Olay Regenerist Makeup Wipes: A review

I've been using the Olay Regenerist Micro-exfoliating Wet Cleansing Cloths ($5.99 at Target) for almost 20 days now and thought I'd share. First, I have to say that the Olay Regenerist line is a great drugstore line. If you haven't tried the Olay Regenerist Thermal Mini-Peel, drop what you are doing and run out and get it now! It's the most amazing scrub because it heats up as you exfoliate, the smell is lovely, and it leaves my skin feeling sparkly clean and bright. But onto the wipes now. I wish I could rave about them to no end, but it has its cons. 

The first thing that irks me a bit is that Olay hasn't created a box for these wipes, like Neutrogena has. So this sits sideways in my bathroom cabinet and takes up a lot of space. Also, after flipping open the little sticker-lid for many days, mine came off, and now its just kind of stuck on. Lame packaging Olay!

On the plus side, this has a refreshing, clean scent. Also, it does take off all of my face makeup, and leaves my skin feeling clean. I had just tried the Neutrogena wipes before these, and let me tell ya, those wipes leave me with this icky filmy feeling on my face. These don't! So conceivably, I could just go to sleep after wiping away the makeup with these. But I never ever recommend doing that.

Now on to the cons. First off, this is supposed to be an "exfoliating" wipe. All that means is that the wipe is scratchy as heck. Neutrogena wipes were super soft, and these are super NOT.

Second, the package says that this wipe removes all makeup, even waterproof mascara. NOT true, guys. Sure, it takes off a little bit of eye makeup, but not all of it. As you can see below, the used cloth shows a bunch of foundation and a bit of eyeshadow, liner and mascara on the left side:

However, look at how much more eye makeup has come off with a regular eye makeup remover after I had used the wipe:

I think I just don't feel clean enough with makeup wipes. I'm probably going to go for a cleansing oil next because it just seems to be more effective and thorough. Makeup wipes are simple and quick, but I don't think they are thorough enough. As someone who is prone to acne, I'd rather spend a few extra minutes ensuring that I have a clean face than going to bed a little earlier. 

Putting Hot Pots into a MAC Palette

This is a super simple DIY tutorial for putting Coastal Scents Hot Pots into a MAC eyeshadow palette (see review and swatches here). The reason why Hot Pots don't automatically go into a MAC palette is because of a switcharoo in magnatizing techniques. The Coastal Scents palette is magnetized, and the pans are simply metallic. MAC is the other way around. The pallete is metallic, and the pans are magnetic. So you gotta game the system, but it is very simple.

First, gather all your Hot Pots, and place them on a paper towel.

Next, buy some small magnets that have an adhesive backing. I found these square ProMAG magnets at my local Michael's for around $3. Also, have a scissor handy.

Take one magnet and one Hot Pot (this one is S09).

Cut the square in such a way so that you cover most of the backside of the Hot Pot except the part that shows the name of the hot pot. I made 2 cuts and stuck them on so that the name peeped through. Peel away the sticker backing and stick onto the pan's back, as shown below. Crafty, eh?

Use the paper backing as a template for cutting the rest of your magnets. I suggest going one by one instead of cutting all magnets at once. Place the stickers onto the Hot Pots and place them into the MAC palette. The pans will fit perfectly and the magnets should hold the pans securely in place, even if you turn the palette upside down.

Et voila! You have a head start on filling up a 15 pan MAC palette!

Because I'm a bit of a neutral queen, I don't like to buy tons of eye shadows. For that reason alone, I couldn't justify starting a 15 pan MAC palette when I would probably only use 5-6 eyeshadows from MAC. But every now and then I do get a lemming for gorgeous shades that only MAC can come up with such as Black Tied, and Smoke & Diamonds. This is a great compromise for me because I can create a palette that is half CS and half MAC. I already love the matte white (top left) as a perfect brow highlight. As for the MAC eyeshadows, I'm delighted that now I only have to pay $11 for the pan rather than $14.50 for the packaged ones. A haul may be coming up sometime this summer!

Note: Hot Pots were provided courtesy of Coastal Scents. The MAC palette and craft supplies were purchased by myself. 

