Review - How To Declutter Your Cosmetics

Make-up companies are always creating new products or modifying existing ones.  This is good for their cash flow/profit, but can sometimes be bad for us make-up addicts who can't resist buying more products. Before you realise it, you will either run out of storage space  or end up with more products than you can use, or both.

Let's be real here, one of the most difficult things to do is control the urge to buy make-up.  If you haven't found a way to cope or you find your resolve wavering, click here for some tips from Pacific Daily News.

I already have more than enough make-up, plus I have no more space to put anything else. Not to mention that I have products that I hardly use or have never used, so buying more would be a waste of money and make-up.  Am I still tempted? Of course I am! I try to avoid going into the make-up stores, I try to buy only what I need and I try not to stray from my shopping list/budget.  Does this always work? Nope, not 100% but the majority of the time.

Life is to short to waste money or make-up!

Related Posts:
Review - e.l.f Essential Super Glossy Lip Shine
Time To Say Goodbye
More Make-up Minis Please
Beautiful & Unspoilt Supports a Worthy Cause

"...because your should always enhance." - Nakita Squires

Lip It Up - Easy DIY Lip Scrub

Y'all know this girl had given up on being able to wear lipstick again.  My lips refused to co-operate; no matter what I did.  Don't have a clue what I'm talking about? Then CLICK HERE for the details.

A work colleague heard me lamenting one day and told me that she USED to have the same issue. Say what???!!!! I was all ears.  Exfoliating her lips daily with baking soda was the secret.  I had my doubts because none of the lip scrubs I tried had worked.  She advised me to mix with it with water to form a paste, scrub my lips for a few seconds and leave it on for a few minutes.

When I first tried it I did not realise how sensitive my lips were.  My lips became irritated but my lipstick looked great for the entire day.  So I decided to try it again, but this time I dipped my wet finger into the powder and rinsed it off immediately after scrubbing for a few seconds. *Ding Ding Ding*...we have a winner - my lips were better than ever.  I'm still shocked that this simple, household product was all I needed.

Now I can wear both glossy lipsticks and matte lipsticks, but if I forget to exfoliate my lips (which happens quite often), the dry skin on my lips ruins my lipstick.

Matte lipsticks have become my favourite, they make your lips look amazing.  This a complete change from a girl whose lips had to be glossy.  The glossier the better I used to say, but now if it must be matte.  So far NYX Matte Lip Cream and Sacha Cosmetics Intense Matte Lip Velvet are my favourites. I also have Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Mattes, Absolute New York Matte Stick and L.A. Girl Matte Flat Velvet Lipstick.

Of course I have to wear lip balm and use matte lipsticks that are not drying. I'm not complaining though, this girl will do what she has to because matte is where it's at!

Related Posts (in case you missed it above):
1) These Lips, These Lips, These Dry Lips

"...because your make-up should always enhance." - Nakita Squires

Review - Rimmel London ScandelEyes Gel Eyeliner

After hearing positive reviews about Rimmel London's ScandalEyes Gel Eyeliner, I bought the blue #004.  I would have preferred Maybelline's but that had been out of stock for months and I could wait no longer.

Sadly, the only positive thing I can say about it is that it's true to colour.  And to get that colour I have to apply the liner multiple times before it shows up on my dark complexion (Click here for more about that issue).  Additionally, crumb like bits of product form on the bristles of the brush and fall onto my face, lashes and even into my eye.

I have no idea why this product worked for others but not for me.  I will not be repurchasing, nor can I recommend it to anyone.

"...because your make-up should always enhance." - Nakita Squires

Selfie Makeup Tips

We all want our makeup to look perfect in our selfies, don't we?  So do make-up manufacturers, because that means good publicity and more sales for them.

The first step is to use the right products.

According to the New York Times, companies are now making sure their products pass the 'selfie test' before putting them on the market. CLICK HERE to find out what they are doing.  It makes good business sense to be in tune with your customer and to make products that meet their needs.

Enough of the business aspect, it's time for some tips.  All you have to do is CLICK HERE for the details.

Let's hear if for selfies and social media, hip-hip-hoorayyyyyyyyy...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"...because your make-up should always enhance." - Nakita Squires

Lip Creases Are The Enemy

Yes, I have been going on, and on, and on about my lips.  This will be my final pity party...for now.

My lips have creases, and whenever I apply lipstick guess where it ends up? Yep, that's correct, in those creases and it looks absolutely dreadful.

