Quo's Blending sponge vs Real Techniques's Miracle Complexion sponge

Despite the many cons that come with beauty sponges, they are still a staple in my beauty routine. I remember when the Beauty Blender first came out. Everyone - or so - was raving about this bright pink sponge. I was about to buy it...until I saw the price. Hell no! A few months later, Real Techniques released their Miracle Complexion sponge and then, brands like L'Oréal, Ecothools, L.A. Girl and NYX decided to follow. 

Malgré les nombreux inconvénients qui viennent avec les éponges beauté, elles sont quand même un incontournable dans ma routine maquillage. Je me souviens quand le Beauty Blender a fait son entré. Tous le monde - ou presque - étais fan de cette éponge rose vif. J'ai bien faillit l'acheter...jusqu'à ce que je vois le prix. Hell no! Quelques mois plus tard, Real Techniques ont sortie leur Miracle Complexion sponge et puis, les marques comme L'Oréal, Ecothools, L.A. Girl et NYX ont suivit.

Believe me or not but, still to this day, some people ignore what beauty sponges are and/or how to use them. I've seen so many people using them wrong or mistaking them for a more expensive cosmetic wedges. Let me break it to you: cosmetic wedges and beauty sponges are not the same thing. Beauty sponges are made to be used wet and doesn't soak as much products. They also do a much better job at blending. 'Why a sponge over a brush?' you might ask. I personally think beauty sponges gives more coverage than a brush - ironic given you're diluting your product with water - and, there is no brush lines on your face.

Croyez-moi ou pas mais, à ce jour, il y a encore des gens qui ignore qu'est-ce qu'une éponge beauté at/ou comment l'utiliser. J'ai tellement vu de personnes qui utilisait mal ces éponges or les confondait avec des éponges cosmétiques (celles-ci). Breaking news: les éponges cosmétiques et les éponges beauté ne sont pas la même chose. Les éponges beauty doivent être utiliser humide et n'absorbent pas autant de produits. Elles font aussi une meilleur job pour estomper. 'Pourquoi une éponge beauté plutôt qu'un pinceau?' vous vous demandez. Personnellement, je trouve qu'on obtient plus de couvrance avec une éponge qu'un pinceau - ironic étant donné que le produit est dilué avec de l'eau - et, il n'y a pas de lignes de pinceau.

From left to right: Blending sponge by Quo, Miracle Complexion sponge by Real Techniques

Out of all the new drugstore beauty sponges, I choose to talk about and compare Quo's blending sponge and the infamous Miracle Complexion sponge by Real Techniques. The latter has been the star of many videos and blogpost in the past but, I still chose to talk about it. They are approximately the same size - wet or dry. They both bave a more pointed tip and a more flat bottom.

De tous les nouvelle éponges de pharmacie, j'ai choisis de comparer celle de Quo et la fameuse Miracle Complexion de Real Techniques. Cette dernière a été la star de plusieurs videos and articles dans le passé mais je choisis tout-de-même d'en parler. Elles sont approximativement de la même taille - humide ou sèche. Au premier regard, leur forme et couleur les différence l'une de l'autre. Elles ont tout les deux un côté plus pointu et un autre côté plat.

Blending sponge by Quo

The Quo sponge is bright purple and pear shaped with a slightly pointed tip. It has a more firm material which makes it more tear resistant. Once wet, the sponge is very bouncy and soft. I've  been using this sponge for about a year now and I've noticed it doesn't soak up a lot of products and blends everything very easily. It's the best sponge to blend cream contour and leaves no harsh lines at all. I even use it to bake! I have only great things to say about this sponge. And, it's affordable. The only down side is that because the material is more firm, it's difficult to reach and blend the concealer in the inner corner of the eye.

