Blog Sale - Beauty Items for Extremely Cheap (more than 50% off brand new in box Items)

Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Hazel Eyes, Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Shine

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post informing you of my blog sale. I'm trying to get rid of some excess stuff I have that is brand new and I'm doing so at the MUABS (Makeup Addict Blog Sale) website. Check out the stuff that I have for sale, you may be interested... it's an awesome deal... you can get everything for 50% off or cheaper than you would ever find it elsewhere!

Here are just some of the items I have for sale right now (I'll be updating these all the time, I still have a ton more stuff, don't worry!)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Leathers

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara + Starlooks Amethyst Eye Pencil

Physicians Formula Concealers, Blush and Bronzing Stones

Assorted Nail Polishes

Perfume, Pacifica Body Butter, Nail Treatments & Skin Treatments

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
- Alex

Product Review: L'Oreal Silkissime Eyeliner (in Highlighter)

L'Oreal Silkissime Waterproof Eyeliner (Shade: Highlighter)

Recently, I picked up a L'Oreal Paris Silkissime Waterproof Eyeliner in Highlighter from my local Walgreens since I have seen so many rave reviews for this product. I am happy to get to put this to the test myself, and after using it for a couple of days I have formulated my final thoughts on this. Now, this review cannot be for all of the different shades, as I have not tried them, but it will be for the shade Highlighter. I think the name is fitting because as I was purchasing this, I specifically wanted to use it to give my eyes a more "awaken" and refreshed look.

The shade is a neutral pink when swatched, you can see the opacity of the shade with just one swipe and above that, what it looks like when it is layered. These are not the type of liners to use for smudging because they set quickly. The formula of these eyeliners doesn't claim to be creamy, and I find that they are fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of how easily they apply. There doesn't seem to be much tugging when laying the color down, but it doesn't feel overly smooth or soft, either (this might be because the formula is waterproof).

This eyeliner is not a twist-up pencil, it is a traditional pencil and will require conventional sharpening (a sharpener is not included).

When applied, I had to layer the shade on about 5-6x in order to get a good amount of pigmentation on my lower lash line, and even though the formula is waterproof, it is not completely smudge-proof. If your eyes water, the liner may not have a chance to set in your waterline after application if it does not "cure" while your eyes are dry - this is what happened to me. I did apply the liner in the waterline AND lashline, and you can see here after about 30 minutes of wear, it had entirely disappeared from my waterline, but was holding up well on my lower lashline.

Overall, I don't think that this eyeliner is far superior to the Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude, specifically in the shade Highlighter, but I do recommend it if you like the color. I have tried gel-formula eyeliners by Makeon which are much more long-wearing in a similar rose color (shade name is Falling in Love), if you want a gentle, softer-applying formula. I would wait to pick up the L'Oreal Silkissime eyeliners on sale, as I do think that the retail price can be a little steep for the quality (regularly $8.99).

Walmart Beauty Box - Fall 2014 Unboxing & Review

Today was a good day, my Walmart beauty box arrived in the mail!! This box is FREE but costs $5 shipping per quarter (that means you get 4 boxes a year, one per season). As far as I could tell there were two variations of this box, you can check them out out at NouveauCheap. I read from multiple sources that which box was received would depend on the age of the subscribers - I received the < 35 years old box, if this is true.

Contents of Walmart Beauty Box for Fall 2014

I received quite a slew of products, varying from small foil packets (yuck) to deluxe sized samples and even 3 full sized items! So far it's looking like a pretty good deal for just $5.

