5 Out: Product Reviews

It is that time again where I finally wrote about 5 more products in my collection. I am trying to do these posts twice a month, so I am writing 10 product reviews a month. I am behind though, because I have a basket of trash collected from this year that I still have yet to review. Next year when I am concentrating on 19 things instead of 200, I am sure that I will be going through a little less product. I will be working on mostly full and full sized items. Most of it will also be makeup which takes a while to use up. I can take the time next year to finish up the reviews from this year and keep up with next year’s empties. I still use up a lot of items throughout the year, but with having a set goal this year, I was motivated to use products every day and not skimp out most of the time. I am looking forward to enjoying my collection more next year instead of focusing on using up most of my mini products.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser

For a high end cleanser, this was too basic. I expected more from this brand. It didn’t even remove all of my makeup. My Aveeno cleanser did a better job than this one. This mini was overpriced at $10 USD. I do not recommend and I will not repurchase. You can do so much better at the drugstore or Marshalls. I have to say though that it is hard to find cruelty free at the drugstore. The ones that I know offhand for skin care are Alba, Elf, and Burts Bees.

Disney HSM Super Moisturizing Body Lotion

Nearing the end of its life, this body lotion started to turn on me, which is why there is a bit melted to the side. It hardened into the side of the bottle. This was a really light gel-like body lotion that was also very moisturizing. I enjoyed the light sweet scent that I couldn’t place. It didn’t really smell of anything recognizable. It didn’t smell like vanilla, just sweet. It is hard to describe. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, but it is very good.

Manna Kadar Sheer Glo Shimmer Lotion

I enjoyed mixing this stuff with my moisturizer. It gave a very subtle lit from within glow. I am starting to mix all of my liquid highlighters in with all of my moisturizers for this glow that I am enjoying so much on my oily skin. You don’t need this particular one. Any liquid highlighter will do. This one gives a nice, healthy pink glow to the skin! I have yellow undertones, so it wasn’t too much pink for my complexion. If I ran out of liquid highlighter and I saw this at the store, I would repurchase it. I do recommend this, but it is very subtle as a highlighter. It is great for those of us that wear minimum to no makeup for a healthy glow.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Light 2 Vanilla

I did not enjoy this under my eyes. I think it made my under eyes dry and did nothing for concealing my dark circles. Powder tends to cling to the concealer making it look like you have dry patches of skin. I used this all over my face as a foundation. It was okay as a foundation, but nothing special. I do not recommend it and I will not be repurchasing anything from Nars as they are no longer cruelty free.

Boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding

This did not minimize the appearance of my pores, but it did purify my skin and helped pull out acne. I would not purchase, because I have a few clay masks already that do the same thing. I would purchase from the brand again, but this mask is nothing special. i think I would try their peel off mask, because I have a ton of black heads and I think that type of mask would be more effective for my skin concerns. On the plus side, this mask was very easy to remove with a warm wash cloth.

With Love,

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November Sephora PLAY!

I’m very late with my Sephora Play this month. I could have blogged about this last week, but I never got a round to it. I’ve been very busy, but that’s not the entire reason why. November and December is a very busy time for me with working overtime, meeting with ABA worker for Dean, Christmas, and of course, Dean’s birthday. Blogging has taken a bit of a back burner for me. I’m hoping to have more time for blogging, because I really love it. Taking the time to write a post during my lunch has helped a lot. I really look forward to it now, when I can squeeze it in.

The bag is okay, but I really wasn’t thrilled with what I got in my box this time around. Sephora had been doing so well and this box was a let down to be honest. I mean, it was bound to happen. I can’t always get the best box. The theme is Survival of the Chillest. I didn’t think that all the products went with the theme. A red lip is not chill. That’s high maintenance at least for me.

Burberry My Burberry Blush

I love the fresh floral fragrance, but I don’t think that it is that unique. I would not purchase this. It is a nice fragrance though, it’s just not for me. I will use the sample up and enjoy it. Who knows? Maybe by the end of it, I’ll want to buy it.

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara 0.17 oz $13

I’m not totally mad at this. It is a luxury brand and half the full size. I just wish that it wasn’t a mascara. I would have preferred a lip product or an eye shadow OR SOMETHING. I will still use it and appreciate it, but I’m not excited about it. It’s yet another mascara to add to my collection of unopened tubes. I just opened a MAC sample, so maybe when I’m done with that one, I’ll open this one. I have like 6 tubes now? I could use a sample mascara break.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Pore Extractor Mask 5 ml $2.34

This is such a small sample. I probably only have 1 to 2 uses in it. I think Philosophy is alright as a brand, but since they test on animals, I’m not going to be buying this. This is a meh product for me, because it is so small and I won’t be buying from the brand. I’m happy to try out a mask though, because I do mask about 3 times a week. I have oily, acne prone skin most of the time. Clay masks are a necessity for me. During the year, I use hydrating masks as well from all the products that I use to dry out my skin.

