Winterize Your Nails With Julep

Winter time can reek havoc to ones nails and cuticles. Between the cold dry weather and washing your hands extra to keep away the flu my poor nails could use a little TLC. 

Julep recently released an exclusive tutorial featuring tips on How to Winterize Your Nails. Below is the tutorial, all tips I truly believe in and sometimes neglect. 

My take on Winterizing Your Nails:

Invest in a crystal nail file. I hate the feeling of an emery board. A crystal nail file lasts longer, is smoother to use, and I will never turn back again after purchasing mine. 

Out of cuticle oil & cream? Rub a little olive oil or coconut oil on your nails and cuticles, works like a dream. 

In a real pinch? Use your chapstick or lip balm after washing your hands to hydrate your cuticles. 

Keep your nails shorter in the winter time, it keeps dirt and bacteria at bay and is easier to maintain. 

Take your vitamins! This will keep you healthy against cold & flu AND give you strong healthy nails and hair. 

Some of winter's hottest shades from Julep. My favorites are Ilsa and Sawyer. Of course when in doubt go for a classic red or deep blue. 

What are your winter tips for healthy nails? Favorite shade of polish?

XOXO
Serein

Liquid Lipstick Madness- Anastasia Beverly Hills & Hot Makeup Professionals

Liquid lipsticks have been a craze lately. Everyone wants long lasting, super pigmented, bold lips and Anastasia Beverly Hills released their highly anticipated Liquid Lipsticks late 2014. 

If you watched my IMATS Haul, you would know I picked up a few of these after waiting 2 hours! Watch the Haul HERE.

The product is very pigmented and long lasting, but they will dry out your lips! Make sure to exfoliate and condition your lips before applying this product. You can add a little balm over it when dry to bring back moisture to your lips.

My favorite shades are Heathers and Bloodline, surprise surprise. I find these lippies to be nice.

If your expecting a hydrating long lasting lip product, keep looking, this is not it, but if you don't mind a little dehydration for longevity, then you've got your product.

I feel that the Sephora Lip Creams are very comparable to the Anastasia Liquid Lipsticks and the Sephora ones are only $13 vs. $20. So if your on a budget, check out Sephora. My favorite shades are 01 and 03.

Another lip discovery from IMATS is Hot Makeup Professionals and I'm in love with the gloss New Vogue. This is one of the most pigmented glosses I've tried and the longevity is good. It's not sticky or goopy.

I'm not usually a gloss fan, but Hot Makeup won me over on their gloss. Runway is their kiss me more lip cream and I find this such a beautiful creamy products in my favorite bold red shade.

Defiantly keep an eye out for Hot Makeup Professionals coming soon!

Will you be trying the Anastasia Liquid Lipsticks?

XOXO
Serein

Give Back This Valentines Day

This year for Valentines Day, consider giving your special someone a cute gift that gives back. 

Estee Lauder Companies have lots of cute pink products where proceeds go towards Breast Cancer Awareness. 

Estée Lauder Evelyn Lauder Dream Compact: This intricately detailed, hand-crafted compact contains a refillable Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder that any woman in your life will love. ($125.00; in support of The BCA Campaign, Estée Lauder will donate 20% of the suggested retail price to BCRF)

There's something so very glamorous and old school about a beautiful refillable powder compact. I don't normally carry a compact with me, but this one would change my mind.

Estée Lauder Evelyn Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley Dream Pink Collection: Housed in a chic pink clutch, this collection offers a set of shades that are ideal for Valentine’s Day. Make a statement with Estée Lauder’s best-selling Pure Color lipstick in limited-edition Dream Pink, and two mini Pure Color Nail Lacquers in limited-edition Blushing Lilac and Berry Hot. ($29.50; in support of The BCA Campaign, Estée Lauder will donate 20% of the suggested retail price to BCRF)

 Estée Lauder Modern Muse Solid Perfume Compact: Every woman needs a signature scent. Estée Lauder’s newest fragrance in a limited-edition solid perfume compact will make you feel sexy and confident. ($49.50;  in support of The BCA Campaign, Estée Lauder will donate 100% of the suggested retail price to BCRF)

My mom loves solid perfumes and she collects Estee Lauder packaged ones, so this makes a great gift for her this year. 

