My Apologies

Sorry the blog came to a stand still. I am in the process of trying to do a revamp. I have also been very busy trying to get my blog sale going. I assure you though the blog will be up and running again very soon! :)

Target Health & Beauty Haul - L'Oreal, Revlon, Love&Toast

1. L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Stick in Cotton Pink - I am so in love with these new lipsticks! They remind me so much of YSL. Packaging, texture of the formula, and smell. I will be buying many more of these and highly recommend them, especially for less than 1/3 the cost of YSL.

2. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in (créme) Primrose - I know I've talked about this lipstick before, but I just really like that the formula has no smell or taste.

3. Love&toast Body Lotion in Dew Blossom - I found this at Target so I decided to give it a try. The bottle says: "paraben-free, never animal tested, no animal ingredients, and no artificial colors". To be honest though I only bought this because it was on sale and the bottle was just too cute lol. An interesting little fact I didn't know until I googled it: Margot Elena , the owner of this brand, is also the owner of Tokyomilk products, which they just recently started selling at Sephora. I have actually been eyeing one of the fragrances. So anyways, this lotion isn't greasy and does absorb quickly. However, the smell isn't much to be desired. I don't dislike the smell, but I don't like it either.. I'm just oddly attracted to smelling it and I'm not even sure why. I will use the product until it's gone, but I probably wouldn't purchase again. If they fixed all the scents then this product would be perfect.

Mini Mac Haul - Hey Sailor!

     Hey everyone! Sorry I've been slackin' lately with the blog posts. I just got a second job so I've been very busy the last few days. I've got some catching up to do, a few hauls, some reviews, but for now here is my Mac haul :)

1. Hey Sailor! High-Light Powder in Crew2. Lipglass in Pink Lemonade3. Hey Sailor! Powder Blush in Fast Fleet
     Crew and Fast Fleet were actually sold out on maccosmetics.com, but then they restocked the high-light powder so I grabbed it quick, and good thing, because it sold out again so fast. The Fast Fleet blush I actually had to pay a little extra for on eBay. I NEVER buy Mac on eBay because a majority of the products are fakes, but this product came with the store receipt.

     I have only tried out Crew and the lipglass so far. The high-light powder is more of a blush to be honest because from what I've heard the color isn't just laid on the top.. and if that's the case then this is too much for a high-light. Beautiful pigmented blush though! I'm actually really happy about this because I prefer blush anyways. Blush is one of the things I can't help but want to collect lol. As far as the lipglass, I'm sure most of you know these glosses are really thick and sticky. It bothers me a little, but I deal with it because I love the color and smell! Overall extremely happy with my purchases! If you get a chance to snag the high-light powder, I say go for it :)!

May Favorites 2012! - B&BW, Essie, Lush, Mac, Maybelline, Origins, Too Faced

1. Bath & Body Works Forever Sunshine Body Mist - "An exclusive blend of golden apricot, pink peonies, and a hint of praline that captures the romance of warm days that linger into cool autumn."

2. Essie Nail Laquer in Tart Deco - "Chic and modern, this dreamy coral is an artistic burst of color."

3. Lush Alomond & Coconut Shower Smoothie - "Creamy almond oil and coconut oil shower smoothie to gently cleanse and care for your dry, or irritated skin and give it all the moisturizing attention it needs."

4. Lush Miranda Soap - "Miranda is made by hand with fresh, organic kiwi fruit to gently cleanse, tone, and brighten your skin. We add in gorgeous bergamot for its soothing, orange-scented effects. To clear up congested skin and to refresh weary spirits we blend in ylang ylang and juniperberry."

5. Lush Lip Scrub in Sweet Lips - "Vanilla extract and jojoba oil keep your lips moist, castor sugar gently exfoliates, and the rich, deep fragrance of cocoa absolute gives this an irresistible touch."

6. Mac Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle - "Gilded Peach Bronze"

7.  Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze - "Ink technology creates super-saturated color. Cream gel smooths on for vibrant color that does not fade. "

8. Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 - "This supercharged antioxidant moisturizer with white tea, maritime pine, and UVA/UVB sunscreens surrounds skin in a protective bubble to help delay the appearance of premature aging signs."

9. Too Faced Better Than False Lashes Nylon Lash Extension System - "The activating mascara base and top coat is designed specifically to melt and seal the Flexistretch nylon fibers into long, thick, dramatic lashes without the risk, mess, or commitment of other false lash alternatives. Unlike traditional fiber mascaras, Better Than False Lashes allows you to dial up the lengthening fibers so you easily get better, longer, thicker, more dramatic lashes instantly."

Philopshy Makeup at Big Lots for $3?

     Yes, that is correct! $3/piece! When I went to my local big lots yesterday what I got was all they had left. I guess you could say I got there just in time! I even asked if they kept more in the back, but what they had out was all they had and the display was tiny so no wonder it was all gone so fast.