L'éponge Quo est violette et en forme de poire avec un bout un peu pointu. Elle est faite de materiel plus ferme, ce qui la rend plus résistante au déchirures. Une fois humide, l'éponge est très rebondissante et douce. J'utilise cette éponge depuis un an maintenant et j'ai remarquée qu'elle n'absorbe pas beaucoup de produits et blend très facilement. C'est la meilleure éponge pour estomper le contouring et ne laisse pas du tout de démarcations. Je l'utilise même pour faire du baking! Et, elle est abordable! Le seul bémol est que, puisque le matériel est plus ferme, c'est difficile d'atteindre et estomper le cache-cernes au coin interne de l'oeil. 

Product / Produit: Blending sponge by Quo
Price / Prix: 8,99$
Buy / Acheter: Shoppers
Note: 5/5

Miracle Complexion sponge by Real Techniques

Real Technique's Miracle Complexion sponge is neon orange. Difficult to loose in your makeup bag! Its material is a lot squish-y than the Quo one when wet...and also easier to tear. I've been trough so much of these sponges because of how soft and fragile it is. Although I've been using it a lot those past weeks, I have a love-hate relationship with this sponge. I love it for some thing...and other not so much. It gives really good coverage but, don't use the flat side to apply your foundation, it'll soak all the product and won't blend well. Use the round sides instead, it works much better. I also noticed that it doesn't work well with powders and baking (it crumbles when you pick up powders). 

L'éponge Miracle Complexion de Real Techniques est orange neon. Difficile à perdre dans sa trousse de maquillage! Son matériel est beaucoup plus squish-y que celle de Quo quand elle est humide...et aussi plus facile à déchirer. J'ai passé à travers une quantité de ces éponges car elle est si fragile. Bien que j'ai beaucoup utilisé cette éponge dans les semaines précédentes, j'ai une love-hate relations avec cette éponge. Je l'aime bien pour certaine choses...et pour d'autres pas tellement. Elle donne un finit très couvrant mais, ne l'utilise pas du côté plat pour appliquer ton fond de teint, elle va tout absorber le produit et n'estompera pas bien. Utilise plutôt les côtés courbés, ils fonctionnent beaucoup mieux. J'ai aussi remarqué qu'elle ne fonctionne pas bien avec les poutres et le baking (elle s'effrite).

Product / Produit: Miracle complexion sponge by Real Techniques
Price / Prix: 9,99$
Buy / Acheter: Any drugstores or online
Note: 4.5/5

Fit me loose powder by Maybelline

Fit Me loose powder by Maybelline

Once again, Maybelline expanded their Fit Me line and launched loose powders. The packaging is sleek and square shaped, just like the rest of the line. The powders are mineral-based and are designed to help control shine and smooth skin’s texture with a hint of color. They come in eight shades and, no surprise here, I have it in the lightest shade (05 Fair)! Warning, the numbers of the shades don't match the foundations/concealers which I found a bit odd given the purpose of this line is to make it easy to match yourself at the drugstore. 

Encore une fois, Maybelline ont expansé leur gamme Fit Me avec ces nouvelles poudres libre. L'emballage est élégant et carré, tout comme le reste de la gamme. Les poudres sont à base de minéraux et sa formule est conçue pour matifier le teint et lisser la peau tout en la rehaussant d’une teinte subtile. Ils sont disponibles en huit teintes et, sans surprise ici, je l'ai dans la teinte la plus claire (05 Clair)! Attention, les numéros des teintes ne match pas les fonds de teints/cache cernes de la même gamme, ce que je trouve bizarre car le but de la gamme Fit Me est de faciliter la tâche de se matcher en pharmacie.

Fit Me loose powder by Maybelline

The first thing I noticed with this powder is that the packaging is a lot less messy than most loose powders I've tried; not a lot of powder comes out of the holes when you shake it but it isn't an issue for me. I love using it under my eyes to set my concealer and also bake there, it makes it very smooth and adds a bit of coverage. For my face, I prefer to use a translucent powder to not mess with my foundation or cream contour - on rare occasion. 

