ShopMissA Haul

A Big ShopMissA Haul

If you aren't familiar with ShopMissA, and you like makeup, you really should be! Everything except stuff in their charm shop is one US dollar, and even the things in their charm shop don't go above about $5.00! This was my third order from ShopMissA, and I've been very satisfied with all of my orders so far. Nothing has ever come damaged and I would absolutely order from them again. I placed my order on Tuesday, March 1st, and received my package on Tuesday, March 8th. I think that a week isn't very bad at all! I've played around with most of these things a little bit, and I'll talk about how I like things I have tried out when I get to those products. I repurchased a few things that I've liked in the past as well. One thing to keep in mind is that because everything is a dollar, the quality can be hit and miss. I find that for the most part things are hits, but you do sometimes have to be willing to work with a more difficult product. Also keep in mind that a single eyeshadow for a dollar is probably going to be better quality than one of their 32-shadow palettes for a dollar!

I've always wanted to try lashes with little gems on them, and I figured that at two pairs for a dollar, even if they weren't very good, they would be worth a try. Only one pair has the gems, but I like the style of both pairs.

I love the Kara lashes so much! I've never not liked a pair I got, so I repurchased one of my favorites. ShopMissA has a HUGE lash selection. I recommend the Kara ones over the Kleancolor ones since the Kleancolor ones tend to be very, very long, but if you like your lashes super long then I would say go for those. I find that the Kara lashes can withstand quite a few wears, and seeing as I rarely wear lashes anyways, these should last me a while.

I've also had these lashes before and enjoyed them, so I bought another pair. I like how the ends flare out.

These lashes looked pretty on the website, so I got a pair. I think they'll look nice on.

I've been in need of more eyeshadow brushes, and I happen to know that I like all of these ones, so I got some more. I have to wash them before I use them, but I'll be happy to have some more brushes.

These Wizard Pads are freaking amazing! I've had them in peppermint before and loved how they worked but not the scent so I got them in lemon...

...and orange...

...as well as grape. Not only are they acetone free, they even have cuticle oil. They aren't oily to me, though, and it only takes one pad to remove all ten nails of polish. For a dollar each, these are a total steal. I tried out the LA Colors nail polish remover pads as well (you can also get them at ShopMissA) but I don't like them quite as much so I got a bunch of these instead. The LA Colors one aren't bad, I just happen to like these better.

I refuse to buy foundation, concealer, or primer from ShopMissA because I've had bad experiences with one-dollar foundations in the past, but face masks at WalMart aren't much more than a dollar anyways, and I've tried ShopMissA face masks before and not broken out, so I got some more.

I'm really excited for the peel-off cucumber mask because I love peeling off masks. It's satisfying in a very odd way. I hear nothing but good things about vitamin E, so I wanted to try a vitamin E face mask out.

I'm most excited for these masks because I've tried the peach one before and loved it, so I'm hoping the oatmeal one will be similar. They have a really cool bubbling effect and when you rub the bubbles in with water it helps clean your skin really well.

Since I've used up so many lip balms, I decided it was time to get some more. I've had my eye on these the last couple of times I ordered from ShopMissA, but they were out of stock until now.

Fun-shaped lips balms are my thing, so I was immediately drawn to these. The egg one smells like oranges, which I enjoy.

This lip balm is a repurchase. It's actually a fantastic lip balm, very smooth application and super moisturizing. The sad part is it gets used up really fast because it has a soft texture. But for a dollar, I think it's worth it.

I'll admit it - I got this lipstick for the packaging. It was too cute to resist! I did get it in a color I think I would wear, though. It's the shade 14 Tiara.

This is the Santee Eyebrow Powder. I ordered the shade 01, and the packaging even says the shade is 01, but the product looks more like the picture of shade 02. I don't mind all that much because although the left shade is too warm for me, the right shade looks decent on my brows when I tested it out.

