Beauty Review: Wet'n'Wild Photo Focus Foundation

For the past few months, I'd been hearing nothing but positive, glowing reviews about the Wet'n'Wild Photo Focus foundation. Like the Liquid Catsuit liquid lips, it's highly affordable and reviewers said it had great coverage and wore great. Of course, this got my interested. 

I'm a high end foundation user. Personally, drug store foundations have just never worked for me; the color selection is usually very orange or warm-toned and gets neither very light nor very dark. For that reason, I just never look at drugstore foundation options. So the fact that I was seeing some top YouTube beauty gurus using Wet'n'Wild... color me intrigued, in the words of Natch Beaut. 

While on a trip to Idaho, I'd forgotten my foundation (ugh) so I ran to Walgreens fully intending to buy this foundation. They didn't have it at the store I went to though and since it was nearly 11pm at night, I instead bought the L'Oreal Pro-Matte foundation (which I liked but it's not cruelty free and it oxidized about 2 shades darker). 

Once I finally finished my tube of L'Oreal Pro-Matte, I vowed to buy Wet'n'Wild Photo Focus. My chance came about a week and a half ago. I picked out the lightest shade, Porcelain, feeling sure that the Shell Ivory shade would be too dark. I bought it after I'd gone to the gym, so I didn't get a chance to try it right away. 

The next day, I cracked it open and... the first thing that hit me was the smell. The smell of this foundation is what I can only describe as extremely chemical, somewhere between the smell of a hospital and paint thinner. It's horribly unpleasant. A little repulsed, I moved forward. 

Another note: I don't like the little paddle that you use to get the foundation out. It's so wonky and inflexible and mostly just drips everywhere. Another notch against this foundation. 

I put a few pools of it on my palette (I use a candle lid) and started dabbing it on. Beyond the smell, the color was a good match, if a little light; the undertone is neutral in the Porcelain shade, so if you're a pale, neutral-undertoned girl, this is pretty perfect. (It's hard to find!) 

I got my trust Beauty Blender and started blending. And... it disappeared. All the little dabs of foundation on my face? Baby, they were GONE. My blender sponge had sucked them up. 

As it turns out, this foundation is water-based... which means if you use a beauty blender or similar make up sponge, this thing can happen where it just absorbs all the foundation. All of it. 

I started over with dabs then used my e.l.f. kabuki brush to start blending. Immediately, The thing I noticed was the foundation was incredibly streaky and just... sitting on top of my skin. It was like I had been sprayed with white out liquid and brushed it with a paint brush. My kabuki brush NEVER leaves streaks that bad. I kept going, but no matter how much I blended, how much I worked, it just sat on top of my skin and didn't blend. 

Next, I try the beauty blender again and, thankfully, they blended out the streaks and seemed to help the foundation settle down. Every now, after using it daily for about 10 days, it applies super weird and requires so much work to get it to actually blend into my skin. For a drugstore foundation, it has decent color match for pale tones (FYI, the darkest shade is Mahogany and it's definitely still pretty light)--but the process I have to go through to blend! 

How does it wear through the day? I follow a process where I use setting powder after my moisturizer, then do my foundation, then a very light layer of setting powder. This foundation wears just about as well as any other foundation I've tried; after about 4-6 hours, it starts to break down around the corners of my nose and between my eyes (which are my two biggest trouble spots). My chin occasionally gets very oily with this foundation, but I can't figure out the correlation between days when it does and doesn't. It might just be a matter of application and powder on those days. 

My final thoughts: Is this foundation good? For drugstore, it's ok. It's only $5.99 at Ulta, so if you're in the market for trying a new foundation, it's not like dropping $34 on the new Fenty foundation only to dislike it!

The pros for me are that it has a great neutral undertone and it doesn't oxidize. 

The cons are the smell (It is VERY strong and very chemical-y, for lack of a better word), the difficulty of blending, and the areas of breakdown. The coverage is definitely medium, but not a miracle worker like many YouTube beauty gurus seem to suggest. 

