LIPaffrair are L.O.V. Cosmetic's standard line of lipsticks with a classic creamy finish, but this shade is one of the four new nude shades that were added to the range for spring/summer 2018. It's my first L.O.V. lipstick that I tried, but I've owned plenty of Catrice and Essence lipsticks which are their sister brands, and I can definitely say L.O.V. takes quality to a new level. 

Texture: The lipstick is very pigmented, smooth and lightweight, so it's one of those new-age type of formulas that started appearing after Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Volupte were launched. It's actually quite a similar formula to that one with its thin, pigmented and slippery texture. Despite being creamy, it's not a moisturising type of lipstick which those with dry lips might not like, but it still feels like a high quality formula.  

Colour: 612 Angelina's Belief is a medium warm rosy brown and it's the warmest such shade I own, leaning closer to a dirty peach than my other similar shades. I think it'll work best as a nude shade on someone with a warm medium skin tone (NC30-40).

Staying power: I mentioned before it's a formula that reminds me a lot of YSL Rouge Volupte and it lasts similarly too. I averaged four-five hours on the lips, but it's one of those lipsticks that fades evenly.  

Packaging: This has a well-made tube. It's metal with a magnetic closing system and it feels like a weighty lipstick, so something you'd see at high-end products. 

Price and availability: It's sold in Müller for 9.99 €.

Formula of this feels close to high-end as does the packaging, so you're getting some real quality here. Pigmentation is excellent and it just glides on the lips, plus the formula feels very lightweight on the lips, but it's not a particularly moisturising formula despite the creamy finish. The shade isn't my favourite for my colouring, but for warm medium skin tones it'd be lovely.

Have a great day!

*PR product

For spring/summer 2018 season L.O.V. added a few more shades my favourite nail polish line LOVinity and I got two: 264 Devoted Denim and 301 Bridal Bloom. I've reviewed the formula before in my other posts about these and these two have much the same formula, so again easy to apply as well as long-lasting (on my nails, for course). 

301 Bridal Bloom

301 Bridal Bloom is a nail polish shade that's recurring among Cosnova's brands, in fact it's very similar to Essence's Forgive Me shade in the The Gel Nail Polish Line. It's a warm pastel pink and a great pastel formula, which in the era of gel nail polishes isn't that uncommon, but I still want to point out that's it's a nice formula to apply despite being thick. It's almost a one coater, it depends on how well you apply the first coat. On the pictures it's two coats with no top coat. Lana swatched it here and she reviews the formula from a point of view of someone who has weak and brittle nails.

264 Devoted Denim

264 Devoted Denim is a shade that's out of the box for L.O.V.'s range which is predominately made out of classic shades. It's a muted medium mint green, quite a unique shade I must say and different from what you'd expected from seeing the colour in the bottle. It's a mermaid shade to me, as it's got that sea colour vibe to it. Formula is a complete delight to apply. It's a very smooth one coater despite the thick formula.

L.O.V. nail polishes are sold in Müller for 5.99 €.

Have a great day!

*PR products, but I buy these in other shades myself.

THE SAEM Cover Perfection Tip Concealer 

01 Clear Beige

This is one of the most popular K-Beauty makeup items and one that many have compared to Nars' Creamy Radiant concealer. Since I've tried several high coverage drugstore concealers, I wanted to see how this compares especially since it's easy to get online for a very affordable price. I consider Nars' concealer, Collection's Lasting Perfection and Look by Bipa Matte Camouflage dupes in almost every respect apart from the shades, while Catrice Liquid Camouflage is already a bit lighter in texture and has less coverage. Compared to all of these the Saem has the thickest, most concentrated formula as well as the most coverage. A tiny dot of product goes much farther than the rest, which is a good and bad thing because applying too much can very quickly get heavy-looking. It's great for spots and prominent imperfections, so if you're looking for high coverage, this is great for just a few dollars. It exists in three shades, I have the lightest one 01, which is only slightly darker than my skin tone and it's about NC15, the undertone is warm, but not strong.

