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NYC New York Color City Proof 24 HR Waterproof Eyeshadow Swatches and Review

February 18, 2015, 4:41 pm
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I recently spotted the new NYC New York Color City Proof 24 Hr Waterproof Eyeshadows at CVS recently, and they were only $3.19 each, plus BOGO 50% off.  So I purchased 8 shades to try, plus the City Proof 24 HR Eye Primer crayon. There are 11 shades total but there were three missing from the display at my CVS. 
The shades I wasn't able to get are Long Island Blue (Navy), Madison Square Park (Green) and Wall St. Bronze (Bronze).  Here's the description from the NYC website:
"Incredible staying power inspired by the city that never sleeps!
Want round the clock color that never fades or creases? This chubby, waterproof eye shadow delivers vibrant color for up to 24HR wear! In eleven on trend shades perfect for any look, just twist, glide and go!
Benefits: 
  • 24HR wear
  • Waterproof
  • Crease-proof
  • Homogeneous application
  • Gives intense color pay-off
  • Vibrant color
  • Quick & easy to use
  • Glides easily
  • Smooth application
  • Smear-proof & Tear-proof"

These remind me of the L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Crayons that I reviewed back in November (see my review here) in terms of the shades offered and also the claims of 24 HR wear but the formulas are totally different.  These are a lot cheaper at around $3, while L'oreal's are $7 each, but I found the L'oreal version to be much creamier and a bit more pigmented than these as a whole.  There were a few shades in this collection that stood out in terms of pigmentation and smoothness and a few that fell flat. 
 So let's get into the shades: 

The first four shades are the most neutral and subtle shades to wear of the bunch.  These are the shades that I would go to every day for a more natural look.  The first three shades pictured have a more shimmery finish (but not glittery) and the fourth shade is matte. 
Rockefeller Center Snowflakes, 5th Ave. Gold Rush, Brooklyn Mocha, Tribeca Taupe
Rockefeller Center Snowflakes, 5th Ave Gold Rush and Brooklyn Mocha had a creamy texture and easy glide on the skin, but it took a couple of swipes to build up the color intensity.  These are subtle shades with a hint of a shimmery finish.  Unfortunately, Tribeca Taupe which is a matte shade was a drier consistency and tugged at my skin a little.  It also applied a little patchy, so I was disappointed because I love taupe shades.
Rockefeller Center Snowflakes, 5th Ave. Gold Rush, Brooklyn Mocha, Tribeca Taupe
I found the darker shades to be creamier and more pigmented overall than the lighter, more neutral shades above. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't find the navy, green and bronze shades because they might have had the same creamy texture as these did.
Empire State Building, New York at Night, Central Park Tulips, East River Romance
Empire State Building is a gunmetal gray and one of the creamiest and most pigmented shades in this collection. New York at Night also surprised me because usually black shades come out as a dark gray...this one was also very creamy, pigmented, and true black! Central Park Tulips was probably the most disappointing in terms of application...it was very patchy and not very pigmented at all.  Unlike the Tribeca Taupe shade, it was actually soft to apply, but no matter how much I tried to build it up, it just didn't get any better.  East River Romance is a vibrant blue that had nice pigmentation and a soft texture that was easy to work with.
Empire State Building, New York at Night, Central Park Tulips, East River Romance

As far as wear time goes, I didn't test them for 24 Hours so I can't attest to that claim, but these were still visible on my eyes by the time I went to bed, though they had faded just a little bit from their initial application.  I think these are a bargain at just over $3, but the shades are hit or miss in terms of pigmentation and texture. If you put them up against L'oreal's Infallible Eyeshadow Crayons, they just aren't as pigmented or buttery, but they're definitely not too shabby for the price (with the exception of the Tribeca Taupe and Central Park Tulips purple). So if you're looking for some long lasting eyeshadow crayons on a budget, check these out the next time you're in CVS!

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Mally Beauty on HauteLook Tomorrow!

February 19, 2015, 4:04 pm
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Mally fans, guess what?  Tomorrow at 11am EST (8am Pacific), Mally Beauty will be on HauteLook and that means you'll be able to save 50, 60, even 70% off (or more)!

If you're not a member of HauteLook yet, it's free to join.  I have no way of knowing which products will be included in the sale, but I'm hoping it's some of these:

Volumizing Mascara $20- This is one of the best volumizing mascaras I've ever used, but is $20 normally so I'm hoping to score a bargain.
Evercolor Eyeshadow Sticks ($25 each)- These are my favorite eyeshadow sticks...totally bulletproof and last forever! (See my review here)

Poreless Face Defender ($40)- This is a mattifying balm that my dry skin likes so much better than powder.  Just pat it on and your makeup lasts all day!
My advice would be to sign up for HauteLook tonight so that you're all ready to go tomorrow as soon as the sale goes live because products sell out very quickly...the popular ones within minutes!
I'll be at my computer at 11am tomorrow...I can't wait to see what's going to be part of the sale!
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New Maybelline Spring 2015 Color Tattoo Swatches Black Orchid, Hydrangea Hype, Rose Riot

