Mini Drugstore Haul feat. Walgreen's and Ulta

Hi guys! So I know I'm not really supposed to be doing any beauty shopping for a while but there were some sales going on, and if you know me, you know I love a good sale! Anyway, I did a little shopping at Walgreen's and placed an order online from Ulta. Lets see what goodies I got!

Fist up is Walgreen's. This week Walgreen's has certain Wet n' Wild product for only $2 with your Walgreen's card. I went in really only looking for the Fall 2014 Limited Edition 5 pan shadows. They typically retail for $3.99 which is already a steal, but when I got up to the register, they were only $2 each! I picked up the palettes called Melrose at Night and Smoke and Melrose. They had two other ones, one called High Waisted Jeans which I didn't care for as I don't really like blues on me, and the other one was called Angels in Aubergine, which just looked too harsh for my skintone. Of course I went with the neutral ones, surprise surprise. 

Lastly from Walgreen's, I picked up two of the Vaseline Lip Therapy balms. The first one is Rosy Lips which I had been tying to find but had no success til now and I also picked up the Cocoa Butter one. I was originally only going to buy one but if you bought 2, you got an extra 2,000 points with your Walgreen's card. I'm excited to try these, especially in the Winter when my lips are drier than dry. 

Now we have Ulta, which I'm really excited about. I had heard over and over about these Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains and wondered what the fuss was about. I don't own many Revlon lip products but was definitely curious about these. I had gotten an email from Ulta saying they had free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Free shipping for Ulta is typically $50 so I always wait for the $25 promo. Revlon also had a buy 1, get 1 50% off deal, which is why I bought four of these, plus I also had the code for $3.50 off of a $10 purchase and I used a bunch of points I had saved up, so with tax everything came to just under $20, and I still got the free shipping! Now keep in mind these typically cost between $7 and $10 depending on where you get them. Drugstores in my area carry them for $9.99, my Ulta carries them for $8.99. I basically got two of these for free! Can't complain about that! Anyways, I picked up the colors LA Exclusive, Rio Rush, Barcelona Nights, and Shanghai Sizzle. I've already tried three of the four and I must say, I'm very impressed! I plan on doing a review of these so I won't go into much detail here, but these are definitely really nice lip products.

That's everything I picked up! What have you purchased recently?

My Writing Process

Hey everyone! Aaliyah over at Shadow Liner Girl nominated me to join the My Writing Process Tour and of course I had to join in! I think it's fun getting to know more about someone and how they write. Also, this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I had a really bad day and when I got home from work, I just wanted to sit down and do nothing basically, so sorry it's up a day late! Anyway, onto the questions:

1. What am I working on?

There's nothing too specific I'm working on right now, but I'd like to work on doing more reviews. I tend to buy products and show them in hauls, but end up not reviewing them. I love reviews alot, especially if they're really in depth and cover everything, so I definitely want to do more reviews and try to make them better. 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

This is a good question. I feel like alot of beauty blogs/vlogs are the same with what they do. I don't think I'm super different than any other beauty blogger, I just try to write about what I love and hopefully it comes off like I'm actually talking to someone and not make it sound like a commercial. 

3. Why do I write what I do?

Well, I love skincare and makeup obviously! Haha but really, I just love writing and talking about anything beauty related and I wanted to get it out somehow, so that's why I started this blog. 

4. How does my writing process work?

Oh man, this is going to sound strange, but I honestly wing it most days. I don't have a notebook and I don't write down a post first then type it up. I pretty much go by the seat of my pants and what comes into my brain is what I type out. I think I probably should start writing down ideas because one could pop into my head and I say I'll make a mental note of it, then it's gone. 

Now I'm supposed to nominate other bloggers to carry this tour on for September 1st, but the people I emailed never responded back! I'm hoping they got the email I sent, but I'm not going to say who I did nominate just in case they didn't want to join in. 

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)

Review: Valentia Even Glow Serum

*Disclosure* I was sent this product courtesy of BrandBacker and Valentia for review purposes. As always, my review will be 100% honest and my own!

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing this awesome Valentia Even Glow Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum for you guys. I was so excited when this was sent to me as I had wanted to try out a vitamin c serum for a while thinking it would help out with evening my skin tone. 

