Product Review

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick Review!

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Happy Friday, everyone!! I’m excited to review this product for you today!

Here are my thoughts on Hourglass Cosmetics Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick (wow that was a mouthful)!

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One of the biggest reasons I was enticed by this product was the impressive range of shades that are available (26 total!).  I’ve been seeing more and more cosmetic companies expanding their range of foundation and concealer shades to accommodate more skin tones and I’m LOVING it. Kudos to Hourglass Cosmetics for embracing the diversity of their customers! Check out all of the shades here.

Here are swatches of the lightest shade (Blanc), medium shade (Golden), and darkest shade (Espresso). At first swatch, this foundation felt super creamy and was impressively pigmented!

(Outside in natural light)

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First Impression

I have to admit, it was intimidating finding the right shade for myself because there were so many to choose from.  One thing I like the most about the shades is that they take into consideration not just skintone but also undertone. For example, shade Ivory is described as “light medium, with a cool undertone” and shade Nude is a “light medium, with a neutral undertone”.

After receiving some advice from a Sephora beauty expert, I chose the shade Golden Tan (medium beige, warm undertone) which blended perfectly with my neck after we swatched it on my chin.

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The product comes in shiny a triangle shaped tube and this is how much product you get (about 2-2.5 inches).

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Application

You can use the Vanish Foundation Blush ($46) which is a soft bristled, tapered brush, about the size of a half dollar, or a damp beauty blender to apply this product.

Overall, this foundation was super easy to apply and I found that a little bit of product goes a long way!

I drew 2 lines across both my cheeks, one across my forehead, one down the bridge of my nose, and little dot on top of my lips, and a small line on my chin. And then blended this all out with a damp beauty blender.

My first impression after applying this on my face was a positive one!  This foundation felt light, sheer, and really did seem to “vanish” as it blended in with my natural skintone.  A lot of bloggers have mentioned that this foundation made their skin look airbrushed and flawless. 

Lasting Impression

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This product is said to be a long wearing and waterproof foundation, lasting 12 hours. I’ve been using this foundation for about a week now and have been testing out it’s durability througout a mellow day (mostly indoors around the office and lounging at home), and it’s durability throughout a more hectic day (5 hours outdoors in the hot sun and the rest indoors).

Overall, the staying power of this foundation is impressive! The foundation unfortunately did start to fade on the oilier parts of my face (such as my nose) after about 5 hours. But any part of my face that I set with powder stayed pretty well throughout the day and upheld it’s seamless, satin finish.

However (yes unfortunately there is a “however”), I felt like the satin finish of the foundation made my skintone look flat and almost dry. I typically like a more of a dewy, hydrating look for all over my face.

I also found that this foundation was not buildable. It started to get a little cakey after I tried applying 2-3 more layers. I personally believe this would be best used as 1 sheer layer.

Conclusions

Pros

  • Range of 26 shades
  • Considers undertone
  • Easy to blend
  • Little product goes a long way
  • Seamless, airbrushed look
  • Lasts throughout the day when set with powder

Cons

  • A little pricey at $46
  • Not a lot of product
  • Not buildable
  • Product doesn’t last on oily parts of your face
  • Velvety finish can make your skin look flat

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Would I buy it again?

Overall, the seamless look that you can achieve when using this product is really impressive, but I still prefer using liquid foundation over stick foundation. I personally think that this product would be great for contouring instead of applying it on your entire face. I would love to eventually buy a darker shade and use it to contour!

You can also use a hydrating liquid serum or primer like Ren Instant Firming Beauty Shot to mix with the product to change it’s consistency to feel more like a liquid foundation.

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think?

Do you prefer liquid foundation or stick foundation? Why?

Are there any other foundations or concealers that you’ve seen have impressive range of shades?

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Blogging, Lists

Top 7 things you need to take pictures for your Makeup Blog and Instagram!

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Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Where will you find me on a typical Saturday or Sunday morning?? Sitting on the sidewalk & grass area outside my apartment in my PJ’s, with a bag full of makeup, ready to spend the next couple hours under the gorgeous California morning sunshine, swatching makeup and taking pictures for my blog and Instagram! 😉

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This post is for anyone who is interested in starting a beauty blog or Instagram account! Keep reading below for a list of the top 7 items I use to take flatlays and pictures of swatches!

1) Simple Background

I’ve researched all the different backgrounds that bloggers use for their pictures & flatlays and they all have one common piece of advice: keep it simple! 

