The Things I Loved in January

Hey! Time for my favorite things from January! I have adopted a lot of new techniques this month which you will see. I also have been doing a little something different in terms of my normal blush colors. Lot's of good stuff this month! I hope you enjoy (:

Products Mentioned:

John Frieda -Luxurious Volume- Blow Dry Lotion- Root Booster
2 rules to make this give you really good volume while still making your hair really soft. 1: add to the roots of wet hair. 2: blow dry with a big round brush. I love it (: I didn't add a picture because I feel it was getting a little bit crazy but in the collage above, it's the blue bottle right in the middle (obviously)

YBF Correcting Cream/ Illuminating Cream

 Another new technique I have been using is adding this correcting cream underneath my eyes as a concealer and adding it to the high points of my face. It brightens really well without adding shimmer. This correcting cream is a good one! Creamy, opaque, but still thin enough so it wont settle in my fine lines. Im wearing it in the video.

 Hard Candy Concealer Pencil:

 I have been using this as an eye liner for my water line! It has been working great as a nude liner. Who woulda thought? This actually came with the Glamoflauge Concealer as a little bonus. It doesn't irritate my eyes.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner

Maybelline Bouncy Blush in Fresh Pink

Also wearing this in the video

Elf Studio Blush in Mellow Mauve + Giddy Gold

 Love both of these! Both colors are really different than any other blush I have. The rest are pink, haha! Giddy Gold is my top blush. It is so pretty on my cheeks. They both are a nice change up! Click on the link to go to my full review on a bunch of the ELF Studio Blushes.

Wet n Wild Single Eyeshadow in Creme Brulee

Mally Age Rebel Eyeshadow in Sugar

 Be on the look out for a full review on all of the Mally stuff from Mally's Favorite Things Kit. That includes everything I will be talking about in this video/blog post from Mally.

Mally Volumizing Mascara

Mally Lipgloss in Punch 
Review coming soon on lots of Mally stuff!

ELF Essentials Lipstick in Flirtatious
Perfect with the lip gloss. They are exactly the same color. The Essentials lipsticks are really creamy and pigmented. For $1, it doesn't get any better.

Favorite T.V. Shows

Catfish: 

I have been loving this show! I can't believe all the Catfish they actually found but I am always so happy when they document a true love story...well, as true as your going to get! Something about Nev I love. He is my crush right now.. He looks oddly similar to someone I know who is my boyfriend....hmm. Also, the music they play on that show is so good! 

Family Guy : 

I am not sure if you guys know this about me but I am a huge fan of Family Guy! It just might be my absolute favorite show and has been for years. The new one about "The Giggity Wife" was hilarious! South Park coming up a close second of course. Oh yeah, I can't forget about American Dad! We call Stella "Roger Dog" because she looks like Roger the alien when she sits up. She's so cute!

 Online Favorites:

Twitter:
Has been one of my favorite things! With #HowtobeHappyJanuary and #Jadorelavie hash tags, it has been a lot fun connecting with people, staying on track and staying inspired. I am taking this high, happy, motivated energy well into February! Howboutchu?

Lumosity:
One of my new years resolutions was to stay healthy: healthy mind, body, + soul. That includes the brain! Lumosity has been really fun. It takes a total of 5 minutes a day and it's easy and fun.  You can play 3 different games a day for free- as many times as you want. If you want full access, it's something like $7 a month. I just do the free games. 

Favorite Bloggers:  

Beauty:
Elle Sees:  
This girl is freakin' creative! She always has themed blog post's and things going on over on her blog. Right now is Love Week  

Healthy:
Bess Be Fit:
I just found her a couple of days ago but I am a big fan of hers. She is always making up really good workouts and recipes and how she uses Photoshop {or Gimp} to bring a certain finesse to each one reminds me of how I like to post recipes here. Am I even making sense? Just go check her out and you will see what I mean!

That's just about everything! I have some food favorites as I have been back to eating healthy but this would be way too long if I added those too! Thank you for reading!

xoxo
Erica

2012 Besties Awards

 I came up with this catchy name for this short little series I am doing on my favorite products from 2012. There may not be something from every category, but each one of these things I have used and loved all last year. A lot of times, I get swept up in brand new products and love them to death for the first couple weeks {honeymoon phase} then they seem to fall by the wayside. Everything in the Besties Awards have been long lasting romances throughout the whole year. These are things I go back to time and time again.

