Visage Artistique

A beauty blog dedicated to sharing the pretty, giving honest reviews, and appreciating the artistry of cosmetics/beauty aesthetics.

[visageartistique]

My Summer Essentials

Summer has been officially here for a little over a week and it's been HOT in the Bay Area, more so than usual for June. So I figured now is a nice time to talk about my current summer essentials. Weirdly enough though, my skin has been getting drier rather than oily like it would normally in summer, but I'm chalking it up to I moved from a humid climate to a dry climate so this does factor in my skin base choices a little. Anyways!

FACE

Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen SPF 55

I have to be more careful about sun protection living here, and also because I have dark spots from mild acne scarring, which I don't want getting darker with sun exposure. I like this sunscreen for my face because it's break-out free and I don't react to it.

SkinFood Peach Sake BB Cream SPF 20

This is my go-to for everyday-ish base on hotter days because it has some good "oil" control which for me more helps with sweat. I've been using Shade 2 since my face is going to likely be less pale with it being summer.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Long-Wear Flawless Fluid Makeup

For going out and more fancy makeup, I reach for this since it's long-wearing and builds nicely. Depending on what I'm doing I pair it with Hourglass Mineral Viel Primer or Clarins Instant Smooth Base because my pores are in a sad state at the moment. :/

Dr. Perricone No Concealer Concealer

This has pretty nice coverage and is SPF 30, which is largely why I like this because my dark circles don't need to get darker via sun exposure!

Revlon Photo Ready Cream Blush in Flushed

This was a recent purchased based on recommendation as an alternative for the Chanel Cream Blush Lisa Eldridge used in her latest tutorial showing the look she did recently for Jessica Biel. I do want to check out those Chanel blushes, but Ulta was closer. This lasts fairly decently because I think there's some silicones in it sorta like in primer and the color, while looking bright in pan, actually blends out sheer and is build-able.

tarte 12-Hour Amazonian Clay Blush

I don't think these last 12 hours on me, but they do have decent wear time and the clay also helps in the summer when it's hot so that the blush lasts a while longer. I also like the colors these come in.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows

MAC Paint Pots

Honestly I don't have a preference for one brand over the other; to me they work equally well and it just depends on what colors I want. Both are long lasting cream shadows, and in the summer when I just want a quick slap-dash approach to eye color these are my go-tos. They also both make good shadow bases. 

tarte emphasEYES Amazonian Clay Eyebrow Pencil

HOLY GRAIL EYEBROW PENCIL RIGHT HEEEEEEEEERRRRREEEEE. I've used a variety of things for my brows- pencil, powder, etc and this has been the best thing I've ever used and also they have a brunette/brown that matches me perfectly. I also like that it's waterproof. 

Sephora Flashy Waterpoof Eye Liner and Sephora Retractable Waterproof Eye liner

I like both varieties of these and I like the color selection. I have 2 of these in a teal color and a purplish-mauve color and I like both quite well  and I think both are fairly waterproof.

tarte Amazonian Clay Mascara

Tarte mascaras are basically awesome, at least for me, and this waterproof one works well and doesn't sting my eyes or feel weird. I want to try the Giorgio Armani Waterproof Eyes to Kill Mascara since I do really like the regular kind, but right now I reallllly like this waterproof mascara. Honorable mention though is the Stila Waterproof Volumizing Mascara. 

fresh Sugar Lip Treatment

I have, I think, all of these except for in Petal and Coral. Suffice to say, love these! They have nice bit of color and my lips feel really good when I wear them. 

[visageartistique]

I got the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara off of Hautelook, and it finally arrived. I am in loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! It makes my lashes so nice and separated. Need to try layering it with Tarte Lights Camera Lashes tomorrow, another fave mascara! 

[visageartistique]

MAC Paint Pots

Up until now, I never actually owned any MAC products. For long wearing cream shadow stuff I had been using Maybelline Tattoo cream shadows, which work fine but do tend to dry out if not careful. 

 But I happened to walk into MAC while at the mall and saw one of the limited edition paint pots in Dangerous Curve. I had to have it! I went back and got Rubenesque yesterday.

