Products I Want to Use Up - 2014 - Update

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

I've been meaning to do an update on the list of products I've been trying to use up, and I finally got around to taking the pictures for it. If you want to see my original post, you can find it here.

Here's what I've finished:

• Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer
• Hard Candy Concealer Pencil
• Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in CIA
• ELF shadow from the Day to Night Palette (white with gold shimmer)
• Stila Lip Glaze in Splendor
• Chapstick Lip Balm in Cake Batter
• Silk Naturals blush sample in Candie 
• Silk Naturals blush sample in Tart Light
• Stila Smudge Stick in Anglefish

I did a lot better than I thought. I had forgotten how many items I actually finished since I tend to add a new product when something gets finished. 

Now for the things that I'm still working on and the new things that I've added to my list.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Balancing Foundation in Fair - It's hard to tell because of the opaque tube, but I've made a lot of progress on this foundation. It's the one I've been using every day. I'm guessing I have less than a month left in the tube.

Nars Sheer Matte Foundation in Siberia - Since I've been using the Tarte foundation, I haven't really made progress on this one.

bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer - This is my last foundation primer sample, so I want to use it up before starting in on my full size primers.

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair - I'm really excited to say that I've hit the bottom of the jar on this one. It'll probably still last for quite a while, but I'm still happy to see some progress.

Tarte Park Avenue Princess Bronzer - This is so close to gone. After I took this picture, I broke up what was left and put it in an empty loose minerals jar. It's making it easier to get to the last of the product.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Concealer in Fair - I'd like to get this concealer out of my collection because it separates in the tube. I was honestly quite disappointed with this concealer. I end up squeezing some into a clean jar so I can use a brush to mix it together.

Too Faced Wrinkle Injection Extreme Wrinkle Filler - I haven't made as much progress with this as I should. I still forget to use it more often than not.

Milani eye shadow in French Vanilla (largest pan) - The amount of pan showing on this has gotten a lot bigger. It's still going to take a long time to finish, but I don't mind using it, so that doesn't bother me.

Everyday Minerals eye shadow in Funnel Cake (darker brown) - There's a little more pan showing, but I tend to forget to use this one when I grab a palette with a crease color in it.

Silk Naturals eye shadow in Shantung (smallest pan) - This is an old gift with purchase shade. I picked it because it is such a small pan. I'm hoping it won't take too long to finish.

Everyday Minerals eye shadow in Driftwood (lighter brown) - I haven't really made any visible progress with this shadow.

Everyday Minerals eye shadow mix of Good China and Queen Anne's Lace - I pulled this shadow out because it is an easy lid shade. There's a speck of pan showing.

Tarte fRxtion Lip Scrub and Balm - This is getting to the point where it is a little annoying. I already had a bit of the exfoliator break off, which is something I expected. I don't think this will stay usable for much longer before the bulk of it breaks off.

Sassy blush sample in Cosmopolitan and Silk Naturals Mineral Glow in Crinoline - In hindsight, these weren't the best choices for the spring and summer season. I'm gravitating towards brighter blushes at the moment.  These would take me a while to finish anyway, so we'll see how it goes.

Tarte double-ended lip liner - I keep forgetting to use this before I run out the door in the morning, so my progress has been minimal.

Stila eye liners in Stargazer, Oscar Fish, Tetra, and Moray - Oscar Fish (the brown one) is actually gone. I finished it between the time that I took these pictures and the time I got around to writing this post. These drive me crazy because I can't check to see how much is left in them. They don't roll back down once they are scrolled up.

Urban Decay 24/7 eye liners in Whiskey and Rockstar - I've been focusing on the Stila liners, so I haven't really made any progress with these.

Stila Smudge Crayon mini in Smoke - I added this to my list, tried it once, and I might end up abandoning it. The shade is a bit too dark for me to regularly use as a shadow base, but I think it is too light to use as a liner. We'll see.

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten - This is ambitious. I haven't even made a dent in this yet. The color is much easier than Smoke to use as a shadow base.

bareMinerals Prime Time Eye Shadow Primer sample - I'm liking this eye shadow primer. I've maybe got a week or two left of it before I go back to my standard Urban Decay Primer Potion.

Sassy eye shadow in Embellish - This is a small eye shadow sample that I've already made a bit of a dent in, so I'd like to finish it off. Like the Stila Smudge Crayon, it's a bit darker than what I normally wear during that day, so I'll be mixing it with other colors to make it more wearable for me.

Jordana LipShine in Banana Cream and Sugar Cookie - I love the scent of these, and I like the feel of them too. Sadly, the colors just aren't flattering on my lips. I'm going to try and use them up on the weekends and when I'm just hanging out around the house.

ELF Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder - I bought this a long time ago thinking I would use it for touch-ups during the day. I haven't been using it, so I pulled it out of my purse to use in the morning when I'm getting ready. I scraped this powder out of the pan after this picture so I could mix it with the other powders that I have and like more. 

I'm pretty proud of what I've finished and the progress I've made on the items that I haven't finished yet. I hope to keep the momentum going throughout the rest of this year. 

Are you trying to finish any products? 

