Updates and College jabber

Hey all! First of all, I want to apologize for the lack of activity.  I was posting every day there for a little bit then kinda dropped out.  I just wanted to let you all know that I did not in fact, fall off the face of the earth, I just transferred from a community college to a university.  What's the big deal? You ask. Well, I lived at home when I started this blog and now I'm two hours away working ten hours a week and spending most of that to go home on the weekends because I'm literally the lamest college kid ever.  Basically, this just means that I don't really have any moo-lah to get anything beauty related and I don't have tons of time to post stuff. No thats a lie, I really do have a lot of extra time because I'm really shy here and pretty unsociable I just wasn't sure on what to post.

I'm still going to be doing wishlists every now and again and I actually have my desk organized all prettily so I can do a makeup and brush collection/storage post.  Probably by the time I get all that settled I will have gotten some bills paid off so I can start buying things I don't need again. (:

Okay, that's all I've got to say at the moment and if you find that this post doesn't make any sense at all that's because I'm currently blasting "Jai Ho" from Slumdog millionaire because my choir is doing this song and I absolutely friggin love it.  The choir version is better than the one on the movie but it's just really catchy and makes you want to dance.

More from me soon.
xo

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Review: E.L.F Naturals Palette

Hey all! So today I'm going to be reviewing one of my favorite products and that is my E.L.F Natural Palette. As you may remember, this was purchased from Walgreens for $4.99 at the beginning of December and has been a favorite of mine ever since. The palette is a collection of 12 warmer natural eye shades - some shimmer, some matte. This set comes in a cardboard casing with elastic strings at the edges to hold it shut. It included a double ended eyeshadow applicator, E.L.F brightening eye pencil in Coffee, and a mirror.

This palette is actual the reason I fell in love with the natural eye look. For the past few years I've been an all or nothing kind of girl, meaning, if I'm not wearing some dramatic look with bright eye colors, I'm probably just wearing eyeliner without any shadow on. But since I kept watching so many videos featuring the Naked palette, I decided I could try something a little different. And I'm so glad I did. Now that I'm back to being a red head, warm brown tones really bring out my green eyes.

 So first off, I'll address two of the most important aspects of an eyeshadow palette - color selection and pigmentation. This consists of three lighter shadows of highlighting - two are a shimmery champagne color with different undertones, and one is a matte off-white. There are also six medium colors that are perfect for a base lid color - most are shimmery brown tones, one shimmery mauve color, a gold color and a few matte browns/beige. The three darker contour colors are two shimmer and one matte. Now, I don't have the Naked palette but I have seen enough reviews to be able to say that these are not as pigmented or plush as the shadows in that palette. There are some colors that are bolder than others. For instance, the matte colors are as pigmented as the shimmer shadows and some of the lighter colors don't show up well at all. However, the darker colors and most of the shimmers show up wonderfully on the eye lid.

I have included swatches of the colors except for #1 because it was pretty much invisible on my skin.  These swatches really don't do some of the colors justice.  They do show up a lot better on the eyelids and they blend very well. I have used this palette almost every day since I got it and I do consider it a staple item in my collection now. I don't use primer and these shadows last me all day, but of course that all depends on individual skin chemistry as some people how more oily lids than others. I will be including swatches of each of the colors in this post as well as a photo of the look I wore the first day I used the palette. It's me in the Santa Clause hat, I'm sure you all have seen this photo already. Haha

 Just as a quick note, I was not a fan of the brightening eyeliner. It's not very pigmented and I preferred my own brown eyeliner instead. Also, the directions on the inside cover of the palette gave me some tips for looks that I hadn't thought about before, for instance, eyelining the outline eyes again after applying shadow to increase intensity. So would I recommend this palette? To those who don't want to spend $50 on an Urban Decay palette, yes I would recommend this as it has a great selection of colors and they are quite quality for the price. But to those of you that already have some version of the Naked palette, you probably won't need this but feel free to try it out anyway! (: I personally love it and don't go anywhere without it. It's literally in my purse as we speak.

