Target Beauty Box

Hey y'all!  Today I have the most recent beauty box from Target to share my thoughts on. 

When I saw people posting all over social media about this, I almost didn't get it.  That is until I saw what was in it.  I've actually skipped the last few, but this just called to me.

Pretty Black Box

I liked the little card as soon as I opened it.  The back of it has the product list as well as some info about each.  The even better thing is there was a $3 off $15 coupon included.  So, I paid $5(plus tax) for the box, get some great products to try out, AND get a coupon.  HECK YEAH!

I haven't had a chance to play with everything yet, but keep an eye out for a review or empties post when I do.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Spray & Set -  It is a lightweight spray that locks-in your makeup for all-day extended wear.  This retails upwards of $17-$18, but it's $13.99 at Target, and this is a FULL SIZE!  It's the entire reason I even bought this box. I have horribly oily skin, and I'm hoping I love this as much as the reviews I've seen.

Tresemme Tres Two Extra Hold Hairspray - Achieve maximum hold without stiffness or stickiness. Sprays on dry.  I haven't tried Tresemme hair spray in a while, so I can't wait to use this.  It's travel sized too, so it's perfect to throw in the purse when I need it.

SheaMoisture Superfruit Complet 10-in-1 Renewal System Shampoo - Sulfate free, antioxidant-rich shampoo helps to renew vibrancy for dull, lackluster hair.  I've really wanted to try this brand for a while, as I've heard great things from fellow curly girls, so this is perfect for me.  It smells amazing and I actually tried it today & really like it.  I'll keep y'all updated on it.

Maybelline Color Elixir by Color Sensational Lip Color - A trio of concentrates delivers the color of a lipstick, the care of a balm, and the shine of a gloss.  The shade I received is Rose Redefined, a medium pink tone.  This was the other full size product & I'm looking forward to playing with it.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream - Non-greasy, skin quencher instantly absorbs like a gel, but intensely moisturizes like a cream.  This says for extra dry skin, which I have SUPER oily skin.  Even though it says non-greasy I gave it to my neighbor to try & see if she likes it.  I'm currently reviewing a skin care line and didn't want to affect anything by trying something new. 


So that's it.  I believe that the products were the same for everyone, but maybe the lip color shades were different.  If you got one, please let me know your thoughts and what shade you got. 

UGA Grunge Nails

Hey y'all!  So if you've followed me for a while, or at least during the fall, you'll know I'm a HUGE UGA (University of Georgia) Football fan.  I have UGA stuff scattered throughout my house and I generally get at least one UGA type gift for Christmas.  I've even posted pics of my "I Bleed Red And Black" shirt on Instagram.  Their colors are red & black with white and silver sprinkled in.

I didn't go to UGA, or college for that matter, but I'm a total Georgia Girl.  I generally do a few special mani's each season & since I didn't do one for the first game, I had to do one this past weekend.  If you follow me on Instagram, you got a sneak peek.  I obviously wasn't happy with the outcome of the game, but at least I have purdy nails!!!

First I'll tell you what I used & how I did this before more pics and rambling.  As you can see in the bottom right pic in the collage above, I started off with a base of Make Up Store Greta and Zoya America on the accent ring finger.  The thought, in my head, behind this was that the holo would show up as I did the "grunge" effect.  It did a little, but not nearly as much as I'd have liked.  The other polishes I used were Wet N Wild Black Creme, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and Bundle Monster #17.  On the accent nail I added Maybelline Precious Pearl and China Glaze Fairy Dust over top of Zoya America.

On both hands I alternated how I layered the colors for this effect.  I had a tutorial that I followed the first few times I've done this & it's been so long that I forgot how....and sadly the blog I learned it from is gone.  Basically I just used the silver, white, black, and red(on top) in layers, allowing each to dry before putting the next one on.  When I felt it was all mostly dry I took a brush dipped in acetone, or you could use a q-tip, and started "removing" the polish in different spots.  Trying not to let it eat all the way to the nail.  I think having the holo base color helped with that.  Once that was done, I applied top coat.

