When Your Lips Are Toast, Use This Butter!

OK so that was a cheap tag line, but let me just say my lips are kind of crazy flaky dry like that.  I’ve been sick a bit over a week now and of course the two places that get uber dry are just around your nose and your lips.  Usually for me, since I’m weird like this, my lips are usually dry just around the line area of them. Never the full lips, that get licked the most. See weirdo here.  So while my boyfriend and I were on a trip to Target and getting medicine, he decided he wanted to try some different lip balms.  We were surprised when we found that Palmer’s made a lip balm.

If you haven’t used anything from Palmer’s go out and purchase something right now, especially if you love the smell of cocoa.  I fell like I have a hot chocolate lingering on my lips (sadly no taste included).

The site says that the cocoa is a natural moisturizer, which if I could slather on cocoa all day long I will.  I might.  I think I need to go buy a jar now.   Their site also says that their tube is the second most concentrated in the moisture area (while their jar has the most, the lotion the least), also another benefit SPF 15! If you want some more information go check out their site here and check out their FAQ.

Another neat feature, that I tend to enjoy a lot, is the oval shape.  It’s sits a lot nicer in my purse and in my pocket (which was also a selling point for my boyfriend). This balm has become a favorite of mine so far.  I believe it was only $2.99 at Target, and if you ever find yourself there go and pick up one.

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My Skin Care Routine-Blog Hop

Welcome to the first 2014 Blog hop, brought to you by all the lovelies over at our Facebook Page Beauty and Fashion Blog Community(if your interested in joining our group pleaes click here, we’re growing each day and have a lovely community going).  We’ve already did one blog hop at the end of the year, it was the top 13 products of 2013. This year we are starting up with our skin care Routine.

This blog hop is particularly exciting and I can’t wait to see what everyone else uses, and hopefully some of you will leave some comment love and let me know what you use. I’m always looking for something new to quench my skin.

I have a hard time keeping my combination (mainly dry and some oily spots) under control. I live in VA and the weather tends to be all four seasons in the winter.  My skin is really freaking out no knowing how to handle things.  I try to keep what I use very simple. I hate using a lot of items that either have way to many chemicals or just layer way to much that can cause my skin to do opposite of what I want it to do.

So these are the basics that I use weekly.  I try to use as much natural items that I can so I know what all is going on my skin.

My every day use of moisturizer

The Body Ship Vitamin E Moisture Cream.  This is the best moisturizer I have found for  pretty much all skin types. If you need hydration then this is the product for you. This retails for $16.50 but The Body Shop is always having a sale (usually once a month they do a half off sale).  Once I get out the shower I always put this on immediately.  The best time to put on a moisturizer is right after a nice hot shower so your open pores can drench in the moisture.  I can’t say how much I love this product. I have been using it for more than 5 years.  I highly recommend it, and the nice thing is, is if you don’t like it you can always take it back to the store.

Urban Decay B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray.  I never thought I was going to be someone to jump on this face spray prepper band wagon, but Sephora had a 500 VIB point Urban Decay gift and once I used this I was in love.  I recently did a review on it here, but to give you a little idea why I like it is what it does for your skin. This item is good for all skin types to prep you skin for moisture and make up.  You can also use it during the day, a little spritz will wake you up. It’s also oil free, so for those of us who has some slick spots, it won’t make your face extra slicky.

The Facial Cleansers

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads.  I just recently picked this up at Rite Aid. It was one of those front lane impulse buys.  Of course my curiosity kills me and I had to pick it up, and I like Aveeno anyways.  What I really like using this product is that one side of the pad is an exfoliate the other is softer for those sensitive spots around the eye areas. When I first used this I was so surprised on how much extra makeup I had on me.  This is a great product to keep on hand when you don’t want to do a full on facial at home. It’s quick and your face feels so clean afterwards.  I use this one only a few times a week because I don’t want to over scrub my face.

