Pale Products and More

The ABH Stick Foundation came out awhile ago, but my local Ulta before I moved never carried the lightest shade, therefore I could never swatch it to see if it was even doable. I recently went to Sephora and was able to swatch it and get a sample so I figured I should review it as well.

It retails for $25 for .32 oz.; to compare the Tarte Clay Stick foundation is $39 for .32 and the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation stick is $42 for .31 oz. It is said to be a highlight pigmented buildable foundation with a natural matte finish. The color Alabaster is for "very fair skin with cool undertones". It looks like it might be a bit dark, but blends out okay.

I primed my skin with my Smashbox Primer Water, applied the product with my Real Techniques sponge, and set my skin with my Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder and elf setting spray. I used a powder because, as is my experience with other stick foundations, it didn't seem to set on its own. I wore it for 8 hours.

left side applied

applied to full face

I took some close up shots right as I applied it, because it already wasn't looking great. Clinging to my cheeks, which are by no means dry, settling into my forehead lines, and overall just looking textured. I usually have this experience with stick foundations.




I checked in after 5 hours and the results were pretty much what I expected. I didn't look horrible, but there was more settling/texture/just general heaviness. Keep in my mind my glasses rub off all my foundations so that's not the issue I'm showing in the full face picture- but instead just how it seems to age my entire face.



At the end of the 8 hours my face looked slightly worse than the 5 hour mark in the same ways; settling, texture, heaviness, etc etc. I was also looking a bit oily.

Overall this gets a 1/10. The color is the only positive for me, I really won't be trying this one even one more time. It did me no favors for sure.

I've been flirting with the idea of buying myself a YSL product for awhile now, but could never pull the trigger. I was particularly interested in the lip stains, since they are pretty much a cult favorite and just looked so damn good in every swatch I saw. I finally gave in and treated myself recently when I was able to swatch them for the first time (lorddddddd), which brings me to this review (as if this product needed another review, there's a shit ton out there).

The YSL Veris a Levres Glossy Stains retail for $36 for .20 fl oz (compare to the Lancome Juicy Shakers which go for $22 with .22 fl oz). Like I said, this was a splurge, okay. I got the shade 5 Rouge Vintage which actually doesn't have any color description anywhere that I can find, which is annoying. I would describe it as a cool toned reddish/berryish color? I'm really bad at colors I don't know. (sorry these pics are a bit old)

When applying, I find that I really have to make sure my lips are not damp at all, and I usually blot the inside of my bottom lip to provide more even application. Otherwise it applies as shown below, somewhat uneven.

an hour after application

This product is supposed to be a "revolutionary" product that "combines the texture and shine of a gloss with the long wear of a stain". I would agree that this is both very shiny/glossy and long lasting. I might even agree with the "revolutionary" claim...

after four hours + coffee

When I say long lasting I seriously mean it. Most lip products do not last nearly as long as me as they do on my people. I usually like to completely remove my lipstick (no matter if its liquid or bullet, satin/matte/glossy) and reapply anywhere from an hour after wearing it to three. For most products anything more I look like a hot mess. Keep that in mind when I say that I am able to wear this lip product for FIVE HOURS before my lips even BEGIN to start looking not as nice. I actually wore this for 7 HOURS and still looked presentable. It even lasts through meals (albeit there is significant fading, and I do usually remove and reapply after eating). This seriously impressed me.

after 4 hours + a meal (salad)

after 8 hours + constant talking/less water than usual

Keep in mind I did not reapply for any of these check ins. My lips felt hydrated the entire time, I did not feel the need to apply a chaptstick over top or anything like that.

Overall I give this a 10/10. Its kind of a miracle for someone like me who has difficulty with lip products lasting. I really wish the price point wasn't so up there, because I literally want all of them.

This blush is literally one of the first blushes I purchased after getting back into makeup. I was pretty much convinced that since I was so cool toned, I needed every single makeup product I owned to be cool toned as well, lmao. That said go past me for buying this because its gorgeous.

The Urban Decay Afterglow 8 Hour Blush retails for $26 for .23 oz; for comparison the Too Faced Love Flush blush goes for $26 for .21 oz and the Tarte Amazonian Clay blush goes for $29 for .2 oz. Its supposed to be blendable, sheer, and glowy basically. I think UD is repackaging or discontinuing these, as Ulta had them on sale for a long time and now does not stock them. They can still be found on Sephora or directly from Urban Decay.

The shade Bittersweet is a cool toned, bright purple with shimmer. It definitely looks intimidating in the pan, but goes on as more of a lilacy pink shade.

It blends easily enough, and does live up to the sheer claim. That said it can also be built, and its hard to overdo it.


