Lush Tender Is the Night Massage Bar Review, Pictures

Tender is the Night contains scents of vanilla, jasmine, and ylang ylang.  When I read that, I figured it would have a similar scent to Twilight (my all-time favorite Lush scent).  Twilight contains lavender, tonka absolute (similar to vanilla), and ylang ylang oil.  So I figured these two would smell similar.  They both smell good, but "Tender" isn't quite the same, it's like a cousin of Twilight.  "Tender" has a sweeter scent.

I have never used a massage bar before, and it's not like I need any more lotions... I have too many as it is, but the fragrance of this one drew me in.

I find it easy to apply.  You don't necessarily want to coat your entire body with this bar though, I just smooth it on about half the surface area I want to cover, then rub it in.  If I apply it to every inch I want to be moisturized, it ends up being too oily and doesn't absorb well.  Then I rub the excess into my hands, which soaks in really well and leaves my hands smelling awesome and feeling awesome too.

When you don't apply too much, it absorbs completely into the skin in about half an hour.  If you want a lotion you can apply then immediately start getting dressed and ready for your day, this may not be for you.  I like wearing it now in the summertime just on days when my legs are exposed, since I've only been using it on my legs so far anyway.

I find that the scent isn't too overpowering or heavy, which is great for me because many scents can give me a headaches... not cool.  It fades after a few hours, but it wasn't super strong to begin with.

Overall, I think this thing is going to last me forever, I enjoy the scent. Did I really need it? No, but I'm glad I picked it up.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

ELF Studio Mineral Infused Tone Adjusting Green Color Correcting Primer : Review

This has a very wet feeling to it, it feels slick on the skin.  It does absorb well and glide on smoothly.  It doesn't leave any sort of sticky or tacky feeling, no sheen either.  It does pretty well at mattifying the skin.  Like most primers, it creates an awesome foundation for the rest of your face makeup and makes everything glide on smoothly and nicely.  I find that when I use this primer I use less foundation because it just makes everything go the distance.  Whereas, when I use no primer, I always have to go in for a second pump of my usual foundations.  However the one downside, which is supposed to be the selling point of this product, I don't find that it cancels ANY of my redness... like at all, but it also doesn't leave a greenish cast to the face either, so that's good.

It doesn't prevent any type of creasing or reduce the size of my pores.  I wore it on half of my face to compare between skin with primer and skin without, but both sides looked essentially the same and didn't wear any differently throughout the day.  Without touching up with powder, I was still shiny and oily by the end of the day, so this primer is not any sort of lifesaver by any means.  I enjoy that it allows foundation to glide on smoothly so you will use less product.

While testing it on half of my face, I did notice my blush/bronzer was still super intense on the side "with primer" by the end of the day, while the other side had faded a bit.  Maybe I just didn't apply as much on the "no primer" side first thing in the morning, or maybe it really did help the rest of my face makeup look awesome all day.

I believe I used to own the original version of this, but the pump broke in no time and I threw it out.  The formula of that original mineral infused primer was thicker and felt more like a gel, whereas this tone correcting one has a more liquidy feel.  It has an almost mousse-like texture but it feels wet when applied.

PROS
-makes the skin look matte
-helps you use less foundation
-helps foundation blend smoothly over top
-maybe helped my blush/bronzer stay strong all day

CONS
-not color correcting
-doesn't reduce pore size
-doesn't control oil
-doesn't really help foundation look or last any better by the end of the day versus "no primer"

Overall, I would not recommend this if you are truly looking for a color correcting primer.  However, if you just want an affordable primer to help your makeup apply and look better, maybe try it out.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Circus by Andrea's Choice Nail Polish

Review : ELF Contouring Blush and Bronzer Duo - Turks & Caicos

This little duo would be magnificent for deeper skin tones.  Someone really needs to monitor my makeup buying, I am always buying things that simply are not the best for my skin.  Whether it's a foundation meant for dry skin, face products that are better for super deep skin.  I have oily skin and I'm pretty fair.  Anyway, let's actually talk about this product.

