Rave Review x2 for Bee Luscious!

Hey everyone! How's Tuesday treating you? I'm glad you're taking the time to stop by my blog! For the past few weeks I've been testing out some products from Bee Luscious. It's a brand I've learned quite a bit about over the years. As with any brand- there are some items I'm not so keen on, and others that I absolutely love. Today I'm happy to report to you on two really great products I think are worth checking out!

Eye & Lip Primer

I love this multi-purpose product! Please be aware, once you put it on and wait a few seconds- it isn't going anywhere! It contains no shimmer and basically gives you a light, neutral skin-toned effect. It's a great eye primer for any look. I posted a swatch above... as you can see it blends into your skin while giving it a more even appearance. It even sort of neutralized the blue-ish vein running down the side of my hand! If you find yourself getting disappointed that certain shadows don't look the same on your eye as they did in the package- check this out. It reminds me a bit of MAC paint pots only it doesn't have as slick of a consistency (can be a bit thicker) and has better staying power. It's a primer & a neutral eye base in one. One drawback- this only comes in one shade (not the best option for someone with dark skin who are looking for a product that comes close to matching their skin tone)

In addition to an eye base- it's also a lip base! We all have different natural tones to our lips. It makes us all uniquely beautiful! But sometimes you want that pale nude lip to really stand out- and without a base- sometimes that look is hard, if not impossible to achieve. Some people will use concealer on their lips to create that "blank canvas", and I've tried that as well. But this has a staying power unlike any concealer. It helps keep your liner, lipstick, and glosses from drifting outside your lip line.

*Whether you're using it as an eye or lip primer- a thin layer is all you need. It'll be your best defense against creasing on the eyes or looking cakey on the lips*

♥

Baked Mineral Eyeshadow- Olive Trio

I think this is a fantastic, velvety soft eyeshadow trio! I know it's an eyeshadow product I like when I can't decide which shade I like best! They all look great together- and if you'd like to see a tutorial using these shades, let me know. All of the colors have a subtle shimmer- without looking like over-the-top glitter mania. The champagne color is gorgeous- makes a great lid shade or highlight. The brownish color shade is actually more of a plum- it's so unique. It has a reddish-coppery sparkle that I love. Looks pretty as a smokey powder liner! And the green is phenomenal. Even if you don't gravitate toward green eyeshadow- I promise this is a gorgeous, wearable shade. Can't say enough about these colors. While they're powder- they have this unique creamy-smooth texture. When used with a primer, they're long wearing & delightful!

Thanks to Bee Luscious for allowing me to try these products, and if you get a chance to try them yourself, let me know what you think! Have a great day!

♥

Emily

Caress Whipped Souffle... is it a Shower Must Have?

Hey everyone! If you're like me... when it's time to buy a new body wash- you spend a decent amount of time in the drugstore opening & smelling different kinds. Even my husband Tyler does this with men's body wash & shampoo. Clearly you can't lather up in the aisles, so you judge by scent, which is important. It's nice to be moisturized, exfoliated, deep cleaned, or any number of other functions a body wash claims to deliver- but scent is pretty darn important too.

I received an offer from Caress to test and review one of their new Whipped Souffle body washes. I was intrigued by the concept of a souffle-textured body wash, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've been using it for the past month or so. I must say, I adore the texture of this product. It's creamy, and not as thin as most body washes. In fact, I feel like I'm applying a highly moisturizing lotion while I'm in the shower. It gets a little bubbly, but you actually feel like it's doing something for your skin that might have a lasting effect- so that's nice. Even on days that I forget to put on lotion, my skin tends to feel somewhat soft, so I give the Caress body wash some credit. (along with the excrutiating humidity...boo).

Now on to the all-important scent that I mentioned at the start... it really wasn't working for me with this product. I was expecting a juicy peaches & cream scent... but what I had was basically a classic soapy-floral scent. In a blind scent-test... I might not have known it was peach. If I was testing this in the drugstore & judging it purely on scent, I would've put it back. *OR*... am I completely mistaken and does a "white peach cream" smell drastically different than a traditional peach? If so, no white peaches for me. This is my point- if a brand wants to sell body wash- they have to have a fantastic scent, because that's what draws a person in- to eventually learn about the awesome texture.

Perhaps the other scent options available are much better than white peach. (check the Caress website for more info on that) Despite its outstanding texture- the scent doesn't make me want to repurchase. Sorry to those at Caress who are reading this! I appreciate that you respect my opinion and offered to let me review this product. But I have to be honest, and if you're reading this, perhaps you could use your resources to tweak the scent a bit... add in some peachy deliciousness and you'll have one fantastic shower-worthy product!

PS- wanna know about a Caress product with an AMAZING scent that I love? The Tahitian Renewal Silkening Body Wash. It's sort of like a scrub... great to use between sunless tanning sessions to slough off the dead skin.

♥

Emily

Lip Color Dupes!

