Does price really matter when it comes to Skincare?

Rose Facial Serums! The Good, The Bad and The Acne!

Hello everyone and welcome back! Today I want to talk about skincare. Does price matter? Is there a difference in quality based on that price? I'm going to answer all that and talk a bit more about why. Keep in consideration this is all based on my opinion, my skin and how it's effected me. I've decided now that I receive BoxyCharm every month and get products at higher price points than I can afford, I felt like starting a new series on my website. We're going to compare prices on varying beauty products. 

Today we're starting with Rose Facial Serums! The Good, The Bad and The Acne! Over the last 6 months, I have been putting two Rose oil facial serums to the test! One is budget friendly, and the other is not. Depending how much you're willing to drop on skincare that is... 

Let's start with the budget friendly rose oil first. Packaging is beautiful, glass jar and glass dropper. It feels very nice for a more inexpensive product. I've been using the Province Beauty oil for a little over a month. I believe it's the World Market in-store brand. I got mine at Marshall's for $6.99, they have it for $12.99 on the World Market website. I'll make sure everything is linked. Everyday I would wash my face using the Clean and Clear, Oil Free Acne Face Wash. Once I pat my face dry I use a few drops of the Province Beauty rose oil and press it into my face a neck. At first I really liked it, not overly fragranced and sunk into my skin really well. Within a week I was getting breakouts. I thought they might be hormonal, so I continued with the routine. After a month, my acne was pretty bad so I stopped using the oil and after a week my face calmed down considerably. I've been using it on my body and it's been working really well with my dry skin. I definitely wouldn't suggest using this on your face if you're prone to acne! Yes, I know the bottle says it's for body and hair, but I read up on it and knew there was a risk it could trigger my acne. Some people have used it and it's helped theirs. It's all about your individual skin cell makeup and if something is going to work for you. Always keep that in mind!

Now, on to the pricey rose oil! In December 2019 I got my first BoxyCharm base box. It's $25 a month for 5 full size beauty items. One of the items I got was the Elemis Pro-Collagen Rose Facial Oil. It's marketed as a soothing facial oil. Their website says the oil is meant specifically for your face and neck. I decided to use this oil the same way I did with the less expensive one. Noticeably immediately is the consistency! It's so light weight and thin. I didn't realize an oil could be so thin, it's almost like water! There's a beautiful real rose scent that isn't sweetened up like most rose products. After washing my face and applying it to my face everyday for just a week, I noticed a huge difference in my acne and skin texture. I have Keratosis pilaris, a lot of us have it and I'm sure you probably didn't know it had a name. It's those little bumps you get on your upper arms and sometimes on legs or elsewhere. I have it on my lower cheek area which causes a lot of texture! I have genuinely seen it calmed and less noticable using the Elemis rose oil. I'm not sure if it's because of it being pro-collagen or if it's because it's really well made without tons of ingredients, but I'm obsessed! This is one time I'm definitely glad I'm a boxycharm member, I was able to pick up a second bottle in the pop-up shop for like $10, keep in mind it's a $79 product. Well worth the money to be honest, but that discount is insane! 

I think we've all by now realized which I would recommend and why. I'll say it louder for the ones in the back though. The Pro-Collagen Rose Facial Oil is a miracle worker and worth the $79 price point! In my opinion, anyway. I don't think I'll ever stop using it to be honest. There's been very few products I've found that I've liked this much! I've now been working on this blog post for far too long. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get anything else up. Depression really is out here getting the best of me. I hope you're all having a good day, do something that makes you happy today!

Xoxo, Lulu.

Autumnal Vibes Makeup Tutorial

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! This past month has been so beautiful, so cool outside. It's been perfect. Although I have been sick off and on a bunch. Recently when I was outside with my dog Chloe I was suddenly really inspired by the trees in my yard to do this look. It ended up super vibrant and beautiful. This is my favorite time of  the year and I can't wait to do so many more autumnal looks. Warm tone smokey is my go-to look all Autumn long! This look kind of ended up really basic looking but it took so long to blend. I have having issues with the base I used and had to redo everything. I then switched the base I used and had so much of an easier time blending! Note to self (and all of you) don't use a heavy concealer as a base! It caused a lot if skipping and patchy-ness. Alright, let's get started boi's!

Starting out this makeup look, I messed up and had to restart. I tried using the Makeup Revolution concealer as a base, but it was either too heavy or i used too much. I ended up using my foundation as a base and things went a lot smoother! This tutorial was done using two palettes, but basically all you need is a shade to set the lid, a few warm and cool brown shades for the crease and a matte or shimmery orange for the lid. To set the lid I went in with shade 1 to create a soft base to blend everything into. Next I  picked up shade 2 which is darker, but still bright yellow and buffed it into the crease. In the picture, shades 3, 4 & 5 look like they are all the same color, but they're actually one gradually darker than the next. Shade 5 is actually a pretty deep brown shade. I took all three of them and buffed them in one at a time, building the intensity. On the lid I mixed shades 6 & 8, 6 wasn't a deep enough orange and 8 was too rusty brown almost. So I mixed and buffed those two together on the lid, blending back into the crease and outer corner area. For shade 7, a really pigmented black, I took the smallest amount and buffed it into the outer corner to bring more depth. You could totally do this look using a lot less colors, But I don't have a very big collection of makeup, so I don't always have the shades I need. I ended up highlighting the arch of the brow bone and inner corner with the highlight I used on my cheeks, it's another makeup revolution palette and its so blinding! Under my lash line I mixed the oranges and the darker brown and black!

