We're Goin' Places!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Here I go again, back on Pinterest!

Last week, I began rummaging around my cabinets, trying to decide what I wanted to tell you guys about this week, and I found this;



Which intrigued me, because...well, because I don't remember when I bought it, or why! So I figured if that wasn't a sign that it was time to test another Pinterest tip, then I didn't know what was!

I googled, and found this post, claiming to have "20 amazing beauty uses for baby oil", so I put them to the test. And I won't lie to you - there's not really pictures for this, you're going to have to trust my powers of description. There's no pictures, because some of them weren't that satisfying (the difference in a moisturized versus an unmoisturized arm is pretty subtle, in pictures anyway), some of them seemed pretty inappropriate (I didn't figure you guys wanted to look at me shaving my legs), and some of them were just ways I didn't want to be seen online (with yesterdays eye makeup smeared down my face...). So it's all descriptors here, which is lucky, because that's my strong suit!

So, the tips I tested, and my experiences with them. Ready? Here we go!

Tip:Use as eye makeup remover- just squirt on a cotton ball, swipe slowly across the eyelid and lashes.

Experience: As "luck" would have it, I tested this twice. I lost my mind for a second, and decided that 20 minutes before I needed to leave to be somewhere, when I was in every other way ready to go, would be a stellar time to try my hand at some cats eye eyeliner. Spoiler Alert: it so wasn't. So I dipped a q-tip in baby oil, gently swipped at the wing, blotted the oil away, and went on my way.

The next morning, I had to remove the rest of the makeup the cleanser didn't get off, so cotton ball, baby oil, and away we go! It did leave a thin film behind, so if that slight oil feel is something you won't be able to get on board with, beware with that one.

Verdict: It's a keeper! Baby oil is a great eye makeup remover!

Tip: Use as a cuticle oil

Experience: I turned to my toes to test this one out for me, and color me surprised and impressed to find out that this really worked! I've got chronic dry skin on my feet, and I was impressed with how much this worked on my toes - I've got a crack in one toe nail, and this actually made the crack look much improved. I know it's fairly cosmetic, but I was pleased.

Verdict: It's a keeper! Baby oil makes a terrific cuticle oil, and a great fix if you have chronic dry nails like my poor feet do!

Tip: Use baby oil to shave your legs.

Experience: This is where my testing kind of ran a little sideways. I've heard a lot of people praise this, not just the blog article I was pulling tips from. Y'all...I kind of hated this one. It gunked up my razor, I was constantly having to rinse it out, and the shave wasn't exceptional - the very next day, my eight year old patted my leg and went "Wow, your legs are kind of hairy...". Yeah. That happened. And the hair was oily, which made it stick to the wall once the water rinsed away, I actually had to scrub my shower after testing this one!

Verdict: Nope! Pass on this one.

I'm going to speak to this last one as a two-fer:

Tip: Use after shaving/ shower for super moisturized legs. Just don't dry legs before applying. And, Mix a drop of baby oil with your regular lotion for shinier skin and longer lasting moisture

Experience: Shinier skin? People will be able to see their reflections in you. I did this tip on my arms and across my chest, after I got out of the shower one day. I looked like I'd been polished to a high sheen. I was slippery! I've done this tip, when I had time to sit and let it absorb, and you do get very soft skin. But if you don't have time to let it absorb, you'll be in trouble. I finally had to blot, after a half hour, and continue getting ready.

Verdict: If you've got time for it, go on, but who's got time for that?!

So I tested four tips off Pinterest this week, and got two keepers, and two nopes. Not a solid batting average, but it could have been worse. The article recommended a few tips that I was outright scared to try - using baby oil on your face as a highlighter, and mixing baby oil in with your foundation to give a nice "glow", for example - but go on with your bad self, if you want to give it a shot. I'd think, especially in the case of mixing in the oil with the foundation, would be something you wouldn't want to do unless you had dry skin.

I have memories of my mamaw, when I was little, smearing herself with baby oil, and going out to lay out by the pool. And I remember thinking how crazy awesome and glamorous that was. Of course, I do not - not even a little bit - recommend that one. :)

Monday, August 18, 2014

Ipsy, Ipsy, Ipsy!

Like any good beauty blogger, I recently subscribed to Ipsy, and I've recently mentioned Ipsy to several people who really didn't know what it was. And, like any good blogger, I'm here to solve that problem

Ipsy is a subscription based service. For the low cost of $10 a month, you receive a small makeup bag full of five new treats to try, every month! You can subscribe from month to month, or you can buy a years subscription for $110, which gives you one month for free. When you subscribe, you take a quick survey that gives them your product preferences, and even allows you to talk about your brand preferences, and then every month you get a new bag, that comes in a cheerful pink envelope!

The bags are each themed to the season - July was my first bag, and it was themed for "fun in the sun", so my bag included a bronzer, a tanning oil, and a beach spray for the hair, along with an eyeshadow and lip pencil. This months theme is "back to school", so I received a makeup primer, eyeliner, mascara, blush and lip balm. Some of the products are sample size, and Ipsy has negotiated for you to get a sale price if you buy the item full size.

I only just received my August bag on Saturday, so I'm not ready to give super detailed reviews on any of the products in it, but I can speak to each of them a little;



My treats! Included in the bag;

A sample size of Urban Decay Perversion mascara, as well as a small pamphlet on the virtues of the mascara. I'm not 100% on it yet. It lengthens considerably better than my current mascara - which is nice, my lashes aren't what they used to be, I could use the help. But one of the big selling points behind Perversion is how pigmented it is, and I'm just not convinced on that point yet. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on my research!

