Makeup Roundup

I got a ton of stuff from Birchbox by combining promos, allowing me to get all of this stuff for $30!

My two free mystery samples. 

I get the Vasanti Brighten Up! facial scrub all the time now, but I don't even mind. I love it. It's the most exfoliating cleanser I've ever used, and it makes my skin feel so fresh and soft.

I've had the oil treatment version of this hair product before, but the sample was so small that I couldn't really tell if it actually worked or not, and this cream is packaged in a sample of the same size, so it's not my favorite.

Facial soap was on the top of my grocery list, so I thought, why not get some off Birchbox and earn some points. I really love this wash. It's exfoliating and the lemon balm really brightens my face.

My main purchase was this Marcelle BB Gold Gift Set. It comes with a Golden Glow BB Cream, Twist Push Up Mascara, and a BB Cleanser

I didn't know the products would be so big! I feel like this was a great deal. I love the golden hues in the BB cream, so it's more of a bronze illuminator rather than pearly or pink-toned. It's really shimmery and light, but has more coverage than the Urban Decay Naked Illuminating BB Cream.

This cleanser is a little strange. It doesn't need to be rinsed off, but it's like a white lotion-like substance, which is great for moisturizing, as opposed to alcohol or oil based makeup removers, but it is a little strange to get used to.

This mascara is pretty cool too. It gives the option of a normal mascara wand, or you can twist it up for a more volumizing stroke.

Left is the twisted, volumizing option, and right is normal.

I got this really great cream eyeshadow from Performance Colors on Etsy in "Raisin."

The chap-stick applicator works pretty well on your eyelids and it's creaseless! I like it a lot.

The seller is so sweet. My order was a little delayed, and she sent me another color, a gunmetal dark grey, for free. She is so sweet!

 Here's the "Raisin" shade below:

Makeup Roundup!

God my favorite nail color combo at Urban for a buck!

I also got some of my Etsy beauty product purchases in!

I am actually somewhat disappointed in the eye stick. I used it in place on my Benefit Cosmetics Fake Up Hydrating Under-eye concealer stick and the formula is unfortunately more sheer than I expected. I will try to get more coverage out of it over the next couple of days, because you can't beat all of the essential oils packed in there.

Lis Noir Skincare also gave me a little cream blush sample!!

My Erzulie trio: blush stick, highlighting stick, and bronzing stick

Firstly, I LOVED the blush color. Desire is perfect. However, I was not impressed with the other two. The light pink shimmering highlighter balm was really sheer, but it's a great color. It is comparable to Benefit Cosmetic's Watt's Up highlighter.

On the flip side, the bronzer was extremely dark and looked really bad. I'll probably wait 'til I'm a little more tan to use it, haha.

Left is my eyelid primer and right is my Erzulie Goddess Glow sample. 

Again, the primer is super sheer. The formula is actually really hard and the formula is greasy, and honestly doesn't do much for my eyeshadow. I guess I'll have to spend the money on Smasbox's amazing lid primer.

However, I love the Goddess Glow shimmering foundation. It reminds me a lot of my Manna Kadar shimmer glo lotion I got in a previous Birchbox. It's a pink, metallic-y highlighting cream and I am really satisfied with it. I'll probably buy the full size when I run out!

Birchbox also had an exclusive sale for Ace members this week, and select items were 40% off. I got this organic eye makeup remover for $5 and Aces get free shipping!

Got a Burt's Bees fix! Skin brightening facial cleansing wipes and pumpkin spice lip balm that actually doesn't smell much like pumpkin spice, but oh well...

I'm Really Bad at Titles, You Could Say I've Never Earned a Title in It (save with a pun)

Pita Stop with my cousin and mama for her birthday!

October Birchbox:

Vasanti BrightenUp! exfoliating cleanser 

Tocca green tea and lemon hand cream

Model CO Power Lashe Longwear black mascara

SAGE + fasten Onward rollerball perfume

and another Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle spray

Attended my first ever UAB football game (as an alum, oops)

Sweet Melvin :)

Wore my new converse for the birmingham ghost walk!

I didn't get any photos, but I encourage everyone to go.

It's $15 and is led every night during October.

For more information, go to http://www.bhamhistory.com/

Five for Friday

Gal date with Rachel at Great Wall on Valley Avenue.

AMAZZZZING, authentic Chinese food and kind staff.

My Fashionista Birchbox!

1. a FULL-SIZE Macadamia Natural Flawless oil conditioner

2. Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner

3. dr. brandt pore-refining "vacuum" clay mask

4. Naobay Body Radiance Lotion

5. Laura Mercier volume mascara

wore my Alabama Funk by Anne Conway necklace I got from the Little Forest popup shop at Sidewalk Film Festival last month

(with a dress from Free People and a crochet vest from rue21)

Lovin' my lil bb :)

Nails: 

Sally Hansen "Peach of Cake"from Target

Ruby Wing "Ride 'Em Cowgirl" from my Birchbox Going Glam sample pack

Rings:

Midi rings from rue21

"Faux-pal" gold ring from Birchbox

Products, Products, Products

So it may sound strange since I live in Alabama, but I honestly hardly ever get a chance to go to Wal-Mart. The one in Birmingham is totally out of the way for me, so I always go to Target.

However, in Auburn, there isn't a Target store for miles (surprise), so I picked up a few things.

(Above)

Not Your Mother's Volumizing Hairspray

A Southern woman can never have too much. This stuff smells awesome and it doesn't leave my hair with a crunchy texture. In earlier posts, I mentioned t hat I used this brand's sea salt hairspray, so I'm really starting to love this brand.

