Saturday, January 31, 2015

Revive Your Complexion With My Milk Exfoliant Recipe


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Milk can do wonders for the skin.



Something nice you can do for your face today is to try this homemade recipe for my milk exfoliant. It is so simple to make with only three ingredients, but it will do wonders for your freshly washed complexion and its texture.

The combination of milk, which is loaded with lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and lemon juice, another AHA, makes this beneficial exfoliant work harder to gently remove dead skin cells and encourage healthy new cells to emerge.  Try it yourself to see how beautifully your complexion will respond.

My Milk Exfoliant Recipe

1-1/2  tablespoons powdered milk
1-1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice (fresh is best)
3/4 teaspoon of warm water

Mix the ingredients together until you have a paste like consistency that is spreadable.

Apply to your face and start rubbing, but avoid the eye area.  

Keep the exfoliant on for about a minute before you should rinse it off with cool water.






Friday, January 30, 2015

How to Care for Leather Boots and Shoes After Walking Through Snow and Salt!

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Give your boots some tender loving care and they will stay beautiful longer!


This winter weather can hurt our skin but also can extend to our leather boots and shoes.  If you were wondering how to clean those white spots left behind on your boots and shoes after walking through the snow and salt, then here’s how to quickly clean them.

Take a soft, clean cloth and wipe your boots or shoes with white vinegar.  Within seconds, the white residue will be gone without harming the leather.

Black scuff marks, on the other hand, call for a different solution.  My suggestion is dunking a soft cloth in water, then some baking soda or you can make a paste.  As gently as possible, you rub the mark and it should lift.  Clean your work with another clean, damp cloth and dry.

Another thing I want to pass on to help wet boots keep their shape is by stuffing the inside with rolled up newspaper while you let them dry.  This helps minimize the leather wrinkling, especially for those buttery soft leathers.

Also, make sure never to dry those wet boots or shoes near the radiator or heating duct.  This can have damaging effects like causing the leather to crack or you might shrink the skin.  

Further protect the leather with a waterproofing product.  Some of the commercial ones that I tried, I wasn’t thrilled with the results.  What I recommend that does a wonderful job and is safe for leather is a bit of floor wax to waterproof or some petroleum jelly, which also is a great leather conditioner to keep the grain from drying out.  

Winter is long and brutal, but these few tips can safeguard your leather investment! 

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Valentine’s Day Beauty Begins With Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Hair Care Products (Review) + WIN ($92) Giveaway! (US & Canada)--Ends February 18, 2015

Disclaimer: This post is based on a free product provided by a company as a press sample so that I may offer my own opinion, which may be the same or differ from yours.
Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Five Products.jpeg
Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Hair Care Products

Valentine’s Day is when you need your hair to be glorious.  If you demand for it to be shiny, manageable and yet invitingly soft looking to tempt a romantic caress, then you would like the Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing hair care products that I have been using because these hair care essentials do all those things and more.

My hair is thick, dry and color-treated.  This is not the greatest combination especially in a winter environment, but you should see how my suffering hair responded.  The So Pure line is based on wholesome healing power from plant extracts and essential oils for both hair and mind with soothing aromatherapy qualities. 

To begin with, Keune’s So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Shampoo is a deeply penetrating formula that is free of sulfates and parabens.  It has extra certified argan and palmarosa oils as well as shea butter that brought new vitality to my rather dull hair.  In addition, you will love its delectable sweet, cherry-like aroma while lathering up.  
The Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Conditioner further brought that beauty along with more certified argan oil, palmarosa oil and shea butter. You can use this on both wet and dry hair.  I added a little after my shampoo and kept it on for a few minutes before rinsing it out.  I was amazed at how well it untangled hair because my wide-toothed comb never glides as easily through my heavy, longer hair as it did with this stuff.

I added a few drops of Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moroccan Olive Oil treatment while my hair was still damp, concentrating more on the ends. This vitamin intensive oil repairs the hair but also shields it from damaging heat whether from UV rays or styling tools.  

Just after using those three new Keune products, my hair looked so much healthier with more gloss and softness once I styled it.  I really didn’t think it could get too much better.

Then the following week, I tried the Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Treatment, which was a real beauty find. This hair mask is what you want when you hair is really hurting from the deep conditioning this one can do.  It  has micro proteins from Moringa seed extract that until personally trying it will you know how incredibly those specific ingredients work to hydrate and increase the amount of luster.  I can’t begin to explain the silky feel that it suddenly had again or how nicely behaved when styling.

After that intense conditioning, my hair was in great shape with just their shampoo and the moisturizing conditioner.  I didn’t need to give it any heavy treatment until about three weeks later.  At that time, I decided the Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Overnight Repair might be a good bet.  The serum provided just enough conditioning without weighing my hair down with its micro proteins from wheat and Moringa seed along with restorative oils like ylang ylang, palmarosa and argan. You are meant to rinse it out in the morning, but my hair absorbed the amount I applied that I kept it in until later that night before shampooing it out.

I really loved these products because they seriously bolster the condition of dry, damaged hair and turn it around while making you feel like you’re in a spa with that wonderful, lingering aroma. 

Gift yourself with this system from Keune if your hair needs rescuing as well and then wait until you see your hair respond with new life!  

*Disclaimer: Free product was provided to facilitate this review--not my opinion.* 

Thanks to Keune Hair Care, one lucky Nuts 4 Stuff reader in the United States or Canada wins the above five full-size Keune So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Hair Care Products ($92 value)!


Giveaway details and how to enter–

Prize: One (1) winner will receive the set of five Keune hair care products–So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Shampoo (8.5 oz.), So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Conditioner (6.8 oz.), So Pure Natural Balance Moroccan Olive Oil treatment (1.5 oz.), So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Dry Hair Treatment (6.8 oz.), and So Pure Natural Balance Moisturizing Overnight Repair (5.1 oz.) for a ($92 value)!

Dates of entry: 01/29/15–2/17/15 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time

Eligibility: Open to USA and Canada.  The winner will need to respond to my email with name and shipping address within 48-hours or another winner will be picked.  

How to Enter:  Please use the Rafflecopter widget if it works.  You can also enter by clicking this link or try to enter using another browser. You can return daily and log in again with your email to tweet.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

How Never to Get Lipstick on Your Teeth Again!


IT Cosmetics Vitality Lip Flush Anti-Aging Lip Stain Collection.jpeg
You can end the embarrassment of getting lipstick on your teeth with this great makeup trick.

As beautiful as lipstick can color our lips, it can sometimes end up on our teeth, embarrassing us to no end. I don’t know about you, but it seemed to happen to me at the worst times like a first date, job interview, or something else where you needed to make a wonderful impression.  However, I want to share a great trick that will stop that awful lipstick problem once and for all.

After you apply your lipstick, I want you to stick your index finger in your mouth and then purse your lips around that finger.   Now slowly pull your finger out.  Any excess lipstick lands on your finger instead of those pearly whites this way.

Try it and you'll see how well this tip works!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hello Mojito Mint Toothpaste, Mouthwash and Breath Spray Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Hello Mojito Mint Toothpaste.jpeg
Hello Mojito Mint Toothpaste for intense freshness!


Hello is a brand of ADA (American Dental Society) accepted dental products that you
may not be aware of yet.  They have several different interesting flavors of fluoride toothpaste, mouthwash, and breath sprays such as Pink Grapefruit Mint, Supermint, and the variety I received with Mojito Mint.

Brushing with Hello Mojito Mint toothpaste blasts your mouth with intense cool, mint freshness while making your teeth feel exceptionally clean.  The wonderful taste of it will make you probably want to brush longer.  

Yet, it also has something I did not like about this product–the container.  The first thing you will notice is the toothpaste comes in a plastic bottle that stands instead of a conventional tube.  This makes getting the product out harder than squeezing from a tube.  Furthermore, it makes it nearly impossible to get the product out later with more use.

The Hello Mouthwash and Breath Spray in Moijto Mint were excellent picks for total breath freshness, especially great to have on hand for Valentine’s Day readiness for all that kissing you’re going to do.


Hello Mojito Mint Mouthwash.jpeg
Hello Mojito Mint Mouthwash


Hello Mojito Mint Breath Spray.jpeg
Hello Mojito Mint Breath Spray

Do visit the Hello website for more information and where to buy.

*Disclaimer: Free products were provided to facilitate this review--not my opinion.*

Monday, January 26, 2015

Extending the Life of Your Hair Color--A Few Changes That You Should Try Now!

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This beauty wants to keep her color as vibrant for as long as possible.


After all the trouble we go through for coloring our hair, we want those beautiful results to last.  Yet, if you have been wondering why your hair color fades sooner than you would have liked, then I may be able to offer you some insight into why this is happening and suggest a few changes to your routine that definitely helps.

For the longest time, I was under the assumption that 24 to 48 hours was all the time needed before it was safe to shampoo my freshly colored hair. Perhaps, you also thought this was long enough to keep your hair color in tact.  However, the real truth is that it takes 72 hours for the cuticle layer to close completely after a hair coloring process.

Another mistake that shortens the life span of our hair coloring is too heavily rinsing the hair after shampooing and conditioning.  What you should do instead is not saturate your head with a strong downpour of water but tilt it back and rinse briefly.  

The temperature of the water that you use to shampoo and rinse matters as well.  Avoid extremely hot water and opt for lukewarm to cool water if you plan to keep that hair color.  The rule to remember is the hotter the temperature of that water, the more color you will find rinsing out.

Just as important, make it a practice to always follow up shampooing with a conditioner. Regardless of the one in your bathroom, your hair will need one that is meant for color-treated hair.  This is the only conditioner that will give it a protective barrier to best seal the color in.  

It’s also a good idea to use a weekly leave-in conditioner to keep the hair as healthy as possible.  Make sure to pay extra attention to depositing more of that conditioner toward the ends.

Shampooing less than every day also helps prolong hair coloring. For those with oily hair or a head loaded with styling products, you should think of using a dry shampoo or even some cornstarch or baby powder on your roots.  

Heat is not your hair’s friend, especially with hair color.  Make it a point to use a thermal spray for heat protection.  To best safeguard that fresh color, do avoid your styling tools for at least a week.  The worst offenders are curling and flat irons that make direct contact with your hair. 

Do take these tips to heart because they will help your hair better hold onto that gorgeous color longer!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Recipe: Perogie Power--An Old World Meatless Delight!

My Cheese-Potato Perogies. jpeg
My uncooked Cheese-Potato Perogies

Whether you spell it perogies or pierogies, these meatless filled dough pockets are delicious. The fillings vary from my favorite of cheese and potato to sauerkraut and potato, a cottage cheese type stuffing, to even one packed with a prune mixture.  

In fact, when you are confined to your house due to bad winter weather, this is the ideal time to make perogies. These do take a bit more work than I like, but you can make a batch ahead and partially boil for an easy dinner later.  

The secret to great perogies is keeping your dough soft and pliable.  Adding the sour cream as an ingredient in the dough will give it extra tenderness.

After these cheese and potato filled delights are boiled enough to float to the top of your pot, you will transfer them to your frying pan that has browned finely chopped onions swimming in olive oil and some butter. Once they are coated, you can serve them plain or with a dollop of sour cream or even a mushroom gravy like my grandmother used to make.  

Those that never were fortunate enough to try a homemade perogie honestly should give it a try because these taste incredible.  Trust me, but you cannot compare the taste of any of those frozen, under inflated things that pass as perogies in the same class as old-world style homemade perogies so I hope you decide to attempt making my recipe.

Old-world Style Cheese-Potato Perogies: 


For the Dough:

3 cups of flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 of ½ pint of sour cream

For the Cheese-Potato Filling:

about 8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 cups of Velveeta cheese or sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper


To Make the Dough:
This is one time that I don’t use my food processor to make the dough.  I just prefer to mix with my wooden spoon and then by hand the flour, eggs, salt, and sour cream so I don’t overwork the dough.  

If the dough feels sticky, add more flour.  However, you want to add only very little to solve that problem. Too much flour will make the dough stiff and turn out a hard perogie so just be careful and add that flour slowly.

I like to divide my dough into a few balls and cover with another mixing bowl while I work on one ball at a time.  

Take one of those dough balls and roll out  on a floured surface.  You want it thin, approximately 1/8-inch, but not overly thin that it will be too fragile to stuff. 

Once the dough is rolled, you are going to cut into rounds.  I use a large glass or a cup as my dough cutter, which does a good job.  Check your cupboard and you can improvise as well.

Each dough round needs about one tablespoon of filling placed in the center.  

To Make the Cheese-Potato Filling:

Cook the potatoes until they are tender enough to mash.  