What are your Valentines Day plans this year? 

XOXO
Serein

Good For You Makeup- Glo Minerals

In late 2014 I was asked to try Glo Minerals Luxe foundation. I had heard about the brand and knew a little about the company. Being a beauty blogger, I'm asked to try a lot of products, sadly most are not worth mentioning. Glo Minerals really shocked me with their Luxe Foundation and even made it to my Best of 2014 Liquid Foundations round up. You can watch the first impressions review video here. 

Of course after the success of their liquid foundation, I wanted to try more. Glo Minerals offered to send me their Metallic Smokey Eye Kit, Duo Shimmer in Candle, and Blush in Sweet. I then purchased the Concealer, Brow Powder, and Pressed Base myself to really get a feel for the brand. 

First off, Glo Minerals is 100% cruelty free, talc free, and paraben free! This is great news for those that have extremely sensitive skin. For the most part my skin can take a little beating, but for everyday wear, I need to be careful of the ingredients in my makeup. 

You can use: DRESSHAPPY15 for 15% off your entire purchase (MSRP only).

I do not make commission off the discount code or your purchases this was given to my viewers from Glo Minerals.

My favorite product that I have been using is the Dual Shimmer in Candle. Glo Minerals donates proceeds from this product to breast cancer, which makes it even more special.

The shimmer is so gorgeous and makes my whole face glow like an angel. I love the golden shimmer for highlight points, and the pale pink shimmer is beautiful on the inner corner of my eyes.

The highlight is some of the most finely milled powder I've ever touched and the products is ridiculously pigmented. I have to say if you buy anything, buy this highlight duo!

Next up is the Metallic Smokey Eye Kit. This is a beautiful everyday school, work, life kit. The name is a little misleading in my mind. I feel that this is a beautiful wearable everyday eye palette, but the metallic smokey eye name can put those natural eye look seekers off.

The palette is full of my favorites, neutral shades! I thought the shimmer might be too much, but it made for a very youthful glowing look. My only wish is for one matte shade in the quad to add a little more possibility.

The pigmentation is good, again very finely milled, long lasting, and easy to work with. I see college and young working adults loving this quad.

You can wear the base shadow all on it's own with a bit of liner and be good to go. There's a guide to how to wear the shadows, but I find these to be very versatile in wearing alone, all together, or mixing it up.

The next item that blew me away is the blush in sweet. I love what this blush did for my complexion. Sweet is the perfect name because this blush made me look bright, happy, and healthy. The powder if pigmented, bendable, soft, and oh so beautiful. I think anyone with light to medium complexion would love this great everyday blush!

I also tried the Pressed Base in honey light, one of their best sellers and I have to say I love it. It's a great build able coverage powder foundation. You can see me use it as a setting powder in my latest video about Glo Minerals here.

For those who want a quick no fuss face, you can use the very creamy concealer duo and dust the face with the Pressed Base and be good to go. For touchups the compact is great, just be careful not to cake it on throughout the day. If you add too much just mist with a setting spray or fancy water to bring back the luminosity on the skin.

The concealer was quite impressive as well. Smooth, blend able, soft, and didn't crease under my eyes. The coverage is good and I like that it comes with 2 shades.

I also purchased the brow powder and forgot how much I love brow powders! This Spring is going to be all about less is more and natural brows, so powders are a great quick way to tame my sparse brows. It's almost fool proof.

Overall I'm quite impressed with what Glo Minerals has to offer as a cosmetics brand. The foundation are truly unique and perfect for those struggling with sensitive skin. I'm a new fan and will be purchasing more in the future.

Have you tried mineral based makeup? What are some of your favorites?

XOXO
Serein

NARS Spring 2015 Collection

On Thursday I was lucky enough to attend The NARS Melrose Boutique Blogger Event launching their new Spring 2015 Collection. Watch the vlog here.

I'm a HUGE fan of NARS and I love the quality of the products. The Spring 2015 Collection is all about nudes and ethereal natural faces. You'll see a lot of, less is more, pale pinks, nudes, taupe, shimmer, and no makeup makeup looks.

