Monthly Makeup Focus – April Review

It’s time to catch up on my Monthly Makeup Focus project!  Even though I wasn’t blogging over the last few months, I was still keeping on track with my project, rotating through new products each month and keeping notes on my reviews.  So here’s the products that I used in April and what I thought about them!:

Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Micellar Cleansing Water

Micellar waters are an essential part of my skincare routine; I use them literally morning and night and I have a few favourites.  When I saw this in the drugstore I snatched it up as I tend to have some pretty good luck with Neutrogena skincare. Overall I quite like this – it does its job: removes excess makeup and refreshes my skin.  It states that it can remove waterproof makeup but I’m not sure I agree with that; I don’t wear makeup but if I have heavy eye makeup on and just use this to remove it, I wouldn’t say it does the best job.  That said, I don’t think micellar water is what you want to use to remove waterproof makeup anyway.  It states that it’s safe enough for sensitive skin, which is definitely me, and I would agree – its gentle but still does it’s job.  I’m happy enough with this that once I finish this bottle, I’ll be purchasing this again.

bareMinerals Bare Sensuals READY Eyeshadow Palette

I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately but I cannot stop buying eyeshadow palettes!  This is one of 5 I’ve picked up in the last two months and I’m now OFFICIALLY going on a no-buy for palettes – it’s becoming a huge problem.  On the bright side, I basically have a new one to review for you every month for the next few months.

Anyway, I picked this one up at a bareMinerals outlet.  I can’t remember what I paid for it but it doesn’t appear to be available readily so I suspect it was likely a holiday release or something, bareMinerals seems to really like doing those.  The palette itself is quite large and a little bulky but well made and sturdy.  It includes a dual-ended brush which I enjoy and is of standard bareMinerals quality (which is good quality overall).

I like that it has a unique colour palette – the top row is warmer with some really pretty peachy and golden shades while the second row is cooler with the a majority of purple shades.  I’ve always been a fan of bareMinerals shadow formula and that opinion hasn’t changed with this palette.  The shimmers are the standout, they are creamy and smooth and quite pigmented.  The mattes don’t swatch that well but they do apply nicely to the eye and are pigmented as well.  Note that these don’t pack a ton of pigment but you can build them up, which is definitely what I prefer when it comes to eyeshadow formulas.

Overall I’m happy with this palette; I do find them very similar to Lorac’s formula – meaning that they can be quite powdery and leave you with some fallout but in exchange they blend nicely and are easy to work with.  I don’t find they last quite as long without fading though; I usually get around 6-7 hours of wear before I start to see some fading.

bareMinerals Invisible Bronze Powder Bronzer (Fair/Light)

I picked this bronzer up at the same time as the palette above; I’m not usually a big bronzer person but I wanted to try something shimmery for the Summer months and this seemed to fit the bill.

This was really hard to take a picture of so please excuse the crappy swatch photo above; the camera didn’t want to pick up the shade accurately.  While this looks kind of orangey in the swatch it’s actually the perfect shade for me for Summer when my skin has some colour.  It gives me a very natural sun-kissed look.  When I looked at this in-store it appeared to be way more shimmery than it is; the store lights really highlighted the fine shimmer in this but when applied, it has a satiny, silky finish and no really shimmer is visible.  I think it’s really flattering and a nice alternative to the regular matte bronzers I usually reach for.

Just like with the eyeshadows, I have zero complaints with the formula and texture of this product; it’s soft and smooth and applies seamlessly and evenly.

The packaging on this is similar to the eyeshadow palette but obviously on a smaller scale.  It’s bulkier so not especially travel-friendly but I typically take travel-sized bronzers with me when I travel anyway.

I think if you are in search of a new bronzer for Summer, you might want to take a look at these. They are available at Sephora and have some pretty good online reviews!

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner (Tornado)

I have a bunch of these eyeliners that I’m trying to use up and I thought this one would pair well with this month’s eyeshadow palette as it’s a deep plum shade.  I like these but I think once I’m done with these, I’ll be done with pencil eyeliners all together.  I decided that if I’m going to wear eyeliner, it’s either going to be liquid or use eyeshadow.

Almay Liquid Lash Extenders mascara*

I received this mascara from Glamsense for review; I’ve stated before that I’m really not a fan of fibre mascaras and this isn’t any different.  This gave my lashes a very spidery, spikey look and I hate that.  Plus it flaked on me and as is the case with all fibre/tubing mascaras, a pain to remove.  Would not recommend.

Kiko Milano Blending Wave Multi-Colour Blush (Ingenious Mauve)

I always forget how good this blush is – it’s such a pretty shade and the formula is top-notch.  It is a little powdery but I find that just makes it blend like a dream.  I picked this up at the Kiko Milano store in Vegas a few years ago and when I was there last month I went back to pick up a few products and it was closed! 🙁  *sobs  If you ever happen to come across a store, head in and grab some of their brushes specifically – they are amazing and very reasonably priced!

Essence Pure NUDE Highlighter

My mom bought this, didn’t like it and passed it on to me.  I’m in love with it!  I think this retails for something like $5 CAD which is an amazing deal; they only appear to have one shade of this and I’d describe it as a mix between a gold and champagne shade.  It works really well with my skin colour but if you’re of a deeper skintone I’m not sure how this would work for you.  Formula-wise it blends seamlessly and I find it gives my skin a luminous, natural glow.  I’ve spoken before about Hard Candy’s Baked Bronzer in Tiki being my favourite highlighter and I’d say this is a very close second.  I totally recommend giving this a try if you haven’t yet!

Beauty & Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Shampoo & Conditioner & Body Wash*

Beauty & Planet launched in drugstores a few months ago so I was excited to test out a few of their products, complimentary of ChickAdvisor.  The shampoo and conditioner really surprised me – my hair feels exceptionally clean and actually has noticeable difference in volume after using them.  The smell is a mix of coconut and floral and really pleasant.  One thing to note is that this shampoo is not sulfate-free but that doesn’t bother me – from what I understand sulfates can help remove build-up on your scalp when used every so often.

The body wash smells the same and I like it, but not quite as much.  It lathers nicely and does what a body wash should do but I prefer one that has a cream formula (this one is more gel-like) and is moisturizing.  I feel like if I used this regularly it might strip my skin a bit.

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What new products are you testing out right now?  Let me know below!

*Denotes a product sent to me as PR/for review purposes;