February 2015 Favorites

Hi guys!  Hope you had a great Feb. month.  Can't believe it's March already, 3rd month in 2015...yikes!!!

I wanted to share with you my faves for the month of Feb.  Let's get start....

Peter Thomas Roth 8.5fl oz $35.00

Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel.  I had this face wash since December when my close friend Sukie gave this to me but not until recently I started using it.  This product is so amazing!!! Amazing!  Even though the picture doesn't look like I have used any of it, a little goes a long ways.

On the bottle it says:
"oil-free, anti-wrinkle technology rejuvenate clarifies, brightens with glycolic acid, salicylic acid, extracts of peach, white oak bark, lemon, lime, linden, citric, grapefruit, and arginine"
For all skin type except sensitive skin.

If you like the smell of peaches, you will like it a lot.  The fragrance is not overwhelming, just a subtle hint.

Most of my other face washes leave my face tight and dry after washing but this one doesn't, which is a huge plus in my book!

Since using this cleansing gel(I use it twice a day), my face feels balanced.

L'oreal Infalliable Pro-Matte foundation.  This foundation came out last year in December and has been reviewed by so many YouTubers.  But I didn't see the reviews until after buying and using the product.  My first time using it, I used my fingers to apply to my face.  The foundation dried quickly and felt powdery.  Since it dried so fast it looked patchy and I was not impressed.  I didn't want to give up on this foundation right away, so I tried it again.  This time I used my beauty blender, thinking that since the sponge is dampened that the foundation would blend better.  And the result was beautiful!  Beautiful!

It's medium coverage and buildable to make it full coverage.  Since it states that it's matte, I made sure I kept track of how long it lasted before I started seeing oil peek through.  I have to say, it stayed matte for about 15 hours (7 am to 10 pm) on majority of my face.  After about 5 hours there were some shine on my T-zone, but very light shine.  I touched up with some powder and my face was matte till I washed my make-up off.

I highly recommend this foundation to any anyone.  If your skin type is dry I would moisturize really well and you will be fine.

If you really want shine control and minimize pores, Clinique pore minimizer is one of the products out there that does that.  I used the pore minimizer a few years ago, and started using it again.  Loved it then and love it now.  After putting on my moisturizer I would put the pore minimizer and then my foundation.  The pore minimizer makes the foundation go on smoothier and makes my face oil free for the whole day.  It's a very light product so you won't feel it.

My favorite brow product is another Clinique product, it is there brow shaper in Charcoaled.  This product great if you don't have time to spend on your brows.  It comes with a brush that's perfect for applying the product to your brows.  The end result is natural looking eyebrows.  It's super fast and mistake proof.

NYC Bronzing Face Powder is one of my everyday products I use.  It is the best bronzing powder and the best thing is that it's so affordable.  Some of the bronzing powder can be orangey, making your face look dirty.  But this bronzing face powder does not.  This product is a must have!

So these are my Feb. Faves!  Hope you will find some of my fave as yours too.  

Hope you enjoy!

January 2015 Favorites

I can't believe January is already over and we are in February!  But I still wanted to share my January favorites you guys.  Hope you enjoy!

My first favorite is Jesse's Girl Eye liner.

I have always used gel liner because I haven't found a liquid eyeliner that I liked or worked for me.  I have mono lids so whenever I used a liquid liner, it always rubbed off and I end up with raccoon eyes...lol.

I've seen this liquid eyeliner shown and reviewed about on YouTube and when I saw it, I wanted to try it out right away.  I was so excited to see it in one of my monthly subscription box (I believe it

was Ipsy).  I've been trying it out for a few months and it's pretty awesome!           

The sleek packaging makes it easy to take anywhere.  The cap closes tight preventing it from drying out.  You will definitely know when the cap is closed by the click sound.

The brush is the best I have every used.  You can draw very precise lines, thick or very thin lines. The black is very black but not shiny (which I like).  After the liner dries it will last all day until you wash your face.

Another thing I like about this liner is that when you wash off the liner, it comes off like little beads instead of the ink running off your face.

The price for this eyeliner is $6.99 and can be found at RiteAid or on Jesse's Girl website.

Next favorite is my Shiseido UV Sun Compact Foundation SPF 36

When I was traveling for work, this foundation was the best ever!  I never had to worry about bringing it through security at the airport or even making a mess if it broke.

It has medium to full coverage and makes your face soft and silky looking.  You don't need a brush or a beauty blender when using this foundation.  The sponge that comes with it will do the job perfectly. Also, this powder foundation makes your morning makeup routine so fast.

For the past month or so, I started using it again and it has become my favorite foundation.

