It’s no secret that I am a believer of God and thank him for his blessings daily. Those that are near and dear me know that even if I don’t attend church as often as I would like, that doesn’t mean that God is far from my heart. Recently, I had the opportunity to try out temporary tattoos from Armed with Truth and their story was unique and intrigued me. Their belief is that the most powerful ways to survive this crazy world is to have the Word of God written on your heart. Memorizing any scripture can be a difficult and challenging task for many… this I know personally, as I have tattooed the Verse names on my wrists for scriptures that are personal to myself and my twins, and sometimes the words just don’t come to me as quickly.
With temporary tattoos that include encouraging verses on the insides of your arms to remind your through the day of what they are, it makes memorizing and committing to these verses easier than I thought. After just a day… I had memorized my scripture and I’m even contemplating adding it to my collection of tattoos on my body.
About the company and the creators:
We believe one of the most powerful ways to survive this crazy world is to have the Word of God written on your heart. When Jesus faced opposition, he answered the problem and lies with scripture. We ought to do the same. Yet, the process and practices of memorization are tough. We have tried it all: flash cards, sticky notes, covering one eye, you name it. The snazzy smartphone app was least effective because of the endless distractions that come with smartphones! Ugh!
We knew there had to be a better way….
We set out to make a way to get scripture into your memory bank by allowing you to take advantage of all the micro moments in life. If you don’t have a lot of time (like us), spending 25-30 minutes to memorize scripture isn’t something most people can maintain. We wanted to create a way people to take all their wasted micro moments in life (standing in line, at a stop light, in a drive through, in an elevator, riding a bike and even taking a shower) and make them opportunities to memorize scripture.
Armed With Truth was born to give you a ultra convenient (yet dashingly fashionable) way memorize scripture for a few seconds a day –everyday. The temporary tattoos are made for your inner wrists and will last for up to 7 days and are ready at all times for you to be encouraged and empowered. Each pack contains 10 verses centered around a transformational theme — from knowing your Identity in Christ to becoming a Change Maker. Over 100 verses in all to transform your mind and equip you with the Word of God.
We hope that you love these as much as we do!
Eric and Mike
Each pack retails on the Armed With Truth site for $9.95 and is available in several different packs. I received Change Makers, a collection of verses that remind you to Care for Others, Give to the Poor, Set Captives Free, Deny Myself and Walk with God as well as many more. Each pack includes 10 Essential Bible Verses on Being Change Makers. Armed With Truth also includes a designer series that includes cool designs that depict biblical truths.
Applying the tattoos is very simple. If you have ever used a temporary tattoo before, then you can use the same type of routine, otherwise… here’s what you do.
Make sure the area you are going to apply the tattoo to is clean and dry. Peel back the clear protective top sheet and press the tattoo firmly onto the area – face down. I chose to apply this to my forearm.
Hold a wet cloth against the back of the tattoo and press down. Make sure to wet the tattoo thoroughly. Remove the cloth and wait 30 seconds (take your time and count) and then peel the paper backing off to reveal the tattoo. While these are a great way to memorize the scriptures, I think it is also a great reminder of faith.
Each tattoo pack comes with easy to follow directions and an assortment of scriptures. I have enjoyed each one so far and take them all into heart.
I am a firm believer that each person regardless of Faith has someone or something they need to inspire them – whether it be a quote or a scripture, a person or a being… everyone needs inspiration for change. What are your thoughts on these pretty interesting tattoos? I’m diggin’ them.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Yay for New Releases! Recently I had the opportunity to test out and play with some new Rainbow Honey goodies that were just released with their Summer MixTape…
When I first got word to expect the Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eye Shadow Collection, I literally squealed both in excitement and joy. You see, if you don’t already know – I’m a huge fan of Milani Cosmetics and have been enjoying their products now for several years… but I haven’t been completely awed by their eye shadows up until this point, so I was really excited to see what kind of awesome they had in store.
The new Milani Bella Eyes Shadow Collection includes 30 beautiful shades in a variety of colors. These eye shadows retail for just $3.99 (major steal) for 0.05 oz/1.4g worth of product. Made in the USA, these shadows are said to be a Gel-like powder that will provide a rich, vibrant color that applies effortlessly in one single stroke, delivering a stunning and multi-dimensional effect. Now, in the video I stated that I am really not sure how they got the name “Gel Powder” but after doing some reading I found out that the formula used to create the shadow starts as a gel and then is transformed by a special process into a stunning powder with pure color and power wear.
