L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise VS. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara | Dupe or Flop?

Whilst on my day off I was scavenging through the makeup aisles at Target and came across this beauty. The pink colored tube was the first thing that drew me in but also reminded me of a different mascara I know dearly...the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara that comes in at a whopping $23.

This L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise mascara is only $8.99 and has a lot of claims. Here's what their website says about this product. "Voluptuous volume. Intense Length. Full lash fringe, feathery soft. Soft wavy bristle brush holds the maximum amount of formula. 200+ bristles catch every lash for a dramatic volumizing effect. No flaking. No smudging. No clumping."

They go on to talk about a study they did and what women said. If you're interested in reading the whole shebang here's the link: Click Here

So let's just start off with some simple comparisons. The feel of the actual tubes was vastly different in regard to weight. The Too Faced mascara tube seems to be made of some type of metal so it makes the product weighted. This is actually something I really like! I love when brands have products that are heavy, even if they are made of plastic. Something about it just feels right. The L'Oreal tube was surprisingly light. Not a con in my opinion. I didn't know what to expect since it's packaged in a plastic and cardboard casing. (I think it's a super cute package design btw!) So weight wise, Too Faced is heavier. Now let's look at the the actual amount of product you get. BTS comes with 0.27oz/8ml of product and VLP comes with 0.28oz/8.5ml. So you're basically paying $1 per ml of product for L'Oreal and almost $3 for Too Faced. 

Now I must state that L'Oreal never made any claims that their mascara was meant in any way to be a dupe for the Too Faced one but I mean come one. 

In the following picture you can see the comparison of the Too Faced mascara wand to the L'oreal wand. See any similarities? I sure do!

Now let's talk about application and payoff. You came to see if it's worth the money or not so let's find out. 

Down below I've inserted a picture of one eye with BTS (Your left) and one eye with VLP (Your right). Can you tell a difference? 

The application in comparison was great! The brushes definitely have the same effect shape-wise. I did notice a few differences though. BTS mascara is much easier to build and make clumpy, if that's what you're going for while the VLP is a much thinner formula. It definitely stands up to it's claim of feeling feathery smooth. I really liked how well the brush separated each of my lashes and overall, I really like how it looks!

Like any one else, I'm all about paying less if possible. 

All this being said, could this be a proper dupe for a high-end best selling product?

Absolutely!

This mascara is a complete win in my book. It's very comparable to the Too Faced mascara and at $8.99 this will definitely become a holy grail for me. Although the BTS is a thicker formula, VLP is a build-able and smooth formula. I did also notice throughout the day that it left no trace of flaking! I think that's amazing. That is one thing this drugstore product has over the high-end one. BTS is great but it always seems to flake on me.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read my review. I hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know any other products you'd like me to review. I'm always down to find a good dupe.

Stay Brilliant World.

20 Gifts Ideas $20 & Under

Hello Everyone! If you're new here, welcome to my blog. Today I'm coming at you with a post of 20 wonderful gifts I found for $20 and under. I tried to pick a variety of items. From makeup and jewelry to candles and books, this list is sure to have at least one item someone if your life will love. 

Some of my favorites from the list have to be the Avocado pin, the Marble Keyboard Cover, and the Lace Up Tour Tee. If you should know anything about me, food wise, it's that avocados are definitely one of my favorites foods to ever exist on this planet. I CAN'T get enough guys...it's an addiction. Let me know if you're at all interested in learning some of my recipes that involve them. There are many ways to prepare an avocado and I'd be thrilled to make a post on it!

I'm also a sucker for anything that has a marble print on it and the marble print keyboard cover is no acceptation. You'll notice I also included a marble notebook from Urban Outfitters in my list. Fun Fact: I actually already own it. Oops! I just needed to share it with all of you. It's a very beautiful journal and well hello, it's under $20. Yes please. *snaps*

As for the tour tee, I've really been into the grungy, lace up, style clothing lately. I must say it's growing on me. There's something sexy about a usually plain boxy tee having a revealing lace up in the front. This shirt will be in my shopping cart as soon as payday comes around.

Take a look down below to check them all out for yourself. There is a link to each item in the captions below. Enjoy shopping and Happy Holidays!

