Basic Face: Weekend Makeup

 As much as I love make-up there are some days, usually the weekend, that I just don't wear or want to wear a ton of stuff on my face. And that's a-okay. So today's post features some of my go-to weekend makeup. 

Face products. I use some sort of tinted moisturizer/BB/CC cream. Pictured above is a deluxe size I got from Sephora and it's fine. Nothing fancy or special I don't think. But it does the job. Then I like to lightly dust a powder over my t-zone so I don't get shiny. Above is the Maybelline Shine Free Powder in Light and the E.L.F. kabuki brush. I will also use some sort of cheek color to give life to my face and pictured here is the Benefit Rockateur. 

For my eyes I go really basic and comb through my lashes and brows using this handy tool from Sonia Kashuk.

Then if I'm feeling fancy I will curl my lashes. Otherwise I just add some mascara and that's it. I will of course add whatever lip balm I have handy as my lips are always dry so I have to put something on them or they will be in sad shape. 

Easy Peasy, right? What's your go-to weekend look? Or low-key look?

January Ipsy Bag

What could be better than sampling the latest and greatest beauty products and getting exclusive deals on them every month? And having them delivered to your door? Not much right? And the best part is, this is a real thing. If you are an Ipsy (formerly My Glam) subscriber this is exactly what you will get each and every month. AND it's $10. Yep just $10. Pretty awesome huh? I've been a subscriber for over a year now, I took a break for a couple months and then reactivated my subscription. It's such a fun way to try products and a lot of the time you are getting full sizes, not just deluxe or travel sized products. Brands featured in past bags include Urban Decay, Benefit, NYX, Zoya, Butter London and Pacifica just to name a few. And they all come in a cute little make up bag.

Here are the items I got in my January bag! I haven't had time to try most of these yet so I just have pictures for you. But this is a really good deal and I have tried several of the subscription services out there and this is by far my fave and (in my opinion) the best deal. Check it out and sign up here.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Vox Box Review

As you may already know I am an Influenster and as part of being involved with that program we get the opportunity to review products from time to time in a Vox Box. I was lucky enough to be sent a second box and even more lucky that it contained nail polish!!!! In addition to being obsessed with makeup, nail polish is even more of an obsession for me. The really cool part is that I don't actually own any of the three colors they sent us!

So as I said, these products were sent to me to review and test out, but as always the opinions featured in my blog are always my own. You may remember that several of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure colors were featured in a fall nail polish blog post from awhile back. And I have owned the shade Pat on the Black before but ran out and so when it came in this box I was pretty pumped. Love that color. Here are the colors I was sent.

Red My Lips 

Pat on the Black

Jaded

As I've said, I've used these polishes or this brand before and I love the formula on this line. It's long wearing and mostly opaque. I know you aren't supposed to/don't have to use a top coat on these but I always do and it's hard not to. I love all the colors. Pat on the Black is an all time fave for me, but I really loved the Red My Lips shade. My least fave was Jaded because unlike the other colors this wasn't as opaque and the shade looked a little weird on my pale skin. I will use it and try it again. I just wasn't as wowed with it as the others. One of the best things about these polishes is the brush. I totally forgot to snap a pic of the brush for this post, but it's huge! It covers 90% of my nail bed in one swipe and it's awesome. I have six shades but would love to get a few more in lighter shades to try that end of the spectrum out.

Do you have any of these colors? Or have you tried this line by Sally Hansen? Tell me in the comments below.

Handbag-aholic's Annonymous

Today's post is all about one of my other obsessions. Hello. My name is Melissa and I am a handbag-aholic. I have been this way since 1985, and there's no end in sight. That being said I actually don't have many handbags. Maybe you are looking at that picture above and thinking, "Wow, that seems like a lot." But I only have like 3 other bags besides the ones pictured. I have a crap ton of tote bags, that are giant work, beach, travel totes but actual handbags aren't many.

Sasha and Diesel also appreciate a sweet handbag, so they had to get in on the action.

The handbags featured in this blog post are all from JustFab. I am a brand ambassador and a couple of these were acquired through the points I earned and a couple were purchased with my money. BUT all of the opinions here are my own. When I look for bags I try to look for things that will last for years and might be a trendy color but not a trendy style because I don't like to use them for a week and then get rid of them. I want a bag I can keep for the long haul.

