Ciao Bella Bella

This powder launched in the same collection as the Cushion Complexion (review here) and the illuminating and mattifying primers way back in May/June. This was actually the first thing I received from the collection, and at first I was a little wary of it. I’ve seen many pictures of white setting powders and flash photography together (hint: it doesn’t go well).

I finally got around to testing as I went into summer and less willing to do a full face of makeup. Plus, my only other powder was loose and as I’ve learned before, traveling with loose powders is messy and a general bad idea.

So I brought this powder and the matching Julep foundation all throughout Italy, New York, and all the other places I visited this summer. I’ve been using it so much that I’ve got a pretty big dip in the pan now!

Keep reading to see my thoughts on it!

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The Body shop matcha green tea face mask review

Reviews, Skincare reviews September 17, 2017

Ciao!

I love face masks. Like really, I do at least one mask a week (sometimes 2 or 3) and I’ll watch YouTube while I do it if I want to relax or sometimes I’ll just use purely for skin care and do work while I have it on. Like this morning, I wrote a blog post while wearing this mask.

Last weekend, I was disappointed to know that the Lush near me (my usual stop for face masks) had closed, so I turned around and went to the body shop. I’d seen this mask advertised by Zoella on Instagram, and it was in the window at the body shop, so I went to check it out.

The Body Shop has a whole new line of face masks including one with Himalayan Charcoal, British Rose, Ethiopian Honey, Chinese Ginseng and Rice, and Amazonian Acai. I promised myself I wouldn’t get the Charcoal mask because I have far too many masks with charcoal or mud in them. The Acai one worried me slightly because of how it promised to “energize my face” through natural caffeine, and the ginseng and rice one was more meant for nourishment. It also had sesame oil in it, which my brother is allergic to. I ruled the honey one out because it wasn’t exciting enough and narrowed it down to this mask and the British rose.

Finally I decided that exfoliating and clarifying mask was probably meant for me (and Zoella liked it so…) and I bought it. The Body Shop also recently launched a mask brush for it that was available too. I didn’t get it, but now I wish I did because I loving giving myself a facial like experience at home. I also love The Body Shop’s makeup brushes in general (and they’re cruelty free!), so I can vouch for the quality.

But did I make the right decision in getting a highly advertised, hyped up face mask?

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Gone swatching: hourglass confessional lipstick

Blog, Gone swatching September 9, 2017

Ciao!

So hourglass recently launched an extremely expensive line of refillable lipsticks, something I don’t completely understand. I think the point of these is that you buy one base and multiple lipstick tubes and swap them out when you want to use them, or you can buy the whole lipstick.

I think the main thing people were confused about was how the full lipstick retails for $34 and only comes with .03 oz of product. For comparison, the Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo costs $32 and comes with .09 oz of product. For the lipsticks in the same price range, Burberry Kisses lipstick costs $34 and has .11 oz of product and the YSL volupté tint in balm costs the same price and has .11 oz of product. What I’m trying to saw here is that this is incredibly expensive for an already expensive brand.

So does it hold up to it’s high price?

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The best natural highlighters

Blog, The Bella Edit September 6, 2017

Ciao!

I love highlighters a lot. However, I don’t wear bold highlighters (*cough* BECCA champagne pop *cough*) often, and especially when I’m running late or on doing my makeup in a rush, I don’t have time to blend out a super shocking highlight.

I also wear mostly natural makeup, so these are my favorite highlights I wear on a daily basis for a glowing face. None of these have glitter in them either, which is great!

Quick note: all of these are natural highlights, so they tend to look fairly similar on the face. I would recommend looking through this list and picking one (some of these are palettes if you really want more options) that suits you.

Enjoy!

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My trip to bite beauty lip lab

Blog, Lifestyle September 5, 2017

Ciao!

I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in New York about a month ago! I went into thinking I’d create my “perfect nude” and “perfect red” (remember that series?).

My mom did it with me, and she wanted two create two lipsticks: one for my grandmother who is devoted to the discontinued MAC lipstick icon. I talk a lot in my reviews about overused or highly dupable shade, but unfortunately for my grandmother (and me because I’m searching for it) icon is very much a unique silver metallic with lavender undertones (see Temptalia’s post here). My mom also decided to make herself a lipstick, but she hadn’t decided what color.

