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Thursday, September 30, 2010

M.A.C.'s Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara

So yesterday I posted that I bought MAC's Haute and Naughty Lash mascara and I tried it out this morning. If you don't already know the mascara claims to be two mascaras in one: a daytime, natural mascara, and a dramatic, voluminous mascara. If you unscrew the pink wand, that is the "natural looking" mascara and if you unscrew the purple wand, that is the "dramatic" mascara. I thought I would post some pictures of my lases with the pink wand and then pictures of my lashes with the purple wand so you can see how valid this claim is.

Pink Wand

Pink Wand

Purple Wand

Purple Wand

The verdict? An awesome mascara that definitely does what it claims! I definitely recommend this product! Both applications were beautiful!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

EEP! I Spent all my Tip Money at M.A.C


So I was totally bad today and spent the money I made in tips yesterday on some new M.A.C products. I don't know what it is about M.A.C but I feel like it is so fun to purchase products from their line. I feel like their makeup line is really geared toward collecting which I think is so fun since I am such a fan of makeup. Anyways, I don't own a lot of M.A.C products but I have been needing a new concealer for quite some time and after reading many reviews I decided to go with the Studio Finish SPF 35 concealer (pictured left).

Thankfully I seem to have mostly outgrown my acne so I rarely need concealer for blemishes but I do need it for the unfortunate dark circles I was born with under my eyes. I chose my concealer in NW20 because A) I'm super pale and B) the pinkish tinge to the concealer will help cancel out the blueish circles. The SPF 35 is an added bonus (gotta prevent those wrinkles).

I went into M.A.C not expecting to purchase anything other than concealer but then on a whim I went ahead and got the Haute & Naughty Lash mascara. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about this mascara and I just felt this urge to buy it and try it out. Mascara is probably my favorite makeup product. I am IN LOVE with my Fresh Supernova mascara so I am hoping that I will not regret buying this M.A.C mascara.

I will definitely be letting you all know how the products work for me so keep reading. <3<3<3

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Fall 2010 Oxford Shoe Trend



So the new two "it" shoes of the season consist of the uber clunky, Frankestein-esque boot, which you can tell I am not so fond of, and the vintage chic with a little edge, Oxford shoe, that I have pictured above. Of the two I am sure you can tell which trend I will be following.

I totally fell in love with the Oxford style shoe. I love anything vintage looking and while the oxford is a typically masculine shoe I found that there is still a sort of delicateness that is flattering to my feet, which the Frankenstein boot didn't give me. :P



So this is the pair of Oxfords that I chose to order from Bass Shoes. I cannot wait to receive them in the mail and I will be sure to post pics when I get them!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

New Fall Scent Obsession (Dark Kiss)

Hello, honeys! I just wanted to share with you all a product that I bought today and have instantly fallen in love with. It is the new signature set collection that Bath and Body Works released and oh-my-god it is DELICIOUS smelling! I cannot tell you guys, I walked into the store and they had the candle burning and I seriously thought I died and went to olfactory heaven!


The scent is much more mature and sexy then the scents I usually wear which are often fruity, youthful, and girly. I think this scent is the epitome of fall because it is so rich! I'm really terrible at describing scents which is why I included the banner from the Bath and Body Works site which explains the notes found in the scent (click on banner for larger picture).


So I ended up purchasing the body mist and the triple moisture cream lotion. The body mist has already been sprayed on myself like 3 different times since I bought it, including as soon as I got out of the shower. I am definitely making this my new signature scent!




Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Redken Haircare -- The Experiment Begins

Oh no, the beauty junkie has struck again. This addict will never hit rock bottom!

Ladies, today I attended a class held by Redken at the salon where I was recently hired. The class was about client consultation and choosing the right haircare products for your client's specific needs so that they can maintain the health of their hair at home.

I used to use Redken way back in the day (3 years ago :P) before I became deathly afraid of sulfates and decided to become a hair hippy and go all natural. For those of you uneducated about sulfates, they are a base detergent ingredient used in most shampoos that allow the product to create a lather to clean your hair. Now, recent studies have shown that this ingredient can be particularly damaging to hair because it strips the hair of its natural oils. This information has been spreading like wildfire in any beauty magazine, article, and blog for the last year. As soon as I started catching wind of the fear I bolted from sulfates and opted for organic alternatives and I haven't ever been back... until now.

In my class this morning we were highly encouraged to use the Redken line of products, which is honestly only logical, since they are what we use at the salon and what we are selling to our clients. My immediate fear was of the sulfates found in the shampoo so I asked the representative about it. She assured me that this issue had been discussed with Redken's lead chemist since the fear of sulfates had been so hyped up recently. Supposedly the chemist chose not to remove sulfates from the shampoo line because he strongly disagreed that the sulfates found in Redken's shampoo were concentrated enough to strip the hair of any of it's natural oils. From my understanding, many cheaper brands of shampoo will try and save costs by filling their shampoo with a higher concentrate of the cheap detergent ingredient and less concentrate of beneficial ingredients such as oils that cost more. This heavy concentrate of sulfates is what causes the stripping of the hair of its natural oils. Perhaps these cheaper brands are what led to sulfates' bad name?

The Redken representative assured me that the sulfates found in their shampoo was heavily outweighed by the beneficial ingredients backed up by years of science. Looking around the salon at all the women who work there and have been using the Redken products for years, I noticed that not a single one of them had hair that looked damaged, dry, brittle, or unhealthy, and many of them had long hair as well. I decided to take a leap of faith, brace myself against the sulfates, and try out the product that I am now representing at my new job.

Now to talk about the products I chose for my hair type and why. My hair is very chemically damaged. I do not use heat on my hair and I am very gentle with it but unfortunately I have fallen prey to the female desire to change,change,change and I have dyed my hair a multitude of shades. In order to repair chemical damage you must fortify your hair with protein to help restore the protein you hair lost during chemical procedures. The Extreme shampoo and conditioner that I have pictured is Redken's most highly rated protein reconstructing products. It claims to rebuild and strengthen hair up to 4xs!

With any protein regimen you have to balance it out with moisture so in congruence with my shampoo and conditioner I am using the Smooth Down Butter Treatment which is filled with nourishing Macadamia Nut oil. I will be using this product once a week, which for me will be every other time I wash my hair. This product promises to give long lasting hydration to the hair.

Overall, I am very excited to find out what the results will be from using these products. I love coming to conclusions about products and comparing them to others. If this turns out to benefit my hair it will be amazing to me because it will rebuttal everything I have ever read about the damaging effects of sulfates. For the first time in a long time I guess I am going to trust in the scientific aspect of haircare and we will see where this takes me. I will be updating you guys often on how the condition of my hair is since using these products. Until then... 

XOXO

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Festive Fall

Hey guys I hope you are all doing well. I put together this fall look using summer's golden bronze colors but transitioning them into the pumpkin season with a matte black crease color!

Products Used:
MAC'S Woodwinked all over the lid
MAC's Tempting in the crease and onto the brow-bone
MAC'S Carbon Black in the crease only! Applied with a fluffly 224 brush to keep it light
Loreal Hip Cream Liner
Fresh Supernova Mascara
Laura Mercier Oil-free Tinted Moisturizer

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Bare Minerals (One Enormous Review!)

Hey lovelies! I hope all of you had a fantastic labor day weekend. I am here today to review a product brand that I'm sure all of you have heard of before, and that is the product line by Bare Minerals. Before I begin the review I would like you all to know that I have used this product for a good five years consistently up until this recent year when I began to branch out with other types of foundation. Being a consumer of this product for this amount of time I really consider myself quite a bare minerals expert :P and I have a lot to say about this product line. That being said, let's begin the review!


The Bare Minerals Prime Time is their foundation primer and I stand by this product 100%. To this day, this is my favorite foundation primer; so much so that I pretty much have no desire to try anything else out there, which truly means something when you are a self-described product junkie! They make an oil-control version as well which I have never tried, having combination/dry skin myself, but my good friend who has oily/acne prone skin loves the oil-control version. With this product, a little goes a long way, one pump is all you need. I focus the product on my t-zone then bring the remaining product over my cheeks and my foundation lasts all day! The texture is extremely smooth and light. It prevents excess oil but does not irritate or dry out my skin and unlike other primers I have tried, this has never caused breakouts.

 
 The Prime Time Eyeshadow Primer is as equally magnificent as the foundation primer. I swear by this primer and again, feel no urge to try anything else. I even prefer this over the makeup world's occult fave, Urban Decay Primer Potion. *Gasp* This product is super creamy, soft, blend-able, and easy to apply. This primer will prevent creasing even under the most extreme conditions! The light tint of the primer itself works wonders at creating a flawless canvas to work on, covering all imperfections visible on the eyelid, (i.e redness, veins, etc.). As someone with an extremely sensitive eye area I can also tell you this product is very gentle on the eye area and while it keeps your shadows in place all day, it doesn't create a war zone on your eye area when trying to remove your makeup at night. My final note on this product would be to apply this with your fingertips instead of the applicator since the warmth of your fingers will making smoothing out the product easier and more gentle on your eye area.


