Drugstore Beauty HAUL!!

So excited to do my first haul (if 11 items count as a haul…tonight, I say they do)! Now, I wouldn't normally be doing something like this so close to Christmas, however last Friday I had an extra discount because I work at this particular drugstore. So I mean, come on…gotta take advantage of THAT ;)

I haven't been using these products long enough to give a good review on them, so for now I'll just tell you what I got/first impressions. I plan on reviewing some of these in detail later. 

1) Eucerin Intensive Repair Very Dry Skin Lotion

My dad seems to love Eucerin lotion so I thought I'd give this a try - my hands have been horrible dry since I started working, and I desperately needed something. So, I ignored all the pretty bottles of yummy smelling lotion and went with this serious stuff. I'm not incredibly impressed so far. Now, I'm someone who usually HATES putting lotion on her hands, however I had been using a small container of lemon-scented lotion that my mom picked up from a hotel and I loved using that stuff. Eucerin is just ok to me so far. It takes a long time to rub the lotion in fully and even when it does soak in, my hands still have a greasy feeling to them that takes a few minutes to go away. My dryness seems to be a little better, but not drastically. I'll definitely use this bottle up, but we'll see if I actually start experiencing results…

2) eos Shaving Cream in Vanilla Bliss

I had looked seen this on pinterest before and wanted to try it, and I was so surprised to see my little drugstore carried it! I immediately snatched the bottle, knowing ahead of time it didn't contain parabens…but I failed to read the rest of the ingredients. I got home and found out it contains petrolatum. I decided to go ahead and keep it (if it had been lip balm or lotion, ect., I wouldn't have), but after one use I wish I hadn't. Not to be gross, but my legs are dry and a little scaly looking in some areas. This stuff does nothing to moisturize. …To be honest I'm glad :P Now I don't feel as sad never buying this product again, despite the cute packaging and the fact that the pump looks like the head of a Star Wars droid… 

3) Physician's Formula Organic Wear Mascara

I heard good reviews on this mascara from one of my favorite youtubers, and since it contains no parabens, no harsh chemicals, no GMO's, no synthetic colors, no synthetic fragrances, no synthetic preservatives, and is cruelty free (phew!), I thought I'd try it. I also got an awesome deal - this brand is very expensive, but I got two for the price of one! To be honest, I'm not sure of this stuff yet. Reviews to come.

4) Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palette in Petal Pusher

Detailed review to come later, however I can tell you right now I won't be purchasing because these eyeshadows contain parabens (as you can see, and will continue to see, I was exhausted and shopping late at night after work. My head wasn't in the game…)

5) Wet n Wild Idol Eyes Creme Eyeshadow Pencil (seen between eos and mascara)

I cannot wait to try this out! It just…looks like fun ;) And it has good reviews online. I bought this in color Pixie - it's a very light taupe with a hint of gold in it. So gorgeous!

6) NYC Individual Eyes Eyeshadow Palette

This eyeshadow palette in Smokey Brown was created specifically for brown eyes. I've used it once and love the colors, but I'll have to give a better review later. I bought this mainly because I thought the fact that it came with a primer and highlighter was cool, but I'm disappointed in the highlighter - it's mainly sparkles. 

7) Wet n Wild Pressed Powder in number 815

You may have read my ravings about the Wet n Wild Coverall Foundation (here), so I thought I'd pick up the pressed powder to go with it. I've only ever used loose powder before, and I have to say, I think I'm a fan of pressed - as least this one. It goes on lightly and when over foundation, it doesn't really highlight dry spots like powder foundation does (if you apply it directly to skin after using moisturizer, I've found it does bring out those dry spots more). It provides a very minimum amount of extra coverage.

8) Softlips Intense Moisture in Berry Mint

First application - holy moley that menthol burns. After a little bit…THIS IS THE BEST STUFF EVER! One day later - what was I thinking?! I wish I could return these. I got them as a deal - two for the price of one, $2.99 - and first of all, I forgot to look at the ingredients AGAIN. Petrolatum, right there smack dab in front of my eyes. Not to mention a bunch of other stuff that you should avoid in lip balms. This stuff provides moisture for a few minutes but the end result literally dries out your lips. I've gone back to using just my tinted lip balm from NYC because it's ten times more moisturizing than this stuff. My poor lips feel like they've been beaten. If anyone has any suggestions for lip balm that actually works, please share!

9) NAILS - Broadway Real Life French Manicure Fake Nails in Petites and Sinful Colors Professional nail polish in Ruby Ruby

Lots of people have been coming into the store lately with fake nails and…they just look so pretty. I haven't worn fake nails in nearly two years and decided I'd pick up another box. I also wanted a real red nail polish (literally my first!) for the holiday season and this was the truest red in this brand. Painting my nails tonight with it, hopefully the results are good :)

10) Leggs Opaque Tights

I still haven't tried this on to see if they come close to fitting my short frame :P I'd just been seeing so many fashion pictures on pinterest of these cute outfits with dresses and skirts paired with black tights and had to pick up a pair! We'll see if I can pull these off ;) 

So there we are! 11 items…I feel like I'm missing one to be honest, so if it pops up I'll include it later :P  

Do you have a favorite drugstore product?

Product Review: Wet n Wild ColorIcon Blush

(Read my first impressions on this blush)

Wet n Wild ColorIcon Blush

I bought this blush in the color Mellow Wine for $3.99, I believe (plus a discount), along with Wet n Wild Coverall Cream Foundation (read the review here). After a few weeks, this is my opinion:

Overall, the color is beautiful. On the pad it looks rather dark, but if you apply a light amount, it's actually a very soft pink that adds a natural glow to my features. (FYI, it looks like sparkles are in the blush when you look at the pad, but I haven't noticed any rub off onto my face). 

