Mini Haul: Take 2

I meant to do this earlier in the week, and I'll go ahead and blame it on laziness. Here is another mini haul!

I picked up this Wet n Wild craze polish from the "All Broken Up" Collection. This silver color is called "You're too good for him". I do not like this polish, and it is not a good crackle polish at all. I will probably swap this, or give it away to anyone who wants it.

L'Oreal H.I.P Lipstick in "Effervescent" 

I stopped by the dollar tree and picked up a H.I.P Lipstick in "Effervescent". It is a shimmery/frosty pink berry color. I didn't realize it would be frosty,so I probably won't wear it. It is a pretty color though.

 I also picked up a H.I.P lip brush. It seems to work well enough for a dollar! The last thing I picked up at the Dollar Tree was the Bonne Bell Blush 'n Go Blush. It came with two blushes which were "Petal Pink" and "Sheer Raspberry".

Left: "Petal Pink" Right: "Sheer Raspberry"

I actually really like both of the blushes. 

This is a new product from Physician's Formula! I was super excited when I saw it. It is a blush that is supposed to naturally adjust to your skin! AND IT HAS A MIRROR! THAT LIGHTS UP! That sold it for me. haha. The product itself is sort of gimmicky, but I actually do like it. 

Physican's Formula pH matchmaker blush in "Rose"

I had this lipgloss in another color, but I really liked the texture, and after seeing another beauty blogger raving about it, I decided to pick up another color. This is the color "Rivington Rose".

Lastly I got this beautiful new nail polish from Wet 'n Wild.

It is a mint green color. I cannot remember the color name, but I have been wearing it for a week, and I just absolutely love it!

That is all for this haul. There should be one more mini haul, and then I probably won't do one for awhile! I have some reviews coming up soon, as well as some face of the days! 

Until Next Time...

Mini Haul: Take 1

I've been meaning to do a haul of the stuff I've bought the last couple of weeks with mini reviews, but I've been ultra busy! I've had 2 job interviews this week, as well as classes. I managed to land one of the jobs, so I'm going to be even busier very soon! I welcome it, because we could always use the extra income. I'm going to split this haul into several mini hauls, so it won't be so overwhelming!

I went to TJ Maxx last weekend and found a kit by the Balm! It was originally 59 dollars or something similar to that, but it was marked down to 18. The kit came with Cheater Mascara, Balms Away eye make up remover, and  Overshadow mineral shimmer in "Work is overrated" 

left: "work is overrated" without Primer. Right: Over Urban Decay Primer Potion.

If this is worn on the eyes, I strongly suggest a primer, because the color payoff is better, and it lasts a lot longer that way. Without primer, this slid off my hand in less than a minute. If using for highlighting or something it would probably be fine. I wore it as an eye shadow. It looked very natural and I really like it. 

I stopped by Ulta last week, because I had a coupon. That is always a good reason to buy some makeup! I ended up picking up the L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in "perpetual purple" and a NYX Slide on liner in "Jet Black". 

I LOVE these NYX liners. I own a few more in other colors, and they are very comparable to Urban Decay 24/7 liners. I actually like them a bit better, because they last longer. This black is also a lot blacker than Urban Decay "Zero" I'm not sure if it's darker than "Perversion" because I don't have that one. 

Top: Over Urban Decay Primer Potion
Bottom: No primer

Here is a swatch of the L'Oreal Infallible "Perpetual Purple". I recently made a LOTD post where I was wearing this product. It is quite pigmented, and I like it. I prefer the color without a primer, but it doesn't last as long as I want it to without the primer.

Last for this mini haul, I found this on sale at Sephora. It is the Kat Von D, Adora rollerball. I've been lemming after this scent for awhile, and this was on sale for 9 dollars. It is a sweet, fruity, floral scent,which is exactly what I like! It smells lovely, is not overpowering , and it lasts for a long time!

Until Next Time....

