My Skin Care Routine

    I'm glad to say that I think I have finally found a skin care routine that works for me.  For years I have gone back and forth from one cleanser to another, one moisturizer to another in a never ending cycle of never really finding something that works well for my skin.  So I've decided to share with you what has been working for me.

    The first step for me is always makeup removal.  I had been using the MAC makeup remover wipes, but I always found they were sort of rough, which is not always a bad thing.  They were great for removing eye makeup, but I wanted something a little smoother on my skin.  I've discovered that I love the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Towelettes, especially the night calming ones. I usually only remove my makeup at night anyway, so no need to remove my makeup in the morning.  They have a wonderful lavender scent and have an extremely calming effect when I use them in the evenings.  They are gentle, ultra soft calming cloths for clean, fresh, makeup-free skin in one easy step. These wipes remove all traces of makeup with a calming fragrance that helps me unwind and prepares me for a good night's sleep, which we all know is a problem for me.  I don't do this in the morning, as I have no makeup to remove of course.

  After removing my makeup for my evening routine, I use a Lush Cosmetics cleanser. Depending on how my skin is reacting to the enviornment or my hormones, I use one of two that I have come to love.  If my face seems sensitive, dry, or unbalanced, I use Angels on Bare Skin.  The kaolin clay base deep cleanses while ground almonds gently exfoliate dead skin away.  It also contains rose and lavender which soothe and help balance out combination skin, and it's great for all skin types.  If my face seems oily or breakout prone on that day, I use Dark Angels.  Dark Angels is a soft black sugar scrub that feels quite exfoliating and chalky when I rub it into my skin. It contains black sugar and powdered charcoal to exfoliate and cleanse away excess oils. Rhassoul mud and vitamin-rich cold pressed organic avocado oil soften, moisturize, and nourish the skin, while sandalwood and rosewood oils soothe the skin. I don't always use a toner, but if I do, I use the Eau Roma Water from Lush if I'm using Angels on Bare Skin, or Tea Tree Water on the days I use Dark Angels.

    I use a face mask about 3 times a week, but I've used so many, it would be too many to list.  I have found my favorite one to be The Sacred Truth from Lush.  After my face is cleansed and detoxified, I use a moisturizer.  It is extremely important to moisturize your skin.  I had so much trouble finding a moisturizer that would do what I really wanted it to without it making me break out, be too greasy, be too light, or having an allergic reaction to it.  Thankfully I have found the Shiseido Pureness Matifying Moisturizer.  This is the perfect moisturizer for my combination skin.  I tend to have an oily T-zone and dry cheeks and forehead.  It's pH-balanced, improves the texture of my skin and helps reduce surface shine.  It provides wonderful hydration to skin and it protects the skin's natural moisture balance.

    The next step in my night skin routine is to use an eye cream.  I have always liked Philosophy's Eye Hope, however when I ran out of that, I decided to try Lush's Enchanted Eye Cream.  The area around our eyes is very sensitive and delicate.  This cream gently rejuvenates and soothes without causing any irritation. It livens up the eye area. I just dab the cream gently along the bone below my eye and around my eyes and eyelids right before bed.

    When I wake up in the morning, it's time to get ready for work again.  I can't go to work without a shower to wake me in the morning.  In the shower I wash my face with Fresh's Soy Face Cleanser.  I love the scent of this gentle cleanser.  It's for all skin types and is supposed to be fragrance-free but to me is smells of cucumbers. The gel formula instantly whisks away impurities, removes any excess makeup from the day before, and is safe to use on the eye area. It's also soap free and doesn't leave behind a film or residue. It preps my face for my primer, and makes my face feel clean and fresh...no pun intended.

   

What's your favorite cleanser or skin routine? Leave a comment letting me know what you do to take care of the gentle skin on your face to keep you looking clean and young.

