March 2015 Top 5

It was hard to narrow down this month's top 5! Jeez! Usually I'll open up a post and list a bunch of stuff and then go and determine if I was truly a favorite for the month. I had 10 items * head palm*. I did narrow it down to 5 five but I cheated towards the end.

Let's get to it!

Zoya Monet

This is a pretty glitter polish that pairs nicely with just about any nail color. It's pictured above with OPI's My Dogsled is a Hybrid.  It is described as "a multi-colored, cellophane holographic special effect topper". It's not too much like some glitter polishes but it's not a blah glitter polish either. It's also easy to remove. I wore this with every polish change I did for about two weeks straight.

Covergirl Queen Foundation

From surprise product to full on FAVORITE! This foundation is DOOOOOPPPPPEEEE!!!!! Dope to the point that I'm going to order 2 bottles from Target. I have worn this foundation with primer, without primer, with powder and without powder. It looks good any which way. Also it lasts on me all day with minimal oil coming through. I wear the shade Mocha Q835. Dare I say that I have found my holy grail liquid foundation?!?! I'm kind of worried that the shade I wear may be discontinued. It's not readily available online. I got it from Walgreens but it's not available on their site. The foundation is also available on drugstore.com but my shade it not there either. So I hope that it's not being discontinued. Target and Amazon are the only places where I have found the shade I wear online. I was thinking about trying some other liquid foundations this year but now I'm like girl WHY!?!?! There's no need when I have found one that I like. Plus my current foundation collection, which was kind of non-existent is now out of hand. A post will be coming on that foolishness later.

Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette

It shouldn't be a surprise that one the Chocolate Bar palettes made the list. I enjoyed using both palettes this month, but the Semi Sweet palette is the front-runner. If you are brown eyeshadow lover then this is the palette for you. When this one came out, I had already said I was going to get it at some point. My favorite eye look was with Frosting and Hot Fudge. Peanut Butter is an excellent blending shade too. I may travel with this palette next month when I head to San Diego for work.

Empire Soundtrack

Linda Linda LISTEN! If you are not watching Empire then you are missing out on some good TV! I've seen the various "issues" that people have with the show, but I'm like whatever! It's nice to have good scripted TV on instead of these doggone reality shows. The music in the show is awesome and when the soundtrack came out, I was ALL over it. It is really good and I can listen to it from beginning to end. My top 5 songs are What is Love, No Apologies, Money For Nothing, Power of the Empire and Nothing to Lose. There are some other songs that are available for purchase that were on the show that aren't on the soundtrack that I may pick up. I cannot wait until season 2!

Buxom Full-On Lip Creams

Kind of cheating here since I'm mentioning two shades. The two shades I wore off and on throughout the month are White Russian and Mai Tai. White Russian (nude pink) is one of my absolute favorite nudes. Mai Tai (vivid coral) was given to me. I've mentioned before that I'm leery when it comes to orange/coral shades on my lips. But I should have known that I wouldn't have any issues with this one. It's just enough color but it's not too much. I love the formula and how these feel on my lips. They are just so easy to wear and don't require a lot of fuss.  I need to reach for my Buxom and Moxie glosses a little more often. I keep saying that if I ever did a MAJOR purge that I got stick with just the Buxom and Moxie glosses that I have. But that's a big if...HA!

There you have it. Short and sweet I think. On to April!

March 2015 Surprise Products of the Month

This was a good month of playing around with stuff.  Here we go!

Christie Brinkley 3pc Age-Defying Skincare Regimen

So my drugstore skincare bandwagon has come to an end lol! This was a Today's Special on HSN and of course, I was curious and ended up ordering it. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised by all 3 items. I love that this is a set that you can incorporate into your current skincare routine. The Complete Clarity Daily Facial Exfoliating Polish is really nice and not abrasive at all. The Recapture Day + IR Defense Cream and Recapture 360 Night Beauty Treatment are awesome. I have oily skin and I'm usually leery of moisturizers with SPF since they usually contribute to more oil on my face. This one is awesome and it seems to mattify my skin. My makeup the last few weeks and gone on smoothly and has looked really good all day. I haven't really needed to blot my face as much either. The night cream is luxurious and my skin feels so soft and smooth when I wake up the next morning. So glad I signed up for autoship. Can't wait to see what else comes to HSN from the brand.

KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp Glossifier

My scalp can get dry which turns to itchy. It has been dry and itchy more so than usual this winter, so I poked around looking at this and that. My hairdresser uses this product on my hair when I get it done. I've used it in the past but couldn't really remember if I liked it or not. So I stopped at Ulta and got it along with the shampoo and conditioner in the line. The Glossifier however is the star. I used it daily for a week straight and I see and feel the difference it had on my scalp and my hair. The following week I used it every other day just for giggles. I'll see once the warmer weather hits if I'll have to adjust how often I used it but this will stay in my hair care rotation.

