This week I have had fun testing out a few new lip colors for summer with L’Oreal’s Extraordinaire by Colour Riche lip glosses. I’ve tended to be more of a lipstick girl lately. I feel like I can get a truer color with lipstick and so many lip glosses end up being really sticky. But I was pleasantly surprised with this gloss. They are crazy pigmented, so the color doesn’t get muted with the gloss, and not sticky one bit. Almost like the moisturizing effect you get from a lip balm. And now for the colors….
Top: Target (no longer available, but this one is similar)
The first color I tried was Blushing Harmony. It was a bit too muave for my complexion. I feel like the browner undertones would be much more fitting on a brunette. I was actually surprised, because the shade is really pretty, I thought it would be my favorite for sure.
Ruby Opera– such a great red! My skin tone is more on the pink side, so it can be tricky trying to find the right shade of red. This one definitely fits the bill when my day calls for a bold lip. The other thing I loved was that the gloss is so pigmented, I used it like a lip liner first, then filled the rest of my lips in.
My overall favorite was Coral Encore. What can I say? I’m a coral girl at heart. I love a great coral lip and this is a perfect shade, not too orange and really bright and fun.
Have you tried these glosses? Which one would you pick?
I had the amazing opportunity to test out some of the most luxurious skin care products I have ever used. If you haven’t heard of Phytomer, you are in for a real treat. Headquartered in France, Phytomer invented marine cosmetics, which use the most precious ingredients from the sea to strengthen and recharge the skin with energy. Over the past month, I set aside my normal skincare routine and used only Phytomer skincare products. In other words, I got to pamper myself morning and night.
Here is the line-up. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven with all of these products. Let’s break them down by groups and I’ll tell you a bit about each product…
Perfect Visage Gentle Cleansing Milk (available here): LOVE this! Very gentle and very effective and smells like a day at the spa. This bottle is HUGE and will most likely last me about 3 more months! One of my top pics! Great price for the amount that you get. I would recommend this to anyone.
Hydrasea Ultra-Moisturizing Polarized Water Serum: This was great for the dry winter months. I put it on before applying my makeup and it held the moisture all day long without feeling heavy or greasy. I probably won’t need it during the summer as it isn’t quite as dry.
Hydra Original Thirst-Relief Melting Cream (available here): AMAZING. This was great for dry weather, but I will continue to use it all year long. Again, massive bottle. I barely even made a dent in the 30 days and I really feel like this is worth every penny. My skin was perfectly dewy and my make-up went on nice and smoothly. One of the best moisturizers I have used, hands down.
Night Recharge Youth Enhancing Cream (available here): I switched off between this and the Initial Youth Cream at night. This is a thinner feeling cream that felt my skin soft and supple in the morning. Great bang for the buck too!
Initial Youth Multi-Action Early Wrinkle Cream (available here): Amazing. It is a much smaller bottle, but I have probably 2 months left of use out of it. I loved the slightly thicker consistency and the fact that a little goes a long way. It smells wonderful without being too perfumey. AND I could see the results! This cream is geared more toward 25 and up so it was perfect for me. If you have the budget, I would highly recommend this!
Vegetal Exfoliant (available here): I used this mask twice a week and it did wonders for my skin! I didn’t think my skin could get any softer after washing it with the cleansing milk, but this did it. It is very gentle and mild. One of my top picks!
Hydra-Matifying Control Cream: This stuff is pretty close to magic. It is a daytime face lotion that gave my skin a matte finish and minimized the look of my pores. It isn’t super hydrating, but will be a lotion that I use on a regular basis in California where the weather is a lot more humid.
Acnipur Blemish Solution Fluid (available here): I used this lotion every night before my nighttime cream. It helped keep my skin nice and clear without drying it out. It is very mild, so you might need something a little stronger for already existing larger blemishes.
Seaweed Soap (available here): I didn’t think much of the soap when I got it, but after one use I was hooked! The seaweed in the soap exfoliated my skin and I didn’t dry up like a prune the second after getting out of the shower! The smell is to die for. I kept it up high in my shower out of the water when I wasn’t using it. It will last me at least another month and I seriously look forward to using it!
Dietary Supplement (available here): I took 2 everyday along with my normal vitamins after eating a meal. It helps keep your skin healthy and clear from the inside out.
Moisturizing Body Milk (available here): I don’t consider myself very picky when it comes to body lotion…..but after using this I am! I know I’ve said it before, but you guys, the smell! It just smells luxurious. I don’t know how else to describe it. It is thin and lightweight and any skin it touches instantly feels like my baby’s face. Magic lotion, I tell you!
