They say "April showers bring May flowers", but I think Florida waited until the last few days of April to get the memo. We've had a pretty sunny springtime but this week has been so dreary! Thankfully, we aren't getting the brunt of the severe weather here in Central Florida like the Panhandle is getting, but its nonetheless been a pain dealing with the wet roads (and drivers ill-equipped to drive on wet roads -.-) and the general lack of sunshine.

For beauty products this month, I've been terribly repetitive. I find I lack creativity when I'm up at 5am to get ready for work, as I've primarily been working the early morning shift. Its something I'm kind of challenging myself to be better with. I'm definitely not going to get all glammed up at 5am to go to work and get covered in dust, cardboard dusties (the struggle! UGH!) and makeup whilst processing shipment and cleaning/reorganizing products, fixtures and testers - but it makes me happy to wear makeup. Plain and simple; and I have those items that are understated and dressed down enough to be effortless...I just tend to overlook them in my comatose early morning state.

I also got my hair cut again this month as it was SUPER long overdue, so I've been messing with that a lot this month - but I don't really have it all figured out yet if I'm going to be completely honest.

Something I've been wanting to include for a while has been general life and non-beauty favorites at the end of these posts, so bear with me for the next month or so as I figure out how I like to do that!

Before I ramble more, let's just delve in!

Eyes - 

- Wet N Wild Color Icon Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned!: I had such a hankering to dig this one out a couple weeks ago and I totally remember why I loved it so much. Whichever base you put with this combo really does change it drastically, but the major thing that I like about it is that I wouldn't think to put a pink in a trio with a gold and chocolate brown, but the outcome is actually super flattering.

- NARS Smudge-Proof Eyeshadow Base: This is my holy grail eye primer for my super oily skin. Nothing else out performs this!

- Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel: I now understand the hype! Since Maybelline reformulated my beloved Master Shape Brow Pencil (yeah, I'm never going to stop complaining about that...) I decided to try this one out despite not having much luck with super fine tipped pencils such as this. Not only does it deposit a good amount of color, it looks completely natural and has yet to have the tip break on me - which is my normal complaint about these types of pencils. The color, Caramel, is literally perfect for my auburn hair as well - not too ashy but not too warm either.

Cheeks - 

- NARS Blush in Orgasm: I've had this naughty named thing for quite some time and I go through long spurts of wearing this in the warmer months. It has the perfect amount of pink in it to make it incredibly flattering on my skin. Pair this with Albatross and you're rockin' and rollin'.

Lips - 

- Milani Lipstick in Pretty Natural: Do you understand the pain I went through to get this lipstick? After EmilyNoel83 mentioned this as one of her new favorite lipsticks I just had to track it down...and ended up buying the wrong shade not once, but twice! And thus, we welcome to the collection. Naturally Chic - which I can understand the confusion, and Teddy Bare - but really, how even??? At least I like them both. Pretty Natural is one of those rosy shades that literally flatters everyone. 

- Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Nude Embrace: This is a limited edition shade from the Dare To Go Nude collection and is definitely a "me" color. A mauve toned nude shade??? *grabby hands*

- Maybelline Color Elixir in Luxe in Lilac: Another "me" color. Its a very, very purple toned pinky lilac shade and I find those to be very flattering on me. The Color Elixir formula is also very, very nice - I find it to be very plushy and nourishing and has a good wear time on me for being a gloss and relatively non-sticky. This shade is from the Limited Edition Bleached Neons collection.

- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Super Natural: This goes with literally anything I could muster. I don't know why I haven't worn it more in the past!

Skincare -

- Clean & Clear Advantage Oil Absorbing Creme Cleanser: I kept Clean & Clear at an arm's length for quite some time because I always viewed it as "gimmicky skincare that preyed on teenage skin" but I'm really starting to see the error of my ways. As I've learned more and more about the actual science of skincare, ingredients, genetics and things of the like...Clean & Clear is looking better and better. I have very oily skin, so I decided to try this cleanser to see if it stood up to the Olay Shine, Shine Go Away, and lo and behold...I might like this better. I still love Olay's version, but I don't feel the tightness and the soapy squeaky feel with this one. This uses Rice Protein in lieu of Kaolin Clay, which I have no sensitivity to, but it provides a very, very gentle micro-exfoliation that makes the surface of my skin feel incredibly smooth without over exfoliating it. This also does not have Sodium Laurel Sulfate in it, which I feel is what was probably adding to the tight and squeaky feel in the Olay cleanser. New favorite? I'm eating my words.

