Hair Food Apricot Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi guys!

So as you know from some of my previous posts, I've been having major hair issues! I'm talking dryness, knots galore, and losing clumps at a time in my brushes. Nothing I was trying was really helping me all that much! I tried several shampoos and conditioners, deep conditioners, leave in conditioners, hair masks, high end products, drug store products, and the list goes on and on! Ugh! Even a haircut didn't help!

My hair is super fine and thin, doesn't hold volume well, and is pretty lifeless usually. I'm the kind of person that NEEDS to wash it everyday or its a greasy mess that will literally do nothing at all! There is nothing worse then still being in the shower and feeling like there are tons of knots in your hair after just rinsing the conditioner out (and even combing it through)! I was getting so frustrated.

Finally, I remembered picking up a shampoo in Target a few months back that I really enjoyed from the new Hair Food line they are selling. It was a clarifying shampoo and I actually really enjoyed it (I still had knots from the conditioner I was using, but it made my hair feel really clean). I even featured it in my November Favorites! I poked around on Target's website to see what other shampoo and conditioner products were available in the line and decided to give the Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner a shot! Its infused with apricot and honey and claims to give healthy and shiny hair! It is also free of silicone, parabens, and mineral oil.

I've been using both the shampoo and conditioner for a little over a week now, and I have to say that I already notice a huge difference! My hair feels so much better lately! The shampoo lathers really well and feels like it is really cleaning my hair without stripping it too much or being too harsh. I don't feel like my hair is super knotty even before I use the conditioner! It also smells pretty darn good! :) The conditioner is thick, but not so heavy that it feel like it takes forever to rinse out. It makes my hair super soft and allows me to comb my fingers right through it without them getting stuck, which is something I experienced with a lot of other ones I was using. I typically have a lot of knots in the back and at the nap of my neck that no conditioner has ever really helped. Not with this though, no knots in the back at all! It literally feels silky smooth!

My hair feels much softer and much healthier, but isn't boring and lifeless. It feel moisturized but not weighed down or heavy and still has a good texture for styling! The only thing I've noticed more since starting to use this is that my hair is REALLY staticky lately! I don't know if that is because there are less knots and its softer or just because it's January! Lol! Either way its nothing major or too irritating. Ugh, Winter! Haha!

I definitely would purchase this shampoo and conditioner again and even try some of their other products in the line! This brand is manufactured by Clairol, but appears to be sold exclusively for Target (I have seen it appear on Amazon though). If you're looking to switch up your shampoo and conditioner I think this line is definitely worth considering!

Thanks so much for reading!

♥ Nichole

Hair Food Apricot Shampoo $9.99

Hair Food Apricot Conditioner $9.99

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January Ipsy Bag!

Hi loves!

I so look forward to writing this post every month! I don't think I need to tell you again how much I am obsessed with my Ipsy Glam Bags, so I'll just jump right in to this one! :)

First up is the Glam Bag itself! This month's was definitely colorful and features a bit of color blocking! One side of the bag is a solid true royal blue, while the other side is off white. 

The bag is finished with an orangish zipper. 

As much as I love Ipsy and all of my other Glam Bags so far, I won't lie to you... This one wasn't my cup of tea. It's certainly not ugly, just not really my kind of style. I'll probably be passing this one along to someone who may like the colors and style more!

The first product in my bag was this Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in Treasure! You guys... it is seriously GORGEOUS! I was so impressed when I swatched this on the back of my hand! It is very creamy and pigmented and in the prettiest gold shade! You know I love my gold shadows! :) I didn't know a whole lot about the brand before receiving this, but I have been seeing it pop up more in Ulta and Target. I think this is definitely going to be a brand that is on my radar more now! 

Next up was (Malin + Goetz) Mojito Lip Balm. I don't even like Mojitos, but they do remind me of Summer, and who wouldn't like to be reminded of Summer when we're in the middle of January?! Perfect timing, and well played, Ipsy! It literally smells just like a mojito- minty fresh with a hint of citrus! It also feels really good on my January chapped lips and has already found it's way into my purse for those desperate dry lip moments that occur all too often this time of year!

I also received a Mechanical Eyeliner by Hikari Cosmetics in the shade Storm. This is another brand I have never heard of, but so far I really like it! It's a fun, metalic, silvery shade and it swatches really nicely on the back of my hand. I haven't had a chance to try this on my eyes yet (I feel like a shade like this is a little tough to wear to work) but I noticed that when it was swatched next to the gold Pacifica eyeshadow they went together beautifully! I can't wait to try a "Silver & Gold" look with both of them!