Coastal Scents Hot Pots Swatches and Review

As mentioned in my recent haul post, I recently got some Coastal Scents hot pots. If you're not aware of what these are, they are basically single-pan eye shadows. Except for one matte shade, all other shades that I selected were shimmery. Here is how they look in the pan:

Below are swatches of these colors, with Origins Underwear for the Eyes as a base. I strongly recommend using a base for these shadows--whether it be UDPP, paint pots or whatever floats your boat. I actually selected these shades based on some really helpful videos by Enkore on YouTube, where he said these shades are dupes for some MAC eyeshadows. I don't have any MAC e/s right now, so I can't verify whether that is true. However, below, you'll see the color shade by Coastal Scents, and in parenthesis, the MAC e/s that it is a dupe for. 

Top row, left to right: M09 (Vanilla), S09 (Paradisco); S35 (Satin Taupe); S13 (Trax)

Bottom Row: S01 (Juxt or Lusterleaf); S26 (Electra); S36 (Amber Lights)

So far, I am loving these hot pots. Compared to Coastal Scents e/s palettes, these are of higher quality, and have no fall-out issues. However, I feel that the shimmer is a bit overboard one some of the lighter colors, such as S09 (Paradisco), S01 (Lusterleaf) and S26 (Electra). When I apply these 3 shades to my lids, they just look silvery. 

The shades I am loving are, predictably, the neutral ones. I recommend M09 (Vanilla) as a great matte highlight for the browbone. S35 (Satin Taupe) looks gorgeous as a crease color or all over the lid as a soft daytime brown. S36 (Amber lights) is best applied to the center of the lid as a bronzey pop of color.

Which of these hot pots do you guys like? Are they really dupes for MAC? Would you be interested in seeing a tutorial using only these colors? Do leave me some feedback in the comments below. :)

Disclaimer: The Hot Pots were provided courtesy of Coastal Scents. The MAC palette and craft supplies were bought by me.

In and Outs

Although I love to blog about makeup reviews and such, part of the reason I blog is because I am able to  use my audience as a virtual confession booth. So I think once a week I'll put up a ramble of some kind. In and out this week, Monday moods, next week, etc. After all, a girl's gotta vent!

In: 

1) MAC Merrily. What an amazing blush. I never want to be without this guy. In the pan, it literally looks like a ketchup red. But on my face, I just look like the most natural blush on my tan skin (NC45). Olive and tan skinned ladies should definitely try this out. Note to the fair: stay away.

2) I just received a lovely package in the mail full of treats I won in Emily's giveaway. I feel so lucky, and her giveaway was so generous. All the products were all in such good taste, and a lot of the brands were new for me. I'll do a post on the products with swatches soon. Thanks Em!

3) I just booked a flight ticket to go see my parents! I'm so supremely happy because I haven't seen them since my Thanksgiving vacation. I'm looking forward to the Florida sun, my mom's never-empty pantry, and my dad's doting.

Out:

1) Project 10 Pan. Ok...HOW do you guys finish things like lipstick and blush in a reasonable amount of time? I need strategies people. I am intent on finishing up my Nars Orgasm, which I have hit pan on, but try as I might, I can't use it everyday because MAC Merrily comes in to steal the show. Seriously, throw me a lifeline. Is there some way to accelerate this? I have needs. Specifically, a need for YSL rouge volupte. One innocent swatch at Sephora and I became a little slave to it. I am also drooling over the summer collection by MAC, so...yeah...someone might be falling off the wagon pretty soon...

2) My nails...I haven't bothered to paint my nails in literally 3 weeks. They are shapeless, full of ridges, and overall making me feel crappy. I am thinking about getting gel nails so that I have perfectly shaped, non-chipping nails for 3-4 weeks if I'm careful. What do you guys think?

3) Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy lipstick. I would only wear this lipstick at midnight so that no one can see my lips. I am really not loving this grit-infested excuse for a nude lipstick. This was laughably included in the Urban Decay Hall of Fame set, alongside far more amazing products like UDPP and Zero. Who I ask, who, would look good in a nude lip with silver grits that make you look like you died at a disco?

That's it for my ins and outs for this week. I found this post very therapeutic, so I think more personal-ish posts will be coming in the future.

Free samples of Cellnique!

