Fave 3 Products of the Week!

Goooooooooood Morning this beautiful Tuesday!

Well actually, its more like afternoon, but thats okay…

Today I wanted to share three of my favorite products that I am obsessing over right now! This is the first post of its kind on my blog. I’ll give it a try and hopefully it’s a helpful post for you! I will be talking about 3 products I love and 1 that I created thats working really well for me! If you want to check out how I made my own DIY Lip Scrub, head over to my makeup Instagram page to check it out in my last post! @MakenziReviews

So the first product I want to tell you about is a brand new facial cleanser I grabbed at the store LAST NIGHT! It’s the first product in the photo above. I already love it! Its the Baking Soda Cleanser by Biore. You can find it at Walmart, Target, Maceys Grocery, basically anywhere there are general bathing and grooming products! To start off, this product has really great packaging. I love how it is all a translucent white/clear color. From the pump, to the gel itself, and the whole container, it all just ties in. The color reminds me of when you make a mini volcano in grade school and put the baking soda and vinegar together…IDK if thats a good thing for a face cleanser but I like it! Next, it smells great, which is typical for all Biore products. Its got a lovely fragrance, similar to the Charcoal cleanser. However, this one does not have the cooling effect like the Charcoal cleanser. It does have a few small exfoliating beads, I think they are supposed to be little baking soda beads. Theres not enough for me to say its an exfoliating gel though because I still use it with my Clarisonic brush. Overall it is a great face wash! Heres the Biore Baking Soda Cleanser as an add-on on Amazon. And the Mia 2 by Clarisonic

Next product is a hair product! This one is the Taming Elixir by Sebastian Professional. I love this as a conditioning heat protectant for when I blow-dry my hair. I don’t blow-dry my hair often, I normally let it air dry and sometimes straighten a few weird curls. But when I do use hot tools to dry my hair, I use this. I don’t usually buy higher end products for my hair or very few because I am low maintenance with my hair but this one is so great because it leaves my hair super shiny, I feel like my hair is much stronger when I use it, and its a great heat protectant. It contains avocado oil in it so that provides the natural heat protecting element. Its very light weight too so its not going to be a heavy greasy hair product. Perfect for me and smells wonderful! Check out the Sebastian Taming Elixir here

The third product is a sample of the Coconut Sheer Oil by Kopari Beauty. I have actually had this product for a couple years now but never really knew what to do with it. I used it in my hair a few times but it did NOT go well! My hair didn’t soak it in very quickly and it looked greasy 😦 but now I am using it on my face as a moisturizer along with my Elta MD SPF moisturizer! It makes my skin sooo soft and hydrated and I have not had any problems with break outs while using it. I feel like it makes my skin softer and helps impurities move through easier which = less fiery red zits! And OH MY GOODNESS this oil smells SO GREAT! Like it smells the best out of all 4 of the above pictured products! I absolutely love it! I like this small size but I don’t know if I am ready to commit to the bigger size that is 45$ at Ulta…Maybe when I make more money…one day… 🙂 If you have the $$$ to get the regular size or if you get your hands on a sample size TRY IT OUT! It’s a wonderful multi use coconut oil! You’ll fall in love 🙂  Luckily this product is on Amazon for 39$! Check out the Kopari Coconut Sheer Oil here!

Pictured above is a glass container of lip scrub that I made the other night foe you all on Instagram. Its super easy to make and has so many exfoliating and softening properties! Check it out on my Instagram! @MakenziReviews

 

This page does contain affiliate links which, when you click and purchase a product through a link, I may get a commission as an Amazon affiliate. Doing so does help me out but no sweat if you don’t click or choose to buy. Thanks!