Cosmetic Love, $2.96

Before I start with skin care reviews, I'll describe my skin and preferences first.

Skin type: combination/normal with moderately oily forehead and nose and mostly normal cheeks which can occasionally be dry. I'm prone to dry patches if I don't use a good moisturiser or if I use a mattifying primer. I have large pores on the sides of the nose and the most acne prone area is my chin (always in the same place under my lips) and on the cheeks. 

I'm looking for hydration, brightening and evening out the skin, and anti-age products. I like ferments, niacinamide, ginseng, oils, honey and propolis. 

What works for me: BIOBAZA Face Cleansing Micellar Oil 

BALEA Refreshing Wash Gel

COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid

COSRX Galactomyces 95 Whitening Essence

BANILA CO. Miss Flower Miss Honey Essence oil (discontinued)

LEE JIHAM DR.'s Care Vita-Propolis Ampoule

TONY MOLY Panda's Dream Sleeping Pack

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen collection

You can see the rest on my All-times favourites page.

Don't like: most snail products and mineral oil since they both break me out.

THE FACE SHOP Rice Water Bright Rich Cleansing Oil

Gothamista put this into her favourite budget skincare video and praised its makeup removing capabilities, so I expected a lot and I wanted it to be a replacement for Biobaza oil that I've been using for a year now which I feel isn't strong enough. Well, this is even weaker and it leaves me with the worst panda eyes. It just doesn't remove mascara nor eyeliner as it should, plus also on the third day using it I already saw it's going to break me out like most oils, so this just won't be for me which is a shame. It's a light oil that doesn't emulsify much, but washes off completely and doesn't make the vision foggy. It's heavily scented with a baby powder type of scent.

Ingredients.

Cosmetic Love, $6.36

COSRX Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence

I finally got a full size bottle of this. I fell in love with it though samples I ordered almost a year ago, but I wanted to try other first essences before buying anything full size (I was trialling Secret Key First Essence, which is also nice, but I prefer this one). A couple of months ago I ordered it on eBay and of course the parcel got lost (losing my patience with all this parcel disappearing crap), then I just ordered it on iHerb and paid a bit more for shipping, so it was here with no problems in five days. I already reviewed this in one of the Empties and added it in one of my favourites, but it's the product that I noticed the biggest visible difference when I started using it. Before my skin was just so blah and I was never happy with it, but this just improved it in general. There's a bit of brightening/evening the skin tone and the skin texture looks more refined, meaning the pores don't look as severe as they did before, but please don't expect miracles from this just because it works well with my skin and always buy samples if you can.

Ingredients.

iHerb, €15.62

HADA LABO Super Hyaluronic Acid Face Moisturizing Lotion

Mini size (30 ml)

This feels like hydrating heaven on the face. It's basically the same thing as The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid, but you get much more for the price (170 ml is about 15 €, TO is 7€ for 30 ml) and though I haven't tried TO version, I heard from reviewers that this feels nicer on the skin. Based on my experience I'm sure it's true because this feels like the nicest most comfortable lotion I've ever tried (apart from Etude House toner mentioned below). It's got four types of hyaluronic acid and it's nicely hydrating, but also plumping, so the skin just looks and feels better. A little goes such a long way at this, I can use three drops and it's enough for my face, but you can of course apply it generously if you wish. Trialled this twice on its own because at first I suspected it might break me out. After trying it the second time I again noticed my skin wasn't as clear, but I don't think this is causing mini breakouts, I just need to use my other regular care with it that is keeping my skin clear. If you're looking for a great hydrating product, this truly feels lovely on the skin.

