A while ago, I posted about how I had lost 30 pounds. I was SO excited. I was like awesome, let's tackle the next 30 pounds. *sigh* As always life happened and I got off track and gained 10 pounds of that back. It's been a yo-yo situation ever since.
I'm so annoyed and frustrated with this whole weight loss thing. I know that you shouldn't get caught up on what the scale says or compare your weight loss efforts to others. BUUUUUT that's the number that EVERYONE else focuses on! Of course they weigh you when you go to the doctor. Then the nurse or doctor has some shit to say. I just want to be like screw it! I mean I can see changes in my body and the way that my clothes have been fitting. Or lately when I have bought clothes, I have purchased a size smaller than what I would normally wear. I'm not going to give up and go back to where I was before. Just to need to regroup and rework my game plan. I'm still annoyed though.
*ends rants*
How do you stay motivated and not get caught up in the scale?
In November, I posted about 8 products I was going to try and used up by the end of December. I was somewhat successful. There were only 2 products that I didn't finish that were the fragrance items.
I wanted to do something similar again but want to give myself more time to use whatever product I picked out up. As I've reached for certain products, I've been thinking ok you need to get used up and out of my face! So I came up with a list of products that I want to use up by the end of the year versus 'confining' myself to a month. It's a mix of things that have been on my mind and I also revisited my Backup Products In My Stash post to see what could be added to the list.
Here are the products that I want out of my face by the end of the year:
MAC Evolution Revolution Lipglass - I like it but I have other pink lipglosses that I like better. I gave the backup I had away to a friend.
Korres Bergamot Pear Shower Gel and Body Butter - I've had these for a while. I like the scent. It's not one of my favorites from the brand.
Urban Decay All Nighter Spray - I prefer De-Slick over this. I have a little less than half a bottle left. So I'm going to focus on getting this used up before I get into the bottle of De-Slick I have waiting in the ranks.
Philosophy Unconditional Love Shower Gel - as you can see this is the big daddy super size 32oz bottle. Super size is cool if it's the only scent you use. It's one of my favorites but not the only shower gel I reach for. Said I want to use one shower gel or body wash no matter what scent I wear for the day. I saaaay this but we'll see if that actually happens. Especially since I recently went to Bath & Body Works!!!! *head palm*
Mally High Shine Liquid Lipsticks (Nude Light, Orchid, Mally's Baby) - these were my first glosses from Mally. They came in a set. Nude Light is one of my favorite nudes. Mally's Baby is a pretty pink and Orchid is just that. Need to use them up since I'm not lacking in lip products and I've had these for while.
MAC Lipstick in Call my Bluff - I got this in whatever Mac collection it released in. I got a back up on a blog sale. So I need to use this one so I can get to the other one *head palm*. It's one of my favorite nude lipsticks that doesn't look like I a concealer on my lips.
MAC Lipstick in Heroine - another lipstick that I have a back up. Since it's now a permanent lipstick in the MAC line, I don't need to hoard my back up. So let's see if I have get the first one I have used up this year. Shouldn't bee too hard since I like wearing purple lip colors.
Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Golden Deep - I prefer the matte version of the Bare Minerals foundation. Unfortunately when QVC offers kits with the foundation it's always in the original version. I got this via a QVC set. I typically use it more so over the fall and winter.
Out the Door Top Coat - I had mentioned that this was my holy grail top coat but the NYC one I mentioned in my January Favorites has replaced it.
Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss - this was a "YouTube Made Me Do It" product. It's nice but I'm not wowed by it. I prefer Carmex. So this will be used at night or when I'm bumming around the house. I don't really like using it during the day under whatever lip product I'm wearing,
Mally Face Defender - I have hit pan on the one in my purse. I didn't know I had used that much up of the product. I was excited lol! With the warmer temps around the corner, I think I can get this used up.
