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!?

Pink-Peach Ombre Nails

Hello lovelies! Today I am sharing a different take on an 'ombré' mani. I created this type of manicure a while back using different greens which you can see here: http://nicnacksnails.blogspot.com/2011/08/green-striped-mani.html?m=0

This time I brightened it up why using China Glazes Peachy Keen as the base. Then staring at the right side if my nails I applied a strip of Revlon's Passionate Pink followed by a strip of Sally Hansen's Coral Reef. 

I love this kind of manicure for when you want something fun to look at but you don't have much time for nail art. 

One recommendation I would suggest if you attempt to recreate this look is to use easy to work with, thinner polishes. These formulas were on the thicker side and if I had to go back a touch up I had to work with the polish so it didn't become a globby mess, if that's even a word. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Don't forget to comment and follow :)

August 2013 Beauty Favorites

Hello! I hope the start of your long day weekend is going well for all of you who celebrate labor  day! I am sharing my monthly favorites for the official last month of summer. I have so many mixed feelings about this time of year because while I love summer and it makes me sad to see it go, I absolutely love fall! I love the weather, the makeup, the fashion, and of course all the pumpkin flavored goodies! Oh well time will go on and I will proceed with my monthly favs!

I have a few lip products to share so I will begin with those. 

I never got in the habit of using a lip liner but I purchased NYX's lip liner in Nude Pink to help even out my lips and provide a base for my lipsticks. It goes well under any lipstick and helps in making my lipstick last longer than it normally would. Nude pink it just slightly lighter than my natural lip color which is great because it helps which ever lipstick i apply go on more true to color.

When I was planning on a night out in August, I would reach for Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable LipBalm Stain. I have the shade Sweetheart Valentine which is a vibrant pink. I love this because it's a very light weight product but it still provides your lips with a little bit of moisture. The Just Bitten Kissable LipBalm's have a slight sheen to them. As far as the staying power of the color - I would say I get about 3 hours out of it.

NYX Lip Butter Gloss in Peaches and Cream is a really pretty bright pink shade. I have been doing really simple eyes this month any playing up either my cheeks or lips. I like wearing Peaches and 

Cream for a pop of pink.

I have been experimenting with a couple of concealers recently but Tarte's Maracuja Creaseless  Concealer has been a favorite of mine this month. It is the most cream and moisturizing concealer that provides my under eye with a dewey finish. It stays put all day without creasing - full review here!

My blush of choice this month was Chanel's JC Blush in In Love - this I purcased off e bay. It was an authentic sample but I did not really care. I actually did not care for it the first few times I used it but it has really grown on me. There are photos and swatches here 

For mascara I have really enjoyed Maybelline's The Rocket. It provides nice volume and applies so easily! I have a full review of this mascara here

I included my MAC MSFN in this months favorites becuase I recently ran out and thought I would try something new. I ended up returning what I purchased because it just did not provide the flawless finish the MAC MSFN does for me. I wear the shade Medium plus for NC20. MAC's MSFN is really light weight and lasts all day. I find myself touching up about after 7 hours. 

Those are my August favorites! Thanks for stopping by and feel free to share some of your monthly favs in the comments below :)

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?

Spring 2013 Makeup: Pinks and Peaches

Hello beauties. I am so happy to be writing this post because it means spring is here and summer is on it's way. Today I am going to share with you my favorite peaches and pinks to wear throughout the next few months. 

As far as nail polishes go Revlon's Passionate Pink, and China Glaze's Peach Keen, and High Hopes all scream spring to me. They are refreshing, bright shades! I have done posts on all of these colors seen here, here, and here.

I love coraly, peach blushes during this season! I think they just look so nice with bronzed skin. I just know I will be wearing Mac's Cream Soda blush that was recently released with the Archie's Girls Collection. This may be sold out online, but definitely check out your Mac counters or stores! Another blush I love for this time of year is Mac's Springsheen. On warm toned ladies, this looks really nice. This is a peachy shimmer shade that offers a really nice glowing cheek. This is a bit sheer but it's great for when you want a subtle peach glow. Swatched below I also have Illamasqua's Lover blush which shattered, unfortunately :( Lover is more of a apricot matte blush but so so beautiful and will look great on a large span of skintones

A few lip-products that I love during this season are Mac's Dazzleglass in Extra Amps, Benefits Ultra Shine lipgloss in Spiked Punch and Mac's Lipstick in Chatterbox. Extra Amps is great because it is so super sparkly and looks great when the sun shines on your lips. Benefits Spiked Punch has super little shimmer and is a really nice peachy sheer gloss.

Mac's Chatterbox is what I purchased to mimic True Blood's Sooki's hot pink lipstick shade she wore the first few seasons. Chatterbox is a cool opaque pink that's not super in your face bright, but it stands out at the same time

While, I don't have any pinks or peaches I wear on my eyes, I did not want to go on with this post without mentioning one shade I love to wear on my lids in the spring. Mac's All That Glitters is a shimmery beige that is so simple to wear along or with a lighter crease color like soft brown, or a deeper shade like Espresso. 

Top to bottom: Mac Extra Amps, Benefit Spiked Punch, Mac Chatterbox

From top to bottom: Mac Springsheen, Mac Cream Soda, Mac All That Glitters,  Illamasqua Lover

What are some of your pink//peach spring must haves?

xxx

Revlon Colorstay Provence

I have been in the mood for some pale shades recently and discovered this gem from the Revlon Colorstay nail polish line. (They also have a really nice pale yellow shade called Buttercup that I have my eye on). This shade is called Provence - a very muted pale purple creme. 

This formula is pretty nice (maybe just a tad thick), I was able to achieve this in 2 coats. 

Do you own and/or love any of the shades form the Revlon Colorstay Range?

Revlon Scented Nail Polish Mint Gelato

This is a bit of a throw back found in the archives of my Picasa. 

This lovely shade of mint is Revlon's Mint Gelato, from their scented polish line.

This really does have a nice scent of mint to it - almost chocolate mint! This polish is a jelly so it is very sheer and took around 3 coats for opacity.
This reminds me of a greener version of China Glaze's For Audrey.
These polishes are really shiny but I do hate wearing polish without a top coat but you could definitely get away without it.

Thanks for reading xox


P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway that ends on February 19th!
Also check out my blog sale link at the top of my page

January 2013 Favorites

It is my favorite time of the month! Favorites posts & videos. This month I have been focusing on my skin and have not been doing much makeup, mostly because I am too lazy in the morning at 7:30AM to do a complete face. Since this is also my first favorites I thought I would show you essential products that are ALWAYS in my makeup/beauty routine 

• BareMinerals The Shinging Moment Limunizer: review here
• Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation review here. 
• Mac Careblend Powder This is my first compact but it is quite a nice powder. It's very smooth and gives nice coverage. Prior to this I used the Mac MSFN but I broke mine, unfortunately.  find this has a little bit more coverage than the MSFN.
• L'Oreal Liner Intense felt tip liner I have been using this for years now. It's the only liner I will use on my upper lash line.  It allows you to draw such precise lines and it lasts ALL DAY.
• Nars Luster: Nars blushes are hands down my favorite. I purchased this because this seems to be in everyone's top three Nars blushes. It is a nice apricot shade with gold shimmers. It's a great everyday blush, going out blush, I wanna be lazy and wear minimal makeup blush lol - seriously, it's great with any kind of look. I find Nars blushes to be very long lasting as well. 
• Elizabeth Arden body lotion + Perfume. I found this while cleaning out my bathroom cabinets. I'm assuming I received it in a gift set and just never used it. I am so glad I found it because the scent is a lovely fresh burst of green tea. It lingers quiet nicely also. I also found a sample size of this in it's perfume form - lovely as well! I would suggest being careful if you have sensitive skin. I did read a lot of negative reviews saying the body lotion gave them a rash. 
• Origins A Perfect World Antioxidant Moisturizer with white tea +  A Perfect World White Tea skin guardian. During Cyber Monday I was browsing the Origins site and found The Perfect World set that contained these two products plus a face wash and toner. The brand states that this line has all of these wonderful anti-aging benefits which was what I was looking for. These two items really stood out to me. My skin has been drier than usual this winter and I find this is the only moisturizer in my small collection that really moisturizes my skin enough. I apply this morning and night as soon as I wash my face. There have been complaints that this doesn't sink into the skin right away but I always apply my moisturizer when my skin and hands are damp to help it absorb into my skin quicker. I love the scent of this! The white tea gives it a very soothing and relaxing feeling. The skin guardian has been my go to 'primer.' While this is not it's purpose it does have silicone (which does not effect my skin negatively) so it does a good job at filling in pores and fine lines. It makes your skin feel like silk! The main purpose of this is to protect your skin from pollutants in the air. I really like it as a barrier for my skin.I have not been using these products enough to see anti aging benefits but they are lovely products nonetheless. 
• C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve - for my lips I have not been sticking to one specific color but I always  put this on my lips - it is basically glorified vaseline but it smells much nicer (it also comes in mint and strawberry I believe). This stuff is also great if you have try patches of skin or problem cuticles

What are some of your monthly favorites?

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation Review

I never thought I would give a raving review to a Drugstore foundation after using my Nars Sheer Glow for almost 3 years but, here I am...

I recently purchased Revlon's Colorstay Whipped foundation in #24, Sand Beige. I am NC 20, normal to dry skin for reference. 

My first impressions  after opening the container right off the bat I could see it is was a very thick consistency, so that made me a little nervous to put it on my face. While I enjoy medium coverage foundations, as everyone else...I don't like to feel like I am wearing a ton of makeup. 

