My Beauty Preferences

Hello Beauties! I hope you're all having a beautiful Spring weekend!

Today's post is all about the brands and types of beauty products that I prefer using -- From telling you who makes my favorite blushes to which products I prefer on the low-end to higher-end options. Hopefully you'll find a couple of useful tips, a bit of inspiration and as always, I love reading your thoughts in the Comments Section of each post!

FACE:
I'll start out with the face products I prefer. As far as concealer, I really prefer to buy drugstore brands, like Almay's Smart Shade Anti-Aging Concealer. It has great quality and a matching price. I haven't found a stand-out high-end concealer yet, or one that works better for me, so I stick to inexpensive brands.
For Foundation, I like Urban Decay's Naked Foundation and Milani Powder Foundation the most from my makeup collection, so I really have no high-end/low-end stance when choosing one. I just like getting full coverage without heavy makeup.
BB Creams are all the rage nowadays, and I'm on the bandwagon! I love their sheer feel, coverage and skin benefits. My favorite so far is Too Faced's Air Buffed BB Creme Complete Coverage Makeup - Broad Spectrum SPF 20 Sunscreen. It comes with a cute little buffing brush that gives an airbrush-like look, that conveniently rolls up with a cap, that snaps onto the lid of the cream. It's pricey, but much better than the drugstore BB Creams I've used. Plus, a tiny amount goes a long way, so it pays for itself over time. If you love BB Creams as I do, I recommend trying it on your next Sephora visit!

LIPS:
One of the things I'm a real stickler about is lip care. I can't stand getting chapped lips, so I own a bazillion lip balms, give or take a few. I own about equally high-end balms to drugstore brand ones, so I have no preference as long as the balm works. Cake's Pinkberry and Lemon Chiffon scented Lip Butters are my favorite, and they're about middle-end priced. They smell delicious and really do feel buttery, not to mention cure and hydrate my lips... I very much recommend them for chapped lip relief and healing. There's none better!
Lipgloss. This is where I took a strong stance toward only buying drugstore brands, (of them), for awhile now. I own a lot of high-end, pricey lipglosses, but their quality, for me, seem to be the same or less, than drugstore and cheaper beauty brand glosses. MAC makes beautiful lipgloss colors, but they mostly seem thick and sometimes sticky on my lips. I prefer buying tons of drugstore glosses to buying one or two high-end ones, using the same amount of money. Jordana,Rimmel, elf and Hard Candy are a few of my fave brands to buy lipgloss from and my current favorite lipgloss was only $2-3 bucks from Rite-Aid: L.A. Colors Glossin Go! - On-the-Go Pocket Lipgloss in the shade Glam.
With lipsticks, although I love both drugstore and high-end ones, I like the pricier choices better. Some of my favorites are from Too Faced, Urban Decay, Stila and MAC. My newest, and current favorite, lipstick is: Stila Color Balm Lipstick in the color Betsey. It feels balmy and its opaque color lasts a long time. The specific color is hot, hot pink... ooh la la! If you're looking for a hydrating lipstick, Stila's Color Balm is a really awesome line to pick one from!

EYES:
I'll start from the beginning here, which means primer. When it comes to eyeshadow primer, there's only two brands I really like: Urban Decay and Too Faced. A lot of girls swear by either Too Faced's Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion... I use both! If I want a basic, no color primer, I usually use Shadow Insurance. If I want a tinge of color, I use Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion in either Sin or Greed; sometimes the Candlelight version of Shadow Insurance. Eye makeup needs primer for staying power, and eyeshadow primer needs to have the best quality you can get. These two brands offer the best, (which is ahh-mazing!), quality, so you'll never regret dropping a few extra dollars for vivid and all-day wearing eye makeup. Plus, it'll make your cheaper eyeshadows more vivid, so you can wear any shadows you want, with a good primer beneath them.
I own a ridiculous amount of eyeshadows... large palettes, small palettes, singles, high-end, drugstore... I own a LOT. Probably because eye makeup is my favorite to apply on myself and I love having endless color combinations and options. I honestly don't have a high/low-end preference here, as long as I like the shadow color. I prefer using shadow singles most of the time, though. This is because I like choosing my lid, crease and highlight colors individually. It just feels a bit more creative, and is fun to do!
All of my favorite eyeliners are from Stila. They make amazing liners, what can I say? My favorite pencil-style liners are various colors from Stila; my favorite liquid liner is in Stila's famous color: Kitten; and my fave gel liner is the Limited Edition Barbie Loves Stila - Smudge Pot Gel Eye Liner, in the shade: Cobalt Clutch. Other brands that my fave liners come from are: Hard Candy, Urban Decay and Benefit.
I rarely use brow kits or eyebrow pencils, but when I do, I only ever use Too Faced's Brow-nie Eye Brow Pencil in: Blonde-y. It doesn't look fake and offers a hint of color, which is exactly what I look for in a brow pencil.
When it comes to mascara, I usually would prefer buying high-end, but lately I've found some awesome mascaras in the drugstore makeup section.

