Hair Products I use *

I don't know about you ladies but I always get sucked into buying whatever I think will be the next miracle product for my hair that I have been looking for my whole life... here are some things have actually worked for me :)

Moroccan Oil -
Revives hair
Strengthens and conditions
Reduces drying time

Anyone can use this oil, it is non-greasy, helps keep hair healthy and has a nice smell. I would not recommend buying this from amazon, I have read reviews that it isn't authentic the majority of the time if you do. You can find this at local beauty salons in your city. Around 40USD

Yellow bird Hair Dryer -
I found out about this dryer after one of the hair stylist I went to used it on my hair. It has four different heat settings, comes with a straightening comb (which is what I use to blow dry my hair) and a concentrator nozzle as well. This works amazing on my THICK CURLY hair. So if you have remotely thinner hair than mine, and not curly I'm sure this would work for you well too. The straightening comb makes it SO easy to blow dry your hair in a way that it's not going to be all over the place and tangly. After you use this it's going to be much easier to flat iron. Price ranges around 30-40 USD.

Denman Hair Brush/ Goody Ouchless Hair Bands -
Love this brush, really the only brush I use unless I want a smooth look. Those hair bands are the only kind I like... they aren't too thick or too thin, and they don't damage my hair seeing as they don't have those dreadful metal clasps.

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny -
I would recommend this line of products, especially if your someone who uses a lot of heat on your hair. This will cut down your blow drying time, as well as make your hair look healthy. Another product I was introduced to from the stylist who used the yellow bird on my hair. Price is around 15 USD I think.

Herbal Essences Conditioner -
These are my HG conditioners. They are very affordable and they NEVER let me down whether I want to wear my hair curly or straight. They come in ton's of different smells and uses, I like to switch up... which is why I have two right now.

Redken All Soft Conditioner -
This is one high end conditioner I love. I think it would be suitable for any hair type. It makes me and my daughters hair super soft and manageable. Definitely Recommend. The shampoo from this line is also nice I just didn't have any more to picture. Price Ranges. Sometimes you can get them on special shampoo/conditioner for around 36 USD I believe.

Biosilk Silk Therapy-
I love this. It's just as great as Moroccan Oil to me. It works great on my hair you can find it in Target and plenty of other places. It is suitable on all hair types... adds instant shine, and you will literally notice a difference in the feel of your hair as well as look after you put some of this in. This little bottle is about 14 USD.

Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide -
I love to use this product for protecting my hair from heat. I will not use anything water based, I tried the Tresemme one some people rave about and it was NOT for me. This product is awesome, I really feel like it does the job... it makes my hair easier to flat iron, and adds a nice shine. Price is around 18 USD.

Ion One Stroke Perpetual Heat Flat Iron -
I have tried plenty of flat irons but so far this one is working the best for my hair. It goes up to 450 degrees... which is the setting I like to use. It does NOT lose heat while you are flat ironing your hair. Plates are not damaging to your hair. Retails around 80 USD.

♥

Smokey Eyes ♥Pink Lips

Products Used:
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Barcelona (I finally got it!)
MAC MSF - Medium Deep
Random Pink Blush

Eyes:
Urban Decay - Black Dog
Urban Decay - Last Call
HiP Pigment - Intrepid
UD 24/7 Zero
Lancome Double Wear Lengthening Mascara

Lips:
Lancome Color Design - Love It! Creme LS
MAC Pink Nouveau

♥

Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette Review/Swatches

During Coastal Scent's Black Friday sale they offered 33% off of their entire site, so I got the item I had been wanting from them for the longest, the 88 Warm Palette. This palette is originally 24.50 USD, but with the discount I was able to get it for around that amount once shipping had been included. So basically it was like I got it shipped for free.

What Coastal Scents says:

A true favorite whether your a professional or a novice, this set provides matte, shimmer, smokey shades and neutral shadows. The huge plus about this palette set is that it has been created in a way that all skin tones can will be a able to apply multiple fashion looks. We have combined matte with shimmer and pearls, there are 42 matte shades, the rest are shimmer/pearl.

Colors contained are in Silver blues, camo greens, earthy peach and stone, rich plums and so many shades of brown (everyone's favorite!) There are plenty of highlight colors for below the brow line and inner eye that will work with any look you create.

