thatpinayglows

My hair issues: Although I like my thick hair, my dry scalp and seborrhaic dermatitis constantly frustrates me especially I have dark hair. I also had my hair bleached and color treated for highlights 6 months ago, making it thoroughly frizzy and overall lifeless. About the product: ALTERNA - CAVIAR Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture CC Cream is A leave in hair treatment and styling cream that provides 10 benefits in just one single step. It claims to provide moisture, shine, keep hair soft, strong and smooth, and protect from heat and UV damage It has a light cream consistency with a subtle scent (couldn’t pinpoint it but I like it) and it doesn’t linger after it my hair dries out. It doesn’t feel sticky on my hair but it feels that my hair was weighted down after styling my hair using this. How I use it: I massage it on my damp hair (washed or not), then blow dry it to style. Easy peasy! My experience: I ❤️ ❤️ how my hair feels after using this product. I have reaped all the benefits this product claims to provide. But like I said, I feel like my hair was weighted down after using this. I had to use other products to achieve the style that I am going for. Still a solid product on its own! 😊

HUDA BEAUTY - HUDA BEAUTY Liquid Matte Lipstick - “Alluring” is a bright orange red lip color that is made exclusively in collaboration with Allure. I got this in my Allure Beauty Box last year so you can’t find this anywhere in beauty stores. It is very pigmented that all you need is one swipe for a full coverage. It has the lightest formula without drying my lips, smudge-proof and transfer proof. I hope Huda Beauty releases this again because I am obsessed with this color! 🤩 🤩

ANASTASIA Beverly Hills - ANASTASIA Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick is highly packed with pigment! All it takes is just one swipe of the applicator on the lips. It dries into this weightless matte finish, long lasting and boy it does not smudge! 😱😱 And does it make my lips look fuller? Maybe, and I like it! 😊😊 This is in the shade “Bohemian”, which is a deep mulberry color. At first I find the color too intimidating and too dark to me, but what I do is prep using a lip serum, blot a tiny bit of this lipcolor in the middle of my lips and spread it all over using my fingertip. It still has that matte finish, but it has that soft focus effect which I like in my lipsticks.

Here’s a swatch of my fave brown lipstick! MAC - MAC Matte Lipstick has a very creamy formula with high color payoff! This is the shade “Taupe” which is a muted red-brown that complements my skin tone. It glides smooth on my lips and blurs any lines, but it is advisable to apply a primer for optimal results 😊 It doesn’t have much staying power, and it fades nicely like it’s my natural lip color. I 🤎 everything about it, and no wonder it is Mac Cosmetics’ iconic product! Costs $19

REVLON - Ultra HD Matte Lip Color - Kisses is a lightweight liquid lip color with a matte finish. I expected this shade to be more brown, but it turns into perfect mauve pink color that matches my natural lip color! 👍🏼 It glides smoothly on my lips and the doe applicator feels so velvety 🤩🤩. It takes time to mattify on the lips, but when it does, my lips never dries up. It does not have long staying power but it fades beautifully. Plus, it is affordable and easily accessible because of it’s price point ($10)!

I love the luxe packaging and the sleek design of this lipstick! FENTY BEAUTY - Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick in the shade Freckle Fiesta has a high color payoff even on just one swipe. It doesn’t have much staying power when you eat or sip drinks, but the color fades beautifully (no O-rings at the edge of your lips 😂). As far as the shade goes, I was expecting more of a brown-red shade, but it is a tad too orange for my liking (it was more like fresh-rust colored). It also doesn’t glide smoothly on the lips , especially if you have dry lips like mine, so I recommend that you prime your lips first with a lip balm/serum.

Kosas - Port LipFuel Hyaluronic Lip Balm My favorite lip balm atm! ✨ This lip balm includes, hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture, kojnac root to create a gel-like barrier, vitamin E to soothe and repair, and wild mint to stimulate senses. I was kindly sent this product from Kosas and I was so excited when I saw the convenient slim packaging of this balm. The scent is natural and slightly minty and I love the slight tingle on my lips. The balm is very smooth on application but still thick enough to hydrate. I hate when lip balms are too thin or too thick on the lips and this one is perfect! I love to use this before makeup application or throughout the day and it provides the perfect moisture. This is also the only lip balm I know that includes hyaluronic acid and I have to say, I think it works well in this product! I thought it might be a marketing strategy to use hyaluronic acid but I actually believe it has benefits. This is just a great basic lip balm everyone should own! I recommend this to everyone because any skin types can use it and it would be great for sensitive skin types. It’s paraben and mineral oil free which I also love. They have tinted versions of this balm and I might just have to try those as well!

