September 2013 Ipsy Review

I know this review is totally late but I was so excited to post my bag review. I didn't want to post this until I had a chance to try the mascara out. So let's see here...

This month's theme was Classic Beauty. I think the idea was super adorable and a fantastic idea.

The Bag: I've seen a lot of different opinions on the pattern of this month's bag. Some people hate it and some love it. Personally, I love it. I think the color is great and the pattern is just down right adorable. I feel like if I were to find this in a local store I would definitely buy it.

 Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm: I really really wanted this product. The color is a bright red called "Big Apple" and it really doesn't suite me but I don;t think any of the lip products this month would have. This has some serious staying power and it is so darn cute and easy to use. I loved that it came with a brush attached. This was a full size product priced at $19 and it just might be worth it. I might purchase this in a coral color so it will look better with my red-headed complexion.

 Elizabeth Mott's It's so BIG Volumizing Mascara: Everyone got this product this month. I think it was a great trial for this mascara. I wish it had been a different color because black isn't something I wear often. I suppose it doesn't really matter though because it ended up irritating my eyes. I really liked the way it went on. I wouldn't really call it volumizing but it did lengthen my lashes. The full size of this product is $19.99. I would say the trial size is worth about $8. I probably won't pick up the full size but I think it could be a nice product.

 Nyx Eye Shadow Single: The second product that everyone got came in varying shades. I was so happy I didn't get it in some crazy orange color. The shade I got is 103 "Hollywood". It's a pretty sheer sparkly shadow. It kind of reminds me of the NYC eye dust except it's pressed not loose. I do like the brand and I was so happy with it I actually bought some more nyx products (haul post coming soon). This was another full size product valued at $4.50.

 Starlooks Kohl Eyeliner Pencil: For some reason I just could not get a good picture of this product. This stuff is pretty hard to get off. I love it. Once again it's not really a color I will use often but I did need a new black eyeliner. This too was a full size product. It retails for $12 on the starlooks website.

 Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil: I was super excited to try this product. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was too dark for me to use as a highlighter and it actually turns out that I'm allergic to this product too. It seemed to work pretty well. I like the concept and I really wish I wasn't allergic to it. This was ANOTHER full size item, it costs $18.

Total Bag Value: $61.50

There was also a bonus item in the months bag: 

There was a small sample of a few products in the Life pallet from em in everyone's bag. I haven't used it yet but I am definitely excited to try it.

So I guess that about does it for the September 2013 ipsy bag. Subscriptions are $10 a month unless you do a year subscription then its $110 for the whole year. Shipping in the US is free and it's $5 in Canada. If you decided to subscribe I would appreciate it if you used my link! http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hjt2e2dwt4og14qn

xoxo
Courtney

Affordable Dates Under $20

If you are tight on money and interested in someone or if you a re just looking for some fun dates to do with your significant other, dates can seem expensive. I have decided to put together a list of fun dates to go on. Keep in mind you can probably do most of these with a friend too. I will try not to mention the obvious and keep it to fun unexpected dates. Let's face it the super-bargain matinee movies at the theater can get boring after a while. I hope this helps some of you find a fun way to spend your day (or night) with that special someone.

1. Mini Golf. Ok I admit it, at first it kind of sounds lame. My boyfriend and I have gone on a few dates mini golfing. I was super skeptical at first when he kept bugging me to go, but once we played a few holes I was having a ton of fun. Our local mini golf place is relatively cheap ($5 per adult) Prices do vary from place to place but for some of you it can be a great way to spend an afternoon.

2. Game night. Don't want to go out and spend an afternoon in the sun? What about staying in and playing a board game? You could even try a new recipe together for dinner and light some candles. Board games tend not to be too expensive if you don't already have a few at home. Ingredients can be modified for most recipes if something on your grocery list is a little out of your price range. Or if you don't want to make food you could just order a pizza.

3. Bowling. A lot of bowling alleys have really reasonable prices. If you bowl anything like me you may want to ask to put the bumpers up if this is your date of choice.

4. Farmer's Market. Depending on where you live a farmers market can be a fun way to spend an afternoon. There are sometimes fun things to buy or foods to try and even some music from locals.

5. Picnic. It sounds over done but I enjoy picnicking with my boyfriend. You could always pick somewhere other than a park like a little place you found on a trail or maybe the beach if you live close by.

6. Hike. Speaking of picnicking in a spot on a trail...My boyfriend and I have this one trail we went on once and we can't wait to go again. We talked and took some fun pictures as well as stopped to eat our packed lunch. It's also a great way to stay active.

