Fall 2013 Nail Polish Picks

I feel like I just shared with you my summer picks (technically I did, I was wayyy late to that party) and here it is time to share with you all my fall polish picks. These are the polishes from my nail polish collection that I am most excited about wearing this fall. These are some pretty classic fall shades. I love dark, vampy shades in the fall as well as those sort of ugly pretty cement colors, and some darker glitters. So without furthur ado, let's get into it! You can check out my video if you want to hear more about these polishes!



OPI "Color so Hot it Berns"- This is a gorgeous true red that makes it one of those classic reds that are fantastic all year round, but I find myself wearing reds MUCH more often in the fall, of course into the winter/holiday season! "Color so Hot it Berns" is a polish that I currently only own in a mini size, but would love to have it in the full size at some point. The formula is good, the color is gorgeous! The only not so great thing is the price point. I really never like shelling out more than 5 bucks for a polish, and OPI's full size polishes run around 9 dollars. But this one is so pretty, it might just be worth the investment!

(swatch coming soon!)

Revlon Top Speed "Stormy"- This is one of those ugly pretty colors I was referring to. It's a gorgeous sort of  mushroom taupe-y color. Sort of the color of wet cement. I just love this sort of color in the fall. I feel like it's a great darker neutral! The formula on this polish is great! It applies easily, with no problems, is opaque in two coats and dries at top speed!

Sinful Colors Sinfulshine "Steel Reserve" This is a great dark steel gray polish that looks amazing on my skin tone! The sinfulshine polishes are amazing because they dry to a super shiny finish that just looks flawless! You don't even need a top coat! Of course, I always add one to keep my polish lasting a little longer, but you could totally skip that step. These polishes are super affordable, and available exclusively at walgreens, if I am not mistaken. They cost just $2.99!

Revlon "Scandalous"- This is one of my all time favorite polishes! It's a sheer black jelly base with large pieces of fuchsia glitter! This one was originally released under the name "Facets of Fuchsia" and it's just stunning. The base is a bit sheer, so I layer this one on top of a black polish for best results! The glitter in this one keeps it lasting AGES! It's a pain to get off the nail, but I don't mind because once I get it on I am never in a hurry to take it off!

(swatch coming soon)


Ulta "Material Girl" This is one of the newer polishes to my collection. I picked it up in a haul with about 7 other Ulta polishes back when they were on sale for just 2 bucks a piece. I am so glad I did because this is stunning. It's sort of a wine/berry shade with a TON of small holographic glitter in it that is just so pretty! I can't even tell you how much I adore this polish!

(swatch coming soon)

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear "Blue It" This is another super affordable polish that you NEED in you collection if you don't have it already. It's a darker blue, but it is also a bit bright, and it has sort of a metallic finish. Ok, yeah, I am terrible at describing colors, but I think the swatch speaks for itself. It's stunning, and a great fall polish on days when you want something less vampy, but still not too bright. This one is opaque in just one coat! Can't beat that!

(swatch coming soon)

E.L.F. "Copper" This is my favorite Elf polish. I love copper and bronze shades especially in the fall. It's that color of leaves turning color and it's a great polish for my skin tone. Elf's copper is a great formula and a great finish and the color is just right, in my opinion. I don't have anything else to say about it. I will just let the swatches speak for themselves!

China Glaze "Harvest Moon" is similar in color to Elf's Copper, but different enough that I felt it necessary to include this one as well, because it is so pretty! It's got tons of shimmer in it which makes it so beautiful. It's also a bit more bronze-y rather than copper. China Glaze makes some really amazing polishes, and I highly recommend you check them out if you haven't already. Especially this shade! It just screams FALL to me!


Rimmel London 60 Seconds "Sage all the Rage" I just did a nail of the day post on this polish. It's so pretty. I love a light, sage green, and this polish did not disappoint. I picked it up for just a dollar fifty, which is an amazing price. This polish dries super fast, and the color is just so pretty. I'd consider it a nice neutral for the fall time, because even though it's green, it's a pretty neutral shade of green and I feel like it would go with anything!

E.L.F."Chocolate" Beware of this polish because it will stain your nails if you are not careful and apply the proper base coat. But I think it's worth the risk because this beautiful, chocolate brown color is perfect for fall. It's a great alternative to black, in my opinion. Brown matches with everything, so it's a great neutral, but this deep chocolate shade isn't boring. I think it's so pretty. It dries to a nice shine, but I love adding a matte top coat to it because the color handles that finish so well.

