Fragrance Sampler For Her SEPHORA FAVORITES

SEPHORA FAVORITES Fragrance Sampler For Her $24

Hey everyone!
Here's a perfect gift idea for someone just starting off with perfume (such as myself). For 24 dollars, you get 5 samples and a coupon to redeem one sample for a full sized rollerball. I think this is great because whoever you're buying this for gets a little bit of freedom as to what they really want and at the same time they're not committing to a full sized, bottle perfume. I got this as a really belated secret santa present a little while back, and I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

The set also came with some gorgeous perfume sample postcards that you can send to a friend for fun-- I think I'm just going to keep them and put them up on my wall because they're just so pretty :)

When redeemed, the rollerballs range from $22 - $29 dollars. While you do NOT have to pay anything for the difference in price, if you were thinking about buying it for yourself, I would do a little bit of research into what perfume you think you'll want, as its not THAT great of a deal if you end up picking a $22 dollar rollerball. Just wanted to get that out there ;)

Mark Jacobs - Dot $22
Out of the set, I think Dot would be the most appropriate for just about everyone whether for youngsters just starting out with perfume or experts. It's not at all overwhelming, and has light hearted innocent notes. Out of all the perfumes in this set, I'd say that its the only one that has a sugary sweet note to it rather than a floral sweet like a few of the others.
"A mouthwatering, juicy scent spiked with spontaneity and sparkle"

Chloe - See by $22
I'm really not a fan of this scent. To me, it smells like cheap air freshener when you walk into a bathroom. I'm not even kidding. Its not floral, its not sweet, its almost soapy. Not for me! Sorry if I offended any fans out there but I was really disappointed by this scent!
"An optimistic scent, with beautiful apple blossom, designed to capture your playful charm"

Flowerbomb - Viktor & Rolf $29
I probably had the biggest expectation for this perfume as I've seriously been seeing it everywhere! It's definitely what I would call a more mature scent, and has a subtle sexiness to it. It's sophisticated and floral but with a little bit of a muskier undertone that's almost.. dare I say bitter? Its the most unique scent in the set and is really memorable.
"This floral explosion releases a profusion of towers that has the power to make everything seem more positive"

Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy $22
I'd definitely say this is a fresh, everyday scent. It's really approachable and is an itty bit sweet without being over the top. For this perfume, I would definitely suggest wearing it on your skin for a little while before purchasing because it really changes on the skin vs on a little note card at Sephora.
"creamy caramel meets glimmering fruits in this delightful scent"

Guccci - Flora $27
The first thing I thought after a whiff of this scent was, "ooohis that lemon?" not citrus/ lime/ orange, but tart lemon. Then after a little while, the fresh floral notes captured my attention. Theres no other way to describe this scent than pretty. This is the kind of perfume that where you wouldn't be able to recall what it smelled like, just that it smelled lovely. Its the perfect blend of fruit and flowers and I love it to death. What I also love is how its not musky and doesn't smell like I've just walked into Macys or Nordstroms. I think this would be perfect for the upcoming spring and summer.
"Floral fruits followed by sensual, creamy woods will make you feel dreamy"

Out of all 5, I would definitely say that Flora by Gucci was my favorite which was unexpected because I hadn't heard of it at all!

Wink For Pink by Revlon

Heres a really perfect pink lipstick that I've been loving lately! My sister actually picked this one out for when I first started wearing make up-- I believe it's the first lipstick I ever bought :') I think of this as a really age appropriate shade for someone a little younger who's starting to build up their collection. It's super wearable and build able and has really tiny bits of glitter in it. At first I wasn't fond of that at all, but I really got to liking it over time! If anyone remembers my Peach Parfait rant, it's just the amount of glitter I would want in a lip butter. For the best results, I recommend blending in with a clean finger before adding a progressive layer. Lastly, it's part of the Super Lustrous line so it has a nice amount of gloss which is two thumbs up from me. 

The Delightful Duo *

Heres a combo I've been reaching for lately: the Real Techniques Stippling Brush + Stilla's Convertible Color Trio in Warm. I think the two really match up perfectly and give a very natural cheek flush. Since I haven't been getting a ton of sun lately, using this product on the apples of my cheeks is a really flattering way to add a healthy glow back into my face. And once I've added a touch of Benefit's Watts Up Highlighter, I feel peppy and ready for the day. I especially love wearing cream blush when I don't have a foundation base.

Honey Suckle (far left) is a really youthful baby pink that is exclusive to the trio. It's probably the most pigmented out of the three and really stands out on the cheeks. I think this color would be perfect on almost all skin tones and can be blended to look very subtle. It doesn't have any shimmer, but like all the convertible colors it has a glossy effect that really makes it pop!

Camellia (middle) is my favorite out of the three mainly because I didn't think that I would like it as much as I do! In the pan it looks sort of like a disinteresting brown/muddy color but I think it's the most flattering on my skin tone. I've found that it's my perfect rosy shade and looks so healthy on my skin and the Stippling Brush really evens out the product and makes it look like I've gotten a considerable amount of sun.