It is super pigmented, like so many ELF products.  Too pigmented for my light skin.  I have to be very careful.  The blush is a very light pink with a bronze-y kind of tone to it.  It's not a super colorful, playful blush, it looks more natural and really just adds to a bronze-y glow that's great for summertime.

Both the blush and bronzer have shimmer in them.  The shimmer in the bronzer isn't too intense once applied to the face, but sometimes I find the blush to keep too much shimmer once transferred onto the face.

Overall, this is a nice quality product.  ELF can be so "hit and miss," but this one is a hit in my opinion.  I should probably go pick one up in a shade duo that would suit my skin tone a little better. :-P

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Covergirl Nail Polish - Grapevine : Review

This polish took three coats to get a great opaque finish. Two coats looks decent, but three coats really makes it look its best.  Even my favorite nail polishes can still take three coats, so that's not the problem I have with this polish.  The deal breaker, as usual, is the wear time.  After just one day, you can already see noticeable wear on the tips of the nails and on day two they start to chip.  The chipping isn't crazy drastic, but it's just enough to make you want to take it off.

The formula is not super streaky, but it does come off somewhat sheer in the first layer.

This polish is also difficult to remove with nail polish remover.  The formula makes it stain the skin around your nails and it took me 4 cotton balls to remove!  One polish that is super easy to remove and has a great formula are the Zoya nail polishes.

For my final thoughts, I would not recommend this nail polish.  The wear time is just plain bad, and that's the deal-breaker for me.  If you change out your nail color every other day or like to repaint coats everyday to keep them vibrant, then go right ahead, but for the drugstore price range, I'd skip out on this brand of polish.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Julep Nail Polish Review

I tried out this little subscription service because you can usually find a free code.  I got the box for free, then added a few little extras, and cancelled the subscription.  I would like to get more polishes, but I don't really like the idea of spending $20 a month on polishes.  (at least I think that's what the price was... I can't remember).  I like the idea of surprises in the mail, so not knowing what colors you're getting is tons of fun for me, so I picked an extra surprise polish when I purchased these.

This is actually a pretty decent nail polish.  I get no chipping or serious wear by day three, which is the breaking point for so many nailpolishes in my experience.

I also put this polish through quite the test.  I applied it the night before then spent several hours at work the next day rearranging shingle sample boards.  Shingles are hard, heavy, and grainy and they will ruin your nails.  I chipped a couple fingernails, but never saw any chipping or peeling of my nailpolish.  They did get some dimples or indentations in the polish, but the color did not come off.  For normal everyday wear, they can still get some indentations in the polish, but they don't chip or peel.

I must admit, the indentations are weird, but it's fine by me.  You can really only see the marks when you look really close, and I much prefer that over chipping.

Overall, I say give the company a try.  I was impressed with the stuff I got, but like I said, being a college student, I don't really have $20 every single month to spend on nail polishes.  Plus I enjoy trying new stuff instead of getting the same brand over and over again.  I like blogging about my experiences with different products. :)

I hope this was helpful.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Sleek Face Form Kit - Fair - Contour, Highlight, Blush : Review

I had been eyeing the new Urban Decay Flushed palettes.  I swatched them all and thought about it, and stared at them, trying to decide what to do.  I just wasn't happy with the combinations in any of them.  Half of the highlighters were too dark for my skin, the bronzers too shimmery, etc.  I just wasn't happy with my choices and I wasn't going to pay $30 for something I wasn't completely in love with.  So I started checking out Sleek makeup and found this little palette and I'm sooo glad I did.

What I liked about Sleek over UD...
-Matte bronzer
-Light enough highlight for my pale skin
-Coral blush (one of my favorites blush colors)
-Affordable! :)

All three components of this palette are just perfectly made for light skin tones.  The one I got is in "fair" but that's only because "light" was a couple bucks more on Amazon, where I bought mine.  None of these products are too pigmented or heavy or dark for my skin.  I am super happy with this purchase.  They are not too light either.  They are just excellent colors with just the right amount of pigmentation for pale skin.  I feel like this palette is the goldy locks of all face products I've come across.