Free Beauty Events' April Giveaway! [L'Oreal + CoverGirl]

Hello Beauties!

 

Today, I'm going to tell you about an awesome website that's hosting an equally awesome giveaway!  I'll highlight what you can do absolutely free on the website and what you can win in their April Giveaway Contest.

 

 

 

 

Free Beauty Events is your go-to site for the beauty lover.  You can post your own free beauty event - at no cost - as well as find out about what cool and absolutely free beauty events are going on in your area, simply by providing your area code. They have monthly giveaways, like the one I'm showing you today, as well as smaller weekly giveaways.  Basically, if you love makeup and freebies, you should bookmark http://www.freebeautyevents.com on your browser!

 

To Check Out Everything Free Beauty Events Has to offer, Visit the Following Links:

To Submit Your Own Free Beauty Event:  http://www.freebeautyevents.com/submit

To View Product Reviews:  http://www.freebeautyevents.com/beauty-blog

To Enter Weekly and Monthly Giveaways:  http://www.freebeautyevents.com/contest

 

FBE'S APRIL GIVEAWAY:

This month, you can win a beauty package that includes:  L'Oreal Youth Code Day Lotion SPF 30, L'Oreal Youth Day/Night Cream and CoverGirl Cheekers Blush!

10 Prize Packs will be given away, and the contest runs from April 1 - April 30.  Winners will be chosen on May 2 and will be notified by May 15.

 

To Enter This Giveaway:  Simply visit http://www.freebeautyevents.com/contest and supply your name, email (which is only used to contact winners), and your zip code.
 

I wish you all the best of luck on winning one of Free Beauty Events' wonderful April Giveaway packages!

 

Much Love

♥

Leslie





My Spring Manicure

Hello Lovelies! ღ

Today, I'm going to show you my simple and colorful Spring manicure, that I did for the Easter holiday. [You can see the picture of my mani and the nail polishes I used below.]

I painted each nail a different bright color, and adorned them with assorted nail art stickers, rhinestones and spring appropriate images, used from several of my "Fauxnad" Image Plates. I had a lot of fun doing this manicure, as using a different color on each nail and only using bright hues is something I don't usually do -- But I ended up adoring my finished look!

POLISHES I USED FOR MY MANI:
* China Glaze ~ Turned Up Turquoise (Neon)
* China Glaze ~ Pink Voltage (Neon)
* Pure Ice ~ Wild Thing
* Nicole for OPI [mini] ~ No name label; cherry-red color
* Nicole for OPI [mini] ~ No name label; medium purple color
* Konad Special Nail Polish ~ White [For Image Stamping]
* Sally Hansen ~ Double Duty: Strengthening Base & Top Coat

What do you think of my Spring nail look? I love reading your comments!

Much Love ღ
Leslie

My March 2013 Beauty Favorites

Hiya my Pretties!

Today's post is going to feature some of the cosmetics I've been using and loving this month. I picked my top five fave products for this month in the areas of: Eyes, Lips, Face and my current favorite Fragrance. Each product will include a mini review and the photos of them are included at the bottom of this post, in the following order:

FACE:
Physician's Formula ~ Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Bronzer in: Light Bronzer

What first caught my eye about this product was its cute packaging. It looks a lot like more expensive high-end makeup packaging and the bronzer itself is shaped into the form of a sexy corset. I read the package information, which claimed it contains pheromones; that seemed pretty interesting, so I bought it mostly for its fun appeal. [The price is around $13 USD.] Upon opening this bronzer, I was hit with an amazing scent - unlike any makeup I've ever used. It smells sweet, rich and mostly like cocoa - Yum! I've spent years - and lots of money - trying to find the perfect bronzer for my fair skin and I'm happy to tell you that I've finally found the one: my Holy Grail of Bronzer! It gives my skin a subtle warm glow, without making me look orange or fake baked. I don't have to worry about applying a teeny tiny amount like most other bronzers I've used; this one can be applied liberally and it's now a regular part of my makeup routine. A brush is included inside the box, but I prefer using a large face brush for best application. This product can be bought from Walmart and some drugstores.

