A Simple Party

This week I had the opportunity from HouseParty.com to host another party! I received the party pack a few weeks ago, and was excited to share some of my favorite new skin care products with a few friends! We got together for dinner Thursday night where we ate BBQ pulled pork sliders, coleslaw, and pumpkin pound cake. Then the ladies got to try the line of products.

Even Maggie was pampered.

Each guest took home a goody bag of travel sized products, and each also "won" a full-sized product as well.

We had a fun night sharing stories, advice on beauty products, and food. Hosting for HouseParty is a fun way to try products and a great excuse to get together with friends!

New Beauty Favorites - Round 3

A new beauty product here and there helps keep me sane. I realized I haven't posted any beauty favorites since November, and I have a few to share with you. (see previous beauty-related posts HERE and HERE)

1. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle - Reviews of this product are floating around Pinterest, which is where I saw it first. It's raved about as a cheap deep conditioner that works great, and I have to agree. I've only used it once, because it's something I will probably use once a week or so when my hair feels really dry. You apply it after shampoo in the shower then leave it on for 3 minutes to do it's magic, then rinse. My hair felt SO soft afterwards and smelled amazing. A little like a tropical vacation (no complaints there)!  It weighed my hair down some the day of application, but was back to normal after another morning's shower, however its effects are long-lasting!

2.  Freeman Anti-Stress Face Mask - For a spa feeling at home use one of these Freeman masks (also very affordable). Many of them have great reviews. I chose the Anti-Stress Mask which is supposed to "balance moisture while purging clogged pores."  I'm not sure if it does all of that, but it feels refreshing as you apply it. You wait for it to dry, then wash it off with warm water. My skin felt smooth and refreshed afterwards. It was a little drying in places, so I followed with moisturizer.

3. Elf products - stay tuned! I'm going to write a whole post on this to share my thoughts on these super affordable products!

4.  Tanwise Dark Sunless Tanning Mousse - You can great an excellent review of this product HERE from a blogger who has tried ~40+ sunless tanning products.  As a very white girl who is not risking her fair skin to cancer, I appreciated her trial and error testing of sunless products and was happy to hear the results.  I quickly snagged this recently at Sally's (on sale!).  I am used to a tanning lotion, so applying this mousse was a little difficult just because I was working with a different product. I applied it with a tanning mitt (which I would say is a must with this mousse). I tested it first with just my legs and went a little light over the knee areas and wound up with paler knees (mistake).  The second time I put lotion on my knees and elbows, and it went on without any streaks or splotches. It's color is great - not orange at all, and it barely (barely) has a smell. Most sunless tanners do, but this was is ever so faint and I don't think anyone else would pick up on it as you wear it.

5. Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm - While shopping at Ulta there is always a coupon for $3.50 off of $10 worth of non-highend products, so I used this item as a filler and basically got it for free. My sister-in-law had told me good things about these tinted lip balms, and I've enjoyed having one on hand to put on a little color while moisturizing my lips at the same time. I will reach for this instead of regular chapstick because it moisturizes so well.

6. Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - I mentioned this primer HERE, but haven't gotten back to you on it. I replaced my Benefit stick primer (mentioned here) with this one. I really enjoyed the Benefit primer, but it didn't last very long for the price. I researched and price checked to get the most for my money and decided on the Laura Mercier Primer. I've used it for a couple of months now and have really enjoyed it. It helps my foundation last all day, is not heavy, and only takes a little to cover my whole face, so I expect this tube to last a long time (several months, maybe longer). There are oil-free and moisturizing versions as well, but since I consider my skin to be neither oily or dry (somewhere in between), I went with the basic primer.

New Beauty Favorites

Hello ladies!

