Review + Swatches: Baby Lips Pink'ed Collection "Rose Rush" & Comparisons!

When I read the post over at Nouveau Cheap's blog about the new Baby Lips Pink'ed collection, I was smitten with every single shade. Baby Lips are like Pokémon, I gotta collect them all. The cute packaging, colors, and scents just get me ever time. Not going to lie, I squealed when I saw the full untouched display of these new Baby Lips at my Walgreens! My Walgreens is usually very slow about getting new collections. That was just the perfect Spring Break greeting, a week off and some new Baby Lips! I picked up the shade Rose Rush, and it has become my favorite Baby Lips out of my entire collection! I'm so bummed it's an LE color, so I might just head back over to Walgreens and buy a couple back-ups!

Packaging: The blister card Rose Rush comes in über cute, but the balm itself even cuter! The swivel base is a pretty coral, rosy color and the tube itself is a mega adorable lilac-y, baby pink color. I believe this is the first time where a Baby Lips has has a different color for the swivel base! 

Claims:

Ingredients:

Formula: The formula on Rose Rush feels like some of the creamier colors of the Baby Lips, like Pink Punch or Coral Crush. I feel because it's creamier, it goes on a bit thicker and not as greasy as some of the translucent colors in the collection. I'm one that has luck with the Baby Lips and gets a nice surge of moisture that lasts about 2-3 hours, like the balm itself. I don't mind reapplying it though because I just love it that much. 

Scent/Taste: Rose Rush has the most pleasant, delightful rose scent with a splash of a fruity hint to cut the edge of the floral. I was afraid this was going to have an overwhelming floral scent, but that's not the case at all. The scent doesn't linger on the lips, either. I typically find that Baby Lips have a strange taste to them no matter the scent, but this one is very tolerable. It just has a sweet, fruity taste. If you accidentally get some in your mouth, you don't have to worry about getting a mouthful of something disgusting.

Longevity: I typically don't find that Baby Lips last that long for me but the creamier colors do last a bit longer which was the case for Rose Rush. I can get about 3 hours of wear from this, but the moisture it provides does last a bit longer.

Color: BEAUTIFUL. This is such a gorgeous warm-toned rose color. I am so in love with this color and I can't stress this enough. I thought it would look like Pink Punch, but upon comparing them, Pink Punch is much more blue-toned and appears to have a white base that can look kind of stark or chalky on the lips. Because Pink Punch is so blue-toned, it clashes with my warm-toned skin. I did compare Melon Mania and Pink Punch to Rose Rush, and thankfully they are all very different. Check out below to see the pictures!

Availability: I found mine at Walgreens for about $4.29. They are much cheaper at Walmart, but Walmart doesn't carry LE collections to my knowledge. 

Swatches + Comparisons:

Rose Rush. It's a tad more pink toned in person.

L-R: Melon Mania, Rose Rush, and Pink Punch

Top to Bottom: Rose Rush, Melon Mania, and Pink Punch

Wow! My face! I assure you I'm not 14- I'm cursed with a "babyface". I'm wearing Rose Rush. 

                                                

Overall: Rose Rush is such a beautiful color that's perfect for the transition between spring and summer that I imagine would be flattering on all skin tones. For such a sweet price for the amount you're getting, picking this balm up won't disappoint!

Have you tried Rose Rush or any other colors from the Pink'ed collection? If so, feel free to leave a comment and tell me your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading. <3 

Review: Well at Walgreens Spherical Lip Balm - SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTION!

                                        

   GUYS, I AM SO PUMPED FOR THE NEW WELL AT WALGREENS LIP BALMS. Sorry for the caps overload, I just had to. It was the only way to express my feelings about the new Spring Collection Walgreens has put out! I saw an Instagram pic on Project Swatch's IG and since then I've been on a feverish hunt for these. I FINALLY found them after looking in four different stores. I seriously applaud Walgreens for putting out a collection of traditional and unique flavors. I was expecting the typical "Spring" flavors, but instead I got Pomegranate, Tangerine, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, and Melon Mint. I seriously recommend these! *these lip balms are currently BOGO50%! I'm not sure when this promotion ends, but if you want some, now is the perfect time!*

   I'm not going to write a full review because I already reviewed the formula and longevity on my original post; I'm just going to let you guys know the scent and flavors of the balms. I'll start with the more "traditional" flavors, and then end the post with my absolute favorites: the "weird" flavors.


