Jen Clark

An Easy, Beautiful Golden Bronze Eye Makeup Look Using the $5.49 Essence All About Bronze Eyeshadow Palette

March 21st, 2016 by Jen Clark 28 Comments

Is the weather starting to warm up where you live? I’m looking out the window at a gloomy night that is chucking it down with SNOW. Waahh! I just went on (what I thought was) a spring walk the other day, and now I have to bring out my winter coat again! If any of you are familiar with Utah weather, you know that, unfortunately, this isn’t that weird.

I’ll probably have to scrape off my car in the morning, but I’m choosing to be more optimistic with my makeup choices. I’m channeling sunshine with this springtime golden/bronze eyeshadow look.

This look is so flattering on every single eye color, and it’s so easy to do. AND the palette I’m using is only $5.49! It’s the Essence All About Bronze Eyeshadow Palette.

You guys, every single one of you needs to go out and buy one of these palettes. If bronze-y shades aren’t your thing, they’ve got a bunch of different options. Nudes, Roses, Greys, and more! They blend out like a dream and are so pigmented. Love, love, LOVE.

I started out with a matte transition shade in the crease to help the gold blend better with my skin. That’s the thing about this palette — the one con. There are no matte shades.

But, no worries. If you have one, just use a different shade from your stash. I actually used my contour powder today as my transition shade.

IMG_6499_edited-1 — I’m using the three “starred” shades in this look!

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A Face of the Day With New Products From L’Oréal

March 14th, 2016 by Jen Clark 36 Comments

How’s it going, you guys!? I’ve been having such a blast doing these posts and getting to chat with some of you. I am so glad to put a face to the beautiful people I’m writing to.

Oh, how is my day going, you ask? Well, let me tell ya. I accidentally fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the day while my son Kai was hanging out in the living room with me (I promise, that is a very rare occurrence).

He knows when to take advantage of people, like when his mom is too tired to function, so he found a blue marker somewhere, somehow, and scribbled all over our beige microfiber couch…

Not cool, Kai, not cool.

Get ready, Karen, because Connor will destroy everything you hold dear! 🙂

So, in light of today’s events, I am locking myself in the bedroom while my dear husband takes his turn at scrubbing the couch, and I’m going to chat with you guys about L’Oréal. That should cheer me up!

I have a theory about L’Oréal…

Let me explain. Did you know that they actually own tons of different brands, including a bunch of high end brands like YSL, Lancome, Georgio Armani, and Urban Decay?

Cool huh? But back to my theory.

I think because they’re involved with so many high quality brands, their makeup is actually comparable quality, just at a much cheaper price.

That would make sense, right? Again, just a theory.

Another great thing about the brand is that they do absolutely no testing on animals, and they haven’t since 1989. That is such a cool accomplishment in my eyes.

OK, let’s get to the makeup.

Using (mostly) L’Oréal makeup, I created this look here…

First I tried L’Oréal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation, and if you haven’t heard of these new cushion foundations, they’re basically sponges soaked in foundation and put into a compact.

Weird, right? I’m a little confused by the whole concept myself, but tons of brands have been doing them, so there must be some perk!

I actually thought it was super convenient. It comes with a little puff that you dip into the product, then pat on your face. I like it because you don’t need a separate brush. Everything you need is right there, although you totally could use another brush or sponge if you like the application better. Just make sure anything you dip in there is super clean. It seems like this product could be a playground for nasty bacteria.

The coverage is pretty light but does build up to be about a medium coverage. I don’t think you’d be able to get up to full coverage with this one. As you can see below, it won’t cover any massive creatures chillin’ on your chin.

As the name suggests, it also gives you the most gaw-geous luminous glow, and I’m all about dat glow. This one is a real winner for me!

Next up is this cute little brow kit, the L’Oréal Brow Stylist Prep & Shape Pro Kit. This one here is in shade “medium to dark”.

How great would this be just to chuck in your bag and have for touch-ups?! It comes with a wax, a powder, a little angled brush with a spoolie on the end, and a pair of little tweezers.

