NYC NEW YORK CITY COLOR

So as you may have seen from my previous post I'm part of Influensters vox box program which sends out complimentary products to test.  I was lucky enough to get this cutie  NYC'S  liquid lipshine in my holiday VoxBox and boy am I glad it was there. First off the color I got was 582 Nude York City which is this gorgeous nude color with bits of pure pigment in it, gives this 3D effect.....

It is just the perfect color that can be worn alone or layered with your favorite nude lipsticks....How does it feel well it feels nice and soft, not sticky at all and shiny galore.  

this pic gives this lipgloss no justice, its much shinier than this

Whats even more attractive about this lipgloss beside it being a beautiful nude, contains vitamin E, super shiny, soft and non sticky is that it will cost you $2.49 ...I don't think you heard me the first time maybe I should spell it out TWO DOLLARS AND FORTY NINE CENTS and comes in TEN shades. Where can you get it? Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, CVS, Family Dollar, Duane Reade, Kmart, HEB or any other participating stores. Seriously go and pick this up. In fact I urge you to check out the NYC site and check out all the other beautiful colors.  http://www.newyorkcolor.com

*dont worry i'm always honest in my reviews regardless of whether a product was purchased or given to me

INFLUENSTER VOX BOX

So as you may already know I am an Influenster reviewer, as so I recently received my holiday voxbox and boy am I excited look how much stuff I got. Needless to say there will definitely be some reviews coming.

KICKIN IT OLD SCHOOL

I remember using this back in high school to help remove acne scars. It was so cheap and I was so broke this became one of my holy grail products. As any other product junkie I grew tired of it and started venturing out to other things and forgot about this classic...but now its back. I picked this up at a beauty supply store for $1.39, cocoa butter has natural antioxidants and is a very good natural moisturizer especially during this dryer fall and winter months. This stick is a bit firm and does need the warmth of your hand to melt but other than that its great and smell good too just like chocolate. Hey its only one dollar if your skin is a bit dry these days maybe this can help.

proactiv!

So... I was lucky enough to try out Proactiv a few weeks ago and what can I tell you about it? well for one thing its truly convenient, it comes with three products which are all things one would normally have in their everyday routine cleanser, toner and treatment. The Proactiv cleanser is a white somewhat exfoliating cleanser that leaves your skin feeling clean. The revitalizing toner I liked the most of the three its a gentle with glycolic acid and aloe that leaves a nice and smooth feel, i just swipe that on with a cotton round. Step three the repairing treatment is also quite nice, I wear this all over my face under my actual moisturizer it works pretty well.  YES! I would recommend this to anyone looking for an effective acne care kit, the 30 day 3-step system retails at $19.95 which I think is more than reasonable for three products. If you want to  give it a try check out http://www.proactiv.com

note: I am an Influenster member and for was given these products for review purposes through the Influenster VoxBox program but of course my opinions are all my own.

origins clear improvement active charcoal mask

What can I say about Origins' clear improvement active charcoal mask? well for one thing I really like it! This baby  will cost you $22 for 3.4oz the pic however is of the sample size. The mask is made with charcoal and white china clay and clams to absorb environmental toxins and dissolve impurities.  what I like about it most is how simple it is. My biggest complaint about some of the masks I've had in the past was that they were to gimicie I can do without the cooling sensation and the minty smells this mask is the simplest I've found. Its more of a wet consistency......

Its very easy to apply, since it isn't as thick as some other masks putting on an even layer is easy. There is a slight tingle when its first applied but it doesn't last long, after about 10 or so minutes it dries and becomes really tight...rinse and your done. Though it is a little pricey I recommend this mask, its a sure way to clean out your pores.

BURT'S BEES natural skin solutions SENSITIVE

I had the opportunity to try two of BURT'S BEES newest products from the natural skin solutions sensitive line, the daily moisturizing cream and the facial cleanser. The entire collection also consists of an eye cream, and a night cream all meant to work  together as a gentle way to cleanse an moisturize sensitive skin.

The facial cleanser  is 6.oz and retails for about $10. it contains cotton extract which i never heard of prior to trying this product  and bunch of other natural ingredients like coconut oil , sunflower oil, Shea butter the list goes on. Its a very thick creamy consistency and reminds me so much of Cetaphil.

Like Cetaphil it leaves a moisturizing film to the skin which is perfect for those with dry skin. However this product did not remove my make up at all which is one of my basic requirements for cleansers. After using it my skin still felt grimy although i will admit felt soft.  I do not recommend this cleanser for oilier skin or those who expect a cleanser that also removes makeup. this would best suit sensitive dry skin and or people who use makeup wipes prior to cleansing.

The daily moisturizing cream is 1.8 oz and retails for about $15 dollars. Like the cleanser it two contains cotton extract and also has a ton of natural ingredients like sunflower oil, Shea butter, aloe vera juice and of course many others. The moisturizer's consistency felt like a mixture between a cream and a lotion, theres enough water in it for the product to go on without feeling heavy but thicker than a lotion deeming it a cream.

Although this product was meant for daytime use I find it best to use it at night because it does not contain sunscreen and is more of a soothing moisturizer. This product I recommend to everyone, I think this will come especially handy during the winter months.

