A Mixed Review

This post is semi late, but better late than never! This month I loved so many new products, and I was super excited to try them all out.

The first thing I loved this month wasn't a tangible item, but an event. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a Sephora VIB rouge event in early June with my best friend and I had the best time! Since I am VIB Rouge I was able to bring one guest so I picked my best friend to come with me. We were there for 3.5 hours getting demos, facials, and just chatting with the beauty representatives to get more info on different products! So informative, and so fun! We got so many free samples of different items, and we of course shopped a ton too. I posted a haul from the event, and you can see it here to see what I bought and more details about the event!
Another event type thing I have loved this month is spin classes! I was lucky enough to be able to take a few free spin classes at a place called Cyc Fitness and it was so fun! I had taken a spin class in the past and really disliked it, but since these classes were free I decided to take them with a few of my coworkers. OMG! I loved them so much! Not only were the teachers amazingly uplifting, encouraging, and super nice but the atmosphere of the place was so cool. The room was dark with only black lights, and colored lights on with music blasting. It was the perfect place to get in shape, and feel so great about yourself afterwards! I want to definitely sign up for more classes there in the future. Cyc Fitness is a chain gym, so click the link and see if there is one close to you! And if not, I did hear that they are slowly expanding so they might be near you soon!


Now on to the actual makeup items I have been loving!

This month I did try out a lot of things, but these were my stand out items! The first thing I loved so much was the sample of Benefits new brow products, and it is the Goof Proof Brow Pencil. I am using shade #3 and it is so perfect for my brows. This pencil is easy to use, and adds the perfect amount of product to my brows. It is really waxy, but not too hard. I have really dark brows, and shade #3 is lighter than what I would usually go for. I realized after using it that I like using lighter colors rather than a spot on match. It is really cool toned which I also am finding out that I love. It doesn't make my eyebrows look too dark, or too crazy!
I hadn't ordered from Colourpop in a while, and earlier in the month of June/end of May I posted about a huge Colourpop order I placed. A lot of the items were new to me, and I have loved them so much! I have been loving the highlight in the color Butterfly Beach! It is a darker, rose gold highlight and looks so great on my tanned skin. If you have light medium to deep skin tones this will look amazing on you! Amazing product, and an even more amazing price! The next Colourpop product I have been loving is a super shock eyeshadow from them in the color I Heart This, and, let me say, I love this shade!! Shimmery eyeshadows are my favorite, and this one is so shimmery. It is almost shimmer overload. It is perfection! I think it is a silvery goldish color, and looks amazing on my paler self, as well as my tanner self. I love to wear it all over my lid with nothing else. And lastly, from Colourpop I have been loving their ultra satin lipsticks. I did buy 4 shades, and I do love all the colors, but my most favorite our of the four is the color Molly. It is super bright, and has helped me branch out of my comfort zone. It is a bright pink, fuchsia color with a little bit of purple in it. I definitely recommend picking up the ultra satin lipsticks. They do transfer on cups, straws, etc. but they do stay on all day. I recently wore one, and it literally lasted all day. Even after eating and drinking it still looked amazing. I will picking up KathleenLights new shades as soon as they are available on Colourpop's site!
I have been loving BECCA's highlight in Opal but in the travel liquid form. It is perfect because it looks so dewy and natural on my skin, and has an easy application. It melts right into my skin. The applicator is like a lipgloss wand so I love that I don't accidentally apply too much. Perfect for summer, and perfect for traveling.
If you saw my last post on my ipsy bag you'll have already seen my review on the Happy Hibiscus blush by Seraphine Botanicals. This blush is so amazing, and I definitely want to pick up the full size of it while ipsy has a coupon code on their site! Their site looks like it's full of amazing products, and if I buy stuff from their site I will post a haul!
And lastly of my random bit favorites is a brush by EcoTools. It is there precision blush brush and I have been loving it. It is perfect for applying blush, and bronzer. I have been using it along side with my Benefit palette, and I bought it because at the Sephora event the Benefit Cosmetics used a brush similar to this one to apply blushes to me. I loved it so much so I found this cheaper alternative. It works wonderfully! EcoTools is a great cheap brand of brushes!