(Below)

I have actually never heard of this Black Opal brand before. It seemed like a product line made for women of color, but I love the bold tones of the lipsticks, and it's one of the only matte shades I've seen in a while, since most cosmetic companies are shelling out lip lacquer products, PLUS it's called Wine Not, RIP Revlon Wine Not Matte. 

I had to try it. 

It was a little purple-y, but really saturated. Only $5 too.

 

This stuff came in my Birchbox with my tray from MOnday's post.

I purchased this Skyn Iceland Pore minimizer and have been using it twice a day for two days. The cream is thick and can be used as a primer. I put it on the spots where my pores are visible, the skin around the sides of my nose, the bridge of my nose, and the lower part of my forehead/brow-bone. It's a little tingly, but that means it's working right?

These are my mystery samples in the photo on the right. I've been getting so much eyeliner lately that I don't know if I'll ever run out, haha.  The other two products are just smelly-good things, but nice to have.

Organizing my bathroom counter

Since I've accumulated so much makeup products over the past few months, I though I should try to organize my bathroom counter a little bit.

(Left) before

(Right) after!

  

This pretty little tray is from Birchbox. It's called the Rosanna Alhambra Mini Infinity Tray. The colors I chose (purple, light blue/turquoise, and white) compliment my other rooms' decor. The tray had two different sized tumblers that matched, but I preferred keeping my pieces a bit eclectic.

The two tumbler vases are from Anthropologie.

The mirror is from TJ Maxx.

This makes searching for products a lot easier, I must say.

More Makeup #BirchboxBrag #GollyGee

I got a lot of little freebies in my last Birchbox purchase. To celebrate it's fourth birthday, Birchbox had a special anniversary box up for grabs with a $50+ order, thus finally making me a Birchbox ACE member! Because through my purchases and product reviews, I accumulated 500 Birchbox points within one year!  So now I get an exclusive bonus gift with my next purchase. :)

I also bought some products while at Target yesterday: A Peach of Cake by Sally Hansen and Yes To Blueberries Age Refresh Deep Wrinkle Night Cream and Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel.

Yes, I am only 22, but I feel that taking preventative measures to fight wrinkles can't hurt anything. This cream is a great smelling super-moisturizer with anti-oxidants to fight aging. I put some on last night after I washed my face, and I felt pretty fresh when I woke up. The only con is that my forehead felt a little oily. Only time will tell if this stuff actually works.

The soothing eye gel was interesting. Firstly, it had an intense cucumber smell that I did not like. It seemed to work. (I put it on this morning instead of Preparation H) However, a few minutes later, the skin underneath my eye-baggage (haha), along the orbital bone, was really red and irritated. This kind of thing has never happened to me before. I put some of the gel on my wrist to see if it did the same thing and nothing happened. I will investigate this further. Btw, sorry for the blurry photo.

I got the shampoo, eyeliner, eyeshadow and eye cream (pictured below) in my Anniversary box. I've used the shampoo brand before, although not the smoothing formula. My hair is so oily that I steer towards volumizing shampoos like a true southern lady (the higher your hair, the closer you are to God, am I right?)

The leave-in conditioner/detangler came in my mystery sample pack with more Supergoop facial sunscreen. I normally don't use detangler because it makes my hair oily, but this stuff smells great.

I haven't heard of the brand of eyeliner before, but I've been getting a ton of eyeliner samples, so I can't wait to try them all.

I also can't wait to try this Revealed Ballerina eyeshadow palette. It almost matches my e.l.f. shadow exactly, so I know I'll love it.

This is what came in my Smashbox Try It! kit. I have accumulated a ton of primer right now, so I've just been using my Smashbox green color-correcting primer instead of the clear pictured here. I also didn't get a chance to use the eyeliner because I was running late for work this morning (lol). 

It also came with a lipgloss in Illume, but I hate lipgloss, especially nude, glittery lipgloss, so I gave it to a friend.

I love the eyelid primer. I will probably continue to buy it, actually. The e.l.f. stuff I've been using doesn't compare at all, sadly. This stuff has kept everything in place all day long, and I can't say the same about my go-to Target brand.

And the mascara. I put it on while I was driving to work, I live dangerously, and I have to say, it SUCKED. I have long lashes, and I like to put a lot of lengthening/volumizing mascara on to accentuate my lashes. This Smashbox Full Exposure mascara did NOT do it for me. It took FOREVER to get my lashes looking halfway decent. Thankfully, I had a spare L'Oreal Telescopic at my desk at work, and I put it on right away. 

Thus far, no high-end brand of mascara has come close to beating L'Oreal for me.

So I also got the Cynthia Rowley No. 1 package. I already had the Beauty Liquid Liner in brown, so I just tucked this one away for when mine runs out. But I love this color palette. It has lasted all day, no dreaded eyelid creases, a.k.a. the bane of my existence as well as a personal makeup pet peeve, thank GOD. Such great colors, and I even used a little of the dark, dark brown on my eyebrows. I also love the palette design as well as the pouch it all came in a lot, a lot.

Like I said, I love the liquid liner. You can see the SUPER fine tip in the photo above, and it works marvelously.

I also loved this Tata Harper Natural Lip Treatment in Be Adored. This lip balm naturally plumps and reduces lines in my lips (something I've always been self-concious about) and leaves a sheer rosy tint on my lips. And I love the brightly-colored case.

I also used the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream. This is a brand that I am also not particularly familiar with, but they promised to reduce my dark circles, so I put my Yes To Grapefruit dark spot corrector on the back-burner and started using this stuff twice a day. I will let you know if it worked!

I loved the Manna Kadar sheer shimmery-glowy facial lotion from my last Birchbox purchase, and I've been using it since I got it. So I feel confident in this lash primer. I put it on last night to condition my lashes and again this morning for some extra length. It worked really well.