I wouldn't rate it as better or worse than any other foundations. It wears about as well as any of them; if you get significantly oily like I do, you'll need a blotting powder or blotting paper throughout the day. 

Beauty Review: My First ipsy Bag

I really debated blogging about my ipsy bag. Not that I didn't love it (I do), but because it seems like there are at least 100 ipsy bag reviews every week. Nearly everyone I know gets ipsy now and reviews are a dime a dozen. 

But that being said, I also really wanted to share my thoughts on ipsy and my very first bag. I feel very late to the party, because I hate subscription services and I've avoided them like the plague. But for my birthday, I decided I wanted an ipsy subscription for 6 months--just to see if I ended up liking. Without further ado, let's talk about what I got, whether I liked it, and what I wish I could change. 

This is what I got in my first ipsy bag: 

1. Luxie Beauty, Rose Gold Medium Angled Brush

I love brushes and I feel like I can never have too many eye shadow brushes. The appeal of this one seems to be that it is rose gold--so it is very pretty, but it's not rose gold! The handle is pink and the metal part is bronze. There is no part of it that's rose gold. No problem though, as long as it works, right? It is very soft and fluffy and seems ideal for blending... except it's angled. It's too fluffy to work as an angled brush, but it's too angled to really effectively blend. So far, I've used it to dab on a good concentration of shadow to my outer corner, than blended with my favorite Urban Decay brush. 

2. ColourPop Cosmetics Lippie Stix in "Glam Bag" 

I love lipsticks, so I was excited about this one. The color is very pretty--a vibrant, dark pink. The formula seems to have amazing staying power. My only issue is that... this is a September bag. This color is not "September" to me. It's definitely a summer color, which some people would love, but seasonally, it's not something I'll be wearing right now. See me in April! 

3. Pixi by Petra Beauty Blush Due in Peach Honey

Another product I was very excited for and was pleasantly surprised by! I'm hesitant to call this a "blush" exactly--it's very, very shimmery, so it strikes me as more of a highlighter. But it does put a little bit of color on, so I'll forgive them for that. It's nice to have a subtle blush-and-highlighter combo that isn't pure gold or really dark. I really love this product! Also, it works great as an eye shadow. 

4. Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow in Toasted

I was so nervous about this eye shadow. I've heard rumors of people getting essentially this same shade over and over and over again. And while that's probably true, I actually really love this eye shadow. It's pigmented; it's smooth and buttery; it applies really well dry and wet. I've used as an all over color and an accent color, as well as on my under eye, and I've enjoyed every look. Now, if I get this color times 6, I'll be a little annoyed! 

5. Manefit Beauty Planner Masks in Mugwort and Lily 

I love a face mask and these K beauty masks (that's Korean-based brands) got me really excited. So far, I've only used the Mugwort type (it's for pore care) and I really enjoyed it. The packaging is super pretty and the mask itself smelled really good; I also noticed a serious decrease in my pore size after using it. This was a great new product to try out! 

Overall, what did I think of my first ipsy bag? 

There were some losers and in general, I'm not a fan of the physical bag they sent. (It's a plain black bag with spiked faux leather.) However, overall, I enjoyed playing with everything I received and I'm excited for my October bag! 

Want to try ipsy? Use my code here!

Beauty Tips: Why I Decided to Quit Dairy

For the past 6 years, I've had cystic acne. I've tried just about everything I could to get rid of it: expensive skincare, prescriptions from my dermatologist, rounds and rounds of antibiotics, going on a different birth control pill, quitting birth control entirely. The only thing that really made my cystic acne go away was being pregnant--but that only lasted about 20 weeks! 

After trying just about everything, I had resigned myself to my fate: I'm just someone who gets cystic acne. That's just the reality. I have extremely oily skin, some kind of slightly hormonal imbalance (trust me, I've always been down that road of tests), and that's it. It's just a perfect storm. 

(You can read about my other oily skin essentials here.)

However, after getting involved in skincare, I was talking about my chronic cystic acne in a beauty group I'm in. Another member asked a serious question: have you considered cutting dairy out of your diet? 