BEST Makeup “Brushes” Today- Compared

All of us makeup lovers out there have seen the trends come and go for how to apply your foundation. Instagram shows us even weirder possibilities like spatulas, shoes, knives, and tacos, totally outside the normal and sensible makeup tools! Traditionally we see brushes and makeup sponges used in applying foundation. Right now, the popular trend is to use a Beauty Blender or a silicone “sponge” or silisponge. Today I want to compare three popular and mostly conservative makeup tools side by side to show you the difference between their application. You might not think so but not all makeup tools are created equal! So lets compare the classic foundation brush, the Beauty Blender sponge, and the silisponge.

Im going to show you how they first swipe onto the skin, how they blend out, and how easy they are to clean. My goal is to show you why each applicator is different and what they are best used for so that you can have confidence in using them and find what you like for your personal makeup preference! Here we go!

Foundation Brush- These are the most common, brushes are used in many parts of the makeup application. There are different styles of makeup brush for your preference, flat, big and soft, tight and compact brush bristles, flat top, brushes that look like a fish… there are many! Great for liquid foundation and perfect for powder foundation and finishing powder. Check out these foundation brushes, and these ones! This one is super cute too 🙂

Beauty Blender- Basically a glorified reusable makeup sponge. There are many off brands of the original Beauty Blender. Whether you are using the original or a knockoff, they are pretty much the same and go by the same name. I am using a version from Forever 21, they came in a 2 pack for cheap. TJ Maxx and Ross also have a great inexpensive selection! Great for a natural, dewey makeup look. Also works with finishing powder but not as much as a brush. Heres a great deal on a pack of blenders. This ECO friendly blender is a great option too.

Silisponge- Probably the weirdest of the three products on here today! This makeup tool is inspired by makeup artists on Instagram using random objects to blend out their makeup and one of those items being a silicone bra insert! It became so popular that companies started manufacturing an actual silicone sponge shaped applicator for makeup! Now this thing is NOTHING like a sponge. It does not waste or soak up any product like a sponge would. It just spreads the liquid foundation round like peanut butter on bread! I found mine in a 2 pack at Walmart for 4$, so not bad! I really don’t think there is a different between the high end brand and the Walmart, its literally just a smooth jelly feeling pod for makeup. Lets see how it compares to the other two! Shop this product here

Here is a comparison of all three…

Brush- can see stroke lines, somewhat blended, streaky, uneven, overall great coverage and blending. Medium amount of product soaked up.

Blender- Lots of product soaked up! Amazing blending, not amazing at spreading product, very natural look, not streaks, no lines.

Silisponge- FAIL no product wasted, very patchy, lots of line and unevenness, not natural at all. I would be embarrassed to walk out with this blend job…

Overall, I absolutely love the beauty blender sponge. It blends out perfectly for a soft and natural finish on your skin and leaves no trace of streakiness. Its THE BEST! The brush come sin second, its good in general but a little streaky. The silicone sponge though…. DONT GET ME STARTED! Its a flop… the only thing I use it for really is to move the makeup around on my face so I can blend it later with the sponge. Beauty Blender: Winner!

So now that you know about the differences between these three common makeup products, you can make the best choice for your makeup application! These tools can be very inexpensive, and they definitely have their more pricey counterparts, BUT I hope I could save you some $$ by showing you these before you pick the wrong tool for you! Hopefully you find “the one” for your daily makeup routine!

Check out the links in the descriptions above for some great options on Amazon, there are some very reliable options and some that are very cute and creative as well!

May your eyeliner be on fleek and your foundation perfectly blended!

 

Deconstruct an Article Promotion

Today I wanted to talk about article promotion and show you a great example I have seen on Instagram. Article promotions are like the only links I will click on these days! I don’t mind reading articles about things I am interested in, but as soon as it hits to an advertisement or learn more tab, I am OUT!

