Product Rant: Bobbi Brown Face Palette

Hello Lovelies!!


I hope you are all well. I am going to an event later this week and I am using this teeny tiny clutch that I really can't fit anything in other than maybe my cell phone and some cash but I want to bring some makeup with me for touchups. I found this empty face palette online at Bobbi Brown and went in to pick it up at my local counter. It is a 6-welled empty palette that comes with a little spatula to use to depot products. I only used cream products but I guess if you wanted to you could crush up a powder product and reset it in the palette with rubbing alcohol but you have to be careful because it might change the texture and/or the pigmentation. Anyways, back to the palette - in addition to the 6-wells, it has a large mirror on top, which is great for touchups.

To put the cream products into the palette, you use the cosmetic spatula (not pictured - but included when you buy it) to scoop the product out of the container and into the palette. The products I put in are MAC Studio Fix concealer in NW20 and NC15, MAC Cream Color Base in Shell, MAC Cremeblend Blush in Ladyblush, and Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake. I haven't decided which lipstick I am wearing so I am leaving the last well empty until I decide. There are white labels on the back of the palette where you can write the name of each product.

In terms of actually putting the products in the palette, it is a pain in the butt. No matter how careful you are, it is really hard not to get some of the product in between wells (on the black cross sections) so afterwords you have to go over it with a q-tip or tissue to wipe off the products. Also, you have to be really careful not to put too much product in each well or else it gets all over the mirror when you close the palette. Additionally, the product you depotted from (i.e. my actual concealer and blush pots) look really mangled from where you scooped out the product but if you don't really care then that won't be an issue for you. It is definitely easier to put products that are originally in a tube in here (i.e. the lipstick or stick concealers) because you can just cut off a chunk off the top of the product without really mangling the remaining product, unlike things in pots.

Overall, I am happy that I got this palette because it is great to throw in your bag and have two concealers, a blush, a highlighter, and two lip colors (or whatever else you want to put in it) all in one palette. One think you might want to keep in mind is that the palette snaps shut but it doesn't really seal tightly so I would not put a product like a MAC Paint Pot or a Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow or any type of gel eyeliner in this because I think it would dry out rather quickly and you would be left with a mess. Also, unless you are just refilling one of the wells with the same product, I don't think you can really refill it with a new product.

One last thing I will mention is that I think this is a bit over priced because it is $15 and it is very very small. I would not want it be any bigger but I would like the price to be smaller, if that makes sense. This has become such a rambly blog post but I have so much to say about this. I haven't really decided if I would repurchase this to fill with different products, especially since other than concealers and lipsticks I really don't have that many cream products that would work in this without drying out. More oil based cream products definitely work better in this since they are less likely to dry out.

I hope this was helpful and let me know if any of you have this and if you do what products you have in it.

xoxo

Beauty Matchup: Pot Concealers

Hello Lovelies!!

I hope you are all well. I have decided to try out a new series called Beauty Matchups. In each Beauty Matchup I will review a couple products that are essentially the same/similar product but from different brands. I am not 100% sure about the name so that might change in the future. Let me know if you have any suggestions about the name in the comments below.



As you probably guessed based on the title, I am going to be reviewing pot concealers. I have the MAC Studio Finish Concealer, the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Corrector, and finally the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot.

To start off with is probably the most popular of the three, MAC Studio Finish. I have it in the shades NC15 and NW20. I use the NW20 under my eyes to help cancel out the redness and the NC15 for blemishes and what not. I really like the formula of this because it is creamy, but not too creamy if that makes sense. This is one of those products that really warms up in your hands, making it so much easier to blend. I usually apply this with a 217 brush and then blend it in with my fingers to really get it to melt into the skin. Out of the three, I think this is probably my favorite. One container of it really lasts forever, which is always a bonus.

Next up are the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Corrector. I have the creamy concealer in Porcelain and the corrector in Light Bisque. This two are by far the creamiest concealers/correctors that I have ever used. They blend in really well and the melt into the skin like nothing else. BUT they crease like a mother. Within twenty minutes of putting these on they crease so badly. I have tried setting them with different powders and applying less and less product in order to keep them from creasing but nothing works. You definitely have to apply these with your fingers because they are too creamy for a brush. As such, you can really control the amount of product that you apply. However, since they crease so badly it does not really matter how amazing they are if you cannot wear them without them creasing. I know this is a favorite for so many people and I had such high hopes for them but I have to say that I am definitely sticking with my MAC studio finish concealers.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to finish up with the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot in 2. This is probably the best value of the three because it contains two different concealers as well as a translucent setting powder in the bottom compartment. It also has a mirror which is always a nice touch. However, I find it to be relatively difficult to work with. The concealer on the right, the darker, more pink toned concealer, is great for under eye circles. It is much creamier than the other concealer, which has a harder, almost dry texture, and is meant for blemishes. I am not really going to get into the setting powder other than to say that in terms of loose setting powders, it is my favorite but most of the time I prefer pressed powders. Anyways, back to the concealers - I really like the under eye, pink toned concealer since it works really well for me as long as I set it with a powder. In terms of the lighter concealer that is meant for blemishes, I find it to be relatively hard to work with because it is so dry. You really have to work to warm it up to blend into the skin. I am really unwilling to spend the time because it is so difficult to work with. The only time I really use this is if I am out of my MAC Studio Finish.

Overall, I have to say that the MAC Studio Finish is definitely my favorite of the three. I am debating picking up the Benefit Erase Paste to try out but because of the limited shade range, I am a little hesitant. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about any of these concealers or if you have any tricks for things that I could try.

One last thing I want to add is that price wise, the MAC Studio Finish is definitely the best value since it is the cheapest of the three and you get the most product.

I hope this was helpful for those of you looking into picking up a new pot concealer. Also, let me know in the comments what you think about this series and expect more later this week.

xoxo

Travel Makeup Bag: Long Weekend

Hello Lovelies!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to Chicago this weekend so I thought I would share with you what I am bringing. I always overpack so for some of you this may be way too much but I always want to have a variety of products so I have options depending on what I will be doing. To keep this short, I am just going to do a quick list. Hope you find this helpful!


Benefit Porefessional primer
MAC Studio Finish concealer in NC15 (blemishes) and NW20 (under-eye)
MAC Studio Fix powder in NC15
Bobbi Brown creamy concealer in Porcelain *
Bobbi Brown correcter in Light Bisque *
MAC powder blush in Pinch O' Peach
MAC paint pot in Painterly
MAC eyeshadows in Omega, Mulch, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Espresso, and Mylar
NARS eyeshadow in Ashes to Ashes
Urban Decay eyeliner in Stray Dog
Clinique High Impact mascara in black
NARS lipstick in Cruising (holy grail by the way -- "my-lips-but-better" color)
Korres lip butter in Jasmine
Sigma Make Me Classy Travel Edition Brush Set
MAC brushes - 239, 217 (X2)

I have everything in a clear Laura Mercier cosmetic bag that came with the Flawless Face Kit and the brushes in the case that comes with the Sigma kit.

* I am testing out the Bobbi Brown correcter and creamy concealer but I am bringing my MAC concealers just in case I have any problems with the Bobbi Brown ones.

xoxo