Maple Holistics Sweet Almond Oil Skincare Review | A Cruelty-Free, All Natural Brand!

It's true - once you experience the immensely soothing skincare benefits of almond oil, you never go back. This small almond oil obsession of mine is getting to be a bit real. . . 

Disclaimer: This product was kindly sent to me by Maple Holistics for testing and reviewing purposes.

Rimmel 'Midnight' Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick | Reviewed & Swatched!

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip Color in 'Midnight'

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in 'Midnight,' swatched

Hiya everyone!  Obviously we are fast approaching the conclusion of August, and this has been a month of much lip color experimentation for me, and now that the leaves are about to change, the mild change in temperature is indicative that those crisp days are on the horizon, bringing with them the annual bearings that associate themselves with seemingly almost every blogger's favorite season. 😃 Many like myself, have an insatiable interest for deep, vampy colors, regardless of season or Sun's relative position to Earth in any given time of day. If the mood strikes, I wear whatever I please, so I figured I would test out a deep plum color that was introduced in this insanely affordable new liquid lipstick formula that Rimmel launched not too terribly long ago: behold, their Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in 'Midnight'.

🔍 Read onto the review 🔍 to see if I would recommend the Rimmel Stay Matte formula to anyone, or if it's a hard pass! You be the judge! 

Lip Love: Maybelline Color Elixir Glosses | My Collection + Swatches

     I can say with certainty that Maybelline lip products have tended to be some of my best purchases from the drugstore, with only a couple of exceptions that are only in terms of choosing an unflattering shade for my skintone, and not necessarily a faulty formula. I can say I have yet to encounter a Maybelline lip formula that I dislike. Their Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipsticks are always my first stop when I visit the brand's section, just to see if any new colors have been released. 😍 It's no question that the Creamy Matte formula is certainly in my top 5 favorite formulas of lip products, and that's not just for drugstore - it's overall! 

     Alas, it's almost time to part with one of my favorite moisturizing, comfortable lip gloss formulas - these Color Elixirs are at a heavily discounted price in many places, and so since it seems that the brand is phasing them out soon, I thought I'd show these glosses some love on my blog! It really is a lip love with these, as they really show the lips love by providing a hydrating feel and long lasting wear! Oh, and I almost forgot: They also only require 1 coat! All swatches below are done with only 1 pass of the applicator!

Maybelline Color Elixirs L-R: Signature Scarlet, Blush Essence, Caramel Infused, Mauve Mystique, Mystical Magenta

A Cleanser You Should Try! Lumene Finland Bright Touch Cleansing Foam

     Welcome back! How are you all?  Oh yes, I have a mid-week skincare review! The Lumene Skincare brand is an affordable Finnish brand of which most ingredients are plant and mineral based (and 80% are located within the Arctic Circle, how sweet is that?), and this brand has been all over my radar lately with their increasingly accessible targeted lines of skincare! They have anti-aging benefits with many of their products, some of which are marketed for all skin types, such as the one I'll be reviewing today: the Bright Touch Refreshing Cleansing Foam (formerly Radiant Touch in a squeeze tube instead of Bright Touch in a bottle w/ pump).

Wet 'n' Wild Photo Focus Concealer | A Review

     Happy Sunday! Looks like I've been on a streak as of lately, because this is the second blog post in a row I've done with Wet 'n' Wild products. Dunno why, darling! I've just been using the brand on the regular! Today I am reviewing this lovely little $4 concealer from the brand's more recent skin base product launch, the new Photo Focus foundation and concealer line. The concealer shade I'll be reviewing is 'Light Ivory.' 

The Lash Report | Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review

     *Contains Affiliate Links
     Hi everyone! Who's ready for a Better Than Sex review? This post is long overdue, to say the least, and has been in my drafts for far too long. I don't remember purchasing the Too Faced Better Than Sex, I believe I got this tube in my gratis bag one week during my short stint working for Sephora, seemingly many moons ago (when really, it was less than a year ago). So, to be quite honest, I don't even have this tube anymore, and I can't believe nothing has possessed me until now to review this, as I in fact really enjoyed it while I had it!

A Few Product Empties! + Would I Repurchase?

*Contains Affiliate Links

     Hello there!  Hooray, it's almost the weekend! So, today, I have a scarcely proportioned roundup of the products that I've recently finished up completely (and these are the ones I actually managed to keep the empty containers for). This is split in half with two skincare products, and two makeup products. And, I know, in theory, it's a good habit to throw away crap as soon as it's coming up empty, but for posts like these, well....let's just say there are a few other things I finished that I wished would've stayed around a bit longer for me to do a post on them. Hmmm, hoarder tendencies there, or no?

In all honesty, I sometimes don't really see the point of "empties" posts without information that I can get something out of, whether I'm reading or watching, so to reiterate what some others prefer to do, I would like to tie in some mini reviews on these items. Ultimately, what it will come down to is, would I purchase and try these babies again, or were some of these products just a thorn in my side that I couldn't wait to use up, so they would be out of my hair forever? Read on to find out! 

Got Textured, Thick, Curly Hair? Meet the Best Shampoo Ever! Shea Moisture Review

     If you haven't heard of Shea Moisture by now, I have to pose the question: Oh my goodness, where on God's green earth have you been??? And a disclaimer:  it's only in my wildest dreams that this would be a sponsored or affiliated post with this company, and it is not; I did in fact buy this product with my own money, loves. 😉

     The Tahitian Noni & Monoi Smooth & Repair  haircare line is made up of all natural and organic ingredients, as well as all the other lines that Shea Moisture has to offer. This particular line is meant to make hair more manageable and healthier over time, and doesn't really claim to lend itself as a line of styling products, so much so as regular maintenance hair products. This Conditioning Shampoo  is the only product I have tried from the Noni & Monoi  line thus far, and from my experience with this shampoo, I can say that I definitely see myself trying out more products that this line has to offer!

REVIEW: EcoTools Retractable Kabuki Brush

     EcoTools brushes have never failed to impress me, and I can say that with absolute certainty. This Retractable Kabuki was my most recent discovery from the line. I don't know how this ever escaped a second glance from me all those times in stores, but alas, I passed right by it, never giving it a thought...

     

E.L.F. Smudge Pots: A Review

        Hello all!  It's been a minute since I've been on here. The only culprit of that is my career change, and I unfortunately had to put my first passion (which is the blog you are reading right now) on the back-burner for just a couple weeks. Well, now that I'm all settled in at the new workplace, I would like to announce that updates on here are hopefully now on the regular!

       Alright, now that housekeeping is out of the way, I wanted to share my thoughts (or an in-depth review, rather) on these muy fabuloso products from e.l.f. If you aren't familiar with these spectacularly splendid Smudge Pots, allow me to introduce you. They are a somewhat new product to the e.l.f. Essentials line, and are at a perfect price point at only $2 a piece (I just checked, and they have raised the price on these to $3, which is a bit of a rip-off since it is their Essentials  line, which is their bulk of exclusively $1-$2 products, and these are not in their Studio or Mineral  line, so...coupon codes and sales, darlings! They're your best friends! *wink wink*), and....get ready for it...these little suckers give their MAC counterpart a run for their money.

       e.l.f. was definitely on their A-game  with these. I've been a long-time user of MAC Paint Pots, too, and I wanted to wait a bit to do a review on these anyway, because I wanted to test to see if they are as long lasting in their containers as they are when on the eyes. It's a tough test for some products to pass. And I'm glad to say that I have not been singing any blues of these drying out in their jars to a crispy mess like the Maybelline Color Tattoos.