Crisscross Top $15.90 | Gourmand Candle $14 | Avocado Pin $10 | Better Than Sex Ornament $12 | Marble Journal $12

This Is How $9.99 | 1st Prize Highlighters $18 | New Look Chain Collar $15.50 | Hello Gorgeous Mug $5.99 | New Look Watch $20

S&G Take Your Pink Set $18 | Positive Vibes Pin $10 | Bite Beauty Lip Set $14 | Marble Keyboard Cover $12 | Tarte Dry Matte Lip Paint $20

Lace Up Tour Tee $17.90 | Little Snow Fairy $15.95 | Bobs Burgers Burger Book $19.95 | Becca Moonstone Set $20  | Triangle Bra $20

Thank you so much for taking a look at my post today. Feel free to leave a comment down below letting me know which item from the list is your favorite. I'm sure more shopping list ideas will somehow pop up on my blog in the future so be sure to check back soon. Much love and stay brilliant.

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Sephora July Wishlist

I'm coming at you with a list of some goodies from Sephora I'd love to get my hands this month! As I'm sure almost every person on Earth knows, Sephora is basically a makeup lovers Wonderland. They have so much to choose from. I lose my mind when I go into the store, always so overwhelmed and in love with the product, not to mention I lose whatever was in my bank account.

This month I decided to chose some random items I've been eyeballing for a while now.

Let's take a took!

Tartelette in Bloom Palette $45 | Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette $54 

These palettes are stunning. I've been crazy over the Tartelette in Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette in particular, for so long now. The colors blow me away and the best thing about them is that they will compliment pretty much every skin tone and eye color. I mean you can always make it work, just remember that. If you wanna rock a certain color, do it!

Makeup is all about expression so don't ever feel like you're "not allowed" to wear a particular color or shade. You do you, boo.

The other palette is the very popular Naked Smoky by Urban Decay. If you're looking for something to help you perfect your smoky-eye, this is for you. Be sure to go to your local Sephora and try the colors out before you dish out the $54. I'm sure you'll fall in love all over again.

T3 Whirl Trio Interchangeable Styling Wand $270 | Too Faced Love Flush Blush $26 | Bite Beauty Matte Lip Crayon $24 

These next few products are just some random beauties I ran into on the Sephora website. I was instantly intrigued by the design of the T3 Whirl Trio Styling Wand. I've always been into the idea of an interchangeable curler. I know it's not necessarily a new concept but it is still a brilliant one. It's a bit pricey at $270 but I'd say it's worth it. It's made with a ceramic PTC heater that self regulates temperature to prevent over and under-heating, giving you the perfect curler basically.

Too Faced has the cutest packaging! The idea of a heart shaped blush makes me smile...and also makes me want to buy one. I've always been a sucker for packaging. If the design is nice, I'll usually try at least one product from the line. I'm really liking the colors Baby Love and Love Hangover.

I've posted about the Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayons before. The formula is wonderful. The scent is lovely and for the quality of the product, $24 is a pretty reasonable price. This month I've fawning over the shade Amaretto.

Flowerbomb Extreme by Viktor & Rolf $135 | Pour Femme Intense by Dolce & Gabbana $97

I'm not gonna lie...I have an addiction to collecting perfume. Mainly because of the design of the bottles (I told you I'm a sucker for packaging!) but also because I like having options when I go to grab a perfume to wear for the day.

I went through my 1.7oz. bottle of the original Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb in an embarrassingly short amount of time. It is definitely in my top three all time favorite scents. I can't get enough! This is the Flowerbomb Extreme. It's bigger, badder, sister. It smells divine. Two thumbs up to Viktor & Rolf, they are doing it right.

I first discovered this Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme Intense at my friend's house when I walked into her room and thought I was in heaven. I've never owned my own bottle but if I did there's a possibility it would reach my top five favorite perfumes. Like I said guys, I honestly can't get enough.

Perfume is the perfect way to express what you're feeling for the day. From something sexy and fierce to something soft and sweet. You can smell like whatever you want. Embrace it! Find a scent you like and make it your signature.

Thank you so much for reading my post today. Make sure to follow my blog so you can be updated when I put up something new! Leave a comment telling me what you're all time favorite perfume is. I'd love to hear some recommendations. I hope you enjoyed!

Stay brilliant world.

Makeup Favorites No. 2

Hello beauties! It has been quite a while...I felt it was right to take a break from posting every week so I could focus more on the big changes that were happening in my life. You know how it goes, life kinda just happens? I'll be sure to make an update post on that soon. For now lets talk about the few makeup favorites I've been obsessing over for the past few months.

