Tag Archives: beauty

Aug11

Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Himalayan Charcoal Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Himalayan Charcoal Edition

Hi everyone and TGIF! Today we’re going to ring in more Face Mask Festivities by discussing The Body Shop’s Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask. This is one of the first face masks that I ever used and it holds a special place in my heart for that reason and the fact that it eliminates my pesky nose blackheads like no other. Take a look at some pics and let’s chat about this miracle mask further:

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^^^ So this mask admittedly looks pretty gross in the container and on my MUG, for that matter, but gosh darn it is it effective!

With five nose piercings, my honker is a freaking battleground of blackheads that pop up like landmines around my studs. This isn’t the biggest skin care problem one can have, and I realize that, but I know that they’re there and it really bothers me. Not only does my skin care perfectionism cause me to lightweight freak out over blemishes, but I’d prefer for my pierced up nose to stay clean and clear to prevent irritation and infection.

We all know that charcoal is the “it” thing in the skin care world, especially when it comes to drawing blemishes out and giving your pores a deep clean. That’s what made this mask an obvious choice for purchasing. After ONE USE of my TBS mask, there wasn’t a single blackhead left on my nose. Saying that I was ecstatic about this is an extreme understatement. After countless cleansers and scrubs, I found something that literally eliminated the problem within ten minutes. Amazing much?

My favorite thing about this mask is its smell. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it smells minty, but when you unscrew the container lid you get an instant waft of brisk freshness. Kind of like opening a new pack of gum but without that overpowering peppermint aroma. This mask feels cool on your skin so that combined with such a crisp scent definitely makes for an invigorating experience.

Despite all of the above rave reviews, there are some things that I dislike about this mask. For one, you really have to be careful about washing this mask off quickly. If you go over the ten minute limit even just slightly, the hydration in your skin seems to slip away in double time, leaving your skin feeling brittle and looking flushed. Not fun.

And, for pettiness’ sake, this mask is a big fat pain in the BOOTASH to clean up. I prefer to wash my masks off in the shower and the chunks of charcoal in the mask simply REFUSE to go down the drain. As soon as I shut the water off, there is face mask residue coating my tub, so you have to use a towel to wipe it all off. God forbid you just leave it there (Which I’ve totes done before – #lazygirlproblems), because the mask will dry and it will be a vicious cycle of the mask getting wet and then drying every time you shower. SMH.

Although there are some annoyances with this mask, I do recommend it for those looking for an effective charcoal product. My skin always seems to thank me for using it (If I’m quick enough to wash it off!) and saying bye-bye to blackheads is a blessing in itself!

So there you have it, the newest issue of Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Himalayan Charcoal Edition! Be sure to tune in on Sunday as I wrap this mini series up. What is your favorite product from The Body Shop? What is your favorite face mask to use? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug10

Sarah Selfies

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Sarah Selfies

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! Since the last selfies that were seen on my blog featured yours truly with a blue face mask on and a fresh face, I thought I would post some pics that I’m a little more confident with to make up for it. Take a looksee and have a fabulous day! Much love. -Sarah

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^^^ #bluesteel

Aug9

New Black & Sky Blue Nails

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New Black & Sky Blue Nails

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! This past week I got my beloved talons spruced up with a much needed fill. I’ve been trying to extend the amount of time that I go in between fills to save money so I recently began getting my nails done every four weeks instead of three. I have to say, that it’s freaking torture! BUT, it does end up saving money in the long run so I guess that there’s a silver lining to everything. 😉 Take a looksee at the claws and let’s discuss:

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I’m sure that all of you noticed that there’s something missing on my nails…MY MIDDLE FINGER AIRBRUSHED CROSS. 😦 Unfortunately, my nail tech, Steve, couldn’t find the stencil anywhere, so I had to go cross-less this time around. I can’t say that I’m not disappointed about this because I’ve been getting crosses on my middle fingers ever since I started getting my nails done. I’m definitely mourning the loss of the fallen stencil, but hopefully when I come back in a month’s time, someone will have found it and my nails can be complete again! WHOMP WHOMP.

Despite the disturbing lack of my crosses, I do love my glittery sky blue accent nail. I think that it looks so pretty against the harsh black and sharpened points and it’s a color that I can totally see myself getting again in the future!

So there you have it, my New Black & Sky Blue Nails! What color of nail polish do you have on right now? What color should I get next for my accent nail? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug8

Face Mask Festivities: Lush’s Don’t Look At Me Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: Lush’s Don’t Look At Me Edition

Hi everyone and welcome to the first post of my Face Mask Festivities mini series! Today, I’ll be discussing one of Lush’s face masks called Don’t Look At Me. This is one of the first products that I bought from Lush and I enjoy it well enough. This is also the first beauty product I’ve ever owned that you have to refrigerate! Take a look at some product pics as well as some shots of yours truly and let’s discuss:

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Okay, first things first, just know that the pictures seen of me throughout these series are a rarity. Few pictures of me without makeup exist, let alone pictures of me with a face full of face mask! I always take a minute to admire the lovely people who post pics of themselves in their face masks because I think that it’s incredibly brave. So, I channeled every one of you and just did the damn thing! AYYYY.

