H54F: Cosmetic Job Interview, Mac Dupe & more!

Hello beauties! I hope everyone had a good week and is looking forward to a fabulous weekend, this is my 2nd installment of high five for Friday {H54F} which, if you don't what that is, a lovely blogger by the name of Lauren Elizabeth recaps her week and encourages others to do the same! It's quite fun... plus I had some beauty related things happen to me throughout the week, so let's get started! :)

Wednesday I got a called from my dream beauty & retail job... Sephora! Wanting to know if I had time to interview on Thursday, uh... of course! I've been trying to score an interview there for months, so to say I was excited was an understatement! So I took pictures of the eye makeup I wore to the interview because I was really happy with the way it came out! I stuck to neutral eyes because I didn't want to be too over the top since it was an interview, but still wanted to show off some skill level! Haha

No edits/no filter

My shadows appeared slightly darker/more smokey in person, just an FYI. I was super happy with the way it came out and I was really impressed with the false lashes I used, they are pretty natural and looked great!

How to get the look:

[Maximize for more detail!} L to R: Wet n Wild Vanity Palette, Wet n Wild "walking on eggshells", Mac's naked pigment

1. First I used middle shade on the left side of  Wet n Wild's Vanity palette  it is a light brown matte shade and I applied this in my crease, I know a lot of people do their lid color first but I've found I can blend things out easier and get a better effect if I apply my crease color first {I can always add to it along the way if I want} it's just what works for my slightly hooded eyes!

2. Next I applied the eyelid shade of Wet n Wild's walking on eggshells trio {on sale right now at Walgreens for 2 dollars!} to my eyelid, this is a gorgeous slightly pink champagne shade a supposed dupe for Mac's Naked Lunch I believe!

3. I then went back to the Vanity Palette and applied the dark matte brown shade on the bottom left to the outer v of my crease and outer lid as well.

4. I then took Mac's Naked pigment on a slightly damp flat shader brush and applied this just to the center of my lid to add some extra sparkle and dimension, I HIGHLY recommend doing this, it really brightens and opens up the eye. A good drugstore alternative to this I think would be L'Oreal eyeshadow in Iced Latte.

5. Next I popped a little bit of the matte cream shade in the Vanity palette right below my eyebrow for a highlight, then I couldn't help but to put a tiny bit of the naked pigment there as well!

6. I then used Jordana's Metal Rocks Eyeliner in "Purple Prism" on the outer half of my bottom lash line, the color is more of a dusty plum with slight shimmer. It's so pretty and extremely long lasting {12+ hours without coming out or smudging!} It's one of my absolute favorite pencil eyeliners and it's 3 dollars!

7. Then I used my Revlon Precision Lash Glue {which is great because it has a tiny brush to brush the glue directly ON the lashes!} waited 30 seconds for the glue to get tacky and applied Modlash Andrea 21 false eyelashes with little to no problem! These lashes are great if you are looking for something more natural or you have smaller set/slight hooded eyes because they do not over power or eye or hide all the work you put into your eyeshadow!

What do you ladies think!? The lashes gave me an extra boost of confidence since I rarely wear them, but if I get the Sephora it would be the perfect opperunity to wear them regularly! Btw, I think the interview went really well, the manager I interview with was super nice and friendly, so cross your fingers for me! :)

Mac Lipstick Dupe!:

I accidentally discovered a Mac lipstick dupe yesterday, I swatched Milani's Plumrose and instantly thought of  Mac's Craving sure enough when I compared them side by side they're pretty much identical! I know the Milani shade looks a bit lighter in the picture, but trust me it's just the lighting! This is the perfect berry, plum shade for fall I'm so glad to of found a cheaper dupe!

Mac swatch on top, Milani on the bottom

 That about wraps it up ladies, I hope all of you have a super stellar weekend! Please let me know what your think of my interview makeup look in a comment! Until next time,

Leah xo          Follow me on:  Google Friend Connect     |     Instagram     |       Bloglovin'
 

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Beauty Bargain Review: ELF Mineral Infused Mascara

Hey beauties! I'm back with the second installment of "beauty bargain review" my review series on exactly that... bargain priced makeup! As of late I've kind of been on a mascara buying kick lately. I was getting slightly bored with my current mascaras, you know... when you just feel like mixing it up! So I started exploring the Makeup Alley website {which, if you don't know... is a makeup junkie's dream for reviews of products!} I searched mascaras that were top rated and I was surprised and immediately curious when I saw the e.l.f. Mineral Infused Mascara was one of the top drugstore options, with 80% of reviewers saying they would repurchase again. I thought for 3 dollars, it's gotta be worth a try!

