March Favorites & Disappontments

Hello lovies!

I only have one disappointing product from March, so that's good! Not all of these are new, but I've rekindled my love for them. So let's get to it, shall we?

Favorites:

1) Ocean Salt Face/Body Scrub - I got this Lush product a couple months ago, and I just love it. It smells SO GOOD! When you first get it, you have to stir it all together because the salt is on the top, and I was so scared to stir it together because I thought the bottom half wouldn't smell as good - but it does, all is good! It's a little harsh on my skin, so I only use it twice a week, and that's all I need. - $21.95

2) Hope in a Jar moisturizer - First of all, I apologize because it's torn and not pretty - but it is a sample, and that's a big problem with sample packaging. This moisturizer is SO good! I have combination skin, so I don't have to use very much of it for it to do the job. It smells a little.. weird. Not necessarily bad, just an odd smell. It smells kind of like a spray tan or hair bleach, but luckily it's not a scent that's strong enough to stay for a while. It's been a few weeks since I ran out of the sample, and if it wasn't so expensive, I would've already gotten the 2 oz! - $40.00

3) Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! - I would have never thought of trying this mascara if I hadn't gotten it as a sample along with an eyelash curler (mentioned in this haul) because the sample is always so hard to open in Ulta. But I'm very glad I got to try it because it's a very good mascara! It says it's "clinically-proven to increase lash volume by 424% and lash curl by 90.2%." If it did that, I wouldn't be able to open my eyes and I'd have to hold my lashes up with my hands. It'd be like having bangs in your face but your eyelashes instead, like "Oh, hold on, let me lift my lashes out of the way." But despite the exaggerated promises, it's a very good mascara, and with different packaging, I would definitely buy it! - $19.00

4) Naked Basics palette - I've had this since it came out and never really used it. I used Venus a few times, but that was about it. But I used it almost every time I put on makeup last month. I got to experiment with it, and ended up using it a lot more than I thought I would. - $27.00

5) Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express - I did a review on this early last month (which you can see here), with much better pictures. You can see what the wand looks like, and what it did for my lashes as well. - $7.99

6) MAC Powder Blush in Springsheen - This color is absolutely gorgeous. I was looking for something similar to Nars' Deep Throat, and it is close, it just has more of a shimmer to it. Springsheen is a lovely peachy-coral color with a fair amount of gold shimmer, and it is absolutely gorgeous on. I'd say it's closer to Nars' Orgasm rather than Deep Throat, they are quite similar in color, just not in shimmer. Although I do love this MAC blush, I will be picking up Nars' Deep Throat next time I stop by Sephora. 'Cause a girl can't have too many blushers, right? - $21.00

7) MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner in Desires & Devices - I came across this at the most perfect time possible! I was looking for an eyeliner similar to the Urban Decay eyeshadow color Darkhorse (brown with dark green undertone), and I found Desires & Devices which is even better! It's dark green with a brown undertone and kind of a shimmer to it, and I have hazel eyes that are basically brown because its really hard to bring the green out, and this makes the green in my eyes show a bit more! - $19.50

8) Stila Lip Glaze in Guava - I bought this last year when I had dyed my hair red, because stupid me decided to make a huge commitment to dye my hair red and didn't have any lip colors that wouldn't clash with my hair! So I went to Ulta and asked one of the girls there what would look best with my hair color, and she came up with this and an Urban Decay color. I found it hidden away in my armoire a few weeks ago, and I haven't stopped using it since. And let me just say: This. Smells. So. Good! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Stila's lip glazes are all supposed to smell and taste like the name? If so, I'm going to be buying so many more of these, despite the fact that I hate the applicator. - $22.00

9) Essie's Sand Tropez - This is a gorgeous nude that is absolutely perfect for spring! I love tan and black together, so sometimes I'll put black stripes over them, and it's really cute. I was kind of worried about what it would look like on me, because I'm quite pale, but it actually doesn't look bad at all! - $8.00

Disappointments:

I'm lucky enough to only have one product that I was completely disappointed with this month and that is Revlon Photo Ready 3D Volume. I'm not putting a link to this one for obvious reasons. But I did a review on this last month, which you can read here, and the only good thing about it was how black it was. To this day it is the blackest black out of all the Blackest Blacks I've tried. And that's it. - $8.99

xx

I realized about half-way through this post that I didn't do any swatches, so if you guys would like them, just tell me in a comment below, and I'll do some swatches and add them to this post sometime this weekend.

xx

Review: Chanel Velvet Top Coat

Chanel velvet top coat - discontinued

This is my absolute favorite nail polish! It was a Christmas present, and I love it so much. It's no longer available because it was limited edition, so I try to be frugal with it..