This glorious purple bag is called the Producer. I love that it's Birkin-esque and I love that it's purple. What I don't love is how short the handles are, because at best this is an armpit bag. I will have to carry it in my hands or in the crook of my arm. Which is fine and I love this bag, I just need to be hands free sometimes. I love the size of this bag and think that it's classy enough to go to work and client meetings or the grocery store and happy hour. It also comes with a detachable strap.

Pictured above is Arrival in Navy blue. This is a hard structured tote and it's stunning. I love that this looks so much more expensive than it is and what you can't see here is that it has leopard lining. Leopard lining. Yes. Awesome right? This also a bag that needs to be hand carried, though it does come with a detachable strap. This bag is so luxe and the navy color is beautiful.

Above is Gilded in tan/nude/brown, not exactly sure of the color on this. I love how this looks like a Michael Kors bag. But it's a fraction of the price. It's a bit on the smaller side for me and doesn't have a ton of pockets like the bags above (which I didn't mention, but most bags from JustFab are awesome for pockets.) As you can see I like my bags to be both functional and fashionable as well as bags I can take to work and errands because I don't have time to change them out during the day.

And finally, this is Magic Kingdom in Nude. A warning, this bag is heavy. Like, really heavy when it's empty. I love it. But it's heavy. Again love the pockets and the neutral color. This obviously has a strap along with handles and I think this would actually be a good travel bag as you could get a crap ton of stuff in here and then have it as your purse when you arrive at your destination.

I love the bags I get from JustFab, I think they are affordable and a good value (members can purchase all styles for $39.95 and right now there is a sale going on where you can get two for $39.95 - mix shoes and handbags and other items too!)

Do you have a favorite bag? Are you also a handbag-aholic? Tell me in the comments. There's strength in numbers, we can give each other hope. Or really good shopping tips.

Drugstore Must-Haves

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a little girl who lived in Missouri. And that little girl LOVED her some make-up. Since her mom wasn't much for make-up the little girl loved to go to the PX or Walmart and drool over the Tinkerbell and Bonnebell displays. It was in those early years that my obsession or love of make-up began. And now a few decades later I would consider myself a make-up pro. Maybe not like a make-up artist level pro, but for the average chick, I'm pretty pro.

And as my browsing has taken me from the PX and Walmart to Sephora and beyond I have to say that the make-up at the local drugstore (in my world that means Target, Walmart and Walgreens) is pretty much where it's at. I love Sephora, I really do, BUT it's not really in my budget to shop there often. So I decided to put together a blog post featuring some of my faves from the drugstore for you. Whether you are new to make-up or a pro these products are fabulous!

It was so hard to narrow it down as there are so many great finds! And most of what I have is from Target.

Face faves: Revlon Colorstay for dry skin. I have been wearing this since 1995 and I still go back to this all the time. The formula is awesome and long-wearing and the medium coverage is fantastic.

Maybelling Fit Me concealer is great under the eyes and for covering up spots. Another great option is the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda palette.

Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer is so gorg! It's great on a variety of skin tones and blends like a dream. Love.

E.L.F. blush and contour duo is like $6 and it's fan-freakin-tastic. It's a total dupe for NARS Laguna and Orgasm and you will love it.

Pictured way up top, but randomly forgotten above is the Wet N Wild Blush in Pearlescent Pink (also a dupe for NARS Orgasm) and it's $1.99 at Walgreens.

And my fave face brushes are from Real Techniques (you have to shop online or at Ulta) but they are so amazing and affordable. And I love that they stand up on their own.

Moving on to eye products. This is the one area where I think there are some amazing products at the drugstore but this area also holds the most crap products at the drugstore and can take a little more trial and error to find the right stuff.

Eye shadow Faves: Loreal pigments (pictured is Amber Rush but the flash is reflecting off of it), Maybelline Color Tattoos (pictured is Bad to the Bronze), and the Wet N Wild Trios in Walking on Eggshells. All of the colors in these lines are awesome, the color tattoos are great on their own or as a base for other shadows. The Loreal pigments are beautiful and come in a variety of shades. And the Wet N Wild trios are ridiculously amazing for $2.

