Makeup Talk // Jane Iredale Makeup Review

Have you ever tried packing for a trip but halfway through packing your makeup you think, "this is way too much-but what if I need it?!" Yes. Yep. Story of my life. Even going away for the weekend (to visit places such as my hometown) I feel like I over pack just about everything. Luckily, an amazing makeup company has kind of solved my [makeup] packing problem! If you have been around this blog for awhile, you'll know I have previously written about Jane Iredale (post here). Now, I am back with a review of more of Jane's products-and spoiler alert-I am in loooove!

I received the Color Sample Kit ("medium" shade), the LipDrink SPF 15 Lip Balm ("buff" shade), and two Just Kissed Lip Plumpers (shades "Sydney" and "Milan").

First, I want to talk about the LipDrink SPF15 Lip Balm. On the Jane Iredale website, it is stated that the product "smoothes and softens, soothes, and has antioxidant benefits". As a lip balm, it definitely surpasses the performance of other balms. It feels soo so soft on your lips-not only does it feel soft, but it really does moisturize your lips at the same time. I chose buff as my shade because on the site, it does look the most neutral and wearable. As a nurse, I feel like I always "need" to carry a lip balm. It is one of those things that is nice to have on hand during a 12 hour shift. The "buff" shade is wearable for work, which I love! These balms are vegan and gluten free, if you are interested in that!

Next, I want to talk about the Just Kissed Lip Plumpers!  This plumper reminds me of a lipstick balm-pretty sheer color with a bit of moisture. The plumping effect comes from ginger, mint, and special peptides. I love that the product contains mint, because once applied, it feels cooling/soothing. When it comes to actually plumping my lips, I cannot say I noticed a huge difference in fullness, but I did notice a slight amount of plumping. Overall,  I feel that the product is great for creating a hint of fullness, moisture, and a sheer wash of color. These plumpers are not vegan, although they are gluten and cruelty free.
Wearing the Just Kissed Lip Plumper in shade "Sydney". Perfect for the summer and spring months!
 Here, I'm wearing the Just Kissed Lip Plumper in shade "Milan". This shade is perfect for everyday wear//I have fallen completely in love with it!
The last product I received is the Color Sample Kit in shade "medium". This kit includes sample/travel sizes of the PurePressed Base in shade "Golden Glow" (see my past review for the PurePressed Base here!), PurePressed Blush in "Whisper", PurePressed Eyeshadow in shades "Cream", "Supernova", and "Suede", Circle\Delete 2 Concealer, PureMoist Lipstick in shade "Lily", and PureGloss Lipgloss in shade "Beach Plum". The kit also contains a Blush Brush and a Duel Ended Eye Brush.

 Just to save this post from being too long, I encourage you to check my review out from a few years ago on the PurePressed Base. I still agree with my previous post, but I love the product even more now! I am obsessed with the gorgeous glow the base gives, and the wear time of the product. Since I use a primer I like, I think it really helps with the staying power of the product. The blush gives a very pretty glow on the cheeks and wears well throughout the day. 
 The gorgeous sheen of the blush in natural lighting!
Wearing all of the products/showing the glow from the blush.

 The  three eyeshadow shades do not have any fallout, wear well, and are more pigmented that the Urban Decay Naked Shadows (in my opinion!) The kit obviously is meant to be used as a one stop shop, which is why the 3 eyeshadows look so great when paired together. Side note: Usually I fill my brows in with some sort of pencil or powder. For the purpose of this post, I sort of filled them in with the eyeshadow "Suede". One weekend while away at my boyfriends' house, I realized I did not bring any brow products. Luckily, I had this kit and used "Suede" to make do. Surprisingly the "Suede" shade is almost perfect as a brow shade, which comes in handy when I am on the go/traveling.All 3 shades are gluten free; 2/3 of the shades are vegan-"Supernova" is not vegan.
Wearing all the eyeshadow shades (light application). Here, you can also see me wearing the lipstick and gloss that comes in the kit. 

