I recently participated in my first EVER beauty swap! Thanks to Crystal Cattle and Messy Kennedy, it was super easy. Never heard of a beauty swap? It’s a super cool thing where two ladies are paired, make contact and share a little info about themselves, and then send each other a fun care package of their favorite makeup! This is PERFECT for the average ranch or farm wife, because I think the majority of us don’t have a lot of time, or money to devote to trying new makeup. What a cool thing to get to share your favorites with someone, and be sent theirs in return!

So, my partner for this swap was Darcy, who is my blogging hero over at Success Is Reason Enough. Darcy is just like me, she works in town, and raises cattle with her awesome husband! 🙂 She has done a beauty swap before, is fair skinned like me, and every single item she sent me I am in love with.

My box of goodies contained an adorable OPI nail polish, Jenna Hipp essential hand lotion, and several bareMinerals goodies, including an extreme glimmers eye shadow palette, Moxie lip gloss and Well-rested under-eye brightener. Two words: LOVE THEM! Darcy was also sweet enough to write me a note telling me about the products, and the best ways to use them, which was wonderful for a gal like me that can use all the help I can get in the makeup department! I’m always up for learning new tricks and tips and Darcy had several great ones.

So first the bareMinerals goodies. The Extreme Glimmers package was SO cute, and even had a tube of eyelid primer and a shadow brush with it. I used these on Saturday and they’re definitely never gonna be on the bench, these are starting lineup in my makeup kit now. Partly because one of the colors is a nice tan glitter that I can use sparingly to brighten my eyes, and dipping the brush in H20 like Darcy suggested worked awesome. For those nights out, I’m excited to use the other darker colors on the rest of my lid, too!

Both the Well-Rested under eye brightener and Moxie lipgloss are also definitely first round draft picks, they both go on effortlessly, have staying power and are the PERFECT shades for my typical makeup use.

Jenna Hipp Essential Nail & Hand cream is just about the best hand cream I’ve ever experienced. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about on first use was the fragrance. But the cool thing is that it doesn’t have any artificial fragrance, and that means that it’s not fruity or overpowering, and it also contains no parabens or synthetic dyes. Seriously buy this hand cream, you won’t be dissappointed!

I realize some of you are going to wonder if I’ve been living under a rock, but I’ve never used OPI Nail Polish before. In short, where has it been all my life??!!

I highly recommend all of the products I’ve received as a result of this beauty swap, as well as the beauty swap itself. I truly had fun picking out my favorite items to send to Darcy, and what fun to receive goodies in return! Be sure to check out her awesome Ag blog here: Success is Reason Enough!

Happiness and Hoofbeats,

The Gate Girl