First Off - Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Eye shadow primer is probably the most important step in your eye makeup routine. It will keep your colour bright and bold and in place all day. I've only have sampled Too Faced Shadow Insurance but one application doesn't always give you a real idea of how the product works and how you react to it. So I was excited to get to try it properly.

That said... I hate it. It irritates my eyes and then they water and my makeup gets wiped away. I recently applied eyeshadow and it did not retain any of the colour. This might not be the fault of the primer, but it was not something I had noticed with my other primer. When it isn't irritating my eyes, it does keep my shadow in place. It doesn't crease. It just bothers my eyes. Otherwise it's good.

I know that this is one of the biggest seller of eyeshadow primer, and I am going to keep giving it a chance. But I think I would use it when I fill my brows in different colours, instead of on my eyelids.

First Off - Urban Decay Beached Bronzer

Bronzer always makes me nervous. I am so pale that everything is way too dark or too orange for my skin tone. At first, this bronzer looks way too dark. But the swatch took more than a single swipe. It is pigmented, but it takes a little bit of building up. And it blends out very easily.

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This colour is called Bronzed. And I really like the colour. It's not too brown and it's not too orange. I think it will be perfect once I start getting a little bit more tanned. I don't think it will become my Holy Grail bronzer, but for now, I'm really liking it. 

First Off - Keihl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

I feel like my journey of dry eyes has been well documented. But, in case you are new here, the skin around my eyes gets super dry and itchy. Especially when I am wearing eyeshadow on a regular basis. 

For years now, my Holy Grail eye cream has been Benefit's It's Potent. When I finished my last jar, I thought it might be time to try something else. My eyes were really dry and watering, and it was messing up my makeup. I was hoping that if the skin was better moisturized, it would stop happening. And so the hunt began.

It was not a long hunt. I wasn't looking for anything that would stop puffiness (my eyes don't get puffy.) If it would reduce dark circles, that would be great. But mostly, I just needed something super hydrating. I had heard wonderful things about the Keihl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and the reviews were pretty good for it. 

The reviews were pretty spot on. A little bit goes a long way. Although, I usually put a heavier layer on at bedtime than in the morning. But it's creamy, fast-absorbing and doesn't leave the skin feeling oily. I put it on first, before moisturizing, and by the time I am ready to start applying eyeshadow, it has absorbed. 

It has definitely kept my eyes moisturized and soft. And it wasn't too expensive either! (I will never understand why eye creams are so expensive.) If you just need an eye cream to keep everything soft, I would really recommend this one.

First Off - Marc Jacobs Birthday Gift

Every year Sephora gives out a birthday gift to the VIB members. And this year there was a choice. I can't remember what the other choice was. It might have bee some sort of skincare thing? Anyway, I chose the Marc Jacobs set. 

The set contains a mini Le Marc Crème Lipstick in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and a mini Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Blacquer.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a cream rose colour. One swipe is super pigmented. It feels creamy and wears pretty well. It's held it's own against my coffee while I was writing this. And the colour is just gorgeous! It is going directly into my purse for adult type situations. 

And the eyeliner is amazing. It wears really well and doesn't smear throughout the day. Mini eyeliners are my favourite because they are small enough to fit in my pocket for touch ups. But with this one, I don't need to touch it up. It comes in an entire rainbow of colours that I will be checking out. 

If you are able to pick a birthday gift from Sephora, I really suggest this one.

First Off - Urban Decay Naked Skin

This is not so much of a "First Impression" as a "Third Impression".  But I'm calling it First Off anyway.
 

I bought this right when it came out and I’ve been holding on to it. I wasn’t a huge fan of it when I first tried it. It’s a pretty sheer foundation and you know I’m not about that life. But my skin has been clearing up (stay tuned for an updated skin care routine) and I’ve been able to give this foundation a fair try.

It’s that awkward season where I am at my palest from staying inside all winter and all of my foundations are way too dark for me. That is one of the reasons I reached for this. It is currently the palest foundation I have. And it’s pretty perfect.