eBay, €5.81

HOLY SNAILS Honey Shark and Hanbang Shark

Samples 7ml

Since Banila Miss Flower Mr Honey line was discontinued (just when I find my favourite!), I've started a search for something else. Shark Sauce is a serum from an indie brand created by a skin care blogger Chel, whose products are well-loved in K-Beauty community. I find Shark Sauce too expensive, still I wanted at least try samples once in my life to see what the fuss is about. Shark sauce doesn't contain any part of a shark, but it does contain a lot of niacinamide, which is one of my favourite brightening ingredients. I got two versions (she releases limited editions regularly, but the base stays the same with niacinamide (5%) & N-Acetyl Glucosamine (3%), fermented sea kelp, hyaluronic acid, liquorice root and green tea extract). In addition Honey Shark contains manuka honey, propolis and royal jelly, while Hanbang Shark contains ceramides, ginseng and horse chestnut. Both have a light serum type texture that absorb very quickly in a few seconds. A little goes a very long way, so the samples last a long time. I've trialled the honey one for a few weeks twice and in neither time I noticed any results. There was no brightening or a general improvement of my skin, so I don't think this is working for me. I've used the Hanbang version a few times, but again it didn't do much, so I started trying other products instead. Ingredients sound so fantastic, it's really a shame this doesn't work for me as I hoped.

Holysnailsshop.com, $10.50 (Honey 7ml) & $11.50 (Hanbang 7ml)

LEE JIHAM DR.'s Care Vita-Propolis Ampoule

My second choice for a replacement for Banila. This is a light serum that absorbs pretty fast and leaves no stickiness behind unlike Banila and it's not scented. I've been trialling it in combination with my basic skin care (cleansers + Nuxe oil) and I quite like it. My skin looked better with this, it was clear when I was using it and had a nicely healthy glow (and I didn't use COSRX Galactomyces essence at the time). I think I found my new propolis serum. The bad side is that it's only sold in these small 15 ml bottles, so it won't last long, even though I only use a few drops at once. I love the packaging because it comes with a dropper. This is one of my favourite discoveries from this New in.

Sweet Corea, $9.04

TONY MOLY Panda's Dream White Sleeping Pack

A repurchase. This so agrees with my skin, but it's nothing special, just a moisturising products. I can use it as a base for makeup or in a heavy application as a sleeping pack before going to bed.

Sweet Corea, $4.57

BENTON Snail Bee High Content Essence

Aside from COSRX Snail Mucin 96, this is the other most popular essence, though this one is already more of a hit-or-miss because it contains bee venom. Snail mucin is considered a great hydrating ingredient, but I also notice that my skin heals faster when I use it, however, this is the one such product I haven't noticed that and I don't know why. Snail mucin tends to break me out, so I risked trying it out and my skin is never clear when I use this, but it's not a full out breakout. This has a consistency of a gel that feels thick when you squeeze it out, but it's light on the face. It's easily absorbed too. It has no particular scent, just a bit like an old building, so that musty scent. I'm not seeing any benefits from this that some mention, like healing spots (I started using this when I had a big spot on my chin and this did nothing), my skin isn't more plump nor more even, so I don't get this product. 

Sweet Corea, $2.36 for five 5g samples

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen

This line appears to be quite popular in the K-Beauty circles, though mostly just the moisturiser which I originally planned to get five sample pots of before I saw this great looking pack. It's not just these four products in the line as there are also a cleanser, eye cream and some other stuff. What drew me in was hydrolysed collagen because I noticed at Banila Miss Flower Mr Honey that this ingredient agrees with my skin. It's more or less just a moisturising ingredient, but I feel it makes my skin a bit more bouncy. Another notable ingredient is baobab fruit extract which is a super food and high in Vitamin C.

Facial Toner

This feels so lovely and it's definitely one of the nicest toners I've ever tried. It reminds me a lot of Hada Labo in terms of texture, which means it's not like our toners, so a light water-like liquid, instead a rich toner-meets-serum consistency. It feels so comforting and lovely on the skin, it's just great stuff. The smells is also amazing, like oranges and it became one of my favourite scents of skincare. Hydrolysed collagen and adansonia digitata fruit extract are 2nd and 3rd ingredients respectively. I'm seriously considering getting a full size.

Emulsion

This is something like a light lotion and originally I thought it's nothing special, but I started enjoying it a lot and it's another product I might consider buying full size. It's perfect for under the makeup because it creates a similar smooth, hydrated base as my beloved Panda's cream. Hydrolysed collagen and adansonia digitata fruit extract are 2nd and 4th on the list.

