Empties: Products I've Used Up! August 2014

Hello beauties! Normally I do empties on my youtube channel, but I felt this time, I didn't have that many products to talk about. Also, I've been sick for a week and lost my voice. So I thought I'd do a blog post and talk about these products. Let me know if you like this format, and maybe I'll do it more often!

 First I used up a shaving cream. I love the Skintimate line and this month I picked up a different scent to try, which was a citrus scent. I didn't particularly care for this scent, it smelled too much like cleaning product. But the formula is great :)

 Next, I tried a new deodorant. This is the Secret Clinical Strength and I thought that this would help prevent some serious sweat issues that I've been having. Time for some information overload! I sweat. A lot! Like, even if it's not hot out and I'm not hot, I will still sweat in my underarms and will have pit stains. Gross!! I can't find a deodorant that prevents that, do you have any recommendations? This didn't do what I was hoping so I will not be repurchasing it.  

 Ok, time for some dry shampoo. This is the Treseme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo. I have had this for a very long time and I'm glad to be done with it. Like, it's been a year or so. I didn't really like it. I felt like it just made my hair greasier and you could see grey powder for this. I don't know if I will try another dry shampoo, if I do I might try the Sauve next because I've heard really good things about it.

 This is the second tube of L'Oreal Miss Manga Eyes I've used up. I simply love this mascara!! It's nice and black and really defines my eyelashes! Repurchased already.

 Ah, the Queen Helen Mint Julep Mud Mask. I love this. I used this once a week or every other week as a way to pamper myself and my skin. I have dry skin but this didn't dry it out. It helped removed impurities from my skin and if I had a break out, it helped shrink the pimple. Definitely going to repurchase.

 I tried a new shampoo and conditioner system and I've already went and repurchased it. This is the L'Oreal Total Repair Restoring system. I love this!! My hair feels so soft and silky now. I have bleached hair and use a lot of heat so it's pretty damaged. But I think this system is helping improve the health of my hair :)

I picked up this soap at the Bath and Body Works semi annual sale this summer. It's Aloha Orchid and it smelled like summery goodness. I really enjoyed this scent!

Yay, I used up a candle! And fun fact: I used up this candle in only a month! I could not stop burning it, it smelled so good. This was Hawaiian Hibiscus and this also smelled very summery. Soo good, I miss this candle a lot!  

 These Covergirl makeup wipes are amazing!! I never thought I'd find another makeup wipe that worked as good as the Neutragena wipes but these are right up there, maybe even better. I love them!

 I used up another pack of Bic Soleil Razors. I go through a lot of these.

 And finally, I used up this sample of Coach Poppy. I loved it, but I don't think I will by the full size because it's kind of expensive.

Ok, so there all of the products I've used up. I'm very proud of working through some of these and I have several more I'm almost done with :) It's so satisfying to use up a product, isn't it? What have you used up lately? Let me know in a comment below and I will see you all next time!

Daily Tidbits
1. I started school last week and it's already stressing me out to the max.
2. I've been sick with a cold and I really just want to be better.
3. Its not even 50 degrees here in Wisconsin today and I was very happy to bust out leggings and a sweater today! :)

Happy Independence Day!! & Updates

Hello beauties! Happy Independence Day! I just wanted to take a quick second to thank all of our veterans and those currently in the service for all that they do, laying down their lives so we can live in freedom. Remember as your grilling out, watching the fireworks and parades as well as any holiday shopping you might be doing, what this weekends all about. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Just a quick note, I will not be posting a new video today like normal as it is the holiday, but one did go up on my channel earlier this week:

Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul!

I do have some reviews coming to this blog later in the coming weeks so stay tuned. Hope everyone has a happy, safe holiday weekend and I'll see you next week!

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

 

 

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!



Review: Milani's Baked Blush in Dolce Pink

 Hello beauties! Can you believe how hot it's been?  It's sweltering here in Iowa. Can't wait for it to cool down this weekend! Anyway, I have a new favorite blush from the drugstore that I wanted to share with you.  This is Milani's Dolce Pink and it is a beautiful coral.