When it comes to the Concealer, you will see in the picture that it really brightens my dark under-eye area. I was pleasantly surprised when I used this product, because most cream concealers tend to crease on me, which this did not. For those interested, this product is gluten-free, but not vegan.
A before and after shot of the Circle\Delete 2 Concealer

I honestly did not use the two lip products very often from this kit, just because I was so smitten with the Lip Plumpers I received. However, the times I did use the 2 lip products in the kit, I was happy with their quality. The lipstick was moderately pigmented, while the lipgloss paired perfectly over it. I will say that I felt the gloss was slightly sticky, but not in an overwhelming way that would keep me from using it. Since it is a bit sticky, I find that the gloss tends to last a bit longer than most other glosses, which some may be very happy with. Find a shot of me wearing both products above. Both the lipgloss and lipstick are gluten-free and vegan.
 Swatches of all products from the kit (excluding the lip products). From left to right: "Suede", "Supernova" and "Cream" Eyeshadows. Circle\Delete 2 Concealer, PurePressed Blush in "Whisper" and the PurePressed Base in "Golden Glow". 
 From left to right: Just Kissed Lip Plumpers in "Milan" and "Sydney", PureMoist Lipstick in "Lily" and PureGloss Gloss in "Beach Plum". 

For anyone looking to try out a few of Jane Iredales products and shades, this kit is perfect. It is also great for those who travel, because it makes packing SO much easier. I took this with me to California when I went last month, along with a liquid foundation, mascara, and eyeliner, and I was all set. I can not say enough good things about this kit and the products I am reviewing today. I highly recommend trying out Jane Iredales products (especially if you have ever been curious!) I don't think you will be disappointed! 

A few products that are either new or I absolutly want to try next from Jane Iredale:

Have you tried Jane Iredale products before? Let me know below!

Thanks for reading!
XO, 
Kelsey

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*All products in this post were provided free of charge. All opinions shared are strictly based on the month long review process I used.

A Brighter Smile // Smile Brilliant Review

Hey lovelies!  Today I want to talk about teeth-yo grill. I don't know about you, but I always strive to have the brightest smile I can have. Being an avid coffee and tea drinker, I know I am continuously staining my teeth, forever prolonging my goal of having super pearly whites. Recently, a company reached out to me, offering to let me try their teeth whitening kit. I said yes, because duh! I wanted whiter teeth-but what made me so eager to try the product was the fact that it was so custom!

What it is: Smile Brilliant offers the service of creating custom fitted trays-your exact impressions-so you can whiten your teeth comfortably and with assurance that the whitening gel is actually coming into contact with each tooth/crack/crevice. 
1) Big difference here compared to the use of teeth whitening strips. From personal experience, I know how annoying a whitening strip can be and how inconsistent my results can be. A custom tray is a great thing to have if you are interested in whitening your teeth.

Tray Creation: The tray creation is soooo easy! At first, I really thought it would be a pain to have to "create" my own trays-totally wrong. The process literally took less than five minutes.
In this step of the kit, you will take the "base" and the "catalyst" paste and mix them together by squeezing each into each other, until you get a solid blue color of paste. Once this occurs, you can put the mix into the tray (that will create your mold). After this, you just put the tray into your mouth and bite down! Once all of this is done and your mold has had a chance to dry a bit, you send off your molds in a pre-paid envelope that Smile Brilliant provides and within days, your custom trays will be created and sent back to you! If this seems a bit confusing, just watch the short video below!


The whitening process: Once I received my trays (it took less than a week) I went forward with the process-actually whitening my teeth! I took a syringe of the gel and put a thin strip on the top and bottom tray. The amount I used was less than a fourth of the syringe (for the top and bottom combined). The whitening gel is peroxide based; "carbamide peroxide" to be exact. Smile Brilliant states it is, "22% Hi-Intensity Teeth Whitening Gel" with "no fillers or mixed blends designed to achieve the safest, fastest, most dramatic professional results in the least amount of days with the least amount of maintenance". Do I agree with this? Oh yes! It was explained to me that people often misunderstand whitening products. Smile Brilliant removes stains and restores your teeth to their natural color; in short, they become the brightest level of white that they can be. For me, I used the whitening gel and trays 4 times (2 hours the first time, 1 hour of wear for the other times) before I decided I was happy with my level of "white". I honestly think that if I used them 1 or 2 more times, my teeth could have been even brighter, but I was happy with the level I achieved and decided to just do monthly or bi-monthly maintenance uses. As for the fit of the trays, they were perfect! They didn't pinch my gums, rub up against them, or fit me weird. I don't know why the perfect fit surprised me so much, especially because I helped to create my own mold!

My top tray after it was created!
 Bottom tray and one of the syringes of the whitening gel.

