Ariel Storylook Palette Review

I finally got my hands on the new Ariel Storylook palette from Sephora.  I've been obsessing over this ever since I heard that it was going to be released. The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie of all time and I'm extremely happy they decided to go with Ariel for the last collection. I did not purchase anything from the pervious two collections since I was not impressed enough to spend the money. Now I am kinda of regretting that. But, anyway here is the review for the palette and later on I will post a review on the lipgloss set :)

The palette come in this gorgeous little box featuring Ariel in her grotto. All the pieces in the collection have cute little quotes on the packaging. This one says "Dare to Dream". Very appropriate.  You open the palette by pulling on a little ribbon to pull out the palette. The palette itself is removable so you can put it in your own container and use the box for little things like jewelry or such. The palette comes with twenty eye shadows, all colors and names go perfectly with the movie.

                                       
blue lagoon, scuttle, flounder, sebastian, flotsam

sea shells, les poissons, caspian sea, your voice, unfortunate souls

atlantica, fins, sick of swimmin', ursula, sha la la

triton, wanderin' free, jetsam, sea witch, treasures untold

I love all the colors in this palette. It's really hard to choose my favorites, but some that really stick out are fins, sick of swimmin', and caspian sea. My least favorites are flounder and sebastian. They're really good transitioning colors, but they aren't very unusual.  All colors are very pigmented and apply amazingly. I can't get over the names. I love how they included Flotsam and Jetsam (Ursula's sidekicks.) One complaint I've heard is that there is no red, the closest being sha la la which more of a raspberry shade. I can completely understand why there is no red shade, as most people would not know what to do with a red shade in everyday makeup. I myself only use red when I'm doing costume makeup. Though I do think a red would tie the palette together more, it is not that necessary. I highly recommend this palette, especially if you are an Ariel fan.

This palette is no longer available online, but will be available in stores at Sephora for $55 in August.

Proactiv+ Review

A little background about my skin: it's horrible. When I was 14 my face decided it wanted to explode with acne and it hasn't gotten any better five years later. I've tried just about every product in the drugstores and none of them worked. I then tried SkinID from Neutrogena and was happy with that until late this past year. Coincidentally my skin stop responding to SkinID the same time they discontinued the product. I tried a couple of products from Lush that were not potent enough for my skin (I can review those too it you guys would like) and I was about to go to Proactiv again. I tried Proactiv when I was about 12 and liked it but my mom stopped buying it because it was too expensive. I saw a commercial for Proactiv+ and decided to try it since I thought it was cheaper than Proactiv (I have no idea if this is true or not). Proactiv+ is a three step system that comes with a Skin Smoothing Exfoliator, Pore Targeting Treatment, and Complexion Perfecting Hydrator. 

The Skin Smoothing Exfoliator reminds me a lot of the first step in the regular Protactiv regime. It has fine micro-beads to slough off all the dead skin on your face, but it's gentle enough to use daily. The scent is pleasant to me; it smells very clean. I like the tube it comes in since it's easier to get all the product out as opposed to the regular Proactiv wash.                                                                                          

The second step is The Pore Targeting Treatment. It doesn't dry out your skin like I thought it would. It reminds me of a serum but it is a little thicker. The claim is that it gets deep down into your pores to administer the acne fighting medicine.                                                                                                 

The third step is the Complexion Perfecting Hydrator. I really like this product. It moisturizes really well but doesn't feel heavy on your skin. The texture is great too, very velvety.                                

When I first started using this product I saw an improvement in my cystic acne, for which I was very grateful, but it didn't clear up my skin like I was hoping. This system was made for people with more sensitive skin, so I thought that I needed something stronger. But then I stared washing my face morning and night as opposed to just at night (like I'm supposed to) and my face cleared up quickly. I also noticed that the texture of my skin improved greatly. If you have acne I would recommend this system. I will point out though that when you first order they give you like sample sizes of each product, but I didn't know that so I thought you just got this small tube for a big price. But when you get the full size the bottle are HUGE. Well worth the price.                                                                

        

DIY makeup remover

A while back I received a free deluxe sample of Loncome's Double Action Eye Makeup remover from Sephora. It was the first makeup remover I ever used, since I always took off my eye makeup using the astringent in my face care routine (I don't recommend doing that, it's too harsh for the sensitive eye area). After I changed my face routine to something that doesn't have a astringent, I started using the product a lot more. I really like it, it worked quickly, was gentle, and smelled nice. After I spilled the remaining product all over my bathroom (that was fun to clean up), I looked into buying the full sized product, which is $28.00. I really don't think that it is worth that much. You can buy makeup removing wipes from Walmart for five bucks that does pretty much the same thing. When my mom went out of town and took the wipes with her, I needed a quick fix to remove the black base eye look I was wearing that day. I looked online and found a recipe for eye makeup remover that I think everyone should know about. It works just as well as the Loncome product, but it cost virtually nothing. And I can almost guarantee you have the ingredients in your house right now.

