Monday, July 25, 2016

REVIEW: Fashion-Able Blush by Tyra Beauty



Packaging - 4 (very good)
Texture - 5 (excellent)
Wear - 5 (excellent)
Longevity - 6 (incredible)
Overall:


I hate cream blushes. I am strictly a powder girl when it comes to cheek color. I hate how streaky and messy cream blushes look and I super hate how they always wear off after 30 minutes. But I decided to try the Tyra Beauty blush because I have tried all of their other products and felt I should at least have an opinion. I am in LOVE!

The packaging is durable and functional, although it does air on the side of too loud to me (which is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5). This cream blush is a creamy mousse gel. It is light and whipped and fluffy and so easy to blend! It stays on all day long! I did walk outside with it on in the heat and felt I needed a little touch up after, but otherwise the wear has been great! And best of all, a little goes a super long way! The jar you get is a a standard size for cream blush, and I was a little disappointed at first (because it was expensive) but not after seeing how little you need! I highly recommend this product! It is my new go-to!

EDIT: I also have to put this out there, because I want to support brands that do good in the world. Tyra Beauty was launched as a MLM. Tyra Bnks said she wanted to help women be empowered and earn income and be bosses, and take control of their life. She cited her mother's journey in an abusive relationship where she stayed for a long time because she couldn't get out, and Tyra said she wanted to help women like her mother become independent. I was actually selected as one of the first 200 reps for this company, but left fairly early on as I was not a fan of the way the company was run. However many women endured some of the bumps along the way and I always said "in 10 years, it'll be a great business to jump into I am sure". Well they announced the other day that they will no longer be doing direct sales and are closing the door on all of the women who have worked very hard to build this company up. They will continue selling and promoting the brand, but will no longer be an MLM. Tyra also imparted that she never wanted it to be Direct Sales in the first place (what happened to that vision you said you had, that dream?) and only did it because her business consultant said it would be more profitable. They spent MONTHS telling these women that nothing was going on, there was no consideration or talk of closing the doors to direct sales. They said DAYS before the press release that they were closing that door. Take it for what you will, but to me the integrity of a company matters.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

BRAND BREAKDOWN - BareMinerals

By popular demand I am now doing BRAND BREAKDOWNS! Yay! This is where I talk about a brand, what I like or don't like about the company as a whole, as well as what their hero (and zero) products are. I am starting off with a popular brand that most people know called Bare Minerals.


About the Brand
The first thing I will mention is that the brand has two names, which I don't quiet understand, but it doesn't matter either. You can also find it as Bare Escentuals online. I have no idea why. This brand however is super accessible. Not only is it in almost every Sephora and Ulta, but you can also often find it at department stores (like Macy's, Nordstrom and Dillards) as well as in their independent bare Minerals stores and boutiques. All of their products are mineral based, which is nice as well.

Hero Products:So I have a few loves from this brand, and I am excited to share them with you. The first one that I adore is the Complexion Rescue foundation. I use this product (I am wearing it right now in fact) and it's amazing. I recommend it for dry skin, or for normal skin types that need light coverage. I use it when my acne isn't looking to bad but I need to even out skin tone. It is super hydrating, has SPF, and a little goes a very long way.

Another big favorite is their Original Mineral Foundation. I like the packaging because you can close the powder shaker so your compact isn't to full. It looks lightweight and natural, but it still gives coverage and is perfect for normal and oily skin types. It also gets big props for having a wide variety of shades and tones.

Another big fan favorite of mine is the Well Rested powder. It is perfect for "baking" (setting your under eyes to make them look bright and awake) as well as as a light highlighter. I have even used it as eye shadow a time or two. This leads me to the last hero product which to me is the Eye Shadow Compacts. They have four palettes that are always around that each have 8 super wearable shades of pressed eye shadows. I like these because they are pigmented and a really good deal for 8 shadows. You also get a brush with them and a good mixture of shimmer and matte shades. They have 4 neutral palettes with variations depending on your style (one is true nude, one has more grays and black, one with pink tones and one with greens in there)



Products I am Not a Fan of:I am not a fan of their makeup brushes. They aren't awful, but they are pricey, and for those prices you can get brushes from other brands that are a lot higher quality. I also don't love their lipsticks, they just aren't a very long wear.
I don't love their concealer pens, because they just aren't very long wearing, and I am also not a big fan of their lip glosses. I find their glosses kind of sticky and they don't last either. I actually have one of their limited edition glosses and I just don't use it because it is pretty sticky and i have to reapply it a lot.




More Details:
I truly love this brand as a whole. Right now you can shop online here and get 15% off your first purchase (yay!) You can snag one of their clearance items (I love the Beauty on The Go Eye Compact and the Mood Makers Eye Palette).

A few more items you may love (I have such a long list and I can't just not include them) are the setting powders, I really like their Pop of Passion Lip Oil Balms (tinted lip balm) and I am seriously in love with their Lasting Line Eyeliner (another time I am currently wearing).

What's your take? Do you love this brand? Whats your favorite Bare Minerals Steal!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Kat Von D vs Jeffree Star (updated!)

These two makeup gurus have been friends for a ;long time. Promoting each others work, showing up at each others events, Kat Von D is Jeffree's tattoo artist, and it's no secret they have been friends for a while. In fact Von D even has a liquid lipstick in her line called "Jeffree"! So it was a bit of a shock when this popped up in everyone's news feed last night!

These two then took to Twitter posting a few things about it, Jeffree deleted a few of his tweets (but don't worry I got screenshots)!

The first exchange is still up! This is what their tweets read:


Twitter floods with assumptions as people wonder if he stole a piece of artwork from Von D's home, or if she is mad he copied something she had in the works, maybe a trend he claims is his when it's not... people were so unsure! He then tweeted this (which has since been deleted)

Obviously we are missing a few lines form the last but these tweets are harsh and simple lashing out (which is something Star is known to do). He finally deleted the mean tweets and finished the night with these two:


But then the smoking gun came out. Kat Von D's promised video, here it is.



In this video Kat Von D says she has never appreciated the way Star carried himself. He has lashed out fans, bullied smaller brands, been unnecessarily unkind to anything one or thing that threatens him, and never has and never will change. She says she feels bad that she is the person who contributed to his big headed ways. OUCH!

However the straw that broke the camels back? The artwork! She reveals that after setting him up with her cosmetics manufacturer and co packer, she set him up with a friend of hers who does artwork and logos. Her friend (B.J. Betts) created a logo that looks VERY similar to the logo Star now uses for his brand. B.J. then heard nothing from Starr and later his logo popped up on Stars social media and website. When B.J. asked Starr to pay him Starr blocked B.J. and refused to speak with him or pay him. Kat Von D also says she feels bad for setting him up with her manufactories and her friend.

Star has mostly ignored it. He has tweeted several time without acknowledging it but peppered between his normal tweets he has a few regarding the mess.


Kat has been silent since posting the video but I will update as soon as the "truth comes out" like Jeffree says it will.


UPDATE: 7/20/2016 8:00 p.m.


Throughout this time Jeffree star has mostly been retweeting other people's tweets supporting him. Then he posted the following retweet:


That is a retweet of the artist B.J. Betts himself! A lot of people started pulling for Jeffree at this point and then Kat Came back with these gems:



The rest of the day Jeffree posted about how the truth would come out soon, and began counting down to the release of his own video with his side of the story. Here it is:


Both signed off with their own tweets saying:


Some speculations:

Many say that they feel Kat was right, and once she called Jeffree out he put his lawyers in contact with B.J. to get him paid up. Most likely in order to settle this matter Jeffree said B.J. may have to post something about having been paid and everything being fine (which may have cost Star extra). 

A lot of people feel whether Jeffree did or did not steal the artwork that Kat's other rude comments about him were super hypocritical. The fact that his line is Vegan (her own line is Vegan now too, and we all know most cosmetic companies that have vegan products do not have vegan CEOs), his "drug use" (Star uses and love Marijuana, but he has a medical card and it is legal, while Von D is a recovered addict who has used several hard drugs, Jeffree has never even smoked a cigarette or drank alcohol according to him).

I think both are true, but this is speculation, not fact! What do you think happened? Drop your thoughts in the comments!


MY TAKE:
I have to laugh a little at some of the Irony. Like I said I think both are true, however Jeffree really slams Kat for making her opinion so public. However we will remember only a few months ago when Jeffree threw his Kylie Jenner lip gloss in the trash during an unboxing on Snapchat! He then led the battle against Jenner in trying to get new lip wands for the buyers. I supported that but he had some pretty unkind words to say about her and her brand at that time and said that he only did it to protect the people and help them get what they deserved. Didn't Kat do that for B.J.? He also speaks about Kat's micro-aggressions, and how she kept saying she wouldn't bash him, while she did. He did the SAME THING! It's all so silly TBH

Monday, July 11, 2016

Beauty Memes!

If there are two things I love it is Makeup and Memes! You asked for some of my faves and here they are! These are my top 10 favorite makeup and beauty memes, comment with some of your faves that didn't make it onto my list. 















Wednesday, July 6, 2016

REVIEW: Living Proof "PHD" (Perfect Hair Day) Shampoo & Condtioner

Packaging - 4 (very good)
Scent - 4 (very good)
Longevity - 3 (average)
Hydration - 4 (very good)
Oil Control - 5 (excellent)
Color Protection - 4 (very good)
Overall:

I am not going to lie, this shampoo is not my favorite for me. However it is an AMAZING option for a lot of people out there. The packaging is functional, and I prefer when my shampoos and conditioners have flat lids so I can set them upside down in my shower when they are getting low, and these do, which is nice. The scent is earthy and smells like grass, which isn't my favorite, but I know a lot of people love it. However I feel like the scent doesn't linger in your hair long, but instead leaves it smelling really clean. Living Proof products have no sulfates, silicone, or parabens. All of their shampoo is color safe.

The person that this is best for is someone with fine hair, especially if it has color on it. Most color protection shampoos are heavy because they use silicone to keep the color in. However this one is very light weight which will allow for volume but it does still protect your color.  This is not a good match if you have very thick or frizzy hair. One thing to watch our for is overusing this product. Silicone is what gives conditioner that slip that we are used to feeling, and that immediate softness. Because this product is silicone free it often feels like your hair is still dry or unconditioned when you are in the shower. However once your hair is dry if will feel clean and hydrated and amazing.