Recent Beauty Purchases

As I was taking pics for this post I had to keep taking more pics because I would forget about stuff I've bought and haven't used yet, but wanted to include in the post. I've bought a thing here, an item there, several things have seemed to just jump into my cart at Target. That happens to you too, right? You go to Target for five, maybe six things, and you leave with a full cart. Then you're unpacking and putting things away and realize that you have two eyeliners, a mascara, mousse (which I did forget to include in this post, it's L'Oreal ), a top, and some home decor. It never fails!

On Sunday, I cleaned out a spare makeup drawer and threw out a few items so I don't feel quite as bad about my totally unnecessary purchases. I really need to toss out so much more. I try a lot of new products and brands it really starts to take up a ton of space. It's not as bad as it used to be when Nordstrom, Ulta, and Sephora were all just around the corner from me. Now Ulta or Sephora is a 20-30 minute drive and the closest Nordstrom is a solid 45 minutes away. For some reason, I don't really buy makeup/hair products online, so my beauty hauls have slowed down. Plus, taking a toddler anywhere that has beauty samples is a nightmare!!! Maybe I should just order online...

Anyways, here's what I've bought the last couple of weeks. Some of them are repeat buys, but a lot of them have been purchases to try something new. I've tried a few of them already and have shared my first impressions about them below.

Meg tried this and liked it, so I bought it. Did I need it right now? Nope. I haven't used it yet, but Meg gives great reviews and tries a ton of stuff and when she mentioned this I snagged it so I wouldn't forget! I always really, really, want to try NYX HD Concealer which is supposedly a dupe for NARS so that will be making it's way into my makeup bag on my next Ulta trip.

I have a lipstick from this collection in Blushing Beige 915 and really like it so I wanted to try the shade darker and about Nude Lust 920. I'm super happy with them both! I don't know if I have a preference of one over the other, they both are creamy and great shades. 920 does have warmer pigmented color to it. I usually top them both off with MAC Boy Bait or Urban Decay Walk of Shame.When in doubt, wear nude I always say!

As you can tell from yesterday's mascara review post, I love mascara and wanted to give this Lash Sensational one a try. The wand's bristles look like they could really help in pushing up your lashes and giving extra length. I don't typically care for short bristles on a wand, but I think that the mix of long on one side and short on the other might me a good mix to really coat your lashes. I've heard good things, will report back.

The NYC Eyeliner is a re-purchase, it's an amazing eyeliner! I never would have tried it, but makeup artist Brittany Layne (Jason Aldean's wife) raves about it so I tried it and fell in love. It's true black that doesn't fade and lasts all day long. I've heard good things about NYX so I picked this one up too.

Typically, I like Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair conditioner, but I've been liking a lot of L'Oreal's hair products lately and thought I'd try this Damage Erasing Balm a whirl. The bottle that one use can repair up to a year of damage? That sounds like a challenge to me!

L'Oreal has some really great hair products and one thing I hate doing is blowdrying my hair. I don't know why, I just style the front and crown and flip my head over for the rest and it takes me all of 7-10 minutes to do the whole thing. Still, I loathe it. Obviously, this Quick Dry Primer Spray needed to make it's way to my bathroom. I've tried it twice and the first time I felt a difference in time, but not so much the second time. I'll keep using it to see if it was just a Jedi trick or if it really works. It smells incredible though.

Another repeat buy for me. I really dig a light leave-in conditioner for my ends. All of the bleach, styling, and heat can be killer and I need a little extra to save my tresses. I don't love this one, but it's light weight and works for now. I swear a few years ago every brand had a leave-in conditioner, but I can't find any now! It seems like they're a thing of the past. Do you use one? What do you like? What should I use instead?

So I've been using a stretched out purple scrunchie around the house and to separate my hair while styling since 1995. 1995!!! It was a Christmas gift from my dad (aka, grandma) and I only know the year because it was the first year my parents had separated. I'll hold onto the scrunchie forever probably, but I really needed some new ones that had some actual stretch. Laugh all you want about it, but these are so soft and don't pull your hair at all. These feel like heaven when your hair is pulled up in them.

My favorite moisturizers are from Image, but I've also been using Aveeno and it had just ran out so I picked this Neutrogena one up to replace it. Veronika recommended it and I really like it so far. I use my Image ones at night and have been using this one in the mornings.

