Weekend Tips and Tricks

Wow, May sure went by quickly didn't it? This week's tips and tricks will focus on nail polish, enjoy!

Tip #1: Need to remove polish on your toes but your mani looks perfect? Use a tampon instead of a cotton swab. The applicator will keep the acetone well away from your fabulous finger.

Tip #2: Those fancy scrapbooking scissors you have sitting in the closet make creative paint jobs a snap! Use them on tape to make interesting patterns, apply to nails, paint, then remove and voila! An easy yet fancy looking polish job.

Tip #3: Nail polish isn't just for your nails you know. Apply it to keys to help differentiate them at a glance or apply to bobby pins for a pop of color in your hairdo.

Tip #4: Mix some cornstarch into clear nail polish to give you a matte finish top coat without having to pay a fortune.

How Much Product Should You Use?

Do you ever have a product, like conditioner, that seems to run out waaay to fast? Chances are you're using too much of it, or not enough in the case of sunscreen.Hopefully this handy guide can help you out a bit. Now keep in mind these are averages, so you may need to adjust for your size and hair length.

Shampoo: for shoulder length hair you need about a strawberry sized dollop to completely cover your hair.

Conditioner: for shoulder length hair you only need two raspberry sized dollops. I was surprised by this, I always used waaaaaay to much I guess. Now I have long hair so I do two blackberry sized dollops and I use a wide tooth comb to make sure it's worked all the way through.

Hair Masks: depending on the mask, you will need between a ping pong ball and an egg, but again use a wide tooth comb to work it all the way through.

Sunscreen: if you are just doing your face you need a teaspoon, but if you are doing your whole body then a whole shotglass worth of sunscreen is needed. And of course always apply it at least ten minutes before you go outside so it has a chance to absorb in.

Face serum: you only need a dollop the size of a pea, which is good since serum can be very expensive.

Facial cleanser: you only need about the size of a grape, though this can vary depending on the cleanser of course.

Eye cream: a tiny amount, about the size of a pine nut, is all you need per eye.

Hope this little guide helps you save money by not over using the products. What are you using too much of?

Thursday Thoughts

It's that time of week again for the Thursday Thoughts link up with Jen of Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, I had such a good time doing it last week I thought I'd make it a weekly feature. That means my usual thursday post will be either on Wednesday or Friday, which would you guys prefer? I will be posting tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. So without further ado, here are my Thursday Thoughts.

-My laptop died, again, so I will be working from my tablet for the next week or so assuming Chromebook replaces it. Any other Chromebook users out there who have had nonstop trouble with theirs? If they replace this it will be laptop number 3 and charger number 4 since December, crazy right?
- Allergy season means I'm discovering which of my eyeliners/mascaras are smudgeproof, so far I'm the most impressed with my CK One mascara I got free for my birthday. It survived the pool, allergies, and a nap without making me look like a raccoon. I'll have to do a full review of it later.
- I must have missed the announcement, but all June Ipsy subscribers will receive a NYX butter gloss. All 3 of the color options are great, so I'm super excited for my June bag already. Hoping June is more makeup heavy than May, or will at least have more makeup I can use.
- Speaking of makeup, there have been a ton of super cute products released lately! I'm dying to go splurge on some new items but I set a no buy rule for May and June so I can save some money. Oh well, there's always Christmas time specials right?
- Father's day is coming up and I have no idea what to get my husband. Maybe a travel mug with pictures of him and our son? And some skin care stuff for sure, summer is rough on his pale skin.

What's in My Makeup Bag

So often we talk about what products we love but not what products we actually use, so I thought I'd take a moment to talk about what's in my makeup bag and why I chose it.

First, the bag. It's the January 2014 Ipsy bag, I actually traded to get this bag since I hadn't joined Ipsy yet. I love it, the silhouettes are super cute and it's a great size to hold all of my stuff. I'll probably swap it out next month if the June Ipsy bag is super awesome (currently the April bag holds my cords and the May bag holds my sunscreen in my purse), but right now I'm digging it.