May I just say...I'm in LOVE! Let's jump right into it.

tarte Amazonian Clay 24 Hour Foundation in Light Beige| $39

If you have the same skin type as me, combination to oily and sensitive, this foundation will blow your mind! I can honestly say this is the first foundation I have ever used that has not made me breakout or made my breakouts worse. In fact, this product actually helps combat acne! It's made to last all day and not feel too heavy. I'm on my second tube and I can tell this is quickly going to become a holy grail for me. The consistency is pretty thick but if you pair it with a damp beauty blender it thins it out and makes the application flawless. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light to Medium | $40

I'm sure you've all seen this palette many times before. I'll keep it short. This palette is amazing! Please forgive how messy mine currently is. I use it often on clients and myself of course. It's very versatile. They also offer another contour palette with different tones so you're bound to find something to fit your skin tone. 

tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette | $45

I'm so excited to be sharing this one with you. It has been out for a while but I never managed to get my hands on it...until now! This is the tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette. Oh boy is that a mouthful. The shades are beautiful. Some are very warm while others have cool tones. It's an easy palette to get creative with. There are an endless amount of looks that can be made with it. Try it out!

My favorites shadows from the palette so far are "natural beauty" and "dreamer". As you can see I haven't even had a chance to try out all the colors yet. There are so many!

MAC Blush in Melba | $22

The last lovely makeup item on my list is this blush by MAC. MAC has been one of my favorite brands since I was young teenager. I'm always swooning over their products. I mean how can you not? Look at this color! I'm crazy for it. It's a soft coral color. I've used it on a few different skin tones and it's always seemed to compliment. I've had this for years and it's still holding up. If this isn't the shade for you I recommend you check out their other blushes and find the right one for you. You won't regret it. 

Thank you so much for reading my post today. Leave a comment down below telling me if you have an recent makeup favorites and what they are! I'm always looking to try out new products.

Make sure to follow my blog for many more fun filled posts to come.

Stay brilliant world.

Bite Beauty Obsessed

So a few posts ago in my Sephora Haul  I briefly talked about my new lip crayon from Bite Beauty. I've been using it almost every day now for about a week and guys...I'm OBSESSED! I honestly cannot get enough of it.

I've worn it to work a few times and every time someone has pointed out that they like how my makeup looked, especially my lip color.

I got the shade Léché in-store for $24, you can grab it here!

This color is killer. It goes so well with my everyday eye makeup look. I love the shade so much but I really want to go back and pick up a few more! I'd love to try out Tatin and Glacé.

Frasier looks like a nice take on a classic red, too.

All in all, I've quickly fallen in love with this product and will definitely be dishing out some more cash to get a couple other colors.

I completely recommend you try out these lip crayons if your into a matte finish. I thought I liked MAC's matte lipsticks best, but now I'm torn. ~ MAC still wins when it comes to scent though. Their lip products smell like candy corn!

Yep, that's me after an eight hour shift at work. I only reapplied once! (After lunch of course.) 

Have you guys ever tried any Bite Beauty products? How did you feel about them? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

I hope you enjoyed my little ramble! Thank you so much for reading my post today. Make sure to follow my blog so you can be updated on my posts in the future.

Stay brilliant world.

Sephora Haul

NARS Concealer | Cover FX Primer | Cover FX Powder | Bite Lip Crayon | Beauty Blender

I finally got a few products I've been dreaming of owning for months now, and I couldn't be happier.

This trip to Sephora mainly revolved around face products. I figured it was about time I try out some new foundations and such. I'm so glad I finally took the leap and bought the tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Foundation that was on my April Wishlist!

Infact, I picked up several products that were on my wishlist. Including the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and the Bite Beauty Matte Lip Crayon in Léché. (It was the last one in the store!)

If you have never tried out the Bite Matte Lip Crayons, you are missing out. I can honestly say that they are now my favorite lip products as far as wear time. They stay on all day. I wore it for 13 hours (I know...long day!) and I only had to retouch it once because I ate food. I'm definitely interested in trying out other Bite Beauty products due to how much I love this lip crayon.

I'll be sure to due an update post on how I feel about all the products I bought this trip at Sephora. Let me know if you guys want to know more about any specific item from the haul!

Thank you so much for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment down below telling me something you've been eye-balling from Sephora!

