👋Hi All! New Blog Alert!👋

     Hi! It's been a while!

    If you have been a fan of this blog for a while or even back in the day, you might wonder what happened to me?

    College, life, work, etc! Yay! Existence.

    I recently started the blog again, but I wanted to revamp it. The link to the new blog is here if you want to follow along. 

    Thanks so much for your support! I look forward to seeing you on the other side!

    Your friend,

                        -Emma 

I got married last year, and I'll be chatting about it on the new blog, so check it out!

About Me Post: Why I like Makeup

So I am always posting reviews and information regarding products; makeup, household, etc. So I thought I would make a post about myself and why I have chosen to make this blog write, and talk about one of my favorite hobbies: makeup.

Dressup and makeup fun!

So I mean, it's kind of hard to completely organize my thoughts about makeup and make sense of why it is important to me amoung my other hobbies and interests. So I hope you can muscle through the awkward beginning portion of this writing (i.e. right now, lol) and enjoy this piece when I get more into the groove of things.

So to start off like many other cis-gendered girls I was always interested in being like a pretty princess, Barbie, my mom, amoung many other things. I had and wanted all things girly and colourful as well as anything fashionable or things that stand out in one way or another. My mom and dad were super (and still are) in the sense that they let me march to the beat of my own drum and support me no matter what my new quest/adventure/interest is at the moment so-on-so-forth. 

Work selfie after I played in the
 makeup section of the department store. 

When I was about 6 years old my mom would gladly paint her finger nails with me as well as let me paint her nails as well. Especially after my brother was born she tried to show me the same love she had always so that there was no sort of jealousy. We used to have "girl-dates" and still do where we would play with makeup, get dressed up and go out to a movie, dinner, go bowling, etc. It was really fun and to this day I still eqate makeup to fun activities or even just as the fun activity itself. A good way to focus my creative energy and spend time with my mom as well- so I think it is pretty important to note I've never had an early-life negative expirience relating to makeup and was raised and grew up with a healthy relationship with beauty and fashion as a whole. I'm very fortunate for that- thanks mommy!

Before I had super brow skills.
It's cute to look back at my old methods and
see how I used to apply makeup and how I do it now!

So with that back story on to why it is fun and an important part of my life today:

-It has always been a positive and creative way for me to vent my emotions and thoughts. I suffer from severe depression and have since I was a young child and for the most part anything creative or distracting has been my treatment method up until I was old enough to run tests and be put on medication. Any time something was upsetting, caused dismay, or if my mental illness acted up especially harshly, makeup was one option for creative outlet, expression, and distraction.

-I like the way it can make me feel. Obviously since I was raised with a positive attitude towards makeup, beauty, and fashion, I've never thought I've NEEDED makeup. Sometimes; however, when I'm feeling down, the outward expression though makeup that I create can make me feel more confident about the world around me, It also in some cases gives me a new identity (a distraction/diversion) from the issues surrounding me or simply the issues created by my mental illness. So it is a helpful tool to get me through the day. 

-It's fun! It's a hobby and in that sense I enjoy seeing the transformations I can make and the art I can create. It is something I can't really explain, but it is really fun. I like how the tranformation progresses, I like that there is a meditative quality to it, and I think it's fun to see the final product and compare each stage. 

-The community behind makeup tends to be overwhelmingly positive, friendly, and supportive. When you find a group of people who share a common interest, much of the time these people are super supportive and nice to one another and open minded to new ideas and opinions of the hobby you share. It can also be good because some makeup enthusiasts also use makeup as a creative outlet or one of their treatements for their personal issues or mental health issues and so you can commiserate and communicate giving you a sort of support group. 

-There are endless possibilities and makeup and it's styles are constantly evolving, changing, and improving. It would be really hard to run out of new ideas involving makeup because there are just so many possibilities as well as so many unique individuals who love sharing their ideas in the "makeup world" so to speak.

Overall I just really personally enjoy makeup as a whole. The culture, community, the creativity, theraputive qualities, and expression that can come from using this tool or hobby- makeup. 

Why do you like makeup? Dislike makeup? Have any fun/interesting stories involving makeup? Please share in the comments below! 

As always thank you for reading and I hope you have a lovely day! -Emma

Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow™ Pomade "Dark Brown"

Back once again for a review of Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow™ Pomade "Dark Brown" ($18) . I am a poor college student so I was super excited when I had the chance to pick this up at Ulta the other day. I have naturally grey/brownish hair which I dye blonde, but my eyebrows are still dark as are my roots normally. I decided to go with "Dark Brown" as the colour as it was the one that closest matched my natural eyebrow colour. 

Image source: here.

Initial thought is that this is SO MUCH product for how much you actually pay. You need such a minuscule amount to do what you want with this. It is smudge, water, and sweat proof which is excellent because you can do so much while this is on as well. 

I would say this is a very natural, creamy formula that works well with most skin types. I haven't had it break me out or have a smearing situation. I would love to try out some other brands of eyebrow pomades to find some good dupes for this brand and give it a review as well, though. 

Do you own this product? Love/hate it? Like/dislike the brand? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions! Thanks for reading as always! -Emma

Physicians Formula "Argan Wear" Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil BB Cream in "Light/Medium"

Another day another post! If you all are anything like me you hate wearing makeup all over your face almost as much as you hate the acne and scars/spots you are trying to cover up with it. (It's cool if you love foundation too, but ughhhhhh it takes so long to put on properly!)

I found this lovely BB cream from Physicians Formula at Ulta and decided to try it out because hey- why not? It's cruelty free and I have nothing else to wear on my face.

Image from the Physicians Formula website.

My first impression: I tried this first on my hand and then my neck before my face and it matches my skin-tone perfectly. I am an olive-pale skin tone. I'm not like paper but I am definitely pale. It went on smooth with a concealer brush and I simply used a beauty blender after the fact to give it more of an even appearance and tone down the shine associated with BB cremes. 

This BB cream is not too heavy either and covers with a very little amount needed. I tend to use a green concealer underneath this to cover my redness and you wouldn't even know there was green there at all. I almost don't even have to cover up the red spots anyways because this is so good at covering. 

I also used this on my friend who is at least 2-3 shades lighter than me (skin-tone wise) and it matched her perfectly as well. So I'm almost completely convinced this is the "perfect colour" (at least for Caucasian people). I did contact them today inquiring about why there are only two shades available on their website (light and light/medium). Hopefully I will get a response soon! I would love this BB creme to be available for all skin-tones. 

The way I use this product mainly- besides simply using it alone, is I tend to mix different products to give the exact look for what I would like for the day. Sometimes I will mix this BB creme with a colour-correcting primer, another SPF moisturizing product, and perhaps a little bit of creme highlight to give myself a natural "full-not full coverage" look with a little hint of dewy. Obviously I've had a lot of time to play with these mixes and everyone who is interested in trying just needs to find their way with it too! Leave a comment if you would like some recommendations for products that are good to mix with this BB creme!

Overall I would say this is a product that is totally worth trying out. It is a good price- it can be found in drugstores, department stores, as well as Ulta, or online. It's a great price ($7-$13) for the quality as well as the amount you receive (you only need a little to cover a lot!).

Do you have this product? Love it? Hate it? Leave a comment with your thoughts, recommendations and opinions! Thanks so much for reading! -Emma

NYX Pump It Up Lip Plumper in "Liv"

So I recently got the TooFaced "Lip Injections" lip-plumper ($22) and since it worked so well I wanted to try and see if I could find a dupe for it at the same time for my lovely readers who need something a little cheaper!
While I was on the Ulta website browsing around for good priced lip plumpers I found the NYX "Pump It Up" lip plumper in "Liv" (it's the clear colour). This one was significantly cheaper ($6) and I thought "why not?". 

NYX "Pump It Up" Lip Plumper in "Liv"
Image source: here.

I was super hopeful but ready for it to obviously work like a $6 lip plumper is expected to work. "Okay-ish". I moisturized my lips and then used a lip exfoliator over that to ensure I was applying this product directly onto my lips and then wiped them off with a clean washcloth. Once my lips were completely dry, I applied a thin coat of the NYX "Pump It Up" lip plumper and waited. Almost immediately I had a tingly-cold sensation but it was not intense by any means and it certainly did not sting, hurt, or burn. It was in fact so mild I was worried it was not working AT ALL. 

My Photo of "Pump It Up" by NYX

Once I had waited a minute or two I took a look in the mirror and noticed first off that my lips had not changed colour whatsoever. This was a bit of a concern because when using "Lip Injections" by TooFaced I noticed my lips were much more pinkish and red after waiting a minute or so. 
Second thing I noticed was a plus however, and that was that my lips were very glossy and hydrated. 
Third I noticed was that my lips had changed in size slightly. There was a change in size but it wasn't drastic by any means. 

