Makeup Review: E.l.f. Brushes

Hello again and Happy Hump Day! :)

Today, I'm going to mix things up a little bit and talk about makeup TOOLS instead of an actual makeup product! For anyone who can't afford brushes from places like Sigma or MAC then keep on reading because this post is going to give you information on a whole set of brushes you could get for under $20 total! Anyone who's ever shopped at Walmart or Target (or ya know...read the title of this blog lol) knows I'm talking about the E.l.f. brushes! I'm going to go over the brushes that I've used before, and that includes some from the black handle line and some from the white handle line...aka the Studio and the Essentials lines.

Contour "C" Eye Shadow Brush

I have to start off with the eye brushes because I use them the most. The first time I purchased E.l.f. brushes, I only had the Studio options available to me so I got the Contour "C" brush and the Contour brush.

Contour Eye Shadow Brush

 Keep in mind, I had no idea what brushes I needed for what purpose because this was the start of my "learning how to makeup" journey. LoL I would use the Contour "C" brush to pack color onto my lid, and that worked pretty well. The bristles were soft, and it got the color on my lid the way it should, but I think the brush was too dense for what I was trying to use it for.

I basically had the same experience with the Contour brush. I was using for my crease color, which worked out well, but the brush was very dense. However, I believe I needed the denseness, in this case, because I didn't want the color getting everywhere. At the same time, I didn't know I needed a different brush to blend, so I ended up trying to use this one to blend, which didn't work out as well. Haha! The bristles are soft on this brush, too, but because I was using it the wrong way, the denseness didn't feel too good on my eyes when trying to blend. It works perfectly when applying color to your eye crease, though, which I believe is what it's supposed to be used for. :)

After using these brushes for a while, my Walmart finally got the Essentials brushes in so I was able to try them out.

Blending and Shadow brushes

From that set, I replaced my studio brushes with the E.l.f Eye Shadow Brush and the Blending Eye brush. I still was going to use my Contour brush for my crease because my Walmart had a limited assortment. The bristles of the Essentials brushes I actually thought were much softer than the Studio eye brushes, but when it came to what they needed to do, they did just as well as the Studios. I will always choose a softer brush over a rough one, though, so the shadow brush is here to stay, and the blending brush worked beautifully! I no longer have to swirl around dense bristles that don't blend! The blending brush is probably my favorite just because of its soft and gentleness, but it really blends your colors out very evenly and smoothly.

Bronzing Brush

As for the face brushes, I think the only Essentials brush I use is the Bronzing Brush because I never had a problem with the original Studio brush I was using, which was the Complexion brush. I didn't used to use bronzer for a while, but when I felt that I should, that's when I decided to get a brush for it, and it works wonderfully! It gets the color on evenly, makes it look smooth and blended, and the brush itself feels so soft on the skin. I also used this brush to apply my blush, contour, and highlight. I have a powder contour, so this brush makes it easy to build the contour color up rather than applying too much at once and looking muddy the rest of the day. It's very light and flimsy so it's hard to apply too much product at once with it.

Complexion Brush

The Complexion brush really worked wonders for applying my foundations and powders! Again, this has super soft bristles, and it felt amazing putting product on because of how smooth and soft this brush felt. It applying the product evenly, and it blended to your skin to make everything look natural.

Blending Brush

My most recent brush is absolutely one of my favorites of all of these! That brush is the new Beautifully Bare Blending Brush! It's short and thick, soft, has a great fan shape, and has completely taken over my bronzing brush (on occasion)! I love this thing! It applies my bronzer so nicely, it applies and blends out my contour perfectly, and I will even use it very lightly for my highlight. I continue to use my bronzing brush for blush, but if anything needs to be blended out, this is the brush I use! It's so soft (I feel like I've said this too much...all E.l.f. brushes are soft lol), and it's just a dream to have!

One thing I didn't mention in any of these reviews is that none of these brushes have shed since I started using them. That's pretty amazing to me considering the textures of the brushes and how much I've used them for everything almost every day! These also all sell from $1-$6, which is super affordable for great quality! I would recommend anyone to try out the E.l.f. brushes because they're all wonderful. I don't feel comfortable doing a ranking on them because of how I know I've used some of them the wrong way so all I will say is that these are must haves for any look you're going for! :)

That wraps up this post! I hope you all enjoyed! Feel free to leave me a comment, +1 the post, and/or follow my blog for more reviews and stuff about me! You can also find me on Instagram and Snapchat!

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Thanks everyone, and have a great day! *kisses*

Beauty Review: Arbonne RE9 Advanced Skin Care

Hello everyone! I hope your days are all going well so far! I know mine has been a little slow at work, and the weather is still gloomy, but I'm keeping things going! :)

Arbonne RE9 Advanced Skin Care Set

Today's post is going to be on the Arbonne RE9 Advanced set. I had honestly never heard about Arbonne before about a year ago when an old coworker of mine started selling it. I went to her launch party (since I've been in direct sales before, too, and I know how much support means to the sellers), and I wasn't expecting such awesome products to come out of it! Now, these awesome products are definitely pricey, but they're definitely worth looking into. Arbonne is based in Sweden, which has more strict laws about what chemicals are put into skin care and makeup products making them healthier for everyone to use.



I picked up this RE9 set from my friend (at a discount since it was her launch party), and I was absolutely amazed! It's a five step skin care system that has made my skin look and feel wonderful after about a week of consistent use. All of the products feel amazing on my skin, too! The set includes:
- Smoothing Facial Cleanser
- Regenerating Toner
- Intensive Renewal Serum
- Corrective Eye Creme
- Night Repair Creme
- Restorative Day Creme w/SPF 20

You can get any product in the set separately, it's just a better savings if you want all of them to get the set instead.

Smoothing Facial Cleanser

Starting with Step 1 being the Smoothing Facial Cleanser:
I love that this is a cleanser that lathers a little bit. It makes you feel like your skin is really being cleansed well, and the scent is really fresh. The cleanser itself is a little thicker (like the cleansers from Philosopy), but I think that's what I like more about it in comparison to those I've used in the past. The lighter cleansers never seems to lather up so it didn't leave me with that confirmation of being clean, even though I know it was cleansing my face the way it should be. This cleanser is definitely one of the favorites of mine that I've ever used.

Regenerating Toner

Step 2 is probably my favorite step and that's using the Regenerating Toner. I've never owned a toner before so this was brand new to me, and it was probably the best product I've ever tried. It works to balance the pH levels of your skin and keep it feeling fresh. It's a light mist that you just spray over your face, and it just makes your skin feel brand new, especially since you just washed it. Anything that's a mist spray that goes on your face I usually fall in love with, which is probably why I'm obsessed with some primer and setting sprays. Haha Speaking of which, this would probably would very well as a primer. So will all the moisturizers that are coming up. ;)

Intensive Renewal Serum

Onto Step 3 which is the Intensive Renewal Serum. This product has collagen-supporting ingredients to help lift and firm your face while locking in the correct amount of moisture, which is why this follows the Regenerating Toner. It's has kind of a gel texture to it, and if you use to much, it could make your skin feel a little sticky. With this item, a little bit definitely goes a long way! It doesn't give my face that greasy or oily feeling either, which I like, and I could definitely tell a difference in its firmness after using it on a consistent basis so I know it's working!