What are some of your favorite beauty products? Have you tried anything new and loved it lately? Hope you're all having a fantastic day, thank you for reading!!

Hair Routine + Products

Since cutting my hair back in March, my hair has been so healthy. Cutting off the inches really gave me a chance to sort of start over with my hair. My routine hasn't changed much since cutting it, but I have noticed that I have been able to keep my ends healthier since the chop. I have another appointment coming up and I've been debating on keeping the length that it has grown or cutting it even shorter than I previously had. I definitely want to add some more layers at the bottom and maybe add some low-lights to make the blonde highlights pop. Or just go blonder overall. Matt and I cleaned out our garage a few weeks ago and came across a bunch of pictures from when we were first together, and I was so blonde! I'm thinking of going back to it. We'll see, I'm sure I'll change my mind several times by my appointment.

I’m still washing my hair 2-3 times a week, just depending on the amount of product buildup (or lack thereof) and whatever it is that we’re doing. I usually wash my hair on Saturdays/Sundays and then again during the week. I've noticed I will sometimes have to wash my hair a third time if I haven’t used any product at all because it gets really flat. In that case, I usually will use Suave Keratin Infusion Color Care Dry Shampoo to build some volume to get an extra day or two of wear.

For shampoo I use Tressemme and have switched off buying the volume one and the moisturizing one. I just ran out of it so I picked up some Nexxus Therappe Shampoo, I haven't tried it yet (as of this post), but I'm looking forward to using a better shampoo to keep my locks healthy. I have also been using the Macadamia Deep Mask and Nelson j  Healing Mask conditioners once a week (switching off with each wash). As for blow-drying, I have only blow-dried my hair once a week and let my hair air dry during the night the other wash. I think this really has been the biggest reason why I have been able to maintain the health of my hair, but have noticed that using my HANA Air Blow Dryer gives me so much more volume and helps me to maintain not washing my hair as often. I’m also using more products when I blow-dry it, so it’s really a combination, but I have noticed I can get an extra day of wear even when using no products at all when drying it.

For products, I use a combination of L'Oreal Boost It Volume Inject Mousse, Redken Guts 10, L'Oreal Boost It Blow Out Heat Spray, and a Herbal Essence Leave-in Conditioner that's no longer available. If I use my Redken Guts then I will skip using mousse, for my hair it’s just too much product and will weigh it down the very next day. Redken Guts is such a great product, I get a ton of volume and my hair really holds when I use it. It’s kind of pricey, but you can use coupons and find good deals online for it, it’s one of the few hair products (along with the Macadamia Deep Mask) I use that’s worth the extra expense.

For styling I'll use the Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray when curling my hair.  When teasing my hair on day 2-4 I'll use L'Oreal Boost It High Lift Creation Spray to create more volume. When I first bought this spray, I wasn't completely sold on it, but it really makes your hair hold a tease all day long! I really enjoy the product and will definitely re-purchase it. On any day I need more volume, and especially on day 3-4 I'll use Suave Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo. It is hands down the BEST dry shampoo I've ever used in my life. If I've let my hair air dry and need more volume/texture I'll use it on clean hair as well. On 2-4 day hair I'll also sometimes use TRESemmé Styling Aid Keratin Smoothing Serum (not pictured) to bring some life back to my hair and lose some frizziness. I don't care as much for this oil as one they discontinued. One pump is just so much product and it's heavier than the previous oil. I think I'm going to have to go back to my tried and true Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum.

As for tools, it’s pretty simple. I use a paddle brush (similar here) to comb through my towel-dried hair and a combination of that and a round brush (similar here) while I blow-dry. If I have the time, I like to use Conair Think Big Velcro Rollers to set my hair and then use either my Corioliss Classic Pro Flat Iron or Conair 1 1/4" Instant Heat Curling Iron to style my hair. To tease my hair, I’ll use either a comb, hair pick, or a teasing brush.

What products do you like to use? What are you must have, holy grail hair items? Please spill!