The tools I keep in my bag are simple and cheap in case they get destroyed. There's a mirror compact I got from Sephora for free (my favorite price), an eyeshadow brush that's so old I'm embarrassed to even thing about it, and an E.L.F essentials angled blush brush I've had for years and years. I'll probably replace the brushes in the next year or so when I replace my everyday ones with nice new brushes. Then the old ones will go in my bag and these ancient brushes will be gifted to my spawn to play with.

I keep two different types of lip balm in my bag, the Malin+Goetz one I reviewed here and a cheap one I picked up at Kohl's because I'm a sucker for cherry lip balm in cute packaging. The cherry one is pink and shimmery so it gives my lips some nice color as well, which is a nice perk.

My eyeshadow is a quad palette of neutral colors from Wet and Wild, I picked this up at the Dollar Store for a buck and I love it. I like to keep neutral makeup in my bag so I don't have to worry about clashing with my outfit. The second color from the bottom is my favorite, a nice beige color that almost matches my eyelids. I use it as a base, then I put the top color along my crease. The second from the top makes a great highlighting color and the bottom I'll use from time to time when I want a little more oomph to my look.

The eyeliner is a black automatic pencil from Covergirl, I like it specifically because I don't have to sharpen it and it has a smudging sponge on the other end. The lasting power is decent enough and the price is low enough I'm not going to cry if I lose it.

The mascara and lipstick are the free birthday gift from Sephora. The lipstick isn't my favorite and I'm actually debating throwing it away. It smells....cheap, like the play makeup you'd get as a child. The color is fine, a nice neutral reddish color. But it just feels and smells cheap, and I know the brand (Make Up Forever) is not a cheap one at all so I'm perplexed. The mascara is nice, the brush is just HUGE so I tend to get it everywhere when I'm applying it.

I like the E.L.F. Shimmering Facial Whip because it's a multitasking machine. I use it for blush and highlights, but you can also use it for lip and eye color. It smells super good too, like lemonade. And it was a dollar, you can't beat that! I don't know what color I have, the sticker came off, but it's a pinkish shimmery color.

There's a Mary Kay lip gloss mini I'm trying to use up, but it sucks so I'm not going to spend any time talking about it. And the lotion is just a Neutrogena lotion I picked up from a hotel room, nothing special there. Lastly, a Pixi bronzer in the shade summertime. It's light enough I can add some color to my face or do a little light contouring on the go.

What's in your makeup bag? Do you change it up all the time or keep things the same year round?

Weekend Tips and Tricks

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, which means a 3 day weekend for most people. Amide all the BBQ's you'll be attending be sure to pause for a moment and reflect on the men and women who gave their life in the service of this country. I'll be making a trip Monday to visit my father's grave for a little while. Here are some tips and tricks to help your 3 day weekend run a little smoother.

-Holiday weekends mean BBQ's and long days outdoors so pick an outfit that can be easily layered for when the temperature finally drops in the evening. A light cardigan or jacket makes the perfect accessory to take you from warm days to cool nights.

-Sunscreen is a must for an all day outdoor event. Layer your sunscreen under your makeup, but make sure you give it time to soak in before you apply anything else. I like to put my sunscreen on then do my hair while I wait for it to dry and soak in. That way I get the maximum benefit in both sun protection AND time saving.

-Over do the sun? Invest in an aloe vera gel with some sort of numbing agent in it, like lidocain. I buy the big jugs of it at Rite Aid every other year and I store it in my fridge on days that I know we'll be outside all day. My husband is super pale and burns easily so I know I'll be needing it when we get home. Take an anti-inflammatory as well to help with the pain and swelling typically associated with a nasty sun burn.

-There is skin on the top of your head too, so either spray sunscreen there or invest in a nice sun hat. There is nothing more painful than a burned scalp, and peeling skin can make any dandruff you have ten times worst.

Thursday Thoughts

Greetings! This is a new feature I'm test running to see if I like it enough to make it a weekly feature, so please chime in with your thoughts down below in the comments. Ramblings of a Suburban Mom is one of the few blogs out there I read (go check her out, she does reviews of EVERY subscription program out there) on a daily basis and Jen does a weekly feature called Thursday Thoughts that I've been enjoying and I though you guys might enjoy as well. Basically it is a place for me to talk about what's been on my mind lately, maybe give you a peak into what my life is like and how I go about picking stuff for this blog. This will be the first link-up I've participated in so please excuse me if I make a mistake.

-I can't believe May is almost over, did this month go super quickly for anybody else? Between this blog, my actual job, and the family it is just go go go all the time here it seems.
-I'm working on getting adsense added to this blog, which is turning out to be harder than I thought it would be. Anyone out there have some pointers for me? And what kind of company doesn't have a "contact me" section, seriously? So frustrating.
-All of this nice weather is making me more adventurous in the makeup department I've noticed. Seeing some beautiful emerald eyeshadow in my future I think to go with some red lips. Anybody else stepping outside of their comfort zone?
-My son and I are doing a little veggie garden this year and for once it looks like I've managed to grow something and NOT kill it! Very excited to have some fresh tomatoes later this summer.
-I joined Instagram! Come and find me, I'm BestBeautyForMyBuck. I'll post FOTD (face of the day) posts, product review sneak peaks, and things I draw my inspiration from.

Product Review: ELF Studio Tinted Lip Balm

My technical problem has been fixed so back to our regularly scheduled (but late) programming, but keep your eye out for an extra post over the next few days to make up for the lateness.

Now that it's finally sunny here is rainy Oregon my beauty routine is switching up a bit. Gone are my dark plum lip glosses, say hello to some tinted lip balm with SPF already built in. During the giant haul of E.L.F. (EyesLipsFace Cosmetics) makeup I purchased back in March, I picked up 3 of their Studio line's Tinted Lip Balm in Clear, Rose, and Peach for $3 each. They have quickly become my favorite lip product from E.L.F. and I think you guys will like them too. Plus with the SPF 15 added in, you can look lovely AND avoid getting sun damaged lips.

First up is the clear, this is my day to day plain lip balm when I want a little bit of moisture. It doesn't really add any shine, which is fine, and as I said there is no color on this one. All of them have a slight mint flavor/scent and give my lips a slight tingling sensation (not to strong though, no burning here!). I like to use this when I'm putting around the house or doing a no makeup or basic makeup day.

Next is the rose one, which is my favorite out of the three. The color is gorgeous and works so well with almost any look I'm doing, though I like it best for when I'm doing soft eyes or a neutral face. I think the color is neutral enough that it would work on everybody.

Lastly is the peach one. This is a tricky color to really pull off, and I'm just finally starting to rock it now that the sunny weather is upon us. Since it's such a warm color, pale complexions might have trouble wearing it without it looking a bit clownish. But if you're darker and warm skinned then this is the summer color for you. Word of advise, make sure you exfoliate your lips before hand, this color will highlight every single crack and chunk of dry skin on your lips. This one comes across much more orange on my lips than it does in the swatch, which is a little weird I think. On my lips it is very close to how it looks in the tube.

All 3 of these are great, though the rose is probably my favorite out of them. Next time I place an order with ELF I'll pick up the other colors for sure. If you use these what is your favorite color?

Ipsy May 2014 Review

This post contains referral links.

It's that time of the month again and my glam bag has arrived! For those who don't know, Ipsy GlamBags is a monthly beauty box subscription program. For $10 a month (in the USA) you receive a makeup bag with 4-5 deluxe and full sized makeup and beauty products. Some are well known brands (Urban Decay, Benefit) while others are brands completely new to you (Cailyn, City Color), the fun is getting to try all these different products for such a great value!

This month's theme was Fresh Picks , and all the products reflect that. This was a makeup lite month, there seemed to be more of a focus on facial and hair products, which is great but I was bummed to not get a new look in a bag. Shipping this month seemed quicker than in April, which was greatly appreciated after how sloooooowly the bags normally arrive. Now I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with my bag this month. Part of the problem is I'm deathly allergic to coconut and the big makeup item everybody received was a Pacifica eyeshadow duo made specifically for Ipsy (more on that further down) that is infused with coconut. So that was a let down for sure, luckily everything else I received was coconut free.

This month I received: a Pacifica eyeshadow duo, a travel pack of La Fresh face cleansing wipes, a Boo-Boo Cover-up concealer in medium, a mineral sunscreen by Jersey Shore Sun, and lastly a Eva NYC hair mask. The bag was super cute, so that was a plus for sure. Instead of plastic it was a light canvas with green leaves printed on one side, I've already stuck it in my purse to hold my lotion and sunscreens (I have 3 different ones in my bad, I take my sun protection seriously I guess). The bag was a bit smaller than average I thought, but the April bag was bigger than average so I guess this evens it out.

Boo-Boo Cover-up is a brand I'd never heard of before, but the premise was intriguing to say the least. It contains ingredients that will help heal any boo-boo you might have, in addition to covering it up so no one sees that giant zip forming on your chin. The texture was creamy and smooth, not to thick at all. I received the shade medium and despite my fear that it wouldn't match it blended it great and I could barely tell I had any on at all. Once I topped it with my mineral powder foundation you couldn't see it or the zit at all. I used it on a few acne spots and on a nasty bug bite I received the other day, so I'll have to report back later on whether or not it speeds up healing time as it claims. This was a full sized item (score!) and is worth $19.99, basically twice the value of the bag! I think this will last me a while, but I will for sure order more when I run out.

Jersey Shore Sun is another company I hadn't heard of, and a quick peak at their website shows they not only sell sunscreen but also makeup. I received the Sans Tan Anti-Aging sunscreen in SPF 35, and I'm never going to turn down sunscreen (unless it has coconut in it. I'm looking at you Hawaiian Tropics) so this will be used for sure. There's a ton of good stuff in it, like vitamin E and D3, and none of the bad stuff a lot of sunscreens use, like parabens and oxybenzone. Plus it's biodegradable, reef safe (a super important factor for me), and cruelty free as well. I haven't gotten to try it yet, the clouds came in today after a week of 80+ degree weather, so I'll have to report back on the effectiveness and if it's greasy or super white later. I received a deluxe sample, which was 0.5 oz. A full sized is 2 oz and $40 (ouch, that's an expensive sunscreen!), so I'm placing a $10 value on my sample. Because of the price, even if I love the product I won't be purchasing more.

La Fresh is a company I'm familiar with, though I don't think I've ever used them but I could be wrong. They're best known for the wide variety of wipes they offer and have partnered up with Ipsy on several occasions. I received a travel pack of the oil free makeup removal wipes, and while I love wipes and use them frequently I wasn't excited to receive these in my bag. They're just really...meh. Not a great brand, not a terrible brand. Just kind of in the middle. And the travel pack has only 8 wipes in it, so they'll only last me barely over a week. I haven't used them yet, and I probably won't until I run out of the travel sized packs of the wipes I keep in my purse. As I said, I received the travel pack of 8, which retails for $2.49.

Pacifica is a pretty well known company, and while I've always eyeballed their products I've never bought any due to EVERYTHING having coconut in it. Seriously, who puts coconut in eyeshadow? The whole thing makes me grumpy to be truthful. I was so worried it had broken during transport and coated my whole bag in shimmery death. Luckily it arrived safe and in one piece. The duo I received was #1, which contains Celestial and Opal. The packaging is exclusive for Ipsy but if you like the colors they are available in one of the palettes Pacifica sells. Celestial is a really pretty pale pink, while Opal is kind of a light bronze. Both have some shimmer, and according to other people are pretty sheer. The packaging itself feels really cheap, so if I was going to use these I'd depot it for sure, I'm amazed it didn't break open during shipping. I'm fairly certain I could easily crush it with one hand, which is weird because Pacifica normally had nice packaging. I am inclined to call this a deluxe sample for several reasons, the colors are normally only available in a palette of 4 and the duo I received is just an ounce bigger than one of the colors in the palette (my duo is 0.07 oz while the palette is 0.25 oz. 0.25/4=0.0625, so if it had been a pot of the Opal and Celestial from the palette it would be 0.125 oz). I'm putting the value at about $4, whereas a full palette is $14 right now. I will obviously not be using this or buying more, hoping I can trade it with someone.

