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300X 3D Fiber Mascara by Lash Factory Giveaway
Hosted By: Dorky’s Deals
Sponsor: Lash Factory
Moisturize me!
When I turned 35 my skin suddenly decided to betray me. I started seeing these little lines around my eyes and mouth that were not there before, and the texture of my skin started changing. I suddenly had these dull, dry places that were no that all amusing. I've always had issues with my pores, and luckily that didn't get any worse, but it also didn't get and better. I don't care much for chemical laden store bought skin care items, so I've always done a natural routine of oils and apple cider vinegar. I came to realize with my new skin issues that I needed to step up my game and try something with a little more "oomph".
March 2016 ipsy GlamBag Review
I've been curious about subscription box services for a while now. It's an interesting concept. You pay a small monthly fee, anywhere from $10 to $30 and you get a package once a month that contains items that are valued above what you pay for the subscription. You aren't locked into a commitment, and you can cancel at any time. Some subscriptions are seasonal, and you get a box once every three months. There are TONS of these boxes out there. They cover every lifestyle, and interest. There are boxes for kids, boxes for men, snack boxes... The list goes on and on. My favorite, and where my curiosity is the most peaked, is Beauty Boxes.
I spent quite a few months researching, and reading reviews and talking to people who already subscribe to beauty boxes. I settled on ipsy Glambag for my first subscription. The price is good, at $10 a month, and they give you more room to personalize your subscription with a questionnaire about what types of products you like and would be interested in receiving. I did the one year up front for $110, which is basically like getting one month free. ipsy comes in a makeup bag every month, instead of in a box. Who doesn't like a cute little makeup bag?
I will be reviewing my ipsy bag monthly for the next year, March is the first month I received my bag, so this is where we are starting. First off, let's take a minute to admire the packaging it came in:
Is that not adorable? Bright pink bubble mailer! Come on now, how do you not smile when you find that in your mailbox? I was excited from the first glance. After I got settled in and got my photo taking device at the ready, I opened that pretty mailer up to find:
A seriously cute makeup bag! I love the colors. Kind of a robin's egg blue with reddish orange roses. My pictures are kind of crappy, I had to take them from my tablet. My computer decided to take a dirt nap so can't use my camera right now. I took a macro shot with flash to give a better idea of the color:
After admiring the bag I moved on to the contents. *Remember, these bags are customized to each user. If you were to join, your bag would be different than mine. They have about 40 different items each month that they use to fill the bags, five items per bag. The items change every month.*
The first item, is Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer, in Hydrating. I really like how this made my foundation look. It made it look smoother. I have a couple dry areas on my face that tend to look flakey when I have foundation on. This primer did help my foundation lay a little better in those areas, better than some other primers I've tried, but I still looked flakey and cakey. This is an issue with my skin though, not the product. The rest of my face looked smoother and more even. I like it a lot.
The second item, is Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect, Perfect Blow Dry Smoothing Cream. Say that five times fast. I was a bit surprised to find this in my bag, because I specifically noted on the questionnaire that I don't want hair products. I'm very picky about what I put on my hair. I rarely use any kind of product, and I don't heat style. If it weren't for the fact that smoothing cream is the only product I ever use on my hair, even though that is rarely, I would be kind of irritated that this was included in my bag. Since I don't heat style I used it on my hair while it was damp and allowed my hair to air dry. My hair doesn't look greasy, which is a concern with smoothing creams as they almost always contain some kind of oil. This has argan oil and shea butter, but it is super light, and while I do notice an extra sheen to my hair it does not look greasy. Even though I air dried instead of blow drying, it still smoothed out my waves quite a bit more than I expected. My little frizzy flyaways are quite well smoothed down as well. I think I'm going to dust off my blow dryer and give it a try as a blow out cream, just to see how long I can get a smooth style out of it.
