Product Review -- BECCA Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder

I've mentioned before that I have a very difficult time finding a setting powder.  My skin's gotten drier as I've gotten older, so most powders, whether they're loose or pressed, just accentuate all the flaky, dry patches or wind up looking cakey.

And I try them all with a variety of foundation so it's not just the combination that's the problem -- it's just that my skin doesn't play nice with powder.

So I was intrigued when I heard about BECCA's Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder because they claimed it has "a revitalizing mist-like effect on skin."

When you've got dry skin, that sounds pretty promising.

Product Review -- BECCA First Light Priming Filter Instant Complexion Refresh

I have kind of a hard time with primers.

Not because they irritate my skin or have any adverse effect on my foundation, though.

Instead, it's because I never really notice them doing much of anything.

I usually choose hydrating primers because my skin is dry and I mainly want a formula that's going to moisturize my skin a little bit so my foundation doesn't going on flaky or patchy -- and beyond that, there really isn't all that much to see, I suppose.

Still, I'm always on the hunt for a magical kind of primer that's somehow going to make my foundation look airbrushed and flawless.

Considering the texture issues I have with my skin (tons of enlarged pores on my cheeks from my acne struggles as teenager), that likely isn't ever going to happen.

But I still had high hopes for the BECCA First Light Primer Filter Instant Complexion Refresh.

My Two Cents: Boxycharm Subscription Box (October '17)

A couple of years back, I was kind of a beauty subscription box junkie.

I probably had a two to three active at any moment, and I enjoyed them for the most part.

But they sent mainly deluxe sample and sample size products and contained mostly skin, hair, and body products, so they weren't all that exciting for me personally.

I eventually decided that I had enough samples and cancelled all of them.

Since then, I've seen plenty of blog posts and YouTube videos about Boxycharm, but I never really read or watched. I figured Boxycharm was just like all the other subscription boxes, so I wasn't particularly interested.

When I eventually found out that Boxycharm sends full-size items that are mostly makeup focused, I started to do a little research. I check out the posts and videos about past boxes, I read a ton of reviews, and checked out all the FAQs on the Boxycharm website.

I figured that for $21 a month, which is the monthly fee if you opt for a month to month subscription, it was worth giving it a try.

Product Review -- BECCA X Christy Teigen Glow Face Palette

I am a big fan of Christy Teigen.

I follow her on all social media, bought her cookbook when it came out, and generally just think she's pretty cool.

So I was pretty excited when I heard that she was coming out with a palette with BECCA.

But then I heard it was going to be a face palette and I was a little bummed.

Because my skin tone is pretty different from Christy's so I figured that shades that would work well for her probably wouldn't be the best for me.

Which is why I told myself I shouldn't buy the palette -- and I held strong for about two months.

And then I decided the shades were just too pretty to overlook and I would just find a way to make them work somehow.

Product Review -- Becca Ombre Rouge Eye Palette

A year or two back, when Becca Cosmetics first came out with their Ombre Nudes Eye Palette, I was really interested in picking it up.

So one afternoon when I found myself browsing in Sephora, I decided to check the palette out.

I was pretty surprised to find it seriously underwhelming -- the shadows were nice enough, but they all swatched as essentially the same color, with little variation among them.

The shades weren't that unique to begin with, but the fact that they were all so similar to one another killed any desire I had to pick up the palette.

Fast forward about a year later when Becca introduced the Ombre Rouge Eye Palette -- I was drawn to the palette once again, this time because of all the warm shades, but I was hesitant to purchase it because of my experience swatching the Ombre Nudes Eye Palette.

So I held off for a long time ... until recently when I was in Sephora once again and decided to swatch the Ombre Rouge Eye Palette.

I walked out of the store with it so it goes without saying that I had a slightly different experience this time around.

Product Review -- BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation

Lately, serum type foundation that come with medicine drop-like dispensers seem to be all the rage.

I've tried the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation and the Stila Aqua Glow Serum Foundation, and I like both quite a bit because they have a very lightweight texture but still manage to deliver pretty good coverage.

So I was excited to try the BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation -- if it performs like the other two and offers a dewy finish like the Stila Aqua Glow, what's not to love?

Product Review -- BECCA Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme

In general, I'm not really a fan of full coverage foundations.

While I have quite a few little imperfections that I like my face products to hide, I find that even on my worst skin days, a medium coverage product plus a concealer is all I need to get the job done.

And in my experience, full coverage foundations look and feel way too heavy on my skin for me to be all that comfortable to wear.

Still, I'm one of those people who feels like it's good to be prepared for any and all situations -- there might be a day when my medium coverage foundations just don't cut it, so I like the idea of having a reliable full coverage product that I can bust out in emergencies.

So I'd been curious about the BECCA Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme ever since it came out.

Product Review -- BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Blushed Copper

One of the very first products that I tried from BECCA was the Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal.

It's a cream/liquid highlighter that looks absolutely gorgeous on the skin, but it can be kind of a pain to use -- because cream/liquid highlighters are always trickier to apply than powders and you can't really put it over powder (I do sometimes, but I have to be careful with the application).

It is versatile, though, because sometimes, I'll mix a little in with my foundation, BB cream, or tinted moisturizer for a subtle, over all glow.

So in general, I like the product quite a bit.

When I saw that BECCA had come up with pressed versions, though, I was definitely interested -- and I kept meaning to pick up Opal or Moonstone to use as an everyday highlighter.

However, when I saw the limited edition shade Blushed Copper (Sephora lists it as limited edition anyway, but it's been on their website for quite some time so I'm not sure how limited it really is), I decided to change plans -- because the color definitely isn't a highlighter on my fair skin but it's so ridiculously beautiful that I had to have it.

Recent Favorites

It has ages since I last did a favorites post.

I get so caught up in reviewing new products that I sometimes forget that sharing what "older" products I'm loving can be just as helpful.

(I'm going to try not to go so long between favorites posts in the future -- and maybe mix in a few other non-review posts here and there to keep things interesting.)

But since it's been so long since my last Favorites, I'm going to share some things that I've been loving for the past few months or so.  To keep it simple and quick, I'll break them down by category so if you're not interested in a particular type of product, you can just skip over it.

Review -- Best of BECCA Kit from Sephora

(In my last review of the Tarte Amazonian Eye & Cheek Palette, I mentioned that I had come across a couple of items that I'd forgotten to review when I got them at the beginning of the year. This is the second of those items.)

I've always been curious about the BECCA brand.

Maybe it's because Lisa Eldridge is always using products from the line in her tutorials and she makes them all look amazing.

(Of course, she makes everything look amazing, right?)

That's probably the main reason, actually.

But when you've never tried a brand and don't know that much about, it can be difficult to figure out where to start.

Fortunately for me, my aunt gave me the fabulous Best of BECCA Kit from Sephora for my birthday so I got to try a bunch of products at once.

It's a terrific way to introduce yourself to any brand, I think.