Crucianize

Tag: mascara

  • My first order with Tarte

    My first order with Tarte

    Tarte, if you don’t know is an American cosmetics company that was founded in 2000, their products first caught my eyes I want to say about 3 to 4 years ago. I can’t remember what product it was that interested me but I quickly joined Team Tarte. Team Tarte is their loyalty program where you can earn points that enables you to get some free stuff with your purchases. Just opening an email from Tarte gets you 10 points. I didn’t make a purchase before because while I enjoyed makeup that was inexpensive Tarte is anything but. My eyes saw more than my pockets could handle but this year I decided I was going to splurge a little and get something for myself since I don’t usually get any gifts.

    I still had a budget mind you so I went on the site and looked for things that were interesting to me but not that expensive. I immediately saw the Hydration Celebration Hydrating Skincare Set for 23,00€ (47€ Value), what exactly is this set about? Well, this is what the description says:

    What It Is

    Celebrate good skin, come on! These 4 hydration sensations feel ultra-lightweight & quench your skin’s thirst.

    SET INCLUDES

    • full-size quench lip rescue in rose
    • travel-size quench hydrating primer
    • travel-size drink of H2O hydrating boost moisturizer
    • deluxe 4-in-1 setting mist

    The small sizes of the products didn’t bother me since I have a few other products I’m currently using. I thought this would be a good way for me to try out the products before committing to the bigger sizes.

    With my order I received a sample card of Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation in Medium, there are five different shades you can swatch to find your perfect match.

    While I was there I decided to use some of my points and collect some rewards. I took the Birthday Set which is two cult classics but in mini size. It’s the Amazonian clay 12-hr blush in Quirky and the Lights, Camera, Lashes, 4-in-1 Mascara.

    I also took a Deluxe SEA Wink h20 Vegan Collagen Eye Cream

    Reviews

    I tried out my purchases today and the first thing I applied was the Eye Cream, it is a bit thick in consistency, there’s no smell, and doesn’t leave the skin feeling greasy. Since this is my first use I will come back after I have used it a while to update you on how I like it.

    I next applied the moisturizer, it feels very light and went on smoothly, the scent is not strong at all which I like, my skin feels moisturized, once again I’ll update after using it a while.

    The next step, the primer, has a gel-like consistency which I was not expecting, it went on smoothly and did not leave my skin feeling like there was something on it.

    I then applied my foundation, my preferred YSL Touche Eclat, after it was the eyeshadow, the mascara which I like a lot because it gave me length and that dark color without the spider effect, and then the blush, followed by the gloss which is just that, a gloss, I prefer my glosses to have a bit of color to them so I’ll probably add this over a lipstick, and finally the setting spray which smells like very citrusy and I panicked a bit thinking I might break out due to my allergies but so far my skin is still smooth and bump-free.

    The finished face:

    Out of all these products, I think I enjoy the mascara the most and will probably consider buying it again, the rest? I’m not very impressed with them so far.

  • Finding happiness in the little things

    You know that feeling when you open your mailbox and there’s something in there with your name on it? I don’t really experience that feeling, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever received anything, I don’t really order anything online, I’ve gotten some books in the mail, some clothes as well but that’s about it. Every time I go out to the box I am not really expecting anything but still feel a little disappointed that everything is for my husband, he gets packages all the time, sometimes I have to sign for them and that is a tale for another day.

    So imagine my joy when I opened my mailbox yesterday and inside was a package with my name on it, I was overjoyed, I ripped it open with quickness and inside was a box that said Marc Jacobs Beauty. Let me back up just a bit and tell you about this package. I’ve been a member of a website called Influenster (it’s a website that sends you products to test for your honest review) I think it’s been about three to four years, so right around the time when I was pregnant, if you’re new to my blog I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy) which basically made me an invalid for nine months, I then went through postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder which lasted for about a year. In 2015, I moved from my Caribbean home and went through a series of terrible events. The loss of my puppy, finding out my mother was in the hospital, I was taking punches left and right but the worst one was losing my second baby. What should have been the happiest time of my life was stained with dark spots that I couldn’t find a way out from. 

    I’ve always been weak to dark moods and Expat depression added itself to my growing pile, while I always seemed to find myself out of my foul moods this one seemed enormous. What helped was finally being able to talk to my mother online, she hates the internet but there was no other way for us to communicate. My days seemed a little sunnier, one of my brothers who had a distaste for social media also joined and I found myself happy.

    I got off-topic, my apologies, I can ramble on and on sometimes, anyway I was very sick and couldn’t do much with my Influenster account so it laid dormant for years. This year I decided to get more active on it, I reviewed products I had already used, I answered questions, I followed accounts, I was enjoying myself, out of nowhere I got a survey asking if I wanted to be sent a product to review, I answered yes and about two weeks later I got a message saying I was chosen!

    I was thrilled, along with no interest in my Influenster account I hadn’t been using my makeup kit much, so I relished the chance to go back to something that gave me a little joy in life, I’m nowhere near to being MUA status, not even close I just enjoy enhancing my features. I have to be honest when I say my happiness was wearing off a bit when I saw everyone else reviewing their VoxBoxes and I was still without my product, see the way my mind works it immediately jumped to the worst scenarios, I swore my box got lost or someone stole it, I questioned whether I put the right address in, my mind was whirling and then yesterday there it was.

    Disbelief and exhilaration, I wanted to do everything right to make sure I did the review right and they would choose me again.

    Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara Volume Spectaculaire VoxBox 

    Testing out my new mascara.

    A little eyeliner and mascara make me feel pretty!

    I’ve been testing the mascara now for three days and have to say that I’m pretty much in love with it, the mascara goes on smoothly and gives an instant boost to my lashes, and let’s not joke about it but my lashes are not the best, they are short, thin, and not at all impressive which is why I was shocked to see how long and luscious it got from the mascara. There is just one thing I don’t care for about the mascara, it is on the heavier side, if I use three swipes of mascara my lashes will clump horribly so what I did to fix this issue was to go over it with another mascara brush, I was able to separate the lashes to fully enjoy the length and dark color the mascara provided.

    In the picture above I applied the mascara to just my right eye and you can see for yourself the difference the mascara has made to my pitiful lashes. I don’t think I will ever leave the house again without using my Velvet Noir mascara even if I use nothing else.