It Cosmetics CONFIDENCE IN YOUR GLOW Review + Heavenly Skin Brush Review

Y'all, it's already Monday! Scratch that, y'all it's already MAY! This year is flying by! I swear I was just taking down Christmas decorations and making plans for the new year. Now I've got summer on my mind! Okay, I always have the beach on my mind!

Speaking of the beach, in a roundabout way that makes me think of the new compacts from It Cosmetics called CONFIDENCE IN YOUR GLOW. I was sent these and did my first (ever!!!) Instagram live unboxing of them. So many of you wanted to see a review, so that's what I'm doing today!

These are brand new to It Cosmetics. These are a blush, highlight, and bronzer in one step. Get the look of an instant all-over vitality-filled glow, plus a boost of brightening and radiant warmth, in one simple step! 

These have a fresh orange scent as a nod to the powerful vitamin C-infused radiance-boosting and brightening formula. Confidence in Your Glow has high-performance, anti-aging ingredients and talc-free, ultra-luxe pigments. Combined with proprietary Drops of Light Technology™, your skin will feel instantly softer and smoother with a younger, airbrushed appearance. These are .5 oz, are $32 each and come in 3 shades (all discussed below).

They also kindly sent me their newest brush: Heavenly Skin™ One-Sweep Wonder Brush #705.
Heavenly Skin™ hair is infused with anti-aging collagen, silk, peptides, niacin and antioxidants, instantly improving the look of your skin upon application and delivering beautiful results every time.
The unique dual-fiber hairs, tapered brush head and shortened handle allow for effortless application—all in one sweep, for $48. I really liked this brush, but didn't notice really anything yet skin-wise after a week of use. It's a nice brush, but definitely not a must-have for the price.

Now let's check out the palettes--first up is the Natural Glow. It's described as a natural rosy kiss of radiance and natural boost of warmth.

The swatches came out really nice on these and I applied them using the Heavenly Skin brush. I found I really needed to use another brush to blend. The highlight didn't show as well as I'd hoped in pictures. The thing to remember about It Cosmetics, at least on my light-medium skin, is that their products are subtle and not striking.

Then we have the Instant Nude Glow--for the softest, sheerest naturally pretty glow.

And here it is swatched and using the Heavenly Brush:

And finally we have the Instant Warm Glow – your richest shade of bronzer for the deepest color payoff, with a gorgeous peachy-pink flush for your brightening radiance.

 Despite having warm in the title, I felt this was the most natural-looking for me.

Overall, I was very pleased with the look and wear time of the Confidence In Your Glow compacts. They lasted during the recent hotter Atlanta temps and my skin had no bad reactions to them. I liked the option of everything in one compact and even wore products individually. I didn't really care for the brush for my face shape.

Extra Elle:
This weekend I kicked off Cinco de Mayo extra early with some guacamole on the rooftop of a Mexican restaurant. It was nice to be out in the sun--I've been holed up getting caught up with blog stuff, so this was a good change of scenery.

Don't forget! $200 Sephora Shopping spree on me is up for grabs. Enter TODAY!

DUPE? Chanel Soleil Bronzer Vs. Sonia Kashuk Creme Bronzer

Extra Elle: This was supposed to go up on Tuesday, but well, I accidentally overslept...as in I turned off the alarm and thought my natural alarm clock would wake me up. Nope! So you're getting the post today! 

Just because it's cold outside and dreary doesn't mean that I don't want to warm things up! I'm talking bronzers, y'all. And not just any bronzers, but cream bronzers. These are excellent for dry skin, whether you want to warm up your complexion or add contour. I'm testing out a $50 bronzer vs. one that's $10.99. Could there be a possible dupe to save lots of money?

See also: Chanel Vs. Sonia Kashuk video

CHANEL SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL BRONZING MAKEUP BASE

$50

Chanel.com, online, stores where Chanel is sold

(I suggest Chanel so you can get the box)

1 ounce

They say, "The velvety finish of this light cream-gel bronzer leaves your skin with a beautiful sun-bathed look. Wear it on its own, or for a hint of outdoors radiance, over or under your favorite CHANEL foundation."

Slight bit of radiance that is undetectable on skin.

Slightly scented, but you don't notice it once applied.

Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer

$10.99

Target, online and instores

.18 ounce

They say, "The innovative cream-to-powder formula melts into skin and delivers a buildable dose of natural translucent color, while minimizing imperfections using soft focus technology. The weightless cream glides easily over the skin, making the formula ideal to enhance and sculpt both the face and body for a lit-from-within glow."

Not scented

Random fact--if you've been reading Elle Sees long enough, you might remember me interviewing Sonia Kashuk! I was really sick and trying to sneakily take care of a newborn at the same time. I was going to link the video, but they took it down, haha. 

So now that we have the basics, let's compare them.

