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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Beauty News!!! and Challange Recap

     HELLO!!! Is it spring yet? not where I am...although I am fighting off my annual spring cold, which means maybe it is spring.
     Before we get into the weekly sales, let's do a challenge recap.
We are in the second week of our "1 palette 7 days" challenge. This week I used a smoky eye palette from The Body Shop. Some background on this palette-it contains 3 powder colors and 1 cream color. The colors go on easy and evenly, but they don't last. That was my main problem with this palette, I could only do so much because of the fading and creasing. I used primer and sometimes the cream shadow before I applied the powders, however,  nothing worked to stop the creasing. These shadows are an absolute fail! I was worried I wouldn't get a lot of fun creative looks with these typical colors. Even if you don't wear makeup all the time, everyone has a smoky eye kit, or that one silver or one black eyeshadow.

Here are the looks I got: (from left to right)

1- black on the lid, cream under the brow, black liner
2-silver in the inner corner, grey in the middle, black in the corner, black liner
3-silver on the lid, grey in the crease, black liner
4-smokey eye-black near the lash line, grey in the middle, silver under the brow, black liner
5-silver on the lid, black in the corner and crease, black liner
6-grey on the lid, black liner
7-silver in the inner corner and under bottom lash line, grey from the middle to the corner, black liner (liquid)
* where it looks sparkly I dabbed on cream shadow

     Now that I see all the looks together, they look different. I didn't feel that way while I was doing them. The last look was actually my first attempt at doing something that edgy. It came out good, but I need practice :) Plus it would NEVER stay because,  the shadows are so crappy.

     We will only be doing this challenge for 2 more weeks, so you still have time to join in! You can always email me your looks, tag me and follow me on instagram @ aprilmaykup.

     This week I'll be doing 7 looks using the "Spoiled Brat" palette from Wet n' Wild. It contains a silver, sparkly black and a mauvey pink. This palette is similar to the one I just used, but with a pop of color.
     The silver is a more pure silver. The black is still matte but has sparkles in it. I like to say that this palette was my gateway drug, it got me into trying to figure out what the words "crease" and "browbone" meant...and when I couldn't, I just created my own looks :) But, that was ages ago...or so it seems.

 
 
SALES!!!
This is the LAST week of ULTA's 21 DAYS OF BEAUTY!!! I will be going in tomorrow to get my Anastasia Brow Gel for $11!! I believe the limit of 2 per person.
 
BOGO 50%- Revlon, Olay Fresh Effects, Covergirl, Almay
L'oreal mascara an lipsticks for $6, $7 and $8
Maybelline $2 off
 
BOGO 50%- Covergirl, Almay, Lumene, NYC, Roc, Revlon, Acnefree
L'Oreal mascara $7.99
Covergirl Mascara $6.99
 
BOGO 50%- Aquaphor, Almay, Revlon, Maybelline, Covergirl, Olay
40% L'Oreal
Revlon lip products $4.99
Physicians Formula BOGO FREE


Monday, March 24, 2014

BEAUTY NEWS!!!

HELLO AGAIN!!!
      Welcome to another fun filled week. My writing schedule has been way too erratic, so I'm going to try and catch up with lots of things I missed.
       First, let's do a challenge recap. I just finished the first week of our " 1palette, 7days" challenge, using one small, 3/4 color palette for a week. At random, I chose the Lotus palette by LA Colors (retail value $2, bought on clearance for 80 cents!) I bough this palette b/c I obviously wanted to try the brand, because  this is beauty on a budget :) but I also liked the color combination. I had little hope that these colors would have ANY type of pigment , but they weren't all bad. The green was also a frosty white, the pink was super sheer and the blue was actually almost true to color.
     I am happy to have that set of colors out of the way! Honestly, out of all my small palettes this one is the only challenging one. I feel like the colors almost resembled clown makeup, I hate to say it, BUT I did find some looks that weren't too crazy and somewhat wearable...maybe not for everyday, but at some time of the day. I realize that I did cheat you out of one look, and I'm still trying to figure out how that happened. Here are the 6 looks:


From left to right
1-green on the lid, blue in the crease, pink highlight, blue NYX gel liner
2-blue by the lash line, pink in the middle/lid, green highlight, blue NYX gel liner
3-pink on the lid, blue in the crease and  in outer corner, black liner
4-green in the inner corner, pink in the middle, blue in the outer corner and slightly in the crease
5-green on the lid, pink in outer corner and crease, pink ELF shimmer liner
6-blue all over the lid and over the crease, blue NYX liner
I used NYX primer for all the looks.

