For the Love of Lipgloss

So be honest how many lip glosses do you have? And don't forget to count the many that are littering the bottom of your purse! LOL I'm sure I have at least 20 just because they're so fun to buy. And if I don't see one I want then I buy one for my daughter. Now how to choose a good lip gloss, because lets be honest how many of those lip glosses aren't getting used because you don't like how sticky they are or the texture or they're too glittery. I thought I would review the lip glosses I have to help make your decision a little easier.

#1 Wetslicks by Covergirl

Color: Sizzle

Price: Between 5 & 6.00

So I had a lot of hope for this lip gloss, it looks so pretty in the tube. 

The applicator as you can see is your typical applicator which is fine.

The color is pretty good as well.

It has a slight vanilla smell to it. 

However I find it to be pretty sticky which is not good if you have long hair and the wind is blowing! 

If you're not concerned with whether it's sticky or not then this is a good gloss. 

Not sure it's 100% worth the price though. 

#2  Beauty Rush by Victoria's Secret

Colors: l to r in bottom pic... Grapefruit Blast, Cherry Bomb & Fruitloose

Price: 7.00 for the large tube the smaller tubes come in kits 

Let me start by saying my daughter LOVES these. 

They have a great smell to them, each tube is the scent of the name. 

They're a nice consistency however I think these are even stickier than the Wetslicks.

The color is very subtle which I do like. 

I would recommend these as a great every day type gloss. 

If you're one of those girls who doesn't like to wear lip stick and just wears lip gloss then these would be great for you. 

If you want to try them check the Victoria Secret website as my friends tell me you can almost always get the lip glosses on sale! 

#3 Hypershine Gloss by e.l.f

Colors from top to bottom: Pink, Berry Cherry, Cherry Tart

Price: $1.00

Unfortunately I have to start by saying I HATE the tube these are in. 

It says on the side to twist 7-10 times to prep it before use.

Okay so I did that and nothing would come out so I twist it some more to push the gloss up higher and the brush applicator pops off and I can't get it back on!

This has happened with 2 out of 3 of them, I'm afraid to try the third one! 

Now maybe I'm doing something wrong, who knows but I won't be buying these again.

I still tried it just to see if the gloss itself was worth the trouble, it's really not bad for a one dollar gloss. 

It's not all that sticky and it has a good color.

The smell is a faint vanilla. 

So if you can get the darn things to work right I'd say they're worth the dollar but if you can't they're just a pain. 

So buy at your own risk! 

#4 Minty Lip Gloss by e.l.f

Color: Nashville

Price: $3.00

This gloss comes in 9 different colors and you can purchase it at Target or on the e.l.f website. 

I love this one!

It's not sticky and the mintyness (is that a word) of it is awesome! 

I bought the more nude color so I could wear it just around the house. 

I wore it all day yesterday and I absolutely love it. 

This will definitely be one I will keep around and may just have to try some other colors!

#5 Glossy Gloss by e.l.f

Color: Berry Blush

Price: $3.00

Another great gloss by e.l.f!

This one comes in 10 different colors and has a great brush for the applicator. 

I bought this one as it was recommended by another makeup blog and I'm so glad I did. 

I really like the consistency and color of this one. 

It's also a great one for putting over lip stain or lip liner. 

This one is also available at Target and on the e.l.f website, although right now it's out of stock on the website. 

#6 Lip Enhancing Gloss by Smashbox

Color: Illume

Price: $18.00

I know, I know 18 bucks for a lip gloss is crazy right? 

Try it and trust me you won't think that anymore! 

This awesome gloss comes in 3 different kinds of color.... Sheer, True & Full with a combined 17 colors to choose from. 

I am so in love with this gloss! 

I use it over one of my favorite lip stains and it looks amazing!! 

I haven't tried the true or full colors yet but they definitely look like they're colorful enough you could wear those all alone and have plenty of color. 

This one is not sticky and moisturizes your lips wonderfully. 

So if you're willing to spend that kind of money on a lip gloss I say get Smashbox!! 

