May Favorites

 It's that time again! End of the month and that means it's favorites time! As you may or may not know May--ha, get it?-- was a very exciting month for me. My husband came home from Deployment and we had our second anniversary. I was very busy had in-laws that came in and had to get back into the swing of things. I have 6 things this month as my favorites, not too many because I wasn't really dipping into the collection much. The first two are:

First Impression: Soap & Glory 'Clean On Me' body wash.

I stopped into Sephora recently and walked passed the Soap & Glory section to pick up another lotion and saw this; remembered that someone had mentioned that it was a really good moisturizing body wash and so I picked it up. It was only $5 so it wasn't that big of a gamble. This is the 3.4oz size so it's not the full size one, the full size is 16.2oz for $16. 

It's bath time! (Lush!)

Hey Adventurers! I went shopping at lush here and picked up some stuff! Just wanted to show ya'll what I got! 

Target haul!

Hey adventurers! Gotta really quick haul for you and two announcements! One: Next week will be Concealer week! I review all of my concealers for you all. Two: This blog is not going to be only makeup, I'm expanding my horizons to household goods. I've really been wanting to review a few household items but I don't want to start a whole new blog. So I'm just going to add them into this one. On to the goodies!

The past two months of the Ipsy bag.

Hey Adventurers! I've been so out of the 'beauty community' lately and so truthfully I didn't even open the bags until last night. I got the October one about a little over a week ago and September about a month before that. Yeah, I've had a lot going on. Anyways! Here's what I received in the September bag.

So here it is! The September Ipsy bag. The bag itself is a black bag with a handle that's not really a handle, I can't think of the word right now. It's so that you can just take the bag and wrap it on your wrist. It's a material where if you spill something on it, it's just going to run right off, so it's kid proof! hah. It has a gold zipper which accents the black really well.

The contents include:
Circus by Andrea's choice Nail polish in Tightrope- I like the color, but if the formula is anything like the yellow one I received the month before then this line is not for me. The formula flakes right off and yeah, I didn't like the yellow one. Hopefully this one is better.
Mirabella Eyeshadow in 36 Semiformal- It's a nice neutral brown shade with shimmer to it. It's not incredibly pigmented but it has potential. I don't like that it has no case to it, I'm going to have to buy something to put it in so that it doesn't get damaged.
Jane. Sparkle Gloss in Sparkle Pink- It's just like it sounds, sparkly pink lip gloss. It's pigmented when swatched but really sticky, I'll try it out on the lips and we'll see how that goes.
Carol's Daughter Monoi Split end sealer- I was happy that it was something for the hair as I am a giant hair product junkie. It has a pump in the sample that was given and I'm really excited about it. I've never tried any Carol's Daughter products, so that's a plus as well.
London Soho New York Smudge Brush- So happy that they sent us a brush that wasn't their own. I always need new brushes so I'm so happy. The bristles are dense and really soft in the package. I'm going to see how this one holds up.

This is the latest Ipsy bag, the October bag. When I opened this I was really excited about this. It had things from brands I had heard of so I was stoked. The October bag is red white and black-obviously. All of the Ipsy bags though feel cheap, like I wouldn't reuse them for anything other than storing things in. This one included. I don't really like the bag itself.

The October bag included:
Mirenesse Lip Bomb in #9- It's a pale pink lip gloss, and it has that cheap lipstick smell to it. The packaging is super cute in my opinion and I love the packaging and the fact that it's lip bomb and not lip balm. When swatched it's super pigmented but I haven't worn this on the lips.
theBalm What's your type black mascara sample- I've never tried any of theBalm's mascara so this was exciting for me. theBalm products are not that easy to get your hands on. It's a bristle brush and it's a smaller brush than a lot of the brushes on the market right now in my opinion and I'm excited about it.
Couture Colour Pequi Oil treatment- More Hair stuff! It restores softness and shine. I've never heard of Pequi Oil but I guess I'll try it out. I'm not sure though... I'll get to it eventually aha!
Be a bombshell eyeliner in Onyx- It's a pen type eyeliner and it is the biggest pen type eyeliner I have literally ever seen! When swatched it's a nice black line, but it rubbed right off. So I am hoping that It has more potential, cause I like eyeliner, I just can't seem to get it right.
Coastal Scents eyeshadows set 6- It comes with four colors, peach puff, cherry chocolate, nude and white silver. I was very happy to see that these were the four colors that I got, because a lot of the other sets roaming around were not neutrals and very out there shades that I wouldn't get any use out of. But I will get use out of this! They're very nice neutral shades and I'm excited for the looks I can make with this!

Swatched: Tarte 12-hour Amazonian Clay Blush

 Hey adventurers! I picked this blush up a few months ago actually at Sephora when I dropped in there to get something and I just recently discovered it--still in the packaging >.<. It's not a fall color, it's more of a summer color. It's called Tipsy. It's a coral shade that is more orange than anything.

The pigmentation is completely there. Very pigmented blush this was one swipe on the back of my hand. I've heard that these were very pigmented and they are. It got a little splotchy near the end of the swatch as it trailed off.

I haven't got to wear this blush yet as I mentioned I found it in the back of my collection. But I'll bust it out on one of the nice days if I think about it. I'll test it out and write a review of the wear, watch out for that.

Have you tried these? If so, did you like them?

Do you watch YouTube video's?

Check mine out! Give me some feedback, ask for video's, tell me if you like them. Subscribe if you want. Thank you!

http://www.youtube.com/user/AlternativelyAlaina

September beauty wish list!

Hey adventures! Today's my wishlist for the month, I'm trying out this "collage" look, tell me if you like this way or last months way(linked here) On to the list!

1. Diesel Loverdose perfume- I chose this just for the packaging, I haven't ever smelled this perfume I just love the packaging and have heard some raves about it and would love to try it out. Yes, I would smell it to make sure I'd like it first before I purchased it, but I think it would look good in my perfume collection! 

2. Clinique even better dark circle eraser- I have such a bag problem with under eye circles and I want to solve it. The quicker the better, I've heard a lot about clinique products and have a few, but haven't heard much about this. Just the commercials. I just need something that will make my under eye circles disappear rather than concealer which doesn't change anything. 

3. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Toasted- I love this shade. It's my most used shade in the Naked palette as it is my go to one color look, just blend it out on the lid and it looks amazing. I wear it a lot when I'm just going out to chill or just hanging out at home. I love this shade. I'm not sure of the new formula which is another reason I'd like to try it. In case you don't know, Urban Decay just reformulated all of their eyeshadows so it might not necessarily be as good or much better I don't know. But would like to find out!

4. Dolce And Gabana Light blue- I love this fragrance, I've had only the sample size, but I used it up way too quickly. I LOVED it. This is a lot of peoples favorites as well and I would love to own the full size. This perfume is light and airy and perfect for everyday wear.

5. OCC Lip Tar- Do I even have to say why it's on here? I've heard AMAZING things about the OCC lip tars. I'm definitely going to try these out. On downside is that Sephora only carries 1 color on the website.

6. Sephora Blending brush- I need a higher quality blending brush. Nothing too special about it here. It's a 15 dollar brush, which is expensive for me; but I need something higher quality than the MyGlam one.

7. Tarte Lipsticks- Tarte just came out with new lipsticks and I'd love to try them as Lipstick and lip products in general are my absolute favorite things ever. 

Beauty Army!

Why hello there Adventurers! Today's post is another one of my beauty boxes, today's is Beauty Army. This box will run you about $12 to pick 6 beauty samples to be sent to you every month. This month I picked out:

Macadamia Healing oil treatment- So excited about this because of all the hype these products have gotten in the past, and well my naturally curly hair needs some healing.
Kellett Moisturizing gel- I basically picked this because I only wanted to try 3 things in my box and who can have enough moisturizers? hah.
Apothederm stretch mark cream- I don't have too many stretch marks but I do have some on my legs and well, they ain't cute so I want to try this is try to get rid of them. The only problem is, this bottle is pretty much empty. There's not much product in this at all. I don't know if I just got a bad one or what.
LA Fresh Oil free face cleanser- As much as I like my Benefit skincare a new cleanser every now and then can be good so I decided to try this one out.
Fiafini Skincare Divine hydration moisturizer- As good as the name sounds I had to pick it out. And I like trying new moisturizers. I'm currently shopping my stash of mini moisturizers right now to get rid of the little sample sizes that I have and it's been treating me well so far.
Atzen Protective day cream- Also says it's the perfect base for makeup, well I'ma be trying that one out tomorrow.

