LORAC Pro Contour Palette

Recently I purchased my first contour kit. I know I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. But, I haven't been sold on any of them before because of the color selection. I have light skin with pink to neutral undertones, which makes finding the right contour and bronzer pretty hard sometimes. I needed to find a contour powder that offered a light cooled toned contour powder. A lot of the others on the market are either a little to dark or a little to warm. So after seeing how light the contour color on the LORAC Pro Contour was, I decided to go for it. 

The palette includes three highlight shades, a beige, yellow and a shimmer highlight.  It also has three contour shades, light, dark and medium.  It has the same options as all the other contour palettes on the market expect for the shimmer highlight. This is the first contour palette out to include a shimmer highlight and to be truthful I wish it didn't. I think the shimmer highlight sucks as cheekbone highlight. The beige and yellow are really nice. I like to mix the two to get the perfect shade for me. They do a great job brightening my underage area. As with all LORAC products they are powdery, but on the skin they are beautiful. 

Now, for the contour colors,  I use the light for my contour and the color works great for my skin tone. It also is the most powdery of all the colors. I mean it kicks up a lot. I like to use the medium as a bronzer but, I do have to use a light hand because it is darker then my bronzer. The medium is also much larger then the light and dark. I believe that is because the medium will appeal to more people. 

The deep I doubt I will every use on my face because it is so dark but, I will probably use it as an eyeshadow. 

( Highlight shades from top to bottom: Shimmer, yellow and beige)

(Contour shades from top to bottom: light, dark and medium)

One thing this palette has that is different from the rest is that it includes a brush. The brush is shaped like the NARS Ita brush but they are totally different. This brush is much more dense and rounded. I like this brush to put the product on and then I like to blend it out with the Ita. I think this brush is way to dense for blending. It just doesn't work for me. 

The price of this palette is $45 and that includes the brush. It is available at Ulta, Nordstrom and Kohls. I got mine at Ulta because I had a 20% off coupon. Overall I thought it is that it is a good palette for the price.  I really could have done with out the shimmer highlight but it could be just my skin tone it doesn't look good on. If you have tried it tell me your thoughts. 

Sephora vs Ulta vs Rewards Program

VS.  

Rewards Program 

After Sephora's disastrous Epic Rewards on Monday I wanted to write about the Pros and cons of both Sephora and Ulta.

Sephora:

Levels:

Beauty Insider: $0-349

VIB: $350-999

VIB Rouge: $1000 and Up

Reward Points:

For every dollar spent(tax is not included) Sephora gives you 1 point. Sometimes they offer bonus points like they recently did where they offered 2x points for beauty insiders, 3x points for VIB and 4x points for VIB Rouge. You can you redeem your points for deluxe size samples and they are limited in choice by what they have available. They usually have items ranging from 100pts, 250pts and 500pts. Occasionally they will offer a 1000pt perk which may or may not be full size. Most of there point rewards are always deluxe size samples.

Shipping:

Free Shipping for all with a purchase of $50.

VIB Rouge get free 2 day shipping on all orders.

They also offer 2 day shipping for a year to others at a cost of $10 a yr. 

Extras:

Sephora will give 3 samples in store is you ask. 

Twice yearly discount usually 15%-20%

10% discount code to use once when you become VIB Rouge. 

Twice yearly VIB Rouge event with sample bag

If you order online you can use a promo code to receive a free deluxe size sample 

Online ordering you can also get 3 free samples out of the samples they offer.

Yearly Birthday gift is a deluxe size sample set. Everyone gets the same one. This year it was 2 NARS Velvet matte lip pencils and VIB Rouge got an extra sample size Larger then life eyeliner. 

Brands:

Sephora has a wide range of brands mainly mid range to high end. There are some brands you can only get at Sephora. Buxom is one I know right off hand is one. 

Ulta:

Levels:

Ultamate rewards: $0-399

Platinum: $400 and up

Rewards Points:

For every dollar spent(tax is not included) you receive 1 point. Platinum members receive 1.25 for every dollar spent. Sometimes they do bonus points also like right now they are running a 2x points for all and 3x points for platinum members. Ulta's reward point are pretty awesome because they add up to dollars you can spend in store.

Points:

100=$3

250=$8

500=$17.50

750=$30

1000=$50

2000=$125

You can use these point towards anything you want in store or online. You can also use these along with a discount, such as the 20% they send out a couple times a year. 

