FrankieRose Cosmetics

Hi Everyone!

Welcome Back to Saving Face Beauty!

I was recently introduced to a new makeup brand (at least a brand that's new to me) when this video popped into my feed about a week ago. 

Frankie Rose Cosmetics carries products for Eyes, Cheeks, Lips and Face. 

The video really intrigued me, and I think I might be purchasing a few items form this brand in the coming months, but since the price range is in the mid-range to high-end I'll have to prioritize my order.

I'll link some standout  products down below in my luvocracy page if ya'll want to check those out. 

Or if you've tried Frankie Rose yourself and any recommendations (or warnings) I'd love to read your opinions on that as well. 

For a list of intriguing products please visit this link:

luvocracy.com/savingface/collections/frankie-rose-cosmetics

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Thanks for reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...

Let it Inspire you!

NYX Dark Circle Concealer Review

Hello All

 and Welcome Back to Saving Face Beauty!

This past weekend I went to Ulta because I had, not one, but two $5.00 off coupons that were burning a hole in the back pocket of my dark-washed skinny jeans.

I spent a lot of time at the NYX display, so expect several review of new NYX products coming up to be on the look out. 

The NYX Dark Circle Concealer comes in 4 colors: 

Fair, Light, Medium and Dark. 

When I first heard of this product I was immediately reminded of the Benefit Erase Paste concealer. 
This product from NYX, however, has more of a pleasing texture. 
It is thin, light and creamy. 
While the Benefit Erase Paste in comparison is still creamy but is also thicker and...Pastier!

Let me insert a blurb about this concealer form the NYX site:

"A serious solution for one of beauty’s most challenging problems! No fancy names, just a product that can be counted on to do the job. The product glides on without looking thick or obvious. Coconut oil provides intensive moisture and ensures no caking. The subtle hint of orange counteracts the appearance of dark circles, while natural skin-toned pigments work in unison to provide the ultimate coverage."  
- Someone that works for NYX 

This concealer is nice and moisturizing which, let's face it, is a Godsend at this time of the year. 
It's definitely one of those products that works best with a finger as opposed to using it with a brush as it gives way nicely to the heat of the fingers and therefore blends nicely into the under eye area. I was impressed because this product looks a whole lot more like skin than a lot of other concealers I've come across. That quality I would probably attribute to the coconut oil. 
If your dark circles are really prominent, perhaps try using this in junction with another concealer. You might try mixing it in with the NYX Full Coverage concealer to give it more of a corrective quality, or layering it under a brightening concealer.  

Even though its nicely pigmented it's not high coverage by any means. 
I had to really build this product up under the eye to achieve a satisfactory outcome. 
(That being said, I have really bad dark circles that make me look like a Panda). 
If you have really bad dark circles, like I do, I find that this product layers well. I noticed minimal creasing after about 4 layers of product whereas I would notice it after one layer of just about any other concealer. 

How I Use It
On those days when I'm going for a high coverage look to the skin, I like to use 2-3 layers of the Dark Circle concealer first and then foundation second, finishing the look off with a light brightening  concealer. That seems to work pretty ok. 
On days when I just want to look normal, I layer the Dark Circle concealer over a BB cream and run out the door with a tube of mascara in my hand. That seems to work out pretty ok too. 

The harsh truth is there is probably nothing in the world, now or in the future, that will ever fully disguise my dark Panda Bear circles. However this concealer from NYX does a pretty good job at making me look like I haven't just been in a bar fight. 
For that I would gladly pay $6.

However, I couldn't get this product to produce a favorable outcome with just one layer. And if layering and mixing and putting necessary effort into your makeup just isn't for you, maybe this is something you'd rather pass on. 



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For a list of all products mentioned click on the link below:

http://www.luvocracy.com/savingface/collections/nyx-dark-circle-concealer
Thanks so much for reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...
Let it Inspire You!

Wet 'N' Wild Fergie Viscous Varnish High Shine Lip Stain Review

Welcome Back!

Sure hope everyone's doing well.

As most of us know, the Wet 'N' Wild line offers some pretty outstanding products for more than reasonable prices. However, the reality with every single brand of cosmetics is that there are going to be some duds. Wet 'N' Wild is one of those brands where I feel the number of duds and 'so-so' products is greater than the number of outstanding products.

As for the Viscous Varnishes? We'll just have to see. 

I stumbled on to these lip products in a Walgreens shortly after New Year's. They were included in a Fergie display along with several new shades of a "water resistant" pencil eye liner, which I passed on. 

As far as I know, such displays still exist in Walgreens. 

I picked up the two nude colors in:

 A305 Legendary Face, a creamy pinky mauve, 

and

A304 Giving Realness a creamy light pink nude.

Let's just get something out of the way before we continue the review:

I don't know what's up with the name selections on these lip colors. I feel like that's something Miss Fergie Fergs had creative control over. 

When I picked these up I didn't realize what they were intended for, I just assumed that they were lip glosses. when I started to experiment with them I layered Legendary Face over one of Wet 'N' Wild's new Balm Stains in 'Rico Mauve' (review coming soon) and was immediately thrown off by the texture.

