UseItUpByApril - Finale

Hey there!

I decided in January that I'd dig through my makeup, beauty and bath stash and decide which products I'd try my hardest to use up by my birthday (UseItUpByApril post). I saw some other folks trying it and I thought it might be easy to do.

Nope. Not as easy as it looks. I even did an update post in March (UseItUpByApril - Update post). That should have given us a clue!

I apparently did not find enough random strangers to help me power through the Maybelline Baby Lips. I did finish 1 of them. The other is in my purse and about halfway finished. I used this at least once a day and it's still going strong (and the other 5 or 6 are still hanging around the house). That should be a testament that Maybelline Baby Lips products will last you a good, long time. But, I really think it's a testament that I have too many lip products in rotation.

In my update post I told you that I had used my Lancôme Bienfait Teinté once since the project started. Well, now I've used it twice. I have to say that in my defense...ummm...I don't know. I love it during the summer but I have really been going powder only and ALL of my foundation-like liquids have gotten almost no love. I have never been a huge fan of liquid foundation and I guess this BB Cream got caught up in that.

Well, the Make Up Forever HD Primer made it into the empties post. But, it made it in because it went super liquidy and rancid. Because I don't do much in the way of foundation, I don't worry too much about my powder wandering away. The Benefit Watts Up Soft Focus Highlighter is still in play. It gets used when I do my eyebrows and need them to be on point. I'll be honest...Sasquatch has been in the building this winter and my eyebrows have been untamed, hairy beasts. I'll do better next time, I promise.

ALL of the perfume samples have been sampled! And only 1 of them got to stay. Yep! Out of all of the perfume samples that have darkened my doorway, only one was good enough to stay and that one was only just good enough to stay. I didn't run out and buy anything. When the J'Adore runs out, it just runs out. I discovered that I like a sweet, sugary scent. I love my Pink Sugar Scents and my Body Fantasies Cotton Candy scent. That's about all I want on my body. Is that too childish for a 43 year old? I mean, I'm asking the question but there is a big, fat, "I don't care if it is" right at the end so feel free not to answer.

I touched the Coastal Scents Bright Eyed Brightener once this entire time. I just couldn't make it work. I really tried but it's way too bright and it creased like crap under my eye. This product is going in the Big Green Empties Bucket.

Two. That's how many of the eight shower gels that I used up. It's hard to use up shower gel when you have about 25 in various stages of use. It sounds excessive I know but you have to understand...I like bubble baths and shower gels! I like smelling good. Sometimes you change it up (like every day). This portion of the project was a big fail but it was a great smelling fail.

I have learned a lot though this project though. One, I have acquired (through samples, gifts or purchases) a lot of stuff that I don't like and still try to use it up. I can' keep doing that. If I don't like it, I just don't like it.

Two, I like bath stuff and I don't care who knows!

UseItUpByApril - Update

Hey There !

So in the very beginning of January I talked about all of the products that I wanted to use my birthday (April) #UseItUpByApril. I have so many things that I feel like I'll never finish that I wanted to make a real effort to use up certain products. My plan was to make sure that I showed preference and love to these particular items so that by April 16 (that magical day for both you and I), they would be empty.

Just for the record...this is hard!!

The first thing I wanted to use up were 2 of my many Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms. I mentioned that I have about 7 of them and I need them gone or I need more lips. So far, I finished one and I am working hard on the other. I know, that doesn't make sense but, I have one that I use at night, every night (Dr. Rescue in Just Peachy). It's not suitable for daytime! I have another in my purse (Quenched). If I take it out of my purse I'll lose it. I have another one in my makeup bag...you get the picture, right?

I have used my Lancôme Bienfait Teinté once since this project began. Yep, once. I just haven't been feeling it. I wore it a lot during the summer but this winter I just haven't done much in the way of liquid color. I think I might be thinking about bronzing up too much. Not sure.

I have a big surprise with either the Make Up Forever HD Primer or the Benefit Watts Up Soft Focus Highlighter. I can't tell you which, but one of these things will be in my empties.

You would be so proud of me as far as the perfume samples go! I think we're going to make it. I think I am going to use them all up by the due date! Score!