And here's the thing: I love dairy. Milk in my coffee and tea, hot cocoa made with milk, cheese, mashed potatoes with butter and cream... I love dairy. It's probably up there on my list of favorite foods. I am also not anti-dairy: if you ethically source your dairy products (which I do!), you can effectively avoid any of the most negative aspects of dairy products. 

However, I also know about the connection between severe acne and dairy. For some people, dairy can make their skin worse because of the hormones in it. (And note: these hormones aren't bad for you, but for some people they are disruptive.) 

This was something I'd always wanted to avoid. Why? Because I love dairy. But I'd done everything for my cystic acne: I double cleanse with oil to help unclog my pores (I recently switched to pure jojoba), I use tea tree oil and black African soap religiously, I buy all the right expensive skincare, and I love a good clarifying skin mask. But I couldn't shake my worst cystic acne related to my cycle. 

It was time. I had to do it. I had to cut out dairy. 

Obviously, making such a huge dietary change doesn't come out of nowhere. When Forrest needed me to cut out dairy for 4 days, I cried.

So I decided to make changes small: I started with my coffee. My dairy creamer was out; I replaced it with an almond-based creamer from CoffeeMate. (Note: it's really hard to find low sugar almond milk creamers. If anyone has any suggestions that also don't have that horrid aftertaste from the almond, please let me know.) 

Next, it was the milk I use; I used Califia Farms unsweetened almond milk for several weeks, but Califia Farms is having some problems, so they aren't available in stores now. I switched to O Organics Almond milk and it's pretty good (except it has a minor aftertaste). 

Next up on my list of things to drop: butter. I love buttered toast and I'm allergic to soy, a major component in many vegan butter alternatives. Finding a butter alternative that is both dairy and soy free is taking more research than I had previously thought it would. 

The thing that's been easiest to drop, surprisingly, is cheese. I don't really miss cheese (although the sprinkle of parmesan cheese on pasta is rough) as much as I previously thought.... except when it comes to pizza. 

Here's to hoping that all this work finally (FINALLY) gets rid of 6 years worth of cystic acne. 

Have you dropped dairy to help your skin? Let me know how it went in the comments! 

5 Beauty Products I Love Right Now

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time, but to be quite frank, I was waiting until I had five really good beauty products that I felt passionate about. I've been very so-so on beauty products lately: I think the more I learn about beauty, make up, skincare, everything, the pickier I get. It's like I used to think drugstore eye shadows were all about as good as it got; now I couldn't be pickier! 

These five products legitimately fill me with such excitement! It's hard to contain, truly. Let's jump right in. 

1. Soap & Glory's Peaches & Clean Deep Cleansing Milk 

I bought this face wash, originally, in a pinch: I needed something cheap, I needed something immediately, and I needed something that would just take my make up off. Soap & Glory is on a list of questionably cruelty-free companies, so I don't want to promote it as 100% CF. However, if you have sensitive skin and want to replace a micellar water that is totally absolutely not CF, it's a good option. This face wash isn't like other face washes: it's more like a thin lotion. I love using it first to remove my make up, then following up with a second face wash or exfoliant. It also smells amazing, just like peaches, and if I use it alone, it leaves my skin super hydrated. 

2. eSalon's Get Lifted Root Spray

eSalon has been such a hit-and-miss for me, but this root spray has been rocking my world lately. I have very flat hair, but also a lot of hair: so the longer my hair gets, the flatter it gets because of the sheer weight of it on my head. This root spray has been making the days I wear my hair down just a little bit more bearable; it lasts my entire day at work without touch ups and gives me just the right amount of volume, without making my hair feel like a sticky mess. 

3. The Body Shop's Tea Tree Face Wash

I love tea tree oil for break outs. It can be really harsh though, so I always worry about using it every day. However, the Body Shop's Tea Tree face wash has truly changed my mind on that front. I use this as a follow up to my Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleansing Milk. Originally, this little bottle was an impulse buy at Ulta; however, I have since also purchased the full size bottle (I just haven't opened it yet). I am obsessed with this face wash. It's done a really good job of keeping smaller break outs under control for the last few months. If you're oily and acne prone, this is the perfect face wash and it's surprisingly affordable. 

