New Drugstore Beauty Finds

I recently went to visit my local Walmart and Target to grab up some more affordable makeup to test out. Side note - did you know Target has teamed up with Ulta Beauty?! How neat is that?!
My local Target has done some updates to their beauty area but I will say with the new updated makeup area at Target, I found it harder to find makeup and beauty products and living in a tourist area, my Target was low in stock on a lot of items - therefore I purchased most of the makeup at Walmart for the ease of shopping; BUT most of these makeup items can be purchased at both store locations and online!  

My goal was to create a full face of drugstore makeup to test out and review - so below you’ll see everything from eyes, lips, and face!

I’ve also been considering making a Youtube video trying out each item, please let me know if you’d be interested in that as well!

At the bottom of this post will be a shopping widget where you can scroll and see all the items and within the shopping widget you can shop the items too!  

Loreal Infallible Fresh Wear Foundation
Up to 24 hour natural finish foundation that is buildable. Claims to resist transfer, sweat and stay breathable all day while its color stays true all day. Has SPF 25 as well with 40 shade options plus a pressed powder to compliment it too. To me this is a drugstore dupe to the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation. It does has a natural finish and the color holds well but I would not say its truly resistant to transfer (living in Florida the humidity and heat can make anything move, including this). I will 100% be repurchasing this because its a great everyday at home or errand run foundation. I love having an affordable option to use daily and then glam it up for date night or photos with my luxury foundation of choice. 

Milani Conceal & Perfect Concealer 
full coverage that has 12 hours of crease free and water resistant wear that blends seamlessly.
I grabbed this up because I wanted to try the foundation version of this but my shade was sold out, so I thought the concealer would be worth a shot at trying. There’s lots of shade options and it does blend out well. I personally don’t wear concealer often because I just build up the foundation coverage when needed but I did enjoy this. If I had major tired eyes I would consider grabbing this. I haven’t tried this on acne spots but it seems to blend well and have a full coverage where I believe it would cover up dark spots and acne areas. 

Covergirl Clean Fresh Pressed Powder
100% vegan, makes pores less visible, skin feel and look smooth.
This is a simple pressed powder. Its easy to apply and its personally a good option for daily wear when you don’t want to use your expensive luxury powders. I prefer to use this type of powder on top of my liquid foundation to set it and this does the job. Is it perfect? No. The packaging is very very cheap and its a cheap pressed powder, so its not going to do the blurring effects or have a lot of skincare benefits compared to some of the high end makeup - but I do like the color of the packaging and I think for what I plan to use this for; it serves its purpose. 

Elf Eyeshadow Bite Size Palette
Ultra pigmented quad with stay put power and a mix of matte and shimmer shades. Smooth and creamy application.
First of all, this is $3.00… I’m blown away at the price and the mini palette literally reminds me of a Natasha Denona but $22 cheaper. The eyeshadow isn’t luxury quality but does a great job at what its made to do. The images you’ll see the pigment quality and I feel the shimmer/sparkly colors are REALLY nice; like Stila quality. I’ve been trying to figure out why and how this can be so cheap and I realized its made in china but designed in the US (thats the only way I can see it being so affordable). I like it. I plan to wear these colors for more natural neutral eye looks.  

Lash Paradise Mascara
Voluptuous volume and intense length. Allergy tested. Suitable for sensitive eyes.
I grabbed this up because I remember the internet going crazy at one point about it, every mega influencer claimed it was the best thing ever BUT I never grabbed onto it. I recently grabbed this up because I wanted to try a brown-black mascara instead of a jet black. I am super impressed with how many shade options this comes in. Also major win is it doesn’t smell inky - my LEAST favorite mascaras are the ones that smell bad but this one doesn’t! This has a bristle brush which I prefer for a more volumized look.

NYX Skinny Liner in Noir
Smudge proof long wearing hydrating formula in large shade range.

Once again, a super affordable item that does the job on days I dont want to grab up my luxury items. This truly has a super thin pencil (thinner than my Charlotte Tilbury liners) so you can really make sharp thin liner lines with this one. There is over 14 shades to pick from from bright greens/blues to the neutral and natural browns and blacks. 