There are lip labs in Toronto, and New York, where I went. There used to be one in San Francisco, but it has since closed.

Overall, I really liked the experience. Read on for my tips and suggestions!

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Yes to Tomatoes charcoal sheet mask review

Reviews, Skincare reviews September 2, 2017

Ciao!

Before this mask, I

A) hated sheet masks and

B) was suspicious of drugstore skin care.

I didn’t like how goopy some sheet masks were, and they felt too… luxurious. Even at $3, which seems cheep, the price of this mask builds up with each use. My Origins Charcoal mask is $17 (I have a travel size), I’ve had it for a year and I’ve used it an estimated 20-30 times. I’m not even finished with it! Something about the fact that sheet masks can only be used once, and I have to plan for each use I didn’t like. I would squirrel them away, never using them.

Since I’ve started using these, I’ve started to like that. I save them for special occasions when my skin needs a bit of extra help or when I have an event coming up. It’s relaxing to put on a face mask, and even more relaxing to know I’ve saved it for a special moment!

So I guess you have to take the good with the bad when you use sheet masks. Reasonably, a sheet mask would be 25¢ or so (which makes Charlotte Tilbury’s new mask all the more outrageous). Since no company is going to sell sheet masks for a quarter, I guess $3 isn’t all that bad!

Price aside, how does the product itself work? Read on to find out!

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August Favorites

Blog, Favorites September 2, 2017

Ciao!

This August, I’ve been loving a nice mix of makeup. The funny part about this post is that only 2 of the 6 products I’ve picked out are new. The other few are some that I’ve had for a while and I’ve just now rediscovered.

Read on to see what I’ve been loving this August!

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Gone swatching: glossier generation z lipstick

Blog, Gone swatching August 30, 2017

Ciao!

I was at Glossier HQ about a month ago when I went to New York (you can see what I bought here!) I swatched literally everything they sell, except for Wowder which launched a week later. Thus far, I’ve only posted one: the Glossier boy brow swatches.

That, I loved. So much actually, that it made it into my July favorites.

But this product?

This, I didn’t like at all.

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Winky Lux whipped cream primer review

Makeup Reviews, Reviews August 29, 2017

Ciao!

So I tend to keep an eye out for gimmicky products. I mean, what do I want more: a product that looks cool or a product that works? Sometimes both, but I’m mostly looking for things that do their job.

That’s why I was incredibly skeptical of this product. I’d checked it out on the website before I received it as PR and was really surprised that so many people liked this product. After I got it, it took me forever to test it out because primer isn’t something I wear when I’m trying to get my makeup done quick and I was testing out two other primers at the time.

Here’s the thing about Winky Lux: they boast that their prices are affordable, when in reality they’re sort of a middle ground between brands like Colourpop and brands like Too Faced. The prices are actually quite similar to brands like Covergirl or L’oreal- brands that were once cheap but are now drastically raising their prices. At $19, it was the cheapest in my collection featuring the Hourglass mineral veil primer ($19/3 oz or $54/1.01oz), the Julep illuminating and mattifying primers ($28/1 oz), and my all time favorite BECCA first light priming filter ($38/30ml).

However, $19 still isn’t exactly cheap, so how does this stack up?

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Pre and post travel skincare

Blog, The Bella Edit August 27, 2017

Ciao!

So this summer, I’ve been doing a ton of traveling. And despite my best attempts, my skin showed it. I have combination skin with incredibly oily eyelids, slightly oily nose, and a dry rest of the face. With all of the traveling I’ve been doing, I break out on my nose and the rest of my face feels like all of the moisture has been sucked out.

I actually had the idea for this post when I arrived home after a long flight and could barely keep my eyes open. In my sleep deprived state, I decided it’d be a great idea to recommend what I was using to everyone else. I can’t remember exactly what I put on that night, but here’s a bunch of things I think would be great!

So here’s a list of my skin care recommendations for travel. This is all for plane flights because I find my skin takes the hardest hit from those. Enjoy! Keep reading

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