Weekly Beauty Tip #46: Neater and more precise way of applying lipstick

When applying lipstick, instead of putting the tube directly to your lips try dipping a small angled brush in the lipstick then line your lips with it. After lining, use a lip brush to fill in the rest of the color. This is a neater way to apply product and you also tend to use less this way.

May Glam Bag

This month I subscribed to Ipsy and got my very first Glam Bag!

Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that will send you 4-5 products in a makeup bag each month. They always include a mixture of full sized and deluxe sample sized products all for just $10 a month! It is definitely worth the money, the total value of products you receive most of the time (if not all the time) is worth more than what you pay. The Mirabella lipstick I received alone is a $22 lipstick.

You don't personally get to pick your products, but that's part of the fun! This is a great way to try new products. There is, however a quiz you take when you sign up that will heavily influence the products and shades you get.

If you like what you see and want to get a Glam Bag, please use my referral link:
http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051r3lzwoa89xn

If you do sign up and use my refferal link, please let me know. I can at least post something thanking you.


The featured brands this month are: Nume, Macadamia, St. Tropez, Zoya, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Pacifica, Juice Beauty, Mirabella and Yaby.

I received all of these products, the makeup bag and a gift certificate/coupon to Nume.

 Zoya Gie Gie Nail Polish (full sized)

                                                  Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia roll on perfume

                                            Mirabella Colour Sheers in Daydream (full sized)

                                                 Yaby concealer pan in cc008, Buff

Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel (deluxe sample size)

My thoughts:

I am extremely happy with this bag, it was a great introduction to Glam Bags.

The Zoya nail polish: I already loved Zoya before getting this bag. It is actually what drew me into subscribing after kicking around the idea for a while. Gie Gie is a beautiful cute ballet slippers - like shimmery pastel pink. A very nice color for spring.

The Pacifica perfume: It smelled pretty good to me, but it just doesn't suit me so I gave it to my mom. 

The Yaby concealer: I actually really liked this concealer, although I only have had a chance to use it once. It goes on and blends very nicely. The coverage is good, it would cover everything except a  red spot or two. 

The Mirabella lipstick: When I first saw this lipstick, I can't lie I was a little disappointed. I saw pictures on instagram of girls getting this really pretty bright pink shade in their Glam Bags...and then I got this. To me it looked like a color that  a much older woman would wear. But, once I tried it on, I really liked it. It is actually a very beautiful color. It is sheer and buildable. Very moisturizing and light. 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel: This is great! I have heard so many great things about their brow products and I'm so glad I was finally able to try one. This tamed my eyebrows really well without the stiff feeling that my normal brow gel gives me. 

As I said above, if you want to get a Glam Bag, please use my referral link. It is such a great and cheap way to try new products. 

Benefit Fake Up Concealer Review

I have seen so much hype and raving about this product since its release. I am usually pretty skeptical when it comes to concealers. Let's face it, many do not live up to our expectations. This particular concealer I was a bit skeptical with at first.

Fake Up is unlike any concealer I have ever seen. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is an under eye concealer in stick form surrounded by a hydrator (moisturizer). Benefit claims that this concealer will not crease, cake or settle into lines. It contains vitamin E and apple seed extract. After two of my friends told me how much they loved this concealer I decided that I needed to try it for myself. I did just that and got a sample of it during one of my recent Sephora trips. The shade I will be talking about is Light.

After using this concealer for a few weeks instead of what I normally use under my eyes, I have to say it does live up to the hype! It is a very creamy, non-heavy concealer. It blends and feels like a dream. You don't need too much product, be careful not to use too much. It does all that it claims to: I haven't ever gotten any settling or creasing. It also hydrates extremely well.

The coverage is medium coverage. It will cover most under eye darkness. I have a really dark spot under one eye that it will not completely cover no matter how much I put on. Do not let that discourage you from trying this product. I was actually impressed with the amount of coverage I did happen to get. You don't want anything with heavy coverage under yours eyes, that is when you get caking and creasing. I should also add that this is an easy product to use and it is great for people on the go or that do not have a lot of time to apply their makeup.

I don't have any swatch pictures because it blended into my skin while doing swatches so well it was hard to tell where the concealer actually was.

