Jantzen Retro Inspired Swimwear

I really love these swimsuits!  I think they would be flattering on about anybody, and they are classic colours, prints, and very reasonably priced!

WOOOO!  MY PERSONAL FAVE!

For all you two piece fans........

And I know I've said that I don't care for the high-waisted ones, but.............

Guerlain Meteorites Perles Review

I've been using Meteorites since I was a teenager, mostly because all of my female relatives did. 

A lot of people are under the impression that this product is a good highlighter, but I have to disagree.  It is so light, that I cannot even get a swatch of it to show up.  You can barely tell it's on my face, but I always thought it softened it up a bit.  They do make a luminating one, Perles D'Or, I bought it when it was a limited edition, so I am not sure when that was.  I am not a fan of illuminators in any form really, but I have found a couple of nice powdered ones in the past few months- Revlon is one that comes to mind.  But this one was the main one I was using, Teint Rose.  I have tried the pressed version of these as well, which I thought was much more effective.

I don't use Meteorites anymore.  They don't really do much for my face, and even though the box is pretty and the product smells lovely is it worth almost $60?  Probably not.

Review: Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer

I tend to like concealers that are in stick form.  I have used NARS stick concealer for a long time, and I have also used Physician's Formula green stick concealer.

I purchased this in Soft Honey:

The texture was creamy and moist, but not thick.  NARS is much thicker and drier, for a comparison.  I did not have a blemish to cover, but I have a small blood vessel spot from pregnancy/childbirth on my cheek that I always cover. This product did not work for me at all.  It didn't blend well, and it did not cover the spot.  I would not purchase this product again. 



Celebrity Makeup: Julianna Margulies

Such a beautiful woman!!  I think her makeup is so pretty, such a natural radiance, and she has such a gorgeous complexion.  I saw her in a L'Oreal hair dye ad, with a nude lip I thought looked great on her.  I've seen her in bold lips-bright reds and fuschias, but I think that nude lip really flattered her.  And wow, I just found this photo of her with straightened hair- what a transformation! I love her natural hair, and that must have taken hours to do, but wow, what a huge difference for the night!

Home Teeth Whitening Kits

There are so many of these home teeth whitening kits, and the price ranges are just huge- I've seen everything from 10 dollars or less, all the way to almost $300.  I definitely have not used a $300 kit, and I don't know that I would. 

In my area, there used to be a mall teeth whitening area, it was right in the middle of the mall, where people would sit in these egg-shaped chairs while some people (definitely not trained dental professionals) used some solution and some kind of light rays.  They got shut down because they were not using hydrogen peroxide and the local authorities said the employees were practicing dentistry without a license.  Personally, I would not do that kind of thing in an open area mall and not even a dentist.  Kind of suspicious when dentists charge hundreds of dollars and the mall has it for $59. 

Anyway, I have used two whitening kits in the past, the first is DenTek:

I got this one because it was really inexpensive, like under $10.  I did not know if I actually needed my teeth whiter, so I thought I would try it and see what it did, if anything. 

My teeth felt cleaner after using this as directed, but the whitening was very subtle, I mostly noticed it right after I brushed the solution away on about days 4 and after. I did like the flexible mouthpieces that came with the kit, and I really liked the method of squeezing the solution onto the mouthpieces, I could feel it got on my teeth sufficiently.

The next one I tried was Crest White Strips:

These were incredibly frustrating for me to purchase, because they had an entire aisle of Crest White Strips.  What is the deal with that.  I had no idea they had so many versions!!  I did notice my teeth were whiter after I used these, and I was planning on doing a blog post but I must have had bad lighting issues because although I saw it in the mirror, when I took pictures day one and day five looked exactly the same. 

I experienced absolutely no sensitivity or pain using either of those products. I also did not see a problem with the length of the strips, they covered all my visible teeth. 

I have heard a lot about Go Smile too, they are I think $89, and I have seen mixed reviews, and I haven't seen them in action, but I know they are not strips.

The latest home kit I have seen is GLO.  Their solution is 6% hydrogen peroxide.  They say this system will give you EIGHT shades whiter teeth- wow that is extreme white in my opinion.  It is $275- yikes!  I don't know if I would pay that much- to me, if I really felt like I needed that level of whitening, I would have it done professionally.  That being said, this really seems like the way to go if you didn't want or couldn't have it done profesionally, or to maintain that level of whitening. 

I can also see the benefit of using something like this if you've had braces- I know my teeth were off coloured after I got mine off, and my dentist didn't offer to whiten them.  I didn't really notice until quite a while later, and by then my teeth weren't perfectly straight anymore, so I didn't bother messing with them. 

I love the idea of home whitening, although I must admit, it is not something I do on a regular basis.  I did not grow up in a culture or home where white teeth were really important, and I really do not think there is anything wrong with natural coloured teeth.  For me personally, my teeth are not bad, even though they aren't snow white either.  If I were to get Invisalign or do something drastic to my teeth, I think I might invest in some whitening too.

Review: Inglot Cream Lipstick 148

I bought this lipstick strictly for the colour, I wanted to try it out.  It is a very pretty pink, with a bluish tint. 

I immediately loved the colour, it was exactly what I expected.

