If your interested in highlighting and contouring your face, *start with loose powder one shade lighter than the one used to set your foundation. Apply it with a wedge sponge to the T-zone, the area that's always lighter; this is a guide for contouring other parts of your face as well. With your contour brush, sweep deeper shades of pressed powder under your cheekbones, down the sides of your nose, and near your hairline, for soft yet subtle shading. If you feel you've gone too far, and you look like a character in Cats, dust loose powder over any of these areas to soften the effect."
* As seen in Fine Beauty: Beauty Basics and Beyond for African - American Women

Source

It's that time of year again when the season changes and our routines with it. For me, my issues are that my combo skin goes crazy. My cheeks become extra dry and my tzone stays pretty oily but it gets dry and flakey at the same time.  It's a learning curve but i've learned to deal with my skin in the following ways

• wash everyday with a gel cleanser
• for daytime moisturizing: sensitive skin oil free moisturizer with a day cream that contains SPF, and if necessary add a layer of baby lotion over it after the     day cream dries and is absorbed.
• For night time: wash with a gel cleanser or use a Dove facial wash cloth (if face is feeling a little flakey or looks dull)
• Use a night cream or baby lotion, slather it on generously.
• Once a week designate a day to use a gentle facial scrub to cleanse the face and get rid of any dry flakey skin.
• after using the scrub follow up with a gentle face mask to help keep the skin cells turning over.

Here are the products i use:

Pretty much what i've found for me personally, is that during the transitioning period (fall/winter weather), the best thing is to not use a lot of products, and to use milder products that don't contain chemicals that will irritate your skin. Your skin is already irritated by the wind, cold and fluctuating temperatures when you go in and outside throught the day. If you have any tips or tricks for winterizing your skin do tell below in the comments.

So CVS was having bogo (get one free!) on Revlon products and of course me being my usual self i had to make some purchases and justify it as a can't miss oppurtunity :)

So here's everything i got, (random nail file as well) not too much but some items that i had been curious about and used this oppurtunity to indulge in.

Starting with the eyeshadows:

L-R i got the 12hr color stay eye palette in the purples, (I havent tried it yet but i will do a review when i do.) and the matte shadows in green and brown.

Next up:

Colorstay mineral finishing powder in Sunkiss. GOREGOUS color i love it. Feels nice and soft too. It's and all over face powder but it is shimmery so i think it's best for just dusting on places you want to brighten up for a "sunkissed" glow (i.e. forehead, cheeks, chin).

I forgot to take closeup pics of the Colorstay mineral lipglazes but i did swatch them, they are pretty nude colors

Very soft, not sticky at all. top: #500 lasting shimmer, bottom: #510 Forever fig

And last but not least, nail polishes:

L-R: Hushed Blush, Silver Screen, Plum Seduction, Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat

And of course i forgot to buy what i had originally gone into CVS for, and spent all my money on Revlon (about $70 total, thats with the get 1 free). I originally was going to buy moisturizer for my face. I ended up buying my day cream, and one of my fave multitasking products:

Since i was broke as a joke, i bought the baby lotion for like $5-6 as a substitute for my night cream which runs $15. Baby lotion works just as well and i can also use it as a body cream so its a win win situation. Plus look how much bigger it is then the day cream! lordy. The day cream was $15.

i did go over the top, i went in planning on spending maybe $30 and i spent a little over $100. *sigh* But i think i picked up some good things so of course it's worth it in the end ^_^

Thanks for reading!

Hi Everyone!

Yes another Haul, I hope you don't mind 2 back 2 back haul posts, i kinda fell behind.

So here's the beauty portion:

So pretty much i went shopping for hair and body stuff. I won't go into too much detail on the hair products here because i will be doing a hair routine post and these products will be explained in detail there. Other then that i think the Dove body wash is self explanatory, Dove is one of my Holy Grail products and i have to be desperate to use anything else. Matter of fact, know that i think about it, Dove body wash is the only product i never cheated on. I have eczema so i am very careful about body washes and Dove has never let me down. LOVE it.

And the cute makeup bag that i absolutely did not need but had to have:

Sonia Kashuk double zipper makeup bag for breast cancer awareness. So cute.

And some Jewelry i picked up:

I was soo mad when i got home, one of the pairs of earring broke:

I am going to take it back, too bad it was the last one on the display.

These are big and dangle down to my shoulders. Very Sasha Fierce.

And this ring was too small for my other fingers but i bought it as a pinky cocktail ring:

Now that i'm home i think it might look a little silly to have such a big ring on my pinkie. What do you guys think?

