Influenster Love VoxBox 2012!

HELLO LOVIES!
Super excited to be doing this post for you guys! So if you have not read my previous blog post I was picked to receive the Influenster Love VoxBox. For a little more info on influenster you can read my blog post on it (click here) or visit Influenster (click here) and see if it is something that interests you. Influenster is completely free to join. So lets get onto the goodies!!!

So like I mentioned before the theme for this VoxBox is Love/Valentines Day. Although I did get this box after Valentines day it was a good theme and the products fit it to a T. So lets get onto the products!

Gillette Venus & Olay Razor-Gillette Venus & Olay are coming together to deliver a gold standard in shaving with the new Gillette Venus & Olay razor! Olay Moisture Bars help lock-in moisture to your skin, while Venus' five blade shave you close. $8.99-$10.99

This was a pretty sweet surprise! The color is a gorgeous shimmery gold and the packaging just adds the gaudiness of it all. I love Gillette for their great products that truly deliver what they claim to. Now to see them partnering with Olay is pretty awesome! On the packaging it does say that you will love it or get your money back x2! This means they are super confident in the product and that you will love it! I have not tried out the razor yet but I will and I will surely let you guys know my thoughts on it.

Kiss Nail Dress-Fashion That Sticks- Introducing Kiss Nail Dress, the ultimate nail fashion for tips and toes! Just peel, apply, and shape for a manicure that lasts up to 10 days. Available in 18 different styles! $6.99

Yes! Finally someone who decided to do the nail stickers but sell them for cheaper! Super excited about that. The ones I received are super cute! I will say I am not a big fan of prints but these are so cute! One thing that I noticed they did different and it actually a good thing is how the shaped the nail stickers. The top part is squared off which is perfect for using on your toes and the bottom part is rounded with is ideal for fingernails. This is something that I have yet to see other brands do. The packet comes with 24 nail stickers and a nail file. I am thinking about using these next so I will post a picture soon.

Stash Tea Herbal Tea Sampler- This sampler features some of Stash Tea's most popular herbal teas All are naturally caffeine free and made from 100% natural ingredients. Steep for 3-5 minutes at 190-209 degrees, and enjoy! $3.50

First off I will say that I am not a big fan of tea! However I think this is one of the items I am most excited about trying out! One of my new year resolutions was to expand my palette and try out new items, so, this is one to help me out with that resolution. It comes with 16 bags of tea in 8 different flavors. The flavors are Acai Berry, Blueberry Superfruit, Chamomile, Cinnamon Apple Chamomile. Lemon Ginger, Licorice Spice, Mango Passionfruit, Peppermint, and Wild Raspberry Hibiscus. I am very very iffy on the licorice spice but I will try it out. It is a very good variety of teas and a very reasonable price. I also love the fact that it is caffeine free which is perfect for me since I am on a no caffeine "diet". I will see how this goes but I will keep you guys posted!

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Creamy Devotion Bar- The decadently rich and creamy 32% cacao milk chocolate in Creamy Devotion delivers an epicurean chocolate experience. Experience a moment of timeless pleasure with all natural Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Chocolate. $2.99

OMG! When I saw the chocolate bar I was in heaven :) This chocolate is so delicious and creamy! I must say it is my favorite out of the entire Ghirardelli chocolate family. I was also surprised at the price. That is a very good reasonable price for a big bar of chocolate. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Along with this new Gourmet Milk Chocolate line they have one that is called The Sea Salt Escape. Sounds very delicious and different. So I will be going out and purchasing more of the chocolates in this line and trying them out and letting you guys know what I think. I also noticed that on their Facebook page they are giving out $1 off coupons (click here to get one!).

Truvia Natural Sweetener- Truvia natural sweetener is refreshingly uncomplicated. made from the best tasting part of the Stevia plant. Sprinkle this no-calorie sweetener on your grapefruit. Spoon it in your coffee. It won't end up on your conscience or your thighs! $3.99 (40 ct)

I have heard of Truvia before but have never tried it out. Guess now is the perfect chance for it, right?! I will say that their advertising does kind of bug me a little. I don't think anyone should feel guilty for enjoying a little sweets and sugar once in a while. Anything in moderation is good for you. Other than that little tiny complaint I am looking forward to trying out this product and maybe trying it in my tea. I will fill you guys in as well.


Overall I love the box! Great products and amazing new things to try! I can't complain one bit! Like I mentioned before I will be going into more detail on the products I received as I try them out and get a better feel for them, so keep checking back for that. I hope you guys enjoyed this post and will go check out the products I mentioned and check out Influenster as well.


