Guest Post

Try the $4 Miss Spa Deep Recovery Pre-Treated Gel Lip Mask for Smoother Lips and a Fun Experience

June 23rd, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 8 Comments

Wearing the Miss Spa Pre-Treated Gel Lip Mask Deep Therapy ($4.00) — Wearing the Miss Spa Deep Therapy Pre-Treated Gel Lip Mask ($4.00)

Now that summer is here, there are many things I’ve been enjoying that I don’t usually do during winter…like drinking iced coffee without getting strange looks. I also haven’t had a head cold since April, at least, and I’m on the prowl again for the perfect plus-size maxi dress.

But one thing I can never seem to find, no matter the season, is a cure for my dry, flaky lips.

My bag usually has at least two or three different lip balms in it, and I literally hoard them at home, but none of them really, really work. They help, but they aren’t a solution, so now I’m looking for answers outside the realm of everyday lip moisturizers.

I’ve tried exfoliating my lips, but this time I’m going with a more popular approach. I’m testing a mask!

So, face masks are nothing new, as I’m sure you’re aware. Single use sheet masks, in particular, have been extra popular lately (Jen liked this one by Amore Pacific), but have y’all ever tried a lip mask before?

They sound weird, right?

But this affordable little treasure — the Miss Spa Deep Therapy Pre-Treated Gel Lip Mask — was too hard to resist (I’ve seen it at Target for about $3).

This was my first time trying a mask like this, and I was a little surprised when I opened the package for the first time at how thick the mask is.

I assumed it would be a thin sheet mask that would just cover my lips, but as you can see, it’s a little bigger than that.

The Miss Spa Deep Recovery Pre-Treated Gel Lip Mask — I didn’t expect the illustration on the front to be quite so…literal.

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My Favorite Products From Sephora Collection

June 23rd, 2016 by Carolina Braina 31 Comments

Sephora Collection Best Products — Wearing the Sephora Wonderful Cushion Matte Lip Cream in 04 Wonderful Fuchsia on my lips and the Sephora Retractable Brow Pencil in 06 Soft Charcoal through my brows

Poor Sephora Collection!

I feel like it’s the Cinderella of all the brands you can find at Sephora.

I mean, I don’t know about you, but 99% of the times I go to Sephora, I don’t even look at their own brand.

1% of a bajillion times is still quite a few times, though, so over the years I’ve actually managed to find some real gems.

So get ready, Sephora Collection. Polish your glass slippers because today’s your day to shine!

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red & 03 Strawberry Kissed ($14 each)

Sephora Cream Lip Stain 01 Always Red Swatch — The Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red is my go-to for holiday dinner parties as it remains pretty much intact even if I end up eating my own body weight in one meal

Sephora Cream Lip Stain 03 Strawberry Kissed — 03 Strawberry Kissed is a shade I prefer using in the summer months, and I included it among my five bright pink lipsticks to try this summer

Sephora definitely knows how to make liquid lipsticks, that’s for sure! I’ve tried three different types, and they all rock.

I’ll start with the one I think is the most popular, which is the Sephora Cream Lip Stain.

I have it in two shades, 01 Always Red and 03 Strawberry Kissed, and they’re both equally good.

Even though they’re completely matte and transfer-proof, they’re not overly drying or uncomfortable.

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Makeup and Beauty Products That Are Completely Worth the Splurge!

June 22nd, 2016 by Jen Clark 13 Comments

makeup worth the splurge — Save money or buy makeup??

Save money, or buy aaallll the makeup? That is a question I ask myself probably way too often.

When you follow as many beauty blogs and watch as many YouTube videos as I do, it’s hard to not have a giant makeup wishlist! In fact, I have a giant memo on my phone right now of things that I want.

It’s a problem.

A lot of the time, the things I want are on the pricier end, and it’s hard to know whether it’s worth the money or not.

I dug through my collection to look at some of my more high end items to see which ones are worth their high price tag, and I definitely found a few!

makeup worth splurging — My roundup of splurge-worthy items!