Urban Decay Perversion Eyeliner & Mally Evercolor Eyeliner in Onyx - I will rotate between these two black eyeliners and hopefully get them both used up by the end of the year.
Buxom Dolly - this was my first Buxom lipgloss and it's of my favorites. The makeup artist put this on my when I got matched in the Bare Mineral foundation (when Buxom products were not exclusive to Sephora) and I was like I'll take it! Dolly is described as a shimmering muted plum shade. Not surprise that it's a favorite huh? When I use it up, I do plan on getting another tube.
Bare Minerals 100% Natural Lipgloss in Glazed Donut - this was one of my favorite lipglosses and I've used up quite a bit of it but haven't reached for it in a while. So let's add it back to the rotation and see if I can use it up.
Bath and Body Works Creamy Coconut Body Splash - this is one of my favorite coconut scented fragrances. It's just sitting with my other perfumes and body sprays. So I need to use it up.
Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque - ended up using the Proactiv Refining Mask for a while. Now that I'm done with it, I want to use the Mint Julep Masque and move it out of my stash so I can try some other masks that have peaked my interest.
Kate Sommerville Exfolikate - this is currently in my shower. Another product I like but just haven't seen using.
And there you have it! I think this is a good amount of stuff. It may be too much stuff. I may be overzealous with this but dah well. I'll never get stuff used up, if I don't make the effort to use them. Wish I had a blush or eyeshadow to add to the list but I haven't even hit pan on any of my blushes or eyeshadows. I'm sure some of the products will turn up in a favorites post.
I'm going to keep these items in easy reach so that I see them everyday and will use them. Also when it comes to work travel, I'll reach for these items when I start packing. Especially all the lip products.
Ok sooooo this past week I've watched four YouTube videos and read a blog post on makeup purging. I think the universe is trying to tell me something :) At the beginning of the year there are always a lot of these videos and blog posts floating around.
Here are the videos I watched:
MissCrystalMakeup - Makeup Purge 2014
MrKongsMom - Makeup PURGE! Makeup I am getting rid of!
One weekend this month, I'm going to sit in front of the 10 drawer cart that I have everything in and go to town. I may even go through my loose Bare Minerals items too. I'll have some baby wipes on hand for cleaning up swatches and a trash bag for things that can automatically be pitched and pull items to giveaway or attempt to sell. It's on!
I tried to come up with a catchy title for my favorites post for 2014. Couldn't come up with anything. Oh well. We shall see if I came come up with something. Let's get to it!
Eyes
Bare Minerals Fired Up palette came with a Rock the Clock Liner black liner in Midnight. I am not a fan of these liners. I gave all the full sized ones I had away. I used it because it was in the palette. When I applied it, it went on patchy. I was like heck! I'm trying to finish getting ready and out the door and this happens! So I grabbed Wet n' Wild's black eyeshadow in Panther and the Fine Crease Brush from Essence of Beauty. I was able to smudge the jacked up line out with these two products and I really liked the look it created.
Funny, The Balm's Meet Matte Nude palette was in my February 2013 favorites. I pulled this palette out while I was using the first 2 palettes from January Palette Play (The Light Show and Fired Up). These are some nice matte shadows. You get neutrals but you also get some gray/taupe/smokey colors as well. It's a great palette on its on but you can pair it with a palette or quad that doesn't give you a complete look. Which is why I used it with the 2 Bare Minerals palettes.
Lips
During the middle of the month I pulled out L'Oreal Paris Infallible Never Fail Lip Gloss in #533 Admiration (Color of Hope Edition) and L'Oreal lipstick #531 Color of Hope. I got this in a L'Oreal set that was on QVC for I think it was either Breast Cancer or Ovarian Cancer. They do special shows and the net proceeds go to research. The lip gloss in a nude brown shade and the lipstick is mauvey pinky brown shade. If that makes any sense. Every time I wear one, the other or both together, I always take to Amazon looking for a back up. They are both shades that work well with my skin tone separately or together. I have somewhat pigmented lips, so these are a my lips but better color. They go with any eye look or blush color. Both to me are brown girl friendly shades. They are nude but not a concealer kind of nude that washes you or more makes your lips look like you put white out on them or something like that. I lucked up one time and found the Color of Hope lip gloss in a squeeze tube at the Dollar Tree. Of course now I can't find it.