I also got the Malibu Glitz Brush-On Eyebrow Powder Duo in Medium Brown. I would have gotten a blonde shade but they didn't have one so I went with this. The lighter shade doesn't really show up in my brows, but the darker shade works pretty well.

This is the powder from the Brows Essential Kit in Light Brown. It came with a little angled brush and some eyebrow stencils, all of which I seem to have immediately lost. This is a pretty good match for my brows.

The last brow product I got was the Santee Eybrow Sword Pencil in Light Brown. It comes with a spoolie brush on one end, which is really neat. I like how it looks in my brows.

Starting on eyeshadow, I got some Amuse Pressed Eyshadow Pigments in the shades Green Lime, Star Light, and Intense Pink. I already have the shade Black Night and I like it a lot so I decided to get a few more.

I've heard good things about the Princessa City Girl Eyeshadow Trios, and I'm obsessed with Paris, so of course I got the shade Paris. It's a purple trio.

I got the Kleancolor Color Playlist quad in Jazz on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. The whiteish shade is nothing special dry, just chalky and unpigmented. But when you use it wet, it's has a gorgeous iridescence. The other colors are okay, but I think the white shade would look so pretty wet on top of other shadows.

This trio is in the shade 4. I have to play with it a bit more before I decide if I like it or not. Swatched with my fingers it's super powdery and weird, but it's not as bad using a brush.

This e.l.f. quad is in the shade PINK' N' PINK. Oddly, the white shade seems to be the most pigmented when I swatch them. I need to play around with this more.

The pink blush/bronzer in in 1 Spring Blossom and the orangey brown one is in Royal Touch. The orangey one I got thinking it would be less orange to use as a bronzer, but after swatching it I may just use it as a blush and eyeshadow.

This is the Rose Cheek Pop Blush in Mauve. It's a very pretty color, one that I don't have anything like in my collection. It's not so pigmented that it's super easy to use too much, but it's still pigmented.

The final products are these LA Colors Jumbo Eye Pencils in Desert Sun, Bronze Shimmer, and Sweet Wishes. I have the white one, Sea Shells, and it makes a fantastic eyeshadow base.

Great Beauty Resources

My Favorite Resources For All Things Beauty

When it comes to getting information on beauty, it can get overwhelming quickly. That's why I'm here to give you some tips on how to get the information you need without the struggle.

#1 - Local Professionals

I'm lucky enough to know several local cosmetologists and aestheticians, so if I ever have a question about skincare or haircare, they're usually able to answer it. If you don't know any, search for some online and send them an email asking if they're willing to answer a few questions. Chances are if you're polite to them, they'll be more than willing to help educate you.

#2 - The Foundation Matrix

Want a new foundation, but don't know our shade? Worry no more! The Foundation Matrix offers you side-by-side comparisons of foundations so all you have to do is enter your shade in your current foundation and you'll be able to find a match in the foundation you want to get!

#3 - The Swatch Gallery

Want to know if two lipsticks or eyeshadows are dupes? Check here! You can select swatches of products and compare them next to each other to see how similar they are.

#4 - Influenster

Influenster is not only a cool way to get free stuff, it's also a site full of reviews on all sorts of products, both beauty related and not. I love to review things on here, as well as ask questions about products, because I often get answers within a couple days and those answers tend to be relevant and thorough. Plus, you can get free stuff!

#5 - Friends and Family

When in doubt, ask your friends and family for tips. They may know more than you think and their intentions will more often than not be good. They could even have product recommendations that would never have occurred to you otherwise!

Products I Want To Use Up Update

Products I Want To Use Up In 2016 Update Two

I'm doing pretty well this month, considering that I've been sick a lot! I haven't had the chance to wear much makeup but I still think I'll be able to reach all of my goals by the end of the year. I'm not sick anymore so I'll be feeling up to wearing makeup a lot more in the next month than I was last month. I'm really surprised by how well I'm doing on the lipstick - although it may not look like a whole lot of progress, it's enough that with regular wear I should be able to use it up easily within the year. The category I'm most worried about right now is eyeliner because eyeliner is the thing I'm most likely to skip in the mornings when I'm running low on time or just don't feel like wearing it, so I'll be making a change to that category that I will explain when I get to that category.

