Sephora Beauty Shake-Up

[photo credit: Sephora promotional email]

Subscribers to the Sephora email list will receive an email that looks like this starting today! It is the Beauty Shake-Up. You simply click the link where it says "play now" and shake your phone for a prize! Beauty Insiders can win: 10% off, deluxe samples, extra points, or 3x's the points on a purchase of $25 or more. The great part is that this is a daily prize and you can play every day from now until October-22, 2015. The prizes do not expire until October-31, 2015.

[photo credit: Sephora promotional email]

Today my reward as a deluxe sample of Josie Maran's facial cleanser. Of course, in order to redeem the code they sent me I have to spend $25. Sephora does send an email after you "shake" with a reminder of your reward and the reward code, so there is no need to write down the code or anything since it will be emailed.

***You do not have to play on your phone! The game can be played on any laptop or PC. All you have to do is click the link and instead of "shaking" your device it will just have click a link. You also do not have to be a Beauty Insider to play; all you have to do is provide an email. However, in order to redeem the prize you must be a Beauty Insider! Being a Beauty Insider is free!

Let me know if you play and what you get in the Beauty Shake-Up! Remember to play daily!

ColourPop Haul

Today I bring you my first ever ColourPop haul! ColourPop Cosmetics have been around for about a year and half. This past May was their one year anniversary, so they're still a fairly new company. They are an indie brand (independent), because they are not made by or owned by a large corporation. They're based out of Los Angeles, California and formed by two girls. The company has quite a cult following and many people love them, because they're so affordable. Their eyeshadows, lippie pencils, and lippie stix are only $5 each, while their new liquid lipsticks are only $6; prices that are hard to find outside of cheap drugstore brands. While their pricing is in line with a lot of other indie cosmetic companies, their rise to popularity is more of a higher-end brand.

I personally have always been curious of their line, but never had a reason to go purchase it until recently. All of the colors I am about to review run along the same color scheme, because they were choosen for a future cosplay that I'm working on. I was having a difficult time finding colors of eyeshadow that would work with my cosplay and it just so happened that ColourPop had a close enough selection. - Before purchasing ColourPop, I did some research. Again, mostly favorable reviews and a lot of fans of this company. I did read some complaints though. Some people said that for the price of their cosmetics you're not really getting that much product, so basically "you get what you pay for". There was also complaint of shadows drying up and some not liking the formula. -I'll cover all that later on.

My items arrived well padded and secured! They were well protected and to top it off the company hand writes a letter with your name on it! How cool and unique is that?!?! (Sorry, I scratched off my name there, but I don't feel like having my personal name out there like that.) Shipping is a low rate of $5, but spend $30 or more and they offer free shipping.

I'll start the review with the Lippie Stix and Lippie Pencil that I purchased:

I purchased the Lippie Stix in the color "Raw". 

ColourPop describes Raw as follows: Raw is always better and this clean aqua blue shade with a satin finish is no different. SATIN FINISH Full coverage, long wearing lipstick glides on smoothly with a hydrating feel & has a modern satin finish.

If you're unfamiliar with a "satin finish" in terms of lipstick, it usually means a demi-matte finish; so, it's not quite matte, but it's not going to be glossy or shiny either. It's that step right before "matte".

I purchased the Lippie Pencil in the the matching color "Raw". The description of the color is the exact same as it's partner and promises that same "clean aqua blue".

Here are swatches of the lipstick and the pencil side by side in natural light. The larger swatch is the Lippie Stix and the thinner swatch is the pencil. I'm not sure how it will look on your screen, but on the website the color looked more on the blue-ish/turquoise side on the website. However, when I received it, it was definitely more "aqua" and green-ish. I do not see as much blue here as I was hoping for, but in all fairness the site did state it was aqua-colored.

