January 2014 Birchbox Opening!

So, I have been really bad at posting things since school started up again, but I got my first Birchbox in the mail and had to share what I got! I have been on the fence for quite some time about joining. I thought they sent out a lot of foils, and I wasn't really into that. After creeping on the MUT thread for awhile I realized I was wrong, but still never pulled the subscribe trigger. what finally intrigued me was the points system. There was a conversation about it on the ipsy thread and I found a promo that gave me 100 points just for signing up. I could not resist that and I finally took the bullet. I am so glad I did! I love my first box!

Now I took some pictures of what I got, and I have been unable to try anything else so this is such an unboxing/ first impression post. I did not take a picture of the pretty packaging. I was too excited to wait so I just ripped right through it. Patience was never a virtue of mine. I was very impressed in the care of packaging though. The tissue paper was a cute touch and everything was packaged so nice and not a mess. I like that they put the smaller things into the little envelope. 

MY BOX!

I am very pleased with everything in this box! I was worried at first, because there is an insane amount of variations. I was worried, but I lucked out!

I was so hoping I would get to try out the Nail Rock. Luckily, I received it! I was very thankful not to get a pinky color. I love darker nail polishes and blue is so pretty! I have a feeling I am going to make a huge mess with this, but I make a huge mess out of everything, You all should see my life! HA!

ITS SO PRETTY!!! I tend to stay away from glitter polish because its so hard to take off, so I am wondering how difficult it will be to take off actual glitter, but I am very excited to try this! I LOVE GLITTER!!!!!!! One of my tattoos actually stands for "Looking for treasures in the things that you threw, like a magpie I live for glitter, not you" So for me to receive a glitter topcoat is perfection.

I was super excited about the INIKA Mineral eyeshadow. I was looking at all the colors online and thought Eternal Marine was the prettiest color, and guess what color I got? ETERNAL MARINE!! Lucked out again! It is so pretty! 

I thought this color would be more blue, but to me it looks like a storm cloud over the ocean. It is so pretty! It is right up my alley of colors. I can see myself using this very often. I love the size of the sample too! There is no way I could use a full size, but this will give me plenty of use without feeling overwhelmed with product. 

See, doesn't it look like a strom cloud?? So pretty! This was just one swipe with my finger with no primer! It's so pigmented!

My next two products were Fekkai Brillant Glossing Shampoo & Conditioner.

Normally, I wouldn't be so excited over shampoo and conditioner, but this time I am. I have been on the lookout for a new shampoo and this smells SO GOOD! I have been feeling so blehh over my hair lately, I hope this makes it look better. I am currently growing out a pixie and it's almost to a bob length, but not quite. I'm struggling with styling it until it grows out though. Maybe some shine will make me feel better about it.

My lifestyle extra is a Reviver Dry Deodorant Wipe.

I am rather intrigued by this. It is suppose to eliminate odors on clothing and hair. I am one of those people who are always self conscious about smelling. No one has ever told me I smelled, but I take insane precautions not to. I am a perfume hoarder! haha so this will come in handy! It is going in my purse right now!

I am so very glad I signed up for Birchbox! I am looking forward to the Us Weekly collab box coming up in February! If you would like to sign up, I would really appreciate it if you used my code: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/qp6v4

I hope you all have a great Friday and weekend! Much Love, Randi

Sunday Club!

Bye bye neutrals! Welcome back darks!!! Oh, how I have missed them! I start school back this week (Unless it's cancelled due to snowpocolypse!) so I wanted to go back to looks that I am used to and can do fairly quickly, and surprisingly dark colors is what I work best with. It took me forever to do a natural look last week. My picks this week are...

• Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Ammo Palette, Mally Toasty and Goldshine Trio, Urban Decay Ecstasy, & MAC Togetherness

Can we just fangirl over Mildew in the ammo palette. I LOVE THIS COLOR! I will try and incorporate it into ever look I do this week. I use the mirrror in the Mally palette everyday but I have yet to actually use the colors! They are so insanely pigmented that I figured I need to at least give them a try.

• Mascara: Benefit BadGal Lash

I am back to this mascara. It is definitely my HG now. I never had a HG until now. The Urban Decay mascara held a curl wonderfully for me, but I just prefer this one

• Blush: Be a Bombshell Sweet Cheeks

My first ever blush and one of my all time favorites!

• Primer: Urban Decay Mattifying Gel, Revlon Eye Primer, and Pixi Poreless and Flawless

This is my final week with the Revlon primer, used up or not it's going to get tossed. I want to use my NYX milk pencil and I have already had it for awhile

• Eyeliner: Urban Decay Zero and Corrupt, Starlooks Amethyst, and Wet N Wild Silver Blue

My Urban Decay ones are down to the nubs and it makes me so sad!!! But I use an eyeliner brush to make them last. The Wet N Wild pencil might also get tossed.

• Lips: Revlon Peach Parfait, Hard Candy Lip Stain, Sonia Kashuk Matte Lip Crayon in Pinky Nude with Buxom Dolly

Peach Parfait is also getting tossed at the end of the week. I have had this for over a year and it is almost finished. It is time to part ways.

• Perfume: Princess by Vera Wang

This used to be my favorite perfume and it is almost finished.