 As you can see from this swatch, it's very shimmering and has some noticeable glitter. If your not a shimmer or glitter person, this isn't going to be the blush for you. This blush does go on a little sheer but it's very buildable. I use the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply this. I don't feel the need to use an additional highlight with this blush because it is so shimmery.  The one thing I do like about this blush is that it lasts so long! It will get me through a long shift at work and still look as though I just applied it.
Milani's blushes run around $7-8 and are available at Kmart, select CVS, Walgreen's and Targets. I, however, order them cherryculture.com where they are available for much cheaper.
Have you tried any of these baked blushes? What color should I try next?

 

Review: Revlon Baby Stick in Tahitian

Hi beauties! I'm here with another product review but sadly this review is more of a rant. I usually try not to post bad reviews cause I don't want to cause bad press for brands, but I feel like this product was so cute that it sucked me in, but didn't deliver. Let me start of by saying, I love Revlon products. Normally, Revlon delivers in terms of great products.  I saw these baby sticks and thought "Oh, these are cute and will probably be a good dupe for the Nars Multiples." Nope...

It's so damn cute though, right? This product claims to be a cream blush that you can also use on your lips.  I thought it would be a great multi-use product, I'm always looking for stuff that will cut down on steps in my daily routine.  Revlon's website says that this blush stick will "give you the perfect flush of color and soft, dewy finish with a non-sticky feel". There's only one problem....this product has no color payoff!!

Can you see any color on my hand? I kept applying this over and over but couldn't get any color payoff.  I thought at first that it was just because I picked up such a light color but I looked up swatches of the brightest pink shade that Revlon has and other bloggers had the same result as I did.  Also, don't attempt to apply it to your lips, it feels very heavy and has a very, very bad taste :(

Alright, rant over. This will definitely be making an appearance in my next "Products I Regret Buying" video.  Save yourself the money and disappointment and pass when you see this cute product at the drugstore.

New Revlon Lip Butters: Swatches and Review!!

Hi everyone!! Last month, I picked up two of the four new Revlon Lip Butter shades that were released in the new spring collection. I didn't like the other two in the collection, so I didn't purchase them.  I really love the two I picked up though!!

Wild Watermelon is on top and Sorbet is on bottom.

First is Wild Watermelon.

Wild Watermelon is a pretty sheer pinky, orange, red color.  In the tube, it looks true to its name, like the center of a watermelon but it applies very sheer.  It's definitely buildable and I feel like the more wearable color of the two.  It's definitely my favorite of the two as well.

Next is Sorbet.

 



 

This is a really bad picture and I apologize, I took it in a hurry.  Sorbet is a repromoted color that originally came out when the lip butters were first released and Revlon decided to bring it back.  It's a very bright, hot pink color.  Due to the lighting, it appears darker on my lips in the picture but its much lighter and brighter.  I like to layer this with darker glosses to tone the brightness down.

I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!! More post to come.

Daily nuggets:
1. I've only been out of school for 6 days and I'm already counting down the days until I move back to school. 98 days to go...
2. I'm currently helping my youngest sister with her homework. I'm her new live in tutor.  I guess it pays to have an education major in the family, huh Dad?
3. I have an interview on Friday at Rue21 and am turning in applications to Aeropostile and American Eagle.  Imagine the discount, and my boyfriend thinks I already have to many clothes...
If all else fails I'm welcome back at Bath and Body Works for the summer.
4. I've also got a babysitting gig lined up for the summer. Making bank!!

Spring Cleaning My Makeup?? Project Pan???

Hello beauties! I'm doing something a little different in terms of my daily makeup. For awhile, I was doing a weekly makeup basket where I'd pick out some products I wanted to play with for that week. It was a way for me to try and use some of my products that normally get neglected. But as I'm trying to use up some of my products to get them out of my collection, I decided to just pick out some products that I wanted to use up and put them in a makeup bag.  It's kind of a project pan, if you will. I don't restrict myself to strictly what's in the bag but I feel like it's working and I'm starting to go through some products.  It's also very handy in the morning as my roommate gets up later than I do, so I can grab my makeup and apply it in the bathroom so I don't disturb her in the morning.

Here's a picture of all the products in my bag currently.  It's pretty much an entire face of makeup, save for lip products. I like to change up my lip colors daily so I didn't feel like including any.