The third item, is Vera Mona Lotus Eyeshadow, in the color Clover. I had never heard of Vera Mona before, and I'm quite impressed with this eyeshadow. It has a satin finish, that is very lovely. The shadow itself has a beautiful silky feel and is highly pigmented, it also blends very nicely. The color... I'm in love. It's a gorgeous peachy color. I can definitely see this becoming a regular color in my current rotation. I'm quite fond of orange colors right now, I think the play quite nicely with my grey eyes. Vera Mona has definitely made my list of brands to look into a little more.
The fourth item, is a Beau Gâchis Paris Eyeshadow Brush. This is a nice brush. It's fluffy and soft but picks up product quite nicely. It also lays down product with very little fallout, which is always nice. This is another brand that I had never heard of before. A quick scan of their website shows that their prices are on low side of average for high end brushes. Considering the quality of the brush I received, they are worth a second look when I'm in the market for brushes. Since this is the only "full sized" item I received in my bag, it is the only item I can properly put a value on. This brush has a $12 price tag, which is more than I paid for the whole bag, so it makes the bag a good investment.
The fifth, and last, item is a Nudestix Lip + Cheek Pencil in the color Mystic. I love nude lipstick, and I love that this one pulls a double duty as a lipstick and a cheek color. It's super creamy and feels soft on the lips. The color payoff and coverage are excellent. For me this is going to have to serve as a cheek color, because it is the same color as my natural lips. You couldn't even tell I had anything on. I do like it a lot and I'm already shopping for another color.
In all I'm a bit underwhelmed by my first ipsy bag. I'm not letting it deter me though. I logged into the site and did reviews on the items, because that helps them get a feel for what you do and don't like and what kind of items you are interested in receiving in the future. I'm already excitedly looking forward to my next bag. I really love the experience of getting to try brands and items I've never tried. I live in a small town and don't have access to makeup stores to try things out. I think I might try out one of the more expensive seasonal subscriptions after trying this also, so look for that review in the future!
I spent quite a few months researching, and reading reviews and talking to people who already subscribe to beauty boxes. I settled on ipsy Glambag for my first subscription. The price is good, at $10 a month, and they give you more room to personalize your subscription with a questionnaire about what types of products you like and would be interested in receiving. I did the one year up front for $110, which is basically like getting one month free. ipsy comes in a makeup bag every month, instead of in a box. Who doesn't like a cute little makeup bag?
I will be reviewing my ipsy bag monthly for the next year, March is the first month I received my bag, so this is where we are starting. First off, let's take a minute to admire the packaging it came in:
Is that not adorable? Bright pink bubble mailer! Come on now, how do you not smile when you find that in your mailbox? I was excited from the first glance. After I got settled in and got my photo taking device at the ready, I opened that pretty mailer up to find:
A seriously cute makeup bag! I love the colors. Kind of a robin's egg blue with reddish orange roses. My pictures are kind of crappy, I had to take them from my tablet. My computer decided to take a dirt nap so can't use my camera right now. I took a macro shot with flash to give a better idea of the color:
After admiring the bag I moved on to the contents. *Remember, these bags are customized to each user. If you were to join, your bag would be different than mine. They have about 40 different items each month that they use to fill the bags, five items per bag. The items change every month.*
The first item, is Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer, in Hydrating. I really like how this made my foundation look. It made it look smoother. I have a couple dry areas on my face that tend to look flakey when I have foundation on. This primer did help my foundation lay a little better in those areas, better than some other primers I've tried, but I still looked flakey and cakey. This is an issue with my skin though, not the product. The rest of my face looked smoother and more even. I like it a lot.
The second item, is Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect, Perfect Blow Dry Smoothing Cream. Say that five times fast. I was a bit surprised to find this in my bag, because I specifically noted on the questionnaire that I don't want hair products. I'm very picky about what I put on my hair. I rarely use any kind of product, and I don't heat style. If it weren't for the fact that smoothing cream is the only product I ever use on my hair, even though that is rarely, I would be kind of irritated that this was included in my bag. Since I don't heat style I used it on my hair while it was damp and allowed my hair to air dry. My hair doesn't look greasy, which is a concern with smoothing creams as they almost always contain some kind of oil. This has argan oil and shea butter, but it is super light, and while I do notice an extra sheen to my hair it does not look greasy. Even though I air dried instead of blow drying, it still smoothed out my waves quite a bit more than I expected. My little frizzy flyaways are quite well smoothed down as well. I think I'm going to dust off my blow dryer and give it a try as a blow out cream, just to see how long I can get a smooth style out of it.