7. Festivals. Where I live our town hosts some pretty fun events every year. It can be a super fun place to hang out and you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money. Sometimes there are some great things to look at and challenges or shows that don't cost anything. The food trucks are also a fun place to eat.

More coming soon...

xoxo,
Courtney

Great makeup under $5

Makeup. It's something that can help us look and feel great. It also happens to be something that can make our wallets hurt. We all know it can be hard to find good quality makeup for a price that is actually affordable. So I have decided to compile a list of makeup that is under $5. I will try to add to this list every time I find products that are worth mentioning.

Foundation:

• NYC smooth skin liquid makeup ~$2.99 I like this foundation because it's a relatively full coverage foundation. The problem I have with it is that there isn't a great selection of coverage. I found that it can get a little greasy throughout the day, but that could have also been because I tend to have oily skin. The lightest color was a little to dark for me and had the tiniest orange tint but it was by no means unwearable. 
• Covergirl Clean Liquid foundation~$5.94 at Walmart. So this was a little more than five dollars but I thought it was worth mentioning. I have had a lot of luck with this foundation in the past. I find that i is really light feeling and can be built up to medium coverage.

Powder:

• NYC Smooth skin loose translucent powder ~$2.99 I use this product every day. I find that it works as well as the covergirl professionals loose powder but it's a lot cheaper. It's lightweight and completely disappears on your skin.  

Blush:

• Wet 'n' Wild color icon blush ~$2.99 I have found this blush to be highly pigmented. A little of this stuff goes a long way and it is totally gorgeous. I don't like the brush that comes with it but it is a fabulous product. I just wish they had more colors.
• Covergirl cheekers blush~3.00 This was the first ever blush I owned. I'm not totally in love with this blush but they are a good product and they have a huge assortment of colors.
• Jordana Blush Powders~$2.99 Holy crap I cannot say enough good things about these blushes they have a great  range of colors and are crazy pigmented. The only downside I could even see if that they don't come with an applicator but I usually don't use those anyway so it doesn't bother me.

Eye Primer:

• Wet 'n' Wild Fergie collection eye shadow primer~$4.99 I recently bought this primer and I haven't tried it out on my eyes yet but I did a few swatches on my hand with a shadow and I scrubbed my hands a few times and it STILL wouldn't come off. I will admit that I used a long-wearing shadow but still it was pretty impressive. I will update later with how the trial went.

Eye shadow:

• Wet 'n' wild color icon ~$2.99-$4.99 Both the trios and the 8-pans are amazing. I can't say enough good stuff about these shadows. they are incredibly pigmented and beautiful. They are also super soft and just an all around great product.
• E.l.f essential brightening eye color~$1.00 These quads are pretty great shadows. They aren't as soft as the color icon shadows that I mentioned above but they are great especially for being only one dollar.

Mascara:

• LA Colors Lash Building Mascara~ $1 at the Dollar Tree. This stuff feels similar to the Elizabeth Mott's It's so Big mascara sent out in the September Ipsy bag. I will say that I actually like this one better though because I have found it to define my lashes better. This is my go to black mascara. It's not the blackest black on the planet but I think it's pretty awesome and $1 is a steal for this formula.

Brushes:

• E.l.f. brushes~$1-$6 I have found that these brushes tend to be pretty good. I love their eye brushes a lot and though I haven't tried the face brushes I have heard they are really good.

So for now that is all I have. I will try to update whenever I find a new products worth mentioning!

xoxo

Courtney

Starting out...

So I was sitting in my bed watching youtube and videos thinking about what I felt like doing. I suppose just like any other night I once again thought about starting a blog. Oh what it would be like to be a blogger...but of course what if no one cares. Of course after that thought I stopped zoning out and went back to watching a video Missglamorazzi posted a few months back in May. It was Makeup Mayhem Day 8 and she was talking about doing things outside her comfort zone. So that is when I decided I was going to do this. So here I am putting myself out here. For EVERYONE to see--or at least whoever pays attention. So I guess I am inviting you all to see what my life is going to be like. I am currently an 18 year old second-year senior in high school. After a few years of totally failing at math I am almost done with high school and I am ready to move on with my life. That is if I can make it through the next few months. Hopefully after this school year I will move out into my own apartment and start beauty school.  As shy as I usually  am, I do have thoughts and opinions on everything from makeup, food, and all around fun. I can't wait to share them with all of you.

xoxo
Courtney