Add in the cheese until the potatoes have a nice yellow color.  (You may need to add a little more depending on the size of the potatoes you used).  Then add the salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Allow your potato-cheese mixture to cool on a plate while you prepare the dough.

Try not to get any of the filling near the edges because this can make the filling escape in your pot once you start boiling them.  After stuffing a round, fold the dough over and then pinch with your fingertips to seal. You can also use a fork or follow up with a fork to design as you seal.

Get a smidgen of flour on your fingertips and go over the seal.  This helps better lock in the stuffing.  

Keep repeating this process until you finish with your dough.

Cook in boiling water and then remove after about five minutes when you see them float to the top.  This is when to take them and transfer to your frying pan that has some finely chopped onions that have browned until golden with a mixture of olive oil and butter.

ENJOY!

Friday, January 23, 2015

Get the Longest Lashes Ever With This Mascara Trick!

IT Cosmetics Hello Lashes Mascara.jpeg
IT Cosmetics Hello Lashes Mascara has a wonderful brush for this purpose that works like a charm.


If you want to maximize the length of normal lashes, you might think a lengthening formula of mascara is all that is called for.  While this is partly true because the formula does make a difference, there is something else just as important.  

Consider the design of its wand.  Look for a lengthening mascara with a wand that has densely packed bristles.  This is the best design for getting that color onto each lash.  In fact, you’ll find maneuvering with this type of brush is easier when touching up the tips, the prime area to coat when striving for long lashes.

Do curl your lashes first, then after your initial coat of mascara try applying a second coat but only at the outer corners of your upper lashes.   Your lashes will lengthen considerably and look more subtle and natural from this technique.

I do hope you give it a shot because this little change will surprise you!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Aging Gracefully Calls for Rethinking Makeup and Shades for Maximizing Your Beauty Potential!


Aging does affect the choices and shades of cosmetics we should be using.   After all, what suited us so well before may now be entirely wrong for us due to changes in our skin and facial tone.

Starting in our forties, skin that was once plump and vibrant becomes drier, flakier and paler with every passing birthday.  To stay ahead of the aging game, you need to reconsider what stays and goes in your makeup bag.

Now is the time to get in the habit of wearing primer. This can help fill in some lines and create smoothness for more of a perfected surface before foundation goes on. Some complexions do not take well to lightweight silicone-based formulas and breakout or become irritated while others respond beautifully.  Nonetheless, if your complexion is very dry or on the sensitive side, your skin probably would prefer a silicone-free formula. Finding the right one is mainly through trial and error. 

In your makeup bag, you may have powder foundation and blush.  With this increased dryness that comes from aging, you may want to switch out those cosmetics for moisture rich creams, gels, and liquid formulas instead for added freshness.   Powder forms on dry skin can sometimes streak. 

If you don’t want to bother with primer, then keep the base only to the areas needed to even out your complexion.  A minimal amount is less likely to settle into lines and creases.

You might feel you need to set your foundation with finishing powder.  This is a mistake since that powder thwarts light reflection on that, otherwise, more luminous face.

Since aging lips thin as a result of less collagen production, it pays to lighten the shades of color you wear. Dark lipsticks can be too overpowering now.  The result can be lips that look tightened and pressed together. Sheer and brighter colors can liven up an ashier complexion.

Do read my earlier post for even more valuable help.


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

A Hair Coloring Trick You Need to Try for Root Touch-Ups!


Instead of breaking out a root touch-kit to hide the fresh outgrowth, I have a quick color fix that will work the same way--only without the styling hassle left after repairing with one of those gigantic mascara wands that comes in this type of kit.

You will need your hair spray and eye shadows.  All that is necessary is  lightly spritzing  the roots with hair spray first before dusting on some shimmering gold eye shadow, especially for blondes or soft to dark brown for brunettes.  

This method of temporary touch-up will keep the gray from not showing.  It also will make it much easier to style your hair.  





Tuesday, January 20, 2015

You Won’t Believe How Much Balayage for Your Hair Warms Up a Winter Complexion!


Other than new makeup or skin care, I can tell you of another exciting way to make you look irresistible.  You need to try balayage for your hair because it can wake up a dull complexion as well as bring out your eyes and magnificently enlarge them. 

In case you haven’t heard, balaye is a French technique of artistically using hair color to paint on soft, natural streaks of sun-kissed color.  When done correctly, the effect is stunning in the way light plays off that exceptional color delivery in the hair, especially for gorgeously framing a face.  

