Haul: Big Lots

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you know I love shopping at Big Lots! I got to stop by there on Monday and I found some great deals. I went in there looking for two things Sephora by OPI polishes and some Hot Chocolate and I found both items plus a couple more things.

I found three Sephora by OPI polishes that I liked, I Only Shop Vintage, Ruby Without a Cause, and It's Real 18K Gold Top Coat! Each of these were only $1.80! I Googled the It's Real 18K

Review: Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream claims that it will give you 24 hour hydration, a splash of sheer color  even out skin tone, refresh dullness and give you flawless looking skin. It is a skin perfecter with 6 skin perfecting benefits; refreshes, brightens, evens tone, hydrates  smooths, and protects. It also is a combination of a sun screen, with SPF 15 and a tinted moisturizer. Also claims that with just one use, skin will be left glowing and naturally even.

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream only comes in 2 shades, fair to light and light to medium. You get 2.5 oz of product for $12.99 This BB cream has a nice scent to it, reminds me of the smell of sunscreen with a hint of something else, I just can put my finger on what that hint of something is. It's not a strong scent and once I apply it, I don't smell it anymore. The consistency of this BB cream is like that of a liquid foundation, but a tad thicker.

I'll be honest the first couple of times I used this, I did not like it, but I wanted to give it a fair chance and I'm glad I did, because now I love it! It is very hydrating on my skin, I can actually skip my normal moisturizer when I wear this. I don't feel that it offers much, if any, coverage, but it makes up for that by evening out my skin tone. It blurs out all the imperfections of my skin and just makes it look flawless and brighter. I think the condition of my skin has improved since I started using this, I feel like my skin tone looks better even when I am not wearing the BB Cream. It feels very weightless and refreshing on my skin, sometimes I forget I even have make up on.

I think this is a great product for the summer, when you want a nice natural look. This is the only 'foundation' I've been using and I just add a little bit of my NYC Sunny Bronzer for a pretty sunkissed look.

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream retails for $12.99, which at first look seems a little expensive, but as I mentioned earlier you do get 2.5 oz of product, whereas, with other brands of BB cream you generally only get 1 oz of product This is a product that I would purchase myself. You can purchase the BB cream at Walmart or a drug store as well as the Olay Fresh Effects site or on Amazon.

Left: bare skin, Right: Olay BB Cream

Quality: 5/5

Price: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

Formula: 5/5

Pigmentation: 4/5

Scent: 5/5

Longevity: 5/5

Overall: 37/40

Have you tried Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream? If so, what did you think about it? If not, do you plan on giving it a try?

Review: Avon Ideal Flawless BB Cream

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose

Just like all the other major makeup brands, Avon has cam out with their own version of a BB cream. BB creams are also referred to as blemish balms or beauty balms. They are supposed to take the place of multiple products. Avon's is no different in that aspect, they claim it will give you a lightweight feel and coverage, hydrate the skin, even skin tone, visibly minimize redness, conceal flaws, smooth skin and that your skin will look better, even after removing the product.

Avon Ideal Flawless BB cream comes in five shades, Light, Light Medium, Medium, Medium Deep and Deep. It has a light fragrance, but is not noticeable when wearing it. It does have a slightly runny consistency,  like a foundation, but it applies like a cream. It' is infused with Vitamin E and antioxidants. It also has a SPF of 15.

This BB creams has worked really well for me. It says it's a light weight coverage, but for me personally, I feel like it gives me a little more than light coverage. You can also build up the coverage. My skin does feel very hydrated when I use it. I love how well it evens out my skin tone and how it jut smooths everything out. I tend to get red in my cheek area and this does seem to minimize my redness. I can't really say how well it conceals flaws, I do not have any scaring or hyper pigmentation. I don't think that my skin looks any better now, when I remove the BB cream than it did before I started using it.

One thing that I have noticed about the Ideal Flawless BB cream is it leaves my face feeling slightly sticky/tacky, which I'm guess is what gives it it's dewy looking finish, but once I put my bronzer on it seems to take care of it. At first I thought it was the moisturizer I was using, so I tried a couple different ones and it still happened.

