OVERHYPED or WORTH IT? Speed Reviews // About Face Cream Blush, NYX Wonderstick, & more!

Hey guys, so today we have a speed reviews video. I'm gonna be giving you a roundup of a bunch of reviews on products that I've just been testing out recently. And now that I've tested them out for a few weeks, I am excited to share my thoughts on them. So I do wanna say, I'm not including any of my recent e.l.f. haul in this video because I do need some more time to test out some of those products. And pretty soon coming up, I'm gonna do like an updated best and worst of e.l.f., of everything I've tried from the brand. So stay tuned for that if you were curious about any of those products. But let's go ahead and get started first with a new foundation that I picked up. This is relatively new to the market and I've heard kind of mixed reviews on it, but I featured this in my full face of Ethical Mica Makeup Brands. Essence is supposedly a brand that uses only Ethical Mica in their products. And it's also such an affordable foundation. This retails for $7. This is their Pretty Natural Hydrating Foundation. And I have mixed thoughts on this foundation. I've had some days I've worn it where I hated the way it looked on me and other days I've really liked it. I do have it on today. And I think what I've figured out with this foundation is I only like it when I apply it with a sponge. Anytime I've applied it with a brush, even brushes that I normally like for foundation, it just looks dry. It never looks smooth on my skin. But when I apply it with a sponge, I love the way it looks. I would describe this as a light coverage foundation. It's not gonna cover up your blemishes or your freckles or anything. It does still let your natural skin show through. You might read the name of it and think that it's gonna be very dewy because they call it a hydrating foundation. But on the back, they do describe the finish as natural. So I think that's a good way to describe it because it really just doesn't look matte or dewy. It kind of just looks like the same finish that my skin naturally is without any products on it. Just kind of somewhere in the middle. It really doesn't feel that hydrating to me, to be honest. I think if you have very dry skin and you're looking for something that's gonna actually add moisture to your skin, this is probably not what you're looking for. Like, I'll just be honest. I think the name is actually kind of misleading because it's not that hydrating. But today, I'm wearing my Pipette Mineral sunscreen underneath this, which is a very emollient, hydrating sunscreen. And I don't feel like my skin looks very dry. It just looks natural. But I'm actually really happy with the way that my skin looks with that combination and specifically with this applied with a sponge. That's the only way that I am happy with the way it looks. So a little bit finicky, but now that I've gotten the hang of it, I actually really like it. So I'm glad that I didn't just write it off completely the first few times I used it. And if you saw me test this out in that Mica video, you'll remember I wasn't very happy with it. I'm glad I gave it a few more chances because I actually do think that this is a good foundation, especially for the price. For a $7 foundation, I actually think this is pretty good. It comes in a good shade range. I wear the shade 03 Neutral Ivory, which is pretty good for my skin. It does lean a little bit yellow, but since it's light coverage, it works totally fine. And they do claim that this is a long wear formula. I think because this is so lightweight, it wears really well on my skin. I don't have any issues with it rubbing off on my skin. At the end of the day, I think my skin looks really fresh and nice and smooth. Usually my issue with foundations as they wear, if a foundation doesn't wear well on me, usually that means by the end of the day, it's starting to look crusty or separated or just dry, but this looks really good on my skin even at the end of a long day. I think if you have extremely dry skin, you might wanna skip this, but if you have anywhere from oily to mildly dry skin, I think it's really good. I'll be curious to see how I like it as we get into the winter when my skin does get more dry, because maybe my thoughts will change, but I'll be sure to keep you posted if they do. I also recently picked up the NYX Wonder Stick in the shade Fair. So this is a dual-ended contour and highlight stick. I saw they also have some blush and highlight sticks, but I went for this one because I thought it might make a good dupe for the UOMA Beauty one. So I went for the shade Fair. I am wearing both the contour and the highlight on my face today. The contour is a great shade for fair skin. It has a bit of a cool pink undertone to it. So I think especially if you have a cool pink undertone to your skin, you will especially like this, but I think anyone with fair skin could wear this shade. And the highlighter side is a bit more of a golden champagne color. So as far as how it stacks up against the UOMA contour stick, I have the UOMA contour stick in the lightest shade as well, which is the shade White Pearl. The UOMA contour has less of a pink undertone to it. You can see it's a little bit more of a neutral brown there. And the highlighter is a completely different shade. The UOMA highlighter is definitely very pink toned, while the NYX one is a lot more golden. I would also say that the UOMA has a little bit of a creamier feel to it. Just as you apply it, you can feel more softness to this formula. And it's not that the NYX one isn't creamy. It's just a little bit more thin. It does still