July Empties!

So I know July just started, but I have been collecting 10 products for my next empties post and today I reached the 10th product. It just happens to be the beginning of July. Two of the products I hit pan on, but I wanted to include them before I used them all up. And one of the products is a sample size that I didn't use up because I didn't like it. I wanted to include it, so I would remember not to repurchase it.

1. Secret Invisible Solid pH Balanced in Clean Lavender Scent: I love this scent! The solid deodorant is my favorite kind. The clear kind doesn't work for me. I don't know why. I like getting different scents, rather than the same boring ones. I found two together on sale at Walmart, so I did repurchase this.

2. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 in Shell: I loved this foundation. This is the old formula. It kept my skin from looking shiny. It's good for oily skin. It has full coverage. I tried to repurchase this, but they changed the formula! It isn't as matte as it used to be. I'm not happy with the new formula. I got a sample from the counter. Also, the color names are all different, so I had to be rematched. The lady didn't do a good job and gave me a foundation that was too dark for me. That's disappointing because now I have to find a new foundation.

3. Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30: This stuff lasts a long time. I love this! I have several backups in case I run out. It has UVA/UVB protection. It is oil-free, hypoallergenic, and noncomedogenic. It has an antioxidant called southernwood extract. So, it seems like it's really good for the skin, and I've been using it for a long time. My skin looks and feels good. I also like the way it smells.

4. Victoria Secret Body Wash in Such A Flirt: This is a sweet smelling body wash. There wasn't very much in the container though. It is only 8.4 oz. It costs $10. I feel like you can get better deals at the drugstore, and body washes that are better quantity and quality. I don't think I'm going to repurchase this. I already have body washes I need to use before I buy a new one. The packaging is really pretty. That is the thing that sold me. I think Victoria Secret products are so pretty. It didn't last very long though.

5. Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light: I hit pan. I love this stuff. It gives a matte finish like it says. I like that it is compact rather than loose powder. I would repurchase this when I am out.

6. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent: I hit pan on this too. I also love this powder. It gives a matte finish like the name says. I go back and forth between these two powders. I'm not sure which one I like better. I would repurchase this.

7. Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara Waterproof in Very Black: I loved this mascara! It gave my lashes volume. I would repurchase this. I recommend it. I didn't repurchase it because I like to try out new mascaras. I have heard people say the regular kind is better than the waterproof kind. I haven't tried the regular kind. I prefer to use waterproof mascaras because they hold the curl better and they don't smudge.

8. Freeman Facial Clay Mask Avocado & Oatmeal: On the front it says it deep cleans & purifies pores. On the back it says, "Rich clays dive deep to purge dirt and oils from pores. Nutrient-rich Vitamin E, Avocado and Oatmeal moisturize for lasting skin softness. Skin looks and feels squeaky clean and is soft to the touch. Perfect for normal to combination skin." I agree with everything it says. I would buy the regular container. This was just a sample. I got a bunch of Freeman samples for my mom (and me) on Mother's Day. So you can expect to see them in future empties posts.

9. Freeman Facial Clay Mask Mint & Lemon: On the front it says it is deep pore cleansing. This is for people with oily skin. I have combination skin, and it has been oily lately. This left my skin feeling really dry. The sides of my nose stung! I only used this once. It was too intense for my skin. I'm not going to buy this again.

10. Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline Perfume: I got this little perfume sample I think from a Birchbox. The scent is just ok to me. It is a little too "spicy" (if that makes any sense). I wouldn't purchase it. Sephora says the notes are "bamboo, nashi, lotus flower, and balsa wood." They say the style is "airy, radiant, and feminine." It doesn't smell airy to me. It is more of a heavy smell. I wouldn't describe it as being radiant or feminine either. It smells sort of woodsy to me. It's not a horrible smell. I just prefer other perfumes.