1. Clarisonic Mia ($99)

I will always splurge on my skin, because when your skin is well taken care of, your makeup always looks better, and you also feel better with less makeup on!

My all-time favorite skin care purchase of all time has to be my Clarisonic Mia ($99).

Ya, it’s hard to fork out the money, but I’ve had mine for years and years, and it’s still going strong! After I wash my face using my Clarisonic, it feels sooo clean and soft. Nothing else makes my skin feel as good as this does. Totally worth the money.

All foundations are different, but some just work so much better than others. The drugstore does have a couple of awesome foundations that I love, but for the most part, higher end foundations just seem to work better.

2. Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Sunscreen Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15 ($48)

When I got married a few years ago, I wanted to find the perfect foundation for my wedding day, and I found Chanel Vitalumière Aqua ($48).

It’s the most gorgeous foundation I have ever owned. When you blend it into the skin, it actually just looks like you’ve got beautiful skin. It doesn’t look like makeup; it’s crazy.

I don’t have this one in my collection at home too often just because of the price tag, but when I do, I fall in love with it all over again.

Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua Foundation — Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Foundation ($48)

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My Picks for This Year’s Best Spring and Summer Makeup Launches

June 22nd, 2016 by Adia Goss 24 Comments

best spring summer launches — Some of my picks for “The Best Spring and Summer Makeup Launches”

Whew! There has been so much good makeup lately.

I mean, I used to get more excited about moody fall colors, but this year the spring and summer collections have been incredible! Literally, every time I turn around, I’m seeing another gorgeous collection.

If your head has been spinning a little like mine, then I hope you’ll like my picks for some of the best spring/summer makeup launches. I’d also love to hear yours.

I think I’ll start with lips, because I think a new lipstick or gloss is probably the easiest way to update your look.

Lips

First up, the Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint by Tarte, and I have the shade called Double Tap (here are swatches of the full range in this post).

I’m wearing cool-toned nude Double Tap in these pics, but I usually go for warmer-toned peaches and pinks. Thing is, this mauve is just so pretty and different from the rest of my stash. It’s opaque and not sticky at all.

Next, Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick, and I just mentioned the shade called Swinger in my roundup of my favorite liquid lipsticks, so I’ll be brief now: the color and formula are AMAZING. This one is perfect for summer.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about this season’s new launches without mentioning beautiful ColourPop Dohee.

Here’s a snap of me wearing it from my Spring Haul video.

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What Are Your Fondest Beauty Memories?

June 21st, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 10 Comments

My grandma in the mid-'40s — My grandma in the mid-’40s

I bet there’s a place that’s very special to you and was a very special place to you as a child. For me, that place is my grandmother’s house in Moriah, NY, in the Adirondacks on Lake Champlain. I spent so much time there as a child (because she lives five minutes down the road from the house I grew up in), and it has always been a meeting place of sorts for my mother’s side of the family. Our whole group flocks there.

Even as adults, my aunts and uncles and cousins all meet at her house when we come home to visit, and at 91, my grandmother certainly enjoys the company.

Probably the best thing about being at my grandmother’s house growing up with a bunch of cousins who were all older than me was getting to play with their makeup! My cousins lived in the surrounding towns but were still pretty far away, and I have distinct memories of being at the dining room table, poking through their makeup bags (whether they wanted me to or not!) on the weekends and holidays we would spend at my grandmother’s house.

Let me explain.

All of my cousins are significantly older than I am because my mother was the youngest of my grandmother’s children, and she had my mom at 36 when my grandmother already had three kids (almost) in their teens.

So being much younger than everyone else, my mom also had her kids much later than her siblings did, so my eldest cousin is in his late forties now, and I’m the baby of my cousins at 25. The only ones younger than me now are the great grandkids, the oldest of whom at 13 is just now starting to wear makeup (which makes me feel old).

Thankfully my older cousins happily put up with me and all of my pestering when I was younger, which I love them for because many teenagers don’t have much use for the little ones at family gatherings (I know I don’t at times). They all treated me more like a sibling than a cousin.

