A Review: Dark Heart Designs Hand-Made Eye Shadows

In life, we always root for the underdog. And when I say we, I mean, me. I can't really speak for everyone but you know. I always want to see small businesses succeed, especially in this time of economic hardships. Gigantic corporations are slowly causing small businesses to close because they just can't compete with these corporations. Its depressing, but it makes me uber happy when I find a small little company that makes such great products and offer a GREAT price for their products.

I first heard of Dark Heart Designs when the owner, Tina Z. liked my Facebook page for this blog. It made my day just to see someone who wasn't a friend or family member liking my page that I just had to check out her page. When you're just starting out with a blog, YouTube Channel, or Facebook page for your business or hobby it can be a little discouraging when you don't see many people other than your friends liking your page or subscribing. I've had my YouTube Channel for a little while but never did a bunch of videos to get my name out there until recently. I'm no Kandee Johnson, nor will I probably ever be, but I have fun with what I do, and even if I only have 3 people watch one of my videos it makes happy, because this is what I like to do. Anyway! Wow what a way to get off subject eh? 

So I checked out Dark Heart Designs page and was so in awe of what amazing products I had just found with this company. I spent a good 30 to 45 minutes just looking at every single color. I wanted them all but settled on just trying one eye shadow product until I knew how well the quality of the product was. The color I settled on (like I said I wanted them all) was Clean Slate. Described as a
"dark silvery blue tinted shadow", this color would look great on all skin tones. The shimmer in the shadow is similar to a diamond glitter. I absolutely love it. The texture is so smooth and soft and its 100% cruelty free and vegan! I spent a total of $8.50 with the shipping and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made. When my package came in the mail I was as giddy as a school girl. It was really nice to see that someone even took the time out to customize the padded envelope with stamps and a cool wax seal. When I saw that I just knew the product was going to be amazing before I had even opened the package. Inside was a small drawstring bag that held the eye shadow and other goodies.

I couldn't wait to see what was inside!

Inside the bag was my eye shadow, but also some other goodies! I got 4 free samples of some other eye shadows!! I was given Ultra Violet, a bright blue shimmery shadow. Cotton Candy, a baby shimmery pink shadow. Pumpkin King, a beautiful pigmented orange-y gold shadow. Last but not least, Howl, a canary yellow shimmery shadow. I was in love!!! The samples that were given were quite a good bit of product, which was very nice in comparison to other samples I have gotten from other companies. I also received a 20% coupon on my next purchase. 

Check out how bright those colors are!

I was ecstatic with everything that was included in my purchase. I definitely was not expecting it and was a very nice surprise. I love all of the colors and will definitely buy from Tina again!! Below you will see my swatchfest for you to see how these look on the skin.

Dry swatch. L-R: Clean Slate, Ultra Violet, Cotton Candy, Pumpkin King, Howl

Primer Swatch L-R: Clean Slate, Ultra Violet, Cotton Candy, Pumpkin King, Howl

Please take the time to check out Dark Heart Designs. There are all kinds of cosmetic products to see. Not only do they have eye shadows, they also have lipsticks, eye liners, and other supplies you may need. You can also purchase samples for as low as .99!! Trust me, you won't be sorry when you go to this site!

Until next time,

So long dearies!!

XOXO

I Heart Sugarpill Cosmetics!!

Oh happy day!!! I got my first purchase from Sugarpill Cosmetics yesterday! I was jumping for joy!! I have been wanting to buy their Poison Plum Pressed Eyeshadow for a VERY long time so I finally did it! Purple is my favorite color and I was so inspired by looks I've seen on YouTube and their own website using their products. I figured I'd try the color I want most before I go on a spree with buying more lol...

The packaging was so pretty! I opened up their custom shipping box to find pretty pink/magenta tissue paper. Inside, this is what I found:

Ooo!! Prettiness!!

 I had no idea what goodies would be waiting for me!! I thought the sticker was super cute and the advertising card was neat. The packaging for the eyeshadow is so cute and I've always loved their font for their logo. I also got a sample of loose eye shadow! YAY!! Ok, ok, I'll calm down now lol.

I first opened the Poison Plum Pressed Eye Shadow. It looked just as described with photos on their site, which is always a plus. I hate getting things that even with a photo they aren't what they appear online.

Poison Plum

I was very happy to see that the size of the eye shadow didn't look different than online. I hate when I look at something online and the photo makes the product look huge but when you get it, the product is so tiny that you're like WHAT?!?!?! I just spent THAT much money on THIS!?!? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Anywho!! 

