DIY: Hand Sanitizer

The very first thing I learned when I started classes last month was that not all hand sanitizers are created equal. In order for a sanitizer to really SANITIZE it needs to contain at least 70% alcohol. Most of them don't. Go check yours, I'll wait....... Why 70%??? Alcohol-based sanitizers with a higher concentration of alcohol have been proven to kill bacteria more effectively. 
So today I'm going to show you what my instructor showed me... How to make your own hand sanitizer. It's so easy, all you need is:

1. An empty spray bottle. 
2. 70% alcohol.
3. Your favorite body spray (I chose Coconut Vanilla body spray from Bath & Body Works- Any scent, from any store will do).

Fill about 2/3 of the bottle with the alcohol. Then fill the rest with the scent of your choosing to mask the odor of the alcohol... Voilà! Instant hand sanitizer, and best of all you will already love the smell... If you have a sensitive nose, you might want to add a little more fragrance. Try it out and see how you like it...
Just remember, sanitizer doesn't clean your hands. So if they are visibly dirty, you might want to use soap and water first. I had to explain that to my son... Boys...
Until next time!!!

Trash Talk!!! September Empties

Yes, yes... It's that time of month again. And for once I'm (relatively) on time!!! I didn't have a ton of empties this month... However, there were eight products I thought warranted a mention, good and bad.

Beauty Protector Protect and Detangle. So this is a product I originally loved, and grew to dislike. Once upon a time, I received a sample size of this in a Birchbox, and I fell in love... with the scent. OMG, sosososososo good. When this is in your hair, you smell like a bakery treat. So I bought the full size. Only to realize that this does absolutely nothing to help my hair (It claims to smooth, moisturize, detangle, protect from heat and UV-rays, minimize frizz, safeguard color, and add shine. Uh, no.). I ended up using this on my boyfriend's daughter as a detangler since she also LOVED the scent. If it wasn't $22 I'd buy it again just for her. But that's a weeee bit pricey for a kid's detangler.

L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara. Another love/hate product for me- due to my own error. Honestly, this would've been a favorite mascara... Butttt I accidentally didn't buy the waterproof version (a necessity for my lashes) and so by the end of the day, this mascara was everywhere but on my lashes. The best part about it was the brush. I love the lil' "butterfly" wing to it, it's great at separating my outer lashes which tend to clump together. All in all, I'd try this again... As long as it's WATERPROOF.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips. What's great about these is that they can be found everywhere (Walgreens, CVS, Target, Walmart, Ulta...Etc.) and they have a great selection with trendy/animal prints, geometric patterns, and french manicures. And for the price they aren't too bad. But I have two issues with these. 1. They don't last. For me, they chipped very easily and in some instances peeled right off. 2. You can't use a few at a time for accent nails. I mean you can, but then you'd be wasting the rest of them, because once you open the sealed package that they come in they "dry out" and lose their "stick". No bueno. I'll stick with my Jamberry Nail Wraps (review here). They are more expensive, but  are worth EVERY PENNY.

Bare Minerals Deep Cleansing Foam. This claims to be a "non-drying" cleanser, but after each use my face always felt a little toooo tight. Considering I have dry skin to begin with, it just didn't work for me. That being said, this stuffed foamed up like a champ. You only need a tiny bit. It'll last you forever. If you like foamy cleansers and don't have dry skin, check this one out.

Blue Diamond Blueberry Almonds. Yummmm... Go find these. Try them. And then let me know how much you love them too (In fact, try the coconut flavor too, while you're at it. Trust me, you WON'T regret it.).

Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Invisible Skin Foundation. This is the second sample I've gotten (and used up) from Sephora. I love this foundation. But it carries a hefty price tag... Cough$61CoughCough. It looks so natural and I know it'll be worth the money, but I need to use up what I already have first... Or at least I need to try to use up what I have first. ;-) #makeupjunkieproblems #thestruggleisreal

MAC Viva Glam V

MAC Viva Glam V. Love this lipstick. Great everyday neutral pink shade. Every girl should own this one and it should be a staple in their makeup routine.

Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask. This was an interesting mask. I received it in an Ipsy bag a while back and finally got around to using it. It's a two step mask. Step one, you put the clay in an even layer all over your face. Step two, you place the activating gel on top of the mud and gently massage in circular motions. When the two products combine they start to effervesce and you get a warm, tingly sensation. You leave it on for 10 minutes, rinse, and voilà! Fresh, smooth skin. I truly enjoyed this mask. My one suggestion is to do this before showering so that you can rinse it off easier.

Thanks for journeying through my trash with me once again!!! Let me know if you used any of the products mentioned and what your thoughts were! Until next time... 

P.S. I'm thinking about doing a blog sale. I have a ton of makeup I either haven't used or just grew out of. So look for that in the near future!

