January 2014 Empties!

Hey guys! January wasn't too bad in the empties department, but I do wish I went through more products. I'm thinking February might be a tad bit better. Anyways, lets see what I used up this past month!

The first product I was able to use up is the Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser. I'm in love with this cleanser now! I remember using it back when I was probably 16 or 17 and I hated it. It did nothing for my skin then and it felt like it didn't clean well. I'm thinking now that I'm 25, my skin is much different and it now likes this cleanser. I'd probably repurchase this once I go through all the other cleansers I have, which is alot!

I used up another one of The Body Shop's Aloe Calming Toners. I pretty much go through one of these a month now with all the cold weather we're having. Love this stuff, talked about it multiple times that you're probably sick of hearing right now, so I won't go on and on and on about how much I adore this toner :)

I also used up a shampoo from The Body Shop called Ice Blue Shampoo. I purchased this a really long time ago, back when I worked at The Body Shop about 4 years ago. I think this product was around a long, long time ago so they decided to bring it back, along with the Banana Shampoo and Conditioner I've talked about. Of course they don't carry this now, but I actually liked it. It kinda reminded me of an anti-dandruff shampoo because it was very cooling on my scalp and seemed to lessen the amount of dandruff I did have.

I used up another one of the Batiste Dry Shampoos in the scent Clean & Classic Original. This works like the other Batiste Dry Shampoos I've tried, but I didn't particularly like this scent. Nothing about it interested me, but it was nice to try because I'm on a mission to try every scent Batiste makes!

I used up the Aquafresh Triple Protection Toothpaste as well. I only try to use toothpastes that are made with sensitivity protection, as I have teeth that are uber sensitive. Sometimes it hurts drinking water or eating soup that's not even too hot. This stuff was nice, it made my breath feel good and my teeth feel clean. Not sure if I notice any of my sensitivity lessening, but I am using another tube of this right now, so we'll see. I'm still trying to find a good sensitivity toothpaste, so if anyone knows of a good one, let me know!

I finally used up The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Lip Butter. I loved how this product smelled! It was kinda like lemonade that is really sweet. I don't think it's incredibly moisturizing but I do like how this particular scent doesn't leave a white cast on my lips. I still only used this at night because I'm pretty much terrified to use these during the day now. I don't think I'll repurchase this.

Now this next product came in an Ipsy bag. It's the Yaby Concealer in the color Buff. I hated this stuff! It was a horrible color for me so I never used it. It dried up finally, so I can toss it now. 

I decided to toss the Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara. I really liked this mascara when I first opened the tube, but everytime I use it now, it gets all clumpy and doesn't coat my lashes like it used to. It's going in the trash now!

Last two products! I'm so thankful that I used up the Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes. This stuff sucked so bad. It didn't make my foundation last any longer and it kinda made my skin more oily than I like. I still used this up because I hate wasting product, but I would never go out of my way to buy this. It came in an Ipsy bag a while ago.

I'm deciding to toss the Aveda Lip Glaze in the color Rubisparks. I can't even remember when I bought this. It was years and years ago. I went to use this one day and it smelled funky and didn't apply nicely either. That's a good sign that this is bad now and I shouldn't use anymore! 

That's everything I used up! 10 products isn't too bad, it's really my goal to use up at least 10 products a month. Hopefully next month I can use up a little more!

What did you use up lately?

January 2014 Favorites!

Hey everyone! This is the first favorites of the year, and I'm really excited to share what I've been loving! I've been able to try out some new products that I've been really happy with and have also rediscovered an old favorite, so lets get into it!

First, I'll start with hair products. I've been absolutely loving the Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner. These make my hair feel so soft and clean and I love how they smell! I purchased these huge bottles a long time ago at BJ's Wholesale, it's like a Costco or Sam's Club, before my husband and I moved in together. Finally glad I decided to use these!

Then we have a Batiste Dry Shampoo in the scent Floral & Flirty Blush. I'm surprised I like this scent as much as I do. If you read my blog, you know how much I love Batiste. I was unsure of this scent, only because I'm not the biggest fan of flowery smells. This one, however, isn't bad or overbearing at all! After I've rubbed this all in my hair, it leaves such a faint smell. I catch whiffs of it throughout the day and it doesn't give me a headache or anything. 

