FOTD: Thinking Guerlain Parure Extreme may be HG material.. + Updates & Upcoming Posts!

Hey Everyone! (Long post.. sorry)

I hope you are all enjoying your weekends.. I've had quite a bit of things going on in the past few days so I'm a little backed up on posts that I've wanted to do - as well as e-mail responses & formspring responses. So I truly apologize if any of you have been waiting around for responses - I'll get to them after I finish this post.

After posting my false eyelash tutorial, I was contacted by Revlon to try out some of their eyelashes and let my readers know what I think about them. I received a few different styles in the mail this afternoon - so I should be reviewing them shortly.

Also, I've been dying to try Vichy Dermablend Concealer after seeing and reading so many raves - but from what I've heard it's not available in the US? Does anyone know if the product differs from the "regular" Dermablend Concealer? I haven't had time to research it thoroughly. Anyway - I ended up going to ULTA and swatching all of the concealers and splurging on the "Quick Fix" concealer. I'm really liking it so far. I should have a review on this soon as well.

Some other upcoming posts will be:

Foxy Locks Extensions Review

ELF Natural & Dramatic Eyelashes Review

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation Review (I own the lightest shade for when I have no tan - but I'd like to purchase a shade equivalent to my "usual" skintone so I can give a better review)

Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer Review
Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer Review

Updated Skincare Routine

Updated Foundation Routine

NOTD (Not sure what color yet..)

They are in no particular order, but when I have a to-do list, I typically start with the reviews because they are a little less time consuming. 

Oh! If you follow me on Twitter, you may of seen my tweet where I mentioned I've been thinking lately about dying my hair red. I've had every shade of brown, jet black, strawberry blonde and platinum blonde - but I've never been a redhead. I may try it.. Any opinions?? I'm getting so sick of my hair right now.

Okay, I think I covered most of what I was going to mention.. So here is my face of the day.

For the past few days I have been wearing my Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation. If you read my review for it in December (click here for reference), I purchased it in a shade that was very "off". I have it in #4 and although it's said to match NC40 - I find it to be way too dark and orange/red/pink. So, I only ended up wearing it a few times & put it away - hoping to purchase a white color corrector to lighten it. So, since I purchased Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Foundation in the lightest shade - I decided to mix the two. I took one pump of Guerlain and a little dab of Neutrogena + a little dab of Coastal Scents Yellow Color Correcter (click here for reference) and ended up with a shade that works. 

This foundation works extremely well when applied with the fingers. I apply it to my face the same way I'd apply a moisturizer and it blends seamlessly - REALLY.. I'm not trying to sound fancy. It is literally seamless. I'm not going to lie, every time I read a review for Guerlain Parure Extreme and someone called it a "full coverage" foundation, I wanted to call them crazy. I didn't understand why anyone thought it could be full coverage. I was proved wrong this morning. 

Guerlain Parure Extreme is a different kind of "full coverage" foundation. When you think of full coverage you think Dermablend, Estee Lauder Double Wear, MAC Full Coverage - You know, that really thick foundation that applied opaque. This foundation is so incredibly thin and lightweight and when it's applied with the fingers- it gives a very radiant medium coverage. Well, today when I applied it with my fingers - my foundation looked flawless BUT, it did not cover up my blemishes from my recent breakout. The red still showed through and some blemishes looked like gray spots under my foundation. But my overall skin texture & skintone looked amazing. I had a little foundation left over from what I had mixed, so I decided to take my Sonia Kashuk flat top brush and apply the rest to my face. And WOW. My skin looked perfect. As a matter of fact, too perfect. I looked like a porcelain doll. But the wonderful thing about the foundation is, I still looked radiant and it didn't look heavy or cakey. I have to admit, I was sort of embarrassed to go run errands because I was afraid I looked too fake, but my mom called me "nuts" and we went about our errands.

I didn't powder my face and surprisingly, my makeup stayed put perfectly from early afternoon till night time. Absolutely perfect. I didn't need any touch ups and I couldn't believe that foundation didn't settle into my laugh lines or wear off in my laugh lines like most of my foundations do.