Best Setting Spray

Urban Decay De-Slick: 

I have tried the All Nighter Setting Spray from Urban Decay and ELF's Setting Spray and this one was my favorite. Surprisingly, I have dry and oily skin. I found that De-Slick made my makeup last longer than any of them and gave my face a nice matte finish. I used this during the summer too and it was a life saver! Here's the full review.

Best Concealer

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment:

Maybelline's concealers are a long time favorite. This concealer is perfect for underneath the eyes. It is really thin but gives full coverage and seriously brightens underneath my eyes. The only down side is that the packaging on mine is broken so I have to work at it to twist up more product. If your looking for a good concealer for both under the eyes and on dark spots/pimples, try Maybelline's 24/7 Concealer.

Best Foundation

Revlon Color Stay:

I have tried so many foundations in the past couple of years and I always end up going back to this. Nothing is as full coverage as Color Stay. When they say color stay, they mean it! It dries rather quickly so blending it right away is a must. Once it is actually set, it makes my skin look flawless and gorgeous and covers everything and will stay put all day long.

Best Highlight

ELF Radiance Enhancer in Spotlight: 

Another thing from the Holy Grail page. This is one of those highlighters that have a duo-chrome finish. I wouldn't say this is glittery, instead shimmery. When it hits the light, it really does radiate. For $3, it really doesn't get any better. The packaging is sleek, it has a brush tip applicator, and is really creamy and extremely easy to blend. Any beginner wanting to dive into the whole contour/highlight process, this would be a perfect place to start. I want to do an updated review and demo using both colors ELF has to offer on the Radiance Enhancer range. Coming Soon (: For now, grab yourself a Radiance Enhancer. You won't regret it!

Best Bronzer/Contour Powder

Laura Gellar Baked Blush n Brighten in Honey Dipped: 

I got this in my Birch Box in June of 2011 and it was the sole best thing I have ever received in any box. Even though it has shimmer in it, I find it to be the perfect contour powder for me. Any matte contour powder or bronzer I have tried just looks really tacky and muddy next to my fair skin. In the summer time, this is the perfect all over bronzer because I am a little bit darker. The powder is really nice and is easy to blend. After the 2 years I have had it, it is still my absolute favorite bronzer and I use it more than any other one I have. I have yet to even think about hitting the pan. Talk to me in 2015. Maybe I will hit pan then. Probably not. I have swatched this before here

Best Blush

YBF Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush Duo: 

The bronzer side is nice, yes, but I want to pay tribute to the blush side. This is the blush I kept on going back to all year last year and will most likely continue to do so in 2013. When ever I can't make my mind up, this is my go to blush. It is such a pretty shimmery baby pink color that creates this beautiful flush on my cheeks. The phrase "lit from within" was made for this blush. I don't hear much about YBF Beauty but the company is a diamond in the rough! Check out HSN. They sell YBF (which is where I purchased it) value kits for a really good prices. Here's everything I got in my value kit when I ordered along with swatches of this duo. It's a really good blog post.

left: ybf blush/bronze duo. right: laura gellar baked blush n brighten

Best Eyeshadow

 Stila Eyeshadows

Yes, I own the Naked Palette and it's great and all, but not as great as the Stila eye shadows I own. The lighter shades in the Naked Palette aren't as pigmented as Kitten from Stila . Same thing goes for the matte shades. Stila's Kitten is my absolute favorite eye shadow in the world and thats because it doesn't take much to get pigment on my eyes. All of the Stila eye shadows I own are always so velvety, creamy and pigmented and I almost always use at least 1 of them on a daily basis. Here's a swatch I did of Kitten, Terracotta + Jezebel.  I would gladly do a blog post on my full Stila eye shadow collection. Those swatches are old. I can do a better job! Let me know if your interested.

Best Eye Liners
Any of the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips

I picked these because they are the only drug store eye liner I used in 2012 that stayed in my water line the whole day and kept the pigment and didn't run down my face. I actually had a lot to say about these, so check out the review I did for them a couple days ago. You can also find swatches there too.

