I absolutely love writing posts about makeup for y'all. It's probably because I love hearing about what other people like and what works for them and trying it for myself! Also I just got the holiday edition of the Ulta sale magazine in the mail and it just got me so excited! So today I'm going to tell you all about different high-end and drugstore products that I absolutely love or that didn't really work out for me.
Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation
First up is a foundation from the drugstore that soooo many youtubers rave about, the Wet n Wild Photo Focus foundation. I saw this everywhere so I decided to try it a few months ago. Right off the bat, I didn't really care for it. I don't like how it felt on my skin and it feels really sticky. I'm not a fan of the fact that it does break up toward the end of the day especially if you have oily skin. Having seen all that, though, I decided to give it another shot. I started wearing it more and more and actually started to like it. I'm still not a fan that by the end of the day, it breaks up like crazy in my oily spots. I solved the issue of the sticky feeling by just setting it with a really good powder. I do like the amount of coverage that this foundation gives. It's definitely medium coverage but is totally buildable. I think it blends really well too. This foundation is definitely not a long wearing foundation. It does have a strange smell but I do like that it's not one of those foundations you have to kind of dump. It does have a small paddle that you can use to apply it to your face or makeup sponge. I also really like that it goes a long way. You don't need a whole lot of product to cover your entire face. It's supposed to avoid flashback in flash photography but that's not super important to me. I think that's just an added perk. Overall, for a foundation that only costs about $5, it's pretty great. I have become a believer.
Wet n Wild Take on the Day Mattifying Powder
This is a product I wish I could say I love but it has to go under the hate its column. I really dislike everything about this powder. This powder does not keep my face matte throughout the entire day. Like the foundation, it breaks down around my oily spots by the end of the day. When I put it on, it definitely gives my face a little bit of a white color rather than it being translucent. I also noticed that in the sunlight, it is super sparkly. That was something that kind of put it over the edge for me. I absolutely did not like how sparkly it was. I want to be matte, not sparkly. I thought using it in conjunction with Wet n Wild foundations would mean it worked its best since it's the same brand but it didn't seem to make a difference what foundation I used it to set. I really was just not a fan of this powder. This powder is also about $5 and I guess you get what you pay for, unfortunately :(
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
This powder is one of my favorite products. I feel like I am pretty hard to please when it comes to powders and this powder exceeded my expectations. I love how finely milled it is and how easy it is to apply. It does have a bit of color so it's not just straight up white which is one of my favorite things about it. It doesn't make my face look ghostly. I think for the price, you do get a lot of product. This powder does not by any means keep my matte the entire day but I'm ok with that because it doesn't break down on my foundation. I do have normal to combo skin and it works perfectly for me but I do know my mom tried this powder and she has dryer skin and she didn't really like it because it grabbed and bunched in those dry spots for her. If you have dry skin, this may not be the product for you. But I do not have dry skin so it is bliss for me!
Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Full Cover Foundation Concentrate
Y'all, I had such high hopes for this foundation because it's so freaking expensive and I love Marc Jacobs! Sadly, this foundation was a complete dud. People raved and raved about it and with a $55 price tag, I thought this was going to be the best foundation ever. It was the complete opposite. I have never tried such a dry foundation. It was the most difficult foundation to blend and spread. It had a really strange little bar applicator with a ball on the end that served no purpose for me. I'm just so confused as to why people love this foundation. I really can't find anything good to say about this foundation. Have any of you used this foundation and it worked for you? I just really really did not like this product. It's a hard pass from me. I would not recommend it to anyone. :'(
Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Moisturizer
Y'all I can't even describe how much I love this moisturizer!! This definitely made my favorites list without question. This moisturizer is a gel so it's really lightweight. I have normal to combo skin and gel moisturizers are essential for combo and oily skin because they sink in quickly and won't sit on your skin and make it oily. I found out awhile back about gel moisturizers and have been hooked on this one from Garnier ever since. This moisturizer is the bomb.com. My skin has never felt so moisturized. I was using an acne treatment that dried out my skin when I started using this moisturizer and within 24 hours my skin was back to normal. I can't recommend it enough. If you have oily or combo skin, I would absolutely urge you to go out and get this! They also have a formula for normal to dry skin as well! It's a win-win!
NYX Tame and Frame Tinted Brow Pomade
This is another product that made my favorites list easily. I said for so long that I would never fill in my eyebrows because they're so dark already (curse you dark hair!) but here we are...I caved and tried this amazing pomade by NYX. The reason I love this is because the shade (brunette) matches perfect and doesn't make my eyebrows extremely dark. It fills them in just enough so they look fuller but they still look natural. They have 5 shades and the pomade is super creamy and easy to apply. The other thing I like about it being a pomade rather than a pencil is that a little goes a long way and it also helps to set my brows in place. My brows tend to have a mind of their own and I hate brow gels because they always seem to flake so this pomade is perfect. they keep my eyebrows in place all day without feeling like they're hairsprayed to my face. If you're struggling to find a product to fill in your brows, deifinitely consider this pomade by NYX.
Clarisonic Mia 2
Oh my goodness y'all. This is the holy grail of skin care devices. I've seen clarisonic face cleansers around for quite a while but never really thought much about getting one. That is until I saw Tati Westbrook review it on Youtube. I'm totally obsessed with Tati and her channel. She's got a bomb channel if you're looking for makeup tutorials and reviews! Anyway, she absolutely loves Clarisonic and stands behind the company. It wasn't until she used the makeup blending attachment that I decided I really wanted to give this thing a go. Y'all, I am in love with this product!! The makeup brush attachment blends my makeup with hardly any effort. My foundation has never looked so flawless! The cleansing attachment is awesome too! My skin feels so incredibly soft and clean when I wash my face with my Clarisonic. It really gets in there and deep cleans. There are so many different brush attachments that serve different purposes! They even have attachments you can use to smooth rough feet! It's crazy! I highly recommend this product. It would make a great Christmas gift! Clarisonic has a bunch of holiday gift sets like this one!
XO