Ipsy Bag Review

September 2015

So, I recently switched from Birchbox to Ipsy. It had nothing to do with me being unhappy with the service. I was just starting to get some duplicates, and I wasn't really enjoying what I was receiving anymore! I definitely could have changed up my beauty profile, but the allure of getting something new was too much. So, I switched to Ipsy. I noticed they had more of the popular high-end brands, like Tarte, Too Faced, etc, which I liked. So, here we are...

This month, I got the Nyx shadow trio, argan oil, hand cream, brow gel, and a matte lip pencil!

Shadow Trio

ipsy x Nyx Shadow Trio: The black is matte, while the cream and brown shades are shimmery. Swatching this with my finger to my arm, I was certainly not impressed. The shades were not pigmented whatsoever. However, once I was using my brushes, some primer, and my lid, they showed up quite a bit better. Still not ridiculously pigmented, but it's definitely a nice little palette for fall.

Matte Lip Crayon

 tre'StiQue Matte Lip Crayon: Below, I have on the matte lip pencil and, obviously, the shadow. The lip color didn't really work for my skin tone. In person, it's a bit more peach, and I'm just not a fan. It didn't help that I had chapped up lips. Real cute!

Argan Oil

Octavio Molina Hair Argan Oil: I love argan oil. I'm that girl that takes a good hour doing her makeup, then typically doesn't even brush her hair. To be fair, doing makeup is almost therapeutic for me. I'm too lazy, and basically over it by the time I get to my hair. However, I have really long hair that I don't like cutting. Argan oil definitely helps my fried, crispy ends! This one doesn't smell nearly as good as some of my other ones, but it performs just as well!

Tinted Brow Gel

Elizabeth Mott Queen of the Fill Tinted Brow Gel: I really wasn't expecting to like this much, and I think I'm still up in the air about it. It only comes in two colors, either a blonde or brown. The blonde is a good color to tone down my slightly-darker-than-they-should-be brows, so that's a plus. I'm just used to my Dip Brow, so maybe I'm just biased. Anyone with black brows won't be able to use this, though, as it doesn't come in black!

Ultra Repair Cream

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream: If you're looking for something that smells pleasant, keep on looking. It's not that this stinks, but it sort of smells like baby cream. Like, baby butt cream, ya know what I'm talking about? But, I mean, if you're in need of some intense moisture and you don't mind the smell, go for it! It's extremely moisturizing. It took a while for it to absorb fully into the skin, but eventually it did. It wasn't too oily while it was absorbing, so that's a plus!

Sorry this is pretty short and lacking more photos!

What did you guys get in your bags or Birchboxes!? Let me know in the comments below!

My Current Beauty Favorites

Batiste Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is a necessity for me, unless I feel like washing my hair every night. (Which I don't) Basically, my head is a grease pot on the 24-hour dot. It's real cute. I've tried quite a few dry shampoos and this is by far the best I've tried.  Currently, I have (L to R) Refresh, Original, and Wild. I usually have a bunch of the Wild scent, but they always seem to run low on that at Ulta, so I trapped the other 2. Totally in love with Refresh now.

LUSH 9 to 5 and Tea Tree Water 

I love tea tree oil. We've definitely discussed the benefits here.  My skin is mostly oily and has occasional breakouts, mostly when I'm stressing out. Typically, when I wake up in the morning, I've got a nice sheen of oil on my face. Since I've started spritzing with tea tree oil at night and moisturizing with 9 to 5, that's not the case. At night, after I shower and wash my face, I spritz my face with like, 3 to 4 pumps of the Tea Tree Water and massage it in with my hands. Then I rub in a small amount of the 9 to 5 moisturizer. Guys, a little goes a loooong way. It literally melts into your skin without leaving any residue. My skin is ridiculously soft afterwards. Another plus is that it isn't extremely fragrant.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation

I'd been wanting to try this foundation for quite some time when I bought it, and I'm happy to say, it doesn't disappoint. I'm currently using this in the shade Fair Sand. As would be expected from a clay foundation, it has a matte finish, and they have a pretty wide color selection, in my opinion. I typically wear this on the weekends, as like, my special foundation. Mostly due to the price. It stays really well throughout the day, and I typically only have to blot my face once. 

NYX Photo-Loving Primer

Anyone else have some blotchy, red skin, or just naturally rosy cheeks? If so, you need to try a green primer under your foundation. This stuff works wonders. I will say it's a little oily, so you need to make sure to shake it well before applying. But after applied, it doesn't make my skin any more oily than normal. And it helps give me that porcelain look I love. *insert sassy emoji here*

NYX Voluptuous Mascara

More life problems? I have hooded eye. If you're a hooded eye gal, you understand the struggles of opening your eyes after applying mascara or liquid liner. I actually love this NYX mascara so much that I have an extra in my drawer all the time. It has a drier formula, so I don't have to worry about it leaving cute little polka dots on my brow bone if I open my eyes. It also gives my lashes a ton of volume. I usually start with this, then do a second layer with a lengthening mascara. Seriously, I swear by this stuff. If you have any other drier formula mascara's, leave it in the comments! I'm always looking for new mascaras.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer and Cargo Water Resistant Blush

These are both products I discovered through my Birchbox subscription.  A few tries of each of them, and I was totally hooked. So, the Cargo blush is water proof. I can definitely attest to that, since I go straight from work to the gym, and my blush is still right where I put it. I'm using the color Bali. It's just this nice peachy-pink, and I adore it. The Hoola bronzer I use almost daily for my contour. Since I have pretty pale skin, I don't need a super deep bronzer or contour shade. This one is on the lighter end, although, it does have the bronzer quality of being slightly orange. But, it could definitely just look orange against my skin.

Lippies you'll find in my purse:

I have to make a confession. I'm addicted to lipstick. It's a real problem. Not for me, for my boyfriend. It takes me forever when I'm perusing Ulta for new stuff. I'm always drawn to lipsticks, but then I just stand there and stare at them because I can't remember what I have at home. So, these are the ones in my purse alone. I typically go with a more neutral shade during the week, because I'm at work, and it just seems weird to walk in with red lipstick on. To sit in a cubicle. So, let's do this thing from left to right.

Too Faced Melted in Fig. It's this awesome dusty rose color, and it's not too glossy.

NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien. It's another rose pink color. I like wearing this under the two NYX lip creams coming up.

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Pretty Social. This one is a lighter, almost sheer, lavender pink. Again, I wear this under a matte cream.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in London. This is a darker neutral color. I can basically lightly layer this over any color, and I just love the outcome. I'm not into glossy finishes, if you can't tell.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo. This one is a lighter, brighter, peachy neutral. I wear this a lot during the week over the NARS.

NYX High Voltage Lipstick in Flawless. Super pigmented neutral that kind of falls between the two matte creams in color. I wish this line was matte, because they are amazingly pigmented and have some great colors. Again, I just dab a matte cream over it, and I'm good to go.

If you have any favorites that you swear by,  please comment below. I'm so indecisive when I walk into Ulta or Sephora, so something to go off would be great! (; 

KISS Instawave Review

Automatic, Tangle-free Curler

http://www.KISSInstaWave.com

So, here's the lowdown on my hair. It's pretty damn long, but it's also really fine and really stubbornly straight. You might remember that I recently went to a wedding. I used crazy, mega cement hairspray, and guess what? It was mostly straight in an hour. I must tell you, that's not at all ideal.

I was recently given the chance to try out the KISS Instawave. Maybe you've seen it around. Maybe you've been like, "huh, that's pretty nifty looking. I wonder if it works." Well, how bout we take a little sneaky peak. Here is the "how-to" directly from Kiss.

I get it, I get it. You're still skeptical. Of course you are, it's directly from the company.  So, here's my "tutorial," if that's what you want to call it. 

A video posted by toriiix30 (@toriiix30) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:06am PST

Now is when the real questions start. Did it really work? Is it actually tangle-free? What are the heat settings? Does it curl in both directions?

Did it really work? Yes, it did work. It worked and my stubborn hair held a curl all day. Ya know the wand curlers? Well, I literally burn my little hands up using those. This is basically a wand curler that curls itself. Does that make sense?  Is it actually tangle-free? As with anything, this takes practice! Brush your hair before using it. I have a bad habit of not brushing my hair, ever, except right after I get out of the shower. It also takes a minute to figure out that one angle definitely works better than another. Hold that puppy straight up and down, otherwise it isn't going to work. So basically, follow the instructions. What are the heat settings? The curler gets unto 420° on the high setting. Is that scary to anyone other than me? All I can think of is that viral video of the girl burning her hair off. Obviously, that didn't happen. Keep it on there for 5-10 seconds. I'd say 30 seconds max. Does it curl in both directions? Yes! For me, that was something else that took me a minute. Like, I had to think about what way to push the button to get the curl I want, but eventually, I got it down. I always use a combination of directions, because that makes it look more natural.

Final question, Is it worth it? To be quite honest, for someone like me, yes. I'm clumsy, I have stubborn hair, and I'm not the most hair savvy. I can assure you that all of these things were taken care of while I used this curler. I was actually proud of the bouncy curls! Nobody needs to know that you didn't work for those! I think it also cut down on the amount of time. As stated, I have some long hair. It takes a while to curl, and I'm impatient.

Now enjoy these freeze-frames of all the wonderful faces I make while doing my hair.

This post is powered by BrandBacker, but I think you can see it works. (; I wouldn't tell you it did if it didn't.

