Ultra Bland Cleanser

I have been using LUSH’s Ultra Bland Cleanser for two months now and I like it! However, I have both a rant & rave for this product. First off let me begin by giving you the background on the product.
From their website:

Ultra-gentle, thorough facial cleanser

This supreme facial cleanser, with magnificently softening rose water, peanut oil and beeswax cream, takes off everything you've plastered on and makes your skin astonishingly soft. It's a marvel. Ultrabland is not the simplest cleanser to use, but it's not that hard and it's definitely worth it. Smooth it on, then remove it thoroughly with a slightly damp cotton pad or face cloth. Gently remove until your skin feels soft and not oily.

Rant:
This product is supposed to be used as an all-over face cleanser. I tried doing this at first but it was very messy. Since I use liquid foundation, blush, powder, eye makeup & lipstick I had to use a lot of damp cotton squares to wipe everything away. After I wiped it all off I still felt the need to wash my face again with a mild cleanser like Cetaphil.

So if I don’t use this as a facial cleanser what do I use it for, you ask?

Rave:
I use this as my eye-makeup remover. In the past I would use Neutrogena’s eye makeup remover until it started irritating my eyes. My eyes would burn & sting and I was left with a red blotchy mess. But LUSH’s products are all natural & free from harsh ingredients so it’s very mild & gentle yet strong enough to clear away the gunk piled on my eyes. All I have to do is take a finger tip worth of product, rub it onto my eyes then clean it off with a damp cotton square, et voila! It removes my numerous coats of mascara, liquid eyeliner, eye shadow & it even removes waterproof mascara/eyeliner. Yay!
After I remove my eye makeup I stick to my regular routine of washing my face with Cetaphil or Clean & Clear facial wash. Overall, I give this product 5 stars.

I'm back!

Hello lovelies! I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post but I’m back! Work sent me up to Eatontown, NJ for the week. I came home on Friday and I just want to do a quick update about what I’ve been up to these past few days. While I was up in Jersey one of the locals suggested we eat at Bobby’s Burger Palace. My coworker and I are huge Food Network fans and we adore Bobby Flay so we couldn’t pass this opportunity. I believe there are only four Burger Palace’s and they are in NJ, NY & CT.

I thought it was a sit down restaurant but it’s more of a casual dining deal. This was my burger and the locals were staring at me like I was crazy for taking a picture of my food. It was delicious with a side of sweet potato fries. I ended up buying a few jars of Bobby Flay’s burger rub, jalapeno sauce & fry sauce for the huz. Yum-o!

After work and dinner we’d go back to our hotel rooms and keep working. On our last night there we drove out to the beach & walked along the shops. When we got back to the hotel I was able to relax and do my nails while watching Grey’s Anatomy. :D
I used OPI’s new Suede Collection for Fall 2009. I used Russian Navy Suede. It’s ahhmazing! I can’t get enough of the matte finishes but now there is a suede finish as well! It’s smooth & it dries fast. OPI’s Suede line has such a unique finish and I can’t get enough of it. I used two coats on my nails but you could definitely get away with one.

Last weekend I stopped by ULTA to pick up dry shampoo. I’ve always been curious about it and I wanted to experiment with the options that are out there. I picked up TIGI’s Rockaholic dry shampoo & Big Sexy Hair’s Volumizing Dry Shampoo. I was determined to find out which one has more bang for your buck. I can only provide a partial review since I’ve only been using Big Sexy Hair for a week. This week I promise to use TIGI.
Here are a few differences so far:
Big Sexy Hair is 3.4 oz and I bought it for $16.95. It is a mineral & clay based dry shampoo that absorbs impurities, excess oil & product build-up while creating additional volume.
TIGI Rockaholic is 6.3 oz and I bought it for $18.95. The bottle only says that it will “absorb excess oils, make hair smell fresh & keep it rockin’ one more night”.

Here is my before & after pics. I used Big Sexy Hair. It smells great, it gave a fair amount of texture & volume. You can’t really tell from the pictures but I could definitely see a difference. I like it so far and I’d definitely purchase this again however it’s half the size of TIGI and it’s only $2 less. I’ll let you know next week which one I’d repurchase.

So while I was away I was desperately missing my bathtub time with LUSH. For those of you who don't know about LUSH it is a store that makes vegan products for the bath, shower, hair, face, body etc. Their soaps are all natural and doesn't contain any preservatives or harsh ingredients to irritate the skin.

I’ve already used a lot of what I hauled & unfortunately I didn’t snap any photos of what I hauled. Here is what I have left. I didn’t take any pics of the freebee’s I got from the events. I also didn’t take pics of the chunks of soaps because I want to leave that for another post.

I think this is called the French Kiss Bubble Bar? It smells amazing!

This is the bubble bar I used last night. It smells like roses & after you crumble it under the water there are little rose petals floating around.

Sunny Side Bubble Bar. This has a lot of citrus scents like orange & tangerine. It has a lot of gold glitter so I'll be using this on the weekends only. :) I mean seriously, who doesn't want to take a bath in glitter?

This is the Comforter Bubble Bar which has a lot of decadent berry scents. The description on the LUSH website is, "Velvety berry and cream bath parfait softens skin with lavish bubbles. Comforter bubble bar is perfect for pampering yourself after a long work week. Cypress and bergamot oils soothe skin while cassis adds a mysterious and seductive aroma."

I'm not sure what the name of the bubble bar on the left is but it smells amazing. The one on the right is Pop in the Bath Bubble bar. I love this scent. This is my second bar. It has a flowery & citrus scent & it makes your skin silky soft.

Bath Bombs "Pop one in a pre-run bath and watch it erupt in a mass of fragrant fizzing, gently scenting the water with natural essential oils."

On the left is the Sex Bomb Bath Bomb which smells like jasmine.

On the right is the Butterball Bath Bomb. It smells like vanilla & turns the water to milky white. This is supposed to be very moisturizing for the skin.

Massage Bars

After a shower or bath I usually like to use their massage bars to moisturize. It is made with moisturizing cocoa, coconut & shea butters.

On the left is Soft Coeur (The Honeymooner) Massage Bar. It is made with milk chocolate & honey.
On the right is the Heavenilli Massage Bar which smells like vanilla & jasmine.

When you purchase two massage bar you get a massage bar tin for free.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! What are your favorites from LUSH? Do you have any recommendations of products I should try?

Zoya Matte Velvet Collection Fall 2009

The new trend this fall is matte nail polish. Many brands are launching a range of colors that come in a matte finish. Other brands like Essie have designed a top coat which you can use on top of any nail polish formula to create a matte finish. Personally I am falling in love with Zoya’s Matte Velvet Collection for Fall 2009. These colors are gorgeous! There are three colors in this collection:

Loredana (matte gunmetal shimmer)
Posh (matte ruby shimmer)
Dovima (matte black shimmer)

This formula dries extremely fast compared to regular creamy varnishes. It is also advised not to use this in conjunction with a base coat, top coat or speed dryer. It doesn’t last that long and it chips easily however I am so in love with this finish that I don’t mind only wearing it for 3-4 days. Zoya is also coming out with 3 more colors in their Matte Velvet Winter 09 collection. There is a matte purple, a matte plum & a matte forest green. They look gorgeous! You can buy them on their website here: Click me!
xoxo
PS: I apologize for the blurriness & the sloppy swatches. I wanted to swatch all three colors real fast so I could post this.

Rock and Republic Haul

So I think I've posted enough non-makeup related posts. Let's keep our eyes on the prize shall we? On to more important things like makeup! :D
Last month I went shopping at Hautelook because they had a Rock & Republic sale! Here's an invitation if you'd like to shop here as well :) Hautelook invitation (click me)
They basically sell high-end brands at a discounted price.
I bought two blushes & one gel eye liner. Isn't the packaging amazing?! It's LOVE!

Rock & Republic cosmetics is sold at Neiman Marcus or the Rock & Republic website. At Neiman Marcus a blush retails for $40. I bought it for $24! The regular price for a gel eye liner is $24. I bought this eyeliner for $14. :) So I basically saved $42. Sweet! I fell in love with the names of the blushers right away! The names alone pushed me to make the purchase more than anything.
L to R: Blush in Tease (light rosey pink)
Blush in Foreplay (warm peachy beige)

Gel eye liner in Smut

Just for fun I had to throw in a photo of Mochi from the weekend. We took her on two hikes. On Saturday, we went into the mountains of West Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) and took her on a 6 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail. Sunday we took her on a 4.5 mile hike in Great Falls. She went swimming in the Shenandoah River & Potomac River. We're conditioning her :) She loves rock climbing and wasn't tired at all!

Hope you enjoyed this post & I'm sorry I don't have any product swatches. My camera stinks so it probably wouldn't have picked up the fabulous colors anyway.

Hope you lovelies are having a great week! xx

Here's to Happiness

pic we took while we were at the beach

September 10, 2009

I realize I’ve created this beauty blog for the sole purpose of sharing makeup/fashion related things but lately I’ve been feeling nostalgic and incredibly inspired. I just wanted to share a random list of what inspires me.

10 things that make me terribly happy

1. Taking a deep breath while riding my bicycle
2. Feeling sand in between my toes
3. Sleeping with the windows open
4. Cuddling with two silly puppies for an afternoon nap
5. Walking barefoot in fresh cut grass
6. The sound of a golf ball hitting the bottom of the hole
7. Wishing on fallen eyelashes
8. Sharing one ice cream cone
9. Bubble baths
10. Sweet morning kisses

Magazine scans

September 8, 2009

Hello hotties! I just wanted to pop into blogger & post a few magazine scans. Who doesn’t love to flip through magazines to look at fashion-inspiring spreads?

