Review: NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner

Confession: The 1st time I EVER wore eyeliner was last summer.

I seriously wore makeup for years and never even touched eyeliner! After "mastering" the art of pencil eyeliner (I will review some of the pencil eyeliners I've tried in another post), I decided it was time for me to try liquid eyeliner. 

I wanted to start with a felt tip eyeliner and I wanted it to be pretty cheap because I was learning. Alli (MakeupByAlli) mentioned that one of her favorite liquid eyeliners was from NYC, which I knew was an affordable brand & I loved all of their products I'd tried, so I decided to go check it out. When I went to purchase the liquid eyeliner Alli talked about (which wasn't felt tip), I saw that NYC also sold a felt tip liquid liner, so I purchased that instead.

It's such a great eyeliner! For me, a beginner, it's super quick & easy to use! I can do it faster and make it look better than I ever could with any of my pencil liners. The tip is great and I can get a thin line or a thick line with it. It has never smudged for me and lasts all day--even when I have naps. If I mess up while applying it, it is easy to fix. It also works great when it is set with a shadow (I do this to make it matte). 

After reading some other reviews on this product I found out that a lot of people do not like this eyeliner, so this eyeliner is not for everyone. I do not have oily eyelids or anything like that, so I don't know if it will work for people who do.

I would mainly recommend this for anyone else who's learning how to use eyeliner. It's not too dark, so it won't look super harsh, and it's easy to use.

For under $4, this is a great product to try because it's not a huge waste of money if you don't like it. It's very affordable, possibly one of the cheapest liquid liners sold. 

PS- I decided not to do my Favorite YouTubers of February. I was way too behind to choose my favorites and it's already the middle of March.

DIY Matte Nail Polish: Does it Really Work?

I recently heard that you can change the finish of a nail polish from any finish to a matte finish by holding your fingernails in steam while the polish is drying, so I decided to experiment and see if it actually works. Yes, it does take away a good amount of shine from the polish, but it does not make them completely matte. If you look a few posts back at my Valentine's Day nail post, I actually tried this on them- as you can see, they are still fairly shiny. I'm sure there are certain polishes that steam works better on than others, but so far I haven't had much luck. I would recommend buying a matte polish or top coat if you want your nail polish to have a matte finish, as the results are much better than the results I got from the steam. 

A few reviews as well as my Favorite YouTubers of February should be up soon :) I've been trying a lot of new products lately & I will share my thoughts on them with you as soon as I have time!!

In the Tropics

I'm sure you've all been wondering where the heck I've been...
Well I've started taking a few more classes and one of them starts at 6am, so that's kind of messed my whole schedule up. I get up around 5:15am, get home around 2pm, work until 10:30pm, and then I basically stay up all night doing homework, so I haven't had time to blog for a while and I probably won't post very often for the next few months.

Anyway, as you have probably figured out by now, I am a huge fan of Sephora's eyeshadows. If they have a new palette, I usually buy it right away (unless the reviews are horrible or something like that). Well they have a new palette that I'm planning on purchasing and it's called the Moonshadow Baked In the Tropics palette. The colors look gorgeous, the reviews are good, and I think it would be great for a ombre eye look for spring! What do you think? It's only $27 at Sephora!

Now I'm going to get caught up on Pretty Little Liars :)

My Nail Polish Collection {3}: The Palace Life by L'Oreal/Valentine's Day Nails

For Valentine's Day I decided to get somewhat festive with my nails!

For my fingernails I decided to go with The Palace Life from L'Oreal's Versailles Romance Collection from Spring 2013. Since they no longer sell this polish in stores, you can click here for a link- it's about $7.50 on Amazon. This color is a warm pastel pink cream. It's pretty pigmented and it's opaque in 2 coats; much nicer than similar Essie colors that take at least 3 coats to even show up ;) I thought the formula was quite streaky (I don't think it was the brush) and I noticed that it chips pretty easily, even with a good top coat. Overall, this polish is not my favorite, but I do think it's pretty for the spring.

On my toes (don't worry, I'm not going to post a picture!) I am wearing OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark, which is a very deep purple, with Ulta's Material Girl on top, which is a plum-colored glitter. To be honest, I don't think that Lincoln Park After Dark is worth the hype; it's easily one of OPI's most popular colors, but I honestly wasn't too impressed. I initially was going to just do Lincoln Park After Dark all by itself, but it was super streaky (which is probably because of the brush- I was using a mini bottle that came in a gift box), so I had to put a glitter on top so it wouldn't look horrendous! Ulta's Material Girl looks amazing on top of Lincoln Park After Dark and it seriously looks like professionally done glitter toes! I love this combination and definitely recommend it. If you're interested in purchasing Lincoln Park After Dark, I would definitely recommend purchasing the full size over the mini.

Lincoln Park After Dark is $9.00 at Ulta: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod5180201&_requestid=439857#

Material Girl is currently $2.00 (reg. $6.00) AND buy 1 get 1 free at Ulta: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3570051#

Hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day!

5 Favorite YouTube Beauty Gurus of January

As always, I am super late with this post! & since I am so behind I even threw a 6th one in there for you!

1. April (AprilAthena7): I'm pretty sure I have watched more of April's videos than any other YouTuber this month. I love her beauty channel, her vlog channel, and her cooking channel (which is my most recent obsession). She's so sweet and genuine & I just love watching her videos! Click here for her Blueberry Scones video on her cooking channel, here for her vlog of her 4D ultrasound, and here for a drugstore makeup haul & review video!
2. Mindy (CuteGirlsHairstyles): People call Mindy a braid ninja...and they're not kidding! Her videos always amaze me. Click here for her Zipper Braid Updo tutorial.
3. Danna Ann: Danna does the best swatch videos and makeup tutorials ever. You can click here for her review & swatches of the new Nyx Butter Glosses and here for her Valentine's Day makeup tutorial.
4. Tess Christine: Tess makes the best videos and I wish she made more! She is so beautiful and I love her simple style. Click here for a tutorial with 9 different hairstyles for when you're running late.
5. Michelle Phan: I'm not going to lie, I am typically not a huge fan of Michelle's videos, but I really enjoyed one of her videos this month. You can click here for her DIY Rice Scrub & Mask tutorial. 
6. Tiffany (MakeupByTiffanyD): As I've said before, Tiffany's videos are typically 20 minutes or longer, but she is so easy to watch and clearly knows what she's talking about! You can click here for a wavy curls tutorial and here for her favorite makeup brushes video.

Tip: Get Organized

Today my lesson in church was about how we can live happier lives. One of the things we talked about was being able to spend more time with our family. The lady teaching the lesson shared a personal experience about how getting organized helped her see that when you get the things you need to do for school or work done as quickly as possible, rather than spending time on the Internet or something, you end up having a lot of time to spend doing things that will make you happier. This made me realize that I get on the computer and time passes so quickly & the next thing I know it's super late, I still have a lot of things I need to get done, & I end up staying up super late, rather than doing something more rewarding.
I have made a goal and I encourage you to it too! I want to get organized this year. I'm going to do my homework and work (I work from home in the evenings, mainly quoting open ends, and go to school during the day) as soon as I get home. I'm so excited to see how this is going to improve my life. I feel like I'm going to have a lot more free time to spend with my family if I make this change in my life.
So my tip is to use a planner/calendar & write down what you need to do each day. As soon as you find some time to do the things you've written down for the day, do them! After you've completed everything on the list, the rest of the day/night is yours & you can do whatever you want without having to worry about due dates, projects, etc. This will lessen the stress in your life and allow you to spend more time doing the things you love!
I found a super cute free printable 2014 calendar on Pinterest (link below) that I'm going to use to keep organized.
Link: http://spoonful.com/crafts/20-free-2014-printable-calendars#carousel-id=photo-carousel&carousel-item=12

P.S. I am working on my Favorite YouTube Beauty Gurus of January, but I'm still trying to catch up on some videos from this past week. The video should be up sometime this week! I also have a few other posts I'm working on, so be on the look out for those!

Must Watch YouTube Video!

A few months ago Lauren Curtis uploaded an amazing video to YouTube. I felt like sharing it with you ladies tonight. I personally found this super helpful and informational. Enjoy!

Vaniply by Vanicream

I've had a dry patch on my hand since around June (I have had very bad eczema my whole life). It comes and goes, but it's been getting really bad recently. I have tried a total of 3 ointment/steroid prescriptions from my dermatologist, but they would typically make the patch go away for a day at most & then it would come right back, sometimes worse than it was before I used the ointment/steroid. 

Since none of the prescriptions were working, I decided I wanted to try some non-prescription products and see if any of them worked any better than the prescriptions did. I did my research and found that Vanicream had a new product, an ointment called Vaniply. I love Vanicream products (I highly recommend the Lite Lotion), so I was very hopeful about Vaniply. Before I ordered it, I called my grandpa (who is also a huge fan of Vanicream- he literally has a Lite Lotion in every room of his house) to see if he had tried it yet. Turns out he had tried it and he loved it. He even offered to let me borrow his to see if I liked it before I bought it. 

The first thing I noticed about this product was that it feels exactly like Vaseline, which I haven't had much luck with with my eczema (but I love it for my feet), so I looked at the ingredients to see if there was any Petroleum Jelly in it. Turns out it is Dimethicone, not Petroleum Jelly, which I believe is the active ingredient in Dermasil lotions. I love Dermasil, but the results aren't very long lasting for me, so that worried me a bit...