  On the left is Rubenesque, on the right Dangerous Curve, which isn't as warm as it looks in the photo. Rubenesque is this beautiful satiny goldy peach and Dangerous Curve is a beautiful shimmery silvery taupe that is slightly warm but my bathroom lights are yellowish so it's not as "brown" looking as in the photo.

 They do feel a smoother going on than Maybelline Tattoo and these do last a pretty good while. I had on Dangerous Curve yesterday and went to the mall, it was a little hot outside, and then later I had my makeup still on when I worked out and it didn't sweat off. It does also make a decent base for powder shadow and they can work alone or with other products to make a look.

 I definitely do really like these, I think might like them just a bit more than Maybelline, but then with some products you get what you pay for. :)

 I believe they're about $18.50? That's what one of my rang up yesterday so it's not a terribly bad price in terms of something more high end. 

[visageartistique]

Where I've Been

It's sort of amazing how graduate thesis sucks all your time and energy, but it's been turned in and I have gotten a lot of good stuff from Sephora and such over the past couple weeks that I want to talk about! 

 Some of my recent buys, generalized:

Hourglass Illuminating Powder

Urban Decay Eyeshadow

Sephora Eye Primer

Dior Creme de Rose Lip plumper/smoother

Illamasqua blusehs

Limited Edition Maybelline blush

Tarte Waterproof Brow Pencil

Benefit Fake Up Concealer

NYX Make Up Setting Spray

Sephora Flashy Waterproof Eyeliner

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner

Geurlain Meteor Pearls

Revlon Lipcolors

etc. etc.

Overall, I've been happy with all these purchases and want to talk about them so in the next coming weeks I should have some posts. I really should also post a pic of my cluttery makeup corner, lol, it's really so chaotic because I really do need a proper vanity. 

[visageartistique]

Urban Decay Naked Skin BB Cream

I got a sample of this since I have a ton of Spehora VIB points and.....

You are better with Dr. Jarts or SkinFood BB Cream. No really. This stuff has no coverage whatsoever. It seems more suited as a primer for normal skin honestly.

 Does it do the optical blur thing it promises? Well no, you won't be looking poreless but it helps probably as well as Benefit It Girl Primer. I think this stuff really only works under foundation or powder. 

It's really kind of pointless to buy it, though. 

[visageartistique]

Loreal Infallable Gel Liner

Lisa Eldridge mentioned this was a new good product from Loreal. I have in the past liked their gel liner in pencil form liners but mostly Loreal is a hit or miss brand.

 But...but....dare I say.....AMAZING. GEL. LINER. FROM DRUGSTORE.

That is from one swipe of my liner brush. ONE. I didn't need to layer it on like with elf kind and it cost a lot less than MAC Fluidline. 

It doesn't flake and doesn't feel drying, didn't smudge and it's amazing and I love it and it is like rainbows and puppies and sparkles....

 Ok no not really, but it's pretty great gel liner. AND it comes with a brush that doesn't suck either!

Good job Loreal! 

[visageartistique]

Missha Perfect BB Cream

Doesn't it look so innocent and decent coverage on my hand? 

Missha Perfect BB Cream is a pretty popular one and seems on paper ideal for my skin.

Could it be the Holy Grail BB Cream of my dreams riding in on a unicorn???

I have tried this on its own. Over moisturizer. Over Clarins Instant Smooth and it settttttttttttttttles into my pores so much and patches throughout the day. Or makes my skin flake in places.

I blend with my fingers but alas nope. This much beloved bb cream fails for me. 

Granted, it is still winter but I do live in California so it's not like I'm experiencing tundra weather. I might save it for later spring and see what it does in hotter weather but honestly?

Really really disappointed. Skinfood Peach Sake BB Cream and Dr. Jart's Premium is soooo much better for me.

 That being said, maybe Missha's other bb creams would work better, but I hate the having to buy online factor and being unable to test product to see if it will work. 

It was only $20, which in the realm of Asian BB creams purchased in US isn't terrible, but stillllllll....ugh.

[glamour-glitter-gold]

[visageartistique]

Love this palette!

