December 2012 Empties!

Okay, so I think I went through a ton of stuff this past month. It seemed like I went through everything within like a week and a half after the month started and at the end of the month, like maybe two or three things. Oh well, there's more room for other things! ;)

I finally went through The Body Shop Banana Conditioner. I swear, I go through so much shampoo but it takes forever to use up conditioner. I don't think I use a ton of shampoo at one time, but I might try and see how much I actually use. Anyways, I did a full review of the shampoo and conditioner here. I liked the conditioner alot and the smell actually stayed in my hair, but it's not obnoxious. 

I also used up one of my beloved The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serums. I love this stuff so much and I had a request to review the products from the aloe line that I've tried, so a review will definitely be coming up in the next couple weeks! 

The packaging of the E.L.F. Tone Correcting Concealer sucks so bad. The actual product sucks too but I couldn't get anymore product out of this tube no matter how hard I tried. I had another one of these in an empties post and this was my last one. This stuff only costs $1, but it really does not do a good job at all of concealing anything. There are so many amazing E.L.F. products that I love, this was just a total bust for me and I will never repurchase this. Ever!

I finally used up the Origins Well Off eye makeup remover and I liked this alot. It didn't leave any oily residue and took off my eye makeup really well. It also didn't sting my eyes like other eye makeup removers do. I put this in my September favorites here if you wanted to see what else I loved that month.

Next I used up a hand cream that I had been using for a long time and it finally ran out and it's the Olay Quench Therapy Hand Cream. I really, really liked this. I love the body cream they have in the Quench line as well. This hand cream did an amazing job at moisturizing and this might sound weird, but my hands looked "pretty" after I put it on. It was just an amazing product. I don't think they have this product anymore because I can't even find it on the Olay site. Bummer :(

It seems like I used up a bunch of skincare too. I finally used up the Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser. I've talked about this before and it's just a very nice cleanser that doesn't irritate my skin at all .

I also used up the rest of The Body Shop Vitamin C Eye Reviver. I'm so sad this is empty because this was the best eye cream ever and I can't find if I have a backup of it. The Body Shop stopped carrying this and has something different now, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. There have been some things that I didn't care when it got discontinued but this makes me really, really sad. 

I used up another product from The Body Shop and it's the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion. I have so many backups of this because this has been a go-to moisturizer for in the morning for ages now. I don't even know how many different tubes I've gone through. It's good at leaving skin matte and the tea tree helps prevent and clear up breakouts.

Then I used up the Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Carbon Mask, which I did a review on here and it's on the list of my favorite face masks here. I love this mask alot! It really helped to smooth out my skin and really clear out my pores. I have insanely large pores (gross, I know) and this mask was pretty much the only thing that helped them look smaller. I'll repurchase when I use up my other masks.

These are the last few things I used up! The big bottle of Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion took me well over a year to go through, but I didn't use it every single day though. I'm glad I can use up some of my body butters now that it's super cold out and my skin's really dry. I liked this lotion alot, but it definitely is thick. I always think lotions are thinner and meant more for Spring and Summer use. This stuff was really good though. It's gentle and doesn't have any smell so it didn't irritate anything.

I wasn't sure if you guys wanted to see what kind of eye drops I use, but I used up my Similasan eye drops for allergy relief. These are the only eye drops I use because everything else I've tried has felt like I was pouring acid onto my eyeballs. Not a good feeling.

I also used up the Berkley & Jensen Hair, Skin & Nails supplement. I'm trying to be better at taking vitamins and I want to keep mainly my hair and skin looking nice. 

The final thing I used up is The Body Shop Lip Butter in the scent Guarana. I've talked about this before and it's your basic lip butter that moisturizes your lips very well. The only thing is it leaves a white cast if you use too much or don't massage it on your lips enough.

That's everything I used up! I'm pretty happy with all those products but I don't know how much I'll go through when January is over so we'll see!

What did you guys use up in December?

December 2012 Favorites!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm so excited that 2012 is over and 2013 can finally begin! I'll be doing my December favorites today. I haven't been blogging for that long so I didn't really find it necessary to do a yearly favorites. Probably the end of this year I'll do that. Anyways, lets get on with what I've been loving this past month!

Everything I've been loving!

