Thursday, February 28, 2013

Neutrogena BzzCampaign Review

I've been a member of this website called Bzzagent.com for several months now. You basically take surveys about yourself, your lifestyle, interests, etc, and they match you up with campaigns. You receive stuff in the mail and then you have these tasks to do like writing reviews, blogging, uploading pictures and other things. It's always different, so it never gets boring! Anyway, this week, we're doing a Neutrogena campaign. In the mail yesterday, I received a fun little kit with two Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows in the shades "Lasting Taupe" and "Constant Copper", the MoistureSmooth Color Stick in "Sweet Watermelon" and  Healthy Lengths Mascara in "Black". Here's a shot of the products before I greedily tore them open!


I tried the Crease Proof Eye Shadows first. I'm always afraid cream shadow sticks are going to crease on me, despite the name, but I'm happy to report that these lasted almost an entire day without me having to re-blend. I tried "Constant Copper" first and was a little bit disappointed at first when I realized that the shade is actually not copper at all, but a very pale shimmery champagne color that is barely visible on my eyelids. This is a great base color for those with fair skin and I think it would be very striking on those with darker skin tones. I REALLY like the "Lasting Taupe" shade. It is true to its name and is a beautiful and easy to wear taupe shade. It's not the most exciting color ever, but it's an easy everyday staple almost anyone could wear. All in all, they're fun, easy-to-apply shadows that last!

The Neutrogena Healthy Lengths Mascara is supposed to condition and strengthen your lashes over time, so I can't really judge it to its full potential yet. As of right now, it is a very basic mascara, in my opinion. There's really nothing special about the overall look after it's applied. The "black" shade is not actually very black at all. It's more a dark charcoal color. It doesn't seem to have any volumizing properties, although it doesn't claim to either. It definitely lengthens your lashes as most mascaras do and I'm happy to say that it doesn't irritate my very sensitive eyes AT ALL. That is the biggest plus with this one. I will continue to use it and report back any changes in the actual condition of my lashes.

The Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Stick is my very favorite thing in this kit. It applies smoothly and is very moisturizing and comfortable on my lips. I'm a lipblam JUNKIE and I found myself applying it less often when I wore this! That's fabulous! It also tastes SO good, kind of like tropical fruit candy. The packaging is also wonderful. It's like a big, chunky pencil that you don't have to sharpen. I definitely love this and will be buying more shades!

Here's a pic of me after I've been playing with my new products!



I hope you've enjoyed this post! Thank you for visiting! =)

Monday, February 25, 2013

Kmart Haul! 2/25/13

I really wanted to kick my blog off with a skin care post, but I just had to share a makeup haul that I purchased today! If you're near a Kmart, they're having this fantastic makeup sale. There are bins and bins of deeply discounted cosmetics! I had to restrain myself from going crazy and I'm very happy with my small, but fun, haul! Swatches at the bottom!


The HAUL:
  • NYC liquid concealer in 787 "Medium"
  • Rimmel Clean Finish foundation in "True Ivory"
  • NYC "Queens Boulevard" eyeshadow palette
  • elf Eyeliner & Shadow stick in "Moss"
  • Milani Crystal Gloss in "Pretty Plush"
  • Milani Crystal Gloss in "Fruit Punch"
  • Milani Crystal Gloss in"Pucker Up"

Can you see the prices on some of these things??? Those Milani Crystal glosses were only 41 cents each! The elf eyeliner was 29 cents, the NYC concealer and eyeshadow palette were $1.00 and the most expensive purchase was the Rimmel foundation at $1.50. Not a bad score, if I do say so myself!

I remember loving that Rimmel foundation years ago, getting bored with it and giving it to my sister. LOL I'm glad to have another one. I'm a little bummed that I bought the concealer in "Medium", as I thought I'd picked up the light shade, but I can still find some use for it. Check out these swatches of the rest!


