DIY Pore Strips: Do They REALLY Work?!?!?!?!

 I know we all just LOVE to pin, pin, pin on Pinterest but how many of us actually go through and try some of these DIY projects?!?!?! I'm sure many of us do give it a go but if you're like me, I tend to put the beauty DIY stuff on the back burner for whatever reason. Not today!!!! I put these DIY Deep Pore Cleansing mask to the test!! So do they work or is it just anther Pinterest fail?!?!?! Keep reading to find out!

 So here's what you'll need:

1.5 tablesppons of milk (any kind) - I used Almond Milk - it's all I had!!
1 tablespoon of unflavored Gelatine (do not get Jell-O flavors...it could get ugly if you do!)

One of these little packets is all you need as it measures up to be about 1 tbs.

Mix together; put in the microwave for 15 seconds then start spreading on your face immediately as the Gelatin will start to harden!!!!!

**Side note - I did steam my face before I did this to open up my pores. I just put a small pot of water on the stove and when it started to boil I put my face over the steam. REMEMBER...STEAM IS HOT AND YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF!!! I kept my face far enough from the steam not to burn myself.....So PLEASE use common sense when doing this!!! You can just put a warm towel on your face for about 5 minutes and that will work too.

Spread the Gelatin all over your face as indicated above and work QUICKLY!! As I said...this stuff starts to get jelly and harden fast. The directions said to use a Popsicle stick but I was flat out of those so I used my fingers which worked just fine.


The Verdict:
 OUCH!!!!!!! That's my verdict!

My face is NOT normally this red...the mask did that!!

First off the mask was EXTREMELY difficult to peel off. I would get a good piece to peel off and then it would just come off in a very small piece.....not to mention that as I'm peeling this stuff off it was like peeling a layer of my skin off...OUCH!!!! As you can see in the picture, my face got REALLY red because it became irritated while pulling the gelatin mixutre off. I will say that the pieces I did pull off I could see the "gunk" that it pulled out of my pores, but I could also see all the little hairs that WERE on my face!!!
 I ended up getting a washcloth and wiping the rest of the mask off my face as it was too difficult to peel off.

In the end, I think this would definitely work as a pore strip for your nose or chin or wherever you have blackhead problems...but all over the face, NO! It hurts, it's irritating and it's difficult to get the stuff off your face!! It did leave my face feeling very soft and smooth but I did not like how red and irritated it left my skin. So from now on I'll be using this stuff just on my nose and chin to clean out my blackheads!!

Thanks for reading!!

 

New Maybelline Limited Edition Color Tattoos

So as many of you beauty addicts, like myself, know that with each season come new makeup products. Well Maybelline has come out with a Spring Limited Edition line called The Nudes. There's lipsticks, lip glosses, eyeshadow quads, blush sticks, nail polish and their ever favorite Color Tattoos.

Unfortunately , as I mentioned, these are Limited Edition (insert eye roll and dying groaning sound) which makes them harder to find and if you do find them, the displays are usually wiped. I was fortunate enough to locate two at Bed Bath and Beyond and the rest at my local CVS. I am a bit disappointed that there are NO MATTE'S in this line. I figured with it being "The Nudes" there would be some matte Color Tattoos but there aren't...bummer.

 I will say that if you already have most of the Color Tattoos in the permanent line then you could really skip on a few of these new ones (see below). I have taken pictures with and without flash below so you can see swatches of the colors. I also swatched a few colors from the permanent line and compared them to three of the limited edition colors. Hope this is helpful!!

Without/With Flash

Without/With Flash - If you have Bad to the Bronze, Barely Beige and Barely Branded, which are all in the permanent line, you really could skip on getting Sleek and Spice, Pure Nude and Beinge-ing Beauty.

 

DIY Decorative Jars

So I am snowed in for Part 2 of Snowmaggedon so I decided to get my craftanista juices flowing. I had a few Bath and Body Works candle jars that I wanted to use in my makeup room so I cleaned out all the wax, got some painters tape, some paint and stickers and got to work!


First you will need a candle jar. I like Bath and Body Works candle jars because they're round and can hold a lot of stuff! Of course make sure that you've burned the candle down as far as you can.

Then fill a very small pot with water and bring it to a complete boil on the stove. Pour the boiling water into the candle jar, make sure not to fill it all the way to the top. I usually do this at night right before bed that way the hot water has all night to break up the wax. Side note - you will probably need to do this two or three times before all the wax is out.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT POUR THE WAXY WATER DOWN YOUR SINK DRAIN!!! Pour it outside in the yard!

This is what the wax will look like once your hot water cools. Again you'll need to do this 2-3x to get it all out.

Once all the wax is out, wash your jar in hot soapy water and let dry.


To get the sticker off the bottom of the jar, just pour some rubbing alcohol on it, let it sit for a minute or two and you will be able to easily peel/scrap it off.

Use a little more rubbing alcohol and a paper towel to clean your jar and get all the sticky stuff or smudges that might be on it.

You will then want to line your jar any way you'd like with painters tape. I used a fatter painters tape but they do make thinner versions but I could only find it at Michael's craft store and it was by Martha Stewart and a little too pricey for me! So I used what I had. I found it easier to put my jar against my bottle of rubbing alcohol to get a steady, precise tape line. Then paint away!

Side note: I had a bit of trouble getting this kind of paint to go smoothly on the glass. Just make sure you don't "glob" it on! I found that the metallic paint looked much better on the jars then the "regular" paint.

Let this dry overnight...don't get inpatient or you might end up with a goopy mess!

So once I let me jars dry I added some glittery sticker letters and decorative stickers to "spice up" my jars. You of course could just leave them as is! I think they turned out pretty good but I did learn my lesson with being impatient with the paint drying and one jar (with pink paint) got a little lumpy!

I hope you enjoyed my little DIY project and if you've tried this DIY please share your pictures with me!!

Items Needed:
Empty jar
All purpose or glass paint (preferably metallic)
Painters tape - any size you want
Sticker letters
Stickers
Small paint brush

New Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eyeshadow Paint

I have been raving about these new eyeshadow paints from Rimmel for a few weeks now so I thought I'd share my opinion and swatches. I didn't give these the credit they deserved when I first bought them. I kept the receipt because honestly, I knew I'd be returning them in a few days. Oh how wrong I was!! I have worn these eyeshadow paints with and without primer and they worked beautifully both ways. They are super pigmented and last all day with no creasing. I have issues with shadows, especially creamy ones, creasing on me and these did not. I even wore these during my intense 25 minute workout and they didn't budge! I was seriously impressed! See below for swatches.


The Verdict:
 I love these!!! They are super creamy and pigmented and they are beautiful on their own or under an eyeshadow. Either way, they last all day and don't crease. These definitely get an A+ in my book!

There are 8 colors total but I only picked up 6 of them. The two I did not get where a frosty white color and a gold color. These are very inexpensive, running about $5 or $6 dollars each but watch for sales because a lot of times Rimmel is buy one get one 50% off at the drugstore.

 Swatches:

Starting Top to Bottom: Manganese Purple, Rich Russet,Pomegranate, Pink, Slate Grey and Chestnut Taupe.

 If you've tried any of these let me know how you like them!!