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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Went a Little Ulta Crazy!

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It's been a while since I've gone a little nuts at Ulta, so I was due. And I made the most of it! I'd like to just say that shopping with my mom is always dangerous... for the both of us :) I'm always showing her new products and she's always telling me to "just buy it" when I'm indecisive about things. So to make a long story short; we went shopping, had fun, and spent way too much money.

Below is what I picked up and a first impression of the products I have tried so far.


Real Techniques
I have already sang the praises of these sponges here so I won't go into detail too much. But if you like a natural and lighter finish, these are awesome! They're great for blending in concealer too.

I have heard about this brush for foundation for so long and could never find it. But now after months (years?) of searching I found it and can't wait to give it a go.

It's a 10
Again, another product I've already raved about (here) but I really love the way this detangles and softens my hair.

Batiste
Hint of Color Dry Shampoo - Dark & Deep Brown
I'm always on the hunt for a great dry shampoo. As a greasy-scalped gal I rely on this stuff for second day hair. Batiste is pretty good, I really like that this is colored as well so it doesn't take much rubbing in. Overall a good product, but I'm still on lookout for one that will wow me.

NYX
Hi Definition Photo Concealer Wand - Porcelain and Yellow
Another item I'm always looking for... concealer. I have tried Too Faced, Flower, NYX, and more and haven't an amazing concealer for my under-eye circles or breakouts. I've heard good things about these though so I'm really yearning to try them. But I want to use up some of my others first...grrr...




One of my fave Youtubers, MakeupByTiffanyD, has been raving about this palette for a few months now and I had been thinking of purchasing this. So when Ulta had 40% off NYX products I scooped it up, and I'm glad I did. I haven't done a full contour with it yet, but I have tried it out. See my swatches below:

As you can probably tell the highlight powders are subtle and great for pasty girls such as myself.                                            
  1. A shimmery highlight that's white/pink in hue and gives a more dramatic shimmer to the face. 
  2. I use more as an all over face powder and it leaves a wonderfully natural finish. 
  3. A yellow powder to brighten up under the eyes. I'll be honest I don't know how I feel about yellow under the eyes quite yet, but I'm trying it.
  4. A more champagne-y color great for a natural highlight and blends wonderfully with blush.

 The contour powders are very pigmented and a little dark, I have to use a light hand when applying. And although it's hard to tell in this picture, they are all a distinct color. So far I really have only used the 1st 2 colors which are a warm lighter brown and a gray-brown. They do provide me with some great color.

Overall I'm really excited to play around with this palette and see what it can really do!

I'm not 100% sure what an eyebrow gel is supposed to do... I know it's to hold your eyebrows in place. But are anyone's eyebrows just roaming around going all wonky? I guess I have tame eyebrows. But anyway I have used this just to see what it did and I do like that it defines my brows in a subtle way for those days I don't want to go all out. So I guess I do like eyebrow gel... hmm...

AG
Finally, whew, we're almost there! AG is a brand I've been wanting to try so when I saw this texturizing spray on sale I said hell yes! I have been wearing my hair curly more lately as it's easier in this humid/rainy weather because my hair is naturally curly. So usually I blow dry the roots because they look funny if I don't, pop some curl cream in the ends and go to sleep (sometimes I will do a french braid), then when I wake up it's straightening the bang-area and off I go. I like the idea of this spray though as it helps define your curls and separate them, and it gives you some volume. I've only used it once thus far but I think it delivers.

Well thank you all for staying till the very end of this long haul. I will keep you posted if there are any stand out (or downright bad) products!

Oh and I thought I'd add this blooper picture! This is what happens when you blog and own a pet... you have no idea how many cat and dog tails and noses I've had to crop out of my pictures!!!!

Update: I had previously stated that Batiste and It's a 10 products were not cruelty-free, that is incorrect. They both are cruelty-free products.


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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

June Petit Vour Box

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I apologize for not posting in so long, and unfortunately I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post in the next month or two. As I said before I'm going through a lot of changes in my life right now and on top of that I have no internet at home. So bear with me and we'll get through this. But as I am able to post right now, let's get on with it!

So this month my new Petit Vour box arrived in the mail, and I won't lie to you it felt like Christmas. I really do enjoy this subscription as most (if not all) of the products are new to me so I really get to experience everything for the first time.

In this box I received some interesting items and have tried most of them.

100% Pure
Facial Cleansing Brush
This is the cruelty-free/natural answer to the Clarisonics we've all heard so much about. I was always skeptical about these brushes because they seem really harsh for facial skin, but I gave this one a fair shot anyway. And I think I might have been right to worry, it seemed really harsh and almost painful on my face. I use it in the shower with my daily facial cleanser. I think it does exfoliate well, but I will only being using this 1x a week or less.

Meow Meow Tweet
Spot Serum
As you've probably listened to me drone about ad nauseum, I have been having some insane skin issues, so when I saw this I was intrigued. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now almost daily on all my spots. I think it shrunk so of the bigger spots and prevented some from coming to a head. But I have also been trying another product (review to come) and I think that's helped to.... that's what happens when I try more than 1 product at a time. But I wouldn't purchase this if you're sensitive to smell because it has a strong eucalyptus scent.

Jaq's Organics
Green Smoothie Scrub & Masque
Funny enough, this is the product that most intrigued me and it's the only one I haven't tried yet. As I said above I don't like to try too many new things at once so I'm saving this. But it seems so cool, you put it on like a mask then when you rinse it off you're supposed to rub your skin a bit as an exfoliator. I like the 2-in-1 aspect so I'll have to report back.

