End of January Beauty Empties 2014

Ola beauty lovers! Let's talk beauty empties. It is a new month and that means I am showing you my end of January empties. I say this every time I post one of these and it is because it is so true. I love watching beauty empties videos and reading up on beauty empties posts because it shows me if people enjoyed the product or not after using it all up. So let's just jump right into it.


1. Dior Nude BB Cream-Sample size
- Really liked this BB cream, only down fall is that this sample was way too light for my skin tone. I am not too sure if they have other shades, but I will definitely check it out when I am in the market for another BB Cream. Dior is a higher end line, so I will have to pinch my pennies to save up for this full size baby.

2. Skin Care Sample Sizes
- I tell everyone and their mom when it comes to skin care samples, and I don't mean the deluxe size samples, I mean the dinky one time use sample packets, no woman or man can ever form a proper opinion on skin care creams based only on one use. So these sample sizes I have no opinions on since I couldn't use them long enough in order to tell you whether they worked for my skin or not.



3. Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital Face Cream- Deluxe Sample size
- This is what I call a proper skin care deluxe sample size. This baby lasted me over a month. Yes I was able to use this for over a month, and guess what? I actually liked this moisturizer. When I apply this product to my face it really feels like I have given my skin a whole bunch of great vitamins. It has a great SPF of 30 so you can wear it under your make up during the day. I used it for both day and night. In this cold freezing weather this high potency face cream really was a treat to my skin, doesn't make me greasy which is my number one benefit I look for when shopping for a face cream. Lancome is another high end brand, if I ever decide to purchase this in full size it will be after I finish all my other face creams I have. Great product, only downfall is it is pricey.


4. Thayer's Alcohol Free Toner: Lavender Witch Hazel
- I love using toners when they are alcohol free. I mean really, who wants to feel stinging when they apply a toner after cleansing their face? I know I don't. I get this toner from the natural food store for about $10. It is pricey but you get 12 fluid ounces and that bottle lasts you for months and months. I purchased this bottle back in April or May time frame and I finished it in January. So that $10 spent on this does stretch out. Love this toner, will always re purchase this.



5. Bath & Body Works Candle in Leaves: Medium size candle
- I am not sure why, but when you do blogging for vlogging on beauty items it just goes hand in hand with loving to burn candles. Everyone knows the Bath & Body Works candles are the most famous in the blog and YouTube world. (If you don't follow me on YouTube please go Subscribe right NOW! MacGirl25Antonietta) This candle is the medium size candle in the leaves scent. This scent is from their 2013 Fall Collection. I just went to buy their 2014 summer candles and I walked out of there with 12 candles. Now I know what you are gonna say, OMG they are so expensive! Yes you are right BUT, the key is to go buy these amazing candles when they are on sale 2 for $25 or 2 for $22 for the large candles, depending where you live. I can not wait to burn the summer scents. Summer is my favorite season so I will be in heaven. Anyways the leaves scent is my favorite fall scent, I have a large candle size in the leaves scent and I am so excited to burn that one. I have 3 and half more fall large scented candles from Bath & Body Works to burn, so I am savoring them as they burn up because I am ready for summer!


6. California Mango Natural Hand and Body Lotion
- Got this on sale for a few bucks at Sally's Beauty Supply. I love this line for nail care. Their cuticle oil is great. However this hand and body lotion was not a favorite of mine. The formula of this product was very watery, runny and it did not seem to be a good deep moisture type of lotion. Lotions with more water in them are great for summer or spring lotions because they are a bit lighter. However I do tan all year round so I need a tripled body lotion to ensure my skin is not thirsty. I have a whole bunch of lotions to get through SO I will not be repurchasing this one....ever.


7. Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy Perfume
- I have a lot of perfumes to get through. This one has been a good one I always repurchase. This is more of a sweet fruity scent. I get a lot of compliments when I wear this perfume. Glad I used it up because I have a lot of bottles to get through. This perfume ranges around $60 or so, more in the middle price range in the perfume world.



8. Smash box Photo Finish Foundation Primer- Sample size
- Smash box primers are great. Love all Smash box primers. They do go for $50 a bottle so they are more on the expensive side but, if you want a good primer this is one to consider. Non greasy, applies smoothly. Keeps oils from breaking through.


9. Lush Roots Hair Treatment- Sample size
- Lush is great to give you sample sizes of products you are not ready to spend the money on until you know you love it. This roots hair treatment is meh. Yes I used the word "Meh". I honestly do not think this treatment does anything to my scalp at all. There is suppose to be peppermint in the product to help stimulate hair growth BUT I did not notice it at all. I personally use essential oils on a daily basis so I usually add a few drops of peppermint oil in my shampoo and it helps with stimulating the scalp for growing hair. Save your money on this treatment and just go with adding a few drops of peppermint oil to your shampoo and believe me you will notice a difference that way instead. Lushes Roots Hair treatment goes for $25-$30. Peppermint oil is $10 a bottle....plus which ever shampoo you use. Just throwing that out there.



10. Marcelle Eyebrow Pencil in Black
- Decent drug store eyebrow pencil. Affordable (around $12) and easy to blend into your brow hairs. Good option if you do not want to spend a lot on brow pencils. Ps. This pencil lasted me well over a year.


11. Maybelline Colossal Cat eye Mascara: Black
- I have a love hate relationship with this mascara. I reviewed this product when I got it and it was great in the beginning (go check out my review on my blog). BUT let this be a warning, when this mascara begins to dry out it gets flaky and starts to fall underneath your eyes. I mean its a drugstore brand so it's cheap. It does what is should until it begins to dry out. Would I repurchase this? Only if it was on sale or if it was waterproof.


12. Clinique Take the day off make up remover- Sample size
- I am going to be frank with you all. This is an average make up remover priced way too high. Don't waste your money on this remover when drugstore brands are better and cheaper in price.



13. Blistex lip balm
- Great drug store lip balm. I will repurchase once I run out of balms. They are affordable and minty. Love the minty flavor in balms.



14. Clarins Hydra Quench Cream- Sample size
- This Clarins moisturizer was good. Hydrated my skin without being greasy. This was a small sample so I was only able to use it for about a week, but still it was nice. My skin soaked up all the moisture from this cream. I have a few more samples of this so will keep you posted on my opinions further once I get through those.


15. Face Mack JM Dead Sea Salt
-  If you have been through my posts, and you follow my blog you know this mask is a frequent appearance in my empties posts. Affordable, get these at Wal-Mart for $1.97. They are a quick and easy way to pamper yourself when you need to wind down from a rough day. Love these one time use masks.





16. Hair Conditioners: Ion & Proclaim
- The ion conditioner is a great every day deep conditioner. It smells like sweet almond oil or Amaretto if you are European you will know what that is. The proclaim is an amazing deep conditioner with argan oil  infused into it. Love the Proclaim argan oil hair mask for once a week. The smell of the proclaim is not the greatest but it is not very strong. If you can get past the scent of it then you will love the results it gives your hair. Sally's sells both products and you can find them on sale frequently.



17. Bath & Body Works Hand Soap: Pumpkin Carmel Latte
- Love these hand soaps. They always make an appearance in my empties time and time again. Just trying to use up my fall scents in soaps as well so I can begin to use the amazing summer scents. 


18. Mango Vera Body Lotion
- Enjoyed this lotion, lasted me for almost a whole year. Huge tub, affordable at Sally's. I prefer this lotion more in the spring and summer months since it is a light lotion.


19. Prevens Paris Makeup Remover wipes
- Hate these wipes, had them in another empties post, these were the last ones I had to get through because I bought them in a deluxe pack from Winners for cheap. The smell stinks, awful, they are moist but they break me out. Something in these wipes does not agree with my skin pH balance. Good ridden.


20. Delon+ Premium cotton rounds
- Love these cotton rounds, they have Aloe and Provitamin B5 in them. They are great to remove eye make up or apply toner. Get these at Costco in a big package. Always will repurchase these.




Well everyone that was my empties for last month. I did finish a bit of stuff, most of it was samples, but I am working on finishing my samples so I can focus more on full sized items.

