New Mascara: Maybelline Lash Stiletto

I was thumbing through the Sunday ads and came across a new mascara called Lash Stiletto. I love the slim tube that's shaped like a stiletto heel! I always hate when mascara tubes are big and fat. This one looks very sleek and this seems to be a lengthening mascara. After checking out the Maybelline website and not finding the product there, I did a little Googleing and found out that it's supposed to stretch out your lashes and add a patent gloss. It comes in three colors: Very Black, Soft Black and Brownish Black. I'd run out and get it if I didn't already buy Max Factor Volume Couture, which I haven't even opened yet.

Review: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Eyeshadow

Have you noticed I buy a lot of eyeshadows? I know huh. But I like to try out different brands. I heard some pretty good things about the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty eyeshadow palette so I snagged one up when it was 25% off. The regular price is $8, which is higher than most drugstore brands but I got it for $6.

This line was inspired by Carmindy, who is the makeup artist on the TV show "What Not To Wear". She wanted to create a makeup line with all-natural ingredients and NO PARABENS. Some of the "nutrients" in this line include avocado oil, bamboo powder, cork oak extract, papaya extract, olive leaf extract and pomegranate.

Click pic to see ingredients

But on to the eyeshadow palette review...

PACKAGING:
You get 3.5g of product but I wish they'd give you an even amount of each color. The case is kind of big and bulky, it's almost as big as my palm but it's flat so it's stackable. It comes with a cheap sponge applicator that sits right on top of the lower eyeshadow and gets in the way.

PRICE: $7.99 at most drugstores. I think that's a little high for a trio, especially this one.

PIGMENTATION: Well-pigmented

TEXTURE: Powdery, not smooth and I found it a little hard to blend.

INGREDIENTS: Talc is the first followed by CORN STARCH, which is not common in most eyeshadows. Maybe that's why I didn't like the texture of it?

THE OCEAN EYE PALETTE: This is one of the 8 trios and features a med/dark grey with slight blueish tones, an ivory highlight and a royal blue. All three are shimmery but not frosty.

FINAL THOUGHTS: For the price, I was not impressed with these shadows and I did not like the texture. I don't think it's worth $8 but at least I got them for $6. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. They're ok but I don't think they're anything special. However, I do love the colors and the other trios have very wearable colors.

FINAL GRADE: 3 out of 5 stars

(Swatched over a NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese)

Other products in the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty line are the Fast Fix Concealer, Always Perfect Liquid Eyeliner and Color Comfort Lip Color which have had great reviews. I'm definitely trying out their lipstick but they're pretty pricey at $9.99 each.
Here's my review of their AMAZING Color Comfort Lipsticks.

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo

In my opinion and from everything I've tried from eyeshadows, brow kits and pencils, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in Brunette is the most natural-looking filler for my black brows. It has ashy/taupe tones to it rather than a chocolate brown or an auburn brown, which makes it blend beautifully with my eyebrows. After using up two sample sizes that I got from Sephora, I was ready to get the full size for $22.


It comes with 1.6 g of product so it's just a little bit more than a MAC eyeshadow. This little compact comes with a small but suitable mirror to help you with the daily task of framing your face with defined brows. It's also smudge proof and I find that it lasts all day but I like to put a little Too Faced Shadow Insurance on the skin where my eyebrow hairs grow so that it helps it to stay longer. If TFSI helps your eyeshadow lasts longer, then this should help the brow powder last longer too! That's my little trick. You can try that with any brow powder and primer you're using.

I find that I can use both shades but if I want a more dramatic and defined look, I'll use the darker shade on the right. But for me, the darker shade is still great for everyday.

And after filling in my brows, I use any clear mascara from the drugstore as a brow gel to help my long, straggly hairs stay in place.

What's your favorite brow definer?

Review: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush and Baked Eyeshadow

The Physician's Formula Talc-Free Mineral Blush (5.5 g) is oil-free and talc-free so it's ideal for people like me with sensitive, break-out prone skin. I picked one up at 25% off last week so it was originally $11.99 but I got it for $8.99. It comes in 6 matte colors: Natural Glow, Pink Glow, Blushing Glow, Rosy Glow, Nude Glow, and Warming Glow (which I use as a contour color or a bronzer).

