Valentia 20% Vitamin C Even Glow Serum Review

Hey guys!

Today I wanted to talk about this amazing product I have recently added to my skincare. I have extremely dry skin that's pretty dull in the winter, so I am always looking for
products to give me major hydration and to even my skin and give me a glow! My usual skincare routine is exfoliating with my Clarisonic, moisturizing with a cream moisturizer (my HG St. Ives Timeless Skin) before bed and in the mornings.

I have always heard about the benefits of adding a serum to your skincare but hadn't tried any until now. The product I'm using is Valentia Even Glow Serum 20% Vitamin C Antioxidant Treatment by Valentia Skincare. I absolutely LOVE it!! It claims to even skintone, increase glow and radiance, absorbs rapidly, boosts collagen production, and reduce wrinkles and fine lines. I've gotta say, it honestly works. It comes in a glass bottle with a squeeze top drop applicator which makes it super easy to apply. The serum isn't clear like I had anticipated, instead it's a bright orange that smells like oranges! Not in a overly powerful or pungent way, but in a refreshing way. It absorbs so fast and my skin immediately feels refreshed and firmer. After a few uses I could see how much my skin has improved. I look more radiant and my skin feels firm but soft, more even skintone. You can but it off of amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJD8NLY/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1419303367&sr=1&keywords=vitamin+c+serum.   List price is $85 but on Amazon you can get it for only $35!



















*Product was sent to me for reviewing purposes. All opinions are accurate and my own.

Cranberry and Gold Holiday look!

Hello lovelies!!

In honor of the holidays coming up, I wanted to do a colorful and festive look perfect for going out, holiday parties or anytime! Cranberry seems to be an up and coming shade that a lot of people have started wearing either in their wardrobes or in their makeup looks. It's such a beautiful shade that compliments any skin tone and eye color. This look is very easy but packs a lot of punch!

I first prepped my face applying Vitamin C serum by Valentia Skincare (review coming next!) to my face and neck. After that dried, I moisturized with St. Ives Timeless Skin and waited about 15 minutes to ensure my face was properly moisturized. I proned my face using Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base. Next, I lightly dabbed Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer onto my most problematic areas (on my chin and around my nose) and on any blemishes without completely blending it in. I then buff L'Oreal True Match Lumi first starting with a light later and applying a second layer to ensure proper coverage. Next I applied Benefit's Boi-ing concealer under my eyes, on my chin, along bridge of nose and on forehead and blended to create a highlight.

After basic skin prep, I filled in my brows using Benefit's Brow Zings and cleaned up lines using Benefit's Boi-ing concert again.  Then I primed eyes using Lorac's Behind the Scenes Eye Primer.  Using the cranberry shade from Bh Cosmetics 120 Eye Color Palette 3rd edition, I blend the color into crease and slightly on outer edges of lid.  Then pack on Gold from Lorac Pro Palette onto lid and around tear duct.  Using Espresso also from the Lorac Pro Palette I carve out a 'V' shape to accentuate the putter edge of my eye. I take the Cranberry shade again and blend into lower lashes and Espresso over top. Then I line my eyes with L'Oreal Telescopic waterproof liquid eyeliner and coat lashes with Benefit's They're Real Mascara and L'Oreal Butterfly Influenza.

Next I lightly dust face with setting powder and contour hollow of cheeks and nose with Benefit's Hoola bronzing powder. Then I finish with Cargo's water resistant blush in Los Cabos to apples if my cheeks and apply L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm in Rose Elixir onto my lips for a suttle, basic color.

Emerald and Gold FOTD

Today I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. My usual eye makeup tends to err on the conservative side, lots of browns and tans and sometimes pink. Lately I have been absolutely OBSESSED with emerald green. Emerald dresses, shirts, dresses, jewelry, and makeup. So I dug out my bh Cosmetics 122 Color palette (third edition) and make a colorful FOTD. Of course, the emerald green caught my eye and I had to use that!

