Think Pink in February!

Is tomorrow already February?!? Wow, time flies! February is the time of pinks, reds, love, hearts and, of course, Valentines Day. Now, I don't wear a lot of pink but during the month of February, I just can't help myself but wear a little too much pink! Whether it be my clothes, my makeup, nails, etc., I always have some form of pink on. Here are a few Valentine-y products that I'm absolutely obsessed with this month! Let me know some of your favorites in the comments below :)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Mac Blush in Pink Swoon

Forever 21 heart sweater

Nordstrom wedge sneakers

Miss Dior Eau de Parfum

Essie nail polish in Lovie Dovie

Soap & Glory's Glow Lotion

How to Lift & Brighten Your Eyes

I love how makeup can give you a completely different look. Certain makeup techniques can give a 'face lift' appearance and make you look younger if done properly. By using these few products and steps, you can instantly make your eyes look wider, brighter and lifted :)

First of all, always always always prime your face! This will prevent creasing and help your makeup stay on all day :) If you have a bluish-purple tint under your eyes, apply a salmon colored concealer and gently pat it under your eyes with your ring finger. The salmon color will correct any blue/purple colors. Since this is such a different color from skin tones, it might appear orange under the eye but don't worry, we'll fix that later! A great product to reduce bluish tints is Eve Pearl's Salmon Concealer.

After you apply your foundation, apply your concealer in an upside down triangle shape. I like to apply this with a damp Beauty Blender. You want to find a concealer that is much lighter than your skin tone. I have a medium skin tone and I use a light or fair concealer. My favorite concealer is Tarte's Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Waterproof Concealer in Light. The consistency is so buttery smooth and it blends flawlessly. If you don't want to spend that much, a great dupe is Revlon's PhotoReady Concealer in Light

                                      

To set your concealer, I would recommend using a yellow-based powder (for darker skin tones) or pink-based powder (for fair/ivory skin tones). Many people use a transleucent white powder under their eyes which can make their face look white casted in pictures. My favorite powder that won't give you that white look is Ben Nye's Luxury Powder in Banana. I also pat this in with a damp Beauty Blender. Ben Nye's products are used for photo shoots and movies (and is also used by Kim Kardashian), so it will stay put and stay matte all day!

Last but not least, two of my friends here on Blogspot, Jenna and Lynette are hosting a Link Up on February 1st called Once Upon a Date Night which bloggers will give date ideas, outfits, makeup, etc. I linked it by my banners on the left -- go check it out!!

Ipsy Glam Bag January 2013

I LOVE the products in the January Glam Bag! This month's cosmetic bag was black with blue and white stars on the inside and is the perfect size to throw in your purse! Here are the products I received from left to right:

1. Soho Concealer Brush - I was actually thrilled to get a concealer brush because I haven't found one that I actually loved, so hopefully this will be a good one! I needed to replace my old concealer brush anyways :)


2. Pacifica's Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter - I can always use more lotions to put in my purse or to travel with and Pacifica's Body Butter smells absolutely amazing and it's super hydrating!


3. Josie Maran Argan Oil - I was so excited to see this product! You have probably heard me talk about this product in previous blogs and this is something that I will NEVER be without. So I was super excited to have a backup when my full sized oil runs out!


4. Nailtini Nail Polish in Bloody Mary - This nail polish is such a beautiful red and I love the brand name - Nailtini! I'm moving more towards spring colors for my nails but I'm sure I will use this product a ton next winter and fall!


5. Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hair Spray - I have heard so many great things about this hair spray so I'm very excited to use it! I love Big Sexy Hair products and I can't believe I haven't even tried this hairspray yet. I also love that it's the perfect travel size that you can take anywhere :)


(For those of you that don't know, Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that sends you about 5 products each month. Some of them are full size products and some are sample size. These products all come in a cosmetic bag as well {and who doesn't need more cosmetic bags?!} I love Ipsy's Glam Bag and I can't wait for next months products!)

Freeman Feeling Beautiful Face Masks

Have any of you tried these masks? They're only $1 - $2 at Wal-Mart so I couldn't pass them up!

Here's the names of the masks in the picture from left to right!

-Cucumber Facial Peel-Off Mask (clarifies & renews skin)
-Dead Sea Minerals Facial Anti-Stress Mask (clarifies & renews skin)
-Mint & Lemon Facial Clay Mask (deep pore cleansing)
-Acai Facial Purifying Clay Mask (purifies & soothes)
-Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask (purges pores)


I tried the Mint & Lemon Clay Mask last night and, let me just say, my face felt AMAZEBALLS afterwards! My face felt a little tighter (not in a painful way) and extremely clean & refreshed. I hope I love the other masks as much as this one! This Mint & Lemon mask will definitely be a repurchase :) Let me know if you like these masks or any other masks that you would recommend!