The first product I've been loving is the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder, and I got the shade 001 Transparent. I just started using this about the last half of December and I can't believe I waited this long after buying it to try it! This is such an amazing powder. If I'm wearing tinted moisturizer or b.b. cream, this sets it so beautifully and keeps my face looking matte. I can do a full review of how I like it if anyone is interested. 

This next product I haven't really heard much about except from maybe 2 or 3 people and it's the Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Highlighter in Rose Illumination. The very first time I heard about it was from michelle1218 on Youtube. She was raving about how beautiful this was and how much she loved rose gold. Literally the next day when I went to work, I picked it up and she was right! It's such a beautiful rose gold color that gives the prettiest bit of sheen on your cheekbones. I've used it quite a bit this month with my skin getting a tad drier than normal to add some glow to my skin.

I've also been loving my Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover. I've had this for a long time but I ran out of my Origins makeup remover and I had this as a backup. It's definitely very gentle taking off eye makeup but once in a while I do get some stinging. I do have insanely sensitive eyes, especially if I've had my contacts in for a long time during the day. I also don't really agree with it being oil-free because once all my makeup is off, there is a bit of a film on my eyelids. I don't really care about that because I always take a shower and wash my face completely after taking off my eye makeup, but I don't think they should call it oil-free if it leaves a film. 

Next I've been loving the Laura Geller Lip Strip. This is just a basic lip scrub that smells and tastes minty. I've never tried any of the LUSH lip scrubs, but I'm going to assume they're basically the same product as this. I use this at night before I brush my teeth and I always put a hydrating lip balm on right after. I absolutely love how this makes my lips feel. They're super soft and this scrub takes any dead flaky skin away. This actually came in a Sephora lip kit a couple years ago, but I never really touched it until recently when my lips kept cracking and getting dry on me. 

I know I've had this bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in a favorites post before, but I am just that in love with it! I'll be one sad girl when this runs out or dries up on me. I did a full review of it here so I won't go rambling on about this. It's just amazing.

Next I've been loving an E.L.F. eyeshadow in the color Coffee Bean. The picture makes it look like there's alot of shimmer, but there really isn't once you put on your eyelid. This is just a really pretty color for all over your lids or blended into the crease. I'm typically a one shadow girl and this was mostly my go-to color along with the shadow next to it...

...And that's the bareMinerals Glimmer eyeshadow in the color Desire. Again, I did a full review of this here so I won't say too much. It's another pretty color for all over the lid.

These are swatches of the highlighter and E.L.F. eyeshadow. I tried taking so many pictures but this was the best one out of all of them so hopefully you can see the highlighter.

That's everything! Hopefully this year I can really try out products that I've had for a while so I can review them for you guys!

What were your favorites for the month? (Or year!)

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to wish all my lovely followers a very merry Christmas! I can't wait to go over to my parent's house with my fiance and have an awesome dinner (with chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert!). We went over to his mom's house last night for Christmas Eve dinner and took a bunch of pictures, and I wanted to share one with you guys!

I know, I look really tired, but I had been at work since 6:30 in the morning, and when I got home, I just changed and we went up to his mom's house. Anyways, this is my fiance, David! I don't think I've ever shown a picture of him, so this is the first time you're meeting him really. And the cute puppy (well, she's about 15 years old), is Gizmo. Everyone calls her Gizzy and she's so stinkin' cute! She can be a little grumpy pants, but hey, she's an old lady now!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

December 2012 Ipsy/Myglam Bag

Hey everyone! Sorry my December Ipsy bag post is kinda late, but works been kicking my booty! Anyways, I received it in the mail sometime last week and I wanted to share what I got. I will say, I'm not super impressed, but I'm still happy with it.

First off, I have to say that I lost one of the items in my house that came in the bag and they're the Mai Couture Highlighter Papier. It's basically a little booklet of face highlighter sheets similar to face blotting papers. I'm not sure how much use I'll get from them only because I think I'll feel weird putting it on my face. It's like I won't have much control or something. Plus it seems like a waste. I was also going to say that I love the bag everything came in! It's so cute and I love the color of it (sorry it came out a little funky in the picture). It's just a really pretty metallic grey from what my eyes can tell.

Anyways, the first item I got other than the highlighter sheets is the NYX Loose Pearl Shadow in the color Mocha Pearl. I've never tried a loose pigment shadow before and when I opened this little bottle, boy was it messy! I'm also not sure how I'm going to use it if it's so messy, but it's a pretty color so I'll find a way. I do have other eyeshadows this color it's nothing spectacular in my opinion. 

