Revew: Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Tone Corrector

About a month and a half ago, I was pleased to get my first VoxBox from Influenster. In it was my complimentary full-size Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Tone Corrector. I was super excited to try it out, and I’ve been using it pretty consistently, twice a day, since its arrival.

A tube of this stuff costs $14.99 at Target, and contains 1.1oz of product – which is about the size of a foundation. I have used about 3/4 of the tube, using about a pea-sized amount at a time.

The tube and packaging (taken the day of this posting)

Here are the claims:

This targeted treatment helps reduce the look of stubborn dark spots, discolorations, and uneven tone to improve skin’s radiance in just 2 weeks. This concentrated formula combines clinically proven ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex, one of nature’s most effective tone correctors, with vitamin A for faster results. It is oil free, noncomedogenic and nonirritating.

A little about my skin: I'm 25 with fair skin and am plagued by redness. I don't have much hyperpigmentation aside from a few (recent) dark acne scars. I don’t have much to spot treat or "target" so I just used it all over my face.

The product smells good, and could be used as a light moisturizer. It isn't greasy or shiny, and wears just fine under makeup. In general I feel like it made my skin feel soft, fresh, and nourished. It also hasn’t irritated my skin or clogged my pores, so it definitely lives up to the last of its claims.

I can't say for sure if it did anything for my dark spots. I can obviously still see them pretty well, but I *think* they are fading. I feel like my complexion is brighter and more even since I've been using this. I’m gonna go ahead and say that my skin definitely looks more radiant!

My "before and after" photos aren't the best for illustrating the difference in my skin. The first photo was taken over a year ago, and some things will have changed since then. The photos were taken with different lighting, angles, and cameras. However, in both photos I am wearing no makeup (aside from eyeliner in the "after" photo).

Before

After
Ignore the eyeliner!

I can see quite a reduction in redness, but I can't say for sure if that is due to the product or just the differences in camera and lighting.

I might actually purchase this once I run out, because it really does make my skin look and feel great. It’s also not as outlandishly expensive as targeted treatments tend to be.

Review: Avon Extra Lasting Eyeshadow Pencils

For my first full review, and as the maiden voyage of this blog, I am going to review the Avon Extra Lasting Eyeshadow Pencils. 

From the top: Amethyst, Shimmering Sands, Crystal Taupe, Smoky Plum

I saw these reviewed by Emily at Beauty Broadcast early this year, and was anxious to get my hands on a few of these! My cousin, Lindsay, is an Avon representative and she let me know that they were going to be buy one get one free, so I ordered four of them: Shimmering Sands, Amethyst, Crystal Taupe, and Smoky Plum. I've been using them for a couple weeks, so here are my thoughts.

Color

Left to right: Smoky Plum, Crystal Taupe, Shimmering Sands, Amethyst

These colors are stunning! There are ten shades in all, which don't all look like the colors on the Avon website.

Shimmering Sands is a light shimmery golden-champagne, similar in tone to theBalm’s Mary-Lou Manizer. It is a perfect inner corner highlight! Crystal Taupe is a cool, dark taupe (nothing like its “swatch” on the Avon website). Amethyst is a purple-brown color that is a hair deeper in tone than Crystal Taupe. Smoky Plum is super dark, and suffers from the same fate of other dark purple shadows: on the eye it shows up more gray/brown than purple. It is gorgeous with the other colors, however, or topped with a deep purple shadow. It is very creamy and dark.

All of them give effortless color payoff, and they can easily stand on their own in a one-shadow look.

Blendability

Lid: Crystal Taupe; Crease: Amethyst; Inner third: Shimmering Sands; Outer V: Smoky Plum

These set within about 30 seconds, but until they set they are creamy and blendable. They blend evenly and smoothly. I have no trouble with blending one on top of another. I love using the e.l.f. Essential Blending Eye Brush to blend these. It is stiff enough to stand up to the cream consistency, but soft enough to diffuse and blend the shadow without harsh lines.

The size of the tip is perfect! It's big enough to cover a larger area quickly and evenly, but small enough to have some precision on the lower lash line and in small areas like the inner and outer corners. Here is a comparison next to my eye:

Staying Power

Once they are set they don’t budge! These stay put all day on their own, though I’ve noticed minimal fading and creasing on my oily eyelids. An eyeshadow primer extends their wear, as does powder shadow on top. They can serve as a nice base for powder shadows!

The final verdict is that these are some incredible cream shadows! I’ve heard that they’re similar to the Mally shadow sticks, but these are so much cheaper! They’re still a little expensive at $8.50 each, but if you get them on sale (e.g. I got them when they were buy one get one free) they’re a killer deal. Right now the Avon website has them on sale for $4.99, so you can definitely take advantage of that! From my experience with these four, I definitely want to collect more shades.

On mah face:

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream (Fair-to-Light)

Rimmel Stay Matte primer

L’Oreal True Match foundation (W2 Light Ivory)

L’Oreal True Match powder (N1)

CoverGirl & Olay Concealer Balm (Fair)

E.L.F. Studio blushes (Tickled Pink & Blushing Rose)

Wet N Wild megaslicks Balm Stain (Pinky Promise)

Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm (Just Plum Good)

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)

Avon Extra Lasting Eyeshadow Pencils (Shimmering Sands, Smoky Plum, Amethyst, Crystal Taupe)

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

Lorac Pro Palette shadows (Cream & White)

E.L.F. Brow Kit (Medium)

E.L.F. Liquid Liner (Coffee)

L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (Blackest Black)