• Same as last week: CG Lip Smoochies, Brow Envy, Pixi Bronzer, CG Powder, Sonia Kashuk Concealer

I hope you all have a great Sunday and a great week! Much love, Randi

Review! Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Masque

As promised I said I would have a review for the Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Masque today, and I do!

I received this product for free from PINCHme, a website where you get to try sample products for free, I am not paid for my opinion and all opinions are my own! 

This masque came in a brochure like envelope with some information about the company and some testimonials. The first thing I noticed when I looked at this was the statement on the back:

"We're vegetarian and animals are our friends- that's why we don't bash bunnies or add bits of animals!"

I have been a vegetarian for 3 years and cruelty free products are a major plus in my book. I must admit that I am not sure if all my cosmetics or beauty products are cruelty free. I have not been buying much makeup, but if I do I have been keeping an eye out if it is cruelty free or not.

 

This products says it is

"Loaded with strawberry goodness which leaves skin hydrated &refreshed . Allow your skin to breath with soothing Aloe Vera & Calming Vanilla for purified, toned, smoother skin. Cleanse with this treat weekly"

Let me tell you what, this product definitely smells like a Strawberry Smoothie. I was a little nervous at first to use this because Strawberry is not a favorite scent of mine but I want to lick my face! It smells delicious! There was a warning though that says "looks and smells delicious but please DON'T EAT" So unfortunately I cannot eat it, but I am going to go out and get some strawberry yogurt later! It even looks like yogurt...

This product is very easy to use. All you have to do is cleanse your face and apply the masque all over and then you have 15-20 minutes to relax and try not to eat your face hehe. 

For science I am going to share this pic....FOR SCIENCE!!

  I tried not to get it in my eyebrows, but I failed. LOL 

I love the feeling of this masque, it is very relaxing. I'm not typically a stressed out person, but this is a nice little pick me up for when I'm feeling a little down. I feel like I am at a spa! It has a little bit of a tightening feel to it, which I weirdly like. Now time to wash off!

This left my skin feeling very soft and refreshed. It was fairly easy to wash off. It was starting to get a little cake-y so that made it a little bit harder to wash off, but a few swipes with the wash cloth got it all off. The only problem was that some of the little exfoliator seeds did not want to come off. Also, if you have a nose ring like myself I would suggest not putting the product any where near it. It was difficult to get it off the ring. My skin type is normal and I do not have acne or oily skin so I could not tell you how well it would work with those skin types, but it worked really well for me. I prefer their paper masques more though. It is less messier, but this product provides a different spa like feeling.

Would I repurchase this product: Oh, Definitely! I definitely will!

I hope you all have a great Saturday! Much Love, Randi

 

 

Birchbox!

Just wanted to write a quick little post saying that I just signed up for Birchbox! I am so excited to add another subscription box to my life! I'm not going to get anymore. 2 is plenty for me. I only signed up for the point system though. The samples will just be an awesome bonus! I cannot wait to get my first box and start reviewing it!

Friday Favorite/ Review

It looks like that time of the week again! I didn't really try out any new products this week so I don't have a new new favorite but I still have 2 favorites that I really loved this week. One is a beauty product the other is not. So without further delay I will get right into and say my first favorite of the week was something I received in the mail this week and already fangirled over and it is...

MIKA Songbook Vol. 1!

This CD is really the bee's knees. The cat's moew, or whatever saying that has a positive connotation. I could listen to that man's voice for an eternity and be just as happy the 100 millionth time hearing it than I was the 1st time. The duet he sings with Chiara is amazing. Stardust was perfect when only he sang it, but I love that he turned it into a duet! It's so pretty! It is definitely worth a check out on YouTube *wink wink* 

MOVING ON!

My next favorite of the week was...

Dior Rose Collection Palette!

Before I talk about this I would just like to state that this was a birthday present to me from my parents. This was not provided by Dior and all opinions are my own!

This was a part of the Sunday Club for me, because I just do not show it love. I have regretted waiting this long to use it though. It just screamed boring to me because the colors are very light compared to the black and some more black that I am used to. However, I was feeling like doing a more natural look this week (I cheated though! But shh) and this palette helped me create that! Can we just talk about the packaging for a second though

 

How cute is this palette!?!!?! It even has a Dior charm on the top. I am a packaging girl. If it has boring packaging I won't want it This is probably by far the cutest palette I have in my collection.

Ok, now to the inside! 

So as you can see the contents are 4 eyeshadows, 2 Double ended brushes, and  4 lip products with a fairly large mirror. Bonus: You get to a sneak peek of me!

Also, can you notice the pattern in the eyeshadow! It has the same quilted pattern as the case! When I first got this palette I didn't want to use it because I didn't want to ruin the pattern! The taupe color is the only one I have used enough to ruin it though.

SWATCHES!

 

 

Ok, I will be the first to admit that these swatches don't look the best. However, I am very light handed with my swatches. This was a one light sweep with my finger over the product and then on my hand. I did not use any primer. These colors would definitely pop more if you used a good white base such as a NYX Milk pencil. These colors are very pigmented on their own though. The colors from left are a shimmer white, a light nude pink, a taupe, and a dark brown. The palette has no names listed.