Summer Perfume

I have done a summer perfume post before: http://beautydiversion.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%20perfume. It was September of last year. I still have those perfumes, but throughout the year I've added to my collection. Some are little samples I've gotten, some are body sprays, and some are lotions. I wanted to show you my "new" summer fragrances. I found out last year there were different fragrance notes that go with each season. That is why some people say they want their perfume to go with the season. I thought that was interesting, so I researched and I came up with the notes that supposedly go with Summer. I added Rio Berry because it was with the Spring/Summer collection of Bath and Body Works, and Peaches and Cream because peaches are ripe in the Summer. Also, Love Spell has peach as one of it's notes. Based on the notes is how I figured out which of my fragrances are "summer scents."

These are the notes of Summer:
1. Rose
2. Orange Blossoms
3. Raspberry
4. Peach
5. Honeysuckle
6. Island Flowers
7. Sea Salt

Also, last year I learned the different places to place perfume. One of the places was to spray it in the hair. Well, I just learned this year that you actually shouldn't do that. It's not good for your hair, unless it is a product made for the hair. So I have been not doing the hair trick anymore.

These are the best places to put your fragrance:
1. Behind knees
2. Wrists (don't rub them together)
3. Chest
4. Behind ears
5. Insides of elbows
6. Spritz in the air and walk through
7. Between breasts
8. Neck

1. Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea (was a Christmas present)
2. Viva La Juicy La Fleur
3. Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline
4. MCMC Phoenix
5. Coach Poppy (red)
6. Joie Folle de Joie eau de parfum
7. Juicy Couture Couture
8. Sage + Fasten Common Sense
9. Bath and Body Works Country Chic (was a Christmas present)
10. Bath and Body Works Body Spray in Bali Mango
11. Bath and Body Works Body Spray in Twilight
12. Bath and Body Works Body Spray in Rio Rumberry
13. Philosophy Lotion in Peaches and Cream
14. Victoria Secret Body Lotion in Love Spell

What is your favorite perfume/body spray/lotion to wear in the Summer?

May Favorites

This month was so long! I'm excited to get to write about my May favorites!

Favorite Movie: The Great Gatsby

I have been wanting to see this movie ever since I first saw the trailer in the movie theater back in 2012. I love Leonardo Dicaprio. I think he is an amazing actor. I have had a crush on him since I was in high school and he played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. I have heard some people complain the movie is not like the book, but I have read the book three times and I think they did an excellent job bringing the book to life. The director is amazing. He did Moulin Rouge. It is visually stunning. I also liked the music. I saw a trailer for The Lone Ranger and I'm excited for when that movie comes out.

Favorite Book: Crossed by Ally Condie

This is the second book in the Matched Trilogy. In this book the main character from the first book, Cassia runs away to find the boy she loves. The book alternates between her telling the story and the boy. So it is interesting to see the different points of view. This book is more like an adventure than the first book. It is also sadder than the first book. It ends so you want to read the third book. I really have been enjoying this trilogy.

Favorite Nail Polishes: I had a lot of favorites this month!

1. Elf Nail Polish in Coral Dream: This came in a set of 4 nail polishes. This color is so pretty. I also like cap because it makes it easy to hold the brush when you are applying the nail polish.

2. Essie Nail Lacquer in First Timer: I heard a lot about this nail polish on Youtube. People were raving about it. I normally don't wear green nail polish, but this has a mint color to it. I really like it.

3. OPI Nail Lacquer in You're Such a Budapest: I heard a lot about this on Youtube, too. I decided to wear this on my toes. It looked good with blue jeans. OPI has a great formula.

4. Essie Nail Lacquer in Under Wear? This is also from the Resort Collection 2013, just like First Timer. These are limited edition for the summer. I absolutely love this nail polish! It reminds me when I first got a manicure and I asked the lady doing my nails to pick the color that would be best for me, and she picked a color like this. I haven't been able to find that color again until now. It is very flattering with my coloring, I think.

5. Jordana Glitters Nail Polish in Cosmic and Wet 'n Wild Fergie Nail Color in Mermaid Curves: It is hard to see this polish. It is a bunch of different size teal glitters. I put the Jordana one on first and the glitters are really big, so there were spaces on the nails that had no glitter. I had the Wet 'n Wild one which has teal glitters but they were small, so I just put that on top. Teal is my favorite color. It matched my flip flops. I'm sorry the picture doesn't show the glitters that well.

6. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Celeb City: I have this on my ring finger. It has lasted for so long! The rest of my nails are in a turquoise color. I repainted them because they looked too light. I saw someone on Youtube with their nails in turquoise and their ring fingers in a foil with glitter top coat. She had an expensive foil nail polish. I found this one by Sally Hansen and it worked so nicely. I really recommend it. It isn't limited edition.

7. Milani Nail Lacquer in Silver: I put this on top of my ring fingers. This is a chunky, silver glitter. It is so pretty! I feel very posh with this on my nails.

Other Beauty Favorites:

1. Milani Eye Shadow Primer: I heard about this on Youtube, and I felt like everyone was sent this and so I wasn't really happy about this. When everyone is sent something and they all like it, it makes me feel like it is just getting a lot of hype, but it's not necessarily a good product. You know? I don't know why I finally decided to get it. Maybe I was just curious. Oh my gosh! This product really does work! And I have oily eyelids! My shadows don't crease with this! This works better than Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Urban Decay Primer Potion! I'm so glad I found this because it is cheaper and at the drugstore.

2. Pixi Flawless & Poreless Face Primer in Translucent: I saw this on someone's monthly favorites blog post. I like to try different primers. This I got at Target. It works really nicely. Pixi is expensive though, so that is the only down side.

3. Tresemme Tres Two Hair Spray Ultra Fine Mist: I ran out of my usual hair spray, so I went on Makeup Alley to see the reviews for the best hair spray. This got a lot of ratings and a lot of good reviews, so I decided to get it. This makes your head like a helmet! Your hair is not going to move at all! I love it.

4. Victoria Secret Body Wash in Such A Flirt: I heard about this through someone's Youtube monthly favorite video. She said she couldn't wait to take showers because she loved this body wash so much! For some reason that made me very curious. I had seen other people with Victoria Secret body washes, and I had never tried it before. I have a lotion, which smells so good and I love the formula. So I guessed it would smell good and be good quality. This is in the scent starfruit and white orchid. It has aloe vera and the antioxidant Vitamin E. This is a great body wash. I don't feel like rushing to take a shower or anything! I would get a Victoria Secret Body Wash again. The only problem is it is expensive. I feel like you can get just as good of body washes at the drugstore.

5. Physicians Formula BB Cream in light/medium: I heard people talk about this and again I was curious. I have never found a bb cream that I liked. This got good reviews from people. I do like this, but I think my face has turned more oily now that it is getting warmer. So I have to go back to wearing my Estee Lauder foundation. This had good coverage for me though. I just didn't like to have to keep on putting on powder.

6. One 'n Only Argan Oil: I got a new hair straightener. It came with this little bottle of argan oil. Wow! This stuff really works! It makes my hair smooth and straight. It eliminates the frizz. I put it on when my hair is wet. It smells really good too. You can get this at Sally's Beauty Supply Store.

7. Urban Decay Mariposa Palette: I did a blog post about this palette. http://beautydiversion.blogspot.com/2013/05/urban-decay-mariposa-palette-looks.html
I love the Urban Decay eye shadows! These are my favorite shadows I own. They are so pigmented and they come in a beautiful selection of colors. I'm so happy to finally have my hands on them.

8. The Balm Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette: I just realized Matt looks like my psychologist! lol! xD How weird! I love that these are neutral colors and that they are matte. This is a good palette to have in your makeup collection. I will be using this palette often, I think. I did a blog post on this: http://beautydiversion.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-balm-meet-matte-nude-eyeshadow.html

9. Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo in Fall Fight: This is supposed to help damaged hair, so you don't have falling, breaking hair. It has energizing caffeine, fortifying biotin, and fruit vitamins. I also have been using the conditioner, which I mentioned in another monthly favorites. You massage this into your scalp. My hair still breaks and falls out, so I don't know if this is working. But maybe I have less hair falling out and breaking. It smells really good and my hair looks good when I use this. If this doesn't work, I will have to start using Rogaine for Women, I think. I don't want to go bald! My dad is bald and sometimes I'm afraid that is what will happen to me, but my mom has beautiful hair, so hopefully I will have more of her genes. I just need to take care of my hair.

