Birthday Haulage!

Hi All,
    So my birthday was on the 29th of July and of course...I went out and did a little retail therapy shopping/ birthday shopping. There are many similar brand as the USA but I had my eye on Inglot makeup for such a long time! I know I can order it online, but there's something about going to the Polish makeup store and purchasing it there.  I also picked up a few other things which I'll also include on this haul.  (I will review the products individually, including prices,so keep a look out!)

First stop? 

INGLOT! 

(Okay so I went there on three separate trips *addicted*)

 My first trip was really just to explore (plus the fact that I didn't have my money

exchanged stopped me from purchasing). 

My second trip, I walked away with a few items! 

I purchased the newest style case from Inglot (has a big mirror and the magnetic spaces. 

It just looks so sleek, and it very easy to open up. 

I'm already in love with my colors and review them individually soon!

Colors from left to right are: 142, 107, 154

My THIRD trip to Inglot, I also walked away with a few shadows.

Instead of the large square pans, I opted for the circles

so that I could pop them into an ELF palette and easily carry them around.

The Colors in top right from l-r: 111, 393, 102, 142

Second Store?

DOUGLAS

This is like an Ulta where you have really high end (Chanel) and then low brands

like Essence all in the same space.  I don't have easy access to an Ulta or Essence 

beauty products so I picked them up here.  I had heard so much about the mascara

and the gel-tint just looked like fun!

Third Store?

ROSSMAN

This is a proper drug store with plenty of makeup and as my face powder was getting a little

dangerously low, I opted to pick one up from a European brand.  Miss Sporty is a UK brand, 

and runs along the same price range as NYC (perhaps a few cents more) but they happened 

to have a bunch of interesting looking products.  I picked up the So Matte Pressed Powder (claimed to have 10 hour wear), Ohh! Blushed Again... blusher, and two bright lipsticks.

I did also receive as a gift from my Aunt an Inglot nail polish in a beautiful mint color 

(I've never tried their polishes). 

Previously, I did also purchase the Garnier BB Cream (it was only 5 bucks here!)

I had heard a lot about it and my drugstore is always sold out, so I figured out why not? 

I look forward to testing these out in the following weeks and letting you know about them!

Have you tried anything from these brands?

xoxo,

Emi

Mini Haul

Hey All!
   Dang it's been a while since I've written here, and I apologize although I feel like I have a valid reason...I've graduated college! So in between defending my Honors History Thesis to faculty and planning lessons...I've been busy to say the least.  Well this week I took some time for myself and went a lil shopping at my local Harmon's Discount (which is a branch of Bed, Bath & Beyond...kinda like a Sally's Beauty) and bought a whole bunch of trial sized products to give a test run. 

I have no idea how this happened, but I picked up a whole bunch of cleansers.  Hmm.   I picked up Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser, Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash, Cetaphil, Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes. Minus the Clean & Clear I have never tried the products, so I figured a sample pack might give me a chance to try them out. Can you believe though, I've NEVER tried Cetaphil? I feel like everyone has tried that!

I have wanted to try also this batch of hair products: Renpure Originals Argan Oil Conditioner and Psssst! Dry Shampoo.  I've used Renpure in the past, although not this specific line.  I've also heard so much about the dry shampoo that I figured I'd give it a whirl.  An additional product I picked up was the Dove gofresh cool essentials Deodorant, which is something I just like to keep in my various purses just in case.  (Hey...let's be honest we don't wanna smell bad)

I was in line to check out when my eyes caught sight of some Color Club nail polishes on an AMAZING discount! They were each 94 cents!!I picked up from the Holographic Line:  Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Femme Fatale.  Finally I grabbed a top coat called Looks Wet.

I figured I would pick up a bunch of samples, because I'm nearing the end of my full sized products, but since I'll be away for 3 months in Europe... I didn't want to leave it behind.  So the samples will get me through that little chunk of time.Those nail polishes look amazing and I can't wait to wear them.  Have you guys tried these products? What has been your experience?

xoxo,
Emi

Walgreens Haul

Hi All!

  

So I was wandering through the aisles of Walgreens trying to find products that caught my eye. I had bought most of the sale products and most of anything that did catch my eye, I realized I had about 4 similar products. So instead of buying I figured I would pass this time and save my money for the holidays. Speaking of holidays, Walgreens started to put out the holiday “gift packs” and I got interested. I remember Color Workshop products were rather nice a few yars ago, but those other super SUPER low unknown brands got me thinking. I couldn’t help but look through what was available and pick them up to see how well they actually worked.  My total purchase was 6 bucks even! Not bad for testing out some products! Let me know if you want me to do a full review on any products !

All Products with packaging

Products open

Wet N Wild Coloricon Singles in Envy and Nutty: As most of us know, there has been a large clearance of these singles and since I did not have any yet, I went for it and picked up two colors I figured I would love.  At 1.09 per shadow and bogo50% I got a deal! 