First up is Cherry. The sphere for this balm looks exactly like the candy cane one, very red. The balm itself is such a cute, cherry red color. It actually does have a tiny bit of a tint, but you really have to build it up to get some color. This balm smells exactly like a cherry Starburst- it smells divine! If you're a fan of cherry, you NEED this one.

This is after about 20 swipes. 

Next is Blue Raspberry! This one immediately caught my eye because I love the color blue and I was hoping and praying it'd be blue raspberry. I'm so happy I was right! This balm is a really pretty blue color, and doesn't have a weird blue tint to it either, lol. This smells kind of like a Blue Raspberry Icee, but not as fruity. It smells a bit more creamy, if that makes sense. I can imagine this being really nice while hanging out at the pool.

Okay, now onto the "weird" flavors!

The most domestic of the weird flavors is probably Tangerine. Tangerine is probably the cutest pastel orange ever. While I'm not quite sure what a tangerine smells like, I imagine this smells like one judging off of other tangerine scented things I've previously had. This one smells really nice and has a refreshing citrusy kick to it! IT's definitely not overwhelming or overpowering, but it really does have a refreshing, exhilarating feel to it from the zestiness.

Pomegranate! Oh how I love thee! The packaging and the color of this balm are the same as the Berry Frost lip balm from the Winter collection, so I was automatically associating it with the weird scent of that one. Thankfully, this pomegranate smells nothing like that one! This one has a really pleasant fruity jam scent, if that makes sense. I'm not too sure what a pomegranate smells like, either, so I don't know if I could say it smells like one, but it definitely doesn't smell like a typical fruit or berry scent. There's almost a hint of acidity in there that prevents this balm from smelling overly sweet.

Last but not least, my absolute favorite, Melon Mint! I was seriously not expecting to love this one as much as I do! First off, yellow is my favorite color so the bright neon yellow instantly caught my attention, and secondly, the balm itself if the cutest mint color I've ever seen! I squee'd so hard when I opened this one. The scent of this balm has such a nice, subtle melon minty scent to it- it almost smells like a tropical drink you'd enjoy while laying in the warm sand on a beach somewhere in Boca Grande. There's an extremely refreshing feeling to this one because of the scent, but also because of the slight tingle you get when you apply it. The mint really has a nice soothing feeling. I imagine during the summer this one being perfect.

Hopefully you'll find these in your area and be able to pick a few up! If you could only pick one, I'd say go for Melon Mint. If you can haul a few, I'd say pick up the rest! Let me know what you think of these if you can find them. Thanks so much for reading <3

Personal Update + Upcoming Reviews + Target Beauty Box!

Hello everybody! I wanted to write a small update on what's been going on for my personal life, as it is having an effect on how often I'm able to post reviews. I've been experiencing some really bad intestinal pain and swelling, along with having issues with my muscles so I've been going back and forth to the Neurologists and GI. I've had so many doctors appointments lately and by the time I get home, I'm completely exhausted and don't feel like I have enough strength to get up, take pictures, swatch, and write a review on products. A couple endoscopies and an upper GI have been scheduled for me in the last half of March, so I'm not going to have much time at all to really be working on my blog. Because I've been so sick recently, I've also been missing school so I have a lot of work I need to make up rather than writing about beauty products. I do have a list of reviews, however, that I will try to crank out before all of the crazy appointments begin! I really don't want to write short, small reviews with no swatches to compensate for my lack of posting because I feel like thorough reviews with swatches are better for judging whether or not to purchase a product. Hopefully you guys will understand and continue to support me <3 Also, I have 1,550+ views on my blog! Thank you so much guys. It really makes my day to see that so many people have viewed my blog. Onto the review list!

Upcoming Reviews:

• Wet n' Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Dark Wine (522A) & Black Orchid (508A) *
• NEW Well at Walgreens Spherical Lip Balm Spring Collection (I am so in love with these new scents!) - Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Melon Mint, Pomegranate and Tangerine. *
• Wet n' Wild Wild Shine Nail polish in Here Comes Trouble *
• Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte lipstick in 104 & 105 
• Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Mascara 

The reviews marking with an * will hopefully be up very soon because they're on sale currently at Walgreens and you can get some really great deals on them! Any .99 cents Wet n' Wild product is .69 cents now, so I only paid .69 cents for the Silk Finish Lipsticks and the Wild Shine nail polish. Here Comes Trouble is an LE color so I think the sooner I get the review up, the better! The new Spring Colection of Well at Walgreens lip balms really blew me away and what's even better is that they're BOGO50%! These really blew me away so I really want to share my thoughts and opinions on these. All Rimmel cosmetics are 50% off right now, as well, so it's a good time to stock up or try out some new colors.

Some very exciting news came across my Bloglovin' feed when Nouveau Cheap informed her readers that the Target Beauty Box has been revived and features full sized products, such as the L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara, so as soon as this comes in the mail (which should be very soon) I'll try to get reviews posted ASAP.

I've been toying with the idea of starting a YouTube channel and using that as my main way to post reviews and share some hauls with you guys, as it will be faster and more convenient on my part, but also for you guys so you don't have to read a wall of text. I personally feel that making videos helps you to connect and become closer with your readers, so hopefully I can work on getting that set up <3

Thank you so much for reading!

Quick Review + Swatches: e.l.f Essential Lip Balm Tints in Nude, Grapefruit & Berry

                                           

   After hearing emilynoel83 rave about these e.l.f Lip Balm Tints, I've been on the hunt for them. Much to my disappointment, they've only been available online however, I saw these little guys sitting in a display at Wal-Greens in all their glory. I immediately hauled every shade I could find and promptly went home to take pictures and swatch! These definitely have lived up to the hype and are worth picking up if you see some! These have easily become one of my holy grail long lasting, tinted lip balm! I pray they release more colors.
    I have a new "quick" format of writing reviews so even when I'm busy I can still post more. These quick reviews will just be a more simplified version of a normal review. Onto the star of this post!

Availability:  I purchased mine for $2 each at Wal-Greens, and I only saw the shades Nude, Grapefruit and Berry. However, all four shades are available online for $2 as well on the e.l.f website

Formula: These balms have a thicker, tackier texture that is akin to a NYX Butter Gloss. These are very comfortable in the lips and are not sticky at all. While being thicker, they still have a weightless feel on the lips similar to the NYX Butter Glosses. These are VERY moisturizing, which is perfect for this cold weather we're having!

Scent/Taste: These have a subtle sweet scent and taste.

Longevity:  These last about 4-5 hours due to the tackiness of the balm. The color does lose intensity around 3 hours, but the tint left behind on my lips only begins to fade an hour later. The tint these balms leave behind are very beautiful and provide a nice, even flush of color to the lips. While the glossiness of the balm does fade, the hydration leaves your lips in a plush, silky state.

Claims: taken from the e.l.f website:

"This lightly tinted lip balm gives the perfect flush of color for a beautiful, natural look. The Coconut, Grape, Shea Butter and Rice Wax infused formula conditions lips on contact for long-lasting, hydrating comfort."

This product definitely does give a beautiful, natural flush of color but is buildable to acheive a more pigmented look. These are very conditioning and hydrating, and the tackiness of the formula definitely makes this a more long-wearing tinted balm.