For the accent nail, I used the white glitter with a dotting tool to make the "G".  Now, the G is supposed to be more oval, but I actually like how it turned out.  I thought it needed a little more, so I added some black dots and Fairy Dust for some sparkle.

Oh, and here's a few macro shots I took with my phone.

I think my Purple Grunge nails that I first did a couple of years ago turned out WAY better, but I think I know where I went wrong with this.  That being said, I do actually like how this looks.  I'll have to try it again soon and do a step-by-step tutorial so I remember in the future.

Would y'all like to see a tutorial?  I might try to film it, IDK yet. 

Coastal Scents EOTD

Hey y'all!  Super quick post today.  Shortly after I got my most recent order of Coastal Scents Hot Pots, I decided to play around with a few.  You can see my swatches here. 

Unfortunately, I didn't make a list of what I wore other than everything on my eyes....so that's why I titled this an EOTD.  I quite like the combo and have received MANY compliments on it.

Now for the rundown:

Primer (DOH!, forgot to note which one)
Essence Stays No Matter What Eye Pencil in Whipped White Frosting over the lid only
CS Bronze Peach blended into the crease
CS Paprika blended over Bronze Peach
CS Georgia Peach all over the lid
CS Rich Walnut lightly blended into the outer V
Ulta Naked on the browbone

For my liner, I first applied Rimmel Scandaleyes liner in Brown then applied CS Burnt Umber over it.  I did this for the top and bottom liner.  Then I finished up with Maybelline Falsies mascara and Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Medium Brown.

 

So what do y'all think?  I'm absolutely LOVING it with my hair & eye color.  I feel I could pull this off year round.

Mint Manis for Talia Joy

I'm at a complete loss for words for today's post, which is a rarity.  All I can say is thank you to Nicole from Nail Polish Wars for putting this together & to everyone participating.  Taila was a beautiful young lady and she is an inspiration to us all.

Her last Instagram picture was of a mint creme mani as shown in the picture above.  So this is for her.  Just Keep Swimming.

I didn't think about it until after the fact, but it looks like the bottom of the sea.

Polishes used:

Ring finger - Sinful Colors Snow Me White(Base), China Glaze Tranzitions Duplicity, Zoya Neely, and Maybelline Minty

Others - China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint(Base), China Glaze Tranzitions Duplicity, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and China Glaze For Audrey.

Check out the other blog links below for their support of Talia.  You can also search for the hashtag of #MintManisForTaliaJoy on other social media sites.  Her family has also requested the use of #TaliasLegacy.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Your Most Beautiful You with IT Cosmetics - QVC TSV 7/13

*IT Cosmetics products in this post provided for review*

Just the other day I posted THIS press release about the upcoming Today's Special Value on QVC by IT Cosmetics for this Saturday, 7/13.  Luckily, I was able to also try this kit out and tell y'all how amazing it is.

I'm not going to include a TON of info about the products on this post, as a good bit is included with that press release.  What I will state is some of the packaging info and how I honestly and truly feel about these.

First off, when UPS dropped off my package, it was kinda crushed.  Thankfully everything inside was packaged well enough that just the product box containing the kit took a little damage.  I love that the box has this quote by the creator, Jamie Kern Lima, on it:  "You are love, you are light, you are beautiful, you are one of a kind, you are worthy, you are a miracle, you are what you believe, you are IT!"  Also, the company is totally cruelty free!

L to R: Heavenly Luxe™ Pointed Precision Complexion Brush, Heavenly Luxe™ Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush, YBBB™ Your Brows But Better™ Brow Power Skinny Pencil, Hello Light™ Anti-Aging Creme Luminizer, Vitality Lip Blush™ Hydrating Gloss Stain in Je Ne Sais Quoi, and Bye Bye Under Eye in Neutral Medium.

Swatched on my hand: luminizer(you can barely see it, gloss stain, brow pencil(heavy and light handed), and the concealer underneath.

