50% Off In Store: BBW True Blue Morocco

For the past month, I’ve been wondering what Bath and Body Work’s True Blue Morocco line was like. The scent and texture of everything sounded promising so I was more then happy to drive my mom to the nearest BBW store when she asked to go. I love that BBW has testers availble because I dislike buying anything unsniffed.

I ended up falling in love with the Sweet Fig and Argan body lotion. It doesn’t feel greasy and smells fab! It’s simi-spicy while still being light and creamy. I also love the pump bottle and at the same time wish it isn’t glass (I’m klutzy and am afraid of breaking it). This smooth body treat is packed with green tea, shea butter, and my liquid gold (argan oil). Mmmmmmm, hello, hydration!

I also liked loved the Cedarwood and Spice warming body scrub. I used it in the shower tonight and it was like heaven. It is the perfect mix of scrubby, creamy and warm. The scent is comforting and features a bit of sandalwood and amber, two of my faves. I think I must stock up while this product is still around.

 Also, noteworthy was the Honey & Date body yoghurt. The texture was nice and I liked the scent but I ended up passing on this one as I liked the body lotion better. Other items I passed on in the line were the shower gels as I have too many as it is and they are huge bottles. If I had purchased one, it probably would have been Moroccan Tea and Cucumber.

FYI: this line is on its way to being discontinued and is in the “Fond Farewell” section of BBW’s website, where it is full price. In store, it is currently 50% off.

And the fall stuff is out! I picked up some wallflowers (they are buy one, get one free right now) in leaves and pumpkin patch. I tried leaves today and it’s soft and warm and wonderful! The scent is hard to describe but it totally reminds me of fall.

Skin Care Expiration

 

Have you ever been using your favorite skin care or body product and think, “So when does this expire, anyway?”

Some products do have expiration dates, though those are few and far between. Many brands have an expiration suggestion printed on the back of the bottle, jar, ot tube. It looks like a jar with the lid open and has a number printed inside. This number indicates the number of months after opening the product that it should be good for. Conditions such as contamination (IE dipping unwashed hands into a jar) or forgetting to put the lid back on the product can shorten that amount of time.

In the above photo, one of my products is optimal to use until six months of opening, while another is good for 24 months. The amount of time will vary from product to product depending on factors such as ingredients (essential oils, plant or fruit extracts, parabins aka preservatives, and etc.).

if you are using a skin care product as directed, it should not last longer then the expiration suggestion. Some products (body items, for example) may last longer then the suggested amount of time. In these cases, it’s best to monitor the texture, color, and scent for any changes which can indicate it has spoiled.

Don’t remember when you first opened a product? I always try to mark the bottom or somewhere inconspicuous with the month and year, just so I don’t forget. This is also a good idea if your product doesn’t suggest any time frame of expiration so you will know how long it’s been around.

Update: More reviews Coming Soon

Life has been crazy and I am exhausted. I would like to give you a sneek peak of products I’ve been trying out. Some of the products I have been using long enough to give them a fair review, while with others I’ll need a little more time to use.

• Dior Creme Abricot Fortifying Cream For Nails
• Lancome HYPNOSE DRAMA Instant Full Body Volume Mascara
• Carmindy for Sally Hansen Luminizing Primer
• Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer
• Makeup Forever HD Invisible Cover Concealer
• Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15
• Ole Henriksen Aloe Vera Deep Cleanser
• Bliss Fat Girl Slim
• Philosophy Eye Hope Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Cream
• Bath and Body Works SLEEP Lavender Vanilla Scrub
• Korres Pomegranate Mask
• Clinique All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream
• Lush Bath Bombs (3), Bubble Bars (2), and Figs & Leaves Soap

Stay tuned! I also have a rant about “travel” products that will be coming up soon.

Bargain Beauty

Love high end cosmetics and can’t shell out the dough right now? Many cosmetics companies carry discontinued colors and products on their websites at discounted prices. Don’t expect to find these reduced $$ goods at the stores or counters; many are found online only.

