Pale Products and More

A little while ago I purchased the Tarte Quench Lip Rescue in Nude. Within two days of trying it, I had order three more shades, oops. This product is so perfect, especially for summer! A few months after picking up the other three, I got another one, oops again. Five down, two more shades to go (three if you count the clear one).

These retail for $19 for .10 oz.; comparing that to other sheer/balm type lip products, the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is $24 for .15 oz, and the Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Balm is $33 for .12, although I do admit Dior is a step more high end than Tarte. As far as claims they are described as a "moisturizing lip balm in an array of sheer colors".

The shades (shown left to right) that I have are Opal, Rose, Nude, Cherry, and Berry. Neither Tarte nor Sephora lists any shade descriptions, although they are a bit self explanatory, I still like to see what the brand themself calls the shades. The arm swatches show how extremely glossy/wet these are, I love it!

top to bottom: opal nude rose cherry berry

Opal is a cool toned light baby pink, Rose is a rosy nude shade, Nude is a beigey warm toned shade, Cherry is a cool toned pink, and Berry is a plummy shade. They all have a semi sheer finish and a super glossy look. They all fade beautifully and evenly, leaving a slight tint to the lips and a moisturized look, although the initial glossy look does fade.

Opal is definitely my least favorite of the bunch, the application just isn't as smooth and seamless as all the other shades. It bunches up into lip lines and forms a really visible line on the inner parts of my top and bottom lip, immediately as I apply it, which I've only ever seen the Nyx Butter Lipsticks do. Once you rub your lips together a bit it smooths out somewhat. It lightens my lips but not in an off putting way. You can see the visible line in the full face pic. (Oh by the way I'm blonde again, lmao. I have some posts with pics from when my hair was still brown though, so don't be alarmed if you see brown haired me again in upcoming posts)



Rose is probably my second favorite shade, it pairs perfectly with any warm toned or natural looks. It gives a natural tint to the lips without looking super bright or anything.


Nude is my absolute favorite! I wear it allll the time because I don't have to think about it, it matches pretty much everything and looks great.



Cherry is my newest shade, its slightly less flattering than the others, but pairs really well with cool toned looks. It would probably look a little weird on warmer skintones though, and doesn't look that good with the warm toned look I had on.



Berry is such a gorgeous mauvey plum shade that pictures don't do justice. Its perfect when I want a bit of a darker lip, but still don't want a full on lipstick.



Overall I LOOOVE this product! Its one of my all time favorite lip products if I'm being honest. I really want to pick up the remaining shades that I don't own, and I wish they would come out with more! 10/10 for sure.

I bought a lot of makeup this year let's be honest. I figured I might as well talk about my favorites to try and convince myself that it wasn't all a waste! Most products I have reviews on, and if I do they will be linked.

I only have one product when it comes to foundations and that would be the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation. This gives such a beautiful skin like finish and has a shade I can wear without mixing. Its the one face product I find myself reaching for much more consistently than any others, and I even bought a second bottle, which I don't think I've ever done! I have a full review on it here if you're interested.

In the category of concealers I have two products to mention; the Kat Von D Lock It Creme Concealer (review here) and the Nyx HD Concealer in Alabaster (review here). The Kat Von D one provides serious brightening and coverage, while the Nyx one gives a more natural look. I repurchased each of these and plan on doing so when I run out again!

I'm lumping face products together in one category, and I've got a few products to talk about; the Nudestix Nudies All Over Face Color Matte in Bareback/Bondi Bae, the Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders, the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed, and the Rms Beauty Living Luminzer.
I have reviews coming on the Nudestix products, but they are great! Bare Back is a perfect contour shade for my skin tone, and Bondi Bae a really nice bronzer. They blend out great and last really well.
I have two of the Hourglass Strobe Lighting Powders, reviews here and another coming soon. They are my go to highlighters that I know will look beautiful no matter what. I really want to purchase the other shade that will work on my skin tone, Brilliant.
The Tarte Amazon Clay Blush in Exposed (review here) is the blush I wear pretty much every single day. I don't have to worry about matching it to my eyeshadow and lip product, I can just put it on hassle free and know it'll look good. Its my ride or die blush.
I just recently got the Rms Beauty Living Luminzer, so a review will be coming, but I love this shit. Its the perfect glossy/balmy highlighter I've been looking for that looks great and doesn't fuck with my base products.

