Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Sunday, December 2, 2012

quick touch base post

These last three months ...well they have not been very good. Right before Thanksgiving I wound up in the hospital for 4 days. Oxygen, needles, breathing treatments..etc. Very horrible experience. My nurses were wonderful, hubby was amazing. (i think he maybe slept about 6 hours in those 4 days). But I'm almost at full strength again. ---Meaning I feel human for the first time since Sept with all these crazy health issues. Come on..2013!!!
hehe

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Palmolive Fresh Infusions review

The lovely people at Influenster sent me my first voxbox of three Palmolive Fresh Infusions.
First off, the actual packaging of the box was wonderful, secure, no leaking!
Link to my unboxing...don't ask what happened to the audio, I have no clue..
So I have been using this for about a week now. They do smell lovely. They clean well, not perfect. They come off a bit thick...which means double washing is necessary.  The biggest plus is the smell. I can't seem to find these in stores yet, there is a link to the Target website where you can purchase all three scents for 8.97. Which winds up being 2.99 for a 16 oz bottle. Now if they have coupons or it is on sale this would be a doable.
Pros: wonderful scent
 gets everything nice and clean.
Cons: a bit thicker than my normal dish soap.
  Definitely pricier than my normal dish soap.

Bottom line..would I repurchase/purchase...yes, if it is on sale.

Target link to purchase: 3-pack





Items sent to me for my consideration, but I will always express my honest opinion.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

my goodness..i have been a bad blogger!

Okay, I have not dropped off the face of the earth. it has been a horrible two months here, ending with last week having an abscessed tooth. So lots and lots of pain pills later, antibiotics, the first of two trips to the dentist and I am starting to feel human again.
New stuff...I recently got the Mash & Shany nail stamping plates. Okay, the non nail girl is truly addicted to these. Having way too much fun.
Other news, with the tooth being so wacky..it has played total havoc on my skin. So I'm trying some new stuff to see if anything will help. Over the weekend I'm going to my local Ulta to see if I can get a sample of the new Visionnaire by Lancome. Yes, I have considered some other things, but would like to avoid needles getting stuck into my face.
One more day of work to go and then I can rest again. Two days off in a row. Always a nice thing.
Love yas!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Black Radiance at Dollar General!

Very very excited over this. Right now they don't have a huge selection, but hopefully it's coming soon. Price point is 5$ for each package.
3 lip glosses, 3 sheer tint lipsticks, 3 different eyeliners (pencil, liquid, and smudger) and the Downtown Browns with 2 mini eyeliners.
 the actual display
 lip glosses
eyeliners

I purchased the Downtown Browns and the lip tints. The eyeshadow so far is wonderful. I did not use primer and they lasted with minimal creasing a full 10 hours. The lip tints, I am going to try out tomorrow. They are very very dark. Not 100% sure they are going to be work appropriate.  And sorry for the blurry pics, but this is my second time taking pics in a store, kinda felt wierd doing it.

Friday, July 6, 2012

dual review,Facial Epicare Epistick Epilator Hair Remover Stick

Hiyas! I'm back. Sorry I have been gone for two weeks, the heat here has been unbearable. And quite honestly the last place i want to be is in front of the computer. I have been hiding on my futon between the a/c and the fan. Yes, I know most of the U.S. has been hiding there as well. :)
Okay, first off I want to give big kudos to the seller I bought from millionshare. I got my order quick quick. Which is not just nice, but unusual anymore. Most sellers seem to push that 30 day ship time. I really think it's a whole feedback issue thing anymore. It arrived a day early and was nicely packaged. So thank you!

Now the review for the Epicare Stick. I watched numerous videos on YouTube about this beforehand. And most of the reviewers were in their teens. Well, if they can use it, surely I can!

Now on the actual hair that was bothering me, the lower chin peach fuzz..this works wonderfully. It is easy to use once you get the hang of it. Now the dreaded mustache hair....oooooowwww!!!The pain was horrible, worse than individually plucking or waxing. The amount of redness was the same I get from waxing.

Okay, ease of use~simply turn the pink knobs in opposite directions and run the coil against your face. You will feel the hair getting pulled out.
Lasting results~the same as plucking.
Pricing~ depends, I choose to purchase mine off of ebay, the actual site is a good deal more. (I will include a link to them as well)
Lasting of the actual tool~this varies I would think with use, seems most people replace theirs every 6 months. I've had mine for about 4, and have not noticed any issues with it. (and to be honest here, I am half Italian and unfortunately a touch fuzzy).

bellabe

Friday, June 15, 2012

Review~L'Oreal Sublime Sun for the Face SPF 50

Okay, so I have been using this pretty much for the last month. First and most importantly, my rosacea has not gotten any worse. And obviously I have not gotten sunburned.
The other big plus for me is I have not had any breakouts.
This is a watery product which might bother some people, it's more watery than any of my liquid foundations.   Almost as watery as my L'Oreal corrector.  I personally was much happier with not putting something super heavy on my face.
There was also no overpowering SPF smell. Considering how much sunblock I use in a day, I'm quite happy not to have that smell directly by my nose. Thanks!
Keep in mind the following, I am fair skinned (nw15 for reference) with dry/oily/generally cranky skin.