Corrective Eye Creme

With Step 4 comes the Corrective Eye Cream, which everyone knows is always important to use if you have puffiness or dark circle haunting you every day. Again, a little bit goes a long way, and this little bottle will last you a long time! It definitely firms up the under eye area, and it reduced my dark circles as long as I actually got the rest I was supposed to get. Haha That's one thing I usually never get enough of, and that's a lot of the reason why I have dark circles under my eyes, but this definitely helps with their appearance.

Night Repair Creme & Restorative Day
Creme w/SPF 20

Step 5 will differ depending on whether your doing this routine during the night or the day. In the morning, you want to follow the last four steps, then, for step five, put on the Restorative Day Creme. This product has Broad Spectrum SPF 20 so you will be protected from UV rays in the sun. This product works so nicely! It has the same fresh scent as the other products plus the hint of a sunscreen scent...which I actually enjoy!

For night time, do all the same things but put the Night Repair Creme on. This will keep your skin moisturized and balanced throughout the night as well as keep your skin firm. It's very refreshing to the skin, and I absolutely love it!


Well, that takes care of the product overview and my thoughts on the individual pieces of the set! Now for my rating...I would say a good 9/10. I love this set, and I would recommend it anytime of day. My only problem is the price. It is very steep and not easy to afford, but for anyone who can afford, I would tell you to get it in a heartbeat! I do know there's a less expensive Travel Size set, but you can't get it through the Arbonne website, and it's still over $200, I believe.

Honestly, I would recommend purchasing the sample sets from someone. You can find them on Amazon, eBay, and probably any other website where people can sell their own things. The samples will last you a while (I think mine lasted a month) so that will at least give you enough time to decide if you'd like to make the investment on the set or if you'd like a single product or even that it just may not be your thing. It's totally up to you!

I hope you've enjoyed this blog, and I hope it was very informative! If you liked it, please give it a +1, comment, and/or follow my blog for more beauty updates! You can also find me on Instagram and Snapchat!

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Thanks again for coming by! I hope you all have a wonderful day! *kisses*

Makeup Review: L'OREAL Infallible 24-Hour Pro Matte Foundation

L'OREAL Infallible 24-hour Pro Matte Foundation

Happy Makeup Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! To kick off this week, I'm going to review one of the biggest hits out there right now...the L'OREAL Infallible 24-hour Pro Matte Foundation! I've linked this to Walmart's site because you can find it at Walmart stores, and it's cheaper there than getting it at Ulta ($10.50 vs $12.99). Some stores may have it even cheaper that that so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Everyone has been raving about this new foundation, and, to be honest, the first thing that popped into my head was "Oh man...another foundation to try out after I already have like...5 foundations." LoL Of course, the beauty of reviewing products is getting to try out a whole bunch of new things, which also means owning a bunch of different products. So of course, I went out and got this item to try it out and see what all the hype was about.

I love the packaging this comes in! It's not a pump, but it's a little squeeze bottle, which is pretty much the same thing to me. It makes it easy to apply small amounts of product without having to get your hands or fingers dirty (if you don't want to use them). The foundation comes out as a nice and smooth creamy formula, and it's not heavy or cakey or even very thick.

Finished look with the foundation

Now...to make things clear...even though it's called the Pro Matte Foundation, it states on the bottle that it is Demi-Matte so it's not completely a full on matte finish like a powder or even the Maybelline FitMe Foundation would be. That being said, I'm actually happy about that because I prefer my powder to make me look matte. I feel like if the foundation and the powder did, then the powder would make my foundation look cakey, which nobody likes.

Once I applied the product, I saw that it blended out beautifully! I had gotten the perfect shade for me, which almost never happens, and I fell in love with how great and even it looked after blending out on my skin. Because it's demi-matte, it left my skin with this lovely dewy finish. It didn't look oily by any means, it did a great job hiding my pores, it made my skin look healthy and moisturized, and it looked well enough to where I didn't want to set it with powder...even though I knew I had to if I wanted my makeup to last. I pretty much fell in love with this product after I saw how great it made my skin look!

I've officially succumbed to this foundation! It's definitely one of the foundations I will use most often, but it'll have to be when I'm not self tanned. It's perfect for my fair skin tone, and I'm absolutely hooked on it!

My rating for this foundation is a 9/10, and that's because the only thing I wish of it is that it had SPF in it. It would really make this a perfect foundation! I still recommend this to anyone, though. They have an assortment of shades, and I like how the lighter/fair shades have the pink undertones to them to match my skin. That's an issue I had with the lighter Milani shades in their 2-in-1 foundation since those have yellow undertones.

Anyways, that's it for today! I hope you guys enjoyed, and feel free to leave me some love in the comments or "+1" this post if you found it helpful!

You can follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (partepickle), too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! *kisses*

Casual Friday: Storm Free Weekend? Please???

Hey everyone, and TGIF!!! I hope you guys are off to a great Friday so far! I, unfortunately enough, was abruptly woken up early this morning by thunder, but I'm not going to let that get me down!

I actually cannot stand thunderstorms. Ever since I was about 4 or 5 years old and got stuck at an amusement park in a really bad thunderstorm, I've been scared of them. Almost every night this week we've had bad thunderstorms, and apparently that's not about to stop. It's sunny out right now so I'm hoping it continues to stay that way throughout day and the weekend!

Swatches of the Neutral set, and they do dry out to be matte

Other than the crazy storms, I've been busy reviewing a bunch of new items including three new matte liquid lipsticks that are brand new from an Amazon seller. They asked that I do not share pictures of their current packaging because they will be upgrading soon, but the colors I got are gorgeous! The formula is perfect and they apply evenly, and I'm just in love with them! I'll be doing a review for them sometime soon. They aren't by any brand name yet, but the seller's name on Amazon is Radiant Complex, and the color set I got was the neutrals.

I have some more liquid lipsticks coming in soon, which include two of the four new Colourpop Ultra Metallic lippies! I wish I could've gotten all four, but two of them were sold out by the time I was able to buy them, and they were the two I wanted the most. :( I'm so sad about that, but I'm hoping to get the two missing colors sometime in the future so I can have the complete set. I can't wait to get those and review them!

I'm also still waiting on my shipment from whoisshecosmetics which includes four shades of their lip composites. Those are also some products I really can't wait to try out and review! I've heard such good things about them through Instagram makeup lovers like myself, and with the colors looking as amazing as they do, I just had to get them!

