Mini-Reviews

I'm doing a little makeup bag spring cleaning this week - it's a little challenging to convince your husband you need new makeup when even he can see the makeup bag so full it won't close on the bathroom counter - so I decided I'd do a few quick, mini reviews of the products I was cleaning out, just to give them a little sayonara on the way out the door!

With that said...I have a beauty confession to make.

I have a long standing love/hate relationship with Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow. I'll go bonkers for it, and buy up a bunch of it, that I use happily. And then after a while, I come back to my senses, and go "You know, I don't think I like this that much..." and get rid of it. It is a cycle I've repeated...well, pretty much since Colorstay eyeshadow has been a thing.

I'm in the "come back to my senses" part of the cycle, but before I give them their big send off, I thought I'd talk a little about them first. Each color that you're seeing was applied over Wet N Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer.

Victim number one:

Meet "Inspired". This one is pretty kicky - white, aqua, lime and a deep purple. This is a color combination I like, and one I'd almost be enticed to keep, if it weren't for one problem - the massive, massive amounts of fall out from the lime. I had that lime eyeshadow everywhere. My lashes were lime, my under eye was lime, everything turned lime over that eyeshadow.

Although, in fairness to this particular quad - it does have more color payoff than the other two that we're about to meet, and had a nice little shimmer to it, which makes it feel kind of kicky and fun. This one is the closest I've come to sticking with a Revlon eyeshadow in probably a while!

Batter up, victim number two!

This is "Attitude". This is a nice, neutral, mellow palate. Pink, a light brown with a slight shimmer, a matte medium brown, and a matte darker brown. Nice, goes with everything.

My problem with this one is that without primer, there isn't a ton of color payoff. I'm a fan of the high contrast, I like to see a lot of color payoff, and I just don't get it here. I don't have a particular beef - the formula is nice, goes on smooth and velvety soft. I just don't get the amount of color I want.

And just for bonus points;

Victim number three!

This one is Mary Kay eyesicles cream eyecolor in Vanilla. This is a product that sort of rotates in and out of the line up for Mary Kay - it's currently out - and isn't all that satisfying to me. It's a nice eye brightener, and it'd probably make an excellent primer (honest, I've never tried, so don't hold me to that). But if you want to talk about color payoff - there's virtually none here - and I was noticing creases in about a half hour. No thanks, Mary Kay!

So, thanks for indulging a little bit of my makeup bag clean out! It's a little closer to closing now! :D
,br> See you later, lovelies!

I've never been much on Garnier...

...but this, I like!

Thanks to some savvy couponing work on my part, I picked up the Garnier Clean+ face wash for oily skin this week to try out. The packaging promises to "Remove excess oil" and "Mattify skin" on the front, and on the back, boasts that with only ONE WEEK of use, you'll see improved clarity and reduced pores.

The packaging is a flip top cap, where you squeeze out the product. It's bright, and easily understood - green, white and black is pretty distinctive. Not to mention, one of my all time favorite color combinations, so I might be a little partial on that one.

The face wash itself is actually a little on the runny side. Like, you don't actually have to really squeeze the tube - flip the cap, and tip it over, and some will just pour out. The wash is tinged with a black color, which is likely generated by the charcoal powder that the wash contains.

Honest, calling my skin oily was probably pushing it, so this was probably a bit more high powered of a wash than I really needed. As a result, I find it a bit stripping. I can usually make myself comfortable with a slick of moisturizer, but if I were to just use this wash, and go in to my usual routine, I wouldn't be able to do it. Although if your skin is more oily than mine, you might not feel quite as emphatically as I do on the moisturizer. Although, as your friendly neighborhood blogger, I'll remind you - everyone needs moisturizer. Haha...

The packaging advises not to get the wash into the eyes, although I didn't have much trouble with that, but if your eyes are more sensitive, I'd avoid the area. It's not super fantastic as an eye makeup remover, so don't expect that you'll get double duty out of it that way.

It rinses...strangely. I don't know how to describe it, exactly. Like, it rinses soft - I always end up rinsing well after my face is clear, thinking I've still got soap on my face. Which, rinsing isn't exactly bad, it just kind of is. But my one, major complaint? It smells really manly. My husband uses Suave body wash for men, and I think this face wash might smell more manly than that even. It doesn't have to smell like strawberries or anything, but since women are the target market, why not feminize it, at least a little? If you're not especially bothered by scents, you're probably golden. But if you like your face wash to smell a little more feminine, or you don't really want your face wash to smell like anything, then you're probably in a little trouble here.

