Top Spring Nail Polishes!

As I've said before, I'm SOOO ready for spring already! So for the past few weeks I've been using super fun colors on my nails to get into the spirit for this next season! Here are a few of my favorites:

1. OPI's Cajun Shrimp (everyones fave!)

2. L'Oreal in Tangerine Crush 400

3. Sinful Colors 24/7 (a great dupe for China Glaze's Shocking Pink)

4. Sally Hansen Green with Envy

5. Essie's Turquoise & Caicos

6. Essie's Butler Please

7. Sally Hansen No Hard Feelings

I'm also loving Sally Hansen's nail stickers. This is the one I currently have on my nails!

What are your favorite nail polishes this season??

My Current Skincare Routine :)

Skincare has become very important to me. I realized that taking care of my skin now will help it so much later in life. I do use anti-wrinkle creams - I know I'm only 22 and I know I don't have wrinkles, but I believe that wrinkle prevention is much more effective than trying to get rid of existing wrinkles. My morning and evening routines are fairly similar, with just a few changes in the products I use. And just to clarify, my skin type is sensitive, very oily and acne-prone (ick!). So if you have the same skin type or are just looking for a new routine, here is what I'm loving!:

Morning: 

When I first wake up, I like to very gently cleanse my face. It is best to cleanse your skin at night but it is not necessary in the morning because washing your face too much can make your skin age quicker. However, I still feel like I need a little cleansing in the morning, so I use a gentle cleanser. My favorite is Philosophy's Purity Made Simple Face Wash. 

I then use a toner on my face. You should always use a toner right after you wash your face because it helps restore the pH balance in your skin and also preps your face for a moisturizer. A toner that I've been loving is Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner. With hazel, along with rose petal, have wonderful anti-aging benefits for your skin as well as keeping your skin clear. I also love this because it is alcohol free so it is perfect for anyone with sensitive skin!

Next I like to use a gentle eye treatment. My favorite to use in the morning is Kiehl's Abyssine Eye Cream. This eye treatment is perfect for the daytime because it won't make your under eyes look greasy as the day goes on. This treatment is also great to use under makeup!

                             

I then moisturize with my all time FAVORITE moisturizer: Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. This is the most amazing moisturizer and I will never be without it (Oprah swears by it too!) I also mix this with a scoop of Philosophy's Turbo Booster C Powder (which is just vitamin C in powder form) for beautiful glowing skin!

Night: 

At night I like to take off all my makeup with the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes. These take off any eye makeup you have on and don't sting your eyes!

Next I use my Philosophy Purity Made Simple Face Wash but I also use my Clarisonic Pro with it. I have been using my Clarisonic Pro for about 3-4 years and I swear by it! It has helped my skin tremendously and it is definitely worth the money! (I have the Sensitive Head and Deep Pore Cleansing Head for when I feel my skin needs a deep cleaning).

I then use the same toner as I do in the morning. Then my nighttime eye treatment is the Dermadoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm. I use this at night because it is super moisturizing and intense treatment and I don't want to put this on under my makeup. I feel it works best while you sleep!

Finally, I moisturize my face and neck with my Hope in a Jar.

For my final nighttime steps, I like to put on an intensive lip balm. My favorite is Kiehl's Lip Balm #1 and my lips absorb this up overnight and are super smooth the next morning! I also believe you should keep your hands moisturize to keep them young looking too. So right before I go to bed I apply my Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve to keep my hands moisturized all night long!

What are your favorite skincare products? Any that I should try? Leave them in the comments below :)

theBalm Swatches!

Woo hoo!! I FINALLY received two new blushes from theBalm, which I'm absolutely in love with! The first blush is called Frat Boy, which is a beautiful coraly-peach color that will be perfect for Spring! The other blush is called Down Boy, the perfect pastel pink which will look amazing on all skin tones. Also, I've had theBalm's Mary Lou Manizer for a few months now and have used it almost every day since I got it. It is the perfect highlighter that gives you a dewy look without too much shimmer.

(Frat Boy, Down Boy, Mary-Lou Manizer)

All of these formulas are so velvety soft and  incredibly pigmented. I highly recommend theBalm products (plus who can resist the adorable packaging?!) and can't wait to try out more!!

What are your favorite products from theBalm?!

Maybelline Color Tattoo Shadows!

Once again, I'm late on the bandwagon, but I just had to give a shout-out to my new favorite eyeshadows: Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Shadows!

These eyeshadows are so creamy, pigmented and are perfect for on-the-go applications! You can just sweep some on your lid and you're good to go!

Of course, I only got neutral shadow colors, but I am definitely going to get some fun colors for spring! Here are swatches of the three that I have been using non-stop the past two weeks:

(from left to right: Barely Branded, Bad to the Bronze, Tough as Taupe)

Barely Branded is perfect for your inner lid as well as the inner corner to give you a more 'wide-awake' look. Bad to the Bronze is by far my favorite - I just put this on my whole lid, throw on some mascara and I'm done! Finally, Tough as Taupe is amazing if you're looking to do a smoky eye look for nighttime!

Have you tried any of these shadows?? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

Top 3 Spring Blush Looks

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!! I know I know, it's only February 14th, but I just can't help myself but be insanely excited for spring! Springtime reminds me of colors colors colors: beautiful bright colors along with pale pastels. Here are 3 of my most worn that are perfect for springtime :)

I know I've mentioned some of these blushes in past posts (I ordered some new blushes that are still on their way - so keep a look out for possible updated blush looks!), but currently these are my favorite blush looks for spring. I've also mentioned that I use two blushes every time I do my makeup. I feel that using two different blushes helps bring out the actual blush colors as well as gives a more natural look (as opposed to one caked-on blush!) The blushes are also put in the order I would apply them.

Pale Pastel Pink (perfect for V-Day!)

Hard Candy Fox in a Box in Spicy and Sweet

Milani Powder Blush in Pink Craze

Hot Sexy Pink (also perfect for V-Day!)

E.L.F. Blush in Tickled Pink

E.L.F. Blush in Pink Passion

Bright Coral

Lola Blush in Sunset

Benefit's Blush in CORALista

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines day, whether if it's with friends, family, significant other, or just a girls night by yourself! I love you all!! 

Ipsy Glam Bag February 2013

1. Lash Card Mascara Shields - I have super long eyelashes and I always end up getting mascara all over my eye lids when I'm putting it on, so I'm so so so excited to try these shields! I might have to buy more once I run out!

2. Coastal Scents Eye Shadow Qua in Glitz & Glamour- I have a few shadows from Coastal Scents and they are always very pigmented and have beautiful colors. This neutral quad has such beautiful colors (Candlelight, Gunmetal, Incognito, Ashen) and I can't wait to try out some smokey eye looks with these shadows!

3. Pixi Flawless & Poreless Face Primer - I always love trying new primers - I have a whole drawer full! So I'm extremely excited to see how this primer works!

4. Pop Smoky Lash Kapow!!! in No. 1 Smoky Black - First of all, I absolutely love the name of this mascara! I'm really picky with my mascaras, but I've heard great things about this one and can't wait to try it out!!

5. Mica Beauty Cosmetics Gel Liner in Black - I've been contemplating on buying a gel liner - I've always been a liquid liner or a pencil liner type of girl but recently I've been wanting to try a gel one! I'm hoping this will become my new staple eye liner :)

5 Must Have Brushes!

Now let me just say, if you don't have good makeup brushes, your makeup application just won't be nearly as good as it could be. Good brushes can completely transform your makeup - making it look more natural, more blended, more flawless and are just easier to use. I love buying and trying new brushes. You, by no means, need to have a huge collection of brushes (like I do :p), but here are my top 5 must have makeup brushes for beautiful and flawless makeup!


1. Kabuki brush for foundation
Having a great foundation brush is the absolute number 1 brush everyone should own! There are so     many different foundation brushes (stippling, , or even your fingers!) but the brushes that I feel work the best with blending your foundation are kabuki brushes. My favorite is the Sigma F84!

2. Fluffy Brush
Fluffy brushes are very versatile. They can be used for powders, bronzers, color matching your face to neck, etc. I usually use mine to color match as well as to set my foundation with a powder. The key is to find a super soft one - like my favorite, the Real Techniques Powder Brush!

3. Contour brush
Contour brushes can also be versatile. I love being able to change the shape of my face with a simple sweep of matte bronzer and some blush right above it. I use a contour brush to create this look. My favorite is the Sedona Lace FB05!

4. Basic Flat Shadow Brush
This brush is kind of a staple to have if you use eyeshadow. These brushes are perfect for putting on an all over lid color as well as adding a highlight to your brow bone! My favorite is E.L.F's Eye Shadow Brush! By the way, this brush is only $1!!!

5. Crease Brush
Being able to define your eye crease is another one of my favorite makeup techniques. I do this every single day (even if it's the only eye shadow I put on)! It gives your eyes a much more awakened look, adds a little bit of color and gives more shape to your eyes. My favorite is the Urban Decay Crease Brush! (this brush comes with the Naked 2 Palette too!)

The BEST Drugstore Foundation

Now, I love drug store foundations and I love high end foundations. There is obviously an upside and a downside to both:

Drug Store Foundations:
-low price
-convenient
-can have good formulations


High End Foundations:
-color match/wide range of colors
-amazing formulations
-pretty packaging



However, above all else, my absolute FAVORITE foundation is found at the drugstore, is a low price, and has the most color selections of any foundation I've ever seen. What is this miracle product, you ask? Not only but the L'Oreal True Match Superblendable Makeup. At just $8 - $10, this formulation works with all skin types: oily, dry, combination, normal, etc. I have extremely oily skin and this foundation keeps me matte all day long! Furthermore, I have blotchy skin that I want to cover up and this foundation gives an amazing amount of coverage without making you look cakey.

You start off by deciding if your skin's undertone is cool, neutral or warm. Then choose from the 33 different colors to find your perfect shade!

Overview

-Low price
-Great coverage
-Color for every skin tone
-Great for all skin types
-Oil free
-Easy to blend
-Contains SPF


If you haven't tried this foundation, I highly suggest that you take a trip to the drugstore immediately! You won't regret it!