February Favorites

It's that time of the month (no, not THAT time) where I talk about my monthly favorites. For February, I have 11 things to share. First let's start with makeup! I am loving the Pur 4-in-1 foundation. It's a lightweight, oil free, 14 HOUR wear foundation that feels so perfect on my skin. This foundation really does stay on for the 14 hours and even though it's a lightweight coverage, it hides any imperfections I have on my face. It is pricey (I purchased it at my local Kohls for $36), I do mainly wear it on special occasions or if I'm going out.

Next is the Rimmil Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I had heard a lot about this product from a lot of Youtubers and bloggers so I knew I just had to try it. All I can say is WOW! This is probably the best pressed powder I've ever used and for the entire month it's been the only pressed powder that I've been using!  

This is my favorite eyeshadow trio at the moment and I've been using this on a daily basis. It's so simple and still brings out my eyes. This is the Walking on Eggshells trio by Wet'n'Wild. I bought it at Walgreens for about $3.

I've never seen a youtubers or bloggers use this mascara before so I will be the first! This is one of my first loves! This mascara is amazing and is so BLACK! It makes my lashes so voluminous. I bought this at my local Kolhs for about $15.

These are the Maybelline Color Sensations in (left to right) 915 Born With It and 015 Blushing Beige. These two together make the most PERFECT pinky nude lip color! I've been using these two together almost every day! Even using them separate, they are amazing colors.

Fun fact: my two favorite sodas are Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. This nail polish EXACTLY matches a Dr. Pepper bottle. It's THE perfect burgundy color with some frost. The name of the nail polish is Burgundy Frost by Wet'n'Wild.

I've been using this for a few months now and wow do I see a difference on my skin. This is the only lotion I use on my face. My skin not only feels so soft, but it also feels SO hydrated and healthy! I've only been able to find this online so that is the only down fall. Boost and refresh are the two other body lotions EOS has.

I am extremely picky about facial wipes because I've never found one that I've liked until now. Most of the wipes that I have tried have a lotion, weird feeling after I've used them and it doesn't feel comfortable on my skin. I would have to immediately wash my face off with water after I used it. These wipes by Simple do not have that feeling and I love that!

Oddly enough, my favorite candle of the month is one that I haven't burned yet (don't judge me). It's the Marshmallow Fireside from Bath and Body Works. This came up during the winter time and I was in love at first sniff. My aunt and uncle (thanks Scott and Christy!) got this for me for Christmas and I still don't have the heart to burn it. I'm sure I will one of the these days, but I'm content with getting a simple sniff (I know I'm weird). It is the perfect musky smell. On the bottom it says "a sweet-toasty end to a snowy, fun filled day - toasted marshmallow and sumptuous vanilla cream blend with the comforting aroma of rich smoldering woods." I really hope this comes back at the end of the year. I will definitely be stocking up on this scent! 

And lastly my favorite song of the month is Whatever She's Got by David Nail. This song is on repeat when I'm in the car! It's so catchy and just simply lovely. Even if you're not a fan of country music, I guarantee that you'll still love this song.

Covergirl TruBlend vs. L'oreal True Match

Lately, drugstore makeup brands have been coming out with foundations and concealers that will perfectly match, blend, and fit your skin tone. I've heard a lot about the L'Oreal True Match and the Covergirl TruBlend, but haven't tried either. I do own the Covergirl 3-in-1 foundation (which I'm in love with!), but I decided to test both of these 'true (or tru)' foundations and see which one beats the other. 

First, I'm starting with Covergirl. It was quite easy to find my shade because it has a little sticker on the lid telling you what shade you'll match with if you have their 3-in-1 (my shade is 410 in 3-in-1 and l2 in TrueBlend). The packaging is "traditional" compared to the 3-in-1 and it's past foundations, but there are a few difference, such as the color of the cap and the engraving of Covergirl on the bottle. I purchased this foundation at Walgreens for $9.99, but you can get it cheaper at Walmart for $8.44. I really liked how it felt as I was blending out the foundation on my face. It feels just like the 3-in-1 and it blended very well and I was happy with that. 

