Another Muppets EOTD (+tutorial!)

Ugh, terrible blogger over here- I'm so sorry!  I met my parents in Minneapolis over the Thanksgiving weekend and while I meant to get this post up, things obviously got in the way and I didn't have time.  I haven't completely fallen off the face of the blogging world but it kind of feels that way!  I've so enjoyed reading all your wonderful posts about Thanksgiving+Black Friday craziness, though.  We went to Mall of America (my mom and I randomly went to Michele Bachmann's book signing, too, and met her kids, some of whom are around my age- it was actually quite fun!) early Friday and I got a few good deals at Aerie.  I also found myself a new purse for my books/laptop so I did alright!  Unfortunately I didn't have much room in my suitcase to carry home Xmas presents, so I'm planning on doing all that in the coming weeks.  Anyone else get anything exciting over the crazy sale weekend?

Lo and behold, I have another eye look featuring the theBalm Muppets Cast Your Shadow palette.  This one features neutral colors but is definitely a lot smokier and more suitable for evenings than the first one I showed (here!).  I love this palette for its wearability- the colors appear bright and playful, but the pigmentation is subtle so the overall look is more toned-down.  This EOTD is a pretty good example; I used the green Woman Woman in the crease and along the lower lash line, but it doesn't scream AH COLOR!

Anyway, I was also requested to do more tutorials in my EOTDs so I thought I would try that with this one.  I really hope it's clear enough!  I don't do many of these, but I took an idea from Nancy (thank you!) and outlined the placement of the eyeshadow in the first sets of pictures to help demonstrate.

Prior to the tutorial, I primed my eyes using UDPP original :)

1.  Apply copper shadow (Meep Meep) to the inner 1/3rd of your lid

2.  Apply a medium reddish brown (Tres Moi) to the center of your lid

3.  Apply a dark chocolate brown (Mahna Mahna is pretty because it has sparkle in it!) to the outer 1/3rd of your lid, blending inwards

4.  Blend a forest green (Wocka, Wocka) into the crease area

5.  OK, a few steps combined here!  

• Darken the "outer V" with the chocolate brown, 
• Highlight with a matte beige close to your skin tone (I used the shade from Wet n Wild's Vanity palette), 
• Highlight inner corners with a pearl champagne (Hiii-Yaaa!)
• Apply the forest green to the lower lash line

6.  Line your upper lash line with a dark chocolate brown eyeliner (I used Covergirl Liquiline Blast in Brown Blaze)

Add mascara, and you're done!  Here I used two coats of Maybelline Great Lash LOL topped with one coat of MAC Pro Long Lash- seriously, I love this combination.  MAC Pro Long Lash on any volumizing mascara works so amazingly!

I hope this was somewhat helpful!  Let me know if you guys would like me to change or add anything.  Thanks so much! 

xox

Winging eyeliner: it's easy!

Eyeliner is tricky.  When I worked in the cosmetics department over the summer, I helped a lot of women who didn't use it because A) they didn't know how to apply it, B) they didn't have a steady hand, or C) they couldn't get the "hang" of it.  Like everything else it's just about practice, and with practice you have to expect to mess up a few times.  It took me FOREVER to learn how to get my eyeliner right, and even longer to do a somewhat-decent wing (which is now part of my daily routine).  

This post is a quick step-by-step showing the easiest way, for me, anyway, to create that "winged eyeliner" look.  I'm using a pencil eyeliner for this, but gel liner fans, this totally applies too!  Starting with the wing is actually the only way I can accurately apply gel or cream eyeliner.  I'm sure a lot of you do your eyeliner this way already, but if you have a different method or know of something easier, please share!  Tips and tricks are always welcome. :)

1.  Starting with your eyeliner, align it with your lower lash line- this will be the direction you want to make the wing.  Of course, you can wing it higher depending on the look you're going for, but for an everyday look I usually use my lower lash line as a guide.

2.  Draw the line however long you want, starting from the outer corner of your eye and pulling outwards.

3.  Line your upper lash line like you usually would, from the inner corner to the outer corner where the wing starts.

4.  Carefully fill in the "winged" area, connecting the thick outer edge of where your eyeliner is to the outer wing.  If you have difficulties drawing from the inside out (sometimes I make part of the wing too chunky or mess up in general), start from the outside corner of the wing and draw the line in, towards the inside of your lash line.

5.  This is where we make it look pretty!  Using the smudge end of your eyeliner (or a separate smudger if you have one), go over your entire line and smudge the rough edge.  When you get to the winged part on the very outer edge, drag it a little farther past where it ends to create that tapered, perfect wing.  This is why I have undying love for smudge tips- if you mess up the wing or can't get that faded effect, the smudger will do it all for you! 

Besides being a helpful tool for winging eyeliner, I also love smudge tips for giving me soft definition along my lower lash line.  I do this almost every day: using what eyeliner is left over on the smudger (from doing the wing), run it along your lower lash line a few times.  I look scary when I take the pencil to my lower lash line, so this allows me to darken up the rim without being too dark.  I've done it in the picture below, which shows the finished look with mascara:

And of course you can make your wing thinner or thicker, however you like!  I just love how eye-opening that wing is; it creates the illusion of not only a thicker lash line, but a larger eye as well.  The things you can achieve with makeup.... honestly, it just blows my mind.

