Winners

I've been really sick for the last week so I apologize for my lack of posts. I haven't been online or even out of my house since last Thursday! lol

I had 3 of you who subscribed & commented on my blog to enter the giveaway so all 3 of you are winners!

cbrixey- WINNER of the My Glam Bag

sherrie- WINNER of the Facial Peel Off Mask & travel size bar of Pomegranate soap

watson gang- WINNER of Shady Lady Eye Shadow & stila eye liner in brown

Thanks for entering!

My Glam Bag

I got my "My Glam" bag in the mail today. It's my first one and I'm so excited. It shipped in a cute pink bubble envelope, which I thought was adorable. The theme this month was all about organic so it came in a cute little zipper pouch. Here is the info on the contents of the bag.

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer Retail Price $29
A unique pigment and mineral complex that provides full coverage with a sheer flawless finish.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner Retail Price $36
A single step hair cleansing conditioner made with natural ingredients. It won't strip hair and scalp of natural oils and leaves hair thick and hydrated.

Free Cucumber Facial Peel-Off Masque & Sachets Retails Price $8
Nourish, hydrate and replenish with these peel-off masks that leave skin with a gorgeous glow

theBalm Cosmetics Shady Lady Retail Price $16
Shady lady can be used as a shadow or a liner to illuminate your eyes with color

Now, I am giving away one of these for my subscribers. Subscribe if you haven't already and leave me a comment telling me your favorite beauty product OR a suggestion on what you would like to see a blog post about. Only one comment/entry per person please. Winner will be chosen by random.org Friday the 20th after 8pm.

January Birchbox

What is Birchbox?

"Birchbox delivers the best products and the best insider secrets, without any fuss. Every month Birchbox members will receive a curated box of 4-5 luxe beauty samples. Each box will span beauty categories and deliver exciting products that fit into both your day-to-day routine, and into those days when you want to turn up the drama a notch. You'll receive anything from skincare to makeup to cult beauty tools, from well-known brands as well as emerging gems."

Now, before you get all excited I went to their website and they are currently sold out of subscriptions but do have a waiting list so you can sign up to be first in line when more become available. I belong to another beauty subscription service as well as this one called MyGlam . They are sold out too and I should receive my first My Glam bag any day now and I'm thinking that I may cancel my Birchbox subscription. Everyone seems to like My Glam so much better and from the videos I have seen of My Glam, they seem to have more products that I would be interested in. This month is the first Birchbox I've gotten that there is more than one sample that I really like and will use. Each service is $10/month. I will post pics from My Glam Bag as well as soon as I receive it.

This months Birchbox contained:

Archipelago Pomegranate Body Soap
Laced with good for you pomegranate extracts, this triple-milled soap smells divine and leaves skin feeling clean, not stripped. Full size retails for $12.50

Juicy Couture Fragrance Sample
Juicy's signature fragrance is a blend of sweet floral notes. Sophisticated and feminine, it's perfect for day or night. Full size $69-$89

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash
What if your skin has dry patches and oily spots? Alleviate both concerns with this multi-tasking cleanser. Full size $19.50

stila Smudge stick Waterproof Eye Liner
It's time to put down the black liner. This colorful pigment makes eyes stand out and stays put for hours. Full size $20

Larabar Mini Bar (extra)
You won't find any artificial fillers in these natural bars; just dried fruits, nuts and other wholesome ingredients. They're as tasty as they are healthy.

Every month's box has a theme and comes packaged very cute. Also has a card inside which explains each product, which is what I just typed above. I just got this today and haven't tried any of it yet except the mini bar. My husband & I didn't like it at all. lol My daughter says the Pomegranate soap smells delish but I can't smell so I'll just take her word for it. I do like the eye liner, it's like a bronze brown color. It is exciting to get it in the mail every month and fun to open it and see what's inside. I'll keep you updated on whether I cancel my subscription or not. It's really not a bad deal considering your $10 covers the samples AND shipping!

Please comment or facebook me & let me know if there anything in particular that you would like to see a blog post about. I do plan on blogging about my favorite drug store makeup this week for those who like good makeup but at a more affordable price. I'd appreciate any feedback from you.

Don't forget to subscribe and/or click the Sigma link to the right of this post to try my fav makeup brushes.

Makeup Organization

Some of you have seen this on my Facebook page, but I wanted to share how I organize my makeup. I've been wanting The Clear Cube for a long time. I seen it used by The Kardashian's on their reality show, but with a price tag of $300 I knew I needed to keep looking for find a more affordable way to organize. I decided to search The Container Store and found exactly what I was looking for. I purchased the Clear Shirt & Accessory Drawer. I actually bought 2 of them and they stack perfectly on top of one another and hold everything that I need them too. I also purchased the dividers for the drawers. Now I'm sure the quality isn't the same as the Clear Cube. Mine is plastic where the Clear Cube is acrylic (I think) but it serves it's purpose without me feeling guilty over the hefty price tag. It also keeps my hubby off of my back about my makeup taking over the bathroom! lol What do y'all use to store your makeup?

Please Please don't forget to subscribe! Hope y'all are enjoying my blog.

Friday Favs & Flops

I have a couple of products that I purchased in the last couple of weeks. Some of them are favs & some of them well....they FLOPPED!

My first fav is my new MUFE 5 Camouflage Cream Palette - No. 1. It has 5 different shades of concealer. It's versatile and can cover multiple issues with the use of the one palette. There's a green color to even out redness; a peachy color for dark circles because it cancels out the blueness. That still leaves 3 other colors to work with. The concealers are cream based and are very pigmented so very little goes a long way. It has a price tag of $36 which sounds like a lot, but when you consider that you are getting 5 different concealers for this price then it isn't so bad. You're paying about $7 each which is better than Walmart prices!

Sigma Brush Cup Holder. It snaps together to take your brushes on the go without damaging or smashing the brushes. When you aren't using it for travel, it separates into 2 brush cups.

Coastal Scents Beijing Go Palette. The perfect shades of peach & purples that really make my blue eyes pop.

Now for my FLOP! I wanted to try out the Loreal Paris Studio Secrets Anti-Redness Primer. It is green and you put it on before your foundation and I just did not like it. The consistency was really runny and I could not tell a difference in coverage. I bought it before getting my MUFE concealer palette and plan on returning it to Walmart.

Makeup Forever HD vs Bare Minerals Foundation

I've been getting questions about the comparison between MUFE HD foundation & Bare Minerals. Remember, these are just MY personal experiences with these products. I can't speak for what will work best for you & your skin type.

I'll start by saying that I used Bare Minerals religiously from 2005 to Nov 2011. I began using it after asking my daughter's Kindergarten teacher what foundation she used because I really liked the look of hers. I tried it and really liked it. I need a full coverage foundation to cover my skin discoloration and Bare Minerals provided that for me. I still feel it is a great product. There were times when my foundation would feel heavy or I would notice in certain light, my face would tend to look almost grayish or not normal and I just didn't like the way it looked. It also made my pores look alot larger. My youngest pointed this out to me frequently.

After getting into watching the beauty YouTube videos and talking to the sales girl at Sephora I decided to give the MUFE HD foundation a try and had them match a shade for me. I purchased the shade 120. It is a medium to full coverage liquid foundation. It glides on super easy. I can cover my entire face with 2 squirts (for lack of a better word lol) from the pump. I do spot treat a couple of areas where I need extra coverage with a 2nd layer of foundation but I dab it on with the extra left on my brush. It provides a silky smooth finish. It feels so light & weightless on the skin and photographs amazingly well. The company states "An oil-free medium-to-full-coverage liquid foundation that covers skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible on-screen and in real life.
What it does:
This long-wearing foundation creates a soft-focus effect, which is designed to meet the coverage concerns of those in the spotlight. It leaves your complexion with such a flawless finish, it can withstand bright or harsh lighting."

Since it is a liquid foundation you will need to set it with a powder. I have used the bare minerals as my setting powder and liked the extra coverage it provided. All it takes is a light dusting of the powder. Don't get carried away and apply too much. Now that I have purchased the HD complexion starter kit that comes with the Microfinish Powder & the Microperfecting Primer, I will continue to purchase it. It leaves my face so soft and smooth.

As far as price of each foundation, the MUFE is definately more expensive. It's $40 for 1.1oz of product. Since I've only been using it a month, I had to research online to find out about how long one would last and from what I read, I would guess around 4-5 months. The Bare Minerals is .28 oz and cost is $26 and lasts around 3-4 months. It really comes down to what you are comfortable spending on your foundation and how happy you are with each one. I am so in love with the way MUFE HD feels on my skin and looks that I do not mind paying the extra $14.

As far as brushes for each foundation, I always used Bare Minerals brushes until I was introduced to Sigma brushes. I bought the F84 Angled Top Kabuki brush. I've used this brush with both brands of foundation & it works great with both of them. It's just an all around awesome brush that I feel will work great with any foundation. The Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Brush retails for $28. The F84 by Sigma retails for $16.

I hope that this post helps & that I've answered some of your questions. PLEASE subscribe to my blog for updates on new posts. As always, if interested in trying out my favorite brushes, just click the Sigma banner on the right side of this post! Tune in tomorrow for my Friday Favs & Flops to find out my favorite and not so favorite products for the week.

Makeup Before/After

My 9 year old has begged me not to post the before picture saying "um, Mommy you DO NOT need to post that picture". I asked "why not?". She says "you just shouldn't". lol So I had to explain that showing my face before makeup was one of the points of posting it. She said that makeup is definitely my friend.

I wanted to post pics of before & after makeup so that you could all see the coverage that I get from my Makeup Forever HD foundation. It works wonders I'd say :)
The quality of the pics aren't the greatest because they're taken with my Iphone 4s but you can still see some of the spots & discoloration in the before pic. My worst area as far as needing coverage is my cheeks. I have alot of redness on my cheeks for some reason. I did try a new product today for that issue but I will save my opinions for my Friday Favs & Flops. I need to get a better pic with my camera and when I do I will post it so you can see alot better what I'm talking about. I don't think this picture really shows the bad discoloration issues with my skin.

My Fav Beauty Bloggers

I have learned so much about beauty products by watching videos & tutorials on YouTube lately so I wanted to share with you my top 10 beauty gurus. I'd love to start doing YouTube beauty videos too but I'm still undecided on that one. I doubt anyone would want to watch to hear anything I have to say anyway! lol

1. TiffanyD Blog-- http://makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupByTiffanyD

Tiffany has been around YouTube for awhile. My very fav & she has over 450,000 subscribers

2. Samantha Blog-- http://samanthaschuerman.blogspot.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/samanthaschuerman

Sam uploads lots of videos. She has a very quirky personality and I really like her.

3. Lindsey YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautyRosesGuru
Linds is new to YouTube but I love her & could listen to her southern twang all day long! I've enjoyed her so far.

4. Alli Blog-- http://www.makeupbyalli.blogspot.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupByAlli

Very pretty girl, love her hair tutorials as well

5. Allison Blog-- http://www.amarixe.com
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/amarixe

6. Michele Blog-- http://www.micheleMACPink.blogspot.com
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/michele1218

7. Sonia Blog-- http://sccastaneda.blogspot.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/sccastaneda

8. Dulce Blog-- http://www.dulcecandy.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/DulceCandy87

9. Elle YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/AllThatGlitters21

10. Jen Blog-- http://www.frmheadtotoe.com/
YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/frmheadtotoe

Enjoy!

Sigma Beauty

I am now a Sigma Beauty Affiliate. I'm so excited because I absolutely LOVE these brushes. Above is a pic of my personal collection. They're good quality brushes at an affordable price. All of the makeup gurus that I watch on YouTube use Sigma brushes. My favorite brush is the F84 Angled Top Kabuki brush. It is the best foundation brush I have ever used. It applies liquid or mineral foundation very easy & evenly and the angle makes it easier to reach the harder to reach areas like around the nose, in the corners of your eye area etc.

Another recent purchase of mine from Sigma is the Dry & Shape System for cleaning your brushes. I use my MAC blush cleaning solution then I place my brushes into the tight slots of the Dry & Shape. The brushes are completely dry in about 4 hrs and fluff right back into the original shape of the brush. They're like new. The loops that hold your brushes are tight to help squeeze out the access moisture from washing. I absolutely LOVE it! Makes cleaning your brushes super easy!

Attached is my affiliate link to purchase your brushes if you would like to give them a try. I promise you won't be disappointed if you do.
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=134438

Use code 0112XJML for 10% off of your purchase in January. Spend at least $30 and get a free makeup brush (I have 6 travel size blending brushes which is the E25 brush so I'm sure that's still the free gift)

Sephora Haul

These are the products I purchased at my most recent trip to Sephora and my thoughts on each one.

Makeup Forever HD Complexion Starter Kit
- 0.17 oz HD Microfinish Powder
- HD Kabuki Brush
- 0.5 oz HD Microperfecting Primer
- 1.01 oz HD Invisible Cover Foundation in 118

I LOVE this stuff. I've used the foundation for about a month now. It's full coverage, easy to apply and is my new holy grail foundation. The primer and microfinish powder are just an added bonus that I will purchase full sizes of when the trial sizes are out.

Philosophy's Miracle Worker Dark Spot Correcting System
- 0.5 oz Miracle Worker Dark Spot Corrector
- 1 oz Miracle Worker Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Solution and 30 Pads Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Treatment

Love this stuff also. I have several bad spots from sun damage and this stuff has helped diminish them tremendously. This is my 2nd purchase of this kit.

Philosophy's Hope In a Jar Moisturizer
Philosophy Hope in a Jar is a 99.9% oil-free, deeply hydrating, lightweight wonder designed to smooth the complexion while reducing the appearance of wrinkles and discoloration. Originally created for the medical market, this expert essential delivers soft, healthy, glowing results.

I like this too. Hydrating without leaving my face oily like alot of other moisturizers.

Benefit Bronzer in Hoola
This is just ok in my book. I've seen so many rave reviews on it but I still find myself using my NARS Bronzer in Laguna instead.

Red Carpet Reveal Eye & Cheek Palette by LORAC
- Debut Eyeshadow (shimmering cream with gold pearl)
- Pose Eyeshadow (shimmering taupe)
- Interview Eyeshadow (shimmering dark brown)
- Main Attraction Blush (shimmering rose)

I've used this palette everyday this week. Love the browns in it and the debut eyeshadow is perfect as a brow & inner eye highlight. I've even used the blush as an eye color. It's like a brownish rosey color!

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these products. I'd love to help!