EYES:
elf ~ Flawless Eyeshadow Palette in: Happy Hour

I bought this palette from Walgreens in an eye makeup box that also included an eyeliner and eyelash curler for only five bucks. I couldn't pass up that deal! This neutral shadow kit contains a shadow for: base, lids, crease and liner but it's definitely not necessary to use them in that order. I've always been amazed by the quality of elf's makeup for its price and these shadows are no exception! They're easy to apply, highly pigmented and long-lasting. Their pretty hues range from vanilla to bronze. I own many neutral eyeshadows and this palette compares beautifully with the way more pricey neutral palettes, such as Urban Decay's Naked 1 and 2. I really recommend picking up an elf eye kit if you come across one at your local Walgreens or Target, because the five bucks you spend on it will be well worth every penny!

LIPS:
Cake ~ Cake Kiss Lip Butter in: Lemon Chiffon & Philosophy ~ The Color of Grace Angel Kiss Lip Gloss in: Pretty Please

With the Winter weather we're still having in Southern Kentucky, my lips have been more prone to getting dry and chapped, and these two lip balms have been their saving grace. I've had both of these products for awhile and turn to them whenever my lips need a healthy dose of moisture. Cake's Lemon Chiffon lip butter literally melts when I apply it to my lips and leaves them with a hydrated shine. It smells sweetly lemony and is one of my fave balms ever. Philosophy's Angel Kiss Lip Gloss is more of a lip balm than gloss, giving my lips tons of moisture, lots of shine and like its name, a kiss of color. It has a light and minty fragrance that feels cooling on my lips. Another thing I like about this lippie is that it has a mirror on the inside, giving it a cute mini compact-case feel. Both of these balms can be bought from Sephora.

FRAGRANCE:
Shakira ~ S Eau Florale Perfume

This perfume captures "girly" in a bottle! It has a light and sexy musky scent of vanilla and berries, with light floral notes. It smells sweet, but not sickly sweet and is a nice perfume for everyday use, yet alluring enough for date nights. Its packaging is chic and cute - a clear glass bottle, with a metallic, baby pink top and matching "S" charm. This is my favorite celebrity perfume to date and I use it daily. You can buy this perfume online from many discount fragrance sites for less than $20 USD, and its retail price is in the $55-65 range.

Have you tried any of my March Faves? What are your current favorite cosmetics? If you have a March Favorites post on your blog, please leave the link in the Comments Section of this post so I can check them out!

Much Love!
~ Leslie

Getting Glittery!

Hiya Beautiful Friends!
I've been very into wearing glittery polish on my nails lately, so I thought I'd share my latest two manicures in today's post.

The top manicure pictured is a new Sinful Colors polish, from their Almost Famous line, by the name: In The Spotlight. It's a very glittery medium green shade, packed full of pink and silver glitter, as well. I painted three coats on each nail for full opacity.

The bottom mani picture is of two new polishes from the Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Toppings line. All of the polishes from this line are glittery, and the bottles are lollipop-shaped, which I find to be uber cute! The polishes are mostly sheer, but with four coats (of each), I achieved opacity. I did this simple - but fun! - nail look by alternating between painting the lilac purple shade, (Chip On Your Shoulder), and the light mossy green colored polish, (Frosted Over), on my nails.

I'm very happy with the results of both manicures, and just adore their glittery goodness! I bought all three polishes at Walgreens; the Sinful Colors polish was $2 and the Wet 'n Wild "lollipops" were $2.99 each. This gave me two manicures for less than $10 combined! I do love a good bargain buy!

What do you think of my glittery manicures? What are your favorite new Spring lines of polish?

Five Money Saving Beauty Tips

Hello Beautistas!
Today, I'm going to share with you all some tips that I use to help save some cash when it comes to beauty spending. These are random tips, that cover all areas of beauty, from samples to makeup storage. Feel free to leave your own money saving tips in the Comments Section of this post!