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo 0.75 oz $3.06

 

I’ve used a reviewed this product HERE. I am super happy to have another one of these on hand. Although, I haven’t been using dry shampoo recently since I got my hair cut. I look forward to using this and getting back into the dry shampoo mood. I’ve been washing my hair every other day. Now, I’ll be able to go 1 day longer. The shorter my hair is, the more often it needs to be washed. When it was long, I only washed once to twice a week. I’m washing my hair three to four times a week now. I’d like to go down to two to three washes and this will help me get there.

Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer 10 ml $9

This is a 5th of the full size, which I think is generous for a face cream. It is close to a half of a fluid ounce. It has cool little honey beads in it to give your face extra moisture. This is a really unique face cream, but I’m definitely a no more than $30 face cream girl. Face cream takes me a long time to use up. A 2 ounce jar takes me 6 months of better. I don’t want to spend a ton on face cream. To be honest, I’m more likely to spend the $30 on a night cream than a face cream. I’ll probably go back to Simple or Cetaphil when I’m done with what I have.

Sephora Rouge Cream R04 The Red 1 g $3.12

Eh. I’m not a fan of how I look in red lipstick. I guess, I haven’t found my shade yet. I’m glad it’s just a mini. I’m going to just wear this around my house. I find it drying on the lips, so when I put this in my December makeup bag, I know I’ll be reapplying it often in order to get rid of that drying feeling on my lips. I tested it out today and I’ve had it on for an hour before touching up. I just had products that make my lips feel dry. If it’s a color I like, I add a gloss, but I just want to use this red up. I need a vampy red or a berry red. A true orangey red like this one doesn’t look good an neither do the pinky ones.

I would give this box 2 out of 5 stars. I love the Amika dry shampoo and I’m only half excited for the mascara and face cream. I hope December brings a better bag or at least more interesting products that are new to me. I just feel blah about this bag. Nothing truly excited, except for a product I know I like and have considered buying the full size off. This is a good way for me to finally decide to put it on my Love’s List or not.

With Love,

Sephora Birthday Haul

I indulged in a little Sephora birthday haul and The Ordinary Skincare. My skincare order hasn’t come in yet, but my Sephora white and black stripped box is here. I’d thought that I will share some Summer staples that I bought for my birthday and in preparation for summer. I’m so excited about these products, even though they can seem really basic. I am a skin care junkie, so most of the haul is skin care and freebies. It doesn’t take me that long to go through skin care items. I never need to really put them in a project pan, because I love taking care of my skin. Let’s get started on the haul!

3 Free Samples W/Every Order

Every online Sephora order gets three free samples. These are not the samples that I chose, but I am still excited about them. I have heard about these before and they aren’t makeup which makes me happy. Drunk Elephant is an expensive brand, so I’m glad to have a sample to try of one of their night serums that I am sure only has one use in it. Youtube is on fire about the Aqua bomb and I look forward to trying it out. I like wearing my hair natural, using no heat tools at all. I have no time! The Deva Curl is a brand that I’ve heard a ton about. Their products are meant to use on natural hair with no heat styling. I love products geared towards no heat styling and this is a generous size.

Clinique Pep-Start Daily UV Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 50

I paid $19.50 for 1 oz of sunscreen. Yes, it is expensive, but it will last me all summer. I like the yellow tint to blur out imperfections and IT DOESN’T SMELL LIKE SUNSCREEN. I love that it has no scent and I have yellow undertones so I don’t mind the tint. I cannot use drugstore sunscreen, because it breaks me out. Clinique is a brand that I like and all of their skincare has been agreeable to my skin. I thought that I would give them a chance and it really wasn’t that expensive compared to other brands. I need the protection especially in the Summer, if I really like it, I’ll keep buying it to use it in the Winter time, too.

