Purminerals Bare It All Collection + Benefit Hoola Bronzer Dupe

 A few weeks ago I was browsing through the makeup section of Shoppers Drug Mart and came across this Purminerals Bare It All kit. I always pass by Purminerals but never actually thought of trying it but this kit seemed to be a perfect option to get an idea of a couple of their makeup items. However, I didn't buy it instantly because  it retails for around $36+taxes and the packaging felt somewhat cheap. But when I came home I kept thinking about it so I went to the Purminerals website and was completely shocked to find the same kit for just $25. Thus, I picked it up with another skincare kit that I'll review after trying it for a couple of days. 

One great thing that I noticed about Purminerals website is that they constantly have promotions going on so you will never have to pay the listed price. In addition, this brand is exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada and Ulta in United States, but due to the price difference I would recommend Canadian beauties to shop online.

The Bare It All kit includes a black felt tip eyeliner, shea butter lipstick, contour/highlight powder duo and mineral blush. 

Pure Black Precision Eyeliner: This is an average felt tip black eyeliner. The tip is easy to maneuver and the color is nice and deep but not very long lasting.

Contour/Highlighter Powder Duo in Uncover: First of all, the packaging is sleek but very cheap and plasticy type that is prone to breakage. There is a full round mirror and no wastage of space for extra applicators. The highlighter is a very finely milled beautiful pinkish champagne shade that provides the most gorgeous glow without any shimmer. The contour shade is a true soft brown shade, which is actually not that pigmented but very very close to Benefit Hoola bronzer (I'll post a new comparison picture soon as I lost the original one). Overall, I really like this product except the plastic lid. 

Mineral Blush in Peep Show: I own a lot of blushes but this has to be the most stunning pink blush in my collection. I fell in love with it the moment I used it for the first time. It does not have any shimmer but a beautiful glowy sheen to it which gives a healthy flush to the cheeks. However, I do not like the lid part as it a blank plastic piece that doesn't have a smooth finish or a mirror. Nonetheless, I would definitely like to try some more colors from this line. 

Shea Butter Lipstick in Au Naturel : This is a browny mauve lipstick. It isn't the most pigmented or intense lipstick but is quite moisturizing and feels somewhat like a balm.  However, it doesn't even last for an hour straight. Also, just like other products the lid is very cheaply made. 

Overall, I absolutely love the contour/highlight duo and the mineral blush, but don't really care about the eyeliner and the lipstick. So, if Purminerals comes out with another similar kit I would buy it for just those two products. 

Have you tried Purminerals? What are some of your favorite products from the line?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Top 5ish Favorite: Face Powders

Settings powders add up to the longevity of the foundation while blurring out minor imperfections. Today there are so many powders in the market that it could be very difficult to pick just one, so I have decided to share my top favorites, out of all that I own. For your reference, I am NC 25 in Mac and have dry, sensitive and acne prone skin. Also, all the powders mentioned are merely setting powders and there will be a different post for the powder foundations. 

I have picked up my favorites based on the finish, staying power and frequency of use. Also, I have bundled the Korres powders together because I like all of them equally.

 

Korres Multivitamin Lightweight Powder; Korres Wild Rose Brightening Powder; Korres Multivitamin Powder 

1. Korres Compact Powder: This is my absolute favorite brand for everyday powders as they are very finely milled and smooth in texture. They do not get cakey whatsoever and give a very natural finish to the skin. Also, they last for 5-6 hours and keep my makeup looking fresh. 

 

Same order as above

 

Multivitamin Light Weight/Matte Finish Compact Powder in MVP3: It has some peachy yellowish undertones and melts into the skin leaving a natural matte finish. 

Wild Rose Brightening/Flawless Finish Compact Powder in WRP2: It has pink undertones and definitely provides some brightening affect when applied. 

Multivitamin Compact Powder for Oily-Combination skin in 32N: It has very slight peachy tone to it and even though it is targeted towards oily-combination skin, it works very well for my dry skin. Also, I never had any issue with it clinging to the dry patches. 

Apart from the soft and smooth finish, I love Korres powders because of all the natural and beneficial ingredients. Also, these powders are formulated without mineral oils, silicone etc. 

 

2. Revlon Colorstay Stay Natural Powder in 02 Light: This is the only makeup item in my entire collection that I have hit pan on and that alone says a lot. It stays on well for 4-5 hours and is really good for oil control on the t-zone.
 

Also, this powder can provide a light-medium coverage on layering, but, since it is not as fine as others so it can get cakey after a point. 

3. Scott Barnes Pressed Powder in Beyond Beige: This is the softest and the creamiest powder that I own. It is a light weight powder but the creamy texture makes it somewhat moisturizing. Also, it has very strong yellow undertones so it is good to counteract the redness. 

This powder works really well when I get eczema or redness on my face because its not drying at all. Also, it has the potential to provide an added coverage but I simply use it for redness as too much of it can bring out the yellow. At first I felt it is similar to Revlon Nearly Naked powder in terms of softness, but it is actually way more creamier. 