Let's have a little beauty chat.  I've added some new products recently to my "arsenal" that I'm kind of in love with.  Most of this stemmed from my recent obsession of watching beauty reviews on Youtube and reading beauty blogs. Along the way I decided to invest in better beauty products than what I was using. I'm not into trying all kinds of new products really, I just want to find the best products for me.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I had replaced my pricier Estee Lauder foundation with Revlon Colorstay, and I also found a great eye liner. Since then I've been in search of a great palette of eye shadow, a primer, and a new moisturizer. Here's what I've found ( + a couple more):

1. Naked Palette (by Urban Decay) - I know, I know. It's all the rage in beauty land to be an owner of this infamous palette. I didn't really care about joining them, but after watching different reviews I realized all the perks this offers. You get such a wide variety of colors here, which I realize are mostly all shades of brown, but that was just what I was looking for. The palette I had prior had 4 neutral/brown shades, and in comparison, the shadows from the Naked palette blend together so much better. I also like that all but two of the colors have shimmer.  And their greatest quality is that they stay in place all day! With other brands I've used I would put it on in the morning and by that night it would nearly be gone. Now, this was definitely a splurge for me (well, really I used a gift card, so it was free-to-me) but it does come with a nice brush and a travel size of Urban Decay's eye primer which works really well.  A little bit goes a LONG way with these shadows because they are so pigmented, so I expect this palette to last a long time.

2. Benefit Primer - Earlier I mentioned my Revlon Colorstay foundation, and while I love it and believe it is one of the best long-wear products out there, by the end of the day it has faded some. It's something to do with my skin, which is not really oily or dry. It just sucks it up or something - but not as bad or as quickly as other foundations I've tried. Not being one to want to keep re-applying makeup throughout the day, I gave this primer a try. People talked about how it's a miracle product and keeps your makeup perfect all day. Not true. Other people say it dries up and makes their makeup look splotchy.  Not true for me. It comes as a stick, and I just draw lines with it all over my freshly-moisturized face and smooth it in with my fingertips. Then I immediately come behind it with foundation on a brush. So if some of the reviews are so bad, why do I like this?  It's a tacky kind of formula, and does grab onto the foundation and keep it on and looking fresh for longer. I definitely notice a difference when I do where it versus days that I don't. I would be willing to try a different primer in the future, but I think I will keep a primer in my makeup bag.

3. CND Vinylux Nail Polish - This polish makes me excited. Apparently it's supposed to be a salon only product, BUT you can buy them on Amazon (and probably other sites).  They come in a large variety of colors, and they are supposed to last for a week.  The key is to use the color and the top coat together, and it will cure in natural lighting, similar to gel-polish. I hate when I paint my nails and the next day they are so chipped it's time to take it off.  With this polish I notice the tips of my nails wear down a little, and occasionally there has been a chip, but overall it's the best polish I've ever used.

4. Simple Daily Moisturizer w/ SPF 15 - Time for a confession. Until recently I've been using the same acne-preventing moisturizer that I've used since... probably high school.  It's cheap, smells good, and I get overwhelmed at all the other options on the aisle, so I would just always buy the same ole same.  But I finally realized that I don't have such a big battle with acne anymore, and this moisturizer wasn't doing much for me. Again, overwhelmed by all of the choices, I spotted the Simple brand.  I've received samples in the mail from them as they were up and coming and liked all of their products so far. I chose their moisturizer with SPF15 for my skin, especially since my foundation doesn't have much sun protection.  This is a big bottle of moisturizer and a little goes a long way!  It has a hint of a sunscreen smell right when you apply it, but that goes away quickly.  It feels smooth and clean, but not greasy or oily. I put it on immediately before primer and foundation, and it doesn't feel thick or heavy under those. Definitely a good choice!  I'm considering getting one of their other options for using at night, since I don't need SPF then.

5. Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede LipStick - I picked this up a while back, with a coupon and some kind of deal I'm sure. I love this stuff. The color shown above is the color I have (Backstage), and it's quite bold but a pretty fall color. What makes this great is that it goes on like a normal lipstick or lip butter, but seconds after it kind of dries up into a stain. So you have to make sure it's in all the places you want it to be, but none you don't want it to be, and then you're good to go! The color stays on for hours and doesn't transfer much to napkins (or husbands. ;)  ).  I usually like to keep some chapstick around, or another lipstick, to apply over it after an hour or so because it can feel a little dry (like you can't rub your lips together smoothly) and to give it some shine.

If you have any questions for me about these products, please comment below.  You can also share your favorites!  Have you found any tried and true beauty products that you love?

High Five for Friday

Helloooooo everyone!  I realize I've been a little MIA lately. Please excuse the lack of posts; it's been a little crazy around here, with many 10pm nights at school (see #3).  Let's catch up though with this week's high five!

