Benefit B.Right Skincare sampler

Being a Sephora VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) you get various special offers via email. Last week I received a VIB email for a free Benefit B.Right skincare sampler with a $35 purchase and since I had heard a lot of buzz around this new line, I though this was a great time to try it out. The sampler came with three of the main products in the line: Foamingly Clean Facial Wash, Triple Performing Facial Emulsion and It’s Potent! Eye Cream. All three products are mini sized but in the same cute packaging as the full size. Here is a little bit of info on each product.

The Foamingly Clean Facial Wash is a gentle foaming wash that claims to remove makeup and impurities with a soft lather. It’s good for all skin types and shouldn’t leave your skin dried out. After trying it out, I found that it does clean and remove makeup well and has a lovely scent.  My skin wasn't dry or still oily, just perfect feeling.  I also haven't broken out with this cleanser yet either.

Triple Performing Facial Emulsion is the main moisturizer in the collection. There is another moisturizer, Total Moisture, but I believe it is thicker and more suitable for normal to dry skin types. Triple Performing is suitable for all skin types but is oil-free with an SPF 15++. Its super lightweight and contains a “tri-radiance complex” to help develop the skins reserves of water. Overall I really like this moisturizer. Its super lightweight and absorbs into my skin quickly without being greasy at all.

It’s Potent! Eye Cream is a powerful eye cream that is suppose to brighten, fade dark circles and contains a “peptide complex” to restore elasticity and firmness to the skin around the eyes. When I heard the name It’s Potent, I thought this would be a thick, heavy eye cream but I was surprised that it was actually the opposite. It’s lightweight and non-greasy and absorbs quickly. I have only been using this for a few days so I haven’t really seen any change in my circles or fine lines, but I will get back to you all if I see a major change in the coming weeks.

Overall, this is a nice general line of skincare. Benefit doesn’t get to specific with these products; they all seem to be for all skin types. Maybe in the future they will branch out to products for specific skin types (oily, dry, acne, etc.). Even if you are not a VIB at Sephora you can still purchase this sampler for a limited time on Benefits website for $12. So check it out!

Laura Geller Focus on Favorites 5 piece Starter Set

I first read about Laura Geller’s cosmetic line on Musing of a Muse’s website. I read various reviews about her products and some of them really jump out to me as something I would want to try. SO I popped over to QVC’s website and check out various products and watched a few videos describing the products. I decided to start out with the Focus on Favorites kit, which features five mini size of Laura’s stand out products, perfect for first timers to try out. The kit comes with:

• Spackle tinted primer in Bronze
• Real Deal concealer
• Balance-N-Brighten
• Baked Eyeshadow & Liner duo in Unearthed/Dutch Chocolate
• Shine-N-Shield SPF 15 lipgloss in Fresco Gelato
• Small black faux leather zipper bag

This kit comes in three different shades: Fair, Regular, or Tan in the Balance–N–Brighten (Light, Medium, Medium Deep for the concealer). Of course being the pale one I am right now, I decided to try out the Fair/Light kit. Here is what I thought of each product:

I have been looking for a makeup primer for sometime but haven’t really found one that I liked very much. I found most greasy or drying, so I was please to try out Laura’s primer. When you see it in the tube you almost think it will be to dark in color for fair skin but it’s not at all. This primer subtly brightens the face and feels nice when applied. It’s almost a gel-like consistency which is nice and feels like it hydrates without being overly greasy. This primer is oil free and paraben free.

Primer in Bronze

Real Deal concealer was one of the products I really wanted to try. I love the Vichy Dermablend concealer I just purchased but I wanted to see if I would like this formula better. This concealer claims to cover scars, under eye circles, birthmarks, etc. It’s a silicone based oil-free concealer with super pigmentation; a little goes a long way. Overall I found that I really like the formula and think it is not as drying as and smoother than the Vichy.

Real Deal concealer in Light

Balance-N-Brighten is the other product that I was interested in. The idea of swirling color corrective pigments together to create a unique foundation powder sounded cool. This powder is a correcting and brightening with swirls of soft tans to beiges to help offset ruddiness brighten and balance your complexion. I have to say that this powder is quite impressive. I like the feel, the coverage and the staying power of this product. Mainly I have been using this as a setting powder over my foundation but on the weekends I have been using it with just concealer. Both ways my skin looks evened out and happy! I will definitely be buying this in the full size.

Balance-N-Brighten in Fair

I am no stranger to baked eyeshadows. I have several from MAC and a few from other brands as well. Laura Geller claims to be the first to create baked products, not sure if that claim is true but the majority of her line is now baked products. The Unearthly/Dutch Chocolate duo is an eyeshadow & eyeliner duo. Unearthly is the shadow (can be applied wet or dry) that is a beautiful bronzy gold color. Dutch Chocolate is the liner that is a deep chocolate brown color that can also be used wet or dry. It’s a nice color combo and could see myself using this duo a lot in the summer.

Baked Duo in Unearthly & Dutch Chocolate

L to R: Duo Dry & Duo Wet

The last product is the Shine-N-Shield lipgloss with SPF 15 in the color Fresco Gelato, a warn berry. This gloss is nicely pigmented and applies smoothly to the lips. It hydrates well and contains Vitamin E and cocoa butter. It feels great on my lips and stays on for a decent amount of time. The color is pretty universal and would look great on any skin tone.

Fresh Gelato Swatch

Overall, I am very pleased with the 5 piece Laura Geller starter kit I purchased. In fact I was so impressed that I ordered one for my mother and ordered another kit for myself (Baked Beginnings) that I will be reviewing soon. Definitely go check out Laura Geller on QVC or at Macy’s or LauraGeller.com.

NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Madere

NARS Madere Pure Matte Lipstick ($25.00) is the only product I picked up from the NARS Spring 2011 collection.  It is a pale pink-fleshy beige with a true matte finish. The coverage is quite opaque and really nudes out your lips.  This very light matte nude when swatched nearly matches my skin color right now.  What I found that I like to do is use this color as a base to wash out the color of my lips when using other nude/light colors.  It provides a great base for that. Overall a great nude to add to your collection. It can be used in so many ways with other lip products.

NARS Madere Swatched in NC20 skin

Vichy Dermablend Skin Concealer

Vichy’s Dermablend Skin Concealer ($18) is a highly pigmented, lightweight concealer that covers all types of problem areas. I learned about this concealer after watching several YouTube reviews and tutorials using this product. This product can be purchased directly from Vichy’s website or CVS stores/website. I ordered mine from CVS and decided on the color 10 Light. There is a very limited color selection; I believe there are only 3 or 4 colors available. Vichy also makes a Corrective Foundation which I would like to try in the future. This concealer has all the makings of a great concealer in my opinion. Its oil-free, dermatologist tested fragrance free, smudge proof, water resistant and long lasting. They claim that it will last for 16 hours and I must say that this concealer lasts longer than any concealer I have ever worn. I love that!

I apply this concealer with two different brushes, a MAC 217 to cover blemishes and imperfections and a MAC 224 to cover under eye circles. It really covers imperfections quite effortlessly and sets quickly. I apply a loose powder over to set and it lasts and lasts. One warning about this product, a little goes A LONG way. I can see this 0.5 oz tube lasting forever. Right now since I am still super pale from the winter, 10 Light is the perfect color but I may purchase 30 Medium to use in the summer months when I am much tanner.

Bobbi Brown Pink Peony Rich Color Gloss

Only one item from the recently released Bobbi Brown collection, Peony & Python, really caught my eye.  Pale Peony Rich Color Gloss ($22) is a semi sheer bright pink with a cream finish.  There is a slight mint scent that is the norm for the Rich Color Gloss formula, which I really enjoy.  It almost makes your lips tingle a bit.   Also the texture is not as sticky and much smoother than her other gloss formulas.  This color is a great complement to Bikini Pink Rich Lip Color that I had purchased earlier.  The combo makes for a great bright spring lip, which is very on trend right now.