As far as primers/setting sprays two products really stood out to me this year; the Too Faced Hangover 3 in 1 Replenishing Primer and Setting Spray and the Smashbox Primer Water. Both of these improve the application of foundations when used as primers, making them look more skin like. I don't use the Primer Water as setting spray, but the Too Faced one really settles powder into my skin and gives a very natural finish to my face when it may look a bit powdery or heavy. I can always count on these two products to help my base look great.

When it comes to eye products there's really only one stand out product I can think of; the Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye in Taupe. I got this as a free gift when I bought some of their lip products (which I promptly returned bc they were shit), and boy am I glad I did. I use it when I just need something on my eyes but am too lazy to really blend an eye look. I just plop it on, blend quickly and done. I really want to purchase other colors but they're a bit pricey so we shall see. (forgot to include this in the picture, don't drag me).

It was a good year for lip products; my faves are the Fenty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, the Tarte Quench Lip Rescue, the Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lip Oil, and the Lorac Alter Ego Glosses.
I have a review on the Fenty Gloss coming soon, but man I love this stuff. I wasn't gonna get it originally but I think Samantha Ravndahl on youtube convinced me. I was weary of the glitter but you can't even see it on the lips, it just looks juicy and beautiful.
The Tarte Quench Lip Rescues are my every day lip product when I don't want to think about my lips, but still want to look amazing. I have a review coming; they are everything I want in a lip product and more. I wish there were more shades!
Butter London really came through with these Sheer Wisdom Lip Oils (review here). They are exactly what I want in a sheer lip product and rival the Tarte Lip Rescues for my all time favorite lip product!
The Lorac Alter Ego Glosses are my favorite lip gloss formula I've found. I have a review coming soon, but they apply beautiful, and wear even better.

I've got one product to talk about in the personal hygiene category and that would be the Lush Aramaco Deodorant (review here). This year was a long journey to finding a non-aluminum deodorant that worked for me (no I'm not avoiding aluminum because I'm afraid of cancer or whatever, it just fucks up my armpits). This product was a godsend after many failed attempts, and many armpit rashes.

And my final category, skincare, has a few contenders; the Corsx Oil Free Moisturizing Lotion, Corsx BHA Blackhead Liquid, and the It's Skin Grean Tea Calming Cleansing Oil (somewhat old review here).
When I started using the Cosrx Oil Free Moisturizing Lotion it was like the missing puzzle piece in my routine. It provides the perfect amount of light moisture after my more liquidy products, and preps my skin for the more heavy duty ones.
I've been using the Corsx BHA Blackhead Liquid since before 2017, but I really started continued use this year. This product really makes a difference in the quality of my skin, texture wise. Even if I skip it for one night, I can physically feel a difference putting on products that night, as well as in the morning applying makeup.
I've also used the It's Skin Calming Cleansing Oil since before 2017, but this is the only cleansing oil I've wanted to use the entire year, whereas before I was still trying out others. This just gets all my makeup off, doesn't leave any residue, and doesn't strip my skin at all. Added bonus it smells nice! I think I'm on my third or fourth bottle of this stuff.

Okay done. That's it for my 2017 favorite products! This year I found some really good shit! I'm looking forward to what 2018 has in store :-)

So I'm gonna put it out there: I have nice lashes. My top ones are long, curved, and relatively dark (except at the tips), and my bottom ones are super long as well. That said this will be lash swatches (?) of all my mascaras.

They aren't in any particular order. I'll give my thoughts on each mascara. For reference here are my bare lashes (and my very moisturized skin lmao I look oily af but I'm not I promise)

Note: I usually use whatever mascara on top lashes, then Wet N Wild Megalength on the bottom, but for sake of this review, I'm only using each product on top and bottom (all except for the Clump Crusher swatches).