Cream

This feels so rich in moisturising. It's got a type of consistency where it's like a thick gel, but it's already a bit more creamy and definitely more rich than gels tend to be. It's properly moisturising, but not necessarily nourishing so it doesn't feel heavy. The scent is again a lovely orange one. I can see why this is popular as it's a lovely moisturiser, one of the nicest I've tried to date. Hydrolysed collagen and adansonia digitata fruit extract are 1st and 9th on the list

Essence

The lightest product in the bunch. It's similar to the toner, but less rich and comforting feeling. Hydrolysed collagen and adansonia digitata fruit extract are 1st and 8th on the list, it also has alcohol on the 4th place which I can smell, but I didn't notice it drying my skin. It's my least favourite product in this line as I just don't feel it's doing much on its own, however, it's the only one that's not scented a lot.

Overall I'm really enjoying this line and I'm especially in love with the textures and scent. In terms of whether the collagen is doing it's job, sometime I notice my lines being smaller and sometimes I don't, so I don't know if this is the thing that's working or not, but otherwise it's a nice simple hydrating line. However, if I use it on its own, my skin isn't as smooth and soft as if I use other products, so it's basically like budget drugstores creams here, just with more comfortable in enjoyable textures. I've been using these daily for months now and I'm considering purchasing the toner, emulsion and cream.

Sweet Corea, $2.83 for the sample box.

ETUDE HOUSE Honey Cera

I got this sample pack only because I heard Honey Care allegedly smells like real honey. Well, all products smell like generic soap. Not bad, in fact it's nice enough, but boring. I'm disappointed in that respect, but the formulas are great.

Creamy Body Wash

 It's not hard to find a nice creamy shower cream and this one is a simple one, but nice. It's thick, like such products usually are and it foams nicely. I noticed no dryness after showering.

Creamy Body Lotion

This is almost like some body butters, so a thick lotion or maybe I should already call it a cream and it's very nourishing. Great for dry skin.

Firming Body Cream

The lotion is thick already, but this is super thick and more like a balm. It has a type of viscose consistency that at time looks a bit like scooping a bubble gum. Again a very nourishing product and great for dry skin.

All are great products for dry skin, but not worth the hassle for me to be ordering them online and waiting almost two months to arrive, especially since the scent it so bland.

Sweet Corea, $2.26 for the box.

THE SAEM Natural Skin Fit Mask

Grapefruit

A repurchase. I enjoyed this one do much I just had to buy more. It's nothing special in terms of effect, just pleasantly moisturising, but it has such a lovely comfortable essence, actually something like that Hada Labo lotion and Etude House Moistfull toner I mentioned above. It smells like grapefruits which is an extra plus. Mine are in Frozen limited edition packaging, while the original one is like the lemon one next to it, just with grapefruits.

Cosmetic Love, $0.59

THE SAEM  Natural Skin Fit Mask Sheet

Lemon

A brightening version of this mask, so the same as Frozen one, but with lemon. I'll update you how I like it.

Cosmetic Love, $0.59

A'PIEU Milk One Pack

Chocolate

Reviews on this entire line are mixed, including their scents. Mine as a smoothing version and there are several others: milk, coconut, strawberry, coffee and green tea.

Sheet: it felt like a regular sheet from the start, and an average fitting one (slightly too large for me), but it started feeling a bit thick and it came off in some places, like above my lip.

Essence: a comfortable milky lotion.

Scent: strong creamy vanilla floral scent. I found it very pleasant, but it's not like chocolate at all. 

Effect: a nice moisturising mask, my skin liked it a lot. I used it when my skin was flaky dry. Overall it's worth the purchase.

Cosmetic Love, $0.73

ETUDE HOUSE 0.2 Therapy Air Mask

Snail

Snails actually break me out, but since I enjoyed the V Prove mask so much, I wanted to give them another chance. Snail mucin is a powerful hydrating ingredient and it also promotes healing. I already had the Hyaluronic Acid and collagen version, neither really impressed me with their results, but I liked the thin sheet.