This is defiantly a trend I can run with. If you've been watching my channel or following me for awhile you might have noticed how I love neutrals. I'm always less is more, sometimes a little more smokey and a bit more of a bold red lip, but in general I feel the face and contour should look natural.

The new NARS Porto Venere Eye Paint is to die for. This pale nude pink long wearing cream shadow/ gel liner evens out the eyelid with the faintest glow. You can wear this on it's own or underneath for a clean base ready for other shadows. Once set, it's budge proof.

Next up is the gorgeous NARS St paul De Vence Duo Eyeshadow. This is absolutely the most wearable 2 shades. Anyone can pull off this beautiful peach and light brown. I see myself wearing this everyday.

Going with the theme of less is more and flawless glow, NARS came out with this baby. I'm obsessed. The NARS all day luminous weightless foundation is my new favorite foundation. This is completely weightless, long wearing, and full coverage. It comes with a pump! The frosted glass bottle is beautiful on any vanity, and one pump covers my whole face.

To use make sure to shake well. Prep the skin with moisturizer, serum, and primer. Work one area at a time since the foundation dries and sets quickly. Less is more with this one, so start with one pump.

I did a whole first impressions review on the foundation and wear my new shadows on my channel. Click here to watch.

I've put myself on a budget until I use up some products I already own, I am now kicking myself for not picking up the blush, highlight, and single shadow. Also debating about the glosses, but I really need to use up what I have, especially after my crazy hauling at IMATS this past weekend. 

What do you think of The NARS Spring 2015 collection? Do you like the less is more look? 

I know I'm happy to be able to put down to makeup brush a bit and look more natural. 

XOXO

Serein

My Makeup Collection and Storage

I get many requests to do my Makeup Collection and Storage video on my channel. While I'm quite resistant to the idea of this video, I know many of my viewers want it.

As a thank you for helping me reach 10K subscribers, My Makeup Collection and Storage is now up for your view pleasure.

XOXO
Serein

The Best of 2014 Blushes

Today's video is all about my favorite blushers from the past year. 

Growing up I auditioned in my teens for musicals, TV, film, and commercials. My mom was pretty laid back and never the stage mom, but the one thing she always got on me about in the car from OC to LA was, "Put more blush on." 

Now my mom never really told me what to do... EVER! For whatever reason I was against blush in my teens, not sure why. I think maybe the fear of looking like a clown or something. Anyways when going in for all these auditions, you're usually put on camera in a poorly lit room. Back in the day on actual tape, so blush was kind of an important thing. 

Many years later, I'm no longer afraid of blush, in fact I kind of have a love affair with it. Watch my latest video to see what my favorite blushes have been for the past year. 

Also don't forget to check out the whole series "The Best of 2014 Products" here.

What have you been loving this past year that will carrying into 2015?

XOXO
Serein

The Best of 2014 Bronzer, Highlighter, and Contouring Palettes

To continue on with my series of The Best of 2014 Beauty Products series, today I uploaded my favorite bronzers, highlighters, and contouring palettes. I love what contouring can do for a person, for me it added, color, depth, and life to my face. Sometimes I find the overly contour look to be unflattering for women in real life. My take is if I can tell you contoured, it's probably too much to be wearing off stage and out of the studio, but that's my personal taste. If you like the dramatic contour then do you and go for it!

Make sure to check out the whole series here

The Best of 2014 Bronzer, Highlighter, and Contouring Palettes Video

What are some of your favorite products? Do you own any of the ones I've mentioned?

XOXO
Serein

Makeup Revolution London Haul with Swatches

I've been hearing a lot about Makeup Revolution London lately and I really wanted to try out the line. Makeup Revolution is an incredibly affordable cosmetics company based in the U.K. You can order from their website internationally, but there is a hefty tax and shipping added to each order. 

After watching tons of reviews and hauls I decided to test out the brand especially since I'm pretty much obsessed with all thinks U.K.

The lipstick and gloss are quite creamy and pigmented at only $1.58 each! The price reminds me of Wet n' Wild here in the states, but I have to say the quality is much nicer than Wet n' Wild. 

