May 30, 2013

FACE of the Week: Bday Dinner Look


So over the long weekend, I celebrated my birthday! Let's not talk about age but I am at that point, it's not exciting anymore to be turning another year older. I am not that old either to party it up all night, but I'd rather have a nice quiet dinner with my hubby. This though does not mean I was not going to dress up and get glamorized, it's my birthday! Plus, I finally found an excuse to wear a nice dark smokey eye! I have not done this look before and I am so happy that it turned out great and I did not end up looking like a raccoon!
Before I started with my face, I went to straighten my hair first. It was windy out so a curly hair will not do well that night. I used the NuMe Finishing Serum from my Ipsy bag (check my post, here!) after and whoaa! My hair looked pretty shiny! I am loving that serum!

I'm using the infiniti Conair that my sister gave me!

So for this look, I took out my NYX Wicked Dreams Palette which I bought months ago! I have been using the neutral shadows on this palette, and I like it. For this look I used mostly that nice matte blue-green shadow, second to the right at the very bottom row of the palette.



Before I started putting my shadows I used the tape method to give me that nice sharp edge. I saw this method used on Youtube and I've used it before to do a daytime smokey look and it works great!
TIP ALERT: Put the two tapes on your wrist first to take out some of the stickiness, so in the end it's not gonna be pulling your skin too hard.
With the Tape Method: From the outer corner of your eye, you align the other end of the tape to the end of your eyebrow. Check picture below, for a clearer visual.
  • For this look, I did my eyes first before putting on my foundation and blush, just in case there's any fallout. Surprisingly I did not have any! 
  • After putting on my primer, I used a flat brush to dab this blue-green shadow all over my lid up to the crease. 
  • And with the same shadow, I used the end of the flat brush and dabbed it below my eyes
  • Using a crease brush I took a little dab on the matte black shadow and put that in my outer corner for depth.
  • Then with a clean crease brush, I blend, blend blend around the crease area to remove any harsh lines. By doing this also, it brought some of the color above the crease a little bit.
  • Finally, added some highlight with that shimmery cream shadow below my eyebrows and the inner corners.
  • Now you can finally remove that tape and voila! A nice sharp wing! Now you can just follow that outline when you do your eyeliner! I used my Shiseido Gel Liner in Black/ Noir for this look because I want that dark black wing. 
  • Then used Mally Waterproof Eyeliner in Gunmetal in my waterline so it's not too dark, which I love!
  • Don't forget your mascara! And your false lashes if you like. I am not a fan of fake lashes so I skipped that part.
Left: tape lining the outer corner of my eye to the end of my eyebrows
Right: the finish product once you remove that tape!

on to the FACE. . .

  • After priming with BareMinerals Primer, I used my Yaby Concealer in Vanilla to do my new highlighting technique, which I posted here! 
  • I used my BareMinerals Foundation in Golden Tan all over my face.
  • For blush I used Milani Baked Powder Blush in Rose D'Oro. This has beautiful gold shimmers to it so I didn't have to use a highlighter with this blush. I just did a light sweep of this, just to give my cheeks some color.
  • And on my lips my favorite nude lip color of all time! L'oreal Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in Silky Java.This lipstick goes on like buttah! Super moisturizing! And this is good for dark pigmented lips because this is more of a dark nude color. On top of that I just added a little bit of BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Maverick for some more shine!  

and here's our FINAL LOOK! 


outfit: necklace from BaubleBar and dress from Joe Fresh

All in all, I love this smokey look! I will definitely gonna be doing this a lot when I go out at night. Maybe use a different palette tho since I've noticed on my other pics, this did not blend well and got patchy even with a primer on! It's great when packing in the shadow to the lids but after blending it I see patches on my lids =( You can see it a little bit on the picture above. I tried fixing it but it was just not going away. Good thing we were dining at a dimly lit restaurant and my husband doesn't really care about these minor girl problems I have. 
I still had a great night. My husband is the sweetest! The food was amazing at Delmonico's, and I made sure I had room for dessert! I'm a dessert girl, I always have room for sweets tho!!! We walked around the neighborhood afterwards, hubby was reminiscing when he used to work in the area. Another birthday I will not forget! 



