Hard Candy is all up on my face

     I feel kinda guilty about this review taking so long to finally get put up. I've have the pictures ready since before prom, I've just been having some personal issues. Just please keep me in your thoughts/ prayers. I broke up with my boyfriend on Wednesday for reasons I don't feel like discussing. We've talked about getting back together, but I don't know what's going to happen. I think that's the scariest thing about this whole ordeal. I mean, I have a huge, terrible, crushing fear of dying alone and for almost two years, he was my hero that vanquished that fear- I thought we would grow old together. Oye, men. If this doesn't pan out I'm never dating again, ever :P So, enough about me, I'll get to the reviewing; I just thought I'd explain a bit.

     I've actually had the Blush Crush for a while now, I just didn't want to review it all by itself. The foundation I tried because I wanted a cheaper foundation with a more convenient packaging than the Physician's Formula one I usually use. I wanted something not-as-thick for Springtime, so I went ahead and got the concealer, too. The boxed blush/ bronzer duo I bought a while back while it was still snowy. I've never used a bronzer for contouring and I thought these would be a practical way to experiment.

After owning this for months, I only noticed that hot lavender veining when I took pictures. I feel so dense.....

Blush Crush in Honeymoon

Pros: I love this blush. It is just so "glowy" without having a shiny type of sheen or glitter effect. I use it when I'm going for that "lit from within" effect, as it is a very light, sweet color. Even though it may be too light for the color to really show much on a darker skin tone, it would make an ah-mazing highlighter. Medium skin tones could probably pull this off as a highlighter, too.

Cons: After breaking the lid off of this little beauty (um, my bad!) I looked and looked and even hit the internet to see if these were depot-able, and I don't think that they are. The color lasts a while, but since it isn't very dark, it doesn't last all day.

Stars: 4/5

Would I buy again?: Probably. Even though I'm a bigger fan of matte blushes, this one makes me super happy.

Ok, so this is going to be long: the order from right to left in all swatches is Light then Medium. Left is with flash, right is without flash. Top is straight-from-the-pump and bottom is blended out.

Just Face It- One Step Foundation in Light & Medium

Pros: Light turned out to be my perfect light/medium coverage foundation, I love it! It was very easy to apply with a sponge and didn't break me out or make my complexion look "off." On me neither oxidized (turned orange) or streaked/ smudged, which is usually a problem for me and my oily face. I love that this foundation comes in a pump bottle because I'm just a fan of that type of packaging, as I find it convenient and clean. These bottles are also plastic! Some people think it looks/ feels cheap, but then again, I doubt they've dropped a glass foundation bottle and had it smash into oblivion.

Cons: The medium formula is noticably thicker, which means that instead of a pat-pat motion with a sponge I have to to more of a pat-wipe motion. It also needs more blending so patches aren't left behind. It's not hard to apply, it just takes a wee bit more time.

Stars: Light wins 5/5, but Medium would get 4.5/5. I'm really curious about why there was such a difference in thickness.

Would I buy again?: Yep!

Concealer stick in Light then Medium, with the first picture with flash and the second without.

Light is on the left and Medium is on the right. The top photos show it straight out of the tube and the bottom ones are blended. Photos on the left are no flash and the ones on the right have flash.

Glamoflauge Concealer in Light and Medium

Pros: Both of these are the same texture, being quite opaque but easily blendable. They don't tend to look cakey or unnaturaly pale. I love that in addition to the tube of concealer you also get a little pencil concealer, which I prefer using on small, flat, discolored spots.

Cons: I can't really think of any.

Stars: 5/5

Would I buy again?: Yep! Me likey.

On the left is Skinning Dipping and on the right is Truth or Dare.

The top picture has flash and the bottom is without. The three swatches on the left are from Skinny Dipping and the three on the right are from Truth or Dare. In each group, the order goes: both colors mixed together, then the blush, then the bronzer.

Fox in a Box Blush/ Bronzer Duo in Skinny Dipping and Truth or Dare

Pros: Like everything else Hard Candy makes, these are fairly affordable. The packaging is adorable, even if the little brush is close to useless. The lid is magnetized, so it stays closed. Both can be applied sheerly or built of for a bigger pop of color. Truth or Dare would be flattering on most skin tones. The color pairings work well together, I think. Although none of the shades I purchased are matte, they're not shiny or sparkly. I think both looked natural on my face. There are quads available like this too, but I'm too lazy to work to get a single color so small on my brush without mixing everything together, so I skipped them :)
Cons: However cute it may be, the box is big. I guess you could say it has a false bottom? The pan itself is average- sized, but under it there is a peice of plastic taking up half of the box. I wound up depotting these and keeping the boxes (because Lord knows I need more junk to hoard away.) They are fairly easy to depot, though, and I'm sure if you were so inclined it would be easy to transform the boxes into cute little trinket boxes, like I plan to do to mine.