Eva NYC is a company I haven't heard of before, but once I saw the packaging I'm fairly I've seen the products before. I received the Therapy Session Hair Mask, which is suppose to deep condition my hair, strengthen it, and repair any damage. I have very long hair, like past the middle of my back long, so I use a lot of products to keep it looking good and staying strong. I'm excited I received this, though I won't be using it till I've finished the deep conditioners I'm using now. This contains argan oil, which is suppose to be great for skin and hair and has been showing up in just about everything. It smells pretty good too, which can be a breaking point for me (seriously Head and Shoulders, your shampoo smells awful). I received a deluxe sample size of this, but it's large enough I should get a couple of uses out of it. My size is 2.03 oz, the full sized product is 500 mL (which would make it 16.907 oz) and worth $40 so I'm pricing mine at $4.80. I don't think I'll be purchasing this because of the price and I already have a deep conditioner I LOVE for $8 a tub.

All total my bag came to a value of $41.28, so well worth the $10 I spent on it. I'm not as happy with this month's bag as I was with April's bag, but I'm not hating everything I received so it could be worst. If you want to give Ipsy a try feel free to use my referral link here, it will let you skip the wait list (which can be rather long, I sat on it for 2 months) and earn me points as well.

Weekend Tips and Tricks

Greeting! I am getting the technical difficulties sorted out as we speak, sorry for the continued delays. This week's edition of Tips and Tricks will focus on dealing with allergies and all the nastiness it does to your face/eyes/nose.

Tip #1: Invest in a good soothing eye gel for those days when your eyes are puffy from allergies or sore and itchy. Place it in the fridge to chill it before you apply for an added boost.

Tip #2: Speaking of eyes, on bad allergy days it might be a good day to go makeup free. Can't? Then make sure you use water and smudge proof eye makeup or use a makeup setting spray to secure it in place. Spray some on a clean brush and pat it gently over your liner and shadow to help keep them in place, never spray directly at your eyes.

Tip #3: If you don't already use a BB cream, now might be a good time to try one. The built in primer will give it staying power during your frequent kleenexing and some of them have soothing ingredients like aloe that will help soothe the tender skin of your nose. Don't have any BB cream? Apply some aloe infused lotion before you do your makeup instead.

Tip #4: That soothing eye gel is good for more than your eyes. I like to apply it around my nose if I've been blowing it all day and it's red and raw. Just make sure you don't get any inside your nose for obvious reasons.

No Post Today

Due to technical difficulties there will be no post today. Theoretically the problem will be fixed tomorrow afternoon so hopefully there will be a new post tomorrow night. I will do an extra post next week to make up for the lack of post today. Sorry guys.

Buying in Bulk, Do or Don't?

I am lucky enough to live within 20 minutes of two different Costco stores, and since my son seems to have a black hole where his stomach should be that helps me out in the food department. But what about the bath and beauty department? This isn't going to be a cut and dry answer, a lot will depend on the number of people using the item or what you personally like. What works for me won't necessarily work for you.

Shampoo, conditioner, and soaps are always going to be a yes in my book if they happen to have something I like. Generally the bigger sizes are more cost effective and you'll have to go shopping for them less often. I have very long hair (past the middle of my back so far, going for butt length to win a bet) so I go through a regular sized bottle of shampoo and conditioner at LEAST every other month. These types of products have a much longer shelf life than say toothpaste, so I give these a big thumbs up for buying in bulk and storing.

Lotions can be cheaper in the bulk, but are you really going to go through a whole gallon of lotion before it gets all funky? I say only get lotion if you know you can get through it within a year at the longest. If your whole family will use it then go for it, but if you are a once a week sort of lotion user just say no.