Leave a Comment ELF, eyes, review

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Review: Revlon ColorStay Foundation

So today I shall be reviewing for you Revlon Colorstay foundation for combination/oily skin. I'm definitely one of the last people to probably review this but I was really excited to try it so I wanted to go ahead and review it since I'm in one of those modes these days. I've heard tons of good things about this foundation and when bloggers whom I know usually go for high end brands rave about something from a drug store, I know it's something I need to try. I've been battling for years to find the perfect liquid foundation. Most of the ones I've tried don't last long, sink into pores, aren't my shade, are too dewy , etc etc.

 Revlon Colorstay usually retails at most drugstores for about $12 but at Walmart it was actually $10, so that was my first plus. I purchased this in the shade Buff after some initial online research. Ivory and Buff are the two lightest shades though Ivory is for those with pink undertones and Buff is more neutral/beige with a very, very slight yellow tint.

 When I first applied this, I was a bit worried that I had picked the wrong color as I normally wear Cover Girl Clean makeup in Classic Ivory ( which is what I'm ultimately comparing this too throughout the review). Buff is slightly more yellow but when blended, it actually matched my neck perfectly which has never happened with a foundation before. I applied this my pouring a little on the back of my hand and blending onto my face with my ELF large stipple brush.

 The first thing I noticed was that this was slightly thicker than my CG foundation and that it provided almost full coverage immediately with the first application. It blended into the skin very easily. It does have kind of a scent to it but its not too overwhelming.

I applied this at 8 in the morning and it is now 4 in the after noon, which means this foundation has been on for 8 hours.  I did set this foundation this morning with my Rimmel London Stay Matte pressed powder and only now have I had retouch with pressed powder as I was starting to look a tad oily.  I did that about five minutes ago and after doing so, it literally looks like I just applied this foundation.  There has been no settling or separating, it still looks great.  This says that it will last 24 hours.  Now, I'm not actually going to stay up 24 hours just to tell you how it looks but I would say that if it still looks good now, it will easily last for the rest of the day.

Of course, this is only my first day using this foundation but if I was judging on first impressions only, I would say that I have probably just found my favorite foundation, finally ending the life time search.  This does have a matte finish, which I'm not a huge fan of but as you can see from the photo, I've applied a blush with some shippers in it to liven up my face a bit as you could easily do the same with highlighters or whatever.

The photo was taken after about six hours of wear and you can see it still looks pretty good.I do have some issues with acne/large pores which I think it covered quite nicely.  Also, I should note, I did not use a primer.  After this amount of time, my cover girl foundation would have already halfway melted off or settled into my pores, especially without a primer.  So, obviously, I'm quite pleased with this foundation.  I will continue to use it for the next week or so just to make sure I don't have any issues with breaking out but right now, I love this and I can see why it has been so popular!

[What I'm wearing in the photo: Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff, E.L.F. Studio Blush in Candid Coral, Rimmel London Stay Matte pressed powder in Natural, Cover Girl Lip Perfection lipstick in sultry, Cover Girl Perfect Blend eyeliner in blackest black, Maybelline the Rocket volum express mascara in very black]

Have you tried this foundation? What were your thoughts?

Also: Check out this beauty blog owned by a friend of a friend. She's fab! Makeup By Molly.com
xx

P.S. If anyone is interested in swapping blog buttons with me, I'm going to be adding a few on my sidebar.  Shoot me an email at jamieislovexoxo@aim.com]

4 comments Colorstay, drugstore, foundation, review, Revlon

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Review: Maybelline the Rocket Volum Express Mascara

I heard about this mascara when sarahbelle93 on twitter (I believe she's sarahbelle93x on YT) asked for recommendations for drugstore purchases.  This was mentioned as it is one of Maybelline's new products.  As we all probably know by now, I've been desparately trying to use up my NYC mascara because I hate it and my mini tube of Bad Gal Lash won't last long so when I saw this in the store I had to buy it.