The third item, is Vera Mona Lotus Eyeshadow, in the color Clover. I had never heard of Vera Mona before, and I'm quite impressed with this eyeshadow. It has a satin finish, that is very lovely. The shadow itself has a beautiful silky feel and is highly pigmented, it also blends very nicely. The color... I'm in love. It's a gorgeous peachy color. I can definitely see this becoming a regular color in my current rotation. I'm quite fond of orange colors right now, I think the play quite nicely with my grey eyes. Vera Mona has definitely made my list of brands to look into a little more.
The fourth item, is a Beau Gâchis Paris Eyeshadow Brush. This is a nice brush. It's fluffy and soft but picks up product quite nicely. It also lays down product with very little fallout, which is always nice. This is another brand that I had never heard of before. A quick scan of their website shows that their prices are on low side of average for high end brushes. Considering the quality of the brush I received, they are worth a second look when I'm in the market for brushes. Since this is the only "full sized" item I received in my bag, it is the only item I can properly put a value on. This brush has a $12 price tag, which is more than I paid for the whole bag, so it makes the bag a good investment.
The fifth, and last, item is a Nudestix Lip + Cheek Pencil in the color Mystic. I love nude lipstick, and I love that this one pulls a double duty as a lipstick and a cheek color. It's super creamy and feels soft on the lips. The color payoff and coverage are excellent. For me this is going to have to serve as a cheek color, because it is the same color as my natural lips. You couldn't even tell I had anything on. I do like it a lot and I'm already shopping for another color.
In all I'm a bit underwhelmed by my first ipsy bag. I'm not letting it deter me though. I logged into the site and did reviews on the items, because that helps them get a feel for what you do and don't like and what kind of items you are interested in receiving in the future. I'm already excitedly looking forward to my next bag. I really love the experience of getting to try brands and items I've never tried. I live in a small town and don't have access to makeup stores to try things out. I think I might try out one of the more expensive seasonal subscriptions after trying this also, so look for that review in the future!
Coastal Scents Eye Shadow Palette Review
I'm forever on the hunt to find makeup brands that are good quality, and gorgeous, yet also affordable. It's a daunting task when every tutorial and YouTube video features high end prestige brands. It seems like nobody out there wants to recommend affordable options. So I search and comb through websites, and look for reviews and ask other makeup addicts questions.
Recently my searching for purple eyeshadow led me to a company called Coastal Scents. I was pretty excited when I saw their prices, though admittedly I was also sceptical. I know from experience that eyeshadow palettes with a large number of colors are generally not the greatest. They tend to be chalky and low pigment. So I start looking around for reviews, and much to my dismay, the few reviews that exist for Coastal Scents palettes are quite dated. Four or five years can make quite a difference in the quality of a makeup product. Companies learn and grow, or they start taking shortcuts to save money.
The prices were reasonable enough that I decided it was worth it to take the plunge. If the quality wasn't the greatest, I could still use the palette to practice new looks, so it wouldn't be a complete waste. I decided the 120 Eyeshadow Palette Two, because it had several different purple shades. They do have individual shadow pots that I could have just ordered a couple purples, but I liked the larger selection available in the palettes, and the other colors are a bonus.
When I got the palette, I was a bit taken aback by the number of green shadows. I guess I didn't really pay much attention to the other colors in the palette beyond looking at them to see what colors were present. I remember that I looked to see what the brown situation was, since I wear mostly browns and neutrals, and I made a cursory scan for blue and green and pink. There are also quite a few blue shades, but the greens seemed to be present in an absurd number. I probably feel that way because it isn't a color I personally would wear very often. I went through a lime green phase in high school and I think the memories of that turned me off of green eyeshadow permanently. Seriously, I wore lime green eyeshadow for two years... I was a mess. Luckily, Coastal Scents has several different palettes and also single color pots to choose from, so you don't have to deal with the forest of green.
