July Favorites

Hi Ladies! 

July has ended as quickly as it came! Its sad to think the summer is almost over. I didn't have too many favorite products this month but once again Rimmel products seem to be a good amount of them. I have a TON of new products to try out and review in the coming months. So hopefully, you will see new brands popping up in my favorites.

Here are my favorites for July:

Makeup by One Direction Reader Giveaway!*

Hi Ladies!
Today I want to share with you One Direction's brand new makeup line. The line is called "Make-up by One Direction" and was created by Markwins Beauty. Markwins is also known for their ever-so-popular brands such as Wet n Wild and Physicians Formula. Make-up by One Direction line was created to be fun, youthful, and edgy yet affordable. The line will be launching three different collectors sets called "The Looks Collection".

Here is what is said about these three special sets:

"“The Looks Collection” comprises three keepsake tins inspired by One Direction’s globe-conquering albums, “Up All Night, “Take Me Home” and the latest chart topper, ‘Midnight Memories.” Each tin comes complete with everything you need to show off your personality. Are you a rock n’ roll girl, a fun party girl or the girl next door? We have just the right collection for you and illustrations to help show you just how to get your perfect look. All your beauty essentials are housed in a LIMITED EDITION collectable keepsake tin with removable sleeve, complete with ONE DIRECTION doodle stencils to decorate your keepsake tin and make it uniquely your own!"

*Info taken from the Brand Backer Campaign page

All of the kits include a 4+1 Eyeshadow palette, a nail varnish, mascara, lip gloss that changes color under a UV light, eye and body crayon, and stencil set. Also include in the tins are pictorials on how to create different makeup looks.

Here is the "Up All Night" Kit


This kit includes cool toned pinks and blues to create a Rock and Roll Look. 

Here is the "Take Me Home Kit"

This set includes warm toned/neutral colors to create a natural beauty/ "girl next door" look. 

Here is the "Midnight Memories" Kit

The last set also includes colors that are more of the traditional "Glam" look including grays, blacks, whites, and reds.

https://www.facebook.com/MakeupbyOneDirection

Here are the dates that these products will be available for purchase in stores:

US RELEASE DATES:
Macy's - August 11th
Stage Stores – August 25th
Dillards – August 25th
Beauty Brands – August 25th
Lord and Taylor - August 25th

International release dates have not yet been announced however, I will update you all once I get more info.

Here's the fun part...Markwins is hosting a giveaway! They are giving away up to 50 limited edition sets! The winners will be picked randomly August 5th. This contest is for US & Canada only.

To enter, fill out the form below! The more tasks you complete, the better chance that you have of winning!

*I am not responsible for picking the winners of this giveaway. I accepted a campaign on Brand Backer to post about this giveaway on my blog but was not paid for this advertisement.

What is your favorite set from above? Post your comments below!

-Tanya xoxo

Writing Process Tour and Vacation Pictures

Hi Ladies!

Just in case you were wondering... I have been MIA for the past few days because I am on vacation in Mexico. This is probably the only post that you will see this week. I figured I would share some pics from my trip to Mexico last year. We went to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. It was the highlight of our trip. The ruins were basically an ancient city. It was one of the coolest and most beautiful things I have ever seen. The private beach below the cliff was gorgeous too!

Before I share those pictures, I wanted to tell you guys that I was invited to join the "My Writing Process" blog tour by Alix of Forever Alixandria.  Alix is a newlywed and has a love for all things beauty. Please make sure that you check out her beauty and lifestyle blog.

So what is the My Writing Process Tour? Basically you answer some blog/writing related questions and nominate other bloggers to do so as well.

Here are the questions and my answers:

1) What am I working on? I am currently working on several posts right now. I have 8 drafts already started and a few finished and ready to post. I rarely ever finish one post from start to finish in one sitting. A lot of times, I will have a bunch of post ideas written in my notebook and when I am ready to work on some of them, I with create a draft on blogger. I frequently take pictures for more than one post at a time and then crop them and upload them in to their respective drafts. I don't know if this is the most efficient way to blog but this is how I do it.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? I feel that my blog differs from other because it is not only just a beauty blog. It is also a fashion blog. Most of the blogs I read are solely beauty blogs or lifestyle blogs. In a lot of my reviews, I like to create looks using the products that I am reviewing so that you can see how I incorporate them with other beauty products.

