Bye Felicia!

I am a make-up hoarder. Well, kind of. I really like make-up, so I tend to buy it a lot. It's like...a hobby. People ride bikes, collect comics and stamps, I collect make-up. Or I used to.

A couple of  years ago I really felt pressure to buy a lot of the new make-up items, mostly from the drugstore, in order to make sure I was trying the latest and greatest and providing my readers with reviews, swatches, etc. I had So. Much. Stuff. Too much actually. And it was really stressful to me to have all that stuff that wasn't getting used and wasn't being enjoyed.

But then over the course of the last couple of years, I realized two things:

1. Not every new product that comes out will look good on or work for me.
2. If people want reviews of every damn new product that comes out, there are already 400 bagillion blogs and videos out there with that info (I'm lookin at you YouTube).

So what does that mean?

I cleaned the shit out of my stash. I mean that literally and figuratively. If the product didn't look good on me, or wasn't something I used a lot I got rid of it. I didn't just throw it away (unless it was expired). I returned a crap ton of stuff to Sephora and Target, and gave away BAGS of make-up to friends and family (you're welcome Jen and Laurel!). And now what I have left is a stash of my most favorite and most used make-up.

This is not to say I don't still fight the urge to buy (or at least want to buy) all the new things. I just don't give in. [Note - to be clear, I NEVER actually bought ALL the new things.] I really think about whether or not I need a sixth foundation in my drawer, or another dark red lipstick in my purse. Most of the time the answer is no. I try to limit myself to picking up new items either, when something runs out that I don't already have a replacement for, OR a couple of things for each new season.

I have gotten to the point this year with make-up (and other things in my life) that if it's not working for me, then it's done. I am done hanging on to stuff that I won't use. I don't care how trendy it is or how much someone else says they love it. I am not a YouTube Beauty Guru (and that's okay - I love them, I'm just not one of them!), I don't have millions of followers and an endless supply of cash and sponsor-ships to try out every new beauty item under the sun. I am done trying to be something I am not, it's exhausting and expensive and stressful and just plain shitty. I am who I am, and I think I am pretty awesome.

Have you every had one of these "epiphany-style" moments? What was it?

Order of Application According to Mel

Hi Lovelies!

Today's post is all about the order of application. Beauty product application that is. There are so many products out there, and it can be really frustrating when you apply something and you aren't getting the end result you wanted. Part of that could be due to application error, or it may not be the right product for you. But, the order in which you apply your make-up can really make a difference in how products work with each other to give you the end look you really want.

What follows below is MY order of application. I have been wearing make-up since I was 5 (seriously, Tinkerbell make-up was the bomb), but truly wearing makeup since I was 14. My application techniques (hello foundation brush!) and the order in which I apply them has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years.

Alright, first thing's first: skincare. Wash your face, apply treatments, serums and eye cream and then moisturizer BEFORE you put any amount of makeup on your face. You should ALWAYS start with a clean face.

Next, primer. There are a ton of different face primers out there, and I will be doing a separate post on that later, but now is the time to prime. There are brightening, pore minimizing, hydrating and other types of primers out there, but generally speaking a primer is going to help your make-up last longer, and provide a sleeker canvas for your make-up.

Now it's time for foundation. This is where you really need to assess the make-up you are about to apply and take note of cream and liquid products vs. powder. In basic terms, you can layer liquids and creams on top of each other, but once you apply a powder you are done with liquid/cream. So, if you are using a liquid foundation, creamy concealer and then powder to set your make-up, the blush and bronzer all need to be powder. If you use powder foundation and concealer (ex. mineral make-up) then proceed accordingly. Does that make sense.

For me I use liquid foundation 99% of the time so I apply my foundation first. I dab on a few dots on my cheeks forehead, nose and chin. Then I use a brush to blend it all together. I apply the heavier amounts towards the middle of my face and blend out.

Next I add under-eye concealer and cover up any blemishes or spots. Applying your concealer after your foundation was weird to me as I always did it the other way around. But if you are going to spend all that time covering things up, the last thing you want to do is rub over that with something else. This has made a huge difference for me, especially in covering up blemishes.

Now I will set my concealer with a translucent powder. If I am doing powder blush and bronzer I will also apply powder to my nose, chin and forehead to keep those areas from getting shiny. If I am doing cream bronzer and blush I will wait to powder those areas until after those products are applied.

Applying cream over powder gives a cakey look that I am not in to.

Now I will contour my face. I do a little on my cheeks, nose and forehead. Then I do bronzer on my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. Next I apply blush to the apples of my cheeks and blend back towards my hair line. And finally, I apply highlighter to the tops of my cheeks.

After that is done I move on to brows. I don't like to do my brows until after all of these steps are complete because I don't want to accidentally brush over my brows and mess that up. So I usually use a pencil or a pomade product for my brows and once those are done, its time to move on to eyes!

Eye primer is the first step in your eye shadow game. You can use concealer, a cream eye shadow or an actual eye primer. Using a primer before eye shadow will help make your shadow last longer, prevent creasing and can help colors appear brighter and truer to what they look like in the pan.

I am not going to get into application of eye shadow as that really depends on the look you are going for, but once your eye shadow is done it's time for eyeliner.

There are tons of different forms of eyeliner, powder, gel, liquid, pencil, etc. Whatever you prefer now is the time to apply it. If you are doing a liquid liner, I like to let that set a few minutes before applying mascara.

Whew, we are almost done.

Now that your eyeliner is applied and dry, you can curl your lashes if you want. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't Curling your lashes while your eyeliner is wet will likely cause the eyeliner to move or rub off onto the lash curler so that's why I recommend you wait to let it dry. And once they are curled (or not) you can apply mascara.

Do not pump your wand into the mascara tube. This will cause clumping by pushing air back into the tube and will result in your mascara clumping on your lashes and drying it out faster. So if you need more mascara on the wand swirl it gently in the tube (kind of like you are scraping the sides of the tube). One coat of mascara is generally sufficient (depending on the look you want).

Now if you wanted to, you can apply false lashes. You may need to touch up your eyeliner at this point and if you are adding lashes I always go back in with a quick coat of mascara to kind of make your lashes mesh better with the falsies.

Now that you are done with eyes and face, it's time for lips. If you are going all out, you can apply concealer over your lips to prep and prime them for lip color application.

First apply lip liner. The lip liner should either match your lip color or the color of the lipstick you are applying next. Leave the brown lip liner and light lipstick in the 90's where they belong. It's not 1994, you are not Kim Mathers, let it go. Also, do not over line your lips. Follow your natural lip line or just slightly outside of it.

Apply your lipstick straight out of the tube, or using a lip brush or your fingers (this is better for darker colors so you don't get it all over the place). And then blot. And by blot I want you to take your index finger and (in a non sexual way) stick it in your mouth and close your lips around your finger and pull your finger out. Any excess lipstick will now be on your finger and not on your teeth.

Finally if you want to add a lip gloss to the top of your lipstick you can add that now.

Good grief that's a lot of steps! For a final, final touch, you can add a make-up setting spray at the end that will set your makeup and help seal it in to last for the day.

I do not use all of these products on a daily basis, and sometimes I have even more steps if I am going all out for a really dramatic or specific (Halloween) look. It just depends.

I know it seems like a lot, but this all can really be done in 5-10 minutes once you get your routine down.

Do you have a different order of application or other tips? Leave it in the comments section below!

2014 Best In Beauty

Hello Lovelies! It's time again for my annual "M" awards! I am going with "M" because it's by first initial and because it's mostly for make-up. And because it just came to me. I really tried to streamline things this year and not award something in any category that I didn't feel was really outstanding. This is not to say that other products I raved about in 2014 weren't awesome, but as I thought back over the year and thought about truly stand-out products this is what I came up with. And I know I chose wisely because all of these products were either in the bathroom or in my purse and not in my master make-up stash. So go grab a bevvie and a snack and settle in, here we go! 

And the first M award goes to, red lips! Any brand as long as they're red. I have had a long standing, love-hate relationship with red lips, but 2014 was the year I finally embraced them and learned which hue of red works best on my skin tone. As one of my boss ladies always tells me, I really have the Wednesday and Mortitia Adams look and it turns out deep berry-reds and brick reds with hints of burgundy and definitely on the cool side pretty much rock my lip world. Some of my faves here are Lime Crime's Glamour 101, Mac's Russian Red and Ruby Woo, Maybelline's Deepest Cherry and Divine Wine, Revlon's Red Velvet and NARS Olivia and Dragon Girl. I forgot to throw in my NARS Audrey lippie (it's buried in my bag right now). And on a side note, if you ever need to put on a lipstick that will take you from ho-hum to the baddest mama-jamma, it's Dragon Girl. The name alone implies a level of bad assery that the average lipstick just can't compare with. 

And the M award for best cheek products is a three-way tie! Milani blush in Luminoso is pretty much all I wore from May until yesterday because it's so awesome. I got it at CVS and there is so much product in here, I don't know if I will ever hit pan! My NARS palette from last Christmas (2013) also got a lot of use. I hit pan on the bronzer and used the darkest one (Dolce Vita I think?) quite a bit this fall. And in the back are my Makeup Geek blushes. Makeup Geek isn't done in this post (hint hint) but peeps I'm tellin ya to get your booty over to Marlena's website and YouTube channel and get yoself some of her products. At $9.99 a pan it's cray.

Drugstore lovers unite! The next M award is for face products and everything here can be procured at your local Target and CVS. The Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid Touch foundation is out. of . this. world. This bottle pictured here, is empty. Empty people. I used it that much. It's a light weight medium coverage foundation that is essentially pure foundation awesome in a bottle. Next up is the E.L.F. HD brightening concealer. This is the shizz under your eyes. It's $3 and this is my second tube. Guys, this is pretty major on the makeup commitment scale for me. Just understand that for a second. My other loves in this category are the Sonia Kashuk contouring stick and the Milani eye brow pencil. Both products blend to perfection and last all day. Love them.

The M awards for eyes go to two brands, Makeup Geek for the stellar eye shadows, pigments and gel liners and YSL for mascara. These shadows are $5.99 each and like $6ish for the pigments and liner. They last all day, blend like a dream, are so affordable its almost criminal and the color selection and color payoff is amaze-balls. A-maze balls. Not to be forgotten in this picture is the mascara of the decade people. It is the Babydoll mascara from YSL. Yep, it's pricey, no getting around that. But it is LIFECHANGING. Volume for days and length to match. Completely worth every lash-tastic dollar. 