Oh Naked3, how I love thee! I can't get enough of this palette! I did a separate review here so I won't go into detail here about how wonderful this palette is. I just love it!

While putting together my Urban Decay palette collection post, I forgot how great the original Naked Palette is. Even though Naked2 is more up my alley because it's cooler toned, I can still work with this and make the look wearable. I've actually gotten compliments while wearing shades from this palette lately, so it must be a good one!

Time for some lippies! I've been loving the Buxom Full Color Gloss in the color Ruby. I apologize for this, but I believe this came in a kit of different products from the holiday's maybe a year or two ago. I pulled this out again because I love the deep berry/burgundy color for the Winter season. This is a little sticky but I get decent wear time out of it. 

Next up, we have the Revlon Matte Balm in the color Standout. I did a review of this here so again, I won't go on and on about this amazing lip product. If you don't own any of these, seriously, go out and try just one! This is one of the best lip products I've tried! 

Finally for lips, we have the NYX Butter Gloss in the color Vanilla Cream Pie. I know I've hauled these before, but haven't really talked about them. They kinda got lost in my lip product bag and I finally got a chance to pull one of these out to try. I love this color! It's the perfect pinky nude for me and it feels very nice on the lips. It's not sticky to me at all, but the color doesn't last very long at all. I think that's ok because I'm fine with reapplying anyway. 

Swatch of buxom gloss (left) and NXY gloss (right)

 That's everything I've been loving in January! What were some of your favorites?

Review: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Standout

Hello everyone! Today I'm bringing you a review on a newer product that came out from Revlon, the Matte Balm in the color Standout. Now I did a haul where I purchased two of the Lacquer Balms, but this one is quite a new purchase that I've loved since I first swiped it on my lips!

I was grocery shopping and when I got to the makeup aisle, here these were on the end! Since I had purchased the lacquer balms and liked them, I thought maybe I should try a matte one, even though they're not my favorite. The packaging is just like any other twist up chubby lip pencil, but I hate how it's "sealed". It just has this tiny little sticker on it, so anyone could really get their grubby hands on it and mess it up easily. Luckily, this one looked like it hadn't been touched, so I went for it.

I was always terrified of reds. I'm just so pale and finding a good red shade has been beyond hard for me. Standout here, is quite amazing! It definitely isn't orange based (which I find looks terrible on me) but it doesn't look blue based, so I'm guessing this is a neutral base. For me and my pale skin, this red is absolutely perfect! I wore it to work and got compliments out the wazoo on how good it looked. I've never had that happen to me when wearing any kind of lip product. 

Now the lighting in my bathroom makes this color look more orange but it looks more like the swatch above. I truly can't be more happy with this color! I have to say, it is a bit drying, but that's expected from a matte product. I just apply a lip balm before applying this to help combat the dryness. Wear time isn't terrible. I probably got about 3 to 4 hours of wear with this and that's with me drinking a ton of water while at work too. This goes on very smooth and isn't patchy at all, which was very impressive.

My lighting is terrible! Gosh this picture truly doesn't do this color justice. Other reviews I've seen with lip swatches show that it's definitely more red than this, so I'm sorry my lighting sucks! Anyways, I may have to pick up some more colors because this one is so impressive! They are expensive at $8.99 each but I'm sure there will be some kind of sale where it's BOGO 1/2 off or something. This product gets two thumbs way up from me!

Have you tried any of the matte balms yet?

January 2014 Ipsy Bag

So I'm a little miffed that my bag was super late this month, but I finally got it yesterday! I was so worried that it maybe got delivered to a different house or something, so I did email them and they assured me that it was in transit. I was hoping to get it earlier because I'm impatient and I always look to see what I'm getting before the bag actually arrives. Let's just say that I'm really pleased with what I got!

The theme this month was called "19 Reasons" because they partnered with 19 different brands. I find that pretty amazing! It's cool that these bags are way more personalized than before, and I definitely loved my bag this month! The bag itself is pretty cute. If you're artsy at all, you can bedazzle this or get creative in some sort of way. The only bummer was that it has a funky smell, and I'm not sure how to describe it. Anyways, cute bag, but lets get on to what's inside!