My new love

The color is a very vibrant purple with a few flecks of sparkle. Just enough! I love sparkly stuff but sometimes its nice to have just a little. This definitely delivers.  So, after I drooled over this eye shadow for a VERY long time I looked at the sample of loose eye shadow that I got as well. It is a VERY pigmented shimmery magenta-E pink color called Magentric. I love that name!! The sample is very giving and I just can't wait to use this in tutorials!! 

Magentric

 I know what you're waiting for, swatches right?!? Well here they are! My camera doesn't do its justice on the swatch fest, however I am very happy with both colors!

L: Poison Plum R: Magentric

 These colors are going to go great for a tutorial I have coming up. If you've been following me on Facebook I just announced this week a new series that I am going to start working on. Not sure if anyone is a comic book fan. I am, but not as much as my hubby lol. I got the idea to do a Lady Super Hero series as something fun to do. Comment below if you think this is a good idea...Going to go work on the first look right now! So until next time....

So long dearies!!

XOXO

Clean It Up! My Skincare Routine! A Beauty Blogger Exclusive!

We've finally made it to Wednesday! Happy Hump Day! Spring is in full swing and you know what that means. Summer is just around the corner. I don't know about you, but when summer hits, my skin likes to freak out on me. When the heat and humidity sweeps over my town my skin, and my face especially goes into shock. Which means my skin gets even more oily than it already does, which causes more breakouts. Who likes breakout? Not me! I'm pretty sure you don't either! So at the beginning of the year I decided once and for all I was going to kick my pores into high gear and find the right products that work for my face to help with breakouts, being preventive and make my skin look healthy.  So to do that would require to do some research. 

Like most Americans, I don't have health insurance, and I can't afford to spend a lot of money at a dermatologist. So, I have to do what I can to use over the counter treatments. I first did some research through YouTube. I tried to find videos where people talked about what they did to get clearer skin. I heard about the Clarisonic and similar systems. They looked great! I want to try it one day, but at this point I have not. I'm sure that would be a big help with keeping your skin looking fresh and clean. But I took it a step farther. I tried to see what I could find through blogs, websites, etc. I stumbled upon Web MD. I'm sure you've heard of their site, and probably have looked up information on their site before. I had never though about looking up treatments for acne and such on their website. As always there is a disclaimer on their website that states that their advice on their page should not be substituted for seeing an MD in person. I read about things I already knew about acne, what causes acne and that sort of thing. I won't bore you with what I found on that, if you're interested, check out their page along with many other informational websites. What I did find that was interesting is that they had a "Personal Skin Evaluator" that assesses your skin through a few simple questions and in less than 5 minutes they give you a skin care regimen that is perfect for your skin. 

At first I was very skeptical that this online "questionnaire" could actually help me. I thought it would be just like any stupid little questionnaire or quiz that people put on their web pages, but what I would later find out is astonishing. I took the little questionnaire, and within 5 minutes I had an answer. In the past I would use some off brand acne facial cream wash, usually Equate brand because that's what I could afford. It'd clean my face but it never really seemed to help with clearing blackheads, blemishes, or pimples. According to Web MD, I should have been using a foaming face wash all along. It told me I needed to stay away from those white creams. The light bulb went off in my head! I knew the cream wasn't helping but only thought it was because it was an off brand and maybe they didn't use as good of products in theirs. It also told me I needed to use an exfoliate after using the foaming face wash. Then after the exfoliate, I needed to use an astringent. Followed up by a moisturizer. 

Once I got this information I was still a little skeptical.  I figured I'd go ahead and try it because I had nothing else to lose. If what they said didn't work it wasn't like it'd be a huge loss. I already would use an exfoliate every now and then so at least I was some what on the right path. I went to my local Wal-Mart and started looking at their products. I had always heard good things about Neutrogena and figured I'd give them a try. I found their Acne Stress Control line and tried their power foam wash. I figured stress was part of my acne problems and that maybe this could help. I then bought my usual Equate brand Refreshing Apricot Scrub, which, by the way, works just as good as the St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub. I've tried both and they worked the same so why not spend less money and buy Equate? I then had heard about how Witch Hazel was a natural astringent so I thought it'd be less harmful on my skin so I bought a bottle of that. I had never  bought a moisturizer before and had no idea which one would be good for me. To start off I just bought the Wal-Mart brand oil free moisturizer with SPF 15.  I also from time to time will do a face mask. My favorite one is the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque!