Face: L'Oreal True Match Lumi; Benefit's Hoola; Revlon Powder Blush in Mauvelous

Eyes: Lorac Eye Primer; BH Cosmetics 122 Color Palette Third Edition; Lorac Pro Palette; L'Oreal Telescopic Waterproof Eyeliner in Black; L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza Mascara in Black

Eyebrows: e.l.f Eyebrow Kit in Medium; Revlon Photoready Concealer in Fair; Benefit's Watts Up Highlighter

Lips: NYX Lipliner Pencil in Ever; NYX Matte Lipstick in Whipped Caviar

I was a little disappointed with how the green turned out. It was a tad lighter than I had hoped/expected. It looks pretty dark in pan and even with eye primer. The eyeshadows are a tad on the chalky side as well. They don't blend that great, and can be hard to work with. It does vary color to color, though.  Some are pigmented and beautiful, some blend just fine, and some don't seem as chalky. It's hit or miss. The gold is from the Lorac Pro palette. I adore the Lorac palette. The colors are buttery, blend-able, pigmented, and just all around gorgeous. 

CVS Beauty Club Twitter Giveaway Review

Hey Beauties!

The CVS Beauty Club Twitter had a #WINthelook giveaway about a month or so ago. There were several winners and each one received a Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara (I received it in light brown), a OGX Kukui Hydrating Oil, a Makeup Academy Intense Moisture Balm (I received Red), and a L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intense Mascara.

It took four weeks for the package to arrive and I couldn't wait! I can't even pick one product I was most excited for. I have been obsessed with lip products lately and I have been experimenting with brow products, but I was also running low on mascara and my hair is super damaged. So pretty much I needed everything that I won! 

The first product I tried immediately when I brought the package in from my mailbox, was the brow mascara.  I'm glad I got it in light brown since I have pretty dark eyebrows considering my natural hair color is blonde.  Right away, I was skeptical of the brush. The end of the wand features ball-shaped bristles and then has regular, short bristles immediately after.  My biggest concern was how large the ball of bristles are. It seemed too big to have enough control for brushing your brows.  How big the ball of bristles are compared to the short bristles seemed awkward and hard to manage.  That is definitely what I found when I actually tried using the brush.  Very awkward at first but I'm sure it's something that comes with practice.  As far as the gel, it was not as pigmented as I anticipated but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  It would be good for those "natural" make up days.  When the gel dried my brows did feel a little crunchy, but I don't really mind that because I know my brows will stay put. 

A lot of beauty blogs have been raving about the Makeup Academy line that recently came to CVS.  No one particularly mentioned specific products, but the way people talked about the line, I had pretty high expectations for this lip balm. 

Top swatch: Multiple Swipes

Bottom swatch: One Swipe

The color is more pink than red, but I don't mind. It's a pretty shade. My problem with it is it smears very easily and then stains your skin. I'm someone very low maintenance and I wouldn't want to have to worry constantly over if it is staying in place. It smells faintly of peppermint and feels moisturizing. 

I have been on the hunt for oil moisturizers for not only my face, but also my hair.  The prospect of these hydrating powers intrigued me and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this Kukui Oil by OGX.  I did a test spray on my arm just to see how heavy it sprayed and I was so pleased when it was a light mist.  It'd be very hard to over oil your hair with this spray. You have complete control and would be great to use even on dry hair to help control frizz. Not only was the spray perfectly light and misty, but the oil smelled amazing, too. It doesn't have a heavy scent, but just enough that you get a nice whiff of it every now and then when your hair brushes your face.  I haven't used it enough on my hair to give a valid review on its healing powers, but the one time I did use it, it seemed to have worked great!




There has been a lot of talk lately about the L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intense Mascara. I have seen nothing but reviews raving about how well it works, especially for a drugstore mascara, and I definitely agree! It doesn't take a lot to get long, dark, full lashes.  The brush is a little odd, which I'm sure is what they named the mascara after (or why they designed the wand like that). One side of the wand is more flat, while the other is thin. I do find that the bristles on the wand aren't long enough and I had a little bit of trouble with clumping, but a few more swipes and they mostly went away. I really do love this mascara, and I think it will become my new go-to drugstore mascara.

