Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel

Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel

What Bioderma says:

• A new step forward in the treatment of sensitive intolerant skin, the patented Toléridine^® complex instantly and durably acts against inflammation. It raises the skin’s tolerance threshold. The skin is resistant and thus better protected against external attack, so it becomes less reactive.
• Instantly soothes feelings of discomfort and irritation.
• Gel’s decongesting agents help to reduce puffiness. The smoothing active ingredients minimise the fine lines. The moisturising agents improve cutaneous comfort.
• Formulated with rigorously selected active ingredients known to be harmless, preservative-free and fragrance-free, guarantees optimum tolerance, including for the eyes.
• Non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic, provides a make-up base and is suitable for contact lens wearers.
•  Apply once or twice a day to the eye contour area after cleansing. Massage gently until it is absorbed.

Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel

Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel

Most eyecreams, no metter how gently applied cause me swelling, on the outer part, just above cheekbone, where one would normally apply highlighter. In some cases there's also tingling or even burning, so I have trouble finding good eyecream.
I had no such problems with Bioderma.

It's light gel cream texure with barely noticeable scent. Leaves skin feeling smooth and matte. Doesn't iritate, and  works fine as a concealer base.

Since I don't have darks circles and puffiness it's hard to say if it's effective for those problems. It doesn't reduce wrinkles, but it doesn't emphasize them either like some eyecreams.

Since it's so light and fast absorbing, it probably wont be good for dry skin. It's not nourishing enough.

I use it in the morning, before makeup, and for night time I use Clinique All about eyes cream.




Do you use eyecreams and ehat are your favorites?

Sedona Lace 224, 618 and 217 brushes and ELF Studio angled contour and Flawless Concealer brushes review

In late November, during Black Friday I got some brushes (featured in New in post), and today I'll be reviewing some of them that I've been using daily.



Sedona Lace 618, 217, 224, ELF Studio Flawless Concealer, Angled contour brush

Sedona Lace 618, 217, 224, ELF Sstudio Flawless Concealer, Angled contour brush

Sedona Lace brushes are from 7-piece synthetic set, but they are sold individally for 12,95$. Set is sold for 59,95$, at 50% off.

Brushes have classic black handle, rather long (too long for me) and bristles are pink and black.
Bristles are dense and soft, firm and flexible, but the don't splay or bend to much. There is no sheding or bleading.

Sedona Lace brushes (Midnight Lace) are said to be dupes for Sigma brushes, from the Sigmax line. I have no sigma brushes from that line so I can't comment on that.




Small Tapered SL 224

Brush is round, conical shape, and tapered at the top. It's perfect for undereye application or hard to reach places. It blends concealer really, well wihout sticking.
It works great with all types of concealers (liquid, cream, stick).

It can be used for precision contouring and highlighting.

I use this brush the most, from the entire set.


SL 224

SL 224

Sigma E25, SL 224





























Small Angled Flat SL 618
Diagonally cut brush. Dense, but not as dense as the rest of the brushes from the set.
Unlike SL 224, it absorbs a lot of product (liquid) so it's best to apply concealer directly to the skin and blend it with clean brush.
Works great for undereye concealer, better than SL 224 (but I prefer 224 :)) and all areas of the face.

I also tried it for eyeshadow application on browbone and crease, but it's to dense for that. But it does pick up shadow really well and there is no fallout.


SL 618

SL 618

SL 618

Elf angled contour

Another diagonaly cut brush. Smaller and fluffier than SL 618, and not as dense. Also bristles are bit longer.

Intended for E/S application on browbone, crease contouring and blending and it is great for that. It doesn't absorb to much product and the is no fallout.

I also tried it for concealer work. It blends seamlessly, but it was little scratchy on the undereye area.


ELF Studio Angled Contour brush



SL 618, ELF Studio Angled Contour brush



SL 618, ELF Angled Contour, Sigma E25

Small Round Dome SL 217

Round dome brush, medium density, and larger then the rest of the brushes form the set. It's like a large version of blending brush. It's dense but fluffy.

It will blend concealer seamlessly, but it is bit too big for undereye area.