Elf's chocolate topped with a matte top coat

OPI "Lincoln Park After Dark" This is such a cult classic color and is always included in people's fall polish picks, so I almost left it out, but I can't. It's the newest polish in my collection and I just love it. It's a so dark it's almost black purple that is just gorgeous. Purple is my favorite color, so of course, I would love this, and the dark dark nature of this makes this the perfect vampy autumn color! I haven't even worn this one yet and I already know it's going to be one of my all time fave polishes. OPI's formula is notoriously good and this color is just so "me"

(swatch coming soon)

Sinful Colors "Calypso" This might be my favorite out of all the polishes I have "picked" for fall. Seriously, if you only get one polish from this list, make it be Calypso! This color is a gorgeous, deep green that looks almost black in some lighting. It's so pretty. The formula on this polish is amazing. It is completely opaque in one coat, and this polish did not chip on me for 5 days! Not bad at all considering this polish will run you just $1.99! And I was lucky and caught it when it was on sale at walgreens for just 99 cents! Score!

[Tag] If I lost all my makeup...

I've never heard of this tag before, but someone in one of the makeup groups I am a part of on facebook posed this question, and I decided to do it here on my blog. The question is...if I lost all of my makeup what are the 10 products that I would repurchase. I am not sure what phenomenon happened that I lost all my makeup, but I have a very clear idea as to what I would repurchase immediately.

Foundation:

My favorite foundation of the moment in the covergirl outlast Stay fabulous 3-in-1 foundation. I wear the shade creamy natural. It's a very nice foundation with medium coverage and I love the finish. I think it does a nice job of covering my imperfections without being too much, or cakey. I love it!

Concealer:

I can't go without a concealer. No way! Ideally, I would have two concealers, one for undereye and one for blemishes. But, since I only have ten products I can purchase for this tag, I need to prioritize and choose a concealer that works for both. I really love the Elf Tone correcting concealer from their essential line. I know it's only a dollar, but it's a great little concealer. It blends easily and covers well. It's a great multi-tasker, and has a pleasant smell. I use the shade fair, which is just a shade lighter than my skin and it really helps brighten my under eye area. Love it!

3. Powder

As someone with dry skin, I generally don't really need to set my foundations, but I definitely need a setting powder for setting my concealer and for touching up throughout the day. My favorite powder is the NYC smoothskin pressed powder in translucent. It's a really nice finely milled powder that doesn't add any color or coverage. It's really smooth and does a fantastic job of setting, without caking up. It's one of those products that I rarely ever hear people talk about and I don't know why, because it's fantastic!


4. Blush:

Blush is one of my all time favorite makeup products. I think it makes such a difference to the face. I would need to choose a nice, neutral blush that I could wear all year 'round. So I would go with one of my favorite blushes. I love love love the blush from the Elf contouring blush and bronzer duo is St. Lucia. It's a gorgeous peachy-pink blush with some gold shimmer running through it. The shimmer is lovely, but not over the top. It's a bit powdery, but I find that the color compliments my skin so well that I don't really mind that. Plus, this has a dark brown bronzer that also has some gold shimmer running through it. It's not my favorite bronzer ever, but having that extra option, if I only have 10 makeup products is an added bonus! haha

5. Eyeshadow

If I can only purchase one eyeshadow palette, than you can bet I am going to go with one of my all time faves. The Urban Decay Naked palette is so incredibly versatile. It wouldn't even cross my mind NOT to pick it up again. It's got a great range of 12 neutral eyeshadows that are so soft and easy to blend. There are so many looks you can create with this one palette. Love it! It also comes with a little mini UD primer potion, which saves me from having to buy an eyeshadow base! Score! haha

6. Eyeliner

This is another one of those products that I would love to own at least two. I love my pencil liners but I love gel liners and liquid liners too! Gah! It's so hard to choose. But, most likely, my first liner purchase would be a pencil liner, and my favorite pencil liner is, without question, the Urban Decay 24/7 liner pencil in the color perversion. It's a super dark black! I love the Urban decay liners because they glide on easily and last forever, even in the water line! Perversion is gorgeous deep dark black. Love it!