So I was thinking about my 40's compared to my 20's

When I was 25 I had figured out my skin, my hair, and my body. I had them mostly under control. Yes, I still had breakouts, but I knew when and where they were going to occur. I knew what I could and could not eat to maintain my weight. And my hair was always so well behaved. (good hair, good). Fast forward almost 20 years, now I have weird breakouts. My normal zone, my cheeks have turned into the sahara desert. My t-zone used to be oily, now it's oily some days, normal on others, and on others could end the oil crisis in at least two states. My hair....the daily annoyance is the wispy look on top of my head. Kinda like I'm having a nervous breakdown. And then there's this one patch of hair that gets oily oily. Just one patch, no matter how much I wash it.
And I actually had a moment this week where I wondered why I have so many hair/skin care products.

And we won't discuss the weight gain! :)

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Not a beauty post but had to share

I've lived in my house for roughly 15 years. Now living in the South has a whole set of different issues than living in the North. You southern ladies know what I'm talking about. Red clay. What a dreadful thing it is when your water runs thru it and into your all white bathroom.  Anyway I wound up with horrible red stains in my tub. Nothing but bleach would remove them, and I do mean nothing. Scrubbing Bubbles-no, Kaboom-no, Spic n Span-no. etc etc. The amount of money I have wasted on all those amazing cleaners wound up to be nothing compared to this wonderful and cheap solution. (someone kick me!) Best part over bleach is I don't wind up having breathing issues with this.





Original Dawn dish soap, white vinegar and a empty clean spray bottle. I used a half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of dawn. Heat the vinegar, I just put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add to spray bottle and then add half a cup of Dawn. Shake gently. Spray in tub. Wait two hours and wipe off with a sponge. That's it.
There is some smell with the vinegar but in comparsion with everything else I've tried and muttered over this is a  Godsend. There was literally no scrubbing involved. And don't we all love not breaking our backs? Not to mention saving my mani!


link to the blogger I got this from,http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/2012/01/dawn-vinegar-soap-scum-killa.html

Sunday, May 20, 2012

a little haul

still working on getting some swatch photos up, and messing with the camera. (hopefully they will be up tomorrow.)

Well, I got NYX pore filler,616 pacific,614 lavener, the Dark Shadows palette, E.L.F. teal tease cream eyeliner, Lancome sample, two mac samples,  MAC lightscapade, moroccan argan oil, and essence forget it concealer.

My daylight is gone for today. :(

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Aveeno & Neutrogena Sunscreen for the Face review

Okay, with the weather being so much warmer here, and knowing how my pale skin(NW15 for reference) does not like sun, I went on the hunt for a sunscreen just for my face. Something I could wear under makeup without looking wonky.
So off to Walmart I go (they actually have the best selection of sunscreens in the area). And after reading, rereading the backs of all the bottles/boxes, I decided on the Aveeno one. First off I do want to say, I love all the other Aveeno products I've ever used. So the next morning I am getting ready for work and put a little bit of this on my finger, and the first thing that goes thru my mind is "this is really really thick, this cannot be good for my skin". I, for some stupid reason ignore that little voice and go ahead and apply it. Now it looked fine under makeup and did not have that horrible spf smell we all love. Okay, so win!
Fast forward 3 weeks. Small zit on my nose. Okay, maybe..just maybe..but possibly hormones. Then George moved onto my nose. This zit was so large I decided to go ahead and name it. Not to mention it took close to two weeks to leave my face.
Final verdict: returned it. It did it's job at keeping the sun's rays off of me, did not have any weird smell, and was within an acceptable price point. But at a certain age one does not want to be dealing with acne that rivaled anything I had to deal with at 16.


Took a two week break and just used my Oil of Olay moisturizer. Got my skin to finally clear up and then took the plunge and tried the Neutrogena.
This one was worse if that is all possible. It took one week for my skin to break out again. George II was equally annoying but he is moving out now. Bye-Bye.
Final verdict: returned it. Didn't really give this a full trial run.


