March Skin and Hair Product Reviews 2017

Hey Y'all!

First off, I just want to say that if you're reading this post and this is your first time here, or it's not your first time here and you've read all my other posts, thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to read what I have to say and see my opinions on products that we all love or hate. It really means a lot to me!

So as you can tell from the title, this post is all about skin care products and hair care products that I've been trying out for the last couple of months. I'm going to combine all my likes and dislikes into one post since I don't have too many. It's funny though, because when I was writing all the products down that I wanted to talk about I was like geez Morgan, this is a lot. It always feels like I'm writing so much but then when I publish the post and go back and read it, it only takes like ten minutes. So, maybe it's not a lot? Let me know if you like these kinds of posts or if you would like to see more swatches of products, videos of me testing them out, so on and so forth.

First we will start with skin care and for both categories I'll go ahead and start with the things that I liked.

 

I have mentioned this one before in a previous post, but I did want to bring this up again quickly because I'm still using it and it's still my favorite cleanser. I will actually be talking about quite a few products from the brand FORMULA 10.0.6. I just really find this brand to be outstanding and I haven't tried anything from them that I haven't liked. If you're curious about this product you can check out my previous post or look up a description on the ULTA website!

 

 

I'll go ahead and talk about makeup wipes because I love makeup wipes and I have three different ones to share with you. These are my absolute favorite make up wipes that I will continue to buy over and over again. These are the FORMULA 10.0.6 keep me clean clarifying facial wipes with cucumber and witch hazel. I was really scared to try these at first because I have very sensitive skin and sometimes things with strong scents or essential oils in them can burn my face but these are outstanding. When I take my makeup off with these, my skin feels so soft that I feel like I don't need to wash my face. And lets be honest, I don't wash my face every single night because I'm a #lazygirl for life. If I have a full face of makeup on, it will take two wipes to completely take everything off, but other than that I just need one. When you open the package you can see that it has a soapy film on the wipes but it doesn't leave a residue on your skin when you're done which is superb. They have a very light scent, nothing irritating, and my face feels so fresh and hydrating when I get done using these. I would highly recommend these to anyone because these are bomb. You can pick up a package at ULTA, and I believe maybe walgreens, for $5.99 and it comes with 25 wipes. This brand is cruelty free! (Side note: at the bottom of the package it says to "use whenever a good wash is hard to find." So, I'm obviously not the only one who doesn't wash my face every night.)

 





I just want to say that I know absolutely nothing about this brand. This is something I found at TJ MAXX one day and I love these. These are coconut facial wipes by Beauty Concepts. When I typed this into google images to find a picture, I had a hard time finding these wipes. I guess I should look up the product and see if they have a website, but I'm sure they do, and once again I'm lazy, so I'll just let you know that you can get 60 wipes for $4.99 at TJ which is AWESOME. These are not heavily scented, so I don't think that they would irritate you if scents bother you, but it does have a sweet little scent of coconut which is really refreshing. One thing I like about these wipes is that they have deep ridges in the wipes and I feel like it really helps to get in my lines and really get all the dirt off of my face. The reason I like the other wipes better is this one will take a little longer to get my water proof makeup off but that's the only downside to these wipes! Update: I looked for a website and I can't find these anywhere so if you have any luck, let me know! There is nothing on the packaging to indicate if they are cruelty free or not :(

 

My last favorite make up wipe is the wet n wild under the sheets remover towelettes. I found a 10 pack of these at the DOLLAR TREE for, um, $1 and I can't tell you how many of these packs I've already went through (seven. seven packs). I love these. These do not have super deep ridges on the wipes but they do have that soapy film which helps to moisturize my skin. Just like the other wipes, it doesn't leave a sticky film on my face and they leave my skin feeling refreshed. If I'm broke and out of wipes, these are the ones I go for. Other wise, I'll always reach for the formula ones over these, but if you're not looking to spend hardly any money, then definitely go pick these up at the dollar tree. I mean, you can get 40 wipes for $4. Can't beat that! You can also purchase these off the wet n wild website, and possibly walgreens might carry them, for $2.99 and it comes with 25 wipes. This brand is cruelty free!

 



 

Moving away from make up wipes, this is an amazing product that completely removes your makeup and hydrates your skin at the same time. This is the POND'S cold cream cleanser. Go ask your mom or your grandma about this, because I guarantee you they've used this or are still using this product. This product is over 100 years old and I can definitely see why it's stuck around for so long because it is the bees knees for sure. This is a really great way to take your makeup off if you don't like to use wipes because they're too harsh, but you also don't like to take it off with a cleanser or water in the sink, because water running down your arms is the absolute worst. All your have to do is slather this all over your face, massage it in the skin, even your eyes, and just take a rag and wipe it off. It takes off regular makeup, water proof, full face, everything. I was so surprised at how well it took everything off and the best part is that it feels like a moisturizer when its all off and leaves the skin feeling so soft and hydrating. And the best part is no water! It's the ultimate lazy girl way of taking off your makeup! These come in three sizes, so I would recommend trying out the smaller jar just incase you're not crazy about it. It has a scent, but it's not very strong, and it just smells really clean and fresh. I've seen these at walmart, walgreens and CVS, which is where I got mine. The smallest is 3.5 oz for $6, 6.1 oz for $7 and 9.5 oz for $9! This brand is not cruelty free.

 



I have another POND'S item that I've been loving and this is the dry skin cream rich hydrating facial moisturizer. This has been a live saver for me in the last couple of months. I feel like sometimes it's hard to find a moisturizer when you have sensitive skin because a lot of the moisturizers tend to just sit on the face instead of actually soaking into the skin but this one works really well. It has a fresh clean scent just like the cold cream cleanser but it's not heavy. A little goes a long way with these products which is great because they're going to last quite a long time before you have to re purchase them. One thing I've learned from watching skin care vides is that it's best if you use products that aren't in jars because every time you open the lid and the oxygen hits the product, it can take away some of the lasting effects from the ingredients in the product. So the only thing that I wish was different about this product is the packaging, and that's really not a huge deal, so. If you have sensitive skin or are just having a difficult time finding a moisturizer that you love, then give this one a try because it's so great! The prices and sizes are the same as the cold cream cleanser!