The first-ever M award for brand of the year goes to, drum roll please, MAKEUP GEEK! Guys, for serious, go check this brand out! These shadows are better than Mac, cheaper than Mac, and have way cooler names and color pay-off than any Mac product I have ever tried or owned. The new foiled shadows are cray-cray pigmented. And the blushes are beautiful, last all day and are talc free. I just seriously can't say enough about this brand. I haven't tried everything they have and I am sure there are duds in there (as there are with every brand) but the quality of the product for the price point is amazing. The website is easy to use, out of stock items come back fairly quick and shipping costs are very reasonable. Try it. Now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Alrighty then. moving on to M awards in the hair and skin care category! Many of you will not be surprised that the Tangle Teezer is getting an award. I have raved about this and bought this for a great many of you for birthdays and such. Guys and girls with long and medium length hair, you need this. NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT. Target carries them and be sure to get the Tangle Teezer brand. I have had people tell me they use this on their kids' hair and it's the only way the kiddos can handle have their hair brushed. 

The Aussie 3-Minute Miracle Moist conditioner is the best leave in treatment/daily conditioner of all time. This isn't what I consider a hair mask, like the L'Oreal one I raved about and still love. This is a conditioner. And I use it daily. Also, it's $3. Yeah. Three effing dollars. My hair is so soft and shiny and smells so good after I use it. 

Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair is a life saver. I do not wash my hair every day. I usually wash it two or three times in a week. And I would be S.O.L. without this product. It smells good, doesn't leave a white cast on my dark hair and it really gets all the oil so I don't look like a Nirvana groupie (not that that's a bad thing, I love them. Just not the greasy hair that goes with them).

Skin care award winners are an oldie but a goodie and a new product taking the beauty world by storm. The Smith's Rosebud Salve has been around a long time and for good reason. I use this stuff day and night and it can be used on your lips, cuticles, dry patches on your face, etc. I even used some of this on my dog's feet once (she had her own tin that was used only for her feet, just FYI). 

The Glam Glow Thirsty Mud is another life-saving beauty product. It's mask that can be worn for 20 minutes or you can sleep in it (which I do) and it really helps to hydrate your face. I have dry skin anyway but through Minnesota winters, I get alligator-dry skin and this has saved me! This is spendy too, but I'm telling you it's worth it. Bonus: it smells like coconut! Just be sure that when you sleep in it, that you wash it off in the morning, you can't put makeup over this. 

And last but not least, the MVP M award is going to Zoya Nail Polish Remover. This stuff. OMG this stuff. It smells nice (not like I want to bathe in it, but it doesn't stink and make you high like normal nail polish remover), like lavendar or something. And it removes the reddest, glittery-est nail polish like nothing. Guys, if Beyonce were a nail polish remover, she would be this one. Yeah, I went there.

I have a couple of other honorable mention products but I will do a separate post on those soon! Tell me in the comments what your best in beauty products were this year and if you have tried any of the ones I mentioned. 

To Spend or Not to Spend? That is the question.

Last week I was chatting with one of my boss ladies and she recommended I do a post on beauty products that are worth the $$ and the ones that aren't.

Sounds simple enough right? I thought so too. At first. She asked me on the spot what I think is worth the splurge and I said mascara, lipstick and blush. And after it came out of my mouth, the wheels started turning and I was lost in a land of beauty product-induced ADD. Lipstick is worth splurging on right? Oh wait, Revlon! NARS bronzer is the only bronzer of life. Crap! Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer is the bomb dot com. And then I had to pull myself back to reality and the rest of my work day.

After noodling this around for a couple of days I have the following blog post for you. Thanks for the challenge Wendy!

Okay I will try for the love of Sephora, to keep this short and orderly. I could have gone through every step in my routine to compare products but for your sanity (and mine) I will not do that to us.

First and foremost, you can really find some seriously awesome gems at Target/Walmart. Seriously, I could buy a complete face of makeup and be 100% satisfied. But when I really thought it through and went into my collection and swatched and played, I realized there were some things I think are worth the splurge if you're going to do it.

One thing I think every woman should have is a classic go-to "I am more awesome than She-Ra, Wonder Woman and Storm combined." lipstick. It could be red, nude, pink or black. Whatever your go-to shade is, splurge on it. Go ahead and buy that tiny little tube of awesome at Chanel, YSL, Dior, NARS, or Bobbi Brown. Why should you have this? If you have to whip out that lipstick and reapply at dinner with clients, the boardroom, whatever, it should be classy. And if its something you wear everyday, it's worth the money. My go-to? NARS Audacious lipstick in Audrey. This is obvious if you know me.

Lip gloss is not worth the money. You can find some amazing options from NYX, Revlon and Bonne Bell (yep. I said it.). Same with lip balm or lip salve. My absolute all-time fave is the Smith's Rosebud Salve. $6 of sassy in a tin.

Mascara is another product worth the splurge. There are some AWESOME mascaras from L'oreal, Maybelline and Almay. BUT there are some AWESOMER, all that and a bag of chips mascaras at Sephora. A few of my faves are Benefit's They're Real!, Sephora's Outrageous Volume and my new love YSL Baby Doll mascara (holy-balls Batman!). They last longer, don't smell, don't flake and are just worth it.

Eyeshadow. This is a toughie. You can get some really awesome palettes from high-end companies (LORAC, Urban Decay, Too Faced are some of my faves!) but you can save a bomb and get an E.L.F. palette or the new Maybelline the Nudes palette and have just as great of an end look. It really depends on your budget. If you are going to splurge, get a palette. You get to try so much more and often palettes come with a brush and/or liner or even eye primer so it's a way to try more with less.