[visageartistique]

Covergirl Perfection Lipstick Review

While at Target to pick up some grocery items I stopped by the Beauty section to get some lipstick since I need a satin red. I picked up two Covergirl Perfection Lipsticks in Flame (a satin blue toned bright red that's almost somewhat cherryish pink toned as well) and Embrace (a bright sort of fuschia-violet with blue shimmery undertones).

 They're marketing as making lips smoother after a week. I liked them for the color. They're pretty true to the tube when you look at the bottom.

  This was taken with flash on my phone.

They go on nicely, but what I didn't expect was the staying power. HOLY. CRAP. These grab on and don't let go so easy.

 I had put on Flame before work and a coffee, gatorade, bagel, and lunch did not deter this lipstick. After six hours there was still a nice stain of color. At the end of the day before bed, probably a good 14 hours later, I still had to use makeup remover to get it off. 

 These aren't the most super moisturizing feeling lipstick, but also not terribly drying either. I have pretty bad chapped lips all the time and these didn't make me need to reach for lip balm.

 CoverGirl doesn't always make a lot of things I like, but I think this is a pretty good lipstick from them and affordable as well, especially for the staying power because I have some sort of weird lip skin that makes lasting power of lipstick a challenge.

[visageartistique]

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

I love Lush products and I picked up my beloved Cinders seasonal bath bomb at Lush during a visit to NYC on Friday, but sadly they were completely out of Glogg Shower Gel, which is my FAVORITE Lush shower gel ever! I got some Flying Fox instead, which is nice and honey/smokey/yummy but not quite the cinnamon wine goodness of Glogg. 

 Anyway, they had their Boxing Day/Fresh sale of buy one get one so I also got these cute snowmen bath melts that smelled really spicy good.

They smell softly of cinnamon and clove and have a cute little ginger thing as a nose and melty chocolate chips it looks like. I was skeptical of that first but they do in fact melt into the mix and this made the bath smell really good! I liked this product very much and would buy again next Christmas.

 Sadly all the stuff I super like is Christmas Lush stuff!

 But these were nice little melts, smelled really good, and it was a nice way to beat the snowed in blues of yesterday because it snowed about a foot at my parents' house. 

[visageartistique]

Happy Holidays To All!

Currently I'm back in the Northeast visiting my parents and have a week of residency to complete, but just wanted to wish you all Happy Holidays! I've gotten some things over the holidays to talk about and will be doing some shopping this weekend, including a deliciously dark Chanel lipstick that is very lovely.

[visageartistique]

Cold Recovery and Dry Skin Woes

Last week I was hit with a pretty bad cold that knocked me off my feet to the point of needing steam inhalation therapy and a vaporizer because I was so congested. And this was on top of Mucinex! 

 But now my skin has been dry in places, especially around my nose. Some Christmas shopping in San Francisco brought some much needed moisturizer purchases but also changing how I take off my make up.

 I had left my bottle of Sephora Cleansing Water back east because I forgot I didn't have checked luggage and it was 5 oz, so I needed something here because I was using argan oil in a pinch, but it's not really good used on my face. 

 Doing some errands at Target, I went on the look for make up remover and ended up getting this.

  Being a cleansing lotion, which I've never tried before, it wasn't as slap dash to use as makeup removal wipes or even Cleansing water.

 I put it on, massaged in, wiped clean with a towel, and did it again just to get everything.

 It didn't leave my skin feeling coated the way Ponds Cold Cream does, and days later it hasn't broken me out and it's actually been helping with the way my skin is freaking the hell out and having dry patches.

 Coupled with Sephora Instant Moisturizer, my current night time routine seems to be helping.

 I'm thinking of picking the Dr. Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Skin Calming Mask to help with some redness I'm getting lately this winter. Any thoughts on this product? I've never used it before.

[visageartistique]

Catching Up and Sake for the Skin

It's kind of amazing how one can disappear when finals are due. It's been a crazy semester but I can almost see the MFA at the end of the tunnel!

 So, BB Cream. I think by now everyone's heard the buzz on this originally German-made, now Asian cult beauty wunderbar product. It moisturizes, treats, has SPF, DOES ALL THE THINGS!

 Okay, sometimes it does all the things, sometimes it's a big womp womp sad trombone.

 Not to sound like a snob, but I don't use US BB Creams because they're pretty much glorified tinted moisturizer and not the same. Some are good formulas though if you really just want some tinted moisturizer, but my skin likes the legit stuff.

