December 2015 Empties

*Post contains some affiliate links*

Hey everyone! I've fallen behind a little bit on the blog here lately. I've been on this decluttering my house kick, and all I want to do is just clean. That's pretty weird for me since I hate cleaning, but I figured since we're in a new year, I should start getting rid of junk I no longer use or need. Anyway, today's post is going to be the products I used up in December. I initially didn't think I used up much last month, but it was more than expected!

Starting off with a few bath/shower products, I finally have managed to use up the Pura D'or Premium Organic Hair Loss Shampoo and the Argan Oil Conditioner. I had reviewed this duo here close to a year ago now, and it took forever for me to go through. Now that these are gone, I'm glad they are honestly. In the end, I didn't like these. They didn't do much for my hair, and if anything, they made it feel more dirty. The only good thing is that the conditioner smelled incredible and made my hair feel soft. 

I also manged to use up the Adovia Dead Sea Salt Scrub. I did a review on this here, and at first I really did like it. The scent is pretty strong that reminds me of a very fancy spa, and the scrubbing bits are pretty rough as well. That helped me with the rough bumps I have on my arms, but this scrub is oil based and it made the bathtub so slippery, which I'm not a fan of. I'm clumsy enough, so a slick tub and I don't get along too well. 

Next is some body and health products. The Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer seemed like it was never ending! It lasted me through the Summer til the middle of December, with nearly daily use on my arms. I had gotten this a long time ago in a past Influenster voxbox, and I really freaking liked it! It's very light, sinks in nicely, and feels pretty hydrating considering it was so light. I have another one of these in a brown container which I believe is a cocoa butter scent. This one has pure oat extract in it, so it smelled like uncooked oatmeal to me. 

Next up is a Bath & Body Works Foaming Hand Soap in the Georgia Bourbon Peach scent. I adore these soaps, but prefer the soap with the scrubbing beads, so I'm trying to use up the foaming ones first. This scent was incredible for the Fall time. 

The Tom's Sensitive toothpaste is wonderful! It's fairly expensive and I only buy it when it's on sale, but it makes my teeth and gums feel clean and not irritated. 

Last up is a Wegmans brand Women's multivitamin. Nothing special about this, but I do like to take a daily multivitamin for the supposed health benefits they're said to provide. 

Lastly is some skincare and a lone makeup product. The sample size of the Lancome Definicils Mascara was awesome while it lasted. it gave my lashes amazing definition and length, but not the best volume, which is fine. I just use a separate mascara if I want the extra volume. 

You all know my love for The Body Shop is strong, and the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner is no exception. This makes my skin feel soft and not as greasy. However, I don't think I'll be purchasing this anymore, because it contains denatured alcohol in it. I haven't had any bad reactions because of it, but I want to start really taking care of my skin more and use products with better ingredients. I do have one left of these that I'll start using again in the Spring, but that'll be it once it runs out!

It took forever for me to use up the Radha Beauty Intensive Youth Eye Gel. I reviewed this almost a year ago here and overall, I think it's a nice eye gel. It's not incredibly hydrating, and if you have very dry under-eyes, you won't like this at all. I'd say I have normal under-eyes, so this worked fine for me, especially in the warmer months. As it got colder, I felt like I needed something a bit more hydrating. 

I used up a sample of the MyChelle Sun Shield SPF 28. Don't buy this stuff, it's awful! I'm not sure if the sample I had went bad, but it balled up immediately when I put it on my skin, and I had to wash my face all over again. 

The final product I used up is a deluxe sample of the Murad Perfecting Day Cream SPF 30. Murad products are pretty darn amazing, but they're expensive. I hate to say that I liked this, but I really liked this! I may have oily skin that turns more combination in colder weather, but this made my skin feel incredible and look amazing. 

So, I decided to be a little weird and tally up how many products I was able to use up the entire year of 2015:

January: 17
February: 16
March: 19
April: 15
May: 15
June: 15
July: 8
August: 11
September: 14
October: 10
November: 25
December: 12

So if my math is correct, I used up 177 products this year! I honestly didn't think I had used up that much, but it just shows how much stuff I really have. I'm making it my mission in 2016 to use up as many products as I can. Like I said above, I'm in decluttering mode lately. Mainly because the lease is up on our apartment the end of June, and I really want to be able to move by then because we'll have been living in the same place for 4 years, and I feel like it's time to move on to a bigger place. I figured I'd get a head start with cleaning up and just getting rid of stuff I no longer care for, use, or haven't used in years (which is alot honestly), therefore making the move a bit easier for us. I'm also putting myself on a beauty spending ban for three months, so I can't buy myself any makeup, skincare, bodycare, or haircare until April 1st. I don't foresee myself running out of anything in that time frame, so I should be okay. There are alot of new products out in the drugstore that I'm dying to try out, but they'll have to wait for now!

