I recently heard that Bethenny Frankel’s beauty line was coming to CVS after only being exclusive to WalMart (which sucked because I don’t have WalMart), so I was excited to pick something up. My CVS only had a few items, but the one that attracted me the most was their Cleansing Facial Cloths. These were about $5.79 for 25, which was kind of a lot in my opinion, but there are some that retail for more…I’m just used to my $14.99 pack of 150 from Costco I guess. These facial cloths have Aloe and Cucumber in them, along with chamomile and willow bark extract. I use these to remove my makeup, and I am LOVING them. They take off every trace of makeup (even my stubborn mascara that was a lot harder to remove with my other wipes) and leave my skin feeling soft and moisturize, AND NOT GREASY! That is my biggest facial wipe pet peeve. I don’t want a greasy face! To me, these smell like watermelon, but I’m not really sure what they’re supposed to smell like. I would definitely recommend you guys to check these out. I love Bethenny and now I love her products! Fun fact: I went to the first taping of her new talk show over a year ago…so basically it was never shown but it was still fun! I’ve also met her…and her book is awesome. Okay, enough rambling! That’s about it 🙂
Target Summer Beauty Bag Review
I finally received my Target Summer Beauty Bag, and I couldn’t be happier! If you are unfamiliar with this, Target Style on Facebook releases these bags every once in a while, so be sure to like the page to get a bag next time! These bags are filled with samples of beauty products, all for FREE! For this bag, I did post a notifcation when they were accepting people to claim their bags, so I will try to do that whenever I catch the next one! Ready to see what was in this bag?
This bag included a ton of hair products, which was weird, but hey, I’ll take it! I can’t wait to try everything out!
The products included:
Aveeno Living Color Shampoo and Conditioner
Tresemme Split Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner
Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shampoo and Conditioner
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 70
Coupon Book
So there is a lot of hair stuff in this, especially for color treated hair…which I don’t have. I’m find with using them anyway, it’s just different! The Lip Butter sample kind of makes me laugh since it’s just in a little packet! I’m really excited to try the sunscreen, though. For a free beauty bag, who can complain?
Let me know if you got a beauty bag from Target before and how you liked it!
Small Businesses Make a Splash at HBA Expo New York 2012
While I was in New York for my FIDM Beauty Study Tour, I made a stop at HBA Expo on my free afternoon. Unfortunately, I was only there for a few short hours, so I only got to visit with a few brands. I was really impressed with all of the upcoming brands in their Splash section, so that is where I hung out! I thought it’d be nice to give these brands a little shout-out on my blog, so definitely check these lines out!
Grand Central Beauty is a brand that has a very cool face mask that I can’t wait to share with you. You mix the mask yourself, which is super fun, but ensures that the ingredients are fresh! It is travel friendly also! They currently sell on Beauty Army. Their Fantastic development portfolio is so cool and hard to describe, the mask hardens, similar to rubber, and peels off your face. This one is definitely going to require an awesome review once I try it out!
Karuna Skincare is a line of sheet masks for your face that have a wide array of purposes. I’m quite a fan of Japanese sheet-masks, but since I can’t read the ingredients usually, they have me feeling wary. With Karuna, all of this disappears! Yay! They have 7 face masks and an eye mask. All of their face masks have the “Karuna Beauty Boost” which features Chinese licorice, aloe vera, chamomile, vitamin B, and a blend of peptides. Then, each mask has added ingredients to target specified skin concerns. Their masks are made with natural fibers and are paraben free, which is awesome!
LOLA Barcelona was a brand completely new to me at HBA, but their cute packaging drew me in. Come to find out, they are a brand that is soon to launch online! They only have a few products so far, but I see a bright future for them. I need more orange products, though! 😉 – I’ve only tried the lipgloss thus far and so far I really like it (shock!).
Naked Princess is a lingerie line turned beauty line with some very impressive products. They’re based in Southern California like I am so I was happy to meet a west coaster during HBA! I samples their Vanille Blanc scented Body Souffle, and I love the scent…sultry and sweet. They also have a 24 Karat Love Dust which has little sparkles. My mini size has a separate puff, but the full size includes a puff that is infused with the product, so you don’t get messy with powder! They also have a line of lip glosses that are all in neutral colors. Although glosses aren’t my thing, I think their shades are perfect for their brand- the color I’ll be trying it out is “Barely Coral.” They have beautiful candles also, that won an award for packaging at the expo…I really want one! I’m really impressed with this line! Can’t wait to see what they come out with in the future.