Make sure to follow me if you liked this blog post. There will be a ton more to come.

Stay brilliant world.

Holy Grail Products #1

I thought it was about time I make a post all about the lovely products I can't live without. I'm only sharing a few with you today to ensure this won't be insanely long! ~Ya girl can talk. This is the first of many installments to come. I have some special goodies to share with you. So let's dive right in to a few products that have quickly become my holy grails. Enjoy!

You can't buy it here for $7 each. (They also sell pomegranate raspberry & sweet mint!)

This first product is something I'm sure you all have heard about. It's an eos balm! You may however be confused by the shape and scent of this one. It's a tube instead of an egg shape and it's vanilla bean. What?! I know , right? I had seen these in magazines a few times and later on I found some for sell on eBay but I was not about to pay $7 a pop.

So I took it as a sign when I was in Ulta one day, buying a friend a birthday present, and I saw a dish full of them. I couldn't believe my eyes! Ulta was selling them for $2.99 each and I grabbed up four of them. I didn't want to be greedy since the lady that rang me up said they were seasonal and that only certain Ulta's got them in stock. I bought two for myself and two for my Mom's stocking. (It's was during Christmastime.) I also had a coupon for $3.50 off $10 or more. So I ended up only paying around $10 for all four after tax.

I love them because I think there's something different about the formula. It's sooo creamy! I've had an issue with other eos balms. I feel like they don't always hydrate my lips but this one is perfect. I love it and I'm sad I'm down to my last tube.

You can buy it here for only $13.99! (Get free shipping and 5% off if you use your RedCard!)

If you haven't tried out or even heard of this next holy grail YOU. ARE. MISSING. OUT. It's basically magic in a bottle. Actually a miracle. Oh wait, it's literally called miracle leave-in product! I'm sorry, I need to calm myself but I'm just trying to help a friend out. If you have issues with dry hair, frizzy hair, processed hair, course, brittle, or damaged hair...go to the store and get this ASAP.

If I was to only recommend one more product for the rest of my life it'd be this.

A few years ago I was transitioning from platinum blonde hair back to my natural color and this is one of the only things that kept me from wanting to cut all my hair off. Every time I would run out or forget to use it I would completely notice the difference. From my experience it makes your hair soft and touchable and helps to tame a little frizz. For me it made styling easier too.

I could go on and on about this product but you're not going to believe me unless you try it for yourself. I promise it's worth the money and I hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

You can buy it here for $50.

This product is on the rise and for good reason. It's a Hydrating Eye Cream by Bobbi Brown. I will warn you now it's going to hurt your wallet a little with it sitting pretty at $50. Now before you go rush out and splurge on this little beaut, you may want to ask for a sample. Sephora will let you sample anything in their store, all you have to do is ask!

Once you've got your sample, make sure to use it every night and morning before you decide to kick it to the curb. The reason I say this is because from my personal experience, I hated it at first. I felt like it just sat on the surface of my skin and did nothing to help as far as hydrating. After a few applications and using it right before I went to bed so it was on overnight, I fell in love! I think my skin just took a while to get used to it. Now I see a huge difference when I include it as part of my beauty regimen every morning before work.

I wake up and look in the mirror to see puffy eyes from sleeping. After I do my morning routine and drive to work (which takes about 12 minutes all in all) the puffiness has gone way down and I look ready for the day. ~ Although I still feel like a zombie! 

You can buy it here for $20.

I think I may have talked about this eye liner in a previous post but that just goes to show how much I adore it. It's Stila's Stay All Day waterproof liquid eye liner in Jet Black and it retails for $20. I know, ouch! It's quite pricey for what it is but to me it's completely worth it. 

I was very hesitant to buy it, because of the price obviously, but I'm so glad I did. It's the best eye liner I've ever used. Although it says it's waterproof I find it's removed very easily with a baby wipe if I mess up during application. Besides that it has never budged. I've worn it for 12 hours at a time and at the end of the day it still looks great.

If eye liner is an important part of your daily makeup then I say you should try it out. If you can live without eye liner I'd say pass. It's great, but only worth it if you'd use it often.

Thank you so much for reading my post today. Leave a comment down below telling me what some of your holy grail products are!

Make sure to follow my blog for many more fun filled posts to come.

Stay brilliant world.