Beauty Buys + First Thoughts

e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pot - Aint That Sweet? // e.l.f. Studio HD Blush - Headliner // e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette - Light // e.l.f. Studio Baked Blush - Rich Rose // e.l.f. Studio Mineral Powder Brush // Maybelline One By One Mascara // NYX Matte Bronzer in Medium

So I randomly ordered some items from e.l.f recently. I kind of gave up on their products, but seeing some blog reviews (like Meg's!) and using some of my older purchases from them I bought a few more products. I haven't tried any of these out yet, but kind of tested them on my hand when they were delivered. I got the smudge pot to use as kind of a primer like MAC's paint pots, so we'll see how it goes. I keep hearing about the HD Blush so I hope it lives up to the hype. The color is really nice, it's a soft natural looking pink and I'm excited to try it. The Baked Blush is really pretty and I thought it would look nice over some pink or coral blushes for some summer shimmer. I saw the blush palette in my People StyleWatch so I thought I would give it a try. The top left and bottom right colors look like blushes they sell individually and that I own  (Pink Passion  and Pink), but I really like the two top colors so far (in my swipe). 

The Maybelline mascara I got on a whim before trying my beloved Younique (best mascara ever!), and I freaking hate it. I guess it's been discontinued and I totally get why. It does absolutely positively NOTHING for my lashes. I'm just gonna dump it. 

The NYX bronzer is a repeat buy, this is my 5th one I think? I was looking around Ulta to maybe try a different brand, I almost bought Benefit's Hoola, but when I was swiping colors and brand these two were identical? I had to do a few swipes to know which one was which!

Conair Volume and Styling Comb: I really like this comb a lot! It teases really well, almost too well even. It's great for getting a good tease that builds up a pouf- perfect for updos!
L'Oreal Boost It Blow Out Heat Spray: I've been looking for a new heat spray and I figured I'd try this one, I also have the other Boost It products, so I figured they would work well together. The smell of this line is delicious and the spray is nice. It's light weight and doesn't weigh down my hair or builds up product with use. I haven't used it enough to know if it really works, but I've enjoyed it so far.
Suave Keratin Infusion Color Care Dry Shampoo: Holy Grail status! This is so much better than their basic one I've been using (and loving). The smell is great, it adds a ton of texture and volume. I absolutely love this dry shampoo! Get yourself one asap!

MAC Tinted Lipglass- Angel: When I went shopping with my SIL a few weekends ago, I came across this gloss and fell in love with it. I have the lipstick, and I somehow had NO IDEA they also made it in a gloss. Turns out, they made a bunch of their top lipsticks into glosses! How I missed the memo I have no clue. Of course, they were out of it then, but I picked it up the weekend after. It's such a great summer shade and is pretty opaque but with some color in it.
NYX Butter Gloss - Creme Brulee: I keep hearing about this shade and NYX's Butter Glosses so I finally bit the bullet and bought it. I really love the consistency and color. It's gorgeous on its own and I love pairing it with MAC Creme Cup.
Maybelline Vivids- Fuchsia Flash: I bought this one because it's a total dupe for MAC's Candy Yum Yum and I didn't know if I would really love the color so I didn't want to spend the extra $$ for a lipstick shade I may not wear all the time. It's really pretty and a lot of fun to wear. I don't know if I'll be wearing it all the time so I'm happy with this price point and purchase.
Maybelline Baby Lips- Pink: I love the Baby Lips products to wear as a quick chapstick with a wash of color. This pink is great and very natural, the scent is medicated and a bit strong, but doesn't bother me too much.

What beauty products have you purchased lately? Have you tried any of these? What was your experience?

Curls for Daysssss

So as many of you know, I’m lazy about my hair- side note- I’m not lazy about having it done, I hate roots and get my hair done on the dot every 8-10 weeks. What I mean is that I wash it every 4-5 days (I’ll wash it sooner if I need to) and I'm lazy about curling it all the time. For work I wake up between 430-5am so I want to be able to get ready in the shortest amount of time as possible and staying at home with Ellie, my hair is the last of my concerns, but it's nice to have it somewhat cute when people stop by or I get out of the house. Luckily, my curls last and I can scoot by with simply brushing my hair, teasing for some volume, and maybe curling a few pieces around my face. I get asked a lot about my low-maintenance hair and wanted to share with you my “secrets” of how to get your hair to last longer.

As far as washing goes, my hair is not oily or greasy so I lucked out in the gene pool for that. I do believe you can “train” your hair and Veronika has a great post about her washing routine (which is pretty identical to my own) and tips on getting extra days from each wash. Using dry shampoo can definitely give your hair some life and give you an extra day or two whether you’re still training your hair or if you’re like me and don’t have the need to wash it more often.

TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray // Redken Guts 10 Volume Spray Foam // Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray // Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play // TRESemme Smooth Salon Silk No Frizz Serum // Aqua Net Professional Hair Spray // Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave-In Split End Protector // Conair Curling Iron (I use 1.25 in) //
HANA Air Premiere (see my review here) // Conair Mega Self Holding Rollers

To get the most of your hair and curls, it really starts with the blow dry and your products. If I let my hair air-dry, I only get about 3-4 days without washing it because it falls too flat to get a good look from day 3 on. When I get out of the shower, I put my hair up in my towel for a few minutes to soak up excess water, after taking out my hair- before brushing it- I use these products in my hair before I start blow-drying it; Tressemme Serum, Herbal Essence Leave-in Conditioner, and Redken Guts 10. Then I brush through my hair and use my fingers to rub in the Guts 10. Then I part my hair and blow dry my bang area to get my cowlick under control, I pin down my bangs (that’s part of training my cowlick) and flip my hair upside down to finish drying. I try and brush my hair up and focus on the roots to get the most volume, then I flip back up right and smooth my hair while still brushing the lion’s mane.

Once I’m done with that, I section off my crown to use Velcro rollers to set my hair. I blast the section with heat, put the roller in, and clip it in place. Velcro rollers makes a huge impact on having bouncy, voluminous hair. The products make it last! Right now I’m using 4 rollers, one on each side and 2 at the crown, then I’ll do my makeup while I wait for my hair to set in the rollers.

Once my makeup is done, I use my Spray & Play hairspray to put a light mist on the hair outside of the rollers (the bottom half that's not in a roller at all) and curl that hair section. Then I take out one roller at a time and mist the hair as well before curling it. Be sure to use a "mist" of spray and not a "raincloud" of it, you also want to be sure the spray isn't wet when you use the curling iron- if you use a mist it won't be wet whatsoever. When all of my hair is curled, I let it set for a minute and then run my fingers through it to loosen up the curls. I’ll finish with styling and teasing my hair and another mist of hairspray using my trusted Aqua Net.

This is day 3 of curls, without any touch-up
I do smooth out my bang area with a curling iron, but do not touch the back

Using the Spray & Play makes such a huge difference in how well the curls stay in my hair. I’ve found that when I use it, I can go 2-3 days without touching up my curls at all, they just loosen each day. On day 4-5 I’ll have to either re-curl all of my hair or just a few pieces around my face and on the top of my crown in the back.

On days 2-5 I’ll use my Tressemme Serum to tame down any frizziness and will use Suave Dry Shampoo to add texture on non-washing days when I’ve let my hair air dry. I'll also use it on day 5 and wear my hair up in a pony or half up/down.

So that's my hair secrets folks. I really think it's a combination of my hair texture and products, but the products- mainly the Redken Guts 10 and the Big Sex Hair Spray & Play- make the most difference. Using everything together for me has made a world of difference in how long my curls last. My hair is great without all the products for so many days, but my curls aren't as springy and my volume isn't as much without the whole shebang. Taking the time to really have a good blow out/curl makes the rest of the week a breeze.

Want to see how I curl my hair? Check out these posts here for a video, here for text/pictures, and here for loose curls. 

What are your hair secrets? What helps your hair look its best?

Beauty Favorites of 2012

After seeing Meg from O. is Me's Top 2012 beauty picks, I knew I had to share mine too. Meg always has great makeup tips and products posts, and is the mother to the cutest little munchkin! She inspired today's post about what my favorite products were this past year. Most of them I've talked about on the blog and linked to their reviews, but some of them, this is the first they've been mentioned and  reviews will be coming soon. Most of the products I use I've found from bloggers I follow and before I buy most things, I Google blog reviews!

Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray (review here), Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo (review here), TRESemme Salon Silk Serum (review here)

Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover, Oil of Olay Pro-X (review here), Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub (see my routine here), Complete All Day UV Moisturizer

NYX Matte Bronzer (I buy medium in the summer and light in the winter), MAC Blush in Warm Soul (review here), L'oreal True Match in W3 Nude Beige, MAC Blush in Easy Manner from their Glamour Daze collection

MAC Eyeshadow in All That Glitters and Phloof (they're my everyday and blend awesome with the Naked palettes), Maybelline Lots of Lashes Mascara (review here), Billion Dollar Brows Brow Powder in Taupe (review here), Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Brightener 60 (I use this under my eyes, but also down my nose and above my lip), L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara

Fresh Sugar Lip Balm, MAC Boy Bait, Revlon Lipstick (any color!), Bath and Body Works Mentha Lip Shine in Vanilla Mint

Do you use any of these products? What were your favorite beauty picks from last year?
If you have any questions about my favorite products, ask me below or send me an email!

