Revlon Nearly Naked Powder

Most powders are similar to me. Powders do that same thing: keep you matte. This powder stands out to me because after a while, you end up greasier than a bucket of chicken. When you touch up with it, however, it does not get cake. The coverage is pretty good as well.

I got it in the color Deep, and it seems to be a good color match the darkest color is in Dark. The price is reasonable enough, I paid around $10 for it with coupons.

The powder itself is finely milled, making it really light on the face. (Hence the name nearly naked.)

This is perfect for a girl that doesn't necessarily wear a lot of makeup but wants a tad bit of coverage. It is not, however, great for oily skin. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchase (The packaging is quite bulky though making it hard to travel with. I mean in what makeup bag would this fit in?).

I'm convinced JustFab has the best jeans for curvy girls

Okay, I have to admit that I might be a little addicted to JustFab.com as a whole (almost every month, I'm drooling over the picks that I get.) I was a bit iffy on trying out their denim line but I'm so glad I took that leap of faith. I honestly am the type of girl that HATES wearing jeans. I'm more of a legging/jegging girl because the size of my bum is so big but my waist isn't that big. So when I do purchase jeans, I have to OD with the belt to make sure I don't rock that plumber crack.

Even though I only have two pairs of JustFab jeans, they fit me ridiculously well. I can't sing their praises enough. The fabric isn't so constricting and they provide a lot of give. Trust me, thick girls should give this a shot.

Hair Growth Journey (one year)

Last year I decided to start and document my hair growth journey. This pic is from the end of 2012.

 Since then I think I grew a solid inch... maybe two.

 I think the only thing I will do differently is get trims more frequently and get a Tangle teezer to help me detangle my hair. I think that is where I lose a bulk of my length.

L'Oreal Safari Chic (520)

 As usual, my cuticles are looking less than par but I just have to say how much I LOVE these L'Oreal polish. They are relatively new (like less than 2 years). I have three of them and each one offers a gel like lasting power and shine. Love

It beats out Revlon as my favorite drugstore polish.

Revlon Whismical

I've never been more on the fence about a polish than this one. As you can see, the bottle looks like loads of fun. It's a milky mint color with lavender and teal hexagonal glitter suspended into it. there are also smaller specs of similar colors floating in there too.
The first time I saw it I desperately wanted it but the second I put it on I realized how disappointing a shade this was. The pictures above are FIVE coats of polish. Needless to say, that manicure never really dried. I was just so shocked that the color was so sheer. I'll retry the polish over a base coat of some sort but I don't want anything to take away from the color itself.

L'Oreal Paparazzi Pleaser

Please excuse the slightly sloppy application but I just had to say how much I love this purple. Fall is here and it is time to put away those bright neons of the summer (if you are one to follow trends, personally I where what I want, when I want). This color by the L'Oreal line of nail polishes is called Paparazzi Pleaser.

I am not the one to love dark polishes on my nails but this purple is not too dark. It is not a scary vampy color but it definitely is not a neon. And don't get me started on the formula! I guess you would say it is a crème but this is more like a shiny gel. The lazy girl wouldn't even need to put a top coat on.

This is a hidden gen that you can't afford to sleep on. It doesn't chip excessively either, average wear.

Essie Van D'go

Omg, I absolutely love this creamy neautral peachy pink color. My accent nail is this cute teal bow with polka dots. If you are a girl that loves beutral colors or need a color great for work, this polish would be great for you. the formula dries a little more matte than I would like.. just make sure you have a really good top coat. It is a nice spring time color.

YSL CRÈME DE BLUSH Soft Blush

Hey guys, I know it has been quite a while since I have done a post. I wanted to come at you with this new blush I have been using by Yves Saint Laurent. It is their creme de blush, I bought it at Sephora and it was $38. Yes, it is a bit of a splurge for just a cheek product but I just had to have it. I think it was this pretty gold packaging. All in all, for dark skin sister like me I think I would have to say pass on this product (or at least this color, I got the velvety peach).

As you can see, it comes in this gorgeous gold plated package that looks really good on your vanity.

The texture was a soft almost moussy feel. When you applied it, it reminded me of the Maybelline bouncy blushes. They both rub to a powder finish.

 For $38 you get .19 oz. The product is surrounded with an acrlic casing making it appear like a lot of product.

 So this is what the color looks like. For anybody lighter, it will look like a more natural flush of color. On me however, I just use it as a base to layer other cheek colors on top of.

 

 The color is 1 Velvety Peach - peachy pink. I thought it was going to be sort of like a Nars Orgasm but it is less pigmented than that.

Maybelline expert luminous lights eyeshadow in opal lights

So I saw the ad for this 'new' collection by Maybelline. The Luminous Lights collections is supposed to use pastel shimmery colors to brighten your eye. I got the palette in Opal Lights (the one the model is wearing). They have 4 other palettes in the collection. So I have a couple of all shimmer palettes that are not that bad to use. (i.e. Wet n Wild... Urban Decay Naked) but this palette was unacceptable. there was not much fall out so there is nothing wrong with the formulation but the colors so not show up that well on dark skin. 

