Review: Clean & Clear Morning Burst Gel Moisturizer

Hello Beautiful,

        Yeah, I'm talking to you ;) How are y'all doing? Hope everyones weekend was fabulous and you all are ready for the week at hand. I, for one, had a great weekend. On Saturday I had a great afternoon picnic with a bunch of friends and then headed over to a local jazz festival. Then just vegged out today. It felt great and I am ready for my week!!! I wanted to give you guys a review on a product that I was super excited about from Clean and Clear called Hydrating Gel Moisturizer. The reason why I was excited about this was because I find moisturizers really heavy on my acne prone skin and wanted something a bit lighter. This really intrigued me because of the fact it's a 'gel'. So here is what I thought of it...

The Product
This comes in a 84ml tube and sports green to white ombre affect.   

The Promise

This product promises a light-weight, non-greasy facial moisturizer that will leave your skin replenished. It also claims to be formulated with water and not oil with blends of cucumber and green mango extracts, leaving skin fresh without clogging pores. It also claims to cool on contact and leave skin feeling fresh.

First Impression
 I usually wash my face before bed because through the night the skin heals and therefore it needs to be clean. After washing with my facial wash in the shower, I toned, applied serum and then finally this moisturizer. I squirted it on my hand and it had a cloudy look to it. I dotted it on my 5 points (forehead, cheeks, chin and nose) and then started to rub in. It felt light and fresh bust still felt like it was moisturizing. It didn't feel sticky or icky but felt nice and smooth.

Throughout the Day
I never once noticed it getting oily or greasy while going on throughout the day. It continued to feel cool and soft throughout the day.

Final Word
I actually really love this product!! I am so impressed by the feeling and overall power of this product. I also feel like it helps my makeup apply better. It helps to smooth out my overall makeup. I will continue to use this and will be buying it again.  

So, there you have it! Have you tried this product? Like it? Hate it? Any suggestions for a light gel moisturizer I should try?

Hope you all have a fantastic week and I'll see you next week!

Sarah XXO

Please Note: I am not sponsored or affiliated with any of the companies mentioned about. These are my own opinions.

2-for-1 Review: Maybelline instant Age Rewind Eraser and L'Oreal True Match Bleandable Foundation

Hey Dolls! First off I want to apologize for my absence over the last couple weeks. I was trying to stay regular (sounds like I am eating my fiber ;) with my blog post and I failed you all!!! So Sorry. But I was notified 3 weeks ago that I had to move into a smaller house so I had 3 weeks to pack up 23 years of life. So between that and my car blowing up about a month ago life has been crazy.  But you will be happy to know that I am getting back to normal life now and ready to blog some beauty stuff for y'all! Since I have kept all my loyal readers waiting, I am giving you a 2-for-1 Review. Yay!! I thought I'd let you know, as I write this, I am watching West Side Story. So, if I happen to use 'gang' language, you'll know why. Anyways, on to the review! I am giving you a review on the L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Foundation and the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Corrector and Treatment. First of all, Let's start with the foundation.

If you follow me on Youtube, you know I am a loyal fan of the Covergirl 3-in-1 foundation but I needed to try something new. My co-worker and future make-up artist gave me a suggestion of this drugstore foundation and I decided to give it a try. The L'Oreal True Match comes in a cute little 30 ml. bottle and runs for about $12 CAD. The bottle is reminiscent of a magic potion bottle which I thought was adorbs! I purchased the shade C2-Natural Ivory for my pale complexion. The bottle claims that the foundation is a super bendable and gives full coverage. It also claims to blend evenly with your skin tone. The product contains no oil which is perfect for my oily acne-prone skin. It also come in 23 shades and come in warm and cool tones.

My first impression on the foundation was that it was super runny and it had a normal foundation smell. After applying it, I quickly learned that a little goes a looooooong way. Because it's so blendable, you can get away with alot less. The coverage is great and it covered all my acne scaring and hyper pigmentation. But being a full coverage foundation, it didn't feel heavy or thick. I find with my 3-in-1 foundation, I would get alot of build up around my upper lip and I used to think it was clinging to my dry skin but even after exfoliation, i still had it. With this makeup, I didn't have that at all!!!