• tartecosmetics.com: Memory Lane is the place to find DC’d goodies like the perma-pout lip stain and gloss duo, sin city glitter liners, candles, single eyeshadow compacts, and powder blush.
• smashbox.com: Browse the curtain call section to find lipsticks, eye shadows, limited edition value sets, foundations, and beauty tools.
• sephora.com: Even beauty giant Sephora has a sale  section packed with pretty goodies at even prettier prices from your favorite brands.
• loraccosmetics.com: The VIP Discount section (aka “last call”) is the place to be! Some items, like the lip polish lip glosses are on sale for $5, marked down from $18. My pick would be the Maui Wowie palette, which I purchased a few years ago and adore. The cost? A mere $8, a steal from its original $38!
• toofaced.com: Check out the Vintage section for products that are on their way out. The prices aren’t as discounted as other brands, though you will save a little and every little counts!

Don’t see your fave brand listed here? Check out their website to see if they have a sale section. While many brands continue to sell through their discontinued merchandise online, others don’t. Also, scour your local TJ Maxx/Marshall’s stores because every now and then an amazing find pops up. Who could forget all of the Urban Decay lipglosses at TJ Maxx back in 2005? That was a good lip gloss year for yours truly.

The Smokey Eye: Keep It Soft

Next to a flawless glowing complexion, one of the most requested looks I get is the smokey eye. I love when I have an appointment with clients who want the smokey look and clip the most dramatic smokey eye from a magazine and say, “I want to look exactly like this!” In reality they don’t usually want that exact look, they want a soft, smudgy look. And that’s what a smokey eye should be: soft, smudgy, and blended. A smokey eye should not extend too far beyond your crease or utilize too much black shadow because it will make you look like someone punched you in they eye. The goal of the smokey eye is to have the color darkest near your lashes and fade softly into your crease. This is exactly what smoke looks like: darkest near the fire, lighter as it floats into the sky.

You can certainly clip smokey looks from magazines for inspiration, and keep in mind that while the intensity, colors, and shape of shadow looks great on the model, you may not share the same eye or face shape and it might not look the same on you or flatter your face. The goal of makeup is to flatter your features and express yourself.

One of my fave smokey eye tips is to keep a clean, fluffy blending brush close at hand. It’s much easier to blend a mistake with a clean brush then it is to blend with a brush that has product on it. Keep the products you use simple. Limit yourself to no more then three shadow colors and one liner. After you apply your eye shadow base/primer, I like using a soft, waterproof pencil liner (like Urban Decay 24/7 Pencils) or a gel/cream liner (Smashbox Jet Set, Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Cream Liner) first to define the eye. Blend and smudge this line up (easier to do with cream liners) to soften and the set stage for your eyeshadow. Pick any eyeshadow colors you want. A smokey eye can also be colorful. My fave shade is bronze. Pat your darkest shade lightly on your lid. It’s best to start with a little product and add more as needed then to pack the eyeshadow on right away. Blend color upwards and into the crease. If you’d like to use a medium color in the crease, add just a touch and blend downwards into your lid color. To blur any harsh lines (there shouldn’t be any) you can use your clean shadow brush or a flesh tone eyeshadow, which acts like a highlight.

• If you have smaller eyes and want to make them look larger, go easy on the bottom liner and don’t line the entire lower rim. Stop the line around the iris of the eyes, blend, and apply a highlight color from the liner to your tear duct.
• For deep set eyes, concentrate color on your lid and blend.
• For any eye: go easy on the liner. It’s much more flattering to have a slight smudge of color on the bottom lash line then a thick, dark, rim of liner. For a softer look, try using your shadow as liner with an angled liner brush.
• After every step, stand back and look at yourself in the mirror: is everything even? Too dark? Too light? Keep cotton swabs and gentle eye makeup remover handy to fix mistakes.
• When wearing a smokey eye, one must make sure the complexion is perfected. The dark colors can enhance under eye circles and uneven skin tone so make sure not to skip concealer if you need it. Tip: using a lighter coverage foundation or tinted moisturizer and concealing just where you need it will make your complexion more natural then using a full coverage foundation and full coverage concealer. Hello, cakey-ness!
• Do eyes first so that if you get any fall out, you don’t have to touch up complexion products. If you’ve already done your makeup, dust translucent powder under your eye area to catch any shadow and dust away with a fluffy brush when finished.
• Keep the rest of your look balanced by using sheer flesh tone or pink lip colors and a light application of a natural blush (my fave with smokey eyes are soft pinks and pinky-peach).

Three of the photos above are of my fave examples of smokey looks and one is of my least favorite. Can you tell which is which? I think 1 through 3 all are balanced (dark eyes and neutral lip/cheek colors) and are soft, feminine, and have perfect gradient (darker to lighter). Number 4 is my least fave. Why? Because it’s not flattering on most people. Dark, thick, liner around the entire eye can create the illusion of a smaller eye, even if you have large, gorgeous peepers.

Confession: Makeup

I feel the absolute best when I’m wearing minimal or no makeup. When I’m working of course I have to wear a full face of makeup. Who wants to have a makeup artist working on them that’s not wearing makeup? On my days off I prefer to go without complexion products and just wear SPF 30, eye shadow primer to combat my oily lids, and lipgloss. My cheeks are already on the pink side so I rarely need blush unless I’m wearing foundation. Sometimes I’ll add in tinted moisturizer and concealer if I need it. Sometimes even a little eyeliner or mascara. I hardly ever wear all of these products all at the same time unless I’m working or going out. It’s just my personal preference and I think I look better and more natural without a lot of makeup on.

Do you always wear a full face of makeup everyday? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Smashbox Limitless Long Wearing Lipgloss

I love lipgloss but I don’t love how most wear off quickly. New from Smashbox is Limitless Long Wearing Lipgloss, $21. This gloss promises to deliver up to six hours of wear while having a smooth texture. Like many products these days, Smashbox added vitamins to the formula (A, C, E, to be exact). As an added bonus, they threw in SPF 15 to protect your lips from the sun.

I was kind of skeptical. I’ve tried supposed “long wearing glosses” before and they were nothing but sticky, thick, and goopy. I am pleasantly surprised by the texture of these glosses. They actually feel nice on and aren’t excessively sticky. Keep in mind that for any gloss to be long wearing, you will encounter some stickiness and maybe a slightly thick texture. Gloss would slide off your lips otherwise (think about it: thin glosses disappear from lips almost instantly).

As for the wear factor? They held up pretty well against talking for extended amounts of time, rubbing my lips together, eating and drinking. I’m not sure if it lasted at least six hours on my lips because I did reapply it once during my “test” (out of habbit). I also think it left a little color behind when it wore off, almost like a very faint lip stain, which I liked a lot.

I have the color Boundless (the first gloss in the photo above), described as a “juicy melon.” I’d say it’s a bit more on the pink side. I do like the subtle gold shimmer and how the color seems to instantly brighten my face. As an additional bonus, there is an experation date on the tube as to when the SPF in the product expires. By all means, if you pass up the date and the gloss has not changed color, texture, or scent, go ahead and keep using it. Just remember to apply a lip balm with SPF before the gloss.

Nordies Anniversary Sale Part Two

A few posts back, I mentioned the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I was finally able to check it out and ended up not finding anything I liked. Maybe next year.

Secret Breakout Causes

 

Arg! I’m breaking out randomly on my face and chest! I haven’t broken out on my chest since I was 14 and it’s annoying. Not much in my skin care routine has changed, except for last week I ran out of my MD Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel Pads and I used a different sunscreen then usual. Those two could be the culprits, or it could also be something below. I’m banking on it being a little of everything.