Here they are side by side, with Chanel on your left. They look sort of similar in the pan.

Chanel is on the top and Sonia Kashuk is the bottom swatch. They look pretty much exact, right?

This is it swatched on my skin--not how I do contour,  just demonstrating it other than my hand or arm. I generally use this as a bronzer as it is too warm for me to contour with. The Sonia Kashuk one blends out too much for my liking, but for the price, you can't beat it! I personally prefer the Chanel. Color-wise this is a dupe, but wear time, you gotta go with the Chanel...but price wise, Sonia Kashuk!

Check out my video--it's really quick--on the products mentioned above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKQ2CJLFaIw

Have you tried either of these? What did you think of the video?

Dupe Or Not? It Cosmetics Je Ne Sais Quoi Palette Vs. ELF Beautifully Bare Palette

I'm back with my first Dupe? Or Not? post of 2017! In case you've haven't seen these posts, I take a high-end makeup product and compare it to something more affordable, a so-called dupe. I test to see if the suggestion is an actual dupe, or just an option.

I haven't covered any face palettes on here, so I thought I'd compare the popular Je Ne Sais Quoi palette from It Cosmetics vs the Beautifully Bare palette from ELF. Aren't they both pretty?

Here's the size comparison of packaging as well. ELF is $8 and It Cosmetics is $42. Let's start with IT:

It Cosmetics Your Je Ne Sais Quoi Complexion Perfection Face Palette

• All-in-one palette that delivers a skin-perfecting glow. 
• Developed with plastic surgeons
• Talc-free powder formulas 
• Includes: new Sunshine in a Compact™ Matte Bronzer, new Perfect Lighting™ Luminizer, new Bye Bye Pores Blush™, and award-winning Bye Bye Pores Pressed™ Poreless Finish Airbrush Pressed Powder
• Infused with hydrolyzed collagen, silk, peptides and proprietary Perfect Lighting™ Technology to revitalize and illuminate your complexion
• $42
• ItCosmetics.com, QVC, ULTA
• Pink packaging

e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Total Face Palette

• This three-in-one total face palette with a bronzer, highlighter, and two blushes creates a flawless look that's beautiful and natural looking
• lightweight, silky formula
• some matte, some shimmer
• silver packaging, but it does come in the traditional elf black as well
• The shades can be popped out.
• $8
• elfcosmetics.com, Target (they have really started carrying a lot more products), some drugstores, some big box stores (walmart)

Now, let's get into swatches. Since both of these are light palettes, the swatches are hard to see, so I wet them to enhance them. ELF definitely is more pigmented. 

But are any of the shades dupes? Remember, It Cosmetics has a powder, highlight, blush, and bronzer, whereas ELF has two blushes, highlight, and bronzer. I compared the highlight on your left (I wet them both so they'd show in pics) and the bronzer. Neither are dupes, with the ELF bronzer being a cooler brown, but the highlights are similar.

I applied ELF on one side and IT on the other. While I am wearing the IT powder, I focused on the blushes, bronzer, and highlighter. Pictured on top is with flash and on the bottom in front of a window. I took them this way to enhance the glow.

But what does it look like in person after a few hours of wear? The pic above. You can see a natural glow, which is what both products are after.

And here it is with the flash. In case you can't tell, the ELF side is more pigmented, so it really shows up. It's on your right. The It Cosmetics is on your left. I can tell how it hides my pores and even freckles better and it doesn't look as sparkly in person as the ELF, which I prefer. I liked the blushes for both. However, the ELF palette does have talc in it, which causes my skin to react if I continually wear it consecutively. IT Cosmetics has similar but better ingredients. I do appreciate the ELF formulation, as usually their powder products are not silky soft. While it's not a dupe swatch-wise, I think they look similar in person. I really do like the ELF palette and you can't go wrong with either.

Do you own either of these palettes?

Do you like natural-looking makeup? 

Do you think they're dupes?

NEW It Cosmetics Sunshine in a Compact AND You Sculpted!

I love It Cosmetics--their CC Cream is one of my fave things ever (already packed in the Cancun bag). Their products pepper my makeup room here and there. And when I got the chance to try out some new goodies from them, I HAD to try them. Look at them! Let's see what's inside:

It Cosmetics You Sculpted!

• Universal Contouring Palette for Face and Body $40
• "Developed with plastic surgeons, the leading experts in contouring and aesthetics, each powder shade is formulated with proprietary Perfect Lighting™ Technology to mimic real facial contouring and provide a foolproof alternative to fillers."
• Four contour shades, two highlighters 
• Talc-free, and perfect for all skin types and skin tones, these shades are infused with anti-aging collagen, silk and peptides to blend effortlessly and deliver smooth, natural-looking coverage that lasts all day.
• There’s an included how-to guide 
• I found this to be a very wearable palette and prefer the soft or light contour shades. The highlights are natural and very pretty on. Not too glittery. 
• I don't do body contouring, so I won't use the darker shades regularly for that, but I do use them for eye shadows.

