October 2017 Hits, Misses, and Pans

Late with this, but what the heck?  May as well?  It's kind of long and probably no one will read it but for my own reference at least, here's what was working and not working for me this month.  Also, a lot of trash.  I prefer reviews of items that have actually been finished off because you know the person has really had time to use it.  A first impression doesn't mean much.  So here we go.

October Hits:
Going to be extremely boring and predictable and say Ofra liquid lipstick in Napa Valley.  I've been in a purple lipstick phase this year, and this is my favorite shade and formula.  It wears well, it lasts through my long days of work followed with school, and it wears comfortably.  This particular shade goes with most of my-version-of-neutral eye looks.

Panned/Finished Off:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer:  Can't remember when I bought this.  Probably over a year ago.  It works.  I would probably repurchase if it goes on sale at a time when I need primer but otherwise, I'll go with Urban Decay Primer Potion.  They are almost identical formulas, and the owner of Urban Decay isn't on social media behaving like an infant.  I'm not going to say I'll never buy from Too Faced again in my life but I am saying when I have a reasonable alternative to giving overgrown baby-men my money, I will take that alternative.

Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation in the shade Light 42: I got almost to the end and then it broke into unusable pieces.  I love this powder.  It cakes up if you try to get coverage out of it but just a light dusting is perfecting.  I wear it over concealer.  It lasts well even on my long days when I have class after work.  The reasons I may not repurchase have to do with bad customer service, and also I'm moving away from using foundations in general.  But it's a great product.  I will continue using it for the time being because I already had a backup, purchased in last November's Sephora sale.  Given how long it took me to even get to my backup, I'm not sure I will buy it again.  I'll probably lose interest and move on.  But it's a great product.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser: Finally finished off what felt like a huge bottle.  I use it to wash my face in the mornings.  I also use it to clean my skin after removing makeup at night.  It's incredibly mild and not drying whatsoever.  I love it and will probably repurchase down the line but I'm trying Vanicream's facial cleanser for now.

CeraVe PM Moisturizer:

This is far from the first bottle I've finished off.  It's been a staple for over a year now.  I use it morning and night.  There's no SPF in it, so I'll layer it under my sunscreen. It plays well with makeup.  May or may not repurchase.  I'm trying to figure out WTF I might be using that's contributing to what the doctor narrowed down to either contact dermatitis or mild eczema.  Trying Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream for the time being.

The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension + HA Spheres: This was my second tube and I had one more unopened.  I'll go through the last tube I purchased, but then I might want to try something else.  I've found a way to make the grit less gritty, but The Ordinary reformulated and came out with a non-grit version so of course I'd rather try that going forward.

Kenra Platinum Snail CC Creme, 2.5-Ounce">Kenra Platinum Snail CC Creme: I know it sounds weird but it really improves elasticity!  Originally started using it when my hair had gone through black dye removal.  All or most of that hair is gone now, but I think this product has reached holy grail status.  I already had a backup on hand, and will most likely repurchase when it's gone.

Cyprus Umber from ABH Modern Renaissance:

This is the dark brown shade.  Hit pan!

Venetian Red from ABH Modern Renaissance: It jumped ship.  I'd almost fully panned it when it crumbled and went everywhere.  It was flying around outside the pan (depotted, in a Z Palette) and it was not salvageable.  Would probably not repurchase even though I love this color and formula, because I'm not buying another flocked palette, and also because I have quite the collection of reds by now.  Bye, little buddy.

Misses: 
Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless Foundation: I actually still love this foundation!  But the shade 112 ("natural ivory") hasn't been working out.  It looks like a good match in pics but if I tried to build up coverage, it would go a touch too dark and obviously yellow (as opposed to a yellow that blends into my yellow skin).  This was mostly visible in person; it still photographed well.  I was going to try the next lightest ivory, but when I was comparing bottles in the store, the very palest porcelain shade looked closer to my skin tone.  So I have a new bottle of Fair Porcelain 102.  That's a far better match.

Moldy lipstick?!  Suburban decay?  WHAT THE HELL!  Rest in peace, Urban Decay Gash and Venom.  To be fair, these lipsticks are a little old; I've probably had them for one or two years minimum.  Lipstick does not last forever.  Did like the Revolution formula and these are great shades, but it's been discontinued.  May or may not buy these shades in the Vice formula.  I don't think I'm allergic to it, but I do have a pile of lipsticks to work through before they go bad too.

This f'ing sponge -- the big one.  Already threw out the little one because of the same problems.  It's hard -- not nice and squishy like a Beauty Blender or Real Techniques sponge.  And it crumbled very quickly.  I barely used it and it was falling apart.  Bye.  Would never repurchase.

Some of these links are affiliate links.  I have like $.29 sitting in my Amazon affiliate account, and they don't pay out twenty-nine cents.  So I'm not getting rich doing this, but I may make a small commission off purchases made through these links.  If you would rather not use an affiliate link, simply Google the item in question.