Zest Fruitboost Review + Giveaway

I don't know about you, but I'm a total night owl. Even though my son insists on waking me up before the sun comes up in the morning, I still can't get myself to bed before midnight...eleven at the earliest (and that means I'm probably sick). I guess it's because that's my free time, where I can do whatever I want to do, whether it's catching up on my favorite shows, working on blog posts or checking out social media. When I became a mom, I realized how precious that "me time" can be and I need a few hours to wind down after the kiddo goes to sleep. 

Still, staying up late has it's consequences, one of which is dragging myself out of bed in the morning. Thankfully, Zest has just released a brand new line of shower gels called Fruitboost and these really help to get me going when I'm all bleary eyed with three bright, fresh, fruity scents. Let's take a look...

ShopMissA.com Haul and Review

A few months ago, I had a dream that I walked into the dollar store and it was all makeup from floor to ceiling...I guess that means I spend waaay too much time thinking about beauty products, huh? They're invading my dreams now! 

The good news is, this magical dollar store actually exists in real life, in the form of a website called Shop Miss A. Based out of Dallas, TX, ShopMissA.com is filled with super-affordable makeup and accessories that are all $1...can you believe it? So when they recently asked me if I wanted to haul some of their products, I couldn't wait to dive right into the site and see what I could find. 

They offer a large selection of brands...some I've heard of like E.l.f. and L.A. Colors, and others I haven't like Santee and Starry. Even though everything is only $1, Shop Miss A offers fantastic customer service and a steady stream of new products coming in every day, so there's always something new to discover. Let's take a look at what I got...

When my package first arrived, I was impressed by how well packaged everything was! It took me a little while to get through all the bubble wrap, but I really appreciated the time they took to package everything so well. I ordered a lot of powdered items and not one thing arrived broken or damaged! They put as much care into packing my order as a high-end brand would, so I was pleasantly surprised.

The first items I wanted to try were this Liquid Foundation and CC Magic Skin Beautifier from Santee. The foundation felt really nice on my dry skin and didn't cake or settle into fine lines. It gave medium coverage that was buildable as well. It does have a perfume-type scent, in case you're sensitive to fragrance. The CC Cream also had a nice texture, but I didn't end up using it because it was too dark for my skin tone...but hey, that's ok because it was only $1!

Top: Santee Liquid Foundation #2
Bottom: Santee CC Magic Skin Beautifier #8

The next product I wanted to try were these Rose Cheek Pop Blushes by Malibu Glitz...aren't they so pretty? I chose the shades Amber which is a light peachy pink and Orchid, a darker rosy shade. Both are matte finish and they surprised me by being very soft to the touch and highly pigmented!

Left: Amber
Right: Orchid

Top: Amber
Bottom: Orchid

Next up...more blushes (you guys know how I love my blushes and highlighters!). These are by Santee and they're called Sun Kissed Mineral Blush. These are a mineral formula with SPF 20 and have a little bit of shimmer to them. Unfortunately, I dropped one right before I took these photos (it was my favorite shade too), so that's why it's cracked. These are also very soft to the touch and nicely pigmented.

Santee Sun Kissed Mineral Blush in #5, #7, and #6.

Top: Sun Kissed Mineral Blush #5
Middle: Sun Kissed Mineral Blush #7
Bottom: Sun Kissed Mineral Blush #6

More blushes! These are by KleanColor and they're called American Chick Baked Blush/Bronzer SPF 15.  These feel drier than the other blushes, due to the baked formula but they're still nicely pigmented and easy to blend. I also love the marbled texture with different shades throughout and they go on with just a hint of shimmer.

Top Row: Lush Petal, Spring Blossom
Bottom Row: Royal Touch, Fruit Sorbet

Top to Bottom: Spring Blossom, Fruit Sorbet, Lush Petal, Royal Touch

Last but not least, I picked up a few of the KleanColor Keepsake Kiss Lip Tints. These go on almost like a liquid lipstick, with way more coverage than a gloss, yet they feel moisturizing and give your lips a nice dose of shine like a gloss would. They smell sort of fruity, but not in a bad way...I actually liked the scent and it disappears shortly after application anyway. What surprised me most about these is that they stain your lips and are super long-lasting! Plus, they felt comfortable the whole time I was wearing them and didn't dry my lips out at all.

