April 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag Unboxing

Welcome back, my fellow makeup lovers! Today is one of my absolute favorite posts that I do: the monthly Ipsy Reveal! I've been getting this bag for 2 years now, and I still love it. It's only 10$/month, and you always get at least twice your money back in awesome beauty products.

Beautifully Bohemian is this month's inspiration.

To be honest, this isn't my favorite bag. I can see a lot of girls really liking this, but this basket weave pattern isn't really something I can incorporate into my style. I'll see if the little one wants this.

Pandora's Makeup Box Blush in Pink Carnation
I've always wanted to try out this brand! I saw it on someone's YouTube page like 2 years ago and died over the packaging. It is absolutely adorable. I looks like makeup for the free spirit. It's just a single pan, so I'll have to keep it in it's plastic case unless I want all kinds of nicks and gashes, but the color is really pretty and looks great for all skintones.

Crown Brush C224 Oval Concealer Brush
While I really enjoy getting brushes in my subscriptions, a concealer brush isn't my first choice. I like Crown products, and this one doesn't disappoint. The bristles are soft and a good length. I'll probably use this as a flat shader crush instead of for concealer. We shall see.

Olive Natural Beauty Oats & Honey Lip Balm
I swear we get a billion lip balms thanks to monthly subscriptions. I will never run out. This is a certified organic product, which I like. I can't attest to the texture or moisturizing ability, because I know I won't be opening this for a long while because of the bucket of other lip balms I own. But being made from olives and being organic is a great combination for me. I love olive products, and it can't be bad if it's organic.

The Balm Nude Dude Mini Eyeshadow in Fit
The Balm is one of my favorite brands. I own tow of their eyeshadow palettes and a few of their cheek products. I love that we get to try out another of their eyeshadows. Even in mini size, the packaging is amazing! This shade is right up my alley. I wear bronze shadows all the time. I'm excited to add this to my collection.

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick in Red Door Red
A full size lipstick, this is! FULL SIZE! I've never tried anything from this brand before, even though I've walked past the counter at Macy's a zillion times. I'm not a huge fan of this packaging, but it does remind me of a Tardis, so I can't complain that much. The color is a blue based red, mixed with a bit of pink. I'm not sure how this will look on my. but I'm sure as hell gonna make it work somehow!

Price Summary:
Pandora's Blush (FULL SIZE) - 14.00
Crown Brush (FULL SIZE) - 7.45
Olive Lip Balm (FULL SIZE) - 5.95
The Balm Shadow - 3.75
EA Lipstick (FULL SIZE) - 25.00
Total: 56.15$ USD

In all honesty, this was a much better bag than I thought it would be. I wasn't sure I would like all the products, especially the red lipstick. The value is really great, and I got 4/5 full size products. That's amazing!

Kiss, Kiss.
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I Bought More Lippies!!!

I really and truly cannot help myself when it comes to lip products. They are my absolute favorite beauty items, hands down. I don't wear them a ton, but when I do I like to have a ton of options. I'm really into nudes, mauves, and sheer tints I can get away with at work. So that's what's included in this haul!

At my local Dollar Tree, I found a bunch of the NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balms. I think I grabbed all but one shade that they had. I got Pink Lady, Caramel Apple, Big Apple Red, and Applelicious Pink. These have a very pleasant light apple scent. I really love it.

My two newest Revlon Lip Butters are in the shades Tutti Frutti and Candy Apple. I really love these things. They feel really good on the lips, and give just enough color to the lips. I hope these never get discontinued.

I got another Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer to add to my collection. This is is called Solstice.It has a bit of shimmer to it. This isn't really a summer color, but it's still super pretty. I had to have another. I still wanna get my hands on the matte version of these.

The last lippie I got is from Covergirl. It's a beautiful mauve-y nude shade called Heavenly. This is an everyday shade for me (if I wore lipstick everyday). The packaging on this is really sleek. I love the dark gunmetal color and the fact that you can see the color through the bottom of the bullet.

Thank you all for sharing my love of makeup. Until next time...

Kiss, Kiss.
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The Purge: Foundations & BB Creams

I don't wanna do this one! I have a slight obsession with face products, and foundations are some of my favorite. I have a problem, and I'm not willing to fix it. I'm just not, but I will go through my foundations and see what I have and use on a regular basis.

