Talking Trash: December Empties

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope you all have had a safe holiday. Just a quick post to tell you I uploaded a new video today talking about my December empties or the products I've used up. I managed to use up a lot of hair care products this time around. That's all for today. Have a great rest of your year!!

November Ispy!

Can I just say how impressed I am with this bag! I got some amazing things. And even the items I cannot use are still good sized and I was blown away by it. Check out the video to see what all I got this month. And if you don't know what Ipsy is, it's a subscription service that cost $10 a month. Every month, you get 4-5 makeup/skincare/haircare samples right in your mail box. If you want more info, check out ipsy.com for more information.

October Ispy!

Hello beauties! I wanted to show you what I got in my Ipsy this month. Honestly, this bag isn't that great. There are a few products I can't use and some I just out right don't like. Hope you enjoy the video!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Nuggets:

1. Midterms are finally over! I have till Sunday night to enjoy a few homework and stress free days.

2. I went and did some serious damage at Ulta on Friday. You should expect a haul this week!

3. It's so nice being home for the weekend and getting to see my family for a few days. It makes me really not want to go back to school ;p



 

 

 



The Beauty Blogger Tag

Hi ya'll! I came across this tag on The Floral Bunny's blog and I really wanted to do it. Enjoy!!

Rules:
State that the tag was created by The Beau Bow
Tag as many beauty bloggers as you would like
Title this post the ‘Beauty Blogger Tag’

 

Questions & Answers: 

1. Name a beauty routine you barely do.
 I definitely don't use an exfoliator in my skin care routine as much as I should. I will do it if I remember, or I feel like my face is alittle patchy, but I maybe use an exfoliator once or twice a month.

2. Is washing your brushes something that you regularly do?
 I try....I wash them once a month. I don't use a brush for my foundation anymore so I almost feel like I can get away with it. I will wash my concealer brush more often though.

3. How long do you last with chipped nail varnish?
 I try to paint my nails at least once a week(sometimes if I have time or am bored i'll do it more often). I can't last to much longer because the chipping will look really bad. My nails tend to chip right away even with an awesome top coat so by the end of the week, my nails look pretty chipped.

4. How often do you put off buying/replacing a beauty item or nail polish, even if you need it? 
I will replace right away, usually. If its a skin care item, I'll have bought a replacement before I run out. If it's a foundation, I will try and use others(I have too many!)

5. What is your worst beauty habit? 
 I have a bad habit of touching my face, which makes my foundation wear off faster, I also rub my eyes. Bad Jess! I also don't throw out my mascaras when I need to.  

6. Name something non-beauty related that you tend to put off all the time.
 laundry! Not necessarily laundry but once I do it, I tend to let it sit in the hamper after taking it out the dryer. It will sit there for days and I will take out the clothes I want to wear for the day.

7. When going out somewhere do you leave getting ready until the last-minute or not? 
I like to get ready an hour or so before I have to leave. I don't like feeling rushed and want to have time to fix any makeup misshaps if they happen.

8. Can you commit to spending bans?
 I try to but it never works out well and I tend to go on a big shopping spree instead. Oops....

9. How organized is your make up and nail polish collection?
 My makeup collection has always been very well organized. My nail polish is finally organized in a way I'm happy with and I will be doing an updated nail polish collection video on my channel soon!

10. What is the longest time you have gone without writing a blog post?
I've gone a long time, like months. Trying to get better about posting.

 

Ok, Thanks for ready everyone! I tag everyone to do this tag. Leave a comment below linking to your post or even just do the tag in the comments.

 

Daily Tidbits:

1. Lots of life changes going on for me right now in regards to work life. Will keep you posted.

2. New video going up on my channel today!

3. Only 27 more days till I move back to college!!

4. New blog site is coming along!

Brand Highlight: Favorite NYX Products!

Hey beauties. I just wanted to post my latest video on my youtube channel, featuring my favorite NYX products. I've been really loving this brand lately, featuring its products in several of my past videos. I figured it was time to do a video dedicated to my favorite products, the ones I could not live with out. Check it out and tell me what you think!

