Quick Pick Review: Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream

Hey lovelies! Hope your week is going great! Today I thought I would review for you the Smashbox Camera Ready BB cream. At Sephora this retails for $39.00/1 fl oz. Which is a little pricey, if you ask me. I got this is one of the Sephora Favorites kits that came out last winter. 

This BB has light to medium, at the most, coverage. It is not the most buildable foundation, but it is very lightweight feeling on the skin. On my dry to combo skin I got all day wear without much breakdown, even on the nose. I did find that it oxidized on me about half a shade/one shade darker than it started. Which is not that big of a deal in the summer when I have a bit of a tan. In the winter however that will be more of a problem because I am white, like only a shade darker than paper. haha. 

As you can see by the picture above, the BB is more thick than watery. I personally like that I think it makes it easier to apply. I prefer to apply this with my fingers, simply because it is faster and can give you a more natural look. Unless you forget to blend, haha, then you'll have finger streaks on your face. I also set it with a powder and I did touch up the powder a few times throughout the day. Which kept the shine at bay and kept the BB looking fresh without getting cakey.

Overall I do like this BB cream, better than most drugstore BBs I have tried. It is pricey but if you are treating yourself to a little splurge this is a nice lightweight, natural BB cream that is worth trying. However I would wait until Sephora releases their Christmas time favorites and see if it is in one of them :)

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Unboxing: Target Beauty Box

Beauty boxes, ah how I love and hate them... They provide inexpensive ways to try out a wide variety of products, but if I got everysingle beauty box out there I'd be broke. Haha, there is Glossy box, Birchbox, Boxycharm, Ipsy, and even Sephora is coming out with one in 2016! It is madness! Absolute madness! The Target Beauty Box is one of my favorites because you get around 2 or 3 fullsize products and you get a coupon. Not even just a $1 off coupon, $3 off of $15. Which if you time it right like I did with my last coupon and wait for a buy 3 get a $5 gift card sale, you are then basically paying for $7 for $15 worth of beauty stuff! Which is over half off! Boo Yeah! Okay enough rambling, onto the goodies!

See that card? That tells you whether your product is fullsize and it also contains the coupon! :)

- Fekkai Pre-Soleil Hair mist ($19.99/5 fl oz) This is a deluxe sample size of the hair mist. This mist is supposed to help protect hair from sun damage, while also adding shine. I am excited to try this! It is an oil based product so you do need to shake it before every use. The spray has a nice light sunflower scent, which makes sense considering it contains sunflower seed oil. 

- Clairol Hair Food Moisturizing Mask ($11.99/6.3 oz) This hair mask is full sized. This product alone makes this box worth the $7. Hair food is paraben and mineral oil free and is supposed to remove dulling residue to restore luster and shine all while moisturizing hair. 

- Covergirl The Super Sizer Mascara by Lashblast ($5.99/.44 fl oz) This mascara included is also full size, and again, this alone almost pays for your entire box. I am super excited to try this mascara, it claims to give up to 400% fuller lashes, so we'll see how it goes haha.

- Crest 3D Whitestrips 1hr Express ($44.99/20ct) I have never tried these whitening strips. I've gotten them before but my sister always stole them! So I am super duper excited to try these out! They are on the pricey side, so who knows if I'll ever end up buying the actual product. They claim to be non slip strips that are packed with enamel safe whtening agents to remove years of stains.

- Olay Active Botanicals Moisturizing Toner ($14.99/5 fl oz) This toner claims to by non drying, and removes excess dirt and oil, leaving skin soft and fresh. Well its claims aren't too grand, so it will be easier for this product to live up to all of its claims than say like the mascara.

- Olay Active Botanicals Day Lotion ($14.99/2.5 fl oz) This claims to be a lightweight formula with a hydra-complex and snow mushroom to hydrate skin for up to 24 hours. Snow mushroom....? Well okay then...

The Target Beauty boxes range in price from $5 to $7. They are not a monthly thing, they are a whenever Target feels like it thing. In July they had 2 back to school boxes and then around the 1st of August they had this box. So it is hit and miss as for when they are available. Also if you see a box you want, do not hesitate to purchase it! They sell out super fast! LIke within a day of being available!  What is your favorite subscription or beauty box? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

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Empties Roundup

Hey ducklings! So before I get to the actual point of the post, I thought I would ask a few questions about what you would like to see here on pink ducks red sweaters! I've been playing around with the idea of doing a series of basic makeup products for like school, work, party, and so on. Is that something you would like to see? Or do you have any different ideas that you would like to see? Onto the empties!! (all prices listed are for the full size product)

- Dr. Jart+ Black Label Detox BB ($36.00) This was probably my least favorite of the bb creams that I used up recently. It made my skin look heavy, cakey, and weirdly enough gray. There also was not a whole lot of product in my sample so I got maybe 3 uses out of it. That was fine by me though, since I'm not the biggest fan of it! I would not repurchase this. 

- Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm ($34.00) My sample was in the shade Nude Glow, which was a hair too dark for me. Since it is summer I was able to make it work. This BB cream was okay, however I wouldn't repurchase it. There are better BB's at the drugstore that cost a lot less than this and give me the same or better results.

-  Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($62.00) I had this in the shade 5.5 which was again too dark for me, but being that I am slightly tan I could make it work without looking like an oomppa loompa! haha. I was not a big fan of this, maybe had it been in the right shade I would have liked it more. This made me look really oily and accentuated my dry patches. It was really messy to apply because it is so watery/liquidy. I would not repurchase this. 

-Coola Face SPF 30 Unscented Matte Tint Natural BB Cream ($36.00) Man this product has a long name! This was probably my favorite of the four. However, I didn't use it as a BB on its own so much as a primer or a mixer. I used it in combination with the luminous silk foundation to make it look more natural and closer to my color. Or I would use it as a primer underneath a powder foundation, as it has somewhat of a silicone feel to it. Which is strange because there are no siliconey ingredients in the product. It has very natural ingredients like shea butter, cucumber, and linseed oil. I would consider repurchasing this, but I have another sample of this to work through. 

- Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara in Very Black Blaze ($6.99) This mascara has a really thick and rather short tube. The wand is shaped like an hourglass and has natural fiber bristles as opposed to the harder plasticy ones. I really liked this mascara for my top lashes, I thought it did a good job adding some length and some volume without being too clumpy. For my bottom lashes, however, this was a struggle. The brush was too big to get all of the little lashes on the edges and I ended up getting more mascara under my eye than on my lower lashes. I would repurchase, but I have a bajillion mascaras to work through. 

-Covergirl Clean Sensitive Skin Pressed Powder in 225 Buff Beige ($5.94) I am so tired of this powder. This is the second compact of this powder I have gone through. Which actually is a pretty huge accomplishment. This is a really nice powder for light oil control and it does offer some coverage depending on how you apply it. Be careful though, if you apply too much your face will look and feel like a powder cake. I would repurchase this but I'm not going to because I don't want to. Haha. 

- Benefit Fake Up Concealer in 01 Light ($24.00) This did not work at all for my undereyes, which is what this product is designed for. It made my undereye circles look gray and it creased. It was hydrating feeling so I'll give it that. It worked a lot better for the blemishes on my forehead than anywhere else. So at least I got some good use out of the tiny sample, and no I don't think I would repurchase this. 

- PINK Eau De Toilette minis in Pretty and Pure and Wild and Breezy ($18.00/each) First things first, I don't think they sell Pretty and Pure anymore, which is terribly sad because I liked that one. Pretty and Pure smelled a little like pink lemonade and laundry detergent, which sounds weird but is a really nice combination haha. Wild and Breezy is a very fresh scent and contains notes of red guava and passion flower. The more I wore either of the scents the more I ended up loving them. I would consider repurchasing Wild and Breezy, since I can't repurchase Pretty and Pure.

- Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes ($5.78) I already reviewed these, so I won't bore you with another review. If you'd like to see the review go check it out :) Overall I would repurchase these. 

- e.l.f. Makeup Mist & Set with Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber, and Vitamins A, C, & E ($3) My biggest complaint with this was that it didn't spray out in a fine enough mist for my liking. It sprayed out in rather big droplets. However I was watching one of EmilyNoel83's youtube videos and she was talking about how she got a new one and it had a really nice fine spray. So I think after hearing that, since I did like the product itself, I will repurchase it once I finish some of my other setting sprays!

Any products that you've finished up recently that you loved or hated? I would love to hear about them! 

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Quick Pick Review: Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes

Today I am reviewing the makeup remover wipes that I got in the last Target beauty box! Beautty boxes are my favorite way to get to try out a lot of different and new products without spending a fortune buying them all individually. And if I hate something, I'm really not out much! That's a win/win if you ask me! 

These towelettes were pretty nice! They smelled like sweet iced tea, which I personally love. In the sample pack there are 10 towelettes, each towel is moist without being super wet. I did not have any problems with them irritating my eyes, but they were not the most effective for removing mascara and expecially waterproof mascara. The towels removed foundation, bronzer, blush, and lipstick really well. The eexception for lip products though were those long wearing lipsticks, like the Colourpop ultra matte liquid lipsticks or the covergirl outlast lipstick thing. 

Overall these are really nice wipes and are perfect for in the purse or school bag to do random touch ups throughout the day. These retail for $5.78 at walmart and you get 30 in a pack. They are on the pricier side for wipes but they 99.1% natural, which is comforting, knowing that you aren't wiping a sheet of chemicals all over your face! Have you tried these? What do you think of them if you have?

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Easy-Peasy Banana Bread

I love baked goods. So much, a little too much, actually haha. Like if I show up to a bridal shower or a party and there are no baked goods, I will be way too disappointed. That actually happened today! I went to a wedding shower and there was no cake! At all! I was super sad haha.