I'll be getting a new set of oval makeup brushes sometime today I believe. I'll be posting pictures of them up on Instagram, and I may make a couple short demo videos to show on there, too. That will probably happen over the weekend since I'm going to have my makeup done before I open the package today. ;)

Let's see...I think that's everything up to date so far! Keep your fingers crossed for me that these thunder storms are done! We usually grill out for dinner on Sundays during the summer season so I don't want a storm to ruin those plans! I hope all of you guys are experiencing much better weather than I have been!

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions that I can answer for you or just general feedback! I would love if you followed my blog or at least give me a "G+1" on this post. Feel free to check out my previous reviews if you haven't already, too!

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I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and I will review and chit chat some more next week! *kisses*

Makeup Review: Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop Highlighter

Hello everyone! I'm so excited about this post because it's about one of my favorite highlighter products of all time...the Champagne Pop highlighter! I'm in love with this product so I just had to do a review on it after using it every day since I've gotten my hands on it!

Champagne Pop Highlight (closed packaging)

Before using this highlighter, I've been using the one out of the Lorac Pro Contour Pallet (review on that will come soon), and I thought that highlighter was gorgeous, but the Champagne Pop glow is even more gorgeous to me because it gives you a golden glow...almost sun kissed. I didn't think I would like a golden kind of highlight compared to the silver shimmer from Lorac's highlighter, but I was wrong...big time!

As soon as I got home with this product I was swatching it and admiring the glow of it in my light. It's silky smooth, and a little bit goes a long way! The next day I was able to try it on with all my makeup, and it came out so well! It gave my bronzer some extra glow and pop, and it stayed on all day without wearing out or fading.

Champagne Pop Highlighter (opened)

I had been hearing about this highlighter for a long time from almost every MUA I follow on YouTube, including Jaclyn Hill herself, and I am so happy I finally own one of her gorgeous collaboration pieces. I would love to get the newest pallet she just launched, but Sephora was sold out of them. :(









Anyways, I obviously rate this highlighter a 10/10 because of how beautiful it is, how long it stays on, and just how it enhances bronzers or just your natural glow. This is officially my holy grail highlighter! I got natural on Thursdays so no makeup on today, but I guarantee you I'll be wearing this gorgeous product tomorrow...and many days after that!

Complete look with Champagne Pop highlight

That's it for this post! Thanks for coming by and checking it out! Feel free to comment, like, or even follow my blog so you don't miss a post!

You can also find me on Instagram and Snapchat!

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Love you guys, and I hope you all have a great day! *kisses*

Beauty Review: Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting a review yesterday! I just did not have the time due to training at work that I had to take care of! I'm here today with a brand new product review of something I just got yesterday...Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm!

I've heard so many good things about this product (Christen Dominique and MannyMUA both used it on their YouTube channels), and I just had to get it and try it out for myself. My biggest reason for getting it was to easily remove my eye makeup, including waterproof mascara. my regular makeup cleansing cloths from E.l.f. just wouldn't do the trick, and I needed a solution that didn't involve me using two products just to remove my face makeup.


I made sure yesterday that I put on my mascara and my usual face makeup (foundation, concealer, setting powder). It was on all day, and I really couldn't wait to try this stuff out to see how it held up. I was definitely happy with the outcome!

First off, when I opened the container, I was expecting a balm that you would scoop out and just scrub all over your face. This was not the case. It's actually BETTER than that! It's a solid balm that turns to an oily cleaner when you rub it with your fingertips, and then you just smooth it out/scrub it onto your face. It feels so cool, and it allows for somewhat of a facial massage while cleaning off your makeup. The reason I love that the formula works this way is because I know that will make this product last for a long time! That's a really good thing when you're paying $30 for something!

I made sure that I scrubbed around my eyes, wiping on and around my eye lashes to make sure I got all the mascara. I didn't see any black getting onto my eyelids or under eye area so I wasn't sure that it was working, but as I felt my eyelashes, I could tell the mascara had come off. This balm not only cleaned off my waterproof mascara that's been giving me a rough time, but it didn't even smear it anywhere. Now, I didn't have any eye shadow on because I mainly wanted to make sure the mascara came off. I'll be using this product again tonight because I did a full face of makeup today. Either way, it did the job, and I was so happy with it! When I rinsed my face off, there was no fallout of anything remaining, and my face felt so refreshed and clean.

This product will pretty much be a staple in my cleansing routine when it comes to makeup removal! I absolutely rate this product a 10/10! Now I know why Christen and Manny featured this product in their makeup removal videos! Good job, Clinique! I definitely recommend this product, as well as any of their cleansing products to anyone in the market for something new! They're pretty well priced for what you get, in my opinion, and if the other products live up to the reputation of this balm, then I'm sure they'll be worth it!

Thanks again everyone for coming by and reading my post! Please check out my other reviews if you haven't already, and feel free to leave any comments, feedback, or questions!

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Hope you all have a great Wednesday! *kisses*

Makeup Review: ColourPop!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Being that it's Makeup Monday, I'm going to start this weekend with another Makeup Review of a brand that I'm sure a lot of you have heard about...ColourPop!

I first heard about this brand through YouTube, and I always loved hearing the great reviews of the product along with the low prices! I finally went ahead and got my own products to try out, and I love them! These are the products:


- Ultra Satin Lip in Frick n Frack
- Lippie Pencil in Frick n Frack
- Creme Gel Liner in Get Paid


We will start with the liner:
I got the liner with my Ipsy Glam Bag, which I highlight recommend getting if you're into makeup and would love to try new things every month to see how the brands all work out for you. I knew I was getting either black or this one, which is a nude/gold color. I'm actually happy I got the Get Paid color because I don't have any other liners that look nude. This liner definitely made my eyes pop and it applied so easily to both my waterline and above my eyelashes! It didn't jump around over any creases or get patchy. It was like a silky smooth gliding application. I'd say the only downside is that it wore off my waterline throughout the day. I'm not sure when it did, but by the time I went to wash my makeup off, it was already gone.



Onto the lip products:
I got the Ultra Satin Lip and the Lippie Pencil after hearing about them on Tati's YouTube channel. I remembered I liked Frick n Frack so I got those, but I didn't realize how dark the color actually was. I got it, I opened it up, and it's closer to a dark mauve color than the lighter shade I thought it was. On the good side, I LOVE this color! I normally don't wear dark on my lips, but I have received so many compliments about how pretty the color looks on me that it's now a top favorite of mine!

The Ultra Satin Lip goes on so evenly, and it definitely leaves a satin finish to your lips. There's minimal transfer when drinking or eating anything, and I can kiss my fiancé without him wiping his mouth. Haha! The Lippie Pencil also just glides right on like the eye liner does. You barely need any pressure to get the color, too. The only thing I kind of complain about with the pencil is that it doesn't wear off with the lipstick so if the outer lipstick fades, you have this really dark ring around your mouth. Otherwise, they're amazing!

