Monthly Favorites: July 2014

Hey y'all!!!!!

Today I'm doing my monthly favorites! They will remain here on the blog until I eventually start up my YouTube channel! This is when I just tell you all the beauty and fashion items I've been loving this month! 

Avon clear skin

This daily astringent is a little miracle in a bottle! It was given to me by a co worker and it has dramatically reduced new acne breakouts! It has not treated the old ones but it ha stopped any new ones! It about $6 from your nearest Avon seller!

Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser 

I stopped using this for a while but this month I rediscovered it! It is the most gentle clensar ever and it's just great to use to get rid of that makeup residue on the days that you don't use an exfoliant. It's great on all skin types. It's about $13 for a big pump bottle or $6 for a travel sized bottle and a travel sized moisturizer. I get mine from the local CVS.

Teeth whitening gel

About $9 at cvs this nighttime whitening is super hassle free! It's a lot easier than strips or trays and works just as well! It's not messy and this bottle contains enough for the entire 14 nights of wear. It's inly a night treatment which is great for those with busy lives! 

Axe Messy Look Paste

I got a pixie cut earlier this month and I needed a messy hair paste to keep the look. For $7 this little jar has lasted an entire month and isn't even half gone! Comparable products made for women and girls are upwards of $12 but this works just as well!

Mad Bout You

A friend got this for me from bath and body works and I've been adoring it this month! I even had to go get another one! It's a very floral scent but it's a bit Javier so it's gonna be great as a transition I to fall scent!

NYC bb creme

I've always sworn by Maybelline dream fresh but this competes! It's a very similar formula but a little foes a long way! It has a slight shimmer to it and it covers a bit more than the Maybelline does. It's also only $3 while Maybelline is $7! The only thing I don't enjoy is the lack of SPF! 

Pixie Brillance Balm

A super great sample added to my collection thanks to ipsy! It's super moisturizing and can be worm alone or as a base for a red or pink lipstick. It swatches clear but becomes a bright fushia on the lips!  It is about $22 for a regula size though which is very pricy.

Clear Clinic Spot Treatment

This fairly effective treatment can be used 4 times a day on acne and I love it! It greatly reduces the size of acne spots and combats the redness! A full size is $35. 

Bare Minerals 5 in 1 Bb Eyeshadow

I is use this little guy as an eyeshadow primer, base, or to add color on the days I want a more natural look! I love that added benefit of SPF included!

MAC shadows

I really got back into eye makeup this month and my MAC shadows came out of hiding! These shadows are super pigmented, last all day and don't crease! Kind of pricy but totally worth it!

Spiked Ring

A fashion favorite I got for $3 at forever 21 this ring goes with almost any outfit and I find it helps accentuate my more edgy ensambels. I'm not a huge fan of rings but I love this one!

Nautical themes ear cuff

This was $7 at hot topic and something I've been really loving it! You can really see it now that I my hair cut into a pixie and the nautical theme is great for summer!

Highwaisted Shorts

$20 at charollette russe these cute peachy high waisted shorts have gotten a lot of wear this July! 

Nintendo DS

I rediscovered my old DS lite this month and I've been enjoying playing some of the old games like nintendogs, sims 2 and cooking mama 2! 

Water Speakers

These speaker were $30 from amazon and I've bee obsessed with them this month even though I got them this past Christmas! They are speakers that Sparta colored water to the best of your music. Great for parties and very relaxing at night or during the day!

so,

That's it! Those are all the things I've really been enjoying this month! I tried to tell you guys where I got the items and how much they cost! Maybe I spiked your interest in something! If you have and enjoy one of my favorites comment and tell me what it is and why you enjoy it! Until next time,

Cheers! <3 :)

-K

*disckaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any brands I talk about. I pay for all items with my own money or are given as gifts from family and friends. My options are 100% my own and origional!*

My Nail Varnish Collection

He y'all!!!

Today I wanted to show off to you guys my fairly small nail varnish collection! Although my nails have be short for a long time I've always painted them and tried to build up a small collection of varnish. I've finally decided to grow my nails out, get organized, and care for them!

For me, everything is organized in a small bin that push under my bed:

In this bin I keep all my nail varnish, my buffer/file, nail clippers, and varnish remover. 

So, that's kind of how I stay organized. But this post is about my varnish not the other things! So, each of my varnishes is organized by brand and I do have a variety if colors. So, I'm going to go through each one, swatch and talk about it!

Love Charollette

Neon pink, neon yellow, and baby pink

These three polishes I got while on a trip to charollette russe, a clothing store in my area, and I couldn't resist! They are $5 a bottle and have very unique colors. However. They are very sheer, very streaky, and it takes four or five coats to look good. It also wear off and chips easily.

Swatches:

Zoya

Odette

Mason

These are two polishes I love very dearly. Both came from my ipsy bag and I used them all winter andcinto spring. Odette is this muted purple and mason is a deep purple with gold and pink glitter.

Swatches:

Odette is on top with mason on bottom. Both very opaque and I adore them. 

Opi

Goldeneye

Spy who loved me

As a big 007 fan I couldn't say no when opi unveiled their James Bond themed nail varnish. I picked up these two colors; both great for the holiday season. They are both glitter polish but not chunky.  The red is perfect for the Christmas season and the gold for special occasions. Both only need one coat on my nails! I could only swatch "spy who loved me" because for some reason I could t get the cap off of "goldeneye" 

Funky Fingers

Electric Blue

Gold

These are five below brand products but they work wonders! The gold works well as a glittery top coat and the blue takes only two coats and doesn't go on streaky! 

Swatches:

Fingerprints

Bronze Sculpture

This gorgeous bronze shade was given to me by a friend. The color is great for fall and extremely opaque.

Sinful Colors

Midnight Blue

This is my perfect very opaque shade of TARDIS blue! I wear it out all the time and it's probably my favorite from my collection!

NickaK

Muted purple 

Another ipsy product. Very similar in color to zoyas Odette and not as opaque. I've used this product once. Not too thrilled. 

Revlon 

Black Lingere

Everyone needs a good black and this is mine! Very opaque. One coat and done. However, stains nails really really badly when you try to remove it. 

Nailtini

Champagne

Kind of streaky on the nails but a beautiful neutral color for everyday!

Essie

For the twill of it

This is a very opaque dual chrome I just can't live without! Saw it, loved it, bought it! 

Everything else in my collection is siny top coat and my Sally Hansen maximum growth base! I hope I have you girls some ideas for nails and varnish colors you might eant! Please leave a comment telling me what was your favorite polish and also give me ideas on what else I should blog about! These are daily and completely for y'all!

Cheers! <3 :)

-K

*disclamier: my options are all my own I am NOT in buisness with any brands talked about in this post or on this blog. I give my honest opinions on all products I review and show and all are bought with my own money! *

A Girls Guide to Red Lips

Hey y'all!

Today I wanted to show you how to get the perfect red lips! I wear red lipstick almost everyday and it takes a while to learn how to do it properly if learning by yourself. So today is going to be kind of a pictorial on how I apply my red lipstick!

So, to start I just did my normal face routine. I started by scooping back my fringe, doing my morning skin are routine and then applying all the makeup I want to wear except for lips. If you want to see how to get my skin care routine I have a blog post on that. The products I've used on my face today are:

Maybelline cover stick in white

Maybelline baby skin primer

NYC smooth skin bb creme in light

Maybelline dream smooth mousse

Pixie bronzer in subtly sunkissed

Elf blush in pink passion

Bare minerals mineral veil

Elf eyebrow kit in medium

Be a bombshell last out mascara

I like to go very minimal when doing a red lip. I also didn't bother with eye makeup today because I'm going to work later and I do a lot of lifting and sweating (I know gross) so I can't really have much makeup on. My normal eye look for my reds lips is a natural eye using Mac shadows in wood winked and Trax with a winged eyeliner! Very natural and makes my lips stand out!

My face without the lips:

I'm obvious not done my hair yet XD my fringe falls in to my eyes so it's not helpful  for makeup. Also, I ran out of cream concar so my acne is very visible which I'm not happy with. But well all just have to deal today! 

So the first thing I do for the lips is moisturize. Sometimes I'll use a slightly tinted base such as my pixie brilliance balm but today I'm doing it with a clear lip balm. I've chosen my EOS balm in the scent honeydew melon. 

This is normally the time that I do my eyebrows, so I can wait while the balm soaks into my lips. Sometimes I'll do two coats if my lips are particularly dry. Moisture is key to a good red lip!

Next I take my Rimmel London lasting finish lip pencil and outline the lips.

This particular pencil is extremely affordable and matches with all the reds in my collection. The color is red dynamite. 

Then you fill in the lips using the same pencil. 

This in no way has to be perfectly clean because we can fix that later. Just make sure it's filled in so the lips are an even surface and the stick has something to stick too.

Now I have several red lip colors in my collection but today I'm going to use my elf crayon lip color in rich red

Use this product or any red lipstick/stain/ crayon to fill in your lips by packing it into a lip brush and applying

Then take the product itself and smooth into all the places you think need a little more color. 

Then I kiss a small square of toilet paper to ensure none get on my teeth. Then I take my Revlon color rust gloss in fire...

 I put this all over the lips to give a glossy affect and seal the other products.

If it is particularly messy I'll take my concealer stick from NYC in light and pack it onto a small brush

I then outline what looks more messy in order to give a nice clean line and a finished look!

My brush unfortunately smudged my product a little today but that's ok! Normally it looks much better than his! XD 

Here's the finished face

I find red lips very classy and sophisticated. They can dresses up or dressed down. They give me a boost of confidence and I wanted you to leant how to do great ones! Hopefully you picked up some tips!

To remove your red lips at night use a piece it toilet paper or cotton ball soaked in makeup remover and scrub lips. Then, put on a coat of lip balm. I use an Estée Lauder makeup remover and blister repair for these steps

Cheers! <3 :)

-K

*disckaimer: as always I am not associated with any brands I meantion on this blog. All my opinions are strictly my own!