The Body Kraze - New Bath Company - My Review

   OK, let me first say that I get offered to review products a lot lately.  I don't accept all offers, and I am always up front with companies by letting them know that if I am not fully satisfied with the company I will not review it.  Let me just say that this company has exceeded my excpectations.  The Body Kraze is a brand new bath and body company.  Their products are great.  All of the soaps I have tried leave a lingering scent on your body and are extremely moisturizing.  The thing that caught me off guard with this company is the size of their products.  They are HUGE!  The prices are great.  No more than $5-$6 for a bar of soap that larger than my whole hand.  The large bath bombs are larger than a softball!  They are called moisture bombs and are absolutely wonderful.  It is a great bath experience!  The only thing I did not like about the website was that there were no scent descriptions, but I have created a youtube video reviewing these products doing my best at describing the scents in my own way.  I may not be right, but this is what they smell like to me :) If you would like to take a look at the website please click on the banner below! 



Also here is my youtube video review!

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and Primer

     So as many of you know, I recently purchased the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation.  I am ususally a MAC user when it comes to foundation, so this was an exciting purchase.  I had heard so many great things about this foundation from so many people, I decided to try it out.  Let me just say that I LOVE this foundation!  The first time I applied it, I was thinking to myself "No way is this going to work for the coverage I need."  I am used to using MAC's Studio Fix Fluid which is a pretty heavy foundation.  As many of you know, I'm not very young, but not old - hahaha, and I need a good amount of coverage.  However, I started applying it and realized the coverage was really great and a little goes a long way with this foundation.  It is also said to improve skin brightness, radiance and texture.  The product holds up all day for me, and I am so glad I bought it.  It's a  glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage. It also has skincare benefits and combined with the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, skin is hydrated, more luminous, softer, and smoother. I think it's best to get color matched in a Sephora or any other place that sells NARS products as I thought that I would have been a shade or two darker than I actually was from looking at swatches online.

     At the time, I had also purchsed the Laura Mercier Oil Free Face Primer, and I began using the two together,  After about a week, I noticed my skin was getting an allergic reaction to one of the two.  Happily, it was not the NARS foundation.  I quit using the Laura Mercier Primer and began to use the foundation on its own.  My skin started to clear up immediately, so I feel as though this foundation actually helped to clear up my allergic reaction to the Laura Mercier primer.  According to the NARS website, this foundation hydrates for softer and smoother skin, is dermatologist tested, non-comedogenic, and fragrance free. I feel this actually helped to combat the dry patches that the primer had left behind. 

     So with that, I had to return the Laura Mercier, and get a different primer.  I had recieved the NARS Foundation Primer with SPF20 as a 100 point perk from Sephora around the holidays.  I had used this primer and loved it, but never bought it as I am always looking to try something new.  So I exchanged the Laura Mercier Primer for the NARS Primer.  According to the NARS website, this primer combines soothing and hydrating ingredients with a full spectrum of sun protection to create a natural-looking and long-lasting foundation application. The translucent, lightweight formula is designed to be applied before makeup or worn alone to prepare, nourish and hydrate skin, while helping to ease redness, reduce inflammation and improve the skin’s overall texture and quality.  Additional antioxidant protection helps to fight free radical damage. I really like this primer.  It keeps the foundation on all day and coupled with the Sheer Glow Foundation really makes a great finish to your skin.

So my questions for you are:
Which foundation do you use?
Do you use a primer and if so which one?
Have to you tried the NARS Foundations and/or primers?

Sigma Beauty on the Go Kit - Smokey Eyes

     Let me just start by saying that I absolutely LOVE Sigma Makeup.  In my dealings with the Sigma Makeup team, I have gotten great customer service, well crafted makeup brushes, and now beautiful makeup palettes. If you haven't tried Sigma's Beauty on the Go Kits, you are missing out in my opinion.  These shadows have wonderful color payoff and are extremely easy to blend.  I have all four Beauty on the Go Kits: Neutral Eyes, Smokey Eyes, Fun with Colors, and the Blush and Highlight Kits.  Let me just say that I was very impressed with these kits.  I wear my Neutral Eyes Kits almost daily, and get many compliments on my makeup.  "Those colors are so pretty! Where do you get those?"  I always tell my coworkers where they can find these great kits.