Deodorant is something I ONLY buy at Costco, they offer a 5 pack for the price of buying 3 sticks at my local Albertson's and every few months they have a coupon for them. I like the Dove brand in the cool cucumber and since I teach Taekwondo in the evenings I tend to go through more deodorant than your average person. If you aren't sure if you'll use them all up by the expiration date find someone to split the pack (and cost) with you, win win for everybody!

Makeup is something I approach on a per item basis. I generally don't buy makeup from Costco since they seem to mainly carry the Kirkland brand makeup, which I'm super not interested in. I will get lip balm in the big packs because I use it a lot and I tend to lose them. Mascara I will buy if it's a brand I like because you should be replacing your mascara every 3 or so months.

Makeup remover is something I always buy there as well, I really like the Kirkland brand makeup removal wipes. Giant box with 6 full sized (30 wipes) pouches and 2 travel (15 wipes) pouches for a really great price. But if you prefer Neutrogena they also had their wipes last time I checked.

When shopping in bulk make sure you know you will use it up before it expires and that it is actually cost effective. And make sure you have room for it or you will end up with packs of makeup removal wipes all over your dresser (oops). What do you like to buy in bulk?

Weekend Tips and Tricks

Greeting! I don't know about you guys but I'm so ready for this weekend. I'm the mother of a three year old little boy and I love the little drawings he makes me every year. Here are some tips and tricks to help your life run a little bit smoother.

Tip #1: Lip and cheek stains will last longer during the upcoming hot (and sweaty) months. Just make sure you practice applying them before you wear them out and about. Nobody wants blotchy clown cheeks right before that big date.

Tip #2: It takes about a teaspoon of sunscreen to properly cover your face, so make sure you're applying enough to get the job done.

Tip #3: Your nails need to breathe too, just like your skin. My general rule is however long I had my nail polish on is how long I need to go sans polish. So if I had it on for 2 days, I'll keep them bare for 2 days. This gives your nails a chance to breathe and rejuvenate, to much polish with no breaks can lead to brittle and unhealthy nails.

Product Review: ELF Makeup Remover Pen

As someone who practically lives in winged eyeliner, being able to correct mistakes without taking everything off is a pretty big deal to me. I typically would put eye makeup remover on a q-tip and use that to correct any mistakes I had made, but I wanted something better. So when I was placing an order of ELF (Eyes, Lips Face Cosmetics) and I saw they have a makeup remover in pen form I though I hit the jackpot! And at only $3 it was well within my budget if I loved it.

So when it finally arrived (ELF has the SLOWEST shipping I've ever seen) I was eager to test it out and it worked like a charm, I couldn't believe how awesome it was. The point was fine enough I could thin out to thick liner or go under my bottom lashes to clean up mascara that had smeared. The formula wasn't drying and there was no horrible smell so I was sold.

Until I had been using it for about a week, then it all went downhill from there. Once the pen tip became dirty (you can't really clean it) it just smeared makeup across my face instead of picking it up, so I'd need to use a towel or q-tip to wipe it back up, making it no quicker than what I was doing before. I bought it about 2 months ago and even though I store it upside down, the pen tip is starting to dry out making it really rough on the delicate skin under my eyes. Yes I know I only paid $3 for it, but I'd have liked it to work better than it did and not dry out quite so quickly.

I can't recommend this product at all, you're better off just using a q-tip and some eye makeup remover to fix your mistakes. This pen is going into the trash for sure.

New Features and an Update

Hello! I hope everybody had a great weekend, I know I did. I'd like to take a minute and talk to you about some new features on Best Beauty for my Buck and a sneak peak into things to come. First though I'd like to thank you all for reading, I can't tell you how thrilled I am that people are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

Ok, down to the nitty gritty. The Contact Me page is up and running! I'm super proud of myself for figuring out how to make one and I'm digging how it looks right now. So if you've been wanting to drop me a line now is your chance, just click on the Contact Me tab located above. The Archives and FAQ are still under construction, but my goal is to have the archives up and running by this weekend and the FAQ up by the weekend after that.

