Mary Kay Makeup Review

*Disclosure- I received Mary Kay Products via Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

I was SO excited when I learned that I was one of the lucky Influenster members that would get to try several Mary Kay products through their Vox Box program! When my box arrived the first thing I thought was "Wow, what a cute box!!" It was so girlie! When I got past how cute it was an opened it up, I was excited to see some of my favorite types of makeup products included. The box had a cream eye shadow in the shade violet storm, a eye cream/concealer makeup brush, True Dimensions lipstick in the shade pink cherie, eyelash primer and lash lengthening mascara.

My first thought on the products was that I LOVED the lipstick. It was a great shade of pink, just enough color for daytime wear. It took me a second to figure out how to open the tube because the top kind of clicks off instead of just automatically opening, but when I finally figured it out I thought it was so cool. The innovation in the clicking tube is that it is impossible to break your lipstick by it rolling up into the lid on accident! I don't know if I explained that well, but believe me, this is an awesome thing! After I tried on the lipstick, I tried the eyelash primer and mascara. I think the primer teamed with the lengthening mascara truly makes a difference. I mean, really? Look at how long my lashes look in the above picture! No clumps either. This is fantastic mascara and the primer just give in an extra kick! To finish off my look, it was time to try violet storm. I was excited because purple is my favorite color, but nervous because it's such a bold color. I have tried cream eye colors in the past, but they always only lasted a few hours before smudging or disappearing all together. I LOVED the way violet storm looked against my skin (that doesn't happen often with anything outside of the neutral color realm) and couldn't wait to go out and show off my new look. I got compliments from several different people. And it stayed put. All day. I mean ALL DAY. I really do plan to buy this eye cream in several more colors. It will be my go to eye makeup from now on! The makeup brush included in the box is a great brush that makes application a breeze, even for a novice.

Overall, I was impressed. Not a product in the box I didn't like. These products could stand up to much more expensive beauty products. I would highly recommend any of these, but if you can only splurge on one thing definitely go for the eye cream!

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Oh La La! French Women's Secrets To Feeling Beautiful Every Day By Jamie Cat Callahan- Book Review

*Disclosure-I received a free copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book: 

French women seem to have a special knack for life’s most important things—food, love, raising children. And in matters of beauty and style, they appear to be at an unfair advantage. But the good news is that everything French women know can be learned….

French women are not born more attractive than anyone else. They simply learn at a very young age how to feel beautiful, confident, and sexy, inside and out. It’s an allure that outlasts youth—in fact, some of France’s most celebrated women are femmes d’un certain âge. Experience only makes them more irresistible. Growing up, Jamie Cat Callan had a French grand-mère to instruct her on style, grooming, and genuinely liking her reflection in the mirror. Now she shares that wisdom along with advice from other French women on fragrance, image consulting, makeup, and more, and shows you how to:

*Discover the power of perfume
*Find mentors who will help hone your personal style
*Begin at the ends—hands, feet, and hair
*Choose lingerie that makes you feel magnifique
*Get an internal makeover and nourish your soul
*Embrace your age gracefully and gorgeously

Bid au revoir to Botox, fad diets, and agonizing over every imperfection, and say hello to the truly timeless beauty that comes with making the most of your own unique je-ne-sais-quoi.

My thoughts:

I remember being 19 and being in Paris with my parents and siblings and thinking there is just no place on Earth (at least that I have ever been) that is as beautiful. The cobblestone streets, the beautiful scenery and yes, the people of France. I didn't give much thought to the fact that pretty much everyone that wasn't a tourist there looked well put together and confident, but I do know that 12 years later I am still obsessed with all things French and would love nothing more than to be back in France. This obsession leads me to read pretty much anything about France, so as soon as I saw this book's title I knew I HAD to read it. Reading through each page as Jamie Cat Callahan takes us through her journey through different parts of France with several of her French friends I kept thinking a lot of the stuff mentioned was kind of common sense stuff that maybe we American women just don't take the time to take care of ourselves. Each of her French friends and women she meets along the way in France have different personalities, the one thing they have in common is their confidence in themselves. Some of the greatest advice that I would never have thought of on my own even though it seems so simple is for your style to reflect who you are. Try on different clothes in different colors and styles and see what YOU feel BEST in? That is style advice? Being an individual? It's so simple yet so genius and it clearly works for the French. I think in America we tend to want to copy off of other people's style and there is nothing wrong with copying something you find cool, but feeling comfortable in your own shoes is definitely a huge factor in being able to be confident in how you look. This book was so full of great information and I plan to use many of the tactics the French do for feeling confident and beautiful. I highly recommend this book to any woman who is interested in fashion or feeling more confident in their own skin. 