My overall ranking on these products will definitely have to be:
- Creme Gel Liner 9/10
- Ultra Satin Lip 10/10
- Lippie Pencil 9/10

I highly recommend these product or anything from ColourPop! I'm about to get some of their highlighters so keep an eye out for that review! You really just can't beat their prices, and if you sign up for the newsletter, you get a $5 off coupon to use on your purchase!

I hope you guys enjoyed! Feel free to leave me any feedback, especially if you've used these products before!

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Thanks everyone, and have a great Monday! *kisses*

Casual Friday: Ready for the Weekend!

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I've had such a crazy work week, and I'm so happy it's almost over! I have a crazy busy day tomorrow, but at least I'll be able to sleep in. Haha!

So this past week, I had a presentation to get ready for, which my boss and I thought was going to be on Tuesday but ended up being on Wednesday, so our Monday was super crammed when it didn't really need to be. We didn't find out that we couldn't present Tuesday until literally the last hour of work. Both my boss and I were completely tired and not mentally here so going over everything to make sure we were prepared was really rough, and finding out that it wasn't as necessary made it a little worse. Although, on the positive side, we were prepared a day early. LoL Once that presentation was done on Wednesday I just felt like I could breathe a little more again because I'd been working on my part of the presentation for a month and really got mentally drained from it at times. Whew! Glad it's done!

Yesterday, we celebrated my fiancé's brithday! ^_^ He usually doesn't care much about his birthday and treats it like any other day, but it was nice to see him enjoy it for once. He took the day off of work (which he's never done for his b-day since I've been with him), we went out to eat at the restaurant of his choice, and then we went home and watched a movie. I got him a couple gifts - one he asked for and one he didn't - and he was happy with them, which made me happy. ^_^ It seemed like nothing went wrong, and that's really all I could've asked for for his birthday. :)

Aside from life, I've been getting new products to review and working on putting reviews together on products I've already tried out. I got some new Colourpop products yesterday (a lippie and lip liner) so I should have a review of that up sometime soon, as well as having a review up for at least one or two of the products from my Ipsy Glam Bag. Trying out all the new stuff is going to give me a nice full weekend of things to do, too!

I have a wedding to go to tomorrow so I'll definitely be wearing some of my newer products that I haven't used yet, and I'll be able to see how they last throughout the event. I'm also going to a comedy show with my fiancé later that night so it'll definitely be a true test on some of these items! I'm super excited! I hope I can start Monday off with a bang on my blog!

That's it for now! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend (even if you have to work), and I will be back here on Monday with goodies! *kisses*

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Makeup Review: Maybelline FitMe

Hey everyone! I've finally decided to do my review on the Maybelline FitMe Foundation, Concealer, and Pressed Powder! This is going to be a pretty short blog, but I hope it helps if you've been trying to find some drugstore options to use!

I absolutely love these products! They hold true to what they should do for you, and they're definitely some of my "go to" products.




Starting with the foundation, I got the Matte+Poreless for Normal to Oily skin. This stuff really does even out your skin tone, cover up your pores, and leave you with a matte finish. It doesn't leave your face oily throughout the day, nor does it dry out your skin. However, if you use too much, it can look a little caked on once you set it with powder.




The concealer is one of the best concealers out there, actually. There's so much hype around the Maybelline concealers, and rightfully so. The FitMe concealer was one of the first concealers I've ever owned that actually covered up my dark circles! In the past, I figured concealers were a joke because I couldn't find one that would successfully cover them, but I was proven wrong with this product because it's definitely no joke! I still use it to this day, though I do have a NYX concealer to use when I run out...and that's mainly because there was a lot of hype around that one, too. I would definitely keep getting the FitMe concealer whenever I need it again, though!




The pressed powder is great for setting both products. I got the Set + Smooth FitMe powder for Normal to Dry skin, and this is because I have combo skin. Since I used a product for Normal to Oily, then I'm just balancing it out by going on the dry skin side now. The powder absolutely sets beautifully, but this is what can make the foundation look caked on if you've used too much of it so you need to be care with that. Otherwise, this product makes your skin look silky smooth and matte. I typically use loose powders for setting and baking now, but I used the FitMe pressed powder for a long time before I switched. :)


Overall, I would rank the foundation at an 8/10 (because it can cake), the concealer is absolutely a 10/10 for me, and the powder is probably about an 8/10, too, because it can make the foundation look caked on.

Finished look after using just these products

This line really is great! I had heard about it through YouTubers (LauraLee, LustreLux, etc.), and I just had to get my hands on it due to how often I was hearing about people using it. These products are definitely top of the line for drugstore options, that's for sure, and there are more products in the line, such as blushes and bronzers. Go check em out, and let me know what you think!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!! *kisses*

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Dupe Tuesday: Oval Brush Dupe for Artis Oval 6 Brush

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!

I've decided to switch things up today and do a dupe post because...who doesn't like knowing about what dupes are out there? I love finding new stuff that compared to the more expensive products and work just as well! I don't have all the money in the world to spend on cosmetics and brushes and skincare so I improvise and find stuff on YouTube and/or Amazon!

Today's post is going to be on the DoColor Oval Brush, which is a great dupe for the Artis Oval 6 Brush. This is probably going to be a shorter post compared to the others, but I'm sure you guys won't mind. If you do, just let me know in the comments! ^_^

First off...when you have an option to pay $4 for a brush compared to $55, why not try it, right?

First thing I noticed after receiving the brush was that it was in a very plain box. I wasn't surprised considering it was a $4 brush. It's also a plastic brush, which I also expected. Now, I did do my research on these. There are cheaper ones out there, but so many comments said how the brush was rough, the handle was too flimsy and broke, or even that the whole thing of bristles fell off the brush! This particular brush had no comments like that so I felt comfortable paying the couple dollars extra for a little more peace of mind. Nothing was broken when I received this item, the bristles have yet to shed, and everything is just great!

I immediately got my foundation out to see how well this brush blended out my makeup. This brush can be used for foundation, concealer, and contour, and I used them for all of those things in my makeup look! The foundation blended beautifully and with not a whole lot of effort. I was extremely pleased with the results of how well it came out. The brush didn't absorb any of the foundation either. The bristles are super soft, but dense so they don't pull any product in and waste it.

The same thing happened with the concealer. I did end up using a beauty blender under my eyes, though, because I pat the makeup on there so my dark circles get covered, but everywhere else, I blended it with my DoColor oval brush. Again, smooth and natural looking blended to the makeup, and I was very pleased!

When it came to the contour, I was using the Lorac Pro Contour Pallet with powder products, which, a lot of you may know, are very pigmented. I picked up a little bit with the brush, and it still applied kind of heavy. Considering the density of this brush, I kind of expected that to happen. Even though it went on a little heavy, the brush blended it out wonderfully. I then tried using the power on just the side of the brush to maybe get a little less powder, and that seemed to work well. It still blended how I wanted it to, and none of it looked too dark or like I had too much contour on my face.

