Slider

Alter Ego: Ipsy's October 2015 Glam Bag

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Hey everyone,

Today's blog post I'm going to be sharing with you Ipsy's October glam bag: Alter Ego.

Ipsy.Com

This month glam bag was called Alter Ego so you can explore the other side of you. It feature products from It Cosmetics, The Balm, Nourish Organic, Beauty Without Cruelty, Nourish Organic, Royal and Langnickel, Aurora, MicaBeauty, Touch in Sol, Pur~Lisse, Vasanti Cosmetics, Dr. Bandt Skin Care, Lavanila Laboratories, Ayres, Coastal Scents, Aromachology, Skone Cosmetics, Eau Thermale Avene, Crown Brush, Hey Honey, Laura Geller New York, Delectable, KBShimmer, Peter Lamas, It Hair Care, Eva NYC, Girlacktik Beauty, LeeAnni Eco, Tarte, Balanced Guru, Emite Makeup, and Dose. 

October 15 Glam Bag: Alter Ego 

The products I got were Royal and Langnickel standard eyeshadow shade brush, The Balm Cosmetics Meet Matte long lasting liquid lipstick in Committed, Beauty Without Cruelty no scent body and hand lotion, It Cosmetics Hello Lashes 5 in 1 mascara, and Nourish Organic pure hydrating argan face serum. 

It Cosmetics Hello Lashes 5 in 1 mascara

The first product I got was It Cosmetics Hello Lashes 5 in 1 mascara. It's shown to increase the volume of your lashes by 430%. It's supposed to cover your mascara, primer, growth serum, tint, and curler. The want is create so you can separate your lashes while giving them lift and oophm. It even has a ball on the tip so that you can get the smallest of your lashes or bottom lashes. I love this mascara. I already fell in love with It Cosmetics after going to Generation Beauty. I've tried their 3 in 1 tightline mascara and I was very impressed. This mascara definitely didn't let me down. Take it from someone who has very thin, sparse, and short lashes. The mascara definitely gave me volume and length so it was actually noticeable when I put on my sort of thick eyeliner as well. I always have trouble finding a mascara that actually shows my lashes, but I was surprised with how well my lashes came to life when I used this product. It's definitely a product that I incorporated into my everyday makeup routine.

Beauty Without Cruelty Fragrance Free Body and Hand Lotion 

The next product I got was this Beauty Without Cruelty Fragrance Free Body and Hand Lotion. This lotion contains Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, Kukui Nut OIl, and Aloe Vera just to name to a few things. It's intended to moisturize, soften, and protect your skin. It's 100% vegan, cruelty and paraben free. If you want, you can even add your own essential oils to your lotion to give it a sweet scent. I love this lotion because it's perfect to take with you to class so you're not constantly smelling the room up with your product when you need to moisturize your hands. It's not too oil or too thick either so it applies very smooth and leaves your hands and bottom feeling like a baby's bottom.

Royal and Langnickel Eyeshadow Shader Brush 
The third product I got was this Royal and Langnickel Eyeshadow Shader Brush. These brushes are always color and they are 100% vegan. The are water resistant handles that even have a no slip grip! Talk about easy application ;). They're synthetic brushes that you can even use wet or dry, how awesome is that! What I love about this brush is that it isn't too fluffy. The brush overall is a little flat but it has enough bristles that you can pick up even cream eyeshadows too! I used this to apply a cream shadow on my lower lash liner for my Alter Ego look. I was able to get enough product AND apply it well. Using a patting motion helped get the payoff color very well and it was so easy to clean afterwards. I just use a little bit of baby shampoo and extra virgin olive oil.

The Balm Meet Matte Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Committed

The fourth product I got was The Balm long lasting liquid lipstick in Committed. Let me first start off by saying this isn't the best formula that I've used for liquid lipsticks. To me, it took a lot longer to dry and it had a little bit of a sticky appearance to it. It wasn't my favorite but I did really love the color. This lipstick is intended to be long wear. It has a vanilla mint flavor which smells really good. You're also able to build up the color payoff that you want. This is a pinky nude lipstick color.

Nourish Organic Argan Face Serum
The last product I got was from Nourish Organic and it's their Argan Face Serum. I never really used a serum before so I was very excited to try this! This is not only a serum but it's also intended to really hydrate your face. The Moroccan Argan oil is intended to hydrate your skin, apricot kernel oil is intended to moisturize and soften your skin, while the rose hip oil smooths the texture of your skin AND helps to even out your tone. This product is Vegan, fragrance free, and gluten free. It's also intended to brighten your skin tone, even it out, and smooth your texture. My best tip for this is to make sure you use it on a cotton ball or cotton pad. I never used a serum before so when I went to use it, it just came pouring out of the container. I would highly recommend using something to apply this to your face instead of using your hands. I loved how it made my skin feel and I used this underneath my makeup to give me a great hydrating barrier before my makeup. I don't really know how to use a serum but I'm going to start using it at night to hydrate my skin.


This was the look I came up with using all my products. As you can see the lipstick is a very nice nudish but pink lip. I used to shadow brush to apply the blue cream eyeshadow on my lower lash line. I also used It Cosmetics mascara on both my lashes and my lowers lashes but my eyeliner is pretty thick so you can't see it. This was an Alter Ego look for me because I tend to stay away from too much color especially on the eyes. I'm used to just wearing a winged eye and some dark or red lipstick. This time however, I really tried to incorporate more color by using the pink lipstick and the aqua cream shadow. This is also an Alter Ego look for me because it a different style for me. My style is more classic but with a modern twist to it so it was definitely fun to do. I loved all the products in my glam bag and I really loved this month's theme. It was perfect for me to try out new brands and I just love how great Ipsy is. Remember you can sign for Ipsy by going to their site. It's only $10 a month and you get a great glam bag too. I forgot to mention, the bag is gold on one side and a shiny black on the other. The bags also reflect the theme of the month and that's the best part. So from one beauty lover to another, see you soon! 








How to make you hair feel like it's on Cloud 9

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Hey everyone,

In today's blog post, I'm going to be sharing with you how you can make your hair feel like it's on cloud 9. Yes, if you know me then you know I LOVE Argan oil. I mean, I couldn't live without my Argan oil and my Argan oil deep conditioner. I'm always looking for new products to try and test out.



I'm going to introduce to you a new brand that I have come across. The company name is called Hask, and they have developed many different lines of hair care products for your needs. There's a whole bunch of different sets that they have to try but what I got was the Argan Oil Hair Treatment set. It's a 4 piece set that comes with shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, and leave in oil. How perfect can that get? Usually when you start a new hair system, I find that it's best to use the whole line of products. That way, you're getting the best out of each product that you use because you're using other products that were intended to use with the original product you want to use. 


If you don't know, Morocco is known for having it's great Argan oil. Argan oil is becoming so popular right now that a lot of companies are starting to branch out and get into selling Argan oil products. Argan oil is known as liquid gold because of the great benefits it has for you hair. That's why I love using Argan oil. What's good about Hask is that their products are sulfate, paraben, phthalate, artificial color, drying alcohol, and gluten free! Their Argan oil set is intended to strengthen and restore your hair, it's for dry and damaged hair, and it has a citrus scent. 


If you use these products as a set, I believe that they work wonderful! You can get all the benefits out of it and your hair would feel amazing. This is definitely a special treatment I would say for myself since I like to use the products together. The shampoo still had a lather too it and trust me when I say a little is all you need. It really brings out all the dirt and oil from your hair and the citrus scent is a plus. Normally I don't like using shampoos often because they make my hair feel straw like when I was it out. This shampoo though, my hair felt a little rough but still soft enough. It was the perfect start to your hair routine. Especially if you're a natural haired girl like me and shampooing your hair everyday isn't good. 

I loved the conditioner as well. It didn't lather a lot, it resembled the Wen hair care products, if you tried those out before. The scent wasn't too strong either. I use the time when I have conditioner in my hair to comb it out. I was scared that I didn't put enough conditioner in but when I started to comb it out, I really felt the softness of my hair again. It was like combing silk hair. It's intended to stay in your hair for one or two minutes, but I find using the time to comb my hair is a great way to not only get the product evenly in my hair, but enough time for my hair to soak up everything the product had to offer. 
By far the best deep conditioner I ever used, was this Argan oil deep conditioner. With this product, you could smell the citrus even stronger but it feels like putting butter in your hair. That's the only way I know to describe it. It was so smooth and my hair was so soft that my fingers were gliding right off of it! It was a great deep conditioner to use and I think that if you sit with this under the hair dryer for 15-20 minutes, you'll get an even better feel from it! Usually when I put deep conditioners in, I unfortunately have to also put conditioner in it again to get it back to it's smoothness. With this product, I was able to wash my hair afterwards and not have to worry about it feeling rough again or knotted up! All I had to do was finger comb my hair and it was perfect. 

Of course I LOVED the hair shine oil as well too. Again, my hair felt like silk once I put this product on. The tube was enough for to put in my hair two separate times. My hair is bra strap length, so I was surprised that I didn't need to put a lot it. It was like using the Argan oil products on my hair before actual Argan oil, really helped it to soak in better at the end. The products worked wonderful together and my hair just felt great overall. I didn't have to wait too long for it to dry and when it dried, my hair felt so smooth and clean. It literally felt like it was clouds floating in the air, hence the title of this blog post! If you're going to try out anything I recommend, please check out this product from Hask. I loved using them and I will be purchasing that deep conditioner again! Make sure to check them out here! From one beauty lover to another, see you soon! 





The subscription Box you want to try! PLUS Coupon Code

Monday, October 12, 2015

Hey everyone,

Today I'm here to talk to you about ScentBird. If you don't know what ScentBird is, it is a monthly perfume subscription box for $14.95 a month. You can choose between men and women high end perfumes and colognes. Isn't that amazing?


If you're new to blog, you should check out my previous post for Scentbird. I wanted to share with you all that I was able to get a coupon code for ScentBird for 15% off your order!! How amazing is that? The code is LEANN15. You can use this for your first time trying scent bird. They send you a 30 day supply of perfume each month and the best part is you get to pick what perfumes you want! They have a system where you fill out a questionnaire in order to pick what perfume will suit you best. The company works to bring you scents that they believe you would want! If you check this out, you should definitely let me know how it goes! You can order here. From one beauty lover to another, see you soon! 

How to get THROUGH a breakup

Friday, October 2, 2015

Hey everyone,

Today's post is going to be a little different. I'm going to be telling you how to get THROUGH a breakup because everyone knows that truly getting OVER something takes a while depending on the person. So here, I'm going to show you MY ways that helped me get THROUGH my breakup.


  • Take Time To Yourself
This step shouldn't be explained, but depending on how your breakup went, you need to take time to yourself. If it was a bad breakup but you still find yourself wanting to talk to that person, then you probably need to take time to yourself to see if you actually miss that person or just miss having someone to speak to in general. Often times we tell ourselves that we can't do anything without said person, but when push comes to shove, we still manage to do things ourself! It's going to be so freeing to focus on yourself and only yourself. When you get the time to really think about yourself and your goals again, anything can happen.


  • Write out your feelings
I know, this sounds so cliche but it works. Get a journal or a notebook and take your time to write about how you feel about everything pertaining to the breakup. Often times there's a lot of questions that go unanswered and instead of trying to talk to the person about the issues you're having, write them out. Sometimes we can answer our own questions just be sitting down and really thinking. Maybe all the signs were there but you didn't see them yourself. This is the time to get all your feelings out about the person. Bad and good. Remember, you're writing to yourself so the only response your going to get is your own. Take this time to write about how you truly feel and the weight will be lifted off your chest. 

  • Spend time with your friends
This step might sound cliche as well, but you really want to get back out there with hanging out with friends. Especially if you're feeling in a place of doubt and alone. You can take this time to get back to your friendships if you have been neglectful to them during your breakup. Remember, it's okay to take time yourself, but you don't want your friends to feel like your leaving them in the dark. You don't have to get too into details of your breakup if you want to talk about it, but let them know that you're okay and make sure you can reach out to them if your feeling down. Most of the time, our friendships last longer than our relationships so you don't want to harm that relationship either. You're important, but so are your friends. 
  • Get back into hobbies
This is a step that will help you focus back on your future and your goals. Take this time to focus on what you really want to do. Were you writing a blog but gotten into a slump? Find some inspiration and jump back into it! It's crazy with the way positivity shines through the darkness. I know you're feeling down now, but getting back to what your passionate about is really going to help you. You never know, there can be opportunities out there that are just waiting for you! So go ahead and get back into what makes you truly happy. Don't let the failure of your relationship diminish what you're really passionate about as a person. Remember, you can control how you let someone make you feel. Instead of feeling down in the dumps, even though that's okay for a while, take this time to be positive and look at all the good in your life. 

  • Cry it out
This is the most important thing that helped me with after my breakup. I took the time to actual get my feelings together and cry out all the hurt and pain. Whatever you're feeling, cry it out. Even if you're happy. Cry out the fact that you either moved on from a harmful relationship or that you two ended on a good note even though your upset about it. Don't let anyone tell you that you should hold in your tears. One of the healthiest things to do is to acknowledge our feelings and let them out in a healthy way. Crying may not seem the best right now, but trust me. You don't want to harbor your feelings inside because then you're just going to explode one day and that's going to be a session you don't want. You want to be able to control how much you cry and for how long. So take some time to yourself in your room if you have the privacy or take a bubble bath and let your feelings out there.

  • Talk to said person when YOU'RE ready
If you want to keep a friendship with your ex, make sure it's when you're ready. Nothing is harder than trying to be friends you're still in love with. I know that it's going to take some time to get out of your in love feelings, but you really need to take time to yourself and get back to the friendship when you're ready to. If they are a good person overall, they will understand that you need the space. You don't have to quit talking to them cold turkey, but tone it down some. If you want to stop talking to them cold turkey, you can do that too, after you write out all your feelings. That way you don't get the urge to try and talk to them. You want to show yourself that you will be okay without that person and if you truly want a friendship. This period will help to let you know if you had a healthy or unhealthy relationship with that person and if a friendship is even worth it. Again, an understanding person will let you have the time to yourself. Someone who only cares about them self will be mad at the idea. Just as long as you remember, now is the time for YOU. Do what makes you happy and no one else. If it means not talking to that person again, then so be it. You have your whole life to meet someone great.  

Remember, it will be okay and you WILL get through it. It's okay to be sad for a while or even angry, but don't let that consume you. You want to find a healthy way to help you get THROUGH your breakup and not OVER it because again, it takes a while to truly get over your feelings. I'm still in the process of getting "over" my feelings for my ex, however I'm getting THROUGH it in a healthy way. I can't tell you how to get over your relationship but I can certainly give you tips to get through it. I hope you take this well and if there's anything you want to add, just message me! From one beauty lover to another, see you soon!



CopyRight © | Theme Designed By Hello Manhattan