Beauty News!!!

     I have been MIA and super busy! I've been trying to get ahead on my blog and my schoolwork. AAARGH it's frustrating, I could see me doing makeup, FOREVER...graphic design? not so much. It's practical and not as fun as I thought it would be. I'd rather stick to painting and painting my face!
     But I digress! I owe you 2 reviews, the best $10 I ever spent and a $1 *GEM*...it's coming.
I'll try to have at least 2 of those things tomorrow.
Also because of my financial situation and am on an indefinite NO BUY!
I shared a lot with you today and as we know sharing is caring!
Now for this weeks specials and there are some good ones!

     To start off there will be an event a Sephora inside JCP on March 1st , where you will receive a complimentary makeover AND a free gift. The event runs from 12pm-5pm. Check your local Sephora inside JCPenny for further details.

Ulta
15% off skincare
free gift with purchases of Philosophy, Urban Decay or Mario Badescu products

CVS
BOGO 50% - Milani, Revlon, Almay, Wet n' Wild, Nuance, Aveeno, Clean n' Clear, Simple, Roc and Lumene.

Walgreens
BOGO 50%- L'Oreal, Roc, Cetaphil, Covergirl, Neutrogena, Studio 35 skincare, Revlon, and Maybelline

Rite Aid
NYC BOGO FREE!
40% off Almay, Physicians Formula and Revlon
BOGO 50% Covergirl, Neutrogena, L'Oreal

Beauty News!!!

    Hello once again beautiful people!!! I am happy that you're here, and reading, and exploring and hopefully trying things out or asking questions. PLEASE ask questions. There is never a stupid question.
So we'll cover a lot in this article today.
1.Debrief from "No Buy Month"
2.Review sales for the week
3.Halloween!!!

     "No Buy Month" was a success. I realized how much stuff I had, tried new products different ways and was able to streamline my collection of items I use daily. I also saved money and learned how to do more with less. The downside was I missed some great sales, like ULTA's 21 days of deals :(
     But, no worries! Christmas will be here soon and stores love having sales around that time, plus there will be lots of special editions! I will try a "No Buy Month" again, until I get it right.
     Next time I'd like to impose harder restrictions on myself. Like not opening or using any items from my beauty boxes for the month. Plus I have to remember to stock up on basic items before the month starts. I have about 2 inches of eyebrow pencil left, 1/2 pack of makeup wipes and a corner of waterproof eye makeup remover.
     I will be doing it again and I'll be sure to give you guys about 2 months to prepare for the next makeup fast. In the mean time, I'll be preparing for yet another challenge that I'll reveal next week! It will be exciting and of course challenging, but always fun! I am actually looking forward to it myself.

     I'll skip sales and move right into Halloween. I know some people hate it, but I LOVE it. I love dressing up. I normally have 2 costumes ready and something/ some place to go. This month I'll be posting Halloween looks with '"how to" instructions. Of course these looks will be inexpensive and easy to execute! I just did the first one tonight and it was fun. I'll have it posted on Wednesday. For the preview of the finished look you can check out my instagram-aprilmaykup.

Now SALES!!!
I love sales and how I missed them!
Ulta
NYX for 40% off
There is also a new kit available from Ulta. Since they're out of the 61 piece set that I reviewed earlier this year, they now have a 71 piece set for $25 AND its BOGO 50% off

CVS
Revlon, Covergirl and Olay are BOGO 50%

Walgreens
Simple skincare is BOGO FREE!!!! -so get on that immediately
L'Oreal, Revlon, Neutrogena, Garnier skincare, and Covergirl are BOGO 50%
On Thursday from 6pm-9pm select Walgreens will have "Beauty Nite Out" and all Wet n' Wild products from the Fergie collection will be 25% off and nail polish will be BOGO FREE!!!

     Sephora of course has no sales, but please check the sale section for products you may have missed or would like to try. Also I like the sample sizes. That way you can spend a fraction of an amount to try before you buy...kinda :/ at least before you invest A LOT of money in something.

I'll also get you Rite Aid sales ASAP!

     I'll be back later in the week with my photo "how to" and a review of products I've tried. This week it'll be cleansers!!

I'm BACK and No Buy Month Extras!!!

   HEY ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!!
   So I am officially back!!! So far i'm loving my new computer. It's SUPER fast, I made sure of that. I should even start taking pics with the camera and having them automatically on my computer instead of transferring them to my phone. One less step always saves time!
      I feel like I've missed SO much. I know, I've missed you all VERY much. I feel like you missed a lot to. I didn't get to do anything I planned for "No Buy Month". I had so many fun things and info to share. I'll try to shove as much info into you as I can without overwhelming you.

As you all may know, the purpose of "No Buy Month" was to:
-use products I already own
-give previously disliked products another chance
-use other products in creative new ways
-save money
-save waste

     One of my main missions was to make those notorious NYX jumbo eye pencils work for me. I used them as a base and them put powder on top of the pencil as normal. I was able to build on top of them, making my eyeshadow damn near permanent and totally creaseless. I would recommend using a waterproof remover to take the eye makeup off.
In the picture, I used the purple jumbo eye stick all over, then set that with a lilac pressed powder eyeshadow. I placed lavender powder in the center of my eyelid and blueish purple in the outer corner.


