Long Live the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick!

Hi guys! Long time no talk! Turns out my nine year old being home for the summer didn't offer me quite the amount of time to blog that I'd hoped. But, I'm looking to get back in the game, so let's get started!

These three beauties are the Rimmel Scandaleyes eye shadow sticks. And they were fair to good quality - the gray was hard to blend, the gold and purple went on like dreams. I've talked about them before, and I've even Instagramed about them:

https://instagram.com/p/6idvQYNfsz/?taken-by=beautybytheresa11

and 

https://instagram.com/p/5SN3v5NfsO/?taken-by=beautybytheresa11

(And by the by, I'd be super pumped with a like on either pic. It's a public account, you don't even have to follow me to do it...although I'd be super pumped if you did that too, haha...)

I also noticed that I was seemingly always seeing these on clearance, but I could never put together why. A lot of times when you find makeup on clearance, they're either discontinuing that particular shade, or maybe changing up the packaging. But they seemed to be always marking these down. What was the deal?

I just logged on to the Rimmel site tonight, and figured it out. Long live the Rimmel Scandaleyes shadow stick, cause these guys are goners. Liners, shadows, cream shadows, they'll have them all. But if you're a fan of the chubby pencil format, you'll want to stock up, cause when they're gone, they're gone.

Like eye shadow? Me too! I talk about it all the time!

Oh, There Will Be Shenanigans!

Picture with me if you will...

5:30. 5:45 maybe. I get a text from my husband that says that I'm going to drive him to meet a coworker up town for drinks, while I'm gone to swimming with our 8 year old.

Never mind the fact that I didn't get invited to go out for drinks, I got bigger problems. I gotta look "meet the husbands coworkers" level presentable ...in about a half hour.

Oh boy. What's a girl to do?!

Throw on a little Queen Helene Mint Julep mask, and run out and clean up the car, for starters!

If you've got skin on the oily side, and you want to clean up that oil, pronto, Queen Helene is your girl. That stuff is old school, and it's made it so long for a reason! It's great!

Next, prime, perfect and good eyebrows. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water, Aveeno CC Cream and It Cosmetics brow pencil do the job nicely. Were I that pressed for time, I could have stopped here. But clocks still ticking, I gotta keep going!

An easy eye - champagne across the lid, a dark brown in the corner, and a little mascara. I read someone once compare Maybelline to the "training bra" of mascaras. Which sounds weird when you initially hear it, but then you go "You know what? Maybe..." it doesn't do anything exceptionally. Like, you can see from my before in this collage (the top one) - I was OK for length, and good enough for color. I mostly need volumizing help. I didn't especially get it, I didn't especially get a great enhancement in length or color either. I just got a nice, for sure better defined than before, lash. They do a little bit of everything with Great Lash, and probably better than anybody out there. If you need a just solid, working mascara, Great Lash will always be a great choice. But if you're looking for a little more Oomph, this probably isn't your gig. Or, to see that bra metaphor through to the end...if you're looking for a push up bra, it's not for you. :)

Eyeliner (I used treStique shadow crayon in "Kona Coffee", which is so long lasting, you'll practically have to beg it to come off), and lips, and I'm ready to go, with two minutes to spare! Woo!

And can we talk about those lips?! Cause holy lips, batman! That lipcolor is Wet N Wild Natural Blend lip shimmer in color 108 (Wet N Wild isn't much for naming their lip colors), and it packed 10 times the punch I expected. Went on smooth and even, a little bit of a glossy finish. A little bit of minty to it, even, which isn't enough to be irritating, just enough to feel kind of cooling and refreshing.

This is a long lasting color - I made it to dinner a couple of hours later, and when I wiped my mouth with my napkin, I was wiping off lip color. I often say that when Wet N Wild hits their mark, they hit it hard, and with this, they NAILED it. This stuff is fantastic. Where I didn't overwhelmingly, enthusiastically recommend Great Lash, I will overwhelmingly, enthusiastically recommend this lip shimmer. It's absolutely worth every cent.

As a bonus, if that's your thing, the lip shimmer also bears the seal of approval from the Natural Products Association, meaning it's been certified as a all-natural cosmetic product! This color is really good for you - it just keeps getting better!

I made it with two minutes to spare! I played swim class mom (actually, I got lost in my cell phone, which I kind of even hate myself when I do that. That's so awful...), and then met up with the coworker for dinner, and was so glad I took the time to get my face in order! 

30 minute face - it can be done! See you later, beautiful!

