Swaag Box Review

I kept seeing an ad on facebook for something called a Swaag TOM (time of the month) Box. What a cool idea I thought. As a girl, you all know how nice it is to have candy, jewelry, makeup, etc during that horrible, hellish time of the month! 

So I took advantage of the special they have. Your first box is only $5. After that, it begins at $14 each month. For $5, what could I loose?

So first off, you get a choice of your feminine products, they have a few brands and styles you could choose from which is nice.

For makeup, I got a Cargo lipgloss. Honestly, I'm not a fan. I don't care much for Cargo, and I hate the color I got. I do like that it's a nicer brand though, and not a super cheap drugstore product.

Candy wise, I got a ring pop and 3 jolly ranchers. Kinda random, and a little weird in my opinion. I don't really like getting loose pieces of candy like these jolly ranchers. It just seems kinda creepy, makes me think of when I was a little kid and my mom would tell me not to eat candy that wasn't packaged. I'd rather get a candy bar, or a bag of candy. Not just random pieces thrown in a box. I have read that they send chocolate in the winter, since they don't want it melting during the summer. But what about m&ms, they are made not to melt in the heat ("they melt in your mouth, not in your hand").

For jewelry, I got a little silver "belt" style bracelet. It's really cute, and I like how they put it in a little velvet bag. I was happy about this item, until I realized....it's broken. As you can see in the picture below, the little metal piece that holds the bracelet together won't lie flat. It sticks up and won't lie flat even when I press and push on it! 

This subscription also offers the option of doubling your jewelry, makeup, and or adding razors. The price they charge is pretty pricey for the doubling offer. 

All and all, this isn't really worth $14. I ended up getting a broken bracelet, a lipgloss that I don't like, and random pieces of candy. 

Of course, for $5 I can't complain. The feminine products are worth more then that, but I won't be getting this every month. It was fun to try, but this is a pass for me!

Walmart Beauty Box Fall Edition

Recently Walmart came out with a beauty box subscription. Unlike most box subscriptions though, this one is once every 3 months and only costs $5.

I must say, for $5, I'm extremely impressed! I've seen some other boxes, and it seems like they actually send products that target your age range. For me (I'm 23), I got more "youth" oriented things such as Nicki Minaj perfume and glow in the dark polish. I saw a women who was in her 40's, and she got items that were more targeted for more "mature" skin.

I think it's awesome that they take age into account! It really helps you get products that you'll be able to use and benefit from! 

First off, I got a trio of hair care products from Dove. These are larger samples, more of a deluxe travel size. I got the shampoo, conditioner, and dry oil. 

It seems like this is something everyone received in their box, regardless of age. It's a full size Secret Clinical Strength deodorant, which alone is worth more then $5!

I love that I got a full size makeup product and a mini polish! I'm loving the L'oreal Glossy Balm (I got the shade Pink Me Up). Super excited to try it out! And again, this retails between $8-$10! 

I also love the little mini Covergirl polish! I got the shade #AfterDark. It glows in the dark! Super cute, and fun for fall/halloween!

I also got 3 sample products. First off a carded sample of Neutrogena Long Wear foundation. I like that they have samples of 8 shades! 

Also I got a sample vial of Nicki Minaj Pink Friday perfume. I am not a Minaj fan, but this perfume smells really good!

Last but not least, I got a sample packted of L'oreal Youth Code Pore Vanisher. 

I honestly don't have one complaint for this box! I love everything in it! I love that they target the products according to your age, and I even love how the foundation sample has so many colors! 

It's awesome that they send so many full size products, plus deluxe size samples, and "regular" samples. 

You get a box every 3 months. It seems like they send them out by season, such as this is the fall box. I can't wait to get my winter box. 

I guess I do have on complaint, I wish this was a monthly box subscription! I love it so much I wouldn't mind paying $5 a month! It's a great deal for all the products you receive! 

Forever 21 Barbie Lipstick Trio Review

So I finally got my hands on the Forever 21 Barbie lipstick trio! Forever 21 recently came out with a Barbie collection including clothes, hair brushes, makeup bags, lipsticks, and mirrors. I've been dying to get my hands on the lipstick trio, but I don't have a Forever 21 close to me, and I hated spending so much on shipping from their website. I'm on a facebook page where girls sell makeup, and someone had these for sale, so I picked them up! 

Now honestly, I wanted these more for the "collectors" sake. Yes, I am an adult, and yes, I still have a place in my heart for Barbie!

Now at Forever 21, this collection goes for less then $10. On ebay though, you'll see it going for $25+! So if you can, get it at Forever 21! 

These are the three colors that come in the set. (swatches are from left to right ) Pink Rose, Red Rouge, and Fushia. As you can see, Pink Rose doesn't show up at all. All it is a clear gloss, which is rather disappointing. Plus, mine came broken, which was another disappointment! 