Ingredients: taken from the e.l.f website:   

Polyisobutylene, Paraffinum Liquidum (mineral oil), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Microcrystalline Wax (Cera Microcristallina), Polyethylene, Butyrospermum Pankii (Shea) Butter, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Propylparaben, Methylparaben. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491 , CI 77492 , CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019), Red No.6 Lake (CI 15850), Red No.7 Lake (CI 15850), Red No.27 Lake (CI 45410), Blue No.1 Lake (CI 42090), Yellow No.5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow No.6 Lake (CI 15985)

Packaging: These come housed in a simple, clear acrylic pot with a white plastic lid. I really dislike the pot packaging because dipping your fingers into the product is very unhygienic and just gross, in my opinion. I just "kiss" the product and rub my lips around a bit rather than stick my fingers into the balm.

Bottom line: These Lip Balm Tints provide excellent color and hydration for only $2 a pop. My only gripe is the pot packaging. I would definitely recommend these to a friend or even gift them as nice little pick-me-up's.

These are the most color accurate swatches 

Swatches:

This is the shade Nude on the lips. It's a warm toned beige color that pulls a more peachier color on me. The settling isn't as apparent in person and is much prettier.

This is the shade Grapefruit on my lips. This is such a pretty red-toned coral that leaves behind a subtle coral-y tint. It's a bit more vibrant in person.

         

This is the shade Berry on my lips. It's a very pretty red toned berry color that leaves behind a soft pink tint.

    Sorry for the ever changing lighting, Florida was being temperamental and was sunny one minute and storming the next! Thanks for reading.
Note: e.l.f is cruetly free and vegan!


*I purchased the product(s) with my personal funds, and am in no way affiliated/associated with the company/companies featured in this post. I was not sent any products from the company/companies featured in this post to review.*

Review + Swatches: Forever 21 Love & Beauty Speckled Pink Nail Polish

  Winter is still going strong, but we're nearing the wonderful time when winter eases into spring and pastels become abundant. I'm greeting spring early this year with the Love & Beauty Speckled Pink nail polish!

  Forever 21 has revamped the packaging of the Love and Beauty nail polishes, swapping an oddly shaped bottle to a cute chubby squared one that fits much better in Helmers (you can see the old bottles over at this review by Vampy Varnish!) The cap is removable for ease of application, but some caps are quite difficult to get off while others come off with the lightest tug. 

  As this polish is unnamed, which bothers me, I'm dubbing it "Speckled Pink"! Speckled Pink is a nice, blue-toned pastel bubblegum pink color with matte black hex glitters. The formula was very nice- not too thick, and not too thin. It only took two coats to reach full opacity. I was scared about the brush because it was just a standard, thin long brush but it was very easy to work with. 

Two thin coats of Speckled Pink + One coat of NYC Grand Central Station

 The glitter was easy to work with and dispersed nicely amongst the nail. I didn't have to bother with placement or "dabbling" this polish on. Dry time was fairly standard, 5-10 minutes or so for each coat to fully dry. I just laid down a first coat and about 10 minutes later applied a second, and then followed up after a few minutes with the NYC Grand Central Station (my HG top coat!) There is also a mint counterpart to Speckled Pink called Mint Chip, which I also have and will swatch soon! ^^ 

  Speckled Pink reminded me of Illamasqua's "Scarce" from February 2013, which is also a pink with matte black glitters but Scarce contains larger and smaller glitters and isn't as cool toned as Speckled Pink. If you want the feel of the "speckled" trend for only $2.80, I'd say picking Speckled Pink and it's counterpart Mint Chip will be a fun way to greet spring! 

Bonus bottle shot! This is the most color accurate picture.

Note: I am unsure if these nail polishes are cruelty or Big-3 free.

Thanks for reading! Xoxo~ 

Review: Avon Ultra Luxury Brow Liner in Dark Brown B03

    I have a love-hate relationship with my eyebrows. They are unruly and grow fast. The hairs are a weird wiry texture, making them almost impossible to make an eyebrow pencil work with them. The ashy, gray tone makes purchasing brow products difficult because they're not brown, and they're not black. The darkest color in a brow product is always too dark for me, and the brown shades are always too brown. I picked up the Avon Ultra Luxury Brow Liner in the shade Dark Brown a while ago, almost six months ago, hoping that this shade would have the right amount of gray and brown to it. Thankfully, it did. However, there were a few technical issues I had with this product that doesn't make this product work for me.