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser- I use this about twice a week.  I keep this in my caddie in my shower.  If I’m feeling lazy and not wanting to go full on face cleanse and I didn’t wash my face the night before (yes I am VERY bad about that) I use this while I’m in the shower.  You can find this anywhere, I believe I purchased mine thru Ulta when I was getting a big purchase.  You can click here to go to their web site and it cost $6.99, I know you can get it pretty much anywhere.  What I love about it the most is that it has a light smell and isn’t harsh to your skin. Also another plus side is that it loves all skin types, no need to know if your a combo or oily face.

The Miscellaneous Face Items

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes– So this isn’t totally skin care, but it removes stuff from my skin!  I love these and would be lost with out them if they didn’t exist. On lazy night (I’m not 100% lazy all the time, but I’m tired a lot….aaaaand a little be lazy lol) I like to use these to get mainly my eye make up off. But I also run one across my face to get the surface make up off. This allows me not to have my skin to clog up as bad.  The link I gave is to Ulta which has them for $8.99, which is EXPENSIVE!.  I get them at Target for $4.99, if you want to try them they have small travel sizes for $1.99. But if you have a Sams Club near you, you can get a three pack for $12.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink-In Moisturizer Mask-This stuff is amazing!  It’s not your normal mask.  It’s a mask that doesn’t harden. It’s more like a moisturizer that stays on top of your skin and after 10 minutes you wipe it off with a towel.  It leaves your skin smooth, cool and so moisturized up.  I use this once a week to give some life to my skin.  I feel like if I had to use it more than once I would become oily.  You can get the sample for  $2.50 or a full size for $22 but they are always running a sale online, which the store doesn’t have going (right now everything is 40% off and free shipping over $15).

There you go! This is what I keep my face so fresh and so clean clean.  Let me know if you have used any of these and what you thought of them.  Do you have any recommendations?

Also please go and see these lovely ladies and what they use!

• Michelle at Pretty in the East www.prettyintheeast.com
• Brittany at The Beauty Deputy www.thebeautydeputy.com
• Kristina at http://thefemininefiles.com
• Jeni at Gracious Luck – www.graciousluck.com
• Heather at Coconut & Cotton www.coconutandcotton.com
• Jenn at Little Bit of Girl Geekery www.icedwavez.wordpress.com
• Etta of Etta’s Threads www.ettasthreads.wordpress.com
• Kristy from Nailofatale : http://nailofatale.blogspot.com/
• Vivienne of Jolie Pagaille http://www.JoliePagaille.com
• Brittany at http://lipstickandyarn.blogspot.ca
• Nancy at  http://jumpingmouse9.wordpress.com
• Michelle at http://beautifulgoodies.wordpress.com
• Angela at http://themakeupslashphotographywhisperer.wordpress.com
• Bernice at http://www.darkbeautymakeup.com
• Christine at http://www.simplystine.com
• Sam at http://www.collegebeautybuff.blogspot.com
• Ashly Eyler at http://aeyler06.blogspot.com/

Bite Agave Lip Mask

Good Saturday morning. I have been up since 4 am with a sick puppy so I apologize if my writing sounds a bit delusional.

I picked up a few things the other day at Sephora (Ill do seperate posts on that). I saw this product and thought why not. Ive been having terrible dry lips lately and desperately needed something. I have used Bite products before and was happy with them plus the way this worked was different then other masks.

This mask you put on and leave on. Its a tad thicker than vasaline and has a light scent and no taste. The first day I put it on at 630 and it stayed on till I had lunch at noon. I would say there was 25% left on my lips. Mind you I didnt eat or drink anything.

The result….the deep cracks on my lips disappeared for the most part and they felt smoother. I applied lipstick and it sat on my lips so much nicer.

One recommendation, do not use it back to back days. The second day I didnt see to much difference using it.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Mini Review: Aveeno Postitively Radient Deep Cleansing Pads

Happy Monday.  Back to a full work schedule till I have a day off on 20 Jan. That three day weekend can’t come quick enough.

I wanted to share my reactions to the Aveeno Cleansing Pads I purchased the other day from Rite Aid.  The pads are the size of the bottom of a mug. They have two sides, one is soft for the sensitive areas around your eyes and lips, the other an exfoliant side.