Barre To Bar Supergoop! Beauty Set

I bought this little sunscreen set for $25 and it was worth every penny. I got the Lip & Cheek tint that I’m on the fence about. It might be a little too red for me. We will see…. I’m excited to try my first setting spray! I hope it works, because I can see myself repurchasing this over the Clinique. If I can just spray over my face and my makeup still looks nice, I would use this instead of a traditional SPF product. I can see it working well to use on Dean as well, for facial application. I wanted to try the serum as a different form off sunscreen with some added benefits. I don’t like traditional sunscreen on my face. I’m trying to find safe alternatives that aren’t too expensive. The BB cream is a good match for me right now and was just an added bonus to this little kit. I have two BB creams that are too dark to wear in public right now, so now I have on to wear out. I think I got my money’s worth with this kit. Hopefully, the products work enough for me to repurchase something. It has to be really good for me to repurchase.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser

I bought this as a back up cleanser for when my GlamGlow runs out, which I cannot tell when. You cannot see through the packaging. This is a cult favorite product that I wanted to try out and if I don’t like it, I can always use it to wash my brushes. I bought this for $7 for 3 ozs. It is a good size to try out and I am excited to do so. I don’t mind having a little back stock of skin care as long as it’s reasonable. Skincare is something that I naturally just go through, because I do many steps every night to deep clean my skin. I really enjoy doing it after a long day. It’s something I’m never really lazy with. I haven’t liked anything from Philosophy before and I think it’s a little overrated as a brand.

Free Deluxe Samples

Origins is a brand that I have tried once or twice, so when I saw that Sephora had this duo as a free deluxe sized sample, I ordered it. I ran out of my day eye cream, so I thought that it would be nice to try out. After I use up the eye cream, I plan on using the face cream as an eye cream as well. They both have a very light scent that I don’t mind. This will last me awhile using these items as eye creams.

Sephora Free Birthday Gift

I chose the free birthday set from Tarte, which includes an amazonian clay 12 hour blush in paaarty and a tarteist creamy matte lip paint in birthday suit. I have been wanting to try Tarte out forever, so I thought that this would be a nice way to try out the brand with a couple of their best selling items. These nude colors speak to me and I’m excited to wear them. I also think that these are really generous sizes for a free birthday gift. Sephora’s birthday gifts are just getting so much better!

That concludes my birthday haul from Sephora. I still have my birthday present from D to haul and my purchase from The Ordinary when it decides to come in. They are having such high demands right now that shipping and processing of the items are being delayed. I won’t be buying from Sephora again until possibly the November sale or maybe a small haul in October if I need a few things before then.

With Love ❤

August Empties

My bag is overflowing from all of the empties I have in there. I am hoping that there is at least twenty products in there. I was really dedicated last month in using up products that just had a little bit left in them. I still have a few almost empty products that I’m sure will be empties in September. I’m so happy for myself! I cannot wait to see how many products I actually used up. I will be coming back Sunday and Monday with new posts, since it is a long weekend! This might be a long one!

1. Lansinoh Nursing Pads, 60 count = 30 day supply

2. Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags, 50 ct

3. Pantene Pro V Deep Cleanse Purifying Shampoo

4. Swisspers 100% Cotton Rounds

5. Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars in Pecan Crunch

6. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Smooth Light Roast Coffee

7. Degree Men Motionsense Dry Spray Extreme 48H Antiperspirant

8. Rite Aid Feminine Care Cleansing Cloths

9. Dunkin’ Dark Coffee

10. Aveeno Nourish + Condition Leave-In Treatment

11. Groovi Beauty Pink Champagne Bubble Bath

12. Tarte Tarte Guard SPF 30

13. Kalos Triple Threat Detox Masque

L to R: LA Girl Flare in NL33 Neon Yellow, Avon in N910 Sweet Mint, Sephora in 83 Jungle Playground, H&M in Mad Mint, Julep in Amy, Color Club in 984 Wild Cactus

14. L.A. Girl Flare in Neon Yellow

15. It’s A 10 Miracle Leave-In Product

16. Forever 21 Love & Beauty Cucumber Sheet Mask For Sensitive Skin

17. Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Sample

18. Olay Fresh Effects Swirled Mattifier Sample

19. Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream in Light to Medium Sample

20. Olay Regenerist Luminous Moisturizer Sample

21. Chanel Le Lift Sample

22. Gevalia Kaffe French Roast Coffee

23. Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder in 010 Fair

24. Valentia Royal Rose Hydrating Serum

25. Marcelle BB Cream in Golden Glow

26. Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter Sample

27. Malibu Ultra Body Lotion Sample

28. Hair Tie

29. Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

Wow! Almost 30 products that I have used up. This is so amazing! I cannot wait to see what I use up in September. I don’t have any empties so far, but I’m sure that I will start using things up left and right. I have nothing to repurchase yet. I haven’t used up the last of anything important in my skin care routine, plus I have plenty of back ups! I will be buying a few school/college supplies next week when I get my books for my class AIT 131 Essentials of Information Technology. I love shopping for college/class supplies. Maybe, I’ll get some supplies for my desk as well. Anyways, I’ll be hitting the dollar tree and Walmart for supplies next week I’m supposed to get my books on Thursday!

With Love ❤