xo, Amy

Two weeks ago I attended my very first VIB Rouge event at Sephora! I became VIB Rouge last year, and I was so happy to be invited to the event. The event was  really early in the morning before the mall opened. It was a sneak peak of some new products coming out this fall. I was able to bring a guest so I bought my friend Stephanie to come with me. She is a makeup lover like myself so we had a blast swatching, and testing out new items!
I didn't purchase any of the new fall items because I wasn't sure if I really needed any of them, but the things I did pick up were things I had had my eyes on for a while.
At the event they were having demos so it was really great to ask questions and get feedback on different products. At the event there were hairstylists who work with Bumble and bumble and they were showing people who were interested how to use their different products. I have always heard people rave about Bumble and bumble but I was never willing to spend the money because the people who I knew who raved about the products had very different hair textures than me. So when they came out with their curly hair line I was so excited to try it out. A few months ago I did get a 100 point perk of the Bb. Curl (Style) Primer and I really loved it so I did pick up the full size. Well I have since run out, so while at the event I picked up another one as well a few other items the stylist showed me how to use on my hair. I also picked up the Bb. Curl (Style) Anti-Humidity Gel-Oil and the Surf Infusion spray. I am really anxious to try the gel-oil because the texture is so interesting to me, and not like anything I have ever used before. I am a little skeptical on the surf spray because that to me screams dryness and my hair needs so much moisture. The bumble and bumble sales representative that was there ensured me that it won't leave my hair dry or brittle feeling, but will add shine and help lock in moisture. Crossing my fingers it works! Will definitely review it as soon as I start using it!
So I am absolutely am addicted to my Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir mascara, and I am sadly running out of it. I have been wanting to try other mascaras too so I picked up the Sephora favorites Lashstash To Go. I thought it seemed like a great deal because you get 5 minis of different mascaras from different brands. But along with the 5 mini mascaras there is a voucher inside the package that you can turn in for a full size of any of the 5 mascaras for free. All of the mascaras are less than $28 (the price of the kit) but I still think this is an amazing deal. Getting to try 5 mascaras then getting the full size for $28 is so great. Besides the Marc Jacobs one and Too Faced mascaras I haven't tried any of the other ones so I am excited to!
And the last thing I actually purchased was the Benefit Cosmetics Cheekathon Blush & Bronzer palette. I wasn't planning on buying this that day, but the Benefit Cosmetics representative showed my how to make my face look more sculpted using dandelion blush, hoola bronzer, and rockateur blush. Not to blow my own horn, but it looked so amazing on me so I was sold! I snatched this up, and I am so happy I did!
With my points I did pick up a 100 point perk of the Matte Creme Lip Crayon in the shade 'Glace' from Bite Beauty. I do have one already that is almost gone so I am glad they had it as a point perk. I love Bite Beauty, and I especially love their matte crayons. Not too drying, and are really comfortable on my lips. With my purchase I did make VIB Rouge status for 2017 so I got the Rouge gift which is the mini NARS blush in 'Goulue'. Super happy I made VIB Rouge status again, and excited to try a NARS blush. They're really hyped, and shockingly I have never tried a NARS blush!
Also while at the event I got a free 15 minute facial and ton of samples! I got samples of all the products that were used during my facial so that was nice. I am trying to improve my skincare routine so I was so pumped to get all those samples!

I hope Sephora has mor VIB Rouge events because I had a blast!!
Have you ever been to a VIB Rouge event?

xo, Amy

I have been using this makeup sponge for about 3 months now and I must say, it is a staple in my makeup routine now. I use it for multiple things while getting ready. I first use it to blend in my under eye concealer, and then use it to blend out my bareMinerals Hydrating Gel cream. And sometimes I will use it to apply blush.
I have never bought a beautyblender before because the price away pushed me away. I love Real Techniques and own almost all of their brushes, even the limited edition ones, so when they came out with their over version of the beautyblender I was really excited. I love this sponge and for my concealer especially, it blends it beautifully. I just picked up this fresh sponge because my last one was getting kind old and gross, but while I didn't have a replacement I used a foundation brush, my fingers, and a small setting brush to blend out my under eye concealer and none of them worked like the RT Miracle Sponge.
I recommend picking this up if you want a cheaper alternative to the beautyblender. Though I haven't tried the beautyblender itself, I can say that this makeup sponge is amazing and will definitely give you and flawless look!

What do you think of this sponge compared to the beautyblender?

xo,
Amy

Lately I have been trying to find products that make my face look as flawless as possible without looking caked up with makeup. And I think I have finally found three products that do the trick! I am still on the hunt with more products, but for right now I have found the perfect combination!

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream: What a long name! But I love this product because it provides my face with light, sheer coverage but still covers what I need it to. I have redness around my nose and this covers it amazingly! I also have a lot of freckles on my face and this doesn't cover them all up. I was looking for a product that wouldn't cover all my freckles because I love them and this is perfect! It also has SPF 30 in it which is an added bonus because it's always smart to put on sunscreen or something with SPF in it. So glad I found it!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder: After putting on the bareMinerals Hydrating Gel I then top it will Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Radiant Light.' It is the darkest out of all the lighting powders by Hourglass and it is so great! It is meant to be a highlight, but I use it as an all over face powder. I use it that way because it adds a nice bronze glow to my face . It doesn't ever look caked on either! Worth all the hype it gets, and worth the money. It is pretty pricy but as you can see from the pictures it is almost gone. I have had it for over a year and it is just now running out! I will be running out and buying a new one as soon as this one is completely gone!

bareMinerals Mineral Veil: And lastly I use this to set everything! It helps keep my face from getting oily which tends to happen to me during the summer. It doesn't add a white or light pink cast to my face which is also nice. There is so much product in the jar which is great because it doesn't even look like I've put a dent in it and I've had it a while! Even after I am semi oily throughout the day I can put a light dusting of this on my face and it doesn't look white then either.

I love this combination and if you have tried any of these products let me know what you think!

xo,
Amy