February 19, 2015, 6:43 pm
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Last week I posted some swatches of two new Maybelline Color Tattoo shades that were released for Spring 2015 (see them here) Petunia Punk and Hibiscus Heartbreak, but then I started hearing around the internet that there were three additional shades being released.  Some people told me that they found all five shades in a display at Walgreens and Duane Reade called "Girls Night Out", while others said they saw them at CVS in a different display.  
None of the Walgreens in my area had the Girls Night Out display...in fact, they didn't have any new Color Tattoos at all! I picked up the first two at Harmon's last week, and then I started checking all of the Walgreens and CVS stores in my area.  Of course, the very last CVS I checked had them and I almost missed them completely because they weren't part of a display! They were sitting on top of another Maybelline display that had the Lash Sensational mascara and Color Molten eyeshadows in it...a sales associate must have just stuck them there because they didn't have a home. There were only 2 of each shade and these are limited edition, so I have a feeling they are going to be very hard to find. 
Top: Black Orchid
Bottom: Rose Riot, Hydrangea Hype

Top: Rose Riot, Black Orchid
Bottom: Hydrangea Hype


Black Orchid is probably one of the prettiest Color Tattoo shades ever! It's a taupe with a hint of purple in it...just gorgeous!
Rose Riot is a pretty shell pink.  It's actually a lot sheerer than it looks in the jar.
Hydrangea Hype is a cool icy blue shade.  I don't normally wear blue eyeshadow, but this one's pretty subtle so I don't mind it.

Here they are swatched:
color tattoo black orchid swatch
Black Orchid, Rose Riot, Hydrangea Hype
Here are the other two shades I posted last week:
Petunia Punk, Hibiscus Heartbreak
Overall, this is such a pretty collection, and since I'm borderline obsessed with collecting Color Tattoos, I'm so happy I was able to find all 5. If you've spotted these out and about, please drop a comment and let us know where you found them!

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L.A Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer Review

February 19, 2015, 8:46 pm
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Recently, one of my readers asked me what I thought of the L.A. Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer ($5) and I realized that I hadn't reviewed it yet, which is crazy because it's one of my favorite concealers, drugstore or high end.  Let's take a look! 
I've been using Pro Conceal since this past summer and I originally bought it because I had seen tons of YouTube videos and other bloggers saying that this was the best concealer ever.  For me, it truly is...at least for everyday use.  If I'm going out or have a big event to go to, I'll use a full coverage concealer like It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye (or the new Wet N Wild Fergie Come Correct), but this is my daily concealer.  It's medium coverage, totally buildable, and so creamy and smooth.



I'm not a huge fan of the packaging...it comes in a tube with a brush attached, exactly like Rimmel's Match Perfection concealer.  The problem is that you don't have a lot of control over how much product comes out the way you would if it was twist-up, or if there was an applicator wand. Sometimes I squeeze the tube and hardly anything comes out, so I squeeze harder and then too much comes out.
But I do like applying it with the brush and then patting and smoothing it in with my fingers...it's quick and easy in that regard.
It has no scent whatsoever and it feels so creamy, almost like you're applying moisturizer under your eyes.  For this reason, those of you with drier skin or fine lines and wrinkles will adore this formula! I have both of those issues and this is one of very few concealers that doesn't settle into lines and make them look more obvious, or cake up and accentuate dry patches.  The medium coverage is buildable because the formula is so smooth it's really hard to overdo it.
It comes in 18 shades which is crazy for concealers, especially drugstore ones that usually only come in 2-5 shades.  I'm fair so I chose the lightest shade Classic Ivory.  I was shocked when I got it home and it looked orange in the tube! I thought for sure it wasn't going to work, but then I remembered something I learned in my skincare classes when I worked at Sephora...orange cancels blue according to color theory because they're opposites on the color wheel.  This means that salmon, peach, or orange-toned concealers cover dark circles better than yellow-toned concealers.
Sure enough, when I first swatched it on my skin, it did look fairly orange, but once I blended it under my eyes, it disappeared into my skin seamlessly and covered almost every flaw I wanted it to cover.
This concealer is definitely a holy grail product for me.  It offers more coverage than most drugstore concealers, while still feeling lightweight and smooth. The creamy texture isn't drying and makes dry areas and fine lines look better not worse.  If you've been thinking about trying this, I would say go for it! Unfortunately, you can only get it online at the moment, which makes it difficult to find a shade match, but you can try to Google swatches and try to get a better idea of what would work for you.
To order, please visit L.A Girl's website here.

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Karelen Review and Giveaway

February 20, 2015, 2:07 pm
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I am so excited to bring you a review and giveaway of a new body care line called Karelen. Karelen's body butters, cremes, and dry oils contain natural, good-for-the-skin ingredients and absolutely no parabens, glycols, mineral oils, or petrolatum. They're made in the USA and are cruelty free with no animal testing ever, not to mention they come in 13 delectable scents and are super affordable.  Keep reading after my review for your chance to win a prize pack of Karelen products, and also for a coupon code to get an exclusive discount at Karelen.com.  Let's take a look!

