Beauty Blog: February "Hits & MIsses"

The month of February flew by and is now over so that means it's time for me to share my favorite beauty products of the month plus a couple of "misses" that I encountered. I have tried several new products this past month and I am excited to share those with you because I was amazed by a few of them! So, with that, let's just get on with the reviews for this month -- sorry if there are repeats, I think I may have one but it means it's just that good!!

 Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream ($12.00) - I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before in a beauty blog post but I can't get over how good this BB cream really is. I have now tried FIVE drugstore BB creams and this is the only one that I have liked and use a ton. I like the fact that this has SPF 10 in it and that the coverage is almost as good as your typical medium-full coverage foundations. I use the shade "Light/Medium" and it's a perfect match to my skin tone. The only thing I noticed is that some days it gives me too much of a dewy effect so I use powder to matte it out. If you are a very oily person you would definitely want to matte it out because it may end up making you look more oily than normal. The staying power is amazing as it lasts all day until you take it off with whatever method you use for removing your makeup. I use this on days when I don't feel like doing a full face and I have also used this on days where I do apply I full face. Either way I am in love with this product.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette ($52.00) - This came out around the holidays and had a lot of hype surrounding it's debut. The Naked 3 palette has 12 shades in various shades of rose gold -- only 3 of those are matte shadows. I have really enjoyed this palette because you can do all types of looks with it so it's very versatile and that makes it worth the purchase in my opinion. I will say that I found this palette to have a lot of fall out so you have to be careful when applying your eyeshadow. I would be interested to see if the Naked 2 palette has an issue with fallout because that would be a deal breaker for me. I will say I am completely in love with the following shades in this pallet: Strange, Nooner, Factory, Dark Side, Liar and Trick. 

Maybelline Master Hi-Lighting Blush in Nude ($8.00) - OMG! I didn't think anything could top my favorite blush, Luminoso by Milani but this has. I have not stopped wearing it since I purchased it in January! Maybelline has 6 shades in this line and I purchase the Nude and Coral. This is an all in one product that highlights as well as gives you a hint of natural color on your cheeks. Out of the two I purchased the Nude is my favorite but I think once I get a tan the Coral shade will look great too. This is a must have in your makeup collection! It's fool proof if you are intimidated by highlighters. 

Benefit's "They're Real!" Mascara ($23.00) - I received a trial size tube of this from Sephora for my birthday and I've been obsessed with it. If you want to splurge a little on your mascara then you should check this one out! It's amazing how full your lashes look with just one coat of this stuff. After 2 coats your lashes could pass as falsies. Don't get me wrong...I still LOVE all of my L'Oreal mascaras but if I ever wanted to buy a higher end mascara this would be the one. It doesn't irritate my sensitive eyes and it lasts all day long. I think the brush is what makes this mascara so amazing because the bristles are separated enough that you don't get clumps and each lash is coated with the mascara. It's going to be a sad day when I get to the bottom of this mascara tube because I may be forced to buy the full size expensive tube. 

Nyx Butter Glosses ($4.99) - My CVS just recently started carrying NYX products so I am a virgin when it comes to this line. I picked up two tubes of the butter glosses and I questioned why I didn't try these sooner at Ulta. First of all, they smell AMAZING and the formula isn't sticky like you get with most of your lip glosses. It really does melt onto you lips after applying and they're packed with pigmentation. I can't stop buying these when I go into CVS because I think I am addicting to them. They are great to wear alone or on top of a shade. The ones that I have picked up and loved are: Tiramisu, Peach Cobbler and Apple Strudel.

Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream ($5.99) - I typically steer clear of matte lip shades because I feel they make my lips look dried out. I bought one matte shade in this line and I was impressed with the outcome. This line does not make my lips look like a dried up raisin and the color payoff is phenomenal. I also love the smell of these too. I typically apply one of the Nyx Butter Glosses over it but I really don't have to -- I think it's just habit. The shades that I have tried and loved are: Stockholm, Antwerp and San Paulo. I can't wait to buy a few more of these because they have changed my opinion on matte lipsticks.

L'Oreal Silkissime Eyeliner in Plum ($8.00) - I had been looking for a nice cobalt blue liner and ran across this one at CVS. Even though the packaging says "Plum" I swear it's a dark cobalt blue. This glides nicely over your lid and has all day staying power. It also doesn't irritate my super sensitive eyes like most liners do. They currently have 4 shades available in the drugstore. They claim this lasts up to 16 hours and as I cant attest to to that it does last all day until I take it off with my makeup remover. If you aren't a fan of liquid liners then you may want to try this line because the colors are deep and rich but last all day. 




So, now time for the misses for February......

Physian's Formula Shimmer Strips All-in-One Nude Pallette ($13.99) - This is supposed to be an all in one box of color. You can use it as a highlighter, contouring and for eye shadows. In my opinion this is a FAIL. It's completely hard to use that way because the tiny blocks of color mix all together and when reading the instructions you walk away more puzzled than you did before you started. I basically have to use this as an eyeshadow palette because it's too hard to use it any other way. The color pigmentation is great, not a lot of fall out but for how they want this to be used isn't practical. 

Revlon Colorburst Laquer Balm ($7.00) - I picked up two of these when they first hit the drugstore because I had watched several guru's raving about them. Honestly, I don't get the hype. These things do nothing for me and the color pay off is poor. I know it's supposed to be a lightweight, sheer coverage but I don't feel like it even does that. I applied both of them and it looks like I have nothing on my lips. I was really disappointed in these and it makes me sad to think I wasted $14 on two products that are pointless. 

There y'all have it ladies -- my hits and misses for February. I hope this has been helpful!