Five Minute Makeup Look

Hello!!! Today I thought I'd give you a short Five Minute Makeup Look for those of you who need a quick step by step guide on how to get your makeup done on the go. I like to apply eye and face moisturizer first and let that absorb before applying the following, in the following order:

1. Concealer
2. Eyebrows
3. Mascara
4. Bronzer (or Blush)
5. Any eyeshadow

Here are the products I used and the links to purchase:

• Mascara- Rimmel Lift Me Up in Black
• Concealer- Make Up For Ever Full Cover in #5
• Eyebrows- MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Spike with Mary Kay Brow Gel
• Cheeks- Hoola Bronzer by Benefit
• Eyeshadow- EM by Michelle Phan Shanghai Lavendars

Check out the video above! The products I used are listed below in the notes. Hope you enjoy!

Holiday Look 2016

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! 

Here's a makeup tutorial just in time for your holiday parties for an fun, pretty look. I used gold and purple eyeshadow and topped it off with some gold glitter. 

Here are a list of the products, their cost and their links below:

Foundation- Lancome Tient Miracle in Bisque 5C 330 ($47.00)

Concealer- Make Up For Ever Full Cover in 5 ($34.00)

Eyeshadow- EM by Michelle Phan palette in "Shanghai Lavendars" ($28.00)
                      NYX Ultra Pearl Mania in "Mink" ($6.00)

Glitter- MAC Brilliants in "Reflects Gold" ($22.00)

Bronzer- Hoola by Benefit ($29.00) and Tarte "Park Ave Princess"($30.00)

Eyebrow- Anastasia Dip Brow in "Soft Brown" ($18.00) & Mary Kay Eyebrow Gel ($10.00)

Liner- NYX Matte Liquid Liner in "Black" ($15.00) & Kohl Black Liner

Lip- NYX Xtreme Shine Lip Cream in "Natural" (No longer carried by NYX) 

Hope you enjoyed watching!!! Wishing you and your families a very SAFE and BLESSED Holiday!

Eyebrow Tutorial

Hi there!! Today I did a quick eyebrow tutorial using a cream based makeup so you can see how I fill things in. This is more a natural look that I did using Anastasia's Dip Brow ($18) and Makeup Brush #12 ($18). 

Leave comments below and let me know if you have any questions! Hope you enjoy!

First Beauty Vlog

Hi Everyone!! I though I'd give a shot to Beauty Vlogging since that is still a pretty popular way to put your passion for makeup and skincare out into the world. I uploaded it to YouTube and am still in the process of working on my Channel but I hope you enjoy! The video is too large to upload here but check it out on YouTube at this link: My First Beauty Vlog

Beauty Blogging and Motherhood

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for motherhood. Not even listening to family members with great insight and stories. When you're pregnant you hear a million warnings before you welcome a baby into the world but it's not until you experience it personally until you understand how much your whole world changes. The one thing I will say is while it changes dramatically, it changes for the better. The love you experience really is all consuming and unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's the greatest thing in the world.

I was flipping through family photos since having the baby and the one thing I noticed is how tired my husband and I look in the early months after Adrian was born. I barely wore makeup because there are a lot of days that go by where it's just unnecessary or there wasn't time in between cleaning up diapers or spit up to put it on. It just wasn't important, nor should it have been. I looked at our Mother's Day and Father's Day family photos and can't help think like, "Gosh, we look so tired, but we really look happy." There was a shift in everything the second our son came home. Every single thing that seemed important before, no longer existed. 

I started this blog originally because of how much of a fun hobby it is for me to research makeup, makeup trends and try new and fun things with it. As Adrian gets older I've found a little more time to get slowly back into my passion for makeup and skincare but it's been hard to find a balance between it all. What's most important to me now is being a good mommy. It's hard to figure out how to redefine that passion now that I've changed so much. As we approach the New Year this is a goal of mine as to how to figure out how to move forward with trying to merge both things, being a good mommy and having something on the side for myself that I'm passionate about. I realize this will take time and lots of brainstorming but it's something that is important to me.

For all my followers that have kept up with me from the beginning of this blog 5 years ago, thank you! You guys have been a great support and your encouragement has meant so much to me. It's very inspiring to know that this has been something others have enjoyed. As I redefine what this new chapter means, I hope you'll join me on this ride! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! 

New Mom, New Beauty Routine

On February 2nd, 2016 my husband and I welcomed our firstborn son, Adrian Alexander, into the world. I'm still getting used to calling myself a mother, let alone getting used to figuring out a whole new routine and new chapter of my life.

The older I've gotten, I'll admit, the less effort I've put into making myself up but I do still LOVE makeup, trying new products, and reviewing the things I do try. I love putting makeup on friends and family, and REALLY enjoy when I have a good half hour to spend alone being creative on my own self. Now that I'm a new mom I've caught myself in the mirror several times looking almost frumpy and I've tried to think of things I could do for myself while I'm home with my son to still make me feel good about myself and not completely unkempt. It's more for my own self than anyone else. With a newborn, most days are spent at home being completely consumed by taking care of the baby. 

For all you moms out there, you know how quickly your life can go from being all about doing whatever you want to, to running around taking care of your family with little time for yourself. For those of you who are looking for ways to still take care of yourself, while taking care of baby this is for you. It's all about balance. I put these in order of what I find most crucial for myself to feel better during the day. Hopefully some of these make you feel good too!

1.) Scrub a Dub- Ask you partner, a friend or family member to come and help you out for 20 minutes so you can get a shower or a nice bath in. I have found that this alone makes me feel 1,000 times better. My son is only 5 weeks old but I have been spit up on, peed on and pooed on many times already so just a simple shower feels like a relief. People always forewarned me that it'd be so hard to shower when a baby came and I used to think they were crazy. They aren't. 

2.) Skincare- when I'm able to squeeze in a quick shower, I like to quickly wash my face with Noxema and as soon as I get out of the shower I quickly put on one pump of my Shiseido Ibuki Protective Moisterizer SPF 15 and my Shiseido Eye Contour Cream. 

3.) H2O- I recommend filling a large water bottle to keep with you all day or just to keep filling up water, the more hydrated you are, the  more awake you are and if you're chugging lots of coffee, like I've been, coffee only dehydrates you so you'll need to replenish. 

4.) Chapstick- I love my Pomegranite Burt's Bee's lip balm because I have found my lips to be much more chapped since I've had my baby. I keep one right by my bed so when I wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, I can swipe some on before we both go back to sleep so my lips can restore over night. I also love vaseline as well for my lips. 

5.) Lotion- keep a big bottle of lotion around so that when you have a minute and are sitting on the couch you can give yourself a quick rub down from head to toe. I really like Cetaphil lotion.

6.) Perfume- Every day that I left for work prior to the baby, I always spritzed some perfume on. For some reason spraying perfume on myself seems like a great way to finalize my whole look for the day and makes me feel pretty even without makeup on. I really like Daisy Eau So Fresh and Arlésienne Eau de Toilette by L'OCCITANE because they're both fresh, light and clean smelling. 

7.) Get outside or go the gym- This one is a little harder since it's hard to get away from the baby but if the weather's nice out, take your baby for a walk in their stroller or their carrier. If you have a gym membership and are able to get away for a bit, go to the gym and exercise. Exercise helps everything and is a great way to burn off some stress and help you to sleep better (when you get a chance to that is.)

8.) Sleep when the baby sleeps- the first few weeks of having my baby home, I attempted to be the perfect house wife. I was cleaning, doing laundry and trying to cook meals and take care of the baby all at once and quickly got burned out. Now, depending on how much sleep I got I'll do more or less chores during the day and nap when the baby naps. That has made a huge difference in my energy levels and crabbiness. This also helps your skin to restore itself when you get as much rest as possible. 

Having people in your life to help you and support you helps make these a little easier but most of these are quick things you can do or keep in mind when running around with your children. Hope you enjoyed reading these 7 tips to a refined beauty routine for those moms out there who need to keep themselves in mind too. 

IPSY Product Reviews- February Glam Bag

Hi everyone! Can't believe we are at the end of February already. Seems like it will be Spring before we know it!

If you read last month's blog, you now know I have a subscription to IPSY's monthly beauty bags and since I haven't purchased anything full sized or new myself in such a long time I'm going to review what I got in this month's bag!

First and foremost, the 5 deluxe products I received this month came in this really cute, pixelated, envelope bag.

In this months bag I received a perfume roller ball, a gel coat nail polish, a lip & hand scrub, a face primer and a blush stick. 

Perfume Roller Ball

I received a mini roller ball perfume from Jor'el Park called Eau so Divine. The same is pretty big and came in a 8.8 ml roller ball which is a pretty significant size for a sample so I was pretty impressed by that. At first smell, this perfume smells like something a mature woman would wear. The notes consist of golden amber, sandalwood, sensual incense, Egyptian myrrh, pink grapefruit, blackcurrant buds, lily of the valley, star jasmine, rose petals, ylang-ylang, cardamom,  and Madagascar vanilla. This perfume is sulfate free, gluten free and paraben free. After a couple minutes once the notes settle my skin seems to pull out the lily significantly. I myself, am not a fan of lily's but those of you who are would probably love this. Overall I wouldn't purchase this as it's not my the type of perfume I like. The 8.8 ml sample I received typically costs $23.00 and the 1.7 ounce is $53.00. 

Pink Gel Coat

One of my favorite items from this month's bag was the Pink Gel Coat which is like a nail strengthener/top coat by Perfect Formula . The tips of my nails have been peeling a lot over the last year or so and it's been very annoying to me. I put this on my nails a week ago and my nails haven't peeled at all and the gel coat has remained in tact. I like that it brightened my nails and made them look really pretty and glossy without a nail polish color on. These gel coats come in a variety of neutral colors and I'd recommend them to anyone who needs a good nail strengthener in their life. The only downfall is they are $30.00 a piece, which is a bit expensive for a nail polish.

Lip & Hand Scrub

My second favorite item from this bag is now sitting by my kitchen sink. I was introduced to Jersey Shore Cosmetics previously from IPSY because I got one of their Mongongo Lip Conditioners which is absolutely awesome and one of my favorite chapsticks. It seems most of the cosmetic & beauty companies that IPSY works with are rooted in similar beliefs to have all natural ingredients in their products and I'm a huge fan of that. Jersey Shore Cosmetics does just that. Where better to find your ingredients for your skin than nature. This lip and hand polish is currently $30.00 for a set of 2 on their website but it typically $50.00. All you need is a pea sized amount of this polish on wet hands or damp lips and after massaging on either your lips or hands it leaves almost an oily residue that isn't overwhelming and is just moisturizing enough that you don't have to wipe any excess off. 

Face Primer

I rarely find time to do a full face of makeup but if I do and know I'll be using my foundation, I like to pull on one of my samples of face primers. In this month's bag I received Smashbox's New Photo Finish Primer Oil.  I'm not going to lie, when I heard the word "oil" at the end of this product name I was pretty turned off. I can't help but think greasy when I think of oil based products. This primer has almost a citrusy smell to it and is quick absorbing. The reason this is a good primer is because in winter (especially if you live in the midwest) your skin will tend to be drier so if you use an oil primer rather than a cream based, your makeup might end up sitting better. I have yet to try this primer with a full face of makeup but I was happy with how quick it absorbed into my skin, was happy with the smell and it left my skin feeling soft. Smashbox is known for their primer's as many famous makeup artists use them on the stars/models for photoshoots. I'd say if you're big into face primers this would be a great one for drier skin and during winter weather and I'd recommend it to you. For me however, I'll probably pass since I rarely wear a full face of makeup.

Blush Stick

Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm a huge bronzer person and very rarely wear blush but this product left me intrigued. Upon first impression of this Trestique product I thought it was a lipstick so that was a bit confusing until I read the back of the product that it was a blush stick. I tried it on and it is a very buildable blush and a pretty color in Bora Bora Coral.  I expected the product to be creamier feeling but it seemed to go on rather dry. I feel like the color faded off my face fast so all in all I would purchase this product but I do like that you can throw it in your purse if you need a touch up of color during the day. This blush stick costs $28.00 (typically goes for $34.00 but it's on sale. 

I really enjoyed this month's bag and am looking forward to March's Glam Bag! 

Hope you enjoyed my review!

IPSY Product Reviews - January Glam Bag

Hi ladies!!! Welcome back to my blog! It's been awhile, I know! I missed you! Today I'll be posting about some reviews of recent products I've used this month and what I thought of them so far.

