Take care of your brows

Big bold brows are the new trend! If you have naturally full brows like me then you're good to go with some basic trimming and filling, others may need to fill a bit more. The best advice if you've never done anything with your eyebrows, is to go to a waxer/brow shaper once and have them lay out a good shape for you, this way you will know where to pluck/wax yourself and won't have to come back every month to the salon. My all time favorite product that I recently discovered for brows is the ELF eyebrow kit (comes in medium, light, and dark). It has a darker gel on the left and a powder on the right, I've only ever used the gel though. Mine didn't come with a brush so I bought the Sonia Kashuk (Target) angled eye liner brush, which is perfect for natural looking filling. Next thing you need is a good pair of tweezers, personally I think Tweezerman ones are the best, but whichever brand is your favorite is fine. A brow pencil is also a great thing to have. The Maybelline define a brow is possibly the best brow pencil out there, it even beats out expensive ones. To finish off the look hairspray and an eyebrow/mascara comb are good. You could also use an old toothbrush for this bit. Spray a bit of hairspray on the brush and shape your brows where you'd like them to stay. I think this is much more comfortable than brow gels, I find those to feel tacky and hard.

Read More

BB Creams

BB ("beauty balms") creams are the newest craze in the beauty world. They're multitasking, hydrating tinted moisturizers. At first there were only a few out on the market but now virtually every brand has their own version. Some brands (mainly drugstore) will only repackage their tinted moisturizer and sell it as a BB cream, so keep an eye out for formulation. I've compiled a collection of some of the best, from all different price ranges, that are good for all different skin types.

Read More

Top three drugstore mascaras

I tend to buy drugstore mascaras over high end ones because if you end up not liking it, you only wasted a couple dollars versus upwards of $20. I have used high end ones but never really found that I like them or can't deal with shelling out big bucks for them. So here are my favorite drugstore mascaras.

Almay get up & grow waterproof is a great natural looking mascara with buildable coverage. It isn't too wet but also holds a curl very well. I usually don't like Almay makeup but this is the one exception. The brush is nice as well as it gets the smaller lashes without trouble and makes getting to the root of the eyelash much not a chore.

Maybelline full'n soft is more of an intense natural (does that make sense?) coverage mascara. They have a waterproof version but I thought i'd try out the regular one. I generally find with non waterproof mascaras that they run and just generally don't work out well on me. This one is very different, it holds a curl, isn't too wet, and doesn't run. The brush is just a basic one but it does make a difference on the outside lashes as far as coverage. You can also use this mascara on your bottom lashes and it doesn't run or rub off.

Maybelline falsies is such a raved about mascara and it's easy to see why. It doesn't look that great when you look at the brush but trust me it is one of the best drugstore mascaras. The brush has a slight curl (doesn't show up in the picture) that gets to the root of the lashes and actually curls them a bit. Most mascaras that claim to curl, never do, but this one does. It is quite an intense mascara and so one coat is just enough. It holds a curl extremely well and lasts all day. 

All of these mascaras are great so I recomend you check them out! Personally the Maybelline falsies is my all time favorite and the Almay get up and grow comes in second. I like to layer them if I need more of an intense look. What are your favorite mascaras?

Read More

November Empties

Since it's the end of November, it's time for November empties!

First I have the Clean and Clear dual action moisturizer which I use during the warmer months because it keeps my skin from getting oily and stops breakouts. It's great for warmer months because it's very light, but that doesn't work well in cooler months.
Next is the Neutrogena makeup removing towelettes (hydrating) which are the first removing towels I've used, as I usually use the Almay liquid. I've been going out a lot more recently so I picked these up in case I got lazy (which I did). They're great for when you get home late and don't want to wash your face. Be sure to rinse your face with water after using them or they may break you out!
Que Bella detoxify dead sea mask (target) is just a simple mud mask but I did notice that it works much better than other cheap ones I've tried so that was nice. I believe you can only pick up this brand at Target though.
Garnier triple nutrition nutrient spray is a great shine/leave in conditioner type treatment. I put it on after I get out of the shower and tousle it through my hair and when my hair dries it is a lot more healthy looking.
Lush cosmetic warrior mask- I did a previous post reviewing this so check that out
Maybelline dream fresh bb cream- This was a good base during the summer months so I was just finishing it up. It doesn't have much coverage but it does mask some imperfections. I did a previous review on this as well.
Too Faced Snow Bunny bronzing powder-I got this forever ago and have just hit pan. It has 4 colors in it, a light pink, darker bronzy pink, dark brown and shimmer white. I use the colors for eye shadows and highlights and as a "bronzer" during the summer months. You need a light hand though because it can make your skin look oily if you put too much on. It is a great multipurpose product though.
Mario Badescu sample size strawberry face scrub, whitening mask, and orange tonic mask-The strawberry face scrub has to be my new favorite scrub and I'm planning to buy the full size. It smells just like strawberries and has a great texture that's not to rough and your skin looks amazing afterwards.
The whitening mask is great for breakouts and reducing redness, I noticed that my skin was much clearer after using it.
The orange tonic mask is more of a moisturizing mask which I don't need but it would be nice if you have dry skin.

Read More

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB

The Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream is a cheap alternative to some of the high end ones out at the moment. I generally have pretty good skin but I prefer to use medium coverage foundation so I never had the need to try BB creams.
But, it was on sale so I figured why not?
I am so glad I bought it because I cannot go a day without using it now. It's one of those products that you never realized you really needed until you got it.

The texture is slightly less creamy than other BB creams, like the Garnier or Dr Jarts which are more like moisturizers. I like this one a lot more than the Garnier one just because it has better shades. The Garnier BB light shade is actually quite dark and even though my skin isn't very pale, it still was way too dark for me and made me look like I had an orange fake tan!

I would say this is my favorite drugstore BB cream. It was great during the summer and now I can use it on days when I need less coverage and just layer foundation over the areas that need coverage. For a BB though this has great coverage and makes you look like you got a full 8 hours!

What are your thoughts on this BB?

Read More