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?

December 2015 Ipsy Bag

Hello everyone! It's time for me to share my last Ipsy bag of the year with you guys, and this one is pretty darn good. 

The style of the bag isn't my favorite honestly. I like that it's red, but that's it. I do actually appreciate though that the zipper of the bag is on the very top. Most Ipsy bag zippers aren't like that, and it can be annoying. The products are what impressed me most!

First up is a Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick in the shade Nudie Red. I don't see much red in this though, more of a nude/mauve color. I've never been really happy with the Pacifica products I've tried, but I'm pretty excited to try this. I've gotten more into lipsticks lately, so I'm in the mood to try them all.

Next up is the Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer. I love me a good eye shadow primer, and I've never tried this brand's before. I've been fairly impressed with other products I've tried from this line before. 

Then we have a ModelCo Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner in a universal shade. Despite the packaging making me think it was going to be hot pink, it's a very natural looking nude/pink. I'm also delving into the lip liner world, so this is a good start for me!

I'm all about taking care of my super dry hair lately, so the Marc Anthony Coconut Oil & Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment will get love from me. Ever since trying out the Keranique that I had reviewed previously, my hair is taking quite a bit to get back to normal.

I received a deluxe sample of the Clark's Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask. I'm so excited to use this because I love using moisturizing masks after a detoxifying mask in the Winter time, to help combat dry skin. I'm trying to use the GlamGlow hydrating mask sparingly because of how expensive it is, and I can get a good 2-3 uses out of this little jar. 

I'm not sure if everyone got this in their bag, but I also ended up receiving an Em Cosmetics Shade Play Artistic Eye Color Palette called Casablanca Neutrals. This is right up my alley color wise, and I've wanted to try this line for quite a while now, but it's pretty darn expensive. This was a nice little extra to see in my bag!

I'm sure it's obvious, but I'm so happy with the products this month! I was on the verge of cancelling, but now I'm going to keep my subscription going and see what the new year brings. If you're not already subscribed to Ipsy, you can do so here! It's only $10 a month, plus shipping for some, and you get typically 5 deluxe sized samples, sometimes full sized products, sent to you in a little makeup bag every month.  

If you're already subscribed to Ipsy, what did you get in your bag?

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Holiday 2015 Beauty Gift Guide

*Disclosure* I received some of the products mentioned for consideration. This post is NOT sponsored. Some links below are affiliate links

Hello everyone! Today I'm bringing you my holiday gift guide for 2015. All of these are still in stock online (minus one, but that will be mentioned!), and if you order soon, they'll arrive before Christmas!

The first product I have to share is the e.l.f. Lip Kiss Set. This set includes a Lip Defining Brush, a Lip Balm Tint in Grapefruit, and a Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss. The brush isn't actually pointed like it's represented in the picture, but it's good for applying the lip balm tint if you don't feel like sticking your fingers in the pot. I expected the lip balm tint to smell like grapefruit, but it smells like vanilla, which I actually prefer. The lip shine smells incredible! It's very fruity, and while I do love the color, it's a bit light for my fair complexion. Otherwise, this is a great, inexpensive gift that you can purchase on the e.l.f. site here for just $5. You also only have two more days to place your order for it to arrive in time for Christmas!

My next gift suggestion is a skincare kit that's good for most skin types. This is actually a kit from First Aid Beauty that I had purchased last year, but there is a very similar one here, on the Sephora site, that's not as expensive as this, but it doesn't include as much. Either way, First Aid Beauty is one of those brands that is good for so many skin types. Even though I typically have oily skin, all of the products I've tried that have to do with hydration, my skin has loved immensely! It always feels softer, more hydrated, and less sensitive after I use their products. To make sure your order arrives before Christmas, you have until the 20th for standard shipping, and today if you're purchasing fragrance or other restricted items. 

The next products I have to share are from a brand called Vapour Organic Beauty. I had never heard of this brand before, but was definitely intrigued to learn more. The top set shown is called the Kiss Duo, and includes the Siren Lipstick in the shade Plush and the Elixir Plumping Lip Gloss in the shade Mystery. Both shades are gorgeous, and the lip gloss isn't sticky at all! The lip gloss smells slightly fruity and the lipstick is unscented. This set retails for $40, online only at Target.

The second set is called the Party Girl, which includes an Aura Multi-Use in the shade Instinct and a Mesmerize Eye Color in the shade Chill. The Aura Multi-Use can be used on your lips or cheeks and the Eye Color is just a cream shadow that can be easily blended out as a base or used on its own. This set retails for $50, and it's again only available online at Target. You have until the 21st to order online for Christmas arrival!

Next up is the Algenist Kiss and Wink Collection. Algenist is one of those brands that is so expensive, but everything I've tried personally has been amazing. I've only tried samples, but hey, they're pretty awesome samples! This set includes a 0.23 ounce Lip Renewal Balm with SPF 15 and a 0.23 ounce Complete Eye Renewal Balm, for just $25. You can find this product at Sephora, Ulta, Sephora inside JC Penney and online at Sephora. 

My last holiday recommendation is Body Butters from The Body Shop. I express my love for these body butters so much, and it's well deserved! These are so hydrating, smell amazing, and one container lasts me ages. The scents shown are Vanilla from last year, and Honeymania. I also am a huge fan of the Shea, Coconut, and Satsuma scents. These are normally $21 each, but online they have a sale for 50% off, and you have to order by the 21st to receive your order by Christmas.

What are you hoping to receive for Christmas?