Best Mascara
Physician's Formula Organic Wear

I did a full review complete with pictures of the brush and it on my lashes. Check it out.

Top 10 Nail Polishes and Favorite Lip Products deserve their own separate blog post. Otherwise this blog post would be way too long! It might be labeled "Bestie's Award's" and it might not be. It depends on how long it takes me to get them up (: Don't worry! It will only take a couple weeks, tops.

What was your favorite product from last year?
Would you be interested in a Stila eyeshadow collection blog post?

till next time,
Erica

YBF Beauty: Your Best Friend Beauty Haul/ First Impressions (pic heavy)

Hey guys! I am not sure if everybody is going to know the brand YBF. It could be because the only place you can buy stuff from the brand would be on HSN. I personally love YBF.  When I first found out about YBF a few years ago I was watching HSN but never ordered anything from the brand. But I did love watching her (Stacy, creator of YBF) using everything on camera and I lusted over it.   Then last year, I got a chance to try the Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe from my Birchbox. I quickly realized it was one of, if not my all time, favorite brow product. You guys have seen it showcased on Meet Makeup many times. This kit was the "Today's Special" and was $25 + $5 for shipping and handling. I think it was a great deal and a great way to try out some new-to-me products from this brand.

Everything Included In The Kit:

Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe

Brighten, Hide, & Scuplt Concealer

Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush

Neutralizing Pressed Yellow Powder

Illuminating Creme & Neutralizing Creme

The main thing that used to get me wanting her makeup was the mention of the booklet you get which tells you how to use all of the products. I love that kind of stuff (obviously)! Here's some photo's of the booklet you get with all of the goodies. FYI, the booklet is a rubbery paper. It's neat. Some of the things it covered was brows, eyes, face, & lips complete with diagrams and the like. It is an awesome little book that any beauty blogger would love. I also think this would be a perfect little gift for a teenager because of the booklet. Here's some photos of a couples pages

Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe: Like I mentioned, this value pack came with another brow pencil. I didn't open it just yet because my other hasn't ran out yet. If you frequent Meet Makeup, then you have seen this Brow Pencil many times! The product itself is very skinny, making precise application achievable. That last sentence makes me sound very smart (:

Brighten, Hide & Sculpt Concealer: Ok as far as concealer goes, it isnt thick enough to be any type of concealer. I have never really thought of using a creamy product to contour so this was quite new to me. However, I have been loving the results it gives when I use the darkest color as a contour. For night time looks, I can even go back in with a contour powder and it's not going to look like it's too much. In the day, it is perfection. With the lightest color I think it is a nice subtle highlight since it is lighter then my skin color and it does have some sheen to it, but no shimmer. If you guys want a kind of "how-to" of sorts on how I use this, let me know because I would love to show it off!

Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush: This is the one product that I am really exited about. I have been using it almost every day. When I swatched this blush, I thought it was the most beautiful blush I think I have ever swatched. Im not going explain, im just going to show you

no flash

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no flash

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Neutralizing Pressed Yellow Powder: I do have a lot of redness on my face so since yellow does neutralize red, I couldn't wait to try this out. When used with any powder brush it does not come off yellow on your face. When I swatch it though, it looks yellow.

 here it is, blended in. It looks almost non-existent, like it should.

Neutralizing Creme & Illuminating Creme: 

Neutralizing Creme: This is basically to neutralize any redness and it even mentions that it actually covers up fine lines and wrinkles...im not too sure how that would work though. I don't have any wrinkles just yet but it isn't anything different then your run-of-the-mill neutralizer. This is something I am going to have to keep using however it is much creamier than the "concealer" and will cover up much more then the concealer.

Illuminating Creme: I am one for highlights, it is my new obsession and I think I may do a blog post on my faves. But anyways, I was exited try this one out too. This formula is exceptionally creamy. So creamy that I make a dent from the slightest touch. I think this would be good in a tube/stick. Regardless, I really like it. It's a nice highlight.

these are the swatches from both the Illuminating Creme (top) and Neutralizing Creme (bottom).  The Neutralizing Creme I actually blended out for some reason.

So that's that for my YBF haul. Have you guys ever tried anything from YBF? If so, what have you tried? If not, are you thinking about trying any of these products now?

p.s. Shout out to Alyssa & Alex if you ya'll are reading!!! Shout out to the rest of yah too! love all you guys!

yours truly.

Erica J



FOTD: Picadilly Purple & Dolly Pink

I haven't done one in so so long! I have been so busy and half the time I do 1 shadow, liner & mascara- good to go! The other 1/2 of the time I do get ready, & do a nice eye look, I dont have any time to take pictures!  I dont know about you guys but it takes me like 15-20 minutes to get good ones lol

Like always, I have been loving purples on my eyes. I really feel my best when I wear purple and yes I do have brown eyes (obviously). I think they really compliment well. So Alex (bfff) bought me this sweet little palette. for 3 bucks. A great Christmas present! I think im going to showcase it in my Christmas buying guide because I have some swatches and some pictures I already took.

I thought it would be fun to also include what brushes I used for each step- ever since I ordered new brushes from Sigma and Elf, I took my talent up a notch! My Aunt Lori always says "it's not the makeup you have, but the brushes you use" in her philosophical tone....well she doesn't have a philosophical tone,  I just thought it sounded right.

Face:

Maybelline 24/7 Concealer- Actually just put this around my eyes as they can become red- I apply this with my finger with a patting motion as opposed to rubbing it on.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup- I apply this to the back of my hand and then dab my blush + bronzer brush from mark. in the product. This brush is basically a flat top kabuki. Then with a stippling motion, go to town. I always like to start on my neck line and then go up my face. I personally like to use sponges better then any brush. I find it applies much more evenly and smoother. Maybe I just haven't found the right brush. 


Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer- I actually have been putting this on before and after I apply my foundation/concealer. I heard it will help mattify your face. I personally do think that it may but I think it is a combination of this and my ELF HD powder.

ELF HD Powder- Like I just mentioned, it will help mattify your face and does so, I really love this stuff. I find that the puff it comes with works best to apply it.

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder- I like to dip my Large Angled Contour Sigma brush (F40) in both side's twice, shake off the excess and contour my cheeks bones, taking it around my fore head and also behind my ears, swiping it towards the center of my neck. If you are new to Contouring, I highly recommend watching all of the videos you can find on it. Take what you want and leave the rest- that's how I learned.

Light Pink Blush- This is a generic blush that I got last year in a Markwin's Christmas Gift and I love it so much. It reminds me a lot of Dandelion by Benefit (which I dont have, but want so badly!) a perfect pale pink for a lighter skin tone like mine. I Apply this on my apples and then sweep up towards my hairline, Following right next to where I contoured. I use ELF's stippling brush (picture) which works well.

Eyes:

YBF Automatic Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe- I got this in my Birchbox and I have been loving it ever since

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer- I apply this with my finger's on to my lid.

Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk- I went underneath my brow and near/around my tear ducts. Then with my ring finger, I blended it out- perfect.

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- With my Sigma Eye Shading E55 Brush (a dense flat shader brush) I grab the lightest color you see highlighted in the picture below and apply that exactly where I put the Milk Jumbo Pencil. I do not tap off excess- I first go in near my tear duct and then what ever is left on my brush, take it to my brow bone. 

Hot Looks Glamif Eyeshadow- This is the palette that is only $3 at Dollar General. With the other clean side of my E55, I pick up the color you see highlighted below from the palette. I simply pat this right next to where the silver color is on my lid. I took this color all the way to the end of my lid. I like to blend the 2 colors together, switching sides of the brush and pulling colors opposite direction of each other until blended.

Mark. Piccadilly Eyeshadow (matte Purple)- If I could go back and do it differently, I would have made this my last color that I apply in the outer v with my Small Tapered Blending E45 by Sigma (which is a tear drop shape). But with this FOTD, I applied this in and above my crease with my Sigma Tapered Blending Brush (E35) in a windshield wiper motion, pulling up towards the edge of my eye brow to create come contour on my eye. 

  

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- The darker color you see highlighted (in the above picture of the palette), I did the exact same thing with that as I did with Piccadilly

At the very end, I wiped off my E35 really well and picked a generic color that matches my skin tone to blend the previous 2 colors. I just went back and fourth on the harsh line right below my brow bone. 

Wet n Wild Cream liner in Black- I tightlined my eyes with a slanted eyeshadow brush which I find works really well - I got it from Icing, it's awesome! Then I squished the liner in between the top lashes to make sure I dont have any gaps of my skin color showing.

Revlon Colorstay Liner in Black- I put this in my water line and also adding another layer on the top too. I didnt concentrate that much on the top water line, I just closed my eyes and ran the pencil across it.

Lastly I took my ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen to line my lids. I just bought this a couples weeks ago and as you can tell, it is very splotchy and separates which makes it hard to draw a straight line. I worked a little better when I first got it, but since then it has dried out. I don't recommend this thing to anyone......

Lips

Nyx Lip Liner in Dolly Pink - Lined those fuckers

Nyx Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo- Put on my lips.....easy enough! Waited for it to dry.....

Revlon Lipstick in Prim Rose -over top of it all

that completes my how-to look! I hope you guys liked this format for my FOTD and took at least one thing away from it - what have you guys been wearing on your face today? We would love to know! 

Till next time,

xoxo Erica J

HairOTSummer & FOTD- Smoldering Plums All Over My Eyes

So I thought it would be fun to do a look using just what I got from Clinique a while back so here we go!
I have been doing alot of natural/neutral looks. I wanna do like a pink/purple one - yes guys pink can be complimenting!! So yeah I have pictures for that FOTD so I will be posting that later. For now, heres my: Smoldering Plums from Clinique look

Face: (in order)

• Avon Healthy Makeup Mousse Foundation
• Maybelline Superstay Concealer 
• Maybelline Dream Matte Powder (I use the applicator it comes with! use it! not all applicators are useless!)
• Laura Gellar Blush n Brighten in Honey Dipped
• Mark. Just Pinched Cream Blush Tint in Peachy
• Mark. Shadow in Biscotti (for a highlight) 

Eyes: (in order)

• YBF Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in Universal Taupe
• Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Primer
• Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk - under brows, inner corner and inner 1st part of eye
• Clinique Smoldering Plums palette's Twilight Mauve (lighter color) over where I applied Milk
• Clinique Smoldering Plums palette's Brandied Plum on the outer corner
• Almay Eyeliner Crayon in Black in waterline & on lid. I also tightlined with this.
• Mark. Get In Line Liquid Eyeliner to create the wing
• Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara

 Lips-

• I went with my favorite lip combo and lined my lips with a medium pink color
• Nyx Matte Lip Color in Tokyo right smack in the middle of top and bottom lip- its a lighter color so it makes my lips look bigger
• Maybelline Born With It lipstick

About my hippie braid- This was actually worn all morning and right before I took it out I wanted to capture the kodak/half fallen braid moment! lol, I used to work as a server in a restaurant and every day I was asked by every girl who worked there and had to have her hair up to do the hippie braid on them. I have found it is actually harder for me to do it on others. I do have a video camera, but its not the best- if you are interested in a how-to type thing I can set it up for you, because it's fairly easy- just have to practice
So there yah have it! I hope you guys like my look

You Guys Wanna See Whats in my Birchbox?

Im sure you do if you clicked this, so here we go! This month the Birchbox decided to have their first every guest curator, designer Cynthia Rowley. All of these products are her must-haves and let me just tell you, the girl has great taste! I know I say it every time, but this seriosuly is the best Birchbox yet!

ybf beauty automatic eyebrow pencil- I have seen this product time and time again on HSN and I have always wanted to try it, considering my obsession with eye brows. When I seen it in my Birchbox you can imagine how exited I was to try it out! I really like this, my brows look really natural.

 philosophy purity made simple face wash- this stuff has such a great reputation! my aunt stands by this face wash- so exited to try it!!

redken shine flash- another great pick! I tried it, and yes it does make my hair shiny, and it dosen't feel like there's a bunch of product in my hair

korres shower gel- this is something I haven't heard of since Birchbox

So I would say the thing I am most exited for is the ybf brow pencil! I am so exited about that one just because I have seen it so much on hsn and ive wanted to try it out! I also am really happy I got the redken shine flash (that bottle a $10 bottle people!) and also the philosophy face wash. If you get a Birchbox, what did you get in yours this month? if not, sign up! and don't forget to mention that Erica sent yah!