birthday giveaway

It's very hard to believe but I have been running my mouth (fingers) on this blog for a year now. When I first started I knew nothing about blogging but some amazing people helped me along the way. I never expected to meet so many wonderful people and have so many wonderful followers and fans. First and foremost a huge THANK YOU. If it wasn't for you, I would be talking to myself. That is not unusual but no fun either :). On a very serious note I really do appreciate all of you. When I see I have a new comment I look forward to reading it. Please know that I may not respond to each comment but I read them. For those of you with blogs I also enjoy reading your blogs and your thoughts on things. I love seeing new perspectives and reading reviews of products I have never tried.

I am also very grateful and send a huge thank you to the companies who have worked with me to offer giveaways and products for me to review. That is also a great feeling when someone believes in your blog enough to work with you. That too never goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my blog's Birthday/anniversary whatever you want call it, than by having a huge giveaway with some prizes from some of the amazing people I have met along the way.

Northern Star read my review here 
Tobi's Touch read my review here 
Isn't this Clever read my review here
Paint Shop Polish you can read my review here 
Polish Yer Hooves read one of my reviews here 
Sweet Tea Polish  read my review here
Mandyland Polish read my review here 
Word of mouth lend me your ear
Polished Expression Design read my review here  
Freebie Mommie 
Peacock Review 
Gothic Gala Lacquers

These 2 beautiful polishes from MandyLand Polish. Both are full size

a Key P it Up Purse hanger of your choice from Isn't this Clever 

2 winners one set each in their choice of colors 

a beautiful polish from Sweet Tea Polish 

2 beautiful Full size polishes of your choice from Gothic Gala Lacquer 

2 beautiful full size bottles of your choice from Polish Yer Hooves

This amazing gift pack from Freebie Mommie

A mini bottle of polish from her Beautiful spring collection. 

2 beautiful bottles of Nubar polish from PeacockReviews

Mystery box from Word of Mouth Lend me your Ear 

From me, that's Ulta mascara sorry it's backwards in the picture!

Since it's a giveaway you know there are rules. So here they are

Entries will be accepted from 2/1/14 - 2/16/14

Good luck remember three winner will be randomly chosen through the RaffleCopter. You MUST be following me on Twitter or GFC or like alwaysblabbing on FaceBook to be eligible to win. This giveaway is open to US residence only Winners will have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing information. alwaysblabbing is only responsible for shipping one prize. Once the prizes are shipped, we will do our best to get your prizes to you safely but we are not responsible for them after they are shipped.

Don't forget to come back once a day and share for extra entries.

Click here if the RaffleCopter widget doesn't load


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Studio Gear Cosmetics Holiday Smokey Eye Palette

Studio Gear Cosmetics has lots of beautiful makeup, skin care, and brushes so they have products for all of your beauty needs. I was lucky enough to get a Smokey Eye Palette to try. The Smokey Eye Palette is specially priced at $25.00. 

The Studio Gear Cosmetics Smokey Eye Palette is absolutely beautiful and it comes with four shadows and a blush. The shadow colors are Platinum, Frost, Coal, and Glimmer and the blush is Snowy Glow. It also has step by step instructions so it has everything you need to create the perfect holiday inspired smokey eye. The colors all are complimentary so you can create many looks with this palette, not just the smokey eye.  The colors are prefect for day or night wear depending on what combinations you use.

The step by step guide is very easy to follow and it includes s a picture reference. My only complaint is it mentions specific brushes sold by Studio Cosmetics when telling you what shadow to apply. But it really wasn't a big deal I just guessed which one of my brushes was the closest match.

The shadow is perfectly pigmented it goes on just right. Not too dark, not too light and goes on beautifully. It is perfect because once your rub your brush lots of shadow is ready to be applied. The shadow doesn't crease or fad either.