This can be found at Sephora, Ulta and on their website. 

Well I hope this has helped you in some way to narrow down the gazillion choices of lip gloss there are out there! If you know of some other really good glosses please leave a comment below so we can try them too :) 

To Lash or Not to Lash That is the Question

So you see the girls on TV with their long thick lashes and you know that they're falsies so you think should I? Will they be too hard to put on? Will I not be able to get use to them? Will it end up costing too much? Well let me just say DO IT!!! You'll love them! Now first let me say it's going to take time to get use to them AND it's going to take time to learn how to put them on correctly. Don't think that the first time you're going to be able to just slap them on perfectly and that they're not going to bother you in any way.

Alright so first things first... I highly recommend you go and watch this video by Vintage or Tacky... Lash Tut  I watched a gazillion videos about applying lashes and none of them helped me like this one. Then you'll need to get your supplies. First you'll need a brush to apply the glue. I got a cheap slanted brush from Walmart....

Then you'll need some good lash glue. I use LashGrip, it's cheap and it works really well. 

Okay now it's time to decide what lashes to buy. You have to ask yourself, are you looking for a dramatic effect or are you just wanting an every day look that's just making your lashes look a little longer and thicker. So here are some I've bought and what I think of them.....

#1 Hot Kandi lashes Classic #138

Now Hot Kandi has a number of different styles so you're not limited to these. 

The problem with Hot Kandi is they're based in the UK so you have to order them online and have them shipped to you. Now if you were in the UK these would be a great deal however once you add shipping to them it's about the same cost as the lashes I buy here in the US. These have an almost invisible lash line which is a definite plus. But for some reason I have a heck of a time getting these on. However when I used them to do my cousins makeup I had no problem what so ever putting them on her so who knows. These are great lashes but perhaps you should wait to try these until you're a bit more experienced. 

#2 Modlash

Modlash is my favorite brand. They run about 4 dollars a pair and you can find them at Walmart, Sally's, Target, Ulta and just about any other drugstore. I wear the top pair #26 for everyday and #28 when I want to be a bit more dramatic. I highly recommend these for your first pair! They also have cool ones like this....

Add a little bling to your look :) Now the bling lashes I've only found at Sally's and they have quite a few different kinds with the bling on it. 

#3 Eylure

I just bought these for the first time yesterday at Ulta. These are a little more expensive at 6 dollars but they're double lashes so they're a little more thick and VERY dramatic. 

I really like these but they're definitely something I will save for special occasions. 

Now something else to know.... you can reuse your lashes as long as you make sure you carefully clean the glue off of the lashes after you wear them. Make sure you keep the packaging to store them because you're going to want to stick them back on the rounded packaging so that they keep their shape. I highly recommend Neutrogena oil-free eye makeup remover to get the glue off. Gently remove your lashes, put them back in the package and then use the eye makeup remover to remove your eye makeup and the glue. Just a tip... make sure you shake the remover before using it. I literally went through a whole bottle thinking this was the worst remover ever then realized.... DUH you have to shake it up to combine the ingredients! If you take good care of the lashes and keep them clean you should be able to get a week of every day use out of them. Well now that you've got some info get out there and start using those eyelashes ladies!!! 

The Search for the Perfect Mascara

We all go through it. That seemingly endless search for the one mascara that makes you feel like you don't really need the falsies every day. It can be a spendy search for sure and a very frustrating search sometimes as well. Today my cousin mentioned wanting to find a good mascara for her wedding and in the hopes of saving her from that impossible search I immediately recommended my favorite mascara. Oh no I'm not going to tell you what it is quite yet. What fun would that be? You may not finish reading if I told you right off the bat! LOL So here's the search I went through and what I thought of each brand.

#1 Great Lash by Maybelline

I'm sure at some point we've all given this one a go. It's the mascara you remember seeing your Mom use when you were a kid. And I mean come on it has a pink tube! Who isn't drawn to a pink tube? Well if you've never used mascara and never seen a woman who has amazing lashes this mascara might work well for you. However if you know even a little about makeup you know that this just doesn't cut it. It gives no real length and clumping is a serious issue with this one. So out of 5 stars I'm going to have to give this mascara one star. 