     My new palette I'll be using for the rest of the week is from The Body Shop. It's a smoky eye kit and contains, black, grey, silver and a white shimmer cream shadow/highlighter. (retail value $30, I got during a semi annual clearance AND 1 day special deal, in a kit with a bronzer and lipgloss for $10!!)

 
 
 

ON TO SALES!
Don't forget ULTA is still their 21 days of beauty until April 4th and check for daily online deals!
Lorac is having a sale on their site, with items starting at $6!
 
BOGO 50% - Revlon, Almay, Covergirl, Neutrogena, St. Ives, Studio 35, Ponds, Dove
Maybelline $2 off
 
BOGO 50%- L'Oreal, Roc, Cetaphil, Cerave, Trim tools, Milani, Covergirl, Clean&Clear, Lumene, Revlon, Simple, Olay, Nuance, Ponds, St. Ives
L'Oreal Mascara $7.99 ( try the Telescopic Mascara)
Almay buy2 get 1 free
 
BOGO 50% -L'Oreal face & eye, Revlon, Almay, Neutrogena
Nivea Lip Butter 2/$4
Physicians Formula 40% off
 


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

BEAUTY NEWS!!!!!

     Hey everyone! I have LOTS of news to share with all of you! I just accepted a position as a beauty advisor for Duane reade/Walgreens. I also accepted another position as a makeup artist with Socialite  for a Night. I am so excited!! I can't wait to start.
     You're probably tired of hearing about me now, so let's talk makeup. Maybelline is revamping their new "fit me" line and added 4 new deeper shades! I think that's excellent news, especially for us gals who can NEVER find the 1 right shade and for the women that most makeup companies tend to leave out with their limited number of colors.
SALES!!!
      Sleek makeup is FINALLY having a sale. Everything is 20% off when u spend $30 or more...which is easy to do. They have an amazing range of foundation colors. Plus all their items are Quality!
   Ulta is doing their 21 days of beauty again, where each day you'll get a special deal. It started Sunday and goes into April. Items I'm most excited about are during week 3. There will be Anastasia brow gel (AMAZING!!)it will be on sales for 50% off, that's $11!!! You won't get a deal like that anywhere!!!!  There  will also be online deals, so check out the link for days and details.
 
BOGO 50%- Covergirl, Revlon, Nivea, L'Oreal, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Boots skincare for men, Maybelline
Lumene 40% off
Olay 2/$5
 
BOGO 50%- L'Oreal makeup and skincare, Neutrogena, Covergirl, Revlon, Almay, Maybelline
Rimmel 40% off
 
BOGO 50%- Covergirl, Neutrogena, Rimmel, Almay, Maybelline, Lumene, Wet n' Wild, Neutrogena
Revlon nail & Physicians formula are buy 2 get 1 free
 
Now time for our CHALLENGE, which was using 1 palette for the entire week. You can see day to day looks by following me on Instagram @ aprilmaykup.
Here are the rules:

BEAUTY CHALLENGE DETAILS
-Choose a random small palette ( 3 or 4 colors)
-Use the chosen palette AND ONLY that chosen palette for the entire 7 days, in any combination you like.
-Any eyeliner, primer, mascara may be used,  just no other cream or powders shadows.
-A new palette will be chosen every week for the next 4 weeks.
 
The palette I chose at random was "Lotus".  It's a 3 color palette by LA Colors. I spent about $1 on it because it was on clearance. One thing is for sure, this should be VERY interesting! Below I have attached swatches and a pic of the palette.
 
 
GOOD LUCK!!
I'll see you all again, later in the week!!

 
 
 

Monday, March 10, 2014

BEAUTY NEWS!!

     It appears that everyone is jumping on the charcoal bandwagon. Garnier has a series of new cleansers, one containing charcoal. Is this a good thing? I can see using a charcoal treatment once I month, even once a week, but everyday? Time will tell I guess. I will test them out and report back. I just got a sample of the charcoal wash from Biore.  I'll wait to gather more charcoal samples before I start my test. I'll also dig up some more research on charcoal.

