December Book Haul [Book Haul #6]

Hey y'all! So clearly, I'm just eating my words all over the place lately, aren't I?! Remember how I said that my last book haul was probably my last book haul of the year? Oops. I bought more books. But this is definitely, absolutely, the last book haul of the year. PROMISE. Cross my heart and hope to die. Starting in the new year, I plan to do a book haul every two months rather than just doing one whenever it's ready.

But let's not waste any more time with introductions. Let's just jump right into it!

The Kingkiller Chronicles

Book 1: The Name of the Wind

Book 2: The Wise Man's Fear

by Patrick Rothfuss

I'd been planning to get The Name of the Wind for quite a while and finally ordered it off of Amazon. I hadn't planned on buying The Wise Man's Fear quite yet (although I'd definitely been considering it), but then I happened to find a used paperback copy at a used bookstore for only $6. And it was in pretty good condition so I just couldn't pass it up. I'm so anxious to read these that I plan to read The Name of the Wind before the end of the year and then start the year by reading The Wise Man's Fear.

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell

The used bookstore near my school has some really pretty editions of classic children's novels, and I've been eyeing this one for a very long time. I included this book in my 30 Books Before 30 post (link here), and since it was fresh in my mind, I decided to finally go ahead and buy it. I read the kid's version several times, but I've never read the real thing, so I really need to get onto that.

The Wizard of Oz

by L Frank Baum

Contrasting the situation with Black Beauty, I actually did read the real version of this book when I was younger, and I really enjoyed it. And this version of the book was also at the used bookstore near my school, and it's even more beautiful than the Black Beauty one, and I just couldn't pass it up.

Obligatory BookOutlet Purchase...

(Black Friday Edition)

Ten

by Gretchen McNeil

I was immediately intrigued upon learning about this book. because it's a retelling of my favorite stand-alone novel, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Do I expect it to be great? Nope. Nothing deep, nothing amazing, just a fun, fast-paced read. And if it's so bad that all I can do is laugh at how bad it is, that's great too!

Through the Ever Night

by Veronica Rossi

This is the second book in the Under The Never Sky trilogy. I don't have the first one, and I haven't read it yet, but I do like to marathon series if all of the books are out. I've been planning on reading this trilogy for quite a while, and this was less than $3, so I decided to get it and just go ahead and get books 1 and 3 when they're back on BookOutlet for cheap.

The Lost Code

by Kevin Emerson

This is the only book of the haul that I kinda just bought on a whim. All of the other books, I'd at least had an eye on for a little while. But I just came across this one while doing my Black Friday shopping and decided to add it into the cart. From the synopsis, it sounds like a really fast-paced dystopian with an interesting world. And it has a male lead, which is rare in a YA, so that should be really interesting.

The Final Empire

by Brandon Sanderson

I'm not exactly sure why the name of the series is HUGE on the cover, and the actual title of the book isn't even on the cover, but that's beside the point. I've been wanting to read this series for a while now, and the first book was less than $3, so I decided to go ahead and get it. I also included this in my 30 Books Before 30 post, so you can check that out here if you want to.

No One Else Can Have You

by Kathleen Hale

This seems like a really great, really cheesy, murder mystery. And those are just buckets of fun. I actually saw someone haul this a while back (can't remember who) and so when I saw it on BookOutlet for really cheap, I decided to go ahead and get it!

The Chronicles of Nick

Book 3: Infamous

Book 4: Inferno

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I just love that BookOutlet has all of the books in this series for so cheap. I already have books 1 & 2, so I'm just adding on to my collection so that I can marathon these in the future. It seems like it's going to be really great!

Ruins

by Orson Scott Card

This is the second book in Orson Scott Card's Pathfinder series. I don't have the first book yet. It was on BookOutlet and was in my cart, but went out of stock before I could get a copy. So I just have the second book, and plan to get the first one eventually. I've heard lots of good things about these books, so I'm really excited to get into them!