Bye Bye Under Eye - This is a 1oz. tube & is a full coverage waterproof concealer that can also be used as an allover foundation.  Using this and the Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush I buffed this all over.  I made sure to conceal first then cover the rest.  I picked the shade Neutral Medium and while it doesn't look like it matches on my hand...it totally matches my face.  I'm around a NC25 and this was perfect for me.  It covered my scars, red spots, and almost fully covered my scars.  It's full coverage without feeling heavy and thick.  It almost feels like a BB Cream.  The brush was also amazing for application.  The small end perfect for concealing and getting in tiny spots(eyes/nose) & the larger end for all over the face.  It's synthetic and amazingly soft.

Your Brows But Better Pencil - A retractable pencil & spooley brush in one.  The brush end is amazing and better than anything I've ever used to brush through my brows.  The pencil color is kinda the same color as freckles & I was afraid it wouldn't work for me since I have red hair....but it totally did.  You can see below how natural it made my brows look without making them look all made up.  I have scars in both eyebrows and it concealed those perfectly.

Hello Light Luminizer - The packaging on this is amazing.  The back of the box shows you exactly where to apply this.  The compact is mirrored silver with a mirror on the inside.  The creme looks golden in the compact, but is almost undetectable when swatched.  In fact it's almost like a clear champagne color.  When you use the Pointed Precision Complexion Brush to apply it, it gives a beautiful glow without looking vampire sparkly.

Vitality Lip Blush Gloss Stain (Je Ne Sais Quoi) - The color in the tube looks like a milky baby pink, but changes to a slightly darker(almost a light Barbie) pink gloss once applied.  It's like your lips but better....well if you have pink toned lips that is.  I can't quite pinpoint the scent, but it's not distracting or annoying or lingering.  It feels great on the lips and keeps them feeling smooth even after eating.  The packaging is super adorbs too.  It has tons of good for you ingredients to take care of your lips.  It's more like a balm than a gloss.

Just the IT Cosmetics products.

Just the IT Cosmetics products.

It's just so natural looking and evens out my skin.  I had to add some color to my face & took more pics.

What else I used.....Urban Decay Primer Potion, Urban Decay Naked Palette(virgin, sin, sidecar, half baked, toasted, & hustle as my liner), Maybelline Define A Lash(because my other mascara was so dry it wouldn't go on), Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer in Milk Chocolate, Coastal Scents blush palette(used 2 of the orange-y brown tones, and Rimmel Stay Matte powder in translucent.


I used NO primer with this and the Bye Bye Under Eye did NOT settle into my pores nor did it separate as my face started getting oily.  I love these and can only imagine now much I would LOVE the Bye Bye Pores products...since mine are huge.

Don't forget to check out IT Cosmetics on QVC this Saturday starting at 12am(midnight) EST.  I don't have a price for this kit, but I'm told it's an amazing surprise.

Your IT Cosmetics Most Beautiful You 6-pc Collection is a Today’s Special Value (TSV) on QVC: it’s available ONE DAY ONLY exclusively on QVC and QVC.com on July 13th, 2013!


Have you tried IT Cosmetics?

Note: Products were sent for review for a 100% honest opinion.

Star Wars Day with Victorian Disco Cosmetics

I apologize for not getting this up sooner, but I felt like poo yesterday.  As any of us geeks know, today is May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day.  I recently ordered and received some shadows from Victorian Disco Cosmetics and only thought it appropriate that I wear some today.

So, I'll show you what I got and swatches before my face.

Mini Jar's: Wookie Noises, Millennium Falcon, Skywalker, & Health Pack.  Baggies: Symmetrical Garden, Ewok Pajama Party, & Emperor  (Click links to see color descriptions)

Close-up's of the mini jar's.

I swatched these on bare skin.  Amazing color payoff.  Even better over a primer and/or primer/base.

Now to my eyes & face....