The Scents: 

I was given the opportunity to choose 3 scents out of the 13 available.  It was a hard decision because they all sounded wonderful, but in the end, I decided to go with Shea Your Way, Jojoba Joy, and Luscious Coconut.
Shea Your Way is a warm, sweet, gourmand type fragrance with notes of toasted sugar, creamy vanilla, and salted caramel.  It smells good enough to eat! Plus, all of the products with this scent contain shea butter as a main ingredient.
Jojoba Joy is an amazingly fresh and clean scent but it's not soapy- it's well rounded and perfect for every day.  It has notes of pineapple flower, jasmine, honeysuckle, creamy vanilla, and sandalwood. All of the products with this scent contain Jojoba Oil as a main ingredient.
Luscious Coconut is one that I had to try because I love coconut scents.  This isn't a straight coconut, rather it smells like a tropical vacation (or maybe a pina colada!).  The coconut, vanilla and sandalwood notes are offset by mango, apricot and orchid.  All of the Luscious Coconut products contain Coconut Oil as a main ingredient.

The other available scents are: Alluring Argan, Aloe There, Carrot Caress, Mango Crazy, Moringa Magic, Olive All Over, So Avocadolicious, Sultry Black Castor, Tea Tree Treat, and Vivacious Vitamin E (you can check them out here)


The Formulas:

Some bath and body lines have products that are all the same formula, just with different scents. One of the things that I love about Karelen that really sets it apart, is that the products actually contain the ingredients they're named after.  For example, Karelen's Luscious Coconut line actually contains coconut oil as a main ingredient...same with the Jojoba, Shea and all of the other fragrances in the line.  They are all formulated differently to include the oils and butters they're named after!
Not to mention that they're using high quality ingredients with no mineral oil, petrolatum, glycols, or parabens.

The Products: 

The first product I wanted to talk about is the Dry Oil ($8).  It comes in a 4oz bottle with a flip-top cap for easy dispensing with no mess. This is my favorite thing to use right out of the shower while my skin is still damp...the natural oils lock in moisture without evaporating like water-based creams and lotions can.  These oils are non-greasy, sink in fast with no residue, and make my skin feel velvety soft.
These can also be used on your hair as a hydrating treatment!
Here are the ingredients for each scent (click the photo to enlarge).

Karelen's Body Butter ($8) comes in a large 12oz tub and the formulas are incredibly moisturizing yet lightweight.  I couldn't believe how fast they sank right into my skin...they feel luxurious going on, but they leave no residue or greasy feeling at all!  In addition to the ingredient that goes with each scent, these all contain milk proteins and argan oil to help hydrate and smooth the skin.

Here are the ingredient labels for the body butters (click to enlarge):
The Hand and Body Creme ($8) also comes in a 12oz tub, but this one has a pump which I really love! I keep these on my nightstand and use a few pumps before bed on my hands, feet, elbows and knees.  Just like the body butter, this formula feels really luxurious going on but it sinks in so fast! I can't remember the last time I used something so moisturizing that didn't leave a greasy feeling on my skin. I usually bring my tablet to bed and read books or magazines on the Kindle App and the hand creams I used to use before bed left greasy fingerprints all over the screen, but not since I've been using the Karelen Hand and Body Creams!
Here are the ingredients (click to enlarge):

Overall, I'm so impressed by Karelen! The ingredients are luxurious and natural, they're super affordable, and they leave my skin feeling super hydrated with no greasy feel.  I can't wait to order some more scents because the three I received are just heavenly.

From now until March 31st, I have an exclusive coupon code for my readers to receive 10% off any order at Karelen.com- just enter BUDGETBEAUTY at checkout!

Giveaway!
Karelen is generously giving away a prize package for one lucky Budget Beauty Blog reader so you can try their body products in the scent of your choice! Here's how to enter:
1. Enter below in Rafflecopter
2. Get extra entries for each additional task:
 a.)Tweet about the giveaway
 b.)Visit Karelen's Facebook Page and post a message on their wall about which scent you think you'd like to try the most.

The winner will be chosen at 4pm EST on Friday Feb. 27th, 2015 and will be contacted via email. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




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Kardashian Beauty Hair Line Spotted at Bed, Bath & Beyond

February 20, 2015, 2:43 pm
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When I spotted the new Kardashian Beauty hair line at Bed, Bath and Beyond this morning and posted the photos to Instagram, I had no idea that it would be my most liked, most visited post to date (or that Khloe herself would be among those who liked it!). So, since my Instagram account is literally blowing up over this, I figured I would do a quick blog post for those of you who aren't on Instagram. 

I had seen that the line was going to be sold at Ulta, but since I don't have an Ulta close by, I was happy to see it land at Bed, Bath and Beyond! 
First, I picked up the Blow Dry Cream and the Black Seed Dry Oil.  Then I decided to also grab the Dry Conditioner because I've never tried one before and my 2nd day ends usually need some love.
I also spotted  a Dry Shampoo, Hair Spray, Volume Foam, and Curl Defining Cream Gel.

Are you excited to try this line?  Or have you already purchased it at Ulta?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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NYC Expert Last Lip Lacquer Swatches and Review

February 25, 2015, 8:04 pm
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NYC Expert Last Lip Lacquer ($4.19 CVS) is a new release for Spring 2015 and claims to deliver intense color in a lightweight, glossy formula. I purchased 8 out of the 12 shades to try since CVS had them BOGO 50% off a few weeks ago...let's take a look!
The Expert Last Lip Lacquer line offers a nice selection of shades from nudes to pinks, berries and reds. They're packaged in lightweight plastic tubes that look nice and simple...they're a little cheap feeling but that doesn't bother me because the price is great and I'd rather have a superior product inside the tube than have fancy packaging. I also like that the entire tube except for the cap is clear and you have a large area to see the color inside.
They come with a standard doe foot applicator...I wish it was one of the bigger, flatter ones that some other brands have, because it would reduce the number of times I have to dip the wand back in to get more product. With these, the color seemed to be mainly just on the tip when I pulled it out of the tube so it took 3 or 4 dips into the tube to cover my lips well.