Overall, I would say this brush is a very good dupe to the Artis. It blends just as well as the Artis does with just as little effort. Even though it is plastic compared to a quality metal, it's still pretty durable, and both of them have very soft bristles that I could just rub on my face all day! I would definitely recommend this dupe to anyone looking for something like the Artis Oval 6 but at a more affordable price!

Don't forget to keep up with me on Instagram - ktparte - and Snapchat - partepickle - ! Definitely feel free to leave me comments, feedback, or questions in the comments section! I love to hear from everyone!

Have a wonderful day! *kisses*

Makeup Review: Airspun Loose Powder

Happy Monday everyone! I'm so excited about this review!

Airspun Translucent Loose Power

As anyone who follows me on Instagram knows, I finally got my hands on the Airspun loose powder in Translucent this past weekend, and I absolutely love it! I'd been hearing great things about it, and I was looking for it to see how it matched up to the NYC loose powder I was already using to set my makeup. Given, NYC is an awesome setting powder, and you get a lot for its price, but I really wanted to see what all the hype was about with Airspun.

First thing I noticed was the size of the package. You get so much more powder PLUS you get a much better powder puff than the little sponge that comes with the NYC powder! Just comparing the package sizes alone was enough for me! You get quite a lot for a little under $6.

After First Application

Once I got home, and I was able to finally use it, I realized that this is the first makeup product that I have that's scented. It actually has a nice scent to it, and it doesn't overpower or make your face continuously smell. I do not recommend inhaling the powder, though. Haha ^_^  Not only does it smell pretty, it applied so clean (literally no mess) and evenly, and it gave my skin a nice matte but glowy look. It didn't leave any dry patches, it set my under-eyes beautifully (where sometimes my NYC powder makes them look dry by setting into the creases), and it just made all my foundation and concealer look like my natural skin. It lived up to its reputation in the sense that it certainly made my skin look super smooth!

Throughout the day, the powder stayed on pretty well. The only time I thought I was getting oily was after I got back from grocery shopping and bringing all the groceries in, and being that it was about 95ºF outside, I was naturally sweating. I didn't feel much oil or sweat on my head, but I went ahead and dabbed on a little bit more powder just in case to absorb the oil. Worked like a charm and lasted throughout the rest of the day.


I am seriously so impressed with this product, and I would recommend it to anyone! My overall rating would be about a 10/10! not only did apply with zero mess, but it just looked gorgeous and made my skin look smooth. It lasted all day with no problems, and I just can't say enough good things about this product. I don't think I've ever been so impressed with a loose powder before! Good job, Airspun! <3

Airspun Loose Powder also comes in other shades, too! You can use it to set your makeup or to be your foundation. It's really awesome!

Thanks again for checking out my blog! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat for all the latest news in my beauty/makeup life! ^_^

IG: ktparte
SC: partepickle

I hope everyone has a great day, even if it is Monday! *kisses*

Casual Friday: A Little Bit About Me, Myself, and I

Hey everyone, and welcome back to my blog!

TGIF!!!
I've decided that I won't be doing makeup or beauty reviews on Fridays because I'm going to leave Fridays as they should be...CASUAL! ^_^ This will be a blog with some more background as to who I am, what I do, and I hope to open up some more questions from you guys that I can answer in my future Causal Friday blogs!

I was born in New Jersey, and I lived there until right before my 13th birthday. That's when my parents and I moved to Virginia. High school was so strange to me since I didn't know anybody, and even when I made friends, I found that not all of them understood the kind of sarcasm I grew up around in NJ. It was funny, but got me in trouble a couple of time. Oops! I actually ended up teaching my best friend how to use sarcasm, and now she uses it more than I do! Haha I played volleyball all four years of high school, and I graduated in 2006.

I did have a high school sweetheart that I had married in 2009, but, right before our 2 year anniversary, I noticed I was going through a crazy phase, and he and I shouldn't have gotten married. We separated not long after I broke the news about wanting a divorce (2011), and our divorce was finalized in 2015 (money issues really postponed getting that done). Mind you, he and I got married when he was 20 and I was almost 21 years old...SUPER young! Plus, life definitely had its ways of letting me know when things weren't right...so I listened and we moved on. He's remarried with a baby girl (which I was so happy to hear about), and I'm engaged to the love of my life whom I've been with since early 2012.

Anyways, that's the nitty gritty background story of my life summed up in two paragraphs. The little things that I can say about me are that I enjoy sleeping A LOT! I do like to play video games, especially if they're puzzle/adventure based (Legend of Zelda is my all time favorite series), and my fiancé enjoys playing League of Legends.

I got into beauty and makeup late last year when I watched a bunch of tutorials on how to do the tricks I couldn't figure out. That got me into learning about what kinds of makeup are out there and how to use them properly. This opened my eyes so much! I've never been one to wear makeup because I know I don't need to wear it. My fiancé doesn't even like me wearing it, and that's perfectly fine. I got to enjoying the practice of how to apply it and how I can make myself look. I love to try all the different brands, especially when I can compare high end to drugstore brands, and I absolutely love skincare products...when they're good, of course.

I've been back and forth about starting a YouTube channel, but my life is way too busy at this time to focus on that right now. Plus, I don't have any space to setup a camera, proper lights, and all my makeup. Maybe when my fiancé and I get our own place then I can have a spare room to work with, but nothing regarding me being on YouTube will be happening anytime soon. That's why I decided to go to Instagram, Snapchat, and blogging! ^_^

Well, that's about all I can think of in terms of the basics about me and what got me into makeup. I didn't want to make this a huge long autobiography so if you guys have any questions you would like to ask me about my life or hobbies, feel free to comment the question below, and I will have an answer for you in next Friday's blog!

Feel free to follow me on Instagram (ktparte) and Snapchat (partepickle) to keep up with my looks for the day and just the stuff I do when I'm bored...like play around with all the Snapchat filters. Haha

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you all have a great day! *kisses*

Beauty Review: Mary Kay Botanical Effects Skincare

Hello again, and thank for coming back to my blog! Today I'm going to review the Mary Kay Botanical Effects Skincare for Normal Skin.

I actually do enjoy Mary Kay's products, and I used to be a representative years ago. After I spent all my money on the cosmetics and didn't sell a whole lot (selling just isn't my thing), I figured I needed to give it a rest. I know their TimeWise sets are the absolute best, and everyone knows about them and what they do, but I found this Botanical set and thought I would review these since they're not often being spoken about so some people have never even heard of these.

The products I'm going to be talking about are:
- Botanical Effects Cleanse
- Botanical Effects Mask
- Botanical Effects Freshen
- Botanical Effects Hydrate

These are all the items in the Botanical Effects 4-piece Skincare Set, and they are offered for Dry, Normal, and Oily skin types.

