Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer

Today I want to tell you guys about an amazing product that I started testing out about a week ago. When I got a recommendation to try Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Concealer, I jumped at it because, upon further research, this really looked promising! It was affordable and meant for color correction/brightening: two things I love!

Skin on all complexions can be a bit dull sometimes, and I’m always looking for ways to combat it, especially around the under-eye area, because your face automatically looks so much fresher once you address just your under-eye issues; whether it be wrinkles, puffiness or discoloration.

Discoloration and overall dullness are my concerns. I want to thank Cecilia for recommending this concealer to me; check out her blog!! It’s an awesome fashion/beauty and lifestyle blog and she’s so awesome!!!! Thanks again, Cecilia!

So this product is for anyone that wants to fill in lines around the eye, correct minor discoloration,  brighten their eyes, and address signs of aging. I haven’t been using this concealer long enough to know whether or not it is effective as an anti-aging treatment, but I will post an update!

Darker toned women may have a hard time finding a dark enough shade, because the four skin-tone shades available are for light to medium skin. This is a bit disappointing! For this reason, I use it mainly as a brightener, but it definitely helps a little to conceal. I just wish I could find a darker shade. The darkest skin-tone shade is honey, and it’s a bit too light on my medium-brown skin.

You may have noticed I bolded “four skin-tone.” That’s because there are actually six shades, but the last two aren’t skin-tone specific. However, they still work better on light to medium skin. One is for “brightening” which basically means highlighting. If you’ve got light/medium skin and are just concerned about dullness, this may be for you. The other shade is “neutralizer” which is a light-colored corrector. This is for women who wish to eliminate dark circles under their eyes before applying their foundation on top. I personally think the neutralizer works better on lighter skin. However, if you’re darker-skinned, you can still try this, because you will have to layer a foundation/concealer that is your skin tone over this neutralizer, so the light shade may not be an issue at all!

The best way to apply this product is dotting it on your face, and I love the design of the applicator, because its shape makes it so easy to just swipe across the under-eye area or dot it on. I prefer to dot it on, and then use my finger or a small concealer brush to really press it in and buff it out. You really want to make sure you do this, because it will fill in the lines (don’t put too much product on though, because that will actually accentuate the lines!). After applying the concealer, I set it with a translucent setting powder. Eye concealer fades quickly, so don’t skip this part! If you used the neutralizer, you may want to add a concealer for better coverage before you set it. But, if you used one of the four skin-tone shades or the brightener, you can just go straight to setting.

Overall, this concealer is really awesome and I’m glad Cecilia recommended it! I definitely wish there were more shades available for darker skin tones, but this selection isn’t too bad. I give it an 8/10. There’s no funny smell, no goopyness and no straying if you set it. For the price, this under-eye concealer is amazing and it also treats as well as conceal! So, you’re not just masking your imperfections, you’re helping them. Next time you’re searching for an under-eye concealer+anti-aging treatment, please consider this before splurging on something pricier, it’s definitely a steal!

 

 

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Recieved My First VoxBox From Influenster!

Today I’ve got an exciting post for all you bloggers! If you’re interested in joining the website I’ll be talking about, feel free to send me your email for a personal invite: annumoraa@aol.com, or leave your email in the comments. I will respond promptly and would be more than happy to invite you to join the Influenster community! 🙂

 

Last month, I joined a website called Influenster. This website is for anyone out there who wants to turn their social influence in to rewards! If you live in the USA or Canada, love social media and love trying new products- whether it be beauty, skincare or even sports related products- you can join this website to share your opinions on all kinds of products, and possibly be selected to receive what is called a VoxBox. A VoxBox is a box that is sent to you complementary from Influenster (at no cost to you!), containing full sized products from many awesome brands that you may be interested in. Based on your profile, Influenster may be interested in sending you a VoxBox. I cannot tell you how much I love Influenster; time and time again, I have spent money on products that simply don’t work! Influenster gives you a chance to read reviews from honest Influensters, try products for free, and leave your feedback to help others make a more informed decision about purchases! I received an Aveeno VoxBox earlier today, and I am so excited to try it, because I could really use the product I received! Influenster does a great job at matching you with potential VoxBox programs. My box contained a tone corrector that is meant for correcting uneven skin tone and dark spots on the face. I generally like this brand for skincare, but I’ve never tried their tone corrector before, or even any products from this particular line (Aveeno’s “Positively Radiant” line). So, I look forward to telling you guys more about this product after I test it out for a few weeks or so!

Influenster is a great website to share your opinions and ask questions+receive answers about any product/brand you may be wondering about. Unfortunately, you can only participate in VoxBox campaigns if you reside in Canada or the USA 😦

BUT, the reviews on this website really are exceptional and the community of “Influensters” is awesome!! Regardless of their VoxBox program, I really think anyone who likes to find out more about products before they buy them should join, because you will find great reviews and can ask+answer questions on many products/brands. The user interface is great, and it’s such a fun website to navigate!!!

To learn more about Influenster and to answer any questions you may have after reading this, please click here. I really hope you enjoyed this blog post, and plan on joining Influenster!

 

Benefit’s Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Contouring and highlighting are two steps in any girl’s makeup routine that can really make the face POP. However, you need good products to achieve this look. Too often, “highlighters” (especially cheap ones) have huge pieces of glitter and sparkle in them, which will just make you look like a child with glitter all over their face. This is even more apparent with darker skin tones, because the glitter will create an even greater contrast with the skin. That is why I was so excited when I heard of Benefit’s Watt’s Up! cream-to-powder highlighter. Benefit is a high-end brand that is known for creating exceptional beauty products. However, I have a notable issue with this product.

What It Is

It claimed to have a champagne color that would suite all skin tones: “Our soft focus highlighter turns on ‘watt’ ya got with a delicate champagne glow that’s gorgeous. With a cream-to-powder finish…it’s a switch on ‘wow’ for all complexions. You’ll adore the smooth applicator & luminous sheen.” There’s also a swatch on their website that shows a beautiful, champagne-colored cream highlighter that’s not at all glittery, yet luminous. That is why I was a little disappointed when I tried this; the swatch couldn’t be more misleading! On my skin, you can see the obvious glitter that stands out, especially because I have medium-brown skin. On lighter skin, this may not be a problem. The champagne color itself is definitely beautiful for all skin tones; my only concern is the sparkle. To lessen it’s effect, I only use a VERY thin, well-blended layer on my cheekbones.

Beautiful champagne color appropriate for highlighting

On the first stripe (which isn’t blended at all), you can see that it has a nice soft-focus highlighting effect when applied sparingly. For the second stripe, I heavily swiped the highlighter on my arm so you could really see the color.

Both stripes fully blended out; obvious sparkles

 

Who It’s For

If you have lighter skin, this is the perfect highlighter for you! It has a nice velvety-smooth finish, and won’t irritate sensitive skin or smear any makeup you already have on. If you have medium skin, you may want to look for a different highlighter- especially if you have a problem with the sparkles. If your skin is very deep, I would definitely suggest looking for a different highlighter, because the sparkles will stand out too much. I wish it was more fine-tuned and not as noticeable, but I absolutely love the champagne color. I can look past the sparkles, because it isn’t bad on my skin  if I apply it in a very thin layer & blend well, and it definitely draws light to highlighted areas!

Overall, this highlighter is a 7/10 for me. If the sparkles were more fine and not so obvious, this highlighter would be an 11/10!!!