Coastal Scents Creative Me #1

I've been seeing quite a few beauty vloggers & bloggers RAVING about this palette as well as Coastal Scents Hot Pots which they compare to MAC shadows. Hmm. Well, I must be the one & only person who thinks the opposite. I ordered mine from Amazon for $20.50 and it came the next day. Now I know that a lot of matte shadows are harder to work with and some do tend to be on the chalkier side but these are like nothing I've ever used before. 

 The colors look so bright and vivid in the pan! I was like a child on Christmas morning when I opened this up! Sadly, that's where my excitement ended.

 I had to swipe my finger across the shadow a minimum of 8-10 times just to get a bit of color to swatch. The colors were so chalky and applied insanely patchy. Here's the first row of colors. You can really see with the yellows how patchy the colors went on.

 The second row was just as bad. The third purple I had to swatch over and over again to get color to show up and it's still very faint. The 1st and 4th color in this row are the 2 colors that I can work with somewhat. Some do look bright in these swatches but the massive amount of product I had to pack on to get to that just makes it too much work.

 The 3rd row would have to be the worst out of the palette, some of the pinks/purple can be worked with but these were just not going to happen.  I had to repeatedly apply color and when I would swipe the color on my hand it would disappear and fade out.  You can see how faint the colors went on and I really packed these babies on!

I am so disappointed in this product, I really thought from all the reviews that this would soon be my go-to bright colored palette but I honestly can't see myself ever using this.  I had an online cart full of the Hot Pots to purchase but I just don't see that happening any more.  

Have any of you beauties tried this palette or any others from Coastal Scents?

Until next time,

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Influenster Summer Beauty VoxBox

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Influenster! I think it is such an amazing program! A few months ago I received a VoxBox and discovered some really awesome brands/products I would've never tried! For those of you not familiar with Influenster, it is a free program that you sign up for and if you're chosen, they send you a box of goodies to try out for free! I loved this VoxBox! A few of the items I received are products I've had my eye on for a while :) 

First up, Quaker Banana Nut Bread Soft Baked Bars. I literally grabbed this out of my box and shoved it in my mouth...and then I remembered I wanted to take pics for my blog...fail. Well, this turned out to be such a delicious treat that I went out that same day to buy a box! I purchased another flavor as well. I stick them in the microwave & have been enjoying them in the morning. They have 6g of protein, high in fiber & low in sugar! Winning! These retail for $3.29 a box

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color in Ionic Indigo.  I wasn't too excited about this color, I'm more of a pink & purple girl.  This retails for $9.99 which I do think is pretty expensive for a drug store nail polish.  I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, I will update when I do.  

 Tampax & Always Radiant Collection.  I was surprised when I saw this in my box, since Influenster is a program where you are supposed to use social media to talk about the products, I thought that was strange because some people may not be comfortable blogging or talking about feminine care products. I personally don't mind but I'm pretty set in the products I use.  The bag it came with is adorable! I will definitely be using it.

 Inside are "womanly" goodies.

 Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion with SPF 30.  I kept seeing this in the store and really wanted to get it but I just have so much lotion, I couldn't justify it.  I really like this because of the SPF, it comes in SPF 12, 30 & 50.  I'd probably pick up the 50 when I buy the full size. The scent is super tropical and the formula is very moisturizing. This retails for $8.99 for a 6oz bottle. I will be re-purchasing.

Sally Hansen Nails & Cuticles Hand Creme was one of the products (along with the Tampax/Always bag) I pushed to the side at first.  I remembered seeing this product in my local Big Lots one day and trying it out in the store.  When I got around to testing this out the other day, I felt it really didn't wow me.  Just a basic hand moisturizer.  I didn't really notice too much difference with my icky cuticles.  This retails for $5.99, I won't be repurchasing.

 2nd most exciting item for me! Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Therapy. I've seen the commercial with Heidi Klum advertising this about a bazillion times so I've really wanted to try this.  I am going on a mini vacation in a bit so I will be taking these with me for the trip! I did open them and smell them and they smelt very clean, not too "perfumey" which is great. I will update when I try them out :)

Sign up with Influenster by clicking here.

Until next time,

*I received these products for free for testing purposes, these opinions are my own*

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Ruddy Water - Blushed Roller Ball & Pouch

One day when I was strolling around my feed on Twitter, I came across a tweet about Ruddy Water, the name was intriguing so I decided to follow and see what it was all about.  Turns out Ruddy Water was created by Elizabeth Noe because she was searching for fragrance towelettes but came up empty handed.  She did what any person does when they can't find an item, they create their own! ;) 

Her Blushed scent is described as: notes of bright red currant and rich vanilla, wrapped around subtle sweet lemon, slightly spicy ginger, and kissed with a hint of sugar. Ok, that seriously sounds like 5 of the worlds best scents smushed together for a yummy party! Well, it definitely is.  Upon smelling my first Blushed Pouch that I received in my Beauty Army box, I was in complete love.  I got chills smelling it, literally! It's one of the most comforting, sexy, sweet, delicious scents my nostrils have come into contact with.  My husband definitely agrees! "Okay okay, so the scent is amazing but what about the lasting power," you ask. Well, that my friends is just as fabulous! I put on the towelette on my wrists, neck, behind my ears & the inside of my elbow and throughout the day I was receiving compliments! When I came home that evening I could still smell it! 

