A Guest Blogger and Clarins 7 Wonders Gift Set

Hello everyone!! We are so close to Friday!!

Today's post is going to be a little bit different. I am going to talk about my Clarins 7 Wonders Gift Set, and then I'm going to hand it over to my friend Brittney. She loves makeup just as much as I do (maybe more) and after she told me about a mascara she recently discovered, I came up with the idea to do a guest blog post. Comment if you have any tips, tricks, or reviews to share and you could see your post up here next! Let's get started!

Clarins 7 Wonders Gift Set

Clarins has been around for a long time and is an insanely trusted brand that I've been wanting to try. On Black Friday at Macy's I came across this gift set and knew it had to be mine. It gives you a great variety of products and is an awesome value.

You get seven products for only $48! These products aren't full size, but you still get a good amount of product for the price. I forgot to take pictures when I first got it so that's why everything is all used...oops! I've tried four products out of the seven, and so far so good! Here's what I've tried:

Moisture-Rich Body Lotion

I am OBSESSED with this lotion! When they say "moisture-rich" they are not joking. It is so unbelievably hydrating without being greasy. I also love the smell...I can't describe it but the lotion contains Peach Milk, Shea, Candlenut Oil, and Orange Blossom...so whatever you think that would smell like. Mainly Orange Blossom. It really does leave a healthy-looking glow to your skin and it stays smooth all day.
MY GRADE: A+
AVAILABLE AT: Any Clarins counter (Macy's etc.) or here.
$40 for 6.7 fl oz (twice the size of my bottle in the picture)

Beauty Flash Balm

I mainly bought the set specifically for this product after I had read about it in Allure. You can use it two different ways: as a thin layer under your makeup, or as a thick mask that you leave on for 15 minutes and then wipe off. It's supposed to brighten and tighten your skin to give it a youthful glow. Basically, it's a very fancy face primer. It contains Olive and Witch Hazel to smooth the skin's surface. For some strange reason, my face has been kind of oily lately, so I haven't had much luck with this product. I've only used it under my makeup, not as a mask, and by the middle of the day I felt like my makeup was halfway down my face or something. It does give your face a slightly dewy look, which I like. I'll just have to keep trying with this one!
MY GRADE: For now, C+
AVAILABLE AT: See above
$45 for 1.7 fl oz (the bottle pictured is 1.06 fl oz)

Toning Lotion with Camomile

I had never used a toning lotion before, and was not disappointed! I used it after the exfoliating cleanser (coming up next) and my skin looked as smooth as glass. It was really great to use after exfoliating, because it helped my skin to not get extremely dry. It felt very soothing and not irritating at all. It contains camomile, alpine herbs, and linden extracts. Pretty good!
MY GRADE: A
AVAILABLE AT: See above
$21 for 6.7 fl oz (the one pictured is 3.4 fl oz)

One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with Orange Extract

I'm super into exfoliating my skin lately. Not too much though! Only twice a week in the shower...any more and my skin would be raw. They call it "one-step" because it takes away your makeup, embedded impurities, and dead surface skin cells all in one step! My skin felt super refreshed after using it. It really does feel like it went in and scooped all of the gross stuff out of your face. That image is scary...sorry.
MY GRADE: A
AVAILABLE AT: See above
$35 for 4.2 fl oz (the one pictured is 2.6 fl oz)

I haven't tried the other three products yet, but even without knowing if they're good, I still believe this is a great gift set. If you have any Clarins lovers on your list, or someone that just loves skincare, this would be perfect! I'm gonna turn it over to Brittney! Love you all!
Elizabeth

Hi everyone! I’m Brittney: 22, part time nurse, part time student, full time beauty junkie. Elizabeth offered me a guest post and I jumped on the opportunity.

I'm here to talk to you about three of my favorite affordable mascaras. Eyes seems to be everyone’s favorite part of their face, and you can have so much fun playing around with new looks to showcase your peepers. Luscious lashes are the perfect thing to top off any eye look. And being someone who is plagued with thin short lashes, I’m always on the lookout for magic mascaras.

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express is awesome. The formula is very buildable, and doesn’t flake; it can get a little clumpy though, so be careful. The spoon brush really grabs all of your tiny lashes, even the ones in the corners. It leaves you with long, full, defined, and curled lashes.
The waterproof formula is great too, and one of the only waterproof mascaras that is actually waterproof. A lot of other ones I’ve tried won't smudge and leave me looking like a raccoon, but still wash off in the water. This one you almost need a power washer to fully remove, which is why I only use it when I REALLY need the waterproof factor. You can get any mascara in the Falsies line for right around $6.

L’oreal Voluminous Million Lashes is another great one. It’s very buildable, flake and clump free. The giant brush has tons of tiny silicone combs. It gives you lots of definition and volume. You can find it for close to $7.

E.L.F. Lengthening and Defining mascara is one I just discovered. The tiny brush makes it easy to coat all of your lashes. It left me with long, full, well-defined lashes. And at only $1 you really can't go wrong.

Now for a little justice. I want to share with you all the story of my amazing little brother, Jason. Jason became a part of our family after my parents adopted him when he was 5 months old. He had been severely neglected and was basically kept alive by his 8 year old brother those first 5 months of his life. Because of this he was very malnourished and had multiple infections. The kid was fighting a losing battle from the start, but today he is your average 16-year-old high school sophomore. To others he seems a little off, a little slow, and a little weird. Over the years Jason has been diagnosed with: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Bipolar disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Aspergers, and Epilepsy. On top of all the usual teenage woes, Jason has to manage all of this too. He has seen countless doctors, specialists, neurologists, psychologists, and therapists. He’s completed speech therapy and occupational therapy, had dozens of tests and procedures, and has taken some form of medication almost every day of his life. He has worked so hard from the second he was born for everything he has accomplished and overcame. The truly remarkable thing about my brother is that none of this matters to him. He sees himself as a normal teenager, who just has to work a little harder than everyone else, and that’s the way he wants others to view him as well. He is the funniest person I have ever met, and has the biggest heart. He is the best brother a girl could ask for, and growing up with him has made me a better person, and taught me many lessons in patience and acceptance. The point I’m trying to make is don’t be too quick to pass judgment; you never know what battles someone else is fighting.