Belli Skin Complexion Duo Review and Giveaway

This is an awesome skin care duo! Enter to win below!!

The Belli Complexion Protection Duo has become a recent favorite of mine.  I have so enjoyed using the face wash everyday.  The Green Tea and Cucumber scent is so calming and sooting and just what I need after a long day.

Anti-Blemish Facial Wash contains lactic acid and it exfoliates your skin gently without over drying.  This is free of salicylic acid, glycolic acid and benzoyl peroxide so it is safe to use if you are pregnant.  

The Pure Radiance Facial Sunscreen has an SPF of 25.  This is oil free and has a slight tint to it.  I have worn it as both sunscreen and as a daily moisturizer and I enjoy it for both. I will say that my skin is dry and it is very hydrating.  I wouldn't recommend this as a daily lotion for anyone with oily skin but it could still be a sunscreen for you.  

Belli products are never tested on animals.  They have been allergy tested and they are free of artificial dyes and fragrances.  There also made without phthalates and paraben preservatives. This is the good stuff ladies!

Thank you so much for checking out this giveaway!

Kristen

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

You MUST use a valid email! There have been several winners in the past that have never responded to the email I sent to contact them.  Once you are contacted via email, you will only have 5 days to respond or I will choose a new winner.  Thank you for understanding.  

This is open to US residents ONLY!

Benjabelle Original Brush Tree Review

Benjabelle - The Original Brush Tree

*Disclaimer* This product was sent to me for review purposes.  I was not given any monetary compensation for this review.  My opinions stated in this review are 100% my own.  

Benjabelle brush tree helps keep your brushes like new.  The brush tree drys your brushes vertically, so it protects your bristles and keeps water out of the ferrule, or handle. 

Here are some of my brushes drying after a wedding weekend.  I have several sets of brushes so I dried some with the tree and the others laying down.  I found that the brushes that dried on the tree were dry much faster than the ones that were laid on a towel.  

Here you can see my brushes, off all sizes and shapes hang drying.  You can hang one larger brush or group several smaller brushes together to fit into one slot.

What a cool invention! I have throughly enjoyed having this, especially during wedding season when I have more brushes to wash more often.  The Original brush tree can hold up to 14 large brushes or 42 smaller ones, or a combination of the two like I have shown above.  It retails for $34.95, it's available in either black, white, or pink, and it can be purchased by clicking here.   

In addition to the Original Brush Tree, Benjabelle also offers a mini brush tree.  The mini brush tree can hold up to 24 thinner eye and lip brushes.  Now that I know how amazing this is, I will be sure to get a mini tree as well.

If you are a makeup artist or just a beauty enthusiast, I highly recommend that you invest in the Benjabelle Brush Tree.  Faster dry time and allowing water to to run out and not settle in the ferrule are benefits that all makeup lovers can appreciate.

Thanks for checking out my review.

The Benjabelle brush trees can be purchased by clicking here. (not an affiliate link)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  I'd love to help.  

Kristen

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Armour Beauty Lip Gloss: Review and Swatches

Armour Beauty was founded and created by Theo Kogan.  As a rocker/model Theo desired a lip gloss that would stay on during a performance.  She felt that this was missing in the beauty industry and set out to create a lipgloss of her own.  Kudos to Theo, she knocked the ball out of the park.  

Armour Beauty lip glosses are naturally based, long wearing, and paraben free.  They have a light scent of vanilla and grapefruit that is heavenly.  The formula is a pleasure to wear and I have been able to get 5 to 6 hours of wear time out of all of the glosses reviewed here.  They are super glossy, very opaque, and extremely comfortable on the lips.  

BONUS: Armour Beauty is never tested on animals!

Top to Bottom: Candy, Hello, Purple Rain, Cat Club

Swatches L to R: Candy, Hello, Purple Rain, Cat Club

 Candy A beautiful opaque lavender.  This lipgloss was inspired by the icon Candy Darling and by the Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson song.  Kate Pierson was part of the B52's and a total rockin' babe!

 Hello A bright opaque bubble gum pink.  This gloss was inspired by Hello Kitty and the 1960's Hello magazine.  

Purple Rain A beautiful  purple with shimmer.  Is a brand spankin' new color that will be released this summer! It will be available on Beautylish.com.  This is such a beautiful color and definitely my favorite next to Cat Club!

Cat Club A super glossy opaque hot pink.  This gloss was inspired by and named after the glam rocker nightclub of the 1980's and 90's. 

These glosses lasted for so long that I needed to remove them myself.  My lips felt moisturized as if I had been wearing a balm all day.  The natural oils and butter in the glosses help to nourish and protect lips while wearing them.  