Hey guys, a lot of you commented on my post about my Cellnique skincare routine that the products looked really great but a bit pricey. So Cellnique is offering free samples of the Skin Action Gel Plus to the first 50 readers of this post!! 

All you have to do is email your full name and your mailing/shipping address or your blog's URL (if any) to fbfreesample@cellnique.com with the subject "clearlybeautiful.blogspot.com".


If you are a reader who has your own blog, definitely think about writing to them, because you may have a chance to do a product review yourself! 


This offer ends 1 week from today (May 12th), so hurry!


According to Cellnique's website, here's a bit on the Skin Action Gel Plus:

Description

: proven AHAs plus BHA formulation in reducing inflamed acne lessons and lightening acne marks. The infusion of Tea Tree Oil, Camphor, Eucalyptus Oils and vitamin C accelerates the healing process, thus preventing the formation of scaring.

---

Benefits
•	Controls and prevents further breakout
•	Reduces inflamed acne lesions
•	Lightens acne scars or marks
•	Anti-bacterial, antiseptic, antioxidant

FTC Disclaimer: this offer is sponsored by Cellnique. I am not being compensated for sharing this offer on my blog. 

And the winner is...

Hey guys, thanks for being patient while I chose the winner for the Hana Professional Flat Iron giveaway. Thank you all so much for entering, I had a blast reviewing this product and hosting the giveaway. Enough blabber though. As chosen by Random.org, the winner of the Hana Flat Iron is...

Siam! Congratulations girl!

I've already been in touch with Siam and will have Misikko send out the gift to her right away. 

For those who entered but didn't win, don't lose heart! I hope one of these days I can do a personal giveaway, which will most definitely be open to everyone, and the rules will probably be super simple. Thank you all once again for entering, reading and commenting.

Coastal Scents Haul

I hauled a few items from Coastal Scents last month and thought I'd share my purchases with you. Although I am currently on Project 10 Pan (which is going excruciatingly slowly; I don't know how you people do this!!), this was a haul that was sponsored by the lovely people at Coastal Scents, so that didn't interfere with my no-buy rule. Thanks Coastal Scents for helping me game the P10P! Before I get on with this haul, I just wanted to say kudos to CS. They simply allowed me to purchase up to $75 worth of items from their website for my blog. They did not make it mandatory for me to review any of these products, much less sing their praises. So I feel really happy that they have not put any pressure on this little blogger. What you'll see in the coming weeks will be, as always, ruthlessly honest reviews. 

Onto the haul: 

I picked up 5 eye brushes, below:

Left to right: black large pointed crease ($3.95), Italian badger doefoot stippler ($3.89), Blending brush ($2.99), Chisel fluff large shadow brush ($2.75), chisel detail mini brush ($1.99)


Next, I got some face brushes for applying foundation, setting powder, and concealer:

Left to right: synthetic buffer brush large ($13.95); Italian badger kabuki brush ($8.45); oval camouflage brush ($3.49)

I wanted to try the individual Hot Pots, which fit right into MAC palettes and several have been suggested to be MAC dupes (how could I pass up?!). I will soon post a DIY tutorial in how to put these pans into a MAC palette, and swatches will be included. Till then, enjoy the colors in the pan.

Lastly, I wanted to try the Undercover foundations. Since I was ordering online, I picked up 4 sample sizes with 4 different shades ($.49 each)

I also went for a sample of the Veil effect mineral powder in Medium ($2.00 for a sample)

Because I had ordered just over $75 worth of stuff, I got free ground shipping on these products. The package came 3 days later on my front door, and everything was packaged well (I think only 1 hot pot was a little chipped at the edge). I've ordered about 3 times from Coastal Scents before with my own money, and have always been satisfied with how speedy their delivery is. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll review these items in digestable installments. Initial thoughts are that some products are truly fabulous bargains, while other products remind me of the old adage: you get what you pay for. Stay tuned while I compose a series of "hits and misses" posts for you guys. :-)

Now over to you: have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them? Are there any other Coastal Scents products you love? Please share in the comments below!

FTC disclosure: Coastal Scents sponsored the purchase of all items shown. I am not affiliated with Coastal Scents and wasn't compensated for reviewing these products.