I love the month of love! February can be such a dreary month of cold darkness, but Valentine's Day is like this ray of sunshine in my life. Colten surprised me with some flowers and some homemade peanut butter bars and I was in heaven. Flowers have a pretty big significance in our realtionship because he brought me flowers on our blind date and the rest is history. He is such a sweetie.
The purpose of this post however is not to gush about my husband, but to share some product reviews with you! I'll always be 100% brutally honest with you whether it is good or bad. So keep reading and see some of my latest product reviews.
Soapbox Shampoo & Conditioner
I was sent these products via
Influenster to review. I'm kind of a brand snob when it comes to hair products (aren't all hairstylists?) and truly believe that salon quality products make a huge difference. However, I decided that since I was sent the products to review, I'd give it one shot and see what I thought.
I'll be honest, I didn't LOVE the products. And unless I absolutely can't afford salon quality, I will never purchase these again. In fact, I'm trying to find someone to pawn them off to. But, I will say that the products work better than Herbal Essence or Pantene if you usually go that route. I do love the company's involvement with charity work, and the smell is heavenly coconut. My hair didn't feel horrible after using them, but I really needed more moisture than the products gave me.
ELF 3 in 1 Mascara
I've been really trying to cut unnecessary spending out of my budget (especially with my new job change which I'll blog about soon!) and makeup is just something I don't want to drop $100s on every month. So I placed an order for some ELF products and decided to try this mascara.
I really wanted to love it! In fact, I love most ELF products I've tried. But this one just didn't do it for me. I didn't find it volumizing or lengthening enough. I don't wear much makeup at all so mascara is my focal point and I'm willing to pay more for a great mascara. I'm going to try some of the other ELF mascaras, and I'll finish using this one, but I'll definitely be layering with another mascara. The great thing about this mascara is definitely the price and the fact that it does not clump, which is also super important.
Purchase for $3.00 from
ELF
Jane Iredale Powder-Me SPF Dry Sunscreen
About 6 months ago I was sent some Jane Iredale products to review and one of the ones I requested was the Powder-Me SPF Dry Sunscreen. The description says it will nourish, protect and soothe your skin with this 30 SPF sunscreen. It is also chemical free and water-resistant for up to 40 minutes.
Over the past few years I've become more concerned about using products that are good for my skin and especially using SPF on my face every single day. I thought this would be an easy addition to any makeup routine and in fact I have been able to use it as a finishing powder!
Next time I would probably just purchase the Purepressed Foundation as it already includes SPF 20 and provides much more coverage.
Bare Minerals Correcting Concealer
I purchased the wrong color of this concealer which was so heartbreaking and I wasn't sure on Ulta's return policy so I never tried to return it. I have however slowly been using it on breakouts and discolored spots on my face. I find the coverage to be awesome! If only I had purchased a lighter shade, I think I would love this concealer!
Sephora Pearl Mask
This face mask is supposed to "perfect and brighten with natural-origin pearl to create high luminosity". I had previously tried the Rose Mask and loved the results! I will say the pearl mask seems to do what it says. They can be a little tricky to use, but they feel great. I love to kick back and just close my eyes and meditate for 15-20 minutes while the mask does its job. Then you just rub the residue into your face with no need to rinse. My face seemed brighter when I finished the mask and even more so the next morning.
The bad news? It smelled like vomit. Like, broccoli vomit. Too harsh? Sorry, it's just the truth. The good news? It didn't smell bad until I took the mask off and was rubbing it into my skin. I'm not sure if I had a bad mask or what but man, I will not repurchase because of the smell! I will repurchase the Rose mask and want to try a few others like the honey and lotus mask.
Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Foundation
This was the first fancy brand foundation I have ever purchased. For $42, it better work miracles. And it did! I loved the coverage and it was very moisturizing which is important for a dry skinned girl like myself. I love love loved this foundation and am so sad that I have finally run out. It lasted for a long time and a little goes a long way.
I'm not repurchasing quite yet because... $42 :/ But I'm trying out a few more budget friendly options and I'll let you know how those go.
UNITE Expanda Dust
One great thing about my 18k cosmetology license is my ability to purchase hair products at a discounted rate! I've purchased and tried a lot of new products since starting hair school. I tried UNITE Expanda Dust after seeing a post from Julianne Hough about how she uses it as a dry shampoo.
It works! A tiny tiny sprinkle of this and you're getting volume like whoa! The higher the hair the closer to God right? This bottle will last me FOREVER because you only have to use a tiny bit. As far as dry shampoo goes, I've got a few I really like but I do also like this option as well. It's not a holy grail for me, but it's definitely a great product!
It's a 10 Miracle Hair Mask
This hair mask was designed to help hair that withstands heat styling, coloring and over-processing. This is one of my holy grail products! I've repurchased multiple times and always come back to it. No products has EVER and I mean EVER de-tangled my hair as well as this hair mask. I would recommend this for all hair types. If you haven't tried it, trust me, it's worth the money.
Have you tried any of these products? What did you think??