I got the Bare Minerals True Romantic Marvelous Moxie Lip Duo from QVC. I am loving the Moxie gloss. The gloss is called Heartbreaker and it's described as a peony pink shade. I also got a deluxe sample size of Rebel from Sephora. Forgot to take a pic. Took a pick of the lipstick by mistake ugh! Heer's a link to Sephora's site where you can see the shade. It is described at a pink mauve shade which is right up my alley. I threw it in my makeup bag that I keep with me. I put it on several times later in the day at work when I didn't want to re-apply a lipstick I had on that was of a similar tone. I can definitely see myself getting this in a full size. I am always leery of pink colored lip products. There are very wearable and pretty pink shades that it flattering on a lot of skin tones. Come to think of it, a lot of my favorite pink glosses are Moxie glosses. The formula has also been great for my lips since it have be ridiculously cold! It gives your lips a little tingle but it's not an annoying tingle. Moxie glosses are very moisturizing.
Face
I got the Giovanni Eco Facial Clothes from my Secret Santa who happened to be my boss. I've really been enjoying using these to remove the majority of my makeup before I use Serious Skincare's Glycolic Cleanser and Clasrisonic. I also used these on weekends when I was just kicking around the house and didn't really feel like washing my face. The made me skin feel soft and didn't have my skin feeling tight afterwards. I have some Aveeno wipes to use after I use these up. After the Aveeno wipes, I don't plan on buying anymore makeup wipes. I feel like my Clarisonic and Glycolic cleanser gets everything off in the evening when I wash my face. If I feel the need to use a wipe then I'll use a baby wipe since I always have some on hand.
I've gushed over Wet n Wild's Color Icon blushes before but I don't ever think I've claimed a favorite. I played around with all 4 blushes in January month and I can say Heather Silk is my favorite. Mellow Wine is a close second. Heather Silk is described as dusty pink. Surprise surprise that it's a favorite since this color is my favorite pink blush color.
I used Bare Minerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for Combination Skin throughout the month. It's a past favorite. I reached for it on days when I was at home and didn't go out. I would wash my face and didn't feel the need to use a moisturizer with SPF since I was in the house. Or I used it when I used a Bare Mineral primer that already had SPF 30. This sinks in nicely into the skin and doesn't make me look greasy. I keep meaning to try their newer moisturizer with SPF 20. That'll be on the list this year to try and get a sample to try it out.
I also picked up the Bare Minerals True Romantic 3-piece Eye & Cheek Collection from QVC. I haven't really played with the quad or eyeliner but the blush....*pauses* is er'thang!!!!! The blush is called swoon and it is described as a petal-pink satin shade. It's a very very pretty wearable shade that can go with any look.
Nails
In my "11 Nail Polishes I Would Repurchase" post I mentioned that the Out the Door top coat was my holy grail top coat. Weellllll I think New York Color Grand Central Station #202 has taken its place! My beauty pusha Crystalis007 raved about the product on her blog. She got it at CVS during a 40% sale. When I went to look for it during the promo it was out of stock. Another random CVS trip I saw it and decided to pick it up. It's only $1.99 so even at full price it's a good deal for a quick dry top coat. This stuff is good! The one thing I had always hated about painting my nails is waiting for them to dry. Out of the quick dry top coats I've tried, this one is the best. Once I use up the bottle of Out the Door I have,I am sticking with this. I forgot to take a pic of it *head palm*
During the last CVS beauty sale, I picked 5 Milani nail polishes (Chocolate Sprinkles, Black Cherry, Bolting Blue, Dark Coffee and Deep Thoughts). I had only tried a glitter polish which I wasn't wowed by. I haven't heard a lot of people talk about these polishes but they are really nice. They are easy to apply and opaque with just one coat. There's one more that I may go check and see if it still on sale. I can't remember what that are at regular price but they still aren't that expensive. If you are a blue nail polish lover then you need to check out Bolting Blue! It's gorg! Ignore the Black Radiance Primers pictured :D
Body
Another gift from my Secret Santa was the Biggs & Featherbelle Fresh Mint & Sugar Body Scrub. This is a nice scrub. It's not too abrasive, it washes off easily and your skin feels moisturized to the point where you may not need to put on a lotion once you dry off. I didn't try that because even though my face is oily, the rest of me is DRY. So I don't play with it comes to lotion lol!!