These are the lip swatches. From the left it is a Dior Addict High Color in a light pink, the middle two are Dior Addict High Gloss in a shimmery pink and red/pink and the end is a lip balm in a mauve color. Again, there were no color names. I really like the lip products. The shimmer pink is a gorgeous color on it's own, but I like adding it on top of a lipstick to make it shimmery. I went and bought a separate Dior Lip Gloss after I received this. 

I have not used the  brushes that came with it. I prefer to use my MAC brushes. However, I think they would be quite handy to use when I travel. They are very sturdy brushes. 

My favorite look with this palette is very simple. I use the white has a brow highlighter, I put the pink from my crease up to my brow. The light taupe is applied all over my lids, and I use a blending brush to lightly dust the dark brown into my crease. The balm is my favorite thing to use. It adds a very nice natural color to my lips. I did this look for 4 days of the week. One day I didn't wear any makeup and the day I cheated I wore loads of black. I missed my black! Hehe

Would I repurchase this product? Yes, but unfortunately I can't. It was a Limited Edition palette. I could get it off eBay but I am a little weary about buying cosmetics from there. I am not too worried about hitting pan anytime soon though. The colors are very pigmented and I know will last me for quite some time and it's not like I don't have any other palettes to use. 

I hope you all have a great Friday! Much love, Randi

 

FIRST EMPTY OF THE YEAR!

I am so excited to announce that I finally used up my first product of 2014. This may not be exciting to some, but for me it is. I have an obscene amount of makeup and skincare that it seems almost impossible for me to get through. It's a small start but I have finally finished a full size bottle of Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple lotion! 

It takes me FOREVER to get through lotions. I have this bad habit of forgetting to use body lotion. I never forget my face lotion though so I'm not a complete giddy goat. I have been forcing myself to remember and it has been working! I finally got through it. Now I only have 4 other Winter Candy Apples (Clearly, my favorite scent) plus a bunch more different lotions to get through. but it is a start! I have already replaced another Winter Candy Apple lotion into my night time basket and I hope to have this one finished in at least 2 months. I'm going to give myself a long time to get through that one. Plus I keep another full size in my purse to use up.

Now I stated yesterday I would have a review on the Strawberry Souffle Masque I got from PINCHme, but I was a complete giddy goat and forgot about it! I was running so far behind yesterday. I finally have a weekend off so Saturday for sure I will have that review! 

Another side note: I am going to have my dad help me design this blog better. I am excited to make this blog the best it can be. I want to add on a fashion and fitness section and he is going to help me make everything organized. He is computer literate while I on the other hand am not. So hopefully that happens soon.

I hope you all have a great Thursday! Much love, Randi

MAIL CALL!

I normally do not post on Wednesday but I had a pretty good mail day today so I figured I would share with you all that I got. My first piece of mail is not makeup or beauty related, but it made me so excited. I have been waiting for this to arrive for quite some time. What is it? I shall tell you. It is...

MIKA Songbook Vol. 1!

  

Now, I know I may be too old to be a fangirl, but I really do not care haha I love this man. I am utterly obsessed. I won't get to far into detail how much I love this man because I could literally go on and on about my experiences with him. I will just say that the first time I met him he autographed my arm and I went at midnight to get it tattooed. The second time I met him he wrote lyrics on my arm and again I was at a tattoo place at midnight getting it tattooed. I really love Chicago for that reason. You can always find a tattoo place open. I have 5 tattoos that are either written by him, his album art, or pictorial representations of his lyrics. I am that obsessed. Anyways, this was a very late Christmas present from my father. It was literally the only thing I wanted. I asked for nothing else. It is his greatest hits CD with a few new songs added that haven't been on any CD before. If you have never heard of him I highly suggest that you do and this CD would be a great start. It is quite an array of some of his bests songs mixed with some newer ones. Now I understand that $33 is a pretty hefty price tag for a CD with 15 songs on it but it is worth every penny and more!

http://www.amazon.com/Song-Book-1-Mika/dp/B00FW9HWPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390417733&sr=8-1&keywords=MIKA+Songbook

Seriously, You will not regret this purchase!

  Ok, moving on before I babble on and on, my next mail was my ipsy replacement. I mentioned before how my Faith Aromatherapy Sugar Scrub leaked all over my bag and they were sending me a replacement. However, due to the cold weather this scrub also leaked. So that is a bummer. I'm not going to make a fuss over it though. ipsy's customer service is very nice, but I do not think it is worth an email about it a second time. Please do not take that as a negative against ipsy. It is in no way their fault. 

  The next package I recieved was my PINCHme box! It finally came in the mail!! For those of you who do not know what PINCHme is. It is a website that provides you with free samples to review. You can get up to three free samples every other Tuesday at noon. The only downside is they GO FAST! You basically need to be on at noon because they "sell" out insanely fast! I completely forgot about it this week so unfortunately I won't have another box to review for a few weeks. BUMMER! But I can at least provide a review today and hopefully tomorrow! So I received a...

A travel size Suave Advanced Therapy lotion and a Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle masque. 

