Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette Review

August 9, 2015 by Kim S. / Beauty, blog, Makeup Looks, Product Swatches, Reviews / 19 Comments

Just when I thought I’ve reached my max limit on the number of [neutral] palettes to own, in walks in the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette.

“The true inspiration behind the Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette comes from all these years of trying to understand the usage of shadows and light within the portraits I draw.”

—Kat Von D

The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette is not your regular eye shadow palette – it features three color quads in neutral, cool, and warm shades that help you contour your eyes to help lift them to look more youthful, define them to create depth, as well as help bring balance and dimension to the eyes whether you need to bring them together or apart.

My Thoughts:

I love the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette. If you know me, you know that I love my matte eye shadows. The ones in this palette are amazing! Unlike some matte eye shadows I have used, these are not powdery, and do not look ashy on the skin. The eye shadows apply effortlessly – like butter, and it doesn’t take much work for me to blend in order to achieve the look I wanted. And the pigment on these babies! ‘Shax’, which is the black shade, is probably one of the deepest black eye shadows I’ve used, and you only need a little.

The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette wore well throughout the day on me. On hot 85+ degree-days in New York City, there was no creasing or fading, at all. In fact, after 12 hours, my eye shadow looked the same from when I first applied it.

Below is a look I created using the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette and the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Ultra Black.

First, I applied a primer, and then I used three shades from the palette as follows:

Lid – Incius (blended up to the crease)
Outer V – Shax
Blending – Solas

Finally, I created my signature-winged liner using the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Ultra Black.

I’d definitely recommend picking up the The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette. Above is just one look I’ve created using the palette, but the palette has so much more to offer; the possibilities are endless.

The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette is the perfect palette to add to your makeup stash, especially if you’re a working makeup artist, but even if you’re not, it’s still an excellent palette to own. Its versatility allows you to meet the needs of anyone of any skintone, which means a lighter makeup kit since you don’t have tote along multiple neutral eye shadows because you have it all in this one palette.

The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette is available for $46 at Sephora or Sephora.com.

Do you own the Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette? If so, what are your thoughts on it.

LUNA by FOREO for Sensitive/Normal Skin Review

July 28, 2015 by Kim S. / blog, Reviews, Skincare / 19 Comments

PR SAMPLE

I’m back with another FOREO product review courtesy of iFABBO, but this time I am reviewing their innovative facial cleansing device, the LUNA by FOREO for Sensitive/Normal Skin.

The LUNA by FOREO is not your everyday cleansing device. It’s a gentle, yet effective cleansing tool that works double duty with its cleansing and anti-aging properties. It features T-Sonic™ Technology, which send up to 8,000 pulsations per minute to aid in the gentle removal of dead skin cells, unclog pore of 99.5% of dirt and oil, and 98.5% of makeup residue. FOREO also makes claims that the lower frequency anti-aging surface help smooth out fine lines. But, how does it really measure up?

Just like the ISSA by FOREO that I previously reviewed, the LUNA by FOREO is made up of non-abrasive silicone material that feels both smooth and soft on the skin. The silicone also provides the LUNA by FOREO with antibacterial properties, which FOREO claims makes the LUNA™ “35x more hygienic than standard sonic cleansing brushes.”

FOREO claims that after “…2 minutes using your LUNA™ morning and night the [LUNA] leaves the skin looking naturally beautiful with a healthy-looking glow, while lessening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.“

Using the LUNA by FOREO is easy. It’s just like using any other sonic cleansing device. When cleansing my face, I normally wet both my face and the device, and then apply my favorite cleanser to the LUNA™ and turn it on. The LUNA™ pulsates, although ever so lightly, when it’s time to move on to another area of the face, which is a good way to avoid over cleansing the different areas of your face. At 30, I’m blessed to not have wrinkles; therefore, I rarely used the LUNA™ in Anti-Aging mode.

FOREO claimed that after three days of using the LUNA™, you’d notice healthier more youthful skin. In fact, they were right. Using the LUNA by FOREO both day and night combined with the other usual suspects of my skincare routine my skin has been 100 x’s clearer than it has ever been. It’s also a lot smoother.

After my experience with the ISSA by FOREO, I’m surprised at how much I am in-love with the LUNA by FOREO! I like that the LUNA by FOREO is gentle, yet effective at getting my skin clean. Unlike other sonic cleansers I’ve used that require the use of brush heads, which can be harsh and abrasive on the skin, the LUNA was the exact opposite. Although I thought the LUNA would be hard to hold and maneuver around my face, it wasn’t. And, it wasn’t hard getting it to clean the smaller areas of my face like the sides of my nose.

I also like that the LUNA is waterproof, and can be used up to 450 times before having to recharge it, and best of all, there are no expensive brush heads to replace.

Remember I mentioned that the LUNA is hygienic due to the silicone body? Usually, after a month or so of using other sonic cleansers with replaceable brush heads, my face would break out, which was probably from bacterial build-up on the brushes. Who knew? With the LUNA I didn’t have that issue.

Since I’m going to be doing a lot of traveling in the upcoming months, I’m happy to report how lightweight is the LUNA by FOREO. It also comes with a cute little pouch to tote it around, which means I can keep it in my purse for cleansing my face during my upcoming 13-hour flight. And since the LUNA™ holds its charge for up to 450 uses, I don’t have to clutter up my luggage with another charger.