Eye liner and eye primer. Meh. Covergirl, Maybelline and Milani all have great options at Target and CVS. Save the cash and hit up your local drugstore for great options in tons of colors.

Face products. This is the area I have the least experience with. I have two foundations from Target that I love (Revlon Color Stay and Maybelline Dream Wonder Liquid Touch). And I just don't feel motivated to seek out $40+ liquid foundation at the department store. I used to be a die-hard Bare Minerals user about 10ish years ago and I still like it, but I have found that it doesn't work the best with my dry skin.

Blush on the other hand is something I think is worth the splurge. I have several great blushes from E.L.F. and Wet N' Wild that I use often, but when it comes down to it NARS, Tarte and Benefit are just better at it. Sorry. I have a NARS palette from last year's holiday collection that I use everyday. The pigment is amazing, the lasting power is perfection and I love all the color options from the higher end brands. Again, it's something I wear everyday so for me it's worth it.

Setting powder, primer and concealer can all be money savers. Check out Maybelline's Fit Me concealer, or the Instant Age Rewind line. My fave is from E.L.F. (it's $3 online). Check out Rimmel for primer and setting powder. The Stay Matte powder is like $3 and comes in translucent as well as some actual colors. The Fix and Perfect Primer is $7 and it lasts forever and does everything the Smashbox primer does.

So if you are going to splurge on products I recommend you do it on blush, mascara and lipstick. Save your money on everything else.

Some other money saving advice:

• Ask for samples at Sephora and Ulta or whatever department store. Or do the free makeovers and request they use products you are considering purchasing. Once you see how it looks on your face, you can decide if it's splurge-worthy.
• If you are looking to try a trend (i.e., the Kendall Jenner lip, Lorde's dark purple lipstick, electric eyeshadow, blue mascara, etc.) try cheaper brands like Wet N' Wild, N.Y.C. or E.L.F. 
• Sephora does a VIB sale in November (roughly) each year where you get 20% off your total purchase. Save larger purchases for that sale.
• Look online for coupons.
• Download Target's Cartwheel app (I have saved $315 so far!) and the Retail-Me-Not app to look for online or in-store coupons.
• Do not splurge on something unless you have the cash in that moment to do it. DO NOT put makeup on a credit card. Don't.
• Splurge on skin care items like serums and moisturizers. Cleansers are only on your face for seconds, the other stuff goes with you through the day or night. Spend money there. Also masks and treatments are worth the money. 
• There are a lot of great in-between brands of makeup to try too! It doesn't have to be Wet N' Wild vs. Dior. Check out MakeUp Geek cosmetics for some of the best eyeshadows and blushes hands down! Eyeshadows are $5.99 each and blushes start at $9.99 each. 

Travel Beauty

Hello lovelies! I have been doing quite a bit of travel for my job this year and I thought it would be fun to do a little "What's in my travel beauty bag?" post for you. This post will be solely about make-up, if you would like a hair or skincare travel post, please let me know in the comments below.

Regardless of whether I am traveling for work or play (the exception being the cabin, I bring nothing in terms of makeup there), I always like to bring some options when it comes to my make-up routine. I take in to consideration what I will be doing while I am away (is it a conference? will there be a formal dinner or other dress-up type event while I am there? will I be outside in the heat or cold a lot?) in order to plan out what I bring.

For the items pictured above I was attending a one day expo that had a red-carpet, movie theme to the event. SO I upped the glam factor a bit. But in this photo you can also see some of my essentials. We'll break those down first and then go into the glam add-ons.

Essentials:

Lorac Pro to Go Palette - Regardless of whether you are traveling or not, this is a great palette! It comes with 6 shadows, 1 bronzer and 2 blushes. All the colors are neutral but can be used to create a wide variety of looks. You can also use some of the lighter shadows to highlight your face and for some the shadows may even work to fill in your brows. This palette folds up into a sleek compact that can fit into the smallest of bags.

Foundation/Concealer - Above is my new foundation love from Maybelline and a concealer for under my eyes. Jet lag is not fun and neither are bags under your eyes. Conceal that mess. I also brought this great Sonia Kashuk concealer palette just in case I have anything else on my face to conceal (zits, redness, etc). This is a great product because there are three different shades in there along with a setting powder.

Eye Primer - Always a must whether I travel or not, and this one from Lime Crime is awesome!

Eye Liner/Mascara - Again I always use these everyday and right now I am still loving my Voluminous mascara from L'Oreal and my Maybelline Line Stilleto liquid eyeliner.

Eye brow mousse - This is a quick and mostly mess-free way to define my brows. They really do shape your face, I recommend doing this on the daily. Even if you just do brows, mascara, tinted lip balm and a tinted moisturizer. Try it.

Lips - Most days I'm a sheer gloss or Baby Lips kind of girl so I bring those in my purse. But for travel I will bring a couple of options for various looks.

Glam Add-Ons:

False Eye Lashes - For this particular trip, I was going for full on old meets new Hollywood glam so I lashes were a must.

Single shadows - Since the palette I brought only has neutrals, I thought these might be a fun add-on in case I decided to go with a more dramatic eye look. These single shadows from Milani are affordable (from CVS) and such amaze-balls quality. The emerald shade with the gold is STUNNING.

Multiple Red Lip Options - Nothing says Hollywood Glam like a red lip. I used to be terrified of red lips and then they grew on me. Anytime I want an easy glam look or I want to feel a little more badass and powerful, I do a red lip. I brought several options on this trip (lip crayon, lip balm, lipstick and gloss) to create a red lip that would last through the expo and still look good after 4 hours of networking.