While reading everything on the back label, I noticed that it said it was for lips and skin. Since my lips are always super chapped, I decided to try it on my lips as well....

I LOVE THIS STUFF!! I put it on my lips during the day & put my Revlon Lip Butter right on top. Revlon Lip Butters usually turn into a train wreck when applied on dry lips, but with the ointment on them it glided on like a gem. It stayed on all day and you couldn't even tell how chapped my lips were! It made my lips super soft. As for the dry patch on my hand...I applied it to the patch before bed and when I woke up in the morning the patch was literally gone AND it hasn't come back since (1 week, which is the longer than any prescription ointment I tried). 

This stuff is amazing. I highly recommend it, whether you are using it as a lip treatment or a skin ointment, it's superb. AND it's safe for kids and those with sensitive skin (like myself).
Here is the link to the Vanicream website: http://www.psico.com/products/products.cfm

$6.99 at Walgreens. $5.29 at drugstore.com 

*This is not a sponsored post.*

Fun Fact About Uggs

Let me start this post by saying that I absolutely love my Uggs. I have the Bailey Button Triplet boots in grey. Due to the high price, I try to take really good care of these boots.
Today I was at work when my boss asked me to help him move a vending machine. He bought it used and the previous owner did not tell him about the oil tray on the bottom/back of the vending machine that hadn't been cleaned out for over 14 years. That being said, as soon as we started to lift it a good amount of oil--yes, BLACK oil--spilled all over my Uggs. I seriously was about to cry and easily would have if I had not been at work. As soon as I got home I called my dad to see what he thought I should do. The oil had dried in hard, gray (thank heavens) spots, so I was hopeful; even if I couldn't get the oil off it wouldn't be too noticeable. My dad took a sponge (a dry, clean sponge) and started gently scrubbing at the oil marks.They came right off! Now my boots look good as new and you can't even tell anything happened to them.
So my fun fact today is that oil does not ruin Uggs. Hope y'all had a great day.

Review: Covergirl Clean Normal Skin Pressed Powder

Since I love the Covergirl Clean foundation, I decided to try the Covergirl Clean powder. I really wish I had gotten the oily skin formula, rather than the normal skin formula, because it would probably work better- and I don't even have oily skin. I've heard that you can either use this powder as a powder foundation or a setting powder, but I don't know if that's true. I've been using it as a setting powder & here are the things I've noticed-

• You need a lot to make your makeup feel like it's been set.
• It makes my foundation and face makeup last longer...nearly all day.
• I don't like the smell...it smells like old lady perfume.
• It looks very natural and smooth.                                                                        
• I like it better than the Covergirl Smoothers pressed powder.

Overall, I don't hate it because it actually works, but I do wish I had gotten the oily skin formula because it would probably set my foundation better. I do recommend it and I will probably repurchase it, but I am still looking for a really good drugstore setting powder. Any recommendations?

$5.94 at Walmart

5 Favorite YouTube Beauty Gurus of December

Yes, I know I am SUPER late with this post! Truth is I didn't have a ton of time to watch YouTube in December and I was without Internet for 10 days. I've been trying to catch up, but catching up has resulted in me missing January videos, so I decided to just choose my top 5 based on the few videos I watched so I won't have the same problem this month. Without further a do & in no particular order...

1. Ingrid (missglamorazzi): I LOVED Ingrid's DIY December videos! I've already shared a couple of her DIY December videos in some other posts, but you can click here for the link to her DIY December playlist.
2. Jenny (ShowMeCute): You can click here for her DIY Confetti Popcorn recipe/tutorial and here for her DIY Metallic Sharpie Fingernails tutorial. I love the whole Sharpie nail art idea! Genius.
3. Tiffany (MakeupbyTiffanyD): Yes, her videos are typically about 20 minutes long, but Tiffany is so easy to watch, she seems super sweet, and I can tell she knows what she's talking about. You can click here for her Healthy Hair Care Routine & 6 Minute Curling Tutorial, here for her Holiday Glam & Classic Makeup Tutorial, and here for her Naked 3 Palette Review & Swatches video!
4. Allison (amarixe): I think Allison has been in almost all of my favorite YouTuber posts. She recently went on a trip to Europe & she took some great pictures, so I recommend you follow her on Instagram as well :) You can click here for her What's in My Travel Beauty Bag Europe Edition video.
5. Stef & Tracy (eleventhgorgeous): I love this sister duo. They are so fun to watch and I love that they are best friends. I also think it is more entertaining when there are 2 girls as opposed to just 1. You can click here for their Get Ready With Me- New Year's Eve video.

Since this is a post about YouTubers, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the recent change to A Brunette Duet. As sad as I am that Steph is leaving, I think Laura will do great and I will continue watching her videos. What do you ladies think of the change? You can click here for Laura's channel.

Review: Dove Cool Moisture Foaming Facial Cleanser

Disclaimer: This product is discontinued. It is still sold on Amazon and possibly a few other websites, but it can be pricey. I do believe Dove is currently selling a similar facial cleanser, but I could be wrong.

I use this cleanser during my nightly routine. I use a makeup removing wipe to remove my makeup and then I was my face with this cleanser to clean my face. 

I love this cleanser! It removes any excess makeup and is very gentle and refreshing. My face feels soft and clean after I use it. It's very moisturizing; probably the most moisturizing cleanser I've ever used! It also smells nice, which is a bonus. I also used to use this in place of a shaving cream on my legs & it worked very well. It's great for sensitive, dry skin!

I highly recommend this cleanser, however, I honestly don't think I will be repurchasing it due to the cost since it has been discontinued. I do love it though.

Here is an Amazon link for this product:

http://www.amazon.com/Dove-Moisture-foaming-facial-cleanser/dp/B000P06X38

Ulta Cheek Color: Infatuation

My current favorite blush is Infatuation, which is a blush from Ulta's collection. It's perfect for fall & winter and I have to say I've been loving it more than I love my Nyx blushes. It's super wearable, easy to work with, and silky. The only things I don't like about it are the packaging and that it doesn't last all day (but that's not a huge problem). Yes, the packaging is awesome for traveling & such because of the size, but it's not super durable. Regardless, it's such a gorgeous blush and I highly recommend you pick it up! It's only $7.00 at Ulta and right now they're buy one get one free! 

PS- In this picture it looks darker than it actually is. This picture makes it look like a dark berry color, but it's really a more natural berry color!

Review: Clean and Clear Morning Burst Fruit Infusions Smoothing Facial Scrub

I typically use the Clean and Clear Blackhead Eraser scrub every morning, but I was looking for something that would be a little more moisturizing for winter, so I picked this up.

I read a lot of reviews before I purchased it & everyone said it was very moisturizing, so I originally intended for it to be the face wash I use every morning. After just a few uses I noticed this is NOT a daily cleanser because it is too abrasive. My skin, especially my nose, got extremely dry and I had to stop using it for about a week while my skin got back to normal. Now I use it a few times a week. It does make my skin really smooth, but it was not moisturizing. It is not for daily use and it doesn't do much for pimples, acne, and such. It smells good, makes my face feel smooth, and it's fairly brightening. 

There are definitely products I like more than this, so I will not be repurchasing it. I do recommend it is because the majority of the reviews I've read for this product have been raves, so I think there's a chance you might like it!

Review: Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask

A little over a month ago I received a sample of the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask in one of my Sephora orders. I had read reviews on it & I wasn't expecting good results since it didn't have good reviews. The sample lasted for 5 uses. I washed my face before each use, used it once a week, and left it on for 30 minutes, like the instructions say to. 

I honestly wasn't impressed by this product. I didn't hate it, but I would never spend $55 on it! I probably wouldn't even buy it if it was $5 at the drugstore.

$55.00 at Sephora

I'm going to go through what it's supposed to do (according to sephora.com) & tell you if it did it or not.:

Enhance Skin's Radiance: I did not notice any "enhanced radiance". I was sure I would, since you can find inexpensive products at the drugstore that brighten your skin. This really disappointed me. 

Eliminate Dull and Blemished Skin Cells: I did notice that it helped make some of my scarring a little less noticeable...if that counts.

Reduce the Appearance of Pores: I was really hoping this would be true, but I did not notice a change in the appearance of my pores.

Reduce Inflammation: I actually saw a huge difference with this particular one. It pretty much eliminated the redness around my pimples and made it much easier for me to conceal them.

Promote Hydration: I did notice it was fairly hydrating, but nothing I've never seen before in a Freeman face mask. I did, however, have to use moisturizer after I used this mask.

Leave Skin Soft, Refreshed, and Glowing: My skin was soft after I used this, but as I said before, I still had to use moisturizer. As far as "refreshed" goes, I didn't notice anything particularly "refreshing" about this mask. Lastly, I don't think it made my skin radiant by any means- nothing more than the typical clean-face "glow". 

The Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask is nothing special. It's not worth the $55 it costs and it didn't do a ton for my skin. I don't recommend it, especially because the other reviews I've read are exactly like mine, so I know I'm not the only one who didn't like it. However, if you're still interested in trying it, you can get a free sample of it with your next Sephora order (online). I highly recommend getting the sample before buying the full size since it is expensive.