Here are individual swatches of each color

Platinum

Glimmer

Frost

Coal

The blush is also beautiful, I wasn't too sure about it because it looks like a strong coral hue but it goes on very pretty.  This too is the perfect amount of  powder when you run your brush over it to apply. You don't need a lot in to apply and it blends beautifully.

Studio Gear Cosmetics is offering my readers 10% off their purchase just use code SGHOLIDAY at check out, and this code never expires.

If you want to show Studio Gear some love and keep up to date with their newest releases follow them on one or all
FaceBook 
Twitter
Pintrest  
Instagram 

This post was powered by BrandBacker and I received this palette complimentary in exchange for an honest review. 

BA Star

Do you remember a while back I did a review for y'all of BAStar cosmetics Mineral shadow?  Well they are having a HUGE 48 hour sale starting Tuesday November 26 and ending Thanksgiving morning at 6 am.

They will offer makeup, accessories, and bling for $2.99. It's like Black Friday without the fighting and no waiting in lines to check out. They also have other sales going on right now, I saw glitter head bands for $1.00! 

November Ipsy Glambag

It's that time again my Ipsy Glambag is here and I want to share it with you. November is Ipsy's anniversary so from what I understand they go all out for that month.  I was very excited to see previews of the bags and I was sort of meh when I saw my glamroom but over all I'm very happy with my glambag.

The theme of this month is Glam it up and as you can see the bag is a glamorous gold and this month we got six products instead of the usual four/five.

This is what was in my glambag:

Full size Nailtini nail lacquer in Champagne and I literally gasped because it is so beautiful plus it has a metallic shine to it. I love metallic nails polish! It sells for $13.00 so that paid for the bag by itself.

Full size Be a Bombshell lip crayon in Shamless that sells for $14.00. It is a pink/mauve color which suits me much better than the reds I have been getting so I'm so excited.

Full size EM (Michelle Pham) Waterliner in Teal Tease which sells for $20.00. I cannot express how happy I was to see that it was a bold color and not black!!!  I can't wait to try this I have heard such amazing things about them.

Full size Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Subtly Suntouched which sells for $18.00. I have heard good things about Pixi Cosmetics I only tried their mascara but I didn't really like it. I am anxious to see if I like the bronzer, it is a very pretty color.

Full size Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Topaz which sells for $14.00. I would rather gel or liquid liner so I have a few other Starlooks pencils that I have not tried.  I'm pretty sure I will try this one because it is not blah, it is a color.

One BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Baked eyeshadow in Eclipse which is a sample because they only come in pallets. I didn't get a chance to swatch it yet so I'm not sure if it's a blue or a purple but it looks pretty.

That's my November Ipsy glambag. I really don't need to add up the amounts to tell you my bag is worth more than ten dollars but let's see how much it is worth. So without the eye shadow sample all of my products are worth $79.00 and I received all full size products.  I am very pleased with my stuff after opening my bag.

Want to join me an be an Ipster? Click here to join. 

Beauty Bar Baby Mineral Eye Shadow

I was  very excited when I found these amazing Mineral EyeShadows from BeautyBarBaby she has a fantastic blogger package. You get a discount in exchange for a blog post. So if you would like to blog about her eyes shadows that may be something you are interested in. Even without that package her prices are amazing and she often runs a half off sale. She also has lip balms, lip sticks, primers so she has lots of goodies in her shop. Go check out her Esty shop but not just yet, please stick around and read my review!

For the blogger package I got to choose six colors and I will tell you I had a hard time choosing only six. She has such amazing colors but I was very conservative when I chose. Although they are all beautiful colors I wish I would have been more adventurous in my selections. The adventurous side of me will come out in another post because I will order again and share with you.

The colors I choose were Lust, Black Cherry Fizz, Busted, Pillow Talk, Nightmare, and Midnight Cowgirl.

