June/July Favorite Beauty Purchases!

Since July is coming to a close end, I thought I'd go ahead and do a favorite beauty purchases post for the month. I also tossed in some products I discovered in June that I'm still favoring now.

1) MAC 131 Duo Fibre Blush Brush - I purchased this at a CCO for around $25. Reg. $40 at MAC. I completely stopped using my 187 and I've only been using this brush for my liquid foundation. I highly prefer it over my 187. The shape and size is perfect to get around smaller areas that the 187 couldn't. If I end up going back to the CCO and they still have it, i'd probably get a back up.

2) Walmart Powder Brush (High Definition) - This costs around $7 and you can only get it at Walmart. The synthetic bristles are soo soft & it's just an overall great quality brush. I use it for my setting powder and my bronzer.

3) Walmart Angled Blush Brush (High Definition) - I love this brush for applying my blush. It's denser than the powder brush and it's made of the same, soft synthetic fibers.

4) MAC Pleasureful Blushcreme - This isn't something new of mine.. I got it at the CCO months ago & never really wore it. Lately, I started to really love it for a dewy pop of pink on my cheeks. I also love using it on my lips. It reminds me a lot of NARS Honolulu Honey lipstick.. one of my old HG's I haven't purchased in a while.

5) The Body Shop Body Butter - I haven't tried anything from The Body Shop.. but when I spotted this at TJMaxx for $6 after hearing juicystar07 on youtube say their body butters are awesome, I thought i'd give it a try. Run on sentence, much? The scent I got mine in is "Black Velvet Apricot". I'm not sure if it's a discontinued scent, but I love the smell. Its a very feminine, sweet apricot. Oh, and it feels amazing on the skin.. ;)

6) MAC Cork Eye Shadow - I've been into browns a lot lately. I own lots of dark browns, but I don't really have any light browns that are similar to cork. I've been using it on my brows almost every day.. and I love smudging it into my lash line for a natural look.

7) MAC Sorcery Eye Shadow - I love shades like this. It does wonders for my hazel eyes. It's a raisin color (a mixture of burgundy/brown/purple piled into one color) similar to MAC Folie. I love smudging this under my lower lash line. It looks great paired with browns and other neutrals.

8) NARS Galapagos Eye Shadow - A chocolate color with gold shimmer. I love NARS eye shadows. I only have one other.. and they are so amazing. Amazing pigmentation and blends like a dream.

9) Alima Pure Mineral Foundation - Absolutely love this. Great coverage.. will be purchasing a full size to use as a setting powder for under my eyes & face. I'll be getting a lighter shade (Warm 3, equivalent to MAC NC30.)

10) Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Heavenly™ Shimmering Hair & Body Spray - I have become addicted to being shimmery this summer. I purchased this on my b-day (June 2nd) and have used it just about every day on my body. It gives a perfect subtle golden shimmer. I JUST ran out, so I'll be getting another one next time I visit Victoria's Secret. It's $10 at the checkout.

11) Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Foundation (Inspired by Carmindy) - Amazing medium + coverage drugstore foundation. I'll be posting a review soon!

12) Orly Mirror Mirror Nail Polish - It's rare for me to find a nail polish I like so much that when it's time to take the polish off my nails, I use the same color.. over and over. I've been doing that with this color. I wear lots of grays.. so it pretty much matches what I'm wearing all of the time. It's a bluish, dove gray.. different from many other gray nail polishes. Lasting power is also good, it gets me through a week.

13) Covergirl Bronze Fire ShadowBlast - Perfect for every day. Check out my full review here.

14) LA Splash Sparkling Coral Lip Gloss - I purchased this at ULTA on a whim, and I'm so happy I ended up loving it. It's my every day lip gloss. It's a light, warm pink with golden shimmer that makes it appear slightly coral. I love the sponge applicator too. It's longer & flatter than a traditional sponge applicator and slightly slanted.

Here's a swatch on my hand.

And on my bare lips.

15) NYX "Pumpkin Pie" Round Lip Stick - I mentioned this lipstick in June. I've been wearing it almost every day since I purchased it. If I'm not wearing Pumpkin Pie, I'm wearing MAC Shygirl.. :) You can view swatches from my past post here.

What are some of your favorites this month??

NOTD & Review of Eyeko Nail Polishes!

From Left to Right: Vampira Polish (Black with fine red glitter), Tea Rose Polish (A true mauve) & Coral Polish (A bright coral red).


The swatches in this picture are very true to color. Especially "Tea Rose" which looks a little brighter and pink in the 1st picture.

My favorite of all three is the Coral Polish and it's what I have on my nails today!

This is 2 coats, no top or base coat.

My Overall thoughts:
From what I see so far, these polishes are great. Coral and Tea Rose both have a similar formula. They are slightly thick, very opaque & apply very well with no streaks. Two coats is more than enough. Vampira is a little bit of a different formula. It is a lot thinner, and you need around 3 coats to achieve the actual color. I would highly recommend top coats with these polishes so you don't get any nicks on your nails. With thick polishes, they sometimes tend to dry like a soft plastic and you definitely need to protect them.

Eyeko Nail Polishes are $5.50 each and can be found here!


