THE WORLD'S BEST FOUNDATION!!

After years of searching far and wide and spending I don’t even want to know how much money I think I have FINALLY found the best foundation (for my skin anyway).

Drum roll please……

TaDah! It’s the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation!

I found out about this foundation from watching YouTube videos and a lot of women love this brand.

My lovely grandmother bought this for me when we went on our Family Reunion to New Orleans. We got it from the Saks Fifth Avenue store by our hotel (which was like I died and went to makeup heaven) but I also know Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom’s, and even some Sephora stores carry the brand. Sadley we have none of those stores where I live L but you can also go online to—

www.lauramercier.com

However before going online I would recommend going to a makeup counter in your area and having them match your skin tone with a foundation that is “similar” to the Laura Mercier. I had the makeup artist at Saks match me and that really helped since they have a lot of shades to choose from. I am the shade “Blush Ivory” because I have warm or pink undertones to my skin

This foundation, and any product from high end beauty supply stores, is going to set you back! I am pretty sure we bought this for about $40. Which I know, I know sounds like A LOT of money (well it is a lot of money) but

1. I didn’t have to pay for it and

2. This foundation is way worth it so let me explain.

Laura Mercier Cosmetics was created in 1996 by…well Laura Mercier duh! And her claim to fame is perfecting the “flawless natural face”. She believes there are 4 steps to a flawless face: Prime with a face primer (which I also swear by), Apply Foundation, Conceal imperfections and Set with powder. Now of coarse she wants you to use all of her products but…psh…that stuff is freaking expensive, however I do believe in all her steps to getting a flawless face.

All her foundations come in 2 formulas, the oil-free which obviously is for oily or acne prone skin and the regular formula which is good for dry/normal skin. I picked up the oil-free version because as ya’ll know I have acne proned skin and pores that clog easily.

Now on to why I really love this foundation….

I love the packaging of this because it comes in a sturdy glass bottle with a pump top.

I also love the formulation of this foundation, it isn’t heavy or cakey and goes on very smoothly.

It is very buildable and provides great coverage and it doesn’t have a weird smell like some foundations.

I’ve been using it for a few weeks and it hasn’t made me break out or clogged my pores.

The texture is awesome because it isn’t thick, it’s almost watery which makes blending really easy.

A little goes a long way! That is the only way I could justify spending that much is because literally it only takes 1 pump of this foundation to cover my whole face.

The finish is a dewey glow which makes your skin look healthy and natural looking.

It lasts all day with no touch ups needed (awesome!)

Now here is how I apply this foundation- I prime my face (duh), then on the back of my hand I apply 2-3 drops of Benefit’s High Beam (review up tomorrow) and one pump of Laura, I  mix that together. Then with my pointer finger I dab it into the foundation mixture and dot it on my face, usually 4 dots on my cheeks, 3 on my forhead and 1 on my nose and chin. Then blend those with your fingers all long your face and neck (never forget your neck). Next, this is important if you have dry skin which I do on my t-zone, with a damp makeup sponge take what is left of the foundation on your hand and apply it under your eyes, on your t-zone or any other places that tend to get red and smooth the rest of the foundation out. This step is very important because this will keep your makeup from looking cakey or dry and will give you an air-brushed finish. Then conceal, set, and I apply more High Beam on my cheek bones ( I love this product).

I really have nothing bad to say about this foundation except for the fact that it doesn’t have any sunscreen in it, but that is ok because my moisturizer does. I love this foundation and I love this brand, if you want a great long lasting foundation that won’t clog your pores I would most certanly get this! I know it’s expensive but in my opinion it is way worth it!

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Love, Lipstick, and awesome foundations!

Ashley

Chocolate, Its Not Just For Eating Anymore!

Do you have dry, red, or acne proned skin?

Lets admit it ladies (and gentalmen) we all have problems with our skin from time to time, its ok lets just get it out in the open. haha

Do you want a cheap,  natural, great smelling way to clear all that up?

