Five Favorites: February 2013

Sorry , I know this post is a little late, but to be honest with you this month flew by so quick and I forgot to pick my favorites for the month. I know, I'm horrible lol. Well, better late than never, right? Here are my 5 most used and favorite products from February.

Beauty Blender

I kept hearing so many great things about this product so I first bought a knock off version at CVS a few months ago. I wasn't impressed with it at all so I finally gave in and bought the real thing this month and now I understand what all the hype is about. My foundation is so much easier to apply with this and I can see a big difference in how my foundation looks too. Its really easy to clean and I can't see myself using anything other than the beauty blender to apply my foundation. I purchased the beauty blender set for $35 on Sephora's website. The set comes with the beauty blender sponge and the beauty blender cleaner. It was worth every penny!

Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner

I started adding a toner to my skin regimen over the summer and I would try different kinds from drugstores and didn't see much results. So for Christmas my mom surprised me with this product. Mostly every Burt and Bee's product I've tried hasn't disappointed me so I was hoping this would be the same. I've never used any skin products with tomato in it but I guess there really good for your skin. Within a week or two of using this daily I noticed that my skin stopped getting oily towards the end of the day and I also noticed less breakouts. I've read a lot of mixed reviews, some people hate it, some people love it. I guess it depends on your skin type. I have combination skin, more dry than oily and I love it. They sell this at my local Target for around $20.

Remington T-Studio Pearl Ceramic Curling Wand

I've never bought one of those expensive curling wands, for example,the Enzo and after using this curling wand I would never spend that much money on one. This Remington Ceramic Curling Wand gives me really pretty curls that actually last. It comes with a wide variety of temperature settings and one of those heat resistant gloves so you don't burn your fingers. I really like that you can achieve different types of curls; tight ringlets, bouncy curls, beachy waves, etc. If I didn't already know how much I paid for this I would have guessed it cost a lot more than $25! I highly recommend this if your looking for a good curling wand but don't want to spend a lot of money. I got mine at Walgreen's but have also seen it at other drugstores. 

Tweezerman Stainless Steel Clippers

My nails tend to grow very quickly so I need to cut them down almost every 3 weeks. I don't like to use a nail file to cut them down because I feel like it weakens them so I use a nail clipper. I've been looking everywhere for a nail clipper that has a flat straight edge instead of the usual slight curve edge. When I use the regular nail clippers it makes it a lot harder to keep the shape of my nails square. So I finally came across a pair by Tweezerman on Amazon for only $5 that have a complete straight edge. These are actually toe nail clippers but I use them on my nails so I get a nice even straight cut and not a curve. It makes it so much easier to shape my nails the way I want them now.  If you're looking for a pair like this and haven't found them at a store, go on Amazon.


e.l.f Studio Powder Brush

I bought this brush before I bought the beauty blender, but I wanted to add it to my favorites because it really is a great brush. I've used this brush to apply powder and liquid foundation and it works really well with both. I was surprised at how soft and dense the brush was and that it doesn't shed. I have brushes like this that cost way more that shed everytime I use them. Even more, it always picks up the right amount of foundation and deposits the pigment evenly and flawlessly! For only $3 this brush is definitely worth it!! I found this brush at Target with all the other elf products.

Have you tried any of these products? What were your most used products of February?

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Five Favorites: September 2012

1. Conair Bun Maker- 

I usually like to throw my hair up in a bun, either when I'm working out because that seems to be the only way from my hair flopping all around. I also like the messy bun look and when the bun has volume. Before I bought the Conair Bun Maker I would put my hair up in a ponytail and twist the rest around and use bobby pins to keep it in place but I really couldn't  mess around with it, or give it any volume. I always wanted to try one of these bun makers so when I saw it at Walgreen's on sale for $2 I couldn't resist. 

The conair bun maker comes with a donut looking loofah, ponytail holder and four pins. Its really simple to use, all you do is put your hair up and then pull it through the hole and wrap it around the donut; then you pin the ends, one end of the  pin goes through the donut and the other end goes in your hair at the scalp. Just make sure to spread the hair around enough that the donut isn't showing through. Then use the remaining pins to secure it.  I like to tease the ends of my hair after I pull it up so it gives me some extra volume. I'm glad I bought this because I use it whenever I feel like wearing a bun now.

2. Sally Hansen LA CROSS Perfect Arch Brow Set-

I don't like to do my own eyebrows except for plucking a few stray hairs. I always get them done at the salon. Plus I don't enjoy the process and I feel like I might tweeze too much and be left with half an eyebrow. I picked up this kit at Ulta because of the angled scissors that came with it. I heard they make shaping your eyebrows a lot easier. 

Besides the angled scissors it comes with a little plastic shaver that's disposable, and a  brow brush. This little kit is a lifesaver for me. The angled scissors make it really easy to pluck the hairs that are out of place. I like the razor and comb even though I haven't used the razor too much (still a little nervous) but now that I have this I don't have to go get my eyebrows done as frequently. The kit was $8 at Ulta and I would definitely recommend it.

3. e.l.f. Nourishing Cuticle Pen-

I made a recent trip to Target to see what elf products they had and I bought a few things, but one of my favorites is this cuticle pen. I'm always trying to take care of my nails and cuticles. I usually use creams or oils and have never tried the pens until now.  The oil is very soothing and stays on even after washing my hands. It's not greasy at all and the marker makes it very easy to apply. I've been using this pen instead of my usual cuticle cream and my cuticles look just as good. I should have stocked up and bought a bunch of them since there only a $1.

4. Rodan + Fields ANTI-AGE Overnight Restorative Cream-

I did a post a few weeks ago on the Rodan + Fields UNBLEMISH skin care regimen I received. I was sent a 60 day supply to test and review on my blog. Click here to read the post if you want. Along with the four products I got I also received there anti-age overnight cream that can be used with any one of there regimens. I honestly have to say I love all the products and so far my skin looks so much better (but I will be posting an update on that soon). 

For the last 6 months I've been waking up with oily skin which is weird bc I've never had oily skin before. I've always had normal to dry skin even in the morning.  Well, after using this overnight cream for about a week or so I noticed my skin wasn't as oily in the morning. Besides that, my skin feels smooth and looks alive again.  Check out my post to see the rest of Rodan + Fields products, they really do work. 

5. e.l.f Studio High Definition Powder-

This was another fav from my trip to Target. For $6 this powder is great! I use it after foundation, blush and bronzer and it pulls everything together and makes my skin look matte and in an airbrushed way. It's a translucent powder that's really fine and goes on super smooth and evenly. It comes with a small makeup puff that I use to apply it then blend it out with a fluffy powder brush. Another great product, gotta love E.L.F!

Those have been my 5 most used and favorite products this month. Have you tried any of these?

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Five Favorites: March 2012

I apologize for posting my March favorites late and I'll say it again, better late than never. I feel like I've been saying that too much lately, which is so not like me. (bad blogger)!
Here are my five favorites for March, these are all products that I've had and just started using. Wow, I'm actually surprised I was able to go the whole month without buying one new beauty product. That wont last for long though.


Organix Nourishing
Coconut Milk Shampoo

I tried this shampoo a few months ago and really liked it. Somehow it got hidden behind a bunch of stuff in my bathroom cabinet. So I decided to go through everything and found the bottle I bought. I was so happy that I found it but mad that I've had it all this time and forgot. I love using sulfate free shampoo's, there so much better for your hair and it shows. My hair feels so silky and shiny when I use this, plus it smells amazing and you can still smell it on your hair the next day. I haven't used their conditioner with it but I imagine it works just as well. It's not expensive either. I believe it was around $6 at CVS.

I WON A GREAT GIVEAWAY by BEAUTY IN NYC!!!

              

I WON BEAUTY IN NEW YORK CITY's GIVEAWAY!!!
                 

Kristen from Beauty in New York City celebrated her birthday on August 10th and had a HUGE Birthday Giveaway. When I say HUGE i mean really huge!! I remember entering this giveaway and thinking to myself "how cool would it be if I actually won"? I usually have horrible luck so when she emailed me to tell me I was the winner I was pleasently shocked!

The products that Kristen  gave away were extremely generous and you'll see why once you keep reading....

Five Favorites: July 2011

Here are my five favorites for the month of July. I noticed that I tend to wear less makeup in the summer, probably because I’m usually tan and don’t feel like I need as much. Plus when its super hot out sometimes I just don’t go all out. Don’t get me wrong, I hardly go out with nothing on my face but you get the idea. This month will have more of a variety of beauty products. Hope you enjoy  

L.A. Colors

Art Deco Nail Lacquer

I love experimenting with different nail designs and these are perfect for doing that. The brush is high quality and makes it very easy and fast to use. It lets you draw either thin lines or thick. I first discovered these at a family dollar store and they were $1.99, the next time I saw them was at the Dollar Tree so they were only a $1 each! I currently have them in black, white, yellow, pink, gold and silver. I want to get them in every color. I was recently at the Dollar Tree and I was in heaven because they had the whole collection of colors. I wanted to buy each one but I didn’t. I need to go back very soon and get the rest of the colors. For the price of these the quality is great, the colors pop out especially if you use them on top of a lighter nail color. My favorite combo is white nail polish with zebra print in black.

TREsemme Deep Clarifying Shampoo

This is a really good shampoo that I use every 2-3 times I wash my hair to get all the build up out from the hair products I use. I’ve tried other clarifying shampoo’s and compared to the other ones I’ve tried this one actually makes a difference. When I don’t use this shampoo I use John Frieda’s Full Repair and that stuff is really great also, but if even if you’re not using a ton of hair products you still need to use a clarifying shampoo that really gets in there and removes all the oils and gunk (at least once a week). Depending on your hair washing schedule. If your looking for a good one I strongly recommend Tresemme and the bottle is huge, you’ll have it forever.     

Milani Mineral Blush

I bought this blush a few months ago but didn’t start using it until this summer and now I use it almost everyday. I use it in Sunset Beach. The color is buildable so you can wear it for a natural look or you can apply more if you’re going out at night. This color looks good with a tan bc it’s an apricot/ peachy color. I’ve heard some youtube gurus say these are pretty much the dupe for NARS orgasm. It’s also light weight and goes on flawlessly (it comes with a little brush like most blushes do but I would use a normal blush brush for the best application. I always change blush colors once fall comes and I'm defiantly going to buy one of the other colors from Milani. 

                                         

 Helen of Troy

Hot Shot Tools Blow Dryer

The type of blow dryer I use is important because I have very thick hair that usually takes forever to blow dry. So I can’t just use any blow dryer unfortunately, I’m so glad I found this one. Helen of Troy is known for making great hair tools, I have one of their curling irons and I love it. I bought this at Sally's Beauty Supply, at the time they were having a special where it came with a Helen of Troy flat iron for $50. To be honest the flat iron is not to great at all, but it was worth it bc the blow dryer is excellent. My main concern when buying a blow dryer is to make my dry faster. It has a 1875 watt powerful air flow, with ionic and Tourmaline technology that makes your hair dry faster. It also has 2 speed/4 heat combinations with a cool setting and it comes with a concentrator attachment (that I use every time). I can honestly say it takes me half of the time to blow dry my hair now. It used to take me at least 45 minutes and I dreaded drying my hair but now I really don’t mind. Plus its really light so your arm isn’t killing you when your done.

e.l.f essential

Shimmering Facial Whip

I picked this up the last time I was at Target when they finally started selling the whole line of e.l.f products. I was so excited, I about 15 things bc the most expensive product was $5. The shimmering facial whip was one of the $1 items I bought. I really like it, its pretty much a shimmering whipped facial highlighter. It blends in well and doesn’t make your face feel greasy. I use a tiny dab on my cheeks and my nose after I apply my bronzer and it gives your face a subtle glow. It comes in 8 different shades: persimmon, Camilla, lilac petal, toasted, golden peach, spotlight, pink lemonade and citrus. I use golden peach, but the camera makes the color look orange and its definitely not. Sorry about that

Review- e.l.f Shine Eraser Oil Blotting Sheets

I was at Target yesterday and picked up these Oil Blotting Sheets from e.l.f. I don’t know about you guys but just walking to my car from my house in this hot weather gives my face an oily and shiny look that I can't stand. Especially when I just finished putting on my makeup. From a scale of 1 to 10 I would give them a 8 and here’s why:

Pros:  

They were only a $1

They contain 50 of the shine eraser sheets in each package

They do absorb the oil and shine from your face for a good amount of time

On the front of the packaging there's a diagram that shows you where your T-Zone is

The sheets are made with Green Tea Extract (that helps re-texturize the skin)

They come in a small package so you can bring them everywhere

Cons:

They claim to also minimize your pores while re-texturizing your skin, masking facial imperfections

I didn't notice that my pores looked smaller or that they helped mask any facial imperfections.

Overall there basically just oil blotting sheets. I have yet to see that they  minimize my pores and hide imperfections I've used them twice and I was impressed how they instantly absorbed the oil from my face. If I didn't only spend a $1 on these I would be disappointed that they didn't do those extra things they claimed to. I'm happy with them and would buy them again.

Suggested Retail price: $1 at your local Target or you can find them on http://www.eyeslipsface.com 

Five Favorites: May 2011

May’s favorites were hard for me to pick out. I went back and forth between a few products deciding which ones I liked more. They’re all inexpensive drug store products (got to love beauty bargains)! So I guess you can say May, for me was a good month for beauty finds.

     Sauvé's Volumizing Root Boost Spray

My haircut is a lot of short layers on the top so I’m always looking for root boosting or volumizing hair products for when I blow dry my hair to give it some extra oomph. Sauvé recently came out with a new line of professional proven hair products that guarantee to work as well as salon products. I honestly wasn’t expecting much but I was wrong. I already have some volume naturally bc of my short layers but when using this product I definitely saw results. I spray my roots by parting 1 to 2 inch sections and then continue to mist evenly through my roots and the mid shaft of my hair. I also use a big round brush concentrating on the crown.

                         

Wet n Wild Color Icon 8 pan Eye shadow Palettes – in Comfort Zone 

When I think of Wet n Wild it brings back memories from when I first started experimenting with make up. I remember buying there $1 eyeliners and nail polishes. They weren’t the best quality but being a young teen it was what I could afford and honestly didn’t know too much about the difference in the quality of makeup. I never thought that I would be comparing their eye shadow to some of the most expensive brands of makeup, but I am and I'm so glad! Wet n Wild recently came out with a new 2011 line with a brand new assortment of eye shadow palettes and they are incredibly pigmented and rich in color. Not to mention how smooth they go on and how long the color lasts. I’m totally in love with all of them. I believe they have a total of 6 different palette’s in trios and 3 different 8-pan palettes. I’m going to show you one of my favs, its one of the 8 color sets. This one is called Comfort Zone and it has 2 brow bone, 2 eyelid, 2 crease, and 2 definer shades and their all labeled to give you the direction you need to create a gorgeous effect. I highly recommend these, if you haven’t tried them yet, well you really should. I know you’ll be impressed.

        Body Bling by Scott Barnes

So I'm not going to lie, I use to be somewhat of a tanaholic, tanning beds and laying out the sun whenever I could. I know it was horrible for my skin. As I’ve gotten older I’m more aware of how bad the sun is for you. I’ve tried so many different self-tanners, even tried the spray tan at the salons. I never was really impressed with any of them. They either made me look orange or had no effect or they were streaky. Then I found Body Bling by Scott Barnes, a celebrated make up artist within the cosmetic industry. He has worked with world-renowned photographers with his work gracing the covers of magazines such as Allure, Harper’s Bazaar, In Style, Vanity Fair and much more. Scott has also worked with a variety of celebrates such as: Beyoncé, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Patrol and more.  Body Bling is the only self tanner I will use. Its easy to use tube ensures a flawless application. You basically just apply it like you would a moisturizer, (of course rubbing it in more thoroughly) I've never experienced any streaks. . I have been using it on my legs when I wear capris and I love how it looks like you just got back from a tropical vacation. I use the original Body Bling that comes in a 1oz tube. It looks small but you only need a tiny bit and I’ve had mine for months.

           

Got2b Rocking It Dry Shampoo

I’ve always loved most of Got2b’s hair products. So when they recently came out with their dry shampoo I had to try it. Especially since I don’t wash my hair everyday, so on the 2nd (or sometimes 3rd day) this come in handy. You just shake it very well, spray it about 8 inches away from roots, rub it into scalp then brush it out. TIP: After applying the dry shampoo blow dry your roots with a round brush. The mix of the  dry shampoo and the natural oils will make for a great volumizer, so you'll  get an extra day out of your blow-out and major volume

      

e.l.f Eye shadow Brush 

When I say this is a favorite brush among the high end Big Name ones in my collection I'm not kidding! It's the same shape and does everything the MAC –239 brush does but in my opinion the bristles are softer. The store Target near me finally started selling a full line of e.l.f products. The first time I came across it I was so excited (especially bc the highest price item was $5)! So I went a little crazy and bought about 15 items. I couldn’t resist (being the beauty addict that I am). I was so surprised the first time I used this brush, it’s especially great for picking up pigments and even for the crease of the eye. The one negative thing I could say about this (and it really doesn’t matter to me since it was only a $1) but they don’t clean as well as my other brushes do. For some reason the eye shadow doesn’t come off as easy. I would still prefer this brush over some of the higher priced ones. Can we say BEAUTY BARGAIN!!!