Drugstore Dupe for NARS Turkish Delight lipgloss

This will be a short post but I had to pass this along.

I was shopping for groceries the other day and needed new mascara (LashBlast has once again let me down, I'm moving on) and happened to see this Bonne Bell Liplites lipgloss. I read in an article forever ago that this was a close dupe for the cult classic creamy pink NARS Turkish Delight. It was only $3 so I figured I'd give it a shot.

photo courtesy of narscosmetics.com



It's PERFECT.

The shade is Strawberry Parfait. Don't let the color in the tube scare you, it looks darker than it is. Once on the lips, you get the exact same effect as you do with Turkish Delight for over $20 less than the NARS version. Bonus, it's a little more moisturizing and feels less sticky on the lips than NARS. I honestly think this is a little more flattering than Turkish Delight.

As a sidenote, I despise the way all NARS lipglosses smell. It's very plasticky and artificial. This Bonne Bell is very strawberry-milk scented but I find it fades after application. I'll take strawberry over plastic anyday!

How Much Is Your Face Worth-Tag

I've seen this post on a few other beauty blogs lately and thought it was quite fascinating. The basic idea is to tally up the cost of all of the products you use on your face on any given day...The Price Of Beauty.

I kind of pride myself on using affordable products but I do let a high end item sneak in every once in a while. So I assumed that I would be in the mid-range, about $30. Um...not even close. Totalling up what you put on your face every day can give you sticker shock!




Face of the Day



Foundation-Neutrogena Healthy Skin $12
Powder-Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Skin Protecting Powder $4 (on sale, regularly $10)
Bronzer-Revlon Bronzed and Chic Bronzer $12
Blush-CoverGirl Classic Color Blush in Soft Mink-$5
Concealer-Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer-$8
Eye Primer MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study $18.50 (purchased with gift card)
Eyeshadow-Wet n Wild Sweet as Candy $3
Eyeliner-Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen $8
Mascara-Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black $8
Eyebrow Pencil-Maybelline Expertwear brow pencil $4
Lipgloss-Bonne Bell Mocha Mousse $4

Grand Total...$86.50

I guess if you think about how much USE you are getting out of each product as well as how long certain things last (Paint Pot, Foundation, Bronzer will last several months before I need to repurchase) the cost makes a little more sense. Just seeing it all totalled up like that, looks like a  LOT of money to me.

Give it a try, how much is your face worth?

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio's

These little babies are amazing drugstore eyeshadows. And the best part? They are less than $3 each!!!!

Walking on Eggshells (left) Sweet as Candy (right)

I've been loving the Walking on Eggshells trio for several years. I think I've repurchased it at least 5 times and (obviously) need to buy a new one. I've recently gotten into the Sweet as Candy trio as well. It's the same basic colors as Walking on Eggshells, but a little more amped up. You get a light browbone color, a nice brown crease color and a pinky eyelid color in both.

Walking on Eggshells has a nice medium peachy champagne eyelid color, bronzey brown crease color and pearly browbone shade. Sweet as Candy has a beautiful and wearable medium pink eyelid shade, a solid medium brown crease shade and a shimmery vanilla browbone shade.

The quality on these is phenomenal. Not just for drugstore, but for any eyeshadow. They are satiny smooth, never powdery and have great pigmentation. These last all day and are even more longwearing over an eyeshadow primer or a paint pot. I like wearing both over MAC Bare Study paint pot.

All three of the colors in the trio are beautiful and go really well together. These are great for everyday eye looks at work or for packing for travel, everything you need for a great eye is in one little package. And all for less than $3! Which, is amazing. I believe there are 13 different trio sets available, lots of possibilities!!

DIY Dark Blonde Ombre Hair

Let me just say, so glad I did it but won't be messing with my hair for a while.

After a summer of mermaid streaks, red underneaths and now ombre, I am officially giving my hair a rest. It helps that I really LOVE how it looks right now and this is a super low maintenance hair color.

This was a process. I started Thursday night and officially finished with it last night. Doing a little bit each day and letting the hair rest in between. If I didn't have the red bottom layer, this would have been much easier. So, you can skip until after the first photo if you are just looking for tips on Ombre hair.

Some important tips, I got all of my supplies at Sally's. I have a lot of this stuff on hand already but you will need:

Hair color (if you are going darker)
Bleach powder
Creme Developer (in 2 different volumes, 30 for the ends, 20 for the toner and hair color)
Plastic Mixing bowl
Color Brush
Plastic hair clips
Gloves
Old towel and shirt (they will get ruined)
Toner (preferably ash or lavender toned to avoid gold ends)
Deep Conditioner

Firstly, I chose my colors. I decided to try to match my natural color as closely as possible. The whole point of me doing ombre is to let my hair grow and ease the transition from blonde to my natural color. I chose Clairol Pro Creme haircolors in 6NN (Dark Rich Neutral Blonde) and 5NN (Lightest Rich Neutral Brown) with a little tiny bit of 6G (Dark Gold Blonde) mixed in. I used 20 vol Clairol developer with this. You have to have the correlating Clairol Soy developer with these colors or it won't turn out.

I had to get rid of the red underneath. I did a strand test with 6NN and it didn't change the red, literally at all. So I decided to lift some of the red out and go from there. I mixed a packet of bleach with 30 vol developer, clipped up the blonde layers and then covered all of the red and let it do it's magic for about 30 minutes. It was flaming orange, as to be expected. I washed the bleach out, dried it and applied the 6NN mixed with the 5NN to the bleached section. I didn't used the 6G for this, there was already enough GOLD in the hair from the red. Left it on about 45 minutes, rinsed and it was perfect.

After covering Red Underneath

I let it rest Friday and Saturday morning the real work began. I mixed up 1/2 5NN, 1/4 6NN and 1/4 6G with 20 vol developer. I left out a thin layer of blonde around my face, super thin. Then, I applied the color to the top portion of my hair, the blonde bits. I had about an inch and a half of roots and did not apply color to those. I knew it would go hot because it was virgin hair so I chose to leave my roots alone. Got all of the blonde covered and let it sit for about 45 minutes. I rinsed with cool water and dried to see the color, it was pretty much a perfect match to my roots. THANK GOODNESS.

I then mixed up SalonCare Prism Lights Blue bleach packet with 30 vol developer. I divided my hair into 2 sections like pony tails, brought them over my shoulders and basically just applied the bleach mixture to the bottom 2 inches of my hair. Saturated the ends really well and rubbed what was left over up the length of my hair another 1/2 inch to avoid a harsh line of bleach. I let that process about 15 minutes and then applied more bleach to the ends and repeated the process up another 2 inches of the length again. I let that process another 15 minutes. I didn't cover it and did not use heat because I wanted to really watch it process to make sure it didn't go too blonde and also wanted the change to be even and uniform so it looked more natural. I wanted it to slowly fade from dark to blonde, not having any harsh lines of demarcation. After total processing, the ends had 30 minutes of bleach total and the middle had 15. I rinsed that out and towel tried and could see it was too "warm" for the look I wanted.

So I mixed up Wella Color Charm T18 Lightest Ash Blonde toner with 20 vol Wella developer and applied to the dampened bleached ends of my hair. It turns super purple, so be warned. I left that on for about 15 minutes. The directions say you can leave it on up to 30 but check it often. I washed it all, dried it and was pretty pleased. The underneath that had been red was still a little bit too warm but the top layers of my hair were perfect.

After going my natural color, tips still too "warm"

I left it alone Sunday and then last night finished the underneath layers. I did the whole bleach process again to that portion of my hair, 30 on the ends and 15 on the middle and toned it all again with leftover Wella toner. I left the toner on 20 minutes this time and got perfect results. I did a deep conditioning treatment on it last night and will probably do another this weekend just to eliminate any drying from the bleach. As with any bleach treatment, this will be damaging to your hair.

 

So, there you have it. How I went from blonde with red underneath to dark blonde ombre. Hope this helped and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Just some thoughts...

As I get more into my blog I'm realizing more and more how I feel about certain things.

Firstly, I didn't get into my blog to make money. That's the #1 question I get and it always perplexes me. I got into it because I have A LOT of opinions about makeup/beauty related items and wanted to share my experiences. If my opinions can help someone purchase something that really works for them, that's great! That's the point!! I am always 100% honest in my reviews and (so far) have not been sent any of the items I've talked about. Everything has been purchased with my own hard earned money. Which, for right now I like better.

I don't recommend expensive brushes or things I've never tried. I try to recommend/review items that are easy to get, things you can go to a store in your town to purchase. The one thing that bothers me the most about the "Beauty Blogging" world is that it seems like the longer a blogger gets into it, the more it turns into a fancy pants bragging game and they seem to lose sight of why they got into it. I don't ever want to forget that the main reason I do this is to help people just like me. Moms, wives, friends who want to be able to find quality products at affordable prices. I don't want to ever do a "haul" or show you all the fancy things I've purchased. That is gross to me and not the point. I don't do this to show off or brag, I do this because I'm passionate about beauty. I have lost interest in SO many beauty bloggers because all of the sudden every video or blog is about their lifestyle and shopping and no longer about tutorials or reviews, which is what brought them so many followers. Get back to being honest and real. That's what's interesting. Not how much money you have or how much jewelry you own from certain high end stores. I don't watch for that stuff and if you are into it, start a FASHION BLOG. I want to learn about eyeliner not purses.

