Say Yes to Cucumbers calming facial mask review

Good afternoon everyone!

My plans for today had to be changed due to various reasons (one being the massive amount of snow we're currently getting), so I decided to make today a "me" day, and part of that is using this Say Yes to Cucumbers calming facial mask. Normally I would include a link, but I can't find a link to the single use facial masks anywhere (leading me to believe they must be only in-store); for reference, I picked this up at Target for around $2.00. (And I'm not crazy, here another blogger mentions them too. :P) 

I ripped off the top on the perforated line, but found that it actually didn't open the product (boo, this is one of my least favorite things in life). Luckily for me I own scissors (you'd be surprised at how many fellow college students I know who don't) so I cut down a little further and was able to then squeeze the product onto my fingers. It's quite a bit lighter than other facial masks I've used, and it went on smoothly and didn't dry so fast that I had to race against the clock to get it on my face.

My biggest complaint is that there is way too much product for a single use. I only ended up using about half the bag/rectangle/container/thing. So I had to fold it over and stick it in a plastic bag, hoping that it'll be good for at least one more use (since I hate to waste product). I left it on for the recommended five minutes, and it was easy enough to wash off, which is always a pleasant turn of events (I'm recalling one facial mask I tried where I felt like I was battling a parasitic alien which decided to take up residence on my face and refused to leave even with the most vigorous of scrubbing). My face was smooth and soft, so overall it was a good experience for me.

I have, however, read several bad reviews for this product, and some people did not have very good experiences (lots of complaints of this product leaving the skin red, blotchy, and irritated). To be honest I picked this up on a whim, and I probably wouldn't pick it up again. While I gave it a 4/5 on MakeupAlley, it wasn't all that great for the price and I'm disappointed that there was so much extra product (I really hope it doesn't dry up before I can use what's left). I'll definitely try and use up what I have, but I think I'll try something else next time.

Have you tried this product? Have a facial mask to suggest? Let me know!

Cheers!

Cleaning Closet

Good afternoon everyone!

One of my New Year's Resolutions (I promise I'll do a blog post about that before the end of the month!) is to finally get control of my wardrobe. Here's what I mean by that: I want to get rid of the clothes I don't wear, buy a few things to revitalize and freshen up my look, and then be happy with what I have.

For the longest time I worked in retail, first a thrift store and then a consignment store, and so I amassed A TON of clothes. A lot of them were impulse buys, I'll be honest (and it didn't help that at the consignment store if an item had a blemish and the consignor didn't want to take the item home, we as employees got dibs) because the clothes were just soooo cheap (at least that's how I rationalized it).

At my old apartment my closet stretched from one end of my room to the other, so I had tons of space to store all my clothes, so I didn't really focus on getting rid of any of them. This didn't work out so well for me, however, because over the summer I had to move home for a month before moving here, and there were clothes EVERYWHERE. So I actually already went through all my clothes once, and get rid of about half of them.

But I still have a buttload of clothes that I never wear. Some of them I wore frequently three or four years ago, but don't really fit my style anymore. Some of them I haven't worn ever, either because they don't fit or they don't look right on me or frankly I just don't like them. And that really isn't a good way to shop or a good way to have a wardrobe.

So now I'm stuck at a point where I have only a small handful of clothes I actually like wearing, a slightly bigger handful of clothes I grudgingly wear, and a bunch of clothes I don't like at all (and what's worse is I still have clothes back home as well that I need to sort through). So one of my big goals for 2014 is to get my wardrobe to a place where I like the things I own and that I wear the things I own. The first step, then, is to get rid of what needs to go.

So there you have it, the first wave of the 2014 donates (here I present you with 13 pieces of clothing, ranging from what I wore in high school, to higher end items I got last year, to a reeeeeeaally old Gap fuzzy orange sweater I wore in high school to football games since our colors were orange and black). I'll keep everyone posted as I buff up my wardrobe and get rid of more things.

Do you have a wardrobe-related New Year's Resolution? Tell me about it!

Cheers!

88 Original Palette

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I thought I would share a bit about the biggest palette I own, and the one that really got me "in" to makeup again after a long hiatus. I bought it last year sometime before I really knew about the Coastal Scents website, and in fact got it as a deal from somewhere else. The most used color for me is the brown I use to help fill in and perfect my brows, but I've started to expand into some other colors lately, and it's a great feeling to finally be using up this palette!

Right now it's on sale for $11.95, and while it isn't the best shadow I've ever used, I do enjoy the variety of shades. It comes with two applicators, but I've really grown found of my ELF "C" brush so I don't really use them. I have noticed some fallout problems after a long day of wear, but nothing too shocking that would make me not want to use this product. 

Honestly, for the price I think it's a great starting point for someone who's new to makeup and color and really just wants to experiment a bit. That's what I've been doing, and I've really liked the outcome! It's also so cheap you don't have to feel stingy when using these shadows, so you could devote an entire day to trying different colors and looks and not feel bad about "wasting" the product. I've actually thought of doing a post dedicated to my explorations with this palette (because I'm still learning the ropes too!), so maybe that will crop up one of these days!

Do you own this palette? How do you feel about it? Have you created any looks with these colors? Let me know!

Cheers!

A product I am excited about: Revealed Palette

Good afternoon everyone!

