January (2015) Favorites

*DISCLAIMER: you better believe I didn't clean/wash any of the products in this post because 1) I'm not a professional and I don't need to and 2) ain't nobody got time for that.

Favorites posts and videos are my favorite. I love to see what products professionals and amateurs alike are loving on and using most frequently. I have personally purchased many products because of their hype on a favorites post/video. But let's be real, I suck at making my own favorites posts. I always plan on doing it, but then something comes up and then we're a week into the new month and it just becomes too late. NOT THIS MONTH THOUGH. This month I made sure to start working on my favorites before the month even ended (and I was still five days into the month). Because I rarely do favorites post, you guys are gonna get slammed with things I've been loving for the past couple months.

I have a lot of favorites this month, but let's start with the star...

Oh my goodness! Since receiving this palette two weeks ago, I have used it every day I have done my eye makeup. This palette is 100% worth all the hype surrounding its release as well as the headache of ordering it. It's full of colors I've been wanting for a long time but never got around to purchasing. To keep it short: I am in love.

Jaclyn Hill Favorites palette got me like...

Another favorite of mine for the last couple months has been my ABH contour kit. I picked this up at Ulta right before Thanksgiving and have been using it religiously since then. I love the definition these powders bring to my face! I alternate using Vanilla and Banana (sometimes both) to brighten my under eye area and absolutely love Fawn for my contour. I haven't touched another bronzer or highlighting powder since I purchased this.

Tickled Pink and Luminoso

I have been loving all over these two blushes this month. I have a tendency to be too heavy-handed with my blushes, but these two still manage to look so natural. Fun fact: that ELF studio blush is the first blush I ever purchased when I first started getting into makeup about a year ago. I definitely reach for these most often.

As some of you may know, I used the Real Techniques stippling brush exclusively for almost a year. Seriously, that brush was perfect for me because it gave such full, yet not cakey coverage. This year I branched out and purchased the Real Techniques expert face brush, and - dare I say it?! - I think I love it even more! This brush applies foundation in such a beautiful way and it does it sOoOo quickly. One thing I really love in particular is that I can still stipple my foundation on in the areas I want a bit more coverage. Because of its versatility, this is my preferred method to apply my foundation right now.

A hair product that I have really been loving this month is the NuMe white truffle leave-in conditioner. This product has drastically changed the texture of my hair in such a short amount of time that I'd say it was impossible if it wasn't happening to me. Seriously, one use, and your hair will feel smoother and softer. I cannot recommend this product enough. It also smells incredible.

*keep an eye out for my Hair Care Routine, part 2!

My favorite lipstick product for the month is the NYX matte lipstick in the color Whipped Caviar. This is the perfect everyday shade. It's a great mid-tone pink with a touch of brown. It's a super comfortable formula too. Whenever I can't decide on what lipstick to wear, I usually fall back on this one. It's safe, on the more natural side, and looks good with every type of look.

I've been recently getting into lip liners and my favorite has been the NYX pencil liner in Espresso. This is a great, chocolately brown color. I love the versatility of this liner! I can wear it under Whipped Caviar, under any brown lipsticks, under any red lipsticks. It's perfect for darkening the lip line for that ombre effect without going black. I love wearing it under my NYX matte lipstick in Alabama.

While I'm on my NYX kick, I might as well mention my two most-loved jumbo eye pencils for this month: Milk and Yogurt. If you haven't heard of Milk, you need to crawl out from under your rock. It is perfect for everything! I like to use it to brighten my eye shadows. And Yogurt is a wonderful, light pink, shimmery shade. I use it as a cream base for my inner corner highlight and top it with any shimmery shadow.

Have you used any of these products before?

What were your January favorites?

How To Quickly and Efficiently Remove Dead Skin

Okay, so I can't be the only one with a gross amount of dead skin that builds up on the sides of my nose, right?? I don't even understand it because I have oily skin, but there's SO. MUCH. DRY. SKIN. It's unbelievable.

Anyways, I've found an easy little trick to quickly remove the dry skin. I mix baking soda with a little bit of water to create a thick paste and I just pack that along the creases of my nose.

Super cute, right?

I let it sit for about 5-7 minutes. Any longer than that and my nose starts to tingle. I rinse it away gently with a wash cloth in soft, circular motions and BOOM. No more dry skin. I probably do this every week or so just to clear that area of dry skin.

