Pale Products and More

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).

I purchased this awhile back at Ulta (bless the fact that they carry some NARS now). I've lusted after the NARS Audacious Lipsticks for ever so to finally purchase one was...a moment.

I know I'm super late to the game with this product, this blew up years ago and pretty much everyone has forgotten about it now. But better late than never I guess?

The Loreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation retails for $12.99; to compare to other squeezy tube drugstore foundations, Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft Matte Hydrating foundation is $10.99 for 1 fl oz, and the Nyx Stay Matte But No Flat goes for $7.49 for 1.23 fl oz. It claims to have a demi matte finish, light texture, and give medium coverage as well as oil control.

The shade 101 Classic Ivory doesn't really have a description anywhere. Its the lightest shade and seems to have slightly pink undertones, imo. Its sightly lighter than the pro glow 201 counterpart (review here).

I applied it with my real techniques sponge over my Maybelline Baby Skin primer, and set with my elf setting spray. I wore it for 8 hours. I did not powder as it has a matte finish, I didn't want to look cakey, and wanted to test out the oil controlling claim. Once blended out, it appears to sit on top of my skin rather than blending into it, and issue I seem to have with matte foundations. It doesn't look awful though, just a bit makeup-y.

applied to left

applied all over

full face done

I checked in about 4 hours lately and was surprisingly greasy for the 4 hour mark. Unfortunately my pictures aren't in natural lighting, but you can see how large and oily my pores look. Other than that it pretty much looked the same as when I first applied, not terrible, but pretty makeup-y.



By the end of the night at the 8 hour mark, I was a greaseball; this was something that really surprised me since this is a matte and "oil controlling" product. It also had oxidized a little bit darker, and was already too dark for me, so I wasn't looking the best.

Overall this gets a 3/10 from me. It looked pretty below average when I first applied, and only went downhill. I haven't reached for this product more than once since my initial testing of it, if that says anything. I do want to mix it in with a white mixer and see if the results are any more skin-like.

First off sorry for being MIA recently. I moved and started a new job (still panera), and will be starting real college soon so I'm kind of overwhelmed as well as dealing with personal shit. I'm gonna try to update as often as I can but no promises as to how often that will be.

Anyways today's review is for the Ciate Lodnon Dewy Stix, a product that as soon as I saw it be released, I knew I had to have. As much as I love an intense powder highlight, lately I have been gravitating towards more dewy/wet/non-glitter highlights.

This retails for $26 for .17 oz; to compare to other stick/balm highlighters Milk Makeup Holographic Stick is $28 for 1 oz, Benefit's Watts Up stick is $30 for .33 oz, the Cover Fx Enhance Click Highlighter is $18 for .17. With those comparisons in mind, this product seems a bit pricey to me for the amount you are getting.

It is described as a "highlighting balm that adds a gorgeous wet dewy glow". It is said to be "weightless, non tacky" and contain "minimal shimmer". Everything about this sounds perfect!

I've found that if you are wearing base products (foundation, concealer, etc), the best way to apply this is to tap it onto your cheekbones and blend with fingers or a sponge. Swiping the product on will rub away any base product. After its applied it does stay a little bit sticky, it never seems to fully dry down. That being said its not like 90s lip gloss sticky; my hair does not get stuck on my cheeks or anything like that, I don't even notice it. It does provide that wet/dewy look without any sparkle.



Overall this gets a 10/10 from me! Some people might rate it lower due to the fact that it does not dry down, as well as the way you have to apply it, but those things don't bother me. I think in order to truly achieve a wet highlight, it only makes sense that your highlight needs to stay wet!