 

This is a really random product I picked up in the clearance aisle at ULTA after Christmas. It came as a sample size with a couple of other products from this brand, but this one really stood out to me. It's the Pacifica dreamy youth day and night face cream. I've been using this more of a night cream than anything because I don't have a specific night cream right now and I really like it. I'm not noticing any change in the fine lines in my face but it does look a little more plump in the morning and it does seem to bring some brightness to my skin. There is one odd thing about this product though; I've never smelt a cactus before, but the smell of this product reminds me of a cactus. Like, I would imagine that this is what a cactus smells like. I know that's the weirdest thing but it has almost like a vegetable smell, but it's not a vegetable. I don't know. I sound crazy right now, but if you would just smell it you would understand. It's not strong enough of a scent to turn me off from it because I do like the way it makes my face feel, but I feel like some picky people, or someone who just really wants everything to smell amazing, might not like this product. You can pick this up at ULTA for $16 and you get 1.7 oz per bottle. This brand is also cruelty free and vegan!

 

 

This next product is something that I use directly after cleansing my face at night. This is the FORMULA 10.0.6 so totally clean deep pore cleanser. You can also use this for an acne treatment, but I don't use this for that. I use this to clean my pores on my nose and in my t zone and to clean the black heads on my chin. You pour a little of this on a cotton round after cleansing and rub in in the problem areas. Use a very little amount of this at first because it is HEAVILY scented so when I get close to my eyes, I always make sure to close them because it kind of burns with how heavy the smell is. I really enjoy this though and I can see it making a huge difference where I have all of my black heads on my chin. If you've used this for acne treatment, let me know! You can pick this up at ULTA for $7 and its 6.75 oz.

 

 

I'm going to go ahead and group these three items together because they're all essentially the same thing, they just give your skin different affects. These are face masks by the brand FREEMAN. The first one in the yellow tube is the banana-oat instant smoothing mask for radiant skin. The second one in the white tube is the charcoal and black sugar mud mask which  smooths, purifies and moisturizes the skin. The last one in the blue tube is the dead sea minerals anti-stress mask that clears pores and smooths skin. All three of these do different things for my skin, but I have to say that the one I reach for the absolute most would be the banana mask. It smells SO GOOD. It makes my skin feel so soft! I really feel like each mask follows through with the claims that they have on their packaging. There is one mask by them that I don't like but I'll talk about that one later. I purchased these at ULTA and they are $4.29 a piece and they are 6 0z. This brand is cruelty free!

 

This is the last skin care product that I want to talk about that I really like. This is the beauty therapeutics konjac vegetable facial sponge infused with antioxidant green tea. This little sponge is SO GOOD. I couldn't find a good picture of this in the packaging, but it comes in a sealed bag with the logo on the front, and the sponge inside is very very wet from the green tea infusion. I use this at morning and night when I go to cleanse my face; I squeeze my cleanser on the sponge and just work it into my face and it feels so nice on my skin. This sponge is extremely delicate and comes with quite a few instructions for up keep but I'm so glad that I purchased this. I've been on the fence about getting a spin cleansing brush because I'm afraid it will be too harsh on my sensitive skin but this sponge is SO gentle and calming. I bought this at ULTA for only $5! The great thing about this is you only have to replace it every three months!

 

 

Okay, so next is my skin care dislike category and I only have one item! yay!

 

 

First things first, I want to say that this is not a bad mask AT ALL. The only reason I dislike it is because it's way too harsh for my sensitive skin, so I physically can't use it. This mask smells really great and it did make my skin feel soft but it irritated my cheeks so bad that they were burning for hours. This mask goes on clear and then after 10-15 minutes you peel it off. It was easy to get off, but it was a little harder around the very sensitive areas on the face, just like any other peel off mask. If you're into this type of face mask, I would highly recommend it because it does stay true to it's claims, it's just too harsh on sensitive skin. This product is 6 0z and $4.29.

 

 

Woo! We are officially done with the skin care so let's move on to hair products! Just like before, I'll start with the products that I like and end with the products that I didn't like!

 













 

This is my ABSOLUTE favorite hair care product that I own right now. This is the REDKEN Diamond glow dry oil. This is a fricken life saver, let me tell you. Ever since I've started using this diamond oil, I no longer have to straighten my hair! I put this on before I blow dry my hair, and then spray on a heat protectant, and that's it! It doesn't make my hair greasy, it doesn't weigh it down, it just completely takes the frizz away and leaves my hair feeling silky smooth. Another great benefit from this is that it makes my hair smell AMAZING. All day I can smell it and it's so wonderful! This product is pricy but a little goes along way, and I personally feel like it is worth every single penny. I discovered this when I went and got my haircut at the ULTA salon and all she had to do when we were finished was straighten little pieces around my face that like to curl up and I was like okay, what did you use? She showed me this product and I've never looked back! You can purchase this at ULTA for $32 and it's 3.4 oz!

 

 

This is my absolute favorite heat protectant product. I haven't really tried many other iron guards just because I love this one so much. This is the CHI 44 Iron Guard. After I get out of the shower and brush my hair, I put on my Diamond Oil and then spray this over top of it and blow dry my hair. It protects your hair from heat if you're going to blow dry, straighten or curl your hair. This is a very important step in your hair routine ESPECIALLY if you color your hair because you want to try and keep it as healthy as possible. This is not necessary to spray on your hair if you're not going to be applying any heat.  Almost every high end hair care brand out there has a iron guard spray that you can purchase but this one is really great. It doesn't make my hair crispy or hard to brush through after I spray it on and I really appreciate that. You can purchase this at ULTA and a million other places. They do have different sizes in this! You can get an 8.5 oz bottle for $16 which I would recommend because if you get anything smaller it won't last very long.

