October 2013 Favorites

BEAUTY

revlon colorstay matte balm stain in 'sultry' // sinfulcolors nail polish in 'whipped' // tocca 'stella' // jouer matte moisture tint

REVLON COLORSTAY MATTE BALM STAIN IN 'SULTRY'
I've already reviewed this so I won't go into super detail, suffice it to say I really love the formula and color of this balm stain. I bought it mid October and it stayed on my lips through the rest of the month. I bought another color from the matte range earlier this week & I'm tempted to go back and get another. I just really love the pigmentation & feel of these. I wish they provided more moisture & didn't leave my lips feeling so dry after a few hours but I don't mind re-applying & using lip balm between applications. Overall very pleased.
review here


SINFUL COLORS NAIL POLISH IN 'WHIPPED'
This is a leather-looking matte nail polish from Sinful Colors new Leather Luxe line. There were lots of different colors-- black, white, red, burgundy, brown, navy & maybe a teal? I bought black for myself and one for my leather lovin' bestie, Taylor. Sinful Colors, despite being incredibly affordable ($1.99 at Walgreens) are quality nail polishes. I wore this for around four days (no top coat) without so much as a chip. I was pretty impressed


TOCCA 'STELLA'
Ahh! I've been waiting since February to start wearing this again. I love love love the way it smells. The Sephora website lists the notes as: bitter orange, blood orange, watery accord, white freesia, wild diamond orchids, spicy lily, sheer musk & sandalwood. It primarily smells like blood orange but isn't terribly sweet smelling. I don't know, I'm terrible at describing scents. I just find that it smells amazing when I catch a whiff of it on my scarf or cardigan. It smells clean and fresh and I just really like it. You can find it at Sephora & Anthropologie-- I definitely suggest going in and sniffing a sample of it. TOCCA 'Cleopatra' is also amazing.


JOUER MATTE MOISTURE TINT IN 'PORCELAIN'
I reviewed this earlier this week ...or was it last week? I don't know, you can find a link to my review down below. I won't go on and on but overall the Matte Moisture Tint is definitely a great tinted moisturizer/base and is perfect for people with normal-oily skin & lasts all day and blends amazingly. Despite having a measly color range, I'm assuming each color is supposed to work with a range of skintones? I have no idea. I'm very pale and have cool undertones & a LOT of redness and 'Porcelain' works PERFECT for me.
review here


MISC.

vintage green glass cameo necklace // f21 studded bat headband (sold out) // lexi holiday candle tin in 'frosted maple'

VINTAGE GREEN GLASS CAMEO NECKLACE


Ryan's mom bought me this beautiful necklace from a vendor at Czhilispiel last year. Ryan's family competes annually in the Chili competition & there's always a small fair & a section of booths with arts and crafts type vendors. I picked out the green cameo charm & the woman who owned the booth constructed a necklace from other bits and bobs she had on hand in her little jewelry tackle box. I used to have her card but I've lost it. The cameo is actually one of many from a vintage bracelet I've seen on ebay. I love this necklace & always get so many compliments on it when I'm out. It's one of those pieces I know someday I'll pass onto a child or grandchild because it was a sweet gift from Ryan's mother & feels like a timeless piece of jewelry.


F21 STUDDED BAT HEADBAND
I bought this at F21 last month when they first released their cats & bats line. I wanted the kitty cat beanie but I wanted the bat ears headband WAY more. I sort of wish I'd bought the cat beanie too though, it would have been easier to wear throughout the winter. I wore the headband on Halloween as part of my bat costume & I think it's basically the coolest headband ever. I wish I could wear it regularly but I don't like weird stares and the bat ears are quite tall and would be really hard to miss. I accidentally bumped them off of my head all night trying to get into cars or fix my hair. They look so awesome though! I love the metal spikes & the faux leather look. I wore it with a wet-look fit and flare skirt and my peter pan collar top with a black cardigan I pinned to make it look like I had bat wings. Terrible explanation but it looked pretty cute if I do say so myself. I couldn't find this still for sale on F21's website but I'm sure if you looked around your local F21 you might find a pair.


LEXI HOLIDAY CANDLE TIN IN 'FROSTED MAPLE'
THIS CANDLE. I've already burned the wicks down but there's still so much candle left-- which is my only real complaint. I hate when wicks aren't evenly distributed and fail to melt the entire candle. Ugh! But apart from that, this candle smells AMAZING! I am not one for buying a candle that costs over $10. I'm a bit of a penny pincher when it comes to how much I'll pay for things. Even the citizens in my Animal Crossing town call me a "bell-pincher". News of my bell pinching ways even made it all the way to Taylor's town...little gossipy turds! So when I smelled this upon entering the WillowBend Anthropologie a month or so ago I knew I couldn't leave without owning whatever was making the entire store smell so CRAZY GOOD. It was $18 and while I think that's a stupid amount of money to spend on a candle...I did it anyways. Because it smelled so freaking GOOD. Now, if you aren't crazy about sweet smells, this may not be for you. However, I hate vanilla scents because they're too sweet and I think this is amazeballs so I would definitely recommend smelling it before writing it off. I lit it in our dining room and it managed to make the entire apartment smell like fresh made waffles and maple syrup for the rest of the day. I'm trying to figure out how to melt the rest of the wax or put new wicks in. I'll figure it out but for now I just leave it open on a table for a bit and even just the smell of the soy candle UNLIT makes the apartment smell amazing. Plus the tin is too cute!




Well, that's it for my monthly favorites. Sorry it came a bit later than normal. Did you do anything fun for Halloween? What did you dress up as? I'd love to know! Tell me below in the comments!


-Becca

Review: OCC Nail Polish in 'Chalkboard'

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics 'Chalkboard' is my dream winter nail polish. I've been looking for a true forest green non shimmer or glitter nail polish for way longer than you'd think. At night it looks like a really beautiful and glossy black nail polish but in the sunlight or indoors it looks like what it is-- a deep deep forest green.

It applies super smooth and glossy & has a fairly large brush. I only needed two coats to get it completely opaque. The polish is already fairly shiny but I used my seche vite top coat on top to give it that super glossy finish. After wearing this a total of 3 times in a row--each application only lasted about three days before starting to wear & chip at the tips of my nails. Therefore this is NOT a long-wear nail polish. I still love it because I think it applies great, doesn't stain your nails & looks so beautiful on. But if you'd rather keep your eye out for a longer lasting forest green polish, be my guest. Since this color seems to be fairly popular this season, maybe another brand will release one. Until then, I'm going to keep using 'Chalkboard'.

Another plus is that this nail polish (along with all of OCC's products) is 100% vegan and cruelty free!

'Chalkboard' retails for $10 USD at Sephora & OCC's official website. These are the only two online retailers I know of but you might be able to find it on eBay for less?

Have any of you tried any of OCC's other nail polishes? I love the references to sci-fi movies! It's all I can do not to buy all of the Blade Runner themed polishes.

-Becca

Deborah Lippmann's "Mermaid's Dream" Nail Laquer Review

Ok, first off, I have to be honest. I've wanted this nail polish for about two...maybe three years now. It was the first thing I really really wanted when I started heavily getting into beauty products-- but at $19 USD I just couldn't justify it. So I spent FOREVER looking for a dupe. Supposedly there's a dupe they sell at Urban Outfitters but the closest UO to me is all the way in Dallas. So spend $5 on a nail polish and $10 on gas seemed stupid or just say yes when your mom offers to buy it for you since she has a $10 off coupon at Beauty Brands. The answer is the latter.

I'd sworn off glitter polish because I HATE removing it but when mom said she would buy it for me, I buckled. When we got home I immediately applied it to every toenail and fingernail on my body (there's 24-- juuusss kiddin) and there it has sat for the last 5 days. I haven't had any chips and when applying you have a solid application after only two coats. The only thing I haven't been crazy about is the texture. It took two coats of topcoat for my nails to stop feeling rough.

Mermaid's Dream is a sea foam-turqouise based shimmer polish with micro gold, silver, and turquoise glitter with bigger bits of dark blue glitter. It gives off the appearance of scales or ocean waves. I bet you could do really neat beach/Animal Crossing themed nail art with this nail polish. Imagine adding a little coral seashell & a nude for the sand! Aw, I know what I'm gonna spend my empty weekend doing!



Otherwise it's so beautiful and makes me feel like I'm a mermaid or really put together or something else silly to think when you've only just changed your nail color. I love love it, BUT I haven't tried taking it off of my nails yet, so this may be a short-lived love affair.

Apparently Deborah Lippmann has released a whole line of mermaid themed polishes in different colors! I still chose this one but for those who feel like they look sallow when wearing greenish blue polishes, now you have options!

Removing glitter nail polish really is one of my least favorite things to do. Ranked alongside going to the doctor, picking up dog poo, & chocolate cake. All things I really don't like.

Does anyone have some sort of technique when removing it? If you do, I would LOVE to hear it. I have so many beautiful glitter polishes that I only OCCASIONALLY use when I'm feeling really patient or there's some sort of party or fancy event.

Are there any beauty products that have haunted you for over a year? Share in the comments!

-Becca

Essie's "bikini so teeny" Nail Lacquer Review

I feel like I've been looking for this particular nail polish for over a year. I wanted a periwinkle with a slight bit of silver micro-glitter & I was fairly positive that Essie made a polish exactly like it. Either I dreamt it up or it was just unavailable virtually everywhere aside from the one time I saw it forever ago & recently when I finally picked up "bikini so teeny".

This polish is pretty opaque and two coats does a pretty even and good job but I normally do three coats of any pastel-ish polish just to be thorough. Not gonna lie though --this polish chipped on my nails within 24 hours the first day I wore it. I took it all off and reapplied a few days ago and I haven't had a chip since so maybe it was just an unfortunate fluke, but most Essie polishes chip fairly easy on my nails anyways. It doesn't bother me too much since I change my nail polish fairly often & get bored easily.

Plus, since the glitter is so minimal, it's not difficult to remove from your nails so it's a pretty low-maintenance polish. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it & I'm planning on buying another bottle to put in a friends birthday present because it seems like it would look really pretty against her olive skin-tone.



Anyways, my final verdict on it is, if you're really in love with the color and can see yourself wearing it a lot, go ahead & buy it. Or wait and see if you can get a coupon. Target weirdly offers coupons for essie polishes fairly often so you can get it for $5 or $6 rather than the average $8. Or maybe there's a cheaper dupe? Whatever you decide, good luck.



-Becca

March 2013 Favorites

Welp, I'm going to start trying to do a monthly favorites since it'll force me to post more often. Plus, favorites posts and videos are by far my favorite things to watch and look at. I've found loads of new stuff I've incorporated into my daily routine simply from watching favorites videos. Hopefully this won't be boring as hell for you to read though.


SKINCARE 
left to right: Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask // GLAMGLOW Super-Mud Clearing Mask // Chloe Mini // Melvita Rose Floral Water

Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask
I bought this after hearing a lot about tea tree oil being good for drying up blemishes. I've never used this all over my face since it's BRIGHT green and it just doesn't seem necessary I guess. I normally just use it as spot treatment. I'll clean my face, spray my toner and apply little bits of this mask to my blemishes making sure to rub it in so it dries a bit, and then I go to sleep with it on. The directions say to just wear it for 15-20 minutes and wash it off but I'm a rebel and I tried that and it did diddly squat for my blemishes so I pretty much just do what I want.


GLAMGLOW Super-Mud Clearing Mask
I have a full review of this coming up soon on my blog so definitely keep an eye out if you've been thinking about purchasing.trying this mud mask. I love it and while it's expensive, it's possible to find it for less if you look hard!


Chloé Eau de Parfum (Deluxe Mini)
I bought this on a whim during Christmas since it was on sale and in the section by the checkout line at Sephora. I have such a love/hate relationship with that section because I always find something I really like and the price doesn't seem unreasonable. It's JUST ten more dollars!! Sigh, I guess I'm just a fool. A fool with a debit card. Anyways, I really like it and it'll be perfect for spring and summer since it's such a light and floral scent. It's just really classy and feminine smelling without having that whole overwhelming "grandma" floral perfume smell.


Melvita Floral Water in Rose (sample size) I received this in a birchbox nearly a year ago and I tried it a few times as something to cool me off during the summer and then it sat unused in my "samples to try" box until this month. I pulled it out again after reading a few reviews mention using it as a toner & setting spray. I wish I had known that a year ago! I/ve started using it as a daily toner for after I wash my face in the morning and after I take off my makeup at night. It's made my face stop over-producing oil at night and I've had fewer breakouts because of it. I'm almost out of my sample and then I'm definitely going to purchase the full size.


MAKEUP 
left to right: NARS 'Albatross'  // CR Beauty Blender // Essie 'Secret Story' // Seche Vite Top-Coat // MAC Veluxe Brow Liner "Strawberry Blonde"

NARS Blush/Highlighter 'Albatross'
I've been favoring this highlighter lately even over my beloved NARS 'Copacabana' which is really saying stuff. It's mostly because it's easier to blend out in a hurry with a brush since it's a powder rather than a liquid. Either way I love it. I'm really glad I bought it.


Cynthia Rowley Beauty Blender
I avoided beauty blenders for the longest time because I figured they were just fancy sponges and nothing could replace my beloved Real Techniques buffing brush. But alas, I was wrong. I picked this up at TJMaxx while out shopping with my mom over Spring Break and I've been using it ever since. I feel like it gives such a nice and natural finish to my Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation. It was only 5.99 so I wonder if the more expensive beauty blenders work any better, but I'm happy with what I have so meh.


Essie 'Secret Story' Nail Lacquer
This is SUCH a pretty, spring-y color. I've been watching A LOT of Mindy Project lately and I've been getting more into bright fuchsia and orange and kelly green. Her wardrobe & apartment are so inspirational and beautiful. Also incredibly expensive, but definitely imitatable. This is my way of having the color without having to buy a completely new wardrobe.


Seche Vite Top Coat
So I know this is something most people have used forever but I hesitated buying it for the longest time because I doubted how well it could work. I'm pretty rough on my nails so I just sort of assumed nothing could make my nail polish last more than a few days. I was, once again, so wrong. It makes my naisl so shiny and glossy and my polish (even the cheap one) last close to a week. Often times I change my nail polish BEFORE it chips because I just get bored of the color. Plus, it's only like 7 bucks.


MAC Veluxe Brow Liner in 'Strawberry Blonde'

For the longest time I used exclusively powder to fill in my brows and it worked really well. But the powder I used just didn't match my hair color very well. It looked great when my hair wasn't dyed, but now that my hair is red (and has been for about a year, I was looking to find something a little more closer to my shade. I tried a different brow pencil from MAC before this one and it was too dark and too red and I can only use it the first week or so (with a light hand) after I dye my hair. So when I tried this and it was the perfect lightness and amount of red, I was hooked! It leaves a really natural finish and after I apply a bit of clear brow gel it lasts all day. Plus, it has a spooly brush on the other side. The only thing that could make it better is if it didn't need to be sharpened and was something I could use for the 'back to MAC' program. Oh well.



MISC 
Kate Spade Enamel Locket

Kate Spade Enamel Locket
My dad bought this for me at the Kate Spade outlet in Houston since it was 50% off and matches the pink Kate Spade earrings Taylor bought me for Christmas. It's so pretty and looks so cute with any sort of black/white outfit. It's perfect for adding a pop of color to an outfit.

Let me know if this was even sort of interesting. I always like seeing what people are using and trying on a month to month basis so hopefully I can keep up with this!

-Becca

Essie's 'in the cab-ana' Nail Lacquer Review

So while perusing the makeup aisles at my local Walgreens I fell in love with this little beauty. I've basically banned myself from buying anymore nail polish as of lately since I honestly have enough and I don't wear half of the colors I have. But Ryan could see the sadness in my eyes at the checkout counter and told me he would buy it for me. What a nice man.



The color is like the bottom of a pool in the summer or vintage turquoise/aqua kitchen gadgets & two coats is enough to make your nails look like beautiful little robins eggs. The formula isn't streaky and I've been wearing it for about four days with a topcoat of Seche Vite and I haven't had any chips so far. I love it and already know I'll be wearing it a butt-load (yes, that is a technical term) this spring and summer.

The only drawback is that like most blue & green nail polishes, it is a pain in the you-know-what to get all of the color removed from your cuticles and corners of your nails. But I just use it as an opportunity to let my nails rest a day before I slather them with a new color.

It's part of Essie's new 'resorts' line of spring/summer polishes, so look for it at your local drugstore!

-Becca

MAC Glamour Daze

A few weeks ago I attended a MAC event with my friends Taylor & Katy. The invitation said it was to be an unveiling of a new line of products by MAC (the Glamour Daze Holiday Collection) --the night would include cocktails, food and entertainment.

(image belongs to MAC)

Our MAC is honestly too small to have housed the amount of people that RSVPed so we had to stand in line and go into the store in shifts. There really wasn't that much alcohol or food and while the collection was really pretty--most of it came in really expensive sets or you couldn't get around the groups of people in order to even see the displays.

Ultimately it will probably be my last "event" I go to unless it's something I'm really looking forward to but these are the things I bought from the Glamour Daze collection:




MAC "Girl Trouble" Nail Lacquer & MAC "Pink Freeze" Eyeshadow

"Girl Trouble" Nail Lacquer







"Pink Freeze" Eyeshadow







(No pictures of me wearing it yet--I'm still a little perplexed by how to wear it)

Strangely enough, I normally really hate anything that looks "frosted", haha never mind both items I bought are frosty as hell. Most of the pieces from the Glamour Daze collection weren't frosted, these just happened to be the two things I thought looked really pretty on. Plus I love metallic pink for winter so I guess that's why I was drawn to them. I don't know really. All I know is that I like 'em.

So I guess go check it out before the collection sells out!

-Becca

Teddy Girl

About a week or so ago, Taylor and I went out to have a girls day- full of frozen yogurt, make-up and wandering aimlessly around various stores.

I bought a few things, but my favorite purchase of the day was this beautiful Butter nail polish from Ulta called 'Teddy Girl'. It set me back a whopping $14 -- The most I will and have ever paid for nail polish. I'm cheap, so I scoured the store looking for a comparable ballerina pink, but everything was either too cool or too warm. So I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore nailpolish for the next few months to make up for it. I really have enough, so that shouldn't be a problem.

It looks a little rough because it's been in my purse.

I was worried I would regret it once I got home, but I love it so much! Haha, it's the only color I've had on my nails since I bought it.
Bonus: It's the exact same shade as all of my pink Kitchenaid items. My favorite shade of pink.

Despite the price tag, I highly recommend it. I had to do three layers to get it to the opacity I wanted, but it dries relatively fast, doesn't go on gunky, and looks so so pretty on!

-Becca