Lip Balm

My goal was to use up five lip balms this year, and I'm already on my fifth! I finished the BlamTastic one and I'm onto the one from Palmer's. I was nearly done with a BabyLips Electro one, but I realized that it might be causing an allergic reaction, so I'm taking a break from that for now. The Palmer's lip balm is rolled up as far as it will go in this picture, so you can see there's not a whole lot left. I just started it the other day, so I guess it's one that gets used up really fast.

Lipstick

I wanted to use up one full-size lipstick this year, and I have officially chosen my first-ever MAC lipstick, which is in the shade Brave. It's a pretty pinky-nude that has a gorgeous satin finish. I chose this one not only because I absolutely love the color on me, but because it wears comfortably. These two reasons combined mean I won't get bored or sick of wearing it regularly over a long period of time, or at least that's what I'm hoping. I really can't see myself ever growing tired of such an amazing color, though! I just got a couple new MAC lipsticks, so I compared the progress on this one to a brand-new one, and I have made a bit of progress. I am confident that with a bit more regular use, I can totally use this up by the end of the year.

Foundation

The Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless was my favorite foundation for a while, so I currently have two of them. Now I only like it when i apply it with a dampened sponge and I have to be careful how I powder it because of some dry patches I magically developed. Since I doubt those will magically go away the way they magically appeared, I'm trying to get one of these foundations out of my collection as on of the two foundations I want to use up this year. I think I'm about halfway done with this one, and the other one is totally full.

Body Spray

I wanted to use up one body spray this year, and I'm trying to use up my Bath & BodyWorks Twisted Peppermint because I love it and I constantly want to smell like it. I don't have a picture because it was downstairs and I'm upstairs and lazy, but I haven't made much progress due to being sick anyways. I may not use it up entirely this year, but if I get over halfway done then I'll be happy.

Powder

This year, my goal is to use up two face powders, and I'm currently maybe two thirds of the way through my first one, which is the NYX HD Studio Finishing Powder. It's a very lightweight translucent powder that I use to set my entire face. I would assume it has flashback, but I haven't experienced it because I never have flash photos taken of me. I really want to try the RCMA No Color powder but last time I checked it was sold out ever and I'm also waiting to use one powder up before I get it.

Eyeliner

The original goal I had set for eyeliners I had set was six, but I've changed it to three because six just isn't realistic anymore. I use these two on my waterline sometimes, and the white one as an eyeshadow base when I really want a color to pop. The black one doesn't roll back down once you roll it up so I can't tell my progress, so I guess it'll just be a pleasant surprise when it's done. I've also decided to include brow pencils in this category because they're basically waxy eyeliners.

Body Butter

My goal for body butter/lotion is three, and I've used up one and am on my second. This is a mini of the coconut body butter from the Body Shop. I used up the shea butter one, but I've barely used this one at all because I've been forgetting. I still think three is doable, though.

Nail Polish

I'm nearly done with this polish! My goal was only one, and although I could realistically use up four or five this year, I'm not going to extend my goal in this category. The reasoning behind this whole project is getting excess items out of my collection, and I don't feel I have excess nail polish because I just did a declutter of all my old polishes, so now I only have color that are both something I would wear and something less than two years old. As for how much progress I've made, I now have to tilt the bottle to get any polish on the brush. I would just call it done, but I really like this color and I haven't gotten another one yet. Once I either get my hands on a backup or absolutely can't use it anymore, I'll call it done.