I also want to share as much with you guys as I can while still keeping my private life private. This beauty portion is just a small part of who I am. I really try to keep this to just my beauty interests and the things I am passionate about. I don't do it for money, I don't do it for anything else than the fact that it makes me happy and I like it.

As long as it continues to be fun and people seem to be getting some helpful info, I will continue searching for quality, affordable products to review for you guys. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I have been!

E

Sock Bun Fun!!

I'll be honest, if I am at home, 99% of the time my hair is up. I am always looking for fun new ways to wear it up and still be on trend. I've been doing my own version of a top knot for quite a while but I don't have super thick hair and my bun can be kind of puny even though my hair is long.

Enter SOCK BUNS.

You'll need a sock, two pony tail holders, bobby pins and a little hairspray. I found a thick pair of socks that are similar in color to my hair. These are actually boot socks, so they are tall. You don't need boot socks but keep in mind that the longer they are, the fatter your bun will be. So it's up to you. I took the socks and cut about three inches off from the toes. Like this...

Then I grabbed 2 hair ties and also rolled the socks into little donuts (you only use one for a sock bun). Like this...

Then I placed my hair in a pony tail high on top of my head (you can seriously put the bun anywhere, I also tried a low side bun, a low bun in back and they all worked exactly the same.). I got the pony as tight to my head as I could get it and then put the sock at the base of the pony like a scrunchy. Then I pulled it to the ends of my hair, wrapped the ends of the hair over the edge of the sock and began rolling the sock down my hair and twisting the sock inside itself. With each roll down, I grabbed whatever hair was loose and rolled it under. It's seriously magic because by the time you get to your head, all the ends are rolled under and you are left with a giant bun.

I don't like mine too "perfect" so this style works for me. If you like your bun a little more precise, you can just place the sock at the base again like a scrunchy, spread your hair around it perfectly, place another pony tail holder around it again at the base and then wrap your ends around the base and pin with bobby pins.

I love this so much. It's comfortable, polished and fun. I actually wore it to work! Just play around with it until you feel like you have the hang of it, it's actually much easier than it looks and the results are worth giving it a try!

Fall Hair

I don't know what it is about this time of the year, but as the summer comes to an end and the mornings get a little more brisk I usually find that I am longing for deeper, richer hair colors.

Last week I posted about how I dyed the "under" layers of my hair a rich mohagany shade (which I am loving)...but I desperately need to touch up my roots. Which leaves me with a problem. Do I:

A. Re-weave my roots and stay blonde one more round like this:                         

B. Go with a darker blonde, still weave the roots but add in some darker hues like this:


C. Go ombre. I've been pining for this hair for a while and already have enough grow out to actually do it. BUT EEK. Do I dare? I love how it looks like what kids hair looks like at the end of the summer. SO PRETTY!!


OR...
4. Go brown. Something about this color just makes me feel brave and spontaneous. It's so SHINY and rich.


HELP ME CHOOSE! Pretty please.

So long Mermaid Streak...Hello RED!

As summer is slowly coming to a close (I bought back to school clothes last week you guys. EEK), I felt the fun of my Mermaid Streak was wearing thin and I was getting tired of my cobalt blue little friend.

I thought about doing a different color streak, but decided to just do the entire bottom layer of my hair a deep crimson. It's basically the layers from the ears down, around my whole head. I call it a "red under", I don't know what else to call it. I've done it before and I especially love it when my hair is blonde on top. 

I hit up trusty old Sally's and chose Clairol Professional Liquicolor Medium Intense Red Violet 3RRV. The swatch online is very flat and coppery, but the swatch in the store is more true to color. A medium/dark auburn with red shimmer when it hits the light.



photo courtesy of sallybeauty.com



photo courtesy of sallybeauty.com


First, I used a pick comb to seperate my hair. I literally just took it from the top of my ears, all around my head, piled what I wanted to stay blonde on top of my head and went at it. I was told by the assistant at Sally's that this line has a Soy complex that requires that you use the same line of developers. I didn't want any lift, so I purchased a small bottle of the corresponding developer in 20vol.

Mixed in the bowl it is a very vibrant red. It scared me at first because I was afraid it would be ORANGE. I didn't bleach my mermaid streak out. I was impatient so that portion is a tad bit darker than the rest of the underneath, but only noticeable if you REALLY stare at my hair, which...creepy.

With some help from the hubbs, I drenched the entire bottom layer of my hair in this, left it on uncovered and with no head for about 45 minutes and shampoo and conditioned. It turned a beautiful deep crimson, nothing orangey about it. This is over my natural color, a dirty dark blonde. I know the red will fade, but right now it's a beautiful color and gets me in the mood for fall.

Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliner Review

Today I'm reviewing the Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliner. I purchased this in the Twilight Blue shade, a really gorgeous deep sapphire blue. I have enough black and brown eyeliners to last a lifetime and thought a deep navy would be a nice change up. If done correctly, a navy eyeliner can be very flattering and modern.


photo courtesy of neutrogena.com

 The reason this really caught my eye was because of the product description from Neutrogena:

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Neutrogena® Nourishing Eyeliner defines and brightens eyes with luminous color. Subtle light diffusers make the whites of eyes appear whiter, while rich color nourishes skin with Olive Oil and Rainforest Shea Butter. The built-in sharpener gives precise definition and the contoured smudger softens and blends for a variety of looks.

• Infused with olive oil and rainforest shea butter to condition the delicate skin around your lashes
• Creamy automatic pencil glides on smoothly, then transforms into long-lasting finish that won't budge
• Built-in sharpener and smudger allow to create the perfect look--from precise definition to smoky effect

Sold right? Yeah, me too.

I think the subtle shimmer in the blue does make your eyes look whiter, at least it did on me and I have fairly light grey eyes. The other colors are a black, a brown and a charcoal grey.

I was a little disappointed in the texture of this. With all that olive oil and shea butter I thought this would be a little creamier, or glide on a little easier. It definitely took some pressure to get the color as dark as I wanted it but I suppose if you want long wearing you can't have it be too soft or you will get transfer and smearing. So, that's a fair trade off. I do feel like this wears longer on my eyes than the ColorStay eyeliner did.

Here it is swatched on my hand, next to Revlon ColorStay eyeliner in black to show the color.

The tube itself is interesting, it's almost dainty. Very slender and easy to use.

Overall, I'd say that I was intrigued by the concept of these eyeliners and the one I purchased didn't disappoint. I would definitely repurchase in one of the other shades. I don't know how "nourishing" an eyeliner will actually be on my eye skin in the 8 hours a day I wear it, but it can't hurt to try right?

Revlon ColorStay Foundations

You guys.

I know I am a little late to the ColorStay foundation party, but I'm here now and super stoked about it.

I have been hmming and hawing for several months about trying the ColorStay foundation. I always hear good things about it but I tend to like a dewier finish (ie: Neutrogena Healthy Skin) and so the lable of matte finish kind of put me off of it. Especially in the summer.

But...

Then they came out with the Whipped Creme version and I was so interested in it. I went to Walgreens and fortunately they had a BOGO half off sale, so I purchased both the original ColorStay for combo/oily skin and the Whipped Creme version. My color in both is Golden Beige.

I totally get the hype. I've been testing them out for the past week or so and putting them through some pretty vigorous testing. Through swimming, sweating through 103 degree weather, a literal 15 hour day and at the hot, dirty fair. These foundations did not disappoint. I didn't see any fading, oxidizing, spreading, or greasy areas where I'd feel the need to touch up. Not only do they hold up under intense situations, they are awesome for daily wear. I've worn them consistantly for the past week with amazing results.

As for the differences between the two, I'd say the texture is really the most obvious. Original ColorStay is a liquidy foundation in a bottle. I hate these kinds because I feel they are so unsanitary. I usually pour the amount I need onto the back of my hand and apply from there. Rather than sticking my fingers on the bottle every time. The color selection is pretty extensive, though several of the colors are just labeled as different shades of "beige". Not very descriptive or helpful so I'd advise grabbing a bottle of the foundation you normally wear in the store and comparing them in the bottle. I used the Rimmel Lasting Finish in 200 as a guide and found it easier than comparing it against my hand or just guessing. 