I have a pasty white arm, so the swatches I do will usually be pretty vivid and color-true! I'm a bit disappointed in the color of that elf duo. I was hoping for more of a true green, but it's more of a grayish khaki green. I'll still use it. =) The Milani glosses are awesome and so intense! I can definitely see myself reaching for that Pretty Plush shade often! I don't want to scare anyone, but they were actually really hard wipe off too. LOL My arm is actually still stained a bit from the two brighter shades. The NYC palette is also okay. Not much color payoff, but I didn't expect much either. It's just a fun little compact to play around with.

I'll post a FOTD soon when I've tried everything! I'm off to play! =)

Introduction. Who am I?

So, who am I and why should you pay any attention to anything I have to say? =)

Well, first let me introduce myself. My name is Missy and I'm a makeup addict, animal-lover, doll-collector, wife and the mother of two awesome kids. My blog will mostly be about my makeup and skincare adventures with a bit of random fun stuff thrown in there now and again.

Who should read my blog?

Those with acne-prone, rosacea-prone, allergy-prone, eczema-prone or basically anyone with very sensitive skin that can't handle much will definitely want to check in from time to time. Or maybe you just want to see some swatches or we have the same skin tone. I'll try to have a wide variety of topics, brands and discussions!

A little bit about me:

I started developing skin sensitivities at the ripe old age of 11. It started out innocently enough, random pimples, a little bit of redness. My mom had never experienced acne as a teen, so neither of us had absolutely any idea of what to do. We tried random products from the drugstore like Oxy, Neutrogena, Clearasil, some mid-end brands like Clinique and, of course, infomercial products like ProActiv Solution, Murad and a few others that I can't even remember. After nothing helped, we finally went to a dermatologist to embark on a whole new wave of medicines, Retin-A, Benzamycin, Atralin, etc. My face became worse and worse. It was red, swollen and painful on most days. My mild acne slowly progressed to moderate acne and finally, severe cystic acne. After yet another trip to the dermatologist, we finally ended up at the last resort, Accutane.

My experience with Accutane was bittersweet, at best. Did it clear up my acne? Yes. Was it worth it? Nope, not even close. First, it dried up my skin so much that I remember waking up in the middle of the night and slathering vaseline on my face. I had to keep it beside my bed because my skin felt like it was going to crack open. I was seriously afraid that it would! Aside from drying out my skin, it also dried out my nails and hair. My hair felt like straw. There was nothing I could do about it. My nails were cracked all the way down to the skin. It hurt and there was no way to fix it. Aside from the constant dryness, there was the pain. OH, the pain! Headaches, toothaches, jaw pains, stomach aches. My entire body felt sick all the time. I could barely eat or drink anything because I always felt so sick. My vision got worse and worse. I was constantly at the doctor due to side effects. I actually remember standing in a store once after I'd finished my round of the drug, overhearing two girls discussing whether or not they should try it. I actually approached them, sobbing, telling them all the reasons not to. They probably thought I was some nut, but it had a huge impact on me.

Anyway, Accutane didn't help for long. After a few years, my acne came back with a vengeance. At 28, I was also diagnosed with Stage 2 Rosacea. My skin was awful. There are times I wouldn't even leave my house because I was so embarrassed of how I looked. My face was constantly red. I had HUGE cysts on my cheeks, jawline and neck. Makeup looked absolutely horrible on top, so I just didn't wear any. Around the same time, I also started having horrible allergic reactions to random things like lipsticks. That's when I decided to have allergy testing done and found out the I have a TON of allergies.

These days, I try to stick to a very simple and basic routine. I look up all ingredients to check for allergens or potential skin-cloggers and I closely monitor how my skin reacts to new products. My skin is still a huge struggle, every single day. Weather affects it a lot also, as does stress. This blog will be an attempt to keep track of my  "adventures". I'm also a member of Makeupally where I've written hundreds of reviews. If you want to look me up and read some reviews, my username is "Missy". They say you can always identify the oldest members by how short their usernames are. I've been a member there since 1999. LOL

Anyway, if you're still reading this, thank you for sticking around and I hope you'll enjoy visiting my little corner of the cyber-world! =)