My two favorite to wear together are Busted and Lust they are both a pink hue with not a huge amount of shine.  Lust is a few shades darker so used Busted on my lid and Lust in the crease as an accent. The quality of these shadows is amazing it applies and blends perfectly. It didn't crease nor did it fade I was very impressed with how long they lasted. At the end of the day when I removed my make up I still had eyeshadow on.

 

Here is Black Cherry Fizz for the lid and Nightmare as an accent on the crease.  They are both a shade of purple.










Here is a separate swatch of each

Pillow Talk

Midnight Cowgirl 

Lust 

Black Cherry Fizz 

Busted 

Nightmare

I am very pleased with all of these colors and can't wait to try some bolder, more adventurous colors.  You can also show Beauty Bar Baby some love and keep up with her newest releases by liking her FaceBook Page or following her on Twitter 

October's Ipsy Glambag - spoiler- It's amazing

It's that time again!! My October Ipsy Glambag is here. For those of you who haven't heard about Ispy before it is a monthly subscription service that delivers 4/5 full or deluxe sample sized products straight to your door for only $10.00 a month. I have not had a glambag disappointment me and this one did not disappoint either.

The theme this month is The Art of Beauty and this is what I got:

A full size Zoya polish in Mason which sells for $8.00 per bottle.I'm sure by now you can tell I love nail polish so this is perfect for me. Plus it's a purple shade......did they read my mind??

A .07 fl oz size of Buxom Full on Lip Polish in Dolly which is beautiful a shade of light pink.  Full size .15 fl oz sells for $19.00. I never heard of this product or this brand. I'm excited to try it. I can never have enough lip gloss either.

A deluxe size 1.7 fl oz sample of  Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Gel full size sell for around $15.00. I liked the Big Sexy Hair Humidity spray that I got in one of my previous Ipsy bags so I have high expectations for this one!

A .34 fl oz size H2O Plus Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment, full size sell 1.7 fl oz for around  $36.00.

A deluxe size 2 fl oz Be Delectable Hand cream in Strawberry & Cream full 6 fl oz size sell for $10.00. They also have a full line of products to coordinate scents.

Lets see if I got my money's worth in this bag. If I would have purchased all of these full size products I would have spent a whopping $88.00. That's a huge savings even though they are not all full size. I still feel like I made out pretty good because I get to try all these goodies for only $10.00! I will do specialized reviews on any products I love or hate so stay tuned.

This bag is amazing every month I feel the bag is better than the previous month's glambag. If you want to sign up for Ipsy click here 

September's Ipsy Glambag

So it's that time again.. Ipsy Glambag time. I hope I'm not the only one that feels like a child during Christmas when my Ipsy bag comes in. I can look at every picture on FaceBook or Instragram and never know exactly what bag I'm getting.  I was never good with anticipation but I'm really starting to get into surprises. This month the bag was BEAUTIFUL, I'm totally smitten with it. I hope the pics do it justice. So when I opened it up, this is what I found.

Full size Cailyn Titnted LipBalm in Big Apple sells for $19.00 so I got my money's worth right there. I was a huge fan of the Cailyn eyeliner so I have high expectations for the lip liner.  

Deluxe Size sample of Elizabeth Mott's It's so Big Volumizing Mascara it's a nice size the full size sells for $19.99. I have never heard of this brand but I can never have enough mascaras. I have never figured out why that is because I doubt I really need as many as I have, but it's true. 

Full size NYX  Cosmetics Single Eye shadow in Lanikai sells for $4.50. I'm not sure about the color it is a light blue,we shall see. 

Full size Starlooks  Kohl Pencil in Obsidian which sells for $12.00. From the website the shade looks black. Can't go wrong with black eyeliner. I prefer gel but I'm excited to try this. The lip liner I got in another glam bag was very nice. 

2 sets of Skyn Iceland  Hyrdo Cool Firming Eye Gels they sell for $30.00 for 8 pairs. I have never heard of these or seen these before but I almost jumped for joy when I saw what they are. They are little cooling pads that you stick under your eyes to help get rid of bags and firm the skin under your eye.  I suffer terribly with allergies so I'm always carrying a set of luggage under my eyes. I can't wait to try these out. 