Well I'm hear to help!

Today I'm going to teach you how to make a facial mask using only 3...yeah 3...ingredients and they are all natural and SUPER affordable.

What you are going to need is:

1. Any brand of Cocoa Powder, I used Hershey's because that's what we had at home.

You can buy this from the store for...I don't know...like $3

Why it works:

Chocolate is a natural antioxidant that helps clear redness, moisturizes and helps minimize the appearance of pores.

2. Honey, you can use organic, raw, or store bought whatever tickles your peach.

You can also get this at the store and I really don't know the price sorry :/

Why it works:

Honey is a natural cure for acne blemishes

3. Plain Yogurt, or if your feeling crazy you can get the strawberry but try to stay away from any other flavors.

I bought this Greek Yogurt from Walmart it was 2 for a $1

Why it works:

Yogurt is a natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory which helps with acne blemishes, blackheads, and redness. It also moisturizes and tightens pores.

Now that we have everything lets get started!!

In a small bowl combine:

1 tablespoon of yogurt

1/2 a tablespoon of honey

1/2-1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

You may also need to add a sprinkle of water if the ingredients don't mix well, but don't add much or it will get too liquidy

This smells AMAZING by the way!

Now apply the mixture all over your face concentrating on areas with acne or redness and avoiding the eyes. I applied it with a foundation brush but you can use a sponge or even your fingers if you like .

If you have any left over, which you probably will, you can cover the bowl in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge and use it again the next day.

After applying let it sit for about 20-30 min, long enough to let it dry and harden on your face.. When you first apply it you can actually feel it tingling on your skin, thats normal, don't be alarmed. As the mixture hardens this is what is going to clear out your pores, tighten your skin and seal in the moisture. It may start to get uncomfortably tight around 10 min but if you've used a mask before you'll be ok with it, just hang in there! haha

And by the way you will look so sexy!

When the time is up rinse the mask off using warm (not hot) water and massage your face in a circular motion. Then pat your face dry. After I rinse the mask off I still use a toner on my face and put on a moisturizer but if you don't have really dry skin you don't have to do that.

Then your all done! You will notice immediatly that your face feels smoother, and less red! You can do this once a week or if your having really bad acne or redness you can even do this every day until it clears up. I was having HORRIBLE acne from an allergic reaction to a moisturizer and this literally cleared my skin up in about 2 weeks.

On a side note: If you are allergic to chocolate, cause I know some people are, you can most definitely skip that and just use the yogurt and honey. You will get the same effect.

I really hope this will help anyone with acne proned skin like mine and even if you have clear skin it just feels really good!

Love, Lipstick and Chocolate

Ashley

Lorac Special Effects Mascara

Ok so there is a story behind this mascara (isn't there always a story with my makeup products?). So sit back and pop some popcorn and lets begin.

As ya'll may know I was using the L'Oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara for a while and I was really loving it, however it dries out really fast. I went to Ulta and browsed there bazillion brands of mascara and the Ulta lady (who wore way to much eyeliner for my taste) finally sold me on the Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara which set me back a wallet breaking $22! I got it home and put it on and HATED IT!! So me being the sneaky person I am I took it back the next day, told them I got it on accident and that it was unopened, and that I just wanted to exchange it for something else, bad I know, (sharing mascara even only once can transfer bacteria from your eye to theirs and can cause eye infections so DON'T DO IT) so now some unwitting fool has my eye germs but I wasn't about to throw $20 in the trash.

As I walked around once again to find the "perfect mascara" I came across this and noticed it was a 2 step formula, and since my beloved L'Oreal is 2 step I figured I would give it a go. This mascara retailed at $20.

This is the step one which is the primer and instead of it being white like my L'Oreal it is a pearly grey color. The brush is one of those plastic combes and is really flexible, almost too much. Also according to Lorac you can wear this primer at night to help you lashes from breaking and to condition them but I never did.

