Palette Play March 2014

I didn't do a recap of February in this post since I talked about all the palettes except one in my February Favorites. So you can check out my thoughts there. The eye section is the first part of the post. So you don't have to read the whole thing. It's a long one The palette I didn't mention was the Sonia Kashuk palette but I really don't have much to say about it. I only used it twice. I'm still meh about the palette. I think it's going to go in my giveaway pile.

This month I'm playing with eyeshadows duos. I love palettes but most of the time, I use a couple of shadows and go. If I'm really in the mood to do it "big" I'll use three lol. So duos are my happy place. I'll be playing with duos from elf, L'Oreal and Bare Minerals. The elf duos were from two holiday sets that I scored from Walgreens after Christmas for $2.50 each and the sets came with their eyeshadow brush. I'm tickled by these two sets because I think that the day set is more suitable for evening and the evening set is more suitable for daytime lol! Don' you think so?

Week of March 2 - elf 9 piece day eyeshadow set

Week of March 9 - elf 9 piece evening eyeshadow set

Week of March 16  - L'Oreal Hip Duos

As you can see I have a lot of these. I think I'll just grab whatever moves me that morning. So I'm not going to list anything now. But I'll definitely let you know which ones I reached for in next month's post.

Week of March 23 - Bare Minerals 2.0 Ready Shadows

I also have a lot of these. I'm going to do the same with these like the L'Oreal Hip Duos and grab whatever moves me when I get ready in the morning.

Since there are 5 weeks in March and it carries over into April, I'm going to add *pauses* Naked 3 palette into the mix. I had already decided that April was going to be Urban Decay month. This will be a good lead in for April :D I purchased the palette at the end of February. I've used it a few times and I love it. I'm glad I got it to try it out for myself. Reviews and such are good but sometimes you just have to get a product home and play with it. Let me stop here. I'll talk about it some more next month. So stay tuned...

February 2014 Favorites

I hope that everyone had a fantabulous February! Oh boy another long one here. Bare with me. Let's get to it!

Eyes

Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes is one of the two mascaras that I have been playing around with for the last couple of months. I haven't had a tube in a while but I'm glad I have it back in rotation. This is an easy mascara to work with and remove. It's buildable without clumping and your lashes feel like your lashes. Glad I have another tube on hand when this one is done from the December TSV.

The other mascara I've had in rotation is Bare Minerals Lash Domination. This is a good volumizing mascara. I also like the wand. Once I used this and Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lahses up, I am only go to have one mascara in use until it dries up or I use it up. Thankfully I don't have that many unopened mascaras. I may revisit some former drugstore favorites and see if they are still favorites. Stay tuned on that.

Sleek's Vintage Romance Palette was one of the palettes for Palette Play February. This was my first time trying one of their palettes and I really really enjoyed it. The shadows are pigmented and easy to blend. I can't believe that this is a drugstore product over in the UK. I have my eye on some of their other palettes. We shall see if they end up in my stash. Lawd knows I don't NEED them but well ya know. I ordered this palette from a seller on Amazon but you can order directly from Sleek's site and they do ship to the US.

The Black Radiance 8 Pan Palette in Posh Plums was another fav from Palette Play February. I was in the mood to play around purples and this palette was right on target. The shadows are pigmented, easy to blend and it's inexpensive since it's at the drugstore. If you are a purple eyeshadow lover but don't want to spend a lot on a purple palette, quad or single shadows, then check this one out. I kept looking at Bare Mineral Ready 4.0 The Dream Sequence which is a purple quad. It's pretty don't get me wrong. I swatched it the other day in Sephora and I was like nope, I'm good. Not saying that Posh Plums has any dupes, but I feel that since I have it I don't need The Dream Sequence. Now that's progress :D I also have a quad from Smashbox that has all purples that I like better. It'll make an appearance in a Palette Play post. If you can catch a BOGO, I recommend getting Downtown Browns along with Posh Plums.

I picked up the Mally 5 piece Evercolor Shadow Stick Library from QVC. The shades included are Gunmetal, Trailblazing Brown, Taupe, Champagne and Shimmering Lilac. I enjoyed all of them but hands down my favorite is Trailblazing Brown. I tweeted Mally telling her that it's perfection and that it's brown girl approved lol. If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't have one lick of sense. It's a brown that would be flattering on a variety of skin tones. If you are on the darker end of the spectrum, this is perfect for a no makeup/natural look. Swipe this on your eye, throw on some liner and mascara and your done with your eyes. It's a good base for neutral brown looks too. It gives the prettiest sheen but not glittery at all. It's one I would definitely repurchase when the time comes. Now I want to check out the shade that's called Brown. I have a darker brown shadow stick of her's that's one of my favorites called Chocolate Diamond. Gunmetal is a close second. This is an instant smokey eye in a tube.