This is the Neutragena Healthy Skin 5-in-1 Tinted Moisturizer. I've had this sitting my collection for almost 3 years and it's time to finally be done with it. As you can see, it's just barely hanging in there and it's almost gone.  This doesn't offer a lot of coverage so I typically only wear this on weekends when I don't need a lot of coverage.

I love this foundation! This is the Covergirl Naturelux foundation. I think this has been in my collection for a year and it's almost gone. I think I'll be done with it by at least next week. This used to be my holy grail foundation, until I moved on.  I think it's fantastic! It's light weight and has sheer to medium coverage, depending on how you apply it.  But I have so many foundations right now that this has to go!

I've had this little sample of Benefit's Pore-fissional for ages. I'm almost out and I just want it gone. I don't particularly care for this primer so the sooner I'm done with it the better.

I received this concealer from Mineralogie in a Birchbox last year for long time it was my favorite concealer. That was, until I discovered Rimmel London's Match Perfection 2 in 1 concealer and Benefit's Erase Paste.  This is actually a little to light for me and it sinks into my fine lines so it's time to just use it up and be done with it.  As you can see, I don't have very much left.

I've been using this in conjuction with Wet n' Wild's trio in Sweet as Candy(which picture will be following this) as a base. This is Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink. I don't need to use this up per say.  It's practically brand new.  I just wanted to use it a little bit cause it sat in my drawer for 2 months without being touched.  If you guys follow my youtube channel(bellsbeauty) or this blog for awhile, you know I'm obsessed with Maybelline's color tattoos, but this one I'm not that impressed with as it doesn't seem to have the same kind of pigmentation as the other ones do. But it works nicely as a base under pinks and purples.

 

 

This is Wet n' Wild's trio in Sweet as Candy(Here's a tutorial I did using this trio!). Since I've dyed my hair back to blonde, I've been experimenting a little with what colors to wear. I've noticed that now, neutrals a little washed out on me but pinks actually look really great against the blonde. I have this feeling that I'm really close to hitting pan on the pink lid color!

I've had this for way to long!! This is Maybelline's Eyestudio Gel Liner. I'm ashamed to say this is three years old. I rarely use it, cause gel liner just takes too much effort. But I decided to get as much use out of it as I can before it dries up completely. I know there's a way of reviving old gel liners but I might just toss this when it dries up.

Alright, last product!! This is a really long post! This is E.L.F.'s blush in Candid Coral. One of my favorite blushes of all time.  I just wanted to show this some love because I've been neglecting it lately.  It does have a huge check of it missing. It got damaged in my travels last summer. Would be nice if I could hit pan on this blush but it won't be a big deal if I don't anytime soon.

Alright that is all the products in my makeup bag.  If you guys would like updates on this "project pan" please let me know. Are you guys doing any spring cleaning on your makeup? Wish me luck on this guys, I certainly need it.  Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Nail of the Day: Essie's Avenue Maintain from Spring 2013 Collection

*Le Gasp!!* A blog post! It's been awhile since I've done a legit blog post. Today's is a nail of the day post over a new polish I bought last week that I'm absolutely in love with! It's gorgeous! Maybe I should just post the picture so you can see :)

It's a been described as a Parisian blue on many of the blog posts I've read about it. This color seems to be everywhere this spring/summer season; both in nail polish and fashion. This went on super opaque on the first coat, which I was really surprised and pleased with.

My only beef with this polish is that it started chipping only a few hours after I painted my nails. And I didn't even do anything to cause said chipping! I don't know if its just the polish or Essie polishes in general. I never buy Essie truth be told. But I can ignore the chipping because this color is so beautiful. It's one of my new favorite colors! I will be doing a video on my youtube channel on my top nail picks for spring/summer so make sure you subscribed(youtube.com/bellsbeauty). That's it for today's post thanks for reading!! See you next time!

