Summer Wish List

Greeting Beauties,

With summer right around the corner I thought that I would put together a wish list to share with you all and to also have a shopping list for the next time I go shopping. Of course I have more, but these were the first to come to mind.

(1) Women's Clinique 'Cleansing by Clinique' Sonic Brush Set for Very Dry to Dry Combination Skin ($102 Value)I have been really wanting to try one of the many face brushes that are currently on the market and what better way to try one along with one of your favorite brands (Clinique).

(2) Women's Urban Decay 'Naked on the Run' Palette (Limited Edition)
I love palettes that I can throw in my purse and apply them in the car or in the bathroom at work.  I have not purchased any of the Urban Decay palettes yet and thought that this may be a good one to start with since it comes with a bronzer, blush, and eye pencil as well.

(3) MARC JACOBS 'Daisy Sorbet' Eau de Toilette Spray (Limited Edition)
Marc Jacobs has not failed yet with any of these Daisy perfume's.  I haven't smelled this one yet, but am assuming that it smells lovely and the bottle is just Too Cute with the pink and purple flower

(4) Too Faced - Melted Metal Liquified Metallic Lipstick - Melted Metallic Jelly
I just love this Jelly shade of the Too Faced Melted Metal Metallic lipstick.  I know I can't go wrong with purple shades. This looks like it would go well with any look for a summer day or night look.

(5) Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio 331 I Dream of Greenie
I wish for this palette because I need more colorful shades for the summer.  I don't currently have any green shades like this and for the price of $7.24 you can't beat it.

(6) Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Mascara 
I really have been wanting to try this mascara since it came out a couple of months ago, but just can't bring myself to spend $39.00 for it.  Maybe next year during tax season :) I'll stick to the falsies for now. That's why this is called a wish list. I may or may not purchase these items.

(7) Too Faced - Sugar Pop Sugary Sweet Eye Shadow Collection
This palette is just gorgeous. This is something that I may really buy, just because it just really cute.

(8) Too Faced - Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush something About Berry
If you have been following me you know that I do love blush (see previous post). So, of course I would fall in love with this beautiful blushes packaging and shape.

(9) Women's NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
I purchased this from a store on amazon a couple of months ago and it was a few shades too dark. The NARS line has so many different shades of foundation, where you have to go into the store and get matched to your shade before you purchase. If I find time this summer, I will definitely hit up the Sephora in J.C. Penny's to try it.

Let me know what's on your wish list, and also if you already have some of these items. Summer hurry up and come. I'm cold.  

Thanks for Reading!!!

Blush for Dark Skin

Greetings, 

I recently came across an article that dicussed how darker shades of skin should not wear certain shades of blush. Long story short the article limited Women of Color to only wearing blushes in the color categories of orange and brown.  

I beg to differ (I do not agree with this). Women of color can wear any shade of blush they want. I definitely do. 

I think its just all in how you blend it, and the number one rule with blush is that a little goes a long way.  

The blushes I experimented with are in the color families of orange, pink, and raspberry (reddish purple).  I used: 

(1) NYX Cosmetics Powder Blush in Cinnamon  

(2) Jordana Powder Blush Pot Touch of Pink  

(3) Black Radiance Artisan Color Baked Blush in Raspberry

Here are the swatches of each:

And here are how they look on me, where I believe that I am considered medium dark. I am currently wearing Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in Sandalwood.

I do agree that there are some highlighters that darker shades need to stay away from in order not to appear ashy.  However, I believe that with blush the sky is the limit.  That's just me. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for Reading!

Review: Hawaii Collection by OPI

Good Morning Beauties!

Today I just want to comment on how much I love the O.P.I. Hawaii collection. I really wish that I could afford all of the shades, however I did purchase the O.P.I. Hawaii mini collection for $13.99 at Ulta. 

You can purchase this through my favorites link for $5.99

Since each regular sized bottle cost $9.50, I would rather pay $13.99 than $38.00 in order to try at least four of the shades.  There is a vendor on Amazon that is selling the collection for $65.90 (link in my favorites section on the right hand side). To bad I don't have enough time to paint my nails at night anymore (I'm so tired). I may update this post later with pictures of each shade in order to show how they appear on brown skin :)  

The least I can do is show you all how pretty each shade is through the bottle. 

That's Hula-rious!

My Gecko Does Tricks

Do You Take Lei Away?

Is Mai Tai Crooked?