This was $6, which is cheaper than Cover Girl Lash Blast, which I have mentioned loving before.  I purchased the shade Very Black and this is the waterproof version which claims 6x's more volume compared to the non waterproof 8x.  I figure there's probably not a huge difference and I needed waterproof so I went with that.

I put this on a 8am this morning and 8 hours later it still looks great.  There was absolutely no clumping whatsoever when I applied it and I instantly noticed fuller lashes.  I also haven't had any issues with flaking as I have had with other mascaras.  The wand, which I have pictured, is very similar to lash blast although perhaps slightly smaller as it isn't as big around.  This mascara also doesn't have the strong chlorine smell that my CG Lash Blast had, so that's a plus.

After using Benefit's Bad Gal Lash for the past week, I can honestly say I think is a better mascara.  I really like Bad Gal Lash but this gives much more volume and is only a quarter of the price.  I definitely recommend this to anyone and every one and I will be buying a brown as well. I'm sure I'll repurchase this when it runs out.  It's my new favorite mascara buy a landslide.

As for the pictures, I apologize for the low quality of the before/after shot. I didn't have good lighting anywhere but you get the idea.  The picture of me just gives you another view of how it really makes the eyes pop.

Remember you can click on the photos to view them full size.

4 comments drugstore, eyes, mascara, Maybelline, review

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Drugstore Beauty Product Haul

I went shopping at Walmart yesterday with my mom.  We finally got all the rest of the crap I need for college (I move into to dorms on Sunday as a transfer from CC).  This is just the stuff in the beauty product category that I thought I would share with you all. Stay tuned for a new post everyday for the next five days including reviews on these products!

• Garnier Nutriesse Permanent Hair Color in Rich Auburn Blonde #76 (used to be called Hot Tamale) - this is the color I've used the last three times I've died my hair.  It's my favorite red box-dye. Just wanted to go over my hair again as red dye does fade really fast and I don't use a color-safe shampoo.
• Bio True Contact Solution - I have a smaller bottle of this that I keep in my purse.  It's supposed to be a different formula than most that matches the natural chemistry of your eyes.  I really like this brand of solution.
• Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner - Only one is pictured for space's sake. I wanted Color Me Happy but Walmart was out of a lot of products yesterday which was weird. HE stuff always smells sooo good.
• Suave Color Protection Shampoo and Conditioner - This was really cheap and I thought I would give it a go and see how I like it.
• Freeman Facial Enzyme Mask in Pineapple and Clay Mask in Mint and Lemon - I love these type of face mask packets.  I really love mint smelling stuff and enzymes sounded like a major exfoliator so I'm excited to give those a try.
• iGo Scented Nail Polish Remover pads in Kiwi and Coconut - I saw a product like this from LA Colors reviewed on Influenster and I thought these looked like a cool idea.  They're acetone-free pads that are supposed to take off your nail polish.  Comes with 32 pads for $0.97. So we shall see.
• St. Ives Natural Indulgent Body Lotion in Coconut Milk and Orchid Extract -This smells amazing and makes my hands really soft.
• Maybelline Rocket Volum Mascara - This is one of the newest products from the brand. I LOVE this. I tried it out for the first time today. I have a review scheduled for it in a couple hours so stay tuned! 
• NYC Liquid Concealer - I really just needed a cheap concealer. I was going to get Hard Candy Glamoflage but I just need it for under eyes now and I felt like that would be too heavy. This does the job quite well for $4. If anyone wants a review on this lemme know.
• Cover Girl Lip Perfection lipstick in Sultry - I actually got this at Dollar General today but I just felt like I would throw it in here too. Review coming on this as well.
• Revlon ColorStay for Combination/Oily in Buff - Wearing this right now. We're on 7.5 hours and counting. Review scheduled for this also. (:
• Owl Canvas Bag (below) - I have two other canvas bags like this from WalMart. They're so cute and sturdy. I have the peacock feather bag and the zebra print (which I used all last semester to carry college books in.)