Ok, ok, ok, I see the comments about this already but I feel like this is the perfect product to run an ingredient breakdown on. SUMMER FRIDAYS - Jet Lag Mask The basics: It costs $48 for 2.25oz which is kind of pricey for a mask but hear me out. Jet Lag has many highlighted ingredients but vitamin c, niacinamide, and chestnut extract are the ingredients we’ll be focusing on today. The most frustrating part of this mask for me is that it’s advertised as a hydrating mask but honestly it works best for me as an overnight brightening and tightening mask, and I’ll explain why. The ingredient claims: Vitamin C (in the form of citric acid): a powerful antioxidant to brighten skin tone Niacinamide: reduce pores, control excess oil/sebum production Chestnut seed extract: natural exfoliant It’s advertised as a hydrating mask but it’s far from hydrating if you ask me. When used alone as a moisturizer or moisture booster it actually makes my skin flakey and dry. It works best for me when used over a super light facial oil like squalane as an overnight mask! It locks everything in and I wake up with brighter, tighter skin without it being incredibly dry. It is advertised to work on all skin types for hydration. I love using this mask as least twice a week when my skin is feeling “out of wack” or I have redness or breakouts. Honestly I don’t even use it for hydration! The blend of the key ingredients makes this a powerhouse I use consistently in my routine and will continue to do so until my tube is empty. I’m about halfway through it after 2-3 months of consistent use. I see SO many mixed reviews of this mask and I understand why—its just marketed incorrectly. I understand how this can be marketed as a hydrating mask for oily skin due to the niacinamide content that will help oil control but marketing it as hydrating for dry skin is wack. I highly recommend getting a sample at Sephora to try it out in this way! You’ll notice it has a silky smooth texture but it doesn’t sit on top of the skin—it’s extremely lightweight. I have to rate it 4/5 stars for my overall experience. I’m in love with this mask but the marketing/messaging associated with it is misleading and the company should urge consumers to get creative with it.

I discovered Supergoop through the “skinstagram” community (does using this term make me a boomer?) and loved their mission and that they’re a brand dedicated to SPF—that immediately increased my trust in them. However be careful what you wish for... Products I’ll be reviewing: Shimmershade SPF 30 Glow Stick SPF 50 Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 MY FAVES: Supergoop! - Shimmershade Eyeshadow Shimmershade SPF 30 Eyeshadow: this is just an incredible daily cream eyeshadow formula. I hate the heavy feeling of facial SPF on my eyelids and this came in CLUTCH. It feels just like a lightweight cream eyeshadow and looks amazing. I have the shade “” and it looks incredibly seamless when blended in with my fingers for that “next level” eye look. The pot has a ton of product in it for the price point ($24) and I highly recommend you try it at least once. Get a sample from Sephora! Supergoop! - Glow Stick SPF 50 Glow Stick SPF 50: I was really hesitant about this one—I purchased it as a chemical SPF option that wouldn’t pill under makeup. Surprisingly, I love this formula. It doesn’t sit on top of your skin and feels super lightweight. It’s also really easy to reapply during the day! I like that it’s a solid stick formula so it won’t leak or spill in your bag. My only real complaint is the packaging. You push the product up from the bottom and it’s just kind of hard to control at time how much you push up. Like a push pop without being able to push it back down. It also lasts FOREVER so $25 doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. NOT SO MUCH - LEAST FAVE: Supergoop! - Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40: this is a translucent blurring SPF formula. The texture is SO silky. I loved how it applied to my skin...but any time I use this, my skin immediately breaks out in a rash. I’m not sure why this happens. I’ve heard so many great things about this product but my experiences haven’t been great, and at $34, I can’t justify the price at all, leaving it in the bottom tier of this brand Spotlight. What are your favorites from Supergoop?

MAC - Pro Longwear Paint Pot Eyeshadow Meet my everyday go-to eyeshadow. It’s beautiful creamy, smooth to apply and gives off the perfect amount of pigment. The shade Groundwork is my perfect taupe brown that’s suitable for all occasions! It’s a solid cream product that is emollient enough for my finger or brush to pick up a lot of color! I’ve had this for at least 2+ years and it hasn’t even started to dry out yet- most cream eyeshadows dry out within months! My trick is to store them upside down. The longevity is insane and it never creases on me even when I’ve worn it for 12+ hours! I have this in three shades and definitely want more in the future! Have you tried this before or would you?

COLOURPOP - Ultra Matte Lip If you haven’t tried these Ultra Blotted Lips before, you’ve got to! It’s such a unique product and formula- and they seriously stay on ALL DAY. You can see from the photo that only the color faded a little but it still left a faded stain on my lips. I didn’t eat anything particularly oily but of course I had lunch and coffee throughout the day so most of the product was off my lips in the end. The stain makes it look like it’s still on though! There are so many shades to choose from- the shade I tested was from a collab with Pony Makeup in Juicy Drop- from nudes, to brights, to reds! I have a few different shades in this formula that I love to use especially on days where I want a lip color and don’t feel like touching up. The only downside is that it’s slightly drying, so i highly recommend applying some lip balm beforehand (which I did for this longevity test)! Overall, I highly recommend this because it’s inexpensive, offers a wide variety of shades and such a unique formula. I haven’t tried anything else similar to it!