The beauty shots;

The packaging. Clear, well marked, easy to read (and understand!) exactly what you're getting yourself in to, in a manor of speaking.

The Before and After shots. I took both of these in the same place - looking out my bathroom window. It was apparently just a more overcast day the first time, hah!

At any rate, you can see things in the first one - the pores through the t-zone, the little bit of ruddiness that you see in the skin through the t-zone area as well. And you can see that in the after, there is a reduction in the quality of both! Neither is completely gone (I mean, they're Garnier, they're not miracle workers...), but the wash did everything it promised - improved clarity, reduction in pores, mattify the skin, great!

Overall, I am actually impressed with the face wash - nice formula, delivered on the promises on the packaging, great work. The one thing that would give me a little pause before going back for a second tube would just be that smell. If there were a way to smell-a-blog, I'd let you smell it too. I might switch to the combination wash for next time, see if I find that smell a little more palatable. I'd recommend it to a friend, like I mentioned - as long as you're good with smells. If the smell of your products is problematic, then you'll find this wash problematic as well. :(

Later, lovely!

This is like a three-fer of beauty information today!

You just can't pay for this sort of entertainment!

So today, I'm testing not one, but TWO tips from pinterest, as well as showing you a Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow quad.

Let's get to the action!

First tip that we're testing is what I've affectionatly dubbed the "Insta-brow lift". Groom your brows as you wish, apply a small amount of concealer above the brow, and a small amount below, and you'll get the insta-brow lift effect.

Now, this pic isn't today, but this is just an idea of what I was working with. This was the after;

I don't even think this picture does it justice you guys, I was really excited with this little trick. I'd do it again. I used a wand concealer (Wet N Wild Cover All if you're intrigued...), three dabs in the arch, three dabs above the brow, gently blended. I'll try to get a better picture of the results (I can do pictures of the pricess too, if you're so intrigued, but it seems pretty self explanatory...).

The second trick I tested was scotch tape. Yes, scotch tape. Trick being - if you're someone who tends to go a little wild with your eyeshadow, and it runs off the edges of your eyes, take a piece of scotch tape, and tape from the outer corner of your brow to the outer corner of your eye. And any color that might make a mess on the outer corner of your eye will instead be on the scotch tape, and bingo-bango, perfect eye makeup.

This is among the weirder tips that I've tried, but I actually really liked this one. I do have a tendency to run off the edges a little bit - in the crease is a particular weakness - and being able to simply peel away the tape, and the mess was gone, was fantastic! I don't know that I'd do this every single day, but if I were going to a special event, and really wanted my makeup to be on pointe, you bet I'd whip out a little tape!

And lastly, Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow. This color quad was named "Bombshell", which I'm not even totally certain they make anymore, because I haven't seen it in the store in a while. White, yellow, a metallic grey, and a darker grey. Check it;

The white and yellow colors were a little on the flaky side, there was a lot of fall out from the two of them. The grey shades went on smooth and silky, they were nice to wear, and actually looked really nice together. And speaking of together, let's talk about that - this is an odd combination of colors. That's actually what drew me to it. But if you follow Revlon's instructions, the yellow gets completely washed out. Well why use it at all, then? Why not put in a different shade?

Speaking of instructions - if you like a nice smokey eye, but you're a little shakey on how to do it, Revlon includes a handy little instruction sheet, right on the back. All four colors, and right where they go on your lid. It's handy, and guarentees a nice look, don't be shy with it! And of course, if you're more adept with a smokey eye, go crazy, do whatever look you like! :)

Some pics. And I goofed these a tiny bit, because I didn't check the light before hand. That light across my nose is the sun coming in from the window in the bathroom. Haha...

Eyes open. Nice, right? I used Wet N Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer - which by the by, is fantastic - underneath, and there was the before mentioned concealer on the brow, and then the shadows. I'm pretty happy!

Eyes closed. See what I mean about the yellow? It's in the corners - in fact, there's probably extra yellow. And nada. You've got to really look for it. That's disapointing, for sure.

