VDAY BEAUTY MUSE - RITA ORA

If you have plans with your love this evening to celebrate Valentine's Day but haven't quite figured out your makeup look check-out my VDay Beauty Muse - Rita Ora and how to get her look below.

I love that this look is very subtle and effortless. Bringing the blush up to the temples and using the blush on the eyelids gives it a more romantic look. 

*image by Getty Images thru Cosmopolitan*

  

1. Colorescience Beauty on the Go Palette, $54 (colorescience.com)

2. Paul & Joe Limited Edition Powder Blush Refill, $18 (beautyhabit.com)

3. Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in 'Ballerina', $26 (laurageller.com)

4. Rimmel London The Only 1 Matte Lipstick in 'Trendsetter', $8 (drugstores nationwide)

5. Eylure Definition Lash 121, $5 (ulta.com)

I hope you all enjoy your day with the ones you love. 

3 STEPS TO YOUR BEST LIPS

It's so hard to believe that the first month of January is coming to a close. Next up, is the month where we not only celebrate Black History but LOVE as well. And, just in time for the lover's holiday I'm sharing with you 3 quick steps to your best lips; so pucker up!

Step 1: Exfoliate:  Just like exfoliation for your face, exfoliating your lips are just as important to get rid of dead, flaky skin and reveal smooth supple lips. M.A.C. Cosmetics recently released their new line of lip scrubs called the Lip Scrubtious Collection and much like any other newly released M.A.C. Collection it is already sold out online. If you still have no luck in your local M.A.C. location try the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish available at Sephora.com. 

Step 2: Hydrate: After you have exfoliated the dead skin cells off of your lips you want to  hydrate and moisturize them. Doing so has been made extremely easy with these patchology Lip Renewal 5-minute Hydrogels. I'll let the magic speak for itself; check out my before, during, and after pics below. A set of 24 will run you about $50. You can also try Masque Bar's Intensive Lip Care Gel Patches, here a set of 4 is around $7. 

Step 3: Plump: Who doesn't want plumper and fuller looking lips? These Violent Lips InstaPlumper patches are very similar to step 2 in that they are both gel patches however this one is made with 6 natural ingredients to deliver an intense plumping experience that is stronger than a plumping lip gloss yet less painful than lip injections. It lasts up to 8 hours. 

WEEKLY BEAUTY CRUSH - MERMAID BRUSHES

 

WHY IT'S MY CRUSH: I don't think I really need to say much here. These  brushes are absolutely stunning. Part of what pushes us women to buy what we buy is the functionality of the product and the way the product looks and I'm sure there are plenty of times where the products packaging outweighs the functionality. I have used a Royal & Langnickel brush set before and remember thinking that they were the softest brushes I had ever used. Mix the brands great quality with this overly adorable packaging and I've officially been crushing for three weeks. -_- 

WHY IT SHOULD BE YOUR CRUSH: These dense, ultra-soft brushes apply and blend cream and liquid makeup with minimal absorption, leaving more makeup for application. The unique shapes are designed to fit the contours of your face for optimal blending.

Here's some details about each brush from the Royal & Langnickel Blog:

801: The largest brush of the set is perfect for applying liquid or cream foundation over your entire face. Move the brush in one fluid movement to apply and blend—the dense, ultra-soft vegan hairs apply makeup with minimal absorption, leaving more makeup for application.

802: The perfect size for blush or bronzer application for a stunning glow.

803: Create a flawlessly blended contour under your cheekbones, along your jawline, or at the hairline.

804: The smallest brush is perfect for precisely applying concealer, blending makeup under your eyes, or for contouring your nose or other small areas of the face.

PURCHASING DEETS: 

Product Name: Royal & Langnickel MODA Prismatic Face Perfecting Kit

Product Price: $24.99

Availability: The brand has been advertising a release for the beginning of January so I'm hoping any day now

Where to buy: royalbrush.com and Walmart stores

 What do we think ladies, are these on your Beauty Crush Wish List? 

#MANIMONDAY - THE SIMPSONS

The Scoop

So a little while back some of you might remember I shared the news about one of M.A.C.’s upcoming new collections which was the Simpsons collection or what I like to call, “Marge 4 M.A.C.”. Back then when I was writing the post two months seemed so far away before I would be able to get my hands on the collection but here we are – I made it to the September 4^th launch in one piece (lol). So, it just so happened that the launch was scheduled on my son’s third birthday so while we were out at the mall doing some school shopping I took a slight detour the M.A.C. store here in the Christiana Mall. 

I was surprised that when I went I wasn’t immediately bombarded with Simpsons marketing propaganda. Instead, the collection was set off to the side on one little display. For all of the buzz that surrounded this collection I was just expecting more of a fuss around the in-store launches; but I digress. The display housed four lip glosses, two eye shadow palettes, one blush, and one nail sticker set. 

Because of my weekly #ManiMondays I of course wanted to grab the nail stickers. I debated a little while between the purple shaded lip gloss called, “Itchy & Scratchy & Sexy” and the blush in ‘Pink Sprinkles’ but finally decided to go with the blush. 

About The Simpsons Nail Stickers

As soon as I took the stickers out of the package I was immediately reminded of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects stickers – they must be made by the same manufacturer. One important note here about these stickers is that they are nail polish strips and not vinyl nail stickers. After going back and forth between the polish strips and the vinyl stickers I would definitely have to pick the polish strips every time.

These stickers applied easily and the sizes were perfect for my large nail beds. Some things I think could have been changed or added to these nail stickers include:

1. Feature some strips with Marge’s hair in blue instead of the entire nail strip being yellow

2. Featured different color sticker sets – possibly in the colors of the lip glosses

Overall, I definitely am a fan of these nail stickers. I think the shade of yellow is one that will be flattering on all skin tones and the size of the stickers is a plus in my book. I hope M.A.C. decides to launch a line of nail stickers outside of just a collaboration collection. The stickers retail for $16.50 and are available online and in stores.

The Look

WEEKLY BEAUTY CRUSH: FALL FACE

 

The Scoop

This week’s Weekly Beauty Crush is not simply for one crush-worthy product; it’s for all of these products that helped me achieve a great new face look for the upcoming Fall season. I always like to switch my foundation routine in the fall and spring and since Fall is quickly approaching I thought now would be the perfect time. Plus, when I walked into the pharmacy today I have no idea what came over me – I just had to have the new Cover Girl foundations and Maybelline Baby Lips lippies. 

So as soon as I came home I cracked opened the goodies and started playing around…

The Look

First of all, let’s just disregard this bad hair day I’m having (more like bad hair week but hey…)

 

The Products

     1.      Mally Beauty Shimmer, Shape, & Glow, $40 (ulta.com)

     2.      sugar Gleam Highlighting Glow, $14 (kohls.com)

     3.      Maybelline Volum’ Express The Rocket Mascara, $6 (target.com)

     4.      Miracle Skin Transformer Treat & Conceal- in light, $36 (ulta.com)

     5.      Cover Girl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation, $8 (ulta.com)

     6.      Maybelline Baby Lips Crystal Lip Balm, $4 (cvs.com)

     7.      Physicians Formula Bronze Booster  Glow-Boosting Shimmer Bronzer, $14 (Walgreens.com)

     8.      The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner, $8 (thebodyshop-usa.com)

What new products are you excited to try this Fall?