Beautycrunch.com: Stila & Too Faced

I've been wanting to order from this site for a while. It offers products for a discounted price, so I picked up a few Stila items.

Stila Backstage Beauty Eyeshadow Palette-Runway

I hesitated in buying this product because I thought it might be too warm after looking at various swatches online. Turns out it's perfect! The lightest color is matte and goes on a nude highlighter. There's not much pigment here, but it's not exactly chalky either. The middle color has a little bit of shimmer, but it's not so chunky you have glitter falling down your face. The last color is dark enough to add dimension to your look, but isn't too contrasting. Overall these shadows are pigmented enough, but if you're used to shadows like Urban Decay or something with more pigment this may seem a bit weak at first. The plus side is that it's harder to mess up.

This set also comes with a black onyx kajal liner. It goes on pitch black and super smooth. The only problem with going on super smooth is that it smudges off super easily. I accidentally rubbed my eye a bit and came away with a black hand.

I'm not fond of the "Flower accessory" that comes with it. It's cheaply made and what would I even use this accessory for? It would have been much smarter of an idea to have it as an elastic. It would be able to more easily secure the Stila palette and you can put it on your wrist or tie your hair with it. 

Above: The left eye in the picture is Wisteria, and the right eye has the colors from the Stila Runway Palette. I used the Black Onyx Kajal liner on both eyes.

Stila Eyeshadow- Wisteria

This was not the brighter purple I was hoping for. Instead the lesser pigmentation and the subdued purple hue make this a very wearable everyday color. 

Above: Left to Right- 3 Stila Runway palette swatches, Coco, Barefoot Contessa, Wisteria

I forgot to take individual pictures of Coco and Barefoot Contessa, but the swatches are above.

Coco is the warmer brown that I didn't want. It is however, completely matte.

Barefoot Contessa is a wonderful medium brown with a hint of shimmer

Stila Tinted Moisturizer- Bare

I had no idea which color to choose, but it seemed like this worked for some others with my coloring. Turns out it's wayyy too light. The texture however is medium and it seems like it would have decent coverage, at least for evening out skin tone.

Stila One Step- Tone

Again, I got this color based on other's reviews, and again I am disappointed. The color is wayyy too orange for me. I tried mixing it with some of the Bare tinted moisturizer, but it just came out looking like a complete mess. 

Too Faced Sparkles Glamour Gloss

 I think this is to give your lips a little something extra with the colored iridescence. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't comment too much. I've seen others layer these over other lip colors for an interesting twist. For example, layering this violet over a red lipstick for a mystical sheen.

 That's it for now!

PS. Glossybox seems to have started letting users update their Beauty Profiles. Sad to say, mine still doesn't work.

The Scoop on BB Creams in the USA

I finally remembered to try out the BB creams in Sephora! Now, I didn't sample them on my face for a whole day like I usually do, so I can't comment on anything but the texture and coverage. I tried out several on my hand so now I can finally give a glancing opinion on a few of them. They're all overpriced and more than I can afford- or am willing to pay for. One thing about the American brands though, is that they know the people have very diverse skin tones and they try to cater to that. Too Faced and Smashbox have a whole array of colors to choose from.

You can click on their names to go to description page. Please excuse the weird formatting... it refuses to be corrected.

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25 PA++ $32
 Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++ $39

As suspected, the Dr. Jart+ has very little coverage. Very light texture- it blended right away to nothing. This is what I think of when you say "tinted moisturizer".

"Made with 50 percent water, Dr. Jart's Advanced Water Bead Technology helps hydrate and maintain healthy moisture for a dewy, fresh look. Like a drink for your skin, once applied, tiny droplets of water appear before being quickly absorbed, generating an instant soothing and cooling effect. "

We can add water to our BB creams ourselves, thank you.
" Antioxidant bio-peptides and adenosine protect skin from harsh environmental factors while restoring firmness and elasticity."



Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm SPF 20 $32

This one does claim to have skin care properties as well. I think it was the color and the foundation like finish on this that turned me away (The bottle I had attempted to try was nearly squeezed dry though so who knows). If I remember right this one was the one that I thought was funny because it seemed like it was being marketed as a tinted sunscreen instead. But it claims to work using "antiaging, multi-mineral complex that promotes cell health, strengthens skin's elasticity, and enhances luminosity"

Boscia B.B. Cream SPF 27 PA++ $38

This one didn't have very strong coverage- a bit weaker actually, but the deciding factor for me was that it was WAY too dark and they only have one color. Says it's designed to hydrate, firm, and nourish the skin and contains antioxidants as well.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 $39

I'm actually very impressed. With all their advertising I thought it was all smoke and mirrors, but it does seem like a decently pigmented cream that applies and covers well. However, there is little mention about skincare properties. This seems more like a "Foundation +" product. My shade is Fair. See my review of Light HERE.

 Clinique Age Defense BB Cream SPF 30 $37

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS ONE! Almost forgot about it, but hunted it down at the last minute to try. When I applied to my skin, it was like you took a photoshop blur tool to my skin. All the small wrinkles and color was evened out. I could hardly believe my eyes and had to look closer (still couldn't see anything wrong!). This one has been out but I never really had the urge to try. The price is steep so I really wish for a sample size of it instead... Once I get it on my face then we can really see what this product can do (Would Clinique like to gift me a sample to review by any chance? haha....)! Not to mention it includes anti-oxidants to help out your skin. From what I'm reading, Clinique has already established it's BB cream in Asia, so if they brought the same product over then we know why they're so successful! Clinique as a brand I think of as being marketed for those out of their teen years (those of us with a bit more life experience ;P) who want to care for their skin more. And even the BB's name is "Age Defense BB Cream" so that should tell you something. My color is Shade 1.

Actually, what I may do... I know it's really bad, but you remember what I said about Sephora's awesome return policy? If you try the product and you don't like it you can still return it. So I am VERY tempted to do just that (it's really bad, you shouldn't just buy the full sized to try randomly if you haven't at least tested it in stores!). If I really like it $37 worth, then I keep it and Clinique has another fan. If I don't like it... my wallet won't die in vain. Clinique it may be cheaper for you to just give me a deluxe sized sample >.<.

Too Faced Retractable Kabuki

Yay! Finally, my Too Faced kabuki has arrived. I got it off of ebay for $23 with shipping which is a lot cheaper than it's usual $30. The seller claimed that she was going to ship it via priority shipping and charged $5, but instead she shipped it First Class. That really got my panties in a bunch. Overcharging for shipping is one thing, but claiming priority shipping when you send it first class is another. I was expecting that package for so long and it didn't arrive til 8 days after she shipped (with weekends).

I think...this brush may not have been new as claimed, but I'm not sure. When I cleaned it all this stuff came out and it doesn't look like coloring that would've come off this white and black brush. See people, that's why we always clean our brushes before we use them. I also used 90% alcohol. Would've used 70%- better for killing stuff- but I didn't have any.

Someone had give this brush 3 stars claiming that it's hard to dry. I will admit that it is. but how often do you clean your brush? As long as it's not everyday it'll be fine. I used a hairdryer to help speed up the drying because I wanted to test it so I could post about it.

The brush is SOOOOO soft. It's almost a "sticky" hair quality, so you can bet it'll pick up product. I've used pics to compare it to my Ecotools kabuki which I also really like. The too faced bristles are a bit stiffer- but softer!, and the poof of the brush is smaller. It's good for giving a heavier coverage. I would use the Ecotools as overall power to set since it has a bit of a poofy quality, and the Too Faced for powder foundation and the like.

As you can see, I've applied the Coastal Scents "sunkissed" blush on with it. This blush really does give a sunkissed effect. When I first saw it I thought it would be better as a bronzer, but once I applied it, the red tones came out.

The diameters of the Too Faced and Eco Tools are about the same. but the casing for the Too Faced feels of better quality , it's much sturdier, and look at the beautiful packaging. they both work in the same way with the piece that pulls over the brush.

My bare cheek.

Blush w/ Too faced.

Done with Ecotools.

If you can see, the too faced brush has hairs sticking
out and it looks uneven- not rounded, like the quality of the cut was bad =/

otherwise I really like this brush.