7. Mascara

Mascara is my most used product. Even on days when I don't wear makeup, I wear mascara. There are so many amazing mascaras out on the market these days, and choosing just one would be incredibly difficult. Up until recently, I would have easily chosen Covergirl's lash blast mascara. And while I still love that one, I recently found one I like even better! At least for now it's my favorite. It's the Maybelline great lash lots of lashes mascara. It gives me a ton of length and volume, it's not too wet or too dry of a formula. The tapered brush makes it super easy to get into the inner lashes of the eye as well as the bottom lashes. It's just a fantastic mascara, and one of the most inexpensive mascaras out there at just around 5 bucks a tube!

8. Eyebrows

It is SO important to fill in your eyebrows. I never used to do it, and I don't know why, because it makes such a huge difference in the look of your face. Filling in your brows really frames the face and makes the whole look come together. I love the elf eyebrow kit in medium. It's got a tinted brow gel as well as a brow powder and it's the perfect product and the perfect color for me!

9. EOS lip balm in lemon drop

I love lip balm and can't go without it! I love the EOS lip balms, and lemon drop is my favorite because it's got SPF, which is a must have! :) It's great under my lipsticks, or on it's own. It's great protection and moisture for my lips!

10. lipstick

For lipstick, I want something neutral with a nice shine so that I don't need lip gloss (since I didn't leave room for one! haha) My favorite lipstick that meets all of those qualifications is the Rimmel London lipstick in Airy Fairy. It's a great neutral shade that goes with everything, glides on smooth and looks great on my skin tone. It's a must have for any lipstick lover, in my opinion!

So there ya have it! The ten products I would immediately repurchase if I lost all my makeup. Which products would you purchase? I would love to hear from you!!

Summer Must Haves: Maybelline Baby Lips

It's time for me to talk to you guys about the next product that I highly recommend for summer. I love lip balm. I think it's so important in the summer time especially to keep your lips protected from the sun and hydrated! And tinted lip balms are even better because they provide protection and hydration as well as a nice little hint of color so it can be all you need for your lips in a day. My favorite tinted lip balms are the Maybelline Baby lips lip balms. I love these! They are so highly moisturizing and they come in a wide range of colors. I have a ton of them but there are still a ton of other colors that are available in the drugstores. So there's a color out there for everyone! Or you can be like me, and do your best to hoard as many of them as possible.

I love the packaging on these. The bright colors just remind me of the 90s, or something. haha. And these provide what I find to be the perfect amount of color for summer. They also smell amazing, which is a nice added bonus.

I have 11 shades! (There might even be mroe floating around in my various handbags, I carry these with me constantly!)

Peach Kiss- A gorgeous, very lightly tinted balm in a pretty peachy nude color.
Cherry Me- This one leaves a beautiful red, "just ate a Popsicle" look to your lips.
Pink Wink- A super sheer baby pink shade.
Yummy Plummy- a nice plum shade
Grape Vine- a bit of a brighter purple than yummy plummy. One of my faves!
Pink Punch- A bright in your face pink!
Coral Crush- a gorgeous coral. The perfect summertime color to go with a tan!
Melon Mania- not as pigmented as some of the others, but a really pretty wash of peachy pink
Quenched- a completely colorless balm
Peppermint (not pictured below)- another clear balm that smells just like peppermint. lovely!
Twinkle- Almost completely clear. Has the slightest hint of peachy color that barely shows up on the lips

There are also new neon versions of these lip balms available that I can't wait to get my hands on! Do I think that you need ALL of these colors? Of course not! Not everyone is a makeup harder like me. But I highly suggest that you pick one up! Keep in mind that not all of these lip balms contain SPF. I know for sure that the clear one in Quenched has SPF 20, but I am not sure about the rest of them, so if you are set on SPF be sure to do some research before you pick these up. But I highly reccomend any of these if you are looking for a very moisturizing lip product with a dash of pretty color. My favorite colors of the ones I own are Cherry Me, Grape Vine and Coral Crush. But I use all of them on a very regular basis, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them!

Now here's some swatches!!