glide onto your skin very smoothly. And with stick cream products like this, the main thing that I'm looking for is I wanna be able to draw it directly onto my skin and then blend it out with a brush. That's how I like to apply this kind of thing. To me, that's the whole point of having it in a stick is just being able to go boop and then tap it out and you're done. I don't wanna have to put my brush on there. I don't wanna have to put this on the back of my hand first. I just wanna be able to draw it directly on my face. That's just my preference. And for me, this does work well that way. I don't have any trouble with it lifting up my foundation. It doesn't separate the foundation. It blends out really well. It doesn't leave a streak on my skin where I placed it. So verdict is, it's not a total dupe for the UOMA one. It's just not quite the same texture or shade. But I love the effect that I get with this NYX Wonder Stick as well. It's just not quite the same as the UOMA one. So I still like having both in my collection. And these swatches on the back of my hand for both, they don't dry down necessarily. The NYX one, I would say, feels a little bit more set into place than the UOMA one, whereas the UOMA one's a little bit more slippy. So if you have oily skin, you might actually prefer the texture of the NYX one if you don't like things to feel slippy on your skin. So I really like the result that I get with this NYX Wonder Stick. I like the kind of subtle contour that it gives me. It never looks too dark or muddy on my skin tone. So I think this is fantastic. If you had your eye on this, I really don't have anything negative to say about it. Other than the packaging is just a little bit cheap-looking to me, but that really isn't that big of a deal to me. Another cream cheek product I've been testing out is the new About Face Cream Blush. So the shade I got is called Laid, and it is just the super adorable bubblegum pink color. Very trendy this year. This kind of pink blush has been so hyped up this year. So I figured I would try out that shade. And I also love that the packaging matches the shade. I just think that's such a nice touch. So this is a really nice cream blush. I don't think everyone would like it though, because it does have a very specific texture. So I think when a lot of people think of cream blush, they automatically think of something dewy and glowy on your cheeks, but this is a very matte formula. Like there is no glow to it. I would describe this texture as a cream to powder. Like when I touch it with my finger, it has a very creamy feel to it. But as soon as I apply it to my skin and start kind of blending it in, it starts to feel very powdery, very cream to powder sort of texture. And the finish of this is very matte. Like you can see there's really no shine or glowiness to this at all. And it also has a very velvety silicone sort of slip to it. So you have to like that kind of texture in order to like this, I think. But I've really been enjoying this. I've applied it with my fingers, but my favorite way to apply it is with a brush. I just feel like that's the easiest. It blends into my skin really quickly. This is what I have on today. And you might look at this color and think that it's gonna look like too bright or too much like a Barbie sort of pink, but I really like the color. It goes on the cheeks looking a lot more natural than what it looks like in the pan. It just kind of gives you a nice, like bright, awake sort of look, which I think is what most people like about this type of pink color. So all in all, I'm really enjoying this. Really glad that I picked it up. I think I probably add like a little bit more. And because this has a cream to powder texture, I just tapped a little bit more on top just to add a little bit more so you could really see the color. And I'd already like set my under eyes and my T-zone and everything, and it didn't really seem to mess with those areas. I think because this is a cream to powder formula, it does work well either over or under powder. So I'm really enjoying this. I love just like the Y2K vibe of this brand also. And really the packaging is the main thing that sold me on this, I'm not gonna lie. I just think it's so cute and I love the monochrome look of it. Another product from NYX I bought at the same time as their Wonder Stick is the Lift & Snatch brow pen. I think I've already kind of shared my thoughts on this in other videos, but I figured I'd go ahead and give you my review here too. So this I picked up to replace my Urban Decay Brow Blade, which I loved, but I was just looking for a cheaper alternative. And this I'm happy to say it makes a great alternative. The only difference is it doesn't have a pencil on one end, it's just the marker, which is totally fine with me. I've actually used this on its own in my brows, even in the tail. Normally I use some kind of either pencil or pomade in the tail of my brows, and then I mainly use a marker like this kind of in the front end. But some days I even use it on its own and I think it works just fine that way too. But today what I did was I paired it with the Essence Brow Designer, which I'm also reviewing in this video. I went with the shade Blonde. It does pull a little bit red in my brows, so I think I would prefer something a bit more cool toned. I think next time, once I run out of this, I'll probably get a different shade, but this works just fine in my brows. It has a very nice, fine brush tip. It makes it really easy to get a tiny hair-like stroke, which is what I like to use this type of product for. I just feel like this type of product looks the most natural in my brows because I can use a very small amount of product overall. So when I apply this, I like to just kind of hold it on its side in the direction that my brow hairs go so that I can just draw a few flicks and it ends up looking really nice and natural. So if you've been on the hunt for a good drugstore brow pen, I highly recommend this one. I'm just now realizing that most of these products I do really like, except for this next one. This next one, I'm kind of just on the fence about. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. This is the Essence Eyebrow Designer, a very affordable brow pencil, and this is like a traditional wooden pencil. I got the shade Blonde in this as well, which also does pull a little bit warm on me, but it works. Again, it just, it works, but it's not like my favorite shade. The thing with wooden pencils is you don't always get a consistent thickness unless you're sharpening it between every single use, which in that case, you might end up wasting some product. So you're, of course, not gonna get as fine of a tip with this as you would with something like the NYX Micro Brow or that type of product. So just keep that in mind. It's not for everyone, but this is what I used in the tail of my brows today, and it works well. I mean, for such an affordable brow pencil, I think it does a great job. It is a little bit stiff, but not anywhere near as stiff as the CoverGirl wooden brow pencils. Those I could hardly even get to show up. This, you really don't have to press down too hard to get a line, and I kind of like that it's not super creamy because it just makes it a little bit easier to work with. You're not gonna end up with way too much glooped up in your brow hairs. So I think it's kind of the ideal texture for a brow pencil, and I like the little brush that it comes with. Normally, brow pencils have a spoolie, but I don't mind this either. I think it does a good job combing through my brows. So if you're on the hunt for just a super affordable brow pencil, and you don't mind sharpening your brow pencils, I think you'll really like this if you can find a shade that works for you. So I guess as I'm saying all this out loud, I'm realizing that I am giving this a pretty good review, but for me, personally, this isn't going to become my everyday brow product, I don't think. It's just, it's kind of, it gets the job done, but it's just not my favorite way to fill in my brows. Lastly from Essence, I have their Bye Bye Panda Eyes mascara. I also tested this in the Mica video. A lot of these came from that video, and I have determined that this is a solid mascara. It is very lengthening, which is funny because they don't describe it as lengthening at least on the packaging. They say that it is smudge-proof, volumizing, and defining. I don't think this is volumizing at all. To me, volumizing means it's going to make my lashes look thicker, and it's going to make them stand out from a distance. From a distance, I don't feel like my lashes stand out that much, but up close, they are really nice and lengthened. Like my lashes, when I look up, they touch my brows, which to me, that is a sign that it is a very lengthening mascara. So this has a very typical brush. It's a little bit on the chubby side, which I actually like. Usually I prefer a rubber bristle brush, which this is not, but I don't mind this either. And as far as the smudge-proof claims, so this is a tubing mascara, technically. I just remove it with my cleansing balm, and it comes off just fine like that, but the idea behind a tubing mascara is you can also just rub some warm water through your lashes, and it'll just kind of come off in little tubes, and typically tubing mascaras don't smudge. I really haven't had much issue with this smudging at all, but I have noticed just a tiny bit of flaking. Like right before I started filming this video, I've had this on for a couple of hours now, and I had a couple of little flakes under my eye that I had to kind of just like whisk away. So really, the flaking on me is very minor. It's not even enough to bother me, honestly. I have noticed also like at the end of the night, sometimes I'll have like one or two flakes that have kind of fallen down. So if you're really susceptible to flaking with your mascaras, I don't really recommend this, but it does stay true to the smudge-proof claims. On me, I haven't had any smudging. So I think this is good if you like a more natural look to your lashes, but you still like for them to look kind of fluttery and long, but I don't think it's working any miracles. Like for me, my favorite is still the Milani highly rated anti-gravity. I just think this is one of the best mascaras I've tried in a long time. It makes my lashes look incredible, like long, thick, just very, very dramatic, which is what I prefer. But if you want something a little bit more natural looking, I do think this is a good option. Okay, so that is my speed review roundup on all of this new makeup that I've been testing. Some of it is new to the market, some of it is not, but it is all new to me. So I hope you enjoyed hearing my updated thoughts on these items. Let me know if you've tried any of these, what were your thoughts? So that if anyone else is thinking about purchasing them, they can hear multiple opinions down below in the comments rather than just my own. So I know we all have different experiences with products. So if you enjoyed this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. I upload at least three videos a week. So I would love to see you back soon. And hopefully I will talk to you again in my next video. Bye.