Summer Hits and Misses

Given that Labor Day weekend is the "unofficial" end of summer, I decided to recap some of faves and not so faves of summer. 

I know, I know no one wants summer to end but me, blah blah blah. But seriously, fall is awesome. Have you seen the new issues of Vogue, Glamour, and InStyle?!??! Fall booties, leggings???? OMG I have goosebumps!

Okay so here are my top 3 fave products of the summer:

#1 mark. Get a Tint tinted moisturizer. I love this product sooooooooo much. It has SPF 15 in it and it's a great sheer coverage for hot summer days. Even though it's sheer it's amazing what this stuff will cover up! Love it! Plus it's only $10!!

#2 Moroccan Oil. Okay so here's the story with this: If you have hair you need this. Seriously. I did a review on this earlier this month  check it out ;-) This stuff is like liquid gold, the holy grail, a lifesaver, etc. All you need is a tiny drop and rub through your hair with your fingers, style as usual and BAM. Done. Gorgeous, shiny amazing hair. Get it. 

#3 Surprise love! Covergirl's new Natureluxe Mousse Mascara. I have it in blacest black and it is awesome. It makes your lashes long and think and it feels like nothing. Really, your lashes feel like they are weightless, not that hard crunchy feeling they sometimes get when using other mascaras. I had a coupon for $1 off from the Sunday paper and right now I think Walgreens has them for buy one get one 50% off or something. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

And now for the not so faves.......

#1 So this gets the EPIC FAIL of the summer award from me. I know some people might really love this and that's totally fine, but you're wrong ;-) 

First of all the brush looks like holy hell, I was like WTF when I went to use it, it looked like it was going to get tangled in my lashes. Then when I put it on it made such a clumpy wet mess that I had mascara from my eyebrows to my cheekbones. It also had a weird chemical smell to it and I seriously could not get it off my face fast enough. 

I would like to add that it is highly possible I had a defective tube, but based on this experience I will never buy this again. And usually I love Maybelline mascara (great lash, volume express, full n soft are some of my faves!). 

#2 mark. Min-A-Real Cream to Powder Mineral Foundation. Alright, I know I'm going to get a LOT of crap for this one. When I first tried this I loved it, then I hated it, then I loved it again. And now...well....I don't hate it per se, but I definitely don't love it. I know a lot of people do and it covers great. But my problem with it is that no matter what I use to put it on with it's too heavy, it makes my face shiny and ultimately I get a zit or two from it. Bummer because I really wanted to love this as much as everyone else, but for me and my skin type it's not going to work. 

BUT I will say that I have seen some women with this on and it looks ah-mazing! Seriously, I have samples if you're interested. 

So there you have it, these are my hits and misses for summer beauty. What have been some of you faves?? How about the not so faves??? 

I love reading comments, so post below :-)

Monday Morning Review: Natural Skin Care

Happy Monday Morning Fellow Beauty Addicts ;-)

This morning I want to blog about two new skin care products I have begun using for about the last week to two weeks.

First off is a facial cleanser from Neutrogena:

This is a cleanser and make-up remover in one. Okay, so....Neutrogena and I haven't really always gotten along. I tried their products in middle school and all it did was make my face red and dry. I do like some of their cosmetics, but their skin care was never my gig.

BUT I had noticed this new Neutrogena Naturals line at Target and I kept looking at the cleanser and thinking, I really want to try this....and so last weekend I caved in and bought it. I did not have high hopes, and I had asked at the register if I could return it...just in case. However.....um....I love this! Seriously! It does have a fragrance, but it's light, and the color/consistency reminds me of mark.'s Calming Effect Cleanser (which is what I was using). I removed all my face make-up and did an okay job on my eyes. If I was just wearing mascara it was awesome, but on Saturday we had (ANOTHER) wedding to go to so my eye make-up was a little more intense.

Bottom Line: Love it! I also feel like it has made my skin/complexion brighter too, score!

Continuing with our natural theme:

I have already tried some of the Yes to Cucumber and Yes to Blueberries products, and when I was in desperate need of a zit cream I went to Target and found this. It's super fun! It's a little rolly ball deal that has salicylic acid in it to help zap zits. I use it after I wash my face and before I put on moisturizer. And during the peak of my panic I used it twice a day to really get that little effer out ;-)

This is a great product, it really does work, and doesn't seem to be overly drying. I noticed a slight smell, but it's not bad or anything.

Bottom Line: No one notice my zit and I will definitely buy this again!

So what are your thoughts on natural skin care??? Do you have a favorite cleanser or zit zapper???

Please share in the comments section :-)

Wednesday Wish List

My wishlist is so cram-packed full of stuff and a lot of it changes daily, hehe!

So today here are some of my "cravings"

For fall I would love to have something blue. Preferably in the form of a delicious little handbag like this one.

Or this one!


Something else that is on my wishlist and has been for a few years now, but I haven't purchased is the deliciousness that is Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist!! OMG I am so totally in love with this perfume!!! But haven't found a reason to splurge on it....yet ;-)

And the last thing on my wishlist (well at least in the top 3 - not the actual last thing!) is this Mally Beauty palette.

Isn't it pretty????

Sigh......

What items are on your wishlist???

The Monday Morning Review: Bright Colors and Mousse......

Happy Monday Morning!!!

So over the last week or so I have tried out a couple of new products that I thought I would share with you guys because I really, really like them!

The first is a new product from mark. It's this Fall's Super Flip Kit, comes with 9 eye shadows that are on trend for Fall and on the flip side is a face highlighter. mark. comes out with one of these every fall, and usually we have a Spring It Kit too. This Fall's Super Flip is a little different because it doesn't have any lip colors in it. Usually on the flip side of the eye colors are some lip colors. I personally really like the face highlighter better than the lips so I was super excited about this.

The cover of this one is pink, which of course I really like. Now I know some of you are looking at those colors and thinking, um yeah right not on me....I just want you to know that the colors are sheer, so you can make them as bright or subtle as you want. I am dying to use the yellow and the blue together but haven't figured out a look for that yet. The other colors are great neutrals and can be used to create any number of looks from basic to super-hot and smoky. Also loving the highlighter on the back, I used it this weekend at a wedding and I thought it gave me a pretty glow of color.

This product is not yet available to the general public, sooo...check out the end for a special offer ;-)

Next up is a product that was kind of an impulse buy (big surprise). Anyone who really knows me, knows that as much as I am loyal to many things, the one thing that I can't stay loyal to is mascara. I ALWAYS want to try the newest one out there and can't help myself when I see the displays.

This is Covergirl's new NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara. I got it in Very Black and I love it so much! I didn't really have high expectations for this, although Covergirl is my favorite drugstore brand ever since Nikki Taylor was their spokesperson (OMG gorgeous!). But okay, so why do I love this product??? Well I like the brush, and the color, and it feels so incredibly light on my lashes. I hate mascaras that make my lashes and eyes feel hard, and like I just want to close my eyes for a minute because my lashes hurt, do you know what I mean??? So yeah it volumizes my lashes and it looks great on. Definitely a day mascara or a casual mascara. For night or smoky eyes I still will go with something a little more dramatic.

The last product I have is something I have been wanting to try for awhile now but just forgot. It's the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation.

I have this in the lightest shade and it's awesome! I love the matte finish, I still added a little powder on my nose, chin and forehead because I don't like any shine at all ;-)

You don't need that much and I used a foundation brush to apply it. Coverage is really good and it lasts all day. I also wore this to the wedding this weekend and it held up perfectly.

***SPECIAL OFFER TIME***

If you want to get the new mark. Fall Super Flip, you can order it through me right now for $10. When it launches next month it will be $10 with a $20 purchase, but if you order through me right now, it will be $10 (plus whatever tax). Interested??? Leave a comment here or message me on Facebook to get yours now!!!

Moroccan Oil a.k.a. Liquid Gold (no joke!)

Are you really happy with your hair??? How many styling products do you use??? Do you even bother to style your hair, or are you more of a wash and go kind of gal???

Well, most of the ladies I know are always, and I mean ALWAYS, on the look-out for that one product that is going to make their hair perfect. Sadly a lot of the products out there don't really work that great or don't do what they claim to do. And a lot of that depends on the type of hair you have, how thick it is; which is all based on genetics. 

I have spent a stupid amount of money on hair products over the years, and some I really like and some...well....not so much. 

HOWEVER..................

After recently chopping 10 inches of my hair off and sportin a new sassy short do, I have discovered gold! Yes, that's right gold. It's called Moroccan Oil and it's for all hair types and you should finish reading this blog and then IMMEDIATELY go order some. I mean it, not kidding. 

I ordered mine on Amazon.com and it was $35 for a 3.4oz. bottle. You only need a tiny amount so it will last you awhile. I know there are hair places that sell it, but up here in the boonies I figured I was better off ordering online. 

