Pale Products and More

Now when I saw this in Ulta's new arrivals I knew I had to get it. Like I said in my Ulta haul post where I first mentioned this, Nudestix concealers are very light so I figured this was going to be doable at least, which is always reason enough for me to buy a foundation since its so rare. I hesitate to categorize this as a foundation review because (to steal Samantha Ravendahl's description) its really more of a suggestion of a skin tint- its extremely sheer.

The Nudestix Nudies Tinted Blur stick retails for $30 for .216; to compare, ABH Stick Foundation (review here) goes for $25 for .35, and the Tart Clay Stick Foundation is $39 for .32. To be fair Nudestix isn't exactly marketing this as a foundation as the word "foundation" is never mentioned in its description. Instead it is described as a "soft focus mineral technology that smooths and blurs appearance of texture, blemishes, and discoloration" to give you a soft matte glow. And it is marketed as being used 4 ways: as a tint, over foundations to blot, underneath foundations to blur, and to highlight and contour.

nice crocs in the background

The shade Light 1 is described as "ivory with cool pink undertones" and I do agree with this. It leans slightly pink, but since its so sheer, it still works on my neutral skin (pink toned products usually turn orange). It photographs more neutral and swatches more pink toned in person that the picture shows. I was initially very surprised when I opened my Ulta package and saw how small this is, but I should have been expecting it when looking at the comparison ounces. It is super light though, props to Nudestix for that.


I wore this with no primer. I wasn't sure what primer would go good with it, and wanted to see if it truly would blur my pores and fine lines on its own. It was worn for 8 hours after being applied with my Eco Tools sponge (the green one), and setting with a light dusting of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (mostly on part of my cheeks, nose, and middle of forehead) and Smashbox Primer Water. I've recently stopped using my Laura Mercier setting powder as I don't like how it sits on my skin, and have been finding the Hourglass one to not alter foundations so I figured it would be safe to use while testing this.

applied on left

It goes on extremely creamy and blends extremely easily because it is so sheer. I would say it slightly filled my pores but they were still visible (you can just barely make out that I have product on the left because of the slight blurring of pores, imo). It slightly toned down my redness which is always hard to photograph, but there was still slight redness peaking through.

applied to both sides

Like I said this is just a very slight suggestion of a skin tint, its extremely sheer, so unless you study these pictures, I think its near impossible to tell a difference. It was slightly easily to tell in person, as my redness overall unevenness was slightly toned down and evened, as I said before. Personally I don't really struggle with having lots to cover up on my skin, and generally prefer a sheer to light base to just even my redness and hide pores, which this product does upon immediate application. I can't imagine using this to blot, as they suggest as use number 2. Its extremely creamy and would do nothing if applied to oily areas imo, except make them look worse.

full face done

I checked in after 4 hours and I looked good, albiet a bit oily. There was ever so slightly a bit of caking in my smile lines but nothing you could see unless you were looking for it. I think my skin looked about as oily as it does after 4 hours if I'm not wearing makeup, but my redness was still toned down so I dig it. I'm excited to test this at work when my face gets really red.


At the end of the night (8 hours) I again think my skin just looked the same level of oiliness it does at the end of a no makeup day. It may have faded off slightly, but it was hard to tell. My skin tone still seemed more even than it naturally is. My pores were really out to party though (I realize this phrase snuck its way into my vernacular because of Taylor Thataylaa......)


Overall I like this product, although it does seem pricey for what it is, and for the amount you get- which leads me to believe I probably would't repurchase it, although I do really like the product. I feel like I'm going to go through it fast. I think I give this about an 8/10, didn't really hold up to the blurring and pore filling claim, but it was a nice VERY sheer tint that did even my skin.

A few months ago I had applied for the Ulta credit card and was approved for the store version, but I wanted to Mastercard version, and when I asked the company who handles the cards how to get it, they basically just said to reapply. So I closed that account, waited until I was placing an Ulta order, applied for the card again (to get the 20%), and I got the fucking store card again! I think it has something to do with my annual income or something, but whatever I'll still use it for sure. Anyways that brings me to the haul I got with the 20% I got for (re)applying.

as usual my flat lay pics leave something to be desired, this I know

In my last Ulta order, I got a sample of the Lorac Light Source 3-in-1 Illuminating Primer in Dawn. I used it once and fell in love with it, it gives the most beautiful glowy base, doesn't emphasize pores or texture, and actually shows through whatever foundation you put on top. I haven't been this impressed by a liquid primer..ever...so naturally I had to get the full size. Potential review to come.