 

4. Benefit Get Even Powder in 01: This is another yellow toned powder but is looking white in the pictures. It is not as yellow as the Scott Barnes powder but still good enough for covering minor redness peaking through the foundation to get a natural look. 

5. Calvin Klein Subliminal Purity Mineral Based Loose Powder in 204 Translucent:  This is an amazing setting powder for a picture perfect skin. It is so finely milled that it doesn't get cakey what so ever. It has slight shimmer particles in it to help blur any imperfections such as pores, fine lines etc. 

Even though it is looking really white in the picture, it is a translucent powder so blends into nothing while giving a very skin like natural finish. In spite of being such a great powder, unfortunately it is discontinued, but you can still find it on some websites that carry discontinued products. 

What are some of your favorite setting powders? 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

MUA Overview & Possible Urban Decay and MAC Dupes

MUA i.e. Make Up Academy is a very affordable UK based brand. But unless you live in UK, MUA products can only be bought from their online store. Few months ago, I bought 8 items and the shipping cost was £7.50 (fixed rate) to Canada. But recently, I have noticed that they often provide free shipping worldwide with some minimum purchase. 

I came to know about this brand because of numerous comparison posts of the UD Naked palette with their Undressed eye shadow palette. 

MUA Undressed: At the time I bought it, I had the UD Naked palette so I can say that they are definitely very similar but not the same because there has to be some difference in the quality since the naked palette is $60 and this one is just $6.45. 

 But still, with the exception of a few (e.g. gold shade in the picture), most of the shadows are soft and bendable. So, I feel it is a good option for the students, beginners and bargain hunters. 

Left: Shade 1; Right: Shade 3

MUA Blusher: These retail for $1.61 but I honestly do not like these because they are quite chalky. Also, they hardly stay on for an hour or two on my dry skin. So, I would not recommend these. 

Shade 1: Bright candy pink with noticeable golden shimmer.

Shade 3: Peachy melon shade with golden shimmer but looks more brownish in the pan. 

MUA Trio in Innocence

 MUA Eyeshadow Trio in Innocence: This is a beautiful trio of baked eye shadows that can be used wet or dry and retails for $4.03. I really like the color combination as there is a light creamy shade, an olive green and a duo chrome reddish brown with hints of bluish green tones making it somewhat similar to MAC Club. All three shades have some shimmer which simply adds up to their beauty. So, if you want to try one trio out of all then I would definitely recommend this one. 

MUA Trio in Pink Sorbet

MUA Eyeshadow Trio in Pink Sorbet: I do not like this trio because firstly the mid-toned pink is very chalky and frosty looking. Secondly, the light pink shade (which appears white in the picture) disappears into nothing on blending. So, at least for me, this trio isn't good enough to be used on its own because otherwise the end result is a frosty mess.  

Left: MUA Single Pearl Shadow in Shade 12; Middle: Darkesst shade from MUA Trio Innocence; Right: Bottom right corner shade from WnW Comfort Zone

MUA Single Pearl Shadow in Shade 12:  This shadow is absolutely amazing. It is super pigmented, smooth as butter and costs only $1.61. On top of that, it is probably a dupe or a more saturated version of MAC Club eye shadow. So, I highly recommend it to everyone. The only issue I have with MUA is they have numbers instead of names for their products.

MUA Lipstick in Shade 11

MUA Lipstick in Shade 11: This shade looks different under different lights. It is described as a brown on the website but it sometimes appears nude with reddish undertones and sometimes more of a peachy coral. But nonetheless, it is a great everyday color. The formula is very smooth and moisturizing so can be used on days when you forget to apply the balm or are in a hurry. Also, it retails for just $1.61. 

The bottom of the tube screws open to reveal extra product. And it was only after getting this lipstick that I realized NYX tubes also open in a similar way. 

MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette: This is a true dark chocolate brown shade which is very smooth and creamy. However, the downfall of extra creaminess is that it instantly starts smearing and does not even last for an hour. The picture above was taken immediately after swatching it and you can see how the product has already smudged. 

However, I do like the brush end of the pencil. Usually brow pencils come with a spooly or a plastic brush, but this one has a proper bristle brush. This product also retails for $1.61 but I would not recommend it. 

There are definitely some hits and misses with this brand just like with all others. But overall, I really like some of the products like the undressed palette, lipstick, single eye shadow and the innocence trio. 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Have you tried this brand? What are some of your favorites?

Jordana Overview & Revlon Balm Stain Honey Dupe

Jordana products have been in the market for a while but recently I have noticed a lot more buzz about them. It is a super inexpensive brand with some great products. Jordana is actually a family owned business based in Los Angeles, California. The only downfall is that I haven't been able to find Jordana items in any of the local Canadian stores so far. However, since I do a lot of online shopping so I am okay with it. In order to get a fair idea I picked up products from three main makeup categories i.e. eyes, lips and face. 

P.S. I apologize for the splotchy pictures, the actual copies are perfectly clear. I am not sure what went wrong with the uploading. I even tried to remove and upload again a couple of times but nothing worked. So really sorry about it. 

I bought all the stuff from the BeautyJoint website. When they first started the business their prices were relatively lower than any other online store, but now their isn't any noticeable difference. 