4. Ulta Beauty's Rose Gold Palette

When I first bought this palette, I didn't have super high expectations. I just wanted the free gift Ulta was offering that week (it had a mascara and a bunch of other full size products; I can't help it, I love anything free). However, I've been using this palette almost every single day. The colors all follow along the lines of being muted, mauve-y pink and rose shades, with a deeper purple and a gray; the metallic row has a great selection of matching metallics. It's great for creating a monochromatic look. The metallic shades do need a little assistance (I use some of my Mario Badescu Aloe & Green Tea spray on my brush) to really pop, but for such a cheap palette ($16 after a coupon), it's totally worth it. 

5. SMACK! Beauty's Anti-Wrinkle Retinol Serum 

This was a bargain buy at TJ Maxx and I have to admit, I'm sad that I'll have to repurchase it somewhere else now. It was only $6.99 at TJ Maxx, so if you see it at your local shop, grab it. I alternate this serum with my Ole Henriksen Transformation Gel, just to avoid drying out my skin too much. I consider this serum a major contributor to my reduced break outs in the last two months. Retinol is used for anti-aging, but it also is a great chemical exfoliant to help prevent break outs and cystic acne. This was a great addition to my skincare routine! 

Beauty Review: BITE Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquid Lipsticks*

As always, the asterisk in the title of this post indicates I received these lipsticks for free via Influenster. If you'd like to learn more about my disclosure policy, see here. 

I wanted so badly to love these lipsticks. For whatever reason, when I received the email, I interpreted them to be matte liquid lips. But they are, in fact, not. They are liquified lipsticks, which is nice way of saying a very pigmented gloss. 

I received three colors: Demi-Glace (a sort of brown toned dark purple), Eclair (a fairy standard pinky-mauve with a heavy purple undertone), and Flambe (a bright, orange-red). I wasn't stunned by any of the colors at first glance. I don't like orange reds simply because they don't look good on me. Demi-Glace is quite dark so I could make it work for Fall. Eclair is probably my favorite, but it's also a color that I own in at least ten different ways at this point! 

My first impression, when I tried on Eclair the first time, was: "oh these smell incredibly sweet." They do smell so sweet; it's so cloying that I actually had a really difficult time handling it. Someone pointed out in a beauty group I'm in that they smell like gummy bears. That's pretty dead on, actually. 

On the lips, they feel incredibly nice: they're smooth and glossy, extremely hydrating. If you're not sensitive to smells, they will probably be fine. But if you're like me and a strong smell can give you a headache, they can be overpowering, as I said. However, they leave my lips feeling so moisturized, it's really hard to complain!

Let's talk longevity: they are not long lasting. They're a highly pigmented gloss, essentially; they stay sticky and don't dry down. Unlike lipsticks, it's not a cream or crayon. It bothered me to have my lipstick wear off bit by bit as I went through my morning and reapplying every two or so hours was a bit of a pain. But I like the color of Eclair enough to keep at it. However, the darker and more pigmented colors actually have even more issues with longevity; not only did Demi-Glace come off very easily, but it stained everything it touched, including my coffee mug. 

Would I buy one of these lipsticks on my own? Probably not. At this point, I'm either rocking a liquid lip or a classic lipstick. Gloss was never my favorite, even when I was 14 and lipgloss was insanely popular. The sticky texture is enough to drive me batty. That being said, if you do not like liquid lips and enjoy a more glossy look, these are definitely right up your alley! I've seen some of the other colors in the line and they are actually much better than the three I got. You can view all the colors here. (I really like Chai and Cava!) 

My Top 5 Face Masks for Oily Skin

If you follow me on Instagram, you are probably aware that I'm kind of a face mask addict lately. I buy, and use, a lot of them. They're one method of self-care that I absolutely love doing: it's quick, it's easy, and it feels infinitely refreshing. 

My favorite face masks are ones that, realistically, are best for oily, acne-prone skin because that's what I have. In the future, I'll share some masks for moisturizing dry skin or for sensitive skin. But for now, these are my five favorite masks for my oily, acne-prone, dull skin. 

