Looking for Some Silicone-Free Moisturizer? Its No Easy Task!

God bless those that can try out any foundation or moisturizer that looks good to them because that has to be a very liberating feeling. I wouldn't know because I have to make sure that any product I use doesn't contain silicone, dimethicone, or any other pore-clogging cone there is. Virtually 99.9% of the products out there today contain some form of silicone and most people have no problems with this ingredient. The higher the silicone ingredient is on the list, the more prevalent it is in the composition of the product. I have used tons of products with silicone in it because I really had no other choice, I put up with the little bumps on my forehead and jawline but even if they weren't full on zits, sometimes the bumps are more annoying because they seem to last forever! At least with a zit, you know it will come to a head (literally) and be out of your life or if you're impatient and pick at them, they will leave behind a scar to remind you of your impatience and let you know for years to come that there once was a pesky zit in its place. But I finally decided to come to terms with the fact that I had to look a little harder for products that were silicone-free and start embracing my silicone-free future (at least where my face is concerned). And just a reminder, "oil free" does not equal silicone free, not that they are the same thing but I have encountered brainless cosmetic counter worker girls (no offense to the ones with brains) tell me that it was. So, how do you know if silicone is bothering your face? Do you get little flesh colored bumps, sometimes very teeny tiny? Those could be due to a reaction to silicone but could also be just clogged pores, cystic acne, millia (although millia tends to be little white bumps often around the eyes). 
Believe me, if I could handle silicone, I would be all over it, all day, every day. No judgment here! But its a sad fact that I can't. 

So if you are in the same silicone-free boat as me, and looking for a good moisturizer, I've got one for ya!

Korres 24-Hour Moisturizing & Brightening Cream (one with SPF6, and one without): 

Known for its natural ingredients, Korres boasts a range of products without silicones, parabens, etc. Don't be fooled into thinking ALL Korres products are silicone free because they aren't. But the Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizing & Brightening Cream is, and its fantastic. If you have dry skin, and you can't do silicone, this is your new best friend. Blog reader, meet Korres moisturizer, Korres moisturizer meet dry skinned silicone-hating blog reader. Now, for some reason Korres makes a version of this with SPF6 (pictured above) with the description in Greek and one version without SPF6 and without the Greek but its the same exact thing aside from the SPF because I have them both. I just don't see the need for the two separate products because an SPF of 6 isn't enough to justify a whole separate product but whatevs. Though it seems petty to complain about anything after I've found my problem-solver of life.

It's so super moisturizing and I love the scent. I normally hate fragrance but for some reason I'm obsessed with this smell but I also can't describe it so that does you zero good. It doesn't agitate my skin which is a first for me. Even though its a super moisturizing lotion, I can apply my makeup like five minutes after applying and its fine. I use it day and night and I will never be without it. It also does give a nice glow to the face. Similar to Philosophy Hope in a Jar moisturizers but without the dimethicone! Now, I do love me some Philosophy skin care so I can't hate. But I've found my one and only in Korres 24-Hour Moisturizing and Brightening Cream and I'm not looking back. I bought my Korres moisturizer on Ebay for less than $20. If you like spending full-price plus tax instead, you can buy it for $38 at ULTA or Sephora.

I plan to do more posts on silicone-free products because there aren't enough of them, posts OR products! And if someone can answer me this question: What is the relationship between Magnesium Aluminum Silicate and Silicone? Because I can handle it just fine so it must not do the same thing.

Jordana Fabuliner VS Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner Pen

I have been on a liquid liner kick lately, wearing minimal eyeshadow and winged liner has been my go-to for the last couple of weeks. I really like my L'Oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense felt-tip liner in that it provides a nice rich black and its pretty easy to apply. But as any good makeup junkie knows, the hunt is always on for the next best thing. Well, I certainly did NOT find the next best thing in the Revlon Colorstay Liner Pen. I was so disappointed with this product. I don't know if I got a dried up one or what but the color was barely a charcoal grey let alone BLACKEST black. I mean, really, blackest black? It would have been a stretch even calling it black. It applied very poorly over eyeshadow and I could not get a good black line for the life of me. Even if I did get a "bad one", its not like I'm going to waste another $10 to find out if that was the case. Moving on...