10. Vaseline Lip Therapy: This is such a cute tiny container compared to the large tub of Vaseline I am used to. I use this on chapped lips and it works really good.

11. Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Single in Brûlée: This is a dupe for MAC's Brûlée. It is a matte, cream shade that matches my skin color. I like to use it as a brow highlight or in my tear duct.

Favorite Songs: It's really hard for me to list my favorite songs because I love music, and every day I hear songs that I like. I tried to keep a list this month of all the songs I was loving on the radio. Whenever I heard one I liked I wrote it down in a little notebook I keep in my car. This is the list of songs I came up with. They are all different genres of music. Some are old, some are new. If you haven't heard of one, you should look it up and listen to it. You might find a new song you like!

1. Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees
2. Firework by Katy Perry
3. Thy Word by Amy Grant
4. Danny's Song by Kenny Loggins
5. Stay by Rihanna
6. Your Smiling Face by James Taylor
7. The Boys of Summer by Don Henley
8. I Love It by Icona Pop
9. Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
10. Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
11. You're My Best Friend by Queen
12. Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
13. Get Together by The Youngbloods
14. Wanted by Hunter Hayes
15. Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks
16. Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber
17. Daylight by Maroon 5
18. The Other Side by Jason Derulo
19. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (I don't know who sang it. It was an updated version.)
20. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
21. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) by Fall Out Boy
22. Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
23. My Sharona by The Knack
24. Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson
25. Silly Love Songs by Wings
26. Draggin' the Line by Tommy James
27. The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
28. Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
29. Steal My Show by tobyMac
30. Gravity by Shawn McDonald
31. Flood by Jars of Clay
32. Beautiful by Mariah Carey (feat. Miguel)
33. Heart Attack by Demi Lovato
34. One Thing Remains by Passion (feat. Kristian Stanfill)
35. Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John

So many songs! Phew! I told you I can't pick just one! Some of the songs I never heard before this month.

Those are my favorites! I hope you enjoyed! What were your favorites this month?

Duping Estee Lauder's Modern Mercury

One of my favorite Beauty Gurus on Youtube is A Model Recommends. She often times will show looks using brand new collections of very expensive makeup like Estee Lauder or Nars. She recently did a fall tutorial using Estee Lauder's new fall collection called "Modern Mercury." This is my cheapy dupe of it.
Here is the tutorial first of all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkzFiuERILI

1. First, she uses Estee Lauder Eyeshadow Duo in Platinums. She takes the white sparkly color from her lashes to her brows. I used my Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Pride, the 4th white sparkly color.

2. Next, she takes the darker color from the Estee Lauder Eyeshadow Duo in Modern Mercury. This is a gray color. She uses a fluffy brush to put it from her lashes to her brows. I copied this by using my Elf 32 eyeshadow palette in Brights that has a gray color 4th on the bottom row. I didn't know if this would look good on me. Of course I think everything looks good on her because she is a model. This actually did look pretty on me.

3. Then, she used Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee under her brow as a highlight and buffed it on the top of her cheekbones with her fingertips. I used Elf Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal.

4. After that she used Estee Lauder Eyeshadow Duo in Moons. I couldn't find that on their website. It maybe something just in the UK or perhaps she made a mistake. In the collection there is a Duo called Black Chrome that comes with a black matte color. This may be the shade she's referring to. She used this as an eyeliner doing a top flick at the end and also lining her lower lashes with it. I used my matte black in Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Greed, the 3rd color.

5. For her lipstick she used Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Nude Velvet. This is a peachy tone, matte color. It didn't make her lips look dead or concealed. It was just a pretty, neutral color on her. I used my Victoria Secret Smooth FX Lip Scrub & Balm to prep my lips. Then I lined and filled my lips in with No.7 Line & Define Lip Pencil in 20 Nude. You could use any nude lipliner.

6. For everything else I'm sure she used the regular face products and mascara. She didn't mention anything specifically. I just used what I normally use. I didn't wear any blush.