       I first heard of Sigma Makeup through youtube and immediately bought their complete brush set.  At that time, I did not have many MAC brushes (which I have bought since that time) and I was looking for a cheaper alternative.  Sigma seemed like a great option.  I ordered my first Sigma brush kit, and upon using them the first time to apply my makeup as I had been using cheaper brushes from the drugstore, I thought How did I apply makeup without these before!   I like that Sigma has named their brushes with the same numbers as the MAC brushes, so if there is a MAC brush you are looking for, you can probably find that same brush from Sigma.  I also enjoyed the fact that I could do more looks that were displayed by larger gurus, as most of them used MAC brushes.  So when a guru applied makeup and said "I'm using my MAC 224." I now could just grab for my Sigma or "SS 224" and create the same look.  Now let me say, the Sigma brushes are very dupable to MAC, but they are not exactly the same, and I actually prefer some of my Sigma brushes more than my MAC ones. I have many reviews on my youtube channel about Sigma Brushes if you'd like to take a look at the reviews.

     As many of you already know, you can buy any of the makeup kits and all of Sigma's brushes from http://www.sigmamakeup.com/.  I just recently received the Smokey Eyes Kit and the Fun with Colors Kit.  I have posted a review of the Smokey Eyes Kit and the Pink Sigma brushes, and have done a tutorial using both the Neutral Eyes and Smokey Eyes Kits which will be shown below.  The eyeshadows and blushes have great pigmentation and the color in the pan, is exactly what shows up on your eye!  I also find that with a little help from primer (whichever you choose), your look will last all day long.  The kits were sent to my by Sigma, but the Complete Brush Set, and the new Advanced Brush Set were bought by me.  I would continue to buy Sigma Makeup even if I were not sent products to review.

Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland Palette

If you've seen my last Sephora haul on Youtube, you know I purchased the coveted Alice in Wonderland Palette by Urban Decay.  When this palette was first launched, I held out thinking I have the Book of Shadows vol II so why would I need this.  As we all know, in today's society it is a strenuous battle of "wants" and "needs".  When shopping last weekend, I saw it in Sephora.  Yes, many of the colors are in the Book of Shadows vol II, and some are from the Ammo palette, but some were shadows I didn't have.  This is also a makeup collectors item, and the packaging completely drew me in.  The top of the palette opens up to reveal a beautiful pop-up scene of Alice walking through a forest of mushrooms.    For anyone who loves Urban Decay, Tim Burton, Disney, or Alice in Wonderland, this is an absolutely MUST have this palette.  But there are many of us asking the question: Which of these shadows are the ones I don't have? Here is a rundown of each shadow and its dupe:

(16) Eyeshadows:

-Underland (Flash)
-Alice (Painkiller)
-Oraculum (Baked)
-Queen (Last Call)
-Chessur (Chopper)
-White Rabbit (Polyester Bride)
-Wonderland (Maui Wowie)
-Curiouser (Grifter)
-Muchness (X)
-Mushroom (Mushroom)
-Midnight Tea Party (Midnight Cowboy Rides Again)
-Vorpal (S&M)
-Absolem (Homegrown)
-Drink Me Eat Me (Sin)
-Mad Hatter (Twice Baked)
-Jabberwocky (Oil Slick)
-Travel-size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero and Flipside
-Travel-size Eyeshadow Primer Potion

The eyeshadows are wonderful.  If you haven't used Urban Decay before, be warned that none of these are matte eyeshadows. They all have a shimmer to varying degrees from very subtle to large chunks as in Midnight Tea Party.  Some people were complaining that these are best selling eyeshadows that are renamed and not new colors, but if you are someone like me, who falls in love with a particular shadow, why not have an extra?  Considering that most of Urban Decay's single eyeshadow run you about $18, you can get so many of them in this palette for $50.  The eyeshadows have wonderful payoff, and used with the primer potion, stay on all day.  I love the consistency of all of Urban Decay's shadows, so although this was an impulse buy for me, I am not regretting the purchase.  I love having all of my favorite colors in one place, easily accessable and ready to be used together.  I do wish that Urban Decay would have come out with some exclusive colors specifically for this palette, but overall I think it's worth the price, and I'm glad I bought it.