The gloss is a nice formulation, not too sticky. I choose a clear gloss to go over some of my lipsticks I currently own, as well as possibly a glossy eye look. 

The lipstick is creamy and smooth, not chalky or clumpy at all. I really like the shade I choose, it's an everyday pink. 

After seeing some great reviews of the highlighters I decided on Radiant Light in glow and I'm very happy with this warm highlight powder. The pigmentation is nice and shimmery without being glittery. I love the baked texture of the product and you get quite a lot for $7.89. I'd compare this to a MAC mineralized skin finish. 

Now the blush palette was a great deal especially for a newbie starting out their makeup collection or kit. You get 8 blushes for $9.47. I find the blushes to be pigmented and easy to work with. Your not going to get the blotchy application that can be found in a lot of drugstore blushes. 

Defiantly use a fluffy blush brush to work the product in and blend blend blend.

Now after much hype over the eyeshadow palettes I choose the Romantic Smoked palette to test out for $6.32. The price is great! I don't think there are many eyeshadow palettes with 12 shades in it for this price.

My concern is that a few of the shades are a bit chalky, but this could be due to using a finger to swatch vs. a brush. The pigmentation was good, not too much, not too little. I like the variety of purples in the palette and I think I can work with it. For a gal on a budget, this is defiantly a great option to add to your makeup collection.

I'd prefer if the shadows weren't so narrow, making it a bit hard to grab at product if using a fluffy blending brush or my fingers, but that's just me.

My next purchase will include some contour palettes, and the much talked about iconic palettes that were sold out when I placed my order. I do appreciate the fact that unlike most U.K. drugstore brands, Makeup Revolution offers international shipping.

All in all if your able to get your hands on these high quality products for minimal cost,  DO! I know when I visit the U.K. I'll be bringing an extra suitcase to hunt down Makeup Revolution as well as some other U.K. only high street brands.

Do you have access to Makeup Revolution? What have you tried from them?

XOXO
Serein

Kat Von D Interstellar Palette

In 2014 I was introduced to the beauty that is Kat Von D eyeshadows and tattoo liner. My all time favorite palette that isn't my typical all nudes is Kat Von D's Monarch palette, so when I saw this beautiful purple based Interstellar palette in stores, I HAD TO HAVE IT!

The pigmentation is to die for, every shadow is evenly pigmented and smooth. There's 3 large base shades because we always use up our base shades before the rest of the palette (shakes fists to the heavens). The matte black at the end is the best matte black I have EVER tried that I can remember.

Recently I created a beautiful everyday look with this palette in my Best of 2014 Eyeshadows video. In my excitement for this palette, I forgot to take photos of the swatches, but trust me these are some no joke eyeshadows.

Warning: if you are new to makeup and heavy handed, please be careful and BLEND BLEND BLEND!

Have you tried andy Kat Von D palettes? What's your favorite?

XOXO
Serein

Creamiest Matte Single Shadows EVER

Colour Pop has done it again! This California, American made cosmetics company has come out with new matte shadows. I thought the satin, metallic, ultra- metallic, and pearlized finishes were beautiful, but these matte shadows hare to die for! 

This is the perfect finish for the more natural makeup lover. Mixing these mattes with metallic, ultra-metallic, and pearlized offers dimension and unlimited possibilities. 

The pigmentation is 100% vibrant and creamy. These shadows are not for the faint of heart. Check out my previous posts about Colour Pop Cosmetics.

typo: Bandit is actually miss labeled and is Farah

I've been consistent impressed with Colour Pop Cosmetics and even listed them in my Best of 2014 Lip Products as well as my Best of 2014 Eyeshadows.

Have you tried Colour Pop yet? What do you think of the line?

XOXO
Serein

The Best of 2014 Eyeshadows

This has to be one of my favorite videos in the series thus far. I love eyeshadows and it's my favorite thing to apply everyday.

Eyeshadows for me are the highlight of my makeup looks. You can do so much with eyeshadow and there's so many wonderful formulations and products out there at every price range.

My new video The Best of 2014 Eyeshadows will take you through what I have been loving for the past year from $5 to $75.

Watch the video below

Don't forget to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss anything!

XOXO
Serein