When my only skin concern is dark circles, I found that Naked Skin has just enough coverage to even out my skin tone. It wears really well and sets perfectly with powder. I don’t think that it is meant as a super long wearing foundation, but it lasts all day with no issues.

This is my first step into the sheer foundation pool, but I would really recommend checking this out.  

First Off - NYX Dark Circle Concealer

I picked this up on a recent trip to the only drug store that sells NYX products. Concealer is my way of life and I love stuff that claims to specialize in covering up a certain skin flaw. 

Can I just say, HOLY SHIT! I put it under one eye to compare. Oh my god! It makes it look like I sleep! It's really easy to blend out and build up. It's orange based to cancel out the blue and purple tones of dark circles. 

I'm not a huge fan of the formula.The packaging doesn't really allow to pick up the product on a brush, and the formula of the product doesn't make it any easier. You have to stick your finger it and rub it up to spread around on your face. 

Verdict: I like the product but not the packaging. I'm going to keep using it, especially on my dark circles.

First Off - Lush Cosmetics Bohemian Soap

I love Lush. And I love their soaps. They make the shower smell amazing and leave a little bit of their scent on my skin. I smell amazing all day!

I ran out of body wash and needed to get more shampoo (Daddy-O is my one of choice). I figured it was a good time to try out a new soap. I spent a little bit of time checking out the website and decided on Bohemian. 

It smells like lemon and has coconut oil in it. The description says that it clears skin, which was one of the things that caught my attention. (My chest has a nasty habit of breaking out due to sports bras. TMI, I know.)

Verdict: I like this soap, for what it is. Soap. It leaves my skin feeling really clean, but it didn't clear up my skin at all.  

First Off - NYX Invincible Fullest Coverage Foundation

I set out to London Drugs with the plan of finding and purchasing the liquid eyeliner of my sister's I had fallen in love with that morning. Alas, they were sold out and I was left staring at the NYX display. 

The only other NYX product I've used is the Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk. Which I liked. But this was the only store around that sold NYX products, and I had already made the trip out there so I might as well pick something out. 

I hummed and hawed for a while but finally made some decisions. One of them being this foundation. Fullest coverage? We will see about that.

I'm not a huge fan of the packaging. It seemed to just pour out without abandon. Which could mean a lot of wasted product. The product itself, I like so far. It blended easily and  doesn't feel heavy on my face. And it is full coverage too. 

Verdict: I like the product. I'm going to keep using it just to test it out a little more. But I really like it.

First Off - NYX Liquid Black Liner

I was on the hunt for a specific NYX eyeliner, and could not find it. So I bought this one instead. 

I am torn about this. It like it but I don't. The brush is very thin and I find it hard to apply in the thickness that I want, on both eyes. Thus far I have ended up with it far thicker than I wanted. And I have made it work.

The other thing that makes me not love it is the fact that it is not a matte formula. I was not aware that I had a preference for my eyeliner finish. But this has a shine to it. And when I am out and about in my day, and glance in a mirror to double check that my makeup has not melted, the finish often makes me thing that I am missing eyeliner on a spot on my eye. This leads to me quickly brushing on another coat of it, and then building it up to the point where it is drying an annoying.

Verdict: Other than the two concerns I listed, I like this product. It wears all day and isn't uncomfortable. It's not my favourite eyeliner, but I have tried worse ones. 

First Off - Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer

I've heard of Hard Candy before but I hadn't tried any of their products. My sister picked this up but didn't like it, or bought the wrong shade or something. 

The funny thing about concealer is that some cover dark circles amazingly but are terrible for break outs. Or vice versa. This is the former. This stuff is magic on my dark circles. Sleep is not a thing I get much of so a product that can make it look like I do is magical! And it's pretty inexpensive, or so I'm told.

Verdict: It's not as powerful on my acne scars. But it is pure magic on my dark circles. I would highly recommend checking it out.