As for performance, I was slightly disappointed in the Raw lipstick. It is not as easy to work with as I thought it would be. It performs much more like a matte lipstick, because any dry patches on the lips will be highlighted and make the lipstick look rather messy. Also, dry lips in general make it quite hard to apply and have an opaque finish. So, obviously I suggest a good lip scrub before applying this and moisturize those lips! Winter is quickly coming and I can't see this lipstick being my friend during the cold season since my skin is always much dryer in the winter.

The Raw pencil performed great! It was easy to apply and very opaque! It's a smooth application with no tugging and matches the lipstick perfectly. I'm normally not a fan of filling in the entire lip area with the pencil, but I feel it does help in this case since the Raw lippie stix can be hard to make smooth if lips are not in the right condition. Another good option to help is a lip primer.

Next up are the Super Shock Shadows. Yes, a couple of these look smudged and that's because I couldn't resist trying them out as soon as I opened up the package! I promise they all arrived in perfect condition initially. I also have to add that not all of these colors are available to purchase. I had no idea that shortly after I bought these that they were going to do a final sale and then discontinue them. It kind of makes sense, because some of these colors were released for their spring collection this year and so they are probably just getting rid of them to make way for the winter and holiday collections, but I know it also can be disappointing to read a review and then not be able to purchase them. I apologize, but know that much of this review is to also inform the audience about the brand itself and the overall performance of the products.

The Super Shock Shadows are unique. They are a wet powder shadow. It's not the typical dry powder or compressed pigment. The feel is similar to the Maybelline Bouncy Blushes and I would best describe it as a cream-to-powder finish. With that being said, it does take a few seconds for these to set and if you're not use to a product that is not dry it may take a little bit of getting use to and figuring out how to apply these.

First up, I'll start with the blue shades. Left to Right: "Beauty Call" and "Taco". As of right now, Beauty Call is no longer available for order anymore.

Beauty Call is described as a "true powder blue with a matte finish". I would agree with Colourpop's description. Beauty Call was surprisingly thick and a little harder to apply then Taco. The issue with Beauty Call is that the formula is a bit thicker and takes longer to dry. Since it is a pastel shade, it takes a little bit of layering to get opaque for that true blue hue and so layering and dry time can take a bit. It's not an impossible shade to wear, but it does take some working with it to understand how to get it like the swatch appears.

Taco is described as a "mid-tone aqua in a matte finish". I can't agree with that description. I do not see much aqua in Taco at all. To me this would be considered a dark turquoise at best and is more of a muted blue. The "matte" part is correct. Taco applies nicely and has beautiful coverage. The formula is lighter than Beauty Call and so it dries faster and applies smoother. It's a very nice and easy product to work with.

In the picture above, I'm wearing the Raw lipstick and pencil. If you look closely towards the inside of my mouth you can see the dry patches and where the lipstick starts to separate. As the weather changes, my skin and body react pretty negatively, it's actually worse than in the winter. Changing of seasons is always rough for me. Anyway, the lipstick was not that well of a performer in the long run. I had about 2-4 hours with it before having to do touch-ups each time.

On my eyes, I have Beauty Call on the inside of the eyes and Taco on the outside. Both are applied over a primer and I always use primer! Both wore well for me. I had them on for about 7 hours. 

Rounding out the haul is the greens! Left to Right: Flux, Snap Dragon, Ibiza. Again, the two shadows on the left are only smeared because I had to swatch and feel these babies right away! They arrived in perfect condition.

Flux is described as a "light mint green with a matte finish" and I would say this is more of a hint of green then it is really a mint, or at least that is how it looks when applied. It is indeed matte. Flux will appear differently, depending on your skin tone. For me, it's almost white on my tan skin, but when I use it with other green shadows the green that Flux is shows up well. My only issue with Flux is the same issue I had with Beauty Call; it is a thicker formula than the rest and thus takes longer to dry and that only makes it harder to get the opacity of the color that most will desire.

Snap Dragon is described as "mid-tone sea foam green with a matte finish" and I would say that is a pretty accurate description. Snap Dragon performed much like Taco did, as it was easy to apply and set much faster than Flux did.