The staying power was good! I took a picture in the morning and after unpacking some boxes and sweating alot, I still looked decent. Please excuse my no makeup look,  but I felt that since I was just reviewing the foundation and concealer, I didn't need to get all dolled up. Overall, I am impressed with this foundation and look forward to using it more!

Now, on to the concealer! The Instant Age Rewind Eraser for Dark Spots come is a tube and has a little hairy sponge on the top where the product flows from. You twist it and the product flows out. It runs for about $10. I purchased the shade 215 Light.

When I applied it seemed a little light and I wasn't sure how I felt about the coverage and it seemed like an okay coverage. For the sake of the review, I will be honest and say that I wasn't super impressed.

The staying power was okay but not super impressive. Overall, this eraser kind of disappointed me! Below is a before and after picture of the two products together.

Just Applied

After 5 hours

As you can see, the over all look is okay considering I was melting all day but you can see my scars and hyper pigmentation peeping through. I would defiantly buy the foundation again but I'm still not convinced about the eraser yet! I will continue to use it though.

So, there it is Lovelies. Your very own 2-in-1 Review. I hope you enjoyed and please tell me, have you tried either of the products mentioned? How do you feel about the foundation? What about the eraser? Any tips on how to apply them? The floor is yours. Thanks for reading!

Love Sarah XXO

Summer-Proof Makeup & Hair Tips

Hey Beauties!

       Hope y'all had a fabulous weekend and are ready to start a new week! My weekend was super dramatic as my car caught fire on the highway yesterday as I was on the way to the beach. Super maddening, saddening and so cry worthy it's not even funny. But as Liz Taylor would put it, "Pour yourself a drink, Put on some Lipstick, and Pull Yourself Together'. That is precisely what I plan on doing this week. I will be busing it for a while, which means I'm going to be standing in the hot sun waiting for my wheels to work. Ick! So, what I need is a summer hair and makeup survival guide but since no such thing exists I compiled a few things that may help myself, and my beautiful readers, not to melt like a Popsicle when you hit the summer air. I am going to start with some of my favorite sweat-proof makeup items and then move on the hair. Keep in mind that some of these products may not be budget friendly but they get the job done! I am a heavy face sweater and I need products that can handle the job. So, let's get started...

Benefit Stay Flawless Primer

Let's start with a primer. The reason primers are good in the summer is because they create a barrier between your skin and your foundation. It also creates an adhesive that helps our your makeup stick better and helps it not to move out of place. So far my favorite primer is the Benefit Stay Flawless 15-hour Primer. The product is described as a makeup magnet. It creates a tacky surface to help your makeup to adhere and helps keep it from moving. This product really does stand up to the job. Although it would not personally say it lasts a whole 15-hours. But that is another story, for another time. I plan on writing a full review shortly.

Covergirl Stay Fabulous Foundation

Next up is a long-wearing foundation. I have oily skin so I need a product that wont slide off
when my face gets slick. I also need something light-weight that has good coverage. I have alot of hyper-pigmentation and acne scaring and I need something that will cover that so I don't need alot of heavy concealer. The more you have on the hotter you will get. When summer comes and the humidity gets to your skin you want as little as possible on your face. My favorite foundation is the Covergirl Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation. This product as gotten rave reviews from beauty experts everywhere including myself! I cover amazingly and the wear time is incredible. It is also a matte foundation with is not only excellent for oily skin but for the summer in general! The dewier the foundation the sweatier you look. I recommend this foundation for anyone and everyone and it's cheap. Around $12!

Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray

Setting Spray is a must! I never realize how amazing these hidden gems can be. They help to set everything quickly so that when you hit the heat, nothing moves. Everything stays put and stays fresh. Urban Decay has a fabulous line of setting sprays. There are three different ones and the one I have tried and LOVED, is the All-Nighter Spray. The cool thing about this product is that when your skin temperature rises, it cools your makeup to avoid it from moving all over the place. It's like a thermostat for your skin!