Peach Kiss, Cherry Me, Pink Wink, Yummy Plummy, Grape Vine, Pink Punch,
Coral Crush, Melon Mania, Quenched, Twinkle 

Peach Kiss. Cherry Me, Pink Wink, Yummy Plummy, Grape Vine,
Pink Punch, Coral Crush, Melon Mania, Quenched, Twinkle

Peach Kiss, Cherry Me, Pink Wink, Yummy Plummy, Grape Wine,
Pink Punch, Coral Crush, Melon Mania, Quenched, Twinkle

Have you tried any of the maybelline baby lips? What is your favorite from the line? Never tried them before? Which one of the ones above appeals to you most? Leave me a comment down below and let me know, I would love to hear from you! Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will be back with more summer must haves soon!

Summer Must Haves: Maybelline Color Tattoos

We're well into summer now, and so I thought I would share with you all some of my must have beauty products for summer. I already did a video on my youtube channel about my summer essentials, but this is a bit different. In this little mini series of blog posts I am going to share with you a product overview on some of my favorite summer products. This time, I am going to talk to you all about some of my favorite eye products. The Maybelline Color Tattoos.

These products are super awesome. They are basically cream shadows. They glide on the eye super smoothly, and last all day! I use these products both as eyeshadows bases or on their own. I never have problems with these creasing of fading. They last and last. They come in a huge variety of colors. I have 7 lf the shades.

Bold Gold- A Gorgeous yellow gold with a shimmery finish
Pomegranate Punk- A deep maroon type color with a shimmer finish
Tough as Taupe- A Matte purple-y grey taupe shade
Bad to the Bronze- A beautiful bronze shade with a satin finish
Inked in Pink- A frosty Metallic pink
Barely Branded- A must have! A neutral champagne shade
Too Cool- A cool white frosty shade

There are so many others from this line of eye products that I want to purchase. They are just such an amazing product. They are very comparable to Mac Paint Pots. Only I like these better because they don't fade at all, can be worn on their own. And they are super affordable! You can pick these up at your local drugstore for around 6-8 dollars each!

And now, some major swatch spam!

Bold Gold

Pomegranate Punk

Tough as Taupe

Bad to the Bronze

Inked in Pink

Barely Branded

Too Cool 

Bold Gold, Pomegranate Punk, Tough as Taupe. Bad to the Bronze
Inked in Pink, Barely Branded, Too Cool 

Bold Gold, Pomegranate Punk, Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze
Inked in Pink, Barely Branded, Too Cool 

Bold Gold, Pomegranate Punk, Tough as Taupe. Bad to the Bronze
Inked in Pink, Barely Branded, Too Cool 

Hope you all found this helpful. I highly recommend these Maybelline Color Tattoos. They are one of my most versatile and most used products in my makeup collection! Have you tried the color tatoos? Which one if your favorite? Leave a comment down below and let me know, and until next time, take care!

My favorite lipsticks for Fall 2012

Happy Halloween everyone! I am not going to do a traditional favorites post this month. With everything I had going on, I didn't wear much makeup, and when I did it was all the same old products. But rather than leave you with nothing, I decided to share with you my favorite fall lip products. I did a post like this last year, too, and while a couple of these products are the same, most of them are completely different. Check out last year's post to see how my picks have changed!

The first thing you will notice that has changed this year is that I am not listing any lip glosses. And that is because I think all of my favorites are pretty glossy all on their own. I also didn't list a clear lip balm. It's especially important in the winter time to use a lip balm under your lip products because winter, at least around these parts, is especially cold and dry and can wreak havoc on your lips. the reason I didn't list one, is because you all know by now that the EOS lip balm in lemon drop is my absolute favorite. The clear baby lips (quenched, peppermint) are really good too! So check those out for lip balms.

Now on to the lip colors. I have a nice mix of shades here, I think, so there's a little something for everyone!

 Left to right they are: Maybelline's Totally Toffee, Revlon colorburst lip butter in Creme Brulee, New York Color lipstick in Sheer Red, New York Color Lipstick in Violet Shine, Maybelline Baby lips lip balm in Grape Vine, Elf essential lipstick in Gypsy, Elf essential lipstick in Voo Doo, Urban Decay lipstick in Pistol, Urban Decay Lipstick in Apocalypse, Urban Decay lipstick in confession.

1. Maybelline's totally toffee: This is a great sort of brown toned pink shade. It wears for a really long time. Probably one of the most long wearing lipsticks of the bunch. I feel like it's a great neutral shade.

2. Revlon colorburst lipstick in Creme Brulee- My holy grail nude shade. I love this color. It's the perfect nude, but not scary make you look dead nude. It's got a great shine and it's very moisturizing!

