FOTD #1

So I'm thinking of doing a little post, probably monthly, called FOTD - which stands for Face Of The Day. I talk a lot about products, but don't really show them being used very often. Mainly because, I don't have a professional camera or photographer to take pictures for me and I don't care for being photographed. But, I figured I will give it a whirl. Just for you guys. Please keep in mind that I'm pretty much taking selfies on my iphone so let's bear that in mind, alright? 

So there is the before and after - I know the lighting is super different. But it's the best I can manage. Our apartment only has 4 windows total, so natural light is hard to come by. Now onto the products that I used to complete this look.

Covergirl The Super Sizer by LashBlast Mascara

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner (in Lionfish)

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics

Rimmel Exaggerate Automatic Lip Liner (in Eastend Snob)

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick (in Fiore)

W3ll People Bio Brightener Stick

L'oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream

Benefit posiebalm (used as blush)

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Metal (in Barely Branded)

Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder

I know it seems like a lot, but I promise I did this in like 15 minutes. I'm not a take an hour to get ready in the morning kind of girl. So there you go, my first face of the day! Hope it was helpful or at least interesting?

Beauty | Empties #7

Here we are with another round of empties. In case you're new to these parts, I collect all my beauty products until I get nice group of them and then I give a bunch of mini reviews about them. Pretty interesting stuff, right? Most of these products are samples that I got from Birchbox so, let's get to the good stuff.

I'm going to go through the products from left to right, in case you want to follow along.

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray

This spray is part dry shampoo and part texturizer, meant to soak up the oils in your hair and give your hair some texture and volume. In my opinion, and my hair's, it fell flat. Get it? Hair joke. Maybe my hair has super power oils or something, but this spray did not 'soak' it up or add lots of volume. 

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product

This product boasts a load of different benefits: eliminates frizz, restores shine, protects from heat and prevents split ends. I'm not sure it did all that, but it worked pretty good. Still not up to par with my all time favorite spray, but a decent contender.

Wet n Wild MegaProtein Mascara in Very Black

I really think I bought this because it was like $2. It's supposed to condition your lashes and make them fuller and thicker. It didn't do that, at all, but it's okay because it only cost TWO DOLLARS.

Let The Good Times Roll Face and Body Cleanser

Made with maize flour, polenta and popcorn, yeah that's right popcorn. It smells ah-mazing and works like a dream. It's so gentle that even my sensitive, pale skin isn't bothered by the scrubbing. It brightens and cleanses - this product is great and if you even find yourself in Lush try it!

W3LL PEOPLE Expressionist Mascara

This is an all natural beauty product and it even has a clump resistant wand. Plus, the packaging is pretty sleek. This mascara definitely lifts and separates the lashes, but unfortunately it transfers and causes some under eye smudging. My quest for mascara continues.

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

This dry shampoo does actually soak up some of my super power hair grease, and it even feels great afterwards. My hair felt super hydrated, silky smooth and clean. Miracle.

Rusk Texture Spray

Claims to do the same as all other texture sprays, but it didn't. It actually made my hair feel greasy (greasier) and limp. No thank you.

Radha Beauty Vitamin C Serum

The link is a little bit different than the product pictured, the one pictured is a pump dispenser as opposed to a dropper. I much prefer the pump dispenser - so much simpler to distribute. My issue with vitamin c serums is that they can be quite sticky when applied. This one does not have that issue and it definitely brightens up your skin and helps reduce the appearance of dark spots. Two thumbs up from me.

In retrospect, this post is kind of heavy on the dry shampoo/texturizing sprays - so sorry about that. Hope that it was helpful and see you on Friday!

Beauty | Lush Haul

 So a full on post about our quick 24 hours in Minneapolis will be coming, but while there we obviously had to stop by The Mall of America. That place is literally the most overwhelming place I have ever been in my life. 

We decided to stop into Lush because well, why the heck not? Last time I was at Lush I got my husband some beard and face wash - he is apparently a fan and wanted to repurchase!

   

Kalamazoo - This is a beard and facial wash that I purchased for my husband last time I went and he ended up enjoying. It's made with pineapple juice, jojoba oil, almond oil and a bunch of other great stuff to help cleanse your face and hydrate your beard. He says he notices a difference in his face cleanliness while he is using it so that's good enough for me.

