bareMinerals Prime Time BB Primer-Cream Daily Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 30 REVIEW

So, initially this post was supposed to be a first impressions post. But because I'm so bad at blogging lately, I've actually used this product long enough to do a full review on it! Oh man...Anyway, this product has a SUPER LONG name, so instead of always typing Prime Time BB Primer-Cream Daily Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 30 every time, we're just going to stick with "BB primer"! This came out a while back (as usual I am tardy to the party) and I had wanted it then but I have a lot of primers. Recently I just used up a couple and finally took the plunge (I've been on a bareMinerals kick lately) and finally purchased it. I also picked up the Bare Skin foundation, the brush that accompanies the Bare Skin, and the Ready Touch Up Veil along with this primer, but those are separate posts! The foundation used in these blog photos will be the Bare Skin foundation.

This product retails for $26 (I work at Ulta, so I purchased mine for a bit less) and it should be available at any BM retailer (Ulta, Sephora, etc) as well as online. When it was originally released, it came in two shade options but now there are four (Fair, Light, Medium, and Tan) and I have the Light. It contains 1 fl. oz. of product (30 mL), which is a standard size for a face primer. It comes in the same type of pump packaging that the original Prime Time comes in, but I wish that it came in a squeeze tube!

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased this product myself. I am not affiliated with Bare Escentuals nor is this a sponsored post. I am not receiving any compensation for this post and all opinions and thoughts are entirely my own.

L’Oréal Infallible® Pro-Spray & Set Makeup Extender Setting Spray REVIEW

Let's talk about a most exciting release! I'm sure everyone has heard of the UD All Nighter setting spray by now, and certainly the Skindinavia sprays! But here's a setting spray from the drugstore that is actually effective! From the Infallible line by L’Oréal, this spray contains 3.4 oz and retails for $16.99, but if you live in the midwest near a Meijer, I found mine at Meijer for $13.99 AND on a BOGO50% sale! Definitely check places like grocery stores such as Meijer or Walmart instead of Walgreens or CVS because you will probably find it for a bit cheaper! Also, this is a fairly new release, which means the price will probably drop as the product is out on the shelves for longer.

e.l.f. Cosmetics makes a Studio product called Mist and Set, and if this product works for you, that's AWESOME because this particular spray is only $3 and you can frequently get e.l.f. products for 50% off! Unfortunately, this spray doesn't prolong the wear of my makeup, plus it contains parabens (Methylparaben，Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, and Butylparaben, to be exact) so this isn't an option for me.

I'm hoping that, as this product is out on the shelves longer, they begin to bring out different formulations of this setting spray because, REVIEW SPOILER, I am in love with this product! BUT I have dry, flaky skin in the winter and insanely greasy and sweaty skin in the summer months and the All Nighter doesn't work so hot for me during that period so I'm not positive as to how well this spray will fare in those conditions. I HAVE worn it during hot and sweaty truck unloading shifts and it has held up beautifully during those, so fingers crossed. I would love if they came out with an oil control formula though!

NEW AT THE DRUGSTORE - Maybelline Edition

So, I'm not even going to try to give some kind of lame ass sob story. Basically, I've been a terrible blogger, but I just bought a Macbook Pro AND a new DSLR so I'm planning on coming back with a vengeance. ANYWAY, have a new at the drugstore type of post! I knew about the new lipsticks from Maybelline, but I had NO CLUE about these products! Also found but not featured are several new shades of the Brow Drama brow gel, including a transparent shade, but I didn't pick any of those up. I purchased all of these things from my local Meijer, and I found them on an endcap display!

Note: this is not a review, this is basically a haul post. I haven't put any of these on my face yet!

Hard Candy All Glossed Up Metallics REVIEW

Hard Candy has been on the ball with some great new product releases, such as their new eyeshadow palettes and their first brow product EVER (!!) but they've also expanded some of their permanent ranges, and the All Glossed Up Hydrating Balm Stains are one of those lines.

I LOVE chubby lip pencils, okay. I own a ton, from almost every brand. I've tried the regular All Glossed Up pencils before and they're okay. They weren't horrible, they weren't the best. They were just...middle of the road. When I saw they had some new shades, at first I was going to completely pass, because these are a "metallic" finish, and normally I'm not into that. However, I'm a sucker.