Typical Face of the Day

I wanted to show my daily go to makeup. It's the look I usually wear to school, or shopping, or sometimes even out to lunch or dinner or something. It's quick, takes about 10-15 minutes, and it looks good. :) I was going to do a step by step picture montage, but for some reason when I upload a photo here it rotates it...the wrong way. So anyway...

The picture is taken with my IPhone, so it's not the most awesome quality in the world, but you get the idea.
On my face I am wearing:

• Benefit POREfessional
• Skin79 Super BB Cream
• Benefit Erase Paste
• E.L.F Complexion Perfection
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in "Wonder" (a peachy pink with golden shimmer)
• Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color in "Just Peachy" (a matte peachy pink)
• Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Luster in "Sweet"  (neutral pink with a slight gold shimmer)
• E.L.F Eyebrow Kit in "medium"

Here is a closer look at my eyes. On them I am wearing:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion in "Eden" (all over the lid)
• L'Oreal Infallible Eye shadow in "Perpetual Purple" (all over the lid, and blended to fade out into the crease, also smudged underneath the lash line)
• Wet n Wild Vanity Palette (the lightest matte shade, used to help blend)
• Urban Decay Sin from the Naked Palette (as an inner highlight)
• Physician's Formula Gel Liner for green eyes. ( I used the black shade with green sparkle, on my eyelid, and just a tiny bit smudge under the lash line)
• Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes mascara (1 coat)

This eye look works well for glasses, because the eye shadow is a very bold color, so it can still be seen through the frames, yet it tones it down. I wing the eyeliner out a bit, for dramatic flair, since my glasses cover up so much of my eye! 

Tell me what you think! But remember...I am an amateur!

January 2012 Birchbox!

Larabar not pictured. 

Yay! My favorite time of the month! My Birchbox arrived on Friday. It is a really good one in my opinion.
Here is what I got (with  first impressions):
VMV Hypoallergenics Re-Everything Lotion: I tried this on my face today. It seems to have moisturized so far.
Juicy Couture-Viva La Juicy: This is actually one of my favorite scents, that I am currently out of, so I was happy to get this. I love old favorites. :)
Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash- I used this last night to wash my face. It is a lot like any other sort of foaming face wash. It did not remove all my makeup though!
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in "Peacock": Beautiful dark aqua blue like color with a bit of shimmer. It is gorgeous. I have been wearing it on my water line, and it definitely stays put, and it brightens up my eyes! Also IT IS FULL SIZE. 
Birchbox Magnet: I guess I could always use another magnet!
I also got a Larabar in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (not pictured): I can't eat this, because I'm on a very low carb diet, so I intend to give it away.

Here is a swatch of the Stila eyeliner. So prettttty.

I also bought a yearly subscription to MyGlam. So I will be doing updates about that too, as soon as I get one. Yay.

I'm happy with my Birchbox this month. I love getting full sized products that are actually awesome.

I have a recent purchases haul post coming with in the next few days, so stayed tuned.

Until Next Time....

Garnier BB Cream is a Flop

It hasn't been quite a week since I purchased the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfecter BB cream, but I can already tell you that I absolutely do not like it at all. I really wanted to, because it would be a much more wallet friendly product that my Skin79 Supper BB Cream, but it did just did not live up to a higher end BB cream. It also didn't even live up to the declarations on the box!

The box says that it "instantly":
Renews- This is not true. When I think of a product "renewing" I think of a product that makes my skin appear younger than it is. This product does NOT do that, if anything it made me look older, and made my under eye wrinkles really stand out.

Brightens- Not true. It didn't make my skin any brighter. It especially didn't brighten up my under eye circles which are pretty bad, because I don't get as much sleep as I should.

Evens- Not true. The formula is very sheer. I could not get it to even out my skin tone as well as I wanted even after applying 5 layers. Yes, I said it. 5 LAYERS!! It did not cover under eye circles (you would still need a concealer) and it did not cover my acne.

