May Monthly Favorites

This is a rather ridiculous grouping of montly favorites.  I, oddly enough, included some food items....which I haven't done before.  I'll explain why in just a few moments.

In the top photo were the things I gathered first and then realized I left out a single make up product and the food items I wanted to include.  

I am still loving my jojoba oil.  My husband likes to tease me and say that I am slathering hobo oil on my skin.  When I'm finished washing and toning my face, I dip a q-tip into the bottle and then swipe it all over my face.  After I've distributed it with the q-tip, I massage it in with my hands.  This has been my moisturizer.  I've liked it so much that I completely stopped using my Simple moisturizer that I have sworn by for so long.  I gave my mother in law some of the oil in a sample container, too, because I am so convinced of its amazingness. 

While I have been rotating between a lot of perfumes this past month, I think I've worn Vera Wang Princess the most.  When I'm not entirely certain what to put on, I end up grabbing Princess.  It is just so easy to wear any time of day and it is inoffensive. 

Now that it is warmer, I've been spending much more time outdoors.  Because of that, I've been more diligent about my sunscreen.  I've gone back to using the Neutrogena Dry-Touch sunblock.  I not only use it on my face, but I will slather it on any exposed areas of skin.  I even use it on my little one. 

My mascaras are nothing new.  I'm still using and loving the Cover Girl Clump Crusher mascara for my top lashes and Maybelline Lash Discovery for the bottom lashes.

On my eyes, I've been wearing a lot of pinky or rose gold colors.  My main go-to is a combo of a Color Tattoo and a shadow.  I start by applying the Color Tattoo in Inked In Pink (which is just as awesome all on its own) and then applying the pinkish color in the Maybelline Eyestudio quad. They are an absolutely perfect match.  And, it looks phenomenal on blue eyes.

A lot of people weren't fond of the Maybelline Dream Bouncy blushes.  I actually really like them, though.  With the right brush, they go on bright and can definitely be seen.  (side note: the awesome brush I've been using is a synthetic pointed foundation brush by Sonia Kashuk).  The particular color I have been reaching for is Pink Frosting.  It gives the perfect flirty blush to the cheeks.

Now, this is where things get weird.  I have 3 food products here and a make up item.  However, only 2 are actually being shown for food purposes.  Okay, so the coconut oil has been in my favorites before.  Not this particular brand....  But, coconut oil, in general, is amazing.  My mother in law gave me this one.  However, no matter the brand...  I love coconut oil for removing my makeup, for shaving, for moisturizing my body, and keeping my nails healthy.  I use it every single day.  I'm convinced it has made a huge difference in the health of my nails.

The shadow sitting there is Ulta brand and in the color Milk Chocolate.  I have had this shadow for a while, but I haven't really messed with it for a long time.  I pulled it out recently and discovered I really like it for lightly filling in my brows.  With a light hand, it is perfect!

Now, onto the strange food items.  I have been really enjoying these two items.  The first is a Hidden Valley spread in the flavor Spicy Chipotle Pepper.  I replaced mayo with this on my sandwiches.  The tiniest bit goes a long way and adds a HUGE burst of flavor to an otherwise dull sandwich.  And, it is very low in calories.  Bonus!  

The last item is a little fruit pack.  I know I can easily get the fruit and chop it up myself, but the convenience of these makes them so nice!  I can just grab and go, and still easily track my calories.   There are several to pick from at my grocery.  They have the plain apples, apples with grapes, apples with caramel, citrus fruit, etc.  I just find them handy and the price isn't bad either.  I always see one of the selections on manager mark down, so those are the ones I tend to grab. 

Well, that is the end of my rather strange grouping of montly favorites.  I really love to know what others have been using and liking, so let me know what is in your list of favorites for May!

March 2013 Favorites

Wow!  I haven't done one of these for quite a while, now have I?  It has been something like four months, I think. Ah well.  Anyway, I decided to round up some of the items that I have given quite a bit of love to this past month.

A general listing of items is as follows:

• Coconut oil
• CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara
• Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Nude Delight
• CoverGirl foundation in 805 Ivory
• Milani blush in Luminoso
• Thierry Mugler Alien EDT
• Physicians Formula quad in Classic Nudes
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze
• Maybelline Lash Discovery mascara
• Ulta Automatic liner in Teal Blue
• Wet n Wild palette in Vanity

Something that I forgot to grab for the photograph is

• Essie Van D'Go nail polish

As for the coconut oil, I have been using it for quite a while now and keep buying new jars when I run out.  I have done a post on shaving with coconut oil, and I'm still doing that.  It works better than any other soaps or shave cream I've ever used.  I've also been using it to remove my makeup at the end of the day.  It breaks everything down with extreme ease and is natural.  Win-Win!  Most recently, though, I've been using it in the evening as an intensive eye cream.  I use the tiniest amount on and around my eyes.  Also, I tried using it in a bath one evening.  It feels amazing and once out of the tub, it is still on the body.  It soaks in and you will have the softest skin since infancy!   I have to warn, though, that you shouldn't dunk your hair into the water and not wash it afterwards.  I had showered before taking my bath and didn't bother to avoid getting my hair in the bath water.  When my hair dried, I looked like I hadn't showered in months, it was so filled with coconut oil.  I will admit, I left it.  I wasn't leaving the house, just staying in doing house cleaning.  So, I left it in for 24 hours and washed it out the next night.  Consider it a deep conditioning...HA!  The feel drove me nuts, though, so I did keep it in a bun.