     I also used the NYX sticks as lipstick. This was difficult b/c I got the same results as I did when I used them as eyeshadow. The color rubs off so easily. The lighter colors act more like a lip gloss that a lipstick. I used the black and purple NYX sticks together, and though I loved the result, I knew it would only be temporary... VERY temporary. There is a pic of the result on the right.
    I tried the gold and bronze colors together AND with and eye primer on my lips. The eye primer was by ELF. It is definitely NOT supposed to be used on lips. It's drying to the lips and just made the colors look like a nude lipstick rather than a gold shimmer.


     Lastly, while I was trying out this new "lipstick", I removed the terrible results with eye makeup remover. Did I tell you anything that can be used on your eyes can be used on your lips, such as eye/wrinkle creams and remover? Well just in case I didn't, anything that can be used on your eyes can be used on your lips. I used my previously disliked Wet n' Wild Eye Makeup remover. I am down to a TINY bit of my precious Sephora remover, so when I remembered that I still had this, my day brightened that much more! It removed my "lipstick" completely!! even my failed experiment with the primer! There was no irritation, but still PLEASE don't swallow it! I know you're smart and I shouldn't have to say it, but I have to cover my butt regardless! In any case, I'm glad I didn't have to toss that remover. It was a full bottle and I feel terrible about wasting things. Guess this "No Buy Month" was successful!

Overall the NYX Jumbo Sticks make AWESOME bases. If you use them in conjunction with a primer, such as the NYX eyeshadow base, and apply your powdered eyeshadow colors on top, you should be in for eye makeup that will make it through the apocalypse and beyond!

No Buy Month- make your own lipstick

HELLO EVERYONE!!!
I miss you all terribly,  and I miss blogging. Plus all the stuff I had planned for you, pictures and all, are on my burned out computer.
I can't stand it, I MUST do some thing, so I'll do the best I can from my phone.
Things I used
-palette ( you can also use a foam plate or aluminum foil.)
-palette knife (metal or plastic)
-eyeshadow or loose pigments
-favorite lipgloss
-creativity!!!

Step 1
I chose 2 colors of loose mineral eyeshadow to make the lipgloss/lipstick/lipstain. On my palette I put eyeshadow and lipgloss in equal amounts,  about 1/2 the size of a dime.

Step 2
Mix in HALF of the lipgloss into your eyeshadow. Mix throughly to avoid, clumping, streaks and uneven color.

Step 3
Apply to lips using lip brush.

I also made a some with my pressed eyeshadow.  First I chose a cheaper brand of shadow (just in case I broke it, I wouldn't be heart broken) Then I made sure the shadow was on the soft side. Harder powders would break as soon as you tried to scrape them.
I just followed the same steps as I did for the loose mineral powders.

TIPS!!
-Use a lipgloss you know and love! The shininess, consistency,  and staying power depend on the type of gloss you use. I used my Bigelow gloss from bath&body, that I reviewed earlier this year.
-Mixture too thick? Add more gloss. Mixture too thin? Add more eyeshadow.
-Need to make more? Then make more! You can store it in old lip gloss jars, those used plastic sample containers from Sephora, would be perfect. Also you could get a small container from the container store for less that 50 cents! And I promise I won't hold it against you during "No Buy Month".

Fyi-the purple lips are pressed shadow and the peach and green were from MAD minerals.I also posted the lipgloss I used.

This week

I got a shipping notice that my computer will be here friday! I can't wait! And honestly,  right after I set it up, I'll be posting. 
I started my makeup fast and quickly realized how hard it was, especially since Sephora has a sale on urban decay palettes. I do own two already, so I had th we power to skip those. Plus I'm so much more excited about repurposing makeup products and products from my "dislike" bin.
Sorry lovelies but it's late and I have a busy day! See u friday!!

Rules for "No Buy Month"

Even though I'm without a computer for another week, I am still goung through with my makeup fast.  All that extra money I'm saving on cosmetics will help me pay for my computer. 
Here are the rules for "No Buy Month"
1. Skin products are allowed.
2. Beauty box subscriptions are allowed.
3. No makeup whatsoever is to be bought for the next 30 days.
4. No conventional makeup products can be bought,  only b/c they have multiple uses. ie: milk of magnesia, and monistat chaffing cream.
5. Reusing of previously owned products is encouraged! Don't be afraid to try something new with a "hated" product.
6. Be creative!!

I hope that you all plan to participate in "no buy month", u can always reach out to me for support and of course new ideas.
I'll be posting a bunch of info on how to use products  already own to create something new!
I am not sure I wil post sales for the week yet, im trying to be considerate to everyone and don't want to tempt myself or other participating in the makeup fast.

Have a great weekend!! And GOOD LUCK!!