The eyes, lips, face website describes this e.l.f. mineral infused mascara as: "The top rated Mineral Infused Mascara creates fuller, healthier looking lashes. Enhance lashes for a naturally thicker and more volumized look. The long-wear formula and unique silicone brush creates a clump free and defined application for gorgeous lashes all day." List of ingredients here if you're interested.

First Impressions: 
The brush is a rubberized, not your standard bristle-type brush. It has lots of little teeth for separating your lashes and to prevent clumps from forming. It is a pretty wet formula, those who prefer drier formulas, may not enjoy that. The tube opening is good at take away the extra product from the brush though, so there isn't too much mascara on the wand.

Application:

I thought I would start with a picture of my bare lashes, they are pretty short and hard to curl, definitely nothing to write home about!

Maximize to see details better!

The only "prep step" I did was curl my lashes with the amazing Lancome Eyelash Curler {I highly recommend this if you're looking for a good "upscale" eyelash curler}

1st coat: brush combs thoroughly through my lashes separating them, giving pretty good length and curl but not a lot of volume.
2nd coat: continues to length and gets some volume and curl, does a good job at not clumping {my eyelashes clump VERY easily!}
3rd coat: I probably could of done without the 3rd coat I got a few clumps, but for my lashes clumping as easily as they do, the clumping was VERY minimal and the length was pretty darn good. I doubt this mascara would clump at all on most people.

I found the lasting power to be perfectly fine, no flaking or running. I've worn it several times and had no problems.

The only thing I am slightly disappointed in is the lack of volume in this mascara, especially since elf advertises it as be voluminous. I've found if I use an eyelash primer before hand I can get a little more thickness out of my lashes, so that's a tip!

Value 5 out of 5 / Lasting Power: 4.5 out of 5 / Lengthening 4 out of 5 / Volume: 3 out of 5

I highly recommend checking out this mascara if you like in the market for any of the following: an inexpensive, lengthening, clump-free (pretty much), wetter formula, rubber brush mascara!

Thanks so much for reading ladies! If you have any additional questions about the mascara {or anything!} please comment below, until next time!

xo Leah

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Get that famous "Jlo glow" using drugstore makeup!

Most ladies {whether you're crazy about makeup or not} know about the Jennifer Lopez's famous "jlo glow" it is one of the most talked about looks in makeup and Jennifer's makeup artist Scott Barnes made the look famous on Jennifer. It's super iconic and it's easier to obtain than you may think! I'm going to share with you great products to achieve this look available at the drugstore {including several high end makeup dupes}!

Now I wouldn't advise you to necessarily use ALL of these products are the same time, but some in combination would give a great glow to your face, eyes and lips!

1. L'Oreal True Match Lumi This foundation is a light to medium coverage that gives your skin just that little extra glow. Don't fret though, there are no "visible shimmers" so you won't end up looking like a disco ball. It's a natural healthy finish, with that little extra "something". I'd recommend applying it with a beauty blender {or a cheaper alternative} sponge so you get an absolute flawless finish. I have heard people with very oily skin don't have a lot of luck this foundation, so just be aware of that! Another alternative would be to get something like Mac's Lustre Drops added to your favorite foundation will do the trick as well!


2. NYX Cream Blush in "tickled", the blush is absolutely gorgeous! It is hands down my favorite cream blush, see my swatches of it here. It reminds me of Nars Orgasm in cream formula, in which it's a pinky peach with great golden shimmer. It gives off an amazing sheen and almost iridescent quality. Again, it's not over the top and it's a great user friendly cream blush. Trust me, once you buy this blush you'll find yourself using it again and again.


3. Wet n Wild Bronzer in "ticket to brazil" first and foremost this baby is a dupe of the shimmery version of the Tarte Park Avenue Princess bronzer! {Picture of the comparison on my instagram here , make sure to follow me too!} It's a gorgeous shimmery golden bronzer and it'll last forever, it's 23 grams of product! It's great to add a glow or to lightly contour the hollows of your cheekbones. This is quickly becoming my holy grail product when it comes to a shimmery bronzer.


4. Hard Cany Highlighter in "tiki" this product has quickly become a cult favorite in the beauty blogger/guru community and there's not doubt as to why, it's really good stuff. It has been compared to high end highlighters like a the balm's Mary-Lou Manizer or even the coveted Dior Amber Diamonds, I can't say for sure if they compare because I don't have the high end counterparts. All I know is it's a beautiful champagne, light yellow based highlighter. It's perfect for dusting on the top of cheekbones, placed on the inner tear duct of the eye or on the brow bone. It brings just the right amount of light and life to the face.


