ULTA HAUL!

Hi Gorgeous!

As I mentioned in my last post, Top 5 Looks of the Golden Globes, I placed a pretty large order with Ulta. For those of you who don't know what Ulta is, it is the baby of CVS (or any drugstore) and Sephora should they decide to 'hop on the good foot and do the bad thing!'- Austin Powers!

Its the perfect in-between store, with loads of high end products and the latest drugstore beauty lines, not to mention a Salon inside and a plethora of gorgeous hair tools and products.

I received a 20% off coupon and decided to put it to use on some products I was very interested in.

So here we go :

1. Neutrogena Makeup remover cleansing towelettes, night calm.  This is the only purchase I made that was not a 'new' product to my regimen.  I use these towelettes every night.  They take off my makeup easily with little to no force, the lavender is very calming for the skin and the pack last me at least a month.  This is a HOLY GRAIL item :)

2.  Mario Badescu Skincare, Glycolic Acid Toner.  This is a new product for me and I am very excited.  It has a 5 star rating on Ulta and has various other reviews that are in its favor all over the web.  I needed a toner that wasn't at the cosmetic counter price point.  I hope this meets all my expectations for the $18 it cost.

3.  Living Proof, full root lifting hairspray is also another new purchase.  I had received a sample of some items in the Living Proof collection (redeemed with Sephora beauty points) a few months back and loved the products in there.  This is new to the line, and as I am always trying to get more lift form my roots I jumped in and bought this.

The Goods <3  

4.  it COSMETICS, Vitality lip flush 4-1 reviver in Je na Sais Quoi.  it COSMETICS has just hit our market and is only sold at Ulta.com (a limited few of their stores carry it on shelf yet).  I have a CC cream from this company and it is amazing so after some research, I purchased two items and this is one.  PS.  I tried this right out of the box (hello Ms.Impatient) and OMG like a satin pillow case for your precious lips.

5.  it COSMETICS, Bye Bye Under Eye corrector concentrate cream was my second 'it' purchase.  With a mother load of skincare products in it AND corrective color, why wouldn't someone like me, with dark circles, try it!  I have yet to use it but the consistency feels nice, light.  Although I do fear its potential for creasing under the eye mid-day (I'll keep you posted).

6.  Philosophy, hope in a jar hydrating foundation in shade 5.  I have very little form Philosophy despite their rave reviews.  I am very excited to try this, it is 1 of 3 foundations they just released.  The shade seems spot on (its always so hard to pick out colors online) and the texture feels hydrating and light.

7.  bareMinerals, Marvelous MOXIE Lip gloss in Heart Breaker.  Their newest lipgloss for the Valentine's Holiday.  As mentioned in my Sephora Haul, I recently bought a gloss from the BUXOM line, which has been compared by others to Bare Minerals.  Since I truly love the Buxom gloss (LOL /cute moment: my fiancé sweetly said "my lips feel cool and tingle when I kiss you") I had to quiet the mind and try the bareMINERALS to see if they can compare.  The color online looked fabulous and it did not disappoint in person.

8. LIPSTICK QUEEN, All you need is nude gift set immediately caught my eye with just its name!  I am such a sucker for nude lips :)  All the products are full size and the packaging is so sleek.  It is totally expensive ( 3 lipsticks, one lipstick pencil, and a gloss) but I have faith it will be worth it.

A Closer look at Lipstick Queen, All you need is Nude, wanelo.com

Cheer to a beautiful you,

           *MKG

Top 5 looks of the Golden Globes

Hi Gorgeous,

Ok so If you are like me, then the Golden Globes this year didn't provide much inspiration :(
The Oscars better step it up!  From dresses, to hair and makeup I was left less than satisfied.

However, in light of the globes and the great hosting that was Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, here are the top 4 makeup looks I liked from the night:

www.rouge18.com

Reese Witherspoon:  On trend with the bronze tones, which also happened to look amazing with her blue eyes.  Cheeks and Lip coordinated well with mellow nude/bronze tones. The overall look tends to be more matte, i would have liked to see a bit more dewiness around her cheekbones. Overall, nothing too 'glam' and perfect for any summer occasion.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Olivia Wilde: everything about her look was gorgeous.  From the green dress and ombre hair, to her plum smokey eye and nude lip!