Thank you all so much for checking out this post. Please remember to comment and share my posts, it helps me so much! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you did, let me know! I have another tutorial coming on Friday, I really love the look i'm posting today, but Friday's is sparkly and I love glitter! 

Hopefully in these closer up images you can see what I was going for with using all of the colors I had pulled into the look. I wanted a lot of depth and dimension through the crease. There are so many beautiful yellow, orange and red trees outside right now and although I absolutely love it, my sinuses and body hate it. I'm going to try and grind and get some new tutorials going. I can't wait for some fun looks I have planned for the rest of the autumn season and all of winter! 

Products used:

Eyes:

BH Cosmetics; Take Me Back To Brazil

Makeup Revolution; Reloaded Palette; Newtrals 2

Maybelline; Great Lash; Waterproof

Essence Black Pencil Liner

Broadway Beauty Eyebrow Pencil; Brown / Black

Face:

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation; 120

Revlon ColorStay Foundation; 200

Makeup Revolution; Conceal & Define Full Coverage Conceal & Contour, C3

Makeup Revolution; Lace Baking Powder

Elf Contour Kit

Blush; [self made]

Mario Badescu; Facial Spray With Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater

Lips:

J Cat Beauty; Lipfinity Matte Lip Gloss; Champagne Buzz

Highlight: 

Makeup Revolution; Fierce As Fire, White Highlight Shade

Brushes / Tools:

Real Techniques Sponge

Real Techniques, Miracle Complexion Sponge

Pueen Large Powder Brush

Pueen Angled Blush Brush

Generic Flat Packing Brush

Generic Brand Fan Brush

Generic Flat Shader Brush

Generic Natural Fiber Blending Brush

Find me elsewhere: 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LINDAxHELLA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Luluslife_blog 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindaxhella/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lulus-Life-Blog 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lindaxhella/pins/ 
Tumblr: http://lindaxwoods.tumblr.com/

Makeup Revolution; Fierce as Fire Palette Review and Tutorial

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I recently made an Ulta purchase, and with said purchase if I spent $15 on Makeup Revolution products, I received their Fierce as Fire eyeshadow and highlight palette Free. I felt like this was a great opportunity to not only get a new palette, but it could make for some good content. I know they had a little bit of a bad reputation when they first came out because they were coming out with a lot of obvious dupes... I do have to say that they've made an honest name for themselves over the last year, not only that but I've liked everything by them. The quality of their products just seem to be too good for the price, but their stuff keeps getting better and better.

The Review: The packaging is all plastic like their palettes normally are, and there isn't a mirror. The package is sturdy, pretty lettering and trim to match. There are 8 eye shadows and 4 highlight shades. The eye shadows have 4 shimmers and 4 matte shades. Two of the matte shades have a fine shimmer in them, but it doesn't show up on the eyes. The 4 shimmer shades are all very silky quality and shimmery. As for pigment of the shadows, everyone of them is so pigmented and smooth! The blendability is very smooth, I tested them over unset foundation to really test if they would be patchy. The shades went on buttery and pigmented, the shimmer shades are super shimmery and pigmented as well. As for the highlight shades, holy cow I was blown away with the pigmentation and creamy texture of them. They're all really shiny ad blinding as well. I was only able to test out the three shades on my cheekbones, the fourth one is too dark. It is very beautiful on the eyes though. The highlight shades are beautiful mixed as well! The palette is overall a 9/10, it would be a 10/10 if there were a mirror!

The Tutorial: Starting out this makeup look I primed my eyelids with my foundation and left it tacky to test the quality of the eye shadows. Starting out I went in with the light pinky tone and the cooler tan matte shades on a natural fiber brush and brought them through the crease and bringing the color all the way into the inner portion and above the crease. I have hooded eyes so I always bring my shadows higher than people usually do. Next to build up the outer crease area, I picked up the more red brick shade on a fluffy blending brush and went in lightly. It was super pigmented so I didn't have to add too much more than the initial dip in. I did make sure to bring that color into the inner corner as well, but very lightly just to add warmth. On the lid with a flat shader brush and some Mario Badescu rose water spray I dipped into the peachy pink shimmer shade and put it all over the inner two thirds of the lid. This color is beautiful! It's a duo chrome eyeshadow, it goes from pink to golden yellow. I used the same wet brush and picked up the darkest highlight shade and put it on the mid section of the lid gently patting out the edges. This look was finished with the lightest highlight on the brow bone and a thin line of black pen liner on the lash line.

