April Favorites

I apologize for the delay in postings, but life gets crazy every now and again so what's a girl to do? 

Anyhoo...I hope you all had a great month! I surely did :-) It was my birthday month and right now I am currently on "vacation" so April has been awesome. 

So let's talk about favorites. Above is a picture of all my April faves. These are products that I used a lot and really stood out for the month. 

Above is my Tangle Teezer, Batiste for dark hair, Kai perfume oil, Loreal Damage Erase Balm and Vaseline Rosy Lips lip balm. Really none of these are new, but all of them have saved my butt this month. First off, if you do not have a Tangle Teezer, please stop reading and go immediately to your nearest Target and buy one. It has made a HUGE difference in combing out my wet (and dry) hair, I can't even tell you. I think that if you have kids you really need this and I know brushing kids' hair can suck and be down-right painful for them (and you) and I am telling you this makes a difference. Life changing. Seriously. 

The Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair is awesome! I love the smell and the fact that it doesn't turn my (formerly) dark hair white or ashy. It won't stain you hair, but if you have dark hair you know what I'm talking about. 

The Kai fragrance oil is so frickin fabulous I can't stand it. I received this in my spring FabFitFun box and am so in love. It's so light ad fresh (smells like lilacs, but is apparently different on everyone). 

The rosy lips lip balm from Vaseline is super. It keeps my lips really hydrated and the smell isn't too intense. It's like $1.50 at Target. Go get it.

And finally my Loreal hair mask. I've talked about this before so I won't get into too much detail other than to say that if you heat style or color your hair you also need this. I recently dyed my hair blonde again and holy lifesaver. Seriously awesome, add it to your shopping list, you will not be disappointed.

So I apologize that this photo is lopsided. I tried for 20 effing minutes to get it to turn and saved and re-saved the damn thing like 1,007 times and it wouldn't work. Ugh. Moving on. These are my make up faves for the month. The E.L.F. HD Powder is $6 at Target and it's so amazing. The powder itself is white, but it doesn't  leave a color behind (so I guess that would make it translucent, duh.) and is so great for setting your makeup and your concealer. I use this in my T-zone and under my eyes. I am also in love with the E.L.F. HD lifting concealer. This doesn't do much to actually conceal, however it brightens like nobody's business. If I were a betting gal, I would bet that this product rivals other products twice or three times the price. I am also digging my Loreal Voluminous mascara. I had to ditch the Maybelline Rocket mascara because the last two tubes I bought flaked like crazy. This mascara is a tried and true product for me and I always go back to it. 

And finally, drum roll please........the best palette known to (wo)man...the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. And yes, it does smell like chocolate. Yes. Yes, it does. You get 16 shadows for $49 on Sephora. And it is worth every.damn.chocolately.penny. I treated (haha, get it?) myself to this for my birthday and couldn't be happier. I wish I would have had this before the Naked palettes. Or any other nude/neutral palette. There is such a variety of neutrals along with a burgundy, a purple and a greenish brown and a couple of pinky shades in here. It is glorious. Glorious I tell you. The outside packaging (to include the box it comes in) is all designed to look like a chocolate bar. And the shadows are made with actual cocoa powder (hence the smell, which does go away when you put the product on your eye, but for allergy purposes you might need to know that). And just ugh, admire the awesomeness will you? All the shades are really pigmented and blend well. A couple of them are gritty-er than others and have a little fall out, but overall this palette is phenomenal. A great buy for the makeup enthusiast, the chocolate enthusiast, your mom, grandma, yourself, or your niece who is just learning to use makeup. I just. I need to stop before I get too carried away. It's awesome, check it out the next time you are in Sephora or Ulta.

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.

Beauty Cheapie: The travel aisle.

Shh! I have a secret to tell you. If you are looking for a cheap way to try out new hair care and bath and body items, check the travel section of your local drug store. You would be shocked at what they carry travel sizes of and it's a great way to try out a new hair or body care (and even skin care) product without major commitment.

Jergens has recently come out with a new BB Body line of body lotions. There are two versions, one for lighter tone skin and one for medium to deep skin tones. The full size version of this is $11.99 at Target and, for me, that's a big investment for a body lotion. This lotion promises to tone, firm, and correct your body just like a BB cream does for your face.

