Drug Store Haul

Hey Everyone!

The other night after class I popped into my local CVS store to pick up some items I have had my eyes on for awhile. (CVS is, it's the exact same thing as Walgreens, Drug Mart, or Rite-Aid.)Anywho....I know 2 of the items purchased are fairly new, but I am not quite sure how new the other items are.

***Let me just note I have not used any of these products yet because I wanted to get pictures and swatches and everything for this post.  If you are interested in a review on anything or have questions regarding the products please let me know.***

The first things I picked up were 2 new polishes by Essie.  They are the Bikini So Teeny and Mojito Madness.  I have to be honest, I was not too sure about the colors of both of these.  I tend to gravitate more towards darker colors (even in the spring or summer months).  But this year I have really broken out of my shell buying neons and bright, fun colors. 

Bikini So Teeny is this gorgeous periwinkle blue.  And Mojito Mint seriously looks just like the starbucks green!  I am so excited to use these.


I picked up 2 of the Wet-n-Wild shadow trios.  The first is in Cool As A Cucumber and consists of a light, celery like green for the browbone, a darker plum color for the crease, and an olive green for the eye lid.  I have really dark brown eyes and I think colors like the greens and pinks work well for my eye color.

The other trio is Silent Treatment which has a pretty salmon like pink for the browbone, a darker shimmery chocolate like color for the crease, and a neutral pinky taupe for the lid color.  I have been dying to use these but really wanted to get photos for you guys.

All of the other items I picked up are by Milani.  I got 3 eyeshadows and a blush. The blush is in the shade 08 Coralina.  It looks somewhat scary and intense.  It's the brightest blush I have ever owned.  It looks like this intense orange, but can be sheered out to a lovely coral.

The 3 eyeshadow shades are from their Runway Eyes collection.  Shades #15 - Golden Touch, Peaches and Cream (I don't know the number because I accidentily ripped it off trying to open the container), and #02 Blackout.  I have not used any of these products but I am excited to try them....maybe a tutorial?! =)

(Left to right: Golden Touch, Peaches and Cream, and Blackout)

They aren't as pigmented dry, they actually don't have much color payoff dry, they just look like tinted sparkle. But if you use them wet they are little more intense, like an explosion of color!!! 

(Dry)

(Dry)

(Wet)

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you are all having a wonderful morning, day, or evening wherever you are!!

Summer Skin Care For Oily Skin

Hey Everyone!

Now that the nice, warm weather is upon us, it's time to put away our winter skin care and break out with our summer skin care routines. If you are like me then any bit of warmth outside turns your face into an instant oil slick!  I'm not into having a long, extensive routine...I work and go to school full time, so I need something that is going to be quick and easy.

Sometimes I feel like my skin gets used to one particular routine or product, so I occasionally like to switch it up and do something different for a couple of days here or there.  It really depends on how my skin is feeling.  If I am feeling extremely oily I almost ALWAYS reach for my Proactiv system.  The system is meant to be used on a consistent basis for the most effective results.  Like I said before, I have this weird feeling that my skin gets used to one particular routine which is the reason I tend to switch it up.

For about 75-80% of the time I use the Proactiv system.  Through extensive research about the product, I found that using the 5 step system is best because it's meant for oily skin.  The system consists of a cleanser, toner, lotion, daily oily control gel/liquid, and an SPF moisturizer.  The 3 core products alone will not help...it will actually make your skin even more oily. The 3 alone have a tendency to leave the skin feeling dry (and the 3 step system does not include a moisturizer).  Having that dry feeling, your skin kind of freaks out and says, "Must balance the dryness...must produce more oil!!"  Your body will naturally try and balance itself out by producing all this excess oil....stuff we are trying to avoid from the start.

The cleanser is amazing!  It's packed with all these micro-beads that help exfoliate the skin without being too abrasive.  SIDE NOTE:  ALWAYS remove your makeup prior to using the cleanser.  If you don't and just start cleansing, you will essentially grind your makeup into your skin which is only going to clog your pores and create more problems.  After thoroughly rinsing the cleanser, I take about 8-10 drops of the toner on a cotton pad or round (I highly advise against anything other than those 2...tissue, cotton balls, and anything else will just absorb the product and won't evenly distribute it to your face).  This just helps to remove any remaining dirt/oil residue on your face.  It has witch hazel in it, which is soothing for the skin. 

After I apply the toner, I allow a few seconds for my face to dry and apply the daily oil control.  I have heard with the new formulation you should apply your refining lotion and then the daily oil control.  I have read the refining lotion is meant to "seal" the medication into your pores.  If that's the case, how does the daily oil control penetrate your pores if you use the lotion first and seal them?!?!!?!?

Apply the daily oil control in a thin layer to the oily areas.  For some it's the T-Zone and others may be just the nose or chin.  After doing this I allow a few minutes for it to fully sink into my skin and pores.  I usually brush my teeth or do my hair after I apply this.  I follow up with a small and even amount of the lotion all over (avoiding the eye area of course). 

And last but not least, the moisturizer.

