simply complicated

1. L'Oreal Power Volume Collagen Mascara :: Walmart :: $7 -- I usually LOVE L'Oreal mascaras but this was not my favorite {or even close}. It had a very wirey {is that a word?} brush which did not pick up much product. It was a very wet mascara, too. I thought that after a while of using it that it would dry out some & maybe I would start to like it, but I never did. You failed me L'Oreal...but don't worry, you still hold the record for my favorite mascara....its just not this one...

2. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara :: QVC :: in a kit that was $55 -- One of my Christmas gifts from Nathan was a Tarte kit from QVC & it came with 2 of these mascaras. I love the kit but I am not gonna lie, I kind of regret getting it. Why? Because I love everything in it TOO much & some things I can't afford to keep buying. i.e., this amazing mascara. IT IS THE BOMB!!! I love literally everything about it. The only criticism I have is that it doesn't last forever. :) If Ulta has a 21 days of beauty sale again with this on it, I will definitely be buying some!

3. Maybelline Define-a-brow :: Walmart :: $6 -- This is my favorite drug store product. My only fear is that it is pulling out some of my eye brow hairs. Sounds weird I know...but I have to be really careful not too press to hard or I notice that they just fall out. That, I don't need. But overall a great product. I always have a back up.

4. Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer :: Walmart :: $7 -- Hmmm...what to say about this product...I am not too sure what it did to be honest. Didn't really highlight. Certainly didn't cover anything up. So I'm not too sure. Didn't last long either...I would not repurchase.

5. Merle Norman Lasting Foundation :: Merle Norman :: $33 -- Why God? Why did this have to end? This is my FAVE foundation on the planet. Literally, the planet. No one EVER talks about it. I have gone through so many its not even funny. {used to work at a Merle Norman} I can wear this foundation & go swimming & its still there. It is not cakey but stays. It has amazing coverage. Holds up in Houston, TX humidity. Has SPF 12. What more could you want in life? Other than the price to be less? I hope I can repurchase this soon. Excuse me while I go cry that its gone...

6. NYX HD Concealer :: Ulta :: $5 -- Love this concealer. Love this concealer to hide blemishes or redness, but I mostly use this concealer for under the eyes {in Porcelain}. Doesn't make my under eyes look dry at all. Stays all day. Brightens & covers. Always have a back up in Porcelain for under the eyes & my current skin tone for blemishes.


1. TRESemme Split Remedy :: Walmart :: $5 -- I really liked this product. This bottle lasted me about a year. I can't find it anywhere now though. Not sure what happened. I don't know that it really helped that much with split ends, but it certainly helped with frizz. I am sad I can't find it anywhere. If I happen to run across it somewhere, I will definitely repurchase.


1. Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue Perfume :: Ulta :: $50 -- This is my FAVORITE perfume. My only sadness is that it so dang expensive. I have a bigger bottle that I got for Christmas, so I am okay right now but I am going to be so sad when that is gone.

2. Bath & Body Works Amber Blush Body Wash :: B&BW :: $10 -- I love bath & body's body washes. I feel like they last me a long time. Amber Blush was a nice scent. Glad I finished it before summertime though. I feel like this is more of a winter scent. Need to go buy more body wash in summer scents.

3. Bath & Body Works Pure Paradise Triple Moisture Body Cream :: B&BW :: $12 -- I love this scent. I feel like its the typical summer scent. I had this one left over from last summer. I am not a huge fan of the triple moisture body cream...kind of thick in my opinion, but I do love this scent. Almost time to stock up on summer lotions too!


I think that is everything! PHEW!!
Have you gone through any good products lately? I would love some recommendations!  

A couple of posts ago I confessed my obsession with beauty products. Well, I thought it might be cool to tell you every so often what my most used beauty products for the week are. If they are on these posts then you can pretty much bet that I love them. Let me clarify too...these are not NEARLY all the face products that I use on a day to day basis. I tend to rotate some of them out day to day, but these are the ones that I used EVERYDAY this last week. Ready? Ok!