When I swatched them, I was really impressed by the opaque color!  These are really pigmented for such an inexpensive lip product.  They remind me a little of Rimmel's Show Off Lip Lacquers, but these feel even more lightweight on the lips.  They feel like a liquid lipstick-gloss hybrid in that they have the full coverage of a liquid lipstick with the lightweight, shiny texture of a gloss.
The scent is a fake, fruity scent (like strawberries maybe?) which I really don't like, but I can only smell it when I'm applying the product, then it disappears and I don't smell it anymore which is a really good thing!

Here are the swatches on my arm and then each shade on my lips.  My experience with the pigmentation was that it's hit or miss depending on the shade.  The three lightest shades to the left applied patchy and streaky and took a few coats to get nice, even coverage.  They also seemed to cling to dry patches.  However, the 5 darker shades I tested had amazing pigmentation and looked and felt smooth during application. Fidi Fuchsia in particular really wowed me when I went to apply it...one coat and I was done!
So I would recommend the darker shades here (the 5 to the right in the photo below) and advise skipping the other three unless you don't mind working around the patchiness.
Left to Right: Riverside Romance, Lincoln Square Love Affair, Coney Island Candy, FIDI Fuchsia, Central Park Passion, Madison Square Mauve, Turtle Bay Toffee, Tribeca Mocha

Riverside Romance

Lincoln Square Love Affair

Coney Island Candy

Fidi Fuchsia

Central Park Passion

Madison Square Mauve

Turtle Bay Toffee

Tribeca Mocha
Overall, these are a great bargain lip product that really packs a punch with pigmentation in a lightweight formula.  Wear time was also impressive and they do stain the lips, however the glossy formula does transfer to everything.  The good news though, is that even with transfer you don't lose a lot of the color...they really stay put.  One way I was able to get around the transfer was to blot my lips after application.  It took the glossy finish away, but at least I wasn't leaving lipstick all over my water bottle, utensils, and my toddler.
So I definitely recommend these, even though there are a few areas where they could improve. I'd love to hear from you if you've tried these yet!
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New Makeup Revolution I Heart Obsession Palettes - Stila Dupes!

February 26, 2015, 5:08 am
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Makeup Revolution has just launched a new line of palettes called I Heart Obsession $6.16 each, and they all look like they could be dupes for the Stila Eyes are the Windows palettes!  Granted, they have 10 shades while the Stila palettes have 12, but they look like they definitely have some dupe shades in there.

Born To Die is a taupe-y neutral palette and looks similar to Stila's Soul palette. 
West End Girls has deeper shades and reminds me of Stila Spirit. 
Paris looks similar to Stila Mind 
Wild is the Wind could be a Stila Body dupe with it's blues and purples
Here are the Stila palettes for comparison:
It would be worth it to swatch these and do some comparisons because the Stila palettes are $49, so it would be great to have some dupes, even if they're not 100% exact.

There's a fifth I Heart Obsession palette called Pure Cult that looks like a Naked 3 dupe as well!
I'm going to check these out and hopefully give you some swatch comparisons in the coming weeks!  


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Monat Rejuveniqe Oil Review

February 27, 2015, 5:25 am
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Press Sample

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to try Monat Rejuveniqe Oil ($99)from iFabbo and I've been using it pretty regularly so I wanted to share my review with you.  I had never heard of Monat before I tried this product but their name is a blend of "modern" and "nature" which are two things you definitely want when you look for a skin or hair product...containing the best ingredients nature has to offer with modern technology so that it performs well. Let's take a look!
The Rejuveniqe Oil comes in a heavy silver-toned bottle that feels very luxurious.  It has a dropper to dispense the product, which is probably better than a pump because you really only need a little bit of this oil... a dropper means you won't overdo it. The oil itself is a golden honey color and it feels thick, yet when you apply it to your skin or hair, it's immediately absorbed with no residue!  That's amazing for an oil...most of the time they take a while to sink in.  It also smells like lemons, which I really love.


The secret to Rejuveniqe Oil is the Abyssinian Oil, which has a unique molecular structure that mimics the body's own natural oils to replenish and repair immediately as well as provide long-term age prevention benefits! It also contains a blend of 10 other botanical oils from around the world that help to enhance the effectiveness of the Abyssinian Oil.

Meadowfoam Seed Oil from the USA- Rich in Omega 9 Fatty Acids
Carrot Seed Oil from Switzerland -Rich in Vitamin A and Alpha Linolenic Acid
Camellia Oil from China- Rich in Vitamin E and Polyphenols
Buriti Oil from South Africa- Comes from the tree of life and rich in beta-carotene and stearic acid.
Baobab Oil from India- Rich in palmitic acid and Vitamin F.
Sunflower Seed Oil from Mexico- Rich in oleic acid.
Tomato Seed Oil from South America- Rich in amino acids, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc.
Moringa Oil from Egypt- Rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E.
Pequi Oil from Brazil- Rich in essential fatty acids and Vitamin A.
Monoi Oil from Tahiti- Rich in Omega 3 fatty acids.