Maybelline Color Sensational ® Creamy Mattes REVIEW

I have a pretty exciting post, or at least I was pretty excited. This is going to be a review on the new Creamy Matte lipsticks from Maybelline...and yes, I bought all ten, haha. I had no intention on doing so, and I rarely buy every single shade in a collection or release, but I realized that I had purchased eight of the ten and I scored my lipsticks on sale so...what the heck, right?

To limit the length of this review, I've posted individual color reviews on my Tumblr and will be doing this for future products where I purchase multiple shades because let's be real; ain't no one got time to read an absurdly long post with page anchors. Plus, the Tumblr app has a really friendly mobile interface and I don't have regular computer access so I can pump out posts on there easily. Feel free to follow! That's a sideblog, so I can't follow you back via that blog, but I can follow you on my main blog if you'd like!

I will have links to each individual color post in this post. Anyway, onward with the review!

Blogtober!

Okay, teeny update here, since I've been a horrible blogger lately. I am going to attempt Blog-tober; a blog review a day!

To make this slightly easier on me, I've actually sort of put myself on a schedule. This first week (October 1st through October 8th) will be all lip related posts. So I have seven different product reviews coming up, consisting of some new Essence lipsticks, the new Maybelline Mattes, and a couple other Hard Candy products.

The next week will be face-based. The third will be eyes. The final week will be nail related.

Also, I'm going to try to have some Halloween related content. I'm pretty excited for this, so hopefully I can get it done and not be a flaky loser about this whole thing.

The first post will be up in a hot minute!

Benefit They're Real! Push-Up Liner REVIEW

This is a review I should probably have had up a while ago, but I'm just now getting some computer access so apologies! This is, obviously (lol) going to be a review on the new gel liner pen from Benefit. One thing to note; while they claim to be the first company to package a gel liner in this format, they're not. This Maybelline one has been out internationally for, as I understand it, before the Benefit one. Not that this really means jack, but I wish companies would do a tiny bit of research before making claims. (Yes, it has been out longer than the Benefit one, I just did a quick Googling and found this review dating from September 2013.)

Anyway, I LOVE liquid eyeliner pens. Love love love. I usually use the Physicians Formula one (review here because it works well enough for me (not the blackest black liner, but what I sacrifice in intensity, I gain in sheer ease of application, availability, and price). I actually took a break from gel liners when I started using liquid ones more, and now I use almost exclusively liquid liner. That being said, I jumped outta my skin when I heard about the Benefit one because HOW COOL? A GEL LINER PEN! Anyway, let's start this! This product retails for $24.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this product free, as a gratis sample from my job (I work at Ulta) for testing purposes. I am not affiliated with Benefit Cosmetics, I am receiving no compensation for this review, and this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are, as always, my own!

e.l.f. Ariel Treasure Within Beauty Book REVIEW

One of the times I was questing at Walgreens (for the new Maybelline "The Nudes" palette, which I finally found at Ulta; review soon!) I spotted a display that caught my eye. Now last Halloween (or maybe two Halloweens ago) e.l.f. did a collaboration with Disney and had some gift sets based off of villains. This is a similar concept, except with Ariel!

Truth be told, I'm actually not a HUGE Little Mermaid fan, but the packaging and the concept suckered me in and I ended up with two kits; a lip set (review to be coming) and this "Treasure Within" Beauty Book. The packaging of this is GORGEOUS, can we just take a minute? I'm so in love with the aesthetic aspects of this palette. But how do the products inside stack up?

(I'll be including page anchors so if you just want to see swatches or read about just one part, you can skip to that particular part and not have to fuss around, since I can get...really verbose, especially when talking about so many products in one mega-post.)

FTC Disclaimer: All of the product(s) shown in this review were purchased by me, with my own money. I am not affiliated with e.l.f., nor am I being compensated or sponsored for my review. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Hi! Just a talking post/update!

Okay, so I've been pretty MIA lately and I definitely feel like I need to give an update.

I am deleting a lot of posts! Why? Because, frankly, they suck. Either the photographs were blurry, I wasn't pleased by how I explained things or I came off rude/bitchy, and I've grown (slightly, lol) and I just feel like they aren't super quality.