De-sensitizing process: In my kit, I received the desensitizing gel that is to be used in the trays (on your teeth) right after whitening. The length of time you use the gel depends on your preference, but I used it from 10 minutes to 30 minutes (depending on how much free time I had that day). I used less than a fourth of the syringe for both a top and bottom tray application. According to the Smile Brilliant website, the desensitizing gel "temporarily seals micro-fractures and pores in your tooth's enamel. This eliminates the opportunity for teeth whitening gel to penetrate into the more sensitive dentin beneath your enamel". That explanation was pretty helpful to me and also helped present the importance of the gel for those with sensitive teeth. 

My results: The results I achieved were attained with 4 uses. Like I said, I was pretty happy with my teeth color after the fourth use, so I decided not to do another treatment for the time being. When it comes to sensitivity, I did find the whitening gel to cause a bit of sensitivity around my gum line the first time I used the gel. I expected this, because similar irritation has occurred with whitening strips. However, my second use I was more cautious, and I wiped the excess gel off my gums (that had been pushed out of the tray). Doing so really decreased my sensitivity, and I didn't find it to be a problem.

Before & After (4 uses)

Overall: I absolutely love this product. From the process of making your own trays, to the ease of application, I highly recommend this. For any one out there that would like to have professional results at home (for a fraction of what you would pay in the office) I would strongly suggest trying out Smile Brilliant! If you would like more information on the products, I will leave links below. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will be sure to get back to you!

FAQ page here.
Testimonials here. 
Purchase whitening gel & tray kit here.
Purchase desensitizing gel here.


Want to receive 5% off  your purchase? Use the code: beautywithoutlimits
(This code should be typed in with lowercase letters-all one phrase! )

Thanks for reading!
XO, Kelsey


Connect with me: twitter here // instagram here// pinterest here // 
Teeth Whitening

What I Wore (WIW) Lace Kimono OOTD

Have you ever bought a piece of clothing that turns into a staple immediately? I recently found a lace kimono at Target that has found it's way into 3 outfits already-I haven't even had the kimono for a full 3 weeks yet! It is safe to say I have a new favorite!

Outfit details: Shorts- American Eagle (similar style currently in stock)// Brown Tank- Old, Wet Seal // Kimono- Target (can't find the link currently) (similar ON SALE option) // Sandals- Forever 21  (no longer available) (similar option here) // Sunglasses- New York and Company
Up close look at my new hair color-loving it still!
Earrings from Buckle.

Sorry for such a lengthy, photo-packed post! Definitely wanted to share this kimono with whoever is interested; it is still available in store (black lace and white lace) but I just can not find it online! 

Thanks for reading,
XO, Kelsey 

Connect with me: twitter here // instagram here// pinterest here // 

Lily Lolo Mineral Makeup Review // Makeup Talk

Hey friends! Today I am bringing you a review of what I would consider a luxurious natural and paraben-free makeup line. You will see below in pictures just how gorgeous the packaging is and how amazing the quality is. Spoiler alert: I found one of my new favorite natural brands!

Overview of the brand 
Lily Lolo is a brand that started in London and is now available in the USA and Canada. They use natural, organic, paraben, synthetic, and nano particle free ingredients in their products. Win-win? I think yes.


I actually received two shipments of the products to review; as you'll see above I received the Natural Lipstick in shade "Rose Gold" and the Creamy Lash Alert Pure Natural Vegan Mascara in the shade "Black". The Rose Gold lipstick is suuuuch a pretty everyday color that I think would would on just about anyone.

The top photo is the "Rose Gold" lipstick with flash, while the bottom is a picture using natural sunlight. 

 Left eye (in picture) no mascara. Right eye: wearing Lily Lolo Mascara in "Black", one coat. 
 Both eyes with one coat of the Lily Lolo Mascara. So pigmented!

The second shipment included another lipstick, and two shades of their mineral foundation
 
Lily Lolo Lipstick in shade "French Flirt", Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation in shades "Cookie" (top) .and "Warm Honey" (bottom)
A swatch of the "French Flirt" lipstick and swatches of the mineral foundation. Left is "Cookie" while right is "Warm Honey". "Cookie" seems to be a bit more neutral, while "Warm Honey" had more of a warm, yellowy tone to it.

Wearing "French Flirt" lipstick in both pictures. Top picture is with natural sunlight, bottom picture is with flash.

