All Things Beautiful XO

Stephanie Louise Telford & her guide on beauty, style, & glitter!

Mani of the Day: Riveting from the China Glaze Hunger Games Collection

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So this is the one & only Hunger Games polish I picked up from the China Glaze collection. This collection is actually called “Colors of The Capitol Collection” but I like to call it Hunger Games. So I will! Were they all lovely? You bet! But this is the one that spoke to me I guess. I think I am liking oranges lately, especially since I rocked Zoya’s Myrta which is a zinger. So here for your viewing pleasure is 3 coats of China Glaze Riveting with artificial light.
 Riveting by China Glaze- A slightly burnt vibrant orange packed with golden flecks.

I found this to be extremely easy to apply & crazy pigmented. I could have easily gotten away with two coats actually. I find oranges hard to like usually but this one is a love & a must own. The lit from within/fire effect is unprecedented in my collection. I know some people are calling it a jelly but I think it is more sheer in one coat & then builds & evens itself out.


So have you picked up Riveting? Any other China Glaze Hunger Games polishes I should give a 2nd look to? I always like to hear about your favorites!

Birthday 2012: Purple Smoky Eye using L’Oreal, Physician’s Formula, & Wet n Wild

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For those of you who didn’t know, my birthday was this past Saturday! I turned 23 & had a fun day with the hubby which included lots of relaxing & ended with sushi! Yum! I was going to film & such more on my birthday but my hubby finally convinced me it was time to step away & have a short break. No work on your birthday! He was right of course! But I still snapped some pictures to show you my eyeshadow which I think turned out rather lovely. Another purple smoky eye? You bet. What can I say? I know what I like!

What I have on:

Eyes:
-Urban DecayOriginal Eye Primer
– Wet n Wild Color Icon Single in Kitten (used as the base lid color)
– Wet n Wild Color Icon Single in Panther (used to darken the outside corner on both lashlines)
– L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Perpetual Purple (blended into the crease then used to line my eyes)

– Physician’s Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl (Cupid’s bow & blended on browbone)
– Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner in Black for Brown Eyes (applied to inner rims)
– LashEm Mascara (top & bottom lashes)

Lips: 
-Wet n Wild Megashield Lip Color in Birthday Suit

Face:
– Revlon PhotoReady Foundation in Ivory
– Maybelline Mineral Wear Pressed Powder in Light
– Revlon PhotoReady Concealer in Ivory
– Physician’s Formula pH Matchmaker Bronzer in Light Bronzer. (All over)
– Physician’s Formula Bronze Booster iBeads (Lightly on the cheeks)
– Physician’s Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl (Cupid’s bow & blended on browbone)

So what do you guys think? I didn’t want to go very dark & I think it turned out great. Please note my hair is pulled back in a clip & I’m wearing a T-shirt..clearly I do my makeup before my clothes! What are some of your favorite purple shades?

This is not a sponsored post.

Little Black Bag March 2012 Unboxing + Review

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I don’t always post my videos here on the blog (which is why you should also follow me on Youtube!) but this one definitely needed to be on both! Little Black Bag is a monthly subscription service For $50 you will receive 2-4 items worth AT LEAST $100. Now that you have chosen your main item & received your bonus items, the fun can really start! This is the first service I’ve tried where the customer can barter with others to create the ultimate end result. For instance, you’ll see in the video above I received 2 bonus items & I wasn’t crazy about one. So then I started getting tons of offers to trade for other items! I also go offers on the other items I had but opted to keep them. Instead of getting something I liked & would have used rarely, I got to barter for earrings that I have a sick obsession with! Good trade right?

For reference here is my original Little Blag Bag:
 
BCBGeneration Pattern Foldover Clutch in Azure

LYDELL NYC Double Horn Necklace

‘ZAD Set of 3 Hammered Bracelets

& then I traded the horn necklace for these Disney Couture Hook Earrings!

Is it pricier than Birchbox or MyGlam or Beauty Army? You bet. But there is a good reason. Instead of throwing away $10 on a box full of samples I MIGHT use, you can spend $50 for some seriously high-quality pieces. I didn’t end up with makeup this time, but if I had wanted some Cargo cosmetics I could’ve gotten them at a great price! Right now, Little Black Bag has some other beauty options including Mineralogie & ncLA Nail Polish, both brands I would love to receive. I am totally into the Cargo eyeshadow quads as well! If you’re not interested in cosmetics, some items I am loving include the Betsey Johnson sunglasses, Vince Camuto crystal bangles, & (no surprise here!) the fab BCBG purses they have available.

I still love my $10-15 a month subscription services, but I think everyone will like Little Black Bag. Most of the complaints I hear would be solved with this kind of idea! What do you think of this subscription concept? Would you be interested in getting or giving this as a gift? Plus, which items on the site are you digging?

*This service was offered to me for consideration to review. This does not effect my view of the service at all.

Reviva Labs 5% Glycolic Acid Night/Day Cream Review

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I am the first person to yammer your ear off about how skincare containing beneficial acids have completely changed my skin. Firmer, more balanced, & most importantly, much less acne & skin imperfections overall. Do I still get bumps here & there? Yep but nothing like before I introduced these products into my skincare routine. I wholeheartedly believe in the benefits!
That being said, as I think it needs to be, this product is fabulous. Light, effective, & didn’t harm my skin at all. In fact, it made it even better. I normally use a 10% cream so I was worried this wouldn’t be as…combative as I want. Although I now want to try the 10% cream, the 5% definitely did an amazing job of keeping my skin supple, moisturized, & removing that grime acids have a way of removing that nothing else can. Oh acids, I don’t care how crazy it sounds, acids make my skin much prettier.
What Reviva Labs says: (5% Glycolic Acid) An advanced glycolic acid (from sugar cane) that has been acclaimed for action on sun damaged skin and for improving skin texture. 100% natural. With unique glycolic polymer, used by professionals.

What I Say: Keep in mind that if you haven’t tried a skincare regime with some sort of acid in it, you can’t start at 10% because your skin has to build up a kind of tolerance to it. Why go with Reviva Labs? This doesn’t have any of the sneaky fillers like many other I’ve tried. It is 100% natural which is very important with this type of skincare item for me. With acidic products they often douse them in fragrance because the smell isn’t great. Not strong, but not great. Well, fragrances are about the only thing that tend to make me break out & you never know what will set it off. Well, & extremely oily products but that’s another story!
You can pick up a jar of Reviva Labs 5% Glycolic Acid Night/Day Cream off their website here. You get 1.25 oz for only $25 which will last you a crazy long time. One thing I’ve noticed with all my acidic cremes is a little goes a long way as you only need a then coat. I prefer to use this at night.
 
In case you guys are interested, here are all the ingredients for this product: Purified water, 5% glycolic acid polymer (extracts of sugar & rhubarb), extracts of pumpkin, peach, sage, comfrey, chamomile, witch hazel, vitamins A, D, E, safflower oil, & sunflower oil.
I would LOVE to hear about what some of your favorite skincare items are! Have you tried anything like this? I am completely addicted! Moisturizing my combo skin while battling breakouts can be oh so tricky!
*This item was sent in consideration for review. For more information see my disclosure policy.

Easter Mani: Revlon Whimsical over Orly Cotton Candy

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 So I have a nice quick post today just to show you the quick layer I did last night to wear today. Honestly, it didn’t work out as desired. I just picked up Whimsical by Revlon which has been a rather coveted shade & wanted to wear it.

The pastel shades seemed fitting but this manicure went wrong. Being in a hurry never leads to a lovely manicure. Cotton Candy by Orly is a pretty shade but I needed 3 coats then I did 2 heavy coats of Whimsical. Too much bulk on my nails! Anyway… Here’s what it looks like. I’ll be doing better shots of Whimsical soon when I find a way I like to wear it!

Sally Girl Scented Mini Nail Polishes- Buy 2 Get 1 Deal!

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So this is a random day. Yesterday was our 3.5 year anniversary (we celebrate every 6 months being that we are a military family!) & tomorrow is my 23rd birthday (the first one he has EVER been home for!) so this is the breif breathe time!

I hit up Sally’s for the buy 2 get 1 free nail polish sale going on storewide & noticed these! I actually quite like Sally Girl Polishes, especially for traveling! Little, cheap, & oh so pretty! I picked up 12 nail polish total…woah baby! You can get all 6 of these for only $4 right now!

 Reference Size of one of these Sally Girl polishes compared to Zoya Arizona.

I QUICKLY put these on over a manicure last night so I didn’t take pictures. I was scent testing of course! Longest lasting? Banana! But Lime was a very close 2nd! Weakest? Cherry…but its a beautiful pink. Before anyone asks Grape is indeed that murky of a grayed purple!

I thought these would be PERFECT additions to an Easter Basket perhaps? They are fab spring/summer shades & scents are just too fun! Have you spotted these at your local Sally’s?

Luxury Beauty: 3LAB BB Perfect SPF 40/PA+++ Swatches & Review

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 What 3LAB says: Infused with 3LAB’s signature bio-engineered growth hormone and apple stem cell technology, PERFECT BB SPF 40 is a sheer tinted moisturizer designed to firm and lift the skin, regenerate new skin cells, brighten, moisturize, and protect. conveniently in three shades to match your skin tone.

My Take: This BB creme has a wonderful texture, super creamy! It pumps out dense but also velvety smooth. Its definitely a unique texture! I love a pump & this one has great control. Why do you care about that? Because this is pricey & a little really does go a long way. Here’s a a tiny bit & you can see how dense it is when smoothed out. This amount would cover a pretty big area which I wasn’t expecting! You don’t even need a full pump!

So, I did get the wrong shade. This one is too dark for me unfortunately. I still used it though & hopefully it will be closer this summer! I’ve read some people say this is a matte finish while others say its dewy…I lean more to the dewy/glow side. Its not super dewy which is good because later on it looks oily. I love the rolling blender sponge though! It helped get into my hairline big time even though it looked pretty filthy after the first use! This has some high tech anti-aging ingredients which I am still too young to appreciate but it does make my skin appear firmer & have a better overall texture.

Here I am with absolutely no makeup & then here I am wearing 3LAB’s BB Perfect. Neither picture is retouched at all besides my blog name. I’m also not wearing blush or bronzer. Please don’t let my makeup-less face terrify you too much.

 I put this on before work so I did apply concealer to some problem areas. My skin has not been happy with me this week! M undereyes have been very purple & this was not going to cut it. I really like this finish & the only thing I set with powder was my undereye concealer. I loved being able to wear this to work because it has great SPF. Unfortunately my skin is still too combo to wear this without moisturizer & it looked a bit dry later on.

Where you can get it: 3LAB’s website for $95.00 for 1.5 oz.

Is it pricey? You bet! But I really like the coverage & feel on my skin as its not heavy at all but still have decent coverage. For my skin it isn’t a year round product though so I will have to keep looking for a great BB creme that will suit my combo skin.

How about you? Would you be interested in this product? How about the price tag?
* Product provided in consideration for review. For more information see my disclosure tab.

Mani of the Day: Zoya Zusa & Kimber with Revlon Stunning

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I wanted to post this really quick before getting some chores done. These 2 Zoya polishes are from the Zoya Summer 2012 Surf Collection which I swatched & have fallen hard for. The Revlon shade is one I have been looking for & it is called Stunning which I used over Kimber on my ring finger in 3 coats. No top coat on any of these & some art natural light while others are artificial. Nebraska sunshine is not cooporating my friends.

Revlon Stunning- A clear base with semi-sparse medium holo hex glitters & small silver/holo glitters.

I have to say I am dissapointed but maybe I built this up too much? Have I been spoiled by some other brands who have been putting out killer glitters? No…because I compared Revlon Radiant & Milani Teal which were both beautiful. This one takes too much work.

Bad batch? Its very possibly. I’m keeping it just because I love holos but I see myself having to work pretty darn hard on the placement…

What do you think? Do you love Stunning even if it is 3 coats? Is there a similar polish you think I should pick up?

& the Become Beauty Giveaway Winners are…

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A big thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway!

 Winner of the Bronzer/Highlight Duo- Meredith Edwards-Cornwall
Winners of the 5 Weekender Samples Packs-
-Rhondah Stepp
-Marcia Friedman
– Karen Johnston Eltz
– Ellie Skagg
– Kaitlyn Benedict

& Congrats to everyone else as you will be getting a sample for yourself as well! Big thanks to Become Beauty for supplying & shipping these excellent prizes! I have e-mailed all of the winners to confirm shipping addresses & they have 3 days to confirm. If a winner has not e-mailed me within that time frame a new winner will be chosen!

Looking to enter another giveaway? My H2Pro Vivace 1″ Giveaway is still happening & its a fab prize as well!

All of these winners were chosen by Random.org by Rafflecopter.

Zoya Beach & Surf Summer 2012- Surf Swatches

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Here is my second half of swatches for the Zoya Summer 2012 Collections which is Surf. If you missed Beach click here! This half is completely different as each one is a uniquely gorgeous foil! Zoya’s foils hold a special place in my heart because they last like crazy! All of these are 2 coats, no top coat in artificial light.

 Zoya Myrta: A burnt orange foil with a red tinge to it. This one is wildly saturated & if I was careful I could have easily done one coat. Girl on fire perhaps? The shimmers are a yellow gold & a tangerine shade.

 Zoya Rory: An orchid foil thats very demure while still being wildly foiled…unexpected & I like it! This has some blue, pink, and mainly silver shimmers.

 Zoya Kimber- A hot pink & red foil with golden shimmers. I love this & I am glad it leans way more hot pink than red because I don’t wear reds often in spring. This I will wear!

 Zoya Carly- A deep, very saturated plum shimmer. This has the most colors in it by far with blue, pink, purple, & silver. So expensive looking! This isn’t normally a color I’d reach for in spring or summer but I might have to make an exception due to oh-so-pretty.

 Zoya Meg- This reminds me of a paler olive shade but I know its more of a medium green foil. This has loads of yellow & light green speckles in it. This one applied a bit streaky but I think it evened out nicely. Lovely spring & summer shade.

 Zoya Zusa: First off, this is what I love about summer, this shade right here. Zusa is an aqua with silver sparkles that makes me want to take a dip in the pool. I just love this shade & saved it till the end to wear as a full manicure.

My must haves in this collection are Myrta, Zuza, & Kmber. I absolutely love this collection & unless you have some polishes that are similar I think they would fit in great for any collection. All of these applied like butter but upon removal I had to do some scrubbing. You can notice the bits of shimmer I wasn’t able to get off in between swatches that my camera picked up. I don’t mind it though but I thought it was something to note. After doing a full mani of Zuza I washed my hands & the excess came off.

Like I noted in my Beach swatches, these are avilible to purchase on Zoya’s website TODAY!

Which from either collection are you lemming for? Any possible dupes? Anything you’d like to see these compared to?

*Items sent in consideration for review by PR.

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This blog at times uses affiliate links, sponsored material, & receives some products as samples in hopes of review. This in no way alters the articles/posts written & all opinions are my own or that of a guest writer. Please see my disclosure tab above header for more info.