March Favorites!

Woo hoo my first YouTube video!  (yikes)  

I talk about the products that I have been loving in March.  I hope you enjoy! :) 

Products mentioned:

Minted Rose lip balm: http://tinyurl.com/lr473jb
Joico Body Luxe shampoo: http://tinyurl.com/m3xg4on
S Factor Smoothing conditioner: http://tinyurl.com/n4y648e
Tarte Maracuja Oil: http://tinyurl.com/n8bwdar
L'Oreal Butterfly Effect Mascara: http://tinyurl.com/lknoyq9
Kindle Paperwhite: http://tinyurl.com/k9w2cvz
Kindle sleeve:  http://tinyurl.com/m9ntwtc

Current Foundation

I have been using the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation on and off for about a year and a half now.  I find that even when I temporarily find something new, I always gravitate back to this.  I use the shade W1-2.  This shade matches my skin perfectly.  I am pretty fair, and I always try to find new ways to illuminate my face.  This is a challenge for someone who is already fair, because so many people are able to find a foundation or a concealer in a shade or two lighter than they would normally wear to use in an area that they want to highlight.  I am so jealous of these people!  I am usually the lightest or second lightest shade in a line so I don't really have the option of picking up a product that is lighter than me.  Anyway, I really do love this foundation.  It claims to be "healthy luminous makeup," and I find that it is illuminating without being glittery and overly dewy.  I would say that this creates more of a satin finish on my skin, and I usually do add some Rimmel Stay Matte powder over my t-zone just to set the foundation.  This formula blends very nicely and it does not cling too much to blemishes or dry patches.  I would recommend this to people with normal to dry skin, as it may be a little too dewy for people with oilier skin.  It has an SPF of 20, but I usually use it pretty sparingly, and have never had an issue with a white cast.  It is in a glass bottle, and has a pump and a clear plastic cap (not shown in photo).  I have travelled with this foundation and have not had any issues.   

 

This foundation has a light and slightly runny consistency.  I find that this really helps it to blend and melt into the skin.  I usually use about one pump on the back of my hand and apply a light layer of this to the center of my face and then blend it out toward the edges. I typically use the Sigma F80 flat-topped Kabuki or the F82 round-topped Kabuki.  To be honest, I usually use whichever one is clean, but I do prefer the F80 for this foundation.  When I am finished, sometimes I will go over my face again with a TINY bit extra if I feel like I need a little bit more coverage.  

I would say that this foundation provides medium coverage.  It balances out skin tone and redness, but it does not hide your real skin.  I hate when foundation is super obvious, so I like that this one can be kept light.  I do find that if this is used too heavily, it really can sink into pores and fine lines, but if you use a primer and try to keep a light hand, you should not have a problem with this.  I would say that it wears pretty well throughout the day, and it does not blotch on me.  In my experience, it usually remains natural-looking through the day.  Depending on the day's activity, I do find that I may need to blot towards the late afternoon, but nothing too crazy.  

This foundation has never caused me to breakout, and I never have trouble fully removing it with my Mac Cleanse-Off Oil.

Overall, I would recommend this foundation.  It is always my go-to and it is easily accessible in most drugstores.  I paid around $11 at Target. 

My Favorite Shadows in Naked 1, 2, & 3

There are countless reviews about the Urban Decay Naked palettes, and I thought that instead of doing another one, I would just go through my top favorite shades in each of the three palettes.  I love the Naked palettes and I do not find myself wanting to reach for anything else.  Sit back and let's take a little journey through the wonderful neutrals of Urban Decay...

Naked

The original Urban Decay Naked palette is what really started my love for high end make-up.  I received it as a gift and I never looked back.  My most used colors in this palette are Virgin, Sin, Naked, Buck, Smog, and Darkhorse.  Virgin is a very pale shimmery highlight.  I love to dab this lightly to the center of my eyelid for brightness and dimension.  It is also a great highlight for under the brows.  Sin is one of my all time favorite Urban Decay eyeshadows and I also own it outside of the palette.  It is perfect for an all over lid color or as a base color.  Naked is a matte skin tone like color, and it is perfect for blending or as a base color.  Also pictured here is Sidecar, which I will admit that I do not care for much.  It is a beautiful color, but there is soooo much fall out with this shade that no matter how careful I am, I end up with glitter everywhere.  Buck is also matte and is a few shades darker than Naked.  It is great for a crease color or to add a little bit of dimension to the outer corner.

Smog and Darkhorse are probably my absolute most reached for shadows in this palette.  Smog is a beautiful metallic-looking bronze color with a hint of copper tone in the sunlight.  This color is great as a more intense all over lid color.  Darkhorse is a slightly shimmery dark brown.  It is a great alternative to using black for a less dramatic smoky look.  Honorable mentions:  Toasted and Hustle.  Toasted is a beautiful coppery brick brown color, and Hustle is a more red based version of Darkhorse with less shimmer.

 Naked 2

Until Naked 3 came out, I was exclusively using Naked 2.  I definitely found myself reaching for it more often than the original.  I absolutely love Foxy, a matte, yellow-based pale highlighter.  I actually use it to set concealer under my eyes (yes, that is how fair I am).  The color is the perfect shade for under my eyes and the finely milled consistency of an eyeshadow looks so much more natural and soft in such a delicate area than an average face powder.  I did not want to hit pan in the palette for this purpose, so I also purchased Foxy separately.  

I DO NOT understand why they put Half-Baked in the original and the second Naked palettes... I want to like it but it is too orange-toned to be a flattering gold on my skin tone.  I love Bootycall as a highlight, it is more white than Virgin in my opinion, and I find it to be more pigmented.  I also love Chopper, a shimmery copper, and Tease, a matte "greige" taupe color that is great for a light contour in the crease.  My top color in the Naked 2 palette would have to be Snakebite.  It is a dark shimmery metallic-looking brown with extremely subtle hints of gold.  It is beautiful in the outer corner or the crease.

Next to Snakebite are Suspect and Pistol.  Suspect is a light shimmery gold-bronze color that is much more flattering than Half-Baked and is perfect for the lids (especially with Snakebite).  Honorable mention goes to Pistol, a great shimmery light gunmetal/graphite shade that I do not find myself using often enough.

Busted is Naked 2's versions of the Darkhorse and Hustle shades of the original Naked.  It is a very dark brown that can almost appear to be a warm black when used heavily.  It has a slight shimmer.  Blackout is an amazing matte true black.  It definitely scared me at first, but it really opened my eyes to the versatility of black eyeshadow.  I love to use it as an eyeliner and a tiny dab of it looks amazing when blended into the outer corner.

Naked 3 

We have finally arrived at my current favorite of the three palettes, the Naked 3.  I will admit that I was nervous about this palette at the beginning with all of the pink tones.  Boy, was I wrong.  They are all gorgeous!  I was afraid that they would look like cheap costume makeup tones, but I find myself using EVERY shade in this palette!  The original and the second palette have a few shades that I do not use often, but that is not the case here.  Strange is a beautiful matte pinky white highlight shade.  I LOVE a matte highlight in this shade.  Dust is a glittery pale pink that translates a little more silver toned when used.  I like to dab a little bit of it on my lid to add dimension to other colors.  Burnout is a slightly shimmery blush pink, my go-to lid color of the moment.  Limit is a matte mauve pink that is perfect to use with Nooner, shown below.   

Trick is so unique in my opinion.  In the pan it appears to be a shimmery rose gold like color, but when used, it is the most beautiful pink toned champagne.  Nooner is a matte darker mauve tone that is perfect in the crease.  Liar, Factory, and Mugshot are equally wonderful in my opinion.  They are all essentially slightly different shades of the same metallic pink brown loveliness, and all three are beautiful alone all over the lid or as a crease color.  Factory is the most dramatic of the three, and Mugshot is the most gray toned.  I truly have trouble choosing which one to use.

