March Favorites!!!

Hey guys, I know I have been gone for a while and totally slacking but I went out of town and all kinds of stuff but I'm going to be home for a while and I'm going to make a conscious effort to blog every few days. :)

Okay, on to this months favorites! I sorta have a lot for this month and its not all make up so I'm going to put them in to categories. face, eyes, lips, nails, and skin care.

FACE:

Neutrogena healthy skin, I love this foundation. Its a light foundation but still gives you enough coverage with concealer to hide the things you want to camouflage and still look natural. Its great for spring when you want to look fresh and have great skin.

Garnier Skin Renew anti-dark circle roller, I have been using this for my under eye concealer all month and I love it. It covers my dark circles really well, there have been days when I haven't worn make up and I still put this on and it makes a world of difference. This matches my skin tone perfectly so when I wear it without anything else you cant even tell I'm wearing it except for the fact that I don't have the dark circle I normally have.

Garnier Skin Renew anti-puff roller, I use this every morning and every night. I have severe allergies and sinus problems this time of year, and I normally have really puffy bags under my eyes. I picked this up at the beginning of the month and I have used it every day twice a day and the puffiness is gone. I normally do have a little puffiness when I wake up in the morning but once I apply this it goes down within a few minutes. It moisturizes pretty well too, this has kind of replaced my eye cream for right now.  

Eco tools bronzing brush: I love this brush for applying liquid foundation, I have a Sigma set with the synthetic kabuki  brushes but I have been using this much more than those this month. This brush is so soft and dense and it applies my foundation effortlessly. Not sure why they call it a bronzing brush because I would never use a brush that big for bronzer. 

EYES:

Tarte emphas eyes shadow sticks, I have a set of 6 of these but I have been grabbing these a lot this month in the color champagne and moss. I love them, the staying power is great and the colors are gorgeous. This combo makes such a pretty natural eye look. I love the moss color its works really well with my green eyes but I think it would look great on everyone! 

Maybelline color explosion palette in caffeine rush, as I'm sure you can tell I love neutrals and this palette is great because its small and I can throw it in a bag for an overnight trip with a few other things and know I could create a look for anything. The colors are rich and smooth with very little fallout. I think anyone could get a lot of use out of it. 

NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk, I have been using this a lot on my waterline for that bright eyed look. It really opens up the eye and makes me look awake. I have also used this as a shadow base before but ever since I got the too cool color tattoo, I have only used this for the waterline. 

Covergirl lash blast volume, so I'm way late because this is my first tube of this. I always bought the fusion but everyone that talks about this seems to like the volume better than the fusion. So I figured I would give it a try and I love it. I'm a mascara junkie and I'm normally picky about drug store mascaras but I like both the fusion and the volume I feel like the volume actually gives me more length the the fusion even though the fusion is the one for length. Mascara kind of clumps at the tip of the wand but what mascara doesn't. Overall I love it and may just buy the volume from now on instead of the fusion.

LIPS:

EOS lip balm, in honey dew melon. I have a lot of EOS balms and I love them all  but this one smells so good so I have been using it a lot. It makes my lips so soft. 

Revlon lip butter in Lollipop, I have been using this almost all month I really love neutral eyes for spring with bright colors on the lips. Everyone talks about these so I wont go into a lot of detail but I LOVE THESE! I do want to go pick up Viva Glam Nicki but I haven't gotten out to Mac yet. 

SKIN CARE: 

Clarisonic Mia: OMGosh I have been using this all month and I have seen such a change in my skin. My pores are smaller, I have had little to no break outs, I don't have the dry patches on my face that I was having trouble with and my skin almost glows..no seriously its amazing! I waited so long to buy this and I wish I hadn't. I know its an investment but its worth it. I do have oily/combo skin and I got the deep pore brush. 

Boot expert anti-blemish cleansing foam, I have been using this with my Clarisonic and it's really been keeping my skin clear. I'm not a huge fan of the smell but it doesn't bother me all that much. 

Boots expert sensitive light moisturizing lotion: I'm always on the search for a moisturizer that is light enough for my combo skin but still gives me enough moisture to have soft skin and this is just what I have been looking for. Its a big bottle and will probably last forever, I hope it still works for me as it continues to warm up. 

Schick hydro silk razor, I love this razor it has five blades and some kind of moisture strips. My legs feel so soft after I shave and I get such a close shave with this razor. I wont be going back to my Venus razor!