 

 

This is another heat protect spray that I recently tried because I got a free sample and ran out of my CHI spray. This is the Orlando Pita play atmos-shield hair protectant treatment spray. You use it exactly the same as the CHI spray. I like this spray but it freaked me out a little at first because when I sprayed it in my hair there were white liquid dots all over my hair but once I brushed it, it soaked in and became clear. This spray also makes my hair soft and not crispy but there is nothing more that it does for my hair to where I would want to reach for this one over my CHI. This one is much more expensive and I feel like I get the exact same results as the CHI so I more than likely won't actually be purchasing a bottle of this. You can purchase this at ULTA in a 6.5 oz bottle for $34.

 

 

Ah, Living Proof. Guys, this stuff is so expensive but dang it's so worth it. This is the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day dry shampoo. This product scared me to death when I first used it because normally I would use Aussie or some cheap dry shampoo that comes out clear, unlike this one. When you spray this on your root it comes out WHITE. Don't freak out though! You leave it on your hair for about 30 seconds before you start working it into your hair with your hands. After massaging it in, take your brush and brush through it and you will be able to see all the oil come off on your brush. It's gross, I know, but it's also oh so satisfying! It really does CLEAN your hair, rather than just masking a product on top to look clean. If you have extremely oily hair and are having a hard time finding something that works for you, make an investment and purchase this stuff because it does WONDERS for your hair! You can purchase this at ULTA for a cool $22 for a 4.0 oz bottle. They do have a smaller size you can purchase to try for $12!

 

 

I really like dry shampoos, obviously. This is the Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Dry Shampoo. This one is in the scent "Toasted Coconut" and it's supposed to absorb excess oils, bring body to the hair and leave no residue. I would say that this dry shampoo achieved two out of the three claims. It definitely doesn't leave a residue and it definitely absorbs the oils in my dirty hair. It does not, however, give me any kind of body or volume and that's the only reason I would choose the living proof over this one. First off, this dry shampoo smells AMAZING. I'm a sucker for anything coconut so when I sprayed this for the first time I was in heaven. If I'm going to throw my hair up in a pony or bun and just don't want to look greasy, I'll reach for this really quickly and work it in. If I'm trying to have my hair down and style it, I will definitely reach for the living proof because it makes my hair look like I just got out of the shower and will give my hair the volume I'm looking for. If you're not wanting to spend a lot on a dry shampoo then I would definitely try this one out because it does get the job done. Now, this brand has like five or six different dry shampoos so maybe there is one out there that will help achieve volume? You can purchase this one at ULTA for $5.99 and it come in an 7oz bottle. This brand is cruelty free! 







 

If you had told me last year that I was going to spend this much money on a curling iron I would have laughed in your face; but here we are. This is the Beachwaver S1 and I'm now at the point in my life where I'm not sure that I could live without this. There are four different beachwavers in the collection, but this particular one has a 1 inch barrel and can range from 290-410 degrees. That's hot. This is an automatic curling iron. It has a very small clip at the bottom of the barrel. Once placing your hair in it, you hit the left or right button to curl your hair away from your face. After curling your strand, there is a home button to bring the clip back to the home position so you're not risking burning your skin trying to twist your hair into the clip. It has a slow and fast speed and it has an automatic shut off (life saver). It's really hard to explain in writing how wonderful this iron is. I NEVER curled my hair because any iron I bought just didn't hold curl in my hair or get hot enough. This curls my hair in seconds and takes half the time it would normally take to curl my hair. It creates the most beautiful waves and I'm pretty convinced this thing is filled with magic. If you're slightly interested in this, I would recommend going to YouTube and watch the videos that the Beachwaver Co has uploaded on their channel so that you can see the results. You can purchase this one, and their other tools, at ULTA! The S1 wand is $129.00! I promise you guys, this is so WORTH IT.

 

 

Okay, now it's time for the hair products that I didn't enjoy this month, and I'm sad to say I have more than I thought I did. Sad face.

 

 

Pacifica has really proved to be a hit and miss for me and this is definitely a miss. This is the Pacifica HAIRVANA leave-on detangling conditioner. I've never been big on detangling products  but I bought this after Christmas on clearance at ULTA and decided to try it out. I put this on in the shower after I got done shampooing and conditioning (per directions) and it seemed like it was going to be great because it felt really good in my hair. When I went to brush it out I felt like it honestly made my hair more tangled, which is very frustrating. It also really weighed my hair down and made it look greasy once I blow dried it. I only tried it once, but I'm sure it would do exactly the same thing if I did it again, so that's enough for me. I'm going to send this to one of my friends and see if they get any good use out of it because I hate to throw it away. If you're curious about this and want to try it you can purchase this at ULTA in a 5 oz bottle for $14.00. This brand is %100 vegan and cruelty free!

 

 

This one hurts me. This is the Living Proof Restore Perfecting Spray. This is another detangling product that I got a free sample of and I just really didn't like it. It's supposed to hydrate, detangle and make your hair look shiny and can be used as a heat protectant. When I sprayed this in my hair and brushed it out it just stuck to the pieces I sprayed it on and made it hard and crunchy. Maybe detangling products just don't work well with my hair because I know so many people who absolutely love this spray. That's really all I have to say about this one. If you want to try it you can purchase this at ULTA in a 8.0 oz bottle for $28!