Recent Beauty Faves

Recently I've been trolling through my make up bag(s), and found some goodies I haven't used for a while. I've put them back into rotation and I can't believe they were ever forgotten about. Two of these items are newer so they were not forgotten, but I haven't put them down since I bought them so I'd thought I'd include them in my favorites.

Victoria Secret All Over Shimmer in Gold Star 

I can't find it on their site, but I was just in their store over the weekend and still saw it there. For Halloween I wanted really bronzed and shimmery cheeks so I layered this over my bronzer. It's such a soft gold and looks gorgeous layered over anything. I've also layered it over my blush this past week. I use it a lot to highlight my brow bones and over my shadow. When I was in there store I fell in love with this eyeshadow duo in Undiscover, but they were out of stock. I'll have to go back and pick it up. I'll use it on my eyes and cheeks both. Let's be honest, I'm a sucker for anything shimmery, especially gold and shimmery.

MAC Blush in Easy Manner

This is from their Glamour Daze collection that I bought at their preview. It's now available in store and online. It's a gorgeous peachy pink blush with no shimmer that gives a soft flush. I'm really happy with that purchase, my other blushes are either very shimmery or a much brighter pink. It's nice to add something different in the mix. 

MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl

I've had this puppy for years and have always used it on and off. You can really use it wherever you want on your face. As a shadow base, highlighter, etc. Lately, I've been putting it on a bit heavier on places to highlight- cheekbones, brow bones, bridge of my nose, and then layering my powder over it. Kind of contouring my face a bit by using it first. I'll also use it on top of my makeup sometimes to, it really is very versatile. 

Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray

Remember I told you folks how I only wash my hair 2x a week? Well I also get up at 430am for work (my schedule is changing and I'll get to sleep in another hour!). This dry shampoo is a dream! I don't know how I went on about my life without it. It really gives a lot of body and good texture, not gross filmy texture.

MAC Tinted Lipglass in Florabundance

Even though I've been sporting bold lip lately, a great nude lip is always my favorite look. Nearly all my glosses are soft nudes and pinks. This one was a favorite of mine for a while, but then I kept buying more glosses and it somehow just got skipped over. I came across it and haven't put it down again. It's just enough color to use on it's own, but it's also great over other lipsticks (like MAC Hue). 

Do you ever resurrect old beauty products? What have you been using lately or have found again?

Product Review: Suave Dry Shampoo

Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray

Where would we be without the invention of dry shampoo? Still using baby powder? I know some people prefer that, but it's never worked that great for me and always shaded my hair too much, regardless of how little I used. I wash my hair every 4 days (sometimes 3) so a dry shampoo is perfect for day 4 (or let's be real, day 5 on some weeks). My hair is "normal", but pretty fine. It doesn't really get oily til that last day, just flat.

You know how in beauty articles they tell you how they used dry shampoo to get texture into models hair? I always thought, psssh, that stuff makes your hair gross. Then I used this product and went "aaaaah" and a lighted halo above the can lit up. Now I get it. You can use this product on clean hair to add some oomph. Not just dirty hair people. Clean, just washed, fresh hair!

I used to use another brand of dry shampoo (my favorite store-brand, TreSSemme) and although it worked to make my gross hair look presentable, I wasn't really happy with it. It just made my hair feel blech when I touched it. This product doesn't make your hair feel heavy with product, which I think is one of it's best features. It's has a nice wide misted spray which makes it easy to use as well.

As for color, I would say it's pretty clear. I notice it especially now with my darker ombre. It doesn't make my hair all grandma status either. Also, the best part of the spray, hands down, is the volume it give my flat hair. OMG. Sound the alarm, it's incredible.

Want a secret? If you know you're gonna need dry snampoo the next day, spray it on your hair the night before so it can soak up any oil by sunrise! Cool huh?

Do you use dry shampoo? What's your spray of choice?