I also bring a full array of brushes, which I could do a separate post if you are interested??

What do you bring in your travel bag?

New Maybelline Products!

Hello lovely readers! Today I am talking all about one of my fave brands from the drugstore - Maybelline! They have released a lot of new products lately and I have a few so I thought I would share my thoughts on them with you.

A couple of important things before we get started:

1. My favorite app - Target Cartwheel - has a coupon for 10% off several makeup brands, including Maybelline.

2. If you have a CVS near you, and/or shop there often, you should get their extra care card and do the beauty rewards. I had a coupon for 20% off, a $5.00 off beauty bucks AND when you spent $15 or $20 on Maybelline you earned another $5.00 beauty bucks. Yeah, it kind of rocked my world.

3. My Walmart had $2.00 off coupons stuck to damn near every Maybelline product in the store this week. Not sure if that's just a fluke at my store or if that's a nation-wide promo. But you can save some $$ if you are interested in picking up any of these products.

So first off is a new (permanent - thank God) additional to the Maybelline Color Tattoo line, the Leather Collection. Maybelline Color Tattoos are cream shadows that you can wear on their own or as a base for any eye shadow. I use them both ways and for me personally I have no issue with them creasing. However, everyone is different so you may need a primer to help too.

I have a couple shades, but my favorite is the Creamy Beige shade. Alone, it just makes my eyes look fresh and even toned. Under shadow it really intensifies the look of the shadows. I love it! The regular line has shades that have some shimmer to them. Then there is a metal line which has a metallic finish. The leather line is a matte finish.

Alright, now for the biggest news in drugstore makeup history - Maybelline has a 12 shade eye shadow palette!!!! O.M.G. The Nudes is only $9.99 and if you take advantage of the discounts and deals I talked about above you could get it cheaper than a gallon of gas. Random, but true. So as I said this palette has 12 shades that are all neutral and are basically the same formula as their normal quads. Some of the shades in this palette are better than others, but overall this is an awesome value and an awesome palette.

I think this would make a great addition to anyone's makeup stash but especially awesome for those who are new to makeup as you can try a lot for very little investment and/or for those who were interested in some of the higher end neutral palettes but maybe couldn't afford to invest that kind of money. I haven't used all of the shades but in the last week I have used most of them and with a primer or base they stay for most of my day (which is roughly 14 hours). I am impressed.

This isn't super new, but it's newer. The new Pumped Up Colossal Mascara comes in several shades, I have it in Glam Black and has packaging very similar to the Maybelline the Rocket mascara but this is slightly bigger and obviously it's pink. I really, really, really like this mascara. First of all, it comes off easily with eye makeup remover. It doesn't flake, smudge or clump. And it gives really good volume and length. I know mascara is different on everyone, but I feel like this could be pretty awesome for most people. Also I should note that this mascara does NOT have the typical Maybelline chemical smell that a lot of their mascaras seem to have.

And finally, we have the new Dream Wonder Fluid Touch Foundation. This stuff is super cool. Like, I feel like a scientist cool. The bottle is so small and it's glass (consider this your warning fellow clumsy peeps). And it has this cool dropper like wand to dispense the product on your face (it says put it on your finger tips, but I put it directly on my face.) Don't get too heavy handed with this, start light and you can always add more, but when finished this gives about medium coverage. One note, the bottle says shake well and you should definitely shake it first so that they product mixes correctly. When dry this is more of a natural to satin finish, I would set it with powder. It wears pretty good through out the day. If I had a really long day I might add a primer or just wear something totally different, but for a normal day this will work fine.

Normal to dry skin peeps: this could be your new go-to foundation

Oily skin peeps: proceed with caution as I feel like this might be too liquidy for you. A similar foundation to dry is the Magic Touch liquid to powder foundation from L'oreal.

Have you tried any of these products yet? Do you want to? Anything new you would recommend to me?

I really love hearing from you guys so please leave a comment below!

FabFitFun Summer Box Review

I received my FabFitFun Summer VIP box last week! For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a quarterly subscription box that comes with $200 plus worth of products. It's $49.99 a quarter and there are opportunities to earn a discount on each box and even earn some of them for free (all based on a referral system). I have a chance for you all to try this out and get the summer box at a discount and will include that info at the end of this post.

It is worth mentioning that I have cancelled my other beauty subscriptions and am only doing this one. I am super impressed with the value, variety and quality of the products in these boxes!

First off, we received a Slim Fast Birthday Cake bar (I haven't eaten that yet) and Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips (I have eaten those, hence why you don't see them in the photo). We got food last time too and I like that. I like treats in the mail, especially new treats.

We also received this adorable clutch/makeup bag (there were four or five different designs, this is just the one I got) with a $30 gift card to the site to spend on whatever we want. And THEN we got a bottle of nail polish (which it sounds like there were two or three colors sent out). From Zoya. My fave brand of polish. AND...it was a color that I DIDN'T already have. I know. Shocking. The color I received is Thandie, and it's an orangey-coral color that I really like. I posted a pic of my mani using this on Instagram.

Also pictured above is probably my least favorite item out of the box. A duo of lip balm for making out. Um....am I 16? So it's two different flavors that, when mixed together, are really supposed to be delicious and awesome fuel for your face sucking needs. I got sweet and sour. Ew. Not impressed and will most likely toss them or give them away to someone. Kinda lame.