Dr. Brandt "Pores No More" pore refiner and primer. I've currently got multiple pore refining and priming products in my makeup bag, at a variety of price points, and I pretty instantly noticed a major different between those and this one. They go on much thicker than this - they dry to a silky soft finish, to be sure, but they start out much thicker. This one starts thinner, it feels much more like a foundation than a primer. So if you've never been able to get on board with a primer because you didn't like the thickness, you might actually like this. It's also tinted, which I think I like as well. If you were going for a nice, no makeup look, this could make a great foundation. Supposing, I guess, that you were light/medium skinned, because there's no mention of color.

Coastal Scents "Forever Blush" sample. I really wish these were full sized! These colors seem really nice, if a bit cooler than I might pick otherwise, but it's hard to judge for sure, when the sample is so small!

Lord and Berry Silk Kajal Kohl-liner in black. My membership is new, but I've gotten a couple of really pleasant surprises so far, and this is one of them. Goes on really smooth, lots of pigment, and long lasting. This would be another that I would have to consider buying full sized!

And lastly, Absolute New York "You're The Balm" lip balm in green apple. This balm comes in a pot, which not everyone likes, so that might not be something you're in to. But it's got a great green apple scent that will take you right back to your Bonne Belle days. It even layers well - I tried it over the top of a lip pencil to give it a little more shine, and it works great! My only wish would be that the shine and moisture lasted longer - it's all gone too soon! :D

If I've said enough, and you're kind of intrigued, please click this link: Ipsy! I get credit for referring you, so we both win!

I do greatly recommend Ipsy, for the makeup geek in all of us. I am not certain if they ship outside the US however, so if you're from outside the US and reading this, that's certainly something to look in to as well.

And as an aside to any Sinful Colors nail polish fans, of which I'm clearly one; they're on sale for 99 cents this week at Walgreens if you have a Wellness Rewards card! All the colors, even the new summer collections. Go stock up! :)

Monday, August 11, 2014

Revisiting an old favorite...

Thanks to a bit of a "comedy of errors" type of week, I had trouble getting ready to blog. I spent all last week - which is when I'd normally prep a new post - at my moms, and then today I went "Oh, I'll do it today!", and it stormed all day, so I couldn't go outside to take any new pictures anyway! See what I mean? All the quirky, weird things that you need to have go alright, all kind of went sideways.

At any rate, I decided that we'd revisit an old favorite this week. I had it pointed out to me, and I think the person that said it what was probably right, that sometimes my pictures read a little warm, which distorts the look of the product. So with that in mind, I decided I'd go back and revist one product in particular that I was really fond of, Sinful Colors Professional in "Let's Talk".

My original post was here. This is a deep, bright purple, with no glitter or sparkle to be found. Now, don't mistake - I'm not talking matte, but it's just a great royal purple shade.

In the effort of doing it more justice than I did the first time, I retook the picture!



This time, I used Wet N Wild "French White Cream" as the base coat, and applied 2 coats of "Let's Talk" over the top, with no top coat. If memory serves, the previous picture was no base coat, no top coat, 2 coats of color.

It's still just as fantastic as before, and still wears as durably! If you want a flash manicure that will last, I recommend it! I've found Sinful Colors a tad hit and miss, but this one is a hit, all the way!

Monday, August 4, 2014

Almay Intense I-Color Liquid Shadow Reviews...

...can we all just agree on something?

Almay markets their colors as being specially formulated and selected for your eye color. Can we just all agree that that's as much a smart marketing tactic as it is anything else? Because if that was the way to do it, that'd be the way everybody was doing it, right?

And can we agree on something else? That these don't take great pictures. They really don't. In fact, I wore the shadow for green eyes one day, and the shadow for blue eyes the next, and my seven year old asked me if I'd even changed my eyeshadow at all. Awesome.

Thanks to some savvy couponing, I actually had three of these to try - the color for blue eyes (a silvery blue), green eyes (a gold), and the color for hazel eyes (a darker gold shade. Like...gold, but almost an olive tone?)

There's little variation from one to the other, formula wise.

The product comes in a tube applicator, with a doe foot at the end of the wand - the packaging is actually really similar to the average lip gloss. Color goes on silky, soft and light. It doesn't layer particularly well - by the time you apply, and then blend out, you've lost pretty much all the color. You'll see the swatches on my arm that are applied to a small area, and completely unblended.

Almay markets that this color can be used as a primer as well, and it's actually not bad there - if you like their Shadow Softies, but wished for a bit more color payoff there as well, you'll find good luck using these underneath.

As just a shadow - not as a primer - the wear time is pretty good. I've had mine on about 12 hours now, minimal fading, no creasing!

A few beauty shots!



Swatched on the inside of my wrist (in bathroom lighting). Hazel eyes, blue eyes and green eyes, from left to right. The green eyed version is probably the most universal of the group - everybody can rock a nice delicate gold, regardless of your actual eye color - and the hazel eyed is the most pigmented of the three. The blue eyed one looks nice on - it's a nice, delicate wash of color - but would be the most challenging to use as a primer, I think. I've even tried it, and only did it with blue eyeshadows - it would really cool down the look of any shadows you use.



Hazel eyes, blue eyes and green eyes, from top to bottom. These aren't super stellar pictures - but then, they don't take super stellar pictures. They look very similar in photographs. A nice, delicate wash of color. I reach for these not as a shadow primer, but in one of those moments where you've overslept, and need to get out of the house looking reasonably pulled together, in about 10 minutes. Or, when you don't want to wear a lot of makeup, but you want a little polish.

Will these change the world? Of course they aren't. They aren't high octane enough for that. But they do give a nice wash of long lasting color that will keep you looking nice - or your eyeshadow looking primed - all day long, which is all anybody wants from their eyeshadow! So...I guess, I don't know if I recommend it exactly, but I don't think you'll hate owning it either? That's not a super glowing review, is it? Haha...