January and February 2016 Empties

Hello everyone! I am back with a two month's worth of empties! These are the products that I have currently used up this year. Some of them I have really enjoyed while others, not so much. So, without further ado, here we go!

Ah! My favorite! Makeup removing wipes! The blue package is the one I keep going back to time and time again. The green package is a new release, it claims to be the "natural" version of the wipes. It claims to not have harsh chemicals, sulfates, parabens, petrolatum, dyes, and phthalates. I really really wanted to love the green packaged wipes, but they felt a little dryer than the usual ones and since my skin is usually dry, I feel like it caused friction when I tried to rub my makeup off. I think these would be great for people that maybe have normal to oily skin as the wipes would slide a little easier on the skin. (about $7 each)

The next item I used up is the body spray Amber Blush from Bath & Body Works...I have been working on using this up since last spring, so I am glad to see this gone! I did enjoy the smell, but like all body sprays, I felt the smell evaporated after a while. (about $15)

This is a makeup setting spray from Make Up For Ever. It is very good quality and it makes your makeup last all day. However, the price is a little higher than I would like, $30 a bottle. Although the price is pretty high, the bottle did last me a whole year (crazy!). I really enjoyed how it set my makeup but the one thing I did not like besides the price is the fact that when it sprays, I can feel it splatter all over my face vs just a mist. I have not repurchased this as I found the Mario Badescu Rose water spray at Ulta for $7 a bottle, and that one makes my makeup last just as long. ($30)

This moisturizer is wonderful. It is perfect for dry to really dry skin and sensitive skin. The consistency is a little thicker so you want to use a tiny amount. It also does in fact smell like cucumbers, so if that is not something you want, you might want to steer clear of this. I also enjoy that it comes with a pump, making dispensing the right amount easy every time. I have already repurchased this. ($15)

These are mud masks that I get at Ulta. They are really nice and leave your pores really clean. I absolutely love them. (about $2 each)

This is another mask that I really enjoy, it smells really good and it leaves your pores clean and your face feeling clean. (About $2)

This mask however, I did not enjoy. I got it in my stocking stuffer over the holidays. It did clean my pores nicely but I just could not get past the smell. I am not sure how to describe the smell, I just know I did not like it. I do not believe I will be repurchasing, at least not this specific one. (about $3 each)

This is my Tarte Amazonian Clay tinted eye brow gel. I really enjoyed this gel. Although it was pricey, it did last me a whole year. I have not repurchased this as I am now using an eyebrow pencil, but if you have thickish brows or brows that are dark enough on their own, I would definitely recommend this product to tint up the patches and set the eyebrows for a natural and quick brow. ($24)

This is the NYX HD concealer. I got this in the lightest shade. I had bought this for my under eye circles. I was not really loving this. I don't know if that is because I have really dark under eye circles and my expectations were high, but it just did not give me as much coverage/correction as I had wanted. (about $5)

This is a trio of sleeping facial masks (they really are more like thick overnight moisturizers) from Korres. I really enjoyed all of them. The kit came with the Black Pine (antiwrinkle, firming, and lifting), the Wild Rose (advanced brightening), and the Greek Yogurt (advanced nourishing). I really enjoyed all three, but I am not sure that the Black Pine really did much of anything for my skin. I did purchase a full size of the Wild Rose, and I do enjoy using that every night before bed. ($48)

This is a body lotion by Origins. I really enjoyed this. I thought it was very mositurizing and I absolutely loved the smell (smelled like ginger hence the name, Ginger Cloud). I have not repurchased this, nor do I know if they even still sell this specific one, but if I do find this out there I will be picking it up. ($25)

Finally, I finished up another container of the First Aid Beauty facial radiance polish. I really do enjoy this specially in the winter for my dry patches around my t-zone. I did not repurchase this yet, as I purchased a different scrub by Korres, but if I had to, I would definitely repurchase this. ($24)

That is all! Everything that I have used up in the year 2016. This year, I want to do a little something different with my empties, by adding the $ amount at the end of each post, just so I can see how much of my money that I have invested I have actually used up. For the first couple of months this year, the total dollars used is $212. Wow, if I could only do that with some other products in my stash such as blushes, bronzers, palettes, etc I could actually get good use and make my money worth it! 

Hope you enjoyed this new empties. Thanks for reading! 

~Naty

 Too Faced Chocolate Bar (Original) Tutorial

                         

Hello Everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I am back with a tutorial using the original Too Faced Chocolate Bar and one of the sample lipsticks from the UD Gwen Stefani collection. If you would like to see how I did this look, keep on reading!

This time, I began concealing my under eye circles with my Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser and blended that out using my expert face brush by Real Techniques.

For foundation, I used my Lorac Natural Performance in NP1 (Porcelain) and blended that out using my RT Expert Face Brush. *I have used quite a bit of this foundation and now I am noticing that it is coming out really water-y which is really weird....I am not sure what is going on there, I try shaking the bottle but this bottle doesn't really allow the foundation to move around.

I used my Mary Kay loose powder in Ivory and a big fluffy brush to set my foundation and concealer.

I then used my NYX eyebrow pencil in dark brown and my Essence lash and brow gel to fill in and set my eye brows.

I used my Lorac Behind the Scenes primer on my lids.

I set the primer using the shade White Chocolate and a flat shader brush.

I used the same flat shader brush and the shade Haute Chocolate and applied that all over the lid.

I then used a small crease brush and the shade Semi-Sweet and applied that in the crease using windshield wiper motions and circular motions to blend.

I also used the shade Salted Caramel on a small crease brush and placed that in the crease to warm up the look a little more.

I used an angled brush and applied the shade Triple Fudge to the outer V to deepen the look. I then used a big fluffy crease brush (with no product) and blended that out a bit.

I used the shade Hazelnut and an angled liner brush and smudged some of that under my lash line.

I used the shade Triple Fudge and that same angled liner brush and lined my top lash line.

I used a fluffy crease brush and the shade Champagne Truffle and applied that as a brow bone highlight.

I curled my lashes and applied my Too Faced Better than Sex mascara to my top lashes.

I then used my NYX Wonder Pencil in the shade WP01 Light and lined my waterline. This adds a nice brightening effect that can be used with every look but looks really good when you have a dark eye look.

Using a big fluffy powder brush and what is left of my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil bronzer, I applied the bronzer all over my face to warm up the skin.

I then went in with my Sephora contouring brush kit and my Chocolate Soleil Bronzer from my Too Faced Everything Nice palette and further contoured my cheeks, chin, forehead and nose.

Using the shade Dream on from the Too Faced Everything Nice palette and a small blush brush, I cleaned up my contour a little.

I used that same brush and the shade Inner Light from the TF Everything Nice palette as a highlight on my cheekbones in a "c" shape on the cheekbone and around and up into my forehead above my eye brow (going only 1/4 of the brow).

For my blush, I used a RT Blush brush and the shade sweet pink from the TF Everything Nice palette and applied that to my cheekbones.

I took the lipstick shade in Rocksteady from the UD Gwen collection and applied that using a brush.

Finally, to set my makeup, I used my Mario Badescu facial spray.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed the look.Thanks again for taking the time to read.

Until next time,

~Naty