This serum is made with:

- 20% vitamin C which helps with brightness and texture of the skin (I need that!) and it helps with the production of collagen (aka. fewer wrinkles)

- Organic rosehip and sea buckthorn oil. When you combine these oils with vitamin c, they help combat free radicals and promote deep hydration which helps reduce wrinkles and evens skin tone

- Resistem (plant stem cells) which protects against stress related aging while promoting skin detoxification by removing damaged proteins and other cellular waste

- Hyaluronic acid which allows skin to retain moisture while also increasing elasticity and firmness

- Green tea extract is a potent antioxidant that has anti-inflammitory and anti-irritant benefits

After using this serum for about 2 weeks, I can definitely say I've seen an improvement in my skin. This is such a lightweight serum and sinks right into my skin. For me, I only use between 5 and 7 drops for my whole face, neck, and chest area. I always take what I use on my face down as that ages too! I feel like my skin is brighter, and I honestly think it's helping in making my pores look smaller. I'm always on a quest to find something that helps with my pores. I do think this may have broken me out a little bit, but it hasn't been bad. Sometimes products that help to make skin glow can do that to your skin if you're prone to breakouts. I don't have wrinkles so I can't say if it helps with that or not. Also, I have to mention that this smells so amazing! If anyone has heard of a drink called Orangina, it smells just like that. My husband is obsessed with that drink because of its orange-y yummy goodness.

You can only get this product on Amazon and it only costs $35, which for a serum that contains 1.18 fluid ounces, is not bad at all. If you want more information go onto Valentia's website to learn more about what products they have.

What do you think of this product? Does it seem like something you would try?

Updated Blog Sale!

Hey there everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I updated my blog sale tab with different products and prices. Let me know if you're interested in anything! All info is on the sale page :)

Also, I will update the page as things sell or when I come across things I don't use or have never/ won't ever use.

Thank you!

August 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hey guys! So I received my Ipsy bag on Friday but only got a chance today to write up what I got. When I was able to check my glam room and see what I would be getting, I was pretty excited! Once I actually got my bag in the mail, I was a little let down. The theme this month is called Beauty Schooled.

First off, I don't like the look of the bag. I don't like the color orange and when I got it, it was so smushed that I was afraid something may have broken inside. Onto the products.

 I first received the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner. I love receiving things that will help with my pores. Having oily, acne prone skin, products like this are amazing. I do have another sample of this but I have yet to try it. 

Next I received a Coastal Scents Forever Blush Sample Duo. I was first happy to see I would be getting this in my bag. Once I received it, I couldn't believe how small it was. I don't know how I'll be able to use this normally. I do have a comparison picture coming up shortly. 

Next up we have the Absolute Lip Balm in the Green Apple scent. A grape scent was also sent out and I probably would've preferred that, but this doesn't smell too offensive. I was never a fan of green apple stuff, even with candy. The color of it is pretty though so I'll give it a try. 

Then we have a Lord & Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil in a black color. Again, such a tiny sample that for me, it will be difficult to use. Reminds me of free samples they give you from Sephora when you place an order online. 

Lastly we have the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. This is the only product I'm super excited to use. I love Urban Decay as a brand so getting to try their new mascara is nice.

Not sure if this is a good comparison picture, but I didn't really have anything else. I have been told by numerous people that I have really small hands. My wedding rings are a size 5 if that helps too, and they sometimes slide around. Granted, my husband's hands are huge compared to mine, but he's a big dude. I'm just amazed that these tiny ass samples were sent out. Like I said above, these remind me of the free samples they send out with online orders. Pretty disappointed. 

Overall, I am not too happy with Ipsy this month. Some months are so amazing and then we have months like this where they all seem like free samples that I paid $10 for. 

Anyway, I do like Ipsy but I'm hoping next month is way better than this. I've received some awesome bags in the past, so if you want to subscribe, sign up here!

If you're already signed up, what did you think of your bag?

Sephora VIB Renewal Haul!

Hi guys! So in my last haul post I mentioned that my Sephora order helped me renew my VIB status through 2015. When your status gets renewed, you typically get a 10% off code to use in-store or online. I somehow was able to do both so when my husband and I went out for his birthday dinner, we stopped into Sephora. Also, I found out when I was there that depending on what status you are, you got extra points! Being a VIB I got 3X points, so I was a very happy girl! A couple days later I made an online order and was still able to use the 10% off code, plus 3X the points! Most of what I bought I'd wanted to try for ages, and one item I got because it looked nice, so lets see what I got!

The first product I bought is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in the color Fair Honey. Now I had heard about this because of EssieButton on YouTube. She raved about it in a review she did so ever since then I really wanted to try it. I'm usually a big fan of the powder/mineral foundations so I'm definitely excited to try this. The only thing I'm worried about is the color. I did get the lightest shade and I did test it out on my jawline in the store, but I'm hoping it's not going to be too yellow for me. The box says it's for fair skin with peach undertones. The next color up was definitely too yellow, but I'll give this a go and hopefully it works!

The next product is the one I thought looked nice and it's the Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil. I wanted to try out a beauty oil but with my oily skin I was always worried it would just make it more greasy. They had a whole display of different oils and what skin types they were good for. This Boscia one said it's good for oily skin, so I went with it. This was a pricey bugger at $46, but with the 10% off and the extra points, I thought I'd give it a try. 

The last product I bought in store is the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in the color Trooper. I've heard pretty much everyone and their mother rave about this liquid liner, and while I still consider myself a newbie with liquid/gel liner, this looked easy enough to control and (hopefully) not mess up. I'm really excited to try this!

When I was checking out the girl showed me all the point perks available, and when she brought out this Hourglass set, I almost died. I've never tried anything from Hourglass before, even though I think I have some samples of their primer, but I'm getting the itch to try some. This was a whopping 500 points, but I got close to 300 points on this purchase alone, so it didn't really matter. This set comes with a foundation sample card, their Veil Mineral Primer, which is what I think I have samples of, a Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara sample, a Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in the color Grace, and their Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in the color Icon. I'm really happy to get a chance to try out some of their products now that I have this little set!

Now we have my online order. When I bought the Tarte foundation above, I did see the Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush in store as well, but I wasn't sure if I wanted it or not. I do have a kabuki brush that I bought from The Body Shop years ago that I love with powder foundations, and thought maybe it would be okay. I ended up purchasing this because compared to my kabuki brush, this one has such shorts bristles and they're so tightly packed, so I have a feeling it will be easier buffing the foundation into my skin. I definitely want to try this brush with my bareMinerals foundation as well and see how it works. 

After I used my points on the Hourglass set, I really got an even bigger itch to try out more products. I consider this my first "luxury" product, as weird as it sounds. I ended up with the Ambient Lighting Blush in the color Ethereal Glow, and my oh my, how I love this! I haven't swatched it or anything yet because I wanted it to look all nice for these pictures, but I'm dying to try it now. I'm super duper pale, even in the Summer, so I thought this color would be good for me. The one I got though seems to have alot more of the really light shade, so I definitely am curious to see how this looks on the cheeks. 

What do you think of any of these products? Is there anything you've hauled recently that you're excited about?

Review: Makeup by One Direction "Take Me Home" Collection

*Disclosure* This product was sent to my courtesy of Brand Backer and Markwins for review purposes. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own!

Here it is all you One Direction fans! I was one of the lucky people who got to try out a set from One Direction's new makeup collection called "The Looks Collection. I received the set called Take Me Home, but there are two more called Midnight Memories and Up All Night. 

The collection will be sold worldwide starting with the US. International dates are still to be determined. Here are the US release dates:

- Macys: August 11th
- Stage Stores: August 25th
- Dillards: August 25th
- Beauty Brands: August 25th
- Lord & Taylor: August 25th

This kit comes with:
- Liquilights Glow Gloss in the color Kiss You. This gloss is an orange glitter rush lip gloss that glows to neon yellow under UV light. I have yet to try this out in the dark to prove that. Honestly, I don't mind the gloss. It feels nice going onto the lips and it's not sticky. However, I do feel the chunks of glitter on my lips and that can be a bit off putting.

- 4+1 Eye Shadow Palette in nude shades called:
    Back For You- velvet creme shade that's great as a highlight shade
    Change My Mind- peachy shimmer which I used on the lids
    C'mon C'mon- soft taupe used in the crease
    Little Things- smoky brown darkened the outer corners
    Take Me Home- golden glitter creme used as a top coat for everything. This actually isn't that great to be honest. Doesn't how up on the lid too well, you can tell I have glitter on my eyes though
- Last First Kiss which is a nude-pink sheer lipstick. This is a color I kinda like. When I first opened it though, then entire bullet fell out of the tube and onto my bed, so now I have pink lipstick stains on my sheets. 

- Little Black Dress volumizing mascara. This is just a typical mascara with a plain wand. It's basically a continuous spiral that doesn't do much for my lashes

- Live While We're Young multi-dimentional gold glitter nail polish. Have not tried this yet. Not really a fan of glitter polishes/top coats

- I Wish which is a warm chocolate brown eye and body crayon. This is alright. The color is nice, but doesn't last at all. 

- Also comes with a 5 piece decorator stencil set. I won't use these. 

Onto the look I came up with:

The eyeshadows were not bad at first. They felt nice going on, they were easy to blend and looked pretty decent. However, throughout the day I noticed it fading away even though I had used an eyeshadow primer. I really liked the brown liner too. It's creamy and doesn't tug at the lids. That was pretty much the first thing to disappear on my eyes though. The mascara is alright. It definitely gives a natural look which I do like, but it's nothing too special. Now the lipstick I liked. It's definitely sheer like the name says but the color is pretty. The gloss I can do without. The orange color is strange to me, but over the lipstick it doesn't look terrible. 

Swatches of eyeshadow palette

Swatches of lipstick, lip gloss, and eyeliner

Overall, I don't want to say this is cheap makeup, but as a person who has used high end and drugstore makeup, this isn't stellar. If you're maybe 12 to about 16 years old, just getting into makeup, this kit or one of the other two may be a decent option. If I were a teenager again going through my boyband phase, I'm sure this is something I'd want. 

For more information on this makeup line, go to One Direction's Facebook page!

What do you think of this collection?