5. Wet n Wild trio in "Walking on Eggshells" Let me start off by saying, I just can't get enough of this trio. I put off getting it for so long because I kept telling myself you have enough neutrals. I finally caved when Wet n Wild was 30% off at Rite Aid, so I paid less than 2 dollars for it. Let me say I'd pay way more money for it, these shadows are so pigmented and buttery. Also, a bonus all 3 shades are Mac dupes: the highlight shade is a dupe for Mac's "shroom", the bronzey/brown shade Mac's "tempting" and the champagne/peachy shade Mac's "all that glitters". Use these shadows together or separate to create a great bronze, shimmery eye.


6. L'Oreal Lipstick in "Peach Fuzz" This lipstick is so pretty, it's a great shimmery peach shade. It's almost frosty, but don't be afraid it's not your "grandma's frosty lipstick" It's great at adding light to the lips, while adding a peachy sheen. See swatches in this post. It's rather subtle really, and can be used to amp up a darker lipstick or topped off with gloss for a super pretty shimmery lip. It's definitely a must have for you coral lovers out there!

There you have it! A list of some outstanding drugstore beauty items that you can use to get that famous "Jlo glow", see go forth and be that bronze goddess I know all of you can be! Haha. Until next time my beauties, please comment, share and subscribe!

xo Leah
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Beauty Bargain Review: City Color Sunkissed trio

I spotted this beauty at a store called Five Below. {which is awesome, btw!} My hometown just got one so I stopped in to see what the fuss was all about and I must admit it's sooo right up my alley because I'm all about a bargain. Anyway, I've seen City Color products a various drugstores, but have never been too impressed with the looks of the product to purchase anything before. It was available in few other colors, but this trio in "bronzed peach", however, was calling my name. I'm obsessed with blush, especially anything peach or coral toned and for only 4 dollars... I can justify that!

Packaging:
This baby is huuuge, which could be a pro and a con depending on your lifestyle. Con: for travel Pro: for the amount of product you're getting! The compact itself is a little cheap and plasticy. That doesn't bother me though, it seems to be sturdy for the most part and that's whats important.

Compared to a Mac blush

Breakdown:
Sunkissed Trio in "Bronzed Peach" by City Color
Color: Bronzed Peach
Amount: 15.25 grams (compared to 6 grams for one mac blush)
And it is cruelty free! :)

Swatches:

maximize to see bigger & more detailed :)

The blush & highlighter come off slightly sheer, unless you really pack them on. The blush comes off almost completely matte and is sort of a cross between orange & peach. The bronzer is definitely the most pigmented of the group and is gorgeous! I'm not even big on bronzer, but this is so pretty and provides a great sheen without being chunky glitter. The glimmer is subtle enough that you could use the bronzer for contouring without looking too over done.

Performance:
Overall I believe this compact performs pretty great, especially for the price! I wore the trio to run some errands, then {for the true test} to the gym for a pretty sweaty workout and to my surprise the blush & bronzer seemed to last pretty well! The highlighter wasn't very noticeable towards the end, but I almost expected that. I am most disappointed with the highlight because it just has a top shimmery layer, after you get pass that it seems to be just a buttery shadow. But if you don't typically like shimmer this may be right up your alley. Overall performance I'd say is average/good depending how long your day is.

Rating:

Blush: 3.5 out of 5       /       Bronzer: 4 out of 5      /       Highlighter: 2 out of 5

If you're interested in purchasing this you can find it at your local Five Below OR it is also available on the City Color Website {for 2 dollars more} but I'd be willing to pay 6 dollars for it, on sheer size alone. ...my next challenge... not going back for the other colors! haha

Thanks so much for reading beauties! As always please subscribe, share and comment!

xo Leah

bronzer

Surprising beauty items you can SAVE on & not SPLURGE on!

Hey beauties! So, I got so excited when I had the idea for this post. I don't know about you but as an active beauty community follower {i.e. blogs, beauty gurus via youtube, review websites, etc.} I've heard over and over again things like, "there's some things you NEED to splurge on" or that you MUST buy the high end version of this or that. Along with that chatter comes the typical list of things that you have to buy the expensive version of because the cheap stuff just doesn't compare! Well, I'm here to tell you that's B.S. and don't you believe it, there are plenty of great cheap alternatives to the things ladies always claim you must splurge on!

