7 Months and 1 Haircut Later...

Well, hello there. My last post here was in January. Since then. So, so much has happened. This blogger is now an employee at Sephora (living the dream, I know). I've moved out of my Father's home and have decided on attending a school to become a certified Esthetician. You know, so I can just look at someone's eyebrows and say, "That's my aesthetic."

So... A plus for that. But out of anything I'd say one of the biggest changes in my life is my look. For most this may mean a different color lipstick or a daring pair of heels... For me... I did a complete 180.

And then, there's who I am now. Honestly, the changes have caused some issues. A former boyfriend of mine, who I tried to date again, couldn't handle the fact that I seemed so "unhappy" now. To him... me, happy, was in pink and bright colors, wearing girly makeup, and tying my hair up into adorable ponytails. But honestly... while I do struggle with depression, I was dealing with the same things back then as well. Now, I simply have the freedom to express who I am and the people in my life willing to accept that. 

Honestly, even with all these changes, all these new things going on in my life. I'm still the Rhi who was blogging for you all those months ago. I'm just Rhi on her way to a genuine happy. 

So, coming up, I have a few themed posts, tutorials, and articles. I'll talk about my new haircut and color. We'll go into what I'm up to as far as extra curricular. And of course, my signature funny posts will follow. So so excited to be with my Rhiadolls again. I think things are going to be great. What are you looking forward to seeing? Lemme know in the comments. 

Everyday Makeup Tutorial (My First YouTube Video)

I feel like for the past year now, I've been telling everyone I'd eventually get around to making YouTube videos, but honestly I didn't know where to start. I've always been better at expressing myself through writing or in person than I have been in video (though this semester's Communications class is likely going to help that). So I've filmed maybe 5-10 different videos that I figured I'd use as my "First Video". But none of them felt like what I wanted my channel to be, which is an extension of my blog, not the other way around. So I finally did it, I filmed a video, edited it, and posted it a few days ago. Of course I've got 11 views cause god knows how many videos there are doing an "Everyday Makeup Tutorial". Just do me a favor, watch it, let me know what you think, what you'd like to see more of, and maybe what looks from my Instagram or blog you'd like to see done as a tutorial. My new schedule is going to be makeup tutorial every Monday and blog post every Thursday. Surely, there must be a limit to how many tutorials someone can watch. But I say, let's follow the Mean Girls motto on this one.

Project Pan 10 and Pan That Palette Challenges!

So I actually love Reddit. Mostly you can find me on /r/nosleep or /r/makeupaddiction. However, a few months ago I found a subreddit that really just... wow. It's called /r/panporn (it's all G rated I promise), and it's a community of makeup lovers that post pictures of the makeup they've used so much they've "hit pan" on (you can see the metal pan the makeup has been pressed into). This really intrigued me because I normally end up throwing away makeup items rather than using them because they've broken, I've bought a higher quality product, or I just simply never use it. And yet, I have an ungodly amount of makeup.

Well, while browsing through all of that I found two very intriguing concepts. The first is Project Pan 10. I have absolutely no idea who in the world started this, but the idea is you take 10 beauty products and you try to use them all up. The only makeup I've ever managed to completely finish is Foundation. Below are my 10 products I've decided on. I'm not sure nail polish is technically apart of this challenge but as I've never finished a nail polish I decided to try one as well. I planned on taking pictures of the items but I just could not get a non blurry photo, but aside from two or three things, all of these items are new or almost new with minimal usage. I've used maybe a fourth of the eyeliner and a fourth of the Jackie Oats. I've probably used a third of the Elf lippie.