So my questions for you are:
What do you think of this duped palette?
Did you buy it? If so what do you think?
Do you own any of the other Urban Decay palettes? 

 

Shadows and Concealer Stay and Don't Stray

While shopping at Sephora this weekend, I picked up Benefit's new eye primer - Stay Don't Stray.  I've used this for three days, and I must say, I absolutely love it.  I do need to tell you though, I'm not sure this product will work for all skin tones.  It's a very light nude shade that I'm not sure would work for olive or dark skin tones.  On me it works fabulous, but I am very pale.  I usually always put concealer and then my MAC MSF under my eyes, so this helps that stay there all day.   I have noticed a dramatic difference in the staying power of my concealer under my eye area which is the place I need it the most.  Using this as a concealer primer is quite tricky though.  You need to make sure it is completely blended and that you use a concealer that is quite thin...I use the MAC Select Moisture Coverage Concealer under my eye area so it works out great with that.  It also works similar to Powderflage, brightening the eye area to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

As a primer for your eyeshadows, it works quite well. My eyeshadows have been staying on all day, but I much prefer their discontinued F Y Eye as a shadow primer.  Shadows don't blend the same on top of the new primer, but they do stay all day.  All in all, I think this is a great product.  Your eyeshadows stay vibrant and true to color all day.  It also hydrates the eye area to lock in moisture, and fights signs of aging with Vitamins C & E.  It's also free of parabens, which we all try to stay away from.  It really goes on smooth and covers darkness and redness really well. 

Just a note about application.  This product comes in a cylinder with a pump dispenser.  Be careful when pumping out your product.  About half a pump is all you need for both eyes.  If you have any remaining, you can use it on areas that you will be applying concealer to keep your concealer on all day.

Mascaras - Which One Do You Use?

One of my favorite makeup items has always been mascara.  I feel as if it's the finishing touch to your makeup.  Even on those days when I don't feel like making up my whole face, or if I'm in a rush, I always put on mascara.  So this brings me to the question: Are higher priced mascaras really worth the money we pay for them?  In my experience, it depends on the brand of the higher price mascara.  With drug store mascaras, it has always been hit or miss for me. With that being said, I'll give you a run down of my favorite mascaras - high end and drug store.

My all time love of mascaras right now is the Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara.  In my opinion this mascara does it all!  It achieves an intense, dramatic lash look with one stroke. Its uses a Triple-Film Complex: a film-coating for intensity, a conditioning film for curve, and a fixing film for long-lasting effectiveness.  The brush applicator combines nylon fibers of varying diameters for volume enhancement.  I love this mascara, and when shopping in Sephora one day, I picked it up.  I was sad that my wallet had to take a dent at the $28 price, but to me every penny was worth it.  This is the mascara that I pick up the most often as it does everything in one stroke.

My next choice for high end mascara is actually a combination of two items.  I really love Urban Decay's Eyelash Primer Potion used with DuWop's Lash Venom.  These two eyelash products work great together. The Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion is a lengthening, volumizing, and fortifying mascara base.  If you use this product before your favorite mascara your lashes will appear thicker, longer, and stronger.  It uses the conditioning, fortifying, and thickening formula of Silk Protein, Panthenol, and Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein. I love to pair this with DuWop's Lash Venom. I like the Lash Venom on it's own as it provides extreme length without clumping.  The formula also contains vitamin E and an acrylic polymer that prevents smudging and flaking. The brush is made to optimize both pick-up and delivery, ensuring consistent performance with every application. Lash Venom gives your lashes instant fullness and a glossy, jet-black finish.  In conjunction, these two products give you the effect of false lashes when you really aren't wearing them.

Of course there are many more high end mascara that I use and like. Buxom by Bare Essentiuals is a great mascara, as is the Bad Gal Lash by Benefit. However, the ones reviewed above are way worth the price if I had to choose. I've been wanting to try the Dior Show Extase Mascara, and may treat myself to it the next time I am at Sephora.

So I bring myself to drug-store brands.  I have only found 3 drug store brand mascaras that I would like and repurchase.  One is the Covergirl Lash Blast.  This mascara is really awesome for a drug store brand.  I was actually very surprised when I used it as I had never had a drug store brand give me the effect I wanted before this one.  It gives you instant volume and lift. It's smudge proof and smear proof, and it's also hypoallergenic (which is good for those who wear contacts).  I love this mascara and plan to try the other varieties of it that Covergirl is beginning to offer. 

Two other drug store mascaras I reach for are both made by Maybelline.  The first is the Intense XXL® Volume + Length Washable Microfiber Mascara.  This mascara works alot like the UD Eyelash Primer and my Duwop Lash Venom combination, however with a little more clumping...so if you can't afford the higher end combo, this would be a great mascara for you.  It creates up to 60% longer lashes and 11X the volume. I feel the only downfall of this mascara is that the microfiber side of the tube tends to clump my lashes, so an eyelash curler is a must when using this mascara.  Another mascara by Maybelline that I use is the Lash Stiletto. I must say the brush on this mascara is great.  It grasps each lash and coats from every angle, while the formula is filled with Pro-Vitamin B-5 that conditions and smoothes for black-patent shine.  I would reccommend this mascara to anyone who is looking for a great drug store brand.

On that note there are many other drug store mascaras I have yet to try and would like to.  So my questions for you are:
What is your favorite mascara?
Do you prefer high end mascaras to drug store brands?
Do you think that the price of high end mascaras is worth it?
What mascara would you reccommend to your friends?

Hair Products - New Favorites!

Not too long ago, my Secret Santa sent me a great gift. She gave me a variety of CIBU hair styling products.  Let me just say "Wow!"  Now I love this stuff.  According to the Cibu website: Cibu shampoos, conditioners and finishing products add maximum shine and moisture to all hair types. Fine, straight, thick, dry, curly or chemically treated, Cibu's patented blend of Bamboo, Water Lily and Lotus Flower extracts and Vitamin B5 protect and nourish hair. And it smells so good!

So let me tell you what I have been using and loving.  One of my favorite things, one that I have been reaching for everyday I may add, is the Origumi Paste. This stuff is totally awesome.  It gives my hair volume and shine.  I use it on my damp hair, on the underneath and in the roots, to give my hair some lift.  I be careful not to use too much as it will weigh my hair down, but I've gotten that down to a science now.

Another product I've been using is the Miso Knotty Leave In Detangler. This is a gentle leave-in detangler that works great in my hair. After shampooing, I spritz it into my wet hair and comb through. It eliminates those little flyaways at the crown of my head and refreshes my hair. Sometimes, because I have fine, limp hair, conditioners can weigh it down. This product doesn't. It's great for when I want to skip a conditioner day.

I've also been using the Shang Hi Root Booster, Thickening Paste and Mousse Lee Foaming Volumizer. These are awesome products for fine, limp, lifeless hair like mine. When I use them, I apply them to my damp hair and then blow dry. What I like most about these products is that I don't feel like I have any product there. My hair is touchably soft, but volumized. Check out Cibu's website: http://www.cibuinternational.com/index.html

There are definitely products there for all hair types!

Bare Minerals Foundation

I hope everyone is finding themselves in the spirit of the season and enjoying their holidays.  My break starts today and I am exstatic that I do not have to go to work for two weeks.  I find myself wanting to go shopping, but sadly the money has been used up for Christmas presents already. I have nothing more to buy for Christmas and cannot justify spending money on anything else. 

Just recently for my birthday, I got the Bare Minerals Matte Foundation and Concealer. My foundation color is light while my concealer color is bisque. I've really wanted to give this a try for a long time. Acutally I bought a friend of mine Bare Minerals Foudation for Christmas as it was what she requested.  She absolutely raves about how much she likes it, so I thought I would give it a go. 

After purchasing it, and trying it numerous times, I feel that it's just "OK" in my opinion. I realize many people like this foundation so I'll tell you the pros and cons in my opinion.  One thing that I can say is that I was amazed at how this product is a powder but covers like a liquid foundation. My only turn off is that the coverage didn't last throughout the day for me.  I tried applying different primers to combat this problem.  I've used MAC's Prep and Prime, NARS Face Primer, and Under Your Spell Face Primer from Spell Cosmetics. None of these helped the Bare Minerals Foundation stay on all day.  I do however the idea that I only have to apply a powder instead of liquid and powder.  If I would be a person that would reapply makeup throughout the day, this would be a product I would love; however, I am not a person that has the time for that with the job I have.

Bare Minerals has a variety of shades of their foundation to match just about any skin tone.  In my opinion that's a good thing.  So my questions for you are:
Do you use Bare Minerals?
What do think are the pros and cons of it?

Which primer do you use with it, if you use one?

What are your thoughts?

Benefit Cosmetics Favorites

Do you ever realize that you reach for the same thing everyday in terms of makeup.  I find myself applying makeup in the morning, with little time to spare, looking at the array of items at my disposal and saying, "Hmm, what to do?"  Many days I end up reaching for the same things, and to be honest, I have found that those tend to be my products by Benefit Cosmetics. 

I was introduced to Benefit Cosmetics when I first starting watching other beauty gurus on You Tube.  The first item I ever bought from Benefit was Coralista blush, which I still reach for on a regular basis; however, since then, I have added to my benefit collection.  I thought I would share of few of these items with you and give you an overall "Tknokitten" review on them.

The thing I find myself reaching for the most is the "Smokin Eyes" palette.  This palette seems to be my go to when I am in a rush. It seems to have everything I need. It contains 3 eyeshadows, an eyeliner, a brush (which to be honest I really don't use), a Brow Zings eyebrow wax, Eye Bright, and a tweezer.  For me this is a perfect palette for those days when choices are not in the running for me.  I really like the colors of these shadows as they can be used heavily for a really smoked out look, or lightly for a daytime affect. As a teacher, I can't step into class to teach my 4th graders with bright purple eyeshadow.  I need to tone it down somewhat, and these shadows are perfect for that.  The eyeliner is OK.  It's your typical black eyeliner for me, and isn't very soft or creamy as some eyeliners can be.  It applies easily, but tends to rub off during the day. I usually keep my regular MAC fluid lines handy as those tend to hold up for me throughout the day.  The brow zings are my favorite part of this little palette! The color is suitable for all hair colors. My hair is highlighted blonde and this color does not look bad at all. It actually looks quite natural.  The eyebright (the pink rectangle on the palette) usually comes in a pencil form, but was put in this palette for easy use and travel when you don't want to lug around your whole makeup drawer.  This can be used in the corners of your eyes to brighten up the most tired eyes. I always tend to have that problem. Sleeping is definitely an issue for me.  You can also use it under your eyes if you have really dark circles, or on the brow bone as a highlight.  Let's just say I grab this often, especially if I am in a rush...and it is worth it.

Another product that I have grown to love is the eye primer.  Sadly I have heard that the F. Y... Eye is being discontinued. I was lucky enough to get one of the last ones at my benefit counter as Sephora was completely out of it and did not plan to re-stock.  This primer is great. I hate pumping up the benefits of it (no pun intended) as it is discontinued, but I need to tell you that this primer is unlike any I have used before. I have tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance (which does not work well for me), Urban Decay Primer Potion which had been my go to primer for the longest time, Magnetize by Spell Cosmetics, and Coastal Scents Eye Poxy primer. For pigments, I would say Magnetize by Spell is the way to go; but, if you are going to be using pressed eyeshadows I love my F. Y... Eye.  It dries to a nice powdery finish and your shadows are very easy to blend on top of. Most other primers, at least in my experience tend to grab onto eyeshadow, enhance the colors (which is not always a bad thing), and stick them to your lid making it very difficult to blend.  Benefit's F. Y... Eye allows you to really blend your shadows and keeps my shadow on all day.

