Dollar Store Eyeshadow Finds

So while I was randomly at a local dollar store with a couple family members, I decided to check their makeup out. Just to see what they had and if I could maybe find a hidden gem, so to speak. I was pretty pleased with what I found. They had three eyeshadows from L.A. Colors. The only one not pictured was a white one that I didn't get because I already own a couple of whites, but the other two were just beautiful.

The first and my favorite is the Teal color, it is insanely pigmented to the point it stained my finger when I swatched it for the pic. It goes on relatively dark with just one swipe (the right side of the swatch). I am seriously in love with this color, I love blue/greens and this is the prefect teal in my opinion. A definite win in my book.

The purple while a gorgeous color is so hard to get to show up. The pigmentation is so light that the swatch seriously took me forever to get it even that dark. While it is a soft and silky as the teal it doesn't share the dark coloration I was hoping for. It is a nice light purple color but it looks as if it could have been much better. Not as much of a win but at $1 not horrible, I guess.

This does show that while a hit and miss, cheap makeup can be great (the Teal). So you don't have to spend a ton of money to buy your makeup, you just have to be willing to try looking in unexpected places.

Winter Favorites!

So now that Spring is officially here, at least according to the calendar, I figured I would run down a few of the things I found this last winter and am currently in love with.

I'll start with lip balms. I have been using Blistex for awhile now, but when my lips got really bad my mother turned me on to their Silk & Shine version. It is so smooth and silky feeling, it calmed my chapped lips amazingly quick. One of the plus side for this is that it gives you a nice light glossy look almost like a lip gloss but not as extreme, so it's a nice highlight or pick-me-up for you face after a long day. It has an SPF of 15 so it will come in handy now that the sun is shining a bit more as well.
The other lip balm that I have been using for a couple of months now is EOS Summer Fruit. It smells so yummy and is so incredibly softening, I am seriously in love with this little egg. Plus the packaging makes it fun to play with when your bored, it wobbles around if you roll it. This one also has the added plus of being natural and organic. Both are readily available at drug stores, grocery stores and of course supercenters (like walmart). EOS runs for about $3 and Silk & Shine for about $3-4.

The next products are all for your hair. This is mostly going to be for thinner hair (my hair type) so if you have thicker or curlier hair sorry. Maybe I'll ask my sisters about some good thicker hair products for you. Like I said having thin hair I decided this last winter to finally try some thickening treatments. I bought Beyond the Zone's Thick Enuff Creme back in Sept/Oct during a sale at Sallys. It has a nice almost soapy smell, it's a little weird and sticky feeling but once you put it in you hair it doesn't really feel sticky. I apply it directly out of the shower on towel dried hair. The biggest down fall for this one is while it does make my hair feel thicker it makes it crunchy until you brush it out. So as my hair dries it dries is crunchy clumps, now I usually shower before bed so by the morning it's dry and when I brush it the crunchy clumps break up. This could be a turn off for some of you. This runs for $7.50 at Sallys. The other one I got back in Feb. is Got2B's  Fat-tastic Instant Collagen Infusion Mega-Lift Root-Boosting Spray, it's a mouth full but it's worth it. This is also used right after a shower but it doesn't leave my hair crunchy or clumpy. It is easily sprayed on and brushed through. I have also tried this one on dry hair and it had an instantly noticeable difference. They both seem to work equally well, though I would say Got2b for me is better, though I like both. It's easier to apply, it doesn't leave your hair crunchy and is a little cheaper at $5.99 from Walgreens.  

 Lastly are two random hair products. Beyond the Zone's Last Call. I bought this back when I bought the thickening creme and between the two this is the most amazing. It's a hair masque, for people with either naturally dry, dyed or fried hair. You put it on towel dried hair and let it sit for 5 minutes and then rinse it out. It has a nice fruity scent, which is a plus for me. I don't really do much in the way of heat damage to my hair I do dye it, but my two sisters not only dye their hair but fry the crap out of it with straightening and curling. So I figured I would try it out and if it worked for me maybe it could help with their hair. My hair has seriously never felt as soft as it does after I use this stuff. I will definitely be passing this on to them to try. It is sell for $9.50 at Sallys, but I would say if you have dried, dyed or fried hair it's worth a shot. The other product is Got2b's Guardian Angel Gloss Finish Blow-Out Lotion, they like huge names apparently. This is just a nice heat protection spray, they have another one for flat ironning but like I said I don't really do that. I barely blow dry my hair unless I have to or randomly feel the need to. My hair doesn't really have that dry crunchy feel it used to after blow drying without this. I don't really know how this stacks up to other heat protection sprays but it could be worth a shot at only $5.99 at Walgreens, it won't break you to try it out.

If anyone has any recommendations for me for hair products for thinner hair I would love to hear them, also any for heat protection.
 

The Crisis in Japan

Today Japan has been hit with not one but two natural disasters. The first to hit was a magnitude 8.9 earthquake 80 miles off of the eastern coast of northern Japan. Followed by a 30 foot deep Tsunami. The two together have caused hundreds of deaths already and massive property damage to the majority of the northern part of the country. To help you grasp what is going on, basically Japan has experienced one of the 5 biggest earthquakes to happen in the last hundred years. The earthquake that hit India back in 2004 was a magnitude 9.0 and tsunami and that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and untold damage to the cities it hit. 

The little red triangles are active volcanoes

Japan is located on the "Ring of Fire" a volcanically active and earthquake prone ring. This is where most of the worlds active volcanoes and 90% of the biggest earthquakes occur, but this is the largest earthquake Japan has seen since 1923 when they dealt with an 8.2 hitting Kanto.

One thing that Google is currently running is a Crisis Response page that is keeping an up to date feed on information as well as a Person Finder. The Person Finder can be used to either help locate or tell the location of people currently in Japan. If anyone has loved ones that they have not been able to contact you may want to try this. Crisis Response Person Finder

Others that may be wanting to help or trying to find ways to help there are numerous organizations looking for support to help the people of Japan:
The American Red Cross is currently accepting donations through their website and by phone just text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

The Salvation Army  is working on sending a team to help out Sendai, Japan and is taking donations via their website and also by phone just text either JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to donate $10.

Save The Children is accepting donations to it's Children's Emergency Fund to help out kids and their families affected by the disaster.

International Medical Corps is taking donations via website and phone text MED to 80888 for a $10 donation as well as trying to get volunteers for response teams.

Global Giving is taking donations to help the Japanese people.

Doctors Without Borders is looking for donations to send in medical response teams to Iwate and Miyagi.

Operation Usa is looking for both monetary donations as well as medical supply donations.

This may look like a huge list of people asking for money but even helping out one of these organizations will make a difference to people who currently need major help right now. Even posting in a blog or on Facebook about helping will get the word out and make a difference. Think of it this way if something like this happened where you live or someone you loved lives, wouldn't you want everyone to try and help?
If you have any questions, ask and I will try my best to answer them.

Starry Pillow

This is an update from one of my fabric haul posts, early in February. I didn't get to take pictures for a tutorial because this was a quick last minute gift for one of my sisters. It was really simple to throw together. I used cardboard forms for the stars, I have a tutorial up for how to make those. The pillow was just two big square pieces sewn together, and it's stuffed with foam remnants. I just stitched the stars randomly onto each side of the pillow. Both the stars and the base for the pillow are flannels. I wanted something soft that didn't need a cover, for her to use. I thought it turned out pretty good and she absolutely loved it, so it was a win for me.