...Kind Of, Pinterest!

You guys know that periodically, I like to test what I read on Pinterest. I do it all the time, in fact. Pinterest is a great site, with a lot of interesting information, but it's never quite clear how much of it you can believe.

I'm back to test another!

Meet the cast of characters that swear that in a mere 5 minutes, they can clean my microwave:

2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and your preferred essential oil? YES. Let's do this.

And for whatever it's worth - I went tea tree because I was thinking about the antibacterial properties. Whatever scent you go with, make sure it's a scent that you're going to like just as much hot, because now my house reeks of hot tea tree oil. And as much as I like the scent of tea tree oil, it's not great hot.

At any rate, this tip goes - combine. Microwave the combination for 5 minutes, and the gunk will practically wipe right off!

So I combine:

I didn't stir. Stir if you want to, it's your party. ;)

I walk it to my microwave, which is so gross, that it was embarrassed to pose for this picture.

And microwave for five minutes. I even let it sit a little extra long, to give the steam extra time to work.

So did it?

Hey! Way to go Pinterest! You kind of nailed one! Of course, for my war zone of a microwave, it actually took three tries to get a mostly clean microwave, but it's so greatly improved from where I started! Way to go, clean microwave!

See you next time, lovelies!

Interested in seeing tips from Pinterest? Me too! I've already supplied links to a few, but you could, you know, follow me and stuff. ;)

So...Not Quite, Pinterest...

I'm always perusing Pinterest, looking at all those seemingly perfect outfits, and spotless kitchens that were achieved in five minutes a day with nothing more than baking soda and a toothbrush, and I decided to snag one, and try it out.

Several Christmases ago, I was given a set of sheet pans from my aunt. They've been very well loved, and I'd always thought well taken care of. Regardless, they now look like this guy:

Well loved, right? Kind of depressing to look at too, right?

Enter Pinterest, with posts like this one, promising that these guys;

can have your pans looking like new in no time. It's almost too good to be true, isn't it? Let's find out!

Instructions say start with the baking soda, and add the hydrogen peroxide until you get a paste. Simple enough:

Catching the droplets made me feel kind of artistic. ;)

Apply to the pan, Scrub. The blog I linked above makes it sound like it's no big thing, done and over in a couple of minutes. I scrubbed until the baking soda paste started to turn brown, and then let it sit for a full 10 minutes, and got this;

So that's...better? It's hardly the miracle cure Pinterest would let you believe though. It upgraded me from "really well loved" pan to "pretty well loved" pan. Not that it took a ton of effort or anything, but this one wasn't worth the hype, I don't think.

Aah, well. Maybe next time, Pinterest!

Later, lovelies!

Like reading about Pinterest? Me too! Check out another Pinterest tip I've tested, here!

You can find this post here too!

Confession...

A couple of nights ago, I had one of those big, ugly cries that girls are prone to having on occasion. And as a result, I've spent the last two days, tangling with puffy eyes, that felt like they were about to overtake the rest of my face.

Which is doubly bad, because not only is that not pleasant, but the one day I did try to put makeup on over all that puff, all you could see was my eyeliner!

So I spent today combating the puff. Pinterest is curiously lacking in tips for this sort of thing - most of the recommendations involved purchasing product. So I was sort of winging it on my own.

And for the sake of things, said puffery:

Pretty bad, right? Like, if it grew just a couple millimeters more, it could take over my eyelashes, level of bad.

First, I tried an eye cream, with a roller. I'm quite fond of Olay Fresh Effects Bright on Schedule eye roller (as evidenced here), so I gave it a shot. Felt great, didn't appear to do much to help.

Next, I even gave Allegra a crack at it. Figuring maybe I was having a reaction to something (last time my eyes swelled like this, it was because of Clean & Clear face wash - years later, when a dermatologist actually recommended Clean & Clear to me, I couldn't contain my laughter!). I actually feel like this helped some. My eyes were brighter, I didn't feel as foggy. This one was a bit unconventional, but it might have been worth something.

And then we turned to the ever popular torture chamber - SPOONS. Every website you read looking for tips, everywhere you turn - spoons. Put them in the freezer until they're good and cold, put them on your eyes until they're not. Simple, fool proof, everybody's got a spoon, right? I began dancing around my kitchen! This one was pretty brutal. And I really am not sure how effective I even think it was. I even proclaimed it worse than the Ice Bucket Challenge, and my eight year old went "Oh, it's not THAT bad...", haha...

And I resorted to that good old fashioned, cure all beauty trick - water. Lots and lots and LOTS of water. It seems super counter intuitive, but they always say that if you're retaining water, drink more, because it will start to flush out the water that's in there. I even went swimming, hoping that would help! When I was pregnant with said eight year old, I discovered that apparently, when I'm pregnant, I gain the super power of being able to retain water - simply by looking at it! Don't be jelly, ladies, haha! At any rate, my OB suggested swimming. He said that the water would put solid, consistent pressure on my body from all angles, thus forcing the retained fluid out of the areas that were retaining it. And I often said I think that man was super crazy, but I know he's right on this one! So I even gave that a shot!

So here's where my day of puffery battle got me:

Not bad for a days work, right? So maybe the spoons were worth more than I thought!

But here's a few more tricks that I found, just in case the spoons don't do it for you;

They say Vaseline works for everything, right? I'm actually planning on trying this one tonight, if I can remember where my vaseline is, haha!

Curiously, this website recommends mashed banana. I didn't get a chance to get to this one, but doesn't this just sound terribly messy?

The typical recommendation of cucumber. Potatoes actually got several recommendations, and curiously, so did soy milk.