Lips

As I was putting my list of stuff together, the lips section was empty. I was like that can't be right! I had to think back to earlier in the month when I pulled out two red lipsticks from Revlon. Certainly Red is a blue based red and I think it's a red that is flattering on a variety of skin tones. It is a creme finish. Really Red is a bit brighter with a matte finish but not super bright. These two are some of my favorite red lipsticks. I wear both of these with the NYX Lip Liner is Expresso.  If you're looking to delve into red lipstick, start with one of these.

I picked up Bite Beauty's Luminous Crème Lipstick Duo in Vivid. The duo has the shades Violet (vibrant purple) and Palomino (vibrant magenta). I've heard good things about these lipsticks. They are expensive. A single tube is $24. I've had Mulberry on my wish list for a while now. So this duo is a good way to try two shades since it's only $12. These are so smooth, creamy and not drying on the lips. They go out like a lip balm and wear like a lip stain. I'm hoping the come out with another mini set during the holidays like they did last year.

Face

I have had the Serious Skincare's C Power Enzymatic Facial Beauty Treatment with Vitamin C Ester since October. It came in the kit of items that I've mentioned before that I got from HSN. You're only supposed to use the product 2-3 times a week. I use it twice a week. Last month I paid more attention to my skin after using this product. I use it at night and the next morning my skin in smooth, bright and very soft. It's like I used a mask or some kind of scrub the night before instead of this treatment. I've been somewhat lazy when it comes to doing weekly treatments like a mask or scrub but I feel that I get the same results with this product.

The product claims are (from Serious Skincare's website):

• Contains a unique blend of enzyme and amino acids selectively exfoliates skin cells
• Moisturizes and optimizes the natural balance of the epidermis
• Helps skin appear brighter Provides anti-oxidant and collagen-enhancing properties

It's available for purchase on its own from HSN.

I picked up the Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Eliminating Astringent from Ulta when I had a 20% off coupon and was getting some other items. I was hoping that they had the Dickinson's Witch Hazel Toner which they didn't and I wasn't in the mood to go to CVS just for one product. This toner does have witch hazel in it along with salicylic acid. I've been really enjoying using this toner. It's refreshing and does not burn my skin. It kind of reminds me of the Proactiv Toner. I haven't searched to see how they compare. I also like the packaging. It's not a super huge bottle. It doesn't take up a lot of counter space and will be easy to travel with when work travel begins.

I picked up the L'Oreal Youth Code Eye Cream from a seller on Amazon with free shipping. Woot! It was only $5 so I wasn't going to be crushed if I didn't like it. Turns out I really like this. It's moisturizing and blends into the skin nicely. It doesn't interfere with whatever makeup I have around my eye area. I love the metal applicator which is very soothing and cooling to the under eye area. Some of the product claims are:

• Reduces signs of stress, fatigue and aging
• Skin looks rested, smoother and youthfully luminous
• Breakthrough genactiv technology helps increase skin's natural powers of regeneration, boosting skin's own capacity for recovery
• The cooling massage applicator tip delivers instant de-puffing action for under-eye bags, while lightweight micro-pearls brighten and smooth.

So score for finding an inexpensive eye cream. I will definitely reorder.

Ok sooooo last month I said that once I used up Aveeno's Ultra-Calming Makeup Removing Wipes that I wasn't going to repurchase makeup remover wipes. I think I lied. I cracked the Aveeno wipes open this month and I have really be enjoying using them again. They are very soothing on the skin, very moist, they don't irritate my skin and they get the majority of my makeup off. On the days when I do workout after work, I grab a wipe to remove the majority of makeup. Then I cleanse with the Serious Skincare Glycolic Cleanser and Clarisonic. Have to check Ulta to catch a sale and use their $3.50 off $10 coupon. Or see if I have some reward dollars to use.

Nails

I was kind of obsessed with OPI's Boris & Natasha this month. This is one of the polishes I pulled out for Nail Polish Play for February. It is a deep plumy brown shade. I wore this polish 3 times for the month on it's own and accented with other polishes. The formula is nice, easy to work with and not streaky. It's opaque with 2 coats.

