Review: Pixi Beauty Bronzer in "Subtly Suntouched"

Welcome to bronzer week! I absolutely cannot live without bronzer. I think it is a total game changer when it comes to making your face look finished. So, this week I'll be posting something new every day that has to do with that bronzed summer glow! I have an excess of bronzers in my makeup collection. Like, way too many. And today I'll be reviewing one of my favorites, the Pixi Beauty Bronzer in "Subtly Suntouched".

This bronzer is a skin finish and subtle shade. It is great for fair skin, or if you just want a quick and easy glow. There is no shimmer to see when looking at the product in the pan, but when swatched you can detect that "dewy" finish that honestly just looks like skin.

It comes in a mint green container that has a screw-top lid that is see through. It's very sturdy and I've had this bronzer for months and have had no problems whatsoever with is scratching or scuffing.

This product retails for $18.00 and comes with a kabuki brush. It is sold at Target stores and target.com, as well as on Pixi's website. I use this bronzer a lot, and think it is a great product. There are no bad things to say about it.  The product pictured is from an ipsy bag a while back, so it is not full size and didn't come with a brush.

Overall, I think this is a stellar product that, if you have fair to light skin-tones, will work very well for you! I give it 5/5 winks!

Friday Haul: Wet n Wild & Physicians Formula!

Hey everyone! I'm not necessarily going to have a fabulous haul this week. But there are some deals to be had at the drugstores so lets get started!

At Rite Aid this week, they have Wet n Wild cosmetics on sale for Buy 1 get 1 FREE! Mix and match!! Awesome awesome price since these are such a bargain anyway. I picked up some more eye shadow trios. These are my all-time favorite shadows from the drugstore, and you cannot beat the value! Sometimes they even have coupons attached to them for even better savings! Here is what I picked up:

$2.99 Wet n Wild ColoIcon eye shadow trio in "I'm Getting Sunburned"
$2.99 Wet n Wild ColoIcon eye shadow trio in "Don't Steal My Thunder"
$0.99 Wet n Wild ColoIcon eye shadow single in "Creme Brulee"
$0.99 Wet n Wild ColoIcon eye shadow single in "Nutty"
-$2.99 (Buy 1 get 1 FREE sale)
-$0.99 (Buy 1 get 1 FREE sale)
 $3.98 for all 4 products!

Next, if you are a CVS shopper, head over and scan your card at the red machine for a $3 off coupon good on any cosmetic purchase of $15 or more! You can combine this coupon with manufactures coupons, and sales for a better value! I decided to get a few Physicians Formula mascaras, and use some peelie coupons that I found on Physicians Formula mascaras that were being sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Plus, when you buy 2 Physicians Formula products, you get $6 back in extra bucks. The red machine also printed off a coupon for me a few weeks ago that was good for $3 off any Physicians Formula product!  Here is how this deal worked for me:

$9.99 Physicians Formula CC Curl Mascara
$9.99 Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Mascara
-$3.00 ($3 off any $15 cosmetics purchase coupon from red machine)
-$3.00 ($3 off Physicians Formula coupon from red machine)
-$4.00 (2 $2 off Physicians Formula peelie coupons found at Bed, Bath and Beyond)
-$6.00 (Extra Bucks for buying 2 Physicians Formula products)
-$1.99 (10% back for Beauty Club membership - 10% is always taken BEFORE coupons)
$1.98 for both mascaras!

That is all! Like I said, I wasn't that big of a shopper this week. I did save a lot with this small haul, though. I paid $5.96 for $27.94 worth of cosmetics! I hope this post helped some of you find some great deals on cosmetics!

Review: Stila Color Me Pretty Lip and Cheek Palette

It's no secret that my favorite high end highlighter is from Stila cosmetics. It's called "Kitten" and it's a duo shade compact with 2 highlight shades. I love it so much. So, when I spotted this Color Me Pretty Lip and Cheek Palette from Stila, it looked beautiful. But then, I noticed that it had a shade that was also called "Kitten". Just like my HG powder highlighter, only this is a cream formulation. So, basically all I'm saying, is that I had to get it.

 

This palette has a tin housing that holds 5 different cream shades that can be used for blush or lip colors. The instructions say that for blush, tap it onto cheeks, and for lips, press it on. The 5 shades are:

Kitten: A highy pigmented shimmery champagne

Peony: A dusty rose shade

Gerbera: A sweet rosy pink shade

Rose: A deep mauve shade, &

Petunia: A bright, coral pink.