Next up are some hair and skin care items. The first one is a facial that apparently celebrities use. And it's supposed to be awesome (this tiny little bottle retails for $95). I've tried a few times now and I don't see any results. I mean nothing. Maybe I'm not using enough product? Maybe my skin is already so amazing this just doesn't do anything? Whatever.

The middle bottle is hair oil. This is fine. I prefer Morrocan Oil, but hey it's summer and I can always use a good hair oil. This smells a little weird to me, but once I have it in my hair it's fine and I don't notice it.

Then we got a face moisturizer from pur-lisse. I haven't tried this yet, BUT I have tried other products from this brand and really like them so I will give this a shot and let you know. It has SPF 30 in it so I'm excited about that!

And finally we received a water bottle with a diffuser in it for fruit and stuff, shave gel and some feminine hygiene products. Love the water bottle. don't really need another one, but it's so cute. And smaller than the other ones I have so that's cool. I've tried this shave gel before and really like it so I am excited to have a travel size version for all of my upcoming work trips!

The always pads are kind of meh for me. I mean hey, a girl can always use these things and I'm sure I will, but I just haven't had a need for them yet. TMI? Oh well.

All in all I was very satisfied with the summer box. I love trying new things and I love that we get such high quality products and they aren't repeats of what I got in the last box.

And before I forget, the details about the discount are below.

The first three people to use this code 2280115 can get a Summer VIP box like the one I got for $15 off! Redeem at vip.fabfitfun.com!

Stuff I'm loving right now

Hello lovelies!

It's been a while since I've done a favorites post and I have several things I am digging right now so I thought I would share them. I have a lot of new hair products that I am loving too, but that's going to be a separate post.

I told ya it was a lot. Most of this is stuff I've used in the past and a few things are new. I am really into simple beauty right now. When it starts to get hot I tone down the amount of products I use on my face. I don't like to be hot and I like sweaty makeup even less.

So these are not new to me nor are they new to the market. You may recognize these as the Maybelline Baby Lips. I have several from the regular line and a few from the new "Crystals" line. I have tried these several times before and was kinda "meh" about them. But I picked up the clear one at Walmart a month or two (or three) ago now and all of sudden I went from zero to obsessed in 30 seconds or less. I did not buy these all at one time but picked them up using coupons and both Walmart and Target have had these on sale recently. I just like the hint of color and the moisturization they give.

L'oreal Voluminous mascara is an oldie but a goodie. I love this mascara, it volumizes and lengthens and it doesn't flake or smudge. I am brand new to the world of Milani cosmetics and it's fast becoming an addiction obsession  favorite of mine. I find their products at CVS and lucked out and saw them at a Walgreens recently in the southern suburbs of the cities. Pictured above is their eye primer and I am in love with it. It works great and is way cheaper than Urban Decay and Too Faced brands. As for eyeshadow I have been in love with layering the Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Inked in Pink as a base with L'oreal's Amber Rush pressed pigment over the top. The end result is a shimmery, rose gold shade that is stellar for summer. If I had more of a tan it would be more awesome.

From top to bottom is the Physician's Formula bronzer and two Milani baked blushes in Luminoso and Delizioso Pink. Love the bronzer. One of my fave YouTubers, Leighannsays raves about this so I decided to try it when it was on sale at Target (like 4 months ago, I'm slow). The baked blushes are raved about by beauty bloggers and vloggers all around and I can see why. They are $7ish and they are crazy pigmented! Like crazy. Luminoso is by far my fave and if I ever run out I will for sure re-purchase. It's give a great peachy glow to the skin and looks great on a wide variety of skin tones.

These are also two oldies but goodies here. Cover Girl pressed powder is phenomenal. It's been phenomenal since 8th grade and I always go back to it. Pictured above is the Oil Control version in shade Classic Ivory. And then the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in light is something I've used for a few years now and love.

Finally, I am really digging the Jergens Natural Glow body lotion. I alternate this with my St. Tropez bronzing mousse and it works great. I love how the smell of this has gotten better over the years. I remember using this when I lived in Wisconsin (damn near 10 years ago now, what?!?) and it stunk to high heaven. But now it smells like lotion and it's not over-powering. This bottle came with a free Schick razor and had a $1 off coupon stuck to it so I got a good deal. This comes in fair to medium and medium to dark and there is also face versions of this. I have never used the face ones as they freak me out. 

What are you loving right now? 

Summer Beauty Series: Bronzers and Tanners

[I wrote this literally a month ago almost and am just posting it now]

It is officially summer as of today, and for the love of all that is holy, it is FINALLY frickin nice outside here in Minnesota. It was 80 something out today and not a cloud in the sky. So I busted out my swimsuit, SPF 55 sunscreen and hung out by my pool (yes my pool is a hard plastic kiddie pool purchased from Menards. Judge me. Go ahead.) It. was. awesome. I also took a cat nap in the hammock. Also. Awesome.

So in honor of summer I thought I would do a few summer beauty posts for you. To start off we are going to look at some of my fave bronzers for your makeup routine along with a recommendation and thoughts on self-tanner.

Bronzer. Bronzers can be an awesome thing, when done right. Bronzer is NOT the same as contouring. You can use bronzer to contour, but they are not the same function. Bronzer is something you put all over your face in the spots where the sunlight would naturally hit your face (forhead, cheeks, tip of your nose, etc.), and it warms up your complexion. Contouring is something you do to create shadows on your face that will slim it down and play down larger features. There are several great bronzers you can use for contouring as well as bronzing. Note: If you are going to use a bronzer to do contouring with you have to make sure it's matte. You do NOT want to contour your face with something that has shimmer in it. Trust me.