Body

Oh Bath & Body Works! I fell down the rabbit hole back in undergrad. I had never heard of the store. President's Day weekend they have a buy 3, get 3 free promo going on and their hand soaps were on sale. I swear I feel like they practically give their products away with various promos, coupons and sales.  I had been stuck in the house for 3 days due to the snow we got. So I was itching to get out of the house. So why not go and spend some money? LOL! I picked up the scents Cashmere Glow and Amber Blush. OMG both scents are amazeballs! Cashmere glow has "a warm blend of golden peach, exotic berries and glowing lily petals indulged with shimmering vanilla and cashmere musk." It kind of reminds me of Amber Romance from Victoria Secret.  Amber Blush has "sensual blend of raspberry champagne, gardenia petals and magnolia blossom with a seductive kiss of crystallized amber and creamy vanilla suede." I'm a sucker for vanilla scents or anything that has vanilla notes in it.

Hair

We have a hair section this month! Fancy!

Wen Winter Cranberry Mint Cleansing Conditioner is the new winter seasonal set from Wen. Baaaabbbyaaaayyeeee it smells SO GOOD! Just when you think Chaz Dean can't top the previous seasonal, he somehow manages to knock it out of the park. Not just with the scent but with the formula too. I feel that this one it is a bit smoother and creamier and my hair loves it! I'm so glad I got on the seasonal auto delivery in the larger sizes. I also use the seasonal cleansing conditioner as overnight deep conditioning treatments as well has a leave in along with the Wen oil that I'm about to mention next.

I got the Wen Fig Sweet Orange Oil in the Fig Ultimate Hydration Set from QVC. This is one of the newer Wen oils. I have only tried the Pomegranate Rosemary. I wasn't wowed by it. This one the other had is amazeballs! I love the smell and I love how my hair feels after using as an overnight treatment and adding some in my hair before I blow dry it. I'm hoping Chaz Dean has a deal on his oils this year. I have a 1 oz bottle of the Tea Tree Eucalyptus oil that I got in another set that I'm excited to try.

Keracare Essentail Oils For The Hair is a favorite from a loooong time ago. I started using this when I got my hair done at the JcPenny salon. They carried Keracare products. When my stylist left to open her own shop, I happily followed. Keracare products aren't readily available in all beauty supply stores. So I moved on from it. Found some retailers selling it online but their shipping costs were ridiculous! I got an Amazon gift card for Christmas. I found a seller selling the larger bottle with free shipping. So I jumped on it. I'm glad to have this back in my rotation. Especially since the original Wen Tea Tree oil that I enjoyed so much is no longer available and his new oils are pretty pricey. It's a very good hair oil. I mainly use it on my hair at night and after I blow dry my hair after washing. I'm toying around with the idea of getting some tea tree oil and mixing it in smaller bottle with the Keracare oil to use as an overnight treatment for my hair and scalp like I've done with the Wen Tea Tree oil. The Keracare oil does say you can use it a pre-treatment before shampooing your hair. But it doesn't have tea tree oil it in. If I give this a go I'll report back.

Random Stuff

I think I stumbled upon the Concord Grape flavor or the refreshe Sparking Water Beverage at Safeway either last month or in December. I saw it and was like *yonk* in the cart you go! I think it's my new fav! Gives me my grape soda fix. These sparkling water beverages are the best.

Everyone has a product or products that they just have to have on hand or they get antsy. Well at least I do. If I don't have baby wipes on hand then we have a problem. My favorites are the ones from CVS. I usually get the big 3 pack when they are on sale or if I have some CVS bucks to use. Well I hadn't had any CVS bucks in a while and every time I went to CVS they weren't on sale! One random CVS visit, I saw that the Pamper's Sensitive Baby Wipes were on sale. So I said why not. Dare I say that I like these better?!? They are a little larger are and a bit more moist than the CVS ones. I also tried them out on my face to remove my makeup and they were fine.

Surprise Products of the Month

So I pulled out elf's HD blushes the last week of this month to use into March. I hadn't really used them since I got them last year. The first once I used was Superstar which is a coral pink shade. Then I used Headliner which is a dusty pink shade. I was like wow once I put it on. Now this isn't a throw on a go type of product. They are hella pigmented and too much product does dispense out of the tube. I squirt the product on the back of my had, dab some and blend on my check with my finger and then take a small stippling brush (elf or Real Techniques) to blend. Seems like a lot of steps but it goes quick. You can build up the color on your cheeks. And can I say that they LAST ALL DAY! I'd come home in the evening and they look the same as applied earlier that morning. I guess I really didn't pay that much attention to these when I first used them. These are comparable to Makeup Forever's HD blushes but a lot cheaper! They are only $3 and there are 5 shades. So if you have a problem with your blush lasting all day then check these out! I wish they had a red or a orange one.