Aqua Marina - I think I have mentioned on here that my skin is in rough shape recently. So I wanted to look for some good, all natural cleansers while in Lush to help settle this mess. This is a face and body cleansers that is made with nori seaweed (which is super rich in minerals) to help nourish the skin. It also has calamine and aloe to help soothe sensitive skin. It smells gross, and looks like a pink beach but I am sure it will very beneficial to my face.

Ultrabland - This is a cult favorite beauty product, so I decided to give it a try finally. It's a blend of oils, honey and beeswax designed to help take your makeup (and the day!) off your face. But it doesn't just strip it all off, its gentle and nourishing with rosewater and iris extract. I'm so excited to use this.

There you go, my recent three Lush purchases. I still have a little bit of Let The Good Times Roll left over before I start in on one of these new products. Do any of you have a favorite Lush product?  I would love to hear your recommendations, especially for finicky skin, and try one out next time I go.

 

Beauty | Empties #6

 

Two empty product posts in September?! What is happening? I am gathering empties like you wouldn't believe, so don't worry - more will be in October.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser

I love the Tea Tree line from The Body Shop, but this product missed the mark for me. I was hoping for a primer that would help my makeup last longer AND help treat breakouts. But what I got was a slippery, greasy primer that my makeup just slid off of. Pretty bummed, but will still use the other Tea Tree products that I love.

dr. brandt pores no more cleanser

 I just got this in my September Birchbox and have already used it all up. I am not sure if it helped my breakouts but it made my skin feel silky smooth while I was washing with it. The scent is nice and clean, not medicinal like some cleansers can be. It doesn't really foam up or anything, but you can still tell it cleaned your face. I think I am going to save up some points and purchase this full size to see what some constant cleansing with it will do. I got two uses out of this tiny little sample size, so it's not a great indicator of long term use.

L'Oreal go 360 Clean anti-breakout cleanser

I have used this in the past and like that it comes with a little scrublet. I'm not a complete believer, because while this product definitely gets my skin clean - I'm still not in love with it. I don't really know why. It's like, I should love it, but I don't. It's just not meant to be I guess.

boscia Makeup Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil

If you take ONE thing away from this post, make it be this - I LOVE THIS PRODUCT. Seriously obsessed with it. If you have never used a cleansing oil before, it's super odd. But it breaks up your makeup, including eye and lip makeup, like you wouldn't believe. Then you just rinse it off. Some people stop there, but I usually still wash my face after with a different cleanser just because my skin is a mess right now. But this stuff smells great, doesn't leave a residue and if you have oily skin it doesn't make it worse even though you think it might because, well, OIL. Buy the sample size at Sephora the next time you go and you won't be sorry.

Bath and Body Works Be Enchanted Shower Gel

Love this scent, and this body wash got me clean and smelling good. It's a bit too heavy for me, I got a few breakouts across my chest though. But it works and this is one of my favorite scents from BBW.

Cover FX  Mattifying Primer with Anti-Acne Treatment

Another primer tried with the end goal being that my makeup would stay put on my face while treating my acne issues. This one was better than Tea Tree one but still not a repurchase unfortunately. I am still on the search, so any suggestions are welcome please!

Regenepure Luxury Hair Loss Shampoo

I did a whole blog post about this shampoo previously, so I don't have much to add other than my hair never stopped falling out. Luckily, I have plenty of hair to go around so it's not a huge deal.

Beauty | Empties #5

 

 It probably seems like I should have more empty products seeing as it has been over a month since I last did one. Let me tell you something, I threw away a lot of stuff when we moved and I didn't want to pack up a box of just empty containers. So I started a new pile once we got settled and in those few weeks this is what I have collected. 

1. Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in Perfect Kiss 

 I absolutely adore and love this formula and the color I bought it in. It's a pretty matte formula (even though it's called Glossy Kiss) and the Perfect Kiss shade is a kind of cinnamon-y red. It's beautiful. My main complaint is that it's a pencil that you have to sharpen down; it's hard and the product gets wasted and smeared all over. Mirenesse - please make this a twist pencil and I will buy it again. I seriously love this product except for that one thing. 

2. Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair Conditioner

 This conditioner boasts smoothing out your hair. While I didn't notice that in particular, my hair was a little bit less tangled after using it, so that's always a good thing. I might buy this again and pair it with the shampoo just to see what happens.

3. FACES Beautiful Brush-On Liquid Mineral Makeup

I did a review of this product awhile back and raved about it. But now summer is kind of waning and I'm spending less time outside; I don't like it as much. It's too dark for my skin tone and I could make it work but it would take a lot of extra effort that I'm not really wanting to put forth. So this isn't technically an empty because I'm just over it. But I still like how it includes a brush - super convenient for travel if I had a color that matched my paleness.