 

Thanks and have a great memorial day!

Sigma Brushes March Updates: 10% off code, Paris Palette, and a Beauty Box?

Hello beauties! Today I just want to update you with some great stuff that's happening over at the Sigma site. Mostly on ways you can save some money when shopping for some new goodies. I love saving money don't you?

 First off I have the new 10% off code- MAR2014 type this in at checkout for 10% off.  Plus you get a free gift if you spend over $30. This month is a travel E25 Blending brush. I love this brush and have it in the travel size as well. I receive these codes every month so I will make sure to post the new code at the beginning of the month :)

Next is a good bargain on a popular palette Sigma has on their site. The Paris Palette which is normally $59 is on sale for $49 which is $10 off. Plus you can use the 10% off code on that and save even more! You end up getting the palette for only $44.10! And you get so much stuff with this palette. You get 8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, a highlighter and two brushes( E 55 Flat Shader Brush and the F40 Large Angle Contour ) You get a lot of bang for your buck with this palette :)

Lastly I want to share with you something I'm really excited about something Sigma is launching exclusively for the month of March. They are jumping on the beauty box bandwagon and teaming up with Jaclyn Hill to release a beauty box of their own. It's a bit expensive at $90 but use the 10% off code to save on this kit, its a must have. You get 6 of Jaclyn's favorite, must have brushes. Here's the link to the
kit

 
Alight, I threw a lot of information at you all at once, sorry about that. But I hope I was able to give you some useful info and some ideas of products to try out. I would definitely jump on that Paris Palette while you still can cause that's a great deal and I'm super excited about the Jaclyn Hill kit. Are you planning a order from Sigma now? Let me know in a comment below and I'll see you all next time. Stay gorgeous!

 
 

FoTD: Silver and Plum

Hello, beauties! I pulled out some old products from collection and put together this look inspired by a tutorial that emilynoel83 did on her youtube channel some time back. It was great to use products I haven't touched in a long time. It's also sort of a different look for me as I usually stick with neutral colors, but I used some silver and purple and it was actually a nice day time look.

 

 

Eyes:
Primer-Wet n Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer
Base: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Eyeshadow: Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette and L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Smoldering Plum
Mascara-Benefit They're Real and Maybelline Lash Discovery

 

Face:
Primer-Pixie Flawless Primer
Foundation-Revlon Color Stay Whipped Foundation
Concealer-Benefit Erase Paste
Blush-Mac Well Dressed
Lips-Nars Lipgloss in Turkish Delight

 

Tools:
Eyelash Curler-Tarte
Sigma E-55 Shader
Sigma E-30 Pencil
Sigma E-70 Angled Shader
Sigma E-40 Tapered Blending
Sigma P-88 Precision Flat Angled
Sigma E-65 Small Angle

 Tools cont.:
Sigma F-84 Angled Kabuki
Sigma F-70 Concealer
Real Techniques Blush Brush

Let me know if you guys would like more FoTD posts! This was really fun :) Until next time, stay gorgeous!

Daily Tidbits:
1. Finally doing a Vlogmas video....after I started Vlogmas 7 days ago. Ooops!
2. Just watched this weeks Vampire Diaries. Oh My God!!
3. Starting to plan my Bells Beauty Awards for 2013. Can't believe its the end of the year already!

This Weeks Videos: November Favorites and How to Depot Mac Shadows

Hello beauties!! Here's this weeks videos! I'm glad I was able upload 2 this week :) Enjoy!

Monday: November Favorites

Wednesday: How to Depot Mac Shadows

 

 

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals and Sales!

Hello beauties and happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all have a good holiday and spend some time with family and friends. I unfortunately have to work this Black Friday(3 am is when my shift starts!) so I'll be going to bed halfway through my holiday. But I want to pass along some great deals and steals for the big shopping day.