And last but not least, my fave of all the pieces, the elephant necklace charm:

Love the details. The coin says "Queen Elizabeth the second". Little details make things special to me.

I got a parking meter ticket because i paid for 1 hr and i was in Target for like 2.5 hrs lol. I love Target jewelry, they always have fun and whimsical things. I get so caught up whenever i hit their jewelry section. All in all fun trip and of course I got some goodies so i'm happy :)

I hope all is well, thanks for reading!

On a sidenote: I've noticed alot of youtubers are saying they aren't doing haul videos anymore because it's "bragging". Umm yeah? did you just catch on to that fact? But hello, people love to see haul videos. They help us learn about the product that their using and not only that, when i see a haul video i get excited to see what kinda looks will be created from the product. I think the negative comments some people leave gets to them but anyone who is hating on a haul probably isn't a follower or they would be just as excited. Basically my point is yes a haul vid is bragging somewhat, but hey, if the readers/watchers who are your followers are ok with it then keep em coming. Just my opinion, sorry for the mini rant.

Hi everyone!

So i have been sick this whole week, nothing serious just a cold but i was also achy and tired the whole time so it was not fun. I just wanted to let you know i'm still alive and kicking thankfully, and i'll be getting back into the swing of things soon. A couple of upcoming posts will be:

• My winter skin routine
• CVS Haul
• Target Haul
• New Hair Routine
• Review: L'oreal Ever Pure Shampoo
• Review: Alba Hawaiian Manga and papaya body cream

That will keep me nice and busy i'm sure.

I hope you are all well, have a great weekend!

*edited* when did i hit 50 followers?? omg! i am so happy =DD

I normally avoid scary movies but this looks too good to miss!

Thanks to Reyenal for the tag!

Rules: You are to answer all the quetions. Do not leave any questions blank

10 Questions :

1. Dramatic eye looks or Natural Eye looks?

- Natural eye look

2. Matte or Shimmer Shadows?

- Shimmer. I am experimenting with mattes but i'm sure about them

3. Purple Pinks or Blue Greens?

- i prefer Blue, but i will do a purple too.

4. Lips with gloss or without gloss?

- definitely with gloss

5. Contour Or Bronzer?

- I don't do either but i would say bronzer since it seems easier to apply/execute

6. Nude lippies Or Pink Lippies?

- I love nudes but a pink lip is nice once in awhile

7. Coral or Pink Blush?

- I say Pink, the deeper the better

8. Drugstore or Departmental Store Makeup?

- Drugstorebecause there's good quality and lots of variety for experimenting purposes.

9. Sponge or Brush for LIQUID foundation?

- I've always used sponges but now i'm shifting to brushes....

10.  TAG or Tutorials?

- Tutorials, but tags are fun once in awhile

I tag anyone who reads this!

If only...Pink would get more shine on blogs. I love her!

The only thing i don't like is the thigh tatt peeking out. Otherwise i love it from head to toe.

Hi Everyone!

This is just a quickie haul post, nothing exciting or new.

i got both the 88 ultra shimmer and warm palettes from Coastal Scents (finally i know), Gilt by Association and blue flame from the Style Black collection by MAC, Maybelline cool effects shadow liner in a brown, Essence of Beauty Powder brush with a free eye shadow brush in the pack, and Essence of Beauty concealer brush set.

There are soo many people who have already shown the CS palettes and the MAC e/s so i am not going to waste your time swatching them (if someone requests i will gladly do it of course!).

Here is a swatch of the cool effects shadow liner though, you can't see it in my pic but it has a very subtle shimmer. Excellent for everyday wear.

i wish you should see the shimmer. And it looks like a regular brown here but it is very creamy and almost bronzey in person. Also, it does have a cooling effect that you feel immediately, it doesnt last long so its not even a necessary feature but whatever.

Here's a look at the powder brush and the free e/s brush (don't you love freebies?)

The powder brush is very soft and alittle wide, i thinkt his would be best used for applying face powder all over the face. Definitely not for applying blush. Just so you can get an idea of the shape of the bristles i held it up next to my APt5 powder brush:

Wider spread of the bristles for covering more area. They are both labelled as powder brushes but there is obvious difference in size and shape of the brushes.

Top view:

As you can see the EOB brush is flater and the shape is best suited for "painting" in one direction and not for buffing in or swirling. Also i think the bristles are more densely packed together. The Apt5 brush has a rounder shape for swirling and buffing.

FInally a quick shot of the concealer brushes:

Sorry for the pic quality. These brushes are perfect for eye area and spot coverage of scars or acne. They are so cute and little.

Thats my lil haul for this week. Hope you enjoyed.

Ciao~