review: olay age defying daily renewal cleanser

well, i ran out of my st. ives scrub a while ago, and even though it's been working great for me, i decided to try something new. i was also slightly scared that i'm exfoliating my face way too much. for whatever reason, this cleanser looked appealing to me:

actually, i bought the generic "equate" version, but we don't need to get into whether we think generics are the same or not. all the ingredients are the same, so i say the generic is just as good. plus i only payed $3. woot.

you can't tell from the picture, but the label says it has small microbeads and beta-hydroxy complex. which means it will chemically exfoliate my face, and the microbeads won't be too harsh. when you pump out the cleanser, it kind of looks and feels like lotion. and it totally has an old-lady smell. but i'm not opposed to old-ladylike things (case in point: pond's dry skin cream!), so that doesn't really bother me too badly. 

i've been using this cleanser day and night for a couple weeks now, and i think i like it. nothing dramatic has happened, but i haven't broken out, i have less flakiness on my face by the end of the day, and i think it's getting rid of some red splotches. i still have some little bumps that aren't acne (i don't know what they are, but i deeply dislike them). my face just looks more.... even. yesterday i didn't even wear foundation, just some concealer. but of course, i wouldn't be me if i didn't change my mind incessantly, so now i'm craving this new facial "cleanser":

holy moly! i read some reviews about this "jane iredale magic mitt" on beauty.com, and basically you just get this mitt wet with warm water, and something about the fibers cleans your face really thoroughly! you can wash it whenever, take it on a plane, and even stop buying face wash. i'm just curious enough that i really wanna try this....

bad idea?

e.l.f. haul.... from target!

look at all the stuff i got for $11!

oh yeah, and a n.y.c. liquid eyeliner thrown in there too. i read that one of the rockettes swears by this eyeliner, and i'm in the market for a new one (for the musical!), so i bought it. it was definitely less than $2. oh yeah, and the fake lashes are for the play too. who wants to mess with gobs of mascara on stage? not me.

anyways, the coolest thing i got from my "haul" (does $11 count as a haul?) is the palette. you can purchase little magnetic pans of eyeshadow, blush, or lipgloss (only eyeshadow is available at target, though) and make your own customized palette! so cool. i know what you're thinking: why do i need any more eyeshadow?? i have that huge honkin' palette of 120 colors. but i'm not actually gonna take that thing on a trip somewhere! or carry it in my purse! so i figured this was a good thing to keep on hand:

moondust, mocha, pink ice, and golden glow

these are all of my favorite neutral shadow colors! and i'm really loving having them all together in one palette. and even though each component is only $1, this stuff is good quality! not as shimmery as some other shadows i have, but i really like it. you could make these shades work for anything, for a daytime event or even a more dramatic situation. i'm definitely taking this with me to my in-laws' house this weekend. 

i'll post more about the other items after i've tested them out!

"updo" of the week

ok, again, it's not really an updo. a down do? i'm just supposed to show up to play rehearsal with all of my hair out of my face. naturally, i don't wanna look ugly while i'm rehearsing, so i feel compelled to be creative.

for this look, i parted my hair on the side, braided the hair near my temple on both sides, and then braided the rest of it together at the end:

next time i'll have to braid it a little tighter. it ended up falling out by the end of practice.... boo. so i guess my braids defeated the purpose of keeping my hair out of my face..... oh well, next time, next time.

jordana incolor pretty shine luxury gloss: gotta catch 'em all!

whew, what a mouthful of a name. i bet you guys have tried these lipglosses before, because they're only 2 bucks at walgreens. the first one i ever tried (like 2 years ago... ha!) was "dazzling", the bright tangerine shade. the formula is awesome! it's smooth, pigmented but still a little sheer, shiny, and smells like apples. this is a perfect gloss for spring and summer:

the next one i tried was "adorable", a pale nude gloss. i figured the formula would be the same. nope, not so. it's thicker, stickier, and very frosty. BUT, i've found that if you apply clear balm first, it goes on really smooth and sheer. it's pretty to pair with bold eyes:

my newest addition is "lovely", which is really true to its name! it's like a beigy pink, mostly beige. this gloss has a lot of shimmer to it, but isn't sticky like "adorable." 

i like this shade because it's slightly darker than my natural lip color and is really neutral. which means i finally found something to wear with my teal shirts! see? 

yay! plus because of the shimmer, it doesn't wear off as quickly as the other two. here are some pics of the actual tubes. you'll see that "dazzling" is actually a tangerine color, not blood orange like it looks in the first picture.

 top: dazzling

middle: adorable

bottom: lovely

of course, they have other shades available too. the bright red looks interesting.... anyone else tried these?