Being that I have combination skin, I figured Normal (Formula 2) would be my best fit so I purchased that one. I couldn't wait to receive it because it's almost half the price of the TimeWise set, and I really wanted to see if it would work just as well for my skin.

Let's start with the Cleanse. This products definitely feels refreshing on your skin, and it'll make your face feel clean. The downside to this product, at least for me, was that it really never lathered or felt soapy in any way. I couldn't tell if it was truly cleaning my face or if I was just rubbing watery lotion all over and washing it off. However, I got a Quimat Ultrasonic Face Massager and Exfoliator from Amazon, and it worked pretty well with this cleanser. Where I was thinking the cleanser fell short, this cleansing brush picked up and made me feel confident that the cleanser was working a lot better. I'm thinking this cleanser probably needs some kind of cleansing brush in order to truly clean off your face within the pores and everything.

I would rate this product (without the cleansing brush) about a 6/10. It's refreshing, but I just couldn't be sure that it was really cleaning everything without a brush so this was a little disappointing to me.

One product that was absolutely not a disappointment, though, was the mask! This mask could be used as an exfoliating scrub, as well, which I loved! Anything that exfoliates just makes me so happy because my skin just feels so smooth after I scrub it down. There's also no room to wonder if it's really cleaning anything because you can literally feel the scrubbing beads working your skin. I probably used this more than the actual face cleanser because I knew it was really cleaning out everything.

As a mask, this product is still pretty awesome. It's lightweight on your skin, it doesn't crack, and you only need to keep it on for about 10 minutes before rinsing it off. You can feel this product tighten on your skin as it dries, but it doesn't stop you from being able to talk, smile, or laugh, and I think that's a big plus since my fiancé makes me smile and laugh a lot, especially when he sees I have a mask on! After rinsing the mask off, your face feels clean, soft, and firm.

This product gets a 10/10 from me since this is one of the few items that I can use as a cleanser and a mask, and isn't limiting as a mask in how you can move your face.

Moving on, I'm going to talk about the product I used the LEAST because I didn't feel like it did anything, and that's the Freshen. This is a spray that pretty much feels like water all over your face. The details say that, for Normal Skin, it leaves your skin soft with a matte finish, and it treats the skin's antioxidant powers. when I used this, my skin felt the same as it did before I sprayed it. It didn't mattify my face or remove any kind of shine. As for the treatment of the antioxidant power, I don't know if it did that or not. What I do know, is that it cooled off my face to leave it feeling fresh (as it should've), but that's about it.

This product gets pretty much a 3/10 from me being that it just didn't live up to my expectations. On a hot day it would be nice to just use to spray all over your face to cool you off, but that's really all I could see it being used for. Maybe the formulas for the Dry and Oily skin have the desired effects, though.

Last but not least, I'm going to review the Hydrate, which is just a moisturizer for your face. This product definitely moisturizes! A little bit goes a long way, that's for sure! This used to be my every day face moisturizer (until I discovered Philosophy...refer back to my previous blogs), and it did exactly what I needed it, too. If I had any problems with this, it's that maybe it did its job TOO well. I would almost feel like my face was already oily not long after applying the moisturizer. Just to make sure it wasn't oil I was feeling, I would take an oil blotter to my face and see that my face wasn't oily after using this product. My face did get very oily throughout the day, though, but that's been my normal experience with any facial moisturizer before this so it didn't phase me a whole lot.

Therefore, I would rate this product an 8/10. It absolutely moisturized, but now that I know that not all moisturizers make your skin feel oily or greasy throughout the day, it made me think this product could do better.

This set absolutely had its ups and downs from my own experience, but overall it really wasn't bad for the price. I did make good use out of the cleanser, mask, and the moisturizer so it definitely was not a waste for me! Before recommending the set, I would have to say you should make sure you definitely know what skin type you have so you know you're getting the correct products. I think my face probably needed the Oily set, but then again, that could just be because the products made my skin overproduce oils...even though it was the normal skin type set that I used. I'm not so sure... I think I would still recommend TimeWise over this one because I feel like that was worth the money since it gave me better results when I used it back when I was a rep. for Mary Kay.

Anyways, thanks again for stopping by! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat to see some of my makeup looks and daily shenanigans!

Please feel free to leave me feedback or even comment something you would like me to review and blog about!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! *kisses*

IG: ktparte
SC: partepickle

Makeup Review: Milani Cosmetics

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my blog!

Today I'm going to talk about one of the most well-liked drugstore brand, Milani! I'm a huge fan of their products, but there are some that just don't work for everyone so I thought I would give a little insight to the products I've used, my review on them, and their ranking according to how the product works for me! I hope this comes in handy to anyone who's been looking into purchasing any of these items!

The products I'm going to review are:
- Conceal + Perfect Foundation
- Baked Blush
- Color Statement Lip liner
- Color Statement Lipstick

First thing's first...let's start with the Conceal + Perfect Foundation.

I absolutely LOVE this product, but my skin tone doesn't match with it. I'm a fair skin tone with pink undertones. This product was made for tanner skin types with yellow undertones. Because of this, when I tried it out, as much as I loved the coverage and the formula, I looked yellow. I own Shade 1, the lightest shade possible, and it still makes my face look yellow compared to my neck and chest. This was such a bummer to me because I had heard nothing but amazing things about this product, and I had been looking for a new foundation to try out so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, but none of the shades truly match my skin tone. Sure, I could mix it with a lighter shade that had the right undertones, but I would've preferred not having to do that. The foundation itself is actually wonderful and lived up to the reviews. It has full coverage and won't make your face oily throughout the day. It also makes your skin look silky smooth with a subtly dewy look, which I love!

For me, though, I would be rating this foundation about a 8/10, mainly due to the fact that they only come in shades meant for tanned/darker skin tones.

Next, we will go over one of my favorite every day products to use...the Baked Blush!

Funny story...I used to never use blush. My cheeks are already naturally pinker than I would want, and even though foundations do cover it pretty well, some of the pink shows through so I just decided not to risk making myself look like a clown so I didn't use blush. After watching a few YouTubers (Laura Lee and Kathleen Lights for a couple of examples) and heard the mention of the Milani Baked Blush over and over again, I thought I would go give it a try.

I am so happy that I bought this! I got the shade Corallina, and I am about to get Luminescence. This blush doesn't not go on thick, and it's very buildable. This works perfectly for me because I can make my natural color kind of blend in with the blush without my cheeks looking so dark. This product also stays on all day (given that you set it with a setting spray). I've never loved a blush so much before I started using this one! It's my first choice blush whenever I do my makeup, and it had yet to disappoint me.

After my testing and review, this product ranks a 10/10 for me and my needs. :)

Onto the Color Statement Lip liner and Lipstick.