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Until Next time beauty lovers <3
MacGirl25

December Beauty Favorites 2013

Ola beauty lovers. I just can not believe it is the end of 2013 already. My has the time gone by quick. I remember just starting out this blog in May and thought we have plenty of time till the end of the year.
But that time has crept up on us fast. Today I am going to talk about my monthly favorites. Now a lot of you may ask "What about your yearly favorites?" since we are at the end of the year, and I plan on doing a yearly favorites next week some time, I just need a minute to get together my favorites of the year. So today will be my monthly favorites. I don't know about you all but I just love these types of posts or videos because they tell me what that person enjoys using daily to monthly. Let's just jump right in.

1. California Mango Nail Cuticle Oil
- Every winter my cuticles get to the point where I am afraid to leave my house looking like a crusty handed girl. No lie, so every time I give myself a manicure (every 3 days or so) I drench my nails and cuticles with this oil to ensure the moisture is put back into my nails and cuticles to prevent cracking, peeling, splits, breakage and all that jazz you ladies know about when it comes to natural nails. I have a refillable mango cuticle bottle to put in this little jar so this is my go to cuticle oil. Very affordable at Sally's. You can really use any cuticle oil you have at your finger tips, and if you don't want to go out and buy it, then just stick some olive oil in a little reusable cuticle bottle and use it that way. Very cheap and at your finger tips :) Love you girls!

2. Mango Vera Hand & Body Lotion: Professional size
- Again every winter my skin just gets so dry that I get dry rashes because my skin gets overly dry. So this huge bottle of body lotion has been my go to for months, but especially this month since this month is when it got really cold in Canada. This lotion smells like mango with a hint of Aloe Vera. Very affordable under $10 at Sally's and lasts a long time. I have had this bottle for about a year and use it every day. Doesn't leave your skin greasy and that is why I enjoy it so much!

3. L'Oreal Youth Code Eye cream
- Got this eye cream months back at Wal-Mart for under $10 and it has lasted me so long, I am trying to finish it, I enjoy it a lot as a drug store under eye cream. Doesn't leave your skin greasy, and works great when you apply it before your makeup/concealer. I have dry under eyes so this stuff helps out with moisturizing.

4. Lancome Multi Vital Face Cream (Deluxe Sample size)
- I have so many face creams to get through, and so far out of the ones I have tried, I really enjoy this Lancome one. The amount of moisture built into this cream is phenomenal. This has SPF 30 which is an added bonus, and when I apply it before my foundation, it applies smoothly and doesn't leave behind any greasiness. Love this cream this winter. I can imagine the regular tub is expensive so I will hold off buying it until I finish the rest of my creams. #Beautyloverproblems

5. Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy Perfume
- Been a fan of Britney Spears since I was 9. Don't judge lol anyways, loved her perfumes as well. Midnight Fantasy is a great perfume for those who do not like the strong scents out there. This perfume you can spray on a few times and the strength will not increase from when you apply only one spray. Very subtle and smells soft. This perfume has been my go to all month long, I have been enjoying it. You can get these perfumes at your drug store.

6. Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Bad to the Bronze"
- These are great alternatives to the MAC paint pots in you don't want to go spend a lot of money on the MAC paint pots. I have a few colors in my collection but this month I have been using the Bad to the Bronze shade. Love this color for all over the eye lid by it self with nothing else. Simple and classic especially for those days you are rushing out the door. These color tattoo's go for $7-$9 depending on where you get them. Love these baby's. Word on the street is that there are limited edition ones that are matte and are the same color as your skin tones but I haven't been able to find them. But nonetheless these are great.

7. Sigma Eyeshadow Base in "Persuade"
- Another lazy route I have been going is applying a shadow base and some liner with mascara and out the door I go. When I do that I have been going to my Sigma shadow base in Persuade. Love this pink flesh tone. It just makes your look so much more crisp and simple. Love it. I think these bases go for around $10 give or take a few bucks. The staying power of this base is long lasting and keeps the look fresh throughout the day. Love it. This is also another dupe for Macs Painterly paint pot.