 4. Noxema Deep Cleansing Cream

Noxema is a throw back for me since it's basically what I used all throughout high school. I had purchased some to use on a sunburn (yes, it helps sunburn too!) and then decided to just finish it up. It's a classic, and my face always feels super clean after using it. 

5. Clearasil Refreshing Superfruit Toner

This toner definitely brightened up my skin and it smelled pretty good to boot. I went to repurchase at our local Wal-Mart and they didn't have any. I would definitely repurchase though.

6. Yes to Grapefruit CC Cream

This is another product that I loved the first few times I used it, but now I don't. It's too dark for my skin, am I getting paler? and the smell is terrible. It didn't used to bother me, but now I want to throw up when I smell it. So, away it goes.

7. Marcelle Hydra-C Energizing Hydrating Gel

I love gel formula moisturizers in the summertime, and this one was pretty good. I can't really say too much about it though cause the sample size only allowed about two uses and its hard to get a grasp on a product with so few uses.

8. Mirenesse Mattfinity Lip Rouge

 This color is the bomb. I am such a scaredy cat when it comes to red lips (and my husband hates red lipstick) but I tried this out and ROCKED IT. Until I smiled in the mirror and it was all over my teeth. It transfers SO BAD. All. Day. Long. I don't have time to be worrying about bright red lipstick all over everything, so it's gotta go. I'm bummed.

Beauty | July Birchbox Review

The theme for July's Birchbox was Go Bold. Summer is a time to Go Bold - to wear those bright colors and not hold back. 

1. Whish Three Whishes Body Butter
full size $24
I received this body butter in the scent blueberry, and while that is not my favorite scent the product itself is pretty great. This body butter is super creamy and smooth, and it rubs into the skin like a charm. No icky residue or greasy aftermath. I would definitely purchase this in another scent; it comes in almond, lavender, pomegranate, lemongrass, coconut and acai grapefruit. I want to try to the lemongrass, personally.

2. Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray
full size $42
This is a cult favorite texturizing spray; used to soak up oil and give your second day (or third or fourth) hair some bounce back. Using a spray like this isn't in my normal hair routine, but I'm not against trying it out. It smells super fruity and sweet, but the spray nozzle was kind of hard to push down. I was really pushing on it when it finally sprayed and it scared me. I am looking forward to trying this out and seeing if its one I finally enjoy.

3. StriVectin-AR Advanced Retinol Eye Treatment
full size $75
This is a gentle retinol eye treatment that targets fine lines and sagging, without causing irritation. I don't think I have ever used a retinol treatment on my eyes, so I'm interested to try this for awhile. It's a tiny bit greasy, so I will definitely be trying this at night. 

4. Stila Look At Me Liquid Lipstick
full size $20
I received this lipstick in the shade Bella, which is a bright pink. It comes in a trio which includes Bella, Beso and Venezia. Beso is a classic red color and Venezia is a bright coral color. The formula for this liquid lipstick is terrific - it glides on like a gloss but stays put and dries like a stain. I'm a huge fan of this formula and can't wait to wear this bright pink for the remainder of the summer.

5. theBalm cosmetics Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush
full size $21
This is tiny little sample size, so I'm not entirely sure how to grasp whether I am a fan or not. I love the brand and this color of this bronzer is stunning; but I think it may be a bit too dark for my pale skin. I'm still going to give it a whirl, taking care to use a light hand. 

There you have it, my July Birchbox! Have you guys ever tried any of these products and what did you think?      

Beauty | June Birchbox Review

I was gone for most of June, so coming home to my Birchbox made my homecoming just that much more special. The theme for this month was Adventure and the products that were chosen for this month are all about being adventurous. 

coTZ Sensitive SPF 40 full size $20

This is sensitive mineral sunscreen that is designed to protect and soothe even the most sensitive of skins. It goes on sheer, has a bit of medicinal scent and is not noticeable underneath makeup at all. I'm a fan, it's a possible purchase.

W3LL PEOPLE The Expressionist Mascara full size $23.50
This is an all-natural mascara that lengthens and lifts lashes without the use of chemicals or dyes. The packaging on this sample is super sleek, and the wand doesn't appear to be anything too special. Probably will not purchase, but am happy to have the sample!

Emi Jay Solid Hair Tie 5-Pack full size $11
I have approximately 100 million of these style hair ties around my house, car, bags, etc. I'm always happy to have more!