3. NYC Sheer Red- This is my holy grail Red. It's not bright, it's a beautiful brick red. It's sheer enough that it's not an intimidating red. It glides on smooth, and lasts for quite a while. It's so easy, you don't even need a lip liner with this red!

4. NYC Violet Shine- a wonderful pink-y violet shade. It's a great lipstick to rock with a deeper eye look. Love it!

5. Maybelline baby lips in Grape Vine- Love this lip balm. Of all the baby lips I own, grape vine is my favorite. It's a beautiful grape shade, smells amazing and really moisturizes the lips.

6. Elf essential lipstick in Gypsy- This color practically screams look at me. It's a deep purple toned pink, and looks exactly like what a gypsy would wear to me. I love rocking this lip with a very neutral eye and a baby pink blush.

7. Elf essential lipstick in voo doo- This is another brick red shade only it's a few shades deeper than NYC's sheer red. It's a wicked color, and a breeze to pull off with my coloring. Love!

8. Urban Decay Pistol- I adore this color. The lipstick itself is a bit drying, but that's easily solved by wearing it on top of a balm. The color is a beautiful sheer berry tone with a very subtle glitter/sparkle.

9. Urban Decay Apocalypse- This is a sheer purple shade that is the perfect easy to wear vampy lip. It's not so dark that you have to worry about it smearing and looking crazy, but dark enough for that mysterious dark fall lip!

10. Urban Decay Confession- This is the epitome of vamp if you ask me. This is like Apoocalypse only much deeper and more in your face. This is, by far, the most difficult shade to pull off. It's dark, and it's easy to go overboard with this one, but when applied lightly, it's beautiful. The perfect dark mysterious vampy night-time lip! Love!

L to R: Maybelline's Totally Toffee, Revlon colorburst lip butter in Creme Brulee, New York Color lipstick in Sheer Red, New York Color Lipstick in Violet Shine, Maybelline Baby lips lip balm in Grape Vine, Elf essential lipstick in Gypsy, Elf essential lipstick in Voo Doo, Urban Decay lipstick in Pistol, Urban Decay Lipstick in Apocalypse, Urban Decay lipstick in confession.

10 products I would repurchase tag

So, the premise of this post is this. I wake up one morning and find that all of my makeup has disappeared. I'm not sure what happened to it. It was stolen maybe? haha. But, I can go out and repurchase only 10 products. Again, not sure why. I didn't write the tag. So, I have to decide which 10 products I would repurchase. I am assuming there is no price limit, since no one who has done this tag mentions one, so that makes it a little easier. So yeah, which 10 makeup products would I go out and purchase to begin my makeup collection again?

I have a couple of higher end products. Products that I feel, despite their high price tag, are worth the investment. The rest are drugstore and very inexpensive items. I have talked about all of these products before on this blog. I love them and they are favorites. Hence the reason I would go out and snag them back up! So let's get started.




1. NYC Smooth Skin pressed powder in Translucent- this powder is my all time favorite pressed powder. I prefer pressed powder over loose powder because it's simply not as messy. As you can see I have hit pan on this powder, and that's because I use it practically everyday. It's great for setting my make up, and for touching up throughout the day. It's translucent so it always matches my skin tone, and it's nice and light so it doesn't cake up on me. The price point on this product is great. I believe I purchased it for less than 3 dollars, and it has lasted me about 9 months now and it's nowhere near used up yet!

2. Urban Decay Naked Palette- this one is sort of cheating, because it's one product but you get 12 different eyeshadows out of the deal. I debated between choosing this one or the Naked 2 palette, but I chose this one simply because I feel like I can do a lot more with this one in terms of using it for daytime look and nighttime looks. I love this eyeshadow palette. The colors are all various neutrals. they can be combined in dozens of different combinations, and it even comes with a handy brush. This product cost me 50 dollars. Which is a lot. But that breaks down to about 4 dollars a shadow, which isn't bad at all. Especially considering how soft and easily blended these are. I highly recommend this palette! Urban Decay is one of my favorite cosmetics companies.

3. Covergirl lash blast volume waterproof mascara in black-brown- this is one of my all time favorite mascaras. It glides on smooth. there is no clumping. it gives my lashes tons of volume and some length. The color is the perfect shade for day looks or night looks. And it's waterproof which means it doesn't budge til I am ready to take it off. Love this mascara. This one runs about 6-8 dollars, depending on where you purchase it and can be found at most drug stores.