La première chose que j'ai remarqué avec cette poudre est que l'emballage fait beaucoup moins de dégât que lest autres poudres libres que j'ai essayer; pas beaucoup de poudre sort des trous quand tu la shake mais ce n'est pas un problème pour moi. J'adore l'utiliser sous mes yeux pour fixer mon cache cernes et aussi pour faire du baking, elle rends ma peau très lisse et ajoute un peu de couvrance. Pour mon visage, je préfère une poudre translucide pour ne pas changer la couleur de mon fond de teint our contouring crème - en rares occasions. 

Fit me loose powder by Maybelline

Product / Priduit: Fit Me loose powders by Maybelline

Price / Prix: 10.99$

Quantity / Quantité: 20 g

Buy / Acheter: Any drugstore and online

Chrome eye shadows by Annabelle Cosmetics

From left to right: Annabelle Cosmetics single Chrome eye shadows in Silver, Gold and Rose Gold

In the cosmetic world, glitters are everyone's worst enemy. They're pretty but...they always gets everywhere. The floor, your clothes, the carpet. And, an accident arrives so fast! If you love the look of glitters but can't commit to cleaning up the mess they leave behind, these single Chrome eye shadows by Annabelle Cosmetics are you you. There isn't a lot of shades - only five - and I'll admit that they are 'comfort colors' but, you can do a handful of looks with them. 

The packaging of these Chrome eye shadows reminded me of the similar ones by Stila - the ones you have to mix in a liquid with. Be careful, these dries fast and if you don't want to throw them out before you make a dent in the pot, you better close the lid fast after you use them and keep it tight. The texture is very creamy and glides on easily on the lid. After trying with a brush and with my fingers, the latter is when I got the best results. It gets more products on the lid and, if you want to be more precise (ex: inner corner), you can always use a small brush to push/blend the product there. The Chrome eye shadow pots catch the light easily when you wear them and will make any eye look stand out. The wear time was fairly great for glitters, these don,t end up on your cheeks or all over your face throughout the day. I wore them to shows and they lasted trough the whole evening - very surprising. They made my makeup look poppin in photos! (Thanks Annabelle!) I hope they come out with more shades and expand to brighter colors like blues, reds, purple or oranges/peach. Those would be nice.

Annabelle Cosmetics single Chrome eye shadow in Gold

Gold is a champagne gold that goes with every looks. This shade is my favorite of the bunch. I wear it so much I made a dent in it - no shame. It stands out against any eye shadows you pair it with. My favorite way to wear it is with a smokey eye or, just a simple brown/bronzer shade (I love the one from the Love Contours All by NYX, it's the best for this look) in the crease. And, it pairs with every lip shades too. If you're planning on getting only one, this gold shade is the one to go!

Annabelle Cosmetics single Chrome eye shadows in Rose Gold

Rose Gold is, in my opinion, less sparkly than the silver and gold shade. Personally, I wouldn't qualify this shade as 'rose gold'. It's more of a light brown shade with a pink hue. I love pairing this with my red tones eye shadows like Bitten, Cherry Cola and Americano from Makeup Geek. Makes the perfect red/cranberry halo eye.

Annabelle Cosmetics single Chrome eye shadows in Silver

Silver is very bright and sparkly. It literally looks like aluminum foil. When you're working with cool tones, silver is your best friend if you want a pop of glitters. In the middle for a halo eye or simply all over the lid, this silver shade will make any look stand out. Perfect for Christmas parties and holiday looks!

From left to right: Silver, Gold and Rose Gold

Product / Produit: Chrome single eyeshadows by Annabelle Cosmetics

Price / Prix: 8.95$

Quantity / Quantité: 0.07 oz

Buy / Acheter: Any drugstore or online
Note: 5/5

Lingerie liquid lipsticks by NYX

Last year, NYX launched a collection of nude liquid lipsticks called Lingerie. The concept behind the collection is that there is a nude shade for everyone, light to dark complexion. Personally, I think this is awesome because some skin tones have difficulty finding a nude shade that suit them. Although every nude shades is made to fit one skin tone, it doesn't mean the other shades won't suit you. The shades are all very pretty and goes from grey tones to muted purples and chocolates. They recently updates the collection and released another twelve shades and I cannot wait to get my hands on them.