Starting with my oldest liquid foundation, I have the original Maybelline Fit Me foundation in 320 Honey Beige. I've had this for like 2 years. I know. That's way too long to keep an open foundation, but it doesn't smell weird or make me breakout. I love the finish, and it's almost gone, so I'm keeping it until I finish it. This shade is discontinued.

My very first foundation is dead and gone, but I have 2 backups haha. The formula was also discontinued, but I stocked up on the last few before they were sold out. It's the Sheer Cover Mineral Foundation in Mocha. It's got medium to full coverage, and it's really great for beginners. I have a 1.5g container open and a full 4g container. Definitely keeping these.

While we're on mineral foundation, I also have a 1.5g container of the Sheer Cover Mineral foundation in Almond. I used to use it to highlight and set my undereye concealer. I haven't touched it in about a year. I'll pass it along.

From elf, I have Mineral Foundation in Deep. I swatched this when I first got it, and it's incredibly dark. I know I should offer it up to one of my sisters, but my makeup addicted brain is telling me to try using it as a bronzer/contour. It should blend fairly easily since it's a powder foundation. We shall see.

I have 3 powder foundations from Mary Kay in Beige 2, Bronze 1, & Bronze 3. Beige 2 is actually perfect for setting a highlight. Bronze 1 is a great shade for me in the winter, and Bronze 3 is a great shade for me in the summer. I'm keeping all 3, but I'll be moving Beige 2 to my powder drawer.

Moving on to my BB creams, the original of the bunch is the Julep DD Créme. It came in 4 shades, and I got the darkest thinking that would work for me. Nope. I should have gone one shade lighter. I kept it because my sisters would use it, but I rarely do their makeup nowadays. It's going.

I have both the Maybelline Dream Fresh and Dream Pure BBs. I originally bought the Dream Fresh. It is incredibly dewy. I don't wear it often, and when I do, It's usually under a powder foundation. The color is pretty great for me, though. I'll keep it for the summer, and if I still haven't used it by fall, I'll toss it. As for the Dream Pure, I like it a lot better. It has salicylic acid in it to help keep you from being too oily. I'm for sure keeping this one.

The Proactiv BB Cream, I also have. This is amazing under a powder foundation or even as a primer if you need some extra moisture. There's a ton of product in this still, and I knew I was keeping it before starting this. I was just waiting until spring to break it out.

My last BB cream is from elf. This is a recent purchase of mine, and I'm still deciding if I like it. I love the packaging and the fact that it comes with a pump. I'm actually wearing it today. So far I like it.

I have 3 cream foundations, and they're all from different brands. From Covergirl is the Clean Whipped Creme in 365. I hate this. I've been trying to figure out since I got it how to make it work. It just doesn't. There is barely any coverage, and it isn't at all buildable. It's gone. From Revlon, I have the Colorstay Whipped in 340 Caramel. I love this foundation! It's medium to full coverage, it has a satin finish, and it stays put! My last is the Dream Matte Mousse from Maybelline. I have it in the shade Dark 2. It's a great color match for me, and it is definitely matte. I can't use this in the colder months, because it clings to dry patches, so I imagine in the warmer months it will be amazing.

Two foundations that I know I'm not keeping are the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous in 865. I really like the formula, but the undertone is too olive for me. I've found that all the face products from Covergirl are really olive toned. I picked up one of the shades from the Queen collection to try. I'll show you in an upcoming haul post. I think my sister gave me this Black Radiance foundation because it was too red for her, but she's quite a bit darker than me so I can't use it. It's in the shade 8415 Cocoa Bean.

I have 2 more elf face products. The first is the Acne Fighting Foundation. I've worn this a few times and I really like it. It has a satin/matte finish. I have the color Coffee. The other is the Flawless Finish Foundation. I still haven't gotten to test this out on my face yet. So obviously I'm keeping it.

My next 2 are from Revlon. They make my favorite foundations for oily skinned gals. I've got the Nearly Naked in 290 Cappuccino. It has medium coverage, but it looks really natural. I've also got Photoready in 011 Cappuccino. I really like that Revlon keeps their shade names consistent across their foundations. Both of these are summer shades for me.