Any way, last night I made some banana bread and it is just too delicious and easy not to share! Although there is nothing really special about this recipe, other than it comes from my grandmas cookbook. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

Oven: 350 degrees farenheit  Bake time: 1 hour (60 minutes) 

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 cup butter

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 

- 1 cup nuts (this is optional and I used walnuts)

-  1 cup chocolate chips

- 2 cups flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the butter, sugar, bananas, and eggs. Mix until nice and lumpy, then add the dry powder ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Make sure you do not over mix at this point and when all of the ingredients previously listed are mixed together add in the nuts and chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Then dump it into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes and enjoy :)

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Limited Edition: Tarte Pin Up Girl Blush Palette

     

     This palette contains 5 limited edition 12 hour Amazonian clay blushes. It retails for $42 (USD), I found mine at Sephora, but it is also available at Ulta, and at Tarte. Although at the time, it is not available at any of those three places online, but may be available in store.

     These are all blushes, I know last years little palette like this had a bronzer. All of these blushes are soft and extremely pigmented. This is my first time using any of Tartes blushes and I used Whimsey with a relatively heavy hand. Needless to say I had to use a makeup remover wipe and start over. I love blush, but I hate clowns. These are relatively soft blushes, they do kick up a bit of powder when you try to get it on your brush. It is easy to clear away, on the plus side

(L to R) Breathless, Embraced, and Whimsy

     Breathless is a pinky beige, that I personally think leans more beige than pink. This color is perfect for when you have a lot going on on your face. It gives you a natural little flush, that is beautiful but not distracting. This blush is matte.

     Embraced is a hard color to describe! It looks mauvey-purpley-iridescent-rose-ish shade. On the box they, who are much better at describing colors, simply call is a plummy rose. Well I was close. When sheered out it looks simply stunning. It gives you a "lit from within" kinda glow (hence the iridescence mentioned earlier). It builds beautifully, even sheered out you can tell it is more of a plum shade.

     Whimsy, I have a love hate relationship with this blush. I want to hate it because of the first time I used it disaster but it is SO BEAUTIFUL. This light pink almost bordering Barbie pink matte shade will give you a youthful glow, when used with a gentle hand.

(L to R) Whimsy, Bashful, and Irreplaceable

     Bashful, to me I would say that is definitely coral, but to Tarte it is a rosy peach shade (shimmery with some small glitter). If you are worried about the minor glitter in this shade, never fear you don't really notice it on the skin :). This one reminds me of Coralista, I could be wrong as I'm not looking at them both side by side, but it is REALLY pretty. This is the shade I want to marry. Haha just kidding. This is good for a subtle natural looking makeup day. Since there is shimmer you could skip the highlighter if you are short on time.

     Irreplaceable is a mauve/rose matte blush. Like with Whimsy you need to use a really light hand. This color gives you a "just-outside-in-the-cold" natural kind of flush.

(L to R) Breathless, Embraced, Whimsy, Bashful, and Irreplaceable

All in all, do you need this palette? Yes, if you can get your hands on it. I think it is a good way to get exposed to some of Tarte's more popular products at a cheaper rate. Each blush in this palette is .158 Oz and a full sized blush is .2 Oz. So with this palette you are essentially getting around almost 4 full sized blushes worth of product for the price of 1 and a half blushes. I do think the packaging is cute, a little bulky but really cute and as a bonus you get two wearable hair pins. Also an FYI just because it is out of stock online does not mean that your local store does not have it. When I purchased it, it was out of stock online but they had it in stores.

Have a fabulous day ducklings!

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Mary Kay Mini Haul

  
   Who hasn't tried satin hands before? *chirp chirp* I don't think I've ever met anyone who hasn't tried the satin hands kit from Mary Kay. Every time you go to a party or a little makeover you do the satin hands thing. I recently go a few little things from this lady I know. I believe she sells Mary Kay.
   
     In the cutest little reusable bag I got the satin hands collection, a Mary Kay at play lip gloss in Teddy Bear, Mary Kay Vanilla mint lip balm, and Sun Shades lip balm in Caramel Toffee. The last one is not Mary Kay.

     There is not much to say about satin hands that hasn't already been said. I have the unscented version and it leaves your hands feeling silky and all around amazing.

     The Mary Kay at Play Jelly lip gloss is sticky but not goopy sticky. It is really thick and a little uncomfortable on the lips, in my opinion, which could simply be because I don't really like lip gloss. As far as lip glosses go though, I do prefer this over many other glosses. If you leave your lips together for a long time when you pull them apart it does feel like the gloss is pulling between your lips.

     Mary Kay lip balm in Vanilla mint smells so good. It has a similar consistency to those Carmex lip things in the tube, but thinner. I prefer this one over the Jelly lip gloss. Though it is not really fair to compare them, as one is a gloss the other is a balm. I really like the balm.

     Sun Shades lip balm smells even better than the vanilla mint balm. It is like a typical chapstick, except that it is less waxy. The only downside is, at least on mine, is I can't get it to role back down.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving :)

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