My Ombre Hair Experiment + How I Achieved It!

I've been wanting a change with my hair for a while now, and after procrastinating for months, I decided to finally "ombre" or "dip-dye" my hair. 

The ombre hair trend has been really big these past couple of years among celebrities, bloggers, and well - what seems like everyone. It's in fact so popular, that there are countless tutorials on blogs, Youtube, etc on how to achieve the look yourself with a couple simple tools.

What does ombre mean? Ombre (a french word) specifically means "shadow" or "shade". If you own a lot of French cosmetics, you may have spotted the word here and there - such as Chanel Ombre Essentielle Eyeshadow or the lovely Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Eyeshadows. When referring to clothing, hair, etc, it simply implies a "gradient", a graduation of a color from light to dark, or vice-versa.

So it makes sense to name this hair trend "Ombre hair", as it's a gradient of hair color. 

Here's are a few examples- 

Neutrogena Shine Control Makeup - New in Drugstores + Some Swatches!

I spotted a bunch of new products at my local CVS last night. Displays have been popping up in drugstores over the past month, but it's the first time I've seen the display for the new Neutrogena products. There were sample packets for the liquid makeup, so I thought it'd be the perfect swatching opportunity! haha.

I'm going to go over the line briefly - swatches and comparisons will be at the end of the post.

Neutrogena Shine Control Liquid Makeup SPF 20 ($12.99)

Neutrogena Shine Control Makeup helps provide 8 hour shine control in a lightweight, breathable formula. Shine Control Makeup blends perfectly for natural-looking coverage with a soft, matte finish. Broad-spectrum SPF 20 helps protect against sun damage.

• 8 hour shine control
• Lightweight, breathable formula
• Won't over dry skin
• Broad spectrum SPF 20

Available in eight (8) shades: Classic Ivory, Natural Ivory, Buff, Nude, Soft Beige, Natural Beige, Fresh Beige, Warm Beige.

Neutrogena Shine Control Powder ($11.99)

Neutrogena Shine Control Powder helps skin stay shine-free and fresh-looking all day. The lightweight powder with patent-pending rice protein technology acts like a sponge to absorb excess oil and instantly eliminates shine for a fresh look that lasts for 8 hours. Layers invisibly over makeup with a matte finish.

• Blends invisibly into skin for a flawless look that’s never overdone
• Perfect for on-the-go touch ups
• Won't over dry skin or clog pores

Neutrogena Shine Control Primer ($12.99)

Neutrogena Shine Control Primer helps makeup apply more smoothly and last longer, while optical modifiers help minimize the look of pores. Can be worn alone or under foundation. This lightweight, non-greasy formula with patent-pending rice protein technology acts like a sponge to absorb excess oil so skin stays shine-free and fresh looking all day.

• 8 hour shine control with or without makeup
• Extends the wear of makeup
• Matte finish
• Won't over dry skin or clog pores

*Prices may vary based on location.

The liquid makeup has same shades as Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup, but Healthy Skin has 12 shades in total, and Neutrogena Shine Control Makeup has 8 shades in total. It's still very new though, so time will tell if additional shades will be added to the line in the near future when the product fully launches.

The sample provided #10 Classic Ivory, #30 Buff and #60 Natural Beige. I actually own Classic Ivory and Natural Beige in Healthy Skin, so I swatched them below to compare.

Swatches from left to right: Neutrogena Shine Control Classic Ivory, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Classic Ivory, Neutrogena Shine Control Buff, Neutrogena Shine Control Natural Beige, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Natural Beige, MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC15, MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30.

It appears the colors seem to be almost exact matches as Healthy Skin, so whatever color you use in Healthy Skin should work in the Shine Control line. I notice that the Shine Control shades are a touch more yellow.

I did only grab one sample (I don't want to be greedy!) so I can't comment much on the foundation itself, as I really only had enough to swatch the colors.

This foundation is best suited for oily skin. It's silicone based, so for those who do well with silicone based foundations (For example: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hr Foundation, Physican's Fomula Youthful Wear Foundation, Mousse Foundations, etc.) may like this foundation.

NYX Sand Pink Lip Liner Pencil Review!

NYX Sand Pink Lip Liner

NYX Sand Pink Lip Liner ($3.49) is cool medium pink with a matte finish.

NYX Slim Lip Pencils are available in a huge variety of shades (60 to be exact) so you'll be sure to find every color you're looking for. (Incredibly, Makeup By Celly has swatches of 1/3 of the shades!)

You can use these lip pencils to define the shade of your lips, or you can fill in all of your lips with the color and apply a similar shade of lipstick on top for mega-long lasting lip color. If you find a shade you really like, you can even wear them on their own, with a little bit of lip balm or gloss.

I've only tried a couple different shades in the past, and I've been really happy with these liners. They are pigmented, smooth and glide on easily without tugging or clumping.

What's in my makeup bag?

I haven't done a "what's in my bag" in a while, so I thought I'd do a quick run though of all of the junk I currently have in my makeup bag. It's kind of a fun way to show you the products I'm enjoying right now!

The stuff I use changes all of the time, but the stuff I always keep in my bag are products that are easy to use (don't require much work to get it right) and never seem to fail me. In other words, my "go-to" products.

I have many go-to products (most are listed on my favorites tab) but I can't cram them all in one little makeup bag. ☺

For reference, I don't carry all of this with me in my handbag - I've included a list of what I do carry in my handbag at the bottom of the post - which is only a few things!

Continue reading to see all of the products in my bag...