Unlike the effect of foils, balayage gives your hair more of a flattering dimension because it is painted only on the surface and not to the point of saturation, but gracefully for the most natural color possible.  I just love it how sweeping on just some light color can be so sensational to set you apart from the crowd.

Try it yourself and then look in the mirror!   You will be doing double-takes at your reflection.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Are You Using the Right Ingredients for Your Particular Skin Care Concern?

Korres, Neutrogena, Reviva Labs, L'Occitane, Kleem Organics anti-aging products group.jpeg
From left to right is  Reviva Labs Collagen Serum, Korres Greek Yoghurt Skin Facial, Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair, L'Occitane 28 Day Divine Renewal Program, Kleem Organics Vitamin C Serum, Reviva Labs 5 % Glycolic Acid Cream


When you’re shopping for skin care, you want the product that will be the most effective for your particular issue.  Trusting a fancy jar because you saw it endorsed by a celebrity is not reason enough because as wonderful as that product might be, it may not be the appropriate best choice for you.

Instead, you need to ask yourself what you are trying to solve first.  Is it dullness, dark spots, sagging skin, breakouts, lines and wrinkles, or redness?  Practically all anti-aging skin care products will benefit your complexion in multiple ways.  Concentrate on that one skin issue troubling you the most.  From that point on, the real work begins of reading labels and checking for certain ingredients.

For example, if your skin is skin is dull and yet aging, you want to look for ingredients like seaweed, algae, alpha or beta hydroxy acids, soy, papaya enzymes, lactic or glycolic acid, copper peptides, retinoids, and L-ascorbic acid, (vitamin C).  

On the other hand, if sagging skin is more your problem, then ingredients like hyaluronic acid, soy, copper peptides, and L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) need to appear on that label.  These are the top picks to help firm.

Perhaps, lines and wrinkles might be what you’re attempting to correct.  In that case, ingredients like plant oils, peptides, DMAE, seaweed, algae, retinoids, green tea, kinetin, hyaluronic acid, and L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) will do you the most good.

Dark spots call for kojic acid and licorice extract as ingredients since these are excellent for this purpose.

Still, your issue could be something like dealing with redness or a blotchy complexion.  In so, look for ingredients like green tea, chamomile, cucumber, or aloe as the lead contenders to rescue your skin.

Then again, your skin care problem might be completely different such as breakouts.  If so, look for ingredients like tea tree oil, citrus, mint, rosemary, retinols, salicylic acid, sulfur, resorcinol, glycolic acid, parsley, lycopene.  Those specific ingredients are the ones that toil hard for you for both fighting acne as well as aging.

Now that you know about the importance of specific ingredients to deal with your skin care dilemma, there is also one last thing to keep in mind when reading your label.  Product ingredients start from the most prevalent to the least.  In other words, if you are comparing a few products that will address your skin care issue, then pick the one with the highest concentration of those ingredients you will need, which you will find at the beginning of that list.

Jot down the ingredients that you’ll need to look for before you shop to make it easier on yourself than buying something you may have to return later.  

Good luck and stay beautiful!

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Beauty Box 5 January 2015 Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Beauty Box 5 January 2015.jpeg
Beauty Box 5 January 2015


To start the new year, this month’s Beauty Box 5 comes with an appropriate theme of hello!  The products in this assortment are meant to keep you looking and feeling ready to meet new challenges.

To those that might be unaware of this particular beauty subscription, let me tell you a little about how this one works.  Every month a new beauty box comes out with a fresh theme and four to five full and sample size products for a cost of $12 a month with free shipping. I know that price already sounds tempting, but you can save even more and have that $12 price drop to just $8.25 a month, if you sign up for an annual subscription.

Take a look at this month’s box and you can decide if you have been missing out on some great beauty!


Beauty Box 5 January 2015



1.  Coastal Scents Eye Shadow ( 0.07 oz. sample)–$.48

2.  Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips Kit (Full Size)–$9.99

3.   Ultraflesh The Gold Standard Mascara in Blackout ( 0.08 oz. sample tube)–$6.22

4.   Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo ( 1.7 fl. sample)–$.60

5.   Softsoap Nutri Serums Vitamin E Body Wash (1.7 oz. sample)–$.45

                                                    Total approximate value: $17.74


The Coastal Scent Eye Shadow sampler was Set 39 (Solar Flare, Vibrant Green, Vibrant Plum and Capri Blue).  For the most part, I didn’t care for the wild colors except for the plum despite what may be trending on some fashion runaways for Spring, 2015.  However, you may feel differently.

The Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips Kit I received was 540 Stripe-Tease.  I do love Sally Hansen nail polish and am looking forward to trying this out.  

I keep mascara for about three months before I replace it to keep my eyes safe.  Therefore, the Ultraflesh Mascara is a wonderful size when you need to toss it so you don’t feel like you are wasting it.  The only thing I didn’t care for was when I researched to learn more about this product.  I became aware that this is a discontinued mascara from 2011.   

The Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo is something my hair benefitted from since it was a strengthening formula.  It lathered up and gave my hair pretty sheen.

The Softsoap Nutri Serums Body Wash was one from the brand that I didn’t try until now.  It had a delectable sweet scent that smelled like an apple and yet had a touch of floral.  Bathing with it was a very pleasant way to clean with its moisturizing lather.

Overall, I thought it was a decent box and thrilling to explore.  Do think of subscribing to Beauty Box 5 yourself because it is a fun way to get beautiful.

What are your thoughts about Beauty Box 5 for January 2015?  Do share.

*Disclaimer: Free products were provided to facilitate this review--not my opinion.*

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Some Great Tips to Keep Yourself Motivated When Dieting!


Trying to lose weight is never an easy task.  However, there are a few things that I have tried that definitely keeps you focused on your goal–instead of the refrigerator.  

Unless you feel sick, you may not feel health is enough of a dieting motivator.  In that case, your body image is often stronger.  What I found helps is to look at yourself naked and keep that picture with you in your mind when you feel that urge to cheat. 

Another helpful technique is cutting out  magazine pictures of bodies that you want to look like and attach them to your refrigerator door for inspiration.  You can always hang a photo of your clothed self next to those hard bodes as a reminder of what you are striving for.  I don’t know about you, but it curbs my hunger when I see those perfect bodies smiling from my refrigerator.  My hand just seems to move away from the refrigerator door automatically.

As you begin to lose weight, I found it helps to snap a new picture every week and add it to your refrigerator collage.  This positive change in your ever-changing body strengthens your resolve further every time you see new improvements that take you closer to your ideal body. 

This next tip that I am about to share with you may sound totally ridiculous, but I suggest you try it first before dismissing it.  Before your lunch or dinner, try brushing your teeth first.  You might be surprised at how that taste will affect your appetite so you eat less.  

 I hope you try these tips because they may help you too!




Friday, January 16, 2015

IT Cosmetics New Year, Your Most Beautiful Skin 5-Piece Collection! (Review) Coming January 19, 2015 As QVC Today’s Special--Prepare to Shop!

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**
IT Cosmetics New Year, Your Most Beautiful Skin 5-Piece Collection.jpeg
IT Cosmetics New Year, Your Most Beautiful Skin 5-Piece Collection


Here’s something that I know you’re going to love–IT Cosmetics has another awesome new 5-piece collection set to debut in just a matter of days.  On January 19, 2015, their New Year, Your Most Beautiful Skin box will appear as QVC Today’s Special so prepare because this happens to be one of their best collections yet!

What’s so exciting about this particular collection is that these are five new IT Cosmetic products that your complexion has been waiting for.  Seriously, this stuff will protect, care for your skin and beautify you with color all at the same time.  With the gorgeous results that you can get, you are not going to believe your eyes.

Just wait until I tell you what you get like their CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder, Blurred Lines Smooth Fill Lipstick (Love), CC+ Eye Color Correcting Full Cover Cream With Cold Spoon Technology, CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream Compact and their CC+ Angled Buffing Foundation Brush.  I know this sounds fantastic, but it’s even more sensational once you actually play with these new anti-aging cosmetics.
The talc-free CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder provides a flattering and silky finish adhering to the skin more naturally than you may expect from a powder.  My bet is that moister quality has to be from its anti-aging ingredients like the hydrolyzed silk and collagen, peptides, and niacin.  I just wish that it could have been the right shade.

