Maybelline Masterprecise Ink Liquid Metallic Liner

Sometimes a product totally surprises you and this new eyeliner from Maybelline has done it .

I melt most eye makeup really easily.   I mention this a lot. And I have only a few eyeliners that I can use that actually stay on my eyes for the day's duration. Many  don't make it even a few hours.

violet nova, cosmic purple, stellar sand, galactic metal, black comet, teal galaxy, solar gold

When the  Masterprecise Ink Liquid Metallic Liners landed on my desk, I thought "these are nice,  but I won't be able to use them". But I'm here to test things so I gave them a shot ( upper lid only).  They lasted all day into evening on hot , sunny days, and on unprimed eyelids the first time I tried them .

The liners are metallic but not huge sparklers.  It's not heavy glitter but definitely some shimmer. Then again I love metallic  so I am biased here. You might feel differently.

The pointed tip glides  color on easily and they can be blended or touched up before they set. They do need a good shake before using .  Some of the shades like Violet Nova and Stellar Sand seem to have lighter pigment than you'd expect and than I'd like but the darker Black Comet and Galactic metal have good color payoff.

There are seven shades in all and they are listed as waterproof , smudgeproof.

Maybelline Masterprecise Ink Liquid Metallic Liner are $ 8.99

MAC Pro Longwear Pressed Powder

If you're me , oily and perspiring in the heat, you are a powder fan. You might be too.  It's a must when the oil gets going or after a long day when touch ups are needed but no time to desire to redo the whole makeup job.


MAC's Pro Longwear Pressed has been making that a lot easier since I started using it  a couple weeks ago. It's  not new, but new to me  as somehow despite being the huge MAC fan I am, I had never tried it.  And I am all for anything long wear.

There are  a couple things that set this powder apart from some of the  others I use. It doesn't seem to settle into fine lines or accentuate them ( now that I am a little older I have to worry about that), but rather smoothes over skin ,  even after a work day , making it look perfected again.  No dryness, no cake. It also has coverage. Light to medium .   On the weekend when I needed to do a quick store run and didn't feel like doing all my makeup, I patted this on over my SPF moisturizer and  was ready to go .   I had good coverage with minimal effort.  I am not a tinted moisturizer and go kinda gal, I need more than that and this got it done.

Of course longwear is the main point here,  and it does hold up well. I will still get some oil breakthrough on my nose  but nothing stops that. Everywhere else looks good. It also does well at smoothing over pores.

If you're thinking of adding this this your Summer kit, there are 14 wide ranging shades .

MAC Pro Longwear Pressed Powder is $ 27

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment

NARS brings the biggest color payoff  with their new Powermatte Lip Pigments.

These are fully matte but feel comfortable on as they have flex on lips and don't feel super dry or tight due to the formula's Fluid Pigment Complex along with light hydration.  It's a nice formula especially if you're like me and not too into most mattes mainly because of the dryness.  These eliminate most of that but can  still accentuate lines a little .

Save The Queen, Just What I Needed, Get It On, Walk This Way,Wild Night, Starwoman,Rock With You, Light My Fire, London Calling, Just Push Play, 

The coverage is full and as I said the pigment very deep. The are blendable to a point, but it pays to work fairly fast. They go on easily with the doe foot applicator which is pretty precise for blending and filling in color.

NARS swatches

Wear time here is awesome.  I had full color for 5 hours until I ate lunch when it wore off. Once it sets , it stays . It's ink like.

The shade range is wide , 20 in total .  I am a neutral to medium tone  fan so I gravitated to the nudes and browns . There are beautiful rich reds, pinks and  eggplant purple or black for those who want a deeper lip.


Oh and each is coolly named for a famous rock song. So when someone asks what color you're wearing you can say Paint It Black or Low Rider.

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment are $ 26  and are available July 5  exclusively on the Sephora Mobile App, July 6 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and July 13 at Sephora and Sephora.com

Maybelline Vivid Hot Lacquer

 Liquid lipsticks are having a moment and these new Vivid Hot Lacquers from Maybelline hit all the marks.

These richly pigmented lipcolors have high end look and feel,  give a saturated lip look , have a lot of slip when applying and a slight gloss finish once they set . They have more  gloss in the initial application, then it dries down some. They are very comfortable on lips , not tacky or sticky nor dry as they set. They keep a somewhat creamy feeling.

Too Cute, Unreal, Obsessed, So Hot, Charmer, Retro ,Classic

These also wear long and leave a stain behind. After testing one of the red shades, after a shower , sleep and washing my face in the AM there was still a hint of it left.  Like I said, they have plenty of pigment. That bodes well though for daytime wear, with them lasting on me about 4 hours .