I really enjoyed this product. It’s already wet and ready to later up on your damp face. I couldn’t believe everything that it picked up, considering I hadn’t put on make up for a bit over a whole day.  The exfoliant side isn’t super abrasive but enough that you can tell it’s doing what it’s suppose to.  The scent is very light and it suds up very nicely.

Once washed off my skin looked a litte red since I did a nice scrub on it. Once it settled down it was so soft and radient looking. I’m excited to say this is a good review and would highly recommend this for anyone. It cleared my my little dry patch that likes to settle right between my eybrows.  It cost me $8.

Help Me Choose Some New Lip Products! Discuss With Me!

Happy Thursday!  I can’t believe the new year came in so fast, the holidays were such a blur.

So while I’m sitting here at work (which is nice and quiet right now!) I was looking at Sephora wanting to buy some new lipsticks/gloss. I have a bunch of gift cards and I’m itching to use them.

I’m wanting to try something new asides from my go to Urban Decay Revolutionary Lipstick.  So I’m looking to you all to help me out with some suggestions.

I have no real preference on type of lip product, I like to try bold colors as well a neautral. I’m fair skinned if that helps any. I’m excited to see your suggestions!

Discuss away!

13 Best Beauty Discoveries of 2013

Happy New  Years Everyone! I hope 2014 is going to treat everyone well.  Our little community on Facebook called Blogging Shares  (click the link to join!)decided to do this blog hop for all of you to see what our top fave discoveries we found this past year and to introduce you to some new sites!  I hope you enjoy and find some new bloggers to follow, they are all lovely ladies!

*These are in no particular order and the link on each name is to the websites if your interested in subscribing or ordering*

1. Ipsy Monthly Makeup Subscription

Ipsy is a $10 monthly subscription bag.  Each month you get a great little bag filled with 5 products.  I have not been disappointed thus far.  Each month my bag is guaranteed with some type of lip product, eye product and nail polish, the other two are up in the air.  If your interested in starting up a subscription this would be my top pick over them all.  Also if you review each product you received you get 10 glam points. Once you reach 1000 points you are eligible for a free gift. Also another plus is you get great discounts from each brand name they are using that month. Check out my review for my December bag.

2. Mox Botanical Lip Butter

This was a Birchbox purchase in November.  I am normally not a make up pot type of person, but there is something special about this one.  First the packaging, it’s a heavy material, at first look you think it’s a thick plastic but it’s really made of glass that protects it from the elements.  Secondly, the product melts nicely on your finger and doesn’t get under your nails.  It goes on smooth….like a butter and smells amazing. The pomegranate and fig is an exclusive to Birchbox.  You can check out my review here.

3. Urban Decay B6 Vitamin Infused Complexion Spray

I never in a million years would have thought I would have bought into any of these sprays. I’ve eyeballed them many time but would not pay for them since they were over $30.  Thou my best friends at Sephora put a nice 500 VIB point gift together from Urban Decay and this product was included in it.  The product at the Sephora site says its a soothing prep spray that features the first stabilized form of vitamin B6, which absorbs oil, minimizes pores, and reduces redness.What I really love is that it makes my skin super soft and when I use my moisturizer my face seems to absorb it better and makes my makeup site on my face so much better.  All I can say is that I’m really hooked and when this tester runs out I will be purchasing a full bottle. A plus is that this tiny bottle has lasted me over a month, since I use only 3 small spritz I do not use so much.  Check out my review here.

4. Julep’s Freedom Polymer Top Coat

I use to be a subscriber as a Julep Maven,  it’s $19.99 a month and you receive several different polishes according to your quiz results.  They also have some great box deals.  The only reason I unsubscribed is that I was running out of room for all my polishes.  You can usually do a google search for promo codes to get a discount on your first box. Now this particular item I did no purchase on my own. I received it in my Popsugar box, you can purchase it on the Julep site thou.  This top coat is AH-MAY-ZING!  If you love a shiny gel like finish and a quick dry time this product for you. As a bonus I didn’t see any chipping till maybe 4-5 days later and that was minimal.  I’ve used several top coats in my time but this one, hands (nails) down is my fave. It cost $18 if your not a member but it’s well worth the price.  To read some more on it, check out my review here.

