contour Archives — This teacher wears makeup.

Dr. Jart+ BB Mate Contouring 1.2.3 Kit

Rachel — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 11:19:20 +0000

Today, a new product from Dr. Jart+ goes in the gradebook. This is the BB Mate Contouring 1.2.3 Kit, which I purchased online from Sephora. The Dr. Jart+ BB Mate kit comes with three shades – Highlight, Neutralize, and Bronze. These are meant to be applied over your favorite Dr. Jart+ BB, but of course, you can really use whatever foundation you want!

If you forgot how we grade around here, go see our grading policy! Let’s get to it!

Ease of Application: 5/5
All three of the shades come in a tube with a doe foot applicator. I like to dot the products on my face and then blend with fingers, sponge or brush. Amazingly for a liquid product, I even find this easy to use to contour the nose area. I have nothing bad to say about the application.

Formula: 5/5
These shades all blend superbly with each other and other makeup. The bronze shade, which I use for contouring, manages to blend out while still maintaining some color on the initial application area, making it a really easy product to use. All three tubes have the consistency of a liquid concealer – not runny but not thick.

Color: 5/5
This is a tricky situation because all of these colors are perfect for me, which means they will not be perfect for a lot of people. I do think you could be somewhat lighter or darker and still find a way to work with these three shades. I would love to see Dr. Jart+ come out with sets for other skin tones. [Edit: an Instgram friend has informed me that Dr. Jart+ has indicated they are making a set for darker skin tones!]

Packaging: 3/5
The little booklet that these tubes come in is cute, but is also excessive. It is hard to get the tubes in and out of their little nooks. I plan on throwing the box away as soon as this post is published. Additionally, I am concerned that for the price, these tubes are a bit small. I am worried about running out of product.

The Dr. Jart+ BB Mate Contouring 1.2.3. Kit receives an A!

I really like this product. The price may make some hesitate, but if you have money to spend and are fair skinned – go for it!

originally posted on 4/6/15

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2015 Beauty Favorites

Rachel — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 12:00:24 +0000

Hello class, and Happy New Year!

Let’s start off 2016 by taking a look at some of my favorite beauty products from 2015! For the sake of brevity, I’ll try to keep my descriptions short and sweet. Feel free to let me know in the comments if you’d like more information! Where possible, I have included links to the product from websites I have used in the past. I have also linked to previous reviews, if I have one.

Favorite Primer: Marc Jacobs Invisible Under(Cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer – This is my favorite all-purpose primer. Having used it in both warm and cool weather, I can safely say that it is great for dry skin, yet does not over-grease oily skin. I especially love it under the serum foundations that are becoming popular.
Favorite Concealer: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (I use Chantilly)- This concealer is amazing over blemishes; a tiny dot can cover the biggest zit. I’ve also used it under the eye, and I have to say that it creases less than some products marketed as dedicated undereye correctors.
Favorite Foundation: MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation (I’m shade NC20) – OK, so this one is a big deal because my skin does not normally get along with MAC foundations. However, this product has been a game changer. I use it especially on days I know are going to be very long, as well as any time I have to be on stage, because I know it will last. We reviewed this foundation here.
Favorite Eye Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance – I got this one because everyone raves about it. I now understand why. It is very easy to apply and does help shadow last on long days. I notice significantly less creasing when I use this versus other popular eye primers.
Favorite Eye Liner: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (shade Trooper) – The applicator on this is so interesting; lying somewhere between brush and felt tip, this product makes winging eyeliner a breeze.
Favorite Mascara: L’Oreal Miss Manga Rock Voluminous Waterproof Mascara (side note – our only “drugstore” product today!) – I have issues with many high-end mascaras, so to find a drugstore mascara that I love is fantastic. I am on my third tube of this because I love the way it lengthens and volumizes dramatically, without being overly clumpy.
Favorite Brow Product: It Cosmetics Build-A-Brow (shade Blonde) – I didn’t think anything could trump the popular ABH dipbrow, but this cream is by far more forgiving and easier to manipulate.

Favorite Eye Shadow Palette: Kat Von D Shade+Light Eye Contour Palette – It’s amazing how much you can do with a neutral palette, especially when it’s a good one. The shadows are exceptionally pigmented and easy to work with.
Favorite Single Eye Shadow: Charlotte Tilbury Nocturnal Cat Eyes to Hypnotise (shade The Huntress) – There’s really something special about this shadow. The golden brown pigmented has little flecks of glitter than enhance the eye without being overwhelming.
Favorite Contour Product: Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder – A fantastic option for fair skin. We took a look at it here.
Favorite Highlight Product: Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed (shade Moonstone) – The ever-popular “Opal” was too dark for me, but this option from Becca works for me in both summer and winter. It provides a subtle sheen that is good for everyday use.
Favorite Blush: Urban Decay Afterglow Powder Blush (shade Rapture) – These blushes are crazy pigmented. I love the plum tone of Rapture, especially for the fall and winter. It can be sheered out to become very natural and pretty.
Favorite Face Powder: Besame Brightening Violet Powder – This translucent powder has a hint of violet that really brightens the fair complexion. I like to use it as a finishing powder. It also smells lovely, so that’s an added bonus.