Contents of Walmart Beauty Box for Fall 2014

You can see I received the following products:

1. L'Oreal - Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha (Full size)
2. CoverGirl - Glosstini Glowing Nights Nail Polish in #AfterDark (Full size)
3. Secret - Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Deodorant in Completely Clean (Full size)
4. Dove - Pure Care Dry Oil (Deluxe sample)
5. Dove - Advanced Hair Series - Shampoo (Deluxe sample)
6. Dove - Advanced Hair Series - Conditioner (Deluxe sample)
7. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday Perfume (Sample)
8. L'Oreal - Youth Code Pore Vanisher (Sample)
9. Neutrogena - Nourishing Long Wear Makeup (Sample card & $2 off Coupon)

L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha

Before and After L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha

I'm so happy I received this item, it retails for $6.97 at Wal-Mart and I didn't want to shell out the almost-$10 it retails at my local drugstores. This chubby stick L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha turns out to be a "my lips but better" shade for me. It evens out the color of my lips and adds a nice shine to them, it's very comfortable to wear and you don't need a mirror to apply. This is going into my purse immediately. This product already paid for the shipping of the box in my case.

CoverGirl Glowing Nights in #AfterDark, Swatches from The Polished Spoon

The next most interesting product in the box is the CoverGirl Glowing Nights nail polish in #AfterDark (retails for $2.97 at Wal-Mart). This is a really beautiful turquoise color that is probably most suitable for spring/summer for me.

Secret Clinical Strength Invisble Solid Deodorant

The Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Deodorant in Completely Clean is a full sized item which retails for a whopping $11.97 at Wal-Mart (I guess Clinical Strength means it's more expensive?). I don't use these types of deodorants so I will probably pass this on, I prefer to use natural deodorants without Aluminum, parabens, and as few hormone-disrupting ingredients as possible. 

Dove Deluxe Sample Products

The Dove Advanced Hair Series Shampoo and Conditioner (Value: $0.42) and Pure Care Dry Oil (Value: $1.42) were nice additions to the box, I like receiving travel-sized minis of hair-care products because it's just enough for a few uses and gives me a good idea of whether or not I would re-purchase them.

Foil Packets and Small Sample Products

I'm not even going to bother trying to calculate a value for these small samples because I'm sure you can get them for free in magazines or any store. I do like that Neutrogena included a $2 Off Manufacturer's Coupon with their sample card for the Nourishing Long Wear Makeup, so you can use this to stack with your store-rewards and sales. The perfume vial is a standard size of the Nicki Minaj Pink Friday, the smell is of some fruity candy so probably best suited for a younger person (or someone who likes cloyingly sweet scents). 

The L'Oreal YouthCode Pore Vanisher is basically a copy of any other Dimethicone-based primer, so you can expect that same slick feeling on your face when using it - these products always work well to "fill up" any large pores you may have (the cheapest alternative is always to use Anti-Chafing Gel as your primer, it's made up of the same ingredients and sells for a much lower price than cosmetically-branded primers).

Was this box worth it? Heck yes! For $5, I received stuff I'll use, stuff I'll give away, and a bunch of new things to try! The total value of my box was $24.17 (not including the 3 smaller samples) in Wal-Mart prices - this means that at my local drugstore, the price would probably have been closer to $35. The Wal-Mart Beauty Box is a wonderful program and I hope that it continues to have success so they keep it around in the future and more brands want to participate for the great exposure. 

Product Review: L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (Waterproof)

I, for one, did not buy into the initial hype of the L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara, just because I have several mascaras that I'm using and they all do a decent job of adding volume and length so I didn't need another one in my life. That is, until I found this to be on clearance for a measly $3 at Walgreens - then I just had to try it.

I'm surprised by the packaging, it feels very well-made in my hand and I dig how sleek and reflective it looks, it even *clicks* closed. I didn't make a conscious decision to pick the Waterproof edition but it was the only one they had, so against my own reservations I decided to take the plunge.

The shape of the mascara wand is... odd. It's unlike any other wand I've ever used and it's clearly made of synthetic fibers, which sometimes I am a fan of because I find that they separate my lashes well and don't cause much clumping. I found the formula to be neither too thin nor too thick, but definitely steering closer to the thin side, so you can easily layer this mascara with others or using multiple passes of itself. I find it akin to the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara, except I think the Butterfly wand makes it much easier to apply the mascara precisely and all the way to the ends of your lashes.