NEW Maybelline Color Whisper Lipstick

I am a lip color fanatic - I've recently started collecting different lip sticks, glosses, liners, etc. And if the packaging is *cute* and if it says "New" on it I will be 99% likely to buy it. However, with these new Maybelline Color Whisper Lipsticks, I wasn't too thrilled on the "New" factor. Maybelline didn't market these lipsticks as well as I thought they could've. I didn't know anything about them except that they were new. Plus, I felt that the packaging could've been much more eye-catching -- it looked like their previous lipsticks but in a skinnier tube. 

After hearing YouTubers rave about this product, I finally bit the bullet and picked up two of the Whispers. And let me tell you, I was more than impressed :) :)

These Color Whispers are a like a one stop shop for lip colors. You don't need to layer your lip products. These lipsticks give amazing color pigmentation and leave a glossy finish as well! It's almost like a 2-in-1 lipstick/lipgloss product!

The first color I picked up was Pink Possibilities. It was just a perfect warm-toned pink color for everyday, which is usually the color I gravitate towards. The only thing I suggest with this color is to mute out your lips with a concealer or some type of lip primer in order to get the full effect of the Pink Possibilities color.

The second color, which I'm the most excited about, is Oh La Lilac. I don't have anything quite this color and it looks absolutely stunning on the lips! Since this product isn't super pigmented, it just leaves your lips with a cool toned lilac glossy tint to them. If you are debating on a color to get from this line, I'd 100% suggest Oh La Lilac!

(top is Pink Possibilities, bottom is Oh La Lilac)

Overall, my only suggestion to Maybelline is to market this product more effectively and to show the customer how this can be an easy-to-go lipstick/gloss for everyday!

What do you think about the Color Whispers??

Liebster Award X3 !

Thank you so very much to both Jenna (from Demure in Diamonds) and Marcy (from Budget Friendly Fashionista) for nominating me again for the Liebster Award! Since I have already been nominated once before, I am not going to do the questions and random facts again (I don't know if I could think of any more random facts -- hah!). But check out the right side-bar because I added a Liebster Award image to the awards category!

Thank you again Jenna and Marcy and also a big thanks to all of my supporters. You all are so amazing!

L'Oreal Magic Smooth Soufflé Review

                         

Now, I know this isn't a new product, but this is a product that I FINALLY gave in to and I figured it'd be a good one to write a review on for those of you that are curious like I was. This is a little pricey for a drugstore product (around $16), which is one reason I was hesitant to buy it. I have looked at this foundation for months and months and when it was on sale I just had to pick it up.

My first impression wasn't great - it looked a little dry and flaky on my skin. But when I used this (for my second time) with my Sigma F84 brush (instead of my RT Expert Face Brush) it looked flawless! Also, the color selections were hard to judge because when you look at the product in the jar (yes, I opened all of the colors - oops!) the product looks darker than they actually are when you put it on your face. But those were the only cons of this product.

I have very oily skin and this product makes you matte all day long! This is a semi-full coverage foundation but it is so light and mousse-like that you can barely feel it on your skin. It is very blendable and the packaging is to die for :)

I do not recommend this product for dry skin - I feel that it would look cakey and would probably dry your skin out even more. However, I think this product would be perfect for oily skin types. Let me know if you've used this product and your thoughts!

Update and Beauty Blender Comparison!

I know, I know I haven't posted on here in a HOT minute but it's been a busy few weeks. I know in my last post I said I had some exciting news but unfortunately I'm still working on it. It's something that I've been really wanting to do for a year or two now and it's going to take a little more time and courage for me to finalize. So, fingers crossed that I am able to pull it together :)    [and thank you all for the encouraging comments/messages -- it really made me happy!]

On another note I figured I should give you a beauty post since I haven't in weeks! I decided to do a little comparison between the Beauty Blender and an off-brand beauty sponge that I found at Walgreens.

I already did a post on my beauty blender and how to use it but I wanted to know if it was worth the money or if the $8 sponge from the drugstore works just as well. 

Obviously, I like the price of the drugstore sponge better but the finish that the original Beauty Blender gives is something you can't beat. Sure, the drugstore sponge is better than nothing but the Beauty Blender is able to give you a completely flawless complexion and is easier to blend the products into your skin. Now I haven't used these sponge tools for my foundation (I heard they're great for that too, though) but I do use it for my under eye concealer and to set my under eye concealer. 

Original Beauty Blender

     Beauty Sponge from Soho

I also like the shape of the Beauty Blender better. As you can see above, the Beauty Blender has a pointy side to get into hard to reach/small areas on your face and a flat side which is easy to use for your whole face (or in my case, to set my concealer with my Ben Nye Banana Powder). The drugstore sponge has two pointed edges which can make it difficult to blend larger areas. Furthermore, the drugstore sponge ripped after a few weeks of use; the rip just kept getting bigger and bigger until it finally split in two .... not good :/

Overall, the Beauty Blender is 100% worth the extra money. What are your opinions on the original and drugstore sponges??