Boi-ing your way to complexion perfection with Benefit

 

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the Benefit Cosmetics team to have a play with their new concealer in the range and check out the cute restyling of some old faves!

Some of you may remember Fake-up, Erase Paste or cult fave Boi-ing? These are the previous names of the newly repackaged concealers and now with a new formula, the Airbrush concealer, the entire range will fall under the name Boi-ing, in honour of their best seller. But don't be fooled by the cute pink packaging, these products do their job well! What ever the dilemma, Benefit's got you covered with 4 different formulas for complexion perfection - Brightening, Hydrating, Industrial Strength and the new Airbrush

All $38nzd, $34aud, $20usd each SHOP HERE

Brightening Concealer (Erase Paste)

4.4 grams
No.1 Light - No.2 Medium - No.3 Dark

Claims = Full Coverage, Ideal for dark circles, Brightening melon undertones, Creamy blendable formula and Radiant Finish

Opinion = I disagree with "full coverage", its more a medium coverage. It has a light peachy undertone to correct the purple/blue tones in dark circles, once it's blended out it looks natural and even. It has that radiant glowy finish to prevent cakey undereyes. I found using my fingertips was the best way to blend while still keeping the coverage. It does look a little dry once it's set but lasts all day without creasing. If I don't set it however, it will start to crease in my expression lines. I also use this as a eyelid primer to correct veins.

Industrial Strength (Boi-ing)

3.0 grams
No.1 Light - No.2 Medium - No.3 Dark

Claims = Full Coverage, Ideal for blemishes and heavy-duty dark circles, Creamy formula with a matte finish

Opinion = It is more a medium buildable coverage but be sure to only use a small amount, spot conceal. If you use too much it will need more blending which almost moves the product around and lifts it off the skin. Applying a small spot of this concealer on a blemish or 3-4 spots under the eyes and blending out with your fingertips or a beauty blender seems to give the best results. Also using any more product can cause it to crease and cake up. For blemishes, it's good to have a matte finish but still have a creamy consistency otherwise it could look dry and make pimples stand out.

Hydrating Concealer (Fake-up)

3.5 grams
No.1 Light - No.2 Medium - No.3 Dark

Claims = Sheer coverage, Hydrating, hides dark circles and visibly smooths lines, lightweight formula and natural finish




Opinion = This concealer has a layer of vitamin E and apple seed extract with a concealer center, perfect for hydrating the under eyes and keeping them fresh all day. I personally love this concealer and use to keep Fake-up in my bag for everyday touch ups. I use it under the eyes or over blemishes that are looking dry to hydrate skin and blend it out with my fingertips to boost the coverage. Because it is only sheer coverage, it doesn't fully cover blemishes or dark circles but would be perfect for someone who doesn't have dark under eyes but wants to look fresh all day!

Airbrush Concealer (NEW!)

5.0 grams
No.1 Light - No.2 Medium - No.3 Dark

Claims = Sheer - medium coverage, Waterproof, lasts 10 hours, airbrushed finish





Opinion = I'm loving this concealer so far, it's almost like a whipped texture with a lightweight, buildable coverage. This concealer does what it says and literally looks airbrushed on the skin blurring pores, fine lines and unevenness giving you a flawless finish. I personally like to apply this with a beauty blender, I just squish the sponge in the concealer pot and bounce on areas I want to look airbrushed, normally under my eyes and around my nose. You can build up the coverage using your fingertips. I didn't have a problem with it caking up or creasing either.

I'm very impressed with these concealers, especially the new Airbrush concealer! Of course I think they need to extend the colour options with a lighter and a deeper shade, because these being the lightest I can tell they will still be too dark for fairer people. The price of these is a little steep in my opinion, $38nzd is a lot of money for one concealer, but if you find one that works for you, it's totally worth it! The Airbrush concealer seems to be the best value for your money with 5.0g of product. It all depends on what you want to cover whether it's dark circles, uneven skin tone or blemishes, surely one of these will work wonders for you! And remember that these are not a liquid cream but solid cream concealers to ensure coverage, use small amounts because using too much will pretty much guarantee caking and creasing. 