1/2 teaspoon of baby shampoo
1/4 teaspoon of olive, coconut, or castor oil
water

I used the leftover Loncome bottle for this, which is about 2 oz. If you use a bigger bottle I would increase the amount as needed. I used olive oil, but you can use anything you have, though I wouldn't recommend using vegetable oil. I also just used normal shampoo since baby shampoo still burns if you get it in your eyes (No more tears refers to no tangles) and I haven't gotten it in my eyes once, and I always get stuff in my eyes. Just pour in the shampoo and oil and fill the rest of the container up with water. It will separate so you will need to shake before use. Like I said this works just as well as a high end product and is a fraction of the price.  I highly recommend trying this out!

Introduction/15 weird facts about me TAG

I've decided to put my love of makeup into something more constructive than just buying a bunch of stuff and only helping my mom and friends with their makeup needs. This blog will be all things beauty, makeup, hair, and skin being the emphasis. Since my good camera with video just broke I will unfortunately have to post just photos of looks until I get that fixed, but I will include detailed instruction on how to replicate the looks. My first series of makeup looks will be the Disney Princesses. I am very excited to start this journey and I hope that you are willing to take it with me :) As I work to provide beauty related posts here is a 15 random facts tag to hopefully entertain you will you wait.

P.S. Feel free to contact me via email with any questions about makeup or if you are in the area and are needing a makeup artist for any occasion.


1. What is a nickname only your family calls you? I have so many nicknames it's ridiculous. Seems everyone has a different name for me. But Kinzie or Kinz seems to be used only by my family, particularly Kinz. My mom also calls me MC Kinzie sometimes.

2. What is a weird habit of yours? I guess biting my nails. I hate that I do it, since I always regret it after but I can't stop. Once they start getting too long I can't take it anymore. I also check behind the shower curtain every time I go into the bathroom. I have no idea what I'd do if I actually saw a murderer, but it's gotten to a point where I don't even think about it, I just lift the curtain when I walk in lol.

3. Do you have any weird phobias? I have the standard snakes and spiders, but my really weird phobia is mirrors. I know that sounds so strange since I'm always in front of a mirror but they freak me out. Particularly when I'm in a dark room. I have no idea where this came from. I don't think about it when it's light unless I'm cleaning the mirror. But at night either the lights on in the room with a mirror or I take it out. I'm weird like that.

4. What song do you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're alone? I love the Jonas Brothers. I hate to admit it but I do. My love it starting to wane a bit though. I belt out any song I'm listening to when I'm alone. I always think I'm a good singer till I hear what I actually sound like lol.

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?  I hate disrespectful people. I know that's standard but I think it bug me more than most people. I used to hate it in school when kids would be disrespectful to the teachers. I also hate most verbal fillers such as "like" and ending every sentence with "so..." It drives me INSANE. I know sometimes it's needed but seriously you don't need to say "like" and "so" fifty million times.  Also bad grammar irritates me to no end. Don't mix up then and than. Just don't do it.

6. What's one of your nervous habits? Playing with my hair or necklace. I'll also fidget with my wrist band a lot. I don't really bite my nails when I'm nervous like some people. It's more when I'm stressed that I bite my nails. Or when I start scratching them on everything.

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Whatever side is closet to the wall, farthest from the door. When I'm staying at a hotel with two beds I'll choose the one farthest from the door. I guess I like to feel closed in and guarded. But if I'm sleeping alone I'll sleep right down the middle. Or whatever side my dogs let me have.

8. What was your first stuffed animal and it's name? My first stuffed animal was a stuffed Mickey Mouse named Mickey. My grandparents got it for me in Hawaii while my mom was still pregnant. I still have it and plan to give it to my first child in the distant future.

9. What's a drink you always order at Starbucks? It depends on the season. If it's summer I get a chocolate cookie crumble frapuccino. If it's fall I'll get a pumpkin spice latte and in winter I get a peppermint mocha. Peppermint mocha is my favorite. I'll get that whenever I want hot coffee.

10. What's a beauty rule you preach but never actually practice? Not to touch your face or pick at your acne. I do that all the time. But don't do it, it's bad for your face.

11. What way do you face in the shower? Away from the shower head, unless I'm rinsing.

12. Do you have any weird body skill? I can't think of anything. When I was younger my cousins convinced me that the fact I could bend my pinky behind my ring finger was weird, but when I got older I realized pretty much everyone can do that.

13. What your favorite comfort food/food that's bad but you love to eat it anyway? Jalapeno chips and Ben and Jerry's chocolate peppermint crunch (something like that) ice cream. I'm usually not a big ice cream person but I've ate so much of that ice cream this summer. It's like eating a giant peppermint patty with thin mints in it.

14. What phrase or exclamation do you always say? I say "Oh my god" or some variation of that a lot. I also say "I'm dead", "I'm dying" or "I really needed that in my life."And I cuss more than I should.

15. Time to sleep- what are you actually wearing? A big t-shirt and shorts. Unless it's cold, then I'll wear pajama pants.