4/21/16

Product Empties April 2016!

Hey guys!  It's time for another EMPTIES post!  I can't believe I've accumulated so many products to talk about.  I guess it has been a couple of months since I've done one of these, but I can't believe I've finished this much stuff.  Always, let's get to it.



I love BBW candles, but this is not one of my favorites.  It smelled okay, there was just something about the scent I didn't totally love.  There are SO many others that I adore from there, so I wouldn't repurchase this one again.  


The Blush scent is my favorite scent from Batiste.  It just smells clean and light.  Definitely my favorite dry shampoo from the drugstore, already have repurchased!  (And will always).


I am constantly buying various types of cotton rounds, and Swisspers is usually the brand I like the best.  This particular bag was the ones that are larger and oval shaped.  My overall favorite ones are their basic 100% Cotton Rounds, and that is what I bought this last time.  You can get a big bag of them at Walmart that contain 3 bags of 100.  


I really don't care for the Exfoliating ones at all.  Won't repurchase.


I've said this for years, Pond's makeup remover wipes are my favorite.  I've always used the ones in the pink package (Luminous Clean) but since those are getting harder to find, I have been using the Original Fresh ones in the blue packaging.


I love having seasonal body creams on hand from BBW.  This flavor, the Suncrisp Apple Harvest was just delicious.  Would repurchase in the fall.


I was really excited to get a sample of the Belif Aqua Bomb because so many people had been talking about it.  In case you're unfamiliar with it, this is a hydrating gel-cream that is supposed to intensely hydrate the skin and minimize the appearance of pores.  While I can't say my pores looked much different, I will say that this did feel nice on my face.  Obviously you can't tell much with a single use, but it was nice nonetheless.  Nothing ground breaking, but it did feel good.


Another product so many people rave about, the Living Proof Prime Style Extender.  This packet was actually kind of big and I was able to get several uses out of it.  This product is supposed to repel dirt and oil and extend any hair style two times longer.  Personally, I can't say that it did either of those things.  My hair usually holds styles pretty well, but I did get just as oily as I normally do when I used this.   I'm an oily gal!  I love so many Living Proof products, but this one isn't one of my favorites.


So yeah....I like men's deodorant.  Ha!  I especially like Old Spice in the scent Wolfthorn.  It doesn't smell manly, it just smells reallyyyyy good.  I usually buy the plain deodorant one (blue, gel-like) and also the anti-perspirant one (white solid).  The anti-perspirant contains aluminum, but it does keep you dry.  The deodorant is aluminum free and just keeps you smelling nice.  If you are super active you can experience some dampness, but I'm really not someone who sweats a whole lot.  Since my maternal grandmother did have breast cancer, I try to keep aluminum based products at a minimum.  If I'm just gonna be kicking it at home I will use the deodorant.  If I'm gonna be going out and stuff I will use the anti-perspirant.  Love them both.


I've said it so many times.  Put a seasonal soap at your sinks and light some seasonal candles and voilà!  Your home is instantly ready for whatever season you're in!  I did really like this particular soap during winter, but my favorite soaps by BBW are the foaming ones.


Holy Grail product, folks.  I use this RELIGIOUSLY, WITHOUT FAIL.  Every single time I shower or bath.  I never, ever, ever skip this.  I have used the Neutrogena Light Sesame Body Oil for 10-15 years now.  After I get out of the shower (or bath), I put this all over my body while I am still wet.  Then I towel off, and at that point lotion is totally optional.  You're left with super hydrated, soft skin.  Love <3


I am oil obsessed.  Especially when we are talking about oils you use in your hair.  The Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment is one of my favorite oils of life.  It makes my hair so soft without weighing it down.  It's actually really hard to use too much of this.  It never makes my hair oily or flat, I just absolutely love this.  Right now I am using the Moroccan Oil Treatment Light, but I will definitely repurchase this again.


I am a Bioderma kinda gal, but I do keep my options open and sample various eye makeup removers from time to time.  This was okay....but definitely no where near as good as the Bioderma.  Don't get me wrong, it's decent enough, but I wouldn't repurchase.


I got this little bottle of Olay body wash from a Pinch Me sample box.  If you haven't heard of Pinch Me it's a site where you can sign up to get 100% free samples.  I reallyyyyyyy like Olay body washes so I was super happy to get this.  Absolutely loved the body wash and love Pinch Me!  Go to their website here to check it out.


