Monthly Favorites: September 2013

My first monthly favorites - ah, a post I have been long awaiting. I've always loved these posts/videos most, so I'm ecstatic that I finally get to share my own picks. I don't have too many this month, but lets get right into it.

1. MAC's Blush in Melba ($21.00) - I can't even put into words how much I adore this blush. It has been my most reached for blush this summer, and now that its coming to an end, I figured I'd get as much use out of it as possible this month. It is a b-e-a-utiful matte coral-peach.

2. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin ($18.00) - I have worn this shadow nearly everyday that I have gone to classes this month, whether alone on my lid or just in my inner corner. It is a beautiful champagne color that compliments my eyes tremendously. As always, UD's pigmentation and longevity is incredible.

3. Lancome Color Design Lipstick in Love it! ($22.00) - I really, really do love it. I don't own any other lipsticks that have such amazing formulation and texture. It glides on so easily, and gives my lips a perfect natural dusty pink color. It is super moisturizing, and I prefer it over 99% of my MAC lipsticks. I have been wearing it every single day this month.

4. Benefit Cosmetics Erase Paste in Medium ($26.00) (Mine isn't full size) - I just couldn't be happier with it. It completely transforms my under eye area by hydrating and camouflaging any imperfections. It is so unbelievably creamy that I honestly couldn't believe that it never once creased on me. I wouldn't recommend it on any face blemishes, but as an under eye concealer, this is by far my favorite out of the bunch.

5. Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment ($21.95) - I had a bit of a hair fiasco this month where I wanted to dye my hair darker but ended up doing a really spotty job (and on top of that, I just really hated the color). So all in all it took three different dye processes to fix my hair to the way I wanted it. My hair was so dry and damaged after the whole thing. A nickel sized amount of this on my ends after every shower has drastically improved my hair. Its softer, shinier, and less frizzy. This is a holy grail product for me.

6. Scent Portfolio Soy Candle in Sweet Spun Sugar - Unfortunately, I can't find the price anywhere online but I picked this up in my local Target. It is a delicious cotton candy scented candle that I have been burning nonstop. I love sweet scents!

Have you ever tried any of the products above? What are your monthly favorites?

Sample of the Week: Suki Face Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser

I'm here today with my second SOTW post. This week I tried out the Suki Face Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser that I received in a Birchbox quite some time ago. Because my face is so unfortunately ridiculously dry, I've become obsessed with exfoliating. I try to make any attempts I can to get rid of the roughness and patchiness on my face. Needless to say, this sample was perfect for me.

The Suki Face Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser is a vegan lemongrass extract/natural sugar scrub that is made to brighten, tone, smooth wrinkles, eliminate blemishes, and improve collagen production. It has a delicious citrus scent to it that is especially fantastic to wake up to during a morning shower. The exfoliating sugars are just the right size, and the formula is amazing. Once the sugars dissolve, you're left with an amazing foaming cleanser. 

This product has left my skin feeling smooth and soft, and it looks better too. I can't make any claims about the reduction of wrinkles or blemishes because I don't have any to start, but it really helped diminish the redness and rough appearance of my extremely sensitive skin. The only complaint I have is that the full sized product costs $32.95, which is about twenty two dollars more than what I'd normally spend on a scrub. But because its on Birchbox, I'm heavily debating on cashing in my points to redeem this. I don't know how I'll live without it!

Do you have any sensitive skin approved facial exfoliating scrub recommendations? 

Review: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

You might recognize this First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream from a skincare haul I posted not too long ago. Now that I've had a reasonable amount of time to test the product, I figured I'd do a quick review for you all. I bought this moisturizer from Sephora mainly to see if it would help with my dry face, but I have also been using it on my elbows and knees when I have been feeling a little rough.

It says on the bottle "Hydrate dry, parched skin. Relieve minor irritation and itching due to eczema and other conditions. For the face and elsewhere", and it contains no parabens, harsh chemicals or colorants. All of these claims were super appealing to me, and I had really high hopes. Unfortunately, I just wasn't impressed. When applied to my face, the moisturizer left a greasy residue. I could only use this as a night time moisturizer. If applied in the morning under my makeup, my face would get oily in under an hour. As far as moisturizing? It did a little. I never felt like it actually absorbed into my skin. No miracles, no drastic improvements. It worked best on my body, and did little for my face. I will use up the product until the bottle is empty, but I won't be repurchasing for now. At $12, it doesn't really cost more than the average drugstore moisturizer.However, I have found that those $8-$10 drugstore moisturizers have given me a lot better results. My hunt for the perfect moisturizer continues.

Have you ever tried this moisturizer? Whats your favorite moisturizer?

Review: Earth Therapeutics Loofah Exfoliating Scrub

I've never been one to care about exfoliating my body. I just never felt like it was necessary to spend the extra time. One day I took a look at my legs and noticed that they looked really dry and cracked. They looked powdery, that's how dead my skin cells where. I moisturize them a few times a week, but its nothing religious. I looked around my bathroom, found this Earth Therapeutics Loofah Exfoliating Scrub in Oatmeal and Honey, a product that my mom bought, and gave it a try.  