Hair - 

- Tresemme 24 Hour Body Mousse with Collagen: We're getting there. I'm still getting used to the increased voluminous nature of my choppy layers - which look something like Einstein's 'do if, Heaven forbid, I go to bed with wet hair (hint, hint...) - but this Mousse is really unlike any I've used before. To put in layman's terms, there is zero crunch to this. If I use it to slick a pony back or to hold some baby hairs into a bun, it holds everything it is supposed to. If I comb this through wet hair and tousle a bit, this keeps frizz at bay. I don't know how it does it, or what this really is, but I like it.

Miscellaneous -  

- Turbie Twist: This was in my Easter basket this year (thanks Mom!) and it's fairly new but I HAD to include it. Remember that "hint, hint" about me going to bed with wet hair? Yeah. This guy cuts the drying time of my hair in half! Remember, I live in a SUPER humid climate, so although my hair is finely stranded, it still takes an eternity to completely dry on it's own. This is more effective than a towel - and not to mention a whole lot lighter. I also like that it keeps my bangs out of my face without me having to put my hair my normal "Cindy Lou-Who" bun on the top of my head to ensure that all pieces are locked and loaded. And, did I mention how soft this thing is? Like, baby kitten soft. LOVE.

- Victoria's Secret Supermodel Approved Miraculous Dry Body Oil: This is my first body oil and if I'm being completely honest, I only bought it for the fragrance to begin with. It smells like perfume and lemon cookies, in the best possible way and it is a fragrance most DIVINE. Turns out that I really, really like the formula of this. If my memory serves me correctly, this has Argan and Grapeseed Oils and it really nourishes my skin as a daily use moisturizer when I don't need something super repairing. It also dries super quick, but the fragrance still lingers for quite some time. If all dry oils are like this, I want to try more!

Non Beauty Favorites!

- I took Fallon, my 8 year old Black Lab to the vet again this month. Clean bill of health, some supplements for minor arthritis and shes about as spry as a chicken. No one believes me when I tell them shes 8!

- I'm down 10 lbs from the beginning of the month! The best part is, I have nearly no desire to eat things that aren't healthy, but I still don't feel like I'm depriving myself of treats. So excited for this!

- I've definitely been on a Les Miserables kick as of late - I've been watching the 2013 version of the movie all the time and I have a station of the music on my Pandora. Though I do think Marius from the 2012 Broadway version was kind of a weenie. I've started reading the book too, but it terrifies me a bit that it is over a thousand pages long. It takes up a good amount of room in my purse!

- Lean Cuisine Cranberry Chicken Salad Additions. OH MY GOODNESS. I never have less than 3 of these in my freezer at any given time. Just try it, you'll understand!

April has been good to me. Annnddd...since I have to be awake in 6 hours I'm just going to go ahead and wrap it up here for you all! I should have a super huge swatch post up tomorrow or Friday so keep an eye out!

Empties #1

The entirety of the time I've been writing this blog I've had the intention to include empties posts but never really actually compiled anything - I'd always forget to hold onto things. Needless to say, now I have a pretty little pink "empties box" and every time I fill it to the brim, you'll be seeing an empties post from me. Yay! Lets (dumpster) dive right in!

Makeup - 

- Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat: This is my second bottle of this...and the second bottle that got too goopy to use before I even finished 2/3 of it. I don't feel that I should have to buy the thinner to make this thing work for me - a product shouldn't need another product to make it work. I also didn't like that this isn't 3 Free so I will not be purchasing it again. I recently replaced it with Out The Door which is 3 Free, but I've yet to try it.

- L'Oreal Magic Smooth Mousse Foundation: I picked this up on clearance a long time ago and although I really did like it, its just too old and I need to toss it. Sadly, its been discontinued for a while.

- Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray: In all honesty, this didn't keep me any more matte than I started out as; but I really liked this for refining the texture of my makeup when I applied it too cakey. I have a mini of this that I'm working through that was a gift with purchase, but after I'm done with that one I probably won't repurchase. I'm quite interested in trying the Ben Nye Final Set instead.

- Flower Easy On The Eyes Longwear Eyeliner in Aubergine: I reviewed this just over a year ago (click here to read my thoughts) and it had a really nice formula, but to be honest...the packaging sucked. It was very flimsy. Fast forward a year and it is literally so dried out that it was abrasive to my hand to even swatch it. No thanks, I don't think I'll be getting another one of these.

- Maybelline Eye Studio Master Shape Brow Pencil in Soft Brown: This was my holy grail brow product. Emphasis on the was...Maybelline has broken my little heart and reformulated this. Now the reformulation isn't awful, but it's just not the same. Not to mention I have to sharpen it every single time I use it, which is really annoying. I'm almost through another one of these and I bought a backup on sale, but I have an uncertain future with this one. I've also just switched to the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel, and I can definitely see the hype.

