My Picks: MAC Buy 2 Get 1 Free Lipsticks- Barbeque, Coral Bliss, and Mehr

L to R: Barbeque, Coral Bliss, Mehr

 MAC giving away product for free?? Must be dreamin' amiright? No need to pinch yourself, ladies and gents. MAC recently ran a superb special where you could buy any 2 lip products and get a third lippie free. I took advantage of this deal and got three lipsticks I have had my eye on for a bit.

 I chose 'Coral Bliss,' a pinkier leaning cremesheen formula, 'Barbecue,' a matte red with bright orange undertones, and 'Mehr,' a matte mauve a la Kylie Jenner lip craze.

All of these colors have quickly moved into my summertime rotation with Coral Bliss being my go to for an easy and bright lip look that goes with any outfit or makeup. Thanks to my friend from PT school Virginia for drawing my attention to this shade! Mehr will transition with ease into the cooler months and Barbeque will be reserved for when I want that stand out pout.

xxSJ

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in 'Double Dare' and 'Lovesick'

 The liquid lipstick trend has hit the beauty world hard and I don't think its going anywhere any time soon. I decided to hop on this trend after thorough research on what I thought the best liquid lipstick formula would be for my dry, depraved lips. I settled on trying out Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks due to their reputation of having a long-lasting and very comfortable formulation.  I settled on picking two neutral colors to try this trend out.

R: Lovesick, L: Double Dare

 I picked out 'Lovesick,' a mauve pinky nude, and 'Double Dare,' a dusty rose mauve. The products come housed in a slender plastic tube with ornate black designs on it. I like the sleek packaging a lot, and the slimness may make it seem like you get less product, you actually get 0.22oz of liquid lipstick which is double what you get in an Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick. The applicator is a standard doefoot applicator which I found very easy to use to get a relatively perfect application.

Top: Double Dare, Bottom: Lovesick

I love this product a lot.  I am someone who LOVES lipstick to death but can't be bothered to reapply it through out the day when it fades. I also have a profession that doesn't allow me to look in mirrors often or take frequent restroom breaks for touch ups so I tend to avoid putting on lip products at risk of fading or smearing in an unflattering way. I think this product solves this issue for me as I get a full 8 hours of wear time out of this lipstick with no touch ups needed. This stuff lasts through eating and drinking and best of all, it doesn't make my lips feel uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn't say that this lipstick makes my lips feel moisturized while I wear it, but I'm certainly not bothered by it.

As an added bonus, I noticed in the morning following wearing this product my lips always looked and felt very refreshed. After some light investigating I discovered this product is infused with Vitamin E and sunflower seeds which my lips apparently respond really well to!

I'm in love with these lipsticks and will surely pick up more shades in the future. It's a beautiful product that works and costs the fair price of $20 per tube. Its not cheap, but its not going to break the bank if I hold off on my normal Starbucks purchases for the week!

Find these liquid lipsticks HERE!

xxSJ

Bite Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo: 'Pepper/Cafe'

Bite Beauty is a brand with an interesting take on makeup. They formulate their lipsticks with all edible ingredients to ensure that what you're putting on your lips is safe enough to get into your mouth! Bite Beauty comes out with lipstick duos from time to time which are mini versions of their famous Luminous Creme lipsticks on a double-ended retractable container. I got the mini 'Pepper/Cafe.'

Pepper is a dusty rose.

Cafe is a muted peachy pink. 

 The lipsticks glide effortlessly onto the skin and are quite pigmented given their neutral hues.

Here are the colors compared to my other Bite Beauty lipsticks. I have quite a few neutrals but I think this duo really rounds out my collection nicely as far as nudes are concerned. 

L: Pepper, R: Cafe

These lipsticks glide on easily and since they are teeny, they are very easy to apply straight out of the tube. I think they last for quite some time on the lips given how moisturizing they are, and they don't emphasize dryness or fine lines. 

Look how tiny these guys are! I love these because they are so small and fit in my pocket, purse, backpack... where ever I need them to go! The neutral hues make them work appropriate with out the need for constant checking in mirrors or touch-ups to ensure your makeup hasn't gone haywire.

These tiny lippies sell for $14 each on Sephora. Get em while they last because rumor has it, Bite Beauty is phasing out their luminous creme lipstick line!

Check out my review of the Musk/Lychee duo HERE!
Check out my review of the Fig/Date duo HERE!
Check out my review of Fig lipstick HERE!

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie Warm and Toasty Turtleneck

Today's nail of the day was a pretty purple polish gifted to me by my good friend Safo! The color is Essie's 'Warm and Toasty Turtleneck.' It is a muted purple with some gray undertones to it. Pictured above is two coats of Warm and Toasty Turtleneck with Essie's Go Ginza dotted on top for some extra pizazz. The color applied easily with no streaking and lasted 3 days chip-free on my nails.

Pick this polish up if you're looking for a neutral purple this winter!
Essie nail polishes are sold at drugstores and beauty stores for about $8.50 a bottle. You can also find trusted sellers on Amazon as well!

xxSJ

NOTD: Formula X for Sephora 'Alive'

    Formula X for Sephora has done it... they've given me the color I've been searching for for years. I've always loved peachy coral colored things and have been searching for the perfect peach for my nails. I've thought I'd come close before with Butter London's Trout Pout, or Essie's A Crewed Interest. Both of those colors were a little too orange for my taste and in certain indoor looking just looked... not cute.
   When I saw Formula X's 'Alive' in Sephora, I knew I'd found the one, and when I applied it to my nails, my thoughts were further confirmed. First of all, the formula of these polishes is PERFECT. Completely opaque with a creamy finish in two thin coats with a perfectly sized brush for easy application.  The color lasts a couple days chip free. I notice this polish tends to lift up on the corners and come off in large chips, not staining the nail underneath.
    I love this color so much and I think it will be a staple for Spring and Summer. I've been wearing it non-stop since I bought it and am so happy that I found my perfect Peach!