Eyeliner faves are the Maybelline Line Stilleto liquid eyeliner and the Rimmel Scandaleyes liner in nude. Line the inner rim of your lower lashes with a nude color to help look more awake and give the illusion of bigger eyes. And the Maybelline eyeliner is a great way to ease into liquid eyeliner or a quick way to do it if you are at pro-level ;-)

I didn't have any mascara to picture here. But the drugstore has a million and five awesomely fabulous mascaras. Loreal and Covergirl have some of the best mascaras (even better than what Sephora has to offer) and Maybelline does too.

Finally, lip products. Looking at all the lippies I have, I only have about 5 that are from Sephora and it's because they came in a kit with other stuff. But I really don't think you need to go any farther than the make-up section at Target or Walmart to find great lip products.

Pictured above are Wet N Wild, Revlon Lip Butter, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain and the Covergirl balm stick thing (don't know the name off the top of my head.) All of these are great. Maybelline makes awesome lipstick, so does Loreal and E.L.F. I mean really no matter the consistency, finish, etc. there is something for everyone here.

Tell me in the comments below what your fave drugstore finds are.

Perfect Palette TAG

So this post is a "TAG" that I have seen going around YouTube. Since I am kind of taking a break from my YouTube channel, I thought I would do this as a blog post. I hope it doesn't get toooooooo long....

Eye shadow is my favorite thing in the beauty department to look at, use and purchase, especially in palette form (you get so much for a better price!) So I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to share some of my favorites. 

Here we go!

 1. Best Packaging: The Balm. I love their packaging. It's so funny and clever and most of the time it's very sleek. The palettes almost always have a huge mirror and the size of the shadows are HUGE! In the Balm Jovi palette I especially love that the lip and cheek stains (that are more of a balmy texture) have their own sectioned off cover so that the powder products don't get in with the creams.

2. Best Color Pay-Off: Wet N' Wild. These eye shadows are $2 and $5 (roughly) and the color pay off is ridiculous! The Fergie Collection shadows aren't as good as these ones, but they are okay for the price. But these shadows come in a wide variety of colors and you will have them forever because you only need a little bit. These are comparable to any of the high end shadows mentioned here. Great if you are on a budget or if you are just starting out. I love these.

3. Most Versatile: Urban Decay Naked Basics. I love Urban Decay - it is my favorite high-end brand of all time. The packaging, the names, the colors, I just love everything about their products.
But most versatile had to go to this little guy. You have everything you need to create the most basic eye to the most smoky eye. You can use the darker two shades to line your eyes, you can use a couple of the shades to do your brows with. You could even take the lightest shade, Venus, and highlight your face with it. And it's so small you can pretty much take it anywhere.

4. Best for Travel: Lorac Pro to Go. Any of these palettes would be good for travel, but I especially love this one. It's so tiny and unfolds to give you eye and cheek options. It does come with brushes, but I prefer my big brushes to these smaller ones. This palette also has everything you need top create a basic look to a dramatic look. You also get three cheek colors here so you can bronze, contour and blush your cheeks and you can use either of the huge lighter shadow shades for highlighting your face too. This is just so awesome, and because it's so tiny it won't take up a crap ton of room in your bag. It also has a good size mirror to do your makeup with because whenever you travel the mirrors are crap for doing your makeup. No matter where you go - why is that?

5. Biggest Regret: Too Faced Naked Eye*. I don't even have a picture to show you for this one, but this was the biggest waste of money in the history of ever. The color pay off sucked, there was major fall out and the colors were nothing special. I bought it because I wanted to try Too Faced eye shadows and this was not a good first impression. I like other products from this brand but have not bought any additional shadows as I am afraid that they will be just as craptastic as this palette was.

6. Best Color Names: Urban Decay. I mentioned above how much I love this brand and I think the names of their shadows are awesome. I mean seriously, Backdoor and Kinky? Not to mention the name of their palettes (Shattered Face, Book of Shadows, Smoked, Naked) are just awesome. Maybe not the funniest names, but I love them. One of their original lipsticks, Bruise, is what drew me in to the brand and I have been hooked ever since.