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Jordana 12 Hour Made to Last Eye Shadow Pencil in Continuous Almond - Review and Swatches

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

When Milani came out with their limited edition collection of shadow pencils a while back, I tried really hard to find them. I never had any luck though.

I was thrilled then when Jordana came out with a line of shadow pencils that looked nearly identical. Since Milani and Jordana are made by the same company and Milani's shadow pencils get really good reviews, I had really high hopes that Jordana's eye shadow pencils would be pretty good. As an added bonus, the Jordana pencils are less expensive.

Price: $3.99 on Jordana's website, but watch for sales at Walgreens or Kmart

Packaging

 The packaging for these is pretty much standard for an eye shadow pencil. It is the type of pencil that needs to be sharpened, which a lot of people will consider a negative. I also prefer twist up pencils, but it doesn't really bother me too much here. I don't need it to be really precise, so I don't need to worry about a fine point, and I don't use enough where I need to sharpen it after every use.

I do like that the cap on the product is clear and the bottom of the pencil is the same shade as the shadow, making it easy to pick out of a pile of pencil shadows.

Product 

 

This shadow pencil is creamy and nicely pigmented. It also blends out smoothly. As you can see, Continuous Almond is a flesh-toned shade. Although the actual shade is somewhere around a light skintone, it works well in my fair skin as well since I only apply a sheer layer. I would guess the same would be true for medium skintones.

I tested this wearing it on its own over my standard Urban Decay Primer Potion. I did a few swipes across my lid and then blended it out with my fingers from lashline to browbone. I kept the layer fairly thin since I was really just looking to even out the color of my eye area. I had a little bit of creasing after about an hour or two, which was slightly disappointing. However, the creasing wasn't very obvious, and most of the shadow appeared to stay put the entire day. If I had had to leave the house again, I might have done a quick dab with my fingers to clean up the slight creasing, and I wouldn't have worried about it. I can see grabbing for this on those low-maintenance days when I just need to run to the store and don't want to do a full-on eye shadow look.

My favorite way to use this shadow pencil is to use it as an eye shadow base, and that was the actual reason why I purchased it. It is fantastic under powder shadows! Since it evens out the color of the skin underneath, it helps make the colors on top pop. I don't know that it makes powder shadows stay longer because I always use a regular primer underneath, but my shadows still held up all day, so it didn't hurt the wear time either.

Final Thoughts

The Continuous Almond shade of the Jordana 12 Hour Made to Last Eye Shadow Pencils is fantastic!  If you have fair to medium skin and are looking for a flesh-toned shadow base, I would suggest picking this up and giving it a try. At around $4, it's a great deal.

Have you tried the Jordana shadow pencils? Are there other shades I should pick up and try?

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Weekend Haul - Sephora, Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, WalMart

My fiance's cross country team went to sectionals this weekend, and I went along as the female chaperone for the group. It was a nice trip with a really good group of high school kids. The bonus of the trip was that my duties were done after the races were over, and since I had to drive separately, I got to go shopping on my way home. It was an area that I was familiar with, so I had a list of stores that I wanted to check out and a list of things I wanted to try and pick up.

My first stop was the mall since I needed lunch and a potty break (there were only port-a-potties at the races, and I wasn't going to use one of those unless I HAD to). I then stopped in at Sephora. I wasn't planning on picking up much there because I had a 20% off coupon for Ulta, but I wanted to check it out anyway.

Look what I found!

This was a boxed set of The Body Shop that was originally priced at $42, and it was on clearance for $20. I had a new eye cream on my shopping list, and I figured I would spend that much even on a good drugstore one, so I went ahead and got this set. I love face scrubs, and I know vitamin C is good for helping with scars, so can't wait to give these a try.

I also asked for a sample of the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation in 2.0. I got samples in a couple of Urban Decay orders I placed a while back, and I like the foundation, but 2.0 will soon be too dark for me. This way, I should have enough to get me through until I'm back to my normally super-pale self.

After a quick cruise through Bath & Body Works and not getting anything (Victory!), I headed over to Ulta to use my 20% off coupon.

I planned on buying the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation in 0.5 because that will be my shade soon, but it wasn't in stock. Boo! There were a few other items that I considered getting as well that Ulta didn't have, which was kind of nice because I didn't walk out with much makeup. Here's what I did get:

I got a Clarisonic Mia in Turquoise. My skin started freaking out recently, and I caved to the hype. I hope it ends up being worth it. The cleanser came with it, and I picked up two extra sensitive brush heads since they were 20% off. If you've tried any of the other brush heads, let me know what you think of them. I'm thinking of picking up a couple of the deep pore ones when Sephora does their VIB sale next month.

I picked up some haircare things as well. I got the got2b dry shampoo and volumizing powder because I've been wanting to try both of them out, and I grabbed anohter Salon Grafix conditioning cleanser because I'm out and I miss having it (Side note: Salon Grafix is BOGO 50% off at CVS this week).

My current daytime moisturizer is almost gone, so I decided to give the CeraVe one a try.

