Review: The Balm Instain Blushes

I’ve been lusting after these for a while, but was hesitant based on the price point and the fact that I had no methods to actually view the products in person. I’m one of those people who likes to see things before they purchase if at all possible. I love ordering stuff online, but usually only after I’ve had some experience with a brand and their products.

As someone who has oily/combination skin, I find that most of my blushes tend to fade away by the end of the day. The only exception to this is when I use the Benefit 15 hour primer, which is like glue for anything you put on your face. The Balm claims these products are a long wearing, staining powder blush. They’ve got 6 colors total and I ended up picking up a purple and peach one via Amazon. They retail for $22 and contain 6.5g of product. If you get them from Amazon you can actually pay between $12 and $16 for any of the colors, and Kohl’s sells a 3-pack online for $34 (I don’t have any of the colors in the pack).

To test these claims, I prepped my cheeks with the Revlon Photoready Color Correcting Primer (one of my basic no fuss primers) and wore my Bare Mineral’s foundation on top. I find that my blush wear tends to be less on top of any kind of powder foundation, so I figured this would be perfect. After that I just applied my blush with a stippling brush since they do pack some pigment. After a full day of classes and tutoring (makeup on at 10am and taken off at 9pm) my blush was still perfectly vibrant. My foundation had worn off in several places on my face but the blush was a trooper.

I’m really pleased with the performance of these blushes, and I think they perform better than the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes which tout a long-wear claim. The consistency is buttery smooth and as with all pigmented blushes, a little goes a long way.

I love both colors I purchased, and am keeping my eye on the Kohl’s 3 pack both as a gift for myself and others.

Summer Splurge!

Puppy Proof Makeup and Skincare

I recently adopted a 10 month old miniature pinscher from an animal shelter. I didn’t have a pet growing up, but I was always so envious of other kids who had them and really connected with dogs in particular. Now that I live on my own, I am so glad that I can provide a home for an animal in need. Not to mention she’s basically the most precious thing ever! Who can punish a dog with such a cute face for chewing up her own leash?

All that aside, puppies have lots of energy and love to show their love through doggy kisses, aka lots of licking. After experiencing this, I started to think about the products I use on my body, especially the exposed parts. My puppy LOVES the smell of scented body lotions and runs over to lick me whenever she sees I am putting lotion on. As a result, she’s ingesting some of it. This got me thinking about the harmful things that are in both skincare and makeup, so I decided to do some research and come up with some products that I could use on days when I’d be doing a lot of puppy playing.

Skincare

Searching through my stash of body lotions, I found that I only had one that was paraben free. The Bliss Naked Body Butter, though for reference all of their scented ones are also paraben free. Whenever I know I’m going to be wearing shorts and have my legs exposed, I try to use this in place of my other body lotions. I also use it on my hands and try to let it fully sink in before I go anywhere near my puppy.

Foundation

This one was a bit difficult, but the Bare Minerals mineral foundations are paraben free and are great! I always make sure to put this on if I know there will be some face loving going on.

Lips

Initially I thought that I was going to have to give up any colored lip products, and switch to chapstick entirely. Burt’s Bees chap stick is a great natural and paraben free option that I use on a regular basis. Upon researching, i discovered that Tarte lipglosses and lipsurgences, OCC lip tars, and Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing liquid lipsticks are also paraben free. I can rock some great color and still be cognizant of what my puppy might be licking up.

Nailpolish

I think it’s fairly well known that of cosmetics products, nail polishes tend to contain the most harmful chemicals. Luckily, there are a lot of reasonably priced brands that are 3 free, 4 free and 5 free. If you don’t know, the 3 free refers to formaldehyde, dibutyl pthalate, and toluene. I have had personal experience using toluene in lab work as an undergrad for cleaning oil stains from rock cores. For those who think that the danger claims associated with these chemicals are not so significant, I can personally attest to the fact that my skin had significant reactions every single time I used toluene in the lab even though my hands were protected by gloves. These chemicals are no joke. The fourth and fifth chemicals are formaldehyde resin and camphor. 

Some of the 3 free brands which I love include Butter London, Sephora by OPI and Color Club. The nail polishes are opaque and long lasting, so you don’t have to sacrifice quality to be conscious of chemicals.

I own two 4 free brands, Orly and Spa Ritual. I personally own quite a few Spa Ritual nail polishes and absolutely love them. They are definitely some of my most worn.

The only 5 free brand I own is Zoya. I was able to actually get 3 bottles of Zoya polish for free (you just pay for shipping) and that’s how I came across it. I’m definitely planning to pick up more colors as I work through some of my other polishes!

I hope that this information was helpful for any other fellow pet owners. We all want to keep our furry friends healthy and happy :)

Just a quick snap of the products I used for today, its a casual school and running errands day.

Review: Bare Minerals The Aphrodisiac Blush

I posted a picture of the things I picked up recently from Bare Minerals on Valentine’s Day, one of which was this blush. Bare Minerals holds a special place in my heart because the foundation is the first one I ever really used, and I’ve never gotten over how natural and smooth my face looks when I use it. i’m also completely obsessed with their line of Buxom lip glosses which make your lips tingle. Anyways, on to the details about The Aphrodisiac.

The Aphrodisiac is one of the pressed compact blushes (0.21 oz, $22) and is described as a peachy coral on the website. I would say that is definitely accurate. The finish of the blush is satin, which is my favorite kind of finish for a blush. I wore this on my cheeks for about 9 hours and it looked just as nice as when I had first applied it. So far, my skin hasn’t had any reaction to it either. The blush is very finely milled, super smooth, and very easy to blend. It’s not as crazy pigmented as some of the NARS blushes, but a swipe with your brush will be plenty to cover your cheek. All in all, I’m really pleased with this blush, and I actually prefer it to my other peachy coral blushes (namely Nars Orgasm, which I’ve compared with this in a swatch below) because of the finish and the lack of shimmer. If you want just the beautiful color without it being too flat and matte, this is a perfect peachy coral blush to pick up. 

Photos of Products and Swatches!

Bare Minerals Valentines Day purchase! Since I’m single I figured I’d just spoil myself and treat myself to some new things. I purchased the blush and the four eyeshadows, and received the lipgloss/liquid lipstick for free :) Reviews and swatches coming soon!