The  Coastal Scents Bright Eyed Eye Brightener. Well, see what happened was...I totally have not touched this. I'm going to have to work on it. It's just not something I remember. I'm going to put it and all the other stuff on a tray so that I can see them first thing.

The shower gels and body creams have been a big surprise. I thought that I'd have put a huge dent in them by now. I've dented them but not what I thought. It's interesting how very little you use in the way of shower gels. I have learned a valuable lesson -- you don't need half the bubbly crap that you buy!

Like I said, this is hard. I have tried to show favoritism to these items but when you have so much stuff, you tend to spread the love around. I'm down to the final month so I plan to go hard. Are you still taking bets as to what I'll use up and what I won't?

Yeah, me too.

Tag: What’s My Face Worth - Revisit March 2015

Hey there!

I was looking back through my blog posts (about a year back) and I came across the What's My Face Worth tag. I read the post and almost laughed. The post said my face was worth $173.49. So you know what I did? Yep! I pulled out what I wore today and re-wrote the post!

My life has changed so much. In the first paragraph of primers and such I spent $98. Wanna know what I primed with this morning? I did use the same Bare Minerals Concealer ($20, and not the SAME one. This is a new one) but I didn't use eye stuff at all. I used my Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer ($18) and instead of foundation, my MAC Studio Fix Powder ($27). So my face prep was only $65 this morning.

Yes, I still take a sip of coffee and pick out a pair of earrings and then put on...Maybelline Baby Lips in Beam of Blush ($3.49). Maybelline Baby Lips is the best brand of lip moisturizer for underneath lipstick, hands down.

My bronzer back then is almost the same price! This morning I wore e.l.f. Mineral Glow in bronzed ($8). And the blush I'm wearing this week? Boots No.7 Natural Blush Tint Powder in Spice ($9.99). So my bronzing and blushing are still about the same.

I normally do wear brow stuff. But, I freshly shaped my brows this morning so I didn't put anything on them. And I've mentioned my Blepharitis before so for the most part, I avoid eye makeup. I know the post says I go gently into eye makeup but after months of trying to dance around it, I gave up. I occasionally wear powdered eyeliner but more often than not, nothing, and that works for me.

I did use a Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Pencil ($6.29) but I'm road testing an Essence lippie ($2.99). No gloss today because of that.

And that is my new perfection.

I know, it's a lot less makeup. Wonder why? Sleep. I chose sleep and that means I can't do quite as much makeup in the morning. And, no one has spit or laugh at me so it must be ok. I think I still look pretty good.

Oh yeah! I have tried many new makeup products over the last year. Some of them were high end. Some of them were super inexpensive. I've done quite a bit of research. I was pretty darn sure that my face would cost quite a bit now.

Today my face was worth $95.76. That's almost half of what I use to spend. Now, now, don't go all crazy. That was just today. Had I pulled out my highlighter from yesterday, it would have added $24. Had I chosen the face powder from yesterday, I'd have spent $3.99 instead of $27. It just varies.

I still found the whole process fascinating. I think maybe in 6 months or so I'll try it again and see what the total is. Won't that be fun?

So should my goal be use expensive stuff everyday or cheapy cheap stuff every day?

Nah, I think it should be use what you love every day!

What's In My Makeup Bag?

Hey there!

It's been a minute but I thought it was probably time to revisit "what's in my makeup bag". This is the bag that I always take to work and have with me in case I need a touch up during the day or go somewhere after work. I always take my little pink bag with my makeup of the day but I always have certain things that stay in the bag.

First of all, my pretty (but dingy) pink bag is a Mally bag that I got with a purchase a year or so ago. I like it because it's nice and sturdy. It's small enough to fit in my work bag and big enough for the makeup that I might need.

I always have my face powder and lip products that I used that morning and for some reason, a spare lipstick. It's usually the lippie from the previous day.

I always keep a Sephora sample bag with my perfume sample of the week. Sometimes I forget to spritz before I leave home and this way I can smell good anyway!

I always keep a tube of Aquaphor and a Maybelline Baby Lips in my bag. With all of the lip care that I keep on hand, you'd think my lips would be baby soft. They are reasonably soft but not super soft.

