Urban Decay Naked 3

I just was able to order my Naked 3 palette from ulta.com!  Can't wait to get it in my hands and start playing and reviewing!

Jordana Best Lash Extreme

  Ladies I have found it!  After years of searching and what seems like hundreds of different brands, formulas, and promises. I have finally discovered my HG mascara in Jordana's Best Lash Extreme. Who could have guesses this $2.99 mascara would be all that I was looking for and more?

It is marketed as a volumizing mascara and with just one coat it does just that. It is a short, natural bristles brush that applies the perfect amount of product without clumping. 

After just one coat my lashes are exactly what I am looking for from a mascara. I prefer a formula that is wetter so that I don't have to load on coats of mascara that becomes clumpy in order to coat my blonde lashes.  The combination of the brush and the formula does just that. I feel like I also get a decent amount of length with this mascara also. This does not smudge or flake on me all day, and I have my mascara on for 14-15 hours a day throughout my 12 hour shift at work. The formula is not waterproof and comes off with my Sephora eye makeup remover that I have been using since I bought it in Spain last month. 

           No mascara

       One coat of mascara

My search is now over and I doubt I will stray from this for day to day use. 

Sephora in Barcelona

So what trip to a foreign city would be complete without a trip to Sephora?  On our first day here we trekked around the city waiting to get into our hotel room and came across Sephora in Del Triangle. I was able to pick up my trusty favorite mascara, Benefit's They're Real and my favorite foundation, Urban Decay Naked Skin. Along with the foundation I picked up the new Urban Decay Ultra Definition Pressed Finishing Powder

I love how this powder makes my skin look flawless and smooth. It reflects light so that it doesn't accentuate any lines and pores

Now the most exciting part about Sephora in another country.....is the brands not carried in the US!  I didn't do much damage, although I sure did want to.  There was Sisley, bourjois, sleek, la prairie and even a few Sephora brand products not available in the US. At the same time there were a few brands that are considered drug store in the US that Sephora carries at an unbelievably high price in Spain, such has Sally Hansen nail polishes and products and the Just Say Yes (to Carrots, to Cucumbers, etc) products. A $3 Sally Hansen nail Polish was 11.50 Euro ($15.50 US)!!

I did pick up a Bourjois bronzer that looks like a bar of chocolate. I have heard lots of good things about this product and it looks very natural on my face and smells like chocolate too!

Next I saw a Sleek Makeup display with a couple of eye palettes. I picked up the neutral palette as I will get the most use out of it. 

I love the mix if shimmer and matte shadows. They are super pigmented and blend easily. 

Finally, I picked up this calming gel waterproof eye makeup remover, and already I can tell its a favorite!  It doesn't need to be rinsed off, it soaks right in after you wipe away the makeup. It did not irritate my sensitive eyes and got rid of every trace of eyeshadow, mascara and eyeliner.

NYX at Target

Look what I saw at my Target tonight!  It's NYX!  They don't carry as much as Ulta does, but they actually had stock of every item, unlike Ulta. I was able to pick up a few shades of the Butter Glosses that are constantly sold out at Ulta every time I stop in. To me it seems Target carries a selection that is pared down to the too sellers of each product. The main thing I noticed that is missing are the single eyeshadows and loose pigments and the foundations and pressed powders. This was a joyous sighting for me since it now means I can drive 10 minutes to get my NYX favorites instead of 35 minutes to my closest Ulta. Unfortunately I couldn't shop long because the store was closing in 5 minutes when I spotted this, but there is always tomorrow.....

Chanel haul

Just a little Chanel haul. I had to replace my beloved Rouge Coco Shine in Boy and my Inimitable mascara so I decided to pick up a few extras also. I picked up a nail polish in #667 Bel-Argus which is a gorgeous royal blue with shimmers

Next I picked up the Lift Lumiere foundation in #20 Clair. I usually wear BR22 in the Perfection Lumiere and this is the closest match. I decided to try it since I prefer a more full coverage foundation to cover the redness in my skin on my cheeks. 

And finally I wanted to try the new Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Color powder. The concept of this intrigued me. It can be used as a setting powder. A lighter shade can be used as a highlighter and a darker shade can be used as a contour powder. I purchased shade 30 to use as a setting powder and my SA gave me an adorable sample compact of shade 10 to use as a highlighter. The packaging is gorgeous all on its own and the brush it comes with actually works really well to apply the powder in a pinch. This powder has an SPF of 15 which is great for a product like this that can be easily thrown in a bag and reapplied throughout the day without getting cakey. 

The SA was also nice enough to toss in a mini Glossimer in #166 Amour

I can't wait to use all my new goodies!  Reviews of the foundation and powders in a few weeks once I give them a try for awhile since I want to see how my skin reacts to them (hopefully well!)

NuMe Signature Tourmaline Ionic Hair Dryer

Well lovelies, the time has come!  My NuMe Tourmaline Ionic Hair dryer has come and I've had a chance to use it several times. First, let me show you how it comes

I LOVE the bright blue color!  It is matte, not shiny which helps it stay in your hand while using it because it is not slippery at all. It has three temperature controls and 2 speed settings and a cool shot button. It comes with two different size concentrators. It is an 1875 watt dryer, my old Hot Tools hair dryer was 1600 watts. It is louder than my old Hot Tools dryer, but I will deal with that to dry my hair sleeker and faster to save a lot of time. It typically takes me around 15-20 minutes to dry my hair depending on how wet it is. With this NuMe dryer it took 10 minutes from being soaking wet to dry. I was very impressed with the time it took....then I felt my hair and it was so soft!  All I had put in it was some heat protectant (Tresseme Platinum Strength). When I looked in the mirror I couldn't believe how much smoother and straighter my hair was compared to my Hot Tools dryer. Here are some pictures to show this

How my hair dried using my Hot Tools dryer

How the NuMe dried my hair

Huge difference if you ask me!  This dryer should help cut down on damage, which I need from coloring every six to eight weeks and heat styling my hair almost daily. I have had many, many hair dryers in my 29 years, starting with using my mom's old white conair with the colored levers to pick the settings on the side to my last Hot Tools dryer, but this is by far my favorite and I will continue to use this above my Hot Tools dryer which has now become my "please I hope I never need to use this" backup hair dryer. The cost is up there at $250 but NuMe always has great coupon codes out there (searching on retailmenot saved me $130 on top of the $200 sale price). So for $70, which is around what I spent on my last hair dryer, I have a much better product that gives me far superior results

Maybelline fall 2013 limited edition eye shadows

Spotted....the new fall limited edition eyeshadow palettes. I purchased 3 of the 4 limited edition palettes with reviews coming soon. In the meantime here are some pictures. Also, check your permanent displays because I saw at least 8 new eye studio palettes in the permanent displays, review of the one I purchased coming.  

Eye, lip and nail display

Limited edition violet femmes palette

Limited edition Autumn Dream palette

Limited edition Fall Temptation palette

New Taupe Temptress palette

Urban Decay Naked lip liner

Hello lovelies!  Just a quick post I wanted to put up about the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Lip Liner in the color Naked. I just purchased the new release of this lip liner and let me just say....it is completely different from the old version. The old version is darker and more of a brownish red color, while the new version is more of a nude pinkish color. 

Top: old version of Naked

Bottom: new version of naked

Left: old version of Naked. 

Right: new version of Naked

Hope this helps some of you!

Fall 2013 Maybelline Colorsensational gloss

Well the fall 2013 makeup has hit store shelves!  I started off the season with a couple of the new shades of Maybelline colorsensational high shine lipgloss.  The colors I picked up are number 310 Berry Brilliance and number 290 Flash of Pink.  Berry Brilliance is an opaque raspberry like color that goes on evenly when applying a thick layer.  It goes on patchy if not enough product is on the doe foot applicator and then another layer will be needed to even it out.  Flash of Pink is a light blue toned pink that will take several swipes to build up and even out applicator strokes.  Both are comfortable and not sticky.  I could wear these without a lip balm underneath as they aren't drying on my lips.  In terms of staying power....I had to reapply after finishing my morning coffee at work, but that is expected with pretty much any lip gloss.  These are on sale this week at Rite Aid buy one get one 50% off so I paid around $11 for both.  There are six shades in all in this limited edition On the Runway collection including deep dark reds and purples.

                                (l-r) 310 Berry Brilliance, 290 Flash of Pink

                                                                     Flash of Pink

                                                                      Berry Brilliance

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  I decided to take my love...or my husband might call it obsession, for all things makeup, beauty and hair related online to fellow beauty geeks like me. I can rarely leave a store without purchasing something beauty related, so hauls and reviews will be frequent. I currently am waiting for some NuMe products I purchased to be delivered, so reviews on the Signature Ionic Hair Dryer and Titan 3 will be coming so stay tuned!