My new found love....Aquaphor!!!!

I had no idea what I was suppose to use the tubes of Aquaphor I received in the hospital when I had my son for. None. I put it on my hands and it just felt too heavy and if I touched anything, baby included, I would leave the residue. It was like wearing Vaseline, well maybe not as greasy as VAseline, on my hands.

It wasnt until my sons skin started drying out that I pulled out the tubes and rubbed some on him. His skin was so soft the next morning. So I went out and bought a tub of it. Yes a tub. It said muti-uses on it so I got to thinking about the similarities of it to Vaseline. And then I got an idea...

Rewind to 1991...I was in Jr High..yikes! Doogie Howser was prime-time. I watched it weekly. I had a crush on Vinnie Delpino, Doogie's bff. In one episode Vinnie told Doogie that he put Vaseline on his lips nightly to keep them kissably soft. I kid you not, that night I went into the bathroom pulled out the little tub of Vaseline and slathered it on my lips. I was determined to have kissably soft lips just like Vinnie Delpino.

I have continued that routine for the last 20 yearS!!!! I have never ever been without a tub of Vaseline for my nightly lip slathering in 20 years. If I go on vacation, it goes with me. It is my holy grail lip moisturizer...or at least it was up until 3 weeks ago.

OMG. OMG. OMG. I dont know what else to say this stuff is AMAZING. Vaseline made my lips super soft but when they were chapped it didnt "cure" it overnight. Aquaphor, OMG. Just after 1 use I saw a difference. Sorry Vaseline, I love you but you just got booted from my nightly routine.

Vinnie Delpino if your reading this, switch to Aquaphor :)

Beauty Project......FAIL!!!!

I totally gave up on my beauty project. I dont know what happened, I did so well the 1st 2 weeks. Ok well let me take that back I actually do know what happened. I got BORED.

The first 2 weeks were awesome, I rediscovered how much I really liked my MAC shadows that I had forgot I had. I really had fun using them and didnt have a problem only using those shadows or any other of the products I had chosen for that matter for 2 weeks.

Then round 2 came....I chose to use my NYX individual shadows until I realized all the NYX individual shadows I own are pretty much ALL the same color. They are all pretty light and great for either an eyelid shadow or highlight. The problem I had was I no crease colors. So I added my NYX Jazz palette. Beautiful colors but honestly I just wasnt feeling it and I felt like I was having a bad makeup day every single day. So I stopped using them after 1 week and just started using whatever I felt like using on a given day.

My goal of this failed project was to use every single piece of makeup that I own so that I can honestly say I've used it all. Maybe I just went about it the wrong way. Since I stopped I actually have been delving into my collection more and pulling out stuff I havent used for a while so I'm trying :)

Here Kitty Kitty....A review of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects.

I finally gave in and bought a box of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects. Mostly because they finally had the leopard print in stock (I'm a sucker for anything and everything Leopard print) and it was the last box.

It's been exactly a week since I applied them and besides the nail growth they don't look half bad!!

Applying was a little tricky. I gotta admit that it did take me about an hour from the time I pulled them out of the box until I finished.

Finding the right size was a bit tough since they didn't exactly match up with my right nail size. They are stretchy though so you can stretch them a bit without messing up the design to fit properly or you could always use a bigger size and gently cut/peel off the excess once it is on your nail.

The actual application was quite easy once I got the hang of it. Just stick it on as close to the cuticle as possible and then press the rest to the length of your nail. It does work best if your fingers are warm, it helps them stick better and easier.

Then just pull off the excess (literally just pull) and file them with the little file it comes with.

Thats it!!

I did however put a clear top coat on to help it last longer.

This is day one....




And this is day 7. I have not taken any special care of them. I have washed dishes without gloves, gave my baby a bath, cleaned, etc...as I normally would.



All in all, I really do think this is a great product and would defintely re-purchase.

