Spoil Me Sunday: Bubbles!

April 29, 2018 sarah.elizabeth614Leave a comment

Hey, y’all!

How are you? It’s been another busy week, and the weather here is getting hotter by the day. I may hail from Central Texas, but that doesn’t mean I’m a fan of the heat. Anyway, I wanted to give my skin a boost, and I was eager to try out a new mask today!

Rapids Soothing Probiotic Bubble Mask

from H20+ Beauty

I had heard about bubble masks but had never tried one. I had also never tried anything from H20+ Beauty before, either. I picked this mask up on a whim during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, and I thought I’d give it a whirl. According to the website, active ingredients and their benefits include:

Champagne Extract–promotes an even complexion
Oat Derived Active–reduces signs of irritation and leaves skin feeling soft
Yuzu Extract–rich in Flavonoids and Vitamin C = radiance
Probiotics–promote water and nutrient retention for improved suppleness

Apply to clean skin–the package says a thick layer, the website says a dime-sized amount…who knows how much? You do you. You massage the gel into your skin, and it starts foaming almost instantly. It had a nice fresh, somewhat floral, scent to it. Sit back and relax for 10-12 minutes (website says up to 15) while the bubbles fizz away. It was a fun sensation, even though it tickled my nose. I got my husband to do it with me, and he described it as “Pop Rocks for your face.” hahaha I personally think Pop Rocks are more intense than this; I would describe it as what it would be like to stick your face in a glass of champagne.

By the end, all of the bubbles are gone, and you’re just left with the gel texture. You massage the gel into your skin for 30 seconds before rinsing it off with warm water. My skin felt so soft and healthy afterwards; I absolutely loved it! Recommended use is 2-3 times per week. After 2 weeks of use, you should see reduced occurrences of blackheads. Judging by how much I have left, I think you could easily get 2 or 3 uses out of a single 1 oz. packet, possibly 4. I would definitely recommend this for when your skin needs a calming boost!

Have you tried a bubble mask before? What did you think? Let me know if there’s one you think I should try!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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ipsy Glam Bag Review: April 2018

April 28, 2018 sarah.elizabeth6146 Comments

Hey, y’all!

April is here, and spring is in full swing! The theme for this month’s Glam Bag was “Social Butterfly.” I think the bag is really pretty; I love the rose gold accents. Now, onto what was inside!

Eyeshadow Blending Brush

from Ruby

I couldn’t find this brush on their website, so I don’t know how much it is, or really anything about it, other than the fact that it’s cruelty-free. I like the precision of this brush for blending my lower lid or the inner corner of my eye.

My Rating: 5/5

Loose Eyeshadow in “Copper”

from Meech and Mia

This eyeshadow is cruelty-free and packs some serious pigmentation. Loose eyeshadow isn’t my favorite because it gets messy, but this one didn’t have any fallout at all. I was super impressed! The color is absolutely gorgeous, and it stayed that way all day long, even after a heavy workout.

My Rating: 4/5

Soft Matte Lip Cream in “Stockholm”

from NYX Cosmetics

I only swatched this on the back of my hand, and I wasn’t impressed. The color was way too orange for my taste, but more importantly, it has no staying power. Yes, it dries matte, but it doesn’t dry down enough to stay put. Even after 20 minutes, I was able to rub it off with no problem. I’ll either list it on My Subscription Addiction’s Swap page or just give it to a friend, but I wasn’t a fan.

My Rating: 1/5

That Liquid Glo Tho Liquid Highlighter in “Lit”

from Trust Fund Beauty

The shimmery glow of this highlighter is everything. It’s a gorgeous champagne color that’s not glittery. It really made my cheekbones pop, and it works well as an eyeshadow, too. It’s a little over-the-top for work wear, but I love it for weekends!

My Rating: 4/5

Pore Tightening Pearl Mask

from Biorace

Photo of sample size Pore Tightening Pearl Clay Mask from Borate — *$25 for 3.88 oz.; Biorace*

You can read my first impression of this mask here. I recommend it!

My Rating: 5/5

This month’s bag had an average rating of 3.8. Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

Are you a member of any subscription services? What did you get that you absolutely love? Can’t wait for May!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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Yes, Oh Yas! April 2018

April 23, 2018April 23, 2018 sarah.elizabeth6142 Comments

Hey, y’all!