   I was very happy that I got these samples in time. I am a lotion fiend. As you can tell from my earlier post that I have tattoos. I have 9 in total, 8 covering my left arm and 1 lonely one on my right so keeping my skin moisturized is very important in taking good care of them. I have A LOT of money into them and would like to keep them looking as nice as possible for as long as possible and lotion is the first step.Also,  I have tried a few masques before, but I have only tried paper masques so I am quite excited to try this one out. I am always a little weary about putting stuff on my face, but I have tried this brand before so I am not too worried. I will try it on tonight, so I won't be able to review it until tomorrow for you all. I will do a first impression review on the lotion though.

FIRST IMPRESSION REVIEW!

 

This insanely cold weather has not been a great friend to my skin. Especially my tattoos. They do not like cold weather at all. I keep in mind different aspects when reviewing a product, but when it comes to lotions one of the most important aspects for me is how well they react with my tattoos. As I stated before my arm is heavily tattooed and it is important to keep them looking and feeling nice. If they do well on my tattoos then I have no doubt how well it will work on my skin that isn't. I did a patch test on my newest tattoo, A Sherlock portrait, and I have to say for a first impression I am really impressed. It is not greasy at all, which is a major plus. I really dislike greasy lotions. If that is what you are looking for then this product isn't for you. It left my skin feeling very soft and it brightened up my tattoo as well. So I am pleased with that. It smells REALLY good too. It has the typical lotion smell, but I quite enjoy it. It smells good on my arm as well, but it is mixing in with my Winter Candy Apple body wash so I can't give a serious review on the smell quite yet. 

This product is supposed to help with severely dry skin, so tonight I will do a patch test on really dry skin and update you all with a better review, but for a first impression this is a product I would repurchase. It is really cheap too so that is a major plus!

I hope you all have a great day! with much love, Randi

FOTD

  So I do not have any photos. My photographer friend will be with me next week so get ready for photos and plenty of reviews!! I will at least tell you what I painted my face with today. If anything you can see what order I like to put my makeup on. Prepare for a long-winded post. *In Wayne Campbell Voice* I am feeling very saucy talkative today, my good man.
  I always start with my brows. I use a Mary Kay double ended brow brush. I use the hard brush to get all my eyebrows to lay down. If you have read any of my other posts you probably know by now that I am obsessed with the 90's and I have the grunge eyebrows going on. They are insane and need major gel or wax to get them to calm down. But before the setting wax I go over them with Too Faced Brow Envy brunette powder to fill them in. I also use Cover Girl's Midnight Brown brow pencil to make my arch a little more noticeable. I take a really long time on my brows, I am kind of obsessed with eyebrows. Is that weird? Even with guys that is something I notice. I am attracted to someone with nice eyebrows. It is what it is.
  So yea, moving on. I prime everything first. I use Revlon Eye Primer on my lids and I use Cover Girl's Lip Smoochies in #Luv U on my lips...obviously. I like it to set in and do all it's priming goodness.
  Now the fun part. The eye look. Prepare yourselves for this look...Actually it's really simple. No need to prepare for anything. It will most likely be a let down if you do. So I started this look by using my finger to apply Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk all over my lid up to the crease. This color makes me feel like the bad ass that I am. I then use Sassy from TheBalm NudeTude Palette to highlight my brows with an Eco Tools Highlight brush. I typically would use the white in whatever palette I am using that week, but I am determined to hit pan on that sucker! After I put that palette away I grabbed for my Dior Rose Collection Palette. For a $59 palette you would think that I use that every day and use the crap out of it. Nope. I think this is the 3rd time I used it. That is why I am determined to use it all week. (I don't do neutral looks, that is the only reason it barely gets touched.) I take a Eco Tools crease brush and apply the pink and apply it from my crease to my brow with it. Woah! Next I take a MAC 239 Brush and tap the taupe color onto the Color Tattoo base. This creates a very toned down look but is still dark enough for me to rock. I like the taupe color on it's own, but I need to look like I basically got punched in the eye. No lie. Moving on! I use a MAC 217 brush to apply the dark brown color into my crease. I add on to the look by adding Urban Decay eyeliner in Uzi on my lower lash line and Empire on my upper. I tap more of the taupe color over the purple eyeliner to make it less harsh. To finish the eyes I smash my eyelashes into a clamp to curl them and take Urban Decay Supercurl Mascara and coat my lashes with them. OH YEA! 
  Well, the exciting part is over. The rest is kind of boring for me. it is simple. However, if you read all of that and continue reading then I hope that the universe treats you nicely and you find a $20 bill.
  I conceal under my eyes to brighten them up a bit. I take an Eco- Tools concealer brush and Sonia Kashuk concealer and blend that right below my eyes. I continue my makeup routine by grabbing my favorite brush, A MAC 168 Brush, holy soft goodness, and dabbing it in some Pixi Bronzer in Summertime and I go to town contouring my face. Some bronzer here and some bronzer there. That's what I am talking about! Actually, I am pale as a ghost so I am insanely light handed with my bronzer. I'm not about to go looking like Lindsay Lohan in court. Not my style. I take a Eco-Tools Blush brush dab it in some Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural and use it right above where I contoured on my cheeks. I apply a little bit of TheBalm Mary-Loumanizer on my cheek bone and on the bridge of my nose. I finish it off by using a big ass ELF face brush and applying Cover Girl powder all over to blend it all together See totally not exciting was it?
 For my lips I used one of the colors from the Dior palette using a MAC 316 lip brush and topped it off with Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait.
  And because I have no life, sometimes I like to add up the cost of my face that day. If I wanted to go out and purchase all this stuff at one time to recreate this look how much would it cost? With the brushes the total was $430. EEKS! This makes me stick to my no-buy! I also realize that these purchases were all made over a long period of time and will last me forever, but it still puts into perspective how much I spend on makeup. This isn't even close to all that I have. Anyways, I hope you all have a great day!