I'm wearing the Brow Mascara and MUA lip balm in this picture.

Deans List Voxbox Review

Hey guys!

Last month I was chosen to receive one of Influenster's Voxbox's! This one was the 'Deans List' Voxbox which featured products good to use for school. 

If you don't know what Influenster is, it's basically a review website where you join, connect your social media accounts and review products! The more accounts/followers you have, the higher your 'impact score', and the more perks you receive. You review products you already use, and once in awhile, depending on your impact score, they will send you complimentary, FULL SIZED products to test and review. Pretty awesome, right?

In this box I received:

Playtex Sport Fresh Balance

Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable Pen

AirHeads bites

Kiss Looks So Natural Lashes

Luden's Watermelon Throat Drops

softlips Cube in Pomegranate Blueberry

*I was also supposed to receive Sinful Colors No Text Red but that was missing from my box.

I loved pretty much all of the products in this box. I am not a usual tampon user but I'm glad I had these because they ended up saving me in an early 'surprise' this month. They worked wonderfully and kept me smelling fresh! The Pilot pens are AMAZING. They write SO smoothly and the eraser works so well. Forget all of your previous hesitations about the usual erasable pen, these actually work! The airheads taste just like the original so of course, super yummy! I wasn't a huge fan of the lashes I got because they were just SO long. I like my lashes looking full and long, but not to the point of the tips touching the TOPS of my eyebrows. They have tapered ends which do make them look more natural, so I would just rather have gotten a shorter pair. The throat drops taste like candy and I haven't had a sore throat since I've gotten them, only my husband has, but I'm sure they work just fine. And lastly, the softlips. OMG. I am in LOVE with this lip balm. I was already in love with the classic softlips lip balms, they immediately make my lips feel so smooth, and moisturized and this cube just took it to the next level! The packaging is adorable, and the scent is soooooo good. I seriously cannot get enough! I will for sure be buying the other flavors. I am super bummed I didn't end up getting the nail polish like i was supposed to. It looked like such a pretty red! 

*These products were given to me free of charge for testing and reviewing purposes. All reviews are my own honest opinion.

Giveaway Winnings!

Hey Guys!

I just got home from spending two weeks at my parents house and I have been waiting to get home to write this post! I am so excited to finally be doing it, though it technically won't be "complete" for a couple more weeks (I'll talk about why...).

For the past couple of months I have been absolutely OBSESSED with enteAring into online (I stick with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) giveaways. Since I follow a ton of beauty pages they are constantly doing giveaways and how can I not enter? What if I won (though totally unlikely, I know)?! As my mom says, for every 100 giveaways you enter, you might win 1 thing LOL! Well, the stars must have aligned just right for me this month because I have won 4 in the last couple of weeks!!! I am absolutely out of my mind excited and I could not wait to get home because most of them had already arrived.

The first giveaway that I won, was the Milani Cosmetics 30 Shades in 30 days giveaway. Basically everyday, you had to go onto their website and answer a color question that had to do with the featured color that day.  They selected up to 300 winners a day to win their new Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow, and I happened to win one of the days! Thankfully, because I only entered 2-3 times.  The shade I won is called "Bella Silver".

Then I won a Twitter Giveaway from CVS Beauty Club! You just had to retweet one of their #winthelook tweets and they chose 25 people to win a pack that has a Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara, an Organix Kukui Hydrating Oil, a Makeup Academy Intense Color Moisture Balm, and a L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza Mascara! That prize package won't arrive until near the end of the month, though.

and Finally I won TWO giveaways from Birchbox!! One was a facebook giveaway and the other was an Instagram giveaway.  The Facebook was to comment on their picture to win one of Smashbox Cosmetics Always Sharp Lipliner! I won the shade 'Nude Light'. Then, the Instagram Giveaway you had to comment on their picture to win a BeautyBlender Original beautyblender, the Fantastic Four pack (featuring an Original beautyblender, a Pro beautyblender, a micro mini beautyblender and a blendercleanser solid mini), and/or the beautyblender Surface Pro. I wasn't one of the initial winners but since 9 of the original winners did not respond in the allotted amount of time, I was one of the second round winners! I won the fantastic four pack AND the surface pro!! 