So there you go! That's my last book haul of 2014! Hopefully, in the new year, I'll buy books at a slightly slower pace. I need to work on that.

I've started doing Booktube a little as well, so if you want to check that out, you can click HERE. I plan to post most of my videos to my blog, but just in case I miss one or decide not to post it on here, that will keep you up-to date. 

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

Post Project 10 Pan Makeup Haul!

Hey, y'all! So as you know, I finished my Project 10 Pan last week! Woot! So, since I'm going to go back on a makeup buying ban, I bought several things- mostly pretty inexpensive, but a couple high end thrown in. The majority of the products are shown above, but I also bought something after these and have an order for some other things.

So, I'm just going to talk about the products individually and give mini-reviews as well as discuss the products I haven't gotten yet. 

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer- Porcelain

So, this was one of my high-end purchases. I've never tried a tinted moisturizer, but I wanted something lighter than foundation because it's almost summer and I want to be a bit nicer to my (very acne-prone) skin. Plus, it's oil free, so it's not going to oil up my face. I saw several reviews on Youtube saying that this was really great as far as tinted moisturizers go. However... I'm returning this on Saturday. I tested it in-store and thought it looked like a good color match, but when I got it home and looked at it in the natural light... NOPE. Way dark and brown on my skin, and it's the lightest shade. Normally, I'd try to make it work, but I have reached my threshold of too-dark face products and I don't want to waste my money on something expensive that I'm probably not going to use. I can't really give much of a review on this, since it was way too dark for me to wear out of the house, but I can say that a lot of people really like this. Yay for return policies!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I've been wanting to get this one for quite a while, because several of my favorite beauty gurus on Youtube have been raving about Real Techniques Brushes, especially this specific brush. It's really dense and great for packing on powder foundations for maximum coverage. I haven't gotten to use this enough to get a great feel for it (partially because I've been obsessing over another applicator that you'll see soon), but so far I really like it.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Stipple brushes have always been my preference for applying liquid foundation. My most recent favorite has been the e.l.f. small stipple brush, but I really like this one, possibly more than the e.l.f. one. This one is a little larger than the e.l.f. one, and is made a bit better. Also, the longer white hairs don't stick together as badly as the ones in the e.l.f. brush, allowing it to go a bit longer between cleanings. Overall, I really like this. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

Per usual, I have the lightest shade of this. I compared it to my Revlon ColorStay and noticed that even though the Ivory shade of ColorStay (the lightest shade) has a slight pinky undertone, it pales (terrible pun) in comparison to this. It's very very pinky undertoned. As far as formulation goes, it definitely didn't stay put as long as I expected it to. Even after setting it with powder, it only stayed in place a few hours. But I'll play around with it in the next few weeks and see what I can get out of it. One good thing I have to say about this is that it has a pretty decent light shade range. This is definitely quite a bit lighter than the lightest shade of most foundations I come across, especially considering that it's a drugstore foundation for about $5. So if you're pale like I am, and have pinky undertones, I'd give this a try. When given the choice between amazing staying power and great color-match, I'd go for color match every time. But that's just my opinion, as a person who can rarely find a light-enough foundation.

 Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder

This was a purchase that was less from curiosity and more from necessity. Even though I had a translucent setting powder as part of my Project 10 Pan, I completed that within about a month and then went back to using my Rimmel Stay Matte, which previously had been almost completely full...

Yeah, I can't really get my big fluffy brush in there very well anymore. It was best just to move on and get a new one while I was buying other makeup. As for a review, this is my favorite setting powder. I say this a million times every single makeup post, but I'm really pale, so it's hard to find a face powder that matches. The fact that it's translucent is really great, and I've found that it actually is translucent, unlike some others I've tried. 