 

 

All 5 shades have a somewhat dewy finish. Some more than others. And all of them are very pigmented. Peony, Gerbera, and Rose all have a staining effect on my skin and stick around a very long time. Overall this palette is a phenomenal value, and can be purchased at Ulta.com or at a discounted rate right now at beauty.com! It retails for $28 but is $12.60 at beauty.com. For $12.60, this really cannot be beat if you are into cream products. This palette is versatile, and can be used for a variety of different looks on your face as well as lips! I love the formulation and the pigmentation as well.  

My only complaint is that the packaging feels pretty cheap. The tin is somewhat flimsy, but the real problem is the part where the pans are housed. The black part inside is super flimsy and whenever you press your finger into a shade it goes down, and I feel like it's going to break. So, for this reason, I'm giving it 4/5 winks!

Now, I'm sure you are all wondering how the "kitten" shade in this palette compares to the All Over Shimmer Duo. I've done a detailed picture graph below, but as you can see the darker shade from the All Over Shimmer Duo in "kitten" is the exact same shade that is in this palette! The only thing that I can tell as far as when it's swatched, is that the cream formulation from this palette is very shiny/dewy as opposed to the pressed powder found in the All Over Shimmer Duo. I love both equally and I'm so happy with this purchase! 

Review: New York Color IndividualEyes Palette 938 Union Square

Today's review is on a drugstore eye shadow palette that is super budget-friendly, and has everything you need.  The New York Color IndividualEyes Palette in "Union Square" contains 4 eye shadow colors, a primer, and an illuminator.

The eye shadow shades are...

Highlighter: A pale matte yellow
All Over Lid: A matte medium brown
Crease/Contour: A satin finish medium brown
Crease/Contour: A matte plum

Then, there are two creams in this palette...

Primer: A light flesh tone shade that is used for a base under the shadows
Illuminator: A shimmery white shade for use in the inner corner or under browbone

This palette retails for $4.99 and can be found at numerous drugstores. I think this is a bargain for what you get, and the shades are very nicely pigmented and feel smooth. I love how it comes with the primer and the illuminator, and I think this would be a great product to travel with since it has everything you need for an eye look, and the compact is very sturdy.

Overall I don't have many horrible things to say about this palette. It's a great value, and the shades are pretty and pigmented enough for drugstore eye shadows. They last a good while and the cream products are great! This gets a 5/5!

5/5 Winks!

Friday Haul: Revlon, Ponds, NYX and more!

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week so far. Today, I'm going to tell you about my shopping trips to CVS, Ulta and Target! I love these posts that save you (and me) tons of money, so lets get started!

At CVS right now, if you buy $10 in Revlon cosmetics, you get $4 back in extra bucks! If you printed off more of the $2 off coupons before they were gone, you can score a great deal on ShadowLinks! I am getting quite the collection of these, so let me know if you want swatches of the ones I have!


$7.99 Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara
$3.19 x 2  Revlon ShadowLinks in "Gunmetal" & "Onyx"
-$6.00 (3 $2 off  Revlon eye coupons from here - no longer available) 
-$2.00 ($2 off any $10 Revlon cosmetics coupon from my receipt a few weeks ago) 
-$4.00 (Extra Bucks for spending $10 in Revlon products)  
-$1.43 (10% back for Beauty Club membership - 10% is always taken BEFORE coupons)  
-$0.93 for all 3 products!

Also at CVS. Milani Cosmetics are buy 1 get 1 50% off. Milani is very rarely on sale, and I've never seen a coupon for their cosmetics, until one printed for me at the red machine a few weeks ago! I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use this coupon, and this sale was it. So, here is what I got...

$6.49 x 2 Milani Brow and Eye Highlighters
-$3.24 (buy 1 get 1 50% off sale)
-$3.00 (Coupon from red machine)
-$0.97 (10% back for Beauty Club membership - 10% is always taken BEFORE coupons)
$5.76 -- I can't tell you how excited I am to try these!

Now, lets head over to Ulta, where if you were lucky (or, if you are just obsessed with shopping there like me), you got an email to go in and get a free Big Sexy Hair hairspray with any purchase! So, I went down there and noticed that they have Revlon on sale, buy 2 get the 3rd free. This sale makes for free ShadowLinks when using that awesome $2 off coupon that was available last week! So, here is what I got...