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Covergirl Blastflipstick Review and Giveaway

I have been using Covergirl makeup for as long as I have been wearing makeup and I appreciate that they are always trying to come out with innovative products that will minimize the time I need to spend on my makeup routine. Last year (I think, or maybe the year before) when they came out with the "Blast" line of products I was completely on board. I especially am a huge fan of the LashBlastLuxe mascara. I like that it adds volume to my lashes and the extra depth the touch of glitter in the formula adds to the overall look. I also was all over the Blastflpsticks the second they came out. I love lip color and I don't think you can ever have too many colors. Changing up your lip color can change up the entire look you have created. What I LOVE about the blastflipsticks is that it comes with a color on both ends. These colors compliment each other, but can also stand alone. One end has a smooth, matte like color and the other will have a sort of shimmery color. There are endless looks you can create with your blastflipsticks. Below, I will show you four simple ways I used my blastflipstick in Vixen. There are so many other things you could do with this lip color though!


Here I have the shimmer side on the top lip
and the flat berry color on the bottom lip
 

This is the flat berry color on both top
and bottom lips

Here we have both colors. The dark berry on both
lips with the light shimmery color on top for a
nice layered look.

This is just the lighter, shimmery color on  top
and bottom lips.

 

 

 



 



 

As you can see, you can really play with your lip look with blastflipsticks. This is only one of several colors you have to choose from!

I was lucky enough to be sent a few of these from Covergirl via Bzzagent and I want to give one lucky reader the opportunity to win a blastflipstick of their very own. Enter via the rafflecopter below!! Winner will receive their choice between Minx or Stunner!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products free of charge from Bzzagent in exchange for my opinion. I was not required to write a blog post and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit Review

About once or twice a week for the last few weeks, I have been writing reviews about individual products I got from Influenster in the Beauty Bloggers Vox Box. There were some many wonderful products, they all deserved their own dedicated blog post! I saved one of my favorites for last! The Kiss Ever Pro Lashes were my first experience with false lashes. I have been wanting to try them for a while, but have found them to be a tiny bit intimidating. For the majority of my life, I have been a mascara and lip gloss kind of girl, but lately I have been playing more with makeup and my look and false lashes seemed like a fun (and dramatic!) leap! So I was pretty excited to see them included in my voxbox to try out.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to apply them by myself since it was my first tango with falsies. It took me a few tries, but I did manage to eventually get them on without any help! I was super proud of myself for that! Of course, it didn't have anything to do with my makeup skills, but everything to do with the adhesive and lash applicator included in the starter kit. False lashes just add such a new dynamic to your overall look. If you have been wanting to try them or just curious, but intimidated like I was, this starter set is just right for you! Give it a try! And for those of you that already love your falsies, well this set will make the application process simple and quick! I would recommend these to any make up lover or girlie girl!

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*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products from Influenster. All opionions stated are 100% my own.

Goody Spin Pin Review

When I found out I was going to get the Beauty Blogger's Vox Box from Influenster full of great beauty products, of course I was super excited to try out ALL of the awesome products included. I was THRILLED to see Goody Spin Pins included. I was a little bummed that my hair is just shy of the right length to get a bun up, but I know I could try them out in my 5year old's long hair!

The perfect opportunity to do so was a while back at a Halloween gathering in our neighborhood. My daughter was going as Rapunzel and and I needed to put her hair up in a bun so I could get her Rapunzel headband of hair on her head. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the pins in her hair, which is extremely fast when you are fixing a little girl's hair! But where longevity is important these little pins delivered. We were out for about 5 hours and her hair stayed perfectly in place the entire time. When I was ready to take them out, I was afraid that the spiral design might cause me to pull on her hair a little, but it didn't and it didn't seem to hurt getting them out of her hair at all.

I can't wait until my hair grows a little so I can try them in my own hair. I plan to include these with a few Christmas gifts for the college aged girls in my family that I know would appreciate the quick fix of the spin pins, but that their hair will still look cute! I highly recommend these to pretty much any woman who likes to throw their hair up in a bun or who has a little girl. Say goodbye to bobby pins!

*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

NYC Individual Eyes Custom Compact Review

I have always been a minimalist when it came to make up. I just didn't have the time to mess with anything other than mascara, foundation and lip gloss. As I get older and really since my kids were born, I have been dabbling a little more in other things like eye liner and eye shadow. I love playing with  my look, but I need my makeup routine to be quick.