Last weekend I got to reconnect with a lot of my family I hadn’t seen in a while, and one of my cousins even continued to amaze and inspire my beauty habits by bringing me a TON of her collection to go through and peruse at my leisure!

I only took a few things (because, at this point, I really don’t need more beauty products), but I appreciated the thought.

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5 Nail Polishes That Are Perfect for Summer Adventures

June 21st, 2016 by Carolina Braina 17 Comments

Summer Nail polish — Hugging some of my favorite summer nail polishes. Yes, we’re very much in love! 😉

As you know if you visit me on my blog at Carol in a Page, nail polish and I have had a rollercoaster romance, but right now we’re going strong!

After some recent purchases and some clearing out, I’ve decided on the five nail lacquers that will see me through summer 2016 and whatever adventures it brings.

Wanna know what inspired these picks?

1. The Nautical Style: Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves ($18)

Smith & Cult Kings & Thieves Swatches — I really like pairing deep blue Kings & Thieves with nude sandals

When it comes to the color blue in summer, I can’t help but think of one thing: nautical style.

But since I don’t have a yacht (or a striped dress, for that matter), the way I’ve been getting that nautical vibe is by painting my toes with Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves, an indescribably beautiful inky blue.

2. An African Safari: Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli ($10)

Zoya Professional Lacquer Charli Swatches — Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli reminds me of safari clothing

Some may argue that olive is more of an autumnal shade, but in my mind it evokes safari clothes and glimpses of an endless African savanna.

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The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Winged Eyeliner

June 20th, 2016 by Jen Clark 34 Comments

Winged eyeliner is one of my favorite makeup techniques because it makes such a big impact. It’s not always easy to do, though. In fact, sometimes it’s a freaking pain in the butt. Plus, once you screw it up, it’s hard to save the rest of your makeup look.

For those days when I can’t shake the cute, little toddler hanging off my arm, or for the days when, out of pure laziness, I really just can’t get myself to even attempt liquid liner, I use this easy technique to get the same winged liner effect, but with a lot less frustration!

Rather than using a liquid or gel liner, I use an angled brush and a black or super dark brown eyeshadow like Black or Espresso from the Lorac Pro Palette because they’re easy to work with and super goof-proof.

By the way, I think the best brush of all time to use for this lazy girl’s winged liner is the MAC 266, if you happen to have one. It pretty much does the work for you.

The Black shade in the Lorac Pro palette is great!

One of my all time favorite brushes! — One of my all-time favorite brushes!

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Easy FOTD for Work Featuring the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum

June 17th, 2016 by Adia Goss 16 Comments

kat von d shade and light palette — Kat Von D makin’ it a little easier to get ready for work!

The $26 Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum is really helping me get out the door in the morning. I love eyeshadow quads and palettes and definitely think they’re more convenient than trying to pull together different single eyeshadows to create a look, but there’s always a balance between having a palette that has enough variety to do a lot of different makeup looks (like the Minnie Mouse X Sephora one), and one that has a more edited selection of colors tailored to just one or two looks.

With four coordinating shades and a matte purple vibe, the $26 Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum is more of the latter.

kat von d eye contour quad — So easy to use…

For my makeup today I used the quad’s four shadows in the way the note on the packaging suggests, but you could also use the darker shades all over (rather than only in the crease) and create a much smokier eye.

The whole point of these Kat Von D quads, and Plum is one of four, is that the four shades all go together, making it easier to do a few simple eye looks. In this case, the colors are purples and plums, and this is supposed to be the best of the four quads for people with green eyes (there’s also a Sage quad for brown eyes, Rust for blue eyes, and Smoke for all eye colors).

These purples are pretty neutral, which makes the quad quite versatile, in my opinion, but based on the pics I saw online, I expected the shades to be cooler toned.

That lid color, in particular, is a bit warmer than I thought. In these pictures, the darkest color looks like a warm reddish plum, but it’s definitely more like a neutral/cool-toned purplish plum color.

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