May 28, 2013

mini-Target haul

Hey guys! Hope everybody in the U.S had a great Memorial Day weekend! I just did a "stay-cation"; Celebrated my birthday with hubby at a nice dinner in the city and did a little spring cleaning here at home. And a quick Target run to stock up on a few household essentials. Of course, how can I not stop at their beauty aisle! Unfortunately, they did not have the Maybelline Color Tattoos Summer edition I have been looking for; not a lot of Sonia Kashuk product choices for me, they don't carry Milani products and not a lot of sales were going on either, and so I ended up with just a mini-haul to share here. 

I wanted to show you these because I have never really tried any products from Sonia Kashuk and am very intrigued because of all the good reviews I have been seeing and reading online, and I wanna hear what you guys think of her line. Her Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette had great reviews online and I am looking around for a nice concealer palette that has no mineral oil, since that breaks me out bad! Though this has parabens in it, I still bought it since I will not be using this everyday anyways, just on special days and days my face has really bad hormonal breakouts! I also bought a Satin Luxe Lipcolor with SPF 16 Sunscreen in Vivid Coral. I have not read any reviews about her lip products and I'm a lip product junkie so I got one just to try it out. This is truly a bright peachy coral lipstick and is awesome for the summer since I like to keep my makeup neutral. *I will give you a further in-depth review after I have used these more.  If you guys have any other Sonia Kashuk product suggestions that I need to try please comment below so I can add it to my shopping list!


And the other beauty products I got are these. That Organix body lotion in Coconut Milk Hibiscus was an accident! I wanted the body wash but not read the label correctly and just grabbed it and moved on the hair care aisle! Over there I grabbed these bath gloves by  EcoTools.  I just want to try something else besides a loofah so will see how this do! I love EcoTools' makeup brushes but I have not tried any of their other products. 


And in the hair aisle, I was looking what my choices are for a hair mask since my Macadamia Oil mask is too expensive and my hair needs some TLC now. I picked up  Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque for dry, damaged hair. Again I have not tried any products from Shea Moisture and this tub has such great ingredients in it! Sea Kelp to keep my hair smooth, Argan Oil for shine and healthy hair, and Shea Butter for moisture in hair and scalp! I do need to keep my hair and scalp healthy and if this claims that then I will try it! 


It's also great to see that this has a long list of of harmful ingredients that I will NOT find in this big tub of hair mask. Hopefully this will surely help to keep my hair and scalp healthy and strong since I do want to grow my hair longer.


And lastly my favorite sunscreen!  Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration in a spray can! I love the smell of this sunscreen and I was so excited to see this in a spray can for fast, easy application! And how can I not say no to a free lip balm! I cannot have enough lip balms lying around the house or in my purse so what's another lip balm right?!?


So that's my mini-Target haul. The rest of our cart were food and other household necessities. So any of you stocking up on beauty products too for the upcoming hot Summer season?!?

May 24, 2013

Cuticle balms!



When I do my manicure, once a week, I never forget to keep my cuticles moisturized. And I have been using this cuticle oil from Sephora (pictured below) and it's amazing! My cuticles looks healthier actually and not as dry - makes taking pictures of my newly found nail art obsession more fun! This one has a brush tip instead of just a plain tube. This brush makes application on the cuticle area easier, cleaner and faster! 
TIP !Alert! Plus putting cuticle oil around the nail helps when the polish bleeds to the surrounding skin. I use the flat pointy end of a cuticle stick to wipe off the polish and it comes right off!

one of my fave nail arts!
You don't need to buy this exact cuticle oil, since I know every nail polish brand and others have their own cuticle oil product. This one has just been my go-to after I have tried two others before; a dollar one from E.L.F and a Burt's Bees one that both did not work well for my busy hands! And no worries ladies if you don't have a cuticle oil in hand! A lip balm is as handy and as moisturizing! If they are moisturizing enough for your lips, why not put them on those dry cuticles right?!?
Pictured below are just a few of the ones in my lip balm collection that I will grab when I misplace my Sephora cuticle oil in my big box of nail stuff. I use the clear one and the minty ones are my fave! It gives that little tingling sensation as well on my fingers, just like if you put it on my lips! Since I have tons of lip balms these has been put aside to be used for my nails only (The Ben&Jerry one is almost empty so I am just using up the rest on my nails). 