Stars: 4.5/5

Would I buy again?: Maybe! If I actually ever finish them! Yeah, like that's going to happen. The quads are cute, but like I said earlier- I'm lazy and usually in a rush.

     I hope everyone found this review helpful at least somehow! It took me about four days to actually type it up, because I would start, it would keep me distracted for a little while, then I would get disheartened and have to save and turn off my laptop. Oh well. That is the nice thing about blogging, though- it's a ceative outlet and lets me have some "me" time.

my ABC's (no, it's not bubble gum!)

     Scrolling through the list of posts by blogs I follow this morning I found one that mNg of I'm Not Skinny, So What? posted that looked really fun. Essentially, it was a list of random questions in alphabetical order that the poster answered. When I reached the bottom, I saw that she had tagged me for doing it next (of course, if I had just read my new comments first, I wouldn't have been suprised.) I like suprises though, so it was fine by me!   

A. Age: 19.

B. Bed size: Queen.

C. Chore you hate: Cleaning out the chicken coop- ick!

D. Day:  I like Tuesdays because they're usually my lazy day that I can spend however I like :)

E. Essential start to your day: Shower. Without one, I'm a zombie and my hair looks grubby (darn you, sebum!)

F. Favourite colour: Contrary to what my blog's name may imply, it's purple. Blue is my lucky color, though!

G. Gold or Silver: White gold ;)

H. Height: 5'8".

I. Instruments: I'm a musical failure :( None for me. I like the madolin and the banjo, though!  

J. Job title: Team member/ cashier lady.

K. Kids: Love kids :) Not having any until I'm married and out of school (or at least close to it), though.


L. Live: In Virginia, USA. Not near the coast, though- in the southwestern region, near the WV state line, in the mountains.


M. Mum’s name: Teresa :)


N. Nicknames: Sam, Sammie, Sam-bo, 'Mantha. All short for Samantha.


O. Overnight hospital stays: I stayed about 5 nights when I had my back surgery for scholiosis in the 6th grade.


P. Pet peeve: Bullying. I just got home from paying a visit to the high school with my parents because a group of upperclassmen boys  thought it would be funny to write "no parking" and draw male genitalia on the windows of the minivan she drives, along with sticking forged parking tickets under the wipers. I hate to see cyber- bullies too. Some people get so brave when they're sitting behind a computer screen.


Q. Quote from a movie: "You don't throw a whole life away just because it's a little banged up." Tom Smith in Seabiscuit. I love that movie too much!


R. Right or left handed: I'm a righty!


S. Siblings: Younger sister (age 16) and  a twin sister.


T. Time you wake up: Now that school is over, it really varies. When school was in session, around 7 AM or a smidge earlier.


U. Underwear: They're leopard print! And not hanging out of my pants (I guess that bettter than the alternative, though!)

V. Vegetables you dislike: Green bell peppers :P Bleh! I love red and yellow peppers, though.


W. What makes you run late: Traffic. The dog. My sisters. That shirt I couldn't find that I just HAD to wear. Dropping my earing on the carpet. Anything and everything, honestly.


X. X-Rays you’ve had: A whole bunch of my back when I was little and some dental X-rays, both for checkups and for when I had to get braces.


Y. Yummy food you make: I can grill a pretty mean steak.


Z. Zoo: I love zoos! The last time I went to one I saw a thingie giving birth (my mind always goes blank at the most convenient times!) It was so neat not just because I got to witness such an event, but because those thingies are my favorite zoo animals (which makes that fact that I can't remember what they're called even worse.)

I thought I'd share a pic of the thingie and her new born. Yeah, way to go Mama Thingie, have that baby in a mud hole, even though the whole rest of the enclosure is dry. That's the way to do it, right there.

