Hydrate Your Skin with This Herbal Body Moisturizer

I’ve been working on my tan recently (one plus side of quarantining at home with nothing to do), and my skin has been getting very dry as a result. I’m definitely not as good about putting on lotion after being in the sun as I should be, but I think that’s because I’ve never found a lotion that makes me want to put it on. That is, until I tried this HEMPZ PINEAPPLE AND MELON HERBAL BODY MOISTURIZER. It smells absolutely incredible and leaves my skin super hydrated. The only issue is it doesn’t last the whole day if you put it on in the morning, which is unfortunate. I will stick to putting it on after I shower at night to go to bed with soft, great-smelling skin!

 

4 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $16.99 at ULTA

Fall in Love With This Grapefruit Scented Hand Cream

I feel like I may say this a lot, but I swear this PERFECTLY POSH "DON'T BE BITTER, BABY" HAND CREME is hands down the best smelling hand cream I’ve ever used. It smells like when you walk in a chic interior design store and smell an incredible candle burning and feel compelled to buy it even though that’s not what you came in for just because it smells SO good. I will be using this cream daily.

 

5 kisses!!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $9.00 at Perfectly Posh

Hemp Infused Eye Shadow That Lasts All Night

Eye shadow is my favorite go-to product for when I want to add a little bit more to my makeup routine. I’m married to my Urban Decay palette, but it’s hard to travel with because of the size. When I saw this PACIFICA WILD HEMP INFUSED EYE SHADOW, I fell in love with it for two reasons: the colors were perfect, and it’s small enough to fit in my cosmetic bag when traveling! A win-win. These six colors are all I need for a low-key vacation and they didn’t smudge all night!

 

5 kisses!!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $10.00 at Pacifica Beauty

Hand Lotion That Smells Like Heaven

I’ve definitely mentioned how much I love hand lotions before, but I’ll say it again. I LOVE hand lotion, and I keep at least two in my purse at all times. This THE SAEM HAND ESSENCE (scent: Magnolia) is one of the best smelling lotions I’ve come across! I’m obsessed. Plus it’s only $3.99? That’s a score in my book.

 

5 kisses

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $3.99 at CVS

Leave Your Face Looking Glossy With this Rich Moisturizer

Let me preface by saying that I am one of Glossier’s biggest fans. My perfect day of shopping in NYC includes going to their flagship store in Lower Manhattan, and I’ve never used a product of theirs I didn’t like. This GLOSSIER RICH PRIMING MOISTURIZER is no exception! It has a heavenly lavender smell that makes me want to wear it all day long, and makes my skin feel luxurious. It is a bit heavy for my oily skin type, though, so I would recommend sticking to wearing this during dry, cold seasons. Definitely a great moisturizer for both day and night and I would highly recommend it!

 

5 kisses to Glossier—you never fail me!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $35 at Glossier

If You Like Piña Coladas, Use This Lip Polish

How did I not know that lip polish existed before now? It’s seriously a game changer. In less than a minute I can make my lips feel soft and smooth using this NIU BODY PINA COLADA SUGAR LIP POLISH. I’m not the biggest fan of Piña Coladas, so this wasn’t my favorite scent, but I love the product itself and would totally buy it in another flavor. Take my word for it--you need a lip scrub in your life!

 

4 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $11 at Niu Body

Erase Fine Lines with This Wonder Eye Cream

I’m all about preventative measures when it comes to taking care of my skin, so even though I don’t have any major wrinkles around my eyes yet, I use an eye cream every night before I go to sleep. This BALANCE ME WONDER EYE CREAM came in my most recent Ipsy package and had rave reviews, so I was ecstatic to try it. I used it every morning for a week (since I already had a night eye cream) and LOVED the results. My eyes looked brighter, had fewer fine lines, and no dark spots! I even had my friend (who always struggles with dark circles) try it and she loved it. We would highly recommend this cream and will definitely be purchasing the real thing.

 

5 kisses!!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $23.00 at Amazon

This Full Coverage Concealer Hides All of Your Blemishes

I’m always hesitant to try new concealers because my skin is very sensitive to heavy products. My main reason for using concealer is to hide the occasional pimple, and fortunately I keep good enough care of my skin that I don’t need to use it that often, especially in the summer when a tan can naturally conceal most imperfections. I waited a while to try this YENSA SKIN ON SKIN BC CONCEALER (color: Tan Neutral) until I had built up some nice dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep a few nights in a row. I swiped on the concealer before heading out for the day and, much to my excitement, it looked great! It wasn’t too heavy and blended in perfectly. It came out of the tube very fast though, and more product than I needed, so the design of the bottle can be fixed but I loved the product overall.

