January 2013 - Grails and Fails!

January was the month of buying for me I guess. Thats right, I tried 13 new products this month :O omg, this is not healthy for my college life bank account. I'm a little embarrased to admit I purchased that many products, but I'm happy to share with you that most of them were thumbs up products, woot woot! I do need to cut back on my spending apparently, but 5 of these products were purchased with a gift card so I don't feel as guilty ;) This does go to show why I needed to make that blog sale though! Shop my stash if you need some new products! :)

Skincare

Simple Soothing Eye Balm
Packaging says it contains vital vitamins to help soften, smoth and improve skin conidition. I have noticed a big difference in the feeling of my under eye area when using this product. I'm only 19 so I'm not trying to get rid of wrinkles, just wanted something to hydrate that area and so far this is working very well. It has no dyes or perfumes as well which I love which means it isn't irritating to the skin. This is just a basic eye cream that is giving me nice results so I'm liking this.
Conclusion: GRAIL

Makeup

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation
You guys know I love me some Revlon. I'm not a foundation wearer at all and honestly wasn't going to pick this up for the fact that it says "naked" and I figured this would basically do nothing for me. While roaming the makeup section though, I grabbed this like immediately and brought it home with me. I'm in love. Colors matches my light skin, may actually be a tad too light honestly. The coverage is shockingly very nice. I'm not going to say too much more because I will have a full review on this coming your way very very soon!
Conclusion: GRAIL!

Revlon Photoready BB Cream
Picked this up because I was excited to see a BB cream that made a light enough shade for me. I have a full review on this if you want to know my full opinion, go check that out. I will say I am liking this a little bit more than I was before, but it makes me way too shiny and I'm not even an oily skin person in the winter time so I'm still adjusting to this. Hopefully this product will continue to grow on me.
Conclusion: Meh...

Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Not Just Nudes
Let's finish off the Revlon category. Again, I did a full review on this if you want to know every little detail, but I didn't like this. Creased on me really fast even while using a primer, and I never have that problem. Texture of the product is nice, but I just think Maybelline makes way better cream shadows. Oops, did I say that? Sorry Revlon. I still love you.
Conclusion: FAIL

Benefit Watt's Up!
I'm really enjoying this. It is a golden toned highlighter (the only kind I like!) and leaves a very nice sheen on my cheeks. If you would like a full review on this product, let me know and I will go into all the details. Just don't want to bore you to death in this post!
Conclusion: GRAIL

ELF Eyebrow Kit
I was using Naked eyeshadow and Wet n Wild Brow pencil to fill in my brows for quite a while. Wanted to invest in another brow product since I was preferring the powder method over the pencil and I really ended up liking this product. It comes with a nice powder which I use to fill in bare spots, and a wax which I don't use as often, but is great for really setting your brows into place. I think this product is totally worth more than $3! I can tell this will be a holy grail product for me as time goes on.
Conclusion: GRAIL

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eye Shadow Stick
Full review is on my blog. This is a great shadow base, I'm really thrilled by this. It does wear off a little bit as time goes on, but it's not a huge deal in my opinion. I did contact Rimmel myself to see if these were safe to sharpen and they said absolutely so if you had this and were wondering, go for it! Worked just fine from me and they totally approve of it.
Conclusion: GRAIL

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal
Kudos to Rimmel! I freakin love this eyeliner. It is so creamy, glides on my waterline, and has amazing staying power. I'm honestly going to pick up more colors once I go shopping again. Full review again is on my blog. BUY THESE PLEASE!
Conclusion: GRAIL

Maybelline the Rocket Mascara
Only Maybelline mascara I've ever had luck with. This easily is a nice two coat mascara for me. First coat builds up a ton of volume for me, and second adds even more volume and length. Love this stuff so much.
Conclusion: GRAIL

ELF Lipsick in Voodoo
Nice deeper red color. Great for fall and winter. I like the updated packaging for the ELF essential lipsticks line. The smell isn't offending, but it does smell a little perfumey? to me, I think. This feels really nice on my lips, lasts like any other lipstick, and doesn't taste bad either.
Conclusion: GRAIL

ELF Lip Exfoliator
Let's be honest. I saw this on the site and thought the product looked like sand paper. It has such a scary appearance but don't let that stop you from buying this product! It smells heavenly (like sugar) and tastes great! Just wet your lips with a wash cloth, apply this to your lips, and then take it off. Leaves your lips smooth and tasting great. Finish it off with a lip balm and your lips will be in good shape all day long. I'm seriously obsessed with this stuff. Can't get enough. Packaging does suck though, sorry ELF.
Conclusion: GRAIL

BonneBell LipLites in Strawberry Parfait
I think that is the name of it. I bought this because people said it was a really nice product. Saw it at the store multiple times, passed by it. Finally picked it up, wish I would've left it there. This smells great, but looks horrible on me. The texture feels fine on my lips, but it is just too "milky" in my opinion. If that makes sense to any of you. I just can't give this product love. Maybe I will include it in my blog sale if any of you would be interested in it.
Conclusion: FAIL

Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Shocking Coral
Just did a review on this. Don't want to rave about it much more. Amazingly bright color, will look great in the spring and summer. That's all I need to say.
Conclusion: GRAIL

Okay, so finally we are done. Hope I didn't bore you guys too much with this post. I just really wanted to do this idea, thought it would be helpful so let me know what you think down below! If you have product suggestions you think I should try out or review in February, let me know in a comment please and thank you!
Ashley