Random Stuff
From hsn.com
Andrew Lessman's Secure Complete Meal Replacement has been a favorite for a while. I love it especially in the evenings when I come home and I know I should eat something but I really don't feel like eating. They come in these packets and a canister form. I love these packets for work and travel. I love how it mixes easily. I usually mix with milk or almond milk. I also love that this doesn't make me gassy. TMI I know but I've tried other products that gave me the feeling of being full but I had terrible gas and bloated! I was like jeez! I will definitely reorder.
Another food favorite are Kind Bars. I think I first tried these when I saw them in the grocery store, QVC had a TSV in January and I jumped on getting these. Some people said that it wasn't a good value and I compared it to some currently prices that were on Amazon and what I've paid at the grocery store when I have caught them on sale. I was fine with getting it.
One day while I was in the Dollar Tree, I needed to grab some toothpaste. I'm usually a Crest girl but for some reason I grabbed Aquafresh. Talk about old school lol. My mom used to use it when I was a kid. It came in standing tube. I think it was green. Anywho...wasn't expecting much but turns out I really like it. I was in Walgreens and went don't the toothpaste aise and they had the larger tubes on sale, 2 for $3. So I got another tube and they also had the whitening version that I grabbed. Been using it the last couple of weeks and like it too. I was in CVS and they didn't have it. They had the newer version the deep clean, extra clean or whatever it's called. I love when finding stuff at the Dollar Tree turns out to be a good thing :) Don't sleep on the Dollar Tree.
I did a 28 day workout challenge in January. The challenge was put together by Jessica Smith TV. The challenge was awesome. It was mix of different things from high intensity, high impact workouts to yoga to indoor walking/jogging and some other things. Her website has a TON of information and workouts for various fitness levels. She also gives alternative moves for you to do if the current move is too challenging. She very encouraging but she does push you. Her videos are on YouTube. Now that the challenge is over, she's sending out weekly workout schedules. I'm getting back into my Walk at Home workouts with Leslie Sansone but I will check out Jessica here and there to mix things up. Her videos will be handy when work travel rolls back around.
Surprise Products of the Month
Michele1218 on YouTube mentioned the First Aid Beauty Repair Cream in her 2013 favorites and she used it on her hands since they had been so dry. So of course I was like hmmmm. I've had mine for a while and rarely used it. I got it in a New Beauty Test Tube from QVC. So I put my tube by my bathroom sink and have really been enjoying it. The 2oz size is $12. So I doubt I'll purchase it when I'm done. I want to try Neutrogena's hand cream that I've heard good things about. It was nice to hear how someone else used the product, so that I can use it up and be done with it.
I was watching MakeupbyTiffanyD's Ulta haul and she picked up some Tree Hut products. I picked up the Shower Wash, Lotion and scrub in Brazilian Nut. It smells so good! The shower wash and lotion are very moisturizing. I wondered if the scent would linger but it is very light. So I don't think it would interfere with whatever fragrance I may decide to wear. I'll have to test it out and see. The prices on the products were awesome too. Everything was under $8 and you can you Ulta coupons towards them. When I got these products I have a 20% coupon along with some reward dollars. They also had a promo of buy 2 get 1 free going on when I got these. They have other scents but my nose liked Brazilian Nut the most.