I love the concept because when I travel I really dislike having to bring a glass perfume bottle with me, having your glass bottle burst in your suitcase all over your clothes is not a fun time. Not at all. I'm able to use 1 pouch for 2 days so the portability is fantastic!  A large glass bottle of perfume is one less item I have to worry about now! These little pouches fit anywhere. 

You can purchase a 24 pack of towelettes for $22.00 by going to her website here.

Next up is the same signature Blushed fragrance but in a rollerball.  Now I'm not usually a rollerball fan because sometimes I like to spray my clothes.  This little glass vial of wonderful has converted me! The packaging itself is beautiful, the glass bottle is hand etched! Seriously! I'm a sucker for packaging and that just blew me away. Each rollerball is hand filled upon each order! No stale perfume here, folks!  

 You can purchase your own Blushed Rollerball for $16.50 clicking here.  Also on the Ruddy Water site is the Blushed Blooming Mist which is next on my list.  I can only imagine how amazing my linens will smell after I get my hands on one! Mmmm :)

Check out Ruddy Water on Facebook & Twitter!

Until next time,
 

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$300 Summer Beauty Collab Giveaway!

Welcome to the first Summer Beauty Giveaway Event.

Each participating blog is offering a prize worth at least $25 all about beauty!

Make sure to hop around and enter all the giveaways listed. Have fun!


Be sure to enter the $300 grand prize hosted by Glamorousmama, Brunette Mafia,Mcubedmakeup, Ashleyelizabeth,  and Beauty101blog 

*Giveaway will start July 15th and will run till July 29th. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Beauty Army June Box

So by now, you all know I love me some Beauty Army, some months I have had to skip because I just wasn't in love with the products, but the months I do pick...WOW! I've gotten some amazing HUGE (a lot of the times full sized) samples! 

I honestly wasn't impressed with my June selections at all but I REALLY wanted to try the Ruddy Water Fragrance Towelette as well as the EyeCandy Coolers.  After 2 days, I decided to order.  

These are the 6 items I chose for my June box.  

EyeCandy Eye Coolers - 1 Full Sized Pack (WOOT WOOT!)

Youngblood Mineral Primer - .1 oz

Pssssst! Dry Shampoo - 1.76oz

Ruddy Water Blushed Fragrance Towelette - 1 Towelette

Atopalm Intensive Moisturizing Cream - .25oz

Besame Cosmetics Crimson Cream Rouge

My EyeCandy Coolers are ADORABLE! They look like little cucumbers and after a day of work like yesterday, they sure were nice to unwind and relax with! 

I haven't tried my Youngblood Primer yet, I see AMAZING reviews on it, but to me it seems like just another silicone based primer to me. They usually make my makeup slide off within a few hours.  I'm planning on trying it on a day off. Fingers crossed!

The Psssssst! Dry Shampoo is sooo awesome! I've tried them all when it comes to dry shampoos, lately I've been using the Suave Keratin Dry Shampoo, it smells good but leaves a funky residue. This Psssssst! one is everything a dry shampoo SHOULD be! Gives my hair extra volume, soaks up the greasies (ew) and doesn't live my scalp feeling coated with mess! I will definitely be purchasing some full sized ones!

Unfortunately, I haven't used my Ruddy Water Towelette yet...I really want to but I feel like I'm just going to be so sad after I use it up! My good friend Steph from StephsBeautyYT raved about it.  I'm going out for a girls night tonight, maybe I'll use it then. 

Atopalm was picked for my mom, she has very dry skin so I thought this would be great for her.  So as of now, I can't really comment on its effectiveness. 

Disaster Alert! So I don't know what came over me, but for some (blonde) reason I used this OVER my setting powder on my cheeks! What a mess! Thank goodness I wasn't going anywhere else.  I then tried it on my lips and it turned them a beautiful red...my lips didn't feel dried out at all either (SCORE!) I will use this with just liquid foundation next time I'm going out in the sun :)

So all in all, I'm not wow'd by this months selection, but I am excited to discover some new brands.  

You can sign up for your Beauty Army Kit by clicking here 

Pictures of samples are from the Beauty Army website.

This item was purchased by me, with my own money.

Until next time,

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Monthly sub service with ALL makeup! July Starlooks Starbox!

I think this is one of my favorite beauty subscriptions! Watch my video to see why!

You can sign up for your Starbox at http://www.starlooks.com

Please use my YouTube username as a referral if you sign up...."mcubedmakeup"

I'd love to hear from you if you sign up and what you think!

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