I was so excited to get my first Yes, Oh Yas! package this month! I got 4 full-size items– check ’em out!

*Note: prices listed as photo captions are what I found on the respective product websites. Retail values listed below my descriptions are what was listed by Yes, Oh Yas!

12 Pc. Pink Vegan Brush Set

from Crown Brushes

I’ve never tried Crown Brushes before, but I’ve heard good things. The brushes are soooooo soft, and they’re super easy to clean. The set includes:

Brow-Lash Comb Brush
Lash Brush
Smudger Brush
Pointed Liner Brush
Lip Brush
Angled Liner Brush
Deluxe Fan
Concealer Brush
Shadow Brush
Angled Shadow Brush
Blush Brush
Powder Brush

They’re not as dense as some brushes I already own, so it’s nice to have a wider variety of options. The only real detractor for me was the carrying case. It felt really cheap, and some of the compartments were already starting to tear. I’ll be keeping the brushes, but I’m probably going to toss the case or give it away, which is a shame.

Retail Value: $29.99*

*I’m a little confused about this because the insert I got in my package listed the retail value of all the items, and it said this brush set retails for $29.99. When I looked it up on the Crown Brushes website, it said it’s normally $12, but at the time of this post, it’s on sale for $8.40. $29.99 and $12 is quite a difference…

Mineral Bronzer in “Sensual”

from Bella Terra Cosmetics

The color of this bronzer is absolutely gorgeous, and it applies beautifully. It’s just too glittery for me to wear for an everyday look. I tend to gravitate more towards shimmer or matte bronzers. This would make a really lovely body bronzer on the weekends, especially with summer coming. Due to how glittery it is, I don’t think it’s something I’d repurchase, but that’s purely based on my personal preference.

Retail Value: $24.99*

*I assume this is because I received a 2g jar, while what’s listed on the Bella Terra website is a 9g jar.

Flutter Mascara in “Jet Black”

from Manna Kadar Beauty

I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m no mascara expert. I’m blessed with long thick lashes, so I don’t really need it for day-to-day life. I’ll wear a little of it when I wear my magnetic false lashes so that they have something to grip onto, but that’s really only for special occasions like weddings when I know there will be lots of photos. Otherwise, I find mascara tedious to apply and remove, and it’s my least favorite part of makeup.

I tried this mascara one day just to take it for a spin. I was concerned that it didn’t say “waterproof” anywhere on the packaging, but after a full day of work and getting a full sweat on with an aerial silks class, it didn’t flake, smudge, or run. I was pretty impressed. The hourglass applicator is interesting; it’s supposed to help you get every last lash without clumping. Not too shabby.

Retail Value: $29.99

Mechanical Eyeliner in “Gray”

from Girlactik Beauty

As I’ve said before, I’m a liquid or gel liner kind of girl. I tried this eyeliner anyway to see how I liked it. I tried it on my water line one day to see how it held up–not so much. I tried it on my lids another day; it went on smoothly and had a nice color, but it wasn’t as crisp or intense as I prefer. I ended up going over it with my Lorac Front of the Line PRO Liquid Eyeliner in “Charcoal.”

The fact that it’s angled is interesting and keeps the line uniform after multiple uses. It’s not that this isn’t a good product; it’s just not my thing.

Retail Value: $19.99

Total package value: $104.96*

*If you count the Crown Brushes based on the price listed on their website, the total comes out to $84.99. Considering the subscription is only $14.99/month + shipping, that’s still a really good bang for your buck!

I can’t wait to see what May has in store! Which of these items are you dying to get your hands on? Let me know in the comments!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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Spoil Me Sunday: Tighten Up

April 22, 2018 sarah.elizabeth6142 Comments

Hey, y’all!

We’ve finally been getting some much-needed rain here in Orlando. Rainy days are perfect for curling up on the couch, getting some writing done, and being a little lazy. For this Spoil Me Sunday, I decided to use one of the items from my April ipsy Glam Bag!