So the great example of article promotion I wanted to share is by a company called “HudaBeauty” run by beauty pro Huda Kattan. She is the face of her brand and is recognized by makeup lovers all over the world. And I mean all over the world for a reason because she promotes her makeup tips and tricks as well as products in English and Arabic, so she has a pretty far reach in the market. I love watching her Youtube videos and seeing her articles promotion posts on Snapchat, she does a wonderful job in directing traffic to her website. She gives off a genuine feel in all that she posts. She also promotes her makeup tricks through her Instagram. Most of her posts are showing off other peoples work with her products but occasionally she will post her video of a tutorial or a makeup swatch or how a new product works. She then will put the link to that expanded post for her website in her biography link in her Insta profile. This is just the nature of Instagram that live links can only be put in the profile section, not the actual post itself. So here is here latest post about How To Clean False Lashes

As you can see, she posted the How To video and the link is inherently bio. When you click the link it follows to her website where the original post is. Heres the link if you want to check it out followed by the site screenshots. HudaBeauty

So I think she did a great job with promoting her Instagram and website. The Instagram video is in her site article and the Instagram page links to her article. I would say her social media channels are all interwoven and that is really important. That is definitely a strength in how HudaBeauty shares their posts. Her image is consistent across the two sites. She keeps her color scheme of black white and pink with Huda Kattan being the main person. Some weaknesses I see are that the posts is pretty short on the website. I think there is more info about how to clean the lashes in the video than the actual article so its almost redundant to have a whole other article about it on the website. I think the fact that her article is short could be a strength and a weakness. I know I like her other articles because they are short and to the point and not painfully long or repetitive, thats why I like reading them. In this case though, the video has more info than the actual article. When posting a video in an article I think the article should expand on what is shown or talked about in the video so that they are complimentary. I also like that on her site there are relevant related articles suggested on the sidebar and at the end. There are no ads for random clickbait sites and I really appreciate that. I also don’t know if this is a strength or weakness but I think it is strange that the title of the article is different on the site than what the title of the video is on Instagram? Like shouldn’t they be the same? What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks for reading and hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration for your next round of article promotion posting! Thoughts and comments are welcome below!

Honest Review: Light Up Makeup Mirror

I love trying out new beauty products. I see the same ones on Instagram and Facebook advertising for a few weeks and sometimes I’ll give in and buy, but usually I will find a similar version but cheaper on Amazon. This was the case for the light up vanity mirror. I received it and instantly fell in love!

Let me tell you a few great things about this mirror…

• I FEEL LIKE A PRINCESS/PRO MAKEUP ARTIST WHEN USING IT! So that’s a plus…
• Two option charging- Takes batteries or plugs in to source
• 4 mirrors- there are three angles to see yourself from with four mirrors. One side is a magnified view so you can get in nice and close for detail.
• Dual Fold- its folds up nicely when you’re not using it so it can be put away
• Touch Screen- it has a button at the bottom of the main mirror that is touch sensor so it is flush with the mirror and does not distract from the mirror. And there are no cracks to clean and be left grubby when you cant get all the gunk out.
• 21 LED lights- the main mirror has twenty one lights along its border so its pretty bright!
• All white- I love the white option because it goes with my bathroom and looks nice and clean
• Tray- there is a tray at the base of the mirror so you can place your bobby pins or lip gloss there while getting ready with the mirror
• Tilts- the angle of the mirror is easily adjustable and holds its place.

Here is the link one more time!

Here are a few things that I don’t love

• Lights could be a little more bright. Doesn’t make a huge difference f you already have alright light on in the room
• The magnified mirror is on the left flap. If I tweeze my eyebrows or do anything with my right hand it bumps the right side of the mirror, so that’s annoying
• There’s not a good place to put it! The base is a little big so it has to stay out on the counter or I put it in another room on a table with other makeup supplies.

Overall, this was a good buy! I would recommend it since I use it every day when I am putting on my makeup. I feel like its a splurge purchase, just to make makeup seem a little bit more fun. Its also better than hanging over the counter to see my makeup application and getting in the way of my husband when we happen to get ready at the same time. Anyway, if you were thinking about buying one of these then there are some pro’s and con’s. If you weren’t planning on it, now you know about the mirror and you probably won’t stop thinking about it for a little bit now! Check it out, if you happen to get on then let me know how it goes in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, friends!