Review: Montagne Jeunesse for Men Peel Off Deep Pore Cleansing Masque a.k.a The Spearmint Mask from Hell

   Hi guys! Today I have a peel off mask to review. I recently picked up the Montagne Jeunesse for Men Peel Off Deep Pore Cleansing Masque. The pores around my nose have been looking a little clogged lately, so I decided to give this mask a go and see if it could help with getting some of the dirt out and maybe even reduce the appearence of pores. However, the off-putting spearmint scent and discomfort during wear time made it hard to feel the results were worth it.

Review: Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara

  Hello everyone! I went to Ulta recently and took advantage of the BOGO50% sale on the Essence cosmetics and I am so excited that I did. I finally decided to give the I Love Extreme Crazy Volume mascara a try because I have heard some great things about it and it sounded like the perfect mascara for me. To see if this mascara lives up to it's claims, keep reading after the jump!

Review: Sinful Colors Cold as Ice & Holiday Rebel (swatches to come, hopefully!)

  Hey guys! My Wal-Greens recently received the Holiday 2013 Decorate Decadently end cap, so of course, I had to haul a couple. My budget would only allow two at the time, but I will definitely be going back for more! There were so many pretty metallics and glitters- there's even some feather glitters for those interested! One that caught my eye was a rose gold glitter called Full Spectrum that was so pretty but I decided to pick two of the more versatile colors for now- Cold as Ice & Holiday Rebel.

  First up is Cold as Ice, a white matte "feather" bar glitter. I chose this glitter because it's an affordable way to try out the "feather" glitter trend, and I could use it over multiple colors and play around with placement for various effects. The clear base is on the thicker side, but it's nothing that can't be worked with. The thicker base is nice for applying the glitters, although I had to do a little placement with the brush. As the dry time is a little slower, I don't think it would be a good idea to try to build this up to full coverage. However, a fast-drying top coat will help with the dry time. I liked the way this looked layered, but it wasn't my favorite. I'm still not 100% sold on the feather finish!

  Lastly, is Holiday Rebel.

   This glitter just screams Christmas in a bottle! Holiday Rebel is small green hex glitter and red and silver holo hex glitters suspended in a clear base. The base is typical for a glitter polish, a little on the thicker side, but if you work with it for an extended period of time, the base will thicken up to an almost unworkable state. I used this recently for a gradient and I had to wait in between nails because it became so thick. The coverage is nice and if you really wanted to, you could build it up to full coverage but I think it looks nice just being layered ^^ This is definitely an incredible glitter for an incredible price that is perfect for those who want an easy Christmas mani.

  Thanks for reading and apologies for the late post! Xoxo

Blog Update PLEASE READ

Hello everyone!
Recently, in all of the holiday commotion, I have misplaced my trusty backup camera. Now, both the charger for my new camera and my backup camera are missing. Unfortunately this means that I am currently unable to post high quality pictures which means I will not be blogging at a regular rate, as if I was to begin with. I prefer not to upload blog posts with low quality pictures as this is one of my pet peeves, so unless I can figure out something to "make-do" with blog posts will be scarce. Thank you for understanding <3

Review: Well at Walgreens Core + Seasonal Spherical Lip Balm - Watermelon, Sugar Cookie, Candy Cane, and Berry Frost

     Hey guys! Today I have a few lip balms that are creating a slight buzz in the blogosphere- Well at Walgreens Spherical lip balm. They bear a resemblance to EOS which makes them the center of attention, but I actually prefer them to EOS! In addition to the core scent of Watermelon, they released three seasonal scents: Sugar Cookie, Candy Cane, and Berry Frost! I received the Candy Cane and Sugar Cookie flavors recently and I fell in love with the formula and delicious scents and flavors, I just had to go to Walgreens and pick up Berry Frost and Watermelon as well. Plus, they're buy one get one free right now with a Walgreens rewards card! I've heard many good things about these, but can all of them live up to their reputation? Keep reading after the jump!