I was super excited to see the NYC New York Color Individual Eyes Custom Compact included in my most recent VoxBox from Influenster. The palette included was filled with beautiful greys and I enjoyed playing around and seeing what worked for me. I came up with a very subtle day time look using the two lighter greys and a full on smoky look using all of the colors and the handy instructions included in the package. The coolest thing about this compact is that it also includes primer and illumination and it costs less than most compacts of the same sort. It also has staying power. I didn't notice it rubbing off at all.

The Individual Eyes Custom Compact also offers palettes for specific eyes colors as well as smokey shadows for your specific eye color as well. I know I will without a doubt be getting the central park palette the next time I feel the need for more eye shadow, I may even treat myself to it the next time I go to the store since it's only 5 bucks!

I highly recommend this line of eye shadow to makeup lovers and even to makeup newbies. It would also make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas season!

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*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products fro, NYC via the Influenster Beauty Bloggers Vox Box. I was not required to write a review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

Style United- New View, New You

Sometimes I just don't know where to begin when I want to buy a new outfit, or try a new look with makeup. I like to experiment with makeup and fashion, but sometimes I like an extra boost getting started with it. Enter a new website devoted to helping you discover your best bets in fashiona and beauty-StyleUnited. Style United is a great website full of tools to help you discover trends or even experiment with different looks. There are "style file" quizzes you can take to tell you what your style is in different categories. After you take the quizzes, the website will suggest different products to you.
I had a lot of fun taking these quizzes. For the fashion quiz, my result was "flirty romantic" which I think hit the nail right on the head. The outfits they suggested were almost all things I would consider wearing. I love that there is an option to save the things you like in your profile.

For the makeup quiz my result was "fresh" which once again I felt was dead on. There were some great product suggestions in this category as well. You can also input information for your skin type (mine is dry) and hair type (mine is wavy) to find the best products to fit your needs.

I really like the StyleUnited website and I plan to utilize it quite often when I am the mood to get a new outfit. I find that I like the fashion part of the website the best. There is definitely something for everyone at Style United.

After you join StyleUnited, head over to this blog post by She Speaks for your chance to win a $500 gift card to Macy's or Nordstrom just by leaving a comment telling She Speaks you've joined the Style United website. Don't miss the opportunity to be one of the first people to check out this innovative fashion and beauty website- for free!

 

*Disclosure- I am receiving a complimentary gift from P&G/SheSpeaks in exchange for this post, but all  opinions are 100% my own."

Cureology Shine Mist Review

photo courtesy of CureologyBeauty.com

As a mom of three kids all aged 4 and under, I am constantly looking for products that will add to my beauty routine that will make me look nicer, but in a quick manner. I found just that in Cureology's illumination shine mist.

Cureology is a special company. Not only are their hair products free of a bunch of junkie chemicals that are no good for your hair or your health (you won't find any parabens, sulfates, aluminum, synthetic fragrances, phalates or any other harsh chemicals in these products. They are 100% natural.) Cureology products are  green, sustainable and vegan friendly. They are also full of antioxidents, cruelty free and organic to boot. If that set of standards isn't enough to show you how truly amazing this company is, Cureology is a cause product. That means that portions of their sales go to a specific cause, in this case, The National Breast Cancer Foundation. Through the sales of Cureology products the NBCF is able to provide funding for free mammograms, increased awareness through education and cancer research.

The Cureology products are salon exclusive. That means if you want to buy them, you have to do so at your local salon. If your salon doesn't carry these products orif you are a stylist interested in carrying Cureology products you see about starting at the Cureology website. If you want to find out if a salon near you carries these products, you can call 855-444-2873.

As far as the Shine Mist goes, I really liked it. The bottle directs you to style your hair as you normally would and then spray it evenly on your hair. I love the shine that it adds and I noticed after using it a few days in a row that it also added some volume. Something I really loved about the Cureology Shine Mist is that it smells so good. That is the awesome thing about all natural products, they smell so fresh and clean, not like hair spray, which a lot of traditional styling products smell like. It also makes my hair feel super soft. I could really tell this was a salon quality product. Not only does the Cureology Shine Mistmake your hair soft and shiny, it also offer's uvb protection. Does your hair product do that? I think that is pretty innovative.

**Disclaimer** I was provided a free sample of Cureology's Illumination Shine Mist for this review, however all opinions stated here are 100% my own.