Jordana Fabu-liner is fabu-lous. For $1.99 at your local Walgreens, you will not replicate the disappointment I suffered on behalf of the Revlon Colorstay liner pen. For one, it comes out black which I didn't think would be such a luxury until I tried the Revlon pen. Second, the point at the tip isn't so pointy that it will actually stab you or pierce the skin when you are trying to draw a wing (ahem, Smashbox liner pen = dangerous). The Jordana gem is easy to work with and it doesn't flake off by mid-day. I am impressed with this cheap little find, so much so that I have added it to the current rotation. 

Jordana Fabu-liner Photo taken from makeuptrain.com

Jordana Fabu-liner photo taken from www.makeuptrain.com

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen = Failure

Some MAC Goodies From Extra Dimensions and Reel Sexy

I find it extremely difficult to keep up with MAC's incessant collection releases. I have mentioned this thought in more than one of my posts but it remains to be true. Had I known there would be an orangey-peach shade of lipstick in the form of an Amplified Cream being released in the Reel Sexy collection, I would have been online the morning of the release date ready to pounce. Instead, I paid $10 more for it on Ebay a week after because I'm too busy to even apply lipstick (GASP!) let alone buy any. I did manage to get my hands on the MAC Skinfinish in Superb without having to resort to Ebay. This product was released in the Extra Dimensions collection around the same time as Reel Sexy. It was love at first swatch when I saw JulieG713's video where she revealed this little gem. It was of course sold out in my MAC store and online but they still had it at Nordstrom! I snatched it up and then checked back later to see if they had any left and they did not. I just happened to get lucky. So I have both items now and I really am enjoying them both. 

MAC Reel Sexy Lipstick: If you don't like orange lipstick, this one may not be for you. However, this is not a bright and crazy orange and it can be worked with in order to downplay the brightness. So I did what I do with any color that is a bit much and I softened it up and dulled it down with MAC Myth. Below I have swatches of what Reel Sexy looks like on its own and then when mixed with a bit of Myth which gives it this great orange creamsicle look. As I said, this is an Amplified formula which is very creamy and lovely but can tend to accentuate any lip imperfections so wear a lip balm and exfoliate first!

MAC Skinfinish in Superb: This is a gorgeous rose-gold highlight powder with a beautiful embossed design giving it a really cool look and texture. It provides more of a really great sheen than a glittery mess. Its very pigmented when swatching on the hands but is much more subtle on the face. Below you will see how bold it comes across on my fingers but then much more wearable and sheer on my wrist. Love love love!

MAC Reel Sexy mixed with Myth Lipstick (left) and MAC Reel Sexy on its own (right)

MAC Skinfinish in Superb, photo taken by me

MAC Skinfinish in Superb, photo taken by me

MAC Superb swatched on my wrist, photo taken by me

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette Winner Announcement.. SOON!

Just a quick post to tell you all who entered for the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette, I will be announcing the winner on May 1st. I apologize for the wait! I have so much going on with school and my last day is the 30th of April and then I am free as a bird (for 2 weeks, then back to it)! I haven't picked the random number yet so I haven't even picked the winner yet, sit tight ladies and I will be back soon with the winner!

Review: Essie Pink-a-Boo from the Resort 2012 Collection

I have a new favorite nail polish! Move over OPI Sweetheart, make room for Essie Pink-a-Boo. I absolutely love nail polish that has that super fine micro-shimmer in that it doesn't exactly sparkle...it glimmers. Pink-a-Boo is a cool-toned pale pink but not as pale as Essie Ballet Slippers or OPI Bubblebath and with tons of very fine shimmer. Think Nicole by OPI's Kim-Pletely in Love from the Kardashian collection but way better. I am a fan of using multiple coats to get my desired capacity which is achieved in four coats but its possible some may prefer three. The photos I'm including are from ommorphiabeautybar.com and she applied three thin coats to achieve the look in the second photo below. For the life of me, I couldn't get that shimmer to show up in my own photos and thus, using them may have prompted one to believe that this shade is not all I've hyped it up to be. And I can't have that. So I found the best possible representation of how the color actually looks and the pictures still don't capture all of the pizazz. If you're interested in the other shades released with this collection, I suggest you visit the link provided with the photos below.

