OK guys- I felt the need to blog today. Why? Because I need spring. I need it in the worst way possible. And what did I wake up to this morning? SNOW. What the freak? It has been SO glorious outside lately- and then snow?! I cant handle this....so I decided to start talking a bit about spring makeup and beauty. Maybe it will make me feel better.
Your skin changes with the weather. So you really should be changing things up a bit. Not to mention- with the season change, your wardrobe changes and so does your lifestyle. You are out in the sun far more, you are exposed to more elements, the humidity and the temperature is rising- so lets talk a bit about Spring Skin.
I cant really speak individually for your skin care regimen as all of us have different needs- but I will just gloss over it a bit. First off- cleanser. Are you still cleansing? Twice a day, everyday? Hopefully. Keep it routine and keep it gentle. Second- Moisture. Your skin naturally dehydrates in the winter so now you might find that with the increased temperatures and humidity, that your oil production will pick up. Now is the time to switch to a lighter moisture formula if that is happening to you. A gel based formula is great and if you can find SPF that's even better. Speaking of SPF- make sure you are wearing it! The FASTEST way to age your face? The sun. Its worse than smoking, poor diet, and lack of skin care put together- so get you some SPF girl!
My love for spring? Good, clear, light coverage skin. Now you might cringe at the thought of light coverage- you couldnt POSSIBLY leave the house without full face right? Well- that is what concealer is made for! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of a light, skin-like foundation with the coverage of concealer where you need it. I NEED under- eye coverage and pinpoint concealer where I have redness and blemishes. Dont freak out if some of that stuff shows through- that is what your skin looks like! Foundation isnt made to be a mask- but an agent to smooth and even out the appearance of your skin. Want to know what I am OBSESSING over? I have all price ranges listed too- so dont freak out!
#1- Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Foundation- Holy cow- how I love thee. This stuff lives up to its big brand name (and price). It gives the most AMAZING look and finish to the skin- but you can still see your skin through it. I am so so so in love with it!
#2- Mac Face and Body Foundation- Once only available to Makeup Artists, Mac has released it to the public and you can order it in a HUGE bottle online too! I have never, ever found another product like this one. Its sheer to light coverage with the most amazing luminous, skin like finish. And just as the name states- you can use this on the body as well. If you have spider veins or mild imperfections that you want to gloss over on your legs- this is your stuff! Smooth a layer over your legs and let it set- and your legs have that glowing perfect look to them. Me loves.
#3- L'Oreal True Match Foundation- This stuff is a standard and a fave of mine. Its really true medium coverage and it comes in the most amazing color choices. You WILL find a color to match you. Its really light on the skin and has light reflecting particles in it to make you look healthy and natural. They have a Lumi version as well that is a real luminous finish. I dont tend to like that version as well- I find that it can look almost greasy on some people....so I stick to the original tried and true.
#4- Garnier Oil Free BB Cream- This line has a few different options of BB creams- anti aging, combo to oily, normal to dry. I really like that because obviously not every ones skin is the same. BB creams are supposed to be skincare and makeup in one....so if the skin care isn't for your skin type.....whats the point? My favorite version is the oil free version. I find that it has better coverage and lasting ability. It still feels light and looks natural.
Now- to go along with your light skin- you are still going to have things you want to cover up. For me- its hereditary and child induced dark circles and hormonal redness around my nose. Here are a couple of my favorite go to concealers!
#1- Mac Prolongwear Concealer- this stuff is really awesome for under the eyes. Its thin but has good coverage. It claims to be crease proof and water proof. I find that it still creases and I have to set it with powder- but the creasing is SIGNIFICANTLY less than other brands. The tiniest bit goes a long way and there are a lot of color choices.
#2- Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser for Dark Circles- This stuff is my JAM! I love this guy. I have repurchased this more than any other concealer in my kit- including all my high end versions. I have to admit, the sponge tip applicator was a little dodgy to think of putting it on my face- but once I got over that- the product is AMAZING. The sponge is antimicrobial- so that put my mind at ease, but I still just use my fingers. Its so so so good- try it out! Its 12 hours of sleep in a bottle.
#3- L'Oreal True Match Crayon Concealer- you could use this all over the face or under the eyes. I dont tend to like it under the eye- I think it looks a bit heavy. I LOVE it for around my nose and for blemishes though. It blends easily and it lasts.
OK- so you have your foundation and concealer on- now you dont want it to go away.....POWDER TIME. You need to set your foundation and concealer without adding another layer of heaviness or coverage. This is where I find a lot of women turning to a powder foundation to layer on more color and coverage. Not for spring skin my dear! You want a light translucent powder just to keep what you have done from going away. I could recommend so many high end products but I wont. The only one I will tell you to grab RIGHT NOW is the Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder. This stuff ROCKS and is CHEAP.
If you have dry skin, you don't need to set EVERYTHING. I would just PRESS the powder onto anywhere you have put concealer or anywhere you tend to get shiny. For me- I only use powder under my eyes and on the t-zone. If you are oily or your foundation tends to move....set your whole face in a pressing motion. Whatever you do- try to resist the urge to pack on the powder- that will undo all of your hard work creating effortless light skin.
As one final step (and this is TOTALLY optional) you can set your foundation with a setting spray. Setting sprays claim to help prolong the wear time of your makeup and help you achieve a more perfected look. I like them because they get rid of the powdery look to the skin and make all your products play nice together. Just a couple of spritzes of setting spray can really help you get a true skin finish. I like the Urban Decay All Nighter or the NYX Matte Setting Spray. They both are good and bring your skin back to looking like.....skin.
Yeah for spring and getting rid of heavy, dark makeup. I think Im going to continue this series and do a few more touching on eyes, lips, hair....what do you think? Let me know what your favorite spring skin loves are!
Hey guys- its that time again- time to tell you all the goodies I got in my spring VOXBOX. I am going to do individual reviews but I thought that I would just tell you what came inside my VOXBOX and link the individual reviews so you can pick and choose what you want to read about! You should check out Inflenster.com if you are interested in trying out new products in exchange for an honest review. Its been really fun and it's introduced our family to some fun new things!
#1- Secret Outlast completely clean clear gel deodorant and antiperspirant
#2- OSIS+ Dust IT texture Mattifying Powder
#4- NYC APPLELICIOUS Glossy Lip Balm
Ah the tastykake! Was I excited or what to try these?! Anyone who knows me at all knows that I like me a good Reese's PB cup from time to time, or everyday- so this was a nice surprise. I am not a big snack cake person. I didn't care for the twinkie when it was alive, I don't really like the Swiss rolls- so I may not be the best judge when it comes to these.
Mine showed up and it was pretty mushed up- hence why I used this beautiful stock image- mine looked like....well- lets just say it wasn't pretty. I don't know if it was because of being mushed- but my cake was dry. I think the flavor was good but again- not a huge fan of snack cakes. Now the kids on the other hand! LOL- Duncan who is the most gun shy person about new foods dived right in and devoured the whole thing. Sophie liked it too but she was surprised there wasn't more PB in the Reese's cake.
I probably will purchase these for the kids again- they LOVED them. I don't know if they are regional or something though because I cant find them in my Utah Kroger market or Walmart. We will have to wait and see if this is part of a national launch or what! I hear they also have a York Peppermint Pattie cake which would be up my ally too! I would say that these are definitely worth a try! Let me know if you see them locally!
So this was probably the most disappointing thing in my Spring VOXBOX. There are a lot of products like the Maybelline Color Whispers and the Revlon Lip Butters and I think that this is NYC's answer to them. They are really just a kitchy lip gloss that has an apple in the center with a hint of color and an absolutely unpleasant smell. Im sad because I love quite a few of NYC products- their fuschia lip gloss lives in my purse. This just missed the mark for me.
This product is awesome for the Bonne Bell crowd that wants a smelly flavored lip gloss. Actually no, I wouldn't even go there- just buy the Bonne Bell. It has a super strong fake apple smell to it but when you lick your lips its straight up melted plastic/wax flavor. I could only leave it on my lips for all of 10 minutes before I just wiped it off. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this. My seven year old didn't even want this. She said it smelled like apple air freshener mixed with cough syrup which is a pretty good description. I saved it just so I would remember to write this review and now its going in the trash. RIP dear lip balm.
I received the imPRESS Press-on Manicure in the Nicole Scherzinger Signature Series. (OMG thats a mouthful) If you look at the picture- I received the second from the left- its a french manicure style with zebra and multi colored tropical flowers. I have tried imPRESS nails once before when I was on vacation and my mom picked me up a box to try. I decided that I should give these another go now that I am at home and doing my normal day to day routine.
First off- the nail at that was sent to me is NOT my style AT ALL. I love bright colored and fun nails but these were just tacky. If it would have been JUST flowers, or JUST glitter, or JUST zebra, or JUST french manicure- they would have been really cute. All of it together just looked like a hot mess. It was WAY over styled.
The second issue I had- these are WAAAAY short. My nails are not super long by any stretch of the imagination but these press on nails were shorter than my actual nails. I had to decide if I was going to cut/file my natural nails in order to wear these. I opted to find the best fitting nail (which was kind of a struggle too) and then file down whatever natural nail was exposed.
