May 2015 Surprise Products of the Month

Christie Brinkley Complete Clarity Facial Cleansing Wash

This was the cleanser I talked about in my no buy post that I wanted to try. I purchased in from HSN. When I first started using it I was like meh. It wasn't bad but I just wasn't wowed by it. I would use it in the evening with my Clarisonic. When I came back from San Diego, I was like ok let me try it on its own. So I removed my makeup with a wipe and then went in with the cleanser without my Clarisonic. I was like oh oohhhhhhh! This is a first for a cleanser to not "work" with my Clarisonic. Now I like it. I have noticed however that my skin does feel kind of tight after using it. I don't plan on repurchasing it once I use it up. If it came in a set, I would use it again. I still have some Olay cleanser and I ordered a set of philosophy's Purity which is an old favorite from QVC on waitlist. It's supposed to ship on June 15. So I'll see if it's still a favorite and if it is, I'll be sticking with it for a good while. It's A LOT of product lol! But luckily I have other uses for it like washing my makeup brushes and shaving. So if I do keep it then it will not go to waste.

St Ives Blackhead Clearing Green Tea Scrub

I'm telling you guys, I'm still kinda on a skin care kick. I picked this up randomly when CVS had a buy one, get one promo going on. I've been having some issues with white heads and blackheads on my nose. I went to check out the Biore strips. I ended up getting the CVS version and then saw the St. Ives promo. I wasn't wowed by this when I first started using it. Then all of the sudden I started liking it and how my skin reacted to it. Even though it says it's says it for blackheads, I think it good for clearing up the entire face. It does contain salicylic acid which is one of my favorite ingredients for my face and keeping it clear. Not sure if I'll repurchase it when I used it up since I've discovered another daily scrub that has been amaze balls on my face from Korres. You'll see it in my May Top 5 post.

Maybelline The Smokes Palette

Ok soooooo most of the reviews I've see on this palette have not been favorable. The same can be said for The Nudes palette when it came out but I still picked it up and I ended up really liking it. I scooped up The Smokes palette from Ulta when there was a 40% off promo on Maybelline products. So I wasn't going to be too disappointed if I didn't like it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this palette and reached for it several times throughout the month. Of course everyone wants pigmented eyeshadows. But there's also nothing wrong with an eyeshadow that you can build upon. To me this how these Maybelline shadows perform. I've used some really pigmented shadows and I'm there blending and blending and blending to tone them down. I've always been a fan of the Maybelline quads. I had some from The Smokes collection and Chai Latte. They were some of my favorites but I purged them out of my collection since I have similar shades in other shadows/palettes. But I did say I could repurchase them again. So I'm glad I picked this one up. Now I'm on the hunt for The Brights palette that people aren't liking either lol! I believe that The Brights palette is exclusive to Target right now.

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream & Blemish Ready Foundation

Whenever my face is being "special", I reach for one of my Bare Minerals foundations. I had seen some posts from Bare Minerals saying to use the Complexion Rescue with your favorite Bare Minerals foundation. So of course I was curious. I've used it with the matte foundation maybe once or twice. I can't remember if I liked it or not. I'll have to play around with it some more to see. But when I used it with the Blemish Ready foundation, I was like oooooooooohhhhh ooooooohhhhh!!!!!! I could not stop looking at my face in the mirror. Not being vain or anything but the combo of these two products have my skin looking GOOD! I have oily skin so I damn near leery of anything hydrating or dewy, because I usually end up looking like an oil slick especially during the warmer months. I've used the Complexion Rescue on it's on and I like it. Combined with the Blemish Ready Foundation my skin looks fresh with a hint of dewiness that wears nicely throughout the day. So I think combo will be my go to for the summer.

And on the the meh....

M·A·C 'Prep + Prime' 24-Hour Extend Eye Base

This isn't pictured about since I forgot to take one before I returned it. I ordered this from Nordstrom since they do free shipping and returns. I'm still on the hunt for THE primer. This was just ok. I don't hate it but I'm not wowed by it. On its own, I got about maybe 5-6 hours (sometimes less) before my shadows creased. I got maybe an extra hour if I used a base like a shadow stick or Maybelline Color Tattoo. This isn't a huge deal but I don't always use a base for my shadows. Some days I just want to slap on some eyeshadow and go. So the search continues *sigh*. I may try Nars again since that was my holy grail. I'm thinking that the tube I had probably started to go bad. So next 20% off sale I see, I'll probably scoop it up. If that doesn't work then I'm never wearing eye shadow again lol! #ikid

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

This mascara has been all the rage on YouTube. Everyone seems to LOVE this mascara. I'm like meh. I did like what it did to my top lashes. It did give them volume and some serious curl. It reminded me of one of my favorite mascaras from Bare Minerals, the Curl & Lengthen mascara. However, it smudges something terrible on my lower lash line and it is a BITCH to remove! So I'm glad I scooped it up during a 40% off sale at Ulta. In the trash it goes.

There you have it. Next up May Top 5!