Sheet: thin, very comfortable and the fit is regular.

Essence: Super comfortable milky lotion. Not at all slimy like Naruko's. I just loved it.

Scent: creamy chemical.

Effect: Immediate effect was some redness on my forehead, but no sensation of irritation or burning. Normally snail stuff break me out, but I used this during a breakout and it reduced it 90%, plus everything started to heal a lot faster (it was gone is the next couple of days). And it was one of those chin volcanoes that I accidentally picked, which usually turns in to a two week nightmare. It also made my skin smoother. Very impressed by this and I'll repurchase it for sure.  

Cosmetic Love, $0.64

THE FACE SHOP Real Nature Mask Sheet

Red Ginseng

Ginseng is one of the most valued ingredients in K-Beauty and has some anti-ageing properties, so I took two of the cheapest masks with ginseng that were on Cosmetic Love. I like The Solution Masks from The Face Shop, but this was the first time trying these Real Nature ones.

Sheet: it feels like a regular mask, but it claims to be some special air pocket pulp sheet. It's quite a large mask, which fit ok around my mouth and eyes, but it extended into my hairline.

Essence: The essence has a yellow brown tint which makes the whole sheet in that colour. It's a like a light serum/lotion and in smaller amounts in sinks in fast, there is also not much stickiness from this. Ginseng is on the 4th place among the ingredients.

Scent: given that it's a ginseng product you can expect a typical ginseng scent. It's quite strong.

 Effect: this promises to add energy and boots vitality which to me isn't really a visible type of thing, but it was a nice mask that moisturised the skin and made it feel good. This might have a good effect if you use it regularly. It's worth trying out.

Cosmetic Love, $0.64

TONYMOLY Pureness 100 Mask Sheet

Red Ginseng

From Tony Moly masks I only had the Pokemon Pikachu version with honey which was lovely. These are 100% cotton sheet masks and exist in several versions, I only took ginseng and as soon as I saw ingredients I was disappointed because this looks like stuff made here - glycerine on the second place (not bad) followed by PEGs and nothing of value until the 8th place (panthenol), while ginseng is very low on the list (16th).

Sheet: Classic with an ok fit. It was too large for my face, but that makes it normal.

Essence: a light, toner-like essence. Based on the ingredients, like a inexpensive toner.

Scent: No ginseng scent in this, just a boring shampoo fragrance and a strong one.

Effect: The layer this left had a very glossy look to it, but overall it's just a basic moisturising mask. I just don't think it's worth it, even though it's cheap.

Cosmetic Love, $0.55

THE FACE SHOP The Solution Mask Sheets

All versions

I bought pearl before and it impressed me so much, I wanted to try all of these. It's the only range of sheet masks so far that fits my face perfectly, so even as far as comfort goes it's a winner for me (also ultra-thin 0.21 mm sheets), but also its effect was brilliant (I have a review). So now I'm trying all versions, each has a specific ingredient singled out, but generally they form groups of moisturising/hydrating/nourishing, anti-age, brightening and for oily skin. Essence differ a bit and some a very sticky. Pearl is still my favourite, but I also liked vitamin C and Propolis.

Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) - for blemish-prone skin. Contains Black Willow Bark Extract and Salicylic Acid. I used it during a breakout and it had zero effect. Disliked it.

Ceramide - moisturising. Ceramides help replenish the skin moisture barrier.  

Collagen - firming and anti-wrinkle. Contains Collagen and Adenosine. Used it already and it had great immediate plumping effect and increased elasticity, but the next day my skin looked extra creased. Disliked it.

Hyaluronic Acid - hydrating. Used it already and it's a basic hydrating mask, just as it promises. Ok.

Madecassoside - soothing, for sensitive skin. Contains Madecassoside derived from centella asiatica.

Pearl - brightening. Contains pearl extracts and niacinamide.

Peptides - anti-wrinkle. Contains Peptides and Adenosine. Tried it and it didn't do anything special. Not worth it.

