November 2014 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

Cure Natural Aqua Gel Review

Have you guys heard about this stuff? Apparently, THIS is the number one selling skincare product in Japan. One bottle is sold every 12 seconds. I first heard about it on some interview with Katy Perry, she said she uses it and it’s amazing. I looked it up online and read a few reviews, and thought, I must try this!

So, this is an exfoliating face product. It is said to be very gentle on the skin, and contains mostly water. It’s non abrasive, and doesn’t contain any micro beads or exfoliants. This gel targets dead skin cells and gently removes them from your skin.

Ok, so let me explain how I use this. I wash my face like I normally do, at night, and then I dry my face and hands. The key to making this product work is to apply it to a dry face with dry hands. So I pump out about 2 full pumps, and apply it to my face. It is a colorless gel and also doesn’t have any fragrance. I pat it into my skin gently, and then I wait a minute or so, and then I start rubbing it into my skin with large, sweeping motions. As I am rubbing, the dead skin cells start to come off. They actually ball up on the skin. It’s kind of disgusting, but amazing at the same time! This reminds me of a chemical, or glycolic peel, but it doesn’t hurt or sting the skin at all. It also doesn’t leave my face red or irritated.

After rubbing and removing all the dead skin, I rinse with warm water and pat dry my skin with a towel. Pores are GONE. My skin feels so smooth and soft, and actually brighter! The writing on the bottle is in Japanese, but here are the ingredients:

Water (activated hydrogen water, non-acidic and purified), glycerin, acrylates/C10-30, alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, dicocodimonium, chloride, steartrimonium bromide, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, gingko biloba extract, rosmarinus officinalis/rosemary leaf extract, butylene glycol.

This claims to be really good for acne, evening out skintone, and brightening skin. I use this a couple of times a week, and my skin feels so great and smooth after.

It is a little pricey, I picked mine up from Amazon for around $30. You do get 12 oz though, so it will last a while.

Have you tried this?

IPSY November 2014

Hello! This is going to be my last IPSY post. I have decided to cancel my subscription because IPSY just isn’t wow-ing me anymore. I really just wasn’t using all of the products and I felt like it was a waste. I have subscribed to Julep Maven, and have a post about that here. I think Julep Maven will be a better box for me!

Anyway. Onto the IPSY bag!

If you don’t know, IPSY is a beauty sample subscription box where you pay $10 a month (you can cancel anytime) and they send you a grab bag full of goodies based on your profile every month. Most of the time they send full size products! The value of what is in the box is always over $10, and it’s a great way to try out new products!

This month’s theme is “Girl Meets Glitter” and came with 5 products in this glittery silver bag with hot pink trim. My 3-year old has claimed this bag and already has her crayons in it.

– Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Hairspray 1.5oz Value $2.99
– Rouge Underground Makeup Sealant 0.5oz Value $3

This is a pretty good size can of hairspray, and I really like the scent of it. I have used it already and it seems to hold my curls well. It’s a winner! Now, I’m not a fan of setting sprays. I usually don’t have a problem with my makeup lasting throughout the day, so I don’t really use them. I will save this for a special occasion. It’s in a nice size bottle, perfect for travel.

– J Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint in Mad Splatter FULL SIZE Value $4.99
– Elizabeth Mott You’re So Fine Waterproof Liquid Liner in Glitterati FULL SIZE Value $17.99
– It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye in
Neutral Medium 0.11oz value $9

I really like this lip paint. It reminds me of the OCC Lip Tars, where you only need a tiny bit, and lasts all day long. It’s a really pretty berry color too. Hmm. This liner is black, but it has chunks of silver glitter in it. I don’t usually like liquid liners with glitter in them, but maybe I will give this a shot on NYE. Ok, so this IT Cosmetics sample did not make me happy. I was so excited (so excited) when I saw this in the bag. And then I saw the shade. IPSY – if you are reading this – you should know that not everyone subscribed has the same skintone. Why would you even send this out? This sample is WAY too dark for me. Thanksssss.

So, I paid $10 for this box, and I received about $38 worth of products. I do really like the hairspray and lip paint, so I’m excited to use those.

What did you get in your bag?

Thanks for reading!

Julep Maven – Welcome Box

Since I need more nail polish (haha), I recently signed up for Julep Maven, a monthly subscription service that sends out a box of goodies every month based on your profile. Julep carries mainly nail products, but the brand also has makeup and other beauty products.

During the sign-up process, you take a little quiz for your profile that determines what kind of products they will send you. (They ask you things like your hair color and skintone).

I signed up for the box that is $19.99 per month, and with that, they send you a welcome box for free! Today, I thought I would share with you what they sent me.

They sent me this Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, which is not only supposed to make your manicure last longer, but allow your nails to grow strong and “breathe” with the oxygen formula. This retails for $18 at Sephora btw!

They also sent me two nail polish colors, Bette, a cream bright magenta-purple color, and Zelda, a champagne-gold shimmer. These colors are GORGEOUS and I can’t wait to try them out! These nail colors retail at Sephora for $14 each, so I would say that this is a pretty good welcome box!

If this sounds like something that you would enjoy getting, you can click here to sign up for Julep and receive your welcome box!

Stay tuned for more Julep Maven posts!

Thanks for reading!

Sephora VIB 20% off Sale

It’s here! Sephora’s annual 20% off sale for VIB’s. If you need some makeup or other products, now is the time to get them! I didn’t go too crazy this year – I just picked up a few things that I have really been ~~needing~~ wanting, and also picked up a few gifts that I’m not going to show, because the recipients read my blog 🙂

I picked up another can of this drybar Detox Dry Shampoo because it is the best dry shampoo I’ve ever used! If you can get over the smell (vanilla baby powder) then you will love this. It gives volume and really makes your hair feel nice and clean without residue. The next thing I got was this glitter nail polish remover. This stuff is really good for that horrible, glitter removing process. You just dunk your nail in, and it has a little sponge in there that you rub your nail on, and it takes the glitter off like magic! I also purchased some more Bare Minerals Original Foundation. I recently ran out of this and it is my go-to light coverage foundation. I wear the shade Fairly Light.

One thing I’ve really been wanting to try is the NARS Creamy Concealer. I have heard great things about this concealer, but I was hesitant because it is pretty spendy. I got the shade Vanilla. I also wanted to try the Anastasia Brow Wiz Pencil, so I picked that up in the shade Dark Brown/Brunette. I always use the Anastasia Brow Powder Duo, but I wanted to try out the pencil.

The last thing I got was this Urban Decay Smoked Palette. This caught my eye because of the beautiful metallic shades, especially the green and purple. These can be wearable, and I love the jewel toned shades like this for fall/winter. This palette also came with a full size 24/7 Liner in Perversion, which just so happens to be my favorite black liner, so SCORE. It also came with a little eyeshadow primer that is pretty good.

Did you shop the sale? Let me know if you would like a full review on anything shown here!

Mommy Monday – Fall Handprint Tree

How cute is this little fall tree painting? It’s so simple to make, and it’s always fun to use handprints, because you can look back on them and see how little their hands were! My daughter Allison had a lot of fun making this. Let’s get started!

What you need:

Construction paper (I used orange)
White paper
Fall paint colors
Paintbrush
Glue

The first thing you’re going to do is paint your child’s arm and hand with brown – this will make the trunk and branches of the tree. Allison loved this part. Then, just put it down on the white paper!

The next thing you’re going to do is make the leaves for the tree. You can use any colors you want – she used green, red, yellow, orange, and brown.

Add some grass, flowers, and whatever else you would like!

After it dries, glue it to the construction paper so it looks a little bit more festive! Don’t forget to write the date on the back. Allison said she wanted to give this to her Mimi on Thanksgiving. 🙂