YouTube Channel

My YouTube Channel is now up and running ladies!

Please go to YouTube.com/TheBeautyYouWear to check out tutorials and fall 2014 looks (:

ALL ABOUT BRUSHES: My Top Picks

New Video: My favorite face brushes, brands and a few tips for a flawless look!

Enjoy!

RIMMEL LONDON Lastin Finish by Kate Lipstick swatches



TOP LEFT TO RIGHT -- 113, 14, 101 BOTTOM -- 104, 12, 110

NOTE: Number 12 and 110 are ALMOST the same except 12 has more of a coral undertone and
110 is more of an orange under tone. You can definitely get away with only buying one since
they're almost the same! 

INSTAGRAM: TheBeautyYouWear
Let me start this post by letting you ladies know, I am a lipstick junkie, YES, yes I am.
I AM that person that buys lipsticks just because they're on sale and I convince myself that I don't have a similar color even though I already have it. It's a bad habit but I can't help it!

I recently went to Walgreens and saw that they had the Rimmel London by Kate Moss lipsticks for $3 each, regular price $5.49, soooo of course I had to try them out. It was seriously the packaging that caught my eye! They're just so cuuuute!! I had read a couplee of reviews on them before so I thought I would give them a shot. I must admit I don't normally buy drugstore lipsticks besides NYX Cosmetics because there's some drugstore lipsticks that look nice but have no darn pigmentation! So I picked up two colors to try out. I picked the two lipsticks with the black container, honestly I don't know what the difference is between the red and the black packaging.

FIRST IMPRESSION: All six of the lipsticks that I have are superrrrr creamy and pigmented. Even the nude color goes on smooth which is normally a hard color to even out. The consistency of these sort of reminds me of the MAC satin finish. They have a really nice sheen and they go on super smooth even if you don't prep/moiturize your lips beforehand. HOWEVER, OH EMMM GEEE, the smell on the red containers is SOOOOO strong. It's such a strong perfume scent that it's overwhelming once you put it on. The black ones also have a scent but that one I could surpass since it's not too bad BUT deimmm the red one is soo strong that the first couple of times I applied it I was grossed out. I ain't even lying, i'll keep it real LOL I got used to it after a while because the scent does fade but yeah don't say I didn't tell you so!
Anyway, here are the swatches!

                                        XOXO,

HAIR TREATMENT: Coconut Oil

Is it obvious that I'd practically try anything to have healthy and shiny hair? Maybe it's not obvious now, but you'll see after reading this HAHA I have tried mayo, eggs, olive oil, I haven't tried the avocado yet but I just might need to soon. So, as you can see from the pictures above, my hair is super long. It's down to my waist in long layers, well they use to be short layers but now they're all grown out (your girl needs a haircut ASAP!) I have thick hair and I do dye it dark brown every couple of months. Considering that I dye my hair, it can tend to get a little dry sometimes which is why I have tried 39830592840934 conditioners and treatments to help. Needless to say I STILL haven't found my holy grail conditioner. I have even tried the WEN conditioner, $34 per bottle, and I definitely DID NOT like it, waste of money to be honest with you.
Anyway, I saw one of my friends on Instagram (my girl Mayra, HEY GIRL HEY!) post a picture about using coconut oil for damaged hair so of course I asked her about it! She said it worked well for her so I thought i'd give it a go! It's funny because I had bought coconut oil months ago (Sprouts Market for about $5) thinking I would actually use it to cook but that never really happened so using it on my hair worked out perfectly.
GET TO THE POINT VIV: ok, Just like in the pictures, I started by applying small amounts of coconut oil to my ends. I didn't want my hair to be left all greasy which is why I applied in tiny amounts. You definitely DON'T want to shower your hair in the oil or else it will take you 50 washes to get it off. I worked my way up to my roots but I didn't add any more product I just used the oil that was left on my hands. After I was done greasing up my hair, I put it up in a bun and left it in for 15-20 minutes.
RESULTS: I have only done this treatment once. I'll be completely honest with you and it didn't WOW me at all. I washed it off with the Kerastase Bain Satin shampoo and I let my hair air dry. Surpringly, my hair wasn't greasy at all which is was great! I hate when you try an oil based treatment and it leaves you looking like a cow licked your head LOL . My hair did softer but nothing exaggerated. I will probably try this a couple more times and hope for better results but I'll keep you updated.