• Did you know that not washing your pillow slips (or pillow cases…which ever you prefer to call them) regularly can cause or worsen acne? That’s because bacteria and oil from your skin and scalp can collect on them causing more breakouts. I usually wash mine twice a week but I kind of skipped a week. Icky, I know, I just got lazy. I made sure to toss them in the wash today.
• Leaning or resting your face on your hands can cause breakouts on your chin from oils in your skin. I try not to do this but sometimes it happens. I’m not breaking out around my jaw so I can nix this as one of my current acne causes.
• Not washing your makeup brushes regularly can be a big acne-causing culprit. I keep my makeup brushes super clean and I just washed every single brush I own last night (close to 90) for added insurance that none of my brushes are causing it. BTW: I keep seperate brushes for clients and seperate brushes for myself.
• I own a Clarisonic and absolutely adore it. Best thing ever! You are supposed to change the brush head every three months and wash it weekly with an anti-bacterial soap. Yeah, I kinda sorta forgot last week so I did it today.
• Picking and “popping” acne can also lead to more acne in surrounding areas. Bacteria can spread via your fingers, so if you must pick (please don’t-it could possibly leave behind a scar), always do it on a clean face with your fingers wrapped in tissue. I like to take a steaming hot towel to the area and leave it there for a minute or two. If it “pops” then yay! If not, I leave it alone because it’s not ready to go.

Caring For Your Makeup Brushes

 

If you use makeup brushes, they should be washed about once a week to help keep them clean, in good condition, and bacteria-free. Making sure your brushes are well cared for will help them to last longer. It doesn’t matter what brush cleaner you choose, the important thing is that you are washing them. Personally, I like using Sephora Purifying Brush Shampoo ($6 for 2 oz or $14 for 6. 75 oz) or Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser ($10-40 for sizes ranging from 3 oz to 24 oz), which is gentle enough to use on brushes. I highly recommend investing in a good brush cleanser (drug store vs high end is a personal preference) since they are meant specifically for brushes. In a pinch (say, you run out of brush cleaner) you can also use a mild facial cleanser.

To clean your brushes, you’ll need a sink with running lukewarm water, paper towels or a small clean towel (optional), a small bowl (optional) and your brush cleaner of choice. Rinse your brush with lukewarm water, then apply a small amount of brush cleaner in your bowl or in the palm of your hand. Gently massage brush cleaner through bristles and rinse. You’ll know your brush is clean when the water runs clear. I like using a small bowl (glass or stainless) so that I don’t get super crinkly hands (I have a lot of brushes). Gently wipe away excess water with a paper towel or clean towl and lay flat to dry.

***ALWAYS, always, always lay your brushes flat to dry on a counter or flat surface!Drying them bristle side up in a cup or brush holder will allow water to seep into the ferrule (the part of the brush that joins the bristles with the handle. This is usually made out of a metal) and can destroy your brush if it is glued. I like to lay mine on a paper towel or small clean towel to catch any extra water as my brushes dry. I also advise NOT to dry your brush upside down (bristles towards the ground, handle facing up) as this can cause your brush to dry in a funky shape.

If you have brushes with white bristles, you can do a few things to help ensure they don’t stain. If you have time after using them, use a spray on brush cleaner to help remove some of the color. Spray cleanser on a paper towel and wipe the brush until color is removed. You may have repeat this step a few times. Later on when you have time, follow the instructions above for weekly cleaning ASAP. You can, if your brush is synthetic (meaning the bristles are man-made and not from an animal), use Dawn Dish Soap to clean your brush (remember: this is only for synthetic brushes! This method may be too harsh on natural brushes). I’d advise to skip buying white brushes altogether as they are very much a pain to keep white. I own a few and try to only use them with light colored powders to avoid staining.

Be sure to store them in a place where the bristles won’t bend and will hold their shape. I like to use my brush belts and a brush roll to store them. Brush rolls are fantastic because they have individual slots to help keep your brushes separate from each other and organized. You can find decent priced brush rolls on etsy in cute patterns by doing a search. If you are keeping your brushes in an overstuffed makeup bag, the bristles may get bent. If this happens, reshape them after washing before laying them flat to dry.