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Beauty Project: Round One

I started my Beauty Project last Monday & I've made it halfway through without cheating yay!!

Here is a list of the makeup products I chose for the 1st two weeks of this project (dont forget I've also used the products that will not change throughout my journey that I mentioned in my previous post) :

FACE
PRIMER: Rimmel Fix & Perfect
FOUNDATION: Revlon ColorStay in Golden Beige
CONCEALER: Hardcandy Glamoflauge
BLUSHES: NYX Creme Blush in Rose Petal
Hardcandy Fox in a Box in Sweet & Spicy
BRONZER: Milani blush in Sunset Beach


EYES
The brand I chose for the 1st round is MAC. They include: Nylon, Tempting, Satin Taupe, Woodwinked, Espresso, Bamboo, Amber Lights, Haux, Honesty, Contrast, White Frost, Gesso, Vex, Aquadisiac & Mix & Switch mineralize e/s.

PIGMENT: MAC Your Ladyship

PENCIL LINER: Milani Liquif'eye in 01 Black

GEL/CREAM LINER: E.L.F Cream liner in Black

MASCARA: Maybelline Falsies in Blackest Black
Lancome Hypnose in Black

EYE PRIMER: E.L.F eye primer & Liner Sealer (haven't tried the liner sealer)

CREME SHADOW: Revlon Not Just Nude 710

LIPS:
L'oreal: Fairest Nude

Palladio: Lip Balm in Golden Pink

NYX: Mega Shine Lipgloss in Smokey Look
MAC lipglass in Nymphette

So far I've noticed I'm reaching mostly for the neutral colors and have been doing a very neutral eye. Some of the eyeshadows I pulled out for this round I havent even touched...so my goal for the next 6 days is to try and use as many as I can. At the end of this round I will update with all the different eyeshadow combinations that I have used.

One of the tough parts about this project at least for the time being is that I am currently on maternity leave so on days that my munchkin and I dont leave the house, it feels like a waste to put on makeup. But for the sake of this project I'm doing it. It'll be easier when I go back to work next month :/ even though I am so not looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading! XOXO

Beauty Project: My journey through my makeup collection……

I have decided to do a sort of beauty project to help me get rid of a lot of products that i have and a lot of products that have just been sitting in my makeup collection that I had pretty much forgot about.

Im not calling it a 10 pan because I just cant use the SAME products until their used up, so this is what i'm planning on doing.

For face
I will choose 1 of the following and use only these for 2 weeks. I will not touch other of the same type of products that I have during this time.

These will include: blush, creme blush, bronzer, foundation, face primer

Products that will NOT change for my face:

face powder- Lancome Dual Finish in Matte Nu III
highlight- Revlon Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten
under eye brightner- bareMinerals Well Rested
All skin care products will remain the same as well.

Eyes

I will choose 1 brand of eyeshadow and will only be able to use those shadows for 2 weeks (example: I only have 1 Loreal eyeshadow trio so that means I will only be able to use that 1 trio for 2 weeks!!!, Coastal Scents palettes, or individual eyeshadows like MAC or NYX but for those I can use as many as I choose as long as they are the same brand….hope that makes sense)

1 pigment (any brand)
1 eye liner pencil
1 gel liner
2 mascara (1 for day 1 for night)
1 eye primer (excluding my paint pot listed below..i'm trying to use it up ASAP so i can get a new one :) )
Creme Shadow

Products that will NOT change in this category:

MAC Carbon ( I use this daily!!)
Wet n Wild Brule for highlight
MAC Painterly paint pot

Lips:

1 will choose 2 lipsticks and 2 lip glosses

All products are being placed in cute little shower caddy that I found at Target in the dollar section that way I wont be tempted to touch any other products and so they are easily accessible.

I will update every 2 weeks with the products that I have decided to use and will try to do FOTD on a daily basis along with updates on how I doing sticking to it =)

Thanks for reading!! xoxo

REVIEW & COMPARISON: NYX Nude on Nude & Urban Decay NAKED palettes

REVIEW:
Urban Decays NAKED Palette is packaged in a rectangular velvet/velour covered casing and contains 12 eye shadows, eyeshadow brush, and a travel size Primer Potion. ($48 at Sephora, Ulta, Urban Decay.com). These shadows are beautiful, super soft, blendable & highly pigmented. Favorite colors include: Virgin, Sin, Sidecar (despite the chunky glitter), Buck (gorgeous matte), Half-Baked, Smog, Toasted, Hustle and..oh who am I kidding, I love them ALL!!! Seriously there is not one color in here that I dislike. I will express one disappointment….the newer palettes have a eyeshadow brush instead of the double ended liner & a price hike of $4. But I still think its totally worth splurging on.

NYX Nude on Nude (S119) is also rectangular however it is packaged in a brown plastic palette containing 20 neutral eye shadows and 10 lip glosses. ($25 NYX.com.I bought it for $14.99 at Ulta during a sale a few months back). This palette has a mixture of shimmery and matte colors including a great matte light beige, pinky beige and white shadow which the NAKED palette does not have. The formula on most of these eye shadows are also very pigmented but they are not as soft and a few can be a bit chalky. Do I love every color in here like I do the NAKED? No. Favorites here include #'s 2,3,4,8 on the top row and #'s 2,3,7,8 on the bottom row…7 & 8 probably being my favorite in the entire palette. Although not the same quality eye shadows as the NAKED palette you can still achieve a great everyday neutral or smokey eye and this is a great palette to have in your makeup collection for the price.

COMPARISON:




I have heard quite a bit of people comparing the 2 palettes and basically implying that the NYX palette is a cheap dupe for the NAKED palette.

So is it?

No….at least not for me.

NYX is a great neutral palette that for the price you cant beat considering how many eyeshadows you get. In my opinion however only 5 out of the 20 eyeshadows that I swatched actually come close to colors in the NAKED palette.


The "dupeable" shadows are Virgin, Sin, Naked, Hustle, & Half baked. On the swatches below T stands for top row and B for bottom row.






T2 is closest to Virgin, B2 & B7 are close to Sin, Naked & T6 are almost exact (UD e/s is softer however), B5 & T8 are similar to Hustle and B3 although more of a canary color is closest to Half-baked.

Swatches of all shadows in both palettes.

NAKED



Nude on Nude




Thanks for reading!! XOXO

REVIEW: Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System…it gets down to the nitty gritty!!

I found OLAY Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System while browsing the beauty section at Costco. $36.99 for a full size Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser, 2 AA batteries, Advanced Cleansing System, and a replacement head. Not bad, so I bought it.

OLAY claims that after the first use your skin will be deep cleansed & cleansed 6x better than basic cleansing, skin is exfoliated, brighter & smoother, and will improve the effectiveness of your moisturizer.

How did I put it to the test? I have been using it for about 3 weeks now at night only since I don't want to exfoliate too much. First I wipe off all my face & eye makeup. Next I wet my face and use about a pea size of the Exfoliating Renewal cleanser and massage in my skin. Next I take the Advanced Cleansing system and on the low setting (there is also a high setting) work the cleanser into my skin with the rotating brush and then rinse and pat dry. Thats it.

So did it do that for me??
YES, YES, YES, YES, YES & YES!!!

Seriously after the first use my skin not only LOOKED better but it FELT better. I use a Biore Night Brightening Serum (review coming!) as my moisturizer at night and together the 2 have just made such a big difference in my skins appearance and even the way my makeup applies. It has even been less oily in the warm weather we had a couple weeks ago!!

I can honestly say that this has become my holy grail cleansing system. I have never used a little thingy-ma-jig to clean my face with before but OMG I will never go back to NOT using one.

*All opinions are my own and all products mentioned were bought with my own money. This post was also uploaded to Luux8