My May MUST-Have.

Hello Internet Friends! I'm here to tell you about a brand new ALL TIME fave of mine...

Now, I like to consider myself a concealer connoisseur of sorts. Like I've divulged before, my pores are a prob & in my efforts to remedy that prob I have tried roughly seven hundred & twenty two different concealers, give or take. I'm constantly looking for the most natural looking yet totally perfecting formula out there..and I just may have found it!

Enter, Sonia Kashuk's "Hidden Agenda" concealer palette. 

 

This stuff is the bee's knees! It blends out like nothing...no resistance to blending and no weird patchiness - it's the perfect color for my skin! (I use the "light" version of this palette because there wasn't one called "pale as the moon"...my real color.) And the coverage? GIRL. It covers like some sort of magical eraser of blemishes that you can buy at Target for only $10.49, which honestly feels like you're robbing this poor Sonia Kashuk woman, whoever she is. The poor sap! Does she even know?! I'm happier with the coverage I get from this product than I have been with the last 10 concealers I've tried. 

It comes with 3 different cream concealers & a flesh tone setting powder. The top left concealer is the lightest of the 3; top right is a darker warm tone; bottom left is a darker olive, almost green tone concealer; bottom right is the powder. On an every-day, natural makeup basis the warm tone is even dark enough for me to use as a contour! (Like I said...pale as the moon). I use it every day, sans brush until I get to the powder. I know some people get skeeved out by dipping their fingers into something like a creamy concealer, but I'm not sharing it with the neighborhood here & I feel like the body heat from my fingers actually helps it blend even better than it does on its own. I love the formula, too. Not only does it look natural, but it feels much less cakey & makeupey than most other concealers I've used, from drugstore to high-end. Super smooth! It even does a killer job on covering up my PORES! That's right - those problem pores become much less noticeable under this magic wand product.

Here are some before & after photos for y'all. These pictures were NOT touched up & there is nothing on my skin other than this concealer from before to after. Of course, the iPhone front camera gives a picture quality that sucks, let's be honest, so I look weirdly grainy...but you get the jist! I was working on my own here. This is how the concealer performs solo: 

Here I applied it on bare skin with only a primer underneath, but it blends just as well over foundation - AKA, how I usually apply it when I'm not trying to take before & after pictures. I used the lightest color under my eyes, around the base of my nose, down the bridge of my nose, & of course, on those annoying blemishes. 

Annnnd, like all product reviews are, this is how it worked for ME & MY skin. :) I do recommend you trying it out, though! Sonia Kashuk is definitely a pricier drugstore line, but so far I'm impressed! MOST importantly, Sonia Kashuk's line is cruelty free! Read their animal testing statement HERE, on their official Facebook page. 

Have you tried this product? What was YOUR experience? What is your must-have concealer? 

To Bargain or To Break the Bank...

THAT is the question.

Okay, not really. When it comes to this broke college student's budget, bargaining is always the way to go! So this featured brand is a no-brainer for me. I mean, I refuse to buy clothes that aren't on clearance, come on! (And no, American Eagle, I do not qualify a $25 dollar skirt as being on clearance. Really? LOL.)

The brand is e.l.f. And I'm positive you've heard of it! e.l.f., (Eyes Lips Face), is a college girl's best friend with it's super low prices and wide range of product. The only place I can buy e.l.f. near me is Target, but they are available online, of course. They are PETA endorsed as cruelty free & won't break your bank account...heck, they won't even break the $10 you found in your pants pocket when you did laundry last week! You can snag a lip crayon, an eyeshadow single, or an eyelid primer for like, a buck! Tell me you're not impressed. You can't? Not a surprise! 

Now, I know what you're all thinking - this stuff has to be the worst quality makeup ever produced, right? WRONG-O! It's actually not half bad! For a dollar, you get an eyelid primer that, in my humble opinion, works on par with the high-end stuff...I've used both and I truly cannot tell a difference in the staying power or color vibrancy. And their 4-color Tone Correcting Powder is a must-have for me. It goes on sheer but evens everything out; I even use a concealer brush to pick up a specific color & pinpoint areas of my face - the green works really well to reduce the redness around the pesky pimples that I always seem to have. (I thought I was supposed to be over that by 22, yeah?) They even offer face primers...in original, purple for radiance, and green for anti-redness. I've always been a lover of the original but I recently grabbed the green because, you know, and I'm digging that as well! They've also got a great line of brushes that sell for $1 to $3 and are to die for! Their stubby eyeshadow brush is a staple...I've got two right now & even have a backup that I've yet to open! I may or may not have a serious problem. 

There are, as with all brands, drugstore or Chanel, a few products that fall short. I would not recommend their Tone Correcting Concealer, for instance. It basically does nothing...yet I wasn't totally bummed about it because it smelled SO GOOD. It's kind of a mix between Froot Loops and  Starburst...maybe? No? At any rate, it was useless on its own but I did find myself mixing it in with my other concealers just to get the smell! (Is that embarrassing?) I was less than impressed, but for $1.00, I wasn't too amiss at the buy.