First off, it smells absolutely delicious. It smells exactly like honey, with the sweet touches of oatmeal. Oh and the packaging is super adorable with all the bees and honey scattered around the bottle. Secondly, the product works wonders. I've been using it three times a week, and whenever I shave my legs. I pour a little bit onto my loofah, and then exfoliate my whole body. It lathers up really well, but the exfoliants don't lose their power until you start to rinse. This is one of the best scrubs I have used in a while. My skin feels so smooth and soft after using this product.

You can purchase one of their 3 scents off their website for $7.99 (free shipping on orders +$20), but my mom picked this one up at Home Goods for $5.49.

Have you ever tried this scrub? What are you favorite scrubs?

Birchbox Unboxing: September 2013

Happy Saturday everyone, I hope you're having a great weekend. Today I have a Birchbox unboxing for you all. Don't know what Birchbox is? Birchbox is a subscription service. Every month for $10, five or more beauty samples get delivered to your door. Reviewing those products on their website earns you points towards full sized products. Every review counts as 10 points, and every 100 points are worth $10. After just a few months you can have enough points to purchase full sized products featured on their website. Its a great deal!

Click the 'read more' to see what I received!

Sample of the Week: Oscar Blandi Hair Lift Mousse

I wanted to start a series where every week I pick out one of the many samples I have acquired through subscription services or through ordering online, try it out for a few days, and then post a review for everyone. It'll be a good way for me to actually get through my piles of samples, and for you to discover some new products. This week I tried out the Oscar Blandi Hair Lift Mousse (Full size: $23.00 at Ulta) 

Click the read more for my thoughts on this weeks sample!

Review: Benefit + Matthew Williamson The Rich is Back

Today I have a review for you girls on a box kit that has made its way into my heart. A few weeks ago I purchased the Benefit Cosmetics + Matthew Williamson The Rich is Back boxed kit and have been reaching for it ever since. The kit features adorable packaging, a huge mirror, 4 eye shadows, mascara, lip gloss, and blush/highlight. Its on sale at Sephora right now for $24.00 (original price: $34.00).

Click the read more to see my full review!

The Liebster Award!

Hi girls! So for those of you who haven't seen one of these posts yet, the Liebster Award is a way for blogs that are just starting out to get discovered and get to know eachother. I was nominated by the super sweet Marina - you can find her blog here.

The rules:

1. The tagged/nominated blogs must have under 200 followers.

2. Tag the blog that nominated you.

3. Let the people you tagged know so that they can respond.

Click the read more to see my answers to all the questions!

Haircare and Skincare Haul + First Impressions

Hi everyone and happy Monday! I picked up a few skincare products as well as a new shampoo/conditioner and thought I'd share them with you. I've had these for a little less than a week and thought I'd also include what I thought of them so far. Enjoy!

Before I get into it, I just wanted to say that the best way to describe my skin is dry and red. I have fairly sensitive skin that doesn't flake, but feels dry and dull. I'm always hunting for new moisturizers because I've never found one that I continued to repurchase. I go through them pretty quickly too because I'm one of those people who likes to slather my face in as many layers of moisturizer as I can before I go to bed. Anyone else do that?  No, just me? Oops.

I picked up the smallest size of this First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. I've been eyeing it on the Sephora website for quite some time now, and it just so happened I needed $12 dollars for free shipping one day so I added it into my cart. It says on the bottle "Hydrate dry, parched skin. Relieve minor irritation and itching due to eczema and other conditions. For the face and elsewhere", and it contains no parabens, harsh chemicals or colorants. All of these claims were extremely appealing to me. 

I've been using it for maybe four days straight now and I like it. Notice that I didn't say love. I wouldn't say that its worked any miracles, but I do notice a difference after applying. I usually go to bed with rough feeling skin (after a looong day of makeup), so after applying this at night I've been waking up with softer feeling skin. I'm planning on doing a full review of this once I've been using it for at least two weeks. 

I also picked up this Alba Botanica Natural Acne Dote face and body scrub. Now technically this was a repurchase because my brother left a teeny tiny bit left in our bathroom before he moved away and I had the chance to use it about three times. I love this scrub. Although it says maximum strength, I've found that it works really well on my sensitive skin. It contains 2% salicylic acid which helps fight breakouts. I have noticed a decrease in the small acne I get under my jaw line since using this product.

The only negative thing I can say about this product is that it doesn't smell too good, but its nothing I can't handle. I highly recommend giving this product a try if you're looking for a sensitive skin scrub that works well but isn't too abrasive. 

Lastly I bought the Herbal Essences Honey I'm Strong shampoo and conditioner. I was staying over my boyfriend's house one day and I noticed these in the shower, used them, and fell in love. Once I got out of the shower I couldn't stop touching my hair. My hair felt so soft and nice, that after leaving his house I immediately went to go pick them up. They are strengthening formulas made with honey extract. Obsessed!

Do you have any haircare or skincare recommendations, or have you tried any of the products I mentioned? Comments and feedback are always appreciated!

Thanks for reading ♥

~ Maya

Review: Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box

Happy Sunday everyone. Today I have a review for you all. I really wanted to get this out while the product was still available and on sale because *spoiler alert*, I love it! I'm talking about the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box. Look at the super cute packaging, eek!

Click the read more button for my full review!