Project 10 Pan: Update 7

Another crazy week has flown by! Last week was my fall break, and this week I have hit the ground running with getting back on schedule as well as starting my new job (Which was my old job, working at Kohl's lol). So this week has felt both fast and slow at the same time.

If you havn't seen my previous updates, Click here. So without further adieu, here is my progress for this week!

 #1. The Love & Beauty (by Forever 21) Sheer Lip Color (No shade listed)

10-22-14                         10-29-14

Amount: just a little sliver left. This should probably be gone in 2 weeks time if I keep up with the progress.

Opinions: It's a good prep step to keep my lips from getting dry. It also helps my lip liner (the Rimmel retractable one from my Finish 6 by Christmas project) from dragging across my lips. It's an okay product now that I'm no longer angry at it being called a "sheer lip color" (if you're new - this product is clear, there is NO color).

#2:  L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom

10-22-14                         10-29-14

Amount Left: I'm still working to use the product along the edges. The dipp along the edge has increased and there's a little more pan showing. I can't wait to finish this so I use my tarte blushes more often.

Opinion: This is a nice blush. I just have ones I like better. I decided to use a different blush on Sunday of this week because I was going to a close friend's wedding. (It became my makeup cheat day lol). I absolutely LOVE the tarte blush I used, and it makes me want to work through this even faster.

#3: Therapy Systems Perfect Concealer in the shade 2

10-22-14                         10-29-14

Amount left: Just that little section of pan, the problem is that section has a lot of product in it, so it's moving slowly.

Opinion: I now just use a thin layer of this under my eyes everyday. I bought a new concealer that my sister suggest and use it to cover my spots because it is amazing for my skin.

#4:  Benefit's "It's Potent!" Eye Cream

10-22-14                         10-29-14

Amount Left: Not too much longer to go. I've been working at the middle of my blob left. 

Opinion: It's a good eye cream, nothing spectacular about it. It may be that it's lost some effectiveness over time, because I remember this working really well when I first started using it.

#5. Lorac's Breakthrough Performance Foundation in Shade "SMS 1" 

FINISHED 09-16-14

#6. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in "Born With It"

                                                                  FINISHED 10-12-14

#7. MAC's Zoom Fast Black Lash

                                                                   TOSSED 10-19-14

#8. L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black

                                                                   TOSSED 10-19-14

#9. Bath & Body Works' Honey Sweetheart Lip Gloss

10-22-14                         10-29-14

Amount Left: Maybe about 1 in. left in the tube. I tried to do really well using this product this week since I was a slacker last week.

Opinion: I really like this gloss. It has a subtle shimmer to it and has a barely-there light pink color. It blends really well with many of my everyday lipsticks, or just on top of my Rimmel lip liner (mentioned earlier). This will be missed when it's gone! 

#10. Bath & Body Works' Travel-sized Body Lotion in Beautiful Day 

FINISHED 9-20-14

That's all my progress. Nothing else is finished just yet, but there are several that are getting really close! 

Oh! Does anyone have any eye cream recommendations? I'm going to need a new one soon lol.

Thanks for reading!

~Rachel

Finish 6 By Christmas: 1-Month Update!

One month ago (on Sept. 22) I started my Finish 6 By Christmas project. Here's a link to that post if you haven't seen it. I'll just go ahead and say now that I know I won't finish all my items by that date. But my goal is just to use as much as I can by that date.

The first item I chose to do was the Rimmel Scandaleyes eye pencil in Black.

9-22-14                           10-22-14

Amount left: While I have made some progress on this item (you can see by using the tile line), it's one I don't believe I will completely finish. But, as long as I'm using it everyday, I'm getting my money's worth and I'll see where I'm at come Christmas time.
Opinion: I really like it. It's a nice pure black color, and I find it stays put well in both my waterline and on the eyelid. The formula is also very smooth so it goes on easily and never drags (which makes for easy application and a smoother line).

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The next item I chose was the Rimmel retractable lip liner in Eastend Snob. 