     A quick note, I have heard there is also a strawberry sorbet version of this lip balm at Rite-Aid if none of these appeal to you or you simply want more like yours truly, lol~
    First, the core scent: Watermelon. This scent is the core scent and I believe it is the only permanent flavor/scent of these lip balms. The packaging is very adorable and bears a nice resemblance to a watermelon. The exterior is made of a watermelon green plastic with little waves on the sides, and inside of this pretty green packaging is a lovely pink balm! I was very thrilled to see this because I love little details about prodcuts like this. EOS lip balms are always white, so this was a pleasant surprise. The scent and flavor also resemble a watermelon- a watermelon Jolly Rancher! The fragrance of this is sooooooooo good. I detected a slight creamy, vanilla note to this balm as well that really makes this one of my favorite flavors in the selection. I highly suggest picking this one up!

    Now, the seasonal flavors. First off is my number one favorite out of the three available: Sugar cookie. The packaging is a clean white with the same little waves on the side, and the lip balm looks exactly look sugar cookie dough! Yummy! Again, I love the fact that little details were paid attention to. The scent and flavor is even better- it smells exactly like a Bath and Body Works Sugar/Holiday Cookie candle. This one is my absolute favorite out of the ones I have. This is an absolute must if you are a cookie fan like me!

Apologies for being a bad blogger and using before taking pics, I couldn't resist!

   Next is Candy Cane. I was mostly curious about this scent because of this video I watched by lissaandbeauty on YouTube said it was a creamy kind of candy cane and I am a sucker for these kinds of mint scents. The shell exterior is a cute peppermint red and the lip balm inside is a cute white shade. I cannot tell you how much I love how the color schemes correlate with the scent! However, this mint scent is a little strong. It smells a teeny bit artificial, like a peppermint candle or soap, but the vanilla creaminess was detectable and took off some of the peppermint-y edge. If you are more sensitive to these  There is a slight tingly sensation when applied, but it's nothing overwhelming and doesn't last more than a few minutes. The tingle feels nice and soothing on the lips.
 

   Lastly, my least favorite, is Berry Frost. I had really high expectations to this because I love frosty berry scents  during the holiday. I give this product bonus points because both the packaging and lip balm are a lovely shade of purple. However, I could smell the scent of this product through the packaging and wrapping. It was a very strong, sour berry scent. When you open this lip balm, the sour berry whacks you over the head- sensitive sniffers beware! There's a weird musky undertone I can smell in this balm. The scent reminds me of a Lip Smackers lip gloss I had easily 7 years ago and it wasn't pleasant then and it isn't pleasant now. Some may like this scent, but for me personally, I don't like this scent at all. Boo :( Maybe it will grow on me.
 

Sorry for the bad picture and messed up balm, I wasn't careful when putting the cap on.

    These lip balms are available at Walgreens for $2.99, but as I said earlier, there is a BOGO sale going on right now but this is only effective if you have the Walgreens rewards card (which is free to apply for). I'm not sure if the Sugar Cookie, Candy Cane, or Berry Frost are going to be limited edition or permanent. The container that held them didn't state anything about them being limited edition and neither did the packaging. I would buy a few now just in case they disappear! The Strawberry Sorbet flavor I mentioned earlier is only at Rite-Aid for $2.99 as well, but I unfortunately will not be able to review this scent, as I don't have a local Rite-Aid.

