January 2019 – The Myopic Makeup Addict

January’s Ipsy Glam Bag Plus

Posted on January 31, 2019 by mslavens827

Hello my fellow makeup addicts! This month’s Ipsy Glam Bag Plus is filled with some pretty bomb ass products. Typically, it comes with 5 full-size items. This month, however, I received 6. I’m not complaining. More things to try! Anyways, let’s get right to the first piece:

Hey Honey Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum

The Hey Honey Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum is the first out of two skin care products in this month’s Glam Bag Plus. Compared to other serums that seem thick or greasy to the touch, this one is nice and light. It has almost a water-like consistency. As far as ingredients goes, it contains everything you need to rejuvenate your skin! Have fine lines? The glycerin, jojoba-seed oil, and amino acids in this serum have got you covered! Dull skin? The honey extract helps brighten that up! What about all those environmental stress factors? Not to worry, the vitamin E in this serum operates like a barrier against these free radicals!

The Hey Honey Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum can be a great addition to your skincare routine. Use it before your moisturizer or as a primer before you apply your foundation. One of the things I love most about this facial serum is that it has little to almost no fragrance to it. I’m not a huge fan of strong smelling facial products, so this was a plus for me. I also love the fact that it absorbs quickly to my skin. This product retails for $45 and can be purchased online at Ulta.com

Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion

The second skin care product this month is the Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion. This oil-free moisturizer is great for those of us with acne-prone skin. I love how lightweight this moisturizer is! I’ve tried some moisturizers in the past that were meant to help with acne and each time, I hated how thick they were and how medicine-like they smelled! I was so happy that this product was none of those!

Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion helps hydrate the blemished face without turning it into a greaseball, a huge plus for me! With ingredients like retinol to help support natural cell turnover, while tightening pores, reducing oil production, and toning the skin, to allantoin and arnica joining together to help calm and soothe any puffiness in the skin, this moisturizer is definitely a MUST have for anyone with blemish-prone skin. This is actually recommended as Step 3, hence the 3 on the box, of Dr. Murad’ s inclusive acne regimen. Not sure if this moisturizer will work well with other products not part of the Murad system, but it’s definitely worth a try! This product can be found at either Sephora or Ulta and sells for $40.

Violet Voss Mini HG Eyeshadow Palette

Now, this next product is probably my most FAVORITE item in this month’s Glam Bag Plus. It is the Violet Voss Mini HG Eye Shadow Palette! I’m a sucker for eyeshadow palettes, especially ones with browns, reds, and pinks. This palette contains 10 shades, a mixture of matte, satin, and metallic finishes. The shadows are super creamy and very pigmented. It’s compact design makes this perfect to travel with! I wasn’t able to find this palette anywhere on the Violet Voss website, so I’m not sure if this is something that could be bought again, or was made specifically for Ipsy. There were similar “fun-sized” palettes on the website, but none were this one. They did, however, retail for $18, which is what this palette was said to be valued at.

Below are the swatches:

Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner

The Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner is definitely one of the best liquid eyeliner pens that I’ve used so far. It has a nice, skinny pointed tip, kinda like a calligraphy pen, and definitely moves like it. The formula dries fairly quick as well, which is a huge deal for me. What’s interesting about this liquid eyeliner is that it contains peptides that help promote lash growth for up to 3x more in length and volume in 15 days. I should definitely try using this everyday for 15 days to see how true that is. Anyways, the Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner comes in Carbon Black and sells for $22 on Ulta.com.

Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume & Curl Mascara

This item wasn’t very new to me since I received it in my July’s Boxycharm. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome product, except I’ve already tried this before, so nothing new. The Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume and Curl Mascara has a good brush that gets all those lashes, especially my tiny bottom ones, and that could be due to it’s hooked shaped brush. The formula doesn’t clump, which is good, and I like how it contains ingredients that help moisturize your lashes as well. The Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume & Curl Mascara comes in black only and can be found for $24 at Sephora.

Vasanti Cosmetics Matte Crush Lipstick Pencil

I love lipstick pencils, especially since they are easy to carry around and are and all-in-one product, as in you can line and fill your lips with the same product. The only downside to lipstick pencils is that if the formula sucks, it can be very drying on the lips and just look horrible. This product is definitely NOT that! The Vasanti Cosmetics Matte Crush Lipstick has a super creamy formula that it literally just glides on your lips. I was surprised at how pigmented it was and was really impressed with its staying power! It lasted through me drinking coffee and eating! Also, loved the fact that Vasanti Cosmetics included a sharpener with their lipstick pencil. I received the color, Berry First Kiss, which is kind of a dark plumy berry color. Beautiful color! You can purchase this color out of the seven other colors that they have on the Vasanti Cosmetics website for $23.

Below the swatches for the Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner and the Vasanti Cosmetics Matte Crush Lipstick Pencil in Berry First Kiss:

What did you guys think about this month’s Ipsy Glam Bag Plus? What are your favorite products? Let me know! Also, if you are interested in subscribing to Ipsy Glam Bag Plus, you are more than welcome to sign up with my referral link. Ciao!

