Review :: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser Concealer - Fair

In my seemingly never-ending hunt for the perfect undereye concealer, I decided to pick this one up honestly because it's probably the most popular drugstore concealers I see on YouTube and it has been ingrained in my mind that it must be good if all the YouTubers are using it, so I picked it up to try it out. :)

It has a pinky tone to it, which I'm sure is supposed to help reduce the appearance of undereye circles, like salmon colored concealers are known for, but that just means you really only want to use this on the undereyes, this is not meant for little problem areas on the rest of the face, it's just not going to match your foundation well enough, unless you also have pinky undertones.

I picked up the lightest one because judging by the packaging, they all looked really dark.  Good thing it comes off so much lighter than the packaging leads you to believe.  I probably could have gone a shade darker, but it's not a big deal, I'm losing whatever summer color I may have had anyway. :)

I have tried a few concealers to cover up my undereye circles, but nothing has done the job.  Although this product does not get rid of them perfectly, it's definitely the best thing I have tried so far.

I have issues with my undereye concealers creasing in my little fine lines, which sucks because that area is only going to get worse with time and I'm only 22! :-p  This product creases in those lines too, but not as bad as most other ones I've tried.

Overall, this is a pretty nice concealer.  It's not quite perfect for me, but I am enjoying it.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Review :: Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder - Fair

While at Walmart, I almost always have to stop my the cosmetics aisles. :) I came across this powder and remembering months ago how everyone was actually pretty impressed with the Nearly Naked stuff, I said "hey, why not, my usual favorite powder is running out anyway, might as well try something new, right?" So I did and here are my thoughts...

This on top of a medium coverage foundation will make it pretty much full coverage.

It can have a powdery finish when pressed onto the skin with the cotton pad provided (to be expected), but when buffed in with a powder brush, it looks great.

No scent.

Packaging is sturdy feeling, definitely not cheapo packaging like some stuff.  I actually enjoy the fact that the little pad has its own little area in the package instead of sitting on top of the powder. Packaging does come with a mirror, though it is smaller, it will do the job for little touch ups.

Costs around $8 at Walmart, but I'm still not convinced it's better than my favorite Milani Multitasking Powder, which is around $6.

Overall, this is a very nice powder and I do like it. It's surely not a dud in my book. :)

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Review :: Flower Beauty Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color - Nude Narcissus

I have the Flower Beauty Pocket Fleur Trio of lipcolor in PF7 and the light pink shade on top is my favorite nude that I have ever come across.  The Pocket Fleurs have very little product and the packaging is crappy anyway, so I was on the hunt for a similar color.  I figured, let's start with Flower first since that's where I found the shade to begin with.  So I went to Walmart and picked up "Nude Narcissus" from the High Shine Lip Colors.

Although these two colors are not a match, pretty much not even close (lol), I still like them both and think they give a similar effect when on the lips. Keep in mind, the perfect nude is very dependent on your skin tone, so just because I like this one definitely does not mean it will work for everyone or even that everyone will like it on me.  But I like it, so that's what counts, right? :)

The Pocket Fleur and this lipstick both have the same scent and they seem like a similar formula. 

Nude Narcissus has a somewhat frosty finish which I thought I would never ever enjoy, but I actually like it with this lipstick.  Some days (like when I haven't exfoliated my lips in awhile) it can show up patchy.  It actually doesn't really sink into lip lines, like most lighter lipsticks I have found.  It also does not last very long on the lips.  I would say in 3 hours you're going to need to touch up even without talking or drinking excessively. 

I am surely not writing this review to tell you that all the lipsticks from this line are the same.  I realize the vast differences that can take place between colors, especially since the color I am reviewing is so very light.  I still hope this was helpful and I hope you found something of value in here. :)

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Review :: Flower Beauty Raise Some Brows Defining Eyebrow Pencils - Light & Dark Brown

Since my Chella brow pencil is running out, I was on the hunt for an affordable eyebrow pencil.  I have loved so many of the things I've picked up from Flower, so I figured I would give them a go one more time.

I picked up both of these colors so I could figure out which one would work best for my hair color and figured I might as well show you guys what they looked like here in some swatches as well, in case you are a brunette looking for a decent and inexpensive eyebrow pencil.

I stuck with the light brown pencil because I felt like dark was too gray and ashy.  Plus light tended to show up darker actually, or at least more pigmented.  I felt like light was just a better match for my brows.