E.L.F Tone Correcting Powder (Sorry about the broken part

If setting spray is out of your budget or you deem it unnecessary, then you want to set with a powder instead. It works as a blotting sheet, keeping the skin matte and absorbing oils as the heat rises. My favorite is the e.l.f Tone Correcting Powder. The has 4 shades that you mix together to combat redness, dark spots, etc. And it runs for about $3 which
is a steal!!!!

Essence Gel Liner and Femme Couture Liner

If you need you full-on eye makeup, I suggest a gel eyeliner for both eyes and eyebrows, yes I said eyebrows. Let me explain, gel eyeliner is usually waterproof, sweat proof and smudge proof! That means when the mercury rises, you can count on fabulous eyebrows. The trick with this is to get a brown gel liner and use it with a brow brush. Start application from the middle of the brow and work the product through. Don't re-dip, a little goes a long way. This a great way to make your brows last all day. My favorite on for brows is the Femme Couture Gel Liner in Brown. This formula is a bit dry which makes it ideal for getting the brows right. It helps avoid a application overload. My favorite for eyes is Essence Gel Eyeliner in Midnight in Paris. The formula is creamy and it wears all day, even through the sweat! This is one of my favorites and I use it everyday!

Maybelline Mega Plush Waterproof Mascara

I am a mascara junkie, Que Youtube video called "I am a makeup junkie!" and I never leave my home without it! But when the heat starts, so does the meltdown. That's when I use waterproof mascara. I personally only use it on the bottom lashes because my sweat usually accumulates down under my eyes. I use the Maybelline Mega Plush in Black-Brown.

OCC Lip Tar

Finally, keep those lips luscious with they help of a stain. Stains really give the lips the color they need without being too preachy. And they usually last a good couple hours. I love the OCC Lip Tar in Divine. I did a few review of these last week so check it out for details.

Refresh Dry Shampoo

Now come the hair. The worst thing is a hot, oily, greasy mess of hair. For the oily hair i suggest a dry shampoo. These bad boys don't replace washing but they can help your hair look cleaner when you are in a jam. They spray out a powder that helps absorb all the oils and help the hair look fresh!

De-frizz Wand

For the frizz i suggest a freeze zapper like the One 'n' Only Brazilian Tech Frizz Wand. This has a mascara wand that will help take the frizziest strands. Keep it in your purse for those frazzled moments.

Well, That's it! I hope these tips will help keep you looking fresh and sexy for the rest of the summer! Do you have any summer tips to share? Comment Below!

Have a fantastic week Loves!

Love
Sarah XXO

OCC Lip Tars - Review

Hey everyone.

     Welcome to Monday! Ick! Monday...the beginning again and we now have a whole 5 days to go again until we have another weekend. But anyways, did you all see my new Youtube video about my states side shopping trip? If you did, you would have seen that I purchased my second Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar. In light of my new purchase I have decided to do a review on the product just for you guys! So, if you want to know how I feel about these tiny tubes, then keep reading.

Appearance

Like I said, these are tiny little .33 oz tubes that will fit anywhere. They have bold fun lettering and they come in a plastic zip back with a tiny lip brush for application.

The Product

The product is very liquid and fluid. I usually pour out way more than I need to cover my lips. The brush it comes with is flexible and not stiff and helps make application way easier. They come in a whopping 42 shades (many can only be ordered online) and are Paraben free. Oh, they are also 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Which is awesome! :)

Divine- A Corally Pink

Application

Like I said, I usually pour out way more than I need. With this product, a little goes a long way. I EOS, first to help the product glide on better. The product can be build by applying more after the first coat sets. 
usually get more than enough by just applying a tiny dot on my hand. This product does have a dryness about it so I recommend using a non-greasy lip balm, like the brand

Longevity

The lip tars are long wearing but that can depend on what you are doing through out the day. If you drink 45 cups of coffee through out the day, the color may not last as long as you want. I usually get it to last for a good 4-5 hours. The line does offer a clear primer that can be purchased separately that claims to help the longevity of the product. I am unsure on whether or not it works though.

