PUR Cosmetics

Say Cheese! The Pur Love Your Selfie 2 Palette Is Camera Ready

September 12th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Aw, man! Why doesn’t the Pur Cosmetics Love Your Selfie 2 Palette come with a selfie stick? — a white one covered in silver glitter to match the packaging? That would be CUTE (if not altogether unnecessary), because if there’s anything I learned from watching all 12,543 cycles of America’s Next Top Model (it was a phase), it’s that when you’re taking a selfie, girl, get that camera up as high as possible, find your light source, and work those angles. #themoreyouknow

pur love your selfie 2 packaging — The $42 Pur Love Your Selfie 2 Palette

And should you need to whip out a quick makeup look, you’ll find almost errrthing you’d need in Pur Love Selfie 2 (which is the chapter 2 of the series of Pur palettes that started with the first Pur Love Your Selfie Palette).

It comes with eight eyeshadows, three face powders (a highlighter, a bronzer and a baking powder to set face makeup), a matte lip pencil, gloss and mascara.

Just add cattitude. 🙂

pur love your selfie 2 eyeshadows — First row of eyeshadows…

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My Picks for This Year’s Best Spring and Summer Makeup Launches

June 22nd, 2016 by Adia Goss 24 Comments

best spring summer launches — Some of my picks for “The Best Spring and Summer Makeup Launches”

Whew! There has been so much good makeup lately.

I mean, I used to get more excited about moody fall colors, but this year the spring and summer collections have been incredible! Literally, every time I turn around, I’m seeing another gorgeous collection.

If your head has been spinning a little like mine, then I hope you’ll like my picks for some of the best spring/summer makeup launches. I’d also love to hear yours.

I think I’ll start with lips, because I think a new lipstick or gloss is probably the easiest way to update your look.

Lips

First up, the Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint by Tarte, and I have the shade called Double Tap (here are swatches of the full range in this post).

I’m wearing cool-toned nude Double Tap in these pics, but I usually go for warmer-toned peaches and pinks. Thing is, this mauve is just so pretty and different from the rest of my stash. It’s opaque and not sticky at all.

Next, Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick, and I just mentioned the shade called Swinger in my roundup of my favorite liquid lipsticks, so I’ll be brief now: the color and formula are AMAZING. This one is perfect for summer.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about this season’s new launches without mentioning beautiful ColourPop Dohee.

Here’s a snap of me wearing it from my Spring Haul video.

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How I Strobe With Pur Strobe/Highlight Palettes

June 16th, 2016 by Adia Goss 20 Comments

If you’ve read some of my posts, then you probably know that I LIVE for a good highlight. I am all about that glow! — whether it’s super intense or a bit more subtle.

I’ve been looking forward to trying these two strobe/highlight palettes from PUR Cosmetics since the very first time I heard about them. I’ve been a fan of the brand since I discovered their Hydrafluid Water Serum Foundation.

First up is the Moonlight Glow Strobe Palette, which is the lighter, cooler-toned of the two. From left to right, the colors are Twilight, Lunar and Eclipse.

pur-strobe-palette-moonlight-glow — The PUR Cosmetics Moonlight Glow Strobe Palette

pur-strobe-palette-moonlight-glow-swatches — Swatches of the PUR Moonlight Glow Strobe Palette (L to R): Twilight, Lunar and Eclipse

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My Most-Used Makeup Products at the Moment

April 14th, 2016 by Adia Goss 28 Comments

I’m always trying new products, but I thought it would be fun to share what have been my most-used makeup products lately. For me, these are the products that “just work,” and they’re the things I reach for when I want to throw something on my face without having to give it any thought. The colors are just right, and they help me achieve my signature look — glowy skin and pinky/nude lips. 🙂

Foundations

I am a sucker for glowy, lightweight bases, and I’ve been constantly reaching for PUR Minerals HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation in Tan and NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Annapurna, which may be a tad too light for me, but it’s sheer enough that it still works.

The PUR Minerals foundation is amazing, by the way. Here are swatches and a full review. It’s available now at PUR Minerals for $39.

No brand matches my skin as well as NARS, and I love that NARS Pure Radiant has SPF 30. This was one of my first high-end foundations, and I’ve repurchased it time and again and will probably continue to do so because it’s a great everyday foundation. It’s available now at NARS Cosmetics for $44.

And, just to make sure my face is seriously glowy, I also like to use Pixi by Petra Glow Mist. It adds glow and helps my makeup last a bit longer. It’s definitely one of my favorite facial mists, and it’s available now at Target for $15.

most used makeup — L to R: Swatches of PUR Minerals HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation in Tan and NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Annapurna

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Face of the Day With the Zoeva Warm Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette

April 7th, 2016 by Adia Goss 18 Comments

As promised, I’m back with a face of the day using those Zoeva goodies we talked about.