Bronzer - not too orange, easy to blend, looks super natural, and just gives a little bit of color.  It may not be dark or pigmented enough for really contouring, but it's great just to give some all over color.  It doesn't have shimmer, it is totally matte, which makes me happy because the other two products have a sheen.  To me using a shimmery blush, bronzer, and highlight would have been just way too much.
Blush - not too pigmented, but you also do not have to dig your brush in to get color.  It's very natural and not too shimmery on the skin.
Highlight - very natural and sheer.  When swatched it looks very intense, but on a brush, it doesn't get too heavy and crazy, it looks very natural; however, you can build it up using your fingers or a dense brush to achieve a more intense look if that's what you like.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Sally Girl Single Shadows Review + Swatches - Mint, Onyx, Wine

Everyone has been nuts over these little eyeshadow singles lately, so I thought I'd pick them up as well.


Colors Left to Right:
Mint, Onyx, Wine

Mint: a minty, light aqua color with silver shimmer.
Onyx: a deep matte charcoal.
Wine: a deep black-based plum with golden shimmer.

The packaging is cheap, to be expected, but it is a cool concept to connect them into your own little custom palette.  They are not crap by any means, but they can be somewhat difficult to work with under certain conditions.  For the price, go check them out.  They have a pretty wide color selection so if you see one that looks good, go for it.  For $.99, it's not a terrible investment.

These are very soft and somewhat crumbly, so fall-out can be an issue with these if you try to work too quickly or use sweeping motions with your brush.  However, they are very pigmented.  They remind me of Wet n Wild eyeshadows because of their high pigmentation and soft texture.  They can be somewhat chunky though and difficult to blend.  The matte one in particular is hard to blend.  They are only $.99 so it's hard to expect perfection, they do take a little bit of extra work but they are beautiful colors.

By the way, I was just thinking, maybe the chunkiness has to do with the wavy design on them.  Maybe if they were just flat, it wouldn't be such an issue.  I guess we will have to see after I have worn them down enough to flatten them out.

Without primer, these shadows can be patchy and difficult to blend.  On top of a sticky base such as a cream eyeshadow, they look gorgeous, but you just have to make sure you extend that base to wherever you will be putting shadow.  If you get to the border of a cream shadow, they aren't going to perform as pigmented on the outer edge without that base there to support them.  Even using my typical primer, these do not come off any better. If you go in with your finger instead of a brush, you can get great full color like you can see in the swatches.  It's just so surprising that they swatch nicely, yet don't perform well at all under typical eyeshadow application circumstances.

They are not the best eyeshadows in the world, but for the price, they are pretty nice and as long as you like to use bases or at least primers, they're going to turn out just as nice as many other shadows.  For $.99, go check them out and see what you think.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

June Ipsy Glam Bag Pictures, Swatches, & Mini Reviews

BE A BOMBSHELL LASH OUT MASCARA

I'm actually pretty impressed with the mascara.  It's a drier formula, which I enjoy.  It's pretty volumizing, though not so lengthening.  I really like the size of the brush for my smaller, hooded eyes.  It works and looks awesome on my lower lashes.

OFRA UNIVERSAL EYEBROW PENCIL

The eyebrow pencil is just not a good eyebrow pencil.  It is way too creamy to use on the brows.  It does not set, so you can smear it around or even remove it if you touch your brows.  Not cool.  It won't even be great as an eyeliner because it doesn't set, it will just smear around and simply not look good.  I would also not call this "universal" at all.  I think it's very dark for blondes. This one was definitely one of the duds this month.

MARC ANTHONY BEACH SPRAY

The beach spray is just like any other affordable brand of beach spray I've ever tried.  The only one that has ever worked with my hair is the Healthy Sexy Hair one.  Others just don't really give me any kind of wave.  My hair has naturally become straighter and straighter as I've gotten older, but if you have already naturally wavy hair, I'm sure it would work fine.  It does give a ton of texture, so if you're looking to create a hairstyle where you need an extra little bit of dirtiness to make your hair stay put, this would be an awesome product to spritz in first before you go styling your hair.

