Beauty Blender Cleaner

I’m obsessed with makeup, as you all may or may not know. I use my beautiful little beauty blender every. single. day. and sometimes I get lazy and don’t clean it [don’t judge me].

I’ve been trying to find a way to clean it without having to purchase the beauty blender blender cleanser solid for $16, because I would much rather spend that money on more make up.

I’ve tried cleaning it with my Bath and Body works hand soap, my shampoo, everything. I finally found a beauty hack that really works! I used my Dove body soap to clean it and it was amazing!!! It looks almost new and today my makeup went on like icing on a cake, flawless. I love it.

Try it out and let me know what you think! (:

“The makeup is simply an extension of the personality and colors, clothing, makeup all express something.”

Gene Simmons

ipsy vs. birchbox January 2015

Birchbox and Ipsy are makeup subscriptions. They’re each $10 a month. You take a quiz on both sites to see how each service matches you up with their makeup/ skincare brands. Basically each month they send you about 5 different products. I’ve tried Birchbox for 13 months now, at first I was really excited about it, but lately, it’s been kind of disappointing. On the other hand, I’ve tried Ipsy for only 8 months and I’ve loved almost every bag.

This month, for Birchbox, I recieved:

1. Balance Me – Wonder Eye Cream
   
2. Number 4™ Hair Care – Non-Aerosol Hairspray
   
3. Harvey Prince – Sincerely Perfume
   
4. theBalm – Stainiac – lip and cheek stain
5. Whish – 3 Whishes Body Butter – Lavendar
   

Out of the 5 things, all were samples which is fine, but I would like to be able to use a product for more than like a week, you know?

I don’t like the fact that my products come all messed up. Why isn’t birchbox more careful with how they package their products? This is how the tiny bottle of perfume came, in my box like this.  How does that even happen inside two different boxes?!? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Balance Me – Wonder Eye Cream

So this cream is supposed to fight wrinkles and aging. The directions say to use a pea size amount on your under eye, which was ridiculously way too much. The cream does not mix very well into my skin. Also, I’m sick of getting anti-aging creams. I’m 23 years old, I don’t understand why they keep sending me this kind of stuff.

 

 

 

 

2.  Number 4™ Hair Care – Non-Aerosol Hairspray

I think this is the second time they’ve sent me this hairspray. I love Number 4 products and I do like this Hairspray. It’s just the fact that they send me the same thing over and over. It’s such a bummer. Although I do like the little travel sized hairspray, I can take it anywhere.

 

 

 

3. Harvey Prince – Sincerely Perfume

It smells like I walked into a house filled with Indian and Indonesian food. It honestly smells delicious. I don’t know if it’s my thing, especially not for $55 a bottle. I like scents a little more subtle but it was nice to  try, even though you only get about 10 sprays from it.

 

 

 

 

4. theBalm – Stainiac – lip and cheek stain

I usually try to see how things look on my hand before I put it anywhere else. Also, I have a ton of allergies, so I would rather get an allergic reaction on my hand than somewhere closer to my throat. So I tried this stain out, it was amazing. It took over 5 different times washing my hands in order to get it off, so imagine how long it lasted on my lips. I don’t know if I would use it on my cheeks. It’s a bit much. A bit too red.

 

 

 

5. Whish – 3 Whishes Body Butter – Lavender

I absolutely HATE the chemistry that Whish uses in their products. I don’t like how it feels on my skin. I hate the smell of lavender to top it off. I hate this product.

 

 

 

 

For Ipsy I got:

1. Malin+Goetz – Mojito Lip Balm
2. Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eyeliner – Storm
3. Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow – ethereal
4. Velvet 59 – Velvet Rose Lipgloss
5. Elizabeth Mott- All Over Shadow Brush
   

 

 

1. Malin+Goetz – Mojito Lip Balm 

I love LOVE love this chapstick/ lipgloss thing. It’s glossy like a lipgloss but amazing and soothing like a chapstick. I love the smell of it, the texture. It’s amazing. I’m definitely buying this again.

2. Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eyeliner – Storm

I usually do not wear any other eye liner colors other than black, but this grey is amazing. It’s almost dark enough to pass for a black but it’s still subtle enough to be grey. I love the formula, and it definitely does not wear off right away, which I like. I hate reapplying make up. I love putting things on once and be done for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

3. Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow – ethereal

So, all five things were full sized products, how awesome is that?!?  I’m really excited about the eyeshadow, it feels amazing! I’m really into a naked look lately. I love the  Urban Decay Naked Palette, so this color was a really nice addition to my usual colors.