Eyes:

• UDPP - Original
• Maybelline Color Tattoo - Tough As Taupe (lid slightly into crease)
• VDC - Emperor (lid)
• VDC - Millennium Falcon (crease and lower lash line)
• VDC - Skywalker (Brow/highlight)
• Josie Maran Raven Eyeliner
• Garden Botanika Lash Primer
• Maybelline Falsies Mascara - Blackest Black
• Maybelline Define-a-brow - Medium Brown

Face:

• Maybelline FIT Me Foundation - 115
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - Translucent
• Coastal Scents 10 blush palette - used 2 diff pinks
• Brazen Cosmetics - Goodbye To You Eye Brightener - Light
• ELF HD Powder

Lips:

• Concrete Minerals Sexy Lips Lip Tint - Karma

Overall, these shadows are amazing.  As with most mineral shadows, a little goes a long way.  As I mentioned with the swatches, the color payoff is awesomesauce.  For some reason, my camera didn't pick up the sparkle in Emperor, but it's there. Prices are $1.00(for baggies),  $2.00(for 1 gram mini jar's), and $4.50(for a full size 2 gram jar). All products are hand mixed, vegan, and cruelty free.  She also lists on each product if it's lip safe or not. 

I will definitely be ordering MORE from VDC.   I absolutely MUST have the Azeroth Collection....or at least a few of them.  Such as Exodar Waffle House, /Flex, Hero Class, Mojo, Shadowform(love my spriest), Aura, The Earth Warder(black&red are my fav colors), The Great Lift, Undercity, Wintergrasp, Zangermarsh, For The Alliance(alliance FTW!), Shepard's Gate, Under The Outland Skies.  And I definitely must own the lipgloss in Buffs Plz! though they're all beautiful. 

Be sure to check out her shop and get some amazing colors.

LATER Y'ALL & MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!!!

Note:  All products in this post were purchased by me.  With exception to the Garden Botanika primer which was part of an Influenster VoxBox and the Concrete Minerals Lip Tint which I won from a twitter giveaway.  All opinions are, as always, my own.

*Football Friday* Game Face

I know, I usually post these early, but I just finished editing the pics.  Usually I do my Friday posts in advance so that I don't have to worry, but I've been kinda busy and distracted lately.

I didn't know what I was going to name this post until I started editing the pictures.  I've done UGA inspired looks in the past, but wanted to do something different.  And, this is remotely tame. 

For inspiration, I went to YouTube and looked through xSparkage's video's.  Ironically enough the one I did find was her Horoscope inspired tutorial for Scorpio!  Not only was it red & black, but it was my sign too!  Y'all should really check her out if you haven't already.  Thankfully my friend Melissa pointed me toward watching her and I'm hooked :D

I also wanted to try my new Wet N Wild DreamWeavers Trio Enter A New Realm that Kristin at The Manicured Monkey picked up for me recently.  I already have the Night Elf palette and did use one color out of it.  So....onto the pics and what all I used will be listed below.

Here's what I used:

EYES 
ELF Mineral Primer
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
WnW Enter A New Realm (only used the red & black as the silver was kinda meh)
Bare Escentuals Black Ruby Liner Shadow (as I didn't have the dark red shadow she has)
WnW Night Elf (only used the white in the upper left corner)
Josie Maran Argan Infused Eyeliner in Raven
Maybelline Falsies mascara

FACE
NYC Matte Powder Foundation in Urban Light
ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder (used both)
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent

LIPS
ELF Minty Lip Gloss in Boston

Also, if you haven't already, go enter my $25 Apothica Gift Card Giveaway which ends tonight at 11:59PM EST.

TOODLES Y'ALL!!!

My first Ombre

I decided to try an Ombre mani.  I wanted it to be all creme colors rather than sparkly ones which I seem to have more of, or glitters, or duochromes, etc.  And, as I glanced through, I found 5 purple cremes. 

L to R: Ulta Devious, Zoya Mira, Color Club Uptown Girl, Maybelline Goody Plum Drop, Zoya Marley

This is 2 coats of each shade with ChG Fast Forward Top Coat.  I didn't notice until application that Goody Plum Drop seems to have a slight shimmer to it, but not too noticeable. 

Thumb: Ulta Devious
Index: Zoya Mira
Middle: Color Club Uptown Girl
Ring: Maybelline Goody Plum Drop
Pinky: Zoya Marley


Then I wanted to see what it looked like with ChG Matte Magic on top

You can't really see too much of a difference on Marley, but it's still pretty.  Then, I freehanded a french of ChG Fast Forward on the tips.

What do y'all think?

TOODLES Y'ALL!!!