9-22-14                           10-22-14

Amount Left: There's only about 1/3 of the liner left. I haven't been amazing at using this everyday. However, I still think that I'll be able to finish it up before Christmas rolls around.
Opinion: I think this lip liner is alright. The color is nice, it's a soft pink that goes with many of lipsticks. However, the formula is a little dry and I find that preping my lips with a chapstick first is necessary. (which is fine because I'm panning one of those as well, lol). As long as my lips are moisturized, this goes on smoothly and helps hold my lipstick on longer - if only by a little while.

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The third item I chose was my 9 perfume samples.  

9-22-14                                          10-22-14

Amount left: As you can see I have divided my samples into a "gone" pile, and a "to-use" pile. There are two in the gone pile that are still full (this is because I COULD NOT use them. One was way too strong. The other started making me feel ill if I wore it.) I decided to replace them with two other fragrance samples: Elizabeth and James Nirvana White, Nicki Minaj Pink Friday. I also lost the Atelier Cologne "Cedrat Enivrant Cologne Absolue", So I replaced it wit Victoria Secret Fearless.(Not pictured, but finished).

What's Done/Left:

Desire by Dolce&Gabbana , 

 NY DKNY, (started making me nauseous)

Clean skin, 

Atelier Cologne "Cedrat Enivrant Cologne Absolue", (lost)

Tocca Beauty "Margaux", (Too strong to finish)

Calvin Klein "Down Town", 

Hanae Mori Eau de Toilette

Victoria Secret Fearless

Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black,

Balenciaga Paris "Florabotanica", 

Elizabeth and James Nirvana White, 

Nicki Minaj Pink Friday

Opinion: It would take too long to go over all of them that I've used. My favorite is the Desire by Dolce&Gabbana. 

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NEXT item!! That would be the Bath and Body Works body lotion in the scent "Moonlight Path".

9-22-14                           10-22-14

Amount left: There's not a lot left in this bottle. Just about an inch from the bottom of the bottle. I should be done with this, but last week I just forgot to use it every night. (Lots of late nights with friends/family). I didn't have a sharpie with me at my mom's house to mark it, but I put a line on it via paint. While it looks like the line should be higher, I assure you it's at this level. Some lotion is just against the edges)
Opinion: Its a good lotion. Keeps my skin feeling soft and moisturized. This is one of favorite scents so I love using it.

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The fifth item I chose to use up was the "It's a 10!" leave-in hair treatment.

9-22-14                           10-22-14

Amount left: I've cut my remaining amount down by pretty much half. So about a fourth of the bottle is left.
Opinion: This makes my hair so soft and healthy looking. I've also noticed that my ends are staying fresh for longer! (No split ends in a while). I really love this stuff.

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The last item in my project is the Be a Bombshell Smooth Criminal Powder. 

9-22-14                           10-22-14

Amount left: This is the other item I'm not so sure i'll finish. I've been using it everyday, but I haven't had a whole lot of progress. (I've used between 1/4 and 1/3) This will just be cutting it close I think.
Opinion: This makes my face feel super soft, and helps set my makeup well. I have noticed it helps the most with my frustrating concealer that creases (from my project pan - you've heard me rant about this). Its also nice because it's transparent. I have trouble finding a powder that wont darken my foundation, so this helps keep my foundation a working color.

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So what do you think so far? I know I need to be better about using certain things more consistently, but I'll work on that this month. I think I'm most worried about seeing progress on the eyeliner and the powder.

-Rachel

Project 10 Pan: Update 6

Once again, another week has gone by, making it a total of 6 weeks since I started panning my ten items. My progress this week isn't as great. I was testing some of my new purchases that I made when my sisters were visiting (We always shop for makeup when we visit each other). I'll probably post a haul post here soon with what all I bought. But back to the project pan!

#1. The Love & Beauty (by Forever 21) Sheer Lip Color (No shade listed)

10-15-14                                 10-22-14

Amount Left: About 1/4 of an inch is still on there. It shouldn't be too much longer now.

Opinion: Nice lip conditioner before applying my lip liner/lipstick/lipgloss. I hate how its starting to crumble near the base though. I don't want it to fall off before I'm done with it! It feels so nice on the lips, that I'll really miss it when it's gone.