Shower Gel

I've got about a quarter of one of my Paris Amour shower gels from Bath & BodyWorks left, so I should be done with that soon. After that I want to focus on my Lush shower gel that I forget the name of right now. I think it was a holiday scent, though. It's an incredibly sweet scent that you really have to be in the mood for to enjoy, so it's harder to use up, and a little goes a long way. My goal for the year is two shower gels.

Lip Butter

Look at all the progress on my Nivea lip butter! I've been really good about using this nearly every night before bed, so it's going super well. My goal in this category is just one, and I think that's a good goal since they take me a while.

Lip Scrub

The progress on my lip scrub hasn't been quite as great, but I can still use it up within the year. My goal in this category is also just one. I find store-bought lip scrubs unnecessary since I can make ones that are just as good at home from coconut oil and sugar. I do enjoy this one, though, and it's only a dollar from ShopMissA if you don't want to make your own.

Eyeshadow

I hit pan on Salted Caramel in the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette! The next shadow I'm focusing on is Champagne Truffle in the same palette. I only use it as a browbone and inner corner highlight, but I tend to use a dense brush that picks up a lot of product and pack a lot on. I already have a good sized dent in it, so I should be hitting pan soon.

Lip Gloss

The last category is lip glosses, which I want to use up two of. We will see how that goes. I may only use up one, but that's okay, because I've been stopping myself from buying glosses anyways. I want to focus on this Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Margaret because I think it goes well with my MAC lipstick in Brave.

February Favorites

February 2016 Favorites

February is over, so it's time for a favorites post! This month I'm trying something new and including my non-beauty favorites at the beginning as well. My favorite food has been Ruffles Oven Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream Potato Chips. Oh my gosh, they're freaking delicious! I've tried the normal, non-oven-baked kind and I don't like them as much because I think they're too greasy. The oven baked kind also have less fat, so that's a plus, but I would eat them anyways because they taste good. My favorite drink has been the Odwalla Chocolate Protein Shake. They taste super yummy and they have a decent amount of protein in them. My favorite song has been "Something In The Way You Move" by Ellie Goulding, although my favorite music artist of all time remains and shall always remain Ed Sheeran. My favorite YouTuber has been emilynoel83. Her beauty videos are both informative and entertaining, and many of the products she talks about are affordable and easy to find. I also think that her reviews are very honest, so I feel like I can trust when she says a product is worth the money or not. Now, onto the products!

I've been really enjoying the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water this month. I use it to remove my eye makeup when I do tutorials to post here. It works super well and it doesn't sting my eyes at well. It also doesn't break me out. I put some on a cotton pad, hold the cotton pad on my eye for 10-20 seconds, and swipe the makeup off, and the majority of it comes off. Mascara and eyeliner takes a little bit of rubbing, but nothing that hurts my eyes, and eyeshadow comes right off.

This is the last lip balm I need to use up for my Project Use It Up, and I've actually really been liking it. It's super moisturizing and it leaves my lips feeling nice and smooth. I got it at Dollar Tree, so it was only a dollar, which I think is a more than reasonable price.

My favorite makeup brush this month has been the brush that came with the Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette. The fluffy end is really good for blending out shadow and the other end is great for applying shadow to the inner corner or lower lashline. It's super soft and it never sheds at all, although I haven't had it long enough to see if it can withstand frequent washing.

The fourth thing I've been loving this month is something homemade. I made this makeup brush spot cleaner out of some 97% isopropyl alcohol, water, and a tiny bit of baby shampoo, and it works great! I spray some onto the brush after I use it and swirl it onto a paper towel until it's clean and that way I can reuse brushes throughout the week until it's time to do my once a week deep cleansing.

This MAC lipstick in Brave is my all time favorite lipstick. It has a gorgeous satin finish that doesn't wear off easily while still not being drying. It's a really pretty pinky nude that I think would look good on anybody.

My last February favorite is the Hard Candy Look Pro Neutral Eyes palette. I've managed to find a use for every shade and my favorite is the one in the very middle. I've experimented with using some of them wet and they look even better that way.

