Friday, July 29, 2016

JULY FAVORITES

Happy almost end of July! I hope you guys have had a wonderful month and are all geared up to start a new one. To celebrate the end of July, let's talk favorites of the month!



If you guys saw my most recent Influenster unboxing post (I'll link it HERE in case you missed it), I was lucky enough to receive some Ole Henriksen skincare products complimentary to try and review. I was a little nervous to try the products since my skin is very testy sometimes, but I have been loving their Truth Serum Collage Booster. I use just one small pump to cover my entire face and it just sucks in the moisture immediately! I feel like this has really brightened my complexion since I started using it. And, the smell is an amazing faint citrus scent!


Lately I've felt like my hair has been super limp and dry lately, which has led to frizz and split ends. I'm guessing this is from me coloring my hair for the first time, and that I'm finally experiencing some aftermath. It may be partly because I've been using low-end hair products as well when I've used high-end for most of my life (my hair is almost as sensitive as my skin, it's ridiculous). So, I decided to try using 100% Argan Oil in my hair. I've been running two drops through my damp hair after showering and just within days it worked wonders! It has brought life, strength, and shine back into my hair.


This is kind of a funny story. I've had the Bath and Body Works body fragrance mist in the scent Be Enchanted next to my toilet for well over 6 months. I got it for Christmas one year, and it wasn't the most recent one, so...oops. I have used it as a bathroom spray for stinkies for ages, so I haven't even made it halfway through the bottle. And just one day I caught a good whiff of how amazing it smells, and now I'm wondering why my toilet has had it's luxury when I haven't all this time! It's such a light floral and fresh scent that isn't strong like a perfume, and it just smells so refreshing on the hot summer days. 



The month of July was a huge month of rediscovery for me as far as makeup goes. I've found so many products that I've had in my collection for ages and have been pushed behind other goodies over time, and started loving them again. I tried to include things I haven't put in favorites before, but forgive me if there's a repeat or two! P.S. Below all these items you'll find a photo with swatches.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette // This is my NUMBER ONE favorite of the entire month! I was lucky enough to win a giveaway through on of my favorite youtubers, and one of my two prizes was this beautiful palette. There was a choice of 3 different prizes, and I knew immediately that I wanted to get my hands on this palette. It's warm in tone, and it's like nothing else that I own. I had never tried ABH shadows before, so I had no clue what to expect for formula. I was blown away! The pigmentation, blendability, the packaging, and even the brush in the palette are all amazing. I haven't put it down since I got it! There is such a wide range of looks that can be done with this palette. I honestly haven't ever felt this inspired by an eyeshadow palette before! (As you know, I'm the blush and lip junkie, not eyeshadow).


L'Oreal Pro Glow Foundation // Now this may come as a surprise to those of you who saw my review of this. I tried this foundation expecting to be wildly impressed since everyone in the beauty world seems to have dropped their panties for this new launch. I was just kind of "eh" about it. I was really oily by the end of the day wearing it, which I wasn't thrilled about whatsoever. But, I've found the key! This foundation is going to be stellar for fall and winter. But the sun, the humidity, and the heat? Not it's friend. I've worn this to work indoors in an A/C environment and have loved the way my skin looks from the moment I put it on to the moment I walk in the door at midnight. This foundation truly is hydrating and comfortable for those with dry to normal skin, and I think it's going to be beautiful in the colder months. For now, I'll stick to wearing it to work! And, the key to it holding up? Pairing it with my next favorite.


Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray // The L'Oreal foundation says on the back to pair with setting spray for longer wear, and boy they weren't kidding. Once I paired the foundation with my UD All-Nighter spray, the foundation really did impress me. I have had this setting spray for ages and never really reach for it because I have Mac fix+ and I find that so refreshing during the hot months, but this one compared really makes your makeup last, where I don't believe that the fix+ does at all. I will definitely be using this way more often and I'm so glad I rediscovered it's magic powers.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge // Funny story - about a month ago my Beauty Blender grew mold. Yes, you read that right. And, naturally I really didn't want to drop another $20 on a makeup sponge, so I decided to go out on a limb and try the sponge from Real Techniques since it has such amazing reviews. Now, it's no Beauty Blender, and there are things I do and don't like. But...for 1/4 of the cost...this makeup sponge is great quality. If you guys would like to see a comparison of the two sponges, let me know below. My favorite thing about the sponge is it's flat end to apply foundation, and it's texture (it isn't too dense and it isn't too airy). I definitely won't go back to the Beauty Blender after trying this for a small fraction of the cost!

