Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation

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Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation, $36

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation…so refreshing to have a product with an absurdly long name! It’s been a while.

I’ve never been a fan of caking on product to hide problems. Even when I was in the throes of ridiculous skin woes, I wouldn’t do it. That doesn’t mean I’d go bare-faced…but troweling on Instagram-ready, drag-worthy makeup does not seem like a healthy choice for problem skin.

The Purchase

Over the holidays, I finally ran out of the powder foundation I was using on lazy (read: most) mornings where blending a cream or liquid product was out of the question. Armed with a 20% off Ulta Platinum voucher, I picked up Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation. I like the idea of mineral powder foundations; even though bareMinerals didn’t blow me away with its lofty claims, it is a decent product that is user friendly. My hope was that I’d find a better shade match and a similar level of user friendliness in this Tarte product.

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Worth it? Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner

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Cinema Secrets Brush CleanerCinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner, $24 for 8oz

This was a legacy post that I gave a facelift because I seriously cannot tell enough people about this product. If you’re an artist? Lifesaver. If you aren’t, it means you can avoid buying thirty seven thousand brushes, because you can use the same one over and over in a look.

I’d seen this brush cleaner in blog posts and on YouTube. I was curious but…really, how good can it be? It’s a brush cleaner. I had come close to buying it a few times for myself but always talked myself out of it. My current system is good; why invest in another product – especially with that price tag? Fortunately, a wise friend sent this wee little spray-bottle of it to me.

I tested it that night, but was not prepared to record or demonstrate my findings. Spoiler alert: I was blown away and wondered how the ever loving hell I haven’t had this product in my life before.

Let me just show you.

Before

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Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Review

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Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso

This is a post from the Beauty Skeptic archives that has been given a facelift, but content and opinions are the same. Favorites are being rescheduled and will appear by next Wednesday.

I don’t always bother with liquid lipstick, but when I do, it’s Stila Beso. I wrote about receiving a compliment on some bold red lipstick that made my morning. In turn, that inspired me to compliment someone else, and an awesome chain reaction resulted. Time to talk about the lipstick itself.

Reeeally Red

My skin is pretty agreeable to reds – so I didn’t have to go on a crazy hunting spree for, “the one,” because my options are plenty. Friday was National Wear Red Day; I opted for a red lipstick, specifically Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in the shade Beso. Stila and Sephora describe this shade as a, “true red,” meaning it has no blue, pink, or orange undertones, and is not particularly warm OR cool.

When I first got this lipstick, I swatched it on my lips not having looked up swatches online or having any idea of how pigmented it was; I exclaimed when I saw it. A little goes a very, very long way. Given how pigmented it is and how quickly the color takes, the doefoot applicator wand can be a liiiiiittle bit difficult to work with. Doefoot applicators are awesome for speed and ease of use, but a bold red lip requires careful application. If you have a lip brush, I recommend keeping it handy to help ensure clean edges.

The Bold Claim

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Skin Update

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At the end of February, I wrote about Biotin and Blemishes. Although I had incredible results hair-wise, my skin started panicking when faced with a relative imbalance of biotin (B7) to B5.

Skin Update

It has been nearly two months since I adjusted my usage, and happily, I haven’t gotten another cystic blemish. My skin isn’t completely clear all the time, but my annoying spots are reduced to what I usually deal with and in the times/cycles I usually deal with them. I’m calling this confirmation of my hypothesis.

Routine

Since, I’ve introduced two other things into my routine – once weekly usage of an at-home microderm device, and once weekly usage of a 10% AHA gel. Reviews on the microderm device are coming soon. I typically use it on Sunday evening, then the AHA on Wednesday evening. Additionally, I’ve changed brush heads on my Clarisonic to the Radiance head – and my love of the device is revitalized. More on that soon, too.

Morning
Evening
  • Remove makeup with Micellar Water
  • Wash face and decollete with CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser (drugstore + skin pH-friendly) with the Clarisonic Mia2 (Radiance head)
  • Sunday – Microderm device, then Micellar Water again. Wednesday – AHA treatment.
  • Moisturize with Argan Oil

Hydrate

I started slipping on my water intake over the last six months. Armed with a new, insulated water bottle I can better hydrate throughout the workday or when I’m out and about. My Contigo Grace is still used at home (non-insulated), but it’s nice to not have my water warm up throughout the day from the room temperature or being warmed from being held. I always seem to forget how much better my skin feels and looks when I’m hydrated. Somehow, I always find myself surprised by it; sometimes, I’m a space cadet when it comes to this stuff.

The Bottom Line

Right now, I’m satisfied with the status quo. I don’t have any painful blemishes, I’m not dealing with insane breakouts, and I don’t have texture issues. I’ll always have to deal with sebaceous filaments, and I’ve accepted that. If the extent of my skin woes is a blemish near my hairline or the occasional tiny blackhead (that, in reality, no one but my ridiculous, obsessed, hyper-critical self notices) I’m happy.

Eventually, I want to incorporate a Vitamin C product – but I’ll wait until a Sephora sale to splash out on Drunk Elephant or Ole Henriksen.

Back on a No Buy / March Haul

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no buy

I’ve accomplished and purchased the things I wanted to do and more without going overboard. My rules are a little different this time, though, based on what I reasonably expect to need to restock.

The Rules

No…

  • Makeup, brushes, storage, or tools
  • Hair products or tools
  • Nail products or tools
  • Fragrance purchases
  • Skincare
  • Beauty services (hair, nails, brows)

E-mail won’t be auto-deleted, but I won’t go browsing just for mindless amusement.

Exceptions to the No Buy

  • If MUJI drawers go on sale for $10 again, I’m going for it.
  • If I break a jaw clip (lazy hair days), I will replace it.
  • Obviously if I run out of my facial cleanser, I will repurchase. To me, this is more of a hygiene non-negotiable; plus, my cleanser is drugstore.

My March Haul

  • Replacement Gimme Brow.
  • Essence Make Me Brow – a <$5 alternative to Gimme Brow…for science.
  • Sally Beauty’s GVP version of Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo. I’m almost out of my Blond Brilliance purple conditioner, and I read shampoo is better-suited to this task.
  • Tarte’s Airbuki brush to use with my Amazonian Clay powder foundation (reviews on both coming soon) during Macy’s VIP Sale, man. Got it cheap!
  • Tarte Shape Tape Concealer.
  • Radiance brush heads for my Clarisonic…also 20% off at Ulta.

I’m Stocked Up On…

  • Concealer. I have concealer FOR. DAYS. Between my drugstore holy grail, MAC Pro Longwear, NARS Radiant Creamy, and now Tarte Shape Tape…yeah. I’m good. I probably need to extend a concealer No Buy past the duration of this one.
  • Missha Perfect Cover – when I realized I liked it, I bought a backup tube, so I have enough to last me quite a while. Even a shade that I can mix when I start self tanning/accidentally get natural color in spite of my sunscreen.
  • Mascara is good, too – I just opened a new L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, and I have an unopened one.
  • Brow products.

Are you considering a no buy soon?