Here is the step 2 which is the mascara of coarse. The brush on this is also a plastic comb the same as with the primer. It is a very dark black that is really shiney!

So I have to be honest, I really hated this mascara and here is why:

1. The comb brush HURTS! I've encountered many comb brushes in my day but this one is down right terrible. You can barely put it on your lash line and it feels like its scraping your skin off lol

2. The comb brush is way to flexible, putting it back in the tube is difficult and often times messy.

3. Both the Primer and Mascara are really "wet" which means they take literally forever and a day to dry, which also means it is proned to smearing and coming off on your clothes.

4. It runs really easily, I swear if even the threat of a tear is present this stuff is running into your eyes and down your cheeks before you can blink.

5. It burned my poor eye balls. Since it runs so easily its bound to get into your eyes and let me warn you it's going to feel like someone is burning your poor little eye balls right out of your head.

6. Both the primer and mascara make your lashes look "spidery". No matter how you put this on be prepared for your lashes to look clumpy and thin. Although I did discover you have to let the primer fully dry before applying mascara but since it takes forever to dry.....*sigh*

7. The price is outrageous for such and awful product!



Even though I disliked so many things there were a few bright spots in the darkness:
1. It is VERY dark which I love

2. Even though it is a 2 step mascara my lashes didn't feel stiff or hard like they sometimes did with my L'Oreal

3. I really enjoy the packaging haha.

Needless to say I quit using this mascara, the final straw for me came when we were out of town and it was hot and sweaty and this mascara was running into my eyes!
This mascara is crap, crap, crap CRAP!!!
I'm onto a different mascara now which I will put a review up soon, but so far my all time favorite cheap mascara is still the L'Oreal Beauty Tubes.

Anyway I hope this helped anyone out that was thinking of buying this, just don't do it!

Love, Lipstick and Mascara free eyes
Ashley

Tarte Clean Slate Foundation Primer

As you know I love Tarte skin products!!! If you want to check out their website for their other great stuff its

 http://www.tartecosmetics.com/

This primer I bought from Ulta for about $28 which I know is pretty pricey but this products is really great! In this summer heat you almost HAVE to wear a primer to keep your makeup from becoming a gross, oily, sweaty mess!

One of the main reasons I love Tarte is (I think I've said this before) that their products are mostly all natural and they are good for your skin on top of it. This primer has what Tarte calls "skinvigorating ingredients" such as:

Alvocado oil-soothes the skin

Echinacia Root Extract-a natural antibacterial that decreases redness and immflamation

Hibiscus Flower Extract-an antioxidant

Rosemary Leaf Extract-also helps with redness

Safflower Oil-moisturizes and helps with eczema

Most importantly it is formulated without:

Mineral Oil

Paraben

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Synthetic Fragrance

Cruelty Free!!

This primer goes on really smooth and it only takes a small amount to cover your whole face. I really like the way it feels on my skin and I have noticed my makeup goes on smoother and stays on longer even when I sweat!

The only thing I don't really like about it is the consistancy of it. It has an almost gel like feeling when you squeeze it out of the tube which makes it really hard to tell exactly how much you need. I usually squeeze about an pea size amount onto my fingers and rub them together and apply it mostly on my t-zone and a little on my cheeks. Once you apply it to your face however, it feels very smooth and it doesn't take very long to dry.

I've had very little experiance with primers and compaired to my first experience (see my Hard Candy Primer Review) this product is AMAZING. I would definetly repurchase all though I think it will take me a while to go through this hahaha.

Love, Lipstick and a non-sweaty face :)

Ashley

Putting Your Makeup on in the Dark

Yes! You just read right my friends Kim, Kathryn and I actually attempted to apply our makeup in complete darkness.

I know some of you are thinking "I could do that..itsn't not that hard" welll believe me...I've been wearing makeup for years and some of it is a little harder than you might think! Here are our before pictures (all we are wearing is a little moisturizer) and a list of products we used.

