Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer Review

My third post to the Too Faced Blogger Darlings set review. I've moved on from my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer when I finished the tube and searched around for a paraben-free eye primer and came across Too Faced's Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer. Let's see how this fares on it's own and compared to Urban Decay.

Production Description from Official Website

What It Is: 

Your full coverage insurance policy against all fading, creasing and smudging. Our skin-soothing formula evens out skin tone and smoothes fine lines to create a perfect canvas for shadows. Color is intensified and locked down until you take it off. 

More To Love: 

• Unique Binders: Volatiles lock down eye shadow pigments for amazingly long wear. 
• Versatility: Use with powder or cream eye shadow products. 
• Fights Fading: Anti-creasing formula holds eye products in place by securing a barrier between the oils of your skin and your makeup. 
• Concentrated: The size of a rain drop covers the entire lid.

**Paraben-free

Blue tube on the right is the Shadow Primer. It's the mini version with 0.17 oz. vs the full size at  0.35 oz. The squeeze tube is pretty handy as you can get every last bit of primer out of it if you really wanted to by cutting the tube in half.

The primer is beige in color. It'll probably blend right into your skin tone leaving a bit of a sheen (right).

This photo was taken after a full 12 hour day. You can't see it too well in the photos but look carefully on my right (your left) eye and you should see half of a line starting from the corner of my eye. That's where my fold is and that's where creasing happens. Most people will find their shadow creases at the fold so this is nothing out of the ordinary and the primer does enhance eyeshadow colors as you would expect.

So how does it compare to Urban Decay's Primer Potion? Urban Decay ultimately has better anti-crease performance. Shadow color enhancement is pretty much the same but their product irritates my eyes. The shadow sticks right onto the primer which is a good thing but somehow I find it hard to blend eyeshadow a lot of the times which makes mistakes harder to correct as well. Their primer also does not work well with my Covermark liquid foundation. The two do not blend and creates a mess if they overlapped even a bit. ugh!

Too Faced on the other hand may not hold up for as long against creasing but this doesn't really bother me. I still got through a normal 10 hours day fine.Their primer is also easier to work through when I apply eyeshadow and the formula is paraben-free! My foundation blends into primer without any issues. If that isn't enough, they are also cruelty-free, meaning they don't test on animals. I can give up some performance for all of the above. Now if only they could put out nearly all-natural products, I'd be a customer for life. :)

I don't recommend Too Faced's primer over Urban Decay's based on performance but I do care that companies go the extra mile to be a socially conscious company. Not using parabens or testing on animals makes product research and development more costly and time-consuming. Two Faced has gone this extra mile and still managed to put out a primer that rivals Urban Decay's top-rated product. It's far from being a natural product but it's definitely a solid step forward so I am highly recommending Too Faced's Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer.

Retails for $20USD

Where to buy: Two-Faced online and locally.

Other Reviews from Two Faced Blogger Darlings:

Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer Reivew

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer and Blogger Darlings Review

Ingredients:

Net Weight:
0.35 Oz. (Metric: 11g)

Ingredients:
Isododecane, Talc, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Triethylhexanoin, Polyethylene, Trihydroxystearin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Isopropyl Lanolate, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Propylene Carbonate, Dimethicone, PEG-40 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Mica. (+/-): Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).

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Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review

It's all about Too Faced reviews this weekend. I've been curious about Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara since last year and my interest was again pique when I saw it in this year's Lash Stash. Now that I finally got my hands on it, I couldn't wait to bring you the full scope. So is it really better than sex? Let's find out!

Production Description From Official Website

What It Is:

The Better Than Sex Mascara Hourglass-Shaped Brush was designed after discovering the bust-waist-hip ratio of an iconic silver screen Blonde Bombshell held the secret to the perfect brush silhouette that separates, coats and curls each lash to voluptuous perfection. One coat of the carbon black, collagen-fueled mascara formula and lashes are full, defined and stretched to unbelievable lengths. Two coats and lashes are even more luscious, curled and dramatic. Three coats and achieve the most intense black, oversized, multidimensional lashes possible! A mascara so amazing…it’s Better Than Sex!