Image taken from http://ommorphiabeautybar.com/2012/02/13/essie-resort-2012-collection-first-look-swatches-review-2/

Image taken from http://ommorphiabeautybar.com/2012/02/13/essie-resort-2012-collection-first-look-swatches-review-2/

If you haven't done so already, there is one more day to enter my Urban Decay Naked2 Palette Contest! So sign up to follow my blog and follow the Naked2 palette pictured at the top of the sidebar to the right!

My Favorite Lip Liners + Which One Outlasted the Others!

I haven't posted in sooo long! I am in the middle of the most intense and stressful month of my life trying to finish up the first year of my Master's program. So let's talk about something way more important and fun: lip liner. I don't think I've ever done a post about favorite lip liners even though they deserve a post all to themselves, why should lipstick and lipgloss get all of the glory? I have a lot of liners but I really could survive on just five or six, OK I could really get away with two but that's not very much fun. I have some affordable and some higher-end liners on my Top 7 list so there is something for everyone. If you enjoy wearing nudes and peachy-pink shades then you will probably like most of these. I don't have a top red lip liner because I wear red lipstick about once a year. Oh, and find out which one had the best staying power when I was trying to clean the swatches off my arm!

Top 7 Lip Liners of Life: 

1. Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Natural: a perfect brownish-toned nude that goes on so smoothly and really is my favorite texture of all of my liners. Pricey but comes with a cute little Chanel sharpener and lip brush on one end of the liner to help ease the pain. 

2. MAC Stone: This shade is like a flat grey/taupe that I normally wouldn't have looked twice at, or even once at had it not been for PixiWoo on YouTube doing a tutorial on how to make your lips look fuller but lining ever so slightly outside of the lip line with this shade to create more definition. I was hooked ever since!

3. MAC Subculture: A great shade for doing a nude lip and warming up any nude lipstick that may make you look dead. Goes fantastic paired with MAC Myth and MAC Big Baby Plushglass, one of my favorite lip combos. 

4. Boots No. 7 #20 Nude: If you watch PixiWoo, you know this liner. They use it all of the time and it was also used with the MAC Stone in that video I was talking about on fuller lips. Very similar to MAC Subculture but more affordable, I got mine at Target for around $6.

5. NYX Lip Liner Pencil in Pale Pink #854: I love this liner. Its my favorite "drugstore" lip liner at under $6. This is a beautiful cool toned mauve pink that goes great with colors like MAC Innocense Beware or even to fill in the entire lip and put MAC Fashion Fanatic Plushglass over it. This is a must-have liner if you wear a lot of cool-pink shades. 

6. Prestige LipLiner #206 Silk: Another fabulous drugstore find. If you don't have access to the NYX Pale Pink, pick this one up from Rite Aid because it's very similar, mauve-pink and under $6. And if you're lucky you will find it Buy 1 Get 1 50%, same with NYX above. 

7. Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in #063 East End Snob: I think everyone has this lip liner. EmilyNoel83 on YT has mentioned it quite a bit in her older videos. This liner is one of the twist-up automatic ones you don't need to sharpen which is a huge bonus. The shade is more of a rosey-pink and has a creamier texture than the traditional pencil liners. If you're more of a mid-toned pink kind of gal, this one is a good choice but will also work with lighter pinks as well. Rimmel is found at pretty much every drug store (at least in the US and I'm guessing UK since its called Rimmel London). 

So which liner was the hardest to remove when cleaning off my swatches from my arm? Well, I'll tell you there was one that was easiest to remove, one that was hardest, and the other five were the same. The loser was Rimmel East End Snob and the winner, which comes to no surprise, was Chanel liner in Natural! By far the one that hung on the longest. Which coincidentally are the cheapest (Rimmel) and most expensive (Chanel) of the bunch.