I hope this was somewhat helpful and easy to understand- please let me know if any of the steps were confusing or I didn't explain them well!

xox

Holiday nails with a twist: Dr.'s Remedy Jolly & Joy collection for Holiday 2011

I'm so excited for Christmas, and really, the entire holiday season in general.  I LOVE IT SO MUCH.  The decorations, food, clothing (layers); I could go on and go.  And since this is a beauty blog, I get to embellish on how much I love all things winter beauty-related!  Today I have swatches of the newest holiday collection from Dr.'s Remedy nails (you can see my other posts of these polishes here & here), called "Jolly & Joy."  I'm all over this collection because it's holiday... but not just your typical red and green.  They threw in a few surprises!

L-R: Serene, Revive, Essential, Passion, Resolution

Swatches (in same order as above) 

Each swatch was done with two coats, no top coat.  Like the other Dr.'s Remedy nail polishes I've reviewed, these apply flawlessly and have excellent pigmentation (although none were completely opaque in one coat, like a couple of the fall colors are).  I get tip wear after two days, but that's my only complaint!  Otherwise, these are beautiful colors and I just love the holiday theme.  Passion (purple) and Resolution (described as a 'red glitter' but definitely is pink with silver to my eye!) are my favorites!

You can purchase these at http://remedynails.com for $17/polish.  Also, be sure to follow Dr.'s Remedy on Twitter and Facebook!

Have a great Monday, everyone! xox

Disclaimer:  I was sent the mentioned product for consideration from Dr.'s Remedy.  I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever.  All thoughts are 100% true and my own! I would never recommend something I wasn't pleased with. 

The result of online shopping at 3am and an OOTD

To begin this post, I'm going to share exactly what motivated me to buy a pair of (what I can actually get away with wearing) statement-making shoes. 

I hardly ever wear heels; being 5'6, 5'7 on a good day, I'm already taller than a lot of my friends and I used to be insanely insecure about my height.  I sprouted in elementary school and was "bigger" than the other girls my age until they caught up with me.  All of this combined made me cringe at the thought of wearing heels- higher shoes just added to my feelings of being big.  However, in terms of fashion heels and wedges are amazing!  They do killer things for your legs, the way you walk, and not to mention the confidence they can give you.  This is all to say that despite my hesitations surrounding high heels, I still find myself drawn to them in every way.  

Needless to say, when the girl who usually sits by me in one of my classes came in wearing these Jeffrey Campbell shoes, I was blown away (and I should mention that she and I are pretty comparable in size/height).  It's irrelevant to this story that these heels are conservative for Jeffrey Campbell.  

Anyway, I couldn't get over the craziness of those shoes and how cool they looked on her.  And this brings me to my most recent shoe purchase!  The ones I bought aren't even CLOSE to hers, I know, but I became inspired to break out of my "flats phase" and try out some wedge heels.  I've drooled over pretty much every wedge bootie I've seen lately, so I decided to find myself a pair.  At the wee hour of 3am on Friday morning, I purchased the Chinese Laundry "At Once" booties from the Bakers website!

'

Chinese Laundry At Once booties

I'm super excited to wear them out- I've only walked around in my apartment so far.  I ordered a 7.5 (my ideal size) and was fortunate to have them fit without trying them on first!  Yes, the just-under 4" heel looks a bit intimidating to me, but I plan to drink a large cup of confidence and just do it!  Plus, they are just what I was looking for.  The price tag- on sale for $39.99- plus a 25% off code (PSW25) to the Bakers website with free shipping kind of put me over, too.  I only paid $31 and some change for these!  Score.  If you're interested in them too, they're also available in black. :)

Now, guess what shoes are going on my Christmas list?  These gorgeous Seychelles booties in black!  !!!!!!  I'm turning into a monster.  These Chinese Laundry booties were my gateway booties.
I digress.
I decided to post a quick outfit of the day wearing them to show you how they look on!  You can click to enlarge the picture to see them a little better.

Thanks for sharing my excitement with me guys!  What shoes have you been loving recently?  I'd love to hear!  :)

xox

Muppets palette EOTD and my go-to hairstyle for growing out bangs

Thank you all so, so much for your comments on my last post!  I really appreciate the suggestions and plan on getting to all of them when I can.  I got a few comments wanting to see more looks as well as EOTDs featuring the Muppets Cast Your Shadow palette, so I thought I'd start with that today!  This EOTD is super simple and neutral- my favorite kind.  The eye shadow placement is really eye-opening, too, so of course you can use any shadows of your own to recreate the idea.  I'm also including my favorite way to pin back bangs- mine are cut to the side, and since I don't get to the hair dresser as often as I should, they always grow out to a length where I have to do something with them.  It's just a french braid pinned to the side, but I love how it dresses up your hair while still remaining super easy!  I either do this or a twist, they're my standbys (who doesn't love hairstyles that take minutes to complete?!). ;)

Stay tuned for more looks using the Muppets palette, as I'm going to do a few different ones to show its versatility.  I've found myself reaching for it almost every day since getting it, I love it that much!

For this look I used Hiii-Yaaa!!, Celebrational, and Mahna Mahna in the standard lid-crease-outer corner placement:

Products used:

Primer: Almay Bright Eyes eye base

Eyeshadow: theBalm Muppets Cast Your Shadow palette- Hiii-Yaaa!! (lid and inner corners)

Celebrational (crease and lower lash line)

Mahna Mahna (outer corners)

Wet n Wild Vanity eyeshadow palette- matte cream beige (highlight)

Eyeliner: Covergirl Liquiline Blast eyeliner in Brown Blaze

Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash LOL and MAC Pro Long Lash

Brows: ELF Clear Lash & Brow Gel

For the rest of my makeup I used-

Foundation: Maybelline Mineral Power powder foundation

Concealer: Clinique Line Smoothing concealer (under eyes) and Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse concealer (face)

Highlight: Charlotte Ronson A Summer's Kiss face+body glow (thank you Miranda for this sample!  Included in her lovely giveaway prize that I was insanely lucky to win! :)

Bronzer: ELF Studio contouring blush+bronzer

Blush: Rimmel blush in Santa Rose

Lips: Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm in Cherry Me

Ah!  I used a lot today!  Anyway, that's my super-quick take on my hair.  Usually I have the attention span of, like, five minutes when it comes to hair ,so the fact that it looked presentable today says something in itself.  LOL.  Which brings me to my question- what are your favorite ways to do your hair when you're in a rush?  I love swapping tips and tricks!  :)

Hope you guys are having an enjoyable Saturday night!  My roommate and I have been watching Lifetime movies.... (anyone watch Salem Falls?!)

xox

What would you like to see?

Happy Friday, everyone!  I hope you have something fun or relaxing planned for the evening.  :)
I thought I'd take a minute and hear what YOU all might like to see here on the blog.  I have a list of posts on my to-do list (which is a Stickies note on my desktop- makes it impossible to forget anything!), but if there's either something you've been wanting to see or totally random, now's the time to let me know!
There are times when I'm reading blogs that I wish I could either request a post, or I'll just have a random question to ask- that's sort of where this stems from.  And since my posts are for YOU to read, I want to make sure they are interesting!
Thanks again, guys. xox

Maybelline Baby Lips and Great Lash LOL for pretty lips and lashes

Being a member of BzzAgentfor over a year now, I've come to really understand and appreciate the word-of-mouth networking it represents.  If you haven't heard of BzzAgent before, it's basically a website you can join and, as you complete activities and move up in status, participate in things called BzzCampaigns to try new products.  The idea is that your opinion of the product is shared with everyone you know to spread the word.  I've received some beauty-related BzzKits (talked about here and here), as well as one for Orbit gum, and they've all been fun and straight-forward.
This time around, I joined the Maybelline Baby Lips and Great Lash LOL campaign.  I had really been wanting to try both of these new products, so I was looking forward to receiving my BzzKit!

This BzzKit contained Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms (in five shades), along with five of the new Great Lash LOL mascaras to give to friends or family.  My roommates are currently testing out the mascara!  Now that I've had a little while to use both products, however, I wanted to tell you guys how much I'm enjoying them (I really am!).  

Maybelline Baby Lips

 Peppermint, Quenched, Peach Kiss, Cherry Me, Pink Punch

If you dislike how "high maintenance" lipstick can be and want something with a sheer tint of color, these tinted lip balms are seriously the bomb dot com (I haven't tried the new Revlon Colorburst lip butters yet but they are on my list- I've heard they are amazing!).  I've resorted to keeping one of these in each of my bags/coats for when I'm out and about.

• Peppermint and Quenched have no color, but still provide your lips with a pretty shine.  
• Peach Kiss is a shimmery nude that just barely cancels out the natural pigmentation of my lips, yet doesn't scream, "I'm wearing a lip color!" 
• Cherry Me is very true to its name and gives my lips that "bitten" or flushed look. 
• Pink Punch is a pastel blue-pink that is perfect for a more feminine look.  It's my least favorite color of the bunch, but definitely pretty on the right person (pinks look terrible on me I've decided!).  

My other favorite thing about these is that they feel like an ultra-emollient lip balm, despite three of them having color.  You know how some tinted lip balms don't really provide much moisture?  Not the case with these, thankfully.

I get about two hours of wear with these, but the color is still noticeable, just faded, after three (if I haven't eaten anything).  These run $3.99 at Walgreens, or cheaper if you can find a coupon.

Swatches:

 Peach Kiss, Cherry Me, Pink Punch

 Top: Peach Kiss, Center: Pink Punch, Bottom: Cherry Me

Next up is the mascara- 

Maybelline Great Lash LOL

Honestly, I've never liked the original Great Lash formula- I didn't find that it gave me much volume or length.  However, with this new "Grabber" brush, as they call it, I was intrigued to see if the new Great Lash LOL would be any better.
I'm happy to say I do like it- though the brush is kind of... strange?  Is that the right word?  It's short and small.  The base of the brush is sphere-like and tapers to a cone at the end, so you can get the inner corners of your lashes.  I find the bulky base of the brush makes getting mascara on your lower lashes inevitable, though, which is kind of annoying.  I suppose turning the wand around would eliminate this problem (I don't typically apply mascara to my lower lashes, so if you do, this might not be an issue)?  Ultimately, it takes some practice to get the hang of using it.
As for the formula, I think it's great if you like natural, daytime lashes.  It gives me nice volume and mediocre length.  I usually go for over-the-top dramatic lashes no matter what time of day it is, so I like to layer my MAC Pro Long Lash (which gives me amazing length!) on top to give extra "oomph".  Honestly, though, it's still a solid formula-