 

4 kisses!

-Carolyne

Get it for $28.00 at Yensa

Light Up Your Face with this “Dew Me” Highlighter

I was really excited to try this product because I’ve never used highlighter on its own, only as part of a contour kit. The ESTATE DEW ME BAKED HIGHLIGHTER POWDER (in color “byeee”) was everything I could hope for in my first true highlighter experience. I used it as part of a simple “going out look” last week (AKA getting a drink on the patio of my favorite restaurant), instead of my usual contour look. I applied it to my cheekbones and in the inner corner of my eyes to give them a little pop. My favorite part about this highlighter is that it looks completely natural and you can build the color as much as you want by reapplying it.

 

Would definitely give this product 5 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $10.00 at Estate Cosmetics

Keep Your Lips Luscious with this Berry Vegan Lip Gel

I ran out of my favorite lip gloss a few weeks ago and have been in the market for a new one, so when this SERAPHINE BOTANICALS BERRY + JUICE VEGAN LIP GEL came in my Ipsy package, I knew it was fate. What more could you ask for from a lip gloss beyond being sheer, smelling nice, not being sticky, and being 100% Vegan? Even the package was printed in soy ink!

 

The color I got was Rose Currant and it’s the perfect shade of light pink. Super easy to apply and feels amazing on! This is my new favorite lip.

 

5 kisses for sure!

-Carolyne

 

 

Get it for $19.00 at Seraphine Botanicals

Eyeshadow to Make Your Eyes Standout

I was so excited to try this TETRIS X IPSY BLOCK PARTY EYESHADOW out. I am a huge fan of eyeshadow and never leave the house without some color on my eyelids, whether it’s a fun smoky eye for going out, or just a light shimmer for my everyday look. I’ve never ventured out into bold colors, though, so this was the perfect opportunity to see how I liked it. I experimented one night by putting a little bit in the corner of the eye for a pop, and I really liked the look. The blue made my blue eyes really stand out! Another night I applied it more on my eyelid, but it felt too heavy when I tried to make it my main color. Overall, I really loved the color of this eyeshadow and felt that it stayed on well (though I had an eyelid primer on which probably helped).

 

It was a little smudgy putting it on and I had to use a Q-tip to clean it up, so that makes me want to give it 4 kisses instead of 5. Big fan, though!

-Carolyne

 

Got it from an IPSY package

Liquid Eyeliner Lasts For Hours But Not for Eyeliner Beginners

As a blonde with blue eyes, I’m always hesitant about wearing makeup that looks too dark or heavy on my complexion. I’ve tended to stay away from eyeliner in the past, except for special occasions when I want to really do myself up, like a date night or nice event. Also, to be honest, I’m really quite bad at putting on eyeliner and it takes me forever to apply, which also makes me not wear it as often because I never give myself enough time to try it.

 

I decided to give the CHELLA EYELINER PEN a try before going out to a birthday dinner, to see if my friends would notice that I tried eyeliner again. I gave myself plenty of time (assuming there would be lots of errors), and even then, it wasn’t enough. Let me tell you, as someone who has never used liquid eyeliner before, this was a difficult product to start with. I’m sure that it’s fine tip of precision is exactly what people want, but as an eyeliner amateur, it was difficult to stay in a straight line. I did love the brown color, though, and it dried very quickly and didn’t smudge. However, since I had botched it and was out of time, I had to take it off. It came off with a good makeup remover and a took a little to rub off, which proved that it would have lasted for hours. I’m keen to try this product again after watching a few YouTube videos. Stay tuned for my next liquid eyeliner testing!

 

I’m going to give it 3 kisses because it’s not for beginners and has little room for error but has a good color and would stay on long!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $21.00 at Chella

Non-Sticky Lip Gloss to Always Have in Your Purse

I’m not a huge fan of lip makeup, and have never tried lipsticks, lip pencils or any products like that before. Mainly, it’s because I don’t love the feeling of having color on my lips or something that could get messed up, and also don’t love the feeling of stickiness on my drink. I think it looks great on other people, but I prefer a nude lip-gloss just for a little shine throughout the night. I was excited to try this PIXI BY PETRA LIFT LIP MAX lip-gloss because I’m always on the hunt for non-sticky, long-lasting glosses to invest in (because I lose them so often), but was a little hesitant about the darker shade of this one. I liked this lip-gloss because it smelled like peppermint and wasn’t too sticky. However, the shade was too dark for me, and I don’t think it’s an everyday-wear sort of lip-gloss that I look for.

 

I give this 3 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $14.00 at Pixi Beauty

This BellaPierre Setting Powder Lasts All Night

If you haven’t caught on yet, I have very oily skin and am constantly looking for products that help with my shine and help my makeup last, without looking cakey. I have been using the Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying powder for the past 6 months but unfortunately, I dropped the compact recently and the rest of the product was destroyed. To cope with my sadness of losing my favorite powder, I decided to start trying out new products that would have the same effect to see if there’s any that hold up to my old love. I tried this BELLAPIERRE COSMETICS BANANA SETTING POWDER one night when I knew that I would be out for hours and wanted to see if it would last without having to retouch it more than once. Here’s what I loved about this product: 

• It kept my face oil-free for the night (until I started dancing, but that one’s on me)
• The yellowish color helped cover the last bit of redness on my face and made my skin look even and smooth

I thought the product was a little difficult to get out of the container and because it’s such fine powder, it got everywhere but I’m also used to using a pressed powder so I may just have to get used to a fine powder.

 

I really loved this product and give it 5 kisses!

-Carolyne

Get it for $35.00 at Belle Pierre

Clearer and Brighter Skin from Canadian Pore Mask

If a product has the words “pore cleanser” on it, I’m immediately all in. I have pretty oily skin and workout a lot, so I always have a nice concoction of sweat and dirt in my pores. When I got this sample of NEOGEN DERMALOGY CANADIAN CLAY PORE CLEANSER there weren’t any instructions on it, so I went with the traditional face mask attempt and applied it evenly all over my face and let it sit for a few minutes. It was easy to apply and did not make a mess, which I appreciated. 

It started bubbling after about 2 minutes. I love feeling bubbles from a face mask because this proves it’s actually doing something! The bubbles don’t get big, basically the mask just changes texture on your face. I left it on for 5 minutes total because I thought maybe it was done working after the bubbling completely stopped. I rinsed my face with warm water and the product came off easily, with no parts left to scrub off. I noticed that my skin immediately looked clearer and brighter! My pores looked smaller overall, except I still had some blackheads left on my nose.

 

I would give this product 4 kisses for overall ease of use and also the immediate effects, but I wish it had done more for my blackheads that I try so hard to get rid of!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $27.00 at Amazon

Volumize Your Lashes With High Definition Mascara

My criteria for mascara isn’t too intense: non-clumpy, full coverage and length. Sometimes I have to combine mascaras to get the full-effect, but I’ve really loved my Maybelline Clump Crusher. I’m always excited to try new mascara, though, so I put this SERAPHINE CURL IMPERIAL HIGH DEFINITION CURLING MASCARA on before a long day away from the house. It went on easy, was non-clumpy and definitely gave my lashes volume. It lacked the fullness that I find in some other mascaras, but it’s a great daytime mascara to make your eyes stand out.

 

4 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $19.49 at Amazon

Not-so-Luminous Lip Gloss

I wasn’t sure if I would love the color of this MAKE BEAUTY CREAM LUMINOUS LIP GLOSS

(color is Nasturtium), and unfortunately, I didn’t love it. It was just too dark for me. Additionally, this didn’t really have the light coverage of a lip-gloss. It felt like a lip-gloss but looked more like the deep coverage of a lipstick once it was on. It smelled great, though, and lasted a long time!

 

3 kisses.

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $25.00 at Amazon

Butter Cream Lip Gloss Feels Like Butter on Lips

I just have to say right off the bat that I loved the NARS BUTTER GLOSS KIT. The colors were fantastic, especially for someone like myself who doesn’t love too much color on her lips. The shades (from left to right) were Crème Brulee, Fortune Cookie and Madeleine. Each gloss went on perfectly, didn’t feel too sticky, had the perfect amount of coverage, and smelled fantastic. I love finding good lip glosses and these take the cake!

 

5 kisses.