Milani Color Statement Lip Liner

This lipliner is 100% a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk. It’s an all around flattering liner color that can be used all over the lip or to just line. Its super affordable and easy to apply. Does wear off overtime when its used as a full lip color but it does the job of lining your lips and overall staying in place for your other lip products to stay put. 100% would grab a dozen of these to keep on stockpile. 

Somewhat Luxury items that I’m calling Drugstore because A) Super Cheap/on clearance and B) sold at Ulta; which has a mix of drugstore and luxury - I personally feel these items are drugstore due to their prices. 

KKW Contour Sticks
Creamy buildable contour and highlight sticks thats easy to blend. Dual ended with two shades perfect for highlighting, sculpting and bronzing the face.
These are marked down to $8.00 and used to be $32 - for that price I would grab some if you want a cream contour set that is an all-in-one from bronzing colors and highlight. It has an easy step by step instructions and does contour. I personally don’t understand contouring so these sticks made it easy for me. Are these perfect? No, one of the sticks wiggled like it wanted to break so I just make sure I’m not pressing too firmly on my face. 

Kylie Cosmetics Blush
Pressed powder blush that is mistake proof and smooth with vibrant color.
The blush I had of Kylies is "We’re Going Shopping" which is no longer sold but I had this in my vanity forever because I just always grabbed up my $53 Charlotte Blush. This is only $18 which is why I’m okay with adding this to my ‘drugstore makeup’ post. Packaging is cute. Color is alright. I wouldn’t say its “mistake-proof” cause its easy to over apply blush. So I lightly applied it to make sure I didn’t overdo it. 

Kylie Cosmetics High Gloss Lip Gloss

Gently softens your lips while leaving a mirror shine finish and no stickiness. Ultra shiny, non sticky and lip loving care formula with over 18 shade options

WOW - I DO NOT like this stuff. I grabbed up the clear one for a good clear gloss to wear on top of matte lip products or just alone. But its super sticky and once you get the applicator out of the tube it’s over halfway empty. I feel it’s a waste of money. No one wants to apply lip gloss and have their hair stuck to their lips cause its literally glue on your face. Please don’t waste a penny on this. Its 100% NOT worth it. If you want a good clear lip gloss ELF has one for a fraction of the price of this gloss and your hair wont be stuck to your face from it. 

The question is: Which would I buy again? I would buy again the infallible foundation because I love the natural finish and its a great everyday foundation, the pressed powder because its cheap and like the foundation - its a good everyday product, and I would grab up the lip liner because its the BEST dupe for a Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner. 

* The links are affiliate links - when clicking an affiliate link and making a purchase I’ll make a small commission at NO additional charge to you. This is how I upkeep my blog financially. 

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Thanks again for reading the blog post and please remember to follow me on all my social channels! Also if you’d be interested in seeing a Youtube review and full face of these products please let me know! I’m considering creating a YouTube and branching out that way in the near future if people would enjoy that! 

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What I loved in June!

Hi Darlings, I hope at the end of each month I can do these blog posts where I call out any major events or activities, some favorite products, product fails, and anything else I wanted to note for this past month. For Junes reflection, this was such a busy month! We had the master suite and Holly’s room completely repainted, drywall repair, and popcorn ceiling removed (I plan to do a full remodel before and after post on this soon!). We also had 1/3 of our backyard fencing replaced. We welcomed our newest addition Louis ( to see Louis visit my IG page!), family visiting Florida, and our short trip to North Carolina. I feel the biggest call out for this month is family and the value of home. We invested so much time connecting with our loved ones, welcoming our new little furball, and making sure one another is took care of. Our home was also such a big role this month and opened our eyes to all the possibilities the future has in store for us in Florida. 