Shipping:

Shipping is free for all on orders over $50. Sometimes they offer free shipping or free shipping on orders over $25 but those don't happen to often and they will email you to let you know. 

Extra:

Ulta is great with extras if you check there monthly/weekly flyer they always have free items with the purchase of something. These items are usually deluxe size samples and they do not cost you your points. For your Birthday they will give you a deluxe size item. This item seems to change every 3 months. My birthday is this month and was told it will be a deluxe size Urban Decay Perversion mascara. Platinum members also get a bonus $10 off coupon. All members receive 2x points on all purchases made during there Birthday month. 

Brands:

Ulta carries drug store and mid range brands such as Urban Decay, Too Faced and they are getting more in. They just started carrying Becca last year and recently got Soap and Glory. Ulta also cares a wide range of hair care products from drugstore to Redken and Alterna. I love this especially because every January and July they they put liters of shampoo and conditioner on sale. I am able to get 2 liters of Redken shampoo and conditioner for less then $30.(I use the $3.50 coupon from there flyer on these)

Leslie Extra Info:

Nordstrom carries many of the same brands as Sephora and Ulta. They also carry other really good brand such as MAC and Charlotte Tilbury. They do offer free shipping and returns on all orders and free deluxe size samples to. They don't offer a beauty only rewards program but they do offer a Nordstrom card, debit or credit. With the card you can get points that add up to a $20 Nordstrom note that you can spend on anything. The card also allows you early access to there yearly Anniversary Sale. 

After Monday and reading all the negative comments here are my thoughts: I think what Sephora did is wrong and there whole rewards system isn't the best. With that being said If you are looking to make a purchase take some extra time to do some research. If it is something that both Sephora and Ulta sell, I would definitely purchase it from Ulta because there rewards are better. If it is something at Sephora I would definitely check Nordstrom first if you are wanting to boycott Sephora.

** Sephora is trying to make up for Monday and has issued a statement saying that if you email there customer service by 8/23 they hope to make it right.**

If you think I have missed anything from the rewards program please let me know. 

Make Up For Ever Step 1 Mattifying Primer

Today I want to talk about a primer I have been loving. I have combination skin, my forehead and my chin get oily and my cheeks and nose can get really dry. I have had a hard time finding a primer that works for my whole face, so I use two different ones. 

This one is new to me and I choose it because I heard it really keeps oil away. By midday my forehead always seems to look oily I have tried several primers and still not found one that works until now. This stuff is awesome I use the littlest bit and and seems to keep my oil at bay all day. If you have oily skin I would definitely give it a try, just use it on your oily spots. It comes out a light peachy color and rubs right in. I am in the process of trying a few other primers for my dry areas know, so keep a look out for that. 

Also, for a money saving tip I got mine in the .5fl oz size. Why you ask? Well, it is only $16 compared to full size which is $36 and 1fl oz. You can buy two travel size ones at $16 a piece and spend $32 and still end up with the full size 1fl oz. It's a saving of $4, not much but every little bit helps. This is available at Sephora.  

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Champagne Pop

So recently I bought my first ever Becca Highlighter. These Highlighters are very hyped about and Champagne Pop is probably the most hyped about. Becca created Champagne Pop in collaboration with You Tube Makeup Artist Jaclyn Hill. Is is described as a soft white, gold shade with pinky peach undertones. It is $38 for .28oz of product, which is the same size and cost as the other Becca pressed shimmering skin perfecters. This one is a limited edition and it still is available online at Sephora. 

 Here it is watched in natural light and it looks very peach on my skin. In this picture you would never guess it is a highlighter.

 Here it is with a flash and you can see now that it looks much more like a highlighter. Overall color I would say is a peachy gold. 

 I pulled out my highlighters to see if I could find a dupe. To be honest I don't have to many highlighters. But, I do think the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar and Bronze highlighter is pretty close. 

 Here they are swatched side by side in natural light. Becca is on the bottom and Charlotte Tilbury is on the top.

And here they are again with a flash. The Becca Champagne Pop is much more intense then the Charlotte Tilbury. But the Charlotte Tilbury is buildable. I do think Champagne Pop is more peach and Filmstar and Bronze is slightly more gold. But they are very similar. I also read on Temptalia that if you layer Becca's Moonstone and Opal the color is the same as Champagne Pop. Now, I do not have these to test but you can check out her blog to see or try it yourself if you have them. Overall, it is a nice highlighter and if you do not own a Becca highlighter this would be a great addition to your collection. But, If you already own Moonstone and Opal I would definitely recommend layering them first.