When Stila announced they were expanding the Heaven Hue Highlighters I was.....overjoyed to say the least. I have reviews on Transcendence and Kitten (here and here), and this product is one of my absolutely favorite formulas ever. Everyone knows I love a white highlighter so of course I got the shade Opulence. You already know I'll have a review coming.

A little bit ago I had purchased the Maybelline Tattoo Brow Waterproof Brow Gel in Medium Brown and found that it was too warm for me, but I really loved the product (save for the applicator. I used a brow brush to apply it bc otherwise its a mess). So I finally picked it up in Deep Brown. I'm hoping its not too dark for me, considering I have like no pigment in my skin, hair, or glasses, I'm worried it might be too stark for my face. It swatches cool toned and seems like it might be slightly dark but we shall see! Review coming for sure.

Maybelline was buy one get one 50% so I also picked up the Color Sensation Vivid Hot Lacquer Lip Gloss in Tease because Thataylaa has been raving about it, and it looks beautiful on her. I feel like I impulse bought this awhile ago, and didn't really like it. I tried it once since I got it and it looked so fucking bad, it settled into my lip lines in the worst way, so safe to say its going back.

When I placed this order I just happened to look through the New Arrivals and see the Nudestix (or is it NUDESTIX....) new Nudies Tinted Blur Stick which looked like a sheer blurring skin tint. They say you can use it alone or with other foundations, but what really got me was that previously I've swatched their concealers in store and the light one is fucking light. This one does swatch very light as well, and feels very creamy and VERY sheer. Review to come.

At the time of placing this order I was also placing a Lush order because I'm almost out of my HG deodorant, Aramaco. While I was browsing their site I realized their shampoos have sulfates in them! My current hair routine is to shampoo with Pravana Purple shampoo then with a non purple shampoo- the ones I'm currently rotating between are from Lush. Ever since moving my hair has been getting pretty dried out, I'm assuming from the water, but these shampoos for sure aren't helping. So I decided to get a new shampoo with this order. I opted for the Hempz Sweet Pineapple & Honey Melon Herbal Volumizing Shampoo, as I love the smell of their products, it doesn't have sulfates, and it gets good reviews. It smells nice and is weirdly orange colored! Also forgot to include this in the flat lay...oops

I also picked up a new Ulta brand Lip Primer, because I'm almost out of mine, and I literally use it every day before applying lip products. I know not a lot of people use primers but this product really makes a difference in application and wear for me.

And that's it for my Ulta haul! I just want to mention (brag) that in addition to the 20% I also used $36 dollars of my points, as well as redeeming some of my Discover cashback as a $50 Ulta giftcard (I actually got two, but Ulta's a bitch and only lets you apply one), so I barely paid anything for this order and I'm hype about it. Keep your eyes peeled for future reviews.

Benefit High Beam might be one of the first highlighters I tried. I bought the mini version in a three pack with a mini Benetint and Posietint as well. I had previously tried Benefit's Watts Up!, but that shit looked like a bronzer on my skintone, so I was really hoping this one would work.

It retails for $26 for .33 fl oz; to compare to other liquid highlighters, ABH Liquid Glow is $25 for .68 fl oz, and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector is $41 for 1.7 fl oz. It claims to give a dewy, radiant glow. The color is supposedly pink, and in the bottle it really does look pink. But when I swatch and apply it, it looks a lot more peachy-beige on my skintone, which is kinda weird to me. I actually wish it looked more pink.


I find it has a somewhat metallic finish that emphasizes my pores a bit. Its also somewhat hard to blend out; if i apply it in small dots onto my face then blend, the dots will stay slightly visible, even if I blend immediately. It wears fine for 8 hours.


I'm also not a fan of the packaging (on the mini version at least). Once you use a lot of it, its hard to get it out, because the brush only goes straight down into the bottle, you can't scrape product off the sides.

Overall I think this is kind of average leaning shitty. I used to like it a lot when I hadn't tried others, but I don't really reach for this literally ever anymore. Overall 1/10, not impressed at all, considering tossing this. Gets a 1 because the shade is kind of pretty, even though its not what they adevertise it to be.

I was planning to place a Sephora order and then I realized it was about to be the VIB sale and THEN I realized that I'm VIB this year and not just a Beauty Insider and you know I was hype. I was sad The Ordinary was excluded from the sale, but you already know I had plenty other products on my wishlist.

So I reviewed The Cover FX Power Play Foundation here, and I said I was planning purchasing the full size....so a bitch did. This is the first full sized foundation I've bought since repurchasing the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea (which I still like, but I'm not totally as enamored with it as I once was), so its exciting! I've used it several times and I'm not loving it as much as I did? Its been looking a little dry...but maybe my skin is just a bit drier at the moment. I still love the shade so I will continue to work with it.