Recently I've fallen in love with the last shade in the trio, Gerbera (far right). Unlike the other two, it has a really iridescent sheen that highlights the cheeks and gives them a universally flattering glow. This is probably one of the more popular shades in the convertible color line-- but a word of advice: it really doesn't shoe up on darker skin tones. Now that I've paled quite a bit since summer, its finally starting to show up really nicely. I'm not sure if the camera picked up on it, but its a more orange toned peach color than Honey Suckle.

* SORRY ABOUT THE DOUBLE UPLOAD! I somehow managed to screw up the other one... oopsie :( 

Zoella's Gingerbread Biscuits + Eggless Royal Icing Recipe

My sister and I spent yesterday cooking dinner for the fambam. We attempted at making risotto which looked and smelled AMAZING but tasted SO BITTER :( I think we put too much lemon zest.... sigh. Next time we'll leave that out and hopefully it'll work out. But anyways, we didn't want to end the night in failure so we decided to do a little bit of christmas baking! 

You may have already seen Zoella's baking DIY video for Gingerbread Biscuits. Let me just say that it turned out PERFECT! We decided to top it off with some royal icing which really brought the sweetness level up. 

You can click here for the baking video 
I almost forgot to say that I replaced bicarbonate of soda with baking soda and treacle with maple syrup! 

And here's my recipe for royal icing! I really love it because theres no merengue powder yet it still hardens and is really easy to work with. I tailored my recipe from this website's recipe. 


ROYAL ICING RECIPE 

- 1 cup confectioners' sugar 
- 3 teaspoons of whole milk 
- 2 teaspoons of honey 
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring! 

Mix it all together and slap it into a piping bag and you're good to go. 

Drugstore Eyebrow Battle

 Today's post is a comparison between the NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder and the Elf Eyebrow Kit. As you can probably see, both products have gotten a reasonable amount of love over the past weeks so I thought it would be fun to write a comparison review and let you guys know which one wins! The Elf duo is in medium while the Nyx duo is in medium dark.

Price
Elf: $3.00
Nyx: $6.00

Content 
Elf: A dual ended brush with a blending and angled brush, dark brown wax, shadow
Nyx: two shadows, an angled brush, a spooley brush, and clear wax

Packaging
Elf: Sturdy

Nyx: Sturdy

There are definitely pros and cons to both products-- the angled brush in the elf duo is sosooso nice for filling in eyebrows because its very thin and precise while the blending brush on the other end is completely useless for me. On the other hand, the angled brush on the Nyx duo works alright, but the spooly brush is really useful for blending in the powder.

As for the products themselves, both seem to last, but do show some signs of fading throughout the day-- I used one for each eyebrow and I couldn't tell the difference.

If you want to get creative, you can mix the Nyx wax with the powder and then apply which gives a more opaque precise line-- except you end up using 5x the amount of wax. Just by looking, I'm probably going to run out of wax in the next few weeks... :/

If I had to pick a winner, I think I would go with the Elf Kit-- it's half the price and works just as well. Even though you don't have a spooly brush, you can use the angled brush when its clean to spread out the product.

Hope you enjoyed reading! 

PERFECT WINTER LIP Endless Red

I've recently rediscovered this lip stain while shopping my stash for a nice festive lip color for the holidays. Since then, I've been wearing it as often as I can and thought that it was about time that I wrote a full review.

You may remember the release of the L'Oreal Color Riche Caresse Wet Shine Stains last year-- they became known as dupes for the YSL Glossy Stain. I, like many others, got roped in and ended up purchasing this product in 190 Endless Red.

This color is the perfect natural flush red lip tint. The product is basically a yellow toned, highly pigmented gloss with no shimmers-- my kind of product! I love dotting it onto the center of my lips and patting it in. You can keep it sheer or add about two more layers for a very opaque, glossy shine.

It's perfect for a dewy complexion when you want to look like you've just been out in the cold. I love pairing it with a natural pinky blush, dark eyebrows, and a touch of mascara.

Pros: natural lip tint, build-able, glossy, long lasting stain
Cons: tricky brush, yellow tint(your teeth look more yellow), while color lasts gloss does not

The Original Tangle Teezer!!!

This week I got to try out the VERY hyped Tangle Teezer! I've heard so many beauty lovers raving about this hair brush so when my old hairbrush started fraying and getting quite disgusting, I thought I would give this one a whirl. 
For those who don't know about the Tangle Teezer, it's a plastic hair brush designed specifically to be used on wet hair. The product claims to painlessly detangle and be easy use. Sounds like a miracle, right?

Before we start, I have pretty long hair that goes till right below my bust. It's pretty thin and gets pretty dry and knotted at the ends.

This is a pretty pricey hair brush. I bought mine from Sallys, and even at the checkout the clerk muttered, "woah 14 dollars for this? jeez..." which made me a little bit uncomfortable because there were two different knock off brands both for around 9 dollars... but I wanted to get the real deal-- especially if so many people have been praising this thing.

I tried this out right when I got home, and I have to say that I absolutely love it! It really gets rid of any snarls in your hair without tugging and pulling. I think this is because of very thin bristles of varying length that come over the surface of your hair and get all the tangles out. I was SUPER impressed. It didn't even hurt!

I would DEFINITELY recommend this, and am already planning on buying this for my sister for Christmas. I think she'll love it.

ps keep checking back for more posts-- finals season is coming and blogging is my favorite thing to do during my study breaks! ;)