 One of the BB Creams I currently use is Skin Food Peach Sake BB Cream:

A Skin Food just opened up in one of my local malls, but it doesn't carry the full range you can get online. The Peach Sake was the only BB cream of the line they sell in store, but that's fine since it's the kind meant for my combo skin anyway.

  It's not a lot honestly in the tube, but you shouldn't need very much to work with each application. It has a peachish candy smell that I like, but it might put some people off. The smell does dissipate, though.

   The coverage on this is good, but if you have trouble spots, like I do sometimes, you'll still need a concealer. Now, this stuff also is clearly oil absorbing. If you have dry or normal skin, this might not be the BB cream for you. It has that mattifying feel, but not as extreme as like Make Up Forever Mat Velvet.

 One thing I did notice today was that it looked a little more orange than usual around my jawline, however I did buy this towards end of summer when my skin had more color and I've gotten paler. It also DOES come in more than one color. I've been using #2 but I'm probably now a #1.

  It ran me about $12, and so far the past few months I do like it. I don't use it every day but I do like it when I do.

 I do want to try the Holika Holika Peach Girl kind, however, as I hear people who like the Skin Food Peach Sake BB Cream will probably love the Holika Holika kind. Also want to try Missha Skin Perfect or Skin 79 Hot Pink.

 I have other BB Creams, or rather, have used two of Dr. Jart's brand in past. Reviews on those will come soon.

Have any of you used the Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream and would recommend it? Do you like the Skin Food one?

[visageartistique]

Lips Like Suuuuuuuuuuuugarrrrr!

I have an Echo & the Bunnymen station on Pandora I often listen to at work because I seem to prefer music of that variety and New Romantic music. That song often comes up in the playlist.

 A little background, I suffer from fairly chapped lips. I have a night grinding habit but also lip bite without thinking about it, and I probably don't drink enough water but anyway, I get chapped lips often which sucks when applying lipstick because it always looks off.

 I've tried a few things, Chapstick fails me, Blistex didn't work super well, etc. Neutrogena Overnight Lip Treatment helps, but its not the sort of thing I want to use all day every day and I like color!

 So I picked up a mini-set of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments that came with the Passionfruit, Berry, and Honey one. It was a pretty good deal, I think I got it for $28 at Sephora. I hear people rave about them all the time so I thought why not?

 These have been such a help for me!! I carry all three in my purse and find that even when I feel dry patches, I put it on and in few minutes my lips feel smooth and moisturized. The more I wear them the better my lips feel. The colors are nice and subtle, and it's a bonus, but the big thing for me is how they work for me, which is good.

 I picked up my free birthday gift from Sephora earlier since it's my birthday month and because it was the duo of regular clear Fresh Sugar Treatment and the Rose one which I didn't have before. I think I'm going to try, when I'm back home and not at my parent's, layer the clear Fresh Sugar under the Neutrogena Overnight and see how that works at night. 

 I'm still tempted often to pick up Elizabth Arden Eight Hour Creme and try that as well since it works as more than just helping lips with moisture. 

Anyway, if you want a good lip treatment for chapped lips that doesn't taste like motor oil, does a good job, and comes it some color, you can't go wrong with the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments.

[visageartistique]

All Up in My Face!!

I don't think I paid attention to proper skincare until post-college. I used rather harsh cleansers meant for acne treatment that broke me out more than helped.

 Now I'm much more conservative as I near 30 because I already have done some mild bad to my under eyes from rubbing concealer in too hard when I was younger or not using moisturizer because I didn't think I should with oily/combo skin.

  Previously I was using St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser which is for oily/acne prone skin. It's milder than most, but I was still concerned about stripping my skin too much so I switched to CeraVe because it helps build the skin layer back up.

 Unfortunately, CeraVe has been making me break out more than helping, and this was after about three months of trying. Cetaphil was so so. So I've changed up my routine.

 Right now, I'm using Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, which seems to be working better and doesn't leave the feel CeraVe left behind which was almost like a layer of moisturizer but not something I cared for. The Fresh one is a little pricey but it seems to be working well. It takes off my makeup and doesn't feel weird and it doesn't dry out my skin either. 

