Maybelline Color Molten Eyeshadow by Eyestudio in Taupe Craze

Hello Beautiful Ones!

As always, a new display stopped me in my tracks at the drugstore the other day. I should learn to avoid the makeup section all together, but we all know that's never going to happen. Anyway, the product that caught my eye this time was the Maybelline Color Molten by Eyestudio Eyeshadow in the shade Taupe Craze.

Color Molten is a new cream to powder eyeshadow offering from maybelline. This one is not super creamy or majorly thick, but it is creamy enough that you would be better off applying it with your fingers than a brush. One side of this duo is matte and the other is shimmery. I spent way too long standing in front of the display trying to figure out which color I wanted to try (story of my life), but I eventually went with this nude combo called taupe craze.

Here's the thing: I like the idea of this product and the cream to powder consistency is good, but I'm not crazy about the color payoff. For me, in this particular shade the color just wasn't there. No matter how much I seemed to pile it on my eyelids, you could still barely tell that it was there. With that being said, the lasting power was pretty good (as always I used a shadow primer). I would be interested in seeing what the color payoff is like for the other shades. 

All-in-all this wasn't the worst, but I wasn't crazy about the color. Let me know if you've tried this one in the comments.

XO- Brittney 

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Essie Cashmere Matte - Coat Couture

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's no secret that I literally can't walk past an Essie display in the drugstore without picking up a new color (it's a problem... or not!). So naturally I HAD to try something from the new Matte Cashmere collection. Today I'm reviewing the shade Coat Couture.

All of the colors in this collection land in the warmer side of the color collection and are inspired by "rich cashmere" as Essie puts it. The finish is matte, but it has a really pretty shine to it. I've tried matte polishes in the past and I've never really been that crazy about them. I think what usually puts me off the matte colors is that they can seem a little one dimensional. But as Essie describes these have a "reflective pearl color." You'll probably want to skip the top coat on this one as the shine would take away from the matte finish.

Now let's talk about the shade I picked up. Coat Couture is a gorgeous grey/purple that is perfect for the winter. I can already tell that I'm going to be getting a lot of wear out of this one for the next few months. Like I said, it has a really great shine to it while still having a matte finish.

Let me know if anything in the Cashmere Matte collection has caught your eye!

XO-Brittney

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Make Up For Ever - Tease Me Lip Set in Innocent

Hello Beautiful Ones!

I like a good steamy romance novel just as much as the next girl, but I haven't quite jumped on the Fifty Shades of Grey train yet. No promises that I won't give into the hype eventually, but in the mean time I am going to be enjoying some of the beauty products that have popped up in light of the release of the movie version. Today I'm reviewing Make Up For Ever's Fifty Shades of Grey inspired Tease Me Lip Set in the shade Innocent.

Make Up For Ever has released the Tease Me lip set in two different shades: Innocent (nude), and Passionate (berry). Each set includes a lip liner, liquid lipstick, and lip gloss. 

The Innocent set is a collection of nudes. The lip pencil is the Aqua Lip lip pencil in the shade Medium Beige (3C). The pencil is a very peachy nude. I really like the way the pencil looks with the gloss, the colors really compliment each other. The pencil is very light and blends in perfectly with my fair skin, but if you're looking for something that really stands out this is probably not the one for you.

The liquid lipstick is the Aqua Rouge Lipstick in Medium Natural Beige (3) with a clear gloss. This lipstick is a gorgeous nude/rose pink. Again, this is not going to majorly stand out but if you are looking for a pretty nude you can wear on a light makeup day or in a professional setting then it's perfect. The clear gloss on the other end adds a little shine to what would otherwise be a pretty matte lip look. The lipstick applicator is a sponge that is the perfect size and the gloss end has a small lip brush. The staying power is pretty good, it lasted several hours and through a couple cups of chai latte (don't judge me it was a Monday). 

The lip gloss is the Lab Shine Lip Gloss in Shimmering Beige (D16). This is a lovely nude gloss with a little bit of shimmer. It's not too sticky and feels really comfortable to wear. The applicator is a good sized lip brush. The instructions that come with the set suggest applying the lip liner followed by the gloss, then blotting off the excess gloss to apply the lipstick and clear gloss. Add the gloss between the lip liner and the lipstick seems a little unnecessary, but the gloss is pretty all on its own. 