I have found another primer, though that is a close runner to Benefit's F. Y...Eye that seems to basically do the same thing.  That is Ulta's Professional Eye Primer. If you have seen my last haul on You Tube, I talk about both of them. The Ulta Professional Eye Primer is a lot cheaper as well. It's only $12 as compared to Benefit's $28, but as I tested it in Ulta, and played around with it on my hand with shadows, I found it to do the same thing.  I would rather Benefit's but as it is being discontinued, I will try this one out every now and again.  If not, I can always go back to my Urban Decay Primer Potion (which I love as well)

I could go on and on about Benefit's products. The only downfall I have found is that their eyeshadow colors are quite limited. The few that I have tried I absolutely love.  I find myself wishing they were more like MAC with unlimited shades and finishes, but sadly they are not.  MAC does a great job of allowing their customer base loads of choices when it comes to eyeshadows and blushes.  I do like the three blushes I have from Benefit: Coralista, Throb, and Dandelion (which is more of a luminizer than a blush). 

So my questions for you are:

Do you use any benefit products?

Which ones are your faves?

Which products would you recommend to others?

What are your thoughts?

Lip Stuffies

Ok so we all know that it's the winter season. One thing that lets us know is our lips. Even though I don't live in the coldest section of the country, it does get cold and windy, and the air gets dryer; hence, my lips get very dry and at times chapped. I have come across some great products to treat this and some other lip favorites I wanted to share with you. Some of these items I have bought from Sephora, some from Ulta, and some from Suds-n-Sass.

So first let me start off with Suds-n-Sass. This is a great small business online bath and beauty site that I have come to love!!! The owner, Beth, sells a variety of makeup, bath, and fragrance items. Suds-n-Sass sells one of my favorite things...Jelly Balms, which are her lip balms. They are full of wonderful moisturizing ingredients for your lips and are also tinted for a hint of color. My favorite two are Bitten and Lucky Penny. Definately check those out!

Another product that has become a love of mine over the last 3 weeks is the Korres Lip Butters. These are amazing. If you haven't tried them yet, head over to Sephora or Ulta or wherever else Korres is sold in your area and check them out. They are $9 a jar and are totally worth it. They are made with shea butter which really helps dry, chapped lips. They come in a wide range of colors and scents. The Jasmine one is completely nude on your lips. They give your lips a nice shine and are worth the money in my opinion. Korres also has lip glosses. I have the Cherry set and really like it.








I have also found that the lip balms from Avon work really well. I've been getting these from my students as Christmas gifts over the past week and find I really like them! If you don't have an Avon consultant near you, you can always order them online. They are amazingly cheap. Some of them only cost 99 cents. Can you beat that?




So the last item I have come to love over the last week that is lip related is by Fusion Beauty. The Lip Fusion Plumper and XL Plumper are totally worth the money in my opinion. I bought the double ended one to try them both out. One is their normal lip plumper...on the other side is the XL plumper that really plumps your lips without that stinging feeling that you get from most lip plumpers. My next purchase from Fusion will definitely be some of their plumping glosses. They can tend to be expensive, but I really like mine and do not regret the purchase.



My questions for you are:
Is winter taking a toll on you lips?
What are your favortie lip stuffies?
How do you beat those dry chapped lips?

Coastal Scents Creative Me #1

The Creative Me #1 color palette consists of 12 vibrant basic shades in matte. These colors are extremely bright while others are extremely dark. It has a great variety of shades that would best be used if you want to go for more than an everyday look. I like this palette as it has a light and darker shade for each color. It is also magnetized. You can switch colors in and out of this palette as you like. I think it would be great if Coastal Scents came out with more creative me palettes that had more neutral colors or colors that were wearable for almost any working girl. We don't always have jobs where we can wear outrageous vibrant colors. On the other hand the colors in this palette are absolutely gorgeous and some can even be considered dupes for Mac or Makeup Forever. Coastal Scents has always been a great alternative to those who cannot afford high end makeup. Their prices are extremely reasonable and perfect for someone who is just starting out with makeup or freelancing.





The price of this palette is $21.95 which is a great deal in my opinion. Once you hit pan on these, you can return to http://www.coastalscents.com/ to purchase more hot pot shadows to fill up your pan. I have swatched the colors below. Keep in mind that these were swatched with not primer at all. The colors are very bright and vibrant even with primer under them.