TIP !ALERT! Before going to bed, I put this on again on my cuticles and cover my hands with my pair of cotton socks! If you don't have one of those moisturizing gloves from the drugstore, a pair of cotton socks works just the same. And never, never ever! forget to moisturize those hands! All season long, no excuse! 





Hope you all enjoyed this little tidbit. And if you are like me who hoards on lip balms because you thought you have misplaced them and just can't live without a lip balm on hand - here's just another way to use those unused, almost forgotten, almost finished lip balms of yours!

*Have a great long weekend everyone!  




May 21, 2013

Yaby Concealer Review + My Weekend Makeup


So from my May2013 Ipsy Glambag (which I have reviewed recently here), I received the Yaby concealer in Vanilla, which is truly not my shade since I have never been that pale and have always been tanned (no matter how sunscreen and layers of clothing I have, my skin do not turn pale at all). I do wish sometimes my skin is lighter, but it'll never happen so let's move on!

Yaby concealer in Vanilla
 I have never done a swap on their FB page and not sure how secure the trading will be so I just contacted Ipsy and see what they suggest. I got a reply two days later and they did say to check out their swap forum and also a Look on their Ipsy page, which was this: http://mygl.am/noshadenproblem

After watching the videos from Myra's page on Ipsy, it got me thinking to challenge myself! If those ladies made it work for them, why can't I?!? And why not add a new thing I will try to be doing once a week here in my blog which is my makeup either from the weekend or a night out! Not sure what to call it yet so I have called this one my "Weekend Makeup". A great excuse for me too, to play around with my palettes! I recently bought the Jenni Rivera palette from BH Cosmetics, which I used with todays post. I will post a more in-depth review on that palette soon. 
Back to the Yaby concealer, well this definitely blended well on my skin! Very creamy and not greasy on my face at all. I followed that "Kardashian highlight" map look but a little more subtler on me since I will not be facing tons of camera flashes outside my house! So under my eyes, I did that triangular shape, the bridge of my nose, by my chin and three lines on my forehead. 



It looks crazy before blending that I couldn't stop laughing at myself and the best pic I got is the one below. In the end, I can see how it brightened up my face where it needs to be and not looking like I wore three shades lighter of foundation! This is my first time using this technique and I am pretty amazed how it works out! I would not use this technique on my everyday face though since this just adds more time in the makeup routine, but I will definitely do this on special occasions like on date nights and on special events since it pictures well! *As long as you powder to mattify your T-zone area! 
Don't scroll down yet to see the finish product! Let me tell you what I did with my "Weekend Makeup"!



My Weekend Makeup: 

Here are some of the products I used for the day. My hubby and I were just doing some errands that day so I kept it simple but very bright and Spring-y!



For EYEBROWS: I filled in and defined with my Anastasia Eyebrow Pencil in Ebony. Then sealed it with Chella Clear Eyebrow Gel.
For FACE: After blending my Yaby concealer, I used my BareMinerals Foundation in Golden Tan all over and then the BM Mineral Veil, to set everything in.
For CHEEKS: I used my cream blush by Josie Maran Cheek/Lip Tint in Tenderheart, which has a soft peachy tone. For highlight I used my favorite from theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer on my cheekbones and below my eyebrows.
For EYES: I used my new Jenni Rivera Palette from BH Cosmetics, I tried to do a subtle orange-y color on my eyes but the camera could not pick it up here. I did a pretty light application on it too, maybe that's why! Then Jordana Fabu Liner in brown to make my wing, since it's a daytime look. Black will be too dramatic so I used the brown one. *This liner is great! I love it! 
For mascara I have been using Ulta's Amped Lashes Volume + Defining Mascara in Black which I got as part of a gift bag with purchase a few weeks ago. This mascara is great for that natural looking lashes without the clumps or smears, and it kept my lashes curled all day!
For LIPS: I have been loving this Maybelline Vivids in Hot Plum. Since everything is pretty subtle I thought why not go loud with the color of my lips! I am loving this nice bright pink with purple tone color on me =)

And now here's the final pic! With a before picture, well kinda, I  have already primed my face before putting on the Yaby concealer here but you can see it actually does not look that scary light on my face!


Left: my BEFORE face + Yaby Concealer in Vanilla swatch; Right: After 30minutes  =)

Overall, I love this highlighting technique! It has taught me to blend, blend, blend; highlight in the right areas and in the end a nice bright, lively face! I do need more practice. If you have anymore tips on how to highlight, please let me know and comment! Thanks guys for reading this!