What did you use up last month? Any resolutions you have that you hope to stick with?

December 2015 Favorites

 *Some links below are affiliate links*

Hi everyone, and happy 2016! I'm pretty excited that 2015 is over and done with, and I can't wait to get this new year started. Today I'm going to be sharing with you some products that stood out to me in December. I am planning on doing a yearly favorites that should be up sometime next week, so stay tuned for that, but for now, here are a few products I loved last month!

The first product I was loving was the Arvazallia Rejuvenating Hair Mask. I had reviewed the entire 3-step range here, and completely fell in love with the line. The mask in particular has been so amazing for my hair lately. I honestly don't wash my hair too often, about every 2 or 3 days, but alot of times, my hair is just so dry! I don't use this mask every time I wash my hair, but about every 3rd washing I will. This mask just makes my hair feel so soft, silky and manageable. 

Next up is a toothbrush. You probably are thinking I'm a total weirdo (I am, actually), but hear me out! I'm sure I've mentioned here before that my teeth and gums are super sensitive. I can only really use a sensitive toothpaste, but I also can only use extra soft toothbrushes. I can never find extra soft toothbrushes in-store anywhere, so I end up buying them online. I found a package of 8 toothbrushes by a brand called Cand, for just $13.99. They're apparently a Chinese brand and these toothbrushes have black bamboo charcoal bristles (again, totally weird). I was reading up on these before purchasing, and they're said to help get rid of toxins in your mouth and to help with tooth whitening. I haven't used mine long enough to notice any whitening, but this is hands down the best toothbrush I've ever tried! My teeth and gums feel so clean, it doesn't irritate at all, and my teeth feel clean for alot longer than when I used a different toothbrush. I kept telling my husband how impressed I was that even he started using one, and he loves it too. This has changed my life honestly.

The next product is by a brand called Ecru, and it's their Acacia Protein BB Cream for Hair. I had received this in a previous Ipsy bag, and was kinda intrigued at the thought of a bb cream that you use on your hair. To me, this is basically just a lightweight leave-in conditioner, but it makes my hair feel so incredibly soft, and when I use it after the Arvazallia hair mask, my hair feels just incredible. I feel like this has helped my hair to feel cleaner longer as well. 

My next favorite has been a Philosophy Lip Shine in the scent Red Velvet Cake. Now, I love these lip shines mainly because of all the different scents. They don't particularly leave color on the lips, but if you apply these over a matte lipstick, they make your lips look and feel big and juicy, which I really enjoy. I have so many of these and I just love them.

My last favorite has been the Valentia True Glow Eye Cream, which I did review on here. I'm in love with the Valentia brand and have gotten so lucky to be able to try a bunch of their products. This eye cream makes the skin around my eyes feel so soft and hydrated, but I never get an oily film, which can happen if I use an eye cream that's too rich. I feel like this helps with dehydration lines and slowly helps with dark circles as well.

What have you been loving lately?

Review: Clark's Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask

Hi guys! Today I'm going to be reviewing a product that I received in this month's Ipsy bag, the Clark's Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask. I always love using hydrating masks in the Winter after using a deep cleansing mask so my skin doesn't get too dry. I was really excited to try this out as the line claims to be organic. 

Here is some info on the product from the Clark's Botanicals website: 

This mask helps to revitalize environmentally stressed, dry complexions. With each use, skin is infused with hydration and begins to glow. Over time, the fine lines and creases become less visible.

Benefits of the mask:

- Instantly calms redness and softens skin with with Algae extract
- Soothes inflammation with Comfrey root extract  
- Delivers potent antioxidant properties with Japanese Green Tea
- Helps to balance stressed skin with Jasmine Absolute

This product is said to be for dry skin, aging skin and stressed skin. A full sized 1.7 ounce jar costs a whopping $72! The directions on the website say to smooth over a clean face, leave on for 5-10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. You can also apply a very thin layer to leave on overnight. I'm not sure if there was a discrepancy with the packaging on mine, but the directions on the jar I have say to leave it on for 15-20 minutes, not 5-10. 