• Milani Powder Rose Blush in 01 Romantic Rose 
• Milani Baked Blush in 05 Luminoso
• Physician's Formula Argan Wear Light Bronzer
• Lush Color Supplement "Jackie Oats"
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyepencil in Perversion
• Younique Mineral Pigment in Glamorous
• Palladio Matte Lipstick in Scarlet
• Elf Matte Lip Pencil in Praline
• EOS Strawberry Vanilla Swirl 
• LVX Nail Polish in Anthracite

 I've been wearing makeup for years and I STILL have my first ever makeup palette. Even worse I've only hit pan on one of it's shadows. This is what brought me to Pan That Palette. This challenge was started by Amber F on Youtube last year when she decided she was going to COMPLETELY use up a Naked palette.

The results are pretty inpsiring. This year, the challenge is the Lorac Pro palette which I (surprisingly) do not own. But I still wanted to take part in this challenge. To psych myself up I went through and organized all of my palettes. It really is an eye opening experience sitting down and looking at nearly 30 eyeshadow palettes. 

At first, I wanted to go the easy route. I planned on panning my Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. It's what I've started using just about everyday for my makeup and it's the palette I brought with me to College For A Weekend. Then I started thinking. It would be too easy. I had my eye on this palette since I bought the Chocolate Bar palette and discovered my love of Too Faced eyeshadows. So I started thinking about impulse buys. Or things that I so badly lusted after but when I actually got it, I sort of just threw it into the back of my palette drawer and forgot about it. So, I have decided to start trying to pan the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette. It contains the same amount of product as the Urban Decay Naked palette does, but has 20 colors rather than 12. 

This is my start. There are already obvious dips in Alien, Last Sin, Truth, Undone, Downfall, and DTF. This palette is very versatile but there are a few colors that I will have trouble using. I'm most worried about Dragon, Freeze, Vanity, and Sonic. 

I plan on posting a bit of an update maybe once every two weeks on the usage of these products. I really can't wait to see how forcing myself to use up products rather than "saving" them will affect my makeup buying and really my blogging. 

If anyone else has done in the past or is in the process of doing either of these challenges, please link me to them in the comments (who knows, I may share them in a post later down the road). 

Oh My, Announcements!

So, some pretty awesome news that I've been holding in since about last Monday. I was chosen to be apart of the Oh My Lash! Beauty Council. I'm working with a group of fantastic bloggers, talking about makeup, giving some ideas for new products, and providing reviews. I'm here to tell you everything about these products; the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Being apart of this, I do receive free eyelashes in exchange for reviewing them, and I was provided with a link that will pay me commission if you choose to buy from the site through my limit. This doesn't cost you any extra, but I'm not going to pressure you. Buy what you're interested in, when you're interested.

The fact that I am receiving these products for free will not at all reflect my review. If I love something, I love it, and if I don't, I'm not going to sugar coat it. That wouldn't be right to the company, or to you my readers.

I am SO incredibly excited about this opportunity, and I did get my first pack of lashes from the company today. I just got to say, I LOVE the pair I tried out. 

This is the first of many great things to come, and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this adventure thus far. As of February 10, this blog had only accumulated 824 page visits since it's start. Since then the total has risen to 2,199 page views.

I will be holding a giveaway as a show of gratitude that should be announced sometime around my birthday this month, so stay tuned for how to enter.

XOXO
Rhi

Visiting Sephora With a Beauty Blogger: Guest Post by My Little Sister

Sephora is not a bad place to shop, they've got a good selection of makeup, but try walking in with a beauty blogger when you only have minimal interest. It starts out okay, most of the time she knows what she's buying before entering. Even then, there's staring and swatching to do regardless, and if you happen to be in need of a better product (eye shadow, foundation, etc.) don't expect to leave without being told ever option and having your arm completely covered,

Show a slight interest in a product and you can bet your behind it'll end up swatched on some part of you before you leave. Then there's the big debate over whether the product is good for you as a person or not. Basically, by the time a normal, not obsessed person may be done shopping and already in the food court eating a pretzel, she's still testing products.

The shortest amount of time she's ever spent in a Sephora was 20 minutes (and that was the time she didn't buy anything).