Available at Sephora online, Benefit Cosmetics counters and Smith & Caugheys

- Lucy Maria xx

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation & Concealer

My favourite kind of blog to write is a foundation review, and today we're looking at two of Tarte Cosmetics products, part of their Rainforest of the Sea range, water-based Foundation & Concealer! Both contain 20% water to hydrate dry skin as they mask redness, dark spots & uneven skin tone. Water based products don't work well with silicone (primers, beauty oils etc) so try to use these with other water based products. With concentrated levels of pigments, these products offer a lightweight medium to full coverage that should last up to 12 hours. Plus packed with Tarte's antioxidant Rainforest of the Sea complex & non-chemical SPF 15 sunscreen, the hypoallergenic formula helps to brighten, restore & protect skin!

♥
Rainforest of the Sea Foundation 1oz - $39.00USD
Luxurious frosted glass bottle with a voilet to gold ombre pump lid & a dropper applicator. I'm not a big fan of the dropper applicator after trying Stila's Aqua Glow foundation, it's just annoying & can get very messy.
Tarte recommends 1-2 drops for Light coverage 
Or 3-4 drops for Medium to Full buildable coverage

Pump Lid

Drop Applicator

♥ Before & After

I got the shade Fair Neutral, the lightest shade available for fair skin with yellow & pink undertones. As always, I tried this foundation one side with a Beauty Blender & the other with a flat top kabuki to see the difference in coverage & longevity.

Beauty Blender:

Medium coverage, natural radiant finish, smoothed over imperfections & pores. It blends like a dream with a beauty blender & I actually noticed better coverage & buildability possibly because the dampness of the sponge works so well with the water base in the foundation & doesn't soak most of it up. 

Flat Top Brush

Medium coverage also with a natural radiant finish. This foundation blends out so smoothly it just glides over imperfections! The lightweight hydrating formula looks like skin & retains radiance even after setting with a powder. Using a brush gave pretty similar results to using a sponge for me, only it's a little faster to blend over the face.





I personally love LOVE the finish if this foundation! The water base hydrates the skin giving it radiance, settling to a demi-matte finish giving it that natural appearance. It blends out easily using a brush or sponge & has the same results. It glides over imperfections leaving the face looking flawless & smooth. I like the fact it can be worn light but it's easily buildable to a full coverage. It doesn't patch up or cling to dry patches (unless using the wrong primer/skincare) & lasts well throughout the day without fading off. My only negative is the drop applicator as it's very messy & inefficient.

♥

Rainforest of the Sea Aquacealer Concealer 0.34oz - $26.00USD
Similar luxe packaging to the foundation but has a large doe foot wand applicator making it super easy to apply in desired areas - under eyes, forehead, chin etc to mask redness, dark spots & acne or to brighten under the eyes. This concealer is HUGE you get a massive 0.34oz of product, but it smells horrible & strongly of chemicals but that doesn't last once blended out.

 Doe Foot Applicator

♥ Before & After

I got the shade Fair for fair skin with pink undertones, the lightest shade available. I also applied this concealer one side with a Beauty Blender & the other with a flat top kabuki to see the difference.. Pictures show before foundation, with foundation & then with concealer.

Beauty Blender:

Medium coverage, natural finish but a little creasy because of the water formula, the damp sponge doesn't soak up much of the excess. It was easy to blend with a beauty sponge but I noticed only a little dark-circle coverage & brightening, nothing outstanding. 

Flat Top Brush

Medium to Full coverage, natural finish, it can be a little dry under the eyes because it's quite a thin consistency & kind of settles into fine lines if not set quickly with a powder. Remember! If you already have fine lines or naturally creasing eyes, there is nothing to avoid a concealer creasing on top of it.. It blended easily with the brush & gave better coverage with a smoother, brighter appearance. 

