Share the Beauty! Face Beauty Tips!

It's another week of sharing our favorite beauty weapons that make us all look all pretty and junk.

This weeks prompt was "face beauty".

Now ever since I got bangs people have been telling me that I look like a porcelain doll. Side note: my nationality is 100% italian. One would never guess this due to my transparent skin and green eyeballs. Pretty sure there was a baby swap at the hospital-but I've grown to love my family so I just didn't question it.

Anyway, I need all the "face beauty" I can get. I don't tan and I don't have much color in my face. Instead of pinching my cheeks to get some color into them I have turned to less painful methods and have reached out to blushes and bronzers.

NARS BLUSH IN ANGELIKA

I have always been a huge fan of blush. It just helps ya look fresh and awake. I have gone through hundreds of brands of blush. Finally I have found thee one. NARS is an excellent brand of cosmetics. Their colors are vivid and will last once they are swept on your cheeks. I use my blush every.single.day and it takes me a good year to go through an entire thing of NARS blush.

I love the color "angelika". Its this bizarre mix of a muted hot barbie pink. It also has a hint of glitter in it-not like "1990s Christina Aguilera borderline porn star" glitter, but a very subtle amount of glitter that when the light hits your face you can see a bit of sparkle. The color looks SUPER intimidating but once I brushed it on my cheeks it looked really natural because the color blended into my skin, it didn't just "lay" on top of it. It didn't look as though I was applying eyeshadow to my cheeks.

BARE MINERALS BRONZER IN WARMTH

Now, I was never a "bronzer" fan. Let's be honest, I am pale as fudge (I know what you're thinking "fudge isn't pale", well if any of you have seen "a christmas story" then you would know that "I didnt say fudge" just there)
So I was really super nervous to try out a bronzer on my light skin because, well, I didn't want my face to look super cute and sunkissed yet my neck look like the white reflector tape around those stop signs.

I got my first bronzer in that bare minerals sampler kit. I gave it a go and I absolutely LOVED IT. The trick to this is that A LITTLE GOES A LONG LONG LOOONG way. The pigment is SUPER intense so go easy with it at first. Also a little tip: when applying this stuff first apply to your face, then with any remainder left over on the brush just do a quick swoop around your jawline and neck to blend it in a bit. My one friend does not blend in her bronzer and there is a distinct line of brown around her jawline. It freaks me out. She looks like she has a chin-strap goatee and I have a hard time looking her in the eye.

NOW ITS YOUR TURN

wanna join the party and tell the world beauty products make you swoon? Just link up to either my blog post, Lauren's or Heather's where your link will show up on all 3 of our blogs!

PARTY RULES

1. Make sure you link to your Share the Beauty Post NOT your blog domain

2. Please have the post you link up to be about "Sharing the Beauty" not a giveaway or a product promo. Anyone linking posts that are not related to our party will be deleted.

3. At the bottom of your post link back to either myself, Lauren or Heather so people know how to find the party!

NEXT WEEKS PROMPT

Week 8- Lip Beauty: Lip stick, lip exfoliator, chap stick, lip gloss etc

We thought you guys would like to know ahead of time what prompts you can contribute to! Here is the list of future Share the Beauty Party Topics! We will be going in this order:

Week 9- Make Up Brushes
Week 10- Scents: Deodorants, Perfumes, Body Splashes etc
Week 11- Body Care: Razors, Shaving Cream, Body Lotion, Sunscreen etc
Week 12- Nails: Nail Polish, Nail Polish Remover, Clippers, Techniques etc

Share the Beauty! Whats your favorite foundation?

Hey Loves! Welcome to "foundation week" at the Share the Beauty Link up Party! Even if you're not linking up I hope you all are experiencing some new awesome products out there that you didnt know existed!

Now just like last weeks when we talked about face care I have another confession for this weeks prompt: I don't really use foundation all that often.

Now before you get all "you suck you are blessed with the skin of an angel" you should know that I have THEE WORSE under eye circles known to man kind.

When the zombie apocalypse happens I'll be super prepared. I wont do my under eye make up that day and then the zombies will think I am one of them, thus sparing my brains.

Wow, ok, I totally just talked about the zombie apocalypse on my blog just now.

Some of you might remember this post here where I share my all time favorite foundation products for conquring under eye circles. I even included a fancy tutorial on how to battle them. So instead of repeating myself you can go to this link to learn how to not be a zombie.