Left: no mascara, Center: one coat of Great Lash LOL, Right: two coats of Great Lash LOL

It holds a curl pretty well, though not all day- my lashes "relax" after five-six hours (I usually re-curl them before my night classes).  It also thankfully doesn't flake.  Mascara getting in your eyes is so not cool.  For about $4.00 at Walgreens, I think it's definitely a good option if you are interested in the brush!

Have you guys tried either one of these products?  Anything interesting from BzzAgent lately?  Thanks for reading! xox

Disclaimer:  This post features products sent to me from BzzAgent, a social marketing website through which you can try out new products.  All opinions are 100% true and my own- I would never, ever recommend something that I didn't stand behind! 

A comparison of palettes with UD Naked and theBalm

I've been using either my Urban Decay Naked palette, theBalm Shady Lady vol. 2, or Cast Your Shadow face palette pretty much every day the past couple of weeks.  The shadows are all just such good quality, I can't help myself!  With this frequent usage I've noticed a few similarities in shades.  Last night, I got to swatching them side-by-side to see if I could find any dupes.  I didn't find any dupes per say, but the few you'll see below definitely have similar qualities!
Hopefully this will be helpful if you have one or the other, or especially if you can't find the Muppets Cast Your Shadow palette (or the Bold and the Beautiful).  And if you know of any other dupes/shades that come close, feel free to post them in the comments!

Round One:

L-R: Celebrational, Insane Jane; Woman, Woman, Makeout Mary; Caught In The Act Courtney, Mahna Mahna, Hustle

Taupes: Celebrational (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Insane Jane (Shady Lady Vol. 2)

In terms of pigmentation, Insane Jane wins overall.  Celebrational is still a gorgeous taupe, but Insane Jane packs more punch and has a bit more dimension with the shimmer.  The colors themselves are in the same family, however.

Grassy greens: Woman, Woman (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Makeout Mary (Shady Lady)

Like the taupes above, Makeout Mary from the Shady Lady palette really shines.  If this speaks anything for the other volumes of theBalm Shady Lady palettes, I really need to try more!  Such great quality shadows.  Anyway, both greens are yellow-toned with gold shimmer, but Makeout Mary is a bit more pigmented and warm-toned.

Chocolate browns: Caught In The Act Courtney (Shady Lady) vs. Mahna Mahna (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Hustle (Urban Decay Naked)

These are each a very different shade of dark brown, but I thought I'd include the comparison anyway.  Both theBalm shadows (center and left) have glitter, as opposed to UD Hustle which has subtle shimmer.  They all lean on the reddish side of brown with varying pigmentation and finish; Mahna Mahna appears almost burgundy in swatches.

Round Two:

L-R: Tres Moi, Toasted; Wocka, Wocka, Darkhorse, Celebrational; Muppetational, Gunmetal

Coppers: Tres Moi (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Toasted (Urban Decay Naked)

TheBalm's Tres Moi is a gorgeous copper brown if you like these types of colors.  It's rich without being over the top and frosted.  UD Toasted is of the same family except it has more of a metallic finish and is more cool-toned.

Olives: Wocka, Wocka (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Darkhorse (Urban Decay Naked) vs. Celebrational (Cast Your Shadow)

Alrighty, Celebrational isn't an olive shade whatsoever but after swatching the first two side-by-side, I realized they leaned more brown than green.  Wocka, Wocka takes a couple of swipes to get solid pigmentation and has more green than UD Darkhorse, which looks greener in the pan than when swatched.  These definitely aren't similar to one another, but I thought I'd show the comparison nonetheless!

Greys: Muppetational (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Gunmetal (Urban Decay Naked)

Again, not similar enough to compare, but in the pan they look closer in color!  Muppetational is definitely more silver and lighter than Gunmetal, which is a darker grey with chunkier silver glitter.

Round Three:

L-R: Meep, Meep, Mischievous Marissa; Lab Coat, Tempting Tara; Hii-Yaaa!, Virgin; Swedish Pancakes, Sin

Rust oranges: Meep, Meep (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Mischievous Marissa (Shady Lady Vol. 2)

Meep, Meep is definitely darker and has more brown than Mischievous Marissa, which has more yellow.  They both have a similar metallic finish and great pigmentation.

Whites: Lab Coat (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Tempting Tara (Shady Lady Vol. 2)

These are very similar in color, but Lab Coat has a smoother/softer formula overall.  Tempting Tara from the Shady Lady palette applies a little unevenly in comparison and has silver shimmer.

Light beiges: Hii-Yaaa! (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Virgin (Urban Decay Naked)

At first I thought Hi-Yaaa! would be more comparable to UD Sin, but I was wrong!  It applies a lot brighter and lighter on the skin than it looks in the pan.  It's more metallic than Virgin and packs a bit more beige color.

