FOTD #2- Clean and Fresh

Hi everyone!

I'm currently working on putting out some awesome new posts, but I didn't want to keep y'all waiting, so I decided to do a quick FOTD! I hope you've all had an amazing week! Be expecting some tips & tricks, reviews, and maybe even a tutorial soon! ;)

FACE:

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 120 Ivory

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque 

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Transparent 

EYEBROWS:

Kat Von D Saint palette carravaggio

Stila Stay All Day Eyebrow Color in medium

EYES:

NYX Love in Paris palette

Maybelline New York Master Precise liquid liner in black

Mally Volumizing Mascara

CHEEKS:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Milk Chocolate

E.l.f. Blush in tickled pink

Milani Illuminating Face Powder in 03 Beauty's Touch

LIPS:

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in 080 Strawberry Shortcake

-rachel j

REVIEW: Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette - Saint

Hi everyone!

I've had this palette for well over a year now, and after using it almost everyday, I can say without a doubt that I love it. I'm amazed that I haven't hit pan on any of these shadows. While there are definitely some shades I use more than others, I still like and use all of them. They're pigmented, smooth, and overall just great quality shadows. Sometimes I wish it had a few more matte shades, but I really can't complain because I like them all so much.

The palette is a good size- not too big, not too small. The packaging is also very cute and detailed, but it's still durable.

The palette also came with one of Kat Von D's autograph pencils. I love using it in my waterline for a more dramatic look. It's a great little liner! I just don't use it as much as my liquid liners because I hate sharpening it (I'm lazy).

Left to right: heavens, enjoy the silence, <3, downtown, sunny, pray for me, bookworm, caravaggio

Here are some close-ups: 

heavens, enjoy the silence, <3, downtown

enjoy the silence, <3, downtown, sunny, pray for me

pray for me, bookworm, caravaggio, autograph pencil in puro amor

It costs $36 at sephora, which isn't too shabby considering you're getting 8 quality eye shadows and an eyeliner!

Find it here!

Have you tried anything by Kat Von D? x

-rachel j

Hair Products That I Love

It's Friday!

Today's post is about my favorite hair care/styling products. I love them so much that I don't feel the need to try anything else. That's a big deal for me, so I wanted to share them with you!

I'll start this off with a classic- Batiste Original Dry Shampoo. This was the first dry shampoo that I've tried that actually got rid of the grease plaguing my second to third day hair. Other dry shampoos just made it worse, or were difficult to use. This is as easy as point, shoot, and massage in.

Next is my tried and true heat protectant- Nexxus Pro-Mend. I love this because it doesn't have alcohol in it which is known for drying out your hair. It keeps my hair nice and healthy, and it is so easy to spray with that little nifty handle!

I love this healing dry moroccan argan oil. It makes my hair so shiny and soft, and makes it easy to detangle. It also says it helps protect you hair from heat and dead ends. I like to spray this into my palm, rub it in my hands and disperse it through the bottom half of my hair before styling.

Last but not least by any means is L'oreal's Elnett Satin hairspray. By far the best hairspray I've ever used. It's light weight, but has amazing hold. Best part is, it doesn't leave my hair stiff or crunchy! It's super easy to change my hairstyle even after using it, which is great if you don't wash your hair everyday. I got the unscented version because I heard that the original scent isn't very pleasant. I've no problems with this one!

What are your all time favorite hair products? Let me know in the comments x

-rachel j

REVIEW: Mane 'n Tail Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi guys!

I'm sure most of you have heard of Mane 'n Tail shampoo & conditioner before, but in case you haven't, here's the rundown:

Mane 'n Tail products were originally made for horses, but can also be used on humans. They have less ingredients than other shampoos & conditioners, and they even have vitamins in them. A lot of people claim that their products increase hair growth, but I can't say that it's made mine grow any faster than it normally would. Nonetheless, I've heard quite the bit of hype about the hair care pair (like the little rhyme I threw in there?), so I wanted to test the waters! 

Fun fact: I actually used to use Mane 'n Tail products back when I rode horses, and they worked really well at detangling their tails.