The swatches:

I used the flash, primarily so you can see the lilac tint it has in the light:

The colour, I loved.  It was very pretty.  Unfortunately, I did not like this lipstick and I would not purchase again.  It has a really bad taste first of all.  I also did not care for the texture, I don't know if I got a bad tube, but mine was not creamy at all, in fact, it was almost grainy in texture, quite uncomfortable.  I also could not get much wear from it- about 2 1/2 hours tops, and that is with my mouth completely closed the whole time- forget about eating or drinking with this.  Or even talking on the phone lol. 

Here is how it turned out on my lips:

I got this lipstick from Inglotusa.com for $12.



On a side note, for those of you who have found out about new Inglot products, where so??  Have you seen them for sale?  The trio shadows, and even larger than 20 palettes?  I am very curious about these!!  

Henna Tattoos!

Well, this is what happened as a result of a super boring and hot weekend!

My niece begged me to do hers, so I did.  As you can see, my son tried to get in on the action:

I have not used henna in years- I got enough permanent ink to worry about lol.  But this kind is waaaaay better than the powder stuff I've used.  It is all premade- it comes in a tube like toothpaste, with a thin tip too.  You put it in the fridge and apply- it is so easy!  I wasn't expecting it to be, otherwise I would have been more careful with the designs. 

They really turned out well when we were done.  Since we were just messing around, I just made random patterns for no real reason. 

If I were using henna for real, I would definitely love this!  The method is super easy, it dried quickly, and I think the stain turned out good, too.  

ZÜCA Pro Travel Bags!

Wow I can't believe I never knew about these before!!  ZÜCA bags were originally designed for ice skaters, to store their skates and they have a seat built right in.  Since the original, they developed others, such as Sport and Pro.  They even make one for pets! 

These are totally awesome, they have removeable zippered compartments like drawers right in the case!  Brilliant idea, really in love with these.  They aren't any more expensive than other bags, they run between $219 and $295, and the Pro Artist models are approved as carry-ons.  Only thing I would be concerned about is the weight if it's jam packed with products that can get heavy quickly. 

Here they are!  The first one is my personal fave, which reminds me I forgot to post my favourite colour- it is pink and probably always has been. 

BACKPACK

(Not carry-on approved but still cute!)

I so love these!! 

Review: Sonia Kashuk Brush and Sponge Cleanser

Every time I looked at Target, they had the label for this cleanser, but never the product.  So when I finally spotted it, I picked it up right away so I could check it out. 

I read the directions on the back, which stated to wet the brush or sponge, spray it with this, then lather and rinse.  Lather, it did not do on the brushes.  It did a great job on the sponge though. 

It does have a scent, not unpleasant, but it did linger on the sponge.  My brushes did not get clean using this product no matter how many times I tried, so I would not use it again for brushes.  It is an economical ($6.99), very good alternative to the Beauty Blender Cleanser, and I would recommend it for that.  

Dior Homme Dermo System

I was browsing Dior products, and came across the mens skincare section- I was intrigued. 

These look so awesome, and got really great feedback.  Men seem to really love the products.  The after shave got really rave reviews.  They have shaving cream, after shave, cleansing gel, moisturizer, and eye treatment. 

I really love mens skincare lines, much better than traditional soap/shampoo/shower/shave gel/too busy to buy more than one so its all in one products that they seem to market towards men.  Or maybe thats what men want, who knows, but judging by these, I would say something like these would and should be the preferred choice. 

I remember buying my husband Clinique's line when it was introduced, and he refused to touch it, citing something a little more offensive than he thought they were too feminine. 

All of my male friends and relatives in Europe love high end products, not just colognes.  They say they perform well and they can really see a difference in their skin. 

What products do the men in your life use?  Do you think they would like these? 

Pumpkin Look!

Haha!!  Pumpkin: Look!!!!   In May!!!   Lol is this the sweetest pumpkin!!

Review: Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzers: Princess, Goddess

Since I was not very pleased with the Rimmel bronzer I bought, I went to pick up a different shade.... then I saw these!!!  I could not resist, considering I've had such great experiences with their eyeshadows and lash serum. 

Princess is shimmery, and Goddess is matte- so glad to have found them both!

The swatches:

These are soft, and powdery, Princess a bit more of the two, but they are still very easy to work with.  They applied evenly and smooth, and blended easily.  They are quite pigmented, I did not have to build them up at all, which I really found pleasing.  I like both shades a lot, but Princess is a bit more of a lighter bronze.  I did not find Goddess to appear muddy at all, despite the darker colour and lack of shimmer. 

A downside is, for me anyway, they did not last very long on my skin, particularly Princess- I almost got three hours, but not quite.  I got about 4 1/2 from Goddess though.  I don't have oily skin so I don't believe that to be the cause.  Since reapplying bronzer can be a bit tricky for me on the go, I used a setting spray and that worked perfectly to last all day.

I would recommend either or both of these, as they are very nice shades and texture.

Here are some visuals of how they applied on me, I did both at the same time to compare them:

PRINCESS

GODDESS

Oh and since MUG is making people upload their pictures onto Photobucket or something similar just so you can post to MUG, I will no longer be posting there. I have the pictures right here on my computer so I don't understand the point of registering somewhere else just to use that one site. If anyone else can shed some light on why they enforced this new requirement please feel free to comment. I am not particularly trying to be rude about it but it seems like a nuisance to make things more difficult, why the middle man.  

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Congratulations  ANGIEBEE! 

Thanks so much for everyone who entered and reads my blog!  Don't worry, this isn't my last giveaway!

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Timestamp: 2011-05-15 09:36:55 UTC