I'm depuffed, and hopefully looking terrific for dropping my third grader off for school for his first day tomorrow. I'm not typically a first day of school crier, which I'll have to remind myself of tomorrow. Because sure as the world, I've said that, and I'll cry. I can't cry, I just spent a whole day depuffing my eyes from my last cry! Although I guess if I cry, I better stop off for a potato and some soy milk on the way home, right? :)

I'm also working up a special Wednesday edition of the blog, which I'm hoping to have live this coming Wednesday. Stay tuned for that! :D

Later, lovelies!

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. :)

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!

More beauty tips from Pinterest!

This week, as much out of necessity as it was anything else, I tested another tip off Pinterest!

The last polish I had on my toes was the Rimmel "Red, Steady, Go!", and while that is in fact a gorgeous polish, taking it off was kind of a mess. Will I never learn to wear a base coat? It created such a mess, that it prompted my son to ask me if I'd been bleeding. :O

So the tip from Pinterest said to take whitening toothpaste, and a nail brush. Apply the toothpaste to the toe nails, and go to town. That sounds crazy to me, I'll sacrifice my toes to the cause!

Unfortunately, I didn't end up with a good enough before picture (I always take lots of pictures, so I've got choices, but none of them came out great...), but like I said. My seven year old asked me I were bleeding. So you can imagine.

The tools I used. Crest Complete toothpaste, available at any drug store the world over, and a nail brush, that might have cost me a dollar or two at the beauty supply.

In action! Apply the toothpaste to the toes, and scrub! And that's every bit as tough to hike your leg in to the sink and stand still enough to take a picture as you'd figure it'd be. But if I wasn't going to have bloody toes anymore, it was worth it!

After! No more bloody toes! Hooray! Another swipe at them with some nail polish remover, and I was ready to go for a new pedi!

We all know Pinterest is a little hit and miss, information wise. Sometimes, it's solid, sometimes, not as much. So I've been pleasantly surprised to find out I've gotten two good tips in a row so far! :)

I'll keep looking for interesting tips and tricks - these have been as surprising to try out as they have been successful, so far - and you keep looking beautiful!

See you next time!

It's "Test a tip off Pinterest!" Week!

This week on Pinterest, I read a tip from a makeup artist that said that people should be wearing PURPLE eyeliner, because purple will help the eye pop, better than black or brown liner. I went "What, really?!", and promptly went out to look for some purple liner to test this little tip out for myself.

To make sure that it was genuinely my eyeliner that was making my eyes pop, and not my eyeshadow, or something of that nature, I kept all my makeup exactly the same over the course of this little experiment.

My little helpers:

From top to bottom, we have;

Boots No. 7 eye color duo in "Royal". It's a gold, and what I think is purple. And I say "I think", because it's one of those shape shifter colors. In certain lights, it looks like a real deep purple, in certain lights navy, and on my pale skin, it looks black. It's really rad. I think they've changed up their products, but I hope that's one I can find again.

Rimmel Scandal-eyes mascara in black. While I do like it (and I do - goes on smooth, doesn't clump, regardless of how many layers I put on), it's not as exceptional as Rimmel would probably want you to believe. Everybody wants to talk about their mascaras like they're exceptional...they aren't.

Rimmel Scandal-eyes eye shadow stick in Paranoid Purple. And if you'll let me go off on this one for a second - this one had a CRAZY tight lid. I'm perfectly healthy, getting that liner off shouldn't have been that hard! And I got halfway through lining my first eye, and the point BROKE. And of course I can't find a sharpener to keep going, so I end up painting the shadow on with a q-tip. Irritating, for sure! I'd be a little bit pressed to buy another one of these, even as much as I liked it, just because of all the trouble I had with it!!

Rimmel Scandal-eyes waterproof Kohl-Kajal eyeliner in black. I got this in a GWP with the mascara, and this, I like. It's like the kid sister to the new L'Oreal eyeliner that's out right now. Nicely pigmented, long lasting. I feel like I'd buy this one again if I ran out of it.

Lastly, Wet N Wild Color Icon pencil in Purple. I let myself get a little intimidated by this one, and I really shouldn't have. The pencil makes this look like it was a REALLY vivid purple, and I kept looking at it, and getting eighth grade royal blue eyeliner flashbacks (we were all there once...), and talking myself out of wearing it. In reality, it's a nice royal purple, and wears nice. It was much better than I had imagined, which is always a pleasant surprise. :D I'd buy this one again, for sure.

So I tested this out three different ways;

Just purple. This is the Rimmel purple, because I hadn't yet convinced myself to go Wet N Wild. And I had quite the Murphy's Law experience with this one (I already spoke to some of it, in my description of the pencil, so I won't go over it again, haha...), but I'm not disappointed. My eyes are blue, and I felt like the purple actually made them look lighter, and greener, which was a surprising development.

This is the Rimmel black liner, with the same eyeshadow/mascara combo. There's nothing to hate here, but you don't get quite the same POP that you get from the purple.

This look was the purple and black put together. I used the Wet N Wild purple this time, rather than the Rimmel purple. I put together the entire look, with the black liner, and then drew the purple liner, up over the top of the black. This might have been my favorite look of the three. At first, when this was fresh, this felt like an absurdly large amount of makeup - then as it settled in to my skin a little bit, and was a lot happier with it.

I know sometimes Pinterest can be full of craziness, and impossible to duplicate tips, but I think in this case, there's no disputing - the purple does in fact pop the eye (well, my eye anyway), better than black does. Purple! Who knew, am I right?!

See ya later, gorgeous!