Urban Decay Cannonball Mascara: Pros and Cons Product Review

Quick Results: Yes, I love this mascara and I would repurchase.

Price: ~$20

I set out for a mascara for my college graduation. While I was happy as could be that I was graduating, I knew there would be some tears. I saw the the name, cannonball, and immediately thought, “well that better work.” Yes, I fell for marketing, but I don’t regret my purchase. I paid about twenty dollars at my local Ulta for this mascara.

I do not own this image. I searched for it on Google. If this is your

image and you would like me to take it down, email me, and I will

do so immediately.

The wand is fairly standard, but it is small enough to get inner and lower lashes. The formula is fantastic, it’s not prone to clumping and is easily build-able.

The mascara also held up so well to crying! There was no ugly mascara streaks or flakes sprinkled around my face from crying. My lashes looked fine (my eyes were a bit red), not as perfectly fanned out as when I first applied, but other than that, my lashes looked as good as they had before the tears. I will definitely be reaching for this mascara whenever I go to a wedding, or other tear filled event.

Keep in mind, that a waterproof mascara will be harder to remove, but with a good and gentle remover, this mascara can be removed.

What is your favorite mascara?

Keep Your False Lashes Organized

When you take good care of your false lashes, you can use them more than one time. The problem I often come across is keeping my lashes clean and organized in between uses. With single packs of lashes you have the option to keep the lashes in the packaging, but when you buy multi packs like the ones sold by Ardell, it is harder to keep the lashes organized in between uses.

The idea I am about to share with you is not one that I have come up with, though I would love to be able to take the credit. When I saw this idea, I thought it was absolutely amazing and I knew that I had to share it:

A pill organizer!

You can put your lashes in the compartments by pair, or one strip per compartment. If you choose the second option, I recommend that you use tape or a maker to label which compartments go with each other. If you are going on a trip and don't feel like packing a bigger pill organizer you can always opt for an individual day or two sized pill organizer. This option is probably better for short trips or if you don't have tons of different lashes you rotate through. 

I have seen organizers specifically meant to organize false lashes on the market, but I find these pill organizers to be a better option because they are in so many stores and really cheap (I bought mine for 98cents!). 

How do you keep your falsies organized? 

Aveeno Positively Smooth Shave Gel Review

Spring…by the time it gets here I am more than ready for it. Fall is my favorite season, but the beginning of Spring always gives me renewed energy. It’s warm, but not too hot, and there is a sweet spot before my allergies and bugs start to attack.

Given the warming weather, capris, skirts, and shorts will soon be able to come out of hiding. A while back, I wrote an article on How to Make aShave Last, and in that article I mentioned shaving lotion/gel that helps slow down hair regrowth. So today, I will be providing you with a review of the shaving gel I use for that purpose: Aveeno Positively Smooth Shave Gel.

I purchased mine at Wal-Mart, though I imagine that this shaving gel would be available in most stores that carry Aveeno.

First off, let me talk about the scent. I know for some people that can be a huge factor, so I will be addressing that first. Personally, I love the scent; it reminds me of Amaretto Cookies. It is a fairly strong scent, though once you rinse it off, I don’t notice it sticking around.

Now, let’s talk about the gel. You don’t need that much, a little bit of gel goes a long way. This is because as you rub it on your legs, the gel lathers up and takes up a lot more space than it did when you first dispense it from the can.

Does it actually slow down regrowth? Now, I’m not going to be scientific about this. From my experience, it does. I am not sure about the formula and what about it slows the growing process, but I have noticed that I get a few extra days before I need to shave again.

To explain how big a deal this is, you’ll need to know about my own “hairy” situation.. (I’m so sorry, but I had to do it.) If I shave in the morning, by night time, I have decent amounts of stubble. And since I am ghost pale, with really dark brown hair, it stands out. By the end of the next day, the entire forest has grown back. When I use this (when I’m lazy and don’t exfoliate) I can get four days instead of one to two. If I’m not lazy, I can get five or six days. After spending years of daily to every other day shaving, I never thought that I would be able to go 4-6 days without shaving.

I absolutely love this shaving gel.

As far as price goes, it is a drugstore product, so it is affordable. It was about four dollars. From the 

prices I saw when I picked it out, it was towards the higher end, but if it works for you like it did for me, you will a lot less, a whole lot less often. 

*I do not own this picture. I found it via a Google search. If this is your picture and you would like me to take it down, please let me know and I will gladly do so.*

Washing a Beauty Blender (or a Dupe)

So you have finally given in to the beauty blender craze ( I know I resisted for a long time). You use
the sponge, and no matter what your feelings on the application, you are now left with a dirty makeup applicator that needs to be cleaned. But how? You can’t just wipe it off, and there aren’t any bristles like on a makeup brush.

Read on if you want to see how I clean my Beauty Blender.

First, I must stress, that if you want your blender to stay in good condition for as long as possible, you must be GENTLE.

What to wash it with?

-I use a mixture of Dawn (original formula nothing extra added) and coconut oil.

I know coconut oil is solid in its normal room temp state, but you can get a liquid coconut oil and I have also seen little bottles of liquid coconut oil in Sally’s.

-I put about equal amounts of each into a container.

-Then I mix the two liquids,

-Using water that is about room temperature, I run my beauty blender under the faucet until it is damp. I then dip it into my clean mixture and gently work it in. I do this by squeezing the beauty blender and running it under the water.  I continue gently squeezing until I don’t see any more dish soap suds coming out of the sponge. I continue dipping and rinsing and squeezing under the running water until I have gotten all of the makeup off and out of the sponge. This will take time, but if you are gentle, your sponge should come out pretty much like new when you are done. At some point it is only natural for stains to occur, but you will know your blender is clean when the water you squeeze out of the blender is consistently clear.

*The image is not mine, I got it from a Google search, If the image is yours and you would like me to take it down please message me and I will gladly do so.*