New HG products!!

Not exactly sure why I felt the need to buy a bunch of new things (I guess my old standbys were failing me) but I've found quite a few new loves.

NYX eyeshadow in Black. Pencil eyeliners never really worked for me. Back when I first started wearing makeup I was using Bare Minerals loose black eyeliner but then moved on to cream liners (which I rarely got a perfect line with). But I kept finding myself using the black shadow in my Wet n Wild Platinum trio to do my liner on days when I didn't want to fuss with the cream. Eventually I decided to go back to using eyeshadow as a liner all the time. I got this one because of the great reviews but I wasn't expecting much. I mean, black e/s is black e/s, right? But this stuff is wonderful!! It's super pigmented & while it has a bit of fallout, its only during application & it stays put all day. I don't even need to wet my brush to apply. I absolutely love this & use it daily.


Vaseline Cocoa Butter lotion. This replaced my former HG, Suave Cocoa Butter & Shea lotion. The Suave just wasn't giving me enough moisture. On my way to this HG I tried the Aveeno Daily lotion but it felt like it never fully sunk into my skin (so I gave it to my BF who seems to really like it). But I love this Vaseline lotion. I've always been fond of the cocoa butter scent & this keeps me feeling soft. Even if I do a quick cooldown shower without using soap (its been 100 degrees recently), I don't need to remoisturize like I had to before. I still feel nice & soft.


Biore SkinPreservation Dual Fusion Moisturizer SPF 30. This replaced my Dove Deep Moisture, which I never really loved since it has shimmer in it (I prefer to control my glow by having matte-ish skin & using highlighter where desired). I also wanted a higher SPF than the normal 15 found in many moisturizers. I had originally tried to use asuper high SPF sunscreen on days when I knew I'd be outside a lot but that got annoying, espeially if my plans changed midday (but I still carry sunscreen in my bag just in case).
I absolutely LOVE this. It sinks in right away, leaves skin feeling soft & not at all tacky and hasn't caused any breakouts or dry flakiness (a problem I had before). The bottle is annoying but the product inside is worth the fuss.

Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer. For some odd reason I had been putting off getting a new concealer for way too long. I seem to do that, often putting off rebuying necessities like concealer & mascara until the last possible moment but yet I buy lip products & eye shadow all the time. I used to use Maybelline Age Rewind (tube). It was always kind of sheer for me so I ended up layering it over foundation & then using a neutralizing powder on top. I occassionally tried other concealers, like the Maybelline Cover Stick (which, BTW, the lightest shade was WAY WAY too dark for me) but the Age Rewind was better than any other so I stuck with it until I finished my tube. For weeks now I've been squeezing the life out of it but finally gave in, checked reviews & went to the store. I was just going to get the Age Rewind Dual Perfector but decided to try the Revlon 1st. When I swatched in the car after buying I thought it might be a bit too dark but when I got home & tried it, it blended in very nicely. A few hours later I still looked well concealed & I like the matte finish (different from the Age Rewind). Very glad I got this. Hope everything continues to go well with it so I don't have to buy anything else. lol

Prestige Kohl eyeliner in White. Now normally I only use white eyeliner when I wearing a pink or purple eyeshadow to avoid the bunny rabbit eye look. But the one I had (some Victoria's Secret thing I got for free) didn't work well on the waterline. So I decided to browse a bit at the drugstore. At first I picked up the Wet n Wild white pencil but put it back when I saw the Prestige. I hadn't tried Prestige eyeliners before (since I tend to use black eyeshadow as a liner) & since I've heard such good things decided to get their version. I'm *so* glad I did!! It works extremely well on the waterline, I almost need to blot it to tone it down a bit. I applied midday but when I washed my face at night it was still going strong. NOTE: About white eyeliner, unless you're super pale like me, it might be better to use a nude toned liner instead of white, since on many people white can be too OTT noticeable.

Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Pink Afterglow & Pink Pop. I recently did a stash purge & when it was over I had gotten rid of many of my lipglosses but none of my Super Lustrous glosses. I now have 7 (Cherries in the Glow, Glossy Rose, Nude Lustre, Coral Reef, Peach Petal, Pink Pop & Pink Afterglow) & they've taken over my lipgloss stash in the same way Maybeline Color Sensational took over my lipstick stash. I love how they aren't overly sticky, with no real smell & last quite awhile. The Pink Pop I picked up after realizing that I didn't have a bright pink lipgloss & the Pink Afterglow, simply because I wanted another SL gloss & because it had so many great reviews. lol. I love both shades. Pink Afterglow is a great summer everyday kind of shade (Glossy Rose is my everyday gloss for fall/winter) but quite sparkly so I have to finger blot it after applying to tone it down a notch.

Bare Minerals eyeshadow in Nude Beach. This is a stash rediscovery. I bought this many, many years ago & back then it was my everyday shade. But then I moved on to more complex things & this got forgotten. But now I'm back to using this quite frequently. It's a great shimmery nude shade that's great for when I want to have my lips or blush be the focus rather than my eyes but yet this still adds wonderful sparkle so that I still look polished.

My HG Hair Products

I never used to fuss much with my hair. I still keep things pretty simple. But I have come across some amazing products (mostly drugstore) and I would like to share them with you. NOTE: I have straight fine-to-medium hair, color-treated, usually just a bit past my shoulders.

My HG shampoo is Cristophe Purely Natural Daily Shampoo. It's sulfate-free (I went sulfate-free several years ago), leaves hair feeling clean yet not at all stripped. Holds volume quite well. Can be found at CVS.




My HG conditioner is Biolage Conditioning Balm. I use this for every wash on the ends & also all over when I need a deep conditioning treatment. This doesn't weigh my hair down at all.




This is a recent discovery. I'm always trying new volumizing products & saw that this had great reviews. Now I don't use this for volume as much as texture. This gives *amazing* texture. The piece-y, almost beachy look that I have always wanted to acheive. Doesn't build-up or weigh hair down.



My HG serum is Pureology SuperSmooth Smoothing Elixir. It's amazing stuff. Doesn't weigh hair down at all but smoothes & protects it. I use it mainly on my ends. A little goes a long way, which is great because it's not cheap.


My HG hairspray is Got2Be Smooth Operator Smoothing Hairspray. Nice scent, strong hold & brushes out easily. Much less sticky than other hairsprays. Great for finishing too.



My HG heat protectant is TRESemme Heat Tamer. Hardly any scent, doesn't buildup or weigh down hair.



My HG finishing cream is John Frieda Sheer Blonde Dream Creme. Pretty sure it's discontinued in the US. Hopefully my bottle will last a long time so I don't have to worry about finding a replacement.



Lol. No this is not a mistake. This is my HG dry shampoo. Even though I have medium brown hair this works much better as a dry shampoo than any other ones I've tried. The trick is to get a bit on your fingers, then rub into your scalp, approaching from the underside of your hair. Works great to soak up any oil & adds amazing volume. TIP: If you have any extra oil on the top of your hair, take a fluffy blush brush, dip into loose face powder, tap off excess & then lightly brush over top of hair. With either one of these you can use a hairdryer for a minute if you are worried there might be any residue.



My HG haircolor is Revlon Colorsilk in Medium Rich Brown. This is about 2 shades darker than my natural shade. I love that this doesn't smell harsh & my hair is left feeling better than before I dyed it. I've been using this for several years now. I used a few of the different medium brown shades but I like this one the best.