I bought them at a local drugstore, but I also believe you can find them in Walmart and even pet stores. The bottles I got are 32 fluid ounces and cost $8.99 each. Which when you consider that most shampoos are only around 16 ounces, you're getting twice the product for nearly the same price. If you don't want to go gung-ho and get the big bottles, I'm pretty sure there are smaller ones- if you can find them (they only had the big ones at my CVS).

 I have normal to thick curly/wavy hair, and it's naturally more on the dry/frizzy side. After the first time using the duo I decided to let my hair air dry and was amazed by how soft and shiny my hair was. My curls were smoother than usual without feeling weighed down, which can be a huge issue for us naturally curly ladies. The conditioner really seemed to moisturize my hair and make it more manageable. It definitely made my hair noticeably shinier, but it's important to keep in mind that my hair was in pretty healthy shape before I started using the Mane 'n Tail products.

Now after using it for about a month, I don't notice a huge change in the texture of my hair as I did when I first starting using them, but my hair is still shiny and feeling healthy! I've also noticed that my hair doesn't get greasy for a long time- before it would get noticeably greasy around the third day of not washing my hair, but now it can last until the fourth day, and sometimes even then it's barely greasy at all. If it weren't for my scalp getting itchy (TMI?), I probably could push it until the fifth day. 

As for its scent, it's neither here nor there. It doesn't smell great but it isn't bad. Just plain old shampoo and conditioner, which is fine by me. 

Overall, I'm quite pleased with these products! After using them for another month or so I'll probably switch it up to prevent product build up, but I can see myself coming back to them in the future. 

Here are some pictures of my hair after washing it with Mane 'n Tail & letting it air dry:

Shiny, eh?

I hope you all are well! What shampoos/conditioners do you love?

x

-rachel j

REVIEW: New Revlon Colorburst Matte & Lacquer Balm

Hello again!

A couple of weeks ago I went out to scope what was new at the drugstore and found these! Revlon came out with a collection of Colorburst Matte Balms and Colorburst Lacquer Balms. I got two matte balms & one lacquer balm. There are a total of 9 matte shades and 10 lacquer shades (at least according to Ulta's website). I tried to pick shades that I would get a lot of use out of, but there are plenty of more daring colors like hot pinks and purples that I may try in the future.

Below are close up pictures of each shade, as well as swatches on my arm and on my lips so you can get a better idea of how these balms look!

Left to right: 105 Demure (lacquer), 205 Elusive (matte), 240 Striking (matte)

240 Striking

205 Elusive

105 Demure

Left to right: 105 Demure, 205 Elusive, 240 Striking

(I had to go over the swatches at least once to get them this vibrant)

Demure is pretty close to my natural lip color. Demure is one of the lacquer balms that is a beautiful light, beige-y pink with fine glitter in it- I think all of the lacquer balms have some glitter in them for added shine. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the glitter, but it ended up being my favorite of the three! It's a nice "my lips but better" shade.

The only kind of negative thing in regards to the glitter is that even after the color has faded, the glitter sticks. It looks a bit odd in my opinion, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

Elusive is a bit more pigmented then my bare lips- I would describe it as a bright rose-y pink. 

Striking, as you can see, is pretty striking! It's a beautiful yellow toned red. Reminds me of a tomato! I love to wear this with some winged eyeliner and mascara. Very classic.

(Sorry for the messy application on this one!)

Quality:
These balms are very creamy, smooth, and easy to apply. I love the packaging and how they feel on my lips. The pigmentation is pretty decent- I have to go over my lips at least twice to be happy with the it, as I did for the swatches above. For some reason I have the most trouble with Striking, but like I said before, I just go over it a few times and all is well.

Also, the matte balms aren't super drying like a lot of matte lipsticks. They don't cling to dry skin quite as badly as other lipsticks, but I still recommend exfoliating and moisturizing to get rid of the dead skin before application.


Staying Power:
These aren't the best for long wear, especially if you're eating and drinking. They do stain your lips, but it's definitely a more faded look compared to right after application.