But let's be honest - it's not happening.

I use it over every. single. color.

I might cry the day I run out. Or the day I've used it so much to where it starts getting thick and sticky - IT HAPPENS!

This isn't even a review. It's more of a "If I could marry this, I would" post.

Okay, but being serious now. It is a clear top coat (I thought it was a black top coat until I opened it), and it just makes your nails feel really smooth and soft - like velvet!

 I don't usually use it over a black, I tend to wear more pastel colors and it looks really good over those. Sometimes I'll put a thin glitter top coat over them and then put the Chanel top coat over that and that gives it a really cools effect, because you can still see the shininess of the glitter, but the nail is still completely matte!

But I am completely dreading the day that it's gone, and hoping more brands will have their own velvet top coat by then.

xx

Do you know any other brands that make a velvet top coat? Also, what is your favorite top coat/ effect for nails??

xx

Drugstore Review: Revlon Photo Ready 3D Volume

Hello lovies!

I know I've been doing a lot of drugstore reviews lately, and frequently, and I'm sorry. I need to have a schedule for what I post and when I post it, but I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. I also need to save my disappointing products and just do one big disappointed post, but I get so excited to tell you guys and I just have to post about each product! So this is my second drugstore and mascara review in a row! Enjoy :)

xx

Revlon Photo Ready 3D Volume mascara - $8.99

This product was so disappointing. I bought it because the brush had little spikes at the tip, for easy access to your corner lashes, and those spikes did nothing. Let's just make a list of everything wrong with this product, shall we?

• didn't add length
• didn't add volume
• flakey
• weighs down your lashes
• tip's spikes do nothing for corner lashes
• $10 completely wasted

There was one good thing, though. It was very pigmented. I have it in Blackest Black and it is the blackest "Blackest Black" I own.

So do I recommend it? Not at all.

I'm giving it 1 star.

xx

Have you tried this one? Do you think I should just do a recap of my loves and hates at the end of the month, so that way I can still post the reviews when I want?

xx

Drugstore Review: Rocket Volum' Express

Maybelline New York: The Rocket Volum' Express mascara - $7.99

This is one of the best drug store mascara I've tried in a while. I have it in Blackest Black, and it does a great job for the price. Somedays it will flake and create that annoying ring around your eye, but it doesn't do it often at all! It does clump a bit, but not nearly as much as something like Falsies! I think Maybelline just makes really good mascaras for their prices, the other mascara I use by them is the Great Lash: Lots of Lashes mascara (which is one of my favorite mascaras)!

The wand doesn't look very interesting at all. I don't like a plastic wand as much as a brush-type wand, but it gets the job done, and that's all that really matters! I'm someone who buys a mascara based on whether the wand looks different to any other one I've seen, and I'm thinking I should stop doing that based on the results of this one haha. It's just a fat, rubber wand, but it does give you a lot of height. It doesn't give you any kind of thickness, but the Lots of Lashes does, so I think I'll just use both from now on.

Overall, I think I'd give this mascara 4 stars. It had a lot of pros, but it still had a few cons :/

xx

So, what's your favorite mascara? Have you tried this one? If you have, what'd you think of it? If not, what mascara have you tried recently?

xx

Review: Tangle Teezer

Salon Elite Tangle Teezer hair brush - $16.50

I've been wanting a Tangle Teezer for a few months now, and because they don't sell it around here (I think they do sell it in America, just not around me), I decided to check Amazon and Ebay. I ended up buying it from Ebay earlier this month, because it was cheaper and shipping was free - unlike Amazon.

And let me just say - this brush lives up to the hype! It does leave my hair feeling softer, and I have absolutely no tangles when I brush my hair with it. You can use it on both wet and dry hair, but the only time I use it on wet hair is when I'm blowdrying my hair, otherwise it makes my hair feel really heavy when it dries. Also, it had a lot of static the first few days I used it, so I definitely suggest spraying hairspray on the brush when you first open it!

Another thing: If you have a dog that hates being brushed, I suggest buying them one of these. I have a pomeranian that hates being brushed, which isn't a good thing because they're supposed to be brushed regularly. But I used this brush on her last week because its a gentle brush, and I was curious - And she actually liked it. So I am definitely going to be buying another one for my dog!

There is one downfall, and that's the size. I have really small hands, so it's hard for me to get a good grip on it. But I am going to be buying the Compact Styler soon, so I'll see how they compare in size and get back to you guys!