 Skincare -

 - Freeman Facial Brightening Rose Paper Mask: Can I just start off by saying that sheet masks are so weird looking. And huge! I doubt anyone has a face that big! I love the rose fragrance, but this was highly synthetic in my opinion. This was also a huge mess and left my face feeling too sticky. I wont be purchasing more of these.

- Freeman Acai Facial Purifying Clay Mask Travel Size: I actually really liked this one because it made my face look so clean and even without being irritating. However, my sister is highly allergic to Pomegranate which I'm fairly certain this has in it and I don't want to run the risk of her using this on accident or anything of the sort, so if I purchase this one, its going under lock and key.

- Montagne Jeunesse Green Tea Peel Off Masque: In all honesty, this one was quite forgettable. It did the job but wasn't life changing. 

- Freeman Cinnamon & Moroccan Lava Clay Mask Travel Size: I think this one is fairly new because there isn't a full size of it yet but I really hope they make one. I LOVE this. It doesn't irritate my skin and makes my pores look so clear. I'm really sad to see it go.

- Boscia Luminizing Black Mask: This is probably the deepest cleaning peel off mask I've ever used. I picked up this sample size in a kit on Black Friday and hoarded it as long as I could. $34 for a mask is painful, but maybe...

- The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask: This is definitely the heaviest duty of the clay masks, having both Kaolin and Bentonite Clay and while I really, really liked it, its a bit much to use as often as I use masks. I'd use this one every two weeks to a month depending on my skin, and thus it dried up before I could use it all...which actually makes me feel pretty decent about the fact that I'm putting something fairly natural on my face. The next time The Body Shop runs a great sale I might pick this up again.

- Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Cream Cleanser: I have a lot of redness in my skin both genetically and due to breakouts and while this wasn't a holy grail, it didn't make matters worse. I'd probably repurchase it.

- Garnier + Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub: I've actually already repurchased this twice if I'm not mistaken. I have oily skin and I feel like this does help keep oil a at bay for a bit and I really like the texture of it, as the charcoal granules are quite small.

- Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Mild: I've tried this so many times, but I'm just too cheap to purchase it on a regular basis. I really actually enjoy it - the fragrance is quite tolerable and faint and its not too watery of a texture. This was a sample size, but if the price was a bit lower, I'd use it more often.

- Olay Fresh Effects Shine, Shine Go Away: How many times have I purchased this? I've honestly lost count, but I really, really like it. It has kaolin in it which fares well with my skin and makes it a really great morning cleanser to give me a matte canvas to start with, without drying my skin out. Right now I'm trying a cleanser with rice protein in it as a mattifying agent, so I'll soon have a comparison between the two.

- Absolute Makeup Cleansing Wipes in Vitamin C Extract: I use these mostly for eye makeup and swatch removal. I firmly do not believe in spending a whole lot of money on makeup removing towelettes and my mom finds whole 5 or 6 packs of these for $5 or less. It beats spending $6 for one pack from Neutrogena.

- Mario Badescu Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream Sample: I'm quite torn on this. While it was definitely moisturizing for my eye area without making my lids more oily - and had an impressively short ingredients list to boot - it simply didn't keep. I use eye cream every night and it turned to a weird consistency before I used it all. Maybe it was the sample jar packaging? I'm working through an Ole Hendrickson eye gel right now, but I may consider this one in the future after a bit of research to see if this was an issue across the board.

- Garnier Moisture Rescue Refresh Gel Creme: This was my daily moisturizer for literally years as it efficiently hydrates my skin without making it more oily than it already is. I'm using a mattifying day creme from Boots Botanicals right now that's a completely different texture, but I would repurchase this one - I'm just not sure which I like better right now.

- Mario Badescu Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30 Sample: I really liked this because it didn't make my skin more oily and had a decent SPF, but I had the same issue with this as I did with the other Mario Badescu sample as it didn't keep. Not only did it not keep, but it literally fused itself shut!

Body - 

- Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint Body Wash: This was limited edition packaging, but is still available in the Aromatherapy line. I've been using this fragrance for years and I'm still not tired of it. I literally have almost every form; body mist, rollerball, lotion, bath soak, candle, scentportable, etc. I love, love, love it!

- St. Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter Body Wash: Since I've been eating so much healthier and losing weight, I've found myself much more sensitive to smells than before and I have no idea why. Needless to say, I'm a pain in the butt when I have to buy things like shampoo and body wash because I have to smell everything and I'll probably hate a good half of it.This was one that I liked, but the formula was just so-so. It wasn't as nourishing as I anticipated.