I am just over the moon and SO thankful for all of the giveaways I have won and encourage everyone to enter any and all giveaways you want! You can never win unless you enter and you never know when it will be your turn :)

*I also included the Mary Kay true dimensions lipstick in sizzling red in the pictures that I received, not from a giveaway, but from a free sample they were giving away on their website.

Birchbox April + June 2014! (late review)

Hello, Beauties!

I have been racking my brain trying to think of posts I could do and as I was scrolling my Instagram and I realized I forgot to do a review on my June Birchbox! I don't have a lot of pictures and the one I do have is copied from IG so I apologize but I wanted to update.

I had bought myself a 3-month subscription and this month's was my last box from the subscription. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from my 'Welcome Box' in April, but I'll do a review on it and the end of this post. ANYWAYS, June's theme was 'Away We Go' and every box featured products perfect for taking with you on the go and on vacations!

My products:

             Miss Jessie's Multi-Cultural Curls: Full size: $16.
              I'm sure this styling lotion would be perfect for people with multi cultural hair, curly hair,                   but it just wasn't suitable for me. I have wavy hair and this didn't do much to enhance the                     waves. So this was a bust for me.

             Antica Farmacista Bath & Shower Wash (not sure which scent): Full size: $25
             I wasn't impressed much by this at all. The scent seemed too dull for me and bland, and it                    didn't leave my skin feeling any different than normal body wash. My skin felt clean and soft,              but not anything extraordinary. Not to mention the packaging was tacky. It honestly                              reminded me of the free shower gel you'd get in the bathroom of a 2-3 star hotel.

            Cynthia Rowley Beauty Creamy Lipstain in Sugar: Full size: $20
             As I have already admitted in my prior posts, I am not a lip gloss person, and even though                    this is called a "creamy lipstain", it felt like a gloss, The worst kind of gloss. It felt drying on                my lips and it was so unbelievably sticky. I really had high hopes for this because of the great              reviews Cynthia Rowley beauty products always receive, but I am just not a fan of this. The                only good thing was that the color was pretty, and very similar to my natural lip color.

             Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser: Full size of starter kit: $24.50
             This came with not only the cleansing polish, but also a muslin cloth! I am sooo impressed                  with this cleanser. It is so easy to use and it works WONDERS. I immediately saw such an                  improvement to my skin after using it ONCE and it is amazing. My pores appeared smaller,                my skin was soft, and my black heads were almost completely eliminated. It is such a miracle              product and I will most definitely be purchasing full size and I recommend it to                                    EVERYONE.

             Egyptian Magic Skin Cream: Full size: $38
             My first impression of this cream was that it felt greasy and stinky. I did not understand what              it could be used for and what is so "magical" about it. Boy was I wrong! I got used to the                     smell, it smells like an ointment and isn't bad, just isn't fragrant. I would never use it as a                     regular moisturizer because of the greasiness but it is AMAZING if you get dry patches. I've               used it for cuts, scraps, chapped lips, rough elbows, dry patches on skin, etc. and I can not                   believe how quickly it heals skin! I am so happy I gave it a chance and I am so impressed. A               little goes a LONG way and I have been using my sample for 4+ months now and still have                 over half of my sample left! It's awesome.



Overall, I am actually really happy with the box even having 3 out of 5 of the products duds to me. The Liz Earle and Egyptian Magic completely makes up for the entire box! I definitely found some favorites, not every product can be a hit and until this box, most were.

April Birchbox 2014

Whenever you begin a subscription on birchbox, you obviously fill out a profile so they can customize the contents of your box to you. The first box, however, is called the 'Welcome Box' and is a generic box that doesn't necessarily meet your profile.  