Overall it gets a 9/10 from me. Its a perfectly fine product that doesn't particularly wow me, but does perform consistently. I would give it a perfect score if the shade was more true to the in pan color, but that's just a slight thing.

Awhile ago I grabbed a sample of the Hourglass stick foundation after seeing how light the shade Blanc was. I initially applied it for reviewing purposes, wore it for an hour, then immediately removed it because I looked that bad. Then I completely forget about the sample for months. I saw it in my foundation drawer recently and decided to give it one more shot.

It retails for $46 and you get .25 oz; comparing that to other stick foundations, Make Up For Ever's stick foundation goes for $43 and has .44 oz, the ABH one goes for $25 with .32, and the Nars Velvet Matte one goes for $45 for .31 oz. So clearly Hourglass is ripping us off here; with such little product for the price tag this shit better blow me away. It promises "the coverage of a concealer, the fluidity of a liquid, and the weightlessness of a powder", and it is supposed to be full coverage and a satin finish.

The shade Blanc is super light with cool undertones (and it doesn't look orange shockingly!). When swatching on my wrist, this product actually looks pretty much like my closest shade match.  

Initially applying this product I take fault with the claims already. I applied it with my damp Real Techniques sponge, set it with my Laura Mercier Translucent Powder and elf Matte setting spray, and wore it for 8 hours. As I tried to blend the product out with my sponge, it tugged on my skin and it really took some smearing and hard dabbing to get it even somewhat spread out, so fluidity of a liquid. It also felt very thick as I blended it out, and I am very very sparse when I apply foundation, so weightlessness of a powder. It did have decent coverage, but only if you didn't blend it out. Once I blended it enough to where it didn't completely look like I was wearing a mask, my freckles were coming through, so coverage of a concealer. Not off to a great start.

full face with product applied

The reason I set this with a powder when I try not to for reviews, is that it did not set at all. It felt like any time my face touched anything ever so slightly it was going to rub off. I also thought powdering might help it blend into my skin a bit better, because after applying my full face it looked very mask-like. It wasn't blending into my skin, instead it was sitting on top and caking up in my peach fuzz around my temples and on my jawline. Finish is the only claim I somewhat agree with, I think it looked pretty satin-matte. I took a close up to really emphasize what the product was looking like.

full face done

I checked in after 4 hours and I wasn't looking too good. The foundation was just really aging me, settling into my laugh lines and just looking a tad bit heavy. I wasn't oily though, so that was a plus. Aside from the slight heaviness and creasing, it really didn't look that bad; but those are pretty big things that affect the look of a foundation so.

let's ignore the ketchup under my bottom lip I'm disgusting

 By the end of the night at the 8 hour mark, I was actually surprised by the results. My face looked better than it had at the 4 hour check it, albeit not flawless or anything. I was a bit oily, but nothing like I usually am at 8 hours. It seemed like since my oils had come through, the heaviness was gone, and the product that had creased in my lines was less noticeable.


Overall I give this a 7/10. If I had just rated it after 4 hours it would probably have gotten a 3/10, but the end of the night really saved this foundation for me. If I can find a way to lessen the creasing, I'd definitely wear this again seeing as how it controls my oil and is a nearly perfect shade match! But the creasing definitely can't be overlooked.

Ever since I got heavily into makeup I wanted to try a shadow palette from theBalm, but could never justify paying the $42 they ask for them (I've bought almost every palette I own either on sale or with a giftcard). Luckily the thebalm 50% sale happened!

I recently hauled this product from Jolse. I genuinely pretty much only bought it because it looks cool and its a peel off mask, which I love. Don't talk to me about my decision making.

It retails for $10.95 on Jolse. It comes in a squeezy tube that is smaller than I anticipated (60 mL). It is supposed to give you bright skin as well as pull out gunk from your pores (aren't these types of masks actually bad for you skin....).

After initial application I realized that a little amount of product does NOT go a long way. I had to use a a substantial amount, the tube would not last me long if I used that amount again (aplying to entire face). It has a very sticky consistency and is not easy to spread out evenly.


It dries very quickly and does look really cool, all silvery and foily. It feels a little bit tight as it dries but nothing too uncomfortable.

Oh but then...removing this stuff hurts so fucking bad. I applied it all over my face as the pictures on Jolse showed, but removing this from my outer cheeks stung so bad. That's not even including when it was stuck to my peach fuzz. It hurt less in the middle of my face, so I think I will only be using this as a t zone mask in the future. It really hurt, and left my cheeks all red. I did notice some slight brightening, however, and my pores looked smaller. Didn't really pull much out of my skin either.

after initial application when I realized you can't apply it all over

Overall this gets a 3/10. There was no warning to only use this as a t zone mask, and I do not have sensitive skin. When using as a t zone mask though, the result isn't anything fantastic. Overall this does look cool when its on, but its just not worth it. I'll use up the tube on my t zone and wash my hands of this product for good.