#2 XXL Mascara by Maybelline

This one really isn't that bad. I actually used this one for about 9 months before deciding to try something else.  I really like the conditioning side, it seemed to help to lengthen the lash. And at this point having only tried a few mascaras I thought this was as good as I was going to get as far as length went. One of the downsides was because there is the conditioning side you run out of mascara before the typical 3 month mark. Also I did notice that it would flake off. Not a lot but enough that it was annoying! So for this mascara I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. 

#3 Glam Eyes by Rimmel

I have to admit I bought this one because I liked the tube. Hellooooo it has pink on it! LOL But I quickly was disappointed. I really didn't like the brush on this one. Soooo skimpy! I didn't feel like it covered my lashes very well. And because of that you keep putting more on and you get the lovely spider lashes. No one wants spider lashes! I also felt the mascara itself was rather thin, almost like it was watered down. So for this mascara I give it 1 star out of 5. 

#4 Lash Blast by Cover Girl

Now I don't know if I'm just hugely picky about my mascara or what but this one is another one that I didn't like the brush on at all. I felt like the bristles weren't long enough to really grip your lashes and transfer the mascara to your lashes. Once you did get it on it just didn't seem like it was giving me any help with the length at all. However I suppose if you have fairly long lashes this one wouldn't be too bad. So I will give it a 3 out of 5.

#5 Total Impact by Femme Couture

I bought this one at Sally Beauty Supply thinking that because I was buying it from a beauty supply store it was bound to be a good one right? Not so! The brush on this one is pretty good. But once you get this stuff on you either have to do the old toilet paper blink trick that your Mom use to do or not blink for at least 10 minutes because that's how long it takes this stuff to dry! I can't tell you how many times I messed up my concealer under my eyes because this stuff got all over the place. And considering it didn't do much for the length it was SO not worth the hassle. I give this a 2 out of 5. 

#6 Curl Up & Dye by Hard Candy

Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to buy this adorable mascara tube? And I think that's what they're hoping for. You're walking down the aisle looking for a good mascara and this adorable packaging jumps right out at you and you think.... I MUST have that mascara! Well I'm here to tell you to STEP AWAY from the cute packaging!! Let's start with the brush.... NO NO NO! It's long, skinny & curved weird. I'm gonna give it a big fat F in the brush department. Let's then move on to the mascara itself.... it's really thick and hard to get on without clumping or spidery lashes. Oh yes and let's not forget it doesn't dry very fast either. Yet another messy application. Oh and the worst part of all.... put the brush back in, screw it down tight and mascara starts ooozing out of the lid. Not a fun mess to clean up! So this I'm sure you've guessed gets a 1 out of 5! 

#7 Hyperlash by Smashbox

This mascara has one flaw.... the price! It's 21.00 for one tube. So even if this had been my favorite it's not something I could continue to buy every 3 months. I like the brush on this one and the consistency and time it takes to dry is great but I have to say that for the price I was not impressed with it's lengthening capabilities. In that department it didn't compare to my favorite. I would give this one a 4 out of 5. 

And now it's time for my favorite of all time!!!!

Are you ready?

Not sure if you're ready for this. 

Wellllllll ok guess I'll tell ya....... 

#8 Healthy Volume by Neutrogena

At 8 dollars this is an absolute steal! I love this mascara. I love the brush, the consistency, the dry time and most importantly how long it makes my lashes look! I have been using this mascara for over a year and love it. I don't know that I will every switch. So if you want to skip the search and move straight to the good stuff I highly recommend this mascara. And of course I give this one a 5 out of 5!! 

Tinted Moisturizer

I got this tinted moisturizer by e.l.f at the beginning of summer and I have to say I love it. If you are looking for an affordable tinted moisturizer I would highly recommend you give this a go. You can get it at Target for just 3 dollars and there's a great selection of colors. I think I am most impressed by the coverage it gives. I've never really liked tinted moisturizers strictly because I always felt like it didn't even out my skin tone good enough but not so with this one. I like using this on days when I'm just hanging out at home or if we're going to be outside all day at the lake or the pool. It has SPF in it as well so you get protection for your skin as well as the coverage and moisturizer. Now the consistency may seem a little off when you first use it.... LOL It's kind of lumpy. But don't let that scare you off, this is great stuff! I give it 2 thumbs up!! Get down to your local Target and pick up a bottle, you won't be sorry!!

Goodies Galore!

Well I have gotten a lot of goodies over the last couple weeks! So I had to narrow it down to some of my favorites to tell you about!!! So here's what I'm going to review today.....

e.l.f's Conditioning Lip Balm, Silk Elements' Heat Protection Spray & Revlon's Photo Ready Compact Makeup and Concealer

We'll start off with the e.l.f Conditioning Lip Balm! I got three different colors.... Peaceful Pink, Nice & Natural and Bombshell Brown. 

I love love love these!!! They don't add a ton of color so they're great for days when you're not wanting to wear a lot of makeup. And they definitely condition your lips! At 3 dollars for one of these I definitely recommend them! 

Next the Silk Elements Heat Protection Spray....

Another product I love! This product makes your hair so silky & shiny. 

Just be careful not to use to much or it can make your hair oily. 

Last but definitely not least the Revlon Photo Ready Compact Makeup & Concealer.....

I'm on a roll lately with great products! This is really good makeup. 

The only thing I dislike is that the compact makeup has a screen on it to liquefy the makeup and it can make it hard to get out at times. 

But this is probably the best match to my skin tone that I've ever found. 

I always end up with too dark or too light but this one was exactly right. 

I love the way it goes on as well, a smooth application! 

So that's it for today ladies! 

Hope this has been helpful in some way ;)

Rings N Things

I have been totally in love with big rings ever since they came into fashion. Unfortunately I've only gotten 2 in the past year. The other day I was in Walgreens and found these cuties for only 2 bucks a piece!!

I just love these! They're fun and go with just about any outfit :) 

Today I was looking for a white eye liner and happened to find this yummy red lipstick by Wet N Wild... 

I gave it a go today and it's a beautiful bright red. 

It's not orangey at all. 

I haven't really tested it's stay power yet so we'll see how that goes! 

But at only 3 dollars it's okay if the stay power isn't the greatest. 

Pin Curls!

Sooo I've seen my hubby's Grandma do her hair up in pin curls ever since the first time I stayed at her house. She sits in front of the tv in her cute flannel pj's and watches her favorite shows while putting her hair up. No mirror necessary, she's been doing it since she was a kid so believe me she knows what she's doing! At any rate I've always thought, well that's for short hair it won't do anything for my hair. And then one day a few years ago I decided to give it a try. Well it would have helped if I knew what I was doing! I made the curls way too thick and my hair was way too wet when I put it up. So fast forward to the next morning when I go to do my hair and I take the gazillion bobby pins out to find that it's a complete waste of time. No curl, still damp = hot mess! So I just chalked it up to a style that doesn't do anything for long hair. Then along comes youtube and a plethora of videos on hair, makeup and the like. And let's just say over the past year at least I've become a complete junkie of these videos! So I see a girl with hair that's longer than mine doing pin curls and I stop to see what she's doing that I didn't. And I realize..... 1. I was making my curls way too thick. & 2. My hair was way too damp. So a few nights ago I was reading in bed with wet hair and decide that once it's close to dry I'm going to try yet again to do pin curls! It took me about 30-40 minutes to get it all up, then I threw a bandanna over my head and headed off to bed. The next day I waited until about 10:30am to take the curls out and see where I was at. I LOVED it!! Now mind you it was A LOT of curl and I definitely had to put it into a style of some sort. I would have looked like a poodle had I just worn it down! But it turned out so cute and with a little squirt of my all time favorite hair spray Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play Hard it was still looking good enough the next day for a curly updo :) So girls give it a try!! You never know what cute hair dos you can come up with once you've pin curled your hair!!