Here's the full ingredient list:
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Seed Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Caryocar Brasiliense Fruit Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil.
There are many ways you can use Rejuveniqe oil all over the body.

In your hair, you can use it as a pre-shampoo treatment, leaving it on 15 minutes before your shower or even overnight. You can also use it as an oil treatment, wrapping a moist warm towel around your head for 30 minutes, then shampoo out. You can also use this as a finishing serum just concentrating it on the ends, or even add a little bit to your normal conditioner to increase the moisturization.

On your skin you can use it as a face or body moisturizer on it's own, or mix in a few drops to your normal body and face moisturizer. You can also add some to your bath water or put it on your pulse points before perfume to help your scent last longer.  You can even add a few drops to your liquid foundation to help it go on smooth and give your face a healthy glow.

I've tried this almost every way I could think of and I definitely notice that my skin has more of a glow and my hair isn't as dry and brittle.  It's so easily absorbed that I didn't have any problems with greasiness- I just had to make sure to use it very sparingly on my hair because it's fine and has a tendency to fall flat with just about any product I put in it if I use too much.

Overall, this is a wonderful multi-purpose oil that contains only natural ingredients, which I love! The price is steep though...$99 a bottle isn't something I would normally pay for a skincare or hair product.  This works really well, but so do a lot of other products that are a lot less expensive...I got along without it before and I will again when this bottle is gone. But if it's in your budget, and you are looking for a 100% natural luxury product for skin and hair, give this one a try!

Check it out at Monatglobal.com.

***Disclosure- The product featured in this review was sent to me for consideration by a brand or PR agency. This in no way influenced my experience with the product- all opinions are my own, and I was not paid to write this review. ***
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Lorac on Haute Look Today!

February 27, 2015, 8:48 am
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Lorac is on Haute Look right now and there are so many deals to be had! Hurry over there quickly because items sell out fast.  If you see an item on hold, keep refreshing because that means it's in someone's cart and if they don't check out within 15 minutes, it goes back for sale.
Good Luck! (If you're not signed up for Hautelook, it's quick and free...click here)



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Instagram Giveaway! The Body Shop Smoky Poppy Mini Gift Set

February 28, 2015, 5:50 am
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Head on over to my Instagram page to enter to win this Mini Gift Set of The Body Shop's newest scent, Smoky Poppy!
The gift set includes a mini body butter, mini shower gel, and shower pouf.  It's a great opportunity to try this sultry new scent.
Good luck to everyone!
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Wet N Wild Spring 2015 6 Pan Eyeshadow Vinyl Collection Swatches and Review

February 28, 2015, 6:01 am
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Recently, I spotted new Wet N Wild 6 Pan eyeshadows ($3.99) in bright Spring shades at Walgreens (photo is posted on my Instagram page).  Since their eyeshadows have improved tremendously over the years, I definitely wanted to pick one up to try and also to do some swatches for you.  Many of the shades were pretty to look at, but they weren't colors I would wear in real life.  So this neutral palette jumped out at me, especially because it has that gorgeous green at the bottom left side! 
Here's a close-up of the shades...there are two mattes (top left and bottom right) and four shimmers.
I decided to swatch them going down the palette instead of across because it seemed like the shades on the left side go together and the ones on the right go together.
These were surprisingly soft and pigmented for a budget palette...I mean, they're not Urban Decay but they were smooth, easy to work with and had minimal fallout.  The only shade that I really had a struggle with was the last shade...that dark brown matte with sparkles in it.  It was streaky and sheer and it took several attempts to build up the color. The rest were nicely pigmented with one or two swipes.
Overall, I've really been impressed with Wet N Wild these days (especially the Fergie collection). They've really been stepping up their game the past few years and they're so affordable, I feel like I can have a lot of fun playing with everything.
Have you seen these in the stores yet? Or tried any of the other shades?
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Profusion Feline Lip Luster Review and Swatches

February 28, 2015, 4:27 pm
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A few weeks ago, I reviewed a bargain product I found in the $1 bins at Walgreens, Profusion Cosmetics Luxy Lips.  They're super-pigmented liquid lipstick/gloss hybrids that come in tubes, but I found them to be a little bit messy and hard to apply.  Well, enter Profusion Feline Lip Lusters ($1 each)...these were also in the bargain bin and they're just as pigmented but much easier to work with. Let's take a look...
First of all, these tubes are super cute with the leopard print caps.  Each shade has a cat name as well. I'm not sure how many shades these actually come in because they're not on the Profusion website and I was only able to find these four shades at Walgreens.
The formula is very similar to the Luxy Lips...it's somewhere between a gloss and a liquid lipstick, but these feel a little different, almost like a mousse.  They're super soft and the texture reminds me of NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams...except these aren't matte (at least at first, they end up looking matte once the shine wears away).  They come with a long sponge applicator which makes these very easy to apply.  You can get the majority of your lips with one swipe of the flat side, then you can use the edge or the tip to get the around the edges neatly.


