NOTD: China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le!

Two (2) Coats of China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le and One (1) Coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le is well, the color periwinkle. It's a lavender-blue or pastel indigo. I suppose it depends on what lighting you're looking at the color, whether it appears more blue or purple. My camera doesn't photograph blue-purples well, but I think in person the color is the slightest bit more purple.

The formula is pretty decent. It's creamy, applies easily and dries fairly quick. I did find the 2nd coat to apply slightly streaky, and I could have done with three coats for full opacity.

Overall very pretty color and will look great paired with the neutral colored clothing I tend to wear most of the time. I actually purchased this polish last summer and never wore it until now.. funny, huh?

What's on your nails?

Advice from Wayne Goss on how to make your make-up last!

In this short video, Wayne talks about a big mistake many of us do when we apply our makeup. We combine two things that don't mix. Water and oil. For example, an oil based primer with a water based foundation. It sounds like a good idea - but water and oil don't mix, right? Maybe your foundation has too much "slip" to it, and transfers too much throughout the day. Is it really your foundation to blame? Or is it your moisturizer, primer? Well, it's something we all know from Science 101, but I never thought about applying that knowledge to makeup. 

I thought this vid was really interesting and it made me wonder. 

What do you think? Do you think it makes any difference? Agree/Disagree? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Grow your brows with Castor Oil!

Castor Oil

Castor oil is a highly emollient oil, often used in lipsticks and other beauty aids. Castor oil is the perfect skin care product as it is naturally rich in anti-oxidants and works as a deep conditioner to heal both skin and hair. Because of castor oil's healing qualities, it is often use to soothe skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis and can help to thicken hair and reduce hair loss.  

(Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_2126679_use-castor-oil-as-beauty.html)

Castor Oil for the Brows has a 4.3/5 rating on makeupalley.com, with a 87% re-purchase rate based on 174 reviews. (click here to read reviews)

I purchased my Castor Oil at Whole Foods for less than $5. It doesn't have any real scent/odor, it sort of smells like plastic to me. It's extremely thick like molasses, so you only need a small drop. A little goes a long way. You can use a cotton swab or a spoolie to apply it. A spoolie works a little better for me because my brows are thick, but for those of you with very sparse brows, a cotton swab is the way to go. Apply it every night to your brows, and cross your fingers for thicker brows in the near future.

My natural brows are coarse and thick (my middle eastern genes). I have to trim them every couple of weeks, otherwise the hair would be too long and unruly. I also have to pluck my strays every other day because they grow quickly. When I was younger, I had very large/full brows and at around 13 years old, I shaved them very thin. Although my brows do grow quickly, they aren't at all as "full" as they were before. The hairs never seem to grow in the areas I want them to. Neither of my brows match, and I rely on my side bangs to camouflage the fact that one of my brows is slightly higher than the other. Of course, I fill my brows in, so it's something I always correct, but if they filled in a little bit more, it would be easier to match both brows.

My left brow is slightly higher is also shorter than my right. Although you can't tell because my nose isn't pictured, my right brow reaches the side of my nose as it should, and my left brow is about .5 cm short. The hair doesn't at all grow past that, so I always have to color it in farther, or tweeze my right brow to match. 

Anyway, I'm hoping that with the daily use of Castor Oil, my brows will fill in a little bit more, so I only have to fill them in very minimally. 

I am going to use pour a little oil in a small travel container and apply it to my brows every night. I will keep you updated how well the progress goes. If the progress is minimal, I'll post every two weeks. If I see a difference, I'll be posting every week. So, I'll see how it goes. If you want to keep track of my progress, you can always message me on twitter! (Click here to follow me) 

Castor Oil is a very versatile oil, and can be used for many things. I'm going to try using it as a deep conditioner for my hair as well at least once a week. I tried it out a couple of months back on my hair, and it really seemed to work well. It can be used on any dry areas, blemishes and on your scalp for thinning hair.

Have you used Castor Oil for any beauty purpose? Share your experience in the comments below!

MAC Salsarose & Frankly Scarlet - Loving these bright blushes for the Summer!

MAC Salsarose and Frankly Scarlet Blushes

When summer hits, it's usually the time where we all try to look a little more natural and wear less makeup to avoid any creasing, "melting", or fading the sun and heat may cause.

During the summer, I don't wear as much eye makeup and I try wearing a lighter foundation with minimal powder and of course a bronzer all over. Since I'm taking the focus off of my eyes, it's a fun season to experiment with bright blushes and lipsticks.

When wearing a bright blush or lipstick, you always want to keep the eyes very soft, so it doesn't overpower the look. You can either go neutral, wear a soft wash of taupe, champagne or gold all over your lid, or use a shade that almost matches your skin or keep it bare with a couple of coats of mascara.

Left: MAC Salsarose (satin) & Right: MAC Frankly Scarlet (matte).

Bright blushes might look a little intimidating to those who aren't very comfortable with color, but you can really use any blush and make it look natural by using the smallest amount. Two of my favorite bright blushes are MAC Frankly Scarlet and MAC Salsarose. Both are extremely similar raspberry shades, with Frankly Scarlet being slightly more red, and Salsarose being slighlty more pink. Swatched heavy, you can see the difference, but swatched lightly you can barely tell them apart. The lovely thing about shades like this, is when applied lightly to the face, the color is very reminiscent of the actual reddish hue your face will naturally turn when you blush.