Beach Vacation Makeup

Hello, Everyone! 

My husband, kids, mother-in-law, and I took a trip to Florida over the holiday weekend, and I wanted to share the makeup I took with me! I didn't want to over pack, and I knew I wouldn't be doing any major makeup looks, or anything involving eyeliner, but I wanted to take something. I knew there would be times when I wouldn't be at the beach, and would want to do my makeup. Here are the items I decided to bring: 

I brought my It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Light, for coverage and sunscreen. As a pale girl, sunscreen is a must!! Actually, sunscreen is a must for everyone, but we pale people show it quicker. ;) I usually wear Fair, but since I've gotten a little color to my skin, Light is matching me right now. To ensure my brows didn't melt off in the Florida heat and humidity (or when the kids dragged me into the water), I took my Anastasia Dip Brow in Medium Brown and my Number 7 brush to apply it. I took my Covergirl Clump Crusher in waterproof, since my eyelashes are blonde and practically invisible without mascara. To warm up my complexion without the sun, I took my new Colourpop Bronzer in Paradise Cove, and my Sigma F82 Round Top Kabuki to apply it. I hit pan on the bronzer while I was away, which kind of irritates me. I've only had it a few days, and I don't use it every single day. I like to rotate my products. I can't remember the last time I hit pan on something, and I've NEVER hit pan on a bronzer before. Maskcara's blush in Shortcake, the Josie Maran Illuminating highlighter (in the Sephora sample jar) and Argan Color Stick in Pink were the only other complexion items I took. For eyeshadow, I took three Mally Shadow Sticks in Champagne, Dusk, and Saddle Shimmer. They last all day and don't require brushes to apply them. Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Fuschia made the cut for lipstick. I wanted something bright and long lasting without drying out my lips. I didn't want to worry about touch ups while enjoying my vacation. I don't like to wash my hair every single day, so I took the travel friendly size of Amika's Perk Up Dry shampoo that I got in one of my Birchboxes, and it works great. To protect and hydrate my lips, I took my Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask and the Aquaphor Lip Protect+Repair. The lip mask worked great at night, and I used  the Aquaphor during the day since it has an SPF of 30 in it. Last, but not least, I took a travel size Urban Decay All Nighter Spray. How else did I expect my makeup to survive the heat?! If you'll notice, I didn't take any powder products with me. I wanted to maintain a dewy, glowy, beachy look while I was on vacation. Plus, if things started fading, I wanted them to fade naturally, without getting cakey. I'm really happy with the items I took, and the looks I used them for! 

This was the only selfie I managed to take, but I liked the look! ;) 

What has been your vacation look this summer? Let me know in the comments! 

Gerard Cosmetics-A Review!

Hello, Everyone!

I realized recently that I own more lip products from Gerard Cosmetics than any other one brand. With that realization, I figured I should write a review about them! I have seven lipsticks and three lip glosses, all with varying finishes in formulation. I also have their BB Illumination Creme. Their lipsticks retail for $19, lipglosses for $24, and the BB Creme is $36. However, because they've had SO MANY amazing sales this year, I haven't paid full price for any of these.

I'm going to go in order of lightest to darkest, starting with the lipsticks. I didn't use any lip liners or lip balms under the swatches for these photos, to show the way they actually look on my medium pigmented lips. 

First up, would be Kimchi Doll. This was a collab with Sophia Chang (I don't actually follow her or know who she is, but this is her collab), and the first so many orders received a lipstick tube with her signature etched in it. As you can see above, I received one of those. This color is described by Gerard Cosmetics as a "perfect baby doll pink and peach nude", but there is NO pink in this color on me. It is peach, and almost concealer like on my skin coloring, I can make it work with a lip liner under or a gloss on top, but I don't like it on me by itself. The formula on this one isn't too bad. Gerard doesn't specify on their website what type of finish it's supposed to have, but I would say it's on the matte side. It doesn't tug my lips when applying it, and it doesn't go on patchy.

Next up would be Buttercup, and it is my absolute favorite out of them all. It is the second lipstick created by Jaclyn Hill (yes, I know who she is), and the perfect pink for my skin tone. Out of ALL of my pink lipsticks, this is my favorite. I love this one so much, I bought a back up. I don't even recall the last time I went through a complete lipstick, but I bought a back up of this one. Gerard describes this one as the "perfect nude pink" and I agree 100%. It's creamy, opaque, flattering, and comfortable to wear. It looks good with a natural makeup look or a smokey eye. 

Third, we have Fairy Godmother. This is a matte, and can be patchy when applied. It is a bright neon pink, and takes a lot of confidence to pull off. I've worn it, but it could be a little much for the office. It's a lot brighter in person than my camera picked up on. Gerard describes it as the "perfect baby pink lipstick that pairs pastel and flattering blue undertones", which is correct. It is definitely blue based (yay for not making my teeth look yellow!) and is one of those neon pastel colors. It tugs my lips a little bit when applying, but that could be avoided by using a lip balm underneath. It is a great color for the Spring and Summer time, but I will definitely be putting it away once we get close to fall.

Fourth, there is Rodeo Drive. Let's be honest. This purchase may have been influenced by my love of 'Pretty Woman'. A little bit. Or a lot. This is described as a "medium rosy pink hue" that I think is the most universally neutral and flattering out of the seven I own. It is the perfect every-day-work-appropriate-neutral. It has a creamy formula, that isn't at all patchy. It looks beautiful and doesn't require a lip liner or gloss. But, of course, you could always add one!

Fifth is Tequila Sunrise, and is one of the few orangey lip colors I own. I'm always afraid that these type of colors will make my teeth look yellow (I'm a huge "teeth person"), so I usually avoid warmer lip colors. This one, however, is lovely. I don't find that it makes my teeth look orange, and I do find it flattering. Gerard describes this one as a "peachy coral", and that's pretty close. This one can apply a little unevenly, so I do have to apply quite a few coats for opacity, I would consider it a cream or maybe a soft matte. It's not as matte as Fairy Godmother, but not as creamy as Buttercup. However, it isn't uncomfortable on the lips. It's another great Spring and Summer color.

Then we have Underground. Sweet, lovely Underground. This one isn't everyone's cup of tea. It's one of the newest contenders in the "greige" lip color battle. It's darker than Lime Crime's Cashmere, but not nearly as drying. Then again, this is a traditional bullet lipstick, and Cashmere is a long wearing, liquid lipstick. Gerard describes this as a "mixture of warm earth tones and cool grey, with a touch of pink". I see no pink on me, as this is mostly grey. I've seen this look so many different ways on so many different people. It can pull a slight purple undertone on me, which I like. I have used a small amount of Buttercup over this in order to make it a little more "wearable" for work. It's a comfortable formula on the lips, and doesn't make me want to reach for a balm or gloss. It's a creamy, opaque finish, and probably my second favorite out of the bunch.

Last, we have 1995. This was the first Jaclyn Hill lipstick, and almost the one and only that I ordered from Gerard Cosmetics. It's inspired by the 90's lip trends (obviously, as the name is "1995"), and (I think) by the Kylie Jenner lip craze. I despise this lipstick. It has a matte formula, and drags across my lips when I apply it. This color looks very red-brown on my lips, and is not at all flattering. Even the tube on this one feels cheap. It feels like a lightweight plastic, making it not feel as sturdy as the others. There is not one single thing that I like about this one. I am thankful that that I wanted Buttercup so badly, that I gave their lipsticks another chance, though.

On to the lip glosses! I'm not going in order of lightest to darkest with these, but by the order I purchased them. Before Gerard Cosmetics was a separate company, everything  was through Whitening Lightning, so the first three I purchased have the "Whitening Lightning" packaging. First, I have Nude, which is one of their best sellers. It pulls very peachy on me (as a lot of things do), so I didn't like it very much when I first got it. It's not a neutral nude, but a peachy orange neutral. I do like it now, and it looks great over Kimchi Doll! Their lip glosses have a nice formulation, creamy and opaque, with some containing shimmer. I do not find these to travel outside my lip lines, or settle unattractively in any lines in my lips.It may look like it does in the picture above, but keep in mind that not many people see my lips this close up. Gerard describes this as a "neutral nude", but I don't consider it a neutral for my skin.

Coral Craze looks a lot like Nude on me in the photo above, but in person, it's a slightly brighter coral color. I wasn't crazy about this one, either, feeling like it didn't do anything to give the illusion of whiter teeth when I was wearing it. Now that I am getting more into bright and bold lip colors, I do find myself liking this one. It looks like it settled everywhere on my lips in the photo above, but again, not many people are this close to my lips. It really doesn't look bad in person. All of the glosses I have are opaque and creamy with the coverage and formula.

I was wanting to just dip my toes into the bold lip pool when I ordered Pink Tiara. What better way to try out a bold color than in a gloss form, right?! This one made my teeth look yellow. I was NOT happy. I put it on the back burner (along with the other two) for a long time. I broke it out a few months ago, used it in a look, and was really pleased with how it tied everything together! Gerard says this is the "perfect milky pink for the bubblegum princess", and it does remind me of the color of bubblegum!

Buttercream. Once again, Jaclyn Hill. Gerard describes this as the "perfect creamy, pink nude", and they are accurate! For me, this is the lip gloss version of Buttercup. It goes with everything, flatters my cool, pale skin, and is just beautiful. Another creamy, opaque lipstick, and one of my favorites! I do have to say, that this one has a terrible odor when I open it. It smells like burnt plastic, and is the only one that does. It has a strong chemical smell, but it will fade a few minutes after application.

Last, I have Shimmer of Hope, This is the only one of my five that has shimmer in it; the other's are all creams. I had been holding out on this one, telling myself I didn't need it, but I was sucked in after seeing it over everything on their Instagram. I'm really glad I caved! It's a beautiful gloss, that makes your lips look full and pouty; whether you wear it over a lipstick or lip pencil, or you wear it one it's own. This is my other favorite!! This is a lighter version of Nude and a lot less peachy.

My last Gerard Cosmetics item is the BB+ Illumination Facial Creme. This is another item that I had been looking at for such a long time, but I thought it would be way too gold and warm for my skin. As you can see from the above picture, it is gold. However, once blended in, it adds a beautiful luminosity to the skin. You can use this as a creme highlighter or mix it with your foundations for an all over glow to the face. I haven't mixed it with my foundation, but I have used it as a regular highighter, and it is stunning. It does stay on my skin all day, with little to no wear or breakdown. You get 50ml/1,69 oz of product, and I love that it comes with a pump. It does us an airless pump, so you may have to pump quite a few times to dispense product, I had to actually remove the pump, squeeze the creme almost to the top, and then replace the pump. I've had no issues since!

The glow on my cheekbones is from the BB+ Creme over the Loreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation.

Gerard did come out with some new powder highlights that I am drooling over. And I absolutely LOVE the names they gave them! I also want to try their eyebrow palette!



Have you tried Gerard Cosmetics? What did you think? Tell me below!

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*All items were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Maskcara IIID Foundation Review

Hello again!

Today I wanted to review something that I don't generally hear a lot of buzz about, the IIID Foundation by Maskcara. If you're a follower of Cara over at Maskcara, you may also know this as the "HAC Pack". The one I'm reviewing today is the Second Generation HAC Pack; the first one was released around December 2013. I owned the first version, and obviously the second, as well! Cara's first release consisted of a compact with one cream highlight and one cream contour shade, three blush colors (Shortcake, Princess Peach, and Jem), and one illuminator in Pearl. Her new release involves an empty, magnetic compact that you can customize with up to four different refills of your choice, and she created her own brush to coordinate. There are two cream contour foundation shades to choose from : Walnut and Stone, three blushes: Dahlia, Pink Grapefruit, and Ruby, one illuminator in Pearl, and one contour crème in Shadow. I no longer have the original IIID compact, but I do have the blush in Shortcake and the Pearl illuminator from the first release. Here is a look at how the blushes and illuminator were originally packaged:

You can see that they look similar to lipgloss containers, complete with doe foot applicators. The new version looks like this:

 As you can see, and as I mentioned above, everything comes in a refill pan now, and everything is a cream. I didn't purchase the Maskcara brush since it looks very similar to the It Cosmetics brush I already owned shown in my picture. The It brush is actually the same one she recommended to use with the first release. I use the It brush to place the product on my face and then my trusty Beauty Blender to blend it all in. Here is a comparison of the original HAC Pack (left) in "Light" and the new version in "Walnut" and "Linen" (right).

The old version was not as creamy nor as pigmented as the new version, which is very noticeable with the contour shade. A lot of people had issues with running out of the original contour color twice as fast as the highlight color. I hit pan on my contour shade a lot quicker than the highlight shade with the first release. With this new release, both shades are wonderfully pigmented, and I've actually made more of a dent in my highlight shade! The highlight color in the old version was slightly lighter in color, which actually worked better for my coloring. But have no fear, my pale skinned friends! Cara has assured me that a lighter color is coming our way! I personally cannot wait! As long as I don't apply too much of the Linen shade, it works just fine for me though. Too much, and it actually darkens my complexion, which then doesn't match my neck. Not a pretty look...The revamped IIID Foundation is creamier and sinks in to the skin a lot better. For reference, I have dry skin and you need to be extremely moisturized before applying this product, as it does cling to dry patches. I apply my moisturizer and then the Too Faced Hangover RX primer or the It Cosmetics Feel the Moment primer, and then the IIID Foundation. Using the Smashbox Primer Water doesn't hurt, either.  ;)

(Pink Grapfruit, Linen, Walnut, and Shadow)

 

 

Pink Grapefruit is the lighter, peachier blush out of the three (similar to Princess Peach), while Dahlia is a bright pink (similar to Shortcake) and Ruby is the deepest of the three (similar to Jem). Shadow is a very gray, ashy toned contour color, perfect for "detail contouring". It is very pigmented as you can see, and almost looks like I have mud on my arm. Lol. This does blend out beautifully, even on my ghostly skin, and creates a naturally looking shadow or contour on the face. The consistency of it (mine, at least) feels different than the other products in the pan. The other three are solid creams, while Shadow feels like there is a layer of water or oil on top until I rub my finger over it a few times. It feels thinner, more watery in consistency. It does not interfere with the performance of the product though. Since these are cream products, I highly recommend setting them with a powder when you're done applying them to lock everything into place. I would consider coverage to be light-medium, but you could apply it lightly over your regular foundation if you wanted to. On good skin days, I can wear just this and it works beautifully. On other days, I need to use concealer for dark circles and pesky blemishes that show up. I do think this is a wonderful product, and a great idea in comparison to a traditional foundation that leaves your face one dimensional.

 

You can purchase a customized palette (the magnetized palette and four refills of your choice) for $42, or you can purchase everything separately which would run you $15 for the compact alone, and $9 for each refill. The IIID Foundation Brush is $32. Maskcara also has very inexpensive shipping, and free shipping over $50. This link will take you directly to her store, http://www.maskcaracosmetics.com/, and there is also a "Color Finder" on the website to help you chose what's best for you! Personally, I tagged Maskcara on Instagram, used the "spotmyshade" tag, and Cara chose for me! What are your thoughts on this product? Have you tried it? Do you want to try it? If you have, what did you like or dislike? Let me know! Thanks for reading!

 

 

All items mentioned were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.