Influenster: VowVoxBox Eco Tools Facial Sponge

VowVoxBox

Reviewing: 

Eco Tools: Pure Complexion Facial Sponge

$4.99 - $5.99

A Beauty Review by: 

Michelle Hibbard

So I am sure I have mentioned this in previous VoxBox reviews but I am going to mention it again.
Influenster is a site for people who are all over social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Vine and more. If you have a blog it is a plus.
This site has you spend a month or more reviewing products you have used on your own, taking short surveys and answering questions to get different badges. The more badges you open and the higher score you get the more likely you will be offered a VoxBox to review.
They start you off with one product to review and then after a few they will start sending VoxBox's.
A VoxBox is a themed box that is sent to your home and is full of products based around the theme for you to test out and review. This is all complimentary.
This VoxBox is the VowVoxBox which is the wedding theme.
These are all must haves for before wedding prep.
This is my review on the Eco Tools Facial Sponge and tit is 100% honest!
I will be reviewing each product in a separate post.
I do not get paid or compensated in any way for these reviews and Influenster is all about honesty.
If you are interested in joining Influenster click here.
Now...on with the show!

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Pure Complexion Facial Sponge

I had recently broken out due to a new primer I started using so when I got this sponge I was hoping it would help my skin. I used it day and night applying a very small amount of facial cleanser to the sponge and then in circle motions I scrubbed my face. I say a "small" amount because with this sponge a little bit of cleanser goes a very long way!
The sponge is just just harsh enough to take the dead skin off without irritation. It is actually pretty soft considering how well it takes dry/dead skin off.

After a few days I would love to say it cleared my skin right up... but I began to break out even worse than before. I didn't stop using it because I know from previous experience  when using products like this it sometimes gets worse before it gets better.
That is exactly what happened.
When you begin using a product like this one it is removing all of the impurities and getting rid of all the gunk hiding in your pores. You break out because your skin is trying to remove all of that gross stuff hiding in your face.
Eventually, a week or two, I realized that I didn't have any new breakouts and the previous breakout was healing. My skin was clearing up!

These pictures on the left show a cotton ball with astringent after washing my face with the same cleanser.
The top left picture is a clean cotton ball with astringent used to wipe my face after washing it without the Eco Tools Sponge. There is still a lot of dirt remaining on my face.

The second picture down on the left is a clean cotton ball with astringent used to wipe my face after washing it with the Eco Tools Sponge. Very minimal dirt/impurities can be seen on the cotton.


These pictures were taken on two separate nights after a full day with a face full of make-up. 

The photos above are of the difference between first using the Eco Tools Sponge and a recent picture.
Th picture on the left side was taken three full days after using the Eco Tools Sponge day and night. You can see the breakout all over my chin, on mu cheeks and around my nose.
The picture on the right was taken 3 weeks after using the Eco Tools Sponge day and night for the entire 3 weeks. (I didn't get paler, lol,  I was just closer to the light in this photo)

The breakouts are almost completely gone with no new ones surfacing and my skin is looking much clearer.

Overall I am very satisfied with the Eco Tools Sponge and will continue to use it and repurchase when needed.
I definitely recommend this sponge to everyone of every skin type. 

If you would like to see the other amazing products they have click here and check out their website.

They also have some amazing tutorials on youtube. Check them out by clicking here or going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyhvuiHHz6s&list=UUmH5owDT2hW7p4oEArvIPYg

Top Ten Worst Drugstore Make-up Products

Top Ten Worst Drugstore

Make-up Products

A beauty review by:

Michelle Hibbard

So before I get into this I want to make it perfectly clear that these are my opinions from my experience with the following products.

Please do not get upset if I mention something you like or if you don't agree. 

I am judging these products based on how they worked for me, which wasn't very well or they wouldn't be on this blog! 

These are make-up products that I felt were complete fails for one reason or another and would never repurchase or suggest them to anyone!

If you like a product mentioned then that is great. We all have different types of skin, style and likes. 

I have seen on other blogs and videos people get super upset because a favorite product of theirs was mentioned on a worst list. This is me trying to prevent that!

Now on with the show!

#10 

Maybelline 

Baby Skin Foundation 

Primer

The thing that I have noticed about this product is people either seem to love it or hate it.

Being listed in my top ten worst I am sure you can guess which side I'm on!

I am 100% loyal to the Porefessional by Benefit and this was marketed to look like a dupe. So of coarse being the make-up junkie that I am I purchased it the day it came available at my local drugstore.