#2:  L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom

10-15-14                                 10-22-14

Amount Left: Hard to tell exactly how long this will take. There's a lot of product along the edges. You can tell there's a little bit more pan showing though!

Opinion: It's a nice blush. The color is really pretty. It just doesn't have very good lasting power on my skin.

#3: Therapy Systems Perfect Concealer in the shade 2

10-15-14                                 10-22-14

Amount Left: Maybe about 1/5th left. I gotten a little further along the edges this week. Hopefully I'll be done with this by mid-Nov.

Opinion: I really don't enjoy using this concealer. It's a little too dark for my skin tone, and while it covers my dark circles well; it settles in the fine lines of my under eye (even when set with a powder!!) I honestly can't even explain how happy I'll be when this is finally gone.


#4:  Benefit's "It's Potent!" Eye Cream

10-15-14                                 10-22-14

Amount Left: There's not a whole lot left.As you can see, the products about half-way down the sides now. And about 1/3 is left along the bottom (So roughly 1/6 of the product left?) 
Opinion: It's a nice eye cream. It keeps my eyes moisturized and helps my bags a little (nothing dramatic like what I thought I had experienced before - sadly). I may look into some different eye creams after this one just to try some more out.


#5. Lorac's Breakthrough Performance Foundation in Shade "SMS 1" 

FINISHED 09-16-14

#6. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in "Born With It"

                                                                  FINISHED 10-12-14

#7. MAC's Zoom Fast Black Lash

Amount Left: I'm calling this done on 10/19/14. I went to use it made my lashes much more clumpy. I don't want to chance putting an expired product on my eyes....

Opinion: I really love this mascara. After working through some of my other mascaras, I will be buying this one again.

#8. L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black

Amount Left: I'm calling this done as well, since both products were purchased near the same time (I can't remeber exactly when that was). Again, I don't want bacteria near my eyes.

Opinion: It was a really nice liquid liner. It had a brush to apply the liquid with (which I prefer over the markers). The brush was small enough to get a fine line, but could also be built up easily for a thicker look. It did flake a little near the end of the day, but nothing that was disastrous.

#9. Bath & Body Works' Honey Sweetheart Lip Gloss

10-15-14                                 10-22-14

Amount left: This is one I was mostly talking about when I said I had been slacking this week. I was enjoying trying out a lot of my new lippies I got with my sisters so this really went on the back burner. The progress this week was minuscule if at all.

Opinion: Its a beautiful gloss. It's very much a my-lips-but-better shade. It makes my lips look full with just a slight tint of color to it. I love this stuff and will miss it, but I'd hate it more if I let it expire on me.

#10. Bath & Body Works' Travel-sized Body Lotion in Beautiful Day 

FINISHED 9-20-14

So that's all folks! (-Porky the pig)

I should be better about using the lip gloss this week, so that should have more progress next time. I can't believe my project pan is now half-way over! (I'm down to just 5 items: The chapstick, the blush, the concealer, the eye cream, and the lip gloss).

Note: some of the pictures have different background because they were taken at my mom's house. (I'm staying for a few days to visit).

~Rachel

Boxycharm Unboxing: October 2014

Hello people!

My Boxycharm box just came in the mail today, so I thought I'd post about what I received. :)

If you haven't heard of boxycharm before, it's a monthly subscription box that contains 5 full & deluxe sized beauty items. (Every since I started receiving my box - in August - I have received 5 full sized items. I've just read blogs where they've stated boxycharm sends deluxe sized items too, and I don't want to tell you wrong from ignorance.)

The cost of the box is $21.00 with free shipping, which you pay for when you initially sign up and at about the 5th of every month.  Boxycharm starts to ship boxes in the middle of the month. I receive mine from the 15th to the 20th of every month. If you want to subscribe, feel free to use my referral link to get started.

This is what the box looks like when it ships to you. The shipping label is on the bottom of the box.

I cut open the seal and open it :)

On top is the information card that lists the theme for the box. This month's theme was "bewitched" for the Halloween season. On the back of the card, boxycharm also lists the items in the box, how much the full size costs, and tips for using the product.

