Revlon

Affordable Drugstore Makeup Mini Reviews: Bronzer, Primer, Powder Liner and Lipstick From Neutrogena, Covergirl and Revlon

June 12th, 2020 by Karen 20 Comments

Good morning! Happy Friday! 🤗

Some speedy reviews of drugstore items I’ve been wearing as of late…

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blush in Bronzed ($8.99)

Technically, this is a blush, but if you’re on the fairest of the fair end of the skin tone spectrum, this matte golden tan would be a bangin’ bronzer. It’s easy to blend and lasts all day. Since it’s a little too light to wear as a bronzer on my tan skin, I swoosh a little in my crease as a transition color. It’s perfect for that, too!

Covergirl Trubelnd Minerals Loose Mineral Powder in Banana ($7.99)

This yellow tinted loose powder is primarily for setting concealer and foundation, and the yellow tint is designed to create a brightening effect… I didn’t really notice a difference. *shrugs* It more or less looked translucent on my skin. Anywho, I dusted this atop a mix of tinted moisturizer and a little concealer during a recent heat wave, and it held the oil on my forehead at bay without looking heavy or thick.

I like this…but I think it’s a better fit for medium and deep complexions with olive undertones, because the yellow can look a little “off” on lighter skin.

Covergirl Trublend Base Business Skin Primer ($8.24)

This colorless face primer, like all Covergirl products, is cruelty-free. I don’t really feel like it adds any moisturize to my dry skin, but it does a bang-up job of mellowing out my pores. When I layer it underneath tinted moisturizer or concealer, my base looks smoother and lasts longer. I also seem to use less base, too.

Covergirl Full Spectrum Defining Moment in Blackest Black and Deep Purple ($7.99 each)

I like the black version of this twist-up liner because it actually stays on waterlines and lash lines, and once it’s there, it doesn’t move. Totally solid. The purple shade is just OK though… It doesn’t stick to my waterlines at all, but it handles my lash lines well enough.

Revlon Creme Lipstick in Pink Velvet ($4.99)

Ya know, this lipstick is just as good as ever — smooth, lightweight and BURSTING with pigment. And it’s so comfortably creamy on my lips… No funky flavor or scent. I can’t believe it’s only five bucks!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 😃 Are you doing anything this weekend?

A Warm Neutral Drugstore Makeup Look for Zoom Calls

May 7th, 2020 by Karen 16 Comments

drugstore neutrals — All the makeup I’m wearing in this look is from the drugstore.

I seriously thought about wearing this makeup look for a Zoom call I had with my bakery coworkers a few days ago (we still keep in touch) but decided to wear it with warm neutrals instead.

All drugstore today because I’m on a budget beauty kick! I’m wearing a mix of old faves (a nude Revlon cream eyeshadow palette and Fig eye kajal, Almay eyeshadow and Covergirl Trublend foundation) and some new things I recently found.

Latest drugstore loves

Honest Beauty Tinted Balm in Dragon Fruit: THIS IS SO GOOD! It’s a bright, moisturizing sheer fuchsia balm that doesn’t settle into lip lines (so smooth!). Two-hour wear time, and it’s unflavored and unscented. It’s similar to the very sheer Clinique lipsticks, but at a fraction the price. $8.99 each and comes in bunch of colors.

Covergirl Trulbend Base Business Illuminating: This is a pearly golden pink skin primer you can wear on its own underneath foundation/concealer, or mixed into other base products to sheer them out and give them an opalescent finish, which is what I do. It’s like a more sparkly version of BECCA Backlight. You *will* see the tiniest flecks of golden glitter reflecting off your skin when you wear it, so be prepared for disco fabulousness while you frolic in full sunlight. If you’re indoors, however, it isn’t visible at all from more than a few feet away. $11.49 for a 1-oz. tube.

Covergirl Easy Breezy Brow: I used Clear on the inner part of my brow (which has a good amount of hair) and Medium on the outer part (not so much hair). Both are on the stiffer side of brow gels so your brow hairs won’t move. Medium, a gray brown, is *very* pigmented and not the easiest to control, so use it sparingly. I loooove the Clear, though. It’s comparable to Benefit’s clear brow gel. $9.49 for a 0.16-oz. tube.

Makeup worn in this look

Base: Covergirl Trublend Base Business Skin Primer Illuminated mixed wtih Covergirl Trulend Matte Made in M50 and Covergirl Trublend Undercover Concealer in Golden Honey

Eyes: Covergirl Easy Breezy Brow in Clear (inner part of brow) and Medium (outer part of Brow), Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow in Not Just Nudes, Almay Eyeshadow in Pure Gold Baby, Revlon 2 in 1 Angled Kajal in Fig, Maybelline the Falsies Mascara

Cheeks: Covergirl Clean Fresh Cream Blush in Butterflies, Maybelline City Bronzer in 300

Lips: Honest Beauty Tinted Balm in Dragon Fruit

What are your drugstore go-to’s at the moment? I’m playing “put all the makeup in my cart” on the Ulta site right now. 🙂

Nail “painting” is easy and fun.