So I must confess, as I've gotten more into makeup and have been browsing around, trying to find new things to add to my arsenal, I've started to lust after the Naked 3 palette. I've seen some absolutely beautiful looks done with this palette, and the more I looked the more I wanted... Until I saw the $52 USD price tag. and while I have waaaay more than $52 worth of stuff on my makeup wishlist, since there are so many other things I want to get right now (like a good primer and a clear lip liner) I decided I'd just have to wait. 

Then I did some digging, and I saw a lot of people recommend this Coastal Scents Revealed Palette as a good dupe. Normally it's $19.95, but I just ordered it for 25% off, making the total for the product (not shipping) $14.95. It's got 5 stars on the website's reviews, and I've heard so many good things I think the price and the steep shipping cost (it was $6.95 at the cheapest) was worth it. I'll report back as soon as it arrives on my door step! What are you excited for? Have you tried this product, or Naked 3? Let me know!

Until then, cheers!

A product I am excited about: Maybelline Baby Skin

Good afternoon all!

Today it is quite cold here (around -50 Fahrenheit!) and while my SO tried to leave the apartment, his car wouldn't start so we were forced to stay in instead (and wait for my landlady to come and see why there was no heat in our apartment...) so I decided to lift my spirits I would post about a product I'm dying to try!

The item is Maybelline's Baby Skin Primer, which is fresh to the US market.

It's been on the Asian market for a bit now, and the few reviews I've seen (mostly from reddit's MUA subreddit) have been quite good, and for $6.99 it can't really be beat! I was thinking of getting Sephora's Primer but since this has gotten good reviews and is cheaper, I think I'll start here.

As a note, Amazon and Target online didn't have this product, and I could only find it at CVS's website! As far as I know it's very new, so I hope I can order it soon (before it sells out).

I'll report back as soon as I order one of these babies for myself! Have you tried this out yet? Let me know!

Cheers!

Winter weekly/daily hair care routine

Good evening everyone!

Today was one of the (few) days that I let myself wash my hair in the shower, and it gave me the idea to share my hair care routine. Firstly, red is a very hard color to keep, and since I can only really afford to get my hair dyed one every other month, keeping it as bright as possible is really important to me. If I washed my hair even every other day or every two days, it would wash out in no time and I would be left with pink hair (and I really don't like it when people comment on my hair being "pink" :c). So instead I use dry shampoo, and wash with water and shampoo/conditioner about once every two weeks.

Yup, you heard me: once every two weeks.

When I say that a lot of times people are rather shocked. And truth be told, it wasn't easy to transition from washing my hair more regularly to stretching it out as long as I possibly could. But it is doable, especially with dry shampoo (for anyone with dyed hair, it soon becomes your best friend).

I also use aloe vera, and it's super great because my hair becomes very dry from the dying and from the weather (and it's always been a bit dry anyway). I rub a little into my scalp and hair every night before going to bed. Here's a good blog post by someone else as to why aloe vera is so great for your hair!

I also use a really nice hair lotion that sits on your hair for five minutes before being washed out,and it works wonders. I can feel the difference immediately! I really like the effect it has on my hair.

Product List:

• Blousey Shampoo from Lush
• American Cream Conditioner from Lush
• Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment Lotion for Fine/Normal Dry Hair
• Aloe Vera (Savila) Moisturizing Beauty Cream
• Suave Dry Shampoo Spray

I have a few other hair products I use from time to time, but this has been my routine more regularly. I also have palm oil, a hair mask, and a protective spray (that I use more in the summer since I'm outside and in the sun more then) that I also use sometimes, but those are all at my dad's house so for now, this is what I have to work with! I'm sure my hair care routine will change eventually, I do like to try out new things now and again.

What's your routine like? Let me know!

Cheers!

Kate Moss for Rimmel Haul

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope everybody had a fun and safe New Years celebration (or if you didn't celebrate that you still had a good night and a good end to 2013); I spent the first part of the night with my SO's family and then my SO and I went to a friend's place to play Cards Against Humanity and drink bubblies. It was a good night indeed that ended with Star Trek.

Unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling less than stellar (curse my luck), but I did get the joy of having my Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick haul arrive! I ordered four lipsticks from Walmart, sort of on a whim. I say sort of because I wanted 107 because I saw a post on this blog and fell in love, but the other colors I decided to try, mostly because I tend to stay in the same color range and never try anything new. And for under $5 a tube, why not?

I was a bit disappointed that a few were a bit smooshed at the top when they arrived, but other than that they arrived safely at my door. I'm also a little hesitant about the lighter, more coral colors, but I can't decide if that's just because I'm not feeling well and am deathly pale or if I will always feel cool toward them (if so, I'm sure my roommate would like some new lipstick).

I also have to apologize about the squiggly lines for my swatch picture - I'm left-handed so drawing straight lines with my right hand is nearly impossible, haha. 

107 is by far my favorite; I'm a huge fan of the dark colors and it seems to go well with my skin tone. (It's much darker when I apply it to my lips, by the by). To be honest, however, I'm not a huge fan of the formula. I tried both different formulas with both lip balm underneath and no lip balm, and both ways the application and color distribution wasn't nearly as smooth or even as I'd like it to be (so sadly, it doesn't stand up to my MAC lipstick and L'Oreal lipstick). I'm willing to experiment and see if maybe when I feel a bit better it looks better, so maybe I'll report back then (and include pictures of these lovely colors on my lips!) which may be later in the week or in the month.

Has anyone else tried these lipsticks? Were you a fan or no - and why or why not? Let me know!

Cheers!