1.  Saturday we had a wonderful visit from Jesse's parents. They came up on Friday and took us to dinner at the Fish Market downtown. We then gave them the Birmingham experience of going to the top of Vulcan, which was beautiful at night; and of course a trip to Steel City Pops!  Saturday morning, Jesse took them to his work where the pond was open for fishing (an annual occurrence). You had to keep what you caught, so they returned at lunch time with several fish, which was just enough to feed the fours of us. It was SO good to have them here with us and to share some of our city with them. :)

2. On Sunday, after church, we stopped by Railroad Park for lunch.  They were having "Trucks on the Track," where all the different local Birmingham food trucks set up for the day, and 10% of the proceeds went back to Railroad Park.  For you non-Birminghammers - Railroad Park is a new-ish park in the downtown area. It's a beautiful place to picnic or go for a walk, with a beautiful backdrop of the city.  It's part of the hope to revive certain parts of downtown Birmingham, and is located just across from the Baron's stadium (Region's Field). This was actually our first time at the Park (go figure... food was involved in bringing us in).  The whole idea of food trucks really drew in a lot of people, as the lines were pretty long. Jesse and I split up to get our grub.  He was on the hunt for fish tacos, and found his way into line for Cantina, while I waited for a fresh off the grill grilled-cheese from Melt.  His cuban and fish tacos were amazing, as was his side of grilled corn with cilantro butter and crumbled fresco cheese. My grilled cheese was no ordinary grilled cheese - it took two hefty Texas toast slices to hold together the brilliant combination of pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and homemade mac and cheese!

3.  I survived my first practical in my clinical evaluations course!  And by that I mean, I don't know if I passed, but I didn't die of a panic attack in the middle of it while my professor watched my every move, and graded me by checking off every little possible thing I could do (or not do, or forgot to do).  Whew!  We were all at max stress this week, because all of our little over-achieving minds probably thought deep down somewhere that this first clinical checkoff would secretly pronounce if we can indeed be optometrists one day. But, we were all stressed for nothing. (Well maybe a little something.)  I tried to give myself a little pep talk before going in. It went a little something like this, "You just gotta go in there and show 'em you can do this. Because you can. You can take a case history. You can determine their visual acuities. You can check their pupil sizes and reactivities to light. You can do confrontation fields. You can check blood pressure. So don't stress... just go do it!"  So I did. You get timed on everything, meaning you have a certain number of minutes to perform each skill, which was the hardest part. Somehow I finished them all in time; definitely with a few flubs here and there. But, I finished it and can now move on.... to the next exam.  It's nearly midterm time, which is absurd, because it seems like we just started this semester!

4.  Last night, after I returned home from my practicals day at school, Jesse and I declared it movie night, and invited Mike and Kelsey up to watch. Movies + popcorn + friends = the best way to unwind after a trying day!

5.  A couple of weeks ago I sat for third year students to practice evaluating contact lenses. Mostly I did this because they were giving American Express gift cards out to the participants. I had had my eye on a few makeup items I wouldn't normally chunk out the dough over, but I decided if I participated and got the giftcard, it would technically be like getting this makeup for free! So, that's what happened. I finally got around to going to Ulta today. They were having 40% off several drugstore makeup brands, so I combined that with coupons to stock up on the foundation I like. (Score!) Plus my splurge (think with me: free!) beautiful Naked palette! I love all of the neutral colors it has inside, and I am SO excited to put it to use!

A Few of My Favorite Things - Beauty

Today, I thought I would share a few of my favorite beauty supplies for you ladies!  I've never been one that thinks she has to try all the new products out there.  I always  get overwhelmed in the makeup aisle looking at all the options and shades.  But since I've been in the blog-world, I keep up with a few beauty and hair blogs, and if these women who know a lot more than I do about makeup and hair products fall in love with a product, then I will consider trying it.  Onward to the list:

1.  Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile Facial Cleanser

I am not a huge fan of all Burt's Bees products, but they have this one in the bag!  I think I'm on my 3rd tube and a little goes a long way of this stuff, so it lasts a long time!  I've used a few other face cleansers, but I keep coming back to this one.  It has a perfect creamy texture that lathers up well and is gentle on the skin.  After you rinse it off it leaves your face with a cooling freshness.  And you can feel good about using a more natural product on your skin!