I’ve tried a few different backgrounds and I found that a plain white foamboard works really well when taking pictures in natural light, which is my preferred choice of light to take pictures in! The board I use is Elmer’s White Foamboard from Michael’s.

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Other backgrounds I’ve used for flatlays include bedsheets, rugs or fabric with interesting textures (I use small swatches of fabric from the craft store), scrapbook paper, decorative boxes, or anything in nature such as grass, flowers, trees etc!

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2) Camera of choice

I’m currently using an LG G4 phone for my camera and I LOVE the quality of phots I get.  I tried using a point & shoot camera to take pictures of swatches but I personally found that the camera on my phone most accurately captures the way shade of makeup looks and it makes it easy for me to upload directly on IG or my blog. I suggest trying out different cameras to see what your favorite one to use and what works best for your blog and purpose 🙂

3) Tape!

It’s amazing how good ol’ Scotch tape makes such a big difference when taking pictures of makeup swatches on your arm/hand! There are a lot of times that I spontaneously swatch makeup on my arm and in these cases, I won’t take the time to use tape to frame the swatches. But, I find that using tape when swatching makeup makes the edges much cleaner and helps space the swatches evenly on your arm. See the difference below between swatches done freehand and swatches done using tape.

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(makeup swatches done freehand)

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(using tape to frame the makeup swatches)

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4) Makeup Wipes.

Makeup wipes are a must-have to clean in between swatching different makeup products and can also be used to clean your products so that they’re photo ready. I typically use Target’s Up&Up make up wipes to erase makeup swatches on my arm. These wipes work well, smell great, and are super affordable at 50 wipes for $3.59! I save my Neutrogena makeup remover wipes to use on my face or for harder to remove makeup swatches. Other good items to have around for cleaning your makeup/swatches are paper towels, water, and hand sanitizer!

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5) Notebook

One big piece of advice: take notes to keep track of what pictures you’re taking! It can be really difficult to distinguish the brand and shade of the makeup you took pictures of unless you take note of it.  The notebook also comes in handy to take down your thoughts on how the color looks, consistency, texture, your first impression of the product, and anything else that may be hard to remember after the fact.

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6) Props

I like to keep my pictures very minimal and simple but a few props are always good to have at hand. Some of my favorite props I recommend are: flowers (both real or fake), jewelry, ceramic bowls or plates, anything from the scrapbook section in a craftstore, and any little trinkets you have.

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Be sure to use all the beautiful and natural items you find outside! Flowers, trees, lakes, mountains, beaches, the sky, etc all make amazing backgrounds!

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7) Makeup!

And last but not least, makeup!! Old makeup, new makeup, anything you have! Just grab a handful from your stash and go swatch crazy! 🙂

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Someday I hope to have a beautiful makeup room to take pictures of my makeup and swatches, but for now, I love my little spot on the sidewalk outside my apartment.  🙂

Now I want to hear from you!

What are your favorite items to use when taking pictures for your blog?

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Personal

One of my biggest supporters has no interest in makeup!

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This post is going to be a little different than my previous posts… it’ll give you a peak into my life outside of makeup and swatching!

Did you know that one of the biggest supporters of Beyond the Swatch has absolutely zero interest in makeup??

This person is none other than my wonderful and ever supportive boyfriend, Chris!! In honor of his birthday this past week, I wanted to take a second to recognize and thank him for everything he’s done to support my blog! 🙂

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Some of the many ways Chris has supported Beyond the Swatch!

  • When I first told him I wanted to start a makeup blog, he spent hours listening to my ideas, asking me questions, helping me map out my thoughts, and come up with ways to make my ideas better
  • He helped me research what type of camera and laptop is most recommended for an inspiring blogger
  • He researched how to build a photobox and built one for me to use
  • He is behind the scenes of almost every photo I take, helping me frame the picture, hold up a lamp so I can get the lighting just right, or by taking the pictures himself (here’s his hand, helping organize my makeup products for an instagram post!)

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  • He lets me talk endlessly about makeup and actively shows interest even though I know most of what I’m saying goes right over his handsome head 🙂
  • Anytime I doubt myself and have a million reasons why my ideas won’t work or that my dreams are stupid, he reassures me and counters my fears and encourages me to keep going
  • A blog post doesn’t get published until he’s proofread what I’ve written or listened to me read it outloud. Nothing makes my day more than when I’m reading one of my posts to him and I see him smile out of the corner of my eye or laugh at certain parts of the post
  • He is completely supportive/understanding when I randomly get the urge to swatch makeup i.e. at a baseball game, date night, vacation, literally anywhere
  • He patiently waits for me when I spend “just a couple minutes” in the makeup department 😉

In these ways, and so many more, Chris has been a huge motivation to starting this blog and to keep it going!