Darkside and Blackheart are both amazing dark tones.  Darkside is a slightly shimmery super dark brown with a slight greyish purple tone to it.  It is wonderful as an eyeliner or smudged below the lower lashes.  Blackheart is probably my favorite of all of the Naked palette attempts to create a black tone.  It is the most unique color.  It is a deep black with red/pink/burgundy shimmer.  This really helps it to be a warmer toned black that makes a GORGEOUS eyeliner.  I love that this color is so deep and dramatic, but the pink shimmer makes it appear to be soft.

As I wrote this, I realized that I listed every color of the Naked 3 palette except for Buzz.  This was actually completely unintentional.  I am a big Disney fan and Buzz is definitely a Disney princess pink.  I also find it funny that the name is also the name of a Disney character... Bottom line, this is just slightly too pink for me.  I have not found a way to wear it well, but I will have to keep playing with it.

I hope this was an informative and interesting post.  I always like to know which colors people use the most in these three palettes, and I wanted to share my personal favorites.  These palettes are so versatile, and I recommend that everyone who wears makeup should have at least one of them as a staple in their collection.

Mini Hair Care Haul!

I have never been one to splurge on hair products, as I am very lucky to have naturally blonde, long, stick-straight hair.  I have never really had to be a slave to a certain product, because generally all products give me the same result.  Recently however, I have been feeling bored with my hair.  I know that it is the length that makes it difficult to work with, but I can't bring myself to cut it!  Lately I have been trying nearly anything to give it a little bit more life.

I was in need of a new heat protectant spray, and while wandering thorough Target I came across the L'Oreal Boost It Blow Out Heatspray.  It claims that it gives "lasting volume."  I have used this for a couple of weeks and I will say that I do not notice any more volume than I would usually have using a non-volumizing product.  However, I do like it so far, it does the job as a heat protectant spray, and it smells great.

I have heard about Joico shampoo before, but nothing too specific.  I saw their Body Luxe Shampoo "for fullness and volume," and decided to give it a try.  I have only used it once, and I felt like it left my hair feeling comfortably clean (not like crazy squeaky-clean) but I did not notice any additional volume.  However, I have never really been a believer in "volumizing" shampoos, because I just do not see how a shampoo could really do much in that department.

I have been using a Dove conditioner that I love, but then I found the TIGI S Factor Smoothing Conditioner.  I have heard good things about this, and have always been curious about it.  It smells absolutely amazing!  I have only used it once, but it dispersed well through my hair and it has a nice, thick consistency.  I usually use a wide-toothed comb to gently comb my conditioner through my hair in the shower, and it combed through easily.  It rinsed well and my hair felt soft when it dried.  I will also admit that I can't stop sniffing it!  Seriously if you see anything from the S Factor line just smell it.  SO GOOD!

Last but not least, I have ALWAYS been curious about Big Sexy Hair products.  I have never really tried any of them before, but I saw the Root Pump spray and decided to finally give in.  It sprays out like a thin mousse if that makes sense, and I sprayed it into the roots of my damp hair and massaged it around before I blow dried it.  Unlike the rest of the products I have mentioned, I am not too crazy about the scent of this.  It is nice, but it kind of smells chemically and aerosol-y to me.  I can't put my finger on it, but it kind of reminds me of the Tresemme Dry Shampoo, which I really did not like.  Regardless of this, it's not horrible and it definitely would not keep me from using it.  I have not used this enough to say whether it makes a huge difference, but I do notice a little bit more lift and texture, which is always welcome in my opinion.  It does not really leave any residue in my hair, and I have not noticed any additional weight to my hair either.

Overall, I am very excited to have some new hair products to try out, and hopefully I will be able to form some stronger opinions about them once I have had the chance to use them more.   

Hello!

I am Kelsey and this is my first ever blog post.  This is an idea that I have been toying with for a while now and I finally decided to go for it.  I plan to devote this blog to things that I enjoy, such as beauty and skincare products, recipes, and whatever else floats through my mind.  If I am the only one who ever reads this, then so be it.  I hope to enjoy the ride :)