Summer Favorites under $15!

2:25 PM
summerfaves2015
So this post features my staple items, old and new favorites that I use in every routine.

  • Revealed 2 by Coastal Scents - I think I've mentioned this in several other posts but I purchased this a year ago and its still by far a favorite. I was lucky enough to catch it on sale for $10.
  • Crown Deluxe Infinity Shadow/Crease brush - these sell for $7 from Crown Brushes, but I received mine in an ipsy bag.  I love how dense both of the brushes are. Its so much thicker than any other eye shadow brush I've had. No shedding!
  • Bellapierre waterproof gel eyeliner in ebony - When this runs out, I will cry a lot. I got this in an ipsy bag and as a broke college kid can't really justify $15 for an eyeliner. I'm including it here because its my first gel liner and I'm excited to try cheaper versions when this is gone. It applies so so smoothly. It smudges some but stays wonderfully on the upper lash line. I wore this to the beach and it looked fantastic.
  • Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder - This $4 drug store buy is probably on everyone favorites. I've repurchased this so many times I've lost count; almost due for another. I usually buy Sandstorm or Translucent. 
  • Amie morning dew face moisturizer - I got this in a sample size from iPsy and its fantastic. It has this bizarre mattifying property that helps reduce oil and it feels so great when applying.  Super non greasy, and doesn't leave a residue after application.  It doesn't have a scent, a bit like fresh linen smells so if you're sensitive to that I wouldn't recommend this as it is quite strong. I, however, love the smell and is a big plus for me.
  • Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream - This is my first asian beauty purchase. I'm super excited about its antioxidant properties. I've been using this as a moisturizer morning and night and will be doing and full review when the bottle is empty! It can be purchased for around $5 from several places including Jolse or Amazon.
Link me to your summer themed posts! :)
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Drugstore Review: Studio 35 Brightening Sheet Mask

7:56 PM

Several years ago while grabbing random masks from Walmart, I accidentally had purchased a mint sheet mask which it turns out I absolutely loved.  Unfortunately, I never found that particular mask again and forgot all about it until a few days ago I was browsing the Skincare Addiction subreddit and found myself linked to the Asian Beauty community where sheet masks are like *the* thing.  Its like a whole beauty subculture.  I fell in love.  I'm now trying to come up with my own skin care routine as the products are better quality and better for your skin.  The next several posts will be regarding that world.  For those of you wanting more information I'll be posting an intro to Asian skincare at some point in the future.

I was pretty excited to try a sheet mask again with all this new knowledge and my face felt especially puffy and tight today.  Walgreens products will hold me off until my Snail gel gets here from wherever its coming front.  To the left is my walgreens haul.  A couple of sheet masks, a sunscreen (to use until I scrape together funds for biore watery essence, and a candle to set the mood as I try out my masks).   The first review in my Asian Skincare review set is the Brightening Sheet Mask by Studio 35.   These are available at Walgreens for 2/$4 or $2.49 each.  Package says made in Korea and the ingredients are as follows:

Water , Glycerin , Hydroxyethylcellulose , Arbutin , Natto Gum , Allantoin , Disodium EDTA , Panthenol , Carica Papaya Fruit Extract (Papaya) , Rosa Centifolia Flower Water , Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract , Morus Alba Bark Extract , Beta-Glucan , PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil , Tocopheryl Acetate , Phenoxyethanol , Methylparaben

Good news for sensitive skinned ladies, the ingredients analyzed via CosDNA show that things look pretty safe as far as potential breakout causing ingredients are concerned.   They are even alcohol and fragrance free.  I personally wouldn't describe myself as someone with sensitive skin, but its nice to know that for a cheap mask the ingredients are pretty good.  I should note that I just noticed on the package that it says those with blemishes, pimples, or sunburns may not want to use this product which is actually a little unfortunate for some of you probably.

First Impression: I don't have much experience with sheet masks, so I assume this is probably true for most people, but the fit was awful.  The nose/mouth ratio was off and i'm not sure what to do with these extra little eyeflaps haha.  I've included a picture for your entertainment.  It smelled pleasant, a very very light almost pear(?) scent.

I left the mask on for 30 minutes (package suggests 15-20)

Concluding thoughts:  Upon removal and after letting the essence dry, my face did look a tad (minusculey) glowy but I didn't feel as though it mask hydrated or moisturized whatsoever. It left my skin feeling tight, particularly on my chin and cheeks and left a slight film on my skin.  It was fun to try a sheet mask again but I won't be repurchasing this particular one.

Stay tuned for the next couple of posts where I review the detoxifying mask and the sunscreen!

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Whats In My Makeup Bag + May ipsy

2:59 PM


Hey there fellow beauty lovers!  Today's post is an update on what's in my makeup bag and is combined with a post on my daily makeup routine.  My most used products for the last couple of months are a mix of drugstore, obscure online purchases and samples from Ipsy bags. I'm a budget shopper so finding quality products that look great but are less than $10 is pretty important to me.  Read on to check out what I'm loving recently and maybe get some ideas for your own makeup bag!  Bolded items are favorites that i make a point to use daily! Feel free to request a detailed review on anything.