Champagnes: Swedish Pancakes (Cast Your Shadow) vs. Sin (Urban Decay Naked)

Swedish Pancakes definitely leans more pink than Sin, which is more of your true champagne color (more beige and less pink).  Sin also has more of a metallic finish as opposed to straight-up shimmer.

I hope this helps you decide if you need one of these palettes, or if you have anything similar in your current collection!  

Have a great Monday night everyone. xoxo

Two fun nail polishes from Born Pretty Store!

I'm totally in love with the nail polishes I've tried from Born Pretty Store so far!  I don't totally rave about a lot of things, but I go crazy over polishes that are 1) unique, or 2) smooth in formula.  Today I get to share with you the best of both of those worlds- two nail polishes that are gorgeous AND super affordable (Born Pretty Store offers free shipping on every order, too!).

Over the summer I reviewed a crackle nail polish from them and was pleasantly surprised, as I had never heard much about their colors or formula.  After my positive experience, I knew I wanted to try out more!

Like I said, I can hardly resist a unique color, finish, or formula.  Chunky glitter polishes are just gorgeous, in my opinion.  It's for this reason I was drawn to one of the polishes I chose to try from Born Pretty Store, which has different sizes of silver glitter.  It just has a number on the bottom of the bottle, so for this post I'll refer to it as "Crystal":

Index finger with one coat of Crystal, last three fingers with one coat of Crystal over two coats of Dr.'s Remedy Defense.  No top coat

I love how pretty the chunky glitter looks on nails- I think it's a great way to spice up an otherwise "plain" creme polish.  This is only $3.67 on their website, so it definitely falls into the affordable category.  

The next nail polish I tried is a contrast from Crystal, but it's right up my alley.  This is a deep, forest green that is described as "Sea Green" on the website and runs for $4.39.  A little more than the first; nonetheless, still very inexpensive.  I've been wearing this on my nails this week and I'm in love with the color!

Two coats of Sea Green, no top coat

Sea Green is the perfect shade if you like the look of dark nail polish but want something a little more exciting than black.  It's a smooth, rich color that is opaque in one coat (I did swatches with two for good measure).  The website's description is a little misleading and says this is a glitter nail polish.  The pictures are very true to life, though, so you're getting what you see.  I wasn't expecting to receive a glitter nail polish so I wasn't disappointed in the least.

I'd say wear time is about average with Sea Green, although it was frustrating to experience chips after three days.  On the other hand, Crystal wears like iron, which is to be expected with glitter suspended in a clear base.

Overall, I'm still really pleased with the nail polishes I've used from Born Pretty Store.  If you're in the market for some fun and unique shades, I'd definitely check them out!  Reasonable prices and free shipping helps, too, of course.
And one more thing, I almost forgot!  They are offering 10% off every order with the following code to make the deals even better:

Disclaimer:  I was sent the mentioned product for consideration from Born Pretty Store.  I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever.  All thoughts are 100% true and my own! I would never recommend something I wasn't pleased with. 

Salon quality hair with HANA Air Professional Hair Dryer

Hi everyone!  Hope you're all having a great start to your weekend.  Today I'm really excited to share with you a review of the HANA Air Professional hair dryer, sent to me from the lovely people at Misikko.  I've heard a lot of good things about the salon hair products Misikko sells, but I've never tried anything from them myself.  You can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to try this!  ...Especially since my old hair dryer decided to turn on me and stop working.  I was using one of those foldable travel hair dryers.  Uhh.  Anyway, this couldn't have come at a more perfect time, ha!

Misikko has a number of different brands of hair styling products for sale on their website.  There are Hana, T3, Solano, and Chi hair dryers which I've heard things about.  And if you straighten your hair, you'll find what you need there too- like these Chi flat irons.  I think my flat iron is on its last leg so I'm definitely going to keep them in mind when it dies!

I got my package in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and they clearly put a lot of time and consideration into presentation.  I was so impressed!  

They were super generous to not only send me the Hana hair dryer, but also several other beauty-related goodies.  Purple is my favorite color, I love how they color-coordinated the package!

Anyway, onto the important stuff.  The hair dryer.  

Misikko.com describes the HANA Air Professional hair dryer as follows-

HANA Salon presents the powerful HANAair hair dryer. This dryer has been Salon tested and Salon recommended since its inception. Inspired by Italian design, the combination of HANAair's strongest AC motor along with its tourmaline lined ceramic heater will dry your hair up to 60% faster maintaining natural shine while promoting healthy luxurious hair.

It's currently on sale for $194.99 (originally priced at $314.99!), which is quite a number to swallow.  I don't think I've ever spent more than about $40 on a hair dryer.  I was definitely interested to find out how one of salon-quality would fare!
However, it has a lot of cool features and comes with a 2-year warranty, which is good for such an investment.

• Adjustable heat and power settings (and cold shot setting)
• Ion technology to help protect your hair against heat
• Pure Tourmaline crystals that help add shine to your hair (I can vouch for this, the shine is one of my favorite things about the HANA Air!)
• Comes with a concentrator attachment
• Long, 12" cord
• Has the longest motor life in the industry
• Comes with a heat-proof pouch to hold it in for traveling

So how did it work for me?