Left to Right: Pink Charm, Ballerina, Fuchsia Heart, Poppy Joy

Top to Bottom: Pink Charm, Ballerina, Fuchsia Heart, Poppy Joy. 

Overall, I'm so excited to have found ShopMissA! Sometimes you just want to have fun and discover new beauty products, and Shop Miss A allows you to do just that without risking more than $1. You can go ahead and try out that lip color or eyeshadow that's a bit more bold than you normally would, just because! Not to mention, their stellar customer service and careful packaging means you're getting even more for your money. Two thumbs up! 
#ShopMissA #Justhavefun

Burt's Bees Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm Only at Target

This post brought to you by Burt’s Bees at Target. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Budget Beauty Blog.

Ahh Pumpkin Spice...I don't think there's anything that captures the scent of fall for me more than that. Even though Pumpkin Spice starts showing up everywhere in September, I associate it more with late fall. It brings me back to my childhood, baking pies in the kitchen with my Mom the day before Thanksgiving. Funny thing is, I don't even like pumpkin pie...but I suppose I just associate the smell with that warm and cozy feeling of being at home with my family, watching movies and baking all day.

Thankfully, Burt's Bees has decided to bring back their limited edition Pumpkin Spice lip balm this year so I can take this comforting scent with me wherever I go, no calories included! I totally missed it last year and then it disappeared so I was really excited when I spotted it at Target a few weeks ago and I grabbed one immediately. 

This lip balm is exclusive to Target, so you won't find it anywhere else. When I first spotted this, I realized that it wasn't in the Burt's Bees section in the bath and body aisle...it was actually on an endcap over by the toothpaste aisle. So I wanted to mention that in case you're looking for it and don't see it with the regular Burt's Bees products. It costs $3.29, same as the other Burt's Bees lip balm flavors and packs a truly mouth-watering flavor punch. 

It's creamy pumpkin mixed with a touch of spice...much like pumpkin pie filling. 

A few days later, I was back at Target...I probably go there at least three times a week- my husband laughs but I can get everything I need there whether it's food, personal care items, baby stuff, toys, or clothes and shoes- it's pretty much a one-stop-shop. 

While I was there, of course I had to stop by the beauty section, and I spotted a new display at the end of the makeup aisles that had Pumpkin Spice and also a Pumpkin Spice/Vanilla Bean Combo pack! 

The formula contains coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, lanolin and pumpkin seed oil to moisturize and soothe dry, cracked lips. It's a harder balm, which I really prefer over softer, more melty formulas because it feels smooth on the lips and I don't feel like I have a thick waxy or balmy coating on them. As dry as my lips are, it's nice to have an affordable option that works well because I am constantly applying balm and tend to go through it pretty quickly. Hmm...now that I think about it, I better go grab another tube or two of the Pumpkin Spice one because this flavor won't be sticking around forever!

Overall, if you love pumpkin spice or just fall scents in general, head on over to your local Target or Target.com to pick up the Burt's Bees Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm. It's only available for a limited time and then it'll be gone, so if you're interested, don't wait too long! 

Available Only at Target

Profusion Techikhol Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Set Review

I recently spotted the Profusion Cosmetics Technikhol Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Set at Five Below and I grabbed one because I have never tried any of Profusion's eyeliners. I'm always searching for a liner that doesn't smudge all over the place. It seems like even "waterproof" formulas still smudge on me, especially if I try to create a wing at the outer corner...it's always gone within a few hours. 

This set is $6.59 on the Profusion Website (currently only $3.89 as part of their Black Friday sale!) and I think it was $5 at Five Below where I bought it, so either way, it's a great price for six eyeliners. Let's take a look...

Beauty Treats Heart Love Blush Palette Review & Swatches

I am always on the hunt for new affordable beauty brands to try because, I don't know about you guys, but lately I've been kind of bored and unimpressed with most drugstore makeup. Discovering brands like City Color, Profusion and Colourpop (to name a few) have made me wonder...why can't the drugstore brands keep up? Somehow these smaller brands manage to offer adorable packaging, innovative formulas, and amazing quality while still keeping the prices down (often even lower than brands like Maybelline, CoverGirl and Revlon). 

