Wish List: Fashion For The Curvy pt. 1
I’ve always been a bigger girl, I came from a big family and no matter what I did, weight loss wise I never got past a size 14-16. Growing up, I never had access to fashionable plus size clothes as a teenager so I basically had to make due with Wal Mart, Target and KMart clothes, which were definitely not cute. Now that I am older and actually have the means to purchase cute clothes for myself, I had a blast looking through online boutiques that specialize in plus size clothes.
Here are some of the sites I’ve been browsing, and the pieces that I am drooling after!
Fashion Overdose: This skirt is $22, and it is absolutely adorable!
This shirt comes in three different colors, plum, white and black and is only $20!! The black version of this top would look amazing with the skirt above!
This dress, which retails for $42.99 is one of the cutest dresses I’ve seen in a long time. I desperately want this dress, but I have no idea where I would wear it to!
These are just a few pieces that have caught my attention while web shopping. Now if it were only this easy to find cute shoes for my size 11/12 feet!!
Happy Shopping!
New York Color: Big Apple Bronzing Collection
One of my favorite drugstore lines, N.Y.C. New York Color has released a new collection just for the summer. With the focus on bronzing, N.Y.C. brings us several options to go tan without going broke.
SWEET CHEEKS BRONZER gives you gradual shades of bronze, from light to deep. Use alone or blend for instant, all-over-sunkissed color. Get a natural “back from the beach” glow anytime.
LIP CANDY LIP GLOSS is a rainbow of juicy, flavorful glosses. Wear alone or mix to create your own shade. Moisturizes and nourishes lips with brilliant shine plus a hint of tint.
EYE CANDY EYESHADOW accents eyes with a palette of five eye-enhancing colors that bring out the beauty of your natural eye color. Color, contour, highlight and more… use them solo or mix for custom color!
BRONZE ‘N GLOW HIGHLIGHTER instantly brightens skin with fresh, sunkissed color. Sheer, oil-free lightweight formula glides on effortlessly. Perfect alone, under or over foundation!
BRUSH ‘N BRONZE BRONZING POWDER sweeps on a sunny glow in seconds. Simply slide down and brush on! Lasts all-day… great for all skin tones.
The Big Apple Collection is available at select retailers.
Value priced from $3.99 to $5.99.
Hauls: Paula Dorf and HIP
The local independent upscale beauty boutique near my house had a store wide sale, in which they put all of their Paula Dorf 50% off. I had never used Paula Dorf before, but I thought this would be a good oppertunity to give the brand a go. I ended up picking up four eyeshadows and a blush for $50, with the original total being over $100. I also headed over to Walgreens, where HIP is onsale BOGO Free, which is something I LOVE!
I had picked up two of the new HIP Jelly Balms, Delectable and Luscious early this week, and I LOVED both of them soo much that I went back to Walgreens today to pick up the rest of the colors. There are six colors total. Jelly Balms are HIP’s answer to MAC’s Tendertones, except that the Jelly Balms are a permanent addiction to the HIP line and clock in around $7-9 where ever HIP is sold. I paid $8.99 for mine, but I had a dollar off coupon and with the BOGO Free sale, I got four colors for $16. Compared to the Tendertones, which are $14.50 each, I basically got FOUR Jelly Balms for the price of ONE Tendertone.
I plan on doing a review on the Paula Dorf eyeshadows and the HIP Jelly Balms. I do not have any of the Tendertones, but I have tried them several times at the MAC counter, so I have a pretty good idea of what they are all about and how they wear. I just never bought any of the Tendertones because I personally cannot STAND the fake fruity taste.
Anyway here are the colors I picked up today!
Paula Dorf
Eye Glimmers:
Nymph – A blueish / greenish color, it looks somewhat like MAC’s Tilt in the pan
Midnight – A charcoal gray with blue undertones, very shimmery
Sea Cruze – A dark purple with gold shimmer
Prism – A light lavender with gold shimmer
Blush:
Sweet Cheeks – A deep dusty rose with gold shimmer, would also make a gorgeous eyeshadow
HIP:
Jelly Balms (These have no shimmer what so ever):
Plush – Light Pink
Ripe – Redish Coral
Delectable – Light Red
Savory – Light Orange
Succulent – Dark Pink
Luscious – Dark Purple
I hope to have pictures and reviews up soon!
NYX: A Beginner’s Primer
As all of you know, I’m a HUGE NYX fanatic and I have loved everything that I have gotten from this company so far. I was introduced to this company though Makeup Talk.Com one of the greatest makeup forums on the internet today. I got my first NYX product last summer, which was Mega Shine lipgloss in Natural. This lipgloss has then gone on to become my HG l/g for nude lips. This one gloss hooked me onto the brand, and from there I have spent the past year or so learning all I possibly could about this hard to find budget beauty!
After trying many, many products from this company, I feel that I am perfectly qualified to break this brand down for someone who has never tried anything from this brand before. NYX is a full range line of cosmetics that includes several types of lipstick, lipgloss, nail polish, bronzers, blushes, eyeshadows, mascara, foundations, concealers, false eyelashes and so much more. In my opinion, NYX surpasses most, if not all of the drustore brands and rivals the higher end department store luxury brands in quality and selection.
