5 Fave Beauty Products for Spring 2015

Lorac - Unzipped Gold Shimmer and Matte Eye Shadow Palette
I recently splurged on this item because the colors were really lovely ("Undressed" is my fave in this) and offer a mix of matte (love) and shimmer shadows. These are nicely pigmented and cover really well (esp. if you have the blue veins on your lids). The downside to this is, it is a bit pricey ($42) but reasonable in terms of similar competitors (like the UD Naked Palettes), the tiny primer that came with my set wasn't anything mind-blowing (but hey.. bonus, I guess), and honestly if you swatch the top colors and compare them to the bottom shades there isn't a lot of color difference.

It's a 10 - Potion 10 Miracle Styling Potion
I'm not sure what it is about this creamy (lotion-like) product but when I straighten my naturally curly dry dyed blonde hair and use this to finish it off I get so many compliments on my hair. My hair just has a healthy glow/polish to it (not greasy) and it doesn't weigh down my thin/flat hair and I do feel it helps a bit with fly-a-ways. The downside is... I have not found any other 'It's a 10' hair product (of the handful I have tried) that I have liked (at all) and this particular item I usually can't find in store (so I either have to order it online or find it at a certain hair salon).

Too Faced - Shadow Insurance Primer
I don't generally use eye primers on a daily basis but I have tried numerous ones and honestly I think this is the best one I have yet to use (muchhhh more so than UDPP which is a little cheaper in terms of the amount of product you get). If you want to help extend the life of your eye shadow or liner than you should give this one a go.

Urban Decay - Ink For Eyes Waterproof Precision Eye Pen
I was skeptical to try this at first as it isn't that cheap (and usually I go for the thin brush eye liners) but I went for it after hearing someone on YouTube rave about it. If you're looking for a felt tip eye liner that will stay put from any eye rubbing, etc than I highly recommend giving this one a try, it's by far the best liquid eye liner I have used. Once this dries (in like a minute) it just doesn't budge until I wash my makeup off at the end of the day.

Cortizone 10
This may be an usual product to consider for beauty purposes (right?) but I discovered that this does not just remedy an itch, as applied a few times a week you may notice any pesky red stretch marks begin to vanish (miracle in a tube!). On the flip-side I have read that cortizone can cause stretch marks although I'm thinking that may only be internally and not externally (so, use at your own risk).

Kukui Oil + Coconut Oil

One product company I have a love-hate relationship with is Organix as I find several of the products to smell amazingly wonderful. On the downside I find that these products do nothing for my hair so, I really wish they would come out with some body spray or bath products. I recently got the Kukui Oil the other day and honestly I found it actually made my naturally curly hair frizzy rather than making it anti-frizzy as the products claims.

Believe it or not I did actually figure out how I could remedy this great smelling but otherwise useless product to work better for my hair, and that was to add in about a tablespoon of some unscented liquid coconut cooking oil. Coconut Oil is great to use to remedy frizzy hair and since the Kukui oil has no water in it, the liquid coconut oil mixed-in perfectly with this product and I actually think it helped make the Kukui scent last longer.

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask - Review

Awhile back I had came across a YT Vid by JLovesMac1 on this product and I FINALLY happened to come across on it an a trip over to Rite Aid so, I snatched it up without a second thought!

This product states it is a "revitalizing hair reconstruction for dry, damaged hair" as well as "produces miracle-like hair rejuvenation" and it's an "intense treatment". So, I am not too sure as to what those claims will do specifically given only those explanations on the container but it should hopefully benefit dry damaged hair and some how rejuvenate it (in other words make it better/healthier, heh).

To use the product you basically use it after shampooing, comb it through wet hair, leave on 7 minutes, and rinse... it also says "don't use more than twice a week". If you're like me than you may be wondering..."will I have to follow it up with my conditioner after rinsing it out?" (I can almost live without shampoo but when it comes to conditioner I'm pretty picky!). For me I definitely did not feel the need to use my conditioner after using this product, it's actually a bit hard to really feel like you've rinsed it all out because it is very hydrating with all those oils in it but it didn't leave my hair oily because it is sooo softening. I do feel that this product would be more beneficial for my hair during dry winter months rather than hot humid summer days because when my hair is too soft it's more sensitive to humidity.

A few of the ingredients in this product are... glycerin, castor seed oil, algae extract, tea tree leaf oil, anthemis nobilis flower oil, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, and argania spinosa kernel oil. So, I found most of those ingredients to be really appealing to me. It is also a No Animal Testing/Cruelty Free product. The fragrance in this product just smells like a generic clean shampoo/condish type of smell... nothing offensive or unique in my opinion (some say it smells like Herbal Essences but I think it smells more like Neutrogena's conditioner). A cheap and similar product to this would probably be Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner although I don't find Aussie to smell as pleasant after washing, nor as hydrating. I did like the fact that I could heat style my hair and have my hair still smell like the product where as majority of hair products I've used don't seem to do that and I'm left with my hair smelling like it has just been flat ironed, etc.

Overall, I didn't find that this made my hair any shinier after the first use of this although if your hair isn't over processed with heat and hair dye than you may find it appears shinier. My hair did seem like it was fuller looking after using this but by the next day my hair just seemed to be back to how it'd usually look after a day without washing it. I did find it to be a good and softening deep conditioner as I feel like the ends of my hair feel softer and smooth as well although it may be a little too conditioning for hair sensitive to humid weather (like my naturally curly haired self). After the first day of using this product I could smell the product in my hair which did smell nice although it didn't seem to last into the next day. The fact my hair smells nice throughout the first day of using this I'm feeling a little bummed out that it doesn't smell that way the next day so... I just might have to buy some other products by them which I could use daily although this product alone cost me around $32 (also, Organix sells a possible dupe of this called "Hydrating Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask" for only $8).

Teen Vogue Cutout Inspo

For some reason an issue of Teen Vogue arrived at my house recently... so after browsing through the images I cutout the items that perhaps appealed to me the most.

Click Image to Enlarge

Various shades of nail polish...from a chunky orange glitter to funky crackle colors, and shades of nude to bright blue. Robin Egg colored clothing and jewelry, to orange sunglasses and makeup. White lace mixed with orange-red's. Pin-Up Pumps and Snakeskin Booties. Susie Bubbles must have perfume followed by her white camera addictions. Kate Moss's puffy hair-do to twisted braids.

Angelic Curly Hair Tutorial

First off, my hair is naturally curly (however my curls aren't as glam as they use to be), a bit thin, layered and dry so if your hair is similar then this curly haired tutorial might work for you too! I like to do this hair style when the humidity is high so that I can use it more to my advantage by letting it have a little natural frizz without looking totally horrific. Since I got complimented on my hair at least 3 different times throughout my day I figured I'd post a tutorial on here.

I think this looks better in person, plus this was toward the end of the night at work.

First I use a volumizing shampoo and conditioner (mine's by John Frieda), once washed I towel dried my hair a bit squeezing most of the water out (you can use a heat protector spray now if you want but I didn't). Next I scrunch my hair a bit with one hand and use a hair dryer on high heat in circular motions around my head while continuing to scrunch trying to bring out as much natural curl as possible. I don't totally dry my hair though, its still a little damp but mostly dry before going on to the next step. Next I use a small 3/8 barrel sized curling iron (by Revlon) and use it in random areas around my head where the natural curl could have looked a bit better. To do this I start at the ends of my hair and wrap upward toward the root (cork screw style), wait a few seconds and release it from the curling iron. Then I spritz my hair with a bit of bohemian beach spray all over (I used David Babaii) to help the tight curls relax a little. Once done I use my hair dryer again but this time on the slower low heat setting, this helps the curls to expand a bit and loosen up creating more natural looking curls, I do this till my hair feels dry. Next I use my curling iron again to define and touch up a few areas I may have missed earlier or that may look a bit too frizzy. Next I use about a dime sized amount of shine serum (I use Silicon Mix) which I rub on my palms and scrunch into my hair, don't comb through the curls with your fingers. Once I get my hair in place I spritz it with a little volumizing hair spray (I used Aussie in an aerosol form) to tame a few fly-aways and then I'm all done creating my curls.

To take this a bit further I did straighten my bangs with a flat iron (BabyBliss Pro)and bobby pinned them back into a bouffant style on top my head.

Spring/Summer 2011 Hair and Makeup Trend

This season is all about just changing your hair color from what it was last year, so be bold with white blondes, saucy reds or a deep brunette shade. You could even try adding some subtle highlights if a full on hair dye route isn't for you.

As for hair style, fringe/bangs are super in, along with longer bob cuts. I personally am leaning more toward styling my hair like a 1960's pinup, using a 1/4 barrel curling iron or pin curls and reaching for the bobby pins to create some victory rolls, but still trying keep it a bit more modern and wearable of this decade. It's even possible that the pom pom inspired hair do's will turn into a beehive at some point ;D Just curling your hair like your grandmother probably still does and lightly brushing them out with a soft boar brush once they're cooled is the way to go.

As for makeup, this year it is mostly taking a natural route, leaving your brows light in color and having a vibrant orange colored lip (such as MAC's Morange). If eyeshadow is required, stick to warmer shades of brown or natural bronze hues. Orange, coral or bronze colored cheeks are also coming more into play for blush shades.

Makeup & Hair Look

My Makeup was inspired by this video although I used different products and instead of blue I opted for browns while sticking to the same MAC palette shown in this video.

Face
-Applied Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer w/SPF 15 to entire face
-Applied Revlon New Complexion One-Step Compact Makeup in 01 Ivory Beige under eyes, on blemishes and redness areas
-Applied Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation in 2 Light(Classic Ivory) all over face(excluding eyes and lips)

Blush
-Contoured under chin and inner cheeks with CoverGirl TruBlend Minerals Bronzer 435 Golden Sunrise using a Sonia K. angled contour blush brush
-Applied Physicians Formula Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronze Booster in Fair to Light on cheeks as a cheek blush and light contour for nose and forehead using the same Sonia K. angled contour blush brush

Eyes
-Primed entire eye area from lash line to brow and lower lash line with NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in 604 Milk, blend evenly with finger
-Used the MAC eyeshadow palette in Tempting using the Sonia K. eyeshadow brushes to contour and blend...
**Used Next to Nothing (cream) as the brow highlight
**Used Sharp (lime green) over eye lid and inner lower lash line
**Used Tempting(shimmer gold/brown) as a brow bone contour
**Used Dark Edge(dark brown/black) on the outer V and outer lower lash line
-Lined top outer half of upper lid with Rimmel Professional Liquid Eye Liner in 001 Ebony Black

Lashes
-Curled top lashes using the Sonia K. Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Lash Curler
-Applied 2 generous coats of Loreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Blackest Black
-Applied 1 coat of CoverGirl Lashblast in Very Black on top lashes and then lightly applied to bottom lashes.

Lips
-Applied Revlon Matte Lipstick in 001 Nude Attitude
-Applied Maybelline Shiny-Licious gloss in Shimmer Shell over lipstick

Hair
I did my hair according to this video(LOVE her hair tutorials!) although I feel if you have shorter hair you may not want to put your pigtails up as high(if you desire a lengthier look) or you could add hair extensions. I added a faux yellow clip-in hibiscus(I got these on EBay for cheap).

Summer Strands

Rummaging through a junk drawer in my room this past weekend I came across some old how-to cut-outs from a magazine. Figured I'd update it a little and share 'em with you since I'll be embracing warm weather early, so...enjoy ;DWhen temps sizzle, it's time to ditch the hair dryer, sit back and ride summer's heat wave. For low maintenance locks, tie hair back in a braid, or turn it up a notch for truly wild style. When you let the sun do most of the work, you can sport a beachy 'do by day, then let it loose for hot summer-night style.

BEACH BUN: For a pulled-together but not uptight look, lightly mist on some gel (like Aussie Opposites Attracts Strong Hold + Touchable Feel Spray Gel, Strong Hold) from roots to tips of towel-dried tresses. Pull all your hair back and twist, then coil the twist into a tight bun on the crown of your head. Later, let your hair down for a soft wave. Jazz it up with a thin copper headband and a penny-colored pout.

MEDUSA MANE: Coat towel-dried hair with a light gel spray and divide into either sections (two on each side and four in the back of your head). Braid each section and secure them with different colored bands. When the sun sets, let locks loose for major waves. Dress 'em up with some tropical hair accessories.

RAG & ROLL: The rag doll 'do is a great way to protect your tresses by day and look way wavy for twilight hours. Coat towel-dried tresses with a light gel and twist big sections of your hair around shreds of bandanna. Tie a knot at the end of each section and let them hang for more subtle texture, of tie them up in big loops for curl power. At night, remove the rags for soft, sexy, ever-so-loopy locks. Get glowing by adding some glitter (like Herbal Essences Shimmery Nights Shimmer Spray Gel) and work it through your waves.THE MERMAID MANE: Stroll through the surf and sand to find this summer's hair accessories. Stash your fave seashells and other oceanic treasures in your beach bag and transform them into beautiful barrettes, sticks and combs when you get home. All you need is some clear craft glue and bare hair accessories. Simply glue your shell of choice to a hair accessory and hold it in place for 10 seconds, till the glue sets. Who knew getting gorgeous could be such a breeze?