There has been a huge hype for Drew Barrymore's Flower cosmetic line that hit Walmart stores and online in January. I'm a little late to stop and check it out, but better late then never, right? I feel like every celebrity has branched out and created perfumes, cosmetics, or a clothing line. Drew's focus is more different, where there is no advertisements for the first year. So instead of being bombarded with Drew's face in every magazine, the line will grow from word of mouth. The cosmetics are not tested on animals, and all products are under $20! Now I know that your thinking, "well isn't every drugstore brand under $20?" Flower's packaging looks expensive with the rose gold accents. The only downside is once the label is taken off to open it, there is no sticker with the shade number or color left on it.
I was expecting to see whay more, but I think nothing stood out to me as a buy me product. Since I'm buying lipstick like there is no tomorrow, I picked up one of the Lip Service lip butters to try. I've been buying pinks and corals for Spring, but I gravitated towards the shade, LB5 Haute Honeysuckle from the line. I love Revlon lip butters, so I thought it would be a great product to add to my collection. It's not a nude, but it's not a coral as you can see from the swatch. It's not sticky or tacky, but it's not as moisturizing as I need. I'm giving the lip butter a 3 out of 5 because it was only $6.98, and I will just have to layer this productbwith a lip balm for extra hydration.
I can not stop using the Wet 'N Wild eye palette in Winding Woods. I mentioned it in my February favorites, and I will probably use it until spring gets here. I balance out a dark eye, with a coral-pink lip, and finish with a strong contour. Here is the breakdown of my favorite face of the day.
1. I start with moisturizing my face with Josie Maran argan oil, then apply Pixi Prime and Poreless to my t-zone area.
2. with a stippling brush I apply Revlon's Whipped foundation in my shade, 320. To conceal, I use a yellow toned concealer under my eyes to hide my dark under eye circles. My favorite has been from the Coastal Scent Eclipse palette.
3. To contour I use Laguna by Nars, followed by a highlight. I use Hard Candy's So Baked Bronzer in Tiki on the top of my cheek bones, down the bridge of my nose, and a little above my cupid's bow.
4. I fill in my brows with the Anastasia brow kit, and pat the Tiki highlight all over my eyelid as a base.
5. For the eyes, I use Naked from the Naked palette in the crease, so that I have a transition color. Also, it works as a base, so I know not to blend the darker colors too high. Next, I take the burgundy color from the Wet 'N Wild palette, and use a flat shader brush to pat it all over my lid. After blending it in, I blend Hustle from the Naked palette in the outer third in a "V" shape. To finish, I line my eyes with NYC liquid liner, and coat my lashes with Loreal Telescopic mascara/Covergirl Lashblast.
6. The lip combo is a mix of Revlon's Primrose Pink lipstick and Coral Reef gloss on top. It's that easy!
The beauty brand TheBalm wasn't a brand I was familiar until I saw it on the flash site, Hautelook. I have been a member of Hautelook for over a year, and honestly forgot about it till most recently. I kept coming across posts from other bloggers about how great the products were, and how they got them half off on Hautelook! So how could I not check it out. By the way Hautelook is a free to join flash sale site, meaning for a few days they will feature designer duds, and high end beauty products for fractions of the cost! Check it out!
I purchased two blushes off Hautelook, because I barely have any blushes, and wanted to expand my makeup collection. TheBalm was featured in the beginning of February, so if you missed it, they will be on there again, don't worry! I am a sucker for packaging, and theBalm remind me of Benefit's packaging. Each blush is about the size of my palm, but flat enough for easy storage. Both blushes are matte, which I prefer because I will go in with a highlighted to add that "glow" effect.
The first blush I picked was this light pink, matte blush called Down Boy. The packaging features a Marilyn Monroe-esque girl surrounded by classy men. The color is so pigmented, so a little goes a long way, but when blended, it's the perfect color for a low maintenance makeup look. It's not frosty, and goes on smooth. It retails normally for $21, off Hautelook I paid $10.50!