Warming Glow

The website claims that it's the first mineral, bi-colored pressed powder blush...and it's talc-free. And let me tell you, I'm sensitive to pressed powders containing talc after years of experience and it's very hard to find any pressed blushes sans talc. Actually, I think this is the only one I've found and so far I've had no bad reactions to it.

As far as the texture, pigmentation and packaging, they're awesome. The texture is smooth, the pigmentation can be buildable if you use a light hand but it's very pigmented, and there's also a mirror with a brush underneath. The lid is clear so that you can easily see what color you have. I hope to get more soon when there's another sale since PF products are pretty pricey but well worth the money.

Pink Glow is actually a peachy-pink color. Rosy Glow is a pink blush that's darker in tone and slightly more mauve.
Pink Glow swatch

Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush Ingredients: Mica, Lauroyl Lisine, Boron Nitride, Squalane, Silica, Zinc Oxide, Kaolin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May Contain Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Carmine.

The second PF product I bought was the Baked Collection Wet/Dry Eyeshadow in Baked Sands (2.1g). Even though I'm not going to use the sponge-tip applicator, I love how it's clipped in there so it won't annoyingly fall out. The packaging is a little big with it's dome shaped cover and it comes in 9 different color trios. The eyeshadows are well-pigmented but I have not tried it wet because I think it's a good natural, neutral look when used dry. It's also not powdery and I haven't experienced any fallout when using it. This is one of my favorite go-to palettes, but I just wish the packaging was sleeker.

I'm very happy with PF products. My favorite bases are the ColorEyes Cream Eyeshadow Sticks that I found at the Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent store earlier this summer. I swear by them. UPDATE: They're now discontinued! BOO! =(
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UPDATE: More PF Mineral Wear Talc-Free Blush Swatches

The new one I picked up recently is Blushing Glow...love it.

Here's a recap of all three of my Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blushes (jeez, that's a long name).

• WHERE: Find it at any drugstore as well as Walmart and Target stores
• PRICE: Around $11.99. PF rarely has BOGOs so if there is one, swoop them up as fast as possible. There are usually BOGOHOs (buy one get one half off) instead. Sunday paper ads may have a $1 off coupon.
• AMOUNT: 5.5 g
• INGREDIENTS: Scroll above, and yes, they're talc-free and oil-free. Woo hoo!
• SKIN REACTION: I haven't have any bad reactions with this blush; it's a keeper.
• APPLICATION: I like to use my elf Studio Complexion Brush with this.
• PIGMENTATION: 5 out of 5. I swipe my brush very lightly about 2 times.
• PACKAGING: 5 out of 5, though the brush isn't that special, it's still useable if you don't have anything else. It has a clear cover and a mirror that flips up underneath.
• COLORS: Blushing Glow- matte tan peach; Pink Glow- matte peachy-pink; Warming Glow- matte warm brown; also available in Nude Glow, Rosy Glow and Natural Glow.
• PROS: Great for those with and without sensitive skin who like good quality matte blushes.
• CONS: A bit pricey and not offered in many colors

WEBSITE DESCRIPTION

• First-ever mineral, bi-colored pressed powder blush!
• Ideal for sensitive skin, the talc-free, minimalist formula allows skin to breathe and can help minimize irritation and breakout.
• Minerals provide color that achieves soft, sheer shades for a long-lasting smooth, natural finish.
• The marbleized design features two shades-in-one for a flawless and even finish.

Quickie: Black Friday Bargain Jackets

I specifically went to Walmart so dang early in the morning (9:00, well at least to me it's early after a holiday, haha) to get these puffer jackets that were originally $15. But the doorbuster price from 5 am to 11 am was only $8. Can't beat that. The only wearable color left in size small was red so that's for me! I sure didn't want hot pink, lime green, or dark purple. Then the medium black one is for my Mom. She doesn't really have a warm coat and although this is just polyester fill, it's very warm with it's fleece lined neckline and pockets. Eight bucks!