Here is a swatch of all the colors: 

From left to right: Aqua Lip Pencil in Medium Beige 3C, Lab Shine Lip Gloss in Shimmering Beige D16, and Aqua Rouge Lipstick in Medium Natural Beige 3.

All-in-all this is a nice lip set. The colors are really lovely and all work well with each other. I think these colors are perfect for a work or professional setting (no one has to know it was inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey). You can get the whole set for $32.00 at Sephora.

Let me know if you would try this lip trio!

XO- Brittney

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Beauty on a Budget: John Frieda - Go Curlier Heat Activated Spray

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's freezing here in Nebraska! I mean that literally, it reached a balmy two degrees here today. So to keep my mind off of the frostbite I nearly got walking to and from my car, I'm going to tell you about a curly hair product from the drugstore: the John Frieda Go Curlier Heat Activated Spray.

I've had good luck with other John Frieda products in the past and if you know me at all you know that I will try just about any curly hair product at least once. I'm also a bargain hunter, so if you say drugstore I'm already there (and heading to the checkout). The idea is that you spray this on your wet or damp hair (it won't work dry) and then blow dry to eliminate frizz and enhance your natural curls.

I'm going to be honest with you, for me blow drying my hair is the absolute worst. I try to avoid it at all costs. My curly hair does so much better if I let it air dry, but like I mentioned at the start of this post it was 2 degrees out today! Air drying isn't always an option during the freezing winter. I decided it was time to dig out my blow dryer from the back of my closet and give this heat spray a chance.

Like I said this only works on wet or damp hair. I just lightly dried of my ends with a towel (you don't want to rub curly hair with a towel too much anyway because it will mess up your curls). Application is really easy, you just spray 10-15 squirts on your hair and then blow dry. The smell is nothing special, but it didn't bother me either. Just a light scent.

Now let's talk about results... I have a little bit of a mixed reaction on this one. First of all I thought this spray did an amazing job of cutting down on frizz. Ending up with a frizzy mess is the reason why I usually avoided blow drying in the first place. The first time I used it I didn't dry my hair all the way, and the second time I did. I would suggest completely drying your hair, it totally reduces the frizz.

The thing that I liked least was that I didn't think it did anything amazing for my curls. I felt like my curls were left a little flat. John Frieda does suggest that you will want to use a curling iron to define your curls after drying. They aren't joking!

With that being said, this product is not a waste of money. I will definitely be using it when I need to blow dry, so that I can cut down on that nasty frizz that is so common for curly hair. And at $8.99 a bottle it's a great bargain!

Let me know if you've tried the John Frieda Go Curlier Heat Activated Spray.

XO- Brittney

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Monday Musings: Thoughts on Being Too Nice

Hello Beautiful Ones!

Welcome to the new year! Have any of those resolutions bombed yet? I definitely haven't been to the gym like I said I was going to, but we're all just a work in progress right?! It's been a while since I've written a Monday Musings post, so prepare to explore the inside of my brain! We're talking word vomit at its finest. Today I want to talk about being 'too nice.'

I've been told on a few different occasions that I'm just 'too nice.' Being nice is a good thing right? So why then does it always feel like when someone tells me I am 'too nice' they don't mean it as a compliment? Of course you can have too much of anything. It is a very fine line between being nice and being a pushover, but I still think that you can accomplish the things you want to by being nice. I guess that's just the incurable optimist inside me.

I currently have a job where I have to tell people no. Every single day I have to turn people down. Sure, I have guidelines with things I need to cover when I tell them no, but at the end of the day the delivery is all mine. I do my best to cover all the information while still being compassionate. There is no real way to disguise rejection. It will always hurt no matter what, but having someone kindly break it to you can also have a big impact.

Along with being nice, I'm also someone who hates confrontation. For me, these two things go hand and hand. I've found that the nicer I am, the less likely people are to pick fights with me. This is usually where my friends and family chime in and tell me I'm 'too nice.' Because I try so hard to avoid confrontation that sometimes I don't stand up for myself when I feel that I've been wronged, I just smile and say that it's okay when it isn't. In those cases my loved ones are right, I should be voicing my opinion if I feel I'm being mistreated. But with that being said I still don't think that there is such a thing as being 'too nice.'

There is no situation that couldn't use a little more kindness, just don't let yourself lose your voice. We'll kill 'em with kindness and take over the world together.

XO- Brittney

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