I definitely would say this is HG material and I'm going to continue wearing it mixed with Neutrogena Healthy Skin in Classic Ivory. I would like to try it in shade #3 sometime in the future to see if it's a good match.. maybe I'll pick up a sample at Bloomingdale's to see what the undertone is like in comparison to #4.

Face: 

Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base

Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation #4, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation #Classic Ivory (1 part Guerlain, 1/2 part Neutrogena) and a dab of Coastal Scents Yellow Corrector

Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer #Beige (Under eyes and on blemishes)

Benefit Hoola (Lightly under my cheekbones)

MAC Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder (On my cheeks and up my forehead for warmth)

Sonia Kashuk Creme Blush Duo #Brighten my day (received as an "extra" in a swap - and it's beautiful! I think it's d/c though :( )

Urban Decay Sin Eyeshadow (Highlight my cheekbones & bridge of my nose)

Rimmel Stay Matte Transparent Powder (blotted under my eyes)

Brows:

Make Up Forever Eyebrow Corrector #3

MAC Girl/Boy Brow Set 

Anastasia Highlighting Brow Kit (used the shimmery champagne color as a highlight for my brow bone)

Eyes:

MAC Sorcery Eyeshadow, LE (Applied in the corner crease & smudged on lower lashline for a pop of color & to make my eye color stand out)

MAC Feline Eye Kohl (at the very end of my top lashline extended out)

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

Lips:

MAC Hover Lip Liner

Illamasqua Obey Lipstick (all over lips)

OCC Hush Liptar (added a tiny bit for a pink hue)

MAC Smile Dazzleglass (for shine)

Review: Paul Mitchell Express Style Hot Off The Press Thermal Protection Spray

Paul Mitchell Express Style Hot Off The Press Thermal Protector

Product Information: 

-Protects fragile strands from damage caused by heat styling.

-Boosts hair’s strength, fights frizz and provides flexible hold.

-Adds great memory for effortless curls or smoothing with a hot iron. 

-Rice hull extract builds a weightless barrier between hair and heat styling tools.

-Wheat proteins deliver an extra dose of strength.

SELF Magazine Winner of 2010 for the "Best Heat Protectant".

(Source: http://www.paulmitchell.com)

I haven't tried many heat protectors over the years because I had great luck with the first one I ever purchased and I never felt the need to search for another heat protector. The heat protector I use is Fantasia IC Hair Polisher Heat Protector Straightening Spray, which you can find at your local beauty supply (I buy mine from Sally's) or your local drugstore. Really great product - shields your hair as well as makes it feel silky soft and adds great shine. The reason I tried this product was because my friend purchased a bunch of Paul Mitchell products and the salon gave her a travel size of this heat protectant for free. Kindly, she passed it over to me as she had no use for it. Since I just finished my bottle of Fantasia, I decided to give it a try.

My Review: I read the directions a couple times and it said "Spray onto dry hair before using a hot iron. Style as desired. Spray to finish if needed." So, I did just that. I gave my hair a quick spray and straightened my hair as I normally would. After I finished my hair - I didn't notice anything significant. It didn't really add any shine, make my hair silky and it didn't seem to "conceal" my split ends. My hair was though, very manageable with minimal frizz.

I used this product for a week or so, and I tossed it back in my bathroom drawer as it didn't "wow" me. I didn't feel like it was really helping protect my hair from heat damage.

Decided to try it again - this time, instead of doing a quick spray all over my hair, I decided to divide my hair into 4 sections and spray the ends of each section to prevent breakage from the heat. I then, used my hands to work it through my hair better. I noticed the product feels a little sticky - like hair spray. (How is an alcohol based product supposed to shield your hair from heat damage??) I continued on flat ironing my hair. By the end, my hands were left sticky - but my hair was looking very straight and very manageable. I didn't need to finish my hair off with any hairspray - this product gave my hair a lot of hold. Too much hold in fact. I tried brushing my hair and all of my ends were splitting. My hair was very far from being soft and silky.

