New Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick: Barely Bloomed

So Maybelline has release a new line of Color Sensational Lipsticks for 2015! I did stumble upon them last weekend and picked up one of the shades because I was really in the market for a new nude. The one I purchased was Barely Bloomed, a warm peach toned lipstick. 

Barley Bloomed is a creamy consistency and while it is opaque, it does apply a little patchy so I suggest wearing a lip liner underneath. With a lipliner this did hole up a good three hours for me and that included eating and drinking! 

The Color Sensational line is probably my favorite affordable lipstick line. You can see previous swatches of other CS lipsticks here 

As mentioned in my a Collective Haul Video, I did purchase a nude lip liner by Colour Pop called Skimpy. This is the perfect match for Barely Bloomed. Skimpy is a warmer nude with a little bit of a deeper brown undertone so it adds a nice dimension to the lips when Barely Bloomed is applied on top.

Have you picked up any of the new Color Sensational Lipsticks for 2015!? Let me know your favorites

Collective Haul: Ulta, Colour Pop, Sephora

August 2014 Favorites

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. Today I am sharing with you my August Favorites. I don't know about anyone else but I am so ready for Fall! I'm not the biggest fan of summer because I get super cranky in the heat but give me my blankets and a cup of hot chocolate and I am a happy camper! A lot of these products are rediscovered products since I have been on a low buy for some time but these are still really great products to try out if you haven't already!

On my nails this month I have ben loving Zoya's Lola.I've worn this a few times this month and it's a really pretty bright cool toned pink with blue/purple duochrome shimmer. Perfect for summer!

On my cheeks I have been wearing a rediscovered product a ton and that is TheBalm's Hot Mama Blush. It's a peach pink with gold shimmer. This blush is so so shimmery!!! but not in a chunky way. I had this on and I caught a glipse of myself in the mirror and literally had to think back to recall if I had put highlighter on my cheekbones because there was such a strong presence of the gold shimmer on my cheek. I would even say skip the highlighter when you use this blush. If you like peachy pinks I definitely recommend this one especially over Nars Orgasm just because i think it's a smoother application and less expensive!

 

My highlight fav. of the month is Benefit's Watt's Up. I'm just jumping on the bandwagon with this one and only becuase I received a sample of it but I do really enjoy this as a highlight - it's a cream to powder champagne highlight. I have a post about it here.

For my hair I have been loving using this styling wand by Remmington (I use the 1/2" to 1") I'll start by saying that this isn't even mine but my sisters! 

It has 3 levels of heat - I always use the highest level. I tried this one day after I got home from work on a Friday and didn't feel like washing my hair and it worked SO well on my 3rd day hair! the only negative about this is that for me, it ONLY works on my really dirty hair. I find the curls created with the wand hold up better than when I use my straightener to make waves - idk if that has anything to do with the product itself or not. I love using the wand a lot better than a curling iron or a straightener becuase I can keep the ends of my hair straight - I just really like that look and I can accomplish it really easily with the wand - I definitely want to try one with a thicker barrell - I know the NuMe wand is big right now on YouTube and they are giving tons of beauty channels codes for our use.

 

I have been loving a couple of lip products this month.  Love Love Love the Rimmel Show Off Liquid Lip Lacquer  in Celestial. Color payoff is amazing and it feels really comfortable on the lips! I got about 2-3 hours wear out of this. o\One down side is that it does leave your lips feeling a bit dry so I have been using a soft lips balm underneath this product.

 

The other lipstick i have been enjoying is the Revlon Pink About It Matte Lipstick– So I contemplating selling this in a blog sale but decided to give it one more go and ended up really liking it. Unfortunately, I jut looked it up online and saw that it's been discontinued! Pink About it Is a medium bright pink shade. On some it may even look a bit coral and pull more pink with orange undertone. The formula is not too drying for a matte finish - probably the most comfortable matte I own to wear.

My favorite skin care product this month is an AHA which is a collection of compounds such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, etc. The AHA I have been using is a drugstore brand called Alpha Hydrox with 10% Glycolic AHA. I use this as an exfoliant, instead of a harsh scrub and it has made my skin so much smoother and very soft. 

Top to Bottom: Hot Mama, Celestial, Pink About It

What products have you been loving this month!?

Lancome Rouge In Love: Corail In Love 322

Happy Friday Eve! I took a couple of days off of work for my birthday, which was yesterday, to hang out around the house and hit up the beach. 