To combat this I

1. smile as widely as possible to prevent the lipstick from going into the creases 
2. apply the lipstick sparingly
3. use my finger or lip brush to apply the lipstick evenly
4. blot my lips with tissue to remove any excess product

Is this 100% effective every time? Nope.  

Ba-humbug!

It's another reason for my 'Bring on the Gloss Campaign' (CLICK HERE for the details).

"...because your make-up should always enhance." - Nakita Squires

Review - e.l.f Essential Super Glossy Lip Shine

I was checking out the e.l.f products in Kmart's beauty aisle.  I purchased the Essential Super Glossy Lip Shine - Angel and a few other products. I didn't open it, I didn't even swatch it or smell it.  I was waiting until I had finished either of the 2 lipglosses that I was using at that time.  I wasn't going to open the new lipgloss just to satisfy my curiosty and risk it's expiration before I was ready to really put it to use. (CLICK HERE for makeup expiration tips).

The day I had been waiting for had finally come - approximately 1 year had passed, and I was so excited. Who wouldn't be, after seeing a product description like this:

Product Description:
This Super Glossy formula leaves your lips with a healthy glossy glow. The delicious flavor and sweet scent will leave you licking your lips in delight. The perfect on-the-go tube that is mess-proof for easy application anywhere and anytime. Wear alone or layered over your favorite lipsticks for gorgeous, glossy lips!


The first thing I noticed while applying the lipgloss was the smell.  It smelt old and musty.  Next was the consistency, it was unusually thick and wasn't spreading easily. I thought nothing of this since I was not familiar with the product.  Soon after, I was gazing at my lips in the mirror when my lips started to tingle slightly.  I checked the ingredients for menthol but even if it had in menthol in it, this was a different kind of tingle.

Well bearing in mind my current lip strategy (CLICK HERE for the details ), I wiped it off immediately and threw away the gloss.  I was not taking any chances.

I have a low tolerance right now when it comes to lip products.  This was the first e.l.f Lipgloss that I had used.  The price was right so I bought it to give it a try.  I wanted to see if it would give the more expensive glosses some competition, but it didn't.

So what if it only costs $2 on e.l.f.'s website?  A product's price is not always a true indicator of it's quality (CLICK HERE to read about that ). I don't even think that I will buy another one to try.  There are too many lip products out there that I haven't tried yet.  Plus, buying that e.l.f lipgloss was a waste of my money which is a huge "no-no".

I'm not sure what went wrong because the lipgloss has some good reviews on e.l'f's website.  Also, I've never had a problem with any of the other e.l.f products I have used before (CLICK HERE and here for the reviews).  Nor have I ever had a problem with the lip products from other brands that were not opened for a long time after they were purchased.

This is strike one for e.l.f, but since this is the first offence after a good track record, I won't hold it against you.

"...because your make-up should always BE (Blend and Enhance)." - Nakita Squires

Time To Say Goodbye

After it dawned on me that my lips might be having an allergic reaction to lipstick ( CLICK HERE to read about that 'aha' moment), I decided to throw away my personal lip products that I was holding on to that had expired.

Yes, you read correctly, expired.  Sadly, make-up does not last forever, but after you have spent so much money on your make-up, it seems like such a waste to get rid of it.  Especially when the majority of the product has not been used  (to get the make-up expiration times CLICK HERE ).  I had decided to keep using them because they still smelt and looked the same.

Believe me when I tell you that this was not an immediate decision, I thought long and hard about this.  I removed the products from the shelf but I couldn't bring myself to just throw them in the garbage.  They were all excellent products so this post is a brief tribute to them.

Roll Call

1. Arista Lipstick - Purple Rain (View Swatch
2. Bath & Body Works Liplicious Lipgloss - Cotton Candy
3. OCC Lip Tar - Hoochie (View Swatch to see the swatch)
4. NYX Lipsmacking Colours - Hero (View Swatch)
5. L.A. Colors Moisturizing Lipgloss - Blazing Violet (View Swatch)
6. NYX Lipgloss - African Queen (View Swatch )
7. Makeup Forever Lip Gloss 

It honestly pained me to discard them, but I still have quite a few left - some that I haven't used yet (CLICK HERE to see what I mean).

This is why I wish there were more mini-sized products - CLICK HERE to read about that.  I would definitely feel much better about tossing a mini product.

"...because your make-up should always enhance." - Nakita Squires