(see my dark circle tips here!)

BUT I do love me some foundation for when I am feeling friskaaay. (ok, fact: I never actually feel "frisky". By feeling frisky I mean going to a wedding or seeing people from high school 10 years later)

So when I want to even out my skin tone I use (DUN DUN NA DUUUUN) (just go with it, I am trying to be all dramatic)

Mac Studio Fix Fluid

So I was using my hand dandy bare minerals powder for all over even coverage for forever and a day. I never wanted to ever use "fluid-y" type of foundation in fear of, well, I dont know what I feared.

When I realized that bare minerals literally uses minerals it kinda made me nervous knowing I was inhaling rock dust everyday. I went to MAC and got a fun little make over (you can get one too! Just buy 2 products from them and you get a FULL makeover) and the girl put this stuff on me.

HOLY FREKKIN COW.

I love it I love it I LOVE IT. You do have to apple it with a big 'ol "blush brush" type of brush. I just take a q-tip, put it in the goop, dab it onto the brush then swirl it on my face. It is so light and non-greasy I don't even know I am wearing it. It is great for just evening out your skin tone and to give you a little "glow".  It's not cakey and doesn't feel like its clogging my poors.

Now, with anything that you are putting on your face it will not totally stay put. So my other secret weapon is:

URBAN DECAY ALL NIGHTER SPRAY
Now I actually mention this spray in the above "remove under eye circles" tutorial. I spritz this stuff on my face to keep all my make up in place. I use it for my foundation, concealer and blush. Trust me, it is SO WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY YOU HAVE EVER EARNED (yes, I needed to yell at there really quick, I didnt like it either but it needed to be done)

NOW ITS YOUR TURN

wanna join the party and tell the world what hair tools make you swoon? Just link up to either my blog post, Lauren's or Heather's where your link will show up on all 3 of our blogs!

PARTY RULES

1. Make sure you link to your Share the Beauty Post NOT your blog domain

2. Please have the post you link up to be about "Sharing the Beauty" not a giveaway or a product promo. Anyone linking posts that are not related to our party will be deleted.

3. At the bottom of your post link back to either myself, Lauren or Heather so people know how to find the party!

NEXT WEEKS PROMPT

Week 7- Face Beauty: Blush, Bronzer, Face Primer etc 

We thought you guys would like to know ahead of time what prompts you can contribute to! Here is the list of future Share the Beauty Party Topics! We will be going in this order:

Week 8- Lip Beauty: Lip stick, lip exfoliator, chap stick, lip gloss etc
Week 9- Make Up Brushes
Week 10- Scents: Deodorants, Perfumes, Body Splashes etc
Week 11- Body Care: Razors, Shaving Cream, Body Lotion, Sunscreen etc
Week 12- Nails: Nail Polish, Nail Polish Remover, Clippers, Techniques etc

Share the Beauty! A link up party - Fav Eye Make up

 

so if you have seen photos of me before you'll notice that I have some big eyeballs all up in hea. I have a lot of rel-estate on my eyelids to use a ton of eye make up products.

Which is what this weeks Beauty Link Up Prompt is!

MY TOOLS FOR MY BIG HONKERS

(I mean eye balls guys, get your mind out of the gutter!)

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Naked Pallet)
2. Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion
3. LashBlast Cover Girl Mascara

I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some urban decay. I have been a faithful fan since I went to my first spice girls concert back in 1999 (SPICE UP YO LIFE!)

Now, I have matured from the "super sparkly shimmery" urban decay eye shadow and have upgraded to a more sophisticated pallet (which, with the name "NAKED" is kinda ironic..no?)

Reasons why I love this pallet? Try EVERYTHING. If this make up set were to get down on one knee and propose to me I would probably run off and elope with it right there on the spot (sorry bubs)

Urban Decay's quality is spot on. It lasts all day and all the colors blend into one another BEAUTIFULLY. Also this pallet can take you from day to night. Use a nude shadow over your entire lid during the day, then add some darker tones into the corner of your lids for a more dramatic night time look.

Urban Decays also stole my heart again with their primer potion. This stuff needs to be in your make up bag. I noticed that the older I was getting my eye shadow seemed to "wear away" by the end of the day when I never used to have that problem. I talked about it with some of my friends and they said that they noticed the "older" they got the more oily the lids of their eye lids are now.