Check out my review with swatches via YouTube here, or scroll down to see my video review embedded below. Don’t forget to check out all the swatches and my thoughts on each.
Below are the photos of each shadow as well as their swatches and my thoughts on each. Please note that the shades may be slightly different depending on your screen resolution and color set up. I tried my best to get the colors as close as I seen them with my regular eyes so I photographed with the best lighting possible. All swatches are done dry and without primer so you could see how they work on their own. The names of each shadow and swatch are listed from Left to Right to compare to the photos.
BELLA IVORY ~ BELLA SAND ~ BELLA CAPPUCCINO
Bella Ivory, Bella Sand, Bella Cappuccino
Bella Ivory is a Satin Matte shade and I have been using it as a browbone highlight shade as well as an all over the lid shade. Considering this is a satin matte shade, it has great pigmentation and applying just one application will yield great color.
Bella Sand is a Shimmery shade that is perfect for all over the lid. It is packed rich with color in one swipe and perfect for most if not all skin tones.
Bella Cappuccino is a Satin Matte shade and is a medium brown tone. While I think this shade does have pretty good pigmentation, it can take a little to get it to the deepness in shade that you will want if you have darker skin like me. This works as a great transition shade for me and I can also use it to fill in my brows.
Bella Caffe is a Satin Matte that is a great shade for me to use in my brows for light shading in the sparse areas of my brows. This is also a great shade to use all over the lid or in the crease, even as transition. This color does take a little more effort to apply in some cases and I noticed I needed to build the color up a little more on it than on other shades, but it still offers pigmentation.
Bella Taupe is one of my favorite shades to deepen the crease. It is a Satin Matte that has almost a purple tone when swatched but blended with other shades, it works really well. This is a great color for a crease shade.
Bella Espresso is also a Satin Matte and is much lighter of a shade then I had expected when seeing it in the pot. This is a great smoky eye shade or can be used all over the lid.
Bella Caffe, Bella Taupe, Bella Espresso Swatches
BELLA WHITE ~ BELLA SKY ~ BELLA NAVY
Bella White, Bella Sky, Bella Navy
Bella White is a Satin Matte white shade. While this is a matte shade, it really lends to be almost metallic without any shimmer. It’s a pure white that makes it very pretty for an inner corner highlight or all over the lid.
Bella Sky is a Shimmer shade and lends for a gorgeous baby blue almost silver.
Bella Navy is a Satin Matte shade but lends for an almost metallic finish. It’s a deep navy blue.
Bella White, Bella Sky, Bella Navy Swatches
BELLA GRAY ~ BELLA CHARCOAL ~ BELLA BLACK
Bella Gray, Bella Charcoal, Bella Black
Bella Gray is a Satin Matte shade that is perfect to deepen the outer v or crease or use all over the lid. This color lends for a silver look which is perfect for smoky eye looks
Bella Charcoal is a deep silver Shimmer shade. I absolutely love this color and this shade would look beautiful on most skin tones
Bella Black is a Satin matte shade that is rich in pigment. I absolutely love this black to deepen the outer v or crease or to use as an eyeliner. Used wet this shade is a great eye liner.
Bella Gray, Bella Charcoal, Bella Black Swatches
BELLA PINK ~ BELLA VIOLET ~ BELLA PURPLE
Bella Pink, Bella Violet, Bella Purple
Bella Pink is a cool toned shimmery pink shade and lends for an almost white hue. This shimmer shade is a perfect lid color.
Bella Violet is a violet (kind of lavender) shimmer shadow and is gorgeous when applied dry or wet.
Bella Purple is a beautiful Satin matte shade that applies beautifully both wet or dry but is a deeper richer shade if applied wet and a perfect transition shade or to deepen the crease if applied dry.
Bella Pink, Bella Violet, Bella Purple Swatches
BELLA CHAMPAGNE ~ BELLA KHAKI ~ BELLA EMERALD
Bella Champagne, Bella Khaki, Bella Emerald
Bella Champagne is a beautiful pink toned champagne like shade with a shimmer finish.