Photo of eyes with 1 pass of L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (Waterproof)

I only quickly applied one coat of the mascara to my lashes at 7AM in the morning and then I took this photo at 11PM (after 16 hours of wear!!). You can see there has been no transfer, no flaking, and my lashes looked just as good as they did in the morning despite the fact that I spent about 30 minutes walking through a pretty bad downpour of rain. I apologize for the jankiness of the photos but I was pretty tired and lazy so I just used my phone to snap a eye-selfie (an eye-fie?). While I wouldn't say it added a drastic amount of volume to my lashes, it definitely lengthened them well, even curled them upwards and was very comfortable to wear (non-irritating to my eyes which can sometimes be sensitive to new mascaras).

Overall, I'm highly impressed by this mascara and although I am not a fan of waterproof mascaras, this mascara is a definite must-buy if you're looking for something to last you all day, not flake, or transfer. I can't comment as to the efficacy of the non-waterproof formula but the waterproof formula gets two very eager thumbs up!

Product Review: L'Oreal The One Sweep Eyeshadow

I'm sure most of you have seen this product around and have wondered if the gimmick really works. It sounds so simple. You take the applicator sponge, sweep it across the 3 color gradient provided and then sweep it on to your eye. You do this twice and you should achieve a flawless eyeshadow look. This sounds like it is particularly useful for makeup novices who are unsure of which color to place where, or for those of us who are a little bit timid when trying to create a smokey eye look.

I found this on sale at my local CVS and decided to give it a go and give my wonderful readers an honest opinion of this product!

The product itself looks like it could be used with a regular brush as well so if the applicator didn't work out, I figured I could still use this as regular eyeshadow. There's a wide array of colors but I chose 908 Smokey for All Eyes because it's out-of-the-box from what I normally wear and I wanted to try it out.

The quality of the shadows is good, they are smooth and blendable, I'm actually quite impressed by them, just as I was by the Revlon Colorstay Quads. Drugstore eyeshadows have vastly improved in recent years and they are almost just as good as the higher end brands.

First, I tried this product with nothing else added and no blending to show you what it looked like and then I worked with it to achieve more of a look that I am comfortable with.

L'Oreal The One Sweep Eyeshadow

All things considered, this product performed well, I really didn't feel like I had to apply more than one sweep to achieve the desired amount of color. I didn't particularly like the delineation between shades since you can see clearly where each color ends and the other one begins, but this was an easy fix with a shadow blender brush. 

Is this a product you must purchase? No, this is something that is more for those who are in a rush or those who don't like to change up their look as much, there's a neutral brown combination which I think suits all skin tones and occasions. 

I give this product a solid 3.75/5 - the color payoff is really good and the colors blend together very smoothly, the applicator works but you do have to go and blend it out to make it a little bit more of a wearable look (specifically with a stark color combination such as the Smokey look I chose).

Retailer Review: All Cosmetics Wholesale (ACW.com)

Order from http://allcosmeticswholesale.com/

UPDATE 7/21/2014

Since this is a very popular post on my blog, I felt obligated to tell you guys new information I have discovered. On various forums I have read complaints that numerous consumers have received fake cosmetics from the ACW website. Now I don't know if this is true but I encourage everyone to double check their batch numbers received (this is a code that must be printed on all cosmetics either via a label or stamp) by using this website: http://checkcosmetic.net/. Your safety is more important than any deal, even if you got something on massive discount, if it was not manufactured and stamped/labeled properly then it is a liability and unsafe to use. Cosmetics expire, if you use them past their expiry date they can have adverse effects on your skin and eyes.

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ORIGINAL POST 2/26/2014

About a month or so ago I placed an order with All Cosmetics Wholesale (or http://allcosmeticswholesale.com/) and the order total was $23. The breakdown is that all of these products were on discount for a total of $15 but then shipping was a whopping $7 and the rest was taxes. I also used the coupon code SALE30 for 30% off all sale items.

I had some issues with my order because the United States Postal Service did not forward it to my new address and it got re-sent to ACW. Unfortunately, since they're an online-only company they have strict policies and no customer support help line. So my only other option was to pay the shipping fee AGAIN (which this time ended up being $7.50 EXTRA) or to pay a re-stocking fee to get *some* of my money refunded. Long story short, my whole order was definitely over $30 with having to pay shipping twice. The customer service was kind of a nightmare.

