Half Caked Candy Paint Review #indiefeature

Initial Thoughts:

     The packaging lived up to my expectations to say the least! They're like a polly pocket toy and I absolutely love staring at them. Upon inspecting the packaging, I did notice a couple interesting things. There is no expiration label on the box or product component. Additionally, I noticed that the ingredients list (yes, I should've done that before ordering them) contains the color additive "ultramarine." This ingredient is restricted by the FDA as an "external" ingredient because it can absorbed through mucous membranes such as the lips. The FDA does allow some color additives to be used in products such as lipstick in limited amounts. I trust that Half Caked has done their due diligence to comply with FDA regulations, however I wanted to let you all know that the ingredient is in there in case it concerns you.
     The Candy Paints were somewhat dry on the surface, but once I started digging into them, the product payoff was much better. Though it was never mentioned in the description of the products, I'd definitely say that they dry down to a matte finish (there wasn't much glow). I tried applying them with both my fingers and a sponge. While the body heat of my finger made the product easier to blend and gave a more natural appearance, my sponge applied the product much more densely which resulted in a better color payoff. Personally, I wish that the colors of "Millions of Peaches" and "Disco Lemonade" were a little different. The two colors in my opinion, are close enough to each other in shade that they look the same when blended out. In my opinion, you don't need both.

This closeup was taken in outside, after I finished my makeup. The blush was applied to both my cheeks and lips alongside a liner. 

Review:

     As mentioned above, these products do seem to dry down. I personally don't mind this because I'm someone who brings their blush out to my T zone and as I'm sure you all know, the T zone tends to produce the most oils. For that reason, I think that a semi matte finish is more appropriate than a glowly product for me, to ensure longevity on my combo skin. They certainly didn't seem to fade on my cheeks after prolonged wear and they stay feeling light weight. Now there's something we need to talk about. Point blank, I really don't like these products on the lips, for the exact reason why I like them on my cheeks. They're comfortable to wear for 3-4 hrs, but anything after that and I'm licking my lips frequently because of how dry they feel in addition to how dry they look. I don't know why they're so drying on my lips, they feel just fine as cheek color. Either way I have to be honest with you all about my experience. As far as pigmentation goes, while these are buildable, you can apply them quite densely and easily get up to a medium coverage, it just depends how much product you load onto your application tool. They blend out quite easily too because of how the product can be sheared. I do really wish there was a red blush to this set! I like a little color and feel as though the collection is just missing that pop.

Conclusion:

     While the Candy Paints won't be replacing my lip colors any time soon, they've officially bumped down E.L.F.'s Cream Blush Palette as my favorite cheek product! They hold up well, provide desirable pigmentation, blend easily, and look fantastic. I wouldn't recommend buying all four colors as "Millions of Peaches" and "Disco Lemonade" are quite close in color, but for $8, I'd say they're worth trying, just proceed with caution if you're gonna use them on the lips.

From top to bottom (Millions of Peaches, Disco Lemonade, Dollhouse, Velvet Tiger). These were swactched with my finger on my bare arm.

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Break Down:

Twin Medix Pro: Refine Moisturizer Refine #indiefeature

     To put it plainly, I didn't believe that I would love this product. I went in a skeptic because I already have my favorite moisturizing product, the Pacifica Coconut Probiotic Rehab Cream. As much as I enjoy Pacifica's moisturizer, it does have it's flaws. It's definitely not for oily skin people because of how thick the cream is. Additionally, the Pacifica moisturizer does take a few minutes to fully absorb. With that in mind, the TwinMedix Pro: Refine manages to satisfy all these needs!
     Despite being a thick cream as well, the moisturizer absorbs almost instantly and feels very light weight on my skin. I can see it working well for people with oily and combo skin. As for people with dry skin, I would probably recommend you stick to a heavier duty moisturizer. While I do enjoy that the moisturizer absorbs rather fast, it's also to a detriment; I use a little more product than I would normally and I have to work extra fast to spread around my face before it's absorbed. Although subtle, the glow is definitely visible and I appreciate that this effect is achieved without the use of shimmer. It's definitely a your skin, but better appearance which I love! Whenever I want to spruce up a bit without doing much, I've been throwing on this moisturizer. Now the biggest reason why I've fallen in love with this moisturizer is that I've noticed the elasticity in my skin has improved. I believe I've addressed my skin issue before, but I do suffer from eye dermatitis. My condition, causes me to scratch my eyes regularly, which has left the skin on my lids a tad bit loose. My eyelids are so much firmer now! When I rub my eyes, it doesn't feel as though the skin needs a moment to move back into place which is a miracle in itself. Furthermore, my fine lines appear smoother long after the moisturizer has worn off.

Final Thoughts:

     Overall, this moisturizer has earned its place in my makeup kit. I'm genuinely astonished by how well it works! Below this section, I'm going to include unedited before and after pictures of my smile lines and forehead creases so that you can see the difference two weeks of using this product has done to my skin. By no means are these pictures night and day, but the difference is there; my fine lines are smoother and my creases a little less as a result. While there are some cons to this product, I do firmly believe that everyone should consider giving this moisturizer a chance.

Before:

After:

If you've made it this far, I would just like to say thank you for reading my article! Your feedback matters a great deal to me, please feel free to message me through my email therobynvalentine@gmail.com regarding any feedback or questions you may have. Also while your here, I would greatly appreciate it, if you consider contributing to my website by making a donation to my Paypal using the email provided. Thank you again for all your continued support, it truly means the world to me.

Linda Hallberg Cosmetics Mood Crayons Kit Review #indiefeature

     When I removed the kit out of it's packaging, I found that it's box was placed in a small plastic bag. Furthermore, the kit was inside a thin box with the company's logo printed on it. The actual container that held the crayons, had the exact same printing as the thin protective box on the outside . The backside included a description of the product, list of awards, and ingredients among other things. The inside of the kit features a large mirror framed by a beautiful rainbow swirl print. The crayons are set in cardboard padded grooves, with a diamond cut out in the middle featuring more of the rainbow print swirls. The pencils were well secured in these grooves as indicate by their names remaining right side up during their travel. I'm personally a fan of keeping the packaging products arrive in, but I will be the first to admit that the box while pretty, wastes a substantial amount of space. Opening the lids of the pencil, I noticed that the tubes holding the product are not made of wood, but some sort of plastic material. When sharpening these pencils, I do have to recommend that you use sharpeners made for delicate products. While they're not the most fragile pencils I've ever used, they still need to be handled with care.