Super Cheap Makeup Haul (Nothing over $3)

Hello Lovelies! A few days ago I went into the city to hang out with a few friends with no intentions of buying any makeup but guess what happened? Hey, at least it was all very affordable and I'm really happy with what I picked up! Nothing was over $3, how crazy cool is that?!

The first store I went to was Target. From there I picked up the e.l.f. Studio Lip Exfoliator for $3 which I adore! This is my second time purchasing this product and there's no doubt I will again. 

         

Next I went to Walgreens where I snagged this Wet 'n Wild single eyeshadow in Nutty for only $.69! It was originally $1 but they had some select shades on sale. As always, when referring to Wet 'n Wild, the pigmentation is gorgeous. 

I also picked up this awesome De Beaute eyeshadow palette by Profusion for only $! I got the 02 palette, already own the 03 palette, and as far as I know there is only one other palette in this line.

Here are swatches of all 12 shades:

The last product I stumbled upon at Walgreens was this e.l.f Essential Lip Balm Tint in the shade Nude. I have been looking for these everywhere and could not have been happier when I spotted them - especially being only $2!

Finally I made a trip over to the dollar store and found this pretty Milani Crystal Gloss in the shade Whisper. 

I love affordable makeup and am so excited about all of these products! Let me know your favorite cheap makeup products in the comments below! Also notify me if you'd like a full review on any of these products. Thanks for reading! :)

Spring Into Beauty Giveaway Hop!

Happy weekend lovely readers! So, as some of you know, I used to be a Young Adult (YA) fiction book blogger. Since drifting over from that HUGE community of book bloggers to this wonderful community of beauty bloggers, I've noticed a lot of differences. One being that there are no blog hops (that I know of anyway)! I remember being super excited for Spring to roll around in the book blogging community because there were always so many fun blog hops people could participate in (Click here to see an example of one that I took part in). They are a fantastic way to discover new blogs, interact with more people, learn about different products, and even pick up some goodies along the way!

I'm so excited to start this giveaway hop for anyone blogging about beauty, fashion, lifestyle, health, or anything related to these topics!

How It Works: 

1. Create a giveaway on your blog, include my Spring Into Beauty Giveaway Hop picture and the Linky list in your post.
2. If you don't want to create a new giveaway and/or already have one running, you can edit your post to include the picture and Linky list.
3. "Hop" from one blog to the next using the Linky list and enter everyone else's giveaways!
4. If you stumble across blogs that catch your eye, read more of their posts, leave them some comments, give them a follow! This is all about discovering blogs you've never been to before and sharing some love.

RULES: 

1. You MUST attach the Linky list to your giveaway post to participate in the hop. You do not, however, have to add the picture I created.
2. You have to mention somewhere in your post that you are participating in this hop and direct them to this post so they can read the rules and participate if they'd like.
3. Your prize can be anything as long as it is beauty, fashion, health, or lifestyle related. Cash, Amazon gift cards, Visa gift cards, etc. are all acceptable too.
4. This giveaway hop is starting today and ending at midnight Eastern time on April 5th, however you can start your giveaway and end your giveaway any time you'd like just add the end date to your "name" on the Linky list if it's sooner than April 5th.
5. It's up to you to determine who can enter your giveaway and what is required of them to enter it.
6. You do not have to participate in this hop to enter everyone's' giveaways.
6. Visit as many other links that you can and spread the word so we can get more people to participate!

My Giveaway:


For this hop, I'm going to be giving away either the Napoleon Perdis China Doll Eyeliner or a Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick. Winner gets to choose their prize and the shade of lipstick if that is their choice. I love the look of a nice black eyeliner with a fun, bright lip for Spring! This is for US residents only - sorry international readers! Please add your giveaway to the Linky and hopefully we can continue this giveaway hop for years to come!

   OR             

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Please leave any questions in the comments or email me at brittanysreviews(at)gmail.com :)

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Review

Welcome back Lovelies! Today I'm going to be talking to you about the new Maybelline Pore Eraser which retails between about $6 and $7 anywhere Maybelline is sold. There is a lot of hype about this product and a lot of questions on whether or not it makes pores appear smaller, if it prolongs the wear of foundation, if it compares to higher end primers etc. So, hopefully I can help answer some of them!

I hear this primer being often compared with the Benefit POREfessional however, I actually find this to be very similar to the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer for a few reasons. The first being the texture and appearance of the products. Both are a clear, thick, almost gel-like texture with the Maybelline one being slightly more "slick" or "greasy" feeling. I also find the application and effects of these two to be comparable. They both do a great job at giving the face a very smooth, soft canvas for easier foundation application.