NYX BUTTER GLOSS

I enjoy the NYX Butter Glosses, even though I'm usually not a huge fan of gloss.  On windy days, my hair just gets caught on my lips and that's really the number one thing I hate lol.  Plus I like to apply lip products I don't need to worry about, and glosses just never last long enough for me.  However, these glosses are not sticky and yucky feeling and they actually last a little longer than many other drugstore glosses I've tried.  This one in particular is a pinky nude color.  It's still pigmented like the other Butter Glosses, but it's just a nude color so it may not really look like it.

REALTREE PERFUME

I'm not a big perfume wearer, but this one is a scent I would go for on that once in a blue moon occasion that I wear perfume. My mom can't handle the scents of perfumes, they're too strong and give her headaches, so I've been raised to not use them in the house or anywhere around her, so I'm not a big fan myself.  Sometimes strong scents will give me headaches too, so I just stick to body sprays and lightly scented stuff. 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

NYX Tango with Bronzing Powder - When Leopard Gets a Tan : Review + Swatches

I bought this because of the awesomely talented Amy on YouTube (makeupandbeautybyamy) because she filmed a video showing how to fix your powders that aren't as pigmented as they used to be (that video also helped me save my beloved NYX blush in Taupe).  The powder she demonstrated this technique on was the NYX Tango with Bronzing Powder in When Leopard Gets a Tan.  I wasn't even sure of the color and didn't quite know if it was going to be a blush or a bronzer, but I ordered it anyway just because it's adorable... I mean, just look at it, how could I pass it up :)

It has a sheen, which I'm usually not such a fan of, but this summer, I've been getting a little bit more into the glowy look.  All swirled together, is comes out to a natural bronze-y color that is perfect for my light skin.  It's not too pigmented and dark, it's really easy for me to use.  The dark pink and deep brown give it an almost sunburned look, which I think looks very natural and flattering.  I've been into that almost sunburned look this season.  But I also enjoy using it in sections.  I dab right on the center pink spot and it comes out to a deep pink blush that I love now, but I know I'm going to love even more come fall and winter.  The light brown is actually more of a peachy color, which I just love.  I love me some peachy blushes!  It can be hard to get the section of color that you want (if you want to use it that way, which I don't really believe is the intended purpose of this product), but it's not overly pigmented, so you can swirl the brush and not end up with way too much product.  Plus the colors just look so great together, you're not going to be devastated if your peachy blush has a tad of brown in it.  It just makes it more natural looking, I believe.  I hope I'm making sense here. :-P

Even if I'm just going to open this to stare at how adorable it is, I love it.

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Alaina

The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer Highlight Powder : Review + Swatches

     I love this powder!  Holy cow, I am just so in love.  I don't own too many highlighting powders, I really think I only own two drugstore powders, plus Benefit High Beam, that's it.  So when I got this high end product, I was blown away by it.  First of all, the texture is creamy and buttery and smooth and wonderful.  It is super pigmented.  It looks gorgeous! I just love this powder.

     It's not glittery or sparkly.  In the sunlight, it just looks like an awesome glow, it doesn't look like you have glitter or anything on your skin.  It's just so pretty.  I never thought I'd love a highlighter so much, what with me having oily skin and fearing looking shiny and all, but this product has turned me into a definite highlight lover.

     The texture of this powder is just so smooth and luxurious, it is definitely worth the money!  I bought mine on Amazon for $18.99, which is a little deal from Kohls and Nordstrom's $24 price tag.  And it came with this free brush.  The brush is cheap and crappy quality, not at all soft, but it was free, so it's all good.

     I would recommend this.  It can be a very intense highlight but if you use a super light hand, you can get a more natural look with it too.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

ELF HD Undereye Setting Powder

    I got this product because of shaaanxo on youtube because she raves about it and I love shaaanxo.  I have issues with pretty much every concealer I have tried, they will always crease in my undereye fine lines.  And I'm only 22, so I can't imagine what it's going to look like in ten or twenty years lol.  I really hoped this was going to be the solution to my problem.

     This powder is super light and fine, so it blends out to nothing and you definitely cannot detect it on the skin.  It does not look powdery or cakey whatsoever, which is a great bonus. 

     This powder does have shimmer.  You can see it in the jar, and once it's on the skin, you can see a couple particles in the right lighting, but it's nothing crazy and it doesn't bother me.