Go with the Lava Flow

Aloha From OPI

Suzi Shops & Island Hops

Just Lanai-ing Around

Hello Hawaii Ya?

This Color's Making Waves

Lost My Bikini In Molokini

Pineapples Have Peelings Too!

Which one is your favorite? I love them all. If I do purchase a full sized bottle I think I would get the "Is Mai Tai Crooked?" shade. It is a really pretty Coral shade, and I don't have anything like it. Again, let me know which is your favorite, if you have already purchased some of these, or if you plan to purchase one or some.

P.S. In honor of Hawaii and all things vacation, I will post a pic from my recent honeymoon vacation last month. I had a ball. On this trip I painted my nails with "Lost My Bikini In Molokini" (The purple shade - not pictured). 

Thanks for Reading!

Smokey Eye Products & Techniques

Greetings!!!

Completing a Smokey eye look is something that I have always been a little leery of, because it is really easy to go overboard with the black shadow and look crazy.  So, the number one technique to follow when trying to obtain a dark Smokey eye is to build up the shadows from the lightest shade to the darkest. 

First, you will need a combination of at least four shadow shades that complement one another.  In a recent Instagram photo:

I used MAC's Paradisco, Saddlewood, and Embark, along with Nior from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Tammana Palette for a Smokey eye look.

I personally prefer combining a shimmery shade with this Smokey eye look within the crease of the eye lid, and then follow up with a matte brown, then a darker matte brown, and finish up with the black shadow, in order to transition from light to dark on the eye lid. 

Let me know what you think and if you have any other Smokey eye techniques that you live by or if you prefer lighter Smokey eye looks instead.  Also, let me know if you have any questions. 

Thanks for Reading!!!

March Beauty Favorites

Greetings!

Before we get into the double digits of April, I would like to share my March beauty favorites with you all.

They are the:

(1) Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

(2) Estee Lauder blush in Poppy Passion

(3) Real Techniques Buffing Brush 

(4) Nuetrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash, Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub 

(5) CVS Oil Free Make Up Remover

(6) CVS Premium Cotton Rounds

(7) derma e Anti-Wrinkle Vitamin A & E Treatment Oil

Let us begin reviewing the beauty products first. 

The Natural Eyes Palette is awesome for creating everyday looks along with night time looks. 

Recently when I went to the Jazmine Sullivan concert I went straight from work because it was held on a week night. Therefore, I used the daytime shades during work hours and then easily updated the look with the other shades in the palette (and added some falsies) before I left for the concert for more of a night time look. 

My next March favorite is the Estee Lauder Blush in the shade Poppy. 

Thus is such a beautiful shade. When this blush is paired with the Estee Lauder double wear foundation it glides on and blends well with a really nice finish. 

Next, let me tell you about this Real Techniques Buffing Brush. 

I have found that it is awesome for applying foundation. I haven't used my (off brand) beauty blender in a long time because of this brush.  I have a couple of dark spots from some recent acne breakouts that I have been dealing with and this brush is on point with applying my foundation evenly while also yielding great coverage. The bristles are soft as well for the price. 

Moving along with the skin care. After I started breaking out during the month of February I noticed that I was no exfoliating my skin enough. Therefore, I went out to pick the Nuetrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash Foaming Scrub. 

I believe this has really done the trick, because I have not recently received any breakouts within the past couple weeks. I am extremely happy with this foaming scrub because it leaves my face feeling really clean no matter how much make-up I put on that day. 

Next product is the CVS Oil Free Makeup Remover. 

This is such an awesome formula that takes every inch of eye make up off in one swipe. On the bottle it states that it removes water proof mascara and that it is comparable to the Nuetrogena oil free eye make up remover. Moving on to the CVS Cotton Rounds, because there two go hand and in my current beauty regimen. 

These cotton rounds are dual sided, where one side is soft and the other side is strong. I love using the strong side along with my eye make up remover because I don't have to rub my eye as much as I do if I were using a soft cotton square (which is what I was using before).

My last favorite is the derma e Anti-Wrinkle Treatment with Vitamin A and E.  

I have been using this at night after my moisturizer and I believe it has been helping clear up my dark spots while also making my skin appear a little brighter.  I don't have many wrinkles, so hopefully this product is helping to prevent that as well.  

So that is it. Let me know if you have tried any of these beauty and/or skin care products?  Also, let me know if you love them, like them, or even hate them. 

Thanks for reading!!!