Target Purchase – CHEAP New MAKE UP Products!

I went into Target on my lunch break and noticed that they had these new products in their makeup section called BA; honestly – I did not even notice the brand; I was more attracted to the fact that they were $3 each! What a STEAL! 

At first I thought I would just get some polish as they seem to have a rather small range but then noticed a few other bits and pieces like blusher and bronze tint ‘sticks’ and some eye shadows and heaps of eye pencils in what looked like 12 different colours! I was a little annoyed that they didn’t have any testers but for $3 I suppose I could more than risk the hit or miss of it all!

So here is what I bought: 

A) 2 eye colours (“smokey” – which is a black colour and “silver” which is actually more of a shimmery taupe/champagne colour)

B) 2 Tints (“bronze” which is a shimmery taupe bronze stick and “blush” a faint pink shimmer stick)

Here are the swatches:

Firstly, I have to say that the eyeshadow colours are really pigmented! I am amazed that the colour goes on quite well. The black is a matte colour and the champagne coloured one is obviously shimmery - but not powdery at all! I used the black one this morning to 'set' the colour on my waterline and I am rather happy with it and have used the champagne/taupe one for highlighting my brow bone. I am rather impressed with the $3 price – the shimmer particles are really fine and it looks lovely when I swatched it! I will say that I am not a fan of the packaging OR the brand title (I mean really, "BA" – wtf?) but I think the product itself is ok!

The tint sticks is what I was most interested in; I HOPED that it wouldn't leave my skin MORE shiny by the end of the day (as i have said before - i have very oily skin!). I have never used a cream blush before; I think its because my skin gets so oily throughout the day that I've always thought it wouldn't have much lasting power. I got the bronze one to use as a highlighter along my cheekbones – I am not too sure about the “Blush” coloured one as it is really sheer - in the pic below after I used the tint i went over it lightly with my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Tint (i have it in the red/peachy/coral one). On the swatch in the pic (right) I had the run the stick up and down in the same spot 3-4 times before I got that colour!

Overall - I like the eyeshadows; their pigment and the colour intensity and the lack of fall out. I am not a fan of the blush as it is too sheer - i do like the bronzer tint as i think it looked really nice one applied and pretty much all through the day!

PS. The brand also has a large range of eye pencils; including a white one that I was REALLY curious about! But I am wary of purchasing cheap eyeliner pencils without trying as they can be really hard and thus bad for the skin around the eye.

Stats

Brand: BA (I don’t know if it stands for anything – the bottom other product does not tell me)

Purchased from: Target Stores

Cost: AU$3

Here is a photo of the tint sticks on my cheeks:

FYI: These pics are after a WHOLE day of wear and i had blotted my makeup at lunchtime so by the time i took these pics i was beginning to look a little shiny! BUT all in all; I'd say that for colour that was applied at 7am this morning this is pretty good!

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Models Prefer Mattifying Primer - Review

I went to Priceline the other day and they are having a “3 for 2” promo with the Models Prefer (eye) range. Over the last couple months I have bought a few of their products and have been really impressed with them (I bought a few brushes that were seriously good quality and so affordable!) – They had a limited edition smokey eye set for $14.95 (which included 4 brushes and a case) and since I wanted to get a new angled eye liner brush anyway I thought I’d get more bang for my buck in paying the extra $4.95!

Anyway – when I first looked at the Models Prefer rang they didn’t have a primer; but this time around I noticed that they had 3:

1: A clear Mattifying Primer

2: An Illuminating Primer (slightly pinkish in colour)

3: A Correcting Primer (slightly greenish in colour)

Being that I have MAD oily skin I bought A: the Mattifying Primer. Its housed in a frosted glass bottle with this cute black pump; it’s a great travel size – which is the reason I bought it in the first place!

I am heading off to Bali in 2 weeks and last time I went I bought the Body Shop’s Skin Matte It Primer which I really liked and thought I would repurchase for this holiday + summer (as I wear MAC’s Prep & Prime Visage outside of summer as it does have illuminating particles) but saw this and thought I would give this a go… and at AU$13 it is a veritable STEAL! Definitely worth a shot!

I was going to wait until I went away on holiday before trying it but had visions of an oil slick on my face due to not trialling and KNEW that I would kick myself for not trying it first! So this is my first day of trying it out…

Applying was easy – I usually apply primer with my fingers and this was no different; it felt really smooth going on and like most clear primers is silicone based and so does have that ‘gel-like’ consistency to it (which I don’t mind). I would say that when applying it I used the same small amount as I did with the Body Shop’s ‘Matte It’. The consistency and thickness is also as per The Body shop’s ‘Matte It’ or the Model Co Primer ‘Face Base’.

With either the MAC Prep & Prime or the Matte It I find that I do need to blot midway through the day (I don’t when on holiday as I seriously cannot be bothered!) but that is pretty much it – which is great because my skin is SUPER Oily! I did find that I was oily first around the nose and forehead (the usual culprits) and did have to blot that area at about 2ish; which isn’t bad when you’ve had it on since 7am! Overall I think the true test will be to see how it fares in a tropical climate (hence Bali!) so I will do an updated review then! In saying that I DO think that it is AS good as The Body Shop’s Matte It Primer!

Oh and whilst this may not seem important – I read the bottom of the bottle to see where it was made; Made in Italy people!!! WOW!

Stats

Brand: Models Prefer

Product: Mattifying Primer

Cost: $12.99

Available at: Priceline (nationwide)

 PS. Sorry about my nails in the pic - i know they look terrible but i haven't had them redone (i am doing that this Thursday - YAY!)

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