I left it on for close to 20 minutes, and wanted to rip my face off honestly, this burned so bad! I'm not sure what ingredient is in this that caused it, but it wasn't very fun. Once the 20 minutes was up, I couldn't wait to rinse this off my face, and while rinsing, my skin felt like I was pouring acid over it. My face was so red and swollen afterwards, so I must either be allergic to something in this, or my skin is just super sensitive. If you have sensitive skin, I highly recommend NOT using this at all! The price alone made me cringe, and I'll gladly keep buying the GlamGlow hydrating mask at $69 instead.  

Their other products do seem nice, and you can check them out here, but I would be wary about trying any others due to the nasty reactions I had.

*Ipsy link is an affiliate link*

What I Got For Christmas/ My Birthday HAUL!

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Hey guys! I hope everyone who celebrates had an awesome Christmas, and has a very happy New Year! December is always an odd month for me because my birthday is on the 8th, so presents that are given to me nowadays are for both that and Christmas, which I'm honestly fine with! Since I'm now 27 (hooray for being in my late 20's now...not!), I never really ask for certain presents anymore. I prefer either gift cards or cash so I can get something I know I'll enjoy and use. I also do treat myself to some things because, why the heck not?! So today I'll be sharing with you what I ended up getting with my birthday/Christmas money!

I had gone to Walgreen's hoping to find new products that I've been hearing about, but had zero luck. They did however have a major clearance sale going on, so I took some time browsing. I picked up the Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Mattifying Powder that was on clearance for just a couple dollars. I'm hoping this is decent, but with it being marked down, it's probably getting discontinued. 

I also picked up one of the Megalast Liquid Lip Colors in the shade Red My Mind. It's a beautiful shade in the package, but that's it. It's an awful formula and flakes off my lips almost immediately after applying it. Luckily, this was just over $1 on clearance, and now I understand why every shade in this line was marked down. 

I've never tried the popular Wet n Wild lipsticks that everyone talks about, so I picked up the shades Smokin' Hot Pink and Cherry Picking. I always thought these were $1.99, but at my Walgreen's they were $2.49. No big deal really, so if I end up liking these, I'll probably buy more!

Burt's Bees wasn't on sale at all, but if you bought 2 of their lip balms, you got 1,000 points so I got the scents Honey and Coconut & Pear. I love lip balms, and Burt's Bees makes some great ones. 

Next up is Sephora! I had gotten the VIB Rouge giftcard in the mail for $25 off of a $50 purchase, and my mom also gave me hers to use as well, so I placed 2 separate orders, but lumped everything together. On one of the orders I had to buy hair ties because I wasn't quite at $50, but somehow I lost them already.

Anyway, I ended up getting the Philosophy Holiday Handbook hand cream set, which has the scents Cranberry Medley, Fresh Cream and Raspberries & Cream. I purchased a set of these last year as well and love them, so when I saw they had another set this year, I knew I had to have it. Fresh Cream is such a light, but amazing scent and I'm very happy to have it in hand cream form!

I have no reason to be buying more eyeshadow palettes, but the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons is one I just had to have! I had been hearing about it for months, thought the packaging was adorable, and the fact that it smells like chocolate always seals the deal. I have the other two chocolate bar palettes as well and color selection wise, I think I like this one the most. 

Kat Von D has been killing it with her makeup line within the past year, and everything I've tried so far, I've loved. I bought yet another Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the shade Bauhau5 and a Metal Crush Eyeshadow in the shade Raw Power. You all know my love for her liquid lipsticks, but I've been dying to try out the Metal Crush Eyeshadows. I was torn between this and the shade Thunderstruck, but went with Raw Power because I love my burgundy's!

The birthday gift this year came from Nars and it included a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Cruella, a Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien, and since I'm VIB Rouge, it came with an extra little sample of their Larger Than Life Eyeliner in the shade Via Veneto. I hear that both of the lip pencils and the eyeliner are great, so I'm excited to try them out!

Last but not least, I made a trip to Ulta. My lovely mother-in-law gave me a giftcard, and my dad gave me some birthday money. I also had the coupon for 20% off, which was good on everything I purchased! I had seen a review on YouTube of the Stila Trust in Love Gift Set, which includes an eyeshadow palette, a deluxe sized lip glaze, and a deluxe sized sample of their HUGE Extreme Lash Mascara. The wand on the mascara reminds me so much of the Too Faced Better Than Sex, which is probably my favorite higher end mascara, so we'll see if the Stila one compares. 