Click on the pic to make it bigger ^.^

Do you like the magazine scan posts? Should I do more in the future?

Splurge vs. Steal: Another CCO Haul

Sept. 6, 2009
Last week while we were in South Carolina, I decided to make a trip to the Tangier Outlet mall in Myrtle Beach to see if they had a CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet). They did have one and they had the biggest MAC selection I've ever seen in a CCO. I have two CCO's here where I live and while the MAC section is decent it’s not as large as the one in SC! There were multiple stands overflowing with MAC products. There were bins of 2008 Holiday brush sets & 2008 Holiday Lipglass sets! BINS! Each shelf was overflowing with glorious goodies. They had every single MAC brush from their permanent line! They had MULTIPLES of brushes. I was extremely lucky to buy the last 109 brush from my local CCO! I’m not gonna lie. I went crazy. I won’t bore you with everything I bought but I want to highlight how much I saved by making this trip to the CCO. These are the brushes I bought on the trip.
MAC 168: Large Angled Contour brush. This brush can be used to contour the cheek area, nose & temples. It has extremely soft with firmly bundled fibers.
MAC Store price: $32.00
CCO price: $22.50
Savings: $ 9.50
MAC 150: Large Powder Brush
This brush is full & dense for dusting loose or pressed powder on face/body. The full, rounded shaped fibers is perfect for blush application.
MAC Store price: $42.00
CCO price: $29.50
Savings: $12.50
MAC 134: Large Powder Brush
This is an extra large paddle brush. It has soft natural fibers which is great for powder application to the face/body.
MAC store price: $52.00
CCO price: $36.50
Savings: $15.50

Grand total instant savings: $37.50! Cha ching! Need I say more?

In and Out number 2

September 3, 2009

IN

· Road trips! The husband and I were able to take a few days off from work and go take a mini break to celebrate his birthday. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC which has 100+ golf courses. We stayed at a lovely hotel on the beach. We played golf, laid on the beach and sunned by the pool. We played 4 different putt putt courses and we're putt putt pro's now. The weather was perfect for playing golf!

· LUSH bubble bars. I’ve used LUSH Bath Bombs before but Bubble Bars have become my #1 favorite when I draw a bath. They smell decadent, extremely moisturizing & they create tons of bubbles! After about 30 min the bubbles begin to die down but I turn on the jets & the bubbles reappear and begin to overflow over the side lol.

· Urban Decay lipstick in Naked. It’s the perfect pink/nude color. Naked is the perfect MLBB color (my lips but better). It’s creamy & doesn’t dry out my lips. It has vitamins A, C, & E & it smells like caramel. Yum!

· Candles by Victoria: I have always been addicted to LUSH handmade soaps and I’ve been bummed they don’t have any of the solid perfumes in my favorite soap scents. The only scent I love in their perfume line is Honey I Washed the Kids. Then I found out Candles by Victoria has candle scents that are exact LUSH dupes! Now I don’t have to keep buying the soaps just to sniff them and I can take the candles to work to make my office smell heavenly!

· Zoya nail polish: they are Formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate & camphor free. They are listed as safe nail polishes for ladies who are pregnant. I’m not pregnant yet but I’m stocking up on the safe stuff. They dry fast, are long lasting and I only need 2 coats!

OUT

· Are you stressed & always on the go? I’m not! I’m relaxed and taking it sleazy. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off is out out out!

Bare Escentuals Natural Sunscreen Review

September 1, 2009
Hello lovelies! I’m writing this review from Myrtle Beach, SC. My husband and I came down here for a few days to play golf and relax on the beach for his birthday. I’ve been using Bare Escentuals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen every day so far on our trip. I cannot write enough good things about this product. It is a mineral powder sunscreen that is super easy to apply. I love how I can apply this to my face and body with ease and it doesn’t spill all over my luggage! All you have to do is take the cap off the top then spin the bottom of the tube and a brush pops up. Lock the brush into place and swirl/blend onto your skin. It comes in 3 different shades: light, medium, & tan skin tone. I use the medium skin tone shade. It doesn’t clog your pores or cause breakouts. It protects against UVA/UVB rays and it has Aloe Vera extract & antioxidants. Another reason why I love this product is it’s all natural. It doesn’t have parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dye, preservatives, petro-chemicals & it’s oil free. Since it comes in a powder form your face is matte & not shiny whereas if you use a lotion sunscreen you’re left with a shiny face. I love love love this product and I wish I wrote this review at the beginning of summer instead of the week before Labor Day lol. Go to your local Sephora and buy this. Seriously, go now! It’s awesome and I give this product 5 stars.
Hope you lovelies are having a great week!