My go to primer, the Porefessional is $31 so if the Maybelline Baby Skin worked even nearly as well I would be saving close to $25. That was the big seller for me!

I swatched a small amount on my hand and it felt close to the Benefit primer but it was clear and the high end primer is skin tone. It felt very silicone-y but so does the Porefessional. It seemed to make the area on my hand that I swatched on look smoother so I thought this was going to work great.

Then it was time for the real test. After cleansing and moisturizing, I applied the Baby Skin to all of the areas where my pores are visible. 

It did seem to minimize the look of my pores but not as well as the Porefessional.

However I immediately felt greasy. I applied my usual foundation and instead of going on flawlessly it seemed to push the foundation around, making it look splotchy. 

I continued on applying all of my make-up and went about my day. I had to touch up numerous times because my foundation was coming off in areas and in others caking up. I looked horrible! Plus I felt so greasy and I have dry skin!
It seems to be a "thing" for most drugstore primers to be greasy. At least the few I have tried have been that way for me.

Worst primer ever!!!!!

#9

Covergirl

Bombshell Volume Mascara

by LashBlast

I was out of town and realized I forgot to bring mascara. I ran to the nearest drugstore and picked up one of these. 

It looked like it would work really well and I like that it had two brushes, seemed a little gimmicky but I thought the brushes looked like they would separate well and because there were 2 steps/brushes I though it would be great for length and volume. 

The one thing I did not consider was the formula.

The mascara itself was so sticky! It was almost as if they added glue to the formula! my lashes were sticking together in a way I have never seen before. The more I used it the worst it looked. 

Then I used a lash brush to try to salvage this mess and my brush was actually getting stuck in my lashes! What?!

Needless to say I tossed it! 

I would NOT recommend purchasing this mascara!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

#8

Revlon
PhotoReady Foundation

Years ago, I wont say how many, I was obsessed with the Revlon ColorStay Foundation. I'm not sure why but my taste in make-up has definitely changed!       

I hadn't used Revlon foundation in a very long time so I decided to give them another try.

Now I understand this foundation is marketed for photography but I am sure 90% of the people using it are not models! (not a accurate percentage).

I bought the color 003 Shell which looked like it was a match. As I applied the foundation it matched my skin but a few minutes later I noticed I looked very pale. No problem that's what a little bronzer is for.

Then I noticed the shimmer in the foundation, which some "photo ready" type foundations have to illuminate and reflect light. The problem is that with the shimmer it also makes problem areas and pores very noticeable. I even had a primer that was specifically used to make pores less visible.

I added concealer and because the formula is thick and its a full coverage foundation I swept just a touch of powder over the foundation. It looked super cakey. 

Throughout the day I had to touch up many times. I started to literally slide off of my face and looked very blotchy. This was only after about 3 hours of wear! I looked like I had this make-up on for two days.

I had heard so much hype about this foundation from other bloggers and reviews, I was very disappointed.

#7

Elf Lip Stain

As you can see in the above photo these "lip stains" look like markers. That is exactly what they are! I'm sure the actual formula is not the same as a felt tip marker, but it looks and feels like I am putting a pen on my lips. It stained my lips just like one of my kids Crayola markers would. It totally dried them out and when I applied a lip moisturizer over it, it looked ridiculous!

I'm not sure what the strategy was with these when they produced them but to be perfectly honest, they suck!

If it looks like a marker, applies like a marker... its a marker. Although I do see the beauty of make-up as an art, I don't want to use water colors as eye shadows and felt tip pens as lip stains!

#6

Maybelline

Mega Plush Volum' Express

Mascara

I have had very good luck when purchasing Maybelline mascara's. I cant think of one I didn't like,,, that is until now.

When I purchase mascara the first thing I look at is the brush, since we cannot test drugstore mascara that is the only thing we have to go on when making that first purchase.

When I noticed the the bendable brush in the store I thought it might grab the lashes better, so I purchased it.

Unfortunately all it did was push the brush away from my lashes leaving them with hardly any product on them.

I cant tell how well the brush works because the wand bends leaving the brush to just gently go over the front of my lashes, not combing through them.

Mega Plush...NO...Mega Bust is more like it!

Like I said I have loved every Maybelline mascara I bought in the past, but this one was a total fail in my opinion.

#5

Wet n Wild

Fergie 8 in 1 BB Cream

I have very little experience with BB creams but I do like the idea of them, that is if I could find one that really works.

BB is supposed to stand for beauty balm or blemish balm.

It is supposed to be more than a tinted moisturizer. BB creams are supposed to be a moisturizer, primer, light foundation, redness reducer and SPF all in one.

