Tarteist Pro Glow Contour & Highlight Palette

November 02, 2016 in Makeup

I've been pretty good about only buying products that fit in my pretty minimal makeup aesthetic (the amount I buy is in no way minimal, I mean minimal as in "no makeup makeup"). I haven't touched a contour palette in probably over a year (unless you're counting my custom Surratt palette), but when the new Tarteist Pro Glow Palette popped onto the scene, something in me just couldn't resist. I even ordered it from Tarte's website because I just couldn't wait for it to be available at Sephora or Ulta.

It's the inclusion of a cream contour shade, as well as a good selection of highlighters, that won me over. I'm a highlighter junkie, so I figured even if I didn't use the contour shades, I'd definitely use the highlighters. I really appreciate a contour kit that actually has shimmery highlighters as opposed to those light setting powders - they're never light enough for me to highlight! All the shades included in the Tarte palette looked like they could work for me, too, unlike some of the Anastasia Glow Kits that I so desperately want but can't justify for just one or two shades. The palette comes with four powder highlighters, one powder contour, and one cream contour shade. It has a pretty good mix of warm and cool tones, so I think it would suit a large range of skintones. Many early reviews I'm seeing are people rejoicing to have found a "deep skin-friendly" product, but I'm finding the shades work wonderfully on my paper white skin, too.

The powder shades feel super buttery and pigmented, with the exception of Fire, the left highlighter in the middle row. It's only slightly less buttery than the rest. It's probably the least flattering on my skintone so I don't even mind at all. Both contour shades are quite neutral and work well as contour shades on me, although they're not as ashy as something I normally would go for. I'm embracing giving my skin a little extra color, though. The cream shade, Shade, is slightly cooler than the powder shade, Sculpt. I was worried about the cream contour shade being too dark for me, but it blends out so beautifully that it hasn't been a problem. I just have to draw a small line under my cheekbone from my ear to even with the end of my eyebrow, and it'll blend out to the perfect contour shade for me.

My two favorite highlight shades in the palette are the two on the right side, Strobe and Stunner. Strobe is a beautiful white gold, and Stunner is an amazing purple-y-silver color. I've been mixing the two together as my everyday highlight. The highlighters are quite intense, but they're easily sheered out (as I really tend to pack them on - I love a strong highlight). They're also not chunky/glittery whatsoever - they give the illusion of smooth, dewy skin. I don't have too many texture issues with my skin, but these don't emphasize any uneven texture I do have.

I only have two complaints with the palette and they both have to do with the packaging rather than the formula. The first is that the palette's material is that same rubbery matte material as NARS compacts, so it'll get dirty quite quickly - you can see in the photo of the closed palette that it already is getting dirty, and I've only had it for a week. The second is that there's no extra cover for the cream contour shade. I suspect this is why the palette opens up in the center, so you can cover the contour shade if you're working from the right side of the palette, but I'm still worried about getting powder fallout stuck in the cream. Neither of these are dealbreakers though, as the products themselves are lovely.

If you're looking for a new contour palette, and you're a highlight/glowy skin fiend like me, I'd highly recommend the Tarteist Pro Glow Palette.

What's your favorite contour product?

Skincare on Trial

November 01, 2016 in Skincare

Hi, my name is Kelsey, and I am a skincare addict. I'm always after the best thing for my skin - I have this vision in my mind of how I want my skin to look. It's glowing, bright, and impossibly even, and I pretty much want to look like I've slathered it in rosehip oil all day long. I buy and accept a lot of skincare products while I'm on this mission for the perfect product, and lately it's gotten so overwhelming that I thought I'd put a post together to start getting my thoughts out there.

Skinfood Yuja Water Line | That glowing and bright look I was talking about? These products have basically got that covered. Yuja extract helps the skin retain moisture and it works to brighten the skin, so basically that's everything I look for in my skincare. I've got the Toner,* Emulsion,* and Serum* to test out, and so far so good. I'm planning on putting together a more thorough post on these because they really have been promising. You can also find select Skinfood products at Ulta.

Klairs Cosmetics | Klairs is such a lovely Korean beauty brand that really meshes with my overall beauty aesthetic - their motto is "simple but enough," which really speaks to me. I was sent their Midnight Blue Calming Cream,* Supple Preparation Facial Toner,* and the Mid-day Blue Sun Lotion.* All three are winners for me so far. I had an allergic reaction to a product (not mentioned in this post) that left my chin broken out in sore, flaky hives and dabbing on a bit of the calming cream a few times per day soothed and cleared them up quickly. The toner has also really been helping me achieve that impossible vision of what I want my skin to look like - I just feel like it helps to even out my skin's tone and texture with every swipe. I love using it morning and night, but I feel like it really shines in the morning before makeup application. And the sunscreen is probably one of my favorite facial sunscreens as it doesn't feel chalky on the skin, but rather creamy and moisturizing.