Above: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey; Below: Jordana Twist & Shine in Honey Love

Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in Honey Love: As the name suggests, the product comes in a twist up tube and provides moisture along with shine. Not just the packaging but the formula and the actual product is very reminiscent of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. However, I didn't know that even the colors that I own are same until I swatched them side to side for this post. 

Left: Jordana in Honey Love; Right: Revlon in Honey

The only difference I noticed is that the Revlon one takes a couple of strikes to attain the same color as Jordana. Other than that, it is very difficult to tell them apart. May be I am wrong  but I don't think that such similarity in the names (Jordana Honey Love and Revlon Honey) is any coincidence.  

Left Stain: Jordana; Right Stain: Revlon

As you can see the above picture, both of them leave a stain behind and surprisingly the intensity of the stain is also same. However, the Revlon Balm Stain retails for around $8.99 while Jordana retails for $3.49 for the same amount of product. If I am not wrong then Revlon Balm Stain comes in 12 different shades while Jordana has only 8 shades so far. 

Brown/Eye Shadow Powder in Brown: I really wanted to try their eye shadow but it was really difficult to pick one online due to the lack of swatches so I went with a very safe brown shade. The one I got is from their brow/eyeshadow line which retails for $1.99 and has 6 shades. I absolutely love this product and have been  using it since the day I received it in the mail. It is very pigmented cool toned true brown shade, so a little bit with a flat liner brush is enough to give a groomed look to the eyebrows. And for me, it is one of the must  have items from Jordana. 

Above: Covergirl Smoochies Lip Balm in Luv U; Below: Jordana  

Jordana Easy Shine Glossy Lip Color in Raspberry: This is a pigmented and moisturizing cool toned true pink color. It has a very strong fruity smell, which isn't bothersome to me. When I bought it, I thought it will be somewhat similar to the new Covergirl Smoochies (because of the similar packaging), but it isn't as it is a lot more pigmented than the smoochies. However, it should be noted that the Covergirl Smoochies is marketed as a lip balm so they are more comparable to Maybelline Baby Lips. And now when I am thinking about it I should have compared it to the pink baby lips instead of Covergirl Smoochies. 

Left: Jordana Easy Shine in Raspberry; Right: Covergirl Smoochies in Luv U

The easy shine costs $2.09 (1.9g) while smoochies is around $4.99 or above (4g) and both come in 12 different shades.

Jordana Fabuliner in Brown

Jordana Fabuliner in Brown: I also had this liner in Black but I threw it away because I didn't like it. Even the brown shade looks like black and I feel it should be named Black Brown instead of just Brown. I agree that it is super inexpensive ($2.99) with great pigmentation but it lacks severely on the lasting power. At least in my case, it didn't last through the day. I found that on humid days it creased and traveled all over and under my eyes while on dry and cold days it flaked resulting in missing patches. So, for me it is only good for short grocery trips. 

Jordana Blush in Touch of Pink

Jordana Powder Blush in Touch of Pink: Recently, everyone and their mother is raving about these blushes, so I thought of giving them a try. I wanted to order more but I ended up with just one. These blushes come in a lot of different shades so there is something for everyone. Also, they retail for just $2.49 for 2.2g. The powder is nice and soft with great pigmentation. However, since the blush is really soft so there is some fall out. 

I heard a lot of people saying that the packaging is very unique, however, that's not true since La Femme blushes have exact same screw cap packaging. However, La Femme's cap is all plastic so mine has already cracked but Jordana has used nicer material so it is quite sturdy. 

Left: Jordana Touch of Pink; Right: Mac Pinch O'Peach

For the color, Touch of Pink is a true peach with a very slight hint of pink. The name of this blush reminded me of Mac Pinch O'Peach. Just like Jordana is called Touch of Pink but is actually a Peach with very little pink, Mac Pinch O'Peach is a Pink with very little peach.  I know this comparison was irrelevant but I just found it very interesting. 

Left: Jordana Touch of Pink; Right: Mac Pinch O'Peach

Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara: This mascara is one of the most raved about products from this line. However, I can't say much about it yet because I haven't tried it as I am working on the ones that are already open. But I'll post an update after I have formed an opinion about it. 

Jordana Color Extend Lip Liner: Last but not least, I also bought some lip liners which I completely forgot about and that is why they are not in the first shot. These liners are marketed as all day wear and waterproof. And they are not kidding, these are seriously waterproof. After I swatched them, even rigorous rubbing wasn't able to budge them. It took me some effort to take them off with soap and water. So these are super long lasting. However, I can't find them on the website anymore so I am not sure if they are discontinued or just not available on this particular website. 

Keep on Violet: A very dark plumy purple. 

Espresso Delay: A very soft brown. 

Reach for Java: A true dark chocolate brown, which looks more like an eye liner than a lip liner. 

I bought these for $0.79 each, however, I am not so fond of the colors. Especially the dark chocolate brown isn't my style. If I had seen the shades in person I probably wouldn't have bought the browns. 

Have you tried any Jordana Products? Which ones are your favorite? Where do you usually buy them?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!