A Review of the Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream

I received this product from Influenster a few weeks ago for review purposes. If you are not familiar with Influenster, it's a site where you get the chance to test a variety of products through their Voxbox program. All you have to do is create a profile, answer some surveys or challenges, and earn badges so you can be selected for a specific product program or Voxbox.

The Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream is my first ever night cream. I've been wanting to try one, but felt that I didn't absolutely need it, that I would spend the amount of money that they are usually sold for. Most drugstore brands sell night creams for at least $20-something, but the Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream is only around $14.99-$16.99 for a 1.7 oz. jar. The best part about this product is that I received it for free from Influenster! I simply answered a survey emailed to me and they determined if I am qualified to test it out.

PRODUCT DETAILS:

• Formulated with ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex and vitamin B3
• Helps to reduce the appearance of discoloration, uneven tone and blotchiness, revealing healthier-looking skin.
• Oil-free, hydrating formula penetrates deep within skin’s surface while you sleep revealing an even, more radiant complexion.
• In a clinical study, women saw improvement in tone and discoloration.
• Gentle enough for everyday use. 

First off, I have oily skin that is pimple prone. I also have blemishes and scars from healed pimples. So here are my thoughts on the product:

1. It's easily available.
2. It's very affordable.
3. Its packaging is simple, but very durable.
4. It comes in a travel friendly size.
5. The cream isn't sticky at all. (It actually feels nice on the fingers and face)
6. It doesn't have a very strong smell to it.
7. It's easily absorbed by the skin. It doesn't leave a greasy feeling.
8. It cools my skin and relaxes it.
9. There's no tightening of the face.
10. It did not break me out which is a huge plus!
11. I wake up in the morning feeling good because my skin feels smooth, non-oily, and my pores aren't as open as they usually are.

All in all my skin feels and looks great. In tandem with my skin care routine, the Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream has really made a difference on my skin. Hopefully it continues to do what it's doing and in the long run, give me healthy, radiant looking skin.

BTS: School Girl's Play

As promised, here's another BTS post on our second photo shoot themed "Sexy, Playful, Schoolgirl" It was a little more challenging, but we still end up with amazing shots that, as usual, I'm super excited to share with you.

Let's start with the makeup. We wanted a mix of innocence and bombshell that's suitable for our model's Asian features. So, I made sure to use a brightening face primer to give her a radiant look and layered it with a medium coverage foundation that would still show off her flawless skin. I did less contouring than the first look to make her features softer. For the blush, I mixed two shades of pink and highlighted her cheekbones. For the eyes, it's very simple, I simply made her eyes look bigger by using a satin finish eye shadow over a base to make it more vibrant and long lasting, then I contoured her eyes making sure to place it higher than her natural crease. For the lips, I used a pink lip liner and applied a baby pink lipstick and nude lipgloss to make it look more supple. To clearly understand what I'm talking about, here are the photos:

The model before makeup

Now for styling, we picked two: Her dress, a jersey jacket, and a pair of leopard print flats. For the second look, we switched the jersey jacket with a prep school pea-coat and high heels.

Here are more of the Behind the Scenes moments from yesterday! I hope you enjoy these posts! Don;t forget to check out the final photos when they are ready! I'll let you know. Follow me on instagram (maricarljanah) for daily updates as well as Twitter!

FIRST LOCATION:

SECOND LOCATION:

Watch out for the final photos on my Facebook public page! Like it to be updated :)

BTS: Boho Chic Photo Shoot Featuring RuxChic

Yesterday was relatively the first time I did an outdoor photo shoot since I got here in the US. I wouldn't consider the first, first ever outdoor photo shoot because I was the model and it was for my profile! Let me know if you want me to talk about that one though. I have a few BTS photos from it and official photos are already available.

Anyway, this shoot was partly for mine and the photographer's (our) portfolio as well as package booklets for clients. And partly for RuxChic because the model was wearing accessories from our web store. I did the hair and makeup as well as styling which was very liberating. I love the feeling of being able to contribute so much to the concept of the shoot and visualize how it should appear to the viewer. I have the photographer, the amazing Millie Sarinas of The Art of light Photography and Bella Life/Bella Baby to thank for it. She always provides a very comfortable environment for the shoot and she's encouraging to the model which makes her so easy to work with. Please check out the respective links for reference.