My Products:

            Whish Three Wishes Body Butter in Pomegranate: Full size: $24

            This was another product that my first impression wasn't a good one. I was put off by                           the smell and couldn't get past that to notice how the body butter actually felt on my                             skin. Once I started to get past the smell (and started loving it!), I couldn't believe how                         moisturizing it was! My hands felt amazingly soft and it seemed to melt into my skin                           immediately. No greasy residue, just long lasting softness. VERY impressed! 

            Ahmad Teas in (I believe) Mango: Full Size: $3.50

            I don't have much of an opinion. The tea was okay, but I'm not much of a tea drinker                           aside from green and chai.

           dr. Brandt pores no more pore refiner primer: Full size: $45

           I ADORE this primer. I have larger pores next to my nose, right under my eyes and this                      completely smooths out that area. My skin feels velvety right after I apply and it makes                        my foundation glide on smoothly. 

           Miracle Skin Transformer Face Spotlight SPF 20: Full size: $48

           I truly do not understand why this product is getting so much positive feedback. I HATE                      it. It is so ridiculously glittery and unnatural looking. I tried putting it under my                                    foundation and the glitter showed through and I had to immediately remove it. 

           Joan Vass L'eau Cristal: Full size: $75

           I actually really like this scent. Its spicy and deep and extremely strong (in a good way.                        not overpowering!) and long wearing. It is one of my favorites!

This was a pretty good starter box! I'm so happy I got to try some of these products and if I could afford it, would definitely buy these full sized.

My Lip Product Collection

Hey everyone!

Sorry that I went AWOL for a while. Life has been crazy between working, and then moving to New York from Pennsylvania and then getting settled. I hadn't been doing my make up, basically at all and wasn't really getting anything new so I wasn't sure what to post. Recently I have been doing my make up more and getting more products.  I'm going to start doing more reviews and make up looks so stay tuned!

Today I was packing to visit my parents this weekend and as I was going through my make up to see what I wanted to bring, I swatched my lip products to see which ones I wanted to bring just in case.  Then I figured I would review and post my whole lip collection (which, might I add, isn't a big one, haha).



So at first, I swatched my lipsticks and products that are my go-to/favorites.

From Left to Right, Top Row to Bottom Row: Maybelline ColorSensational #645 'Red Revival'; Maybelline ColorSensational Matte #660 'Touch Of Spice'; Maybelline ColorSensational #420 'Deepest Cherry'; Magic Moroccan Hare Color-Changing Lipstick in the green packaging; Wet n Wild Lipstick #902C 'Bare It All'; Laqa & Co Liplube in Menatour; NBLS22 'Gumdrop'; L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm #218 'Rose Elixir'; NYX Butter Gloss #BLG19 'Sugar Cookie'

My favorites of the group are definitely Laqa & Co's 'Menatour' and L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balm in 'Rose Elixir'. They are both so beautiful and make my lips feel so moisturized.



The next group I swatched is all lipglosses, some I love and some... not so much.

From Left to Right, top row to bottom row: L'Oreal Colour Riche Extraordinair #304 'Ruby Opera', #202 'Coral Encore', #103 'Blushing Harmony'; Mirenesse Glossy Kiss #14 'Perfect Kiss'; Cynthia Rowley Creamy Lipstain in 'Sugar'; Buxom Bare Escentuals lip gloss in 'Dolly'; Glo minerals lip gloss in 'Blushing' and 'Whisper'; PIXI Shea Butter lip balm in 'Coral Crush'.

I am admittedly not a huge lip gloss person, mostly because they tend to be too sticky and wear off super easily. The only ones that I am SUPER impressed with are the Colour Riche Extraordinair's, and the PIXI lip balm, which of course, is a balm and not a gloss. My last post was a post about the Colour Riche Extraordinair's so I won't go into how much I love them again, but in case you're interested, you can find the post here.

New Extraordinaire by Colour Riche

I am so excited to be writing this post!

A few months ago I joined Glamour Magazines 'Glamspotters' panel and its basically like the others I have been talking about, you answer survey questions and once in awhile they send you new products to try.