So here's what you do.....

wash your hair like normal, comb out, and then put a little drop of this in your hair with your hands and then comb through your hair. Then style as normal. And, bam! Hot, sexy, sleek and shiny hair. I use a 1/2 dime size amount in my hair and then bow dry and flat iron like normal and then I'm done. I don't add any addtional frizz or sleek/shine serum to my hair. 

OMG seriously go buy this now, I can't believe your still here ;-) 

I LOVE Nail Polish

I have always been addicted to nail polish. It's cheap, it's fun and it totally changes your look! I love all shades from dark to light, EXCEPT there is a very select color group that is like the mauve-y/beige-y mom colors, that I really don't think look good on anyone...Do you know what I'm talking about???

Well anyway......

Here are a couple of the colors I specifically can't get enough of right now...

This is like a brown metallic color, and it's a great basic nude with a funky twist ;-) The name of this color is called Time to Shine. Right now I only have it on my toes due to a thumb injury...but I love this color very funky!

This color is Mellow Yellow. And I have used it on my toes and hands and you would think it would come out weird on such a pale skinned lady BUT it comes out awesome!!! Love this for summer. I had been using this color on all my fingers except the ring fingers where I would use a silver color and that looked pretty cool.


All the colors here are available at any drug store (I get mine at Target) and they are just over $2 a bottle. Huge variety in color; and one word of advice...have patience when removing the colors with glitter ;)

Fab Five Fave Drug Store Products

As much as I LOVE me some mark. products, I need to admit that I am a product junkie. I am. P.R.O.D.U.C.T. J.U.N.K.I.E.

And as much as I would love to be able to shop all the expensive brands at Sephora, the bottom line is I can't and quite frankly I don't need to. mark. offers a great line of affordable products that are in some cases way better than the stuff at Sephora. But I digress...

This blog post is all about my fave products that I can't stop buying whenever I go to Target/WalGreens/Walmart, etc. I just love them! Ugh, I am addicted what can I say. I just get this rush from walking into the beauty department at Target and picking up my favorite things. Some of them are cliche' products and some aren't but I don't care ;-)

The following five things always get me:

I heart Nivea products. I used to save my lunch money in high school to buy make-up instead of eating lunch and this was one of the products I would always buy because my mom said it was too expensive and I could use the Vaseline lotion like everyone else in my family. This lotion leaves my skin feeling so silky smooth and I love the smell. One whiff and I am back in high school all over again....but in a good way....

On to the next product:

Okay truth be told, this was a product that I had to learn to love. I love drama when it comes to my lashes and I had tried this a few times and really wasn't impressed. I didn't understand what the big deal was. BUT after several attempts I got it. My lashes were dark, and volumized and long in a couple swipes. Are there mascaras out there that are better? Yes, mark. Lash All You Want for example is waaaaayyyy better. However, for a fun drug store purchase at less than $5 this is a great everyday go to mascara. I personally love the waterproof version.

And next up....

This is another product that is a new addiction for me. I HATE Dr Pepper soda. Yuck-ola. BUT I kept reading about how everyone and their mom loves this lip smacker and how it tastes good and gives a hint of color. And wouldn't you know...they were right!!! It does kinda smell like the soda, but it mostly smells like cherry and it does give your lips a light pop of color. It's just over $1 and change and it's super moisturizing. Also, it reminds me of being in elementary school and middle school where I was first learning about make-up. Highly recommend picking this up, it will brighten your day. Promise.

Fab Find #4....

Love these. Love! They smell a little like cucumbers. They are not drying and don't leave residue. They really get rid of all the dirt and make-up on your face and they are 98.7% natural. Seriously what's not to love. I use these when I am too lazy to wash my face at night, or after a workout.

And last but not least...

Dear Aunt Lani, thank you thank you thank you thank you for introducing me to these in the 8th grade!!! I have tried a million and five (yes I counted) different eye make-up remover products, from the ridiculously expensive to the dirt cheap and I ALWAYS go back to these. Always. These little pads get waterproof make-up and regular make-up off my eyes like nobody's business. They do not sting or irritate my eyes like other products do. They are oil free so my eye lids are not all goobery. And I just think these are the best product out there for eye make-up removal. Around $5 or so at Target and so totally worth it!

So now get in your car and get to your nearest drugstore and shop away!!! What are some of your favorite drug store beauty finds???