                                                   XOXO,

NYX Matte Lipstick -- review and SWATCHES

Let's keep this one short and simple. I'll start by saying that all of you must try these at some point in your life! The sooner, the better! LOL for real though, I purchased these items with my own money at Ulta,$5.99 each BUT I bought them when they were having a buy 1 get 1 50% off soooo I paid about $27 for all six colors. BY THE WAY, Ulta is having the same sale right now so I'd say you check it out if you like the brand! No coupon needed. Anywho, I haven't tried any other lipsticks from NYX but these matte ones are amazing! Super pigmented although they have a matte finish. I'd definitely recommend you moisturize your lips before you apply the lipstick because considering they are matte you don't want your lips looking all dry or else they will NOT look nice. Don't say I didn't tell you so!

Out of the colors I picked, five of them are bold, bright colors that are wearable during this spring/summer season. Like I said before, the pigmentation is amazing and all of them glide on smoothly, not complicated like some other matte ones tend to be. Well, let me rephrase that, all of them are amazing EXCEPT for the nude color you see below. Out of the six colors, that one would be the only one i wouldn't recommend. I don't know what it was about it but that color was so difficult to apply evenly. I literally had to apply like 4 layers of it for it to even look decent, but maybe its just me. Yeah, definitely a no-go BUT the remaining five are seriously gorgeous!!!!

TOP: Left-Right: Shocking Pink, Angel, Indie Flick. BOTTOM: Perfect Red, Alabama, Nude

NOTE: these lipsticks are matte, the reason they don't look completely matte in the pictures is because I applied the Victorias Secret soothing balm beforehand. I don't like lipgloss so I use the balm before applying the color to add a bit of shine and not have them looking so dry. If you don't apply anything the colors will be completely matte.

                                                          XOXO,

All about concealer DAY 3 -- MAC Studio Finish

MAC MAC MAC.

I am definitely a MAC girl. I love everything MAC! MAC lipsticks, MAC blushes, MAC powders... OK, you get it. Needless to say i'll be reviewing a MAC concealer today!

MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 concealer. man, oh man, oh man, this concealer is something else. When I first purchased this item ($18 at MAC counter) I hated it because, just like the Tarte one, the consistency is really thick and YES! it also creases just like the Tarte concealer HOWEVER the formula for the Studio Finish concealer is NOT meant for the undereye area... I obviously didn't know that.
The lady at the MAC counter specifically told me that this concealer is meant to conceal blemishes. IT'S AWESOME at doing what it's meant to! Look at the pictures I included below to see for yourself. Since I normally don't have problematic skin I use this as an eyeshadow base to conceal the small veins I have on my lids. It's wonderful!

recap: NO, don't apply on undereye area. YES, use it as an eyeshadow base or to cover up any blemishes, redness or scars.


RATING= 8

For the sake of demonstrating the coverage of this concealer, I marked my wrist with a red lip liner and then covered it up by dabbing the concealer with my ring finger.
Pictures are untouched, just cropped.

NOTE: Obviously the concealer doesn't match my wrist >.<

                                                 XOXO,

all about concealer DAY 2 -- Tarte Smooth Operator

Day 2 --- Lessss go! Let's get right to the point. ahhhh, the Tarte Smooth Operator. I bought this concealer about a year ago, Sephora $22 in Medium, and let me just say it's great but it's not my favorite. It's like a love/hate relationship with this gal. Here's why; The concealer has a thick consistency so I prefer to apply it with my fingers since it warms up the product and makes an even application easier. If I apply it with a brush it tends to leave streaks, so fingers is the way to go FOR SURE. The coverage is actually amazing; it does cover any dark circles or blemishes you have beautifully HOWEVER if you do purchase this strictly for your undereye area it might dissapoint. Unfortunately it DOES crease and sets in fine lines (insert sad face here) LOL considering it does have a thick consitency the creasing is just awful *womp womp womp*
RATING= 7
SOOO, with that said, YES I do recommend this product for anyone who uses concealer to cover up any blemishes, redness or scars BUT I don't recommend this to those who only use it for the dark circles, unless you like creasing ... which, the answer to that should be NO ONE. Let's be real, it ain't cute =D

                                                          XOXO,

All About Concealer--Day 1-- Benefit Boi ing

So this week I want to do a series of posts on concealers. Sound good? I recently started using concealer on an almost-daily-basis because I never really had the need to... until now... I say almost-daily because there are days that I rather sleep in than to do my make-up. Sometimes I wake up and my undereyes look normal and some days I wake up and my eyes be looking like crap HAHA let's me honest now, no need for lying pretending like we wake up looking glam >.<

Most of the concealers that I'll be talking about I've had for quite a while so I have actually used them more than once and for short/long periods of time.