Maybelline Baby Skin

Smashbox Photo Ready

However, there are a few things that I would be cautious of when it comes to choosing the Maybelline primer. It does have a greasy feel to it as I mentioned earlier and I'm sure some people won't like the feel of this on their skin. Because of this, I do find that this primer does not make my foundation last any longer than it would without a primer. That being said, I don't find that it makes me more oily than normal.

Maybelline Baby Skin

As for the "pore erasing" aspect of this primer, I think it does an OK job. If a lot of product is applied in a concentrated area, it can diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. To demonstrate this, I applied a thick layer of this primer over the tip of my finger to show that it blurred the very fine lines.

Before Maybelline Baby Skin

After Maybelline Baby Skin

In conclusion, this primer is a good, affordable way to get a smooth base for applying foundation. If applied carefully, it can slightly lessen the appearance of pores and fine lines, however, it does not prolong the wear of foundation and I do prefer the Benefit POREfessional and Smashbox Photo Finish to this.

Thanks for reading! Leave any questions down below! :)

My Current Favorite: Mascara

Happy Saturday Lovelies! So, I'm thinking about starting this thing where every once in a while I update you on one of my current favorite beauty products and then give one of those products away to you lovely readers!

Today I'm excited to tell you guys about my favorite mascara at the moment, the Revlon Lash Potion. This is both a volumizing and lengthening mascara that claims to have strengthening proteins. It can be found at most drugstores for anywhere around $5 to $9. I absolutely love this mascara because it makes my lashes look HUGE! It gives them decent length and a ton of volume. The formula is not too wet or too dry and the brush helps it stay clump-free for the first 3 coats. I get compliments almost every time I wear it and I'm so excited to give a tube away to one of you awesome readers.

I want you to keep in mind that mascaras are never going to work the same for everyone. One of the downsides of this mascara is that it can flake just a bit after wearing it for a long time. It also doesn't do a lot when it comes to separating lashes so if that's your favorite aspect of a mascara, you might want to skip out on this one! I'm also sad to say that this is a US only giveaway. I'm so sorry international readers! Otherwise, I hope you all enter this giveaway and look forward to seeing more in the future!

Thank you for reading! Leave any questions or comments below! :) a Rafflecopter giveaway Follow my blog with Bloglovin

NYX Invincible Fullest Coverage Foundation Review

Hello there lovelies! Today I'm going to be telling you about my experience with a new liquid foundation from NYX. This foundation claims to be full coverage without looking too matte. This sounded perfect for me because I have pretty bad skin due to acne and acne scaring yet I'm not a huge fan of super matte finishes.

My only complaints about this product is the amount they give you and the longevity of it. For $11.99, they're giving you .85 oz. rather than the standard 1 oz. which doesn't sound too bad but for some reason I seem to be going through this foundation really fast. I've only had it for about two weeks yet it's already almost gone even though I don' use that much of it at once. Keeping in mind that this does not claim to be a long wearing foundation, I do notice it slightly breaking down towards the end of the day. It's nothing too extreme but I would warn people with super oily skin.

Aside from that, I really like this foundation. I love the coverage, i'd say it's medium to full, and the natural finish. I find that matte finishes can sometimes accentuate some of my dry areas or acne spots whereas this slightly more satin finish did not. I'd say NYX put out a pretty decent shade range with this foundation and I'd recommend it to anyone that doesn't have excessively oily skin.

Thanks for reading! Leave your questions down below! :)

Bioré Self Heating One Minute Mask Review

Hello Lovelies! Today i'm going to be telling you all about my experience with Bioré's new face mask that contains the ingredient which seems to be the newest trend - charcoal. And that's not the only thing intriguing about this mask! It claims to be "self heating" when activated with water and requires only one minute of your precious time. It also claims to open pores and melt away dirt and oil. Before you start thinking "sounds like a miracle!", let me get to some of the not-so-great aspects of this mask.

The first thing that disappointed me about this mask is the amount of product you are getting. The last thing I was expecting while opening the box is to see "single use" foil packets inside! They personally don't irritate me too much but I know some people just can't stand them. For some reason I got a free mask in mine but normally there are only 4 "single use" .25 oz packets. At a retail value of around $7-$9, that isn't a whole lot of product. The second thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the application itself. My face needs to be pretty wet in order to get the nice heating effect, but even then the mask has such a dry texture that it was hard for me to massage it evenly all over my face.

That being said, I do enjoy the effects of this mask. The heating property is very pleasant feeling and after washing it off, I notice that my pores seem slightly smaller. My face is left feeling fresh and clean with a slight tingling sensation. If the packaging doesn't bother you too much I would definitely recommend this to anyone with combination-oily skin. I don't have dry skin so I can't say for sure, however, I imagine that due to this mask's lack of moisture it might dry you out.
Thanks so much for reading! Leave your questions down below! :)