Makeup Rants

The Urban Decay Naked series has a special place in my heart because my very first high-end eyeshadow palette was an Urban Decay Naked (yes the first one) palette. I think that palette will always have a very special place in my heart, I'll write a different blog post about my love for it another time. Coming back to the Naked Heat palette, I did have very high hopes for it, but in this post, I'll give you the pros and cons of this palette. Packaging In my opinion, the Naked Heat has the best packaging compare to all previous Naked palette. The first Naked palette had velvet packaging which looked nice but got dirty really quickly, and the lettering on mine even wore off over time. Naked 2 and Naked 3 both have the tin style case, which just reminds me of those cheap and noisy tin pencil cases I used in middle school (I was born in the 80s, hopefully, someone here gets what I'm talking about). And Nake Heat palette has the hard plastic case! Dirt proof, more wear and t

I was curious about Huda Beauty but wasn't sure I want to spend tons of money for the full-size eyeshadow palette since I already own similar shades so I bought this mini palette to try out their eyeshadow formulation.  Packaging The packaging is made out of cardboard and has a magnetic closure. Cardboard is fine for a small palette but for the price, I would have been happier if it were plastic packing like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palettes. It also comes with a mirror which I always appreciate in any makeup product. I am sad they didn't use this opportunity to come up with fun shade names so I will be using numbers. Performance   Overall I really love the versatility of this palette. There are 9 shades, 4 mattes and 5 metallic shimmers, you can do a lot of wearable daytime and nighttime looks with it! I prefer to apply the mattes with an eyeshadow brush and the metallic shimmers with my fingers. The metallic shimmers are amazing in this palette and the matte

Micellar water is a combination of purified water and hydrating ingredients, it's very effective at removing makeup and cleanse the skin without drying the skin. Bioderma is the original micellar cleanser, it has been sold in French pharmacies and raved by makeup artists for decades before its recent popularity in the US. I love micellar water! I think it's the most gentle and effective way to remove makeup (even waterproof). In this post, I will compare Bioderma with its popular dupe made by Garnier.  Left: Bioderma Hydrabio H2O. Right: Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water Packaging   Both products come in clear plastic bottle packaging, the caps have minor differences but nothing notable. If you travel with micellar water, I recommend you get the travel-size product.  Performance   In terms of makeup removing effectiveness, both products perform pretty similarly. However, they do not have the same formula. Garnier contains two parts - similar to ma

I'm that person who enjoys packing light and especially love multi-purpose products. If you are like me then you need Bite Beauty's Multistick in your travel makeup bag - you can use your finger to apply it all over your eyes, lips, and cheeks. This product is blendable, breathable, buildable and has decent staying power.  On good skin days, this is really the only product you need! Packaging This product is travel-friendly! The design is modern and the construction is durable - I have left it in my car as emergency makeup, take it with me on short trips, dropped it multiple times (the tube is actually nonslip but I'm clumsy) and it's still in perfect condition. I especially like the strong magnetic closure, it's never opened in my bag.  This is a twist up product (like a chapstick) with magnetic closure. Left is the stick, right is the lid.  Performance You can either use your finger or a brush to blend this product. I prefer to use my fin

Everyday Mineral Jojoba Base - Golden Ivory I discovered Everyday Minerals in 2009, I remember back then my shade was Golden Olive. Recently I found this while decluttering my makeup collection and I'm totally falling back in love. I do think this shade a bit light for me in the summer. I visited their website and  after all these years, they still offer free  samples to help people find the right shade. <3 Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer Mini  This is still the best primer  I  have ever used. I also tried NYX angel veil primer (drugstore dupe), it's close  but the formula is lot thicker. I only have a mini size because this stuff is pricy, will purchase full size at the next Sephora VIB sale.  Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - Custard  I don't use concealer everyday, only on days I need it. This is the concealer everyone and their mom is raving about so I had to try it. I definitely like it more than Tarte Creaseless concealer, Nars is high  coverage ye