So I'm really happy with my tricks, and just as happy with the eyeshadow. I didn't get the 8 or 10 hours or whatever they promise - in fact, I barely got my aunts birthday party - but it wears and looks really nice, so I have no problems with it. I'd recommend it to a friend. ;)

And speaking of, look at that! I just did that! :D

See you later, gorgeous!

Beauty information seems to be finding me online today...

So I thought I'd share a little of what I found! I've just been online, minding my own, and this information keeps coming back!

First, this one from Buzzfeed; 42 Money Saving Tips Every Makeup Addict Needs To Know. Embarassingly enough, I once tried number 32, but instead of using cinnamon OIL, I used cinnamon candy flavoring. Y'all, I nearly cried. I could NOT wipe that stuff off fast enough! And I think I'm going to buy an eyeshadow, just to test out number 29. I do love to test a good tip off Pinterest, and that's one I've been seeing a lot of...

And I do actually do number 37, with some of my eye creams and BB Creams, but that's because putting it on when it feels cold feels nice. :D

Then I found THIS site; MUABS.com, which seems to be a listing of blog sales. When you blog about something like beauty, one of the big parts of it is PRODUCT. It takes LOTS. Some bloggers sell their new or lightly used product off on the cheap. Keep up at MUABS.com!

Here's a collection of links to other articles; Beauty Tips And Tricks Every Woman Needs To Know!, which seems to have a lot of interesting information in it. Or links to lots of interesting information, anyway.

And lastly, this one; Apply your mascara first, and other makeup tricks that really work. This one was one of the most intriguing for me, personally. I'm looking forward to testing out a lot of these!

Just a little sampling of the information I've found today, for you to look over if you want. I'm looking forward to testing out a lot of these - like I said, I've been seeing that "repair an eyeshadow" tip a LOT lately, so I might be buying a new eyeshadow, just to break it!

Later, lovelies!

My good run of bad luck...

I'm having a good run of bad luck with Sinful Colors lately. I've been through two manis in a week with this stuff!

Introducing Suspect Number One, otherwise known as "Daredevil". This picture actually makes the color look a little warmer than it is - it's a neutral hot pink. Pink like a highlighter marker. I used Maybelline Color Show in Porcelain Party as a base coat (I'll actually be blogging about that soon...)

I'm willing to concede I got probably got a bad bottle, but it was really bad - the brush was thin, and inflexible. The color was runny, and hard to clean off the skin, and chipped almost instantly. In fact, this picture was about the only time the color was chip free. By the time the color was 24 hours old, I was already having to patch chips, and after going strawberry picking with my gramma (and sidebar? If you ever have the chance, do. You might think the strawberries from your supermarket are good, but they don't have anything on the ones that are fresh off the plant...), the color was pretty demolished. So I just took it off and started over. I like Sinful Colors, typically, "Let's Talk" is a gorgeous purple, and "Sugar Sugar" is a fantastic deep red. But if Daredevil had been my first experience, for obvious reasons, there probably wouldn't be a second experience.

With that said, enter Suspect Number Two:

"Cinderella". Cinderella is a really pretty light blue, with a bit of pink iridescence, and a fine pink glitter running through it. It's a bit thin - it'd probably make a fantastic top coat. To get a strong look at the color, I used Wet N Wild Wild Shine in "French White Creme" as my base coat.

Everything started out better anyway - soft brush, color went on smooth, not a lot to clean up, by way of color on the skin, getting the thumbs up from me so far.

Oh, then last night? I'm taking a shower, and I see a little bit of color coming loose around my cuticle (if you're following the numbers at this point, Cinderella has been on my nails about 12 hours by now...), so I go to get it off.

HALF THE NAIL proceeds to come off in the process. Really, Sinful Colors?! So the picture that you're seeing above is my attempt at a patch job, which I was pretty pleased with! It's not pretty if you look at it real close, but since people rarely do, it's not too bad!

So I've struck out twice in a row with Sinful Colors. Curiously, only with light colors. I mentioned "Sugar Sugar" and "Let's Talk" earlier, and their both dark (red, and purple, respectively). Light colors, maybe? Possibly. Good run of bad luck? Absolutely. I'm not discouraged completely though - I have a new color from their "Silks" collection to try, that I'm pretty excited for! :)

See you later, beautiful!