More To Love:

Better Than Sex mascara includes:

• Film-forming Polymer for smudge-proof, all day wear
• Acacia Senegal Tree Extract to nourish, thicken and lock curl in place
• Unique Peptides for the deepest, intense black possible

• 1,944% more volume*
• 100% saw longer lashes**
• 100% saw dramatic volume**
• 93% saw base-to-tip curl**
• 8 out of 10 say it’s the best mascara they’ve ever used**

*results observed in a clinical study.
**results observed in a consumer study.

I was surprised by how well defined my lashes were with this volumizing formula. There weren't much expectations going in, because with mascaras, you quickly learn that product names and descriptions mean nothing until you try it on yourself or come here for the reviews! ;)  Really stoked that clumping was fairly minimal. As I worked through to build volume onto my lashes, the product was easy to work through - didn't dry too fast and the brush helped comb out and seperate lashes.

The brush is hourglass shape which reminded me of Bare Escentuals' BUXOM Lashes' brush - also hourglass-shaped. The difference would be where Better Than Sex's bristles are soft, long and have varying lengths, BUXOM's are short, stiff and bristle lengths are the same no matter where they are on the brush. In case of the bristles, Better Than Sex's resembles Lancome's Hypnose Drama Mascara more.

The mascara itself is pretty resilient to smudging and inversely, takes more than just warm water and soap to remove. You will most definitely need makeup remover.

Interestingly at $23 a tube, the price point is right inbetween BUXOM Lashes and Hypnose Drama which are $19 and $27 respectively and the results you get are also between the two. It lengthens and defines well like BUXOM (BUXOM does both better however) and gives defined volume at the same time similar to Hypnose (Hypnose gives a bit more volume).

Better Than Sex's forumla and brush defines, lenghtens and adds volume but it isn't a champion at any of these. If you want lots of volume, there are better mascaras and if you want great lenghts, there are other options. I would however recommend the product if you need all three of these factors fairly equally. As for the question of is it really better than sex. I couldn't tell ya. It's not possible to compare apple to nuts (ya I went there) but it was a lot of fun to write this review. You can also try the mascara at a budget by grabbing the Too Faced Blogger Darling set at $20USD that comes with a deluxe sized tube. Darlings set reviwed here.

Retails for $23 USD
Where to Buy: Two Faced online or locally. 

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Primer Review

Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer Reivew

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer and Blogger Darlings Review

Ingredients:

Net Weight:
0.27 Fl. Oz.

Ingredients:
Water/aqua/eau, Synthetic Beeswax, Paraffin, Glyceryl Stearate, Acacia Senegal Gum, Butylene Glycol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Polybutene, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Cera Carnauba/Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax/Cire de carnauba, Aminomethyl Propanol, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Polyester-11, PVP, Cellulose, Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid/Glycerin Crosspolymer, Propylene Glycol, Acacia Senegal Gum Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Dextran, Acetyl Hexapeptide-1. May Contain/Peut Contenir/(+/-): Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Black 2 (CI 77266), Ultramarines (CI 77007).

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Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings Review

I am super excited to bring you a review on Too Faced's Beauty Blogger Darlings. I've been eyeing their Better Than Sex mascara ever since I saw it being in this year's Sephora Favorties Lash Stash (2013).

I was very tempted to get Lash Stash again but hestiated just long enough to come across Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings. It's a 4 piece set that includes deluxe sample sized Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, Primed & Poreless Face Primer and Better Than Sex Mascara.

These four items are some of the best selling items from Too Faced. Aside from the bronzer, which I will cover here, I will go through the items individually in seperate posts. Links for each below.

Production Description From Official Website

Set includes:

Deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara
"Two coats take my fringe from stubby, shy violet to long, luscious vixen, and what a super cute pink tube! If you’re gonna bat your lashes all day long, this is the mascara you want," says Karen of makeupandbeautyblog.com

Deluxe Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
"I love the Chocolate Soleil bronzer because it smells SO good and gives my face a natural deep tan," says Jen of mybeautybunny.com

Deluxe Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer
"My holy grail primer for an airbrushed finish," says vlogger Weylie of youtube.com/ilikeweylie

Deluxe Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer
"I love Shadow Insurance because it lasts all day with zero creasing on my oil-prone lids, it prevents shadows from fading and just a dab does the trick," says Kelly of vampyvarnish.com

 

These four Darlings are deluxe-sample sizes, basically miniature versions of their full-sized counterparts. The blue squeeze tube is the Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer and the pink tube is the Primed & Poreless Face Primer.