May 20, 2013

Heads up Sephora Beauty Insiders!


Just saw this in my inbox this morning and thought I would share you this great news from Sephora!
I am unfortunately gonna pass on this awesome looking deal since I just went Ulta and QVC shopping for tons of beauty products! 
My closet is about to burst since I have so many skin care, hair care and make-up that I have collected from a few sales recently so I'm gonna have to pass. If you do purchase this kit, I'd love to see a post what you think about it though! Which products are your favorites and will be buying after!

May 18, 2013

Are YOU an Allure Beauty Enthusiast?

I'm sure most of you read, and/or are also a subscriber to Allure magazine. And maybe some of your are already a member of their Allure Beauty Enthusiast team, which you can sign up: here.
I just recently found out about this and new to this. . ."program" or site and am excited to share with you my first experience as an Allure Beauty Enthusiast member!
Before we go on that, let me just explain to those who don't know what this is. As an Allure subscriber and as an Allure Beauty Enthusiast you have a chance to share your opinions on beauty products by filling out surveys they feature and be one of the few chosen ones to test out future or up and coming beauty products! But this post is about joining a panel group and hear our answers and opinions in the beauty department!
Since I just signed up recently, I wasn't expecting an email a week later if I would be interested in joining a group panel in their New York office to answer a few questions in regards to beauty; my favorite beauty products, how do I shop for beauty products and so on! Of course I was not going to say no! I filled out the survey that was linked to the email. Got a call a few days later from Allure and answered a few more beauty questions; share a little bit of myself, what do I do, what do I blog about and what new beauty products am I using now and how did I find out about it. After five minutes over the phone, I was invited to come to their Meet and Greet the following week to join a panel of other Allure Beauty Enthusiasts and answer few more beauty questions. 
Can I just say, how super excited I was to be invited to Allure's New York Office?!? I could not hold my excitement all week! That all my husband hears from me was about this upcoming "Meet and Greet with Allure"(that's what they called the event is). He has been super supportive and all ears about it too, and now he has to listen to me talk about what happened during the meet and greet, hehehe. I will give him a break that's why I'm blogging this. Pus I want to share with you guys what the opportunities you can get from being an Allure Beauty Enthusiast!  I may not be a member for long but you can just add this to your pro-list of why you need to sign up to another beauty website, ok?!
So yesterday was the Meet and Greet at Allure's office in Conde Nast Building in New York. I was hoping to bump into Anna Wintour but I'm sure she had her own private elevator in the building somewhere! It was held in their conference room and I sat down with 10-12 other girls with the Allure Beauty Enthusiast Team. For 45 minutes, we were just talking about beauty stuff! Where do we get our information about our favorite and upcoming new beauty products; how important is social media and how does this influence us and so on. Obviously, the 45 minutes was not enough to share all that we want to talk about from hair care to skin care to makeup (eye, lips and face products! Beauty is a broad topic and 45 minutes is not just enough!) Time went by pretty quick when you enjoy what you're talking about and discussing this with fellow beauty "junkies"; other girls who loves to try and find new beauty products out there as well is pretty comforting! *That's why I love following a lot of beauty bloggers! It makes me feel part of a great beautiful community of beauty junkies like me!
Before we left, they have given each one of us a goodie bag that includes their June2013 issue magazine and a few products that is shown in the picture below. 

above: Allure's main entrance door on the 10thFl; below: the goodie bag (June2013 issue, Pantene Age Delay Conditioner, Revlon  Colorburst Lipgloss in Peony and CoverGirl Lashblast 24hr mascara)

Disclaimer: I am not asked or paid by Allure to tell you guys about the Allure Beauty Enthusiasts program. This is just my own personal experience as a member. In addition to what they say on their website, I just want you to add this tidbit when you're debating if you want to sign-up or not. I have not reviewed a product from them yet, hopefully soon. Just like other focus groups, you will not always be chosen when they need a group panel for a survey or study so this may not happen at all with you or not after a few months or years or weeks! Keep in mind when you least expect it, then that's when good things happen or better!



May 14, 2013

May 2013 Ipsy/ MyGlam Bag: First Impression+ UPDATE!

"Spring Fling"
is Ipsy glambags theme for May. I will keep my first impression short (and I will try to be sweet) since I got tons of pictures to show you!

First off this bag. This Chevron pattern was pretty shocking after getting tons of plain boring bags before. Love the pattern, not so much the color combo. I wish it was plain teal in a different fabric material. This one is the usual material they have been using with the past bags and it just attracts dog hair because of the static it makes. Anyways, not my favorite bag, for short!


And here's what's in my bag! Based on my ipsyMatch, which is how they personalize the bags now. Here's what it says on their site for better explanation:
"Yes! We have started personalizing your Glam Bag products using a new personalization tool called ipsyMatch! We have invented a sophisticated system that uses the results from your personal profile, your Beauty Quiz, and your activity on ipsy.com to consistently create a Glam Bag filled with the best beauty picks just for you month after month!"
fm Left: Zoya nail polish, Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss, NuMe Finishing Serum; Pacifica Roll-on Perfume; Yaby Concealer Refill 

Now more up-close look with the products!

1- NuMe Finishing Serum (.33oz/10ml): The card by the way has a discount code in the back, which I am planning to use some day so apologies for not sharing it. I am not sure if it's a one time use code and personalize for every Ipsy member. It does say in the fine print the code is "Limit one per person, one time use only, one per transaction. Cannot be combined with any other offer, deal or promotion." 
But click on the product name above and it should send you to a link to a 60%off discount code you can use now (which expires on 10/31/13)!
Now off to the product, well I have not tried it out but it claims to tame fly aways and frizz; give you glossy shiny hair and treat split ends. Can't wait to try this out on rainy days and very humid days when my hair do get frizzy and all my baby hair is just all over the place! 

UPDATE 6/11/13: This gave my hair such awesome shine after I flat ironed my hair. I have been putting this on after air drying my hair 60% and it did help with the frizziness. It didn't help much with the fly aways just with air dried hair. I say blow dry straight or flat iron + this serum will definitely do the trick!


2- Pacifica Roll-on Perfume in Island Vanilla (.33oz/ 10ml): I just had to take a picture of the box it came in too since I just love the pattern and the color combo in it! I don't have a big collection of perfume but I have never bought any perfume that has vanilla scent to it. 
"island vanilla: natural, pure grain alcohol and pacifica’s signature perfume blends with essential and natural oils. made without phthalates, parabens, mineral oils, gmo, propylene glycol, and artificial color. no animal testing. 100% vegan and gluten-free."
I put this on today, and it's something I can get used to. It's not overpowering smell of sweet vanilla at all. Few hours later, the scent is more subtle. All in all, I like citrus scents during the Spring/ Summer season and this is something I would wear during the cold months. 
UPDATE 6/11/13: I love wearing this when it is muggy and rainy out. Helps to make the humid air smell good. This is not an overwhelming scent at all and I love that about Pacifica scents.
"Island Vanilla: Inspired by the unique magic of Tahitian vanilla, this sensual blend sets sweet and sultry vanilla absolute, with honey-jasmine notes and a touch of fruitiness, against a deep and beautiful base of tea."

3- Zoya Nail Polish in Piaf (15ml/ 0.5 fl oz): Never owned Zoya before this so thank you so much Ipsy! I have been wanting to try this brand out, but I just keep getting so many nail polishes in my Ipsy glambags that I have no reason to buy at all! So I got this pastel yellow that looks like it has shimmer in it just by looking at the bottle. Watch out for an update picture later for a Nail of the Day (#notd) shot with this polish!
UPDATE 6/11/13: Check out my NOTD with this polish on my Instagram, here. This polish has glitter in it and it is just a pain taking glitter polishes off and this one is no exception. I do love using this color for nail art instead of coloring all my nails just with this color.
Zoya in Piaf: vegan friendly and big5free (no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP or camphor)
4- Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss: I love the scent on this gloss! It reminds me of orange creamsicle!  I put this on today on bare lips and since I have pretty dark pigmented lips, it only gave me shiny gloss on but no color can be seen. I have to try it on top of lipstick and see how this looks. Consistency wise, it's definitely not sticky! And definitely gives my lips lots of shine! 
UPDATE 6/11/13: I have been using this as a lip balm at home since it is just so moisturizing and not sticky on my lips! This to me is more of like a liquid lip balm! It do give my lips that shine but no color at all so I just keep it at home and use my other more pigmented lip glosses when I'm out.