First up, we have the Skiin Soothing and Smoothing Eye Cream. I'm pretty obsessed with eye creams in general, so I'm stoked to have gotten this! I've never heard of the brand before but apparently it's supposed to help with fine lines and wrinkles along with dark circles and puffiness. If this helps with my dark circles, I'll be thrilled! They've been horrendous lately.

Next up we have the Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner. If I'm not mistaken, I may have gotten one of these in an Ipsy bag before, but I could be wrong. I know I've gotten quite a few of the Sexy Hair products. Never tried this before, but my hair has been horrible too lately. The nasty cold weather has definitely taken its toll on my hair and skin. Excited to try this!

Then we have the Malin+Goetz Mojito Lip Balm. Now Ipsy is telling me I have dry lips, eh? It's true, it's true, my lips have been so chapped that not much has worked for me. This stuff smells nice so I'm curious to see if helps out my poor lips.

The fourth product we have is the Faith Aromatherapy Tahitian Monoi Anti-Aging Sugar Scrub. I had no idea if this scrub was for your face or body, but I went on their website and it looks like it's a body scrub. I love a good body scrub, and sugar scrubs are typically my favorite. 

The last product I received is the Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil in the color Penny. I'm excited for this because I love coppery bronze shades. It's not the most pigmented color, but I may just use it as a base for powder shadows. 

That's everything I got! Like I said, I'm so so so happy with this month's bag. If I could have a bag with mostly skincare goodies like this, I'd be thrilled. I love makeup as much as the next beauty lover, but I probably have enough to last me for a decade. 

For only $10 a month, plus shipping for some, this is an amazing bag! Sign up here if you're interested! This is the best subscription service I've ever been a part of!

My Urban Decay Palette Collection

Hey guys! I thought today would be a good day to show you all the awesome palettes I have from Urban Decay! It's snowing like a mofo outside right now, so I'm not leaving my house for a while! I should also say that I'm not bragging with this post or anything, I'm just a major fan of Urban Decay. They're probably my favorite brand for eyeshadows, and I'm proud of how my collection has grown over the years. Let me show you what I have!

First, we'll start off with the coveted Naked Palettes. I have all three and they're all wonderful! I think my favorite is the second one followed closely by the third. I do like the first, but they're much warmer colors so they're hard to suit my fair skin.

Next up we have the Vice and Vice 2 Palettes. My dad got me the first one last year around this time and I purchased the second one as soon as it was available. Love both and created a bunch of looks that I posted on here!

These next two go way back! I don't even remember when I got them. We have the Get Baked Palette and the Sustainable Shadow Box Palette. If I remember correctly, the Sustainable Shadow Box was my very first palette from Urban Decay. I haven't used it in so long though, but I do occasionally pull out the Get Baked Palette.

This one is the Book of Shadows Vol. IV. I love this palette! It came with a Primer Potion, mascara and eyeliner and I just love it! There are great shadows for neutral looks or you can go a bit dramatic. 

This is the 15th Anniversary Palette. I still love this palette a ton and pull it out once in a while. I actually used this palette on Halloween at work because we were allowed to dress up. I went to work as an 80s style bunny. I wore these bright pink leggings with a band t-shirt and bunny ears and bright eyeshadow. It was a fun look!

Top left is the Dangerous Palette. I think I only used this once, but looking at it again makes me want to use it more! Next to that palette is the Ammo Palette in the old packaging. This is a newer palette to my collection as I purchased it on clearance from Sephora. I haven't used this yet either but the colors are great! Then there's my beloved Naked Basics Palette! I use this palette with almost every look I do, whether it just be for a crease color or highlight. 

These two palettes are both Feminine Palettes. The top one is the older one and the bottom one is newer with different colors. The bottom one also came with one of their lip glosses.

Finally we have the Anarchy Face Case, The newest edition to my collection. This is a great little palette! I love the lip product that comes in it as well and have worn it quite a few times since I purchased this.

Well, those are all my Urban Decay palettes! I did reviews on some so check those out, but if you want a review and swatches on something else, let me know! What is your favorite UD palette?

Birthday/Christmas Money Haul! Sephora & Ulta

Hey guys! So today's post is going to be a haul! I know I said I was on a spending ban, but with my birthday and Christmas being in the same month, I had saved the money I was given to buy some makeup goodies! Lets see what I got.