I put Striking to the test today- I put it on around 3 pm and went about my day, eating and drinking included. (These do transfer onto glassware, by the way). By around 4:30 pm all that was left was the stain, which didn't look too shabby. I would recommend popping this in your purse before going out just incase you need to reapply.

Conclusion:
I like them! They're easy to apply and feel nice on my lips. They also have beautiful shades to choose from and they're around $9 each.

As always, I hope you're having an amazing Tuesday and I'll talk to you soon!

-rachel j

FOTD #1 - Natural, everyday look

Hello lovelies!

I thought I'd do a quick FOTD for you :) Enjoy!

Products

Base: 

-L'oreal True Match Foundation in N2

-Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque

-Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in #15

-Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent 001

Eyes:

-Kat Von D Saint Pallete in shades Heaven & Caravaggio

-NYC HD Color Trio in #785 Central Park Plums

-Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner in Black

-Mally volumizing mascara

Cheeks:

-L'oreal Quad in #821 Neutrals, shade 3 (contour)

-Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Milk Chocolate

-NARS blush in Desire 

Lips:

-Dr. Lipp original nipple balm for lips (weird, I know)

Brushes:

-Real Techniques Expert Face brush

-Real Techniques Blush brush

-Sigma Tapered Blending-E35 

-e.l.f. Eyeshadow "C" brush

-e.l.f. professional Eye Blending brush

-e.l.f. contour brush

-Revlon double ended angle brush

-rachel j

How to get full, natural looking eyebrows in just four steps

Happy New Year!!!!

I hope you all had an amazing New Years Eve!
To start off the new year, I thought I'd show you how I get beautifully filled in brows in just four steps!

What you'll need:

-A small, angled brush. I got mine from the drugstore!

-A matte eyeshadow slightly lighter than your natural brow color. I use the matte dark brown shade called Caravaggio (furthest to the right) from Kat Von D's Saint palette. 

Before:

Step One:

Pick up some product on your brush and begin in the center of your brow. That way if there's too much eye shadow on your brush, it's not going to look super dark and unnatural like it might if you started near the front. Start brushing it in in the direction of your hair. This also ensures a more natural look. Remember, use a light hand! Especially if you're new to filling in your brows.

Step Two:

Without picking up more product, brush the front part of the brow in short, upwards strokes (once again, following the direction of hair growth). If it's not dark enough for your liking, feel free to add more shadow and repeat. It's easier to add more than to take away.

Step Three:

If you're like me and don't have much of a natural arch, go ahead and add one! Follow the shape of your brow, but just exaggerate it a tad on the top.

Step Four:

Fill in the tail of your brows & you're done!

After:

Go rock your natural looking, full eyebrows!

-rachel j

REVIEW: Too Faced Soleil Bronzer

Hey guys!

Today I thought I'd give a review on the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer!

I got this bronzer well over a year ago and it's been the only one I've used on a daily basis. You can see that its been well loved but I still haven't even hit pan on this puppy. The shade I've got is Milk Chocolate light/medium, but there is also Chocolate medium/deep for darker skin tones.

Milk Chocolate is perfect for us pale ladies who don't want anything too drastic or too orange. This bronzer is great for contouring (as it's matte) but I prefer to use it for adding a natural glow to my ghostly complected face.

Did I mention that it also SMELLS like chocolate?
The smell doesn't last once the product is applied, but it smells heavenly in the pan.

You can find it on Sephora & the Too Faced website for $30, which I'll admit is a little pricey, but for how long it lasts you really can't beat it. They've revamped the packaging, but the product is still the same.

Find it here!
Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/milk-chocolate-soleil-light-medium-matte-bronzer-P309709?skuId=1511831
Too Faced: http://www.toofaced.com/p-1365-milk-chocolate-soleil-lightmedium-matte-bronzer.aspx

-rachel j

Welcome to my Blog!

As I'm sure you've already guessed, my name is Rachel & this is my first blog post!

On this blog I'll be talking about anything and everything beauty related (hair, makeup, skincare, fashion, etc). I've always wanted to create my own beauty blog and I hope that you'll join me in my journey.

Thanks for reading & stay tuned~

-rachel j