Products I really relied on for this month *To shop click the links or go to the shop widget below!:

When my family was visiting we used this beach wagon (or this one is a good option too!) to tote everything to the beach. I’m so impressed with this! Its so easy to fold up for easy storage and traveling. While the home improvements were going on I used our Google Home more than ever. I needed a way to have my ‘me’ time and Google Home was able to play calming spa music to keep me at ease (also was very handy outside on the patio too!).  Sadly, I got a little sunburnt this month and one night I decided to try my Caudalie Grape Water (Or this which is on their official website!) - WOW another win. This Grape Water soothes skin and hydrates skin 127%! I also love using this on my skin when I’m giving myself some selfceare time - it feels like a spa treatment! And while I was in NC I wore my Abercrombie Bike shorts to stay cool during the humid heat. These V-Waist bike shorts remind me of the Aerie ones but I must say, the A&F ones are so soft. I also bought the matching sports bra to wear the complete set! Speaking of Aerie, their swimsuits  has also been the go-to this month. I love that they have good full booty coverage and lots of different mix and match sets. Their 1 piece swimsuits are very figure flatter too! And lastly throughout this trip in NC Hollys tablet has been a must (along with the holder  or this tablet holder I use to move the tablet from car to car) I downloaded some free prime shows and it keeps her occupied on the long drives to Raleigh, Charlotte, or just to Nana’s house! 

Shop The Post Widget *Affiliate Links*

Final notes that made this month special: 

My all time favorite YouTuber Tati Westbrook (click here to see Tati’s Youtube) made her return to Youtube. If you’re not sure who she is just hop over to her YouTube channel and you’ll fall in love with all the amazing videos she has on beauty, skincare, and lifestyle. She truly is one of the first beauty channels on youtube. For me, she’s such an inspiration, great role model, and her knowledge of beauty products I truly trust above anyone else. She left the internet for an entire year and she returned stronger than ever. I really admire her courage and strength. I think deep down the past few years she grew so much and 2019 was a breaking point of her juggling so much from posting daily videos, her family, her other dreams and careers. Her ‘break’ from the internet was such a powerful yet inspiring move. She showed me that its 100% okay to step away from the internet - that life exists outside these cellphones and laptop keyboards. She also showed me that if you’re passionate and authentic, you can leave something to grow and repair - then return. It’s okay to work on yourself. And I think she’s inspired others to find passions and take breaks when things get too much.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little recap for the month of June. I'll try to continue doing these posts in the future especially because I feel this would be a fantastic way to highlight special products, big events, and things that I found important. 

Don’t forget to follow the socials! I also rebooted my Twitter page! 

Links to all my socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittmcadenmills/

LiketoknowIt: https://www.liketoknow.it/brittmcadenmills

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brittmcadenmills/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritNicoleMills

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrittMcAdenMills

Lancome Beauty Kit

This post is about those amazing gift with purchase kits you sometimes hear about at department store beauty counters. One of the best reasons to purchase your beauty and skincare in department stores is the awesome contracts they have established with some of your favorite beauty brands!

- Sometimes Ulta will have a small gift with purchase on some items but nothing like a department store!
Belk, Dillards, Macy's, and Nordstrom will have deals with big brands like Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Lancome where you literally get an entire makeup collection when you spend X amount of money (normally all you have to do is pick up that face lotion you need a refill on or that new lip kit you've been eyeing).

Below you'll see images of the Lancome Beauty kit my sister recevied. I was compltely blown way at all the FULL SIZE products that she got for only spending 75$.

Luxury Verses Affordable - Rubber Face Mask

A while back I asked my Instagram followers if they will like to see some luxury versus affordable products; ya know to find some amazing dupes of those high-end brands we all envy. (btw, if you're not following please click here to follow along!).
The results were super positive so I dived into the beauty and skin care shops to purchase luxury products and then did research and found affordable ones.

Today's post is all about the well known Dr. Jart Rubber Face Mask (retails for $13) and a more affordable option which is the Sephora Collection Rubber Face Mask (retails for $6).

Continue reading to hear my thoughts on both masks and if the Sephora Collection is a great dupe for the Dr. Jart Rubber Face Mask. 

Dr. Jart Rubber Face Mask collection comes in these fun 7/11 inspired drink cups and in many different styles. From firming, hydration, to acne control. The instructions are super simple. mix the 2 components with the 'straw spoon' and then apply to face. Wear time is about 15-20 minutes (I wore mine for 20 minutes). CRAZY, the mask really turned to rubber like goop!!! Peeled right off and no crazy clean up.
The results were amazing. My skin felt great and for a good 5 days I felt like my skin was at its ultimate 'best skin day'.

What came in the cup + what it looked like mixed!

The mask & after I removed it!

Sephora Collection Rubber Face Mask (Image below) comes in more limited options and from what I can tell its an online exclusive item. *since purchasing mine they came out with another style of mask, so 3 styles in total*. The mask for the Sephora Collection comes in this adorable paint can inspire look. With this mask you mix water to the already pre-measured powder, apply to face, and wear time is 5-7minutes (I wore mine for about 10 minutes to make sure it was fully dry).
I did make one major error; I put too much water. Therefore, my mask was a bit runnier. And with this more liquid texture, it didn't get the super solid rubber finish like the Dr Jart+ BUTTT it did turn rubber-like. Unlike the Dr Jart+ this mask also had a more fragrant scent but it was actually really nice. This mask was for blemish or acne skin. After using it I did notice an improvement in my skin (I felt it helped some of my previous acne spots fade away).

VERDICT: Though the Sephora Collection mask is cheaper in price, the packaging isn't as elaborate, and the product didn't get the super thick rubber texture (that was my fault on not pre-measuring the water); I do feel this is a good dupe if you want to experience the rubber mask but not drop $13 on the Dr Jart+.
I feel with the Dr Jart+ I have a solid 5 days of flawless skin, while the Sephora Collection mask took me 24-36 hours to notice my blemish spots to fade. Both masks are incredible and I think if you're wanting a rubber mask definitely grab one of these!

DONT FORGET! Sephora is doing their super amazing sale RIGHT NOW. Rouge sale just ended but if you're VIB you get 15% off everything! In-store & Online! So maybe grab up this affordable dupe of the Dr Jart+ today! 

If you haven't already follow my fashion + lifestyle instagram! simply click this link or search: brittmcadenmills 
Thanks again for all the support!

- Brittney

What to Buy: It Cosmetics *And What Not to Buy!*

Today I wanted to dive in on what is worth buying from the “It Cosmetics” line. Over the years I’ve been testing many of their products and noticed some major hits while others aren't reaching the “you must own this” mark. Here are the products I feel everyone needs in their makeup and skincare bag.

Continue below to see What to Buy: It Cosmetics!

Buy

- Confidence in a Cleanser 
I really enjoy using this product. The overall texture of this cleanser is nice and I feel for the price its totally worth it.

- Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer

Seriously this concealer is amazing. I noticed a major difference with my under eye area when I used this. I also use this concealer to touch up small areas that need extra love as well.

- Bye Bye Under Eye Cream
I’m currently using this and so far I’ve enjoyed the product. I will have to update it the future. Currently, it does do the job on some under eye wrinkles but as of now it doesn’t irritate my skin, has little to no fragrance, and leaves me feeling positive about my future results. 

- It Cosmetics Foundation

My girlfriends all use this product and all claim its worth the investment. I personally haven't tried it yet because I'm currently on foundation overload but as soon as I empty one of the foundation bottles I will hop on the 'it cosmetics foundation' bandwagon and grab me some too!




Avoid

- Brow Power Universal Eye Pencil

I honestly didn’t see much amazement in this. I felt it was like a regular eye pencil that if you wanted to make darker you just needed to press down harder. Stick with a Covergirl pencil and save your money.

- Super Hero Volumizing Mascara

I bought the full size of this hoping to do wonders. Honestly, I didn’t see much difference and noticed it had a weird odor. In a recent shopping trip, I was given a small deluxe sample which I plan to try again and see if they improved the formula.

- Confidence in a Cream:

This product is generally an okay product. But I didn't notice much of a difference compared to other drugstore face creams. 

- Bye Bye Melting 3-in-1 Cleansing Balm
Seriously this is my #1 on the worst things to get. Maybe better for someone with dry skin that needs an oily/balm-like product on their skin but for me it sat on my skin and didn’t melt the makeup off. I plan to keep trying the product but I haven’t enjoyed it at all. And super scared to use my Clarisonic with it. 

I hope this post gave some insight into what I feel is the hits and fails of the It Cosmetics collection! Now I would like to ask everyone; What to Buy from It Cosmetics that I didn't mention! I love trying new makeup so drop me some suggestions! 

Also don't forget to follow the Instagram: @brittmcadenmills! I post daily fashion, beauty, and lifestyle! I appreciate all the love and support as I try to grow this side hustle.

- Brittney