Hydrates- This is only true if "hydrates" means makes you look like you are sweating immensely from every pore on your face. I have super dry skin, it made me look SUPER OILY. I have never ever had that happen with a product. I even mix actual oils in with my foundation, and it still doesn't make me look oily. This is the worst part about the product. I had to apply a lot of finishing powder to tone down the oil.

This is my face before applying anything on it. BEWARE it is quite scary. I wasn't kidding about my under eye circles BTW. ;)

Here is a photo of me after I applied the BB cream.

As you can see...not much of an improvement as far as coverage goes. You can still pretty much see my under eye circles very clearly, and my red spot is still shining through. I'm also greasy as hell.

Now for a close up of part of my face so you can see the true extent of the grease ball effect.

Absolutely HORRID. 

What else can I say about this? The lasting power was not good. It lasted about 2 hours. Its not even comparable to other BB creams at all. I would compare it closer to a very low end tinted moisturizer. If I compare it to a tinted moisturizer, it is still one of the worst products I have ever purchased. 

If you have oily skin definitely run in the other direction when you see this product. If i have dry skin, and it made me this oily, I can't even imagine what it would do to people with oily or combination skin. 

Also the picture on the package is the most misleading picture of all time. It is sooo laughable!

My before and after is a much better representation! 

I rate this product 1 out of 5 stars. It gets one star because of the relatively low price. I would not recommend this to anyone, and I would certainly not repurchase!

Until Next Time....

Swaps for the week of January 2-8

This week was a good swap week for me!

What I got rid of and why:
1. The Wet 'n Wild "Baking a Cake" limited edition baked eye shadow palette. I wanted to swap this, because it was not the quality I expected. I had to use the eye shadow wet to get good pigmentation, and I just really don't like using shadows wet!
2. E.L.F Studio Flawless Foundation in the color "Buff". I wanted to swap it, because it was about 3 shades too dark for my skin!

I got goodies I wanted to try in return!
I swapped the "Baking a Cake" palette for the Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush. The swapper ended up being a very kind and generous swapper, and sent me several extras from my wish list! So sweet.
I received a sample of Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria, A sample of Clean Warm Cotton, A sample of Dream Angels Heavenly, a Victoria's Secret Love Spell bottle of lotion,  and an Urban Decay 24/7 liner in "Whiskey".
The other swap was the E.L.F foundation for the L'Oreal lipstick in "Pink Power". She also sent me a sample of Napoleon Minimal Makeup, a sample of Coastal Scents eye shadow in "Persian Nights" and a sample of Dramatic Radiance TRF cream.

I'm very happy with everything so far! Here are some swatches of the lipstick, the eyeliner and the happy booster blush.

From top to bottom: L'Oreal Pink Power lipstick, Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Whiskey, and Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose.


Review for Garnier BB cream coming tomorrow.

If you want to swap with me on Makeupalley. Here is a link to my profile. :)
http://www.makeupalley.com/p~throughbeingcool

Spotted and Bought

While browsing Walgreens today I spotted this. It is the new Garnier BB cream. It was on a display that was hiding on a top shelf. I've heard mixed reviews, but I still wanted to try it out for myself! It was $12.99, but the display had a coupon for $1 off, so I paid $11.99! I will try it out for a week, and then do a review on it. I will probably compare it to the Skin79 Super BB cream, because it is the one I currently use.

Until next time....

A Really Big Haul

Yay! I've always wanted to do a "haul". Every time I come home from Sephora, Ulta, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, or wherever I always like to show my boyfriend everything I got, but he never cares. Sad Panda. I have pictures of MOST things. I will also include first impressions. Woo lets get it going because it's going to be a longggg flight.

 Last week I picked up this MAC Ombre Blush called Azalea Blossom. It's limited edition, and it was previously released in a different collection. I fell in love with it at first sight. It's gorgeous. I do like it, but I was expecting it to be more pigmented. It does look pretty good with my pale skin tone, but you really have to build up layers to see any color.