review: wet 'n wild megalast long-wear lipstick

so i'm frantically memorizing lines for "oklahoma!" which is coming up soon.... and of course i get distracted and wonder.... how should i style my hair on stage? what shade of long-last lipstick should i wear?

so when i went to walgreens the other day to get a new wide-tooth comb, of course i HAD to hunt for a good lipstick for the play. i wanted something that was kind of berry-hued for my character (i think red is too dramatic.... berry is nice and innocent, i think. she is a country girl after all, not that i know anything about being a country girl.... ha!). and it definitely needed to be kiss-proof (*ahem* sorry, husband). in the past i've used many different shades of covergirl outlast lipstick, but i didn't really wanna shell out $8-9.... so this is what i picked!

photo: wnwbeauty.com

the color i picked is "eternal", which i thought has pretty flattering, and still visible from stage. unfortunately, when i tried to apply the color, it felt really strange on my lips! it had a mousse-like texture.... which is great for my maybelline dream mousse blush, but looks kinda funny on your lips.... i let it dry for a long time, then applied the clear balm. now the balm did feel good. but after applying it, i tested my lipstick, and it rubbed right off! it had the staying power of gloss! weird....

"First, apply the rich, liquid color, then seal it in

with the ultra-conditioning topcoat for satiny color that lasts."

ummm, i'm missing both the "liquid" and the "satiny color" part.... it was kind of gritty.... i did test the balm with a different brand of long-lasting lipcolor, and it works! plus it feels good on its own, too.

so unfortunately, i'm still looking for a good lipstick for stage.... i may ask kasmira from whatiwore2day, because she acts a lot, and always has a bright lipstick on.

updo of the week

so, i didn't actually go to play practice this week, because it's spring break. but i decided to do an updo anyway, mainly because i was scuzzing today and didn't feel like washing my hair. i did sprinkle in some baby powder though! 


this is pretty simple. it's just a little bit of french braid, tucked in and pinned:

snip 'n save

even when you think you've used up all of a product, there's probably still some skulking around at the bottom. bottom-dwellers, if you will. my foundation was running low the other day, and i decided to snip open the container to see exactly how much i still had. and behold:

tons! this will last me for about a month, i'm guessing. pretty cool, huh? i wonder what else i can break open and search for treasure- toothpaste, concealer, face wash.... crab legs. mmmmm, crab. (i started a diet today, so i'm SUPER hungry).

what to pair with your bright lipstick

this is what i slapped on my face for a friend's wedding today. it was really dreary outside, and i wanted to counteract that with bright lips. plus, i secretly (oops, not anymore!) want to someday be known as the crazy old lady in the garish lipstick. i'm well on my way, you know.... i already have the lipstick and i'm half-way crazy. now i'm just waiting to get old.... which is happening a lot quicker these days! .....eep.

maybelline moisture extreme lipstick in "wine and roses"

umm, it looked brighter in real life. but keep in mind, this is after i ate 2 chicken salad croissants, some pineapple, and drank nasty wedding punch! this lipstick does not claim to be long-lasting, only moisturizing. but trust me, it's both! it feels like no other lipstick i've ever tried. suuuper smooth. this is *probably* my favorite lipstick, as far as formula goes. the only problem is that they sort of have wonky shades. oh well. if i ever happen to find my perfect shade and my perfect formula in one little lipstick, i'll die a happy woman (in garish lipstick).

so anyways, it's hard to know what to do with your statement lips. if you eat too many chicken salad croissants, your lipstick will wear off, and you'll be left with a boring and lackluster face. if you go too crazy with your other makeup, though, you end up looking too theatrical. this is my solution. 

pair bright lipstick with:

1. nude, shimmery shadow- just enough to make your eyes sparkle (today it was gold)

2. a subtle amount of brown eyeliner- not black! unless you're doing a black liquid cat eye with your bold lipstick, in which case i say you're awesome!

3. black mascara- waterproof, if you're going to a wedding! i swear i cry every time....

4. defined eyebrows- it kind of balances your lips. otherwise it's like hellooooo lips.

5. blush just on the apples of your cheeks- just a little bit to complement your lipstick. and you can always blend some of your lipstick into your cheeks. then you always know the colors will go together.

6. nooo face powder! unless you have extremely oily skin. i think this is a relatively new makeup trend. magazines always say it looks "fresher" to pair bold lips with "dewy" skin, whatever those words mean. does anyone else get sick of reading the same descriptive words in magazines these days??

things i'm not supposed to do that i do anyway

1. sleep in my eye makeup
really, what is it gonna do? my eyes never get infected. i wash all the other junk off.
 

2. put q-tips in my ears

um, how else do they get clean? you just gotta be careful, that's all.

3. pick at my face
hey, you just gotta do it sometimes. this is the only item on the list that i would want to change. sometimes it leaves little red marks for a couple weeks..... yes, weeks.
 