** Disclaimer:  These products were sent to me for free to test and review from Influenster through their  VoxBox program.**

My Haircare Routine (And Mini Reviews)

HELLO LOVELIES! So this month I was super busy with work that I didn't write much of anything. Sad day! Everything is back to normal, or as normal as it will ever be. So yeah. For this post I decided I wanted to share with you my haircare routine.

A little background info on my hair before we get started it is coarse, dry, and color treated. I have breakage and split ends, and well its not the most healthy hair out there. It is shoulder length. My hair is also naturally wavy. As for my current color it is a dark brown with ombre technique using a caramel color (which needs touched up bad ). So lets get right into my hair care routine.

I like to switch around my haircare products often. I cant stick to the same one for a long period of time. Technically you want to switch up the products so that you don't get too much of one all the time. Too much protein (found in anti-breakage products) can be harmful to your hair. Even using too much moisturizing products are harmful.

CLEANSING:

I like to wash my hair every other day. You don't want to wash your hair daily because you will be stripping your hair of daily essential natural oils that it produces. These natural oils help your hair grow, shine, and stay healthy. Currently for my daily shampoo I am using the TRESemmé Anti-Breakage shampoo. I chose this product line because I have some of their other hair care items and thought I would give their shampoo a try. I am not completely in love with the shampoo but I don't hate it either. Sure it cleanses my hair but I don't feel the anti-breakage part of the shampoo working. Seems to me like it does not have enough protein in it to strengthen my hair. I ended up purchasing a big bottle of it so as soon as I am out of it I will be switching to something that helps a little bit more. Before using TRESemmé I was using Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Shampoo. It was a super gentle cleanser and it left my hair smelling clean and fresh. I did feel it moisutrized my hair. Like I mentioned before, I like to try out new products.

I also use a clarifying shampoo twice a month or less, depending on how my hair feels. A clarifying shampoo is good to remove the hair of build up of products and impurities. Bonus of it is that if you have an oily scalp this shampoo helps control it over time. I have been loving Paul Mitchell's Shampoo Two. For the blonde hair women out there that go swimming and their hair turns greenish Paul Mitchell also has a Shampoo Three that is perfect for that. Shampoo Two is okay to use every other day or even once a week but I prefer twice a month. Once again I don't want to strip my hair of its natural oils. It leaves my hair feeling super clean and lightweight. It does not weigh my hair down at all. Best of all I enjoy the lemony scent of it!

Now onto my conditioner. Usually people like to pair moisture with moisture, color treated with color treated but I like to mix them up. For my conditioner I am using another TRESemmé product. I am using their Remoisturize Conditioner from their Classic Care line. Once again I am not too happy with this conditioner. It makes my hair feel waxy and super oily. I made the big mistake of buying this in a bigger size as well so I am just waiting to finish it up to switch it up. When something claims it remoisturizes it should not make your hair feel waxy. Soft and silky is ok but waxy is a big no no! Before this conditioner I was a huge fan of Paul Mitchell The Detangler. If you ladies are fans of teasing your hair but don't like the whole washing out process because it may still be super tangled, try this baby out. You don't need a lot of product to detangle the most tangled of hairs. It lets your comb glide through your hair and leave hair super silky soft. I love this conditioner!

HAIR MASKS & DEEP CONDITIONER:
I will say I use to be super good about doing a deep conditioning every month and a hair mask too, but recently it has been whenever I find time for it.

All my hair masks are D.I.Y. masks. I have several recipes from family members. My most used one is blending one egg with mayo. Sounds disgusting but this recipe is perfect for moisturizing hair. Great if you have super dry and brittle hair. Just leave it on for 15 to 30 mins and wash it out. My other favorite hair mask is a honey and avocado mask this is another moisturizing hair mask.

For deep conditioner I have been using and really enjoying the Joico K-Pak Deep-Penetrating Reconstructor. This was recommended to me by a fellow cosmetologist. She uses it religiously and swears it helps strengthen her hair. I have really been enjoying how conditioning it is. I cant really speak much on the strengthening part because I have not tried this product all by its self, as in not putting in more products in my hair after I use this. I put this in my hair while in the shower and leave it in for 5 to 10 minutes. The steam from the shower helps it penetrate the hair shaft better i feel.

STYLING PRODUCTS:
This is where I kind of cocktail lots of products together. I love love mixing products! I have quite a few things that I use in my hair to help with various issues my hair has.

Once my hair is towel dried I like to spray in a leave-in conditioner. This works as a detangling spray as well. I have been using Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner Spray. It smells amazing! It was one of the only leave-in conditioners that I found that had ingredients that truly do help your hair. To me it was the closest thing to natural that I was able to find and I love it. I only do 3 to 4 sprays.