I'm attempting to solidify my update schedule, but for now there will for sure be a new Weekend Tips and Tricks every Saturday morning. My goal is to have a new post every Monday and Thursday, but my update schedule may be less than precise this month. I will ideally be posting a product review an informative article, but we'll see how it works out.

Thank you for your patience during all the page construction and hiccups and if you find a broken link or something that doesn't work please let me know so I can get it fixed ASAP.

Weekend Tips and Tricks

This week's tips and tricks are going to be focused on the dreaded body acne, an oft forgotten area of skin care.

Tip #1: Your hair, or rather your hair care products, may be the cause of the acne on your back and/or shoulders. Keep a banana clip in your shower and use it to tie your hair up after you apply conditioner or any sort of hair treatment. Not only will it keep the products from clogging up your pores but will help keep it in your hair instead of dripping all over the place.

Tip #2: If you exercise, make sure you shower afterwards to wash the sweat off. No time for a shower? Invest in some wipes and use those to desweatify yourself. I'm partial currently to the Kirkland Brand makeup removal wipes, they not only help clean up sweat, oil, and makeup, but also conditions your skin and helps prevent breakouts.

Tip #3: You use acne busting soap on your face, so why not on your body? There are plenty of products out there designed specifically to deal with body acne, give some a shot. I liked the Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar, it's cheap (yay), lasts a while (double yay), and works great!

Tip #4: If you wouldn't do it to your face, don't do it to your back/chest. There are TONS of "get rid of acne in a day with these surprise ingredients" posts on the internet, but unless you can find valid reviews saying it works without horrifying side effects (rashes, bleeding, worst acne, ect) skip it please. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

April 2014 Empties

I like to read other beauty blogs, and in March I found a few that do something really neat that I'd like to start doing as well. The gist is you save all of your empty beauty and skin care products from that month and on the first day of the next month (yes I know I'm late this month) do a post about what you used up and whether or not you'll be repurchasing them. It not only gives you a goal to finish the million half empty bottles sitting around but gives you a chance to show the readers what you use on a regular basis. So all of April I saved all of my empties, and while I only have 6 I am still pleased with that I used up and I know my May empty list will be quite a bit bigger.

From left to right on the top are Assure cotton rounds, Up and Up Apricot Facial Scrub, and Kirkland brand Makeup Removing Wipes. Bottom row left to right are a mini Mary Kay Lipgloss, a BC Mascara, and a Calgone body spray.

Assurance Cotton Rounds: Repurchase I get these at the dollar store right by my work and I love them them. 100% pure cotton, they never leave behind fluffy bits and cost a buck for a big bag of them. Seriously, why would you pay $5 for name brand ones?

Up and Up Apricot Scrub: Repurchase This is on my constant restock list, I love this so much. I did a fuller review of it which you can read here.

Kirkland Makeup Removal Wipes: Repurchase much later I actually got these at Costco so I have a ton still and won't need to repurchase any for a while. I'm in the process of written a review of these so I won't say anything else.

Mary Kay Gloss: No repurchase I received a pack of various glitter filled mini lip glosses a while ago as a free gift with purchase and while I loved the colors I hated the glitter and how gritty they were. Like sand paper gritty guys. I only have one left out of the set and I'll be glad to finally be done with them.

BC Mascara: No repurchase I picked this up at my local Marshalls for like $4 and I loved it for the first month. Then it started to get clumpy and the coating on the actual tube started flaking off every time I'd use it. Lasted me long enough to get my birthday goodies from various beauty companies (blogging about that later) so it at least wasn't a waste.

Calgone Body Spray: No repurchase My husband likes to get me spa sets for my stocking at Christmas time and one year he got me this giant set of body spray from Calgone. Half of them I loved and used up quickly, the other half took me forever to get through. This one was suppose to be a ocean sent but really just smelled like an air freshener to me.