Drugstore Makeup: May Review!

Hello everyone!

Last week I did a review of Stitch Fix that I received some great feedback on so thank you to those who read it! One of my favorite things to do on this blog is to do reviews of products or services that many of you have contemplated using, or might find useful. That being said, with the strange amount of free time I have had in the past week, (honestly, it’s freaking me out..) I decided to get on Youtube and watch some makeup tutorials. Believe it or not, this is something I don’t do very often. Especially in the past couple of months, being so busy, I have somewhat fallen into a rut when it comes to beauty and makeup. Not to say I’m wondering around in stained sweat pants and no makeup (okay, maybe I am) but I have definitely had beauty on the brain much less these days… and my makeup bag can tell.

What started as a few short videos, turned into hours of research. I began to think to myself, “Oh gosh, this is gonna cost me a fortune.” It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Jaclyn Hill’s video “My All Time Favorite Drugstore Makeup Products”, link found here, that I started feeling my bank account breathe a sigh of relief. After watching the video I did what any sane girl would do, I went out and bought almost every product on her list at my local CVS Pharmacy (and a few additional items I impulse bought).

The items I bought include:

• Elf brushes: Angled Blush Brush & Flawless Concealer
• Milani: Bronzer in 01 shade, Baked Blush in shade Luminoso, and lipliner in shade Pretty Pink
• NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in shade Tokyo
• Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer in fair
• Loreal: Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush and Carbon Black mascara

All of these items, except for the elf brushes and Milani bronzer & lip liner, were recommended by Jaclyn and raved about. Here is how it all went down when I tried them:

Face:

After applying my Bobbi Brown foundation- my ride or die beauty brand,  I used the Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer under my eyes, the bridge of my nose, and a little on my chin using my Elf Flawless Concealer brush. For the longest time now I have been Bobbi Brown’s Tinted Eye Brightener  and loving it. This Maybelline concealer was honestly a very comparable product. It wasn’t too thick or heavy and provided a nice coverage. The Elf concealer brush was perfect in applying it. I felt that it blended nicer than my Bobbi Brown concealer brush – which is saying a lot. 

Next, it was time for bronzer. Using Elf’s Angled Blush Brush, I applied the Milani Bronzer in the same area I would for a contour, underneath the cheek bones. After my first swipe I was slightly shocked… it was very dark! Maybe i’m just super pale, or maybe this stuff is super pigmented. I got the lightest shade that Milani has to offer and I still felt it was too orange-y for my skin. You win some, you lose some.

To hopefully lighten back up my face after the bronzer, I applied the Baked Blush in shade Luminoso to my cheek bones. For this I used a previous blush brush I already owned and dove right in only to realize this is super messy. This isn’t your typical compacted blush that requires several swipes of your brush to fill the bristles, this stuff works – and works immediately. You can thank myself, and my bathroom, for finding this out for you the hard way ;) That being said, it is a very pretty color and has coral undertones that are great for spring and summer.

Eyes:

When it comes to the eyes, I very rarely use eyeshadow and tend to stick to neutrals when I do. After opening the Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush and looking at it, something told me to use my finger for this shadow instead of a brush. This turned out to be the best idea ever because it has an amazing creamy feel to it. The pigment is also out of this world, with a little bit going a long way. The only downside I have for this is the color – which appeared a little orange-y on my eyelids. Once again, pale people probs.

Next, I used the Carbon Black mascara on my lashes.. and fell in love with it. I’m not talking flowers and beautiful weather love, I’m talking love at first sight kind of love. Not only did it make my lashes look freakishly long, but also didn’t clump into spider legs or dry and speckle under my eyes later on in the day. Thank you Jaclyn for introducing me to my new favorite mascara.

Lips:

For the grand finale, lips, I started with the lipliner in shade Pretty Pink followed by Soft Matte Lip Cream in shade Tokyo. The lipliner went on very smooth and the color of this says it all, it was very pretty. For the first time in my life I over-lined my lips just slightly because ya know, when in Rome. Next, I applied the lip cream and marveled in the color because it is so pretty you guys. I tend to stick to mattes when I pick lip colors because having long hair makes glosses a nightmare. This lip cream applied like a gloss but dried like a matte, which I think is fabulous.

So after my fun drugstore makeover, would I recommend these products?

• Elf Angled Blush Brush : GET
• Elf Flawless Concealer Brush : GET
• Milani: Bronzer in 01 shade: PASS
• Baked Blush in shade Luminoso: GET (but be careful, because it is messy)
• Lipliner in shade Pretty Pink: GET
• NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in shade Tokyo: GET
• Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer in fair: GET
• Loreal: Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush: GET (but pick up a more fair color if you are pale like me)
• Carbon Black mascara: GET

Here I am wearing all of the products together:

If you have tried any of these products, or have recommendations for other drugstore products you want me to try or review, leave me a comment below and I will check them out!

 

My First Stitch Fix Review: {May}

Hello everyone!

To say the last year has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. Between work and school and life in general there has been a common theme: I am very busy! If you are anything like me, no matter how busy you are, you still want to look and feel good – even when a shopping trip is only a 20 minute getaway to Target.

Another personality trait I seem to have? I actually start to stress out if I feel that I can’t keep up with trends or my closet needs a little sprucing up (this is a terrible reason to stress – I know). The good news is that I think I have found a solution to all of this: Stitch Fix. First and foremost, this is not an ad or anything like that but instead my experience with this creative online service and my opinions on whether or not you should give it a shot too.

One night I found myself on Stitch Fix’s website filling out a style profile (just for kicks and giggles). Fifteen minutes later, I had signed up for my first “stitch” to arrive a few weeks later and I had agreed to pay the $20 stylist fee. The great thing about the 20 dollars is that should you decide to keep any of the items in your package, that money goes towards your purchase. Another selling point: any items you don’t want to keep, you return them for free using a pre-paid package within the box. The items you return, you aren’t charged for!