 







This next product is the REDKEN triple take 32 hair spray! The only reason I don't like this hairspray is because it makes my hair just a little crunchy. If you've read any of my past product reviews then you know I absolutely love my CHI keratin hair spray and how soft it makes my hair feel. This redken spray holds my curls through out the day but I don't like that hard feeling it gives my hair. Some people really enjoy that because it makes them feel like their hair won't move, but I'm so spoiled on the chi that I just don't enjoy this. This is not a terrible hair spray and I know that loads of people love this one, but I'm just not going to re purchase this one over my CHI spray. You can purchase a bottle of this at ULTA for $22 and it comes with 9 0z.

 

 

The final product I want to talk about is the one that I absolutely HATED. This is the Not Your Mother's Coconut Milk and African Marula Tree Oil High Moisture shampoo and conditioner. I bought this because I was looking for a cruelty free shampoo and conditioner and my hair is very dry, so this seemed like it would be the perfect fit! Nope. Okay, first of all, after using this for about a week (I can't believe I made it that long) I felt like it made my hair even more dry. It was extremely difficult to brush through and it didn't look as healthy as my other shampoos make it look. The second, and worst thing of all, is the smell. On the back of the packaging it says that it is "exotically scented." I wish it would tell me what it's supposed to smell like because I can't describe it. It's so bad and it stays with you all day. I could smell it on my towel, my pillow, on my car head rest. I could smell the smell all day and it was terrible. I was dousing my self in perfume all day hoping that no one else could smell it. If you've ever used this shampoo please tell me what you think it smells like because I really can't describe it. Maybe like, fruit cactus skunk breath. That seems accurate. It makes me really sad because this is such a good brand and some of my friends have tried different shampoos in their line that smell great and they really like but this one is just a travesty. I know that I'm being super harsh and there are probably people out there who thinks this smells great but it's a pass for me. You can find this at ULTA for $8.99 in a 16 0z bottle with a pump!

 

Okay, so that's it! I hope you're all enjoying these blog posts as much as I'm enjoying buying, trying and writing about them! If you have any questions about any of the products listed above  feel free to leave a comment or personally ask me! Incase you haven't noticed, I do purchase a lot of drug store products or drug store priced products because I just don't think you have to spend an arm and leg to feel beautiful! If I think a high end product is worth the investment then I'll definitely let you know (BEACHWAVER)!

 

I hope y'all have a wonderful day and stay beautiful!

 

BYE Y'ALL!

 

Just as a quick disclaimer, all of the product pictures were pulled from google pictures or the ULTA website.



 

Product Dissapointments March 2017

Hey Y'all!

Look at me posting on my blog two days in a row! (Gives self a high five).

So y'all knew this was coming. It's the products that I've tried within the last couple of months that I absolutely did not like. Now, just because I don't like them does not mean that they're bad products, it just means that they didn't work for ME. Everyone has different skin types, color preferences, looks they're trying to achieve so not every product is going to work for every single person out there. Just keep that in mind before you hate me because there is one product on this list that everyone absolutely loves and I absolutely hate it. We're all friends here, right? Right. So, let's get started!

 

Hi, in case you can't tell, I'm obsessed with buying facial sprays. This is the Physicians Formula Primer Argan Wear Argan Oil with coconut water. Breathe. I know that's a lot. ANYWAY, I really didn't like this product and it makes me sad because it sounds absolutely amazing. It's supposed to help improve your skin's tone, elasticity, texture and brightness. I don't know, maybe it does do that, but I didn't get far enough to completely test that out. It says that it's "exotically" scented. It just smells bad. You would think that it would smell amazing because of the coconut water but it doesn't smell like coconut at all. On the back of the packaging it says you can also spray this over your entire body and hair and let me tell you something, do NOT spray this in your hair. I didn't intentionally spray this in my hair, but when you're going ham on your face trying to look like a dewy princess, you're going to get it in your hair. This stuff made my hair hard and crusty and I literally couldn't run my hands through it. I had to put my hair up because it instantly made it frizzy and unmanageable and I was so mad. I couldn't keep it on my face long enough to test the hydration aspect of the spray because it smelled so bad I had to wipe it off. I paid $14.99 for this at CVS and I'm really upset about it because I could have bought like 13 wet n wild lipsticks. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. This brand is sold at cvs and Walmart and is cruelty free.

 



 

This is another primer that didn't tickle my fancy. This is the e.l.f. hydrating face primer in clear. I was pretty pumped about this because I read good things about it and I have extremely dry skin so it sounded like a win/win to me. Nope. Instead of absorbing into my skin and hydrating it,  it just sat on top of my face and made my makeup look like a hot mess. Anything that I tried applying to my face whether it be foundation, concealer, powders, it just slid off my face because it was so greasy. I tried it more than once because I thought, well maybe I just did it wrong or I didn't wait long enough for it to dry but it did the same thing each time I used it. I was so upset because I have two other e.l.f. primers that I absolutely love but this was a miss for me. It might work if you have like extremely dry skin to where you have dry flaky patches on your face, but other than that I don't really see how this could work for any kind of skin type. This was $8 at CVS and this brand is cruelty free.

WHAT? YOU DON'T LIKE SHAPE TAPE? nope. I wanted to soooooo bad. Every person that I love to watch on YouTube swears up and down by this stuff. It's their ride or die, their holy grail, their I absolutely won't use anything other than this concealer and I absolutely don't like it. I tried so hard. It was okay on my chin and forehead but under my eyes.. oh my god it was disgusting. My under eyes are VERY dry but I tried absolutely everything. I looked up so many videos and tried fixing it time and time again and nothing worked. Like I said earlier, not every single product is going to work for every single person out there, but I really thought that this product would be the exception. If you're looking for an extremely thick concealer to hide fine lines, dark circles, blemishes, then this is probably the concealer for you. Now, if you have dry flaky patches, then I absolutely wouldn't recommend this because no matter how you try to set it, it flakes off, it gets crusty, it just rubs off. It's just a mess you guys. I'm still really sad about this. You can get this at ULTA or on the tarte website for $24 and this brand is cruelty free!