The applicator is an angled doe foot with a little well  that makes  getting them on lips evenly , easy.

Maybelline Vivid Hot  Lacquers sugg. retail is $ 7.99 and  are available at the usual outlets along with Amazon .

H20+ Beauty Waterbright & Aquadefense SPF Moisturizers

It's the first day of Summer today and it's HOT out there. Some places more than others, but generally really warm .  That means the sun is shining and we need our sunscreen .

Packing SPF with a daily moisturizer is nothing new but  new, good formulas keep popping up to keep our skin protected.    These two from H2O+ Beauty  are made for the heat and one is especially good for oilier skins, a rarity.

Aquadefense Protective Matcha Moisturizer SPF 40 is an oily skinned gal's  friend.  It's super light in feel /look on skin  and sets to a matte finish.  It sinks in quick too, so applying makeup right after is a breeze. The moisture is just enough here , only a little  but if you're oily it's just right .  Matcha green tea and rice bran extracts protect against stress  from environmental factors adding some antioxidants . ( Note that this is highly fragranced). I see this becoming a go to all Summer for me.

Waterbright Radiating Moisturizer SPF 30  adds  a good bit of hydration without being heavy or greasy.   It also has Vitamin C for brightening/antioxidant protection  with Pomelo and Snowflake flower extract . This is  creamy , blends in easily and feels nice on skin , it does have a tacky feel for the first few seconds.   More than most oily skins would need, but great for combo or normal to slightly dry skin types.

Both of these have chemical based broad spectrum SPF and can be used alone , over serums or under makeup.  The pump tubes help keep product  away from light and fingers and are nicely sized if you want to take them on any Summer travels at 1.7 oz each.


Aquadefense Protective Matcha Moisturizer SPF 40 is $ 44
Waterbright Radiating Moisturizer SPF 30 is 54

Available along with  two others at www.h20plus.com  , Ulta  and Kohls 

Kneipp Summer Scented Body Washes

Kneipp has been around for eons or 1891 to be exact ,  yet it's a brand I haven't explored much .  I do remember seeing  it at my grandmother's house when I was a kid. She lived near a city and was very into naturopathy decades ago , long before it became more mainstream.

Body Wash seemed a great place to begin since I love scented body washes and with new scents for Summer like mango and watermelon , I was in.

All three are lightly moisturizing with  a little lather, don't dry out skin and have juicy fruity scents that can't help but perk you up .  Summer in a bottle.

You can grab  Tropical Dream with Mango and Starfruit , Summer Mood with Watermelon and Mint or Endless Summer with Lime and Mint. Sounds good , right? Honestly it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

Each fragrance is pretty pronounced yet not too strong. Watermelon is  juicy and spot on , Lime is  zippy citrus all the way and Mango is sweet and peachy .

All Kneipp products have no preservatives, paraffin, silicones, mineral oil, animal derived ingredients or animal testing.

Kneipp Body Wash is regularly $ 14 but right now at Kneipp.com they are $10 each ( limited time pricing).

Alterna Bamboo Beach 2017

Every Summer I look forward to the  rollout of Alterna's Bamboo Beach line .  I spend all weekend in my pool and I have a lot of hair.   Great Summer strands are easier to get with these 4 products to help protect hair against sun,  pool  and saltwater.

Ocean Waves Tousled Texture Spray is a lightweight mist that adds some texture and boost to air dried hair. It didn't my weigh hair down or dry it out and has a little added moisture. It's easy to use and easy on hair to amp up any natural wave you might have .  Tousled waves came out well  and with plenty of volume.

Sunshine Spray is a moisturizing UV protective spray that adds shine, moisture and helps keep hair from being damaged by the sun. You can use it all over , especially nice for a pool or beach day  , or add  a light mist over hair and on dry areas.  Coconut  and sunflower oil give the  moisture while the coconut also makes for a tropical scent.

Breeze Dry Balm is  a rich cream to define texture , fight frizz and with the brand's  ColorHold , help keep haircolor from fading in the sun and surf.  This is a heavier balm and adds a good bit of moisture. It can be used as a leave in conditioner.   It amped up texture pretty well but it did weight my hair down a little . I will note that I used a lot of it and maybe overdid it.  It does have a fabulous  tropical island smell and  is great to work through hair before you jump into the water.

1 Minute Recovery Masque has Color Hold UV protection along with coconut and bamboo extract to give hair a very quick boost of conditioning. Work through damp hair and leave on for 1 minute after beaching, swimming, sailing etc.   No one wants to fuss with their hair when it's hot out and this helps to revive dry hair fast.


