Sephora Happy Birthday Present 2013

Sephora 2013 Birthday Present

Benefit "They're Real" Mascara

 Sephora Happy Birthday Present 2013-
Hello Everyone! I first want to apologize because the pictures just would NOT cooperate with me no  matter what I did, so this will have to do. I recently went into Sephora to make a purchase and was pleasantly surprised to receive a small gift for
my birthday! I only recently started getting into makeup so this is my first birthday present from Sephora and I have to say I am very pleased

Benefit "Watt's Up" Highlighter

with this gift! First of all it was free which is a huge bonus! It came with a
sample of the Benefit "They're Real" Mascara and another sample of the
Benefit "Watt's Up" Highlighter. I have been wanting to try this mascara for a long time but the price has been telling me that I can live without it. I have never been one to care about splurging on a mascara because I use it every single day and it won't last as long as other things that I could buy for the same price and possibly even like more. Being given this sample was great because I can actually try it without having to purchase it to see what all the hype was about. The mascara wand is very large and I know that bothers some people but I don't have any problem with it. It applies the mascara very nicely and lasts absolutley forever! I am not sure if I will be purchasing a full size once I run out just because I am not picky about mascara, but if I was to buy a high end mascara this would be the one! The highlighter is a stick which I have never tried before until now. I don't like it as much as my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Soft and Gentle"(Review Here) but I do think that it is a great product. It gives you a beautiful shimmer while its not too overpowering and doesn't make you look like a disco ball. Overall a great gift, Thanks Sephora!

I would like to add here that in order to receive the birthday gift, you must be a part of Sephora's Beauty Insider Rewards Club. Joining is free and gets you many perks like this one so if you are not a Beauty Insider I recommend you look into it here.

NARS Blush in "Orgasm"

NARS Blush in "Orgasm"-
Hello Everyone! Sadly the summer is coming to an end which means school and cold weather, blech! I am excited for a few things though, tea and sweaters and books and Christmas. Sorry for getting sidetracked, anyways I am definitely going to miss my bright summer colors! One of which (although I will probably continue to wear it through the fall and winter) is my Nars "Orgasm" blush. This blush is so beautiful and the picture doesn't do it a justice. It is such a bright beautiful color that has a little shimmer in it to brighten up your face even more. It makes your skin look great and healthy and is just a wonderful all around blush. The size is great because it will last me forever and is also great at taking on the go, it even includes a mirror on the inside which is super handy. The price for this one was a bit steep and I did lots of debating before I ended up buying it but once I did I am so happy with that decision. This is definitely a new staple in my makeup collection and I recommend it to everyone weather you are just starting to get into makeup or have been for a while. I think it would also look great on all skin tones so you should absolutely give this blush a look next time you pop into a Sephora or NARS counter.

DIY Avocado Face Mask

DIY Avocado Face Mask- Hello everyone! Today I am going to be sharing a lovely recipe for you to make your own avocado face masks! I don't know about you but I definitely put my skin through a lot wearing makeup every day, the least can do is treat it to a homemade mask every once in a while. Avocado is great for you to eat and put on your skin! Putting it on your face is like a deep cleansing where it gets rid of dead skin cells and moisturizes at the same time which can be great for clearing up blemishes and acne scars. Let's get started!

You need:
1 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of plain greek yogurt

Step 1: Cut up your avocado (1/2 of the avocado is fine) scoop it into a bowl and mash it together until it becomes smoother and easier to work with.
Step 2: Add the teaspoon of honey into the bowl of mashed avocado and stir it in.
Step 3: Add the greek yogurt and stir it in with the rest of ingredients.
Step 4: Mix all the ingredients together until it becomes nice and creamy. Then apply it to your face and neck and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes washing it off with warm water afterwards.

Your skin would love a moisturizer after this as well. I hope you enjoyed this facial recipe, let me know if you try it out!

My Foundation Routine for Summer

My Foundation Routine for Summer- Hello Everyone! I hope you have all been well and have been enjoying your summers! This post is a great one for summer! This foundation routine can be used every day but is focused on keeping your skin matte and oil free for those hot summer days! I have found that this foundation routine stays on all day and keeps me looking oil free as well. I first start out using my Revlon Color Stay foundation for Combination/Oily skin. My skin is combination/oily so this works great for me but I am not sure that the formulas for other skin types work as well for giving your skin a nice matte finish. This is my favorite foundation I have ever used! It has great coverage, excellent lasting power and keeps my skin oil-free! After applying foundation I go to the matching concealer to cover up any blemishes and under-eye circles. These 2 products work great on their own and are both a part of my every day routine but on those extra humid days I will definitely add a powder. The powder that I have been loving is the Covergirl Clean Translucent Powder. Because it is translucent it doesn't have any coverage with it but from the foundation and concealer that is not needed. This powder works great at keeping my skin looking nice and dry, even when it is a bit oily. These products all work great together and do an amazing job at keeping skin looking oil-free, and they are all from the drugstore which is a huge bonus!