 

 

I don't really know what made me buy this foundation because I hadn't really seen people using it, I just thought it would be super cool to have a stick foundation and pop that bad bitch on real quick and go about my day but it didn't work out like that. This is the NYX mineral stick foundation. This was a really weird experience. I literally couldn't get anything to come off the stick on to my face. I tried four different primers and every time I applied this foundation, I couldn't get it to show up on my face and I purchased the lightest shade they had. It applied on the inside of my arm but it looked like I had absolutely nothing on my face. Like, I wish I could tell you the texture and if it blended well and things like that, but I honestly have no idea because it was invisible, so. I ended up giving up and returning this to ULTA. I know there are some really good stick foundations out there like the Anastasia and Makeup Forever and Hourglass so I may have to just try one of those instead. If you want to give this a go you can pick it up at ULTA or the nyx cosmetics website for $9.99 and this brand is cruelty free.

 



 



 

I'm crying right now as I'm typing this out. This is the Too Faced white chocolate chip palette. As soon as this came out and I started reading the reviews, it seemed like this wasn't going to be a very good palette, but I didn't care and I bought it anyway and it's so disappointing. The only thing that this palette has going for it is that it smells absolutely amazing, but honestly, I can run down to food city and buy a bag of white chocolate chips, sit on my couch and smell the bag until I went in a coma, eat the bag of chocolate and I'd have more than this palette gave to me. I don't know how this happens, I don't know what it is, but I swear when you put these shades on your eye lids and start blending them out, they just disappear. They all look the same shade on the eye lid except for the black shade obviously, but they all blended together and it was just so sad. The black shade isn't even that black, it's like a soft grey and I just don't understand how that happens. I like almost everything I've ever purchased from Too Faced but this is just terrible. I don't know what they were thinking when they released this. If you want to take your chances with this or feel like you absolutely just have to have this then you can purchase it at Sephora, ULTA, or the too faced cosmetics website for $26 and this brand is cruelty free. 

 

Okay, so this may look a little familiar. In my blog post about the products that I loved this month there was a NYX eye shadow palette in 03 warm neutrals. This is one of the palettes in that collection (there are four total) and this is 01 Smokey and Highlight and I don't like it. These colors are absolutely beautiful but once applied on to the eye lid, they're not pigmented, they don't blend at all, they are patchy. I know that sometimes that's the case with dark eye shadows but the whole entire palette is like that. I mean, other brands are able to put out quality dark shadows, so I mean. Ya know? I know that I sound harsh but the other palette is so wonderful so it's hard to understand how they can put out such a good quality palette and then put out a dud one in the SAME collection. Maybe I got a bad one, or maybe I need some fix plus or maybe I have terrible brushes and maybe I'm just really bad at makeup and don't understand how to eye shadow but either way, this is a nope for me. This palette is also $17.99 at ULTA and the nyx cosmetics website and is cruelty free.

 



I know that this is a disappointment post, but there is a silver lining for this product. I have tried a lot of wet n wild products and so far, this is the only wet n wild product I don't like so that's pretty cool, eh? This is the wet n wild on edge longwearing eye pencil crayon A262 to my yang. That is the longest dang name for a white eye liner pencil. Now, I specifically bought this white eye pencil to use on my water line to make my eyes pop and it doesn't show up. Maybe this isn't a fair spot for this product as I haven't used it on my actual eye lid, but I'm honestly not going to be wearing white eye liner so I haven't tested it. All I know is that it didn't work for the purpose that I intended to use it for, so therefore, it's a disappointment to me. You can pick this up at Walmart, cvs, Walgreens or the wet n wild website for $3.49. This brand is cruelty free.

I know that this is a bad picture, but I pulled all of these from google because I'm too lazy to take my own pictures and upload them, SO HERE WE ARE. This is the last disappointing product on my list, for now, and its the e.l.f. baked eye shadow palette in the shade "California." They have three other shades in the baked eye shadows and even though this didn't work for me, I find myself wanting to buy all of them. And that's the vicious cycle of makeup addiction. This eye shadow palette is not absolutely terrible but it's a lot of work. And you'll know exactly what I mean if you've used any of the baked products that e.l.f. has like their bronzers and highlighters. There is a film on top of all their baked products that you have to scrape off before you can actually use the product and get any pigment out of. Even though I scraped off the film on all these eye shadows, I find myself having to constantly wet my brush to get any pigment out at all. Like in between each color I have to wipe off my brush and go to the sink to wet my brush and I know you're probably thinking like okay, wow, first world problems, but I shouldn't have to do that when I can reach for any other palette I own and get the exact same look without having to constantly move my big ass from room to room so. Because of that, this is in my disappointing list. I just have so many other palettes that I'm going to reach for over this one. If you would like to give this a shot, you can buy this at Walmart, CVS, or the elf website for a cool $10. Once again, this is a cruelty free brand!