Chris and I have a lot of similar hobbies/obsessions (for example: Walking Dead, Pop Figures, Bob’s Burgers, puppies, turtles, and football).

It’s important to share some of the same interests with your partner, but to find someone who takes interest in something you love simply because they know how much it means to you, is pretty amazing. I feel so lucky every day that Chris invests and supports my dreams, no matter how big or small. 

So I challenge all of you today to take some interest in your loved one’s hobbies and passions, whether it’s blogging, makeup, starting their own business, football, knitting, reading, dancing, collecting spoons, art, traveling, music and even Pokemon Go! 

  • Ask them a question to learn about whatever it is that they are passionate about and actively listen to what they say
  • Spend time with them doing their hobby and trying it out for yourself
  • Do a little research on whatever topic they’re interested in, and spark a conversation based on what you’ve learned
  • Compliment something they’ve created or worked on lately
  • Get them a simple gift that shows your support
  • Speak highly of their dreams/ideas/hobbies with other people
  • Just show up! (to their games, performances, etc)
  • Know that you don’t have to fully understand or grasp why they enjoy what they’re doing, but just let them enjoy what they love!

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Lists, Shopping

Ulta Window Shopping!

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Hi lovelies!!!

I went to Ulta the other day with a gift card that’s been burning a hole in my wallet for a few months now! As as per usual, I went a little crazypants with the swatches but for the first time that I can remember, I left with absolutely no new makeup purchases. Unheard of!

My head went spinning with all the new makeup possibilities….Should I buy a bunch drugstore products, or splurge on 1-2 higher end items?? Ooo I like this lipstick, no Alyssa you don’t need more lipstick. But I always need more lipstick. I think I have this shade already, wait do I? Ok I have this narrowed down to 15 different choices. Should I restock on my faves or try something new?? Would I ever wear turquoise eyeliner? You never know. Ok I have this narrowed down to 10 different choices…

In the end, my indecisiveness got the best of me and I left empty handed with my arm covered in a collage of swatches of different makeup that I liked, loved, or didn’t care for!

See the damage below 😉

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Here’s a list of the top 10 brands/products that caught my eye during my little trip to Ulta!
This a mix of new and old products/brands, makeup that was featured in the store, and anything else that caught my attention!