My Friend Kim

She's using:
Covergirl Ultimate Finish Liquid to Powder Foundation in Buff Beige
Covergirl Simply Ageless Concealer in 210
Maybelliene Colossal Volume Mascara in Black
Covergirl Fresh Complexion Liquid Concealer in Buff Beige

My Friend Kathryn

 She Used:

Infallible Liquid 18 Hour Foundation in Soft Ivory

Covergirl Pressed Powder in Classic Ivory

Wet and Wild Eyeliner Pencil in Black

L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara in Black

Don't I look....uh....haha

 I Used:
Tarte Clean Slate Primer
Tarte Tinted Moisturizer
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
Nyx Creme Blush in Boho
Ulta Powder Blush in...
Sephora Concealer Quad
L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara in Blackest Black

We laid out all of our makeup products, arranged them in a way that would be a little easier to grab, shut the door and turned off the lights.

At first it was not too bad, I hear Kim say "I hope this is under my eye" talking about her concealer

Mine and Kathryn's foundation comes in a squeeze and pump top so we have no idea how much foundation we are putting on. Powder, blush and concealer wasn't really a problem, Kim says "I put this stuff on in the car while I'm driving" haha (that's why we don't ride with Kim)

The hardest part for all of us was our eyes.

Since Kathryn and my mascara is 2 step figuring out which end was the white primer took some time but we finally discovered that there is tiny raised writing on the white. Now this is where the strings of obscenities comes in. Each on of us is cursing and laughing as we repeatedly stab ourselves in the eye!!Kim is yelling that she got it on her nose, Kathryn got it on her eyelid and I am just poking myself in the eye hoping that it turns out. Let me just say thank god our mascara's were all relatively waterproof or else we would've all looked like raccoons from our eyes watering.

After about 15 min we are all done and turn the lights back on and this is what we see....

(smudged eyelids)

All in all I think we did pretty well, it was a fun and funny experiance that I would never like to repeat but now I know that if I'm ever stranded in a dark cave with Brad Pitt I can at least apply my makeup and look halfway decent. 

I dare you ladies to try this and send me pictures of how it turned out!

Love, Lipstick and mascara on your nose!
Ashley



Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub

First off let me say I wouldn't have even known about this product if it wasn't for Kandee Johnson. She does makeup and beauty tutorials on YouTube and she also has a blog, if you want to check her out there is a link in my side bar -->

Once I heard about this I HAD TO TRY IT! I had been having a lot of acne problems lately and I think it was mostly due to a moisturizer that my skin didn't like, but I'll do a review on that later. So I looked at nearly every Walgreens in town and no one had it. I nearly gave up my search when my friend Kim and I went to Target and low and behold there was only 1 on the shelves!!! I snached that baby right up but Kim had to buy it for me because I was broke as a joke (and I helped her carry and put together her new shoe rack)....so thank you Kim for the most amazing skin product ever!

This cost $8 which for some of you might be a bit pricey for a scrub but this is made with all natural ingredients so I think it is really worth every penny.

The first impression of this scrub is a little odd, it comes in a glass jar with a twist off lid. Upon opening it I looked at it and said "what the heck" because the look and texture is really unlike any other scrub I've encountered (but I usully buy the cheap stuff). It's really dry and has almost a chalky texture in the jar but on the box it says just to add a few drops of water to a "small amount" and then work it into a paste.

When it say's "small amount" it means SMALL AMOUNT! You literally only need about a dime/pea size amount of this scrub and a very very small amount of water and then rub it for a few seconds in your hands and there you have it!

It feels a little weird on your skin at first because it isn't very harsh like most scrubs are, but that is also a great thing because I think part of the problem with my skin was that I was using too harsh of products on it so my skin over produced oil to try and help heal itself thus causing my breakouts. It smells really good, kinda like lemons and cloves and a little olive oil. In my opinion this is probably the best drug store skin product on the market right now.

