The Perfume Trials

Over the years I've received various perfume samples with my orders from beauty companies. Though I've been hooked on my current perfume for years and I never wear anything else on the shelf, it felt like maybe it was time to try a few other options and see if I've picked the right one. I'll tell you what decision I came to at the end of the post, but for now here is the list of samples I tried.

Cotton T-shirt by Clean
Imari Mystique by Avon
Bali Bliss b Avon
Just Play by Avon
Far Away Dreams by Avon

Each of these perfumes were very different in scent profile from my normal perfume with Imari Mystique being more similar to my favorite perfume with musky and floral notes. Cotton T-shirt is a very subtle clean, fresh scent very different from my normal scent profile. It seems much more suited to someone who doesn't like floral or fruity perfumes. Just Play was a more fruity note with a clean and fresh finish somewhat similar to cotton T-shirt, also suitable for someone who doesn't like strong perfumes. Far Away Dreams was a very powdery fresh scent, almost like baby powder. Bali Bliss was a floral fresh scent

My perfume is a musky, slightly spicy, floral perfume from Avon and Fergie called Outspoken. I am completely in love with it after many trials of perfumes in the first few years of wearing perfume and buying makeup. The perfumes I've bought have all come from Avon or companies affiliated with them, like Mark. The only perfume close that I tried before Outspoken was Rebel Rose by Mark, which was a lovely musky, rose scent but it was missing something that Outspoken has which made me fall in love with it and made it my holy grail perfume for years now.

This Month's VoxBox: Sally Hansen

Airbrush Legs Makeup Smooth on Perfect Legs in Light

I was sent this product for free from Influenster and Sally Hansen as a VoxBox for trial and rating. I had no part in purchasing this item and I am also not being sponsored in return for a positive review.

I had thought of trying the original spray on version of this product, but was instead sent the cream version as part of the review program for Influenster. Unfortunately, I'm not very happy with the way the cream turned out on me, and it really turned me off to trying the spray can as well.

First, the color was tanner than I am, which would be fine if I intended to apply the product all over my body, but with how much darker than me it is it would be way too noticeable. Next, the color oxidized on my leg and turned very orange, looking like a very bad fake tan. It goes on very sheer as well which was unexpected considering the claim that it will make my legs perfect. It was unable to cover bruises and scars, and even worse it settled into my pores all over my legs making me look spotted. Also, It claims to be water resistant and to not transfer once set, but unfortunately when I applied it and left it to set for 5 minutes, at which point it wasn't tacky at all, before putting a piece of tissue over my leg and gently rubbing the product came off. It also states that it can be removed with water and a rag, so I'm not sure if water resistant is a truthful claim. I'm very sad to say that as much as I had high hopes for this product I cannot say I would recommend this product to anyone who needs any kind of major coverage like I do, or to anyone who spends as much time outside and around water as I do either.

I intend to try the Airbrush Face makeup in the near future, but I will be passing this sample on to someone who will get better use from it than I will. I'll let you guys know what I think of the Airbrush Face product when I have time to pick it up and try it.

Stay beautiful, Ladies!

BNB

New! From the Drugstore

So you guys all know that Loreal released their Lumi line recently. It was super exciting to finally see a product in the highlighting realm released by a drugstore brand. The price was a bit steeper than I had expected for the brand, but with a couple coupons to bring the price down I walked out of the local drugstore with both the True Match Lumi powder in Ice, and the Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer.

Now, I've probably said this a hundred times on my blog, but shimmer isn't usually my thing and this powder highlighter has a lot of it. But it's good to try things outside your comfort zone once in a while, and I have kept glitter and shimmer a t a distance for so many years that I figured maybe it's time I gave it another chance. So here I am, trying a shimmery highlight, and a glowy primer. I'm not sure if I'll use the primer all over the face, or if I will select a section of the face where it looks best, but I'm going to give it some different tries before I give up or, hopefully, fall in love with it. I'm not sure what undertone my skin is, but Ice is for cool undertoned skin, so I will have to see if the one that called to me was the right tone for me.

After a few weeks of testing, I'll give you my full opinion on both products, but I'll tell you now that my hopes are to see a nice dewy radiance in my skin that isn't shiny, or glittery looking. Since so many people rave about it, and it looks so great on my YouTube friends I'm hopeful I will enjoy it, but not every product works for everyone so I'm giving it my best go.

Live Life and Stay Beautiful.