Propolis - anti-wrinkle and nourishing. Contains Propolis and Adenosine. Used it already and I like it. It left my skin moisturised, plumped, lines were smaller but otherwise not much more, so not extra propolis glow..

Tannins - for oily skin, reduces shine and the appearance of visible pores.  Containing Tannins a naturally occurring polyphenol

Vitamin C - radiance. Contains vitamin C and niacinamide. Tried it already and it has a brightening effect (less than Pearl), but it's super sticky once it dries.

eBay, $16.80 (seller: wasobeauty)

MISSHA Geum Sul Vitalizing Tension Pact SPF30 PA++

01 Bright Light

I got this a while ago and I already have a full review, but haven't featured it in a New in, so it has a short description for those who find reviews too long. It's a medium coverage tension/cushion foundation with a dewy finish. It's got a mesh over a compartment with creamy foundation, instead of a sponge soaked in foundation, so it doesn't dry out as fast. It's a nice foundation for dry skin, but it stays sticky/tacky for a long time. My shade is the lightest and it's about NC15-20, swatches are in the review. Packaging is just gorgeous and also well made. I've been using it recently because it's great for my dehydrated skin.

Jolse, $24.78

MEDIHEAL LINE FRIENDS Ampoule Mask Sheet Pack

I also already reviewed these in my last sheet masks post. Mediheal are some of the most often recommended masks, especially their Aquaring formula and they have fantastic ingredients, but I really wasn't impressed. The Lightmax Ampoule was a nice brightening mask, but the rest were meh. Timetox was my least favourite because it made my skin less bouncy and elastic, despite the claims, the Aquaring (many peoples favourite) was nicely hydrating, but left a strange film on my skin and the Dressing Ampoule was nice for oily skin with break-outs, which my skin doesn't suffer from that often, but if you have such skin, it' might be worth trying. Their regular packaging has a more serious look in case you're one of those who dislikes cartoon stuff.

eBay $8.20 (seller: rinishop)

PAPA RECIPE Bombee Whitening Honey Mask

I said in the review of these that I'll get the full pack and I did. So far this is my favourite sheet mask. It's extra brightening, nourishing and it makes the skin soft, plus it smells nice. It's just a winner.

Sweet Corea, $11.67 (for 10)

Have a great day!

Coming off the heels of the Shape Tape Foundation backlash, Tarte has released a new eyeshadow palette that is not inclusive and looks exactly like every other eyeshadow palette they have ever released. This version of it, in clamshell packaging, is called Be a Mermaid and Make Waves. 

And I won't be buying. 

Before I get into why I won't be buying this ridiculous palette, I just wanted to share briefly why there hasn't been too much activity on the blog recently. As I mentioned in my last post, I recently made a cross-country move, and I am still settling in and dealing with newness growing pains. Added to that, I have been experiencing some health issues related to the surgeries I had last year, so I've been focusing on my health. 

Thank you to those who continue to tag me in posts of new products, including the person who tagged me in a post about Be a Mermaid and Make Waves, which might be the most unnecessary name for a platte I have seen. 

So, let's talk about Tarte. 

Tarte is a brand that seems to look at everything that Too Faced does, sees that as successful, and emulates it. 

• Too Faced made their palettes smell like chocolate; Tarte made their palettes smell like vanilla
• Too Faced serialized their Chocolate Bar palettes; Tarte serialized their Tartelette palettes
• Too Faced made gimmicky packaging and product names; Tarte made gimmicky packaging and product names
• Too Faced focused on mermaids and unicorns; Tarte focused on mermaids and unicorns
• Too Faced caters to white people; Tarte caters to white people 

And Be a Mermaid and Make Waves is no different. 

First, let's talk about the elephant in the room, the clamshell:

This is the outer packaging of this palette, which seems to be a faux leather or vinyl multi-color clamshell. Now, if I'm being totally honest, when I was a very young child (we're talking under 11 or so), I would have begged and begged for a compact that looked exactly like this. Not an eyeshadow palette, but a compact. And that's because I would have loved it for when I was playing pretend that I was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. 