Beauty Deals:

Ulta- Ulta's deal's list can be found here. I feel like they're offerings are a bit better than Sephora's, offering a better range of products and deals. The bargain I really like and would likely buy if I weren't already stocked up is the Big Sexy Hair products for only $6.99, that's a whole $10 off!!! Other noteable deals are the Clarasonic Mia being only $99(Sephora jumped the gun on that one and offered it earlier in the week) and the $16 Urban Decay Palette. Also, Chi flat irons are super discounted.

Sephora- Sephora's "Dealtopia" can be found on the company's pinterest page. Lots of full sized or deluxe sample sets for only $10! I perused the list but nothing jumped out at me that I really wanted. Though I will say the Stila palettes are amazing deal!

Sigma Beauty- As a Sigma Affiliate, I'm privy to the deals they will be offering and it's my job to let you guys in the loop. If you live outside the States and have always wanted to order from Sigma but couldn't justify the shipping rates, now's your chance. Sigma will be offering FREE WORLD WIDE SHIPPING!! Yes, you read that right :) Doesn't matter where you live in the world, you can get Sigma brushes shipped for free!

Also, for Cyber Monday(Internet's version of Black Friday) select items on the Sigma site will be 20% off. As for what these items are, I'm not sure yet. I also have a discount code for 10% off your order which you can use on top of the free shipping or the 20% off. Use code NOV2013 at checkout!

Non-Beauty Deals:

American Eagle- If you didn't know, I work at American Eagle so I thought I'd do a little plugging :) Stores are opening at 8 pm Thanksgiving. For the first 10 hours, 8 PM to 6 AM, the whole store will be 50% off. After 6, the store goes back to 40% off. And from what my manager told me, you can also stack coupons , which isn't something we normally allow.

Bath and Body Works- BB&W is offering their usual tote full of goodies this year. All you need to do is spend $40 to get the tote for $20. It's full of a $100 worth of product. As of now, I'm not sure what the other deals are but I will edit this post when I find out.

Aeropostale- Aero is offering 60% off the whole store, which isn't much compared to the bulldog sale that happens 2-3 times a year. I'm not much of an Aero shopper anymore, but I do like them for their hoodies and sweatpants(I'm a sucker for sweatpants :) ) so now would be a good time to stock on the essentials.

If you're going to skip out on Black Friday and just shop online(which I don't blame you and I thank you for!) don't forget to use ebates so you can take advantage of more coupons and get cash back. I don't shop online without it!

What are some other Black Friday deals I missed? If you have any you'd like to contribute, please leave a comment below. Good luck and get some good deals. Till next time, stay gorgeous!

Latest Video: September Favorites! Urban Decay, Benefit, and More!

Hello there beauties! ITS FRIDAY!!! TGIF! I'm so happy its the weekend, I finally get some time off, two whole days.  Very excited! Anyway, I wanted to post my lastest video, which was my September Favorites, sharing with you my top products in September.

September was full of rediscoveries and new products! I rediscovered my love for the Urban Decay Naked palette as well as fell in love with multiple Benefit products I won through a contest with Benefit and Ipsy. I also found a new favorite foundation from L'Oreal.

 



Also, if you haven't yet, go enter my fall giveaway for a chance to win these awesome goodies! That's it for today, what products did you love this past month, let me know in a comment below. Thanks for reading! Stay gorgeous!

Daily Tidbits:
1. I'm so tired, I worked 26 hours this week. It may not seem like much, but in retail...its a lot!
2. I finally have a weekend off, 2 days off in a row! I'm going out of town to the community college I attended for the homecoming football game and to see all my friends. I'm also visiting my brother who is attending there now. Lot's of fun shall ensue!
3. I'm watching Finding Nemo now. "I'm gonna go touch the butt!"

Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments Reveiw & Swatches

Hello beauties! I bring this review from my sickbed. I've been sick and decided to crank out some blog posts while stuck in bed. This review has been a long time coming! I've had these pictures sitting on my memory card for over 2 months now, it's time to post them. The blogosphere was a buzz with these Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments a few months ago and I had happened upon them at Walmart at chance but I do know they are available at Target, Ulta, Walgreens, and other drugstores. They run $5-7 depending on where you buy them, which is an amazing price for the quality product your getting. Swatches of all four shadows will be at the end of the post.

 First up is Forest Fatal, which is a beautiful deep green color. I don't know what possessed me to buy a green shadow, it's not normally a color I go for but I'm so happy I did because it's simply stunning! It's got a lot of shimmer to it, as do almost all of the shadows, and its a great stand alone shadow for a simple look. I can also see using it for a colorful smokey eye.

 Breaking Bronze is a very dark, bronze color. I was very surprised at how intense and dark it was in the container but applied it's more golden bronze. It's another great stand alone shadow for a one shadow look but I also like to apply it over a Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow such as Bad to the Bronze and use some cooler, darker colors in the crease. This shade is very, very shimmery!

 



 

 

Buff and Tuff is a nice skin tone shade that's nice for highlighting or all over the lid. This is more of a satin finish with not as much shimmer as the rest.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

Last is my favorite and most used shade, Barely Brazen. It's almost exactly like the Color Tattoo cream shadow in Barely Beige. This is one of the most shimmery of the four I have. It's a very nice pearl color with just a hint of simony pink under tone. I love using this in my inner corner as a highlight. I have had a hard time using anything else, unless the look called for a matte highlight.



Here are some swatches of the four pigments. Left to right, Breaking Bronze, Buff and Tuff, Barely Brazen and Forest Fatal.  All the shadows are very buttery, pigmented, and as you can see, very shimmery. If you like matte shadows, I suggest staying away from these pigments. If you want to intensify them further, spritz a little Mac Fix Plus or even just some water on a eyeshadow brush and apply for a foiled effect.

 

All in all, I love these pigments. I think I have all the colors I want from this line, but there are some really pretty blues and purples as well. You can find these at most drugstores for $5-7, but can usually find Maybelline on BOGO. Let me know if you have any questions :) Stay gorgeous!



Sigma Beauty 20% Off Sale!

Hi beauties!! Just wanted to give you a heads up about the Sigma Beauty flash sale.  Their entire website is 20% off. You can get a set of brushes, or the spa glove, or some of their awesome makeup palettes. The only thing is, to access the sale you need a special affiliate code.  But your in luck, because I can provide you with just that! I'm including a video explaining the sale and with a few recommendation's of some of my favorite Sigma products. 

 

 

If you've been dying to try some of Sigma's brushes but have been putting it off, now's the time to buy.  Oh maybe I should give you the code now! My code is SBAP20 and you can enter it at checkout! So what are you gonna get? Let me know in a comment and I will see you all in my next post! Stay gorgeous! 

Quiz: What Brush Should I Be Using For Blush?

Hi beauties! Today I just wanted to quick share this blush brush quiz I saw in an email from Sigma. If your like me and are a blush junkie, this quiz might be really helpful in picking out the correct brush to use with cream or powder blushes. Take the quiz and find out what is the best brush for you!

 

 

Of these brushes, I totally recommend the F40 Large Angled Contour. I use it for everything; blush, countouring, highlighting.  I own 3 of these!!

I hope this little quiz was fun for you! Let me know what brush it said was perfect for you and if you have any questions on any of the brushes feel free to ask! Till next time, stay gorgeous :)

Cleaning Out My Makeup, Project Pan Update!!

Hello, beauties!! A few months ago, I showed you what makeup I was trying to use up and here I am again with an update. I used up most of the products I put aside in a makeup bag(see post Spring Cleaning My Makeup?? Project Pan???) so I went through my stash and picked out some more products I wanted to attempt to use and possibly use up. I decided to put a full face of makeup in here for the days I really don't want to do much with my makeup, either due to it being to hot or just pure laziness.

