March 2015 All Stars & Favorites

Hello, sorry it's been such a long time since I published  a monthly All Star favorites post. I don't know why but I just wasn't feeling it each month. I couldn't get excited when writing this and that just results in mindless writing. After I thought about, a lot, I decided to switch it up and add a few things to spice up my monthly All Star post. Now I include a All Star  makeup product( like before), most exciting new beauty release, all star beauty brand, all star post of the month, favorite Instagram account,mfavorite beauty Youtuber, and favorite blog. I thought it would be nice to include other beauty blogs/vlogs for more support in the beauty world. I have always been a firm believer in supporting other people and I thought this was just the way to do so.  Now let's get started! 

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All Star Makeup Product 

My All Star product of the month is Physicians Formula Shimmer Strip in Natural Nude. The price is around $12 at the drugstore. It can be used for multiple things, highlighting (my favorite), bronzing, blush, and eyeshadow. I haven't used it for bronzing since its shimmery but I'm sure it would look beautiful if worn correctly. As a highlighter, it's simply beyond gorgeous. It's smooth and pigmented. It's catches the light exactly how I want it to. The consistency is so finely milled and doesn't make my skin look horrid around my textured areas. 

Now on to the eyes, it's a life saver for days I want to have a natural look( or you can go all out, too). There's plenty of highlight shades for the brow bone, crease shades, dark colors for extra depth. Unfortunately, this kit doesn't include any matte shades but I still love it. I know everyone loves matte shades but sometimes we just want to shimmer like a disco ball... Atleast on the eyes and check bones that is. 

Most Exciting Beauty Release

The most exciting beauty release for me would have to be the new Too Faced palettes called Sugar Pop and Natural Matte. Sugar Pop has extremely pretty spring shades and the matte palette includes all matte shades (duh!), so of course I was excited about that. They both sell for $36 each. Which one are you going to buy?

All Star Beauty Brand 

My most loved brand would probably be Physicians Formula. I absolutely love their affordable products. They can be pricey for drugstore, but their ingredients are high quality. Plus, all of their products are actually good for our skin. Not to mention most of the stuff they sell is great makeup, especially their bronzers! But what really made me adore the company is the generosity and love they show to their loyal customers. I have noticed they have great customer service and they host a lot of giveaways. I know it can be hard to win giveaways but when they do it they include 500 or 1000 winners every time. How generous! 

All Star Post Of The Month 

My most loved post of the month was the Too Faced Cocoa Contour Review. In the review I talked about my thoughts on the palette and shared some swatches of each shade. I hate to spoil the review but I gotta say I love it! Every time I whip it out I want to go to my kitchen and stir up some hot cocoa! A few extra calories won't hurt when I can chisel out my cheek bones to look slimmer! 

Favorite Instagram Account 

The reason why I chose Instagram over other social media networks is because its based on pictures and that's where I get the most inspiration. I also feel like you can see more of someone's personality through pictures on Instgram rather than words on Twitter. That being said, my favorite Instagram account this month is Ssssamanthaa. She's a gorgeous makeup artist from Canada with a great personality. She also has a YouTube channel along with a couple of other girls but they don't post that often so their not my favorite YouTube channel. Anyway, her pictures are on point and flow in the inspiration like a tsunami wave. Click here to check out her Instagram page! 

Favorite Beauty Youtuber 

I figured since this is the first time I'm posting the new version of "Monthly All Stars" I'll talk about my all time favorite beauty youtuber. Now I'm not choosing her because she has a huge following or anything like that. I'm choosing her because she's funny, sweet, beautiful, talented and she cares about her fans. Her name is Jaclyn Hill and I'm sure you've heard of her by now. She's the girl that started the "Yaaasss" and "amazeballs" trend.  Her videos are really helpful if you need some makeup ideas for any time of the year. Her incredible talent has given her the opportunity to work with brands such as Gerard Cosmetics, Sigma, and Morphe. If you don't know who she is, you're missing out. Click here to view her YouTube account. 

Favorite Blog 

Everyone knows of Temptalia. It's one of the biggest beauty sites ran by a girl named Christine. She reviews almost every product out there. She doesn't really do tutorials or beauty topics but the reviews are great. So if I'm every interested in a foundation or anything like that I'll check her review first. Their always detailed and on point. Sometimes I just don't want to spend $30+ on a foundation that won't work on my dry skin, so that where I go! Click here to check out her blog! 

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What was your All Star product of the month?

Have any favorite blogs/vlogs?

Let me know in the comments below! 

10 Tips- How to deal with skin texture when wearing makeup

If you clicked on this post there's obviously a problem with the texture of your skin. For me, it's acne. I have spent so many years dealing with rough texture that's as apparent as an 800 pound cow in a room with you. Thankfully, for you, I now have some tips that should help with your problem. I actually still have that problem sometimes, but when I follow these guidelines my makeup looks a hundred times better...Most of the time. 

I can't guarantee flawless skin. Raised bumbs will always be raised. Dry skin will always be flaky. Scars will always look like scars. Hair will always look like hair (unless you shave it!). However, we can make them look a lot better.

Watch what you use to wash your face
A lot of people have said this and I didn't listen. I figured since I have acne shouldn't I go to war with it? How would something "gentle" help the constant battle I was fighting everyday? Well the truth is you need to be gentle. Rough cleansers can be really harsh on your skin and cause a lot of bad texture. My current favorite cleanser is Cetaphil's sensitive skin face wash. It's only $6 at Walmart and boy does it help the texture of my skin.