Overall, I’m happy with the LUNA by FOREO for Sensitive/Normal skin. If you’re looking for an effective cleansing device that is gentle, perfect for travel, and saves you money in the long run due to you not having to purchase replacement brush heads, I suggest picking up the LUNA by FOREO. Plus, it helps that the LUNA, regardless of whichever version you pick up for yourself – Combination Skin (blue), Ultra-Sensitive Skin (white), or the male version (black) – it’s sure going to look great sitting atop your vanity.

You can purchase here the LUNA for $199 in the version that caters to your specific skincare need.

Have you tried the LUNA by FOREO? If so, are you as in-love with is as me?

Shop Now at FOREO.com and get Free Shipping on all orders. Code: SHIP00

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ISSA by FOREO in Mint Review

July 8, 2015 by Kim S. / Miscellaneous, Reviews / 37 Comments

PR SAMPLE | AFFILIATE LINKS

On the days I’m not wearing makeup, next to my skin, there’s always one part of me that’s always receiving compliments – my teeth. I maintain the health of my teeth and gums by brushing regularly, flossing, and rinsing with peroxide, which helps keep my teeth looking their whitest. Besides, in my book nothing beats a beautiful smile with nice white teeth, which is why I decided to test out the ISSA by FOREO in the Mint shade when offered through my iFabbo membership.

The ISSA by FOREO is described as

The world’s first electric toothbrush made completely from silicone, the ISSA™ is a groundbreaking at-home dental solution for cleaning and whitening. Just 2 minutes’ use every morning and night will leave your teeth looking whiter and brighter while a gentle gum-massage function will lead to healthier-looking gums – so you can show off your smile with confidence.

ISSA by FOREO Features
High-intensity pulsations
Silicone Bristles
3D Flexible Brush head

My Thoughts on the ISSA by FOREO

I’m not new to the electric brush game; however, using an all silicone brush that not only prevents bacteria build up, is gentle on the gums, and easy to clean excited me.

The ISSA by FOREO has a beautiful sleek design that makes it easy to hold. The flexible brush head of the ISSA by FOREO made it easier to maneuver around my mouth. I liked the timer feature of the ISSA by FOREO that let me know it was time to move over to another area of my mouth or that the brushing session was now complete. I like that the bottom of the ISSA was flat, which allowed it to stand on it’s own, which looked nice sitting on my bathroom sink. Plus, the color options were pretty cool, too. However, the joy of having and using an ISSA by FOREO ended there.

Compared to my drugstore brand electric brush, the high-end ISSA did not do a good job in cleaning my teeth. It didn’t matter how I used it, the length of time, or even the type of toothpaste – the brush just did not do a good job at removing plaque – the soft buildup. I did, however, like the gentle massage my gums received from using the ISSA.

My teeth are tightly placed together, and because of that the larger silicone bristles the ISSA by FOREO has, it made it impossible to get in between my teeth where other brushes have succeeded in cleaning.

Yes, it’s nice that the ISSA only needs to be charged every six months, and the brush head only needs to be replaced annually, but what’s the purpose of a toothbrush if it isn’t effectively cleaning?

Overall, after using the ISSA by FOREO toothbrush, I found that this brush was so gentle on my teeth and gums that it was ineffective at removing plaque from my teeth. Unfortunately, the ISSA will remain sitting on my bathroom vanity making it look nice.

The ISSA by FOREO is available for $199 in three additional shades: Lavender, Cobalt Blue, and Black on the FOREO website.

Have you tried the ISSA by FOREO? If so, what do you think about it?

SKIN INC My Daily Dose Serum Review

July 6, 2015 by Kim S. / Reviews, Skincare / 15 Comments

Serums, once you’ve hit a certain age, they become an integral part of your skincare routine. Lately, I’ve been using a custom blended serum from SKIN INC Supplement Bar called My Daily Dose. This brand may sound familiar because I’ve reviewed some of their products previously. It’s making it back on this blog once again because honestly, they have some pretty good products.

The SKIN INC My Daily Dose custom blended serum is a combination of three serums suitable for your skincare concerns, type and needs, that are blended into a single bottle. The customization process is simple: answer a few questions about your skin, and then SKIN INC will use your answers to assess the needs of your skin, and finally the three serums that will make up you’re my Daily Dose serum is presented.

In my case, I needed a serum that would address the following skincare concerns:

Even tone, and reduce dark circles
Calm my skin whenever I have breakouts
Anti-oxidant protection

After completing my skin assessment on Skin Inc’s website, SKIN INC concluded that my ‘My Daily Dose’ serum should include Vitamin A Serum, French Pine Bark Serum, and Licorice Serum. Since purple is my favorite color, I chose a deep purple bottle to house my custom blended serum. Into the purple vial, the three serums went. It was easy getting the bulk of the serums in, but, I found I had to leave the bottles upside down to successfully empty the bottle.

I’ve been using the SKIN INC ‘My Daily Dose’ serum for at least two months now, and my skin hasn’t been better. Post cleansing, and toning, the SKIN INC My Daily Dose serum is applied (two drops cover my face), and for nighttime applications, I apply the Skin Inc. Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask. Since incorporating these into my routine, my skin is much more clearer and smoother. I’ve also seen a reduction in brown spots as well as breakouts. After using the Skin Inc. ‘My Daily Dose’ custom blended serum, I realized that it was a much-needed addition to my skincare routine.

After having a good experience with the SKIN INC ‘My Daily Dose’ custom blended serum, I highly recommend trying it out, especially if you’re into personalized skincare items. Take the skincare assessment on the Skin Inc. website to figure out your Skin ID. With 9 serums to choose from, My Daily Dose consists of 84 possible combinations of three serums, so you’re sure to find a serum suitable for your skincare needs.

Have you tried the SKIN INC My Daily Dose Serums? What are your thoughts on it?