I luckily have skin that, while sensitive, I can try new things with relative ease. I do 2-3 masks per week (exfoliating the day after usually) and have yet to have a serious allergic reaction. That being said, always spot test if you're unsure about using something on your skin! 

1. Tony Moly, I'm Real for Clear Skin 

I love Tony Moly sheet masks; you can find them in surprisingly cheap packs on Amazon. But I usually buy them as a special treat at Ulta (because I get the most points for purchases there). The I'm Real for Clear Skin mask has rice water, as well as some other cool ingredients to help soothe skin that's broken out. I always save the packet after I use a mask and use the leftover serum the next morning; whenever I have one of these masks, I get so excited about the extra serum! 

2. YesTo Tomatoes for Clear Skin Paper Mask

YesTo is a great brand and here's why: they're relatively affordable and available in most drugstores; they're also cruelty free. I love the YesTo Tomatoes line, including the charcoal sheet and mud masks. However, my favorite mask is the standard Tomatoes for Clear Skin mask (the white pack); it feels amazing on my skin and I always feel like my redness is diminished the next day. As with Tony Moly masks, I save the extra serum for the next day.  

3. Shea Moisture African Black Soap Clarifying Mud Mask 

Mud masks are really my favorite type of mask, but they are much more drying than paper masks. They tend to do more, typically. I started buying the Shea Moisture African Black Soap mask in packet form at Target and have quickly graduated to owning a tub of it. It's that good. It has African black soap (duh), as well as tea tree oil: tea tree oil is one of the best ways to treat break outs. I save this mask for when I'm most broken out and in need of some major skin TLC (this usually happens when I neglect my skincare for a few days). If you have dry skin, this is definitely not the one for you. But if you're oily, it's a miracle worker. 

4. Tony Moly, I'm Real for Pore Care 

Another Tony Moly mask, another day. This is the Red Wine mask for pore care. I love how it smells and feels on my skin; plus, the idea of using red wine to shrink my pores is truly magical. I found 10 of these masks at Marshals for only $5, so I have a ton of them to use. I also genuinely think regular use (one a week) is shrinking the size of my pores. Wishful thinking? Maybe. 

5. YesTo Grapefruit for Dull & Uneven Skin

Another YesTo mask! This is one of their mud masks; I find it so soothing and it smells so good (like grapefruit, obviously). I have very dull and uneven skin, with a lot of redness and melasma spots. This mask is specifically for that purpose because it has vitamin C in it. If you need a treat, this is one mask that I think could work for dry skinned people too; it's not too harsh and the ingredients are meant to sooth, smooth, and work as anti-aging tools. 

Beauty Review: BITE Beauty Lip Masks

Let me tell you about lip balm: it's probably not that great for you. 

I know! When I first heard it, I was like, "No, that's wrong. I need my Chapstick." But then I started to think about it: when I have access to Chapstick (or any similar stick-style lip products), I tend to use it a lot. Like, every hour, I feel like I need in. I listen to the podcast Natch Beaut and my girl Jackie J recently talked about she stopped using lip balm because she realized it was making her lips drier. 

I was, honestly, a little shaken. But I've backed off using lip balms for the past few weeks, I've tried to drink more water, and guess what? I'm not putting my EOS lip balm on every few minutes. 

The only routine I maintain is brushing my lips with my face brush every other night and then always applying a layer of either Smith's Minted Rose balm or Vaseline Lip Therapy. Or, if I have them, applying a dab of BITE Beauty Agave Lip Mask. Let's talk about those, since obviously it's the point of this review! 

I received these BITE Beauty Agave Lip Masks in a Sephora order. Immediately, I wanted to try them. Look at those sample packages! They're lips! I received Regular, Champagne, and Rose colors. The idea is that you can wear them during the day or you can slather them on at night to prep your lips for lipstick the next day. 