 

From Left to Right: Prestige Silk, Boots No. 7 Nude, MAC Subculture, MAC Stone, Chanel Natural, Rimmel East End Snob, NYX Pale Pink

Review for St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse

I've been watching QVC demonstrations of St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse for a couple of years now, each time getting closer and closer to making the purchase. If you're a self-tanning kind of girl, you know that there are two enemies involved here: orange and streaky. Which is why I was so tempted by St. Tropez because the color seemed to apply so evenly and easily with the most beautiful rich golden brown shade. I knew I had to have the applicator mitt as well which was about 50% of the reason why this tanner looks so good. And its a total time saver.

*Please note, my review is based on my experience with the product using the mitt, I can't say that it applies the same exact way or is as easy without it. I am sure you could forgo the mitt but I think its amazing.
 
So let's talk bronzing mousse. 

PRO'S

*The texture is very light and it is basically what it says it is: a mousse. 

*The mitt allows you to really rub in the product thoroughly and eliminate streaking.

*With the mitt, I was able to apply to my hands and feet with very minimal streaking! I had to go examine myself in natural light because I couldn't believe it turned out so well.

*Dries quickly!!! I experience no stickyness even when I was hot and sweaty. And because of the quick-dry, there is very little transfer compared to others I've tried.

*The color is perfect, it is a gorgeous bronzey golden brown, no orange anywhere in site! 

*Much more natural color than any other tanner I've tried (Tan Towels, Sun Laboratories, Jergens, Banana Boat)

*VERY easy to apply (using the mitt) which made for a much quicker application and less mess and hassle. 

*NO MESS (with the mitt), no washing the hands every 3 minutes to make sure they don't stain while your rubbing in your lotion and no washing the hands afterwards (unless you want to)

*There is a nice smell when you're applying it but the next day that fades. The plus is that it isn't as bad as other tanners, I didn't even notice any bad smell at all until the next day and it is pretty faint. 


CONS:

*A bit pricey, $30 for 4oz (the smallest size available from Sephora, can also be purchased from QVC, there are no deals on Ebay so you might as well skip it) + $6 for the mitt


*I will not use it on my face. I break out if I look at 99% of face products the wrong way. But if you aren't sensitive, you can probably get away with it.

Expensive, yes. Worth it, absolutely!

Comparing it against other popular brands:

Tan Towels: I like these because they are SO easy to use and the color lasts a while but its not that deep golden brown that St. Tropez is. Plus it transfers really badly.

Sun Labs: I love the color of this stuff in the extra dark formula but application of it SUCKS. If you don't have something over your hands you have to stop what your doing every few minutes to wash your hands or they will stain. Plus it streaks bad when you apply it and doesn't look good until you take a shower to get the excess off. I tried applying it with a Kabuki brush and it was better. Similar color to St. Tropez but much more of a hassle. 

Shoes of the Day! Featuring Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in Marmelade!

I have just discovered that orange nail polish looks really good on the toes when coupled with white open-toed sandals. A revelation very new to me since I haven't worn white shoes since sometime in the 80's when I was forced to against my will. I really never liked the idea of owning a shoe that I couldn't wear 7 months out of the year as a result of some crazy "no white shoes after Labor Day" rule. Which begs the question, do the citizens of Florida abide by that rule even though the weather is pretty much either hot or less hot all year round? Because I also live in a state where we didn't see snow once this past winter and I've been known to wear sandals in November. So why can't they be white? 

For the sake of my church outfit for Easter Sunday, I was on the hunt for some cute white wedge sandals. All in the name of Jesus. And I found them at Dilliard's by the Gianni Binni brand which is unfortunately only sold at Dilliard's. I like this brand because the designs emulate what's going on in fashion now but also with affordability and comfort. Who knew you could have all three? So these wedges also come in the most perfect shade of pink, nude, and black. White would actually have been my fourth choice out of all of the colors and so it actually pained me physically to deny myself the pink in favor of white. But the good news is, I really like the white. And today I couldn't help but notice how good my Revlon Colorstay Marmalade nail polish on my toes looked with my white shoes so I thought I'd share. I feel very springy right now.  

On the toes: Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in Marmalade, photos taken by me.

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