Sunday, August 30, 2009

Review: Soap & Glory


I always pass by the Soap& Glory products at Target but never pick any up. Finally about a month ago i picked up the Scrub Triangle Mini gift set which includes Flake Away, The Righteous Butter and Clean on me shower gel, and as well as Greatest Scrub of All.

The Soap & Glory gift set can be purchased for $9.99. That is a good deal so you can sample the products for less before you buy the full size product.

Clean on Me creamy clarifying shower gel is soothing and cleansing. However, i didn't find this product to be outstanding. To me it is just the same as any cream based shower get, nothing to fancy about it. The scent to me is on the masculine side, my husband liked the smell, but i can not say the same about myself. The full size bottle costs $9.99

The Righteous Butter is smooth and creamy. It is a body butter, but feels more like thick lotion..if that makes any sense. When applied it leaves the skin feeling smooth and moisturized. It has the same scent as the Clean on Me shower gel. Again this product is not outstanding there are many other products out in the market that are just as good or better. The full size product cost's $14.99


The stand out product of the gift set was Flake Away. Flake away is a body scrub that worked magic on my dry skin. I have never used a body scrub before using this product and i am now addicted. There are large grains of salt that exfoliate the dead/dry skin on the body. And it did just that. I used it from my neck down and my skin felt like a baby afterwards. I never knew my skin could feel so soft. I having been using Flake Away twice a week for a month and my skin is smooth and soft and i will continue the use of this product. Another area on the body that the scrub works wonders on is the feet. I took some product and massages it into my feet and exfoliated the dry skin and left them feeling smooth as well. The full size jar can be purchased for $9.99 and is worth every penny in my opinion.

The next item i picked up from Soap & Glory was their Greatest Scrub of All. It a facial scrub that is meant for all skin types. Now I wouldn't say this is the great scrub of all time, but it is really good. There are tiny little beads that burst when you press them on the skin. This is a very gentle scrub and shouldn't irritate your skin. The directions say to use it 2-4 times a week or oily skin and less if you have dry/sensitive skin. I have been using it everyday since i purchased it. My skin is left feeling exfoliated and smooth. However, this is not the scrub to use if you are looking for blackhead reduction. Before this i was using St. Ives Apricot scrub to remove blackheads and it was working, but the Soap & Glory and little to no effect on my blackheads. This is the main reason i don't think it is the greatest facial scrub. If you are looking for a gentle scrub to use daily this would be ideal in my opinion. This scrub cost $12.99.

All Soap & Glory products can be purchased at Target. For other info about where to buy Soap & Glory check their website.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Update

I am just letting anyone that reads my blogs the reason i haven't been posting is because my computer is getting fixed..i have been so lost without it..lol. I have my phone but it just isn't the same. I have so many reviews coming up for products I've been testing out.

I am also announcing that i will be having a contest as soon as i reach 50 followers..almost half way there. So i have been picking up a few things here and there to add to the prizes. So keep an eye out for that.

Blogging will resume back to normal hopefully by this week sometime. Thank you to everyone that is following my blog. This has been so much fun and i look forward to reading everyone blog and i hope you feel the same way about mine.

Have a great day!! Stay Beautiful.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Review: Beyond The Zone Get'n Creamed


I picked this up to replace my empty bottle of Bed Head's After Party. I have nothing but good thing's to say about this product. It is about half the price of the Bed Head one at $6.50 for 3.4 oz. I have short to medium hair and all i need is one pump. I use this product after i have styled my hair to smooth out the end and add some shine. I think this hair care product is just as good as Bed Heads After party and since it is cheaper that is a plus in my book.

It does everything it says it will. I will definitely be buying this one again. You can pick it up at your local Sally's Beauty Supply. If you are a card member you can get it a little cheaper too.

Review: Beyond the Zone Turn Up the Heat flat iron protection spray


I am one who likes to find a less expensive alternative to a product i love. I picked this heat protection spray up on a trip to Sally's to see how it worked. I used very little of this product but it left my hair VERY oily looking. I was not impressed with this product. I've used it for a while to see if it really does protect my hair from heat and in my opinion it doesn't. My hair seems to be drier and frayed on the ends than before. I will not be purchasing this product again.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What's in your purse?

I've seen a few blogger's post what's in their purse, so i thought i would join in the fun. This actually isn't much i usually have a lot more because half the time i will use my purse as a diaper bag as well.



I would love it if ya'll did this to.I think it would be fun to see what other women carry in their purse.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

How old were you when you began wearing makeup?


How young is to young to wear makeup outside of the house?

I started wearing "real" makeup when i was a freshmen in high school, and even then i didn't wear much. How old were you? This thought has been running through my mind for awhile. I have taken a notice of very young girls dressing way beyond their years.

I am the mother of a 2 1/2 year old daughter that is allowed to dress up in her plastic high heels and play with makeup. She has fun doing it, but she understands that it is playing dress up. Today while running errands i was at Target and as always i was in the beauty section and i could over hear a mother letting her daughter pick out fake press on nails for the first day of school..the little girl couldn't have been older than 7. My mother would have never let me wear fake nails at such a young age. But in this society it seems acceptable for a little girl to wear mini skirts, midriff bearing shirts, heels, and the list goes on.

It scares me about my little girl growing up and wanting to dress this way..which my husband has already said over his dead body will she be wearing makeup and mini skirts..lol I just think we should let them be little. If they start wearing makeup, heels, fake nails then they can't look forward to doing those things when they are older. Maybe i am just to conservative.

Do you have any opinions on this?

Cambo Soup contest entry

G
G by jensgotstyle81 featuring Arden B

Cambo soup is having a giveaway on her blog..check it out she is giving away some amazing prizes..The above is my entry into the contest. This is an outfit i would wear going out with my husband or hanging with some girlfriends. I love to add bright colors together and i can never wear to many accessorizes.

check out the link for full contest details.

http://cambosoup.blogspot.com/2009/08/giveaway-time.html

Review: Orly Nail Treatments

I love doing my nails...painting them a single color or going crazy with a fun design. However my hands are abused. They are always wet or digging into my purse/diaper bag, etc...

I use to think that base coats and top coats were just a waste of money. I never used them until a couple of years ago. I have tried many different ones and found them to fail me.

Lately I've been using the combination of Orly Bonder base coat and Sec n Dry topcoat. On the back it claims that it was help your polish to last 2 weeks....well that's not true for me, but this is the best combination i like so far.

Bonder is a great base for my polishes and allows them to go on smooth. Sec' n Dry can be a little tricky i find. With any fast drying topcoat you need to apply while your polish is wet..this is an important step in the process so don't wait for the last coat of polish to dry.

Like i said before my hands are severally put to work daily. I have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 4 month old. Giving them baths, myself, washing dishes, laundry and the list goes on of my daily work. So as you can imagine if my nail polish lasts the day it is a miracle. With this combination my polish has lasted 4 days with only slight tip wear..this is a MIRACLE in my book.

Orly Bonder and Sec n Dry can be purchased at Sally's for $5.99 with card.

Review: Clean & CLear Oil Free Dual Action Moisturizer


As you can tell i have been trying out Clean & Clear skin care products. Well, my skin just doesn't like them one bit.

The dual action moisturizer actually feels greasy on my skin..it says it is oil free. It is thin in texture and light weight but leaves my skin feeling oily and shinny. This product was not very moisturizing either. After application it sinks into your skin pretty fast and left my skin feeling drier than before i put it on. The dual action moisturizer retails for $5.49 and can be found in your local grocery store and drugstores.

Review: Clean & CLear Oil Free Foaming Facial Cleanser


Clean & Clear oil free foaming facial cleanser retails for $3.49+ tax. The cleanser is medicated to help prevent bacteria and acne. My face had major reactions to this product. It burned when applied and left my skin uncleaned. I have been using this product for 2 weeks and i have had major breakouts. My skin is combination of oily and dry and i usually have very few breakouts..if i do get a pimple its one or two and they go away in a couple days. Since using Clean & Clear i have had 8 pimples and they were not going away. Now that i have stoped using the product my skin has gone back to normal.

I don't recommend this product if you have sensitive skin. I will not be purchasing this product again.

Wet n Wild Aura Color Chaging Gloss

I picked up Wet n' Wild AURA color changing gloss for $3.99 +tax. I have always wanted to try Smashbox O Gloss but never wanted to pay $22 for a sheer pink gloss. I can't compare the two glosses but from reviews of the Smashbox one they seem to be exactly the same. When first squeezed out of the tube the gloss is clear, but once worked into the lips it becomes a bright sheer almost hot pink gloss on my lips. The gloss is not thick or sticky but is not long wearing. For $3.99 i think this a nice gloss to have in your purse.

Review: Essie Nail Treatments

L-R: Good to Go, Apricot cuticle oil, Fill the Gap, First Base


I purchased these Essie nail treatments at my local grocery store for 99 cents a piece. I thought this was a great way to test out a few of Essie nail treatments without forking over the full price. Essie nail treatments can range in price from $8-10 depending on where you are purchasing them.

First off, Good to Go fast drying topcoat is AMAZING...it dried really fast within 5 minutes you could touch, but still of course don't go rubbing your nails really hard. 10-15 minutes later my nails were completely dry and there was no creasing or imprints. Left my nails shinny and pretty. This particular topcoat does not have a high shine or glossy look.

Essie Apricot cuticle oil is the best thing to happen to my nails. I had never used this before. The first time i tried it out, i put a little over my cuticles and rubbed it in. It left my cuticles super soft . Side note i have really dry hands and nails. This is a must have if you want to keep your cuticles looking great between manicures.

Fill in the ridge disappointed me. I do not buff out my ridges because my nails are on the thin side. I have been looking for a ridge filler that would work for me and this one is not it. Ridge fillers can be used instead a regular base coat. First of all it did not even out my nail bed and when used as a base coat it made my nail polish drag and impossible to apply. It was a mess.

First Base base coat is one of the best base coats i have ever used. After applying it and letting it dry i applied my nail polish. My nail polish has never applied smoother in my life. This is another product i will be buying when i have finished with the sample size.

MAC Love That Look collection


MAC Love That Look collection was released a couple weeks ago. I was finally able to check out the collection this past weekend in person. The eyeshadow's in the collection are the Starflash formula. A few of the colors were repromotes from the original release of Starflash last year.

I was disappointed in the color range of this collection. However, with that said IMO i think Starflash is the BEST formula MAC has to offer..they really need to make it permanent. Most of the colors in this collection are dupe able, but the only one that left home with me was One-Off. I am a lover all all green eyeshadow. One-Off is described as a mid tone green with silver pearl. I love it!!

When i went home i swatched a bunch of my green eyeshadow to make sure i didn't have anything that was exactly the same. I found that One-Off is the love child of Urban Decays Graffiti and MAC's Gulf Stream.





L-R: Urban Decay Graffiti, MAC One_Off, MAC Gulf Stream





Friday, August 14, 2009

Getting to know each other

The Directions:

Create a New Blog Post, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to Know Each Other!", then tagged as many people as you like :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30 AM

2. How do you like your steak? extra well done..i don't want to see any pink

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? District 9

4. What is your favorite TV show? House

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? London..i LOVED it there..i want to go back

6. What did you have for breakfast? scrambled eggs, bacon and toast

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian

8. What foods do you dislike? Mushrooms. I refuse to eat them! (i will keep what Lisa Kate put, i agree 100%)

9. Favorite place to eat? if i had to pick just one..T.G.I.Fridays

10. Favorite dressing? i HATE dressing..i have issues with food

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Ford F150

12. What are your favorite clothes? tshirt and jeans or pretty dresses

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Australia

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? it depends...was the glass full or empty first?

15. Where would you want to retire? somewhere that had all 4 seasons

16. Favorite time of day? night

17. Where were you born? Corpus Christi, Texas

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Hockey..i loved it when they start to fight and it gets all bloody

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? your mom

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? your mom

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? everyones

22. Bird watcher? if i see a bird i'm sure i'll look at it..does that make me a bird watcher?

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night but i have to wake up early

24. Do you have any pets? do children count? if not then we have a Beta that my daughter got for her 2nd birthday

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? i wish, but nothing right now

26. What did you want to be when you were little? i always wanted to be a fashion designer

27. What is your best childhood memory? traveling..i got to go a lot of places when i was young

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog

29. Are you married? Yes

30. Always wear your seat belt? always

31. Been in a car accident? yes, but never when i'm driving

32. Any pet peeves? I will just say yes because it could take all day for me to right them down..but again i agree with Lisa Kate..old people and driving just don't go together

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni

34. Favorite Flower? Stargazer Lillies

35. Favorite ice cream? Blue Bell Fudge Nut Brownie

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Fazoli's..i wish we had one here..so then i would have to say Whataburger

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? i past it the first time

38. From whom did you get your last email? my pastor at church

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Nordstroms

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? went to the movies twice today..haha funny what becomes spontaneous when you have babies

41. Like your job? well i would say it's pretty great..i get to stay at home and watch my babies

42. Broccoli? LOVE IT!!

43. What was your favorite vacation? London, i want to go back soon

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My mom, the husband and the babies

45. What are you listening to right now? the husband playing video games.

46. What is your favorite color? green

47. How many tattoos do you have? 12

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? All my readers!

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 10:53 pm

50. Coffee drinker? i use to everyday when i was in college..we had a Starbucks on campus

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Review: Clean & Clear Foaming Face Wash


I am always on the look out for great drugstore skincare products. While at my local grocery store i picked up Clean & Clear Sensitive Skin Foaming Face wash. I was able to get this product for free with an in store coupon, so i jumped at the chance to try it out. On the bottle it says it will remove your makeup. I used only a pump full of product to wash my face and it hardly removed any of my makeup. After washing my face with the Clean & Clear i still had to go back with my makeup wipes to remove the leftover makeup residue on my face. I do not like this product at all, it didn't clean my face and barley removed any of my makeup. I believe this product is around $4 and i will not my buying this again. I was happy that i didn't have to use my own money on this product.

Do you collect makeup?


First off i own more makeup than i will ever use in my life time. I really shouldn't purchase anymore, but of course i still do. My question is do you buy makeup to use or to just collect it? I am always on Specktra looking at the new MAC collections coming out, peoples "hauls" and the traincase section is always fun to look at. I am always amazed at how much makeup other women have. I serioulsy use to think i had to much makeup (i really do) but then I saw what other people had and then realized i didn't have much when comparing to others. I guess i see myself as having to much because out of my friends and family i am the only one that is really into makeup.
When i buy a new product i buy it to use and then usually it gets put in a drawer and forgotten about. I have been getting a lot better. I have stopped buying the same colors over and over again and i am using new colors everyday. I want to use all of my beautiful makeup, instead of it just collecting dust on my vanity.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Picture Tag


1. Open your first picture folder
2. Scroll down to the 10th photo
3. Post that photo along with a story

awww..i LOVE this photo of my daughters fat legs. She was 9 months in this photo. She is now 2 1/2 years old. I was always snapping photos of her and i can remember sitting on the couch seeing her stand by the sliding doors. I grabbed my camera and started to take photos of her too cute fatty legs. I love how it looks like she is doing a ballet dance move. She LOVES to dance, next year when she is 3 we are putting her in dance classes.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Review: St. Ives Apricot Scrub Blemish and Blackhead Control


It seems like this is a staple in many women skin care regime. I was looking for a exfoliate to use on my skin everyday that would help remove dead skin, blackheads and make my skin feel smooth. So on a trip to Target i picked the St. Ives Apricot Scrub up for $3.29 +tax. Great price, so if i didn't like it it's not like it would break the bank.

First off, i tend to have reactions to face treatments for acne/blemish control. After the first use my skin felt so smooth and it was not left red or dry. After 3 uses i started to notice the blackheads that i can NEVER remove from my nose were starting to disappear. This made me very happy.

For me this product is great. Cheap, easy to find and works exactly like it says it will. This scrub was not to harsh for my skin so i used it every morning when i took a shower. The only downfall is if you have really dry patches on your face i find that this product does not remove them. I have very dry patches around my nose due to chronic sinus problems.

As of right now i will still by this product again until i find a product that is better. I highly recommend this product and i can see why so many ofter women are using it.