  1. Benefit Magically Transforming Brow Collection
    There were a couple of end caps and displays featuring these products. The packaging is very interesting….almost intimidating! Looked like a mix of badass weaponry and scary equipment you find at the dentists office. The product line includes brow gel, eyebrow conditioning powder, 2 types of eyebrow pencils, and eyebrow cream all ranging from $24-$28. This is said to make shaping and filling in your brows super easy and “goof proof”!
  2.  Lorac Pro Palette 3, $44
    I have the Lorac Pro Palette 1 and I love everything about it! The quality is fantastic, the shades are gorgeous, and the color payout is amazing. Hence, I’ve been anxiously wanting to try the new Lorac Pro Palettes, both the #2 and #3!
    The Lorac Pro Palette 3 comes with 16 different colors. A majority of them are neutral/nude shades. I was most intrigued about the shades in the bottom row of the palette, specifically Amethyst, Dark Mocha and Truffle.
    *Just an FYI that these palettes are also sold at Kohl’s!
  3. Urban Decay Vice
    This display is definitely an attention grabber. I dare you to walk by it without stopping and marveling at it’s beauty. It beckons you to want to try all of the different colors, even the ones that are out of your normal make up preferences! I’ve seen a lot of beauty bloggers swatch and rave about this product, and I can see why! The lipsticks are super pigmented and you can trust that the color you see in the tube, is exactly the shade you’re gonna get! Not to mention that there are sooo many shades to try:
    Vice Lipstick- 39 shades
    Comfort Matte- 21 shades
    Metallized- 13 shades
    Sheer- 16 shades
    Sheer Shimmer- 5 colors
    Mega Matte- 6 colors
  4. Too Faced Chocolate Collection
    This collection totally won me over because I’m a sucker for cute and creative packaging. So you can imagine how giddy I was over this collection. Look how adorable!! The eyeshadow palettes come with 16 shades (mix of matte and shimmer).
  5. Ulta Brand Eyehadow Palettes $19.99
    I’m not sure why I’ve never come across these palettes before! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I swatched these and let me tell you, I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the quality! When I swatched these shades on my arm, they were pigmented, shimmery, and easy to blend! There were 5 palettes available with different combinations of shades: Prismatic, Miss Fabulous, Metals, Rose Gold and Gilded Gold. 
  6. NYX Vivid Brights Electro Liner and Liquid Liner
    This line was featured on a main endcap display in the drug store section of the store. So many fun and bright colors! Makes me want to break out of my normal black eyeliner routine and try a look completely out of my comfort zone! The liquid liner comes in 9 different shades from green, to purple, to blue to brown! How fun!
  7. Soap and Glory Brand
    The last time I saw this brand, it was a lotion brand with adorable pink packaging and witty product names like Hand food and Orangeasm! I was incredibly intrigued and enticed to try this new makeup brand! The packaging is girly and adorable. I wasn’t able to find the cosmetics products on Ulta’s website but check out these products on Soap & Glory’s website! Their lipsticks, cheek sticks and powders are what caught my attention the most!
  8. Honest Beauty
    I was excited to try this makeup line because I previously associated the Honest Brand with their baby product line. Hats off to the beautiful Jessica Alba for expanding her brand! I did a quick swatch of some of the products and there were a couple hits and a couple misses! The lip crayons (comes in 12 different shades) were SUPER pigmented. The cream foundation was super hard to spread when I swatched it on my arm, which makes me think that spreading the foundation all over my face would be even more difficult. The eyeshadows were pigmented and the shades were pretty!
  9. Buxom Customizable Palettes
    I love the idea of being able to customize an eyeshadow palette. Especially when I typically only use a few different shades in the palettes I own now.  You can customize a palette with 6 different shades for $40! There are 40 different shades to choose from.
  10. Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance PaletteI’ve seen so many bloggers rave about this palette so this was one of the first products I sought out on my Ulta trip. I’ve been huge fan of deep burgundy eyeshadow shades lately and this palette is chalk full of so many that I want to try! The shades that I swatched and love the most were Venetian Red and Lover Letter. This palette will definitely be MINE on my next trip no ifs ands or buts about it. I need this in my collection!

     

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried any of these products/brands? What do you think??

What were your last purchases at Ulta? Share your hauls! 🙂

Do you want me to swatch/review any of the products above?

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Product Review, Swatch Comparison

Contour Kit Swatch Comparison! Drugstore vs Highend

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Hello everyone! Happy 4th of July weekend!! 🙂

I am EXTREMELY excited about the swatch comparison that I’ll be sharing with you all today! Not only do I get to share with you an AMAZING drugstore product that I recently discovered, but I’m also doing a swatch comparison of this drug store product vs a high end luxury product!

Let me present to you these amazing Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contour Palettes that I found at Target for $4.99 each!!

Dulce de Leche (left) and Caramel Toffee (right)

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My overall thoughts on this product!

  • The formula feels super creamy and velvety to the touch which makes it easy to apply and blend
  • Impressive pigmentation and color pay out
  • The bigger sized pans make it easy to pick up the product with a brush
  • Buildable color
  • Overall an impressingly high quality product for $4.99!

Swatch breakdown of the 2 contour kits!

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Caramel Toffee (top picture), Dulce De Leche (bottom picture)

The color payout and pigmentation of both kits are very impressive! I recommend Caramel Toffee for tan/darker skintones like myself (I’m shade NC42 in Mac foundation) and Dulce De Leche will work beautifully for lighter skintones and complextions! 🙂

The highlight shade in Caramel Toffee is a yellow banana color and works great for setting my under eye concealer and blends well with the golden undertones of my complextion. The highlighting shade in Dulce de Leche is a light off-white shade which would work great as a setting powder for lighter skintones!

I was pleasantly surprised and impresssed with both of the contour shades in Caramel Toffee and Dulce de Leche. The shade in Caramel Toffee was pigmented enough to use as a contour shade on my tan skin! A lot of contour shades or bronzers are so similar to my natural skin tone that I can’t use them for contouring but this shade is absolutely perfect.

The contour shade in Dulce de Leche is nice lighter cool-toned tan shade. I could use this as a light bronzer on my skintone but this would work best as a contour on lighter skintones. These colors are buildable and easy to blend. I apply as many layers as I want depending on how intense I want to contour that day.