 The gem of the Bare Minerals line is their mineral foundation. This is what made the company a mega-star. I prefer the original formula. This foundation will give you light to medium coverage without looking cakey and powdery. I prefer to apply this product using a fluffy kabuki brush for the maximum amount of coverage. I truly feel like the original formula gives more coverage than the matte formula and I find that when I attempt to achieve more coverage with the matte formula it can look quite cakey and dry on my skin. One thing I did like about the matte version over the original was the fact that it didn't contain the ingredient that gives your skin a "glowing" effect, which the original formula does contain. This ingredient has been known to make some people feel itchy and I did experience this whenever I got hot or my face started getting a little sweaty. However, I really dislike the feeling and look of the matte version on my skin. My combination skin looked dry and flakey which is definitely not attractive! I think the matte version is a fantastic choice for girls with oily skin, however, since my oily/acne prone skinned friend loves it. For me, I will stick with the original formula when I decide to go back to using Bare Minerals, but for now I'm enjoying my affair with tinted moisturizers :P


 The final Bare Minerals product that I would like to mention in my review is the Mineral Veil, the most epic of all finishing powders! This product is a must-have in my makeup bag as well as my kit. This powder mattifys the face without making the skin look cakey or making it feel heavily covered by makeup. This product is light and settles right into the skin giving it a beautiful, natural finish. I use this product over any liquid foundation, including tinted moisturizers if they need some extra staying power. They also make a hydrating mineral veil that is superb for mature/dry skin.


One final thing I would like to mention about all the brand's mineral products is that the powders do NOT settle into fine lines which makes Bare Minerals ideal for all ages. Overall I adore this brand and give their entire product line a 4.5 out of 5. That half a point taken away purely for my personal dislike of the matte formula and that slight itching I get in the heat with the original formula.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Benefit You Rebel Tinted Moisturizer Review

Benefit's You Rebel Tinted Moisturizer!
                        A Review

Hey ladies, and guys, I wanted to do a product review for you all on a product that I have been using throughout the summer, and that product is, of course, the You Rebel tinted moisturizer. If you are interested in anything cosmetic, I am sure you have heard about tinted moisturizers since they seem to be all the rage in the beauty world right now, especially during the hot summer weather.There are so many brands with their versions of tinted moisturizers that it can be hard deciding which one to buy, and trust me, every company has a unique formula and they all work quite differently from one another. So here is my review on this particular tinted moisturizer by Benefit Cosmetics.

I believe the main reason we purchase a tinted moisturizer over a regular foundation is to simplify our morning routine. Doubling up your morning moisturizer with some foundation is the perfect way to get yourself out the door faster. But the product better do the job right or you will spend the rest of the day fussing over your makeup and ultimately spending more time on your face throughout the day. What I loved about this product was that it is truly moisturizing! I have a hard time finding tinted moisturizers that actually moisturize and don't leave me needing to apply a separate moisturizer prior to application. 

I found that after rinsing my face with cool water in the morning I could apply this TM all over my Combination/Dry skin and I would feel perfectly hydrated throughout the day. It also did a decent job of smoothing out my complexion. I am fortunate to no longer suffer from acne, just the occasional spots that pop up during that certain time of the month, so I don't have many things to cover on my skin. I mostly just have some slight discoloration, and those dang blackheads on my nose. This TM did smooth out my complexion but did not completely eliminate the appearance of my blackheads. I did need to use concealer as well to cover up my under-eye circles. If you are someone with more redness, discoloration, or acne spots I wouldn't recommend this product if you are looking to completely cover those things up.
You ladies and guys with oily skin, also beware. This product is very moisturizing and will most definitely leave you feeling greasy.I have dry skin but tend to get oily in my T-zone. With this product, the only way I found to control oil was to first apply a foundation primer, I use Prime Time by Bare Minerals, and I would also set the TM with translucent powder (also from Bare Minerals). 

The fact that I had to apply the primer and powder was an unfortunate part of this product since the whole point of a TM, for me at least, was to be less maintenance and to have less makeup on my face. However, even with applying setting powder over the TM my makeup looked 100% natural. I always got compliments on how wonderful my skin looked while I was using this product because no one could tell I had makeup on, just that my skin looked clear, healthy, and dewy.

Overall, I give this product a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is moisturizing enough to not have to double it up with your regular moisturizer and it applies so smooth and easy, like butter. I simply used my fingers to smooth it all over my face. The coverage is definitely light coverage, no where near medium coverage. This is not a product I would recommend to someone with oily skin but it works well for combination to dry skin types.

My only other complaint is the packaging. The packaging is adorable and the tube itself is metal and it works perfectly fine; my only problem with it was the cap. It could never be screwed down tightly enough and I found that if I threw the product into my makeup bag upside down, the next time I used it, the product would ooze out all over the place and I would end up wasting a lot of product. As long as you are conscious of storing the product right side up, however, you will be fine.