What's Up in The Video World

Hi! I thought I would update all of you on the things I've been posting to YouTube! Enjoy the video trio of my favorite products (aka hits and misses) healthy food (Nature Box Snacks) , and a Q+A (TMI Tag)

take care

xoxo

Erica

May Ipsy

I can honestly say that I love Ipsy. The Glam Bag is the best thing that happens to my mail box every month...obviously since I am only getting bills besides Ipsy items. Lately I have been getting a lot of friends sign up and people in the grocery store talk about Ipsy. The cashier at the grocery store noticed I was carrying 5+ Glam Bag's in my purse and brought it up. Everyone seems to love the Glam Bag. A lot of the stuff is a total hit. Some of it is a total miss. This is where I come to talk about it.

I have been subscribed to Ipsy since July 2013. In the 11 months, this may be the very best bag I have gotten. Meaning the actual bag, not the products inside. It's so cute. It looks like something you would get from Clinique or something. I do wish the bags were a little bigger but this bag is made of fabric that reminds me of burlap or something like that so there is some give in it.

I have had the products for a week or so and there are two products that stand out and I have actually been using them. The Balanced Guru Hair Oil is awesome. It's just like any other hair serum {Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum or John Frieda Frizz-Ease} only this serum is totally organic and cruelty free. It is made up of a ton of essential oils: sesame oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, tamanu oil, lemongrass, and eucalyptus. I have been putting a few drops in my palms and rubbing it around my fingers and some of the back of my hands, then I finger comb my hair while it is still damp before I blow dry it. It's been working nicely. I need a serum in my hair at all times. Especially in the hotter months to come. Ohio summers are very hot and humid which isn't good for my frizzy hair.

Another product I have been using this past week is Avene Thermal Spring Water. This is a spring water spray for sensitive skin. This is more or less a luxury product. The recommended uses for this is to use if your skin is irritated or after you take off your makeup, or on a hot summer day to cool your face down. I have just been using it as instead of a toner. I wanna save it for when we go on vacation. Thanks Ipsy because I would never buy something like this lol. It's just for fun and I don't see it as an essential have-to-have-it product every day.

Then we have Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF 50. This is another thing I will be saving for vacation. Love that packaging though. It's like an 80's throwback.

This bag also came with a couple makeup items

Boo-Boo Concealer reminds me a lot of Hard Candy's Glamoflauge Concealer. It's really thick and creamy. I tend to gravitate more to brightening concealers to be used around the eyes and down the nose. The Boo-Boo Cover Up and concealers like it are better for actually concealing a blemish or scar. I do however like mixing them in with a moisturizer in the summer for a simple tint and very light coverage. It's a DIY tinted moisturizer.

Then we have Pacifica Natural Beauty Duo 2. I have only tested this out once and it was only to swatch them on my wrist as you see below. Not the best nor the worst pigment I have seen in an eyeshadow. I feel like I can get some use out of that lighter color. In the pan it looks like a shimmery white but once I swatched it, you can really see that it is more of a warmer champagne color.

What was your favorite Glam Bag product this month?

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day everyone in the US!

Take Care

Erica

Bright Summer Lips: NYX Butter Glosses

When spring/summer rolls around, I am ready for bright color's. The past week in Ohio has been nothing but rain and storms. Le sigh. I went into Ulta with the intention of finding something bright. NYX was having BOGO 1/2 off {as usual} and I knew I already liked their Lip Butters so I decided on these two. They were the brightest of the bunch.

Since I have already reviewed these in two other colors here, I will just give you a quick run down. These Lip Butters are great. They have a doe foot applicator + They have both pigment and gloss. It truly feels like a buttery consistency. It isn't sticky in the slightest. They are comfortable to wear.

Cherry Cheese Cake

This one was the brightest orange of the bunch. I always like orange lipstick for the summer. I wondered why they chose "Cherry" as a part of the name- it is a bit misleading. I think of a cherry as red, don't you? I have decided if it isn't a red orange then it is a yellow orange. To me, this is a true orange. It reminded me a lot of Revlon's Siren {matte} and swatching them next to each other, I noticed it was a dupe as far as the color goes. If your looking for the perfect orange lip, they make an excellent pair.

Peaches and Cream

Another weird name. I had to look for the peachy tone in there and I suppose this would lean slightly coral but to me this is just a perfect bubblegum pink. I have talked about the ELF Essentials Lipstick in Flirtatious plenty of times {may or may not be my all time favorite lipstick} and after swatching them side by side, I realized they are an exact dupe as far as color goes. Another perfect pairing if your looking for a bright pink lip.

Here's the swatches on my wrist. Peaches and Cream is on top and Cherry Cheesecake is below that.

Swatching lipsticks/glosses never give a true color of what it would look like on the lips. These lip glosses look a little but deeper- more bold - on the lips.

I love this time of year. I am so excited for the summer- and bold bright colors!

What are your favorite Bright lip colors?

What about your Favorite NYX Butter Gloss shades?

thanx for reading!