(clock-wise from top are the E.L.F. blush countour duo, Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer, theBalm's Bahama Mama - this is really dark so I prefer to use this for contouring, I am too pale to use this as an actual bronzer, and Physicians Formula Bronzer)

Some of my fave bronzers for all over your face are:

(Left to Right: Physician's Formula Bronzer in medium, Too Faced Leopard Bronzer and Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer)

Self-Tanner. Okay so we've all seen those people who make you think "Is she part oompa-loompa, or is that self tanner?" Maybe you've been her, maybe she lives on your block. You don't want to be her. But at the same time you don't want to rock the Casper the Ghost look in the summer time.

I have two self-tanners that I actually like and use fairly consistently.

(okay this is really pissing me off. I take the picture the right way and then it uploads side ways. No matter how many times I re-save it and save-as it, the damn thing is still sideways.)

The first one is the St. Tropez bronzing mousse AND the mitt. The mitt is the key. It seriously helps you spread the tanner evenly over your body to include the elbows, knees and ankle/foot area that can be a magnet for all extra product you get on your hand. And speaking of hands, the mitt helps you avoid orangey/brown tan hands. One bottle of this mousse will last me a season and I usually toss the mitt when the bottle is empty and buy both brand new next summer.

For me personally I only apply this about three times a week, but depending on the level of bronze you are trying to achieve you may want to use it more. Of course you have to wait for it to dry before getting dressed and I would avoid swimming or any sweaty activity for the first 24 hours or this will run and streak. Also, speaking from personal experience, do NOT put this on right before bed and climb onto your white sheets. There will be a bronzy outline all over your bedding in the morning and it most likely will not come out.

A little more affordable and accessible is the Jergens Natural Glow lotion. You can buy this at your local Target/Walmart and they do have a face lotion option as well. This works great, but be advised it starts to look weird when you stop using it and the "tan" fades.

What are some of your fave tanners or bronzers?

Liebster Award

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Celeste (NOT Chelsea!) from Leap Frog and Lipgloss.  A Liebster is an award for up and coming bloggers with less than 500 followers that someone believes deserves recognition.  I've been blogging for about 3 years, but only seriously in the last year. Thanks Celeste, I am psyched that you (and anyone else) read my blog and thought of me! 

Here are the Rules

If you’re nominated for the award you must:

• Make a post about the award, thanking the blogger that nominated you.
• State 11 interesting facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger that nominated you
• Nominate 11 new bloggers with 500 or less followers
• Write 11 new questions for your nominees

So without further ado, here are 11 facts about me:

1. I have a borderline certifiable obsession with making sure all the light switches in the house are turned the right way (down if they're off, up if they're on). I actually cannot relax if I know that they are wrong. I can't even tell you how stressful the light switch aisle at the hardware store is. 

2. I would love to live on a ranch in the mountains.

3. My dream job would be a make-up artist. 

4. I paint my nails, at minimum, two times a week.

5. I hate peaches and anything peach flavored/scented.

6. I held a tarantula at the Minnesota State Fair.

7. I love bacon, but I think pork chops are inappropriate and will not eat them.

8. I had the world's biggest crush on Jason Priestley when he was on 90210. And even felt like it was surely meant to be because his family was from Minnesota. MY FAMILY WAS FROM MINNESOTA. Oh Brandon.

9. I would rather pick up dog poop with my bare hands than remove a tick from myself, my dogs or anyone else. ICK.

10. If I could only have one food for dinner for the rest of my life it would be baked potatoes. With bacon bits, pepper and butter.

11. I hold my breath every time I cross a bridge or drive by a cemetery. Not sure why on the bridge part, but the cemetery breath holding prevents breathing in any bad spirits. It's okay if you judged me a little bit right there.

Questions from Celeste:

1) Why do you blog? Because it gives me a creative outlet to write (which I love) about the things that I am interested in. It has introduced me to some amazing ideas, experiences and people.

2) What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Um....I'm pretty boring and like to play it safe when it comes to food. When I was a kid (10ish or so) I LOVED eating cold hot dogs right from the pack. That's probably the weirdest for me. FYI, I don't do that anymore.

3) Who is your celebrity doppelganger? (Will you post a pic of yourself so we can see the resemblance?) I have been told that I look like Kirstie Alley about 3 gah-zillion times. It started in 3rd grade and I have been told that as recently as a month ago. Below is a photo of me from high school and a 90's shot of Kirstie.

4) What is one of your major pet-peeves? People who drive without using their turn signals. When did this become optional?!?

5) You’re only allowed to wear one type of cosmetic for the rest of your life.  What do you choose? Mascara. As I assume that lip balm and sunscreen are skin care and not cosmetic.

6) Are you a cat or dog person? DOG! I have two rotties.

7) Do you prefer reading on a tablet or holding an actual copy of the book? Holding the book, tho I do have a Kindle Fire.

8) What is your favorite post you’ve ever written? How not to look like total $#!% when you are sick.

9) How did you pick your blog’s name? When I was starting my blog I was making a list of posts and topics I wanted to write about and the overwhelming themes were relationships, real life and make-up. So I played around with it until I came up with Love, Life and Lipgloss.

10) Where is the worst place you could get stuck? On a boat. In the ocean. I have a serious fear of whales.

11) Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to your 13-year old self? Shower. Everyday. Wear a bra. And don't worry at all about the other little jerks who pick on you. It's gonna be alright.

★ 11 Bloggers Nominated ★

Some of you may have more than 500 readers, and that's okay play along anyway! And if you don't want to play that's fine too. Be lame. It's cool. 

• Like it or Lurv It
• The Mommyhood Project
• Kids, Shoes and Everything In Between
• Sparkle, Beauty & Shine
• Sugar, Sugar
• Ameliorer la Vie
• Living After Midnight
• Writing While Barefoot 
• Virginia, if you had a blog right now I would tag you in this. 
• Beauty Broadcast (she has a gazillion readers I am sure, but I love this blog)
• Becoming Minimalist (again, gazillions of readers, just love to read their posts)

Your questions:
1. Do you believe in ghosts?
2. Where do you go or what activity do you do to recharge?
3. What is your most favorite food in the whole world?
4. If you could only listen to one band or artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?
5. What is your favorite 90's movie?  And give me your favorite quote from that movie.
6. What is your current career?
7. Heels or flats?
8. Beer, wine or hard liquor?
9. Is your current hair color your natural color?
10. What is your super power (you could already have one, or you could want one)?
11. If you could go anywhere in the world, right now, where would you go?

Can't wait to see your answers! 

NEW at the drugstore: Maybelline Eye Quads (not really new tho...)

Okay so these aren't really that new. Maybelline has had eye shadow quads, some of which are the same colors, since the beginning of time. BUT the recently re-formulated and re-packaged them. Way back in the day, Maybelline used to be my go-to brand for eye shadows at the drugstore, but times have changed and I haven't used Maybelline eye shadows in quite some time. However, in the last six months or so, I picked up two of them because I had a coupon and I was intrigued by the ads I saw.

The quads have a Base, Lid, Crease and Liner shade in them and on the back there are instructions for which color goes where on your eye. I prefer to use liquid liner so I don't use the Liner shades for liner, I use them to smoke out the look. They have a lot of neutral quads, but there are some fun pops of color out there too.

The two compacts I purchased are the Designer Chocolates and Chai Latte quads. Not gonna lie, the names kinda sold me. I will say that both of the Base colors and the Lid color in the Designer Chocolates quad are lame. They are pretty chalky and don't show up well. But the Lid, Crease and Liner shades in the Chai Latte quad and the Crease and Liner shades in the Designer Chocolate quads are phenomenal. Very pretty, long lasting shades of gold, brown and a burgundy brown that I actually don't have dupes for in other palettes. I was very impressed with the lasting power on these and for the price, they are great (roughly $4.99 at the drug store.)

Do you have any of these? Tell me in the comments below.

Brand Highlight: Urban Decay (It's kinda my addiction)

Hi. My name is Melissa and I am an Urban Decay Addict. It may not look like it. I don't own everything they produce. But since the brand launched I have been OBSESSED with Urban Decay Cosmetics. The colors. The names. The packaging. The first product I ever owned from this line was a lipstick in the shade Bruise. It was awesome. And I was hooked.

Over the years I have purchased more lipsticks, nail polishes and some of their single eye shadows. And now I have several of their palettes and one of their new Revolution Lipsticks in Gash (which incidentally is the EXACT lip color Gwen Stefani wears in the "Don't Speak" video). So today I thought I would share my (small) collection and give a brief review of the products.

Above are the Naked Palettes. From top to bottom they are Naked 3, Naked 2, Naked and Naked Basics. Naked and Naked 2 are a warm and cool palette of neutral colors you can use to create a basic eye look and a very dramatic eye look. Naked 3 is the newest in the Naked line and is a collection of rosy hues. I was a little worried about looking ill by putting rose/pink shadow on my eyes but when done correctly can be very flattering. The Naked Basics is probably the most versatile of all the palettes I own (Urban Decay or otherwise) as it can be used as shadow, cheekbone highlighter and contour and to fill in your brows. It's small enough to go everywhere and has a huge mirror for such a tiny compact. 

Above are the Electric, Smoked and Oz palettes. The Electric palette is the newest from Urban Decay and features 10 EXTREMELY INTENSE pigments. Those shadows are as dramatic on your skin as they are in that palette. I am PSYCHED to use this palette in conjunction with the Naked palettes to create a more wearable look for everyday. I am in love with Thrash, Freak, Urban and Fringe. I would love to figure out how to use Slowburn (bright orange) in a look too.

Next to that is the Smoked palette, which if I had to pick, is probably my fave palette of the bunch. It travels well, there are matte and shimmer shades. Basic neutrals and bright green, blue and purple to make your look a little more funky. I love this for going out. A green smoky eye is my fave look to do from this palette.

And the two palettes on the bottom are limited edition releases that came out last year with the new Oz movie. The one on the left is the Glinda palette which has lighter, and more shimmery shades. And the one on the right is the Theodora palette which features darker more smoky shades.

Pictured above is the limited edition release Revolution Lipstick in Gash. Urban Decay has a full line of Revolution lippies but Gash is being brought back for a limited time only, so if you want it, go get it. As I mentioned its the same color Gwen Stefani wore in the "Don't Speak" video (Oh how I love her, seriously she is one of my fashion, beauty and life icons.) I also have a random lip liner in Wicked. This is more of a pink/neutral liner on my lips and I use it to fill in my lips and put a clear gloss over and get a pretty, natural look with it.

Do you love Urban Decay? What are your faves from them?