7. Least Used: I don't have a ton of palettes that I don't use, but when I look at what I do have these three are the least grabbed in my collection. The huge BH Cosmetics one has every color under the sun, but I don't use a lot of them and can get similar/the same colors in other palettes. The Stila in the Light palette is great, but again I have similar colors in other palettes that I like better. And the Sigma Resort palette got used a ton when I first got it, but when summer hit and I scaled down what I was using, this just was forgotten.

 8. Most Used, Most Loved, Desert Island: Lorac Pro Palette. I love this thing, I know it doesn't look super used, but I use this almost every day. I just find that the colors blend so easily and the color pay-off is amazing so I don't have to use a ton of the product to get the look I want. And I can do anything from a natural eye to an all out rockstar eye if I want. The mirror on this is fantastic because it's so huge and it's so skinny and tiny and sleek it hardly takes up any room at all. 

Okay so that's it! What are your favorites? I know this is a "TAG" so if you have a blog and want to do this, I tag you! 

25 Totally Random Facts About Me

I thought this would be a fun way for me to share more about who I am with you all. These are the first 25 random things I thought of, I didn't edit the list in any way (other than using spell check.) If you don't think I am totally crazy by the end of this, please share some random facts about you in the comments below.

1. I have chickens. Like actual farm animal, live, chickens.
2. I love potatoes. Baked potatoes, Mashed potatoes, fries, etc. I could eat a baked  potato everyday.
3. If I could dye my hair any color it would be hot pink. 
4. I think Italian food sucks. Except for pizza (if you count that.)
5. The longest I've ever lived at one address is 5.5 years.
6. I hate snow. And I hate cold weather. And I live in Minnesota, where it is -22 out as I type this. And no, that is not with the wind chill. That is the air temp.
7. I have never seen the movie Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio. And I could care less if I ever do. It's not like I don't know what happens.
8. Being up early reminds me of my maternal grandparents. We used to get up early and go to the farmer's market together in the summer.
9. I would love to live in San Antonio or Colorado Springs again.
10. I talk to myself in the car. And in the house. Sometimes in foreign accents. 
11. I sing to my dogs. I even make up lyrics. Party Like A Rockstar became Potty Like A Rockstar when we were potty-training Sasha.
12. I love to be barefoot. 
13. I would love to go to Ireland and Russia.
14. I have never been out of the country.
15. I went to the same Jr/Sr High as Shaq.
16. I was in JROTC. But quit after one semester. Didn't like the shoes and the fact that we weren't allowed to wear nail polish.
17. I spent a whole summer studying Wicca and Paganism. I wasn't in school and it wasn't for work. I just chose to spend the summer researching and reading about it. 
18. I've never played sports (aside from the crap we had to play in P.E.) but I was a cheerleader.
19. My favorite sport is basketball. I love to watch the fights in hockey, and I love football. But basketball is my fave to watch.
20. When I am driving, I prefer to listen to MPR. The music stations annoy me.
21. I went to modeling school. 
22. If I had a second career I would be a make-up artist.
23. I love to read about U.S. history. Especially the witch trials.
24. I am spiritual/religious but I have an issue with going to church.
25. I believe in ghosts. 

I'm an Influenster! And Jolly Vox Box Review Feat. NYC, Rimmel, Skinny Cow and More!

As you may have noticed the giant badge on the right of the screen, I am an Influenster! I'm pretty excited about it too ;-) My good friend Lindsey from Like It or Lurv It referred me and I was able to score a Vox Box right before Christmas! I was planning to blog about it before but with the holidays and the sinus infection from hell I didn't get to it. Below is my review of the products I received (these were sent to me free of charge to review and the opinions below are my own honest-to-baby-Jesus opinions.)

Above is an instagram pic of what my Vox Box looked like when I first got it (Sasha was pretty excited too!)

First off, the Skinny Cow chocolates are amazing. Seriously delicious and I can barely eat one pack. It came with six packs of 3 little squares and holy balls are they yummy. I have no idea if there are other flavors or not, but I will be purchasing these at the grocery store. They really satisfy that sweet craving and while I'm all about being healthy I love treats and chocolate just as much as the next girl.