Overall, these pencils are nice because they twist up which is super convenient.  They actually also have a tiny sharpener in the bottom that I guess some people would like.  Personally, I don't see the point since it's retractable anyway and it isn't an actual blade, it's just plastic, so I could never really get it to work very well at sharpening.

I'm not sure that I'm in love with the texture of these pencils.  They are some what creamy, which makes you wonder if they are going to last all day.  I don't have much of a problem with staying power, they do fade a little bit, but it doesn't really bother me too terribly much.  I find that the creaminess is almost wax-like, so it does a pretty decent job at holding down those crazy brow hairs.

This is the first drugstore eyebrow pencil without a crazy red undertone to it that I have found.  However, like I said, the dark brown one was too gray-like in my opinion.  So I guess that's what you get at the drugstore, too much red-tone, or not enough.  I enjoy this pencil, though it isn't super crazy awesome and I'm unsure if I will repurchase.  But I still can't see myself spending $20+ on an Anastasia pencil.  Yes, I understand that Anastasia is pretty awesome, but still I can't justify it.  This Flower Beauty one will just have to do for now.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Fall Lookbook : Dresses

To watch the video lookbook click here!!!!

To check out Look #1, please click right here!

Look 2 Items Worn:

Boots - Ross

Tights - Payless

Dress - Old Navy

Denim Jacket - Body Central

Shirt - Target

Look 3 Items Worn:

Boots - Charlotte Russe

Tights - Payless

Dress - Forever 21

Sweater - Ross

Scarf - Walmart

Look 4 Items Worn:

Boots - Ebay

Tights - Charlotte Russe

Dress - Cotton On

Cardigan - Target

Shirt - Target

Belt - Body Central

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Ulta Cream Eyeshadows Review

I love cream shadows and anything colorful that you can use to pile shadows on top of!  By simply using a different color base you can really come up with some very cool and unique looks.

I was super skeptical to pick these up because Ulta products are very hit & miss in my opinion, I thought I would give them a go because I love cream eyeshadows, plus they were on sale 3 for $9 and I just recently started working at Ulta so I got to use my employee discount bringing these guys down to like nothing, $2.25 a piece.  I just wish we had more colors in stock at the time :-P

Now let's get on to the actual review... who really cares why I picked these up!

REVIEW

Holy cow I love these eyeshadows!

Pros:

They do not crease at all whatsoever with or without a primer! Can't ask for much more than that, right? These are definitely a cream eyeshadow done right!

Glass pot and metal lid should help prevent products from drying out over time (hopefully).

Cons:

I wish there was a bigger color selection.  Online they only show 7 color choices. 

Darker colors may need some building to get full color pay off.

Bronzed is really what I would call a medium/dark brown, it doesn't have a real bronzey tone to it.  It's the perfect shade for just using all over the lid to get yourself out the door in the morning!

Amethyst needs some building up to get the deep color pay off you see in the pot.  I feel like it's almost a different formula than the others, it comes off patchy with the first application and if you don't let it dry down for a sec, when you go to build it up, you can end up erasing whatever you put down initially.  It's somewhat of a pain in the butt if you want to use it by itself. 

If I had picked this one up alone, I probably wouldn't have given these shadows a good review.  So good thing I got more than one because I love Bronzed & Rose Gold.

Rose Gold is gorgeous! It's a wonderful pinky-champagne color that so many brands have and so many people love!  It has a nice sheen to it where it can be used as a one color look and the way the light hits it can create its own shadows and depth, it's very pretty.  I think this one is my favorite of the bunch. 

These retail for $8, but Ulta always has some kind of deal going on for their brand of products, so don't pay full price, just wait a week and there will be a sale. :)  Even though they are still totally worth the $8 for how well they perform!

You can find them at Ulta.com or in store.

I hope this was helpful!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Pixi Nail Colour - Charcoal Celebration

Here is another nail polish review! I had never noticed that Pixi had nail polishes until I went to Target last week and they had a display on one of the end caps, which of course I had to check out, and ended up buying one of the polishes.  They had some really nice vibrant colors, but I've been on the hunt for darker, fall colors lately, so I picked up this charcoal colored one called Charcoal Celebration.

Overall, this is a pretty decent polish, and it should be at $8 a bottle.  

The bottle also contains less product than most other nail polishes I own at .25 fl oz or 7 ml.

The first coat is pretty crappy, and at first I thought "holy cow, I paid $8 for this?" But with the second coat, it looks gorgeous and perfectly opaque. 

This polish dried pretty quickly as well, which of course is always a plus. 

