Dupe Alert: part 1

Hey y'all!

I love buying makeup as much as any other girl out there! I love having it and experimenting with it and just loving my products. However, makeup is getting soooo expensive especially from high end brands. Today, I'm bringing you part 1 of my dupe list. I've spent literally more than 2 years compiling dupes that I've either found by myself or on the internet and have tried. 

Please know that most of the pictures I'm about to show you are not all mine. I have tried and own or have owned ALL of the drugstore dupes and some of the higher end products. 

Posie tint vs. lip stain

The popular benefit lip and cheek stain is an absolutely beautiful color. It sits matte on the lips and face and doesn't budge all day; it costs $30. 

For $6 you can get the elf lip stain in their lightest pink shade. It is not as long lasting as poise tint but it is the same color and feels the same on the lips and cheeks.

Sephora baked shadow vs elf baked

For a while sephora brand had a popular baked eyeshadow palette. It was full of some matte and some shimmer shadows. They were all natural, had great pigmentation, and were just an all around good product. From sephora the palette costs $26.

Elf sells a dupe baked eyeshadow palette that has pretty fantastic pigmentation. Their are some sephora colors they couldn't recreate but most are fairly spot on. However, the elf does not come with any matte shades only shimmer. It goes for $10.

Stila high shine vs. elf hyper shine 

Stila makes this girly pricy gloss at $22 and it's one of those products that doesn't quite live up to the price. It gives great shine and color but it's overly sticky.

Elf has hyper shine gloss for $1. It has very similar color and the formula is almost the same. I've also found that elf stay in place a lot better than the Stila gloss did. The packaging is almost identical as well.

MAC Lippies vs. Wet n Wild and Revlon Lippies

MAC makes one besutiful products but when it comes to lipsticks the price is waaaay to high. The average MAC lipstick can cost anywhere from $16-$25 and that's ridiculous! There are several drugstore brands that make lipstick from $3-$10 that are the same color and have the same effect:

Rebel vs sugar plum fairy and diva vs. cherry bomb:

Viva glam Nikki vs. pinker bell:

Vegas volt vs. coral berry:

Benefit dandelion vs. loreal baby blossom

For $28 you can get a popular benefit blush. They sit nicly on the face and the color dandelion is perfect for spring and summer.

L'oreal also carried a light pink blush called baby blossom. These true match blushes have almost the same formula as benefit blushes and this color is an exact match. Meaning, loreal is an exact dupe for this color of benefit.

Of course, this is only part 1! Hope you enjoyed it! Comment blows of what was your favorite and if there were any I should have included. Please share this blog via social media: it helps.

Until next time!

Cheers <3 :)

-K

The Battle of the Powders: ELF vs. Rimmel

Hey Y'all!!!

Today we are going to be comparing two powders! The elf pressed powder and Rimmel London stay matte pressed powder. Both are matte pressed powders that are supposed to last all day, control oil, and minimize appearance of pores!

ELF Powder

This powder is in the color ivory and it is more yellow based. It is in a flip up container.

Yes, this product does so what it promises. It sticks to the skin and mattifies it. It lasts almost all day with very limited touch ups. My problem with the product is that it makes your makeup look very cakey even with just a thin layer. It also is super yellow based so even the lightest color is better for warm toned people than cool toned. Neutral tones people may be able to get away with it. It costs about $1!

Swatch:

Rimmel London Stay Matte

This product costs about $5 and is much bigger and much more product than the elf powder; making it less convenient to stick in a makeup bag. It matifys the face and it great for all days including days with bb cream because it's color (mine is natural) is just a nice sheen over the skin.

A few touch ups are needed maybe two or three times during the day depending in what you are doing but it does give a very natural look. It's also better for those who are cool tones because it seems that this powder is more pinkish tones. As they get darker, at least in the store, it appears that they get a little more yellow based.

Swatch:

Final Verdict

I do prefer the Rimmel powder over the elf powder. Although the Rimmel does have to be touched up more I like that it is very natural looking and that I don't have to watch my bronzer use because it's more linked toned. I've found a use for my elf powder though: concealer. It does work as a powdered concealer to set the green corrector over small blemishes! So that my opinion!

What do you think? Leave me a comment about these products if you use them or you love them! Which ones do you prefer? 

Until next time!

Cheers! <3 :)

-K

Caring For A Pixie Cut

Hey Y'all!!!

If you don't know already or if this is your first post then you don't know that have a pixie cut! I tend to do dramatic things to my hair; I grow it out, cut it short, dye it... You name it and at some point I'll probably try it! In the long run, it's just hair it grows back and it's a great way to change up your look. Here's my pixie cut as of right now:

I really love it! Overall, a pixie is much simpler to have than longer hair. However, I've found that there is a lot of care that goes into a pixie! So I want to share that with you today!

Daily Care:

I wash my hair probably about twice a week. In between these washes I use dry shampoo and I got into the habit when I had red hair which bleeds when it simply touches water. However, I know that the natural oils in your hair and washed out whenever you wash your hair and that's is damaging. It can dry out your hair and make it loose nutrients. I suggest washing hair only 1-3 times a week and using a dry shampoo in between. I use a CVS brand shower cap to shield my hair from the water when I shower on the days I don't wash my hair. 

My personal favorite dry shampoo is suave professionals in the yellow bottle which is about $3. It smells good and works great! However more recently I've invested in PSSSST! in the true origional formula. It doesn't smell as nice as suave but it doesn't have a whit residue that needs to be brushed out. Psssst! is about $6 a can.

The Days I Wash Hair:

Like I previously stated, I wash my hair twice a week; sometimes three. My hair has been damaged from years of heat styling, dyes, and medication for my health problems. My hair is very thin, dry, brittle, and prone to dandruff. For shampoo I use dove daily moisture therapy. It take that rough texture out of my hair making it smooth and easier to work with. I've tried several other moisture therapy shampoos and, for me they tend to weigh down my hair and make it greasy faster. Dove just uses gentle ingrediants which helps my hair gain moisture without gaining an excess of oil! Similar more high end shampoos cost about $40 in this size whereas my dove bottle cost a little less than $20!

Then to help strengthen my hair I use Garnier Fructis Fall Fight conditioner. I paid about $7 for this bottle which is very affordable for girls on a budget; the set shampoo and conditioner for fall fight is about $15. There are more chemicals in this than in some higher end brands but there is also caffeine to stimulate hair growth, biotin for health and growth, as well as other vitamins that you would get from fruits and veggies! 

Twice a month I also like to do a deep conditioner to really help keep my hair healthy. This Eva NYC was a sample from my ipsy bag but you can find comparable products at your drugstore for about $10.  The hair mask I'm using at this moment is a little pricier and I can only get it online. Again, this was through ipsy and although I like it; my budget doesn't have room for extremely expensive hair care as I'm sure many of yours don't either! 

Styling:

When I get out of the shower on the cool setting I use my Remington pearl hair dryer with the straight nozzle attachment and a small gentle round brush.

I blow my bangs to the left to attain the swoop and straight effect that I have. I'm heat free so to dry my hair I only use the cool setting on this dryer and in the summer I sit in front of a high power box fan! 

After I dry my fringe I add some argon oil to the rest of my hair (I also do this before I dry the fringe). I use the suave Moravian oil styling oil. It tames fly aways and Argon oil is very healthy for your hair without weighing it down or making your hair appear greasy:

Then I simply mess with my fringe to make it he messy look that I love. I can achieve this quickly with my axe messy look hair paste. This product is only $6 while the comparable girls brand is about $12. I wrote about this product In my Juky favorites if you want to know more!

Once I get my fringe and my other hair the way I want it; I spritz it with som Aussie flexible hold hairspray which is about $7 at the drugstore

THAT is the routine I have right now to care for and style my pixie! I try to use mostly affordable brands that's are healthy for your hair. Sometimes affordable brands can be full of follicle clogging products or unhealthy chemicals BUT I can attest that these products don't weigh down your hair and that most of them have plenty of ingrediants that are healthy for your hair! Hopefully you found a product or two to add to your routine or techniques that you will want to add! Please leave me a comment about what you've leavers or what you do with your hair!

Until next time!

Cheers! <3 :)

-K