Sales for the week:

Ulta
Same sales as last week and they are good until March 16th,

CVS
BOGO 50%
Neutrogena, Almay, Physicians Formula, Aveeno, Covergirl, Wet n' Wild, Revlon, Roc, Ponds, Milani, St.Ives, Nivea, Lumene

Rite Aid
BOGO 50%
Maybelline, Wet n' Wild, L'Oreal lip & nail, Almay face & lip
Revlon Nearly Naked $6.99

Walgreens
BOGO 50%
Rimmell, Garnier skincare, Aveeno, Almay, L'Oreal, Neutrogena, Maybelline, Revlon
Wet n' Wild 25% off

YES! I am getting together my reviews, $1 *GEM*, and $10 deal. I am also hoping to do a 3 minute makeup video...this week. YIKES!!!! wish me luck!
Since this week has already started it's too late to post a challenge, but I would like to start one as on Sunday.
BEAUTY CHALLENGE DETAILS
-Choose a random small palette ( 3 or 4 colors)
-Use the chosen palette AND ONLY that chosen palette for the entire 7 days, in any combination you like.
-Any eyeliner, primer, mascara may be used,  just no other cream or powders shadows.
-A new palette will be chosen every week for the next 4 weeks.

I'll remind you of the challenge next week, hopefully you will participate in it with me.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

WEEKLY REVIEW: Exfoliants

     Exfoliants...what do we do with them? When and how do we use them? It's sad to say, but if you don't know a little about them now, it is about to get a little harder, at least in New York. New York is seeking to ban products that include micro beads, specifically for environmental issues. The micro beads are plastic and not biodegradable. Besides micro beads, there are other exfoliating products available for all different skin types.                
     Personally, I prefer a natural exfoliant, even though I heard that the micro beads are better for your skin. I like as many natural products on my face as possible, with the least amount of chemicals and additives. 
     Exfoliants usually come in scrub form, but a peel is also acceptable. Common scrubs usually include micro beads, apricot or walnut shells, sea salt, sugar or rice granules. Peels are usually enzymatic and use some kind of fruit, tomatoes, green apple, mango or lemon, any fruit with acid really. We will only be reviewing scrubs in this review, I'll save the peel review for another day.
     Why do we need exfoliants? We need exfoliants to whisk away dead skin cells. Exfoliating leaves skin smoother, brighter and can help minimizer the appearance of acne and acne scars.
     How often should you exfoliate? Instructions are usually provided on the product packaging. Ideally you should be exfoliating AT LEAST once a week. It would be a good idea to do this on the same day you do your at home mask.
     It is possible to exfoliate everyday, I need too. For me the frequent exfoliation helped control the oil production on my face. I tried a few methods of exfoliation which I will review below.

EXFOLIATING CREAMS:
St. Ives Apricot Scrub $4.49 (drugstores, beauty supply stores)-I use to use this as my everyday scrub. I've heard a lot of bashing toward this product because of the natural ingredients. The gritty scrub property (the apricot /walnut shells) supposedly rip and tear skin. This is only a problem if you have areas on you skin that are peeling or irritated. Natural scrubs get a BOO HOO, in general because the irregular shape of the grains usually creates the tearing I mentioned above. The best way to decide if a product like this is for you is to test it and of course know your skin. I know my skin can handle the scrubbing and I have never had any tearing.
     Back to the review, it's good for exfoliating. Especially if you're a novice or don't exfoliate often. I have graduated from this product, but before that I've used it for years and still use it when I run out of my new product.

Derma E Microdermabasion Scrub $20-$30 (ulta, vitacost)-This is my new favorite!! I use this at least 3 times a week. It definitely does the trick! Skin feels smoother and is noticeably brighter. The Derma E also helps with diminishing my dark spots. Not on it's own , but combined with products designed to get rid of dark spots. This scrub contain rice granules with are more rounded in shape than the apricot scrub granules. Plus the granules are smaller. These things would minimize the tearing of skin cells.