The next product in my bag was Manna Kadar Cosmetics Sheer Glo. I was actually already familiar with this product since I received it in one of my Birch Boxes about a year ago, but I do think this is a really nice illuminating liquid! I like to use it as a cheek bone highlight and apply it lightly with a small stippling brush. It doesn't come off on the skin quite as dark or pink as it looks in the tube. It gives a very very sheer glow and is more subtle than it seems it would be! I've also used it on my décolleté area to give my collar bones a bit of a highlight as well! I wouldn't say this is my favorite highlighting product, but it also isn't terrible.

 The last item in this month's Glam Bag was La Fresh Eco Beauty's 'Be Good. Good Day. Day Moisturizer". This brand was also totally new me and I totally get the whole "Eco" thing, but I seriously can't stand when they put lotions and moisturizers in these little plastic pouches. I don't know why, it just makes me crazy! Lol! And honestly, I'm a lot less likely to use it when it's in this kind of packaging! It does smell nice, kind of cucumberish/ aloe-ish and feels pretty soft on the skin. It will probably end up in my office drawer for desperate situations! Haha! You know I'm picky about my lotions and moisturizers! ;)


Once again I got some pretty awesome stuff in my Ipsy Glam Bag this month! I still have yet to be disappointed and I genuinely look forward to my new Glam Bag each month!

Thanks for reading!

♥ Nichole

Ipsy Glam Bag 

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Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation & Powder

Hi guys!

I know it's not secret that I like a completely matte finish when it comes to my face make up! Hence the fact that I get ridiculously excited when I see a new product that claims to perfectly matte results! Like unreasonably excited! Lol! So when I saw that Maybelline was coming out with a new line of their Fit Me face products in a matte and poreless version I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! 

I had a really hard time finding it in my local stores earlier in the month! I checked every CVS near me, Target, and I still have yet to see it in any of my Ulta stores which is really bugging me! Finally I was able to find it in a CVS store near my aunt's house when I was visiting last week! Her store had WAY more of the new cosmetics than all of my stores combined! I was like a kid in a candy store, and I would have done a haul post, but I opened everything and used it before I had a chance! Lol!

The first day I used the new foundation, I decided to go without my usual milk of magnesia primer base to see what this makeup could really do for me. Being that we're in the heart of the frigid Winter, I am a lot less oily than usual and maybe even a little dry in some spots. I prepped my face with Mac's Oil Control lotion and then NYX Angel Veil primer and allowed them to dry a bit. I just used my fingers to apply the foundation and blended in like any other product.

One of the first things I noticed was how quickly the foundation dried on my skin! It dries to the smoothest, softest finish and I felt like I didn't even need to set it with powder! I applied my concealer and then set it with the Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation wore pretty nicely throughout the day! I did experience the slightest bit of "shininess" after having it on for about 10 hours, but it wasn't anything a little powder touch up couldn't handle!

The next day I decided to use my milk of magnesia primer method since that usually allows me to keep almost any foundation matte. I just let the milk of magnesia dry to it's usual chalky finish and then applied the foundation with my fingertips again. Again, it dried and set really quickly and gave a flawless finish to my skin! I applied my concealer, and then dusted lightly again with the powder! By the end of the day my face was still completely matte and my face felt just as smooth and soft as it did when I applied it 12 hours earlier! 

I've been using the foundation for about a week now, and I have to say I am pretty damn impressed by it! I love the way it applies, love the finish it gives my skin, and love the way it wears throughout the day! It is a medium coverage, but is also build-able if you want a more full coverage look, and the best part is it doesn't get cakey or thick on the skin!

As far as the color shades go, there are plenty of options in the collection. I chose the shade Nude Beige and it may be just a hair too warm/dark for me this time of year, but with the Fit Me technology, it seems to blend in really well and works for me at the same time!

The powder is very light weight and doesn't get cakey over the foundation or whatever concealer you choose to use. A little bit goes a long way when it's paired with the foundation (not sure about how it wears with other foundation products yet). 

I think Maybelline has really nailed it with this foundation formula! And out of all the foundations and face products that claim to give you matte results on their own, so far this one has been the only one to truly deliver (at least from the several I have tried).
As far as the poreless claim, I think it is a bit of a stretch... but it does seem to "blur" them a bit. I certainly wouldn't say that it is the products claim to fame or anything, but I guess it doesn't hurt!

My only complaint about the foundation would be the packaging. I'm not a fan of foundations in glass bottles with the tiniest openings! It just makes it so much more difficult to get the right amount of product you need. Either too much pours out and gets wasted, or I have to "shake" it onto my finger only to get a tiny dot 800 times. I've been using a q-tip to get the product out, but I still feel like that wastes a lot. So, *Dear Makeup companies, Please start providing pumps on your foundation jars!*

Hope you enjoyed this review! If you've had a chance to try it, I'd love to hear what you think!

Thank for reading!

♥ Nichole

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation $7.99

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder $7.99

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L'Oreal Infallible Smokissme Powder Eyeliner

Hi loves! 

Lately I have been trying out a bunch of new drugstore items for you! So many new products have hit the shelves and I just can't help myself! :) 

I was perusing the makeup aisles of my local CVS and one product that really caught my eye is the new L'Oreal Infallible Smokissme Powder Eyeliner. Smokey, smudged eyes seem to be making a huge comeback lately! Not that they ever really went away completely, but they are back and smudgier than ever! Just a few weeks ago I saw a photo on Instagram featuring a woman with the most beautiful, blackest, smokiest, smudgiest eyeliner ever! It was so gorgeous it actually made me stop in my Instagram "feed" and I really focused on the photo! My initial thoughts were 'Why doesn't mine ever look that good and effortless?". I envied her and her gorgeous, smoked and sultry eyes! Lol! So, of course when I saw this new eyeliner in CVS I thought I had found the answer to my prayers!

The product opens from the center and has a rather large (seriously, its almost the size of my whole eyelind), foam ball on one end that is pressed into the black pigment powder on the other end. The foam applicator has a slight point to the very tip. When you open the "pen" the powder is already on the foam tip and you're ready to start applying it to your lash line. 

I found it pretty effortless to apply to upper lash line and was able to get a decent smudged line. However, the foam tip is a little to large to get into some tight corners and spaces. I found that I experienced a lot of fall out and unwanted smudge marks on my bottom lash line and general under-eye area. 

Not good! It was a pain in the butt and tedious to have to go back in with a q-tip to try to clean up the unwanted smudges before doing my bottom lash line.

Speaking of my bottom lash line, I didn't find the application quite as effortless here. Again, the foam ball is just way too large for such a tight, small area! I mean, I want a smudged black line, not raccoon eyes! Again there was more fall out than I would have liked and I still had to go back in with concealer and powder to clean the line up a bit. And then, I had a whole other issue of "cakey" under-eyes. Grrr!

Eye look using Smokissme smudger ball

I didn't hate the smudged liner look the product gave me, and I'll be honest, once it was in place this stuff didn't budge all day! Great staying power is always a good thing! I decided that maybe there was just a bit of a learning curve with this product and tried to stay hopefully that I would be able to make it work the way I dreamed it would! I decided to give it a try again a few days later to see if I had mastered it after some trial and error. Nope! Same exact experience the second time around. Fall out, smudge marks where I didn't want them, and cakey concealer under my eyes! My hopes were quickly fading. :(

Eye look using Smokissme Powder liner with E.l.f. Smudge sponge

For research purposes (and because I'm stubborn) I thought I would try it one last time before making up my mind completely. I decided to forgo using the applicator it comes with and pulled in one of my all time favorite tools.. my $1 E.l.f. smudge sponge. I dipped the E.l.f. smudger into the powder end of the product and picked up some of the powder. I was able to get into the tighter corners of my eye and closer to my lash line with this tool than I was with the large one that comes with it. I still experienced a bit of fall out, but didn't have huge, awful smudge marks on my under eyes. It was the same situation with my bottom lash line. Much easier to fill the line in and still get a smudged, smokey effect! I like the look I achieved with this method much much more! Not so raccoon-ish!

Over all I don't think that this product is horrible... just not really designed in a way that makes it easy to use or helpful. I certainly wouldn't say that this is a product you need in your makeup arsenal! I think you could just as easily achieve the same look with a smudge sponge (like my $1 E.l.f. one), or a pencil brush and some black eyeshadow. I also think you really have to be careful with a smokey, smudged eye- and the best tool in that case is patience! It's going to be tough to just slap something on and expect perfection, especially with something like a smokey eye! My bottom line is that it's just really not a necessary product, and you probably have everything you already need for a smokey eye in your makeup collection. Not really worth the hassle and cakey under eyes! Lol!


♥ Nichole

L'Oreal Paris -Infallible Smokissime Powder Eyeliner Pen- Black $8.99

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

Hi everyone!

One of the brands I have really come to love lately is Hourglass! I came across this band about a year ago in Sephora and pretty much fell in love immediately! I'll be honest, it is a bit on the pricier side, but the products that I have tried so far are really great quality! I also recently reviewed the Ambient Lighting Palette, which is easily one of my favorite products in my makeup collection! 

I was so excited when I saw that the brand was introducing a similar palette for their Ambient Lighting Blushes! Their blushes are absolutely stunning, but a full size, single shade will set you back a pretty $35! For me, that's a bit too steep! So, just like the Ambient Lighting palette, the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette contains three different shades, one of which is exclusive to the palette and not available in their permanent collection. 

These blushes are super soft, but rich at the same time-almost luxurious! I think of them as satin for the cheeks! The mix of the blush pigment with the Ambient Light powder gives the most GORGEOUS glow to your cheeks- automatically highlighting your cheekbones! The mixed in Ambient Lighting powder also helps you to not overdo it on the blush, I can typically have a pretty heavy hand when it comes to blush, but this stuff is so pigmented that a little bit goes a long way! One of my favorite things about this blush is that the addition of the Ambient Lighting Powder doesn't make the blush SO glowy that it looks like you're in 8th grade again and there is absolutely no shimmer at all! It is a very sophisticated glow that makes you look like you are literally glowing from within! 

The first shade (far left) is Luminous Flush, which is described as a champagne rose. 

This has definitely been my favorite and most used shade so far! It gives the most perfect rosey glow to the cheeks and effortlessly highlights in all the right places! It gives a great pop of color to your cheeks without being overkill! Absolutely gorgeous!

The middle shade is Incandescent Electra, which is described as a cool peach and is exclusive to the palette! I haven't tapped into this shade as much as the others, but I love it for Spring and Summer when I tend to wear more peachy/ coral tones. 

It too is gorgeous and gives a nice, warm flush to the cheeks with a gorgeous built in highlight! Can you imagine how amazing this will be with a nice tan in the Summer?! Ugh, I seriously cannot wait! :)

The last shade (far right) is Mood Exposure and described as a soft plum. I've been using this shade a lot lately and it is so beautiful!

 I find it kind of hard to explain the shade it gives off... Looking at it, it is actually a bit intimidating because of the "purple" swirls, but when you apply it is gives a warm, almost bronzed glow to the cheeks. I can pick up the smallest hint of plum, but to me there is definitely more of a brownish undertone to it. Either way, it is so beautiful and may even end up pushing Luminous Flush down to the #2 spot! ;)

I have to say, I am so impressed with the Hourglass brand! I have loved everything I have tried and it beats a lot of my other products by leaps and bounds! I find that I really reach for these products a lot lately because they never fail me! They're fool proof and I fall in love with them all over again every single time I use them. I know they don't come with the most justifiable price tags, but the quality and results I achieve make them totally worth it, in my opinion!

Wearing Mood Exposure on cheeks!

Hope you enjoyed this review! Thanks for reading!

♥Nichole

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette $58

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Living Proof- Perfect Hair Day (or not so much)

Hi everyone! 

I'm back with another beauty review for you today! I have been really looking forward to trying the new Living Proof hair care line! It's been out for quite a while now, but it is a bit on the pricier side ($24 for a full size bottle of shampoo alone) and I haven't had the chance to really splurge on it. But, on Black Friday, Sephora had a small little trial size kit on sale for $10! I thought it was a great opportunity to give this brand a shot! My hair was in quite a state (knotty, dry, blah in general) so I waited until I got may hair cut to try it. Is that weird? I didn't want to waste good hair products on my ratty hair! Haha! (Am I the only person who does things like this?). 

So, with my hair freshly cut and looking/ feeling much better and healthier, I decided it was a perfect time to suds my strands up! I used about a quarter- half dollar sized dollop of the shampoo, and felt like it wasn't sudsing up at all really. Womp. I went back for a little more and still didn't feel like it was getting my hair really lathered well or clean for that matter. 

But.. I carried on. I rinsed it out and went on to the conditioner. Meh. I was very unimpressed. I didn't feel like it did anything. It was almost as if I couldn't get it to work into my hair. I even tried combing it through. Nothing. I let it sit for a few minutes. No improvement. So I rinsed it out. Knots. Galore. Literally clumps of hair sticking together and pulling out of my head when I tried to run my hands though my hair. I was so defeated. My hair is VERY fine, so typically conditioner tends to make my hair too slick, or greasy and heavy. Not this stuff. My hair felt like tangled Christmas lights. 

I got out the shower, towel dried my hair, and tried to run my comb through it as I typically would. Nope. Knots. Freaking. Everywhere. It was actually painful. I used my Not Your Mother's Leave-in Conditioner and that seemed to help a bit. I let it air dry for about 20 minutes and then used a dime sized dollop of  the 5-in-1 Styling Treatment and ran it through my hair. Also not impressed. It did absolutely nothing for me. My hair felt thick (not in a good way) and weighed down. Zero volume, zero smoothness, and it still felt like my brush was struggling to comb through my hair! And just forget about the round brush.. that was a whole other level of failure. There was no way my hair could even cooperate with my round brush to try to oomph up the "promised" volume. 

Lets just say, overall it was not a good hair day. At all. I even went so far as to try everything a second time a few days after my first experience. I was seriously hoping it was just a fluke (or an actual bad hair day). Nope. Same. Exact. Experience. So, I not only had to endure one bad hair day, but TWO! I am so disappointed in this hair care line, and I really wanted to love it. But it just doesn't work for me. I am glad that I didn't splurge on the full size products and I definitely won't purchase it again. 

I'd love to hear if anyone else had similar experiences with this brand, OR if you love it please share! Maybe it just wasn't meant to be for me, but is indeed a good product for some! Everyone's hair is different, after all! 

♥ Nichole

*The trial set I ordered is no longer available, but I have listed a similar set as well as the full sized product links.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Travel Kit $29

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo 8oz $24

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Conditioner 8oz $24

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment 4oz $26

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Walmart Beauty Box

Hi everyone!

So I finally received my Walmart Beauty Box! As you know, I love the idea of these subscription boxes! But, I do have to say that this one left me a little less than impressed. Womp :( In fact, I hate to say this, but I probably could have picked up similar items in my dollar store for the same price of the $5 box. This box also only ships quarterly as of now, so you get one every 3 months. 

The first (and actually only) item that caught my eye was the Burt's Bees White Tea Extract Facial Cleansing Towelettes. I have actually purchased these in the past and really liked them! They smell really fresh and do a decent job removing my makeup! I'll definitely end up using these or saving them for overnight trips/ travel!

I also received a little trial size of Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Meh.. not that I hate it or have anything against it, I'm just very particular about my lotions. This will probably also end up in my travel kit (for "in a pinch" situations). 

Next up is this little travel sized Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash. Meh again. I'm just not a huge fan of Dove body washes. And this one really feels like something I could have picked up in the dollar store to me. Nothing thrilling about receiving it in a subscription box. Plus, it's not like it's a brand new product most of us haven't heard of or tried before. 

There was also a full sized Cover Girl lip gloss in a very unflattering frosty pink shade. Something about the color of this reminds me of an old lady. Not that there is anything wrong with old ladies... but at 28,  don't really want to look like one. It's also a very outdated shade. The whole "frosty" lip gloss look isn't really in style anymore. I feel like they kinda dropped the ball here.

And finally... the bane of my existence... shampoo sample packets. I don't know why, but I cannot stand hair sample packets like this! They make my skin crawl. There is literally like a drop in each packet and trying to use them in the shower is never a fun ordeal. I was "lucky" enough to get not one.. but TWO different brands of hair care packet sets. One is Loreal Advanced Hair Care Color Vibrancy, with a shampoo, conditioner, and "Instant Shock Treatment", whatever that is. The second one was a John Frieda Luxurious Volume packet set of shampoo and conditioner. I've actually tried some of the John Frieda Voluminous line, and didn't mind it. But ugh.. These packets all the time just need to stop! Lol! 

So overall I felt like this box was really disappointing. I felt like it was just a lot of junk really. I mean it is only $5, but there has to be more exciting things that they can do for $5! I don't know how long I'll continue subscribing to this one! 

Thanks for reading! 

♥ Nichole

Walmart Beauty Box

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