Product Review -- bareMinerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipsticks

Every makeup brand seems determined to throw their hat in the matte liquid lipstick ring, and bareMinerals is no exception.

As part of the Gen Nude line, which is compromised of a wide range of nude shades to fit virtually any skin tone, bareMinerals released their Matte Liquid Lipsticks several months back.

I've been curious about the entire Gen Nude lineup, which also includes the Buttercream Lipglosses, Radiant Lipsticks, and Under Over Lipliners, so I decided to give the Matte Liquid Lipsticks a try when I saw a set of 4 full size shades on QVC.

Product Review -- e.l.f. Contour Palette

These days, pretty much every makeup company has some type of contouring palette on the market.

There are definitely some good ones, but they're usually pretty pricey and include a wide range of shades so you inevitably wind up paying for shades that don't work for your skin tone.

Fortunately, if you've been looking for a budget-friendly alternative, e.l.f. has once again answered the call.

The e.l.f. Contour Palette comes in a black plastic compact that's similar to the Powder Blush, Cream Blush, Illuminating, and Foundation Palettes. There is a nice big mirror inside that stays open by itself so it's ideal for putting your makeup on when you're traveling.

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 -- Kat Von D Lock It Foundation

I'm a big fan of Kat Von D's products, but I'd always stayed away from one of her better known ones, the Lock It Foundation.

That's mainly because it's a long-wearing matte foundation, and those typically aren't the best fit for my normal to dry skin.

Still, I've always been somewhat tempted because of its large shade range -- 33 in total -- because I suspected the lightest shade would be a good match for my very fair skin.

So recently, I decided to bite the bullet and give the foundation a try.

And the verdict is still kind of out, to be honest.