Review: Full Face of Makeup Dupes

March 13, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

These makeup dupes were inspired (ok, ok… flat out stolen…) by Tati‘s FULL FACE OF DUPES | Drugstore vs. Highend YouTube video. In her video, Tati completes a full face of drugstore makeup on one side and matches it flawlessly with high end makeup on the other side. When I watched the video I was shocked at how closely she was able to match the high end side and I loved the look, so naturally, I had to try it myself.

So, for this post I’ll be reviewing all of the dupe products I tried from Tati’s video and a few other drugstore brand suggestions Tati makes in various other video tutorials. I won’t be comparing them to high end makeup, but reviewing them in general. I have to hand it to Tati on this one, some of my new favorite products are in this list and… most of them are at a price point of around $5.99… what?! Yes… $5.99. I didn’t add the price of most of these items because they fluctuate so much between drugstores and Amazon. Before I purchase anything I usually compare the prices (and availability) between Meijer (I have one close by), Target, Ulta, and Amazon. So… here we go!

NYX Studio Perfect Primer (Clear)

Alright, we’ll start off with a primer. I love Smashbox primer, but it’s SO EXPENSIVE. It seriously works miracles, but I’ve never broken down and bought a tube because I don’t wear full coverage foundation enough to shell out the extra cash for a tube. NYX Studio Perfect Primer is very similar to Smashbox, but at a much more wallet-friendly price point. I was pretty pleased with the formula and I’m happy to use it instead of the pricier option.

Wet n Wild Photofocus Foundation

Yes, I know, I know… I had a Wet n Wild nail polish in EVERY color of the rainbow as a kid and I used a different color on every finger, too, but Wet n Wild really has come a long way since then. This foundation is $4.68 on Amazon. Bam! Ok, really, though… my new favorite foundation. This formula goes on great with a Beauty Blender or brush and looks great all day. I do tend to get a little oily toward the end of the day, but it holds up well especially for the price. There are a variety of shade ranges (I think I might have chosen a shade a little too light for me, but for the price I can afford to get a few darker shades for the summer as well) and I think anyone can find a good match. I’m curious to see how L’Oreal Infallible 24 HR holds up compared to this formula. The L’Oreal is 3X the price of this one, so for a daily foundation, this is a great option.

Wet n Wild Megacushion Foundation

I’m on the fence on this one. The coverage is great, but I was pretty dewy at the end of the day. It’s cheap, it covers well, it blends well, it sets well with a setting powder, and it looks pretty natural. For the price I would probably buy this one again as well. The only downside with this one is that it contains coconut, which might break a lot of people out. I’ll have to see if it breaks me out after wearing it all day today. It does have SPF 15, which is also a little added bonus. The other problem I have with this is the “cushion” container. I feel like there is hardly any product in there. For the same price (actually less…) I can get a whole bottle of the Photofocus. Yes, it is a little different coverage and a bit of a different look and I get that, but I neither love nor hate this one.

Coty Airspun Loose Powder

Yep-my grandma had this on her vanity, too. This is hands down the best loose powder I’ve ever used. You can bake with it (no, not bake as in bread… bake your makeup…), use it as a finishing powder, and it’s buildable and works great with bronzers and blush. I don’t think I’ll give any of my other loose powders a second chance after this one. You get a ton of product in the container and it’s so affordable.

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster

I wanted to love this one. The packaging is great, it’s relatively inexpensive, and bronzers are always fun to work with. This particular formula has some pretty large chunks of glitter. Yeah… not always the look you want. On me it looked a little patchy, but that might have been operator error-for some reason I used a fairly densely packed and smaller brush than normal, so I’ll give this one another try and probably only use it when I want to feel more… tropical.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

I find this bronzer much easier to work with than the Bronze Booster. It has a finer powder formula and blends much more easily. I will give you a word of caution-if you’re fair-skinned and purchase the shade “light” it is basically a pressed powder… bummer. Make sure you purchase the “bronzer” shade if you want an actual bronzer. Yes… I found out the hard way.

Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush

I love this blush! $2.99? Yes, please! I hate trying to figure out what blush color to choose. In Tati’s video she used Pearlescent Pink and I was like, “Yes!!!! That’s it!”. Although this is called pink, it does have hints of coral, which usually works well with any color combinations. I’m glad I added this one to my collection.

Milani Rose Blush

This blush isn’t in this video, but Tati uses it frequently in her tutorials. This blush is my absolute favorite. The color is soft (Romantic Rose), it’s matte, and it has such pretty packaging. You can’t go wrong with this one!

Wet n Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder

Now, I’m not a huge fan of highlighters to begin with because they just enhance every large pore on my face and make my skin look oily, but Wet n Wild hit a home run on this one. The shade in Tati’s video is Precious Petals. It’s such a soft, subtle shade and the shimmer is very fine. Highly recommend this one!

Wet n Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Palette

highlighter palette.jpg — Photo Credit: Wet n Wild

Since I loved the single highlighting powder so much, I figured I needed more options, right? Luckily Wet n Wild makes an entire palette. I’m torn on this one-I love the shades and there is a variety that will go with any makeup look, but several of these have fairly chunky glitter in them. I’m not 12… I can no longer dump glitter on myself and not be judged. Overall, though this still isn’t too terrible for the price to give you a few more options.