My birthday dinner was very low key with my mother, sister and boyfriend at a cute little restaurant at a marina nearby. My lipstick of choice for the evening was this gorgeous Lancome Rouge In Love lipstick in the shade Corail in Love #322. I think I got this lipstick during the Sephora Friends and Family sale last year. I saw a swatch of it on Instagram and immediately added it to my cart.

This is my only Rouge in Love shade but it's one of those staple, everyday pinky coral shades. The Rouge in Love lipsticks are meant to provide a balm like consistency that wears for hours. 

The Rouge in Love lipstick glides on super smooth and provides a glossy finish to start. One coat gave me a nice tint and then became more opaque when I applied a second layer.  I found that after a couple of hours wear, the glossiness wore off and I was left with more of a stain. When the sheen wore off I also felt my lips become very dry.

In the photo below I applied Corail in Love over a neutral NYX lip liner. As you can see it still settled in the lines of my lips. 

Overall, the Rouge in Love line offers a great selection of colors and a formula that will satisfy some. For me personally, its not my most favorite formula but I do enjoy the effects of it for the first couple of hours if wear. My main concern, being the dryness, is easily fixd by applying another coat and achieving that glossy, moisturizing sheen again. 

Do you own any of the Lancôme Rouge in Love lipsticks? Are there any shades in the range that you want to try? 

Fall Essentials: Cosmetics

Hello Ladies! My apologies for not updating as much as I would like. I am in the middle of searching for a new job OH and catching up on Scandal :)

While it is not yet feeling like October over here on the East Coast yet, I can't help but begin to fall in love all over again with my autumn  essential beauty products.

During the fall months I really like to play up my eyes and use shadows that are going to bring out my blue/green hues. There are a few shadows that really exaggerate the green in my eyes. I really love cranberry shades during this time of year. I always use Mac's Cranberry but NYX makes a great dupe called Rust. In my opinion,

cranberry shadow is a must have for anyone with blue or green eyes and looks great paired with gold shadows in the crease. 

I also love deep bronzier shades during this type of year. My favorites are Woodwinked and Bronze my MAC. On lighter skin tones like myself (NC20) Bronze is a bit more dramatic than an everyday neutral bronze. 

Woodwinked is another great eyeshadow choice for the autumn months because when it is applied to the lid it appears as a beautiful bronze shadow with some orange tones that pop much like the leaves during this time of year. 

On my lips I always have my Mocha Rose Lip Balm. I found this in my local beauty supply store but CO Bigelow's balm is very similar. It is a vaseline type texture and moisturizes the lips very well.

Benefit's Full Finish Lipstick in Lady's Choice is the perfect nude for me in the fall time. It is very much so "my lips but better" shade. Lady's choice is a pink nude with a touch of brown, giving it a very neutral appearance. The formula is amazing - very rich and creamy. Is is very glossy so a lipgloss is not necessary when wearing any of the Full Finish lipsticks by Benefit. 

For a more vampy lip I always reach for MAC's Rebel. Rebel is a fuschia/merlot berry shade with a semi shine finish. I love this because it's not the most extreme bold but definitely enough for that 'vampy' effect.

If I'm looking to add a gloss over my lipstick or by itself Baremineral's Buxom Lipgloss in Dolly is a nice muted plum shade. These lip glosses are known for the tingling sensation on your lips once applied. The gloss is supposed to plump your lips but it does not have that effect on me. If your lips are insensitive to tingly sensations and that menthol feeling you will love this lipgloss - the shade is beautiful and it contains a little bit of shimmer as well. (swatch posted below. 

There are a couple of blushes in my collection that exude fall to me. One is Pallido's baked blush in Choc-au-lait. This is a beautiful auburn shade. That sounds a little bit scary when describing a blush but on my NC 20 skin, it really warms up my face and gives it a glow from with in appearance. You only need a touch of the brush because a little goes a long way! The pigmentation is very impressive and the lasting power is great for such an inexpensive blush.

Another blush I am a fan of during the fall is Milani's baked blush in Berry Amour. This is a soft berry shade with pink, rose, and gold veining throughout so it's not a harsh berry shade when mixed all together. There is some shimmer in this blush and it can be a little chunky but it just takes some blending for that to dissipate.

To add a bit of glow to my skin during the dry months I use MACs Cream Color Base in Hush. Hush is a nice pink champagne color that makes your skin come alive when applied to the cheek bones. It is a tid bit difficult to work with but as you warm the product up with your fingers is becomes easier to blend.

Finally, I am adding a base to this post because it really gives off a dewiness to your skin that is much needed in the dry air. I am talking about Tarte's Marajuca Creaseless Concealer. When I apply this to my under eye area I look so refreshed and awake. It brightens and adds a natural looking sheen. I have a full review and swatches of Tarte's concealer here.

I am definitely going to be doing a fall essentials series - within the next couple of weeks I will share my essential nail polishes and skin care products for fall :)

What are your fall beauty must haves?

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks: Review, Photos and Swatches!

By now, I am sure you are all aware of Urban Decay's Revolution lipsticks that hit the shelves a couple of months ago. These have been quiet popular in the beauty community and it's not really a mystery as to why!

Urban Decay's Revolution Lipsticks come in 22 gorgeous shades that range from nude, to pink, to berry, to bold red. The formula is probably their best feature. The Revolution lipsticks are incredibly nourishing and are really creamy when applied. They are opaque after a swipe of two across the lips. These lipsticks are formulated with jojoba oil, avacado oil, cocoa butter and shea butter so your lips appear nice and shiny! Normally, with the more moisturizing lipsticks, they tend to have a short life span, but I find these lipsticks to be very long wearing. I get about 3-4 hours wear before I need to re-apply.

The lipsticks come in a gunmetal bullet like casing. It's kind of sleep, yet edgy at the same time. I have to say I am a fan.

I have two shades: Obsessed, which I purchased from Sephora. I also have a mini version of Anarchy which I was so tempted to purchase but very fortunate that it came in my August Ipsy bag! 

Obsessed is a creamy baby, almost bubblegum pink. 

Anarchy is a gorgeous bright fuchsia

These could very well by my new favorite line of lipsticks! I am itching to go purchase some of their nude shades.

Have you tried the Revolution Lipsticks - which shades are your favorite?!

July 2013 Beauty Favorites

Hello lovlies. I am finally getting around to posting a monthly favorites!

 Lets start with the roots! The BigSexyHair dry shampoo is the only dry shampoo (other than when I used baby powder way back when) that I have tried but I find it to be good stuff! I usually put this in my hair either the day after I wash my hair or on the third day. It gives your hair a thick, almost dry texture but even on the third day it gives you a second day look. BigSexyHair Dry Shampoo also provides great volume with no teasing necessary. Tousling your hair will provide it enough lift for nice volume. The one trait of this product that could make or break it for some people is the scent. It smells like coco coffee. I don't mind it at all, but if you are scent sensitive this may not be the dry shampoo for you.

Filling in my brows has been an overall favorite of mine during the months of June and July. I always thought my brows were dark enough but after using mac espresso to filly my brows in - I feel like my whole look changes! 

Along with Mac's Espresso eyeshadow, another favorite for the month of july is this angled brush from Crown Brush. The bristles are stiff so it works well for precision. 

Mac's Coral Bliss Lipstick is a practically perfect coral lipstick for summer. It's a creamsheen so it's nice and moisturzing on the lips and it provides a slight sheen. It's not too pink, peach, or orange - it's a perfect blend of all three! Normally creasheen's don't last very long but I find they last a couple of hours with a good lipliner.

Maybelline's Fit Me Blush in Medium Neutral is just a blush I've been wearing to give my face a very subtle flush. I have had this for a while but was not so enthused with it until now. It just provides a very pale rosy color to my cheeks and it does have a nice sheen to it. These are VERY sheer. Even the swatch below took a lot of building up before it came through in a photo. I was very into minimal makeup this July, and even throughout the summer so this was an easy choice for a daily blush - and it was only $5 :)

I know a lot of beauty bloggers are over the BB cream craze but the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream is very appealing to me! I wear this a couple of different ways. Sometimes I will use this as both my moisturizer and foundation, add some concealer and set it all with a little powder and head out the door. Sometimes I apply 2 layers to even out my skin tone and add a touch of either Nars Sheer Glow or the Revlon Colorstay Whipped foundation over top. It's a very hydrating BB cream so it does give a dewey look until you set it. My skin appears brighter and very even toned when I wear this as just my base. It comes out of the tube almost looking like a mix between a mousse and a cream. One negative to this is the scent. It has a strong smell like alcohol that's not pleasant, but it does dissipate after it's bended in.

I am so upset to have hit pan on my Mac's Prolongwear Sun Dipped Bronzer. Sun Dipped really warms up my face without looking muddy or orange. It lasts all day and the packaging is so perfect. I have a full review of this bronzer here. 

I started using the Sally Hansen Airbrushed Legs  at end of June when my tan really started to become apparent. I have the shade medium for  a little extra color on my legs, but what I really love this stuff for is how flawless it makes your legs look. This covers up any bruises or other imperfections you have on your legs. The spray makes your legs to appear to be wearing nude stockings. I don't know how you should apply it but I spray the product from the aerosol can into my hands and rub it all over my legs. This might sound like my legs would look really uneven with this method but this is a streak free product! Great for summer months when you are looking to show off a little leg!

Welp, those are my monthly favorites! I have already begun making notes of my August favorites - maybe I will post in time for September :)

FOTD: Using past favorites

Hi girls, Happy Memorial Day Weekend! 

First off just let me say sorry for not posting any nail posts. My nails have been in awful shape and I am trying to get them back to the standards that I want in order to post :)

Anyway, I have not really done a face of the day yet and wanted to show you guys what I have been wearing pretty much everyday with the exception of my lip color. A lot of these products you will recognize from my fast few monthly favorites. I have been really obsessed with creating super white inner corners of my eyes and translating it to the middle of my lid. I think it helps me look even more 'awake' and bright. I accomplish this by using my mac painterly paint pot and using Wet N Wild's Brule all over my lid. Brule is a few shades lighter than my skintone. For my inner corners NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is a great way to brighten up the inner corner. To line my eyes I used L'Oreal's liner intense felt tip liner and applied a few coats of L'Oreal's million lashes mascara.

For my foundation I am wearing my new favorite base - Revlon's Colorstay Whipped. I have grown to love this even more than my Nars, which I have been using for 3 years. The wear time on this foundation is amazing and I find it gets better as the day goes on. I do have a post on this but I do ahve to say that I recently wore it to my sister's graduation this past week in 85 degree weather, and it held up! amazing. I always set it with my Mac MSFN!

On my cheeks I am still obsessing over Mac's Cream Soda Blush.

Recently, I have been wearing brighter lip colors, but in this photo I have on Mac's Shy Girl lipstick and Revlon's lipgloss in Peach Petal

The Best of: Spring and Summer Lip Products

As the temperature rises, my lips get brighter! Right now, the drugstore has some amazing products that make me question whether I need to purchase another high end lipstick ever again. 

I get a lot more brave in the summer with brighter lipsticks/glosses..

Since everyone has been talking about the Revlon Lip Butter's I will start with those and get them out of the way! The lip butters are great for summer because they have a hydrating formula. I have two of the new colors - Juicy Papaya and Wild Watermelon. The pigmentation of these two are a little different -Juicy Papya is pretty sheer and needs a bit of layering to bring out it's warm peach/coral shade. I like to layer one sheer coat of wild watermelon so it looks like a red stain. The lip butters have a shiny finish and are really comfortable to wear. Revlon lip butters

The Maybelline Vivids are also really popular, with good reason. My go to shade this summer will definitely be Shocking Coral. The formula on these lipsticks is so amazing and the color range is great. I have a full post on the Vivids here.

NYX butter lip glosses are very pigmented glosses and feel really smooth once applied. I have two shades: Peaches and Cream and Cherry Cheese Cake, which is bizarre because the shade is orange. The texture of these butter glosses is really creamy. One coat gives a nice pop of color, but you can build these up to look really opaque. NYX's butter glosses have a decent lasting power, a couple of hours or so.

Finally, I am including a Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Sunset Kiss gloss in Orange Rush. I picked up on a whim the other day. I loved the ombre effect in the bottle and purchased it! Orange Rush is a sheer  gloss with gorgeous gold shimmer in it. It is a little thick for my liking - but a gorgeous gloss nonetheless. 

Swatches Left to Right: Maybelline Shocking Coral, Revlon Jusy Papaya, Wild Watermelon, NYX Peaches and Cream, Cherry Cheese Cake, Victoria Secret Sunset

what are your must have summer lip products?