3) Why do I write what I do? I write about beauty and fashion because they are the two things that I am the most passionate about (aside from animals). I rely heavily on blogger and vlogger reviews when trying to decide if I want to purchase a beauty product. That is why I do so many product reviews. I want to give my opinions on products with the hopes of helping out others. I also love the blogging community. I have been so lucky to chat and interact with so many great women. I wish I could meet everyone in person!

4) How does your writing process work? Basically, I keep a notebook where I schedule out posts for each month. In the notebook I  also brainstorm post ideas. Lastly, I create outlines of some of the posts I am working on. My notebook can get quite messy and scattered at times. Once I am ready to work on a post, I create a draft in Blogger and add pictures for the post if I have already taken them and edited them. If I haven't taken the pictures yet, I will start writing the post. I don't always have the ability to finish the post if I have to create a makeup look or if I am doing a fashion post. I mostly work on the posts at night after work or on the weekend.

To continue the tour, I nominate--

Chelsea from Tiger Love Beauty -Chelsea is a super sweet blogger from the south who has a series called "Pinspiration" where she re-creates looks that she has found on pinterest. She also does a bunch of beauty reviews and product comparisons.

El from The Beauty Isle- El is a fellow Bostonian who has been blogging for about a year. She has actually become a really good friend of mine outside of blogging. I feel like we have been friends for years. El is very honest with her reviews and has a series called "Frugal Fridays" where she reviews affordable drug store branded products.

Sissi from Beauty4Free2U- Sissi is from Florida and is has recently focused her beauty blog on cruelty free products. I am a big animal lover so I absolutely love that she has done this. Sissi shows that there are tons of great cruelty free brands and products out there.

Thanks to Alix for nominating me!

On to the Tulum pictures:

I hope that you enjoyed reading this post!

What is your favorite vacation that you have gone on? Post your comments below!

-Tanya xoxo

Ipsy Glam Bag July 2014

Hi Ladies!
My Ipsy bag came kind of late this month but I got it just in time to review it before my vacation. Anyways, the theme for July was "Sensationally Sunkissed". The bag was hot pink and kind of reminded me of a ravioli. The fabric seems like it might be waterproof or water resistant and could be cleaned off easily. I don't want to sound bratty but I really just wasn't feeling this months bag. Keep reading and you will find out what I got!

Review: Ipsy Me Offer-Nyx Sweethearts of Summer Set

Hi Ladies!

Today I am going to review the Nyx Ipsy Me Offer called the Sweethearts of Summer Set! This offer was available to all Ipsters for a limited time and cost $15.00 and free shipping. The set included one Baked Blush. two baked Shadows, and one Butter Lipstick. I love Nyx Butter Lipsticks and was interested in trying out their baked products so I jumped at this offer!

Beach Bum to Boardwalk Babe Collaboration

Hi Ladies!
I wanted to do a Summer Beach makeup look and I asked a few of my blogger friends to join me. Also participating in this collab will be El from The Beauty Isle, Chelsea from Tiger Love Beauty, Cella from Never Not Glamorous, and Keisha from The Chrysalis Gals.

This collab is a little different than other ones I have recently done. I wanted to make it a little more creative so I decided to come up with a scenario as the core of this collab.

So here is the situation: Beach Bum to Boardwalk Babe

You have just spent a day at the beach and want to hit up a local restaurant, bar, or the boardwalk. You don't live near by and only brought a few items to fix yourself up before going out. What items did you bring? 

I asked each person to share the items that they would bring. I also asked them to create a look with these items and share the look.

Here are the items that I chose:

Review: Rimmel BB Cream

Hi Ladies!

Today I am going to review Rimmel's BB Cream. I have only used a few BB creams in the past and never had any luck with them. I decided to give this one a chance and I am very glad that I did.

Rimmel BB Cream in Light $6.99 at Ulta

The Resolute Beauty Blogger July 2014

Hi Ladies!  Beauty Bloggers Shalunya from Shalunya and Boyet and El from Glossy Glam Blog teamed up to create The Resolute Beauty Blogger. They wanted to do this to not only stay on track with their Beauty Blog Resolutions for 2014 but also to give other beauty bloggers the chance to join in on the action. 

Here are my goals and updates on each:

Review: Beautisol Exscrub Me? Citrus Face Exfoliant*

Hi Ladies!

Today I am going to review Beautisol's Exscrub Me? Citrus Face Exfoliant. iFabbo sent me this product for testing and review purposes. I really enjoy exfoliating scrubs and own many so this product really interested me.