Meh Products of the Month
I picked up the Beauty Blender when I have a discount offer from bloom.com. I got the set that came with 2 Beauty Blenders and the cleanser. I've used this with liquid and cream foundations. I don't like with liquid and it's ok with cream foundations. When I've used it with liquid foundations, I feel like I use too much foundation and waste product. Then bouncing the product on my face multiple times to blend in foundation is kind of annoying, I got this product off of hype and there wasn't anything else I wanted on the site at that time. If I had to go back again, I wound't purchase the Beauty Blender. I'm just not in love with like everyone else seems to be. I may try it with cream blush products. If you're curious about this then I would suggest looking at some of the dupes for the Beauty Blenders. Some reviews have said that various dupes are just as good as the Beauty Blender. Real Techniques also recently released their own sponge and I want to say it's less that $10 and you can use coupons and catch deals at Ulta.
I picked up Urban Decay's Anti-Aging eye primer from Ulta. I have been having a TIME with eye primers, so I decided to try this one out. *sigh* Did not like it at all. My eye look creases in a few hours! I wish I had looked a Musings of a Muse blog post on the product before I got. Her reviews are pretty spot on and she didn't like this one. Needless to say it went back! I'm all about returning products that don't work for me this year. No more of "trying" to make something work. Either it works for me or it doesn't. End of story.
Here are some nail looks that were favorites for January. My first attempt at doing some nail art with two of them. So be nice :)
Glitter sandwich using L'Oreal Berry Nice and Orly Tiara
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Ivy League, Milani Nail Art Draw in Pink and Sinful Colors Silver Ribbons
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White Out, Orly Tiara and Milani Nail Art in Purple Outline
One thing that made me chuckle was that I didn't have "enough" polishes for the month lol! When I got to the last week I only have one polish to play with. I think it was because I counted the glitter polishes and a full color polishes. There are some glitter polishes I have that are full polish glitters. But most I use over top of another polish. So there you go.
Anywho here is what I'm playing around with for February!
Essie Wrapped in Rubies
OPI Boris & Natasha
Sephora by OPI Be-Claus I Said So
Sephora by OPI Mr Right Now
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark
Milani Signature Gold
Formula X Perfection
Nails Inc Bling It On - Denim & Studs
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Brattlesnake
February is Heart Health month, so I guess subconsciously this is why I pulled out a lot of red toned polishes :) National Wear Red Day is on Friday, February 7 which is a part of Go Red for Women. Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association's national movement to end heart disease in women. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. You can also get the red dress pin from their site. I'll be wearing mine on Friday.
So let's raise awareness and take care of yourselves ladies! Just my little PSA for the month ;)
I haven't done recap post for the palettes I used for December and January. I had started the one for December a while ago but time had gotten away from me. So I've combined the two months. Going forward I'm going to include the recap or whatever comments I want to share (if any) in the new Palette Play post going forward.
December Palette Play Recap
Here are the palettes I pulled out for December and some thoughts on the palettes:
Week of December 1 - Tarte Palette from the "Bow & Go" Collection - I mentioned this in my December Favorites. So you have already heard me gush over this palette. It's great. I could have continued using it for another week. This was my favorite palette to use for the month.
Week of December 8 - Mally Citychick Celebration Shadow Palette - this is another good everyday palette BUT for me it was missed a dark brown shadow. But I still enjoyed using. I always have a single dark brown and black eyeshadow on hand. So the missing shade wasn't an issue.
Week of December 15 - Too Faced Natural at Night Palette - I think I used this like twice but I still enjoyed it. It's a past favorite.
Week of December 22 - Smashbox Mega Photo Op Palette - I only used this once. I used once of the purple trios with a Maybelline Color Tattoo and it was gorg! I may use this palette for work travel this year. We shall see.
