What's In My Ipsy Bag - September 2015

REVIEW CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast

I've had the pleasure of purchasing the new CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blasts & wanted to share my thoughts in case anyone else was interested in checking them out, too. I only purchased three of the shades (Buy 2, Get One Free, thanks Ulta!) in Citrus Flair, Onyx Smoke & Silver Sky.

From CoverGirl.com:

The two different, specially contoured ends of our ShadowBlast stick make it easy to create a bold, colorful, smoky eye. A duo of expertly paired shades provide the bold, spotlight-ready looks loved by today's hottest makeup artists.

These are supposed to be easy ways to pull of a smokey look. And I really do see their intention. The different ends are nice, the product is creamy & easily blendable, & they are fairly cheap! But in reality, these are much too greasy to really be used alone. Creasing is definitely an issue here. I was a little more interested in using them as a colored eyeshadow base. With a base to prevent creasing underneath & a shadow over the top to set it, these really have the color pay-off to be darn good bases.

In order from left to right: Onyx Smoke, Silver Sky, Citrus Flair

I'm definitely impressed with the color pay-off of these. I have been using them with the following products:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Eyeshadow of the top of the Smoky Shadow Blast to set it in place

If you don't have oily lids & don't already have to use an eyeshadow primer, you may be better off going with whatever eyeshadow base you prefer (MAC Paint Pots, Cream Color Bases, etc), but for the price of these I don't have a problem with it at all. I already have to use an eyeshadow primer anyway. But with that said, still better yet: NYX JUMBO EYE PENCILS. Hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading!

REVIEW Benefit Ooh La Lift

Description from Benefit Cosmetics :


ooh la lift

instant under-eye brightening boost

Price: $22.00

why we love it:

Legendary under-eye brightening boost...this delicate pink balm is like an instant eyelift!

what else you need to know:

Contains raspberry extracts and light-reflecting pigments to instantly perk up tired eyes. Can be applied on bare skin or over makeup.

I happen to have a pretty puffy & dark under-eye area. But even so, I tend to stay away from de-puffing, brightening products because I've never had much luck with them at all. Usually the only affect I get from these types of products is a cool sensation. That's it.

Then I stumbled upon Benefit's Ooh La Lift & I have to admit it caught my eye. I absolutely love Benefit Cosmetics & for some reason I want to trust everything they want to sell me! : P So naturally, I give this product a try. The first picture is my eyes with no product on, other than moisturizer.

Gross.






The next picture is a couple minutes after applying Ooh La Lift. I don't know about you, but I am not seeing a dramatic difference here. BUT, there is still a difference & for me, that's huge! I can tell the area is slightly less puffy and it's definitely brighter (the brightness is much more noticeable in person).

Less Gross.





This one is after I have applied foundation, concealer & setting powder. Still looks pretty good to me!

So, even though there is not a dramatic difference, I was impressed to see any kind of difference at all. I've been using this product for a couple weeks now & I haven't noticed the results changing. This might be a product I decide to stick with!

Thanks for reading! xoxo