There is also a coupon in this box for 20% Palmetto's Website by using the code: BCPD2 (Exp Dec. 31, 2014)

This time, all the products were wrapped in bubble wrap. (So I had fun popping bubble wrap earlier haha).

The first thing I pulled out of the bubble wrap was a Starlooks Ultra Gem eye pencil in the shade Ultra Violet (worth $14.00). This color isn't listed on the website, and has different packaging, so I'm not sure if you can get this yet. The color is a stunning blue-purple with silver glitter. It's very creamy and glides on pigmented. I'm very excited to use this!

The next item I pulled out was the "be a bombshell" eyeshadow in Halo - an iridescent white. On the website, it's listed for $14.00. I don't have a color like this in my collection currently, and the quality seems really good from swatching it! I'll probably use it most to lighten the inner corner of my eye.

The swatches:

The next item I saw was the Palmetto Derma Collegen Booster and Restoration Serum. This item is actually worth $48.00. I havn't had a chance to use this yet, but I'm excited to include it in my nighttime routine to test it out.

The next item I saw was the Cult/Commerce & Boxycharm Shady Nail polish in the colors B'Witched (a metallic dark grey with glitter) and Spell On (a metallic purple). The brushes on the nail polish were very stiff and impossible to use upon first glance. This is because "Cult/Commerce added extra lacquer to your brushes to prevent bristles from fraying during transit." Boxycharm released this information on their facebook page, along with a solution  on how to fix it. I didn't have nail polish remover with acetone in it, so I used another brush to apply these colors.

Since this is a boxycharm elxclusive item, I can't link to it. But the card lists the value at $21.00 for the set.

I applied one coat on each of my nails.

The last item included was the Eclipse Concealer Palette by Coastal Scents. This palette has a list price of $19.95, but it's currently on sale for $14.95 on their website.

This palette has 15 different shades. In the first column there is a shimmery highlight, a green, and a purple. The first one in the next column is a yellow tone. The rest are skin tone colors. Obviously, I wont be able to use all these shades, but I'm excited to use the palette and see how the quality of these products are.

In total (with the sale price), the box has a value of $111.95. I think I'm most excited to try the eyeliner and the concealer palette. But, I also loved getting the eye shadow! So overall this box was a hit for me :)

~Rachel

Target Beauty Box Unboxing

SO, while scouring some of the blogs I read, I came across this Target beauty box. This box is a one-time purchase (NOT a subscription) that target offers every so often. The box costs $7.00 and has free shipping. (They do say allow 2 weeks for delivery, just so you know up front!)

This box is still available on their website HERE, just in case you want to pick one up. (This item is online only)

**Note: I purchased this with my own money and receive no compensation for this post. I just wanted to share :)**

The box comes sealed in a plastic film with the shipping label on top. The box is then covered with a wrap of light card board with target logos on it. After taking off the wrap, you're left with a simple white box (GREAT for wrapping Christmas gifts!)

After opening the box, you see the red tissue paper nicely folded to conceal the products.

This is how the inside looked when I uncovered it.

The card on top lists the 5 products you receive in this box. Everyone will receive these 5 products. However, the site does say that colors may vary.

#1 is the Elnett Extra Strong Hold Hairspray. On the website this travel size retails for $6.69. 

This hairspray has a nice smell to it, and I find that it immediately holds my hair in whatever position I need it. This may be my next  staple hair product.

#2 is the Fekkai Blowout Dry Shampoo. I am very much a dry shampoo girl, and I'm always on the lookout for a good one, so I was excited to try this one! This 1.7oz travel size they gave us retails for $7.99. 

#3 is the Laneige BB Cushion Sample. Overall this is 0.21oz of product. However, since you can only use 1 shade you get about 0.07oz of useable product. ((Don't take this as complaining! I love when I get too test out which color is right for me. Though I'm almost always the lightest color)) I calculate this to be worth about $4.76. 

I used this today and it had a light coverage. It feels like nothing on the skin and blends beautifully and naturally. The puff that it comes with has a beauty blender like texture to it (really soft and squishy).

