Things That Don't Work For Me/ Things I Am Bad At

Being an avid blog reader, more than once I've fallen prey to trends.  I can get sucked into the new shades of the season, the new clothing items of the moment, etc.

Sometimes it works really well for me, other times it works out terribly.  Here is a list of some of the things that worked out not so well, but I kept of trying, and they still don't work.

Nude lips-  No matter what type of nude shade I find, pink undertones, peachy, more yellow undertones, do not work for me.  I look washed out and like I slathered on layers of foundation and my lips disappeared.  I now have more than a few tubes of lipstick, a few pots of gloss, and some liners, all of which I keep trying to make work, but they don't. This summer I might try a fake tan to see if I can at least make it work six months out of the year.

Gel Liner-  I don't know how to use it.  At all.  I have some, I've tried it many a time, and I end up looking like a panda, or the lead singer of a grunge rock band.  I think it can look amazing, and chic, and can amp up any look, so I hate that I'm bad at it.  I think I'll stick with my liquid liner for now, and only rock the panda look around the house until I can get this right.

False Eyelashes- I want to be good at these, but I'm not.  I can't make them fit my eyes, they always fall off, I've glued my eye shut so many times.  It's a mess.  I'm a mess.  But I love how they look.  I don't know what to do.

Contouring- I do it, everyday, without fail, and I'm still not good at it.  I can't make my face look slim or cute or accentuate my nose, define my neckline, the whole shebang.  I have a problem. I refuse to stop trying to make this work for me.  Anyone have suggestions on colors or brushes or anything I can use to make this happen for me?  I'm obsessed with things I'm bad at.

Short Hair-  It's time in my life I face some facts.  I have chubby cheeks, and even at my lowest weight there was no definition to my face.  It's oval, I think, which should be awesome with a lot of different hairstyles, and it is, I can pull a lot of things off, but short hair is not one of them.  Anything above my shoulders just makes me look... wrong.  It accentuates all the things I don't like about my face, and makes me super self conscious.  Do not like.

Fashion- I don't have a fashion sense, or a sense of style.  I keep telling people I need a stylist to help me get ready everyday or I just end up looking like a hot mess.  Someone help me with fashion.  I need it.

Who wants to give me tips on how to not be bad at these things?  Someone?  Anyone?

Motivational Wednesday on a Tuesday

Dolls,  it's been a rough week.  Well.. it was a rough week.  Here's a saying that if I had known it then, I would have shouted it at everyone:

Now, I work retail.  It's coming into spring season, and for those of you who have ever worked retail you know that means bigger crowds and all sorts of different personalities.  I understand how people can think they are the only people coming into your store and you should only cater to them, screw the long line ahead of them or the clearly worn out associate who is just trying to better themselves.  But that just isn't true.  I have never, no matter how angry or upset I was, interrupted a conversation between a worker and a customer to yell or scream.  Or better yet, assume that because they are on the phone they must just be pretending so it's okay to berate them for not taking care of your issue right that second.  But I have been at the other end of these situations.  You want to know how I end up with a smile on my face?

Kindness.  Respect.  Patience.

Keep these things in mind on the bad days at the bad times because for every one bad customer or person you get you are always surrounded by five who wish you well and say "God bless".  Look for the good in the people who yell the loudest.  You can't please everyone, you never will, but don't ruin the experience for the next person just because the person before them was rude.  Treat everyone you meet with a smile and kindness, and you will reap the benefits.

I always find a smile melts a cold heart faster than anything.

Klorane Dry Shampoo

I feel like a bad blogger saying this, but I'm not a fan of dry shampoo.  Okay okay okay, I admit I do have a few bottles lying around, but do I use them?  Nope.  Only on those days I reeeeeally can't be bothered to wash my hair do I whip a can out.  Otherwise I just have a semi shiny bun on top of my head and go "eh, that looks okay."
 

That being said when I opened up my Blush box I wasn't heartbroken to find a new dry shampoo in there, in fact, I was pretty happy.

First Impression: Whoop!  I wonder if this stuff actually works.  Please don't make me look like an old Victorian lady.  Please don't smell bad.

 

After Application: Uhm... Well that was not what I was expecting.  I kind of look like a lion.  A powdery powdery lion.  They are so gonna make fun of me at work.

Overall: I don't hate it.  I really don't. I won't ever be using this for what it's intended for, but I will use it.  It is a great volumizer, and has no apparent odor.  It leaves your hair with a lot of texture, and when you rub your roots to disperse the powder you end up with some Texas sized hair.  Only downside is that it's super powdery, and maybe it's just me but I swear I could see it in my hair all day. 