I have grown to flat out LOVE the L'Oreal Elnett hairspray.  I used to hate it (basically because of the old lady perfume smell), but for some reason it doesn't really bother me anymore.  You can get this in a scent-free version now, but honestly the smell doesn't bother me at all anymore.  This hairspray is so different than most - it never gets crunchy or heavy!  It holds your style but your hair stays touchably soft and bouncy.  And, this brushes right out.  Love, love, love.  No wonder celebrity stylists swear by this stuff.


This was okay, nothing too memorable or anything.  Probably wouldn't purchase because there are plenty of deep conditioning masks for my hair that I love so much more (both high end and from the drugstore).  It was okay enough, just nothing super different.


Mascara empties!  I actually love all 3 of these (L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen, Jordana Best Lash Extreme, Guerlain Maxilash).  Depending on your budget and how much you're wanting to spend, we've got something here for everybody!  The L'Oreal is gonna run you about 7 or 8 bucks, the Jordana is a super affordable $2.99, and the Guerlain is a whopping $32.  All of these are great, all of them can give you a natural look all the way up to a very dramatic look, depending on how much time you want to spend applying and re-applying a couple of coats.  I will repurchase all of these at some point and I really do stand behind all 3 as being really solid mascaras.


Love me some oil control primers and this one by Givenchy was great.  Would love to have a full-size bottle of this.  It's a little pricey and I have several others that I am using, otherwise I would have already purchased!


My favorite body creme of life.


This Juara Candlenut Body Creme came in a FabFitFun VIP Box, and it was nothing short of LOVELY.  The SUPER clean, fresh scent was intoxicating.  This body butter/creme was different in texture than say a Body Shop body butter...it was more of a whipped consistency.  Absolutely flat out LOVE.  If you ever come across this then grab you one.  So darn good.


I really like the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer.  It seems to help pretty well with oil control.  I did buy a bottle of this and I have been using it pretty consistently.  It's not super mattifying though, which I really need in the warmer months.


Two primers that I passed on to my mom.  Neither one of these really worked for me.  I'm not super crazy about the stick formula in the Stay Flawless Primer by Benefit, and the product itself didn't really do anything for my makeup as well.  Same goes for the CoverGirl Oily Skin Face Primer.  Not only did this NOT make my skin matte, it actually looked quite luminous on the skin.  Huh?


My favorite polish of life!  Essie's I'm Addicted!  I love this polish SO much, the best polish ever made in my opinion.  I don't know of any other colored polish that I have ever emptied before.  I've went through several base coats and top coats, but never a colored polish.  Already repurchased, I will never be without this!  I'm addicted to I'm Addicted!


Definitely one of my favorite shampoos/conditioners from the drugstore, if not my #1 favorite.  The L'Oreal Total Repair EXTREME ones are excellent.  I have oily hair at my scalp and where my hair is super long my ends get really dry.  These products help balance that out really well.  The shampoo gets my hair really clean without overdrying and the conditioner moisturizes really well without weighing it down.


This super big bottles are really affordable at Walmart too ($5.97 for 25.4 oz).  LOVE.


Speaking of affordable haircare, you really can't beat the $2.97 3 Minute Miracle deep conditioners by Aussie.  They come in a variety of formulas (Moist, Color, Strong, Smooth), and I actually love them all.


If I can't find Batiste dry shampoo, I always get the Dove one.  It's a heavier product than the Batiste, it REALLY soaks up oil.  I really like it and I bought a 3-pack at Sam's Club when I ran out.


I keep hand sanitizers all over the place - on the end table by the couch where I normally sit, at our sinks, in my bag, in the car.  I love ANYTHING marshmallow scented and this particular one was delicious.  Wish I had more of it :-/


Love me some lemon scents!  I am on my 2nd Iced Lemon Poundcake candle from Better Homes & Gardens right now.  I especially love this paired with the matching wax melt.  So good (and affordable)!!!



How old school can you get in terms of shampoo and conditioner?  LOL.  Finesse, babyyyy!  I actually really enjoyed these.  The shampoo is very gentle and mild, you don't see a whole lot of bubbling/sudsing action, but it does make your hair feel clean nonetheless.  The conditioner isn't super thick, but it does leave your hair really soft.  Would probably repurchase.


Here are the makeup remover wipes I was talking about earlier in this post.  I really do love these, but they are super similar to the Original Fresh, so I grab whichever one I see.  Pond's just gets it right with the makeup remover wipes.


This is another hairspray I have been loving.  The Schwarzkopf Styliste Ultime Biotin + Volume Hair Spray is lovely.  I will say this, it smells like straight up perfume!  If you are sensitive to scents you might not care for it, but I think it smells great.  It's a very pleasant scent if you ask me.  But what I love the most about this hairspray is how light and airy it is.  It's a super dry hair spray, definitely not one of those that feels wet after you spray it.  It really does help give my hair some body and life and I will definitely repurchase.