Sunday Club

Is it already that time of the week?? Dang. I was really enjoying the BalmJovi palette, but it is time for a change. I have always been the one to accept change with no problem. I welcome it. I can never keep with the same thing for very long. My friends like to joke around that in every Facebook photo of mine I have a different hair color and style. I get bored really easily what can I say? Haha So I will get right into it this week. My choices are *Drum roll please*

• Eyeshadow: Dior Rose Palette, Sassy from TheBalm

I have been feeling like doing a stark contrast from my normal everyday look (Black, black and some more black) and I want to do a very natural look. I said I like change, didn't I? hehe I have had that Dior palette for awhile and i just never show it enough love, because it is a very natural palette. It is a gorgeous palette though. I mean it is the cutest! From the packaging to the colors, it is stunning. I am also so determined to hit pan on Sassy even though it is my favorite brow highlighter.

• Eyeliner: Urban Decay Uzi and Empire

So sad. These are at their end. I am excited to finally use up a product, but I am so sad to see this go. I will have to wait until April to pick up another Uzi. I LOVE that eyeliner. LOVE LOVE LOVE

• Mascara: Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara

This was a sample a lovely lady sent me along with BadGal Lash. BadGal has become my holy grail so this mascara has some major shoes to fill. I have really long eyelashes, super long, but they refuse to curl! So I am hoping this actually can curl them. We shall see!

• Blush: Physician's Formula Happy Booster in Natural

I really like this blush. It adds a very subtle natural flush.

• Bronzer: Pixi in Sumertime

I am determined to his pan on this now that I know this is not a very deep pan on the sample. I will definitely buy the full size of this after I am finished my other bronzer samples.

• Lips: MAC Cherry, MAC Russian Red, and Marc Jacobs Lip Vinyl in Overprotected

I haven't rocked a red lip in awhile so this week with the natural eye look I figured it was time to bring out the red The Marc Jacobs is for when I want a full on natural look. 

• Nails: MAC Vintage Vamp

This is my HG nail polish. If I was only allowed one nail polish to use for the rest of mu life it would be this one. I am hoping this travel size one lasts me until April until I can buy a full size.

• Perfume:  Bellissma by Blumarine

I have so many full size perfumes that there is no way I am going to get through all of them, but this is one of my favorites. I actually use it as a closet air freshener and since my clothes already smell like this I might as well too.

• Hair: Rusk Being Sexy Cream

I am one of those girls that puts no effort into their hair. I blow dry it, brush it out, ruffle it, and go. My hair kind of does it's own thing and I like that. However, I want to get more control over my messy look. Think Winona Ryder in the 90's. I have such a girl crush on her. My hair is already like hers, but I want more of a controlled messy look so that is my challenge this week.

My brow, concealer, powder, and primers are all the same as last week. I hope you all have a great Sunday!  What are your choices this week?

Friday Favorite

It's Friday!!! Time to go out on the town and PARTY! Actually no, it's time for my Friday favorites!  This week was hard to choose just one. I had so many new products to try out thanks to ipsy. However, my favorite was not from ipsy. It was from Walmart.  My favorite is *drumroll please*...

Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm in #luv u

I typically over look the Covergirl section. I do not know why, but it just holds no appeal to me. However, when I laid my eyes upon these I knew I had to have one...because of the packaging. They look so 90's to me and I am utterly obsessed with all things 90's! I am a 90's baby so of course I would be. I looked at them for weeks just drooling over them but not buying them because of my no-buy. I finally caved and gave in. I NEEDED it. I figured I had nothing like that (I don't, I really don't) so I bought it. 

This balm is like your lips but a bagillion times better. It is a very sheer berry pink that is absolutely stunning.

*This is where I would insert pictures* 

It makes my lips feel so soft and moisturized. It lasts for quite awhile which is surprising to me. I have the hardest time getting colors and balms to stay on my lips without having to apply them every 30 minutes. But this has a very good lasting power. It also has a great smell. I love the smell. I do not know if that is important to many people but to me it is nice. It is under your nose so hopefully it smells good, and this product does. I can't explain the scent but I LOVE IT! Ok enough about smells. (I am obsessed with things that smell good) 

This is one of the products that if it were to be discontinued I would scour the entire planet and stock up as much as I could. That is how much I love this product. I would highly recommend for everyone to go buy this. I am definitely going to purchase the other colors. 

I hope you all have a great week and if you want to see swatches then do not worry! I recruited my friend who is very excited to take photos for me! We start school on the 27th so that is when pictures will start. :D

January 2014 Ipsy

IT CAME! IT CAME! IT CAME! My January ipsy bag is here! I'm just a little bit excited as you can tell. This is my 12th bag and I am still in love with this subscription. I am on a very very low buy, practically no-buy (Don't weep for me...ok maybe a little. It's hard!) and ipsy is the only makeup related thing I am allowed to splurge on.

This month bag was some what exciting for me. I have had better, but I have had worse. There are two products that are my absolute favorite. The contents of my bag this month were:

• Mica Beauty tinted lip balm in Natural...LOVE!
• Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Eye Pencil in Penny.....OMG LOVE!
• Faith Aromatherapy Tahitian Monoi Sugar Scrub
• Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner
• Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Cream Face Lotion

REVIEW TIME!

This is a first impression review. I will do a further review later on because sometimes I hate a product at first and then fall in love with it once I use it more often or vice versa. I may love a product at first and then hate it after awhile. 
Now I had pictures I promise you, but my phone wants to be difficult and not email them to me. I am one of few people my age who is technology challenged. So please forgive me. I will try and edit them in later.

I have only tried three of the products. I have yet to use the leave in conditioner and the sugar scrub. My sugar scrub leaked all over the bag, so ipsy is sending me a new one. That is the only problem I have ever had with my bag. I emailed them and they responded very quickly and told me a replacement was on it's way. Their CS was very nice. 
 The Mica Beauty tinted lip balm in Natural is by far my favorite product of the bag! It is a very pretty brownish pink kinda mauve color on me
*This is where I would have inserted a swatch for you*
It is very pretty on the lips. However, it is a tad bit drying. I don't find this to be a problem because I use it on top of a clear lip balm. The color is very pretty on it's own, but I like to put a lipstick on top of it. Today I wore M.A.C. Twig on top of it and I loved the way it looked together. It complimented my grunge look very nicely. I am a huge Mica Beauty fan thanks to ipsy and would really like to try more of their products. The quality is amazing.
The Elizabeth Mott Shadow Pencil was my second favorite thing. I was so hoping to get the Penny shade and that is the shade I got! Thank you Universe! This shade...ugh...it is so gorgeous! I mean "ugh" in a good way BTW. I used it yesterday all over my eyes and then today I used it to go over my black eyeliner. Both looks were very pretty. It adds a very nice bronzy touch to black eye liner. It makes it a little less harsh. I like to do "emo" liner. I cannot help myself. lol
The next product I tried was the Nourish Organic face lotion. I loved the way this felt on my skin. It is very lightweight and I hate heavy products on my face. That is one reason why I hate foundation and BB creams. I like having a fresh clean feeling face and it provided that. My only problem with this is the smell. It's not a terrible smell but it isn't pleasant either. It fades away quickly, but it does make me hesitant to repurchase it.
When I try my leave in conditioner and Sugar scrub I will write a review on that as well. I apologize for the lack of photos. I start school again at the end of the month and I am going to recruit my photographer friend to help me :)
I hope you all have a great day! and if you would like to sign up for ipsy as well please use my referral code. I would really appreciate it.
http://www.ipsy.com/r/4qgu

Boring FOTD

Unfortunately, I am not going to do a FOTD because I had an allergic reaction to a new face product I was trying. I woke up with these tiny little bumps on my face that are itchy and it seems to be only in the place I applied the product so I am assuming that certain product is what caused it.

I do not want to do a review on this product or give away the brand because it wasn't a bad product on their end. My skin is just sensitive so I should have been more aware. It was actually a product I do not need since I don't have the type of skin it is made for. However, I used a similar product to reduce shine and I was hoping this one would have done the same. Lesson learned. I need to learn that I do not need every product out there on my face. Not to sound egotistical but I was blessed with great skin. I have a clear complexion, no problem with oil, and I have never had a problem with acne. I have the occasional dry skin in the winter, but it is easily fixed. I also do not wear foundation or BB cream. So why I found the need to put this unnecessary product on my face is beyond me.

I am going to do an eye look for the day. That is something I rarely do without. I will just for go the blush, bronzer, and powder for the day.

I hope you all have a great day and hopefully by Thursday I will be able to review my Ipsy bag :)

Sunday Club

It's that time again! Time to switch makeup products and I am glad! I was getting quite bored doing neutral looks. I have plans with my best friend so I shall make this post as short and sweet as possible.

• Eyeshadow: Sassy from the NudeTude Palette and TheBalmJovi palette

I am only using sassy because I am determined to hit pan on it, and it makes an amazing brow highlighter. I would like to focus on the Heavy Metal side of Balm Jovi, but all the colors are so pretty especially the Alternative colors. Those are my favorite!

• Mascara: Benefit BadGal Lash

This is my first Benefit product and I am so excited to try this out! A lovely and very generous lady from MUT sent me this. I am so grateful to try this out!

• Primer: Korres Pomegranate Mattifyer. My eye and Face primer are the same as last week.

I am not sure if I will like the Korres primer. I don't have oily skin, but I have a little shine and my UD does so well at covering it, I hope this does the same.

• Lippies: MAC Twig, Revlon Peach Parfait, Em Michelle Phan Pillow Plush in Strawberry and CG Lip Smoochies in #LuvU

I hate CG products ,sorry, but those lip smoochies are AMAZING! also, I am so close to using up the Revlon, that will be my first ever lipstick that I managed to finish!