  One thing I loved about these lip balms is that on each lip balm, there is an expiration date! Most brands don't include these on the packaging, so I'm very happy about this. The ingredients on these differed with each scent, but they all have mineral oil as the first ingredient. The formula is nice; they're not as waxy as an EOS lip balm, they have a little more slip. They last about an hour or so for me, which isn't a problem as I tend to reapply my lip balms. They have a thinner formula, but you can build it up to a thicker layer; these provide nice miniaturization and temporary relief for chapped lips and give a nice healthy matte finish. The scents on the Candy Cane and Berry Frost last longer than the Watermelon and Sugar Cookie scents, which last a few minutes. Candy Cane and Berry Frost stick around for a while. The flavor lasts, but is very mild.
    The top of the lip balm isn't round like an EOS balm, it's flat on the top so it's not as precise as an EOS where you can easily glide it on. You need the maneuver you lips a bit to cover them.
   In general, these are a nice product and it's worth picking up a few either for yourself or as a gift- they would make lovely stocking stuffers! I recommend the Sugar Cookie and Watermelon flavors, and if you like peppermint scents, Candy Cane is a nice scent as well. I would be wary of Berry Frost and Candy Cane because their scents are so strong and may not be pleasing to all.
   Do you plan to pick any of these up this holiday season? Thanks for reading! Xoxo~

UPDATE: i found a strawberry scent/flavor at WalGreens recently! ^^

*I purchased the product(s) with my personal funds, and am in no way affiliated/associated with the company/companies featured in this post. I was not sent any products from the company/companies featured in this post to review.*

Review: Limited Edition Seasonal ChapStick Gingerbread Kiss + exciting news!

     Hello everybody! I know I just posted a review of lip balm recently, but I received the new limited edition Gingerbread Kiss ChapStick and I knew I had to make a post about it before it disappears!

How could you resist the little guy?

Review: Lip Smackers Holiday Trio Lip Balm

  Hello ladies and gents! Again, I apologize for being inactive recently. Just know that I haven't given up on this blog! Today I ran into Big Lots just to peek at what goodies they had in the makeup section and I saw the most adorable Lip Smackers lip balm trio at the mere price of only $2! This set had been released for the holiday season as the scents are just fitting for this cozy time of the year! Plus, they provide the right amount of moisture for the colder weather. Keep reading after the jump!

(apologies now for the shoddy camera phone pictures; I lost the charger for my camera :( I have over edited these pictures but the color is still slightly off.)

Review: Freeman's Acai Facial Purifying Clay Mask + update

  Hello! I apologize for being MIA recently, but HOPEFULLY I can begin to post more. I've had more experience since I created this blog, plus I have more free time on my hands since summer started.
   Anywho, I've been obsessed with facial masks recently. I've picked up at least seven of them in the past month. One that I have been gravitating towards, due to the clean purple packaging adorned with fruits, is the Freeman's Acai Facial Purifying Clay Mask. So, I finally decided to break this mask out, expecting it to simply be moisturizing like many other drugstore masks, but I was pleasantly surprised!
   The packaging is what sold me on this one. 

  The mask claims to purify and soothe, and contains a "Mega 8 Complex" which is supposed to "help neutralize skin damage, leaving skin soft and revived." It also claims to be "ideal for all skin types". I have a rather dull and pale uneven skin tone, with oily problem areas around my nose and my chin.  I was still skeptical at this point.

  The ingredient list contains many different fruit extracts as promised, however it did contain a few parabens which may turn some people off from this mask. Freeman's states that they do not test on animals and the product is made in the USA.

~

  The packaging (very stubbornly) peeled away to reveal the cutest color I have ever seen a facial mask be! It is such a lovely mint green shade, but my camera unfortunately  freaked out between the purple and the green in one area. :/ The mask smells very... Fruity. With a dash of floral. It almost smelled like those Barbie "perfumes" I owned when I was little, except just a hair less artifical. The scent was strong, and it stays with you for a while. It worsened my already bad headache :/ It may not be as strong to others because I am a little more sensitive to scents than others.
  The texture was what REALLY surprised me. It was thinner than any other clay mask I have tried. Clay masks are usually thick, and rather hard to spread. This mask had a thin gel-cream (?) consistency that surprisingly covered better than I expected and spread with ease. I liked the fact that it was on the thinner side because, obviously, it enables you to create a nice, thin layer.