I'll be rating each of these from 1-10 on overall performance, 10 being the best. 

left-right: Maybelline FIT me concealer, Laura Mercier secret concealer, Lancome illuminating concealer, Benefit Boi ing, MAC studio finish, and Tarte Smooth Operator.

Let's start today with the Benefit Boi ing concealer. The one I have is actually a travel size, $12 at Ulta, because I wanted to try it out before I invested $20+ on it. The travel size also comes with the Benefit Lemon Aid correcting cream, so I figured it was a better deal. Anyway, I have a previous post on this concealer but i've had plenty of time to use it since I wrote the other review so here's what I think about it a year and a half later. This concealer is superrr smooth and easy to apply. I apply it on to my undereyes with my finger and then I blend it out with my beauty blender sponge. I really like the product but I can say it's definitely not my favorite. It goes on smooth and looks nice but it does crease after a couple of hours. The coverage is OK. I'll say it is medium coverage and you can build up the coverage but that will just make it crease sooner.
RATING: 5
I definitely recommend this product for a quick and natural day look to run errands or hang out with your gals but definitely not for a night out in town.

Boi ing Concealer in Medium 02. Picture with flash.

                                                      XOXO,

HOOK MY GIRLS UP with some Steve Madden fun!

If you love Steve Madden, you'll LOVE this! Spring is here and summer is fast approaching, so I've been on a hunt to find thee cutest sandals and who else to turn to but my man Steve (Madden that is *woot woot*) I can always count on them to have the sweet deals and stylish footwear.

For real though, my wallet will definitely not appreaciate this right about now but I couldn't help myself! They're having their frieds and family discount right now so you get 25% off entire purchase COUPON CODE FRIENDS25 BUT they have too many restrictions for that offer so I used a 20% off when you buy $100+ coupon that I found online instead :) COUPON CODE MAYSM8 So... Here's what I ordered:

(YOU SHOULD KNOW: yes, i bought this with my own money. NO, no one is telling me to do this.)

BJEWELED's original price is $89.95 but after the 20% discount I got it for $71.96

COMMA's original price is $59.95 but after the dicount I got it for $47.96

DEAL!

useful FYI -- the friends and family discount, 25% OFF, didn't apply to the BJEWELED sandal so that's the reason I used the 20% instead :) Go on ladies, HAPPY SHOPPING!



                                                XOXO,

Winter Smoke: Smash Box Master Class Palette II

INSTAGRAM: thebeautyyouwear

Let's get right to it! OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Smash Box palette! It has everything you need in ONE! I purchased mine at Sephora a couple months back for but lately I've been using it excessively... which is a good thing eh! this palette includes 28 beautiful eye shadows, which include matte shadows and shimmer, four gel liners (bronze, purple,blue and black) six blushes and two cheek highlighters


QUALITY of the products
This palette was the first Smash Box purchase I've made and I was definitely impressed. All the products in the palette are very pigmented but some shimmer shadows do have minor fall out but it's OK because they look fabulous and there's SOOOO many looks you can do with all the colors! I love the cheek highlighters, they're AMAZING and I love that they don't crumble when you apply them. A lot of highlighter can look cakey but these have the perfect amount of shimmer for a natural highlight. I honestly haven't tried the gel liners only because my go-to liner is my Maybelline Eye Studio Eyeliner but I swatched these on my hand and they looked to be okay but I'll have to give those beauties a try sometime.

WARNING! I MUST say that the packaging for this palette SUCKS. I had to exchange mine twice because the eye shadow pans kept falling since they weren't glued all the way AND the case is supposed to be magnetic and mine doesn't work but aside from that IT'S STILL worth the money! Thumbs up from me!

Anyway, here's how I got the look I have on the picture above!

Apply #1, Amethyst, all over the lid with any flat brush.
Apply#2, Aubergine, lightly on the outer corner and blend. Apply as needed to darken the color.
Apply #3, Blackout, on outer corner right next to #3 and blend but make sure you don't completely wipe out Aubergine.
Apply #4 on inner lid to brighten up the color, I applied two coats of this to make sure it was light enough and then blend it all together. Make sure you don't leave harsh lines on your crease.

 REMEMBER it's better to apply the shadows in small amounts and add as you go (to darken) instead of just packing on the color all at once, which makes it almost impossible to blend!

                                                       XOXO,