Thanks to my awesome roommate Rachael for taking these pictures of my hair for me, LOL!  You're awesome girl. :)

 After blow-drying my hair using the HANA Air Professional and straightening lightly

I'll start with what I like best: how shiny and silky it makes my hair look and feel (as I mentioned briefly above).  Usually after blow drying, I need to straighten my hair in order to "smooth" it out, if that makes sense.  With this hair dryer, however, it looks silky without any other tools.  I still like to use a straightener to get out the awkward waves my hair naturally makes, but my hair still has this awesome "glow" to it.

I'm also loving how quick it dries my hair.  Literally, five minutes tops and my whole head is done (and my hair isn't particularly thin).  The attachment makes it easy to focus the heat and get at the roots.  It's also nice for when I use a round brush and want to curl under the ends.  Basically, it makes drying your hair a really simple and easy task!  Pretty awesome for someone who likes to take about two seconds on her hair (I'd so rather spend the extra time on makeup, uhh.  Does anyone else feel the same way? I hope so!).  

One thing I have noticed when using this blow dryer is that it makes my hair feel a little thinner than normal.  I'm not quite sure what to attribute that to, but if I use a little extra mousse it's not usually too bothersome.  It's the only thing that has slightly bothered me- other than that, I'm really in love with this product.

After this experience, I'd definitely recommend Misikko to anyone in the market for the best hair dryer.  Though expensive, you're getting salon quality and something you'll have for a long time.  

Have you guys tried anything from this brand, or another styling tool from Misikko?  I'd love to know your experiences with them if you're interested in sharing!  I'm not as into hair as I am makeup, but I love tools that streamline the process and reduce the time I have to spend on my hair.... or make it look awesome!  That's the goal, right? 

Have a fun and safe Friday night, everyone! xox


Disclaimer:  I was sent the mentioned product for consideration from Misikko.  I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever.  All thoughts are 100% true and my own! I would never recommend something I wasn't pleased with. 

Influenster Cosmo VoxBox

We just had snow here in the windy city!  Random flurries so far, nothing sticking to the ground, and the temperature hasn't dipped below freezing yet so I won't complain.  :)  I will be the first to admit how much of a wimp I am when it comes to winter.  There is still too much California blood in me to truly appreciate the cold winter, although I do love having changing seasons.  You can actually wear heavy coats and not feel out of place (except my boots get destroyed from the snow/salt, yuck)! 

This summer, I joined Influenster after hearing about it through Jeweled Thumb.  It's kind of similar to BzzAgent in that as you increase your "level" as a member, you get opportunities to receive products to review.  The idea is to spread the word about these products with your friends and family or another media outlet.  It sounded interesting to me, so I figured I would sign up and see how it worked.

You unlock "badges", as they're called, based on your interests- I believe that the more you unlock the better your chances of receiving a VoxBox.  A VoxBox is the shipment of products you get to try out.  I was quite active on Influenster over the summer after signing up, but then I stopped using it for the most part.  A couple weeks ago I got an email saying I qualified for the Cosmo VoxBox (Cosmo is one of the badges I unlocked) and I was really surprised!  Here is what came in it:

Vitabath Cucumber & White Tea body wash, Proactive 3-step system, Venus ProSkin MoistureRich razor 

Proactive Solution skincare steps 1, 2, and 3:  My sister used Proactive years ago and didn't really like it, so I didn't think I'd benefit much from it either, especially as it has benzoyl peroxide (I'm not usually a fan).  I've been using these for almost two weeks and although I still have mild breakouts, I believe they're more from stress than the system.  I seem to always break out during school, so annoying!  I like that the cleanser is a mild exfoliator and the toner doesn't irritate my skin.  The repairing treatment is basically a spot treatment, which works pretty well- last night I had several gigantic pimples and put a generous amount of this on them, and this morning they were greatly reduced.

Vitabath Cucumber & White Tea body wash:  I like the consistency of this, although the scent is a little too "herbal" for my tastes- scent also happens to be a critical factor for me in terms of body wash, so I don't find myself using this too often.  I do love how it makes my skin feel after.  There might be hope for the other scents it comes in (In Bloom, Fruit Fanatic, and Cupcake Couture according to the Influenster product review page)!

Venus ProSkin MoistureRich razor:  This is definitely what I was most excited to try out!  The ProSkin razor has two strips of "soap" surrounding the razor blades, eliminating the need for shave gel (PERFECT because I just ran out!).  All you have to do is get the razor wet and go to work!  I like how easy this makes shaving, because it's one of those things I loathe doing.  The only thing I dislike about "fancy" razors like this is that the refill blades are expensive (usually).  Very cool idea, though!  I used to have a razor like this but I can't remember the name for the life of me- it wasn't a Venus but something rivaling it.

Have you guys tried any of these products, or are you a member of Influenster?  I think it's kind of a fun program although it takes awhile to build up levels- and I'm still a little confused as to how it all works (whereas BzzAgent, in my experience, is clearer).
Hope you all have a great day!

Disclaimer: I received these products through Influenster.  I am not being compensated in any way and my opinions are 100% true and my own.  