I was surprised when I get the email that I would be getting THREE new lipglosses. They didn't say anything about them, not the brand or colors or anything. Well I finally received them today and W.O.W I am soooo impressed.

To say I am not a lipgloss person is a SEVERE understatement. I HATE IT. I hate the stickiness they all always seem to have. I hate how heavy they feel. I hate how easily they bleed. I hate how they feel drying instead of moisturizing. I could go on and on. So I was a little bummed that the first products to test were lip glosses, but I obviously was willing to give them a try. What did I have to lose?

The first thing I noticed was the BEAUTIFUL gold packaging. I am such a sucker for gold and opening these and seeing the gold made me so excited because even if I didn't like the product, they'd at least look pretty for decoration! The three colors looked beautiful on the outside, the perfect red, a bright coral, and a rose. All three are perfect for different occasions. 

The best part? They look exactly the same on as they do in the bottle, even on my super pigmented lips. The applicator was a little weird, it seemed flimsy and like it would break easily. Surprisingly, the flimsiness actually made the gloss slide on easily and I could get the curve of my lips easily. This gloss practically melted to my lips, but not in a suffocating way. They felt super hydrating and lush and they have long staying power. The best part about them though, is the smell! Oh my god I did not expect them to smell so amazing. They have an almost fruity aroma. I don't know but I cannot stop smelling them. Totally the best samples ever and would totally recommend everybody buy them they're called Extraordinaire by Colour Riche.

BzzAgent Paula's Choice CLEAR Acne Kit

Hello!

I'm sure most of you are familiar with testing panel websites like Influenster and BzzAgent, if not, they are basically websites that you sign up to, fill out some surveys to get your score high and connect your social media accounts, and then they send you products to try and review! Pretty cool, right?

I had signed up to Influenster back in October (2013) but hadn't really committed to doing much. Recently, though, I have been trying to really keep up with my profile and since I connected my blog, I have been getting invites to take pre-qualification surveys. Pre-quals just ask about your demographics and try to see if you are a fit to who they are trying to market the product to. For instance, a week or two ago I took a pre-qual survey for a shaving campaign, though I disqualified out from the type of razor I use (though it wasn't totally accurate. Just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I only use women's razors!).

Recently though, I joined BzzAgent! I figured the more test panel websites I sign up to, the more free stuff I get to sample. And I was right! Because after I finished filling out ALL of the survey's and got my "buzz score" high enough, I got an invitation to a Paula's Choice Skincare campaign!

From BzzAgent's website,

"ACNE, YOU’RE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

Part of loving the skin you’re in is being conscious of what you put on it. Paula Begoun overcame her battle with acne by making sense of which ingredients truly helped or hurt her skin, and today, she’s the author of 20 best-selling books on the topic. Since deciding to use her decades of research to create the Paula’s Choice line in 1995, thousands have turned to her smarter skin care solutions when nothing else worked"

I have been using the product line for a few weeks now and I am so impressed! My skin showed great improvement almost immediately. It looks brighter and feels so smooth. Plus its super gentle on my sensitive skin! The trial is for 2 weeks and I will post my after skin shot at the end with my full review!

Birchbox May 2014!

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I was waiting to get my may Birchbox and because of some shipping complications they were having this month, I got it a little later than usual. I finally got it though and had a chance to test all of the products and snap some pictures.

I'm sure most of you have heard of Birchbox or other sampling brands (like Ipsy, Glossybox, etc) and if not, simply they are a monthly (though you can gift 3, 6, or 12 month subscriptions to yourself or others) subscription box that gives you 3-7 samples of beauty and lifestyle products for only $10! Birchbox is amazing because they have a points system, which you receive points for every $1 spent on their website and 10 points for every product that came in that month's box you review. 100 points is equal to $10 to spend in the Birchbox shop! Plus, they have a womens AND mens box!

They sample both drugstore and higher end brand products and the samples vary in size. You fill out a profile which says what kind of skin and hair you have, if you prefer make up, hair or fragrance samples and anything else to try to personalize your box. They're are usually 40+ different box combinations and though they may not always match your needs exactly, its fun to play with things you may not have considered before!

This month Birchbox teamed up with Kate Spade Saturday and you had the option to "add on" a Kate Spade mirrored necklace to your box for an extra $20. They also sent everybody a one time $15 off of a $75 purchase in the Kate Spade Saturday store!

This month I got a 5 item box which equals 50 points from reviews! I am really happy with this box because I LOVE Beauty Protector products and I got a make up sample (looks to be close to full sized too!). The Beauty Protector smelled like their classic scent, which is absolutely AMAZING. I can't even describe what it smells like... just awesome. The shampoo was a tad more fragrant than the conditioner though. As for how they worked in my hair, meh. Don't get me wrong, they made my hair clean and smelled good and everything but they didn't give me the silky smoothness I was expecting. I was a bit disappointed because these were NOTHING like the Beauty Protector Protect and Detangle (so amazing! its a leave in conditioner plus a heat protectant and leaves your hair soft and gorgeous and smelling AMAZINGGG). Over all I wouldn't purchase the shampoo and conditioner but would (and plan to) invest in the detangler.

The Cotz Natural Skin tone SPF surprised me. I am not a fan of sun blocks and especially "fancy" ones. This one came out of the tube a dark brown and I did not think it was going to match my skin. When I rubbed it in it completely blended to match my skin and evened my skin and made it SO silky soft! It's not something I'd wear every day (since its SPF 40), but I would absolutely wear it to a beach or park wear I don't want to really wear make up but still want to look good.

I was excited about the PIXI as well, though I am not a fan of the color. I am not sure I really like coral's on me that are this bright but it's not horrible. It smells super pleasant and is sooo silky on my lips. It has really good lasting power, too! I love this product just wish it was a different color!

I am so happy that I got a lifestyle product this month! I LOVE candles even though I rarely buy them and this one is SO fragrant, I could smell it before I even opened the box. The First Blush scent is described as "fresh poppies over white musk" and its AMAZING. Unfortunately, as fragrant as the candle is by itself, when I lit it, I could barely smell it.















*****If you're interested in joining Birchbox, the link is in my sidebar! Also, I am not receiving any incentives for my review. It is my 100% honest opinion.

FOTD- 5/3/2014

I didn't think I would be doing this, but I may start posting random looks I do? No tutorials or anything (because let's be real, I have no idea what I'm doing), but just fun looks I decided to try!

To commemorate spring and this amazing weather we've been having, today's look features a little pop of color!

Face: Physician's Formula BB Cream, Maybelline FitMe powder.

Eyes: NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk, Lorac Pro Palette (Lt. Bronze and Sable), BH Cosmetics 150 Eye Shadow Palette (a blue shade, not sure the exact palette or the color), e.l.f's brightening eyeliner in black and Benefits They're Real mascara.

Brows: e.l.f eyebrow duo in Medium


Just a simple, quick look with browns and blue. Also, please excuse my crazy brows, they're over due for a grooming and I lost my tweezers for a bit lol.

e.l.f Haul

Hi Guys!

A little while ago I had a little e.l.f shopping spree that I was really excited about because of a promo they had going on at the time. I took picture of the things I received but didn't have a blog or anything created yet to share, so I decided to do it now!

So if you're not familiar with the brand e.l.f (stands for eyes lips face), it is a extremely inexpensive make up brand that sells everything from make up, make up brushes/tools, and now they even have a subscription plan! In their own words,

 "e.l.f. cosmetics is the premier retail source for all your makeup and beauty needs. Our products offer affordable and high quality design to enhance your natural radiance. We offer an entire line of luscious lip glosses, with various shades and styles to choose from, as well as intensive hydrating lipstick for long-lasting color and shine. Our natural mineral makeup will help you on your way to healthier glowing skin, without parabens, preservatives or chemical dyes".

So the promo they had going on which motivated me to purchase some more products was if you bought $20 worth of product, you would receive a free bundle worth $25 of popular product. This is the perfect kind of deal for me because not only can I stock up on essentials, but I can try the "popular" items that maybe I normally wouldn't have bought.