Next I got the Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes. I don't think I'll be using this as an eye primer because it says not to get it close to the lash line, but I'll definitely try it out as a face primer. I have a lot of primers to use up, so this may be sitting in my collection for a little while. 

The next product I got is the Be A Bombshell Lip Gloss in the color Hot Mess. Now I gotta admit, I'm not much of a bright red lip fan, at least not on me. I feel like my skin is too pale for it and it's better suited for someone with a darker complexion. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll give it a shot and maybe try to sheer it out as much as I can.

Lastly, I got an Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in the color Zero. I already have a smaller version of this pencil, and I do like it, but once I got my hands on Perversion, I can't really look at another black eyeliner. I'll definitely use Zero, but usually now if I want to wear a black eyeliner, I automatically use Perversion. 

Swatches of lip gloss, eyeliner and eyeshadow

Well that's my Ipsy bag this month. Like I said, I'm not too impressed but I'm not disappointed either. I love Urban Decay Eyeliners, I'll definitely use the lip gloss if I can sheer it out a lot, and I'll use the eyeshadow too. I don't really have a use for the highlighter papers and I already have lots of primers to use up. Hopefully next months bag is better!

November 2012 Empties!

Happy December everyone! This past month I really feel like I went through alot of products! It really is such a good feeling to be able to use something up, but then of course you have to buy more. So here is everything I used up!

So starting off with hair and body care, the first thing I went through is the Oscar Blandi Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray. I honestly hated this stuff. It didn't do anything to get rid of greasiness if I didn't wash my hair the night before and it just made it feel dirtier. It took me a really long time to use up because I typically wash my hair everyday. I had this for probably over a year or so. 

Then I used up The body Shop Banana Shampoo. I still have some of the conditioner left to use so that'll end up in my December Empties. I absolutely love this shampoo! It smells amazing and made my hair really soft. I actually have a couple more bottles of this and the conditioner left in my closet so I won't need to repurchase for a while. I also did a full review of this here if you want to check it out.  

Next I used up another The body Shop product and it was the Milk & Honey Body Lotion. I really like this lotion more for use in the Summer because it's very lightweight and now with it being more cold outside, it doesn't work as well. I just wanted to use this up because I didn't want it sitting in my closet til Spring/Summer. It's a bummer The Body Shop doesn't carry this anymore because it really is nice and smells amazing.

Onto skincare! I usually use up a bunch of skincare in a month and the first thing I went through is my beloved The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner. I really can't say enough good things about this toner. I know I've mentioned it before in posts, but this stuff is really awesome! It only has like six ingredients so there's not much that can cause irritation. I have so many backups of this so I know I definitely don't need to repurchase for a long while. 

Next I used up the Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser. I'm so glad this is gone now! I wasn't a fan of this and it didn't do anything remarkable for my skin so I won't repurchase. I do like other Juice Beauty products, just not this. I did do a full review of it here.  

Then I used up this Olay Regenerist product called Thermal Skin Polisher. This stuff was interesting. When you wet your face, put some in your hands and starting massaging this on your face, it warms up, alot. Sometimes to the point of almost burning. It said on the package you could use it daily, but my skin is way too sensitive to be able to use this everyday. I doubt I'll be repurchasing this in the future.

I also finally used up The Body Shop Black Velvet Apricot Lip Balm. I had this for years and I thought it was just okay. It moisturized my lips for a while but once I got to the bottom of the jar, there were so many shimmery sparkles and it actually started drying my lips out more. This was part of a holiday scent so I doubt they'll bring this back. If they do, I know I won't repurchase. 

The last thing I used up is The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream. This stuff is really nice. I actually used this at night when my skin started feeling drier than normal and it helped to bring moisture back to my skin without getting super oily. This particular jar I'd had since last year from not finishing it up, but it was still good to use since there was no product separating or funky smells going on. I have another backup of this once my current nighttime moisturizer runs out. 

Well that's everything! I really think this is a good amount I went through. Still no empty makeup, but I'm almost done a face primer, so that may make it to my December empties!

November 2012 Favorites!

I know it sounds cliche, but this month has totally flown by and I don't know where the year has gone! Plus, my birthday is in a week and a half so woohoo to that! Anyways, since it's the end of the month, that means it's time for my monthly favorites! Honestly, it's not much because I still haven't gotten a chance to really play around with stuff, but here are my favorites of November!

