For my first post, I have decided to do a beauty to-do list that I have for myself at the moment. I am constantly searching for new and better beauty products, whether it is skin care or makeup. So, I thought it'd be fun to share some of that with you guys. The products below will be a good mixture, I think, of high-end and low-end products. I also even have a couple of dupes for a very fantastic product. So, read on! :)
1. SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion
I came across this product about a year ago, but I was kind of turned off because of the price ($60). Plus, I have never really used a toner before, and I've a heard a lot of people say that toners don't really work. So, all in all, I was just not really attracted. However, a couple of months ago, I stumbled upon RAEview's channel on Youtube. For those of you don't know who she is, RAEview, in my opinion, is one of the best makeup and skin care reviewers on Youtube. Her videos are extremely informative and she gives you a lot of options. After watching RAEview's review of it
here, I really started having second thoughts. It seems like her skin is very similar to mine (normal/combination and sensitive) and she says that this normalized her skin. NORMALIZED. I want to be normal so badly! Not only did it normalize her skin, it also keeps her breakouts away. I haven't really found good high end products that keep acne away. So, if this is true, this is a BIG turn on for me. You can find this at the SK-II website or at Sephora.
2. Clarins' Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed
I've heard a lot of good things about Clarins in general, so I've always wanted to try something from them. I don't know why I haven't had the chance. Like the SK-II toner, I also found out about this product through RAEview (
here). I was actually kind of going back and forth between this cleanser and
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser, but after reading the really positive reviews online for the Clarins cleanser, I was kind of won over. I have weird skin; it's combination around my T-zone, but I have dry patches on my cheeks, my forehead, and the tip of my nose. In addition to that, I also have mild acne. I have been using
Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash Daily Scrub for a good four years now. All throughout high school, the scrub did it's job fairly well. I had some issues with the dryness, but it wasn't bad. Lately, though, I feel like the scrub is just drying out my face, especially now that it's winter time. So, I've been on a hunt for a cleanser that would clean out the gunk inside my pores without leaving my skin stripped and dry. You can find this at the Clarins website or at Sephora.
3. Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Shadow
Folks, there is a great big Color Tattoo bandwagon out there and I'm jumping on it. Tons and tons of people have raved about these shadows for quite a while now, and I don't know why it has taken me this long to finally take notice. They're supposedly very pigmented and goes on your lids very smoothly. Many have compared them to
MAC's Paint Pot and said that they work just as well. I'm really interested in these now.
4. e.l.f Studio Endless Eyes Pro Mini Eyeshadow Palette in Natural
DUPE ALERT. This is one of the best dupes I've found online for Urban Decay's Naked Palette. And, it's only 10 bucks. The Naked Palette is probably the grand-daddy of all other palettes in terms of popularity, even though there are the Vice Palette and Naked 2 Palette. The real dupe is actually
e.l.f's Beauty Book Neutral Edition, but much to my dismay, the beauty book is not on the website anymore. I'm not sure if it's completely discontinued, but I just haven't been able to find it anywhere. However, all of the colors in beauty book can be found in the big Studio Endless Eyes Palette. As of now, the e.l.f website shows that they are currently out of stock. There is a chance that you might be able to find it at Target or Walgreens. Crossing my fingers!
5. Sleek i Divine Storm Palette
As you can probably guess from looking at the picture, yes, it is another dupe for UD's Naked Palette! I've actually never heard of this brand before stumbling upon this
review of it. It's a very close tie between this palette and e.l.f's palette for being the best dupe of the Naked Palette. Both the e.l.f palette and this palette seem to be very pigmented. I think the e.l.f eye shadow palette is sort of winning because it is only 10 bucks, but both seem to be very good options. You can find this palette
here.
So, I think that's about it for now. I'll make sure to update if I add anything else to the list. If you want to recommend some products for me to try or if there's anything you want me to post, please leave a message on the comments section below. Thanks for reading! :)
-N