     After watching this video showing one of my favorite YouTubers tarababyz foundation technique, I realized what I had been screwing up the entire time.  I started applying my concealer not directly up to the lower lash line, but just before it gets to my undereye fine lines, and using the setting powder to blend out and set the entire undereye area.  This has saved me and makes me super happy.  I no longer get stupid creasing in my concealer, plus this ELF setting powder actually really does cover enough that you can't even notice that I didn't apply concealer all the way to the lower lashes line. 

     This powder has a blurring effect that, when applied as I described, makes the undereye area look flawless.  I haven't noticed a white cast under my eyes in photos and I think it has something to do with how fine the powder is, it doesn't cake up to make that area reflective in flash photos. Overall, I would definitely recommend this product especially for lighter skin girls like myself, I'm not sure how it would turn out on medium or deep skin tones.  Also, try applying concealer a little lower and let me know how it works out, I am loving the results.  I don't find that this powder prevents creasing when I use it in the old fashion, but once I've started using this technique, I love this powder.

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Alaina

Clearance Items at Walgreens - Maybelline Color Whispers & Color Tattoos

Hanging out at Walgreens the other day, I came across a couple Maybelline items that were on clearance.  I don't know if this means they are going to be discontinued, but I just thought I'd put it out there.  If you enjoy the Color Whispers and Color Tattoos, maybe go see what your local Walgreens has going on...

I picked up three of the Color Whisper lip products and one Color Tattoo.

I enjoy the Maybelline Color Whispers over the Baby Lips.  The Color Whispers just seem to have both more moisture and pigmentation, which is great!  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Baby Lips, but they're also cheaper, and that's why I purchased many of those over these Color Whispers.  Since these little guys were on clearance for $3-something, I thought I'd pick them up since I really enjoy the one that I already own, Oh La Lilac (which I think was also on clearance, but I just passed it up).

The Color Tattoo seemed somewhat dried up.  If it was on clearance, it could have been sitting there for a long time, so it's understandable.  It was still sealed however.  I'm not sure if that's just the texture of this particular color or if it actually was a little old.  It's still totally usable and I actually like the thickness it seems to have because it comes off very opaque and intense.  I can't stand getting sheer cream shadows and bases.  I want them to have some real color!  Anyway, the color of this one is beautiful!  It's not a crazy, out-there, over-the-top orange, it's a very nice orange perfect for all seasons.  It's bright enough to be a great spring/summer shade, but also has that slight muted feel to it that makes it perfect for fall as well.  I can't believe I hadn't picked this one up before because I am so in love.  And for $3-something, it's an even better deal. :)

Just thought I would let you guys know what's up at Walgreens.  I hope this was helpful in some way.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Maybelline The Nudes Eyeshadow Look

Click here to see my review & swatches of the palette.

Look #2

Look #3

I just love this palette.  I created this look as a light daytime appropriate look.  I am already obsessed with the color I used on the inner half of my lid.  You can't see it great in the photos, but it looks beautiful in real life, nonetheless.  It has a golden shimmer to it and it's just beautiful, not too shimmery at all.  

This was the first look I really created with this palette and the shadows were even more impressive than I imagined while swatching them.  I didn't have to pile them on to get color to show up, there was zero fallout actually, which is superb, and they blended very nicely. Once again, I am impressed with this palette and can't wait to see what else Maybelline has in store for us in the future. 

Products Used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Maybelline the Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

Lorac Front of the Line Pro Eyeliner

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Pencil - Nude

ELF 3-in-1 Mascara

Sleek Makeup Face Form Contour Kit - Fair

Maybelline Color Whisper Lipstick - Who Wore It Red-er?

Here's the video tutorial if you want to watch it... :)

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Alaina

Wet N Wild Fergie Perfect Pout Lip Color Lipsticks Review

     These are great quality lipsticks, especially for the price.  Wet n Wild once again delivers for awesome prices.  These are super opaque lipsticks that will leave a stain behind.  This is something I enjoy from a lipstick if you want to wear it all day.  It's not going to fade badly, the stain will help your lips keep quite a bit of color even once the actual lipstick has worn away.

     Fuchsianista is a semi-metallic finish cool hot pink & Ferguson Crest Cabernet is a dark wine color.