Repurchase: No.  Like I said earlier I have a few cans rolling around my hair products drawer that still have plenty of product in them so I don't really need a new can of anything, let alone one that leaves me looking like Marie Antionette big hair and all.

L'Oreal Dream Lumi Under Eye Concealer/Brightener

I have been looking for ages for a good under eye concealer.  At the drugstore.  At an affordable price.  I know, high expectations, but trust me, I think I found myself a winner here folks.  Thank you Target for introducing me to the L'Oreal Dream Lumi Under Eye Concealer/Brightener.

First Impression: Click click click click, this is fun.  Oh no, too much product, egah.

 

After Application: I look really awake.  My dark circles are gone.  This stuff covers really well.  Why didn't I buy the foundation too?  

Overall: Love at first application. This lasts all day, doesn't look cakey, and brightens up my face substantially.  I have used this every day since I first bought it, and have selfishly pushed all other under eye concealers away.  

Repurchase: I regret not buying seven of these at the store.  I will repurchase this over and over again, no lie.  I love this stuff so much I want the foundation that goes with this in more than one shade so I never have to be without it in the winter or summer.

Go buy this, you will not be disappointed.  

What is your favorite budget buy concealer?

Confidence and Respect

Who among us is happy with how they look?  Anyone?

If you don't hear people shouting it off the rooftops, here's why. 

Tabloids, doctors, celebrities, "popular kids" in school, everyone has at some point either shamed or glorified one type of figure, one weight bracket, or a certain "look".  This causes us in turn to look at ourselves and think "something is wrong with me, who I am, because of my appearance".  But it's not just weight guys, oh no, it's the shape of your nose, your eyes, your skin color, your hair color, your hair texture, even down to the way you smile and walk.  I for one am over it.

I make a conscious effort to not speak ill of anyone based on how they look.  Not to demean someone on what they eat, the clothes they wear, their hair, or their body.  It's not about that. It's about who you are as a person.  How you treat someone shows your character, and time and time again when I hear people make a negative comment about my race, gender, or appearance I think "it's not me who they're putting down, it's themselves."  As hard as that can be to do sometimes, it's true in every situation.  They aren't demeaning my character, who I am as a person, only what they can see when they look at me.

I think if everyone took the amount of negative things they say about a person base on physical appearance alone, and cut them out of their days, we could all benefit.  One more smile could shine through, one more person could feel comfortable to be who they really are.

I challenge all of you out there to try it.  Just for one day, longer if you can, cut out every bad thing you would say about someone's appearance, and instead just keep your mouth shut, or better yet turn it around into a positive thing.  See how differently you could approach people, and how differently they would approach you if you complimented them instead of put them down.

Do you think you could do it?  Do you think it could help?  Would it have helped if someone said nice things to you instead of the negative things?

Deep Cleansing Oil

I wear a full face of makeup to work.  Concealer, foundation, powders, eyeshadows, liquid liner, mascara, the works.  So after 8+ hours of having a face full of products, the first thing I want to do when I get home is take it all off and relax.

Most girls have an arsenal of products lining their bathrooms to remove, exfoliate, and renew their skin, and I am no different.  Whenever I get a new product I put it right in the lineup with the rest and give it a go when the time feels right.  Except in the case of the Deep Cleansing Oil from DHC which I was so excited to find in a beauty box that I bumped it to the front of the line like a girl in a skin tight dress at the club. 

First Impression: Face oil that takes off your makeup?  I like this idea. Okay, this is a little hard to get out of the bottle, and pretty thick.  I need more than I thought I would to get this all over my face.  This is harder than I thought.  Is this stuff even working? 

After Cleansing:  Successfully removed my makeup, good.  My face doesn't feel oily, also good.  My skin doesn't feel tight and dry at all.  Why does this smell like olive oil?

Overall: Okay, so I like this product.  It's not perfect, it smells like olive oil and reminds me a lot of the olive oil/castor oil mixture I was using to wash my face last summer.  It's thick, which makes it a little hard to get out of the bottle because it isn't completely open at the top, and you use more of it than you're probably supposed to.  But it works.  It took all of my makeup off, it didn't irritate my skin, and I'll definitely use this until it's gone.