And randomness is a hair clamp, lubricating eye drops and 2 adhesive bandages. The hair clamp is for days when all the cute curls go away. The lubricating eye drops are for refreshing tired eyes. The bandages are leftovers from when I had a very small keloid on my upper chest area that I was trying to treat.

If I know that I am going out, I will bring my blush, bronzer and a brush for refreshing. But, most of the time I just do without. I'm a pretty natural girl.

And that's it really. Sometimes I remember to touch up my lipstick, sometimes I forget. I might refresh my bronzer or blush if I'm having dinner with friends but most of the time I don't. I do pull out the hair clip frequently and you always need eye drops.

What's in your makeup bag? Does it need refreshing or is everything in it ok?

#UseItUpByApril

Hey There!!

During the holiday season I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos -- I mean A LOT of videos. Because of all the YouTube surfing, I have come up on some really great new channels. One of the lovely ladies that I've been watching (ThriftyBeauty - if you aren't watching her, you are making poor life choices. She is great!) gave me a GREAT idea (i.e., challenge) for the new year. I'm going to use up some makeup.

Yeah, yeah, I know. That doesn't sound like much of a challenge but for me, it really is. I have many items that I've owned for quite a while and I either need to toss it or use it up. I've spent quite a bit of time last year accumulating random stuff and I haven't spent enough time USING that stuff up. So, by my birthday (April 16, mark it on your calendars peeps!) I am going to use up the following...

Am I the only person wondering how many random strangers do you have to let borrow your Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms before you use those suckers up? I have about 7 or so in different places and none of them ever seem to go away. My goal for mid April is to use up 2 of them and have them in my April's empties bin. Ladies at work, pucker up. We're going to have moist, supple lips by April!

I bought this Lancôme Bienfait Teinté BB cream last year. I like it but it's still hanging around. I keep thinking, if I like it so much, shouldn't it be gone by now? Exactly. I think this product will be a lot easier than others to use up. I have about half the container left.

I think that I got the Make Up Forever HD Primer and the Benefit Watts Up Soft Focus Highlighter samples at the same time. If that's the case, then I should have used them up by now. The primer has about half left (should be easy to accomplish) and the Watts Up is still pretty full (a more difficult task). I still have the primer because I fell in love with the Hourglass Veil Mineral primer and stopped using it. The Watts Up is still around because really, how much over the eye highlighter can you use? I'm not a huge fan of creamy highlighter but that's gonna have to change.

Do you see all of those perfume samples? Half of them have never even been tested. I'm going to test them all and use up the ones I like. The ones I don't like, I'll tell you all about it, in April. The next time you see that crystal bin, it's going to be empty! 

I ordered a Coastal Scents Bright Eyed Eye Brightener thinking that it would brighten the area under my eyes and make me look awake, brighter, younger, smarter. I discovered that liquids and creams under my eyes do one thing -- make me look older. When this didn't work under my eyes, I put it away and did nothing with it. Now, $4.95 later, I still have the product sitting on my counter. I need to find a use for it fast! I'm going to do some research and use this stuff up. Got any ideas?

And, it breaks my heart but I have waaaay too many bath gels and hand creams. It's out of control. What I tend to do is use a shower gel one day and then another the next day and yet another the next day. I never finish one because I keep rotating them. My goal is to use up 8 shower gels and 2 body creams by my birthday. If that means I smell the same everyday for the next 4 months, so be it. I really need to pare down what I have and be sensible about what I purchase from here on out.

Now don't go all crazy people. I'm not on a no-buy or anything. I'm just on a buy better. I'm going to remember what I have and not just buy all willy nilly to say that I have something. If there's something that I really want, I'm going to have to use something else up. I'm also going to shop my stash a lot more. Marsala is the new color of the year? Well, I gravitate towards that color in lippies anyway, so do I really need to buy EVERYTHING new that pops up? No. Will I purchase some new things in the line? Of course, but I will be very aware of what I already have.

Because I've learned how to use coupons and shop sales, I have a very nice makeup collection that didn't cost me a crazy amount of money. While it is a nice collection, I don't make use of it like I should. Well, that's going to change.