Maybelline Full N Soft: This is my perfect, everyday mascara. Gives the softest, fluttery lashes ever and looks so great; never clumpy.

I picked this product up during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale. I had always wanted to try a Tarte blush so I was super excited that they were half off!

The Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush retails for $29 for .2 oz; to compare, the Too Faced Love Flush blushes are $26 for .21 oz and the Urban Decay Afterglow blushes are $26 for .23 oz. This blush is basically supposed to be soft and long wearing. There are some claims about it being oil controlling due to the clay as well.

The shade Exposed is part of their "Naughty Nudes" blushes. It is a nude pink with a matte finish.

When you swatch this product it doesn't have the best color payoff and pigmentation, but this isn't the case when applied. A little goes a long way and its very hard to overdo it with this blush.



This lasts on me for 8+ hours. I do not notice any fading.


Overall this gets a 10/10 from me! I feel like there have been a lot of 10/10, and short reviews lately, sorry about that! I guess its a good thing I'm finding good products, but also a bit boring to read. I would definitely purchase this blush in other shades!

This is the first year since I got really into makeup that I participated in the 21 Days of Ulta Beauty. I didn't purchase everything, or even half of the deals offered, but I got a handful of items. I was surprised that almost all the items I was interested in were discounted the full 50% off! I'm probably going to regret compiling all my purchases and seeing how much I really spent...

I forgot to include the Mario Badescu spray in this pic!

March 19: The Too Faced Love Flush Blushes were on sale for $13, regularly $26. After getting the mini version of this, I knew I wanted more so naturally I had to get one. I go the shade Baby Love. I love it just as much as I do the other shade!


March 25: One of this day's deals was the Tart Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara
for $10, usually $21. I'm not one to ever splurge on mid/high end mascaras, but at a drugstore price I figured I would go for it. (review to come in my Mascara Collection post).

March 28: Tarte Maneater Liner was the deal I got this day. It was going for $10, so half of its original $20. Again, I would never ever spend $20 on a liner, but at $10 I figured why not. (review to come).

March 31: This day I got the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water for $16 instead of $32. Primers are another thing I refuse to splurge on, but I have always been curious about this cult favorite. (review to come).

April 1: I couldn't resist snagging the $7 Maria Badescu Facial Spray for $5.25, not a huge discount but its pretty cheap to begin with so. I got the Aloe, Herb, and Rosewater (pink) version.


April 2: I have a sample of the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara and love it but refuse to buy a full size, so when I saw the $22 product for $11 on this day, I had to get it. (review coming in my Mascara Collection post).

April 5: I've been loving lip glosses lately so I had to pick up the $20 Butter London Plush Rush Lip Gloss for $10. I got the shade First Kiss, which is a pearly light sheer pink. (review to come).

April 7: I was really anticipating this day! Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes ($28) were $14! I picked up Exposed. (review to come).


Okay so I did some serious damage, but got some serious deals. Overall without the deals this haul would have costed a whopping $144, but I got it all for $89.25. That means I saved $54.75! Aaaaaaaand the no buy begins.

I recently went to a mall with a real Sephora in it (I only have a JCP Sephora near me) and let me tell you I was blessed. The Tarte Rainforest of the Sea line is only available at Sephora, but my JCP one doesn't have it. I had heard Tarte came out with a new lightest shade, and lo and behold this Sephora had it, so naturally I had to get a sample; which leads me to this review.

It retails for $39 for 1 fl oz. It is said to be a "lightweight, full coverage hydrating foundation" that lasts 12 hours. It does have a psychical sunscreen with an SPF of 15 in it, but like I've said before base products with SPF are pretty much useless as far as sun coverage.

The shade Porcelain is just said to be for "very fair skin". This made me laugh because almost all of the other shades on the Sephora site and Tarte site have the undertones listed. I guess when you're "very fair" you don't have to worry about undertones, obviously lmao. In my opinion it seems to have a neutral tone to it.