Klorane Shampoo with Mango Butter full size $19.50
This shampoo is made with creamy, rich mango butter to help nourish, smoothe and hydrate your locks. It's supposed to be SUPER hydrating so I'm looking forward to giving in a whirl. It smells divine, and the consistency is pretty thick. I am looking forward to using this shampoo after a few rounds in the pool or lake.

Klorane Conditioning Balm with Mango Butter full size $16
This conditioner detangles, moisturizes, adds shine and improves softness. It goes great with the shampoo mentioned above. My main complaint is that the sample came in a packet and I HATE those. I assume the scent is similar to the shampoo, and I'm looking forward to trying this out in conjunction with the shampoo.

La Mav Green Clay Detox Mask full size $29.95
This mask is infused with fruit extracts and is used to treat impurities, minimize pores and help brighten skin. It's a pretty small sample size, but I think I will be able to squeeze two uses out of it. It smells very fresh and the consistency is smooth and creamy so it should be easy to spread around on your face. 

Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliner full size $11
This is a blendable waterproof eyeliner that goes on smooth and stays on all day. I got this eyeliner in the color Mulberry which is a rich purple color. I really don't see myself using this eyeliner, ever. So unfortunately, this one is a bust for me.

There you go, the wonder of adventure with the June 2015 Birchbox. Now that I am thinking about it, the eyeliner would be adventurous for me. Maybe I should take a hint and give it a whirl one day...

Beauty | Mini Lush Haul

While I was in Florida visiting my sister and her family, I popped into Lush to pick up a few things. I didn't need any of them, but you know how it goes.

1. So I told my husband I would pick him up something, so I went with Kalamazoo. It's a beard and facial wash that has pineapple juice, almond oil, jojoba oil and lots of other natural stuff (which is what Lush is known for!). I went with this product for a few different reasons - it's called Kalamazoo and we're from Michigan which has a Kalamazoo. Also, it's a beard (which my husband has) and facial (which both of us have) wash. So it's something we can both use. Plus, it smells good.

2. Next up was a fresh face mask Catastrophe Cosmetic. This mask is a blueberry face mask filled with calamine, rose absolute and chamomile blue oil. This product is designed to soothe redness and irritation and help cleanse the skin without stripping it of it's natural oils. It's so fresh that it needs to be kept refrigerated. Absolutely love it.

3. Now I have used this before and adored it. Let the Good Times Roll is a face and body cleanser made with maize flour, corn meal, cinnamon powder - it has a sweet scent (which is divine) and helps exfoliate your skin. It is also hydrating and lasts a long time!  

4. This is a new product for me to try out and it's called a Dream Steam. It's a little tab that you drop into a bowl filled with hot water, drape a towel over your head and the bowl and let the steam do it's magic. It's filled with calming ingredients such as tea tree oil, lavender oil, chamomile oil and rose absolute. After the tab has dissolved you can keep the water for two days and spritz it on your face when you need a little pick me up. I'm super excited to try this out. 

Lush is kinda known for their bath bombs - I don't take baths so I had never used one. While we were there we grabbed a few for my nieces to try out. They absolutely loved them! 

The first one we tried was the Ickle Baby Bot. This bomb is shaped like a robot, which is definitely part of the appeal. It has lavender, chamomile and sandalwood essential oils to help get those sleep inducing vibes get going. You drop into the bath and it dissolves quickly, releasing a super calming scent and turning the bath water a light blue color. It smelled fantastic, and definitely was a relaxing experience.

The second we tried was called Twilight. This bath bomb has a pretty pink color, and when dropped into the water changes like the sky from dusk to twilight. It has lavender and tonka to help fight insomnia and inspire restful sleep. It smelled so relaxing and was really pretty to watch dissolve.

The last one was called Pink Bath Bomb and it was fragranced with vanilla bean, which smelled delish. This bath bomb leaves a candy scent on your body, which of course my nieces loved.

I highly recommend everything from Lush, I have never had a bad experience or tried a product that I didn't end up loving. What are your favorite Lush products?

Beauty | Current Hair Products

 So I don't style my hair really. I am more of a run a straightener over it OR just run a comb through it and call it good. But I HAVE to use some sort of detangler or leave-in product unless I want my hair to resemble a birds nest. These are some of the products I am currently using on my hair.