Meh Products of the Month

The Nude Awakening Palette from Wet n Wild released last spring. I was unable to find it and the other palette that released at any of the drugstores in my area. My beauty pusha was nice enough to scoop both palettes up for me. I hadn't used it until this month for February's Palette Play. A lot of people compared the shades in this palette to the original Naked palette. Now let me first say that I love the original 3 8 pan palettes from Wet n Wild (The Comfort Zone, Petal Pusher and Blue Had Me At Hello) along with the their trios and the 6 pan palettes. This one just didn't do it for me. These didn't seem as pigmented to me as their shadows typically are and I felt like I had to keep packing on color. I was so surprised and kind of disappointed. Maybe I'll reach for it again and give it another whirl.

I don't have it to show you but Revlon's lipgloss in Rose pearl was a "YouTube Made Me Do It" product. Emilynoel83 had talked about it, I thought it was nice and I picked it up. I think from Ulta. I know I had worn it and I liked it at the time. Fast forward to this month. Did my makeup one morning, went to put this gloss on and I was like on hayle naw. Took it off and put something else on. I gave it another whirl on a Sunday when I was kind of bumming it and went out to run some errands. It was somewhat "better" but I still wasn't feeling it. So needless to say it got tossed. I'm iffy when it come to frosty and pearly shades on my lips. This color was close to the natural color of my lips and it just was a no go for me. I need to go through my lip colors and reevaluate them.

I think I've mentioned in a previous post that I've had a tiiiiime with eyeshadow primers! I had heard good things about the Milani Eyeshadow Primer. So I said why not and gave it a go. This primer did not work for me! I swear by like noon I had creasing. Ugh! So this is going in the giveaway pile.

I don't have this to show you because I already returned it to Sephora. On the last Wednesday of the month, I went to Sephora. I picked up Makeup Forever's Mat Velvet + Foundation. I had heard good things about it from some YouTubers whose opinions I value, so I decided to give it a go. *sigh*. It is a full coverage foundation. I've come to the conclusion that me and full coverage foundations do not get along. I picked up the shade Coffee and it was kind of weird. Once I did my whole face and everything set it was kind of ok. One minute I felt like it was ok then too light the next. I wasn't comfortable with it and I know the next shade up would be too dark. Also I want to say it broke me out but it's almost that time of the month, so it cooooould be that. But I'm pointing fingers at the foundation. I told a couple of people that I think the makeup gods are telling me to stick with what I know and what's working for me in terms of foundation. I did order Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation during the friends & family sale in February. I've had good success with several Bobbi Brown foundations. So I'm not too worried *knock on wood*

And there you have it. Again I'm so sorry that this is long. I'm going to try and come up with something different for next month.

On to March and maybe some more posts. We shall see. If there is something you want to see or talk about let me know ;)

Nail Polish Play March 2014

Due to being stuck at home a few days due to the weather and being stuck on OPI's Boris & Natasha, I didn't use everything from last month.  I didn't use the Sally Hansen Salon Effects and Nails Inc Bling It On - Denim & Studs . I'll put them back into the mix at some point but I've had Essie on the brain lately so March is Essie polish play! Yay! Don't they look cute in my bowl?!

Essie is my favorite nail polish brand. I picked up a mini cube of their new Resort collection. What's cool about this collection is that it's only 4 polishes and the mini cubes only includes four polishes. So yay!!! I like these mini polishes. I also pulled out the polishes from their Fall 2011 collection. This was the first collection where I bought all the polishes in a collection from a brand. So this is more than 8 polishes but oh well. We'll see how this goes.

Here are the polishes from the Resort collection:

• Cocktails & Coconuts
• Under the Twilight
• Resort Fling
• Find Me An Oasis

Here are the polishes from the Carry On Fall 2011 collection:

• Lady Like
• Carry On
• Power Clutch
• Very Structured
• Glamour Purse
• Case Study

And for giggles, I also pulled out Mint Candy Apple since Essie keeps posting it on their Instagram page. I also picked up Penny Talk recently. This is one that a lot of people have raved about. Let's see if it lives up to the hype.

Also I forgot to mention that I had ordered some dotting tools (pictured in the bowl)  from Amazon and got them in January. It took a while for me to get them but I didn't know that they were coming from China lol!! The were very inexpensive and shipping was free, so I'm not tripping on how long it took for me to get them. So lets see if I can incorporate some dotting action this month!

The Weight Game

(Courtesy of Microsoft)

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?

Out of My Face - 2014 Edition

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.

I'll report back in December *salutes* :D

Duck Season, Rabbit Season, Makeup Purge Season!!!!!

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!



Jennifer Wan - High End Make Up Purge



Jennifer Wan - Drugstore Make Up Purge



And here's the link to emilynoel83's blog post.

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!

January 2014 Favorites

Well this is late. Sheesh.

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.

And there you have it. Not too bad this month.

On to February!