Some people might think the pot sizes are rather small, but with a high volume count, they are the right size. These will last quite a long time, unless I decide to wear one color frequently, which isn't likely.
The colors are a nice mix of mattes, satins, and shimmers. They feel silky, are highly pigmented, and blend quite nicely. I use a primer and a setting spray, and got 12 hours of wear with minimal fading and creasing. I was honestly surprised.
Recently my searching for purple eyeshadow led me to a company called Coastal Scents. I was pretty excited when I saw their prices, though admittedly I was also sceptical. I know from experience that eyeshadow palettes with a large number of colors are generally not the greatest. They tend to be chalky and low pigment. So I start looking around for reviews, and much to my dismay, the few reviews that exist for Coastal Scents palettes are quite dated. Four or five years can make quite a difference in the quality of a makeup product. Companies learn and grow, or they start taking shortcuts to save money.
The prices were reasonable enough that I decided it was worth it to take the plunge. If the quality wasn't the greatest, I could still use the palette to practice new looks, so it wouldn't be a complete waste. I decided the 120 Eyeshadow Palette Two, because it had several different purple shades. They do have individual shadow pots that I could have just ordered a couple purples, but I liked the larger selection available in the palettes, and the other colors are a bonus.
When I got the palette, I was a bit taken aback by the number of green shadows. I guess I didn't really pay much attention to the other colors in the palette beyond looking at them to see what colors were present. I remember that I looked to see what the brown situation was, since I wear mostly browns and neutrals, and I made a cursory scan for blue and green and pink. There are also quite a few blue shades, but the greens seemed to be present in an absurd number. I probably feel that way because it isn't a color I personally would wear very often. I went through a lime green phase in high school and I think the memories of that turned me off of green eyeshadow permanently. Seriously, I wore lime green eyeshadow for two years... I was a mess. Luckily, Coastal Scents has several different palettes and also single color pots to choose from, so you don't have to deal with the forest of green.
Some people might think the pot sizes are rather small, but with a high volume count, they are the right size. These will last quite a long time, unless I decide to wear one color frequently, which isn't likely.
The colors are a nice mix of mattes, satins, and shimmers. They feel silky, are highly pigmented, and blend quite nicely. I use a primer and a setting spray, and got 12 hours of wear with minimal fading and creasing. I was honestly surprised.
There are some colors that I will never use, but for $17.95, the colors I will use are well worth the money. The extra colors are great for practice and for just playing around. I enlisted my son to present his arms for some swatches, since photographing my own arms wasn't exactly an easy task...
In all, I am very happy with this purchase, and will be revisiting Coastal Scents in the future. They have a brush set that I have my eye on. You can never have too many brushes.
How You Can Have a Spa in Your Own Home with Spa Life
Back to school can have it's perks. Having a spa day all day is one of them. Reviewz & Newz is helping to promote this wonderful giveaway.
The time has come again. Not only is school back in session, or almost back in session, but it is time to kick off the School Rules Blog Pop giveaway event! If you have been following for awhile, I am sure you already know how awesome the Blog Pop events are. If you are new here, you are in for a real treat. We have so many awesome giveaways in store.
To mark my kids going back to school this week, I wanted to start off with some really great products that would be great for relaxation. Back to school time can be so stressful. There is so much to do and it sometimes takes awhile to get back into rhythm. The kids and I had been staying up very late every night over the summer, but we had been sleeping in to.
Now that they have school in the mornings, they are going to bed early so they can get up early. The problem is, I still have a lot to do and I am not finding a way to get in bed before 1am, but I still have to be up early too. Between the stress and the tiredness, I just wanted a nice escape. My Spa Life was exactly what I needed.