When it came to the concealer, I was a little disappointed. It felt "rough" on my face when I was blending it. It's barely creamy and it's pretty dry. It did take a while to evenly blend it all out. BUT, once you get it blended, the coverage is pretty good. I purchased this concealer at Walgreens for $8.99, but it's cheaper at Walmart for $7.44.

The picture above (yes, this was posted on my last blog post about the Covergirl Bombshell Mascara) is after I've put on the rest of my makeup. I was pleased with how it felt and the coverage.

Next is the L'Oreal True Match. I purchased the foundation at Walgreens for $10.49, but it's cheaper at Walmart for $6.98 (big difference!). It was a little difficult trying to figure out my shade let alone my undertone. I ended picking the neutral undertone in the shade n2. If you don't know what your undertone is, look at your wrist. Are your veins purple/blue, blue/green, or green/olive? If you have purple/blue veins, you have a cool undertone. If you have blue/green veins, you have a neutral undertone. And lastly, if you have green/olive veins, you have a warm undertone.

Applying this foundation was decent. It blended nicely, but I didn't find anything magical about it. But the concealer! Oh, the concealer! I am in LOVE with it! It is so creamy and blends so easily. I purchased the concealer at Walgreens for $9.78, but it's cheaper at Walmart for $7.97.

The picture above is after I've put on the rest of my makeup. The foundation coverage is decent and it matches my skin tone and undertone very well. The concealer feels so nice on my skin and the coverage is amazing! 

OVERALL: If you only wanted to pick one foundation and one concealer, I would definitely recommend the Covergirl TruBlend foundation and the L'Oreal True Match concealer. The L'Oreal concealer is so amazing and creamy. It doesn't drag on your skin at all. The Covergirl foundation blending beautifully and the coverage is spot on!       

Review: Covergirl Bombshell Mascara

I've been waiting for a few weeks to buy this simply because the price for this was $13-$14 everywhere I looked. I went to Target the other day and found the mascara for $8.99 and I have a $1 off coupon for a Covergirl product so I HAD to buy it! I did end up finding it five cents cheaper at Walmart, but if you plan on buying this it's cheaper at Target and Walmart. When I got home I was so excited to try. I ripped open the packaging, held it in my hand, and it definitely felt different. The tube is bigger than any other mascara. It felt a little awkward at first, but you get use to it. 

So there are two sides for this mascara. Side 1 is to volumize and side 2 is to intensify. Side 1 is a thick plastic brush to help volumize your lashes and side 2 has a thin, wired brush to separate the lashes and intensify the color.

Here's my eye before mascara..

And here it is after! I was so impressed with this mascara! The color is intense and truly gives you the bombshell lash look! Below is the rest of my look.

OVERALL : I still can NOT get over the color intensity! Do yourself a favor and go buy this mascara! It's so black and voluminous it's simply amazing! I don't have a mascara that looks this good!

DIY Galaxy Makeup Brush Holder

This is a super easy and fun way to spice up your makeup brush holder. In four easy steps, you can have your own customized makeup brush holder! You don't have to use these "galaxy" colors, but I think it looks cool. So here are the things you will need:

• an empty candle jar
• Modge Podge
• paint brush
• glitter
• hair spray

Step 1:

Clean out your candle jar. I used a Bath and Body Works candle that had a little bit of wax in it. To get the wax out, put the candle in the freezer. I left mine in over night (so about 10 hours). Once you take it out, get a butter knife, wedge the knife between the wax and the jar. Do that in three spots and the wax and the wicks should easily pop out of the jar. Take some dish soap and make it spotless.

Step 2:

Take your Modge Podge and apply a thin layer all over the inside of the jar. It's okay if there's some thicker clumps on the bottom. No one will notice.

Step 3:

If you want to use one color, then go ahead and put it in your jar. If you want to use the galaxy colors, get another bowl and mix in the black, purple, blue, and white glitter. You'll use more purple than any other colors and less white than the other colors. After you mix it, add it to your jar and distribute the glitter evenly by twirling (the best way to describe it) the glitter all over the inside of the jar.

