You're All Winners!

I guess not too many people are interested in the false nails, huh? Everyone who entered our contest will win a set! I have fourteen sets, twelve winners - which means I'll be putting a surprise extra set in two of the packages I send out. I'll be doing that completely randomly - so good luck on that. I feel I have to let everyone know that on these giveaways, it's generally about two weeks before I get to send them out. I have three small children, so I usually make my husband do it for me, and he does it as soon as he gets the chance. At any rate, please everyone who left a comment e-mail me and let me know your address and we'll get them out as soon as possible. If you have a preference, please include that in your e-mail and I'll do my best to get you the set you prefer. Congratulations, thanks for reading!

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Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara

Well, here we are again reviewing another mascara. It's shameful, really. I have more mascaras in my makeup case than I could use in a week. I mostly use my Beauty Tubes because of that whole "no smudging, easy to wash off" thing, but next most often I'll use this one, 3D Extreme by Revlon. I bought it not because I needed another mascara, or that I'd even been curious about it. I bought it only because it came with a free full-size Illuminance Creme Eyeshadow quad. When I opened the mascara, I was initially disappointed in the relatively small wand. It didn't look like it could deliver much punch. In fact, during our photo session including this product, Missy took one look at the wand and thought it would be a negative review. She was very surprised the wand could do a good job. But it did. I love this mascara. It makes my lashes so nice and full and separated. It's supreme, truly. Because I hate waterproof, I do still deal with a very minimal amount of smudging with this product, but it isn't nearly as pronounced as other brands of mascara. It's very faint, if at all. You can buy it for roughly $9 at any drugstore or beauty chain.

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Revlon Age Defying Spa Foundation

Revlon Age Defying Spa Foundation is another one of those products I would probably never have bought had it not been on clearance. It was on for half price one day, and I'm a sucker for half-price. I did like the package in that it has a built-in foundation brush - and a very soft one. It's very easy to use: you simply turn the top into the "on" position and gently squeeze as a small amount of foundation comes from the brush. You then use the brush to blend it in. I am a fan of foundation brushes - they really do work well to give a polished, even tone to your skin, but they require a lot of of blending. With three kids, I'm often running low on time and makeup application has to be done on the fly , so I often skip out on the foundation brush and use a sponge instead. But when I do have the time to use the brush, it works very well. My favorite thing about this foundation is the smell. I can't quite describe it, although in a tiny way it reminds me of roses. It's a good product and I like the results. Because I change my makeup routine around a lot, I can't say I've noticed any improvement in my skin from this product since it hasn't really had time to "work." I'm going to try and use it more consistently for a few weeks to see if I notice any extra benefits. Bottom line: I like it, although I can't necessarily say I'd be clamoring to buy it again. Unless those extra benefits I mentioned are spectacularly obvious.

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Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow

One of my best friends in high school, Jill, was beautiful. Arrestingly, disgustingly so. She had dark hair and the most amazing green/turquoise eyes. I can't quite describe their color any better as I've never seen it anywhere else. She was beautiful enough that she didn't have to wear a stitch of makeup, and she didn't, except for this lipstick. In this very color. Jill didn't carry a purse, but she carried Cherries in the Snow in her pocket like most people might do with Chapstick. She designed and sewed much of her own clothing. I envied her beauty and creativity so much, and wanted to be like her, but I lacked her confidence and her "to hell with what you think" attitude. As an adult, I'm a lot more confident, because over the years I've realized I have a lot to be confident about: I think I'm pretty funny, a good friend, not horribly shabby-looking (except for lotsa-love handles...) Many times I've wished I could just grab High School Kelli and say, "Chill out! Don't feel sorry for yourself! People like you! You are pretty! You are fun! Now go have a life!"

About a year ago, I was browsing cosmetics, and I just happened to look down, right at Cherries in the Snow. I smiled to myself as I grabbed it, popped off the cap, rolled it up and admired the color. I thought about Jill and high school. I thought about how even though I wish I had no regrets, I do have them, and I wish I could go back and let myself be me. I always thought it was such a gorgeous color. So I bought it, and I wear it, and I love it. I feel beautiful when I wear it. Not in a "being like Jill" way, but in a "Kelli ain't so bad" way. I wear it to make up for lost opportunities, ones that I lost because I was too scared.

Now I think I need to dig Jill's phone number out of my cell phone and give her a call.

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Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss

A few weeks ago I ran to the store to pick out another shade of this lip gloss. I just couldn't find one that I liked in that same brand so I checked around at all the other lip glosses. I finally decided on this Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Foiled for around $6. I'm a lip gloss kind of girl, I've never been a huge fan of lip sticks and stains come in handy ever so often, but I never make them a consistent habit.

Not only do I love lip gloss, I love really shiny lip gloss. Back in my college days when I could spend money on more fanciful things, I would buy Mac Lip Glass. There's something about the way it reflects the light that mesmerizes me! So when I saw that this gloss has light reflecting spheres I was definitely willing to give it a try. Plus it's loaded with moisturizers and even has SPF 15 so really, you can't go wrong.

And it is SO SHINY. The first week I had it I must have applied it 10+ times a day just because it was so super shiny. But therein lies the downfall of lip gloss, you have to reapply it all the time and it's super sticky. Frankly, though, I don't mind. The only time I really wanted to wipe it off was when I was at an outdoor photo shoot and the wind was blowing so hard my hair kept sticking to my lips. Highly annoying, but also a unique case.

All in all I love this gloss. The color is really similar to many other glosses I've used, but it's the shine and the moisturizer and SPF that really seal the deal for me!

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