A Flakie Comparision + a Life Update

I'll tell you about the comparison first! The other week I used ELF's Fairy Dust in my mani and it made me remember that I had heard it's a dupe for Essie's Shine of the Times and since I have both  I wanted to see of it truly was. I had a really cute mani in mind to test them out, but the flakies did not want to show up well! It was so horrible that I didn't even keep the pictures. Then I thought flakies show up really good on black polish, so instead of painting my nails black, I just used a nail wheel.

We've got Essie Shine of the Times on the left and Elf Fairy Dust on the right. They are very very similar, but for me they have one tiny difference; I think the flakes in SOTT are finer than the flakes in FD, allowing you to grab more of them on the brush. Since the flakes in FD are a little bigger I feel like you are not able to get as many on the brush, causing me to have to use 2 coats of FD and just one of SOTT Other than that though they are pretty much identical to me, Essie is around $8.50 and the Elf is $2

I have looked at these swatches several times trying to figure out which one I like better and I'm still not really sure. Which every one you choose you can't go wrong, both are great flakie polishes!

Life Update
Y'all last week was such a crazy week for me, I felt like I had no time to blog at all. I've been on the hunt for a job :/ I had put in several applications over the past couple of weeks and was beginning to think I was not going to hear anything about any of them. Well Monday I drove the 200 mile round trip to visit my Mom and when I got home Monday night I had a message regarding one of the jobs I had applied to! Thursday I went for an interview then went back Friday to fill out some paper work. Supposed to find out Tuesday for sure if I got the job and when I start!!!! The whole process was a bit overwhelming for me, I have not filled out an application in seriously over 10 years and I've not worked outside the home since 2006! If I get it, I will most definitely be out of my comfort zone, it's a factory job and all I've ever done is retail, so fingers crossed I get it and I can keep up with everyone else :)

Tomorrow  I think I will have Essie's Vices Versa from the 2014 neon collection!

Do any of you watch the show Revenge? OMG

EOTD: Silver & Black

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

If you have been following my blog for a while, you have probably noticed I don't tend to wear anything but brown, taupe and gold shades of eyeshadow. Well yesterday I found this sparkling eye pencil in the shade Charcoal from Avon in my stash and thought it might go nicely with the Hit the Town smudge pot from ELF.

Off I went to create a new eye look for myself, I have to say I was quite happy with the way it came out and I really liked it, hubby even noticed my eyes when he came in from work!

I started off with the Charcoal pencil and colored about half of my eyelid, starting on the inner corners. Then I took the Hit the Town smudge pot and an eyeshadow brush and put that on the outer half of my eye lid. Then I had to go find a black eyeliner from my stash and came across Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black, holy smokes what an amazing eyeliner! It is so creamy and glides across the lid and it's waterproof! It lasted all day even on my waterline, new favorite black liner! I lined pretty much all around my eye for a more dramatic look. I finished off my look with a black mascara from ModelCo. If you follow me on Instagram you probably seen this look on there yesterday and I mistakenly put Models Own instead of ModelCo, my bad LOL :)

Here are some swatches of the products I used; Rimmel Scandaleyes, Avon Big Color Dazzlers Sparkling Eye Pencil in Charcoal and ELF Smudge Pot in Hit the Town.

I don't think I could get away with wearing this eye look for a day time look, but I think it would be great for a night out!

I don't have any blog posts scheduled for the rest of the week, so is there anything that you would like to see from me this week? If so let me know in the comments :)

Reader Appreciation & 3rd Blogiversary Giveaway (CLOSED)

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

Are you ready for the something special I mentioned yesterday? As you can tell from the title I'm having a Giveaway to celebrate the 3rd Blogiversary of the blog and to say Thank You to my readers, because with out y'all I would have no blog!

When I started this blog 3 years ago I was just hoping to get a handful of followers and to connect with other ladies that shared my interest in beauty products, I never thought I would have 100+ followers and to go along with that I have met some super nice gals that share my love/obsession with nail polish and other beauty products! I want to say thank you to everyone that follows this blog, stops by to read my thoughts on beauty products, checks out my hauls, nail swatches and art. I also want to say a big thank you to those that leave comments on my posts, I love reading them and interacting with y'all.