I purchased the Essence dual pencil sharpener because I've read that it's a good dupe for the Urban Decay Grindhouse, and I wanted a pencil sharpener with a cap. I grabbed the NYX retractable eye liner in Bronze because I never hear anything about these, and they're cheaper than the Slide On liners.

My last Ulta item was the $9 trio of Tarte primers to try out. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try the eye primer or not because I haven't had good luck with Tarte eye primers. If you've tried it, let me know what you think.

My next purchases were from CVS. I have a coupon for $2 off any $4.99 Wet n Wild purchase that I wanted to use. I was hoping the CVS that I stopped at would have the limited edition 8-pan palettes, but I was out of luck there. Instead I picked up two liners, one liquid and one retractable (both of them are brown, even though the packaging looks black in the picture. Sadly, I can already tell that the liquid liner is going to be a dud. It is really red when swatched.

My next stop was Walgreens. I love this particular Walgreens because I've had really good luck finding limited edition items there, and yesterday was no exception. They had the Wet n Wild display with the 8-pan palettes I was looking for. Yippee! I only picked up the Sparkle 'Til Morning palette because I thought it would get the most use.

I also noticed some Sinful Colors eye shadow palettes, and I grabbed one in Barely There Shadow. I can't wait to try it out. I just did quick swatches on my hand, and they are nicely pigmented and apply smoothly.

The last item I picked up from Walgreens was another brown liquid liner. EleventhGorgeous on Youtube loves the Jordana FabuLiner, and I've been wanting to play with liquid liners, so I figured I would give this one a try too. Thankfully, it swatches much better than the Wet n Wild one. It's a nice, deep brown.

My last stop of the day was WalMart. I thought I might pick up a couple of the new Hard Candy items, but nothing interested me there. The few things that I did pick up were a Palmer's Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick, Simple Vital Vitamin Night Cream, and a couple of powder puffs.

That was the end of my shopping adventure. Since I didn't sleep the night before (there were bugs in my hotel room beds - Ewww!), I nearly fell asleep watching a tv show with my fiance, and we were both in bed by 9 p.m. Yep...we live really exciting lives. :-)

Did you get the Ulta 20% off coupon? What did you use it on? Have you had any fun shopping adventures recently?

Products I Threw Away

When I did my last post about products that I finished, I also took pictures of products that I am going to throw away. Notice that I didn't say that I have thrown them away. They have been sitting in a box in my office ever since. Maybe if I do this post, I'll actually let them go in the garbage.

Clearly Natural Essentials Lilac soap - I think my main problem with this soap is that I let it sit for too long. I had it for over a year before I used it. When I did start using it, it didn't smell like lilac anymore (if it ever did). I tried using it, but I finally just gave up.

Meow Snarky blush sample - I normally throw samples like this into my swap box, but due to some stroke of brilliance (please note the sarcasm), I dumped it all into a swirl bowl before I decided that I didn't really like how the color looked on me.

ELF lipsticks - I got these in a swap. I don't really wear lipsticks, and these are starting to look funky around the edges. I would be scared to use them. I never tried them, so I can't comment on the formula.

Everyday Minerals Soft Bronzer - This pulled too orange on me. Again, I had decanted it into a larger jar than it originally came in, and it would be too much work to get it back into a container that would be good for swapping.

Revlon Grow Luscious mascara - This mascara felt tacky to me long after it dried. It drove me nuts.

ELF mascara - This was either a terrible mascara or it was so old that it had pretty much dried up by the time I used it. I could barely get any color on my lashes, let alone any length or volume.

Urban Decay Supercurl mascara - It's been a while since I used this, but I think this was another mascara that felt tacky all day.

Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50 - I didn't like this and stopped using it so long ago that the SPF had expired.

Jordana Squeeze n' Shine gloss in Lollipop - This gloss looked gorgeous in the tube, and I bought it on clearance. Unfortunately, it felt really goopy on the lips.

Got2b Playful cream pomade - I have no idea how long I've had this stuff. I don't use anymore, and I'm tired of having it sitting around.

Aromaleigh Color Infusion Botanical lipstick in Sassy - This was another item I got in a swap. I got it a couple of years ago, so it's time for this to go away.

Everyday Minerals Lavender pressed eye shadows - This pressed palette smells like crayons, which is an indication that it has gone bad. I might keep the compact around for potential future pressing.

Everyday Minerals Fairly Light pressed foundation - This doesn't have the crayons smell, but I've had it for about as long as the pressed shadows. I got it in a swap, and it's too dark for me. Again, I might keep the compact.

ELF Cream Shadows - I got these last year through a deal on Target.com. I think I spent $2 total for both compacts (with free shipping). When I ordered them, the site description said they were cream liners, so I was surprised to see that they were cream shadows when they arrived. They are useless. They crease in two seconds (maybe 5 with a powder shadow on top).

While this doesn't make a noticeable dent in my makeup collection, it's nice to get getting rid of products that I don't use. I need to pull more things for swapping as well. I'm one of those people who tends to keep things around thinking that I might figure out some way to use it in the future, and I rarely do.

Are you good about cleaning out your stash? Do you regularly throw out, swap, or give away items that you don't use?