What I say:

Overall, I really love this palette. For starters there are some colors in there I really love which are the plums and peach toned shadows. I think that the silvery blues are unique and nice to have as well. There are SO many browns, you probably will never run out of a brown eyeshadow if you own this palette (nice matte browns to fill your brows with!). With that being said you probably will also never run out of a highlight shade. That was one thing I was a little disappointed about with this palette, the fact that there are SO many highlights, I feel like some of those shades could have been replaced with more warm toned shadows...olives...bronze shades... gold shades... etc. Seriously, how many highlights do you possibly need? But oh well, like I said that was a con and pro, if that makes sense. I feel like this palette is great for work, school, and everyday natural looks. It's great to use if your lazy one day and just want to quickly apply a pretty neutral all over your lid. I've been doing that quite often since I got this palette. The shipping from Coastal Scents was pretty fast, I think it took maybe 5 days? So that was definitely a pro.

Is it worth getting if you don't have it?!
I'd say so. Although there are more browns and highlights than you will ever need, there are a lot of great colors too. I do suggest using some type of base!! Some colors are a little on the chalky side, but I'd say overall most of them had a nice finish.








Swatches:

Sorry but I didn't swatch all 88 colors... however, I did a few swatches just in case anyone was interested. These are just to give you a general idea of some of the colors and their finishes, no primer was used, I was too lazy to go grab it ;)




(below) Sorry i couldn't get the picture on the left to rotate; basically I just used one color for my lid and crease and then added some falsies, my eyeliner had kinda started to fade by the time I took the picture. On the right I used the silvers and dark greys to create a smokey eye with a sharp edge. Looked better in person.

I hope you all had a great weekend!
♥

Milani Brow Fix

A couple of weeks ago while I was browsing the cosmetic aisles at Target I came across Milani's Brow fix. I had seen one of my favorite guru's use this in one her videos... and I wanted to try a new brow product, so needless to say it ended up in my cart!

The product comes with two brow powders giving you the option of a more natural lighter brown, or a dark brown for a darker brow. It also comes with a little fixture that flips up containing mini tweezers, angled brush, and a sponge applicator for the highlight; when you flip it up there is a small mirror under. What I like about this kit is that it is small and compact containing everything you need to fix your brows! I believe the price was around $5 dollars.

(wearing the darker brow powder)



step by step instructions (I got my kit in "dark" ; also available in "light" and "medium"



highlight color, "Brow 2", "Brow 1"

Overall I would recommend Milani's Brow Fix! I have been using it pretty much everyday since I purchased it and I really can say I am pleased, I feel like it helps to define my brows just how I like them and it's really easy to use as well. The two different shades to choose from is great, some days I want to go for a darker brow so I use "Brow 1", other days I just choose the "Brow 2". I actually really like the highlight too. It's a nice color that goes well with my skin tone, not too shimmery at all. Edit >> The only thing I will say that wasn't that great in this kit are the tweezers! I didn't have much luck with them... so I would recommend not counting on them for your everyday use.

Hope everyone's had a great Thursday!

♥

Click here to enter my giveaway! (ends tomorrow!) Extended until next Tuesday, Dec. 7th. (read below why)

EOTD

I used my Urban Decay Book of shadows 3 today, I really liked the look I did... i just couldn't get a good shot of it on my camera. (Sony Cybershot 12.1) Does anyone have any camera recommendations? I really want a new one soon.

I used NYX jumbo pencil in slate (midnight blue color) on my lid as a base; then Loaded from the palette on the entire lid; perversion in the crease; uzi in tear duct; and a Milani highlighter; Elf dramatic lashes cut in half.

Revlon Colorstay in Natural tan 330; Revlon Powder; Sunny bronzer on the apples of my cheeks and temples. Milani Brow kit (review on that coming soon!)

Hope everyone is having a great Monday
♥

P.S -- Feel Free to enter my MAC Pink 4 Friday Lipstick giveaway below... if you don't want that color and you are the winner you are free to choose a different shade.

In the mail today. . . ♥

So today I had a nice gift in the mail waiting for me when I got home. My sister bought me two new pairs of jeans, one are by Seven for All Mankind and the second pair are by Citizens of Humanity.

Nothing compares to a good pair of jeans when it comes to clothes. You can buy your tops from just about anywhere, but a good pair of quality jeans that have a nice fit are hard to find (if you want to spend cheap that is). I believe my sister got both of these pairs at some kind of outlet store a few days ago in Oklahoma city.


^_^So here are my new jeans... of course I tried them on as soon as I ripped the box open ~

Have you ever tried either of these designer jean brands? I'm loving them, the denim is great quality and gives perfect fit.

♥

E.L.F Holiday Kits at Target *

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well :) I wanted to share with you all a palette I picked up from Target a few weeks ago. If you check your local Target, in the cosmetics section, you will most likely see a small section of Eyes Lip Face products ranging from $5 dollar eyeshadow palettes and kits, to $1-3 dollar eyeliners, lipglosses, etc.

I decided to try out the 32 eyeshadow palette ($5). I previously only owned two ELF eyeshadows which were from the studio line, they weren't very impressive but I think it may have had a little to do with the colors I chose (white and light tan). I've been using my new ELF palette frequently since purchasing it, and I must say I am impressed. Five dollars is a great deal for the what you are getting out of these shadows, they aren't all the best glide on texture or most pigmented shadows you will ever try, but you get what you pay for. In this case you aren't going to lose.

Pros:
Great price
Nice color selection... plenty of neutrals and a few bright colors if your feeling adventurous
Some of the shadows are nicely pigmented as well as have a nice texture
Compact case, sturdy, small mirror included in case

Cons:
Some shadows have poor pigmentation
Matte colors are harder to apply as far as seeing pigmentation
Shadows require a little more packing on than you probably have to do with some of your fav. shadows

Overall: I recommend this if you are someone that doesn't have many shadows in your collection. There are some fun colors that have decent pigmentation, could be a nice practice palette for beginners, especially if you aren't wanting to invest much money into makeup. This isn't really a must have item or anything, just bought on a whim, and for fun.

Swatches:

First Row excluding two highlight colors I couldn't get to show up on my arm. . . I love that gold♥ probably the best pigmentation of them all. *Swatched over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk*

Second Row, as you can see the first color on right wasn't very pigmented. . . I think they actually looked a little better in person.

Third Row... pretty much all the fun colors... I could barely get the light purple to show.

Final Row... as you can see these silver and gray's aren't the best pigmentation but the matte black wasn't too bad.

Have you picked up any of these ELF Holiday kits from Target?

♥

Lust Haves ♥

I'm in the midst of packing up (moving) but I wanted to do a post about a few items I am lusting at the moment. The holiday season is right around the corner (black Friday is the Friday after this coming one, wonder if the sales will be good?!) and I'm making my wish list. Here are a few things I have come across that I really would like to try out, this post will be somewhat random so bear with me :)

(all product images found on google image search)
Urban Decay Naked Palette $44 USD - I have to have this. This product has been raved about by all beauty gurus who were lucky enough to get it while it was in stock. It is not limited edition, so don't worry if you can't get it right when they stock back up, it isn't going anywhere!

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer $42 USD - I think this would be nice for day's when I don't want to wear foundation but still want an even skin tone (Which happen to be most days for me). It has great reviews. One con I already see is the price, very expensive for a tinted moisturizer.

Laura Mercier Loose Powder $34 USD - I've seen plenty of beauty gurus use this product and say it's great. Its translucent so you don't have to worry about picking the right shade. The reviews on Sephora are all pretty much rave reviews, they claim you can just use this alone and it will even out your skin tone. I really want this setting powder.


Nars Sheer Glow Foundation $42 - This is a must have product for me once I get past the price tag. I tried this while I was visiting my sister, and I absolutely loved it! It give my skin such a pretty glow, it didn't feel heavy at all, and it was easy to apply and blend out just by using my fingers.

Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick Set $28 USD - I happened to see this while browsing Sephora's site. I think the shade's in this set look amazing and are such a great combination, those all look like wearable shades (for my skin tone at least, some may complain about them being too dark) . I think this a great holiday set and a great way to add colors you may not have in your collection without breaking the bank buying them all individually.


Moving on. . .

(images from kim's blog)

I was browsing Kim K's blog and came across these photos she posted about a new hair chain she designed for her new line Belle Noel for Pascal Mouawad. I think this is really cute. I read some of the comments and some people posted they thought that it wouldn't be a hit, and that they thought it would be too heavy/damaging to the hair. What do you think?

So what are some products you ladies are lusting over right now?

♥