I applied it over the Maybelline Baby Skin primer and set my face with the elf setting spray. I wore it for 8 hours.

applied to left side

It feels really hydrating and a tiny bit gel like, and blends out really easily with my Real Techniques sponge. As you might have realized by now, I go for a more light coverage look, so I only applied one layer of this product. It seems to give me light/medium coverage with one layer; my freckles and pores are peeking through, but my redness is covered and skin is evened. It gives a very skin like finish. I really love how this sits on my skin, and the color is doable!

I checked in 6 hours later, a bit of a later check in, my bad. (I did check my face at four hours in and it looked the same as when I first applied). After 6 hours my face honestly still looked really, really good. My pores were a bit more visible and I was a bit oily, though. The product had not broken down or rubbed off anywhere, and it also wasn't clinging to any dry areas I currently have.




At the 8 hour mark I looked pretty oily, which is usually the case for me. I wasn't expecting any different, seeing as how this is a hydrating foundation it isn't made to control oil. But again, the foundation was holding up 100%, no separating or rubbing off or clinging. There still wasn't any oxidation or anything like that, still was a decent enough color match. Even though I think my face was done at 8 hours, I do believe the 12 hour claim if you don't have oily skin. Like I said the only issue was the oil, the foundation still looked good.

Overall I give this a 10/10, I'm really loving this product! I feel like I haven't been this excited about a foundation since I tried the UD Naked Skin, but this Tarte foundation I can actually wear without mixing in white which is super exciting to me. I really do think I'm going to be buying the full size of this product, that's how much I love it.

I've been MIA for a little bit, sorry! I've been a bit busy with the semester ending and what not, but I'm back. Today I have a foundation review on the Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12 Hour Primer in Fair. I guess technically this isn't a foundation, but it can be worn alone as one (which I do). I picked this product up along with the UD Naked Skin foundation (review to come) with my 20% Ulta coupon.

This product retails for $36 for 1 fl oz of product, which is very standard. It is a "multi-tasking 12 hour primer offering lightweight coverage" As listed on the Tarte website it "can be worn alone or under foundation for smoother makeup application and enhanced coverage." I wear it alone, as I tend to prefer light coverage. It does contain spf 30, but be aware when using base products that include sunscreen; the advertised spf is not the spf you will be getting, as you would need to apply way more product in order to get that spf. Other people have explained it in much more detail I'm sure; bottom line is to always wear a regular sunscreen underneath your base makeup.

The product has a very silicone-y feel to it, so it feels very light on the face, as if you are wearing nothing. I use the shade fair, the lightest shade. Since the color is sheer, I think most people could make one of the shades work (unless you have a very deep skintone). It swatches slightly orange on me, but when blended in, is virtually undetectable.

I wore this product over the Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer and under the Loreal Setting Spray. I never powder my face, so naturally I didn't for this review. It was worn for 7 and a half  hours. Honestly I always look a mess in these pictures I am so sorry. I am an egg.

Tarte applied on the left side

Immediately after application my skin is evened out, but it looks as if I'm wearing nothing. That does mean that my freckles are showing, as are any blemishes. It does not do a very good job at covering redness, so I would use a green primer beforehand if I had a lot of redness going on.

product applied on whole face

As you can see the fading pimple I have on the left side is not covered by this product. Personally I don't mind, I like a product that looks as if I just naturally have decent skin as opposed to one that makes me look flawless.

finished face

I checked in after 3 hours. The product still looked great. My pores were visible, but they always are. I was slightly more shiny than after application, but the normal shininess I usually am by that time. There was no creasing or settling at all, even around the dry area of the fading pimple..

my glasses rub off literally every foundation so that's not an issue

I checked in again after 7 and a half hours (after I had removed half of the makeup on my forehead, lmao). I didn't manage to get any decent pictures as it was already dark out, but the product looked essentially exactly the same as the 3 hour mark. I was a tad bit more shiny, and there was slight settling around my nose, but that's it.

Overall I give this product a 9/10. I'm really glad I purchased this! Its perfect when I only need a sheer base, and its actually light enough! It wears well throughout the day. I have no complaints. I may try this as a primer under a foundation and if so, will edit this post with how it performs.