     So, that was fun! I'm supposed to tag other bloggers, and since mNg already tagged Ki of Ki and Makeup and VijiiS of Fierce Nerditude, I'm tagging Jill of Just Peachy and Laur of Laur's Beauty Blog, along with anyone else who wants to do it :)  

my weekend in pictures (prom/ baby cows/ creepy crawlies)

     I hope that everyone had a great weekend! Despite being rather wet, mine wasn't too shabby. I had a great time at my boyfriend's prom, where the rain decided to let up and not soak everyone in their nice attire. I wish I had took my camera to take pics of the decorations- they were top notch! A good deal of the decorations were teal, matching my dress, which was pretty awesome. I think it was the universe's way of saying "sorry" for the huge mismatch that was my dress and Ryan's tux's vest last year (yeah, purple and hot pink do not match, although the fabric swatch that represented the color at the shop was perfect.) Yesterday Ryan came over to just "hang out" at the house and we rode up on the farm a bit with my little sister. One of my cousin's little goats actually let us pet it, which was pretty out of the ordinary. Usually the only friendly one is the big billy, and he rubs (rather vigorously) on everyone like an overgrown housecat. He cracks me up, because instead of virile, robust "baaas!" his bas are so soft and baby-ish. After Ryan went home I went back up on the farm with Dad to check cows and to "help" fix a drainage pipe that had went wonky with all of the rain. By "help" I really mean watch and take pictures; there's not too much I could've done, considering that Dad only took one shovel :D I did find a ton of salamanders, who apparently loved all of the damp weather. I also finally got to see Dad's newest calf by one of the new heifers he bought. Like Marlena, she feels a need to hide it 24/7. We found it curled up in a blackberry thicket and she wouldn't budge, so I petted her and scratched behind her little red ears. It's so nice when they'll hold still!   

     Oh, and before I forget, MAC is offering free overnight shipping up to midnight tonight with the code MAC at checkout and Meow Cosmetics' free shipping option for Friday the Thirteenth ends tonight. The FtheT collection will be leaving Thursday until the next FtheT or Halloween (not sure which comes first!)  

I hate to be an enabler, but I love sharing deals :)

     Hello hello everyone! I'm going to start sharing coupon codes and info on new promo kits with my readers, along with some general tips on how to save an endangered species... money! Let's get rolling, shall we?
   
  First, I'm going to list my favorite money- saving tips regarding beauty and bath type products:
-Clip those coupons! I've heard the excuse that it takes too much time, doesn't save that much money, or that it's only for old people. Bah, I say! I actually kinda enjoy clipping coupons- it's similar to looking at catalogues, except that I'm actually getting a deal, lol. I normally don't browse for coupons  online, but in my Sunday paper. Online coupons are good- my printer just needs an excercism, so it's out. Since couponing, I haven't paid the full price on a shampoo or conditioner, deodorant, or make up remover (I use Almay's), and I've gotten dozen of discounts on other items. Brands that  often include coupons in the Sunday paper are Covergirl, Loreal, Almay, Revlon, Pantene, Dove, Suave, Clean and Clear, Nutregena, and oodles more. And to answer the question of "Is it really worth it?" I probably save, on average, at least $12 a month with coupons. That adds up to almost $150 a year.  To me, that's worth it.
- This tip is in a similar vein to the last: look at the sales papers from Sunday's paper. CVS usually has several different sales on cosmetics, as well as Wallgreens, Rite Aid, and others. I also like to look at Belk's- a couple weeks ago they had a coupon for a sample sized bottle of Clinique or Estee Lauder foundation (which I clipped but didn't have the time to get. Grrr....) 
- Sign up for email notifications from companies and retail sites you're interested in buying from. Some companies even have blogs and Facebook/ Twitter accounts that they use for PR and often post cupon codes there for their followers & fans. 
- If there is a rewards program, go ahead and sign up. For example, Sephora Beauty Insiders earn points that go towards getting deluxe samples. On several sites, like Sephora, members also have access to special deals and even promo items. 
- Don't be afraid to stock- up. If there is a sale or if I have a close to expiring coupon for an item I'm going to use but haven't finished up the last of yet, I go ahead and buy it and put it in my "reserve" basket. I don't recommend doing this for items with short expiration dates unless you'll be using them very soon, however. My reserve basket usually has a set of shampoo/ conditioner in it, deodorant, face wash, and razors. Another thing I like about the basket is if I run out of something, I don't have to worry about running to the store to replace it :)  
- Before placing an order online, I always do a Google search for promo codes; eg: "Clinique promo code" or "Clinique coupon code."