Over all I really like this BB cream. It gives me the amount of coverage that I like and I really like the dewy looking finish that I get from it. It also lasts all day long for me.

Ideal Flawless comes in a 1oz tube for $10, you can also find it on sale from time to time for around $7.99
I have a video here of how I apply this BB cream if you are interested in that.

Quality: 5/5

Price: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

Longevity: 5/5

Overall: 23/25

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Favorites: June

Wow how quickly did June fly by!?!? Another month gone by means another round of beauty favorites! I had a handful of products that I was loving this past month.

Up first is the ELF Makeup Mist and Set. I love this stuff! It's great to wear all year round, but I find myself using it more when it's warm and humid out. I use this to help keep my makeup in place all day and I also use it to help powder products not look cakey on areas of my face where I may have some dryness. I like to spray it all over my face then I take the ELF flat top powder brush and pat it around on my face to create a nice finish.

I have also been loving my Avon BB Cream. So far it has been the BB cream that has worked the best for me. I will have a full review on this BB Cream on Monday, so be sure to check that out!

I tend to keep my makeup neutral all throughout the year, but especially in the summer time, I go for the barely there look. So I have been pairing my Milani Shadow Eyez pencil in Champagne Toast with my Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells trio. I think these look great together and make a very pretty neutral eye look. I have been using my Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara a ton as well. I have a full review on this mascara.

Keeping with the natural/neutral look, I have been loving my Cover Girl Nature Luxe Gloss Balm in the shade Grenache. My new favorite lip product!

Top to Bottom: Cover Girl Nature Luxe  in Grenache, Milani Champagne Toast, Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells Trio

What products have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments!

February 2013 Favorites

Am I the only one that feels like this year is flying by? March already, and that means it's time for me to share with you my February Favorites.

I used pretty much the same products all month long so I only have a handful of favorites, so lets jump in to it.

I bought a new lipstick from Avon and it quickly became one of my favorites last month. It's a beautiful nude color called Natural Glow and it is from Avon's newest lipstick line called Totally Kissable.

I also used my Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells trio a ton during the month of February. It's just a great trio for an everyday look.

I also recently started using Cover Girl CGSmoothers BB Cream, which is pretty much the same thing as their tinted moisturizer. I plan on doing a comparison post about the two.

I've been loving my Maybelline one by one volume express mascara. This is one of the products that I chose for my Project 10 Pan. I have no idea why I ever quit using this.

I won a couple of lip balms from ChapStick's Facebook page in limited edition flavors, one of them was in the flavor Candy Cane. I love minty lip products and this was no exception. It works great and feels really moisturizing on the lips.

Lastly, but not least, is my Avon Ultra Luxury Liner in Dark Brown. This has been one of my favorites for a long time, but I have found myself reaching for it more and more recently.

What were your favorites from February?

FOTD: 1

Today I am doing a Face of the Day post! I really liked the way my make up look came out and I wanted to share it with you. If you like these types of posts let me know and I will do more of them in the future.

I was watching a video on YouTube by Jasmine over at Green Eyed Monster and she did this really simple pretty eye look using the Walking on Eggshells trio from Wet n Wild and I just loved the look so I decided to try it out for myself today.

List of products that I used:
Cover Girl cg smoothers BB Cream
Avon Ultra Luxury liner in dark brown
Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells Trio
Wet n Wild Brulee single eyeshadow (for my highlight shade)
Milani Illuminating Face powder in Amber Nectar
Avon Totally Kissable Lipstick (new line from Avon) in Natural Glow
Maybelline One by One volume express mascara in brownish black

My FOTD:

I totally forgot to use primer! I'm just going to Easter play practice at my church tonight, so it should be okay. I do wish that I had of used the highlight shade that comes in the trio instead of the Brulee, so I will change that next time I wear this look. I also used the brown shade from the trio as a liner for my bottom lashes. The lipstick is kind of a sheer lipstick, but can be built up.

Be sure to check out Jasmine's video!