Over all, I think Benefit did a great job with this product. There actually hasn't been a Benefit product that I've used that I have disliked. Fake Up is a great under eye concealer. I liked it so much that I bought it during my next Sephora trip after getting the sample.

I have saved my thoughts on the packaging until the end of this review, it is gorgeous! The box that Fake up is in is cute. Very feminine and eye catching. Inside there is more information on the product and instructions on how to use it. The packaging of the product its self is just as gorgeous. It definitely stands out in my train case.

Weekly Beauty Tip #45: Skincare routine on hands

Do your skin care routine on the tops of your hands for anti-aging protection.

Nails by Vicky: Haul Post

A couple of days ago I went shopping with my best friend Heather, the owner of this blog. I wanted to make a post about the nail related products that I bought. As with any post that I make if you would like to see me use these products in a design, would like a review, or if you have a nail related question I would be happy to answer it!

Now onto the products I bought.

This is a Blackheart nail polish from Hot Topic. I have a couple other nail polishes from Hot Topic and they are actually very nice. I love the packaging too. It works with the Hot Topic brand. Unfortunately, this particular nail polish does not have a name on it and I bought it on clearance so Hot Topic does not carry it anymore. It is a pinkish glitter nail polish. Normally Blackheart nail polish costs $5.

Next is a Duo Nail Polish in White Lie. This was also a clearance product from Hot Topic and is also not carried anymore. It is a combination glittery orange polish and a white nail polish. I really like these duos because it gives you two different shades in one. This normally sells for $6.99.

I am really excited to try this next product out because I have heard very good things about the Essie line. I got the color Good as Gold which is a shimmery gold color. I had been looking for a gold color for my nail polish collection and this polish was the perfect color to add to the collection. I bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store near me but Essie polish normally sells for $8.

Another nail polish brand that I have been wanting to try is Zoya. I am so excited to be able to try out the Zoya Pixie Dust polish in Chyna. It is a nice ruby red color. I also bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store but Zoya polish normally sells for $9.

The last product I bought was from Sephora and is called a nail protector. This product helps keep you from accidentally painting your skin along with your nails. If you follow my posts you will know that I am not the cleanest painter in the world, so I am hoping that this product will help me.

That is everything! Please let me know if there is anything that you would like me to review or make a post about. 

Weekly Beauty Tip #44: Eyeliner sharpening tip

Before sharpening your eyeliner, place it in the freezer for a few minutes. This will make it firmer and easier to sharpen.

Weekly Beauty Tip #43: Nail polish application tip

When applying nail polish, apply in several thin layers rather than just 2 thick layers. Also paint the tip of your nail. This will help your manicure be more durable.

Elf Maximum Coverage Concealer Review

I posted an Elf haul a few weeks ago asking what Elf products you, my readers would like to see a review of. Thank you, Vicky for naming a product!

Today's review will be on Elf's Studio Maximum Coverage Concealer.

Although I love my beloved Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer, I wanted to try something different under my eyes and a with little lighter coverage. Glamoflauge is great, but it would crease under my eyes so much.  I also don't always feel like wearing heavy duty concealer. So I decided to try this Elf concealer.

There is a good color selection for a concealer. The shade I will be using in this review is Porcelain.

The concealer comes in a squeeze tube, which is a pretty good size for a concealer . I believe it is the same packaging as the Studio Tinted Moisturizer. It is easy to control how much product you want to squeeze out.

The concealer is pretty creamy and feels a lot different than my normal concealer. It is a nice difference. It blends very well and it doesn't feel cakey or dry. I would say it has medium coverage. The coverage is good, it covers nearly all of my redness, but it doesn't completely cover the dark circles under my eyes. When I mix the Elf concealer with a little of my Glamoflauge, it completely covers them.

Before applying concealer:

After applying concealer:

Please note: The concealer wasn't too dark for my skin, I have terrible lighting in my home and it is difficult to  get the exact same lighting in every single picture.

This isn't the absolute best concealer out there, it will not cover everything, but it is a great concealer. For a $3 concealer it covers well. It is definitely worth the try. If you want a heavy concealer that will cover everything, this is not for you. If you want something that isn't heavy  but will cover a decent amount, try this. In all, I really like this concealer. I've found myself using it a lot since I've gotten it. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

Weekly Beauty Tip #42: Don't pump mascara in the tube

Do not pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube, it will dry the product out faster.