BNB

Influenster Campaign

Head and Shoulders Instant Relief Oil Control Shampoo and Conditioner

Ladies... I'm totally in love with this one. I've been struggling to find a shampoo that does something for my hair. I kid you not, it's been a losing battle for me until Influenster and Head and Shoulders were nice enough to send me full sized bottles of this new shampoo and conditioner set for free, as part of the VoxBox program. As you guys may or may not know, as a reviewer for Influenster, I am occasionally sent products free of charge with the intention of me giving my honest opinion both on the company's sites as well as on my own personal social media and blogs. First let me say, I was excited to receive full sized products as my first box from Influenster (which I received a few months ago and never managed to get a post up until now), since I had heard that often they only send you sample sized items.

I've always loved the way Head and Shoulders products make my hair feel, but this product is beyond that feeling. They weren't kidding when they said you can instantly feel the oil being taken out of your hair as you massage it in. You can feel a fresh sensation and the scent is amazing. It contains mango and citrus, and smells kind of like limes. Every time I use this I feel like my hair is absolutely buildup and dandruff free, and the oily feeling in my hair doesn't return for days. I tend to rinse my hair every day, but only use shampoo about every 3 days, and with this shampoo I have been able to do this more comfortably without my hair feeling oily and dirty or looking like a greasy mess. I will definitely be repurchasing this one for years to come, because I have never been happier with a shampoo and conditioner than I am with this one. If you've got dandruff or oily hair, and you need a new shampoo I highly recommend giving this one a try.

Stay Beautiful, Beauty Queens.

BNB

Balanced and Beautiful

Wet 'N Wild Correcting Palette

Four different shades for creating the perfect face. Yellow to cancel out any blue color from veins and bruising, green to cancel out redness from skin irritation and acne, purple for covering dark spots and neutralizing yellow tones in things like bruising. The fourth color is a pearl white cream highlighter to accentuate the natural features of the face.

I can't speak for the purple color, as I haven't had a reason to use it yet, but the highlighter and the yellow and green colors are beautiful to blend and give great coverage and cancellation of unwanted colors. The highlight is a very gentle pearlized cream which is nice for me because it gives you a more dewy finish to the skin rather than more chunkier glitter which reflects more light, but can look shiny and mimic oiliness. The highlighter isn't my favorite, but I do like it. I'm more of a fan of using the yellow side of my Hard Candy Sunburst Ombre Blush. The yellow color works great for covering blue tones from veins around the eyes and on the face. I've used this multiple times to cover dark circles under my eyes from late nights of studying followed by insufficient amounts of sleep. I've also used it to cover a large vein that shows on my upper chest when I wear lower cut clothing. I've been using green cover up for ages to help cancel out acne redness, sunburn, and other facial redness. I like the formula and blendability of the product in this palette, but I'm still partial to my Physician's Formula stick because it blends in a bit better when using liquid foundation. I've noticed with the one from Wet 'N Wild that it the green becomes a little too sheer because the liquid foundation will move the product around.

Ombre with Ease

Hard Candy Ombre Lipstick in Playful

I'm iffy on this one to be totally honest with you, ladies. I had heard a lot of good things about this lipstick before I went out and purchased it for my own use. However, I am not as happy with it as I thought I would be. I'm not entirely crazy about the color I bought, because for whatever reason the peachy tone on the one side comes off very orange on my lips. I'm also a bit upset with the smell of the product, because it reminds me of crayons which kind of turns me off to wearing it. Finally, the sheer size of the packaging versus how much product you get is upsetting. The casing takes up almost twice the space that the actual product needs.

The formula is super creamy, but stays in the lines of the lips very well without lip liner and doesn't bleed. The colors ombré together very easily. Before I come to a complete conclusion on this product I may go out and purchase another color and see how I feel about it once I like the color more.

There are a lot of things I like about it, but some fairly important ones I could do without. I'd love to see either more product or less packaging...

Shimmer, Shine and Glow

Glow All the Way Ombre Blush in Sunburst

Alright...
You guys know from reading many of my posts, as well as if you read my About Me page, that I'm extremely against glittery face products. However, this blush is kind of the bomb.

Yes... I just said that about an incredibly shiny product. One side of this product is a peachy yellow color, and the other is a nice pink color. Mixing the colors together gives you a gorgeous baby pink shimmer, but my favorite thing to do is wear the yellow as  a highlight, and place the mixed shades over my blush if I want a bit of shimmer over my typical matte blush.

I have used the darker pink on it's own and I do like the color of it, however I find that for spring/summer it adds a bit too much color to my face. I tend to prefer more subtle shades in the warmer months, and deeper cheeks in the colder ones. I do love the way this product as a whole wears. The shine is actually wonderful, because of how finely milled the powder is, and as a highlight the yellow tone really gives the face a lovely subtle glow. The products last all day and, as I've seen on myself at least, they don't smudge off or move around on the skin throughout the day.

This product is as good as any other higher end product I have tried, and if recommend everyone purchase this.

Shop smart and as always stay beautiful!

BNB