Red Rouge is a pretty orange based red. Fushia is a fun and bright color. Other then Pink Rose, the colors are pretty pigmented for being Forever 21 makeup! They smell BAD though! They smell like kids makeup, it's a very strong chemical/plastic smell. Not very nice!

Still though, for me, I just like having them sit on my vanity. The packaging is very cute with the Barbie script and the color showing on the bottom.

Not bad for a Barbie fan/collector. If you buying this just for makeup sake though, I'd say pass. What with the horrible smell and the clear lipstick, it's pretty pointless. These colors aren't unique. You can easily find the same colors at the drugstore.

Dollar Dollar, Who's Got My Monday Dollar?

I have been having so much fun trying to find great products for a dollar! 

This Dollar Monday I chose an oldie, but a goodie! Wet N Wild Color Icon Single Shadow in Brulee! It's just under $1 ($0.99)! Plus Wet N Wild almost always has some sale at some drugstore, so it can be even cheaper! 

I love this eyeshadow! I can't even begin to count how many I've used up! This is the perfect matte beige color. It has many uses for me which is awesome! This eyeshadow is almost the exact same shade of my skin (I'm an NW10 in MAC). This eyeshadow, for me, can double as a powder to spot set my concealer! It is so pigmented that it makes me skin look flawless! When I have dark circles under my eyes, or a blemish, I use my concealer, and then lightly tap some of this shadow on top. It sets the concealer, and bumps up the coverage!

And of course, it's a great eyeshadow! Since it has such great pigmentation, it's great as an all over shadow. When I'm in a hurry, I like to throw this all over my lid to the browbone. It helps cancel out the blues and reds that naturally can be on your lids. 

It also makes a great matte highlight color! 

So if you're pale, this is a great shadow since it can have several uses! 

If you have deep-dark skin, it would be an amazing shadow! A matte beige is a must have for any makeup collection, and since it's under a dollar, you can't miss!

Battle Of The Liners

I recently did a blog post about my favorite nude drugstore liner from Rimmel London. I also mentioned in that post about the black liner they had (the shade is 001), and how it's almost identical in color to Urban Decays Prevision 24/7 liner. 

The more I thought about it, swatched them, and compared them, I realized that the Rimmel London is almost an exact dupe! 

Both liners have the same style and look. They are both pencil liners that need to be sharpened. They even look very similar. 

The Urban Decay 24/7 liners retail for $20, and the Rimmel London retails between $4-6 depending on where you get it (Walmart is the cheapest at only $3.97!)

Color and texture wise, they are almost exactly the same. Here is a swatch, UD is the one on the left. They are both creamy, which is great when using them in the waterline and/or the tightline area of the eye. It's also nice since you can smudge them out if you want a more smokey look. Once they set, they are there to stay! I've been wearing both in my tightline area to test of the staying power. I can proudly say I've worn both for 8+ hours without a problem! Right after I put them on, my eyes do water sometimes (not because of the liner itself, I tend to have very watery eyes), so I get a smidge of transfer on my waterline. I do notice I get a tiny bit more transfer with the Rimmel, but not enough to complain about.  

After I swatched them, I took a baby wipe and scrubbed my hand. You can see a tiny trace of the UD still left, but they both were pretty much gone. The lasting power of both of these liners is amazing! I had to really scrub my hand to get them off. Through out the day I don't have to worry about touching up my eyeliner when I wear either one of these.

All and all, if you're looking for a dark black liner with great staying power, but you don't want to spend the money, I'd check out Rimmel London! They also have some other great colors, including the perfect nude and a great deep navy! 

It's Friday...Time To SPLURGE!

TGIF! I knew you could do it, you made it through the week. It's time to splurge! 

For this Splurge Friday, I wanted to share one of my all time favorite foundations! BareMinerals READY Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20.

To prove how much I love it, here is a picture of my well loved foundation (if your squeamish, please scroll through quickly, it's not pretty!) ! I recently had to buy a new one so I won't have to miss a day of not being able to wear it!

Yay, you made it through those nasty pictures! As a reward, here's a pretty picture of my nice new one!

I was always a skeptic when it came to powder foundations. I have oily, acne prone skin. On top of that I have old acne scars, and almost always have a few blemishes. I remember watched a youtuber who had similar skin and she raved about the product! I went out on a limb and got one for myself. I've been hooked ever since! The coverage is amazing! I only use a concealer and the powder. I get a medium to full coverage just from the powder!

There are a couple cons though. This is the lightest and coolest shade they have. I am very pale and very cool skinned. I feel this looks a tad bit orange on me if I apply too much. I've seen though out the Bare Minerals line that they aren't very cool skin friendly. I can't even use their concealer or the newest liquid foundation because they are just to neutral-warm toned on me.