My first impression was they are thick. This isn't like a lip balm that you have to scrap out of a tin; they aren't solid. They aren't really a Chapstick texture either. It's like a very thick, goopy lip gloss. I was suspicious, but I persevered. The first night, I woke up to super moisturized lips: the softest lips I'd had, honestly, in months. (All that Chapstick, destroying my pout!) 

They smell great too, which is definitely a bonus. I love my Vaseline Lip Therapy tins, but the smell of them sometimes it's a little too... Vaseline-y? These had a light scent, kind of sweet, but not overpowering. Mostly, I loved having super moisturized lips every morning. My favorite was the original because it was completely sheer (great for sleeping and not smearing pink lip balm all over your sheets); these aren't something I would wear during the day because they are so thick and goopy, but if you are okay with that, the Champagne color is really pretty. 

If you want to buy these BITE Beauty Agave Lip Masks, they're available on Sephora here. Yes, it's $26 for a tube (I gasped a little too), but realistically, a tube will last you ages. You don't need a huge amount (I used probably less-than-half a pea sized drop every night) to cover your mouth. 

Beauty Review: Ole Henriksen's 3 Little Wonders

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a slight increase in my skincare efforts. Ok, not just slight, major. I've always really loved make up, but I'll admit to being lazy and using the cheapest face washes possible until quite recently. In fact, I didn't use moisturizer at all until about 6 months ago, unless I had a free sample. 

I'm on the skincare train now and here's why: after I had my son, I developed pretty bad melasma spots. Melasma spots are hormone-related dark spots on your face (or elsewhere on your body really). Genetically, I'm pre-disposed to them; my mom had them, it was always going to happen. I have a spot on my cheekbone underneath my left eye, as well as a darkened line over my lip. The lip is the most common spot and is often referred to as "pregnancy mask," because so many women develop it during pregnancy. I also developed mild rosacea in the past 6 months. 

For that reason, I ordered the Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders set from Sephora. It includes the Truth Serum, the Invigorating Night Transformation Gel, and the Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer. Here's a review of each product. 

Truth Serum

This vitamin C serum is a tried-and-true for many in the skincare world. Vitamin C is said to help melasma spots, which is primarily why I wanted it. After a few days of use, I rapidly realized this would probably be the only thing from the set I would repurchase (more on that later), because my rosacea was vastly diminished within days. My melasma right on my cheekbone is looking lighter; not super significantly, but enough that I'm impressed. In general, I love putting this serum on in the morning. I'm not exactly sure it does a ton, but it's also not doing me a disservice and I love that it includes collagen. It's very light and it smells good; I really like how it feels under my day moisturizer (sunscreen, girl). 

Invigorating Night Transformation Gel 

This is a product I really go back and forth on. It's probably my least favorite of the set, mainly because I'm just not sure it does anything. Unlike the Truth Serum, it's a gel consistency, so it's not as pleasant to put on personally. It feels really heavy and sticky on my skin. This gel contains AHAs. I wasn't sure what AHAs were supposed to do, so I researched it and these are the basics: 

Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's) might be the anti-aging miracle workers of the new millennium. These New Age, wrinkle-smoothers from plants or milk products also help clear blemishes, hydrate the skin and lighten pigment spots by loosening one to several layers of dead cells clinging to the skin's surface.

That sounds great, except that I didn't notice any of those things happening. I got the same acne I always do. It may contribute slightly to the lightening of my hyper-pigmentation (melasma), but I really do think the Truth Serum does a better job at everything listed there. 

Ultimately, just the way this product felt on my skin was enough to make me not want to use it, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. 

Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer

This is a great night moisturizer because it is so thick. After a few days, I opted to not use it in the morning; I felt it made me too oily. At night though, it's great to have that extra dose of moisture. According to Ole Henriksen, it has "multifruit" acids and antioxidants, which can help in skin turnover and anti-aging. I do think it's a lovely night cream for those with issues with rosacea; it felt very soothing. Again, it is also very heavy, so combined with the Transformation gel it felt like a lot of stuff on my face at night, which isn't a huge issue, but can feel unpleasant to some people. I don't think I would repurchase this moisturizer; I think there is potentially another out there that can better help me and my issues. But for coming in the set, it's a quite good one.