Those are the six things that I chose to receive this month. For my three months using beauty army I am very happy with it. The choice of samples that I like is lacking for example last month I didn't really like my box because I didn't have too many samples that I liked. But when that happens just skip the month. I get too excited about receiving things in the mail and go overboard and then I'm disappointed. BUT this month I truly love my box and am excited for 5 out of the 6 things!


Do you have a beauty army? Tell me about your samples below!

xoxoAlaina

What's in my makeup bag!

Hello adventurers! Today's post is a very popular video on youtube, and I have actually filmed one myself and that can be found here, but that is old and here's an updated one! I got a new makeup bag as a gift with purchase from benefit if you purchased any of the Ultra Plush lip glosses. As you can see it can hold a lot of stuff. In no particular order:

Victoria's secret mini lipgloss in Innocent( dupe for NARS turkish delight post here)
Revlon Colorstay Overtime mascara
Maybelline Great Lash clear mascara (brow gel)
Neutrogena Healthy Skin brightening eye perfecter spf 25
MAC lipstick in Lovelorn
Benefit Ultra plush lip gloss in Sugarbomb
E.l.f eyelid primer
Maybelline the Mega Plush volum' express mascara
NARS Turkish delight
Maybelline Instant age rewind concealer in brightening
Revlon Just Bitten kissable lip color in Sweetheart Valentine
Revlon Colorburst Lip butter in Sweet Tart
E.l.f Baked blush in pinktastic
MAC Lipstick in Plumful
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Creme Brûlée
MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup
MAC Lipglass in Myth
NARS Blush in Gaiety
Sample size Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
Sample size Clear Prep FX primer
Benefit Erase paste in no.2 Medium
NARS Blush in Torrid
Benefit Ultra Plush lip gloss in Hoola
Clinique Cream Shaper for eyes in chocolate lustre
Rimmel Stay matte powder in Silky beige


Perfumes(Rollerball):
Vera Wang Princess
MAC Turquatic
Viva La Juicy--also came with a lipgloss on the other end which is just absolutely horrible!
Marc Jacobs Daisy

I know you may be thinking "why does she carry so much makeup on her?" It's because I do my makeup from this bag every morning and if I use a different product I just throw it in there. I don't use all of this every day by any means. It's a little look into my favorite products!

Have you done a post like this? Leave it down below for me to check out!

Would you like a review on any of these products?


xoxoAlaina

Mally's High Shine Liquid Lipstick

Hey Adventurers! Today is a review of the item I recently received in my New Beauty Test tube. I received my tube about two weeks ago and was instantly drawn to this to try out. I don't know too much about the brand but a few people on youtube talk about them and love them. This bad boy will cost $20. As I said, I received it in my test tube so I didn't pay full price for it.

This product has a brush tip applicator--these pictures were taken when it was brand new to get the full effect of everything and to keep it in pristine condition; and who wants to see a brush coated in gloss anyway? hahaa. To get the product through the brush, you twist up the bottom. It took a pretty good minute for any product to get through the brush.

Here's a swatch of it--with flash. It has shimmer in it and quite a bit that you won't see in the tube, it surprised me actually. On the hand it was more of a stickier formula than I liked. On the lips it feels less sticky but it's still sticky and it's not something that I would run toward again. The lasting power on the lips is enough. It stays for about an hour, comes off on things and it's sticky. I know it says nothing about staying tough. But I just wanted more from this product.

Bottom line: I wouldn't purchase this product again, and I don't think I would of ever purchased this product for $20. The color is gorgeous but it's just too sticky for my liking. :/ Again, I just wanted more from this product.



What were your thoughts on this product if you've ever tried it? Also what would you like to see on this blog?


xoxoAlaina

E.l.f's Baked Blush in Pinktastic!

Hey Adventurers! As promised August is E.l.f month and to kick it off, I'm doing a review on E.l.f's new baked blush in the shade Pinktastic. As you can tell from the photo above, it is a champagne color with pink swirls in it. It works best as a highlight and it is an absolutely gorgeous highlight. I'm going to be comparing this product next to theBalm's highlight sometime next week--get excited for that!-- cause they are both very beautiful and there is the extremely big price difference and I think that they exact almost exactly the same. Anyways. Enough about that--that'll be next week!