I can't ever live in snowy areas. My California bones don't get along with the cold. =)

Besides this, I only bought the two L'Oreal items in my previous posts this shopping day. The electronics section was jampacked like crazy where you couldn't even walk right so I just decided it wasn't worth it.
Did you hear about the Walmart worker who was trampled to death when he/she opened the doors in the morning? That is so crazy and tragic. Maybe from now on shopping will be made safer because of this incident. Sorry I had to end on a sad note...

CYBER MONDAY is coming soon! More deals on the way...

MAC & L'Oreal Eyeshadow Dupe

I just bought the L'Oreal HIP Duo in Playful today along with the Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner in my previous post because I had a BOGO coupon at Long's Drug. When I got it home I realized that I had a dupe for it. So I busted out with my MAC Starflash limited edition eyeshadows in Bold & Brazen and Glamour Check! and they are virtually the same colors. Oh man, I just bought some colors I already have! But it's ok. The only difference between the dupes is that Bold & Brazen is more shimmery than the peach color in the Playful duo. I love, love, love this color and sometimes I don't want my eyeshadow to be too shimmery so it's alright that I picked this up. As far as the other brownish-burgandy color, they are exactly the same in color and finish. So if you missed out on the Starflash collection from MAC, here are two great dupes. =)

Review: L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner

If you are a liquid liner idiot like me (lol) then this one is for you! Everyone who has raved about this eyeliner was absolutely right. This is a little pricey at about $8.49 at drugstores but well worth it. It comes with 1.5 ml or 0.05 fl. oz of product and is available in four colors: Carbon Black (shown), Black Mica, Earthen Rock Brown, and Mineral Grey. This is the one with the FELT TIP and not the brush tip.

Why is it that I can finally apply liquid liner?

It's because of the soft, flexible felt tip that is not stiff nor hard. It's also very porous so that it soaks up the product but it doesn't overload the tip where you have to blot off the excess before applying it. The felt tip does not dry out fast when your working on your eyeliner so that's another plus. You can achieve a very thin or thick line and it glides on easily. It does not dry matte but has a slight glossiness to it and Carbon Black is a rich black color. It also doesn't give me that feeling of having a piece of Scotch tape on my eye like with some other liquid liners I've used.

The only con.

The L'Oreal Lineur Intense is NOT WATERPROOF so don't wear this when it's raining or if you think you might cry at the movies. I rubbed the swatch with a wet finger and it easily came off. Other than that, it doesn't smudge, budge or flake.

Final Grade: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Hopefully they'll come out with a waterproof one that's just as good!

Makeup Haul Preview

HAUL! Review and swatches for each brand will be coming soon.

PHYSICIAN'S FORMULA
Click here for review/swatches

• Talc-Free Mineral Wear Blush in Warming Glow
• Baked Collection Wet/Dry Eyeshadow in Baked Sands

SALLY GIRL
Click here for review/swatches

• Connecting eyeshadow singles [I've always hearted them =), I got 3 new ones]

NYC
Click here for review/swatches

• Mod Quad in Far Out Fawns (50% off @ Long's Drug)
  
• Eye 2 Eye duo in Pink Ink (")
  
• Cherrywood Liquid Lip Shine
  
• Snowcone Ultra Last Lip Wear
  

SALLY HANSEN NATURAL BEAUTY inspired by Carmindy
Click here for review/swatches

• The Ocean Eye Palette

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS
Click here for review/swatches

• Brow Powder Duo in Brunette (the most natural looking filler for black eyebrows!)

e.l.f. STUDIO
Click here for review/swatches

• Eyebrow Treat & Tame in Medium (getting Medium was a BIG mistake. Get Dark if you have black brows)
• Eye Primer & Line Sealer
• Eyeliner & Shadow Stick

*UPDATED* Tabletop Storage

A buddy has been added to my existing tabletop storage. This 5-drawer Sterilite unit used to be $6.97 at Walmart but can you believe that it's exactly $8.00 now? When does Walmart ever end a price at an even dollar? It's always .97 or .98 cents. Anyway a $1.03 price hike is HUGE for Walmart. I don't believe the first drawers I got were purchased on sale either.


I reorganized the two drawers in the black unit. The top drawer has about two layers of lipsticks.

The bottom drawer are most of my lipglosses with wand applicators. There's some Cover Girl Wetslicks & Max Factor (my faves) on top.

Then jumping over to the new drawers. More lipglosses in tubes and pots as well as lipliners and lip brushes. You should keep a separate sharpener for your lipliners. Do you see that discontinued Stila Rose Shine? That's one of my all times faves but it had the worst packaging ever!

Some eyeshadow bases, Jane Be Pure Mineral Gel eyeliner and a Sephora eyelash curler with a slide out lash & brow comb.

Eyeshadows I hardly use. There's a Rimmel quad, Maybelline e/s and a Clinique Bonus palette underneath.

Eyeliners, a separate sharpener for them, elf Studio products (review on the way), a Jane e/s palette (black rectangle) and a Physician's Formula baked e/s trio (I really like this).

Finally, the bottom drawer has some false eyelashes which I don't use too often, DUO dark tone glue and my EDM foundation brush.

Top view

I promise to show what's underneath the table too. =)

Bye Bye Dry Hair & Frizzies

Recently I've been using the Garnier Fructis Melting Masque and Instant Melting Conditioner (not pictured) about every other day. They are both conditioners for your hair but the Melting Masque is for over processed, extremely damaged hair and is categorized under their "Strength & Repair" line while the Instant Melting Conditioner is for dry, frizzy hair and is categorized under their "Sleek & Shine" line. They are very affordable at only $2.99 each but there's almost always a $1 off coupon in the Sunday paper on any Garnier Fructis hair product so it's a steal.

I've really been noticing a difference in my hair since using these conditioners. It's less dry, smoother, silkier and shinier. So far both of these have given me the same results. And every Garnier Fructis product smells so wonderful. They have fruity or citrus scents and the conditioners smell like papaya, at least to me. When I rinse it off in the shower, it feels like it's actually melted on a layer of silk goodness onto my hair. LoL.

As for shampoo, I use any Dove shampoo for dry hair that I find at Costco in those huge pump bottles. I really like Dove and prefer it over Pantene, which dries out my hair and makes it feel like straw. I haven't tried any GF shampoo yet.

Also pictured above is my favorite frizz serum which goes for about $4.50. It's called the Anti-Frizz Serum and is part of their "Sleek & Shine" line. It has a citrus scent and is a light oil which is not greasy and thick like Baby Oil. It does not contain alcohol so it won't dry out your hair and it also does not contain water. Some frizz serums have water in them and when you apply it to your hair after flat ironing, it will wave it up. It's because of the water in it. The GF frizz serum contains no water so it won't mess up your freshly straightened locks. I like to smooth it on after using my Chi flat iron or my curling iron and it tames my frizzies, smooths the cuticles of my hair, adds a little bit of shine and a pleasant scent. It's also a good refresher to finger comb through your hair throughout the day. I go through bottles of this stuff since I have long hair. I'm due for a cut! =)

Whoops, I forgot to add that I also like the Anti-Humidity Hairspray. I've given up on flexible hold hairsprays because they don't hold my curls or keep my flat ironed hair from frizzing. It has an ultra hold but it doesn't make my hair hard and crunchy.

Do you have any hair care recommendations?

I'm Mad Again >:(

Just when I was in the mood to upload another video, I signed on to my YouTube account this evening just to discover that they deleted another one of my videos!!! ARGH! It was entitled "Brushes Part 1- Flat Top Buffers & Face" where I compared the Everyday Minerals Flat Top brush with a flat top brush I got from Coastal Scents. I also reviewed the e.l.f. foundation brush, Bare Minerals Flawless Face brush, the EDM Angled Blush brush and the EDM Baby Kabuki. It's been about two months since they deleted my last video that I reuploaded without music and this just got me steamed again. ::deep breath::

So I'm trying to keep my brush video up there but I'm forced to mute the whole audio track or replace it with some crappy YouTube approved music. There's no option to replace certain areas of my video with their approved music so I can't just replace the music parts and keep the audio where I'm talking, which will make my video suck! But since I have good pictures in the video, I want to keep it up there and I don't want to go into my files and redub and reupload it. I'll just update the description box.

Blame Prince! LOL. I just had to use "Adore" in both of those videos because I love that song but apparently he's really pissy about his music. Whatever. I still like him though...I ain't mad at'cha. I'm mad at YouTube! LoL.



P.S. I bought gas today and it was only $1.89 a gallon which was unbelievable. It was over 4 bucks at it's highest. It makes me want to fill up those containers with the handles and haul it on home!

EDM Brush Update

This is my 3rd post today. I am on a roll! =D

Just a little update on the Everyday Minerals Flat Top Buffer Brush with the new bamboo handle that I recently purchased and did a haul post on. It was shedding like crazy and ya know how much I love their super soft, dense, plush, never-shedding brushes! I just had to email them at thanks@everydayminerals.com and told them my problem and they sent me a new brush, no questions asked, in three days. This one does not shed at all so if you have a problem with any EDM product email them and they'll reply to you within a day.
Thumbs up for their customer service! =)

MAC also has great customer service. Remember in one of my haul vids when they screwed up my order and sent me the wrong eyeshadow? I got to keep that one and they sent me the correct one free of charge.

Worst customer service: e.l.f.

Mini Jewelry Haul & Storage

I picked up two pairs of earrings above at Icing last week on a BOGOHO, buy one get one half off. On the left for $7.50 has pink, brown and ecru colored string that's wrapped around and around in an intricate pattern. It happened to match the shirt that I was wearing perfectly! On the right are some dangly curves with crystals for $8.50. Grand total was $12.25 plus tax.


On the weekend I stopped by Claire's and bought two necklaces. (Actually, it was courtesy of the ex-boyfriend. lol)
On the left a 48" gunmetal colored necklace with round beads for $10.50 and on the right a 30" necklace with metal circles and black faceted plastic beads for $9.50.

I double-upped the one on the left.

And because I spent $20 or more before tax at Claire's, they gave me a $10 off coupon on my next purchase of $20 or more before tax. It's valid between December 1st and the 14th and I'm definitely going to use this!

So where do I store the earrings and necklaces that I use most often? Well, don't ever buy a Polaroid FLM-911 LCD TV because it SUCKS! I bought this two years ago for about $330 and at that time LCDs were around $500 or more so I opted for the cheaper one. It had a beautiful picture though but less than a year and a half later the screen went white and the picture never came on anymore but the audio still worked. The warranty was 1 year only and I never buy extended warranties because I've never had problems with any electronic items before. I researched this TV online and a lot of other people had problems with it. The cost to fix it is more than what it's worth so I have to save up for another LCD TV.

Just don't ever buy Polaroids, guys! But it makes a wonderful earring rack. LoL! I just tied up some thread around it and voila. Do you see the back part of my little 9" CRT TV on the left that I'm forced to use? =( Even my laptop screen is bigger than that. I guess if I haven't hauled so much makeup this year, I could have already bought a new TV. Ah well...Hehe


All my other jewelry are piled in a little case. You may have spied it in one of my videos. It has a multicolored block pattern on it. I use it as a camera stand when making YT vids.

Pink Roses

Hey lovelies!! I'm sorry I haven't posted something in a week. I've been a little busy but I've picked up some jewelry and a little bit of makeup so I hope I can get that up for you.

Do you remember the Red Roses that I got before? Well this time it's pink roses. It looks like a wedding boquet (LoL) but I think they're pretty. =) Ok, Ok, I'll tell you who's been giving them to me...(Insert dramatic pause)...
The ex-boyfriend.
We're still friends but it's a love/hate relationship. Haha.
Next time I think they'll be yellow!...


Red roses signify love & passion.

Pink roses signify elegance, gentility and poetic romance, without the seriousness of red.

Yellow roses once meant jealousy but now signify friendship, familiar love and domestic happiness.

White roses symbolize unity, sincerity, loyalty, purity and a love stronger than death.

Purple roses signify majestic glory and eternal love while lavender roses represent love at first sight or the beginning of true feelings.


What's your favorite flower?