5.Kat Von D Spellbinding Eye Shadow Book

Sadly this one isn’t available anymore.  I am happy that I splurged and purchased it when I did.  I didn’t eve know it was limited and is no longer showing up on the Sephora website.  This one cost me $50, but the perk was there were several shades that were new to her line, and I am not sure they have been brought out full yet.  What is fun is that she gives you the pairings already and suggest to put the darker shade on top of the lighter one, if you do it the other way around to give it a color shifting look.

You can check out my review here.

6. Walgreen’s Studio 35 Eczema Lotion

Your probably wondering why I am including this, right?  Well not all lotions are created equally and sometimes the least expected works the best.  My step kid has terrible eczema in the winter and we were looking for cheaper options then Aveno since it’s a bit more expensive, and honestly not all cracked up to be for a lotion.  So one day I was sitting at home noticing how cracked my feet were and this lotion was in arms reach, so why not try it?  The heavens opened and the angels sung, because the next day my feet were 50% softer and had less noticeable cracks.  Three days of using it straight my heel was healed up and not as tough that comes with the roughness.  This also works great on sand paper like elbows.  It’s worth the drive to Walgreen’s.  Check out my review here.

7.  Buxom Serial Kisser Lipsticks

Ok this one was another holiday packaging that isn’t available but majority of the colors you can find seperatly at Sephora for $21 each. Buxom has some of the best glosses and lipsticks. They are all buttery and smooth and does not dry out you lips. I’ve never used their lipstick products before but they are amazing. I have a friend who went back and bought another one of these sets because she loved them so much.  The pigment is bright and bold and last for sometime.  You can check out my review here.

8. 12 Benefits Healthy Hair Treatment

I have baby fine hair, and I can’t do much to it except add copious amounts of hairspray to it, and by the end of the day it’s crispy looking…..until now.  In one of my Birchbox subscription I received a sample of this product.  The most amazing results I got out this product was that my hair became softer, shiner, smooth, grew faster, and looked overall more healthier.  Also when I went to see my stylist (that I didn’t see for 2 months) she asked me if I got my hair cut somewhere else because my ends looked healthy and very little bit on the split side.  I think that says a lot.  Amazon has the best deals on it, but you can purchase it too on Birchbox.  You can check out my review here.

9. The Wet Brush

Keeping with the hair thing, this is hands down the best brush you will ever own. EVER!  I have trouble with tangles, and they are virtually nonresistant with this brush.  If you do have a tangle it works it out with ease and no pain at all.  I don’t think I have to say more, except it works on all hair types.  Amazon has it on sale right now around $7. Check out my review here.

10. Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask

I am a long time fan of The Body Shop, I’ve been using their Vitamin E moisturizer for years. What’s amazing about this is that they are always running a huge sale online.  I was curious one day when  I hit their 50% site wide sale and decided to try so more of their Vitamin E line.  I fell in love with this mask. It’s not your ordinary one. It goes on thick and stays on the surface. You let it soak in and remove it by sometime of paper towel.  My skin was amazingly super soft for a week.  Check out my review here.

11. Zoya Nail Polish

Zoya is one of the best nail polish brands you can ever purchase.  They are exclusively online, unless you go to a nail salon and possibly purchase it there.  They mainly run $8 unless you get their Pixiedust (and you should it’s sparkles and hardly chips) for $9. The polish is free of the harsh chemicals that you get in most.  I’m a life long fan, I hope you will all try it at least one. Check out my review here.

12. Urban Decay Lip Revolution Lip Line

Perhaps my favorite purchase of the year.  These lipsticks have the best color saturation and never dries your lips out.  They are a bit of a splurge at $22 but so worth it. I own 4, and plan to own the whole collection. Honestly I never was a lipstick person but this made me a lipstick obsessor.  Check out my review here that also includes swatches.

13. Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette

I wanted to put Urban Decay Naked 3 palette on here, but I haven’t reviewed it or used much of it as much as love it. So this is my favorite palette  of the year.  I love the bright pop of color with the gold and the hot pink. Really it’s so fun and punk, right down to the packaging.  It’s $46, and worth it.  The colors last forever, longer with an eye primer.  Check out my review here.

**Well there you go, I wish you all a beautiful 2014 and hope you found something new that you want to try on this list. HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

If for some reason you can’t get to the links, visit these lovely ladies to check out their list

Vivienne at Jolie Pagaille – http://www.JoliePagaille.com

Michelle at Pretty in the East- http://www.prettyintheeast.wordpress.com

Jen at Dragonfly Reviews – http://dragonflybeautyreviews.wordpress.com/

Kristina at The Feminine Files- http://thefemininefiles.com

Christine at Simply Stine- http://www.simplystine.com

Cheryl Hawley – http://theskinnyonbeauty.com/

Angela Watkins at The Makeup Whisperer http://wp.me/p3Wf8e-fu

Nancy Taylor (Smokey) – http://jumpingmouse9.blogspot.com/

Lush Cinders Review—-Last One of 2013

 

Good Monday!  I’m starting my New Years resolution to posting 3 times a week a little early.  This review comes from one of my many bath bombs my boyfriend bought me for Christmas.  He knew how much I love Lush he bought me a dozen of them, as well as getting me some other bath accessories to make my down time relaxing.  I LOVE the pillow he bought me the most!

For my first bomb that I tried, I used Cinders.

It was a lovely light orange color with some red speckles that were pop rocks to give you a crackling sound.  The main smells of this one is of cinnamon and oranges.  I got more of the cinnamon smell then anything, but it wasn’t an overly powerful smell that I would thought I would have.  I was a bit disappointed when I couldn’t even get a crackling sound from the pop rocks.

Look at my awesome pillow! I just makes me want to sleep in there.  So the color of the water turns yellow.  Of course my dirty little mind goes….ewww pee 😛 yes I’m silly like that.  The smell filled of cinnamon filled the bathroom immediately, but once filled up the scent became lighter.

Cinders was a limited Christmas edition bath bomb and is no longer available.  Thou if your interested this is just some ingredients and write up from the Lush site:

Almond oil, sweet orange and cinnamon leaf essential oils give a festive, fruity scent with a touch of spice to lift the spirits and linger on the skin. We’ve also put popping candy into the mix, which will gently crackle like the sound of a warming fireside. Take Cinders into the bath if you want to hide away from the big bad world and feel the comforts of home. Also great if you want to clear out the cobwebs from your mind, or the dust and soot from your body.

 

Quantitative Ingredients

Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Coarse Sea Salt, Popping Candy, Perfume, Gardenia Extract, Almond Essential Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, *Cinnamal, *Eugenol, *Limonene, Colour 14700

 

***I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years!  What are you all doing? I’m having a few friends over for some finger foods, movies and board games!***

Which Is Better-Brush Or Sponge Applicator For Eyeshadows? Discuss with me!

Happy Tuesday!  I haven’t done a post for a few days, but some of you who are on the Facebook page Blogging Shares (click here to join if you want to join the group to share your blog) already know my craziness that is going on. Those who don’t, not only is Christmas is next week (eek!) I put in an application to adopt a 9 week old dachshund.   I will know Thursday if we were approved, cross your fingers for us, we’ve been looking for several months now and it just seemed like the right time.

So now onto the question.  I’ve been doing my makeup for years now and I always went back and forth from using the sponge applicator to using a brush.  What I always go back to is the sponge.  For some reason I find that I get more color on it then I do with a brush.  I feel like I have to go over it and over to get the saturation of color that I want. With a sponge maybe two swipes and I am there.  I do go back with a brush sometime to blend when needed.

I feel like I get this with a sponge

This with a brush

So my question is what do you like to use? What do you think is better? Or do you use something completely different or both?  Discuss!

Thankful For Blogger Friends Tag!

 

So I was tagged by Jenn from Dragonfly review here: http://dragonflybeautyreviews.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/thankful-for-blogger-friends-tag/. I’m always surprised when I get nominated for these things, you all like me you really, really like me!! So here it goes…….

