Tag Archives: review

Feb23

February 2018 Finishes

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February 2018 Finishes

Hello everyone! Another month is drawing to a close already, and you know what that means. It’s time to discuss my February finishes! This month, it was all about products from The Body Shop. I used up two skin care goodies and one body butter in February and I felt so pampered to be using such wonderful products from my favorite one stop shop for all things beauty. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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Would I Use Again?

Why/Why Not?

TBS Body Butter: Although The Body Shop has many amazing fruity scents to choose from, and I love them, I am always partial to their softer collections. I love their Shea and Cocoa butter and, of course, their Almond body butter! There is nothing better than taking a nice, warm bath and slathering on this body butter before putting on your jammies. I love the nutty scent and how good it makes my skin feel after using it. It took me about seven full body uses to finish this product.

TBS Face Mask: When it comes to skin care, I love all charcoal everything and this mask is freaking EVERYTHING. Within one use, this charcoal face mask eliminates every single stinking black head on my nose and leaves my skin simply glowing afterwards. Despite this mask being an absolute pain to clean up in the shower after using it, it is so worth it and I am so happy to have another one of these in my hoard for future uses. I got about ten uses out of this container.

TBS Moisturizer: My sister actually gave me this hand me down from the Oils Of Life collection because she couldn’t stand the smell. And, I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of it, either. This moisturizer smells very herbal and some people really like that, but me – not so much. Although I’m not huge on the way it smells, I would use this product again because it left my skin feeling so hydrated and well taken care of. I didn’t notice any immediate changes in my skin from using this moisturizer, but I would like to try it again to see if anything magical happens to my face from it. It took me one month to finish this product.

February was a great month for finishes and even though I didn’t care for the Oils Of Life scent, I would still like to use all of these products again. Those who love The Body Shop as much as me can definitely see why I enjoyed this month in beauty products as much as I did!

Which products did you finish up this month? What is your favorite product from The Body Shop? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb22

Blush, Baby – Maybelline Dream Bouncy In Fresh Pink Edition

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Blush, Baby – Maybelline Dream Bouncy In Fresh Pink Edition

Howdy! After trying many a different brands of blushes over the years, my all time favorite would have to be Maybelline’s Dream Bouncy blushes. It is a cream blush and the best word to describe its texture really is bouncy. It’s soft, cushiony, and feels barely there lightweight on the skin. I have quite a few Dream Bouncy blushes in various shades, but my go to color from the start has always been Fresh Pink:

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Besides for its seven dollar price tag (give or take) and its pillow soft texture, what I like best about the Fresh Pink color is that it’s great for layering and mixing. As I mentioned yesterday, I like to apply my lavender blush over this color for a flower field effect. I also enjoy layering a peach blush over top of it for a sweet mimosa shade. The Dream Bouncy blushes blend effortlessly and the color doesn’t budge all day, which is a wonderful bonus.

The nice thing about this blush is that, despite its brightness before applying, it goes on quite light – which is great. Too bright of blush looks clown-like on me and that is never a good look! The cream texture and soft pink coloring leaves my skin looking dewy and fresh. I always keep Fresh Pink well stocked in my makeup hoard and I use it every day that I wear makeup. Maybe she’s born with it? Maybe it’s Maybelline! 😉

What is your favorite drugstore brand of makeup? Do you prefer cream or powder blush? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb21

Blush, Baby – Clinique Pansy Pop Edition

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Blush, Baby – Clinique Pansy Pop Edition

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! Aside from lipstick, my favorite makeup is probably blush. Creams, stains, powders – I love it all. As a pale princess, I can always benefit from some added color to my cheeks and I think that it is such fun to pick out different shades to apply. I love pinks and peaches, but the color of blush that I am most fond of is lavender, like my favorite one seen below:

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In August of 2016, my sister surprised me with this blush from Sephora, because she knew that I desperately wanted a new lavender blush to replace my fallen favorite. It was the sweetest thing and here I am in February of 2018 with a decent amount left and still loving it every time I blend it from the apples of my cheeks to over my eyebrows for a beautiful band of color. I like to wear my Clinique Pansy Pop blush over one of my go to pink shades so that the color has a strong base, because without it, the shade is a bit too light. It works like a charm!

There is something about lavender blush that just speaks to me. I like it, because it is more interesting than your basic pinks and nudes – it really adds some flower girl fun to my face. I also like how shades of purple bring out the green in my hazel eyes, which makes for a change in my eye color for the day. I am usually not one to buy high end makeup, but this twenty-two dollar Clinique blush has lasted me a year and a half so far – and you really can’t beat that. 😀

What is your favorite shade of blush to wear? How do you make your eye color pop with makeup? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb6

Tarte Lip Paint Swatch In Rosé

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Tarte Lip Paint Swatch In Rosé

Hey! Today we are going to wrap up my hand me down makeup haul from my sister with a swatch of my favorite new nude lippie color. I have been a HUGE fan of Tarte’s lip paint ever since I got the birthday blush and mini lip paint tube from Sephora FO FREE. I absolutely love both of them, and the lip paint that I received for my bday remains one of my favorite nude lippies. So, I was freaking THRILLED when my sister gave me the Tarte lip paint that she rejected in “Rosé”, a shade that’s only a hair darker than what I got for my birthday freebie. Take a look:

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Hmm… Why are there two heart swatches, you might ask?

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN:

Okay, so after I finished taking my pictures, I went to the bathroom to wipe off the swatch. The first heart seen above is what I had taken when I first put the lip paint on. The second heart is what the product looked like after TWO rough scrubbings with a wet hand towel. The color had barely budged and is still on my hand as I’m writing this. Ah-freaking-mayzing.

I have my birthday lip paint, a red one, and this newest addition by Tarte and they have all proven to be as long lasting as what I just described. It wasn’t a fluke. If you are preparing on eating a five course meal but really want to wear lipstick, Tarte lip paint is what you should use. It. Doesn’t. Come. Off.

Does it get much better than that?

IT DOES:

Because this Rosé color is freaking gorgeous, dahling. It’s funny, because I stay very true to my favorite red lipstick, but I LOVE using different nude ones. Admittedly, I only like wearing a really specific shade of red because I know what looks best with my skin and hair. But you can play around with nude shades because a color a bit lighter or darker isn’t going to make or break your look. Rosé is probably the darkest nude lippie that I own at the moment and I am looking forward to wearing it throughout the rest of the winter for some fresh faced fabulousness.

Who else is a fan of Tarte lip products? What is your favorite shade? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb5

Revlon Balm Stain Swatch In Crush

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Revlon Balm Stain Swatch In Crush

Hey everyone and happy Monday! There were a few winners in my hand me down makeup haul from my sister. Others were…ehh not so much. Including the product being swatched today. Wow, great intro I know – BUT the only reason why this Revlon Balm Stain isn’t an enthusiastic maybe from me is because I. Don’t. Do. Purple! HOWEVER, I am not everyone so, of course, I had to give this product a swatch for the lucky ladies who can rock a purple lip! Take a look:

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I’ve owned a few Revlon matte lipsticks in the chubby shape, and have been pretty indifferent about them. The color is alright, but I always found that the product didn’t have a lot of longevity on the lips and it seemed to smear throughout the day. Not a good look. To elaborate on that further, this product wiped off almost instantly with a wet cloth so eating or drinking anything with this on is a definite no no. BUT, the nice thing about this balm stain is that it smells super minty, which is a fun bonus. 😀

Despite not being wild about how this balm stain works, I am a little disappointed that purple doesn’t look good on me. I think that this shade is SO pretty! The muddled blueberry color is really lovely. I do like berry shades with a red undertone to it, but this one is just so powerfully purple that I looked a hot mess when I was feeling saucy enough to see what it looked like on my lips. #notdoingthatagain!

In my opinion, there are definitely better balm stains available, but this Revlon shade sure is pretty and would make a nice pop of color to a more neutral makeup look.

Has anyone used any of the chubby shaped Revlon lip products before? What are your thoughts on them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb3

Sephora Cream Lip Stain Swatch In Infinite Rose

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Sephora Cream Lip Stain Swatch In Infinite Rose

Hellooo everyone and happy weekend! Although I am not the biggest makeup girl in the world, I do try to keep my tabs on brands that are considered good and bad. Unfortunately for Sephora, I have heard nothing but bad reviews about their products – which is fine because I wasn’t going to buy them anyways! BUT, my sister gave me a hand me down of one of their lip stains so I had to at least give it a swatch. And who knows, maybe I’ll try it eventually! Take a look:

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While swatching this lip stain, I didn’t come across any unpleasantness. It was quite the opposite, actually. Firstly, this product smells AMAZING. It seriously smells like cake batter… and mama loves her some cake. I also really like the color of this lip stain. It has more of a brown undertone to it rather than a pure pinky rose, which makes me way more keen on wearing it. I love dusty, dusky roses for lip colors on me but anything overly pink has GOTSTA GO.

The only thing that I wasn’t really impressed with was the drying time for this product. It took about five minutes to get to a point where a large amount wasn’t coming off on my fingers. And, even then, I could still see pigment on my phalanges from the stain. Ain’t nobody got time to wait that long for lip color to dry – especially someone who prefers products that are instantly matte.

Although the drying time was pretty long, this Sephora lip stain was really difficult to get off. I had to scrub a wet towel over the swatch twice to get the majority of it off and there is still some left over color visible on my hand. Lip products that don’t budge are always a good thing, so thumbs up for that.

I’m sure that I will break out this lip stain at some point during the spring. But, for now, I don’t feel overwhelmingly negative about Sephora’s “Infinite Rose” at all. It’s funny how one can be pleasantly surprised when they think that they are about to try out the worst product ever and it’s way better than expected!

How do you feel about Sephora’s line of makeup? What is your go to lip stain? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb1

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Swatch In Overachiever

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bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Swatch In Overachiever

Hiiii! This past week, my sister gifted me with some hand me down makeup to try out. Some I liked, others I didn’t, and some were so pretty that I had to keep just to do swatches on even if it didn’t necessarily work for me. I have never been a big lip gloss kind of girl. I remember being in my early teens and opting for lipstick instead of the gloss that all of my peers were smearing on their lips. I am not sure how I feel about trying it now, but I did have to put this bareMinerals lip gloss on my blog for prettiness’s sake. Take a look:

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^^^ The first heart is with the flash off and the second one is with the flash on.

First of all, this lip gloss smells SO. GOOD. It has this really creamy, pepperminty scent to it and I freaking love it. Second of all, I liked that this gloss wasn’t sticky because I feel like so many tend to be. The swatch on my hand wiped off cleanly with a dry towel and left no residue at all. I was impressed!

And, finally, let’s talk about the color. Initially, I feared that this shade would be too purpley for me if I ever chose to give it a try. In the container, it looks like a really deep plum. Therefore, I would be looking like a living dead girl within the first application. So, I was pretty surprised to see that on my hand the shade seemed to have a base that was more brown than anything. The purple tint really only came from the glitter thrown into the mix. And that glitter only seemed to pop compliments of my bright camera flash. I think that I might be able to work with that.

Of course, I will always gravitate towards using a red or a nude lipstick but trying a gloss on for size might not be the worst thing. I do know that I liked the consistency of this bareMinerals lip gloss, which is good to have in the back of my mind even if the color isn’t my favorite. Sticky gloss should be left in middle school and will never be gracing Lil Red’s lips any time soon!

Are you a lip gloss or lipstick girl? Who is a fan of bareMinerals products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan17

Bath Bomb Blitz: Xmas Gift Edition

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Xmas Gift Edition

This is Bath Bomb Blitz, this is Bath Bomb Blitz, lalala – sung to the tune of Ballroom Blitz, anyone? No? Lol, didn’t think so. Anyways, my BFF got me some homemade bath bombs from a craft show for Christmas, which I was very excited about because I haven’t used one in a while. I’ve used some really good homemade bath bombs before and some really bad ones, so I was a bit ambivalent about what I was getting into, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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First of all, the Cran Orange scent was delicious. As soon as I popped the bath bomb in the water, you got an instant waft of orange-y goodness. And I do love me my citrus scents! And, although the water looks pretty murky in the pictures, it was actually a really pretty medium-peach color and that was fun to soak in. Not to mention the red glitter as an added visual bonus!

This was by far the best homemade bath bomb that I’ve used before. Did it fizz as long as a bath bomb from Lush? No. But it lasted for at least a minute, which is pretty good for a homemade treat. The fragrance used was nice and strong and the soft color of the water made me feel so relaxed. Am I the biggest fan of glitter? No. Cleaning it up afterwards is a pain in the behind. But the red and orange combination looked so pretty that I didn’t even mind it! 😀

Who likes to home make bath and body care products? Does anyone have a favorite recipe that they use? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec2

Face Mask Festivities: St. Ives Oatmeal Scrub & Mask

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Face Mask Festivities: St. Ives Oatmeal Scrub & Mask

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the last post in my Face Mask Festivities mini series! Today, we are going to talk about a brand that I love oh so very much – St. Ives. I use St. Ives products every day, whether it be a scrub or body wash, and I always thoroughly enjoy using their skin care and bath and body goodies. The Oatmeal scrub that I’m currently using just so happens to double as a face mask, so I thought that I would finally use a beloved product in a brand new way. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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I was curious to see how this mask would work, because I’ve used it as a scrub countless times but never really bothered to try it differently. I love this St. Ives product as a scrub, but not so much as a mask. The mask instructions read to leave it on for five to seven minutes and I genuinely don’t know how that’s possible. Within about three minutes, this mask felt tight, tight, tight on my face and had already hardened from its dampened form. As you can see by my “after” pic, it left my skin quite irritated and I had to use a heavy moisturizer to get my skin feeling hydrated again.

I will say that this mask smells absolutely delicious. I am a sucker for oatmeal scented products, and this one is no exception. There’s something about the rich, creamy scents that just get me. It makes my skin feel nourished and well taken care of and I really love that. Now, if only this mask made me feel that way, because it left my skin parched for moisture rather than lush and lovely.

The entire time that I had this mask on, although it was short lived, I was thinking about how much I would rather be using The Body Shop’s Honey & Oat Mask, instead. From now on, this St. Ives product is going to stick to its uses as a scrub, because that is where this skin care treat shines.

So there you have it, the last post for this round’s Face Mask Festivities: St. Ives Oatmeal Scrub & Mask Edition! Which mask from this series would you like to try? What are your thoughts on this mask if you have ever used it before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Cision

Nov30

Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Sleeping Mask Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Sleeping Mask Edition

Hi everyone and Happy Thursday! Today, we’re going to talk about The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Sleeping Mask. Out of all of the wonderful skin care lines that The Body Shop offers, Vitamin E is definitely my favorite. I love the rich, creamy texture, the rich, creamy smell, and the peaches and cream perfection effect that it has on my skin. Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

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In the picture above, I had just put on the Vitamin E mask after using the British Rose mask that we chatted about yesterday. My skin felt very tight and dry after using the British Rose mask and the Vitamin E one took care of that in an instant. Within just a few minutes, the rosiness in my cheeks was gone and my skin felt supple and hydrated. Thank gawd, because nothing is worse than dry skin during the winter!

In the intro paragraph, I mentioned how much I love the smell of all of the Vitamin E products and that rings so true with this mask. As soon as you open the jar, it smells like opening a fresh carton of heavy cream and it’s so lush and dreamy. The pillowy soft texture is also another lovely added bonus. As soon as this mask hits the skin, it sinks in and provides instant moisturizing protection. Talk about a tall drink of water for your face!

I always love going to bed with this mask on, because I know that when I wake up my skin will be picture perfect and so soft to the touch. The six dollar price tag from TJMaxx also doesn’t hurt when you want gorgeous skin but are ballin on a budget! I highly recommend this mask and am looking forward to many more uses of it.

So there you have it, another issue of Face Mask Festivities: The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Sleeping Mask Edition! What is your favorite skin care line from The Body Shop? What are your thoughts on this mask if you have used it before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah