Saturday, February 26, 2011

Down a Beaten Path



Outfit: Pants - H&M; Shirt - Zara; Leather Jacket - H&M; Scarf - J.Crew; Shoes - Forever21; Bag - Aldo

Hope you're having a good weekend =)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Holy Grail Fail - Shu Uemura eyelash curler

Hello friends =)
I know that I, along with many others out there, am always on the lookout for holy grail products - products that do what they say they do, make you look amazing with every use, and alleviate your biggest beauty concerns.

The blogging and youtube community has made it so easy to find out what's hot, what's new, what works, and what is plain bad. When a product is raved about in countless videos and blogposts, I can't help but want to go out and buy it for myself so I can see if it is really a miracle product. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't.
I've already purchased several of the "big hit" items that have hit the beauty community, and I've got a whole list of others that are waiting to be bought. Obviously I don't limit myself to only the most popular products, but when hundreds of other girls are talking about something, you want to know what's up.

So, I purchased the Shu Uemura eyelash curler off their website, because so many people have raved about how amazing it is, how it curls beautifully without the crazy "L-shaped" eyelashes, and how it is superior to all other eyelash curlers.


My eyelashes are naturally very straight so I need a heavy duty eyelash curler if I am to bat my eyes at anybody. I bought this one thinking it would be the the answer to my prayers, but it wasn't. I had a hard time getting even an L-shaped curl and the results weren't dramatically different than eyelash curlers I have used in the past.

This E.L.F. one I have been using works just as well, if not better than the Shu Uemura. Ergonomically, it is so much easier to use because it has that little finger support. And it costs 1 freaking dollar, a whole $18 less than what I paid for the Shu Uemura.


I thought about returning it, but honestly, I'm just too damn lazy. And also, I am hopeful that one day I will pick it up to use, and it will miraculously become the best eyelash curler I have ever used, maybe?

xx
Vida 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Review: Living Proof hair products


Ever since these fat little bottles popped up in Sephora, I have been wanting to try them. The "full" line of Living Proof products was especially appealing to me because I have very fine hair that tends to fall flat. 


These products boast natural, weightless volume and body. The thickening cream especially sounded like exactly what my hair needed - a lightweight cream that is supposed to create a thicker surface on the hairs, giving it a bouncy, flexible shape. 
When I saw the full kit, that includes the full thickening cream, as well as the shampoo and conditioner, I knew I had to try it. 

 The shampoo and conditioner are...nice. I don't think I could really say bad things about shampoo and conditioner unless they were absolutely despicable. These smell nice and they clean and condition your hair well. And while my hair does feel clean and very soft afterward, they don't have a very volumizing effect on my hair at all. The market for volumizing hair products has exploded and I am sure you can find a shampoo and conditioner that will give much better results for cheaper. A full size of this costs $24, and you don't even get that much! I will not be repurchasing this. 

The thickening cream on the other hand, I love. 
I use a nickel size amount on damp, almost dry hair and then I blow dry with my head turned upside down (I am handicapped when it comes to blow drying, so I don't have any crazy techniques or anything). The results are pretty amazing for me and the first time I used it I was like, whoa, my hair is big. I have tried a few other volumizing products in the past, and they have done nothing for me, other than add more product to my hair. With this I can actually feel a difference in my hair when I touch it, and it does feel much thicker and... fluffier is the word. 
Even though I have fine hair, I have a lot of it, and I think that's why this worked so well for me. This is not supposed to be a root lifter. It just really plumps up whatever you've got and gives you body and volume without feeling hard, crunchy, or like there's anything funky in your hair. My hair felt super soft and full after putting this in it. It is really effortless, and I love the effect it gives!

Me and my (relatively) big hair:


Have you ever tried any of these products? What are your favorite volumizing hair products?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Hearts and Recreation

The weather today is absolutely gorgeous, the perfect day for romance... =)




Was going to do a FOTD, but failed and only got a decent shot of my lips. I'm wearing viva glam cyndi lipglass, which I love. It's such an easy red lip!
Whatever your story is, I hope you have a great day. Happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday Sights

Finally some sunny weather =) It's still freezing though!
I love faux fur. This scarf is so warm and cozy =)
Bag: Zara
Some new hair and skincare things I am trying out


One more day till the weekend! Hope you guys are having a good night =)
xx

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Some Sleek Stuff


I have been wanting to try Sleek Cosmetics for such a long time. It is a brand that is always talked about by UK bloggers, and from what I saw, I wanted it. 
As it is based in the UK, shipping from the Sleek website itself would have cost me 13 bucks, not to mention the website at the time was sold out of many of the things I wanted. So, I went on ebay to hunt down the items I wanted and probably paid an exorbitant amount compared to what UK natives would have paid, but it wasn't too bad and the important thing is I now have them in my possession...obviously.

Here are the items that I got. I didn't do swatches of the eyshadow palettes because I'm sure you guys have all seen them before, and if not, there are plenty of blogs and youtube videos that have wonderful swatches of them.  =)


The Original i-Divine Palette 
Storm i-Divine Palette
I haven't gotten to fully play with all of these eyeshadows, but from first impressions I really love the colors. The original palette is bolder than I expected, but I thought it would be a nice palette to have because it has a lot of bright colors that I would not normally buy individually. The storm palette is of course the more wearable of the two, and the one I was most excited about.
One thing I have to say, after just a few dabbles into these palettes, is that they look much prettier than they actually are. I don't think the pigmentation is that great, and the eyeshadows don't feel very smooth. Nevertheless, each palette is packed with 12 pretty colors so the convenience factor is a plus.
I still have a lot of experimenting to do before I can really make my mind up about these, but I really want to love them!
Also, I noticed that the packaging on the two palettes is different - the storm palette eyeshadows are raised with spaces in between the eyeshadows. Is this normal? Or have I got a weird palette (fake Sleek??)

Glo - Peach Shimmer


This is a beautiful peachy powder highlighter that is similar in style to the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks. The texture is very soft and it is not glittery. I'm not really sure how I feel about this product yet. I'm not used to using powder highlighters, and I think I much prefer cream/liquid ones. Also, the color, as you can see, is a golden peach, which I don't think suits me for everyday wear.
I do really like that you can use each strip individually or in different combinations, and I think this could possibly work as a subtle shimmery blush.

I am still very intrigued in the Sleek Cosmetics brand, and would love to try more things from them!
What do you guys think about Sleek? What are your favorite products from them?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Omg Shoes.

I often go through cycles of lusting over shoes, filling my quota, and then losing all interest in buying them...for a while at least. Currently, I think I am at the cusp of falling into one of these cycles again because I have been going crazy for all the beautiful shoes I have seen while walking through stores. 
I am so ready to get out of my boots and kick my wardrobe into spring mode. 

Here are a few beauties that I have been eyeing:


1. Jessica Simpson Ely - love at first sight. They are the most glamorous ballerina barbie mary janes I have ever seen (yes, that is my best description). A pair that I don't really know if I would wear, but they would be the most wonderful trophies for my closet =) 
2. Bakers Debbi - these are such sexy shoes for going out at night 
3. Nine West Ambitious - I love nude shoes, I could wear them to death. These are the perfect pair and Nine West makes phenomenal shoes!
4. ASOS Peaches - these coral pumps would give the perfect pop of color to a plain spring/summer outfit
5. Aldo Krugh - I think these would be so cute with a flowy dress. At first I hated the chunky heel style, but now I really like it.
6. Franco Sarto Mega - I think I need these. 

Of course I'd love to take them all home, but I need to control myself. Which ones are your favorites?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Made up, Snowed in

Today after I got up, got dressed, and put on my makeup, I found out that all the obligations I had ahead of me in the day had been cancelled due to the absolute crap weather. 
I took advantage of the free day to blog and so here is the makeup I was wearing today. I kind of just threw things on as I went, but I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. 



1. NARS Sheer Glow - Punjab 
2. Benefit Hoola Bronzer
3. MAC Cream Colour Base - Tickle me Pink 
4. MAC Mythology - lid
5. MAC Patina - crease
6. Wet N' Wild Brulee - inner corner 
7. MAC Black Swan eyeliner
8. Maybelline the Falsies mascara
9. NYX round lipstick - Circe

I really love mythology eyeshadow. It was one of the first MAC eyeshadows that I bought and I love coming back to it now and again. It's a pretty burnished pink copper color that looks so good mixed with browns and taupes. I've also tried some in my crease with a very neutral lid color, which I think gives a quite interesting, fresh look.
I have always worn patina all over the lid, and it wasn't until today that I found it also works beautifully in the crease. Just another reason to love patina =) 

Even though I can't stand the abominable weather we've been having, I do love a good snow day =) 
Hope you are all enjoying your day!