Adorlee Lavender Hand Cream

*I received this item free for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own*

If you were to ask my husband he'd say I need another lotion like I need a hole in the head. But lotions are one of those things I seem to hoard. And it's not like I use lotion daily, I'm maybe a once or twice a week sort of girl. But there is just something about lotion that I love. Maybe it's the scents, or how nice they make my skin feels. I just can't say no to lotion, which is why I agreed to review a lotion I really didn't need. Now this isn't me saying this is a crappy lotion, this is me recognizing that I own a gallon of lotion and I may need an intervention.

Adorlee is a brand I'm not familiar with, I've never seen them in a local store before so they may be a online only brand. The lotion they sent me is labelled as a natural hand care therapy lotion for dryness relief, but I've been using it all over my body. Unless it's specifically for my face I'm going to use it all over, because that's how my lazy butt rolls.

It is a nice and thick lotion, which is a plus, and doesn't feel greasy at all. It absorbs really well and didn't leave any sort of sticky feeling on my skin, which is another plus. I guess my only real complaint is the scent. Now I love lavender, that's one of my favorite scents out there, but this is seriously strong! Enough that I can easily see this giving someone a headache, which means I can't use it before I go to work or around my kiddo. If you like your lotion with a heavy scent then you'd probably really like it, but for me it is just to much. I'd probably really like it if it was about half as strong.

My other big complaint is that their website sucks. I hate the scrolling picture format and it was a pain in the butt to actually find how much the product is. That alone would make me walk away and buy something else.They are $22 (says the grey font on a white/picture background), and shipping is only $2.99, but because it's from Canada there's some sort of fee attached. Yes, it's under $2 but still, for around $27 I can get several lotions here and not have to mess with it at all. So I'm calling this a pass for me, maybe something about this will float your boat.

The Amazing Expanding Sponge

*I received this item free for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own*

A major component of most makeup artist's kits is disposable items like mascara wands and sponges, but space can be an issue. So something that starts out small and compact but grows to a large size is a great option. Gold Cosmetics was kind enough to send me another disposable item to review, this time in the form of a sponge that goes from tiny to giant with just the addition of water.

These start out about as long as my index finger and as big around as a pen, so I could fit a TON in a small space. Once you get it wet it expands to a circle about the size of an average compact.

They're soft and flexible so I can wrap one around my finger to do precision blending (AKA around the nose), or I can cover a large area at once, like a cheek or forehead. Is it as nice a sponge as a Beauty Blender? No, but when I'm tossing it after each use it makes much more financial sense. I'd put these on par with the wedge sponges we all know and use. I wonder if these can be used to apply tanning lotion as well. I may have to test that theory out later this winter when I'm pasty white.

For $19.99 (for a set of 50) these are a good deal, and I'll be sticking some in my budding makeup artist kit for sure. I'm also really happy with the company and I think I'll be poking around their Amazon store some more and see what else they have to offer.

Smooth Viking Hair Care Pomade

*I received these items free for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own*

While my hair is growing in nicely, I'm just now leaving the awkward mullet stage. Since it is not in fact 1992 a mullet is the last thing I want to wear, but I guess it's better than being bald again. I've been using and trying out lots of different hair styling products, some with good results, some with not so good results. Smooth Viking was kind enough to send me two different pomades to test out and review for you guys.

The first one is the super hold, which is kind of super glue for your hair. And the second one is the medium hold, which is more of your average level of hold. You can use them on either wet or dry hair, though I always used it on dry hair. My personal preference is to use products like this on second day hair to wrangle it into submission.

The actual product is clear, which was interesting since 99% of them seem to be white. It applied well and held my hair pretty well. Not as well as a straight gel, but enough that I'll continue to use them. I think my biggest issue was the scent. It's kind of a patchouli herbal scent, which can get a little overwhelming sometimes. I understand these are targeted at men primarily, but still. If you would like to purchase a tub for your own personal use they are $11.95 with free Prime shipping.

Disposable Mascara Wands, a Must Have

*I received this item free for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own*

As I'm sure 99% of my fellow makeup addicts can attest to, getting to do someone else's makeup is a real treat. But one of the difficult parts of doing other people's makeup is making sure everything is clean and sanitary. One of the things that helps with that is disposable sponges and mascara wands. I'll be talking about the sponges in a few days, so for right now I'm going to share my thoughts on some mascara wands I was sent to review.

This 200 piece set is from Gold Cosmetics and Supplies, and can be found on Amazon for $18.99 with free Prime shipping. Each pack comes with 50 blue, black, pink, and yellow wands. There isn't a difference between the colors but I like having a variety of colors available to use so I dig it.

The stick part is long enough to hold and wield but not long enough to be awkward, which I appreciate. I've gotten ones with itty bitty handles in the past and they really just blow.

There is nothing fancy about the actual brush head, which makes them usable as a brow brush as well. I've actually been using a yellow one for my brows lately while I test out a new eyebrow pencil. And these work great for that, but I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Honestly these are basic, no frills mascara wands. But that's exactly what I need so I'm really happy with them. The price is ok, and I'm pretty sure the 200 pack will last me quite a while.