For those of you unfamiliar with Beautisol, the company is known for their self-tanners and related products. The Exscrub Me? Citrius Exfoliating Scrub is advertised to be used before applying their self-tanning products. The Founder, Sinead Norenius, is actually a beauty blogger and license aesthetician which I think is pretty cool!

Motives Cosmetics

Hi Ladies,

Before I begin this post, I want to warn you that it is VERY picture heavy. That being said, I think you should keep reading so you can see all of the great Motives Cosmetics products that I got to play with! For those of you unfamiliar with Motives Cosmetics, it is a cosmetic line created by Loren Ridinger. You can purchase their products though Motives Beauty Advisors who sell direct to their customers. Motives can be purchased through reps online, through print (magazines), and at Beauty Trunk Shows.

I personally reached out to Motives to learn more about the company as I was interested in possibly becoming a beauty advisor to make some extra cash on the side. I worked in the beauty industry once and did enjoy it, but hated the hours. Before making a decision on what I wanted to do, I met with Kacie Corbelle (a local Motives Beauty Advisor) so that I could test out the products and discuss the company some more. Kacie is a makeup artist and hair stylist that works in both Boston and New York. She does makeup for print ads, commercials, and fashion shows. She recently had the opportunity to work with Gisele Bundchen! You can check out her work HERE.

Now on to the reason for this post. I wanted to share with you all of the products that I got to check out. Kacie had about 80% of the line with her.  As you can see, she brought a TON of stuff. I was in HEAVEN!

What's in My Closet?: Summer Edition Part 2

Hi Ladies,

Here is my latest edition of What's in my Closet?: Summer Edition. I first started this series to add another fashion series to my blog. I also wanted to share my style with my readers and show them where you could get similar items. What I didn't realize was that it would also make me go through my clothes and rediscover items that I forgot about. It has also made finding outfits to wear much easier. I can just go to my posts and checkout the outfits that I have created. You can check out my previous editions on the What's in My Closet tab on my homepage.

TOP: Striped Anchor Top

SHORTS: AE Denim Boy Midi $25.00 at American Eagle

EARRINGS: Gold Layered Hoops $2.99 at Forever21 

SHOES: Bongo Women's Bayside Navy Boat Shoe

Review: Rimmel Glam' Eyes Quad in Royal Rose

Hi Ladies!

Today I am going to review for you the Rimmel Glam' Eyes HD Eyeshadow in Royal Rose. I recieved this item from Influenster as one of my Rimmel badge prizes. The colors in this palette are rosey pinks and rosey brown shades. There is also a purple shade and a whiteish-silver shade. I didn't have high hopes on the quality of this shadow after the wear time wasn't great on my other Rimmel shadow quad. Keep reading to hear my thoughts on this one.

Rimmel Glam' Eyes HD Eyeshadowin Royal Rose $4.47 at Walmart

Lip Product Addict Tag

Hi Ladies!
Happy 4th of July! We are getting a bunch of rain today due to Hurricane Arthur so all of our holiday plans have been postponed until tomorrow. Bummer...but since I'm rained in, I figured I would do some cleaning and share a recent tag that I did.

The beautiful Sissi from Beauty4Free2U tagged me to do the Lip Product Addict Tag. Since lip products are one of my favorite beauty products, I figured I had to do this. Make sure you check Sissi's picks HERE.

Tag Questions:

1. Favorite balm/treatment? Nivea Kiss of Smoothness Hydrating Lip Care

I almost always use this lip balm before apply any lip products when I am getting ready in the morning. It has no scent and makes you lips feel soft and smooth. I use a bunch of different clear lip balms and this is my favorite of them all.

Review: Kimble Beauty Brazilian Nut & Acai Berry Conditioning Masque and Shower Cap*

Hi Ladies!
Today I am going to review two products that I recieved through Brand Backer. They are both by Kimble Beauty. One is a Brazilian Nut and Acai Berry Conditioning Masque and the other is a shower cap.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kimble Beauty, here is some info about the brand:

Kimble Beauty was created by Kimberly Kimble who is a hair stylist to the stars. Some of her well known clients are Beyonce Knowles, Shakira, Gabrielle Union, and Mary J. Blige. She has worked on movie and television sets (Dream Girls and Parenthood), for major campaigns (Tommy Hilfiger and Pepsi) and cosmetic companies (Covergirl and L'Oreal) and for well known magazines (Vogue and InStyle). These are just a few of the huge names she has worked with.