The next morning, I woke up and my hair looked horrific. All of my ends were going in every which way and several strands were wavy. There was no way to comb through it - I didn't even attempt it because I would of broken off all of my ends. Usually when I flat iron my hair, its the same exact way when I wake up with minor waves underneath.

Overall, I'm disappointed. I'll be sticking with what I know best. This product is most likely only going to be used as a finishing spray. I don't recommend this product for flat ironing - unless you wash your hair every day. I also don't recommend you to use a lot. This may be beneficial for you if you are curling your hair with a curling iron - as if will give you extra hold. This product would probably work better for fine hair - my hair is dry and thick, and this seemed to make it drier & brittle.

What is your favorite heat protector for you hair? Post it in my comments below!
As always, I appreciate all of your comments!
 

FOTD: Natty MINUS the fake tan + Wearing my Foxy Locks Extensions!

Hey Guys!
I'm on the way out the door - but, I just wanted to do post my FOTD today. It was real simple, nothing special but I decided to go without any fake tan to see how I like being "au natural". I picked up the lightest shade of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation (which happens to be classic ivory - a good match) and I'm really loving the foundation. I'm also wearing my Foxy Locks Extensions - which I'll have a full review of them as well as additional photos later this week.

The photos aren't that great quality.. I always have so much trouble getting decent photos unless I take the photos outside, and it's still too cold for that!

Talk to you all soon!

Face:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation #Classic Ivory (Equivalent to MAC NC10-NC15)

Lancome Effacernes Concealer #Light Bisque (Applied under eyes and to blemishes)

ELF Complexion Perfection (Used only the yellow and green side to set my foundation/tone down any redness)

MAC Sculpting Powder #Sculpt (Lightly in the hollows of my cheeks)

Chanel Bronze Universel (Applied all over my face for some color and applied down my neck)

Illamasqua Lover Blush (On the apples of my cheeks)

MAC Mineralized Skinfinish #Natural Medium & Shimmer (Used the shimmer side all over my cheek bones)

Eyes: 

Wet n Wild Creme Liner (Lined my top lash line and smudged it with an ELF Studio Angled Contour Brush - With whatever was left on the smudge brush, I applied it on my lower lash line)

Covergirl Professional Super Thick Lash Mascara (applied 2 heavy coats to top and bottom lashes)

Brows:

Make Up Forever Eyebrow Corrector #3

ELF Brow Kit #Medium (Used the powder side only to go over my brows)

ELF Brow Treat & Tame #Dark (Used the Tame side to set my brows)

Lips:

Sephora Nano Lip Liner #2

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar #Hush

MAC Myth Lipstick

FOTD: Wearing MAC Morange Lipstick

My hair was originally up in a bun, but I decided to take it down afterward.

 I only took a few photos.. I was in a bit of a rush.. :)

Face: 

Estee Lauder TimeZone (moisturized my face with this prior to application of foundation)

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation #Tawny (applied with Sonia Kashuk synthetic flat top brush)

Maybelline FIT ME Concealer #20 (applied under my eyes)

(no setting powder)

NYX Sand Powder Blush (used as a bronzer on my cheeks, around hairline and forehead)

NYX Desert Rose Powder Blush (used on the apples of my cheeks)

Brows:

ELF Studio Brow Kit #Medium

ELF Studio Brow Treat & Tame #Dark

Eyes:

NARS Bali Eyeshadow (lightly applied all over the lid - stopping below the crease, blended with a brush; free of any eyeshadow)

NARS Coconut Groove Eyeshadow (applied to my top and bottom lash line with a smudge brush)

ELF Natural Lash Kit (applied with DUO dark tone adhesive)

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara (one coat to top and bottom lashes)

Lips:

MAC Chicory Lip Pencil

MAC Morange Lipstick (blotted)

Clear lipgloss (generic)