1. The Color of Grace Amazing Grace Shimmering Face Powder - This product smells just like their Amazing Grace fragrance, which I actually didn't care for on me, but I do like the way the powder smells. It looks like it could be a good highlight product

2. The Color of Grace Heavenly Light Pink Illuminator - Also looks like it could be a good highlighter.

3. The Color of Grace Eyelighting Shadow Duo in Heaven/Earth - Very pigmented, slightly shimmery eyeshadows.

4. The Supernatural Lit from Within Healthy Cream Blush in Look on the Brightside - Very sheer light pink blush.

5. The Color of Grace Angel Kiss Lipgloss in Pretty Please - It's a nice lipgloss, nothing special. I wouldn't ever pay more than $3.

Sephora Haul - Algenist, Bite, Dior, Tarte

     This haul was from a few days ago and I am very excited to share it with you! I had a very long conversation with the skincare specialist that was working that day and she was very helpful! I will have a post coming soon with all her tips and tricks! She helped me pick out an eye cream to help keep my eyes looking youthful. She said she normally recommends Algenist because in all the years she has worked at Sephora she has seen the results the product has.

1. Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm - This eye cream is pretty pricey at $65, but right now Sephora has a boxed set with a full size eye cream and some extra free goodies! Comes with a deluxe sample size of gentle cleanser and an eye serum. For the same price and eye cream size I of course went with the set. She said this product will help to brighten my eyes, so I should see improvement even though I don't have wrinkles yet. I'll make sure to let you know if I see any results or not!

2. Bite Beauty Lip Shine Lipgloss in Sante - This lipgloss I really dislike because of the taste :( It smells good, but has that dreaded lipstick taste. If that doesn't bother you then it's worth trying. This gloss isn't really sticky, but is on the more thick side.

3. Bite Beauty Luminous Créme Lipstick in Retsina - I really liked this nude color, but just like the lipgloss it as the same yucky lipstick taste. It just makes me completely sick to my stomach. This product is probably going back to the store. From now on I know to stay away from Bite products, which is too bad because they do have nice colors. I think I am always so drawn to the products too because they are edible lol, but they taste too icky to want to eat!

4. Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Grege - These eyeshadows have such a lovely silky feel and are very pigmented. Grege is described as "light brown shimmer/ cream shimmer/ light taupe sheen/ plum brown sheen/ gunmetal grey shimmer".

5. Dior Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum - I actually bought this product a while back and didn't care for it. I was recently looking for a good primer with the hopes it would add some length and volume to my lashes. I spotted this in the store and decided to give it another try because I didn't exactly give it a fair chance as a primer. I was basically just putting it on at night for lash growth, but I also didn't give it long enough to see results before deciding it was a waste. It actually is a good primer. It did what I was hoping it would in giving the appearance of longer thicker lashes. As far as promoting lash growth I can't say as of right now.

6. Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Dollface - This is the 6th Tarte blush in my collection. These are absolutely my favorite blushes!

Drugstore Haul - Maybelline, Revlon, Essie, Hard Candy

     Yea, I went a little crazy during my latest drugstore haul lol. I am extremely happy with all of my purchases. Now when I go into Sephora I have such a hard time even buying any kinds of lip products because now I know I can get some just as good at the drugstore at less than half the cost!

1. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Charm, Cherish, and Sweetheart - These stains are comparable to Tarte's lip stains. They smell the same and to me seem to work the same! Which is good news since they only cost around $7 or so.

2. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss SPF 15 in Pink Pursuit - I know I just recently bought a couple of these, but I liked them so much I wanted another. The other two I bought have no shimmer at all, but this one is a light pink color with really fine silver shimmer.

3. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Silver City Pink, Softshell Pink, and Wink for Pink - I also just recently bought one of these in a matte shade, really loved it, so I went back for more. Two of the ones I just bought have a pearl finish and the other one is a creme finish. I will have a post with swatches very soon for you!

4. Maybelline Touché Camoflant Lumineux - This product is described as a "highlighting concealer" which I basically bought to try in place of YSL's touch  éclat. This product only cost me $6.50 compared to $40. I have only swatched it on my hand, but it seems like it will do the trick. I will have a review up shortly!

5. Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush in Bombshell - I've only tried this blush on my hand so far and it seems to be very pigmented. I will let you know how I feel about it once I try it out :)

6. Essie Nail Lacquer in It's Genius and Dive Bar - My local Walmart had some Essie polish on sale so I grabbed a couple. These colors are more for fall/winter, but they will be waiting in my collection until then :)! It's Genius is a really pretty plum purple color with golden shimmer. Dive Bar is a dark blue with green and purple shimmer.

May Products That Didn't Make The Cut

1. Tarte Celebutante Dry Oil Shimmer Spray - This product smelled like coconut and was really pretty, but caused blemishes. This spray is for your chest and shoulder area.. chest + breakouts = not very pretty. Such a shame though because otherwise this was a nice product. I noticed they just recently discontinued it.

2. YSL ROUGE VOLUPTÉ PERLE Silky Sensual Radiant Lipstick SPF 15 in Coral Sun - I absolutely love the smell and taste of YSL lipsticks. This was very pretty, but too chunky with sparkle, left a weird gritty texture on my lips. Also didn't last on my lips for even 5 minutes. Completely not worth the $34. This product went right back to the store.

3. Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion SPF 12 PA++ - I really love the Benefit Facial polish so I decided to give this a try for a day time facial lotion. Smells great, just like the facial polish. The reason I didn't end up liking this product is because I could tell it was starting to break me out. I had a few slightly raised bumps, which is normally a warning from my skin to stop now. My skin is not sensitive, but it is acne prone. I was very sad that this product just didn't work for me.

Quick Healthy Snack - Turkey Roll-Up

     This was just my lazy way of making a sandwich, but bread is no good for a diet anyways lol. For those of you, who are like me, and don't like to always cook something for yourself then this is perfect. It took me less than 5 minutes to take 2 slices of all natural turkey breast, 1 piece of swiss cheese folded in half, and any desired amount of spinach leaves, then do the obvious and roll it all up. Voila! I just grabbed a low fat yogurt to eat with a couple of them for lunch.

Drugstore Haul - Revlon, Maybelline, L'Oreal, Pure ICE

1. Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow in Painted Purple - Wasn't really into cream shadow too much until I tried these. Love them!

2. Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Flared in Blackest Black - I tried this years ago and absolutley hated it, but I heard they changed the formula so I decided to pick one up. It's often compared to Lancome Hypnose mascara which I have not tried, however, I really do like this new formula because it does give a little volume without weighing down my lashes.

3. L'Oreal Colour Riche leGloss in 159 Golden Splash - This gloss is really pretty. The color I got is a sheer peachy color with really fine golden shimmer and it's a great tasting gloss. Only slightly sticky.

4. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Matte Stormy Pink - I'm not sure how staying power is but it's a nice color, on the more sheer side of a lipstick. Also had no gross lipstick taste, which I was very happy about.

5. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss SPF 15 in Coral Reef and Pink Pop - I saw these glosses and thought the packaging was cute so I grabbed a couple. I have actually never heard of these glosses, but I am glad I picked a couple up. They have a nice sheer color and don't really taste like anthing to me, which is good. Normally I can't speak for staying power because I rub my lips together a lot, but this I tested and it was on for over a half hour or so. For a gloss that seemed decent to me.

6. Pure ICE Nail Polish (from left) in Twinkle, Spitfire, Mint Dream, and Homerun - Such pretty colors and extremely cheap nail polish (under $2). However, I don't recommend these if you're not that great at painting nails. The formula is kind of thick and gets sticky/tacky easily which makes it very easy to make your nails a clumpy textured mess. I did one coat on the thin side, then a really thick second coat, and used Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat to help them dry quickly. You can only brush a couple times before it starts to get tacky and clumpy so you have to get the product in the right place the first time. Overall, I am happy with these still though!

How to Get Rid of Those Rough Winter Hands

     These two Lush products are the perfect combination to combat those dry/rough winter hands. I work in a nursing home which means I am constantly washing my hands. This is a huge problem in the winter because they start to get so dry that it's painful. These two products help to eliminate that problem and helping hands is also a lotion that will protect your hands during hand washing.

      First is Rub Rub Rub which is an exfoliating sea salt that they claim smells tropical, but really it smells like laundry detergent. You can use it as an all over body exfoliator, but that's kind of difficult because the product melts away with water, so having already wet skin it doesn't exfoliate as good. If you plan to use this on your whole body I recommend doing it in the shower before you turn the water on. When you rinse off it leaves you silky feeling, but no coated. Then once your hands are exfoliated use some of the Helping Hands lotion.. A little goes a long way with this stuff. It contains "Soothing honey, moisturizing oils, and nourishing butters help to protect and care for hardworking hands and make them soft and flexible once again.". Once you're done both steps, and the lotion soaks in, you'll have perfectly soft non greasy hands!

Dry Shampoo Favorites & Fails

1. Suave Dry Shampoo Spray - Complete FAIL! This actually made my hair a lot more greasy! It was only $3 at walmart so I figured why not, I'll give it a shot. This product is awful and going in the garbage.

2. Pssssst! Dry Shampoo - I've heard good things about this product, but it did not work for me at all. It's more of a runny liquid than a powder and it just makes my hair worse. Very disappointed with this product.

3. TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Conditioner - When I bought this I didn't realize it said conditioner and not shampoo. My mistake. I tried using it on the ends and it didn't really do anything. Waste of money.

4. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo - This product worked, just didn't hold up or last for very long. Smells really good though, but I guess that doesn't make up for a product that is mediocre.

5. Bumble & Bumble Brown Hair Powder - This product works, but talk about a huge mess! It leaves brown spots all over your forehead even when trying to be careful, also turns your hands black while trying to put your hair up.

6. Ojon Full Detox Rub Out Dry Cleansing Spray - Excellent product, but do not buy in the spray can! Sprayer gets clogged after only 1 or 2 uses. Hopefully they fix the design of the can then this product will be perfect.

5. Ojon Full Detox Dry Rub Out Dry Cleansing Powder - This product is great! Only dry shampoo that really worked great. Absorbs the oil and gives a little bit of volume and texture. It has a kind of minty smell to it. The bottle is pretty easy to work with to get the powder right at the root, but be careful to not tap too much out because you don't want to end up with white hair.