My first favorite is a Bare Minerals Glimmer Eyeshadow in a color called Desire. I absolutely am in love with this color and I did a review on it which can be found here. It's such a pretty color, and I rediscovered this in my collection just last week.

My next favorite is a Stila Eyeshadow in the color Diamond Lil. I can't tell you how impressed I was with this shadow. I also have the infamous Kitten eyeshadow and a black eyeshadow that all came in a 3-piece set. I've used Kitten a couple times, but honestly, it's nothing to write home about. This color is just such a pretty taupe-y gray color that made my eyes pop when I put it on and I was super impressed. The color payoff is amazing and it lasted all day too, but I always use an eyeshadow primer first.

My next favorite is a lip butter from The Body Shop in the scent Guarana. This stuff smells amazing! To me, it smells like sweet candy. It doesn't taste like it though, which is a bummer. It's incredibly moisturizing, but the only thing that I sort of don't like is that it can leave your lips looking white, so you really gotta massage this into your lips, or use a colored lipgloss or lipstick over top. I use a gloss over top so it doesn't bother me too much. 

My next favorite is also something I did a full review on earlier this month, which you can check out here. It's the Super Hyper Hydrator with Coconut Water. It's so bizarre, but my consistently oily skin is actually really drying out for once, and this has been a godsend to me. I only use it at night, because during the day I don't need something this heavy. I wake up with really soft, hydrated skin and it hasn't even broken me out either, which is another miracle. 

My last favorite of the month is the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in the color Perversion. I can't believe I waited so long to get this! It's amazing how dark it is and it went on perfectly for my tightline and waterline. It didn't tug on my skin at all. The only downside, which I actually have with every eyeliner I've ever tried, is that it didn't last very long on my waterline. I noticed it was starting to go away after only a few hours. I blame this on my very sensitive eyes that water constantly and my allergies. I gotta say though, this is probably the best eyeliner I've ever tried. The whole 24/7 line is amazing, but I was looking for a really dark black color for the longest time and I ended up purchasing this when Sephora had their 20% off coupon for VIB's. So happy I purchased this!

Swatch of Stila eyeshadow and UD eyeliner

Well there are my favorites of the month! I'm really hoping I can test out a few newer things in December but since I work in retail, I might not have enough time with these crazy holiday hours. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this and please comment if you'd like to see certain posts that I haven't done or would like to see more of! 

Also, what were your favorites in November?

November 2012 Ipsy/Myglam Bag

Hey guys! I got my Ipsy glam bag in the mail yesterday so I wanted to share with everyone what I got.

This is the bag everything came in. I actually kinda like this because I'm a fan of brown. I will say though, because I've gotten these bags for a little while now, I just have them piling up and not being put to use. Maybe I'll start using them to take to work or something.

This is one product I was pretty excited for. It's nail polish by Nailtini called Millionaire. It's so pretty! There are tons of gold flecks in it with touches of blue and green flecks. I think it'll be pretty by itself or layered over a white polish.

Next I got an eyeliner from a brand called Starlet and the color is Chocolate. I really like softer eyeliner colors because they're not as harsh as black. I don't use eyeliner too often so I'm not sure if this will just sit in my collection or if I'll get use out of it. I'll definitely give it a try and see if I like it. Swatching it on my had was fine, so hopefully it'll be easy putting on my upper lash line.

Sorry the quality of this is bad. I have a swatch of this coming!

 I was sort of excited about this product. This is an eyeshadow from theBalm Meet Matt(e) eyeshadow palette in the color Matt Batali. To me, it's just a basic gray-ish, taupe-y brown color. This may go well with the eyeliner that came in the bag.

I was very excited about this product! I'm obsessed with the Buxom lip glosses that bareMinerals has but I've never tried the Marvelous Moxie lip gloss before. This is in the color Dare Devil and I think this is a very pretty color for the holiday season. It sheers out very nicely when I swatched it on my hand too so it's not very dark at all.

This was the either or product. I'm so sad I got this! I wanted the Benefit they're real mascara! Instead I got this Chella eyebrow gel. First of all, I don't care much about my eyebrows. I barely do anything with them. Plus this stuff smells like nail polish remover to me. It's pretty nasty. I know for sure I won't be using this. I've wanted to try that Benefit mascara for I don't know how long and I was so hoping I'd get it. Oh well, I'll hold out buying it since I have tons of mascara to go through.