     They do fade a tad bit on the inner portion of the lips if you've been eating or drinking a bunch, but like I said, the stain left over still looks good.

     They will feather a tiny bit on their own, but that's nothing a lip liner won't help you out with.  They faded a tad on the outer edges of my lips without any primer or lip liner, it honestly wasn't anything bad though.  However, beware that if you put a gloss on top, they're gonna feather bad.  I tried it once with a Bare Minerals Moxie lipgloss and will not do it again.  I don't usually like a glossy look anyway, but after seeing how badly these lipsticks feathered with a gloss on top, it was bad, I'll just leave it at that.

     These lipsticks wear comfortably.  They don't feel dry whatsoever.  I enjoy the Wet n Wild SilkFinish and MegaLast lipsticks as well, however, I find them both to be drying after a couple hours, so it's great that with the Fergie Lipsticks, you get the same awesome color payoff, plus they feel good on the lips.

     My only complaint, as with many Wet n Wild products, is the packaging.  You can just tell that it's cheap and isn't going to hold up for as long as you are still using the product.  This is, of course, a big pain in the butt, but I'm sure it's also a reason why we get these great quality items for such affordable prices.  Sometimes you just have to settle for some give and take.

     I would recommend these, especially if you find them on sale at Walgreens or CVS, there are always deals going on if you just wait a week or two.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

New Maybelline The Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

If you want to see a wearable look using this palette, click here.
To see a more intense look, click here.
For a summer time look, click here.

   This palette could be the start of a revolution in drugstore makeup. I truly believe that.  For less than $10 at Bed Bath and Beyond, this palette is just awesome. 
It was $9.79 plus I had a 20% off coupon,  so this palette was very affordable.
     A large eyeshadow palette at the drugstore?!  And still at an awesome price?!  This thing just blew me away.
     The quality of the shadows, the variety of textures, finishes, and colors... this palette is a masterpiece.  Maybelline,  I am impressed.

     Now first if all,  yes,  I would recommend this palette.  Now let's move on to the shadows themselves...

1 -  this shadow is a light pinky white with golden shimmer.  It is beautiful and a great all over lid shade,  inner corner highlight,  or just a shadow to place on the inner section of the lid.  It has a pretty iridescence to it that I am loving.

2 - this is a light taupe that has a bit of a satin finish, but is overall pretty matte.  It's a great crease or blending shade for a light daytime look. 

3 - this is a creamy beige that would be light enough to use as a brow bone highlight for many skin tones. It is totally matte and very pigmented,  especially for such a light color.  It can be somewhat powder-y, but it's nothing crazy. 

4 - this is a beautiful satin-shimmer chocolate brown.  A very traditional color in most neutral palettes, but this one has a wonderful buttery texture and excellent pigmentation.  It doesn't have chunky glitter,  but a nice golden sheen instead. 

5 - this is a medium cool toned taupe-brown.  It will be a great smokey eye blending color.  I really love a good cool toned matte brown for blending.  

6 - this is a dark  neutral brown, it's not too cool and not to warm either. 

7 - this is a warm golden brown similar to shadow number 4, but it is not nearly as dark.  It also has more neutrality to it than number 4, it doesn't come off as golden. 

8 - this is a medium warm brown which is matte and makes a good blending shadow. 

9 - this golden is lighter than it looks in the pan.  It is not as if the shade is not pigmented,  items simply a light gold,  not an intense golden color.  It makes for neutral eye look,  not pushing it over the top by being too stark and golden. 

10 - this is a dark brown with almost deep plum shimmer. Very pretty. 

11 - this is shimmery pinky cream that actually doesn't have too much sparkle, so if you're up to it,  you could use it as brow bone highlight because it is a tad lighter than number 1.

12 - finally the last shade is a matte black.  It's not an intense deep black,  but I actually find that to be a good thing.  It's more if a charcoal. This makes it more wearable and you are less likely to go overboard or end up with a darker look than you were anticipating. 

I love this palette because it includes warm and cool tones, mattes and shimmers,  lights and darks. It's just awesome and I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks for reading! 

Love, 

Alaina