Now, let’s talk about this here product made by KEVIN!! My first impression of using Lush’s Don’t Look At Me face mask, aside from the striking teal color, is the smell. This mask smells crisp and lemony and I love that because it’s incredibly invigorating. You know what else is invigorating? Applying a COLD face mask to your face!! Because this product needs to be refrigerated, it was a bit of a shock when it came to putting the mask on. But after a couple of minutes, the coldness dissipated and the fifteen minutes of having the mask on my face were extremely pleasant.

When it comes time to wash face masks off, I always do it in the shower. Washing anything off in the sink just leads to water water everywhere, and I am not about that life. Once the mask if off, I wash my face as usual and then I complete the process by wiping my face with micellar water, cleaning my piercings with witch hazel, and using a moisturizer with a thicker texture. For my moisturizer, I prefer to use Yes To Coconut’s hydrating souffle moisturizer to give my face a special treat after putting it through the skin care ringer.

I thought that this face mask was really refreshing and my skin definitely looked more radiant after using it – even in the not so great bathroom lighting! The initial cold of the refrigerated mask left my skin feeling tingly and fresh for the duration that I had it on. I liked the way that this product smells and I also appreciated how easy it was to get on and off of my skin because with some face masks it’s a total pain in the booty boo. I believe this mask was about twelve dollars, which I think is totally reasonable but I don’t want to get too attached to it because the nearest Lush to me is about forty minutes away. Despite that, I absolutely will be enjoying using up the rest of this face mask!

So there you have it, the first post of my Face Mask Festivities mini series, Lush’s Don’t Look At Me Edition! How do you like to pamper yourself? What is your favorite face mask to use? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug7

Monday Update: This Week’s Lineup Edition

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Monday Update: This Week’s Lineup Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! This week on lifewithlilred is going to feature a particularly fun post lineup. Not only will I be announcing my guest bloggers for my Falling For Fall series and showing off my new nails BUT I have a new mini series premiering. Read on to find out more:

As all of you know, I have a deep passion for all things skin care. Keeping my skin radiant and extra pasty pale is something that I take very seriously and a new tool that I’ve added to my skin care arsenal in the past few months is the face mask. These products have been all over the blogosphere as of late and I thought I would join in with my Face Mask Festivities mini series, which will discuss the three face masks that I’ve been alternating between. These posts will contain pictures of the products and my MUG as well as in detail reviews of my face mask experiences. Can’t wait to share my findings with all of you!

What was everyone up to this weekend? What is your favorite face mask to use? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug6

Elf Palette Faves #3

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Elf Palette Faves #3

Hellooo everyone and happy Sunday!! Welcome to my final post of my top three favorite colors from my Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette! I could have gone with the bronze color today, but everyone already knows that that’s one of my favorite eye makeup colors. Instead, I went with this lovely, chocolatey mauve shade, which can be seen below. We’ll call it…Chocolatey Mauve. Take a look:

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Chocolatey Mauve is the third shade from the right and can be seen dry on the first heart and wet on the second. I like this shade because it’s such a fresh alternative to plain old brown eyeshadow. The combination of milk chocolate and a dusky purple makes for a color that is perfect for an alternative to the classic black and grey smokey eye. Pair a Chocolatey Mauve lid with a light pink or taupe-y brown in the corner and you’re in business!

So there you have it, the last of my Elf Palette Faves! What colors do you like to use to create a smokey eye? What is your favorite color of eye makeup to wear? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug5

Elf Palette Faves #2

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Elf Palette Faves #2

Hi everyone and happy weekend! The next color that we’re going to talk about in my top three faves from my Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette is a pretty shell pink that’s perfect for using on the corner of your lids for bright, sparkling eyes. Unfortunately, the names of these colors in my palette are not listed so we’ll just go with the generic Pretty In Pink for this color, lol, check it out:

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Pretty In Pink is the shade in the middle of the palette and can be seen dry in the first heart and wet in the second. As you can see, there’s not that big of a difference, but I prefer to wear it dry. I’m all about wetting my brush when I’m using eyeshadow as a liner but for the colors on my lids, not so much. This color is great because it goes with virtually anything and is a flattering shade for all skin types. As I mentioned earlier, it looks great in the corners or slightly underneath the eyes. But, for a fresh princess glow, a generous sweep on the lids is all you need for a delicate and feminine look.