Luckily, the texture of this foundation is really nice. It blends really easily when applied with the fingers making it pretty nice to work with. As I work it into my skin, I noticed it feels really silky and glides on really well. To me, this is a whipped creme. A lot of people are referring to it as a mousse but it by no means as that airy texture a mouse has.

Application I heard was the trickiest part of this foundation. I have only applied this foundation with my fingers and I find that that method works really well. I simply dot it onto the areas on my face where I would like coverage and then rub it in. I let the first layer dry and then add a slightly thinner layer to areas where I have some spot scarring. To make sure it is all blended I use a flat top brush to ensure it looks even and smooth.

Colorstay whipped offers really great coverage and as I said before, you can totally layer it without it looking cakey or like you are wearing a mask of foundation. 

This foundation provides great longevity as well. In fact, I think it looks better throughout the day. I do set it with a powder to help it stay in place. With this foundation I find I am not touching up with powder throughout the day which is amazing.

  

Considering what I have paid in the past for foundation, I find the price very affordable product. The first drugstore I found it in priced it at 14.99. I found it for cheaper at Target for 11.99.

I know many find the packaging to be a con, which if you are really bothered by unhygienic  jars I can completely understand. However, I love the glass container it comes in. It reminds me of Chanel's  cream bronzer.

  

 

Here is the finished product on my face

This has quickly become my new favorite foundation and I highly recommend it to anyone on the hunt for a long lasting, med-full coverage foundation. 

Have you tried Revlon's Colorstay Whipped foundation?

Drugstore Haul // January 2013 Birchbox

Last Friday I went on a little drugstore adventure trying to find the Wet N Wild Fergie Collection. I failed, but in the meantime I got a few other really great products. 

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation: Up until now I have been a complete high end only foundation snob. For whatever reason I was researching some drugstore foundations. I watched a lot of positive reviews and demo's of the colorstay whipped so I picked it up - full review to come soon.

 

I happened to watch a D/S haul video before I left to go shopping and the video featured these Maybelline Colorsensational Vivid lipsticks. I was also in search for the Maybelline Whispers, but the display I found was whipped out. I purchased 895 On Fire Red and 870 Shocking Coral. 

Finally, I picked up a bronzer. I'm not much of a bronzer girl but I heard that the Revlon Colorstay Whipped can pull a little grey, but that it's easily fixed with powder and bronzer. I purchased Physicians Formula's Glow-Boosting Season-to-Season Bronzer. I got this particular one because it was the lightest one. There is shimmer in it but it is not overpowering. 

When I returned home from the drugstore, my first Birchbox for 2013 was in the mail.

It came with:

2 100% pure body creams

the eyeko skinny felt tip liquid liner

Ojon argon oil

an Arie Shimmer perfume

and Embryolisse Laire-Creme Concentrate

 
I love that 2 of these products (the Laite-Creme and the Eyeko liner) are items I would not normally be able to purchase in the US.

Do you subscribe to any beauty boxes? Which ones?

What's in my Makeup Bag?

Hello girls! Today I am going to share with you what I keep in my makeup bag. These are essentials that I need with me if I know I am going to be out of the house all day. 

I use this VS makeup bag - it's a decent size to hold all of my things :)

First things first, powder...

Mac Careblend Powder - There are two things that I must carry around with me. Powder is one of them. I recently switched to the Mac Careblend powder which is much more travel friendly than the MAC MSFN which is another powder I love. The Mac Careblend powder comes in an enclosed case with a mirror and puff. It gives a very natural finish providing light to medium coverage depending on application.

Garnier Tinted Roller Ball - The other essential product I must have with me is THIS concealer. ALWAYS This has been a HG product of mine for the last year or so (will do a proper review of it). I always have this with me if I feel I'm looking tired. It brightens the under-eye area instantly.

Maybelline Full N' Soft - my all time favorite Mascara. I can apply this throughout the day with out brushing through dry crusty mascara that result in clumpy lashes

Spot Concealer - recently I have been carrying around the NYX HD photogenic concealer. But I do have a few on rotation in case my concealer wears off throughout the day.

Rimmel Special Eyes Pencil Eyeliner - For nights when I go out I always carry black eyeliner. I use Rimmel's Pencil liner. I feel I need it to intensify a look even more throughout the night.

Nars Madly - My perfect blush that obviously has had enough love. Madly is a dusty rose shade. When it's applied lightly it gives a really nice warm sheen. If you have a heavier hand it can give you a non-overpowering bronzed glow.

Lipstick - I always carry with me whatever lipstick/gloss combo I have at the moment. However, I always have Mac's High Tea lipstick on me. It's the perfect shiney nude lipstick for me and it goes with a variety of looks! I have also recently been carrying with me my Revlon Lip Butter in Creme brulee 

Mac Ricepaper e/s - this is a shimmer nude that if I feel I need it, swipe across my lid (with my finger) to brighten up my eyes

Kabooki - For my powder foundation I always use my Kabookie brush - I get nice coverage with it and it's the perfect size for my makeup travel bag!


What do you keep in your makeup bag?