A Day In Wears: Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation

Hello loves! Today I wanted to try a little bit of a different post, and I’m super excited about it. For me, one of the most important qualities in my makeup products is that they last pretty much all day, and don’t require much maintenance. So a Day In Wears is going to be a new series where I check in with you all as the day goes on and see how whichever product I’m testing out that day is wearing. And today’s product is the new Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation. This foundation is also Mattifying and oil free. I was given a sample after making a purchase at Sephora and decided to give it a try. (This also explains why this foundation is slightly/incredibly the wrong shade for my skin tone. I just blended it down my neck, like a lot.) I was given the shade Nude, which as mentioned, wasn’t the shade I would choose for myself but I made it work. Upon first application this foundation is incredibly matte. Like you-look-kind-of-dead-until-you-put-the-rest-of-your-makeup-on matte. Which is really great for if you plan on taking any pictures that day, you will only shine where you want to!

8:00am: first application, and looking flawless.   
11:00am: making lunch for the kids I was babysitting, and still looking awesome! 
3:00pm: right after my hair cut, you like? And still feeling good about the makeup! It had settled a little bit along the sides of my nose so I blotted that away, but otherwise looking good! 

 7:00pm: getting ready for a going away party for a friend, and noticing a bit of wear and tear. Definitely emphasizing my dry patches, and needing some touch-ups on blemishes. I applied a little bit of concealer where I needed it.

 10:00pm: after applying a bit of concealer on a few more obvious blemishes. Not looking too bad!  

And yes, I realize I am not wearing the same top in any of these pictures. My first top is my PJ shirt, then I threw a sweat shirt over my navy v-neck for the second shot since it was cold, took off the sweatshirt for my hair cut, then came home and threw on an oversized tshirt to nap in, and then changed for the bonfire. So yeah. It was a crazy day, but all the better to test out this foundation. I was incredibly impressed by how long this product lasted and the flawless finish it gave my skin. I have dry to combination skin, and I did notice that towards the middle and end of the day that you could see the foundation clinging to any dry patches I had. That being said, I probably wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with very dry skin. If you have normal, oily, or combination and are looking for a flawless finish, I highly recommend this product. It was very light feeling on the skin, one of my pet peeves is super thick and goopy foundations, and this was not one of them. The only thing that catches me up on this product is the price. It’s $55 for 1oz of product. To me, that’s a little bit much. So if you have the money, this would be a great everyday flawless face for the office, or if you just want to save it for special occasions, that’d work too. I hope you guys have found this helpful! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

 

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Rant or Rave: Deborah Lipman Polish

Hello loves! And happy Monday! I have been majorly slacking in the posts department recently, and for that I am so sorry! I’ve worked it into my weekend to write all the posts for this week way in advance, and hope to continue doing that so I’ll have consistent content! With that being said, today I have another review for you!

I recently purchased my first Deborah Lipman polish on a whim at Sephora. The shade “Like Dreamers Do” was on sale for $8.99, which is comparable to OPI or Essie, so I thought, why not! I tried it out for the first time about a week ago when I was home sick, and loved the color. If you have a tan or naturally have medium to dark skintone, you need this color in your life. It also looks amazing with both gold and silver jewelry and is honestly the perfect summer neutral. I was expecting this polish to wear like my Essie polishes do, which is a few days (1-3) without chipping, and then after those couple days about 2 more days before it looks unacceptable and needs to be removed. But… This polish lasted for over a week before it was, what I consider, unacceptable. A WEEK PEOPLE. This blew my mind. And let’s also remember that I work at a summer camp for 40 hours a week, with dirty dirty children, outside, were we swim at least twice a week. And it lasted through all of that. I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t. But with all that being said, this will probably be reapplied weekly for the rest of the summer. Oh, and this polish also dries super fast. Like lightening speed fast. And I, the most impatient person ever, can handle the drying time. It’s amazing. Here are some photos of my best hand modeling:

   
   
So on that note, I’m going to head over to sephora and stock up on about 50 other shades from Deborah Lipman. And cross my fingers that all her colors have this lasting power. Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Rant or Rave: Glam Glow Masks