4. EOS lip balm in Lemon Drop- I have talked about this product so much I might as well get hired as an advertiser. But it's because this lip balm is just awesome. I love how smooth it goes on. I love the smell. I love the shape. I love the fact that it has SPF. There's nothing bad about this product. I think I paid around 3 dollars for it, and it has lasted me so long and still has tons of use left. It's a great balm!

5. Urban Decay 24/7 glide on eyeliner pencil in perversion- If I could only have one eyeliner, this would be it. I have a zillion eyeliner pencils, but this one is by far my favorite. It's the blackest black I have found in pencil form. It glides on so easily. Doesn't drag or pull and lasts forever! I purchased this in a set of 5 eyeliners for 19 dollars from Urban Decay during a sale. It was a great deal, because buying just this one pencil full is 19 dollars. But I would purchase this again, even if I had to pay full price. It's that good. Sure there are other really great eyeliners out there for much less. But nothing that I have found that tops this one. I think it's worth the investment. Especially if you, like me, tend to wear eyeliner in pencil form all the time, rather than liquid or gel eyeliner.

6. Revlon Colorburst lip butter in Creme Brulee- when going through my makeup, at first I wasn't going to choose a lip stick. But then I remembered this one and couldn't leave it out. I love the color and the consistency of this lip product. It's the perfect nude color. The finish is beautiful. I have almost used this little baby up and I will be purchasing another as soon as I do. This one cost me I believe around 7 or 8 dollars.

7. Elf tinted moisurizer in Nude- I debated about whether I wanted to do a foundation or a tinted moisturizer, and I decided on a tinted moisturizer just because I really enjoy this one. The nude color is the perfect shade for me (I originally bought porcelain, and I still have it and use it, but nude is a much better match for me). It's got enough coverage to even out my skin tone without being too heavy like foundations can sometimes be. This tinted moisturizer has SPF which is, of course, an awesome bonus. I love it. And for 3 dollars, you really can't lose.

8. Urban Decay 24/7 concealer pencil in CIA- another Urban Decay Product. you guys are probably thinking geez is this a budget beauty blog or not. But this is another one of those products that I think is worth the investment. I paid just 5 dollars for this concealer when it was on sale. And I love it. It's so creamy and easy to blend. It's the perfect shade for under y eyes because it's a couple shades lighter than my skin so it really brightens up this area. I only paid 5 dollars for it, but I would definitely pay the full price for this in the future. It's another one of those products that I just think is worth the investment.

9. Elf contouring blush and bronzing powder- I love love love this duo. I cannot say enough good things about it. The blush side is a lovely peachy pink with gold shimmer. I have talked about this blush a ton. It's my number one favorite blush. The bronzer side is a little dark for me, but definitely useable with a light hand. I will buy this over and over everytime I use it up. I love it! And for 3 dollars you can't beat it! They say it's a dupe for the Nars Orgasm and Laguna duo. I have no clue if that's true or not, but it's a pretty darn good little duo, dupe or not.

10. Elf wet gloss lash and brow clean mascara- this is one of my must have items. I use this to keep my eyebrows under control. My brows tend to go all over the place if I don't use this stuff. It holds the brows in place, and it really makes a difference in my overall look. It only costs a dollar, works great. What else can I say?

So that's it. That's my 10 products I would repurchase. Which items would you purchase if you woke up one day and found all your makeup had disappeared? I tag anyone who wants to do this, and if you do it, please leave a comment and link me to it so that I can be sure to read/watch it! Thanks for reading!

(More) Elf essential lip stain swatches and review

My most viewed blog post is the blog post I did on the Elf essential lip stains. Of course, at the time that I wrote that post, I only actually owned one of the lip stains. The lip stain in Crimson Crush. I figure since it is a post that gets searched for and viewed quite often, people are obviously curious about these stains, and since I now own a couple more, i thought I would re-visit these, show swatches of the other two lip stains I now own, and give my review on how this product has held up over the last couple months!