Palette Wars: Urban Decay vs. Tarte

March 5, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

*Sigh* I hate to go here, but there is a clear winner when it comes to eyeshadow palettes in my makeup arsenal. I know… you guys probably think you already have it figured out. Well, after trying and TRYING to love a certain cult favorite eyeshadow palette, I just can’t do it. Urban Decay, you are not for me. Could it be the particular palettes I happen to have? Maybe. I took a chance on Tarte and it paid off. Big time.

Over the holidays I purchased Naked Smoky, Naked Heat, and Naked 3. My typical daily look consisted of primarily matte shades from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics palette. They are very pigmented, complemented my skin tone, and were great for a daily look. I’ve always wanted to branch out and try bolder colors and since Urban Decay Naked palettes seem to be everywhere, I assumed this was a great place to start. UD Naked Smoky was the first palette I purchased during the holiday season. I was so excited to open the palette, was pumped to find a small tutorial insert in the package, and quickly went to work after ripping the package apart. Unfortunately I had to send the palette back after realizing one of the shades was misspelled (read about the epic fail here). After going through the tutorial, I quickly decided the smoky eye is not for me. For some reason, no matter what brushes I use it looks like I grabbed charcoal and smeared it all over my eyes. Could be my fair skin, could be my eye shape, I could just be an epic fail at eyeshadow application, who knows… all I know is it doesn’t work for me.

Next, I purchased the UD Naked Heat palette. Well, just like I couldn’t rock the smoky colors, the “heat” colors made me look like I had pink eye or a serious lack of sleep. Not exactly attractive.

Enter UD Naked 3. Ok… this one got a little better, but there were still more cool tones in this palette. There are some pink and purple toned shades, but they’re on the cooler side. The entire reason I love my Naked 2 Basics palette is that it is full of warm colors that compliment my fair skin so well. Urban Decay Naked 3 = Fail #3.

Right about the time I purchased the Naked Heat palette I decided to take a chance on another palette. This was really more of a “collection” than a palette. I kept seeing ads from Sephora and Ulta for Tarte’s Pineapple of My Eye Collector’s Set.

Well, I felt like I couldn’t justify a giant set like this. It didn’t all fit in the container (organizational me couldn’t deal…), I don’t need green eyeshadow (I’m not a 5-year-old playing with Barbie makeup, guys…), and… it’s expensive. Of course the interwebs had to read my mind and suggest a different collector’s set that DID fit in the packaging, still had an adorable little pineapple (stand tall, wear a crown, people) and sequined packaging, and it was, wait for it… ON SALE! Done and done.

What I love about the Sweet Escape Collector’s Set is… everything. Literally everything. I decided on this set because of the awesome packaging and now have found my favorite liquid eyeliner, blush, and SEVERAL eye makeup looks that I never would’ve attempted before.

I’m typically a matte eyeshadow type of girl, but this set has changed my mind. The shimmer shades are so pigmented and so full coverage that very little goes such a long way and looks great on. The blush colors are awesome-a great pink and a more rose option, and a bronzer and highlighter to complete the look. I’m now completely in love with the liquid eyeliner (I don’t do liquid eyeliner… I have to do my makeup with midgets yelling for me in the background, people). I ordered this set directly from Tarte when they had a 25% off sale during the holidays. Since ordering this set Tarte has mailed 20% off coupons. I will definitely be purchasing another Tarte shadow palette using their coupons.

So, for pigmentation, value, ease of use, and packaging… Tarte wins. Sorry Urban Decay, but I’m just not that impressed. I purchased an entire set of all of these shades of shadow, blushes, bronzers, mascara, eyeliner, and lip color for less than the price of an Urban Decay palette. Maybe I’ve just purchased the gimicky palettes and will feel differently with a full palette from the Naked line. For now, I’m not forking over the $54 to find out.

Sweaty Palms and How to Deal

March 3, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

If you’re thinking TMI, you may want to move on to another post. I’m writing this post because I figure if this can even help one person, it’s worth the time to put it out there. When I say sweaty palms, I really mean completely drenched. Like, dripping. As a teen, I would play video games with friends, hand off a controller to the next player, then hear, “What did you spill on the controller?”. Story. Of. My. Life. I would submit exams in blue books at school to my teacher or professor only to hear them say “What did you spill on your exam book?”. When I would tell them it was my sweaty hands they would respond with, “Oh, you were that nervous?”. Nope. I wasn’t. My hands have a mind of their own with no rhyme or reason to their sweatiness.

It wasn’t just my hands, my feet also had a puddling mind of their own. I danced throughout school and we typically wore lyrical sandals (we fondly called them Jesus sandals…). For those who have never been part of the dance world, this translates to a tiny piece of leather to cover the ball of your foot to allow you to turn effortlessly, but the rest of the “shoe” consisted of well, nothing-straps and that’s about it. Now, imagine having consistently drenched feet and doing leaps across a hardwood gym floor in these suckers. It ain’t pretty. I fell on my butt more times than I can count.

I know, I know… get to the point, right? Well, the point is I never found something that actually “worked”. I did find things to help me manage the awkward effects of my sweaty hands and feet. First of all, it has a name: hyperhydrosis (basically the scientific name for sweating too much). A lot of people with hyperhydrosis seem to sweat more in the underarm area, but in this case, my hands and feet are the culprits. I’ve had people all my life say “yeah, I get sweaty palms, too”. No, just no. Until your hands literally drip and you have to plan your outfit or shoe choice because you know you’ll either be standing in a puddle or will have sweat marks all over your clothing from your hands dripping, don’t tell me you can sympathize. I have only met a few people that can actually sympathize. My dad (thanks, dad… I know where I get it…), my sister-in-law, a foreign exchange student I met in high school, and I recently found out a friend’s sister has the same problem.