They go on opaque and super pigmented, especially three of the four shades, Lick Me (pink), Cheshire (purple), and Meow (red).  The deep burgundy shade, Prowl had a little sheerness to it, and you can see in the swatch picture below that you can see my skin through it in certain spots.  Prowl actually reminded me of Clinique's Black Honey shade a little bit and I didn't mind the sheerness because it's so dark it kept it from looking severe.
Lick Me, Cheshire, Meow, Prowl
Here they are on my lips:
Lick Me

Meow

Cheshire

Prowl
Overall, these are absolutely amazing lip products and especially for only $1. They felt comfortable on my lips with their soft, mousse-like texture and they lasted several hours and stained my lips for most of the day.  If you can find them at your local Walgreens, I wouldn't hesitate to pick a few up!
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Tons of NEW Hard Candy Products Spotted at Walmart!

February 28, 2015, 7:20 pm
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I ventured into Walmart today which is something I try not to do very often, and to my surprise, there were a ton of new Hard Candy products! Let's take a look...

There are new Eyeshadow Palettes ($8) in cute tins that also contain an mini eye primer and mini eyeliner. There's a Natural, Sassy, and Smokey version.
Here's what they look like inside (sorry about the crappy photos...I couldn't get away from the light glare):
Natural Eyes

Sassy Eyes

Smokey Eyes
Next, I saw two new concealer products...Sheer Envy Eye Brightening Concealer Pen and Conceal and Correct Palettes.
The Sheer Envy Eye Brightening Concealer Pens ($6) claim to have 10 beauty benefits in 1- Reduce Puffiness, Diffuse Shadows, Soften Wrinkles, Even Skintone, Eliminate Dark Circles, Blur Lines, Brighten, Conceal, Correct, and Lift.  Wow..pretty lofty claims!  This seems like it could potentially be a dupe for YSL Touche Eclat.  I purchased it in the Radiance shade, so stay tuned for my review!
The Sheer Envy Conceal and Corrector Palettes come in two shades, Light Medium and Medium Tan.  They contain three correcting shades, yellow, green and purple, and then three concealers to mix and match.

The Eyes The Limit Eye Shadow Primers ($5) look really cool...one is a Smokey primer that turns any eyeshadow into a smokey shade.  The Shimmer version turns eyeshadow into a shimmery shade. I purchased both, so I'll be doing a review after I test them out a bit. 

Next, they had a new section called Fast and Fabulous Set Your Makeup and there were 4 new products included in it that are long wearing...

There's a setting spray that claims to set makeup all day & night, as well as a Translucent Finishing Powder to control oil. 

There's also a longwear 12 Hour Primer and a clear mascara topcoat that makes any mascara waterproof!

Glamoflauge Foundation!!  I know a lot of people who are obsessed with the Glamoflauge concealers, so this was really exciting to see. It comes in 8 shades and clams to have invisible coverage in an oil free formula ($7).

Also new to the Glamoflauge line is Glamoflauge Lite blendable concealer duo sticks. I'm guessing like the name suggests that this offers lighter coverage than the original full-coverage Glamoflauge in the tube.

Finally, I spotted Fierce Effects Argan Oil Lip Gloss ($5).  It comes in 12 shades, 8 with Intense Color and 4 with Sheer Color.  There are some really interesting shades here, including a bright blue, navy blue and black!

Here's a slightly closer shot so you can see the names of the shades (click on the photo to enlarge):

About a month ago, I had heard about new Ombre blushes that Hard Candy was going to be releasing and I didn't see them today but a few people I know on Instagram found them at their Walmart, so I'll have to go back and check.
Which of these new products are on your list to try?  Or have you tried some of them already?
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Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Review

March 1, 2015, 5:58 am
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If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may know that Skinfood is one of my favorite Korean beauty brands...they're inexpensive but contain such fantastic natural ingredients and everything I've tried so far has lived up to it's claims.  A few months ago, I saw that Memebox was offering a Skinfood box and of course, I just had to buy it!  I started using most of the products right away but I left the Black Sugar Mask in the box, because since I've been using a Clarisonic to cleanse my face, I haven't had much need for scrubs.  I guess I figured that I was getting all the exfoliation I needed...I was so wrong! 
This product is called a mask but it's really a scrub that you can leave on as a mask if you want to. It seems like it could be a dupe for Fresh's Brown Sugar Face Polish ($62), although I haven't tried that one so I can't really compare the two.  It contains Brazilian black sugar, Macadamia Seed Oil, Shea Butter, and Meadowfoam Seed Oil which are all very hydrating for the skin.  It has a lemon sugar scent that's so delicious too!


My biggest pet peeve with scrubs is that they often crumble all over the place when you're trying to spread them on your skin and you lose half of it down the drain.  Not this one...it's just the right slushiness yet stays together almost like a paste so you can apply it to your face without losing a drop. The sugar grains are large and don't dissolve right away like some sugar scrubs I've tried.  They actually stay on the skin for almost the entire time I'm scrubbing, just starting to dissolve when my skin's had enough.

Here's what it looks like...you can see how it has almost a honey-like texture.  I haven't used this as a mask yet, I just scrub and rinse, but my skin has never felt this smooth! It gives my dull, dry skin a glow that I haven't seen since I was a teenager.  My skin looks fresh and feels so super smooth, I can actually wear matte or dryer foundations after using this without any dry patches for them to cling to. It also doesn't leave an oily film behind like some scrubs do, which doesn't matter to me so much when it comes to body scrubs because I can use the extra layer of hydration, but I definitely don't want residue on my face.
Overall, I can honestly say that this is the best facial scrub I've used in my life so far...it's super effective and makes my face feel as smooth as my 18 month old son's (and I'm not just saying that...really, I compared them!).  I realized that using my Clarisonic every day isn't enough to exfoliate my dry, flaky skin so I've added this to my rotation once or twice a week.

