Beauty Product Reviews | Page 2

Lone Voice Of Dissent?

This thing is horrid! I'm used to working with difficult foundations, but this is something else. Everything I used it with wound up looking chalky and unnatural no matter how little or how much I used. Like I said I'm used to using difficult products with a learning curve like my Kevyn Aucoin SSE that took me forever to master, but I love. The different between this and the SSE being the complete lack of undertones. Where the SSE is so pigment packed that mixing it with something else doesn't disturb the undertones, they disappear here depending on the colour of what you mix it with, and how thick it is. As a bonus I got a lovely breakout from it to. No thanks.

The Perfect Gold Highlighter

This has got to be the most perfect golden highlighter on the market. It's so natural looking and versatile. You can use it as an all over bronzer or a highlighter. In the winter it's my go to with a light reflecting powder over it, and in the summer it's just this and go. I have so many highlighters in my collection, but this is the one that shows heavy usage. I feel like this is a must for just about everyone, I can't even fathom someone not liking this colour.

Perfect

This colour is the most perfect and flattering colour that I own in my massive blush arsenal. It's a red-pink coral, if that makes sense, that flatters my darker skin tone immensely. Like with all Ilia products, the initial colour is sheer, but builds up very readily with no caking or ashy tone. I keep being surprised by this brand, and I think at this point I should probably just accept that they're perfect.

81 & 83

Inglot is probably one of the most slept on cosmetic brands around, much like Cargo Cosmetics, it's a brand that's mostly loved by MUA's and beauty enthusiasts, but mainstreamers aren't all that aware of it, and I wish they were because this entire line is so much quality. I really wish more brown girls were also aware of Inglot, because they have such a wide range that EVERYONE can find a shade to suit them. Case in point these two cream blushes.

Both 81 and 83 are great brown girl blushes. 81 is a bright pink with warm undertones, and 83 is a rose mauve with a slight brown undertone, also warm. They're super pigmented, blend out well and don't settle into lines or acne marks that I have on my cheeks. They last all day, holding up to sweat, steam and just the general Georgia humidity in the summer, and as a bonus, they don't look or feel greasy. Highly recommend them to anyone, for the price, it feels like I stole something, I've used blushes, cream and powder for three times the price that don't even come close in quality. Do yourself a favour and check them out. Swatches below are 81 & 83 against NC42-44 skin

Original Multitasker

Where to begin with this? First, I got SX12 and it's absolutely perfect in colour and the very yellow undertone. Be warned, there's a steep learning curve and it took me a while to figure it out, but when I did the results where stellar. It's incredibly pigmented, needing only the smallest amount to achieve full coverage. I think what I love the most about it though is the way I've been able to get different finishes out of this one product. I've created a tinted moisturiser by mixing a cream and this, and when used on it's own very lightly, it looks like my skin but better and manages to cover most of my hyperpigmentation spots. This is probably one of the better cosmetic purchases I've made in a long time.

Perfect No Makeup Shade

41 is a gorgeous red brown shade, not overly warm, but probably will work best on those with yellow or golden undertones. it makes a perfect no makeup blush for darker skin-tones as it looks very natural. It's also very finely milled, builds up without looking cakey or powdery. All of these blushes are so pigmented, I absolutely love them, I find that in the summer time I tend to use this colour almost exclusively though, because it looks completely natural to me, for reference in the summer I'm around an NC45.

My Happy Colour

I've been meaning to try Ilia lippies for some time now, really glad that my first try was this colour. My favourite shades are anything mauvey, add some purple to the mix and you've got my happy colour. Though it's pretty sheer in my pigmented lips, it still shows up really well when I build it, and it's not at all patchy. For me, this will be my perfect everyday day colour after Nars Sex Machine.

Sheer Berry

This shade is gorgeous and in the family of shades I prefer to wear as cheek colours. Goes on smoothly and non greasy, and is easily built up for your desired intensity, another win for me from Ilia Beauty.

This is the one

To say that I love Kevyn Aucoin is an understatement. I mean this is the dude that made me start wearing makeup after Making Faces was published. At the time there weren't a lot of outlets for women of colour to learn what colours to use or how to apply things to best flatter our features and he enthusiastically embraced the need and slayed it. I remember being a PA at Paper Magazine and being backstage at the tents at NY fashion week, staring at him like a stalker from across the room, doing up the girls, just in complete awe.

Saying all that to say, I know I'm biased in favour of the brand, but that doesn’t change the fact that every product I've tried has never disappointed, this one being no exception. I already have the original candlelight powder and while I love it, this new version just melts into my skin and gives me a lit from within glow with barely a need to blend. The golden apricot colour absolutely flatters my golden undertones, and looks natural on the brown of my skin. Another win for me KAB.

Vampy!

This is the vampy shade to end all others. A little darker than its blush counterpart, in a very warm oxblood. Just about perfect for any complexion. Goes on smoothly with no hitching or dragging. I haven't worn it for long yet, so not sure about wear time or transfer yet.