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IT Cosmetics CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder (Light)

The CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream Compact (also Light) melts into the skin that you hardly know you have it on as it lays down lovely medium to full coverage while allowing skin to breathe with SPF 50 + UVA/UVB sun protection no less.   This is the same amazing product that is also sold in the tube only in compact form.  You press down to release the product, which flows through the hole to apply with their new CC+ Angled Buffing Foundation Brush. You don’t need to use too much because this stuff goes a long way.  It is just a tad darker than I would have liked.

As to IT Cosmetics new plush CC+ Angled Buffing Foundation Brush, this has more than 80,000 hairs. When you put it against your skin, it feels so luxurious like brushing with rose petals.  
IT Cosmetics CC+ Angled Buffing Foundation Brush.jpeg
IT Cosmetics CC+ Angled Buffing Foundation Brush is so pampering and meant for easier  maneuvering. 

Loving Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer as much as I do and probably you too, if you have tried it, I wondered why the company came out with another concealer.  The CC+ Eye Color Correcting Full Cover Cream with Cold Spoon Technology as far as color goes in Light is somewhat warmer and a thinner, but creamy consistency than Bye Bye Under Eye.  Though I loved the effect of that cooling tip when experimenting with it against my puffy allergy eyes in the morning, I still think the original formula for heavy duty coverage can't be beat to deal with my allergic shiners. This one also hydrates and treats the skin with hyaluronic acid, peptides, hydrolyzed collagen, silk and grape seed oil while it covers, hides darkness with more of a light to medium coverage and brightens.  At the same time, I thought the SPF 50+ UVA/UVB sunscreen was nice to find.

IT Cosmetics CC+ Eye Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream (Light).jpeg
IT Cosmetics CC+ Eye Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream

The Blurred Lines Smooth Fill Lipstick is marvelous and smells so yummy too.  Love is truly one that you can use every day because it is a rosy nude that can give your face a lift without much effort. Better still is how this lippie cradles your lips so intensely in moisture thanks to the shea butter, jojoba, grape seed extract, cherry oil, and hyaluronic acid.  This feels so soothing slathering on my lips, especially now with winter chapping.  

IT Cosmetics Blurred Lines Smooth Fill Lipstick (Love).jpeg
IT Cosmetics Blurred Lines Smooth Fill Lipstick (Love)

I don’t know what the price will be when this New Year, Your Most Beautiful Skin! Collection appears on QVC on Monday, but knowing IT Cosmetics and their past deals, it should be exceptional and worth tuning in beginning at midnight Eastern Standard Time on January 19 until 11:59 PM Pacific Time the next day. Check it out because I know that I will!

*Disclaimer: Free products were provided to facilitate this review--not my opinion.*

Thursday, January 15, 2015

LAQA & Co. Fat Lip Pencils (Shambolic and Doppelganger) Review + SWATCHES!

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

LAQA & Co. Fat Lip Pencil (Shambolic).jpeg
This is LAQA & Co.'s Shambolic Fat Lip Pencil.


October 2014 had LAQA & Co. welcoming a few new colors of their Fat Lip Pencils to their collection.  I received two of the five to share with you for this review.

Shambolic is a vivacious violet with some red undertones that made my lips pop.  The color is fun and a bit bold, but striking just the same.  I found this chubby crayon highly pigmented, but feeling smooth and creamy on my lips.  It lasts for a few hours and then turns into a gorgeous stain.  

My lips when wearing LAQA & Co.'s Shambolic Fat Lip Pencil.jpeg
Here I'm modeling LAQA & Co.'s Shambolic Fat Lip Pencil.  It really has the power to wake up your face--at least it did mine.

Doppelganger is a vibrant shade of a deep pink, peony color.  Unfortunately, the color didn’t do much for my light warm complexion as I had hoped.  Nonetheless, it is an exciting pink meant for the right lips.  Just like Shambolic, it also had a wonderful and comfy feel when wearing.

LAQA & Co. Fat Lip Pencil (Doppleganger).jpeg
Take a look at LAQA & Co.'s Doppleganger Fat Lip Pencil.

My lips with LAQA & Co.'s Doppleganger Fat Lip Pencil.jpeg
This is LAQA & Co.'s Doppleganger Fat Lip Pencil on me. 

If you’re looking to expand your lippie wardrobe, LAQA & Co. Fat Lip Crayons require no separate sharpener to buy and are a nice way to go.  Both of these shades retail for $18 so do look for them.