sunset on the water

All eyeshadows are Coastal Scents Hot Pots, LA Colors liquid liner, Wet n' Wild Coverall foundation, e.l.f. Golden Bronzer, and e.l.f Moisturizing Lipstick in Rosey Go Round.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and filmed myself playing with makeup. This is what came out of it. It reminds me of a sunset on the water and I had a lot of fun. All the products that I used came to a total of $26.50! So that's an extra plus. I'm really loving all of the Hot Pot eyeshadows that I bought from Coastal Scents. I snagged a few during their Cyber Monday sale for 99 cents. What a bargain for some pretty decent eyeshadows.
You can watch me create this look here:

may favorites

Hi guys! I promise I'll be back next week with a new outfit post. It's been 55 degrees with a steady downpour ALL WEEK. Not the kind of weather to dress up for. I've been in hibernation mode with sweaters, boyfriend jeans, and leggings.

Until the sun shows its beautiful face again, check out my new video. I talk about all my beauty, fashion and random other favorites from May.
I hope you're having a lovely week. Happy Friday!

BA STAR Smoky Eyeshadow Palette

BA STAR is a cosmetics company that makes makeup for cheerleading, dance, and everyday occasions.
They were super-generous to send me their Natural Shadow Palette. It's comprised of 3 super-versatile mineral eyeshadows and 2 fun glitter gels.
Check out the swatches and the look I put together below.


From top to bottom: Nude, Bronze, Cocoa, Gold glitter, Crystal glitter.






I blended all three colors and used the gold glitter gel on my lash line. The mineral shadows are extremely creamy and feel so nice when you apply them. They are very pigmented and shimmery, which I love. It lasted all day (including running to the car in the rain) without budging. At $8.75 I definitely would purchase this palette in different colors. That's a steal for eyeshadows of this quality. I would say the quality is comparable to Urban Decay's shimmery eyeshadows.

I like the idea of the glitter gel because loose glitter is so hard to get where you want. The gel made the application precise. The only issue I had was after a few hours the gel dried out and the glitter migrated. I don't mind because I don't wear glitter a lot. The palette is worth it just for the shadows.

Overall, I love this palette. The three very wearable shades are very high-quality and the glitter gels are fun. You can shop BA STAR smoky eyeshadow palettes HERE.
Use the code BBSMOKY to get 50% OFF!
Talk about a bargain!

dollar tree beauty finds: elf eyelid primer

When I spotted this ELF eyelid primer at a Dollar Tree, I knew I had to try it. This particular product is a dollar everywhere it's sold, so it's an extremely good deal.
I didn't really know what to expect because I'm not too familiar with primers (I normally use a cover stick to prime my lids).
I love it.
As you can see by the swatch on my hand, it's translucent. It comes with a handy wand, which I use to dab the product on. I then blend it in with my fingers. It's not too greasy or too thick.
It honestly creates the perfect canvas for eyeshadow. It makes all bright eyeshadows more vibrant. The sea foam color I'm wearing in the photos normally takes a ton of effort to get a color payoff. When I tried it with the primer, it took way less product and looked brighter.
The primer also makes the eyeshadow last all day. I'm talking about through naps, dinners out, and until 3 am.

If you wear a lot of eyeshadow this product is perfect for you. Especially because it's only a dollar; most good primers cost $20 and up.

I hope this helps and I hope your week is going well. I'm leaving for vacation on Thursday and couldn't be happier to leave the snow behind!

dollar tree beauty finds: almay one coat dial up mascara

Before mascara:


After:

(I did not alter this image in any way except to take a nasty red vein out of my eye)

I'm am a mascara junkie. I am seriously willing to try any kind I can get my hands on. So when I saw a million packets of this Almay mascara for $1 I immediately bought it.
I was a little skeptical at first with the kind of clunky packaging, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Let me first start off by talking about the dial. It's a pretty genius concept. You can turn the little dial from 1 to 3 based on how dramatic you want your mascara to look. It tightens the opening inside so more (or less) comes off on the brush.
I keep mine at 3 because I like crazy lashes.

This is honestly one of the best mascaras I've ever used. It makes my eyelashes crazy long and doesn't clump. It stays on a crazy long time (even through naps!). It's also really good for sensitive eyes - I recommended it to my mom (mascara always burns her eyes) and she loves it!

The only drawback would be that it's not waterproof. Personally, I don't like waterproof so that's not a problem for me, although it might be for some.

Overall, if you see this product for a buck, BUY IT. It's a great mascara.
(I was NOT paid by Almay to write this.)

Have a great weekend!

winter white

Every time I feel tired of my everyday makeup routine I reach for some white eyeliner. Unfortunately,  for a long time I couldn't find an affordable one that would stay on longer than 5 minutes. Last weekend I finally found a great one - NYX Retractable Eyeliner! It's 4 bucks, which isn't ridiculously cheap, but not expensive either. I'm going to go get more colors as soon as I can get out to Ulta (Brian is so wonderful and puts up with hours of roaming around that store; it's an addiction).
If you're looking for an affordable eyeliner with great staying power, definitely go for it!

PS - I know some of my posts truly sound sponsored, but I just like raving about great products.

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

dollar tree beauty finds: elf eyeliner pen

I know that this ELF eyeliner is a dollar everywhere but before our area carried ELF products, the only place to find it was Dollar Tree. I tried my very first ELF cosmetic items when I bought some on a whim - ever since then I've been hooked.

Let me tell you a little secret: this eyeliner pen is not waterproof like it says. Other than that, there really isn't anything disappointing about this product. If you're looking for an easy way to get the liquid eyeliner look, this is perfect for you. It glides on easy, is very pigmented, and has incredible staying power. It almost feels like you're drawing with a Sharpie.