While I was at the mall, I also hopped into Sephora to buy a backup of one of my favorite items. I bought it in a flavor I haven't tried before, and I love it just as much as the lemon/chamomile and the grapefruit and ginger one. I love you Jack Black's Intense Therapy Lip Balm. <3

I went to Walgreen's on Christmas Eve and there were some things on clearance, so I of course couldn't resist. I ended up buying some of those Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail thingys. I just got a hot pink color. I'll probably never even use them, but I may. I also got 2 Rimmel lipsticks that were on clearance. 

This is Rimmel Moisture Renew "Berry Queen". It's not really much of a berry color, It's more of a true red in my opinion, but I really like the way it looks on me, and it has a moisturizing texture.

The other Rimmel lipstick I got was in "Just So" and it is a Lasting Finish lipstick.

It is actually more of a rosy pink than the picture shows. It looks very natural and seems to compliment any sort of an eye look. It also has a good creamy texture.

I also picked up 2 more nail polishes while I was at Walgreen's. I picked up "Diamond in the Rough" from Wet 'n Wild's Ice Baby collection and I also Picked up "Gray's Anatomy" from their regular Fast Dry line.

They both look really awesome in the bottle, but I was sort of disappointed by both of them. I really wanted to like "Diamond in the Rough" because I liked "Back Alley Deals" so much from the same collection, but this one I just didn't like as much. "Gray's Anatomy" is very sheer. I tried layering it over a bunch of polishes, and I tried layering it to wear on it's own, but I never found anything I liked. I don't want to work too hard to like something. I'll probably end up swapping it.

Moving on!

I got the E.L.F 100 eye shadow palette as a gift.

My son loves swatching the colors. I let him choose one everyday to swatch. Most of the shades seem pretty pigmented, but some are pretty craptastic, but I still really like it. I like having all those options!

Here are my 3 favorite shades in the palette:

I also got a Josie Maran lip/cheek stain in "Fox Trot" and an E.L.F Studio Matte Lip Color in "Tea Rose". I like both of them, although I don't think I would ever use the Josie Maran lipstain on my cheeks, because it's a very deep color, and I'm a very white girl. 

OH! I also got a Stila Liquid Eye Liner pen in black as a gift.

I went to Ulta about a week or so before Christmas and picked up a few things. I got the POP Beauty Eye Magnet primer. It's okay. I don't like the brush applicator though.

It does however, work very well, and I like the texture a lot.

I also picked up the POP Beauty Eye Magnet eye shadow palette, which I'm very on the fence about.

The colors are pretty, and most of them are fairly pigmented, but it is just nothing special. I will probably end up swapping it, or giving it to one of my sisters.

I also got a NYX single eye shadow in "rust". I really love it, and I've been wearing it a ton. It's a red coppery rust color. It's gorgeous. Perfect for winter/fall in my opinion. 

I meant to take a picture of it, but I never got around to it, but here is a sloppy pic of it on my eyes!

I went to Target sometime last week and picked up these 2 items.

I'll have to get back to you on both of them, because I am on the fence.

At CVS one night I picked up this blush for 50% off

Finally (I'm almost done! Are you Happy?), Tonight I went to Ulta and purchased this:

It was too good of a deal to pass up. It came with a full sized POREfessional, a full size Benetint and a deluxe sized sample of Some Kind-a Gorgeous. Also the box is fucking adorable, and you can pull out the picture of the products, and put your own picture of whatever in there. ALL THAT FOR ONLY 32 DOLLARS.

The best part is, that since I spent at least 25 dollars on a Benefit item, I got this for free:

They are sample sized items of Benefit's skincare line. It came with a foaming cleanser, an under eye cream and a facial lotion. 

That is all for now. I hope someone looks at this, because it would make me happy. :P

Happy New Year!