NEW!!! Urban Decay Naked FLUSHED Palette in Streak

Urban Decay released their 1st Naked Flushed Palette for the face last year. The palette contains a bronzer, highlighter and blush. This summer they have released 3 additional shades to the collection. While I am in love with all the palettes my favorite one out of all of them is the Streak palette.

Packaging:

The packaging for the new palettes are the exact same to the original Naked Flushed palette. It comes in a tan/gold plastic case that comes with a nice mirror. These palettes are super convenient for traveling since it has your bronzer, blush and highlighter all in one.

Formulation:

Bronzer- Medium brown color w/a peachy gold undertone w/a satin finish

The bronzer is very pretty and soft and great for all over the face for a nice glow however it really isn't pigmented enough for contouring.

Highlighter- Peachy champagne (shimmery)

This highlighter is amazing. It is SUPER pigmented and brightens up your whole face. It is also pretty as an all over the lid color.

Blush-  A semi matte coral pink 

Very pigmented and easy to blend 

You can wear each shade by itself or mixed together.

All of these products are very long lasting wear tome 5+ hours especially with a primer underneath

You can purchase this palette and the others...

Urban Decay

Sephora

Ulta

Retail $30.00

Review: Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder

Packaging: Comes in a similar plastic packaging like the Dream Matte Powder with the exception of a clear top and rather the bottom layer sliding to reveal the mirror and sponge this powder packaging opens up.

Formulation: This particular powder has a very smooth and silky texture. Compared to the other powders from Maybelline this one offers a build able medium coverage so definitely use a light hand if you don't intend to use it as a powder foundation. It leaves the skin with a semi-matte finish. It also left a rosy finish nothing too crazy but for some odd reason it made my skin pinker (very odd for an Asian with yellow skin undertones) 

Wear Time: Wear time varies with skin type. Oily skin I recommend staying away after awhile it can get greasy and oily looking. For dry skin this powder gives a natural luminosity to the skin. I have very dry skin especially with the recent temperature drop. It lasted on my skin for a good 8 hours without any touchups. If definitely won't last this long during the hotter months coming up but you can always use a setting spray on top to enhance wear time.

The color selection is very nice comes in 16 shades. If you have a darker complexion you may have a bit of trouble finding your color. 

Overall: 3.5/5
Not a bad powder overall. For me this isn't a powder I would use on an everyday business especially with the upcoming warmer months. I prefer my powders to feel light along with coverage. This powder had the coverage but not the light weight. 

$ and Where to Purchase: Since this product is brand new it can be a bit tricky to find. CVS for sure carries them and other drugstores like Walgreens are just starting to get them in. Select Targets as well as Target online have them in stock. And of course prices will vary depending on where you purchase but it will be less than $10 where ever you decide to purchase it. 

Best of the best 2013: Beauty Edition FACE PRODUCTS

The year has finally come to an end. Welcome to the Best of the best of 2013. These are the best of the best products I have used during the 2013 year. First up FACE PRODUCTS. 

MAKEUP

Face Primer- 

High End: Benefit Porefessional

Drugstore: NYX HD Primer

Foundation- 

High End: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

Drugstore: CoverGirl 3 in 1 Outlast Foundation

Tinted Moisturizer-

High End: Clinique Moisture Surge

Drugstore: Physician's Formula Healthy Wear

Powder- 

High End: Makeup Forever Microfinish HD

Drugstore: Maybelline Fit Me

Concealer-

High End: Benefit Fake Up

Drugstore: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser

Bronzer- 

High End: Tarte Mineral Bronzer in Park Princess Ave

Drugstore: NYC Sunny Matte

Blush-

High End: The Balm InStain

Drugstore: Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc Free Airbrushing Blush

Highlighter- 

High End: Tie between MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle & The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer

Drugstore: Revlon Highlighting Palette

TOOLS/BRUSHES

Beauty Blender Sponge

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Exfoliating cotton rounds

SKINCARE 

Face Wash-

High End: Tie between Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil Free Face Wash & Mario Badescu Glycolic Facial Cleanser

Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil Free Wash

Mario Badescu Glycolic Facial Cleanser

Drugstore: Tie between Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser & Clean and Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Cleanser

Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Moisturizer

Exfoliator-

High End:N?A

Drugstore: Neutrogena Deep Clean Long Last Shine Control Cleanser/Mask (Can be used as a daily exfoliant)

Toner-

High End: Clinique Clarifying Lotion

Drugstore: Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Stress Control Toner

Moisturizer-

High End: Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream

Drugstore: Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer

Best Oil for Skin: Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil

Best Face Makeup Removal-

High-end: MAC Cleanse Off Oil

Drugstore: Neutrogena Makeup Removal Wipes

NEW PRODUCT ALERT AND REVIEW!!!

MAYBELLINE BABY SKIN: INSTANT PORE ERASER

PACKAGING: Comes in a small plastic baby blue tube.

FORMULATION: This particular product came out in Asia a couple months ago. I was able to experiment with it in China before its U.S. launch just recently. This product claims to be a pore eraser. It comes in a gel/silicon formula that feels very much like the Smashbox PhotoFinish Face Primer. (IT IS NOT A PRIMER!) It is very light and non-greasy.  I apply this on only the spots where my pores are visible and larger on top of my primer. It does eliminate the appearance of pores but nothing to dramatic. This product also worked very well together with my primer and kept my makeup on longer. This isn't a permanent fix for your pores but it is definitely something to check out and play with.

You can get this at drugstores nationwide for $6.99  

Review: Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Tinted Moisturizer

Color: Light to Natural

Packaging: The product comes in a plastic orange bottle and a pink pump. The bottle itself is very sturdy and great for traveling. Unlike other drugstore tinted moisturizers, this is one of the few that comes with a working pump. The pump pumps just enough product compared to some other pumps that just pumps out way to much product. 

Formulation: When I first pumped the product out it felt and looked really watery. However as I applied it on my face it gradually begun to thicken up a bit. It was very easy to apply (I just used my fingers) and it blended into the skin really nicely. It is also very moisturizing so on those days when your running out of time and need to apply something quickly you can just skip your regular moisturizer and apply this instead. It feels light on the skin and doesn't feel like you have product on your face (NO SCENT). This product works great on dry skin and can work on oily skin. Just be sure to set it with a powder. In terms of wear time I wore it without a primer and it lasted a good 4-41/2 hours without any touch up. With a primer it extended wear time up to 6 hours. Another bonus is has a SPF of 50 which is considerably high for any tinted moisturizer out on the market today. Comes in 2 colors: Light to Natural and Natural to Tan.

Coverage: Since it is a tinted moisturizer I didn't expect too much out of the coverage. It has a very light to light medium coverage. While it doesn't provide much coverage it does even out the skin tone and gives a bit of luminosity. 

Overall 4.5/5 

You can purchase this product at pretty much anywhere that sells Physician's Formula. It is fairly expensive for a drugstore tinted moisturizer about $12-14, however keep in mind that Physician's Formula is an organic beauty brand and all their ingredients are very natural and good for you. There are always coupons online and drugstores like CVS have flash sales which marks products like these down to 75% off. I recently got my at one of these flash sales for $3! Talk about a deal. 

Where you can purchase:

Walgreens- Online and In Store

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/physicians-formula-healthy-wear-tinted-moisturizer-spf-50/ID=prod6143031-product?ext=gooBeauty_PLA_Tinted_Moisturizer_prod6143031_pla&adtype={adtype}&kpid=prod6143031&sst=2a27f99f-053c-fc88-cba9-00003f1f9325 

Ulta- Online and In Store

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod1930125&skuId=2212946&cmpid=PS_Non!google!Product_Listing_Ads&CAWELAID=772018085&catargetid=330000200000064436&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla

CVS- Online and In Store 

http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/Physicians-Formula-Tinted-Moisturizer-Natural-to-Tan-SPF-50?skuId=723897