This giveaway is only for my current followers, so please don't share the giveaway via social media. It would not be fair for someone who just started following me for the giveaway to win. I know if you are a current subscriber ;)

Prizes:

• ELF Smudge Pot in the shade Cruisin' Chic
• Avon Color Creme Eyeshadow in Champagne
• ELF Vacation Trio Nail Polish Set
• Avon Brushed Metals Polish in Burnished Copper
• Avon Mosaic Effects (crackle) Polish in Fiery Fuchsia

Rules:

• Must be a current subscriber of my blog via Blogger or Bloglovin'
• You must leave a comment, comment can be anything you want it to be, except for enter me or anything of that effect.
• Must be 18+ or have parents permission, as I will have to ask for your mailing address.
• Open to US Residents Only, if you live outside the US but have a US mailing address that I can ship it to that is fine.

Extra Entries:

• Follow on Twitter
• Follow on Instagram
• Like Facebook Fan Page

Each method of entry can only be done once, gives each person a max of 5 entries. Giveaway begins today and ends April 9th at midnight. Any questions let me know.  Winner will be announced on Thursday April 10th, they will have 24 hours to get back to me before I draw a new winner. GOOD LUCK!

Haul: ELF

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

It has been a really long time since I placed an order with ELF, May of 2012! I had been seeing a lot of blog posts about the ELF Smudge Pots and I just had to give them a try myself! I also ordered couple of other things because they were having a 50% off sale on their best sellers and new items.

There are 9 different Smudge Pots, I only ordered 6 of them because I didn't really see myself wearing the other 3 colors. The ones I ordered were Ain't That Sweet a light pink, Gotta Glow a light gold, Back to Basics a bronzy color, Cruisin Chic a taupe type color, Brownie Points a coppery brown, and Hit the Town a dark grey. The ones I did not purchase are called Pearls of Wisdom a white, Poppin Party a plum, and Ocean Bound a darker blue.

L-R: Ain't That Sweet, Gotta Glow, Back to Basics, Cruisin Chic, Brownie Points, Hit the Town

I love the packaging on these, super convenient containers that feel very sturdy. I don't see them being cracked or busted easily. The opening is big enough so you can use your finger to apply them or use a brush. I have only played around with a few of these so I will give a more in-depth review at a later date, but for the most part I like them and once they set the are pretty much smudge proof!. Love the price on them too, only $2!

I also picked up some of the Jumbo Eyeshadow Sticks. I've not heard a lot about these, but I enjoy using shadow sticks, I think they are great for traveling, so I wanted to try these. I got Little Miss Thing, French Lace, Bali Bound, Feeling Lucky and Check me out. Also available are Rock out, Turkish Coffee, Forest Nymph, Like a Boss and Midnight Rendezvous.

L-R: Little Miss Thing, Bali Bound, French Lace, Feeling Lucky, Check Me Out

Unlike the Smudge Pots these shadow sticks are smudge-able. I'm not sure how I feel about the packaging on these yet, unlike other jumbo shadow sticks that I've used before, these you don't sharpen you twist them up.

L-R: Little Miss Thing, Bali Bound, French Lace, Feeling Lucky, Check Me Out

The last thing I got was a bottle of their Brush Shampoo. I've been wanting to try this for a while, just never picked it up. I've used this once and it seems to work pretty good. Not bad for $3, I usually use baby shampoo.

Have you purchased any ELF products recently? What were they?

I hope it is starting to feel more like spring in your area! After some really crazy weather this weekend in my area, this whole week we are supposed to have mid to upper 60 degree weather!

Who is up for a Giveaway?? Next month will be my 3 Year Blogiversary!!

Haul: TJ Maxx, Ross & Big Lots

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

As of late I have been obsessed with Big Lots and TJ Maxx for finding beauty products, especially nail polishes, at discounted prices! Last week hubby and I ventured out on a little shopping trip and the town that we went to not only had those two stores, but they also had a Ross, I was able to find some pretty good deals.