Hello loves! Happy Monday! Today I have a review I have been wanting to do for awhile, and haven’t had the chance to! So today is the day. I have heard so much about the Glam Glow face masks, and how they’re basically a gift from God. Obviously, this prompted me to want to try them so I waited for a trio-sampler to come out so I could try all three at once. The trio includes the Power Mud, Thirst Mud and Tingling Exfoliating Mask. Now again, before I jump into this review, I have dry-combination skin that is somewhat sensitive, so this is how it reacted with my skin. I’d also like to point out that the Glam Glow mud masks are around $70, so you know, I expect them to work pretty darn well. And to be honest, I kind of hate all three of these masks. They do not feel pleasant when they’re on your skin. They feel incredibly drying when you have them on (even the hydrating one!) And they give off a weird tingling sensation that’s border-line painful. I also noticed little to no positive impact on my skin after using them. Immediately after my skin was a bit red and uneven from the intense exfoliators that are also in all the masks, which exfoliate your skin as you wash them off. Having skin that’s on the dryer side, I know my way around exfoliators, and know for a fact that they shouldn’t feel like they’re cutting into or hurting your skin, which these do, especially the mask specific to exfoliating. Overall, for how expensive they are and the excessive hype these masks have received, I am unimpressed and somewhat repulsed by the terrible time I had with them. I will most definitely be taking the trio back to Sephora to get my $75 back. Have you guys tried these masks? Did you have different results? Let me know in the comments below! (Side note: we finally got a rant review in! What did you think!?) Have a fabulous Monday loves and I’ll talk to ya Wednesday!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Challenge Monday: June 15, 2015

Hello loves! As the weather warms up, I find myself more and more drawn to the brighter shades in fashion and beauty. And natural hair and glowing skin. So for this week’s Challenge Monday, I’m challenging you to try a bold lip this week. There’s no limitation on what bold means to you, so if you want to wear a deep purple, you go girl. As for me, I’m coveting the Marc-Jacobs Kiss Pop Lip Color in Wham, but my Sephora is all out. *sheds a tear* But here is the link to the Kiss Pop Lip Color’s because they have some awesome summery shades and the packaging is amazing. Anyway, let’s jump into some examples of how to pull off a bright lip this summer!

Simplistic: for this look, you really don’t need much! Which is perfect for if you’re running late but want to look like you didn’t throw yourself together in 10 min. Make sure your brows are defined, and focus on getting your mascera so your lashes are defined. A tiny bit of eyeliner just on the upper lash line is fine if you feel you need more definition. And don’t forget to pop on a little blush so the bright color won’t wash you out. (You can use your lip color as a blush too if you want!) {image: harpersbazaar.com}
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Bronze Glowy: I absolutely love a bronze smokey eye and glowing skin paired with a bright lip. This is a bit more formal and perfect for a night out in the summer. Try using an illuminating foundation, or mix and illuminating primer with your foundation. If you skin is more oily and that scares you, use a powder or liquid highlighter on your cheekbones, under your brows, down the bridge of your nose, and Cupid’s bow. For the bronze eye look, just choose some of your favorite golden shades and create an eye look that won’t over power your bold lips.  {image: liptostic.com}
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For hair, my two favorite styles to pair with this are a messy or loose wave, or a top knot. Both look effortlessly chic.

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For outfits, my suggestion would be to keep it relaxed and casual. Try ripped jeans and a blouse or flowy tank with delicate jewelry and a fun bag and shoes. If you do need to dress it up more though, try monochromatic with white or black, or a more lady-like shape to your outfit. (And if you can, matching your lip color to your outfit is never a bad choice.)

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I hope you guys have enjoyed this post and found some helpful tips and inspiration to give bold lips a shot yourself! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Rant or Rave: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

Hello loves! Today I’m back with another Rant or Rave with you, which is basically my time to tell you if I think a product is amazing, horrible, or somewhere in-between. Today I wanted to share with you, not new to the world, but new to me product that I’ve recently tried. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect royal blue nail polish FOR-EVER. Like years on end. I tried Butler Please by Essie, and it sucked. It royally sucked. It was clumpy, didn’t dry evenly and was seriously just a huge mess. Me and my girlfriends saved that polish for weeks so we could debut it on our spring break, and then ended up smearing it everywhere and making a general mess all over the coffee table of our rented condo. It was real fun. But anyway, I then moved on to try the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in shade 828, Batbano Blue. And whoa baby is this stuff great. For a somewhat incredibly impatient person like myself, drying time on a nail polish is the key to it’s status in my polish collection, and this stuff has amazing dry time. The other amazing thing about this polish is how many coats it needs: ONE. You just have to take your time applying it to make sure it’s evenly applied. Two coats will give you the flawless “I went to a salon for this” manicure, but you can definitely get away with just one coat. I can’t tell you how this wears by itself, because I am a firm believer in the usage of a topcoat at all times, but with either my OPI or Essie top coat, it lasts about 3-4 days without chips, and then usually a good 5-7 days before it gets to the point where I really need to take it off. The only thing I can’t vogue for is the other colors in this same line, I will be trying some out in the next couple weeks though for sure. I’ll probably do another post on the colors I try out, so be on the lookout for that! But for now here are some pics with the Batbano Blue!

