drugstore discovery: Maybelline "The Buffs", e.l.f.

There have been so many new products coming out this January from all different makeup brands- great for my makeup addiction, bad for my wallet! As I was scouring the drugstore one day, I came across two new lip products that I really wanted to try.

First I found a new collection that Maybelline came out with. These lipsticks are called the Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs and I got the shade Nude Lust 920. I guess the "purpose" of these lipsticks is to be neutral, and they range from pale to a bit deeper. These lipsticks have a great creamy consistency and are not drying. This color in particular is not cool or warm, but very neutral. It does match my current skin tone so I have to apply a bit of a darker lip liner to separate my lips from my face.

I wouldn't call this an absolute must have, but I do like it. I tend to lean more towards pink-nudes so that may be a reason I don't reach for it as much as others. If you want to check out the collection I do encourage you to get one because Maybelline makes great lipsticks!

Another product I have been meaning to grab, but could only find online until I ran across it at Harmon, is the e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator. This looks like a lipstick but is a lip scrub in bullet form. I have used this several times and I do think it works well. However mine broke already when I was using it- you can barely turn the product up when using it or else it will snap in half. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I will keep you updated!

Let me know what new products you have discovered at the drugstore- or even high end, I'd love to hear your suggestions! I hope this gave a little snippet of info if any of these have caught your eye.

Always stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina

2013 beauty smackdown: best in beauty

Where has 2013 gone?! I cannot believe a whole year has passed, it feels like just a few months ago I was telling you about my 2013 resolutions! Because I don't really do monthly favorite videos, I wanted to do an end of the year type of thing to let you know my favorite products in each category. I tried my hardest to narrow it down to my absolute favorites, but for some of them I really just didn't have one or I had too many so I just included all my favorites.

Starting off with face products:

• primer- L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur Instant Skin Smoother Finishing Cream
• foundation- L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation, Estee Lauder Double Wear Light
• concealer- MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15
• powder- Coastal Scents 6 Contour Blush Palette (white shade)
• blush- MAC Powder Blush in Blushbaby
• bronzer- Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder
• highlight- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, Dior Diorskin Shimmer Star in Amber Diamond

Moving on to eye products:

• eye primer- Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
• eye shadow single- Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Single in Nutty
• eye shadow trios/quads/etc.- L'Oreal Colour Riche Eye Shadow Quad in Cuppa Joe, CoverGirl Eye Enhancer 3-Kit Shadow in Shimmering Sands
• eye shadow palette- I can't just pick one...I LOVE THEM ALL!
• brow product- Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel, e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit in Ash

And last, but never least, lip products:

• lip balm/chapstick- Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
• lipstick- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose, Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick in Lingerie Pink 7
• lip gloss- Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Dolly, Nars Lipgloss in Turkish Delight

So those are my favorites for the year! I know I didn't include some categories, but that's because I haven't found products that I love yet (so...obvously I am looking for your suggestions)! Let me know what your favorites for the month of December and 2013 were in the comment section below!

Always stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina

best of Glam bag 2013

Yesterday I told you about my least favorite products of this year's Glam bag subscription, and today it's all about the best! Unlike yesterday's post, today's was pretty difficult. I found myself going back and forth on which products I really loved, because there were just so many. But I have narrowed it down to my favorite five!

In my first ever Glam bag I received the Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Bloody Mary. This is just the perfect red shade for my skin tone. The polish itself is also very nice. It has a great consistency and glides on easily. You can get away with one coat- but I usually do two for good measure. Also, it has kind of a shiny finish already so you could skip going with a top coat which can save some time if you're in a hurry! Definitely a great polish!

My next favorite product came in the March Glam bag and it is the GLAMRX Mini Freestyle Palette. This is a perfect travel kit for single eyeshadows and ones that you use every day. I raved about this for a while and I still get so much use out of it. I currently have four shadows in mine so you can fit a whole look in the palette. I would definitely rank this as the top product I have gotten the entire year!

In the July Glam bag I got the pop Pouty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance. This is such a great pink nude color for every day wear. I wore this just about every time I did my makeup in the summer because it really just complemented any look. It does get a bit harder to wear the more tan I am, but I think it looks great even if you have to sheer it out a bit or layer with another lipstick.

The last two products that I have loved came from the October Glam bag. First is the Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel. This is great for creating volume throughout my limp hair. I only put this in my roots and then blow dry my hair upside down. Another great thing is that a little goes a long way, so I see this sample lasting quite a while! This is definitely something that I have to use in my hair routine or else my hair will be laying flat against my head.

Last but not least, is the Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Dolly. This is not only a great color, but the formula is amazing as well. Although this gloss doesn't have opaque pigmentation it gives some color without being sticky. It also has a tingly feeling and smells somewhat minty, which I personally love!

So those were my absolute favorite products from the 2013 Glam bag subscription. I did have some other favorites, but I really wanted to narrow it down. If you've been following along with my Glam bag posts, you'll know I definitely think this is worth the money because of the variety, quality and size of the products they send you. I encourage everyone to check it out!

I hope everyone from the northeast made it through this blizzard alive and that y'all from other parts are staying warm! Look out for my favorite products of 2013 coming soon!

Always stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina

2013 Glam bag fails

As promised, I wanted to let you know about the 2013 Glam bag products that I loved and disliked...and of course, I had to start off with the ones I didn't like. Surprisingly (or not), I didn't find many products that I completely considered a fail- just a few. So let's jump right into it!

The first product didn't come until the July bag, and that is the Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray. I did not speak highly of this in my initial impression and throughout using this my opinion didn't change much. It left my hair feeling crunch and dry- and I'm talking just bleached your hair five times in a row dry- and the kicker...it didn't even give me "beachy" waves. I have wavy hair and I thought this would just enhance those, yeah...no. I just wanted to wash my hair right away because my ends looked FRIED. Not a fan!

The next two products are mascaras, one from the September bag and the other from the November bag. I know I generally say that you can make any mascara work with a primer, but honestly all the mascaras I have received from the Glam bags have been one-of-a-kind horrible. In the September bag came the Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Volumizing Mascara which just left me looking like I had 2 lashes. It did nothing in terms of volumizing and doesn't live up to the claim that it's name makes. The November bag had the em Lash Gallery Lengthening Mascara in Brown. Mainly the color is what turned me off. I have absolutely no use for a brown mascara because my lashes are so light already. Of all the things I want, even in a natural look, are dark lashes. My sister, however, who has dark lashes likes this for natural makeup.

A product that is not pictured because I gave it to a friend is the be Delectable Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream, which came from the October bag. The product wasn't necessarily bad, but the smell was too much for me to handle. It was so intense! I sometimes can get a headache when scents are too strong so I didn't want to push it.

The final fail of Glam bag came in the December bag. It was the Starrily Nail Polish in Bzzzz Bzzzz, mainly because of the colors and the how it applied. I'm personally not a Steelers fan so I don't wear black and yellow nail polish, plus the glitter applied so sparsely. If that's the look you're going for then you might like it, but it's not my cup of tea.

I hope this was helpful and informative in some way. It also allowed me to reflect back on the Glam bags I received to see if they were really worth it- which I believe they are! And most of the products I didn't like were given to a friend who could get some use out of them. I hope you had an amazing and enjoyable new year's and are ready for an awesome year!

Happy 2014!

Always stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina