Where have I been?!

Hey there! I PROMISE I am working on quite a few upcoming blog posts including December favorites and then a breakdown by category of my favorites for the entire year (I am super excited about that post! I try ALOT of different products so I am so happy I get to share my favorites by category with you all from all of 2012! I have been incredibly busy lately but will be posting starting this week again regularly. I have moved to a new state and it pretty much took awhile to get things the way I needed them in order to get the time to write some things for the blog. I hope you all stuck with me and I am excited to get some posts up this week for you. I hope you all have an incredibly blessed Christmas!

August favorites!

I don't know about you all but holy cow August just seemed to fly by! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the 4th of July. It is time though to show you all of the things I LOVED this month, some of the things even surprised me!

1. Suave keratin heat defense leave in conditioner (I'm actually loving all of the items in the keratin line but its been along time since I've found a leave in that I really love)
2. Organix Moroccan Argan oil body lotion- I got this on a buy one get one free sale at Walgreens and had 2 $2 off coupons so I almost paid nothing for it and it has been amazing! I will certainly repurchase this when I am out. It is hydrating but not so thick where you feel like you stick to everything.
3. Rusk thermal shine spray- I have been just scrunching my hair alot this month because it is so hot out I hate to turn the blow dryer on and this shine spray has really helped my hair even with products in it look shiny and healthy. LOVE
4. Boscia makeup breakup cool cleansing oil- I cannot say enough good things about this product. It is SO easy to use, glides on so smooth and rinses off really easily. Best of all it hasn't made my oily skin break out (always a huge plus for me!)
5. I hate mentioning limited edition products but these you might still able to find at your local MAC counter or online so I certainly wanted to let you know about them. the Hidden Treasure and Supercontinental blushes from the latest MAC collection are awesome. They are no super frosty or dry like some other MAC blushes and just look gorgeous when applied. RUN out and get these if you can still find them- they have become my favorite MAC blushes!
6. Chanel Mat Lumiere foundation- I forgot how good this foundation really is for oily skin. I applied this at noon drove over to Tampa for a rally and at 3 am before we decided to get in the hot tub my face still looked flawless, this paired with my next favorite is a match made in an oily skinned girls heaven!
7. It Cosmetics celebration powder foundation- This is what every powder foundation loose or pressed should be! Yup I actually just said that :) It gives the perfect amount of coverage without having a bit of shimmer or sheen to it. So great in the summer for oily skinned girls. I will certainly still use the Laura Mercier loose minerals in the winter but I adore this for not having the sheen that the LM minerals have when its 100 degrees outside and like 60% humidity!
8. Garnier Dark circle correcting tinted rollerball- Great product to just throw on at night or when you want to run up to the store but don't want "real" makeup on. Its super cheap too!
9. Lipgloss! Summer is all about lipgloss for me. I don't want to mess with lipstick and the last thing I want to have to worry about it a lipstick melting in my car or purse. My staples this month have been Mally's lipgloss in Mallys baby and NYX in sugar pie. 2 gorgeous colors!
Well that's it! There are a few products that I got last weekend that I'm loving but I didn't want to include them in this month favorites since I've only had them a few days. I'm sure they will be making an appearance next month.

Bridesmaid makeup!

On August 4th my mom got married to a great man in a BEAUTIFUL ceremony. Their wedding was at the Battlehouse hotel in Mobile, Al. This is a historic hotel located in the heart of downtown Mobile that was bought by Marriott and restored into one of the most gorgeous hotels I have ever been in. The whole place has that old sophisticated feel and is the perfect setting to get married in. We chose long one shoulder black dresses for the bridesmaids dresses to fit in with the classiness this hotel already offers. I wanted to keep my makeup simple yet smokey. Below is a picture of my makeup and hair and the products that I used. When I get a close up of the other bridesmaids and my mom's makeup I will do a blog post on exactly what they were wearing as well. ENJOY and as always let me know if you have any questions about any of the products I used.

