Category: Beauty Reviews

Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 Reviews and Recommendations

I wanted to make a quick post where I re-evaluate my previous reviews to give you some ideas for what to buy and what to skip at the Sephora VIB Sale 2016 which starts in 3 days on Thursday April 7th if you’re VIB Rouge or April 8th if you’re VIB and goes until the 13th.
As a refresher in order to be Sephora VIB you must spend $500 in a calendar year. The good news is that if you spend more than that then it rolls over towards the next year. To find out your status you can log on to Sephora.com and click “(Your name)’s Account” in the top right corner. If it says “VIB Beauty Insider” you’re in! You can use “VIBNOTE” online during the sale and get 15% off your entire purchase.

2015 Sephora VIB Purchases:

Continue reading “Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 Reviews and Recommendations”

Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 What to Buy and What to Skip

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Sephora VIB sale Spring 2016 is back starting April 7th for VIB Rouge and April 8th for straight VIB through the 13th, 2016. The spring discount is the typical 15% off. The discount works both in store and online (using code VIBNOTE). Also, you can basically get another 4% off taking you to 19% by using Ebates:Ebates Coupons and Cash BackSo let’s get into the purchases that I have made since my Fall Sephora VIB Sale post:

Sephora Purchases Fall 2015

 

Continue reading “Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 What to Buy and What to Skip”

Best Makeup of 2015

2015 was a fun year for makeup – we highlighted (and then strobed), we contoured (and cream contoured), we baked, we wore bold liquid lipsticks, our brows were on fleek, many of us looked like drag queens on a regular basis and it was glorious. I’m here to share with you some of my very favorite makeup that I used in 2015. Even though I buy an enormous amount of makeup, I’m a very harsh critic and I’m very skeptical of BS marketing. I’m here to say you absolutely do not need to buy expensive makeup in order to look good, many of these products are from the drugstore! This is also a good place to start if you’re just getting into makeup and don’t know what to buy. Here’s the best makeup of 2015!: Continue reading “Best Makeup of 2015”

Sephora VIB Sale What to Buy and What to Skip 2015

It’s almost here! Sephora’s biggest sale of the year (20% off all purchases) is the Sephora VIB sale and this year’s taking place Friday November 13-16, 2015 both online and in stores. Be sure to check out last year’s Sephora VIB Sale 2014 post with lot’s of reviews and recommendations of products that are still available. As a refresher in order to be VIB you must spend $500 in a calendar year. The good news is that if you spend more than that then it rolls over towards the next year. To find out your status you can log on to Sephora.com and click “(Your name)’s Account” in the top right corner. If it says “VIB Beauty Insider” you’re in! You can use VIB20 online during the sale and get 20% off your entire purchase. If you don’t have VIB you can ask one of your beauty obsessed friends to add a few things to their basket for you. If you don’t have VIB or even a Sephora account you’re not getting the discount, BUT they always offer the BEST gifts with purchase. This year you can pick 1 of 4, it includes 8 samples and a free clutch, and you only have to make a $25 purchase which is like half of 1 thing at Sephora. You can use the code “partypicks” to get in on that fine deal.

Let’s start off with updated reviews of last year’s purchases because liking a product an entire year later is a real testament to whether a product is truly worthy or not.

Sephora VIB Purchases 2014

 

Continue reading “Sephora VIB Sale What to Buy and What to Skip 2015”

Best Eye Makeup Remover

I have been searching for a long time and I think I have finally found my Holy Grail (HG) eye makeup remover and it is WATER. Let’s back up to the beginning of my makeup removal routine… as soon as I get home from work most days I run to my bathroom to grab a Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipe and take off all of my face makeup. I just hate that feeling of it half melted sitting on top of my skin at the end of the day- ew. And although these wipes say they remove even waterproof mascara that’s a LIE! Sure maybe if I held one on each eye for 90 seconds and then rubbed at my lashes until half of them fell out I might get some mascara off, but that’s not how I’m trying to live my life. The wipes are, however, wonderful at taking off face makeup and are non-irritating and always stay wet until I use the very last one and are affordable. These were in my August 2014 favorites post and they are the only wipes I’ve used for a year now!

boots-no7-quick-thinking-wipes
I buy these bad boys in bulk, but they absolutely do not remove my mascara.

While we’re on makeup wipes I need to let you all know to stay the hell away from these eye and face-stinging monsters. I tried one of my friend’s, regretted it, then tried them again at my sister’s…. like what was I thinking? I’m talking about the Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing Wipes: Continue reading “Best Eye Makeup Remover”

Does This Thing Really Work? Ask Beautypedia

With all of the advertising and marketing in the beauty industry it’s very hard to tell what is going to work and what will not. This is so important because who wants to waste $$$ on a product that does not live up to it’s claims? So how do you research a products claims and find out if it contains ingredients that will actually make your skin better? This is where one of my favorite websites Beautypedia comes in. Beautypedia was started by Paula Begoun who is known as the cosmetics cop. For decades now she has been breaking down ingredient lists vs. manufacturer claims to de-mistify the (sometimes) fuzzy beauty science and to educate the masses. Whenever you sign on to Instagram, Youtube, open a magazine, see a commercial, etc. you’re constantly being bombarded with “This is the one! The product that will make you flawless and fix all of your skin’s problems! BUY NOW!!” and Paula helps you separate the BS from the truly beneficial products.

The other thing I like about her site is that you can choose how deeply you want to plunge into the scientific knowledge behind ingredients. You can find out if a product contains sodium hyaluronate acid and what the hell that means, or you can just find out if the MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation lives up to it’s claims or not (PS it does according to beautypedia and now I really want to try it!).

How I use Beautypedia:

Continue reading “Does This Thing Really Work? Ask Beautypedia”

Beauty Trends: Liquid Lipstick Part Two

My Beauty Trends: Liquid Lipsticks post is one of the most popular posts on my blog so with all of that interest I thought it was time to do a Part Two!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks

The last post was sparked by the massive launch of the Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipsticks ($20 each). I swear that woman is a marketing genius sending out free liquid lipsticks to all of the beauty influencers on the internet. Cheapest.PR.EVER. I still have only heard so-so reviews about these! My friend Annabelle (from the infamous Jeremy Piven post) has Pure Hollywood which is a nude shade and she said it’s super drying and crusts around the inner rim of your lips so she is not a fan. Anastasia has, however, come out with some gorgeous new colors my favorite being Unicorn which is described as a “luminescent lavender” and it’s gorgeous: Continue reading “Beauty Trends: Liquid Lipstick Part Two”

Budget Buy: Self Tanning Lotion

Gradual Self Tanning

After hearing all of the YouTube Beauty Gurus raving about the self tanning foam Loving Tan self tanner I ALMOST was ready to cough up the $50 so I too could have a bronzed glow, but luckily I found a much cheaper self tanning alternative. After reading reviews online I decided to try the Suave Visible Glow Gradual Self Tanner in Medium-Tan* ($6.97):
self tanning

Even though I am not Medium-Tan I am impatient so I went for the darker formula and the color on this product is awesome! Very natural and streak free. I put about 3 generous layers on because again, I’m impatient, and by the next day I was satisfied with my color. This lotion does not have any scent when you apply it, but unfortunately that classic self-tanner scent rears it’s ugly head once the product starts developing (about 30 minutes after applying). I also did find this lotion very moisturizing. It has not transferred onto any of my clothes or sheets which is amazing. I applied it on Friday night and it’s Wednesday night and it has barely faded and I have not added any more layers. If you’re in the market for a little bronze this summer be sure to avoid the sun because it’s trying to make you look old and kill you and reach for this product before you spend the big bucks on a self tanner! Here’s my tips on application: Continue reading “Budget Buy: Self Tanning Lotion”

Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Demo & Review

Today I have a fun new video where I show you some tips on how to put on Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes and give you my take on it! What is Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes you ask? Well, Younique is a direct-sales company (like Avon or  Mary Kay) and it’s sold by “Presenters” where they sell the products to their friends and family and get a commission from their sales. Younique is different in that you don’t have to host parties at someone’s house to sell the products, the majority of their “parties” and sales are done online and over social media. My friend Michelle is a Presenter and she offered to buy me their famous mascara to try out and if I liked it then I could blog about it and link everyone to her Facebook page and website so they could check it out themselves. Check out my video to see how this mascara works and what I thought about it!: Continue reading “Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Demo & Review”

I Didn’t Think I Would Get Skin Cancer Either

Growing up in Florida and now living in Los Angeles I see a whole lot of sunshine. When I was younger I loved to lay out and bake. I wanted to be as tan as my fair skin would let me so I’d slather myself with oil and stay by the pool all day or go to the tanning beds occasionally. I knew it would all catch up with me eventually, but I didn’t think eventually would be at age 27.

There I was in stirrups at my annual gynecological exam (as if that day couldn’t get any worse) when my doctor. points to a mole over my heart and says “You need to see a Dermatologist about that. If I could take it off right this minute I would.” “Great” I thought, “yet another doctor’s appointment to schedule.” Luckily I was motivated by the fact that it was the end of the year and I had already met my high deductible so I went to see my dermatologist (who I was already getting annual skin cancer checks from) to get the mole biopsied.

When the biopsy came back unfortunately the results showed that it was Melanoma. This meant I had to go back and get it removed along with some of the healthy skin around it to ensure the entire thing was gone and would not spread.

This is right after my cancerous mole was removed.
This is right after my melanoma (skin cancer) mole was removed in January 2014

It was a pretty small mole and now I have a huge scar I get to look at everyday. Here’s what it looks like today, 16 months later: Continue reading “I Didn’t Think I Would Get Skin Cancer Either”