Nars Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara Review

You may have noticed that I have been using a new mascara in my recent face of the days...the Nars Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara:

I have been using mine quite a bit so the packaging has taken a beating, but the mascara itself is pretty good. I like wands that are full and have lots of bristles to coat each lash, and this one fits the bill:

I know this mascara is pricey ($25) but it works pretty well. See for yourself:

Bare lashes

Bare lashes after being curled

Lashes with one coat of Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara

 Lashes with two coats of Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara

This mascara does not smudge or flake on me, and it doesn't clump up like a lot of volumizing mascaras do. It lasts all day and holds the curl very well. I'm not sure if it really thickened or lengthened my lashes, but it does what I want a mascara to do: darkens my lashes while holding the curl. Overall I give this a two thumbs up but I don't know if I would repurchase because there are so many mascaras that I want to try and many of them are cheaper than this one. 

What mascara are you using currently?

Taming My Hair....Karmin G3 Hair Straightener Review

If you have thick, long, frizzy, wavy or curly hair (or you just like smooth, straight hair), then you know that a hair straightener is as crucial a necessity as underwear. If I were to walk out in the streets without first straightening my hair I might as well be walking around commando. 

That being said, the straightener that I have been using for the past 6 months or so is the Karmin G3 Salon Pro Flat Iron. 

Prior to using this I was using my Sedu Pro Flat Iron. 

Top: Sedu, Bottom: Karmin G3

Pros about the Karmin G3:

- Longer plates

- 1 inch plates allow you to get closer to the root of the hair

- Can be used to curl the hair

Pros about the Sedu:

- 1.5 inch plates allow contact with the hair for longer time

- Better construction...the plates are super smooth and don't snag the hair (the Karmin occasionally snags hair)

Both irons have ceramic plates with ionic tourmaline technology and both have adjustable heat settings. Both irons leave my hair super straight and results are very similar. With either iron my hair remains straight for at least 3 days before a wave starts to become visible. Overall, I really like both irons and use them equally without any issue. I do like that the Sedu doesn't snag my hair at all, but I like that the Karmin has longer plates so I can straighten larger sections of hair than I can with the Sedu. My ideal hair straightener would be a combination of the two. If you like to curl your hair, the Karmin works well to curl the ends, but is a bit difficult to curl all the hair. I think the Sedu Revolution Iron (different than what I have pictured above) works the best at curling hair. But honestly, if you are going to curl your hair just use a curling iron.

Hair straightened with Karmin

 Hair straightened with Karmin

The Karmin is definitely one of the best flat irons I have ever used. However, I don't think is is significantly better than other professional flat irons like the Sedu. My Sedu iron was purchased from Folica.com, and they have GREAT customer service. I had even ordered one for my mom and when I got it in the mail, it wasn't working well and they shipped a new one to me without hassling me at all. I also like that they have great offers on a regular basis. The Karmin G3 was provided to me by PR, so I have not dealt with their customer service. 

Do you use a hair straightener? Which one?

Beauty Blog Link Love

Here's some weekend reading for you lovelies!!! Happy Saturday!

Soap up with the Eye of Thundera as Addicted to Beauty celebrates the release of the new Thundercats TV show.

Miss Beauty Nerd is going to Europe, and packing her Clinique Day to Night Palette which contains most of her basic colour essentials in one pretty little compact!

Tracy at Beauty Reflections thinks that the new tokidoki Royal Pride Hercolino Palette makes a great Back To School palette!

Curious about the newest additions to the Make Up For Ever Family? Well, Krasey Beauty has swatches and photos of all of Make Up For Ever's newest Aqua Liners!

Ever run into a gorgeous product that left you (and a handful of other bloggers) in, erm, a burning heap? At theNotice, Rae runs into just that. Find out what the culprit was!

Bummed out because summer is almost done? Jennifer over at Spiced Beauty shows you how to get dewy, radiant and healthy skin.

Shatter your nails in the coolest shades! Musicalhouses shows you the BeautyUK Shatter Polishes!