Hey everyone! Sometimes with my videos, it's just easier to see the info all written out as opposed to having to look back on 10+ minutes of me talking about it. I'll occasionally forget that... and sometimes it takes a post like this on the Beauty Broadcast Facebook Page to remind me...

Thank you to Dale Marie for reminding me! So here is a picture of the dupes- plus the names of the brands & shades. If you want to see the video for more detailed descriptions of these colors- click here. Also- I tested these shades on my lips and the dupes are even more similar on the lips than the swatches on my hand. Sometimes the light catches the shades certain ways & they don't look as completely similar as they did in another light. Sorta confusing... but anyway- here are the swatches!

(the inexpensive "dupe" is marked with an asterisk*)

Left Column (top to bottom):

-Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Gloss in Groove*, Nars Lip Gloss in Turkish Delight

-ELF Plumping Lip Gloss in Oasis*, Nars Lip Gloss in Orgasm

-L'oreal Colour Juice Lip Gloss in Caramel Creme*, Nars Lip Gloss in Greek Holiday

Center Column (top to bottom):

-Jordana Pretty Shine Lip Gloss in Lovely*, Lancome Color Fever Lipgloss in Heatstroke

-MAC Lip Glass in Nymphette, Milani Crystal Gloss in Summer Baby*

-Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Roseberry*, MAC Craving

Right Column (top to bottom):

-ELF Moisture Care Lip Color in Ruby Slipper*, Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Fireberry

-Maybelline Color Sensational in Born With It*, MAC Angel

-Rimmel Moisture Renew in Sunset*, MAC Viva Glam V

How to Use Shadow Pencils + Coastal Scents Swatches

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of blogs lately! I actually have lots of things to be blogging about- so let's get to it! I wanted to share some swatches of these new Coastal Scents double ended eyeshadow pencils. You might be thinking... I have tons of powder shadows- why do I need shadow pencils? Well, using a small amount of a cream-based product under your shadow can really make the color pop! The Coastal Scents pencils are nice because there are so many colors to choose from... allowing you to make the most of a number of different looks! Before I describe the colors- I have some tips for wearing shadow pencils...

• Apply a primer first. These creamy pencils are not a substitute for a good shadow base like Palladio eye primer, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, or Urban Decay Primer Potion.
• Use only a THIN layer of any cream-based shadow. You'll notice creasing if you apply too much.
• After you apply the pencil, pat the area with your finger, or further blend the color with a brush. This takes care of any excess product, ensuring that you have only what you need on your lids.
• If you have more than one cream shadow pencil- blend shades! The consistency will make for gorgeous fades between colors.
• Unless you're going for an ultra glossy look that you're only wearing for a short amount of time, definitely top your cream based shadow with a powder. It will make for a super long-wearing look! (kind of like topping a cream blush with a powder blush)
• Use jumbo pencils as a liner and smudge them out for a smokey look (top it with powder too!)
• Experiment with different shades. Just because you use a turquoise pencil doesn't mean you have to top it with the same color of shadow. Mix & match different colors to create unusual undertones in your eye look! :)

Now on to my review! Coastal Scents has 12 dual-ended shadow pencils. They're rich and creamy, and the pigmentation is awesome. You can try out one for $2.95, or get the whole set for $29.95 (Coastal Scents sent me my set to review). These remind me of the NYX Jumbo shadow pencils, although most of these shades apply more smoothly, and feel a little less thick- which can be a good thing if you struggle with creasing. (According to my tips above- a thin layer is the best way to combat creasing). I've enjoyed using these alongside my 88 Shimmer palette- the pencils really set off the look! The price is great, and while it's awesome having the whole set, if you don't want to spend that kind of money- try a neutral pencil duo and a colorful one that you like the looks of. It's nice because there are 2 colors in each pencil! One drawback- the shade names are on the box they come in, not the pencils themselves. It's a small detail, but I had to write them all down because when I use these in tutorials- I want to be able to tell you what colors I'm using. I do enjoy that you get some semi-matte creamy shades, some shimmers, metallic shades, and even glitter! :)

*=Emily's Favorites

(Top 2 rows- left to right)

• Celestial Moon... (metallic silver & silver glitter)
• *Trendy Teal... (shimmery periwinkle blue & metallic teal)
• *Copper Penny... (shimmery tan & shimmery warm mahogany brown)

(Second 2 rows- left to right)

• Vanilla Chocolate... (creamy off-white & creamy dark brown)
• *Mystery Wand... (metallic white & shimmery black)
• Pink Fringe... (light metallic pink & shimmery lavender)

(Third 2 rows- left to right)

• *Soft Touch... (iridescent white & metallic lavender)
• Vibrant Glam... (shimmery yellow & metallic green)
• Sapphire Sky... (metallic light blue & metallic sky blue)

(Fourth 2 rows- left to right)

• *Peach DuJour... (light peach iridescent shimmer & deep gold shimmer)
• Denim Blues... (creamy royal blue & creamy navy blue)
• Emerald... (metallic emerald green & shimmery forest green)

♥

Thanks for stopping by my blog & have a great day!

Emily