Product Spotlight: Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

Happy Monday, everyone!!! It's a new week and today I've got a new product to talk about... Well new to me, that is. It's the Sugar Lip Polish by fresh. 
Here's the thing... I got a deluxe sample of this and two other fresh items for free when I placed a Sephora order online. I figured why not give it a shot, I LOVEEEE a good lip scrub. If you have read any of my past blog posts, you may have noticed I talk about a particular homemade recipe for one repeatedly. It is a Mint Cacao Scrub and it's THE perfect, ultimate, holy grail lip scrub to which all other lip scrubs are compared... Unfortunately for this particular one. 
I broke this little guy open about a week and half ago- yup, I'm bringing you a review THAT quickly- when I ran out of the one I had been using. I like to try new  products out and I have been using the DIY recipe for almost 8 months now. Here's the "claims" straight from the source, fresh:

Photo taken from www.fresh.com

My initial reaction to the fresh polish was "this is not gritty enough". I get that this is supposed to be "gentle", but I didn't feel it doing anything. At all. How does this exfoliate??? My second thought was "why is it so oily???". I mean SUPER greasy feeling. Not a smoother, moisturized, hydrated feeling. More like a my-lips-are-covered-in-slimy-oil-feeling. Typically, I put on a lip scrub. Rub it in for about 30 seconds and then rinse it off. With this, I rubbed for about a minute and then spent another minute washing the grease off my chin. Ick. Lastly, I must mention the scent... Not good. It literally. Just. Smells. bad. Considering that the lips are directly below the nose, you'd think cosmetic companies would try to make all their lip products nasally appealing... or at the very least, UNSCENTED. Despite all these red flags and being the product junkie that I am, I continued to use the scrub over the next couple days...
And that's when I noticed TWO big problems. One, my lips were dry, chapped, and flaky. Unlike anything I have ever seen before. I was so uncomfortable and no amount of lip balm was curing my shedding, peeling, bleeding(!!!) lips (I even doubled up on my water intake to make sure I wasn't dehydrated, I was not). Now I have always liked to use a lip scrub because I love wearing lipstick which tends to dry out the lips. So I have occasionally had teeny-tiny flakes that I use my scrub to combat, but this... This was not teeny-tiny, these flakes were pea-sized. It was terrible. The second problem I had was a breakout, on my chin. Basically when I would try to wash this oily mess of my lips, it would seep down onto my chin. And apparently my chin was none too thrilled about this. It responded with those mountainous pimples that sit under the skin and do nothing but cause you pain. 
Needless to say, this scrub went straight into the trash. And a brand new homemade Mint Cacao scrub (recipe here) is sitting on my bathroom counter as we speak. I used it last night and already my lips are feeling better. I honestly have never had such a bad reaction to a product before. Has anything like this every happened to you? Let me know in the comments!!! Until next time... xoxoxo

*All reviews, opinions, and thoughts are my own. Just because a product does/doesn't work for me, does not mean the same will happen for you.*

The Little Bit of Everything Tag!