And the wear on the polish surface was really nice.  Sometimes I'll get a polish that will get dull or scratched on the surface and it's no longer pretty, shiny, and fresh looking, but this polish kept its shine and beautiful surface the whole time I wore it.

Day 2: Slight wear on tips, still better than most polishes I have tried.

Day 3: One nail chipped.

Day 4: A little more wear on tips, but really not that bad.

Overall, yes, I would check these out if I were you.  I  know one nail chipped on me in three days, but it must have just been a fluke because the wear on the other nails were not bad at that point.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

OOTD :: Saturday October 12, 2013

Here's an outfit paired around a dress I picked up for the spring/summer, but one you can even style for the fall months too!  Just by adding a cardigan and booties, you can really transform an outfit that you might have only thought was suitable for summer.  I hope you guys like this and find a little bit of inspiration!

 Outfit details:
Boots - Charlotte Russe
Tights - Target I'm pretty sure
Dress - Target
Cardigan - Target
Belt - Body Central
Necklace - Charming Charlie
Bracelets
- Coral - Body Central
- White & Gold - Charming Charlie
- Leather - made by my mom :)
Earrings - Body Central

Lenses:
G&G A21 Grey

What's on my nails?
Flower Beauty - Venus Fly Trap

FYI - I have been obsessed with this nail polish from Flower Beauty.  As you may know, I have reviewed a lot of different drugstore nail polish brands and none have really held up like these Flower Beauty polishes do!  They will last perfectly all week for you, plus this color is so perfect for fall!  I don't remember seeing this in the original collection at my local Walmart, so it may be a new addition, which is super awesome because I really love them!  It's a dark dark blood red color that I wouldn't have previously thought to pick up, but since it's my favorite nail polish brand, I just had to get it.  It's an awesome dark fall color and you should totally check it out if you're looking for a great brand of polish that lasts long, looks gorgeous, and is great for this time of year!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Autumn Makeup Tutorial ft. Sigma Creme de Couture Collection

Watch the video here!

Products Used:

Face…

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

Sigma Crème de Couture Blush

-          Cherry Apple

-          Blackberry Essence

Eyes…

Benefit Stay Don’t Stray Eye Primer

Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil – Riot

Sigma Crème de Couture Eyeshadow Palette

-          Passion Fruit

-          Violet Whip

-          Lavender Honey

-          Café au Lait

-          Cassis

-          Elderberry

ELF Cream Eyeliner – Plum Purple

Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner

Milani Liquifeye Pencil

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara

Lips…

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain – Charm

BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss – Crowd Pleaser

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

OOTD :: Friday, October 11, 2013

Yay! I successfully captured all of my outfits for the school week! I have also compiled them into an "Outfits of the Week" video which will be up next week sometime!

If I had a steadier work schedule, I could probably do this more often but this week I just got lucky and had daylight hours free each day to film. :)  

I will definitely try to do this again but who knows when it will be, plus with the days getting shorter and shorter, daylight time to film outside becomes a little pain with my current schedule with school and work and having a life. lol. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this little adventure with me.  Let me know if you liked these daily outfits or what other post you'd like to see!

Outfit details:
Boots - Ross
Skirt - Body Central
Top - Love Culture
Necklace - Body Central
Watch - Walmart
Scarf - Target
Ring & Earrings - made by my mom :)

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

OOTD :: Thursday October 10, 2013

Outfit Details:

Shoes - Target

Pants - Charlotte Russe

Sweater - Rue 21

Scarf - Walmart

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Cuff Bracelet - Payless

I've also been capturing these in video form so I can compile an OOTW video for you guys, which I'm excited for because this is the first time I've tried this. :) 

I'm so proud of myself for actually keeping up on this challenge for myself this week so far! (I hope I haven't jinxed myself now by saying that! lol) If you don't know what I'm talking about, on my Facebook page, I mentioned that I wanted to try and capture my outfit everyday for the school week and it's Thursday and we're still going strong! :) 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

OOTD :: Wednesday October 9, 2013

Outfit:

Shoes - Payless

Tights - Payless

Skirt - Banana Republic

Cardigan - Target

Shirt - Cotton On

Scarf - a gift from my sister

Necklace - a gift from Justin

Watch - Walmart

Leaves Bracelet - Payless

Pearl Bracelects - JC Penney

Love Wrap Bracelet - Payless

Ring - made by mom

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

OOTD With My Sister :: October 8, 2013

Ryann’s Outfit:

Shoes – Target

Pants – Target

Top – Target

Watch – Target

Necklace – Body Central

Earrings – Old Navy

My Outfit:

Boots – Ebay

Tights – Charlotte Russe

Shorts – Target

Tank – Body Central

Plaid Shirt – Body Central

Cardigan – Target

Bracelets – JC Penney

Watch – Walmart

Necklace – Gift from Justin

What's on my nails?