New Wet n Wild Products

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by mslavens827

Wet n Wild has always been one of my favorite drugstore brands. Not only are their products super affordable, but lately they’ve been coming out with some awesome high quality formulas! I’ve recently picked up six of their new items that I was super curious to try.

Wet n Wild Photo Focus Primer Water

I’m always a sucker for trying new primer waters/setting sprays, especially ones that you could use for everything; preparing the skin before makeup application, setting the makeup after it’s finished, and refreshing the makeup. I have two other favorites that do this as well: MAC Prep + Prime Fix + and the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water.

Anyways, Wet n Wild’s Photo Focus Primer Water is pretty similar. They make three different scents: Rosé Addiction (Rose Scented), Cool As A Cucumber (Cucumber Scented), and In Love With Coco (Coconut Scented). As much as I hate eating anything with coconut, I do love anything that has a coconut-like scent. Weird, I know. So, of course, I picked up the coconut scented one. Compared to my other two primer waters, this one definitely has a stronger coconut smell. I have the coconut scented version of the MAC Fix +, and, I have to say, the coconut smell on it is a bit more subtle than the Wet n Wild one.

Other than that, I feel like this primer water did what it was supposed to do. It prepped my face, set my face, and definitely refreshed my face. I mean, at $4.99, if you’re in a pinch, the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Primer Water is a great alternative to the more expensive primer waters! The quality and the price point are there! I highly recommend it!

Wet n Wild Photo Focus Matte Primer Stick – You’re What Matte – rs

You gotta give them some credit. Their use of puns on their product names are pretty pun-ny 😂 This item is no exception! The Wet n Wild Photo Focus Matte Primer Stick is exactly what it says it is — a matte primer stick. I love trying out new primers that help mattify the skin. For someone, like me, that has combo, mostly oily skin, any product that could help us not look like a greaseball is of great importance.

Since this is a stick primer, it definitely dries a bit quicker than liquid/cream primers. For oily gals like me, you can directly use it on your face. If you tend to be more on the drier side, you could definitely still use this product, but I’d recommend putting on moisturizer or some sort of facial oil first, to help glide the primer on your face.

After wearing this for a few days, I’m still not sure how I fill about it. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. What I like about it is that it’s easy to use and doesn’t have much of a smell to it. What I’m not liking is the texture of it. It feels a bit waxy. I’m not giving up on this yet though. It does say on their website that you can also put this on the back of your hand and apply the primer to your face that way. I’d probably try putting it on my fingertips and try rubbing it first before application. That might help with the waxy feel.

Overall, for $4.99, the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Matte Primer Stick is not that bad of a primer. Definitely worth the try, especially if you’re into stick primers.

Wet n Wild Photo Focus Water Drop Primer

Ok, another primer, but this one was intriguing so, of course, I HAD to try it! The Wet n Wild Photo Focus Water Drop Primer has a water-based formula that supposedly “transforms from a cream to liquid texture.” What?! And just like the primer water, this, too, comes in three wonderful smells: What’s Up Rose-Bud? (Rose Scented), Mad About Cucumber (Cucumber Scented), and Coconut Dreamin’ (Coconut Scented). Which one did you think I ended up getting? That’s right, the coconut scented one, because, well, coconuts.

I’d have to say, this water drop primer is pretty hydrating. Being 60% water based, why wouldn’t it be? And can we just talk about the smell? I love the coconut scent in this! However, if you’re expecting your pores to be masked with this primer, I’m sorry to say, this primer doesn’t do that. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a hydrating, water-based primer, at $4.99, the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Water Drop Primer is definitely worth checking out.

Wet n Wild Photofocus Loose Setting Powder

I was super happy to finally see Wet n Wild come out with a loose setting powder! Compact powders are usually not my thing. I love me a good loose setting powder! The Wet n Wild Photofocus Loose Setting Powder comes in three colors: Translucent, Banana, and Deep. I went with the Banana color.

This powder kind of reminds me of the Maybelline FaceStudio Master Fix Setting + Perfecting Loose Powder or the ELF Cosmetics High Definition Powder. It is nicely milled and when applied, it creates this beautiful soft focus finish. It doesn’t really clump up on me, which is good, since some loose powders tend to do that on me. Coming in at $5.99, the Wet n Wild Photofocus Loose Setting Powder is a great powder for baking and setting the face.

Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Pomade

Eyebrow products are another obsession of mine. I’m always on the hunt for a good eyebrow product, be it a powder, a gel, a pomade, or a pencil, so when I saw the new Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Pomade, I was curious to give it a try. Pomades and gels are nice when I want to be able to give my brows a darker, more dramatic look, or I guess, a more defined shape. Powders and pencils, on the other hand, I love for a more natural looking eyebrow.

At first glance, the bottle reminds me of the mini Benefit Cosmetics ka-Brow! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Color. It has a little brush built into the handle, just like it, except the shape of the actual brush itself is different. The Wet n Wild one has a more rounded brush vs the Benefit one has a more angled brush. Either way, I don’t like to use these brushes; They’re just awkward for me to use. I like to use a regular eyebrow brush, like this one from Amazon.

I wish the bottle opening was a bit larger. I feel like it is too small for a brush to get the product out. I even tried it with the brush it came with. Same deal. Once I was able to get some of the product out, it took several tries to get the pomade to look decent on my brows. You definitely need to build up the product.

At $3.99, the Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Pomade comes in 3 colors: Medium Brown, which is what I got, Brunette, and Espresso. Maybe it’ll work for some of you, if definitely didn’t do much for me. I may try it again, but probably mix in a small bit of facial oil to it.

Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Micro Brow Pencil

Now, this brow product is definitely one of my favorites! The Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Micro Brow Pencil reminds me of the NYX Micro Brow Pencil or the Benefit Cosmetics Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra-Fine Shape and Define Brow Pencil. I’m a HUGE fan of brow pencils with the small point. I feel like those are the easiest to use to fill in and shape your brows. Brow pencils with a thicker tip, I feel, are harder to use to shape your brows, that’s just me though.

The Wet n Wild Brow Micro Brow Pencil comes in four colors: Soft Brown, Brunette, Ash Brown, which is the color I got, and Deep Brown. For $3.99, this brow pencil is definitely a great steal!

I hope you all enjoyed me blabbing about my mini Wet n Wild Beauty new products haul. Have any of you tried them? Let me know!

Mini Riley Rose Haul

Posted on January 25, 2019January 27, 2019 by mslavens827

I woke up Monday morning and found myself in a huge dilemma… I looked in the mirror and discovered a giant mountain of a pimple on my face. I searched for the one thing I knew that could help get rid of it, or at least hide it, but it was no where to be found. So, off to Riley Rose I went to pick up more.

COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch

These patches are awesome! I’ve tried some others and this seemed to work the best. Basically, you get little round stickers to put in your face that practically “suck” the head out of that pimple! I like to put these on at night before bed and take them off in the morning before jumping in the shower.

This is how they look like:

You get 24 round stickers in 3 different sizes. For $6, it ain’t a bad deal.

The Creme Shop x Gudetama Tighter ‘n Brighter Sheet Mask

I’m an avid fan of Gudetama. Maybe a bit obsessed. Anyways, I couldn’t help but pick this sheet mask up. I’ve tried this before and loved it! Unfortunately, the mask, once taken out of the packaging and put on the face, does not make you look like Gudetama. How cool would it be if it did though?! This mask feels great on the face and is very refreshing. You’ll smell like a lemon after you’re done, not that it’s a bad thing, and your pores will feel tighter, actually your whole face will feel tighter, which, again, is not a bad thing.

The Creme Shop x Gudetama Handy Dandy Creme

I love the collaborations that the Creme Shop does! When Riley Rose first opened their location at the Westfield Southcenter Mall, I saw this and passed on it. Literally, the next day, when I went back to pick it up, they were all gone! So this time, when I saw that they restocked, considering this is limited edition, I HAD to get it! Because, Gudetama. What I love about this hand lotion, besides the fact that it has Gudetama on it, is that it smells AMAZING! It smells like peaches! Better peaches than rotten eggs 😂

What are your favorites from Riley Rose? Let me know 😄

What is a “Myopic Makeup Addict?”

Posted on January 20, 2019January 20, 2019 by mslavens827

Hello fellow makeup enthusiasts! My name is Michelle and I am a myopic makeup addict. You may be wondering, what is a “myopic makeup addict?”

Let’s begin with the word “myopic.” Myopic is basically a fancy word for nearsightedness. In other words, I am blind as a bat and without glasses or contacts on, the only thing I can see clearly is what is brought directly in front of my face. Otherwise, everything in the distance is blurry.

As for the definition of a makeup addict, well, it is one who is an aficionado of cosmetics, aka a makeup fanatic. What is there not to love about makeup? So many choices, so many colors. The makeup world has all the tools you need to begin creating beautiful art! Yes, putting on makeup can be an art form.

I’ve started this blog and titled it “The Myopic Makeup Addict,” because 1. I thought being nearsighted and a makeup addict would make a pretty cool blog title, but mostly, because of 2. I wanted to do a play on the word “myopic.” In addition to being another word for “nearsightedness,” “myopic” could also translate as being rather “close minded,” or as being one who does not have an open mind to experience new things. So, in titling this blog “The Myopic Makeup Addict,” one would expect this to be a rather biased blog on makeup, when in fact it would be the exact opposite!

“The Myopic Makeup Addict” is a blog dedicated to anything makeup. I love trying new products and testing them out. One of my favorite quotes from makeup artist, Pat Mcgrath, is “Creativity is your best makeup skill, don’t be afraid to experiment.” Like I said earlier, makeup is an art form. In addition to product reviews, I also plan on sharing my latest makeup hauls and makeup subscriptions.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy =)

“Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty; it’s a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside.” – Michelle Phan