for these trios if I find anything dupable in my collection. The quality is just amazing, I think even more amazing than previous trios. The texture seems to be much softer, and all three colors have great pigmentation!

Wet N Wild Color Icon Trio in Silent Treatment

Here is the entire collection! There are 5 new trios at $2.99 each, what a steal! There is a wider color range too, I wanted them all but wasn't sure about the color pay-off/pigmentation etc for that reason I picked up the "safest" trio! Please excuse the photo quality below as I took it with shaky hands (via my iPhone) due to too much excitement! :D

Wet n Wild Color Icon Trios

What are you guys loving in 2011 so far?

Maybelline The Falsies Volum'Express Mascara

Hey everyone!

Ok I've done something bad...I cheated on my L'oreal Voluminous mascara with this new Falsies mascara by Maybelline, oops! While I love to stick to what works for me (and Voluminous does a wonderful job) sometimes I just can't help but wonder about what else is out there, can you blame me? Launch of Falsies coincided with me finishing up my current tube of Voluminous so I went ahead and purchased this. After coming home I did what I should have done prior to my purchase and googled Falsies mascara. I read numerous mix of good, bad and so-so reviews. I kept it anyway.

I like the packaging because purple is one of my favorite colors and the metallic blue writing on it is just as cool! Maybelline definitely knows how to attract potential buyers with bright colored containers!

The curved brush has medium length bristles that we see on most of the mascaras.

Wand itself is very flexible and actually bends, Maybelline calls it the 'spoon brush' for that reason. I personally don't think that adds anything to the mascara's capabilities. 

You can see my natural eyelashes in the above picture...

Hello spider legs!

My thoughts...

Speaking on behalf of my lashes, it really fans them out and that's pretty much it. It does a so-so job separating lashes. I did witness clumping which I am not a fan of, who is anyway? I personally don't really like spider lashes. I also don't feel like it added so much length. Any mascara will add some length whether it's a good or bad mascara. This mascara does not deliver a false lash look like Maybelline claims it does, at all. I haven't seen any added intensity or volume either. Unfortunately as if all these negative thoughts weren't enough I have also felt that staying power of this mascara throughout the day is pretty lame. About 6-7 hours after application, my lashes looked naked. Where has all the mascara gone? I have no clue, it vanished into thin air! Sorry Maybelline, I like and enjoy using many of your other products but this mascara just doesn't do much for me! Needless to say I will not be repurchasing Falsies, in fact I'll run to the drugstore now and beg my Voluminous to take me back! :)

If you purchased and used this mascara, what are your thoughts on it?

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse

Hey girlies!

I am usually not really a fan of cream products because I didn't have much luck with most of the ones I have used before. However I'm always open to try new products because obviously I can't know whether I'll like a product until I try them. With that in mind, I've decided to go for this cream foundation from Maybelline. I had used their Dream Matte Mousse Makeup years ago and it just didn't do anything for me. Though this is part of the "mousse" line, it's nothing like mousse in texture and I guess that was the reason I went for it. FYI: I purchased this foundation in shade "Natural Beige" or 240. I believe it comes in about 10 different shades.

Packaging:

Improved compact design as opposed to the pot version of Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in which you have to dip your fingers to get the product out. Compact has two parts. Top part lifts up and reveals a sponge for application. I don't know why but I was expecting to see a mirror in this compact but there is none. Oh well. Then you twist off the top part and ta-da there is the foundation in all it's glory!

Formula:

Name of this product has a "mousse" in it and I think it's kind of misleading. Someone who never used a product from Maybelline's mousse line can easily buy this foundation thinking it has a mousse-like texture. It's absolutely not. It definitely does not have the same texture as their Dream Mousse blushes or Dream Matte Mousse Foundation which are what their names say they are. This product is and should be considered as a cream foundation. I have purchased it knowing that it's not a mousse foundation because my local supermarket recently started to put out testers for some cosmetic products and I was able to test it before buying. (Yay, finally!) Formula easily glides on skin and blends out very evenly and quickly. It does a good job hydrating skin and probably because of this, it feels weightless. 

Coverage and Finish:

It provides medium coverage; doesn't cover up all the flaws but covers enough so that not every flaw is totally visible. However due to the fact that it is quite pigmented, you can easily build up this foundation and take it's coverage to the next level. In my case I have noticed that it does a good job filling up and covering my pores around my nose area. Finish is semi-matte and a bit on the dewier side. With this foundation, little goes a long way.

Verdict:

It's an okay foundation. I am just not sure if it's something I would repurchase. Sometimes I am just lazy or just don't have much time to get ready so this product will come in handy on those days, I can just slap it on my face and go. I like how light it feels on my face and that it hydrates my skin. Also I was able to find a shade that's almost exactly like my own skin color as you can see in the picture above. It's hard to tell whether I have anything on my hand :) I would have liked it more if it had SPF and a mirror though!

Have you girls purchased this product? What did you think about it?

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend, and if you are in the U.S. Happy 4th! :)

June Favorites

Hey girls!

It's that time of month again, time for the monthly favorites! Can't believe it's already July, summer is going by way too fast!