FiOR Minerals
Organic Eyeliner - Brown Sugar
Ok let me just say that I love me some eyeliner... I feel naked without it and just love how it can bring out my blue eyes. Now this particular eyeliner was promising but I wasn't able to test it fully. I tried it twice and found that the brown kind of counteracts my blue eyes and makes them green-ish... I don't know how a brown did that but weird. Still I wanted to try it more for longevity but it melted in my room. My apartment is warm but I hadn't had issues with any other make up melting so that was weird. I'll try to test it again once the temperature drops... but hard to review.

Well that was my June Petit Vour box, definitely some interesting products! Have a great week all and hopefully I'll talk to you soon :)

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Sorry I've Been Gone

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Hi all! Just wanted to give you a quick update. I apologize for being MIA for the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I've been dealing with some personal issues, a move, and a lack of internet. Hopefully I'll be back up and running in a few weeks and will get back to regular blog posts.

Thank you all for your patience as I try to deal with everything!

Amber

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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Cover FX Custom Cover Drops Review

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I was so excited to learn about this product and set out immediately to learn all I could about the Cover FX Custom Coverage Drops. I mean a foundation that allows you to customize the coverage, protection, consistency, and benefits, what's not to love?!?

At first I went into a Sephora try it on my hand and think about a color. I decided I was N25, and I liked how it felt mixed with some Cover FX primer. But it is pricey at $44 so I decided not to get it. Then a few weeks passed and I really needed a higher-coverage foundation as I am having such skin issues recently. So I took a deep breath and called it a birthday present to me! 

I got color matched in Sephora and found I was right, that N25 would suit me (I love being right!). The saleswoman tested the product out on me mixed with a primer, then a moisturizer. I did notice that when mixed with a primer it didn't sit quite right, but I thought what the hell! I can fix it with my Real Techniques blending sponge. So I bought it... and got my free Sephora birthday gift out of it... can't complain.


I've now tried it mixed with primer, moisturizer, and a CC cream and feel that I can fully report on my thoughts. 

I used usually 3-4 drops when mixed with the primer and moisturizer to create a full coverage and 2 drops with foundation to beef up the coverage a bit. 

First the positive: I absolutely fell in love with the coverage of this product! As I said above I've been having some skin issues with blemishes and scarring on in the hollows of my cheeks and on my chin. And as you can see in the pictures below, these were almost totally gone... I can barely notice anything happen but a blemish or two. So at first I was delighted and kept showing my face off to my mom and cousin. "See doesn't my skin look great?" "Can you believe how much this stuff covered?" etc, etc...

Then, the real test came when I decided to where this stuff for a full day to work. And that's where the disappoint came. First, let me preface this by saying I have very oily skin and my face eats through makeup like a fat kid eats cake! It's just not funny... but I digress. So I wasn't expecting miracles. However, this makeup did some weird stuff! By the afternoon (we're taking 6 hours of wear) it looked like I didn't know how to apply makeup. 

There were weird areas wear my glasses had hit my face and it just scrapped the makeup right off that area. Then the foundation curdled (does foundation curdle? I don't know but that's what we're going with) into areas on my face and it just looked like I swiped it on and forgot to blend in or something.

Final negative: When I used a primer I never felt like the makeup meshed with my skin or really got buffed in, it always felt like it was just sitting there on top and it moved around a lot. I just didn't feel secure. This is much better when mixed with moisturizer but I felt the coverage just wasn't the same when I did this.

See below for each result
 with ELF Poreless Primer
 with Body Shop Mattifying Moisturizer 
with It Cosmetics CC+ Cream
 So overall, I was really excited about this product when I first tried it as it's coverage is amazing. However, it just didn't sit right on my skin and wear really awkwardly throughout the day. #disappointed

Let me know if you've tried these and have any tips, otherwise it's return-land for me and on to the next foundation trial. Any suggestions?



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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Style Trials: Gold Choker Necklace

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Style Trials: Spiked Choker



This week's Style Trial was difficult for me... I bought this necklace at Forever 21 a few months ago. I took my mom shopping which is so confidence boosting and fun :) She's always telling me how good things look so I end up spending some serious money! (love you mom!)

I really like this necklace it's sassy and fun but also nice and polished with the gold and pastel. However, it's very short (I know, I know choker right?!?) but I have a hard time decided what kind of top and neckline to wear with it. So here's my trials for the best outfits with white tops, let's see how I did!

Outfit 1 - So peplums aren't really my things although I love them. I just have a few too many pounds in the 'ol tums to pull it off. However, I think this peplum has a perfect neckline for this necklace because it's pretty high without being tall enough that it would cover the necklace. Also I think the texture lends itself to such a simple outfit. The pants are dark wash skinny jeans from express to keep it streamlined and classy. And because I love balance I chose a geometric gold bracelet.

Outfit 2 - Oh the simple T-shirt, it works with everything. I wanted a scoop neck option with this necklace because it would be able to show off the necklace. But to make sure there wasn't too much openness at the chest area, I thought these layering necklaces would add a nice effect without competing with the statement piece. Then some skinny black trousers to pull it all together. 

So there it was, my ideas for this necklace. Let me know if you any of you have some great ideas for this necklace because I really would love to wear it more often. Also, let me know if you want to see some pictures of me wearing it!

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