There is a surgery that can be done that severs sweat glands in the underarm area that will eliminate all sweating in the hands. Well, I’ve dealt with this problem all my life, so thousands of dollars of surgery not covered by insurance isn’t a solution for me. I have also been prescribed deodorants that “should” stop the sweating. You guys. Have you ever applied deodorant to the palms of your hand? No? Try it and see how that works out throughout the day for you. Not practical whatsoever. So, what has worked? Not much, but I have found a few products that help some. I have found a lotion as well as wipes that seem to work better than anything else I’ve tried.

DERMAdoctor MED e TATE Antiperspirant Wipes

These wipes are convenient and they work fairly well. They sometimes gave my hands a somewhat waxy feeling, but other than that they didn’t leave a greasy or oily feel like some other products do. They did slow the sweating, but when you wash your hands a few times the product loses its effects. Overall, these were expensive (around $2 per wipe), but they were great for situations where I really, REALLY wanted my hands to be a little dryer than they normally are. I came across these in a Sephora while in college. I was taking yoga classes (yes… engineers can do yoga, too…) and would just get continually frustrated falling on my face while going into downward dog. At the time these were $48 for a 24-pack, which is pricey, but I was willing to try anything. A wipe in a convenient package? Sold. I was finally able to actually free my mind and not continually fixate on which pose would bring me crashing to the floor next.

Carpe Antiperspirant Lotion

71nwtNfKsUL._AC_UL480_FMwebp_QL65_ — Photo Credit: Amazon

I haven’t used this lotion much, since I purchased it in dry winter months, but it has awesome reviews and is much more competitively priced at $24.95 for hand and foot lotion tubes. The tubes are small, but it’s still a great start for a $25 price point. The instructions say to use this product every night before bed and you will see results in around 4 weeks. Ain’t got time for that? That’s when the MED e TATE wipes might be handy.

Well, there you have it. Is it a great list of solutions? No, but I’ve tried everything to no avail. I’ve tried prescriptions, lotions, deodorants on my hands, nothing has worked. These two products at least give me some relief or improvement in a… sweaty… situation. If this helps at least one person who suffers from acute sweat-itis (put that in the Big Book of Boo Boos, Doc McStuffins), then sharing this was worth it.

Great Exfoliators and Moisturizers to Beat the Dry Weather!

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 1 Comment

I meant to write this one before winter began, so I’m a little late on this one. Hopefully there are a few products here that make the rest of the dry winter months a little more tolerable. After all, you can only drink so much water in a 24 hour period to try to keep you hydrated! Moisturizers are great, but exfoliating allows moisturizers to do their thing, so I’ve thrown a few of my favorites in as well. Let me know what some of your favorites are!

Exfoliators

Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish

We’ll start with a great body scrub. I’ve tried numerous body scrubs from those with crushed walnut shells, salt scrubs (yeah… don’t use those if you plan on shaving… you know, the phrase “don’t rub salt into the wound” should tell you why this is a bad idea…), and scrubs that I have no clue what they contain. This one is hands down my favorite. Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever tried anything by Soap & Glory I didn’t love. This scrub contains moisturizing shea butter, sugar, and peach seed powder to naturally exfoliate. The scent of this scrub can’t even be described-one of my favs!

PMD Beauty Personal Microderm & PMD Clean

Alright. Another Facebook ad made me do it. I had seen ads for Personal Microderm for what seemed like months and as my skin ages and becomes dryer, uneven toned, and hyper-pigmented in areas, I decided to check out the reviews, which surprisingly were mostly positive. I’ll spare you the details and I’ll post an entire review of the system after I’ve been using it a little longer than four weeks. I will say in the short term I’ve loved the system as an exfoliator and my skin has never been this smooth and even after using the microderm every week the PMD Clean twice daily when cleansing. All products seem to absorb much better because of this system.

e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator

Cheap. Effective. Look no further. Seriously! That’s about it for this one. This exfoliator is a little more coarse than most I’ve tried, but it’s by far my favorite. It absorbs well, exfoliates well, and the sugar crystals dissolve well. Perfect for matte liquid lipstick obsessions.

Dr. Pedicure Foot Exfoliation Peeling Mask

This one is by far the strangest in my lineup. It’s a mask… for your feet. Not kidding. The package contains a set of plastic booties you put on your feet, secure them with tape so they don’t leak, let the chemicals do their thing, and in about a week or so all of the dead skin on your feet peels continually until it’s completely removed. Disgusting? Yes. Effective? Also yes. Soo… whatevs. If it works it works. And it does work. I don’t think any pedicure could’ve given me softer feet than this did. Now I just do maintenance by using a natural pumice stone. If my feet ever are in dire need again, I’ll definitely be grabbing another pack of these babies.

Moisturizers

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter

Probably my favorite on this list. Your skin will thank you every time you use this magical body butter. I’m not exaggerating. I have yet to find something more moisturizing and longer lasting than this stuff. Amazing.