Overall, I give this product 4 stars! Great brush, but hard to hold :/

xx

Have you tried the Tangle Teezer? Do you like the Compact Styler more than the regular size? Or the other way around?

xx

Products I've Used Up: Redken Thickening Lotion 06

Redken Thickening Lotion 06 - $15.50

I've repurchased this product a few times, so this might be more of a favorite product rather than just an empty bottle, because this is the best "body builder" I've tried!

This product promises to "build extra body and texture to hair for full, fabulous style" and it does just that! I have baby fine hair, so I've tried plenty of other products that promised similar things and they either completely weighed my hair down or didn't do much at all, and I was pleasantly surprised when my hair stylist used this in my hair.

You apply about a quarter-size drop into wet or damp hair and then blow-dry. It says to blow-dry for maximum volume, but I let my hair dry naturally (by accident) one day, and it was clumpy and gross. So no matter what, you need to blow-dry with this product.

Overall, I give this product 5 stars!

xx

Have you ever tried this product? If so, did you like it as much as I did, or have you tried better products? If you haven't tried it, what's your favorite volumizing/thickening product?

xx

Drugstore Review: Revlon Moon Candy

Revlon Moon Candy nail art in 250 "Supernova"

I passed by these in Target and just couldn't leave without buying this one, because it's so hard to find a gray nail polish!

But after I put it on, I was a little disappointed in the color..

It turned out to be darker than what I was expecting (and wanting). I hate it when nail varnishes are a different color in the bottle than they are when dry. And it seems to only be the colors that I get really excited about :(

Also, the concept of a two-in-one nail polish is great, but it was a little harder to use than a regular bottle. When I switch hands, I put the cap back in the bottle, but this product is too top-heavy to do so. And then for some reason, not a lot of the polish stuck to the brush, so I could only paint about half a nail at at time.

But the actual product is fantastic! I've been wearing it for 3 days now, and it still hasn't chipped. So, I will definitely buy Revlon nail varnish again, but I will not be buying Moon Candy again.

So, sadly, I'll have to give Moon Candy 2 1/2 stars.

Review: LUSH Facial Cleanser & Toner

Herbalism facial cleanser & Tea Tree Water

I went into Lush in November, looking specifically for a Fresh Face Mask because I had heard such good things about all of them, and when I went to check out, one of the girls started telling about their cleansers. She asked me what I used on my face at the moment (which was Proactive, but I was looking for something new because I hate going to kiosks), and she took me over to the cleansers and said that Herbalism was "like Earth's Proactive." Which I was skeptical about, but thought it was cheap enough to just try it out later. So i bought it last month, and I am COMPLETELY disappointed! :(

Herbalism facial cleanser

First off, Herbalism smells AWFUL!! Which is so weird, because most of Lush's products smell delightful! When I first opened it, it smelled like those store-bought hummus packets, but I thought maybe that was because I had just opened it and maybe it would smell better the more i opened it. That was not the case. It still smells bad, and I've stopped using it for more reasons than the smell. My skin doesn't feel clean at all after using it, and actually seems more oily! 

Tea Tree Toner Water

I wasn't nearly as disappointed with this as I was the cleanser! There was the same problem, though, where my skin doesn't feel very clean. This tea tree water makes my face feel more fresh rather than completely clean. I would recommend something like witch hazel, instead, because can really feel it working.

So, obviously, I would recommend you to NOT purchase Herbalism. But I don't really have much of an opinion on the Tea Tree Water, because it could easily just be my skin that needs something a bit stronger. I was just so disappointed :(

Overall, I'll give these product... 2 stars? I think thats about fair.

Products I've Used Up: Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

This is the first sea salt spray I've purchased, and I'm quite glad that I did! I was a little on the fence about buying it, because there were mixed reviews, but it was like $8, so I tried it. And I have to say, you get what you pay for. It says you can use it on damp or dry hair, but it doesn't really do anything to dry hair (it just makes it look stringy). I use it on wet/damp hair and then defuse it, and it works perfectly! It's that perfectly messy hair that everyone wants!

Although, there were a few things that I didn't like so much. The description says that it "creates random texture, waves and body." I have very thin hair, and not a lot of it, so when a product says it will give me any amount of body, I expect to see a difference. I saw no difference. And like I said above, it doesn't work on dry hair at all. Lastly, it's not very easy to travel with. If it had a pump instead of nozzle, it would pack much easier. Or if they had a travel size!

But overall, I would definitely recommend this product, because you do get what you pay for. And I would definitely buy again, but I want to try the Bumble&Bumble Surf Spray next (although, it's more than twice the price).

So I'll give this product 3 1/2 stars