The other con I have is they recommend you to swirl your brush in the product. Don't, I mean DO NOT do that! If you do all you end up with is a huge mess and a lot of wasted product! I use a flat top kabuki brush, tap it into the product, and then tap it onto my skin. It gives a great finish, and you get very little wasted product!

Bare Minerals does sell a brush that goes with this foundation. I personally don't recommend it. The only reason I wouldn't recommend it is because it doesn't dry well. Once you wash it, it takes days to dry. I've noticed a musty/moldy smell even when it's air dried completely. I've used and tried everything to get rid of it, and nothing works.

I use a Sigma flat top kabuki, and love it! If you want a more natural coverage, you can use a fluffy brush.

I love that you can choose your coverage depending on the brush that you use! I also love that I can have a full face of foundation on in less then a minute! It's so much faster and easier to work with then a liquid. Plus, it's great for people who travel a lot and don't want to mess with liquids, glass bottles, etc.

So what are you planning on splurging on this Friday?

T.G.I.F aka Thank God I'm Fabulous ;)

It's Wednesday Already!

I am so excited to share this weeks Mid Week Wednesday! It's NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss! This is one of my top favorite lipglosses! I'm addicted to them! 

I think this is one product I have absolutely no complaints about! Okay, I wish they had even more colors then they already do (close to 30!), if you count that as a complaint! 

These lipglosses are pigmented, moisturizing, smell amazing (they smell like candy!), and even the package is cute! 

I've never had a problem with them being stick or gloopy feeling. They actually feel very moisturizing! 

The color variates are great, everything from nudes to pinks and deep reds!

As you can see, just one swatch and it has crazy color pay off! 

The colors swatched here are (from top to bottom)

Golden Pink, Dolly Pink, and Beige (which is anything but beige!)

Also, if you really love bold pink lips like I do, use the NYX lip liner in Pink under the Dolly Pink gloss. You'l, love it! It's been my recent favorite color combination!

These retail for $4.99 and can be found at Ulta (NYX often has BOGO sales at Ulta, so keep an eye out for that!), some Targets and online.

Gloss away!

Get Your Dollar, It's Monday!

Oh yes, it's Monday again! 

Here's an old favorite of mine! It's only a dollar, you can find it at Target, Walmart, Big Lots (sometimes), some drugstores, and through the E.L.F website.

It's one of my all time favorite brushes, the E.L.F Eyeshadow Brush.

For only $1, it's amazing how great this brush is! It's cheap enough that you can buy multiples so when one gets dirty, you can have a backup or two. I have several for my personal use, and I always keep at a couple in my makeup artist kit!

This is the perfect brush for packing color on the lid. It picks up and holds the shadow nicely, and helps pack it on without fallout. It works great with all finishes of shadows, from matte to glitters. 

The size (brush shown next to my finger for size comparison), is perfect for smaller lids like mine. It isn't so big that the color goes all over the place!

This is a brush I've used since I was a beginner, and I still use it years later! The quality is great, I've had mine for years. I did have one brush that after having it for at least 2 years, the ferrule did fall off, but other then that I haven't had any problems! It washes well and dries quickly! I rarely have any bristles fall out, which is a huge perk!

Happy Monday, bitches! 

Ulta Haul!

So it seems that I ran out of my most used products all at the same time! I needed to make a run to Ulta, so I thought why not share what I picked up with my lovely bitches?

The main reason I went was to pick up some more body butter and a new Urban Decay setting mist. I've been scrapping the last out of each!

Right now, Ulta has all of The Body Shop body butters and scrubs on sale for 2 for $27 (normally they are $20 each)! I'm not sure how long this sale is going on, but it's a good one! I actually only like the Vineyard Peach scent, but they only had one left. I've been hearing about the new argon oil line lately, and I liked the scent so I went ahead and picked it up. When I was checking out, the girl ringing me out said it's amazing!

I also picked up the Urban Decay De-Slick makeup setting mist. I've been using these setting sprays for years and love them! It helps my makeup look less cakey, and helps it last throughout the day.

I saw that the Ulta brand was having their gift with purchase, so I thought I'd pick up a few things so I could get it. (If you want to see more about the gift, check out my last post!).

I picked up 2 of the gel eyeliners, and one of the eye crayons. I love how the swatch, so I'm excited to try them out! I've been loving wearing bright colors on the water line lately! The gel liners seem creamy and well pigmented, so I think they'll be great on the waterline!

Along with the Ulta cosmetics, I was able to get the 15 piece gift with purchase.

So there it is! My Ulta haul. It feels good to restock up on the items that I love!

It's Time To Splurge, Chanel Style!

Now maybe this was a rough week, you deserve something amazing. How about a new Chanel fragrance?