[1] INVEST IN A GOOD EYESHADOW PRIMER:
Although it may seem costly at first to shell out nearly $20 for a high-end primer, it'll help save you money in the long-run.
Having a good eyeshadow primer will enable you to use pretty much any cheapie eye makeup, and have it last all day, plus be at its highest pigment. This'll save you lots of money, since staying power won't be an issue when you're shopping for eyeshadows and liners... Just leave that up to your lid primer!
(My recommendations are: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance.)

[2] STOP BY THE PARTY AISLE:
If you have tons of makeup like me, I'm guessing you're always looking for ways to best store/display your cosmetic goodies. It may seem like an unlikely place to find makeup storage containers, but trust me, the party aisle at your local retail chain can become a good friend to your wallet!
Pretty much everything that's sold in the party aisle at stores like Walmart is aimed toward children's party favors, and is usually very inexpensive. The plastic cups they sell for around a buck each make for cute storage containers for eye or lipliners, lipglosses, etc. (I keep my eyeliners in a Hello Kitty-themed cup!) Just find one - or as many as you'd like! - that you find cute and appealing, and put your liners or glosses in them for easy access and cheap storage. You can display it on your vanity or put it inside a drawer for better organization. I also love the Chinese takeout style goodie boxes that can be found in the same aisle. They have the same use and are uber cute when put on display on my vanity... and cheap as chips!
Be creative with your makeup storage! The containers designed for cosmetics storage cost a lot more than they're worth, so it pays to think outside the box.

[3] SAVE YOUR SAMPLES:
I know I've said this time and time again, but I can't stress enough how rewarding it can be to save the skincare, makeup and perfume samples you get for free when you buy from Sephora or Ulta, or acquire elsewhere.
Using them can help you choose the products you want to buy or think you should skip. And if you're almost out of something you use regularly, say foundation, having a few sample packets you've saved over time can hold you over until payday! Plus, if you save up enough perfume samples that you like the scent of, you won't have to worry about shelling out the big bucks designer fragrances cost, for awhile.
I have a Sephora hatbox chock full of perfume samples that I like using when I'm in the mood for wearing a new fragrance; and they've also helped me bunches in deciding which scents I love and the ones I want to stay away from... absolutely free!

[4] SIGN UP FOR REWARDS CARDS:
Stores like Rite-Aid, Kroger, CVS and Walgreens offer free rewards cards, that take just a couple of minutes to sign up for. Depending on the store's rewards programs, you can get deals ranging from "Buy One, Get One Half Off" to discounted prices to money, (put on your rewards card), that can be used on your next purchase. You also get money-saving coupons and can take part in promos such as getting sample boxes, once you've spent a certain amount of money on beauty products. Instantly, and especially over time, you'll save lots of money by using your rewards cards!

[5] CHOOSE FAD PRODUCTS WISELY:
It seems as if there are new fads being advertised in the beauty world every other day. It might seem like you need every "must-have" item that comes out, but you really don't. Ask yourself if you really need that new $50 eyeshadow palette or $20 lipstick. You might realize you already have dupes, and if you don't, you can almost always find a more inexpensive dupe - If it's an item you want. Splurge on what you absolutely adore, but pass on what you want to own just for its namesake. If you're in doubt, give yourself time to mull it over or try a similar shade/product from the drugstore beauty aisle before you commit to dropping big bucks on something you may regret buying later.
I used to try to buy every new palette from my favorite big brands, but it got costly, and I came to realize I was buying a lot of them just to have them and not really using them. Don't get caught up in the hype and cute packaging - give more thought to your big purchases when you're wanting to save some cash.

I hope the five tips I've shared with you all in this post help you to save money the next time you go beauty shopping! Remember that quality doesn't only come in a name brand and that thinking outside the box can help you to be more money savvy!

Enter Free Beauty Events' March Giveaway!

Hello Beauties!
Today, I'm going to tell you about an awesome giveaway you can enter, and about the fab website that's hosting it!

You can enter to win one of ten giveaway packages, including: Shakira S Eau Florale perfume, Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat and Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color! This contest runs from March 1, 2013 - March 31, 2013. Winners will be chosen on April 2, 2013 and notified by April 15, 2013. To enter, you just need to go to: http://www.freebeautyevents.com/contest and give your name, email, (which is only used to contact winners), and zip code!

For free samples, free makeovers and a chance to win a monthly giveaway package, as well as a smaller weekly contest prize, go to: Freebeautyevents.com! To find out about free beauty events in your area, simply enter your zip code in the upper right-hand corner of their homepage.