 ~

  While the mask was drying, it felt slightly tingly and tight. It wasn't super bothersome though. It didn't feel uncomfortably tingly or tight like a few masks I've tried before.
  Upon wiping the mask away, I was shocked. My skin looked like it was actually... Alive! My face always looks dead and reminiscent of a zombie, so this was such a lovely surprise. The overall appearance of my face looked very bright, glowy, and soft. It almost looked like someone took the blur tool in PS and blurred away my imperfections. A few minutes after wiping the mask away, my face felt a little on the dry side, like I just applied a mattyfing toner. I shouldn't knock the product because of this though, because it only claimed to purify and soothe. I think this product definitely lives up to it's claims.
  This face mask is such a delightful cheap thrill. I've only ever seen this brand of face masks at Wal-Mart for around 2-3$. I'm not 100% sure about other stores you could find these facial masks. I think you MIGHT be able to find them at drugstores, such as CVS, Wal-Greens, etc.
  My final verdict is that this is such a wonderful mask! You get really good results, plus you get a lot of product in a single envelope, allowing for 3 thin applications. If you ever see this product, it is definitely worth picking up and giving it a whirl! 

~

*I purchased this product with my personal funds, and am in no way affiliated/associated with the company/companies featured in this post. I did not receive any product from the company/companies featured in this post to review and give my honest opinion on.*

Small phone update!

I am still alive! Surprise ;) I wanted to drop in and post a few pictures I have taken of my nails on my phone.

This was actually taken a while ago, and I don't know why it's faded, but oh well. This was 2 coats each of Wet n' Wild Fast Dry Blue Wants to be a Millionaire and Hannah Pinktana. Blue Wants to be a Millionaire is a sheer, blue jelly with scattered holo and the same applies for Hannah Pinktana. This picture distorts the colour of Hannah Pinktana, as it is way more purple in real life. 

Excuse the poor cuticles. I hear them crying as I type. The muted, dusty green is OPI On Stranger Tides, and the blue underwear for the rest of my nails is Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Vintage Blue. It was two coats of Vintage Blue, one coat of Lets get Star-ted! by Nicole by OPI, then one thin coat of Revlon Whimsical. I topped the whole mani off with a coat of OPI Top Coat. 

Thanks for looking! I promise to update more. XOXO :)

Dollar Tree Haul Part 2!

Today I shall show you the rest of my Dollar Tree haul~ Once again, this will be pic heavy, so keep reading after the jump! ;)

These are the findings of my second part of the Dollar Tree haul~

Dollar Tree Haul Part 1!

Wow~ Long time no see! Well, being this is a blog about affordably fabulous, today I present to you a Dollar Tree haul. It seems like an odd place for a haul, but you can actually find some great deals! This will be pic heavy, so keep reading after the jump~

These are my lovely nail polish finds for the haul~

New Sinful Colours!

Wal-Greens had a .99 cents sale on Sinful Colours and I just had to take advantage of it! I will post a review on them sometime really soon.  I have been extremely busy. Sorry :c All pictures are taken with flash because my camera was spazzing out when I tried to take the pictures without flash, and made the colours extremely dark. 

 

Left to Right: 945 Soul Mate (neutral pink cream), 952 Hazard (pale orange cream), 953 Unicorn (pale buttery yellow cream) 

Left to Right: 830 Pinky Glitter (different sized round glitters in a light pink clear base, like Hottie but pink.) 924 Social Ladder (eggshell frost with a subtle shimmer)

Left to Right:  321 Forget Now (hot pink with matching glass fleck), 376 Glass Pink (pale pink with matching glass fleck), 1100 Blue by You (bright royal blue with teal-ish glass fleck)

I about died when I saw Pinky Glitter and Unicorn! I am such a sucker for pale yellows, and everytime I have been in Wal-Green's, Unicorn has always been sold out. And, Hottie is such a beautiful and perfect glitter, when I saw Pinky Glitter swatched, I have been eyeing it ever since. And I found it. On sale. I am so happy! Have any Sinful Colours sugestions? I am so obsessed with these polishes. :D Thank you~

All Polishes: .99 cents on sale, Wal-Greens.