EXFOLIATING PADS:

Radical Age Defying Exfoliating Pads $65 (Sephora)-I like exfoliating pads/cloths. Pads come pre-motioned with and they're not messy. Pads/cloths are usually textured so you don't have to worry about the using too much pressure when exfoliating.  I think they are great for travel and one the go use, which of course translates into quick easy everyday at home use. The Radical pads not only gently exfoliate, but they contain and age defying treatment and helps skin retain it's natural moisture. After using the Radical pads, my skin felt soft and moisturized. Since I have oily skin, I did not need to use a night moisturizer as part of my daily routine. If you have normal to dry skin, you might need a moisturizer so don't toss it yet! Maybe after a few uses you will be able to nix the it. For oily and combination skin you can give your  moisturizer a rest.
     The Radical pads should be used after you cleanse. They greatly diminish the time you on your nightly routine. You exfoliate, moisturize and treat all  in one quick step! Also with the pad you can make sure you get every inch of your face without missing a spot, and even if you do miss anything, you can easily give you face a second swipe over.
     The pads are a gentle exfoliant, which makes them perfect for sensitive skin and everyday use. Also, it's impossible to over exfoliate you skin or scrub to abrasively. With the Radical pads you don't have to worry about the tearing associated with scrubs.

ELF Makeup Remover Exfoliating Cleansing Cloths $3 (eyeslipsface.com)- I believe these  cloths have such a long name because ELF does not know what to do with them. I used them as a makeup remover and they were just too rough, especially around the eye area. You don't need exfoliating cloths to remove makeup. I tried them as a cleansing cloth when I was too lazy to wash my face at night. I feel like that is a much better use for them, although I didn't entirely feel like my face was clean. Maybe they'll be better used after cleansing and before application of any treatment or moisturizer.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Beauty News!!!

      I'm not going to beat around the bush, I've been stressed out! it's crazy to me how school is. I killed myself last week and then this week they give me easy assignments, that take nothing to do. Forget the excuses! This is not about that! it's about beauty! So over the next 2 days I'm going to try to give you everything that I've been missing. Let's start with sales.

Rite Aid
BOGO 50% -Covergirl, Almay, Maybelline, Ecotools, L'Oreal, Eucerin, c. Booth, Simple, Noxema, St. Ives, Garnier Skincare, CVS cosmetic accessories, Revlon, Neutrogena
BOGO FREE Physicians Formula  eye products and concealer
Maybelline mascara $5.99
Wet n' Wild makeup marked $.99  will be $.69

Walgreens
BOGO 50% Covergirl, Revlon, Maybelline

CVS
BOGO 50% Covergirl, Neutrogena, Rimmel, Acnefree, Cerave

Ulta
Free gift with Urban Decay purchase
Free gift with Peter Thomas Roth purchase
Free Gift with Mario Badescu purchase
Buy 2 get 1 FREE Almay andL'oreal
BOGO 50% Revlon, Palladio, Maybelline
15% off Hair and Skincare
ALSO I just got my quarterly rewards certificate and you probably did too! I have to admit their 'rewards' aren't all they're cracked up to be and unless you're a level 6


Monday, March 3, 2014

BEST $10 (or less) I EVER SPENT!!

This is also the FIRST "Best $10 I Ever Spent" of the year. WOO HOO!!!
I am HAPPY...or EXCITED...or OVERJOYED to bring you Makeup Remover Pads by Almay.
I picked up the "oil-free" ones, just as an FYI.
I LOVE THESE!!!!
They are so gentle, yet sturdy and effective. They fit exactly right in the eye socket area, which is GREAT if you are changing eye makeup for a different look, but don't want to change your whole face AND excellent for clean up!
It says "fragrance free" but there is still a fragrance to them.
I bought a jar of 120 for $3 at a discount store, but you can get them at any drug store. They'll cost you more anywhere between $4.50-$6.
They even remover mascara and some waterproof products.

HOW I USE THEM:
-1 pad per eye
-I hold the pad on my eye for about 15/20 seconds then gently wipe off. If I need to I use the other side to get any remaining product left on the eye or lashes.

$1*GEM*

So it's been awhile since I post a $1*GEM*, so let's make it good.
I MUST ADMIT I was skeptical! $1 powder foundation? WHAAAAAAAAT?!!?!?!?
But ELF (eyeslipsface) does make one.  AND it's an acne fighting face powder.

GREAT THINGS ABOUT IT:
-$1
-acne fighting
-doesn't irritate the skin, cause breakouts
-will set a liquid or cream powder well
-comes in a variety of shades
-small compact packaging

BEWARE:
-do not use alone, the powder will not stay on all day and would need to be reapplied if not used with some other element.

-packaging sucks...a little. It's small and light, but as soon as you drop it, the clam shell cover breaks off and will no longer stay attached. However the makeup survived the drop...or should I say multiple drops without breaking.

WHAT I USE IT FOR:
-since there are SO many shades and SO inexpensive, I use them to set my highlight and contour colors.