Favorite Lip Gloss: Dior Rouge Brillant (Hollywood) – I hated lip gloss until I found this. It is thick but not tacky and lasts quite a while for gloss. Also, the color is fantastic.
Favorite Cream-Finish Lipstick: Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick (Cava) – This is my all-time favorite nude because it is cool-toned and pigmented. The cream finish has decent staying power and the formula is moisturizing.
Favorite Liquid-to-Matte Lipstick: Lime Crime Velvetine (Bleached) and ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip (Trap) – Similar formulas and colors, I had to have a tie happen. Bleached is a peachy nude and Trap is a gray-toned nude, but both are fantastic and can be altered by using a liner beneath them.
Favorite Matte Lipstick: ColourPop Lippie Stix (Pinch) and Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lipstick (Barberry) – ColourPop Lippie Stix are some of my favorites, and Pinch takes the cake as the best slightly-darker-than-nude shade. I believe Bite Beauty Barberry was a limited release, but I suggest pouncing on any matte lipsticks that Bite comes out with.

For fun, I’ve included swatches of the above-mentioned lip products:

top to bottom: Bite Barberry, Bite Cava, ColourPop Pinch, ColourPop Trap, Lime Crime Bleached — left: Dior Hollywood

My favorite part of starting the new year is seeing everyone else’s favorites from the previous 12 months. Please, share your lists in the comments so we can all see!

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Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder

Rachel — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:07:34 +0000

originally posted 11/19/15

Class, as I write this my most-read post ever is the one where I compared the LORAC Pro Contour to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette. It must be a popular search or something!Today, I want to add another product to that comparison. This product, however, is just a contour powder. Just one shade, no highlighters. I still think it’s worth it. I present “The Sculpting Powder” by Kevyn Aucoin:

This bad boy was purchased in my recent Sephora Haul, but it is also available from Beautylish, among other stores. The shade listed is “Medium” but I’m not even positive that there’s another shade available anywhere. It doesn’t matter – this shade is perfect if you are fair- or light-skinned.

Let me show you what I mean.

Above, you will find the three products in question. Our comparison will be between the Kevyn Aucoin powder, the comparable “Light Contour” from LORAC and “Fawn”(middle bottom) from ABH. In the pan, these are all similarly toned. They all seem fairly neutral, or even cool, right?

Now look at the swatches:

The Kevyn Aucoin is the one in the middle. Can you see the difference in tone? If I can, you can.

Here’s the same swatch in natural light, with labels:

While the differences between these shades do not seem huge, any fair girl can attest to the fact that the less orange a contour shade is, the better.

And as far as not being part of a palette goes, the K.A. is certainly more portable because of this fact. I mean, we use so many different highlights anyway, why not mix and match?

I hope this helps if you’re in the market for a new contour powder!

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LORAC PRO CONTOUR PALETTE VS. ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS CONTOUR KIT

Rachel — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 02:20:20 +0000

originally posted 7/9/15

Good morning, class!

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been underwhelmed with my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette. In fact, I haven’t ever really written about it, except to mention it briefly in “Do Now’s”. I guess it just wasn’t the miracle product that I was expecting it to be based on the hype upon its release. Don’t get me wrong, the powders are quite nice and the color range seems pretty good. I just never got the hang of using these powders to create any sort of natural contour.

So, as I was doing some shopping for my giveaway. I happened upon LORAC’s new contour palette at Ulta. I walked past it. I didn’t need it.

Cut to about 20 minutes later and it has somehow appeared in my hands on the checkout line. Amazing how that happens…

Anyway, I wanted to do just a brief comparison between these two palettes based on the limited use I’ve had with each. Please feel free to share your own thoughts or link to your own posts about either of these products in the comments section!

Both palettes come with six powders. Pictured below is the ABH Kit in Light to Medium and (circular pots) and LORAC Palette (rectangular). You’ll notice that the ABH shades do not have labels on the palette, but they do have names.

If I’ve done the math correctly, then the ABH Kit has .66 total ounces of product, evenly distributed. LORAC has .73 total ounces of product, with Shimmer Highlight and Medium Contour being bigger than the other four. I suppose they feel that these will be your most used shades. ABH retails for $40 and LORAC for $45. This makes ABH the better deal just slightly.

The shades in the two palettes are fairly comparable, though I think the highlights in the LORAC are a bit lighter, which is important to me. I also think the contours have more variation in the LORAC and are slightly cooler-toned.

I tried to swatch both below for you. I did mix up the order of shades in the ABH to more closely correspond with the LORAC. Here ya go!

ABH left and Lorac right

Swatching these side-by-side, I noticed that the highlights in the ABH are pinker and the in the LORAC, yellower. The contours are fairly similar, though I do think the LORAC has more pigmentation.

Based on the information above, and using each palette a little bit on my face, I have to say that I prefer the LORAC. All in all, it works better for my skin tone, and I find the powders easier to blend. Also, it comes with a brush. I forgot about that. I guess that makes LORAC the better deal, too!

Do you use either of these palettes? What do you think about them?

Be sure to check out a new contour palette favorite, here!

Shop this teacher’s favorites:

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