Fleurissante has found her perfect summer fragrance: Montale Intense Tiare.

My Lips But Better gets a magical glow with MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder.

Over at Prime Beauty, Cindy has developed a Nude Attitude with some help from Three Custom Color Specialists!

Phyrra shows you the wonders of Neptune’s Grotto from Meow Cosmetics.

Christina from Confessions of a Glitterholic shows you how to do a simple sunset eye in this quick tutorial.

Jellyminx goes on a swatching mission and shares her MAC blush obsession!

Claire looks at a fabulous little sculpting kit from Sleek, perfect for all your highlighting and contouring needs!

Take a look at some of these drugstore gems from Essence over at Makeup, Beauty & More.

Are you after some great quality, but cheap eyeshadows? If so, check out Anita's swatches of her Boots 17 eyeshadow singles and trios over at Pleasureflush!

Funky Nail Designs for the remainder of the summer days. Tribal nail designs easy peasy at Dolce Vanity! Bonus nail pen review included.

Can you have enough L'Oréal makeup? Beauty Crazed thinks not and is giving away a crazy amount to one lucky winner so make sure you enter!

Eye of the Day - Most Makeup I've Worn in Awhile

Hey All! I have been a bit busy the last couple weeks so I didn't get a chance to blog much and respond to comments, but I am back to my routine again. I haven't been wearing much eye makeup recently, so when I did this look the other day I thought I would snap a couple pics for you.

Here's what I used (all MAC unless noted):

Arena shadow on lid

Texture shadow in crease

Engraved Liner on upper lid

Petrol Blue Pearlglide Liner on water line and lower lid

NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara on lashes

In other news, I was at Costco recently and found the most AMAZING thing for my tastebuds:

These belgian waffles come individually pre-packaged and they are already sweetened with a cinnaminon-sugar flavor (even though the package says vanilla). They are great for grabbing as a breakfast on the go or even as a snack. However, the best part is these taste absolutely divine! Like melt-in-your-mouth-heaven-for-your-tastebuds divine. They are cooked but I just pop them in the toaster for a minute or so to heat them up....easy peasy!

On that note I am off to eat a waffle!

Shiseido Skin Protect Stick Foundation SPF 35 Review

I was browsing the Shiseido counter a couple weeks ago when I saw the Shiseido Skin Protect Stick Foundation:

I was immediately intrigued because the Shiseido sunscreens are so popular and I rarely see a foundation with a SPF of 35. The foundation is a stick and you twist up the yellow piece on the bottom to push the product up.

The only problem with this foundation is that there are only 3 shades. 3 shades!!! And only 2 of them are actually colored, the third one is translucent/clear. Who makes a foundation in only 3 shades? Fortunately, or so I thought, the Ochre shade suited my skin. 

Swatch straight from stick

Swatch of foundation blended

I thought maybe this would be more like a tinted moisturizer and that's why there were only 2 shades, but no, this is like a light-medium coverage foundation. The product itself is super creamy and blends like a dream. It feels soft on the skin and not heavy or sticky. It doesn't even have a strong sunscreen smell. Score! The only problem is the shade I got didn't match my face exactly. I think this product has the potential to be an amazing summertime skin base, but Shiseido really needs to consider expanding the shade range. Until then, I will have to stick to my arsenal of reliable MAC foundations. 

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Brightening Serum Review

I have finished 3 MAC products in the past week.....YAY for 3 more items that I can Back to MAC! One of the items I finished was the Prep + Prime Skin Brightening Serum:

I had heard from several MAC artists that this is good for application in the morning and helps to even out dry patches on the skin and with prolonged use it helps even out the skin tone. It has an abundance of great natural ingredients in it that improve the texture of the skin tone. Before I get to my thoughts on the product itself, I really like the locking mechanism on the pump, making it great for travel.

The serum itself is like a cloudy white liquid. It is very thin in consistency, so you need very little to cover the entire face. When blended, it has a natural finish to it.

Top: Serum pumped out on skin

Bottom: Serum blended

Overall, I think this serum is just ok. I like that the scent is fresh, natural, and clean, and I am particularly fond of the fact that the fragrance isn't overbearing. I have finished using the entire bottle and I did like it. My skin is very dry and I do think this helped keep my skin hydrated, but not in a greasy way. This would be suitable for any kind of skin tone to help maintain moisture and suppleness. This also made my skin tone more even and I do feel like it helped fade dark spots and acne scars. That being said, one of my primary skin care concerns is aging, so I prefer serums that have some anti-aging benefits. Honestly, though, this serum might help with aging, but it is not marketed so and I wouldn't really know unless I used this for 10 years and saw that I had no wrinkles. Then again, I have no proof that serums targeted for aging really do work, but at least the claims influence my decision on what to purchase. 

One thing I did not like about the packaging is that when you remove the pump top, you can't unscrew the nozzle, so if there is any serum left over that won't pump out, you can't get to that serum because the part pictured above won't come off. 

In any case, I liked this serum for its skin evening and scar lightening properties, but since I prefer serums with anti-aging benefits I probably won't repurchase this.

July Favorites

Last month was all about quick and easy-to-use products because I was so busy and most frequently opted for a simple look rather than a complicated, full face of makeup. Here are the products I kept reaching for:

1. MAC Lipstick in See Sheer - This is the perfect wearable coral lipstick for me. I can wear it with neutral eye looks for a subtle pop of color, or with a smoky eye because it adds a bit of fun to the lips without being in-your-face.

2. MAC Pro Longwear Foundation - I have talked about this a lot before but I continue to love it because it is so easy to wear! It provides medium coverage, blends easily, has a bit of SPF and lasts ALL day long! Who really wants to reapply foundation in the summeritme? Not me. 

3. MAC 130 brush - I have been using this brush every single day. I use it with all formula foundations, even the Pro Long Wear mentioned above. It blends foundation so easily and buffs it in to the skin so your skin looks clean and neat...not cakey. This can also be used with cream blushes and concealers. 

4. Sephora Airbrush Concealer Brush - Another brush I have been using every day. I got this in the Sephora Airbrush Set, which I like, but this is my favorite of the bunch. It does seem kind of big but it so perfect for blending concealer under the eyes. 

5. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Shadow in Beach Bronze - This is just so perfect for summer! I wear it alone as a sheer wash on the lid. It has a bit of sparkle in it so it has some dimension when the light/sun hits it. And not to mention it is just so easy to dab a bit on my finger, swipe it over my lid, and go! 

L-R: Beach Bronze swiped and blended

What are you easy go-to items for summertime?

Laura Mercier Lip Glacé Review

Laura Mercier Lip Glacé's are one of the brand's more popular color products and I wanted to find out if the gloss is worth the $22 price tag. 

I tried out the shade Baby Doll, which is a sheer, light pink with a subtle sparkle.

The texture is nice and non-sticky, and I did get about 4 hours of wear from this gloss, but the whole time I was cringing at the smell and taste. The Lip Glacé has a VERY strong vanilla scent. If you think MAC glosses smell vanilla-y, that is nothing compared to the Lip Glacé. And don't get me started on the taste....a strong mixture of vanilla and sugar reminiscent of 5-year old play makeup. 

Baby Doll straight from tube and blended out

This shade does not have much pigment, and when worn on the lips it just adds a bit of a light pink sheen. I like it because it is very natural and fool-proof....the kind of gloss you can apply without a mirror.

I would like these glosses if they had less vanilla fragrance and taste. Value-wise these are a pretty good deal for non-sticky gloss that still has some color. One gloss has 0.159 oz./4.5g worth of product and costs $22. Comparatively, MAC's version of a non-sticky gloss is the Cremesheen Glass and you only get 0.09 oz/2.7 g worth of product and costs $18.50. If you like non-sticky flavored glosses then I highly recommend trying one of Laura Mercier Lip Glacé's. If not, then steer clear!