July Favorites

   Hey guys! I’m back with some of my favorites for this month! Before we start I just want to apologize in advance for my future sporadic posting. School just started up for me again and the first few weeks are always hectic. I probably won’t post frequently for a few weeks and I’m sorry about that, but once things even out, I hope to be back to a regular schedule. Thanks for your understanding, let’s get into my favorites!

E.l.f Mad for Matte eyeshadow palette 

   If you saw my five first impressions post, then you already saw me review this item, and here I am to talk about it again! This palette contains 10 shadows and retails for 10 dollars. In complete honesty, not all the shadows are my favorite, some of the brown shades have little color pay off and are hard to blend. However, the three shades that are featured in the photo are my all time favorites and I’ve been using them almost every day. This palette is perfect for the upcoming fall, and great for anyone looking for an affordable matte palette.

Elizabeth Arden Lip Gloss

   I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what shade I have, it isn’t on the actual tube and the website is useless for color comparison. All I know is that it’s a very pretty pink shade that looks great by itself or layered over a lipstick. This has been living in my purse for most of the summer and I love it! The formula is a little thick and sticky so if you don’t like that, this product isn’t for you. My favorite part of this is the way it smells like straight up sugar, and the smell sticks around through the day which is a definite pro for me. This product is a high end product that retails for about 20 dollars, so it’s definitely not affordable. But if you do want a very nice, high quality lip gloss, I can highly recommend this one.

Wet n Wild Contouring Palette, shade 749A Dulce de Leche             

   Here’s another product you might have seen in my five first impressions post, and my thoughts have not changed. I really do like this formula, though it is a little powdery, and the color choice is perfect for my skin tone. Both shades are very blendable and highly pigmented. It’s a great palette from the drugstore and it makes me want to try some other wet n wild stuff in the future. Do you guys have any recommendations for good products for that brand?

NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder, translucent 

   This product is my proof that sometimes hasty online purchases can work in your favor. I actually should have put this powder in last months favorites, but I felt like I needed to test it out for. Mostly, I use this product for baking my under eyes, but I also use it to set my whole face when I do minimal makeup, and it’s great for touch ups. It’s a lot less drying than the Maybelline one I talked about in my last post, and it didn’t break me out or irritate my skin at all when I first started using it. This is probably my favorite drugstore powder I own and I will absolutely repurchase.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm, shade 01 Light

   This right here is probably my favorite summer skincare/ beauty product I own. I’m a swim coach, which means I spend up to three hours on a pool deck daily and I’m often in and out of the water. I found that this product is not quite waterproof, but at least a little water resistant. It eliminates redness and fills in pores, but doesn’t give a lot of coverage, perfect for the no makeup look. My skin always felt moisturized and healthy on the days that I used this. This is a high end product but it’s pretty old so i think it may have been reformulated, because I can’t find it anywhere online in a full size. 

Organix Biotin and Collagen Oil Mist

   Surprise! It’s not a makeup product! This is a hair product that has been doing great things for me for this past month. I have very short hair that doesn’t need a lot of attention so I usually stay away from all hair products. However, I’ve decided to grow my hair out, and I’ve found that it’s coming in curlier and thicker than when I cut it, so it needs some help. My hair naturally leans more toward the oily side, but this doesn’t make me feel oily at all, it’s completely weightless and smells like a vanilla cupcake. I had one or two tiny breakouts on my hairline when I first started using it but they went away within the first week so I really can’t complain. This is a great summer product for anyone whose hair is suffering from chlorine (me) or saltwater damage. 

   

   Well that’s all for today! Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me! Let me know in the comments what you thought and your opinion on any of these products! 
    -Hannah

Five First Impressions

   So about a week ago I got my wisdom teeth out. That’s the reason I’ve been absent for a while, but in my narcotic filled stupor, I did some online shopping. Life tip: if you’re ever on heavy drugs, don’t shop online. It’s a bad idea. Anyways, I purchased a few things that I’ve been trying out for a while, some you’ll see here, and some hopefully in a later post. So let’s get started! Here are my five first impressions of recently purchased items.

Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder, shade 01 light.

   So I’ve actually had this product for longer than is likely appropriate for a first impressions video. But, I haven’t used it much, and I only used it on my whole face a few days ago. I have to say, my first first impression wasn’t good. My skin does lean more towards oily than not, but at the time I was more normal than not. This powder was flaky and drying and I took it off almost as soon as I tried it on, it was then shoved to the back of my vanity drawer and I didn’t think about it for a week or so.

   Then, I woke up a few days ago feeling really gross in the skin department. The weather got really hot all of a sudden and suddenly I was sweaty and shiny and my regular loose powder wasn’t doing it for me. So I popped this bad boy open and hoped for the best. Suffice to say, I was truly impressed. I was matte all day, and completely shine free. I think this would be a great powder for oily skin, but anything else is an absolute no. Even with normal skin it was super flaky and awful. I’ll definitely be putting this to the test more, especially now that my skin has changed a bit.