That being said, I went to this website because I wanted to get the limited edition, discontinued Maybelline Color Tattoos from Summer 2013 (I got Lavish Lavender and Seashore Frosts) and this was the only place I found them at a reasonable cost (I believe they were $3.49 each). These showed up sealed and they were creamy and in perfect condition - they did not look tampered with at all.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Seashore Frosts and Lavish Lavender

 I also purchased the Pixi Energy Blush in Pretty Petal #1 - this showed up without the brush it's supposed to arrive with in the pull out drawer underneath and it also wasn't sealed. It did not appear swatched but on the bottom it is clearly labelled to be a tester (so if you're buying from this website to give items as presents, beware that items are not listed as testers on the website but what you are receiving may actually be a tester). I was disappointed with how powdery and cakey this product from Pixi was and I was sure glad I didn't pay more than a dollar or two for this - it really can only be used as a highlighter as it is very poorly pigmented (the swatches on my hand were about a dozen passes through). This is a discontinued item.

Pixi Energy Blush in Pretty Petal #1

 I've never really given L'Oreal products a try since I was never drawn to them but I decided to give them a shot by purchasing this L'Oreal Blush Delice All Over Glow Illuminateur in Shimmer of Hope. I really liked the color payoff on this quad and it can be used as a blush, contour and highlight so it really is an all-in-one product. This product has been discontinued for at least a couple of seasons and is not part of their regular product line.

I also purchased this  L'Oreal Illuminating Blush in Luminous Peach and this is definitely not the softest or most buttery product. These colors are nice and easy to work with, especially on a lighter complexion but they do require some building up and some warming up with your brush.  I think this one had much worse color payoff than the Shimmer of Hope quad. Similarly, it is also discontinued.

The Stila Eye Shadow Duo in Fandango was on sale for $0.99 and 30% off so this was a great deal. It's the real product and it came packaged well. The color payoff is what you would expect from Stila and I have others of these so I can definitely confirm these were legitimate but again, they are a discontinued product that you can no longer find on Stila's website.

Stila Eye Shadow Duo in Fandango

If you're looking for powder products and you live in the US, I would give this website a shot but I would never spend a large sum of money here. I can guarantee that the items *I received* were authentic but I assume they get their products from eBay lots and wherever else they may find them on extreme sale. I have more courage purchasing items from eBay as, if something goes wrong with your order, you can always get your money back, but I have found that other websites do not have this star quality customer service. You should also expect that these items will most likely be testers and all will probably be discontinued. It's a good way to try out products you wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on, but I really do think the shipping costs were excessive, even though it arrived in 2 days and was well packed.

 

The Foundations of Foundation: The Basics of a Healthy-looking face

Want to know how to make your complexion perfect? Let's delve into the world of foundation to even out your skin-tone and cover up any blemishes or unevenness that we all suffer from. Nobody is blessed with absolutely flawless skin, so don't feel bad about having to use one product or another to enhance your appearance because most women, and many men, do.

Remember when testing products out on your skin, do not apply them to the back of your hand because the skin there is a different saturation level altogether than the skin on your face, so look in a mirror and apply the tester-color to your neck. This is also a good way to see if your skin will have any allergic reaction to the product since the skin on your neck is very sensitive. A great makeup application is one that looks as natural as your own skin, so when looking for your ideal foundation or concealer, purchase something that best resembles your own skin.

When it comes to price-point, I'm not one to encourage the purchasing of expensive foundation products because, let's face it, they all contain harmful chemicals in similar amounts. So, if you're going to burn through a lot of product, you should opt for the drugstore brands rather than the expensive designer stuff. I personally have been very satisfied with the performance of L'Oreal's liquid foundation in the 'Visible Lift' and 'Infallible' line, as well as Maybelline's 'Match Perfection'. The positive note about these drugstore brands is that they are also at least SPF 15 so you get that little bit of protection that your skin needs from the sun's harmful rays (yes, even in the winter). If you have a choice of which kind of bottle to buy your liquid foundation in, go for the one with a handy pump because it keeps bacteria out of your product and is the most hygienic of the bunch. 

