Tag: smashbox

Beauty

If I Could Only Keep One Tag/Shop My Stash

by Nikki2 Comments on If I Could Only Keep One Tag/Shop My Stash
MAC Eyeshadows (What Clout, Couture Copper Dazzle Shadow Extreme, Cranberry, Swiss Chocolate), NARS Savage Blush, NARS Punta Cana Bronzer, Dior Skin Correct Concealer 4WO, Estee Lauder 4W4 Hazel, Chanel Antoinette, Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer, Sonia G Soft Cheek, Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush, Sigma F79

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I always took it way too seriously and got overwhelmed 😂. I’ve been spending the last few weeks shopping my stash and getting reacquainted with a lot of my things and suddenly I felt like I could probably do it. It’s only hypothetical after all. This tag pops up ever so often, but I believe it was initially started in 2018 by Kelly Gooch on YouTube. As Kelly points out in her video, the interesting thing about doing this is that it narrows things down and not necessarily to your favorite products. If I had to just use one product every day (and of course, I want a cohesive look), it really did change the products that I initially would have picked. So let’s see what made the cut.

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Beauty, MAC Cosmetics

MAC 217S and 224S Eyeshadow Brushes (Review)

by Nikki4 Comments on MAC 217S and 224S Eyeshadow Brushes (Review)

If you follow MAC Cosmetics, then you may already know that several years back they made the switch to synthetic makeup brushes. Most people are not happy about that switch and the reviews of the synthetic brushes have been terrible. The only good reviews I’ve seen have come from Makeup artists and people that I assume had never tried MAC’s natural hair versions. I got the synthetic 239 brush for free in an order that I placed and I actually liked it, which led me to try these two brushes as well. I won’t be reviewing the 239S at the moment. It has been so long since I have used it, I don’t feel like I can give a good review of it right now. So I’ll have to circle back to that brush in the future.

MAC 217S Brush Review vs MAC 217 Natural Goat Hair Brush
MAC 217 Natural Hair (left) and MAC 217S Brush (right)
Smashbox Shadow Blending Brush vs MAC 224S Brush and Review
Smashbox Shadow Blending Brush (left) and MAC 224S Brush (right)

Keep in mind when reading through my thoughts that my natural hair MAC 217 brushes (I have 2) are about 6 years old. So some of the variations could be due to age. Also, I no longer own the natural hair version of the 224 so I’m working from memory on that comparison. I will also be comparing the 224S to my Smashbox Shadow Blending Brush** because it is the closest shape I currently own.

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Beauty

Smashbox Cali Contour Medium-Dark Palette

by Nikki3 Comments on Smashbox Cali Contour Medium-Dark Palette
Smashbox Cali Contour Medium-Dark Palette swatch medium dark skin
Smashbox Medium-Dark Cali Contour Palette

Smashbox quietly released this medium-dark version of their popular Cali Contour palette** sometime back in 2020 (?). I say quietly because I don’t think there was any sort of marketing letting people know they had created this new shade variation. I was searching for a review of this palette for the longest time with no luck. I was surprised that they didn’t try to hype this up more considering all of the valid complaints companies have been getting about shade ranges lacking inclusive options. Anyway, I broke down and got it because I continued to hear lighter skin tones rave about the original light medium shade and finally had to see for myself if it was good.

  • Top row, left to right: warm contour, shimmer gold, cinnamon matte
  • Bottom row, left to right: banana matte, apricot shimmer, coco rojo
Smashbox Cali Contour Medium-Dark Palette swatches medium dark skin
Smashbox Medium-Dark Cali Contour Palette
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Beauty

The Wanderlust List #4 (Sonia G Cheek Pro Brush)

by Nikki2 Comments on The Wanderlust List #4 (Sonia G Cheek Pro Brush)

The wanderlust list is my way of enjoying and using items I already own. I hope to encourage myself and others to use some of the products we have rather than being so quick to buy something new. If this concept interests you, you can check out the other versions of the Wanderlust List below.

I put off writing this post for a while because I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to be strong enough to pass on this purchase. I didn’t want to say I was passing on a purchase and end up buying it anyway. Fortunately for me, I did resist and instead of buying the Sonia G Cheek Pro Brush, I decided to revisit my severely neglected Bobbi Brown blush brush.

Bobbi Brown Blush Brush Natural Hair
Bobbi Brown Blush Brush, $62

I’ve been pushing the Bobbi Brown Blush Brush** around my collection for years now. It is a beautiful brush and it works well, I just don’t like using it as much as my other brushes. It is somewhat of a paddle style, but it manages to simultaneously be fluffier and denser than other brushes. I do find it useful for hard to blend blushes, it can somehow really push the pigment around and blend it out without disturbing my foundation. Although that is impressive, I would just rather get rid of hard to blend blushes.

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