It Cosmetics Sunshine in a Compact

FYI: Vitality Anti-Aging Matte Bronzer is now called Sunshine In A Compact™! $34

• Developed with leading plastic surgeons, this game-changing, talc-free matte bronzer is infused with proprietary Drops of Light Technology™ to add instant radiance without any glitter or shimmer, just skin-perfecting vitality and an airbrushed finish. 
• Ideal for all skin types and tones, it never settles into fine lines and wrinkles
• Use on both your face and body
• Despite the color, this is a very natural-looking matte bronzer and isn't muddy in person.
• The brush is the Heavenly Radiance brush--very soft like all IT Cosmetics brushes

Normally when I wear contour and highlight it doesn't show well in pictures, regardless of brand, unless I PILE it on, so that's what I'm doing here to show it on the skin. Don't worry--I blended everything in after photos!! I'm wearing the radiance highlight and the deep contour. On my eyes are the light and soft contour colors--totally forgot to finish the eye look when I took these.

And here are the swatches of everything. Again, everything is natural on my light-medium skin tone and very wearable. I was happy with both products.

Have you tried It Cosmetics?

Which products do you love from IT?

Extra Elle:

• Got my hair done and I always say this, but I feel better after!
• Don't forget my $500 giveaway!

Hot Or Not: The Edge Beauty Collection At Dillards

Pop Quiz: What's this beauty blogger's favorite beauty word?

NEW. 

If there's new makeup, I have to try it out.

And if there's an entire NEW BRAND, I'm beside myself!

Enter The Edge Beauty--this is a new line from Dillard's.

I got the chance to sample a few things, as pictured above, and I took them back to the Beauty Room and gave them a good testing. Let's dig in!

I found 11 products and from that, I tried lipstick, lipgloss, liquid eyeliner, lip liner, mascara, blush, and bronzer. This line also includes 2 eye shadow palettes and an eyeliner.

The line is formulated without parabens, mineral oil, or animal derivatives.

Pictured above are the liquid liner, lip liner, and lengthening mascara.

• Liquid Liner--2 shades, lovely quality
• Lengthening Mascara--This was really, really good. Not too dry, not too wet, but lots of length. There's also a mascara for volume.
• Lipliner--This comes in 4 shades. I love that it's tasteless, odorless, and it doesn't feather. It's very pigmented and I've worn it alone. Not drying on the lips!

The EDGE Beauty Iconic Blush in Afterglow--This is a beautiful peachy-pink, aka my fave blush shade. I'm drawn to them, plus they look good on so many skin tones. I found this one to be so lovely and natural. This comes in 4 colors.

The EDGE Beauty Iconic Bronzer--This is called a bronzer, but I call it a highlight and contour in one. This comes in 2 shades. It is very sheer and natural, and this particular shade (Silhoutte) was a bit light on me. There is no fragrance. Pale skin would love to try this--very cool-toned.

The EDGE Beauty Iconic Lip Gloss--I couldn't wait to try this! If I am drawn to peachy pink blushes, I am also drawn to the same shade in gloss. You've got 6 shades (Blaze is pictured) to try. Think creamy gloss but not sticky. Vitamin E, mango butter, and orchid extract leave lips moisturized. And it smells yummy!

The EDGE Beauty Iconic Lipstick--It wouldn't be an Elle Sees post without a lipstick, am I right? The shade pictured is Bombshell, but there 8 to choose from. Shiny, hydrated lips that come in beautiful packaging will have a shade for everyone.

And here I have swatches of everything mentioned above: lip liner, lip gloss, lipstick, liquid eyeliner, blush, highlight, and bronzer. I'm wearing everything pictured above too in each picture. On your left, the lipstick. On your right, the lipliner and lip gloss.

The Good:

• The quality. Great thought was put into this line and you can tell. I was really expecting some duds, surely there would be a dislike in this line, but not here.

The Bad:

• While I love the packaging, opening the blush and bronzer always was a bit frustrating until I got the hang of it. You have to slide the top to the left to open. 

Prices:

$16-$28 (eyeshadow palette is $38)

Where to Get:

Dillards stores or here.

What products caught your eye?

Extra Elle:

• Somehow made it through Halloween weekend without eating any candy. I'm still in shock myself.
• The weather has been rainy and dreary, BUT it has caused the fall colors to really pop and be beautiful. I'm soaking it all in, the colors, that is!

Best & Worst Milani Products

Milani Cosmetics is a wonderful makeup brand that is influenced by Milan, Italy--the culture, the style, the people, the arts, and most importantly, the colors. This cruelty-free brand is available at many drugstores, other mass retailers, and online.