 Wearing the Mineral Foundation in shade "Warm Honey". Taken with flash on the camera. Also wearing the Mascara and lipstick in shade "Rose Gold" here. 

As you can see, I definitely wanted to include a fair amount of pictures for this review (as always) so you get a good idea of what the shades look like/what the product looks like applied. As for the actual review, I feel I can make this one short, sweet, and to the point because the products speak for themselves.

Wear time: I would say the lipsticks wear for about 2-3 hours if not eating or drinking, while they may come off within an hour or so if you are eating or drinking. I will say the "French Flirt" shade lasts a bit longer, and leaves a sort of stain on the lips, which I like. The mascara wears well throughout the day and does not flake off like another natural mascara I am reviewing currently-so that is great! The mineral foundation probably lasts 6-8 hours on me, depending on what I am doing for the day. I notice that it wears off pretty evenly, seeming to just fade away instead of getting splotchy. I do wear a primer and setting powder with this, FYI. 8/10

Packaging: Come on! You see how pretty it is. Definitely a 10/10 score for this. The packaging is gorgeous, sturdy, and reminds me of high-end brands. Very comparable to something high-end I have looked at before but I just can't remember what brand it was. 

Pricing: I think the pricing is fair; you are getting what you pay for here. Lipsticks retail for $18 a piece, while the mascara is $19.50 and the mineral foundation is $22.00. This is not drugstore pricing, and if you are okay with that and want chemical free, natural products, this is an acceptable price range, in my opinion. So, I would give this section an 8/10

Shade selection: Lily Lolo has a great shade selection when it comes to the products I reviewed, especially when it comes to the mineral foundation. They have a shade guide that lists skin tone as well as undertone to help find your correct shade. If you hover over the shades, it lists this information. Although I did not review other products, I do see that they have a ton of shades of eyeshadows as well as lipglosses. Speaking of all this, they also sell eyebrow duos, bronzers, blushes, bb cream, finishing powder, concealer, and brushes. 10/10. 

Overall quality: Overall, this products fairly deserves a score of 9/10. They genuinely have amazing products and will be one of the go-to brands for me from now on. I do reviews of products not only to help others who may be interested in similar products, but to also narrow down my search for makeup that will replace my chemical filled beauty products. 
The products have not caused any breakouts or skin rashes on me; the mineral foundation feels light on the skin while offering light to medium coverage. The lipstick is highly, highly moisturizing, and the mascara is a pigmented, lengthening and separating combination. 

If you have any questions about the products or my review, please email me at: kelseylenay@hotmail.com. The customer service team is also amazing at Lily Lolo and will be awesome at answering your questions as well. Visit Lily Lolo's website here for more info!

Thanks for reading!
XO, Kelsey


Connect with me: twitter here // instagram here// pinterest here // 

**I received all of the mentioned Lily Lolo products free of charge. All opinions expressed are completely my own and 100% honest. No compensation was received for this review. 

Striped Halter Dress Outfit // Affordable Fashion Post

Hey beauties! I hope everyone is having a great week so far...it's almost the weekend so yay! Currently, I am [trying] to bury my head in the books and study for my state board exam for nursing (NCLEX) which is coming up in the next week. If you know anyone who has taken the exam (or you have taken it yourself) you probably know just have nerve wracking and hard it is to even prepare for it. It is sooo overwhelming! I needed a little break from it all, so here I am with an outfit post! Recently, I discovered the wonderful world of the outlet malls-probably a 25 minute drive from my apartment, but totally worth it. Pretty much anything I could want fashion-wise can be found at the outlets, including the dress in this post! The dress was only about $14...what?! Suchhh good prices and so many stores to choose from! I am definitely glad I started going outlet shopping instead of just "normal" shopping. You can save so much money! Enough with my epiphany though, on to the post!
Dress: Charlotte Russe Outlet (similar here and here)
Bracelet: Alter'd State
Sandals: Forever 21 (cute semi-similar option here) // Sunglasses: New York & Company

 I have recently become super obsessed with type of neckline-I am always in search of dresses and tanks with this style! I feel like it is so flattering on me and also is a bit more conservative, yet fun. What do you think?

Have you ventured into the wonderful world of outlet shopping? Do you have any other affordable shopping recommendations?  