Eventually, the day had come for me to open my first package! I have to admit, it was a little like Christmas morning – knowing I had 5 new items to open and hoping they were fabulous. I personally had requested not to receive shoes or jewelry in this first shipment because I really wanted to get a feel for what the clothes were like. However, shoes, jewelry, and purses can be included in the 5 item limit – just make sure you specify that on your style profile.

Was the anticipation and excitement worth it? Here were the items I received:

*Keep in mind I requested sleeveless tops – it’s hot in Oklahoma y’all. Also, please ignore any smudge marks on the mirror – I didn’t notice it until I uploaded the images*

Outfit Number One:

Collective Concepts Thompson Crew Neck Blouse – $48 and…

Liverpool Mira Skinny Jean – $78

This was the first outfit that caught my eye after opening my package and I could not wait to try it on. The shirt appeared to be good quality and was exactly what I was looking for – lightweight, comfortable, girly. The Liverpool jeggings that came in the package were seriously the softest pants I have ever felt. The waistband was stretchy for an overall flattering fit. The only drawback with the pants was that they were way too long. Seeing as I am pretty short, this is a common problem that I usually fix by rolling them up into capris. However, these were just so long that it would have required having them altered (there were layers of folds near my ankles) – ultimately that was the deal breaker. The shirt though, loving it to this day.

Thompson Crew Neck Blouse: Kept                     Mira Skinny Jean: Returned 

Tops Two & Three:

Loveappella Launy Mixed Material Knit Tank Top – $44 and…

Papermoon Wilfred Scoop Neck Top – $44  

I tried both of these tops on with the jeggings from outfit number one. The first top, the grey colored tank, was incredibly comfortable and flattering. I felt like I could easily dress it up with cute shorts and sandals, or even wear it with yoga pants – it was very versatile. However, it was slightly an awkward length. Not quite a tunic, but too long to be a normal tank length – which I feel was due to my short torso. If it had been a little shorter, I would have kept it. The second top, was navy with little boats on it, and it reminded me a lot of the top from outfit one. Both of them navy, both very similar shapes and textures. I was slightly surprised that they included two tops in my shipment that were so similar. I didn’t keep this top simply because of the price, and I liked the floral one much better.

Launy Mixed Material Knit Tank Top: Returned          Wilfred Scoop Neck Top: Returned

Final Item: 

Urban Expressions Mischa Laser Cut Clutch – $38

 

I immediately liked this when I opened the box. Yellow is one of my favorite colors, especially this time of the year. This clutch had a long, gold chain strap inside that turned this into a cross-body purse… SOLD! The material was soft, and it was spacious as well. It’s pretty easy to see why I kept this beautiful clutch.

Mischa Laser Cut Clutch: Kept 

My Final Thoughts:

All in all, I was satisfied with my Stitch Fix. Although I only kept 2 of the 5 items, I have already signed up to receive another one. Most of my reasons for returning an item were slight sizing issues, mostly in length. However, the more packages you sign up to receive, the more your stylist learns about you and your sizing. Both in the signing up process, and the return process, there is plenty of room to give feedback and share your thoughts. I downloaded the Stitch Fix app to make this process easier. In addition to the feedback you can leave for your stylist, I was able to send them a link to my Pinterest board titled, “My style”. The more you pin, the more the company can learn about your style and the things you would like to see in your next shipment. Overall, I think this is a great company with the right idea and I am looking forward to future packages – as well as reviews.

To sign up for Stitch Fix using my exclusive referral link click on the following link: https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/7864008

If you have any questions, or want to tell me about your experience with Stitch Fix – leave me a comment!

 

Coming Soon…

Hello everyone!

As you can tell, it has been a long time since I have made a new post. But let me give you some life updates: 

I am about to graduate college, I’m a preschool teacher, and I’M ENGAGED!! 

Okay, back to blog stuff. Today I received an email that there was a new comment on my How to Clean Your Converse post. After checking my stats I was shocked at how many people are still reading that post and having success with it, so thank you! What started out as a blogging hobby that I didn’t think anyone would actually read has been shared thousands of times on Pinterest and WordPress. I love y’all! With that being said… I will be coming back to this blog and sharing ideas, recipes, and all sorts of things with you guys. I am ready to see what 2016 has in store. 

For the Fashionistas

Hello from a cold winter day here in Oklahoma! I’m still in disbelief that Christmas is next week! 

I wanted to share with you guys an awesome fashion blog that is made by one of my coworkers, Alyssa. She is always dressed so cute and her blog is equally as fashionable. So check it out! Link is below!

The Pink Coat

Happy Holidays!

Also, check back soon for some furniture remodels that i’m doing this weekend! Can’t wait to show you guys.

Mason Jar Flower Vases

Before I explain how to make these beauties, let me just say that this was one of the easiest crafts I have ever made… and the cutest.

I saw inspiration last week from Pinterest and decided that I had to make these for my new room.

Materials Needed: 

• Regular sized Mason Jars (however many you want)
• Acrylic Paint – I used the brand Americana in shade Spa Blue, from Hobby Lobby
• Paint brush
• Flowers of your choice
• Nail file or sandpaper

Take the lids off of the Mason Jars and begin to apply paint. Make sure that the jars are clean, especially if you are using previously used ones. I used two coats of paint on my jars.

Let the jars dry for at least 3 hours.

Did I mention, I love this color?!

After you have the jars painted you want to take a nail file or small piece of sandpaper and gently rub over the letters on the jars for a distressed look. Depending on how distressed you want it to look, you can also file down other areas, like I did.

and voila!