Step 4:

After you get all the glitter to cover the Modge Podge, let it sit until all the glue dries up. To help the glitter stay in place, take some hairspray and spray it inside the jar. Make sure you keep the hairspray about a foot away from the glitter because if you don't some of the glitter will fly out.

To make this into a makeup brush holder, I put in some plant filler from Micheals that's about $5-$6. You could also use this as a little vase and put some artificial white roses in. Enjoy!

Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

So as you can read by the title, I will be doing a review on the Rimmel Stay Matte Primer. Why not the foundation too? Well to put it simply, I didn't really like the Stay Matte Foundation. I only used it twice (yes, I know that's not a good enough excuse to dislike it), but it was the first mousse foundation that I've ever tried and I didn't like the thickness of the mousse on my face. Also another reason why I've decided not to review the foundation is because there's already so many reviews on YouTube and on other blog sites for it. If you want to see a review of the foundation, I will put a like at the bottom of a review by one of my favorite YouTubers.

I purchased the primer at my local Walgreens for $6.99 (not including tax), but after doing some research I  found it a little cheaper at Ulta for $6.69 (again not including tax). So first off, I thought the packaging was adorable! The little crown really won me over. On the front it says that the primer can be 'used alone, under, or over makeup' and it contains 1 fl. oz. so it's easy to travel with. On the back the description says it's 'skin-perfecting, creates a perfect matte complexion, controls shine for up to 8 hours, ultra lightweight, and minimizes pores.' The texture of the primer is great! It's a white primer that feels light and blends easily and it doesn't feel "slippery" or silicone like.

I wanted to show you a picture of me when my makeup is completely done with the primer and 8 hours later. I'm sorry if you can't really see it and lighting in the second picture was horrible, but trust me and take my word for it. I usually use a complexion spray before I start to apply my makeup and a setting oil control spray after I've finished applying my makeup. I'm oily in my T zone (especially my forehead) and after 10 HOURS of wearing this primer, my forehead was NOT oily at all! 

OVERALL: This is a great drugstore primer! The texture is perfect and it does hold in shine for the full 8 hours and beyond! I would suggest purchasing this through Ulta because they usually have sales that are buy 1 get one 50% off.

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation Review by MakeupByAlli

DUPE ALERT: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

DUPE ALERT!

I don't know about you, but I get excited when I find a dupe of a high end product. Not only is the quality and color almost the same, but the price usually costs more than 50% less than the higher end product. A few months ago, I was debating on purchasing the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette mainly because I didn't have many matte colors in my eyeshadow collection (and you can never have too many eyeshadows in my opinion). I ended up not purchasing it because of the price. I didn't feel like paying the $27 for six eyeshadows. So one day I had decided to go to the Rue 21 in town to look for necklaces. As I'm walking around the store, I came across their little makeup stand. I have a crazy obsession with eyeshadow and colors that will make my blue eyes POP! I came across the Rue Beaute Natural Eye 6 Eyeshadow Palette. I opened up this palette and I became so ecstatic to see the same colors that are in the Naked Basics Palette. Not only is it the same colors, but it only cost $5! Recently my boyfriend bought me the Urban Decay Palette because I really wanted to compare the two palettes.

As you can see from the pictures, the Urban Decay palette is smaller than the Rue Beaute palette. The Rue Beaute palette is made from a cardboard like material so it's a little flimsy, while the Naked Basics palette is made with a hard plastic.

Even though the packaging are different sizes, the mirrors are the same size.

The top row of colors are from the Rue Beaute and the Urban Decay colors are on the bottom. As you can see the pigmentation is pretty exact except for the black and the dark brown, but you can just pack more color on and it'll be fine.

OVERALL: I truly love both of these palettes and each one has their own perks. The Urban Decay palette does have a little bit of a better quality than the Rue Beaute palette. BUT with the Rue Beaute palette, you save about 82% (yes, I calculated the savings) of the $27 from the Urban Decay palette.