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Hello beauties.

Today was the beginning of a new month; three months ago I decided to start this blog. I started watching makeup tutorials on you tube March 08'. I have been deeply in love with makeup and all other beauty related things since. ^_^

I decided to hold my first mini giveaway as a thank you to all that have shown interest in my blog; as well as those that have inspired me.



♥Prizes include:

Too Faced Natural Eye Shadow Collection
China Glaze Lemon Fizz from the Up & Away Collection
Salon Perfect Lashes # 301
Charlotte Russe Earrings
(everything is unused, brand new, bought with my own money)



Here is what the shadows in the Too Faced Palette look like:

great for everyday or night time looks, very beautiful pigmented shadows!



Here are the Rules:

1. You must be a follower of my blog.

2. Open Internationally

3. Be 18 or older, or have permission from guardian

4. Blog about this giveaway including a picture of prizes and link back here, or you may include it in your sidebar!

5. Tell me who your favorite beauty guru is in your comment below

5. Also in the comments, leave your email, and link back to this post on your blog



This giveaway will end April 29th.
Winner will be picked using a random generator.

♥

April Showers .. bring May Flowers

Two favorites. Bare Minerals Powder Foundation has always been one of my favorite go to foundations... it gives a pretty natural coverage. I also have been using this blush regularly this past month. It is Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless creme blush in Plush Peach. The brush is a Sonia Kashuk powder brush.



Maybelline Color Sensational Peachy Scene Lipstick; MAC Lustreglass Pinkarat lipgloss. I love these two together... soo pretty :)

>>> Today I brought boxes out of my storage of years past spring and summer clothes. Since I was pregnant last summer, I didn't get the chance to wear any of them, nor did I even look at them... ha. So now when I see them I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe of pretty clothes :) .... Only problem is I can't fit into them :( Size two to size 4 dresses... small tops... size 3-5 jeans... all too small :/ I now have hips ... as well as flab I need to lose. I am determined to lose the weight to fit into my old clothes again. I had a couple of girlfriends comment on my facebook status I made about it, one recommended i try the master cleanse diet... I'm going to research that.

This is my new bikini I bought recently from Target. It is going to be one of my motivations to tone up... ;)



♥

A drugstore dupe for Too Faced Shadow "Label Whore"

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to do a post about some things I have had in my makeup collection for quite some time, but are often neglected. Do you ever feel like you don't want to buy more makeup until you can really say .. "I'm using most of the products I have already bought?" Don't get me wrong, I love buying new things to try and I visit my local Ulta almost every week, but this can be an expensive addiction! And I know there are so many great things in my makeup storage I have never used or only used once or twice. So lately I have been limiting what I buy, and not buying anything pricey until I can really say I'm using what I have already.

Anyways...The other day I did a look with my Too Faced Glamour Revolution palette my sister bought me around Christmas time. One of my favorite shadows in the collection is called "Label Whore"

I found a dupe for this shadow while I was at Target about two months ago, it's the L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigment in Intrepid.

It is such a BEAUTIFUL color! To the eye it looks like a bluish, greenish, brownish red color.





To the left is "Label Whore" the right is "Intrepid"



Lastly.............

I was given the Cherry On Top Award by Ann at The Real Deal Reviews. Thanks for my first blog award! :)



Rules
1. Thank the person that gave this to you.
2. Copy the award and put it on your blog.
3. List 3 things you love about yourself.
4. Post a picture you love (e.g a person you adore etc.)
5. Tag 5 people you wish to pass this award on to.

Three things I love about myself are:

*I love that I am a Mommy. It came at an unexpected time for everyone in my life, but it really is the best thing that ever happened to me hands down.
*I love being the middle child. I have an older sister and younger brother.
*I love my eyelashes. They are naturally long and I can't tell you how many people have asked me if I am wearing fake lashes when I wasn't.

Picture of a person I adore:




My sister/best friend Nikita. She is currently a pilot in training for the USAF. She recently decided to start her own blog @ Graffiti Renegade

I would like to pass this award on to:

Rai @ Glam Morena
Miss P @ missp-princess-life
Melissa @ PrincessLisax3
Caitlin @ Chrysanthemum
Miss Kimmy @ Strawberry Stiletto


♥

Quick Post - ELF @ Target!

Thanks to the lovely Miss P I was delightfully informed that Target is now carrying more ELF products, even some from their studio line. Since I live pretty close to a Target, I had to go check it out asap (aka) the next day lol.



I picked up their Studio Powder brush, the studio blushing and bronzing duo, a shimmering facial whip, and one luscious liquid lipstick. I tried them all out yesterday afternoon and I must say I am really impressed! These products are so wallet friendly and I really feel like the things I bought are quality things that didn't break the bank. I will do a FOTD soon using the products.





The blush from this duo would honestly look great on any skin tone. I know this is supposed to be somewhat similar to the NARS duo that everyone loves (i have yet to try that one, but have stared at it plenty in Sephora) and now I can see why so many people would love shades like these.





The shimmering facial whip I bought is in the color "Toasted". So far I really like this, i only used it on my cheekbones, but you are supposed to be able to apply it pretty much anywhere. It worked as a nice highlighter and did give that pretty "dewy" look. Only 1 buck!

The luscious liquid lipstick I bought is in the color "Pink Lemonade". This is another color that I think would look great on any skin tone, especially those that have fair skin. When applying these you get a tingly sensation like you would if you had put on burts bee's lip balm. Very nice. They also smell kinda minty. I really loved this, it wasn't really sticky at all and made my lips feel smooth and moisturized. Again only 1 buck.

The studio powder brush is a little smaller than I thought it would be after seeing the online pictures from the ELF site, but i still really like it, the handle is nice and sturdy... and overall it does the job.


So go check out your local Target. I think these ELF products are a great buy considering the price.

♥

New buys and a few photo's ♥

Studio Secrets™ Professional Magic Perfecting Base

This base is supposed to reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines. The product claims to provide a flawless matte finish that makes your skin look smooth and resurfaced. I have only used this "magic base" a few times since a bought it... so far I honestly am not sure if I really am finding it useful. It doesn't really make my makeup look any different than it does when i just use my Cetaphil moisturizer. I will try it a few more times though. It does feel incredibly velvety and smooth though to the touch.

I also bought a few new LASplash pigments: Russet and Lovely. Russet is a pretty brown with gold shimmer/reflects pigment, and Lovely feels more like chunky glitter to the touch. It is a pretty white with fluorescent pink; nice for highlight or inner corner, or for using over another shadow.

Here are a few pictures, the weather has been beautiful the last few days :)






















Recent pictures of my princess

she just recently started being able to sit up by herself... she can only do it for a minute or two right now though without toppling over, hehe ;)





♥

The "Shampoo Myth Comes Clean"

Ever since I can remember I have been on the search for that "miracle hair product" ... the one that will leave your tresses looking healthy, shiny, and manageable. You know... that product that will make your hair feel like silk to the touch, the one that will give you the experience the ladies feel in the Herbal Essences commercials. I'm not so sure I have found it yet... but on the journey to it I have found a few great products that are wallet friendly.

It is rumored that your hair can get "used to" certain shampoos and conditioners and therefore you should switch up which ones you use every now and then. I was reading my "Prevention Magazine" (one of the bold fonts was "walk that belly off" and after having a baby, that's something I need to do so I purchased it, lol) and found that only 33% of people stick to the same shampoo brand. I know I'm not apart of that percentage. The truth is that your hair cannot get "used to" any product because hair is dead, which leaves it unable to adapt. But there are certain shampoo's that work better for different things... such as if you color your hair you may need a shampoo that is more moisturizing, or sometimes your scalp may need a clarifying shampoo to clean out any products your strands are holding on to.

With this being said I went to Wal Mart last night and picked out some new hair products! Lol. ;)



On first impression I am very satisfied with my new Garnier hair care products. They left my curls feeling very soft. I got the feeling of a squeaky clean scalp with the shampoo. The deep conditioner that is supposed to be great for dry hair & it really did make it easier for the comb to slide through my otherwise tangly hair. I used the leave in conditioner and wave enhancing spray after wards and i love how they are working for my hair so far too. They all smell wonderful to me as well.


The best thing is these products were about $2.75 each. I have tried Redken, Chi, Tigi, Mizani and other more expensive brands, but honestly for my hair, the cheap stuff works just as well if not better.

A close up of my natural curls after using these products:





What are your favorite hair products? ♥

♥

Going Green for Saint Patty's Day

Hey everyone! Happy Saint Patrick's day!

Here's a look I did for the holiday. I'm wearing the dream matte mousse foundation and powder from my last blog post. Other products listed below.










Face:
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Liquid
Dream Matte Powder
Milani XL Bronzer
Ulta Blush, forgot which one

Eyes:

Bloom Eye Colour Cream "Moss"
Ulta Mineral Eyeshadow "Jade"
LASplash Pigment "Dragon Dust"
Lineur Intense Liner
Hip Black Cream Liner
Cover Girl Lash Blast

Lips:
Rimmel Lipstick "Heavenly"
Ulta Lipgloss "Sugarplum"



Do you remember looking for four leaf clovers as a child? *sigh* sometimes I really miss being a kid.

MayBelline Dream Liquid Mousse & Dream Matte Powder

The weekend before last I was browsing in CVS just to see what sales they had going on and I didn't really see much I was interested in but... I did remember I had seen a guru on You tube raving about Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. I wanted to try it out because I have problems with my t-zone area looking oily especially in photos. So i grabbed that in my shade Honey (Medium 3-4) and since they were having a BOGO 50% off I bought the Dream Liquid mousse as well in the shade Natural Beige (Medium 2.5)

The first liquid foundation I bought turned out to be a little too light for my skin tone especially since I'll probably be getting darker soon due to the weather... so I went back and bought the Honey Beige (Medium 4); they had sold out of this shade at the first CVS I bought from.

Overall I rate the Dream Matte powder 4/5*
It really works great for getting rid of unwanted shine. You can keep reapplying it throughout the day if you care to w/o it looking like you have over powdered. In my experience from using it the last few days it lasts about 6-7 hours when applied.


The liquid foundation also gets 4/5* stars from me

I don't usually reach for liquid foundation when applying my makeup because I feel like it can look heavy very fast on my skin. But this applies very nicely and gives a good coverage without looking like you are wearing it. It is build-able and will of course looks even better when finished with the Dream Matte Powder.



Here are a few swatches of the two colors... I may return the lighter one because I'm not sure I'll be using it. (in reality I'm probably a mix of both of these shades.)