This would have made an amazing toy for me as a child. As an adult woman, and for $42 plus tax, this is not something that calls to me as being practical or something that has any kind of longevity. 

Let's look at the inside:

The eyeshadows are shaped like pieces of coral, maybe? Or kind of like a mermaid tail? A little? I'm not totally sure what the idea is behind the shape (please let me know if you know), but I can tell you that the way these pans are shaped indicates that Tarte is not expecting people to use up entire shadows. 

I get that Tarte is trying to have an interesting-looking palette that people will want to buy for the novelty of it, but it is common knowledge that the easiest pan shapes to functionally use are circles and squares. If you've ever watched videos of people who use up entire eyeshadow palettes, you'll know that when the pans are oddly shaped (like this), it makes it challenging to use. 

At first glance, the color scheme of this palette is pretty. The colors look nice together. But when you look at it again, and really look at it, you'll see that there are a ton of duplicate colors in it. There are four reds, five pinks, two golds, a blue, a green, and a purple. So in your 14-shaodw palette, there are really only six distinct colors, making more than half the palette repetitive. 

Let's look at the colors away from the packaging and design as just pigments:

When I look at this picture, I see one potentially interesting shade, and it's in the second column, the third shadow down. That reminds me a bit of the way Colourpop Glass Bull looks as just a pigment, and that shadow has quickly become a favorite of mine. But otherwise, these colors all look more of the same to me and like something I have several times over. 

Let's look at swatches:

So, this is the picture that literally made me laugh out loud. I've mentioned this before, but swatch pictures are supposed to make a consumer enticed to buy something. Swatches are so crucial, in fact, that most brands will alter the images to make them look that much more impressive. But when I saw this picture, any positive feeling I might have had about this palette completely vanished. 

I encourage everyone to look at this picture and then cover up the first two or three shadows on the models' arms. when you do, you'll see a whole bunch of bland and repetitive shades. The top three colors are easily the most interesting in this entire palette, and what's great is if you are drawn to those shades, you can get them as singles from brands like Coloured Raine, Makeup Geek, or Colorpop that will be great quality and reasonably priced. 

This color scheme has a lot of problems, the most basic of which is that it is boring. It's basically ABH Modern Renaissance if Modern Renaissance was less pigmented and had three pops of color. The next problem is that the quality looks poor, especially since this is the brand's PR swatch image. The colors don't look very pigmented, and especially on the lightest skin tone (where the colors were not applied as heavily to make them show up), you can see that the colors are patchy. 

This is also evident in the PR images of models wearing the shadows:

The colors look sheer and ashy on both models instead of richly pigmented and foiled like they do in the pan and (somewhat) in the swatches. 

And finally, the biggest problem with this palette is that it is not inclusive whatsoever. Like almost everything that Tarte releases, this palette was only made with light skin tones in mind. And while that is absolutely not surprising at this point, it is nevertheless continually disappointing. It is also not surprising whatsoever that Tarte applied the few colorful shades onto the model with deep skin. That's because the rest of the shades in the palette would have not worked or shown up on her skin. 

With the disaster that was the Shape Tape Foundation release (you can read my anti-haul on that here), you would think that Tarte would have halted or aborted the release of this palette since it is so obviously not inclusive. To release this kind of a palette at a time when people are demanding better tells consumers that inclusivity absolutely is not a priority of the company. 

And what's worse still is that Be a Mermaid and Make Waves looks like almost every other palette Tarte has released. At this point in an anti-haul post, I typically show other palettes that share the same or similar color scheme. But for Be a Mermaid and Make Waves, I'm going to compare it ONLY against other Tarte palettes. 

There's Make Believe in Yourself:

Rainforest of the Sea Volume III:

Dream Big:

Swamp Queen:

Tarteist Pro:

Tartelette in Bloom:

Tartelette Tease:

And Tartelette Flirt:

So not only is Tarte selling a boring, poor quality, non-inclusive palette, but they are also selling a palette that they have sold to you many, many times before. Be a Mermaid and Make Waves might as well be Make Believe in Yourself. They just traded a gold-green and purple for a yellow gold and several duplicate shades. And again, when you take out those three pops of color, it just becomes every other palette listed above. 