Polish:

  
One Coat: 

 

Two Coats:

 
With Top Coat:

  

I hope you enjoyed this week’s review, and let me know if you’ve tried out any other colors in this line! I need some suggestions! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Summer Makeup Routine

Hello loves! As the weather begins to get hotter and insanely humid out, I’m forced to change out a few of my makeup products to insure my makeup doesn’t smear down my face from the heat. So today I’ll be sharing with you my summer makeup routine step by step.

No. 1: Moisturizer. Even though it’s hot and sticky out, it’s still important to keep your skin hydrated. I like to use my First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer and my Origins GinZing eye cream. These are both super light weight products, but they’re still amazing moisturizers.  

No. 2: Face Products. I’m still obsessed with my Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm. It stays on all day, evens out my skin tone AND has sunscreen build in. What more could a girl ask for? I apply the Beauty Balm with my fingers, after I’ve washed them of course. I cover any blemishes that still show through with my Laura Mercier Creamy Concealer, which I apply with my beauty blender. I also like to use this to cover any dark circles. I set my T-zone and under-eye area with my Clinique translucent powder to keep everything in place during the day. I apply this with a big powder brush from Eco Tools, my favorite brand of brushes.

  

No. 3: Color. Now that I’m sufficiently pale and colorless, let’s add some bronzer, blush and highlighter. First I apply my Nars Laguna bronzer in a 3 shape on each side of my face. I use a L’Bri brush I’ve had forever for this, probably need to get a new one of those soon. Next I apply my Hourglass Ambient Light blush in Diffused Heat and apply that with my Eco Tools blush brush. Then I apply a subtle highlight to my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose and on my cupid’s bow. I like using my Too faced Candlelight Glow with a slanted Bare Minerals brush. Between these three products, I look like a living and healthy human being again, which is always a plus.

 

No. 3: Eyes and such. Next it’s time to get my brows looking good. I absolutely love my Anistasia Brow Pencil in Medium Brown. I have no idea why this pencil is so much better than every other brow pencil, but it is. And it lasts forever! (Unlike those tiny thin pencils that last a week.) I’ve switched over to using waterproof mascera now that it’s summer, to avoid the whole smeared look. I’ve been loving the Maybelline Rocket Volume mascera for this. If I have something nicer that day, I’ll add on a little of my Stila crayon eyeliner in Spice, but otherwise I usually just rock some mascera.  

If I really have something nice to do, I also pop on a little bit of the Bare Minerals lip gloss in Marvelous Moxi. I love this color, it’s natural yet still looks like you put in a bit of effort.

And that’s my finished summer look! I hope you guys enjoy this! I also promise this look takes me at the most 10 min to do, I know I talked you through all the specifics so it probably seemed longer. Let me know your go to summer makeup product in the comments below! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Rant or Rave: Benefit Roller Lash Mascera

Hello loves! Happy Monday! I’m trying to get back on schedule with posts after this week because I finally have a bit of time and a break from craziness to plan! But today I wanted to bring you guys another review. (spoiler alert: this is my new obsession.)

Today I have a review for you of the Benefit Roller Lash Mascera. Now when this first came out it got an insane amount of hype, like major hype. And whenever a product gets that much hype, I kind of assume it’s not going to live up to the claims and the expections I have for it. I don’t know why, that’s just how my brain works. For some reason I especially felt that way about the Benefit Roller Lash, so much so that I bought it to make sure it wasn’t going to work. But it did. It seriously meets all the claims made about it, which never happens. It holds the curl all day and doesn’t wear off, which is a serious problem I tend to have. It’s incredibly pigmented and looks great with either one or two coats. Ever since I bought this mascera I haven’t touched another one, and it’s been around a month, which is crazy for me because I’m a mascera junkie. This mascera is reasonably priced for a higher end mascera at only $24. The only thing I don’t 100% agree with for this mascera is that they say you don’t need to curl your lashes. The whole theory behind why this mascera is so life changing is the hooked brush. It has very unusual brissels tha are supposed to take away the need for an eyelash curler. I’ve tried both with a lash curler and without one, and I definitely see enough of a difference between the two methods that I do still use a curler. This mascera is definitely more of a lengthening mascera, but it does add some volume too. Here are some before and after shots:

Before:

  
One coat on my right eye:

Two coats on my right eye:

   

 

And the finished look on both eyes:

  
 

I hope you guys enjoyed this review. Have you tried out any new products lately? Let me know in the comments below! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Transitional Skincare: Spring

Hello loves! How’s your week going? We have one more day left until the weekend, which will hopefully have glorious weather. Since the weather has been warming up, I feel like my skin has changed slightly as well. Which is totally normal, by the way, our skin is heavily affected by the climate around it. That being said, I wanted to share my spring skincare routine with you guys! {I have sensitive dry-combination skin, just for reference with these products.}

Cleanser: I switched from my Elizabeth Arden cleanser (which didn’t do much for the price) to the Garnier Gentle Clarifying Cleansing Gel. It has seriously worked wonders on my skin. It has almost completely eliminated break out and seems to help my skin stay less oily throughout the day. I love it! I use it morning and night.