Overall, Caramel Toffee worked the best with my skintone! I LOVE the shades that come in this palette! I’ve been using this duo for the past few weeks ever since I bought it and it has easily become a staple in my makeup collection. I’ll definitely replenish this kit when I run out!

Now it’s time to compare these shades with my first contour kit that I ever bought!! 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit ($40.00) vs. Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contour kit ($4.99 each)

Here are swatches of the bronze contouring shades from the Anastasia Palette vs the contouring shades of the Wet n Wild palettes!

The swatches of both kits were very similar in both color and pigmentation! Look at that! They’re like color twinsies. The top shades in these pictures are my favorites in both kits. This is a tie for me! All the shades in both palettes work really well with my skintone and the quality is excellent in both.

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Swatches of the highlighting shades in the Anastasia Contour Kit and the Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contour kits!

As you can see from the swatches below, the bottom 2 shades of the highlighting kit in the Anastasia palette show up extremely lightly on my skin. The bottom one is nearly invisible!  I have to blend both colors in order to make these shades work with my skintone to set my under eye concealer.  I personally feel that the hightlighting shades in the MegaGlo palettes have a significantly better color pay out on my skintone than the Anastasia shades.

I bought my Anastasia palette when there was only 1 kit available. Now there are 2 new kits for medium-dark skintones! I’m looking forward to trying these in the future!

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Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried these contour kits before?? Send me your thoughts and swatches to be featured in my upcoming blog posts!

Til next time!

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Check out the products that I featured in this post here!

http://www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com/

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kits

http://www.wetnwildbeauty.com/

WetnWild MegaGlo Contour Kits

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Product Review

June Ipsy Glam Bag!

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I’ve been an Ipsy subscriber now for 3 months and so far I’m loving it! I used to subscribe to Birchbox last year when my mom bought me a subscription for my 26th birthday. And since then, I’ve been an avid beauty product sample collector :). 

I wanted to give you guys a peek at what I received in my June Glam bag this month and give you a little insight on what it’s like to join Ipsy!

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Here’s a review of the products I received this month!

The Balm Eyeshadow from the Meet Matt(e) Trimony eyesahdow palette in Matt Kumar. $42.00

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First of all let’s talk about how adorable the name of this product is…

The palette is called “Meet Matt(e) Trimony” and it comes with 9 eyeshadow shades all named “Matt” (Matt Kumar, Matt Thomas, Matt Lin…)  and all 9 of these Matt’s are “Marriage Matt(e)rial”. (Too cute!)

I was excited to find a product from The Balm in my Glam Bag because I own a few of their eye shadow palettes and I absolutely love them!  Their packaging and names of products and shades are hilarious & full of puns (and I’m a sucker for anything punny).Not going to lie, I was incredibly tickled by these names! Hats off to The Balm for your creative names! Love your work!

 

 

The eyeshadow shade (Matt Kumar) that came in my Glam Bag is a nice dark burgundy shade in the package.

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When I swatched the shade on my arm, the shade turned into a beautiful dark brown shade with a hint of burgundy on my skin tone.  Overall, I love this eyeshadow!  It’s super pigmented and easy to blend. I used it on the crease of my eyes today and a little bit of product goes a long way. This is a makeup palette that I will definitely consider purchasing!0618160843b - Edited

 

Show me your Cheeks blush by Elizabeth Mott in Peach Pink, $23.00

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This was the first time I’ve heard of this makeup brand so I went to their website to do a little digging! This blush comes in 3 different shades: Peach Pink, Soft Pink, and Bright Coral. The shade I received was Peach Pink.

Check em out here: https://www.elizabethmott.com/collections/face/products/show-me-your-cheeks-blush

The shade is very pretty in the package and can’t be described any better than it’s name- peach pink. It has hints of glitter and shimmer mixed in with the pinky peachiness.

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Unfortunately, this shade applied very lightly on my skin tone, and I typically like a darker, more noticable blush. This swatch on my wrist was after I applied 5-6 layers with my fingers. It’s a gorgeous color so I will definitely get creative and use this shade as a eyeshadow or when I feel like wearing a super light, subtle blush.

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I’m super intrigued by this makeup brand! Please check out their website and let me know if you’ve tried their products! www.elizabethmott.com

Colour Pop Creme Gel Liner, $5.00

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Woo Colour Pop in my Glam Bag!!!  I was excited to receive this because I’ve only tried Colour Pop’s eye shadows and lip products! This liner comes in 22 matte shades and 5 metallic shades.

https://colourpop.com/product-category/creme-gel/creme-gel-liner/

Lately I’ve been using Gel Liner (Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black) and I use the eyeliner brush that comes with the kit but I haven’t found a gel liner that comes in a pencil version yet.  Overall, this liner is a super impressive and excellent quality eyeliner! Especially for it’s price. Very creamy and easy to apply. Check em out!