So as I was browsing around Target I came across these travel sized versions for $3 a piece. I picked up both tones as I was curious if that really made a difference. Plus I was watching one of my fave YouTubers, Melissa Raymond (a.k.a. melmphs) talk about this in a favorites video. If you have never seen her videos, you totally should. She's adorable and I just love her style! She said to get the medium to dark tone version as it would make your skin look more luminous. I haven't tried that one yet (but I will be on Tuesday), but I can tell you that the lighter skin tone one is not that special. I haven't used it more than twice and I believe it says you have to use it for like a month or something to see a difference. But when I put it on, it's no different than my other Jergens lotion. EXCEPT. The smell. Holy Moses. It's like Grandma perfume mixed with a cart of flowers. It's really strong. It's not terrible. But it's strong. Thankfully, the smell does fade, and it does not compete with your perfume or other smelly stuff you might put on. But, whew! it's intense.

Anyway, if you are looking to check out more body, skin care or hair care items, check out the travel section at your local drug store! You can try before spending a ton of money and usually by the time the travel size runs out you really have a sense of whether or not you like it and want to buy the full size.

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?

Nail Polish Fave: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear

Alright, so if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, or if you know me in real life, you KNOW that I am addicted to nail polish. I love to have painted nails, it makes me feel so girly and so grown up (even if the color isn't super "grown-up"). I have a lot of nail polish, but most of it is cheap and the stuff that isn't (Zoya, Essie and OPI) was purchased in a sale, promo code, coupon, etc.

One of my all time favorite nail polish lines is the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line. There are a gazillion different colors and they are $2 at Target. They last forever and are so opaque and the color selection is pretty on trend along with having some stand-by colors (reds, nudes, etc.)

You don't have to put a top coat on these for them to last, but I always do. And none of the ones I have tried stain your nails, they wipe off with regular nail polish.

Pictured above are Coral Reef (this is the BEST coral shade EVER! Its like a neon coral and its GORGEOUS!), Mellow Yellow (bright yellow, it's like sunshine in a bottle), Perfect Pear-ing (kind of a minty green), Pacific Blue (bright, BRIGHT blue, love this with a white accent nail), Lacey Lilac (perfect pastel purple) and White On (the most vibrant and opaque white you can buy for the price).

A few others I like but aren't pictured are Mint Sorbet (mint green) and Gunmetal (gorgeous metal gray color, it's stunning).

Have you tried these? What are your faves from the line? What are your nail polish faves?

New Go-To Foundation: Neutrogena Healthy Skin

I have some big news!! I have a new go-to foundation. This is big. Seriously big. I have been a die-hard Revlon Color Stay Foundation user since 1995. I have used other foundations along the way (CoverGirl, Maybelline and others) but Revlon has always been my go-to. Until a couple of weeks ago.

I've been kind of looking for a new foundation for awhile, I'm not unhappy with the Revlon Color Stay, but just wanted something different. I tried E.L.F., Maybelline, L'Oreal, a couple of Rimmel and CoverGirl ones, but nothing really blew my mind and I returned all of them (except for the CoverGirl Stay Fabulous/Outlast one, that's some awesome stuff too!). Side Note: L'Oreal True Match Lumi broke me out like no other. Seriously not impressed and I know everyone and their mamma loves that one, but not me (and not my mamma either).

I had always over-looked Neutrogena as I feel like they are expensive and just not really something I considered. BUT I had a coupon and a Cartwheel for Target and had seen several commercials, ads and reviews on the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation (all part of the 14 touches, lol if we work together, you will get that). So I decided to take the plunge and try the foundation. It's $11.99 at the store (Target, Walmart, drug store) and with the coupons I had, I was able to score it for $8.99. FYI the Cartwheel is still out there if you want to take advantage of 10% off.

The color I chose is Classic Ivory, which I believe is the lightest shade. The formula has SPF and antioxidants in it which is supposed to actually make your skin better in four weeks. I can say that my skin does look better but it hasn't been 4 weeks and it doesn't look that drastically different, just better. The foundation itself is easy to blend (I use a Sigma foundation brush) and doesn't smell. It's a natural to sort-of-dewy-but-not-really finish. I don't set it with powder but that's because I have dry skin and don't want to enhance that. It lasts all day (my day starts at 4AM and ends at around 4PM, give or take) but if you had oiler skin, you might want a primer. I just like the fresh look I get with this and the coverage is medium, but you could build it up to full.

The only bummer for me on this particular line is the color selection is minimal. So if you are super fair or super dark you may not find a match. Also, the lighter shades seem to be very "pink" but once blended in that goes away, but just an FYI.

Overall, I love this and have used it daily since I bought it. I will still use my Revlon ColorStay (especially in summer or on extra long days, special events) but this is an awesome day-to-day foundation and I highly recommend it. I will definitely re-purchase when this runs out.

Have you tried this? What about any other Neutrogena cosmetics? Anything you think I should try or avoid? Tell me in the comments below.