Soap & Glory Heel Genius

Yep. Another Soap & Glory product. I’m telling you… they’re so effective, have such an amazing scent, and are so long lasting that I have yet to find anything that tops their products. I’m able to maintain well manicured feet with this product alone as long as I apply it every night in the winter months and after showering in the summer months.

LilyAna Naturals Eye Cream Moisturizer

I know this isn’t necessarily a full moisturizer, but it’s awesome if my skin needs a little more moisture on dry days. I use it as an eye cream twice a day, then on other areas of the face as needed and it does the job.

Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has always been suggested to me for dry skin, but alas, I can’t handle the greasiness that comes along with it. So, I did what I usually do: search Amazon for a solution. What I found was fractionated coconut oil that isn’t “greasy”, but is definitely oily (it’s an oil… so, duh). In the winter months I put this on my hands, rub it in as much as possible, then apply O’Keefe’s Working Hands afterward, which seems to seal the moisture in.

O’Keefe’s Working Hands

I use this during the day when my hands become really dry because it’s not greasy, absorbs well, and keeps moisture in for a long time. As I said before, this works great after applying fractionated coconut oil before bed to lock in the moisture.

Fake Naked Palette From Sephora?!

January 19, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 5 Comments

After years of wanting to see what the hype of Urban Decay Naked palettes was all about, I could never bring myself to purchase one for full price. Honestly, I always wear the same boring neutral shades of shadow and I wasn’t about to shell out over $50 for an eyeshadow palette. Do you know how many diapers that can buy? Oh, right… back to the palettes. I finally bit the bullet when I found the Naked Smoky palette which had been previously discontinued for half price. Do I ever wear a smoky eye? Nope. Was I going to buy it? Yep. Girl logic.

I was so excited to finally get my palette in the mail, tore open the packaging, and opened the prettiest box of makeup I had ever seen. The packaging didn’t disappoint and there was a helpful tutorial inside the box. Score! Perfect for a smoky eye newbie like me. I whipped out the little tutorial card and went to work. Added the shade Password and moved on to the shimmery dark gray shade of Armor. Wait… Armop? What the heck is Armop? Seriously? Now, even though this is my first Urban Decay palette I KNOW shades should not be misspelled. That is a perfect sign of a dupe. Did Sephora ship a dupe?! Ugh. You. Are. Kidding. The color also didn’t seem to be terribly pigmented. So, I packed up the palette and called all local Sephoras. They weren’t even aware that Urban Decay had brought the palette back at half price. An email to Sephora customer service was in order.

To my surprise they responded in less than 24 hours and told me they would send a new palette out as soon as possible. I received a follow-up email after the new palette had been shipped instructing me to ship the defective palette back to Sephora. New palette arrived, I shipped the old one back, and my problem was solved.

I still can’t help but wonder if Sephora shipped a lot of these misspelled palettes. Did they somehow receive a bad shipment? Let me know if you happened to receive a misspelled palette!

Give Me Lip: A Few of My Favorite Lip Products

November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 by Engineered Mama ♥ 1 Comment

Winter is a horrible time to try new matte lipsticks, but… here I am, testing every brand and color ever produced. I’m always up for a challenge, so why not? I also figured if I’m going to review some new matte lipsticks I’ve tried, I might as well throw a few of my favorite lip crayons and a gloss or two in while I’m at it. Since I’m doing the near impossible feat of wearing matte lipsticks in the dry winter months, I’ll also provide a few tricks I’ve found to keep my lips from looking like dried little raisins. You’re welcome. Pucker up and enjoy!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

This one is a bit of a mixed review. NYX is the first TRUE matte lipstick I tried and although I guess I liked the formula (I really didn’t have it on long enough to give it a fair shot), the colors I chose couldn’t have been more terrible for my complexion. Seriously. Absolutely horrible. All I see are nude matte lips. Well, let me tell you, this is not a look for this girl whose skin hasn’t seen the sun in quite some time. Sadly, it went into the drawer and I went back to my trusty stand-by lip crayons (they’re way more forgiving around the lip line anyway…).

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick

You guys. These are AMAZING. Every color in this set is perfection (which is hard to do with my skin tone), the consistency of the actual lipstick is great, and it stays all. day. long. No joke. I applied it at 6:30 am and took it off with micellar water that night at 8:45 pm and it still liked great before I removed it. I bought this set on Amazon as a set of minis so I could avoid my previous failure of a nude NYX set. I couldn’t be happier with these and now the only down side is that I want every single one of them in a full size. The good news? Amazon carries them! Woohoo!

Lip Crayons

I use several different kinds of lip crayons. They’re so forgiving when applying, give you a hint of color or a lot (depending on how you apply), and aren’t overly harsh on your lips in dry months. My go to that I carry every day is a Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon in Redwood Forest. It goes with pretty much any look.

I also love Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Sticks in Fresh Papaya and Pink Grapefruit. I never would have tried either of these colors, but of course Ulta got me… like always. Free samples. Sure… the samples may have been free, but now I’m hooked! These go on smoothly, are moisturizing, and give a great matte finish.

And last, but definitely not least, another Ulta sample. Their very own Matte Lip Crayon in Soiree. These are great. In fact, I might like this lip crayon better than any of the others I use. I receive a lot of compliments, it has great pigment, and overall the color goes with anything. I also find these lip crayons are much more reasonably priced.