Clarisea Sea Salt Solutions Deep Pore Detox Activated Charcoal Exfoliating Mask

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This product can be used as a clay mask as well as a cleansing clay. I was intrigued by this product because i’ve never owned an exfoliator that came in a powder form.

I tried this today as a clay mask and overall the process was super easy. I followed the instructions on the bottle: pour a quarter sized amount in the palm of my hand and add a little bit of water and started mixing it into a paste.

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I then applied it all over my face (except for my eyes or lips) and waited for the mask to dry. It was definitely an interesting experience. The clay was odor-less and applied on my skin as a blue/silver/gray mask which was hilarious and terrifying to see in the mirror.

The bottle advises you to rinse off the mask as soon as it dries out, which took about 2-3 minutes total.

Overall, I didn’t feel any significant change in my skin as far as clarity or softness, which shouldn’t be expected after one application so that wasn’t really a concern for me. Other masks that I’ve used that are meant to make your skin softer would immediately make me feel more refreshed and I would love the way my skin felt after using it, but in this case, this mask is meant to exfoliate and clean out your pores.  Would I use this again? Yes absolutely! I’m curious to see if I notice an affect on my skin after using it over a longer period of time. And overall, mixing the paste, applying the mask to my face, scaring my boyfriend with my blue/silver/gray face, and then rinsing it all off was overall a pretty good time and only took 3 minutes. I’ll keep you all posted 😉

Hey Honey’s 24Seven Honey Day and Night Moisturizing Cream.

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The packaging says that this moisturizer enriches and revitalizes face,neck, and eye contour for all skin types.

This moisturizer is super creamy and has a nice light scent. There was definitely a calming effect when I tried this moisturizer on my face and feels gentle enough to use on your eye area. I’ll be adding this to my night time skin care routine as an under eye cream.

Check out their website!

http://www.heyhoney.com/

Overall, my June Ipsy Glam Bag was a win!

I test and review the products I receive in my glam bags and Birch Box every month.. This is just the first time that I’ve written all my thoughts down!

I definitely suggest trying a service like Ipsy or Birchbox if you are a makeup lover like myself. I personally really enjoy receiving little samples of makeup, skin care and hair products every month because it let’s me try different brands and products that I normally wouldn’t seek out and buy on my own. A lot of the products they’ve sent to me have become favorites. Give it a shot!

https://www.ipsy.com/

Now I wanna hear from you!

What did you receive in your Ipsy Glam Bag?

Have you tried any of these products that I’ve mentioned?

Any suggestions on how I can better review these products?

What are you favorite products that you’ve received from Ipsy?

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Swatch with me

Beyond the Swatch on Instagram!

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Hello everyone and happy Saturday!!!!

It’s been about 2 weeks now since I’ve launched Beyond the Swatch and I wanted to take a step back and reflect on everything that’s happened so far!Beyond the Swatch (3)

First off, if you’re reading this right now, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being here!!  I’ve received so many encouraging and kind words from friends, family and new bloggers that I’ve met!  Please know that I take every suggestion or request for a blog post to heart and will do my absolute best to incorporate all of your feedback! This blog is just as much about all of you fellow make up enthusiasts as it is about me! Thank you so much for all of your support <3

The last couple weeks have been extremely hectic for me between work and balancing some tough family situations, but I’ve been able to sneak in some makeup swatching in between it all. 

I will do my best to write blog posts on a more frequent basis-I promise! When I’m not posting, please know that ideas for new blog posts and ways to improve Beyond the Swatch for all of you is on my mind literally 24 hours a day!

So if you see me posting something on Instagram or Facebook or responding to any of your comments, chances are I’m utilizing the 2 minute walk from my car to my desk at work or while my coffee is brewing in the morning or while I’m pumping gas, or in line to buy food, or literally any little gap of time that I have to myself 😉 

If you would like daily updates of my makeup and blogging journey, please follow my Instagram account!  @Beyondtheswatch

You’ll find previews for upcoming posts, my new makeup finds, recommendations, swatches and re-posts from other bloggers and makeup artists!