Wet & Wild Eye Shadow Palette- Comfort Zone

I know what you're thinking- how on earth did I not already have this?! Well, put simply, I didn't discover how great these shadows were until recently, and at that point I'd just gotten a Naked 2 palette and didn't want to buy anymore neutral eye shadows since a Naked palette is such an investment. I'm sure I'm going to get great use out of this because I like neutral colors. The only one I don't expect to get good use out of is the green color simply because I just don't like green eye shadow. But I'm really excited about that interesting color in the bottom right- is it brown? Is it blue? Is it some really weird combination? Not sure but it's really pretty. I'm also extra excited for the lighter browns and taupe. Not sure that black is going to see much action, but I'm sure it'll get more than the green.

Wet & Wild Eye Shadow Trio- Silent Treatment

It's kinda like a smaller version of comfort zone. I got it mostly for the top and bottom shades. As you might have realized, I like pretty neutral eye colors. Nothing too terribly dark. But I can work with that dark color and see what happens. Overall, Wet & Wild shadows are really great quality and I'm excited to get into both this and Comfort Zone.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Eyeliner- Nude

I was really excited to get this, because of everything I've heard from my favorite beauty vloggers. Using this in the waterline is supposed to be a quick way to widen your eyes and look more awake. As a blogger who is also taking a 19 hour college semester, looking more awake is always appreciated. However, immediately when I used it, I realized a problem...

Will my pale skin ever cease to be a problem? This is darker than my skin, so when I use it in my waterline, it's very visible because it's such a different color. From far away, it does make my eyes look wider and more awake, but you get closer and it's incredibly obvious and looks silly. I really want to try to make it work, because I think it would be a really quick morning makeup trick even on days when I'm not putting on makeup, but if I can't either find a lighter one from a different brand or make this work, I don't think I'm going to be so lucky. 

NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray

I've been eyeing this one for a long, long time. The more matte finish on my face, the better. The longer I can get my makeup to last, the better. I've seen so many beauty vloggers talk about how great this is, and I'm really glad that I've finally been able to get my hands on it. I really like the way my face looks after using it, and I definitely think it helps my makeup stay on for longer. Most people wouldn't be that excited about this, but I was because my skin gets so oily and just eats through my makeup, so this helps a lot.

Beauty Blender

Remember earlier, when I mentioned an applicator I was obsessing over? I was talking about this. It took me a little while to figure out how exactly to use it and what kind of foundation to use with it, but once I figured it out, I fell in love. I really like the natural finish that this gives my foundation. I'm not going to go into any more details because I already did a review of this where I compared this to the CVS knock-off. You can click HERE if you'd like to check that out and find out more about the benefits of the Beauty Blender. It's quickly becoming my favorite way to apply my foundation. 

 So, that's it for the items I've actually purchased so far. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'm going to order something on the NYX website or go to Ulta. They get their NYX shipments on Thursdays, and are sold out of what I want by Friday, but I'm unable to get there on most Thursdays... so I may just order what I want. However, the NYX site gives free shipping if your order is more than 25 and one of the items I want to buy to get up to the $25 is sold out currently. So basically, what I'm going to get depends on whether or not the item I want comes back into stock before I can get to Ulta.

OK, so there you go! I hope you enjoyed this little post- project 10 pan haul! Hopefully, if I have time this week, I plan on posting about my makeup storage and how I've changed it around with new products and getting rid of products, plus a new section I've added on. Basically, I'm shoving makeup down your throat this week. I promise it won't be this makeup heavy for much longer!

Anyway, if you enjoy my posts, I'd love it if you would subscribe/follow, since it lets me know you're liking what I'm doing. See y'all back here either Thursday or Saturday!

Beauty Blender vs. CVS Knock-off: Review/Comparison

Hey, y'all! So, I've bought a few products since finishing my Project 10 Pan, and one of them was the Beauty Blender. I already had a knock-off Beauty Blender from CVS, so I decided to do a quick review/ comparison for the two of them.

Ever since the Beauty Blender became super popular, seemingly every single store that sells makeup- drugstore and high-end alike- have begun to create their own knock-off versions. That's understandable since the Beauty Blender is a whopping $20 dollars for just one little sponge.

I'm going to talk about each product individually, and then compare them.

The Beauty Blender comes in this little container. As you can see below it, there's a little accordion-folded paper, which has the instructions on how to use it. Basically, you're supposed to get the Beauty Blender wet, which causes it to expand, making it even more porous and squishy. Once you've gotten it wet and you can tell that it's expanded, you towel dry it a little. At this point, the Beauty Blender should be just slightly damp. It won't be completely dry, but as long as it's just not extremely wet, it's ready to be used. 

Size comparison after wetting it- it doesn't fit into the container anymore!

I like to take it section by section from here, since I typically use Revlon ColorStay, which sets pretty quickly. I dab dots of the foundation onto one part of my face and then bounce the Beauty Blender around to blend out the makeup. When applying, you definitely want to bounce/pat the Beauty Blender across your skin, and not brush, swipe, etc. it. The supposed benefit of using the Beauty Blender over a brush is that the Beauty Blender will give you a more natural finish than brushing on foundation. With the Beauty Blender, you're literally pressing the foundation into your skin rather than brushing it over your skin, so it definitely makes it look more like your skin.

When using the Beauty Blender, you definitely have to be aware of the type of foundation you're using. If you're using something like Revlon ColorStay, which sets quickly, you don't want to dab it all over your face and then start blending, because it'll start to set as it's sitting on your face and you won't get the full effects of using the Beauty Blender. Also, you want to be careful that your foundation isn't too liquidy, because the B.B. is still a sponge, and it soaks up liquid, so it might soak up more of the foundation than it actually puts onto your face. 

I think the main thing it has going for it is that it's SO squishy and porous, so it can really give you the 'flawless' finish it claims. I've used it several times at this point, and I absolutely love the finish that it gives my face. The foundation gets blended evenly and looks really great on the skin. Even though I think $20 dollars is a bit too much for any sort of sponge applicator, I would definitely recommend it, because I think it gives my foundation a much better finish than any brush I've used to apply my foundation. 

 As you can see, the CVS knock-off has a completely different shape from the original Beauty Blender. I'm definitely of the opinion that the B.B.'s shape is better than the CVS knock-off. When using the B.B. you can use the bottom, but you can also get around a little on the sides of it. With this one, it's basically either the tip or the bottom.

With this one, you're supposed to use it dry, so you don't wet it down beforehand. The first thing I noticed when trying to use it was that it was very, very dense and thick. I wasn't even sure it should be called a sponge because it was just so dense. This made it nearly impossible to evenly apply foundation. It was so uneven that even though I tried to make it work several times, I don't think I ever left the house wearing foundation that was applied with this. It's just too dense, thick, and hard.

For me, there isn't even really a comparison between the two. It's much more worth your while to spend $20 dollars on the Beauty Blender, which actually works really well, than to spend $4 on a sponge that is almost unusable.

My (admittedly amateur) opinion is that if you're seriously interested in buying a Beauty Blender, you should just get the actual Beauty Blender rather than wasting your money on cheap knock-offs. Although I've only tried this one knock-off, I've picked up and squished/felt several other knock-offs, and none of them are as porous/squishy as the original Beauty Blender. Since that's what helps it to give foundation a natural finish, I didn't even consider wasting my money on anything that was harder or more dense than the original Beauty Blender.

The long and short of it is that overall, I really enjoy my Beauty Blender and would definitely recommend it over a brush or a knock-off.

Hope y'all enjoyed my review and that this helped you figure out if the Beauty Blender is worth buying. If you like my posts and want to keep up-to-date, it would be awesome if you'd follow/subscribe, since it lets me know you're enjoying what I'm doing! Thanks, y'all!

Project 10 Pan Update #3- FINALE!