 For a foundation, I decided I wanted to use my Covergirl BB Cream. I'm almost out of this and just want it out of my collection. I like it, but compared to other bb creams out there, its just not that great.  It offers ok coverage but does nothing for dark marks or acne scaring. It's more of a tinted moisturizer.

 This is by far one of my favorite face primers.  It's only a sample size that I received in a Target beauty bag.  Pixie's Flawless and Poreless. This I should be done with in the next few days. I will most likely be making a trip to repurchase once I go through some other face primers I have.

 I don't know if they've reformulated Urban Decay's Primer Potion or if its just the new packaging but I like this primer so much more now. I feel like I get better coverage to cover my pigmented eyelids with this than I did in the old packaging. I'm almost out of this and will probably be done by the end of the month. Will I repurchase? I don't know. I have several other primers I to go through and found a cheap drugstore alternative.

This is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Pressed Powder. I simply love this powder! I don't want to use this up but I always need to use this in conjunction with the Covergirl BB Cream to add more coverage and set the bb cream.

Oh my Covergirl Shimmering Sands Trio....so loved!! As you can see by the huge chuck of pan in the center shadow, I tend to use this a lot.

I've been doing something unusual for me and using bronzer. Normally I only do this when I'm sick and therefore even paler than normal.  But lately I've been enjoying taking this Rimmel Bronzer(so old that I can't even read the packaging anymore) with a large powder brush and sweeping it all over my face.  And this bronzer is very old(I'm sad to say I think almost 2 years) and I want to use it up.

One of my favorite blushes of all time. This is NYX's Mocha. I got into a blush rut and haven't used this in ages so I wanted to give it some love. I'm trying to change out the blush in this bag at least once or twice a month so I can use all my blushes. When did I start to collect so many blushes??



Lastly, for a lip product, I decided to throw in this NYC Applelicious I received in an Influenster box recently. I don't remember the name of this but its a great little tinted lip balm. It's very moisturizing and smells amazing! It doesn't offer much in the way of color but I do like this when I just want a little something on my lips. Of course, I change up my lip color every day so I don't stick with just this.    

 

Ok, those are all the products in my current bag of products to use up. If you want to see when I do use them up, subscribe to my beauty channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/bellsbeauty where I do empties videos. Thanks for reading! Have a good weekend!!                                                                                                                                                                      

Latest Video: June Favorites Drugstore and High End

Hello gorgeous! I uploaded my June favorites this week, have you seen it yet? I feature both high end and drugstore in this one as well as some fashion favorites which is really different for me. Heads up on some upcoming blog posts, I have a review coming one of my new favorite blushes as well as some swatches of the new Maybelline pigments that I got my hands on today. They are breathtaking!! Ok, sorry for the quick blog post.  Thanks for reading :)

Tag: Would You Rather Makeup Edition

I saw this tag floating around on the blogsphere and thought I'd give it a go. I generally have a tough time playing would you rather because I have hard time making decisions. Let's see how this goes.

 

1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

Hmm, this is a tough one. I think I would cry, literally cry if I lost my eyeshadows, especially my Urban Decay Naked Palette. So I think I'd rather lose all my mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses. They're all drugstore and easily replaced.

2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

After having my hair chopped off, I can easily say never being able to cut it off. Short hair just doesn't work for me!

3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

I love my pink blushes, but judging from my blush collection I have an addiction to coral cheek colors. In fact, I just bought a new blush from Tarte that's a beautiful coral. My first high end blush, I'm very excited :)

4. If you had $1,000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Oh that's a toughy. I love shopping for clothes....I love shopping for makeup....Can just spend half on each????

5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

I'd have to say I'd rather apply the eyeliner as a lipstick. I'd be afraid to put anything that's been near my mouth on my eyes.

6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

I haven't tried enough from MAC to shop there exclusively and at Sephora, you have a variety of lots different products and skincare from lots of different brands. You'd be hardpressed to not find something that doesn't work.

7. Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?

I like to change up my lipcolor so much but I can honestly say I usually use the same eyeshadow colors every day. I'm in a rut that I don't intend on breaking.