Bella Khaki is a gold khaki type green – kind of an olive green (one of my favorite colors in the whole collection) that has a soft gold shift. This is a shimmer shade and applies great wet or dry.
Bella Emerald is a deep green (definitely a great emerald) with a shimmer finish. There is a gold shift to this shadow and it applies beautifully both wet or dry.
Bella Rouge is a beautiful metallic pink red shade.
Bella Silver is metallic silver that looks a little deeper in shade in the pot then it does swatched. Nonetheless, it’s a gorgeous color.
Bella Teal is probably one of my favorites (as many know – Purple is my favorite color and teal a close second). This is a Metallic shadow and while it’s not pictured above, it has a soft gold/green shift that is just beautiful. This shade applies perfectly both wet or dry and even better over a teal or black base.
Bella Rouge, Bella Silver, Bella Teal Swatches
BELLA GOLD ~ BELLA COPPER ~ BELLA BRONZE
Bella Gold, Bella Copper, Bella Bronze
Bella Gold is a gorgeous metallic shadow. This is a warm yellow toned yellow with a light copper/bronze shift, that may not be a favorite of those who like softer gold shades but this works great on the lid or all over in any creation you can think of. I love that it can be worn both wet and dry.
Bella Copper is a true copper metallic shade.
Bella Bronze is a true bronze brown shade. It is warm toned and will go nicely as an all over shade or worked into the crease or outer v. Rich and highly pigmented, one of my favorites in the bunch.
Bella Gold, Bella Copper, Bella Bronze Swatches
BELLA COBALT ~ BELLA FUCHSIA ~ BELLA MANDARIN
Bella Cobalt, Bella Fuchsia, Bella Mandarin
Bella Cobalt is a medium toned blue with a satin matte finish. It looks almost metallic in the pot but has a satin feel. This blue is gorgeous wet or dry.
Bella Fuchsia is a Satin matte fuchsia pink. While it’s a gorgeous shade, the pigment is just not as bright as others in the collection and when swatched or applied to the eyes, you have to really build up the color to get the intensity in the pot. It will work as a great transition shade and will apply much more of a bold shade if over a base like a white, pink or black.
Bella Mandarin is a satin matte medium toned orange. This is the only orange in the entire collection – I had hoped for a metallic one. I have been using this as a transition shade and it works well on the lid but I do suggest applying over a white base. When used wet this shade can be patchy.
Bella Chiffon is probably one of my favorite shades in the whole collection. It is a cream/ivory shade with a gold shift. I love to use this shimmer shade in the inner corner of my eyes to help brighten and highlight my eyes. This shade is my favorite because of the color as well as the shift of gold. It makes it perfect for summer.
Bella Rose is a light pink shimmery shade with a soft silver hue. It certain light it looks almost silver and would also be a perfect highlight shade or used on the lid. This shade looks great wet or dry.
Bella Diamond is a shimmery white with a light metallic silver hue. This is a great all over the lid shade or used as a highlight. It’s gorgeous.
Bella Chiffon, Bella Rose, Bella Diamond Swatches
Like I mentioned in my video, when you first feel the shadows, they do not offer a gel like feel – they feel like a powder shadow. But, I noticed that I had little to no fall out from these shadows as I would normally experience from other powder shadows. Unless they were overly shimmery, they applied really nicely and made clean up really easy after my makeup application was done.
As I mentioned in the swatches above, there are a few shadows that took a little effort when applying or using them and most of those shadows included those that are matte/satin shades. While that can be a problem, I don’t think it was an actual con in my opinion. Honestly, those shades made such great transition shades for my eye looks because of their soft texture, that even if I want to build up the color a bit, I’m still very impressed. If you have tried Milani’s original single pot shadows or their baked shadows and were not completely wowed by any of them… I think these will offer redemption quite easily because I’m super impressed. Honestly, it’s been difficult switching these out and using other cosmetics in my collection… I really enjoy them.
In the makeup look above I am using Bella Mandarin as my transition shade, Bella Bronze as my crease shade, Bella Gold as my lid shade, Bella Taupe blended and placed into my outer v to deepen my crease, Bella Ivory as my brow bone highlight shade and Bella Chiffon as my inner corner highlight shade. A tutorial for the makeup look can be found here. As you can see from the look – the colors are pigmented and can be used for an every day or sultry look.