I like this concealer, it blends in well with the foundation, it smooths & brightens but I wouldn't recommend it for people with dark-circle concerns or to cover imperfections flawlessly.. It's thin so it doesn't go cakey but its slightly dry so not the best to build up on itself. The smell is something I really don't like and I feel could have been avoided, but thankfully it doesn't hang around after blending. I love that you get so much product in the bottle & I quite like the big doe foot for quick easy application.

How I apply my concealer before blending

Overall, I love the foundation and have been rocking it everyday, even on nights out, and I like the concealer but I don't think it's anything amazing, just the fact you get a huge 0.34oz for the price.

Foundation - 4.5/5
Concealer - 3/5

What foundation or concealer would you like me to test & review next!? Leave a comment here or on my Instagram - Lucymaria_x

LucyLoves! xx

Milani 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer Review!

I'm back with another Foundation review for you guys, this time it's an affordable one from the drugstore! Milani Cosmetics have recently come out with this new product, a 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer - CONCEAL + PERFECT promising to "Combat under eye circles, redness & other skin imperfections" with a Medium-Full coverage, lightweight longwear formula that is sweat-proof & water-resistant! So I put this foundation to the test for the first time using a Beauty Blender on one side & Flat Top Kabuki Brush on the other, like I usually do to see any differences in application.

♥

I ordered mine in Creamy Vanilla 01 from BeautyJoint for $10.50 USD

www.beautyjoint.com/Milani

"A no mess, no drip pump dispenses just the right amount needed to achieve a flawless look"
I love when a foundation bottle has a pump, it's much easier for applying! As you can see, this foundation is very thick & gloopy.. so I wouldn't agree with "lightweight" but this amount was perfect for covering my whole face with a natural finish & medium coverage. Add a little more to areas that need more coverage, this foundation is high in pigment so I doesn't take much to build up but because it's thick & oil-free, it starts to set on the face & can cake up, so apply and blend quickly! They have 14 shades available and I chose Creamy Vanilla 01 because that is (currently) the lightest shade and omg what a joke! It is seriously atleast 1-2 shades darker than my skin! I wear NC15-20 in MAC so I'm pretty fair, I also know a few people with even lighter skin so what would they use?! It also has a lot of warm yellowy pigments which tend to oxidise deeper also so that is a huge disappointment! I recommend mixing it with a lighter foundation, even a cream/moisturiser! It would also work to thin out the thick consistency.

♥Before & After♥

One side using a Beauty Blender, the other using a Flat Top Kabuki

So remember this foundation promised Med-Full coverage, Lightweight, Long Wearing,
Oil-Free and Sweet & Water Resistant!

Flat Top Brush

Medium coverage, blemishes are concealed & it looks very natural! I noticed with the brush it went patchy, hard to move and took longer to blend.. 

Beauty Blender 

Medium coverage, even finish, imperfections are concealed & natural finish. I definitely prefer using a beauty blender with this foundation! It was so much easier to blend out too

How did it hold up throughout the day? I can't say this foundation is very long-wearing or sweat-proof in my experience so far.. It faded on my forehead, chin & bottom of my cheeks. I would probably only wear this on a night out for dinner or the movies where I'm not out for too long & mainly because the shade is too dark haha overall I really like the flawless yet natural finish I get when applied with a BB but hate the fact this is the lightest shade available! I would wear it all the time if they had a good match.. :/  I wouldn't recommend trying if you're any lighter than NC15, but for the price I'm not bothered because I can play around & see if gets better.

Here's a few other shots where you can see the shade, it wasn't too bad in some light but then again..

 


LucyLoves! xx

SkinnyMe 14 day Teatox Results & Review

www.Skinnymetea.com.au

Ok, some of my Instagram followers will remember me posting about this a couple of weeks ago, SkinnyMe Teatox!

I picked up the 14day detox to start with & see how well it works. This is a two step program combining a Morning loose leaf tea & an Evening sachet tea designed to cleanse & detox your system in a natural & gentle way while giving you energy & suppressing those sugar cravings! So let's talk about the ingredients, taste, price & efficiency of this detox program, & of course Before & After pics!

