Top Ten Beauty Favs

1. Monoi Repairing Hair Mask from Carol's Daughter--Very hydrating for your hair. If you have dry, damaged hair then this stuff is for you!

2. MAC Fluid Line gel liner--I don't like wearing pencil liner after using this stuff. Once you put it on, it doesn't budge and your eyeliner doesn't smear off during the day causing you to look like a raccoon.

3. Makeup Forever HD Foundation--My holy grail foundation. Totally in love with this stuff, not interested in using anything else.

4. LORAC Baked Matte Satin Blush in Velvet Rope--My go to blush. It's like a Mauvey-Pink color. To Die For!

5. Carol's Daughter Ecstasy Skin Souffle--Creamy body cream that smells delish!

6. Bare Escentuals Skin Care---These products have totally transformed my super oily skin to combination skin. My holy grail skin care system. I use this day and night

7. Naked Palette by Urban Decay--If you could only have one eye shadow palette in your collection, this is all you would need.

8. Sigma F84 Foundation Brush--I have 2 of these so that when I wash one, I still have another to use. I haven't picked up another foundation brush since using this one. Can be used for mineral or liquid makeup. Flawless coverage

9. Bare Escentuals Flawless Definition Mascara--Gives my lashes volume yet doesn't clump and comes off easily with eye makeup remover

10. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait--Great natural color that is a great go to lipstick. I have one in my makeup collection & another in my purse for reapplying during the day.

Get 10% off your order from Sigma Makeup Brushes this month using the code MARCH2012.

Carol's Daughter

The older I get, the more I want to take good care of my hair & skin. I love body products just as much as I love makeup so I wanted to share with you my favorite place to shop for hair & body products.

Carol's Daughter is a line of organic beauty products, including products for hair, skin, and body, as well as fragrances. It was founded by a woman 18 years ago who started making her products out of her kitchen. It's grown into a successful company with numerous celebrity clients. You can find her products online as well as Sephora.

The first product that I purchased from Carol's Daughter was the Black Vanilla Moisturizing Hair Smoothie. This conditioner totally changed the texture of my hair. I still use it today. I also use the Monoi Repairing Hair Mask
but can only use it about once a month because it is so moisturizing that it makes my hair slightly oily. I wash my hair as soon as I get in the shower, then I use either of the above moisturizers and leave it on until I'm done showering then rinse it out. It leaves my hair amazingly soft.

My most recent purchase is a new product called the Ecstasy Shea Souffle for dry to extra dry skin. It smells DREAMY! Actually I went to the site looking to see if they have a fragrance in this scent & am excited to find they do so I'm ordering it as soon as I finish this post :) I have never purchased anything from them that I didn't like. Let me know if you use anything from there or if you decide to give them a try. I promise you won't be disappointed if you do!

Review: Philosophy Miracle Worker Dark Spot Correcting System

This is what Sephora says about this product:

What it is:
An antiaging skincare kit to address dark spots, overall brightening, and wrinkles.

What it is formulated to do:
Two of Philosophy's Miracle Worker products come together in this set. The Miracle Worker Dark Spot Corrector visibly improves the appearance of skin discoloration associated with age spots, acne scarring, and sun damage. The Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Solution pours over the Antiaging Retinoid Pads before the first use, creating a fresh-pour elixir. Formulated with HPR next-generation retinoid technology, this advanced treatment helps to diminish the look of wrinkles and skin discoloration while minimizing the risk of irritation commonly associated with traditional retinols.

This set contains:
- 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

What else you need to know:
This system mirrors the number one professional protocol for addressing dark spots: skin brightener plus a retinoid treatment equals amplified results in just 2 weeks.

Research results:
According to Philosophy, after 4 weeks of use, 77% of women reported improved skin evenness and brightness
- 2 weeks of use showed visible improvement in skin radiance
- 8 weeks of use showed improved appearance of skin discoloration and fine lines

What I say:

This stuff is the BOMB-DIGGITY!!! lol I have sun spots from tanning, hyperpigmentation & alot of redness that was getting hard to cover with makeup so when I seen this at Sephora I decided to give it a try & am soooo glad that I did. The box contains 30 Retinol pads for one month of use and the dark spot corrector lasts closer to 2 months. I am currently on my second set of this & I would say that my discolorations have diminished by AT LEAST 50%. I have some that are almost gone and usually only one spot is visible with makeup now. I feel that one pesky spot should be gone with one more month of use. I really wish I would've taken before/after pics but I started the treatment before I started this blog. The set has a price tag of $80 but it is worth every penny, in my opinion,and is definitely cheaper than laser treatments with a dermatologist. This product can be a little drying to the skin so I've been applying the Philosophy Hope in a Jar after the treatment. It's a very hydrating moisturizer so if you are prone to oily skin then I would make sure to get the oil free. Hope this info is helpful to you ladies!

February Birchbox vs My Glam Bag

I shared with all of you what each of these services is about & showed you what I received from them last month. If you didn't read the post & want more info on them feel free to check out my older posts. I believe both subscriptions are still sold out & still taking sign ups on a waiting list.

Birchbox

Colorescience Pro Glow & Go Travel Puff
Use these handy, powder filled puffs to keep your skin shine-free and luminous while you're out on the town. Full-size compact $50

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
Skincare insiders swear by this genius exfoliating powder. Just add water to creat a rich paste that will buff dead cells away. Full-size $50

Eye Rock Designer Liner
Stop wrestling with the liquid liner and achieve a perfect cat eye with these single use stick-on liner strips. 2 packs of 4, $13

Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint
The votes are in, and this award-winning tinted moisturizer tops the list. It's out daily shortcut to dewy, glowing skin. Full-size $38

Heart Shaped Nail File
There's no shame in filing your nails in public with this heart-shaped, neon looker.

Birchbox Digital Download
Six free tunes from Green River Ordinance, an indie rock band poised to hit the spotlight.


My Glam Bag

X Out Shine Control
Stay flawless and shine free with this oil-free moisturizer with a mattifying complex

NYX Roll On Shimmer
NYX's brand new, intensely rich, shimmering powder that can be applied to the eyes, face and body

Premier Dead Sea Cinderella Mask
Luxury skincare rich in life-enhancing minerals from the Dead Sea waters.

NuMe Professional Styling Tools and Hair Extensions $100 Gift Card
Enjoy $100 towards NuMe products. Hair tools that will revolutionize your everyday look.

Freeman Facial Mask Sachets Pineapple or Goji Berry
Turn your date night prep time into a soothing spa experience with easy-to-use skin perfecting masks.

In my opinion, My Glam wins again this month. The samples that are given are larger than those with Birchbox & the $100 gift card, when this service costs me $10 is awesome by itself. I do like both services. As a beauty product lover, I love being introduced to tons of new products that I wouldn't know about regardless. Who doesn't love getting packages every month & being excited to find out what's inside?!?!

DIY Makeup Brush Holder

This is a super cute-super easy idea to add some cuteness to your bathroom, bedroom, any place you store your makeup brushes. You need

1. Glass jar of your size/shape
2. Colorfill (found at Michael's)
3. Ribbon
4. Any sort of decoration you'd like to add to it.
5. Scissors & a hot glue gun. Have fun!

My favorite colors are pink & black so I decided to use pink ribbon & a black flower clip. The possibilities are endless. You can use anything you want to use. Let your creativity flow. I personally feel like I need to upgrade to a bigger container & add another bag of colorfill to mine, but you get the idea. I'd love to see photos of your creations if you give this a try! :) BTW, all of the brushes pictured are from Sigma!

Makeup Forever HD vs Mat Velvet + Foundation

I have used the Mat Velvet + all week now so I thought I would tell you my thoughts on it compared to the MUFE HD, which we all know I love.

The HD foundation is said to be a medium to full coverage foundation. I would call it more full coverage. It's supposed to leave a flawless finish for a more "soft focus" affect. It does not contain any SPF at all so you won't get that whitish coloring in photos that you normally do with almost all foundations where your face appears so much lighter than the rest of your body. I feel like it has more of a dewy finish to it to leave you with soft glowy skin. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS FOUNDATION IF YOU HAVE OILY SKIN. That is the only negative I have found to this foundation. My skin is naturally very oily but I've been able to control that with good skincare products. I've recently had a problem with my skin being a little on the dry side so I started using the Philosophy Hope in a Jar for moisturizer & let me tell you, if you have dry skin then you need to use this stuff. After 2 weeks of using that moisturizer, I've had to buy the Oil-Free Hope in a Jar because my face was back to being too oily. That's another blog post though...lol What I'm getting at is that my face has been too oily to use the HD foundation in the last week or so. No one wants to be super shiny & have their makeup melt off half way through the day. If oily skin is not an issue for you then I would definitely recommend this foundation. I love it and will continue to use it! I do think you should set this foundation with a powder. It does have a hefty pricetag at $40 a bottle. It comes is 25 different shades to easily match anyone's skin tone. It has a nice pump on the bottle & I would say to expect this bottle to last you 4-6 months. You really only need 2 pumps for each makeup application.

The mat velvet plus is a shine controlling, oil-free, water-resistant, complete coverage liquid foundation. It hides imperfections, evens out skin tone, and mattifies with a non-oily, perfectly powdered finish. It is definitely very matte. I wouldn't recommend this foundation if you have dry skin. It has been great for me this week while I try to tame the oil in my face. I do not like it near as much as I like the HD, and I actually almost returned it but ended up keeping it to use on occasion when my face is a bit on the oily side. I find it much harder to blend than the HD. I'm guessing that's because it is oil free, and if you are using this foundation because your skin is oily then I guess this is a good thing. Because it dries to a powdery finish, you won't need to set this foundation with a powder. It is too matte for my preference, I like a more dewy finish. Another negative is that the shade of the foundation isn't listed on the bottle anywhere. I had to pull up my Sephora account to see what color foundation I ordered. I do like the coverage it applied. It comes in a plastic squeeze bottle with 16 different shades to choose from. The price is $34.

I hope this helps some of you. I also want to share with you a discount code for Sigma for the month of February. Use LOVE2012 for 10% off your order until Feb 29. Click the banner to the right of the page to check them out. These are by far my fav makeup brushes. The quality is up there with MAC brushes without the price of MAC.

Sephora Haul

These are the new products that I bought from Sephora this past week. I know, I have a bad makeup addiction! lol

1. Makeup Forever Mat Velvet + Foundation shade 20

2. Sephora Eye Trio in Starwalker No 1

3. LORAC Baked Matte Satin Blush in Exposed (Peachy Pink)

4. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer with real cocoa (smells like chocolate)

5. Sephora Glitter Eyeliner in Opal

6. LORAC Unzipped Eye Shadow Palette

7. Philosophy Microdelivery Brightening Peel (sample)

I bought the Sephora Eye Trio & Glitter Eye Liner for my daughter to wear for her first Sweetheart Dance. Will try to post pics on here of her makeup. I've used the LORAC blush already, and have it in another color. I LOVE this blush. I haven't used the bronzer or the eye shadow palette yet but I can't wait to use them. I love the colors in the palette. As always, please subscribe if you like my blog & feel free to comment if there is anything that you would like to see a specific post on. I'm hoping to start doing these in video soon :)