I hope you enjoyed today's makeup tutorial. I absolutely loved this palette and can't wait to see what I create next! Makeup Revolution is slowly but surely becoming my favorite makeup brand! I just got their  Luxury Baking Powder in Lace and their new concealer in c3, light for neutral undertones. I've tried them roughly three times so far and I've gotta say I love their stuff more and more with each new product I get my hands on. I can't wait to try more! I'm almost at 100k views and it's all thanks to you guys and your support!

Xoxo Lulu

Products used today.

Eyes:

Makeup Revolution Fierce As Fire palette

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, Waterproof, Black

Broadway Beauty eyebrow pencil, brown / black

BH Cosmetics Felt Tip Black liner

Face:

Maybelline, Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

(My foundation is mixed half and half in the bottle)

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 200

Maybelline Matte and Poreless in 120
Makeup Revolution, Conceal & Define Full Coverage Conceal & Contour

Makeup Revolution, Lace Baking Powder

Elf Contour Palette, light

Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe, Herb and Rosewater

Highlight: 

Makeup Revolution Fierce As Fire palette, white and gold

Lips:

Maybelline, Color Sensational, 015 Born With It

Brushes / Tools:

Real Techniques Sponge

Real Techniques, Miracle Complexion Sponge

Pueen Large Powder Brush

Pueen Angled Blush Brush

Generic Flat Packing Brush

Generic Brand Fan Brush

Generic Flat Shader Brush

Generic Natural Fiber Blending Brush

Find me elsewhere: 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LINDAxHELLA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Luluslife_blog 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindaxhella/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lulus-Life-Blog 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lindaxhella/pins/ 
Tumblr: http://lindaxwoods.tumblr.com/

Purple and Silver smokey eye on Blue eyes

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today's tutorial is this beautiful purple and silver smokey eye. This tutorial is on my youngest step daughter Trinity. We chose this color scheme to compliment her blue / hazel eyes. I think we succeed with making her eye color pop! We used Pinterest to look at some color charts and see what colors make blue eyes pop! This can be helpful if you're wondering what colors best compliment your eyes. Being an avid makeup obsessed freak, I know what colors to wear on my eyes to make them pop. I don't always follow those rules, because its makeup and you don't have to stick to just a few colors. Let's get started on with the tutorial.

Starting out today's makeup look, we went in with foundation on her lids. I mix two shades to get my custom shade, luckily we have the same skin tone! I have all products down below, but just used a primer, concealer or foundation. Use whatever suites your style and needs. Starting in the crease I took the contour shade in my Elf contour kit and buffed it in through the crease from outer to inner corner. I wanted to build depth before going in with the purples. On a fluffy blending brush I went in with shade 1, a cool darker purple and built up color until it was as dark as I wanted it to be. Adjust to your liking as with anything I mentioned. To deepen the crease, I took the shades I marked as 2, tapping into them and building up the outer corner. Shade 1 just wasn't a dark enough purple so I used a dark blue and light purple to make a custom shade for the outer corner. On the lid I went in this really cheap Wish palette, and took the silver on a flat shader brush with some setting spray. I packed on the silver and then set it with the same silver shadow. On the bottom lash line I went in with the purples and just built them up the saw I did in the crease. Adding something to the bottom lash line really helps pop your eye color even more!

That's all this eye look takes! Super beautiful and pretty simple to achieve! I just wanted to thank you for coming by and checking out my blog, I've had a set back in life and haven't been posting recently. What are you going to do when you have depression, anxiety and keep getting sick? It's been pretty annoying, I'm on antibiotics for the second time in a months period. I've missed doing my makeup, I've missed blogging and sharing my tips with y'all. Just been a real one, lol. I've also been watching a lot of James Charles, talk about sister snatched. He's always killing it, I aspire to be on his level one day lol. Also, I'm almost to 100k views and I'm panicking! Love you all so much for everything you do for me. Keep sharing and reading, it's helping me more than you know.

Xoxo Lulu

Products used today.

Eyes:

BH Cosmetics Take Me Back To Brazil palette
PopFeel eyeshadow palette, Wish

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, Washable, Black

Broadway Beauty eyebrow pencil, brown / black

Face:Maybelline, Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

(My foundation is mixed half and half in the bottle)

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 200

Maybelline Matte and Poreless in 120
Makeup Revolution, Conceal & Define Full Coverage Conceal & Contour

Makeup Revolution, Lace Baking Powder

Elf Contour Palette, light

Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe, Herb and Rosewater

Highlight: 

BH Cosmetics Take Me Back To Brazil palette, 4

Lips:

Maybelline, Color Sensational, 015 Born With It

Brushes / Tools:

Real Techniques Sponge

Real Techniques, Miracle Complexion Sponge

Pueen Large Powder Brush

Pueen Angled Blush Brush

Generic Flat Packing Brush

Generic Brand Fan Brush

Generic Flat Shader Brush

Generic Natural Fiber Blending Brush

Find me elsewhere:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LINDAxHELLA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Luluslife_blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindaxhella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lulus-Life-Blog
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lindaxhella/pins/
Tumblr: http://lindaxwoods.tumblr.com/