Ibiza is described as "bright turquoise with a silver and gold duo chrome finish". Ibiza is more of a bright teal in my opinion, but it definitely has silver and gold reflects that give it a shimmery finish. It is not easy to see the reflects and shimmer in my image, but it's there. This is not a matte shadow and ColourPop lists Ibiza as a "pearlized finish", which it is. I enjoyed Ibizia a lot. It is a pearlized finish, so to make it opaque it takes a few layers, but it's any easy shadow to work with and the color will look great on any skin tone. 

In the picture above I have Flux on the inner part of my eye; Snap Dragon on the outer part of the eye; and Ibiza is on the lower lash line.

Final Verdict

ColourPop as a brand definitely won me over! Everything from the well secured packaging to the hand written note! It all really showed that they care about their products and they care about their customers! I really like the eyeshadows and I enjoy the formula. My only issues were with Beauty Call and Flux, which were the 2 lighter shades. They're not the easiest to work with and I would probably use a base under them next time. I would most likely not repurchase those either, however they're both part of the Spring 2015 collection and Beauty Call is already permanently sold out and Flux is being phased out. All the other shadows are great! The Lippie Pencil is a solid will win also, but the Lippie Stix in "Raw" is not the easiest formula to work with unless the lips are primed and ready.

The only other topics I'll address is from the beginning of this post. As far as the complaints people launched about the shadows drying out and not receiving enough product, I'd have to say that is just people trying hard to find something to complain about. As you can see, in the picture above with Flux and Snap Dragon, I have technically hit pan on both. The issue here is that the shadows are creamy and they're moist, so they move and slide around a lot, so it's easy to look like the product is used more than it really is. It is true that you do not receive as much product as the jars may appear to hold and that is one thing that was a little surprising to me, but honestly for only $5 a jar you're still getting quite a bit of product. There's also the fact that most of us beauty consumers out there do not use up any one shadow in a week. The majority of us will still have that same shadow a year from now, so again it's not much to complain about at the price. The performance of these shadows is well over $5. As for the "drying" aspect, the ColourPop website does warn you to close the lids tight between uses, even if you're just switching between colors. I have had these shadows for a couple of weeks now and have not experienced any drying of the shadows, they still feel the same as when I opened them. So, I don't personally feel like these "issues" are a problem.

Feel free to share your ColourPop experiences and favorite products from there in the comments below! Any questions or other comments can be left below as well!

Review: Essencell Brush Set - Pink

I bet you thought I dropped off the face of the beauty blogging world again, didn't you? Well, that's not entirely true. I started a new blog. It's a toy/collectors blog. I'm a huge collector and decided it would be a good idea to share my collections and adventures in collecting! However, getting that blog started, while juggling life, took a minute and I had to neglect this blog. Now I'm back! If you are into collecting or just curious then feel free to check out my new blog- The Glittery Toy Box. No pressure though, really.

Quick *Me* update: So, aside from making a new blog, I also accepted a new position at work and that has kept me busy as well. I went on vacation for a couple of weeks out of state to see my family on the other side of the country and I've also been traveling through California the past couple of months, so I've been busy and living it up this summer! I'll work harder on getting more entries up on this blog, but since it's normally pretty quiet around here, I don't think it's too much to worry about......

[Photo Credit: Essencell Amazon Store image]

Today, I'm reviewing the Essencell brush set in Pink. This brand has been around for a few years, but this is the first time I've ever bought anything from this company and I just heard about a few months ago.

FYI- I'll just say this right now before I go any further: Some of these brushes are made with real animal hair. If you're against natural hair brushes/products than these are not for you. 

[Feel free to scroll down to the bottom for a summary if you're short on time or don't want to read the fine details.]

[Photo Credit: Facebook Ad]

I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw this ad for a brush set that was only $7 with a coupon code. Obviously, as a make-up enthusiast, this caught my eye and peaked my interest.