- Caress Emerald Rush: I believe this is new for the spring. I'm definitely not a stranger to Caress' line, and I do prefer some of their other fragrances to this (my all time fave is Scarlet Blossom, which I can't find anywhere this time of year!) - I really like the White Tea note to this, as it reminds me of a discontinued fragrance that I loved from Victoria's Secret called White Tea and Sage - but I wasn't too keen on the Gardenia. It didn't smell like Gardenia to me, and pulled to waxy citrus-y scent that didn't impress me. I have Daily Silk in my shower right now, which if I'm thinking correctly, was the first one I used from the brand.  I'm fairly certain that these do have sulfates pretty close to the beginning of the ingredients list, but they don't dry out my skin. I honestly really like the range of fragrances in this line.

- Victoria's Secret Perfect Body Pink Sea Salt Body Polish: Before you listen to me swoon over this, keep in mind that it's discontinued. This was a mini size I got in a kit. This scrub has the most lovely texture, and has the exfoliating agents suspended in a body butter like base that turns into a milky consistency with water. I could use this every single day and not have my skin feel irritated or over exfoliated at all because of it. The full size is a good four or five times larger than this sample size and when it went on clearance, I didn't just buy one or two, but three of these!

- Aveda Personal Blends Bath Salts in #2 Key Element Water: I've been receiving a free Personal Blends item during my birthday month for the past few years from Aveda and I hope they didn't do away with the fragrance because this smells divine. Its a mix of Rose, Geranium and Eucalyptus and is unlike anything I've ever smelled before. I'm hoarding a small bit of body wash in this scent for a rainy day and I also have it in the lotion and the perfume spray. If Aveda ever does (or has) decide to get rid of this, I will RIOT! 

- The Body Shop Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt: Honeymania is one of my favorite fragrances from The Body Shop - right up there with Shea and my oh so beloved Almond. I actually really liked this product. In the bubble department, its not in Lush Bubble Bar territory but it still provided a good amount of bubbles. What really impressed me was how crazy fragrant this was. It engulfs the entire bathroom in the Honeymania fragrance and lingers on the skin afterward. I really liked this, but I went through it so fast that I'll probably wait for an offer to repurchase.

Haircare - 

- Pantene Pro-V Volume Triple Action Mousse for Fine Hair: I have fine hair, but I have a lot of it, so this provided enough hold without being too overly crunchy. I'm trying something new at the moment for the sake of trying something new, but I've repurchased this before a good two or three times.

- Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo: This is awful...literally awful. I purchased this because it was in a two pack so I could give one to my sister and we both threw them away before using even a fourth of them. This only absorbs oil for a very short amount of time and then you're left with greasy hair with a nearly gummy finish to it. Not okay. 

Miscellaneous - 

- Publix Brand Baby Shampoo: I wash my brushes with baby shampoo and I just buy the generic to save money. This time it was Publix - shout out to my fellow Floridians who shop at Publix!

- BioTrue Contact Solution: Remember when I had an allergic reaction from trying a new contact solution? After that nightmare I vowed to never use anything else but BioTrue. If you wear contacts, this will speak to you; BioTrue, to me feels like the solution that your contacts are originally in when you first open them. 

- Acuvue Oasys: If my memory serves me correctly, I've always been an Acuvue wearer and they get better with each new release. I could probably count on one hand the times since I've used Oasys lenses that I've felt the whole "wow, my eyes feel dry" sensation. I don't feel these when I'm wearing them - which is part them being really great and part the fact that I've been wearing contact lenses for nearly ten years now (Man, I'm getting old!) but it still impresses me since I have a slight astigmatism. 

- Yankee Candle Island Spa Tart: I have such a collection of tarts that I'm trying to burn though some of them before I allow myself any more - in my defense, I used to work for the brand! Island Spa is a great summer fragrance with mandarin orange and lemon verbena. Its citrus-y without being too sweet and I really like it. The soft teal color was a nice touch as well.

- Yankee Candle Black Coconut Tart: This one says that it is Coconut, Cedarwood and Island Blossoms, but I swear that there has to be a touch of Tonka Bean in it. I like that this isn't your average Coconut fragrance that smells like a mixed drink, it has a sophisticated air to it.

- Yankee Candle Turquoise Sky Tart: Oh, Turquoise Sky. I found myself really obsessed with this last spring and stocked up. I still have a couple left and I'm still not tired of it. It's a perfect fresh fragrance with notes of sea grass and musk. And I know I said that I'm trying not to buy more tarts, but I made the mistake of going on Yankee Candle's website to look up fragrance notes and I may or may not be feeling a mighty need for some (or all) of the new fragrances. Darn it...

If it could have taken me any longer to finish this post, I swear we'd be in some post apocalyptic world where my empties are the least of our concerns, but finally we've hit the end of my first empties post! Later this week I'll have my April Favorites posted, maybe actually before the first of the next month for once? 

We can only hope. Have a great day/night/what have you, everyone!