Lastly I have to throw a spotlight on their liquid eyeliner. This stuff retails for $1.00, ONE DOLLAR, and I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. The formula is smooth and perfectly dark black - everyone's fave liner color. The brush applicator makes it easy to apply and, believe me, even after using liquid liner every day for like...4 years now, I still screw it up on a daily basis. LOL Anyone else? Anyone? And the staying power is totally legitimate! In the past, I used Maybelline's Line Stiletto religiously, but I've given it up for e.l.f.'s goods now - $6 a pop versus $1 is not even an argument here ANNND Maybelline tests. It's an easy and cheap replacement and I am telling you NOW to go give it a shot. ;) 

So there you have it. I'm an e.l.f. fan, times ten, and I know you will probably be too! Of course, all of these ramblings are totally MY opinion and every products works differently for every person. So go ahead and give it a shot...then drop me a line to tell me your  2 cents! I'd love to hear it :)

My First Cruelty Free Purchases!

The transition has begun! The very slow, calculated transition, that is. I'm doing my research because I want to get the most animal-friendly products that I can without completely emptying my pockets...I'm a college student, right? I've been spending hours in the various "natural beauty" aisles at my local Target googling each & every product that I picked up! I'm sure the staff and fellow shoppers alike were frightened or at least on the look out for me to steal 10 or 12 things. I mean, the police were probably on standby. But I wanted to be educated! (Maybe I should educate myself before leaving the house in the future...) I want to be sure that I'm putting my money in the correct places and buying things that weren't tested on cute, little, furry noses.

The first thing I picked up was this Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel. It's my first purchase from any of the Yes To lines, which include carrots, blueberries, tomatoes, and grapefruit. {*QUESTION, all of the Yes To products I picked up included that beautiful little bunny on the back, indicating that it's cruelty free...except for the grapefruit! Any ideas as to why? Acidic citrus content, maybe?}

I've only used this product a couple of times, so a review here would be inappropriate, but I can tell you one positive thing about it! I've got overly sensitive skin around my eyes...I'm talking everything burns. It's a little annoying if we're being honest! But with the Yes To Cucumbers gel, the burning was as short-lived as I've experienced so far! Initially it was uncomfortable, but it subsided in maybe 30 seconds. And maybe the burning was just because I'm not used to it? At any rate, I was very excited with the short burn time & I've got high hopes for this product! I bought it for around $14.50.

Next, because I wanted to try a variety of brands to see what worked for me & my wallet, I picked up this Boots Botanics Skin Calming Night Cream - Ultra Calm w/Marshmallow Extract. Yes, yes. I'm big into the soothing/calming stuff for sure. My skin stresses out in the wintertime & one thing I'm not big into is flaky roughness. Yuck! And so far, so good. Like the Yes To gel, I've only used this cream a handful of times, but I've got no complaints! It feels calming...the name is fitting. Haha! I've discovered that this $15 moisturizer is actually on the cheap end when it comes to the more organic realm, but it was definitely a shock to this former $6 a jar Olay user!

*PLEASE NOTE that although Boots doesn't test on animals as an entity, they don't take any steps to ensure that the ingredients they use weren't tested on animals. Some people are adverse to product lines like this, but I thought I'd give it a shot. In the future, though, I would love to find an affordable moisturizer that was made with 100% cruelty free products. Any suggestions? 

Next, because I just ran out of toothpaste & it was the perfect time to try it, I picked up Tom's of Maine Whole Care Toothpaste in Peppermint. The rest of these products are relatively new to me, but I'm no stranger to Tom's toothpaste. When my baby sister was young, she developed a dry, rough rash around her mouth. The dermatologist prescribed medicated lotion, but also told my mom to switch her to Tom's. She did & the rash cleared up in no time!

Tom's is a great company, whether you're buying toothpaste or deodorant - they don't engage in animal testing or use any sort of animal or artificial ingredients. They even make toothbrushes! They promote environmental sustainability and my favorite part is that every ingredient they use and it's purpose in the product is listed on their website, www.tomsofmaine.com! A great product from a great company for a great price - around $3.50.

Because my shampoo was also running low, I grabbed some John Freida Frizz Ease Smooth Start Shampoo & Conditioner. I'm a huge John Freida fan; his quick repair serum & finishing cream are magic, I'm telling you. However as far as cruelty free goes, similarly to Boots, John Frieda does not test on animals but is owned by a parent company that does: Koa. Again, I'm still testing the waters here. I am really interested to try something totally cruelty free/organic though, like LUSH! My best friend, a Lush junkie in every sense of the word, turned me on to the store a couple of months ago. I love their dry shampoo "No Drought" & I've heard awesome things about nearly every other product they create, all without using animal testing or animal ingredients. I'm hoping a Lush shampoo will be next up on the docket. I picked up the JF shampoo & conditioner for $5.49 a piece.





And last, but not least, a completely random find, Tree Hut Olive & Shea Moisturizing Shower Wash in the scent Hawaiian Kukui! I'm not picky when it comes to body soap...truth be told, I'm in it for the smell good. And my nose is fairly easy to please. Coconut, floral, tropical, musky, I'm a fan as long as it smells pretty! And this stuff smells delicious! It's almost reminiscent of a tropical cherry icee...is that the weirdest thing you've ever heard? If not, you should definitely give it a try! It was on the cheaper end of the cruelty free body soaps I found...$7.99 for a pretty giant bottle!

Well there you have it, folks! My very first...intentional...cruelty free haul! I'm really excited about the quality and accessibility of these items. I'm far from vegan or completely animal friendly, but I'm excited to have the ball rolling! And I would love to hear suggestions on your favorite cruelty free products!