Spotlight: mark. cosmetics

Some of you may or may not have heard of mark. cosmetics. It is basically a sister brand of Avon that is targeted towards a younger audience, but works similarly in that you order through a representative, like myself. I originally became a rep because, as you can see by this blog, I love beauty, and I figured, why not? As I have gotten more familiar with the brand, I have grown to love it.

mark. is always on the up-and-coming makeup trends. A lot of the time they provide a less expensive version of high-end products, like a neutral palette (like Urban Decay's Naked palette), shimmer cubes (Bobbi Brown's shimmer bricks), among other things. As a college kid, I can appreciate a cheaper version with still great quality.

One of the most well-known products from mark. are the hook-ups, where you can hook up two products together to carry with you wherever. Another thing mark. is know for are the snap-to-it palettes which allow you custom make your own palette with eyeshadows and blush.

mark. does not only sell makeup, but also skincare items, jewelry, and clothing.

Here are some of my completely honest opinions on some products:

mark. favorites

save the day anti-acne concealer stick

I love this concealer for mainly two reasons:
1) it is in stick form that is super easy to swipe under my eyes and around my nose and chin
2) it contains salicylic acid (2%) to fight acne- so when I have a blemish I feel like I'm actually doing something about it instead of slathering it in makeup that suffocates my skin

good glowing mosaic blush in "sandy"

In my top 10 makeup must-haves post I mentioned a NYX leopard bronzer. This is very comparable to that. It is great for fairer skin tones and gives a great sheen without being sparkly. I use this as a blush and my skin instantly looks alive again.

all the highlights soft glow illuminator

One of the prettiest makeup products I own! And gives a great highlight without glitter (yuck!) to give your look extra "oomph." Makes your skin have that glow that everyone seems to be after nowadays.

lipclick spf 15 colorshine lipstick in "gingersnap"

I just love this color (not pictured here- check it out online). It's a bit brown (which I don't normally go for), but is absolutely perfect when I want a vintage-y look. Give me that and some winged liner and I'm all set!

no place to run eyeliner

creamy, lasts, love.

keep it going longwear eyeliner and shadow

I love using cream eyeliners as a base for a shadow because it gives the shadow more vibrance. They have such pretty colors too! But if you have to choose I'd say go with "entourage." The black can work as your liner or base for a smokey eye and the white can go on your waterline to make you eyes look bigger and can also be a base for bright eye looks. But then again the gold pictured here is to die for :)

on the dot neutral eye color compact

As mentioned before, this is on trend with the whole "naked eyes" thing thats been happening in the makeup world (yes, there is a whole world of it!). It's great because it's little, versatile, and not $50 like the Urban Decay palette.

nailed it trend mini nail lacquers

The recent violet femme shades are amazing! The lilac-y pink will look great with a tan and I can't wait for summer because of it! These colors remind me of a summer night. ah, love. mark. changes these shades every so often, so if you like these, you might want to get on it! I also love that they come with two polishes, because I honestly never use a big one and then my money is to waste when it chunks up.

Another thing I love about mark. is their clearance. It was just updated and there's some really good deals there! 

missing the mark.

some products I'm not the happiest with.

Generally, I'm not too thrilled with the brushes, or at least the ones I've tried. If they were less expensive I might consider them a good deal, however $8 for a brush that sheds and doesn't pick up color just doesn't do it for me. E.l.f. brushes are way better for a fraction of the price. I hope mark. is working on improving this. 

The min-a-real foundation is also not my favorite. It may be because I have oily skin, but at the same time if you use this with dry skin it tends to show your dry patches. If you have normal skin this could be great, but for me, it just doesn't work.

please hold eye primer. I like that it has a bit of color if you want to use it as a concealer under your eyes, however the coverage is too sheer for my dark circles, so I don't use it for that purpose. This also still creases if you don't put a finishing powder over it, which kind of defeats the point of a primer. If you have to do that you might as well use a concealer and put a powder over and not buy an extra product. Even with a powder, it does not last all day for me. I do have oily lids, so that may be the cause of this, but overall I do not find myself reaching for this and recommend spending the extra money to get a good primer. 

If you are interested in getting updates of mark. deals, or just shopping around, please sign up at my eboutique here!