I usually use it for setting my undereye concealer or for highlighter.


SL 217



SL 217

ELF Flawless Concealer

Another round dome brush, for concealer application. It's tipical fluffy blending brush. Smaller than SL 217, bigger than average E/S blending brush.
Bristles are soft, and flexible. It medium density.

It does blend concealer seamlessly but as the ELF angled contour brush, it scratches a bit on the undereye area.

I normally use it for setting undereye concealer, applying nude mineral powder E/S all over the lid and for blending E/S.


ELF Flawless Concealer brush



SL 217, ELF Studio Flawless Concealer brush



SL 217, ELF Studio Flawless Concealer brush



SL 217, ELF Studio Flawless Concealer brush

SL 217, ELF Studio Flawless Concealer brush. Sigma E25

Have you tried any of these brushes, and what you think of them?


Avon Ideal Flawless 10 in 1 BB cream

As BB cream are getting more popular, lots of brands are realising their versions, from  drugstore to HE. One of them is Avon.


What Avon says:
Light formulation cream, infused with vitamine E and minerals. Evens out skin tone, hydrates and reduces redness. Covers imperfections and smooths out skin. Skin looks improved even after removal of the cream.

Unlike most brands, Avon BB cream is available in larger shade range. It has  SPF 15, and package contains 30 ml/1 fl. oz.


My impressions:
Cream is thicker, like liquid foundation. It's hydrating without been greasy. Goes on smooth and absorbs quickly, leaving soft and silky skin. Coverage is light to medium (thicker layer). It won't hide imperfections completely, but it will even out the skin tone, and reduce redness. Doesn't set in fine lines, but it can make pores more visible, due to shimmer.

Cream contains fine gold shimmer that gives skin radiant glow, so it's suitable for dry to normal skin.
If you have combination to oily skin, you can stil use it, it's stable on the skin, barelly transfers or fade troughout the day, and skin stayes oil free for hours, and shine can be removed with loose/pressed powder.
It can also be used as a natural highlighter.

I suggest, you use this cream only in daytime, since shimmer is really visible in artificial light (more visible in RL, pics don't pick it up as much).


Once removed with makeup remover, skin remains soft, silky and lightly glowing. If you look really close you can still see some shimmer on the skin, so I recomend thourough washing.


Cream has slightly unpleasant  scent, which fades quickly once applied to skin.


All in all, I like the cream, but I wish they didn't add shimmer, so it would work for all skin types.



If you decide to buy Avon BB cream, get testers firts, shades don't corelate with other Avon foundations.



Ingredients:
aqua, cyclopentasiloxane, phenyl trimethicone, titanium dioxside,glycerin, butylene glicol, PEG-10 dimethicone, dimethicone, sodium chloride, trifluoromethyl C1-4 alkyl dimethicone, nylon-12, octyldodecyl neopenthanoate, polysilicone -11, quartenium -90, bentonite, alluminum hidroxide, caprylyl glicol, stearic acid, octyldodecyl strearoyl stearate, phenoxyethanol, HDI/trimethylol hexyllactone crosspolymer, tetrasodium EDTA, propylene carbonate, methyl undecylenate, ethyl undecylenate, alumina, hexylene glycol, calcium PCA, zinc PCA, polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, hexyl laurate,cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone, polyglyceryl -4 isostearate, saccharomyces/copper ferment, saccharomyces/magnesium ferment, saccharomyces/malachite ferment, saccharomyces/tourmaline ferment, saccharomyces/zinc ferment, boron nitrate, cetearyl dimethicone crosspolymer, silica, cocos nucifera (coconut) fruit juice, tocopheryl acetate, caprylyl methicone, methicone, PEG/PPG-20/23 dimethicone, triethoxycaprylylsilane, (+/-CI 77891, mica, CI77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77163), <GL 1174>


Here are the swathces.


Top: Garnier Miracle skin perfector, matte effect, Light; bottom: Avon Ideal Flawless BB cream, Natural beige

L: Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige, R: Garnier MSP light

L: Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige, R: Garnier MSP light

 Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige

Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige

 

Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige; indor, artificial light



Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige; indor, artificial light

Avon IF BB cream, N. Beige; indor, artificial light

2012. Favorites

Some of the past year favorites :)

Laura Geller Baked Matte Highlighter, from Fresh Brewed Beauty set.

Got it few months ago because it's described as matte highlight. It looks matte, but it's not. It gives face the most natural soft glow, almost undetectable. It doesn't contain any shimmer, as you can see on pic below.

It's available in one shade French Vanilla, yellowy beige shade.

Soon as the sun comes out, I'll do some proper swathes :D.

 

 

Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm, only lip balm I use. One pot will last you whole year. Detailed review.

 

 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream, for combination to oily skin. I bought it 4 months ago, I use it daily and maybe half of it is gone. It has light to medium coverage. It will even out the skin tone, and cover redness but not imperfections. It gives demi matte finish. It doesn't dry out skin.

Since I got it, I stoped using foundations.

 

 

Bourjois Volume & Fast mascara, excellent mascara that gives lenght and volume to my medium lenght straight lashes with one coat. Lashes are evenly coated and seperated. There is no clumpling, even with few coats. My lashes are flexible and stay curled all day, unlike most other mascaras that keep them curled for few minutes and then they just go down.

It's easy to use, even in a hurry. It doesn't dry out to fast, it will last you few months. But once it starts to dry there will be slight fall out at the end of the day. I'm on my 3rd one.

 

 

Vichy Deo roll-on, mentioned in montly favorites. I still use it daily, and still love it :)

 

 

Manhattan Soft Compact Powders, read full review in montly favorites.

 

 

Deborah 24 ore eyebrow pencil, also mentioned in montly favorites post :)

 

 

 

Bioderma Sensibio Micelar solution. Been using this one a lot. I occasionally try some new one, but I always have few of theese in reserve. I already did full review.

 

 

Batiste dry shampoo, another long time favorite. Been using it for years now. I has very fine particles of powder, so once you brush it out, hair stays mattified and it's not white, which is important if you have dark hair :D

It also gives hair nice volume and lift. Only thing I don't like about it is the floral scent.

Package contains 6.73 fl.oz. and it lasts few months.

 

 

Last but not least, brushes. I love brushes so much I could go on and on about them :D

Here are my favorite brushes that I use all the time, and sadly neglect rest of the collection.

 



Elf Studio Powder brush, bought it 2 years ago. I use it only for loose/presed powders, but since it's synthetic it can be used for cream products as well.

It's medium dense, flat top brush, with very soft bristles. It doesn't shed or leek dye. Blends like a dream :)

With time the hadle got detached, but I simply glued it back with hot glue.

It can be bought in stores in US or online. It also available on  ELF UK for peple in UK and Europe.

 

 

Real Techniques Expert Face brush, best multitask brush ever.  I have alredy writen praises  so no point repeating them :D

 

Available in US at Ulta or online, for pepole outside US or Canada, it can be bought on iherb.com, or HQhair.com, Love Makeup. co.uk and other UK online stores.

 

 

Sigma E25 Blending brush. Only natural hair brush (I own few, but rarely use them) that I use all the time. I simply prefer synthetic brushes, since they don't scratch and they're multifunctional.

Brush is flat but fluffy and rounded on top. Bristles are soft, but not too soft.

It's not too big, so it's great for precision blending and defining crease. It blends like a dream.

Available at Sigma.

 

 

Real Techniques shading brush, small dense flat shadow packing brush. Excellent for precision apllication of eyeshadows, and for small eyes. It's also great for blending liners and applying ES on botom lashes. Works great for all tipes of shadows.

Like all other RT brushes, it picks lot of product and transfers it all, there is minimum or no fall out.

 

Available in US at Ulta or online, for pepole outside US or Canada, it can be bought on iherb.com, or HQhair.com, Love Makeup. co.uk and other UK online stores.

 

 

 

What were your favorites last year :)

Physician's Formula Airbrush kabuki, Ecotools smudge brush & RT powder brush review

Before I begin, just to mention that iherb.com has 10% off entire store as part of Black friday sale and offer will last till Tuesday, 27th.