Since I got so super pumped for the Wet N Wild product, if you like them as much as I do, you'll be intrigued to see that I talk about them all the time!

I Got A Problem...

Well, I had a problem.

At any rate, I went to my son's elementary school field day. I'd never been before, so I figured why not? I was in charge of the "pizza box game", where the kids had to run a variety of relay races in order to stack pizza boxes. In a portion of the soccer field that felt like it was 1,000 miles from any sort of shade. On a scorchingly hot day.

And in case this IS your first time at the rodeo that is the Big Blog...I'm very fair.

As a result, I came home from elementary school field day, looking like this:

Starting to see my dilemma, right? Let me add in a few more layers (pardon the pun, but I'll get to that...). My day job is working at a local dance studio. I run the front desk, and teach a couple of classes, and it's an absolutely blast-y blast. The kind of fun that I feel awkward using words like "job" and "work" to describe it. This picture happened to be the same day as our end of the year banquet, and, a mere 4 days before I was going to have to look good, in a costume with exposed back and shoulders.

Yep, I got a problem. And then this sunburn began peeling like a beast because...well, because why not, at this point, right?

Enter my good friend;

Adovia Dead Sea Salt Scrub with natural oils. My burn was peeling, and I needed it to be over, much faster than it was actually going. And there are no pictures of my peeling sunburn, because let's be honest with each other - I didn't want to take them, and you don't really want to look at them. :D

I tried this scrub out on my hands first. Did you ever use the Mary Kay Satin Hands kit? This scrub sort of does both steps at the same time. It's kind of awesome like that. Your hands will come away smooth and buttery soft! Big, fat grains of salt and smooth, silky oils. Beautiful!

At any rate, back to the sunburn.

I got in the shower, dipped my hand in to the well, and hoped for the best. Scrubbed off my back and shoulders and chest, and hoped for the best.

I got up in the morning, and much to my surprise - it worked! It really, really worked! The peeling skin had dried up, and could simply be brushed away! I was so surprised! This stuff is great!

Here's a few other minor details I noticed;

Keep this A. WAY. from your kids. There's no fooling - you open this up, and it's salt and oil, clear to the top. Even with my 8 year old (who should reasonably know better than to pour oils all over the table), I was nervous to let him mess with it, it was filled to the top, and oily!

The scent is "Ocean Breeze", and I found it a bit...cloying. Stuck in my nose a little too well, you know?

But, otherwise, I was more than satisfied with this product. I gave it the biggest test I knew how (peeling sunburns are brutal. If you're lucky and haven't had one in a while, think back. You've been there. lol...), and it passed with flying colors. I would very enthusiastically recommend this to a friend!

See you later beautiful!

This was my first try talking about women's body scrubs, but I have talked about men's before!

Have you liked my Facebook page yet? Click the bar at the top! C'mon! It's easy!

Full Disclosure: Adovia was kind enough to supply me with this product in exchange for my opinions on it, however, the opinions are all my own. You can purchase their scrubs through this website here, and their products are for sale on Amazon as well.

And today I reach in the box...

...and pull out...

Ban Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths in "Invigorate" scent. These come in a packet of 10, and promise "instant freshness, anytime, anywhere."

I'm not a super fan of these myself. They seem almost like a needless step in my beauty routine. But, I gave these the hardest test I could find to give them - a sweaty eight year old boy. Which, even he pointed out, next to a throwing up eight year old boy, a sweaty one is the worst kind. (He's nothing if not logical, right?!)

So, the following review is my conversation with my eight year old;

"So, what did you think of these wipes?"

They were good.

"Where they easy to use?"

Pretty much. Yeah.

"Could you think of anything that would make them easier to use?"

No.

"If I bought them again, would you want to use them?"

Yeah.

"What did you think of the smell?"

Wasn't too girly.

"Not too strong?"

*shakes head no*

"Did they make your skin feel itchy, or too dry?"

*thinks for a second, rubs arm* It did make it a little itchy.

"Just at first, or all the time?"

All the time. No, just at first.

"Did you feel cooled and refreshed?"

Yeah. Very!

And that is this weeks edition of "Product Reviews with 8 year olds!" His impression was considerably more favorable than mine - and I did have to say, after having a sweaty, hot boy, I did appreciate giving him the ability to clean up on the go. And he liked that he got some control that way, so everybody really won there.

And, pro tip? Ban releases coupons for these ALL. THE. TIME. I basically got these for free, by combining a sale price and a coupon. Don't pay retail if you don't have to!

