Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Bubble Babe, Super Girl and Nude Candy.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss

I've purchased Essence's XXXL Shine Lipgloss in the past, and I was pretty impressed. I can't really call it a drugstore brand, because in the USA, it's only available in ULTA, but it's one of my favorite bargain brands for lip products. (*edit - there may be other locations depending on your area. The location finder on the Essence website only shows results for those living in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I have only seen Essence at ULTA in my area.)

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss is available in twelve (12) shades: 01 Pure Chic, 03 Timeless Beauty, 04 Rising Star, 05 Super Girl, 07 Big Night Out, 08 Glamour to Go, 09 Party Connection, 14 Bubble Babe, 15 True Love, 17 Fabulous Fuschia, 18 Sparkling Papaya and 19 Nude Candy.

Super Girl is a very sheer watermelon pink with bright pink shimmer.
Bubble Babe is a very sheer, cool cotton candy pink with cool pink and white shimmer.
Nude Candy is a creamy pale pink, reminiscent of Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss. The color applies fairly opaque in comparison to the other two shades.

Super Girl and Bubble Babe work best applied over a lipstick to add a little bit of glossy shine, as alone, they don't provide much color.

One of my favorite things about the XXXL Shine Lipgloss, is the brush design. It's not your average sponge or doe-foot applicator. It's longer, and flatter than your standard doe-foot. What's nice about the shape is that the applicator picks up the perfect amount of product, and in one sweep it applies the product evenly across your lips. You'll rarely ever have to double dip.

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Essence #47 Prom Night Lipstick Review!

Essence Prom Night Lipstick

I've pretty much been on an Essence buying rampage lately. I know Essence is nothing new to ULTA, but they're constantly coming out with new products and colors. And, since they're such an affordable brand, you won't be breaking the bank, even with your hands full

Essence Lipstick is available in ten (10) fun colors: #40 Look at Me!, #41 Femme Fatale, #42 Fairytale, #43 Kiss you, #47 Prom Night, #48 Red Carpet, #49 Like a Lady, #50 Creamy Nude, #51 Fifth Avenue and #55 Coralize Me!

Since you can never have enough natural pink lipsticks, I knew that #47 Prom Night would be one of those shades you can throw on your lips daily, and it'll pretty much go with anything. And, at $2, how can you go wrong?

Prom Night is a bubble-gum pink that leans a bit on the cool (slightly purple) side and has a slight frosty finish. I'm not a fan of frost. It makes me think of the 90's when everyone was rocking white, silver and lilac frosty lipsticks (Yeah, I was 11 or 12 years old rocking it too.) This lipstick only has a subtle frost, so don't fear. For those of you that own Rimmel Pink Blush Lipstick, it's pretty similar.

Essence Prom Night Lipstick

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The Blue Illume Whitening Toothbrush

 Hey all!

I always get asked how I keep my teeth white. Thankfully I have pretty good genes and never had too bad of issues with yellow or stained teeth, but still, I'm always interested in the newest whitening products that promise whiter teeth in a short amount of time.

I've tried professional whitening from my dentist and dreading sleeping with those trays in my mouth. I only probably went through with it a handful of times before I wanted to place the trays under my tires and run over them 100 times with my car. Some nights I jumped up out of my sleep with shooting pains through my teeth. Not fun at all.

Crest White Strips (the professional ones) work beautifully for whitening teeth, but I'd always make sure to avoid them during the winter because they caused my teeth to be very sensitive, especially on cold, windy days.

Recently I've been using Supersmile Toothpaste and I've definitely noticed when I use it that my teeth look brighter. The reviews are pretty mixed, but I've had pretty good results. The biggest plus is it doesn't make my teeth sensitive. 

I've never invested in an expensive toothbrush - I usually grab whatever is on sale for a couple of bucks. So, when I heard about the Sweden based Blue Illume toothbrush, a toothbrush that counteracts bacteria (the source of gum disease and plaque) and helps whiten the teeth, I was all ears.

Light Therapy has been proven to be effective for many different medical conditions, particularly in those who have issues with acne. The blue light damages and ultimately kills the bacteria, yielding in clearer skin. 

As for using blue light to kill the bacteria in your mouth, it sounds pretty legit, but does it really work?

Some of you may think this light is actually going to bleach your teeth, but it's unlikely the case. If your teeth are stained (due to coffee, etc) it'd be beneficial to a product that contains whitening agents to brighten up your smile.

Plaque build up is typically what will make your teeth appear yellow, so this brush may reduce plaque, and will help you get rid of it with daily use.

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Sunday loves.

I'm having a laid back Sunday, and thought I'd do a quick post to show you a few of my recent purchases that I've been loving.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Becca Flamenco Bronzing Powder has been my go-to bronzer for the past couple of weeks. As you can see, mine sadly broke, but luckily it's still perfectly usable without making a mess. The color is perfect golden bronze with the tiniest amount of shimmer. It's sheer, so you don't have to be shy with your application brush. Even when layered, the color is very natural and seamless. For a deeper bronze, I like applying it lightly over Chanel Bronze Universel (cream bronzer) to seal in the color. 

I was so excited when I spotted these Enzo Angiolini sandals at TJMaxx. I have the same exact ones in light pink/rose gold from a couple of years back and they were probably my favorite sandals I've ever owned. Not only are they totally cute, they have a short wedge - which for me is much more comfortable than completely flat sandals. I figured I can't go wrong with a charcoal version . They'll go with pretty much everything. They were $39.99.

Have you got yourself into the star trend? I've been seeing stars for several months now and never really cared for it. It's kinda growing on me now to an extent, so I picked up a black scarf with white stars (pictured above). I can't help but think it looks like I'm wearing a scarf from a children's store, but I'll just have to find the right outfits to pair it with. I purchased it from TJMaxx as well for $12.99.

I'm loving this plastic makeup organizer. I thought it'd be perfect for keeping my perfumes, skincare and some of my go-to makeup products. I love that it has a few small dividers where I can keep my lipglosses, rollerball perfumes and perfume samples upright for convenient use. Yet again, it was purchased from TJmaxx for $19.99. It could be found in their home department, located near the stationary, jewelry boxes and office items.

What are you loving right now?!