I think the product itself is excellent, but it’s just not for me, just like every other powder brow product I’ve tried. I think that powders don’t work for my brows because, let’s be honest, they’re kind of massive.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my full brows, but I feel like powders just make them look too huge and fuzzy. That probably makes no sense, but pencils just work so much better for me.

If you love using powders and waxes on your brows, get this. I really think you’ll love it.

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Get Clearer Skin in 5 Steps With Pixi

March 10th, 2016 by Jen Clark 34 Comments

I chase clear skin like I chase the donut food truck. Having the best skin possible is super important to me, as I’m sure it is for you too!

Weirdly enough, I’ve had way more skin issues in my 20s than I did in my high school years. Maybe that’s a blessing, because now I have the patience to experiment with different concoctions to find the best products and routines for my skin, and as of this moment, I think I’ve found it.

I’ve been using this routine now for several weeks and have been so happy with how my skin has been acting. In case you haven’t noticed yet, I use mostly Pixi, along with a lovely little Elizabeth Arden serum.

Let me take you through my skin care routine, which I follow morning and night…

Step 1: Cleanse

Keeping your skin clean is so important. Removing your makeup and the nastiness of the day from your pores will help keep the breakouts away.

First, splash your skin with warm water to open up those pores, and then work Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser into your skin. It’s a delicious recipe for clear skin packed with yummy ingredients like glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, and aloe vera.

Step 2: Mud mask

This step, you only want to do two or three times a week. Shmear the Pixi Glow Mud Mask all over you face, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. The rich mask is loaded with minerals to draw out excess oil and impurities from your skin. You can see all of the crud it pulled out of my pores!

So satisfying…

Step 3: Toner

Toner is a step that a lot of people feel is unnecessary, but I don’t think so at all. You need a toner, and let me tell you why. Toner helps to balance the PH level of your skin, meaning that, depending on your skin type, it’ll prompt your skin to produce either more or less oil on its own, whatever it needs.

Pixi Glow Tonic is the best toner I have EV-AR used. I don’t know how it does what it does, but it has reduced redness and breakouts in my skin more than any other product ever has. You have to try this one.

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Can Physicians Formula Really Make You #InstaReady?

March 8th, 2016 by Jen Clark 25 Comments

When I first saw Physicians Formula’s new line, #InstaReady, I thought, “Genius marketing! But there’s no way makeup can really make you more Instagram ready.” After I tried the products, I realized that InstaReady doesn’t really mean anything, aside from having a really good makeup day, and that’s exactly what happened when I tried it.

There’s plenty behind these products that I think deserves mentioning, like how almost all of them contain SPF 30. They also have InstaFilter Technology, which is basically a clever way of saying that they’ll mattify your skin while leaving behind lots of valuable moisture. The InstaFilter Technology also uses high-tech, light-reflecting polymers to blur imperfections and re-texturize the skin.

Now, these are HUGE claims for a product to make, and while I did have a great skin day while using #InstaReady, I didn’t look like I had an Instagram filter over my face… Obviously. But let’s talk a little more about a few of my favorite products from the line, shall we?

To start, I applied the Super BB #InstaReady Beauty Balm BB Cream. Most of the BB creams I’ve used have been light to medium coverage and applied almost like tinted moisturizers, but not this one. This bad boy is full coverage.

In the pro column, and this one’s big, I didn’t need to use any concealer on my blemishes, because they were already covered so well! This has a beautiful semi-matte finish and lasts throughout the day; however, it’s not without a few cons. Like, it’s extremely thick and feels uncomfortable on my skin. You can definitely feel that it’s there, and while the uncomfortable, constricted feeling fades the longer I wear it, I wouldn’t wear this again unless I were wearing full-on makeup that day. It can also look a little cakey, so this isn’t something I’d want to wear if I were going for a no-makeup makeup look.