Pretty Boy- A super hot fushia

Final Word

Overall, I really enjoy these products! The color is good, the staying power is good and I like how little is needed to get the job done. They cost about $18 CAD in Sephora but considering how little you need, I feel like it's worth the money. This is defiantly a splurge but I will buy it again!

I want to know, have you tried these little guys? And if so, how do you feel about them? Do you have the primer and does it make a difference? Should I invest in it?

Thanks for reading everyone!! And please don't forget to subscribe my Youtube channel and to share this on facebook!!! Also, like it up on FB as well.

Love you all and have a fantastic week!!! :D

Sarah

Note: I am in no way affiliated or sponsored by this company. My views were never exchanged for money. These views are that of my own.

Maybelline Color Tattoos- Review

Been a long time, I know and I am sorry to all my loyal readers but I have just been uber crazy busy lately and haven't had time to sit down and write a post in a while. I have done a ton of videos over the last little while and if your interested in seeing them, visit my youtube channel, The Pretty Pauper on Youtube.

Anywho, I'm here to give you an honest-to-goodness review of some of my new favorite products, the Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows. These bad-boys come in a variety of colors and the claim to last for 24 hours. But do they? Well, keep reading to find out.

Colors

35- Tough As Taupe

These cream shadows come in about 10 or so different shades. I had heard good things and was looking for an everyday shadow that would give me that 'I tried' look for work. The first one I picked up was the shade 35-Tough as Taupe. The color is some what of a browny-purple shade and looks great with a black gel liner layered on top.

20- Painted Purple

This next color I purchased what more so of a trend buy. I first saw it on Leighton Meester on gossip girl. It was a vibrant purple shadow with no liner and big lashes. I loved this look and decided that this would be the shadow to do it! The shade is 20-Painted Purple. 

55-Inked in Pink

The next shade is a pretty metallic shade that looks great with an intense black liner. The shade is 55-Inked in Pink.

 The final and most recent color I have purchased is 50-Pomegranate Punk. This shade a dark lightly frosted brick color.

50- Pomegranate Punk

Application
The color pay off for this guys are not bad, some better than others. Out of all four the best pay off comes from shade 35-Tough as Taupe. The color makes a great everyday shadow. These also blend really well. I usually apply using a flat shadow brush to my lids and use a fluffy crease brush to blend out. This is usually super easy and I apply all four in this manner.

Price
These can range from $6-$8 depending on where you go. I picked them up at Walmart for $6.49.

Worth the Hype
Heck Yes!!! I am so in love with these guys. They are super easy to apply and they help my makeup stick better. They also prevent that horrible gel eyeliner lid line. I wouldn't say they last for 24 hours but they defiantly last my whole work day. They are creamy, vibrant and are easy to apply.

All in all, I give these guys an A+!!! Go out and get them.

Thank you all for reading and don't forget, like my up on facebook and follow me on Instagram!!! Also, please take a moment to subscribe on Youtube for tutorials, favorites and hauls.

Love You all!!!

XXO Sarah

Note: I am not sponsored or Paid for this review. These are my opinions and not that of the manufacture. 
 

My ClearlyContacts.ca Experience-Review

Hey Dolls,

My First Free Pair of Glasses

      I am going to write a short review of this amazing website called Clearly Contacts. First off, I would like to say, I am not in anyway affiliated with the company Clearly Contacts. This is based upon my personal experience with the company. Now that, that is said and done, let's move on. I work a very part-time retail job and have absolutely no benefits which leaves me with cavities and no eye glass coverage either. I needed a new pair of glasses for sometime and decided to give Clearly Contacts a try. I had seen many commercials and it seemed too good to be true. There main claim was 'First Pair Free'. This ofcourse would seem like a scam but to my surprise after searching through a wide array of glasses both designer and generic, I found that after entering a special code that my frames and lenses were deducted from my bills. This left me with a $14 shipping and handling fee. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Let me explain a few more details before you jump on this site right now! First thing is first, most optical retails shops sell frames and lenses at a separate cost. Clearly Contacts includes the price of basic lenses in your total bill. The only time you pay extra for lenses if you choose specialty lenses, for instances, anti-glare or transitions. I personally just took the basics.

