Facial Moisturizers

Hi girls! How's your day going? I hope it's going pretty well.. this is actually a scheduled post and I'm writing this a) the night I got my new kitty and b) in the middle of an anxiety attack in an attempt to calm my nerves (it's working!). Hopefully when I re-read this or when you read this, I'll be much better ;) but anywho, today I'm continuing my Face Friday posts (until I run out of products to test, and then we're in trouble.). I have some of the moisturizers I've tried on my face. I also used a Ponds-like face cream but, man, that's not even worth posting because it's so old-ladyish and it was too thick so I gave it to my boyfriend for his rosacea. ANYWAY. I'm queen of the off-track tonight.

From Polyvore.com

Clean & Clear Oil-Free Morning Glow
Pros: cheap; easy to find; nice scent; contains SPF; fun commercial pops in my head whenever I use it ;)
Cons: the microbeads were kind of weird to apply; the cream was kind of lumpy and strange on my skin; realized upon reviewing this that they test on animals :(
Overall: Not bad, good for a basic moisturizer if you don't have any special skin needs (moisture, rosacea, acne, etc.) but a MAJOR flaw for me is animal testing!

From Neutrogena.com

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer (Combination Skin)
Pros: cheap; easy to find; good texture (not too thin but not thick); pump makes it easy to use
Cons: no SPF; tests on animals :(
Overall: I liked this product until I looked up the animal testing portion, now it'll be a no-no for me as other products are available that I like that don't practice this!





CVS Brand SPF 15 Moisturizer Compare to Neutrogena's (no picture available online and it's at my boyfriend's! Oops, no pic! Sorry!)
Pros: liked this *more* than Neutrogena's; absorbs well; good texture (comparable to Neutrogena); cheap (even cheaper than any of the other options listed); easy to find; CVS is not on the "does test"; list from Peta.org; contains SPF
Cons: None that I can think of!
Overall: Great product, this is one I'd re-purchase.

From MakeUpForLife.net

Murad Anti-Aging Moisturizer with SPF 20 (sample included in Anti-Aging Acne Kit)
Pros: absorbs well; SPF 20; made for people with acne so it seemed good with my skin; not listed on the "does test" list
Cons: high price point
Overall: I love this moisturizer, but not sure I can justify the price point when CVS seems to be a comparable replacement

Exuviance Night Renewing Hydragel (included in Acne Introductory Kit)
Pros: *excellent* overnight moisturizer; amazing scent (to me, anyway); felt really lightweight; absorbs well and good texture; not on the "does test" list
Cons: high price point
Overall: I ADORE this product, truly. If it wasn't so darn expensive, I'd buy it. But right now I'm a no-buy especially for things like this where I don't need it and can buy alternative daily moisturizers instead. Someday, it'll come home with me again.

Overall, my favorites were Exuviance and CVS. CVS remains at my boyfriend's as my daily moisturizer until Neutrogena runs out here, then I'll buy a replacement bottle. Exuviance remains at Ulta, waiting for the day I have coupons or a splurge-excuse ;)

Have you tried any of these? Any suggestions or favorites of yours?

xoxo,
Amanda

Foundation Primers

Hi pretty ladies! Continuing my Friday Face tradition (for now) is my review of the primers I've tried. This is by no means an extensive list, but I think it's a good start for a makeup n00b like myself ;)

Image from BeautyTidbits.com

Murad Skin Perfecting Primer Acne & Shine Control
Pros: filled in pores; gave a good, clean finish; seemed to last a while but not the full day
Cons: tinted, might not work for all skin types; felt kind of heavy, as though I was applying foundation
Overall: 3/5 - nothing spectacular, but I'd buy it again if it was on sale or it came in a kit!

Image from DermStore.com

 

Exuviance Matte Perfection
Pros: good coverage; easy to use
Cons: not marketed as primer so people may not know its purpose; didn't last very long; did not really "matte-ify" my skin, which isn't even oily
Overall: 2/5 - not the worst out there, I'm sure, but needs work IMO.

Image from Kaboodle.com

Pur Minerals Correcting Primer 
Pros: lightweight; covered easily; absorbed quickly; good base for foundation/makeup
Cons: somewhat greasy, strange feeling on my fingers while applying; not sure it helped diminish pores
Overall: 4.5/5 - one of my favorites that I've tried, but the price point keeps me from buying until I try others to make sure it's the best product
 

Image from TheMineralMakeup.com

Bare Escentuals Prime Time
Pros: less costly than some other options; filled lines; long-lasting; good base for foundation
Cons: very thick, felt like applying some sort of clear face mask to my skin
Overall: 3/5 - it was okay, but not one I'd choose in the future.

Image from MusingsOfAMuse.com

Physician's Formula 3-in-1 Correcting Primer

Pros: convenient brush; easy to apply; filled pores to an extent
Cons: brush (I use my fingers to apply primer, so it was a con in my book); did not notice any "correcting" features; not especially effective for me; felt like I had to use much more product than any of the others to achieve results
Overall: 2.5/5 - not the worst, but could use some improvements for me, didn't find the brush helpful nor the product especially useful.

Image from Sephora.com

Tarte Poreless & Tarte Flawless
Pros: affordable for a high-end brand ($9 for the trio!); effective; liked the variety of primers; didn't need a lot of product to be effective; filled pores well (especially Poreless)
Cons: the "Brightening" one (Flawless) didn't really do much brightening and had a pretty strong citrus smell
Overall: 4/5 - I loved Poreless and Flawless was decent, would recommend the trio for girls to try it and it was a good value for sure! (Disclaimer: I haven't really tried the Eyeshadow Primer, and cannot vouch for that as I haven't tried others to compare.)



Bottom line: I'd choose the Tarte or Pur Minerals. The rest seem gimmicky or have major cons, in my eyes, especially since they are pricy, high-end brands (probably with the exception of the Physician's Formula which was about $10-12 even as a drug store brand).

Which primers do you use? Recommendations or warnings?

xoxo,
Amanda

Review: Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup

Hi girls! I'm back to blogging, but unfortunately not with nails (yet!) since they're still growing out. Instead, I'm sharing with you a very special product to me that I've been loyally using for a few months now and has done wonders for my skin. I'm starting this as "Face Friday" even though I'm a day late but bear with me, okay? I have the next two Fridays scheduled already and I think that counts for being a day late this time even though it's the first time. Right?

You may not know I've had acne since I went off birth control about a year or two ago, and nothing has helped (even being on birth control again). I've been on a journey to find a combination of things that work for my skin to control breakouts, and this is one of those products (the rest are coming soon - on Fridays, duh).

It all began one day when I was getting a facial and my aesthetician suggested I try a makeup with benefits for my acne and skin. I told her I used Bare Escentuals and she explained that it wouldn't hurt my skin, but wouldn't help, either. She suggested another brand but I forgot which one, so an Ulta associate helped me find Pur Minerals. I bought the Start Now! kit, in Light, which was on sale at that time for $29.

The benefits of this set included SPF 15 in the foundation, shea butter (organic, too!), vitamin E, is paraben-free, and natural. No dyes, chemicals, etc. but most importantly, no alcohol to dry out your skin, which is an ingredient common in facial care, especially among cheaper brands. I was really drawn to it when I saw the brush, primer, and mascara were included - a whole makeup kit in one box! Since I'm not a huge makeup snob, I was happy I wouldn't have to find a coordinating brush and could try out the primer and mascara, too.

Image from OurKidsMom.com

This kit included the primer, brush, foundation, a highlighter, and their mascara. I loved all of the products, although the brush sheds bristles constantly. I usually have one on my face daily, but it still works well. The primer is one of my favorites of all time (more on that in another post), the foundation covers beautifully, and the mascara was actually awesome considering it was a tiny tube and I didn't expect the brush to work very well (which it did!). I still have the highlighter because I rarely actually use it, except on occasions where I want to highlight my cheekbones. I haven't even made a dent in the small pot, but it seems strange to me that it was the same size as the foundation!

Eventually, I outgrew the small kit, ran out of the primer, mascara, and foundation, and decided to buy the foundation separately. I now use the next color up, Blush Medium, since it's summer and I've gotten a little tan. The foundation is $27 (currently) on Ulta.com. I'm on my second pot of it, although the first isn't really finished; I just leave it at my boyfriend's now that it's starting to run down and I can see the bottom. It lasted about 4 months, I'd say, and is still useable for at least a couple dozen more uses.

Image from OutBlush.com

The foundation applies like a powder, but on my face it feels more like a liquid or mousse foundation. It definitely leaves my face feeling soft and is a pretty good concealer. I use the 'swirl, tap, buff' method taught by Bare Escentuals and it works really well with this product as well.

My only complaint about this product is that as you use it up, it seems to be less effective. I notice my older foundation is much more powdery than the newer one I purchased, which could just be an effect of time, exposure to air, etc. I admit I should probably also clean the brush more frequently.

Overall, I'd absolutely recommend this product. It's a little expensive, but lasts a while and works really well (for me, at least). It's available through Ulta, Pur Minerals, and probably other sources as well but these are the two I trust and would recommend to my readers.

xoxo,
Amanda