♥
Ingredients: 

Morning Tea (Before Breakfast) - Sencha Green Tea, Green Oolong Tea, Lemongrass, Artichoke Extract, Yerba Mate Leaf, Burdock Root, Dandelion Leaf, Calendula Flower, Blue Cornflower

This a loose leaf tea so you will need a tea strainer to drink it.

Stimulating & Uplifting, this blend contains antioxidants as well as added cleansing Artichoke booster to leave you feeling energised, hydrated & refreshed!

Evening Tea (Before Bed every 2nd Night) - Senna Leaf, Valerian Root, Celery Seed

Senna is a traditional herbal laxative used to support healthy bowel function, elimination & detoxification. Supports efficient cleansing of the digestive tract

Velarian & Celery combined calm the stomach & digestive system

Celery Seed is used to relieve inflammation, cleanse the blood & support the body's natural detoxification systems, eliminating metabolic waste & expelling excess fluid from the body.

Use every SECOND night, because of the laxative effect

Results:

  Left/Before - May 17th 2016       Right/After - May 31st 2016

As you can see, in the two weeks of using this tea, not a lot has changed haha so I made sure to weigh & measure myself for accurate results & there is a small difference!

Pre Teatox Weight - 67.5kgs/148lbs.  Measurments - Bust: 89-90cm Waist: 71cm Hips: 90cm

Post Teatox Weight - 65kgs/143lbs.  Measurements - Bust: 87cm Waist: 68cm Hips: 85cm

Now let's be honest here, I did not get a lot of exercise done in those two weeks! Very little actually haha my own fault completely & have no doubt I would have seen much better results had I done more :/ and I didn't change my diet much because I eat fairly healthy anyway, a lot of Chicken & Vegetables, eggs, salads & smoothies, so I'm pretty good with food but I can slip on the weekends!

I can say it definitely worked for cleansing my system, every morning after the Night tea I had to rush to the bathroom 2-3 times, so be mindful of this before work or important day events haha I did notice a lot more energy & it definitely suppressed my naughty food cravings during the day.

14day Teatox Program - $39.00AUD

28day Teatox Program - $65.00AUD

28day Evening Cleanse - $40.00AUD

Strawberry Strainer - $5.00AUD

In conclusion, I think I'll try the 28day detox & do it properly with a food plan & exercise, but other than that I'll be honest & say, I don't think you need this "Teatox".. I get the same results if I exercise more regularly (which they recommend) & drink Green Tea (helps weight loss & suppress cravings)

I can also get a good digestive detox/cleanse with Vegetable/Fruit Juicing for 3-5 days, but I recommend you read more about Juice Detoxing before trying ;)

LucyLoves! xx

Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Mascara

Roller Lash Mascara Review

First impression on Benefit Cosmetics New Mascara

Roller Lash

"A mascara inspired by hair rollers, this super-curling & lifting mascara gives a sexy 

wide-eyed look. Its patent-pending Hook 'n' Roll™ brush features tiny custom-designed

 hooks to catch, lift & curl even short & straight lashes"

♥

"Bye-Bye, eyelash curler! Roller Lash has this Instant curve-setting formula that holds 

curl for 12 hours, is easy to remove, & contains provitamin B5 and serine, known for their 

lash conditioning benefits" 

97% said it visibly lifts lashes

87% said it gives a long-lasting curl

94% said eyes look more wide open

www.benefitcosmetics.com

The above is all written & found on Sephora.com :) ^

Now for my opinion & review...

First, the packaging.. I LOVE cute statement packaging that's eye-catching & stands out,

And Benefit never fails on that! How cool is the box with this product?!

The Mascara has a thick, black tube with "Roller Lash" in Rosy pink writing &

the hair roller inspired pink lid with a rubbery texture (which I fear could get dirty, fast.)

The wand is small with a slight curve in it, which I find helps prevent product getting on your lids.

♥

"Gently wiggle the wand from the base of lashes to tip. Repeat across your lashline, 

making sure to catch every lash "

This mascara is easy to apply, not too wet so it catches all your lashes & separates them.