     Now, onto the juicy part- the deals!
- Through May 15 Mac is offering free shiping using the promo code CUSTOM.
- Estee Lauder is offering free shipping on orders over $25 with the code MAYFAVES.
- Through May 15,entering the code SUMMER at checkout when ordering Clinique online will score you a Mini Super City Block SPF 40 & a Mini Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Grapefruit, along with free shipping.
- Sephora always includes free samples with every order, but I always get one more with a code- available right now is a trail- size of Dior lash primer with the code DIORMAX, Laura Mercier facial scrub sample with the code FACEPOLISH, and Clinique pore refining serum sample with the code SHRINK. All of these require an order of $25 or more and the for the Clinique sample you have to be a Beauty Insider.
- ZPAL10 is a coupon code for Facebook fans of Zpalette which takes 10% off of your order from Zpalette.
- Meow Cosmetics is having free shipping in honor of their Friday the 13th collection through Friday.

     If I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them, and I'll try to start doing a post like this about once a week (or whenever deals start coming up.) Hope this was helpful!

prom eye #6: purple blossom

     So, the time has come for my very last prom eye post of this prom season. I really wish I could've done more! There were a few I even had planned up in the old noggin, but thanks to time constraints (whoever decided that prom season and finals weeks go well together was WRONG!), they never went on my face. Oh, well, there's always next year!

     This look was inspired by purple flowers. I have always been amazed at how many flower petals start out so light near the middle and turn into such a rich color on the edges, so I tryed to incorporate that into this look by blending three purple- hued colors on my lid so that the shift from light to dark was gradual and natural.

     Here are the colors I used:

-Fyrinnae's Moon Child to highlight

-Fyrinnae's Dragon Wing on the bottom lash line

-Mac's Bright Sunshine on the inner corner

-Shiro Cosmetic's Clefairy on the inner lid

-Fyrinnae's Forbidden Love on the middle part of the lid

-Frrinnae's Tapir on the outer lid and in the crease

     While I probably wouldn't wear the green on the lower lash line on any old day, making the colors gradient by blending was a pretty neat thing to learn to do and I'm eager to see how this technique will work with other colors!

prom eye #5: (smokey) green with envy

     Prom season is in full force! The first one in this area was last Saturday, which has really made me realize that I need to get on the ball and post these last two eye looks! I really wanted to do a couple more, but between school and work (and homework!) I've had some trouble coming up with the time. Oh well, school will be over for me after my last two finals exams have been taken next Monday; of course, it's only natural that my two hardest finals would be on the same day, but a Monday? Come on! Totally sucky luck right there. Of course, I did have the option of taking my Chemistry exam early... but then again, I'd be pretty crazy to turn away a whole weekend that I could use to study. I'm going to quit rambling now and just show y'all the look already!

     Color placement is kinda hard to describe- the easiest one to pinpoint is Shiro Cosmetic's Temple of Time as my highlight and in the inner corner. The black base was Too Faced's Moon Beam and layered over top of that was Smashbox's Smashing Frame, but using the two I did quite a bit more with layering and blending. It turned out quite a bit better than I expected. The neat thing about those two shadows is that Moon Beam is a black base with green glitter/ shimmer and Smashing Frame is a matte green, which I think really helped how they layered and blended together. When I try to blend two shadows with the same finish, I often find that the colors just get muddy. Or I like I had been attacked by a five year old with a jar of craft glitter :D

pictures of baby Angelene & more!

     I know that I promised to post pictures of my new baby calf when she was born, and I feel so guilty for not doing so sooner! Marlena is a seriously protective mommy. It took three different attempts for me to actually get some decent pictures! The ones I took today were dumb luck. The first two times I tried to get pictures Marlena promptly nudged Angelene to the other side of the field and up the side of the hill (where the UTV couldn't go.) All of the others cows just stand around and look at me with goggley- eyes and a demeanor that says as-long-as-you-don't-try-to-touch-me-we're-cool, but Marlena is the exception to the rule. Today we couldn't find little Angelene, and took off after Marlena down the hill. To the left between a brier bush and a rock pile a flash of white caught my eye, and there was Angelene lying quietly! Marlena had actually hid that baby and tried to lure us away from her. When we approached Angelene, Marlena starting bawling and absolutely throwing a fit until she popped up and ran over to her side. Oh well, at least now I'm sure she's a good mommy!

Before today, this was the best pic I could get.

Here's the sneaky little baby standing up in her hiding spot!

Mommy! That lady was trying to take pictures of me again!

Mother & daughter together again <3

This little lady is my Mamaw's Bassett Hound Molly- doesn't she look sad?