8. Clinique Intense Chubby Stick Lip Balms
- Now these balms I have done a more detail review a few weeks ago. But I just love, love, love these sticks. They are so pigmented, moisturizing, and they don't chap my lips like matte lipsticks do in the dead cold of winter. Love these, I now have six shades, I got a few from Christmas :)

9. Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
- For those days when I use shadows, my go to palette this month has been the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I received it in the mail at the end of November and I did not put it down once this month. I also did a more detailed review on this palette, so go check out my previous posts! Anyway, love this palette, love the rose gold theme, and I love how its a more subtle palette that I can work with for work on an everyday basis.

10. Clarisonic Mia
- I have had this baby for two months now and I have been using religiously since it arrived. Love this thing to exfoliate and polish my skin. The amount of dirt it removes that I didn't see it before is mouth dropping. I don't know what I would do without this baby now. It is expensive, but it is so worth it in the long run. I have the Clarisonic Diaries posts to tell you my journey with this baby but I must warn you, it is a love hate relationship. Go check out my posts and you will see why!
http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/12/clarisonic-diaries-dec-6th-2013.html
http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/11/the-clarisonic-diaries-nov-23-2013.html
http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/search?q=clarisonic+diaries 

11. TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Protection
- This is one of the most well known products over YouTube. This is my heat protect-ant I use every time I flatiron my hair. Love this stuff. Doesn't leave your hair greasy. Keeps your hair soft and silky and is VERY affordable, about $5. Love this stuff so much that I have a back up of it. Yup I am not ashamed.

12. Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum (Sample Size)
- Got this as a sample at the Toronto Hair Show and I have been using it since March and its been lasting me ages. Love it! It makes my hair feel so silky and soft after I blow dry it. It makes me want to caress my hair all day. I definitely notice a difference when I don't use it and that should tell you something! I am not sure what a regular size bottle would cost, but if you can get your hands on the sample size it should last you a while. Love it, been using it all month long.

Well ladies and gents, that is all of my favorites for this month. Hope you enjoyed, and I wish all of my fellow readers a Happy and Safe New Years! Don't forget, if you are drinking, DON'T DRIVE!

P.s. Don't  forget to check out my YouTube Channel: MacGril25Antonietta

Until next time beauty lovers <3
MacGirl25

October Beauty Favorites 2013

Ola Beauty Lovers! Yes I am back with in twelve hours again to give you more love :)

Today is October Beauty Favorites! I have a tone of stuff so bare with me and if you can go get your self a hot cup of something to enjoy while reading this novel :)

1. It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Conditioner with Keratin
- I LOVE THIS STUFF! My hair has been so healthy since I use this in my damp hair after I shower and towel dry before I blow dry! My ends have never felt so healthy for such a long period of time until I began using this. Remember a little goes a long way so a couple of sprits through out your hair will help the following: Maintenance if Keratin straightening treatment, increases styling and manageability, perfect for all hair types, replaced lost protien, protects the natural keratin in hair, protects against heat, restores hydration balance, detangles, defrizzes and adds shine, strengthens hair structure, seals cuticles for extra silky hair. That is a mouth full and does wonders! It is a bit pricey, around $16 - $20 but well worth it! You can find this at Target, Trade Secrets, Or your local Wal Marts hair salons have them as well.

2. Two Mini spray bottles filled with my own concauction
- Why two you may ask? Well one bottle is just plain old water. I use this to spritz on my brushes before applying foundation or even pigments. The secont bottle is water with tea trea oil to act as a brush disinfectant. I may not have the time always to clean my brushes so this is an in expensive way to do a quick disinfect before using brushes that you have used over the last couple days. And if its wet when you apply to your face you shouldn't worry because tea trea oil is great for your skin! Go check out my article on benefits of Tea Trea oil!



3. Britney Spears Perfume in Midnight Fantasy
- This has been my go to perfume all month. I loved the original fantasy fragerence but the midnight one is more subtle and lighter to use. It is a sweet scent but its tolerable. Enjoyable for me any way.