The items I purchased were:

Moisturizing Foundation Stick: $6
Clear Lash and Brow Mascara: $1
Concealer Brush: $3
Pressed Mineral Blush in Cabo Cabana: $5
Eye Refresh: $3
Cream Eyeliner in Metallic Olive: $3
total: $21.00

Items in free bundle:
32-Piece Geometric Eye shadow Palette 2nd edition: regularly $12 (on sale for $6 right now)
Make up Mist & Set: $3
Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Summer Nights: $2
Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss: $1
Brightening Eye Liner Pencil in Black: $1
Nail Polish in Lilac: $2
Mineral Blush in Peach (I think): $5
Blush Brush: $3
total: $30!!!

Overall it was a pretty awesome purchase! I'm glad I got to try out some products I wouldn't have normally tried. Some were a hit, some a miss, and some were "eh".



Hit list (not how it sounds... lol!):
Concealer brush, pressed mineral blush,  make up mist & set, Jumbo lip gloss stick, Brightening eye liner pencil, and the blush brush.

The brushes surprised me and were better quality than expected. I think it's because they were from the studio collection, because the one I got before from the essential collection was awful quality. The brightening eyeliner pencil doesn't seem like anything special, but it lasts a pretty long amount of time and applied easily. The pressed mineral blush is a really pretty pink with gold flecks, which reminds me of CARGO water resistant blush in Los Cabos and NARS' Orgasm. It was also really blend-able and the color pay off was nice, too.

The make up mist & set was a product I had already tried and loved, so I was happy to receive it in the surprise bundle. Its great for spraying after make up application to set it (obviously) and to help any cakiness. The jumbo lip gloss is also a pretty pink/peach with gold flecks. It applies so smoothly and is super pigmented. It does have a little too many sparkles in it for my taste, but not enough to keep me from wearing it and it wasn't sticky at all!

"eh" products:

Products I don't necessarily hate, but one's that didn't impress me that much either. The first is the cream eye liner in metallic olive. It is a really pretty color and the formula is very creamy but it wipes off way too easily and the brush that came with it didn't apply well.

Another on the "eh" list is the Eye Refresh. It is supposed to "brighten and refresh the eye area to help alleviate under eye puffiness and dark circles". Well, to me it feels like a light gel you roll under your eye and then dries. I don't have a lot of trouble with puffiness or dark circles, but I figured it could help with brightening. It didn't exactly seem to work, but from the reviews people said that putting it in the refrigerator helps a lot. but who wants to do that? Not me. I'd forget about it most of the time lol. The mineral blush (loose powder) is okay, but the color I got doesn't give off a whole lot of color payoff. I could barely see it on my skin, and I'm pretty pale. The eye shadow palette feels the same. The color payoff is just not there and they just don't blend all that great. The darker and more colorful colors showed up nicely, its just the lighter colors that don't do much.

The lash and brow mascara are another product that just doesn't do much for me. For the lash part, it says to apply OVER mascara and that did absolutely nothing and neither did applying under it. If anything it made it harder to apply the actual mascara. For the brow part, it was okay but it kind of felt hard,though it did keep my brows in place. Definitely not my favorite brow gel. Lastly, the nail polish. I love purple but I'm not totally a fan of this purple. It applied super streaky and it chipped within hours of applying it even with a good top coat.

My hate list:
The foundation stick was pretty bad. It was an unnatural color and didn't blend well into my skin. It melted into my creases and seemed to enhance my larger pores instead of masking them. Not a fan AT ALL. The other product I hate is the Super Glossy Lip Shine. It was so sticky that I had to immediately wipe it off. The color was okay and it smelled nice, so that is pretty much it's only saving grace.

So out of all the products I got, I'm happy with most of them! Plus most of them were free so I am absolutely not upset with some of the "miss'" that came.

(in this pic I used all of elf's products. The foundation stick, eye shadow, blush, and jumbo lipgloss stick. Eye brows were also from the elf eyebrow kit which I actually like better than Benefit's Brow Zings)