And lastly, I have this LOVELY body lotion from BBW.  I flat out loved this.  It didn't really smell Christmas-y to me, it was just yummy.  So, so yummy.  This lotion would be good year round! If they release it again I will definitely stock up!

Thanks for going through my trash with me, guys!  Hope you enjoyed and I hope this gives you some ideas on products to try (or avoid).  Just remember, what works for me might not work for you, and vice versa.  That's what makes trying new things so fun.  Have a great day!

4/19/16

April 2016 Target Beauty Box 🎯

Hey guys!  I feel like it's been forever and a day since I've done a blog post, but in case you didn't know, I have been kind of busy working on my YouTube channel lately.  If you'd like to see some of the videos I've been doing, just click here.  Otherwise, today I thought I would share with you everything I got in the April Target Beauty Box!


The Target Beauty Box is a box of goodies you can get from the Target website monthly, they do not offer a subscription, you have to go in manually each month and add the box to your cart and check out.  They sell out really quickly, so you have to keep an eye out for it.  But, I am usually pretty happy with what I get, especially for the cost.  This month's box was worth around $26 I think, and it was only 7 bucks (shipping is always free).  Here's what I got...



While this would be ideal for travel, I had just finished my makeup remover wipes and went ahead and started using these till I can get to the store and get my usual ones.  I have used these 3 or 4 times now and I really do like them.  As always, I use a separate eye makeup remover and a cotton round, then I wipe my face and neck with a makeup wipe to remove everything else.  These are really soft and don't irritate my eyes, which is a major plus.

I love having little bottles of hairspray to throw in my bag and to travel with, so I was so happy to get this.

I actually LOVE Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens, they smell AMAZING.  First thing I did when I got this bottle was unscrew the cap and take a whiff.  Smells so darn good.  This is a pretty decently sized bottle too.  Love!  And, this will definitelyyyyy be used.

I hadn't ever heard of this - Cera Ve Healing Ointment.  I looked it up online and it says it's for cracked/chafed skin, dry hands, feet, cuticles, etc., and I can't wait to try it.  Cera Ve is one of my favorite skincare brands at the drugstore.

I was SO happy to get a full size lipstick in this box.  That is, until I put it on :-(

The color of the lipstick is almosstttt a straight up white on me.  I literally look ridiculous wearing this.  I am going to take the advice one of my friends on Instagram gave me, and I'm gonna pop it on the center of the lips as a highlight.  Hopefully that will be pretty...and if not....I am definitely going to be passing this on to someone who is a lot paler than me!

I love love love body butters and I always welcome new ones with open arms!  Haven't tried yet but looking forward to it!

While the shade they sent me might not be ideal (Classic Ivory) I am going to give this a try.  I would hands down prefer a foundation be too light than too dark, as you can always warm things up with some bronzer and contour powders.  I just mainly want to see how the formula works with my oily skin. 

Target almost always puts a Laneige product in their box, and I am SO glad they do.  Laneige is a Korean skincare brand and I have really enjoyed every product of theirs that I've tried.  I adore paper masks and I will be using this one tonight!

Highly recommend the Target Beauty Box guys!  It's super affordable and you get a lot of great stuff you'll actually use.  Let me know how you liked yours this month! 
<3

4/6/16

Cottage Farms Colorful Magic Carpet Sedum

Hey guys!  Today I wanted to talk about something a little different from my usual beauty banter, today I wanted to show you these succulents I've been loving.  This was actually a gift from my mother and she purchased them on QVC. 



What is it?
Basically it's this big tile of numerous types of succulents.  You can cut this up any way you want, and you can use these in a variety of different ways.  Our house is currently for sale, so where we will be moving I just put mine in pots to get them going.  I will probably end up transferring them after we get moved in, but for now that is what I have done.


These succulents are very hardy, a very common way to plant these is actually in between stepping stones in your garden.  Yes, you can walk on these!


The best part of these?  The lack of care that they require.  When you first get these planted you water them every other day for two weeks.  Then, it recommends that you water them a couple of time the first summer you plant them.  Then....wait for it....you do NOTHING.  They literally take care of themselves!  Gorgeous, colorful perennials that totally take care of themselves.


(Just so you can see what I did to get mine going)




I jotted down on my calendar that hangs on my fridge what days I will be watering mine, just to make sure I do it correctly.


Here are some photos of what these gorgeous plants will look like!





One tile gives you TONS of flowers.  I highly recommend checking this out!  You can watch a video telling more about these neat plants on the QVC site, just click here.
Happy planting!