If I could make a few suggestions it would be to add a rich Metallic or satin matte Red shade to the collection (or both) as well as a metallic orange. I would also love to see a softer gold shade that is similar to that of Urban Decay’s Half Baked. While the packaging is still a bit bulky and I don’t believe these can be depotted, I love that they top of the pot is flat, allowing for stacking the shadows, which was unable to be done effectively with the single baked shadows.
Pigmentation is wonderful. Again – while a few shades were not as perfect as others, I still know I’ll be using them and I love that some of the cool toned browns give me the option to use them to fill in my brows. The feel of these shadows are unlike those I use often. They have a buttery like texture, minus the fall out and dust you get from a buttery shadow. Application on the eyes is smooth and over all I’m pretty impressed. These Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eye Shadows are definitely a great value for the price and overall, I think they are pretty awesome. Great job Milani – I’m really loving these.
Disclaimer: I did receive these products as a part of a Press Sample however, all opinions are my own and 100% honest & unbiased.
I have reviewed products from Perlier in the past and have had positive experiences with their products. Recently I received the Perlier Shea Butter White Lily Hand Cream…
I have been using the True Lipids Eczema Kit by Cheryl Lee MD now for the last month and it has made my favorites a few times. Having to deal with severe eczema, it has been quite a challenge for me to overcome and traditional creams prescribed to me to use on my skin have not been ideal and I actually don’t like them. With just a couple of weeks of using these products, I have noticed how quick they work, how beneficial for my skin they are and I am loving them.
I apologize if you came here to enter a giveaway – but it was cancelled expectantly. Stay tuned for my review which will be live within the week.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Who says you can’t get quality products at an affordable price? That is one of the reasons why I enjoy using BA Star cosmetics… because their price point is awesome and they offer a variety of products to create stunning and bold makeup looks, at half the cost of brands on the market today. BA Star is a company that specializes in makeup for bold – eye catching looks or every day wear. Many of their products offer such great pigmentation they are used as Performance Makeup for Dance, Cheer and more.
For just $8.75 – BA Star’s Tropical Eye Shadow Palette comes packed with five bold shades to stop traffic and create a plethora of looks. With the craze of bold summer shades hitting the market today and bright neon eye shadows all the rave, these shadows really have arrived at a perfect time. I love the mix of shades available in the palette, which offer you the option to create a look filled with rainbow bright action or something a little more toned down with a pop color. Used in combination with BA Star’s eye shadow glitter base, the colors pop and offer great longevity.
BA Star offers great quality products for a fraction of the cost you see on the market today. Their shadows are buttery and blend-able offering a punch of pigmentation and shimmer. While all of the shadows in this palette are shimmery and can cause fall-out if not careful during application, it is well worth it because the colors are so vibrant and the color you see in the palette is definitely what you will get on application. The shades are true to color and are as bold as you would expect.
If you are using the glitter glue from BA Star – this product will help achieve longer lasting shadows on the eyes as well as really bring out the true color of the shadows. This sticky base is perfect for your BA Star Eye Shadows or Glitter as it grabs on to the product and holds it there. While you can certainly use your eyeshadows over a primer or shadow base of your choice, I think that the Glitter Glue Base is a great addition for using your BA Star palette as well.
BA Star offers 6 five pan palettes in a complimentary range of shades for you to choose from and the Tropical Palette is definitely one you will want to pick up if you are interested in a daring and fun look. If I had to critique the palette at all – it would be the applicator that didn’t quite excite me… but if in a pinch and bind and you needed something to apply your makeup with – it would work.
I created this makeup look using all five colors from the BA Star Tropical Eye Shadow Palette as well as three other shadows from another brand. The colors applied easily and packed a punch of color that lasted all day. Check out my tutorial for this look here. Overall I think this palette is awesome and I have been enjoying using it for my summer eye looks. I definitely suggest it if you are on a budget and higher end neon type shades are out of your reach or if you just want to try out something fun and bold. Check out bastar.com for a full selection of products and to get your own today.
