BeneFit Watt's Up Highlight

Recently, I have been enjoying shopping my stash to avoid spending money on unnecessary purchases. This summer I have been really focused on using products that shape, sculpt, and highlight certain points of my face. A product I discovered that has been a well loved highlighter within the blogging community is BeneFit's Watt's Up. I received this sample last year as part of my Birthday Present from Sephora and am wondering why I waited so long to use it!

BeneFit's Watt's Up is a cream to powder champagne highlighter that adds a gorgeous light golden iridescence to the skin. It truly leaves the most gorgeous glowing effect to any high point of your face. 

I like to apply this with my fingers and blend out so I have control over how much procduct is distributed. The full size product does come with a sponge on the other end for blending purposes. I not only like to apply this on the high points of my cheeks and down the center of my nose but I also really love the look of Watt's up on the inner corners of my eyes and brow bones to draw attention to my eyes and brighten them!

Products I'm Lemming

Hello everyone! Today I am going to share with you my imaginary (for now) shopping carts! 

Even when I am on a budget I love to sit on Sephora.com or Ulta.com, or any online retailer and create a dream shopping cart. 

Because I have been out of the blogging loop for so long, it's really helped me stay away from over purchasing - but alas, as I return, I just want to buy EVERYTHING. 

I'll start with my MakeUpGeek cart, which I am actually going to order today! I have been wearing the same MAC eyeshadows for months now and it's pretty much been the bare minimum. I loaded my cart up with a few new eyeshadows to try and one if her MUG's blushes (so many are OOS)! I also threw in some red cheery lashes because they are only $2.50. If there are any items that you have fallen in lvr with from MUG, please let me know in the comments!! 

Onto Sephora....oh Sephora. I stopped in the 2 level Sephora on 34th St. in NY before I caught my train home and when I tell you I could have bought everything, I mean everything! I only included the *basic* essentials in this shopping cart but there is so much more I would purchase. Some of the basics like the Bronzer and Laura Mercier powder are items that I need but want to venture out and try other brands. I have been craving the Chocolate Soleil for months now. 

When I buckle down and take the plunge on these orders I will most definitely share my opinions and thought with all of you! 

Tell me in the comments section below what's on your wish list! Also, if you could feed or kill any of my lemmings, please feel free to go for it. 

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? 

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 :)

Back At It - Requests

::peers out from computer screen:: I have been gone from this community for way to long and I think it's about time I become active again! The last time I made a post was way back in November. I was working part time in retail while I was in between jobs and I had so much more free time than I do now. I began a position in NY around the beginning of December. The commute takes about 1.5 hours out of my day so by the time I get home I have missed out on all the good sunlight for natural light photos. 

I have also began the search for a home to purchase so you can imagine I am doing my best to cut back on spending, even on beauty related items :( 

I have  revived my Twitter and Instagram accounts though and have posted on both of those outlets frequently in the past couple of weeks so please follow be on there if you do not already!

I definitely want to get back into blogging, even with my limit stash growth! I have already drafted a couple of posts - I just need to photograph the products before publishing them. I would love to hear from you guys, who, by the way, are amazing for even sticking around - I truly thank you for that!

Feel free to reach out to any of my accounts and leave comments and requests listing post you would like to see from me.

Hope you guys are having an amazing summer!

Rave: Cream Highlighter

I have been avoiding using more than one powder product on my face this fall. If I go into powder bronzer, powder highlighter and powder blush it is just way too much and too drying for my skin! Today I'm going to talk about a product brand that is never really mentioned in the beauty community because their makeup isn't that luxurious or quality. However, my friend just started selling Mary Kay and I purchased a product that I actually ended up LOVING. It's a facial highlighting pen from Mary Kay that is the same concept as the YSL Touch Eclat and MAC's Prep n Prime pen. Now, I do not own the TE or Prep n Prime so I cannot comment on their similarities or their dissimilarities. 

The Mary Kay pen comes in 4 shades. I wear shade 2 which is a neutral shade. Shade 1 is more peachy, shade 3 is peachy pink and shade 4 is a very deep luminous brown shade. The Mary Kay Highlighting Facial Pen has a click brush applicator. Normally I find this trait in a product annoying but after the first use you get plenty of product disbursed after just a couple of clicks. 

The highlighting pen is meant to lift shadowy areas of the face and make your skin tone brighter and more luminous. I have seen many reviews where people use this exactly under their eyes and have issues with it settling into fine lines but that is not what this product is for. I use this in a number of areas on my face including down my nose and on my cheekbones and right under my dark circles. I apply it right from the pen and blend in with my fingers. This is a sheer product and is really easy to blend

Nars Sheer Glow No Highlighter:

Mary Kay Highlight and NYX Cream Blush in Tea Rose:

As you can see from the photos the highlighter gives the skin a nice glow from within and really pretty pearlescent appearance. 

This is a really nice highlight if you are getting into the cream highlight/contour kick that is really popular right now. It retails for $18 which is a little cheaper than the Mac Prep n Prime and significantly affordable compared to the YSL so if you wanted to try out a product like this it is a good one to test drive before you shell out all that money!

Do you have a favorite cream highlighter! Share your favorites 

Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm

I received a small sample of the Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm in a Birchbox a while ago and used every last bit of the stuff! I loved it so much that I purchased a tube (.66 oz) because I spotted it at the sample cart near the registers at Sephora. 

Dr. Jart+ claims that this product covers blemishes and evens out skin tone while calming blemishes or irritation. The BB cream contains caviar extract and other antioxidants to protect the skin from pollutants. It also contains Arbutin which is a skin lightening agent to help cover dark spots on the skin. This product does contain SPF 25 so keep that in mind if you are going to be photographed! Another positive is that this product doesn't have any strong scents. The garnier BB cream has a really strong chemical scent that is not so nice!

I love this for when I don't want to use a medium to full coverage foundation but want a product that will blur my acne scars and even my skin tone out. I find this to be light coverage but very buildable while still feeling light weight. The texture of this BB cream is really lovely and it blends effortlessly. I find I only need a nickel side drop for my whole face which is nice because it appears as if I am not wearing anything at all on my face. (Side note: I still use concealer and set my face with my Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural).

The one aspect of this product that may be a problem for some is that it is one shade. The formula is meant to adjust with your natural skin tone. 

Overall I think this is a really nice product if you want a little coverage but still are looking for a fresh, clear face. 

Have you tried this BB cream?

One Layer:

Two Layers