If you're looking for a bit of a sun-kissed look, then opt for a foundation that has a little bit of a tint or go a shade darker than your skin naturally is. Always apply your foundation with either a sponge (which you should replace weekly at the latest) or a foundation brush (which should be washed regularly). All foundation brushes have the same bristle shape because it is ideal for applying your foundation to your skin. You will want a synthetic brush so the bristles do not get ruined from oil-based foundations and they are also easier to clean because the product will not penetrate the bristles, it will stay on top of them. If the brush does not absorb your product, you will also be using less product overall, thus creating less waste.

Coverage

There are various finishes and types of coverage when it comes to foundation products. Usually the terms refer to the opacity of the product, or basically how much it will cover up your own skin. Sheer coverage is very transparent and will not hide your pimples and problem-areas but it will do a fairly decent job of evening out your skin-tone if that is all you're looking for (though, I would say that most of us need more coverage). Light coverage is basically the same except that it will cover very small colored-spots on your skin, such as freckles. Medium coverage is higher up on the scale and can cover blotchiness, discolorations, freckles, and some scarring (something that falls into this category would be a tinted moisturizer). Full coverage foundation, the kind most people probably are using at the moment, is very opaque and will cover anything you need it to camouflage. It is important that when you apply full coverage foundation, you do so very carefully, making sure to use a brush or sponge to blend the color all the way up into your hairline and under your chin, down to your neck. Otherwise, others will be able to see a visible difference in color and consistency between your skin and the foundation (even if you've chosen the perfect shade for you).

Choosing a shade

Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what skin-tone we are, because much of it depends on which light we're looking at ourselves under. It is also important to realize that it is a complete misconception which says fair skin is cool-toned and dark skin is equivalent to warm-tones. This is not always the case as you will come to realize. Your shade can either be cool or warm, and within each of those categories there are sub-categories of light, medium, and dark. 

Cool-toned light and medium skin has a pinkish cast and the inner wrist of the person contains more blue than dark veins. These individuals are highly likely to burn in the sun very easily. The darker shades in the cool-tone range have a blueish cast to their skin, have more blue than green veins, and can also burn easily. Warm-toned skin that falls in the range of fair to medium has a greenish cast and these people have more green veins than blue veins on their inner wrist (the exact opposite of those with cool-shade skin). This group is more likely to tan in the sun rather than burn easily. Dark warm-toned skin has a chocolate tone and shares all the same qualities with their fairer skinned group. 

Make sure you know which category your skin fits into when you are purchasing your cosmetics. If you see 'NC' or 'NW' on cosmetic-codes (MAC uses these codes religiously in their concealers and foundations) know that it refers to 'neutral cool' and 'neutral warm' skin tones. You should stick to the one which best represents your skin tone for a flawless match. Some people can fall right in between, and in this case either of the shades will work for you.

Types of foundation

The types of foundation are classified according to their chemical base. Oil-based foundation is probably the oldest of the bunch, it has been around for a very long time, and the base is usually a waxy consistency or similar to petroleum. It provides the most coverage of all but easily smears and is really not practical to be using on a daily basis. 

Alcohol-based foundation is a specialty product because it is made for people with problem-skin. It reduces the chance for the makeup to clog your pores, it is a difficult application using cotton pads and usually has 'pore minimizer' in the name, providing only very sheer coverage. 

Powder or talc-based foundations are usually brushed on from a compact and they are 'stickier' than their loose-powder counterparts. Powder foundation is often used on top of other kinds of foundation for a fuller more-polished finish. One must be careful though, when applying this type of makeup, because it can look cakey and will probably need re-touching in warmer weather. 

