Yep. Mary Kay. My mother got contacted by a Mary Kay representative and asked if she wanted to host a party. My mom agreed, invited a couple of her friends, and told me to invite mine. So we were all set to spend our Saturday with a bunch of girls, but her friends couldn't make it (no babysitter) and only two of my friends could come. It was a pretty small party, so I decided that I wanted to do a post on MK since I see so little of it online.
As a company in general, I don't have a lot against Mary Kay. The animal testing for their china sales does bother me, but other than that I think when it comes to product they are pretty okay. So I have a few reviews for you all. I will review all of the products I tried, as well as the party in general.
Off to the products!
The first thing we did was soften our hands; For this we used the Peach Satin Hands Pampering Set. This stuff just smells incredible. They do however make an unscented version, but we didn't try this. Step one was the Fragrance-Free Hand Softener. This felt kind of like Vaseline and was very oily. Next you simply put the Peach Scented Hand Scrub on your hands and rub in. To me this just felt like a regular scrub but on your hands. We rubbed it on then rinsed our hands, and after that was done I have to say my hands felt really smooth. The last step to this was the Peach Scented Hand Cream. This stuff was VERY moisturizing. It took a while for it to absorb into my hands, but afterwards it felt incredibly nice. We were then told that it would last through 24 washes. I'm not entirely convinced of that, but it did feel very nice and I thoroughly enjoy it. The set is $34, but the hand cream is sold separately.
Next we used the face stuff. This started off with Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover. I do have to say that this stuff works well however I had a very oily residue left on my eyelids after. That being said, I feel like I could just wipe that off with another cotton pad. $15
After the eye makeup came off we used cleansers. Everyone was given a chance to try a different set according to their needs. So me and one other girl got the Clear Proof Acne System ($45 for whole set). The only thing we didn't try from this line was the toner. We were told to use the Clarifying Cleansing Gel to clean our faces. It lathered up well but the cloths she gave us to wipe it off didn't really work and we ended up needing to use the sink. The cleansing gel alone cost $16.
Instead of using the toner next we went to a different line and used the Time Wise Microdermabrasion Set. This included the microdermabrasion, as well as a moisturizer. The first step (which in the catalog is called "refine") felt just as nice to me as the Dr. Brant's Microdermabrasion (sent out in April Glam Bags). It left my face feeling very soft. The next step is "replenish", which is just basically another face lotion. As a whole, I did like this set but I wasn't all that tempted by it. The set retails for $50 but you can buy step one for $31 and step two for $26 separately.
We then went back to the acne line and tried the Clear
Proof Oil-Free Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin. It felt fine, just like
any other oil free moisturizer but maybe a tad bit more thin. Retail
is $18. Next up in this line was the Acne Treatment Gel ($10). Also an
okay product, but I didn't expect to see much in the way of results. My
favorite spot treatment takes maybe two uses to clear up an active
breakout on my skin. So I am used to seeing results after one use, I
didn't see anything. This being said, I don't feel like I can give you
anything more than a first impression since I haven't used the line for a
prolonged amount of time.
Moving on from the Acne line, we go to the Time Wise Day
Solution Broad Spectrum Sunscreen. This has an SPF of 35 and retails
for $32 on it's own. It was thin and went on smoothly, I didn't notice
too much of a smell, but I also didn't directly smell it. It's nice but
the bottle is kind of small so I think you are better off using one from
the drugstore.Then came Eye Cream. For this we used the Time Wise
Firming Eye Cream $32. This is another product I don't feel like I can
accurately review. It felt just like any other eye cream. It's one of
those products that takes time to show results.
Next we went to the makeup, my favorite part of the day.
Starting with Mary Kay Foundation Primer Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF
15 this is one of the products I actually bought. I have been loving it.
It goes on smooth and comfortably and has packaging that reminds me of
UD Primer Potion but bigger. It seems to do it's job so I'm happy.
Continuing with face makeup, we next tried Time Wise
Luminous Wear Foundation. This stuff was NOT for me. It worked fine on a
couple of my friends but I have oily skin and within hours my face was a
giant grease ball. Now this usually happens to me if I don't set a
foundation, and we didn't. So I proceeded to blot off the oil and set
the foundation. But an hour later I was just as oily, so I gave up and
took it off. It was a shame because it goes on beautifully.
We skipped blush and went straight to bronzer, for this we
used Mary Kay Bronzing Powder. Now I have to say this stuff blends
really well and is super pigmented! I absolutely loved this one. It
costs $18.
Eyes were up next! We started with the Mary Kay Eye
Primer ($12). I noticed that this has a slightly tacky feeling to it,
which keeps the shadow on well. It comes out white but ocne applied has
no color to it. This is fine for someone who isn't worried about
discoloration of the eyelids. however if you want it to even out the
skin on your lids, it may not be for you. As a whole this is a pretty
great primer.
So Mary Kay Cream Eye Color ($14) Is what we used next. We
just gently patted this on to our eyelids. This stuff reminds me of
Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow. I was given the shade Beach Blonde
to use. I actually really love this stuff. I think it stays on for a
decent amount of time and the colors are gorgeous on their own or even
as a base for other colors. This is another one of three things I
bought. So I would say I'm pretty pleased with it.
So after primer and eyeshadow we topped off out eye looks
with Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara. It comes in two colors black brown and
black. This stuff retails for $15. I think it has a good formula. It
didn't clump or anything so that was nice. My friends who has amazingly
long thick lashes naturally didn't really notice a difference on her
lashes, but I thought it might have lengthened mine a bit. As a whole
it's a good mascara but it didn't come in just brown, it isn't
waterproof, and it just wasn't for me.
Lastly we used a lip gloss. Now, keep in mind here that I
am NOT a lip gloss kind of girl. Just not my thing. but this stuff is
pretty good. It is Mary Kay Nourishine Plus Lip Gloss. So normally the
reason I don't like gloss is because it's sticky. While I wouldn't call
this not sticky, I wouldn't say that it was tacky in any way. It almost
reminds me of Revlon Super lustrous lip gloss in consistency. It
costs $14 so I probably won't buy another one for a while but I loved
the color I sampled (Pink Parfait).
Alright. So that is the products we used. Keep in
mind that I did only use them all once, so essentially these are all
first impressions. Now as for the party as a whole. I actually had a lot
of fun. Obviously the MK people are there to sell product and to
recruit more people, so you do have to be prepared for that. Don't let
yourself get roped into anything you don't want to do or buy. But that
being said, it was a nice way to pamper myself and try new things. I
will actually be hosting a MK party next week so stay tuned for part 2
of this post coming soon. It will be our Pre-Prom Pampering Party.
xoxo
-Courtney