Starting off with Sephora, they were having an online sale of their clearance items after Christmas of 20% off so I decided to purchase two items! The first is this Urban Decay Anarchy Face Case.

This is a pretty neat palette. When you open up the top portion, you get 5 different eyeshadows that are called Redemption, Fray, Vaporize, Provocateur, and Revolt. I love these colors like every other UD eyeshadow but my two favorites are Fray (second one in) and Vaporize (third one in). For my skintone, Fray is perfect for the crease and blending out any harsh edges. Vaporize is just such a stunning metallic gray-ish taupe color that I actually get alot of use out of. You also get a decent size of their 24/7 liner in Perversion, which is personally my favorite black eyeliner.

When you open up the second layer, you have two blushes called Fetish and Quickie. *Cough* Anyways, aside from their raunchy names, they're beautiful colors. Fetish is a mauve-pink and Quickie is obviously a bright pink. The highlighter, called Craze, isn't my favorite. I'm not the biggest fan of yellow-toned anything, so I'm not sure if I'll get much use out of it. 

I'm obsessed with the Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Scandal! I put this on and was amazed at how pigmented and beautiful it was. It's described as a bright metallic raspberry shimmer, and that's just spot on. I love how this looks with my fair skin, and with a very neutral eye, it's perfect! I'm thinking of doing a review on this sometime.

The last product I picked up from Sephora is the Lorac Mint Edition Palette. It also came with an exclusive Couture Shine Liquid Lipstick in the color Retro which is a nude-pink shade that's supposed to flatter all skintones. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks a bit light for me, but smells amazing, like cocoa powder!

Inside, you get 8 eyeshadows, 4 matte and 4 shimmer, along with a blush and highlighter. The highlighter in this palette is more my style because it's more of a pinky tone. The blush is a peachy-pink and I love blushes that color. 

I won't go into too much detail since I think I want to review this, but the matte eyeshadows didn't really impress me. I bought this for the mint shade, but that wasn't up to par with Lorac's other matte shadows, aka the Pro Palette. The shimmer shades are actually very nice! The taupe shade in the upper right hand corner is a beautiful lid or transition color depending on the look you're doing!

Now onto Ulta! I've been wanting to add to my Real Techniques brush collection because they're great quality but they're pretty affordable. When I was in the store, they were sold out of literally every Real Techniques brush except for two or three, so it was slim pickins. I did want to get the Setting Brush so I was glad they had it! I wanted this primarily for setting my under eye concealer. 

I then picked up the much talked about Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. My skin has been crazy lately. It's super oily and broken out one day, then the next day it dries out and I can't control that either. With all my breakouts, my usual zit gel I was using wasn't working as well, so I decided it was time to try this bad boy since I've heard amazing things. Again, I want to do a review on this, but I will say, this product is really nice!

I then picked up the newer Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balms. They did have a few of the matte balms, but they were all tampered with. My biggest gripe with these is that they're only sealed with a tiny little sticker. I think that's just nasty, but I did find two that I wanted to try (and didn't seem tampered with!). The first one is called Enticing, which is a beautiful red shade. I put this on right away after I bought it, and I actually got compliments! This is a rare red that somehow works for my pale skin. The second color I bought is called Coquette which is a bright pink shade. I know it looks bad in the picture, so I apologize!

Last few products! I decided it was time for me to buy some Prestige mascara. I picked up the popular My Blackest Lashes, but then I also wanted to try My Biggest Lashes. I have yet to open these but I'm pretty darn excited I own these now!

The last products I picked up are these Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Paints in the colors Chestnut Taupe, Manganese Purple, and Rich Russet. I'm pretty sure these are new products because they were on a different display away from the other Rimmel products. These babies are flipping awesome! You gotta work fast with these because they dry quickly, but I put some on my lids with the applicator, then take a stiffer blending brush to buff away harsh lines. These literally dry down like paint, but they make an awesome shadow base! I haven't worn these by themselves yet, but I have a feeling they'll last throughout the day.