Flower Beauty - Venus Fly Trap

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Crazy Review :: LUSH Imperialis Moisturizer

First of all, I love this moisturizer!  Even though as you read this review you may not realize it...

This stuff is very lightweight, you can hardly tell it's on your skin.  However, when you touch your hand to your cheek, you can feel it there.  This may not really make sense... I feel like I'm bad at explaining this.  You can't feel it when it's sitting on your skin, but when you go to touch your skin, you can feel it there.

This stuff blends beautifully, with just a teeny bit going a really long way.

I haven't noticed a reduction in my oiliness and now that it has started to get drier and cooler out, I have had a couple little dry areas on my face, and I haven't seen a real improvement for those spots either.

I haven't seen my oiliness get any worse, so I guess that's always good right? :)

Right now, you're probably like, what is this moisturizer doing for you then?  Why do you even like it?  And I say... just the fact that it feels so lightweight and undetectable, I love it to pieces!  Every other moisturizer I've tried have just been too heavy and sticky feeling and just make me feel gross and already oily, but this stuff is just a dream to wear.

It has a light pink color to it.  It smells wonderful, but the scent doesn't linger on your skin, which is great since I can be sensitive to strong scents at times.  I'm not such a fan of the packaging.  It doesn't seem very sanitary to dip my finger in there to get product out.  The formula is somewhat watery, so if you tilt the container for even a split second, the product will transfer onto the lid and into the little ridges around the lid, causing a little pain in the butt when you open it the next time.  I would not want to travel with this particular container, just putting that out there.

PROS
lightweight
blends well

CONS
can feel sticky to the touch
hasn't reduced oiliness
hasn't improved dry spots

I realize this review doesn't make much sense.  I have more CONS than PROS, yet I still love this stuff and would recommend it.  Maybe I'm just a crazy chick.  I still hope this was helpful to somebody out there! :)

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

OOTD Monday October 7, 2013

Hey everyone!
Fall finally decided to show up this week which means yay! holy cow I finally get to wear boots and sweaters and scarves and all that awesome stuff that you have to love about fall!

Sooo... I was wondering if I could actually keep up enough that I could capture an entire week's worth of outfits (and by one week, I just mean one school week, so five days). I don't know how this is going to work out, but let's give it a go. lol. So here we are starting out with Monday.

Boots - Ross
Socks - Target
Tights - Target?
Dress - Body Central
Red Cardigan - Target
Tan Cardigan - Target
Necklace - Charming Charlie
Ring - H&M






















What's on my nails?
Flower Beauty - Venus Fly Trap

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Benefit "Ulta"mate Sexy Six

Bad Gal Lash Mascara
Not super impressed with this one.  I don't find it to be very volumizing or lengthening.  It makes the lashes look very natural, but blackened.

Hoola Bronzer
This is a great bronzer but I think it would better suit more medium skin tones.  I find it to be too orangey on my skin, but the formula is wonderful.  It's greatly pigmented and it blends perfectly.

That Gal Brightening Face Primer
This primer does just as good of a job as any other primers I have tried.  I don't find it to be particularly brightening though.

Stay Don't Stray Eye Primer
This primer has a great consistency.  It's sticky enough for shadows to cling to and show up super bright, but of course it doesn't crease.

High Beam
Beautfiul highlight! Love!

Posie Tint
Perfect spring-y bubble pink color! I love it!

Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this set because I only liked half of the products in there.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

BareMinerals MarvelousMoxie Lip Gloss Set - Show Me the Shimmer

These glosses are great.

They are minty feeling on the lips, which I love. 

They have excellent color pay off.

The shimmer in them isn't OTT, you can't feel it in the gloss, so it isn't gritty.

They last quite awhile actually, about 3+ hours or so.

They are not overly sticky, but they don't just slide off your lips either.

One downside is that I don't enjoy reapplying them.  I would rather take the entire leftover gloss off, then apply the gloss again than build on top as a touch up.  Whenever I try to build on top, it becomes too sticky and almost a chunky texture; something no one wants on their lips! lol. 

Overall they are wonderful though, even though they can seem a little pricey.  I would recommend checking out these little sets because they have a few (I saw 3) and I'm sure there will be more with the holidays on the way!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina