Review: Revlon PhotoReady Bronzer in Bronzed & Chic (+ Comparison to Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons)

This bronzer was released as part of the Summer 2012 Escapism collection by Gucci Westman, and I'm not sure if it was limited edition. Some sources say it is, while others don't, and I don't recall if I have seen it in stores lately, and that may even vary by location! In any event, I still want to share my thoughts on this bronzer, and hopefully provide you some information in case you can still purchase it! The cute pattern in the powder is what initially caught my eye when this first came out. Then, the thought of a matte drugstore bronzer with multiple shades just drew me in. I had to get it, and I'm sorry I didn't share it with you guys sooner!

The packaging is a typical plastic one, and the size is quite rectangular to accomodate a brush and a small mirror. I could do without some of these features, but I can see how it could be handy for on the go application for those of you who do reapply, etc.The powder itself does have a nice texture - no complaints there. It is not as long-wearing as my experience with some high end bronzers, but it does last around 7-8 hours on me. I also think this may be good for fair skin - here's a shot of the two darker shades blended together on me -

This bronzer does seem to have some red in it, which was unexpected for me but not bad on my complexion. You will see what I mean when you see the swatches - they definitely have a red tone to them, in comparison to my Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Brunettes. I did find it a bit harder to blend than some of my other bronzers, which to me just means a few extra blending motions than I would normally use.

I also realized that I didn't include a swatch of all the shades blended together! Eeek! If you are interested in seeing those, please let me know and I can update the post. (I do plan to eventually, but if you are interested I can definitely update sooner rather than later!)

So how does it compare to one of my favorite bronzers, Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons in Brunettes?

 In the pan, these shades definitely look quite similar, but once you swatch them, there are noticeable differences!

Revlon's bronzer is noticeably more red in comparison to Guerlain. This may not work for you, but I imagine that Revlon's bronzer is probably more blush-like on a variety of skin tones, and might even be more wearable for those afraid of too orangey bronzer? (Do let me know if you have thoughts around this!) Guerlain's looks a bit more orange-y here, but it really does bring a warmth to my skin that is quite lovely. While my Guerlain bronzer is the darker shade option, this Revlon bronzer clearly encompasses a wider range of fair to medium tones. Overall, I think this bronzer is a great affordable matte bronzer, which is so hard to find these days! Guerlain bronzers will always have a special place in my makeup collection, but I think this is an amazing alternative!

Again, I'm sorry my photos are inconsistent - I took these over the last month or so on a few separate occasions from my hotel room. It has been a bit tricky to work with the sun and figure out the best times to photograph!

I'd love to hear what you think about these bronzers! Have you tried either one, and if so how do you think they compare? Do you have a bronzer favorite you'd like to share? :)

Review: Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush

I know this bronzer has been out for some time now, and that some of you may have a difficult time finding it, but I went through some lengthy debates over whether or not I should purchase it. I figured it'd be worth sharing, in case you guys are debating too! It is still available at Sephora and I've seen it at some department store counters. Look, see how pretty it is?

I just have to say that I love the packaging. The dark, engraved wood and the magnetic closure just feels good to me, and the mirror inside the lid is handy. I even like the pouch, though I know many of you don't care for pouches that come with your makeup.

My initial hesitation (besides price) was that it seemed much too orange-y and warm in color. Even all the swatches i saw online seemed like it would be much too dark for me. I was also not sure about the shimmer, which you can see a bit in this photo.

I tried this on at a counter, and thought it was quite pretty! It warms up my face quite nicely, and as I've discovered, it wears all day! Even the shimmer doesn't show up on my skin - my face just looks nice and glowy!

What I didn't remember was that Guerlain's bronzers are often very hard packed in the pan, lending to softened application. I have quite a light hand, and I would have to press quite hard to overdo the color.

These swatches are pretty light handed - see not scary/orange at all! I know I have some photos of me wearing this somewhere, but I can't seem to find them at the moment. I did find an ok phone snapshot I can share with you though! (sorry! Will update with a better photo ASAP!)

I'm loving this for summer right now. What do you think? Did you take a look at the Guerlain Pucci collection?

Close Up: L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows - Part 3

I wanted to show you guys photos of a few new L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows that I had purchased over the last month or so. These two shades, Flashback Silver and Enigmatic Purple, are non-US shades I purchased in Canada at the end of March. 

I think these shades are quite pretty! I expected Enigmatic Purple to have more of a brown base to it, but it is more of a red-based deep purple that is nearly matte. I really liked how Flashback Silver looked in a Youtube video I saw from L'Oreal Hong Kong, so I was excited to try this silvery-purplish shade. 

When the summer collections came out, I also picked up the shade Pink Sapphire, which I thought could be quite pretty. I had seen a post by Paris on her blog My Women Stuff that made me less scared to try pink shadow. Actually, I think 2 posts - here and here. 

pink loreal infallible swatch

Quite pretty, hmm? This shade, at least on me, has a bit of a golden sheen to it. It does look quite pretty on eyes, and is not too warm or too cool in my opinion.

For more extensive thoughts on L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows, please visit my other posts on the shadows here and here.

What do you think of these shades or this eyeshadow formula in general? What about pink eyeshadow - is that a yes or no for you?

Review: theBalm "You're Giving Me a Complexion"

In the beginning of May, I picked up this cute set of theBalm products. I am a fan of theBalm in general, and did enjoy their concelear back in the day. I spotted this set at T.J. Maxx for $29.99 and figured it'd be worth a try, even though I thought the shades might be too light.

The products in this set are all full size, and include TimeBalm Concealer, SexyMama Powder, Liquid TimeBalm concealer, and BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer. Here are a few swatches of the products included.

I did not test the powder, as I do not typically use powders for mattifying or setting purposes. As you can see from the swatch, it didn't really show up on my arm, which is probably a good thing for a mattifying powder. I was surprised to find that the shades were a bit different between products, even though they were all the "light/medium" shade. TimeBalm appears more peachy/pink when swatched on my skin, whereas Liquid TimeBalm had more yellow, which I prefer. BalmShelter was also more peachy than I would normally choose.

In terms of the products themselves, TimeBalm has a smooth, creamy texture that is great for under the eyes. It reminds me a bit of Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer, in terms of texture and application. Liquid TimeBalm is meant for acne spots, and contains tea tree oil and is paraben free. This worked well for me, and helped to cover the redness of spots that I had at the time, while giving it a mild tea tree oil treatment. While this didn't heal my pimples magically (and I didn't expect it to!), the breakouts I had never got worse when I wore this. Just a note as well, Liquid TimeBalm does smell like tea tree oil, so if that bothers you, you may want to skip this! I didn't time the exact length of wear, but it seemed to last the majority of the day.

I love the name of the BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer, and this is a nice product as well. I love my Nars Tinted Moisturizer, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to impress me with regular tinted moisturizer formulas. This product has a slight makeup scent (like old school lipstick smells, almost?) that does go away a few minutes after application. The coverage is relatively sheer, but does help to even the complexion.

In the end, I decided to save my $32 and return the set. Yes, it was such a great value and I almost kept it, but the shades being not quite right for me tipped the scales. Besides, $32 is a good chunk of money to put towards my wish list instead of an impulse buy.

I hope you can find this great value set if you are interested! I will definitely try other shades of these products to see what shades fit better. What do you think of these products from theBalm?