Rusk Texture Dry Finishing Spray Medium Hold

This is a sample size that I got from Birchbox. I have honestly only used a couple of times to rough up my hair and give it some texture and hold - my hair tends to not have any grip or hold to it. Curls literally slide right out of my hair. It worked pretty well, but it's not something I need on a daily basis. I do like that my hair still feels like hair after using this product - it doesn't have any stiffness to it which is great.

Garnier Fructis Style Sleek and Shine Flat Iron Perfector Straightening Mist

Well this is a mouthful, geez. I got this because sometimes when I straighten my hair it still has waves in it and I don't necessary want to buy a new straightener right now. So you just spray this on your hair before straightening and it is supposed to come out sleek and smooth. PLUS it provides heat protection. Honestly, I don't love this product. I continue to use it mainly for heat protection as I don't really notice a difference between using it and not using it. But it does smell nice, so that's good.

Bain De Terre Green Meadow Detangler 

I use a detangler immediately after washing my hair because even though I have lots of hair, it's kind of fine and gets tangled super easy. I have tried many detanglers, leave in conditioners, etc. This one definitely gets the job done and without leaving any sort of residue in your hair. 

Aveda Brilliant Damage Control Spray

This stuff is the bomb - I love this more than the previous detangler I talked about. It smells good, it helps to detangle and to prep your hair and it provides heat protection. PLUS it smells like a salon. This will always be in my arsenal of hair products I do believe.

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product 

I requested this as one of my sample products in a Birchbox because I'm obviously always open to trying new leave-in products for my hair. So I got this one, hoping it would be as miraculous as advertised. This product not only protects hair but repairs it as well - which is something other products don't do. It does make my hair feel silky and smooth, but I honestly don't notice less split ends or anything like that. That being said, I still REALLY like this product and will definitely purchase it full size.

Beauty | April 2015 Birchbox

This month's Birchbox theme was Fresh For Spring: the picks for this month will put a bounce in your step and help shake up your look for the new season. Those are some pretty big promises, my look does not shake up often. The box itself is stunning; Birchbox partnered up with Rifle Paper Co this month and the floral décor on the box is gorgeous. A nice way to lead us into springtime indeed.

As always, when I opened up the box it was beautifully packaged and there were no damaged products. I was pretty happy with the samples I received this month, I got some hair stuff, face stuff and makeup. That's pretty much all you need in life, right? Wrong, but it sounded nice. If you're interested in learning more about birchbox, feel free to click here and gain some knowledge. I am a huge advocate and fan for life. FOR LIFE YOU GUYS. It's that real. Let's get to the products.

 

 

1. Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Moisturizing Shampoo full size $15

I know some people hate getting shampoo and conditioners in their boxes, but I am a fan. I have a lot of hair and having the opportunity to try some higher end products without breaking the bank is great for me. So, this shampoo is supposed to help repair dry and damaged hair gently. It uses avocado oil and aloe vera extracts to repair and rebuild hair. The scent isn't overpowering, but pleasant and I'm looking forward to seeing if this shampoo will help out some of my dry strands.

 

2. Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion full size $25

This is a soothing, cooling lotion for your eye area, it has a blend of ultra calming and de-puffing ingredients such as witch hazel, cornflower and aloe vera. It is safe for contacts wearers. This product intrigues me because I'm not really sure why this is a necessary product? I guess maybe I could give it a whirl in the evenings and see if I notice any sort of difference. I think this will be fun to try, but won't be a necessity.

 

3. Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Repairing Conditioner full size $16

This is obviously the conditioner made to go with the shampoo that I also received. It's a nourishing and strengthening conditioner and I can't wait to try it out. My hair is super dry right now, so I'm anxious to see if this does anything for it.

 

4. MDSolarSciences MD Crème Mineral Beauty Balm SPF 50 full size $38

 This is a lightweight formula that is designed to be both sunscreen and primer. It also apparently does a whole lot of other things such as brightening your skin tone, diminishing the appearance of fine lines and it leaves skin with a flawless matte finish. It does all of this by using a bunch of fancy pants ingredients. I don't really care about all of the fancy stuff, but if it's a good sunscreen then I'm in - I am super sensitive to the sun. Can't wait to give this a whirl.

 

5. Jouer Tint in Poppy full size $22

 This is a two-in-one product for your lips and cheeks and it's super creamy and moisturizing. It goes on pretty sheer, and gives a nice dewy finish. I got it in the shade Poppy which is a coral-tinged pink color that I think will be quite flattering on my pale, freckly skin.

Another great birchbox, I can't wait to dive into my samples and find something awesome to do with this beautiful box.