  
Moisturizer: I just did this Rant or Rave review on my new moisturizer, First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer. And since I’m mentioning it again, you can probably guess how much I love it. It’s the perfect thin consistency that sinks into your skin quickly, while still giving your skin lasting hydration.

  
Exfoliator: I’m still loving my St. Ives Even and Bright Exfoliator. I only use it every other day now, but I still love it. It’s gentle enough for my sensitive skin while still getting the job done.

  
Eye Cream: The Origins Eye Doctor Eye Cream is the bomb.com. This will forever be my favorite eye cream. I can’t say enough good things about how great this works. It keeps my under eye skin super hydrated, which is usually a huge problem for me. Seriously, if you have any issues with under eye hydration, give this a try.

  

I hope this has given you some ideas of new products to try, or just ideas on how to adjust your skincare to a lighter routine for spring. Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Spring Nail Polish

Hello loves! Happy Tuesday! Today I wanted to bring to you my top must have spring nail polish colors from Essie. Err well top two categories I guess… Spring and summer nail Polish looks so stunning I feel like almost anything looks fantastic against the tan skin in these seasons, so let’s dive in!

No. 1: Muted Hues. I love a good baby blue and baby pink polish just about anytime of the year, but they feel so much more appropriate in spring to me. I am also a huge fan of nude nails in the summer. Yes, you read that right, nude nails. I think the contrast between the lighter polish and the darker skin looks stunning and especially elegant in the summer. I’m also a huge fan of white nails. Like I am obsessed with white nails in the summer, the only problem is you see chips right away with white polish, which kinda sucks…

{Blanc, Baby’s Breath, Romper Room, Bikini So Teeny}

No. 2: Brights. Spring is the time to have fun with your nails. I’m a huge lover of those bright, slightly audacious colors for spring. The electric blue, tomatoe red, and neon coral are among my most worn favorites.

 

{DJ Play That Song, Style Hunter, Bouncer, It’s Me!,Hip-Anema}

I hope this gives you all some fun ideas for your next spring mani-pedi! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette

Rant or Rave: Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo

Hello loves! Happy Monday! Today I have another Rant or Rave review for you on a new highlighter I’ve been trying out, the Too Faced Candlelight Highlighter. (That’s what we’re calling it, because the actual name is just too darn long.)

Personally, I’m a huge fan of dewy glowing skin that has a “your skin but better” kind of feel. I don’t have particularly oily skin, so I don’t really have a problem with looking too oily when I do choose to wear highlighter to give my skin a nice healthy glow. I’d been using a stick highlighter from Benifit that I got as a sample a long time ago called Watts Up? I liked the glow it gave me, but it was really difficult to apply over my face makeup without taking off or smearing what I had already applied. So I finally thought it was time to try something new. I’d heard a lot about the Too Faced Candlight Highlighter, and since I was so impressed with the tinted moisturizer which I did a review on (here). This highlighter comes in a compact with a mirror, which is super handy to have in your makeup bag, and comes in a powder from with 2 different shades on either side of the compact. I usually just mix the two colors together, but you could easily use them one at a time. One side has a more pink undertone, while the other side has more of a champagne undertone. You’ve probably guessed from the fact that I’ve had nothing bad to say so far that I am a fan of this product. Is it the best highlighter ever? The jury is still out on that one, but it is a good solid highlighter. It doesn’t have any glitter in it, which I like, because having glitter falling down your face during the day is never a fun time. I really do like the effect this gives me though, I feel like it makes me look a lot healthier and like I take super good care of my skin. I also love the fact that this is a powder because it makes it super easy to apply and blend in over my face makeup without ruining it. So overall, I would give this highlighter a rave review. It is a really good highlighter, I think I just had super high expectations because of all the hype around it, that it would make me look like a glowing goddess or something. I’ll give you another update in 2 weeks as a side note on my next review, so stay tuned for that!

  

  

{The one on the left is the lighter shade and the one on the right is the pinker shade.}

I hope you’ve found this review helpful, and stay tuned for another update in the upcoming weeks! Have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

The Blonde Brunette