Considering the thickness of these two products I'm not sure whose face they could really be used on. They both were thicker that the sunscreen I use on my body. I would say these would be fine for the neck and upper chest. And they both did a good job at helping me maintain my pale.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

when did Walmart become the good guy?

So in the ongoing search for a decent sunscreen for my face I have tried Aveeno Face SPF 100.
Long story short, it went back today to Walmart. Now I've had it for about a month, so I had long ago thrown out the receipt. They gladly refunded my money(granted I did have to show my id for tracking purposes) . And done.
Onwards to Rite-Aid. (yes another Rite-Aid story). My original reason for going there was to search for the new LE Wet n Wild bronzers. While I was there I stopped by the sunscreens, knowing I needed a replacement   for the Aveeno. I wound up getting Neutrogena Spectrum+Face.

 Also another needed to be returned item. Now here's the kicker, I had the receipt for this, I paid cash. And they hand me a gift card. /joy
Yes, I will be contacting them.

Here is their return policy:

Trying new products is one of the great joys of visiting Beauty Isle.
But sometimes what you see in the mirror at home leaves you less than overjoyed. Not a problem! You can always return beauty items for a full refund at Rite Aid.
Rite Aid it's not just a store. It's a solution
Get daring with your choices. Play it safe with your pocketbook.
That's the beauty of shopping at Rite Aid. Get all the details below.
The Rite Aid 100% Risk-Free Beauty Guarantee.*
Any opened or used beauty product of any brand name can be returned for a full refund when accompanied by a register receipt. Beauty categories subject to the guarantee are skin care/depilatories, sun care, bath/soap, hair care (shampoo, conditioner, styling and professional), hair color, cosmetics, ethnic beauty aids, fragrances, cosmetic organizers and personal care appliances.

According to the cashier, their policy is gift cards only on returns. 


So newest trial run (my face is going to hate me...) is the L'oreal Sublime Sun. I do wish I could have found one that had a higher SPF. 

My biggest annoyance with Rite-Aid has got to be they are the only ones that carry Jesse's Girl makeup. I will probably have to order off the website from now on. 

So once again...when did Walmart become the Good guy??


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Watching Makeup Programs on TV may not be for me!


So what have I done for my vacation so far? Well let's see, sleep, clean house and watched the Tarte Beauty on QVC & Benefit on HSN.  (research, I swear!!)
Now we all know the raves about Benefit's They're Real mascara.  They had this lovely girl with perfect lashes. She already had the mascara on, (this is where i started screaming at the screen) and started reapplying and reapplying until she had those horrible little balls on her lashes. Why oh why...there's a makeup artist right there...stop her!!!
Benefit They are real
I did really enjoy the Tarte presentation with the exception of the tarte Amazonian Clay HD Body Bronzer with Bodybuki Brush.  Now I do understand I'm comfortable with my pale skin. And I understand that most people want the tan 'healthy' look. But...they reminded me of this...


They probably should have stopped at maybe the sixth application.
I also do think this is a neat product for all over, but stop before you get to this point.
Tarte Body Bronzer

Thursday, April 12, 2012

and some days i simply don't learn

Well, one day maybe I will. I had stopped shopping at Rite-Aid after the coupon problems I had back in Dec. I had gotten a nice 25% off coupon. Okay, so it says not available on sale items,clearance, etc etc. So I had gotten all non sale items. And for some reason it did not take anything off of any of my purchases. It wound up taking like 15 minutes, 1 cashier, 2 managers and 3 separate registers to complete my purchase.
So yesterday I went over to my parents' house, and there is a really nice Rite-Aid on the drive there. And honestly they always have the best displays of any of the drugstore in the area. Wonderful end caps of new and limited edition items. Really fun to just roam up and down the aisles there.
So I found this wonderful beautiful Illuminati powder by Maybelline, and Maybelline is buy one get one half off.  And, and I found some of those lovely attached coupons....hehe. So I get the Dream Smooth Mousse. And off to the register I go.
Oops, forgot my drink, I quick grab a Starbucks yummy Mocha..oooh, it's on sale for 2.09. Nice.


Get to the register, scan the silly card. Shift manager(they must have my photo behind the counter...) rings me up. The drink does not come up at sale price, the Maybelline does not ring up bogo.
I mentioned this to him and we rescan the card. Still nothing.
ummm....
And he says to me...'just slide your debit card it will take it off after the purchase'
ummm, no it won't, and no I won't.
I am a horrible customer. So another 15 minutes sucked outta my life while he fixes this.
I didn't even get a chance this morning to use any of it simply because I was running late again getting out of the house.

Rite-Aid----boo hiss for not having your sales correctly updated!!