Makeup Brushes:
I've heard youtube "beauty gurus" say over and over again, "you have to have Mac brushes" or "No other brushes compare to Sigma!" and obviously both those brush lines both seem great, but do I have the money for them? No. And have I been putting on my makeup just fine without them!? Yes! My favorite line of low cost brushes hands down is ELF. They make a wide variety of brushes for your eyes and face and at a price range of $1-3 dollars, that's right up my alley! Read more about my FAVORITE elf face brushes in this post!

These are some of my other favorite elf brushes L to R: small angled brush, lip defining brush, eyeshadow "c" brush, eyeshadow brush, and blending eye brush. I stand by these brushes not only because they're inexpensive because the quality is pretty darn good and I've had a lot elf brushes for years and they're still going strong! I also have had good luck with  forever 21 {edit: this is F 21 brush set I love! So much so, I bought a second one}.

Liquid Foundation:
I may get some backlash for this one... but I just can't bring myself to purchase a 30 or 40 something dollar high end foundation, that's just me, if you can do it more power to yah! Personally, I think people would never notice the difference if you're using something that works with your skintone and is a great drugstore product!

My choice for top 3 drugstore foundations

1. Covergirl outlast stay fabulous 3 in 1 foundation {whew, is that a mouthful or what!?} is my newest holy grail foundation it's really fantastic and super impressive stay power, read more about it in my summer essentials post! 2. Revlon colorstay was my holy grail foundation for years! Its got great staying power, the only down side to this foundation is that you have to work fast when applying because it sets quickly! But, overall colorstay provides a great, matte finish foundation. 3. Rimmel's lasting finish foundation I used this foundation for about a year straight before the covergirl one came out, if you're seriously broke, this is the foundation for you. lasting finish its only 4-5 dollars at Walmart or Target and it's comparable to colorstay honestly and leaves you with a matte finish, the staying power is just a little less I'd say, best cheap foundation I've used though.

 Brow products:
I know ladies rave and rave about Anastasia's brow powder and gel. But, even if I had the extra cash I don't think I could even make myself spend it on high end brow stuff. Don't get me wrong... I'm obsessed with brows... and making mine as close to perfect as I can. The thing is I can make that happen with drugstore products, so why spend more?

Rimmel makes great brow pencils and so does Milani. My preferred method is using my elf angled eyeliner brush and my Physician's Formula Canyon Classics Palette. It's pretty inexpensive it's an absolute must have eyeshadow palette (regardless of if you use a color to fill in your brows).

Can you tell what color I use to fill in my brows? lol.

  The bottom right shadow is a perfect, natural match for my light brown brows! Then I use my Maybelline great lash CLEAR mascara to set my brows and I must admit I wasn't very impressed with this at first, maybe it's just me but my brow hairs still moved out of place after using this. So I took a few spritzes of hairspray {what women doesn't have hairspray laying around!?} and squirting it into the mascara tube to give the gel alittle more staying power and it worked beautifully... even lasts through a sweaty workout!

Eyeshadow:

Now by now a lot of us beauty bloggers & makeup enthusiasts know that most {not all, but most} drugstore eyeshadows are just as comparable as the high end brands like urban decay, mac, etc and sometimes even better! But... I just had a sweet reader comment on one of my posts saying "I would of never thought wet n wild products were good!" ...well they're not just good, THEY'RE GREAT! And better yet, between my wet n wild eyeshadow collection & some elf palettes I almost positive I have both Urban Decay naked palette's duped and countless mac eyeshadows duped as well!

Some of my all time favorite eyeshadows, details below.

 1. L'oreal infallible eyeshadow in "Amber Rush" this is a must own shade. The perfect rose gold/coppery color which incomparable pigmentation.
2. Wet n Wild trio in "Silent treatment" great smokey eye palette, or you could go very daytime if you just used the eyelid color & browbone shade.
3. Maybelline's color tattoo in "bad to the bronze" is {obviously} a bronzey shade with a metallic finish, it's a gorgeous multidimensional shade that can be easily be "stand alone" eyeshadow.
4. Wet n Wild trio in "walking on eggshells" perfect for that everyday shimmery, neutral eye. Plus all 3 shades in this trio are Mac eyeshadow dupes!
5. Wet n Wild 8 pan palette in "Comfort Zone" this beautiful palette has an array of neutrals and even some darker sultry colors. This palette is damn near perfect and so unbelievably pigmented.


Is there any of your drugstore favorites that didn't make the list? Please share in a comment below! I could go on and on about makeup {especially affordable makeup} all day, so I'd love to hear what you beauties have to add! Just remember you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot, and if you try something new you may end up replacing your 45 dollar foundation with 10 dollar one... and that's money worth saving! :)


until next time!, xo Leah

Wet n Wild eyeshadow

Collective Beauty Haul & SALES alert!