1 comment drugstore, haul

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Review: The All Natural Face Vegan Diva Stix

For those of you that don't know, I'm obsessed with The All Natural Face cosmetics.  I've been buying from Crystal for three years now and TANF is my all time favorite brand.  And for those of you eco-friendly people, all of her cosmetics are cruelty free, vegan and all natural mineral products free of harsh chemicals.

Ordering/Shipping/Packaging - 4/5
I ordered two sticks in Tempest and Deep Sea Green (this is actually the exact same color as my eyes). These eye sticks were $3.88 each which is a great price for the size they are.  For US customers, shipping prices are always reasonable, I've never been charged more than $3 for shipping.  I think this package was somewhere in the $1.70 range.  Also, which every purchase, Crystal (the lady that owns the company) always sends a free sample.  The last few times I was sent samples of the gel eyeliner, this time I receive a pigment sample called Plum Honey.  The reason I am giving this a 4 instead of a 5 is simply because the pencils didn't come pre-sharpened, which really wouldn't have taken much ever and would have been much more convenient.

Product Quality - 4.5/5
This is a very thick, smooth applying, very pigmented product.  As with any creamy eye product, there will probably be some creasing without a primer.  I'm currently wearing Deep Sea Green as an eyeliner right now and it looks great.

Overall - 4.5/5
Pigmented. Such Pretty colors. I'm really going to enjoy using these.

[photos: sticks, swatches (deep sea green, tempest, plum honey shadow),deep sea green]

3 comments all natural face, eyes, indie, review

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FOTD: ft New Products

* marks new products

Cover Girl Clean Foundation in Classic Ivory - two layers applied with stipple brush

*E.L.F. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Midnight - outline & wing of eyes

Cover Girl Perfect Blend eyeliner in Blackest Black - waterline

*Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara - top and bottom lashes

*E.L.F. Studio Blush in Candid Coral - cheeks to temples

*E.L.F. Studio Golden Bronzer - hallows

*Benefit Coralista Blush - apples of cheeks

*E.L.F Matte Lip Tint in Rich Red - this is a blue tone red, an orange tone would have fit my skintone better I think.

5 comments Benefit, ELF, FOTD

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Review: Kiss Nail Dress nail strips

First off, let me just start off by saying I was sent these to try out but, as with any freebies that I review, my opinions will always be 100% honest.  I waited about a week after receiving them before trying them out because I've never had good luck with fake nail kits and I figured these would be even more complicated and crappy so I wasn't sure if I even wanted to bother.  But, because the design was so pretty and perfect for my punk-rock state of mind, I decided to apply these on New Years Even before going on with some friends.

Application Process - 5/5

Applying these nails strips was so, so much easier than I thought it was going to be.  It was a lot simpler than having to deal with messy glue and finding the right sticker for your nail didn't take anywhere near as long as it does with glue on kits.  All I did to apply these was find one to match my nail, peel it off, stick it on to my nail (I had nail polish on underneath), smooth out the lumps, and trim off the excess with nail clippers.  Easy as that.  The total application time was around 10 minutes, probably not even quite that long.  In the photo you can see my pink polish underneath where the ones I choose didn't quite fit but this wasn't a huge deal and it is quite possible that the stickers I have left over would fit better, I'm just not very good at judging that sort of thing.

Longevity - 5/5

I put these on 12/31 and peeled them off today, 1/7.  They would have lasted the full 10 days but I was just ready to take them off and I needed to test the removal process for this review anyway.  In one of these photos, you can see where on the ring finger there are some 'chips' in the sticker.  These do peel up on the ends of the nails and so I would pull off the pieces but this only happened on a couple of nails and I think if I had applied a clear coat of polish to the tips, they would have looked perfect for the full week that I wore them.  These lasted so much longer than I ever dreamed they would.  They last longer than regular nail polish, and longer than any brand of fake nails I have ever tried including Broadway Impress.

