Edit| Carving Out New Cheekbones with Kevyn Aucoin

Here I have the Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight and The Sculpting Powder in Medium (both $44) in the old packaging, pictured with Wayne Goss Brush 02 ($35). I wasn't a huge fan of the price tag and got these suckers off blog sales, swapping, and general peasant-ly ways. 

Both are supposed to be ultra-natural yet highly pigmented so that you can highlight without showing all yer pores and contour without inspiring snide Oompa Loompa remarks.

The old packaging is a pain in the clasp to open, though they both come with an applicator and mirror. I'm surprised they chose to include a puff with the contour shade. If only there was some way to depot the products or fuse the packaging together. Kevyn Aucoin PR team, wherever you may be, hear me out!

Below are swatches in indirect outdoor lighting. 

Here are swatches in direct sunlight. You can see that The Celestial Powder (so fancy, much name, wow...) doesn't really glitter or even shine. So how does it do its magic?? Meanwhile, the Sculpting Powder leans neither too orange or grey. In fact, I noticed only the slightest hint of red tones in this powder. 

The texture of both powders feel so soft and creamy that they could pass for cream products. I find no problems with patchiness or poor wear time. 

Here's the real test. I applied both products on with my Wayne Goss Brush 02 with a heavy hand to see how bad it could look. Not too obvious at all! The Sculpting Powder is very pigmented so exercise caution and use a tapered/pointed brush to catch just under your cheekbones. Then, use a big fluffy brush to blend everything out. 

Indeed, my cheekbones look 30 times higher without tell-tale diagonal stripes going down my face. I wouldn't wear this on a daily basis to work but under dim lighting and with enough liquor, anyone half blind could see I have ammmaaazing~ bone structure. Hehe.

It's really not garish even with poor execution like mine, meaning I could technically wear it in broad daylight without someone pointing to my cheeks and asking what highlighter I'm wearing. Wha? Me? I'm just naturally emitting a glow. 

This is my "sharp" side, meaning my cheeks naturally have that contour line without any makeup on. It's a little theatrical on this side and too blatant for my liking so I will have to use a lighter hand.

If you like to contour on a regular basis but don't want a contoured look per se, I think this duo makes an excellent investment. 

xo Be

Review| Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

While there isn't a mass market hype for the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer ($48), I've been meaning to get my hands on it for the longest time. Its portable size, ultra-pigmented formula, and a color range that caters to yellow-toned skin meant that it could be a holy grail for me as it is for other bloggers. 

I've heard that this little pot of wonders is the most pigmented concealer you could ever use and a great medium to mix with your daily face lotion to become a tinted moisturizer. Seeing it online I couldn't help but wonder if the texture and consistency was on the thicker side, making it harder to use as a regular foundation. 

The first ingredient is mineral oil which can freak a lot of people out but does no harm to my skin.

While SX06 looked to be the perfect match for my winter complexion (NC25-30, neutral yellow) I chose SX08 in order to match the rest of the seasons. It looks to be NC30-35 with very strong yellow tones. 

The product itself was surprisingly creamy to the touch but harder to spread as expected. Many others have suggested mixing with a lotion or blending the foundation out right after you apply your mositurizer, which I whole-heartedly agree with for sanity purposes. If you use a stippling brush to apply you will have an insanely hard time blending it thoroughly unless you put it on right after lotion. 

Spot concealing is a whole lot easier. You just need to dip your finger in and take as little product as you can (maybe "dip" is the wrong word.) If you think it's too little product, it's too much. Because of the nature of this product you will definitely feel it on the skin if you don't take the time to blend well. 

It's ultra opaque and can easily looked caked on if done wrong. Because it is so opaque I would suggest getting color matched or going online and stalking swatches before placing an order. I don't have a Kevyn Aucoin counter anywhere close by so I had to fervently look for swatches to see which color would work best.

Again, this product is not a slap-n-go for the laziest of people. I think that if you are truly blessed with great skin all you need is a little dab for a few blemishes or red spots. I also think it makes a great under-eye concealer for those struggling with severe darkness and discoloration. 

In my excitement I smooshed my finger into the pot to get a feel for the texture. If you're paranoid of germs go ahead and use a product spatula to pick up the right amount. The pot is so adorable and tiny but with how little you need at one time I foresee this lasting me a few years. Seriously, some people use it every single day and it still lasts them a year at a time.

This picture is more true to life for the color of the product. 

Now, though all claims of multipurpose hold true, I really wanted to test out the product for how it wears on the skin. The finish of the Sensual Skin Enhancer is satin, almost matte which makes it ideal for drier to normal skin types to exfoliate and prep well. I found that it did slightly cling to a dry patch but didn't make any textural issues seem obvious and unsightly. However, my skin certainly felt tighter than with a traditional liquid foundation.

It also wears like iron. By the time I went to take it off at night (after 8 solid hours) my makeup towelette seemingly took off five pounds of base products even though I used an eighth of a pea sized amount. There's no transferring or sliding of the product once it's set on the skin. If you want to set it with powder I advise you do so lightly to maintain a natural look. Products easily cake on the sides of my nose but I noticed no bunching or caking with this product when used with a cautious hand.

Here is how SSE looks when used as an all over foundation. The overall effect is natural and pretty but you can still see the darkness under my eyes along with some minor spots and flaws on the skin. For every day I don't mind this finish at all. The color match is excellent and my face doesn't look like it's carrying a bunch of product.

Now to take things up a notch. I went back in with a Real Techniques Detail Brush and a pin-sized amount of product for several spots of the face. I concentrated on taking out the redness around my nose and the few dark spots on my face. I also put a sizable amount under my eyes to completely knock out the darkness. I looked almost airbrushed!

In honesty, it reminds me of my MUFE Full Cover but looks much more natural when used alone as a concealer. There's a huge learning curve involved when it comes to picking up the right amount of product. 

For normal/combo to oily skin, this stuff is a dream. I wouldn't brave it alone for dried skin gals. With my skin, I get the best results when I mix with Hourglass No. 28 Serum (thanks to a rec on MakeupAlley!) Here is how it looks mixed (one pump hydrating primer and one rice grain of SSE. The result is so seamless and blends in perfectly with the rest of my chest and body.

Once you overcome this it becomes the most skin-like base you can ever have. It feels relatively light, covers every hyper-pigmentation (yup, even dark purple spots), and doesn't cake or transfer in the process. All of that for years to come.

In my book, winning!

xo Be

Collection| Bronzers and Contour Powders

I'm a huge fan of bronzing and contouring, especially when the summer comes around and a tanned face doesn't look out of place. On the other hand, contouring is reserved for night time affairs. I can't be walking around in broad daylight with two stripes down my nose!

I have a pretty sizeable collection that I want to share with you, just to show you that not all bronzers and contour powders are shimmery, matte, red toned, or yellow toned, or anything in specific. It really depends on what purpose you're trying to achieve and what flatters you best. 

Let's go from right to left, bottom to top, left to right (mindf*cked yet?) and see what I have. 

Benefit Hoola bronzer: Perfect for NC20-30s who want to contour or bronze up the face. Either way it's a matte brown that's neutral enough for all over or in the hollows of your cheeks.

Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light: This kit comes with a champagne highlighter and is PERFECT for contouring. It's very cheap but not too accessible (I got mine only in a swap...) 

Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette: I always get compliments wearing this palette on my cheeks, and the contour color is very light and can't look harsh. However, the highlighter and blush requires a light hand. 

Bobbi Brown Bronzer in Natural: This is a very red toned bronzer that I find perfect for when I'm NC35-NC45. It looks great all over as it mimics how my skin reacts to being sunburnt. It also looks great as a contour shade as it is on the cooler side. 

Bobbi Brown Blush Palette in Pale Pink and Tawny: Next to Pale Pink, Tawny seems to be a bronzer, at least with my terrible eyesight and lighting in the bedroom. In broad daylight, it's actually a lovely ...tawny color blush. FML. Do NOT use this to contour. 

Dolce and Gabbana blush in Tan: Now this is what you use to contour. It's like a grown up version of NYX Taupe (which I didn't care for and swapped away) but much more flattering and cool. It's almost grey, very subtle, and could probably work for NC/W15 to NC30. I always choose this one to contour my nose. 