I love watching and reading other people's answers to tag's like these so I decided to do it myself! Feel free to leave your answers in the comments below or do the tag on your own blog and let me know! xoxoxo
1. Do you keep up with the Kardashians? On and off, right now ON.
2. If you could have an old muscle car which one would you choose? A mustang.
3. Do you curse like a sailor when the camera isn't rolling? Well I don't usually have a camera rolling, but the answer would be the same regardless... Always. 
4. If your significant other gave you a 'Hall Pass' who would you use it on? Be honest. Hmmm... My first thought is Channing Tatum (like so many others...) but then I remembered Mark Sloan from Grey's Anatomy... McSteamy. Yummm.
5. What is one thing you do that you hate to admit? I tend to overreact. I hate admitting that, but it's the truth.
6. Do you really brush your teeth in the morning and at night? Be honest. I do NOW, but I didn't brush at night until recently.
7. What is your go-to drink at Starbucks? Venti Iced Coffee with Non-fat milk. And I bring Truvia with me. ;-)
8. Is your current hair color your real hair color? Yup. I haven't died my hair in years... But I'm itching to. I just hate the maintenance that goes with it all...
9. If you could swap bodies with someone, who would it be and why? Jlo. Need I say more?
10. Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey? If so, what did you think? Of course. Are there people left in this world who haven't? Honestly, not a fan. I found so much of the books repetitive. It drove me insane.
11. Do you crack your knuckles? Yes. So bad, I know.
12. Have you accidentally text messaged someone something you were suppose to be sending to your special someone? Yes! But it wasn't anything racy. It was something not so nice. And I sent it to THAT person. OMG. But truth is truth.
13. Have you ever created a fake profile to creep on someone? No! Who would do that?!? I mean really... coughMyBestiecoughcough...
14. Which is your weakness- cookies or pastries? Cookies. Nomnomnomnomnom.
15. What do you love about yourself? Everything. Duh. Just kidding... Probably my sense of humor. I crack myself up.
16. Do you have to match your nail polish to your toe nail polish? No. In fact... I can pretty much guarantee they almost never match. 
17. Tell us a few things about you that people would be surprised to know about you. I don't think there is much that would surprise anyone. 
18. Heels or flats? Wedges. They give you height without the balancing issues...
19. If you could do anything for one day and money wasn't an option, how would you spend your day? Dream big. I'd shop. A lot.
20. What was the last YouTube video you watched? ItsKeerstin- My Drunk Haul. I love her. She is hilarious. 
21. Do you have road rage? Yes.
22. What is your favorite Rock 'n' Roll song? Rock n' Roll?!? Ummmm... Oh! Here I Go Again by Whitesnake (That's Rock n' Roll, right???)
23. Who was your first kiss? Do you still talk to them? A boy named Matt, and occasionally on FB.
24. If you could have one YouTubers closet whose would it be? Marlena from Makeupgeek.
25. If you could have one YouTubers makeup collection, whose would it be? EmilyNoel83 just for the sheer vastness of it.
26. Do you have a nickname? Stevie. Long story short, there are toooo many Stephanie's in this world.
27. What do you think is the best thing about your YouTube channel? The fact that I don't upload! I use it just to watch. I am a voyeur. But not the creepy kind! Wellllll... Maybe a little creepy. Lol.
28. How many cars have you had? What were they? '96 Buick Regal, '01 Honda Civic, another '01 Honda Civic, and now an '09 Honda Accord.
29. What's your favorite pizza? Thin crust with bacon!!!!
30. If you could only have 1 lipstick for the rest of your life which lipstick would you choose? Mac. It's more affordable than most high end and there are so many different colors and finishes to choose from. 
Until next time!!!

#ManiMonday!!!

In honor of my new favorite WEEKLY holiday, I have a #ManiMonday post for you...
If you know me, or if you follow me on IG (@the_wonKy_brow), than you know I am OBSESSED with nail polish. Seriously, OBSESSED. In the last year or so, I removed my acrylics (which I had FOREVERRRRR) and started doing my nails at home. Now... I'm not a professional (YET. I'm working on that though) but I try... and I enjoy it... and it makes me happy. 
So without further ado... Here are some of my favorite manis:

Current #ManiMonday
Ombre on the Left, Water Marble on the Right (still practicing both, not as easy as they look) done with Essie's Playdate, Boom Boom Room, and Romper Room

Here's a few things I've learned in the last year... 

1. It's all about the brush. Wether it's eyeshadow or nail polish, it is ALWAYS all about the brush! So try different brands and find one that you are comfortable with. I prefer a flatter, wider brush (Rimmel 60 Seconds is a good example of this) especially because I'm an amateur.
2. Not all polish was created equal. And just because it's more expensive, DOESN'T mean it's BETTER. I love Essie... For their color selection. Formulation wise, eh... They kinda suck. My nails will chip within 24 hours. And sometimes you need three coats to reach the optimum level of opacity. THREE... Do you know how long that takes to dry?!?!? I can't. I just can't. Right now, my favorite polish for their formula is Julep. I also like to use nail wraps. I am a fan of Jamberry. They are much more high maintenance and more expensive than the Sally Hansen ones you can get at your local drugstore. BUT, they last a lot longer and are more durable than the drugstore versions. 
3. Take your time. It's Murphy's Law... If you're in a rush, you're gonna mess up. And always, always, always... Pee before you polish. Not trying to be gross, it's a simple truth. Nothing messes up a fresh manicure like a potty break.
4. Just like dogs, the polish can sense your fear. Relax, it's not life and death... So if you do screw it up, just start over. 
5. You don't have to cover your ENTIRE nail. Start a little bit above the cuticle and away from the nail grooves so that you don't get polish on the skin all around the nail (I still have trouble with this).
6. If you do get polish on your skin, use a short eye smudger brush dipped in acetone to remove it. Because these types of brushes are usually shorter and smaller, you can really get into the nail grooves to remove your renegade polish.
7. YouTube. There are a bazillion nail tutorials out there. For everyone, even the beginners. I like to watch MissJenFABULOUS. I also like to search Instagram and Pinterest. Everyone is obsessed with nail art right now. Finally, a trend that truly touches my heart...
8. Scotch Tape is for more than wrapping paper. You can use tape when doing nail art to get straight lines. Polish your nail. Let it dry (thoroughly). Place a piece of tape on your nail at any angle and polish again. Remove tape, instant nail art. Once you've tried it a couple times you can get a little more fancy... Like making triangles. Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhh. ;-)
9. Lastly, don't be scared. Have FUN and be creative. What's the worst that can happen?!? 

Xoxoxo...