In a nutshell, I started using these products and saw a dramatic change in my skin. I still get breakouts every now and then but these products do help me. The only product I didn't like was the moisturizer. I am still on the lookout for an inexpensive moisturizer that is oil free and doesn't make your face feel greasy. If anyone could recommend something it is greatly appreciated!! 

If you're interested in taking Web MD's Personal Skin Evaluator, follow this link:
 Web MD's Personal Skin Evaluator

We've made it half way through the week! Can't wait to see what the remainder of the week has in store! 

Until next time, so long dearies!!

XOXO

Peacocky! Peacock Inspired Makeup Look

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend thus far. I meant to post this yesterday but time got the best of me. The peacock is a whimsical and beautiful bird. It's always given me a sense of royalty by looking at one. Their feathers pick up so many beautiful colors it is just breath taking.  Contrary to what we all may think at first glance; the male peacock is the one that we almost always see with the vibrant colors, where the female peacock usually has greys, browns, and some green in its feathers.

Female Peacock

The Peacock is probably one of my favorite birds because of how colorful it is. I thought it was really neat to be able to capture its beauty with a makeup tutorial. 

Here is what I used:

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion (UDPP)

Wet N Wild #251A Brulee Eyeshadow

Wet N Wild Color Icon #C307 Stagedive Eyeshadow

Coastal Scents Emerald Green Ultra Shimmer Eyeshadow

Coastal Scents Lime Green Ultra Shimmer Eyeshadow

The Balm Racy Kacy Shady Lady Eyeshadow

Sugar Baby Cosmetics Beautif-Eye Teal Eyeshadow

Beautique Black Eye Liner 

Physician's Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Mascara in Ultra Black Organics

Face:

Sonia Kashuk #19 Dawn Concealer Stick

L'OREAL True Match Liquid Foundation N3 Natural Buff

Bare Minerals Warmth

Milani #05 Luminoso Blusher

Lips:

Rimmel Kate Moss Edition #08 Rosetto

Milani Mini Lip Gloss #20 Pucker Up

For a step by step guide on how to recreate this look check out my YouTube Page. If you haven't already please subscribe!

Exclusive Peacock Inspired Makeup 

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter tomorrow!! Until next time...

So long dearies!!

XOXO

A Green Review: Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara

Hello!

If you have kept up with my YouTube Channel, you may have seen my intro to this review last week. I recently purchased the Physicians Formula Organic Wear JUMBO Lash Mascara.  My cousin told me about this and I just had to try it! I purchased it at my local Wal-Mart for $6.97. I have also seen the mascara in other drug stores such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid. They were more expensive in these stores, but are available there none the less.

When I first purchased the mascara I was instantly drawn to the packaging. I thought it was very pretty, yet informative. I mean, who doesn't like shiny things? And green shiny things!? Not only was the packaging nice, it also gave TONS of great information. 

This is the first organic mascara I have ever seen. I'm sure there are some high priced mascaras out there, but its nice to see a company that makes it affordable for the every day person who may buy almost, if not all of their makeup at the drug store. The mascara is 100% natural (duh! lol) and 100% free of harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives, parabens, GMO's, synthetic colors, synthetic fragrances and 100% cruelty free!! (Doing happy dance for not hurting animals!).  The packaging does tell the truth! In the week that I have tried this mascara I have not had ANY clumping, smudging, or flaking. It also has this awesome 100% recyclable "Eco-Brush" made of recyclable plastics.

The only down side to the mascara is that it is not water proof. However, I haven't had any problems with it running. You'd have to produce tears or be splashed in the face with water or something similar for it to run. The good thing about it not being water proof and the fact that it is organic is when you are ready to take your makeup off for the night all you need is to take some water and it washes right off! No scrubbing and having to worry about damaging your eyes or pulling out eyelashes! 

I took this picture above today to show you how it looks when it is on. It glides on smooth and surprisingly the rubber brush didn't bother me as some previous mascaras with a similar brush has. The color I got was "Ultra Black Organics". It is a "black black" color and looks great on my eyelashes! It makes my eyelashes look fuller and longer without having to worry about clumping.  On a rating scale of 1-10 I'd give this mascara a 9.5. I've previously used other mascaras that I thought I liked a lot but it doesn't do the things the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara does. This is my new favorite mascara and will continue to use this mascara for hopefully a long time. This is one beauty product I do not want to be a discontinued item!

Until next time,

So long dearies!!

XOXO