Yesterday I tried to do a photo session to showcase my trial of some products from BH Cosmetics.
Yesterday was my second attempt to do a photo session to showcase my trial of products from BH Cosmetics. The first attempt was a couple of Sundays back and it did not go well.
The False eyelashes fiasco…
Let’s just say that I nearly broke down in tears after trying for 2 hours to put on some false eyelashes.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking anyone who nearly breaks down in tears because she can’t get her false eyelashes on is pathetic. Especially if she’s a grown ass woman. And you’re thinking that any sane woman would quit trying to put on false eyelashes after, at most, twenty minutes of trying. You’re also thinking only a certified nutcase would stand in front of a mirror for 2 hours trying to put on false eyelashes. But I was determined to get them on. Unfortunately for all my determination I never did get the eyelashes on. I eventually just threw them in the trash. And by that point I was in a terribly rancid mood. Even so, I tried to stick to my plan to get all done up and snap a few pics for my review. But my mood got that much worse after I had to wash off my first attempt to makeup my face. It was one of my worse makeup jobs yet. The re-do was a little better; but my mood was way too grouchy for anything but snarls and sneers to come out of me every time I attempted to get a smile out. By the end of it all I had nothing to show for my efforts.
Cut to yesterday…
Sadly, yesterday wasn’t much better. I waited until it was too late to get started so I lost all the beautiful sunlight. That meant I had to depend on my camera’s flash. And sometimes the flash just just doesn’t co-operate. Yesterday was one of those days when it just wouldn’t co-operate. So I don’t have any pictures to show for yesterday either. But I figured I’d still do the BH Cosmetics products review.
The Studio Pro HD Foundation
Have you ever seen those pictures of celebrities who are victims of HD foundation disasters where the flash on the paparazzi cameras exposes their concealer and highlighter underneath their foundation?
I had that experience yesterday. So now I know what they mean when they say that HD foundation is a little different and tricky if you’re going to be subjected to flash photography. To fix the problem I had to go a little heavier with the powder in the areas where the concealer was being exposed. Maybe that’s not the real way to fix the problem but it did work for me.
About the foundation – bhcosmetics BH Studio Pro HD Foundation
On the box, it reads…
Get camera ready with this HD Foundation. Oil-free with light diffusing pigments evens out skin for a smooth, soft-focus effect. The foundation utilizes Prodew 500 which helps to moisturize and strengthen the skin for a naturally flawless complexion.
- Paraben free
- Oil free
- Clinically tested
- Non-irritating
- Allergy tested
The regular price for the foundation is $16. BH Cosmetics was kind enough to send me a bottle to try out.
How it worked out for me…
Although the pictures I took were a disaster due to the bad lighting, I thought my face looked reasonably ‘camera ready’ judging with the naked eye. I say ‘reasonably’ because my makeup job didn’t come out so perfectly as to give the illusion of youth and flawlessness. Probably no makeup can do that for a woman after a certain age, but I’m on a mission to track down the foundation that comes closest.
123 vs 126
I think I needed the shade 126 instead of the shade 123. The 123 is too light a shade for my complexion; but I read in the customer reviews that it was better to get a shade lighter so I went with the 123. I usually get my foundation in a shade lighter than the complexion on my face because my face is about two shades darker than the rest of me; but this was definitely too light.
Interestingly though, the reviews that say it darkens to several shades deeper after time proved true for me. On the skin with the naked eye the color set to a deeper shade that was darker than my complexion. But the tint was still wrong for my complexion. I think I’ll try to get the shade 126 and re-do the review.
BH Studio pro beauty sponge
I applied the bhcosmetics BH Studio Pro HD Foundation using the BH Studio pro beauty sponge.
This is the first beauty sponge I’ve tried and I think it did a pretty good job. But of course that’s as compared to using my fingers or using a foundation brush or using those regular drug store sponges that come many in a bag. I am still wanting to try the BeautyBlender available at Sephora but I’m not convinced yet that it makes sense to spend $20 on a makeup sponge. I keep reading that the BeautyBlender is some kind of amazing sponge; but it’s hard to imagine it can do anything that remarkably more amazing than anything else available that it is worth forking over $20 to get it. Yes, it’s just $20; but I’m not raking in big bucks here. Far from it. Twenty dollars is still a lot of money for me to spend on a sponge to put foundation on my face when I can always use my fingers. So until it stops working for me, my new go-to foundation applicator will be the BH Studio pro beauty sponge.