I've seen the brand Beauty Treats around in places like Five Below but I hadn't tried anything from them before. Then I saw this Heart Love Blush Palette in Burlington Coat Factory earlier this week and it was $4.99. And it's blush. In heart shapes. So yes, I put it in my cart in about half a second and crossed my fingers that it's actually as good as it looks. 

City Color Mosaic Blush Review & Swatches

I'm back with another blush review, this time it's City Color's Mosaic Blushes ($4.99 plus 10% off with my code BudgetBeautyBlog). I don't know why I keep buying blushes lately...I think I might have a bit of a problem. Still, I couldn't resist these when I saw them at Five Below a few weeks ago because as you probably know by now, I'm obsessed with City Color's Be Matte Blushes- they're amazing. So how do these compare? Read on to find out...

Profusion 6 Color Eyeshadow Palettes First Impression & Swatches

I was at Walgreens the other night and spotted these cute little Profusion Cosmetics palettes in the holiday section for only $3 each! I've had great luck with Profusion lately so I figured what the heck, why not just get all three to try? Interestingly, the shades inside look pretty much exactly like the Runway Glamour Eyeshadow Palettes on the Profusion website so I'm not sure if this is older packaging or what the story is there.  I also only saw these three options at Walgreens but there may be one more since there are four Runway Glamour Palettes on the Profusion website.  

Also, there are a ton of awesome gift sets and hidden gems at Walgreens right now, so if you want to see more, check out my girl G's post over at Nouveau Cheap today...she has tons of photos, swatches plus tips on finding the new launches and holiday sets.   

Let's take a closer look! 

Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana Review and Swatches (Hourglass Ambient Dupe)

If you've been searching for an Hourglass Ambient Lighting dupe, or just a really beautiful face finishing powder, meet Wet N Wild's Coloricon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana ($4 at Walgreens and Walmart). I never would have looked twice at this in the store because it looks like a regular old face powder (and not even a bronzer as the name suggests). But quite a few of you have been telling me lately that I have to try this and I just need to say...you're the best and I love you guys, because it's awesome! I swear, I have discovered so many great hidden gems because of your tips, so anytime you have a holy grail product to share, please don't hesitate to tell me about it, in a comment, email, Instagram, wherever!

Anyway, let me just stop babbling now and let's take a closer look at Reserve Your Cabana...

City Color Highlighting Wand Review & Swatches

City Color Highlighting Wand ($5.99) is a lightweight cream highlighter that comes in three beautiful shades. I grabbed one of them during the City Color Labor Day sale when I ended up hauling a bunch of things I've been wanting to try.

Right now, these are part of the highlighter sale, so they're only $4.19 each. You can also use my code BudgetBeautyBlog for an additional 10% off, which makes them $3.78 each!

City Color Highlighting Wand in Blush Wine

e.l.f. Baked Blush Review & Swatches

I feel like I'm the only person in the world that hasn't tried e.l.f.'s Studio Baked Blush ($3), so I bought all four shades during a recent e.l.f. haul. I was surprised when they showed up and looked more like highlighters than blushes! They're super shimmery and two of the shades are actually light enough that they could easily pass for highlighters. But hey, I'm a highlighter junkie so this didn't bother me one bit! Let's take a look...

These slightly dome-shaped blushes are swirled with two different shades that look so pretty when they blend together. The compacts they come in are pretty lightweight and cheap-feeling, but I don't expect much for $3...besides, it's what's inside that really counts.

On a side note, one thing that really bothered me was the sloppy packing job by e.l.f. employees at their warehouse. I ordered 12 different products and they were just thrown into a bubble-lined mailing envelope, so they were all banging around together inside. One of these blushes, Rich Rose (the bronze-looking shade) is loose inside the compact, which makes it difficult to pick up any color. I have to try to hold it still with one hand and swirl my brush around with the other. I also ordered some of their Baked Highlighters and one came completely shattered in a thousand pieces. So that's two products that were ruined during shipping...ugh!

These are just beautiful to look at and they do contain a lot of shimmer, so if shimmery blushes/highlights aren't your thing, you probably won't like these. I have really dry skin, which has a tendency to look dull, so I like shimmery formulas because they add light to my face. Just as long as they're not too glittery, I'm good.

Pinktastic seems to be the shade that everyone always talks about when it comes to the Baked Blushes. I kind of laughed at the name, because while it does have a few pink veins running through it, it's primarily a golden shade! A lot of people say that this is a dupe for MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle...I haven't tried that one, so I can't confirm that. I swatched this against my other highlighters but didn't find a dupe in my collection.

Pinktastic

Peachy Cheeky is a light golden peach shade that could also pass for a highlighter on me. It's such a beautiful shade and it adds a warm glow to my cheekbones.

Peachy Cheeky

Passion Pink is probably my favorite of all the shades to wear as a blush. It's the perfect flush of pink on my fair skin and I just love it!

Passion Pink

Rich Rose actually looks bronze with coral running through it in the pan but swatches sort of a rosy bronze shade. This one doesn't seem to pick up quite as well as the others when I use a brush or my finger...it feels drier somehow. But this is also the one that's broken so I'm not pressing quite as hard due to it sliding around a lot in the compact.

Rich Rose

When I first played with these, they felt dry and like they had an shimmery overspray coating on them. But after a few uses, they felt much softer and I was able to pick them up easily with my e.l.f. blush brush. I find that these sheer out too much if I try to use a fluffy brush, so ones with shorter or stiffer bristles seem to apply them the best. These can also be used wet or dry! Here, I swatched them dry and they go on pretty sheer...

Then I applied them wet and they really pop! I used them with a damp Beauty Blender and also spritzed my brush with a setting spray and it worked well both ways. 

Overall, these are really beautiful shimmery blushes to add to my collection. I've been buying a lot of matte blushes lately so this was a nice change and now that we're heading into the Winter (aka dry skin season) these will give my skin a much-needed glow. 

Have you tried the e.l.f. Baked Blushes yet? 

New e.l.f Setting Sprays

I was perusing the e.l.f. website today and came across two new formulas of their setting spray... Illuminating and Matte Magic. Let's take a look at the claims...

These are $4 each, which is a dollar more than the original setting spray formula...but I'm guessing that's due to the added ingredients.

Illuminating Mist & Set- The fine mist creates a natural glow on the skin with ultra-fine, light-reflecting particles for an instant illuminating effect. This incredibly innovative item is right on trend to help you create the perfect strobing effect. Infused with Vitamin A, C, E, and Green Tea to help hydrate, nourish, and brighten the complexion for a healthy looking radiance. The lightweight, comfortable formula is perfect for all skin tones. Helps improve makeup wearability and prevent color from running or fading.

Magic Matte Mist & Set- This fine clear setting spray helps makeup stay put, and helps control shine for beautiful-looking skin. Infused with Vitamin B, E, Arctium Majus Root to help hydrate, soothe. The lightweight, comfortable formula helps improve makeup wearability, and prevent color from running or fading.

I definitely want to try the Illuminating formula...my dry skin always needs help to keep it from looking dull. I'm hoping it's not sparkly, but based on the description, it doesn't sound like it...they claim it gives a "natural" glow and that the particles are "extra fine". We'll see, I'm definitely placing an order today.

Which one do you want to try? 

City Color Intense Exposure Highlighting Powder Review & Swatches

Being the highlighter junkie that I am, I couldn't help adding this cute little Intense Exposure Highlighting Powder ($4.99) to my cart during a recent City Color haul. It's under $5 and is totally different than the other shades I currently have in my collection. Let's take a look! 

City Color Intense Exposure Highlighting Powder

Flash Sale! City Color Lip Products 30% Off

Every weekend in October, City Color Cosmetics is having great flash sales...last weekend they had 50% off all eyeshadow palettes and this weekend, it's on three of their popular lip products.

You'll get 30% off on all Be Matte Gems, Hi-Intense Creamy Lip Paints and Dazzling Lipsticks. Plus, use my code BudgetBeautyBlog to get an additional 10% off.

Between the sale and my code, the Hi-Intense Creamy Lip Paints and Dazzling Lipsticks are only $3.15, and the Be Matte Gems are only $1.89 a piece (and they're fabulous for Halloween, they come in crazy shades of black, blue, yellow, orange, green, and white). 

