April 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hi guys!

I have my April Ipsy bag to show off today! This month's theme was Beauty Rocks!

In my bag, I received the following:

Cover FX Mattifying Primer with Anti-Acne Treatment

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Black Velvet

City Color White Gold Shadow and Highlight Mousse

Demeter Roll On Perfume in Jasmine

Mary Kay at Play Lip Gloss in Teddy Bare

To be honest, the only thing I'm really excited about is the mattifying primer. I was more excited about lip gloss, but I tried it on Sunday, and it's ridiculously sticky.

Not the best bag this month, but it's the luck of the draw.

Black Radiance Shine Control Primer Review

Hello there!

Today I bring you a review on the primer I've been using for the past month or so. It's the Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer. That's a mouthful!

For those of you who don't know, Black Radiance is a cosmetics line intended for women of color that can be found at select Walgreens. I first tried an eight-pan eyeshadow palette and a mascara which I immediately fell in love with. One of the nice things about this line being made for women of color is that the eyeshadows and such are ridiculously pigmented. 

If you read my blog on a consistent basis, you'll know that I recently ran out of my HG primer, and was looking for a drugstore product to replace it. I tried the Boots No. 7 Mattifying Primer but I absolutely hated it. Eventually I ran across Nouveau Cheap's review of the Black Radiance primer. She absolutely raved about it, and it wasn't too expensive, so I went on the hunt.

And, of course, none of the Walgreens in Maine carry Black Radiance. Thankfully, I found a very nice woman in one of my swap groups who bought the primer and sent it to me.

I really like this primer a lot. It does an awesome job at keeping me almost completely shine free (though not lately..but I think that's my moisturizer more than the primer), and I rarely have to use powder before 2 pm or so. That's 6 hours of wear with little to no shine! The other thing is that when I do have shine, it's usually only around my nose which is a big deal for me.

If you're looking for a cheap drugstore mattifying primer, I'd highly suggest this one. A little goes a long way (I use about a pea size amount every day) and it really does keep me matte for a long time. 

Confession time: It's better than my HG primer.

Does that change my opinion on my HG primer? No. Does that make me want to use it less? No. 

But it does keep me matte longer than my HG primer does. Even if it doesn't smell like pomegranates.

Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte Review

Sorry this is a little bit later than normal. I was planning on this post to be about some new eyeshadow, but it JUST arrived today, so that'll be for next time.

Instead, here's a little review of Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte primer.

Now, I probably haven't raved about it enough for you to know this, but I have found my holy grail primer. For months now I've been using the Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Treatment from Sephora, and it is truly amazing. It's not technically a primer, but the woman at the store said that people use it like one so often Korres actually discontinued their real primer. That apparently isn't true because I found it on their website, but regardless, it works fantastically as a primer.

So when I ran out of it the other day, I knew I had to replace it fast. Since I hopped on the primer train, I can't live without it. I've already decided that once I ran out of my Korres I'd try the Boots No 7 one since it seemed like it had pretty good reviews (and the Korres is really just too expensive for me to justify right now). I picked it up at Target on Thursday and was totally excited about using it the next day.

Truth is, though, I hate it. Hate may be a strong word for a primer I've tried less than 10 times, but you guys, it's awful. It's lotion-like in it's consistency, but it dries almost immediately when it hits your skin. You have almost no time to spread it at all. The first time, I probably used more than I should've. And I got these weird patches of product build-up that were really noticeable on my face. Especially on the tip of my nose.

The next time I tried to use it, I applied it twice before I gave up and looked for instructions. I found a YouTube video that said to use a damp makeup wedge to blend it, since it keeps the product from drying so fast. I tried that, I ended up with the same result. I tried working in smaller sections on my face. I had the same result. No matter what, I couldn't stop the weird patches of build up. Not to mention that even in non-build up sections, my makeup didn't look natural. It say heavily on top of the primer instead of blending in flawlessly (as a product called Nearly Naked should do).

I was so fed up I forwent the primer today (something I NEVER do - the oil is taking over!) and I'm really disappointed. After work it's off to Rite Aid to find something better. I found a review on the Black Radiance Shine Free primer which I might try. It's one of my favorite blogs, and I absolutely love the BR mascara I got with one of the 8-pan palettes. I know it's supposed to be for women with dark skin, but if it works, it works, right?

Have any of you tried the Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte primer? Did you like it or did you have the same problem I did? Any tips for application?