BH Cosmetics waterproof concealer in olive
Before applying the foundation with the BH Studio pro beauty sponge which I purchased myself from BH Cosmetics for $5 (regular price $10), I applied Maybelline Instant Age Rewind primer to my Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation and Truth serum collagen booster moisturized face. Then I covered my problem areas with a BH Cosmetics waterproof concealer in olive.
The concealer was another item I purchased from BH Cosmetics. The regular price for it is $6.00. I’m thinking I needed the dark olive instead of the olive. The olive, like the 123 shade foundation was a little too light.
I think from now on I will only buy concealer pencils. How much more convenient is a concealer pencil? Way more convenient for me. Makes the process of applying concealer so much quicker and so much easier.
I’m not much of a concealer expert so I can’t say anything specifically good or bad about this concealer from BH Cosmetics. It covered my numerous dark spots and blemishes well enough. But again, I have no real point for comparison. I’m still trying to get the hang of concealer and learn how to use it.
BHcosmetics Wild at heart Baked Eye Shadow Palette
I received this BHcosmetics eye shadow palette in the first surprise #RANBonusBox that I received from Rakuken Marketing. I used it yesterday; but I still have no idea how to properly apply eyeshadow. I keep saying I’ll watch some more tutorials to try to get a better idea but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.
This palette is regularly priced at $20 but at last check was available for $8.50
What it says on the box…
Build a lustrous and exotic eye look with these nine totally gorgeous baked eyeshadows. This highly pigmented wet/dry formula has a light-weight feel and delivers fierce color impact to satisfy your desire to be WILD AT HEART.
BHcosmetics BH Studio Pro Tinted HD Powder
What it says on the box…
This weightless, shine-busting silky powder blends easily for a seamless, airbrushed effect.
I don’t remember thinking my face had an airbrushed effect after I put on this powder yesterday. But after I decided to call it a day, realizing I wasn’t going to get any good pictures on account of the bad lighting, I went upstairs to wash the makeup off my face. And as I was standing in front of the mirror, I looked up at my reflection and noticed that my face didn’t look like a hot mess like it can sometimes look after you’ve had on makeup for a few hours. I actually liked the way I looked so much that I decided to wait a little longer before taking the makeup off. I came up with an excuse in case my hubby would ask how come I hadn’t washed off the makeup since that’s what I said I’d gone upstairs to do. The excuse was going to be “because I figured it would be better to let it stay on a few hours longer so I could get a better idea of how many hours it stays put before starting to wear off”. It held up well for the rest of the night.
The powder is regularly priced at $11.00. But I purchased it on sale for $6.00. It seems to only come in 3 shades. I got it in golden.
Bhcosmetics Forever Nude Sculpt & Glow contour, highlight & blush palette
The folks at Bhcosmetics were kind enough to agree to send me this contour, highlight & blush palette along with the HD Foundation.
I still haven’t figured out contouring and highlighting. But I did try to do a bit of it yesterday.
This palette is regularly priced at $23, but at last check it was on sale for $12.00.
On the box it reads:
This collection of contour, highlighter and blush powders blends effortlessly to sculpt and define your features for a natural and flawless look.
BHcosmetics Color Lock long lasting matte lipstick
I bought this lipstick for $5. It’s regularly priced at $9. I bought it in the color passionate.
All it says on the box is that this is a long-lasting matte lipstick. On the BHcosmetics website it says:
Lock in the color of your lipstick with this rich and creamy, long-wearing matte lipstick. Bold pigments stay in place all day while Shea Butter nourishes skin for soft and beautiful lips.
I didn’t really love the way this lipstick felt on my lips. I guess because it’s matte. And I do have a concern that I wasn’t able to wash off all traces of it. My lips appear to be stained in spots even now, more than 24 hours since I first tried to wash off and wipe off the lipstick. I
The rest of my face…
I used mascara, eye liner and brow powder from other brands to finish my face.
Unfortunately, all the hours spent getting ready and then taking pics were for nothing. I did not get any usable pictures. I will have to do another photo session to try to get some pictures with my BHcosmetics face on. I’ll wait until I get the proper shade of foundation and concealer.
Tip for other pretend models – don’t conduct your photo-taking sessions when you’re in a bad mood or when you won’t have good light.