Okay, cool, so those are all eight products that I have right now that I currently don't care for. Now, before you go, I do want to say a couple of things and inform you on something neat that you may know or not know about already, but could seriously save you some money. If you've read my previous post then you have kind of seen the pattern where I'm getting a lot of my drug store makeup at CVS. They have the coolest program and I don't know if a lot of people know about it because I completely forgot that CVS existed but they're the only ones who carry MILANI, so there I was. Literally every week they have sales on skin care, makeup, household items, all kinds of stuff where if you purchase $12 in that brand, you'll get $4 in cvs rewards dollars. The amounts are different for the brands though, so some are like get $7 if you spend $10, so on and so fourth. What that means is at the bottom of your receipt you'll have the $7 coupon and on your next transaction you'll get $7 off. Like, they're giving you free money to spend in the store. If you download the CVS app, for the first time you log on the app they give you $5 to spend in store. That's almost a free lipstick. They have sales on the app that you can apply to your card to get $2 off any $8 cosmetic purchase. You can join the beauty club so that every time you spend $50 on any kind of beauty item including skin care, nails, beauty tools, you'll get $5 in CVS rewards dollars. So every purchase you make gets you closer to reaching the $50 mark. You can use multiple coupons and combine them. I got $25 worth of makeup for $3 because I stacked all my coupons. They have sales like BOGO free or BOGO half off on all kinds of brands and it changes every week but at least half off their selection of makeup is always on sale and it's seriously so awesome. The prices aren't more expensive than Walgreens or Walmart, they're just giving away money. In one month, I have saved $65 at CVS just on makeup alone and it's seriously insane and I feel like everyone should know about it because it immediately makes it more affordable to try different makeup. Even if you're not super adventurous you can still save a little money if you need to pick something up! I hope that I explained that well enough lol. If I didn't feel free to ask me about it because it seriously excites me. I know you're probably thinking I'm crazy but I just really love makeup and I especially love drug store makeup because who doesn't like to save money?

ANYWAY, now that that's out of the way, look out for my next post which will be all skin care and hair care products. I'm going to put all of my likes and dislikes into one post because I don't have very many things that I didn't like (yay) so I'll let you know when that's up! And just a quick disclaimer, all the pictures in this post are from google, like I said before, so I didn't take any of those myself.

alright then. BYE Y'ALL!

Makeup Product Reviews March 2017

Hey Y'all!

It has been some time since I've done a blog post! I feel like I always say this whenever I write another one because it's true. I do not keep up with my blog like I should! Oh well, we're here and we're doing the best we can! This post is going to be like my last one; a product review post! I don't know if y'all like these as much as I do but I love reading and watching youtube videos about what everyone likes or dislikes and how it works for them, so I hope you're enjoying these! I do want to say that I have ALOT of products to go through because I've been trying makeup like CRAZY these last couple of months. I legit have a problem. I'm going to do a separate blog post within the next day or say that will be products that I didn't like, and another one for skin care and hair care products. Not all of these products are going to be cruelty free, but I will be sure to mention which ones are and aren't. I'll try to remember to post prices, how much product is in each package and where to purchase! So, grab a snack and cozy up because we may be here a while!

Okay, I'm going to start with the product that I've been impressed with the most!

 

 

Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and start with the primers! The first one is the Porefessional primer by Benefit Cosmetics. The very first time I tried this I didn't think I was going to like it but the more I used it the more I fell in love with it. This primer claims to minimize pores and fine lines and give a blurring affect to the skin and I completely agree with those claims. I never realized how much my pores showed through my foundation until I started using this and I absolutely love it. A little bit goes a long way which is wonderful so that I'm not constantly repurchasing this. This is a silicone type products, so if you're allergic, then definitely do not use this product. It comes out looking like it has some color to it, but once you blend it on your face it's clear. I have tried many different foundations over top of this primer and they look beautiful. Some concealers did not work over this foundation, but I'll get into that a little later. You can pick this up at ULTA, Sephora, or the benefit website. There is a mini version for $12 that is .25 oz, a medium size bottle that is $31 at .75 oz and a value size for $49 at 1.5 oz. I think if you're trying it for the first time, definitely get the mini size! This entire brand is cruelty free!

 

 

 

This next primer I found on pinterest claiming to be a dupe for the porefessional primer by benefit! This is the Maybelline baby skin pore eraser primer. I won't talk too long about this because it does make the same claims as the benefit primer. This is not a complete dupe but I would definitely purchase this if I didn't have the money to purchase the benefit one. This primer is completely clear and is the silicone texture as well. This one feels just a little bit heavier and I feel like it doesn't fill in my pores as well as the benefit one, but it does still give my skin the blurring affect that I'm looking for. This is a great alternative and I absolutely love the way it lays under my foundation. I got this one at CVS, but I believe you can get it anywhere that they sell maybelline. This is .67 oz and $6.99 at CVS. This brand is not cruelty free.

 

 





Okay, the next primer is the e.l.f. illuminating face primer in radiant glow. I'm going to go ahead and say that If you normally just wear a BB cream or light coverage foundation then you're not going to like this primer. I will only wear this if I'm using a thick medium to full coverage foundation because this is extremely illuminating and will show through. If you're wanting an over all "glow from within" look when doing a full face then you will absolutely love this. I wore this under a very light foundation one day and I thought why in the heck do I look like a twilight vampire and then I realized it was the primer, so be very careful with this. It was really nice though because I felt like it did help my makeup last. When you first pump it out it looks very dark, but don't be scared because once it applies to the skin it becomes very light. I purchased this at CVS, but they also sell this at Walmart or on the elf cosmetics website. This is $8 at CVS and .49 oz. This brand is cruelty free!

 

The next primer is the Hard Candy sheer envy hydrating primer mist. It literally said something about coconut on the package and that's why I bought it. This stuff is AMAZING. I've had it for two months and I'm almost out of it and I will definitely be buying another bottle. It's oil, silicone and alcohol free. This is a really great primer. Sometimes I will use it by itself, or sometimes I'll spray it on my face after I use the porefessional primer just to give my skin some hydration and I also use it through out the day to keep my skin refreshed and hydrated because I have very dry skin and sometimes my makeup will get a little cakey. This mist keeps it looking very dewy which is what I'm trying to achieve with my makeup. It makes my makeup stay on all day when I do use it as a primer. It has a really great mist that comes out of the sprayer and it smells wonderful. It's not a super strong scent though, so if you're sensitive to perfumes in makeups, this one won't bother you. I Highly recommend this to anyone looks for a great facial spray. I picked this up at Walmart for $8 and you get 2.2 fl oz which is great! This brand is also cruelty free!