I got the palette in Opal Lights (the one the model is wearing). They have 4 other palettes in the collection. So I have a couple of all shimmer palettes that are not that bad to use. (i.e. Wet n Wild... Urban Decay Naked) but this palette was ridculous.

I do have a weakness for palettes that indicate where they recommend their colors to go. It is great for beginners but I wouldn't recommend THIS particular palette... especially for my darker skinned ladies. 

The first color is supposed to be used as a base/primer but I'm not that comfortable using powders as primers. (I don't know who does that anyway)

The colors themselves are fun... They are iridescent and kind of have a duo-chromey element to them. Too bad when you try to incorporate all the colors in one look the colors seem to blend together and do not have the best definition.  they would be great individual highlight colors... absolutely gorgeous if you wanted to use them as such. 

 There was not much fall out so there is nothing wrong with the formulation but the colors so not show up that well on dark skin. 

The first color is a regular light pink, then there is a light yellow gold. The interesting color in the palette to me is the purple-toned blue color that would be a gorgeous icy highlight and is a little unique to me. the fourth color is strange enough though... it appear to be a shimmer mid-toned brown but comes off more as a gold (greenish gold?)

My final thoughts on this product is that although I like the availability (it may be limited addition but as of now you can purchase it at your local drug store) and the price (it is less than $10 and you definitely get in on BOGO) I would recommend for women of darker complexions to run out and pay money for this particular product unless you want a nice highlight palette. 

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter

The swatch on the bottom is one swipe of the highlighter. The swatch on the top is what it looks like blended out. As you can see it is a champagne shimmery highlighter (I think I see a pinky shade in it). I can't lie... it is not the most flattering thing on my skin tone

There is a sponge applicator attached to it but I don't really like using it. (That can't be sanitary right?) I just blend it out with either my fingers or my beautyblender.

This is how much product you get for $30. (I bought mine from sephora)

I usually apply it to the tops of my cheek bones (this is it un-blended of course), my inner tearduct, and as a brow bone highlight.

This is it blended out. I'm not crazy about it. I won't be buying it again but I WILL be using it up because I spent a pretty penny on it.

Revlon Rich Raspberry

Yum! I call these my lava nails. I just used my dotting tool and went to town with Revlon amethyst. I love Revlon’s rich raspberry though. It is such a gorgeous jewel toned berry color. It can transcend any season.

K. Michelle's glitter manicure dupe

So I went to go see K. Michelle the other night in concert. She is an R&B singer and star of the reality show Love and Hip Hop ATL on vh1 (one of my guilty pleasures). I do not usually blog about this but I guess this is semi-beauty related. She was absolutely fab on stage but what really caught my eye was the beyond glamour manicure she was sporting! Now I am on the hunt for something that looks similar to the glitter fest that was on her nails. Stay tuned!

CoverGirl Lashblastvolume mascara

So as you can see I have really thin, short lashes. There are not many mascaras that can really alleviate this problem for me. I was running out to get this mascara because eleventhgorgeous always raved about it. I have had CoverGirl lash blast volume for about two days. It is GREAT layered with other mascaras but by itself, it falls short for me. The formula is wet (which I love) and it is on the buildable side seeing as I don’t get crazy clumps when I use it (Revlon colorstay overtime). This won’t be a repurchase for me anytime soon though because I know I can find something that would work better for me.

Not much of a difference (one coat)

Thin rubber bristols on the tip and the end but the middle extends further.

Revlon Colorstay Mascara

I bought this mascara at target.com.

The brush is thin with short bristles. The formula is on the wet side (but not too wet, the way I like it).

My lashes without mascara. (I have magenta liner on m lower lashline).

My lashes with the mascara. As you can see, it defines and lengthens a bit. I can't say much for volume, and it did clump up a bit. I dont' love this mascara but I don't hate it.

Rare earth deep minimizing cleansing masque

I admitt, I've been eyeing this masque for a whiiiiiiiiile. It promises to minimize pores, deep clean skin, leaving brighter. I'm a sucker for anything that can brighten this dull skin of mine. I hesistated for a while (it is like $23) but I'm glad I shelled out the money. I have been using this for almost two weeks and I really enjoy it so far.

Of course I will do an update but it looks promising. I used it at night on a clean face. It applies pretty thin, (which I like) and I kept on over night. There was a bit of a sensation but it wasn't huge. I really liked it and I really think it was worth the money.

Revlon Pink Passion

There is nothing more classic to me than a gorgeous pink color. It is a creamy mid-toned pink. It is opaque enough for me but what I really love about the colorstay line is that fat brush of theirs! Amazing coverage.

Just to spice it up a little, I added some white dots by this $1 nail polish. It is called french creme by wet n wild.