Light Bulb.

This is what exactly what was happening to me! Granted their not super oily, but my eye shadow wasn't holding up like it used to. Enter this primer potion. Place a SMALL amount of this potion on your eye lids, let it DRY COMPLETELY then apply your favorite shadow. It doesn't matter if you're using the cheap-o drug store brand or the stuff that Oprah wears, this stuff will make ANY eye shadow stay put AND look vibrant.

I tend to use this if I know I'm going to be out all night at a wedding or something. I don't use it every day since it really truly does make your eye shadow stay put. I will also admit right here right now that I have gone to bed with this stuff on and have woken up to a bangin' smokey eye from the night before.

Yellow Heart Readers, meet Covergirl's LashBlast Mascara, LashBlast Mascara, meet my readers.

Now that you guys are formally introduced I feel as though I can say GO OUT TO YOUR LOCAL DRUG STORE AND BUY THIS PRODUCT NOW.

Hand to heart, this is the best mascara I have ever used. I try to go cheap-o on make up whenever I can, and this here is my cheap drug store find guilty pleasure.

Now, I will admit, I do have some long lashes, but they dont really "curl up" or have much volume to them. The LashBlast mascara adds a TON of volume to your lashes and makes them curl up. They instantly change your look, in fact most days I dont even wear any make up except for this mascara and some blush.

Also if you use this please get the waterpoof kind. Yes, it is super annoying to take off at the end of the night BUT it wont leave little black flakes under your eye balls.

Wanna hear something weird? Cover girl also makes the "length" version of this mascara, whereas the lash blast is meant more for volume. They then made a hybrid of the LENGTH and the VOLUME version of this mascara. I of course ran out and bought it and was sorely disappointed. The combination mascara did not work as well as just the lashblast. My lashes had barely any volume to them at all.

NOW ITS YOUR TURN

wanna join the party and tell the world what hair tools make you swoon? Just link up to either my blog post, Lauren's or Heather's where your link will show up on all 3 of our blogs!

PARTY RULES

1. Make sure you link to your Share the Beauty Post NOT your blog domain

2. Please have the post you link up to be about "Sharing the Beauty" not a giveaway or a product promo. Anyone linking posts that are not related to our party will be deleted.

3. At the bottom of your post link back to either myself, Lauren or Heather so people know how to find the party!

NEXT WEEKS PROMPT

 we thought you guys would like to know ahead of time what prompts you can contribute to! Here is the list of future Share the Beauty Party Topics! We will be going in this order:

Week 6 -Foundation: Concealer, Powder, Liquid Foundation etc
Week 7 -Face Beauty: Blush, Bronzer, Face Primer etc
Week 8 -Lip Beauty: Lip stick, lip exfoliator, chap stick, lip gloss etc
Week 9 -Make Up Brushes

Week 10 -Scents: Deodorants, Perfumes, Body Splashes etc
Week 11 -Body Care: Razors, Shaving Cream, Body Lotion, Sunscreen etc
Week 12 -Nails: Nail Polish, Nail Polish Remover, Clippers, Techniques etc

Share the Beauty! A link up party - Face Care

 

How was everyone's weekend?

Mine just involved having my boyfriend getting pelted by a 4 barrel head paint ball machine made by the Mythbusters Jamie Hynenman & Adam Salvage while sporting a Medieval Suit of Armor.

A typical sunday night.

Now while my boyfriend was busy moisturizing his face with paintballs I, on the other hand, have a different technique.

This week's Share the Beauty prompt is face care! Now I will admit, this prompt was a little hard for me because, well, I don't really care for my mug too often.

oops.

I keep my face care routine fairly simple. I have bizarro combination skin. Right smack in between my eyebrows and forehead area gets super dry, whereas my nose can be on the oily side.

I read somewhere that if you want to prevent wrinkles it is way important to moisturize your face all day erryday. (yeah I dont like to use "v's" when writing "everyday" makes me sound gangsta) Even if your face is as smooth as a baby's behind it is important to start locking in all that moisture in your face NOW before you start showing wrinkles to keep your skin all elastic and shiz.

Now what is everyone's "go-to" gift for a chick you barely know? Oh yeah, those bath and body gift baskets full of a bagillion lotions.