 

 

This item is not technically a primer but you can use it set your makeup and hydrate your skin so I thought I would go ahead and mention it! This is the Mario Badescu facial spray with aloe, herbs and rosewater. This is technically skin care but I love the hydration boost it gives my skin throughout the day. I will sometimes spray this on my face when I'm not wearing it because it smells so good and makes my skin feel so soft. I always carry this one and the hard candy one with me in my purse so when I need a refresh, I literally just pull one out and use it. There is nothing about this that makes me reach for it more than the hard candy one; I like them both the same and will use which ever one finds its way into my hands! I got this at ULTA. You can purchase a 4 oz bottle for $7 or get an 8 oz bottle for $12. I can't find anything on if they're cruelty free or not, so if you know, please let me know!

 

 

Okay, that's it for the primers, so I'm going to move on to a couple of face makeup products. The first one is the Maybelline fit me dewy + smooth foundation.

 





I really like this foundation, but I do have a couple of issues. This foundation is really great for my dry skin and it does have that dewy finish, and sunscreen, but the color selection is weird and it does tend to oxidize. I got the color 120 classic ivory and I do feel that it's just a tad too dark for me, which is fine because I use concealer and other products to lighten my face a little, BUT THEN the foundation oxidizes and it gets even darker the longer you wear it. I did go look and see if I could get a lighter shade, like possibly the lightest shade, but you guys, the lightest shade is straight up pink. I'm really afraid to use it. Even though I have these problems with it, it's still in my category of likes because the finish is SO pretty on my dry skin. Like, I'll just keep working with it because it looks that good. If you have oily skin, absolutely do not use this foundation. I'm hoping that they'll come out with different shade options! This is 1 fl oz and I picked this up at CVS for $7.99.

This foundation is the same brand but it's the matte + poreless foundation. I don't normally tend to try matte products as they can dry out my face but it looks so pretty on so many people so I thought I would give it a go. I was actually surprised with how good my skin looked with this foundation. It was a little drying on my skin but when I used the Mario or hard candy spray it looked completely normal. This is the foundation that you definitely want to use if you have oily skin. The color selection is really good with this particular foundation. I'm in the shade 110  porcelain and I feel like it completely matches my skin tone. This foundation also doesn't oxidize which is great and it lasts a very very long time. This is probably one of my top three favorite foundations that I've used recently. This foundation is also $7.99 at CVS.



 

The next item I want to talk about is the NYX HD photogenic concealer and I'm in the shade 00. This is a light to medium coverage concealer and I absolutely love it. I don't wear a lot of heavy foundations so I don't need a heavy concealer so this is perfect. It comes with a doe foot wand for easy application and it blends out beautifully with a beauty sponge or beauty blender. I really haven't had any problems with this AND they have 22 different shades, which is so awesome for a drug store brand, so it's really easy to find the right color for your skin tone. I got this at ULTA for $4.99 and its .11 oz. This brand is cruelty free!

 

Okay, time for the best bronzer in the entire universe. This is the physicians formula butter bronzer and its perfect. It smells SO GOOD. If you have allergic reactions or are sensitive to strong scents then don't pick this one up because it literally smells like a tropical vacation. The texture of the bronzer isn't like butter, which is a good thing, but it's as smooth as you can get a powder to be and it feels so nice on the face. The only down side is that it only comes in two shades: light bronzer and bronzer, so if you have a dark skin tone then you won't be able to use this product. That's one thing that's absolutely terrible about this brand is the color selection in ALL their products. I personally use this shade most of the time to contour my face because it's not ashy, it's not muddy, it's just the perfect brown for my face. Whenever I hit pan I will absolutely be buying another one of these. I got this at CVS for $15 (it's worth it) but you can also get one at walgreens, ULTA, and walmart. This brand is also cruelty free!

 

This product pleasantly surprised me because when I first opened it, I was extremely disappointed. This is the e.l.f. total face palette. The picture above looks exactly like the picture on the front of the box so I thought there was going to be an extremely light highlight shade in the top left corner but once you open it, it's much darker. It's still really pretty though, it's almost like a gold, glow from within shade, it just wasn't what I was expecting. It also comes with a pretty contour/bronzer shade and two blushes. This palette also comes with a really awesome mirror that would be great when traveling. I've tried both blushes, one is peachy and the other one is more pink, and I really enjoy them. I picked this up at Walmart for $8.

 

 

Are you guys ready for the ultimate highlight, because these made me loose my damn mind! These are SO PIGMENTED. These are the NYX duo chromatic illuminating powders. I've only tried two shades, "twilight tint" the lightest white shade and "lavender steel" which is a purple shade. I did swatch the other shades at ULTA because they have testers and they are so ridiculous. This is a highlighter that you need to use with a very light hand because if you're not careful you'll look like a snow globe. These are so cool though because they're so different. I don't really know how to explain them but I feel like everyone needs to try these. The purple shade looks a little pink on my skin tone which is pretty and they're not chalky or chunky; they're very smooth feeling and SO DANG PIGMENTED. I got mine at ULTA for $7.99 a piece and they're .21 oz.

 

 

This was another pleasant surprise item I purchased. This is the ULTAbeauty powder contour kit. I honestly don't even remember why I bought this. I think I picked it up because they had a special if you bought at least $20 then you got a free gift or something, but either way I'm glad I bought this. If you're just starting out with contour, or you want to start, or you're not good at it, like me, then this is perfect for you! I feel like it has a really great shade range for most skin tones and the two highlighters it has are SO PRETTY. It also comes with a guide to show you exactly how to contour for your face shape. I know most people really want to get the Anastasia bevery hills contour palette, and it's a great palette, but maybe spend less money and try this one first because I think this is a really solid palette for the money. I picked this up at ULTA for $18. This brand is cruelty free!