We also got a pack of Puffs tissues with lotion and I have already purchased a pack of these from the dollar bins at Target. I always have a runny nose and these are great for in my car and purse and even in my pocket around the house. Super soft, they don't smell and they don't rip after one blow. I really like these.

And we received a roll of Mini Ducklings duck tape. So honestly I'm not that psyched about this. It's cute and all but I have no use for this. Maybe it's the design maybe not. It's sticky and it's pretty but I have no idea what I will use this for.

And finally we got make-up. OMG make-up. I received the Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Luna. These have been out in the UK for awhile and here in the US since earlier in 2013 and I heard a lot about these from Fleur DeForce's YouTube Channel as she loves these (and I love her videos.) So I was pumped to try it but the color is all kinds of weird for me. I love the formula, very long lasting. And no smell which is awesome because I hate when lip products smell. And maybe when I get less pale (because I never get tan) this won't be as weird. But I do plan on purchasing other colors to see if something might suit me better.

Last but not least is the NYC HD Color Trio Eye shadow in Long Beach Sands. These are great shadows. Comparable to other drugstore shadows but not as great as Urban Decay or Lorac shadows. I'm glad I was sent a neutral palette but because I have several (probably hundreds) other shades just like this I will probably not reach for this as much. But that said they wear great (I used a primer) and blend easily and with this particular group there was little to no fall out. I would be curious to try another color group just to see if they wear the same. And while I didn't purchase anything yet, I have tried other NYC products and their lip glosses and Sunny bronzer are some of my faves.

Tell me in the comments below if you have tried any of these products or if you want to try them after reading about them.

Skin Care Series Finale: Moisturizer!

The final post in my skin care series.

A month or so ago I got this sample from Sephora (they had their VIB sale and I got a makeup bag full of samples plus the three free you get with every order, so I have a lot of stuff to try - which is awesome!)

And about a month ago I ran out of my most favorite moisturizer of all time (Olay Complete Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin) and so I decided to give this a shot. OMG. The Origins Plantscriptions SPF 25 Anti-Aging Cream. It's pretty much the bomb dot com. This stuff really moisturizes my face and isn't greasy, I don't notice a smell and it makes my skin feel magical. I don't know if this will work on people with oily or combo skin, although there is an oil-free version available. And this might be too heavy for me in the middle of summer, but we'll see. I just love it.

Not sure it will replace my Olay fave, but it's close.

Before I talk about my night cream, I want to give a shout out to the Target Up & Up brand of facial moisturizers. The one above with the pink cap is a dupe for the Olay one and since I had a coupon I tried it and love it (I still have it for when the Origins sample runs out).

Okay moving on to night cream. I was always (I mean like since I was 5) taught that you need a night cream. Always. And it's not okay to use the same moisturizer on your face at night as you do during the day. I know the jury is still out on this, but I personally think you could use whatever moisturizer works on your face regardless of what time of day it is. If it works, go with it.

But I digress. So I always have used a night cream. And this little jar of awesome has been my fave for about 8 years or more. It's the Night of Olay Firming Cream. And here's the skinny: it's $6, it works and it smells like my Nana. Bam. It's awesome, I love it. Try it.

So that concludes my skin care series. I hope it was helpful, entertaining and maybe you are going to try some new things. Or maybe not. I also should say that I always use some kind of lip balm in the morning and night. It varies depending on what I had a coupon for, but my go-to all time favorite is the Rosebud Salve.

Skin Care Series: Serums

The fourth post in my skin care series.

A month or so ago I posted about another serum I had been using and loving. But I ran out of that one and had gotten a sample of a new serum (new to me, not new to the world) and this is my new holy grail product. It is more pricey that the other one, but it's absolutely worth it.

The Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster serum is awesome. I mean awesome. More awesome than the L'oreal one, and possibly the most awesomest serum on the face of the planet. Seriously.

I have been using this for less than a month and my face looks amazing. I'm not trying to be weird, it just does. The redness is gone, my face looks brighter and fresher, pores seem to be minimized. I have no use for full coverage foundation because I can go totally with out any foundation now. There's not much to even out or cover up.

This serum is really light weight and absorbs quick. You use the tiniest amount and it smells a little like oranges. Again it's not over powering and once it absorbs into your skin the smell is gone.

I am in love.