The second blush was a coral color perfect for spring, called Frat Boy. The packaging has the vintage flare just like Down Boy, but this time features the star quarterback getting a kiss on the cheek. The color color is so flattering for all skin tones, and almost reminds me of Nars Orgasm, minus the shimmer. With a summer tan I know I will reach for this more, and can't wait to use it. This blush was also $10.50 instead of the usual $21.
Here are the swatches for each of the blushes. The upper swatch is Frat Boy, the bottom swatch in each picture is Down Boy. The top photo is in natural lighting, and the bottom photo is with flash. Aren't they so pretty! So check out Hautelook for other great deals, because these were a great find (two for the price of one)!
Here are my most reached for makeup products this month. I try to branch out each month and try something new, and this month, pink was my color. I'm not someone who normally gravitates towards pink, but hey, maybe it was the Valentine's Day spirit!
The first three were lip products. During the winter I suffer from constant cracked lips, and Lush's Mint Julips lip scrub has saved them. I use this exfoliate my lips before applying lipstick, and it works perfect. And it's edible! I am obsessed with the Revlon Lip Butters! I recommend them to anyone who wants to wear color on their lips, but doesn't want something too opaque. I've been using Revlon Lip Butter "cotton candy 045" almost everyday, and it hasn't left my purse this whole month. It's flattering, but not frosty looking like some pink lipsticks. And since Revlon keeps making amazing products, I couldn't stop myself from getting the Revlon Colorburst gloss in "016 Bourdeux". It's a really flattering burgundy gloss with fine shimmer. It's not sticky at all and last through dinner, so how can you go wrong?
I'm usual a neutral eye girl, but this month I found something to use instead of my Naked palette. I hopped on the Wet N' Wild bandwagon and picked up one of their eyeshadow palettes. I peeled off the label, but it contains a beautiful burgundy, a brown crease color, and a barely there pink for a highlight. It brings out my green eyes, and doesn't crease. Not to mention it was less then $3!
I change my nail polish at least weekly, but I keep repeating using Nailtini's "104 Frappe". It's a flattering sheer pink, and the best part is it lasts a week without chipping! I received mine in my January Ipsy, but Nailtini has a website. To keep my nails looking healthy, and not have dry cuticles, I use J.R. Watkins Hand & Cuticle Salve. I received this in my Birchbox, and it has a permanent place on my night stand now.
If you haven't tried E.l.f. blushes, you are missing out! I have high end blushes, and there is something about these blushes, that I had to buy all of them. They are so pigmented, and are close dupes for Nars blushes. So this month I have been using the E.L.F. blush in "twinkle pink", which is a pinkish-brown, that goes great with bronzer.
What are your monthly favorites this month?
This past Sunday was the Oscars, and it's one of my favorite award shows to watch. Even though I was it sweats eating pizza, I sat their and analyzed everyone's hair, makeup, and dress choices. I personally think that Amanda Seyfried killed it in Alexander McQueen, but some critics said the dress made her look old. Any who, I really loved Amanda's smokey eye, which was a soft lavender, paired with a matte light pink lip. Here is my version of her Oscars look!
Face: Revlon Colorstay Whipped, Coastal Scents Eclipse Palette, Nars Laguna to contour, Elf blush in Twinkle as blush, and Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki for highlight
Eyes: Coastal Scents eyeshadow in Purple Panic and Lavender. I put Purple Panic on my entire eye lid stopping on the crease. In the crease I put Lavender, then blending Virgin from the Naked palette on my brow bone and inner eye. In the outer "V" I used Hustle from the Naked palette to give it some depth. I used NYC liquid liner to make a real thin cat eye, and just used Loreal Telescopic Mascara to lengthen my lashes. I only used one coat because I wanted the look to be romantic and soft.
Lips: Revlon Primrose Pink dabbed on with my finger to give a washed look.
Excuse my messy hair and red nose because I have the worst head cold the past few days. I just didn't want to wait to try recreating this look.
