November Favorites, Things I'm Digging.

Some of the products and tools I really liked during November.

1. CoverGirl Naturlux Mousse Mascara
2. Maybelline Eyestudio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow (10 amethyst ablaze)
3. Incoco Nail Applique 
4. E.L.F Studio Stipple Brush
5. Conair Natural Boar Bristle Hair Brush

Review: E.L.F Studio Stipple Brush

This new antibacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more absorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. Studio brush!
The layered bristles create a soft airbrushed look that's perfect for applying foundation or adding color definition to cheekbones or highlighting with soft layers. Use this brush with any liquid or powder face product such as foundation, blush or bronzer to build your coverage from sheer to heavy.

Description from E.L.F.com

This brush is great bang for your buck! The synthetic bristles are supper soft. The brush has a nice feel in the hand the handle is just the right length neither to long nor to short. It applies liquid foundation flawlessly with no streaks. The synthetic bristles dry completely in about 3 hours after washing with soap and water. At just $3 the E.L.F. stipple brush is a great deal.

Review E.L.F. Studio Complete Coverage Concealer

 Savvy beauty shoppers rejoice—now there is no need to buy new concealer from season to season for meeting the different needs your skin tone may have. e.l.f. introduces a sleek quad compact filled with four brilliant, customizable concealers ranging from light, medium and dark shades. A must have for anyone’s makeup kit these highly pigmented, professionally formulated concealers offer ultimate coverage to disguise a range of boo-boos and flaws including blemishes, dark circles, redness and uneven skin-tone for a flawless, makeup artist finish!
Description from E.L.F.com

I bought this concealer compact because I have trouble finding the right shade, and thought it would be great for mixing. But I was greatly disappointed in it. The concealers are extremely waxy and hard to get out of the pan with a brush and even when I used my finger to warm it up it barley came out. The colors were also poorly pigmented. When applied to the skin the concealer went straight into the cracks and fine lines on the skin, which is not a good look and makes you look older.  This concealer pallet is defiantly a regret buy and I don’t think I’ll get any use out of it.

Monday Blog Hop

Monday Blog Hop

If your looking for a way to find new blogs to read or a way so people can find your blog? Try checking out the Monday blog Hop Hosted by Nykki at Nykki's Mane Blog. I have found so may great blogs that I would of never of known about without the Monday Blog Hop.The great thing is they are not limited to just beauty. I have found some great blogs dedicated to sewing, and cooking which is right up my ally.

All you have to do is leave your name and the link to your blog (make sure the url is correct I have found there are some that don't go to any site).  And don't forget to leave a comment when your done. If your just looking to find a new blog be sure to leave a comment saying the Monday Blog Hop sent you.

For all the Blog Hop Rules just Click Here

Review: Incoco Nail Polish Appliqué

I had received these in my September Birchbox and finally got around to trying them. and I would just like to say I am in love with these! I’m really bad at nail art so this was the perfect solution. I loved the chaetae design. They were easy to apply; it was just like putting a sticker on your nails. I have really short nails so I found that one strip could do a finger on each hand, which means one packet was is like 2 manicures for the price of 1. I just cut it a bit above the nail and applied the remaining strip to the other hand. Normally I can only get 2 maybe 3 days out of a normal manicure if I’m lucky. I’m really hard on my nails. But with these I got 5 days before I started to see small chips and it was about 7 before they really started to peel off in bigger pieces. I did add 2 layers of a clear top coat to protect them and seal the edges.

I checked the site and the strips range in price from $7.99-$10.99 with the patterned designs costing more. Which I think is a good deal seeing as they last longer than nail polish for me. I do think I will try these again, I did see some cute Christmas and winter designs on the site that I would like to try. 
 incoco.com
 

Picture from Birchbox.com

 

Birchbox Breakdown: Let’s be honest—it’s annoying to wait for your nails to dry. These nail polish strips make it easy to get a flawless manicure without worrying about smudging or streaking. They come in a range of styles, from simple solid colors to out-there designs (leopard, anyone?). Best of all, the strips last up to two weeks and comes off with regular polish remover.

How it Work: They might look like stickers but these nifty strips are actually hyper thin layers of real nail polish. When you place them on your nails, they bend and conform to fit the contours of your nail. Plus, they’re actually better for your nails than regular polish because they contain less solvent and have small pores to let your nails breathe.

How to Use: Take off any existing polish and buff nails thoroughly to get a smooth surface for application. Each package comes with about 16 nails so you have some wiggle room if you mess up. Find the strips that fit your nails the best, and remember that you can stretch them to fit even better. Peel off the backing to the nail strip and place it on your nail, stretching it to fit. Use a file to get rid of the excess and continue to the rest of your fingers (or toes!). Watch our video for tips on perfect.

Description from Birchbox.com Bottom of Form

Reviwe: AVEENO LIVING COLOR Color Preserving Shampoo & Conditioner

AVEENO^® LIVING COLOR Color Preserving Shampoo for Medium-Thick Hair is designed for the unique needs of color-treated, medium-thick hair. This rich-lathering shampoo breathes new life into your color by revealing vibrant shine with each wash, while perfectly balanced cleansers carefully lift away impurities to enhance color clarity. Our ACTIVE NATURALS^® formula features the power of color-fortifying lupine botanicals, scientifically shown to smooth the cuticle, helping to lock in color for long-lasting, healthy brilliance for vibrant color that comes to life wash after wash.

AVEENO^® LIVING COLOR^™ Color Preserving Conditioner for Fine hair is designed for the unique needs of color-treated, fine hair. Experience our ultimate in fade protection with this rich, silky conditioner that infuses moisture and reduces breakage for soft, manageable hair.
Our ACTIVE NATURALS^® formula features the power of color-fortifying lupine botanicals, scientifically shown to smooth the cuticle, helping to lock in color for long-lasting, healthy brilliance for vibrant color that comes to life wash after wash.

 (Aveeno.com description)

I was not a fan of both the shampoo and the conditioner. First the shampoo was far too and watered down; it was hard to keep it in my hand. The shampoo also was horrible at lathering it took 2 handfuls of shampoo to lather my hair and even that was substandard. I also needed an abnormally large amount of conditioner to make it feel conditioned. As far as color preserving goes I don’t think it worked any better than regular shampoo and conditioner to prevent color fading. With my dyed red hair it’s about 2 weeks and color has faded and these products did not seem to extend the time between colorings.  I will not be purchasing these products again.

Happy Thanksgiving! What I'm thankful for.

The first thing I am thankful for is my Family and Friends. More often it is my friends who have become my family and I am so grateful that they are there to pick me up when I'm down, laugh with me and share happy occasions and except me for the out of her mind person that I am.

I am so thankful for my two Kitty cats that love me unconditionally, snuggle with me and give me sand paper kisses. And yes I even love Goken's head butting. 

I am Thankful to have a job in this horrible economy. I am also thankful that it allows me to express my creative, artistic side everyday.

I am thankful for my loving boyfriend Dan. He is always there for me and loves me for who I am in all my crazy kitty loving beauty obsessed craziness.

What are you thankful for this year?

November Birchbox

I haven’t shared a Birchbox in a while partly because I haven’t been that impressed with them but I’m digging this month’s box.

 

LaROCCA Champagne and Shimmer Acai Sugar Polish – At first I didn’t know what this was and had to check the site to figure out what to do with it. It’s a little annoying that the description card doesn’t tell you. But after a little looking it’s a scrub you use on your skin in the shower. The fact that there is actual gold in the scrub is so interesting. The scrub I didn’t feel like it did much for exfoliation but it was moisturizing.

Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee Cologne Absolue – I didn’t like the smell of this perfume at all. I’m not a fan of vanilla perfumes.

TAY Safflower Seed Night Cream with Jojoba – the night cream was nice and thick. It soaked into the skin fast. And the wooden container was really cute.

Zoya Gems & Jewels Collection – I really in love with the nail polish. The color is a pretty shimmery teal/torques. I am really hard on a manicure and the polish holds up well. No matter what I always chip my nails but there was minimal chipping and wear on the tips. 

Van Gogh Starry Night, Art inspires Me

This look was inspired by an artist who has always fascinated and inspired me, Vincent Van Gogh.  I love his use of bold brush strokes and combinations of complementary colors.  I took my inspiration from the painting Starry Night which was a painting Van Gogh created in his later years from the view he had outside of the window of the sanatorium.  I love the swirling of blues with the pops of green and yellow. 

Face

·         Maybelline Fit me Foundation, 115 Ivory

·         Maybelline Mineral powder finishing veil, translucent powder

·         Tarte Amazonian clay long wear blush, Tipsy

Eyes

·         Maybelline Eyestudio  cream eyeshadow, 10 Blue freeze (center blue)

·         2True eyeshadow Dazzlers  No.9 (shimmery deep blue)

·         Inglot matte black, matte flesh tone, & shimmery white eyeshadow

·         NYX Chrome  Eyeshadow Yellow

·         Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose colour, Obscure

·         Inglot Gel Eyeliner Matte #85 (lime green)

·         Maybelline falsies Mascara, Black

·         Physicians Formula 2 in 1 eye booster black eyeliner.

Lips

·         Jouer Lip enhancer conditioning lip treatment

·         Wet N Wild Coloricon Lip Liner, 715 Plumberry