Furlesse is a brand that has line-reducing patches that you stick on your skin at night. This is a pretty cool idea and I love their names. Since I’m not even 20, I can’t say these made a difference in my skin from using them once. I will say the forehead patch didn’t make it through the night- I still can’t find it! They’re a really cool product for aging skin.
Ziba/Sumita Beauty was the only brand I was familiar with that I saw at HBA. I’ve seen them before at IMATS, so I made sure to stop by and say hi. They have some great Indian-inspired products that I can’t wait to try. They spoiled me! They even gave me a cute Mehndi (henna) candle that you’re supposed to make a wish and light…which I totally did! Looking forward to trying these goodies and reviewing them!
Me & The Girls is a cool new organic skincare line featuring cupuacu seed butter and other organic and natural ingredients. This line has been in formulation for many years and is a recent launch. I haven’t tried anything yet but after looking at the ingredients and sniffing them, I think they can go far!
Eyedoll Chatter is a line of scented eyeshadow and lip balm targeted at young tweens and teens. They were nice enough to give me samples to give to my sisters (12 and 16). Unfortunately, they weren’t too enthused at this idea, essentially because they felt that it was for younger kids. I’d say they should target girls under 10 and it would probably work a lot better. This is good for the girls that won’t stop playing in your expensive makeup!
That’s about it for my fun and short time at HBA Expo in New York City! I can’t wait to review some of these products fully in the future- I was thankful to have received them! Let me know…have you heard of any of these lines before?
**This post contains product that I have received for free– for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**
Wishlist Wednesday: Lip Macaron From MOR Cosmetics
You may be familiar with macarons, a pretty french sandwich cookie- not to be mistaken for coconut macaroons. But a macaron in a beauty product? Genius! MOR Cosmetics, a “modern apothecary” that makes these cute confections-has landed on my radar. What is a Lip Macaron, you ask? A perfect little lip balm with beeswax and vitamin E, of course! Who doesn’t need a lip balm? These beauties come in cute colors and flavors, just like the food variety. My mouth is watering over their 9 flavors (which are actually common macaron flavors as well!) These retail for $10 online for 10 grams of product, which will last forever! If any of you have tried these, let me know what you think!
What are you wishing for this Wednesday?
June Birchbox Review and Overview Video
June is my second month of Birchbox and I am extremely impressed. YAY! Here’s a fun unboxing video of my box, although I did already know what I was getting.
June’s Birchbox was a fun theme, “Jet Set,” which is perfect for me because I am off to New York bright and early on Sunday. (Random side note: I’m not sure how frequent I’ll be able to blog while I’m gone, but catch up with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for photos of my beauty study tour)
This Birchbox contained 4 samples along with 1 bonus product, the Luna Bar, which was great. Another full sized Stila product, so I heartily approve.
Here are the products I received along with a short review:
FULL SIZE Stila One Step Bronze: I was skeptical about this product, but it provides a sheer tint of color to lightly warm the skin. I like to use it under my foundation (it’s a primer, serum, and illuminator all in one) and I find that it helps my slightly dark foundation blend in easier.
theBalm Stainiac in Beauty Queen: Lip stains are a perfect summer product for a mess free bold lip. I like that this applies as a gel, because I feel like I get a lot more coverage and control with it. I wish there were more orange lip stains…
Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Perfume: I already have a sample of this perfume and my sister owns the full sized bottle. It’s an amazing super sweet scent. I love it!
Comodynes Self-Tanning Wipes: I haven’t tried these yet, but I think they’ll be good to touch up a screwy tan, which I currently have…WOOPS! I’m not one for self-tanning, but I will try one of these and see how it goes, since we got two of them.
Luna Bar in Chocolate Peppermint Stick: At first I was kind of disappointed about getting this, because others were getting an uber-cute bag. But, I tried it and it isn’t bad. I’m not crazy about chocolate and mint together in a granola-bar like format, but it did taste good, so I’d be willing to try other flavors for snacks.
That’s about it! Let me know in the comments what you got in your Birchbox– I’d love to hear!
**I used affiliate links in this blog post, for more information please check my Disclosure Policy**