You can find this foundation at a department stores or on their Shiseido site.
The refill is about $28 and the compact case is $8.


MAC Select Cover-up in NW25

I have used MAC Select Cover-up for years now and it's a versatile product.  I have used it for foundation when mixed with moisturizer, a concealer, and an eye shadow base.  A little goes a long way so it a great investment!

Can be found at department stores or MAC freestanding stores.
Retails for $19.


L'Oreal Paris Infallible in Iced Latte

I love multi-functional product.  The Infallible eye shadow in Iced Latte is another product.  I have used this product as a base for eye shadows, used as an inner corner shadow to open up your eyes, or just an alone eye shadow (which looks beautiful), and this product can be used as a cheek highlighter.

Can be found at drugstores or online.  You can find it at Ulta.
Retails for $7.99


PUR Big Look Mascara (waterproof)

I have really hard to curl lashes so I have to use waterproof mascara to keep my curls.  I have always used Covergirl's Lash Blast Waterproof mascara because it was the only one that worked for me but when I used PUR Big Look Mascara, I was in amazed!  It held my curl, was intensely black and it didn't rub off underneath my lower lashes.

The package is so cute!  I love how the to handle has water droplet designs indicating that it's waterproof.  The wand is bendable so it can be at any angle and the bristle is similar to Covergirls Lash Blast and it coats all your lashes perfectly.  Also, this mascara has Argan Oil (also know as Moroccan oil).  Argan Oil has vitamin E (provides moisture) and antioxidants (fights free radicals).

Can be found online at pur-minerals.
Retails for $20.00


Hope you guys enjoyed my Jan. Faves!  
Comment below to let me know your favorites so I can try them out too!

Make-up Monday: How to clean make-up brushes/sponges

There are many ways to clean make-up brushes and sponges.  I am going to share the way I have been deep cleaning them for the past year.  I discovered this method when I first started using a beauty blender and trying different method on cleaning it. 

It might be a surprise to some but maybe not to others.  I use a bar of soap to clean my beauty blender and make-up brushes.  The best bar of soap for me are the ones from the hotels…no kidding.

While cleaning out my boyfriend’s bathroom one day about a year ago, I discovered a whole bunch of hotel soaps.   I mean a WHOLE bunch (over 100, and I’m underestimating it…lol).  I asked my boyfriend about all the soaps and he said that his parents always brought them back whenever they went on trips.  I’m guessing they went on A LOT of trips.  Since it was just there, I decided to put them to good use. 

Since I started using a beauty blender, I hated how it looked after I try washing them with shampoo or liquid soap because it didn’t take all the foundation/makeup away.  I didn’t want to spend money on buying a cleaner just for the beauty blender either. 

The first time I used the bar of soap on the beauty blender, I was so surprised on how clean it came out.  The beauty blender looked brand new.  Then I tried washing my makeup brushes and the bar of soap cleaned my brushes squeaky clean.

So next time you are at a hotel and have not used your bar of soap, you may want to think of taking it for your brushes/sponges. 

Pictures are below for reference.

Bars of soap from hotels

Dirty brushes

Wet the soap for easier lathering

Swirl the brush around until you start seeing foam

Use your fingers to wash the brush until the water runs clear

Dirty Beauty Blender Sponge

Keep squeezing the sponge until there's no more suds

Keep rinsing until there's no more suds

Towel dry the brushes to get rid of the extra water.

Finally lay the brushes/sponge on a towel.  Roll the towel so the handle of the brushes can lay on it so the water doesn't run into the ferrule. 

Anatomy of a brush

 Hope you try it out.  If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.  Enjoy!

Yummy Wednesday: Lemon Madeleines

Every time I go to Starbucks, these little cookies are at the register tempting me to buy them….so evil.

I always thought these cookies were hard to make until one day my friend Trini gave me a recipe and told me it was easy to make.  After getting the Madeleine trays to make the forms, I was all set to make them.  I couldn’t believe how easy they were…so easy.

Trini said she got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma, but when I searched online for the recipe, it was different.  This is Williams-Sonoma’s recipe for Lemon Madeleines (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/lemon-madeleines.html)

This is the recipe I used:

Lemon Madeleines

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375*.  Butter madeleine pan or spray with nonstick baking spray.

Mix all of the above ingredients.  Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 12

I tested out the batter to see how it would turn out if you didn’t have a madeleine pan.  I dropped the batter like I would for any other cookies and baked it for 12 mins.  The batter spread more than I thought it would, but the end result was really good.  I also made it with the pan so you can see how the cookies puffs up and forms it's sea shell shape.  

Once you make these, you'll never buy these cookies again from anywhere.

Hope you try it out and let me know what you think!  Enjoy!