Loose Vs. Pressed Setting Powder

Should I buy this or that. Is this one or that one better? Decisions, decisions.Don't get lost in the hype.This tells you everything you need to know.

Add Dimension to Your Face!

Sorry I've been gone so long! I started school and had to get settled into the new semester. Anyway, what I want to talk about is keeping your face from looking so one dimensional.

Foundation (especially depending on the coverage) takes away the natural highs and lows we have in our skin.When you have these highlights and lowlights taken away, your face can look very flat. What I mean by that is that it can take away from the definition of your bone structure and leaving you looking as exciting as paper bag.

Luckily, thereareways for us to avoid appearing so dull...

1.Blush--Blush is the quickest way to add some life to your face. It's also the easiest thing to overdo! Be light-handed with blush as you only need a very subtle hint of color for it to do the job. You'll also want to be sure to choose a shade that works for your skin tone. You don't want anything too harsh or so soft that it doesn't show. The most important thing about blush (alongside being light-handed) is that placement is key!!!Unless you're walking someone's runway, you never want blush shooting up the side of your face. You can even use blush on the days that you don't wear foundation to make your face a little more lively.

2.Bronzer--Bronzer is another quick way to make your appearance a little brighter. As with blush, you will want to carefully choose your shade of bronzer to avoid looking "dirty". Choose a bronzer with light shimmer so that when placed appropriately on the face, it provides a warm glow. For the more fair skinned, it can also give you a sun-kissed complexion (a healthier alternative to tanning and can be a better looking alternative to spray/lotion tanning). Bronzer should be applied to the areas of the face that the sun naturally hits such as the middle of the forehead, the bridge of the nose, along the cheekbones, etc. Below is an example of too much bronzer.

3.Contour & Highlight--Contouring and highlighting is the most time consuming way to add dimension. It also requires a lot more practice to perfect. The contouring portion is basically just the opposite of applying only bronzer. When contouring, you would want to choose a bronzer shade that's slightly darker than your skin tone. You would apply it to the areas of your face where shadows usually fall such as the hollows of the cheeks, the creases of the eyes, the jawline, etc. The highlighting portion consists of applying a highlighter to the places you would normally apply your bronzer, as well as other places such as the browbone, cupids bow, and the center of your chin. Contouring and highlighting requires careful blending and can be difficult, especially for beginners, to make look natural. This may be the most difficult option for an everyday look.

PLEASE Ladies. If you can help it, never leave the house wearing only foundation. Add the dimension back to your face!

Maybelline DreamFresh BB Cream

So, after my terrible experience with Garnier’s B.B. cream, I decided I would give Maybelline a try to see if they could do any better. Its about half the price and half the size of Garnier’s product, so it couldn't hurt to try.
The first thing I noticed about Maybelline’s line is the fact that they have more color choices. There are five tones that range between "light" and "deep" as opposed to Garnier’s two color selections which are light/medium and medium/deep. Based on my experience with Garnier’s BB cream I thought I would need the darkest tone in Maybelline’s line (which is "deep") to get the closest color match. When I went to buy it, "deep"was sold out and the next closest was "medium/deep". Based on the color on the packaging (which you can never really trust) it looked like it would be a pretty good match.

I tried it first on my inner wrist and it blended in flawlessly. When I tried it on my face, it was a bit of a different story. It looked a little white on my skin like the Garnier product did. Not half as bad, but I still noticed the whiteness. I really wanted it to work so I decided to leave it on for a couple hours to see if maybe it would do a magic trick and settle in. ABRA-CADABRA! The next time I checked the mirror you couldn't tell there was anything on my face.
With that being said, I think this product is essentially a tinted moisturizer. In my opinion, it doesn't brighten, smooth, or enhance like it says it should. It does seem like it hydrates the skin fairly well, and it does lightly blur imperfections and lightly evens the skin tone. I would say if you have a lightweight, light coverage foundation such as Maybelline's FitMe liquid foundation, either of these BB creams are a waste of money.
Since I didn't want the product to go to waste and I don't hate it enough to return it, I decided to mix it with my FitMe foundation. I just dab a little of both on my face and blend. I find that it thickens the consistency of the foundation just a tad, and makes it easier to apply like a lotion as opposed to using brushes and/or sponges to make sure you are blending appropriately.
Other than for that purpose, don't waste your money.

Contour and Highlight: Using makeup to make your face look thinner

Very helpful example of highlighting and contouring. I haven't quite mastered it yet :(

Lea Michele Smokey Eye Makeup Tutorial

Great smokey eye tutorial!

***ALERT*** Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B. B. Cream

I mentioned this product in my last post, "Garnier Skin Renew Clinical Dark Spot Overnight Peel"which you may want to read first if you haven't already. I didn't see this product when I bought the overnight peel so when I came across it at Walmart the other day I figured I would go ahead and add it to the collection to see if using the complete Skin Renew line would yield better results as opposed to using the overnight peel on its own. Long story short, I bought it, I tried it that night, I hated it, I returned it the next day. Garnier has two shades which are "light/medium" and "medium/dark. My skin tone is similar to that of actress Kerry Washington, so obviously I chose the medium/dark.
The product itself comes as a grayish-chocolate milky kind of color (sorry for the poor description, LOL). It looked nothing like the color of anyone's skin, really, but I figured it would work its magic and blend in. Nope. It made me look pale, dusty and ghostly. I thought it would just take a little rubbing to blend it in but NO. I looked like a geisha. Not only did it make me look like I had been frolicking through clouds of ash, it also had a "gritty" finish. There was nothing smooth or flattering about the finish. It looked like the product had sand bits in it that sit on top of the skin.
And speaking of sitting on top of the skin, there was nothing moisturizing about it. It felt almost like I was wearing a thin layer of baby powder on my face (and kinda looked that way too).
Anyway....I say terrible product, don't waste your money, and I have nothing nice to say about it.
Grade: F-, Garnier.
If you've already spent your money, let me know how it went for you.

Garnier Skin Renew Clinical Dark Spot Overnight Peel

...Yeah, I know it's a mouthful to say. Anyway, this product must be brand SPANKING new because I can't find anything about  it on the internet. So, for your benefit and mine, I went in blind and went ahead and bought the product. So pictured to the left is the specific product I'm talking about. It's a glycolic peel that is applied nightly and is meant to even skin tone, brighten and smooth dull skin and fade dark spots. It's created with a glycolic vitamin C complex that delivers results while still being gentle.

According to Garnier;
In 1 Week: Skin feels softer and smoother.
In 4 Weeks: Dark spots and acne marks are diminished, and skin looks more uniform.
In 12 Weeks: Skin looks more radiant and bright.

Now, apparently there is a whole Skin Renew line of Garnier products (which I didn't see when I stumbled across this product at WalMart) and I don't know if these are the results that are to be expected when using the whole system, or just the overnight peel. The system includes a BB cream, an anti-puff and an anti dark circle under eye roller, as well as three different types of moisturizers (all of which address dark spots and uneven skin tone).

Radiance Moisture Cream

I only have the overnight peel and I'm currently on night #2 of use. When I got up this morning, my skin did feel very soft. Right now I have two acne spots that are relatively noticeable that I have been trying to get rid of using a Clean & Clear system that consists of a spot treatment and a nightly mark clearing lotion. Not all that much help. I could be extremely overly optimistic right now but I am under the impression that the spots looked a little lighter this morning.

Needless to say I have high hopes for the product. I'll make a point to check back in after a week to update.

Maybelline FIT Me Liquid Foundation

This is a pretty decent foundation
depending on what you're looking for. Its inexpensive (about $6 at Target) and comes in a cute glass bottle. I think I found my color match on the first try. My color match is 320, but one thing I found is that 320 and 350 are essentially the same exact color. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing o_0. They
both match me perfectly and I can't tell what the distinction between the two is.

 I have seen that some people don't like this foundation because of its consistency. It is a very runny foundation but it never bothered me much because it applied pretty much flawlessly. The biggest issue I had with it personally was the lack of coverage it provided. This may have something to do with the "exclusive translucent base" and "lightweight pigments". Don't get me wrong, if you're just looking to even out your skin tone or cover redness or anything like that, it's perfect. If you're looking to mask blemishes or marks, this won't cut it. Also keep in mind that this is probably not actually a flaw in the product. If you go to the Maybelline website the description of the product says that it is meant to provide natural coverage that allows skin’s natural highs and lows show through, so its more than likely doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
It doesn't come with a pump, but I don't personally find that to be a bad thing. I think the only way you can really waste a lot of the product is if you knock the bottle over, which would be a complete tragedy. You can pour a little on the back of your hand or on your finger and dab it on your face and go from there. It blends very well using a brush or your fingers (I don't use sponges for liquid foundations). It leaves you a bit shiny/oily looking, but you could always put a loose or pressed powder over it to cut the shininess.
Overall this is a great foundation as long as you don't need much coverage, but I'm pretty sure the product is made to provide minimal coverage. It will leave you a little shiny but that's an easy fix. It blends great and it is very easy to find your color. Its also coordinated perfectly with matching concealers, blush and bronzer.  Let me know how it worked for you!

How To: 5 Ways To Wear A Scarf

Really cute for the days when you really just don't feel like it.

Choosing Your Foundation

Foundation is one of the most crucial aspects of your makeup routine and can also be one of the most difficult to get right. There are different formulas and finishes, and of course you want to choose the correct shade. No matter what, there will be some trial and error in choosing your foundation, but you can limit the error by following these steps.

1. Figure Out Your Skin Type
Don't know how? Check out http://wikihow.com/determine-your-skin-type.
Determining your skin type will help you decide which formula works best for you. By formula I mean cream, powder, or liquid.

*Cream foundation will look best on normal to dry skin as most cream foundations contain moisturizing ingredients. As you can probably  imagine a cream foundation could end up looking like a melted painting by the end of the day over oily skin.

*Powder foundation will work best with combination to oily skin because it helps control and absorb excess oil. This can help keep you from looking shiny or greasy.

*Liquid foundation, depending on the type, is suitable for oily, normal, and dry skin. Some liquids help control oil while others offer moisturizing properties.

Once you've decided which formula foundation will work best with your skin, you need to think about the coverage that you need. 

2. COVERAGE
Coverage is descriptive of how much of your actual skin you want to show through your makeup. 

*Sheer coverage is almost transparent and is meant to blur imperfections and even the skin tone. 

*Medium coverage allows to skin to still appear natural while covering most minor imperfections. This is the most common type of coverage.

*Medium to full coverage is  buildable meaning you can apply medium coverage and then go back over to cover problem areas, making those areas full coverage.

*Full or opaque coverage are meant to cover heavy scarring and discolorations and will completely cover your true skin.

Example of satin finish

Some people with minimal flaws in their complexion can get away with using a tinted moisturizer

The last thing to consider is the finish that you're looking for. 

3. Finish
The finish is the way your skin will look after application.

*Satin finish will leave you with a soft sheen. It will essentially give you a dewy look.

*Matte finish will not leave you with any shine or glow,  but will give you a flat, soft color.
*Luminous finish will make your skin "glow".

*Natural finish is, well, pretty much self explanatory. Your skin will appear to be in its natural state.

It seems like a lot to know, but choosing a foundation is a lot easier when you know exactly what you're looking for. Also,  don't be fooled into believing expensive foundations are the only good ones. I'll share my foundation hit list in another post, but for now go find what works for you and let me know how it goes!

Save Your Do Too Good To Be True?

If you're anything like me, when you heard about the Save Your Do Gymwrap by Nicole Ari Parker, you thought, "No....really? Finally!!!". If you haven't yet heard about it, let me blow your mind. It's a head wrap that's worn during workouts and is meant to provide drier, flatter hair by minimizing sweat absorption. It's developed with "a patent-pending revolutionary “Edge Control Technology”' that allows heat to escape and cool air is let in. It comes in a narrow band, a wide band and a full triangle wrap, all of which have three different color options. 

When I was first told about the wrap, it was expressed to me that it was pretty much a gift to women from the heavens. I still did my own research and found that, well, there wasn't that much to find. I searched Google and Youtube relentlessly. Google turned up more results than Youtube, and they were pretty much all positive. 

I found three or four videos on Youtube that didn't speak as highly about the wrap. In the videos, they actually went and worked out and came back to the video, and they weren't all that impressed. While I was a little discouraged, I went ahead and bought the full triangle wrap, which came up to a little over $30 after shipping.

I'm a pressed natural, meaning I don't use relaxers or any chemical straighteners in my hair, but I do routinely use heat to straighten it. Any pressed natural knows how easy it is to completely ruin your hair with even the tiniest bit of sweat, so I had high, HIGH hopes for this product. Well, unfortunately, you know what they say. If you don't go in with expectations, you can't be let down. I was let down. 

I followed the packaged instructions which were to comb/brush the hair down as flat as possible and tuck ends behind the ears. My hair at the time was completely straight. I went and played basketball and when I got back, I looked like I had just been electrocuted AND my hair was pretty much soaked.

So here are my thoughts after my heads have come out of the hair savior clouds:

1. Even though this product is supposed to be for "all hair types", I think it's geared more toward relaxed hair.

2. I don't see much "technology" in this wrap. It pretty much a polyester headband. Also, don't let the size choices fool you. I bought the full triangle, but the layer of supposed "technology" is restricted to the front edges of the wrap. You'll pay more for the polyester, not the technology.

3. As stated in the above point, it will not, I repeat NOT keep your whole head dry (if anything). The technology is restricted to the front of the band, and is only meant to protect your EDGES. For a pressed natural like me, my edges are the very least of my worries. 

Bottom Line:

It's a great concept and was created for a great reason, but how satisfied you are with the product will mainly depend on what you expect from the product. If your biggest issues are your edges and you don't have much of a problem with the rest of your hair, go for it. This product will NOT preserve anything but your edges, and I personally think you will only experience this benefit if you hair is relaxed or naturally straight.  I got much better results wrapping my hair under a regular old satin scarf. In my own personal case, I could have spent my $30 much better somewhere else. Pretty Disappointed.

Even after my not-so-great experience with the Save Your Do Gymwrap, I do recommend that you try it yourself to see if you experience different results. The purpose of the product is to stop women from using their hair as an excuse not to exercise, which I completely support.  Try it out and let me know how it worked for you. Here's the website to order.