Monthly Favorites ::: June 2016!!!

As far as makeup is considered it has been somewhat dull of a month for me! I have been using my old favorites and to be honest I don’t a have a ton of favorites to talk about!

Becca Backlight Priming Filter: I discussed about this product in this month’s Sephora Play Box review! I did not like it the first time I tried, but I have now completely changed my mind about it. I have been constantly using it and I am sure I will run out of this travel-size bottle very soon. My favorite way to wear it is to apply after moisturizer, I typically don’t wear any base product on my face during the week ie when I go to work (Yes, I am one of those who loves wearing blush/highlight/bronzer etc without any base product)! I have added this step into my routine and I love how healthy and glowy it makes me look without adding any oily-ness. I have worn it under foundation as well! Being a greasy product I thought it will be too oily throughout the day, but it’s not. Of course it looks just a bit more glowy or oily at the very end of the day! Also, it smells very nice; it is almost spicy but very clean and fresh at the same time! Very, very invigorating! I am very happy with this product.

Smashbox + Lilly Singh Collaboration - Always On Liquid Lipstick in BAWSE: Well, I have to share that I did not have a lot of chance to wear it this month. But this is new and EXCITING! And I absolutely enjoyed whenever I wore it. It is a very comfortable liquid lipstick formula, definitely one of the best that I have tried. I have a detailed review here, do have a look. This line has a ton of beautiful shades if you are interested. 

Hourglass Ambient® Lighting Powder in Dim Light: Yes, the hype is real. But if you want a specific answer as to what this powder does, I may not have an EXACT answer. It is such a gorgeous; luxury powder that totally works. I have been setting my under-eye area with this constantly. My skin around that area has a tendency to get dry, more than often. This sets my concealer without adding that heavy powder-y look and without accentuating my dry skin. It also adds a very, very subtle glow. I will definitely be purchasing the full-size once I run out of this travel-size compact.

So, this was my tiny little post on June Favorites. July seems promising though, I already have a few items that looks very exciting. I will keep you posted :-)

Love,

~Arrru

Play! by Sephora ::: June 2016

Today I have a review of this month's Sephora Play (check here)! It is a subscription service offered by my beloved Sephora :-)  It is $10 per month and comes with 5 deluxe products available in Sephora and a bonus fragrance sample. Every month, the box is curated with a theme in mind and they include a pamphlet describing as much as they can about the products. This month's theme was "The Minimalists"; Sephora definitely succeed in curing a box with products fitting to the theme! I have had a few of these products before and I am excited to share my views on the box :-)  

TARTE Tarteguard 30 Sunscreen Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 30: I have finished one or two sample packets of this before and I was almost ready to buy the full size. Absolutely beautiful consistency for a sunscreen! It does not feel greasy, applies smoothly and very easy to wear under makeup. And  thanks to the handy note in the box :-), I finally know what broad spectrum means :-) It’s tiny little bottle and it will hardly last me 7-10 days but nonetheless it is a good product to have.

BECCA Backlight Priming Filter: Definitely another exciting product in this month’s bag. Becca released this product sometime last year and looks like it has become a definite favorite in the beauty community. I have had this before in “Becca Blushed Radiance Set” (reviewed here) and for some reason I did not enjoy it back then! I found it thick to blend and it remained a bit patchy at some places. However, I decided to give it another try and I am totally enjoying it now! I must have had dry, very dehydrated skin during the first trial. I am using this for the last 3-4 days and I enjoy the subtle glow it provides! I have worn it underneath liquid foundation and surprisingly my skin has not looked oily through out the day The other day with this on underneath a full-face of makeup, I took a 3.5 mile long walk in additin to my daily chores :-) and my makeup stayed perfectly on! (Yes, I sometime go for exercise-walk with full face of makeup) :-) I have worn it alone as well, and I like it that way too! It smells so nice; almost spicy but very clean and fresh at the same time! Very, very invigorating! My only complaint is the pump; it is a bit difficult to control and squirts out a bit much than what I need. I hope the full size bottle does not have the same issue.

I am wearing the primer and the bronzer here.

BARE MINERALS bareSkin Sheer Sun Bronzer: I love the name “Sheer Sun”. This was the product that I was most excited about, mainly because my all-time favorite bronzer is from Bare Minerals. Sheer Sun is a quite a liquid-y product. When I drop it on the palm of my hand it looks a bit dark however upon application is blends very well into my skin/or foundation and provides a very natural warmth! Hence the name “sheer sun”, I guess! :-) personally, I enjoy a bronzer that has a little more warmth to it. I am also not very open to this liquid of a product. Nonetheless, makeup is for playing, for having fun and for discovering new products along the way! :-) I have been really liking it so far! Its quite a small sample though, if I use daily, I can see myself finishing it in 10-12 days.

BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Don’t blow it: this is the only product I have not tried out yet. I don’t style my hair per se and I don’t typically switch up my hair routine as well. But looks like Sephora Play Box has one hair product every month and that can get a bit problematic for me.

BENEFIT COSMETICS They’re Real!  Mascara: Dear Sephora, please stop putting this mascara in every little kit you can! I am so annoyed with it. Because of my love for value sets and gift sets I already have collected atleast 4-5 of theis. I don’t like this mascara at all; I mean it gives a bit of volume but it looks so spikey. I don’t like the wand and I absolutely abhor how difficult it is to wash off.

TOCCA BEAUTY Beauty Florence: every Play box comes with a bonus fragrance which is always a good thing :-) I love this brand and I have tried a few of their fragrances before! This is definitely a favorite :-) It reminds me of all the tacky fragrance from childhood but so much elegance and sophisticated in it :-)

Overall, I like this month’s box than last month's. The samples are really petite in size however I can see myself using all of these. Who else subscribes to Sephora Play? :-)

Love
~Arrru

Best Of Becca "Blushed Radiance" ::: Review & Swatches!!!

There is something about Becca that I cannot simply resist :-) I have enough from them already. Those will last me a long time as all of their products are super crazily pigmented and I shouldn’t need anymore. Yet, when Becca puts out these little sets I simply have to buy them.

Today I am talking about this limited edition set called “Best of Becca Blushed Radiance” available in Ulta Beauty. Their 21 Day’s of Beauty events are also going on! Anyway, I have been really wanting to try their comparatively new primer and “Flower Child” mineral blush has always interested me. So I thought that will provide me enough of a justification to indulge in this set. 

The retail price of this set is 34.50$ and as I said it’s only available in Ulta Beauty (shop here). It contains the following

• Mineral Blush in Flower Child (0.087 oz)
• Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal (0.085 oz)
• Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight Wand in Moonstone (0.17 oz)
• Backlight Priming Filter (0.2 oz)

Here is a break down of the prices

Product	Full Size/Price	Size in this kit	Price in this kit
Mineral Blush in Flower Child	0.04 oz./10 $	0.087 oz.	13.92 $
Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal	0.25 oz./38 $	0.085 oz.	12.92 $
Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight Wand in Moonstone	1.7 oz./41 $	0.17 oz.	4.1 $
Backlight Priming Filter	1 oz./38 $	0.20 oz.	7.6 $

                                                                                                                 Total Value= 38.54$

There is a bit of savings however I don’t think it is not an incredibly awesome deal. Previous sets from Becca have been of much better value than this. It is still saves you some money in comparison to buying full-size product, especially if you are new to the brand! 

Here are the products:

Mineral Blush in Flower Child: I have three of their mineral blushes (Songbird, Wild Honey and Hyacinth). Flower Child is a shade that has been available in their line for a long time now. I like that this is in deluxe size. It’s a muted neutral light peachy-pinky shade with some shimmer! It’s a lot lighter than I expected! I recently reviewed their Wild Honey and Songbird here. Flower Child is much cool-toned than both. Anyway, I love this formula; it does not emphasize my pores unlike some of my other blushes. The wear time is admirable too! If they ever launches deluxe sizes “Lantana” and “Nightingale” I am going to grab them immediately.

Wearing Flower Child on the cheeks, Backlight primer underneath, Opal on the lids and one of the cheekbone, Moonstone on the other cheekbone

Backlight Priming Filter: I was itching to try this ever since it launched. Now that I have tried, I am kind of on fence about it. I love it and yet not that much. It smells incredible; a bit herbal-y, very cooling and fresh! I love the smell! This is a potent product so you need just a bit. But the pump is somehow hard to control and it dispenses a bit more product than I need for one application. Being true to Becca’s ‘luminous’ approach, this primer also provides a lot of glow. :-) I love that but at times under different lights I feel it is bit much. May be I am still figuring out the right amount of product to be used. As a primer it acts great. It gave me a nice canvas for the foundation and it stayed nicely till I removed it. It appeared a tad bit shiny when I first put it on and that shininess increases over the hrs. just a little bit more. But I am worried that during summer it may end up looking greasy by the end of the day. By the way it is a super tiny bottle, if I use it every day I can see myself finishing this in no more than 2-3 weeks.

Opal, heavily applied

Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal: At this point, I think I have all the shimmering skin perfectors from them, in one form or other. This is one of their super popular products.  The previous set titled “Best of Becca” contained Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Moonstone and the wand in Opal! I like that these are not repeat products. It’s a very very pale gold. It’s quite strongly pigmented. I feel like it’s a bit stronger than their other shades! I have the wand version and that comes off as normal natural. I still adore it though :-)

Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight Wand in Moonstone: Moonstone has a little bit more pink in it than Opal, personally I love it a bit more. It’s a closer shade to my skin tone and hence it’s easier to pull off on a daily basis. In this liquid form, it is more versatile to use too. You can add this to your foundation to add some brightness as well. It is very easy to apply. I can wear it underneath or above my foundation for my somewhat dry skin!

I love Becca and I love deluxe products. They are just easier to store and finish up which is important to me. I don’t adore this set like the one I bought last year (check here). However, I still think this is a decent value set. I definitely recommend it :-)

Love,

~Arrru