Sephora can take all of my money

Not putting too much effort into this post since I haven't even tried most of these products yet.

I was trying to get my Beauty Insider points up to 500. I was already buying DKNY Be Delicious (sort of...I'll get back to that) and Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Perversion, so I decided to try a different blush. From a brand I've never used before. I ended up with Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Dollface. And I reached 500 points! Which is really frightening because that means, once again, I've spent $500 at Sephora and that seems...Excessive. I don't want to think about that though.

 New bottle of Be Delicious vs. my old bottle. As you can see, the one I bought this time is much smaller. That's because, originally, I was going to buy Anna Sui Fairy Dance Secret Wish and at the last second, I decided to just stick with something I already know I love. However, since I still kind of want the other perfume, I decided to get a smaller bottle this time in case I decide I want the other one in the future.

I've been using Zero for years and I decided it's time to switch over to Perversion because it's a darker black. And if I'm using black eyeliner, I want it to be REALLY black, not kind of black. As you can see, Zero (top) is nowhere near as dark as Perversion (bottom).

I am REALLY excited to try this blush tomorrow. I never wear pink blush. Well. I rarely do. I mostly wear orange-toned blush. But I looked up the best blushes for fair skin and Dollface was one of them. Nars Orgasm was another, and I know that's a cult favorite, but this looked prettier.

So. What was the 500 Point Perk? Tarte Amazonian Treasures Collection!

I'm excited because now I can try even more Tarte products and if I like them, maybe I'll have a new favorite brand. (Urban Decay's products are incredible, but I'm still unhappy about the whole China fiasco.) This set comes with Pure Maracuja Oil (which I have read amazing things about), Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed, Waterproof Cream Shadow in Shimmering Moss, Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara and Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder.

I'm not a huuuuge fan of cream eyeshadows, but it may be nice as an eyeshadow base. Everything else sounds great though and I actually like Exposed a lot more in person than I do in pictures.

Sephora lets you choose three samples at checkout. I have two here and the other is a deluxe sample I used a promo code for. If they're any good, I'll buy full size versions.

I really like samples because they're small and I can take them everywhere. Anyway. Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Polish in Katie, Guerlain Maxi Lash Mascara and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 (light).

I'm aware that the general consensus is that if a BB Cream isn't from Asia, it isn't good. And I'm not doubting it, but I figured that since it's a free sample, I can at least try it and see how it is.

Lastly...There's this. It's not from Sephora, I received it through Influenster.

(Sorry for the bright pink background, I had it on the back of my iPad this morning.)

Osis+ Dust It. First of all, I've read that this company tests on animals, so already it's a huge no. But aside from that, let's discuss what it is and if it works.

The idea is you sprinkle this powder onto your roots and it will give your hair more volume. And I'll admit, it does that very well. HOWEVER, now that I've had it in my hair all day, I have some complaints. The volume doesn't last. If you want to get it back, you have to play with your hair. And the more you do, the messier your hair gets. You can also FEEL this in your hair. It feels...Almost sticky. And it changes your hair's texture a bit. I don't really like that, so I won't be using it again. Even if I did like it, I wouldn't use it again after reading that they test on animals.

Olive oil and honey hair mask

First, I would like to say there are a LOT of things you can do with olive oil and honey. Look it up. It will save you a ton of money on beauty products.

Second, I decided to test out a hair mask yesterday because my hair tends to be dry and not very shiny. It's naturally curly, which means I'm pretty unfortunate in the hair department to begin with, but because I heat style it on a regular basis, that makes it worse.

I looked for a hair mask recipe using olive oil because I knew that olive oil was really good for hair. A lot of the recipes I found included honey. Honey is a humectant and it helps retain moisture. And if you needed another reason to use olive oil and honey in your hair, it's all natural if you make your own hair mask whereas something you buy in the store may contain chemicals. And even better, this saves money because it uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

Here's the recipe.

Three tablespoons of olive oil
Two tablespoons of honey
Put them in a bowl together and heat in the microwave for twenty seconds (or until the honey liquefies)
Mix together

Simple, right? Once it's all mixed together, you obviously want to apply it to your hair. DO NOT APPLY IT TO YOUR ROOTS. It should go without saying, but you do not want to apply oil to your roots. Let it sit for fifteen minutes, then go in the shower and shampoo your hair, making sure to get all of the mixture out.

In case you are concerned about putting honey in your hair, I'll tell you now. It will be sticky. My hair was really stiff and I was horrified at first because I didn't think it would ever come out. But it came out easily in the shower, I didn't have any problems. It left my hair shiny and soft and it looked healthier. So, it will be fine. Don't worry. :)

Miracle product for curly hair?

About a week ago, I was looking on the Fedora Lounge's messageboard for a good setting lotion because I was going to do rag curls in my hair...And I don't have the type of hair that can just be left to dry naturally because BAD things happen if I don't put product in it. And with rag curls...REALLY bad things happen.

So I found a link to an Etsy account for something called Flax Seed Gel. I had never heard of this before so I did some research online and found out that it's all natural and people SWEAR by it. It's supposed to be really good for your hair as well as defining your curls. That's something that I need because for the past couple of years, when I leave my hair curly, it looks terrible.

I ordered mine here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54454989/8-oz-all-natural-flax-gelee-custom

It's $15 for an 8 oz. bottle, plus I think it was $5 for shipping. It seems a bit pricey for something that most people just make themselves (more on that later), but I didn't want to go through the trouble of making it myself, so I didn't really care. And I'm under the impression that you can have other ingredients added for free (there's a list if you click the link), but I didn't bother to do that because I was in a rush when I ordered mine. I'd also like to mention that I ordered it on June 26th and...I guess it got here July 2nd, because I left on Saturday and there was no mail Sunday or yesterday, and the package was here when I got home. So it was made and delivered quickly, which I appreciate.

Here are pictures:

I included the business cards because I really like it when companies send them. If you want to recommend them to your friends, it makes things a lot easier.

(If you order this gel, you should know that even though it's made with preservatives, it's recommended that you keep it refrigerated.)

My first impression upon seeing it was...This doesn't look very appealing at all. And that's nothing against the person who made it. If you look up YouTube videos, it ALL looks like that. It's just very cloudy looking. And then when I went to put it in my hair, the consistency was also kind of strange. It's not a typical gel, it feels more like a liquid. And you have to be very careful when you're holding the bottle upside down because it will just pour out.

Before I get to my thoughts after using it, I'd like to say that I am always VERY skeptical when trying new hair products. They rarely ever work as well as they're supposed to. When I first applied this, I wasn't expecting anything, especially since my curls didn't seem any more defined than usual. However, the more it dried, the more I began to see that yes, the gel actually DID define my curls. It did a damn good job of it. I don't think I used enough in the back of my hair, so I'll have to use more next time. But other than that, it worked amazingly well and I definitely recommend it to anyone else who struggles with naturally curly hair.