Swatches of eyeshadow, eyeliner and lip gloss

Well that's everything I got in this months bag! I wasn't super impressed because of the stupid eyebrow gel but hey, I can't get everything I want, right? I'm sure next month will be better.

I'm curious to know, who got the eyebrow gel and who got the mascara?

October 2012 Favorites!

Hello everyone! I finally have power back on and my internet is fully functional so I'm officially back to posting again! But this is probably going to be a sad favorites post, only because I haven't really experimented much with anything new I've gotten yet so they didn't really get a chance to be considered for this favorites post. So basically I'll talk a little about what I've been using for most of October and felt they deserved mentioning.

My first favorite of October is the NYX Eyeshadow in the color Aloha. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this in a previous post but this is such a pretty highlight color for the browbone. I bought this back in I wanna say August, but I wanted to use it enough to say how much I love it. It's just this really pretty, shimmery champagne color that's also good for highlighting the inner corners of the eyes. To me, this is very similar to the color Virgin that's in the Naked Palette. This one is just a tad more shimmery, but the color payoff is pretty much the same.

My next favorite that I'm surprised hasn't been in a favorites post before is the bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in the color black. I know I've mentioned this in other posts too, but not a favorites post. I've gushed about this before so I won't go into it again, but this mascara makes my lashes look like my lashes, but better.

Next up is something that I haven't mentioned before and that's the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream. Boy that's a mouthful to say. Anyways, I haven't really talked much about haircare because honestly, my hair isn't that much to talk about and I'm not fussy with the products I use. My hair is pretty fine, doesn't have much damage now, but can frizz once in a while. My hair used to be pretty damaged until I got about three inches chopped off so now I'm better about using this stuff after my shower. I run this through my damp hair with my fingers first and then comb it through. When I wake up in the morning my hair is so soft and doesn't get knotty anymore. I'll actually be doing a full review of this coming soon.

My next favorite is actually a newer product I tried this past month and that's the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment Concealer. I've heard so many good things about this product but was skeptical because nothing has ever totally gotten rid of my dark circles. This product is amazing! It doesn't totally 100% get rid of the darkness but lessens it quite a bit. I'm super impressed with how it works. It's also very creamy and easy to blend in with my ring finger. It even matches my skin perfectly too! I never thought I'd get to say that!

My last favorite for October is also another newer purchase I've made and that's a nail polish by OPI called Vampsterdam. This color is so stinking beautiful in the bottle and is even more beautiful on the nails! The picture makes this look black but it's actually a very dark, almost black, plum-y purple color. This is just such a beautiful color for fall and I gotta admit, I'm not a huge fan of the dark burgundy, oxblood trend that's going around. I feel like I'm way too pale to be able to pull it off but this Vampsterdam color is stunning for my paleness.

Well those are my favorites of October! I know it's probably nothing exciting, but I'm going to try and make an effort to try out some of the new makeup I've bought over the last month or so and let everyone know how I like them.

What are your favorites for October? 

EDIT: There was an issue with my posting date, but it's been fixed. It had said October 29th was the posting day but really it was supposed to say November 3rd. I think I fixed everything!

October 2012 Empties!

Hey everyone! This past month I actually think I went through a decent amount of stuff. Makeup is always hard for me to go through because I don't wear it everyday but I managed to use up one makeup product. So here is all the stuff I was able to go through in October!

So the first product I used up is something that isn't even made anymore and it's the Philosophy It's All In Your Head Extra Gentle Daily Shampoo. It sucks that this isn't made anymore because I actually liked this. I'm not picky with hair stuff so I'm always trying new things but this made my hair really soft and cleaned it very well. It also had a nice light, fresh scent to it. 

The next product I used up is the Olay Body Wash plus Creme Ribbons. I'm not gonna add a link to this because I didn't like this stuff at all. The smell of it was too overwhelming. It smelled too much like perfume and it actually irritated my skin and dried it out more. It's just a crap product to me.

Next, I used up the Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel for sensitive skin. This product was okay. It didn't really do much for my skin and I didn't notice it make my skin softer or prevent ingrown hairs and all that. I have a backup of this to use up now but I don't think I'll be repurchasing this again.