Stay tuned. I'll follow up with you nice people and let you know how it's going. I'll also try to remember to post some things on Instagram   #UseItUpByApril.

Best In Beauty 2014

Hey There !

Yep, I'm doing it. I'm telling you all about my 2014 loves. I have spent the last week thinking about some of the products that I have used almost every day this year and those are the items that won Best in Beauty in my book.

Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms have been slathered on my lips ALL year! I love them! I keep then all over the place. My favorite for night is the Dr Rescue and all day is the Quenched flavor -- it smells like Fruity Pebbles! How can you pass that up?! These are so moisturizing and the price is just right. I have about 6 or 7 of these all around the house (in my purse, in my desk, by the bed...you know).

I've only owned my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Biscuit for 2 months now but I am in LOVE with this concealer! I used my Bare Minerals Correcting Concealer in Tan 2 for years and then this NARS concealer came into my life. It's the perfect consistency, the perfect color and lasts maybe an hour longer than Bare Minerals. If I'm wearing full foundation, 2 hours.

One would think that I'd slow down on my makeup brush purchases but, I haven't. Some of my favorite brushes have been my e.l.f. Brushes from the studio line. The regular $1 line is fine but the $3 line is A...Maze....Ing! My favorite and most used brush is the Angled Blush Brush. I use it every day for my contouring. I also love the regular Studio Blush Brush. I use it to pop highlighter on the tops of my cheeks. I also use the Small Tapered Brush for under eye setting powder.

Mentioning under eye, I have fallen in love with the e.l.f. High Definition Undereye Setting Powder. I was afraid of the sparkle at first but the sparkle in the container doesn't come off under your eye. I go between the e.l.f. under eye concealing powder and the Bare Minerals concealing powder. This works beautifully with both.

I have many, many face powders. I don't like foundation as much as powder so I have to have one that delivers great coverage, matches my complexion with a hint of color and lasts for a good bit of the day. My favorite this year has been my Lancôme Dual Finish Powder in Bisque. It is just perfect in every way. If I'm not testing anything or just want to grab and go, this is the one I grab for.

My blush of the year was my e.l.f. Blush Palette in dark. Man! you can really do so many things with it. I think the only time I didn't use this was when I was testing others. I really enjoyed the versatility of it. The colors last a long time and you only need a touch on my cheeks. Now that I have the light palette, we are going to fall in love with that one.

I discovered my eyebrows this year. I had tried brow taming before and just didn't do it correctly. Then I tried it again with my Anastasia Brow Wiz in soft brown. Late to the party but dancin' like a fool when I got there! I like the color and the fact that it stays put like a champ. This is the only colored brow product that I use now.

Lips, lips, lips. I have waaaay too many lipsticks and lip glosses to pick my faves of the year. I was testing so many lippies that I can't pick a favorite but what I can tell you is that NYX Retractable Lip Liner in Nude Pink has been my go to lip liner all year.  I thought I had lost it for about a week and so I picked up another one (and then, of course, found the original one). It's a beautiful dusty pink that goes with almost every lippie I own. It complements pinks, browns and even a few reds! And, it's cheap as all get out. If you don't own that one, you really have to get it.

My very lush, very decadent product of the year has been my Caudalíe Beauty Elixir.  It's a spray of freshness and peppermint that I put on most nights. It prepares my face for sleep and I enjoy it so much. I've heard folks say that it's over priced for something that doesn't have a purpose other than to refresh the face. It's a bit expensive but it really is worth it. I mean if you found something that instantly changes your mood and makes you feel renewed and refreshed, isn't it worth it? I think so.

And last, but not least, I have to talk about my favorite nail accoutrement. I know that everyone has their favorite nail top coat but when I tell you that Sally Hansen Insta-Dri is my forever love...you'd better believe it! I always paint my nails about 20 minutes before bed time and this top coat dries my nails in about 5 minutes. I very, very rarely get sheet marks or mistakes. This stuff is great. 

So what did you show the most love to in 2014? Are you ready for 2015? Do you already have something that you are sure will be a winner?