Review: Illuminaré All Day Eye Color SPF15

When I first visited Serenity Zone, my Groupon voucher included a face scan to detect damage. Given that I'm quite fair, I expected there to be some damage, what I wasn't expecting was a significant portion of sun damage was right below my eye brows. Not everyone applies foundation on the eye area and that skin is probably the most susceptible to losing elasticity as we age (there's a reason why eye lifts are so popular). I tend to get freckles right below my brows and on my lids and didn't really put two-and-two together until after the scan.

What I then found is very few (if any) eye products contain sunscreen. The very popular Urban Decay Primer Potion has none and in general, unless you count the insignificant protection a mineral eyeshadow will give you, most of the eye products don't protect against the sun. I was then on a search for an eye product that I could wear from lid to brow that would offer sun protection and look good during the day.

What I found were the Illuminaré All Day Eye Colors (specifically for me, the shade Latte).

Finally, eye colors with SPF 15! These semi-matte creamy eye colors are highly water-resistant and last all day without creasing or fading. The colors blend fast and easy using either fingertips or our special brushes. All of our eye colors can be used as eyeliners and brow fillers when used with our eyeliner/brow brush. They are safe for contact-lens wearers and sensitive eyes. Our Extra Coverage foundation formula is also a fabulous base for our eye colors. 100% oil-free. .25oz (7.5ml) 
Retail price: $18 a tube

I managed to get my hands on a full sample set of these (though I forget where I ordered them from). The colors are all skin tone, ranging from the lightest to the darkest tones. For fair girls the darker shades can be used for contouring, brow filling, eyeliner or just a nice dark base while the lightest shades give enough coverage to erase hyper-pigmentation on the lids, freckles, veins, etc.

The texture of these is a bit dry, they are very pigmented so a little goes a long way and they dry quickly. It is recommended that if you have dry lids, to apply something prior to the color that has more moisturizing properties, but oily lids can apply directly to the lids.

Once I finish my mini tube of Latte, I'm going to spring for a full size tube. It lasts all day on me and it is a great base for eyeshadow and it conceals everything on my lids.

I have swatches of all but the two lightest shades (Perla Rossa & Perla Bianca - both of which contain shimmer and are recommended for highlighting) below.

From left to right:
top row: Latte, Cafe Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha Cinnamon, Cafe Mocha
bottom row: Cafe Americano, Espresso

If you think you might be the shade Cafe Americano, Camera Ready Cosmetics has the shade 50% off till it sells out.

Other shades are available at Dermstore, Skinstore (20% off with code G2GFALL), and the Illuminaré website.

ingredients:
Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide-5% & Titanium Dioxide-4.4%
Ingredients: Cyclomethicone, Iron Oxides, Decamethyl Cyclopentasiloxane, Quaternium 18 Hectorite, Lauryl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone Copolymer, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, PEG/ Ppg-20/15 Dimethicone, Alumina, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben

Disclosure: Some affiliate links were used.

Review: Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock

I recently received a sample of the Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Sunblock in the mail to try out.

My first reaction was that the bottle was awfully small! I wondered how it was going to last past the first couple of days given that I had heard that one needs to apply a lot of sunscreen to get the desired sun protection. With this, you only need to apply a few drops per application.

While the smell isn't entirely pleasant (it's sunscreen plus what appears to be a little floral scent), it's not impossible to deal with and it seems to disappear once layered under makeup.

It doesn't sink in immediately but since the texture is thin and liquid-like, it has an easier time of absorbing into the skin unlike thicker sunscreen products and once it dries it isn't sticky.

"swatch"

It does leave a slight film on the skin, but it feels like liquid to powder face products and dries matte and does not cause my foundation to ball up on my face. I've found it does provide a decent base for my makeup but since my skin is on the drier side, I still need to moisturize well before applying this product. Since my skin is fair, I have not had a problem with a white cast on my skin but darker skin tones might have that problem if the product doesn't sink in fully.

 rubbed in

All in all, I really like this sunscreen though with the price tag of nearly $12, I will have to use it longer to see how long the little bottle lasts and whether or not it breaks me out since my skin is sensitive.

A side note: I apologize at how blurry these photos are. They were taken a few days ago and I haven't had the energy to retake as I've been in bed, but you guys get the point, right? Of course right!

Would you like to review UltraSheer®, too? Then go to http://www.giantwavepool.com/ultrasheer!

Or get $2 off your UltraSheer® purchase at http://www.neutrogena.com/suncoupon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Tidal Labs. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."