Sea Water Bath Packets (available here): I’m not a huge bath person. Mostly I just sit in the bath and think about how many feet have stood on the surface that my body is laying on. But these bath packets are awesome. I have been doing the Insanity workout program for the last few months and adding these packets to my bath have helped my muscles relax and helps my body de-stress.
I have teamed up with Phytomer to give one lucky Elle Apparel reader my three favorite Phytomer products! I am so excited to share what I have been obsessing over for the past month!
To enter to win the Phytomer Vegetal Exfoliant, Gentle Cleansing Milk, and Thirst Relief Melting Cream (a $140 value!!): GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Leave a comment letting me know your favorite Phytomer product (if you’ve used it before) or which one you would like to try from their website, along with the
usernames you used to like Phytomer on facebook and twitter for verification if you win
Today I am excited to be teaming up with Jose Eber to be reviewing and giving away the Trio Clipless Curling Wand. The best part about this wand is that it comes with 3 interchangeable barrels to give you different size curls.
I was thrilled with how easy this wand is to use and to change out the barrels. It heats up in about 30 seconds, with a temperature gauge to tell you exactly how hot it is, so you know right when it has been fully heated. It gets really hot, and my hair kept the curl for days!
I have always loved the kind of curls that can be achieved with wand irons, but was anxious to see what a difference the size/shape of the different barrels would make. The wand comes with three barrels sizes:
25 mm
19 mm
tapered barrel
And here are the different kinds of curls you can get with the Trio….. (with a hair color change in between. Spring calls for light blonde hair!)
I’m pretty partial to the largest barrel that gives me the perfect long loose curls, but I was surprised with how much I liked the smaller 19 mm barrel, especially on the 2nd day. (and 3rd. and 4th. I’ll just stop there.)
So, you want to win this Trio with all 3 wands? (a $170 value!)
MUST BE AN ELLE APPAREL FOLLOWER TO ENTER
GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Share this giveaway on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or blog
Leave me a comment saying which curl you like best, along with the usernames you used to like Jose Eber on facebook and to share the giveaway with, for verification if you win
I received this beautiful Pattern Magic book from Laurence King publishing and am dying to try my hand at some of the amazing dresses they have tutorials for. It is a pattern-cutting book with many geometric designs that really involve “sculpting” fabric. The tutorials are quite advanced, but the book gives very specific measurements and lots of step by step pictures. That bow skirt above is gorgeous and is the first item on my list to try. Now to figure out what kind of fabric to make it in…..
It may seam a little quiet on the blog-front, but I have some fun projects in the works for my store that have kept me designing, drafting, and sewing like a mad-woman. Stay tuned!
* the Pattern Magic book was c/o Lawrence King, however all opinions are my own.
Misikko graciously sent me over one of their Hana flat irons to review a few weeks ago. I was a little shocked to see such a big box arrive on my doorstep. Not only did they send me the straightener, but the box was filled with other products as well!
I received the Hana 1.5″ Titanium flat iron
plus all this
and this!
It was nice to take a little time to pamper myself and test out these products. Heaven knows I needed a little pampering. Especially since I have been up to my neck in poopy diapers and laundry since Cash made his debut.
So here is my lovely hair routine. I’m not sure if I’ve made this confession on my blog yet, but I must let you all know that I wash my hair about once every 5 days. All the cool kids are doing it. Washing, drying, straightening, and styling are just time consuming! For all the days in between I just slap on some baby powder to keep my hair fresh, or opt for a high bun. Nobody can tell how dirty your hair is in a bun….
I dry and straighten my hair in 2 sections. While my hair is still damp, I always rub some argan oil throughout it so that my hair is soft and shiny when I’m done. I do the lower half first. It’s a nice big poof ball after being blow dried.
Then I straighten it with my Hana flat iron.
Next I dry the top section.
POOF!
Told you.
Cue the Lion King intro song….cause my mane is slightly out of control.
But after only a few minutes of straightening….
Voila!
So here’s what I thought of the straightener…..
Overall, I loved it! I have had a love affair with my Chi for a long time now, so I wasn’t sure how this straightener would compare, but it definitely does.
pros:
-it gets REALLY hot. I usually just crank the heat up as high as it will go. My hair is naturally wavy, so it can be a pain to straighten. But after using the straightener a few times, I actually turned down the heat from 400 to 375. The highest heat almost left it a little too straight, and I still wanted to keep some volume.
-it only takes about 40 seconds to heat up
– because it gets so hot, I was able to straighten larger sections of my hair at one time, cutting down the time it takes to straighten everything.
cons:
-the 1.5″ size is a little to wide for me. I would prefer the 1″ Hana, since it allows me to get closer to my roots when straightening.