  Before I use the Soy Face Cleanser, I remove my eye make up with Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water. Earlier in the year a colleague brought me back some Bioderma Crealine H20 from France, and it was nice, but I didn't feel like ordering a bottle online since it's not sold in the US, so I gave this a shot as it's also a micellaire sort of water like Bioderma. 

 It's not as mild as the Crealine H20 I had, which was the pink bottle for sensitive skin that didn't have a smell. I say it's not mild because this works a litttttttle more at cleansing but it's not harsh either. I soak cotton pads and place them on my eyes and try to not rub it off anymore but try to coax the eye make up off gently. I also rinse after because even though it says you don't need water, I prefer rinsing with water and I cleanse with the Soy Face Cleanser after anyway.

      Most nights I use Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel to help treat the acne I have a sort of prevent it. This is working out decently but it does take about three months for things to really work. I haven't gotten really bad, large under the skin ones since using this.

I no longer use exfoliating scrubs because they just seem to make my skin worse. Sure there's the instant gratification of smooth, but then I always paid for it with breakouts and just my skin kind of not liking scrubs. So I switched to using this after seeing Lisa Eldridge's skincare faves video and it works quite well, is gentle, and it hasn't caused me to break out either. 

 I haven't locked down on a night time moisturizer I like, right now I'm using a sample of Sephora Instant Moisturizer I got with a sample kit. It's fairly decent but I might experiment more with other kinds to see what works best for me. 

So my current routine is basically in the morning- Soy Face Cleanser, either BB Cream or a primer, makeup. At night- Sephora Triple Action Cleanser, Soy Face Cleanser, the Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel most nights as needed, the Gentle Cream Exfoliant only two nights a week (I won't use the gel if I exfoliate), and moisturizer.

 Pretty basic. I don't really use an eye cream at the moment because the concealer I use is Dr. Perricone's No Concealer Concealer which has eye cream like ingredients and I don't really buy into eye creams/anti-aging creams totally. 

[visageartistique]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Most have probably eaten by now and are in a food coma, I spent some of my dinner between family and reading for graduate classes, but nonetheless!

 I am far from home visiting my parents in the Northeast and since I don't have TV access I've decided to have a mini sort of "Hibernation Night" as described by Ruth Crilly/A Model Recommends in her video here:

I really like her page and channel and I often find myself in need of this concept, but I'm cheating a little by watching Lisa Eldridge tutorials instead of shutting off my technology totally, but that's what relaxes me and that's key. I've got my pjs all on, acne treatment and moisturizer doing it's thing and some post dinner snackies since I don't eat turkey and didn't really eat much today. Yes, shocking isn't it?? Not eating turkey today of all days! Yet I cannot like the taste at all, to me it's just unappealing. 

 Tomorrow I will attempt to hit up Sephora for some Fresh Soy Gentle Cleanser and Sephora Cleansing Water and to redeem my free birthday item since it's my birthday month. I'll have more on the two cleansing products in a skincare post that I'll probably do if I get time this weekend and if not, when I'm back home next week.

 Hope everyone had a lovely, stress free holiday! 

[visageartistique]

Sulfate Free? Silicone Free? Color Safe? ERMAHGERD.

A week or so ago I was at Walgreens looking for eyeliner when my eye caught these new shampoo and conditioners. I get my hair custom color highlighted red so I have to use sulfate free or else my color washes out badly. I also have oily roots.

I've been using Redken Color Extend, and while the shampoo is decent I'm not overtly fond of the conditioner and I feel like I need extra product like Argan oil or serum just to condition well. The Organix brand, while good smelling, never works well for me either. My hair never feels as clean or conditioned as a I like.

 But I decided to give this Ology brand a whirl and for about $6-7 a bottle I'm pretty happy with it. It cleans well and doesn't have the drying issue I feel with Redken's Color Extend or Organix conditioners.

 I have the volumizing one, and the smell reminds me of Queen Helene's Mint Julep Shampoo. 

 It cleans well, doesn't weigh my hair down, and I feel like I can get away with second day hair better than with the other products I've used.

 If you have color treated hair, or are looking for something paraben, sulfate, and silicone free, this is a good brand to check out.