Spa Life is not just a beauty solution is is a spa experience, and that is what makes all the difference to me. I don't want to feel like I am doing a chore, I want to enjoy the feeling of caring for myself. I want it to be pampering and indulgent, and My Spa Life is all of that and more.
Spa Life has so many incredible products. So far I have been able to try out several fabulous facial wraps/masks as well as the fantastic Hand Gloves and Foot Sockies. The products are all so amazing. Each item is individually packaged and is single use.
I love that there is no guessing how much product to use. There is no messy rinsing. Seriously, washing(rinsing off) your face in the sink is one of the messiest things you can do. It is unpleasant and, to me, can totally undo any relaxation that may have come from an ordinary mask/masque(like a mud mask or something).
These wraps/masks, gloves and sockies are all so easy to use. You literally just make sure you clean the area, apply the wrap and sit back and relax for at least 20 minutes. I love relaxing as part of the directions. That is my kind of skin care.
I have used the masks a few times at night after the kids are in bed, and I love how great they feel while they are on. Of course they made my skin look and feel incredible after using them, which is wonderful. My skin has been a struggle for me since I was young. I am so impressed by these Spa Life facial wraps. You can even choose a warm or a cool wrap by either refrigerating before use or placing (sealed package) in hot water for a few minutes before use).
The real treat was on Monday though. Monday was the kids' first day back to school, so I could finally get the full relaxation experiences. I put soothing Lavender and Peppermint essential oils in my diffuser, applied the Beauty Trip Facial Mask, Hand Gloves and Foot Sockies and laid back with some music. I probably indulged in it for 30 minutes, and it was heavenly.
As I already mentioned, the mask made my face feel amazing and look luminous and vibrant. Considering I had only 5 hours of sleep, that is pretty great. The best part was the Foot Sockies though. I unfortunately have super dry skin on my heels and such. I have tried so many things to treat it, but no one wants to have lotion on their feet making them slippery or getting on the floor(or couch/bed if you put your feet up.
The Foot Sockies keep all the moisture inside the wrap. Not only does that keep your feet and everything they touch clean, but it keeps them moisturized so much better. The Sockies made my feet feel amazing, my skin was so soft. I felt like I was going to slip out of my shoes they were so soft.
The Hand Gloves were every bit as good as the Sockies. I did not even think my hands were that dry, but after seeing how much softer and smoother-looking they got, I realized why I needed them. I am convinced I now need to do this Spa Life relaxation treatment every week.
If you are dying to try these amazing Spa Life products yourself, you are in luck. My Spa Life has generously offered to give away the Spa Life Pink Collection set($72) to one lucky winner. The set contains: 2 Invigorating Hand Gloves, 2 Miraculous Moisturizing Foot Sockies, 2 Cucumber and Aloe Face Wraps 2 Avocado and Vitamin E Face Wraps 1 (6 count) Hydrosoothing Cooling Eye Pads in Strawberry, and 1 (6 count) Hydrosoothing Cooling Eye Pads in Orange.
The time has come again. Not only is school back in session, or almost back in session, but it is time to kick off the School Rules Blog Pop giveaway event! If you have been following for awhile, I am sure you already know how awesome the Blog Pop events are. If you are new here, you are in for a real treat. We have so many awesome giveaways in store.
To mark my kids going back to school this week, I wanted to start off with some really great products that would be great for relaxation. Back to school time can be so stressful. There is so much to do and it sometimes takes awhile to get back into rhythm. The kids and I had been staying up very late every night over the summer, but we had been sleeping in to.
Now that they have school in the mornings, they are going to bed early so they can get up early. The problem is, I still have a lot to do and I am not finding a way to get in bed before 1am, but I still have to be up early too. Between the stress and the tiredness, I just wanted a nice escape. My Spa Life was exactly what I needed.
Spa Life is not just a beauty solution is is a spa experience, and that is what makes all the difference to me. I don't want to feel like I am doing a chore, I want to enjoy the feeling of caring for myself. I want it to be pampering and indulgent, and My Spa Life is all of that and more.