What more could you want? Awesome and vibrant colored glosses that last 6 hours and protect and moisturize your lips!

Check out my video review for live swatches!

Thanks for reading and checking out my new favorite lip glosses!! Have you tried Armour Beauty yet? You NEED to!! Click here to check out the site and purchase your own!!

Kristen
xx







Disclaimer:  I did receive these Armour Beauty lip glosses for purposes of this review.  I did not receive any monetary compensation.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  My loyalty is to my readers and always will be.  

FLOWER Black Label Lipstick in LS12

For starters, I love the packaging.  It's a sleek black with rose gold detail.  I like that you can see the color on the bottom.  With that being said, the top has a funny shape so it isn't exactly easy to store upside down.  

These lipsticks do not have names so this one is labeled LS12.  I prefer when products have names and not just numbers because they are easier for me to remember. 

The color is a beautiful creamy rose pink.  It's very soft on the lips.  The only down fall I found is that it had a very unpleasant plastic scent.  Over time (5 minutes), it does become unnoticeable, but immediately after application it's pretty stinky.  

Swatch photos taken in natural lighting.  

I hope this helps some of you make a decision on whether or not you want to pick this one up.  Overall it's a great lipstick if you can hold on for 5 minutes until the smell dissipates.  

Thanks so much for reading!!

Kristen

xx

NYX Butter Gloss Part 1: Swatches and Review

These NYX butter glosses are AMAZING! I purchased mine at Ulta and they retail for only $4.99.  But as most of you know, Ulta will usually put NYX on sale for buy one get one 50% off.

The butter glosses feel like just that, BUTTER.  They are silky and smooth on the lips.  I found the opacity and wear to be similar to MAC lip glasses, however these amazing little gems are not sticky.

The only down fall, is that I found myself reapplying about every two hours to keep the color vibrant and vivid. But I didn't mind it.  In my opinion, these glosses are totally worth the purchase, but I would wait to get them on sale.  

Here are swatches:  

L to R: Apple Strudel, Maple Blondie, Eclair, Creme Brûlée

All swatches below were done in natural lighting.  

Apple Strudel 

Maple Blondie

Eclair

Creme Brûlée

Have you tried the NYX butter glosses yet? What's your favorite?

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

xx

My Top 10 Current Drug Store Must Haves

Hey Everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic day.  Just incase you missed this video earlier this week, I wanted to share it again.  I'm talking about my current favorite must haves from the drug store.  There are some really great products here.  I hope you enjoy.

Products Mentioned:


L'oreal Lumi Foundation
Cover Girl and Olay Simply Ageless Eye Corrector
Maybelline Dream Lumi in Radiant
L'oreal Magic Perfecting Base Primer
Maybelline Barely Branded Color Tattoo
Sonia Kashuk Blush in Melon
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Black
NYX Slide on Glide on Liner in Golden Bronze
Maybelline Rocket Volume Mascara
Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara
NYX Butter Glosses (Maple Blondie)
Revlon Color Stay Top Coat and Base Coat
Sonia Kashuk Spoolie
Real Techniques Stippling Brush


Thanks so much for checking out my drug store favorites.  I'll update it again when things change.

Kristen
xx

NOTD: Zoya LC Swatch and Review

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope you've all had a great week.  

We all know how I feel about Zoya nail polish.  Can we say "OBSESSED"?  Zoya's LC is a warm redish coral creme polish that is extremely opaque.  It applied like a dream and I only needed one coat.  

Being a super busy mom, I love that most of my Zoya polishes are so opaque after only one coat that I have time to paint my nails more regularly.    

I always feel better about painting my nails with Zoya polishes because they are an amazing formula without having all of the bad junk in it.  Zoya nail polishes are free of formaldehyde, toluene, diptuyle phthalate (DBP) and camphor.  

Have you tried Zoya's LC? What is your favorite from Zoya?

Thanks for reading! 

Kristen 

xx

Monthly Beauty Trash, Plus Reviews! Check it out!

I love these monthly videos! I always feel so accomplished at the end of the month looking in my bag of things I have used up.  This actually helps me use up products before I open more.  

What products have you used up this month?

Thanks for watching!

Kristen

xx

Very Close Dupes: Buxom Creamcicle and NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel

Lately, I have been obsessed with my BUXOM Creamcicle lipgloss.  After purchasing some of the NYX Butter Glosses, I noticed I was just as obsessed with Apple Strudel and Maple Blondie.   I have been going back and forth between the two lately and I'm seriously in love.

Here I have featured Apple Strudel as being a close dupe and a drug store alternative to purchasing BUXOM's Creamcicle.  While they look different swatched on my skin, you can see just how similar they are once applied to the lips.