From TJ Maxx I stumbled upon a duo of Orly polishes, Fabulous Flamingo and Ancient Jade, for $6.99! That's like paying $3.50 for each polish, not too bad considering they are priced at $8 for a full size bottle and $3.99 for a mini bottle at Ulta.

I also came across some mini OPI Sets

Year In Review: Favorite Products

Welcome to the first of four posts in my Year in Review series! Today I'll be sharing my favorite products from 2013! I have quite a few things so let's get started. Also if I have reviewed the product I'll link to that post in case you want to know more about it.

I'll start off with my favorite lip product, Maybelline Baby Lips in Quenched, since I don't have a photo of it because I'm out of it and I can't find a photo that I took of it, but we all know what it looks like. I went through several of these lip balms in 2013 I think they moisturize my lips well and I love that it has SPF in it.

I tired several new skin care items this year and came out with three that I really liked. L'Oreal Hydrafresh Toner, eclos Skin Prep Cleanser and Avon Moisture Boost Daily moisture lotion. I hear a lot of people say that you don't need a toner, but I feel like it really helps my skin and it makes it feel really fresh. This toner did not leave my skin feeling tight or dry. I have been using this same bottle of eclos cleanser for months, and it is probably my most favorite cleanser ever, hands down. It cleans my face well and leaves it feeling soft and smooth. The only issue I have with this product is the price. I have used several moisturizers this year as well, but I stuck with the Avon one the longest, it's a really light moisturizer, but it gives my skin all the moisture that it needs.

Next are face products that I used the most in 2013. I instantly fell in love with the Olay Fresh Effects BB cream, I have been using this since early summer. It gives me the moisture my skin craves and evens out my skin tone, it does not give much coverage though, that's where my NYC Sunny bronzer comes in. I love this bronzer and will probably never

What's In My Travel Bag

Since I am on vacation, I thought it would be fun to share what beauty related items I took with me on my trip.

We'll start of with the 'tools'. I brought along my Elf Complexion Brush for bronzer, Elf Powder brush to 'tap' my face after spraying setting spray, Elf Eye Shadow Brush, Eye Crease brush and Blending Eye brush. I also brought along my Revlon eye lash curler.

Gotta have a clean and moisturized face, so I brought some epille cleansing wipes, L'Oreal toner (love this stuff) and Avon Moisture Boost moisturizer lotion.

Since I am vacationing at the beach I want to keep my make up very minimal, light and fuss free. I brought Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream, Avon Eye shadow quad in Stone Taupes, Avon eye primer, NYC Sunny Bronzer, Avon Water proof mascara, Avon ultra luxury eye liner, Maybelline Baby Lips and Vaseline lip theapy (love using this at night).

For shampoo and conditioner I will brought some samples that I had stashed away. I ended up not bringing the Pantene, I found some Suave Moroccan Infusion Shine shampoo and conditioner samples hidden on the back of one of my shelves. I also brought an extra bottle filled with Aussie shampoo. I changed my lotion out too from what is picture here, I brought along some Vaseline coco lotion, smells yummy. I also wanted a light body spray so I brought my Bath & Body Works Citrus Orchid spray.

A few items not pictured that I also brought along were my Earth Theraputics Tea Tree Oil foot repair balm, love that stuff. ELF Mist and Set spray and Secret deodorant.

Here is my lovely travel bag, it's a Modella bag that I picked up from Walmart a few years ago. It was somewhere around the $10-$15 range, it has nice little pockets all along the inside to stick stuff in.

What do you pack in your travel bag?

Haul: Big Lots

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose

Y'all know how much I love finding good deals and I honestly believe that Big Lots is one of the best places to find good deals on beauty products! With that said, hubby and I went out to do a little shopping in one of our nearby towns and lucky for me there was a Big Lots and I feel like I scored a pretty good haul.

First up I spotted some Salon Selectives shampoos and conditioners. I tend to switch up my shampoo and conditioners every so often, so I thought I would give these a try and 24 oz for $1.80, why not? I got Moisturizing Shampoo for dry, damaged or fragile hair, and smooth and straight conditioner that is supposed to help smooth and tame frizz to give you sleek and silky hair. 