Overall, though, I really like it, and I’ll wear it the next time I want a flawless complexion! You can see the coverage is bomb here in these before and after pics…

The next stand-out InstaReady product for me is the Super BB #InstaReady Contour Trio BB Stick in Bronze Trio. This little deodorant stick o’ bronzer is truly a dream. Literally, I’ve dreamed of a product that could make contouring a breeze, and here it is in my hot little hand! This guy is definitely going in my everyday makeup drawer and will live there until I die.

It contains the same InstaFilter Technology as the BB cream, so again it’s going to help blur and perfect the skin. It’s also made to be super blendable, which I can attest to. It has a deep contouring shade on the far end, a slightly shimmery bronzing shade in the middle, and a nice highlight on top. All you need to do is paint a cute tiger stripe on each cheek with the deepest shade in the hollow of your cheek, then tap away with your fingers or Beauty Blender. My contour was blended and looking fly in 0.73 seconds.

I recommend it for anyone who loves a good contour, and it would also be stellar for anyone just starting out in the world of faking perfect bone structure, because it’s so fast and easy to use.

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New for Spring! Essence Lip Swatches

March 3rd, 2016 by Jen Clark 38 Comments

Ever since that fateful day I picked up one of their lip liners, Essence has continued to keep me pleasantly surprised with the quality of their makeup. In the world of extremely affordable makeup, the brand keeps working their way up to the tippy top.

They recently released a couple of new lip products for spring 2016 — their Shine & Sheer Lipsticks, and the Essence Liquid Lipsticks — and I love me a good lipstick! I also love me some makeup that I don’t have to sell my soul for, so this is a match made in affordability heaven.

Let’s start with my favorite of the two, the Liquid Lipsticks. There are six available shades, and one thing to understand before going out and buying every one is that they might not be what you expect when you think of “liquid lipstick.” My experience with liquid lipsticks is more along the lines of Kat Von D and Colourpop, where they go on super liquid-y and opaque and dry down matte.

These are more of a really pigmented gloss, but they still sit nicely on the lips and last a decent amount of time. I really am a huge fan of these for a plump and shiny lip.

Ready for the best part? They. Are. Only. $3.49.

Wut.

Essence Spring 2016 Almost Real 03 — “Almost Real” 03

Essence Spring 2016 Colour Party 01 — “Colour Party” 01

Essence Spring 2016 Peach Party 05 — “Peach Party” 05

Essence Spring 2016 Beauty Secret 02 — “Beauty Secret” 02

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The New Benefit Hoola Spring 2016 Collection

February 29th, 2016 by Jen Clark 47 Comments

It’s official! You can now literally smother Benefit Hoola all over your bod without going through an entire pan of bronzer.

You haven’t done that? Oh, just me?

They’ve expanded on the crazy popular Hoola bronzer by adding a liquid bronzer called “Dew The Hoola”. Aw, super cute! They’ve also come out with an all-over body bronzer called “Zero Tan Lines”. Last, but most definitely not least, the cutest bronzing brush with blue hairs on a handle made of golden bamboo. The collection officially releases on February 26th.

This release was an answer to my prayers because this has to be my palest winter yet. I have to (get to) look at my Hawaiian husband and son’s golden tans year round, and I start to feel pretty bad for myself come February, so I slathered myself in all things Hoola in a desperate attempt to pretend that I just came back from Hawaii.

Let me tell you what I thought.

Dew The Hoola is meant to be a liquid version of the famous Hoola powder bronzer, which is a beautiful cool brown shade that looks like an actual tan on your face. I think that’s why it’s been so popular, because it looks so natural compared to so many of its orange competitors.

I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed the first time I pumped out the bright orange liquid, because it wasn’t at all what I expected. But still, I pressed onward and applied it to the hollows of my cheeks, around the perimeter of my face, and on my nose and chin. Then I blended it in with a damp Beauty Blender. I also tried it with a fluffy face brush, but it didn’t blend out nearly as well.

As soon as it was all blended in, it ended up looking…not too bad. I really like the consistency and workability of the liquid, but I think the color is off for me.

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