Pale Products and More

Aaaaaand we have another deodorant review. After realizing the one I was using every day (Arm&Hammer Essentials, review here) was giving me a weird rash, I was distraught and briefly went back to my trust Secret Clinical Strength, since although this contains aluminum; I know it works. Then I remembered that my boyfriend wears only deodorant (he is allergic to antiperspirants), so I decided to try his deodorant. And that bring us to this review okay now you're caught up!

So the Speed Stick deodorant in the scent Musk retails for about a little less than $2. Can't really argue with that price.

It smells VERY intensely "manly" as you would guess a scent named musk would, but I like it. Its very woodsy if you know what I mean. Its a gel but there's really no stickiness or wetness after application so you don't have to wait to get dressed or anything.

I've been using this pretty regularly for some weeks now; showering at night applying this product and then applying more when I wake up. As always, the wear time and freshness varies on my activities.

I find that when I wake up, after half of the time I smell a little bit and the other half I'm fine. I sweat A LOT in my sleep sometimes so I'm assuming the times I stink are when I had some serious sweating going on. On an "average" day where I go to class/run errands/leave the house for a bit I find this product keeps me smelling nice for roughly five hours. If I'm sitting at home this can be stretched to MAYBE 8 max; and if I'm at work there's a good chance any good smells will be gone in about 3 hours, sometimes less.

So roughly 3-8 hours based on activities and sweat/anxiety levels, I'd say. Not too bad but not perfect either. I definitely feel better bringing this product with me when going out, so I know if I start to smell I can always reapply. I do find that when I start stinking, its not a wafting smell if you know what I mean? You can really only smell it if you stick your face in my armpit, the smell doesn't surround the air around me.

Overall I give this a 5/10. I do use this for when I go to class or when I'm just hanging out with my boyfriend (because let's be real I don't care if I smell around him), but for work or particularly anxiety inducing outings I find myself still using my Secret Clinical Strength as that way I know I don't need to reapply and will still smell fresh by the end of the night. Alas the search continues!

Next up on my concealer reviews is the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer Creme. What a mouth full. I will be using the lightest shade aside from the white, which is L1. I was so excited when these came out as the Kat Von D foundation in 42 is an almost match for me. Being as how the current trend is to highlight with concealer, I was fairly sure there would be an extremely pale one, and there sure is.

It retails for $26 on Sephora and you get .22 fl oz, which is pretty standard. It claims to be a "rich, creamy concealer with 24 hour wear and instant full coverage". On the Kat Von D website they say it has been infused with "utra moisturizing hydra boost complex"- whatever that is lmao.

Shade wise Sephora calls it a "fair honeysuckle with neutral undertones" which I definitely agree with. It doesn't lean yellow as so many "neutral" products do on my skin (all Cover Fx products I'm looking at you). I agree with the claim of full coverage as well, although it can be sheered out to light-medium if you want (usually what I do).

I wore this over the theBalm tinted moisturizer (review coming) and set my face with my Loreal setting spray. It was worn for 8 hours. I never, ever powder my undereyes even though that's like a thing you're supposed to do. I find that it always cakes the concealer up, rubs it off in places (especially where my glasses touch), and just overall ages me. So I just completely skip powdering- keep that in mind.

concealer on right side only

both undereyes concealed

Immediately after application I like this product a lot. Its so fucking pale. Like if Kat Von D would make a foundation in this shade (and in like light/medium coverage), I'd be all over it. Its so creamy and blends out really easily. Also there's no immediate creasing, so that's a plus. As you can see it does have a brightening effect.

full face done

I checked in after 4 hours. My entire face was looking a but more oily than usual, as was my undereye area. Nothing terrible though, as you can see. Other than looking a little oily, it hasn't creased or settled.



I didn't manage to get any pictures at the 8 hour mark, but to be honest it looked pretty much the same, but a bit more oily. It still had not creased at all or settled into any lines.

Overall I'd give this a 10/10. There's nothing I don't like about this product and I plan to purchase the full size.

So I'm still on the hunt for an aluminum free deodorant that actually lasts and keeps me smelling decent enough to be around. This quest led me to today's product review: Lafe's deodrant stick in the scent Fresh, Aloe & Cedar.

The product retails for around $7, depending on where you get it. Its supposed to give you a "shower fresh feel" and provide you with "anti-bacterial action". On the package it claims to give 24 hour protection, which I'm always skeptical of.

The smell is very "manly", like smells like an Old Spice deodorant or something. But I've always liked those scents (there was a citrus one as well, but I liked this one better). It smells super strong when you first apply it, I wouldn't recommend it if you like to also wear perfume. That being said it fades significantly within the first hour.

Not only does the scent fade, but the power of the product does too. After applying it feels fresh and like its going to keep you smelling/feeling fresh. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. I wish I was exaggerating here, but I started smelling bad within 15/20 minutes of application. I applied when I got up and went on to do my makeup, and by the time I was done, I smelled like I'd been hardcore sweating all day.

I thought maybe I just sweated an unnatural amount while doing my makeup? So I applied some more and went about my day going to class. By the time I got to class (about a 25/30 min drive), I smelled not so great again. Unfortunately I had only brought this deodorant so I just kept reapplying as I was out, and continued to have it stop working within 15-30 minutes.

This product was a huge let down. I can't even imagine what would happen if I wore this on a hot summer day when I was outside a lot. Overall I'd give this a 0/10. What good is a deodorant that stops working before you even leave the house?