Lip Glosses

I have to give a shout out to a few glosses. It’s only fair… I’m a 90s child. I glossed with the best of them back then and I’m not ashamed. My current favorites are… you guessed it! Ulta samples. Darn you, Ulta, you sneaky little jerk. I love NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler and BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Plumping Gloss in Rebel. These two colors couldn’t be more different and I love them both! BareMinerals is my favorite because of its cooling mint and plumping as well as the great shade. I do believe it is now discontinued, but Ulta still caries it online… for now.

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm

No lip collection would be complete without a tinted balm and no one does it better than Burt. You have moisture, color… what more could you ask for?!

e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator

The secret to great looking matte lips is to… well, not have dry lips. Unfortunately for me winter zaps my skin. I always use my trusty Burt’s Bees, but this winter I’ve needed a little extra help. Enter the exfoliator. No, not the terminator, but that could be handy sometimes I guess. Yes, I know I could get all Pinterest-y and make my own lip scrub, but ain’t nobody got time for that.

e.l.f makes a lip exfoliator that is in a convenient lipstick tube. Rock on, matte lipstick wearers. This is the holy grail of matte lipstick tricks. This stuff works and is… wait for it… THREE DOLLARS. Yes. Three American dollars. Holla!!!!! Go get you some, girl!

Urban Decay Naked Palettes More Than Half Off? Yes way!

November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 by Engineered Mama ♥ 1 Comment

Sound the alarm!!!!! Urban Decay Naked Smoky and Heat palettes are 50% off! Actually, Naked Smoky is LESS than 50% off right now. Get them while they’re still in stock! You can only get them online, but what a deal-two for the price of one. Naked Heat is only available online at Ulta for two days and Naked Smoky is available online at Sephora while supplies last.

I Tried a Few More Pricey Skincare Brands So You Don’t Have To!

November 3, 2018 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I have tried it all. I mean ALL. I had flawless skin my entire childhood and nearly through my teens. I started having acne problems around the time I became a sophomore in college. Great. I think I would rather I had suffered from acne in my teens than in college. Nothing I tried worked. I went from dermatologist to dermatologist and nothing worked. Some things worked for a bit, most things dried my skin out like crazy, and others made my skin even oilier. I wouldn’t say I have oily skin and I wouldn’t say it’s dry either. I tried diet changes, I tried not wearing makeup, I tried wearing more makeup, I took every over the counter cream, every oral antibiotic, and even… Accutane. Accutane, guys. You know, the medication that has too many lawsuits against it to count? Sure, it promises that if you take it for a few months you’ll never experience acne again. That worked for a hot minute, then bam. Back to my normal breakouts.

I had given up all hope and just tried random face washes and topical creams suggested by friends to no avail. I switched makeup brands now and then and just accepted my fate. After having kids my skin is all over the place, so every now and then I try different products to see if a miracle will happen. Here are my reviews of the Dermalogica MediBac and Rodan + Fields Unblemish lines.

Dermalogica MediBac

Expensive? You bet. I sprung for the kit and bought it at Ulta without a discount ($40 and usually a free gift is given online). I shopped around a bit and found that the full trial kit is about the same no matter where it is purchased.

It is typical to wait a period of 4-6 weeks to determine if a product is working on adult (30-something) skin. I used the products for around 2 1/2 months or so. Here are some things I liked about this system:

Pros

My skin felt extremely clean after cleansing-very smooth, not oily, but it didn’t seem excessively dry as it does with some other systems.
This system uses salicylic acid, so it won’t stain clothes or towels (oh, the horror of benzoyl peroxide…).
It is targeted toward adult acne. Unlike most systems, this is formulated for ADULTS. Adults get… wrinkles. Other systems don’t really take that into consideration. This system does.
I liked that this had a night clearing lotion as well as a lotion formulated for day. The night clearing lotion was targeted toward fighting acne while the day seemed more important to keep my skin moisturized.
There weren’t a million steps-just wash, put on a lotion. It did come with a mask that they suggest using every few days, which I did like. It was the first mask that I felt actually did anything for my skin. It felt smoother, my pores felt smaller, and my skin didn’t feel completely dried out like it can sometimes.

Cons

Price. Each tiny bottle of this stuff runs around $50. I did however manage to purchase from Target online at a discount (thanks, gift cards from diaper purchases!!!) as well as a discounted price from Nordstrom thanks to Nordstrom Note rewards.
The moisturizer doesn’t contain an SPF. I felt this was rather odd since this system targets adult acne problems. Most adult systems contain an SPF moisturizer to combat and prevent signs of aging.
It didn’t eliminate the core problem I was having: acne. The system began strong, so I purchased full versions of each item in the system (ouch… that was a mistake). This was so disappointing when my acne started to return after around 8-9 weeks.
It didn’t seem to reduce old acne marks or redness, which was a major reason I purchased an adult acne kit. For some reason I now have more red pigmentation in my cheeks than I used to. This product seemed to increase this problem.

Overall this system made my skin feel great, but it didn’t fix the problem: acne. It seemed to for a while, but then kind of went in reverse, which is what always seems to happen. After purchasing each pricey item, it all quit working. Talk about disappointing. Reluctantly, I moved on to Rodan + Fields.

Rodan + Fields Unblemish

Ugggghhhhh… you guys. Believe me when I say I did NOT want to have to resort to this. Why? I want to walk into a store (ok… really I want to just go on Amazon, but you get the point…), grab whatever product I need, and go, WHEN and WHERE I choose. So, naturally, I went to Amazon. Alright, Amazon is charging $190-something for this crap. NEXT!

