Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara Review

I received this sample mascara from the Smashbox Facebook page a while back. Let me tell you, ever since the day I applied this to my lashes I have been in love. This is, by far, my absolute favorite mascara!

Birthday Gifts & Haul

Hey guys! I feel like I haven't posted in FOREVER! I'm on break this week with school though so I have time to catch up :) Today is my birthday, I am now 17! I was so excited to be 17 because now I can buy rated R tickets, haha! I'm thinking about seeing Side Effects next week. Last night a few friends went out to dinner with me. I told them not to get me gifts but they still did! I seriously have the sweetest friends on the planet; I am so grateful for them!

My friend Isabella got me the Naked Basics palette from Urban Decay!! I have been wanting this ever since she and I got makeovers together and the makeup artist used this on us.

My friend Nicole got me the Benefit Cabana Glama set and the Stila lip gloss trio. I am SO excited to try all of these products! The blush in the cabana set is so pretty, I already used it today haha.

I also ordered myself 2 nail polishes from amazon because I had a $10 gift card I got for free. I decided on China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy and I replaced my bottle of Seche Vite. Can't beat free nail polish!

This morning my boyfriend also took me to the mall to shop, so I picked up a few things from there as well

First I stopped into Victoria's Secret because I had 2 coupons for free panties! Jumped right on that deal, haha! Next, my boyfriend and I stopped into American Eagle because he wanted me to pick out my present lol. I already knew what I wanted! I went straight to the sheer peach colored polka dot chiffon shirt. Love! It was originally $40, but I had a 30% off coupon so it ended up being $28

I also came across the dress I have bee drooling over in the clearance section! It was an extra 40% off $35, and with my coupon it was only $15! Say whaaat? I was going to buy myself the dress but my boyfriend was so sweet and bought both pieces for me :')

Lastly, I stopped into Sephora. I had a leftover gift card from Christmas with about $10 on it, and I also had another $10 gift card from viggle! I decided to buy the Too Faced Beauty Editor Darling Set. It comes with a mini mascara, shadow insurance, lipgloss, lip primer, and a mini primed and poreless (love his stuff!). I also picked up my birthday freebie (mini benefit They're Real mascara and mini Watt's Up highlighter). I also decided to use 100 points to get a sample of the Urban Decay BB cream. I've been really curious about this stuff and I had like 700 points so why not? lol. The lady at checkout was so sweet, she kept throwing samples in my bag haha.

It was an amazing birthday <3

Quo by Orly - Filthy Rich

Quo By Orly Filthy Rick
Color: Gold Foil
Formula: Surprisingly, really nice!! It glided on smoothly and dried fast
Coverage: Two coats to be fully opaque
Collection: Quo by Orly Holiday Set (2011, only available in Canada)
Price & Where I got It: I actually received it in a swap!


This is one of my favorite polishes for the Quo By Orly Set. It's the only gold polish I own, and I like that it's not overly glittery! It also has an awesome effect in certain light :)

Benefit "They're Real" Mascara Review

There is one thing with this mascara I will never get used to; you can apply this mascara 2 ways! You can apply it the usual way, holding the want horizontally, but you can also apply it by holding it vertically!I only used one coat, and I only applied a little mascara the vertical way. The rest was applied with the normal horizontal way

Pros
-Thick and moist formula
-Doesn't Smudge
-Spreads Lashes w/o clump (if you only use 1 coat)
-Keeps lashes soft and flexible, rather than hard & stiff
-The wand easily reaches all lashes
-mascara clicks when you close it so you know its securely shut

Cons

-Hardly adds lengths

-I find that this flakes during the day and really irritates my contacts

-Doesn't give me that "falsies" look. No one has asked me if my lashes were real when I wore this! lol

-Expensive! $23
-It clumps easily, so I tend to stick with one coat
-only comes in black

Overall
Overall, would I buy this again? Mmmm no. $23 for a mascara is pricey! I do like the concept of the brush though. I'm thinking about just saving the brush when I run out of mascara and just wash it, then buy a cheaper mascara and use the wand with that :P See if that helps at all.

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below!

Have you tried this mascara before?

Wet n Wild Megalast Candy-licious

Wet n Wild Megalast Candy-licious
Color: Bubblegum pink, creme finish
Formula: AMAZING for being so stinkin' cheap! 
Coverage: Could get by with one coat, I did two to be safe
Collection: Part of the main megalast line by wet n wild
Price & Where I got It: $2 at Walgreens (but they go on sale quite often at CVS and other stores!)

I absolutely love this polish and this line. I own almost all of the polishes from the megalast collection now! I didn't wear a top coat or a base coat, and this lasted me 4 days with NO chips! Pretty darn good for only being $2!

Color Club - Age of Aquarius

Color Club Age of Aquarius
Color: Gorgeous bright teal with light green undertone
Formula: Easy to work with! Covered my nails evenly and dried nicely
Coverage: 2 Coats for full opacity
Collection: POPTASTIC
Price & Where I got It: This is a mini size from a Birchbox, but I saw the full size for $5 at Rite Aid

I ADORE this polish!! It was a go-to polish of mine for summer 2012. I know for a fact I will be wearing it a lot this summer as well!

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous
Color: Graphite Grey
Formula: Super Runny!!! This polish was actually so hard to work with :(
Coverage: 2 Coats for full opacity
Collection: 2010 "Swiss Collection"
Price & Where I got It: $8 at Ulta


The formula of this was a total turn off for me! I relly like the color, but polishes with bad formulas are the ones I hardly reach for :(

Quo By Orly - Night Sky

Quo By Orly - Night Sky
Color: Deep purple/blue with a bit of gold and silver refection
Formula: Easy to work with, spreads evenly and dries quickly!
Coverage: 2 Coats for full opacity
Collection: I got this with the Quo by Orly Holiday Set
Price & Where I got It: I actually swapped for this, as these polishes are only available in Canada!


I really think they hit the nail on the head with the name of this one! It totally reminds me of a Night Sky. Since the brand is owned by Orly, I'm SURE there's an Orly dupe out there for us Americans that can't get the set from Canada! :)

Essie - Play Date

Essie Play Date
Color: Creamy Pastel Purple. Doesn't this just remind you of Easter?
Formula: SUPER creamy and easy to work with!
Coverage: Pretty opaque with one coat, I wore two just to be safe!
Collection: "Go Overboard"
Price & Where I got It: $8 at CVS! :)


This polish lasted me about 5 days with no chipping!! Pretty good, seeing as I didn't wear a base or top coat! I highly recommend this polish. If you like it, the collection is still available at some stores so try to go get your hands on it!!