#1 | Rimmel Stay Matte Primer : About $6 at any store that carries Rimmel (I got mine @ Ulta). This is the weirdest consistency of primer I have ever used. Its kind of a cream product & its a little tacky. I love it for prolonging the wear of my foundation! I use it all over my face & make sure & rub it in really good. It doesn't have a weird smell or texture. I used the Benefit 15 hour primer stick & it was HORRIBLE! This is about an 8th of the primer of the Benefit primer & it works 8 times better.

#2 | Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser : About $5 at any store that carries Maybelline (I got mine @ Kroger b/c its the only place I could find it in stock). I apply this product BEFORE the Rimmel primer mentioned above. They have been comparing this pore eraser to Benefit's Porefessional...well...I didn't love Porefessional to be honest. But I am really loving this. You don't have to use much. Its more of the consistency of what a normal primer is. Its silicon filling and kind of thick. I don't rub this in, I press it into my skin so it will fill the pores a little more thoroughly. I wouldn't say that it holds your pores being filled all day, but definitely most of the days. They don't seem as big from when I apply it, to about 3 p.m.

#3 | Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-n-1 Foundation : About $10 at any store with Covergirl (I got mine @ Walmart I believe). If I do another post with my most used Face Products, this will be in there again. This is my FAVORITE "drugstore" foundation. Its smooth, easy to apply, beautiful finish, lasts most of the day on my veryyyy oily skin. Its not thick feeling. It doesn't feel like you have a cake face, & it doesn't look like you have one either. You can't really go wrong. I have it in a variety of shades because of summer/winter skin colors. I apply my foundations with a beauty blender or Sigma F80 brush.

#4 | Neutrogena Shine Control Powder : About $13 at any store with Neutrogena (I got mine @ CVS). This is kind of a high price for a powder from the drugstore, but its pretty darn good. It DEFINITELY helps with shine, & at the same time doesn't make your face look powdery or thick. I apply this powder with an E.L.F. Kabuki Brush (picked it up from Target). Make sure that you apply powder products after anything cream/liquid that you put on your face. This is my last step before I contour & apply blush.

#5 | Concealer & Corrector by BH Cosmetics : $6 online (follow link). Okay...if you have not discovered BH Cosmetics, I'm going to ahead & apologize to your wallet (but not too bad because its SO inexpensive). What a hidden gem. I picked up this concealer palette online around Thanksgiving when they were having a huge Cyber Monday sale. I think I paid $3.50 for it on sale. I LOVE it. The concealer really conceals, which sounds weird but most concealers that aren't much money don't do jack. This works great. I use it under my eyes as my under eye concealer. Its covers up all discoloration & it really brightens my under eye area. The other nice thing about me having the "light" shade is that it has the light colors for brightening under the eyes but it also has most of my skin tone colors to be able to conceal blemishes on my face. It also has a yellow, green, & salmon correcting color in it. I highly recommend this palette.

#6 | Physicians Formula Shimmer Strip in Riviera Strip : About $12 anywhere that sells Physicians Formula (I got mine @ CVS when they had the brand on sale). Okay, I have to admit, I have had this product for awhile & I just started using it a couple weeks ago. When I first bought it I thought I would be using it as a blush. Well, I quickly realized that I was too bronzed & shimmery when I applied it as thick as a normal blush. My cheeks looked very muddy. So I put it away for awhile & kind of gave up on it. Well, a couple of weeks ago I started using it like this... I will contour under my cheek bones, then I will put a little of this on my cheeks where I put my blush. Emphasis on A LITTLE. Then I apply my usual blush. I have found that I makes my cheeks look very glowy & sun kissed. I really like the look it gives.

These are my most used face products of the week. Maybe soon I will try a 'most used eye products of the week' post. What do you think?

What were your most used products this week?

I work at a small Christian University & some of the girls that live in the campus housing had a "Galentine's" party last week. They asked me to come & give them make up tips & tricks. Well, if you know me at all you know I can talk about makeup all day everyday. I just love it. I love knowing the best products. I love knowing different techniques. I love seeing what other people are buying/using. I love it all. So needless to say, I was excited!

So you're probably wondering…what in the world does simply complicated mean? That’s a great question!