Real Techniques was on sale, so I picked up two of their Shading Brushes. I don't have these yet in my Real Techniques brush collection, but I love the size of these and think they will be good for applying shadow to my hooded lids. 

I've decided I wanted to delve into the world of lip liners, so I went a little ham with what I bought. I ended up buying three Essence lip liners in the shades 15 Honey Berry, 07 Cute Pink and 08 Red Blush. These babies were only $1.49 and with the coupon I had, it made them super inexpensive. I always hear good things about these lip liners too, so I have high hopes. I also purchased two other lip liners, one from NYX in the shade Cabaret, and one from Rimmel in the shade Rapture. The Rimmel lip liner was marked down to clearance, which may mean it's being discontinued. 

Next up is a new Revlon eyeshadow palette called Not Just Nudes, and the one I purchased is Romantic Nudes. They had another one that seemed a bit more warm toned, so the purple-y mauve-y pink shades in this stood out to me more. I love how drugstore brands are coming out with eyeshadow palettes, so I hope this is decent quality. 

The last product was the birthday gift from bareMinerals, and it's a Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in the shade Birthday Babe. I don't think I've tried these glosses before, but I love the color of this, and it isn't very sticky either. 

That's everything from my birthday and what I got for Christmas! Did you get any makeup/beauty goodies that you're enjoying?

Review: Valentia True Glow Eye Cream

*Disclosure* I received this product for review purposes thanks to Tomoson. All opinions are 100% honest and my own, like always

Hi everyone! Today's post is an exciting one for me, because it features a brand that I had the chance to try out over a year ago, and that is Valentia. In August of 2014 I got to review their Even Glow Serum, and totally fell in love with it. Recently, I got the chance to try out their new True Glow Eye Cream, and it's time to share with you all what I think about it. 

Here is some info of the product from Amazon:


Valentia True Glow Eye Cream - An illuminating antioxidant rich eye cream that helps lock in moisture,
repair and tighten skin for a youthful looking glow around the eye area.
This Corrective Eye Treatment Will:
- Diminish fine lines & wrinkles
- Nourish & hydrate
- Tighten the under eye area
- Brighten dark circles
- Reduce puffiness

Specially selected ingredients work together to achieve optimum results.
- Astaxanthin: A powerful antioxidant that increases moisture levels, smooths fine line and wrinkles, and restores elasticity to the skin.
- Resistem: Natural Plant Stem Cells repair and protect the skin from harsh environmental pollutants and stress related aging.
- Vitamin C: Leaves the skin smooth and visibly brighter for a well-rested and bright eyed look.
- Organic Rosehip Oil: Provides intense hydration to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Arnica: A key anti-inflammatory agent to the restorative process that works to diminish the appearance of dark circles.

This eye cream can be used morning and/or night, but I chose to use it just at night. The first thing I noticed about this is how it smells. It's a bit citrus-y, but not overbearing at all. When I pat it into my skin, I can immediately feel how hydrating this is, and it sinks right in. Anytime an eye cream claims to help with dark circles, I don't necessarily believe it. This one helps a little bit, but it's not like I wake up looking all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I can safely say that this does help with puffiness! I've had some moments where I've gotten pretty emotional lately, and crying usually leaves me with nasty looking puffy eyes. This helps me with that, almost immediately. It's just so nourishing and hydrating, and I definitely look forward to seeing if it'll help more with my dark circles. 

You can find this product on Amazon on sale right now for $24.99. I find that to be such an outstanding price for what you're getting and you only need the tiniest bit for both eyes.

I absolutely adore this brand and the products they have to offer. Like I said above, I'm in love with their Even Glow Serum and I feel so thankful I was able to try out another product of theirs. 

What are some eye creams you enjoy?

Review: Too Faced Stardust by Vegas Nay Palette

Hey guys! I'm excited to finally be doing this review of the Too Faced Stardust Palette they did in collaboration with Vegas Nay, a popular makeup artist on Instagram. I had never heard of her before honestly, but once I started seeing reviews and swatches of this palette, I knew I had to try it out myself. 

First, I have to say that the packaging everything comes in is really pretty, but completely and unnecessarily wasteful. There's just so much darn cardboard that I honestly won't hold on to. 

Once you get everything out of the packaging, you have the eyeshadow palette along with more cardboard that holds deluxe samples of the Glamour Dust in Nude Beam, Better Than Sex Mascara, Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, and 4 different guides to create different eye looks. I feel like these come in handy if you're not sure what to do and want some inspiration. 

The palette itself is so slim, which makes me even more confused as to why they used so much cardboard to package everything, but oh well. That's me trying to be aware of all the waste that the world creates. Anyways, you get 12 nice sized eye shadows that each contain 0.04 ounce of product, which isn't a ton, but with how pigmented these shadows are, I doubt I'd hit pan on these anytime soon. 

- Chandelier: A matte cream 
- Millennial: A matte medium brown
- Girl's Night: A matte dark brown
- #Selfie: A satin-finish cream
- Showgirl: A bronze-y gold shimmer
- Jackpot: A dark brown with gold shimmer
- Pink Pearl: A satin light pink
- The Strip: A light silvery taupe shimmer
- Follow Me: A satin dark purple with a slight pink sheen to it
- Double Tap: A matte burgundy/brown with just a hint of shimmer 
- Golden Nugget: A true gold shimmer
- Sin City: A matte black 

For some reason, I cannot find this online anywhere it was sold! I had purchased mine at Ulta in-store, so maybe it's still available if you go to your local Ulta. I did my best to describe the shades, and I feel like I did fairly well! I had some difficulty swatching Pink Pearl and The Strip, which came out a bit patchy and not as pigmented as I'd like. I absolutely adore Millennial as a crease shade, and my favorite shades in this palette have to be Showgirl and Jackpot. 

While I feel like this palette is great for the neutral lover who wants just a little pop of color, it's nothing special color-wise and I could easily dupe these in the large eyeshadow collection I have. With that being said, I've been enjoying using this because it definitely has all the shades you could ever want to create a simple, neutral look, but you can also do a darker, more dramatic look as well. I feel like this is such a versatile palette and overall, I'm glad I took the plunge and added this to my collection. I just wish the outer packaging wasn't so bulky and annoying... *rant over*

Have you tried this palette? what do you think of it?

Review: PUR Cosmetics Cameo Contour Sticks

*Disclosure* These products were provided for review purposes. All opinions are 100% honest and my own, like always

Hey guys! PUR Cosmetics was so incredibly generous, and they sent me their new line of Cameo Contour Sticks to try out. I was so excited because cream contouring is the "in" thing to do, but I hadn't tested those waters yet.

Here is a description of the product from the PUR website:

Meet the final word in flawless contouring. PÜR's dual-ended contour stick adds closeup-worthy depth and dimension to your natural features with a creamy formula that sets to a picture-perfect powder finish. With use of natural, light-reflective ingredients that resemble microspheres, this 2-in-1 complexion innovation emphasizes your face’s natural highlights and shadows while simultaneously blurring the look of imperfections, such as dark spots and fine lines. As you apply and blend one or both shades with the Contour Blending Sponge, your skin also absorbs in the skin-perfecting benefits of PÜR’s own Ceretin® Complex—a proprietary blend of hydrating ceramides and age-defying vitamin A! 

Now for a list of the shade descriptions

Light - Porcelain & Light 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; fair to fair with creamy ivory undertones 

Medium – Blush Medium & Golden Medium 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; medium beige with blush to golden undertones  

Tan – Light Tan, Tan, & Medium Tan 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; olive with yellow, honey and caramel undertones

Dark – Medium Dark & Golden Dark 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; rich bronze with golden undertones  

Deep – Deep & Deeper 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; warm with golden amber undertones 

Swatches of Light to Deep in order from top to bottom

These PUR Cameo Contour Sticks are surprisingly pretty fantastic! The shade range is pretty good too, and the lightest shade is great for my fair skin. They blend in super easily with the accompanying sponge you get in each package, but they don't blend away to nothing. The sponge is pretty nice too and you can either use it wet or dry. 

You really don't get much product in one stick, with 0.3 ounces in the whole package. Each Contour Stick costs a whopping $39.50, but you don't really need a ton of product to get the job done. It performs well overall, and with my oily skin, it doesn't budge and looks great for a long time. Since these do have a high price point for little product, you'd have to decide yourself if it's worth buying. It's a bit steep for my liking, but I'll enjoy using the lightest shade while it lasts!

You can find this product on the PUR website, at Ulta and at Kohl's.

Have you tried this product, or any cream contour sticks before?