Recent Beauty Buys: The Body Shop, Physicians Formula, Covergirl and Rimmel

I recently purchased some new products I wanted to share with you. I haven't tried any of them out yet aside from swatching them so I'll let you know how they are after I try them out. Here's what I got:

I was in Target the other day and saw some new things from Covergirl so I picked them up, Flamed Out mascara and Smoochies lip balm. The lip balm looked really frosty so I was really hesitant to get it but I've been surprised before where it looks frosty in the tube but very subtle on. 

The CG lip balm on the left, you can hardly see it and the Rimmel nude eye liner on the right

Did you get the $10 for $20 Groupon for The Body Shop?! I did and I ended up getting a really great deal. I signed up for their Love Your Body rewards card and it costs $10 but you get $10 for your birthday plus other things so to me, it's worth it. Anyway, I totally forgot about the $10 birthday reward (my birthday was about 8 months ago) but they let me apply it to my order plus the 10% off your purchase so I got those 5 items for only $4.95! I got a body oil, body wash, clay mask, the cutest teeny tiny hair brush and a shea butter gift set which I'm guessing is leftover from Christmas.

I got another great deal on this eye shadow set from Physicians Formula. I got this at CVS and all of their Physicians Formula items were $6 off. I scanned my Extra Care card at the red coupon machine and got an extra $2 off PF stuff so I got this for $3.99! But, as you will see, it wasn't really even worth $3.99 in my opinion, the color payoff is like little to nothing.

You can barely see the colors, right? I had to rub hard to even get that much color. The only shades that were semi-pigmented were the blue, purple and black. 

I'm going to try some of these out and I'll let you know how they go. I'm not expecting much from the Smoky eye set but I'm still going to try it with some primer. 

Have you tried any new beauty products lately?

Falling Back in Love with my Clarisonic Skin Brush

I bought my Clarisonic skin cleansing brush years back close to when it first came out. Back then, I had more money to spare so I was seeing an esthetician for monthly facials and she always raved about it and even used it on my face. At first, I didn't think much of it. It's a spinning brush that cleanses your skin, big whoop. I kept hearing how life changing the device was so I caved in and bought it thinking if I used it more often I would see a big change in my skin.

First, let me tell you about my skin. I have combination skin with a very oily T-zone and dry cheeks. I get hormonal pimples here and there when it's that time of the month but it's not a regular thing. When I first bought my Clarisonic I used it to remove makeup and honestly, it didn't do much for me. It removed most of my makeup but sometimes there were some leftovers on my skin. There really wasn't a noticeable difference in my skin. Supposedly this device was supposed to help skin care products work and absorb better because your skin is cleaner, etc.

I stopped using it once I moved out my apartment a couple years back. I recently "found" it and some replacement heads so I decided to try it again.

Here's what's different this time around. If I'm wearing makeup, I wash most of it off first and then use the brush because otherwise I feel like I don't get as deep of a cleansing and it's also pretty messy. I wear less makeup these days so it's easier to use the brush but it's made a HUGE difference in my skin! Let me tell you, the skin on my chin and nose always felt rough and clogged (gross, I know) but using the Clarisonic actually makes it soft and smooth! My skin just feels really clean overall, feels so much better and it does help skin care products absorb better. I don't know if the products work better as a result but it does absorb better.

So, the moral of the long story is that if you've previously tried it and didn't like it or you're thinking of buying it, do it! I've never heard of anyone regretting buying it and it's a great investment! Do you own a Clarisonic? 

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer Review

When I saw the ads for this lotion, I wasn't all that interested in it. I mean, I like how it's a spray because it's much faster to apply and hopefully dry but I was still doubtful. This spray lotion comes in Aloe Vera, Alpha Hydroxy and Cocoa Butter varieties but I bought Aloe. I didn't know that there Alpha Hydroxy was an option, otherwise I would've bought that one for sure! 

Here are the three bottles:

This lotion smells nice, very fresh and aloe-y. I have an aloe plant while it never smelled this nice, I still like it. It's easy to use, the spray is easy to use and sprays continuously. 

                        

 This is how it looks after you spray. You still have to rub it in your skin, it's not really a spray and go type thing. I guess if you were really in a hurry you could, I haven't tried doing that yet so I don't know how it would be. The only thing I don't like about this is that since it's non-greasy, it's not as moisturizing as I'd like. This is probably ideal for normal skin in the summer since you really don't want to rub a really thick cream on your body when it's hot. I prefer a thicker lotion but this definitely works if you're in a hurry.

I bought this at Target at for $5.99 and I had a $2 off coupon from the previous weeks' (I think) Sunday paper so it really wasn't bad for $3.99. I don't forsee myself repurchasing this anytime soon but it is a good light lotion for hot days! Have you tried this yet?