One of my goals for this blog is to turn it into a comprehensive resource for all thing NYX. It gets very frustrating at times to do a search for NYX only to come up with random bits of information. I hope to look at every aspect of the brand and help clarify any confusion that may come up when browsing through the catalog or website.
Here is a short break down of what NYX offers, I will be going into more detail in the future 
Eyes
Eyeshadows:
Pressed:
- Singles
- Ultimate Pearl
- Trios
- Glitter Cream Palette
Loose:
- Chrome
- Loose Pearl
- Glitter Powder
Mascara:
- Doll Eye
- NYX Mascara
Eyeliner:
Pencil:
- Double Sided Eye Pencil
- Jumbo Eye Pencil
- Slim Eye/Lip
- Auto Pencils Eye/ Lip
- Long Pencils Eye/ Lip
- Glitter Mania Jumbo Pencil
Liquid:
- Felt Tip Liner
- Liquid Eye Liner
- Glitter Liner
- Candy Liner
EyeBrows:
- Eyebrow Cake Powder
- Auto Eyebrow Pencil
False Eyelashes
Lips:
Lipstick:
- Diamond Sparkle
- Round
- NYX Professional
- Tinted Lip Spa
LipGLoss:
- Diamond Sparkle
- Mega Shine
- Brush On
- Fruit GLoss
- Glitter GLoss
- Lip Balm
- Sheer Tube GLoss
- Super Volume Lip Pumper
- Sheer Gloss
- NYX Girls Round
Lip Liners:
- Jumbo Lip Pencil
- Long Pencils Eye/Lip
- Slim Pencils Eye/ Lip
- Auto Pencils Eye/ Lip
Face/ Body:
Foundations/ Loose Powder/ Bronzer:
- Liquid Makeup
- Twin Cake Powder
- Loose Face Powder
- Body Bronzer
Concealer:
- Concealer Jar
- Concealer Stick
- Concealer Magic Wand
Blushes:
- Mosaic Powder
- Cream Blush
- Powder Blush
Glittery Products:
- Spray Body Glitter
- Glitter Wand
- Glitter On The Go
Nails:
- Girls Polish
- NYX Polish
- Oasis Nail Treatments
Tools:
Bags:
- NYX Brush Belt
- Professional Bag
- NYX Bags
Makeup Brushes:
- NYX Brushes
- Professional Brushes
Miscellaneous:
- Tank Top / Fleece Pants
- Makeup Sponge and Puffs
- Eye Lash Curler
- Sharpener
- Blotting Paper
Black Label:
- Compact Powder
- Lipstick
When I said NYX had an extremely wide range of products, I wasn’t joking! LOL!
New NYX Products!!!!
NYX has released several new products, and everything looks amazing!!! I was very surprised to see the new items, because I wasn’t expecting anything new, because they just came out with several new additions late last year and early this year….
Anyway on with the NYX porny- porn:
NYX Certified Tank Top – $15
Isn’t this top just the cutest tank? I sooo want one, and with my rep discount, I can get it for $7.50!!
NYX Certified Babe Fleece Pants – $25
These pants match the tank perfectly! I’m surprised NYX doesn’t sell these together as a set! With my discount these are $12.50!!! This set would be amazing for a yoga class!
NYX Tool Belt – $28
NYX has really brought their A-Game this time around, not only giving us NYX addicts clothes, now we have a BRUSH BELT!!! This is an extremely high quality brush belt, for under $30! As many of you know, brush belts from MAC, Urban Decay and other brands can cost an arm and leg, so seeing a $28 price point is fabulous!! This belt has three zipper pockets, three large pockets, four medium pockets, and eleven brush pockets. The belt also has adjustable straps to fit comfortably.
NYX Girls Round LipGloss – $3
36 pretty shades to highlight that sexy pucker of yours. Feels silky smooth, long-lasting, and the color in the bottle is the color on. These lipglosses join their cousins the widely popular Round Lipsticks in the Round family. I personally LOVE the Mega Shine lipglosses, and I hope these new glosses are just as rockin as the other ones!
I am sooo stoked for these new products, and after looking at these pictures, I hope you are too!! Check out NYX Cosmetics to see up close pictures of the brush belt and all of the colors that are available for the new glosses.
Enjoy!
Luxe vs Less: Pureology vs. The Body Shop
One of the lovely writers at Specktra Beauty News wrote a FANTASTIC article pitting Pureology’s Nanoworks Restorative Hair Treatment ($40) against The Body Shop’s Brazil Nut Moisture Mask ($14).
If you want to check out the article and it’s very surprising findings, head on over to Specktra Beauty News NOW!
Bust The Bank or Bide The Budget: Hair Conditioning Treatments
MMU Companies: I’ve Tried/ Want To Try
I recently joined the mineral makeup wagon, when I realized the foundation that I was wearing (Cover Girl AquaSmooth) was causing me to break out. My first foray into mmu was with Wet N Wild’s “mineral foundation” which was horrible (you can check out my review on it here!) I decided to try Bare Minerals, and was ultimately dissapointed with the selection of foundation colors, how the minerals lit up my pores, and how little the coverage was.