This look could easily be replicated with as little as 6 products!
(Any foundation, Plum shadow stick, black eye liner, back mascara, rosy nude tint stick for lips and cheeks, nude gloss)

probeautyblog.com

Sandra Bullock:  Anyone else think her dress was perfect for her?! Loved it.  Her makeup has that very 'everyday' appeal.  I happened to be drawn to her lip color and the satin finish to her foundation.  This rosy-mauve is exactly what many of us try searching for in stores, but just can't find (gut tells me its a lancome lipstick- satin finish).

bellasugar.com

 Julia Roberts:  The makeup look her MUA chose, really brought out the color of her hair. Black kohl rimmed eyes, coral/rose cheeks and rosy lined lip with a pink based nude lipstick really did her justice.  She looked great!

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Emma Watson: I know the talk of the town was her outfit, but I must say her makeup matches the sexy/flirtatiousness of her outfit to a 'T'.  The overdrawn eyebrows is on trend with the latest runway looks.  The lightly smoked eye with a pink lip really brings that youthful pop to her look.  

Again, another look easily created with little to no product and most absolutely at the drugstore price!

Let me know what some of your favorite looks were!  Stay tuned for an ULTA haul coming soon :) !!!

Cheer to a beautiful you,

           *MKG

Prep, Set, & Go! Your review on a prep srpay and the ever so popular setting sprays

Hi Gorgeous!

Let's tackle the realm of prep and setting sprays!  It has been years since setting sprays hit the market but as they become more mainstreamed, the options have grown.  Today I want to review for you 3 setting sprays and the only prep spray I own!

Prep Spray:  Urban Decay B6 vitamin infused complexion prep-spray hit the market in the summer but did not take off as I thought it would ( at least form my POV).  The spray itself claims it "preps and hydrates as it reduces redness, minimizes pores and absorbs oils.  Vitamin E provides antioxidants, and willow bark (rich in natural salicylic acid) aids cell turnover. For all skin types" Now If that doesn't sound great to you, than I don't know what does!  It immediately caught my attention as its providing your skin with an assortment of nutrients via mist so its one less product caked on your skin.
As Urban Decay sprays are produced by SKINDINAVIA, I also felt that the product would be great. Aside from feeling refreshing on the skin and smelling nicely, I haven't really seen a change.  I do not feel that it minimizes my pores and since I do not have redness I can't say that it reduced it.
To purchase or not to purchase?  I say, skip it :( as much as I want to recommend it, I just can't justify it. First, it is $33 .... yeaaahhh $33 is a lot to spend on just a prep a pray that feels great on the skin.

Setting Sprays: M.A.C Fix + / Urban Decay All Nighter/ Urban Decay Chill
M.A.C Fix+ : $21 found at any M.A.C counter or online (sometimes at the Estee Lauder Companies Cosmetic Company Store, aka The CCO), was one of the first on the market and still my favorite.
It's fine mist coats the face with only 1-2 sprays.  Its light in weight and texture and there are rarely any heavy droplets to worry about.  It refreshes the face and keeps makeup looking more 'alive' when using only matte based products.  I will say that after a lot of uses and the amount of product decreases, it tends to spray less 'delicately' and sometimes a droplet comes out as apposed to mist, I just quickly dab it off :)

Urban Decay All Nighter:  $29 found at Sephora, Ulta, and online.  It too is a light weight mist that helps set your makeup.  This one specifically promises to keep your makeup on and fresh all night long (hence the name).  I would say, I agree!  I do feel that this spray tends to be more long lasting than the Mac Fix+.

Urban Decay Chill: $29 found at Sephora, Ulta, and online.  It is just like its predecessor, all nighter, is fine in its mist and keeps makeup on.  Although initially providing a cooling effect on the skin (therefor the name 'chill') it is not something I specifically look for, as any spray applied to the face would feel as such.

There is one more setting spray by UD known as De-Slick, which I have yet to try mainly because I use a matte primer to de-slick my oily spots when desired.

Overall I love all 3 and would recommend them if asked.  Of course explaining that it just makes more sense to go for the UD all nighter as opposed to the Chill.  Although I am sure you may use all 3 on your face to act as a light primer as well, the M.A.C Fix+ is the only one I use.  Simply because it feels better on the bare face and does not tighten/dry skin as I feel the UD does.

Recap- No to prep spray.  Yes to Fix+ at a great price.  Yes to UD all nighter for the long/sweaty night at the club!

Hope this was useful to you and please let me know if you have a setting spray that you recommend I try :)

Cheers to a beautiful you,
           *MKG