Luscious and Long Lasting Lips

  Over the past few months I have been obsessed with lipstick and tinted lip balm sticks.  I used to hate wearing anything other than regular chap stick on my lips, until one day I tried a little color and I LOVED it.  Now I practically wear something on my lips every day.  Whether it be a deep purple, red, pink, or a nude.  I want my color to last for a long time during the day.  I don't get too much time to stop and do touch ups while I'm at work. 
  No one wants their lips to lose their color an hour after wearing lip gloss, or their lipstick wearing off half way through the day.  SO, I have put together four easy steps that will help keep the color stay in tact for a long day, as well as, making your lips appear full and luscious.

Lip Liner: Rimmel London Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 057 Ravish
Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in 045 Raspberry

Step 1: Use your toothbrush to lightly exfoliate.  Just use water and light circular motions over your lips.  This gets the blood rushing up to your lips making them look and feel fuller.  This also gets rid of dead skin that your lip liner and lipstick would hold onto.

Step 2: Use lip liner to outline.  If your lips are uneven like mine are, this is how you would even them out to perfect the shape.  This is also just an outline so your lipstick doesn't go outside of the lines.

Step 3: Using your lip liner, color in your lips.  Work from the outside towards the middle but don't fill everything in.  By doing this, this helps the color become bolder and stay longer during the day.

Step 4: Apply your lipstick.  Do one or two strokes across the top and repeat on the bottom.

VOILA! Easy way for your lips to look full and luscious and to keep your color lasting for hours!

**Just a side note. I used my phone to take these pictures and to edit the process. So don't judge on the amateur quality! 

Stubborn Blemishes

  So I called out of work because of the weather today.  I am not trying to drive an hour to work in inclement weather, that will most likely be worse when I get off. No thanks.  So I have decided to post something new!  I want to explain how I feel is the best way to get rid of stubborn blemishes.  It's a routine I used a lot in the summer to prevent breakouts.  Now I'm just doing the routine when I feel like something is about to pop up or when the stubborn little thing has already arrived.  I don't want my skin to dry out, since it is winter, because during the summer this was something I did just about every single day.  Here are three easy steps to help demolish those face demons in just a couple days.  For best results, do this at night before bed.

  Step 1:  Fully cleanse the face with a facial scrub or cleanser.  In this instance I use a scrub to scrub off the already dead skin and to hopefully prevent anything to come about.  I, of course, use my St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub, or the St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, both are amazing.  The coarseness of the scrub just makes me "feel" like I'm getting something done.

  Step 2: I use Tea Tree Oil Pads from Trader Joe's.  These are AMAZING.  If tea tree oil works best for you I would suggest looking into these.  If there isn't a way for you to access these wonderful things, using Tea Tree Oil on a cotton ball, Q-tip, or cotton pad would work too.  Rub it over the areas that are breaking out or very prone to breaking out.  Tea Tree Oil is very drying, this is why I can't do this routine every day during this time of year. 

  Step 3:  Use just a tiny dab of Neutrogena's On-The-Spot Acne Treatment on top of the blemishes and the areas you're breaking out.  This stuff is oil-free and doesn't cause much irritation or dryness on the skin.

  This routine works best for me.  Let me know what works best for you or if you try this one, how it all worked out!

Revlon Colorstay Shadowlinks - Review

  Okay this is something that I have noticed in drugstores recently and I have thought they were so neat looking, and they are Revlon Colorstay Shadowlinks!
  I purchased a few links the other day, just 4 neutral colors, but you can build your own palettes.  You don't have to buy different "pods" and a palette tray; and you can have as many colors as you want in one palette!  They come in many different colors, including, mattes, pearls and metallic colors.  I purchased two matte colors, Bone and Blush, one pearl color, Sand and one metallic, Oyster.  Now granted I did only get neutral colors, nothing with a great amount of pigment but I still love the base that the mattes gives and the shimmer, that the metallic and pearl gives off. I would love to try the darker colors, like Taupe, Purple and Eggplant, to see what their pigmentation looks like.  I have worn mine for the past few days and noticed that the coloring does stay on and last most of the day.  I have not noticed any creasing, and the colors blend very well. 
  I also think these are great for when you're traveling and don't want to take a long many different eye shadow palettes, just to use one or two colors from them.  With this you can mix and match the colors with what you need or make your own color palettes.  I honestly find this so much easier to keep in my every day makeup bag, and if I have any extra colors I don't use every day, I'll just put them along with the rest of my makeup, to use another time I need it.
  Below is a picture of the display from the store.  I've noticed that you can purchase them at most drugstores, this was at Walgreens.  I have yet to find them in a Walmart or Target.

  If you've tried these yet, let me know what you think of them!

BLOGLOVIN'