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Too Faced Cosmetics. So, when I heard they were releasing the Melted Lipsticks this year, I knew I had to have it. After reading a review from Phyrra – I knew, I was destined to buy at least one of them. After looking at swatches and reading up on the formulation and texture of the product – I settled on two shades that I knew I would enjoy… Melted Peony, a wearable shade and something perfect for Spring and Summer and Melted Violet, this purple addict needed this purple lippy badly.
The packaging itself is pretty eye catching as each box dawns the shade of the lipstick color. I am pretty sure if I walked into a Sephora and seen this in the display, I would be attracted to it immediately. Each lipstick retails for $21.00 – not bad for the amount of product you are getting – 0.40 oz total. This line includes a total of 10 shades, four of those ten shades are exclusive to Toofaced.com only.
The lipsticks come in a tube with sponge tip applicator. You squeeze the tube and the liquid like lipstick comes out through the sponge allowing you to apply it to your lips. I wish I took the time to research or think about the applicator before using it on my lips because now that I know I can’t clean it the way I would like, I would have used a lip brush to get product and apply to my lips if I had known what I know now. While the applicator does apply the product to the lips nicely (I don’t have to go back and blend or fix it at all), I have no idea how to clean the applicator without causing any effects to the actual product. I’m afraid the lipstick may harden or worst, so I normally just wipe it off on a napkin after use. While I do enjoy applying with the built in applicator and think it’s still genius, I’m also not fond of it… if that makes any sense.
These Too Faced Melted lipsticks are said to offer the staying power of a stain and the intense color of a liquid lipstick with the high shine of a gloss. Check out my thoughts on the Too Faced Melted Lipstick via my video embedded below – along with swatches and try on or click here to watch directly on YouTube. Details and swatches also posted below.
So – are these lippies too expensive or worth their cost? Honestly, I think that while these are quite a bit costly – my lips absolutely love them. I use Melted Violet on my lips quite often. If you are looking for a liquid lipstick that is long lasting and offers great color pay off with just one swipe – I think these would be a great buy. Application for these is easy and I actually like the sponge tip at the top of the lipstick for applying, but I don’t like the fact that I haven’t yet found a way to clean or sanitize it in any way. The color goes on as strong and as bold as it does when you squeeze some of it out of the tube.
While these do offer a slight glossy texture, they dry on your lips and appear to be almost satin or matte so longevity is nice and I enjoy not needing to touch up for the most part. On several occasions, I applied Melted Violet in the morning and through snacking and having some drinks, the product lasted and still offered great color payoff, and if it did wipe off, it still left a nice stain on my lips. If I didn’t eat or drink for a while, the color payoff would be vibrant and still quite visible on my lips for hours. The texture is so creamy – it feels like a liquid lipstick but in my opinion it doesn’t have that funny slip or sticky feeling that some liquid lipsticks have done to me in the past. It wears like a nice matte lipstick without the drying feel. Did I mention that with one swipe you have “wham bam” color? The color pay off on the two I have is phenomenal.
Overall I love these because they feel so comfortable on my lips and after several hours of wear, my lips are still soft and moisturized, never feeling dry or cracked. I can say that with bold shades like Melted Violet, I do suggest a transparent lip liner (Milani has a great one). Though I didn’t experience any feathering for the most part, there are times when applying with the applicator included, it can be a challenge for bolder shades. The transparent lip liner will help to keep the color in place while applying and make it easier as well.
I’m still unsure if I’ll be picking up more shades as the price tag – while I think is worth it, is not something I am fond of. There are a few other colors I have my eyes on so they may be next on my list. You can purchase these Too Faced Melted Lipsticks at Toofaced.com, Sephora.com or Sephora Stores and Ulta. Have you tried any of these lipsticks before? If so – what shades have you worn? If not, which ones do you have your eyes on?
Aches and pains come in a wide variety for many people… and in our family – my husband and I suffer from inflammation and injuries that cause uncomfortable…
Each pack retails on the Armed With Truth site for $9.95 and is available in several different packs. I received Change Makers, a collection of verses that remind you to Care for Others, Give to the Poor, Set Captives Free, Deny Myself and Walk with God as well as many more. Each pack includes 10 Essential Bible Verses on Being Change Makers. Armed With Truth also includes a designer series that includes cool designs that depict biblical truths.
