10 Summer Products I Suggest You Try

Good Manicure Vs. BAD Manicure

It's all the the base/top coat....
      This is something I have recently learned the hard way after weeks and weeks of fighting god-awful chipping nails. If, you are OCD like me, the very thought of chipped polish makes you crinkle your nose. It is probably one of my biggest fashion pet-peeves. I adore nail polish and really prefer my nails to be polished over bare, because I just find that if you have any sort of length to your nails, they just look so much better with polish on them.
      Anyways, that being said, I also HATE having to re-polish my nails day after day because of chipping. This led me to writing this post because I thought it would be nice of me to save you all the trouble of learning this small little lesson on your own.

      Now, the tried and true top coat of my choice with have to be the Seche Vite, fast dry top coat. This is by far the best I have ever tried in terms of how long it makes your polish last and how fast it makes your manicure dry! If you are extremely impatient like me you probably always find yourself smudging freshly painted nails but with this top-coat I never find myself doing that because it completely dries by the time I am up and doing something else.

This top coat from Sally Hansen on the other hand was unfortunately the biggest waste of my money ever! Thank god it was only 4 dollars. This top coat ruined my manicure faster than if I just skipped a top coat all together. I did like how hard and glossy it made my nails look and feel due to the acylic in it, but after about 12 hours of wear you would progressively notice cracks happening throughout the nail and eventually the polish would start chipping off in big chunks. Ugh! Hate!

Let me start off by saying, this is the magic weapon that makes your professional manicure last so much longer then the one you do on yourself. Most nail salons choose this base coat for all their clients. It is a rubberized formula that really bonds the polish to your nail while also protecting you natural nail from becoming dehydrated from the polish. I've skipped base coats for so long now I forgot how amazing this stuff is. I just bought and used it again today and it made my polish go on so much more smoothly.


Let me know your guys' manicure tips and tricks. <3

Maybelline One by One Volume Express Mascara Review

 

  

Review = 4/5 <3's

I really am adoring this mascara right now! I have been using it for a little over a week and I have been really impressed by the effect it gives my lashes and its lasting power!

The pics taken above were taken at the end of my day so you can see how my lashes stayed curled and how the mascara lasted throughout the day. As you can see there is very little smudging and flaking going on which I LOVE.

The mascara completely volumizes my lashes but does so WITHOUT CLUMPING! YAY! I hate hate hate clumping in my mascara and it is so hard to find a volumizing mascara that doesn't clump!

The mascara is also very black and defines my eyes beautifully!

The one point I took off was simply for the fact that the ingredients in this mascara do nothing good for your lashes since there are no nourishing or hydrating ingredients included in the mascara. 

Mystic Tan

Want to be bronzed and beautiful without speeding up the effects of aging? Check out Mystic Tan! I have become obsessed! Below is a video review of my experience with it.

St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse Review!

 Hey lovelies!!! I have an amazing product to share with you all today! I treated myself to this indulgence after receiving a Sephora gift card for Christmas.

I was feeling particularly drab and ghost-like during these rainy, wintery months and was shocked into action when I saw just how pasty and horrible I looked while trying on bridesmaid dresses for my best friend's wedding.

After some online research I found that St. Tropez is pretty much the Holy Grail of all self tanning products. Though pricey, most people raved that it was well worth the price. So here's my opinion for you all.

  
I LOVE IT! Haha, I guess you could tell from the picture of me kissing the bottle. On first application I knew this product was epic! I bought the mousse formulation after trying it in the store and determining it was the smoothest and easiest application.

The application of this product is extremely simple, easy enough for even the most novice self-tanners (i.e. myself). I will tell you that it is absolutely essential to apply this product with some sort of gloves on your hands. I simply used disposable latex gloves. This product dries EXTREMELY fast, so even though it only take a few minutes to apply this all over your body, by the time you finish, your palms will already be stained. I also suggest finding yourself a helper to apply the product to your back, since it can be very hard to reach in between your shoulder blades.

The product contains an instant bronzer that works as a guide color, meaning, you can see exactly where you have already applied the product. This is a very helpful added bonus to this tanning mousse.

The smell of this product is also quite pleasant. Wait. Did I really just say a self-tanner smelled PLEASANT?! Yes, I did. St. Tropez claims to have an odor-guard to their formula which helps neutralize the smell of the DHA's reaction with your skin, and it totally works! I usually cannot stand to sleep with self-tanner on my skin because the smell is so strong and distracting I can't even sleep but this product's smell didn't even phase me it was so subtle.

The color this product creates is what earns St. Tropez the gold medal in self-tanners. The color is 100% natural looking. There is not a stitch of fake tan orange! St. Tropez recommends using this product up to three days consecutively to build the desired intensity for your base tan, then apply once or twice a week to maintain that color. 
 
I am so in love with this product! Finally I no longer look like a tube of Elmer's glue! Let me know what your guys' favorite self-tanners are!

Here is a swatch of my natural skin tone against my newly bronzed skin after 3 appications!

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Review

Before

Before

After

After

So, a few weeks ago I let you guys in on my drugstore mascara wish list and the Rimmel Lash Accelerator was at the very top of the list. This mascara promises to lengthen lashes upon application up to 80% and, with continued use, promises to increase the natural lash length up to 117%.

You can see from the pictures that this mascara does a fantastic job at separating the lashes. The lashes are left looking natural but longer and darker and therefore, more defined. This mascara definitely won't give you uber drama lashes, though. My lashes are pliable and soft with this mascara which I love. I hate the crunchy lash feeling. 

I have been using this mascara everyday for 3 weeks and I can't say that I honestly look in the mirror and see this extraordinary growth in my lashes but I will say that I have noticed less lashes falling out when I remove my makeup. I also noticed that my lashes aren't breaking in half, which they often do every few months in certain spots. I think these results are due to the conditioning ingredients found in this product.

Overall, this is a good mascara. Very long-lasting. It doesn't flake or run and give you raccoon eyes. I have been reaching for this mascara over all my other ones the last 3 weeks and have to say it has become a favorite.

Revlon Age Defying Concealer Update

HATE IT!

Umm, yeah, after using this product off and on for a few weeks now I finally confirmed today how much I dislike this product. I came to the conclusion when, after wearing the concealer for less than 5 hours, I looked in the mirror and noticed clumped up chunks of product all over my under-eye area. The product wears terribly and slides around to form little clumped lines of product.

I wasn't impressed by this product at first application either. I don't know if it is just my skin tones' reaction with the color I chose or what, but I noticed right away how yellow this concealer is. And for me, my bluish under eye circles + yellow concealer = green under-eyes which means I look like a zombie.

The product also claims to be as hydrating as an eye cream which it most definitely is not! It is very thick, sticky, and hard to blend. I will say it is a very opaque concealer though.

I definitely do not recommend this product and give it a .5/5 stars. Yeah, it's that bad. At least on my skin. Everyone is different which is why there are so many products to choose from. Let me know if any of you have tried this and what you think of it!

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Review

If you haven't heard of this product already, then you are missing out on the holy grail of all tinted moisturizers and it is about time you read a review on it. After receiving a sample of this TM from my local Laura Mercier counter and using it for a couple weeks, I was hooked and head over heels in love! 

It took me some convincing to purchase this product, at 42$ it is not something to pick up on a whim, but as soon as I tried the sample I knew I would be back to buy the full size. My shade is in Nude and there is quite a selection of shades to choose from so I am sure everybody could be matched to their perfect color.

The texture of this product was a bit different then other TMs I have tried, and at first touch I was skeptical of how easily this product would be applied. The product, being water based instead of oil based, is quite a bit thicker and stickier feeling than I expected. When it is in your fingers you just can't imagine it going onto your skin so smoothly. I prefer to apply TMs with my fingers because its quicker and, especially for this particular TM, the heat from your fingertips really helps to melt the product right into your skin.

Despite the fact that the product feels thick in your fingers, it applies fairly well. The application isn't as smooth and simple as smearing a moisturizer onto your face. It does require a bit more massaging with your fingers to spread the product around but the product itself blends into your skin so seamlessly it's amazing! You get a truly, flawless natural look.

The moisturizing capability of this product was also a huge deal for me. I was concerned the oil free would not provide enough moisture for my combination/dry skin and like I have said before, I enjoy TMs specifically because they are supposed to be a 2 in 1 product. I do not want to have to apply moisturizer under a TM. The consistency of the product in my fingers, again, concerned me. I urge you to try the product on your face before judging it because this product was surprisingly very moisturizing. After applying this product on my freshly rinsed face, my skin had no tightness to it and it felt refreshed and hydrated.


The other factor to this TM that amazed me was the level of coverage it gave. The coverage is what I would call light/medium. It is super light by nature but this TM is very buildable. Wherever I have some problem areas i.e. redness or dark circles, I apply a bit more product and the coverage definitely amps up. This TM has the most coverage of any other tinted moisturizer I have found without it feeling heavy like a foundation.


The staying power of this TM is also outstanding. I have no need to apply a primer or a setting powder with this tinted moisturizer and I swear it lasts all day on my skin. I love this because it definitely saves me time in the mornings not having to take those extra steps.


This product is definitely a holy grail item and I give it a 10 out of 10!

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

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!

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

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.