Next step is to apply my hair oil to my split ends. I have tried the morrocan oil from the brand MorrocanOil and from Organix. I cant really say I complain of either of them really. However I didn't feel I was getting the full effect. Morrocan Argan oil is great for damaged hair, gives shine, strengthens and nourishes hair, and it helps prevent hair from frizzing. Like I mentioned before I felt like neither on of the products was helping out with the full list of things it was suppose to help out with. In one of my Birchboxes (my first one) I received a small sample of a hair oil. I tried it out and it has been working amazingly for me! I have even purchased the full size one and I am not even done with my sample size. The sample size had even spilt in the box, so I was out 1/4th of the product to start with and I just hit the half way mark of that small bottle, and this was in December! So my favorite hair oil is the Amika Obliphica Oil Treatment. This baby smells amazing! Very very floral but not overpowering at all. Makes applying it enjoyable. This oil treatment has morrocan oil in it along with vitamin C. I apply this only to my split ends because they need a lot of love! I take a small amount, probably a pea size if not smaller, into the palm of my hands, rub my hands together and spread it evenly from the middle of my hair strands to the ends, focusing mainly on the ends. Whatever is left over on my palm I put on the rest of my hair, avoiding the roots of course. I absolutely love this product! My only complaint is that there is no pump to dispense the product so you have to be careful when you pour the oil into your hands.

Finally before I blow dry my hair ( if I decide to) or before any heat touching my hair I use a heat protection spray. This is very very important if you curl your hair, blow dry it, or flat iron it. Any sort of heat that touches your hair can damage it if you don't apply the proper hair care product to it. For the past year or more I have been a fan of the TRESemmé Instant Heat Tamer Spray. It is super inexpensive and a great dupe for the Chi 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray. I like to spray this all over my hair and once again I focus on the tips of my hair. I usually do 2 to 4 sprays. I then use a wide tooth comb (detangling comb) to comb it through so that my hair is covered evenly. I then proceed to style my hair how I want.

NO WASH DAY PRODUCTS

So for my dirty hair days I have a dry shampoo from TRESemmé as well to help clean my hair a little. I like to use the TRESemmé Dry Shampoo in both formulas, for straight hair and for curly hair. There are days that I don't want to flat iron my hair at all so I will use this to give my natural wavy hair a boost. For days that I want to keep my hair straight and just retouch I will use to dry shampoo for straight hair. The formula for straight hair is an aerasol bottle. Just shake the can vigoursly before every spray. Leave it in for about 2 minutes and with a brush brush it through. For the curly formula it is a foam type. So just dispense a dime size amount and distribute through hair evenly. With a towel gently remove any excess product and oil/dirt from your hair.

So that is my daily/every other day routine! Long, I know, but I love my hair and I want to keep in semi decent. What do you guys use on your hair? Any products you absolutely love?

XO,

Espy

REVIEW: Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer

HELLO LOVIES! Hope all of you are doing fabulous! So here I am again w another product review that was just recently released. I purchased mine from Ulta about a month ago or so. I have been trying it out every day since and finally feel ready to do a review. So lets get right to it!

WHAT IT IS:
A face primer that neutralizes redness and brightens skin tone.


THEY DESCRIBE IT AS:
"new multi-tasking face primer intuitively adjust to smooth and soften skin while correcting skin's most common problem with visible color correcting strands. Green ribbons neutralize redness, while swirls of lavender pigments even out and brighten skin tone. Imperfections are diffused and skin is up to 265% more hydrated. This lightweight, non-oily formula works for all skin types but is specifically formulated for sensitive skin. Wear alone for a flawless finish or underneath foundation for the first step to perfected skin."

MY OPINION:
I must say I had some really high hopes for this face primer. So first off the packaging is great! I love the fact that it comes with a pump which makes for easy dispensing of the product. The look of the helix coil of the two shades is pretty eye catching. Kind of reminded me of Stila's One Step Correct.

So getting past the nice design lets get into what the product does for you. At first glance you would think that it would do what it claims to do, correct and perfect. However that is not the case at all. When you apply the primer it does not reduce or neutrilize any redness. I feel like after I apply it I still have the same amount of redness, no more no less. I also do not see any brightening of my skin. Just looks normal. To be honest I think my morning face wash brightens my face more than this primer. The primer is lightweight and do not feel oily at all.

When applied it makes my face feel super soft. Still that is not what I was expecting when I purchased this primer. I also noticed that it does have a smell to it. I cant quite describe it but I will say that to some of you it may not be too pleasant. To me is smells almost the same way that my Laura Mercier face primer smells. In conclusion this is just a face primer. It does not do anything it claims to do.

RATING:
*Product: 3 out of 5
*Packaging: 5 out of 5
*Quality: 1 out of 5
*Would I buy again?: No, the packing is great and it works well as just a primer but does not do anything it claims to do.
*Price: $13.99
*Where to buy: Ulta or any drugstore

NOTW: Zoya Carey

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."~ Anne Frank

HELLO LOVIES! I am finally back and ready to get started on my new blogging schedule. A couple of days after posting my new blog ideas and what not I ended up getting sick and I am barely getting over it. Not trying to make excuses but I am wanting to let you all know what was going on.

SO! For this Nail of the week look I decided to keep it simple and pastel! I have recently started loving pastel colors more than usual. I ordered 3 Zoya polishes from Birchbox since at that time they were offering free shipping and I had never tried Zoya polishes but had heard great things about them. This is one of the colors that I purchased. I believe it is from their Fall/Winter Collection.

I must say I absolutely LOVE this color! It is a perfect pastel purple color. I would say it is lavendar but it seems to have more of the grey to it. The picture is with 2 coats of product. I love the formula of it, it was just the perfect consistancy. Drying time was about 2 minutes, which is not too bad. I think this is the perfect color for this time of the year, its not winter but not spring quite yet, its in between.

I would recommend this to anyone that is into the pastel colors or wants a totally different hue of purple. LOVE!



Love,

Espy

Nail of the Week (NOTW)

"Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic."~ Rosalind Russell

Hello lovelies! I am so excited since this is the very first nail of the week post of this year! 

As you can probably tell from the picture this is a Sephora by OPI polish. The color is Mash Up. This specific color is from the Glee collection Sephora had for Spring 2011. I don't think they still carry it since it was limited edition but some stores may have it in stock still. 

The color itself is a silvery, greenish, purple duo-chrome.  I did find it to be fairly sheer but still gorgeous. This is one of the pictures where you could see the range of colors this polish gives and once again it is absolutely GORGEOUS! 

Like I mentioned before this is a fairly sheer color. In my pictures I only applied two coats of polish. If you want a fuller coverage three would be perfect. The consistency of the polish is perfect! Its not too thick and not too runny. It applies evenly so streaking will not be a problem. 

The price of the polish was $9.50 for a .5 fl oz bottle. This is not bad if you compare it to other polishes out there that can cost up to $20. I absolutely love the color and the fact that it is subtle enough to wear to work or a date and still fun to wear on a night out with friends. If you can still get your hands on it I would totally recommend getting it. Its so worth it :)

What polish are you currently sporting? Post a picture or comment below. Take care lovelies! 

Love,

Espy <3

Updated Foundation Routine for Fall/Winter

"Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest."~Christian Dior

So its almost Thanksgiving and I thought it would be the perfect time for me to do a updated foundation routine. As all of you know the temperatures are dropping and our skin is losing most of its moisture. In my case, dry patches start to be a lot more noticeable. So during this time of the year I try to change up my foundation routine and skin care routine as much as possible to help keep my skin looking fresh and moisturized.

STEP ONE:

Moisturizer. You want to moisturize your skin 30 minutes before applying any type of primer to your face. This allows your skin more time to absorb the moisturizer. My current moisturizer is Origins, VitaZing SPF 15.

I love this moisturizer for various reasons. Its is an organic product that is formulated without any parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, and various other products. Not only does it moisturize my skin but it also has a sheer tint, a little more sheer than a tinted moisturizer, and it helps me look awake. The SPF is like the cherry on top. It has a scent to it that is not over powering. The scent kind of reminds me of mangoes. It smells delicious but like I mentioned before, not overpowering at all. For this a dime size or less is perfect to apply to the entire face and neck. This is good news since this product is a little pricey ($35) for the amount you receive (1.7oz). So keep in mind a little bit of this goes a long way.

STEP TWO:

Primer. Face primer is a must for everyone. A primer helps the product adhere better to the skin and it helps you use less product. Some primers brighten up colors or minimize pores. My all time favorite primer is Benefit Cosmetics, The POREfessional.

This primer is a quick fix primer. By quick fix I mean you see immediate results versus seeing the results over time. This quick fix primer helps minimize pores. I love this because I do notice the difference immediately and I do have large pores on my cheeks and nose. I apply the product in my problem areas and for the rest of my face use a different primer. You do not need to use much of this product. I recommend using this only on the problem area and using a different primer on the rest of your face. If you find this to be too much of a hassle a pea sized amount of this will cover your entire face.  It is a primer that is a little on the pricey side. It retails for $29 and its a .75oz bottle. I will say that like my moisturizer a little of this goes a long way. I had one bottle of this primer for a year before I had to repurchase a new one.

The second primer I use is Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in the Oil Free formula.

This I apply to my forehead, chin, and upper lip. I use the oil free formula because it does help control my oily skin a lot better. Once again another primer that is on the pricier side. This is $30 for a 1.75oz bottle. A good dupe for this that I have found is the Palladio Herbal Foundation Primer.

 It leaves my skin with that silky smooth finish, it is not too greasy feeling but does hydrate at the same time, and it is less than half the price ($11.99 for 1oz) of the Laura Mercier. My skin seems to be very weird I tell you. I have dry patch areas and I have oily areas. If only they would combine an give me normal skin I would be happy. A girl can dream :)

STEP THREE:

Foundation and concealer. Now this would not be an updated foundation routine if I did not change up something, right? For this cold season you want to have a more dewy foundation, specially is you have dry skin or dry patches. Matte foundations may give you a more dull flat look and if you have dry skin it make look like you have very unhealthy flaky skin. I have two foundations that I alternate with, depending on how much coverage I want. The first foundation is the Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation. My color is in Light/Medium. 

There are 3 shades to pick from and the reason for that is the true skin matching technology. This is an amazing product! You apply this to your skin and start blending it in and you see it start matching your skin. It is amazing to see this in person. I feel like this foundation hydrates the dry patches and does not overly hydrate the rest of my skin. I would say this is the perfect foundation for any skin type since it knows where to hydrate the most. This is another organic product, GO GREEN! Some of the pros of this foundation are that it is paraben free, cruelty free, vegan, toxin free, and recyclable. This does have a slight scent. I cant quite describe it but it smells clean to me. This foundation does give me a dewy finish but it is not full coverage. I would say this is more of a medium coverage foundation but I don't mind this one bit. As for usage, one pump is more than enough since the product does spread out easily and evenly. This retails for $42 for a 1oz bottle. The price may be very steep for some, but the quality of the product is well worth it and the packaging is perfect as well.

The second foundation I like using is the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation. My color in this is Natural Tan.

Maran, $12.49 for 1 oz,but this foundation is also buildable to full coverage and still not look cakey. It does go on fairly easy and I do find it hydrating. I would say this is a great inexpensive foundation for this season.

I like to apply my concealer after I apply my foundation. Sometimes foundations will take care of the problem areas of the skin so concealer would be pointless then, but other times you do need to apply that little bit to that pimple or to the dark under eye circles. For concealer for this season I like using my Amazing Cosmetics, Amazing Concealer in Tan.

This is a very pigmented and concentrated concealer. I love this for blemishes and dark under eye circles. It is a liquid form so that does help it glide on a lot easier. You seriously only need to use a pin sized amount to get the perfect amount of coverage for your blemishes or dark under eye circles. This concealer is paraben free which is great. It is very pricey though. I have the travel size, which is .2oz, and I paid $28 for it. The full size is .5 oz and its $42. It does last a very long time but it is very very pricey. I highly recommend it though. 

Usually my next step would be to apply a setting powder over my foundation, but not in this case. If you have super oily skin you can apply a very light amount of powder only to the oily areas, otherwise too much powder will matte up the finish and the dewy look will be useless. So for this season I would recommend to skip it. We don't want our skin too look flat and flaky. Next you would go onto finishing the full face look with lips, cheeks, and eyes. 

This is a very simple and quick way of having a nice dewy finish to your skin and help your skin not look dull at all during this holiday season. I hope you guys enjoyed this mini update. I hope to be doing posts more often as well. Does your foundation routine change during the colder season? If so, what foundation do you use?

PRICE LIST:

*Origins, VitaZing SPF15: $35 (Sephora & Origins)

*Benefit Cosmetics, The POREfessional: $29 (Sephora & Ulta)

*Laura Mercier Foundation Primer, Oil Free: $30 (Sephora)

*Palladio, Herbal Liquid Foundation Primer: $11.99 (Ulta o& Sally Beauty Supply)

*Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Foundation Serum: $42 (Sephora)

*Neutrogena, Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup: $11.99 (Ulta & most drugstores)

*Amazing Cosmetics, Amazing Concealer: $28-$42 (Sephora and Ulta)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Best Brush Cleaner Ever!!!

"There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness." ~Maria Mitchell

So for all of you makeup artist out there or aspiring makeup artist you know that the most important thing that we all own, besides our cosmetics, is our tools. Our tools help us achieve the looks we want with little to no effort and hassle at all. Now like any other thing we own, our brushes need to be properly cared for. By this I mean daily cleaning and monthly deep cleaning. This may seem to some like a big hassle, but when you love what you do and want your brushes to last a lot longer it doesn't seem like a big deal anymore.

So while watching some videos on YouTube I came across a video by dulcecandy87. For those of you who do not know her, click here to see her YouTube channel. So she has a video where she is doing a review on the Sigma Dry n' Shape and she mentioned Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. I was amazed at how big the bottle was but most of all how little amount of product it took to clean 12 brushes. Needless to say I went to my local Target and found Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in different scents and two different sizes.

Now lets talk a little bit about the scents and the sizes they have. There are 8 different scents to choose from. Pretty much a scent for everyone out there. The scents are Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Almond, Rose, Baby Mild, Citrus, Lavender, and Tea Tree Liquid Soap. I personally didn't care much for the others so I got the lavender. Also lavender is known to help you relax. So what better way to help be relaxed and stay relaxed then getting whiffs of lavender when doing your makeup. The product comes in two different sizes, 16oz and 32oz. The price may very depending on where you purchase the item and what size. I believe I paid about $8 for my 16oz bottle and it seriously still look brand new and I have had it for over 4 months.

Now onto the product itself. Lately I have been trying to get into more organic products for my face. I feel that organic products are better for our skin since we are avoiding any harsh chemicals and ingredients. With that said, yes, Dr. Bronner's Liquid Soap is organic! Win much?! It is made with no synthetic foaming agents, thickeners or preservatives. This is great to know because some foaming agents (like those found in many shampoos) are too harsh and can cause damage to the bristles (and if its a shampoo, your hair!). It is completely Biodegradable and vegetable-based, its made with Certified Fair Trade and Organic Oils, and it is multi-purpose! You can actually refill this bottle at your local Co-Op! Many many Co-Ops carry Dr. Bronner's and have refill stations for you to use. Not only is it cost effective but you are also technically recycling. What better thing than to have organic soap and save the planet at the same time!

The quality of this product is beyond amazing! You only need 2 to 3 little drops of this product into a container (any small Tupperware will do), fill it up with water (less than half way), and this is just enough to clean 12 brushes or more depending on how dirty your brushes are. The scent is not overpowering but not too subtle. You can definitely smell the lavender in the brush bristles. On top of that, the soap leaves my brushes squeaky clean and, if they are white bristles, it leaves them white and not stained. By stained I mean that sometimes we use that bright pink blush and the white bristles are stained pink, even after deep cleaning them. This soap cleans it all off and leaves the bristles like they were before using it, white.  

I really do love this product and I think it is by far my favorite deep cleaning brush cleaner. Before this  I use to use Sephora Brush Shampoo and although it had no harsh scent (or scent at all) it did take a ton of product to get a large powder brush clean and didn't completely take care of any stains left on the brushes from makeup. This product I just find to be very cost effective and it being multi purpose makes it even better. It being organic is like the cherry on top. This whole item is overall a win for me!

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope this is informative for you! I will soon do a tutorial on how I use this product to deep clean my brushes and how often you should clean your brushes to help keep them around longer. :)

RATING:

Packaging: 5/5

Product: 5/5

Quality: 5/5

Price: $8-$16 (Target. If you buy from the Co-Op I'm sure it may be more inexpensive.)

Would I buy again?: Most Defiantly

Overall: 5/5

**If you would like to read more about the ingrediants of Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps click here.**

Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection Review~Comfort Zone

"Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in the mirror."~ Khalil Gibran 

So a couple of days ago I took a late night trip to my local Wal*Mart in search for something interesting and new. Like usual I made my way to the makeup section thinking maybe a new nail polish is what I needed. To my surprise I ended up leaving the store with a Wet 'n' Wild purchase. I picked up the Coloricon Eyeshadow collection in Petal Pusher. I have heard many great things about these palettes that I decided it was time for me to see what all the rave was about.

Comfort Zone is a palette with 8 Earth tone colors. This palette lives up to its name because all of these colors remind me of nice simple looks and staying within your comfort zone of either look or colors. It is perfect for a lunch date, work, or a just because moment. The eyeshadows are split into 2 categories with browbone, eyelid, crease, and definer stamped in them, which is clever. The two categories are split for daytime and nighttime looks. I may be wrong but that is how I interpret it. Now just because they are split into two different categories or have labels on them does not mean you cant mix and match colors and create your own unique look.

The shadows themselves are very pigmented and have amazing color payoff. A few of the colors in this palette are super soft, so if you are a beginner you may want to go very very lightly on this. A plus on some colors being soft is that it teaches you to build up the color versus putting way too much on at once. Like I mentioned before the color pay off of this palette is amazing and the fact that it will look good on any skin tone or with any eye color is a plus as well. My only minor complaint is that all the colors are shimmer and there are no matte tones. Which at the same time is okay because you can tone down all the shimmer with some matte blushes.

The picture above shows the first set of colors. The first color (left to right) is a nice beige color. It is very light so it works great as a browbone color or a color to place on the inner corner of the eye. Next you have a coppery peach tone. This is a very soft shade so you will want to build this one up a little at a time. The third color is a a light brown tone followed by a dark brown shade with red glitters in it. Gorgeous colors! 

Now onto the second set of colors. The first color is a nice shimmery taupe color. Following the shimmer taupe color is a very nice foresty green. I want to say that this green is one of my favorites from this palette. Next you have a black shadow with a lot of gold glitters. The last color is a very nice brown with red undertones. Its one of those colors that I find difficult to describe but none the less its gorgeous. 

For the swatches I only had to build up one color with is the beige tone from the first set. Other than that all the other colors were so pigmented only a swipe of my finger was needed to get the swatches. Now onto the packaging itself. The packaging is plastic, which is durable and not flimsy at all. Included with the eight shadows you get a double ended applicator. One end has a sponge tip and the other a brush. I feel this to be very worthless because I cant find any use for it to be honest. 

This specific palette to me is a great go to palette. I have nothing but good things to say about this palette and for the price its a steal!!!

RATING:

Packaging: 5/5

Product: 4/5

Quality: 5/5

Price: $4.69 (any drugstore :) )

Would I buy again?: Oh yes!!!

Overall: 4.9/5

Ulta Cosmetics Review

A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power. ~ George Meredith

So I recently did an online purchase on the Ulta website. I had gotten an email on a deal they had at the moment. If you have an Ulta membership card and get/read their emails you probably remember this deal. The deal was to purchase $17.50 in Ulta brand makeup and you received a free makeup bag of your choice with 17 pieces of Ulta cosmetics. I have never tried on the Ulta brand makeup since we recently got an Ulta in our town so this to me seemed like a great deal and opportunity. An opportunity to try more than one Ulta brand cosmetic. 

For this being my first online purchase from Ulta I was very impressed. Not only with the cosmetics but with the shipping time. Whenever I purchase anything from Sephora online it take over a week to get here since I live close to Montana. However with the Ulta purchase it was here in a little less than a week. I was really impressed with that. Now onto what I purchased and my free items.

Like I had mentioned before, in order to get the free makeup bag I had to purchase $17.50 in Ulta brand cosmetics so I decided that I really wanted to try out their blushes. Most of the blushes I own have some shimmer to them and I was really wanting to get some that were matte. I was also wanting to get a lipstick in a bright color. Below are the 3 blushes I purchased and the bigger one is one of the free products that came in my makeup bag. On the top left there is Girlie and right besides it is Sweet Cheeks. The bottom left is the free blush or Cheek Color in Afternoon Delight and right besides it Afterglow. 

Now just looking at the blushes in the picture you can tell that some have shimmer in them. Mind you I was in search of matte blushes. Well to my discovery when my order arrived only one blush was matte, Girlie. I decided to keep them anyways because the colors were really nice. I must say that the online pictures do not do them justice.

The picture above is a little swatch of the blushes. From left to right we have the free blush Afternoon Delight, Girlie, Afterglow, and Sweet Cheeks. Now onto my review and lets start with the free blush I got. Afternoon Delight is a very creamy and shimmery peach color. This I found perfect to use as a highlight for the cheeks or to put in the inner corner of your eye to give it a nice pop of color. It is a very pigmented color so I usually apply it with my finger. 

Girlie is a nice matte pink tone. This particular blush is not extremely pigmented but it still gives that nice summer glow. I do get a slight smell and it smells very powdery but it is not powdery at all. 

Afterglow is one of my favorite blushes from the four that I have been using this almost every single day. Once again it is a pink tone but it is darker and has shimmer. This is more pigmented than Girlie and the shimmer is subtle  This is a very good color that would look good on any skin tone. 

Sweet Cheeks is a shimmer dark pink blush. This one I like to use whenever I want to get a natural glow. It is summer time and I did get really really dark so this is the closest to a summer glow color that I could find. 

Overall the colors are amazing but do not let the online color fool you. Online it lacks the description so you are not sure if what you are purchasing is a matte or shimmery blush. I would recommend to go into the store and look at them first. I still like these colors regardless of the matte or shimmer finish.

Now onto the lipsticks. I purchased on and the other one was a free lipstick that came in the makeup bag. 

The lipstick on the left was the free one in Iced Cappuccino. The one on the right is the lipstick I purchased in Fuchsia Fever. I did swatches on the white paper but here are the swatches on my skin.

Starting with Fuchsia Fever. This color is a bight deep pinkish red color. It is so smooth and glides on so easily. It also has a subtle smell of fruit in my opinion. Although it glides on so easy it rubs off as easy too. I don't really mind that because it is so smooth when you apply it. Now the Iced Cappuccino is also a color that glides on easily and looks great on any skin tone just like the Fuchsia Fever. The Iced Cappuccino does have a subtle smell that is not pleasant. I cannot describe the smell but I don't like it at all. Other than that I cant complain much because it was a free lipstick and no one can argue with free, right? 

The free makeup bag came in three different colors that you could pick from. There was True Blue, Natural Wonder, and Wild Side. Once again if you got in on this deal you will probably recognize the lip stick to come from the True Blue collection.  

I think the makeup bag can double as a clutch too but its all up to you.

Now onto the eyeshadows. The free 17 piece bag comes with 2 quads. Depending on what bag you choose you get a certain color of eyeshadows. 

This is one of the quads that came with the bag. Starting once again with the top two from left to right its Polished & Black Ink. Right underneath them from left to right is Truffle and Smoke. Now one thing that I noticed from both quads is that the names on the back of them are switched around. I actually had to go online to find out which name went to which color. 

As you can tell from the swatch these colors are all shimmer colors and very very well pigmented. I did find one small problem with it they are just slightly hard to blend. It took me twice as long to blend the colors but they look great on. This quad is perfect for a smokey eye. It consists of manly browns with the one black shimmer color. 

The second quad I received is also a great quad for a blue smokey eye. 

From the top row left to right there is Moonbeam & Sapphire. Underneath them from left to right there is Silk & Peacock. Both quads come with the sponge tip applicators brush and a really small mirror. 

These set of colors are extremely pigmented and creamy. They are shimmery as well and combined make a perfect night time smokey eye. I have nothing bad to say about their eyeshadows and I am looking forward to trying more out and maybe matte eyeshadows from them. 

Also for free a dual ended eye liner with Black on one side and Indigo on the other. 

These are extremely smooth and glide on easily however I do not feel like they are quite as pigmented and don't have quite as much staying power as my other eyeliners but these do work okay.

Along with the dual ended eye liner it came with another dual ended lip & eye liner in the color Mink and Deep Brown.

Mink is a nice red brown color and dark brown is well dark brown. They also glide on easily and are pigmented.

In the picture above from left to right we have black, indigo, mink, and dark brown.

There was a dual ended lip gloss in Lovely and Princess.

Princess is the color on the left and it is a sheer pink color. The one on the right is Lovely which is a nice brown color. I found these lip glosses to work well and not be sticky at all. These can be worn alone or on top of lip stick to give it a nice shimmer and pop. Personally I love to wear both of the colors alone.

Also included in the makeup bag was a small fingernail polish. Its in the color Diva.

This color is very very sheer and has a subtle subtle hint of glitter. Looking at the bottle it is a pink color with tons of glitter, but like I said before, once you apply it you can see it is very very sheer. You do get a subtle hint of pink and glitter when the light hits it just right. I found this perfect if you want to do a french manicure and have the all over nail color be glittery. I used this on my goddaughter and she absolutely loved it! 

I also received a a free mascara and 3 free brushes. The mascara is in Jet Black and its their Lash Blow Out. I have not yet used the mascara so I can not give a full on review of it yet.

 The three piece brush set is an angled blush brush, a sponge tip applicator brush, and an eyeshadow brush.

These brushes are okay. The angled blush brush does shed a bit and its not the best out there but once again for free I can not complain. I do use it a lot for applying my blush. The sponge tip applicator I have not used at all. The only use I have for them is to pack on color. The eyeshadow brush is not bad. I have mostly used this to apply  loose pigments and glitter since I noticed it does not do so well with eyeshadows. 

Over all I am content with my purchase and would recommend almost everything to my friends and family.I am looking forward to purchasing more Ulta brand cosmetics and writing more reviews on them since I noticed that when I myself was looking for Ulta brand cosmetic reviews I only found a few. Hope this is helpful to all of you. More reviews to come soon :)

Price List:

*Ulta Cheek Color (Afterglow, Girlie, Sweet Cheeks) $7.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Lipstick (Fuchsia Fever): $8.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Eyeshadows-(These are not sold in quads but individual full size) $7.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Lash Blow Out Mascara: $10.00 (Ulta)

*Lip liner & eye liner sold individually and full sized: $8.00 each (Ulta)