Face products:

  • Rimmel London Match Perfection in 101 Classic Ivory
  • Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 003 Natural
  • Hard Candy Baked Bronzer in 131 Hula Hula
  • NYC BB Creme foundation in 01 Light

Eye products:

  • NYC Kohl Eye and Brow liner in Dark Brown and Jet Black
  • Blue Heaven Kajal Liner
  • Maybelline Falsies Volum Express Flared Mascara in Very Black
  • Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara
  • Coastal Scents Revealed 2 20 shadow Palette 

Lip Products:

  • Starlooks satin finish lipgloss in Cuddle
  • J. Cat beauty Wonder lip paint in Red Potion
  • e.l.f. lip balm in nude 

Brushes:

  • Powder brush e.l.f
  • Angled brush e.l.f.
  • large stipple brush e.l.f. studio line
  • C476 crease shadow brush by Crown brush

Misc:

  • Jor'el Parker Femina parfume
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My ipsy bag for this month is so cute. Canvas, says "Contents: Pretty Important Stuff".  This month wasn't particular exciting.  The bag features a gel eyeliner from bellepierre, leave in conditioner, an eye shadow brush (can never have too many of those!), a moisturizer (that smells amazing-like dryer sheets haha), and a little card with samples from urban decay of lip primer and two glosses.  If any of these products blow me out of the water I'll do a review but lately I've just been getting mediocre things.  At some point i'll post my all time favorite products I've received from ipsy in a compilation type post.  

On a side note: Congrats to all the graduates! High school and college kids alike have been attending graduations this week, my fiance included. (yes, i'm engaged!!!).  I hope everyone enjoys their summer. We are taking a day trip to myrtle beach on monday, i'm so ready.  Plans for the summer? Tell me!
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Five Minute Pony-tail Curls

1:03 PM
So I found this sweet little trick on youtube and if you haven't tried it you're really missing out on a super fast way to style your hair.  I'm a natural blonde so my hair is quite thin so this took me about 6 minutes total to do.

1. Comb hair to remove tangles.
2.Place hair in a pony tail on top of your head or as high as you can get it.  I flipped my hair over and then put it up so that the pony tail would sit right on top.
3. Using your favorite curling iron, separate your hair into small or large sections and wrap the hair around the barrel holding for a few seconds and then releasing. You can use whatever size sections and hold them for as long as you like depending on how tight you want your curls/waves to look.  I have a Remington 1inch ceramic curling wand thats clip-less and tapered.  Its fantastic and I definitely recommend you take a look at it if you're in the market for a super affording curling iron.  And for this style pictured left I think I held the hair on the iron for about 8 seconds.  Next time I"ll do a shorter time to get a more wavy look.
4.After you're curled the entire pony tail, take the elastic out and run your fingers through the pieces to separate.  Part hair as desired.
5. Curl a few extra sections - one on each side of your face and a couple on the top layer of hair on each side to give the top section a bit more body.  You don't need to re-curl the whole top, just one or two pieces blended in looks great.
6. Optional: Spritz with hairspray...or don't if you want a more natural, less structured look.

This is probably my new favorite technique as its so fast and I absolutely despise having to section off my hair all particular like to make sure every piece gets curled.  This solves that issue.

Side note, I really can't wait til my hair is long long again. Sigh.

Edit;; The blog has a new layout! Purchased from Etsy, go check out this shop! All blogger templates are on sale til the end of the day.
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College Life: Textbooks and where to find them

2:44 PM
Hey all!  Today we're going to take just a break from the beauty world and talk about college.  While many are graduated and ready to take on (or already taking on) the real world, a lot of beauty enthusiasts are still in school.  For those of us that are, one of the many burdens that a student has to deal with at the beginning of every semester is textbooks.

Most colleges today offer some sort of school run rental program or textbooks provided system.  In no way are textbooks provided for free by colleges.  Even if it seems like they are, they aren't. Somewhere you are being charged an extra amount of money to have textbooks provided to you for rental or otherwise.  In the case of my school, I am being charged $125 per semester for book rentals.  A misleading program as it implies that all books will be available for rental through the school without any additional charges.  Wrong.  While this may be true for some popular programs, like English, for example or Education, smaller, less popular programs like Anthropology may not have any books available for rental.  This semester, for example, I am still paying $125 for the rental fee but only 3 books out of FOURTEEN were covered by the program.

Many students in this situation may thoughtlessly go ahead and buy the rest of their books directly from the student bookstore, but this I certainly do not recommend.  While you may be able to find a "used" version slightly cheaper, there are still so many other places where you can find your text books for a much lower cost.  Also, a large percentage college students would recommended waiting until after the first day of your classes to purchase books anyway as often times professors will announce that at least one of the books are no longer required or are actually optional so its best to get together a list post-syllabus day to ensure you're only getting what you actually need.

Ready to get your books? Great.  It's important to know that are several options for you to choose from as far as format, so let's go over those first. These are listed from the cheapest option to most expensive.

Ebook - In pdf or reader-specific, electronic format to be read on your computer, phone, or e-reader.
Rental- Usually for a period of 5-6 months with the option to extend time frame. Shipping to return is typically free.
Used- Anywhere from like-new to very worn condition. Often contains writing or highlighting.
New- Brand, spanking new.

You can use Amazon (get Student free for 6 months with your .edu email!) or Ebay to find cheap options but your best bet is using a price comparing website like bigwords.com .  By entering ISBNs or searching book titles, Big Words will search several different websites providing rentals, ebooks, used and new copies and tell you where to  get your book for the absolutely lowest cost including shipping.  Using this website for the last two years, getting a combination of ebooks, rentals and used copies, I have managed to save at least $350 per semester from buying books from the bookstore.

I encourage *everyone* to use this price comparing services.  As poor, in debted college students there is no need to create any more financial stress than we need.  Save money! Live better! Wait...thats Walmart...

Happy Studying. :)







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