#4 is the NYX Jumbo Eye Shadow Pencil (I recieved the shade 'Milk" which is white). This is the full sized item that retails for $4.49. I've heard so many things about these eye shadow pencils for the past few years, so I'm really excited to finally get to try one! This pencil can be applied as a bright white, or blended out to be a sheer brightening shade.

#5 (the last and final item) is the L'Oreal® Paris Colour Riche Extraordinaire. This is the full sized item in the shade "601 Nude Ballet", which is this beautiful pinkish nude. This item is worth $7.99.

I really enjoyed this box; I know I'll use 4 of these products (and I enjoyed the sample of the BB cream as well). I feel like the value for this box was really nice. It has a total value $31.95.

Here's the link again if you want to get the box!

Ipsy October 2014 Unboxing

I finally got my ipsy bag on Friday, but since I had family up visiting I hadn't had a chance to type my blog post until now. (But I couldn't resist so I did go through it on Friday and started trying them out).

If you haven't heard of ipsy before, it is a monthly beauty subscription that costs $10.00. Every month you get 4-5 full and deluxe sample sized products with an ipsy exclusive makeup bag. There are many combinations of products for each moth, so what you see here is just one combination of the 25 different products they offered. Here is my referral if you would like to sign up to receive this bag.

Here's the signature pink bubble wrap package that the ipsy bag comes in each month!

This month the theme was Beauty Candy (probably to go with Halloween/Trick-or-Treating). The little makeup bag it comes in this month is a "square pillow top" bag in a darker blue-green color. The bag feels fairly sturdy, but it reminds me of swimming pool tiles lol.

The nail polish that I received this month was outside the bag in the pink package because it was larger (I assume).

The nail polish is a very very dark burgundy red. It's the Nicole by OPI's nail polish in the shade "Feeling Very Cherry". It is a FULL SIZED product; most of these polishes cost about $7.00. On my nails it almost looks like a warm red tinted black color, exactly how it looks in the bottle. I've used this brand of nail polish before and I enjoy their formula. It goes on easily and the brush is a great size for simple application! (The picture of my nail has 2 coats of polish.) 

(I wasn't able to link to this product, as I couldn't find the exact color on any website. Maybe it's from a collection that hasn't been released yet?)

After opening my bag the first two things I pulled out included a lipgloss and a mascara. The starlooks lipgloss is in the shade Guilty Pleasure and contains 0.3 oz of product. I looked all over for how many oz were in the full size, but couldn't find it everywhere. The full size costs $12 and I'm going to give this a value of about $3.00 (about 1/4 the full size?)

The mascara is the VolumEyes mascara by Model Co. This is the FULL SIZED mascara which actually retails for $20.00. I currently have a few mascaras already opened, so I didn't want to try this one out. Most of the comments from ipsters said that it was a good mascara, but not a fantastic one.

Here's a swatch of the Starlooks lipgloss. It's a very pretty nudish pink shade. (Sorry, the camera didn't want to focus at all while trying to take this picture, this was the best one I was able to take)

The last two items I received are the figs & rouge hand cream in the scent rose berry and the epice purifying exfoliant. This hand cream is FULL SIZED (20ml) and worth $6.59. The lotion is very silky and makes my hands feel moisturized without feeling greasy. It sinks in quickly and leaves a subtle scent behind. I'll get much more use out of this one than the last one I received from ipsy!

The epice purifying exfoliant is a FULL TRAVEL SIZED product. This 1oz size retails for $4.99 on their website. I did get a chance to use it (I was really curious despite having many half-used scrubs in my bathroom already). It was a really nice scrub that made my face really soft! The beads were subtle and not harsh at all on my skin.   

Overall I'm happy with my ipsy bag. I'm hoping for less hand creams and mascaras in the future, but I will enjoy these products anyway :) Not to mention the bag (which costs $10.00) ended up having a value of $41.58. (Which doesn't include a price for the little makeup bag it comes in)

If you would like to subscribe to ipsy feel free to use my referral link to register: Click here.

(I purchase this bag with my own money. The refferal code is offered to any and all customers to help with obtaining ipsy points)

If you are strongly considering signing up, make sure you read the FAQs just to clear up and all confusion and help give you a bigger picture of the features!