(As part of being a buzzagent natural communicator this product was sent for me to review. my reviews are and will always be honest opinions. )
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BENEFIT POWDERFLAGE an unexpected gem

Before I got my hands on benefits Powderflage I had been going through a series of trial with other powders to try and figure out which one would work best under my eye.  I thought I finally found one that worked when I started using Makeup forever's HD powder but it really wasn't doing what i needed it to do...it was far too drying for under my eye and seemed to enhance my fine lines. I went to Sephora one day just look around and  ran across  Powderflage...I had seen reviews on it before but hadn't really thought about purchasing it but i figured i'd give it a try.

its a faint pink with very tiny almost invisible sparkly particles

 Its great...I wont say its the best but I will stay it is the best powder I've tried to set my under eye concealer. The price tag on this baby was $28, yes hefty for a 0.11oz jar but in my opinion it is a good buy since I use it every time I apply makeup.  No it doesn't come off chalky or feel dry , actually I probably should advise you to use it sparingly since you really don't need much. They say you can wear it alone but I've never tried doing that since to me it really doesn't highlight or give any coverage.  So far I'm digging it  but there is a WARNING  it can get messy especially if you dare travel with.
If your looking for a powder to set your under eye concealer and don't mind spending up to 30 dollars hunting for one  give it a try .

FIRST AID BEAUTY is FAB!

I've been using first aid beauty's UTRA REPAIR CREAM for a few months now and I think its time I review it. First off i purchased it at Sephora for $28 yea i know kinda steep but seriously its a huge tub (6.oz) that will last me at least 1yr.

I've been using it and still haven't made a significant dent

I purchased this cream some time in february I think.....my skin felt dry and I had patches and so i wanted a heavy cream that would alliviate that problem without causing me to breakout or stir up my eczema prone skin and this works pretty well. I thought it would be oily since its a cream but it isn't at all oily and  i'm actually still using it now during the summer months.  I may even  mix it with jojoba oil in the winter. There absolutely no smell to it so you wont get tired of applying it. The significant ingredients  (to me) in  it are :colloidal oatmeal, soothing eucalyptus oil, and shea butter it also says that it contains an antioxidant booster (don't know if that really is relevant though).  

I use it as a night cream or just a moisturizer when i wont be out in the sun since it does not contain sunscreen.  I find it to be calm and non irritating.  It simply is a thicker cream for those of us who prefer lush moisturizers over watery ones but don't want to clog our pores or end up  looking a grease ball.  I haven't tried the Cetaphil cream but I have tried the lotion and i found that one to be oily so if you dont like Cetaphil but need something for sensitive skin than try this cream...if your happy with Cetaphil or what ever other cream you might be using than skip this one.  

So far I feel First aid beauty's ultra repair cream is REPURCHASE worthy.

Random Haul

So today one of my co-workers told me that the Conway by my job ( in herald Square in Manhattan) would be closing down sometime soon and they were trying to get rid of everything they currently had. Now for any of you that aren't exactly familiar with conway its this super cheap smaller department store. They carry clothing (which i never buy...they are way too cheap), cleaning supplies, makeup, refreshments, some house things, hair and bath & beauty products. Usually the makeup they have is either discontinued or an overstock from somewhere else. However, I  decided to stop by after work and see if they had anything worth getting and I found these:

I got Maybelline's lash stiletto, Define A lash and Great lash. I  saw this Sally Hansen heated lash curler (i know it's totally un necessary) but it was only $1.99 so I figured I'd try it. As for the Red silver and White tube, thats the Sally Hansen Insta-Fix nail repair kit (I think its being discontinued), I  purchased it on sale once before at walgreens and thought it was pretty decent so when I saw it at conway for $1.99 I said what the heck and also picked it up. Everything in the store by the way was 20% off the price so the mascara's came up to $4.79, and the nail thingy and eyelash curler were $1.59.
I also got this big box of 100 hand sanitizers for $2.99 (w/20% off 2.39) and a 3 pack of stride gum for $1.99 (w/20% off $1.59):

Were you a little skiddish about purchasing Forever 21's "Love and beauty" polishes?

Well I have a few and I too was a bit skeptical before purchasing them but they're actually quite good. The ones I got were all opaque and wore reasonably (you wont get Essie quality but they wore longer than my O.P.I ones). 

I recently purchased another one in sky blue and look at how cute the bottle is:

I added another pic of me holding the bottle so you could see how it looked on since i'm wearing it. Plus you can see how creative the names are lol...

These are great polishes, so if you haven't tried them pick one up...at $2.80 I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

Origins brighter by nature spf 35 moisturizer

I purchased this moisturizer at Macy's, it retails for a whopping $42.50 ....very steep. For years I used Aveeno's positively radiant daily moisturizer SPF 30 moisturizer but I recently got bored with it. Yea it did what it was supposed to do which was moisturize and protect me from the sun but it would get so darn oily in the warmer months. I wanted a new moisturizer that would give me an SPF at least 30 and have some other benefits.  Origins is a more natural brand and this moisturizer claimed to be skin tone correcting so I figured I'd try it.

I must say that I really like this its not too heavy but not too thin,  I don't like watery moisturizers but I didn't want anything that would be too oily and this one isn't.  It comes in a  1.7 oz jar which seemed small to me but really you only need a pea size amount. As for its claims to even out skin tone...I don't know if I see any real results specifically from this (especially since I began to use this at the same time as two other new products). I didn't get any breakouts from using this which is great and it has a light sweet clean smell.
OVERALL: I do think this is a pretty nice product, its a bit expensive but since I only have to use a small amount at a time it should last me a while. I'm glad I purchased it.

WELCOME!

So I've just began this blog. It will be a beauty blog filled with reviews , show and tells and some discussions. stay tuned.....