Ebay. Ebay! I forgot about Ebay! Found the entire kit brand new, sealed and in its original sealed box for $125-woo hoo! Yeah… I know, that’s a discount… insane, huh?

My Unblemish Routine

I modified the Unblemish routine a bit for various reasons. First of all, the system says to use it once a day until you know how it will affect your skin. I have a fairly greasy T-zone, but the rest of my face tends to dry out very, very easily (especially in the winter months). I figured I might be sticking to the once-a-day instructions for this system since benzoyl peroxide can be very drying for skin.

Using the system once daily seemed to work nicely with some dryness, so that’s what I went with. Here is the routine I’ve been using for the past few months:

Morning

In the morning I wash my face with Cetaphil daily cleanser. This is a mild cleanser and I figure since I’m not wearing makeup at night it is sufficient to eliminate any oil my face has produced overnight.

Next I apply the Unblemish system’s Step 4 moisturizer with SPF 20. This moisturizer is very light and helps to repel harmful UV rays while keeping your face matte. Overall it is a pretty good moisturizer, but I wish they provided the kit with a larger size, especially since all of the other products in the system are significantly larger.

I follow the moisturizer with an anti-aging eye cream because, well, aging. I love this moisturizer I found on Amazon. It has amazing reviews and seems to be helping keep any signs of aging far away.

Night

I use almost the full Unblemish line nightly. First, I remove any makeup I’ve been wearing that day with Garnier Micellar water. This product definitely won’t remove any stubborn waterproof makeup, but I’ve found it useful to help get any daily makeup off before washing my face.

Next, I wash my face with the Unblemish Step 1 sulfur wash for at least one minute. I’ve read that the longer you leave a sulfur product on your face, the better the results. A full minute is about as patient as I get, which probably isn’t a good thing.

After the sulfur wash, I apply the Step 2 toner. This is basically like any other toner and I apply it with a cotton round.

Next, the Unblemish Step 3 is a dual pump with what seems to be a benzoyl peroxide product that you mix with a moisturizer. Since this step contains a moisturizer and I won’t need an SPF product at night I omit the Unblemish Step 4 from my nightly routine.

Lastly, I finish with the anti-aging eye cream that I also use in my morning routine.

Pros

My skin feels much smoother and seems to have a more even skin tone.
My acne seemed to decrease around my forehead area. However, I did seem to start getting breakouts on my upper neck, but it resolved itself within a few days when before any breakouts I had would last for at least a week.
Because the products are so expensive I FORCED myself to be extremely consistent. This has also seemed to help my skin improve.
I love the convenience of just having a few different steps to the system that are very consistent.
I was able to make the product last much longer than the 60 day claim (score for my wallet!) because I only used the system at night and the moisturizer in the morning.
It seemed to diminish any fine lines I was beginning to get, which was a very unexpected benefit.

Cons

Consultants. I repeat, CONSULTANTS. If you love being a consultant and love your product, awesome-you do you, boo boo, but count me out. I don’t want to have to go through a consultant EVERY DANG TIME I have to order something. I’m I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T do you know what that mean, man? Now I got the song stuck in your head, didn’t I? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, climb out from under your rock… here you go… you’re welcome.
This stuff is EXPENSIVE. I mean insanely expensive.
The sulfur wash smells. Horribly. It makes your face smell like a stink bomb kids used to break in class in elementary school.
Benzoyl peroxide stains (bleaches) clothing, towels, and pillowcases. BUT… I actually haven’t noticed it staining anything, which is odd.
It does dry my skin out a little, but moisturizers work fine to combat a little dryness. We’ll see how I hold up through the dry winter months. My guess is I’ll need a little more help in the moisturizing department.
The one component I was looking forward to the most was a TINY trial size. Yep… the moisturizer with SPF was tiny. I guess I could always purchase a similar moisturizer, but if I’m going to commit to something I would like to be consistent and use all of the products, since I’m guessing they work together best. On the bright side I have found that you can purchase Step 4 on eBay and there seem to be fairly good prices whenever I check.

Final Verdict…

As much as I hate to admit it, I think the Rodan + Fields Unblemish system is the ultimate winner. I started the system in August and it is now November and I’m still not out of product, which is fantastic. I do only use the products at night, so I know this has contributed to the longevity of the system. My skin has never felt smoother or more primed for makeup application without being flaky, oily, or uneven. It hasn’t completely eliminated my acne, but at this point I’m not expecting any product or system to do so. I think it’s probably a mixture of genetics, a hectic lifestyle, and stress all rolled into one. I think these products overall control major breakouts and make the best of acne marked and aging skin. For now I’m sticking with the Unblemish system and will be finding ways of purchasing the kit from eBay or Amazon. Yes, I know… I’ve heard all of the horror stories about why I shouldn’t purchase beauty products from such places, but I’m taking my chances. The first kit I purchased from eBay was sealed in the box, not expired or close to expiration, and was the real deal, so I’ll take my chances. Hope my honest reviews helped you choose what to purchase so you don’t have to waste money to find something that works great for your needs!

New Makeup Favorites… and They’re DRUGSTORE Brands!

August 28, 2018March 4, 2019 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’ve ditched a few makeup favorites for drugstore brands (hey… they’re cheaper… and most ended up being better overall for the most part), had to make some changes due to discontinued products (boo!), and added a few newbies to the makeup routine over the past year or so (because, mom skin, y’all… it’s just totally different).

