Tarte Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer Review

I just want to say that I'm so loving the brand Tarte. I'm slowly trying out products from Tarte and I'm loving each and everyone. The one that I really want to try is their Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation it sounds really interesting and I love powder foundation. Well anyway back to the point of this post, I like to present to you the Tarte's Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer! Long title I know so I am just going to short it up to Tarte's Smoothing Primer.

I've had this product for about almost 2 months now and so I had a good amount of time to judge this product. First lets start off with some details about it. It is said to have this blurring affect on the face and also to help repair the skin. It is infused with vitamins E and C, green bean extract, and mineral pigments. These are suppose to fight free radicals and prevent any signs of aging, also to minimize the size of your pores(plus!) and overall just improve the appearance of your skin. Who wouldn't want this after reading all the good things it does for your skin?!

Now down to the nitty gritty stuff: the review. I'll start with the pros of this product. The smell of the smoothing primer smells good, it smells like makeup (haha!) it seriously does! It doesn't have any floral scent, that I can detect, and it isn't strong so when you apply the primer the smell won't linger, which I like in a product. Aside from the smell when I apply this on my oily t-zone it instantly makes my skin matte looking and it help controls your oil throughout the day. That is a plus for me cause I have a oily forehead when not attended to(BTW I have combination skin). So applying the primer makes me look less oily with my foundation on. Sometimes I just apply the primer by itself and not apply any foundation on. I can't say that it "blurs" all of my imperfection, but it overall makes your face look smoother. The only thing that it may not blur is my large pores(how huge can my pores be?). I also can't say that it improved my skin cause I don't think I've used it enough or used it long enough to see any difference, but I have read some reviews where some people claim that it has improved their skin. One last thing that I want to rave about this primer is how long it makes your foundation last. It holds on to your foundation for a long time, day to night! I'm not even kidding. This is the real deal.

The only down side to this is the price, haha. It is almost $40 for 0.5 Fl oz of product, but I got to say it is worth it though. A little bit of the smoothing primer goes a long way. You really don't need a lot to cover your face. I've been using it for 2 months and from the picture it looks like I barely used any, it still looks full.

I want to show you guys how good this product really is! I'm going to compare it the famous Smashbox Photo Finish primer. I just want to let you guys know that I've tested with powder and liquid foundation. First off I want to point out that when it comes to holding time Tarte outlasts Smashbox hands down! Smashbox may hold onto my foundation around 6 hours then my foundation starts disappearing. As for Tarte it makes my foundation last from morning till I head to bed, which is around 11 PM. Thats how amazing it is. And the oil control of Tarte's primer has a better control than Smashbox's primer(please do note that this is the original Smashbox primer and not the oil control one, I have not tested with that one yet). That is how amazing this primer is, you must give it a try! I know it is a little pricy but it is only three dollars more than Smashbox's primers so go get it!

My rating for Tarte's Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer is 5 out of 5 :) This is going to be one of my HG.

To buy:
- Tarte Smoothing Primer ($39.00)

Maybelline Brow Drama Review

Hi! I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend. Today I'll be reviewing the Maybelline's Brow Drama in Deep Brown. The main point of me purchasing this product was for me to match my eyebrow hair color to my hair color cause I have dyed it to a lighter brown. My natural hair color is a very dark brown and another reason I got this is to find a cheaper alternative. I have fine hair and my eyebrows are okay... I don't lack hair but it still needs to be filled in to have that fullness of a look if that makes any sense...

Continuing on with the review! I'll start with the pros of this product. First thing that I liked about this product is that it was cheap (thats a plus in my book). Also it holds the hairs in place cause my eyebrow hairs are usually pointing in different directions and it takes me awhile to tame them.

That was quick, now to the cons and one of them being that it did not help change the color of my eyebrows, not even a tint. Maybe it is because Deep Brown is to dark for my eyebrows to change it or maybe because the shape of the wand is too round that I can't apply the product on as well as I want to on my brows. I'm like literally going over my brows multiple times hoping it would change. The wand is a little awkward to work with, when I first did it I got some product on my skin while applying. After a few tries I learn it is best to do it with a light hand so I don't get it on my skin. I feel like if you have thinner eyebrows or to almost no eyebrows this product would not be for you because the end of the wand would be bigger than your eyebrows so you would have the product everywhere. Even if you filled in your eyebrows first and go in with this product, there is just no control of where you want to apply the product.

I would show you guys an after and before picture of what it looks like on my eyebrows but it looks the same. It isn't worth showing, it doesn't look like it was filled or anything. Overall I would give this product a two out of five stars. My reasoning for giving it a two is that at least it tamed my eyebrows throughout the day but other than that it just didn't do what I wanted it to do originally. I'll continue to use it(I don't like wasting products unless I absolutely hate it) to help tame my eyebrows and I'll just go in with pencil or something to actually fill them in.

This was a good effort on Maybelline's part on trying to make an eyebrow mascara like product(this is their first) and I hope they continue to making them cause I know they'll just get better as time goes on.