Tame those crazy eyebrows! How I maintain them on a regular basis

I get a lot of questions/comments about my eyebrows, so I figured it was well past time I write a post explaining how I do them.  There really isn't anything to my method and I'll be the first to admit that!
I was blessed with naturally "full" eyebrows thanks to my parents, and I've been doing them ever since I learned to pluck them (around 12-13?).  For me, doing them myself is the easiest way to get the fuller look I like.  I've gone to salons to get them waxed twice, both when I was in high school, and they always made them too thin.
Getting your eyebrows waxed is a great way to get the right shape, because then you can maintain them by tweezing.  I prefer saving the money and leaving them more natural, though, by using small beauty scissors to trim down the length of the hairs and tweezers to pluck away strays.

I use the three following products to upkeep my brows on a regular basis:

Please excuse the state of my ELF brow gel- it's been put to good use!

ELF Wet Gloss Lash & Brow mascara ($1 professional line)

Beauty scissors

Tweezers

I don't normally fill in my brows with any brow pencils/gels (when I do, I use my MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe).  My go-to, super-inexpensive, daily brow saver is the ELF Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear mascara from the $1 line.  It's a double-sided clear brow gel/mascara, but both sides are virtually identical so I use them interchangeably.  I call this my brow saver because it honestly makes my life so much better.  With the way my brows are, they get unruly and craziness ensues without something to tame them!  You can of course use any brow gel you have to do this, but this is an awesome deal and doesn't leave your brows crunchy or stiff.

This sequence of pictures shows the awesomeness that is brow gel:

The picture on the far left would be my eyebrows at their worst- if my hands touch them, I pull on a sweatshirt, etc. (And that's me making a stink eye at them too).  You probably all know how to use a brow gel- I don't do anything out of the ordinary- but basically, I just take the wand and comb my eyebrows in an upward motion, then comb them over in place.  I tried showing this in the middle and far right picture.

And that's it for daily maintenance!  As for trimming them, the brow gel comes in handy again.  I comb them upwards, like I did above, just in a more exaggerated way- you want the length to extend a little above your natural eyebrow, so you know what needs to be trimmed.  The brow gel just helps to hold them up there while you trim them.  Then, you just hold the beauty scissors horizontally and clip the stray/long hairs to your desire.  I usually just take off the ends and leave them long enough to still look "full", but cleaned up.

I love maintaining my brows this way because it's simple and affordable- you really can save a lot of money doing it yourself, if possible.  It's definitely personal preference, though, and deciding how thin/thick you want them to be is your call!  I know some people feel the need to pencil in their eyebrows, too, which also depends on the look you like on yourself.  

How do you guys do your eyebrows?  Have you tried the ELF $1 brow gel/mascara?  If there's a better/easier/faster way, or just any tips/tricks you'd like to share, please do! 

xox

Becoming a part of BlogHer- why I joined!

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I hope you're all enjoying the last day of the weekend.  Being a student, Sunday's are usually associated with the piles of homework I've put off until the last minute... but I enjoy them nonetheless.  Today I have to finish a paper for a group project and work on the presentation we have tomorrow.  And go grocery shopping if I can get up the motivation.  Exciting, no?  I'm dying with anticipation myself. ;)

Anyway, I have some relatively big news in relation to the blog that I need to share with you all.  You guys are most important to me when I think about what to post, what to review, etc., so obviously I highly value your opinions.  It's for this reason that I also feel the need to inform you whenever something is going on with my blog!
Recently, I was invited to join the BlogHer Publishing Network, which is an advertising community that promotes blogs for women and related subjects.  In a nutshell, they put ads on your page (which you can see to the right of this post at the top of my sidebar) and you generate a small amount of money based on how many views your website gets.  One awesome thing about BlogHer- besides that it's geared towards women in social media and seems to be a very positive community- is that you can control the types of ads you put on your page.  I hate those floating ads that hover over the page and you have to click out of them, so I can opt out of having them appear.  It's also just a neat network to be a part of, not only for promoting my blog but finding out about other blogs, too.
I was really honored to be invited to join and I didn't hesitate much.  I've known about BlogHer for a long time- this might sound a little random, but when I was younger, I followed a lot of HAES (Health At Every Size) and body-acceptance blogs run by women who were part of BlogHer and attended the conferences and meet-ups.  They would write posts about their experiences and how awesome it was to meet other bloggers.  I've always felt that blogging is such a great thing, and I love that there are networks out there to promote it.

Long story short, at the beginning of this month I finally got the BlogHer ads up and running on my blog (which you may or may not have noticed already).  I want to mention here that I never, ever had intentions of actually making money from my blog and making money is not my expectation from joining an ad publishing network.  I've reviewed a small handful of products from companies in the past, but have never been compensated in the form of money (and being a part of BlogHer, you're not allowed to accept money as payment anyway).  In a nutshell, blogging about makeup is still my hobby, and I do it because I enjoy it.  And I really hope you all believe that I would never try to sell you out or try to make you buy something just because I'm receiving payment from it!

I hope this explains my reasons for joining BlogHer, and if you have any questions or concerns, please ask!  This doesn't affect the content of the blog or anything like that, but I did want to let you guys know what's going on.  :)
Thanks so much everyone.  Have a great day!
xox

Muppets galore! Plus, the coolest and brightest packaging ever.

