I'm Not On The Bandwagon

Lately everyone on YouTube has been all over the Better Than Sex bandwagon. And I agree that it's a good mascara, I can't knock it for anything except the price compared to the mascara I prefer over it. I can't jump on the bandwagon when my ten dollar mascara from Avon gives me falsie quality lashes from one coat where I have to apply multiple coats of Too Faced's and it still doesn't give me the same volume and length I get from my Avon Mega Effects. I wear mascara every day, and I hardly reach for Better than Sex because of my Avon mascara. I have to make an effort to use all of my mascaras instead of the Avon one. I've never had a mascara do this great, and it's hardly ever talked about (if at all) how amazing this product is compared to some of its more expensive competitors. And the best part about Avon is that often time their mascaras are on sale for Buy One, Get One for $1, so just like me you can stock up during the sales and have back ups waiting for the first one to wear out. I'll be posting a full review on both of these mascaras in the next few days to give you a better idea of what I find to be the best and worst about the products separately.

Stay beautiful

BNB

Beauty Steal: Michael Kors Nail Polish

I have been cleaning out all my drawers of polish to make room for colors I will use more and replacing old bottles with new ones. I've gotten rid of a lot and I'm learning what colors I lean towards when painting my nails. Lately I've been going for more neutral colors like greys and skintones, as well as leaning more towards shimmers and placing a matte top coat on everything. When I do go for colors I tend to lean towards jewel tones and deep colors. I used to pick warm colors over cool shades, but lately that has switched and I have been on the hunt to buy more cool toned polishes.

I picked up some beautiful jewel tones from Nordstrom Rack recently. I wasn't keen on buying anything from a higher end company at first because I'm completely satisfied with drugstore brands, but I was blown away by how beautiful the colors were and had never seen anything quite like them.

I purchased 3 shades: Cabaret, a wine red that had a golden shimmer(unfortunately no gold when dry)
                  Thrill, a beautiful teal green, more on the green side and unlike anything I own
                  Femme Fatale, a deep royal blue almost to the point of navy
(photos are below)

Instead of being 18 dollars a bottle it was only 7, so I decided that I would give them a try. the packaging was really cute at first, but when I went to open the bottles to use them I was annoyed to find that the gorgeous gold topper for the lid is just a cap you have to pull off before unscrewing the brush from the bottle.
While I don't think there's anything special about them to convince me to buy them full price, I find that I did enjoy the colors, and with a thick first coat they went on pretty opaque. The polish was shiny and had a nice fine metallic in it. With only one coat of polish and a top coat it lasted for about 3 days before it chipped. It probably would last longer if I wasn't working in a warehouse using my hands all day.

All in all, I would definitely run out and buy a few more colors of these from Nordstrom Rack if I could find some, but it's nothing to write home about and is hardly worth ordering the 18 dollar colors from the Michael Kors company unless there's something truly unique that I can't get somewhere else. I was dissapointed in how some of the finishes changed as they dried, and it was unfortunate that my favorite polish, Cabaret, morphed into something so normal compared to how it looked in the bottle. 0.3 fl. oz. seems like a pretty large amount of polish for me and I'm happy I got the chance to play with some of these shades before they disappeared.

Although I had higher hopes for some of these than they delivered, I am not at all disappointed in what I got for the price I paid, and if I see more colors of these in my local Nordstrom Rack I will be picking them up for sure.

Holy Grail Products for 2015

Perfume: Outspoken by Fergie, sold by Avon

Lotion:
Face: NYX Tea Tree Balance Elixir
Hands: Vitabath Shea Butter Hand Cream in Spring Green
Body: Skin So Soft Lotion, Sold by Avon
Feet: FootWorks Healthy Intensive Deep Moisture Cream, sold by Avon

Primer:

Eyelid: NYX Eye Primer in Nude (for neutral looks) and White (for bright looks and bold colors)
Under Eye: Wet N' Wild color corrector wheel (yellow)
Lip: NYX Lip Primer in Nude
Face: ELF Face Primer in Clear

Lip Exfoliator: ELF Lip Exfoliator

Foundation: Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Dewy and Smooth in 115 Ivory

Concealer: Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in Sand

Blush: NYC Blushable Creme Stick in 649U Berry New Yorker
Contour: Covergirl Powder in Rosewood (No Longer Available)
Bronzer: Covergirl Powder in Copper Pennyfrost (No Longer Available)

Brows:
Pencil: I don't use one

Gel: ELF Wet Gloss Lash and Brow in Clear

Eyeshadow:

Nicka K Perfect 10 Palette AP021
NYX The Natural Shadow Palette TNS01
Sleek Makeup i-divine Ultra Mattes V1 Brights 

EyeLiner:
Cream: Essence Liner in Midnight in Paris 01
Liquid: NYC Liquid Eyeliner in Black 887
Pencil: WarPaint Beauty Wing Tip Liner Pencil in Black or Milani Eye Pencil in True Black and Dark Brown

Lashes:
Mascara: CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara in Black (Waterproof)
False Lashes: Ardell Fashion Lashes in Natural 110
Lash Glue: Duo Lash Glue in Dark

Lips:
Lipbalm: Burt's Bees Original Lip Balm
Lipliner: Avon Glimmerslicks Lipliner in Clear
Lipstick: Hard Candy Plumping Serum Lipstick in 866 Anonymous
Liquid Lipstick: Covergirl Outlast All-Day Wear Lipcolor in 661 Cinnamon Stick
Lip Gloss: Hard Candy Fierce Effects Daring Lip Gloss in 968 Adrenaline

Cleansers:
Face: St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Scrub (light abrasion), St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub in Invigorating (heavy abrasion)
Body: Bath and Body Works 2 in 1 Superfruit Body Scrub and Wash in Pure Passion (back, chest, shoulders and arms), Summer's Eve Cleansing Wash in Simply Sensitive

Makeup Remover: 

Wipes: Huggies

Liquid: Simple Micellar Water

Longwear spray: Elf Makeup Mist and Set

Brush Cleaner: The Brush Guard Set

Brush Set: Crazycity Professional Cosmetic Makeup Brush Set with Bag, Sold by Amazon (Imported from China)
ELF Contour brush
HOSL Flat Contour Brush (Sold on Amazon)

Nailcare: 
Nail Polish: Milani Color Statement Nail Lacquer in 03 Lady-Like Sheer
Nail cream: Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Go-To Greige

This is my absolute go-to this season, and I'm planning on buying a few extra of this lipstick while it's on sale in order to have it for a long time to come. I've been looking for the perfect grey-beige lip color in the drugstore ever since Jeffree Starr launched his liquid liptick line and I saw swatches of Posh Spice, and I've finally found a combination that is absolutely gorgeous.

I've fallen in love with Loreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Silverstone (760) paired with a nude lip liner. Currently I'm using a very beige lip liner from Avon in the shade Nude, from their Glimmerslicks Lip Liner collection, but I plan to purchase several others to see what I like best.

Silverstone is a very metallic, slighty purple-grey color. Though I'm not completely fond of the metallic finish of it, I am in love with the way it looks when paired with the nude liner. It gives off the perfect grey-nude color, without looking like I'm dead, the purple hint adds just a touch of life to the traditional "greige" that most people are loving these days. The color is semi-sheer, lending it to all sorts of play with colorful lip liners underneath. However, since it's a regular lipstick, be ready to reapply as it will wear off after eating, drinking, or hours of wear.

Lately I've been in a lip color rut, and this new color has brought some life into my routine. I'm interested to see what else comes out in the near future that may fall into the "greige" category.

Stay Warm, Cozy and Beautiful

Until Next Time,

BNB

The Creative Contour

Walking through the drugstore recently I saw a few things I thought would be useful additions to my makeup routine. But among these was a brush labeled "Contour Brush"on the ELF display, and I was curious. It is a small domed brush, stiff but not overly so. I snatched it up and brought it home. After reading the package I discovered that it was for your eyes, though I had bought it thinking it would be the perfect size for contouring and highlighting my nose.

While it works great for it's intended use of contouring your eyes for a natural look, it is also wonderful for contour and highlight on the nose area and applies the color and blends it beautifully into the skin. I ended up also using it to apply my highlight under my eyebrows as well as on my Cupid's bow because of it's small size and ease of blending. It may also work in place of using the edge of my flat contour brush to get the sharp cheek contour I like.

I'm absolutely in love with this brush after playing with it a few times, I love every ELF I have ever purchased and strongly recommend them to anyone who needs affordable and reliable brushes for makeup. I now own two Small Stipple Brushes, the Eyeliner Brush, the Contour Brush, and their Pointed Foundation Brush (which I'll be posting about another day, but am totally in love with as well) and I plan to buy many more of their brushes to add to my collection because of the affordability and the quality of their brushes.

Facing Stigma: Inked Nation

Recently, I encountered something I have only ever heard of. I suppose it was only a matter of time before it happened, but I never expected it to happen to me personally. I never expected to face this kind of stigma, let alone have someone my age be on the other end of it.

Ever since I was little, I have been in love with tattoos. I used to sit glued to the TV watching artists like Ami James and Chris Garver sharing their art and their clients' stories on TLC's Miami Ink. I knew all about the kinds of negative perspectives on tattoos and their artists, but something inside me always knew that would never stop me. In the past, tattoos have always been given a bad rap because of stereotypes about those with tattoos.

I never thought I would be stereotyped against not only for having my one tattoo, but for my plans to have more as the years go on. But the most shocking part of it for me was that it was someone my age who had said something about it. My tattoo is the most meaningful thing I have ever had done, and with every hardship I face it has been given that much more meaning. Every tattoo I plan to get has the utmost personal meaning behind it, but that hardly matters to naysayers who still believe that only criminals and rebels have tattoos. To those kinds of people the only thing my tattoos will be is meaningless blobs of ink that suddenly make me a criminal, incapable of professionalism, and a horrible parent (when I have kids) or role model to others. Because of this stigma, I have been very careful to only get the tattoos I want that won't be able to be seen by prospective employers so that I can hopefully avoid these issues when in the work place. I personally don't feel like I should have to be worried about whether this will come up in conversation, but for the sake of employment I'm willing to wait to get my arm tattoos done for a while.

My hope has always been that as the younger generations like mine grow up, these old stigmas would die out, but I was shocked to find out recently just how wrong I was. It surprised me to learn that a man no older than myself who I adore, suddenly is uncomfortable with the idea of dating me, not because I have a tattoo, but because I plan to have more of them. It was heartbreaking to find out that my tattoos, both present and future, could keep me from having someone in my life. It made me feel like I have to predisclose that I have tattoos before someone truly knows me in case they will be upset by it later when they find out. But this isn't fair. As long as they aren't vulgar it shouldn't matter to anyone whether I have them or not. It's my body and I can do with it what I want. To know me is to truly understand the meaning behind my tattoos, and to be able to see past them and into who I am on the inside.

Fit Me Foundation: Battle Royale

I took it upon myself to try out both of the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation lines in order to determine which would be best for someone like me with pretty much normal skin. I have my occasional dry patches, but wasn't sure which foundation would work best. Personally, I've always been a fan of the matte finished face, so the Matte and Poreless version was my natural first pick. It made my face have a chalky appearance that I had been struggling with when trying out matte foundations. I went ahead and bought the Dewy and Smooth version instead, and was pleasantly surprised as to how lovely it sat on the skin without looking cakey or chalky. I fell in love with it after several uses and it's now my go to foundation every day. I'm surprised that my skin does not work well with mattifying foundations, but at least I know it wasn't how I was applying it that was the issue. I love using my sponge to apply these, but I've also been known to use a brush as well. I use my Matte and Poreless to cover small areas and add a slight highlight since it is one shade lighter, but o will never again use it on my whole face. I love the formula of both as well as the coverage they offer. They are build able coverage from medium to heavy coverage. I wouldn't say full coverage because my freckles and scars still show through after several applications one over top the other. All in all this foundation is a total win. Both formulations are lovely, however my skin prefers the dewy to the matte version.

Keep warm and Stay beautiful, ladies.

BNB