Random Daily Tidbits

-I've done a lot of shopping this weekend and have picked up lots of new products. So expect some new blog posts coming up. P.S. One is a very popular high end palette that everyone is raving about. Any guesses?
-Today I made drastic hair decision today and went blonde. I had my hair bleached to take out the brown dye and dyed to a somewhat honey blonde. It's so pretty and I'm so happy with it.  It looks much blonder in person though. What do you all think?
-I came home for the weekend to see my folks but I miss my boyfriend a lot and can't wait to see him tomorrow! I feel very pathetic that I can't go a few days without seeing him >-<

Review+Swatches: Stila’s All Is Bright Lip Glaze Set

Oh my gosh!! Why has it been so long since I’ve done a blog post??? I’m such a bad beauty blogger. I’ve been very busy working and dealing with family stuff and the holidays that my blog was put on the back burner.  But I have lots of reviews planned with all the new drugstore goodies coming out so stay tuned!

If you read my Wishlist Wednesday post I did on the Stila All Is Bright lip glaze set, you know that I’ve been wanting this set for a couple months.  Well, I finally bought it and am so happy with it!  Almost every color in this set are great, very pigment and gorgeous. There are, however a couple duds, which you’ll see later in the swatches.

 

First up is Jack Frost, which is a champagney-pink with lots of iridescent glitter.  It definitely lives up to the frosty name. This isn’t very opaque and has hardly any color to it when applied alone, but it looks really pretty of a lipstick.

Next is Jingle, which is a coraly pink color.  It has tiny, barely noticable shimmer that you really have to look closely for. This too is also very sheer so use it on top a lipstick to get the most bang for your buck.

Holly is the most brightest, most pigmented gloss in the set.  It’s a burnt, orangish-red with small, barely there shimmer. This one was fun wearing during the holiday

This is Joy, a very pretty blue toned pink. This is one of the few matte glosses in the set. I really don’t consider this one as something that should have been included in a holiday set, its much more suitable for the spring season. It is nicely pigmented though.

This is Jolly and it’s a true pink with a subtle shimmer. This is a great gloss to put on top of nude lip and pair with a bit of a smokey eye!

This is Splender and its another very sparkley gloss that appears to be a true pink in the tube but its actually quite sheer.

This is the second really dark gloss in the whole set. Black Cheery is a dark berry color with a little bit of shimmer that’s super goregous. I was expecting a little more color payoff from this when applied to the lips but applies a little too sheer for my tastes. So I apply a berry colored lip liner(which I’ve recently starting experimenting with lip liners) from NYX and it was my favorite lip color for the holidays!

And last, but certainly not least is Sugarplum. This is a matte, mauvey-pnk. This was a bit more opaque than Black Cherry and is one of my favorites from the whole set. I like to pair this on top of MAC’s Angel.

Here’s a picture of swatches which are(From L to R) Jack Frost, Jingle, Holly, Joy, Jolly, Splender, Black Cherry, and Sugarplum.  I really do like some of the glosses in this set and it was a great value to get eight glosses for $25. But do I feel like this set was something special or had to have…not so much.  The pinks were very generic and some of the glosses were way to sheer for my liking. I really like Stila Lip Glazes, even though they are super sticky but I think if I were to redo it, I might pass up on this set.

The All Is Bright lip glaze set was a holiday set that was sold at Sephora, Ulta and Stila Cosmetics but I’m not sure if it’s in stock anymore. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday! One of my new years resolutions to post more so wish me luck on that! Thanks for reading!!

Review: L’Oreal Infallible 24 HR Eyeshadow

 

Hey guys! I know these have been out for a very long time, but I just recently broke down and bought a couple. I have to say, after trying these out, I can’t believe that it took so long for me to try them. These eye shadows are so buttery and pigmented and simply gorgeous.The two that I bought are Bottomless Java and Endless Pearl(which after hearing Amarixe rave about it).

Bottomless Java is a rich, dark brown that looks amazing as an outer corner color or all over the lid for a brown smokey eye.  Endless Pearl is a gorgeous cream color that works great as a high light or all over the lid color.

L’Oreal claims that these shadows are supposed to last 24 hours. I don’t know about that, cause I never have had to wear my makeup for longer than 15. But these do last all day without creasing or fading. The texture of these reminds me a bit of Urban Decay’s eyeshadows in that they are so buttery.  I definitely want to pick up some more of these. If you have tried L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadows do you have ny color suggestions?