The Hunt for the Perfect Mascara - Round 3 and FINAL

Way back when I was posting regularly, I told you that I was on the hunt for the perfect mascara. Well, I found it.  I've become obsessed with Cover Girl's LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara.  It is by far my favorite mascara found either at a drugstore or Sephora.  Other than loving the price (around $6) and I always have a coupon for it, this mascara doesn't clump...no matter how many coats I put on my lashes.  The brush is stiff with small bristles that can shimmy themselves through each lash.  Every lash gets attention leaving them flawless.  I can't believe I found a mascara that does everything I want - lengthen, seperate and gives me a little volume.  I definitely recommend you try it out!

The Hunt for the Perfect Mascara

I'm on the hunt for the perfect mascara.  For the longest time I've used Favorite Thing #173 but lately its been flaking off and leaving black specs under my eyes at the end of the day.  Instead of running out and buying a bunch of mascara, I thought I would start with the samples I have been collecting.  So far nothing has completely won me over.  Here's my reviews of the first three I've tried.

Clinique High Impact Mascara

First up is Clinique's High Impact Mascara. I liked this mascara a lot because it gave a very natural look.  It definies lashes really well (no spidery look) and it gave me just enough length (I'm lucky because my Italian/Portuguese heritage has given me long lashes).  What I didn't like is it didn't give me the volume I'm want.  I don't want anything too dramatic but still want a little boost.  If you don't care about volume and are looking for a natural look then I definitely recommend this mascara.  And the price point isn't too terrible at $16/tube.

Bobbi Brown 'Extreme Party' Mascara

Next is Bobbi Brown's Extreme Party mascara. The nice thing about this mascara is it's "buildable" meaning you can do a layer for a day look and then a couple of layers for a more dramatic evening look.  In my opinion its an ok mascara.  It did its job but didn't wow me or give me an extra volume that I was looking for.  And I'm definitely not a fan of the $25 price tag. 

So far I'm 0 for 2 but it's just the beginning of my mascara journey.  What are some of your favorites? 

Favorite Thing #231 - Sonia Kashuk Instructional Eye Palette

My makeup routine is very minimal because I don't have much time in the morning.  I found this Sonia Kashuk eye palette and instantly fell in love.  It has all the basic neutral colors that I wear in one easy palette.  The colors are great and last all day.  I haven't used the instruction booklet yet because I just don't have time.  I highly recommend this palette.  It's great for at home or travel use and you can't beat the price ($19.99).  Between this and BB cream, it takes me no time at all to "put my face one."  What are your favorite and easy make up solutions?   

Product Review: Bumble and Bumble Thickening Spray

I've always been a big fan of Bumble and Bumble products. Favorite Thing #33 and a staple in my hair routine has been and probably always will be Bumble and Bumble Prep. I wanted to try and add a little more body to my hair because while flat ironing does a great job a straightening it also flattens my hair. I've heard nothing but amazing things about Bumble and Bumble Thickening spray so I thought I would give it a try. After one use I was really, really disappointed. It made my hair feel like it had a heavy product in it not to mention it didn't have pleasant smell. I gave it to more tries and each time I hated it. Needless to say I will be returning this to Sephora for my money back.

Product Review: DC Cake Pops

I ordered a Plum District coupon for DC Cake Pops a while a go and finally filled my order. I got some for Hubby's return home and the birth of my niece (pics of her to come). I wasn't sure what to expect and was really really pleased with the product. They were individually wrapped with signs on each (half said congrats and the other half said welcome home). They come in three flavors - vanilla, chocolate and red velvet. You pick the topping - sprinkles, pretzels, peanut butter, etc. My favorite was definitely the vanilla with peanut butter topping. They are $2/ pop or $1.50 for over 3 dozen. Perfect gift and a different way to say - thank you, congrats, happy birthday, etc.

Product Review and Favorite Thing #222 - Urban Decay Naked Palette

I bought the very popular Urban Decay Naked palette about six weeks ago and had share how much I love it. It really is the perfect eye shadow palette. I travel a ton and this is perfect to throw in my makeup bag because it's all I need. My favorite shadows are Virgin (nude satin), Sin (champagne shimmer), side car (beige sparkle), Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer), toasted (taupe-bronze) and Hustle (mocha shimmer). I will probably end up buying full sizes of some of these so that I can keep my palette for travel. As far as the other items that come with the palette, I'm not a huge fan of the brush (I prefer my Bobbi Brown and MAC brushes) and I'd rather use a different Urban Decay primer (Favorite Thing #197). I definitely recommend this palette...totally worth the $48 price tag!