Products I mentioned-
Revlon Colorstay Foundation:http://www.target.com/p/revlon-colorstay-makeup-for-combination-oily-skin-toast/-/A-12771022#prodSlot=medium_1_14
Revlon Colorstay Concealer:http://www.target.com/p/revlon-colorstay-concealer/-/A-14305506#prodSlot=medium_1_4&term=revlon+concealer
Covergirl Clean Translucent Powder:http://www.target.com/p/pressed-pwdr-105-clean-39oz-ivory/-/A-13977018#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=covergirl+clean+powder

ELF Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder

ELF Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder- Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well! I have been doing a bit more shopping recently and I am very excited to tell you all about some of the things I purchased, I have some great reviews in store for you! I would first like to start with this ELF brand Contouring Blush and Bronzer. I was very excited to purchase this product for many reasons. First was that it was incredibly inexpensive for a blush and a bronzer! Another reason was because I have heard many people claim this to be a dupe for NARS blush "Orgasm" and the "Laguna" bronzer! Now I have to say I have not tried either of those so I can't tell you if they are similar but I will give you my honest opinions about this product. For me, I really enjoy the blush but I haven't yet gotten along with the bronzer. The blush is a gorgeous peachy/pink color and I find it suits my skin tone very well and in my opinion will suit many people. It also has little shimmers in it and it makes your face look more alive and really nice and glowy. The bronzer however is a bit too dark for me, I lightly dab my brush onto the powder and then sweep it onto my face. I don't feel that this color looks natural and this has shimmers in it as well which I don't like. I prefer the more natural bronzed look versus the way too dark/shimmery color. Now for this product there are no color choices which I am a bit disappointed about. Maybe if there were lighter options for the bronzer I could possibly like it but there aren't. I am sad to say that I do not enjoy the bronzer as much as I wish I did though I am thoroughly enjoying the blush. I purchased this at Target for a very affordable price and I definitely recommend that you give it a look next time you are at the store. If you do like the more shimmery bronzers and maybe aren't as fair skinned as I am then you might enjoy this product a lot.

I would also like to add quickly in here that if any of you have any suggestions of things for me to review please leave me a comment below and let me know, I will do my best to review whatever you ask for. Thanks!

Where to Buy This Product: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=358865&catid=183545&cmbProdBrandFilter=48033&aid=338666&aparam=goobase_filler&device=c&network=g&matchtype=

MAC Powder Blush In "Dame"

MAC Powder Blush In "Dame"- I have been going into MAC more frequently in the past month or so and one of the products that I purchased and really have been enjoying is this blush. I think it's a very lovely color and I have also been enjoying the formula of it too. When I dab my brush in it looks like there is hardly any on the brush, and looks as if it will be incredibly sheer but once you apply it to your face you will be shocked about how much more pigmented it is than you thought. When I first bought this and hardly any came off and it looked so sheer when I swatched it I just thought, "Oh no, I'm going to hate this." Thankfully though I gave it a chance and when I applied it I was pleasantly surprised. It actually comes on nicely and pretty pigmented, though not so pigmented it is difficult to work with, it's perfect! The color looks really great on my skin, I'm pretty fair but I think that this would look quite nice on any skin color. I purchased this for $21 which is probably more than some of you want to be spending on one blush, but I recommend you check it out. If you are looking for a new blush or even just browsing through your local MAC store why not give this one a look, maybe you will enjoy it just as much as me!

Where to Buy:
http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/156/329/Products/Face/Cheek/Powder-Blush/index.tmpl?SKU_ID=SKU1557

My Daily Skin Routine

Hello Everyone! I would like to start this post apologizing that I have not been consistently posting reviews and whatnots. I am currently a sophomore in high school with an overloaded schedule. Unfortunately I hardly have any free time lately but the year is slowly coming to an end as my schedule is slowly clearing up. As summer rolls around this year I will be posting much more frequently but until then I'm doing my best and posting as much as possible. With that said let's get into the post. For this one I just wanted to do my routine for my skin as I know that many people struggle with their skin and I wanted to show you what works great for me and how I do it. You should be expecting reviews on some of these products, they have made it into my daily routine so I obviously love them. I will start off with mornings before I apply my makeup. First I wash my face which is super important mainly because I have oily skin, but not washing your face then applying makeup can be compared to putting a band aid over a dirty cut. I don't have a staple facial cleanser for mornings and usually grab something different every time so I will skip the product naming for this. After I wash and dry my face I apply my Philosophy Hope in a Jar facial moisturizer. This is a great moisturizer, I love everything about it except for the smell but that can be forgotten easily. Then I apply my makeup, go to school or whatever I am doing that day. When I come home I shower every night before bed which is where I like to do a lot of my cleansing and exfoliating. In the shower I use my Cetaphil Oil Control Foaming Wash. (which I have done a review for, if you would like to read it click here) I like this for removing my makeup and cleansing my face very gently. After I use that I will use either my St.Ives Apricot Scrub or my Noxzema The Original Deep Cleansing Cream. For these 2 products I like to rotate and use every other day, for example if I used my scrub on Monday I would use my cleansing cream Tuesday and so forth. Once I am out of the shower I will start with using my Epiduo which is a great product! Once that dries I use my Philosophy Hope in a Jar again and after that I apply Philosophy Hope in a Tube which is an amazing eye moisturizer. Finally for my last step I will apply my Origins Super Spot Remover (blogpost here) to any blemishes that I have. That finishes up my daily skin routine. About once a week I will treat myself to a facial but again I don't have a staple product for this so I won't mention any but this is what I do for my skin daily. All of these products are really great if you are interested in trying any I recommend that you look into them. Thanks for reading!