I really like the looks of Posh (taupe), Lilac & Nude.. all pictured above. :)

Do you own any Eyeko polishes? Which are your favs?

Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review, nor am I affiliated with Eyeko. The opinions expressed in this post are from my personal experience in using these products.

What's YOUR favorite beauty book?

I was at Barnes & Noble last week and browsed through the health & beauty/fashion section. Some of them looked very interesting. I unfortunately didn't have much time to look through all of them, but a few titles rang a bell. I've heard a lot about different beauty books, but I've never picked any up.

I'd like to get some opinions & recommendations. Are there any MUST HAVES?

I ended up purchasing one book. It is Scott Barnes "About Face".


When flipping through the pages, I noticed he does lots of contouring with foundations. That's something I've always wanted to do and always wondered.

Contouring arose my curiosity after seeing this picture of Kim Kardashian a while back, with her makeup artist Mario D. I was never able to find information on what exactly he uses or how its done.


I found the book to be very informative, and an overall great read. For me, it was worth it and I can't wait to try some of the tricks!

Do you have any beauty/makeup books? Did you learn new things? Was it worth it?

Get a Sunless Tan Instantly with L'Oreal Sublime One Day Gel!

L'Oreal Sublime One Day Tinted Gel for Face & Body

I discovered L'oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Gel randomly one day while I was at CVS Pharmacy shopping for self-tanner. After reading the information on the front and back of the bottle, it really caught my interest that it's said to provide instant color that can be washed off by the end of the day. I figured it can come in real handy.

Have you ever planned to apply self tanner the night before you were supposed to go somewhere & you accidentally fell asleep & woke up the following morning cursing?! OR, applied a self tanner, went to bed & woke up to NO tan what-so-ever?! It's happened to me several times when trying something new or if I didn't wait long enough for the lotion to dry & went straight to bed (holy tan lines!). With self tanner, you never really know what you're going to wake up to. It may not happen often when using the same products, but on occasion you may wake up to a tan that falls beneath your expectations. That's where this awesome product comes in. I'm starting to sound like an infomercial.

Well, it's obviously not only to fix goof ups. That's just an added plus.

-If you're not a self tan user and you want some color and self tanner makes you nervous.. this is a great alternative.

-Maybe you already have an awesome natural tan and you want something to apply to your skin to add an extra glow and to slightly deepen your tan.

-It's for anyone, of any skin tone that wants some extra color and glow.

-It's a "commitment free" tan.

There aren't many steps to the process and there is no difficult technique to follow. It's not necessary to exfoliate prior to application (although it can't hurt). 

(These are the steps as listed above)

Step 1:

Start out with clean, dry skin. You can moisturize your skin with a body lotion prior to application, but it's not completely necessary. Having freshly lotioned skin, makes the blending time go a little faster (It only takes about a minute anyway). You can always apply lotion afterward to blend everything better. If you're applying this to your legs, shave prior to application. Put on a pair of plastic gloves or you can use a self a self tanning mitt. Put a couple of pumps of lotion in your hand or directly on your skin. It's alright if you under estimate how much to apply. You'll be able to add more without worrying if the color will cake.

**I've made the mistake of applying this with my hands because I figured, it's not a self tanner. But it temporarily dyed my hands & I had to scrub them vigorously for a few minutes to get rid of the color. It washes off a lot easier on your body. Just a little water and soap.. but for some reason, your palms really soak up the color.

Step 2:

Spread the color all over the area you want to cover with your hand. Then, blend the color in your skin using circular motions. If you need more lotion, go ahead and add a couple more pumps. If you see it looking too dark, add a little of your own moisturizer and continue to blend the area in circular motions to lighten it up. Once it all looks blended, let your skin dry. It dries in less than a minute. If you applied a body lotion prior to the application of the bronzing lotion, it may take an extra minute for your skin to dry.

**I love applying a shimmering body lotion after my tan has dried. Even though this lotion has a slight shimmer to it, I love for my skin to shine!

That's it! Once your skin is dry, you can get dressed.

Also, one thing to mention. Once you've used this for the first time, the next time you use it, put one pump (or a half a pump) in the garbage first. The very end of the lotion that sits in the pump tends to harden up and you will end up smoothing around a tiny clump of bronzer with your application.

Here are some addition pictures of me applying the lotion to my FULL arm.

Questions you may have?

Does it rub off on your clothes?

No. If it has dried, it shouldn't rub off. I was nervous when I first starting using it, and applied it to my arms and wore short sleeves out. I thought, what If I rest my arm on something and I'm going to have white marks on my arms?? It didn't end up happening. It has always stayed in place for me. Now, if you're sweating a lot, the color may bleed onto your clothing like any body bronzer would.

It has not stained any of my clothes after I washed them.

If I apply it to my hands, am I able to still wash my hands?

Yes.. but not several times. If I ever need to use it on my hands, I don't spend a lot of time running my hands under the water. I focus on my palms rubbing gently, rinse the soap off and pat my hands with a paper towel. The tan may disappear after a few quick hand washes.. but it shouldn't disappear after only washing them once. Just again, make sure to be very gentle and pat your hands dry.

Happy Tanning!

Have you used this product or a similar product? What did you think?