Hey, y'all! It's finally here, the last Project 10 Pan update!!!
If you want to check out the previous posts, you can click one of the links below:

Original Project 10 Pan Post
Update Post #1
Update Post #2

Beside each product that I've completely finished, I'll put "complete" and for the ones I've hit pan on, I'll put "panned." Also, for the products that are completely gone, I'll say whether or not I'll repurchase. For each item, I'll have the picture from last update, and then a current one. For products which were completed last update, they'll just have a single picture, without any info. Products which were panned last update which have not yet been completed will be labelled "Still panned" rather than simply "panned" to denote a difference.

Let's get into the updating!

Project 10 Pan

#1) e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator- COMPLETE

#2) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Makeup- COMPLETE

A new picture won't do any good for this, because you can't tell that it's all gone, but it is!
Amount of product left: Nada.
Opinion about the product: So, I realized recently that although it always looked awesome when I put it on in my terrible dorm lighting, it actually made my face orangey. So... not as good as I thought.
Will I repurchase? Probably not, after seeing how orangey it made me.

#3) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder- STILL PANNED

It still looks just like this, so there was no need for another picture.

Amount of product left: A fair amount. Not a ton, but it's certainly still usable.
Opinion about the product: I really like it when I first put it on, but if I don't set it with the right powder, it doesn't look so great after a few hours.
Will I keep using it? Here and there, but not on a regular basis. I like other powders better.

#4) e.l.f. Translucent Mattifying Powder- COMPLETE

#5) e.l.f. Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara- COMPLETE

I was going to take a different picture, but you can't even tell that it's all gone, so there was no point.

Amount of product left: None!
Opinion about the product: I still like it. I'm just ready to be able to throw one of these away.
Will I repurchase? Yeah, but not until I go through the other one I have!

#6) e.l.f. Eye Shadow Refills- Peach Fizz, Driftwood- STILL PANNED

They still look like this.

Amount of product left: Maybe 3/4 of each one, even though I already hit pan on one.
Opinion about the product: They're OK. I'll kinda be glad to be rid of them.
Will I keep using them? Like the powder, off and on. I have other neutral shadows I prefer.

#7) e.l.f. Cover Everything Concealer- STILL PANNED

Exactly the same as before.

Amount of product left: Still quite a bit.
Opinion about the product: The texture isn't my favorite, and it's a bit dark for me, but it works.
Will I keep using it? No, I have another concealer I like A LOT better.

#8) e.l.f. Eyelid Primer- COMPLETE

#9) e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzer

Before

After

Finally, the pan is visible!

Amount of product left: Still quite a bit.
Opinion about the product: I'm glad to be done with it. I'm not a huge fan of the blush color and got more and more tired of using it as this went on.

#10) L'Oreal Magic Anti-Redness Correcting Primer- COMPLETE!

So, there's my final Project 10 Pan update! As I said in my previous updates, I'm planning on buying some things I've been eyeing for ages, and then going back on Project 10 Pan (or something similar... not quite sure yet). As I've explained, I'm doing this so that I don't impulse buy and regret it later. Especially now, because I'm going to have a bit tighter of a budget than I did over this past year, because I'll be having to pay rent this summer because I won't be at my parents' house. And I need to eat. And drive.

If you like my posts, please follow/subscribe/comment, because it lets me know that you're enjoying the things I'm posting. I love hearing feedback! Thanks for reading, y'all!

Project 10 Pan: Update #2

Hey, y'all! I was going to wait a bit longer to do an update on Project 10 Pan, but it's been going so well that I decided to go ahead and post an update! If you want to check out the previous posts, you can click one of the links below:

Original Project 10 Pan Post
Update Post #1

I talked about this a bit in my last update, I'm going to start another Project 10 Pan not too long after I finish this one. My plan is that once I finish my Project 10 Pan, I'm going to go to Ulta, purchase the makeup products I've been consistently wanting for the past few months, and then go back on P10P. Hopefully, this will help me spend money only on things I truly want to purchase rather than just impulse buying. I'll also probably write a post about what I end up purchasing at Ulta when I go!