Without doubt, Tarte has to be the biggest brand right now that is the least interested in providing interesting, unique, and inclusive products. Instead they are trying to compete for Too Faced's target audience, which is white teens and white young women. 

And I suppose that is perhaps why this palette, especially, is a disappointing release. Tarte has quite a few products that have positive or uplifting names: Dream Big, Make Believe in Yourself, Be a Mermaid and Make Waves. These are important messages to give a younger demographic, especially young women, compared to Too Faced's names like "Better Than Sex" and "Glow Job." But that message is completely ruined when you exclude everyone other than the privileged. 

To end this post, I just want to share a story of something that happened during a recent Sephora trip in Los Angeles. A young woman of color who was disabled was shopping with her mother. The two were trying to find makeup that would work for the young woman, and, frustrated, she finally blurted to her mother, "I know nothing is going to look good on me because my skin is ugly." 

I was shopping near them, and that comment completely stopped me in my tracks. The mother did not dispute the comment, only agreed that there were not going to be options that worked for her. 

People who have the privilege of choice know that others do not have options. But that thought is pushed to the back of their minds because they know that they will have an option. And they think that if there is one option that works for someone else, while there are 50 options that work for them, that it is enough. And since they don't know what it is like to be without options or to be degraded based on skin color on a daily basis, they don't have empathy or see the desperate need for immediate change. 

I don't know what it is like to be without options. And hearing that small conversation between mother and daughter genuinely made me so upset that I had to leave the store. This is why brands like Fenty Beauty are crucial—brands that are created and owned by women of color, have a wide range of inclusive products, and are available in store for people to try. And why brands like Tarte are part of the problem, not the solution. 

Be a Mermaid and Make Waves is a bad release. It is a gimmicky product that is so transparently a lazy money grab created from existing Tarte palettes that is more about packaging than it is about quality or inclusivity. The brutal truth is that it is not hard to be inclusive. And at this point, brands that are not inclusive are not out of choice. There is literally nothing that I like about Be a Mermaid and Make Waves or Tarte, so I won't be buying. 

I haven't heard anything about this foundation until I got it in a swap from Canada, so I have no idea when it was released, but based on the packaging I think it might be one of the older formulas (I found reviews on Makeup Alley spanning all the way back to 2001!), which always implies a long-lasting popularity. I was initially very impressed, at least for the first few hours until I checked in the mirror. It had the potential to be one of my favourites, but failed at one crucial point.

Texture: It's one of the creamier liquid foundations, but very light on the skin and pretty much undetectable once you blend it in. It sets fast, so there is no tacky feeling with this one. It blends very easily with any brush, sponge or fingers.

Coverage and finish: it's got a light-medium coverage and it's a type of formula that's easy to build up. The finish is super natural and undetectable on the skin, so it's very similar to the likes of Bourjois Healthy Mix and Dior BB cream. My skin is currently more on the dry side and I don't get shiny from this, but it's not mattifying.

Staying power: this doesn't last that long without powder even on my non-oily face. I checked after four or five hours and it was gone. It fades evenly and without caking up, so that's a plus.

Shade: My shade is 715 Natural Ivory which is a pale, but a very pink toned shade. It's close to Revlon's Colorstay 110 Ivory in tone, however, it's much more pink, in fact it's the most intensely pink shade in my collection. Though the shade initially fits me relaticely ok (I'm more neutral), it unfortunately oxidises terribly on me and ends up looking very orange, which is the main minus at this foundation for me.

Packaging: This comes is a squeeze tube with a precise nozzle. It's small and compact, so perfect also for being transported in a makeup bag without taking too much space.

Price and availability: Price in Walmart states $8.18.

This was such a promising foundation as it's exactly the type I love most: light-medium coverage formula with a natural, undetectable finish. However, I can't wear this since it oxidises so badly, which is such a shame. Based on my research of reviews, I'm one of the rare ones this happens too, so I guess I'm just unlucky.

Have a great day!