I've been receiving a monthly IPSY bag for about 4 years now and for $10 a month I really enjoy it. For those of you who aren't familiar with IPSY or Birchbox, these are basically monthly subscriptions to beauty products and each month they come with 4-5 deluxe size makeup samples from products like skin care, eye shadow, eye liner, bronzer and lip products. They are super fun and since I'm such a makeup fan, I really enjoy trying out new products every month.

Every month around the 10th of the month IPSY mails out a different themed bag of the month with 4 or 5 samples of beauty products and January's bag was totally one of my favorites. Reminds me kinda of Andy Warhol's paintings.

How cute is this bag?

In this months bag I received a brown eyeliner, an eye serum, eyeshadow, eyebrow powder and cleansing wipes. Let's start with my review of the brown eyeliner.

BROWN EYELINER

I'm a fan of theBalm makeup line. They have good eye-shadows and I love they're style of pinup's and the names they name their products. I received "Mr. Write (Now)" in Rich Bronze. For some reason this picture makes the eyeliner look like it's gold but I assure you it's a medium brown in color. These pencils typically cost $17.00 a piece so you can see where it's nice to get a beauty bag subscription like IPSY because right there your saving $7 on an eyeliner and getting 4 additional product in your bag of equal or lesser value.

Overall I like the eyeliner but more for the bottom lash line. It's pretty shimmery and doesn't sit that well on top of eye-shadow and it rubs away a little easier than I like without eyeshadow on. I've worn it both ways to see how it would sit on my eyes. When I'm using any pencil eyeliner I like when it has more staying power or is waterproof because who has the time to touch up there makeup everyday (if you do, you're lucky). My verdict is I wouldn't purchase this on my own but was happy to try a new liner.

EYE SERUM

 

Another thing I love about getting a beauty bag monthly is I get introduced to a new makeup line I've never heard of before and Hey Honey! is one of the new ones I learned about in this month's bag. The creator of this line, Katerina Yoffe- Larden, created all these skin care items using actual honey and propolis (the stuff inside of the beehive). Both these ingredients are paraben and SLA free.  I received this awesome, moisturizing eye serum by this line called Hey Honey! Open Your Eyes: Eye Contour Lifting Fluid and I love it! It does exactly what it says it does online by quickly absorbing into your skin, moisturizing, lifting and helping prime the area a bit for concealer. I love that I feel like this serum could even replace my regular eye cream because it's so silky and watery that a little goes a long way and I don't have to wait a long time to put my makeup on after applying. This eye serum is $28.00. I would definitely purchase this on my own and am really excited to check out the rest of this skincare line because I like that these products are made out of natural ingredients and are known to be super balancing.

CLEANSING WIPES

Skyn Iceland is a 2nd brand I was introduced to in this month's IPSY bag. This is another line of makeup that is paraben-free & all natural which is an immediate plus in my book. I love a good facial wipe. Especially on days when I don't feel like exfoliating or washing my facial with soap and water this is the perfect "to-go" wipe to keep in your purse. The coolest thing about Skyn's Glacial Cleansing Cloths is you don't need water after you use them to rinse off the soap. The smell of these wipes is super invigorating and calming. The only downside of the "no rinse needed" is I don't like the smell it then leaves on your face. It's a great smell initially but I still take some water to my face to get the smell off because for some reason I still feel like the soap is then left on your skin. The ingredients in these wipes include: white willow bark (soothes irritation), islandic kelp (revitalizes), cucumber (smooths/softens skin), coconut (cleanses), and alpha bisabolol (anti irritant). Not only do these wipes wash your face and leave your skin feeling so supple and clean, but they remove makeup to. The one thing though is they don't remove the makeup from your eyes that well, so you do still need an eye makeup remover if you want to wash your face with these. That was the only downside for me.

Another perk of IPSY is when they send these products out, that month you are also offered a discount on purchasing the full sized product on the company's website. Skyn offered a 40% discount on full sized items and I'm definitely purchases a pack or two of these to keep in my purse for on the go. I'm due for our 1st baby in a few weeks and I'm pretty sure I won't be wearing much makeup for awhile so it'll be great to use these when I need some quick pampering to get me through my new mommy days.

I'm not going to review the eyeshadow or the brow eyeshadow because I wasn't a huge fan of either product and the three above were most note-worthy items for me from this January IPSY bag.

Hope you enjoyed reading my first blog of 2016! If you don't already have a beauty bag subscription, I hope if your a makeup junkie like me, that this post changes your mind! They're well worth it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!