This post will walk you through my typical full coverage makeup regimen, my daily makeup regimen, what has been working well, what could use some improvement, and what products I’d like to try next.

Full Coverage Makeup Regimen

So, since I have been blessed with adult acne, it makes it much harder to get rid of any acne marks quickly. Aging skin and acne just don’t mix, guys. That being said, now add skin that is beginning to wrinkle and the fun begins. Most days I wear fairly minimal makeup, but when I have time I LOVE to play with new trends and see what’s out there that works. Lately I’ve been all in on drugstore dupes. I’ve found that I can usually find drugstore brands that work as well (or better… heck yes!) than pricier brands. I’ve also found that the pricier brands I grew to love changed their lines CONSTANTLY. So, once I found something I loved they discontinued it. Bummer. Here are the steps I take for a full coverage face, what I use, what works, and what isn’t my favorite, but is currently what I use.

Oval Brushes

And I thought I loved my beauty blender. You guys. Oval brushes are a thing and they are LIFE CHANGING. Now, I’ll have to say they’re not great for everything, but here is what I find them most effective for:

foundation
blush
powder

I think my favorite has to be the foundation brush. It makes foundation go on so smoothly without clumping, streaking, or absorbing all of the foundation. I do love the blush and powder brushes for the same reason-effortless blending.

I still use my beauty blender for concealer, highlighter, and contouring. I also use my eyeshadow brushes for eye makeup. I found it extremely hard to use the eye makeup flat brushes as they were hard to get an even application with a flat brush.

African Black Soap for Brush and Beauty Blender Cleaner

I have tried so many products and different methods to clean my brushes and beauty blenders over the years and NOTHING has come close to African Black Soap. It even gets my beauty blender completely clean. The price also can’t be beat! The. Best. Hands. Down.

Maybelline Master Prime Primer

Maybelline’s Master Prime Primer has something for everyone. They have options for dry skin, redness, large pores, you name it, they’ve got you. When I’m using full coverage makeup I typically use the redness control because I tend to have a little more redness in my cheeks as I get older. All of these that I’ve tried have worked better than all expensive primers I’ve tried. A great primer can go a long way to make your foundation look smoother, which helps provide such great coverage.

Maybelline Superstay Better Skin Foundation

So, this stuff is magical. I follow primer up with this foundation. It’s a great full coverage foundation, is extremely light, goes on smoothly, and stays. All. Day. Long. It also doesn’t cause my skin to break out after wearing it like some heavier full coverage makeup I’ve tried. It also has many different shades, so matching a color is fairly easy.

My only beef with this foundation is that I’m pretty sure it’s being discontinued. They do however make a non “better skin” version that is still awesome. I believe the only difference is the normal Superstay version doesn’t contain salicylic acid, which dries your skin anyway.

Maybelline Superstay Concealer

Might as well keep with the Superstay theme… I figure if I’m going to use a a Superstay foundation, I might as well follow it up with a Superstay concealer. This concealer works just as well as the foundation. I use it on blemishes, redness, and sometimes I even use it as an under eye concealer. It’s pretty awesome.

This also seems to be discontinuing, however. I will more than likely replace it with the non-salicylic acid version, which should be just fine.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer

The Superstay concealer works for under eye circles, but I’ve notice that the older I get the worse my dark circles get (yay!). This concealer seems to help combat the dark circles, but my only complaint is that my eyeliner and mascara seem magnetically attracted to this concealer. Like, they’re besties…

I’m still using it for now until I find something that doesn’t stick to my mascara and eyeliner so much.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance (Replaced by Urban Decay Shadow Primer)

I have used Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Champagne for years. I loved it because it doubled as a shadow. It has a slightly shimmery nude base color that’s great for everyday wear or as a shadow primer. Well, in true Too Faced fashion they discontinued it. Fail, Too Faced, huge fail. I’m pretty much on a rally against Too Faced since they’ve discontinued every product of theirs I love.

I received Urban Decay Shadow Primer in a gift from Ulta and it’s serving its purpose well, but I’m not about to shell out a fortune for this stuff. I’m keeping my eye out for a great drugstore dupe and if I find one, you’ll be the first to hear about it!

Maybelline Master Contour Stick

As a contour newbie, I chose this version because 1. it was cheap 2. it had awesome reviews. I was NOT disappointed. It has great color, is easy to blend, and did I mention it’s cheap? Oh… I did? Ok.

If you’ve never contoured you need to try it-it’s not as hard as it sounds, guys and a little goes a long way. Find a YouTube video and try it once-I promise it’s not hard!

What I love about this product is it has great pigmentation, blends fairly easily, but doesn’t just blend away. You know what I mean… I know you’ve all had a product at least once that you put it on, it looks great, then you try to blend it and then think “wait… I just wanted to blend it, where did it go?!”.

My only complaint with this one is that it’s rather odd having a two sided product. It just keeps getting pointier and pointier as I use it. How do you fix that? If you figure it out, let me know…

Maybelline Master Strobing Stick

Meh. I can take or leave this one. It highlights alright, but I always add powder to my finished face anyhow, so it kind of defeats the purpose. I don’t typically use highlighter, so I just figured I’d give this one a try since I was using other Maybelline products.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Eyeshadow Pallette

I know, I know… another pricey one. I can’t help it-I have searched high and low for a drugstore dupe for Urban Decay’s Naked pallets and it just doesn’t exist.