4. IBD Reconstrux Nail oil : rebuild and Renew Nail Growth
- This nail oil is my #1 favorite nail oil to activate my nail growth. I had a rough month with my nails breaking and splitting from stress and weather so I had to take this puppy back out and start using it again. I got this at Sally's beauty supply for about $10. It takes a few weeks but there is a difference in my nails when I use it religiously. So worth it!



5. Sephora By OPI: Non Fat Soy Half Caff (Nude Nails)
- Since my nails are shorter at the moment I love wearing nude nails at this time. I hate it when my nails are all messed up, broken, short, un-even so nude nails are my go to for those times of the year. This nail polish color is one of my favorite nudes to wear since it blends well into my skin tone, I am brown biscuit right now so it looks great.

 

6. Proactiv Solution: Refining Mask
- I have massive break outs around that time of the month. My hormones just do not want to simmer down. So this refining mask has been helping me out tones! I use it all over my face every night when I am getting those break outs for about 3 days and poof those suckers go away! It is a bit expensive, full size bottle is around $30 but it is well worth it because it works!



7. MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC45
- I have been tanning so I am using a darker shade in powder foundation to warm up my face. My skin is still oily from the warmer month so I can not yet use liquid foundation. I need the weather to geta bit more colder for me to switch over. I usually have combination skin, but in the warmer months I am oily, and colder month I am drier. Anyway love this powder foundation. Been my favorite power foundation since high school! Great coverage, and it is buildable if you want more coverage.

 

8. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette
- I won't go too much into this one, since I have a review on it. Go check out my review on this one in a previous article! Love this palette. It is great for everyday use. Multipurpose for different areas of the face which is great! Such a great little compact to travel with and the shadows are so buttery and blendable. Love it! Sephora has this for around $27.  Check out my review in the link below:

http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/10/urban-decay-naked-basics-palette-review.html




9. NeoStrata Moisture Infusion Cream (sample size)
- I got this delux sample size face cream and was hesitant to try it. Lately when I try sample sizes of face creams I had bad luck with them. They were either too greasy or they smelled awful. But this Neo Strata Moisture infusion face cream is a delight to use. Very moisturizing without being greasy (thank the Lord) and it smells good. Those are my main two items I look for in a moisturizer, also that it does not break me out and that has not happened. Yay!

10. Nivea Mint & Minerals lip balm
- This is my favorite lip balm. Very affordable, and leave your lips smooth. It does not cause any cracking which is great. The light minty sensation is awesome because it is not over powering. You can get this at your local drug store.



11. Revlon Color Stay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in #1 Copper Spice
- This little quad is amazing for every day use. I love this color quad for work mostly, but even for the night time as well. The colors are pigmented well. They do blend great, the only issue is they can be a tiny bit chalky. But what can you do for a $11 quad you can not complain. I have another quad from the same line called #5 Blushed Wines. Both quads are neutral colors. Copper Spice is more of a brown earthy tone neutral, and blushed wines is more of a pink tone neutral. Both are great but I use Copper Spice the most.

#1 Copper Spice

#5 Blushed Wines

12. Urban Decay Naked BB Cream
- I love Urban Decay products. My second favorite make up line by far (With MAC taking first place of course) This Naked BB Cream is amazing. It is a great formula that really does what it says on the bottle. Optical blurring is really the best feature in this formula. Of course it has a primer to prime the skin, and thats great but the optical blurring portion of it is my favorite. When you apply this beauty balm on your skin it truly blurs out any redness and tones down the discoloration areas on your skin. Amazing. The price point is on the bit expensive side but realistically it is worth the price. Sephora is selling them for about $34. I know it is steep, but well worth it in the end. Trust me on this one, I would not tell you otherwise if it didn't work out for me. Keep in mind my skin tone is Olive toned, and I have oily combination skin. The only down side about this product is the scent. Not the best scent but its managible. Go check out my link below to my full review on this product I did back in August.
http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/08/urban-decay-naked-skin-beauty-balm.html






















13. Benefit They're Real Mascara (Sample size)
- So I got this sample size as my birthday gift from Sephora and I wasn't fond of knowing the brush head was a spikey plastic material. But I shouldn't have judged until I tried it. Boy is this mascara great. It makes my lashes look twice as long then they are naturaly. Volume wise, it gives volume but not enough volume as I would like. A normal bottle size is $30 and I don't know if I would spend that much on mascara when it only does one out of the two features I look for. But It still made my lashes look great, so I am enjoying it while it lasts. Ps. I have a second sample of this baby so I should be ok for a while LOL.




















14. Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer
- I love this eye lid primer before applying shadows. This primter is a one shade fits all type and really cancels out the discoloration on the eyelids big time. Sometimes I don't even apply shadow because I love the natural color the primer gives my skin. Amazing. Sephora sells this product for $22. I have had it for a while so it does last, but the packaging could be better. The doe foot applicator is great, but as you get to the bottom of the tube, it is hard to scrape out the rest of the product since the applicator doesn't go that far down the bottle. A squeezy tube would help. I love the product just the packaging could improve in order to not waste product.



















15.L'oreal Smoldering Eyeliner in Black
- Love this smoldering eyeliner for the water line. I use this to smudge on the top lash line as well if I am doing a smokey effect, however the waterline this baby lasts and that is what I want. Very inexpensive $8 or so and even though it's a smaller stick the product does last long because you only need a little bit to go a long way! You can find this at your local drug stores.

16. Marcel Eyebrow Pencil in Black
- This is my favorite drug store brow pencil by far. I have tried a few brow pencils from the drug store in the past and this one is the best one. The formula is very creamy and therefore makes the application to the brows more enojoyable. Less work to blend in which is a bonus AND because the formula is creamy and pigmented you can also use this baby as an eyeliner too! Yup two in one. Love those type of products. I purchased this a while back and it has lasted me about 1 year and I am still going with it. Granted its coming to the end but still lasts long.
 

17. Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in Sandstorm
- This one is new discovery for me but since I purchased it I can not stop using it. Cheap product and keeps your skin matte. I bought it a bit lighter for setting under the eye (since I don't want to finish my ben nye banana powder) and I find myself using it in my T zone as well. Got it for $6. Pretty impressed with Rimmel lately. Keep in mind I have combiniation oily skin. So those girls out there who are dry skin, you may not enjoy this as much as I do. :) Just saying.


18. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Peach Satin
- I was scared to try this but once I did, I fell in love! These blushes are so affordable and they blend so well into the skin that I just can't believe how great they work with my skin. Yes they are cheaper, they do not last 14 hours onthe skin, which is a bummer but really all you need them to last is for an 7 to 8 hour work shift. Anything more then that is a bonus. I usually use my real techniques contour brush to blend this product out and it works so amazing. You will be able to find them in any drug store.
 

19. The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Butter
- I love using this baby on my hands at night before I go to sleep. It is a body butter so it does have a tiny bit of greasyness to it which I personally do not mind since I am going to bed, my hands will not be wondering around doing things for them to slip. In the morning my hands feel so soft and hydrated, wow I can not say enough. I love those body butters. I think the Body Shop is a Canadian store, but if you are interested in checking them out they are having a 40% off sale right now (November 2-3 2013) so go check it out!
http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/shop-by-line.aspx#/shop-by-line.aspx

20. Real Techniques Brushes
- I have the more expensive Sigma brushes and those are great, however Real Techniques brushes founded by a fellow YouTuber from Pixiwoo Channel are by far the best most affordable brushes anyone can have. The sets of 5 to 3 brushes per set go for about $18-$20 a set! Which is amazing! The bristles are so soft, easy to use, easy to blend make up with. They are great and to wash them is so easy as well. I have been loving these three brushes below the most this month from the Real Techniques Brush line. If you are a beginner or even a make up proffessional these are a must have in your collection. I swear to you that you will not regret the purchase.

Multi Task Brush
Contour Brush
Domed Shadow Brush






 Well that is it for my October Favorites! Thank you all so much for reading, I truly appreciate all your support!

Until Next Time Beauty Lovers ❤️

MacGirl25