Nivea Extended Moisture Body Lotion

I picked this lotion up from Ulta the same day I got the KeraCare products. This winter has done a number on my skin as well. My face is still oily but the rest of my body is dry dry dry! It's not that bad but since it has been so cold, all the doggone heat that has been pumping indoors and the dry air hasn't helped matters either. This stuff is awesome! It sinks into my skin nicely and keeps my skin moisturized all day, It's inexpensive and you get a ton of product. I guess I shouldn't be surprised liking this so much since I love the Nivea Creme that  I use as a hand cream. When I use this up I may check out some of the other Nivea lotions. Poking around on Ulta's site, every product has really good reviews.

Coach Poppy Freesia Blossom

This was a Christmas gift that I hadn't used until about the middle of the month. I wore it every day for a week. It is described as a "a sweet, indulgent fragrance". The notes in this scent are: Bergamot, Cassis, Raspberry, Mara Strawberry natureprint, Apricot, Star Jasmine, White Orchid, Tiare Tahiti natureprint, Freesia, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, Musk. It is a good mix of sweet and musky which I like. This will probably be my go to fragrance once the warmer weather truly hits. But honestly I would wear this year round.

Safeway Care Cotton Oval Rounds

I know, I know. What's so earth shattering about cotton ovals? I randomly saw this in Safeway as a new item. They are a lot larger than your typical cotton rounds. So I was like oh I can use these with the CVS Cold Cream Deep Cleanser (Ponds dupe). It's quite messy and I've already stained a washcloth. So I deiced to give these a whirl and I really like them. I have also used them with a cleansing water and they work well too. So score for a random grocery store find.

Shea Moisture 10-in-1 Renewal Hair Masque

Another product I scooped from Ulta. My last hair appointment I had to cut a good bit of my hair off and I was PISSED! I know it's only hair but I was hot to trot. But after like a day, I was fine and actually like the cut. It's not a short as I thought it was. I am kinda lazy when it comes to deep conditioning my hair. I had already been using the Jamaican Black Castor Oil Hair Masque from Shea Moisture but wanted to check out something else. So I grabbed this. I have been alternating this with the Jamaican Black Castor Oil one. I really like the results. After using this, my hair is soft, more manageable and moisturized. So we'll see what comes from my next hair appointment.

And on to the meh....

Aveeno Creamy Moisturizing Oil

I picked up the Aveeno Creamy Moisturizing Oil when Aveeno products were on sale at Ulta.  I got this before I got the Nivea product I mentioned earlier. I've had success with Aveeno products. So I decided to give a whirl to see if would help with my dry skin issues. It did not help keep my skin moisturized which is shocking. I think this will be fine for me come spring, summer and early fall. So I don't hate it. I do actually like it but just right now, it's not season appropriate for me. I went ahead and gave what I had left to my mom. Maybe I'll pick up again if I can catch it on sale during the warmer months.

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Espresso

The Too Faced liner came in a set that I picked up from HSN a while ago. I hadn't used it in a while and I was going to give it away but I was like nope, let me give it another whirl. I LOVE the color since I like dark brown liners. It glides on easily and is super smooth BUT this no joker does not last on me at all. It's so frustrating. I'm tired of trying to make it work and I don't even feel like going through the motions of trying to find someone to get it to. So it the trash it's going.

And there you have it. Next up will be March favorites!

Product Play March 2015

Can you believe that it's already March??! I feel like January was just yesterday. Oye! But still I'm glad to see February go! I had dental work that knocked me on my azz for about two weeks, very cold weather and lots of snow and a car accident to end out the month. Peace out February!

Here's what I'm playing around with this month.

Palette Play

Chocolate Bar palette, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette

So I finally caved and picked up both Chocolate Bar palettes from Too Faced. I got both palettes from HSN. The original Chocolate Bar palette was included in the Too Faced Better Than Chocolate 4-piece Essentials set that was a Today's Special. The set was the same price as the palette alone. What sealed the deal for me was that I had a credit on my account. So I ended get the set for about $33. The Semi-Sweet palette, I ended up getting due to free shipping and a 20% off coupon. I've already did a couple of matte looks with both palettes and I really liked how the looks turned. Also both palettes smell like chocolate! This is going to be fun!

Polish Play

I placed a Zoya order last month. I had a really good coupon code from the Cyber Monday Mystery Bag. I'm telling you, if you see the mystery bag deal, get it! For $15 and what you get, it's an awesome deal! I picked up four polishes.

Aurora, Monet, Chanelle, Dream

I also pulled out the other six full size polishes I have from Zoya. So March is Zoya month!

Ibiza, Envy, Storm, Pasha, Nimue, Freja

Out of My Face

philosophy Living Grace Perfumed Olive Oil Body Scrub, philosophy Senorita Margarita Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath, Bath & Body Works Cashmere Glow Shower Gel

From last month, I did use up the Fresh Cream items. I'm still working on the Black Radiance primer and the Elasta QP hair moisturizer. I'm going to throw in three more bath and body products. I don't think I'll use them up by the end of the month, but I would like to get them close to empty. I told you all that I lost my mind getting bath and body products last year. So you'll be seeing a lot of them posted here *insert deep sigh*.

And off we go!