Spa Life has so many incredible products. So far I have been able to try out several fabulous facial wraps/masks as well as the fantastic Hand Gloves and Foot Sockies. The products are all so amazing. Each item is individually packaged and is single use.
I love that there is no guessing how much product to use. There is no messy rinsing. Seriously, washing(rinsing off) your face in the sink is one of the messiest things you can do. It is unpleasant and, to me, can totally undo any relaxation that may have come from an ordinary mask/masque(like a mud mask or something).
These wraps/masks, gloves and sockies are all so easy to use. You literally just make sure you clean the area, apply the wrap and sit back and relax for at least 20 minutes. I love relaxing as part of the directions. That is my kind of skin care.
I have used the masks a few times at night after the kids are in bed, and I love how great they feel while they are on. Of course they made my skin look and feel incredible after using them, which is wonderful. My skin has been a struggle for me since I was young. I am so impressed by these Spa Life facial wraps. You can even choose a warm or a cool wrap by either refrigerating before use or placing (sealed package) in hot water for a few minutes before use).
The real treat was on Monday though. Monday was the kids' first day back to school, so I could finally get the full relaxation experiences. I put soothing Lavender and Peppermint essential oils in my diffuser, applied the Beauty Trip Facial Mask, Hand Gloves and Foot Sockies and laid back with some music. I probably indulged in it for 30 minutes, and it was heavenly.
As I already mentioned, the mask made my face feel amazing and look luminous and vibrant. Considering I had only 5 hours of sleep, that is pretty great. The best part was the Foot Sockies though. I unfortunately have super dry skin on my heels and such. I have tried so many things to treat it, but no one wants to have lotion on their feet making them slippery or getting on the floor(or couch/bed if you put your feet up.
The Foot Sockies keep all the moisture inside the wrap. Not only does that keep your feet and everything they touch clean, but it keeps them moisturized so much better. The Sockies made my feet feel amazing, my skin was so soft. I felt like I was going to slip out of my shoes they were so soft.
The Hand Gloves were every bit as good as the Sockies. I did not even think my hands were that dry, but after seeing how much softer and smoother-looking they got, I realized why I needed them. I am convinced I now need to do this Spa Life relaxation treatment every week.
If you are dying to try these amazing Spa Life products yourself, you are in luck. My Spa Life has generously offered to give away the Spa Life Pink Collection set($72) to one lucky winner. The set contains: 2 Invigorating Hand Gloves, 2 Miraculous Moisturizing Foot Sockies, 2 Cucumber and Aloe Face Wraps 2 Avocado and Vitamin E Face Wraps 1 (6 count) Hydrosoothing Cooling Eye Pads in Strawberry, and 1 (6 count) Hydrosoothing Cooling Eye Pads in Orange.
Beauty Products That Are Budget Friendly
Let's face it, sometimes beauty products are expensive. That is why I shop at Walmart and get the most bang for my buck!
Walmart helps you save money on the products you love. I have always followed the advice of my grandmother, and I never leave home without my mascara. CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara helps me achieve fuller lashes. It is designed to max out every lash, leaving me with the ultimate big-lash look. It has a patented volume-boosting hypoallergenic formula.
I have used Olay Products since my grandmother first introduced them to me. I am trying to pass down the tradition to the young women in my family. Olay Ultra Moisture Beauty Bars are a must in my beauty routine. Made with shea butter and having a creamy moisturizing lather, they leave you skin feeling clean, soft and smooth.
My grandmother always, I mean always, has used Olay Moisturizer. I absolutely love the Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Cream. This moisturizer penetrates deep in your skin's surface layers to fight the look of fine lines and wrinkles. It gives my skin a brighter, younger looking skin.
Thanks, Grandma for the beauty advice. Your skin was always so beautiful. You, too can have these beauty products by shopping at Walmart and taking advantage of their everyday low prices. And, if you want to save even more money, there are always coupons for these products.
Now, to help you get your CoverGirl and Olay products, I am giving away a $25 Walmart Gift Card.
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