Confession alert: I.hate.lotion.

I feel as though no matter HOW many times I rub that darn stuff onto my body it never ever fully "absorbs" so I feel like slimer all day.



BUT ironically enough my mom hooked me up with a non greasy face lotion that I want to spoon with at night because it is that.frekkin.good.

Oil of olay is inexpensive and is a miracle worker. I use this stuff on my face almost everyday. It's harder for me to use it in the summer time because I can't bring myself to lather my face with lotion while sweating like Richard Simmons sweatin' to some oldies.

This stuff is amazing. It has a very light scent that isn't overpowering AND actually absorbs into your skin leaving it feeling natural and not like slimer. A little goes a long way. Concentrate around your eyes where "Crows feet" will start to form to prevent them from being so deep in the future. I love to use this stuff before putting on my foundation.


Keeping up with the theme of non-greasy things on my mug another important thing you can do for your face besides moisturizing is using sunscreen. Now, I know what you're thinking, putting sunscreen on your face is pretty much like putting lard on your face. Its white, greasy, and just lays there.

Wrong!

Now, I have to give my cousin credit for this gem. She introduced me to Nuetrogena's sunscreen that is specifically meant for your face. It is non-greasy and doesn't smell like normal sunscreen. Don't get me wrong, its not scent-free but it is NOT as strong as sunscreen.

This stuff is amazeballs. I was skeptical at first but I am now a believer. If I know I'm going to be outside at a BBQ all day I'll usually skip my oil of olay lotion and just do the neutrogena sunscreen and THEN put my foundation over it. It is super lightweight.

Finally when I wanna wipe off all my foundation and eye make up with out scrubbing really hard at my face I use Neutrogena makeup remover.

It is *slightly* oily, but it does work. It is gentle on your face and takes off my industrial "no-budge-water proof" Mascara easily. After using this I do recommend just taking some cool water on a face cloth and just wipe any oil residue away.

NOW ITS YOUR TURN

wanna join the party and tell the world what hair tools make you swoon? Just link up to either my blog post, Lauren's or Heather's where your link will show up on all 3 of our blogs!

PARTY RULES

1. Make sure you link to your Share the Beauty Post NOT your blog domain

2. Please have the post you link up to be about "Sharing the Beauty" not a giveaway or a product promo. Anyone linking posts that are not related to our party will be deleted.

3. At the bottom of your post link back to either myself, Lauren or Heather so people know how to find the party!

NEXT WEEKS PROMPT

 we thought you guys would like to know ahead of time what prompts you can contribute to! Here is the list of future Share the Beauty Party Topics! We will be going in this order:

Week 5 -Eye Make up: Eye shadow, eye liner, eye primer, mascara etc
Week 6 -Foundation: Concealer, Powder, Liquid Foundation etc
Week 7 -Face Beauty: Blush, Bronzer, Face Primer etc
Week 8 -Lip Beauty: Lip stick, lip exfoliator, chap stick, lip gloss etc
Week 9 -Make Up Brushes

Week 10 -Scents: Deodorants, Perfumes, Body Splashes etc
Week 11 -Body Care: Razors, Shaving Cream, Body Lotion, Sunscreen etc
Week 12 -Nails: Nail Polish, Nail Polish Remover, Clippers, Techniques etc

Share the Beauty!

Hey Loves! Welcome to Week 3 of our Share the Beauty Link up! Today's prompt was "Hair Products". Basically products that help give your 'do a lil "umph".

I am so excited because tomorrow I will finally take the plunge and get some bangs! Some of you may of heard me mention in the past about donating my hair. I have been growing out my victoria beckham bob since 2008 so don't be jealous that my hair is down to my belly button, it took 4-1/2 years for it to get there.

I *was* thinking about taking the chop tomorrow and donate my hair but I think I'm gonna do it at my next appointment. Promise I am not chickening out! It's just that it took me so long to grow out my short hair that when I do hack off 9" I want it to still be a long-ish length. Besides I haven't gotten my hair cut since February of last year so they need to hack off a ton of dead hair anyway. When I donate my hair I want it to be 100% healthy.

Ok now that that side note is done let's get to the biz-nass.

A little trick I use to shorten up my long hair is by curling it with my curling wand. Curls bring up your hair a bit which makes it a little more manageable for me to handle.