Today, after several years of trying and buying nearly all of their products, I'm sharing what I think you should check out and what you should skip. I'm choosing products that are available in stores. Thanks for Ashley, for reminding me to finally finish this post!

Sephora VIB Spring Haul 2015 + Video

Hey you! Happy Monday. I thought I'd take the edge off of Monday with a haul of some makeup goodies. Normally Sephora visits are a treat, since I love drugstore makeup and being a beauty blogger I get to try a lot of it gratis. But when they had their 15% off spring code for VIB members (there's a VIB Rouge level as well) I had a "treat yo self" moment. Hey, some people love shoes and bags, but for me, I cannot resist makeup. Remember, if you're looking for new makeup reviews, consider me your first source! Let's see what I got:

https://youtu.be/PNF0_LsKNPE

I am wearing everything purchased in the video.

Beauty Stocking Stuffers $45 and Under!

Y'all--we are getting closer and closer to Christmas...and I still don't have everything completed on my list. Are you in the same boat? Well, today I've got some ideas that make excellent stocking stuffers or gifts that won't take up too much room in Santa's sleigh.

Here's what sets this list apart from others: I didn't just randomly choose kits I saw online for a roundup--these have all been thoroughly reviewed by me, so you know they're good! Check 'em out and let me know your faves:

For the Socialite--I thought I'd start off with the the most expensive item, but trust me, it's a good one. Sephora has this Glitz & Glam kit for $45 that seriously has everything she needs for all of those holiday parties, especially New Years Eve. Bonus idea--If $45 is too pricey, try making your own DIY version using drugstore makeup!

First, you get a clutch and everything fits in it! There's a dry shampoo (it's a lighter one from drybar). Next is a Deborah Lippmann polish in a dark sparkly aubergine shade. For the eyes would be the Laura Mercier shadow stick in a champage shade, Stila foil finish shadow (very sparkly), Sephora false lashes, MUFE HD setting powder, and Lancome eyeliner. There's also a Watts Up highlighter from Benefit and a gorgeous Smashbox matte red. I'm wearing it in my latest Chit Chat video. It's an easy red to transform, based on lip liner and lip color.

For the Girl on the Go--Keep this Deck the Eyes kit in your purse or desk at work to transform day eyes to dramatic night eyes. This Pur Minerals kit includes a felt tip liner for that dramatic cat eye and a mascara that really defines the lashes. AND it's only $12. Get it at purminerals.com*

For The Woman Who Never Splurges on Herself--Um, put my Mama in this category! She never spends money on herself--it all goes to the kids and grandbabies--and this kit from Ole Henricksen is perfect for her. Inside the Mini 3 Little Wonders Kit are excellent products for her to treat her skin, like Truth Serum® Collagen Booster, Sheer Transformation® Brightening Moisturizer and Invigorating Night Gel™. This kit is $22.50 but there's a larger size for $70.

For The Girl Who Doesn't Like Clutter--As much as I wish my love for makeup would rub off on my friends, there are some who want just the basics, and this kit of great for that. Pop this in your purse and you'll be ready for the party in no time.

Inside the Pur Minerals Let it Glow kit has exactly what is needed to glow for the holidays. You'll find a creamy highlighter, blush, and bronzer. Use them all together or pick the ones that work for you. $24 at purminerals.com*

For The One Who Organizes Girls' Night Out--If I had to pick one of my faves, it's this kit for $20. Kat Von D The Star Studded Look has everything needed for that special night out.

Inside is a waterproof Tattoo felt tip liner (amazing), mascara, and the cutest mini version of her famous studded lipsticks in a matte fire engine red. $20 at Sephora. LOVE this kit.

For the Morning After--Whether you were out late celebrating or up late wrapping presents, everyone could use this Peter Thomas Roth Mini Mask Magic Kit. For $20, you get 3 mini masks that are so, so good. There's a cucumber gel mask--great for puffy eyes (I keep it in the fridge), irritated skin, or right after a brow wax. There's a rose stem cell mask to repair and give youthful-looking skin. And there's a pumpkin enzyme mask that exfoliates. These are wonderful for travel, too! FYI--there's a $45 version too with bigger sizes.

For Those Who Love a Little Sparkle--This is for all the ladies on your list! SinfulColors has released their 2014 Holiday Collection. There are 22 shades that come in four different cartgeories: Holiday Faves, Decked with Glitter Flakes, Blues & Hints of Gold, and Opalescent Toppers. I got a chance to try out 4 of them and I'm in love.

From left to right: Decadent (dazzling red metallic flakes), Twilight Twinkles (brilliant flakes of gold), Sugar Sugar (candy cane, red-hot red), Galax-Sea (magical green flakes).  Sugar Sugar is a gorgeous, slightly shimmery red, and the others make excellent top coats. The best part? These SinfulColors polishes are $1.99 each at Walgreens.*
* denotes sent for consideration

Want more holiday beauty kit ideas? Click here!