[Photo Credit: Essencell Coupon Page]

When I clicked the ad it took me to a site not connected to Facebook. Now, at this point I was a little skeptical. The web page the ad took me to looked a little sketchy and a 12 piece brush set, plus case, and 2 sponges for only $7 seemed a little too good to be true. My thoughts were either this was a scam or these brushes were awful. When I clicked "get my coupon deal" it only asked for my email. It did not ask for anything else, which was a bit of relief. Almost immediately my email inbox had a code from the company and directions on how to go to their Amazon.com store and redeem the code. -That seemed easy enough, but I still felt like there had to be strings attached. Only $7??? I thought maybe there would be some add on fees or something else - or the brushes were just really bad, that still was in my mind too. Before checking out their Amazon store, I looked on their Facebook company page which had not been updated since 2014 and that did not help my negative feelings at all. Never the less, I still went to Amazon and saw their products. They only had brush sets and they came in multiple colors- Black, Coffee (bronze colored), Purple, and Pink. The deal only worked for the pink set though, so I had no choice in color, which is fine with me. I like pink and for $7 I won't be picky. The final test came when I went to the checkout on Amazon. I entered the code on the billing section and indeed the price dropped down to $7.  

It took less than a week for the brushes to arrive. The brushes come in a pleather roll-up case. The case is thin, but I have traveled with it and it seems to do fine.

When you open the case you will see that case comes with an extensive inside flap to protect the brushes. As you can see, the case is a baby pink, but the actual brush handles are a raspberry pink.

Above are the brushes. Some of them come with guards. The inside is a typical brush roll and the brushes are displayed well. The website states the names for the brushes, from left to right:

• Blush Brush
• Mascara Brush
• Fan Brush
• Smudger Sponge
• Angled Eyebrow Brush
• Lip Brush
• Smudger Brush
• Eyeliner Brush
• L-Eyeshadow Brush (large)
• S-Eyeshadow Brush (small)
• Foundation Brush
• Powder Brush

Left to Right: Smudger Sponge, Mascara Brush, Eyeliner Brush

I'm going start the in-depth part of this review with 3 brushes that I consider pointless. In my opinion, you really are getting 9 brushes and not 12. 

• Smudger Sponge [material - sponge]: What Essencell calls a "Smudger Sponge" is really just your typical sponge applicator that you can buy at any drug store or even off of Amazon for pretty cheap. It's not necessary to include this in a brush set, especially one that a company considers "professional". These sorts of brushes will wear down fast and you'll end up tossing it. The quality of this sponge is no better than something one would get included in a Maybelline eyeshadow bought at a drug store.
• Mascara Brush [material - plastic]: Again, Essencell has done a good job at trying to make a brush seem better by renaming it, but any make-up user will know this is just a Spoolie and while it can be used for mascara, it is more typically used to brush out your eyebrows and distributing color to the brows. Again, it's not necessary or essential to include this brush in a "professional" brush set and these types of brushes are very easy to obtain.
• Eyeliner Brush [material - pony hair]: Unfortunately, this brush does not work well for eyeliner, especially for a gel liner. If you're using a powder liner or shadow for liner then you'll have a little bit better luck, but I do not find myself reaching for this brush at all. I'm also not a huge fan of natural hair brushes for liner.

Left to Right: Angled Eyebrow Brush & Lip Brush

• Angled Eyebrow Brush [material - pony hair]: The eyebrow brush is just okay. It can be used for multiple purposes, although most brushes can be. I don't find myself using this brush a lot and I do not use it for my eyebrow brush, as I have 2 others and that I prefer. When I do use this brush it is usually for smudging or applying eyeshadow at an angle.
• Lip Brush [material - pony hair]: I have not used this brush on my lips. It's a bit think for my liking and for a substance like lipstick, I would prefer synthetic brushes most of the time. I have used it for touching up small areas of eyeshadow and in the inner corner of the eye, and it works fine.