Pore Tightening Pearl Clay Mask

from Biorace

This mask claims to tighten pores, reduce excess sebum, and deep cleanse. The pearl extract in it brightens and evens your complexion (I assume that’s what the black flecks were). I’m a June baby, so Pearl is one of my birthstones (the other is Alexandrite), so this was made for me! I only applied it to my T-Zone and the apples of my cheeks, where I have the most obvious pores. As it dried, it visibly tightened my skin to the point where it visibly pulled, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I rinsed it off somewhat easily after 15 minutes, and my pores did in fact look smaller and my skin felt smoother. I’m curious to see what results I’ll get with regular use (they recommend 1-2 times a week). Considering how little I need to use at one time, this sample will last me a while. I would absolutely recommend this mask!

My full April 2018 ipsy Glam Bag review will be coming soon, so keep an eye out! What do you think of this mask? Would you try it?

Have a great week!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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Instagram: sarah.elizabeth614 (You can also click the icon at the top of this page.)

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Ulta 21 Days of Beauty March 2018 Pt. 4

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 sarah.elizabeth614Leave a comment

Hey, y’all!

Sorry I was a little delayed in getting this post up. I ordered online again, and my order arrived right before I went out of town for a wedding, but here we are. Let’s get to it!

Samples

Color Extend Magnetics Mega Mask

from Redken

I don’t color my hair, so I wouldn’t normally seek out products like this, but I got a sample, so why not give it a shot? It’s a 2-in-1 treatment + care extender that comes in dual chamber packaging; it’s intended to extend the vibrancy of your hair color for up to 4 weeks, according to their website, when used with sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner.

The directions say to shampoo your hair, towel dry it, apply the mask, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, then rinse. I just shampooed, wrung out as much excess water as I could, applied it, and let it sit while I finished showering. The scent was was fine, nothing noteworthy. The mask left my hair soft, shiny, and smooth after blow-drying. I have to wash my hair more frequently than I’d like because I work out rigorously six days a week, so I’m all about deep conditioning. Luckily there was a healthy amount of product in the packet, and my hair is only shoulder length, so I can get a few more uses out of the sample. So far I can’t decide if I like it better than the Saphira Mud Treatment. I do like the Saphira scent better, but we’ll see.

Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

from Tarte Cosmetics

This sample came with four colors:

Fairly Light Neutral
Light Medium
Medium
Tan-Deep

I used Fairly Light Neutral. Tarte’s Shape Tape concealer is incredibly popular; I own it and like it, but I just might like this better. It’s a little bit thicker, so a little goes a long way. They both settle into the small creases under my eyes a little bit, even after baking. If you apply the Shape Tape with a brush instead of the wand, they both behave about the same, though. One big difference I notice is that the Shape Tape has a strong fragrance, while I don’t notice any fragrance with the Maracuja. It blended easily with a concealer brush and the coverage was buildable. When I use up my Shape Tape, I just might have to switch to this! (PS: it’s cruelty-free!)

Beauty Steal

Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging

from Urban Decay

This has been my ride-or-die eyeshadow primer for years. I was glad when they went from the bottle to the squeeze tube because the bottle wasted so much product. I was eh about going from the squeeze tube to the tube with the applicator wand. It’s nice to not have to get my fingers dirty applying it, but I have to blend it with my finger or a beauty sponge anyway, so it doesn’t save much time. As an experiment, I put this primer on one eye and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance on the other eye. By the end of the day, I honestly couldn’t tell a difference between the two, so I’ll probably just go with whichever is on sale at any given time. This time I got it half price! It’s nice to have choices. 🙂 (PS: Vegan & cruelty-free!)

Bonus Purchases

I picked up a couple of other items that weren’t on sale.

Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes

from Neutrogena

I don’t use makeup remover wipes regularly because I prefer cleansing oil. I sometimes use them when I travel, but I tend to use the Clinique ones because they’re gentle enough to use on my eyes. These are a little more affordable, and they’re good to have on hand when swatching, so I went ahead and picked up a refill pack.

Double Entendre Eyeshadow Palette

from ColourPop

I’ve gotten a couple of ColourPop eyeshadows in past ipsy bags, and I’ve loved them both. They have good pigmentation, smooth application, and no fallout. Considering the high quality, I was pleasantly surprised to learn how affordable ColourPop’s products are. Cruelty-free, too? I’m in love! Needless to say, I was super excited when Ulta started carrying the brand. A girl can never have too many neutral eyeshadows, so I picked up this lovely little palette. It’s 12 gorgeous colors–8 matte, 3 metallic, and 1 satin. So far I’ve only tried a couple of looks with this palette, but I’m looking forward to continuing to play with it! Totally worth purchasing.