CVS, Walgreens, and Bed Bath & Beyond haul

After getting out of the house, I decided to take advantage of some of the sales I told y'all about last weekend.  It was a LONG day of shopping, but IMO I got some good deals.  

We'll start off with what I got at CVS.....

The other half saw the hot cocoa set for 75% off (I think) and it rang up for $1.25....the mugs are too cute!!!

These are Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner's in Endless (purple) & Eternal (green).  They were Buy on1, get one half off.......so one was $6.49 & the other was $3.24.  These say that they're 24 hour long wear, waterproof, color intense, and smudge & smear proof.  If you didn't already know, I'm newly addicted to purple eyeliners.  So, I figured I'd give these a go.  And that green will be perfect for St. Patricks Day!!!

Next up, we have items that were not on sale, but I needed a new eyebrow pencil ($7.99) and this Wet N Wild Trio in Cool As A Cucumber is just awesome.  I'd not seen it before anywhere....Walgreens didn't have it.  I can't wait to try that trio.  I wore green & purples from my Holiday palettes. so this is all in one.

 These were sale items that I can't wait to try.  I got 2 of the Rimmel Stay matte foundations in Ivory for 75% off and rang up at $1.75ea.  I just hope the shade is close to my skin.  If not, it wasn't that much.  I've heard they're pretty good.  Also, a Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light at 50% off for $3.75, which I've heard good things about as well.  Below that is a maybelline lipstick in Rum Raisin(G300) which was 50% off, $3.25.  The Maybelline XXL Pro mascara in Very Black clearly has a 50% off sticker on it, but rang up at $9.99.  I had to have that corrected b/c of the sticker & paid $5.00.  It's supposed to last up to 12 hours.  We'll see.  On the far right we have a Rimmel eyeshadow quad in smokey Brun for 75% off, $1.82.  Yet, another neutral quad for me, but it was cheap.  


Lastly we have the Rimmel Eyeful Eye glistener pencils in Stand Out (500)-a pretty green that has glitter on the outside of the pencil and in Talk To Me (400) which looks kinda like it's a duochrome.....purple, green, or silver depending on the light.  I have a better pic below.  These were also 75% off for a cost of $1.87ea.  Looking at the receipt, I think she rang up the Talk To Me twice instead of ringing up the WNW trio.  I can't wait to use these either!!

Here's my receipt & The bottom shows I saved $55.87....just WOW!  

 

Next up...........Walgreens....

 

I had a $2 coupon for Clean & Clear, so I thought I'd try this new acne cleanser to kinda mix it up.  

The Wet N Wild stuff was ALL 50% off at Walgreens......INCLUDING the new nail polish & eyeshadow trio.  From left to right we have....Lipliner in Berry Red ($0.49), Dual Pencil Sharpener($0.49), 2 Creme Shadow Pencils in Pixie ($0.99ea.), Fast Dry Nailcolor in Gray's Anatomy ($0.99), and Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned ($1.49).  

The eyeshadow and nail polish are BOTH from the newly released 2011 collection.  I'm kinda upset that I didn't see the other polishes or trio's I wanted, but didn't feel like running all over town to different Walgreens stores to search for them.  I'll see how I like these & maybe get them later.  Below is a copy of my receipt which I saved $7.50.  $5.50 was from the WnW alone.

 

Lastly......we have a nail polish collection I picked up on sale at Bed, Bath, And Beyond.

This picture sucks, I think I had the overhead light on and flash on my cam.

Still in the packaging, light off, flash on.

Out of the package, with flash.

These pictures just don't do this justice.  You can't really tell what the colors are and they don't have any names.  So, I'll go from left to right.  

#1- silver glitter
#2- minty/neon green, not quite one way or the other
#3- a light neon pink
#4- a pretty greenish teal
#5- orange.......this will prolly only be used for Halloween stuffs.
#6- a light brownish purple
#7- a pinky red.

These were on clearance for only $4.99.  I wasn't going to get them, but the other half paid for them anyway.  The name on the packaging is Simple Pleasures Nail Polish Assortment, but I can't find anything on it.  The pic below is from the back of the box & it cracked me up.....I don't want to meet the person who would eat nail polish!

 

 TOODLES Y'ALL!!