"The combination of antioxidant-rich berries, minerals and sweet agave will wrap your lips in radiant color."
That's with just gloss. Tons of shine but no color.

5- Yaby Concealer in Vanilla (refill; 3.50 grams): This pan is dime size; a tad bigger than the eye shadow pans that we received from March Ipsy Glambag. I have not opened this one to try, since this is in Vanilla and pretty much will just look white on my skin! Pretty disappointed how they got this wrong when I have Tan on my ipsyMatch profile! Not really sure what to do with this one yet. Got suggestions?
UPDATE: Check out my more in-depth blog post, here. I love this concealer, it goes on smooth and brightens my eye area. Definitely great for highlighting!
Yaby concealer refill in Vanilla. It's tear proof; vegan friendly and has a reusable pan



!!!Limited Bonus Item!!!

According to the card, this is Ipsy's little way of saying thanks for being an active member. How awesome is that?! Like I said before, once you become an "Ipster", you get to make an Ipsy profile in their website and from their, create Looks of your favorite beauty tutorials from hair, makeup, nails and anything in fashion! You get to share these Looks with other Ipsters and you can also love other Ipsters looks and so on! Every month Ipsy challenge you to make a look to win a prize and the most likes win really amazing prizes! So don't skimp on that and get active! Leave a shout out on my page so I can check yours out as well, here's my link: http://www.ipsy.com/ooj4cki3oo

UPDATE 6/11/13: I have not used this shadow yet since that glitter scares me! I still have to play with this and mix and match it with my other shadows.


I created a little collage here of this shadow so not to take anymore space =)
Swatch on Left: With Primer; Right; W/o Primer


All in all, it's an ok bag for me. I am not sure what to do with the concealer to make it work for now. A girl can never have enough nail polish and I'm excited to play with this yellow color! I can't have too many roll-on perfumes either, especially a scent I won't buy myself! A lip gloss is always welcome in my make-up collection! And a hair product is always great to have to stock up on when the weather is not as cooperative as my dvr =P And of course a free full sized UD eye shadow! This just paid the bag for me! It's a challenging color but it's great to have. Thanks again Ipsy!


Again if you guys have not joined Ipsy, click the link below:
http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h87i2ncxga2bg8g

*This is my personal referral link or what they call ipsyPoints, so they know I referred you! And of course, for every two referrals Ipsy sends a gift to that member! Another way of them saying "thank you!" to their members! Once you're a member though, you get your own referral link and you can give that to your friends to join and get the free gift as well! 


May 13, 2013

Hair Product FAIL!

Unfortunately this post is "NOT FiveTwo Certified". It did not meet my needs, hopefully this is not the case with most of you girls who have tried and/or are using these products now
.
I bought this set when I saw it on sale at Duane Reade for $19.99. It was still pretty hefty I know for a drugstore brand shampoo & conditioner, but after sampling the Big Sexy Hair products from Ipsy Glambags I got curious and had to try this out.
I have never heard of Sexy Hair before Ipsy, and this was a brand I needed to explore more after reading a lot of great reviews on it, so I grabbed the last one off the shelf without checking any reviews online. *I usually read reviews about products I am interested in getting before purchasing them myself. But because I might not see this sale again, I just grabbed it and hoped for the best!

A little information of what my hair is, to understand this review more. I have long,wavy, fine hair with split ends and dry ends, since I am overdue for a trim. My scalp is pretty dry, and that's my main focus for my hunt for the best shampoo & conditioner.

I thought it was just the winter weather but it hasn't really gone away! My dermatologist suggested to use the Neutrogena T-Gel, which worked but after using this for a month my hair started falling off a lot-lot! So I started looking at more less harsher chemical-ed products out there, to see maybe that's what my hair is just looking for. Since this claims to give moisture and nutrients to my hair, I thought that's what my hair needed; some TLC and products with great natural ingredients. 

"Healthy Sexy Hair Soy is a perfectly balanced line of products that provide nutrition and moisture to dry hair."
After a week of using this every other day, I noticed my hair feels so soft and not as frizzy. Another week passed of using this and I see my scalp was worse than before! My second day bedhead hair started to itch really bad at the end of the day, and I feel bumps all over my head! Though my hair strands started looking really lively and soft, my scalp was just the opposite. *Sorry I didn't take pictures, but from my hairline I can see the dryness and the white chunks. Pretty embarrassing.