I also picked up two packs of the epielle cleansing wipes, one Aloe Vera and one Citrus. I have tried the Green Tea ones and I really like them so I wanted to try out the other kinds they had to offer. These cost $1.00 each and contain 30 wipes.

I spotted some ELF products too and decided to pick up one of the Beauty Must Haves Eyeshadow Compacts in Natural. It was only $2.95 and it says that they can be used dry or wet. 

The items that I am most excited about finding are the Maybelline Color Show Sequins nail polishes! I found the whole collection, minus one for $1.00 each! They are gorgeous polishes packed full of sparkle!

L-R: Ruby Rhinestones, Rose Bling, Cocktail Dress, Sapphire Masquerade, Gold's Night Out, Sea-Quins, Silver Gleam

Have you scored any good finds at Big Lots recently?

Haul: iKatehouse

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose 

I heard about this online store called iKatehouse and decided to try them out and make a purchase.
They offer cosmetics, jewelry, lashes, hair accessories, makeup brushes and other items all at super affordable prices. They also sale some higher priced items like NYX in there section called Fancy Stuff. Shipping prices are great too, $2.95 flat rate shipping and free shipping with any order over $39. I was browsing around on the site and seen a lime green nail polish that I just had to have so I found a few other things I wanted as well.

It was packaged very nicely, (snagged some stills from my unboxing video) all wrapped up in pink tissue paper and some packing peanuts. My actual items were packed in a sealed up plastic baggie.

I got two pair of earrings. One pair are sea shell earrings they were $1.49 they are super pretty! The other pair are silver dangle earrings with some rhinestones, they were on clearance and cost $.69! Both pairs of earrings are a lot bigger than I thought they would be.

I also got two sets of bangles, I love bangles! One set has 2 purples and 2 silvers, they were $1.49. The second set has 9 silver bangles 3 of them are twisted, very cool looking! These were also on clearance and cost $.89

I got an ELF concealer brush it was $1 I love this brush for cleaning up around my nails after I paint them.

Last but not least I got two bottles of nail polish from S.he Makeup one fuchsia/magenta looking one called Raspberry and of course the lime green one I mentioned above called Melon.

I am really happy with my whole shopping experince with iKatehouse, the site was easy to navigate and the shipping time was great! I placed my order on the 4th and it arrived on the 8th.

Have you made a purchase from iKatehouse?

Winner Mail and Some Other Tid Bits

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose

I was so excited to receive an email from Martha, over at Quick Cheap and Pretty, last week letting me know I was one of the winners in her Happy Birthday to Me giveaway! I got my awesome prize in the mail yesterday and I wanted to share with you the items that I won!

• Three Wet n Wild 8 Pan color icon Eye shadow palettes: Blue Had Me at Hello, Petal Pusher and Comfort Zone
• Two Freeman face masks: Exfoliating Scrub Pink Grapefruit and a clay mask chocolate and Strawberry
• Two EOS Lip Bams: Summer Fruit and Sweet Mint
• An Elf Blush in Twinkle Pink
• A Wet n Wild Fergie Shimmer Palette in Rose Golden Goddess
• Hard Candy Beauty to Go Lash out kit, contains 3 mini mascaras

My cat has to 'approve' of everything that we bring in our house LOL

If you have not already, head on over and check out Martha's Blog. It's one of my favorites!

The weather where I live has been terrible for the last week, it has rained and stormed every single day. We had flooding in the county I live in and it has just been a mess. We got a really bad storm Thursday and lightning ran in on the phone line, so I've been with out a phone and my internet is just hit and miss LOL sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, so when this box came in the mail it was like a little ray of sunshine :)

There is a main highway under all that water

There was a bridge that went across the river there. Not sure if it is still intact or not

On Saturday the rain and storms held off enough for some fireworks!

Thank you Martha for the wonderful prize, I can not wait to start using the products!

Hope you all had a happy and safe 4th!

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!