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
I know, you've heard this a million plus times but, honey, it's true. I have always moisturized my skin after cleansing but I just didn't notice much of a difference. One day, I decided to double the amount of moisturizer I used and bam, my flakey skin was a lot smoother. Also keep in mind what kind of moisturizer you're using. If your skin is super dry, then use a heavier lotion and vice versa. 

Setting spray for peach fuzz
I have a ton of peach fuzz. Embarrassing enough, I have been called out on it by family, ugh the embarrassment. So now I use a setting pray to lay down those stubborn hairs. Depending on how much hair you have it might work for you too. What I do is spray my primed face a couple times and use my CLEAN hands to smooth the hairs down. Works like a charm. 

Warm damp rag for Exfoliating  

Lets rewind back to flaky skin! I have horrible large flaky acne. If I do not take this step in my routine my makeup will look disastrous. If you have flaky skin, you know what I mean. It's just terrible. So now, I get a clean soft wash cloth and damp the corner of it with warm water. I then rub my face with it in gentle circular motions. Don't be too rough on your skin. If it's bleeding chill out with the rubbing, you're doing it too hard. Also be sure not to do it on white heads. You do not want that sucker to pop and spread yucky pus all over your face. Keep it nicely clean and gentle!  After you're done Moisturize again!

Primers that are made to deal with texture
This is an obvious tip. Apply a primer that deals with texture.  I find that a lot of primers that deal with large pores work for this problem. I really enjoy the Benefit Porefessional primer. It Smoothes my skin and leaves a flawless base for foundation, 

Beauty blender
A beauty Blender isn't a hyped up product that's a lie. When I say it makes your foundation apply flawlessly I'm not lying. It blends everything out and makes the texture of your skin smooth. If you're using a brush all you're doing is micro-Exfoliating your skin,which causes dry patches to flake up. Using a Beauty Blender prevents that from happening and keep in mind it can be used for multiple things. Such as powder, blush and concealer. It's a diamond in a pile of rocks. 

Dewy foundations
Matte foundations are beautiful on good skin. Unfortunately, they can highlight rough texture on people with unfortunate skin. Opt for a dewy foundation instead. The finish is much more natural and smooth. It won't highlight dry spots or rough texture as severely if applied correctly.

Smooth highlighters
Highlighters are a huge thing in the beauty world right now. But if you're skin is troublesome, highlighters can highlight that roughness instead of your supermodel cheekbones. When picking a highlighter make sure the texture of the highlighter itself is smooth. A chunky highlighter plus textured skin equals even more texture on the skin. 

Finely milled powders

This is the same as the highlighter issue. Always use a super finely milled powder on your face. I think translucent powders work the best over texture, especially under the eyes!

Patting motions for powder application
This tip is for powdered foundation, blush, bronzer, etc. Instead of swirling a brush around on top of textured skin, use patting motions. You're less likely to increase the appearance of bad skin. But if you can, use a Beauty Blender. It's still the best option out there.

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Do you have bad texture? 

Do you struggle with your makeup because of bad texture?

Let me know your story in the comments below!

Looking for a drugstore moisturizer with SPF? Why you should wear SPF!

During the colder months I stay in my apartment like a hibernating bear. Because of that, I tend to skip on my SPF. I guess I don't really need it, right? Wrong! Some people can get away without wearing SPF but if your skin is troublesome like mine (acne), then SPF is a must have. Now that it is spring,  the climate is warming up and we'll be spending more time outside in the warm cozy sun. If there was a time of the year to start wearing SPF, it would be now. 

But why is SPF so important for our skin? If you're on my side of the situation it's because of acne/scars. For years I have been working on brightening my skin to help reduce the appearance of acne scars. When I think of a day in the sun demolishing my hard work I seriously want to vomit. Let me make this clear... If you have acne scars and you're skipping on SPF, your scars will darken from the Suns harmful rays. However, let's not forget that just because you don't have acne doesn't mean you don't need SPF. SPF prevents skin cancer, wrinkles, sun spots and more. 

Now hold up! I don't want to apply greasy sunscreen to my face! No problem. Moisturizers with high SPF are part the key. My favorite porduct is Cera Ve AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30. It's affordable($12-14) and effective.  Every year my scars darken around this time but since I bought this product I haven't noticed that happening. So yes, it does work. 

The moisturizer comes in a 3 FL OZ bottle that features a pump. If used as a sunscreen, it's needs to be applied every couple hours. It's also non-comedogenic and non-irritating. Not a only does it protect your fragile skin from the sun but it also repairs and restores your skins natural protective barrier. This specific moisturizer is intended for normal to dry skin but I don't see why someone with oiler skin couldn't use it. 

The consistency of the product is very similar to some sunscreens. It's quite thick and white. When applied to the face heavily it leaves behind a white cast but once blended in it disappears. I do wear this under my makeup and it doesn't mess with the performance of my foundation. 

Now I don't recommend this moisturizer by itself for a day on the beach. If you can't stand sunscreen on your face then this should be ok if you wear a large protective hat along with it. Maybe even a BB cream with extra SPF would be a nice companion product with it. I mainly use it for running around town or a day at the park. 

By the way, I do have dry acne prone skin and this moisturizer moisturizes very well. It makes my skin appear a lot healthier. I also want to say I do not break out from this product (thank goodness)! 

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Do you wear SPF?

What else do you do to protect your skin?

Let me know in the comments below!