Left to Right: Smudger Brush, S-Eyeshadow Brush, L-Eyeshadow Brush

These are the 3 eyehshadow brushes that come with the brush set. All are solid performers. All of these brushes are very soft and best used with powder shadows.

• Smudger Brush [material - pony hair]: This is a nice brush. Depending on the eye look you're going for, you may or may not use this as a smudger. I find this to be a good smudger brush, but it is a bit on the thin side and so if you're going for a heavier or slightly wider area, you'll want to go with a different brush. It's great for the crease or defining/highlighting the brow area.
• S-Eyeshadow Brush [material - pony hair]: This is the smaller eyeshadow brush and is a good, natural hair brush. It does what it should do.
• L-Eyeshadow Brush [material - pony hair]: This is the large eyeshadow brush and again it is a solid performer. No issues. 

Left to Right: Powder Brush, Blush Brush, Foundation Brush, Fan Brush

I'm going to finish with the 4 face brushes. These are very nice brushes that all work quite well.

• Powder Brush [material - goat hair]: This brush applies powder nicely and I have no issues with it. It also works nicely as a clean brush to smooth out contour and other facial cosmetic applications, as it's not super soft; I personally don't find it scratchy though.
• Blush Brush [material - goat hair]: Works well for blush. It's a bit stiff, which is good if you have stiff product or a harder product to work with. If you're in a pinch, I have found this brush can work for loose foundation.
• Foundation Brush [material - synthetic]: The best brush in the whole set! Performs and works really well. Applies cream and liquid foundations great!
• Fan Brush [material - synthetic]: This is a typical fan brush. Not much to say other than it does what it is suppose to.

Here's a look at the two sponges included with the brush set. On the left is a pink sponge that is a bit stiffer than it's counterpart and would be best compared to a Beauty Blender, although it is not quite like it. The pink sponge does not expand in water. After washing it once, I noticed that some of the pink color ran out with the make-up. It also became a bit less stiff and coarse after washing it, so I would recommend washing it before using it. 

The purple sponge on the right is a much softer material than the pink one. It's more of a foam feel. It is not meant to be wet in use. When wet it does expand, but it also becomes malleable and useless.

To me, these sponges are quite average and similar to anything you can get in a drug store like from the brand Soho.

Final Verdict 
For $7, this brush set way out performs it's price! However, the brush set is normally $35.69. Is it worth $35+? Not in my opinion. Again, I feel like you really only get 9 brushes. Even with the consideration that they throw in 2 sponges, those sponges are not superb quality and you can buy those in a drug store for a decent price. I enjoy the these brushes and they are natural hair, but they are not exceptional to me. For the most part these are just okay. If you can catch these brushes on sale or if you could get the $7 deal if it comes up again, I would definitely go for it, but in my opinion what you're really paying for is the natural hair and pony hair is not the best for cosmetic brushes. I feel these are worth $25 at the most as a set. For a set that performs average to slightly below average, I would look at other sets that are around the same price or less. It is even worth it in some cases to pay a little more for a very nice upgrade.

FYI: These are currently on sale at Amazon for $28.97 with Amazon Prime shipping if you have a Prime account. Also, if you go to Essencell.net and sign up for their mailing list you will get a $10 discount code in your email that expires 30 days after they have sent it. They constantly have sales on their Amazon page, so just keeping checking often if you'd like to try these out.

Let me know if you own these or if you do buy them. I'd love to hear what you think about them.

SDCC 2015

A week ago, the world's largest comic convention took place. If you don't know what SDCC is - It is the San Diego Comic Convention (also known as SDCC or Comic Con) and it is held annually every summer in San Diego, CA. Originally, this started out as just a convention for nerds and comic lovers, but has since turned into an all out 4 day event for cosplayers, fans, producers, writers, artists, nerds, collectors, and just about any thing you can categorize into pop culture.