Design Selection - 5/5

Each package of nail strips comes with an insert featuring all the available designs ranging from solids, to animal prints to lace (which I'm most excited to try).  The design I had, as you can see, was black with gold detailing and rhinestones.  They also came with gold stickers to have a nail accented.  I adored this design and by the end of the week, most of the rhinestones were even still in tact which was surprising.

Removal Process - 5/5

I just peeled these off the from the cuticle forward.  Other people that I've seen do reviews on this claimed that it left the nails a little rough or there was residue that was hard to get off but I didn't have that issue, possibly because I already had nail polish on when I applied the stickers.  There was residue, that was a sticky,plastic-y glue type substance but that peeled off as well. Removal took about 3 minutes with no residue.

Overall & Recommendation - 5/5

Would I recommend these? Yes.  I hope to be getting several more styles soon.  I will probably never use fake glue on nails again.  The application and removal was super quick and easy, they lasted forever, and looked fantastic.  I do recommend, however, that you wear a base coat underneath the stickers to keep your nails from getting roughed up when you remove them.

Leave a Comment drugstore, influenster, kiss nail dress, nails, review

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Haul: Target, E.L.F. & Sephora

This weekend, I decided to take a trip to Columbia, Missouri which is about 120 miles/2 hours away from where I live.  It is also the location of the nearest Target/Sephora/Aeropostale/Barns and Nobel. The primary reason to go was because I needed a pair of snow boots for college (I'm leaving next Sunday!!!).  Naturally, I couldn't very well go to the mall without stopping by the Sephora inside JC Penney's.  If you follow me on twitter, you know that yesterday was my very first trip into a Sephora store.  So I was very very thrilled about that.  You can even see a picture to the left, of my cheesing like an idiot holding my Sephora bag. xD

What I really wanted was something from LUSH or Tarte, as I've been eyeing their amazonian clay blushes lately but because it was a smaller store, they didn't have either of those brands.  Also, I'm cheap, so I probably wouldn't have wanted to shell out $40 for a blush anyway.  They did however, have a mini-product display from which I grabbed a small tube of Benefit Bad Gal Lash for $9, as well as a mini Coralista and Sunbeam (I think that's what it's called?) set for $10.  Both of which I'm wearing today.  I especially love Bad Gal Lash mascara.  Considering I've only used mostly $4 drug store brands, you can imagine my excitement at getting both of these products.

Before my trip to Sephora, I went into Target where I spent mass amounts of time because I pretty much want everything in that store.  I went to the shoe section and found a style of snow boots I really liked but none of them were in my size and the price tags were torn off so I couldn't see how much they were.  I was about to leave, sort of bummed that I still didn't have any boots when I checked the last aisle as a last resort. Low and behold was a lonely pair of that style of boots in a size 11, which is a really hard to find size, especially on clearance shoes.  Not only, did they fit perfectly but they were $11.90 marked down from $44.  Stoked didn't even begin to cover it. I'm actually wearing them now, for no reason, other than they are super comfortable.  I love them.

I couldn't leave Target without snagging some E.L.F products so that is all the other stuff I got that you can see in the picture which I will list for you.

ELF Products:

• Essentials line Eye shadow brush
• Studio line Angled Eyeliner brush
• Studio Blush in Tickled Pink 
• Studio Blush in Candid Coral 
• Studio line Golden Bronzer
• Studio Cream Eyeliner in Midnight
• Studio Matte Lip Color in Rich Red

I've tried out most of this and I'm really loving most of it.  Tomorrow I will post my FOTD for you (which is actually today's face) which features a lot of the products that I got yesterday. Sometime in the coming weeks I'm going to do the hit or miss post I've been wanting to do for awhile that is kind of a run down of the E.L.F. products I really liked and those that were kind of a let down.  I've bought sooo much from E.L.F. lately I thought it'd be a pretty decent post to do.

