Hauls + Reviews!

So excited to be doing this. I have seen tons of great video's on hauls and reviews and I thought I would do a blog post because I'm not sure I've built up my confidence enough to try video's and also I don't have any video equipment currently. I've been thinking of the best way to do this so that people can just get the most information possible so I'm going to break down by brand what I've been trying out, the good the bad and what I think is a great deal. Enjoy!

NYX
This is a brand I have seen for years actually but never tried. I heard about it via MakeupByAlli and also emilynoel83. It can be found at Ulta stores and also online here. It's a pretty decent brand from what I have tried so far and the prices are pretty decent. I think the most I've paid for what I've used so far from them was around $6-$8.

NYX HD Studio Foundation & Concealer: First off the bat, pretty decent product. I have issues with extremely red and patchy skin coloring sometimes so I personally will gravitate to products that will issue full coverage. This is a pretty decent product; it goes on smooth and creamy and I like the texture of the product on my face. There is no caking on my cheeks and the concealer covers really well under the eye and around any redness near the nose and cheek area.

NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder: WOW! Great powder! It goes on smooth and finishes nicely over the HD Studio products mentioned above. It provides really good coverage and hides the little blemishes that I am always trying to hide. It's really great to use with different foundations I've noticed as well. It provides that matte finish that most people are looking for and I haven't noticed any of my makeup fade through the day. And as a heavy sweater this is a good product to keep my face shine free!

NYX Shine Killer: I was SO excited about this product. I used it as a replacement for Bare Minerals primer product that I have used for several years. In this whole quest for drug store finds I found this one among the NYX items and decided to give it a go. I was SO sad and disappointed in this product. It went on well but didn't provide any pore reduction and primer for my foundation/powder. When I used the product and then began to sweat or work through the day, I found that my makeup didn't last very well. Basically the primer was useless. Maybe it will work on someone else and I have weird skin and it didn't work for me; not sure. But either way, this was a dud :(

NYX Lip Liner in Dolly Pink: This is a great pencil liner to line lips or to fill in and use a clear gloss on top. Or you can pair this with any lipstick or gloss that matches the pencil liner you have. It's a great product and I think at Ulta it was $3--for a pencil this is pretty good. I know that I've at times paid about $15 for lip pencils at MAC and while they were really good, this one is pretty good as well. Doesn't have the staying power like MAC so sometimes wearing it alone may cause it to come off--if you don't mind reapplying a little bit then this is a great bargain.

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Chandelier: These mega shine lip glosses are really great. What I noticed first is that they have a lot of pigmentation and a ton of glitter. I love glitter and I love lip gloss so this is great for me. They do have other glosses in this line without glitter and they have a lot of color options. It lasts pretty much the whole day but I apply sometimes in the middle to have extra gloss and glitter on my lips. They also SMELL amazing. It's weird. But if you get it, smell it because it's fantastic!

Coming in a day or so, Elf products haul + review and other drug store brands!

#LifeWithWife at the drugstore!

Ok, here's the problem. I am obsessed with makeup. I don't just like having makeup, I J'DORE make up! I LIVE for makeup. Well not really, because I love Jesus and all and I also like having my rent paid. But if I could ever just spend all my money on one thing it would be makeup. Let's face it (hahaha, get it? ok bad joke), makeup makes women feel transformed in a way that nothing else really can. Sure you can buy new shoes or a purse (which I also happen to adore by the way and would also love to waste millions of $$ on Coach bags), but there is something about makeup that just makes me feel...goooooodddddddddddd. It's incredible. It's like legal crack. Next to caffeine and coffee.

So a few weeks ago, I was piddling around on YouTube when I stumbled across this channel and I swear to God I almost had a heartattack in the bedroom. This woman (@emilynoel83) is just making videos of makeup...and not just ANY makeup, but DRUGSTORE makeup. Now. I consider myself to be quite the makeup snob. I have all MAC brushes, lipsticks, eye shadows, mascara, the works. I do have a few bareMminerals products that made its way into my collection just because of how much glitter they had. But on the whole? I was a MAC whore. So of course, my snobbish rudeness begins to think "pfft, drug store makeup?? whatever..." Then I'm all, ok now I wanna know what she can do. So watch the video. And then another. And another. AND ANOTHER! Until I've watched her videos for almost 2.full.hours. It was insane. She was SO GOOD! Then I kept finding more and more video's until I finally decided I had had enough of this INSANITY and promptly went to Ulta, Walgreens, and Rite Aid to try this nonsense out for my own judgement. What has resulted??? A love of drugstore makeup. I will say that after wearing high-priced brands on my face as far as foundation and powder it has broken my face out a little bit but not enough to slow me down. And even if I can't wear drug store foundation, I can still wear everything else. And all under a budget! Most of these things are like $3. HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG FOR $3? Well maybe you can, if you get one of those weird Cantina Bowls from Taco Bell (I'm sorry, I'm all for Taco Bell but seriously, I saw someone eat the Cantina Bowl and just..ew..it was just....whatever). Below are some photos I've taken of my new drug store passion. And I'll be doing some more blogging I think on products that are AWESOME and some that are just eh, and some that I think are not so great. Stay posted. This may turn into a beauty channel! ;-) #YouAreBeautiful