N.Y.C. New York Color Bronzer REVIEW

I love a good bronzer, especially if it's cheap. And even more especially if it's cheap, matte, and not too orange-y. Luckily for me, NYC makes one that is all of the above. The full name of it is N.Y.C. New York Color Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder. I have it in the shade 720A Sunny. The storse in my area only carry this shade, so I'm not sure if it's available in any other colors. I purchased mine from WalMart for a little less than $3. It comes in a regular ol' compact with a mirror and contains 9.4g (0.33 oz).  The compact closes completely and stays closed so it is portable and great for traveling.

It's a nice neutral bronze shade that's completely matte with no shimmer at all, which can be difficult to find in inexpensive bronzers. It's perfect for oily skin, but shouldn't be too drying for dry skin. If you do have dry skin, you might want to make sure you moisturize really well beforehand just in case it's too drying, or just test it to see. For me, it goes on evenly and lasts all day. It's not a super dark color, but also isn't too light and is buildable. There is a bronzer made by Rimmel London that I prefer the shade of a little bit more, but it also costs a couple dollars more, so I use this NYC one way more frequently.

I honestly love this bronzer! I love that it's inexpensive and is of great quality. I would definitely recommend this bronzer and will continue to repurchase it.

Bonne Bell My Style Concealer REVIEW

I have olive skin tone that will scar from the slightest touch. Ok, not actually just from touch, but anytime I have a breakout, a scratch, or a mosquito bite I'm always left with a scar that generally hangs around for at least a couple of months. So, I'm always in need of a good concealer to hide those pesky little imperfections. In addition, I also have serious dark under eye circles that have been there practically all of my life.

I was at my local WalMart in hopes of finding the much raved about Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer, but of course, in my little town they were out of it. But, right across from it were the Bonne Bell products, including the Bonne Bell My Style Concealer in a little squeeze tube that looked quite like the Hard Candy one, which also looks similar to the loved-by-many Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer. I immediately developed high hopes that this would be one of those secret-little-inexpensive-makeup-miracle products.

While I realize that Bonne Bell products are typically targeted towards young customers, such as tweens and even little girls, many adults love their lip glosses, especially the Lip Lites, and their bronzers, such as Blend n Glow (I personally didn't care for this one though). For less than $4, I figured this concealer would be worth the risk.

Unfortunately, it didn't really live up to my dreams and high hopes for it. For me, the concealer just doesn't cover that well. It needs to be more pigmented or at least a thicker consistency to work. It honestly doesn't seem that much different than a foundation. And if I try to blend it out, it mostly blends away. This certainly is not for covering blemishes. The staying power of it is also seriously lacking. It definitely seemed to fade away pretty quickly. Though I usually use products in colors of the medium to tan category, I chose this one in Cover Up (Light), which really does look more like a medium shade. It is also available in the shades Secret (Fair), Hidden (Medium), and Hush-Hush (Dark).

I also have issues with the packaging. It comes in a thin squeeze tube and contains 0.33 fl oz (10 ml). The squeeze tube part is fine, but on the end of the tube where the concealer comes out there is a connected brush. This would be fine if the brush was fantastic and just the right amount of product dispensed, but it does not. On my skin, the texture of the brush is fine, but it's a little too big to use on small spots and leaves the concealer too streaky for under my eyes. It also makes getting out the right amount of product difficult, because you don't know if you have enough out until it's all globbed up and gooping off of the brush, and then you have out too much. To make it work for me, I just squeeze it a little until I can see some concealer on the attached brush and then use my own brush and dip it into it. Another concern is that I imagine it will be quite difficult to clean and sanitize the brush part without dispensing any of the concealer or getting moisture into the tube.

I have been using this and will continue to use this on days when I'm not wearing much makeup and don't need my makeup to last that long. I mostly just use it on such days to cover the dark circles under my eyes and on larger areas such as my chin and nose to even out my skin.  Though I don't like it as a spot concealer, it would work decently as a handy, on-the-go, touch-up foundation.  Overall, I would not recommend this as a spot coverage or under-eye concealer, but possibly as a very light concealer to even out larger areas. I most likely will not repurchase this.

Lovely Highlighter for Cheekbones, Browbones, etc.

     I've been on the hunt for a great highlighter to give my cheekbones that lovely "glow from within" look. I wanted one that would look natural and highlight my cheekbones with subtle shimmer, not glitter. Since I'm pretty much strictly a drugstore makeup user, my options were limited. I found one that seemed nice, Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls, but, at about $14, it cost more than I wanted to spend. So the search went on. I had heard that a few of Hard Candy's blushes made for nice highlighters, but I tried one and I didn't really notice it on my skin at all. Then, it finally hit me, why not try a shimmery eyeshadow? Duh! There's a wide variety of drugstore brand eyeshadows as reasonable prices to choose from.  The next time I was at Walmart, I came across Cover Girl's Professional Eye Enhancers eyeshadow in Champagne, which is a pretty, very subtly shimmery eyeshadow in a creamy beige-ish color. It works fantastically! It provides just enough shimmer to highlight without having annoying pieces of glitter or being too over the top. And at only around $3, it's a steal as far as highlighters go! If the shade Champagne doesn't work for you, you can still check out other eyeshadows in various brands and colors to find what does work for you.