When I go to college I'll be a bit closer to a sephora and target..though I think the nearest is still 58 miles away but that's okay because I like road trips.

xx

I want to read reviews on Tarte blushes! Got one? Comment below with your link!

1 comment Benefit, ELF, fashion, haul, sephora, target

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What's In My Makeup Bag? w/video

Hey all! Another video coming your way!  Scroll to the end of this post to watch the video where I share with you what products I keep in my makeup bag as well as some mini-reviews on most of these products. Or, you can just read the list and look at the pictures. (:

Lesser Used Products/Stuff I need to take out of my makeup bag [bottom photo, left pile]:
LA Colors Little Black Book
ELF Matte Lip Tint in Nearly Nude
Hard Candy Glow 24k Gold
NYC Lipstick in Retro Red
All Natural Face mini Kabuiki Brush
Belle mini powder Brush
Eyelash curlers
Hard Candy Sheer Envy Face Primer

Newly Purchased Products/Stuff I Use Occasionally [bottom photo, right pile]:
Blistex Cold and Allergy Honey & Lemon Lip Balm
ELF Brightening Eyeliner in Coffee
Cover Girl Eye and Brow
ELF Shimmer Eyeliner in some green color that idk
Cover Girl Professional Mascara in brown
NYC Liquid Lipshine
ELF shimmering facial whip
ELF HD Blush in Superstar

Daily Face Products/Stuff I Use Everytime I Put On Makeup [top photo]:
Zoe&Zac Natural Blush Mineral Powder in Spring Eclipse
Rimmel London Natural Bronzer in Sundance
Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder
All Natural Face Mineral Foundation in Dark Tan Warm
Pencil Sharpener
Cover Girl Perfect Blend Eyeliner in Blackest Black
NYC Big Bold Mascara
Revlon Tweezers
ELF Large Stipple Brush
ELF Essentials Total Face Brush and Bronzing Brush
Pink Fluffy Brush from Fangling
ELF Matte Tinted Lip Color in Praline
LA Colors Pearl Liquid Eyeliner in Black Pearl
Cover Girl Clean Foundation in Classic Ivory

That's all! It's amazing how much stuff I got to fit in this bag. haha
And jsyk, this is by no means my entire makeup collection.  Not even close.

Do you have any of these products in your collection? Share!
Know any places online where I can get a cute makeup bag? Share!
Have you done a post similar to this lately? Share!
Can you lick your elbow? Share!...jk.

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Leave a Comment daily routine, makeup bag, tag, video

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Holiday VoxBox

"Unboxing" video of my first voxbox from Influenster.  You can watch this video and laugh at my rambling or you can read the list of products below. (:

What is Influenster you ask?

 It's a website centered around reviewing products and services.  Anything from Netflix to CapriSun Juice Pouches to NYX eyeliners. The more active and more influential you are, the higher your score.  Those with high scores have an opportunity to receive a box of free goodies periodically that you can review.  Influenster  does not offer instant sign up so if you want to join without waiting, feel free to post your email below and I'll score you an invite. (:

The List of Products:

Quaker Real Medley's Oatmeal

Goody Quickstyle Paddle Brush

NYC Liquid Lipshine

Kiss Nail Dress nail stickers

Eboost Pink Lemonade Natural Energy Shot

$25 your first purchase from SoleSociety

This site has majorly cute heals and booties that I haven't seen anything like in store and what's better? They start at $49.95, so you can get a pair of great heels for just $25 with this code as shipping is free!   And I can share the coupon with you! You do have to be a member to purchase (but don't worry, it's super fast and free) so click here to join and use the code INFLUENSTER25 (ex. Jan 31,2013)

I applied the Kiss nail stickers last night so stay tuned for a review on those! (:

2 comments December, influenster, video, voxbox

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