Face:
- Hourglass mineral veil primer all over the face
- IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Medium buffed in with Real Techniques deluxe crease brush under the eyes and around the nose
- Makeup Forever HD foundation in the color 120 applied with the Real Techniques buffing brush
- Smashbox Halo powder in Light over foundation
- IT cosmetics bronzer from Live, Laugh, Love face disk all over the face with the IT cosmetics powder brush
- IT cosmetics vitality bronzer with the IT cosmetics fan brush as my contour
- MAC Dollymix blush on my cheeks with mally's effortless airbrush highlighter on my cheek bones
Eyes:
- Urban Decay original primer potion all over eyelids, browbone and lower lashline
- MAC shroom on inner half of eyelid (used a MAC 239 brush)
- Urban Decay loaded from the smoked palette on the outer half (same 239 brush)
- MAC kid in crease and a little above it
- Urban Decay blackout blended really really well in crease and slightly on the upper lash line.
- MAC femme fi and nylon mixed on browbone and nylon in the inner corner
- Mally starlight black liner in both water lines and smudged a little under the eyes with MAC carbon on top of it to set it
- Mally volumizing mascara
- Ardell 110 lashes with duo lash glue
Lips:
- MAC Spice Liner
- MAC Viva Glam V lipstick

I've been SMOKED!

It is no surprise when I say that I feel like I must buy every single great quality eyeshadow palette that I come across. It is a major weakness of mine. When I heard that Urban Decay was coming out with a new palette that focused on deeper smokier colors I had a smile planted on my face for the rest of the day. The Naked, Naked2, 15th Anniversary, and the BOS4 are already in my collection and I love each one of them for certain reasons now I can add the Smoked palette to the collection as well :)

The colors are as follows from the left top corner to the bottom right hand corner of the palette.
- Kinky: soft matte peachy ivory shade
- Freestyle: subtle matte nude shade
- Mushroom: shimmery warm grey shade
- Back Door: matte neutral dark brown shade
- Blackout: deep matte black shade
- Barlust: shimmery deep brown shade with a hint of gold
- Rockstar: shimmery eggplant shade
- Evidence: shimmery navy blue shade
- Loaded: shimmery dark green shade
- Asphalt: shimmery gunmetal shade with microglitter

This palette also comes with one full size eyeliner in Perversion which is a really dark black; and a mini original primer potion tube. Here are some swatches- the first picture is in the shade and the second one is the sun. The list above is the order in which they are swatched on my arm.

Overall this palette gets a big thumbs up. The eyeshadows are so smooth and creamy with the exception of Evidence. This color was a little less pigmented than the other shades and the texture was a little rough. It is still an awesome shade that will be ok once you use a brush and pack it on your eyes. I HIGHLY suggest picking this palette up if you love smokey eyes as much as I do. This palette retails for $49 and can be purchased at Sephora.com, Ulta.com, or UrbanDecay.com.

Eye and Face of the Day

I have really been trying to break out of the "neutral" and "taupe" eye looks lately and do something a little more fun with my eye makeup. I had a meeting with a local company but this is an easy teal eye that is a little more interesting but isnt too in your face.

I used the Wet-n-Wild Blue had me at hello palette and took the bright turquoise color and put it all over the lid over Nars smudgeproof eye primer. I then took a little MAC kid and put a little in my crease just to help blend the color. I used a little of MAC contrast and Urban Decay's tease eyeshadows in the crease and blended it all out. My brown and inner corner highlight was Urban Decay "bootycall". I used a liquid Nars teal eyeliner on my upper lashline and the top lashline and topped the lashes off with Mally volumizing mascara.

The rest of my face is pretty neutral. Here is a list of products that I used in case you want to try and recreate it. - Hourglass mineral veil primer - IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye - Hourglass Immaculate foundation - Smashbox halo powder - IT Cosmetics bronzer - IT cosmetics blush stain in the Live, Laugh, Love face disk - Mally gloss in Mally's baby Have you been doing a "different" look for the summer?

IT is here!!!

I was literally almost squealing yesterday when the UPS man dropped of my IT cosmetics TSV. I am part of a beauty obsessed awesome group on facebook and all I kept hearing about was how amazing this kit was. Well, the hype is all SOOO true! Let's start with the basics, shall we?