4. Velvet 59 – Velvet Rose Lipgloss

I like this lipgloss, it’s pretty much my natural lip color. There’s nothing huge to talk about about this product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Elizabeth Mott- All Over Shadow Brush

I’m obsessed. I love this brush. It feels delicious. Every brush I’ve gotten from ipsy is amazing. I love the bristles on this brush. I love the color. I LOVE PINK! It’s perfect.

 

 

Overall, I use the ipsy products a lot more than I use the Birchbox products. I love my Ipsy bag, rating 9/10. My Birchbox was okay, rating 6/10.  Sadly enough, my favorite thing about birchbox was the actual box it came in this time around!

 

To get Birchbox, sign up here! https://www.birchbox.com/invite/fsndc

To get Ipsy, subscribe to the Glam Bag! You get 4-5 beauty products every month delivered to your door, for just $10. Michelle Phan curates the bags! Check it out here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/9jns?sid=ipsypoints&cid=email

Birchbox vs. Ipsy July 2014

Birchbox and Ipsy are makeup subscriptions. They’re each $10 a month. You take a quiz on both sites to see how each service matches you up with their makeup/ skincare brands. Basically each month they send you about 5 different products. I’ve tried Birchbox for 7 months now, at first I was really excited about it, but lately, it’s been kind of disappointing. On the other hand, I’ve tried Ipsy for only two months and both bags have been amazing. 

This month, for Birchbox, I recieved:

1. Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner
2. Number 4™ Super Comb Prep & Protect
3. SmartyPants All-in-One Gummy Vitamins for Adults
4. COOLA Environmental Repair Plus® Radical Recovery™ After-Sun Lotion
5. Marcelle New·Age 8 in 1 Power Serum

Out of the 5 things, 4 were samples and the eyeliner wasn’t all that big either; which is fine, but I would like to be able to use a product for more than like a week, you know? So the eyeliner goes on really nicely, I like it, but I have a million eyeliners now. I think this is the 3rd or 4th they’ve sent me in 7 months. The leave in conditioner was okay, but I’ve had the same results from cheaper products. The gummies tasted really yucky, that’s all I’m saying… The after-sun lotion was amazing! I used it after showering right after a whole day at Disneyland and it felt AMAZING! The Marcelle serum was disappointing. I tried it, but really? Why do I need this. I’m 23. my skin is fine.  LAME. 

For Ipsy I got: 

1. bareMinerals: 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow Broad Spectrum SPF 15
2. Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil SPF 08
3. Pixi Beauty Mini Tinted Brilliance Balm
4. POP Beauty Sunkissed Bronzer
5. Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray Conditioning & Texturizing Spray

So, out of 5 things, 3 were sample size and 2 were full size products. I’m really excited about the eyeshadow, it feels amazing! I don’t wear eyeshadow much so this was a great size to get, if I ever were to want more I would definitely buy this product. I haven’t really had a change to use the tanning oil, but it smells great. The lip balm/ lipstick is seriously my favorite thing about this box!!! It’s a great color, first of all; second, it feels like you’re wearing chapstick. It lasts a really long time, I only reapply twice in a night, and that’s just because I like when lip color stays the same all day. I’m going to buy a full size once this one runs out. The bronzer is awesome! I’m excited to use this more often, since I currently have a bronzer I haven’t used this one as much, but I don’t know which is my favorite. The texturing spray was okay, I don’t usually use a lot of product in my hair, and it made it look like it was just naturally dried, not much different from my regular hair. I LOOOOOVEEEE the bag it came in, BRIGHT PINK! So exciting.(:  

Overall, I use the ipsy products a lot more than I use the Birchbox products. I love my Ipsy bag, rating 9/10. My Birchbox was okay, rating 4/10. 

To get Birchbox, sign up here! https://www.birchbox.com/invite/fsndc

To get Ipsy, sign up here! http://www.ipsy.com/r/9jns

What’s inside my daily make-up bag?

So if you read my “Make-up!!!” post, you know I really enjoy make-up. This is the stuff I carry around on a normal basis. It’s just a”I don’t know what’s gonna happen today,” “I’m just going to school/work there’s no need for something fancy,” “my plans are last minute,” or “I didn’t have time to think through a more intricate make up routine for this outing.”

First, you should know, I do NOT wear this all at once, cuz I would look like a clown. Second, you’ll see a trend on what my favorite make-up brand is.