My original review was on the Elf essential lip stain in Crimson Crush. Before I go into the swatches of the other colors, I thought I would tell you that I have owned this lip stain for about 4 months now, and I still really enjoy it. It has not dried out at all, and still applies beautifully. Now that I have gotten used to applying a lip stain, I have no problems whatsoever with this one! The red color is flattering on my skin tone and beautiful for a night on the town. I showed what this color looks like on my lips in my previous blog post, but just in case you missed that one, here it is...



Another of the lip stains that I picked up is the lip stain in Nude Nectar. I really enjoy the color of this one. It's a very neutral light wash of color on the lips. It adds just a bit of pink tone, and it's really beautiful. It's definitely the most neutral of the lip stains.



The lip stain in Berry Blush is a rally pretty deep berry colored stain, and is my favorite of the three that I own. It's very flattering, and applies very evenly. Not patchy at all, like I found Crimson Crush to be. It's a deeper shade than Nude Nectar, and very eye catching. I really enjoy this color.


All three of the lip stains I own last about 4 hours before they need to be reapplied. They do not transfer or smudge, but rather fade away as time goes by. They are all a tad bit drying, but that is to be expected from this marker style lip stain, and a little bit of gloss or balm on top takes care of that. For the price- $2, you really can't beat these lip stains. The only thing I wish is that they came in a wider variety of shades. They currently only come in 4 colors, the three that I own, and a fourth one- a bubble gum pink color, which I haven't had the chance to try yet. I am anxious to see if Elf comes out with more colors over time. And if/when they do, you can bet I will be firest in line to buy them! Here's a few more photos.



top to bottom: Crimson Crush, Berry Blush, Nude Nectar


swatches top to bottom: Nude Nectar, Crimson Crush, Berry Blush

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and found it helpful. I highly recommend you try out these lip stains for yourself. If you have tried them out already, leave me a comment letting me know which one is your favorite. Haven't tried them yet? Comment below and let me know which color you want to try!

Summer Must Haves!

I wanted to do a fun summer themed post. Rather than do something that I have already done before, like a nail polish picks post, or something of the like, I decided to share with you all some of my favorite, must have summer products, items and accessories! I just thought this would be a fun little blog post. So without furthur ado, let's get started!

Must have summer hair products:



These are my go to hair products for summer. In the summertime, I don't tend to use a lot of heat on my hair. I spend a lot more time outdoors in the summer than I do any other time of the year, and the heat and the sun are enough stress on my hair, in my opinion. So I tend to do one of two things. Either I pull it back away from my face, or I scrunch my hair. When I am wearing it pulled back, or just natural, I add a bit of the L'oreal Eversleek Humidity Defying Leave in Creme to my damp hair to keep away the frizzies. This is a great creme, and it really helps to keep my hair from frizzing like crazy, especially when it's especially humid outside. When I am scrunching my hair, i've been using the Beyond the Zone Super Sexy Texture and distort wave spray.This stuff is so good. It gives my hair a ton of texture and makes it look super tousled and beach-like, while keeping the waves in place all day. It doesn't leave my hair feeling super crunchy and has a nice fruity smell.

And of course, sometimes I just cannot avoid using heat. When I am going for that super straight look, I just have to have the aid of my blow dryer and my flat iron. So when I do use heat, I want the style to last me for a couple of days. So I use my Suave dry shampoo to absorb any oil or dirt that builds up in my hair, and this allows me to go that extra day without washing! I love this dry shampoo. I like it more the more and more I use it. It's a definite must have for summer!


Must Have Summer Shoes!




I am such a shoes girl, and narrowing this list down was so so hard for me. I wanted to include every single pair of shoes that I own. But, I narrowed it down to just a select few.

Flip Flops- Pictured above are my purple Flip Flops that I purchased last summer at Old Navy for something like $2.50. The price was so good that I purchased them in other colors as well. I got them in yellow, green, pink and blue also. I wear them all constantly in the summer. Flip Flops are a definite must have for summertime for me!

Slip Ons- I love any type of shoe that I can just slip on and go. the ones I pictured above actually were purchased for me from a garage sale, and I was ecstatic when I was given them, because they are so cute! They are from the brand Airwalk, and the pink and white color motif just screams summer to me! I adore these. I have similar types of shoes in varying patterns and styles that I also wear a ton in the summer! So cute!