After these crappy foundations, I decided to just go online and start trying smaller mineral makeup foundations and I have yet to go back to a store bought mineral cosmetic.
Here are some of the mineral makeup companies I have tried and my thoughts on the company themselves. This is NOT a review of their individual products.
Aubrey Nicole: If you send in a picture of yourself in natural lighting, they will give you personal recommendations on which foundation will fit your skin color and type perfectly. I was perfectly matched with Neutral Light.
Taylor Made Minerals: This was one of the first mineral makeup companies that I ordered from. I ended up getting a set of twenty full sized eyeshadows or about $50. The order came in a couple of weeks after I placed it. The quality of the makeup was wonderful, Taylor has some amazing colors that are super pigmented. I have only tried her eyeshadows, so I can’t say anything about her other cosmetics, but I’m sure they are also high quality.
Ocean Mist Cosmetics: I didn’t deal much with the customer service aspect because I had no problems with my order. I ordered during a high volume sale and I got my items in a timely fashion. The samples were generous and came in jars instead of little baggies.
Silk Naturals: I bought the synthetic brush set, the flat top brush, and samples of her foundation and setting powders. My order was sent out quickly, however, I was severely disappointed with the foundations – but this is a topic for another post. I loved the brushes however!
Mad Minerals: This site is completely AWESOME! This is the only mineral makeup site that I have bought from more than once. Everytime I have ordered from this site, it has been during a sale, and both times I have gotten my packages in a few days. Including weekends. Barbara, the owner is extremely fast with customer service, and I have had no problems with missing any items. My last order had 30 samples and they were all accounted for! The samples are also really generous, they are the same size as the Aubrey Nicole samples.
The She Space: I have only ordered two items from this the She Space, which is the smallest order I have made from a mineral makeup company. I got my order within a reasonable time, a couple of weeks after ordering. This is reasonable to me because Heather, the owner has a HUGE following and runs the company by herself. She also is very communitive with her followers through her forum and her blog, both of which are linked to from her site. She is constantly listening to suggestions from her customers and strives to do her very best to make everyone happy. The only complaint I’ve heard from people is that the samples are extremely small, but they are only $.50 a piece, so it evens out.
Some of the companies I want to try are:
Bookmark it! – MakeupAlley.Com
Makeup Alley (MUA) is one of the BIGGEST and BEST makeup websites available today. I use this site CONSTANTLY for the millions of reviews that are readily available. Whenever I want to research a particular makeup brand or product that I have never tried before, I go to MUA to see what others have said. In fact, the vast majority of makeup purchases I have made where decided on through reviews on MUA.
Not only does this site contain what seems to be an infinite number of reviews on cosmetics, they also have a huge number of reivews on different hair care products, from salon brands to drugstore products. I used this site when I was looking at changing my shampoo and conditioner, and I am very happy with my selections, and I never would have purchased what I did without MUA.
Other than reviews, which is one of the biggest areas of this site, they have a huge forum community, a makeup diary in which you can keep up with your makeup and related products, and notepads which are like mini websites. Another feature of this site that is super popular is the swapping/ trading, where like minded makeup addicts can trade cosmetics and other items with one another.
If you have never been to MUA before, do yourself a huge favor and head over there and sign up for an account!! Don’t worry it’s free……
Review: ORLY Bonder
Product: 5 of 5
Price: $4-6
Available: Everywhere ORLY is sold.
This review is on Bonder, a base coat from the brand ORLY. I usually purchase my bottles of Bonder from Sally Beauty Supply, just because I have the discount card, so it’s slightly cheaper than if I purchased it from CVS or Walgreens. I also by my Seche Vite FastDry Top Coat from Sally’s as well, I’ll be covering that in another review.
When you look at Bonder, you will first notice that the liquid is not clear, but a yellowish orange color, but don’t worry, it applies clear and does not interfere with the color of your polish. I however never really wear light, pastel colors on my nails, so I can’t vouch for those colors. But for darker, more vibrant colors there are no problems. The formula is very thin, it’s very easy to apply to your nails and it dries fast, so you don’t have to sit there waiting for your base coat to dry.
Understand one thing – my nails HATE polishes of all kinds. I’ll put a polish on in the morning and it will look like hell that night. Bonder magically, at least it seems to me to be magic, keeps the polish on my nails for 4 to 5 days with very slight chipping. For me that is a BIG, BIG, BIG deal! I’ve used Seche Vite’s clear base coat and it made my polish peel off in one piece, the same day I applied it.
There isn’t much more to say about ORLY Bonder only that it is like SUPERGLUE for nailpolish. If you are having problems with nail polish and think all is hopeless, do yourself a huge favor and get this base coat!!
MAC & Bath and Body Works Haul!
I hit up the local mall today, and to my complete and utter surprise my MAC counter in Belk had the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator in stock. Both of the free standing stores in my town have sold out of this black goopy gold, but I now have in my possession this product!!!