I used to stay far away from golden toned highlighters, but lately have been more willing to try them. That's why I picked up the elf Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls. They have another shade that's pinkish that I want to try out too, but I figured I'd try out this one first.

This retails for $4 for .21 oz; for comparison Essence Pure Nude highlighter is $4.49 for .23 oz and the Nyx Duochromatic highlighters are $7.99 for .21 oz. This is supposed to give you a "radiant glow" with a "sheer wash of shimmering color".

Now its pretty well known amongst the makeup community that if you want to get any pigmentation from this product, you need to scrape off the first layer. And that was the case for me, before scraping it off I barely got any product when swatching, but after it performs much better.

Moonlight Pearls is a golden tone with no glitter and a really nice sheen.

It applies really smoothly and evenly, and can be built up to be very intense. It lasts on my for 8+ hours with no fading. It does not emphasize texture at all.



Overall this gets a 10/10 from me. There's nothing I dislike about it and it performs very well (once you scrape off the top layer!). I really wish there was a white shade, I'd be allllll over that. I'll definitely repurchase if I ever run out of this.

If you've read my other posts or followed this blog at all you've seen my struggle with finding an anti-antiperspirant free deodorant. Most of the deodorants I have tried have given me a rash or just flat out not worked (you can see all my deo reviews by going into my "deodorant reviews" tag, who would've thought). Then I found the brand Schmidts. Buckle up because this is a long one with no pictures to break it up, sorry in advance!

Initially trying Schmidt's products I was overjoyed, I had found a deodorant that worked as well as my antiperspirants at keeping the smell away, and didn't give me any sort of reaction! Well that's how I felt for about the first week of using the first product of theirs I tried (the lime + bergamot stick deo). With continued use, I found the products (not only stick versions, jared ones as well) would give me a reaction of little, sometimes extremely painful, sometimes itchy, bumps all over my pits. This happened within the day of wearing other scented stick version such as the ylang ylang + calendula and cedar + juniper. Then I tried the charcoal + magnesium and, as well as with the Lavender + sage jar and lime + bergamot stick, the bumps would form after a couple days of continued use, without washing my pits in the morning then reapplying.

I then decided to try out the fragrance free stick version, thinking maybe the aggravation was coming from the added scents. For the first couple weeks of using the fragrance free stick, I didn't have any reaction. But after that I started getting as very mild form of the reaction if I didn't wash my armpits in the morning between applications as well as at night. The reaction from this version was occasionally painful, but not itchy itchy, just had less than half the amount of red bumps. The bumps also did not look as bad if that makes any sense, they were super small and not as angry looking, lol.

At this point I am still using the fragrance free stick and follow the following routine; shower at night using an exfoliater on armpits, apply deodorant, reapply in morning, repeat. This seems to keep the reaction down to very minimum to non existent. I am completely confused as to why I am getting this reaction, but at this point with this routine its not enough of a concern for me to stop using a product that works so well.

Now onto the actual review of the product. It goes on slightly less stiff than the other stick versions. Its a normal creamy white deodorant stick, so it can and will get on your shirts. It goes on and smells almost like nothing, just a slight kind of....powdery smell? But even that does not really describe it accurately. Regardless its super subtle and fades right away.

In the morning occasionally I do smell a little, if I had a serious night of sweating. But usually I wake up smelling like nothing, and reapply. I find that if I am sweating a decent amount during the day (which I am most days now that I'm going to school again), I will not stink. If I have sweated a shit ton, there is a slight smell to my pits, but it is nothing like B.O. I honestly don't know how to describe it, its not necessarily unpleasant, just like...sweat without the stink.

If I had a day of heavy sweating usually by the time I'm ready to shower my pits smell a little off, but still not really like B.O, just that smell when you've sweated and its mixed with your deo. Very rarely I smell a little like B.O. but only by the end of a serious sweating day, and even then its nothing anyone around me would notice, only if you stuck your nose in my pits.

Overall I have a love/hate relationship with this deodorant. I was pleasantly surprised that I can keep the reaction at bay by using the fragrance free version and that it still gives the same great results as the scented versions, but I do have to pay more attention to my deodorant application than I would like to ideally. That said I am not currently looking for any more deodorants, I'm very content continuing to use this one. So I'd say I give this about an 8/10. If I wasn't noticing any reaction at all it'd for sure get a 10/10.

(Also I'd like to mention that the other scents I have reviews of that I previously rated 10/10 obviously are not accurately rated in those reviews as they were made before the reactions started).