I've never talked about anything like these wipes before, but I have talked about getting clean before!

A Tale of Two ...Dilemmas?

This post comes with a whole bunch of stuff. Some venting, some reviewing, and an awkward confession. Ready?

Meet the box by my bed:

This enormous box looks like a pile of junk, cause that's kind of what it is. My husband is a very...let's say dramatic, housekeeper, and this is the amount of stuff that he's collected that he didn't want to be bothered to find a place for, that he could reasonably prove belonged to me.

In the spirit of no longer sharing my bedroom with the box, I've decided to go through it, and tell you guys about the good treats, and get rid of the bad ones.

So something good will come out of something bad that my husband did, but please don't tell him, cause he might be encouraged to do it again! ;)

So, I reached my hand in to the great, mythical box this morning, and pulled out...

Nivea Lip Butter!

I remember buying this one actually - it was hard to find. Everybody was so gaga for them, they were impossible to find. Now they're everywhere, and cheap too!

This one has always felt strangely luxurious to me - the tin is like a real metal, I actually have to pull it open with my fingernails. Bonus, of course being, that if you were just going to toss this in your makeup bag, there's a reasonable expectation that it'd stay closed. So packaging, A+!

The scent sounds strange. "Vanilla & Macadamia" isn't a combination you'd put together real readily, right? Fear not, my friends. The scents aren't the perfumey versions - rather than a fake, chemical vanilla, you get a actual, mild sweetness. My first reaction was that it tasted like caramel, not vanilla. Or like a white chocolate mocha maybe. Except no coffee taste. So the scent is good - real, not perfumey and fake. And I have a thing about being able to taste my makeup. Long story short...I don't want to. Unless you're a Dr. Pepper Lipsmacker, I don't care what you taste like. I can't with this one. Real, but not overpowering. A+ for scent!

Usability...probably no giant mysteries there, right? Swirl your finger, and apply? This is also a wide and clear enough surface that if you wanted to use a lip brush of some kind, you totally could as well. This is solid - I've used some lip butters that had a bit too much give for my taste, this one doesn't. This sets up really well. A+ for usability!

Now, for wearability...I swiped this on, and swore to myself I'd take a better picture, and never did. So I cropped this one down to just the lips. Cause that's my prerogative, right?! :D

A slight shine, no other color to speak of. The only thing that I can really speak less than glowingly on, is the longevity. With typical...mouth usage (?), you'll wear this off quick. By the time you have a drink, or kiss your grandmother hello, or kiss your honey, this lip butter is gone. The macadamia is nicely moisturizing, so you're still left with smooth, kissable lips, but if you're after that shiny, freshly applied look...you'll be left having to freshly apply. So, A- for wearability.

So...no mystery here, I'm very pleased with this lip butter, and I feel like it should be in your makeup bag too! When you see this guy (and I feel like I see him on sale at CVS all the time, hinty, hint, hint), make sure to snap one up!

Always on the lookout for some hot lip products! Me too! Check out some other favorites!

Mani Monday: The Hunted Edition!

I looked for this color for a long time.

This week, I'm showing off OPI's "I Eat Mainly Lobster" nail color.

I went to the beauty supply to pick this beauty up, and to my disappointment, they didn't seem to have it. So I went home, and got on the OPI website to see if they still made it at all, and not only DO they, but I was looking for it as a red (as the word "lobster" in the title might suggest that I oughta), but OPI classifies it as an orange.

OOOH! So I tapped my decidedly NOT lobster colored fingernails, waiting for a chance to get back to the beauty supply, and the second I did, I ran my self in there and grabbed this beauty:

Is that not practically summer in a bottle?! A great warm coral, with a fine gold glimmer running through it. A few summers ago when I got married, this was one of my wedding colors, actually. And here, I had my toes painted red! If I'd only known about my lobster friend here! 

Is Mani Monday your jam? I've shown off different mani's before! Check out another!

Mani Monday: Minty Edition!

Rimmel 60 Second nail color in "Mintilicious". These bottles are smaller than most, but they also bear a smaller price tag than most ($1.50, and Rimmel frequently puts out coupons, so you can get it cheaper than that even).

Dries fast and well - I've tried other polishes that were several hours in, and still smudging. I've not timed it, so I don't know if the 60 second promise is true, but you're dry and ready to go, really fast.

The finishes tend to come out really true to the bottle, as you can see here. This is two coats, using a white base coat. No surprises, Rimmel delivers exactly what they promise.

Until next time, beautiful!