So here are the photos from the shoot:

This is the model before makeup. i already did her hair prior. We just wanted a very sleek high bun because it's neat and won't distract the viewer from the accessories and makeup.

I apologize for the low quality photo. I only used my iPhone to take these photos, but don't fret! i will definitely let you know once the Sneak Peek photos from the shoot are out.

We wanted to feature bold lashes and lips for the shoot, but also deviate from the main stream, trendy feel of Fall or Autumn Photo shoots this year, where the model has dark features with dark lips. We basically mixed the bright, fun, cheerful feel of Spring and Summer and incorporated it with Fall by using Orange, Brown, and Yellow palettes.

Since the model has very little lid space, I opted to focus on the lash line. I smoked out her eyes a little bit with warm colors and made them bigger by applying white eye liner on the water line, highlighting the inner corners, and applying lots of mascara. The face was contoured and highlighted to give a flawless, warm, dewy look to the photos. And we finished it off with two layers of different shades of lipstick: Coral and Orange to come up with something that really pops.

For the outfit, we had two looks in mind, but we sort of changed it up a little bit. this look features the accessories from RuxChic. I will be talking about the accessories worn in another post if you're interested. But basically, I was thinking Boho Chic. The other outfit features a thick vest.

The last outfit features a warm brown leather jacket that unfortunately, I don't have pictures of. This was for a different location and concept. We let the bun loose and replaced the arm candies with rings.

I can't wait to show you the photos! For now, here are a bunch of the BTS moments we had yesterday!

We'll be doing another shoot tomorrow and I won't spill what the theme is but I am excited. I hope it will go better than yesterday and i'll make sure to take more BTS photos for all of you!

Till next time! BTW, check out my new video up on my channel. if you have been struggling with damaged hair from using hair tools! This might help:

A Review on the Palladio Rice Powder

I've been eying this loose setting powder ever since last year after watching Marlena of Makeup Geek rave about it in one of her videos. It was available at Beauty Bar back in the Philippines for around 500 PHP but I never got around to buying it. Finally, after seeing it at Sally's Beauty Supply, I made the purchase and regretted not getting it sooner!

I wanted to keep it in my kit for when I do clients' makeup, but when I tried it out myself, I fell in love. I bought another one which wasn't too bad because it's only less than $5.00. I can't remember the exact price. Let's talk about the product piece by piece:

PACKAGING:

Pros:

• I love the neatness of it.
• The size is convenient enough for storage.
• The design on the cover is very Asian which is a plus for me (ha ha)
• The powder doesn't burst out whenever I open it, unlike other loose powders.
• It has a powder puff.

Cons:

• The lid doesn't have any fastener to secure it on. If you're not careful, you might position it in a way that the powder may spill.

PRODUCT:

Pros:

• It has sufficient amount of 17 g considering the price value.
• It's finely milled powder.
• It's very easy to apply and blend on the face. 
• It's fragrance free.
• It's cruelty free!

Cons:

• It only comes in three color variants:  Translucent, Natural, and Warm Beige. Naturally, these colors are more inclined for Asian skin, but the translucent powder applies to any skin tone except dark ones.
• It contains talc.

PERFORMANCE:

Pros:

• It gives my skin a very flawless finish and fills in the pores.
• It feels smooth to the touch.
• It effectively mattifies the face and absorbs oil.
• It keeps my face oil free throughout the day alongside my setting spray.
• You can retouch with it without looking packed on.
• It's light on the face, it's like you're not wearing any makeup.
• It did not irritate my skin or caused it to break out.
• It works on any kind of foundation, either cream, whipped, or liquid.
• The translucent powder doesn't leave a white cast in pictures.
• It blends well on my face and makes it look natural, like "real skin"

Those are my opinions about this incredibly efficient but affordable product. I honestly would recommend this to anyone. I hope this was helpful to you. Are you going to try this out? What do you think about loose setting powders?