What was your favorite purchase during this 21 Days of Beauty? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Hope your week is going well.

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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Spoil Me Sunday: Detox

April 15, 2018 sarah.elizabeth614Leave a comment

Hey, y’all!

Just got back from a super fun wedding weekend in Tampa. I was part of the bridal party, and we all did our fair share of eating delicious foods, drinking too much, and having a blast. Like the rest of my body, my face could use a good detox right about now.

Daily Wonders Detox and Chill Charcoal Purifying Mask

from Leaders Cosmetics USA

I’m thinking next weekend will be perfect for head to toe pampering, but with the unpacking and laundry and such, I just wanted a quick boost for my skin today. I figured I’d give this sheet mask a whirl. It’s black (not too surprising), but the serum on it is still clear. The activated charcoal and volcanic ash work to draw out impurities, while the green tea extract and chlorella hydrate the skin. The active ingredients also help remove dead skin cells. I do prefer the gel sheet masks over the fabric ones, but this did leave my skin feeling a little fresher when I took it off. I got a 2-pack for half price, so I’ll use the other one at some point, but I probably won’t repurchase.

How do you like to reset after overindulging? Leave me some ideas in the comments!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

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Spoil Me Sunday: Cuckoo for Coconut & the Great Goat Adventure

April 8, 2018 sarah.elizabeth614Leave a comment

Hey, y’all!

This past week was ROUGH. Pulled some extra long hours at work, tensions ran high, and I didn’t sleep enough. You know the drill. Add all that to the fact that I don’t think my skin liked that Stila foundation that I sampled, and you’ve got a recipe for an irritated, broken out complexion.

I did a few things this weekend to combat some of the stress.

I got some much-needed sleep.
I went to an aerial yoga class yesterday.
Enjoyed brunch this morning at Se7en Bites with my husband and some family friends visiting from Texas.
I did yoga with baby goats this morning at Wildflower Farm and managed to convince my husband to come along! A friend of mine had posted about it on Facebook a few weeks ago, and when I saw it was less than 5 miles from my house, I had to sign up! We did yoga for about 45 minutes with the goats running around and climbing on people (they gave us “goat bait” aka foliage to entice the goats to come play with us.) Afterwards, we got to bottle feed them. The way their tails wagged during the bottle feeding was absolutely adorable!

540ffdf3-eba5-41b4-936b-907841ac6de2 — *Of all the photos Jeff took for me this morning, I think the one with the goat in downward-facing dog on top of me in downward-facing dog is probably my favorite. 🙂*

Despite all the stress-relieving activities, my skin is still unhappy, so I decided to give this sheet mask a shot:

7 Wonders Caribbean Coconut Calming Mask

from Leaders Cosmetics USA

I’ll start out by saying that when it comes to sheet masks, I’ve found that I prefer gel ones like this that come with a protective film on both sides. It’s gratifying to pull the film off, but more importantly, it stops the mask from sticking to itself when you take it out of the package but allows it to be sticky enough to adhere to your face. These gel sheet masks work better for me than the cotton or bamboo ones I’ve tried. This one stuck really well, and I didn’t have any tenting around the bridge of my nose. It also fit well and didn’t stop way short of my hairline.

The coconut and witch hazel in this mask were very refreshing for my skin, and it didn’t leave my face feeling super sticky when I took it off. Hopefully using this mask and going to bed at a decent time tonight will mean a calmer complexion tomorrow. I think I might have found a sheet mask I’d actually repurchase…say what??

What do you do to de-stress? Have you ever done yoga with baby goats? Some other animal, maybe? Tell me about it in the comments!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sarah xoxo

If you’d like to be notified when new posts go up, please subscribe to Balanced Life Beauty.

Instagram: sarah.elizabeth614 (You can also click the icon at the top of this page.)

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Yes, Oh Yas!: Get 3-7 full-size beauty products worth $65+ delivered to you each month for $14.99 + shipping. Use coupon code SARAH614 at checkout for 10% off your first box!