Whether you're a liquid pro or looking to try out cat eyes for the first time, it's a great gem for $1!

dollar tree beauty finds: maybelline great wear lip color

Being a beauty addict can be very expensive. Every girl (or boy) who is one can tell you that. The goal of this new segment on my blog is to help you save a couple bucks, but still get great products. That way you can take those dollars you saved and buy something you really need, like shoes (oh wait, that's just me).

When I was a little girl, my mom used to take me to this magical store called Dollar Tree. She would buy me little statues of ballerinas or tiny boxes to store my vending machine jewelry (she got me hooked on knick-knacks early). Even into my teens, a trip to Dollar Tree was something to look forward to. Now that I'm adult (or rather pretending to be an adult), I still love to find hidden gems there. Experimenting with products is easy, because it only costs a buck and if you hate it, it's not like you spent a fortune. I've found a lot of my regular beauty products there and I'm proud to say it. This week I'll start off with my recent beauty jackpot.

Even though I own way more lipsticks than I should, I'm pretty particular about them. I like high-end lipsticks and cheap ones. I won't settle on a cheap one if it doesn't perform like a high-end lippie. That being said, when I saw these Maybelline Great Wear lipsticks hanging in the cosmetic aisle, I had to try one out. Turns out I like it so much I went and got three more shades.

(From left to right): Garnet, Autumn, Berry, and Cocktail Orange.

Please excuse my poor application. Don't ever try to put on lipstick with shaky coffee hands!

Maybelline Great Wear in Garnet


Maybelline Great Wear in Autumn


Maybelline Great Wear in Berry


Maybelline Great Wear in Cocktail Orange

I'll admit, I wasn't expecting anything spectacular. Maybelline is not one of my favorite drugstore brands and I never have been wowed by any of their products. To my surprise, these lipsticks weren't bad at all (maybe my low expectations paid off). They have an incredibly matte finish, which I didn't expect. I would say they are as matte as Mac's Ruby Woo (the most matte lipstick I can find). Even though they are so matte, they feel great on the lips. After awhile they do start to dry out, so carry some lip balm! They're staying power is great, which I know some women view as a necessity when it comes to their lipsticks. Berry will be a great everyday shade come Spring, and Cocktail Orange will be fun for the summer.
What I don't like is the shade variation. All the colors are very similar - Autumn and Garnet are almost identical. I probably won't get much use out of one of them. Also, if you have dry lips (like me) you will need to prep your lips with a balm. Matte lipsticks are known for showing dry patches and for drying out your lips in general and these are no exception.

Overall, a tad drying and not a wide shade selection would not stop me from repurchasing at a mere dollar. I would probably go back to choose between Autumn or Garnet.
I hope this helps you score some awesome and super-cheap lipstick at your local dollar store!

amateur

If you didn't already know, I am a beauty enthusiast. I love trying new things with my make-up and dabbling in new looks. I am still very much an amateur and my skills are just getting started. On Saturday I tried a look very loosely based on THIS tutorial from one of my favorite beauty blogs.

One of the reasons this didn't come out too well was because her eye is shaped so much differently than mine. She has a lot more lid to work with than I do (lucky). I also decided to not put any eyeliner in my waterline. It was hot and I didn't feel like having runny eyes.

Overall, it was something fun to try.

Products I used:

Eyes:

• L'oreal Wear Infinite eye shadow quad in Blazen
• NYC liquid eye liner in black
• Mary Kay Ultimate mascara in black

Face:

• Mary Kay Luminous Wear foundation in Ivory 4
• Mary Kay Mineral Foundation loose powder
• Go* Blusher

Lips:

• L'oreal Color Riche lipstick (blotted) in Chocolate Spice

I can't believe this week is half over already, I hope you're having a great one.

everyday makeup

(Warning: I make awkward faces when I take direct photos of myself. I apologize in advance).

I wanted to share my everyday makeup look with you all because this is what I normally wear (when I'm not wearing sunglasses) on the blog.

I even took a before photo of me with no makeup on, but after I uploaded it I decided against it. It's truly frightening and you can inference how I would look (bags under the eyes, an abundance of freckles and uneven skin, and lots of blemishes).

I start off by using liquid foundation sparingly under my eyes, on my nose and over my blemishes. Then, I set it with a powder. I find it keeps my foundation intact for the day.

I like to keep my eyes neutral to keep it simple so I can experiment with my lips (today I just wore lip balm). I do love wearing crazy eye shadow, but I don't on a day to day basis.

I prime my eyes for the shadow with those cheap foundation sticks you can buy for a dollar. It works so well and much better than any other $20 primer I've tried!

For eyeshadow 90% of the time I use my wonderful eye quad that consists of this sandy and bronze color that I wore today (it also has two bright oranges). It's really pigmented; I love that.

I love eyeliner, and love wearing gratuitous amounts of it. If you're ever looking for a great eyeliner Styli-Style is hands down the best. I have tried so many so many different kinds, and this is the only one that's still there at the end of the day.

Then I just add lots of mascara some matte bronzer or blush and I'm pretty much finished (except for whatever obscenely bright lipstick I choose that day).

A side note about my eyebrows: they're thick and I like them that way. Too many people have told me throughout my life to pluck them more, on the top, or get a wax. NO! I WILL NOT!

Products used:

• Mary Kay luminous wear liquid foundation in ivory 4.
• Covergirl True Match compact powder in classic ivory.
• Wet n' Wild coverall stick (as an eyeshadow primer).
• L'oreal Infinite eye shadow quad. I don't know the color names, sorry!
• Styli-Style Line & Seal semi permanent eye liner in black.
• Mary Kay Ultimate mascara in black.
• Physicians Formula matte bronzer.
• Burt's Bees lip balm in honey.

I hope you're all having a great start to your week!