8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?

Summer clothes in winter for sure, something I already do. I get hot very easily and its often I'll be longing around the house in my running shorts in the dead of winter.

9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Bright, fun colors all year round. I have lots of dark colors but I hardly reach for them. I like my nails to match my personality and mood.

10. Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?

This should be phrased, "Do you want to give up your Urban Decay Naked Palett or your Revlon Berry Smoothie Lip Butter?" I don't want to give up either!

11. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

A messy bun. I feel like my hair is this style most of the time, especially in the summer. I just don't want to mess with it most of the time.

12. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I would gladly give up lip gloss if I could keep my nails polished.

13. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

Oh god...Just the thought of me without eyebrows or using a sharpie to put them on....I look hideous!!

14. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Nail polish, I need my makeup!!!

New July Discount Code for Sigma Brushes

Hi beauties!! I have the July discount code for Sigma brushes this month. Use RNL2013 at  checkout for 10% off your entire order. This is a great time to mention that Sigma is making the brushes from the Performance Eyes Kit/?Click=224226  for individual sale! The brushes in this kit are smaller and are great for getting precise application of shadows and liner.

I actually just placed an order with Sigma yesterday and ordered some goodies that I've been dying to try. I ordered a set of brushes I've been really curious about, the Synthetic Essential Kit/?Click=224226 which have synthetic hairs and are supposedly really good for applying cream and liquid products.

 

 

I also ordered the new brush cleaning glove/?Click=224226 that was released a few months ago. It seems kind of gimmicky but after seeing Emily from http://www.beautybroadcast.net/ use it to clean her brushes I thought I'd give it a try I'm hoping that it will get my foundation and concealer brushes cleaner than I can get washing them without a glove or anything.

I will definitely let you guys know what I think about the products I ordered in the mean time I want to know what are some of your favorite products from Sigma? Till next time, stay beautiful :)

FTC: I'm an affiliate of Sigma but this is not a sponsored blog post. Also small disclaimer, pictures are from the Sigma site.

November Favorites!

This is a little late but I wanted share with you my November Favorites! I have lots of new products to talk about!

Primers-I really enjoyed playing with some face primers in November. I used Tarte's Clean Slate Poreless and Benefit's Pore-fessional.  I prefer Benefit's better as its tinted and seems to hide my pores better.

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie-Wore this so much this month, can't believe I haven't really used it before.

NYX Lipgloss in Tea Rose-Super pretty deep pink. Very pigmented.

L'oreal Infallilbe Pressed Eyeshadows in Iced Latte and  Bottomless Java-These are super pigmented and creamy and are wonderful eyeshadows. I can't wait to buy more!!

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil Duo in Zero and Whiskey- I finally tried a pencil from Urban Decay and am obssessed! I must have more of them in my life!

Jordana Fabuliner- Another eyeliner to talk about. It was the month of eye products. I can't believe I haven't tried this eyeliner yet. I won it in a giveaway and was super excited. It's my new holy grail liquid eyeliner. :)

TheBalm Body Builder Mascara-This was a fail product in October but now its a favorite product for the month of November. Once it dried out a bit, it was perfect for adding some drama to my eyelashes, not something I liked by the way. My eyelashes are long enough without mascara, but I actually like the way this makes lengthens and defines them.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Beige-Finally got my hands on this baby and its now my favorite base!

Sigma's E60 Large Shader brush-Using to to apply my color tattoos. It applies the color sheerly and blends super nicely. I have a coupon code for Sigma, which is 10% off your order. Use DEC2012 at check out! http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=224226

Bath and Body Works Charmed Life Lotion-Rediscoverd from my collection, sadly this is discontinued. Why BB&? Why must you discontinue all the good scents??

Got2B Guardian Angel Curling Heat Protectant-This is a great heat protectant that holds curls amazingly!


That's it for my November Favorites. Already looking forward to my December Favorites because I have a lot of new products I've been playing with and already have some new favorites! See you guys next time!