 

 

OKAY! I'm so sorry if this is a lot, I've just tried SO many things! Lets move on to the eyes!

 

 

This eye shadow palette has been giving me LIFE. This is the NYX ultimate eye shadow palette in 03 warm neutrals. This is just the prettiest palette. I have been super into warm tones lately, using a lot of browns, golds, peaches and copper colors (I feel like everyone has been) and I just feel like this has everything. It has great transition shades, mattes, shimmers, a couple of dark colors. It just feels like a very well rounded palette to me. The shades blend out so well and the pigmentation is not the best I've ever seen but it's definitely not bad either. If you're not wanting to spend a ton of money on high end eye shadow palettes then I definitely recommend picking up this baby because I feel like it was more than worth every penny I paid for it. I bought this at ULTA for $17.99.

 

 

One really cool thing about shopping at ULTA is that a lot of the brands will have free gifts with purchase if you spend so much money in that brand and that's how I discovered this mascara. This is the tarte Tarteist lash paint mascara. I normally don't try different mascaras because I'm extremely committed to my Urban Decay Perversion mascara but it was free so I was like okay, lets try this. I really like this mascara. It has a rubber wand but it has so many bristles that it completely separates and lifts the lashes and makes them look very feathery. It doesn't seem to clump at all which is great and it's a very black mascara. I'm really thinking of purchasing a full size bottle of this because I love it so much. This brush is also really good for the lower lash line as it separates and its not a super thick formula like the perversion. The only reason this one isn't my absolute favorite is because the perversion does give me just a smidge more volume, but other than that, this definitely gave me a run for my money. You can pick this up at ULTA or the tarte website for $23 and it's .24 oz. This brand is cruelty free!

 

 

I normally don't use eye shadow primers because I normally just use my foundation on my eye lids but this was a free gift so I started using it and holy wow. This is a really good eye shadow primer. When I say a very little goes a long way, I'm totally serious. You really need just a smidge. If you think you don't have enough, you probably have too much. This coats the eye lid so well and I was able to notice that it made my eye shadows a little more pigmented than normal, so I think it's doing its job. It's oil, fragrance and paraben free. It's not sticky or tacky, it feels kind of like a foundation or concealer which is great and it's a skin tone color, if you're light skinned. If you're wanting to try an eye shadow primer but don't want to pay out the ass for a high end one, definitely give this one a try. I received this at ULTA and you can buy a bottle of it for $12 and it's .3 oz which doesn't sound like a lot, but I swear, you need the tiniest little dot of it to cover your eyelids.

 

Now, lets move on to lips! The first lip product that I liked is a lipstick I purchased because it's supposed to be a dupe for the MAC lipstick shade "twig".

 This is the Maybelline matte lipstick in shade 660 "touch of spice." I got this picture off of google, and the shade actually looks a little bit darker than in the picture. This is my absolute favorite lipstick right now. The lipstick is matte but it doesn't feel drying on my lips. There is a little bit of transfer when drinking and eating but it's not enough to where you have to keep applying the lipstick like crazy through out the day. This color though is just absolutely beautiful. I don't know if it's a dupe to the mac lipstick because I don't own it. I saw someone on you tube wearing the mac lipstick and was like I NEED IT but I don't want to pay that crazy about for it. I'm so happy with this, I really want to buy a couple of tubes of this so I know I'll have it if it gets discontinued or something. I've seen this shade at ULTA, Walmart, CVS and walgreens, but it was the cheapest at Walmart for $6.

 

Aaaaaaand this is my second favorite lipstick right now. The shades are actually similar but this one is a little warmer toned. This is the NYX lingerie liquid lipstick in the shade "exotic." I honestly didn't know this was a liquid lipstick when I bought it. Working at ULTA, I just noticed people buying this constantly so I decided to pick one up and I love it. A lot of the shades in the collection aren't going to look good on my skin tone because it's a lot of browns and greys, but this shade is so absolutely beautiful. The only thing that I don't like about this is the wand. The wand is crazy long and I find myself having to be so careful with it when I'm going around the outline of my lips. This was one is super drying so if you're lips are super chapped you may want to line your lips in some balm before applying this. It barely has any transfer and the color stays on for so long. It doesn't bleed or feather around my mouth and I just love this. I purchased this one at ULTA for $6.99 with .13 oz and 24 different shades!

 

 

Okay, so this is not a lip product that I'm going to wear every day but I do still really like it and thought it was worth mentioning because they just came out with a bunch of nude shades! This is the NYX cosmic metals lip cream and I have the shade ultraviolet. This is a really nice formula. It's not a liquid lipstick so it's not going to be super drying. It's a cream, so there's going to be transfer and you are going to have to reapply this through out the day, but holy cow I couldn't believe how pigmented this was. Normally with the metallic colors, they tend to be patchy or thin but this is so thick and it went on so smooth. I did one swipe on bottom and one on top and that was it. This cream also has a CRAZY big wand so that made it a little difficult to apply, but I would definitely purchase this one in all kinds of shade because I think they're really neat! They have tons of other metallic shades like blues and greens and then they just came out with gold and rose gold tons and they're so pretty. I purchased this at ULTA for $7.50 and it's .13 oz.

 

 

Okay y'all, that's it! I was going to continue on and do products that I didn't like but I'm going to put that in a separate blog post because I have quite a few of those as well :(. Let me know if you've tried any of these products and you like them as much as I do, or you hated them! And please let me know if you know if the Mario brand is cruelty free or not because I seriously can't figure it out! I hope you all have a good evening! Bye Y'all!!

 

 

Just a side note, all of the pictures in this blog post were gotten off of google images, I did not take any of these pictures myself.