What's in my makeup bag?

I'm not big on wearing makeup and usually go for the bare minimum. I love any kind of "natural" look. Now that I'm working with kids again, I feel less inclined to "spruce" my face up, so the heavy eyeshadow and lipstick wear is saved for the occasional night out or any other type of dress up event. I wanted to share with you guys what's inside my makeup bag (well, the main one...) These are the items I use most frequently, but I do have two other bags full of goodies! Ironic for someone who doesn't wear makeup that much, haha.

Jamberry Nail Review: Marsala Chevron

I've been wanting to try out Jamberry nails for awhile now since I've been seeing them everywhere! Thanks to Kim who sent me a free sample to test out, I finally got to see what all the hype was about :) Here's my review on Jamberry nail wraps!

First of all, I love that there are so many design choices. You can play mix and match with different nail wraps or even do just one nail and paint the rest a regular nail polish color. I think these are particularly fun to do in the Spring or Summer with a cute floral design pattern or something funky to match the season. I also immediately thought of all the girls I've babysat before and how much they would love this.

The application itself is rather easy. All you need are your wraps, a file, pair of scissors and a blow dryer (or some other kind of heating device). The wraps come in various widths to accommodate for different nail sizes (and also maybe if you screw up one nail you still have other options, haha). For each nail wrap, I heated it up with my blow dryer for no more than 5 seconds (basically until it got flexible). Then I carefully pressed it onto my nail. It'll look something like this: 

Obviously at this point you'll need your scissors! I recommend cutting as far down as you can, because the rest you will have to file down. Once you've cut and filed, you apply some more heat to your nail (again, just a few seconds should suffice) and press down again to secure the wrap.

I think in total, it took me about 10-15 minutes to do the whole set. After your first couple you get the hang of it and it goes by quickly. The best part about it was not having to worry about touching stuff once I was done, because I'm notorious for always ruining my manicures within five minutes.

Check out all the different designs they have and if you're interested in watching how the whole process is done check out this video.

P.S. I love that on their site they show real photos of people who have posted their nails on Instagram for each design so you can check out what it looks like once it's on someone's hand! 

Have you ever gotten Jamberry nails? Send me links so I can see!

Lipstick Review: Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede

Lately, I've been wanting to get more in touch with my feminine side. Since I work as a nanny, I typically don't "dress up" for work. Also, since it's summer I tend to dress more casual and don't wear make-up (because let's be real, it would melt off my face by the end of the day). I'm usually not big on make-up, especially lipstick. I rarely wear lipstick. But for whatever reason, I want to start feeling more like a "lady" thus I went ahead and bought myself two new lipsticks on my last Target trip. I liked them so much that I now want to share my review with you guys.

First off, don't get me wrong here. I do own lipstick. Quite a few actually. I own a significant amount of make-up for a girl who doesn't really wear any! I may not be a make-up "expert" but I've tried enough brands, colors, etc. to know what's good and what's not. So with that being said, this isn't some kind of newbie review ;)

The Lipstick: Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede

in "Finale" and "Muse" Shades

I picked out these two colors because they're some of the shades that I'm missing from my current collection. I usually stick to more neutral or subtle colors, but I really wanted to find some colors that "popped." I chose this brand simply because it advertised the fact that it "stays" on longer than your average lipstick. That's always an issue with me! I don't know what on earth I'm doing with my lips but when I wear lipstick it pretty much comes off within the hour.

"Finale"

"Muse"

Reasons I love this lipstick:

• Although I bought two vibrant shades, the color is subtle enough for my liking. The more you apply, the darker it gets. I like that I can choose how bright my lipstick is. Although that does mean you usually have to apply a couple times over to get it all evened out.
• It feels "soft" on your lips. Sometimes lipsticks just feel weird on my lips. That's one of the reasons I usually stay away. But with this brand, I could barely tell I'm even wearing lipstick. I guess that's the "ultimate suede" part of it.
• I didn't break the bank purchasing these. I'm not a fan on spending big bucks on make-up (although I have... many times). These were less than $9 each and can be found at pretty much any drugstore. 

Hope you enjoyed my first lipstick review! (am I doing this right?) :)

Top 5 Beauty Products I Can't Live Without

1. Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo has definitely been a life saver for me many times. I like the Tresemme brand the best because it does what it's supposed to - soak up the oil in your hair, leave your hair with a fresh scent, and also give it a bit of a boost in volume. It can also be found at most drug stores and it won't leave your wallet starving. As with most dry shampoos, you get that powdery residue in your hair when you first spray it on but once you wait a bit for it to absorb into your hair you can just gently mix it well into your hair to blend it in. Dry shampoo is sometimes really necessary for me because I can't always wash my hair every day or else it dries out. That's why I turn to dry shampoo to help me out!

 2. Moroccan Oil

This stuff has done WONDERS for my hair. Moroccan oil has gone up in popularity the past couple of years and with good reason. It helps keep your hair shiny, less split ends, less breakage, less frizz, protects from heat products, etc. I only use a small dab after every hair wash, and mostly put it on my ends. If you haven't checked it out yet, definitely go buy some.

3. Devacurl Heaven in Hair

Okay, at this point you can tell I'm obsessed with my hair. I'm not one to spend hours on doing my hair, especially because I have so much of it and it's so thick and I have absolutely no patience when it comes to stuff like that. Normally I just blow dry my hair for 5 to 10 minutes and then put it in a bun to finish drying and give it some natural wave. BUT on those days where I don't even want to do that (or in the summer time) I use this magical stuff. It's the most expensive hair product I own (the 8 fl. oz jar costs around $25) but I'm only half way through it and I've had it for months. You only need a little bit for it to have an effect. What it does is leave your hair less frizzy but gives it beautiful waves. Sometimes all I have to do is put some in before bed, put my hair in a bun, and I wake up looking like this:

4. Aveeno Moisturizer Clear Complexion

At $16 a bottle, this is one of my more expensive drug store buys, but I've had it for months as well because I only need a little bit. It's my favorite moisturizer because it helps keep my skin from feeling dry but doesn't leave it gross and oily either. It also helps with clearing up your complexion and it smells pretty good.

5. 55+ Efficacite Exceptionnel (lightening lotion)

You're probably thinking, what the hell is this shit? It's definitely not a product I expect most people to know about. But I love it. It's a "lightening" lotion which basically means it helps with dark spots and acne scars, stuff like that. It has also really helped clear up my skin. I don't really know the science behind it, but it's worked some miracles for me in the past. If you're looking for something to not only help with break outs but also getting rid of dark spots or evening out your skin, I would definitely give this a try. It's usually less than $20 and it lasts a long time, too.