SOCIAL MEDIA

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

New Product Review




Recently I've picked up some new beauty products & I wanted to share with you my thoughts on them. I've included some more pricey products & some very affordable ones and I'm loving both equally! 






Too Faced Born This Way: 
This foundation claims to be undetectable on the skin providing medium to full coverage and I can promise you that those claims are true. The foundation dries to a very nice skin like finish not being too matte or too luminous. The shade range of this foundation is great if you have medium skin tones. If you have a lighter complexion you might have trouble using this foundation as the lightest shade isn't very light in my opinion. The upsides of this foundation are that it provides good coverage without being cakey and it feels fresh and clean on the skin. The downfalls on this foundation for me are that it doesn't blend in as easily as I would hope, I'm going to continue trying out different brushes and sponges with it and find a way that makes it blend in easier. The other downfall for me is that I find it makes me oily after about 3 hours and start to slide around on the face, this can be prevented with a good primer and setting powder but without those the staying power isn't that great.
 
Makeup Forever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer:
I've never really been into primers before because I didn't feel like they did anything, until I tried this one. This primer is great, it fills in ALL of my pores and makes my skin look flawless. It also keeps my foundation in place all day so this is perfect to pair with the Born This Way foundation. The other thing I love about this primer is that it doesn't have that slippery silicone feel to it & as an added bonus it has a nice floral scent to it.
 
e.l.f. Contour Palette:
For the price of this palette you can't go wrong. The quality is great, not too powdery and the product blends out well. I'm pretty sure the palette only comes in one color range which is a downfall. If you are light skinned or have darker skin this palette probably won't work for you, but I'm sure they will come out with more shades eventually.
 
e.l.f. Matte Eye Shadow Palette:
This is the best matte eye shadow palette I've seen in a while. The shade range is great including both warm and cool tones and there are shades that will look great on many different skin tones. This palette is great for everyday looks. The price of this palette is under 10 dollars so you really can't beat it.
 
 
Products I've Mentioned:
 
Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Hair Care Routine




                                        
                                               


I'm one of those people who wants their hair a different length & color every other day. If it's long I want it short if it's brown I want it blonde. Since I like to change my hair so much I think it's crucial to have a good hair care routine in place. Below I will go through some steps I take to keep my hair looking & feeling healthy!

Step 1: Shampoo & Conditioner 
This is probably the most important step in the routine. If you're going to be coloring your hair you need to be using a line of shampoo and conditioner that will help to keep your hair healthy. It's important to pick a brand that is paraben free and is as natural & chemical free as possible. After coloring your hair with harsh chemicals the last thing you need is to be stripping your hair each day when you shampoo it. I also suggest you look for products that have oils in them, the shampoo I use has almond oil in it which leaves my hair extra soft & shiny. By choosing a product that is paraben free and has oils you are promoting your hair growth as hair needs the natural oils in order to grow. When you use products that contain paraben you are stripping your hair of the natural oils which leaves it dry and prone to breakage.

Step 2: Weekly Hair Masque 
Think of a hair masque the same way you think of a body butter lotion. Putting a hair masque on once a week will replenish moisture back into your hair that may have been stripped away from washing it. I like to do a hair masque on Sunday nights and leave it in while I watch a TV show, then rinse it out in the shower. I wouldn't suggest doing the mask more than once a week as it could make your hair greasy. 

Step 3: Hair ties 
You're probably wondering what hair ties have to do with my hair care routine. The reason hair ties are so important when it comes to hair care is because there are hair ties that will gently hold your hair back & hair ties that can pull & break your  hair. The hair ties you should be using are the soft elastic ones that are about half and inch wide, these will hold your hair nicely while not breaking your hair. Do not use hair ties that have that sticky grip elastic on them, it will pull out your hairs and break them off and create those "baby hairs" around your face.

Step 4: Hair Vitamins
I've seen so many pills out there that are such scams for growing your hair longer and stronger and faster and what not but none of them really work. I've been taking Biotin on and off for about 4 years now and I can promise you it really works. The pill comes in different strengths anywhere from 200mg to 10,000 mg and up. I wouldn't suggest anything over 1,000 mg as that might be a little overload for your body.

Hair Products I Love:
Macadamia Hair Masque
Bain De Terre Shampoo & Conditioner
Biotin
Hair Ties

Hope you've enjoyed this post!

XOXO

Niki 
Wednesday, August 12, 2015

What's in my bag: Vacation edition



If you're nosey like I am, you're interested in knowing what other people carry around in their bags. I always feel like Mary Poppins and wonder if I have entirely too many things in my bag, but the limit doesn't exist right!? Below I have gone through some of the things I always have in my bag when I'm going away for vacation! 

