SmashBox Pro The Master Class Palette II

The phone rings. I answer knowing its my youngest sister who lives in Manhattan. She tells me she wanted some new makeup and stops by Sephora, which is right around the corner from her. Did I tell you I hate my sister? 

She is also the most anti makeup person I know, her beauty stash consists of a bronzer, concealer, eye liner, mascara and a Sephora brush set that came out like 6 years ago. Her lipstick is that Nivea shimmer lip balm thingy and thats it, Period. She keeps all these items in a MAC makeup bag I gave her like 4 years ago, so you get the picture. 

"I didn't know what to get in there, so I got this SmashBox kit thing, is that any good"?

First I asked God why he gives people things they themselves will never understand or appreciate LOL!

Then I ask "What does it say"? She tell me its The SmashBox Pro Master Class Palette and I quote "It comes with all these things and I don't know what to do with them". 

I tell her not to return it that she holds pure gold in her hands and that I will be there in a few day to show her how to use all those things that seem to be confusing her. 

She calls me the next day and tells me that she went back to Sephora and picked up a extra palette for me!!

Did I tell you I love my sister?

So here we are, I present to you 

The SmashBox Pro Master Class Palette II

The Casing is a sturdy dull silver patent leather type finish. 

Finger prints are a problem and don't really go away even if wiped down.

The Palette Boasts a whopping 28 colors of eye shadows.

4 cream liners, 3 blushes, 3 bronzers and 2 highlights and a get the look card (not Pictured)

The color payoff is amazing, there are wonderful transition colors both dark and light.

There are beautiful sparkly colors perfect for a evening out, with the holidays right around the corner I know this will be my go to palette. Some of the and I mean just about 4 of the 28 don't show up on my skin tone, but these colors are perfect for blending out. I love that the shimmers are not overdone and the mattes are deep and rich. You can literally use this palette a million times and never have the same look twice.

The Blushes are very smooth and go on sheer for a nice wash of color, they compliment your skin rather then over it with a dusty powder, which is something I love in a good blush. The two highlighters are amazing they are truly everything a highlighter should be and will work great with any skin tone.

Blushes

Highlighters

                  

The 4 cream liners are great for bases and liners as well. The colors are Black, Navy, Purple and Gold. The black isn't as dark as I would like but as a base it's perfect. These are very pigmented however they will come off quickly if not set, So I only use them as a base and not a liner. 

A little goes a long way with them and I liked that they applied smooth and easy.

These are some of the looks I have created using this amazing palette.

Special Thanks to my sister for purchasing this wonderful Palette for me :)

This Palette Retails for $59.00 ($275 value) at SEPHORA.COM

Have you tried this Palette yet?

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Double Duty Product for Eyes and Lips!

I love me some double duty products, I mean who doesn't love a product that can benefit you in two ways?
I know I do. If you are like me and love to save on money with these types of products check out the post that started it all here.

Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream

Drugstore.com says:

Garnier Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream with Pro-Retinol from nature works to firm wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes, while being gentle on skin.  Instantly:  Gently smoothes and softens the delicate eye area.  In 2 weeks:  The eye area is noticeably firmer and crow's feet, fine lines and wrinkles are visibly lifted.  With continued use:  The eye area is noticeably lifted, more resilient, and healthy looking.  Garnier Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream is ophthalmologist tested for safety, non-comedogenic (won't clog pores), gentle to skin, allergy tested, and non-greasy.

I love this eye cream it goes on so smooth and silky and really hydrates my dry eye area. I have noticed that my crows feet are no longer a big issue as they used to be. I am not saying its a miracle product the feet are still there, they just aren't at noticeable as they used to be, by my standards at least.

I also use this product on my lips, yes you heard me right. I apply the tiniest amount to my lips after I have applied this to my eyes.

The Company recommends that this product is not to be eaten or swallowed. So I just a apply a very thin coat. 

I have to say that I have seen great results with the product on my lips, They are more soft and the fine lines in my lips have all but disappeared, they have a nice smooth feel to them.

This product has made me happy in two ways!! So I will add him to the list of other double duty products I love :)

I don't know if this works with any other eye creams, but I will be trying this out with other eye creams.

Have you heard or tried this method on your lips before? Let me know!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

My Contour and Highlighting Technique

Hello! Well This is going to be a bit different, Lately I have been on this mission in finding new ways to use old products or use products in a way that the makers of said products did not intend. Why, do you ask? Because I'm a Squid and this is what I do :) Today I am going to be sharing products that I use in the exact opposite way they were intended to be used.


COVER FX: Total Cover Cream Foundation
Sephora.com says:
What it is:
An antioxidant-rich, two-in-one foundation and concealer offering broad spectrum SPF 30 protection with medium to full, buildable coverage.
What it does:
This foundation provides an all-day radiant finish that nourishes and protects with anti aging benefits. The buildable formula can provide medium to full coverage and offers SPF 30, full UV protection, and all-day wear. This clinically tested product does not contain gluten, mineral oil, or talc.

But that's not what I do with it! I use this guys as a highlighter when I am contouring and highlighting my lovely mug. It goes on nicely and I don't have to use much. It is way lighter then my natural skin tone but blended out it make for a nice concealer/highlighter follow with a face powder of your choice and you are good to go!


BENEFIT COSMETICS: Hello Flawless!' SPF 15

Sephora.com says:
What it is:
A custom powder cover-up with a natural finish that builds from sheer to full coverage.

What it does:
Benefit "Hello Flawless!" SPF 15 is a blendable powder foundation with SPF 15 that goes on beautifully sheer and layers easily for customized coverage. Find your perfect shade and sweep it on with the accompanying brush for a sheer, natural finish; or apply with the sponge for full coverage or spot cover-up.


Now this shade "Nutmeg" is absolutely to dark for me. But! As a contour shade he is perfect. He blends amazingly well. He is a high coverage product so a little goes a long way and he comes is a wide variety to match any skin tones.

I find that using these two products together is just heavenly. I have provided a Video below as a demonstration on how well they work together.

I am using the Airbrush collection brushes from Sephora

I purchased all products myself :)
Please Comment, Like and Subscribe!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

And Now for Something Completely Different! Awards and Tags :)

I Love getting nominated for tags and awards, who doesn't?  It's about blogger showing other bloggers some love!

While I was busy Moving a lot of my fellow bloggers showed me some love! Although I was nominated for these awards a while back I want to send some of that love back to my girls :)

I am going to be spotlighting these lovely ladies, so that you all can fall in love with them the way I have!!


These four beauties nominated me for the Sunshine Award!

The sunshine award is given to bloggers who inspire creativity and positivity.

Justina from JustinaWho....  Is one of my first blogging buddies! 

25 Years Old
In Love With My Highschool Sweetheart
Proud Mom To 2 Fur Babies

Loves Fashion, Beauty Products, & DIY

 

Yurika from Mrbearslittleroom

22 years old

Will be graduated from a university on next March. Her major is international culture.

She's engaged to a british man who's living in Singapore at this moment.

Writes about beauty, fashion, pets, life, and any other things that She likes to talk about.

Ambi from Ambifashion

26 years old

A mom who is obsessed with beauty and fashion. She decided to write blogs simply because She loves reading blogs. She wants to share different tips like how to stay in trend when you are busy mom and  more in her blog.

Angela from Blissfulbeautyisms

So you wanna know about me, huh? Well first things first, I'm Angela. Born in Hawaii, raised in Japan. Hopping from one beautiful place to another, living each moment like it's my last.

This young lady nominated me for the Liebster Award!!

The Liebster Award was created to recognize and/or discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere.

Chelsea from Tigerlovebeauty

A freshman in college. Loves talking about all things beauty. 

Has a wonderful lil Blog that's very active and a good friend.

Thanks to all of my lovely nominators Thank you for thinking of me! Sending you warm hugs and kisses :)

So those are my beauties! Please show them some love and follow their blogs! 

I promise you will be glad you did :)

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

dr.brandt microdermabrasion skin exfoliant

Hello! My people :) 

Today I have a lil piece of heaven to share with you all. The dr.brandt microdermabrasion skin exfoliant.

I got this sample tube in my october BirchBox And I could not wait to share it with you all, but with the move it got delayed. So lets get into this bad boy.

Key Ingredients:

Chamomile - calms, soothes and reduces irritation.

Aloe vera - healing emollient that soothes irritations and prevents scarring.

Aluminum oxide - pharmaceutical grade crystals that polish and remove dead skin cells.

Jojoba - easily absorbed vegetable oil that soothes and softens the skin.

Lactic acid - alpha hydroxy acid derived from milk gently sweeps away dead skin cells and softens skins texture

Dr. Brandt recommends: Dampen skin with warm water. Slowly and gently massage cream onto skin for 1-2 minutes avoiding the eye area. Rinse well, pat dry. Best if used 1-2 times per week allowing 3 days between applications. 

I do exfoliate often like almost everyday, BUT! its with a gentle exfoliant so its not that bad, I hope.

I have never microdermabrasion-ed myself so this method is new to me.

Anyhoo, I looked at the tube and thought what is this little tube going to do for me?

I applied a small dime sized amount to fingertips and immediately I got hit with this lovely lemon scent.

I began to apply it to my face and noticed a little goes a long way, It spread to nicely and smooth.

It has a gritty feeling to it, like a soft fine milled feeling that allows you to know this product will go deeper than any other product had before. 

Once I had it spread I couldn't just stop there, I brought out my ClariSonic Mia and used it for the recommended minute all over my face . 

Wow! It was so heavenly and felt so good. I can honestly say my face has never felt like that before.

My face felt clean and fresh and it looked brighter too. I just love that I felt like, Okay I know my face is clean now. 

This product claims to get your skin ready for your other products. This is true, I felt like it opened my face and ready to accept the goodness of my other skin care products.

I love this product and so thankful to BirchBox for letting me try a product I would have never looked into on my own.

I do recommend you try this product at least once, so you can understand the love I feel for it.

I did get three uses our of the trial size, so a little goes a long way.

2012 Allure Best of Beauty Award Winner - Best Scrub

dr. brandt microdermabrasion is a revolutionary formula designed to mimic the transformative brightening, smoothing effects of the popular in-office microdermabrasion treatment at home.enables better absorption of skincare products an at home alternative to professional, clinical treatments helps diminish the appearance of fine lines, acne marks, and skin discolorations.

This product retails for $78.00 for a 2oz. tube on drbrandtskincare.com

Products I have mentioned above

BirchBox

ClariSonic

drbrandt

Have you tried an at home microdermabrasion product?

Thanks for reading and have a great day :)

The Google of Beauty

BeautyStat.com Launches "The Google of Beauty" Product Search Tool

Search and discover all things beauty with the new BeautyStat.com!

BeautyStat.com has relaunched its site with Pinterest-like visual features and an e-commerce angle to provide its users with an easy-to-use search and discovery platform, being called the “Google of beauty” by WWD.

The new platform allows you to search for your favorite brands, retailers and items to compare prices, find out-of-stock products and learn about the best steals, deals and giveaways. In-depth editorials and honest product reviews let you discover what’s new in beauty from cosmetics to haircare.

BeautyStat.com will soon become your one-stop-shop to search, discover and purchase all things beauty! Along with a new sleek design, there are also new features that include creating your own profile to store photos, articles and items you wish to purchase. The more you use the site, the more products and reviews will be recommended towards your unique beauty needs.

Find out today what BeautyStat.com has to offer! And with Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, BeautyStat is the perfect resource to shop for the best prices, deals and steals of your favorite products!

I honestly love this company!! They sent me out a product for review.

The Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum. You can see the review in the video below!

Thanks for Reading and have a great day :)

Beautiful Jewell Micaylah

Once in a while we come across people in our lives that we know and feel they are headed for greatness!
And that is exactly how I feel about Micaylah from BeautifulJewel. We have gotten to know each other from our passion and love for beauty that we just clicked. I hope she doesn't mind when I say that I feel  a strange closeness with her in some weird magical makeup way hehe :) We decided that we wanted to interview one another, things that we wanted to know about one another not in the usual tag way get down to the nitty gritty of the Beautifuljewell. Micaylah has interviewed me, you can find her interview on her blog, here.


Below is the interview I did on Micaylah, I hope you will come to love her just as much as I do! Enjoy :)



1. What is it that draws you to follow a certain blog?

I love blogs with a cute simple layout, they have to be readable. And also, I love when people talk in their blogs post as they are talking to their friends

2. Do you have intentions of starting a YouTube channel?

No, I have a really bad stuttering problem. Lol! I would like to, but I just stutter so much.

3. If your blog doesn't grow within six months will you continue blogging?

Of course, blogging takes patenice.

4. What advice can you give to other bloggers on how to gain more blog followers?

What I do is make sure togive feedback to other people blog, and I follow tons of people on blog lovin'. They usually follow back awfully quick. And usually follow my blog too.

5. Where do you see yourself in five years?

With my babe in Paris. Still blogging, and still loving my beauty community.

6. What are your current thoughts on the beauty industry?

It is an amazing industry. No two people are alike in the beauty industry. Everyone has something that makes them unique and who they are. And most people in the beauty community aren't close-minded.

7. What is the one thing you would tell your younger self to prepare you for today?

Inner beauty is what God seeks. -Matthew 23:27


8. How long does it take you to get ready for a date?

Wheew, it depends on how my hair want to act. But not over an hour.

9. Does anyone in your close circle family or friend tell you that you wear too much makeup?

Well, my babe is always telling me idk why you wear makeup, but he also knows it's my passion, and every time I do my face it's practice for me. But I never get told that. Everyone always says they love my makeup.


10. How would you feel if makeup were outlawed worldwide?

I would definitely be an unhappy camper. I would be so mad I would probably try to sue whoever outlawed it!


Thanks for reading and have a great day :)