The Whipped Creme version is in a large glass jar which is very heavy and pretty but not something I'd take for travel. It's strictly for sitting on a vanity. It has a little white internal lid you remove and "scoop" out the amount you need. Again, not very sanitary. I use a little plastic scooper for this rather than using fingers in the pot. Just to keep it clean. I wouldn't describe this texture as "whipped". When I think of "whipped" I think light, airy, fluffy...etc. This is thick, dense and creamy. More the texture of like barely melted ice cream or whipped cream cheese. You can touch it with your finger and it will peak but then will settle back into a flat surface. It's a very interesting texture.

 I think this version is just a tad bit easier to work with, it's a little more forgiving on drying/setting time and allows you to work it in all over your face rather than in sections like the original ColorStay. I feel like the Whipped Creme version is just a hint more matte on the finish. It has a unique "slip" to it, it has a very similar feeling to primers. That satiny, powdery "slip" that makes it just effortlessly glide on the skin.

Both foundations offer medium to full coverage and are easily buildable for areas which require more coverage. Both are very long wearing, settle really nicely on the skin and give a beautiful finish. I will definitely be repurchasing both of these.

Overall, I am very impressed with both of these and feel like they are unique enough to justify purchasing both.

Wearing Original ColorStay for Combo/Oily Skin

July Favorites

Thought I'd do a little quick rundown of some of my favorite items that I used and loved for the month of July. There are some things that I use and might not always blog about, but they do deserve a lil shout out and some love.

1. MoroccanOil. I recently repurchased the giant bottle of MO and have been using it like crazy. Going from brunette back to blonde did a number on my hair, plus we are in the pool or on the boat a lot in the summer and it really does a doozy on my ends. I don't think I've blow dried my hair in several weeks but I use MO every single morning. It smells awesome and makes my hair happy.

photo courtesy of moroccanoil.com



2. Moist Hemp with Argan Oil lotion. See a theme here? I picked this up at Sally's and have been using it for my daily lotion in the mornings pretty much non-stop since then. It's super moisturizing but it's not thick or heavy. It smells pretty sweet out of the bottle but the scent fades to a nice girlie scent and the lotion is amazing. I will definitely be repurchasing this one.



 

photo courtesy of sallybeauty.com

 

3. ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine in "Wild". This one is just a must have color for summer for me. It is a super bright orangey coral with golden shimmer and just goes perfect with a summer tan and some mascara. It's one of those colors that just instantly makes your face brighter and happier. I really like these lip glosses, for only $1?! Yeah. All over it.

4. Rimmel  Scandaleyes Mascara with Lycra Flex. I am usually pretty loyal to Lancome Hypnose or CoverGirl Lashblast mascara's. The last tube of Lashblast that I purchased was dry almost immediately and it annoyed me into buying a different kind. I saw the brush on this mascara and was so interested I had to give it a shot. This brush is HUGE, and like, a REAL brush. It's not a plasticky brush like you get with Lashblast. It took some getting used to but once I found the technique to use it, I fell hard for this mascara. It does smudge a bit on my bottom lashes, so I only use it on top. You can do a few coats for a regular day to day look or swipe a couple extra coats and BOOM. Mega lashes. I will repurchase for special occasions and nights when you just need those extra flirty lashes.

5. REVLON Colorstay 16 Hour Eye Shadow Quad in "Decadent". WOWZA. I typically wear more neutral/natural colors (think Naked Palette) but I wanted something a little more romantic and found this a few weeks ago. It's amazing. I am pretty picky about eyeshadows and even more picky with drugstore eyeshadows. I thought I'd try this because it's under the Colorstay lable that I trust and it did not disappoint. I will be posting a full review of this soon.

photo courtesy of amazon.com

6. Orly Flash Glam FX "Be Brave" nail polish. This is the first bar glitter nail polish I've ever purchased and it is SO MUCH FUN. It does take a little practice to lay those bar glitters down even but it's so worth it. It's a bright holographic pink/purple/bluish glitter in a clear base so you can put it over literally any color and amp up your mani. I've tried it over magenta, robins egg blue, nude, pale pink and the possibilities are really endless with this fun product. It got love this month!

photo courtesy orlybeauty.com

7. China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat. Addicted. I feel like this is the perfect base coat, it is long lasting and if I use this and top with SV, I can make a mani last over 5 days before it starts to chip. I usually get bored with my nails before that so I've used this at least twice a week all month.

photo courtesy chinaglaze.com

8. Revlon PhotoReady Bronzer in "Bronzed and Chic". I seriously use this every day. It is so fantastic and flattering. Instantly perks your skin up whether you are doing a full face of makeup or just a tinted moisturizer around the house. It's my holy grail of bronzers.

photo courtesy of revlon.com