One of Connor’s preschool teachers sent this fun art idea for painting nails! Grab some nail polish (I used quick-drying ones by Sally Hansen), a black marker and a piece of cardboard. Draw hands with nails on cardboard, and then have your “coworker” help you paint them. Or do it yourself. This kept me and CoyCoy entertained a long time.

Some of my hand drawings ended up looking like weird lizard fingers…but she didn’t seem to mind.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Glittery Green Gradient Wings: A Quick and Easy Holiday Makeup Look

December 11th, 2019 by Karen 16 Comments

Current dilemmas du jour?

What to do with the five pounds of lemons Rosie’s former foster mom gave me (she has a tree in her yard that produces a RIDICULOUS amount of lemons).
What’s some festive and colorful holiday makeup that won’t take me till Valentine’s Day to finish? (I’m only half-kidding.)

As of yet, I still have no clue what to do with the lemons (ugh, lemon bars and lemonade? Maybe some kind of lemon marinade?), I figured out a trick to flying through different colorful looks.

And here it is…

Play with your winged liner. THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS!

Like with this look here with glittery green gradient wings. It was surprisingly quick and easy to do.

The step-by-step

Start by drawing your winged liner with a dark green matte liner as the base (I used Urban Decay Mainline). Be as subtle or dramatic as you like.
Then, for a bright shimmer POP, layer a bright green glitter in the center (I’m wearing Urban Decay Stage Dive) on your lash line.
Lastly, to create a color gradient, dip an angled brush into a black eyeshadow (MAC Carbon for life!), and pat that on top of the outer portion of your wing.

Green goes well with warm browns and peaches, which is what I’m wearing on my lids, lips on these cheeks in this look. If you want to be more adventurous, however, pink would be a playful complementary color… I’m just sayin’. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Keanu Reeves Is My Boyfriend, Vol. 2: Revlon So Fierce! Vinyl Eyeliner

July 29th, 2019 by Karen 5 Comments

revlon so fierce liner — So fierce, babe!

This is a series featuring stellar drugstore gems in which my (very much pretend) boyfriend Keanu Reeves helps me test makeup… He’s gallant like that, you know? 😊

Last night, Keanu and I laughed and cried our way through The Notebook (he’s so sensitive!), and even through all the tears, my new Revlon So Fierce Vinyl Eyeliner stayed put. I know this because at the end of the move, Keanu ever-so-tenderly cradled my chin and said, “Babe, even when you’re crying like a baby, you and your winged liner are absolutely perfect.” Later he added: “Your liner looks almost as good as mine.”

Revlon So Fierce Vinyl Eyeliner ($8.99)

A waterproof long-wearing gel pencil liner with a glossy — but not shimmery — finish that dries in less than a minute
Available in three shades
Completely budge-proof through tears, sweat and splashes with water
Highly pigmented
Applies smoothly
Doesn’t transfer up into my crease; however, when I aggressively rub it with my fingers, it smudges, so if you rub your eyes you’re probably better off with something long-wearing and liquid like MAC Liquidlast instead.
Stays put on lash lines and water lines, but I wouldn’t use it on water lines if yours are very dry.

[Continue reading…]

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Revlon Colorstay Crème Eyeshadow in 715 Chocolate

December 13th, 2018 by Karen 11 Comments

revlon colorstay creme shadow 715 espresso — Crazy for Chocolate

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

What’s that Christmas carol that goes, “‘Tis the season for creams, fa la la la laaaa, la la la laaaa!”? Creams are a “go-to” for gaggles of makeup lovers when it’s cold outside, but Revlon Chocolate is an “all-year” obsession for me.

Formally known as Colorstay 175 Crème Eyeshadow in Chocolate, it’s a drugstore secret treasure at just $6.99, and if you don’t have excess time to spend on your makeup but still like to wear a little somethin’, it will be your 🍓 jam.

I’ve been wearing it a lot since I started growing out my grays, because the way my grays are growing out now, they don’t look purposeful yet because they don’t go from root to tip. It just looks like I missed my last two coloring appointments and can’t get my life together, so if I don’t wear at least a little eye makeup, I look disheveled. So Chocolate has been coming to my rescue.

Chocolate’s from Revlon’s long-wearing Crème Eyeshadow line, and if you haven’t tried these potted shadows before, you gotta get on that. They’re like the MAC Paint Pots, but cheaper, and slightly creamier.

Granted, they’re less pigmented than the Paint Pots, but I think that’s one of their selling points because that sheerness makes it easier to blend out the edges.

Perfect for “I’m already late! Gotta get this makeup on LIKE NOW!” looks.