Favorite Thing #219 - Remington D-2012 Tstudio Collection Tourmaline and Ceramic Hair Dryer

Thank you to my dear friend Shannon for introducing me to this amazing blow dryer! I really don't know how I ever lived without it. It is so powerful and my hair is dry in half the time it used to be!!! And because it's got so much power behind it, it helps smooth out my curls so flat ironing takes less time too. This blow dryer is definitely a favorite thing and I highly recommend to all of you. Best part is I got it for $30 on Amazon!

Favorite Thing #216 - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Gloss in Katie

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Bare Escentuals Buxom lip gloss so when I needed a light, natural looking one for spring/summer I decided to try it the Katie color. I was instantly hooked. It's a mineral-infused lip gloss which I like because its free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates. Lots of shine without feeling sticky or tacky. I especially love the color because it's so natural with just a hint of color.

Favorite Thing #215 - Yes to Cucumbers Body Butter

My friend Tiffany introduced me to the Yes To brand and I've become obsessed with the Yes to Cucumbers cooling body butter. I finally found a fabulous moisturizer that quenches my dry skin without an over powering scent or greasiness. The cucumber cools and calms the skin with the perfect amount of moisture. The best part is this product is petroleum, SLS and paraben free! I purchase this at drugstore.com so that I can get my drugstore.com dollars and Ebates cash back!

Favorite Thing #214 - DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew

I started using DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew based on a recommendation from my friend Arielle. She raved and raved about this product and she was right! I ordered a bottle from Apothica (7% cash back from Ebates) and have been using it for the past few week and love it! I've had minimal break outs (barely any), my skin looks great and it doesn't feel like I have a thick moisturizer on my face. After I finish this bottle, I'm going to try the DDF Weightless Defense Moisturizer with SPF 45. Need the SPF in the summer time! If you are in need of a new moisturizer, I definitely recommend this one!

Favorite Thing #213 - Make Up For Ever HD Primer

A couple weeks ago when I was on travel I used a sample of Make Up For Ever HD Primer in neutral and I fell in love with it! It's super light weight and really evens out my skin tone. A little goes a long way with this primer! I didn't think I could find another one that I liked more than Favorite Thing #204 but I did. I give Make Up Forever's a slight advantage because it's lighter feeling on my skin but I would honestly recommend either one. I have a feeling Smashbox is going to be my winter primer and Make Up Forever is going to be my summer one. :)

Product Review: Bosia Intensive Eye Treatment

As many of you know, I'm on the hunt for the perfect eye cream. I just finished Bosia's Intensive Eye Treatment. I actually really liked it. I noticed that my crows feet weren't as prominent and the darkness and fine lines under my eyes started to fade. It was light weight and smelled nice. This might be my new eye cream. I'm going to try Olay's Pro X eye restoration treatment and then decide which I like better. Let me know if you have a "must have" eye cream that I need to try.

Product Review: Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potions

I absolutely love Favorite Thing #197 - Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer in Sin. I use it almost everyday. Since Sephora is offering all of the primers in a trial set for $29 I decided I've try all of them and maybe fall in love with a few more. I was super disappointed in all of them except my favorite sin. The original primer I felt didn't really give me good coverage and didn't lighten my eye lid at all. I also felt that my eye shadow didn't stay on as long as it does when I use sin. Eden was more of a matte finish with yellow tones which I hated. The coverage was better than the original but I was not a fan of the coloring. I was hopefully that I would like Greed because it has the shimmer sheen that I like about Sin. The coverage was great, love the sheen but hated the color. It has yellow tones and I just didn't like how my eye lids looked. So after trying all of them I've decided I'm going to stick to my favorite one - Sin.

Product Review - Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion

As part of my spending less money on beauty products I decided to switch one of my shampoo/conditioners to something I could 1) buy at Target and 2) get coupons for. Those requirements led me to Pantene Pro-V's new Nature Fusion line. I had a great coupon for it so I thought I would try it out. There are a couple of different options to chose from and I went with the moisture balance. I've used it a few times and so far so good. I LOVE the scent. It's hard to describe but according to the website its "formulated with an exclusive Cassia Complex and a botanical blend of calendula, ginger and aloe vera extracts" so that's where the wonderful smell comes from. I usually have to wash my hair every day (which I know is not good) because it gets so greasy but these products let me go that extra day without washing it. I think I've found my new shampoo and conditioner. And what's great is I will never have to buy these products without a coupon because there are always coupons for this in the Sunday paper!