Repurchase: No.  If I wanted an oil cleanser that smelled like olive oil I would revert back to the concoction I used over the summer.  That's really the only reason why.  The smell of the products I put on or near my face is a huge factor in whether I will ever use it again or whether I just can't give it up.  You hear that skincare people?  Some of us like their skincare products to be scented, even if only slightly.

 

Do you have any favorite face washes?  Are any of them an oil? 

Blush Mystery Beauty Box February 2014

I always look forward to the beginning of the month.  The beauty boxes are set to ship to my house, and the spoilers start rolling in.  My favorite spoilers are for the Blush Box.  This month though, there weren't any spoilers.  None.  Nada. Was I bummed?  Yes. Was I even more excited for my monthly box to arrive?  Oh hell yes.

This month's box was full of high end items.  Be ready to drool like I did.

The Jonathan Finishing Control High Shine Flexible Hairspray was a bonus item.  Bonus indeed.  I was about to go buy a new can of hairspray, when one magically landed on my doorstep!  

The Klorane Dry Shampoo is something I loved seeing in the box, and it's full sized.  It gives your hair volume, but doesn't seem to take away all the greasiness out of my hair.  It still looks like I didn't wash my hair, but a bigger fluffier version.

The NYX mascara has been something I wanted to try, but I'm still working my way through some samples I already have, so I didn't want to go buy a whole new tube.  Getting this in my box was a real treat.

Perfume sample? Check.  Awesome upscale should be sitting on a victorian style dresser surrounded by fancy things bottle and packaging?  Check.  Smells amazing?  Check.  This little gem is an Elizabeth Arden perfume called Untold.  I plan on wearing this and keeping the bottle on my dresser forever.  Forever ever.

I've never tried a deep cleansing oil before, or any cleansing oil for that matter.  This one from DHC is a welcome addition to my ever growing skin care collection, and one I look forward to using.

The packaging for this vbeaute facial exfoliator is stunning, and when I'm done with the exfoliator I have in my shower I'm adding this to my routine.

The Biodea Miracle 48 facial mask is the most expensive single use beauty product I will ever use.   This better make me look like I'm a goddess or I will be super disappointed.

I love nail wraps. So much.  They make me very happy.  I get to have crazy nails, it takes minimal work, and they look flawless.  Gimme more.

These were the samples I received along with this months box.  The Gel Cleanser is a sample I will use very shortly, and the REN Day Cream is something I already have and love and use regularly.

I'm still shocked at the amount of stuff I got in this months box, and the quality.  Keep it up Blush!

Have you subscribed yet?

Sample Society February 2014

Spoiler Alert: This month's beauty boxes are ah-mazing!

As you all know by now I am a huge fan of beauty boxes.  I get four subscriptions, and one of those subscriptions is to the Allure Sample Society Box.  This month's box is choc full of awesome goodies, which I have split up into two categories: Skincare and Haircare.

 

-Skincare-

 Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel- I have always wanted to try this, but have never wanted to spend the money on something I wasn't sure I would like.  I guess you put this on like a mask, leave it on for a few minutes, and wash it off.  I'm excited.

AHAVA Dead Sea Osmoter Concentrate- This smells so good.  So very good.  I am almost regretting saying I like getting serums in boxes because they just keep coming, but this smells so damn good I don't care.  I'm looking forward to using this.

Murad Intensive Radiance Serum- I have this, I like it, I use this every morning.  It smells like oranges.

-Haircare-

Phytokeratin Ultra Repair Mask-  I actually put this in my shower so I could use it. This winter weather is making my hair limp and sad and yet frizzy and the ends are fried.  Fingers crossed this works miracles.  Oh, and I like the metal tube. 

Alterna Bamboo 48-Hour Sustainable Volume Spray-  I love this brand, so when I saw it in this month's box I was really excited.  You're supposed to put this on wet hair and blow dry it, but I don't blow dry my hair.  I might just use this on wet hair and not blow dry it and see what happens.

I am thrilled at the contents of this month's box, and I will use everything in here.  I cannot wait until next month.

New Nail Obsession: Sapphire Siren

I've been having an extremely hard time finding a color to put on my nails that I really love.  No nail art interests me, all colors make me cringe, even falsies aren't something I wanna put on.  I'm in a rut.

So to help me get myself out of this rut, (and add to my ever growing polish collection) I hopped in the car with the boy and went to Target to peruse the aisles.  That's when I stumbled on perhaps the one shade of polish I have been craving since I went to California at Thanksgiving.  

Welcome home Sapphire Siren by Maybelline in the Color Show line.