Sneakers- I don't wear a ton of sneakers. Especially in the summertime. Who wants their feet all closed off and sweating when you can throw on a cute pair of sandals so much easier. But when I must wear a shoe like this, I lie them to be the style pictured above. The ones in the photo are a Ked style sneaker (sort of, how would you describe these?) from Faded Glory. i picked these up from the men's shoe department at walmart last year sometime for around 11 dollars. These are so super comfortable, and I think they are adorable, and go with just everything.

Ballet Flats- I love ballet flats! I think that they are perfect for dressing up a super casual outfit, or dressing down a super fancy outfit. They are also so easy to just slip on as you're going out the door. The ones pictured above are a pair of blush colored patent flats I got at Target for under 15 dollars. These ones are super cute for a date night! I also have ballet flats in black as well as Red, and I think this is the type of shoe that never really goes out of style. I definitely intend to rock these all summer long, and want to add more to my shoe collection in the very near future!

Wedges- Lastly, I love, love, love wedges in the summer. I think these are the perfect summer shoe. When the rest are too casual, wedges are great to dress up an outfit, and add some height! They are so much more comfortable than heels or stilettos, but are still a dressier alternative than flats. They come in a variety of cute styles! The ones above are a pair of denim flats I purchased at Payless shoe source a year or two ago for around 25 dollars, if I am not mistaken. They have the cutest cork detail on the wedge itself. These aren't the most comfortable wedges in the world- there are definitely more comfortable options out there (look for a pair with a bit of a platform!) But this style of shoe is a definite must have for summer in my opinion!

Must Have Summer Accessories!





I tend to wear fairly simple outfits in the summertime. Usually just shorts and a T-shirt. I leave it to my accessories to jazz up the outfits. Here are some of my favorite accessories for Summer!

Hats- nothing is more attractive than a cute hat. Especially when it means that your face is protected from the hot sun! Nothing stops the summer fun faster than a sunburn, and exposing your skin to the harsh rays of the sun is so unhealthy. That's why I love this big floppy hat that I purchased a couple of months ago at Walmart. They have these type of hats absolutely everywhere. They come in so many styles and colors, there's really no excuse not to rock a super cute sun hat this summer! Hats like these are especially important for me, because, since I wear glasses, and absolutely cannot see without them, I cannot wear sunglasses, unless I buy the clip on style and I have NEVER found any cute clip on sunglasses (If you know of any PLEASE point me in that direction!) So a hat like this really helps protect my eyes from the sun!

Earrings- I tend to go for large or statement earrings in the summer. Whether my hair is pulled back from my face or left natural, I think that they draw attention and bring the eye up toward your face. Pictured above: Gold Hoops that I have had forever, not sure where they are from. Silver black and jade dreamcatcher earrings from Forever 21. When I am not wearing statement earrings, I like to go with studs in a bright color, so that they still catch the light and add a punch of color to any outfit. The ones above are, obviously, from forever 21. I got the whole pack for something like 3 dollars and 80 cents! Can't beat forever 21 for their inexpensive prices!

Bracelets- I don't wear a ton of necklaces in the summer. I feel like oftentimes, having something around my neck is just way too hot. That's why I love to rock a ton of bracelets in the hotter months. I love all kinds of bracelets, whether it be beaded bracelets, jelly bracelets, charm bracelets or bangles. I love stacking lots of different bracelets as well for a cool look! Pictured above are several bracelets from varying places including walmart, forever 21 and Target.


SPF!


Lastly, but probably most importantly is SPF! Please, whenever you are going outside, remember to wear sunblock to protect your skin from the sun. In this day and age, knowing what we do about the damage the sun can cause to our health, there really is no excuse not to protect your skin to the best of your ability. Commonly missed areas of the body that you need to remember to hit with that SPF? Your scalp, if you aren't wearing a hat, the ears, and the back of the neck! Also, don't neglect your lips either! Lots of people remember their sunblock on their body and their face but neglect their lips! There are tons of Balms and Glosses out there with SPF (I love the maybelline baby lips!) so be sure to pick one up and reapply often!


Well, that's it for this round of summer must haves! I mayhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif come back to ya'll with another post similar to this featuring my must have fragrances and Body products for summer as well, so if you are interested in seeing that, please leave me a comment below letting me know! Also, share with me some of your must have summer items! Don't forget to follow this blog, too, if you aren't already! There's always new and fin posts going up! You can also like the budget beauty facebook page, and follow budget beauty on Tumblr!