Shower Power

Here's my shower routine!

Hair Products
Head and Shoulders Shampoo (around $5)
Yup, I have dandruff. And I take care of it! My scalp is oily, but dry at the same time. I actually really like this shampoo! My hair is really soft and I don't have any dandruff anymore.
Neutrogena T/Gel Original Formula Shampoo ($9)
This is another shampoo-type product that I use for my scalp. I use this twice a week and just on my scalp. It is supposed to be very powerful, and I can see the results. The product has a VERY weird smell to it... and I would only recommend this to people who have problems with their scalps.
L'Oreal EverSleek Smoothing Deep Conditioner ($9)
I don't use a regular conditioner daily since my hair gets oily, but I do deep condition once a week. I really like this deep conditioner/hair mask. It keeps my hair smooth without being oily.

Body Products
Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash (approx $7)
I really enjoy this body wash! I think Dove has the best ones out there... well in drug stores at least! It smells really good and makes my skin feel really soft.

Other Stuff
Gillette Venus Disposable Razors ($7)
I will only use these razors! I love them and they are great for my sensitive skin. I rarely cut myself with these and they don't leave my skin feeling itchy.
Shower Sponge (price varies, I got mine for $2)
I really love shower sponges! I use this with my dove body wash and it's really fun and I feel like I'm pampering myself.

Recent Purchases and My Thoughts

Maybelline BabyLips Lipbalm ($4)
I have to say... I bought this for the packaging! I'm a design major in school, and I love products/advertisements that look like this. I am impressed with how soft it makes my lips feel... but I bought the tinted kind. I should have bought the clear kind. The color I bought is a BRIGHT pink, and when I say bright, I'm not joking. I need to go back to the store to get a clear one, because I look silly wearing that color on my lips! I recommend this... but with a warning!

Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes ($5)
I feel silly splurging on mascaras when there are cheap mascaras like this one. I am in loveeee with this mascara. It is a great price... I actually got mine for around $3 at Target (Ulta says its around $5). The brush is perfect, the staying power is perfect, and I can compare the turn out of this mascara to my more expensive brands.

Wet N' Wild Liquid Liners (approx $3)
This was the first liquid liner I have ever used... and it's okay. Just okay. For the price, don't expect anything amazing. The brush is good, but the staying power of the color isn't amazing. I bought these liners in black, brown, and purple. Don't buy purple. It's a joke. Black and brown had good pigmentation, but I'd rather buy a more expensive liquid liner to avoid looking silly.

Maybelline Lash Stilleto Liquid Eyeliner (approx $7)
This is my replacement for the Wet N' Wild liners. I really like this liner and the color stays on for around 8 hours! I highly recommend this to people who don't want to spend a lot of money on liner or who are just starting out using liquid liner... like me!

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque ($4)
I love this mask! I have somewhat oily skin... and it helps control that problem. I wash my face with cleanser, and then apply this for around twenty minutes. It's really pampering without having to spend a fortune.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips ($10)
I was really disappointed in this product. I have heard a lot of great things about them, but personally, they didn't work. I am really bummed because the patterns are so cute, but I would never purchase this item again. I applied them correctly, and initially they looked great. But the "strips" started coming off in only one day, and the packaging says it is supposed to stay for three weeks! Not worth the money.

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps Powerful Acrylic Gel ($6)
Another bad Sally Hansen product! I was pretty excited when I saw this at CVS and thought it would really work. This product claims to act like gel and protect nails and keep the polish on for a longer period of time. Well, that isn't the case. First of all, I figured out that I can't put the "gel" on my nails after painting them, even thirty minutes after the fact. The gel makes my nailpolish sticky and wet again. I painted my nails recently and put the gel on the next day. I haven't noticed any differences than regular nail polish. I don't recommend this.

