Oh, my, OFRA!

Products provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Recently, I attended an event sponsored by OFRA with the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida! I'd seen OFRA at The MakeUp Show Orlando, and had tried a couple of things of theirs, like their Drying Drops, which I really liked, and a golden cream shadow that was super-pigmented.  But, I didn't really know too much about them until this event.  And, I'm so glad I got to know OFRA!

OFRA is a family-owned business, and one of the few that actually has their own lab, and it's right here in Florida!  This means they have extreme flexibility in testing, producing, and customizing new products. In addition to being made in the USA, their products are cruelty-free.

I decided to play with some of my new pretties!  This is what I came up with:

This is the first time I've used a contour/highlight palette, and it was kinda fun.  I watched a couple of tutorials on YouTube to get started.  I used a small brush with the very creamy foundations and added the lightest shade to the center of my forehead, down my nose, on my chin, and under my eyes onto my cheeks.  I didn't go too deep with the contour, but used 2 of the lightest 'dark' shades on my temples and cheekbone and jawline.  Well, if I had a visible cheekbone or jawline.  Then, I used a sponge blender to blend it out, and buffed with a little bit of my It Cosmetics powder foundation.

Some of these products were unlike anything I've ever tried.  OFRA's Silicone primer is a game-changer. I thought it was going to be heavy and slippery, like a Smashbox primer, which is what I normally think of when I think silicone primer.

It's not.  It feels amazing.  It absorbs so quickly and dry to the touch.  Then, I put all those cream foundations over it, which I've never used, and my skin still didn't feel heavy or greasy.  This one is a winner for my oily, yet aging skin.

Another neat product I tried is OFRA's concealer.  It's another strange texture, unlike any other concealers I've used.  It's very sheer, with a slippery feel.  I didn't think it would actually do anything, but it has a brightening effect that is noticeable. 

OFRA's Shimmery Blush Stripes can be used either as eyeshadows or as a blush/highlighter.  The edge stripes are more metallic, the white is a bright highlight, and the rose gives a beautiful, subtle flush.  I like mixing them together for a flush on the cheek and then adding a little more of either the white or metallic as a highlight.  These metallics are so on trend, and the effect is shimmery, not glittery.

I can't believe I actually forgot to use eyeshadow primer for this look.  I'm going to blame it on my sickness and all the meds I'm on.  Regardless, the eyeshadow palette from OFRA is better than my pictures show.  The black in the palette makes a nice, smudgy liner, and all the colors are soft, buttery, pigmented, and blendable.  In fact, I was trying a 'straight liner' technique for hooded eyes that Wayne Goss put on YouTube, and I totally screwed it up, and was able to blend the shadows into something I liked anyway. 

The khaki eyebrow gel is a fairly universal color, though in my swatch is does look a bit like baby poop.  I'm sorry about that.  The truth is that I used enough gel in that swatch for probably 20 eyebrows, I just didn't know it at the time.  This stuff is crazy pigmented.  I take a little bit of the gel and put it in the cap and work it through my brush to get a more natural look.  If you wanted to draw an eyebrow on, you could.  If you want a more natural filled-in brow, use a lot less product.

The one product I couldn't make work for me was the mascara. It's a tubing mascara, which is fine.  It's lovely to apply, and makes my lashes look great.  But, it makes my lashes at the corners of my eyes stick together.  So, every time I blink, my eyelashes are pulling apart, like velcro in the corners of my eyes.  I waited about 20 minutes to see if it would dry, or if it would go away, and it didn't, and I about went mad. Rip, rip, rip.

The last product I used in this look was one of OFRA's signature products, their long-lasting liquid lipstick, in Mocha.  It's a universal nude, very flattering on many skin tones. It's matte, but super-comfortable, and wears great.  I also have this formula in New Orleans, a dark purple, that is a favorite.

I'm looking forward to playing more with OFRA makeup - and they also have a new skincare line, too!

You may have seen that recently they collaborated with Mina Slater, one of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida, to create her own shade of their amazing long-lasting liquid lipsticks! Check out her lippie, and she has a discount code, too (not sure how long it lasts.)

Have you tried OFRA Cosmetics?  They can be found on their website, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.