If you have NYX Maple Blonde you could skip on Apple Strudel because they are very similar and you don't need to have both.  Both Apple Strudel and Maple Blondie are great drug store options for getting the same look as using Creamcicle at a fraction of the price.

NYX Apple Strudel (left) Buxom Creamcicle (right)

NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel

Buxom Creamcicle

I hope this helps save you guys some money while still being able to rock a beautiful coral lip this summer.

Thanks for reading!

Kristen
xx

Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Hot Plum: Swatches and Review

What can I say?! This is yet another amazing lipstick from the Maybelline Vivid's collection.  Hot Plum is a bright vivid magenta but it's not really a neon like some of the other shades from this line.   It's consistency was creamy and smooth.  It applied beautifully.  

Swatches photographed in natural light.  

I love the sheen that the Vivid's leave on your lips.  Hot plum wore on me for 5 hours and left a slight stain to my lips.  This color is going to be great for a variety of skin tones.  This is a great shade if you're looking for a bright summer color.  

Thanks for reading.

Kristen

xx

FLOWER Cream Eye Shadow in Wild Geranium: Swatches and Review

I was recently gifted a bunch of Flower cosmetic items because my area still doesn't have them available.  This has been one of my favorite items I've tried from Flower so far.  

First off, I love the packaging! I'm a packaging freak and a sucker for anything white.  This is a similar type of packaging to the Maybelline Color Tattoos but it has a square shape that I am loving.  

Once you open the package, you'll find the stopper. Don't throw this away.  If you've used the L'oreal Infalliable eye shadows, this is the same thing.  You'll need to keep it to keep the product in place.  I'm hoping it helps it from drying out to quickly as well.  

The consistency is mousse like and so creamy.  It was a dream to apply and blend.  As you can see, it's much more of a creamy texture than the Maybelline Color Tattoos or the MAC Paint Pots.  The formula is very user friendly.  

The color is a beautiful light golden bronze shade.  The pigmentation is amazing and the color was very vivd on the eye lid. I paired this with Urban Decay's Chopper eye shadow for an amazing summer look.  

I found that the shadow performed better when I topped with a powder eye shadow, but I did also enjoy wearing it one it's own.  However, I do suggest using some type of eye shadow primer because after about 4 to 5 hours without a primer the shadow had faded terribly.

Overall, I think this is a great product.  Even if you don't like cream eye shadows, I would recommend you trying this out because it's one of the easiest cream eye shadow formulas I've ever worked with.  

Once I can find these in my area, I will be looking to purchase more.

Thanks for reading.

Kristen

xx

NOTD: Essie Bikini So Teeny

Last summer, I searched and searched for this color and it was sold out everywhere.  Last week, I found it on the permanent display at my local Walgreens.  Thrilled, I grabbed it as soon as I saw it and couldn't wait to get home and get this color on my nails.

This is the perfect cross between a light blue and a periwinkle and it has a subtle silver shimmer.  I wore this polish with no base or top coat for 5 days before I noticed any chipping, but I am pretty hard on my nails.  I tested it with Revlon's Color Stay base and top coat and this color wore perfectly for 9 days! To me, that is a WINNER.  

I am in love with this color and you can be sure you will see it again in my upcoming summer nail polish picks post. 

Thanks for reading! 

Kristen 

xx

NYX Love in Florence Palette in Bellini Kiss Swatches and Review

I recently picked up the NYX Love in Florence palette in Bellini Kiss and I have found myself reaching for it more often than not.  

I have been really pleased with the quality, pigmentation, and performance of this little palette.  The only shadow I had an issue with was the gold one.  It was stiff and did not offer much color pay off.  However, I had better results when using that shadow wet.

Swatches

Overall, I think it is a great palette for the money and the colors are perfect for spring and summer.  

Need an idea of how to use this palette, check out my tutorial.

Have you tried any of the new NYX palettes? I can not wait to get more! I sense a NYX addiction coming on! 

Thanks for reading!

Kristen 

xx

Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Vivid Rose Review

First off let's acknowledge the neon packaging that is perfect for the bright Vivid's lipstick line.  

Maybelline's Vivid Rose is a bright rose pink color with a slight sheen in the finish.  I love the application.  It goes on so creamy and smooth and doesn't dry on the lips.  It lasted on me for 4 hours before I noticed any fading at all.  It did leave a slight stain to my lips afterwards, which I didn't mind at all.  

Swatches

This beautiful lipstick is sure to be one of my number one bright pink lippies that I reach for all summer long.  I have already started wearing it more and more.  I am in LOVE!

In my opinion, this is an amazing quality lipstick at a great price point.  It's definitely one of the best I have found from the drugstore in a while!

Have you tried any of the Maybelline Vivids yet? Which colors do you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

xx