I loved the selection of classes I saw. There was page after page and they have even more recently added Ray Bands to their line up. Pretty impressive if you ask little ol' moi. My favorite brand thus far has been a brand called 'Love'. Almost all their frames feature cute little hearts on the frames. Super cute and I have purchased two pairs so far.

The ordering process is pretty general  but one thing got me. Most optometrist have no probably giving you a copy of your prescription but as a rule they do not give you a PD reading (pupil distance). This is something needed to get glasses so you must calculate it on your own. The website does feature a how-to video and I found Youtube pretty helpful as well. This would be my only con as it was a little complicated.

I have purchased two pairs of glasses since I first found out about this site and my first pair was indeed free (except shipping and handling) and my second pair was on sale for $38. I suggest signing up for their emails because they always have some great deals going on. (On Valentines Day, all the Love brand glasses were a mere $14!!!)

Alright, you can go get your free pair now...:) Your Welcome!

Please tell me about your experiences with Clearly Contacts!!! I would love to hear whether you loved it as much as I did.

Thanx for reading

Love Sarah

What Does This Comb Do? A List of Basic Combs and What Each One Does.

Hey Dolls,

        How is everyone doing on this fine hump day? Good I hope. Hump day is usually the light at the end of the tunnel when we realize that the weekend is near so that usually settles it as a 'happy' day. I had a big day and I must say I am exhausted! Yawn. But I am trying to be more consistent with my blog post so here I am, plugging through to write this blog post for y'all! ;)

So, let me set the mood for you. You walk into your favorite beauty supply store to grab a comb for your purse. You walk by tons of glorious nail polish and drool. Then comes the hair color and you find yourself thinking of what do color your hair next. Moving on you catch a whiff of a lovely smelling shampoo and then you finally hit the combs section. All you want is a small pocket comb but you are confronted with comb after comb and you have no idea what each one does. That's why I'm here! Here is a few of the most common combs and what each one does.

Wide Tooth Comb

 This comb can come with or without a handle and usually sports long quite spaced out teeth. These usually come in plastic and sometimes wood. This comb is usually used to free large loose tangles. Another common use is for distributing conditioners or other treatments through out the hair. Alot of people use this comb to detangle while in the shower or use it to comb through wet hair. This comb can be used on pretty much any hair type.

Detangler

 This comb usually features two rows of teeth. The teeth are close together so that little hair gets through without detangling a knot. This kind of comb is usually used to detangle tighter knots and usually causes less damage. This comb is best used in wet hair in combination with a detangling spray. This comb is best used in thicker hair types.




Tail Comb or Rat Tail Comb

 This combs usually feature close together, fine teeth with a long tapered pick on the end. These combs are used to smooth and part hair when styling. The comb side can be used to smooth and tease hair. The pick is used for anything from parting hair to foil highlights. Some tail comes feature a metal pick for highlights. This comb can be used on all hair types.








Flipside Comb

This has to be goofiest looking comb around but this thing is a one-tool wonder. It features teeth used to tease, smooth and detangle. The end features a pick comb which can be made of either dipped metal or plastic prongs. This is the ultimate styling comb!






Pick Comb or Afro Pick 

 This comb features a large vertical handle with long downward teeth. These are usually made of plastic. A common misconception on these bad boys is that they are meant for Afro type hair styles. WRONG! These can be used to add height to anyone's hair.














Teasing Comb

 These combs can have many different features. Most have a long tapered pick similar to that of a tail comb. They sometimes feature three rows of teeth that can either be made of plastic or boar. Sometimes the teeth just vary in height. These are used to tease the hair and add volume. Any form of teasing can cause breakage so only use these on healthy, strong hair.