The 5 piece It cosmetics kit will air this Friday July 27th on QVC. It comes with 2 shipping options either the single shipment or autodelivery. I of course signed up for autodelivery because I just had to get more of this stuff :) Here is the breakdown of the products included: Vitality Anti-Aging Face Disk Jumbo Heavenly Luxe Face Brush Super size tube of Bye Bye Under Eye (in your choice of color) Vitality Lip flush 4-in-1 Anti-Aging Lipstick Stain Double ended foundation and concealer luxe brush Everything in this kit blew me away. The brushes are incredibly soft and feel like silk on your skin.

The double ended brush is awesome for concealer under your eyes and you can use the bigger end for foundation, concealer or to buff anything out on your face. I may actually try that end in my beloved Mally cream blushes tomorrow as it looks to be the perfect size for that! The powder brush is so luxe and fantastic.

I used it for my powder today and for my bronzer and I couldnt have been more happy with how it distributed the product evenly and effortlessly on my skin. Bye Bye Under Eye has a cult following and I can 100% understand why. This stuff is seriously awesome. Its creamy and hydrating yet opaque and does not budge once it sets. I picked up the color medium and it is a perfect match for my skin. This color does run a tad light for "medium" shade so if you have a good tan going on you may want to get the shade darker. Here it is swatched on my hand and rubbed out a little so you can see the coverage.

The face disk has already become a favorite of mine and I know it will be going everywhere with me while traveling. It is HUGE and weighs in at over 22 grams- that is alot of product. Half of the disk is a gorgeous matte bronzer and the other half is split into 2 sections. The bottom has a blush "stain" which some people have compared to Nars Orgasm. I don't think that is an accurate comparison and I prefer this blush shade and consistency over Orgasm, it is on the pinker side and is incredibly smooth and buttery to apply. A little goes along way with this shade so you don'e need to pile this on the brush to get it to show up well on your skin. don't let any of the colors in the face disk scare you away from buying it. The bronzer is the perfect color and is buildable if you need it darker and the highlighter along with the blush is amazing as well. 10 out of 10 on this one for sure! I couldn't think of anything to add to this to make it better.

Last but not least is the lip stain in the shade Je Ne Sais Quoi. When I first opened the tube I was pretty shocked to see that the color was almost clear. After it was applied it morphed into the gorgeous brighter pink shade that was so moisturizing it almost felt like a lip balm. I am a nude lip girl so this will probably be going to my mom but I will be ordering the shade Damsel in this formulation as it is their "nude" shade and I am sure it will be gorgeous on! If you like a pink lip this one is certainly for you! All in all this is a great value. The brushes alone are worth more than the price of the whole kit! It sells for $59.94 and the item number for a single shipment is A226577. If you want it on autodelivery the number is A228718. I ordered the fan brush and a different bronzer from QVC already and I will review that once it is here. I also will be ordering their celebration foundation with brush this week as I cannot get enough of this brand and their products. Let me know if you have any IT cosmetics suggestions or if you ordered the TSV. I can't wait to hear more reviews on it!

Tarte 6-piece color collection upcoming QVC TSV: What has your makeup done for you lately (swatches will be added soon!!)

I was SO excited when I heard that QVC was doing another Tarte Today’s Special Value with auto delivery. As a brand I love Tarte and I love their products and when I heard that their TSV had a new foundation in it I knew I had to have it. I am in love with my Tarte Amazonian clay full coverage foundation so I certainly wanted to see how the Maracuja Miracle 12 hour foundation compared. The TSV does not air until July 13^th but I pre-ordered it and already received it. The kit was packaged very nicely in a floral sturdy box and contained these items:

-Maracuja Miracle Foundation

-Pure Maracuja Oil .6oz rollerball

-Foundation brush

-modernEYES waterproof creaseless shadow/liner duo in the colors plumberry/plum brown

-LipSurgence lip shine in the color Smitten (with a built in sharpener at the top)