The texture of this Lip stain is very thin and liquid-y. But has surprisingly good color pay off. After being applied they dry quickly, but still retain a shiny finish on the lips 2-3 hours after application, depending on what you're doing and whether or not there is food involved. This product reminds me a lot of the Revlon Color Stay Liquid Lipsticks. They, like the Viscous Varnishes, are deceivingly  packaged just like lip glosses. However, its very thin and liquid-y upon initial application; and since this is meant to be a long wearing product, the Revlon Colorstay will dry within minutes of application and literally stain your lips...forever if you let it. That being said, the Colorstay dries matte, would benefit from being layered with a gloss or balm and will look disgusting over dry, cracked lips. I find that the Viscous Varnishes are uncomfortable to wear on their own because they are drying, but the point of the product is the long-wearing glossy finish it gives so I like to "prime" the lips with something really moisturizing.

Besides the fact that I find it uncomfortable to wear, the product performs very well. You do have to re-apply every 2 hours or so to keep it looking fresh, but if you wanted to keep a traditional lipstick and lipgloss combo looking fresh, you would have to touch up more often. 

Like I said, I only picked up the nude colors and I find they both stain just fine, and I expect that more colorful shades will show up even more intensely. 

I will continue to use the ones I have in combination with other products, but the drying factor is a deal breaker for me so I will not purchase anymore. 

I give this product a 

B+

for performing as marketed.  



Thanks for Reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...
Let it Inspire You! 

TRESemme Platimun Strengthening Heat Protect Spray, Therma Silk and Oscar Balandi Review and Comparison

Back Story:

Originally, I was really skeptical because I have naturally curly hair, and the first ingredient in this spray is water. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock your entire life: water and curl DO NOT mix…EVER! 

Or so I thought. 

To me, using a heat protectant with a high concentration of water just seemed really counter intuitive. A year and a half later I’m perusing target and decide to pick it up because the two protection sprays I’m rotating between right now are just not working out for me anymore.

The Comparison:

The two sprays I have are both oil-based as opposed to being water based like the TRESemme. Therma Silk, the one I’ve been using for years, is a very light-weight and liquidy oil as opposed to being a thicker, goopier texture. It protects just fine however, my hair doesn’t absorb the oil, which means my hair isn’t receiving any moisture during the heat application process. It just sits on the surface looking greasy and stringy. It essentially takes on the look and feel of ten-day hair as opposed to hair that has been freshly washed. What’s up with that?

A couple months ago I picked up another dry oil heat protectant from Oscar Balandi by recommendation of NikkiRothBeauty from YouTube. I had really high hopes for this product because it met my prerequisite of being oil-based, it claims to protect hair from temperatures up to 450 degrees, it came in a aerosol can that sprayed a fine mist of product as opposed to the water gun effect, and the product itself is light enough for white girls to use without looking like a grease ball. Long story short, I was excited to try it, but I was NOT excited to buy it. The retail price for a full size is $23. A Travel size is $11.

My thoughts: “Holy Sh*tballs! This sh*t better make my hair look like a Korean pop star’s!”

…

It didn’t.

 I honestly didn’t notice a difference between using this product and not using anything at all. It didn’t seem like it was doing any protecting, especially since it made my hair smell like I left something in the oven for too long. In the end I think my hair is just too thick for the Oscar Balandi to make a difference protection-wise. True, I could use more product, but I would be going through it like crazy! There are lots of other ways I can think of to spend $23.

However I do think it would work better on thin hair.

I needed something that would protect my hair, moisturize and leave my hair with a nice touchable (non-greasy, non-stringy, and non-burnt) finish. And the TRESemme Strengthening Heat Protect Spray does all of those things! Who knew I would have found my salvation in a water-based product? I’m part black and my hair, in its natural state, is just as kinky as the next chick’s, but this spray, partnered with a good straightener and a steady hand, gives me –dare I say- white girl hair? Right now I look like could be some kinda Mexican chick. I like to use this alone to re-straighten or touch up my roots or any frizzies as needed. When I’m straightening my hair after having washed it, I like to use this first, apply heat, and then follow up with pure argan, coconut or jojoba oil as a moisturizer.  The result is definitely worth the $5 price point. I can even use this product by itself, without any heat, as a light moisturizer during the day or at night.

I truly think I’ve found my hair’s soul mate.

Yumm…

Manicure Monday! OPI, Out the Door and Sally Hansen

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Manicure Monday!

Today I’m only using one shade of color, but that’s okay cause it’s a bright color. In addition I’m using my usual Out the Door topcoat and a new base coat.

On my nails I’m wearing OPI’s Dim Sum Plum. This is a magenta, or a mid-toned berry color with a warm purple base. This color has  the standard cream finish.

Right now I’m in that awkward seasonal transition phase where all of the excitement of the Holidays has already passed and i just feel like I have to retire my deep vampy colors, my oxbloods, and my glitters, but i’m already tired of wearing nudes. I’m ready for spring to be here and I find that this shade is exciting and bold enough to be visually interesting, but at the same time deep enough to wear in these awkward transitional winter months.

Now that I’m looking at it, it’s a nice color to wear for Valentine’s Day too.

I have on my usual Out the Door as a top coat and two coats of Sally Hansen Triple Strong Strengthener as a base coat, which is the new treatment product that i’m using as a base.

I used acetone to remove some acrylic and and glitter and was concerned that my nails would be soft and brittle. The directions for the Triple Strong treatment advise the use of two coats that are to be left on the nails for three days, after which the two-coat process is to be repeated.  So far so good. Next week I think I’m going to be starting, what I like to call, the two week nail detox with the OPI Nail Envy.

V-Day Nail Tip:

If you think he’s gonna propose, maybe go for something nude-ish. A couple of nude-y shades I’m loving right now are Charity and Addison from Zoya. When you take those instagram and FaceBook pictures to announce your engagement pictorially, you want the attention to be on the ring, not your nails.