The last 2 foundations I have are from BH Cosmetics and L'Oréal. My BH shade is Mocha. I guessed so well when I bought this. It's super cheap, but it's really good. It comes with a pump, but mine broke. Unsurprisingly, the shade 330 Classic Tan is no longer available in the Magic Nude line. I do really love the formula of this. Once again, I use this in the summer because my skin is more combination in the winter.

Starting Number: 24
Ending Number: 19

I had planned to toss 2 more, but one I found another use for and the other I just forgot how much I like it. Either way, I did lose 5 whole foundations, so I'm happy with that. I've only got a few more post left in the Purge series. Make sure you come back to see what's next!

Kiss, Kiss.
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Five Below and Dollar Tree Beauty Haul

Y'all know I love me a good bargain. Five Below kills it when it comes to great makeup for super cheap. Most brands they carry are smaller internet brands or the cheaper drugstore brands. Dollar Tree carries discontinued drugstore brands. Either way, the stuff you find is always awesome. This is a pretty uneventful haul. I just got a lot of the same thing from different brands or in different formats.

Five Below carries AcneFree, a skincare system designed to combat acne. I picked up the 24 Hour Acne Clearing System. It has the same format as the Proactiv system. There's the Oil-Free Purifying Cleanser with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide, the Renewing Toner with witch hazel, and the Repair Lotion with 3.7% bpo. This is the normal version.

I also picked up the 24 Hour Severe Acne Clearing System. It has more medicine and a 4th step. Step 1 is the Anti-Acne Cleansing wash with 2.5% bpo. Step 2 is the Corrective Toner with witch hazel. The third step is the Maximum Strength Repair lotion with 10% bpo, and the final step is the Retinol Complex.

Also from AcneFree, I got the Terminator. It's a spot treatment with 2.5% bpo. I ran out of the spot treatment that I had from Proactiv, and if this works, I'll stick with it because it's way cheaper. I've been getting a ton of random breakouts lately.

I only got 2 makeup items for this haul, both from City Color Cosmetics. I got the Mineral Powder in the shade Mocha to Mahogany. It looks like it might be a powder foundation or a setting powder. It even comes with a little powder puff for touch ups. The color match is really great! The second product I got was the Eyebrow Gel. I haven't been using my elf Brow Gel, mainly because it doesn't hold super well. I'm hoping this one does.

So I kinda went overboard with the lip balms. The Blistex Orange Mango Blast caught my eye, first. I used to use the original Blistex in high school. I still suffer from really dry lips. This was great. And then I saw the 4 pack of Blistex Fruit Smoothies. Peaches & Cream, Melon Medley, Berry Explosion, and Triple Tropical are the scents that come in the pack. And then I saw the 2 pack of Baby Lips! The two colors are Quenched and Peach Kiss. I already own a billion lip balms, but I keep one in my car, one in my boyfriend's car, and one on my bathroom sink.

At one of my local Dollar Tree stores, I found some Essie Sleek Stick lacquer stickers. I got 4 different designs: Love to Love You, Embrace the Lace, Steel the Show, and Stickers and Stones. I won't be  using them on their own, but as accent nails for really simple nail art designs.

That's it for my affordable makeup haul! Hope to see you again soon.

Kiss, Kiss.
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Hair Products from Hask

As the warmer months get warmer, my already frizzy hair gets frizzier. I had tried out some their products before in my first Beauty Box 5 and then again in a later box. I placed an order on the Beauty Box 5 website and got 5 of the Argan Oil Hair Masks, the Argan Oil Shampoo and Condition, and the Argan Oil Shine Treatment.

Both the shampoo and conditioner are touted as repairing. They're supposed to "strengthen and restore" hair. Neither contain sulfates, parabens, phthlates, or gluten. I have yet to try these, but I'm trying to finish up the shampoo and conditioner that I have open now. They have such a great smell.

The hair mask is amazing. I love the way it makes my hair feel after I use it. I can get 2-3 uses out of one packet, and I have shoulder length hair. It definitely helps to make my hair smoother and more manageable for about a week after I use it. And it smells really good, too.

The hair treatment is an oil that you put in your hair either before or after drying. In using the macadamia oil version, I put it on before I blowdry. Even if I put it on afterwards, it doesn't leave a greasy residue.

I'm super excited to try out all these products together and see if the combination makes my hair the most wonderful, softest, smoothest hair I've ever had. Come back and see me soon!

Kiss, Kiss.
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