I have been to quite a few conventions, but this was my first time at SDCC and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I discovered was that it is a massive city-wide event! You literally can find something to do with the convention or comics or pop culture throughout all of SDCC. The entire city puts on costumes and decorates for it. I was just really happy to be able to see my favorite collectibles there- My Little Pony, Tokidoki, Funko, and Hello Kitty! I also had the opportunity of seeing a live panel with the living cast members of Babylon 5 (yeah, I never said I didn't have a nerdy side)! As for make-up and beauty, there was plenty of beauty, but not much for me to report on make-up. In some ways that is good. I think, we all know how make-up can be both positive and negative, especially for women. There were live models being used for prosthetics and costume make-up; these models were turned into monsters, which is really not my cup of tea, but can be an interesting process to see. I personally enjoyed seeing cosplayers with little or no make-up. It's a freeing feeling to be able to feel like you can go out in public and still feel beautiful or amazing without having to "put on your face". Don't get me wrong, I love make-up and wore it at the convention, but it's nice to see that many people do not feel it is necessary. I certainly do not wear make-up every day of my life. If you pay attention to comics, most Super Heroes and females included, do not wear make-up and so it's nice to see people staying true to the characters and even better that the public embraces these women to be natural! - Women in comics and female super heroes have always been a subject of controversy, because in the past they were usually created and drawn by men, thus giving them a more desirable appearance for men and not a true or accurate account of what a female is or would want to look like. While this is changing all the time with people campaigning for women's equality and more and more women are entering the field, it's still highly debated and at times frowned upon by women, feminists, and groups who support equality. This is a completely different topic and something I may touch on later, but I feel it's something that cannot be ignored, especially when the beauty community is attacked constantly.

On a more positive note- I'd like to share my make-up looks with you for the 2015 SDCC. Enjoy! All products used are listed below.

Day 1

• Foundation: Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in "Light-Medium Neutral"
• Contour Shade: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
• Blush: MAC Cosmetics Sunset Beach Blush Ombre (Proenza Schouler collection - limited edition)
• Lipstick: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in "Queen Supreme"
• Eyeliner: Buxom Lashliner in Leatherette
• Eyeshadow: It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Volume 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette - all over Lid (Warmth), Crease & Outer V (Java), Shading & Crease (Sunset), Highlight & Inner Corner (Sheer Joy)
• Finishing Powder: bareMinerals - Mineral Veil in "Original"
• Eyebrows: Tarte Tarlette Palette in shades "Dreamer" & "Fashionista"
• Eyelashes: It Cosmetics Hello Lashes

Day 2

• Foundation: Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in "Light-Medium Neutral"
• Contour Shade: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
• Blush: MAC Cosmetics Ocean City Blush Ombre (Proenza Schouler collection - limited edition) & Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in "Natural Beauty"
• Lipstick: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in "714"
• Eyeliner: Buxom Lashliner in Leatherette
• Eyeshadow: all over Lid - Urban Decay Electric Palette in shade "Thrash", Outter V & Crease - MAC Cosmetics "Green Room" (Moody Blooms collection - limited edition), Crease & shade color - It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Volume 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette in shade "Sunset"
• Finishing Powder: bareMinerals - Mineral Veil in "Original"
• Eyebrows: Tarte Tarlette Palette in shades "Dreamer" & "Fashionista"
• Eyelashes: It Cosmetics Hello Lashes

There's my SDCC looks. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. I have at least 2 more conventions I'll be going to later this year and I'll be posting about them too! Hopefully, it will be posts of my cosplay that I am working on now!

Clear Out #1 / Make-Up Misses

Hello! My, it's been a while! I don't think I even have anyone who stops on this blog anymore and that's alright. Totally my fault! Last year was an emotional roller coaster and I never quite was able to get a grip on this blog again. I have been meaning to start blogging again, but right around that time my laptop broke down! (Great coincidence, right?) Had to wait a while to get that fixed and I've been busy this spring/summer too, but I'm clearly making time for this blog from here on out! No more excuses! I have a new look to the blog! I was going for a cleaner and clearer look. Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think. Without further hesitation, let's just jump into a new post!