I did one of my favorite makeup looks — softly, sparkly eyes, glowy skin and pink lips. This is pretty much my go-to makeup look, so I like to keep it interesting by trying out and incorporating new products and formulas.

For my eyes, I used two shades from the Zoeva Warm Spectrum eyeshadow palette (indicated below):

face of the day zoeva — The two shades from the Zoeva Warm Spectrum eyeshadow palette.

Whenever I try new eyeshadows, I don’t use primer for the first time because I like to get a feel for how they blend and wear without any help. I loved how pigmented and easy to blend these shadows were, but they could have used the boost of a primer, because I noticed some fading as the day wore on.

The rest of my eye makeup was pretty simple. I just used my favorite Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and Dior Diorshow Brow Styler Gel (This is one of my current favorite brow products! You can see it in action in this Date Night Makeup Tutorial).

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A Tarte-Ful Tuesday Face of the Day With the New Tarte Double Duty Beauty Collection, Makeup Revolution, Dior and More…

April 5th, 2016 by Nicole Fraser-Herron 18 Comments

Today was one of those days when I sat down to get ready, and I wanted to switch things up but still keep it casual.

Enter: navy blue.

I’ve got a red-orange earthy palette happening naturally, and I really like how navy blue brings out the brightness in my eyes.

Maybe my jumper inspired it; maybe I just like to be two-toned. We may never know! 🙂

So right now we need to talk about the new foundations in the Tarte Double Duty Beauty collection at Ulta. I recently tried the Empowered Hybrid Gel Foundation ($39), a medium-to-full coverage foundation that promises to smooth, plump, blur, and moisturize for up to 12 hours. Recommended application is with this Double Duty Beauty Foundation Brush & Spatula ($30).

Tarte Double Duty Beauty Empowered Hybrid Gel Foundation (available in 10 shades) with the Double Duty Beauty Foundation Brush & Spatula

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New & Pretty PUR HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation | Review & Swatches

March 7th, 2016 by Adia Goss 21 Comments

PUR Hydra Fluid Water Serum Tan — Wearing PUR HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation in Tan

I think I’m going to call 2016 “The Year of Foundations.” There have been so many new foundations coming out, like PUR HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation, which is new for spring 2016.

It promises an “instant youthful complexion,” which sounds pretty perfect to me, and it’s supposed to do it by adding moisture and radiance. At first glance, I love the packaging (I like serum foundations but don’t usually like the droppers they come with). When I saw that there were only five shades, I got a little nervous, but the light-to-medium coverage means that the finish is sheer enough that I don’t need an exact match. I swatched the colors and happily discovered that Tan is a great match for me (insert sigh of relief).

Here’s a look at the packaging and the shades:

At first, I thought I’d use Dark (I’m a MAC NC45 for reference), but it turns out that Tan is a much better match for me. I do get darker in the summer, though, so I could see myself using Dark then.

The formula feels super light, but it’s still moisturizing, which I love. I have combination skin, so I’m always skeptical about “moisturizing” foundations, because sometimes they feel too heavy and make my T-zone outrageously shiny; however, the first time I tested this, I didn’t use a primer or setting powder, and it lasted quite well. At the end of the day, there was a little bit of shine on my nose, but not enough to bother me at all. It didn’t break up across my cheeks or settle into my smile lines, either, which is another huge plus.

I’d call this light-to-medium coverage with a natural satin finish. The package describes the finish as “dewy,” but I’d say it’s on the subtle side of dewy, if that makes sense. When I applied a dime-sized amount using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush, it did a good job of evening out my skin tone.

I have an acne scar on my forehead, and it still shows through, but I think I could layer a bit more to get more coverage.
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Have You Tried These PUR Cameo Contour Dual-Ended Contour Sticks?

November 24th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

I’m not cuckoo for contouring. On myself. I feel like it looks a little harsh on me, and whenever I do it, my cheeks and my nose end up looking sharper and more chiseled than I’d like, which makes me look more, I dunno…villainous?

Call me crazy, but I’d rather have chubby cherub cheeks any day of the week.

Still, every once in a while (it’s a rare occasion), I will “go there” and do some contouring, and when I do, I like creams more than powders, just because I think it’s a softer, less obvious look, which is the effect I get with these $39.50 Cameo Contour Dual-Ended Contour Sticks by PUR Cosmetics.

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