As a bonus I got a sheet sample of EM Cosmetics  The Life Pallete Out to Lunch. The Life Pallette is really awesome but it's $75.00. There are other pallettes to chose from as well. Maybe one day but that's a little much for me. You do get a lot in it so you might want to judge for yourself. 

So lets see how Ipsy adds up this month full size products add up to $35.50 so and that is not including the trial sizes. In my opinion Ipsy is the best subscription service out there. I have not TRIED others but I do see lots of pics and this one is amazing for ONLY $10.00. If you interested in joining please click here. I get referral points towards more make up. 

Stay tuned for reviews of my favs, and maybe my not so favs. Are you an Ipster? What did you get in your Glambag?  Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Precision tip QTips

I know you may be wondering why I am writing about QTips, well let me tell you. Precision tip QTips are one of the best beauty tools around. I recently discovered them, so if you don't already agree with me I will explain.

Have you ever applied your eyeliner too thick?  Grab a Precision tip and rub off the excess without having to wipe it all off and starting again. Same with lip liner I'm sure you have put too much or made the line thicker than you wanted. Grab a Precision Tip and wipe off the unwanted liner.  I don't know what the deal is but I sneeze so many times right after I put on mascara and you all know what happens. I bet you know what takes it off easily without disturbing the mascara on your lashes? That's right you guessed it, I grab a precision tip.

I also discovered another great use. I hate when I do my eye shadow and it gets too far in the crease of eye. I would wipe it with a my makeup sponge but sometimes that would take too much eye shadow off. Today I grabbed a QTip and like magic it disappeared with very little effort. I was also able to easily control how much was removed.

These are also amazing for cleaning nail beds after polishing. I am very messy with my left hand but these make it look like I never messed up.  The best part is they are so slim that you can really fit them in the little crack and not remove the polish on your nails. They can also be used as sort of a dotting tool.

I use them constantly I use at least two or three a day if not more. Do you have any other ways to use QTips?  Leave me a message and let me know.

Get 50% off of BA-Star Mineral Shadow

 

I never heard of BA-Star cosmetics until I received an invitation to this campaign and from what I've seen on their website I think I've been missing out.  Their website has a wonderful selection of make up some of it is geared towards girls who do pageants or cheer leading competitions but they have beautiful palettes that look great for everyday use. They also have palette kits that can be used to create your entire look. Their whole selection is very affordable too. The glitter and mineral shadow sell for only $8.75 each. If you keep reading there's a great deal for you. 

I received a sample of the mineral eye shadow in Diamond Star Dust and a glue shadow base I would have never thought of using a shadow glue but it is a very nice idea. It is not sticky like a glue it is only a base to
hold the mineral shadow in place.  The glue is white in the tube but don't freak out it goes on clear.

The shadow is a loose powder so just a word of advice don't over shake the container before you open it like I did. I had glitter every where and my hands stayed full of glitter for a long time.


The color I received was a white sparkle so I didn't use as an actual shadow but I used it to highlight my shadow. It is very comfortable to wear and you don't feel it on your eyes, nor does it dry like an actual glue. It is very easy to remove all it takes is soap and water. It never bled or ran in my eyes and it stayed in place for my ten hour work day.  Keep in mind I don't sweat profusely, okay probably never while working, I sit behind a desk.

Since the mineral shadow that I received is so glittery and sparkly that I would not wear it on a daily basis or to the office. I would wear it for a night of clubbing, in a pageant, to a cheer leading competition, or any other time you want that extra sparkle.




 I have an amazing deal to share with ya'll. Go to the BA-Star website and enter code BBDUST at check out to receive 50% off your order. Since their products are so affordable this is an amazing deal.

I received this product for testing purposes but no additional compensation was given for this post.