The next product I used up is another one that's not available anymore (sorry guys!). It's the Dylan's Candy Bar Ice Cream Sugar Scrub in Coconut Bon Bon. I got this and some other things from this brand at Sephora a really long time ago, it's probably been a few years. Anyways, I really loved this scrub. The scrubby granules weren't big so they didn't irritate my skin but left me with really soft baby skin. The smell of this was just amazing too! A little of this went a long way too, so it took me a long while to go through this. 

The next product is The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Blemish Fade Night Lotion. I know I've mentioned this in posts before and I like this stuff. Because of the tea tree oil, it does have a pretty strong scent but it doesn't linger and the lotion sinks right into your skin. It sometimes irritated my skin a little bit, but I usually mixed this with the aloe serum from The Body Shop to help with that. 

The next product I used up (thank god!) is the E.L.F. Tone Correcting Concealer in the color ivory. This stuff sucks to be honest. I'm so glad this is gone but unfortunately I do have another one to use up. I don't know what it is about this product. I just did not like it. It smells like an orange creamsicle which is nice, but it gives absolutely no coverage whatsoever and it doesn't blend very well either. I should just throw out the other one I have but I hate wasting product like that. Plus, I'm pretty sure this was only $1 so it's not a big burn in my pocket, but it still sucks!

The last product I used up is The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator. I really, really like this stuff. The scrubby particles in it are a good size so they don't irritate my skin but it still gets the job done. I'm always left with super soft skin afterwards. The base of this scrub also gets very foamy so it can also act as a cleanser. A word of caution if you try this: be very careful not to get it in your eyes! Trust me, my hand slipped one time and I got some of the soap, not the scrubby particles, in my eyes and it burned like hell. I had to keep flushing my eye with water and it was fine but man that wasn't fun!

That's everything! I hope in November I can go through more makeup products but I'm happy with what I used up this month.

What did everyone else use up in October?

October 2012 Ipsy/MyGlam Bag

Today I'm going to be sharing what I got in my Ipsy/Glam bag. First of all, this company used to be called MyGlam, now they're called Ipsy so I guess when I post future bags I'll just called it an Ipsy bag. I was pretty darn excited to get this bag because I always look up the hints they give out on Facebook and figure out what I'm getting, so here it is!

The bag the products came in

The wonderful products!

So the first product I received is by Mirenesse and it is a Lip Bomb that says it's a glossy lacquer stain. I'm pretty excited by this because I'm obsessed with lip glosses and this is a nice neutral nude pink-y color that seems like it will go nicely with my fair skintone. I don't see a name for the color, it just has the number 9 on the bottom.

Next I received the Be a Bombshell Eye Liner in the color Onyx. I'm not a big fan of liquid eye liners only because I don't have much experience with them. I've tried a different one before and my hand was so shaky putting it on, it looked like a 5 year old drew on my face. But I guess this product gives me more reason to try and experiment again.

This next product I was most excited to receive! It's from Coastal Scents and it's just four dime sized eyeshadows in the colors Rosy Pink, Gunmetal, Elven Silver and Light Pink. Now you can't see in the picture, but I was a little disappointed because the silver color was a little broken. It's like a piece of the top was scraped off somehow, but I'm okay with it now because it's only a tiny amount that was broken. These colors look sooooo pretty though! I love the rosy pink and gunmetal colors the most.

The next thing I got is a Pequi Oil Treatment that's for your hair to restore softness and shine. Now I've never tried a hair oil before so I'm not sure if I'll like this or not. My hair right now isn't dry or damaged and it's actually pretty fine so I always think oils will just weigh my hair down more. I'll still try this though just to see how it works. I might wait til it gets a lot colder because that's when my hair gets the driest.

The last thing I received is from theBalm Cosmetics and it's the What's Your Type? "the body builder" Mascara in just a regular black color. I'm pretty excited for this too because I love trying new mascaras and I've actually heard a lot of good things about this. 

I also got a little card with all the products names on it and extra discounts if I place an order with any of the brands from this bag.

Well that's my bag! Overall, I'm happy with it. Again, not the biggest fan of hair oils but I will definitely try it. I'm still so excited over the eyeshadows and mascara! I can't wait to try them! This is also by far my favorite beauty subscription service. I used to be subscribed to Birchbox but didn't like over half of the boxes I got, and I was with them for a little over a year. Oh well, Ipsy is really amazing in my opinion :)

What beauty subscription services do you like or recommend?

