July 2014 Favorites

July 2014 Favorites

July 2014 Favorites
1. China Glaze Gelaze, $11 / 2. Maybelline Instant Age-Rewind Concealer, $8
3. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light, $15 / 4. Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray, $29

Just four this month because, frankly, it was kind of a lazy month for me. I didn’t really break away from, “safe,” things in light of my wedding. Afterwards, I decided to give my skin a break, so I don’t have a ton to gush about.

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June 2014 Favorites

Beauty Skeptic - June 2014 Favorites

June 2014 Favorites
Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan $20 / bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara $18
Aussie 3-Minute Miracle $4 / KMS Hair Play Makeover Spray $20 / Gena Callus Off $10

 

1. Because I don’t tan in beds or outside any longer, I need to fake it (especially because I’m not trying to look washed out in an ivory gown). I’m going to have a lot of pictures taken soon, so I needed it to be convincing and not a pain to deal with, either. I bought a bottle of Million Dollar Tan’s Cabana Tan and Cabana Tan Extreme lotions a while back after some recommendations were made to me. I’m pretty happy with it and plan to have a post up soon. In addition to their lotion products, Million Dollar Tan carries spray and mousse versions, which you can find here.

2. The original bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara is my holy grail mascara (so far, anyway). I often go without because $18 for something that you need to replace so frequently is too much for me – but I snagged two (one regular, one waterproof) when Ulta had them half off as a part of 21 Days of Beauty event this spring. It does on sale on the bareMinerals website, too, every now and then, but if you don’t care about it being on sale you can get it there, Ulta, or Sephora.

3. The original 3-Minute Miracle (“Moist Deeeeep Conditioner”) is my favorite conditioner, period. More than I loved the Tigi Moisture Maniac conditioner, and this is a hell of a lot cheaper. They have new versions of it now, too, but I haven’t tried them yet. You can get it at drugstores, mass merchants, online – pretty much anywhere, this is very accessible.

4. Got a sample-size can of this Dry Shampoo with from a Gift with Purchase bag and it is easily the best dry shampoo I have ever tried. One or two short bursts takes care of my whole scalp, it is not strongly scented at all, it feels nice, ugh. So good. Alas, with a $20 price tag, I’ll be stretching my sample and ultimately sticking with Psssst! unless I can find it on sale. (You can get the travel size for $7, however). I could only find it at Ulta.

5. Credo blades aren’t safe and daily pumice stone use only get you so far. Despite my DIY pedicure efforts, sometimes you have to break out the big guns. This is also carried at Sally Beauty as well as a similar product that is slightly cheaper (haven’t tried this brand though). Be careful not to leave it on too long, and be both grossed out and amazed by what it does to stubborn calluses.

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this June 2014 Favorites post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.

May 2014 Favorites

I did a Favorites post last month, but it seems like it has been a while! May 2014 Favorites:

May 2014 FavoritesMay 2014 Favorites
1. China Glaze – I’m With the Lifeguard, $5 / 2. Lip Smacker – Dr Pepper, $2
3. Etude House Drawing Eye Brow, $2-7 / 4. Marc Jacobs Dot Rollerball, $22

China Glaze I’m With the Lifeguard – When the weather gets warm, I like to resort to unreasonably bright and ridiculous nail polish colors. Don’t worry, I use them when it isn’t warm, too – but I use them more often when it is toasty. This awesome, bright, shimmery neon green is what I’m wearing on my toes (with peep-toe shoes…at the office). If your polish collection is bereft of ridiculosity, please consider investing for your own amusement. I bought mine from Sally Beauty, but you can also get it on Amazon.

Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers lip gloss – Not just for kids, dangit. I maintain that this is the best product Lip Smackers has ever released. I just bought a new one, judgment be damned.  Realistically, it doesn’t do much for chapped lips – but that’s fine. It was never really meant to, despite having a chap-stick-esque format. You can buy this directly from Lip Smackers, on drugstore.com, or in stores at Wal-Mart.

Etude House Drawing Eye Brow – Korean cosmetics companies have done some pretty cool stuff. BB creams, cute lotions, lip gloss with adorable bunny-shaped caps…and these brow pencils. Capped at both ends, this guy has a spoolie (with soft, friendly bristles, not the ridiculous Brillo that some included spoolies are) and an angled, chisel-tip twist-up pencil. Some western brands have products that I can only assume were inspired by this design (Hourglass brow products, Bite lip products) because it is awesome. I’m sure this can be found elsewhere online, but I always buy from Amazon.

Marc Jacobs Dot Rollerball – Lately, I’m of the opinion that buying a whole bottle of perfume is pointless. I got this as part of a coffret I purchased around the holidays and have been wearing it more often lately; I’ve barely made a dent. Very season-appropriate. It is currently available at Sephora, but there’s a spray pen variety at Nordstrom, Ulta, and Macys.

 

By the way, have you entered my L’Oreal Infalliable Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H giveaway, yet? If not, go for it – there are only two days left! All you have to do is comment on that post and you’re entered. Who doesn’t want free liner?

 

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this May 2014 Favorites post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.

March 2014 Favorites

March 2014 Favorites

1. Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Daily Replenishing Lotion $7 /
2. Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow – Space Cowboy, $20 / 3. bareMinerals Shadow – Celestine, $14/
4. Up&Up Max. Strength Acne Medication, $4

I only had four things to list in my March 2014 Favorites, and two of them are single shadows – this says a lot because I am very much so a palette girl. These are really something special.

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