-Carolyne

 

Get each gloss for $5.00 at Ulta Beauty

Natural Beachy Waves From the Comfort of Your Home

I’m pretty plain-Jane when it comes to my hair. I usually go for straight-sleek look, and the only hair tool I’ve mastered is the flat-iron. One reason for this is that my hair doesn’t hold curl very well and I hate having stick-like hair from too much hairspray when I do try to curl it and have it last for a few hours. I love getting my hair cut because they always give me beachy waves before I leave, and I feel glamorous for a few hours, but I can never recreate the look on my own. 

I was excited to try this KERASTASE SPRAY A PORTER TEXTURIZING HAIR SPRAY because Kerastase is a great hair brand and I was hoping maybe this was the missing ingredient for my beachy-waves dream. I looked up the product online and found an instructional video for how to use it to get beachy-waves (using a flat-iron)! So, I gave it a shot. And, it WORKED! I got beachy waves in under 10-minutes. I loved the way my hair looked. The only thing I didn’t like about the product was that my hair still felt kind of straw-like after I broke up the curls with my fingers.

 

I really hate this feeling that I have hairspray in, so that makes me give it 4 kisses instead of 5. But other than that it’s a great product!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $28.00 at Kerastase

An All-Day Moisturizer

I have mild rosacea and get red cheeks all-too-easily. I use a prescribed cream from the dermatologist to help control it, but it’s not a cure-all and I still get red, splotchy skin from time-to-time. I also have oily skin that’s prone to acne, so I have to be careful about what I use for my daily moisturizer. That being said, I loved the GOLDFADEN MD VITAL BOOST EVEN SKINTONE DAILY MOISTURIZER! It didn’t leave my face looking oily or greasy, which is very important to me. While it didn’t cure my rosacea (nothing has, unfortunately), it did make my skin look more even over-all. And it has a fantastic smell! I only wish it had some SPF in it. I probably won’t purchase the full-size of this product because it’s very important to have sun protection in my daily moisturizer.

 

I give this product 4 kisses, only because it doesn’t have SPF!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $68.00 at Goldfaden

"Belif" The Hype About This Cream

This BELIF THE TRUE CREAM AQUA BOMB cream was sent from the heavens. It smells amazing, isn’t greasy, absorbs easily, and is small enough to fit in your purse. It’s amazing! The only thing is that it’s pricey for a college kid’s budget. However, if you have a little leftover money from Christmas or are feeling like treating yourself, this is a great product to do that with.

 

5 kisses!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $38.00 at Sephora

Double-Sided Mascara is a Game Changer

Have y’all ever heard of double-sided mascara? I hadn’t until trying this PINK PEWTER DOUBLE-SIDED MASCARA, but I have two words: Game. Changer. This mascara is amazing! No clumps and it makes my lashes look amazing. I love how the little tip gets the corners of my eyes. It’s a pretty large mascara so it may be hard to fit in your purse for on-the-go, but definitely a great purchase.

 

5 kisses!!

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $19.99 at Pink Pewter

Best Nail Polish I've Used at Home

First of all, if you’ve ever been to the Color Club website, you know how awesome this company is. They have hundreds of beautiful nail polish colors, and I want all of them. The most recent COLOR CLUB NAIL LACQUER I tried is “Rocky Mountain High.” It’s a deep red, perfect for winter. Now, I stink at doing my own nails, so I had to have a friend paint this on for me. But from what I could tell, it went on super easy and it didn’t clump! Lasted for weeks. I love this nail polish brand and this fun color!

 

5 kisses.

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $8.50 at Color Club

Deadsea Body Lotion Makes Skin Smooth

You guys. This AHAVA DEADSEA WATER MINERAL BODY LOTION is my favorite product I’ve tried in a long time. It smells incredible and leaves my skin feeling like a baby’s bottom. There’s really not much else to say. It’s especially great for the winter when my skin gets dry as a desert!

 

This lotion gets 5 kisses without a doubt.

-Carolyne

 

Get it for $52.00 (17 oz.) at Ulta Beauty

This Clay Mask Cleared my Face

I love all things face masks, especially clay masks. This CALL ME SOMETHING LEMON VERBENA CLAY MASK aims to deep clean pores by removing dead skin cells. Nothing sounds better to me than a night in with a clay mask and a glass of red wine, so I was really excited to try this product.

 

To my excitement, it was awesome! It went on super easy, smelled great, wasn’t messy and was easy to take off. My skin felt smooth and exfoliated after. My cheeks were a little red, but I have sensitive skin, so I feel like most products make me look a little flush.

 

This mask is totally my new go-to, so I give it 5 kisses.

-Carolyne

 

This was part of an IPSY package!