You can purchase the Black Sugar Mask at SokoGlam.com for $14.70, one of my favorite retailers for Korean Beauty products (they ship from NY, so you don't have to worry about waiting for shipping from Korea). Urban Outfitters also sells Skinfood, but they don't have this product on their website...still they may carry it in stores, it can't hurt to check!

Do you have a favorite facial exfoliator?  Or have you tried this one?  I'd love to hear about it!
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J. Cat Liptitude Hydrating Stain Coming Soon

March 2, 2015, 9:16 am
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J. Cat Beauty just posted a little teaser to their Instagram page today about a new lip product they'll be releasing soon (follow them to get updates as to when). It's called Liptitude and claims to be a 24/7 Hydrating Stain!

From @jcatbeauty on Instagram

I keep wishing that someone would come out with a truly hydrating lip stain...maybe this will be it! I'm a fan of their Wonder Lip Paints, so I have high hopes for these.
What do you think? Interested to try them?
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Instagram Giveaway! Maybelline Color Tattoo Black Orchid Ltd. Edition!

March 2, 2015, 6:46 pm
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Last week, I reviewed the new Color Tattoo shades including the extremely popular hard-to-find Black Orchid shade. Its a gorgeous plummy taupe.
When I was at CVS they only had two of them and I bought them both...one for me and one to give away!
To enter, just head over to my Instagram page! Good luck everyone! :)
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Tarte Miracles from the Amazon Collection Review and Swatches

March 2, 2015, 9:07 pm
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I purchased the new Tarte Miracles from the Amazon set a few weeks ago from QVC when it was the "Today's Special Value" and it includes the new Maracuja Miracle Foundcealer, which I believe you can only get with this set at the moment.  I paid $59.96 for it that day, and now it's back to it's regular price of $72.50- still amazing considering it has a value of over $175! Let's take a look...
This set comes with a large tweed makeup clutch, foundation brush, Maracuja Miracle Foundcealer, Be Your Own Tartiest palette, Gifted mascara, and Lipsurgence Liquid Lipshine in Exquisite.

First, I want to talk about the Foundcealer, which claims to combine the benefits of both a foundation and concealer.  I'm starting to notice a trend here, since I recently saw Clinique and a few other companies coming out with similar foundation-concealers-in-one.
It comes with a buffing brush that is absolutely amazing...it has a wooden handle and super densely packed bristles that are so soft, they feel like velvet against your skin.  The brush is also angled and goes up on a slant to help you get into places like your undereye area.


The Foundcealer itself comes in a glass bottle with a dropper top.  At first, I thought the packaging was cute and different, but after a while, I just started wishing they made this with a pump.  You're supposed to press the button on top to draw the foundation into the dropper, then press it again to dispense.  The most I could get it to draw into the dropper was a couple of drops, so I had to keep dipping it back in and just getting a few drops at a time.
I purchased the shade Light-medium which is the third lightest shade.  It's a little dark for me, but we're (finally) heading into Spring and Summer so I don't mind the added warmth for my skin.  The ladies presenting on QVC claimed that you only need about 3 drops to cover your whole face, but this was not the case with me.  I have extremely dry skin and this foundation is the type that's very lightweight and sinks right in.  So my skin just drinks it up before I have the chance to spread it around.  By the time I covered my face, I was really disappointed because it looked cakey and like I had a mask on. I started to wonder if I had used too much, but with my skin, there was no way around that. However, a little while later, I looked in the mirror and it had softened and melted into my skin and I looked flawless...it covered just about everything and had this beautiful satiny finish. I was totally shocked by how great my skin looked and was really surprised at the transformation especially since I really disliked it at first application.
My main gripe with this Foundcealer other than the pump is the smell...to me it smells chemical, sort of like WD-40. Not really something I want to smell as I'm rubbing it into my face, but it disappears in about 10 seconds, so it's not that big of a deal.
Next is the Be Your Own Tartiest palette.  I'm really loving my Tartelette palette (see review here), so I was excited to see what these eyeshadows were like.  The palette has a really pretty purple mosaic look on the front and is a shiny gold on the back.
Inside, there are 6 shadows, with one side having pinky plum shades and the other taupey browns. Then there's a really pretty coral-pink blush in the center.
I have to say that this palette is super pigmented and soft and I'm loving the colors!
Pink Beyond, Taupe is for the Best, Dreams Plum True
Pink Beyond, Taupe for the Best, Dreams Plum True

Out of this Pearl, Thistle be the Day, Paint the Brown
Out of this Pearl, Thistle be the Day, Paint the Brown
Talented Blush
Talented
The eyeshadow brush is also wonderfully soft and dense with a smooth wooden handle and gold accents.  It has a regular eyeshadow brush on one side and a crease brush on the other.