Product Review - Stilla Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer

I got Stilla's Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer as a sample in one my of Sephora orders and I LOVE IT! It's the perfect amount of coverage to even out my skin tone and is so light it doesn't feel like I have anything on my skin. There is just enough moisturizer to hydrate my skin but doesn't make it oily and it has SPF 15 in it! It's amazing how the color just blends in with my natural skin tone. It retails for $34 for a 1.7 oz. bottle. I might switch this with Favorite Thing # 105 once I run out.

Product Review - Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss

I decided to try Bobbi Brown's lip gloss in Tangerine because it was featured in J.Crew's March catalog as the "season's perfect shade." I was a little hesitate because it was a peachy pink and I normally shy away from peachy colors on my lips. Well I was pleasantly surprised. It gave me the perfect amount of color for a night out. I definitely need to be tan in order to wear it and I don't think it will be a color I would buy again because I like to buy lip glosses that I can wear year round.

Product Review - Switch Flops

I got these SwitchFlops flip flops last year and wanted to wait an entire season to review them. First let me explain the concept. They are functional, multi-use flip flops that have interchangeable straps. You pick a flip flop style that you like - flat or heel AND tan, black, brown, or white. Then you can pick the straps that you want (over 80 to chose from). The straps are attached with Velcro. The flip flops range in price from $35.00 to $49.00 (they went up in price since I bought mine) and the straps are $12.00. Now that you know the basics, here's my review.

I bought the "lulu tan" and three different straps - marianne and two others that aren't available any more. The flip flop itself is a basic flip flop and truthfully I don't think it's worth $35.00 unless they have dramatically changed the quality of them. I think I only paid $20 for a pair last year. The straps are pretty good quality and worth the cost. When you attach the strap to the flip flop you can't even tell that they are removable. The only way I would buy another pair is if I went to one of the locations which they are sold to check out the quality. It is such a great concept I just wish they weren't so pricey.

Product Review - Laura Mercier Face Polish

I was able to try this face polish through a free gift that I was given when I bought some Laura Mercier products. I used all of the trial size that I was given and I love it! It's the perfect blend of of cleansing and exfoliating but also very gentle on the skin. It's perfect when your face just needs a pick me up. Unfortunately it's not cheap - for $30.00 you get 3.7 oz. It should last for a while since you don't use it everyday.

Product Review - eos Moisturizing Shave Cream

I was asked to test eos Moisturizing Shave Cream. The company sent me a full-size bottle of the product in their island blue scent. Overall I really do like the product. The scent was very light and fresh and the product lathered well. I was surprised that this really was moisturizing, most products say moisturizing but don't achieve those results. And its in a plastic bottle so it won't rust!

As much as I like this product I do have two negatives -

1. I can't find this product ANYWHERE!!! It supposed to be at Target stores but not at any of the ones I shop at.
2. It took forever to start using the product. You have to pump the bottle over and over and over again to get the first batch to come out. I was pumping it so long that I thought I had a defective bottle. Once the first batch came out it was easy to use. It's the initial process that's a pain.

I have lots of coupons for this product if you or a friend is intersted in using it. Just leave a comment and let me know.

Product Review - Bath and Body Works - Instant Radiance Gradual Tan Body Lotion

If you read Favorite Thing #47 post you will remember that I bought the Bath and Body Works Instant Radiance Gradual Tan Body Lotion. I got it in my favorite scent - Japanese Cherry Blossom - and it appears its no longer available. :(

Well the reviews are in and I LOVE IT!!!! I have been using it for a little over a month now and must say its the best gradual tanning lotion I have tried. When I started using it, I already had a base tan (from my trip to FL) so it kept my base tan and even gave me a little extra color. What I love about this product is that there is NO HINT OF ORANGE!! I have been constantly using it on my legs to try and give it color since its the one part of my body that loses its color - thanks to shaving - and my legs are looking bronzed and have a nice glow to them. And a perk to this tanning lotion is that it has a great scent and lasts all day.

Just a disclaimer - I do have olive skin tone so I don't know how this product would work if you have fair/pale skin.

Below is one of the reviews on the site from ShopaholicD about using this product:

"If you're like me and don't have a lot of time to lay out at the beach and soak up the sun, then you will love this product as much as I did. Put it on in the morning and it gives you an instant glowing look, then by night you look like you've been at the beach all day! I'm usually a little skeptical on self-tanners because even the ones that claim to have a nice fragrance end up smelling like body-odor and chemicals within a couple hours. NOT THIS ONE!! I smelled so good all day I could not believe it!. Even my coworkers kept asking what perfume I was wearing. It doesn't leave you looking orange either, it just perfected my skin tone and made my legs looks really smooth and sleek. I'll never use any other sunless tan product other than this again!"