I'm in love, in lust, obsessed, enamored, besotted, hooked, etc.  I have it on my nails in the bottom picture.  

I've had it on for about three days now and the only chippage is from the fact that the tips of my nails are extremely flimsy and brittle, and I work with money all day.  Otherwise the dry time is good, the color payoff is amazing, and I smile everytime I look at my nails.

I highly recommend this line for polish lovers,  At under $4 it is a steal.

Ipsy Bag January 2014

I usually love the things I get in my Ipsy Bag, but this month it fell short in a lot of ways. 

 

The Apothederm serum is actually a generous sample for serums.  It's lightweight, smells amazing, and since I'm all into serums right now it's a welcome addition to my little collection.

I already have the Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner.  It smells good, but with the sample I already have, it wasn't something I was excited to get in this months bag.  

I already wrote a review of the Willa facial wipes on the blog, so you can see a full review of my feelings on them here.  Another disappointing item in this months bag.

My new lip savior landed in this months bag, and that's the Malin + Goetz mojito lip balm.  This stuff is amazing.  Nuff said.  Full review here.

The Smooth Shadow in Pearl was something I was excited to get in this months box, until I swatched it.  It looks nice, it could do really well as an under the eye bottom lash thing, but holy glitter.  For something claiming to be a smooth shadow, it has really big glitter chunks, and after a few hours it just looks like I went to a disco complete with glitter raining down on my face.  I'm determined to find a use for this though, so stay tuned.

Out of the five products in this months bag, one was a repeat, two were not my cup of tea, and two were pleasant surprises. I still have really high hopes for this subscription box, even though I wasn't blown away.  

Fingers crossed for this month's box!

Willa Face Towelettes

I love me some face wipes.  Main reason, I like to stay up late and I can be pretty lazy if it's my day off.  

During the week, after a full face of makeup, I of course wash and tone and moisturize and oil up my face like the next crazy blogger.  The weekends or my days off are a completely different story.  

Insert face wipes.  Facial towelettes.  Wet wipes.  Whatever you want to call them.

Perfect for wiping off mid day glow, excess makeup, and of course for the quick swipe and go after one too many drinks.

Willa is a brand I have never heard of before, but the words gentle and lavender on the package intrigued me.

I can officially say I'm disappointed with this product.  

The wipes were far too dry to do anything. 

It took two whole wipes just to try and clean my whole face. 

It made me sad.

Not even the nice smell could overcome the lack of moisture in the wipes and how poorly they performed.

I hate writing a negative review, but I can't not review something just because it didn't send me into happy fits.  Not every product will tickle my fancy, or perform well with my skin.

Although these weren't for me in any way, I'm not saying they won't get use.

I have plenty of fingers and mirrors and lids that need cleaning.

Plenty.

Do you use facial wipes?  Are you part of the beauty blogging world that hasn't completely written them off?

Huge Milestone #2!

Hey There Dolls,

Today is my second biggest milestone in my blogging history, 100 posts!

Yes, you heard correctly, 100!  

Some posts have been good, some have been not so good, but they have all attributed to this blog, and for that I am happy.  This year has been full of personal ups and downs, milestones, setbacks, laughter, and tears.

Thank you all again for being there with me through these 100 posts, and I hope you all stay tuned for the posts to come!

P.S. -  Click the link (The Picture) and enjoy!

Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm

This winter has been terrible for my skin.  I swear it has taken all of the moisture out of my skin, and made me look at least five years older than I should.  Needless to say I am not happy about that.

I've tried body butters for my body, lotions in various tubes for my hands, and what seems like endless lip balms and exfoliatiors for my lips.  Nothing lasted for more than two hours.  

Now I can deal with the skin on my body being dry, because it's under my clothes.  I can continuously apply hand lotion during the day, and it's not a huge bother.  That and it usually smells really nice.  But the chapstick/lip balm thing can get a little annoying.  Especially since I have been trying to wear more lipstick, and I have to take it off and put on the balm and re apply.  Not only that but working in customer service again I have realized how much people don't like you topping up your lip products behind the counter. 

Then this little gem came in my Ipsy Bag and I'm hooked.

After the first application I felt my lips become smoother and fuller, and that feeling lasted for a good few hours.  I could do with a different application method, the whole using your fingers and putting things on your lips can get a little messy, but I will overlook that for the benefits.  

I would have never bought it for myself, but after this past week I'm a convert.

What's your winter lip savior?