I also picked up two of the Ambient Lighting Powders, one in Ethereal one in Dim Light. I actually purchased Ethereal in the past, but returned it because I guilty for spending that much on a somewhat unnecessary product since I was using a different powder to set my face. But lately I'm not loving how my Laura Mercier powder is sitting on my face, so I thought I would give these a try. I bought Dim Light to try and use as a subtle glowy bronzer. I have been having a hard time finding an actual bronzer that works on my skin (I thought the Butter Bronzer worked, but it looks really orange lately), and saw someone saying they used Dim Light to bronze. I've been really loving it using it this way! It doesn't pull too orange and has the prettiest finish.

I also decided to pick up the iconic Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Plumping Gloss. I know the og shade is pink, but I picked up Beige Sunrise because I'm a sucker for nudes. It smells like minty vanilla and feels slightly tingly when you first apply. Super buttery and beautiful on, and the shade is a really nice sheer nude.

And that's actually all I purchased (how do people haul so much with this sale like I swear most people drop upwards of $300 I can't even imagine), but I did cash in some points for a little Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara. I've been testing it out and I really like it! It doesn't transfer to my top lid in the way my HG Maybelline Full N Soft does, but it can get a little clumpy. I wouldn't purchase a mid range/high end mascara if its not on sale though, so I'll most likely just use this one up and that will be that.

Overall it was a successful VIB sale, here's to the next one!

When I saw the announcement for this product, I wasn't that excited I'll be honest. But once I saw swatches I knew I had to at least try it out, considering how light the lightest shade looked.

The Cover Fx Power Play Foundation retails for $44 for 1.18 oz which is a little more than the standard 1 oz. It is said to be full coverage with a matte finish. A direct description taken from Sephora: "A modern matte, blurring foundation with weightless full coverage that provides sweat-proof all-day wear, long lasting shine control, environmental protection, and a finish that will not oxidize".

The shade N0 is "for fairest porcelain skin with neutral undertones". I love that Cover Fx categorizes their foundations into undertones N (neutral), P (pink), G (golden), and G+ (golden olive). I've previously tried one of their foundations in N10 which pulled extremely yellow on me, but I was still hopeful, as N0 swatched very light. On my skin it actually looks slightly more pink toned than it photographs. Once its blended though, its very neutral and as you can see, blends in very well.


I wore this for 10 hours and prepped and primed with my Smashbox Primer Water. I didn't use a powder as this sets on its own and has a matte finish. I applied it using my Eco Tools sponge, and set with Too Faced Hangover Setting Spray.

applied on left

applied on full face

It applied easily with the sponge, and did not appear patchy. It seemed like it dried quickly, so I would only apply this in sections, not all over at once. The color seemed to match really well, and it had a very soft matte finish. It covered my pores upon initial application, and evened my skintone. I did apply a very thin layer, as I was cautious of the claim of full coverage. I prefer sheer to light coverage (medium is okay), and applying a small amount with a damp sponge and not attempting to build any coverage seems to have yielded light medium coverage.

full face minus lips

After 4 hours I looked okay, pretty good for how foundations have been wearing on me lately. It had settled into my smile lines (typical) but that was the worst of it. My pores were slightly more visible, but nothing crazy. And my oil didn't seem to be coming through as much as it usually is by this point. The shade was also still looking great, no oxidization. Let's not talk about my pose, lmao, I was on break at work and trying to not get seen taking pictures in natural lighting. It does look slightly dry/textured.



At the end of my night (10 hours later) I was pleasantly surprised. I obviously didn't look great, I never will after wearing makeup all day, but I looked pretty good. Again there was (obviously) creasing in my smile lines, but there wasn't any weird texture or heaviness or any separation or oxidization. I was oily at this point, but I have been a lot more oily at the end of the night when wearing other foundations. Also my pores were visible, but not huge as they normally are at this point.



Overall this gets a 9/10 from me, in an ideal world I wish this didn't settle into my smile lines (I wish every foundation didn't but alas), and I wish it was a slightly less dry formula, but other than that I'm really happy with it! Great shade, coverage works for me, no separation/cakiness/etc etc, and decent oil control! I honestly feel like this met all of its claims, which is hard to do. I also wanted to mention I worked this day and was deployed at the drive thru window, and it was raining. That being said I definitely got some rain drops splashed on me from people's windshield wipers, lmao, and I didn't notice any like rubbing off or anything like that, so it seems to even live up to the sweat proof claim. I'm going to actually be purchasing the full size!