L'an dernier, NYX ont lancé une collection de rouge à lèvres liquide nude appeler Lingerie. Le concept derrière cette collection est qu'il y ait une teinte nude pour tous le monde, teints pâle à foncé. Personnellement, je pense que c'est merveilleux parce que quelque teints ont de la difficulté à trouver une teinte nude qui leur convient parfaitement. Bien que chaque nude est fait pour un certain teint, ça ne veux pas dire que les autres teintes ne vont pas vous aller. Les couleurs sont toutes très jolies et vont des tons gris au mauves et meme chocolats. Ils ont récemment relancer douze autres nuances et j'ai hâte de me les procurer.

The packaging reminds me a bit of the Kylie Cosmetic ones with its clear bottom, black cap and lettering. The Lingerie's applicator is a doe foot and is quite rigid yet, still bend-y. Compared to their Soft matte lip creams, the doe foot is longer and thinner. The shape is perfect to reach the cupid's bow and make crisp lines. 

L'emballage me fait penser à ceux de Kylie Cosmetics avec leur tube transparent, bouchon et lettrage noir. L'applicateur des Lingerie est un doe foot assez rigide mais, quand meme pliable. Comparé à leur Soft Matte lip creams, le doe foot est plus long et mince. La forme est parfaite pour atteinte la lèvre supérieur et faire de belles lignes droites. 

NYX Lingerie liquid lipstick in Push Up

Push Up is a brown spice pink. Out of the four shades I own, this one if my favorite. I've worn is so much. It's MY shade. It goes with every looks and is perfect for every day. NYX's retractable lip liner in Nude is a perfect match.

Push Up est un rose-brun épicé. De tous les teintes que je possède, celle-ci est ma favorite. Je l'ai tellement porter. C'est MA couleur. Elle va avec tout les look et est parfaite pour tous les jours. Le crayon à lèvres retractable de NYX dans la couleur Nude est un match parfait.

NYX Lingerie liquid lipstick in Bedtime Flirt

Bedtime Flirt is a red tone pink. Another every day shade. I recently got this one but, I can already tell it's gonna get in my top five. It surprisingly pairs well with blue eye looks. Annabelle's lip liner in Buff is a perfect match.

Bedtime Flirt est un rose avec un ton rouge. Une autre teinte de tous les jours. J'ai eu celle-ci récemment mais, je peux déjà dire qu'elle va se hisser dans mon top cinq. Elle se paire étonnamment bien avec un maquillage bleu au niveau des yeux. Le crayon à lèvres d'Annabelle dans la teinte Buff est un match parfait.

NYX Lingerie liquid lipstick in Embellishment

Embellishment is a muted purple. It's rare to find shades like this at the drugstore, I made sure to grab one. This one isn't as nude as the other shades but, it's still wearable. I used to wear this all the time when I had my brown hair but not so much since I dyed them red.

Embellishment est un muted mauve. C'est rare de trouver une couleur comme celle-ci à la pharmacie, j'ai fait sure d'en prendre un tube. Cette couleur n'est pas aussi nude que les autre teintes mais, elle est tout de même portable. Je la portais tous le temps quand j'avais les cheveux bruns mais plus autant maintenant que je les ai teint en rouge.

NYX Lingerie liquid lipstick in Ruffle Trim

Ruffle Trim is a cinnamon pink. This shade looks really good on olive skin tones. Annabelle's lip liner in Spice is a perfect match.

Ruffle Trim est un rose cannelle. Cette couleur est très joli sur les teints olive. Le crayon à lèvres d'Annabelle dans la teinte Spice est un match parfait.

(Swatches are missing, my camera lost the file. Will be posted asap.)