That's everything! I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and let me know if you've hauled any new products lately! :)

Review & Swatches: Urban Decay Naked3 Palette

 Hey everyone! Today I'm finally bringing you my review on the much talked about Naked3 Palette. I was one of the lucky people who was able to order it the day it came out on the Urban Decay website, so I've had lots of time to test it out. Lets get into my review!

 The packaging is pretty much the same as the Naked2 Palette but the lid to this has a ripple effect and it's a bit more rosy colored, which is the color theme to this palette. You get 12 all new shades, which is great because who doesn't love new Urban Decay Shadows?! Anyways, the 12 shades are all supposed to have a rosy tint to them and there is a decent color range in this palette. It comes with a double-ended brush, which I honestly don't use, but TiffanyD on YouTube suggested to use this brush for concealer, so I may try that! The box this palette came in also had an Eyeshadow Primer Potion sampler with the 4 different primers they have. I thought that was really nice because it says you can get a week out of just one of the primers, so that added alot of value to this palette. This costs a whopping $52 and is available on the Urban Decay website, Sephora and Ulta.

 Sorry the quality of this picture sucks, but the first six shades shown here are, Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz and Trick.

 This is a little bit better of a picture. These shades are, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside and Blackheart. Onto some swatches!

 These are some of the saddest swatches. I'm sorry my skin is so pale, but at the very top you can see Strange. Strange is considered a pale neutral pink matte-satin. I love this shade as a highlight because it's got a tiny hint of shimmer and it's basically the color of my skin.

The next color, Dust, is kind of a disappointment. Every other review I've read or seen online has said the same thing. Dust is described as a pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter. This is a disappointment because it's so darn chunky and creates a whole lotta fallout! It's a pretty hard color to work with but it is a pretty shade. I may have to spray my brush with setting spray before I use this. 

The third shade is called Burnout and is described as a light pinky-peach satin. I actually really like this color even though it's hardly noticeable on my skin. It feels nice and creamy and is easy to work with on the eye.

 The very top shade is called Limit. It's described as a light dusty rose matte. I am freaking obsessed with this color! For me, it's a great transition color and gives me just a bit of definition in my crease when I need it. This may actually be my favorite shade in this whole palette.

The next color is called Buzz. Buzz is described as a metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter. Even though this has glitter in it, there was no fallout for me. I love using this shade with Limit in my crease and then Strange as a highlight. That's been one of my go-to looks from this palette.

The bottom shade shown is called Trick. It's described as a light metallic pinky-copper shimmer with tonal microsparkle. Call me stupid, but I have no idea what tonal micro-sparkle is, but I don't care. This is a beautiful color as well, but I do get a bit of fallout if I'm not careful.

The next shade is Nooner, my second favorite color in the palette! Nooner is described as a medium pinky-brown matte. This is another great crease color, but I use it for more darker looks. This color kinda reminds me a bit of Tease from Naked2.

Next up we have Liar, which is described as a medium metallic mauve shimmer. This is another gorgeous lid color that is smooth and buttery and looks great with Nooner.

Then we have Factory, which is described as a pinky-brown satin. This also looks great with Nooner. It looks very similar to Liar in the picture but in person, Liar looks more taupe-y. 

 Last three colors! Up top we have Mugshot, which is described as a metallic taupe shimmer with a slight pink shift. This color is absolutely stunning in person, and I use it quite a bit.

The next color is Factory. Factory is described as a pinky-brown satin. I'm in love with this color too. Again, it's very creamy and very easy to work with. I get absolutely no fallout with this color either. 

The last color is called Blackheart. It's described as a smoky black matte with rosy red microsparkle. This color is so unique to me. I swear it changes colors depending on how it hits the light. I can kinda see some of the red sparkle in the picture, but in person it's much more obvious. I'm surprised I like this color as much as I do.

Those are all the wonderful colors! I have to say, I prefer the darker half of the palette than the first aside from Limit, but they're all great. Like I said, the only real dud of the palette is dust, but it can be workable if you just wet the brush you use. 

Now you might be asking, which Naked palette is better? I do own all three, and it is really hard to pick. I haven't owned this long enough to say that this one is my favorite, but it's up there. The first one is my least favorite. I prefer the second one over the first because it's more cool. I'd say it's a tie between this one and the second one as my favorites. 

What do you think of this palette?