I will also be attempting (HAHA) to code my own layout; the one I've had is super old and I'm over it. I want a bit more of a minimalistic look at this point.

I DO have a ton of reviews coming up, that are, hopefully, much better than my previous content. I'm also hoping that by removing a lot of my posts, I will be more inclined to replenish them and post more! :)

Thanks for sticking around!

WNW Summer '14 All Access Beauty Mega Last Polishes REVIEW

Okay, so I have been obsessed with nail polish lately. And, the Wet N Wild Mega Last polishes have been my favorite drugstore nail polish since they came out. I love the variety of finishes and colors, I even love the packaging and the brush. And who doesn't love the price, right?? These six colors came out with the All Access Beauty summer collection, and I'm still seeing these all over my Walgreens, so hopefully I didn't get this review up too late (I'm so sorry, I wanted to wear each of these to see if they wore differently!)

I own about 20 colors from the permanent range and for whatever reason, I've never talked about them before. (This could be because I am horrible at doing nail swatches, apologies in advance.) This collection also includes some bronzer/blush palettes that I've already reviewed here!

FTC DISCLAIMER: These products were purchased by me with my own money. I am not affiliated with Wet N Wild, nor am I sponsored or receiving compensation for this review. As always, all opinions are my own! :)

The Mega Last polishes are $1.99 at most places, but they often go on sale at Walgreens. I haven't seen the All Access Beauty collection in Rite Aid but I've seen it in Walgreens, so I don't know if this collection is only available there, or what? All of these colors are fun, summery colors (although admittedly not insanely original; you might have these shades in your collection already, if you're a polish addict!)

WNW Summer '14 All Access Beauty Bronzer & Blushes REVIEW

I have been searching all over for these dang things! I'm so jealous of people who can find the LE WNW stuff super fast because it takes my area FOREVER to get them. Anyway, these are the Bronzer & Blush compacts. I have all three of these products and I'm pretty excited to share. The theme this summer seems to be based off of festival life, according to the display.

Now these displays are sell-through, so once the product is gone, it's gone, unless the store gets an entirely new display. If you want these, I recommend buying them when you find them.

I found mine at Walgreens for $3.99 and an interesting thing to note is that, normally even LE products will still be on sale. WNW products are currently 30% off on select products, including the permanent line color icon bronzers (which have the same packaging and size, just different colors) but these weren't ringing up with the sale price; same for the nail polishes. I mean, WNW is pretty inexpensive, but that's still a bit of a bummer. Yes, I have the Wellness card, before anyone asks.

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased these products with my own money. I am neither affiliated nor being sponsored by Wet N Wild or Markwins, nor am I being compensated for this post. All opinions are, as always, my own!

Covergirl Ready, Set, Gorgeous Summer 2014 FIRST IMPRESSIONS/REVIEW

Okay, so a few days ago I had posted a new CG products haul post (you can find that here if you're interested) and three of the new products were new face products. Now, unfortunately, I don't have good news, personally. I've heard horror stories about CG's Clean makeup, which can break people out like crazy. I've also read that some people have bad reactions to ALL Covergirl makeup. One of my favorite foundations is the Outlast Stay Fabulous liquid foundation. I wore it six days a week for three months, with no wonky reactions.

I do not have acne-prone skin. I get a pimple every couple of months, maybe. There has only been one other product that has ever had this bad of an effect on my non-sensitive skin, and that was a serum-moisturizer from Garnier. I mentioned in the haul post that I thought I was having a reaction to the concealer, because I developed six pimples only on my undereye area...yeah, no.

The way these products work is similar to Maybelline's Fit Me line; you select your liquid foundation shade and from there you can pick out the corresponding powder and concealer. My shade in the foundation is "215 Warm Beige" and my shade in both the powder and concealer is "Medium", which is for shades 215 and 220.

Okay, let's get this party started. WARNING: this post is photo-heavy and there is A LOT of text. And contains a lot of pics of my derpy-ass face. I apologize in advance. (I'm adding page anchors, so you can skip to whichever part you're interested in.) And, yeah, I will never switch to contacts. Just...no.

FTC Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this post was purchased by me, with my own money. I am not compensated for this review, I am not affiliated with Covergirl or Proctor & Gamble, and all opinions are, as always, my own.

Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies in #smooch REVIEW

I was pretty tardy to the party, as far as these Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies go. I had read/watched a few reviews and everyone seemed pretty down on these; the biggest complaint seemed to be that these had a lack of pigmentation. And if you've been around on my blog for a while, you know one of my biggest pet peeves is when a balm claims to be tinted and then isn't. So basically, I wasn't interested in trying these. Now, I used to have a couple of the CG old school Lipslicks, and I remembered liking those alright. Finally, curiosity killed the Kate and a makeup haul brought her back.

I do have two shades in this, but I couldn't find the other one, so I'll review the individual shade on my Tumblr when I locate it, but since buying those two, I've purchased a few more, and there's not a wide change in the formula, so this is going to be a stand alone review. These widely vary in price for me, they're about $4.99 or so at Walmart and $7.99 at Walgreens, so YMMV for sure. The only difference is that Walgreens has sales and coupons and their Wellness card or whatnot, so you can actually get rewards and stuff for purchasing them there. Also, CG often goes on those BOGO50 sales.

I'm not typically a huge CG fan in the slightest, but lately they've been impressing me with their face products and some of their lip and nail products, so who knows. Eye product-wise...eh, their shadows are not my favorite, but you usually can't go wrong with Lash Blast mascara.

NEW COVERGIRL HAUL

I'm sure everyone has noticed that there are quite a lot of new products at the drugstore. I actually feel a bit overwhelmed, haha. I only knew about a couple of the new Covergirl releases, so imagine my surprise when I was browsing my local Walgreens and spotted a whole new face products display for Covergirl.

Judging by the packaging and the titles, I'm thinking that the powder foundation and the concealer are just repackaged and reformulated Fresh Complexion powder and concealer, especially since it says "Fresh Complexion" on the new packaging AND the products look pretty much identical (except for the whole "Ready, Set, Gorgeous" stuff and the color is now white instead of blue.) Downside is that all of this stuff is so new that it isn't even up on the website yet.

I've been using all of these products for about five days now, so I will be doing some first impression posts on my Tumblr because it's a bit easier to blog from there, BUT full reviews will still be up on this main blog.

INFLUENSTER Uni Vox Box 2014! UNBOXING & FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday?! If you guessed my Influenster Uni VoxBox, you are correct! :) I didn't read or watch any spoilers for this box, although I knew about one thing we were going to receive, and I'll get to that later in the post. Three of these products I've already tried and own. The other three are products that are either new or products that I haven't tried yet, so this box was a bit...eh to me, but you really can't complain about free stuff, haha.

FTC Disclaimer: I was sent these products for testing purposes by the Influenster program, which is open to anyone in the United States and Canada.I am not affliated with any of the companies who have sent products, I am not being sponsored or compensated in any way for these reviews. I have done a couple of posts on Influenster: general info, first two boxes I received, and the Holiday 2012 VB. Influenster is a completely free program and anyone is free to sign up! :)

March 2014 Ipsy Bag! First Impressions

So, this was the first month I received the Ipsy subscription. I signed up for Ipsy, Birchbbox, AND Glossy Box because...well, the concept is pretty cool. This is a monthly subscription service that is $10 a month, and consists of 4-5 deluxe samples that can be haircare, skincare, makeup items, or fragrance. Ipsy typically has better sample sizes than Birchbox, but will also have more drugstore/mid-range level products in it. I've read mixed reviews on Ipsy; some people love it, and others have issues with products they've been receiving, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Join Ipsy! (Referral link.)

FTC Disclaimer: This product was received by me through my monthly Ipsy subscription service. This service is $10 a month (you receive 4-5 full size and/or deluxe samples per bag based on your responses to the survey you fill out upon sign up) and I purchase it with my own funds. I am not affliated with Ipsy or Nicole by OPI and receive no compensation for this post through these companies. All opinions are my own.

Also, I've created a second blog. I know, I know, I rarely update THIS one, right? The second blog is on Tumblr and you can reach it right here. This will have small little reviews, less on products, and more on specific colors and such. Also, first impressions (including the ones for these subscription services), along with FOTD posts and such, will go there. So if you have a Tumblr, feel free to follow me there! It's a sideblog so I can't follow you back, unfortunately. :(

Maybelline Dream Wonder Pressed Powder REVIEW

So...Maybelline is one of my favorite drugstore brands, typically. And this is going to be an interesting review, because, while I like the way this powder functions, I can't recommend it. I know, I know, that seems weird, and I'll definitely explain in-depth. This product is fairly new, so it's still a bit more expensive; about $8.99 at most places. I imagine the price will drop a bit the longer the product exists. This isn't being promoted as a powder foundation, so I'm not going into it expecting crazy amounts of coverage.

Also, I tend to prefer light coverage face products anyway, so keep that in mind! :)

L'Oréal Colour Riche Extraordinaire in Pink Tremolo 105 REVIEW

This is going to be a review on a new lip product from L'Oréal; the Colour Riche Extaordinaire liquid lipstick. This is basically one of those lipstick/lip gloss hybrids. I'm pretty sure this is their version of the Maybelline The Elixir lippies they have out. The formulas are pretty similar in texture. These are pretty pricy for a lip product; they're currently $9.99 according to L'Oréal's website and that is a lot of money for a drugstore lip gloss. The tube is small and compact, which is nice but at the same time...this product contains 0.18 fl. oz./5.5 mL, which is more than the amount in the Revlon Super Lustrous glosses (0.13 fl. oz./3.9 mL) BUT less than what comes in the Le Glosses from L'Oréal, which are also only seven dollars at most places. (0.40 fl. oz./12 mL)

I only own the one color but I might be picking up a few more and I do really like this particular lip product. The shade I own is "105 Pink Tremolo" and it's a really pretty hot pink. It's not too blue-based and I think it would work well with a variety of skin tones. t's easier for me to type up individual color reviews so this is probably going to be how reviews get done lately, lol. If you like smaller posts like this instead of my huge multi-color reviews, please leave a comment and let me know! :) Thanks in advance.

e.l.f. Studio Lip Exfoliator PRODUCT RAVE/FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I'm not sure if it's just in Michigan, but everyone I know, including me, has been suffering from SUPER CHRONIC DRY SKIN. My hands are absolutely disgusting; my fingers are cracked and scabby. My arms and legs feel practically like sand paper. And my lips...oh, my lips. I tend towards more of a matte finish lip and there is no way in HELL that I can pull off matte lips right now without looking like a hot mess!

So when e.l.f. had a huge sale (50% off EVERYTHING plus free shipping!), I snagged two of the lip exfoliators. I just got my order in today, but I'm making this post the same night because I am actually in love with this product. This is probably the best lip scrub I've used and it's only $3! The Bliss scrubs and Lush scrubs are at least $10 each, plus they come in pots, and this product blows them out of the dang water!

I'll put it this way; I just placed an order for eight more backups because I love this product that much. Since I've literally only had this for one day, that's why I'm titling this blog post "first impressions" and not an actual review. If my opinions do a 180, I will definitely make an updated post. But it's a lip scrub, ya know? I doubt my opinions are going to change drastically, haha.

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased this product for myself, with my own money. I am not sponsored or affliated with the e.l.f. brand, nor am I being compensated for this review. As always, my opinions are my own! :)

N.Y.C. HD Color Trio in "Long Beach Sands" REVIEW

So, I've already failed my NY resolution, bummer! But Bloguary is not totally dead; I just need to stop being a lazy asshole. Let's get this started! This review is going to be on a trio from New York Color, or, N.Y.C. This is a drugstore brand with costs similar to Wet N Wild. However, while WNW has vastly improved their range and has put out products with impressive textures and quality, N.Y.C. has...not. They're known mostly for their matte bronzer in "Sunny", but their eyeshadows have been underwhelming for a long time.

These new trios are supposed to be an improved "HD" formula. They're still pretty cheap and easily accessible; only $2.99 at pretty much any drugstore and they come in 12 different color options, all of which are on the neutral side of the spectrum, mostly bronzes and taupes, with a few color options like plums and olives.

FTC Disclaimer: This product was provided for review purposes through the Influenster program. I am not affliated nor sponsored by New York Color, nor am I receiving any compensation for this review. If you're interested in joining Influenster, I do have a couple of invites left, so leave a comment! I've done a post on Influenster before; click here. I've also reviewed a couple more N.Y.C. products FROM Influenster before; glitter liner and lip gloss.