Marlonda Currie | I've also recently been sent a couple lip care products - Marlonda Currie's Lip Exfoliator* and Lip Hydrator.* My lips are extremely picky about what I put on them, and so far these two products haven't caused any problems. The exfoliator is a thick sugar scrub that almost has a paste-like consistency. I really like it because it sticks to the lips more than something like the Lush lip scrubs. The hydrator is really lovely too - it's not as thick as my usual Glossier Balm Dotcom, so it works nicely underneath lip products and still keeps my lips hydrated.

Drunk Elephant | I mentioned on my Instagram Story last week that the day I ran out of my cold-weather moisturizer also happened to be the day I got a promotion at work. I took the opportunity to treat myself to something that had been on my wishlist for awhile, the Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream. And because I can't just order one thing, I also threw in (she says, like it didn't cost the same amount I pay for a week's worth of groceries) the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil. Together the two have been solving all of my dry skin woes, and I feel ready and prepared for the dry winter air. The oil is light but still extremely moisturizing, and it smells faintly nutty. The cream is the most beautiful texture and melts into the skin. I've been layering it over the oil morning and night lately, and it's the most beautiful combination.

Perricone MD Cold Plasma | This month I was super excited to receive two products from Perricone MD's Cold Plasma Line, the Cold Plasma Face Treatment* and the Cold Plasma Eye Treatment.* They are meant to be the ultimate anti-aging treatment, and while I'm only 24 I still really like the effects of anti-aging products on my skin - they really plump it up, evening out texture and really boosting hydration levels in a way that I think any age could benefit from. The Cold Plasma face product is meant to be used underneath a moisturizer, so I've been treating it as a serum step. It definitely benefits from being put under something because honestly, I really don't like the smell - it smells like a mix of fish and something metallic to me. But the smell doesn't linger and quickly disappears once you put another product on top. So far, the results of the product make the smell 100% worth dealing with. It smooths out my skin so much that it really feels like porcelain. It really diminishes the look of my pores, and the splotchy redness I tend to have around my nose is virtually gone by the time I wake up in the morning. If you want to try these or anything else from Perricone MD, they've kindly given me a 20% off code to share - just use KelseyDPMD at checkout until November 22!

What new skincare bits have you been trying out?

*Products mentioned have been sent to me for consideration, but all opinions are my own. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

October Favorites

October 29, 2016 in Makeup, Skincare

This month's favorites are all quite rosy, something I didn't notice until I sat down to take the photo. I went through another heavier-makeup-wearing phase this month, so most of my favorites are makeup rather than skincare.

Let's start with the one skincare bit, the Pixi Rose Oil Blend. I've been using a facial oil underneath a moisturizer both in my morning and nighttime skincare routines, and this one works well in either situation. It smells so lovely, obviously like roses, and it contains a bunch of skin-loving oils like Rosehip, Sweet Almond, and Jojoba oils. It really feels luxurious on the skin and definitely feels more expensive than the $24 price tag. If you see this in Target, definitely scoop it up.

For the majority of the month, I've been wearing the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette on my eyes exclusively. I wrote a review of the palette at the end of last month, and I still think it's worth every penny. I love Urban Decay eyeshadows, but my Naked palettes were being a little neglected because they were a little shimmer-heavy for my tastes now. This palette is full of matte shades to create the perfect neutral eye. It's perfect for a workday and also for a fancier event.

If you saw my NARS Neutrals post, you'll know I've been having a moment with NARS lip products this month. I managed to narrow it down to one product from the post to avoid recreating that post here, and the one I reached for the most this month was the Satin Lip Pencil in Bansar. It's the best brown-toned pink shade for my skintone - usually, shades like this read purely brown on me, but this one actually retains its pink tone on my super pink skin. It's been my go-to this month along with the Satin Lip Pencil in Het Loo, which is more warm and red-toned.

The last bits I've been loving this month are all cheek products. I've been obsessed with the Glossier Haloscope in Quartz more than ever lately, and I pretty much wear it every day either on its own or with other products layered on top. It just gives the perfect dewy sheen to the skin that looks entirely natural and yet still ultra-glowy. You can get 20% off Glossier here! The other highlight I've been piling on lately is the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Rose Quartz. It's the perfect shade for super pale people like me (they also came out with Blushed Amber, which would look beautiful on deeper skintones). It's not quite as intense as something like Champagne Pop, but it gives such a beautiful luminescent glow to the skin.

The last cheek bits I've been wearing nonstop this month have been the Surratt Beauty Artistique Blushes. I wrote about my first impressions on a few Surratt Beauty earlier in the month, and the blushes have been the standout for me. I picked the contour shade (Grisaille), the highlight shade (Aureole), and a blush (La Vie En Rose), and they make the perfect trio. The powders are so smooth and creamy and blend effortlessly onto the skin. They've got the perfect amount of pigmentation so you're not making yourself look like a clown, but you're also not piling on product to get some kind of payoff.

What were your favorites this month?