So far I have yet to see a BB cream that does what it is supposed to.

This "Fergie" BB cream by Wet n Wild not only has absolutely no coverage but it is the greasiest thing I have ever applied to my face!

It felt so disgusting going on that I had to immediately wash it off.

Normally when I am trying a product for the first time, even if I don't really like it after application I still apply it along with all of my

make-up and wear it for at least a few hours to see if I change my mind.

I couldn't even get myself to wear this for more that 5 minutes!

It says on the tube 8 in 1 Beauty Balm, but I couldn't figure out 8 what? No where does it say what the 8 "great" things this Beauty Balm does. It is SPF 15 so I guess if I was looking for a extremely greasy feeling light sun screen this would be my go to.

#4

NYC Smooth Skin

Perfecting Primer

I know that there are a lot of people out there that rave about this primer, to me this was just another cheap greasy product.

Good primers tend to be costly, so I am always on the look out for a drugstore primer that can replace or substitute my high end ones.

This wasn't it!

Applying this perfecting primer felt like putting a super greasy gel on my face. I have dry skin so I know it has nothing to do with my face being oily.

After applying this the NYC primer I applied my foundation, which was a matte foundation, and it came out very greasy due to the primer. 

I then added powder, which I had to apply much more than I normally would to keep my make up from looking greasy. When I finally had my make-up situation adjusted I realized I had cake face going on.

Not even a hour later, I am not exaggerating, my make-up was literally sliding off of my face. 

My skin felt so disgusting I had to wash my face and re-apply my make-up, with a different primer.

Do not buy this! It is not good for ANY skin type!!!

#3

Elf Pressed Mineral

Eye Shadow Singles

Elf was having a 50% off of their mineral product sale awhile back and I picked up some things. One of items I really wanted to try was their pressed mineral shadows. I bought 8, they were super cheap and I was having a hard time deciding on just a few colors so I got all of the colors I liked.

When they arrived, I immediately swatched them. I could see just the slightest bit of color om my arm. I tried to build them up but it just turned into a powdery mess.

On my eyes it was a complete disaster. The more I tried to build them up and blend the more powder ended up falling out under my eyes. I seriously looked like my toddlers did my make-up!

These powdery eye shadows sell for $3.00 each. I spent $1.50 each and I feel it still wasn't worth it!.

Like I have mentioned before, Elf is hit and miss so I knew that when I purchased these. If I could go back I would have bought 2 maybe 3 to try them out.

Lesson learned!

#2

Loreal Telescopic

Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

For some reason as I have gotten older my eyes are becoming very sensitive. They tend to water when I use certain products and I love using liquid liner but its hard to find liners that wont smudge or disappear 

I have yet to find a true waterproof liquid liner.

This seemed like a good purchase to me, I have used Loreal Lineur liquid liner and I really liked it so thought this would be great too.

I was very wrong.

This eyeliner looked completely watered down after it was applied to my eyes. It was very strange because it felt so thick yet I could still see through it. I applied more coats and when it finally looked dark enough it was so thick it literally started to peel off!

As for it being waterproof, once my eyes started watering, the tail at the end of my eye started to come off in tiny chunky pieces. 

I have bought better liquid liners at the Dollar Tree!

#1

Almay 

Eyeshadow Singles

When you walk into almost any drugstore and you look at the Almay section you might see that these cute flower pedal shaped eye shadow singles are on sale. Even if they aren't on discount 
they are normally priced at $4.49, very inexpensive.

I have come to the conclusion that they are on sale everywhere because, well...they are terrible quality!

I bought 4 of these on sale for $2.00 each. The packaging is what really sold me. Bad, I know, forgive me, I'm a make-up junkie.

When I finally got to use them I was very disappointed.

There is no color pigmentation what-so-ever!

I was packing these shadows on and could barely get any visible color on my lids.

I have used the Almay quads before and they worked fine. Nothing spectacular but I liked them.

These however are HORRIBLE! 

UPDATE: I started this post quite some time ago and the above picture was how they were displayed. "Color Whipped into Perfection", not so much! They are now advertising these as "Softie" eye shadows.They have always been named this but it wasn't put out there like it is now. I am assuming so many people complained they had to change their marketing strategy. 

I get that everyone doesn't want a super flashy eye look and want to stay on the more natural side,that is why I purchased them, for a touch of color instead of a "pop of color". However these are so natural you cant even see them! 

When you purchase a purple or green colored eye shadow it is because you want to have them seen on your lids. Maybe I am wrong, maybe there are people out there that want to waste money on invisible eye shadows.