I luckily have quite long, naturally curled lashes to start with, but I find this product sure 

does help with curl not matter what length! But also adds length & separates the lashes, yet

 because this product is more of a dryer, satin formula is it fast drying & gives a acceptable 

amount of clumpy-ness to create slight volume, to prevent spidery lashes.

It's comfortable to wear, did not transfer throughout the day, a kept the curl intact.

Water Resistant. Very easy to remove.

Roller Lash retails $24 usd & I think is worth every penny for this high-end mascara.

Quick Tip: For thicker, longer, more dramatic lashes, apply a layer of

 Benefits They're Real Mascara on top!

Here are some Before & Afters -

LucyLoves! xx

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

A Foundation Review... 

First impression of the new NARS Foundation - All day Luminous & Weightless 

"An Oil-free foundation that delivers full, natural-looking coverage with 

one drop, for lightweight, 16-hour wear" 
♥

NARS cosmetics is a popular, high-end brand famous for their "Laguna" Bronzer & "Orgasm" Blush throughout the Beauty community, and of course, the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
Sheer Glow has been my holy grail foundation for a while now, but I was so excited to hear about this new "All day Luminous & Weightless Foundation"
How perfect does that all sound!?
So, I ordered it from Sephora during their VIB sale in April, And here is my first impression...

www.sephora.com/nars

Where do I start.. 

The Packaging! NARS has always had quality, sleek packaging with their signature,

capital lettered brand name on the matte-black front.

This product is no exception.

Tall, frosted glass bottle, Matte-black lid, brand name on the front. Beautiful.

But let me mention, there is a pump! 

No need to purchase an add on pump like in the past with Sheer Glow, this product pumps the smallest amount so you can't go over the top or waste any!

There is the standard 30ml of product for $48 usd

♥

Now for the application & wear of this foundation..

Claiming "An extraordinary level of perfection with ultra-lightweight, complete coverage & a uniquely fluid silky feel. Ideal for all skin types & tones, it quickly sweeps on weightlessly, absorbs quickly & blends easily for all-day natural luminosity"

Non- comedogenic (shouldn't clog pores) Dermatologist-tested.
Formulated without oil, alcohol or fragrance.

Directions: Shake, Apply 1 pump into your palm & start warming the foundation in the hands, then, working with the fingers, apply a small amount in the center of the face & begin pressing onto the skin working outwards in sections.

So for my first impression, I decided to go with a Beauty Blender on one side & a flat top kabuki brush on the other. I haven't tried my fingers as I really dislike the feeling of it..

I'm VERY naturally pale, as you can see in the before picture, so it's always incredibly hard to find the right shade. NARS has a great, wide range of Shades with different undertones to match every skin type. I went with Light 3 "GOBI" Light with Yellow undertones.

Though I have a neutral balance of pink & yellow tones in my skin, I heard "Monte Blanc" with pink undertones & "Siberia" with the neutral balance of both, can both come off very pink.

I checked Youtube videos & swatches online, and I feel "Gobi" is the perfect match!

                              BEFORE                                                  AFTER

Before, I have uneven skin tone, redness around my nose & a few blemishes. 
The side with my mole or "beauty spot" is the side I applied using my Flat top Kabuki, and the Beauty Blender on the other side.
In my opinion, the first swipe with my brush was easy, full coverage, smooth & set quickly.
You need to work fast with this product, it's best not to apply the product straight to your face & blend. Pump the drops on to your hand, makeup tray etc & buff quickly section by section.
The Beauty Blender caused the need for more product, but gave the most beautiful, flawless, luminous finish. I needed about 2 to 3 pumps to get full, blended coverage.
♥
You can see how luminous & naturally glowy my face looks wearing just this foundation!
Its certainly lightweight for the kind of coverage you are finished with.
My only con or "thumbs down" would be that this product can pick up on any kind of dryness you may have. I recommend cleansing & exfoliating (if need be) thoroughly before applying & make sure your skin is hydrated & moisturised


After a full 12 day of wear (didn't quite make 16) my makeup still looked flawless!
My contour & blush, the blended effortlessly over top, were still in place.
So far, I'm impressed! NARS, you've done it again! 



LucyLoves! xx