Spoil the Foil

A new beauty tip I just learned about was foiling! And I must say.... I'm obsessed!!! Foiling (aka wetting eyeshadows) has reintroduced me to one of my Urban Decay palettes that I had given up on because the colors were too glittery to stay on. This palette is called the Sustainable Palette, and I think it was made for foiling! My favorite color to foil in this palette is Uzi. It is a silver eyeshadow with rainbow glitter. Before I tried foiling it, Uzi was a hot mess and ended up all over my face instead of my lid! I hated it. Now, I think it's fabulous! Uzi paired with a black (like Oil Slick in the Sustainable Palette) is a great going out look.
I also tried foiling with my E.L.F. Bright Eyes Beauty Manual. Without foiling, the eyshadows don't have much pigmentation. With foiling, I'm still not too impressed. Nevertheless, I did buy it for $5! I did hope for better results with E.L.F. shadows because I hear so many good things about their products. Maybe they aren't for everyone!

Bad to the Bone

This post is a review of products that I tried but really don't like! They may work for some people; however, they really don't work for me.

Covergirl Eye Enhancers 4 Kit Shadows in Crystal Waters ($5.50)
I bought this eyeshadow kit about a year ago because I thought the colors would be so pretty. This kit comes with a dark blue, a teal blue, a light blue, and a light green. I have blue eyes, so I thought it would compliment them, and I didn't have a lot of blue eyeshadows in my collection. However, the colors have no pigmentation and was horrible all around. I tried using it a few times, but I had no luck. I have had luck with other Covergirl eyeshadows, like the Sheerly Nude kit, but maybe blues aren't Covergirl's thing.

Benefit Dandelion Brigthening Face Powder ($28)
This product was a huge disappointment, especially since it is almost thirty dollars. I bought it because I thought it would be a cute blush. However, there is literally no pigmentation to this color. I barely notice it on my skin. I still have it, but it is not my go to blush at all.

NYX Slim Eye Pencil ($3.50)
I love NYX products, but these just did not work for me. I owned three of these in grey, blue, and purple. When I first put the eyeliner on, the colors were beautiful. But after just five minutes, the colors would disappear from my waterline and transfer to my crease. Not a good look on anybody.

Tom's of Maine Natural Deodorant in Apricot ($6)
This deodorant is horrible! I wanted to try out a different deodorant, but I didn't realize that this product was only deodorant. Meaning that it had no anti-perspirant! I only used it for a week and it was a total waste of money!

Bic Soleil Triple Blade Disposable Razors 4 Count ($7)
These razors and my skin just don't get along. They are definitely cheaper than the rest, and they show it. I rarely cut myself when I buy other brands of razors, such as the Gilette Venus disposable razors, but with these I also end up with cuts on my legs! Not a good look.

E.L.F. brush set review!

Before buying this set, I only had around four brushes, and I knew I needed more. But I'm not the kind of person who is going to splurge of MAC brushes. Like they're seriously expensive. So one day I was at Target and stumbled across a brush set by E.L.F. that was only ten dollars! And you get ten brushes! So obviously I bought it and have been using it the past week. Here's what I think.

Face Brush: Eh... it's okay. I have an Avon face brush that I think works much better and spreading the powder around. The E.L.F. version doesn't seem to pick up a lot of powder, whether it be regular face powder or bronzer. But we'll see...

Foundation Brush: My reaction is the same as the face brush. I have a foundation brush from Avon that I prefer using; however, if you are without a foundation brush, I would suggest buying one because it makes your foundation very smooth!

Angled Blush Brush: Love love love. Did I mention I love it? It picks up a good amount of powder and has a great angle.

Eyeshadow Brush: This brush is a little fluffy and is pretty normal. It does work though, so I give it two thumbs up.

Eyeliner Brush: This brush is not angled, I wish it was, but it actually works pretty well! I put some black or other dark eyeshadow on it and then brush it against my crease line. The eyeshadow definitely shows up.

Lip Brush: This is one of my favorites from this set. I am obsessed with lip brushes now! Apply lipgloss looks so different and smoother with a lip brush than without one.

Concealer Brush: I don't really use this one since I'd rather put concealer on with my fingers, but I did try it for the sake of this review and it does work for those who want to know.

Eyelash and Brow Brush: These are two different brushes and they are pretty standard. And they work. So that's good all around.

Smudge Brush: Also standard and I already have one attached to my Benefit BADgal LIner so I don't really use the E.L.F. one... but it does work nonetheless.

Overall, I give this set a two thumbs up for the price and quality!