So in the past 2 weeks or so I've managed to collect a decent amount of pretty beauty related things to show you AND score some great makeup deals! So I wanted to share, so you ladies can check your local stores and see if you find some of the same great stuff :)

First, am I behind the curve or has L'oreal recently released some awesome shades of lipsticks?! I'm not sure, I've never really kept up with L'oreal as much as the other Drugstore brands. I'm not sure why but I do know that I am NOT fond of the smell of their lipsticks (haha, does it remind anyone else of grandmas?) and usually smells don't bother me! None the less, I picked up 2 BEAUTIFUL shades that are both perfect for Summer!

Look how glossy and pretty they are! Left: Tropical Coral, Right: Peach Fuzz

Besides the smell (classic L'oreal lipstick scent) these are so gorgeous and glossy! They are comfortable feeling on the lips and seem to wear pretty well to spite the wet looking formula! I just can't get over how pretty the colors are, especially Tropical Coral because I don't own anything like it! You may not be a huge fan of these if you despise frosts. I think Peach Fuzz comes across more as a frost than Tropical Coral though.

Left: Yellow Light w/ flash, Right: Natural light, no flash. L: Tropical Coral R: Peach Fuzz

BTW if you're wondering I got these at Walmart for 5.99, I saw them the next day at CVS for 8.99 just a heads up! :)

Speaking of CVS... I'm not a big fan of CVS at all, I find 99% of the time I can find everything they have for for less money else where ...BUT I heard they were have their big clearance sale and when there is a sale I'm there! I don't know if my local CVS had been picked over or if they didn't have many markdowns but I didn't see much on clearance. I still found 2 things both which I had really been wanting to try!

Orly nail polish - Rage, Covergirl simply ageless concealer

Orly Rage is one of those nail polishes that I've heard about a million times AND looked at just as many but just never bought, but as soon as I saw it was 50 percent off, I knew that today was the day! I also got the Covergirl & Olay simply ageless concealer in "very light" to use under my eyes to have a sort of highlighting effect. I've worn it once so far and it seemed to hold up really well, plus I've heard amazing reviews about it so if you see this (its on clearance at rite aid & cvs) I'd snatch it up!

Next up: Rite Aid ... I stopped in on a whim just to look and see if they had gotten in the limited edition 8 pan Wet n' Wild palettes (sadly, they hadn't) but I found some MAJOR SCORES! Attn: SALES ALERT: if you missed out on any of the latest collection of the Summer limited edition Maybelline color tattoos go to your local Rite Aid because if they have any left (mine had plenty) they are 50% off!!! Heads up: the colors at my rite aid were NOT marked on clearance, I picked out "Icy Mint" and a few other things and checked out. When the cashier told me my total I thought it was cheaper than it was suppose to be, so I looked at my receipt and sure enough the the color tattoo was half off! I immediately went back and get the second one I had be eying haha Remember, only the limited edition shades are half off, not the colors in the permanent collection.

Waves of white: beautiful iridescent shimmer, Icy Mint: true mint & like nothing I have in my collection

I also found something I had been looking for literally months and months, possibly a year and had never manage to find. When I saw it I literally squealed with excitement! (and my fiance can atest to that haha) I found Pinkerbell lipstick from Wet n' Wild also known as the dupe for the Mac's Viva Glam Nicki lipstick! I was so excited to finally find this dupe! Wet n' Wild must be making more of an effort to get this lipstick to more stores because I just spotted it in a different Rite Aid yesterday!

Note how it's 2 different colors, if you own this shade is/was yours the same way!? So bizarre, as soon as i swatched it the coral seemed to disappear from the top.

Pinkerbell: It's so much brighter in person!

Honestly, I don't know if I can put this color off but I'm going to try! Plus if I can't it was only 1.99! Also from Wet n Wild I got there gel eyeliner, I've heard a lot of good things about it {some people say its as good, if not better than Bobbi Brown!} so I figured why not?!

Lastly I got I went to big lots and get this 3 piece brush set from Ecotools for $4.50! Which is awesome considering I just saw the same exact kit in Rite Aid yesterday for 12.99. I don't really need any brushes but I'm obsessed with stippling brushes so that was my excuse, plus I do need a new "eyelash comb" brush -or whatever they are called!

That raps up my beauty bargain haul! Found a lot of good stuff for super cheap and that's always fun! What's your latest makeup score!? Let me know in the comments :)

Please subscribe, pin and comment! xo Leah