4. use a scrub almost every day

i've tried to cut back, but my skin just never looks as good. i say, if it looks good, do it!

5. sleep on wet hair

can i help it that it looks wavier and better that way?

6. never use conditioner

when i use, my locks go as limp as an over-cooked spaghetti noodle.

7. twirl my hair.... constantly

it supposedly weakens your hair and makes it more susceptible to breakage. the good news is i don't bite my nails anymore.

there are probably more.... i'm just too braindead right now to think of any. 

another new favorite nail polish: "mint apple"

my husband saw my nail polish stash the other day and proceeded to ask, "um, why do you have 5 of the exact same color?" to which i replied, "shows what you know! they're so different!" no, but seriously, i need to lay off of the teal polish.

here's my favorite, though, that i just bought a week ago:

isn't it beautiful?? it's like the perfect cross between teal and pastel green. it's sinful colors in "mint apple". and if you look carefully, it has a little bit of shimmer in it, but now enough to get my hands confused with my 7-year-old piano students' hands. plus, i think the shimmer makes it last a little longer. i painted them sunday, and they're still going strong today (thursday)!

uhhh, have i mentioned it's $2 at walgreens?? definitely looks like a lot of those pricier pale greens that are so "trendy" right now. (bahh, i hate the word trendy. i have a family member, who will remain nameless, who I SWEAR says "trendy" in a conversation every time i see her!)

in my makeup bag

1. wet 'n wild ultimate minerals loose powder in 270 fair

i used physician's formula mineral powder for a long time (which is kind of expensive for me), until i realized that it was making my winter skin look cakey. i tried this on a whim, and it makes my face look silky and smooth. i think it's the little shimmer particles in there. and um, have i mentioned that it's cheap? about $5!

2. EOS lipbalm in honeysuckle honeydew

how else can you moisturize both lips at once? this stuff is awesome. i like how it feels like it actually sinks into your lips, instead of sitting on top. i always slick this on before i go to bed, because it's not greasy and doesn't get all over my pillow.

3. rimmel fix & perfect face primer

i've posted about this before, but i apply this just under my eyes before my concealer to keep me from looking like an old lady, which i'm not.... yet.

4. ecotools brush set

my sister bought this for me for my last birthday (thanks, amy!) i use these every day! i use the big fluffy brush for my face powder (when i wear it.... sometimes i don't), the concealer brush for uhh concealer, and the angle brush for my eyeliner. i just dip the brush in my mascara excess, and line my lower lash line with the awesome blackness. i've successfully eliminated the need to buy eyeliner anymore! woot.

5. revlon colorstay active light makeup in ivory

GREAT STUFF. feels like tinted moisturizer going on, totally blends into my skin, and lasts all day. i never wanna use anything else, if i can help it.

6. maybelline great lash mascara in blackest black

you guys know how i feel about this stuff. the day they discontinue this neon tube of inky goodness will be a very dark day indeed.

7. maybelline cover up stick in medium beige

what? why medium beige? i know you've heard that you're supposed to apply an undereye concealer that's lighter than your skintone, but i always think that it only draws attention to the problem. this medium beige color has enough pigment to hide all of my darkness and looks way more natural than white under my eyes. trust me, i think i did that all through high school. eep.

8. maybelline dream mousse blush in soft plum and peach satin

these blushes are great. they blend in effortlessly, and have a touch of shimmer. super easy. i have 2 shades listed on here because i'm always switching.... if i wear blue or green, i wear the soft plum shade. i wear the peach one for pretty much everything else. am i the only one who thinks that blue, green, and teal look awful with anything orange-based? maybe it's just me....

9. mary kay signature concealer in light ivory

this is the only non-drugstore product i always buy! i think they've since changed the packaging and shade names, but this is what i still have in my makeup bag. it lasts forever, and i only need a little dab every time. it's a super lightweight liquid that completely covers little discolorations and acne. plus it's waterproof. it's $10, so a little more pricey than the rest of my items, but like i said, it'll last about a whole decade.

10. maybelline define-a-brow pencil in light blonde

the lightest pencil i can find! it totally makes my brows look natural and not too sparse. plus i just really love the green packaging. but without the cute packaging, it would still be the best eyebrow pencil i've found.

11. physician's formula baked wet/dry eyeshadow in baked sands

i've used other shades before, too. these shadows are great. they look almost metallic when you apply them wet. i use the darkest shade in this trio to line my eyes when i want a softer liner look than "blackest black." like when i want to wear really bright lipstick.

updo of the week

ok, so it's not really up, it's actually a ponytail. but it kept the hair out of my face for play practice, which is really the point.

