DIY Eye Makeup Remover

I'll try anything, especially if it is supposed to be better for you and more natural. So after my last post, regarding Cover Girl's Bombshell Mascara, I received a post on my Facebook account that notified me about someone who complained to the news about this mascara. Claiming that it made her eyelashes fall out. Well, I've been using it for over a month and have had no problems. My thought was that this girl didn't know how to properly remove mascara. She stated in the news article that as she "pulled" down on her eyelashes, that they fell out. Well...obviously! If you remove mascara, you need to do it gently. Remember, you're putting an artificial compound on your lashes, which harden and therefore, when removing this product, you need to be careful. I mean...we ARE dealing with delicate lashes! Anyway, not to go on a rampage, but I decided to do some research. I found a few DIY eye makeup removers that claim to work better than anything you buy in stores...and...are o'natural. So here we go. I did it. The results...eh, not so great, especially if you are using a mascara that REALLY enhances your lashes, such as Cover Girl's Bombshell Mascara! Remember, these "enhancing" mascaras are thicker than most. So, an o'natural eye makeup remover probably isn't going to make the cut. But I tried it anyway.

 Here are the ingredients:

1 cup purified water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon baby shampoo
Directions:
1) Boil water, then let cool until warm to the touch.
2) Add coconut oil, mix until it turns into liquid form.
3) Add baby shampoo, mix until smooth.
4) Pour into plastic or glass air-tight container, shake to make sure it's mixed well.

I applied the DIY eye makeup remover to my eye lashes with a cotton ball and rubbed softly. Not much happened. It smelled awesome, but not much came off on the cotton ball. I tried again, still not much. So I resorted to what I NORMALLY do, which my Mother taught me, and that is use baby oil. Once again, baby oil rules! Worked like a charm, like it always does. See...and I STILL have all my natural eyelashes! I look awesome without makeup...don't I? Hope I don't blind you, lol!

So all in all, I would not recommend making your own eye makeup remover, at least with these ingredients. Yes, it smells great, but doesn't do the job effectively, unless you want to spend 30 minutes in the bathroom trying to get your mascara off...or worse, pulling your eye lashes out! I highly recommend just using plain old fashion baby oil. Works like a charm and the oil is great for your under eyes, helping to prevent eye "crinkles". However, one last word, I will say that after removing my eye makeup with the baby oil, I decided to wash my face with the baby shampoo I purchased. That was AWESOME! Made my skin so soft, not feeling oily and not over dry...perfect! So this whole experiment actually led me to believe that I maybe should switch my expensive face wash to baby shampoo ;)

Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub

I try to be the best and most frugal buyer in the household...I normally succeed in the kitchen department, but the man of the house always seems to "one-up" me when it comes to "appliances" or anything electronic, gas related...whatever...I don't even know where to begin. But hey, he's a former mechanic with YEARS of experience and now a computer technician, so, can I really argue with his suggestions? No. I read TONS of reviews on-line for carpet/furniture cleaners that would help remove pet odors and stains. I decided the Bissell Green Machine won the award to do the job. I thought wrong. The man of the house did his own "research" and decided we should go with the the Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub. As most of you know, I am a frugal individual. I really didn't want to spend the money on this machine...especially because I did not pick it out. You ladies know what I'm talking about! Well, we bought it on Amazon and it came promptly. I was hoping it would come in pieces and I could laugh and say "I told you so" to the man of the house...but it didn't. It came partially assembled. He assembled the remainder under an hour and before I knew it, I heard the sound of "clean carpets"!

Just to give you a bit of background, we have two large dogs. Both just around 70lbs but under the age of 3, so they're pretty active. Our home is completely hardwood floors and tile, but I decided to buy a neutral berber rug for the living room, to make it "cozier" ;) So the rug is their "playing ground" for traction, I guess.

We just moved from the north to the south, hoping that the dogs could enjoy some play time outside, since the past 4 months up north were sub-zero temps. But when we got here, it was rain season. So their time outside was limited and as much as I tried to clean their paws every time they came inside, I obviously didn't get it all. I vacuum at least twice a week. I clean my floors at least twice a week. So I am embarrassed to share this video and photos with you, but I swear, I am not a slob. This is how dirty your carpets/area rugs/floors are. And we still need to go over it once more...only because it got too late in the night and we were spent. So all in all, my review on the Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub is that the man of the house was correct. This was a smart buy. I can't believe the results. I'm disgusted and excited at the same time. Wow.

So here is the man of the house, using the Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub...and it's just disgusting but at the same time, I am satisfied with my purchase! Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub Video.

Here are some more photos of the results. Again, this was just a test run one night, we still need to complete the entire rug and floor (the Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub does hard floors too). I give it a thumbs up all the way!

First run on the carpet:

Had to empty it already:

Seriously?! One run and this...disgusting but clean, I guess!

Working the fabric on the couch cushions...lots of dog fur, most of it was removed by the smaller brush. The pet odor was completely eliminated...Mind Blown!

I have more photos if you are interested in seeing them, just didn't want to overflow this post. Also, as I said, we only did half the cleaning on the carpet. We REALLY still need to go over it another time to get EVERYTHING out...I guess that's the downside...but really? Who would think that you could clean a pet infested carpet/couch in one hour? No. So, we cleaned it once...ok, HE cleaned it once...and we shall clean again. I will post the final results soon. But all in all...this was a GREAT buy. Can't believe I am saying the man of the house is right...urgh. But hey, happy wife...happy life ;)

COVERGIRL bombshell volume by lashblast

This is my first post for product reviews and I am quite excited about it! I recently watched a YouTube video on applying make-up for an "every day" look and even though they did not recommend this product, when I saw it in the store...it just made perfect sense to buy it! $8.99 at Walgreen's, COVERGIRL Bombshell Volume by Lashblast, is TOTALLY worth it! I have been told before that I have long eye-lashes, but because I'm blonde...yes...I'm blonde, and if you tell me otherwise, I might jump out of the computer and strangle you! Ok, in all honesty, born with black hair, fell out, then grew back with that lovely shade of, ummm...what do we call it??? Oh yes, Dirty Blonde. Such a nice name for a shade. Regardless, my long lashes needed an "UMPH", so I decided to test this product out and I was pleasantly surprised! It's a 2-step process...well, you can go with the first step, but I don't know why you would, maybe if you want half-ass lashes...so I recommend doing the 2-step process. Here are my results:

BEFORE PICS...NO MASCARA:

Step 1: Apply the Number "1" wand to your lashes.

Step 2: Apply the Number "2" wand to your lashes.

All in all...I HIGHLY recommend this product! Definitely worth the $$. Stayed on ALL day long with NO clumps and no "falling" of the lashes. Perfect lashes for a perfect girl! xoxo, Kelly