Makeup Favorites #1

I am so excited to be sharing my first ever Makeup Favorites with you! There will be many more to come because admittedly, I'm a makeup addict. Can any ladies out there relate? I've been trying to up my makeup skills for a little while now and my favorites this month have definitely made it easier on me. I've been on a high-end makeup kick for weeks and these are some of my favorite products out of everything I've tried. Andiamo!

Lorac Unzipped Gold Palette ($42) - I saw this stunner in Ulta about a month ago and immediately put it in my basket. If you're a blue-eyed baby like me then trust me, you need this is your life! I'm part Italian so my skin has olive tones in it and this palette works so well for me. Lucky it's made up of different gold shades, so it'll look nice with any skin tone and any eye color. It's an all-in-one eyeshadow palette. It comes with a few lovely highlights, all over lid colors, and the perfect crease shades. Unleashed is my personal favorite. Lorac eyeshadows are notorious for their powdery consistency but that's nothing to worry about. It just takes some time and practice to learn how to blend them out. Once you do you'll see how beautiful they can be!

tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush ($26) - I'll keep it short and sweet for this one. This blush is the ideal amount of pigmented. You can make it look very subtle for a natural glow or pack it on for a more made up look. I bought it in the color Dazzle, which is described as a soft rose. It was a tie between this shade and Blushing Bride for my personal favorite. If you are more into reds, nudes, or corals, they have those too. Take a peek!

• NYX Wonder Pencil ($4.49) - Ahhh! I can't wait to tell you about this product. Let me just say, this little guy has been a life saver. They're right on the money with the name this one. It really does do wonders for me! Okay, so how many times have you woken up just a liiiitle bit too late to do your usual beauty regimen before you jet off? Five times? Ten times? Oh my, let's hope not. It happens to the best of us though. Whether it be you stayed out too late partying, you had a huge load of homework to do or maybe you just couldn't get off your computer for hours, you have been in the following situation. You wake up, still tired with bags under your eyes and have to be somewhere in 10 minutes. In cases like this I have no time to do a full face of makeup so I opt for this beautiful specimen instead. All I do is put it on my waterline, inner corner, and right below my brow. Blend it out a little bit and voila! I look awake and ready to take on the day. A huge reason why I like it so much is because it's skin toned. I mean sure, you could use a white liner to do the same thing but you're not fooling anyone. With the Wonder Pencil the color blends right into your natural skin tone and tricks all your coworkers into thinking you just had the best 8 hours of sleep of your life. It's a great product for people who just want to get up and go and still look put together. 
• NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette ($65) - I've been trying to experiment more lately with face makeup, blushes in particular, and this palette was a great way to do that. It is quite pricey but I think it's worth it. NARS has very high quality products and this certainly did not fall short. The greatest thing about it is that you get to test out four different shades of their blushes. I hadn't even owned one before buying this so it was a good way to see if I liked them. It also comes with their best-selling bronzer, Laguna. I use this palette frequently when I do other people's makeup because there is a shade for everyone. It's a total crowd pleaser and leaves your skin looking fresh and vibrant. It's limited addition so if you're interested, get it while you can!

• MAC Lipstick in Peach Blossom ($16) - We all know about MAC lipsticks. They may be the most spoken about lip product on the internet and for good reason. If you haven't tried MAC lipstick before I urge you move out of that rock that you're living under, ASAP. For me, this is the perfect shade. It adds just a little something extra to my natural lip color. It's a cremesheen, which is my favorite finish. Not too heavy on the lips and doesn't get all sticky and gross after an hour. It's the perfect balance. If you want a more pinky-nude then check out Creme Cup by MAC. 
• stila Eye Shadow in Kitten ($18) - Last on my list of favorites is this shimmery eyeshadow by stila. It was enormously popular amongst YouTubers like two years ago. Back then I didn't have a job so I couldn't get my hands on it. It all makes sense now as to why it was so raved about. It's a very shiny shadow and it's stunning! If I tried to swatch it and photograph it it would just look like an orb of light on my hand because of how reflective it is. The color is more toned down when you actually wear it on your eyes however. I find it's great as an all over color more so then a highlighter or inner corner shade. I'm sure it would look fabulous on anyone so swatch it for yourself next time you're at a Sephora to see how you like it.

Well that's it for this makeup favorites post! I'll be sure to update you on my new favorites in a couple of months. Let me know about some of the makeup products you're loving right now in the comments below. Thank you your reading.

Stay brilliant world.