I’ll leave you today with a little preview of my Instagram posts for far! Until next time…

Love,

Aly Mae

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Swatch Comparison

Double Swatch Comparison: Nude/Pink Lip Glosses!

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Baseball games… a great time to soak up some sun, enjoy an overpriced but totally worth it hot dog, an ice cold drink, catch a foul ball, and swatch makeup?

Who swatches makeup in the middle of a baseball game?? This girl!!! 🙂

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I have a double swatch comparison for you all today of 2 nude/pink lip glosses!

1) Swatch comparison of a drugstore lip gloss retailing at $1.99 vs a luxury lip gloss, originally retailing at $24.00

2) Swatch comparison of how these shades look on my skin tone versus on of my bestest friends, Angela!

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Gerard Cosmetics: Lighted Lip Gloss in Butter Cream

NYC: Liquid Lipshine in Prospect Pink

1- Swatch comparison: Drug store gloss vs Luxury gloss 

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Both of the lip gloss shades look very similar in the tube but the differences in the 2 lip glosses can be seen after I swatched them on my arm.

The NYC lip gloss (top) has a much lighter consistency. This gloss looked like a slightly lighter shade when swatched on my arm versus how it looks in the tube.  Overall, the shade looked like a beautiful flurry of glitter mixed with a pink tint.

The Gerard Cosmetics lip gloss (bottom) has a thicker consistency and more color pigmentation.  In the tube, this lip gloss looks like a lighter pink/nude shade versus the slightly darker pink shade when applied on my arm.

Overall, I think that both of these shades are gorgeous!

2-Swatch comparison of these two lip glosses on myself and Angela:

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Both Butter Cream and Pink Prospect looked like pink shades on my darker skin tone while the glosses looked more like a nude/coral shade on Angela’s skin tone. All the swatches were beautiful and looked especially glittery under the natural brightness of the sun.

Take-away’s from these swatch comparisons! 

If you want your lip gloss to show up as a specific color, I definitely recommend trying the Gerard Cosmetics Lighted Lip Glosses because they are super pigmented and they come in so many gorgeous shades. Each tube has a mirror on the side and lights up when you take the lid off! (I still get excited every time I use it).

If you want to add a little bit of shine to your lips with a hint of color,  then I would recommend using NYC Liquid Lipshine glosses. They’re cheap and pretty (and they smell good too by the way).

So depending on what look you are going for, both of these lip glosses may work!  My favorite is still Gerard Cosmetics Buttercream 🙂

Now I want to hear from you!

Do you prefer matte lipsticks or shiny glosses?

What are your favorite drug store lip glosses?

What are your favorite high end/luxury glosses?

UPDATE!!! I just checked the website and it looks like Gerard Cosmetics Lighted Lipglosses are going for $10 right now! BRB… gotta buy some new glosses!

https://www.gerardcosmetics.com/color-your-smile-lighted-lip-gloss.html

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Swatch Comparison

Swatch Comparison: Purple Lipsticks!

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Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a busy jam packed weekend- filled with friends, family, a graduation, a baseball game, basketball game, and a goodbye dinner! But I still had some time to play around with makeup! 🙂

My go-to makeup look for as long as I remember has always been smokey eye makeup paired with nude lips (inspired by the one and only JLO). It’s only been recently that I’ve branched out from my usual and started experimenting with different shades of lipstick!

A few months ago I was on the hunt for a purple lipstick, and let me tell you, this was no easy feat trying to find a purple shade that worked well with my natural lip color and skin tone.

Most purple lipsticks I would buy would look purple in the package and swatched on my arm but then as soon as I’d apply it to my lips, the shade would magically transform into either a pink, mauve, or burgundy shade, which is great in any other circumstance, but in this case, I had my mind set on having purple lips.

The three lipsticks/glosses that I’ve swatched today are from 3 different brands, price points and all had different results!

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Nyx Butter Gloss in Raspberry Tart ($4.99 at Target):

0530161001 - EditedI love NYX lip products! This was one of my first purple lip gloss purchases that I’ve made and I remember having really high hopes for it. As you can see from the pictures below, the product in the tube looks purple but then looks like a watermelon pink when swatched on my wrist. The shade looked light pink on my lips under natural light, and a darker mauvey pink with a hint of purple tint on my lips in indoor lighting. From purple to 3 different shades of pink! Like magic! 😉

Overall, I like this shade, but it wasn’t what I expected it to be. I would use this particular shade of lip gloss to add a little bit of tint to my natural lip color, but wouldn’t use this if I was trying to achieve a purple lip!