First, I will review the lip liner. I don't think I've used a better one. I have a couple NYX lip liners that I do like, but they're a little more drying, and it takes a lot of application to get color to show sometimes. The Milani lip liner was more moisturizing and literally just glided onto my lips like butter. I really need more of them! They make my lipstick and lip gloss color pop, and they stay on all day. You can even just wear them alone if you'd like!

This product is absolutely a 10/10 right now in my books! It hasn't failed me yet, and is my favorite lip liner so far!

As for the lipstick, it wasn't the best, but it definitely wasn't bad. It is moisturizing, but it doesn't seem to last too long on that level. Pretty much, I would put it on, wear it for an hour or two (not eating...at the most I would be talking to someone), and my lips would start feeling dry again. I would look in the mirror and see the color, but the moisture just goes away and basically makes the lipstick turn into a stain. The colors are rich, which is good, and they apply evenly. The product definitely made my lips feel and look great at first, I just wish it didn't seem to dry out over time.

This one is going down at a 7/10 for me. Everything it should do it does...the points I took off are definitely because of the drying, but that is a personal preference of mine when it comes to my lips. ;)

Overall, I really do recommend Milani to everyone who wants great drugstore products! Your personal preference may differ from mine so please don't take my review as a 100% fact for everyone. There are plenty of products I have used and still use because I love them that others don't like or prefer. I just hope this helps if anyone wants to try something new ^_^

Some other great drugstore brands I can recommend are Maybelline and E.l.f.. I will be doing some reviews and blogging about their products here soon so stay tuned!

Thanks again for stopping by and checking out my blog! Again, feel free to leave comments or feedback or even let me know if there's a product you would like me to review for you, and I'll post a blog on it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! *kisses*

Don't forget! You can find me on Instagram and Snapchat!

IG: ktparte
SC: partepickle

xoxoxoxoxox

Beauty Review: Philosophy Skincare

Oh my goodness, I just do not know where to start!

If you read my previous blog post, you saw that I got lots of Philosophy goodies from Ulta over the weekend, which was mostly skincare products. I've used them all for a few days now, and they're amazing!  I wanted to do a review on these products so all my readers would have a good insight into Philosophy's products since I had never actually heard about them before this weekend (a girl on a budget...haha). 

The products (and links to them) I will be reviewing in this blog are:

- Take a Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygenating Gel Cream

- Take a Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygen Infused Eye Gel

- Hope in a Jar

- Hope in a Jar Eye

- Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser

- Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

I got the Living Grace Body Emulsion sample, too, but I haven't used that one to its potential so I don't want to review something I haven't gotten enough use from. From what I have noticed so far, it's a good product and very moisturizing to the skin. It's also bubbly. ^_^

The first thing I want to talk about is the Take a Deep Breath Oil-Free Gel Cream. First off, the scent of this stuff is absolutely amazing! It makes me feel like I'm out in nature enjoying the breeze in the air and the smell of freshness all around. That in itself has me addicted! Aside from that, this is probably the best product for my face that I have ever used! It's a very lightweight product, and it doesn't make my skin greasy and oily like a lot of other moisturizers I have used in the past. I have combination skin so my face will be dry and then just overproduce oils so by the time I moisturize it (which is every morning and night), my face is full of oil by the middle of the day (if it even takes that long). This moisturizer goes on smooth and silky, but it literally lets your skin breathe so it doesn't overproduce any oils, not to mention that the product itself contains no oil! It's more like it receives the moisture perfectly and just lets my face be. It's so incredibly amazing!

As for the eye gel, that stuff is SUPER hydrating! I've been using the Hope in a Jar for Eyes morning and night because that specifically targets dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles (anti-aging),but during the day I like to dab some of this on to keep my eyes feeling hydrated. You can put it over your makeup as long as you rub it in. Just dab a small amount on and your eye just feel super refreshed and alive again! ^_^

Speaking of the Hope in a Jar, I don't think I've met with a better eye cream that targets anti-aging so well. The moisturizer is also incredible! 

Eye Cream: Now, I know I'm 28 and I look like I'm about 18 (according to the Philosophy rep I spoke with at Ulta, anyways) so I don't need anti-aging treatment, but I do have dark circles that love to taunt me. Given, I know I stay up late and get up early, but anything to slow down the signs of aging due to myself not getting enough rest would always be wonderful, and this product does that! My eyes look and feel awake in the mornings after I put this on with my facial moisturizer, and I love it! The scent is beautiful and fresh, and it's just very refreshing to have on my eyes first thing in the morning and when I go to sleep at night. There hasn't been a huge change in my circles, but I've noticed subtle changes since I started using this product. My eyes haven't been puffy in the mornings since I've had this product on my eyes at night, and they really do look more awake once I apply this in the morning. I've taken the worst selfies with my tired eyes to prove that I can't hide how tired I am, but now I think I actually could! ;)

Moisturizer: I've mainly been using this product as a night cream right now because it's hot outside, and this moisturizer doesn't allow the skin to breathe as much because it's anti-aging targeted...so it hydrates and firms. Being that it's hot out, it just wouldn't be the best idea to use this during the day because my skin will definitely get oily from my skin not breathing and oxidizing as much to control the oils in my face. However, wearing this at night (and what will be in the winter season), this stuff works like a charm. My face isn't oily when I wake up, it feels soft and firm, and I love it! I almost can't wait to try it out with the actual night cream when Winter rolls around! 

Moving on to the cleanser and exfoliating wash...

Again, the scents are absolutely wonderful! The Purity cleanser gives you a light lather while washing your skin, which I didn't get from my last cleanser. It rinses off and leaves your skin feeling so clean and ready for the day! 

As for the exfoliating scrub, it absolutely works wonders, but I will advise anyone to not be too rough with this product. The exfoliating scrub I used before had bigger scrubbing beads so you could work it into yours skin almost as much as you wanted to,  but this scrub has micro-beads and acts like a micro-dermabrasion scrub. You definitely work the dead skin off with little effort, that's for sure! If you work it too hard, your skin will let you know by turning red, which did happen to me my first time using this product due to the lack of experience I have with anything like this. 

Aside from my own misuse, when used properly, it definitely cleans your skin, and once you rinse it off, putting on moisturizer makes you feel like your in heaven! Your face is baby skin soft, and you just won't want to stop touching it! ;)

My rankings on these products are all very high. 

- Take a Deep Breath moisturizer - 10/10

- Eye gel - 8/10 mainly because it really only serves the purpose of hydrating

- Hope in a Jar for Eyes - 9/10 for now...I'm leaving the extra point to see how it does long-term

- Hope in a Jar moisturizer - 9/10 for now...going to wait to see how it holds up in the Winter when I 

  can use it the way it should be used.

- Purity cleanser - 10/10

- Microdelivery Exfoliating scrub - 10/10

I believe all of these products do an amazing job and keeping my skin feel fresh, soft, and looking amazing! I would recommend the Philosophy Skin Care products to anyone as it will definitely be something I'll be using for quite a while!