You always want to find a moisturizer with SPF, medicated products tend to make the skin a little more sensitive especially in sunlight.  Let's take care of our money makers ladies (and gents) =)  This moisturizer of course has an SPF and is non-comedogenic.  Which basically means it's proven not to clog your pores.  It's nice and light and feels weightless on your skin. Using the system twice daily and consistently will really pay off and give you the results you want if you are looking to combat acne and/or oil.

If any of you have questions regarding the Proactiv system please let me know in the comments section below....and yes I know I said I switch up my skin care routine so I decided to do a second post regarding my other routine!  So keep an eye out for that one =)

As always...hope you are having a good day where ever you may be!  Thanks for reading and take care.

Blogger of the Month

Hey Everyone!!!

So I know this is a little late going up...and I am still trying to figure out why I decided to do this whole "Blogger of the Month" mid-month???

Let's get right to it though.  This months blogger is someone who has a lot of great insight on all things beauty.  She has tried and tested a lot of products and shared her opinions (both the good and bad) with us all.  She does talk about high end products, but also incorporates more affordable, drugstore brands into a lot of her posts and videos.  

Most of the blogs I follow are also associated with a YouTube account...so with that being said if you don't know who this person is you need to check out her blog and YouTube channels (Beauty and Vlog).  Her videos and blog posts have helped me a lot....especially tutorial videos.  The way she describes things, they are just so easy to follow.  To me, seems like she is very sweet and genuine, and extremely bubbly and personable.  Her posts are always helpful, fun, and easy to read.  I love reading review posts about makeup and beauty products, they always make me want to try more things and venture outside of the box!

This months Blogger of the Month is Emily (or EmilyNoel83 on YouTube).

Please got check out her blog www.beautybroadcast.net and check out her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/emilynoel83

Thanks for reading!  Have a great morning, day, or night wherever you are in the world!!! Take Care and talk you all real soon =)

Bdellium Tools Green Bambu Series Brushes

Hey Everyone!!!

I feel like a lot has been going on the last 2 weeks that my head has been spinning.  I celebrated not only my birthday, but also my mom's birthday and mother's day.  Spent memorial day with family and have been crazy busy with school.

Speaking of my birthday....my boyfriend got me some pretty amazing brushes!  I first heard about these brushes from Zoe and Lousie, who are currently selling them in their shop on www.zoella.com.  Sadly mine were not ordered from their shop =(  My boyfriend waiting until the last minute to order them and due to international shipping and such, just ordered them from Amazon.com.

But they are the Bdellium Tools Green Bambu Series Brushes and I got the 995 Kabuki and the Mineral 5 pc. Brush Set.  All of the brushes are eco friendly and they all have green bambu handles.  The information cards that come with the brushes state that the brushes are designed specifically for usage with mineral makeup but versatile enough to use in any application.  I have been using my brushes with mostly powders (eye shadow, blush, bronzer, and matifying powder) but have also used with some cream products (shadow and blush).

These are some of the SOFTEST brushes I have ever felt, especially the Kabuki Brush.  I took it out of the packaging and couldn't stop rubbing it on my face and running my hand along the top of it.  I have used them since I was given them and they give such a flawless finish.  I use the Kabuki to apply a powder on top of my foundation or BB cream just to help matify my skin.

The Mineral 5 pc Brush Set Includes:

#959B Powder Blending Brush - Which I actually use to apply blush.  It's soft, yet kind of dense, so it's easy to concentrate the area of where you want to apply your makeup.

#942B Slanted Contour - Great for applying bronzer to contour the face lol.  The great thing about this brush is that it's kind of on the small side.  I don't know about any of you, but with larger contour brushes I feel like I am applying way more product than necessary to my face.  This brush really targets in and narrows down the range of where the product is applied, making it easy to blend out without using TOO much product. 

 #943 Precision Concealer - I am starting to notice as I type that my theme with this set seems to be the size of the brushes...because yet again this concealer brush is nice and small which really gets into those tight areas like around the nose and eye area.  And again, it really helps cut down on how much product I am using and still gives a flawless finish.

#787B Large Tapered Blending - Great brush for blending out your lid/crease colors to make any eye look appear seamless and effortless.  This is one of the largest blending brushes I have ever seen or own.  I have been using this as my "clean" blending brush just to clean up around the eye area after applying shadow and to help blend out any harsh lines.

#778B Large Shadow - And it is simply that.  Again one of the largest shadow brushes I own, but I am absolutely in love with it.  I can apply twice the amount of shadow with this brush compared to my other shadow brushes and I can flip the brush over and use the clean side to blend in a crease color.  It's multi-functional and really helps to save me some time in the morning when I am getting ready by applying more product with less effort.  

Over all I am really satisfied with these brushes.  The seem to make my makeup application a lot easier in the morning when I am pressed for time and they are of great quality.  There is the foundation set from this same line that I will be purchasing in the very near future.  I would recommend everyone to give these brushes a go!  Cleaning them has been simple and I haven't experienced any fall out with them yet!  

Hope everyone is having a great day where ever you are!  Take care guys =)