As for my perfume of choice...  I have done a review on my blog about the EDP and said that I wasn't the biggest fan of it.  It isn't that I hate it, but it is quite strong.  Well, the EDT has a very, very similar smell and at first I felt the same way.  However, over the winter I've been using them both and have actually come to really enjoy them.  I've been wearing the ETD the most through March, though. 

The rest of my makeup isn't anything too fancy.  I've been very neutral with my eyes and lips...even cheeks.    However, because of this, I did decide to squeeze in some pretty teal liner several days.  With it having been slipping into spring, I figured I was safe to do a small burst of color.  It is quite lovely on blue eyes.

So, that is it.   My selection of products for the month of March. 

Maybelline Color Tattoo-Inked In Pink

I have had this product for a little while, but I wanted to wear it a couple of times before I gave my thoughts.  This is a new Maybelline Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow in the color Inked In Pink.  It is part of their new Metals Collection.  I only picked up two from this collection.  I purchased Inked In Pink and Barely Branded. (My thoughts on Barely Branded can be found: HERE!)  It would seem that these are the two that received the most attention.   This is probably because they are the most wearable in the group.

I really enjoy the Color Tattoos.  I tend to avoid the bright colors and stick with the more tame, wearable ones.  This is just my personal preference of colors I wear most often.   I find these to be long wearing and highly crease resistant.  I say it that way because some days I have absolutely no creasing, and then on other days I will notice some slight creasing after several hours.  It just depends on my skin and the weather that day, really.  As a note, I do have oily skin and lids.   If I wear a primer, I have absolutely no creasing what so ever.   These don't crease nearly as bad as a lot of other creme products that can be found (drugstore or otherwise).  They go on smooth and blend nicely, but after a couple of moments they set up and adhere to the skin.

I love that I can lightly dab these on and get a light wash or go back in with a second layer and really build up the color.   When I go in a second time, I don't find that it goes on patchy or creates balling of the product.  It still goes on smooth. 

I like to use my fingers to apply these.  I have tried brushes, but I just find that the warmth and texture of skin vs bristles applies a more smooth, uniform layer. I start by just dabbing it into place and then swipe (gently) to smooth it over.  

This particular color brightens the face nicely.  It is pink, but it has a sort of pink champagne or rose gold quality to it.   It gives color to the face but can be done up or worn minimally.  I find it looks fantastic when simply worn with a bit of mascara, blush, and a light gloss/lipstick.   It is a no fuss kind of color. 

If you are someone who likes to set a powder over all of the Color Tattoos, a good pairing is the L'Oreal Infallible shadow in Amber Rush.  It isn't identical, but it pairs lovely.  At times I also just set with a translucent setting powder, that works fine as well.  

Maybelline Color Tattoo-Barely Branded vs Barely Beige

I recently stumbled across the new Maybelline Color Tattoo collection while in a Meijer store.  I decided to go ahead and pick up the two colors that had caught my attention because I know so many others haven't been able to track these down in their area (yet). I didn't want to come back later only to find them sold out. I only really wanted two: Inked In Pink and Barely Branded.   

Because Barely Branded has been suspected to be a dupe for Barely Beige (from their fall collection launch), I wanted to pick it up to compare for myself.  I already have Barely Beige plus a back up, however, curiosity  got the best of me.   I will be posting up a review/my thoughts on Inked In Pink soon, but for now, this is just to compare and discuss Barely Branded

Here, you can see Barely Branded and Barely Beige in their pots, side by side.  It is a bit difficult to tell here, but Barely Branded is slightly more golden champagne in color and Barely Beige is more golden-nude pink. 

Here they are again, but with the lid off so you can see directly in to the product.  You can see I have been using my Barely Beige.  When I took this photo I hadn't used Barely Branded yet (but have since). 

They are extremely close in color, and I don't have a preference between the two.  I enjoy them both.  When I put them on my skin, it is extremely difficult to tell a difference.  The subtle difference (one being warmer and the other being cooler) doesn't show up very strong on the lids.  It just looks like a frosted, nude-champagne kind of color.  

However, I did notice a slight difference in the consistency.  I can remember thinking that Barely Beige was super creamy and smooth when I first got it, and in comparison to some of the original Color Tattoos that were released in the first batch.  I still think it is creamy and smooth.  But, now that I have Barely Branded, I can safely say it is even more creamy than Barely Beige!  It is the best of all of the ones I have tried.   It is easy to apply, blends on well, doesn't skip or create a patchy look on the lids, yet sets up nicely and holds up all day.    It was a dream to work with.

The differences were more noticeable on this swatch while in person.  But, even in person it was extremely close.  

If you don't already own Barely Beige, I think Barely Branded is an excellent one to pick up.  I don't feel as though you'd be missing out in the least.  If you already have Barely Beige, I don't think it is entirely necessary to run out and buy Barely Branded.  That is, of course, unless you are like me and curiosity is encouraging the buy (which I totally understand!).  

My understanding is that, while Barely Beige was limited edition, Barely Branded will become a part of the permanent, core collection. This is good news for all of us who have wanted a good quality, affordable option for cream shadow/eyeshadow base!

It would seem that a lot of places are selling these for between $6-$7 (and some change).  I found mine at Meijer for $5.99.  Since that was the cheapest I had heard of, and the only place, at this point, that I had seen them, I went ahead and bought it.  These should start showing up in some BOGO 1/2 off sales, though, so you can likely get it for cheaper.