You also get free shipping with any $25 order. 

Visit the sale this weekend only at Citycolorcosmetics.com

New ELF Cosmetics Products Online

Some new ELF products have landed at Eyeslipsface.com and I couldn't wait to share them with you guys! Also, right now, you can use code Mystery at checkout with any order of $15 or more to get a free surprise product worth $6!

First up are these adorable Essential Lip Kiss Lip Balms ($2). They come in four shades and are infused with vitamins A & E, Grapeseed and Jojoba oils to nourish your lips. These are limited edition so get them while you can! 

Profusion Studio Contour Palette Review & Swatches

Last week when I reviewed the Profusion Studio Highlight kit, a lot of you told me here and on social media that you've been seeing the Profusion Studio Contour Palette at Five Below and Marshalls, so of course I had to go back to Five Below and see if it was there. Sure enough, after some digging I found them hidden in the back on a shelf in the makeup aisle! I'm not much of a contour person, but at $5, I couldn't resist grabbing one to review for you guys. Let's take a look...

Profusion Studio Contour Palette 

L.A. Colors 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

I was at Five Below last week and spotted some 16 Color eyeshadow palettes from L.A. Colors that I hadn't seen there before, and they were only $4 (you can find it at drugstore.com here for $3.99).  They had a few different ones but this one caught my eye because it has some beautiful nude shades but also some greens and a navy blue. It's called Sweet and there are two other versions...one with bright shades called Haute and a smoky one called Smokin. Let's take a look! 

LA Colors 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Sweet

Maybelline Baby Lips Winter Edition Swatches + First Look

I was so excited when I spotted this display at Bed, Bath & Beyond this morning! Maybelline has just released four new Baby Lips shades called Winter Edition ($3.39 each). I love Baby Lips and have collected most of the shades that have been released over the years, but this time what really caught my eye were the two fall-like shades in this collection. Normally, Baby Lips are cute pastels or brights, so I was excited to see a brownish nude and red this time around!

I ended up getting all four shades to swatch for you guys so let's take a look...

Profusion Studio Highlight Palette Swatches & First Impression

I wandered into Five Below this morning to see what was new in the makeup aisle and at first it looked like the same stuff that's been there for a while. But then I started pushing things aside and looking toward the back of the shelves and there was a bunch of brand new stuff just hiding back there (I posted the other things I found on my Instagram page today in case you're curious). 

The Profusion Studio Highlight palette ($5.99)  was the first thing I pulled out and I was like...what!? You guys know I love my highlighters and while it's easy to find highlight/contour palettes, a full highlighter palette is more of a rare thing, especially at the drugstore! 

Profusion can definitely be hit or miss but I decided to try this based on my fantastic experience with their Blush Boutique kit earlier this week (see that post here). I couldn't wait to get this home and play with it a little bit, so here are my first impressions...

Disney Villains Jealous Blush Review & Swatches

The Disney Villains makeup collection has arrived at Walgreens, and with Halloween right around the corner, it's the perfect time to launch some badass beauty products featuring the Evil Queen, Ursula, and Maleficent. There are beauty books, a Maleficent contour palette and more, but the first thing that jumped out at me was the Evil Queen's Jealous Blush ($3.50 at Walgreens stores or at Drugstore.com) because it looks a heck of a lot like Nars Orgasm. Let's take a closer look...

Profusion Make Me Blush Set- Blush Boutique Review & Swatches

The other day I wanted to go to Walgreens to see what was new because this time of year, the holiday sets start to hit the shelves. But lately, I have a hard time just going to Walgreens because the one in my town is right next door to a petting zoo that my 2 year old loves! He usually cries if we go into Walgreens first because he thinks I'm not taking him to see the animals....so I take him there first and then we can go to Walgreens. Haha...at least the petting zoo is only open for a few more weeks and I'll be able go straight into Wags without making that pit stop.

So after we fed the goats, sheep and cows, we headed in (with my son singing "Old McDonald" at the top of his lungs) and right in front, an employee was starting to put out the holiday sets. A lot of them are the same ones I've seen in years past, but then one caught my eye...it's a set of 4 Profusion Blush Boutique blushes with a blush brush and it was only $5. Done and done.