Too Faced Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil (Medium/Deep): I used to own its sister Milk Chocolate but found the smell too sweet for my taste and gave it to my mom for a contour. It really does work for a contour, but the scent was diabetic... This one works great for NC30-NC40 me all over or in the hollows of the cheek. Love!

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Bronzing Veil Tropical Nights (what in the actual hell) bronzer: I like this one, but I haven't had a chance to play with it. I will definitely have to pull it out for this summer. It gives off a "reddish burnt sparkly summer beach babe" vibe. 

Guerlain Terracotta La Selection de L'Ete (another rech betch name eh?): This one is a little too light for my liking, and honestly it looks too fancy for using. I tried it once and it reminded me of a profesh summer cocktail party look or something O_O ...sort of pretty but nothing wild. 

AND LET THE SWATCHES BEGIN: 

From left to right: Hoola, BB Natural, Choco Soleil, KA Celestial, Guerlain, BB Tawny blush (silence! lol), Naked Flushed, D&G Tan, Sleek in Light.

The following pictures were taken in either direct or indirect sunlight. I think it does matter to see how a bronzer will look in dimmer lighting, but it's also a false representation that won't help you choose a good color that looks "non-insane" in sunlight. 

All colors were swatched twice. You can always build color up as desired. No primer. My inner forearm is about...NC25 (the back part is crispy at NC45.) 

This is indoors, with the sunlight behind my arm. Everything is actually hazy to the point where it would work as either bronzer or contour, but the red toned shades are looking cray cray.

This is indirect sunlight, I'm standing right in the doorway under a patio. 

This is another view. I'm indoors, but there's more sunlight. I just wanted you to see the various texture and tones of the bronzers just to get a feel of what could work for you.

Final one, this is outside. See how natural the D&G looks, like a shadow? It's definitely very faint in pigmentation but for good reason imo. Everything else looks absolutely orange in comparison.

I'm pretty happy with my collection at the moment; I don't think it's necessary to expand. After all, I don't even do bronzer on a daily basis especially now in the throes of winter. Well there is sunlight but come on, bronzer in the office doesn't sound right to me. 

My favorite at the moment for contouring is TF Chocolate Soleil, since I think they've taken the scent down a notch since I've last purchased. I also really enjoy Benefit's Hoola at the moment for an all over color, since I find that the new Garnier BB cream I'm trying (while great for oil control) is a tad too light ...so I've been liberal with the bronzers.  

Can't wait for summer when it's appropriate to just be dark. I love both the pale princess and beach babe look on myself. Plus, being tan for me definitely gets more attention from men. Interesting right?

xo Be.  

Swap Haul| Priorities, Be. [Part One]

With a new-found interest in swapping my makeup for "essential items", I've neglected the voices in my head telling me to go shopping. With the post office a block away and the Internet at my disposal, I've picked up so much good stuff by swapping away makeup that's been sitting at the back of my drawer (or fridge) for ages.See? Told you I'm on a low-buy. Just a high swap :D I also have to validate it by deluding myself that post office stamps are not worth real money.

This post covers the first half of swap items that's arrived within this past two weeks. Most of these items are lemmings, rather than essentials. A lot of these items are those I've always wanted to try but don't have the funds to do so.

Ready for some serious eye candy?



 



In no particular order: NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Sandra and Wicked, Becca Loose Pigment in Odette, Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Taupe, Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Bronzer, Buxom lipgloss in Samantha, Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl and Watt's Up samples, Urban Decay Revolution lipstick sample in Catfight, NARS Albatross/Orgasm duo, Stila It Girl palette (for the iconic Kitten!), Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Perversion (backup number 4), Clinique Moisture Surge, The Balm's Frat Boy blush.

I don't mean to brag, but that is some seriously savvy swapping *pats self on back* At the same time I've managed to clear out all extra samples, try out new ones, hoard up on high end items, and stock up on skincare. I would have never been able to afford Kevyn Aucoin, but with a little fancy fingerwork and shameless swap list browsing, I've been able to find quite a few gems.

The only downside is that swapping isn't open to completely everybody on MakeupAlley.com I think you have to had been a member of their site prior to a certain date? Ah well. Exclusive makeup illuminati circle is exclusive. It does frighten me when someone asks to swap and I have to look through 30 pages of items. Crazy makeup lady, is that you??

Ah well, time to get back to job hunting. That's all for today, folks!

Be