Finish 13 by Halloween Update #2

Hello my lovely readers, today I bring for you my 2nd update for my Finish 13 by Halloween project pan. Now, I know it is the 3rd and I should have posted on the 30th of September, but school and work have officially overtaken my life. I did however take the photos on that day, and that is why the quality of them isn't the greatest. Anyway, there are a lot of products so I will just get right into it.

All 13 of my products.

So, I guess I will start with face products.  The Garnier BB Cream has some considerably less product in it. The Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer, I honestly don't know what my progress on this is. I can't get the air out of the top and it is hard for me to see through the packaging. This is one of the items that I am pretty sure I won't be finishing. The Yaby Natural Finish foundation has also got some progress on it. If I just use it more exclusively like I had planned, I probably would have been done with it by now. For the past week I have been only using it and I found a way to make it work better with my skin so I don't mind using it as much as I was before. I have a lot more pan on the Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural. I'm pretty confident that I will be finishing that one up soon. I have finally hit pan on the Mac Studio Finish Concealer. I was working on only one side, but then realized that that wouldn't have shown up in the photos and so I started in on the middle again. Because of how I was using it though, I am almost done with half of on side. 

Next, I have a variety of the other products. First is the Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black. I am not making the greatest progress on this and since I am only using it to tightline, I wasn't expecting much. I will continue to use it for the rest of the month, but I will be happy to use something that won't transfer everywhere as much as this one does. Next is the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded. My progress with this is alright. I didn't really start using it until I finished with my Finsih 5 by Fall project pan because I had a base in there that I was using. The goal is to use half of that I have left of this, but I'm not sure that will happen. I have the Salon Perfects Brow Pencil, and I made good progress on this. It won't be finished based on the steady progress I have been making, but it will be pretty close and that is exciting. I'll be glad to move that out of my collection and use my new brow products. As for lips in this challenge, I have the Almay liquid lip balm in blooming and the Maybelline Babylips in Twinkle. Both have good progress on them. I'm not too worried about finishing either one of these. 

As for the products that I have finished for this project, I have three! My Maybelline Babylips in Cherry Me was a pain to finish. It got really goopy towards its end. Also, the red wasn't a very flattering one on me and because I was trying to finish it, it was always splotchy and uneven looking. As for the other 2, they were both from the ELF Blush and Contour duo. I hit pan on the blush a lot earlier than the bronzer. I will probably choose to finish up this blush in a future pan because I really enjoyed using it. The bronzer however was another story. It looked a lot better as an all over shadow than as a bronzer. It was always really splotchy and uneven on me. Also, hard pan keeps forming over it, and it is annoying to have to deal with it. I may just toss it once I finish the blush completely, but for now I may just continue to use it as an allover shadow look on the days when I don't have too much time to get ready. 

So there you have it. That was a lot to get through. I decided that if I finish 7 products from this project I will be proud of myself. The main goal for my doing all of these projects is to try to get through my products, make sure I am getting my moneys worth, and to make sure I use things before they go completely bad and become unusable. While I may put them on the side after the project is over, I won't completely just forget about them. Constantly having to use a product really lets you know if you like it enough that it would be considered repurchasable. 

What I think I will be able to finish in the next month:

Maybelline Baby Lips in Twinkle

Mac Minieralized Skinfinish Natural

Mac Studio Finish Concealer

Yaby Natural Finish FOundation

Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Blooming.

Well, until my next post my fellow beauty lovers. 

Finish 5 by Fall Final Update

Hello lovelies, I write for you today my final Finish 5 by Fall update. This was a tough one, but I finished 5 products and my first project pan was a success! 

I wasn't too worried about the concealers, and they were pretty easy to get through. I will be repurchasing the Maybelline Fit Me concealer but not the Rimmel Wake Me Up. 

The Maybelline BabyLips in Coral Crush was pretty easy to get through, but I won't be purchasing any more of them until I get through my entire collection of them. I probably won't repurchase any even after that. I don't feel like they are as moisturizing as I would like. 

The Rimmel Stay Matte powder was a mess towards its end. I ended up just crushing it and turning it into a loose powder to get through it. I have already repurchased, but I know that I won't be putting it in my travel makeup bag because the packaging is terrible and ruined everything the first time round. 

be a bombshell cream shadow in submissive. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it through a quarter of the product. I started to really pack it on in the end honestly. I am relieved to be able to put it away now though. It is alright, but if I used too much it would crease. I much prefer the Maybelline Color Tattoos over this. 

I hadn't anticipated that the Rimmel Scandaleyes nude eyeliner would be so hard to get through. As you can see from the markings on my paper, I didn't make it through a lot. I like this product, so I am not too worried about having to continue using it. I already own a back up of that as well. This was the one product I couldn't finish, but I only needed to finish 5.

Overall, I think this was a huge success. I am currently working on minimizing my collection and put myself on a no-buy until I completely finish 10 products, so finishing these definitely helped. Also having to consistently use a product really gives you a sense of if you like it or not. 

Empties #3 - Hits and Misses

Hello lovelies, I have for you some more empties. I am going to get right into it since there is a bit to get through. 

1. Revlon Bold Laquer mascara - liked it enough but not enough to repurchase it. I think the regular grow luscious in the green and silver packaging is better than this. 

2. equate makeup wipes - I don't use wipes unless I have a total cake face on and my cleanser doesn't feel like it will be enough. I do use these to clean up while I am doing my makeup and when I go on a swatchfest (happens at least 3 nights a week). They work well enough and are inexpensive. I have repurchased these time and time again.

3. realtree for her - I got this perfume in an ipsy bag I believe. I was so sad when it finished because I am obsessed with the way that this smells. If I was any good at describing smells I would explain this but I am not so I won't. I will be purchasing a full size!

4. Real Techniques sponge - I have already purchased a new one. It is really inexpensive and I love the way that it applies makeup. This one was just getting old and started to crack so I got some when Ulta had 20% off. I also got all 3 of my sisters using it now too.

5. Chapstick in Strawberry - I know I am not the only that counts actually finishing a chapstick and not losing it somewhere as a victory. This is my favorite chapstick and once I get through all of mine it will probably be the only one I purchase. Have already repurchased, love this flavor!

6. elf makeup remover pen - i love this for when I get a random mascara dot on my brow bone --happens often-- or when I want to achieve a perfect wing. It is only $3 and I have purchased it countless times already. Made the mistake of not closing one of them properly though and so it dried out pretty quick. 

7. Bare Republic sunscreen - I didn't actually finish this, however I am tossing it because it separated. I don't know how long I have had it, but it wasn't that long. Will not purchase a full size of this. 

8. Benefit Porefessional - I like this primer, but I am not sure I would actually purchase a full size. I like the one from dr. brandt more. Once I get through all of my primers and samples, I will probably purchase that one over this. I don't hate getting samples of it though, just not sure I would spend that much money on it.

9. elf Makeup Mist and Set - I really like this for daily use. It doesn't always have the best spray, but it works well enough. I have already repurchased it. 

10. Mary Kay black eyeliner - If you seen my original Finish 5 by Fall you would know that this was one of the 5, however it was incredibly dried out. I didn't like this too much when I originally got it so I won't be repurchasing it. I have tried far better liners than this one. 

So there you have it. These are all the products that I have finished recently. Keep in mind that this does not include the products that I use for my project pans that I have going on. I keep those in a separate bag so that I can keep track of what I have going on. 

Current Reads September 2015

Hello people of the internet, so here for you today I have yet another current reads for you. I guess I will go from left to right. Lets just pretend that my planner isn't there, I couldn't be bothered to move it. 

1. apples & chalkdust by Vivki Caruana

This is a really cute read. Its just little stories and things of encouragement for teachers. Caruana uses her own experiences as well as from a couple of other teachers. Really cute read for anyone going into education.

2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

This is I believe the fourth book I am reading from Rowell. I have come to appreciate her adult contemporary novels and this is one of them. I just started reading it, so I don;t know how much I like this one, but so far it seems like an easy read. Sometimes I need something like this to get me out of a reading slum. 

3. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

Working through this pretty slowly; possibly because I have already read it before. I go to this whenever I am in the mood to read and just don't know what to read. I know when the story develops a bit more I won't be able to put it down, but it is a bit slow in the build for now and that is how it reads.

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Still working on reading all the Harry Potter books. Clearly I got stuck on the third one. There is nothing wrong with the book, but like with the Sparks book, it is taking a minute to get started. I realized this with the other 2 as well. Once I get to the good part, I am sure I won't be able to put it down.

So there you have it. I am doing a lot of reading for my classes at the moment and so my personal reading is taking a bit of a back seat. I am so far off from my goal of 24 books by the end of the year, but I will keep at it. I will be happy if I could read even 12 honestly. Happy reading everyone. 

Finish 13 by Halloween Update #1

Hello lovelies, today I write for you about yet another project pan that I am doing.

Right off the bat, you may have noticed that I chose to change one of my products. I didn't realize how hard it would be to get through the cream shadows. I have a bronze one in my Finish 5 by Fall project, and at this point I am really sick of the color and I can't wait to not have to base my eye looks on that. I chose instead another Maybelline baby lips in Twinkle.

Here is my progress on some of the face products. I hit pan on the blush! Really excited about that and consider that to be one product done because I only wanted to hit pan on it. Relieved that I don't have to use this anymore and have already started using my more Fall appropriate blushes. The bronzer has a decent dip in it and I'm close to hitting pan I think. I don't mind having to use this everyday. I have actually been using it on my eyes with either the bronzer all over the lid or just in the crease with the blush as my lid shade. With a bronze base it comes out rather nice. I used the yaby foundation only a couple of times, I think I am going to start focusing on just using that and putting the bb cream on the side. I don't know my progress on the pixi primer because I can't see through it, but I am using it everyday and I think I am making decent progress on it. The Garnier BB Cream has been getting used just about everyday and I think I'm close to actually finishing it up, but I want a break from it. I start school in a week and I don't mind using that whereas the yaby foundation isn't my favorite. I have used the mac mineralized skin finish a couple of times as well, I think I have hit more pan on it than I already had. I'm still working on my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, but as soon as that is done, which will be soon, I think this will be gone before I know it. Especially if I use it as a foundation.

I think the product I have made the most progress on is the Almay Liquid Lip Balm. I enjoy using it on top of my lipsticks or just on its own. The babylips in cherry me is taking longer than I thought to get through, but I will make it through. You can kind of see that I am working on clearing the edges of both the color tattoo and the concealer. I am about to start making more progress on the concealer because I am just about a day or two away from finishing my fit me concealer. I think I just want to use half of both of those and would consider them a win for this project and just maybe add them to future projects. The 2 pencils are taking way longer than I expected they would. They each just made about one line on the paper difference. I sharpen that brow pencil a lot, but it isn't going anywhere. Honestly it is a little discouraging, but I will continue on. There is no progress on the twinkle babylips because I just switched it out last night. 

So there you have it. Not much progress, but I still have 2 months and am confident that I can make a lot more progress. My goals for the next update is to be done with the babylip in Cherry Me and hit pan on the bronzer. I think I will also be able to get though the yaby foundation in the next month. 

Finish 5 by Fall Update #2

Hello lovelies, today I have my second update for my Finish 5 by Fall Project pan.

So, I have made a bit of progress since my first update. One thing you might have noticed is that I have repressed, yes again, my Stay Matte powder. It keeps falling apart and am so happy to be almost done with it. However, this way I can mark it a lot easier and can see more of my progress, I don't remember when I repressed it. 

Here are the 2 products I have finished so far. The babylips was pretty easy to get through, my lips are looking more plump because I was constantly applying lip balm. I was kind of hard use towards the end because of the plastic, so I did end up just using my finger a lot more which I'm not a fan of, but who cares because it is gone now! The concealer is a lot more empty than it looks. I can actually see through the bottom of the container. Was really happy to finish it because I have never finished a concealer before, in fact it is I think the first not chapstick or mascara makeup item that I have ever finished! I won't be repurchasing either one of these even though they were nice to use while I had them. 

Here are the products that I have left to finish in the next month. The Fit Me concealer is really close to being finished. The line I drew is not very accurate but oh well. I will probably be done with it this week. I made decent progress with the powder since I started the project. I finally started making decent progress on the Scandeleyes eyeliner. Using it to clean up around my eyebrows has been helping with moving the product along. As for the eye base I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but I have made some incredible progress on this. I decided that I only want to use half of it and so I really started focusing on one corner, where you can see that I have hit pan. It also has a pretty good dip in it overall. 

I don't think I can finish the eyeliner or half of the eye base within the next month. The powder will probably be a little bit harder to get through as well. I will be happy with at least a quarter of the eye base gone and the pencil to be half of what I originally started with. We will see what happens in this next month though! Regardless I am proud that I am really sticking to this challenge! 

Product Review: Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

Hello lovelies, today I have a review of the Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation.


The claims: took them straight from Rimmel's website. It is available in 10 different shades.

Instant perfect coverage that feels extra comfortable and lasts all day

- Blends flawlessly, seamlessly, instantly and easily into the skin
- Sweat, heat, humidity and transfer proof for up to 25 hours

I have used this foundation in many different ways; I tried with and without different primers, I used different methods of application: beauty sponge, buffing brush, fingers. I couldn't get this to work for me. I have what I thought was normal to combination skin, however whenever I use this I feel like I have the oiliest skin. It doesn't sink into my skin the way I like my foundations to, it kind of just sits on top. I felt like it never lost the initial tacky feeling that some foundations have before they set. I think this is because there is a serum built into the formula. Me and this foundation just did not get along. It broke apart on my nose, emphasized my pores and clung to dry patches. The thing about it that was the worst though was the fact that at the end of the night I was able to literally take off the foundation just by touching it. It would slip and slide under my touch.

However, my sister whose skin is a little more on the dry side loved the foundation. I was happy that it didn't just sit in my collection and take space. So I guess if you have dry skin this is one for you.

I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to this foundation working out for me because of how much I love Rimmel. Guess I'll just stay on the hunt for a perfect drugstore foundation! Leave me some recommendations!