One of my most favorite products in June and this summer has been my Physician's Formula Tinted Moisturizer. I feel really good wearing this both because it does a pretty good job covering up (though it's not a foundation) without feeling like a heavy foundation and more importantly it's SPF 50.

I have also been loving my Plaza Pink creme blush in June and will most likely continue doing so throughout July and maybe August, we'll see! :) It's such a pretty color, feels really light on skin and stays put for a long time.

I haven't really found myself wearing so much lipstick or lip gloss in June. It's seriously so hot and humid in Chicago that I want to keep what I put on my face as minimal as possible. My EOS lip balm occasionally topped off with NYC Lip Slider Tined Lip Balm for some color surely delivers, so I still have my girliness going on without looking and feeling overdone.

I just kept reaching for Rimmel's Steel Grey for my fingernails in June. I know, for many people this is not a summer color but I really like it. I just kept reapplying Steel Grey, it's really pretty. My toes had their way with the lovely Lapis of Luxury from Essie's 2010 Resort Collection.

My eye lashes loved Maybelline's new mascara The Falsies in June. I read some mixed reviews on it but my experience has been great. It's more lengthening than I thought it would be and especially compared to The Colossal, it's awesome! I will have a review on it one of these days.

Okay so maybe I don't like wearing heavy make-up during summer months, but my eyes definitely can't be bare. If I don't have eyeshadow on, and this month just wasn't an eyeshadow kind of month, I must at least have mascara and eyeliner. My choice of eyeliner this month was Lineur Intense by L'oreal. Felt-tip makes it so much easier to use and the formula is great. It stays on all day and no smudging! Nobody likes raccoon eyes!

What about you guys??

Maybelline Eye Studio™ Color Plush™ Silk Eyeshadow in Give Me Gold

Hey lovelies!

I had been seeing these quads for quite sometime but always passed them because I wasn't sure how they'll turn out in terms of pigmentation. I am still a bit iffy about buying eye shadows from the drugstore because I know there is good and there is -really- bad. I just randomly remembered about them and did some research online. I was surprised to see how pigmented colors looked swatched so I wanted to get a quad myself. So here is the one I picked up in "Give Me Gold". There are 12 quads of variety of colors in this collection and can most likely be found at any drugstore.They retail for $9.99. Of course, always watch out for BOGO deals!

The compact seemed relatively small to me. Not that, that's a bad thing. Sometimes having a smaller product really helps as that makes it more portable. All the colors, at least in this quad in question, are very pigmented and soft to touch. They smoothly glide on skin. First three shadows are metallic and they do have quite a bit of shimmer. The brown color is more matte but it still has some shimmer/glitter in it. The third color reminded me a lot of Baked eyeshadow by Urban Decay. I think it could be a good dupe for Baked. Looks like I don't really have a dupe in my collection for the other three though, so I did good I think! I hate buying dupes, but sometimes it's just inevitable...

I have done a look the other day using all the colors from this quad and have not experienced any smudging or disappearance. I think the staying power is really good! Like many eye shadows, there was a bit of a fall out but you can be sure that none of them are so powdery they don't stick to your eye lid. I will definitely go back and check out the other quads. Color pay off is just amazing, they are of great quality and are reasonably priced.

PS: Ulta has some promotions going on starting 7/4 and Maybelline (along with Revlon and Rimmel) will be BOGO 50% off. How do I know? I just received their flier thing in the mail :)

If you girls have this quad in other colors let me know what you think of it! I'm really thinking to go back and get more :)

Favorite Drugstore Lip Products

Hey girls!!!

I personally haven't been "collecting" drugstore products for a long time. However, lately I am getting more and more cosmetics from the drugstore. So far, whatever I have purchased (at least in terms of lip products) turned out to be great, both color and quality wise! As we all know, most of the time it's impossible to swatch lip products let alone see the color, unless of course it's a lip-gloss since they're in clear containers. So sometimes it is difficult to find what you like! I have just been lucky with everything I got and love each and every one of them! So here they are!

Revlon Super Lustrous Ligloss - Coral Reef 

Gorgeous coral color, very pigmented, goes on smooth, non-sticky (Does look darker than it actually is in the pictures, if you have a chance definitely check it out in stores!)

NYX Megashine Lipgloss - La La  

Subtle peachy bubblegum pink, non-sticky, smooth, bit shimmery, smells like cherry cough syrup (lol), looks great on top of a nude colored lipstick.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick - 220 Pink Chic

Cool blue pink, glides on smooth, subtle sheen, fine silver shimmer to it, moisturizing formula, rose-y scent

 

Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick - 025 Pink Please

Mid-tone milky/baby pink, creamy, smooth, pigmented

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - 006 Pink Blush 

Bubblegum pink, smooth formula, glides on, shimmery, non-drying, 

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick -  070 Soft Nude 

Perfect nude color, creamy and smooth formula, will not wash you out AT ALL

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick - 025 Carnation

Fuschia/pink, Smooth, has a sheen to it, sheer but can be built up to a vibrant color

What are YOUR favorite lip products from the drugstore?? Do share! <3