This baking soda paste can be used as an entire face mask to remove dead skin; however, that takes a bit more time and I don't really have dry skin anywhere else.

Have you used baking soda like this?

How else do you use baking soda in your beauty routine? 

NYX Cosmetics Eyebrow Gel Review

Lately I've been into experimenting with different products and methods. I've been into make up for about a year now and my collection has grown immensely and is only continuing to grow! I am absolutely loving trying out new products and ways to apply those products. For example, during the earlier parts of 2014, I was using a brow pencil, then I saw someone on Insta say they use a brown eye liner for their brows, and then I saw that NYX released a new brow product. I was very excited because 1) NYX is awesome and probably my favorite brand and 2) it was a new product/method for me to try. Unfortunately, it took foreverrrr for this product to arrive in my Ulta. Literally, months guys. My Ulta sucks. Feel free to throw a pity party for me, because I do it nearly every time I go there. #firstworldproblems

NYX offers this brow gel in 5 shades -- I purchased the color chocolate. I had very high expectations for this product, because helllloooo, NYX is fabulous. Before we get into my review, here's the claims for the product made on the website:

"Keep your misbehaving brows in place with our discreet and easy-to-use brow gel! The lightweight, waterproof formula creates thicker, fuller, natural-looking brows and comes in five versatile shades. "

 I think this gel lived up to its claims. All except for one, that is: "easy to use". This product, unfortunately, is very difficult to use because of how darn quickly it dries. Like, seriously, by the time I've filled in the tail of my brow and am ready to spooly the front, it's dry. And this product dries hard. I like that it dries hard, because it keeps my hairs tamed and eliminates the need for a brow mascara, but it just happens so quickly. It makes it nearly impossible to blend seamlessly. I figured I would get better with the product as I used it more, but I just can't race my brows. My brows are a hot mess as it is, and trying to speed up the process was not doing them any favors.

Other than that, I really like the product. It stays a lot better than many of the other brow products I've used and even though it dries hard it doesn't dry crunchy. However, it claims to create "thicker, fuller" brows, but that is completely up to the artist, as there are no fibers or fillers in this product.

Over all, I'll be keeping and using the product sparingly, but will not be repurchasing.

Have you tried this product?

Do you have any tips for working with the NYX brow gel?

How did you like this product?

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation With Comfort Serum Review

Are you ready to have your mind blown?! You better be, because this foundation is gonna do it! I purchased this foundation from Target on a whim, having never even heard of it before. I figured it wasn't much of a risk because it's super cheap and I like my Stay Matte foundation by Rimmel. The risk involved was low.

But the reward was extremely high! First off, I like the consistency of this foundation. It's not too thick so that you're sitting there forever waiting for it to come out of the bottle, but it's not too thin that it runs all over the back of my hand either. This foundation also applies beautifully! I blend it out using my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and am blown away nearly every time. No joke. The coverage is awesome too. It evens out my skin tone and covers any redness I have. This foundation also lasts a very long time on the skin. I generally apply this foundation before 6am and take it off just before 6pm, but I also wear it longer than that on occasion. This foundation has a demi-matte finish (not super dewy, not super matte), so either side can be played up. I like to set it with a powder and make it completely matte. One thing I especially like about this foundation is that my oily skin does not break it up. At the end of the day, it looks just as great as when I first applied it, albeit a bit oily. It also does not transfer onto other surfaces. Saving my husband's shirts here! This foundation also has not broken me out in the last two weeks I've been wearing it, which is very important.

Over all, I'd say this foundation is creeping up on my Revlon Colorstay. Colorstay has been my holy grail foundation for a few years now but I am enjoying this Rimmel foundation immensely!

Quick Overview
Pros: long lasting, good coverage, reasonably priced
Cons: transfers

Hair Care Routine, part 1

To start off, I'd say I have average to nice hair. It's not very thick, nor very thin. It retains color well. It grows at a moderate pace. It doesn't have a coarse texture, nor a soft texture. As I said, average hair. I decided a long time ago that I was done being average, and it's time I applied that to my locks. I want hair so shiny and smooth that girls are asking me what products I use. I want to dazzle people with my mane. Join me on the journey to fabulous hair care. Along the way we'll discover things/products/methods that work amazingly, while discarding anything that is simply mediocre.

To start, here's a list of types of products I'm currently on the hunt for:

• Heat protectant spray
• Deep conditioner
• Texture spray
• Volumizing mousse 

If you have any suggestions for quality, affordable products for me to try, please share them in the comments below.

Now, I have also already found a few things that I'm really enjoying:

• Apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse
• Not Your Mother's dry shampoo
• Garnier Fructis marvelous oil

ACV Rinse
I've blogged about this once before, and I will probably continue to spread the magic until the day I die. The ACV rinse is probably one of the best and cheapest products for your hair. It has completely changed my life, and the best part is that the results are instant! The recipe I use for this product is one tablespoon of ACV to one cup of water. It's very important that the ACV is diluted because otherwise it is very acidic and can ruin the pH balance of your scalp/hair.  I use it approximately twice a week. I found that if I use this rinse every time I wash my hair (three or four times a week), it dries my scalp out which causes it to produce even more oil. So what I normally do is treat my hair with it, go 48 hours, shower again without treating it, go 48 hours, and shower again with treating it. I wash and condition my hair like normal, and the last thing I do before getting out of the shower is rinse my hair with the ACV rinse. I completely douse my hair in it and massage it on my scalp, then rinse my hair clean under running water. ACV is great at conditioning, adding shine, and breaking up any product build up you may have. It leaves my hair smelling great and, because I washed out all the product build up, my hair is practically weightless.

Because I'm only using this for my hair, I purchase my ACV very cheaply. I purchase the biggest jug of store brand I can find, and it lasts me forever. ACV can also be used for many other beauty-related things, such as cleaning your brushes and as a toner for your face.

Not Your Mother's Dry Shampoo
I have an oily scalp -- there, I said it! My hair is terribly oily, but washing it every day is also terrible for it. What a dilemma! Luckily, dry shampoo is the perfect solution. It absorbs excess oil without me having to wash my hair. But dry shampoo is a tricky thing! There are so many on the market, and, to be honest, there are lots of duds out there. Mainly because there are lots of things that can be wrong with dry shampoo:

1. It can leave a white cast in your hair.
2. It can smell badly.
3. It can build up in your roots, leaving them unmanageable.

Unfortunately, the first dry shampoo I used did two of these things. While it removed excess oil, the white cast it gave my hair was unsightly and my roots... Don't even get me started on the mess they were! After reading a few reviews on Ulta's website, I decided to try this dry shampoo. It was rated decently, inexpensive, and it goes on sale often.This dry shampoo has everything I was looking for! It absorbs the oil and leaves my hair manageable. It also gives my hair a great deal of volume! Needless to say, I will be repurchasing.

Garnier Fructis Marvelous Oil
When I purchased this oil, I was on the hunt for something that would really soften my hair. Like I said, I don't have coarse hair, but I am an active hot tools abuser, which can leave my hair feeling very dry. I wanted an oil to add softness and shine. I was originally looking at the OGX oils, and, at $8 a pop, they are relatively expensive. But I knew my husband would be happier if I found something even cheaper. I stumbled across the GF marvelous oil. It smells really good and makes my hair very soft. Since I have an oily scalp, I apply this by tying my hair in a pony tail and lathering only the tail. Then I wrap it up in a big bun and let it sit for about 30 minutes, then I shampoo and condition like normal. I also try not to use this oil on the same day I'll be using the ACV rinse.

The plan is to purchase the types of products I still need, try them out, and find the best routine for my hair and I. I'll blog about it on the way! Make sure to leave your favorite products, tips, and tricks in the comments below.

What is your favorite heat protectant spray?

24th Birthday Haul

So last Friday was my 24th birthday, which basically means one thing: I got a lot of makeup. Since I'm 24 people aren't really into buying me gifts anymore, so now I just get cash. Which is fine with me because I love to shop. Over the course of the weekend I received $155, which I put to good use during the week.

This haul is a big deal for me because I purchased my first Urban Decay products. Yay! I know I'm late to the party, but I'm gonna be honest with you -- I just can't afford high-end products otherwise. My husband and I are currently living off of just my income and expensive makeup just isn't a priority. But you can bet your mom's pajamas I made it a priority with my birthday cash.

I have been drooling over the Naked 3 palette for months. Like, honestly -- MOOONTHS. The rose gold pinkyness was calling my name. When I walked into Ulta, it was the first product I went to grab. It felt so satisfying to finally purchase that palette. I created a look with it the next day and was mildly horrified that I didn't fall in love with it immediately. I feel like it's not as pigmented as I thought it should be... I haven't used it since then honestly, because I'm terrified I won't like it. I also purchased the Naked Basics palette and I am head-over-heels in love with it. I like, can't wait to use it every morning. All the colors are gorgeous, highly pigmented, and blend so easily. Ulta was having a deal that with every $40 UD purchase you received a sample of the PP and the 24/7 glide on pencil.

If you follow me on IG than you know that my latest obsession has been lip products. Seriously, my organization is overflowing right now. But I still had to make sure to purchase some! Like the Naked 3, I have been dreaming of the Revlon matte balm in Shameless. Purple is my favorite color and the swatches of this product looked perfect. I also picked up a few NYX lip liners, because they are so raved about, as well as the matte lipstick. The matte lipstick is in the color Whipped Caviar, and it's a wonderful muted, rosey nude. I also got two new WnW lipsticks: Red Velvet and Mochalicious. I purchased Mochalicious on request from an IG follower and immediately fell in love.

Lastly, I had to pick up some NYX goodies. Of course. NYX is my favorite drugstore brand I think. I wanted some cooler-toned eyeshadows and more jumbo eye pencils. The pencil in Yogurt is so gorgeous! A really pretty, shimmery champagne color.

That's it for this haul. I love everything that I got and my soul just feels so happy. Also, I still have some money to spend so keep an eye out for another haul ;)

What's one of your favorite products that you think I should try?

DIY Teeth Whitening

I've always had decently white teeth. I don't smoke or drink coffee, I brush/floss regularly, and my smile has just always maintained its brightness. However, about six or so months ago, I began noticing that it just didn't look as bright. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that I also had some surface stains. This was something I wanted to remedy quickly, so I did what any decent beauty blogger does: I YouTube'd it. There were tons of reviews for Whitening Lightning kits, but let's be honest: that's esspensive (as Kathleen Lights would say). And honestly, the reviews of WL weren't very consistent either and a ton of people complained about pains and sensitivity with that system. So instead, I looked up videos for DIY teeth whitening. DIY is great because it's often much cheaper and because you're the one making it, you are in complete control of every single ingredient. You know every single thing that is going into the recipe, so can be completely comfortable with applying it to your teeth.

I came across a video that had like, ten or so different DIY teeth whitening methods. A few of them seemed mediocre, ya know? I didn't feel I wouldn't get the results I wanted by rubbing a banana peel on my teeth. One of the methods she talked about later in the video perked my interest though. The recipe called for baking soda, peroxide, toothpaste, and water. These ingredients actually sounded like they would yield some results, and I had all of them already!

Bonus points if you know where that jar is from!

I have had great results with this recipe! One thing I love is that the baking soda provides immediate removal of surface stains. Baking soda is a wonderful exfoliant, so it provides those instant results we all like so much. Peroxide is a bleaching agent, so over time it whitens your teeth. The toothpaste provides that minty freshness and also lends itself to a thicker texture. All of these ingredients combined make a wonderful teeth whitening solution that I would recommend to anyone who wants to regain the brightness of their smile for suuuuper cheap. To use it, I put some on my toothbrush and brush like normal.

A few warnings (I use that word very lightly) about this solution. Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe for you to follow. I found one on Pinterest, but the consistency was weird, so I just sort of winged it. To be honest, a recipe isn't needed. However, if you are one of those people that needs a recipe, you can find tons on Pinterest. Because this paste has baking soda in it, I only recommend using it once a week, and once you get your desired results, about once every other week. Baking soda is very abrasive and using it too often on your teeth can destroy the enamel. While the tooth paste does help, this recipe still isn't super refreshing. Like, your breath will not be minty fresh (unless you use a ton of toothpaste). I have only made this recipe using the toothpaste pictured,  so I can't speak for other brands, but do not be surprised if your whitening paste has a chemical reaction. Mine starts blue, and by the next day it's white.

I hope you found this helpful. I have had really good results with this recipe and love how clean my mouth feels after using it. I keep this solution constantly stocked and use it as needed.

Did you make/use this recipe? Did you get good results?

What other methods do you use to whiten your teeth?