Mineral foundation is slightly different because it tends not to use talc as a base, being more 'healthy' for you in general. The coverage of these solutions is medium at best because they are in loose powder format and do not have so many skin adhesives or chemicals, they are mostly made out of minerals mined from the earth. They usually give a nice shiny appearance which gives the illusion of healthy, dewy skin. 

Finally last but not least, my favorite all time foundation, water-based products! This is probably the most popular of the bunch and is a creamy liquid that can give you medium to full coverage, depending on your application (if you use it lightly, you will cover some of your problems, but if you use it heavily, you will cover everything up). I suggest using this product with a brush as it blends out much more successfully than with a sponge (definitely do not use your hands to apply this). 

Z Palette: to buy or not to buy?

I wrote last week that I had ordered my very first Z palette to house all of my old depotted eyeshadows from various brands that don't fit into a regular-sized palette (which usually holds 16mm eyeshadows). So I decided to embark on this little journey to make my own customized palette of random blushes and eyeshadows that I had laying around. When you are finished, your collection will look like this (but less beat-up than mine because some of my products are really used up and abused):

What you'll need for this project:

• depotted eyeshadows/blushes (if you don't know how to do this, check back to my depotting entry where I tell you how to)
• labels
• adhesive magnets (from an art store or department store)
• scissors
• Z palette or any magnetic palette that's empty and fits any size pans
• rubbing alcohol
• scrubbing sponge

Firstly, you will want to dab a scrubbing sponge into rubbing alcohol and make sure you take the excess glue off of the back of your depotted eyeshadow pan. This will make the whole process a lot less messy and keep your palette looking clean. Take your depotted eyeshadows/blushes and cut a label to write the name of the product, the company that made it and the color for your reference. Unstick the adhesive peel from the magnet and place it on the back of your eyeshadow so that you have reference if you run out of a certain color you love and need to go back and get some more. If you really don't care what the color or product is then just skip this step.

Tools you will need

Then you can cut out a magnet that measures the size of your pan, so place the pan on top of the adhesive magnet and stick it on. Cut around the pan with your scissors or an exacto knife so that you have a perfectly sized magnet. This magnet goes on top of the label to make sure your eyeshadow is securely in the pan. Some pans are magnetized and do not need to have magnets placed on their backs. It is easy to remove the magnetic adhesive strip by hand so if you need name-reference, you can simply do that and re-apply it. If you choose to put your label on the outermost side and sandwich the magnet between the label and the pan, you may not have as good of a grip and your shadows may move.

You can make a separate little paper sheet insert that you can stick to the window of the palette that acts as a guide to your colors. I chose not to do this because I don't use these colors extremely often and will certainly not re-purchase these brands when I can get my hands on MAC and Urban Decay shadows. I have NYX, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Trish McEvoy, and Clinique products in my Z palette. Most of my stuff is from random gifts with purchases and drug-store buys when I was first starting out with makeup.

My first Z palette!

The last step is simply organizing your pans and popping them in the Z palette however you'd like! I like the concept of the Z palette because you can see everything you have inside, but the problem is that I thought they would be bigger. It turns out the Z palette PRO ($28) and the Z palette regular ($20) palettes only differ by half an inch in width and a very minuscule amount in depth. The depth is important to me so I opted for the PRO palette because I'm putting blushes and mineralized shadows in my next one. But if you're only going to put small eyeshadows, I suggest going for the regular one, as it is $8 cheaper. You can purchase them on Amazon, which is what I did and they arrive in approximately 3 business days. I like the fact that I can now stack all of my eyeshadows and blushes with my other palettes rather than investing in tons of those little Rubbermaid drawers to put them in. When you put things away like this, you risk not seeing all your products for long periods of time and purchasing items even though you already have some at home (but you don't remember because you haven't seen them in awhile). I don't like rifling through my single eyeshadows for a particular color I'm looking for, so this is going to make my morning makeup routine a lot simpler. I suggest buying these if you're a big fan of makeup and have an enormous collection like I do. I'm thrilled with the way I can see all of my colors so I know what to reach for! I give them a 9/10, only because I want more and I think they can be even bigger to fit larger products!