Thank you for reading!
XO, Kelsey

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Makeup Talk // Review of Cowgirl Dirt Makeup

Hey beauties! Today I am bringing you a review of Cowgirl Dirt Makeup, a natural and organic brand based out of Texas. According to their website, the brand stands for "the best of Western Tradition". If you check out their website, you'll learn a bit more about the brand and see the fun western-inspired makeup names. When it comes to reviewing the products, I always test them out for 2-3 weeks at least before giving my opinion-I hope this review can be found helpful for anyone curious about a great natural and organic brand!
 Wearing most of the products I was sent! The blush, bronzer, 3 eyeshadows, highlighting concealer, and foundation. 

From L to R: Under Eye Highlight Concealer, Eye Firming Cream, Mineral Powder Foundation in shade "Grullo 4", Wild West Blush in the shade "Rawhide", Mineral Powder Foundation in shade "Grullo 5", and the Dusty Bronzer in shade "Arena". 
Top picture: natural lighting. Bottom picture: with flash. From L to R: Under Eye Highlight Concealer, Mineral Powder Foundation in shade "Grullo 4" and then "Grullo 5", Dusty Bronzer in shade "Arena" and the Wild West Blush in shade "Rawhide" heavily swatched and then lightly swatched. 
The first product I used was the Eye Firming Cream, which is said to firm and tone the under eye area. I do not think I have had enough time nor sample to really confirm the benefits, but so far I do know that it leaves my eye area feeling soft and moisturized.

Next, I used the Under Eye Highlight Concealer. This is a peachy toned cream concealer that helps to brighten the under eye area. For a girl like me (with hereditary dark circles, products like these are a must.
As you can see, the right under eye is a ton brighter than the left after using this product. I believe I tapped on a bit of the product, let it set for about 30 seconds, and then tapped on a bit more to get more of a brightening effect. If you are someone with only minor dark circles, I think this product could be a huge help to your beauty routine! Since mine drive me so nuts, I add a bit of concealer on top of this to really get the coverage I want.

After priming my face with my usual moisturizer and primer, I applied the Mineral Powder Foundation in shade "Grullo 5" to half my face. I find that this powder foundation gives a sheer to medium coverage (buildable) and leaves a natural finish. This foundation wears amazingingly (not a word but oh well). I have worn it to work-sweating and running around-and it still holds up. The same goes for the Pressed Powder Foundation, which wears just as well, with more of a medium to semi-full coverage (buildable). Something I love about both these foundations are their ability to photograph well. Not only do they look great in person, but they also look awesome with flash photography, which is hard to come by when you have mineral makeup products.If you look at the picture below, you can see how airbrushed the makeup looks-I didn't edit my skin at all. The shade "Grullo 4" is a tad too light for the summer months for me, but it would probably be a go-to for the winter! As for my skin type, I have combination-oily skin and I was impressed with how the foundations did not cause any extra oil, and it was helpful in keeping excess oil from breaking through.































As you can see, the pressed foundation gives a bit more coverage. I think the pressed foundation is a tad bit darker than the loose foundation (even though they are the same shades), but maybe that has to do with the coverage they offer. 

Matte/Semi-Matte Eyeshadows in shades "Mud", "Arena Sand" and "Rodeo Rose".
 Swatches of the same shades with flash photography (top) and natural lighting (bottom). 
 A light application of all 3 shades.

 The last items I used/received are the Matte (and semi-matte) Eyeshadows. The colors are pretty and definitely pigmented, and were easy to blend. I didn't have any issues with fallout or the product smudging throughout the day, but I also tend to use concealer as a base on my eyelids, which acts as a primer. 

  Another shot with all the products! This is a picture with natural lighting-you can see how smooth the foundation still looks. It is almost like a "your skin but better" finish!

Well, if you made it through this super detailed post, thank you! I always try to be as detailed as possible, in the the hopes that my opinions could be helpful for someone trying to decide if they should try a product or not. I honestly have nothing bad to say about any of the products; I have spoken up before about products I was not happy with, but that is not the case here! All in all, I would 100% recommend and back up in product that I have spoke about on this post. I actually am interested in a few more of Cowgirl Dirt's products (such as the cream foundation, organic facial serum, and lipsticks) because I was so impressed with the products I already have. I could definitely see myself buying Cowgirl Dirt products and using them for a majority of my makeup needs-they are amazing! Give them a try if you are on the fence, I dont think you will regret it!

Thank you for reading!
XO, Kelsey

 
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**These products were sent to me free of charge. As always, nothing has influenced my opinion other than the products performance itself.