Ouick Tip: Longer Lasting Lip Color

For lip color that really lasts and can be super cheap as well, try using lip liner as the main lip color. Simply line and fill in your entire lips with a lip liner in the color of your choice, then use your finger to blend it all together (If you like a really crisp, lined looked this isn't necessary). Let it sit for a bit to make sure it is completely dry and set in, and then dab some lip balm over it to moisturize if desired (just be careful not to wipe off the lip stain when doing this). This is also great because it also works like a lip stain so you don't get that lipstick-y look but still get color that lasts a long time. Some lip liner brands I like include the super cheap Wet 'n Wild and New York Color (NYC), which only cost about $1. I also really like Rimmel's 1000 Kisses Stay On lip liner, which costs more but is long lasting and smooth.

Review: Beall's Outlet

My local, tiny, little mall (aka: "the small") got a Beall's Outlet store a little less than a year ago(I think). After checking it out & shopping at it numerous times, I'm ready to do a personal review on it. The main thing that Beall's Outlet offers is clothes. According to their website(click on the link below to go to it), "Customers can find brand name apparel and accessories for the entire family at up to 70% off department store prices." They even have where every Friday you save 10% off of everything and other special discount days for seniors. So, basically, this type of store is perfect for bargain shoppers like me!
As far as their clothes go, I haven't been that impressed with what they have to offer to people in my age range(almost 23, kinda at that in between stage between being a young 20-something and being an actual adult). I have been able to find some good basic khaki and brown pants for work at great prices. I've also found some cute little skirts. But, for the most part, I feel the clothes they have are more for older women or younger girls. They also have children's and men's clothes but I haven't looked at them. But, I have an almost-23-year-old boyfriend that has looked at the clothes for men, but wasn't impressed and didn't find anything.
Though I'm not too wild about their regular clothes, I do like what they offer for pajamas and lounge wear. I've seen lots of really cute pajama pants, pajama sets, pajama shorts, robes, and cute little night gowns in a variety of prints and styles at terrific prices. I've gotten a couple pairs of silky pajama shorts for only about $3-$4. (FYI, see my future post about the amazing use for silky pj shorts!) I have also gotten some nice night gowns and robes for my mom from there.
They also have shoes for men, women, and children. They have a decent selection of shoes. I was able to find a cool pair of boots that I wear as rain boots for only about $12, which is cheaper than any rain boots I had looked at. I think with their shoes, at times you might luck up and find cool shoes, but other times you might not.
Now, on to my favorite thing that Beall's Outlet offers, jewelry and accessories! I love jewelry and Beall's Outlet has tons of marvelous jewelry at unbeatable prices. They don't really offer any "real" jewelry (like the kind in fancy little boxes that stays locked up in glass cabinets and cases), except for some sterling silver stuff. But, what they do have is great beaded jewelry, costume jewelry, and most all other kinds of jewelry that doesn't stay locked up. For example, they have a lot of jewelry that would be sold at Target or Belk for $10-$20, but they have it for anywhere from about $3-$10. I can ALWAYS find some kind of jewelry there that I would like to have. Their other accessories, including scarves, purses (including brand name purses), sunglasses, hair accessories, etc, are also pretty good.
Beall's Outlet also offers a variety of other things including makeup and fragrances, home decor, books, small kitchen appliances and tools, some small electronics and electronic accessories.
...Overall, I think Beall's Outlet store is a pretty great store. Though it is lacking in some areas, the other areas that I like make up for that. It is one of those stores where sometimes you'll have to really look to find something, but if you luck up and do find something, it'll probably cost a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere. And, it can be hit or miss at times (except for the jewelry section to me!). So, if there's a Beall's Outlet near you, you should definitely check it out, you might be surprised at what you can find!
Link to Beall's Outlet website

Cheaper Daily Self-Tanner/"Natural Glow"

With summer here (and if you are in my area, miserably hot weather, as well), most of us are showing more skin and would like a little bit of a tan. And since we all know that we should NOT lay out in the sun & especially NOT go to tanning beds, then we need a way to achieve a nice tan or at least a nice "glow". Fake tanning lotions are perfect for this! Using a daily or gradual self-tanner can be one of the easiest ways to achieve a natural sun-kissed looked. If you love how all the gradual or daily self-tanners (which are just self-tanners diluted with lotion so it takes longer to actually get to the tan color), like Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer, give your skin a subtle tan & glow, but think the price for them is a little too much, or, if like in my case the tanner in them isn't quite dark enough for you, then you might want to try this. ***To make my own version of a gradual self-tanner, I simply mix up regular fake tanner with lotion. Since I'm basically diluting the fake tanner, whenever I apply it, I don't have to worry about streaks as much. This works just as well as the store bought daily tanning lotions, allows me to get just the right darkness, and it's cheaper. (If you're wondering how it's cheaper, you can buy a whole bottle of regular self-tanner for usually the same price of a bottle of the daily tanner, & once you mix it with lotion, which is cheaper, you get way more product & more for your money.).....One of my favorite self-tanners is Banana Boat Summer Color Self-Tanning Lotion in the dark color. It costs about $7-$9 at most stores.

More Loose Face Powder for your Money

If you want to save money on loose face powder, simply buy it in a darker shade, & then mix in baby powder (or whatever kind of cheap pale powder you choose) in it until you get it to the right shade. Make sure you only add a little bit at a time & test it on your face as you add more. You could also put part of it in another container, & only mix part of it with baby powder, so you still have the darker shade if you get tanner in the summer. Also, as you should with any product you put on your face, make sure you check the ingredients on whatever powder you use, & make sure will not have any kind of reaction with it, especially on your face.