The formula is quite mousse-y and thin but still very pigmented. I have to say the shade Ruffle Trim was a bit more runny and lacked in pigment compared to others but it's nothing you can't fix with a second coat. They have no scent which is a good thing. Scented products tends to stay in my drawers because they give me headaches sometimes - can't stand the Soft Matte lip creams from NYX's cake batter scent. They dry completely matte and stays on for very long. I've worn them from 8am to 9pm and they stayed pretty much the same as when I put it on in the morning. I was impressed. These are by far the best liquid lipstick from the drugstore that I've tried. Make sure you have a good makeup remover if you're planning to get these because they take some work to remove.

La formule est assez mousseuse et mince mais quand même pigmenter. Je doit dire que la couleur Ruffle Trim est un peux plus liquide et inconsistante en matière de pigment comparé aux autres mais c'est rien qui ne se fix pas avec une deuxième couche. Ils ont tous aucune odeur, ce qui est une bonne chose. Les produits qui ont une forte odeur ont tendance à rester dans mes tiroirs car ils me donnent parfois des maux de tête - je ne peux pas porter les Soft Matte lip creams de NYX due à leur odeur de pâte à gâteaux. Ils sèchent tous complètement matte et sont de très longue durée sur les lèvres. Je les ai porter de 8am à 9pm et ils n'ont pas bouger ou craquer. J'étais impressionné. Ils sont de loin les meilleur rouge à lèvres de la pharmacie que j'ai essayer. Faite sure que vous avez un bon démaquillants si vous planifier d'en acheter car ils sont difficile à retirer.

Product / Produit: Lingerie liquid lipstick by NYX

Price / Prix: 9$

Quantity / Quantité: 4 ml

Buy / Acheter: Shoppers and Online

Pure-Clay masks by L'Oréal

Face Masks? If you would've ask me about face masks last year, I would've said they weren't part of my routine and that I don't use them too often - aka once every month. Crazy, uh? I never saw a difference on my skin whenever I used them and thought they weren't doing anything - except loosing my time as I waited for them to dry. Maybe I wasn't using the right ones because a year has passed and I don't think I could ever go back to skipping on them. Face masks aren't very abondant at the drugstore so I was pretty pleased to see L'Oréal come out with three new face masks made of three pure clay. We've seen these three jars everywhere over the past months! On Instagram, YouTube, blogs...it was a big launch for the brand in 2016 - ironic as I'm reviewing them in 2017. Why am I always late on the boat? 

You can use these masks on solo or combine them. There's this new trend in the beauty industry called multi-masking. I first heard model and owner/founder of the brand Kora, Miranda Kerr, talk about this method. Why applying the same mask all over your skin when, most of the time, it doesn't have the same needs on your chin, T-zone or cheeks? It doesn't makes sense. That's where multi-masking comes in! By example, my chin gets really dehydrated at times. My nose and forehead are oily and my pores are also more dilated in that area. Why not mix and match for a better effect? I only got two of the three new masks, not too interested by the light green one - made to purify and mattify. 

Left to right: Pure-Clay Exfoliate & Refining treatment mask and Pure-Clay Detox & Brighten treatment mask by L'Oréal

Pure-Clay Detox & Brighten treatment mask by L'Oréal

Dear charcoal masks, when will you make less of a mess? This one is to illuminate your complexion. Although it leaves a mess behind, the charcoal helps detox your skin from the impurities and pollution - perfect if you live in the city! I've had this one for the longest - over a month, I'd say - and I can say that I love it. My skin felt refreshed and well cleansed after every use - detox effect approved! The brightening effect left me surprised as it was able to brighten my already fair complexion. What? I was impressed.

Pure-Clay Exfoliate & Refining treatment mask by L'Oréal

This one should exfoliate and makes your skin feel like velvet (according to what I read online!). The texture is thick and has small grains that feels a lot like sand in it which exfoliate the skin. The scent of this one is very perfumed, floral and citrus-y, although I'm not great at describing smells - thanks for the help, mom! After the first use, I saw result. My pores were definitely smaller and my skin felt really soft. You have to activate the masks by massaging it with water before fully rinsing off to get the full effect. 

Product / Produit: Pure-clay masks by L'Oréal

Price / Prix: 12$

Quantity / Quantité: 

Buy / Acheter: Any drugstore or online