Just to finish the bottles since I don't just want to throw them away, I shampoo with Head&Shoulders after I wash with this shampoo and use the conditioner still, but keeping it just at the ends of my hair. The flakes went away and everything was great! I tried to use these by themselves again just to make sure this was the main cause of my super dry scalp, and it unfortunately proved me right. My flakes came back and the bumps all over my scalp. 

I'm almost done with the bottles so I have put them aside and now I have started using Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Shampoo & Conditioner which I purchased recently. Pretty excited to see how this Clear products work, after reading a lot of good reviews on it!

So that's my personal experience from this Healthy Sexy Hair line and this might not have been the right one for my problem but I don't think I will be repurchasing from this Soy line again if it's really just focusing on my hair and not the scalp. I need products that will treat both, and Clear seems to claim that on their website so watch out for a review on that!





May 6, 2013

join IPSY now!!!!!!




IPSY is a $10/month (+ tax on some states) beauty bag subscription that was co-founded by the YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan. There's so many aspects of this bag that I want to share with you that is just so great but I don't want to make this too long and sound boring so I will give you some bullets on WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN NOW:
  • You get 4-5 deluxe beauty samples, and 2-3 out of that can be full size!
  • The bag, the samples come in, is different every month that is not sold anywhere! 
  • Ipsy gives you discount codes of the brands featured that month, that is found on Ipsy.com 
  • Products vary from lips, eyes, cheek products, as well as hair and body products! 
  • You officially become a member of their Ipsy site. Have your own Ipsy profile and share Looks with other Ipsters! Check mine out here!
  • You can also make Looks on Ipsy.com to enter their monthly beauty challenges based on the brands featured that month and win awesome prizes! 
  • Meeting other awesome Ipsters that are also bloggers and YouTubers! That's how I met some of the bloggers and YouTube channels I follow now  =)
  • If you're a beauty junkie or new to makeup this is great to be exposed to tons of different beauty brands out there, such as Be A Bombshell, Urban Decay, Pacifica, SexyHair, MicaBeauty, Yaby, Coastal Scents, theBalm, Mirabella, NYX and so many, many more!
  • Some products featured are cruelty free, paraben free, vegan friendly and so on...if that concerns you. It's great to know this even if you're not that interested because they can actually be better for your skin and you just don't know it yet!
  • They have swap forums on their Facebook page, here, if you're not thrilled with the product(s) you received. *I have not personally tried this forum out yet since I have been loving all the products I've got OR my sister does. If none of your girl friends wants it, you can try the swap forum and let me know!


MY EXPERIENCE:

I have been a member since October 2012 and have been very satisfied with my Ipsy Glambags. I have won a few times with their monthly Ipsy Look Challenges, because it's fun to do and I get to interact with other Ipsters! I am just in-love with the products they feature! I have not used the discount codes to buy more from that brand, since the samples can last me more than a month! The discounts usually only lasts until the end of that month so I would just purchase more of a specific product from somewhere else (like QVC or Amazon, which offers discounted prices too).

So are you sold yet?
If you are, please come and join the site by clicking this link: 

*This is my Ipsypoints personal referral link, so they know I referred you! Once you join you will get your own personal referral link too to share with your friends. After they join you get a free gift for every two of your friends that join! 

Disclaimer: I am not paid by Ipsy to ask you guys to join. This referral link is just their small way of thanking their members for spreading the good word of Ipsy, which I really am proud to be part of!




May 2, 2013

Announcement: theBalm on Hautelook!!!

Any of you interested in getting some theBalm products?They will be on sale on HauteLook starting tomorrow, May 3, 2013!!!


April 2013 Favorites

Did April just fly by or is it just me?!?
Maaan when I was just enjoying the April weather, here comes May. I am not complaining since May is my favorite month of the year since that's my birthday month! But wow we are almost half way done with 2013!!! And you know what happens during your birthday month right?! Free stuff wooot!