September 2012 Favorites!

I really can't believe that it's already October! I know everyone on the planet says that but really, this year is flying and it's time for another favorites blog! Lets get started!

Now my first favorite is probably no surprise to most people who know me and that is the Philosophy Melting Marshmallow Cream Flavored Lip Shine. I truly can't say anything bad about the Philosophy lip shines. They smell good, they taste good and they leave my lips feeling super soft. I'm still not sure why I was drawn to this one most in September because this is more of a Christmas flavor but I just loved it. With all the lip glosses I have, I constantly reached for this one and kept it in my bag at work too. Seriously, I haven't met a flavor I didn't like yet!

My next favorite is the Nails Inc. nail polish in the color Fenchurch Street. This came in a set of four and I bought the set around this time last year (I think) and this color just screams fall. It shows up a lot darker in the picture but in person it's this dark mustard-y color with an orange tint to it. I love the whole set of colors though. They're all very fall but this one was on my nails for most of September.

I don't think you can get my next favorite anymore because I got it in a value set from Sephora a while ago and that's an eye shadow quad from the Smashbox Ultimate Eyes- Hazel value set. I honestly don't even remember all the things that came in the set but this eye quad is fantastic! You get a very light, cream color shade that's a really good base and highlight, a shimmery taupe color, a wonderful shimmery, dark silver color and the most beautiful dark plum color ever with just the tiniest bit of shimmer. All these colors together create the most beautiful subtle smokey eye or you can go very neutral with just the cream shade all over the lid up to the brow bone as a base, the taupe color all over the lid and the dark plum as a liner. I have so many eye shadows but this palette was just so amazing I couldn't really use anything else.

Next, I have Origins Well Off eye makeup remover. I'll admit, I'm not terribly picky with eye makeup removers only because I always wash my face right after. The only thing I really look for in a makeup remover is that it doesn't sting my eyes. This one is so gentle and doesn't sting at all, which is wonderful. It also doesn't leave that greasy film all over your eyes that not many people like. I personally don't mind because like I said, I always wash my face right after and I always go over my eyes with my cleanser to make sure I got all the makeup off. 

This next favorite is actually a surprise favorite of mine because I honestly didn't think it would work and that's Urban Decay De-Slick Oil-Control Makeup Setting Spray. This really does make your makeup stay put all day and I'm not a big greasy mess by the end of the day. I still get a little oily throughout the day, but not as bad as before I started using this stuff. It's also very cooling on your skin when you first spray it on. I'm not 100% sure if I'll re-buy this, only because it's pretty darn expensive and it doesn't totally control my oil all day. With my makeup on the other hand, that really does last all day and that's surprising.

My last favorite is a Blending brush from BH Cosmetics. Holy cow, this is the best blending brush in my opinion. I love how fluffy it is and it does a really good job at blending eye shadows well. It's also one of the softest brushes I own. I've used brushes that have actually hurt my eyes because they were so scratchy but this one is soooooo soft and amazing!

So there you have it! Those were my favorites for September! What were some of your favorites this past month?

September 2012 Empties!

Today I'll be going over the few products I used up in September. I absolutely love reading these types of posts and watching the videos on Youtube. It's always a good feeling when you use something up, because then I use it as an excuse to buy some more! So lets get started!

The first thing I used up is my Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash. I really like this stuff. It doesn't smell the best but it makes my skin so soft and it helps keep those reds bumps on the backs of my arms at bay. This took me a little while to go through because I'm using another body wash as well and I liked to switch it up sometimes, but this was the first one that was used up!

Next, I used up the Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Shampoo. I still have a ton of the conditioner left over, probably about half of the bottle. For some reason I always go through shampoo like crazy but conditioner lasts me a really long time. Anyways, I really liked this shampoo. It made my hair really soft and the smell of all the Garnier shampoos is uh-may-zing! 

I finally finished up my Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock with SPF 55. I don't even know how long this took me to go through, but I've raved about this sunblock in quite a few of my blog posts, so you all know how much I love this. I actually just opened a new one of these this morning, so we'll see how long it takes me to go through. 

When I took the picture of the products I used up, I still had one day's worth left of the Garnier Nutristioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream. I used the rest up this morning and today is the last day of September, so I had to include it in this post. I have mentioned this in a few other posts and I'm not a fan of it. I've said before that the smell of it is very overwhelming and I personally didn't think it was that good of a moisturizer. I'm glad it's empty now! 