Now this swatch really does not do it justice, it comes off chalky in the swatch, but it's a very smooth shade when you get it on your face. I find that this was just too heavy of a swatch from it. This color is absolutely gorgeous! It's shimmery but not glittery and I find that it highlights just the right amount. I am absolutely in love with this product and for only $1.50--using the 50% off studio coupon code.

The packaging is cheap and the lid on this one actually got loose some how, it's just a plastic dome onto of the product. With black plastic on the bottom. and it's actually a lot of product for what you pay. They one down fall in my opinion is the packaging but you can't expect extravagant packaging for the price that you do pay. I personally just love this product and I'd repurchase it all day.



Were you thinking about picking this up? What other products are you interested in seeing reviewed?

xoxoAlaina

Review: It's potent! Eye Cream.

Hey guys! Continuing on with my review series I have another Benefit skincare product and today it is the eye cream! This bad boy right here costs $32 and it's marketed as a eye cream that fade's dark circle's here's an excerpt from the Benefit website (www.benefitcosmetics.com)

"Your eyes can't keep a secret...they're the first to show signs of age & stress. It's potent! eye cream fades dark circles & helps smooth fine lines for brighter, younger-looking eyes. Contains a peptide complex known to help restore elasticity & firmness, a blend of hydrating botanical extracts including apple extract, known to help boost collagen, & loquat extract, known to help protect the skin from free radical damage." 


I use this product twice a day once in the morning after I put on my moisturizer and before I put on my primer and I find that this cream really hydrates the eye's but not to a over hydrated state, as many of you may know ( if you watch my video's) I have very oily eyelids and this does not make them oily nor does it reduce the amount of oil. It hydrates without adding to the mess(hah). 


As for the reducing dark circles, I feel like it does a teeny bit but with the amount of sleep I don't get with my busy schedule that I just combat any good that it is doing. I do notice though with the continuous use as in everyday twice a day and not forgetting or just not doing it that it does fade the dark circles. 


My final remarks? I love this eye cream, I haven't tried too many others but for the price of this(again, I get Benefit cosmetics at a discount because I am a military patron) I would repurchase it. 


If you know of any other eye creams that I should try go ahead and leave them down below and I'll be sure to try them!   

Review: Benefit's Total Moisture Facial Cream

Hey guys! I picked this baby up quite a long time ago now, and let me just tell you I absolutely ADORE this cream. This is my night cream so I put this on before I go to bed and when I wake up my skin is so soft and I don't get that dry feeling or any dry patches.

This is an extremely heavy--in my opinion-- moisturizer, and it get's deep in there, in the beginning of using this it made my skin really oily and so I stopped using it for a few but then I felt like my skin was just wishing for some moisture and I started using it again, and my skin just soaks it up and It doesn't give me that oily look any more. It could be a combination of a few things of why it doesn't over moisturize my skin anymore, but I really enjoy this product.

It comes in a jar-obviously-- and you basically dip your fingers in and rub on, which isn't the most hypoallergenic thing in the world but it has a plastic stopper(?) in the container that I leave in there to keep it sealed.

This Moisturizer costs $38, I do not pay that much for it as I get mine from the Navy Exchange which is a military only shopping center with discounts on products for those related to the military, and I would purchase this again when I get done with it. I love it that much, I'd even pay full price for it.


xoxo Alaina

NARS Blush!

Yup! I bought it. If you don't know what "it" is, it is the NARS Blush in Gaiety from my wishlist. That is the only thing I bought from my wishlist this month. I tried not to spend too much. This blush is an absolute gorgeous bright pink color. The tester at Sephora really did not show the color well, at my Sephora it had a white overcast on it and I'm assuming that's from it being open all the time. This color shows up well on my skintone and I don't find it chalky at all. The color is highly pigmented and it's perfect for spring, which is probably why they put it in the Spring collection. I've fallen in love with the few NARS Products I own, but they are super expensive. BUUUTTT, right now they are having 15% off for Beauty insiders! So if you're a beauty insider than go ahead and goooo!