I like Pretty In Pink a lot for its versatility and, of course, the sparkles in it don’t hurt, either! I think all of the colors in my Elf palette are really nice, but be sure to tune in tomorrow to catch my third and final Palette Fave! What shade in the Nude Rose Gold Palette is your favorite? What kind of makeup look would you create with this product? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug4

Elf Palette Faves #1

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Elf Palette Faves #1

Hiiii everyone and TGIF! Okay, so this Wednesday I introduced you guys to my New(ish) Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette and I wanted to share a few of my fan favorites with all of you. Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of any of these colors SO I’LL MAKE THEM UP MYSELF. Ayyy! Let me introduce you all to SPARKLING EGGPLANT lololol:

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Sparkling Eggplant is the last color on the right in my palette. This is my favorite color out of the ten. I love the purple-y, mauve color and the fact that this shade has some glitter thrown in for good measure makes me like it even more. I prefer to wear Sparkling Eggplant (It never gets old!) as an eyeliner and I wet my brush to give it the appearance of the second heart seen above.

My eyes are hazel and frequently change colors from brown to green or gold depending on the lighting and what makeup I’m using. The purple hue of this eyeshadow brings about green eyes, which I love. To complete this look, I like to use one of the shell pink colors in the corner of my eyes with one of the browns or mauves in the palette across the lid. I then blend these together for a purple haze, smokey look – which sounds a lot better than my makeup skills allot for!

So there you have it, the first of my Elf Palette Faves! How do you use makeup to play up your eye color? How would you name this color from my palette? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug2

New(ish) Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette

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New(ish) Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette

Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! As all of you know, I’m trying to get (slightly) more adventurous with my makeup choices. I don’t want anything crazy, and even if I did, I don’t have anywhere near the makeup talent required to do it. But, that doesn’t mean that I can’t branch out and try some new eye makeup colors!

As opposed to buying a bunch of different eyeshadow shades, I was hoping to use a more economic approach and find a palette that would work for me. I wanted to find a palette with colors that I was comfortable with using, as well as with a price tag that I was comfortable with, too. In June, I found that with this here Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette. I know, I know it’s taken me a minute (obviously) to write about it, but here it is:

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With ten eyeshadow colors perfect for mixing and matching and a ten dollar cost, I think that this palette is perfect. It offers colors that I use already, like the bronzes and pinks. But it also gives me some darker shades that I’m excited to try for a more sultry, smokey look. Wa wa woo we wa!

I won’t bore you with swatches of all of the colors, but I thought that I would post some individual pictures of my favorite shades throughout this week. So, after a call to action announcement tomorrow, do make sure to check out some dry and wet swatches from my New(ish) Elf Nude Rose Gold Palette!

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? What are your favorite drug store makeup brands? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug1

NYX Fireball Eyeshadow Swatches

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NYX Fireball Eyeshadow Swatches

Hello everyone and happy first day of August! So as you guys know, I’m not the biggest makeup girl in the world. I am the most undaring, untalented makeup applier that there is – and the thing is, is that I don’t really care. Makeup is and always has been my older sister’s territory. She’s absolutely phenomenal at all manners of makeup application and has been since we were teenagers.

Kristen loves to shop at Sephora and lives for her monthly Ipsy subscription. Meanwhile, I live for her semi annual makeup clean throughs so I can get the odds and ends that she doesn’t want. Kristen’s makeup clear outs can rid products that she might have doubles of, doesn’t care for, or is simply bored with. This is how I acquired an NYX eyeshadow that she got from her Ipsy subscription that I’m looking forward to trying. Take a look at Fireball:

^^^ Lol AYYY. And as always I have no rights to this song or video!

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^^^ The first heart is the eyeshadow dry and the second one is when it’s wet, which is how I prefer wearing my shadows.

I was a bit worried when this NYX eyeshadow came into my possession, because with a name like Fireball, you’d expect for the color to be fairly red. And the color does look it in its container. But, upon applying it to the back of my hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the color was a far cry from the Fireball red that I was expecting. Rather, it looked more like a rusty bronze – which I LOVE.

Fifty shades of bronze/gold is my preferred eye makeup color. I love how it looks with my skin, eyes, and hair and I feel like it’s a shade that looks good on everyone. When this NYX shade is dry, it has more of that orange-y bronze look to it. But while wet, it gives a gorgeous, metallic, rose gold aura and I live for it. It takes me a minute to warm up to trying a new shade of makeup – at twenty-three, I’m just now growing comfortable with experimenting more while painting my face. But, when the time is right, I’m totally hyped for this NYX eyeshadow to make its debut!

So there you have it, my NYX Fireball Eyeshadow Swatches! What is your preferred makeup brand? What is your favorite color of eyeshadow to wear? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah