Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System Review

Hi!

I purchased the Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System almost a week ago at Walmart. I'm pretty sure it was $28.99. I've wanted a Clarisonic for so long but I can't afford it! So I've been wanting to try the Olay system. It came with everything that was needed, the brush head, system, batteries & sample size cleanser. The first thing I noticed was the size. It's small & light. I would compare it to about the size of my hand. I like that it's smaller, it's more convenient to use in the shower. That's another great thing, it is waterproof so you can take it into the tub with you. It has 2 settings a high setting & a low setting.

(All images from Google)

I was worried about the brush being too abrasive. I have combination skin, my T Zone is oily, but my cheeks and chin are very sensitive. This brush is not rough at all. In fact, I find myself wishing it was a little more exfoliating. I'm not too fond of sample cleanser. First off, I think it stinks, It has a very medicated smell. It's more of a gel consistency but it does have a gritty texture. I've used the cleanser once or twice, but I will most likely use either my Biore Ice Cleanser or L'Oreal 360 Exfoliating Scrub (which I love!) with the system.
I wish it had a charger instead of batteries because that's kind of a pain in the ass, but overall I love it. You can pick up 2 replacement brush heads at Walmart for $9.97. If you are looking for a great (and cheap!) alternative to the Clarisonic, I'd recommend this cleansing system.
Have you tried this Cleansing System?
*Krystle

Monday Blues & South Beach Diet Weigh In

Happy Monday!

I hope you are doing well.

I had a coupon for Maybelline's new Eye Studio Line so I picked up Navy Narcissist eyeshadow. I'm not one for blue's on my eye's (I always think they wash me out) but this is a navy blue on one side & a speckled pink, pink blue & white on the other. (I plan to review it this week).

Here's today's look:

Dustin's shirt matched my eyeshadow!

I didn't put any eyeliner on my top lid, I wanted a less dramatic look.
I used NYX Slim Eyeliner in Electric Blue & NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Baby Blue on my waterline.
I have NYX Round Lipstick in Pumpkin Pie & NYX Sheer Gloss in Vintage on my lips.
I started Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet today & I was so excited to be able to have bread & fruit again. I weighed in & dropped a total of 8.1 pounds in 2 weeks. Not too shabby! I have to admit, I feel awesome. The only problem I am running into is going out to eat is tough because I have to be a pain in the ass & special request EVERYTHING! We're going out for lunch at work tomorrow & I've already scoped out the menu, I have a whopping 2 options. Both salads & I have to ask for seperate dressing. Oh well, nobody said it would be easy.
Have a great night!

*Krystle

My NYX Collection - NYX Round Lipsticks

I have quite a few NYX Round Lipsticks. I really like the variety of colors that they offer. I've swatched all of the NYX Round Lipsticks because they look very different on Cherry Culture than they do when you get them!

From right to Left:

Strawberry Milk - Baby Pink

Penelope - Black

Orange Soda - Peach Nude

Honey - Beige Nude

Hot Pink - Bright "Barbie" Pink

Circe - Beige Nude (very close to honey with more of a brown tone)

Louisiana - Muted Bright Pink

Chic Red - Bright Red

Fig - Beige Pink

Femme - Bright Orange Pink

Pumpkin Pie - Beige with a hint of Pink

Narcissus - Bright Baby Pink

Chaos - Blue Based Red

The packaging is sleek and perfect to throw in your purse. I also like that the bottom shows the color & the top have the label.
My favorites are : Pumpkin Pie (my go to daily lipstick), Chaos( perfect for vintage or pin up looks), Orange Soda (another great nude for daily wear) and Narcissus (my favorite with a dark smokey eye).
Let me know if you have any questions!
(PS: I hope everyone is safe after hurricane Irene, we had some fallen trees & crazy wind but no major damage. I saw that down south got hit hard with damage & flooding, keeping them in my thoughts.)
*Krystle

Forever 21 & Walmart Haul

I've wanted a Clarisonic for like 3 years but I just can't imagine spending $100+ on a face scrubber! Well, I picked up the Olay ProX Advanced Cleansing System at Walmart & I love it. I was afraid that the scrub brush would be too rough but it's very soft. I don't really like the sample of cleanser that came with it because it smells medicated so i have been using L'Oreal 360 Scrub with it. For $30 it's a complete steal! I also needed a new sunless tanner, my legs never tan in the tanning bed! So I decided to try the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Tanning Gel. I just out it on, so I'll give you feedback later in the week. I got this cute ruffled strapless dress on clearance for $5. I adore the colors in it!!!

I picked these bad boys up on eBay for $8.00 (including shipping) STEAL! They are Charlotte Russe & have a 1" platform with a 5 1/4" heel. I wore them Tuesday with the floral romper (below) for a video shoot. Not only do they make my legs look 8 miles long but they were super comfy. Can you say amazing!?
I grabbed coffee with my friend on Sunday (By the way, Tall Skinny Caramel Machiatto's from Starbucks are amazing!!! 100 calories of pure heaven!!) I grabbed 2 things from Forever 21, This red ruffled shoulder dress was $12.80 & the romper was $15.80.

We picked out of the new furniture for our townhouse today!!! My future hubby works for a high class furniture store so we got a huge deal on everything. We got a really cool grey & black tweed sofa with matching chair & a black accent chair, a rug with beige, brown & grey circles and a black entertainment system for the living room. We also got a futon, ottoman, desk & bookcase (my new vanity!!!) for the second bedroom. Last, we got a whole new bed set complete with the bed frame in dark cherry and 2 matching dressers! We're also planning on buying new bedding to match the dark cherry bed fixtures. I can't wait to show you all the new place in a few months!!

Have a great night!!

*Krystle

Diet Updates, Yummy Dinner & FOTD!

So, today is day 7 on the South beach Diet. I have 1 more week on Phase 1 & then I can move onto Phase 2. I'm pleased, I weighed in at 161.1 lbs last Monday. So, I'm down a total of 6.3 lbs for week one of Phase 1. It's been a tough week, but if I made it this far I can finish!

I made lemon pepper haddock & Chinese style green beans for dinner last night. I used some sesame oil, chopped garlic & onion, soy sauce & red pepper flakes for the beans and they were so good. I'm getting used to eating lots of veggies & experimenting with different recipes!
I decided to try something different with my eye makeup today, I lined my waterline with NYX Slim Pencil in Teal & then applied NYX Jumbo Pencil in Horseradish underneath. I really like it & it changes up the usual winged black liner.

I used NYX Round Lipstick in Pumpkin Pie & NYX Round Lipgloss in Whipped on my lippies.

And here's closer look at the eye makeup!

Have a great Monday!

*Krystle

My NYX Collection Part 1 - NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

I'll be doing posts of my NYX Collection over the next week (or two). I like to see swatches of products before I purchase them, I hate getting products that look nothing like what you see on the website. I'm going to start with one of my favorites from NYX, Soft Matte Lip Cream.

These are the 5 that I own (L to R): Amsterdam, San Paulo, Istanbul, Addis Ababa (favorite!) & Tokyo.

I purchased all of these from Cherry Culture, I like their website. I've ordered from Cherry Culture many times & I've never had an issue. Everything is always packaged well and thank goodness because the box I received today had a big dent even though it was CLEARLY marked fragile. Thank you FedEx for not taking care of my package! Anyway, I love these.

With Flash (L-R): Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Tokyo & San Paulo.
The packaging is small & simple. Perfect to toss in your purse & go. They have an amazing scent. It's almost like a vanilla bean, it's seriously delicious! The consistency is really rich & the color goes on smooth. They are truly matte, I love to wear Amsterdam because it stays on ALL night long. No smudges or smears & I can kiss my hubby with no lipstick marks!
No Flash (same order as above).

It's a toss up for my favorite, I love Addis Ababa & Tokyo. Addis Ababa is a true fuchsia pink & it is BRIGHT. You can see it in a few of my previous posts. Istanbul & Tokyo look almost exactly the same from the outside. Istanbul is a tad bit darker with a bit of a mauve tone. Tokyo is the prettiest baby pink. Amsterdam is such a perfect red lip. San Paulo is a muted pink red. Seriously, I love them all so much.

Have you tried the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams?

*Krystle

Green Fun!

This is from Thursday, we had a consultation with our wedding photographer & I wanted something fun but not over the top. (By the way, we booked the photographers, they are a gay couple & I LOVE them!) I just used a green shadow with gold shimmer for the crease. I have a package from Cherry Culture coming tomorrow & I am WAY to excited. (I ordered more studio liners & matte cream lipgloss!)

Sorry about my regrowth, I really need to get my hair done!
Today is Day 5 of the South Beach Diet. Yesterday & today were rough, I didn't sleep last night & I'm PMSing. I seriously almost cried over food. I stayed on track & I'm down almost 5 pounds. That makes it worth it, plus I feel really great. It's just tough because I'm craving so much. I have 9 days left of Phase 1 & then I can eat some yummy whole grains! I'm so excited for a dippy egg with a piece of toast!
I hope you have a great day!
*Krystle

South Beach Diet Update

Heyyy!

I hope that you're having a good Tuesday.

So today is Day 2 on the South Beach Diet & I'm hoping it gets a little easier than yesterday! I have to admit it has been tough but if I made it through the first day, I can do anything!! Yesterday, I had 2 deviled eggs & 3 slices of canadian bacon for breakfast, 3 slices of lean lebanon bologna with 2 slices of reduced fat american cheese for a snack, salad with light dressing and a string cheese for lunch, for dinner I had a chicken breast with asparagus & for dessert a sugar free jello. I plan on eating pretty much the same things today, just changing my snack to turkey pepperoni & string cheese & dinner is in the crock pot.. chicken with zucchini. I have noticed that at about 5 PM I crash, I'm so tired & grumpy. But I just grab a small snack & I feel better. They say not to count your calories but I am trying to lost 25 pounds by February, so I have still been logging my calories on Spark People & sticking between 1200-1500 calories. I actually feel really good today, I wasn't bloated when I woke up & I'm not nearly as hungry as yesterday. I really hope the next 12 days fly by. Plus I weighed myself & I'm down close to 2 pounds (I know, water weight!) but that keeps me motivated. I just keep chugging unsweetened tea & snacking on cucumber slices. By the way, I got a new veggie slicer & cut the shit out of my finger this morning, well at least the blade is sharp!

Let me know if you have any questions about The South Beach Diet, I'd be glad to help!

*Krystle

Who likes BIG HAIR?

I love big hair! I used the BedHead Wave Artist, I picked it up at Walmart awhile ago for less that $30.

Simple gold & winged liner look for work today!
Hope you had a great Monday!
*Krystle

Dark Night

I saw a picture & I wanted to create a look for it (see the picture below). I love smoky purples & this was right up my alley!

Can I tell you how much I love the NYX Cream Matte Lip Gloss? So much that I ordered 3 more from Cherry Culture & I also ordered 2 more NYX Studio Eyeliners. I can't wait to receive everything!

All eyeshadows are from ELF Beauty Book Smoky Eye Edition & Sephora Palette. Lips are NYX Cream Matte Lip Gloss in Addis Ababa (LOVE!).

Yay for fun makeup!

Here's the Inspiration:

Let me know what you think!

*Krystle

Shopping & South Beach Diet

I haven't been shopping in a little bit but I had an awesome commission paycheck & decided to spend a little on clothes. I'm really try to cut back on unnecessary spending, but you have to treat yourself sometimes!

Charlotte Russe had their clearance items for buy 1 , get 1 50% off. I almost bought the green sequin tank top for full price ($19.99) last time I was there, but I hate buying something & then seeing it on sale a few weeks later. Well, lucky for me it was $9.99 but I got it for $5 because the other shirt was $12.99. I wasn't too into the other shirt until I came home & tried it on. It fits really well & I love that it ties on the one shoulder!

You can never have enough tank tops & Wet Seal had 5 for $20. So I picked up a burgundy beater, a pink, navy, orange and lime green spaghetti strapped tanks. I always wear tank tops under most of my shirts.
I saw the see through lace shirt at Forever 21 awhile ago & I loved it but I was afraid the way it was cut would make me look too wide. I saw it on the rack, it was the last one in my size. I took it as a sign & bought it for $17.80. I got home & tried it on, I love so much. The only problem that I have with it is that the lace at the bust doesn't stretch so I feel like it's about to rip in half when i put it on! I also picked up a black tank (they fade so fast!) for $3.80.

I wanted to take a walk outside but it's raining so I walked for 45 minutes at the mall. Tomorrow I'm starting Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, I'm a little nervous but excited. I read the book at the beach & I went grocery shopping and followed the shopping list. Typically you lose 8-13 pounds your first 2 weeks. It requires that you eat less than 20 carbs a day, no starchy foods, no fruit & no junk. The worst part is going to be no fruit. I love my apples & raspberries! Phase 1 last for 2-4 weeks and then you can start Phase 2 where you slowly incorporate GOOD carbs back into your diet. If your interested in the diet, I got the book on eBay for super cheap & I recommend reading it. I will keep you updated on my progress with weigh ins!

Have a wonderful weekend!

*Krystle

LOTD + Some Randoms!

Hi everyone!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend! It's hot & humid here but I had to run some errands & my face is burnt to a crisp so I couldn't go without makeup! Thankfully, I can cover the burn fairly well with makeup, but it's so red!

So here's today's face!:

I used the E.L.F Beauty Book in Smoky Eye Edition & MAC Shroom for the shadows. The crease color is actually a burgundy purple with a little shimmer and then I finished it off with some black winged liner.
Wow, my eyes look super green here!

So, at the beach I had this amazing broccoli cheese soup & I had been craving it. I had all the ingredients so I decided to give it a go! It was soooo good. They called for 12 oz of frozen broccoli & 8 oz of cheese but I used 16 oz of broccoli & 12 oz of cheese. I used light Velveeta & Light Sharp Cheddar, along with fat free half & half. The recipe said to blend it but I like the broccoli chunky so I didn't. If you'd like the recipe, let me know!

I'm trying 2 new cleansers. Garnier "The Brusher" & L'Oreal "Go 360 Clean" in Deep Exfoliating Scrub (review below). I'll start with the Garnier The Brusher:

Pros:

Smells Great

Has a gritty texture that works great for exfoliation

Inexpensive

Leaves skin feeling clean & fresh

Cons:

The bottle sucks! (my opinion)

You have use a lot in one washing

The brush stays attached so it is very bulky when your are trying to wash your face

It can be a little rough on sensitive skin

The Nitty Gritty (NO PUN INTENDED!):

I wouldn't buy this again. Not because of the product, but the bottle is terrible. If the brush could be used separately it would be an awesome buy! I purchased it for $5.97 (5oz) at Walmart and I picked the Combination Skin formula. The scrub itself works great, it smells nice & it does what it says. However, it is a gritty scrub and with the brush it can be a little abrasive (please keep in mind that my face is sun burnt & sensitive right now!) It's very bulky when you are trying to wash your face & you have to use more product because the scrubbers are long and the scrub builds up at the base.

L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub:

Pros:

Smells amazing

Convenient packaging

Great for exfoliating

Inexpensive

Cons:

I really don't have any!

The Nitty Gritty:

I LOVE this scrub! It smells like grapefruit/orange and it works great. The exfoliator pops in & out of the bottle so it's easy if you are using it on the go. It was $4.97 for a 6 oz bottle at Walmart. I would repurchase this, it is super refreshing & doesn't dry my sensitive skin out. This would be a good alternative to Proactiv Cleanser which tends to make my skin break out after 4-5 weeks of use, so I like to switch it up.
I'll continue using both products & keep you updated on what I think!

*Krystle

BEACH TRIP PART 2!

I don't feel complete without my feet in the sand at least once a summer!!!

Dustin & I at the beach!
Our make shift home for the week!

The view from the car off the bridge.

You can't go to Rehoboth without getting Grotto's Pizza! It's like a landmark & Candy Kitchen Taffy is the best (I got the assorted king because I hate peanut butter but this is Dustin's!).

I'll be updating soon!

*Krystle

BEACH TRIP PART 1

My family went to Rehoboth Beach for the week & we had such a good time! It was my mom & dad, Dustin, me & my parents 2 dogs in a camper for 5 days!

Yay, almost there!!

Before the Boardwalk!
Dustin & I!

Lily, my favorite dog in the world! My parent's also have a Yorkie named Ruby.

Indian River Inlet, how gorgeous!!

I'm uploading Part 2 right now!!

*Krystle