Eye Look

Eye Look Using MAC Amber Lights

I just got the MAC eyeshadow Amber Lights and I wanted to play around with it. I ended up liking how it turned out, so I'm posting it here. I think I'll experiment with using it wet next, since it's not quite as vibrant as I'd like on it's own. I also used the Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette to create this look.

I started with the shade Combust as my transition shade. This shadow is one of my favorite transition shades.

I used a couple very light layers of Whiskey in my crease. I didn't want it to be very dark so I kept it really light.

Next, I put the star of the show, Amber Lights by MAC, all over my lid and blended it a bit up into the crease.

After that I used the shade Dirtysweet on my lower lashline. I wet my brush before using it so that it would be more intense.

I used the shade Thirteen wet as my browbone highlight. I used it wet since I find that on it's own this shade never really shows up on me.

I put the shade High on my inner corner, and the shadow is done!

Eyeliner is optional, but I do highly recommend mascara. I think mascara is an essential for any eye look because I feel it really pulls everything together.

Here is the look paired with MAC's Craving, which is an Amplified finish. I like how the darker lips look with the eyes.

Mini MAC Haul

Mini MAC Haul

A family member was recently very generous and let me pick a few things out from MAC, and I just got them in the mail so I wanted to share them here! I'm testing out some photo editing, so if you like it then let me know.

My free sample was a Prep and Prime primer. I've been wanting to test this out so it's good that I can try it out before I buy a full size.

The first thing I got is the eyeshadow Amber Lights. It's a gorgeous copper color with a frost finish, so it has a really pretty sheen to it. I wanted it because I thought that it would make a great all-over lid color, and maybe even look good on the lid and diffused into the crease. The texture when I swatched it was super smooth and buttery without being powdery at all, so I imagine the formula will be great on the lids as well.

The next thing I got was a lipstick in the shade Twig, which is a satin finish. I have Brave, which is also a satin finish, and I love it, so I knew I wanted another satin finish lipstick. This seems like the perfect brown nude for my skin tone and color, although I haven't tried it on yet. It swatches super smoothly and it feels really creamy.

The last thing I got was the lipstick in Craving. This one swatches incredibly creamy! The amplified finishes are supposed to be extra pigmented, and I can definitely see that in this particular lipstick. When I was reading about the amplified formula on the MAC website, it seemed like I would love it, and so far with just swatching it I do!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post! I plan to do a review of the MAC satin finish lipsticks after I get a few more, so if you're interested then stay tuned for that. My next post will probably be a look using the new eyeshadow as well, so be on the lookout for that, too! Please leave a comment with your feedback and suggestions down below, I would appreciate it!

Two-Palette Look

Maggie Plays With Eyeshadows

I've been loving the Hard Candy Look Pro Neutral Eyes palette, as well as the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, so I was playing around with them together and I ended up liking how it turned out. I was also experimenting with using shadows wet, since I like my shimmery shades to be really shimmery. I use my iPhone 6 camera to take the pictures that go on my blog, and it doesn't pick up on shimmer very well, so I'm really sorry about that.

First I took the shade Chatty from the Hard Candy palette and ran it through and above my crease as my transition color.

Second, I took the shade Salted Caramel from the Too Faced palette as my crease shade and blended it into my transition.

For a pop of major shimmer, I took the shade Girlie from the Hard Candy palette and used it wet all over the lid. I just used water to wet it, which apparently you're not supposed to do, but I did it anyways because I'm a rebel.

Next I took Girlie, still wet, and put it on my lower lashline.

After that I got my brush wet and took the shade Champagne Truffle from the Too Faced palette as an inner corner and browbone highlight.

Add winged liner and mascara and you're done!

Here's how it looks paired with a lip option. I put a Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Margaret on top of a MAC lipstick in Brave. Brave is my go-to lip color because it goes with pretty much every eye look.