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre is my signature fragrance! Ever since one of my amazing friends (and fellow Sophisticated Bitch) introduced me to it about a year ago, it's been my go to fragrance. I've found that it works both for day and night! 

I'm not the best at describing fragrances, so I'm taking this off of the Chanel site! Chanel describes this fragrance as  tender and vibrant, delicate and airy, with a light, fruity trail. 

I have a hard time wearing fragrance. I get headaches easily with a lot of perfumes and scents. I've never had a problem with this one. It's light enough to be easily worn during the day time, but it has enough punch to it to be worn at night. It's one of those fragrances that make you feel instantly classy and feminine.

This is my favorite fragrance of the Chanel Chance trio, but the other ones are amazing too! 

If you like a more of a heavy fragrance, the original Chanel Chance is great!

And if you like a more citrus fragrance, Chanel Eau Fraiche is great!

Ulta Gift With Purchase

I know I'm a little behind on this gift! It started on the 3rd of the month, and will end August 30th (or until supplies run out). I still wanted to do a post about it though, for those of you who haven't gotten a chance to pick it up yet!

You receive a 15 piece set when you purchase $19.50 worth of Ulta cosmetics, brushes, nail polish, etc.

They have 3 sets to choose from, Classic (my choice), Modern, or Trend.

Each gift comes with a makeup bag, mini polish, eyeliner, mini gloss, 3 brushes, full size mascara, lipstick, shadow primer, 3 eyeshadow quads, a bronzer or blush duo, and glitter eyeshadow top coat.

I haven't had a chance to use much of the Ulta brand cosmetic line, so I was excited to get this gift!

The eyeshadows are better quality then I expected. For the most part, the pigmentation is pretty good, and I like the soft texture. The glitter shadow top coat is pretty chunky. I love the color (put a ring on it), but I can tell it will take some effort to make it look nice. 

Sadly the bronzer has almost no pigmentation. 

The gloss and lipstick seem decent. I love the color of the gloss, but sadly when I got my gift, the gloss had spilled out making a mess! Plus around the opening of the gloss, it's all gunked up from the spilled gloss.

The lipstick is more of a sheer glossy finish. Reminds me of the finish of  Maybelline Baby Lips balm. You get a sheen, but little color.

Again, another disappointment! The brush "set" I got was filthy! They bristles were covered in dust! You get a blush brush (not amazing, but soft and nice for traveling), a sponge tip applicator brush (pretty pointless), and an eyeshadow brush (very hard, feels more like a mini concealer brush).

You also get the eye primer which looks promising! A pretty mini nail polish, a mascara, and an eyeliner (doesn't look to great). I haven't had a chance to play with these items yet, but everything other then the liner looks decent.

Here are a few swatches of some of the eyeshadows, the glitter top coat, gloss, and lipstick. 

Most of all, I'm impressed with the eyeshadows. I'm looking forward to trying them out. I was very disappointed with the brushes, gloss, and liner though.

Overall, I wouldn't run out just to get something to get this gift. It's not that amazing. If you need some Ulta brand items, it's a fun extra. I wouldn't go out and get something just for the point of getting the bag though. It just isn't that amazing to me.

It's Mid Week Wednesday!

We did it, we made it to Mid Week Wednesday. Congratulations. You deserve a gift. Nothing too special though, it is only Wednesday after all.

So for your Mid Week Wednesday treat that retails under $10 ($5.99 to be exact), I choose Rimmel London's Scandaleyes Waterproof liners! 

I have been loving these liners for awhile now. I have three, although my navy one ran away from me...I don't know why...or where it went...

The shade 005 Nude is an amazing waterline shade. It instantly makes your eyes look more awake. You can always use a white liner (which Rimmel also makes), but sometimes it can come off looking to harsh. Using a nude tone is a great way make you look fresher. Often your waterline can have a pink or reddish hue, this can come from being tired, crying, allergies, etc. Using a nude will act like a concealer and cancel out that redness. 

Also, another great way to use this is as a base for a bright eyeshadow! I love putting the liner on my waterline and then packing a neon color (such as from the Urban Decay Electric palette). It's a fun way to bring color into your eye look without it being to overwhelming!

001 Black is your perfect dark black liner. It's creamy, but once it's set it stays! It's great for the lash line, waterline, and tighlining! When working in the tightline and/or waterline area, you want something that's creamy since those areas are very sensitive! 

Bonus! This is a great dupe for Urban Decays 24/7 liner in Perversion! Can you guess which swatch is which?

That's right, keep guessing. Yep now second guess your answer. Oh nope, go back to your original answer. Always go with your gut. Good lord choose already. Go ahead. Fine, I'll give you the answer. The one on the top is Rimmel, the bottom is Urban Decay. Pretty similar no?