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate any comments and feedback on your thoughts if you've used Philosophy products, what you think of them, or even if you have any questions about them. Also, if you have any feedback on how I can make my blog better or more interesting for you, please let me know!

I will leave links to all of these products below!

Feel free to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat!

IG: ktparte

SC: partepickle

Have a great day everyone! *kisses*

Makeup Review: Philosophy, Buxom, Wet n Wild, and L'Oreal

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog! This is my very first post so I thought I would start it off with a quadruple product review that helped me get this look!

This weekend, I had to go grocery shopping, which is never JUST for groceries, and I picked up a few new things. At Ulta, I picked up some Philosophy products as well as a Buxom lip gloss. Philosophy has a special for a free gift so of course I had to get that deal! When I left Ulta, I ended up with:
- Philosophy Take a Deep Breath face moisturizer and eye cream
- Philosophy Hope in a Jar A to Z cream in Medium
- Philosophy Hope in a Jar eye cream
(plus the gift which was a makeup bag and 4 samples of the products below)
- Philosophy Hope in a Jar face cream
- Philosophy Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 facial cleanser
- Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash
- Philosophy Amazing Grace Firming Body Emulsion
- Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Sugar

Whew! That's a lot of stuff!

I did try almost every one of those products, but I will the reviews on all the skin care in a different entry so this one isn't too overwhelming. ;)

Once Ulta was done, I went to Walmart and picked up the Wet n Wild Au Naturel eye shadow pallet in Nude Awakening. I got this because it looked like a possible good dupe to the Naked 3 pallet by Urban Decay. I also picked up the L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Effect waterproof mascara to replace my old mascara which just smudges more than I would like.

Now onto my review!

I will start with the Philosophy Hope in a Jar A to Z cream in Medium.
I self tan with St. Tropez Self Tanning Mousse in classic, which means matching a foundation to my tan may be rough. I've tried a couple different foundations, but none matched as well as this! Now, this more of a BB cream than a foundation, so the coverage is light to medium, but it's very lightweight and creamy that I just love how my face feels with it on. It does not get cakey, and you can build on the color if you want it to be thicker or deeper, but just one layer of this stuff blended in with a Beauty Blender is all I needed to be happy with my look. It looks even on my skin, and after setting it with a setting powder, I'm pretty much in love! I don't think my skin has ever looked so perfect yet feel so "airy" at the same time! Plus (and this is a HUGE bonus), it doesn't wipe off after being set! I've had too many foundations and CC creams go wrong in that department so I'm ecstatic that this really does stay put!

Along with how great this stuff feels on your skin, I feel like I should fill you in on how great it is for your skin, too. I've never had a BB cream, CC cream, or foundation do this much for your skin so I'm just going to list off the benefits!
- This cream acts as a moisturizer, primer, foundation, treatment and sun protection (contains SPF 20)
- Refines skin for that healthy and subtle glow
- Oil-free, fragrance-free, and ideal for all skin types

So yeah...I'm sure you can see why I pulled this sucker off the shelf. I would absolutely rate this product a 10/10 for what I need. ;)

Moving on to the Wet n Wild Au Naturel pallet.

First off, this sucker is perfectly pigmented and blends beautifully! I've used other drugstore eye shadows, but most have seemed to fall short on the pigment scale and/or the blendable scale so I'm extremely happy with the quality of this pallet (especially for $5)! I have blue eyes, so I pretty much focus on using neutral nude colors. This pallet contains brown nudes, pink nudes, and a couple mauves. Some of these shades are matte, but most are shimmery. I'm wearing a mix of the pink and mauve now, and the look of those colors blended to together is just gorgeous! They're silky smooth when being applied, and they haven't set into any creases (which they should since I used an eye primer).

Overall, this eye shadow is pretty much my new go-to pallet. I could use more matte shades since my eyes are hooded, but other than that, I'd say this would be a good 9/10 for what I need, which is pretty darn good compared to what I would rank some of my other shadows. ;)

As for my mascara, I used to use an E.l.f. brand mascara (I don't have it on me and can't think of the name right now) that I loves, but its biggest downfall was not being water proof and smudging a lot when I would apply it. I used it a lot until I couldn't handle the amount of times I had to try and remove the smudge from my eye lids, and so I decided to get a new mascara.

I had heard some good reviews on some of the L'Oreal mascaras so I thought I would give the Butterfly mascara a try. The packaging was very nice, and I love the bristle structure! When I tried it on, oh my goodness! I couldn't believe how great this stuff looked with just one coat! I applied a second coat to give it a little extra volume, but it doesn't clump, smudge, and I didn't get any fall out until I woke up this morning after sleeping with it on like I shouldn't do. Haha  It's amazing how much this mascara lifted my eyelashes and lengthened them. I'm super impressed!

Now, the only trouble I actually had with this mascara was trying to remove it with my makeup cleanser and eye makeup remover. It took a minute or so for me to get it all off, and the fallout was kind of all over my face. I can't knock off too much for that since I was trying to get it off to clean my face anyways, but the easiest removal, the better.

Therefore, my rating on this mascara would be about an 8/10. It's still going to be my go to for a while! ;)

Finally, we've reached probably my FAVORITE product out of all of these...the Buxom Full-On Lip Polish! I was very skeptical about paying $20 for a lip gloss. That is just way pricey for what I'm usually willing to spend on any product if it's not skincare. I haven't had a lip plumping lip gloss in a long time, though, and the shade Sugar was seriously to die for so I went ahead and bought it (my bank account probably hated me after this whole trip)!

I will say...this product was absolutely worth the money! It does what it's supposed to do, and that's PLUMP and GLOSS! The color is so natural, the gloss isn't sticky, there's actually NOT a lot of transfer (my biggest and most impressive surprise), and it makes my lips feel and look so full that I'm just in awe of this product! If I had the money, I would seriously buy so many more shades or even just duplicates of this one considering how it can literally go with EVERYTHING! Oh my goodness, this product is just that fantastic. I can't say enough good things about this gloss!

Obviously, this product is totally a 10/10 in my books! ;)

Well everyone, there you have it! I will have another post tomorrow on the rest of the Philosophy skin care products I got! I hope you come check that out, too!

Feel free to leave me any comments or feedback! I'm still a newbie to blogging so please be nice! :)

Thanks for stopping by! *kisses*



Links to the reviewed products:
- Buxom Full-On Lip Polish: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod13631035&_requestid=266124#

- Philosophy Hope in a Jar A to Z Cream in Medium: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod5370017

- Wet n Wild Au Naturel in Nude Awakening: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wet-n-Wild-Au-Naturel-Eye-Shadow-754A-Nude-Awakening-0.29-oz/49932612

- L'Oreal Voluminous butterfly Waterproof Mascara: http://www.walmart.com/ip/L-Oreal-Paris-Voluminous-Butterfly-Waterproof-Mascara-871-Blackest-Black-0.21-fl-oz/34208890