With Flash

Profusion Brightening Eyes (brown palette) : I saw this product in the back and did not recognize it. This palette goes for 99 cents and is like Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips or the Milani Strips.  All have shimmer and at least for me, all are colors I would wear (PF had colors I almost never wear). Just from a first impression, there seems to be a few nice colors and would be a practical item to take if you want neutrals.  You can darken up the look or make it lighter. 

Without Flash

The Color Workshop Beauty Book in Sun Goddess: Obviously this is a “knockoff” version of the ELF Beauty Book, but at $2.99 it seemed a worthwhile try.  It comes with 10 eyeshadows, an eye highlight, a liner, and a spongetip double sided applicator. Oh yes, and a decent size mirror. One thing I realized right off the bat, when you open this “book” you can’t use the products, you need to open a box portion to use the shadows. My gut reaction is to cut away the plastic cover sheet to make it more usable as a “book” because the “palette” is a thin plastic that you have no way of traveling with.

I have yet to test these products, but as I do, I will give some more information about them and a few reviews.Have you picked up any of these products?  I hope you all are doing well and are staying healthy.

Xoxo

Ema

Mini Haul

Hello Readers,
  Yes, I am still alive! I've been pretty much on a shopping my stash kick for a long while so I really didn't change anything in my makeup routines, be they loves or dislikes. But no fear! I have finished out about 5-6 products so far and will review them and do my price breakdowns of them! Since it is a change of seasons, I am shifting to more fall colors To kinda lift up my spirits from a really tough last few days, I went on a Dollar Tree mini shopping spree! (my dog had died a few months prior at the young age of 6 in my arms, and a friend of mine got the same breed dog and would not shut UP about how cute her new puppy was. Love her to bits but really? *rant over* ) I was especially happy to see some more ELF products in my Dollar Tree, and I have been very happy with my previous purchases from there so I picked up a few. Now these are just my first impressions, I will probably get to using them in the next month or so (I am working on finishing out 2-4 eye shadows *it's pure murder, not really but who knew they took THAT long to finish!*) So in no particular order let us begin!

1. ELF Bronzing Brush (regular retail $1, bought for $1)
  I have the all over face brush from the basic line, along with three eye makeup brushes and love them. I wanted to shift into using bronzer more, plush with such big fluffy brushes I had a harder time contouring. This brush is so soft, but still picks up product nicely. It is easy to use and to blend color out. I have not noticed any fallout (yay).

2. ELF Studio Line Single Eyeshadows (regular retail $3, bought for $1)

ELF amethyst

  I purchased 6 of these shadows (nuts I know) but they looked so lovely! I purchased:

    -Amethyst: a beautiful brown/purple with plum/gold reflects
    -Butter Cream: yellow-gold with gold reflects
    -Sand Dollar: white with white/ gold reflects (least favorite)
    - Wild Wheat: tan with gold reflects
    - Pebble: Taupe/ light brown with almost no shimmer or reflects. (closest to a matte shade)
    - Saddle: Deep brown with bronze and gold shimmer. (favorite)
  Now I love how these are packaged. I picked them up figuring I might as well save two bucks per shadow since I was going to get them anyways. These are not frosty shades exept for Sand Dollar. It comes out like pure glitter with white powder added to it (not the white with shimmer) All have a buttery feel and darn good payoff!

3. LA Colors Blush in Berry Plum (retailed at $2, bought for $1)
  I have no idea what got into me recently, I have been moving towards plummy and berry toned blushes for this season. I really haven't had a lot of experience with this shade since I have always used Benefit Dandelion, but hey why not try it! It has a little bit of shimmer, but it is very subtle.

4. Almay intense i-color for green eyes (retailed at $4-$9, bought for $1)
  I have heard such great things about Almay, but my local drugstores carry so little of the products, and my eye caught on the purple and dark green tones. They are very soft but frosty (a la shimmer strips from Physicians Formula)

5. ELF Brightening Eye Color in Ivy (retailed at $1, bought for $1)
  You can probably see a pattern, I like my elf products. I could buy them in Target, but the nearest one is about an hour away from me, so it adds up to more if I factor in gas or even shipping to purchase ELF. I would like to state that I am blown away by how pigmented and buttery these 4 shadows in the quad are! I realistically will never use the light green shade, but all others are beautiful! The dk brown shade has notes of purple in it, and its just a color I can't wait to use.

6. Covergirl Eye Enhancers Single in Mauve Souffle (retailed at $3, bought for $1)
  This is my least favorite product I purchased. In the packaging it looks like a silver/ very light pink/ very very light lavender shade of eyeshadow with shimmer in it. It is far from the soft feel of eyeshadows. It is a pure glitter that doesn't even blend. I might use this for a night out as an all over body glitter, but almost nothing transfers via finger, brush, etc.

So by the end of this little shopping spree, I did feel a little better, and knowing I spent less than I would have made me happier too. So stay tuned for more incoming posts!

xoxo,
Ema

PS Does anyone still want me to do Birchbox posts? Please comment below if you would like me to blog about them!

Mini Physicians Formula Haul/ Impressions

Hello Ladies, So yes, I did what many of the beauty community are doing, and grabbin at those sales for Physicians Formula.  I picked up a few starter items, and things I wanted to try for a while, and things I just wanted see how they would look on me.  So let's dive right in!

1. Bamboo Wear Bambuki Brush
What is it? It's an oversized brush good for all over face powders. It's made with bamboo bristles and a cute natural bamboo wood handle.
- I like it and don't find it too scratchy or too soft. I like a more "strong" bristle but there is a little fallout. I only worry what color it will turn from my powders (yes I know wash them!) and how to pack it safely during my travels.  But for my first kabuki brush, seems rather okay.
Overall Impression: Thumbs Up






2. Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Correcting Pebbles (creamy natural)
What is it? Different colors (green, yellow and salmon) powder pebbles used to correct any discoloration and even out the skin tone. It comes all in one little package, with a puff, and a brush.
- Okay, I wanted to like this product. But I have already a few qualms. Even closed this package spills out some of the powder. There is no divider for the puff and brush, and the brush is useless. The brush doesn't pick up anything, and the puff has that issue too. Not only that, but these pebbles have SO SO much shimmer in them. I used it on my entire face and I was a disco ball! I wish this idea was matte pebbles because I still like to use bronzer and blush! Plus the pebbles got so crushed up by the fourth day of having it  that the see through case looks very gross.
Overall Impression: Thumbs Down


3. Talc Free Miner Wear Correcting Primer SPF 15 Pink Highlighter
What is it? It's a base before you put foundation on to fill in the pores a bit, and just create a smoother surface.
- The box said 10-15 clicks to get it started. It took me more like 10-15 minutes of it. The brush applicator is pink,yellow, and green and when the product comes out it leaves the brush kind of, well, icky looking. I really didn't notice any pink highlighting or it really smoothing out my skin. On the bright side it has SPF.
Overall Impression: On the Fence, but not sure if I would purchase again.




4. Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in Light Bronze Pearl

What is it? A pressed powder with different shades of bronzer swirled with a pearl finish.
-It's very shimmery with light color. I would use this more as a highlight but it comes with  cute packaging.  The mirror is under the pan, with the mini brush (useless again) so the powder won't dirty it. It does have a light floral scent which is rather nice.
Overall Impression: On the Fence, too much shimmer for contouring.










5. Mineral Wear Talc-Free Correcting Powder in Creamy Natural

What is it? It is a pressed powder with green, yellow, beige, and salmon swirled together. It corrects and evens out the face tone.
-Yep, one correcting face item wasn't enough, I had to go and try the pressed powder. I actually love this one much more. It has very little shimmer and is much more wearable. It has the flip compact bottom with the brush and mirror and no scent.  I see this one actually doing some evening of my face tones, but the brush isn't very good for blending.
Overall Impression: Thumbs Up. I'd buy it...if it's on sale again....




6. Bronze Booster  Glow Boosting Sun Stones in Light to Medium

What is it? It is similar to those pebbles I mentioned before but round. It has different tones meant for light to medium skin that have shimmer to boost a natural tan.
- I like these much more than those previous pebbles. The packaging isn't smashed and there is also a light floral scent which i liked. It comes with a puff and a brush, which is halfway decent, and is the biggest one I have seen in all packages I bought.  But warning, this is very shimmery so I would use this more as a body glitter to quickly tap on before going out for a girls night in the city. But there are so many similar and cheaper bronzer with the same effect, so it's not something your very missing.
Overall Impression: meh, Thumbs Down. Cute Idea, but I won't re-buy.

7. Bronze Booster Glow Boosting Pressed Powder in light to medium
What is it? In plain words, its just a bronzer that is just a hint darker than the natural skin tone with very little shimmer that gives a little more oomph.
- I like this one. It has nice color so I don't look weirdly bronzed up.  There's not much more to say, I mean, it's not a must get product because there are similar products out there, but this one lays nicely on my skin and hasn't broken me out. (yay)
Overall Impression: Thumbs up.


8. Organic Wear 2 in 1 Bronzer and Blush in Light Bronze and Pink Rose

What is it? It is a more natural formula of blush and bronzer in one package. It is packaged in a more eco-friendly box, think benefit cardboard, but still nicely designed.
- Very natural colors, and barely any shimmer, so it shows up nice and matte on my face.  I think this is very cute and out of all that I bought would probably run back to the store and buy it, maybe at full price (gasp).  The powders are a little harder and don't have much fall out so it takes a little to build but it's still a lovely and natural tone.
Overall Impression: Thumbs Up...UP UP!


Final Words: These products are pretty cool and for their price I enjoy them. My biggest two peeves are:
1. Those mini brushes are bad! I don't know but for me, and trust me I am not a brush snob, but goodness they don't work for me AT ALL.
2. The packages are so bulky. If the eliminated the brushes they could create a more compact product and I could actually fit these easily into my makeup bag.


Okay ladies, I hope this helped you all out. Have a great day or evening.
xoxo
Ema