-Full Size Gifted Amazonian clay smart masacara

-BONUS: .088oz Maracuja C-brighter eye treatment

I know everyone is probably most excited about the foundation and so am I! My initial reaction is a little mixed though. I love the consistency, it actually reminds me a lot of the Healthy Mix Serum foundation from Bourjois but just a tad thicker. It is also very similar to Neutrogena Healthy Skin and Nars Sheer Glow foundations. The color however (I ordered the kit in the color LIGHT), is a little too orangey. I wish Tarte would make more colors in these kits besides just a fair, light, medium, tan and deep. I really am an “in between” color and I certainly don’t want a foundation that is going to make me look like a Oompa Loompa that just stepped out of Willy Wonka’s factory. I have swatched it below by itself and beside a few comparable foundations. Overall I will try to make it work because I really love everything else in the kit and I do love the slightly (and I mean VERY slightly) dewey finish of it. As a girl with a pretty oily T-Zone I find it really difficult to find foundations that aren’t completely matte that won’t break down on my skin throughout the day and that will keep me looking fresh throughout the day without looking like a greaseball. I did use the foundation brush that came in the kit with it today and while it gave me an awesome finish it soaked up A LOT of product since it isn’t a synthetic brush so I think I will be sticking with my expert face brush from Real Techniques or the Tarte airbrush foundation brush that is synthetic from here on out for this foundation. I do like the brush though and will certainly use it with powder foundation.

I am a little confused as to why Tarte changed the packaging of their LipSurgence pencils. I have heard from Tarte that these “lip shine” versions of the pencils will be the only ones with the sharpener on it but I really love the twist up feature of the lip lusters and am a little sad that this pencil will need to be sharpened. The color is gorgeous though and not like any of the other lipsurgence pencils I have. It is REALLY shiny, almost like a gloss but has no shimmer or glitter in it. It does still have the same minty taste and tingle that the regular LipSurgence pencils have.

The Maracuja rollerball will be AWESOME to use when Im traveling and will be great for around the eye area and on my cuticles when they are dry. The only thing I would change about the packaging is I would somehow make it refillable for those of us with other bottles of maracuja that would like to be able to throw the rollerball in a travel bag or our purse.

I really like the double ended eye liner/shadow pencil as well (another item that will be great for travel!). The color of the shadow stick portion is a really pretty violet color with gold shimmer to it. It reminds me A LOT of Mally’s evercolor shadow stick in Violet and I swatched them side by side below so you can see. The Mally is on the right and the Tarte is on the left. The liner is a gorgeous deepened plum that almost looks brown when swatched. I rubbed my hand like crazy once these set and the color didn’t budge. I actually had to use eye makeup remover to get them off my hand because just washing and scrubbing my hand wasn’t doing the trick.

I am excited to try the gifted mascara as Tarte’s light, camera, lashes is my holy grail mascara and I have heard from some people that they like this one even better! I will keep you updated on my thoughts about it after I have used it for awhile. I have not been able to use the eye cream yet either but I am so happy that they included that as a bonus in the kit. The consistency seems really nice and it doesn’t have a strong obnoxious scent which I really appreciate.

Overall I have to say I am really impressed with this kit and I hope I can make the foundation work for me. If anyone has purchased the color fair I would really appreciate a swatch of it if you could email it to me. If it is less orange I may exchange the kit for that color. I hope this helps any of you that may be interested in purchasing the kit and if you want to get it before it airs the item number is  A-228564.

Have a great day everyone!!

Kimberly

Hi Blogging World

Hi there Blogging World! I have been tossing around the idea of creating my own blog now for a LONG time. I have SO much to say about the products and things that come in (and out!) of my life. I am a 24 year old total beauty product junkie and will try ANYTHING if I hear one good recommendation about it. It has led to a light bank account at time but hey its worth it...Right? I cannot wait to test and give honest reviews about new things that I try, fashion, food, travel experiences, etc. I may not know it all but I will always give you the best review and my honest opinion about anything you all are interested in. Write me a comment or send me a message via the contact me button and I will try out anything you want me to review. 


Can't wait to get this process started!!
Kimberly :)