So, there you have it. Some basic comb types and what they do. There are many variations of each comb so they may look different than the ones shown above. I will post a brush directory in a few days so stay tuned. If you have any questions about any of the combs shown or have a question about a comb not shown please leave a comment below and I will try my very best to answer your request.  Thank you all for reading and see you soon!


Love,

Sarah

Blog Name Change and My reason behind it

Hey Guys,

     Hope all of you beautiful people had a great hump day! We are officially 15 minutes from Thursday...Yay! Did you guys get a chance to read my last blog post about coconut oil? I have been using it and I will give you an update shortly! Anyways, if you haven't noticed already, the blog name has changed and I am not the Pretty Pauper rather than the Opinionated Beauty Queen. What is my reasoning behind it?

I have recently been on a budget, trying to save money and pay down some bills I have banging at my door. I have been avoiding Sephora like the plague! Their stuff is great, but their prices can be outrageous. I really want to focus on makeup and hair products for people like me who are on a budget but still want to look fabulous! That being said, I will still be splurging here and there and I will be sharing via my blog and youtube channel which will make the transition from the OBQ to the Pretty Pauper shortly! Thank you to all my loyal readers and see you all soon! XXO

Love,
Sarah

Coconut Oil Love

Hey Everyone,

           I know I have been MIA for a while and I am so sorry to all my subscribers and regular readers. Life has been exceptionally crazy this last little while but things have slowed down alot with work and such. My Dad was admitted into a long term care facility a while back and we have just been getting used to the idea and how to work our schedules around it and everything. Work was really crazy for a while but we hired a second worker and now my hours got sliced in half so I have a bit more time on my hands.

          Anyways, enough with my babbling and on to Coconut Oil. I have heard countless good things about this "miracle" oil through pinterest, television and other sources so I obviously needed to try it for myself. I went to a bulk store near my work and picked it up for about $7 CAD. Some of the claimed presented are:

-Hair Growth
-Skin Care
-Weight Management

These are the three categories with subcategories ranging from long hair  to moisturized hair, Blemish Control to eye makeup remover, Speeding metabolism to diabetes management. I only purchased the oil yesterday so I haven't really been able to give it a good try as of yet but I did get a chance to test a few things.

Last night I washed my hair but skipped the conditioner, then after towel drying my hair I took some of the solidified oil in my hand and ran it through my hair, scalp to end. After I was done distrubing the oil I wrapped my hair in a turban towel. Left it in for about an hour while I watched tv. I rinsed it out without shampoo before hitting the sack. When  I woke up my hair was a hot mess let me tell you. The oil was still clinging to my hair as in it looked wet. So, I jumped in the shower and washed with shampoo and it came out clean. My hair does seem alot shiner and lusty. I mainly bought it for the hair growth claims so I will let you know. I plan on doing things a bit differently next time though. Perhaps not washing my hair, putting the oil in and then washing it out with shampoo in the morning. This may work a bit better.

Another claim I was reading last night was that it can heal and prevent cavities. Now I do not have dental benefits and I will try anything to help me avoid going to the dentist. I know I have a few cavities and some bad ones that need to be pulled but I can't afford any extractions right now so I will try whatever I can. Anywho, I decided to do a dental pulling which basically consisted of my swishing melted coconut oil around my mouth for 10 minutes, spitting and then rinsing. I haven;t noticed the benefits yet because I have only attempted this once but I do plan on doing this atleast twice a week so we shall see what result come on it. So, far that is all I have had a chance to try but I will try some other stuff too and write an update blog in a few weeks. :)

Please give me any tips and tricks you may have involving coconut oil!

P.S- This stuff taste great and very pure. Make sure you get virgin coconut oil this stuff can be used for cooking and baking along with your beauty needs! Double Wammy! Also, Please take a moment to answer my poll about what you use coconut oil for! D Thanks in advance.

Curling Wands 101

Hey Everyone,

       I know that I have not posted in a while but I have been vlogging alot lately. Check out my latest video all about curling wands. Also share it with your friends! :D