• Blush: Frat Boy from the BalmJovi Palette

I'm going to try and hit pan on this, it's already broke, much sadness, so I'm going to try and use it as much as possible

• Highlighter:  Mary Lou Manizer from the BalmJovi Palette

CHALLENGE ALERT!!!! I have never used a highlighter before so that is my challenge this week.

Everything else is staying the same as last week :) So Bronzer, Brows, Powder, Concealer are all the same.

I am also adding nail polish and perfume into the mi.

• Nailpolish:  Essie Orange, It's Obvious and Essie All Tied Up

I love orange and this is my newest one so I am excited to try it out.

Ok, so I have this obsession with designer perfume and the bottles. I have 30+ FULL size bottles and 20+ travel size with a few samples so I have a lot, and I tend to only stick to one or two. (There are some that I hate, but the bottle was too cute I had to get it) Anyways, instead of using my typical Love Fury Kiss by Nine West or Bright Crystal by Versace (My two favorites) I will be using...

• Perfume: Jimmy Choo

What are your picks for this week?

Friday Favorites

It is Friday and it is that time to tell you all what my favorites of the week. There are 2 this week.

And my first favorite is *Drum roll please*

SHERLOCK BBC NEW EPISODES!!!

AHHH! Now I know this is not makeup, but let me tell you how excited I am for Series 3! I am obsessed with Sherlock...I even have the 18800s version of him tattooed on my arm. I am just a tad obsessed :D hehe

OK OK enough with the fangirling. My makeup favorite of the week is...

MAC Rebel!

I finally got it to work! That was my challenge this week for the Sunday Club. I am super glad I started to give it a chance. It is an absolute gorgeous color! It is dark enough that the grunge in me is very very pleased  yet light enough that I can wear it in everyday out and about situations. It is a great color to go along with the gloomy dark weather. It lasted a long time on the lips too.

Going out in public with no makeup?

So today I went out in public with no makeup on! None. Ziltch. Zero. Not one product. Some of you are probably laughing. What's the big deal about that? Well, I never go out in public without makeup. I mean NEVER!! I won't let people see me without it ever. 

Then why did I go out without it? Well, My dad asked me to go to the store with him and I didn't have time to do my makeup. Normally I would decline, but this time I didn't. One of my New Year New Me goals were to become more confident. I've always had self-esteem problems and I have social anxiety which makes things very hard for me, but I have been putting a lot of effort into changing that. So I stuffed my fear into my back pocket and left the house. 

During the drive I was telling my dad how I didn't like going out with no makeup on. He said that he thinks I am prettier without it and that guys like it when girls wear less makeup*. This helped ease my fear. To my surprise no one at the store gasped at me, created a mob to chase after me, or pointed and said "OMG what is that"

*Side note: I didn't pay attention to that last part. I don't put makeup on for men, I put makeup on for me and because it is something I really enjoy doing. If a man loves me he will love me for me and all my makeup :) But I understand what he was saying

So after today, I have come to a conclusion. Self-love is one of the most important things and I realized that I am pretty with or without makeup. That I should not be afraid to go out in my natural self. God made me this way so I shall embrace it. I will continue to use makeup, because it is something I enjoy but I also know I can for go it for a day. 

How do you feel about going out in public with no makeup on? Leave some comments :)

FOTD

I know I said that I would do FOTD every Tuesday. I may have to postpone that idea until I can find a better camera than my phone. I unfortunately do not have good lighting or a good enough camera phone to capture each look the best that I can. However! I will share with you what I did.

This is my everyday look. I didn't do my grunge look today, because I am going to the movies with my best guy friend and I'd rather not waste a good makeup look on him. Men just do not understand makeup, so I don't do anything special for him.

Anyways, this is how I did my look today.

Step 1: I always start with my brows. All I do is fill them in with Too Faced Brow powder. Nothing special there.
Step 2: I prime my eyes and face. I used Revlon eye primer for my eye. For my face I use Pixi Poreless and Flawless and Urban Decay De-Slick gel. Agian, nothing special.
Step 3: EYES!!! This is the fun part. I used theBalm NUDE'tude palette. To highlight under my brows I used "Sassy" (white). I also used this in the corner of my eyes. I then took a medium shader brush and put "Selfish" "(A shimmer brown) all over my lids up to the crease. I used M.A.C. 219 pencil brush to add "Sophisticated" (A darker shimmer brown) to my crease. In the outer V I used "Sleek" (A matte dark brown" and blended that all together.
Step 4: Add a black eyeliner to the bottom lash line. I used one I got from Hot Topic, but any will do. I then used a eyeliner brush and used "Serious" (A matte black) and used that over the eyeliner and I then used it to line my top lash line.
Step 5: Add a generous coat of mascara to your lashes. I used Elizabeth Mott sample.
Step 6: Contour and powder. I used Pixi Summertime and Cover Girl loose powder. Nothing special.
Step 7: LIPS!! My 2nd favorite thing to do. I just used Stila Lip liner in Devoted. I covered my whole lips with this and that is all.

Sorry I do not have photos, I will try to get a new camera soon, or find a way to make my phone work. 

Sunday Club

   For awhile I have been on a no-buy. It's a real tragedy I know but I have somehow managed to survive....for now. To ease the pain of it all I have been taking part in The Monday Club on Makeup Talk. It has been helping to curve my  need want to buy makeup. I really do not need any more, but it is all so pretty!! 