I've been curious about the Ben Nye setting powders and I might try them out. Honestly, I skipped them and got the Palladio one instead because its size fits my train case better. I will definitely let you know once I purchase them and of course, a review shall be done.

I have so much product to share with you guys but I really need to take some time off of blogging and vlogging to focus more on studying. I have to prioritize, and as much as I'd hate to be so MIA, I have to.

Anyway, this is it for me, for now. Until my next post!

Review: 5-in-1 Color Collection in Downtown Diva

Here's another review for all of you. I have been using this palette the whole month of August and I've been loving it! I haven't used any other palette since it has 5 different ones you can choose from.

I purchased this set from Ulta early this month and wasn't expecting anything great considering it was only around $19. It's originally $25 but was put on sale so I decided to try it out. I read a few mixed reviews from the site, but generally they found it decent and great for every day.

This is from my instagram.

When I finally received it in the mail, I was so excited because it was placed in a very pretty, high-quality, and colorful pouch and it had built-in separators where the palettes are inserted in. I love that it's so put together and they really though it out. I guess not expecting much paid off. I was pleasantly surprised.

Sorry for the glare, it's the reflection of the plastic cover.

It has 5 different palettes: Natural Eye, Soft & Pretty, Smokey Eye, Glitz & Glam, and Techno Pop The 6th one is a set of 3 dual ended pencil liners and 2 lip glosses. Did I mention they had their own compartments in the bag? (IKR!?)

Flirtini & Whisper

Black-Dark Brown, Indigo-Aqua, Emerald-Plum

Let's take a closer look at each palette so you'll have an idea of how they offer a variety of colors to choose from, not to mention different looks you can create with them.

I placed the names myself because the labels at the back were confusing; they were placed the other way around (instead of naming from L-R, they labeled it R-L) It's a good thing each palette has a plastic container to keep them safe from damage and I can just place the label on top of it.

Natural Eye Palette

Soft & Pretty Palette

Smokey Eye Palette

Glitz & Glam Palette

Techno Pop Palette

I've religiously swatched each eye shadow from each palette for all of you to see how they look. It's not enough for me to say my piece about them. It's better that you see for yourself. On the left you will see all 8 eye shadows and at the top right you will see the highlighiting colors (I guess?) and the bottom right are the blushes.

Now, it's time to share what I think about this set:
PROS:

• The pouch is fantastic. It's durable and you can definitely bring it with you when traveling.
• Each palette is so put together. Each one has a name on top and a list of the eye shadows at the back, plus a plastic cover to protect it.
• Not only does it have 5 palettes, it also has a total of 6 eye liners and 2 lip glosses to choose from.
• The over-all look of this set is very high end and quality-made.
• I love that each palette's name gives you an idea of what looks you can create.
• It offers a wide selection of eye shadows and blushes. They are a mix of satin, shimmery, matte, and glittery eye shadows.
• The eye shadows have good pigmentation, not great, but definitely appropriate for every day use.
• The eye liners are great. They have great pigmentation, creamy, and easy to apply.
• The lip glosses are nothing extra special, but they get the job done.
• It's convenient, durable, useful, and good quality. For the price you are paying, this is definitely a steal!

CONS:

• The blushes aren't as pigmented as the eye shadows.
• The lasting power of the blushes are not that reliable
•   You may have to put the pouch away if you want to get instant access of the palettes; unless you find a way to display them while inside the pouch. (trust me, I tried)
• What I do is I stack them together at a safe corner and just slide them out from the plastic containers. I make sure the palette names are facing me.
•  The eye shadows from the Techno Pop palette are a bit chalky.

Those are my thoughts about this product. Here's a look I created recently using a mix of eye shadows from the palettes in this set.

 Here are a few high resolution photos of myself with this eye makeup:

 Some have asked for a tutorial for this, let me know if you want me to do one and I can probably find time to do it right before I get back to studying. I won't be posting another blog post any time soon after this. I really need to get started again with my studying. I will be doing an August Favorites video though, so watch out for that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. What do you think of the palette? Once again, let me know if you want me to do a tutorial on this look.

See you in my next post! Don't forget to check out my latest video where I talk about what's been going on in my life and RuxChic!