The high pigmentation, last-all-day wear, and awesome shades don’t exist for a drugstore price. Sorry, guys, I promise I tried!

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

I’ve actually used a cream blush for a few years, but secretly hated it. Why did I keep using it? I paid so dang much for it. It was a Tarte cream blush that I tried to talk myself into liking. Well, it is now discontinued, so apparently I’m not the only one that couldn’t stand it.

Replacement? Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso. Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law (you know, the one that got me hooked on Poshmark…) I have found the holy grail of blush. It’s cheap, it has high pigmentation, and the shades are gorgeous. Best of all? It’s cheapest on Amazon. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Maybelline Shine Free Oil Control Loose Powder & Maybelline FIT ME! Matte and Poreless Powder

When I’m doing full coverage makeup I usually reach for a loose setting powder. Maybelline’s oil control powder is awesome and seems to last nearly all day. My sister-in-law also suggested the Maybelline FIT ME! powder in a compact. It’s. Awesome. It gives a flawless finish weather you’re wearing full coverage makeup or just an every day look. I highly recommend both!

COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner in Charcoal

I’m not a fan of liquid eyeliner because it tends to look way too harsh around my eyes. I have used this eyeliner for over 10 years. Yeah… that’s a long time. When something works, it works!

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

I’ve tried sooooooooo many different mascaras. My favorite? Chanel. Well, I have expensive taste on a drugstore budget, so Benefit’s Roller Lash is my compromise. It has what I like about Chanel’s mascara at more of a wallet friendly price. No, it definitely isn’t cheap, but I have yet to find a drugstore brand that compares.

What I love about this mascara is that it feels almost waxy when being applied rather than a crunchy spider lash feel. What I don’t like about it is that it always seems to leave marks under my eye later in the day. But, overall I reach for this one every time.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water All-in-One Mattifying

Since I rarely wear waterproof mascara I’ve been using Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for makeup remover. It’s gentle, not oily, and seems to help remove most of my makeup before I was my face at night. It doesn’t, however, remove stubborn waterproof makeup. You’ll have to take more drastic measures for that one, ladies.

Daily Makeup Regimen

I don’t have time for a full coverage face every day. What I do make sure to do is have a moisturizer and at least some eyeliner and mascara so my eyes still look like they exist.

Burt’s Bees BB Cream

The first step I take is a moisturizer followed by a BB cream. I feel like my skin never looks good enough to be naked, so this BB cream always does the trick. Does it cover everything? Nope, but that’s not the point. This moisturizes and has an SPF 15 sunscreen while being slightly tinted to give a little smoother complexion. To further smooth my complexion I add a thin layer of the Maybelline FIT ME! powder I previously mentioned.

I follow up with the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer. This gives my lids some color and smoothness without having to apply layers of eyeshadow. Add the COVERGIRL eyeliner and Benefit Roller Lash mascara and BAM! A less than five minute effortless day-to-day look.

New Products I’ve Tried

Some products were suggested to me, so I figured why not give them a shot. My current full coverage foundation is getting low, so I might as well see if something might be a better replacement.

Maybelline FIT ME! Matte and Poreless Foundation and Maybelline FIT ME! Concealer

My sister-in-law/s makeup always looks flawless, so I figured I would try the other FIT ME! products she suggested from Maybelline. As drugstore products go these were great, but I’m not ready to replace my Superstay with them. I felt they lacked a little coverage compared to the Superstay line. It did however feel a little lighter than the Superstay version if that’s what you’re looking for.

Bottom line: I’m still not ready to switch from Superstay. Yes, it’s still a pretty good foundation, but I still prefer the Superstay from Maybelline.

What I’m Pumped to Try Next

COVERGIRL Clean Matte BB Cream

My Burt’s Bees BB cream is running low, so I’m tempted to try something different. While I love the Burt’s Bees BB cream it has a very oily feel to it. This COVERGIRL version has amazing reviews and is less than half the price of the Burt’s Bees version. I’ll keep you posted on how it holds up!

CC Cream

I’m also ready to try a real CC cream. I have funky things going on with my skin and could really use a little more coverage and correction. I haven’t really found one that is getting great reviews, so I’m open to suggestions! Anyone have any luck with CC creams? Let me know!

New Skincare Faves

March 15, 2017 by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So, you know how your skincare regimen works for a hot second and you think, “Wow! I finally have this skincare thing under control…”, then, BOOM: you breakout worse than you ever did in your teens. Well, here are my new revised suggestions… until they stop working.

African Black Soap

It’s as simple as its name: a bar of soap that happens to be a lovely shade of… well, black. It’s simple: wash your face with it twice a day. Yes. You heard me-wash your face. Simple, right? This stuff is so great at removing dirt and oil that I use it for my makeup brushes and even the dreaded cleansing of the beauty blender. GUYS-it cleans the beauty blender. No need to say anything more. Oh, one more thing-it’s CHEAP!

Shea Moisture also makes a great scrub for acne prone skin. I use this twice a week (sometimes more in the winter) to remove dead skin and keep my skin feeling soft.

Moisturizer with Collagen

St. Ives makes a great moisturizer containing both Collagen and Elastin. I’m hesitant to admit that I need it, but… it definitely does the job when it comes to fine lines and *gulp* wrinkles. It’s very affordable and a little bit goes a long way.

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