For those of you who live under a rock and are not familiar with Birchbox and Ipsy, check out those links for what they are about. I really enjoy my beauty box subscriptions each month, because it's an inexpensive way to try new products. And who doesn't like get a little snail mail once and a while?
Even though each of the subscriptions are only $10, I like to compare them each month to see which of them provide this most bang for my buck. Birchbox has had some hits and misses with me, leaving me disappointed more then just one month. Ipsy has blown me away with products that I love, and never have jipped me of barely there samples. So let's compare this month's boxes?
Let's start with Ipsy. First off it came right on time this month in the beginning of February, unlike Birchbox which arrived today after getting lost in storm Nemo. The theme was "red carpet ready" with products to channel your inner celebrity. I thought it was perfectly themed for the season of award shows, but then I got my Birchbox, which had the SAME exact theme. So I give them an -F for originality. But back to the Ipsy bag and what it contained. The bag this year was black patent leather, with red lining. Kind of reminded me of a classic Louboutin. I threw out the card that had discount codes on it because I could barely read it, and if I wanted the codes they are on the website. So here is the breakdown of contents:
Pixi Prime and Poreless
I have been using Benefit's Porefessional as of lately. Even though I only have larger pores on my cheeks, I use a primer more for smoothing out my skin before foundation. This hydrates my dry skin, but doesn't leave me shiny like other primers I have tried before. I have never boug anything from Pixi before, but after really liking how it make my skin look, I will be sure not to pass it the next time I go to Target.
Coastal Scents Shadow Palette
I have a concealer palette from them and love it. I was thinking about getting one of their eyeshadow palettes, just because tons of gurus use the 120 color palette for their tutorials. The colors are pigmented and didn't crease. I'm glad I got the colors I did because some subscribers received a yellow and green color scheme.
MicaBeauty Gel Eyeliner
I prefer liquid eyeliner, and really can't step away from my NYC liquid eyeliner. I am happy I got this because I was about to buy the Maybelline gel liner, so that saves me a few bucks! And this is full size wooooo! The swatch on my hand took me about five minutes to scrub off, so you know it's not going to budge when on your eye!
Pop Mascara
You really can't go wrong with mascara samples. I switch up what I use all the time, and as long as it makes my short, blonde lashes look long and dark I am a happy camper.
Lash Cards
I can't even tell you how many time I do a perfect smokey eye, and then forget to let my mascara dry. Then I look in the mirror and there's black smudges all over my eyelid. So I'm waiting for a day where I do more then just my everyday makeup to try these, but I know that they will go to good use.
Now for the Birchbox contents:
Jouer Matte Moisture Tint
The most frustrating thing about samples, are when the samples are too small to even get the idea of how the product works. The sample is pretty much air, and it's the size of my pinky. Not only that,io but I already received this sample in a previous box. So that alone really made me question if I still want to stay a subscriber.
Skin&Co Roma Cleansing Body Gel
haven't tried it yet, but the gel is really strong, and more on the masculine side. It's smells kind of like
Neutrogena cold cream, but I'm going to give it a try my next shower.
Vasanti Brighten Up!
I love exfoliates, I just need to make sure it's not to harsh for my dry skin. I use a Clarisonic, so I am going to see if using this product would be ok to huge, and not over process my skin. All the reviews on the website says that it doesn't dry out skin and leaves skin glowing.
Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara
like I said in the Ipsy review, I'm a fan of masacaras, and I'm really surprised this was in my box. Haven't tried it yet but I will do a review down the line of mascaras I use.
There was a Ghirardelli square in my Birchbox, but I totally ate that before actually seeing what else was in my box, whoops! Ipsy had a value of around $62 and Birchbox had a value of $12. I mean I know it's just $10, but Birchbox can do a little better with their quality of their samples. So who wins this month? Ipsy for having great samples that I know I will use and not just go in my makeup storage. How did you like your box or bag this month?