Snacks & Drink: 
My favorite candy to bring on a vacation is chewy candies because they won't melt in your bag like chocolate will. I love Jelly Beans, but really only the light color ones, so if I get the chance I usually stop at a candy store and just pick out the Jelly Bean colors I like. I also love Mentos...I know i'm like a 70 year old women. My favorite color is the pink ones but I haven't been able to find the all pink packs! Help! The final thing I always make sure I bring with me while traveling is a cup. I recently purchased this one at Starbucks and its made of 100% recycled material and is nice and sturdy. Whenever I stop somewhere I prefer to just get my drink in my own cup verses having my car filled with 900 empty Starbucks & Dunkin Donuts cups. 

Beauty Goods:
If there was only room for one beauty item in your bag I would say bring hair ties! I have a fear of needing a hair tie and not having one so I make sure I always have some in my bag. My favorite perfume to carry in my bag is my Marc Jacobs Daisy rollerball. This scent is very fresh and floral and perfect for freshening up throughout the day. The great thing about a rollerball is that theres no chance of it leaking all over your bag!
Lip products are a must for me. I feel like if I don't have something to put on my lips that my lips are chapped and then I need to purchase some lip balm immediately. My favorite lip balm is BurtsBees (the original kind), and then I'll have either a nude lipstick or lipgloss to layer on top. I've been loving the Sephora lipgloss in the color bubble gum.
Don't forget a good hand lotion! I feel like the longer I'm in a car or traveling the dryer my skin gets, so I like to lather on lotion. The Bath and Body Works lotion in Limoncello is my current favorite, it smells like heaven!

Eyewear:
I wear prescription glasses most of the time but when I'm in the sun I switch those out for some cute sunglasses. I always bring my Ray-Ban gold aviators with me and then I bring a few inexpensive pairs of sunglasses that I can throw in my bag and wear to the beach, and not have to worry if they get lost or scratched.

Entertainment:
As much as I love looking through social media on my phone it gets pretty boring after a little so I always bring a book with me. I love reading romance books meant for 16 year old girls...What can I say..its my guilty pleasure. Slash they're way more interesting than romance novels meant for "mature adults". I also love to bring my Ipad which I have all my magazines on. Last year I stopped buying hard copies of magazines and instead bought my subscriptions on my Ipad which is great because I have a ton of magazines all on one device. Make sure you download the magazines prior to your trip or else you wont be able to read them as they require wifi if they're not downloaded.


Products Mentioned:
Starbucks Cup
Ray Ban Gold Aviators
Sephora Lip Gloss
Limoncello Hand Cream
Hair Ties

I'm off to Maine tomorrow to celebrate my birthday so I thought this post would be a perfect one to get up before I leave. I hope you've enjoyed!

XOXO

Niki



Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Perfect At Home Manicure

We all wish we had the time and patience to sit at a nail salon each week and get a manicure; but let's be honest, 95% of us don't have time for that. I treat myself to a manicure about once a month but I generally do my nails myself once a week. Below I've listen the steps I take to achieve a perfect manicure at home. 

Step 1: Cuticles
If your cuticles look like crap, sorry to tell you but so will your manicure. This is the most important step in my opinion. Prior to painting your nails apply a cuticle oil, or lotion and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. After the cuticle oil has set in, wipe your nail beds clean with warm water so there is no oil reside left on the nail when you paint them. 

Step 2: Base Coat
If you had to pick between doing a base coat and doing a top coat I would suggest spending the time on the base coat. It's the same concept as priming walls before painting them. Applying a good base coat will create the perfect foundation to apply your nail color to. Choose a base coat that offers to do something for your nails, some help to strengthen, some help with length; if you're going to take the time to apply it, it might as well do something good. 

Step 3: Nail color
The best piece of advice I could give you regarding painting your nails would be to use a good nail polish! If your nail polish is chunky, or takes 5 coats to build up then your manicure will not come out looking great. My favorite line of nail polish is Essie because of two things: 1. the formula is really great, not gooey but not watery and 2. it dries really fast, which I love because I have absolutely no patience. Below I'm wearing my favorite color called 'Clambake' 

Nail Products I love:
Butter London Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator
Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil
Sally Hansen Cuticle Rehab
Essie Summer Nail Polish Collection

I hope you've enjoyed this post and are able to achieve the perfect mani!

XOXO

Niki