I LOVE THIS SCRUB!!

I use this once daily at night to help remove all my makeup and give my skin a good clean . When I first got it I was using it 2 times a day but after about 2 days of that it did start to dry my skin out a little so I had to cut back. However in only one week of using this I have noticed my skin is smoother, brighter, less red around my cheeks and forhead and my blackheads and acne have almost all but vanished. I can not rave enough about this product!!! I would most surely recomend it for every skin type.

I hope you all have a great Saturday :)
Love and Lipstick
Ashley

Makeup Before and After (How to get a Flawless Face)

My lovely aunt Charla volunteered to help me out with this one. Charla doesn't really wear that much makeup so I gave her a (in her words) "smokin' hot makeover" haha

I'm also going to give you guys some tips and tricks for getting a "flawless face"

Here is her before picture:

And here is a list of the products I used:

Tarte Clean Slate Primer

Tarte Tinted Moisturizer

Nyx Creme blush in Boho Chic

Sephora Concealer Quad

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

Urban Decay Primer Potion (depotted)

HIP Gel Eyeliner in Brown

A Brown eye shadow

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara

As I said she doesn't really wear much makeup and this was actually a lot for her but she said "make me look like a sex goddess" haha

First and for most:

Apply any type of moisturizer and then a foundation primer

I used Tarte Clean Slate Primer.

She has a really great complextion as far as reddness and acne goes but she does have some pock marks and scarring on her face. It is really important when you have those kinds of things that you DO NOT use a heavy liquid foundation. The liquid foundation will set into any lines, wrinkles, or marks on your face and actually define them!

A tinted moisturizer helps even out her skin tone and it will also help with any dry patches.

I used the Sephora concealer quad to hid her dark circles and then I used the Revlon Photo Ready to conceal around her nose and mouth. Most women get hormonally red around the nose mouth and sometimes (like in my case) on your forhead between the eye brows so its very important to apply a little concealer to these areas. It's also important to use a creamy almost butter like concealer instead of a liquid in these areas so it won't sink into the lines under your eyes or around your mouth.

As a highlighter I used a pearly white eye shadow on her cheek bones and bridge of her nose. A highlighter (like the name suggests haha) highlights areas of your face where the sun hits. It's best to use a creamy flesh toned almost white pearly shadow but if you don't have that you can use just a regular pearly shadow, but make sure its anything that is going to reflect the light. This is going to give you a healthy "glow" and give you a dewy looking finish.

Set everything with a loose translucant powder I used Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. I apply this with the Bare Minerals Kabuki Brush for a more even coverage.

Next:

I applied a lid primer from Urban Decay. A lid primer will keep your eye shadow from creasing, smearing or running and help it to last all day and with this summer heat you need it!

Then I applied a chocolate brown shadow on her lids from her lash line to her crease and applied a little more to the outer corners of her eyes. If you have eyes that are set closer together you will want to apply shadow  darkest on the middle to outer corners of your eyes and if your eyes are farther set apart apply the shadow darkest from your inner corners and feather it out.

Next I applied the gel eyeliner on her top lashline with an angled brush, its really important if you have wrinkles on your eyes to apply a very thin line right on the lash line. If you apply a thicker line it is going to run into your wrinkles and actually make you look older.

If you take nothing else out of this blog as least take what I am about to tell you: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, make sure you set any kind of eyeliner whether it be gel, liquid or pencil with an eye shadow of the same shade. It is SOO important you do this or else your eyeliner is only going to last like 5 min.

To finish everything off I applied mascara

Ok so here is her after photos :)

 She said "Oh man...I don't even look like myself" haha I think that is a compliment!

I also taught her some tips and tricks for doing this in the morning really fast and quick which she liked.
I hope that I have also given you guys some tips and tricks for getting a flawless face.

Love and Lipstick
Ashley