All products in the Alterna Bamboo Beach line are $ 22 each at Sephora , alternahaircare.com 

Milk Makeup x The Center Glitter Stick

All That Glitters is... this new stick from Milk Makeup.

Milk has partnered with The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center for Pride 2017  in launching this LE Glitter stick to benefit the center with half of all proceeds donated directly to them . 

The stick has rainbow glitter particles ( cue Unicorn vibes) that can be built up for a light sparkle or all out glow  and  has mango and coconut butters , avocado oil for moisture and slip. 


$ 30 at www.milkmakeup.com 

Tom's of Maine Orange Blossom & Creamy Coconut Natural Moisturizing Body Wash & Soap

 
Tom's of Maine is ready for Summer and you will be too with their newest fragrances.  Coconut and Orange Blossom are about as summer-y as you can get.

Creamy Coconut has fair trade virgin coconut oil for moisture and a nice fragrance. It's lightly coconut with a little herbal as you might expect from  a natural brand.

Orange Blossom has fair trade Moroccan Argan Oil  and  a good hit of  the citrus fragrance you get with orange blossoms .  It's one of my favorite scents and I love finding it in a body wash .

Both of these have sunflower seed oil and vitamin e for added moisture.  The formula is thick and creamy , lathers up well ,  feels good on skin and rinses clean without any dryness.

Tom's uses  no animal testing, no artificial fragrances , colors or preservatives  and the packaging is 100% recyclable.

 There are also coordinating beauty bars/ soaps,  newly reformulated . They are triple milled, prettily packaged  and use Rainforest certified palm oil . Great not just for you but tucked in the guest bathroom  too.

Tom's Of Maine Natural Moisturzing Body Wash are $ 6.99 each
Tom's Of Maine Beauty Bars are $ 3.99 each

Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lipcolour

Eve Lom's  moisturizing , plumping lip balm Kiss Mix  now comes in three new shades.

There's something for everyone with pale pink Demure, muted red Cheeky or burnished nude Lippy.

With beeswax and amino acids for hydration and firming and menthol for cooling and breath freshening, they'll go wherever Summer takes you.

$ 24 each at Space NK and Sephora.com 

Ferragamo Signorina In Fiore

New from Ferragamo fragrances in their signature Signorina line is In Fiore EDT.

Signorina In Fiore is a light, soft as a breeze floral with hint of fruit . It wears easily and close to the skin with light sillage.

 Pear and citrus like notes burst out right off, with soft dewy cherry blossom and a very clean jasmine coming along midway. A bit of the pomegranate note is there too , but very faint.  As it dries down you get light white musk  and the pear and floral blossoms linger. It is inviting, fresh and only slightly sweet.

They didn't reinvent the wheel here but In Fiore is a pretty, feminine scent that works well for these warmer days when  a light , flowery  and soft fragrance seems like a good bet against the heat of the day.

Full note list:
Nashi Pear Sorbet and Pomegranate
Jasmine and Cherry Blossom
White Musk and Sandalwood

Ferragamo Signorina In Fiore  is $ 68 for 50ml EDT and $92 for 100 ml EDT

Skinny Tan 7 Day Dark Tanner

Happy June . That means it's time to start self tanning since  shorts, crops and yes, bathing suits are coming out of hiding.

This past weekend and the weekend before I  busted out my Skinny Tan 7 Day  Dark Tanner . It's shorts weather but my legs are PALE.

A gel in a new dark tan formula, this gave me a nice  medium color on the first use .  Not that deep, since we were starting with such paleness but  a good shot of natural looking color after 3 hours.

The tanning gel applies easily with the bronzer built in and dries fast.  I felt tacky for about 15 minutes but still felt I could get dressed , sit down  etc .  I used a tanning glove and  had zero streaks.  The company also makes a finger sponge, good for the face or small area touch ups.

The directions say that 2-3 hours gives  a light glow and 5-8 hours/overnight the deepest tan effect. I did  3 hours the first use but  next , a week later, I went 7 hours and got much better, deeper, results. But that of course depends on how much color  you want and how fast you want it to develop.  It also covers flaws and  gives a smoother look.   That's a big ( tanned ) thumbs up.

This truly has almost no odor,  I can smell just a touch of a coconut scent and that lasts briefly. Guarana extract is in there for some firming  along with sunflower and sweet almond oils for light moisture and slip when applying.

This lasts too, I am on day 5  and the color is holding.

Skinny Tan 7 Day Dark Tanner is $ 39.95 at www.skinnytan.com , Amazon.