Once the thought of actually making a purchase pops into her head, the swatching finally stops. Which is always a relief because you've begun to feel like you're running out of space for all those colors. By the time she's paid, she's swatched half every item in the store on both you and herself, made several recommendations to you (even when you're perfectly happy with your drug store cheapies). It all usually ends when she finally chooses to buy the palette she spent hours online stalking.

It's a breath of fresh air when you finally get out of there... that is, until she remembers there's an Ulta.

Note from Rhi: To be honest, I can't even deny any of this. But she benefits sometimes, as the products I no longer use but are still good have to go somewhere! Shout out to my little sister, K, for being such a good sport (most of the time).

Covergirl Full Lash Blast Review of Fame

Review of Fame

Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara

Covergirl

$7.99

Purchase here/Available for purchase anywhere Covergirl makeup is sold

Category: Drugstore

Intended for: Eyes

Texture: Not too watery, but not clumpy either. Really good for coating individual lashes.

Pigmentation: It’s pretty difficult to judge the pigmentation of a mascara. It is properly black, though I don’t know if it would very color wise on someone who doesn't already have black eyelashes.

Dupe For: N/A 

                                       

Recommended For: Anyone looking for eyelashes that don’t crunch every time you blink

Likes: The brush is rubberized, which I feel like is best for separating and volumizing, the formula doesn't have any smell, can be layered for a more dramatic effect

Dislikes: It almost feels like the mascara never truly dries on your lashes

Versatility: This can be worn for any occasion, though it’s not waterproof, it does seem to be water resistant

Ease of Application: I love ever thing about the way this goes on, the brush is perfect, the formula is perfect. It’s mascara made easy. However, be careful when doing multiple coats because I did manage to stab my eye a couple times which I had never done before. It’s probably just user error

A closer look at the brush and bottle out of the packaging

In Conclusion: I’m going to be purchasing this when I run out. I love the Covergirl LashBlast Volume, and this is basically that but a much easier application and removal. When I first saw the commercials for this I couldn’t think of a reason to have my eyelashes be soft. The only person touching them is me, and I don’t ever care so long as they look good. However the “softness” factor is really helpful in a couple different ways. It’s easy to layer with this formula, because the lashes never get crunchy, so you can add a second coat of this or another mascara. When removing the mascara, feel like I pull out fewer eyelashes trying to get it off. With most mascaras, it doesn’t matter what kind of remover I use, I always lose a few lashes along the way, but with this the mascara comes off easily and doesn’t smear around my face too much.

Disclaimer: I received this product from Influenster in my Covergirl #goBloom Voxbox for testing purposes. This review is a completely unbiased review of the product. 

31 Stars to Thirty One!

Time for my half sponsored, totally unbiased review of two new bags I got. Both are Thirty One bags (sort of). One I am using as my nail stuff organizer, and the other is one of their new, higher end bags from the Jewel that I am using as my on the go makeup bag.

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Let’s start with the nail organizer. It holds everything nicely and keeps it organized, and I can definitely see it being used to organize makeup items as well

The Pros:

• Small
• Portable
• Comes in many patterns
• Lots of pockets!

The Cons:

• No "sturdy" structure
• No pockets on the inside
• Pockets on the outside are only on one side

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Now the makeup bag. I just got this tonight, I paid a reduce rate to get this bag so I have no idea how much it retails for. If there’s a high demand I could definitely investigate that further.

The Pros:

• Gorgeous pattern
• Gorgeous fabric
• Great size
• Sturdy

The Cons:

• Not really washable
• The inside looks like it will stain easily

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Another quick little note, Thirty One is having a flash sale! They just merged with their sister company, Jewel (which is what my makeup bag came from), and all of those bags are going to be available in January, but before that they’re looking to get rid of some of their old stock. 

The sale will be going on from now until December 22nd. You can shop online here or just clink the picture below.

Disclaimer: I did receive stuff in exchange for this post, however my opinion on the products is completely unbiased.