Last month I bought some more brushes from iherb, so I gave them a good try and here is the review.


Physician's Formula, Inc., Mineral Wear, Airbrushing Kabuki Brush

 

As the name says, it's intended for mineral powders. But since bristles are synthetic, it can be used for liquid, cream or powders. It applies products fast and easy and gives airbrushed appearance.

Brush itself is small, light and compact (2,3 in tall, 2in in diameter), fits nicely in hand. Bristles are soft and very dense. If you press them, you can feel the resistance, they don't splay.
Brush is made out 2 pieces. Outer metalic blue shell, and inside the flat top kabuki. Outer shell actually keeps bristles from splaying, and gives them the short appearance. The shell and inside ferule are firmly glued together.

Brush is easy to clean and dries fast. It's best to dry it in upright position, on a flat apsorbing surface (paper towel, cloth).

Price: 10,51$ on iherb.com.

 

 

Outer shell, inside ferule

Ecotools smudge brush

I like ET brushes a lot. I have tried most of them and I was very pleased with them, both quality and pricewise.
I've been wanting this brush for a while. But  I'm not to happy with it.

As all ET brushes, bristles are synthetic, but not as soft as others. Brush has a pointed tip, unlike most pencil/smudge brushes, which is the biggest reason I bought it. Brush also has sharpener on the end, that can be closed, which is very handy.

Bristles are dense, but not very flexible. They can be little scratchy on sensetive eyes. It doesn't pick up shadow very well, so for less pigmented ES, you would need to repeat application several times.

Brush can be used for smudging, both pencil and eyeshadows, or it can be used for applying shadow in crease, outer V, or on lower lashes.

The sharpener is not glued very well to the brush, it can be removed easily, but it won't fall off by itself. It's tightly attached. I personaly like that. It's easier to clean the sharpener, and without the sharpener, brush fits in smaller bags.
Sharpener has a cap, and can be closed to keep shavings inside, untill thrown away.

Dimensions: total lenght of the brush 6,3in, bristle lenght 0,39in, sharpener 1,77in.

Price: 3,5$ on iherb.com.

sharpener with cap opened

sahrpener without cap



L to R: ES applied once; poorly pigmented ES, few applications; ES smudge; eyepencil smudged

Real Techniques powder brush

I actually got this brush by mistake, I ordered the wrong brush.
At first I wasn't too impressed, but more I use it  more I like it :)

Brush is rather big and bristles are dense but fluffy. It's padle shaped, even though it's so dense it looks almost round.

As all other RT brush, bristles are super soft plush taklon. It picks up a lot of product, and doesn't absorb any, all is transfed to skin. There is no fallout or it is minimum.

As all other individual brushes, it can stand on flat surfaces.

Price: 9.99$ on iherb.com

Ecotools powder brush, RT powder brush

RT powder brush, Ecotools powder brush

 Compared to ET powder brush, RT is fluffier but more denseat the same time. ET bristles are thin and silky, so they almost feel stuck together, densly packed.

RT powder brush, RT blush brush

Have you tried any of these brushes and waht you think of them :)

Beauty blenders

Everyone  is crazy about them, so I decided to give them a try.

I got fake versions to try them out before I splurge for original.

I got two different shapes from two sellers of ebay.

Pink one has original BB shape. I got it from this seller. Price was 2,99$, but I see now that they raised it to 9$.

Blue one has more practical shape. I got it from this seller for 1,54$ (I bid for it). Current price is 2,27$.

I soak them under running water, squeeze well, and repeat few times.  I tend to leave Pink BB to rest for few minutes, it becomes more soft, in comparison, when used right away.

As you can see, blue is little larger then pink one. It's also softer. Pink feels more dense and firmer, more elastic. Blue gets larger faster.

When they're wet difference is obvious. Blue is more fluffy, more spungy. And when you squeeze them, pink bouces back right away, and blue takes like a second to return to original shape.
Aslo, since pink BB is more dense, it doesn't absorb so much water and consequently it dries faster.

There is no difference in application of foundation, they both apply foundation fast, even and without streaks.

Pics:

Blue wet, pink dry

both dry

both wet