NYX "Pump It Up" in "Liv" Before and After on my lips.

"Pump It Up" on my arm.

In conclusion if you are looking for a lip plumper to make your lips super noticeably different in size, this is not the one for you. I actually do like this product for gloss and hydration use, but I don't think I would ever apply it before lipstick application to give myself the appearance of fuller lips. It's definitely something worth trying as different formulas work differently on different people (haha!) but for me, it didn't impress me a whole lot as a plumper. 

Do you love this product? Do you hate it? Have any other suggestions you would like me to try? I am always game! Let me know in the comments!  Thanks so much for reading! -Emma

Too Faced Lip Injections Lip Plumper.

So I finally broke down after seeing so many reviews of Too Faced "Lip Injections" lip plumper. I am already a big fan of Too Faced due to their cruelty free standing and the occasional use of my mom's country palette by them. 

I have never used a lip-plumper before in my life so I had no idea what to expect or what I was walking into. I was lucky there wasn't really any wait for this product because I had ordered it before vacation so when I returned it was waiting right there for me! I ordered mine from the Ulta website but you can also order from the Too Faced website itself!

Image source: TooFaced website.

So first I will describe my use of it and how I applied it:
I moisturized my lips with a regular lip balm for about 10 minutes before hand and then used a lip exfoliator. This way I was ensuring the lip plumper was being applied straight to my lips and not any dead skin, left over lipstick, or lip balm. Then I simply applied a thin coat on my top and bottom lips and waited.

A picture of mine that I took! ☺

The Feeling: 
Initially I didn't feel anything but about 30 seconds in I began to feel a sort of tingly-burning sensation. It was a lot like eating a hot pepper and then deciding to rub it all over your lips. Thankfully it wasn't so unbearable that I had to wipe it off. In all honesty it was much more of an annoyance than anything else. After about a minute or so this burner subsided and I was left with glossy, red, but plumped lips.

"Lip Injections" just on my arm.

Overall Reaction: Yes! It works really well. I am actually quite interested in trying the "Lip Injections Extreme". Of course if I do try it out I will update this blog as well and add a post about it, haha. My lips weren't crazy large after using this product but they were noticeably different. Once I wiped it off and applied my lipstick there was a clear difference between my natural lips and my "plumped" lips. 

Wow look! It's me! ☺

I would totally recommend this product if you are curious about trying it. It worked well for me and I've heard I am not the only one that this product works well for. I can also use it as a lip gloss as well if I don't feel like applying lipstick due to the fact it gives my lips a reddish tint (from the active ingredients that plump)

As always feel free to leave a comment telling me if you love/hate Too Faced "Lip Injections", any questions or comments, and of course any recommendations for me! Thanks so much! -Emma

Colourpop Metallics Lipsticks

So I made one of my very first Colourpop orders when I saw that they had restocked their "Ultra Metallic Lip" liquid lipsticks. Colourpop is a cruelty free brand and all of their lip liners and lipsticks are vegan. I was actually so excited about this restock that I had to break out the credit card because I was on vacation and hadn't worked in about a month!  

These are an amazing price for the quality and amount you are getting. With the metallic lip (and anything) craze going on, Colourpop is offering these lipsticks at a staggering $6 a piece! This is not even mentioning the amazing prices they have for their other products. 

I wore each of these colours and they stayed on all day. The only time they came off was if I ate something oily/greasy (which is normal) or if I manually took it off at the end of the day. There was minimal transferring and they looked amazing. 

I got some swatches for you below so you can check out how the colours look in different lighting and such:

As you can see I bought all 4 of their offered metallic liquid lipsticks. From right to left there is: "Zebra", "3-Way", "Kween", and "Man Eater". 

Here is a picture of the swatches next to their lipstick tubes (with name) so you can see how each of them looks. I took this picture in natural lighting, indirect from sunlight. From top to bottom there is: "Zebra", "3-Way", "Kween", and "Man-Eater".

Here are the swatches in natural sunlight. From top to bottom: "Zebra", "3-Way", "Kween", and "Man-Eater".

Here are the swatches in flash lighting. From left to right: "Zebra", "3-Way", "Kween", and "Man-Eater".

So if you haven't been able to catch my drift this whole article, I'm saying "if you love metallic lipsticks and great prices- get this!" Colourpop is really great at restocking quickly so don't be discouraged if you find they have all sold out- they will be back soon! 

As always let me know in the comments if you love/hate Colourpop, or if there are any brands you would like me to try! 

Thanks so much again for reading!