Essence Lip Liner, shade 11 in the nude.

   I purchased this guy on the Target website, it was a bit of an impulse buy and I wasn’t sure I would like it. However, it’s rather exceeded my expectations. This lip liner is super creamy. I usually prefer liners that aren’t in pencil form, like the Rimmel ones, I always find pencil like liners too hard to work with. This one really is a very workable formula and the color is perfect to wear with almost anything, it keeps darker lip colors from bleeding and looks pretty all over the lip with a gloss on top. I’ve been wearing it nonstop and I really enjoy it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation, shade 103 true ivory.

   I have some mixed feelings about this product. One one hand, I like the matte finish and the color is a great skin match. On the other, I’m a little bothered by the texture and heaviness. It claims to be lightweight, but I’m skeptical. I’ve only worn it once so I definitely need some more time to try it out so maybe my opinion on that will change. One very positive thing I do have to say is that since I’ve worn it, I haven’t broken out at all, and my skin isn’t dry or itchy. So I have high hopes, anything that doesn’t bother my sensitive skin deserves a chance.

E.l.f Mad for Matte eyeshadow palette.

   This guy is another one that I’ve had for a while, so I’m not sure I should be labeling it as a first impression. I’ve worn it pretty often and its what I have on my eyes as I write this. The shadows are gorgeous, my personal favorites are the light brown color third from the light and the brick color fifth from the right. Most of them are very pigmented but a few of the darker browns leave much to be desired.

   My biggest problem with these shadows are the way they blend. Or should I say, the way they don’t blend. I find them pretty powdery and I’ve gotta work for a nice blend with these. I’ll continue to try it out but I prefer my Nyx Naturals palette for brown/nude shades over this one.

Wet n Wild Megaglow Contouring Palette, shade 749A Dulce De Leche.

   So far this is a product that I’m really impressed with. First of all, I love the color. It’s perfect for my skin tone and I’m obsessed with the contour shade. These bad boys are pigmented as heck. When I first applied these I actually had to take a makeup remover wipe and fix my contour because it was so intense! I haven’t played around much with the highlighting shade other than to use it under the brow bone, but I like the color and texture. If you do try this out, I caution you to use a light hand.
   So that’s all for today! I’m still feeling not so great after my wisdom teeth removal but I felt bad about not writing anything. This was nice and easy to write from my bed. I have a few more products that I’m trying to write reviews on, but I have my final swim meet of the season this week and it’s three days long so it could be a while before you hear from me again. Thanks for reading!
      -Hannah

June Beauty Favorites

   These products are the ones that I’ve been testing out and loving for the month of June! All of them I highly recommend and are drugstore products!

 –Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara

   If you have sensitive eyes or allergies, this mascara is perfect for you. For a long time, I went without mascara at all, because I have really sensitive eyes and everything else bothered me. This is the only mascara I own, and so far I love it. It may not give you perfect length or volume, but it’s comfortable to wear and doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Physicians Formula has several types of organic mascaras, and I’ll definitely be checking others out!

 –Milani Eyeshadow Palette in 02 Bare Necessities 

   Being an absolute sucker for nude eyeshadow, I was excited for this as soon as I saw it. This product is pretty new to the drugstore, and it comes in about 4 different color combinations. This one appealed to me the most, and I’ve been really enjoying it so far. My favorite shades are the grayish crease shade, and the highlight (which I’ve been using on my face as well, and it looks stunning). The formula is gorgeous and I’m able to make a neutral every day look, or something more daring. I love that it’s travel sized and it’s been with me on all my summer adventures.

 –Maybelline NY lipstick, Lust for Blush

   Maybelline lipsticks are in my opinion, the best drugstore lip products. I have a nude one that I love as well, but I wanted to branch out more, so I got this gorgeous purpleish pink color. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be wearable, but it’s actually a very nice shade, not too shocking and definitely not garish. It has a great formula and matte finish, and something I’ve gotten a lot of complements on. 

 –Maybelline NY true match concealer 10 light

   Have you guys noticed a pattern with the Maybelline stuff? Definitely one of my favorite drugstore brands. This concealer is great! It blends well, has a nice texture, and a gorgeous finish. I have two shades actually, and 10 is slightly darker than the other one, with a nice peachy undertone. It’s definitely my favorite concealer that I own!

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the sporadic posting schedule, I promise I’ll figure wit out eventually! I know this is a little late in the month for a June favorites, but I really wanted to post one. If you try out any of the products on this list, let me know, I’d love to hear from you! 
     -Hannah