About a year and half ago I moved from the east side of the country to the west side. I've been living on the West Coast ever since! When I moved I threw out a lot of make-up and beauty products I did not use or I did not like; I gave away a lot of products that were brand new that I didn't have the room for when packing or I didn't think would make it on the drive across the country. -After that, my beauty drawers were pretty well cleared out of useless products, but after coming home this weekend from San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) (and I will be posting more about that later) and putting my make-up away, I realized I had a lot of products I do not use at all and some it was more than a year old! This post is about products I am cleaning out, but also do not feel they do not perform well at all! I consider those ill-performing products "misses".

The first 2 products I'm featuring are the Julep DD Creme and Julep DD Concealer. I wanted so much to love these and before they came out they were advertised as something revolutionary. They were suppose to be like BB cremes, but in the form of a foundation & concealer and not just a cover creme; in other words, it was actually a foundation that gave you the benefits of a BB creme. The concealer was suppose to compliment the DD creme. Well, this was a total fail! Sad to say, because I love Julep and their products, but this was a total miss!

The DD Creme itself is smooth going on, but does not give you the coverage that is promised. So, to build coverage you need layers and I felt the more layers you put on the heavier it feels. This product is not friendly to oily skin either! I myself have oily skin and I would get a max of 2 hours wear time before my face looked like a grease ball! Not pretty....... This product also only came in a 4 color range and did not compliment or blend with most skin tones, which was the biggest complaint when the product launched. To top it off, the tube came with very little products. Most people said they did not get even half a month out of the tube, but I have yet to run out and I'm throwing it away now. If I remember right, I have used it about 4-6 times.

The DD Concealer is no better. It does not compliment the creme at all. I did not notice anymore coverage on my dark spots and it was hard to blend. In my opinion the concealers were the same formula as the Cremes, just different colors and colors that did not help with coverage. After about 1-2 hours I would notice that the places where I put concealer on were noticeable and looked like blotchy spots on me.

To top this whole mess off, these were not cheap! I did get to try them both for a price of $20, because I have a subscription to Julep, but even that was not worth the money. Normally these ran $36 a piece! Again, not worth it. Needless to say, these have both been discontinued from Julep and are no longer available for purchase, and I'm tossing them out!

Next up is the (formerly) limited edition Wet N Wild Fergie Shimmer Eyeshadow Primer in #34281 "A Little Party". I bought this when the collection first came out, right before I moved. I was super excited about it and the drug store community built up the original primer so well that I figured this one would be just as great, but with shimmer! After swatching this I thought it was beautiful. Sadly, the performance was not so great. I'm an every day user of the Too Faced "Shadow Insurance" eye primer and that stuff does not budge! Stays on all day and I have no problems! Call me spoiled, but this does not even begin to compare to Too Faced. However, even if you try to cut this product some slack, since it's a drug store product, I still cannot give this product props. It does not help your eyeshadow look bolder or brighter, or even better! It actually makes it hard to apply your shadow and I'm assuming that has to do with the shimmer in it. It's staying power is not there either. I believe I had a max performing time of 4 hours and my eyeshadow did not look that great to begin with. I used this about a total of 3-4 times before it made it's way to the back of my make-up drawer, never to be used again. I'm tossing it now. - This is actually a permanent product in the line now. You can easily purchase this at Walgreens and like stores for around $4.99, but I would not recommend it.

From that same limited edition collection came these 2 eyeliners. The purple is "#34280 Gunmetal Grape" and the blue is "#34279 Cobalt Vault". Again, 2 products I really wanted to love. I will say, I do not hate these products. They just don't cut it for me. Of the 2, Cobalt Blue is the better performing of the 2; with primer I had decent wear time at about 6 hours if not too active and about 4 if you are on the more active side. Without primer, I would not attempt either. For the price, it's not bad if you're not normally into colored liner, especially the bright blue. I didn't feel the blue was very electric though. It's much more dull when applied. The purple is very hard to make opaque and requires several layers. You also have to wait for the layers to set and that's a minute, so to make a nice opaque line with Gunmetal Grape takes quite a while. - Both are still limited edition, but tend to pop up in collections here and there, so if you're interested in trying these out for only about $4.99 each then keep your eyes pealed for new collections from the Wet N Wild line. For me, these are not worth it, especially since I regularly buy Urban Decay and MAC liners that are brighter and more pigmented.