Everybody knows as a Sephora Beauty Insider, you get a free gift on your birthday month and this year are deluxe samples of Benefit's They're Real mascara and Watts Up highlighter - woot! woot! So I will be stopping by Sephora one of these days in May to claim that! I will also be stopping by Starbucks since they give you a free drink of your choice on your birthday month. *One of the few times I get a Starbucks. I hate their coffee, but I love their Caramel Frappuccino and Passion Fruit iced tea Lemonade, and not paying $5+ for one is awesome! And Fresh is also giving away a small gift on your birthday month (I'll insert an Instagram from them of that post). A lot of other retailers online and in-store have this promo going on so just google "birthday month freebies" since there are free food and drinks too besides some beauty products!

*Same lip duo that Sephora gave away last year for your birthday! 

Okay now on to my beauty favorites! I don't have a lot of beauty fave products this past month of April since I am still using the same products from the previous months, but I have added a few in my beauty routine that I am loving!

First off my Mai Couture Highlighting Papers that I got from my December Ipsy glambag. I did not use this papers until recently since I was not really feeling the "JLo glow" look until Spring has sprung! Since I want my skin to look more luminous to match the sunshiney days of April, I have been putting this highlight on with my fingers, to get a more subtle highlight. Since this has a peachy tint to it, I only use a little bit on my cheekbones and below the arch of my eyebrows. *But since I got my Mary-Lou Manizer from theBalm last week, this highlighting papers can take a break for now!


Mai Couture swatch is on top of the two lip swatches. It's so subtle but it gives you that nice glow!

Next are my Sugar Fresh Lip Treatments in Coral and Berry tints. Since I have been keeping my makeup to a minimum, I just want to add some color to my lips and these two lip balms are awesome! Not only they give me that subtle peach and berry colors on my lips but it keeps my lips hydrated and protected with it's SPF15! This goes on like "buttah"! It goes on sheer but it's pretty build-able. Unfortunately, this don't leave a stain on your lips but I don't mind to put this on every time it rubs off, since the color is so pretty and just keeps my lips hydrated! I love that this comes with a screw cap/cover so you don't have to worry about the cap coming off when you throw it in your purse or make-up bag.


Left: Sugar Coral; Right: Sugar Berry
top: Sugar Coral; bottom: Sugar Berry

for Nails, I am loving my dotting tools that I bought on Amazon.com, here, for so cheap! So if you're starting into nail art like me, this is a good buy. If you're tired of using dress pins or toothpicks as dotting tools like me, this is a good buy! Youtube and Pinterest are such great sites to get inspirations for nail designs, and now I can't have just plain nail polish anymore with these dotting tools, you have infinite ways of designing your manis!



And that's it for my beauty April faves for this month! I am trying out new products now (I mean products that have been out but I have yet to try) so we'll see if it will make it in my ftc favorites!

for my Non-Beauty Faves:

My investment sneakers, Reebok UR Lead Mid Shoes, are just awesome! I just love these shoes! I used to wear my 6yr old cross trainers and huuge difference between the two! These shoes are super lightweight that it's so easy to do the jumps and quick steps during a Zumba work out. The design at the sole of the shoes really do make a difference when doing the twists and turns. It truly lives to it's hype so if you are looking for a dancing/ aerobic sneakers, keep this in mind when you're shopping around.

btw, my nails are one of my nail arts done with the dotting tools!

Intelligentsia Black Cat Classic Espresso coffee beans
I have been buying these beans since last year but went on hiatus when they just kept increasing the price on me every time I come every month last year! I couldn't hold out anymore and gave in. And to my expectations, they have increased their prices again! These are really good beans for my cafe lattes and cappuccinos but I can manage with Stumptown beans, which are $2-3 cheaper instead. Maybe once in a while I will treat myself to Black Cat coffee beans.


And lastly for my non-beauty fave this month. This newly found Brookside Dark Chocolate covered Pomegranate! While shopping around Walgreen's, my husband found this and now I am obsessed with it! I have never heard of this brand or have seen chocolate covered pomegranates anywhere! My two favorites combined into one, that is genius!



So those are my April favorites! Looking back, I see how I focused more on food this April and keeping it healthy in a way to get my body Summer ready. Plus I did more beauty shopping then so I am now trying out these products and see if it will make it for May faves or part of my everyday beauty routine! Now my skin is transitioning to the hot weather I am also looking out for products that will keep my oily skin in control and hair frizz free!
In other news, have you checked out Ipsy's FB page?! Have you see the sneak peeks for Ipsy's May Glambag? Aaaah I'm excited! Looking good Ipsy!!!