The Questions:

ABOUT YOUR BLOG (Please be specific in your answers, so we can all learn something!):

1. How long have you been blogging? Almost a year, which I’m surprised  I kept it up this far since I get into things and drop them quick when I get bored.  But that hasn’t happened!
2. Are there any bloggers who helped you out/encouraged you when you first started your blog?
   When I started blogging those whom I started talking too about random things was encouraging enough
3. What Social Media has given you the most traffic to your blog?  Is there a platform that you don’t use? I don’t use that many, it’s just pretty much here and facebook
4. How often do you post?  Do you have a regular schedule? No schedule really.  I try to do a few post a week.  I can’t do everyday I have to no be on a computer some days since I’m always on it at work.
5. Where do you blog? Pretty much at home on my laptop.  Sometimes from my phone if I’m just that lazy.
6. What camera do you use?  What photo editing software do you use? I have a Cannon or I use my camera on my GS3.  I don’t use software that much, if I’m on my phone thou I might use Vingette
7. How did you come up with your blog name? Well I’m a girl, and I like geek stuff and I am geeky….so I’m a girl with geek moments 🙂
8. Do you do any regular “series” posts on your blog?  I tried once that didn’t work out, but I just did two discuss with me that turned out successful, so that might become one.
9. What draws you to a blog? The writers personality.  I follow half beauty and half hodge podge because I love the writer style
10. What turns you off of a blog? Certain layouts
11. How many blogs do you subscribe to? Are they all beauty related? See #9 lol
12. When do you generally read blogs? Sure do! That’s why I follow people.
13. What is your favorite type of post, and why? I like product reviews and when people show how they do their makeup.
14. What is your least favorite type of post, and why? People that are so overly opinionated that they try to cram it down your throat.

NOW ABOUT YOU!!  (If any are any you prefer not to answer, just skip!):

1. Where do you live? Tell us a bit about your city! I live in a city in VA that is located perfectly so everything I want to go is about an hour away, beach, Williamsburg, certain malls.  We also are a high military area even if we’re considered “country”
2. What about your home? I live in an apartment with my boyfriend. We’re working on our second year here, at first it was a great starter place, but we’re growing out of it. Next year we’re going to look for a house to rent.
3. Do you have a “day job”? Yes I work on the military base pushing out orders and sending soldiers to Ranger and Airborne school
4. How tall are you? I’m a short stack at 5’4
5. Do you have siblings? 1 sister
6. 3 words to describe yourself. Geek, smart ass, witty
7. Who is your style icon, and why? I don’t have one, I wear what I like even if it tends to look like from the 80’s
8. 3 favorite bands/musicians. Reel Big Fish, Dave Matthews Band, 311
9. 3 favorite movies. A Few Good Men, Anchorman, The Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The Worlds End…that’s cheating I know lol).
10. 3 favorite books. Wicked, Bridget Jones Diary, Horns
11. 3 random/weird facts about you. I have a weird fascination of buying those blind item boxes because I can’t stand the mystery, I collect anything The Walking Dead, we just bought the whole collection of James Bond of Blu-ray because we love  all movies and movie collections.

This is who I am tagging:

http://llewsoba.wordpress.com/

http://muireann04.wordpress.com/

http://debelloyd.com/

http://samandro.com/

 

What’s Your Beauty Tips and Tricks? Discuss With Me!

I had fun with my last discuss me on mascara and thought I would do another one.  Everyone has some type of trick they do in their make up routine.  Some might be something we have already heard or something you discovered yourself.  I want to find out your tips and tricks to every day make up appliance or routines.

For instance, I’m sure you all do this, but I apply my nail polish right before I take a shower. So instead of going back with a some nail polish remover and accidentally take off some good polish on my nail, I’m able to scrape away the messy edges in the shower and my manicure looks perfect.

Another trick I do is instead of buy the liquid eyeshadow that can clump easily, I use high gloss lipstick/gloss on my lids.  It sees unorthodox but it works, and I also have a lipstick, so bonus multiuse!

So tell me what do you do? I can’t wait to hear from you!!