Formula X polishes are exclusive to Sephora and cost $10.50 a bottle. I think the acryclic and white plastic packaging is modern and beautiful and the formula is well worth the cost.

xxSJ

My Blush Picks for Valentine's Day!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I thought I'd share my blush picks for this romantic holiday! Whether you're spending the day with your significant other, some girlfriends, or with Netflix, I know I always have a good time getting dressed up for the occasion! Here are my recommendations for romantic, feminine colors to rock on Valentine's Day:

MAC Star Wonder is the prettiest blush I own. It is a mineralized skin finish and has the trademark marbling in the powder. It is a mix of light pink, plum, and gold which shows up on the skin as a dewy, gorgeous plummy pink. GAHHHHH so beautiful

NYX Peach is for my drugstore gals. This blush is super easy to work with as it is packed with color and ultra bright! All it takes is some blending out at the edges to give you a just pinched look.

MAC Dame is a muted pink that reminds me a lot of Star Wonder except with out the sparkle and shimmer. It is an effortless color that compliments a lot of different eye looks.

Tarte Dollface is the perfect pink color. With warmer undertones and a super sheer formula, this blush will be perfect to add just a touch of color to your cheeks. Wear this blush if you're going to go for a dark eye or dramatic lip!

Hope you enjoyed my Valentine's Day blush picks!  I love this holiday because whether or not you have a romantic interest in your life, surely you have some loved ones to celebrate because that's what this day is really about--LOVE!

xxSJ

Steph Reads: 'The Guardian' by Nicholas Sparks

   I was looking for a good book to read while on my cruise a couple weeks ago and stumbled across this Nicholas Sparks novel at my local thrift shop.  I had never read a Nicholas Sparks book before but thought this would be exactly the type of fluffy read I would enjoy while getting some sun in Mexico, so I made the $0.50 splurge!
   This book follows young widow Julie who receives the gift of a Great Dane from her late husband and the promise that he will always watch over her. Julie decides she is ready to date again and that decision comes with some serious complications: a romance with a best friend, new love, and a crazed stalker.
   This book was Nicholas Sparks' first attempt at a thriller, branching away from his normal romance novels (The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Lucky One... to name just a few!) and I certainly found this to be a page turner. This book had realistic characters who I could connect with and a plot line that made me at times feel just as helpless as our protagonist, Julie.  Overall I really enjoyed this suspenseful novel and was even emotionally invested enough to well up a little at the end (shhhhh don't tell anyone!).

What's your favorite Nicholas Sparks novel??

xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

Too-Faced Natural Eye Palette: An Unsung Hero

This Too-Face Natural Eye palette is one of the first palettes I ever owned. I find myself rotating through palettes quite frequently and every time I pick this one up after stowing it away for awhile I'm always in awe by the ease of use and quality of shadows inside! I thought I'd do a quick post highlighting why I love this thing and why it will always be an old faithful for me!

The color selection in the palette as the name suggests is very neutral. This palette includes my very favorite highlight, 'Heaven.' This matte soft white highlight is just so perfect to add some dimension to the eye. Particularly when mixed with this shimmer heavy palette, the matte highlight is the perfect touch.  I also LOVE the gray/beige crease color 'Velvet Revolver.'  It is a warm gray color that works as the perfect transition color for every one of the colors in this palette. 

The shadows are all a variety of textures with the upper row being mattes, the middle row being shimmers, and the bottom row containing chunky glitters. The negative I have to say about this palette is that the darkest browns are quite similar to one another. They only differ slightly in tone.

No matter the shadow combination you choose with this palette, it will create the prettiest, brightest fool proof neutral eye. I recommend this palette for beginners over the Naked palette simply because you can't mess these shadow combos up! Other palettes can be a bit overwhelming because of all the shadow combos you can create. With this small palette, you will create a pretty eye, every time. 

I always feel so pretty when I use this little palette and I usually get compliments on my eye makeup when I wear this stuff! This palette is $36 for 9 eyeshadows and is the perfect size for traveling. Trust me when I say this is the perfect set of shadows to add to your arsenal for a standby pretty eye. You'll feel pretty. You'll feel fabulous. Everyone will notice.

xxSJ

NOTD: China Glaze 'Rich & Famous'

I need to give China Glaze some more love. The polish colors are so gorgeous and the formulas are fantastic! Today I decided to go with one of my favorite pinks that I definitely don't give enough attention to. It is the color 'Rich & Famous:'

This color is a creamy bright pink. What I love about this color is that it is a blue-toned fuschia pink which I think looks really pretty on my skin tone. This color is definitely bright but manages to look very fresh and clean rather than teenie-bopper-esque.

The formula of this polish is great. Only two thin coats are needed for full opacity and the skinny brush allows those of us with wittle bitty nails to have control of the polish! China Glaze is great for long-wearing polishes as the brand includes nail hardeners in their polishes.

As always, the pups are gettin' in on the picture taking action!

China Glaze polishes are about $8 a bottle and can be found at Ulta and online.

xxSJ