I tried using my L.A. blush brush for application but soon switched to my e.l.f Total Face Brush (it came with it's own applicator brush, but we all know those things are blech). This blush is SUPER pigmented, and I found the smaller brush made it harder to evenly distribute. Speaking of which, I'd say this is the only con for the product. If you don't mind some extra blending, then you won't have a problem. Personally, I find that annoying; maybe I'm just lazy, but I prefer to get a good amount of blush on my brush and it apply it quickly and evenly without having to worry about looking like a clown. However, if I get too much on my face (which has pretty much happened every morning), I just take my fingers and swirl it upwards along my cheekbones and it evens out. I recommend LIGHTLY sweeping your brush over the blush and then knocking some off on the side of the container. 

In addition, the color doesn't stay throughout the day. It never completely fades, but I definitely notice the pink is barely there by the mid-afternoon/early evening. 

**It's a great blush if you don't mind extra step of blending :) **

Would I recommend to a friend? Yes

Would I buy again? Excluding the fact that this blush will last me 10 years since I don't have to use much, I'm really not sure if I will. The fact that it contains no parabens or fragrance is a plus, the shade is beautiful and I'm curious about the other colors, but the application can be annoying to me personally.

Rating: For the $, 3.5 out of 5

Product Review: Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick

After doing some research, I figured the Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick was a 50-50 chance. However, they were cheap ($1.99 each), and so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

Boy, do I wish I hadn't.

I bought 2 colors. One in number 903C "Just Peachy" and the other in 910D "Red Velvet."

But first, the kinda goods:

I grabbed the Just Peachy because I was looking for a good pinkish-nude color and thought this looked perfect; nope. Now, I will say the color of this one gorgeous, however it's not at all nude like it might appear. It is CORAL with a tint of peach. A perfect summer color, just not what I was looking for.

I've never been one for dark shades…well, let me rephrase that. I've never been able to pull them off ;) However, I thought I'd give a red a try and see what happened. Red Velvet is a very pretty color, bit of a brighter red with a strong pink undertone…it's really almost a deep, bright pink. Perfect for a fun, vintage look if you prefer such a thing.

However, the bad stuff…

I just…I'm sorry. I've tried a couple of other Wet n Wild products and plan to try more, but these were a total bust. I don't know what makes me different from the good reviews out there, but these just don't work for me.
First of all, I read the color lasts up to 6 hours. Okay, the red does stain (the lipsticks are a matte finish, fyi) but the true color doesn't last. As far as the Just Peachy…I wore it to work one day and an hour later I checked in the mirror to see how the stuff was lasting and the color had clumped in a line in the middle of my lips. Embarrassing. The other day I tried the red again and the color would NOT spread evenly over my lips (not to mention the stuff smudges like crazy, gotta be extra careful it doesn't leave your lip line).

I apologize for not getting pictures of the colors in RL, but I couldn't get pictures that conveyed their true color well enough. Plus, if this is a bad review, are they really necessary? ;)

However, if you put swatches of the stuff on your arms (which I did when trying to take photos for you) they'll last for up to 2 days and counting *cough*

Overall, though the colors are beautiful, it isn't worth the hassle and constant-checking-up-on, even for the low price.

Recommend to a friend? Nope.
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars.

Product Review: Wet 'n Wild Coverall Cream Foundation

A little while ago I gave you my first impressions on the wet 'n wild Coverall Creme Foundation. I think I've given it sufficient time and am ready to give you my overall thoughts on this foundation.

(I laugh when looking at this picture because I know my photographer-best-friend is going to be cringing at it's masterfulness ;D What can I say, I have no talent, but I try, and so that counts for something.)

I had mentioned in the previous post that the foundation smells a little odd. I have to say I don't even notice the smell anymore and it doesn't bug me, so if that made you skeptical I would say don't worry about it. If it doesn't bother ME, who is very sensitive to any sort of fragrance, it probably won't bother you. ;)

PROS:

This is now my favorite foundation I've ever tried! I can't believe this stuff is so cheap, it works that great. I bought this foundation in number 815 FAIR, and it matches my skin tone perfectly. I love the creamy application of the foundation, however it dries to a matte finish instead of dewy (which is fine by me).

The foundation is best for dry/combination skin, I'm guessing. It fades only slightly throughout the day, however never collects in a certain area. As someone who struggles with dry skin, whenever I check in the mirror to make sure everything is staying put,  my dry spots aren't at all "enhanced" (something my previous foundations never did for me).

*This foundation also contains no parabens or fragrance*

CONS:

The packaging. This is probably why this product is so cheap. While the packaging isn't terrible, and I like the fact that it isn't an open glass bottle that would allow more bacteria to enter, I did have a bit of a problem with it exploding the other day. I guess some pressure got built up inside of it and the foundation was just overflowing without me squeezing the container; I ended up putting the excess in a plastic bag so I didn't waste any =P It hasn't done this again, and so I'm not going to let that keep me from repurchasing it.

The coverage isn't quite what I'd want it to be, however it's better than anything else I've used (I keep saying that…). The product says on the packaging "medium to full coverage." It's a little buildable, but it doesn't seem to completely cover dark spots that I have or extra red acne-prone areas (just so you know, I also don't use concealer at the moment). If you have really inflamed acne or extra dark scars, you'll want to use something in addition to this. I'm still pretty content using this coverage, though.

In conclusion, I can't tell you how happy I am to have found this foundation. When I get some "extra" money to spend on lots of makeup, I'll probably try another foundation, but for now I'm sticking with this.

Recommend to a friend? Absolutely
Rating: For the $, 4 out of 5.