{xx}

Erica

Budget Friendly Makeup Collection and Storage {DIY}

Any sort of collection you may have that involves a bunch of different little piece {makeup collection, craft/scrap book/etc} can be kind of hard to organize. In most cases, collections tend to grow over time and the way you store things will grow over time as well. This is how I used to store my makeup back in 2011/2012. I love those plastic drawer units. You can find those at any Target or Wal-Mart for a decent price.

Now that my collection has grown, the storage unit has also grown. I bought this Ten Piece Drawer Set at Sam's Club for a complete steal for only around $20! It was easy to put together and with a little bit of messing around with everything, everything fits perfectly.

All of the little bins inside of each drawer were either bought at Target ($1), Dollar Tree (3 for $1 and the larger ones $1), and Dollar General ($1).

Tips:

I was looking at the ten drawers in the order I do my makeup. The top drawer is face items {foundation, concealer, primer's, etc} Second drawer is blushes, + bronzers. Third and fourth drawer are eye products, going all the way down the line {with some exception. I should have made the brow products one of the tops drawers but whatever}

Start by figuring out what you have the most of/least of then designate a drawer accordingly. Then start placing your bins in each drawer and you will be surprised to learn that the bins just start fitting in each drawer almost like they were meant to be there- almost like a puzzle piece or something!

♥Adorable DIY Tablescape
♥Favorite Drugstore Matte Bronzers/Contours
♥Favorite Champagne Eyeshadows
♥Mally Beauty Brand Review

ok it's Friday night and I am so ready to to chill out and edit a video and some photos, have a marathon of The Challenge and Chardonnay and maybe order a pizza? I couldn't think of anything more fun to do. Dork. Yes. I am. 

How do you store your makeup?

Until Next Time!
Erica

Bath and Body Works Candles + A Mall Haul

It has been some time since I purchased any new B+BW candles. It is one of my favorite stores. It's kind of ridiculous how many candles I have. I personally like to save any seasonal candles I haven't used up for the next year in case I miss the 2 for $22 for any given month. I used to not care about what scent I was burning in what month but there really something about the changing of the seasons paired with seasonal candles. In the fall, I crave Cinnamon Sugared Donut and Cider Lane. In the summer, I crave summer scents. It's so weird. I don't know how I got like this....im pretty sure B+BW had something to do with it.

Aloha Waikiki
Hulas & Hibiscus

I had this Wallflower last year and even though I love the smell of hibiscus, the Wallflower was too strong- or maybe I am just sick of it! Probably. On top of the Wallflower I had, I also have the Kim K. perfume which smells a lot like this candle. I have wanted this candle since last year and when I realized this scent was part of the 2 for $22, I couldn't resist. Now, I'm deciding on returning it. I need something new. But if you need a hibiscus or plumeria fix, this is your candle. It also kind of smells like jasmine too. Although they had another candle with a dominant jasmine note and I liked it more than this. It does have a high scent throw though. I'm taking it back anyways. I'm sick of this scent! Do you ever get like that?

"an exquisite fusion of Plumeria petals, Tiare blossoms, and a hint of sugarcane that transports you to the big island Aloha paradise!"

Garden Strawberry

OMG! When I first started my blog, I did a blog post about a Strawberry candle B+BW had years ago. It smelled like straight up strawberries. Even though strawberries aren't my favorite fruit, I do love the smell. This candle is incredible. I lit it in my bedroom and I could smell it coming up the stairs (we have a second floor that consists of 1 bedroom and a sitting room. It's pretty much a glorified attic). The scent isn't obnoxious or anything like that but the scent throw is really far. I love the smell of this. It smells like sugary tart strawberries along with some mango. Mangos are my favorite fruit but I honestly wish it was just strawberry scented. Nonetheless, the candle smells so good. The scent description reads:

 "A succulent blend of juicy strawberries, fresh mango nectar & floral peach blossom."

Cinnamon Sugared Donut:

I normally do not buy candles twice. I get sick of the scent by that next season and move on. I make an exception for Cinnamon Sugared Donut. Last fall, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! When I got to the store, I found out they did away with it for Fall 2013. Naturally I moved on to other candles but I kept on thinking about this one. It is my favorite B+BW candle scent- probably ever. This is featured in the Sweet Shop line that is apparently sold exclusively in the mason jars only. Adorable, yes. But there is something about the scent throw- the mason jar just doesn't have as far of one as the 3 wick did. It smells exactly the same in the jar but when it's lit, it isn't as strong as a scent as it used to be. I liked to be smacked in the nose with fragrance when I walk in the door and this one doesn't smack me very hard. Which is unfortunate because it smells exactly like the description reads:

"Share the delight of a freshly baked vanilla cake doughnut covered in sugar crystals and crushed cinnamon"
 

Next time I go back I need to stock up on Wallflowers and some new Bath and Body Products (coconut. yum.) Anyways, that's another blog post.

At another mall trip I bought a few other things! Elephant in the room:{I shop too much. Honestly. I feel like my life revolves around hauls and shopping. It's a problem.} Anywho, I bought more stuff!!! Surprise, surprise. This video haul consists of jewelry and sunglasses, but hey! I have a wedding to go to people. That's always my spring time excuse. I could also mention that its the changing of the seasons and trends....Those 2 are good enough excuses for me! 

 

Do you have a favorite spring candle?
What is it?

Thank you for viewing!
xxx
Erica