Their deluxe-sized Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer comes in a black compact with a mirror. I was surprised to find that the product not only smells like chocolate but actually has cocoa powder in it. The cocoa powder is labeled as Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Fruit Powder in the ingredients list. While I am not sure how much chocolate aroma comes from the powder itself, there is fragrance and parfum in the bronzer that gives it an unmistakable chocolate aroma albeit smells like artifical chocolate... The cocoa powder apparently serves more than just a marketing gimmick. Sephora has on their product description:

"A light matte bronzer infused with real cocoa powder and long-wearing pigments.

Too Faced has combined the natural detoxifying effects of real cocoa powder with their signature bronzing pigments to create a lighter version of their bestselling Chocolate Soleil original matte bronzer. The Milk Chocolate shade is perfectly suited for pale to medium skintones for a touch of summer warmth all year-long."

The matte bronzer goes on smoothly and has a satin finish. It's suitable for contouring as it's easily manipulatable. It's a light/medium brown shade most suited for light to medium skin tones. It's very easy to correct with a Q-tip if you make a mistake.

In the photo above, I applied the bronzer on the sides of my nose, jawline and on the hollows of my cheeks. For light contouring, you could also apply it ontop of your loose setting powder but for long-wear, apply the bronzer underneath loose setting powder.

With the set, I was able to try the eye primer and mascara, two items I looked most forward to using and not have to pay full price. Size-wise, it'll take a good 4-6 months before you use up the eye primer and bronzer (daily usage) so that's excellent value. If the Poreless Face Primer was double in size, I would've given it a better value rating but it can't all be this good.....?

Overally, good value. Definitely recommended if you want to try at least two of the four items in it. I get no perks for saying this but if you are buying the set, consider getting it online from Two Faced because you can choose a deluxe sized sample when you check out. :)


Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer Reivew

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review Here! 

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Primer Review


Retails for $20 USD
Where to buy: Too Faced Online or locally. Major cosmetics stores online or locally.

Ingredients:

Net Weight:

Deluxe Chocolate Soleil Net Wt. 4 g / 0.14 Oz.
Deluxe Primed & Poreless Net Wt. 5 g / 0.17 Oz.
Deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara Net Wt. 4.8 g / 0.17 Oz.
Deluxe Shadow Insurance Net Wt. 5 g / 0.17 Oz.

Ingredients:
Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer: Isododecane, Talc, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Triethylhexanoin, Polyethylene, Trihydroxystearin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Isopropyl Lanolate, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Propylene Carbonate, Dimethicone, PEG-40 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Mica. (+/-): Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).


Better Than Sex Mascara: Water/aqua/eau, Synthetic Beeswax, Paraffin, Glyceryl Stearate, Acacia Senegal Gum, Butylene Glycol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Polybutene, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Cera Carnauba/Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax/Cire de carnauba, Aminomethyl Propanol, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Polyester-11, PVP, Cellulose, Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid/Glycerin Crosspolymer, Propylene Glycol, Acacia Senegal Gum Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Dextran, Acetyl Hexapeptide-1. May Contain/Peut Contenir/(+/-): Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Black 2 (CI 77266), Ultramarines (CI 77007).


Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer: Talc, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zinc Stearate, Boron Nitride, Sodium Saccharin, Benzyl Benzoate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum/Fragrance, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Fruit Powder, Benzyl Alcohol, Silica, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Mica. May Contain/Peut Contenir/(+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742).
*Vegan-Friendly
**Paraben Free


Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crossploymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Mica, Phenoxyethanol, Silica, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cyclodextrin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Retinol, Diacetyl Boldine, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi Leaf Extract, Morus Alba Bark Extract, Polysorbate 80, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hedra Helix (Ivy) Extract, BHT, Cycloheptasiloxane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Bioflavonoids, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Allantoin, Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).
*Vegan-friendly

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