I have a terrible habit of running my fingers through my hair, even when its curled! So thats why I have invested in this guy:

Tresseme Aerospray Ultra Fine Mist

Yes, I know what you're thinking "Really Leonora, Aerosol spray?! What are you my grandma whose still rockin' the aquanet?"

Let me defend myself here for a second people! Put down your torches and stop looking so angry. Even though its an aerosol its a SUPER MISTY LIGHT HOLD aerosol. In other words, after I am down curling mah 'do I spray down the curls with this aerosol spray and my curls are *still* touchable and bouncy. I will admit, this is NOT meant for a super-duper hold. This is more so an everyday hairspray, I would not recommend this for a wedding or a prom.

I just hate the feel of super sticky hair. This at least keeps the hold while leaving my hair de-crunchy-fied. Please see obligatory "stuck in traffic with my curls so let's take a photo" photo below.

My next favorite hair product has been keepin' it real with me since 2007 (aww sookie sookie) Bed Head's Headrush shine spray is amazeballs (yeah, totally just said balls on my blog) 

Again, sorta an aerosol spray, but this stuff really pumps up the shine. It leaves your hair feeling weightless while making it look like you just stepped off the Victoria Secret Fashion show set.

This is my go-to for revving up my dull hair. Also since my hair is naturally wavy it helps tame my frizzy dull hair when I let it dry au-natural in the summer time. Since its lighter than a serum it wont leave any funky residue on my skin in the summer.

Plus side? This stuff also smells really good, but don't eat it. Pretty sure that would send you to the ER or something-but at least you would be going there rockin' shiny awesomely smelly hair.

NOW ITS YOUR TURN

wanna join the party and tell the world what hair tools make you swoon? Just link up to either my blog post, Lauren's or Heather's where your link will show up on all 3 of our blogs!

PARTY RULES

1. Make sure you link to your Share the Beauty Post NOT your blog domain

2. Please have the post you link up to be about "Sharing the Beauty" not a giveaway or a product promo. Anyone linking posts that are not related to our party will be deleted.

3. At the bottom of your post link back to either myself, Lauren or Heather so people know how to find the party!

NEXT WEEKS PROMPT

If you missed this weeks linky then no worries! Next week we are talking about "FACE CARE" in other words, what types of products do you use on your face to help your skin look all glowly and dreamy and awesome? Some examples are:  Moisturizer, Face Wash, Make up remover, exfoliator etc. (Psssttt dont get next week's prompt mixed up with "face make up" We will be talking about our favorite make up on another time! Thanks loves)

Share the Beauty! a NEW link up Party! (Will you RSVP?)

Hello Lovelies!

I am so excited to share this blog post with you! Lauren from The Elephant Trunk approached me a few weeks back about doing a linky party involving beauty products. Of course I was all over this like white on rice! We reached out to Heather of Just Lovely Things as well and she too would be co-hosting with us (can this linky party get any radder? Me thinks not)

Basically each week will be a different "prompt", for example one week will be dedicated to "Hair Care Products" where another week might be "Make Up Brushes".

In the post we would mention our favorite product (uh, duh) what we are "starting out with" (for example: If we are talking about hair products I would mention that I like this product for my non-dyed, straight, thin hair. That way other people with the same hair type as me can potentially use the product) and we would mention why we love the product and why it works best for us and our needs.

The reason for this link up party is to get the word out about other beauty products that maybe you didn't know existed or maybe to try out a different brand. Perhaps you have no clue what kind of anti-frizz serum to use on your curly hair or maybe your favorite foundation in the world has been discontinued (let's be honest, its a sad sad day when your go-to eye shadow bites the dust and falls into the retail black hole never to be sold ever again) This party will allow you to see what else is out there! Also? You'll get others coming to your blog too!

HOW TO JOIN THE PARTY!

I can not WAIT for this project! Waddya say, wanna RSVP? Our First party goes live on March 12th where we will be sharing with the world what our favorite Hair Tools are! So feel free to blog about your favorite flat iron, curling wand, brush, hair ties, hair dryer--whatever you want! Just make sure its a tool for your hair and not a hair product! We will be talking about our favorite hair products like hair spray and shampoo another week :) You will be able to link up to either mine, Lauren's or Heather's blog and your link will automatically show up on all 3 blogs!

Hope to see you March 12th!

X's and O's

Leonora