Sunday, January 31, 2010

MAC Coconut Ice

Hi all! If you are anything like me, the thought of Spring and Summer fast approaching makes you all giddy inside because of all the amazing colors that will be realeased in makeup and clothing collections!

One of these collections was released this winter to prepare us for Spring. This collection is the MAC in Lillyland collection (Lilly Pulitzer). This collection had many different items that were all inspired by Lilly Pulitzer's preppy and bright designs. We saw a lot of bright pinks, corals, oranges, ect..

One of my favorites from this collection had to be the nail polish in Coconut Ice. This is a beautiful coral/pinky color. This is the perfect color to bring us into Spring. The swatch on the left is two coats of this gorgeous color! In real life, this color has more of a brighter coral finish than is showing in the swatch.

Did you haul anything from the MAC in Lillyland collection?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

If You Were Stranded on a Desert Island....

what 5 makeup/beauty items would you bring? I was looking through my ever growing makeup stash today and my boyfriend posed this question. What in the world would you do if you were stranded on a desert island. You woudn't have access to all of this makeup, so what 5 items would you bring? Usually anything he says relating to my makeup stash goes in one ear and out the other (ie..you have way too much makeup, think of what else we would have bought with that money, ect) but this comment got me thinking. What 5 items would I bring? I think the point of that question was to make me see that I only needed those 5 items, but clearly if that was intent he was way off!

To see what I think, click here to watch my YouTube video on this topic :D 

So, let me know...what 5 items would you bring?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Its...Giveaway Time!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to announce that Skin MD Natural is holding a giveaway. If you are new to my blog or have not read past posts you can click here to read my review on the Skin MD Natural shielding lotion or click here to watch my YouTube review of the Skin MD natural sielding lotion. To sum both reviews up, I think that this is a wonderful product that everyone should have in their skincare arsenal! The amazing people at Skin MD Natural are hosting a massive Valentine's Day giveaway. All you have to do is click here to go to the giveaway entry and supply them with your name and email.
 
The prizes are as follows:
  • A Bottle Skin MD Natural shielding lotion
  • A Bottle Skin MD Natural + SPF 15 shielding lotion
  • One pound of See's dark assorted chocolates
  • 12 Starbucks VIA Ready brew coffee pouches
  • A "Kiss Me" mug
  • A Cuddly teddy bear
  • Lollipop Bouquet
  • All in a lined wicker basket
    This giveaway closes on February 7, 2010. This is the cutest giveaway and perfectly themed and timed for Valentine's Day...and it takes less than a minute to enter. Thanks guys, and let me know if any of you win :D

    Wednesday, January 20, 2010

    Great skin starts with...

    a great moisturizer! A company called Skin MD Natural has made a product called a shielding lotion. This is not your typical moisturizer!

    Details: A new innovation in the world of Skincare. This is a three in one moisturizer-a face, hand, and body lotion. The packaging on this product is quite simple, but that's ok because you are not purchasing this for the packaging!

    Where to buy: This can be purchased at the Skin MD Natural website or at locations that can be found using the store locater on the website!

    How to use it: Use this as your daily moisturizer all over your body, face, and hands.


    How it works: This moisturizers shields your skin from everyday irritants such as soap, cleansers, and chemicals. These are things that we all come in contact with everyday. This lotion also forms a protective layer on your skin to help your skin to retain its natural moisture. You apply the tiniest bit to you skin and rub it in just like a typical moisturizer. This lotion is a gel like consistency that is fairly thin, but don't let that fool you. This little lotion packs quite a punch of moisture!



    My thoughts: I think that this is a great lotion. This has improved the look and feel of my skin. I was a bit skeptical using this on my combination oily face, but it gave moisture to the dry areas on my face, didn't add extra oil to the oily parts of my face, and didn't clog my pores! I have also used this on my cuticles and on my dry cracked feet. Is this a miracle product? No. But, I have definitely seen a big difference in the way that my skin looks and feels.

    Overall rating: A-
    I would give it an A+, but this one does not have an SPF in it. They do make a lotion with an SPF of 15 in it.

    To see more about how I feel about this product, check out my review on YouTube

    To learn more about this product visit the Skin MD Natural Website

    FTC Disclosure:  This product was sent to me by the company for review consideration. As always, this is my honest opinion and I am not being paid to review this product.

    Monday, January 18, 2010

    New Product Alert: Urban Decay's New Primer Potion!

    So, it seems that the Urban Decay Primer Potion has somewhat of a cult following. I must admit that I am among that cult! Last year Urban Decay released a new one called Sin, which was a shimmery champagne color. I am in love with the original primer potion, but to be honest the Sin primer potion was just ok for me.

    But, Urban Decay has recently released a new one called Eden! This is marketed as a "tawny matte color" and product that you can wear alone for a "no makeup look" or to enhance eye shadow colors that you are wearing. I love the concept that they now have a matte neutral colored primer potion! This is what I have been hoping for! I think that this would be the perfect product for a day when I am running late and really only have time for eyeliner, because this can be like my priming and neutral shadow color in one step! I am definitely a fan of anything that can help me get out the door faster in the morning.

    As you can see, this primer potion is still packaged in the traditional "genie" type bottle. The applicator is the bent doe foot applicator. I am not sure if this truly helps to get more of the product out, as I have not cut open my bottle with the bent doe foot. If anyone knows, please let me know!

    This primer potion has a different feel to the bottle. Instead of the original plastic type bottle, this bottle has a suede like feel to it. ( I am guessing similar to NARS product packaging)
     
    As of right now this is only available at Sephora stores and at Sephora.com as a Beauty Insider exclusive. It is $18 and as of now, it only comes in one size.

    My verdict on this: I am headed out to Sephora to purchase this as soon as I am done with this post! I am so excited that they made a matte primer potion :)

    Will you be purchasing the newest addition to Urban Decay's primer potion family?

    Saturday, January 16, 2010

    MY FTC Disclosure

    As many of you know, the FTC created a new regulation regarding the disclosure of where products come from. This regulation basically states that if a blogger or a YouTuber receives a product for free, is sponsored by the company, or is receiving monetary compensation for a review then they must disclose this to their readers/viewers.

    My blog and Youtube channel are both ways for me to share my love of everything beauty and makeup related. This new regulation doesn't really change much for me. I am still a girl who loves anything and everything related to beauty and wants to share that with anyone who cares to read about it/listen to it.

    I am making a promise to all of you that I will always provide an honest review whether I received it for free or not. I think that sometimes receiving a product from a company is nice for everyone because I get to try a product that I may not have considered trying before and I get to share that product with you.

    After having said this, all of my reviews come from my personal experience with the product and are my own opinions. Sometimes people have different opinions and experiences with a product and the opinions written about here are all my own.

    Thank you to everyone who has been following my blog and commenting. I really do appreciate each and every one of you :D

    Wednesday, January 13, 2010

    Yearly Standouts: 2009 Favorites

    This is my list of my favorite products of 2009. To see the actual products and hear more about them, check out my YouTube video!

    When deciding which products to use as my 2009 favorites I really thought about which products I used on a regular basis, whether that be daily or weekly. Here is the list of products that I chose and links to where you can purchase them.

    Eyes:
    Lips:
    • Softlips in Vanilla (Drugstores)
    • Revlon Colorstay Clear Lipliner (Drugstores)
    • MAC lipglass in Viva Glam V (MAC stores, MAC counters, MAC website)
    Face:
    • Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Drugstores)
    • Bare Minerals Summer Bisque (Sephora Stores, Sephora online, Bare Escentuals stores, Bare Escentuals website)
    • CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Plumberry Glow (Drugstores)
    Brushes:
    Skincare:
    • CVS Exfoliating Cleansing Towelettes (CVS Stores)
    • Clean and Clear Persa Gel-10 (Drugstores)
    • Oil of Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion with SPF 15 (Drugstores)
    Miscellaneous:
    • Bath and Body Works Antibacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Gel-PocketBac (Bath and Body Works Stores, Bath and Body Works website)
    • Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal (Drugstores)
    I hope you all enjoyed this post! What were some of your favorites in 2009? Comment below and let me know :D

    Sunday, January 10, 2010

    A Twist on the Traditional French Manicure

    I love the look of a classic french manicure, but I was looking through my nail polish stash the other day and I decided to do a french manicure with a twist! Here is the final result:Keep reading if you want to see what products I used and the steps I took to achieve this look. Keep in mind you can use any brand of polish that is the same color, I am just showing you the particular products I used.

    First, I applied a base coat to my nails. This gives the nail polish something to grab onto as well as prevents your nails from getting stained. I used the China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (Sally's Beauty Supply):


    Next I applied grey nail polish to the tips of my nails. Try to make the line as straight as you can, but if it's a little uneven that's ok, because we can cover it up with the silver later! I used MAC nail polish in On the Prowl (MAC):
    Then paint over your entire nail (including the grey) using a very sheer pink color. I used the Rimmel nailpolish in french manicure (Drugstores):
    Next, I used a silver nailpolish with a fine tip brush applicator. I painted a line where the grey polish and the sheer pink color meet. Here I covered up any mistakes I made with the grey by thickening the silver stripe. I used So Easy Stripe Rite (Sally's Beauty Supply):
    Last, I used a top coat to seal in the nail look! I used Beauty Secrets fast drying top coat (Sally's Beauty Supply):


    This technique is fun because you can use any color combination. You can do pink tips with silver, black tips with gold, aanything you can think of you can do with this nail look!

    I hope you enjoyed this. Comment below and let me know what color combination you used :D