Where to buy:
- Maybelline Brow Drama ($7.99)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil Review

I've never ever used any kind of "eyeshadow" product other than pressed pigmented ones that come in pans. NYX, one of my favorite brands, have these eyeshadow products called Jumbo Eye Pencil. Now these have been out for years and I didn't really get my hands on these till recently. It took me so long because I was unsure of how to use them. About a month or so ago Ulta had a small sale on some NYX products and I decided to buy two Jumbo Eye Pencil, Milk and Cashmere. (I love NYX's cashmere color)

I got to say is that these are really pigmented (as you will be able to tell on my swatches picture down below). I really love how rich the colors are. Milk really comes out white and I don't think any regular white eyeshadow would ever come out like this. Also Cashmere comes out this beautiful shimmery color that I adore even though I think its more gold color than Cashmere but I don't mind it I still love the color :).

I used Milk as a base for my eyeshadows that doesn't seem to appear as much on my eyelids, like those nude skin-like colors. Milk helps eyeshadows show more of their true color which I like. I think a lot of people use Milk for this purpose. As for Cashmere I don't use it as a base like I do with milk, I just put it in my inner corner of my eyelids to give my eyes a little pop or I put it in the middle of my eyelids when I feel like doing a shimmery gold like look.

The down side of these is that they don't quite blend as well as I would like them too. Maybe I'm just use to using eyeshadows but these seem to stick to the skin more so its harder to blend. From experience these are easier to blend with your fingers cause of the warmth from your fingers. Using a brush will sometimes make them look smudgy and even if you try to put eyeshadow on top of these it does not look as good. It has to be smooth out pretty well which is sometimes a challenge.

swatches on my hand: Cashmere / Milk

Overall I would give this product a 4 out of 5 because I think this is a well made product and I love the packaging of these. There was only one downfall and I can honestly live with it. Also it is inexpensive which is one of the reason why I love NYX cause they are cheap and at the same time such good quality products! If you are interested NYX has beautiful color ranges for the Jumbo Eye Pencil that are so lovely you should check them out if you are into really vibrant colors.

To get the product:
- NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil ($4.49)

(background for these photo was taken on one the pages of the magazine AFAR)

Gifts For Her Guide

Hello! Today I'm going to do a different post from my usual product reviews. Thanksgiving is coming quickly then Christmas and that means shopping for your loved ones. I made a list of beauty products that your loved ones might like, doesn't have to be a significant other it can be a friend, mother, sister, or whoever. Down below I've compiled 12 things that people might love that doesn't involve thinking of if they'll like it cause of the colors. These are products, in my opinion that can go well with anyone, though you may have to snoop around a bit to see if they have these or not. Here are my top picks for beauty products:

1. Charlotte Tilbury - Filmstar Bronze & Glow ($65.00)
2. Jo Malone London - Nectarine Blossom & Honey ($60.00)
3. Tarte - Chic to Cheek Deluxe Amazonian Clay Blush Set ($35.00)
4. Urban Decay - Vice 3 ($60.00)
5. LORAC - PRO Palette 2 ($42.00)
6. Buxom - Lip Gloss Roulette ($59.00)

7. Urban Decay - Naked 3 ($59.00)
8. Urban Decay - Naked 2 Basics ($29.00)
9. Fresh - Sugar Cravings Kissing Trio ($28.00)
10. Nars - The NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette ($79.00)
11. Clarisonic - Mia 2 Pure Glow Holiday Gift Set ($149.00)
12. Hourglass - Ambient Lighting Blush Palette ($58.00)

Please you do not have to choose these specifically, do look around the websites and see what you think she might like. A gift should be thoughtful. If you see something that reminds you of that person then get it :)

Of course not all ladies in our lives are interest in beauty product as much as others. So try to think of what she likes. I think knowing what a person likes and getting them something that relates to their interest shows a lot of sincerity. Or you don't want to get them beauty products because you know they already have too much. So I've also made a list of general things that she might like:

If she likes Fall/Winter weather then I suggest giving her scarves. Now a days the trend for scarves are big huge scarves so may I suggest scarves from Zara and Aritzia. I honestly think they have beautiful scarves. Another one are boots, can never go wrong with boots! Unless you picked the wrong size but that doesn't matter cause as long you keep the receipt you can always trade in for the right size. I feel like you can't give a girl any kind of boots and call it good. You got to know her personality and style so you can find the right boots for her. Look around on Nordstrom I think they have the best varieties of shoes and DSW.

An awesome idea to give as a gift is a trip to somewhere! You can never go wrong with a get-away to somewhere :) It can be a family get-away, or a group of friends, or a couple get-away. Another idea is a gift to a cruise trip! I think that would be an awesome gift!

Overall whatever gift you give her it should come from the heart. If you can't think of anything to give her maybe think about her favorite products or maybe if a product is being discontinue then gift her that discontinue product so she can have backups of her favorite product. If you need help thinking of an idea then do not be afraid to ask :)