   Everyone seems to have their own method of doing it and what seems to work best for me is each week I pick out a new product in each of the following categories:

• Eye Shadow:
• Blush:
• Bronzer:
• Lip Product(s):
• Powder: 
• Brows:
• Primer(s):
• Eye liner(s):
• Mascara:
• Concealer:

I know I am missing foundation from the list but that is the one product I do not wear. Also, some of these products do not change because I am either 1: Totally in love with them and cannot change it out quite yet or 2: I am trying to use them all up so I can get rid of it This process really helps me to show some love to products I normally overlook in my collection and gets me to try new things so I don't get stuck in a rut.

My picks for this week are:

• Eye Shadow: TheBalm Nude'Tude palette.

 This is one of the products that I most likely won't be switching out for awhile. I have a very large stash of eyeshadow and I have yet to hit pan on anything so my goal is to make this the palette I finally hit pan on. I am very close though *Squeals with excitment* I am going to be focusing this week on the colors: Sassy (this is the one I am close to hitting pan on!), Sultry, seductive, and sleek. I love to do edgy/alternative/grunge looks and this week I am focusing solely on the grunge aspect.

• Blush: None.

This week is a no blush week. I don't feel like flushed cheeks are a grungy ideal so I will for go that product. I want it to be a "Is she dead" kind of grunge look.

• Bronzer: Stila Contour Trio

I have had this in my collection forever and I just don't show it any love. So this week that will change and I will finally give it a shot. I love to contour so I am excited to try this.

• Lip Product(s): Maybelline Clear Lip liner, Stila Lip Liner in Devoted, Revlon Lipstick in Black Cherry, and M.A.C. Rebel. 

I am a lip junkie and let me tell you a lil somethin something, I cannot rave about Revlon Black Cherry enough. This lipstick is my absolute favorite color. It's perfect in every way!! It creates a pretty awesome grunge look! I love my M.A.C lipsticks like the next girl, but I have troubles with Rebel. It is an absolute gorgeous color but for some reason I cannot get it to apply like I want it. So that is my goal this week. To make it work!

• Powder: CG Loose Powder in Fair.

This is a product I want used up and gone. I am just not a Cover Girl fan. Sorry. My HG powder is Chanel and I want to use this up before I start using my Chanel again. It's not that there is anything wrong with this powder, I actually like it. I just like my Chanel one way more. I like it enough to pay the massive price difference.

• Brows: Too Faced Brow Envy and CG Eye Pencil in Midnight Brown

The Brow Envy is my HG of brow powders. Normally I just use that and that is it but I feel like I need bolder eyebrows this week so I am adding in the pencil. I also need to force myself to use the setting wax in the Brow Envy kit because I feel ridiculous paying $35 for just the powder...oops. But I will continue to buy it once I run out....which doesn't seem like it's going to happen. I have been using it every day for months and not a dent in it! Amazing!

• Primer(s): Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Gel, Revlon eye Primer and Pixi Flawless and Poreless

I do not have oily skin but boy, Oh boy! do I love that mattifying gel! Its amazing! The tube has lasted me since may and it's still going! The revlon eye primer is decent but I want to use it up. I hate products where you have to crank them and wait for it to go into the brush. I either get no product at all or an excessive amount that practically over flows! That is my only con, but it's a con that is going to keep me from repurchasing. Sorry Revlon, you are my favorite drug store brand, but this is a no go. The Pixi is alright. Its a sample I am trying to use up however.

• Eye liner(s): Wicked Heart Black Night

I got this at Hot Topic, its decent enough. I like that I can smudge it pretty well.

• Mascara: Elizabeth Mott sample

Sample from ipsy, nothing special

• Concealer: Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda

This is like the powder issue, It is a good product but Chanel is my HG so I want to use this up before I atack my Chanel

That is my Sunday Club pick. I understand that this post was a bit winded. I am sorry for that but next week I can guarantee that it won't be as long. A lot of these products I don't switch out so I will consolidate them into one little section so I won't have to keep explaining why I chose that product, because you will have already known :) I may do a quick update here and there.

I would love it if you would join the Sunday Club with me and comment with a product or two or five that you want to focus on this week. Show some love to the less used products in your collection.

Where have I been?!

Let's be honest. I forgot all about this blog. However, New Year New Me is under way so I figured let's give it another shot and actually stick to it!! It is in my Top 10 Goals for 2014 so I must stick with it? Right? Right. I planned a little layout for myself and I am going to tell you all about it to so maybe that way I will keep my word and actually keep up with this. I mean I love makeup so why am I not sharing my passion with others? I don't know but I shall start now. Below is what I plan on writing about and when. I am hoping that I am still able to keep up with it when I start school again at the end of the month.

• Sunday: Will be the "Sunday Club" this is like the Monday Club on MakeupTalk which I am a part off but I typically do it on Sunday. I like to rebel a little. :p True bad ass here. hehe I will just list my choices and why they are my choices.
• Tuesday: FOTD. I'll just share my look for the day and how I did it. 
• Thursday: This will be whatever I feel like talking about. This will probably contain a random topic, my Ipsy review, a random product review and a monthly favorite.
•  Friday: Weekly Favorite(s) 

So without further delay I shall start :)