Next- the artificial nails were not even. Some of them were straight across- some were more rounded, some were crooked and shorter on one side than the other. I tried filing them with a heavy grit file and in the mean time I filed away MORE of my natural nails. The really nice thing about the shape of these though is that the edge that is closest to your cuticle is beveled so it looks a lot more natural than other press on nails I have seen.
Once I got them on and started wearing them- I had a couple more snags. First off- a very literal snag with my hair. There is a space between the natural nail and the artificial nail that you cant get rid of. Because of that- anytime that I put my hand through my hair- my hair could get caught and even get stuck on some of the adhesive and rip my hair out. This happened on both the edge where the cuticles are and the free edge. I imagine if you had sorter natural nails though that it would resolve the issue on the free edge of the nail. The other issue I had is that because there is a space between the free edge- any lotions or soaps or food or anything gets stuck right in there. I felt like I had to use a nail brush every hour to get all the crap out in between the nails.
I think that this product is MUCH better suited for a younger person. A teenager who has short nails and wants to change it up a bit or has a special event coming up and you don't want to spend a lot of money- PERFECT. I think these are a great option for when you have prom or a date and you want your nails to look nice but don't want the commitment of acrylics or have the time to paint your nails. I wouldn't recommend them if you are just wanting to wear them on a day to day basis. They claim to last up to a week but after two or so days I pulled them off and chucked them. Have you tried imPRESS nails? What did you think?
I literally squealed with excitement when I saw this little bad boy! I have been looking at this product and products like it for MONTHS and I have been wanting to try it out but never quite made the purchase for whatever reason. This is a mattifying powder that you sprinkle in the roots of your hair and then you massage in to add lift and volume to your hair. It also helps absorb any extra oil that may be living on your scalp.
I have been growing my hair out for nearly three years now. I have pretty curly hair that is super dry so in order to protect it- I very rarely use heat on it. That means no blow drying which is the only way I have found to give my long, curly hair volume from the roots. My hair can some times do the shroom- where its flat on top and voluminous on the sides and bottom- which is NOT cute and I have been looking for a product to help me out with that issue-
Que Dust It Powder! I only put this on the crown portion of my hair and I just sprinkle the tiniest amount in sections. I then leave it on my hair for about two minutes then I flip my head over and massage the product into the scalp and the roots of my hair for at least a minute. When I flip my head back over- I have bombshell volume baby!
At first- this can feel a little tacky or sticky but after a bit- it calms down and doesn't feel so textured. There is absolutely no scent to it which I love and even though the powder is white- you cant see it AT ALL in my black hair once its rubbed in. There are also no parabans, sulfates or silicones in it which is great for my "curly girl method" routine. I think it you have straight hair that you want mega volume with back-combing- I think you would LOVE this. I even tried it on Duncan's short spiky boy hair and it was awesome for a mo-hawk look that wasn't shiny or "gelly". I would TOTALLY recommend this product. I will absolutely be repurchasing this and Influenster even gave me a $5 off coupon for this to use at Ulta!
First thing that I received in my Spring VOXBOX from Influenster.com is the Secret Outlast Completely Clean Clear Get Antiperspirant and Deodorant. I have to admit that I had a mixed reaction to this product initially. I usually use the Secret Outlast line but in the past I haven't been the biggest fan of gel deodorant. It has always left my armpits feeling sticky and I felt like I had to air them out for like 5 minutes to dry. The thing is- summer is HERE. I wear tank tops all summer long and don't nobody want to see white on my underarms. I have worn this for just over ten days straight and I honestly have to say- I really, really like this.
First off- I received the 1.7 oz container and I have to tell you, I had to turn that dang wheel like 20 times to get the gel to come out at all, let alone evenly- so I was worried that I wasn't really getting my 1.7 oz of product. Once it was primed though- it only takes 2 clicks per underarm and a little really does go a long way. The other thing that I was pleasantly surprised with is that if you just rub it in for a good 20 seconds- there really is no dry time! That was shocking actually.
The scent is super light which I like. I don't care for deodorants with a scent. I don't want to be able to TELL that my deodorant is on or competing with other lotions or perfumes. So that is awesome. It really does last all day. It has a 48 hour claim on the packaging but honestly- Im not about to go 2 days on one application. Its just not my style.
The best thing about this product to me? (secret revealed here and now) I have been doing laser hair removal treatments on my underarms over the last few months. I have had great results but it does make my underarms a bit sensitive for a a couple of days afterward. The cooling sensation of the gel was really nice and it didn't irritate my skin at all. So that was AWESOME. If you are looking for something to wear to avoid the white chalkiness of the typical deodorant- I would actually really recommend trying this one out. This aint your 1980's gel deodorant! :)