Friday Favorites

1. Bridal Showers!

My friend's bridal shower was this past weekend! Look at that little tutu!

2. Renpure Cleansing Conditioner

I've been using this stuff for almost 2 weeks now! I can go about 3 days without washing my hair & my hair feels wonderful!

3. Batiste Dry Shampoo

This is the first dry shampoo I've tried that really did the job. I'm kind of in love with it.

Birchbox Review - August 2014

Hooraaaay!! 

Another month of Birchbox is here! They've been doing this really cool thing, where you can choose one of the products that goes in your box (or an entirely different box)! My pick wasn't in the box, but I was late to pick and didn't really care. However, I did get the cream eyeshadow. Now, I'm typically not fond of cream shadows... But this one didn't budge when I did a swatch on my hand, so that makes me a little optimistic.

Let's get down to the box!

Key West Aloe Moisturizing Lotion ($12 for 6 fl.oz.)

Sample size: 1 fl. oz.

Value: $2

I love the smell of this. It smells wonderful. It absorbs into the skin really fast and doesn't leave my hands all greasy. It also makes my hands super soft. I'm on board with this.

Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow ($19 for .26 fl. oz.)

Sample size: .17 fl. oz.

Value: $12.34

Here's a little swatch of this. It's a really nice neutral shimmer. It also didn't budge after it dried, which is typically what I have problems with. All in all, I love the color and, if it stays this well, it will be amazing.

nügg Beauty Revitalizing Face Mask  ($14.99/5-pack)

Sample size: 1 pack

Value: $3

I'm pretty sure if I used this in the morning, I would be wide awake. The mint in this mask is powerful. I'm not complaining, though. I think it left my whole being feeling refreshed, and my face is nice and smooth.

Neil George Shampoo ($9.00 for 3.38 fl. oz.)

Sample size: 1.69 fl. oz.

Value: $4.50

Although the combo of this and the conditioner did really well at leaving my hair silky, I'm a little disappointed that it has sulfate in it. I've been trying out some sulfate-free shampoos lately. However, this definitely did the job of cleaning my hair.

Neil George Conditioner ($9.00 for 3.38 fl. oz.)

Sample size: 1.69 fl. oz.

Value: $4.50

As I said above, using this with the shampoo left my hair really silky. I made sure not to put any oils or leave-in conditioners in after showering, so I knew the full effects. Even my slightly sad ends don't feel so sad! That's always a good thing.

Total Value: $26.34

Not bad! I always love the sample lotions, because I can keep them on my desk. They're the perfect size. All in all, I'm not mad with this box, but it was not a memorable one for me.

I'd also like to state that I recently got 4 products (Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit, Cargo Water Resistant Blush in Los Cabos, Yes To™ Blueberries Cleansing Facial Towelettes, and Supergoop! Fusion Lip Balm SPF 30+ in Acai) for $11.99. Bless your little soul, BirchBox points!
BirchBox has the best customer service that I have experienced so far. Last month, I received a sample that was way darker than my skin tone and, without me saying anything, they sent me an email saying that they were adding 100 points ($10) to my account! Also, my Cargo blush was in crumbles, and they sent me a new one, as well as 100 more points without a fuss!

DIY Burgundy Hair!

I dyed my wig!

I color and cut my own hair. All the time (my hair is too long to see a real difference when I trim it). It could totally be because I'm a cheapskate, but I also just love to experiment. And I get bored with my hair easily. So, I've been a blonde for about 2 years now, and I was dying (see what I did there?) for a change. I've been in love with the maid's hair in American Horror Story since I first saw it, so that's what I went for. With a little twist.

Process:

Since I had really light hair, I knew this was going to be a bit of a process. I started with Ion Color Brilliance, in 7IR Medium Intense Red Blonde, thinking it was dark enough to do the trick.

Here's how that turned out!

Hey, Ariel! Is that you!?

Yes, yes it is. My hair was like, primary red after the first dye. Not exactly what I wanted, but I liked it. I've always wanted fire engine red hair, so this satisfied that need. However, this wasn't going to cut it for work.

The second time, I used Ion Color Brilliance, in 6RV Light Burgundy Blonde. It's a darker, more vibrant color that I hadn't seen the first time.

After the second round of dye, it was the American Horror Story maid hair color that I wanted! I've gotten a ridiculous amounts of compliments over it everywhere I went. I love it. In the sun, it looks super red, but in normal lighting, it's a nice dark/vibrant burgundy.

I did a masque after my second round, and OMG. This stuff is amazing. Amazing. It made my hair ridiculously soft.

 I love this color, and I can see mixing it with other colors to get the exact burgundy you want. I'm sure you could mix this color with a brunette or even a bit of black to make it less of a vibrant color!