Jouer Long Lasting Lip Creme 'Fruit de la Passion' // This is a formula of liquid lipstick that I have been dying to try for ages! And, this paycheck I decided to treat myself to one new item since I haven't bought any new makeup in what feels like forever. I was so impressed with the formula! It is incredibly pigmented, long lasting, it isn't overly drying and it looks flattering on the lips (no settling into lines or flaking, etc.). I love the packaging because it comes in a cool acrylic container that is very angular, and it has divots in the sides so that you can link them together if you own several, so nifty!


Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss 'Candy Coral' // Another lip product I fell in love with this month was another one of my giveaway prizes. I got to choose the color, thought Jason chose this one, so cute! I could not believe the pigmentation of this gloss, I've honestly never seen anything like it! It's a beautiful rich coral shade. It has no tackiness or discomfort on the lips. It is a very glossy appearance with the comfort of a balm almost! I was blown away again by ABH with this product. I love the color because it's so summery. I love that it is practical and comfortable for everyday wear. And, it smells like candy!


Too Faced Love Flush Blush 'Baby Love' // I've talked about the formula of Too Faced Love Flush blushes more than once on the blog because they're one of my favorites. I have several of them and love each one! But this month I gravitated towards an old favorite, Baby Love. It's a really neutral blush that pairs with any look. They're very pigmented, and they blend beautifully. And, while the packaging is adorable, it's also nice and slim so it's easy to store in the makeup collection.


The Body Shop Honey Bronzer '01' // Yet another rediscovery! This bronzer is just a teeny-weeney-bit darker than my skin tone, so I've been loving it for really natural looks on the days that I'm lazy or the days that I head into work. The quality of this product is amazing for the price (they often have great sales where you can get this 40% off). It is such a soft formula, with amazing color payoff and blendability. It feels like an extremely high-end product!


Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Lipstick 'Ex-Girlfriend' // When Urban Decay did their collaboration with Gwen Stefani, they came out with a large assortment of lipsticks, but I limited myself to one. And I chose the one that I think everyone was least impressed with, but not me! I don't think people were expecting a sheer formula of lipstick, but that's exactly what I love about this. It's comfortable for everyday way, it's a brown-nude that transfers beautifully on top of lip liners or by itself, and it has shine. I think the color is beautiful and can be worn so many different ways! The color is actually one of Jason's favorites as well.


L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper 'Light-Medium' // I ran out of Benefit's Gimme Brow about a month ago and I've been scraping the sides of the tube to try and salvage what may be left. Alas, it has reached the garbage can now, I'm not in denial anymore. I'm trying to avoid buying any high-end products (1) to save money and (2) to build up my drugstore collection. So, I picked up the L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper and have been so impressed! It adds great pigmentation to the brows and it really holds them in place. I love that the spooly is small enough for those that don't have giant brows like I do ;) I've actually been wearing this alone for an everyday look instead of filling in my brows prior to.


Nars Sheer Glow Foundation 'Mont Blanc' // I have one more product rediscovery to talk about with you guys, and it's another foundation. I reached for this to do a video one day and I could not stop looking in the mirror. I don't know how it got pushed to the back of my cabinet because I can't remember the last time my skin has looked so incredible! It really smooths out, covers all imperfections, fills pores, and holds up beautifully. I will absolutely be using this more often. The one down-side? It's already very high-end price wise and it doesn't come with a pump, so you have to buy one separately if you don't want to pour directly out of the container every application. Womp womp.

Below you'll find swatches of a few of my favorites from this month.


That is it for my monthly beauty favorites, I hope you guys enjoyed! What were your favorites from this month? Any recommendations? Have a great start to August!

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

THE HIGHLIGHTER TAG!

Hi guys! I hope your week is going well so far! Today's post is a TAG! I love these types of videos and posts because it's a great way to talk about tons of products at one time, and learn a little bit about the personal taste of the person talking about them. A tag post is basically a series of questions you answer, then you tag other people that you want to see do the video as well. I've done several of these over on youtube but I've never transferred them over to written form here on the blog, so I figured I may as well give it a try.


I saw Beauty with Emily Fox start this post with Sally Jo, and it hasn't really made it's way around the beauty world, so let's get the party started!



1. Best packaging?

This is hands-down The Balm Mary Lou Manizer. The packaging on this highlight is not only super secure, but it's also freaking adorable. The Balm always has really fun and creative ideas for packaging their products. The front has a bada** chicky on it getting her mug shot taken. It says that her offense is being too pretty and too popular, way too cute to handle. And, the highlight is bomb too, guess I should mention that ;)



2. Best natural highlight?

This is a toss up between two for me! One is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in the shade Luminous Light, and the other is the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance in Highlight 01. These are both really beautiful highlights that give a simple sheen to the face. The Hourglass powder actually isn't a highlight, it's meant as more of an all-over face powder, but it's a little too opalescent for my taste to bask my whole face in. It's a gorgeous tan champagne shade that just adds a glow that looks like it's coming from within! Laura Mercier Matte Radiance is a baked powder, and I love it because you can build it up if you want it to be more intense, but it's beautiful with just one layer to look natural as well. I'm not usually a fan of baked powders, so this one surprised me!



3. Best going out highlight?

Of course, Becca Champagne Pop is my favorite going out / intense highlight. I don't have another highlighter that is so insanely pigmented. It's so beautiful when it hits the light, and you can use it on the eyes too. The powder is formulated so well, and the shade is a really unique peachy champagne, flattering on all skin tones.



4. Regret Purchasing?

NARS Albatross is the first highlight I ever picked up when I started getting into makeup. I got it because Estee Lalonde (AKA Essie Button) recommended it if you're a fan of NARS blushes (which I am). I just don't find the shade flattering on my skin-tone at all, and I never find myself reaching for it. It's a strange shade because it looks stark white in the pan, and then when swatched it turns into almost a duo-chrome color with gold and yellow. I'm just not a fan!



5. Brand you own the most of / favorite brand of highlights?

I'm sure you guys can guess, but Becca is my favorite brand for highlighters. Their shimmering skin perfectors, liquid and pressed, are my jam. They are so pigmented, so beautiful, and their shade range is stunning!

6. Most used?

My most used is a liquid Becca highlight, the shimmering skin perfector in the shade Moonstone. This highlight is so versatile because it has a tone that goes with any look, and it can be blended out with a beauty sponge for a natural glow on minimal makeup days, or it can be built up for a really intense glow. And, it builds beautifully on liquids and powders, without messing up the look of whatever is underneath it.



7. Least used?

The most recent purchase I've made, for my birthday in April, is the least used in my collection because I haven't gotten the chance to play with it the way that I have other highlighters that I've owned for a long time. Although, from what I have used of them, they are really beautiful powders and I know I'm going to love them!



8. Most expensive?

Hands-down my Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in the shade Starlight is my most spendy item. This costs more than a Becca highlight for almost 1/3 of the product. I don't regret the purchase though! It's so loved because it's the most unique of my highlights and it works beautifully as a blush overlay and an eyeshadow as well, so dual-purpose makes it more justifiable, right? ;) And, the Kevyn Aucoin powders are truly a special formula of powder, like none other that I've tried.



9. Least expensive?

The OFRA collaboration with Dupe That (an Instagram page, I'll link HERE, that dupes and swatches popular and new products) in the shade You Dew You is my least expensive. OFRA always has 30% off coupon codes with Youtubers they associate with, when their prices are already good, so this ended up being $12 or less! And, it's one of the best highlighters I own!



10. Who do you tag?

I tag Anna Manning, Trishh Young, Tiffany Dawn, and Tesia Kuh, all whose names will follow to their youtube channel link in case you guys want to check them out!

What are you favorite highlights? Are you going to do this tag? Let's get it circulating!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

BEST OF THE BEST: TOP 5 LIP GLOSSES

Happy weekend! I hope you guys are enjoying it. Today I'm doing another category from the "best of the best series". If you guys are new here (1) HI, thanks for stopping by! and (2) this series is basically where I choose my top 5 products from a specific category of makeup. Featured today is lip glosses. I am so excited that glosses are coming back into the makeup world because the right ones can really give your lips that juicy look, and they aren't quite as drying as some other lip products tend to be. Let's talk gloss!



Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer // This is probably my absolute favorite lip gloss formula. It is such a comfortable texture because it has no tackiness, it isn't drying, but it's lasting power is still really great. The color selection is beautiful (especially the nudes). They have a minty scent, but they don't give any weird sensations upon application. They wear beautifully, give lots of shine, a juicy look to the lips, and they don't settle into lip lines whatsoever. My favorite way to wear this one is in the center of my lips with a bright pink lip. It adds brightness and fullness to my lips wearing such a pale color this way.

Marc Jacobs Moonglow
NYX Butter Gloss // This is my most recent purchase, and I honestly can't believe that I have never tried anything from NYX before. I was so beyond impressed with their gloss. It smells nice and faintly of vanilla; it is incredibly comfortable and smooth on the lips. It's so dang affordable ($4.99), and it's just as good if not better than many high-end glosses, I highly recommend! I love that the doe foot applicator on this gloss is very sturdy and doesn't flex too much with application, it allows for exact placement where you actually want the product to go. Basically with good and bad doe foots - it's the difference between and adult and a toddler trying to fill in a coloring book, except when a toddler does it, it's adorable.

NYX Vanilla Cream Pie
Buxom Full-On Lip Cream // Maybe this doesn't call itself a gloss, but I say it's a gloss, so there. I've loved these Buxom creams for a long time. Their shade range is amazing, and the darker shades have some serious pigmentation. These have a minty sensation and almost like a tingling upon application (wouldn't recommend for those with sensitive lips), but whatever this does it seriously plumps up your lips and makes them look extra juicy. It isn't uncomfortable in my personal experience, it's almost cooling, and a little addictive! I love that these give so much shine, but they last a very long time on the lips, probably because of their more tacky formula. This is not one of the glosses you want to wear with your hair down, because you'll end up with a mouthful of hair if the wind is blowing.

Buxom White Russian, Rose Julep,
Peach Daiquiri (left to right)
Bite Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss // Bite Beauty is an awesome brand because they make their ingredients 100% edible - I mean, think of all the lip product we beauty gurus ingest in a day! These are made with lots of fruit extracts, and they seriously smell and taste like a fresh fruit salad, it's incredible. These are the tackiest of my bunch of lip glosses, so hair up if you're wearing these. While that might seem annoying to some, I actually like that for the occasions that I need a longer lasting product. I love the packaging on these as well because they are nice, simple, and sleek with a rubberized lid that makes them easy to twist open. The container lets you see the color of gloss, and it's nice and compact, so it's easy to throw in a purse for on-the-go days. I would also like to mention that I think that these are a pretty sheer formula, so they are great for layering over other lip products as well.

Bite Beauty Rambutan,
Currant (left to right)
NARS Lip Gloss // This is another favorite of mine (what am I saying, they all are). This is probably my most used lip gloss of the bunch, mostly because of the shade, Chelsea Girls, the absolute perfect natural everyday lip color. These glosses are extremely smooth and comfortable, no tackiness whatsoever, and no scent. The packaging is great because it's nice and slim, with the classic NARS matte black lid. My only complaint? If you're wearing this for a long period of time, it will start to settle into the lip lines a tad, but nothing major.

NARS Chelsea Girls
Those are my top 5 glosses! Below are swatches of all the gloss formulas mentioned and the shades that I own of those formulas.


Do you like glosses? What are you favorites?

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

REVIEW | L'OREAL INFALLIBLE PRO-GLOW

Hey y'all! I hope you guys are having a great start to your week. If you're a follower of beauty on youtube or really any social media, you've probably seen lots of hype and talk about the new L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Glow Foundation. The Pro-Matte has been around for quite awhile now and is raved about and loved by beauty gurus everywhere, so everyone kind of freaked out when they came out with a Pro-Glow very recently. Almost every store you walk into is extremely limited on color selection because it's just getting attacked off the shelves that sell beauty products. I decided that I wanted to see for myself. So, below is a video review with all the facts, and a little bit of my day vlogged as well, but if you guys want to skip that, I'll give you the low-down below as well!


The facts

This foundation is meant to be specific to normal to dry skin types, and has a lot of different claims - one of which is a 24-hour lasting power - I bet that has you doing a double take, right? 

It comes in a 1oz. squeezy tube (which is a little messy considering the consistency of this foundation if you ask me). But, thank you to L'Oreal for putting a seal on the inside so that non of the gals or guys at the drugstore could test shades and snag any product out of my tube! It retails for $12.99 at Rite Aid, and most drugstores. I purchased the shade 202, Creamy Natural. The line carries 12 shades, a lot of which are geared towards lighter and medium skin tones, leaving out the dark range, which is pretty disappointing. Generally, I would go with the lightest shade (I'm basically a ghost), but it looked extremely yellow in tone, so I went one up for more of a neutral undertone.


The back of the tube gives you all of the ingredients, application technique suggestions, and the claims of the foundation. It says that the finish is radiant, wears up to 24 hours, coverage is medium, and texture is air light. It suggests shaking well, and rolling onto the skin for flawless coverage (to me, this signals that a sponge would be the perfect application technique). This also contains 20 SPF!


My experience

If you watch the video, you'll see that my first impression was that this foundation is absolutely air-light. It feels extremely comfortable on the skin, and the consistency is very thin and runny (which does make the squeeze tube quite a mess in my personal experience). Not much product is needed to cover the skin, and it is indeed medium coverage, and buildable. It does have a faint SPF scent as well.

My skin type is generally pretty normal, but my acne medication was just diagnosed too harsh for my sensitive skin, so my dry patches are excessive right now, my skin is peeling heavily in the areas around my chin and mouth, so some extra hydration throughout the day really appealed to me with this foundation. It was definitely very hydrating for my skin, which made it really comfortable, unlike many foundations for my current skin situation. And, it didn't break me out, major success!

The finish of this foundation is definitely radiant as it describes. It gives the skin a truly beautiful glow that even peeks through a powder. The finish is very natural and luminous, the way it applies to the skin really is beautiful. 

I did half of my face with the beauty blender and half with my foundation brush, and found that the beauty blender was much more successful for my skin. The foundation brush side looked a tad streaky and caught on my dry patches, whereas the side with the beauty sponge had a flawless application.

Day 1 Test

As far as my personal wear experience, the first day that I wore this foundation, I was extremely oily by the end of the day, and there was major settling in my smile lines. This day I was very active, in the sun, and in front of a ring light filming several videos for the day. Luckily, the foundation becomes more luminous with wear, it doesn't wear off too much or become patchy the longer you wear. However, considering all this, I would definitely NOT recommend for those with oily skin!

I give day 1 a little slack because, I don't like to judge from just one day, considering conditions do affect foundations. I was outside a lot of the day running around (literally), my apartment was probably well over 90 degrees, so I was literally butt sweating through the whole day, probably not the best conditions for a first impression! So, I went on to day 2 test.

After application (12:26am)
Approx. 9 hours of wear (9:40pm)
Settling in smile lines
Extremely greasy in t-zone
Foundation rubbed off on chin area,
exposed redness and blemishes
Day 2 Test

The second day I tried this foundation, I wore it to work. It is cool inside the building, but I do a large amount of fast walking consistently, and lifting as well, so I do heat up a bit. To my surprise, my foundation held up so much better day 2! My blemishes were poking through and spots were revealed, as well as a bit of creasing around the nose and settling in the smile lines, but for 11 full hours of wear, I was way more blown away than day 1. I think the key is that direct sunlight, heat, and humidity aren't this foundation's friends. To be fair, the back does suggest reapplication every 2 hours (which is just ridiculous). But, for 11 hours with my busy job, huge thumbs up!

I've tried this foundation several days after my first impression video and continue to like it more and more. I think that this foundation will actually wear a lot better in the coming months for fall and winter, when the sun and heat doesn't make natural oils come out even more than usual. When I wear this to work where I am not in direct summer heat and sunlight, my skin looks absolutely flawless at the end of the day! I also want to mention that cream and powder products build so beautifully on top of this foundation. And, powder products stay beautifully in tact throughout wear as well, especially on the cheeks (my bronzer, highlight, and blush were perfection at the end of the day).

After applicaton (2:29pm)
After application (2:29pm)
After full work day (1:26am)
 ~11 hours of wear
Final thoughts

I can't wait to keep trying this foundation out, but I definitely suggest giving it a go for those with dry skin like myself. It didn't cling to my dry flakey areas like many products do, and it actually gave them a little hydration boost, and sun protection!

I also suggest it for those looking to an alternative for higher end luminous foundations like Laura Mercier Candleglow or Becca Aqua Luminous. But, so far? I'm impressed L'Oreal! I wouldn't say it blew me out of the water (I think all the hype had my expectations a little too high), but for $12.99, heck yeah it's good!

Have you guys given this foundation a go? Do you plan on it? What's your favorite drugstore foundation?