Eyeshadow
Crease

The Lipsurgence Liquid Lipshine comes in the shade Exquisite which is a pretty berry mauve shade that's just slightly darker than my lips. I did find it a bit sticky, although it made my lips feel super hydrated and was very shiny. It has a vanilla cookie scent.
Exquisite

Exquisite
Gifted Mascara is a newer formula from Tarte that I hadn't gotten around to trying yet.  I absolutely love their Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara so I had high hopes for this one.
Here are my before and afters...Gifted definitely gave me quite a lot of volume and length, but I found the formula to be very heavy, and a little clumpy. The good news is, it didn't smudge under my eyes at all!
Before

After
Finally, I'm going to do something I never do, and that's show my face without makeup.  But I wanted to use every item in the kit to show the overall transformation...the only additional product I added was a brow pencil. I didn't use any concealer, eyeliner, or lip pencil...I used the Foundcealer under my eyes instead of concealer, eyeshadow all over the lid and as an eyeliner, and just a swipe of lipgloss and mascara. I think the Foundcealer did an excellent job at covering almost every freckle and red spot on my face...I was really surprised at how flawless it made my skin look (if it only covered wrinkles, I'd be set)!

Overall, this is an amazing kit for the money. Even though I wasn't crazy about the mascara and I could take or leave the lipgloss, I love the Foundcealer, Be Your Own Tartiest Palette, and the brushes!
If you'd like to purchase this kit, it's available on QVC.com (and if you've never shopped with them before, they offer no-questions-asked returns up to 30 days, even if the product is used, so there's nothing to lose!).








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Hard Candy Fierce Effects Daring Argan Oil Lip Gloss Review and Swatches

March 3, 2015, 4:57 pm
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A few days ago, I blew up my own Instagram feed while I was at Walmart posting a ton photos all of the new Hard Candy Spring 2015 products that had just hit the shelves. 
The Fierce Effects Daring Argan Oil Lip Glosses, $5 were one item I've been getting a lot of requests for to see swatches, especially the bright blue shade, Skyfall. These glosses aren't on the Hard Candy or Walmart sites yet so I don't have any information about the claims or even a description. So this is going to be more of a first impression post, where I'll just talk about my experience with them so far. 
Black Rose, Skyfall, Knockout Punch, Make Me Blush

The display at Walmart had 12 shades in total...8 of them were described as "intense" while the other 4 were "sheer". I purchased 3 Intense shades, Make Me Blush (Peachy pink), Knockout Punch (a rosy berry shade), Skyfall (bright blue) and 1 sheer shade, Black Rose (sheer black with rosy tones).


They come in skinny tubes that are clear so you can see the shades and the applicator is a little brush. On the one hand, a brush helps you to really detail around your lip line, but it takes more dips back into the tube and more swipes to cover your lips than a sponge-tipped applicator. The intense shades swatched beautifully, laying down a lot of color in one swipe.  The sheer Black Rose shade looked watered down, almost gray...and I wasn't too sure I was going to like it.
Make Me Blush, Knockout Punch, Skyfall, Black Rose
Make Me Blush is such a perfect everyday shade...the right mix of peach and pink with no shimmer. It's not completely opaque, and I can still see my lips through it, but it definitely adds a lot of color and is super shiny!
Make Me Blush
Knockout Punch is the darkest shade I purchased, but there were a few darker shades available in the store including a red, dark purple, and navy blue. This is a really pretty berry shade and was the most pigmented of all the four that I bought.

Skyfall was the biggest disappointment of the bunch.  It never got past sheer, no matter how much I tried to layer it.  This isn't a shade I would wear anyway, but I got a ton of requests to see swatches of this one so I bought it mainly for that reason (and curiosity).  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this one swatched beautifully on my skin, just not on my lips. It has micro-glitter in it also (none of the other shades I tried did) which made it feel just a tiny bit grainy. One thing I'll try to do is put concealer on my lips first to create a base and see if it works better that way.  I'm thinking that since it swatched well on my skin, maybe taking the pink out of my lips will make it look a little better.  I'll post an updated photo once I try that.

Black Rose was the biggest surprise of the bunch (in a good way!). It looks solid black in the tube and I was really afraid to try it.  When I first started to apply it, it looked a little streaky and grayish on my lips, but then I pressed my lips together and rubbed them back and forth to spread it out and after a few minutes, it just morphed into this gorgeous rosy shade!  It reminds me a little of Clinique's Black Honey (at least the way it looks on me).

The argan oil formula of these is wonderful...they feel so comfortable and balm-like, so no worries if your lips are dry or chapped. They look super glossy upon application and then they settle into a stain after an hour or two.  I wore Black Rose today and I was shocked to see that it was still there 6 hours later, for the most part...the shine was gone, but there was a pretty rosy stain left behind that didn't feel dry at all.
I plan to continue wearing these...I want to see how long Make Me Blush lasts compared to the darker shades and also try that concealer trick with Skyfall, so stay tuned for updates!
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Lorac Pro Palette Dupes!

March 4, 2015, 5:13 am
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I recently discovered that the new Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro palettes are dupes of Lorac's Pro palettes! It's interesting that they even used the word "pro" when duping these, haha. The Makeup Revolution version is only $10.79 while the Lorac palettes are $42.
Take a look...these appear to be very close!


Knowing how good Makeup Revolution's quality is, I am definitely ordering one of these to do comparison swatches for you guys! 
What do you think? Would you try one?

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