Price: ~$7.99 @ Walmart, Target, etc.  I ordered mine online from Abe's Market with a discount code and free shipping. :)

2. Aquage Uplifting Foam

This is one of the products I found on another blog.  Kate @ thesmallthingsblog is a hair stylist who posts hair tutorials on her site.  Like me, she has naturally straight, limp hair and she found this root lifter that works wonders.  This is only sold at salons who carry the product line but is worth the hunt.  For everyday wear I apply it like this and blow dry my hair upside down, then straighten my ends in place, giving the roots a little body so they aren't flat against my head.  For more "special" occasions, I will flat iron like this from the roots to the ends of my hair to create more lift or blow dry and then curl.

Price: I paid $15 at a salon in Opelika for my bottle, but it can run a bit higher. Amazon sells it, but usually for more than salon prices.

3. Sonia Kashuk Brush and Sponge Cleanser

Confession - until I purchased this a few weeks ago I had never really cleaned all of my makeup brushes.  I have tried cleaning a few in a warm water vinegar solution and washing with soap and water, but it never seemed to remove all the makeup.  (A sign that should have encouraged me to keep cleaning them!)  There are plenty of other brands of brush cleansers out there, but this is the only one I've tried, and it worked like magic!  I was surprised at how much makeup those brushes can hold onto as I watched it all rinse down the drain!  But the real verdict was that my brushes felt like new again!  I couldn't believe the difference - they were so much less... dense... and much smoother.  This brand is only sold at Target.

Price:  ~$6.99  (Often there is a $2 off coupon for any of her products found HERE.)

4.  Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

This is my new favorite thing!  I just bought it yesterday, but it's the best lip product ever!  I have always been a chapstick sort of girl (not real Chapstick, but Burt's Bees original and Softlips at different points in my life).  But in the past year or so I've worn a lot more lipstick than before and I got used to seeing color on my lips.  I love the moist creamy-ness of chapstick, and (until now) it has never been captured in a lipstick in quite the same way.  This stuff goes on so smoothly and feels just like chapstick, but has lots of color that stays on for a long time.  It comes in many shades, but I purchased the Sweet Tart (a vibrant pink shade).  I have also tried the Peach Parfait (a lighter pink shade that blended into the natural color of my lips more).  

Price:  ~6.99 @ Target, Walmart, etc.  Target runs coupons a lot for Revlon products, and can be stacked with a manufacturer's coupon if you have one of those as well. Mine was on Price Cut to 6.19 and I had a $3 off coupon! :)

Replacements

I don't know about you, but I have a thing against the makeup aisle. There are way too many products staring back at me, and it becomes a little overwhelming when you have no idea what that shade in the bottle is going to wind up looking on you.  And in case y'all didn't know, I am white. And just because they call the color of foundation "fair" doesn't mean it is light enough for my skin tone.

What I look for in a foundation is good coverage.  I like a thicker liquid foundation that I know will cover my blemishes and even out my skin tone. For some reason my skin seems to absorb most foundations, so I've searched for one that will last pretty much all day without reapplication. These requirements left me at the department store makeup counter, and I walked away with a fabulous foundation from Estee Lauder (shade: Bone).

It really does stay in place all day and I loved that it has a little SPF.  The staying power of this foundation led me to also purchase the Double Wear eyeliner (in Coffee), and it was just as wonderful.  It goes on so smoothly and doesn't smudge or run during the day.

I love these two products, but their price tag (foundation $35, eyeliner $20!) made me feel like I left a little piece of myself at the makeup counter. So I've been on the hunt to find a more budget-friendly option, and I'm glad to announce I've finally found replacements for both!

 (insert drum roll here)

Revlon Colorstay Foundation (in Ivory) for $10 and CoverGirl's Liquiline Blast Eyeliner (in Brown Blaze) for $7.50.

The foundation lasts for approximately the same amount of time as the Double Wear with equal coverage, and the CG Eyeliner is amazing.  It goes on smooth and easy- you barely have to touch your lid to apply it!

So, if you are in the market for new makeup, I highly recommend these!

What are your favorite makeup products?