Forever 21's Love & Beauty Face Illuminator! (Plus a few other goodies)

Pictured above: Forever 21 Glitter & Hearts Cosmetic Bag (sold out on website), Forever 21 Cameo Stud Earrings (here), Forever 21 Rhinestone Pyramid Ring (here) and Forever 21 Face Illuminator (here).

Whenever I go to Forever 21, I don't think I ever leave empty handed. If I don't find clothes, I always find at least one accessory I can't put down or a really reasonable priced beauty item.

While I was at the mall yesterday, I ended up purchasing a few goodies. One in particular I'm really excited about, is the Love & Beauty Face Illuminator.

The Face Illuminator is a creamy, opalescent liquid that can be used all over the body as well as the face. It comes in two shades; Gold and Bronze. I ended up picking Gold, which I thought was an absolute must-have. Bronze was pretty as well, but it seemed like a very basic golden shade with gold reflects. Gold on the other hand, is a sheer milky peach with a bright pink pearl. It reminds me a bit of Benefit Moon Beam, a product I've always wanted to try, but I don't own it, so unfortunately I can't compare them. It also reminds me a bit of MAC Pink Bronze Pigment or MAC Light Flush MSF because the pink reflects are the same, but this face illuminator is much more sublte.

The consistency is pretty thin, similar to the consistency as Benefit High Beam, but slightly thinner. It's very easy to blend out with your fingers, and can be built for a heavier glow. The effect can be subtle, to however you want it to look. I'm in love with the color and I think it's a product I'll be using often to pat on my cheeks as a highlight. It can also be mixed in your favorite lotion to add a glowy sheen to your skin. Although, I bet the shade Bronze would work better for that since it's golden, whereas Gold has pink reflects, that would work best on the face. Lastly, I love the packaging of the product. It comes in a sturdy, thick plastic tube with a pump (a pump is always a plus). And, you get a whopping 1.67 oz of product for $5.80. I'm just crossing my fingers that the pump won't clog up and stop working - an often mishap with lower end items.

Here it is applied heavily to my hand and then blended out. As you can see, once blended the sheen becomes much more subtle.

Here's a closer look at the ring I purchased. I thought it was way too cute to pass up!

Any awesome beauty finds you'd like to share?? Let me know in the comments below!

Wet n Wild Willow Lip Liner Pencil Review + a Few Comparisons!

Wet n Wild Willow Lip Liner

Wet n Wild Color Icon Lip Liner comes in a small variety of everyday, wearable shades. There are six (6) shades in total, and my favorite of the six is #712 Willow.

Willow is a caramel nude shade that is suitable for a wide range of lip colors. It's a bit warmer than my natural lip color and works exceptionally well paired with warm nudes, peaches and pinks.

When it comes to lip liner, I prefer a dry formula opposed to a creamy formula, because the drier consistency pencils tend to hold up better through meals, beverages and average wear throughout the day. This particular pencil has a great formula. In comparison to MAC Lip Pencils, it's quite similar in texture, but a little less creamy. It doesn't glide as well as MAC, but it's not so dry where it tugs my lips and crumbles up. Overall, a fantastic deal for the price (99 cents).

Swatches:

Wet n Wild Willow Lip Pencil, MAC Hover Lip Pencil, MAC Subculture Lip Pencil and Sephora Nano #2 Lip Pencil.

Willow is actually very similar to all of the shades swatched, but it has the warmest tone of the four.

Wet n Wild Willow Lip Pencil, MAC Peachstock Lipstick and MAC Clear Lip glass.

Review: Clairol Nice & Easy Perfect 10 Permanent Hair Color in Medium Brown!

Clairol Nice & Easy Perfect 10 Permanent Hair Color

(#5 Medium Brown)

The kits contents.

Makeupalley rating of 3.3/5 based on 287 reviews, with a 56% re-purchase rate. (view here)

As you may already know, I dye my hair every month (sometimes I skip a month or two) with Clairol's Natural Instincts Brass Free Brunettes Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Medium Brown. Prior to that, I was using whatever was on sale and from the looks of the box, wouldn't turn my hair orange or black. It was usually a hit or miss - the majority of the time was a miss. I would use Dark Brown dyes, with the anxiety of possibly leaving it in too long or not leaving it in long enough. (I've ended up with jet black hair twice by leaving it in too long.) Other dyes would leave my hair color a brassy brown that would fade to a medium auburn after a couple of months. Medium brown is all I ask for!! Anyway, I loved that Clairol Natural Instincts Brass Free Brunettes didn't cause my hair to go too dark or have any terrible orange tones. Even though the color was spot on, it didn't do a good job covering my white hairs. My hair would be an awesome, rich medium brown and I'd have my platinum white hairs shining though my bangs like nobody's business. So, I thought I'd look elsewhere in the world of drugstore hair dye.

Clairol Perfect 10 sounded like what I needed - 10 minutes to develop, with 100% gray coverage. 

It's your standard box dye - it comes with the application tube that contains the color activator & the color creme, an instruction booklet with plastic gloves and a deep conditioner. It also has a snazzy comb applicator that you can screw on the tube. I like that you don't have to use the comb if you don't want to. You can just toss it and use the squeeze tip like a standard hair dye. I actually like the comb, but for precision root application, I think the traditional way works best - Run the product down your roots and blend with your fingertips or a fine tooth comb.

Since I don't have that many white hairs (yes, they are white. snow white. they aren't gray) just a small family of them in one area, I used the comb applicator and ran the dye through the top of my head and worked it with my fingers down the strands to blend the color in with my hair, then placed my hair in a bun.

I waited 10-12 minutes and washed and conditioned my hair. I then used my NuMe flat iron the following morning to curl my hair.

My hair color didn't change all that much from before, but it does appear a bit warmer. It appears to have a slight mahogany tone in the light. My hair looks shiny and healthy and doesn't feel dried out.

100% gray coverage? No. 96% to be exact, as I still can see about 4-5 hairs that aren't white anymore, but are a light golden. I was a little upset about that, because they are the most visible ones as they are at top of my bangs. Maybe they are what you call "stubborn grays" and need around 20 minutes. Oh well. I do like the outcome anyway, and I probably will purchase this dye again because of the ease of use.

After I dyed my hair using #5 Medium Brown.

**Before tossing the box, rip the top of the box off to remember the brand and shade in case you like the final outcome!

Olivia & Joy Fringe Handbag!

Olivia + Joy New York - Outburst Fringe Flap 

Style # OJ44026-000-BKA

Suggested Retail $78

I actually got this handbag as a birthday gift, and I love it. It was purchased at Loehmann's for $39.99. I did track this bag down, and it's still available on the Olivia & Joy website for $55. (click here)

The Outburst Fringe Flap is a small, synthetic hobo handbag with a large flap of fringe with metal embellishments. I was drawn to this bag right away as I loved the trendy fringe and edgy silver metal details. I also like the fact that at the top of the chain strap, there is a thick leather piece, which makes it comfortable for wear on the shoulder. It's not really a bag that I can toss everything in, but it fits my cosmetic bag, wallet and cell phone pretty good. I think it's the perfect accessory to add some funk into a plain outfit.

Celebs sporting trendy fringe handbags

Kate Moss, Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, Mary Kate Olsen

Also, from Loehmann's I got this amazing trendy, rhinestone agate ring. I love the abstract shape & the rhinestone outline. I love wearing large, statement rings - They are pretty much a no brainer when you can't figure out which necklace, bracelet or watch you want to wear with your outfit. Just toss on a ring or two! The brand is Robert Rose and it was on clearance for $9.98.

What are some of your favorite places to shop for handbags and accessories?