$5.99 NYX Dark Circle Concealer
$2.99 x 3 Revlon ShadowLinks in "Melon", "Lemon" & "Cobalt"
$7.00 Big Sexy Hair Get Layered hairspray
-$7.00 (Free hairspray from email)
-$1.19 (20% off 1 item coupon from here)
-$2.99 (buy 2 get the 3rd free Revlon sale)
-$6.00 (3 $2 off  Revlon eye coupons from here - no longer available)
 $4.79 for 5 products!

At Target this week they have a gift card deal where if you buy 3 specific skincare items you get a $5 gift card. Ponds facial wipes, and Simple facial wipes are included in this deal. I'm constantly going through these, so when I got wind of this I was all over it. Here is how the deal worked for me..

$3.79 Ponds Facial Wipes
$3.79 x 2 Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes
-$4.00 (2 $2.00 off coupons for Simple from here)
-$1.00 (Coupon for Ponds from here)
-$1.00 (Target coupon for Ponds from here)
-$5.00 (Gift Card for next purchase)
$0.37 for all 3 wipes! That's like getting each one for only $0.12!

That's all this week! Had I not used any coupons or gotten anything on sale at all I would have paid $63.87 for all these items! But, by shopping sales and using coupons, I paid $11.85! What were you able to score this week?

What's New: Butter London Wink Cream Eye Shadow in “Treacle”

Today I wanted to review a product that I got for free with a purchase at beauty.com. I honestly would have never giving this a second glance had I not gotten an email from beauty.com to get this full size product for free with any $10 purchase. So, I took the plunge. I mean, with free shipping (shop runner) I couldn't go wrong, right? So, I put a Zpalette in my cart, and checked out.

This Butter London Wink Cream Eye Shadow in “Treacle” retails for $18, and you can find it at beauty.com and Utla stores. It comes in a tube that resembles a lip gloss, and the application wand has a doe foot tip for controlled and easy application, just like lip gloss as well.

The formula of this eye shadow is a very thin cream texture. It isn't thick and it sheers out well, leaving a thin layer of extreme, opaque pigment. Once applied, it feels a bit tacky for about 20-30 seconds, but once it dries, it stays put ALL day long! Literally, I think if I slept in this eye shadow, it would still look flawless in the morning when I woke up!

I'm a huge fan of this color, as well. It is a shimmery, golden champagne shade that flatters every skin tone. The line includes 12 different shades, and I'm thinking about picking another 1 (or 3) up! They are sturdy, long-wearing eye shadows, and I'm in love! 

The only thing that I find to be bothersome is the fact that it takes a while to dry for me. I wish it would set a bit faster, and while it's tacky, you can't really move your eyelids around, or it will crease. For this reason, I'm giving it a 4.5 out of 5...

4.5/5 Winks!

Ipsy: May 2014

Have you heard of Ipsy? It's a beauty subscription that costs $10/month and they send you 4-5 products inside of a cute little makeup bag. I've been subscribed to them for a year now, and I always get my moneys worth, with some of my bags valuing at over $50! Plus, it gives me a chance to try things that I normally wouldn't try. I love it! Here is what I got in this month's bag:

First, the bag! OMG I love it! It's a cute natural canvas style bag with a cute leaf pattern on the front and a zip top closure. I honestly think this is my favorite bag so far!

eva-nyc Therapy Session Hair Mask: This is a full size product in this months bag and it retails for $12! I'm always in need of a good deep conditioner.

Hang Ten Classic Sport Natural Sunscreen SPF50: Ipsy is helping me gear up for summer with this product! I can never have enough sunscreen in my life. All 5 people in my family are ghosts, so we go though this stuff fast! This is s deluxe sized sample with 1 oz. of product. The full size is 6 oz. and retails for $12.99

Pacifica Mineral Eye Shadow Duo: I love the idea of this eco-friendly brand. These eye shadows as of right now are an Ipsy exclusive product!

derma|e Microdermabrasion Scrub: Another eco-friendly product! This smells amazing and I exfoliate my face 2x a week, so I go through scrubs fast. This product is 1 oz. which is exactly 1/2 of what the full size is at 2 oz. The full size has a retail of $32.50 so my products value is $16.25!

Olive Natural Beauty Olive Lips Lip Balm: This is another eco-friendsly brand this month, and another full-size product that retails for $5.95. This lip balm smells really good and I love natural products, so win win!

So, the value of this bag minus the eye shadow, since I have no idea how much to value an exclusive item, is $47.19! So I'd say well over a $50 value for the whole bag!