Let’s start off with face stuff. In my bag I have: the Tarte BB tinted treatment 12-hour primer with SPF 30 color “medium-tan”, the smashbox photofinish foundation primer (oil-free), the e.l.f. Under Eye Corrector & Highlighter, the smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation with SPF 15 (oil-free) color “6,” and the Tarte Amazonian clay full coverage airbrush foundation color “Tan-Sand.”

I also carry around the Tarte Park Ave Princess Bronzer, the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush color “Thankful,” and the Tarte Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder.

Now for eye stuff: the Rimmel London Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer color “261 Noir” (actually I carry two of these for some reason), the Sephora High Precision Eyeliner (Liquid Eyeliner) color “01 Black,” the Sumita Beauty Suman Contrast Eye Pencil (I’m guessing it’s just black because it doesn’t have a name), the OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil color “14-C1” meaning Brown, Tarte The Brow Architect Brow Shaper, Liner & Definer color “medium-tan,” the Maybelline Volum’ Express One by One Mascara Waterproof color “257 Satin Black,” the Two Faced Better Than Sex Mascara color “Black,” the Forever 21 Eyelash Curler color “Cascade,” and the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette Sampler color “Sunset” ❤

i’s.

As I’m writing this I just realized how much lip stuff I have acquired recently, oopsy. I have the Tarte LipSurgence Skintuitive Lip Tint color “Energy,” the Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tint color “Enamored,” the Laqa & Co. Lip Lube color “Bees Knees,” the Forever 21 Velvet Lipstick color “Red,” the NYX Butter Gloss color “Éclair,” the Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm color “Pretty Pink,” and the Bath and Body Works Liplicious Lipgloss color “Pink Sugarplum.”

 

 

I also carry 6 brushes: the e.l.f. Professional Eye Shadow Brush, the e.l.f. Professional Concealer Brush, the Up & Up (Target brand) Foundation Brush, the Up & Up Kabuki Brush, a mini bareMinerals Kabuki Brush and a random broken foundation brush that I love and cannot part with; I also just ordered a Tarte Airbrush Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush, I’m really excited to try it!!!

Last but not least, I have a small dual mirrored compact from Sephora that I got as part of a gift card (how cool is that?!!?!?!) & a Pink Bic Lighter to warm up my eyelash curler and disinfect my eye products from time to time.

 

 

 

 

I usually only wear tinted primer under my powder foundation, but I have the smashbox primer for when I wear the smashbox liquid foundation.

My daily (for school/work) make-up routine (when I wake up early enough to actually put it on) is as follows:

1. Wash/ Dry face
2. Tarte BB Primer all over face, let set for a couple of minutes
3. Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation all over face
4. Tarte Park Ave Princess Bronzer on cheekbones
5. Tarte Blush on Cheeks (just a little bit)
6. Brush Tarte finishing powder all over face
7. Line upper eyelid lash line with Rimmel waterproof eyeshadow
8. Slightly warm up eyelash curler with lighter, then curl eyelashes
9. Apply waterproof Maybelline mascara
10. Apply a lip tint or lip blam.

Can you believe all this stuff fits in a 6 in. x 4 in. x 3 in. bag?!? I got all of this stuff at Sephora, Ulta, Target & though my make up subscriptions (Ipsy & Birchbox) ((:

Make-up !!!

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten really into make up. My collection started off slowly, mostly buying drug store products. As I became older, and my budget became larger, I started buying more from specialty retailers, department stores and company owned stores.

My daily makeup bag

I recently acquired a bright pink make-up box to put most of my stuff in, though I carry a smaller bag for day-to-day make up. Although I do not wear make up every single day, I do love to experiment sometimes.

My Big Pink Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than buying my makeup from drug stores, I love Sephora and Ulta! I’ve also bought some products here and there from Mac, but my new obsession are my monthly make-up box (& bag) subscription to Birchbox and Ipsy!

Ipsy

Birchbox

I will post my daily make up products used in a different post (:

If you’re barely starting your collection, you should keep in mind that stores like Sephora are expensive, but most of their products are worth it. On the other hand, Birchbox and Ipsy supply me with small samples (sometimes they send me full size, yay!) and then, when I decide i really like the product, I buy the full size version of it. This way, you don’t spend $25-$40 on something you will eventually not end up using.

Sephora, Ulta, Birchbox & Ipsy all use reward points that you can redeem for other products; they change monthly.

What I do most of the time: find a product I really like, use it, if another comes up try it but don’t buy it until the first runs out.

How did you build your collection?