Next, I used up The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Facial Blotting Tissues. I think these are okay. They're basically your standard oil blotting tissue and there's nothing really remarkable about them. They're not terrible, they get the job one, but I don't use blotting tissues that much so they lasted me a very long time.

The last thing I used up is the Lash Fusion XL Mascara by Fusion Beauty(well, it really just dried up on me. Not sure if there was anything left in it). This came in one of those Sephora Lashstash boxes where you get a bunch of little mascaras to try. For me, I notice mascara doesn't really do much to my eyelashes. None of the ones I've tried have particularly lengthened or separated them. I basically look for if it doesn't flake off and that it lasts on my lashes. I have very oily eyelids and sometimes it causes my mascara to flake off and give me raccoon eyes, which isn't very attractive but this stuff really lasted for me. I would do my makeup in the morning before work and before I would take it off at night, I didn't have any smudges or flakiness so I liked it alot because of that. 

Well there you have it! I know I didn't use up that many things but I'm really going to try and go through a bunch of stuff in October so hopefully I'll have more to talk about.

What did you guys use up in September?

August 2012 Favorites!

So I figured I'll do an August 2012 favorites blog since I don't have access to a video camera to post on YouTube (maybe in the future sometime). I absolutely love watching those videos and reading about who loves what. So lets get started.

The first favorite I have is a nail polish by Zoya called Lotus. This is a tiny bottle but that's because I recieved it in a Birchbox. I LOVE this color! Here's a description from the Zoya website describing the color (because I'm terrible at describing colors): "Zoya Nail Polish in Lotus is a very soft, dusty blue-toned amethyst purple with colorful shimmer that reflects pink, red and gold. A dreamy smoky shade for purple lovers that looks both soft and luminous." I pretty much agree with this description except for the dusty blue part. I just don't see it. It's such a beautiful purple color and the shimmery particles show up very nicely but it's not over the top. I used two coats of this and it turned out very opaque and lasted for quite a few days for me before it chipped.

My next favorite is the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Shadow in Bad to the Bronze. Yes, I know I'm late with saying how wonderful this is, but I just recently purchased this within the last couple months and it really is incredible. I use this underneath my eye shadows especially when I'm using either of the Urban Decay Naked palettes. I have to use an eye shadow primer first as well because I have super oily eyelids and my eye shadow looks amazing all day. I can't wait to try out some of the new colors they have for Fall.

Next, I have a blush from The Body Shop and the back of the package just says 04 cheek colour, so it doesn't have a name, just a number. To me, this blush reminds me a bit of Nars' Orgasm, just a little bit lighter and with a tad bit more sparkle but again, not over the top. This was usually my go-to blush pretty much everyday in August, aside from a few days when I'd use the Nars or some other brand. I've also had this blush for almost 3 years and I still haven't hit pan on it. I know you're probably thinking eewww gross! But, it hasn't changed color, it doesn't smell funny, and plus, powder formulations of any makeup tend to last a while as long as it's stored properly.

My next favorite is a lip balm by a brand called on10. This container came in a package of I believe 9 lip balms and I got it from Sephora a couple years ago. The flavor I have pictured is lime and it has an SPF of 15 which is really good especially when you're going to be outside in the sun. I've been using this for I wanna say almost 2 months and it's almost empty. This lip balm is amazing too. It makes your lips so soft and moisturized, and it smells wonderful! I still have some flavors left as I'm a lip balm freak and have way more than necessary.

My final favorite is The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. I am totally obsessed with this stuff. The bottle pictured is still full because I just opened a new one last week sometime, but I've been using this toner all through Summer. I will have to put it away by the end of September because it really helps control oil production and keeps skin matte, which will actually be too drying for me once Fall rolls around. The only downside to this product is that the second ingredient is Alcohol Denat. which is basically plain alcohol and is very drying to the skin. I will say though, I haven't had any issues with this over-drying my skin or irritation so I do recommend it if you're super oily and have acne-prone skin like I do. Just remember to use a moisturizer after using this, or you probably will have super dry skin.

So that's everything for August! I'll definitely be doing a September favorites and I hope this gave you a good idea of a few things I like. Bye everyone! Thanks so much for checking out my blog!