Beside each product that I've completely finished, I'll put "complete" and for the ones I've hit pan on, I'll put "panned." Also, for the products that are completely gone, I'll say whether or not I'll repurchase. For each item, I'll have the picture from last update, and then a current one. For products which were completed last update, they'll just have a single picture, without any info. Products which were panned last update which have not yet been completed will be labelled "Still panned" rather than simply "panned" to denote a difference.

Let's get into the updating!

Project 10 Pan

#1) e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator- COMPLETE

#2) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Makeup

A new picture won't do any good for this, because you can't tell how much is left. I've been using this as my foundation, but I've been using it very lightly. Slowly but surely, we're getting there!
Amount of product left: Even less than before, and I've definitely used more between Updates 1&2 than between the original and update 1.
Opinion about the product: I still like it, and when I put it on it looks good, but when I go out in the natural light, my face looks like a totally different color than my neck! Yay, terrible dorm lighting!

#3) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder- STILL PANNED

Before

After

Once I hit pan, I stopped using it so prominently and focused on the liquid foundation. So not much has been done to this in the last month.

Amount of product left: A fair amount. Not a ton, but it's certainly still usable.
Opinion about the product: I really like it when I first put it on, but if I don't set it with the right powder, it doesn't look so great after a few hours.

#4) e.l.f. Translucent Mattifying Powder- COMPLETE

#5) e.l.f. Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara

Before

After

I've used quite a bit of this, since I use it practically every day. I'm surprised it's not gone yet, but it's REALLY close!

Amount of product left: Literally like 5 more uses. I think.
Opinion about the product: I still like it. I'm just ready to be able to throw one of these away.

#6) e.l.f. Eye Shadow Refills- Peach Fizz, Driftwood- PANNED

Before

After

I got to quite a bit of the pan on Driftwood! And I actually just hit pan on Peach Fizz this morning!

Amount of product left: Maybe 3/4 of each one, even though I already hit pan on one.
Opinion about the product: They're OK. I'll kinda be glad to be rid of them.

#7) e.l.f. Cover Everything Concealer- STILL PANNED

Before

After

The pan has gotten a bit bigger, but not a significant change.

Amount of product left: Still quite a bit.
Opinion about the product: The texture isn't my favorite, and it's a bit dark for me, but it works.

#8) e.l.f. Eyelid Primer- COMPLETE

I'm calling this one. I can't see inside it to see if anything is left, but I can't get anything else out of it, so I'm calling it complete!

Amount of product left: Nothing I can get out!
Opinion about the product: I like it, but sometimes it's a bit too light. Which is a shocker since nothing is ever too light on me.
Will I repurchase? Maybe. It's only a dollar, but I'm not sure I really need it.

#9) e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzer

Before

After

I've still been using this almost every day, but I just can't seem to make any progress. I'm so ready to be done with it!

Amount of product left: Quite a bit
Opinion about the product: The more I use it, the more I think it's more of a coral pink, which I'm not such a fan of for blush. I'll be glad to be done with this.

#10) L'Oreal Magic Anti-Redness Correcting Primer- COMPLETE!

This was getting difficult to get product from, and finally, the pump just stopped putting anything out. So, this is complete!

Amount of product left: None!
Opinion about the product: I don't mind it, but I like some other primers better.
Will I repurchase? Nah. At least, not now. Maybe if my acne starts flaring up again.

So, there's my update for my Project 10 Pan! I'll probably post another update in a few weeks, depending upon how quickly this moves along. Hopefully, the remaining products get panned in the next few weeks and I can end this Project 10 Pan and get on to the next one!

If you like my posts, please follow/subscribe/comment, because it lets me know that you're enjoying the things I'm posting. I love hearing feedback! Thanks for reading, y'all!