Week of December 29 - Tarte True Blood Palette - I mentioned this palette in the Perfect Palette Tag post as a regret. The thing that turns me off about the palette is the packaging. It's big and bulky. The shadows are great. Tried to see if I could depot them but I almost broke a shadow, so I left it alone.
Maybe December wasn't a good month to start this lol. I did good the first two weeks. But then with the holidays rolling around during the third week, I was home for the most part so no makeup was done. Oh well. It was still a good start
January Palette Play Recap
I guess you can say January was a bit better. They first two palettes weren't necessary full eyeshadow palettes. Bare Minerals usually includes face charts with their palettes. I may have created the look on the charts when I first got the palettes, but eventually pitched them. I incorporated other eyeshadows to create an eye look that I was happy with wearing. I also may have used other eyeshadows instead on the "scheduled" palette. Let's face it, I buy stuff or I see something that makes me go ooooooh. But for the most part I did stick with using these palettes for the month.
Week of January 5 - The Light Show - my favorite eyeshadow from the palette was Flicker which is like and olivey dark gold shade.
Week of January 12 - Fired Up - I enjoyed the blush and lip gloss from this palette more so than the eyeshadows lol. My favorite eyeshadow was Sizzle which is like a taupey purple shade.
Week of January 19 - Convertible Eyeshadow Palette - I was meh about this palette. I got it on Christmas Eve and it was on sale. I have some reward dollars and a 20% of coupon. So I got it at a good price. I have mentioned before that I love Ready eyeshadows. This palette just didn't do it for me,. The colors are pretty. Don't get me wrong. But the make up of the colors remind me somewhat of Urban Decay's Smoked palette and y'all know how much I looooooove that palette. Funny thing was I kept my receipt and the box it came in which is usual for me when it comes to Bare Minerals products. So needless to say that I returned the palette. I did like the two shades that were in the mini compact part (bronzey shade and dark brown) but that was not justification to keep it when I have similar shades.
Week of January 26 - The September Issue - this palette had been on my Sephora wish list for a good while. I was waiting to see if I would go on sale for $25 like other 8.0 palettes have in the past. It didn't happen. I used my $20 off VIB offer to get the palette. This was my favorite to use for the month. The colors are gorg!
One of several posts coming your way. I had wanted to have my January favorites post up by the 31st and some other posts done by now. But well ya know, stuff happens. It's a comin.
I think it's time for some drugstore palette play this month. I was going to use all Wet n' Wild 8 pan palettes this month. BUUUUTT my first Sleek palette purchase changed that :) So here's what I'm going to play around with this month.
Week of February 2 - Sleek Vintage Romance Palette
I'm excited about this one. If you don't know, Sleek is a drugstore brand available in the UK. I ordered this via a seller on Amazon. This shipping was reasonable and it arrived it about a week. You can order directly from Sleek's website. If this is good, I can see this being a problem. I've added some other palettes to my wish list. *covers eyes* My thought process for getting this was that it'll satisfy my urge for the Naked 3 palette. But based off of reviews I read and heard, I think I'm passing on the Naked 3 palette.
Week of 9 - Wet n' Wild Nude Awakening Palette
My beauty pusher found this for me. I could not find it at drugstores in my area. This was one of the limited edition Spring palettes from last year I think. There are several posts comparing this to Urban Decay's original Naked Palette. So I'm excited to play with this palette as well.
Week of 16 - Black Radiance Posh Plums Palette
Black Radiance is owned by the same company as Wet n Wild. Pretty, pretty purples to play with *claps*.
Week of 23 - Sonia Kashuk Jewel of an Eye Palette
I got this on sale at Target and I'm kind of meh about it. Some of the shades are pretty but some other shades didn't seems to have a lot of color payoff. So I'm going to give it another whirl. People have raved about Sonia Kashuk eyeshadows. Right now I don't get the hype based off of this palette.