 

 
 

i can't tell if i'm getting better at this behind-the-head thing or not. anyway, all i did was take the top half of my hair, twist it around, and pin it in place. then i took the bottom half and twisted that a lot, and jammed more bobby pins in there. 

i don't have play practice next week, because it's spring break, but maybe i'll do an updo anyway?

orly nail polish in "green with envy"

why is it that almost every nail polish brand has a shade named "green with envy" and they all look vastly different? i also have the sally hansen one and it's lime green. weird.....

well, i usually don't spend more than like $2 on nail polish.... but i saw this one at sally beauty supply several months ago (december?) and i decided i needed it.  it was $6, so a little expensive for me, but not exactly a huge splurge.

    

i think i only used 2 coats. it's very pigmented, very smooth, and will last at least 5 days on your nails. you know, depending on what you do with those nails. i like everything about it, except how hard it is to remove! lately i've been lazy (and a bit anxious, apparently) and have just been chipping all my polish off. hey, i guess that's one way to save money on nail polish remover.

wet 'n wild lipstick in "tokyo-a-pink-pink"

umm, i saw this at walmart a couple of weeks ago, and i had to buy it! it does have tokyo in the name, after all.

 

  

it looked kind of coral in the tube.... on my lips? most definitely not. more like cool-toned hot pink. i couldn't decide if i liked it or not, so i took half of it (it's only $2!) and mixed it in a pot with a too-brown tinted balm i had. now it's a pretty sheer rose-brown lip tint. and i still have half a tube of that super bright lipstick, in case i get an inexplicable urge to wear a so-bright-it's-scary lipstick to my 8 o'clock microbiology class. yeah, right.

review: noah's naturals toner mist

as i've made painfully clear, i have extremely dry skin on my face (especially with this crazy cold winter in nashville). so i've been looking for anything that will combat the dryness. this was the cheapest hydrating facial mist i could find on drugstore.com. i was planning to buy it online for about $8 and something, when i found it at walmart for $5! dude. so i had to buy it. this is what it claims:

"Anti-Oxidant Toner Mist with Cucumber Extracts

• No Parabens
• No Sodium Lauryl Sulfates
• No Propylene Glycol

Enriched with floral and herbal extracts, this hydrating toning mist provides a burst of nourishing moisture to skin any time of the day."

so does it work? well it feels really good- cooling and fresh (must be the cucumber). does it make a noticeable difference in my skin? i'm not sure. so i guess if i'm not sure, then no. i imagine this would feel really good in the summer though, on a super hot day. but i'll keep using this to see if maybe it takes a while to take effect....

more later!

updo of the week

i have a slightly intense drama director who requires all the girls in this year's musical to pull their hair back before getting on stage. i like to take style restrictions as an opportunity to do something cool. this is how i wore my hair last night to play practice: 

  

um, it's really hard to take a picture of the back of your head! lol oh well, this is the best i could do. i pulled most of my hair into a messy bun and left a few strands loose at the bottom. then i took those pieces, made 2 separate braids, wrapped them around my bun in opposite directions, and pinned them in place. 

my inspiration (although i think i like hers better):

                

photo of kristen bell: glamour.com/beauty

weird things to put on your face

seriously, i've tried all of these and they're great when your face really needs something.


1. apirin- get rid of acne
you've probably heard of this one before- it's been passed around a lot of blogs lately. you take an aspirin tablet (which is salicylic acid in solid form), crush it up, mix with water, apply to face! let it dry, then wash it off. your face will be clearer the next day!


2. elmer's glue- get rid of blackheads on your nose!
my little sister told me about this one.... we were highly curious, so we ran to walmart, bought a butt-cheap bottle of elmer's glue, spread the smelly gunk on our (clean!) noses, waited for it to dry, and then peeled it off. weird and smelly, yes, but highly effective!


3. hand soap- moisturize your poor poor winter skin
i discovered this on my own. get a hand soap that has vitamin e or shea butter (or both!), or even that dial cranberry antioxidant stuff and use it as your facial cleanser. they usually smell good, work well, and are very very cheap. i like to use the dial white tea & vitamin e hand soap that i've posted about before.


4. body lotion- chemically exfoliate your poor poor winter skin
i've also posted about this before, but you can use a body lotion with cool ingredients (like AHAs) to seriously help your skin. these will slough off the outer layer of skin and make you look brighter over all.


5. sugar- physically exfoliate
i like to mix this with my usual cleanser to use a very very cheap exfoliator. want to know how to make it even cheaper? snag a small sugar packet from starbucks (or whatever coffee shop.... or even mcdonalds for that matter) and use that! a little bit is all you need.


6. olive oil- hard core moisturizer (or just eye cream)
after you wash your face at night, rub a little bit of olive oil all over your face (or if you're afraid you'll break out or get too greasy, just rub it under your eyes). your skin will be baby soft by morning! also, did you know that olive oil is noncomodogenic? sweet.