So far, this entry seems like a girl who is just spitting hate on drug store products. While I must admit that I tend to use more higher end products, I do actually have some drug store staples and brands that I love. Milani just happens to be one of those brands that I love. However, there is no love here for these two eyeliners. These are the limited edition Constellation Gel Eye Liners in: "#01 Enchanted Lapis" and "#02 Enchanted Black Opal", respectively. I used both of these once and will never use them again. How they were still in my make-up drawer and not long gone in a landfill is beyond me! The colors are not bad, the problem lies with the fact that neither of these set, EVER! They literally stay liquid-like on your eyes and thus come off, rub off, smear off easily! If you have hooded eyes, forget it! You can no longer get these, but that's the way it should be! I'm not the only one who felt this way. There were complaints all around about these! These came out before their new Fierce Foil liners, which I have yet to try, but you can see why I'm hesitant to try them. I love their regular liquid pencil liners, but these were nothing like them. I used a primer as well and they never set. Not even 8 hours later. Total misses!

Here is a product that is not necessarily a miss, but I have no use for it in my life. I'm the kind of person who either wears lipstick or lip products to have it noticed, or I'll just simply use a natural oil or balm for moisture. I do not use tinted products. It's either all or nothing for me. This is the L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm "#818 Nourishing Nude". I wore this a handful of times and then never picked it up again. This is not a bad product. There were a lot of complaints about wear time with it, but I have to remind people that: A) This is a drug store product, so it's not going to be as high performing as a higher end product (but it's also not going to be as expensive either) & B) This is a balm and not a lipstick, so you can't expect it to perform like one. Through my experience as a make-up lover, I have noticed that glosses, balms, and similar products do not have the same wear as a lipstick and it's not fair to expect a product to be what it is not.

These are still available to purchase at any major drug store, but it's not for me. After having this for well over a year, I'm tossing it.

The Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in "Proactive" was a complete miss! This was part of a holiday collection and limited edition. It was very hard to track down and I spent a few weeks hunting for it. Sadly, it was not worth the hunt. The Revlon Lip Butters are a line similar to L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balms (see above) and that means they are not quite a lipstick. Rather, they are meant to be a moisturizing tinted lip product. Provocative does not live up to it's name! It's not bright or eye catching. It only leaves some shimmer and only over colors that will compliment it. There is very littler wear time, so it has to be applied often. It's also on the drying side as well and to top off the icing on this awful cake, it is not smooth or easy to apply and is quite stiff! There was no need to rush out and get it. I also have never attempted another Revlon Lip Butter.

As to not end on a completely bad note, my last product featured is one of the Maybelline Color Whispers in "#60 Petal Rebel". When I first bought this I wore it quite often, but then soon forgot about it and that speaks volumes to me. If a product is easily forgotten then it really does not have an impact in your life (in most cases). These lipsticks were advertised as a "whisper" of color, but basically meaning: a tinted lipstick; you get the staying power of lipstick, but the color of a tinted balm. I felt this was a little more pigmented then what you get in most balms. It did take a few layers to build to my liking, but my biggest issue with this is that while it was not drying it was not moisturizing either and it lasted only about 2 hours or less. Re-application was much needed and often and it's just not practical if you're out and on the go. These are still available for purchase at major drug stores, but I say "pass" on them.

-That wraps up my first blog entry on clearing out my unused/old make-up and also my first entry on make-up misses. Feel free to leave your comments below if you have any advice or experience with these products yourself! I'm so glad to be back and I promise the next entry will not be a year from now ;)