Last week, I won Erin's giveaway over at her hilariously awesome blog, To Blush, Or Not To Blush?!  And it was for... theBalm's THE MUPPET FACE PALETTE.  I died a little.  I've been incredibly lucky the past couple of months and winning this pretty much sent me over the edge- so thank you, Erin!  You are so very generous to give one of these away!

The packaging is adorable, just like the rest of theBalm's products.  I only own the Shady Lady vol. 2 eyeshadow palette in addition to this Cast Your Shadow palette, but both contain high quality, eye-catching shades that perform as well as look pretty.
This is a face palette, so it not only has 16 eyeshadows, but two cheek colors and a lip color as well.  There is a handy double-ended brush to apply the eyeshadow/liners with in case you're in a pinch.

SO CUTE.  There are two magnetic flaps that unfold to open the palette; one that covers the eyeshadows, and one that covers the three lip/cheek colors.  The eyeshadows have the cutest names- Meep Meep, Muppetational, and Hiii-Ya! are a few of them (see swatches below).  I also really love that this isn't just an eyeshadow palette- you can do all your color using this one piece.

The quality of the eyeshadows is exactly what you've probably already heard about theBalm- awesomeness.  They're pigmented, long-lasting, and colorful.  I did have to do a couple of passes to get the color you see in the swatches with Wocka, Wocka, Celebrational, and Woman, Woman, but other than that I didn't have any problems.  

As for the two cheek colors, Rainbow Connection and Le Diva, they are also wonderful to work with.  I don't use cream blush very often, but these are easy to apply and blend with your fingertips.  They also last pretty well (I get about 6-7 hours before I see fading) and longer if you top them with a coordinating powder.  As for the lip color, Electric Mayhem, I actually thought it was a third cream blush at first and tried it on my cheeks, LOL.  The next day I realized it was a lip color and actually used it on my lips.  I love the nude color- it mutes the natural pigmentation of my lips and pairs well with the bright colors in the palette- but it disappears pretty quickly.  Not bad for what it is, though, and I won't complain one bit!  

Swatches (all over UDPP)

Eyeshadows: Tres Moi, Wocka, Wocka, Meep Meep, Mahna-Mahna, Sensational, Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational; Cheek/lip colors: Rainbow Connection, Le Diva, Electric Mayhem

Eyeshadows: Woman, Woman, Curtain Call, Great Gonzo, Kissy, Kissy, Wild Child, Lab Coat, Hiii-Ya!, Swedish Pancakes

My favorites are definitely Wild Child, Lab Coat, Tres Moi, and Mahna-Mahna (the latter is great for lining!), and then all three of the cheek/lip colors.  So fun!

Do you guys own this palette, or "The Balm & The Beautiful" palette that is supposedly the same shades just with different names?  I heard a lot of people had found that along with the various other theBalm products at TJ Maxx.

Thanks again, Erin, and all of you for reading! xox

It feels like fall with Dr.'s Remedy enriched nail polish

Earlier this year, I reviewed three Dr.'s Remedy enriched nail polishes for the first time and had a pretty good experience with them.  I recently had the chance to try them out again and figured I'd give it a go.  This collection, called "Fall Fever," is Dr.'s Remedy's newest and is along similar lines to the one I posted about in February.

A brief background about Dr.'s Remedy nail polishes before I talk about these specific colors:
Dr.'s Remedy is unique in that it uses natural ingredients (along with being DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde free) and is completely free of toxins.  Their nail polishes are also supposed to help with things like nail fungus (mmm!) or discolored nails.  Like I've said before, I don't have a lot of nail polish from outside the drugstore, so I appreciate Dr.'s Remedy's qualities; not only is it made by doctors, but a healthier alternative to regular nail polish.

The Fall Fever collection consists of three nail polishes in Defense (deep red/wine), Balance (brick red), and Noble (navy).  Each has a creme finish and applies evenly and smoothly- every time I use Dr.'s Remedy nail polishes, I'm amazed at how smooth the color glides on.  It's my favorite part of the formula and feels like much higher quality than most drugstore polishes I own.  

Wear time is about average, although I do notice tip wear after a day or two which is disappointing.  The ones I reviewed last year didn't last long at all, either.  You can help this with a good top and base coat.  

I wish the colors were a bit more unique, as I see these types of shades everywhere this time of year.  I do appreciate that they threw in a navy- it's not the first color you think of with fall, and it's a nice alternative to black if you like that look.  As a collection, these shades scream "sophistication" and complement each other well.  

Index finger: Defense, Middle finger: Balance, Ring finger: Noble

(PS! The nail swatches above were each three coats, no top coat.  I love how glossy these dry!)

At $17 a bottle, Dr.'s Remedy nail polishes don't come cheap- however, if you enjoy a good-for-you formula and a polish that applies effortlessly, I think these are a great option to have.  I get numerous compliments when I wear them despite the neutral color range (and I think it's mostly due to the smoothness of the color).  

Have you guys tried anything by Dr.'s Remedy, or had a similar or difference experience?  What are your favorite shades to wear in the colder months?

xox

Disclaimer:  I was sent the mentioned product for consideration from Dr.'s Remedy.  I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever.  All thoughts are 100% true and my own! I would never recommend something I wasn't pleased with.