primer

Beauty Review:: NYX Eyeshadow Bases

Posted on by katdonofrio

Since completing the Urban Decay Naked palette set, I have recently been watching a lot of tutorials on the second and third palette especially, just to get ideas on what to do with them, and see what others are up to in the world of eye shadow these days. I was really surprised to see how many people were using NYX large eye shadow pencils, and their based for most of the Naked looks. 

I’ve never really used any NYX products to be completely honest, but from what I could see in the tutorials, the bases seemed to be decent assets to the looks that people were doing. So I brought it upon myself to seek out the pencils for myself and see how beneficial they are to any makeup look. I figured, well if that’s what these girls are using, and their makeup is turning out so good, I might as well give it a shot as well

So to target I went and I picked up two eye shadow pencils in the colours 611 yogurt, and 601 black bean, as well as their white eye shadow base in the pot. I got the black simply because I watched one really smoky eye tutorial and thought it would be a good way of making sure the black eye shadow didn’t separate on the eyelid too much, I bought the white because the white was the most used eye shadow primer used in the tutorials, and the beige “yogurt” one because I figured well I’m getting these, why not one more? And since when I think of neutral looks I think beige, it made a lot of sense in my head. My budget wasn’t too happy with me though.

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Anyways, I went home and tried out the white and the beige, and while the looks that I tried out did look nice, I didn’t really see much of a difference than when I used just a normal primer. The white was nice, especially with the Naked three because it really allowed the true colour of the eye shadows to show rather than the colour mixed with my skin colour. And the beige just made me use less eye shadow because I already had that colour base on my eyelid. 

Do I think using these bases is necessary, and that you have to spend the money on them in order to get really nice results? No, I don’t think they’re something you need, especially if you’re the type of person who doesn’t wear too much makeup to begin with. Do I think they do have some benefit to your makeup look, and are a nice extra asset? Yes, I mean it’s always nice to have a base under any eye shadow, it makes it last longer it’s easier to blend, and for some looks like the black smoky eye, I think it will help prevent a lot of fall out and allow you to use less shadow. 

All in all if you’re like me and you like trying out new looks and think you will use eye shadow bases and make the time to do that extra step, by all means go for it, it really hurts nothing more than your bank account (actually, they’re only $5.99, the pencils so it’s not too bad). But for anyone else out there, it’s not really a necessary step for day to day looks, and I think you can achieve just as good results without the bases as you can with, it just comes down to preference really.

Makeup:: Benefit POREfessional Makeup Primer Review

Posted on by katdonofrio

Just under a month ago I found two small sample sizes of Benefit’s POREfessional makeup primers. I couldn’t tell you where I got them, or when I got them but I found them at the bottom of one of my makeup bags, and figured that since I was running out of my other foundation primer I would give it a shot. Thank God I gave them a shot, it’s in my opinion AMAZING.

On my first time using it I notices how soft it felt the second you start to rub it into your skin, and even with the poor lighting that I have in my bedroom, I could see my pores literally being erased. I always moisturize my face before I apply foundation and when I put the primer on after I moisturized I noticed that it gave a mattified look to my skin, without drying it out. It made my foundation glide on, look really natural, and it lasted all day. usually I find that even with primer, half way through my day my makeup starts to settle into my skin, and either look like its cracked apart, or completely run off.

I used this product at 9 this morning, and it’s now 9pm, and my makeup still looks intact. Now I don’t necessarily have large pores, which is what this is targeted to, but I still think it’s a great product for all skin types. Its oil free, gives a silky feel when applied, and can be applied both before, and after your foundation application. When applying before just dab a few dots onto cleansed and moisturized skin, ideally just in your t-zone, to avoid wasting it, rub it in, and then apply the rest of your makeup. If you notice some pores or imperfections after applying your foundation you can slick it onto the desired areas to cover any imperfections. Also if you have really clear skin and don’t normally wear any foundation, it’s really nice just to apply you give your face a mattifying appearance.

The product is slightly pricey, at $36 per full sized tube, but it’s worth it and it will last you a long time. You don’t have to use a lot of it with each application, so as long as you don’t waste it should be able to last you a few months, if not longer. I only had two really small samples and they lasted me nearly a whole month alone, and I wasn’t even trying to use it frugally.

Don’t let the colourful packaging fool you, I’m not the biggest fan of Benefit packaging, however their products are mostly very reliable. I mean we can’t judge a book by its cover right? Anyone looking for a new primer to try out I would honestly recommend giving this a shot, you won’t be disappointed.