New Lancome makeup and Clinique GWP

Do you ever get surveys for random things? I normally don't pay attention to them but I think I signed up for a couple of survey companies which periodically send out surveys and you can earn points towards gift cards and things. Anyway, I can't recall which company sent me this survey but the first 100 people who answered the survey got a free makeup gift. The survey was about a new makeup line so I figured the gift had to be good! 

The survey took about 20 minutes to complete I think. I was in the car with my hubs and I'm not one of those people who can read while in a moving car but I was determined to be one of the first 100 (yes, I'm pathetic! The things I do for makeup) Turns out my nausea and motion sickness paid off because about 3 weeks later I received this:

I love the applicator! 

Not bad for 20 minutes of my time and feeling sick for an hour! These products aren't cheap so this gift was pretty darn generous! Some surveys are definitely worth it! 

Next up, I wanted to show you my last Clinique purchase and GWP. I got a new pressed powder and pencil liner. I wanted to get their new CC cream but they didn't have it yet and they don't sell liquid liner, either. 

Here's the GWP, you can choose from two colors and I think I picked violet? The palette comes with a bronzer, blush and two eye shadows. 

So far, I like both the eye liner and the pressed powder. It's been forever since I bought a new pressed powder. The last one I bought from Maybelline lasted forever but it was time for it to go! Have you bought any new beauty products lately? 

Bzz Agent Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Sticks, Healthy Lengths Mascara and Crease Proof Eye Shadows Review!

I got to try out some Neutrogena products for free from Bzz Agent for review purposes! I received these awhile back but I've been playing with the products so I can really see how these work. Here are the products I received:

MoistureSmooth Color Stick

Healthy Lengths Mascara

Crease Proof Eye Shadow

 

I was so excited to try out all of these products! I normally don't use creamy stick eye shadows because I feel as though I get better control of the product when it's in powder form but I was really pleased with these! The mascara says it gives you 100% longer lashes so I was really psyched to try that and the color stick was something I wasn't too sure about. I previously bought a few balm sticks and they were either too pigmented (only I would say something like that) or it was just odd having a product on my lips that was sort of waxy.

Here's how they look on:

I wanted to show a close-up of both of the eye shadows and mascara on. I know it looks like I applied way too much eye shadow but it didn't look that way in real life, I swear! Both of the eye shadows contained shimmer and I usually shy away from using too much shimmer because they make my eyes look small and just odd but I was able to use both and they looked very natural. 

Here's the lippie! My lips were a little on the dry side here, but I like that it's sheer yet there is some color! 

And here's the eye shadow and mascara again. I didn't curl my eye lashes and I think the mascara did a good job kind of curling them

Sorry for the bad lighting and lack of sleep which is apparent on my face. As you can see, it's quite natural-looking and I think these products would be ideal to wear to work or school on the daily!

Here's a shot of my eye again after 6 hours of wear. There isn't much difference from when I first applied it :)

Overall, I think these products were great! I liked that they were natural looking and they're affordable. I'd love to try out the eye shadows and Color Stick for the lips in different colors. The eye shadows are easy to use and easy to blend but as you can see, they look like they crease a little when you look up close.

If you're interested in BzzAgent and want to try out products for review, go here.  (It's not a referral link )

Have you tried out any of these products? I would definitely recommend these to ladies who like a very natural, clean look. 

Pop Sugar March 2013 Must Have Box

Ugh! It's been too long since I've come to update! It's not like I don't think about it... Anyway, I'm probably going to get the April Must Have Box tomorrow or the next day but here's March's!

It appears it was very apparel-focused:

Here's an overview of the entire box. It was nice of them to thrown in some Peeps!

I know it's hard to see the colors but it's a metallic green and purple :) 

I'm always happy to get a new mascara!! I've used this a couple of times and so far, I like it! 

 My broke butt doesn't own any cashmere and wool is too itchy for me! I'm sure I'll use this in the future, at least I hope. Here's a photo from Pop Sugar which is much prettier than mine:

My New Favorite Shampoo & Conditioner-John Frieda Full Repair

I'm pretty fussy when it comes to shampoo/conditioner. I have long, thick hair but I've put it through A LOT. Lots of coloring, heat styling and tangles. As a result, finding a decent shampoo and conditioner has been near impossible for me because my hair never seemed to respond well to most of them. Most conditioners and deep conditioners that others rave about just didn't do it for me because my hair was just in a really weird, damaged state.

So, I was used to being pretty meh about trying new hair products. I had a coupon for John Frieda's shampoo and conditioner so I bought it without expecting much. But I was wrong! This shampoo and conditioner not only leaves my hair smelling great but it also really softens it and my hair is not as crazy-looking as it is with other products and it's not too pricey. I love it!



If you have really fussy hair like mine or you just want something new to try, I definitely recommend this shampoo/conditioner combo. I have a Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy shampoo and conditioner that I got from a beauty box so I'm trying that next. I'll let you know how it goes!