NAILS: 

These are my favorite spring nails polishes, I love them. The Wet N Wild polishes are fairly new and the brush is amazing it reminds me of the brush for the Sally Hansen complete salon manicure polishes. I also love the Sally Hansen Xtreme wear polishes these polishes make my nails strong which is a plus, I just

wish the Sally Hansen Xtreme wear had the brush like the WNW ones but I still love the colors. 

 From left to right: Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Coral Reef, WNW Mega last in Candy-licious, I need a refresh mint, and I'm on a trip. Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Mint Sorbet

That's it for my March favorites, thanks for reading! If you like any of my favorites leave me a comment and let me know. Also let me know some of your March favorites. :)

Hope you will sub if you haven't already!!

xo- Amber

does anyone know of a color similar to this? I dont know what color its is but I love it!!! 

February Favorites

Hey guys, Sorry I haven't been blogging..I went out of town and then got sick, but I'm better now and getting back into the swing of things. :)

I wanted to do a February favorites because, there are a lot of products over the last month that I have been continually reaching for and loving. All are drugstore items too!! <3

1. Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam foundation.  My shade is 150 classic ivory, I know many people have tried this foundation and don't like it because it is a light coverage foundation, but when I'm just running around town doing errands, at home or, even doing lunch with the girl this foundation is great. It gives me enough coverage to conceal the things I want to hide but looks so natural. So overall I love this foundation and if you want that natural simple look for day to day then check it out!!

2. Rimmel Match Perfection 2 in 1 concealer and highlighter. My shade is 230 fair/light. I love this concealer, it covers my dark circle well, and gives just a tiny bit of luminosity under the eye. It has a little brush tip applicator, but I don't find the brush incredibly useful which is fine because I always use a concealer brush or my finger to blend in all my concealers anyway. 

3. Physician Formula Youthful Wear powder. I have the shade translucent, even though it says its translucent it does have some light coverage which is fine for me. I use it a lot with my lighter coverage foundations for just a little extra coverage. It also keeps my face very matte which is great for my oily skin. This powder does have a little bit of a scent but it smells very clean.. I actually like the smell. This line of stuff has a foundation and concealer which I haven't picked up yet but I might...not sure yet if I do I'll let y'all know. 

4. Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in number 40 pink plum, I have a bunch of these blushes and I love them all but pink plum is my favorite color it gives me that perfect flushed look. I know many people with darker skin tones haven't been able to use these but I have pretty light skin so they give me great color. I don't love these as much as I love the Dream mousse blushes but these are a very close second, Luckily I still have several of the Dream mousse blushes since they were discontinued. 

5. Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe, I'm loving these cream shadows I have them all, but tough as taupe is the perfect everyday shade. I have been doing single shadow looks lately for everyday looks. I think everyone has been blogging and doing videos on these shadows so I don't really have to say much but I love them they are super pigmented and they don't crease!!! 

6. Wet N Wild single shadow in Nutty. I have been using this with my color tattoo shadow and using them together it actually looks like I'm wear multiple shades on my lid because together they create that perfect shadow in your crease to make that perfectly blended eye look. I have tons of Wet N Wild shadows they have really come a long way since middle school , they are pigmented with very little fallout. I haven't met someone yet that didn't love these shadows. 

7. Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in Black. This made my favorite mascara blog a while back, I love this mascara I have pretty thick lashes anyway but this mascara adds volume and length. It has a thick traditional brush but has a tapered tip to get those inner lashes. I have never had problems with this flaking or smudging. Overall this is probably my favorite high end mascara. 

8. Revlon Lip butter in Strawberry Shortcake. Love the lip butters but this is the shade I reach for the most. Its that perfect subtle pink shade that gives a little color to your face without being an extremely bright lip. I was never a lipstick person before I found the lip butters. I like the Rimmel moisture renew lipsticks but I still preferred a gloss, well not anymore I have almost all the lip butters and I absolutely love them and will buy them as long as they are available.

Well that's it for my February Favorites. I have a lot of blogs planned for the next few weeks. If you liked my post I hope you will sub if you haven't already I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for reading <3 Amber 

Smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette & Almay Primer Review.

Hey Guys, As I'm sure all of you know there has been a lot of talk lately about the Smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette. This palette contains 56 photo op eye shadows, 4 brow powders & 1 brow wax, 8 cream eyeliners, 2 blushes, 3 highlights and, 4 lip glosses. 

This palette measures Open 16-1/2" x 8-1/4" x 3/8";  Closed 5-1/8" x 8-1/4" x 1".. I know for some that probably doesn't matter but I travel quite a bit so for me the smaller the better!! 


I think Smashbox did a really good job with this palette its very sleek and pretty, It's a bright red glossy package with white stitching.  When the palette is closed its about the size of a clutch. 

When you open up the palette there are plastic sheets laying over the products with the name of each shadow, blush, liner etc.. The Photo Op Mega Palette includes all of the Photo Op Eye Shadow Trios as well as multiple shades from the Smokebox and Softbox Eye Shadow Palettes.  


All the Shadows in the palette have been reformulated from the original photo op formula. I personally thought that the original shadows were fantastic and I didn't really think that they could get any better but they DID!! This are so of the most pigmented and buttery shadows that I have ever used. There is little to no fall out no matter what type of applicator you use, I have used a brush & sponge tip. The shadows blend almost effortlessly and you can create any and every look with this palette.  Now on to the cream eyeliners I have always been the type of  person that could never find a cream liner that I loved! I have had several that I like but never loved a cream liner, and about a year or so ago a friend gave me a Smashbox liner palette and I totally fell in love with it. So to have these liners in this palette was just a plus for me, they have all your basic colors and every color you could need to coordinate an eye look with this palette. At first I was a little afraid that the liners would dry out almost immediately but I have had this palette for almost 3 months and they haven't dried out. I guess there is still potential for them to dry out so we will see and I will make sure to update you periodically and let you know if anything changes! You also get the brow powders and a brow wax which I wont go into a lot of detail about because they are just an average set of brow products in my opinion., but you do get blonde, taupe, auburn, and brunette. :)


You also get two blushes in this palette, one is a peachy apricot shade with a little shimmer and the second is a bright pink also slightly shimmery. I really like the apricot shade, the pink is a little too bright for my light skin tone but still wearable if you use a "light hand." If you don't like shimmery blushes then these may not be your favorite blushes but don't let that keep you from buying the palette because the eye shadows in this palette alone are worth it!! You also get three highlight shades in a peach, pink and, taupe which I think are beautiful and should work for all skin tones! All three are slightly shimmery but not glittery. 

 Highlights

 blush   

The four lip gloss are great too, I really like smashbox glosses but I normally top them over a lipstick because they are sheer color. Now the first two lip colors in the palette "buff" and "bitten" are very colorful. You get a shimmery neutral, a mauve rose, an orange red and a deep berry color. Basically a color for every look you would want to create with out having to carry a palette plus 4 lipsticks/glosses. 

 glosses

All in all I love this palette and I think that it is totally worth the price! Most of the Shadows come in a smashbox trio and if you were to purchase each one of those trios it would cost somewhere around $448. So umm yea its a GREAT deal if you ask me! 

I also wanted to do a quick review on the new Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct primer. 
This primer has a green and purple helix type swirl, It claims to instantly smooth and color correct skin tone.  The lavender is supposed to even out and brighten skin and the green is supposed to reduce redness. It looks really awesome in the bottle. I have been using this primer for a few days now and it doesn't take a lot to cover your face, its a very lite thin primer and it does an ok job on my skin. It doesn't keep me as matte as other primers but I like wearing it under a light coverage foundation or a tinted moisturizer. I'm not sure that it really reduces redness like it says but it does do a great job evening out the texture and brightening my skin. The only downfall I have come across is the smell, it has a FUNKY fragrance. I have also heard others say they thought it smelt funny too so I guess that just the smell. I cant smell it on my face but I can smell it on my hands when I'm applying it.  So basically I put it on and then wash my hands and after that its fine and doesn't bother me. Its not my favorite and I'm still on the fence on whether I will repurchase because I really like what it does for my skin but its not great for keeping me matte. I'm going to keep using it and do a full review in about a week. 

 Before                                                                                                             After






Thanks for reading!! Please sub if you havent already!! 


xo-Amber :)

Hey guys!! Just like many of you I'm always on the hunt for that perfect mascara, I have pretty long lashes but they aren't very thick. In the past few years mascara has become some what of an obsession for me.  I have to give a little shout out to MsKimiKiwi because I have recently found her YouTube channel and blog. One of Kim's first videos was a haul in which she talk about how mascara is somewhat of an obsession so I'm glad I'm not alone!! HA HA! :)

The mascaras I'm going to review today are all mascaras I have picked up in the last few months! They aren't all new mascaras some have been a around for a while, most of them are ones that I love but there is one I HATE! So here it goes!!

The first one is the Almay Get up and grow mascara. This is one I picked up after Emilynoel83 raved out it on her YouTube channel, and let me tell you it deserves every rave review it get in my opinion. I have it in the color blackest black. I love the brush its kinda tapered in the center and it more of the traditional mascara brush which I wasn't sure I was going to like because I tend to like the rubber brushes. Its not a super wet formula, but its not dry either I haven't had it too long so it may dry out a little more. It give me a lot of length and really separates my lashes it doesn't clump or flake. I wore this for about 14 hours the other day and it didn't flake at all and my lashes didn't loose their curl. A lot of mascaras that I wear for long periods of time don't help my lashes keep the curl so my lashes end up sticking straight out and looking kinda stupid, but this kept the curl for 14 HOURS!! So needless to say I love this mascara and will defiantly be repurchasing. If you haven't picked this up yet give it a try I don't think you will be disappointed!

 Almay Get up & Grow  $7 (Walmart)

Second is the Smashbox Hyperlast mascara, OMG this has become one of my all time favorite mascaras. I don't hear many of the YouTube gurus that I watch talk about Smashbox mascaras, maybe they don't like them or have just never tried them not sure. Hyperlash is a pretty wet formula so if you aren't a fan of wet mascaras then this is probably not for you, but I personally don't mind a wet formula as long as it give me good results!! This mascara has a rubber comb like brush and its kind of unique because the end has some really small bristles for those hard to reach inside lashes, a long almost wide tooth comb like bristles on one side and a regular rubber brush like bristles on the other side. I think this is a really neat brush to have because it kind of like having all different brushes in one mascara. I get really great long almost thick lashes with his mascara which is normally hard for me find in a mascara, it wears well all day normally 8 to 12 hours for me. So if you like a wet formula that will give you separation thickness and length you'll love this mascara!!

 Smashbox Hyperlash $21 (Ulta)

Ok, I have one more Smashbox mascara. Its the Smashbox Full Exposure, This is a pretty traditional mascara with a traditional brush but, it will give you the prettiest lashes its a dry formula, wears a long time. keeps your lashes curled and, it wont flake. I use this a lot when I want really long natural looking lashes. Its not a fancy mascara but its one of the better mascaras I've come across!

 Smashbox Full Expose $19 (Ulta)

This next one is a mascara that i bought hoping I was going to love it but I don't, it's The L'oreal Voluminous Million lashes, I picked this one up in waterproof because they didn't have the regular. This mascara is super wet formula. The brush is ok is just a normal rubber brush but because the formula is so wet that when you pull the brush out of the tube there is so much product on the brush that i have to use a paper towel to help clean off the brush before I can apply it which waste so much product. I tried sticking the brush back into the tube to clean it off but that didn't help it just added more product to the brush. So overall I wouldn't recommend this mascara and I wont be repurchasing!

 L'oreal Voluminous Million lashes $7 (Walmart)

Last but not least is The L'Oreal Telescopic explosion, It's the mascara with the little sphere brush its really a kind of cool concept. Its a dry formula which give me ok length but it doesn't really separate or add volume. I really like this on my bottom lashes though it is easy to apply and looks really good. Overall Its a good mascara but nothing spectacular. I'm not sure I would repurchase this only because I do have mascaras with super tiny brushes that i like to use on my lower lashes! This maybe great for someone with tiny lashes that just want a little extra length.

 L'oreal Telescopic explosion $9 (Walmart)

Ok, guys sorry this was such a long post but I feel like a lot of people are out searching for the perfect mascara, and if I can share my thought and reviews and help someone choose a new mascara that they love or keep someone from wasting money on a totally awful mascara then it was worth it!!!!  Let me know if you have tried any of these mascaras and what your opinions are with them or let me know if there is a mascara you think I should try.




Thanks for reading!!

My favorite hair products!!

Hey guys, So I recently got a new hair cut and rediscovered some of my favorite hair products! I have extremely thick, frizzy, curly hair, I don't have super tight curls so I call them "medium curls" not tight curls but more than waves. I love the way my hair looks once its been flat ironed but its takes me forever so most of the time I wear my hair curly just because its easy and it take me about 10 minutes, but for those few weeks after I get a new hair cut I love to straighten my hair. For many years I could never find anything that would help me keep my hair straight and frizzless for more than a few hours after I used my flat iron, but about a year ago I discovered some products that help me keep the straight hair I love until my next shampoo.   :) 


Normally I use a shampoo and conditioner for curly hair (Bed Head Hi-Def Curls) but when I plan to flat iron my hair I use a heat defender shampoo and conditioner because I tend to have bad split ends. My favorite is the Dove Damage Therapy Defense (Walmart $7 for both). Once I get out of the Shower and towel dry my hair I use the Tresemme smooth no frizz spray (Walmart $4). I then like to use a wide tooth comb just to work the product through my hair, then I just use a blow dryer to blow my hair dry. If you have hair like mine or hair with a lot of body or volume already I do not recommend flipping your head over when your blow drying your hair, but if you have hair you wish to add volume too flipping you head can be a great thing to help add extra body!! 


Once my hair is completely dry I like to use an all over heat protector spray, I love the Suave Professionals Heat Protection Spray (Walmart $4) after I spray that in I brush through my hair and pull my hair up into sections. It helps to section off my hair because its so thick and it just helps me get my hair as straight as possible.


Finally when I have finished flat ironing my hair I use my FAVORITE hair product I own! Its the Straight Sexy Hair smooth and seal spray! (Ulta $20) This will keep my hair straight and frizz free until my next shampoo! 

 

Straight Sexy Hair: Smooth & Seal™ is a light, aerated anti-frizz spray which helps lock out moisture, keeping straight hair smooth and shiny. Leaves hair smoother, shinier and more manageable.

Suave Heat Protector Spray: Salon proven to protect against heat damage as well as REDKEN® Hot Sets™ 22 This heat protection spray contains a thermal defense serum to help defend your hair against heat damage from blow dryers, flat irons and curling irons.

 Tresemme smooth no frizz spray: A lightweight, non-greasy spray serum designed for all hair types. Reduces and prevents frizz. Adds gloss shine and finish. 

 I honestly cant rave about these products enough, before I found these products I was just convinced that I couldn't have straight hair for more than a few hours. I'm so glad I found them and I hope you will give them a try if you have the same problems with your hair.  

Thanks for reading!! :) 

My first blog post..

Hey guys, thanks for checking out my blog I'm new at this but I'm going to give it a shot! I love make up and other beauty products so I thought it wouldn't hurt for me to put my opinions out there!!  :) Hope you Enjoy!!!

I wanted to let everyone know about the Tarte Shadow sticks I just got a couple of days ago!! First let me start by saying I love Mally Shadow Sticks but it pained me to pay so much for two sticks. So I did a little research and stumbled upon the Tarte shadow sticks. I paid $38.90 with shipping for SIX shadow sticks V.S. TWO Mally shadow sticks for $35.00. I was a little worried that the Tarte shadows weren't going to live up to Mally's shadows but they did and they are just as amazing!!! The staying power is awesome and  I think the colors are Gorgeous. I think they are super wearable for many skin tones and eye colors. The shades are all shimmery or pearly, but that doesn't bother me too much. I love the fact that they are so easy to use on a day when you are in a hurry or just aren't in the mood to work with other shadows. You can just use a single shade all over your lid and work it into your crease and it looks great! I also like to smudge a little on my lower lash line for that sorta smokey look!!! I personally haven't had problems with these creasing but I always wear an eye primer normally Urban Decay Primer potion or Elf eye primer. Needless to say I LOVE these shadow sticks and will probably pick up another set since they are limited edition to Tarte!! I have several other Tarte products and palettes but the Shadow sticks have to be my favorite Tarte product.

                                          From Top to Bottom: Champagne: It’s a light beige color Plum: Beautiful deep violet color Taupe: light gold (not sure why its called taupe looks nothing like taupe) Moss: Golden/olive green with gold shimmer Bronze: Chocolate brown with gold shimmer Charcoal: Dark grey with a beautiful silver sheen

Thanks for reading!! :)