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Sephora Rouge Shine Lipstick in color #47 ($12.50)

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Sephora lipsticks are one of my absolute fave because there are sooo many different shades to choose from.

This lipstick looked like a bright eggplant purple color in the tube and to my surprise, the shade looked purple on my lips under natural light as well (yay!) However, when I’m inside under florescent lights, the lipstick shade changes and looks more pink than it does purple.

The lipstick applies very lightly and is very glossy/shiny. You can apply additional layers as needed to darken the purple shade, but due to it’s light consistency, the darkness of the shade won’t last very long. I’m curious to see how this shade would look on different skin tones seeing as it changes colors so easily on my skin tone!

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Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick  in shade L.U.V. ($20 at Sephora)

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

This line of matte liquid lipstick is stunning. The pigmentation of all the shades and color pay out will not disappoint. This is by far the best shade that I’ve found that helps me achieve the purple lip shade that I wanted! This lip color looks purple in both natural light and indoor lighting.

This shade is so pigmented that I believe it will transform into a range of beautiful purple shades on any skin tone.

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Final thoughts after my hunt for the perfect purple shade!

-If you have your mind set on a particular make up shade or you’re trying to replicate a specific look, play around with different shades and mix 2 different lipsticks or pair lipstick shades with lip liners to manipulate the color.

For example: If I’m going for a bright purple lip, I’ll mix a hot pink lipstick and layer a thin coat of purple lip gloss on top of it (like the NYX butter gloss shade I talked about in this post).

If I want a vampy dark purple lip shade, I’ll start with a darker, mauve/red lip liner like Mac Nightmoth, and layer a pigmented purple on top of it.

-Make sure you test how a shade looks in natural light and indoor lighting, because more than likely, the shade will change!

-Always good to check how a shade looks on camera, both with flash, no flash, and in outdoor lighting. Especially if you are wearing the shade to an event where pictures will be taken.

-In this case, a matte liquid lipstick was my best bet for achieving a purple lip look. Lip gloss or lip sticks with a glossy finish seemed to just add a tint of purple to my natural lip color, instead of showing up as a completely pigmented purple shade.

Now I want to hear from you!

What are your favorite purple lipstick shades?

Have you had any trouble finding a particular shade to match with your natural lip color or skin tone?

Also, if you have a blog, please leave your URL below so that I can follow you!

Where to find these products:

NYX Butter Gloss:

http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/butter-gloss/NYX_089.html

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod5050009

http://www.target.com/p/nyx-butter-gloss/-/A-14723529

Sephora Rouge Shine Lipstick:

Sephora.com

Kat Von D:

Sephora.com

Katvondbeauty.com

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Swatch with me

Diversity & Cosmetics

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Screenshot_2016-04-23-19-12-06-1In the early stages of my blog, when I was going around telling all my close friends and family about my idea, my friend sent me this picture that she found on Twitter.  This picture completely encompasses my motivation behind wanting to start this blog and the reason why I’ve become obsessed with playing around with makeup shades on different skin tones and all the different ways that affect how a shade looks!

This overall need for cosmetics companies to embrace the diversity of their customers (such as providing swatches to be shown in all different types of skin tones) will be a huge topic of discussion throughout my blog.

There’s still a lot of progress to be made on this topic but here are some examples of the ways cosmetics companies are embracing the diversity of their customers!

Here are some examples of the ways cosmetics companies are embracing the diversity of their customers:

  1. Cosmetics companies such as Color Pop and Lime Crime are showing their makeup shades swatched on different skin tones:

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Picture credit: colourpop.com and @limcrime instagram

2) Sephora developed an app where the user can upload a selfie of themselves and virtually try on different Sephora lipstick shades to see how they look on their face and skin tone.

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http://www.sephoravirtualartist.com/

3) L’Oreal is using technology and science to embrace diversity and create foundation shades for all skin tones

L’Oreal also used technology to develop the app “Makeup Genius” that allows the users to try on makeup shades in realtime

4) Cosmetic companies like IMAN create cosmetics and skincare products designed for women with darker skin tones

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www.imancosmetics.com/

These are only a few examples of how cosmetic companies are working on fulfilling a need for us, the consumers, to show how the color of a make up shade changes depending on the skin tone of the person wearing it!

Now I want to hear from you!

What you do wish companies would do to embrace the diversity of their customers?

Do you know of any companies that are doing a great job in catering to their diverse clientele?

Let me know by commenting below!

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