• Making Up the Midwest reviews Maybelline’s The Mega Plush Volum’ Express Mascara – her new favorite!
• Add trendy colors you covet, to your lashes.Until the end of August only, Maybelline New York Great Lash Mascara is being offered in FOUR Limited Edition shades – Go Go Green, Blink of Blue, Totally Teal and Pop of Purple. The Advice Sisters check them out, and report!
• Enter BeautyTidbits giveaway to win a cool ULINX Magnetic Charm Bracelet.
• Retrodiva doesn’t allow any heat to touch her hair for 30 days. Find out what she used to tame all that frizz at Retrodiva’s Beauty.
• The Stepford Witch reviews The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Cream Foundation – read on to find out what she loves and doesn’t love about this product.
• Emily, from Emily Hudspeth hair design and makeup artist has seen great results from Viviscal Hair Repair. Emily has been using this supplement for about 6 weeks and is seeing incredible results. Its almost time for another haircut and she just cut off about 8 inches!
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom tries Cover Band Sticks ‘n Stones over a few different bases.
• There are affordable and fabulous new beauty products at CVS. Here are two of my favorites!
• Laura at My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog tries out products that hold the secrets to Geisha-like skin!
• Hand-made and based in Scotland, Scottish Beauty Blog catches up with makeup artist Ana Cruzalegui, the lady behind amazing false eyelash brand WE ARE FAUX.
• Lola from Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog has Determined that My Weightless Eye Cream is one of the Best Beauty Secrets that Everyone Needs to Know about!
• Phyrra loves the gorgeous Fall 2012 Beauty Trends this year. Which ones are your favorite?
• So you cried a river last night and you have to go to work (or school) today. TheFabZilla shares tricks on how to hide signs of over-crying, a.k.a Makeup after a Breakup.
• Miss L from Beauty by Miss L reviewed eco-friendly Derma E makeup remover this week, which is now one of her new favorite makeup remover.
• BeautyJudy stopped by the Orly booth at Cosmoprof North America last month and saw lots of nail BLING!
• The Lacquered Lady shows off OPI Danke-Shiny Red from the new Germany collection and goes on a dupe search. Will there be a perfect polish match?
• Everyone needs eyeshadow primer! Sheila from Painted Ladies shows you why in the latest Breaking Down Beauty.
• Midnight Manicures is giving away Sea Lore Nail Polishes from the Triton’s Daughters Collection. Tell us which one is your favorite and enter to win!
• The NARS Joie de Vivre palette is all kinds of awesome. Cosmetics Aficionado has drool worthy photos and a full review.
• Butter London’s Autumn/Winter 2012 nail polish collection is out! Check out a preview from Christina at Curls N Pearls – what’s your favorite shade?
• Addicted to “monthly” members-only beauty sample subscriptions? Pammy Blogs Beauty sure is! Just for a change, she tries out JustFab: a monthly boutique shopping site for cute and trendy shoes, handbags, and accessories. Cute stuff for a great price!
• Mama Fashionista loves Julep so much she wants to give you a code so you can try it out for A PENNY! Plus she’s giving away an introductory box!
• Beauty Info Zone has another great giveaway. This time you can win 4 fab goodies from Miracle Skin Transformer.
• Hello Dollface tests some great new shampoos and ends up with bigger, blonder, softer hair. Check out the best new haircare here!
• Always a fan of neutral wash of color, the Beauty Professor is thrilled to have discovered Beauty Is Life’s matte eye shadow in Camel!
• While still enjoying summer till it winds down and fall fast approaching, Mimi’s Mani’s shares some Zoya love with Kimber from this summer’s Surf collection.
• Polarbelle shows you what blogging was like before blogs…doing it Caveman Style!
• Still lemming Unicorn Pee? Nidia at Lit From Within shows you a few dupes from some Indie polish makers that might just do the trick.
• Stephanie Louise-All Things Beautiful FINALLY duped her beloved MAC shadow in Humid…with a low cost option! Click for swatches & comparison!
• Clarisonic has just released a new Acne Cleansing Set. For more information, and a chance to win your own, head over to Blushing Basics.

It happened. After all these years, I didn’t think the day would come. What am I rambling about? I duped Humid from MAC, the one eyeshadow I’ve EVER repurchased from MAC. It may have taken a lot of tries, but boy was it worth it…success is sweet.

What shades aren’t DUPES & why (my opinions only of course!):

People keep trying to tell me NYX has a dupe in their shade “Mermaid Green” but I disagree. While the shades are similar it doesn’t go on the same for me. I like being able to see the smokiness & Mermaid Green just doesn’t have it. Its also not as pigmented.

I LOVE this trio & the dark green is fabulous. but it IS a hair of a difference. This green leans a tiny smidge more teal whereas Humid leans more lime in the shimmer department. I love this trio & for $3, this would satisfy 99% of people’s dupe needs.

These are the TOP 2 shades I’ve been told are dupes, clearly these aren’t all the dupes out there. I’ve tried some others which are close but not as close as these 2!

Mattese Elite in Emerald is officially a dupe. You won’t see dupes on here very often because I’m very picky about them. I say things are close, but rarely dupes so I savor this discovery!

Left to right: Mattese Elite Emerald swatched once, next swatch is 2 on top of one another. Swatch 3 is Humid from MAC swatched twice & the 4th is Humid swatched once.

MAC shadows contain 0.05 oz & Mattese Elite Shadows contain 0.06 oz.

Mattese Elite might be a tiny bit more pigmented, but it absolutely blends & wears the same. These are listed as $12 each which wouldn’t be a huge savings from the MAC shadows but these are VERY often on sale from what I’ve witnessed. They’re usually about $6. Right now, this comes in a set for only $10 along with some other products I really liked & showed you guys in a haul.

MAC HUMID

MATTESE ELITE EMERALD

You can pick up Mattese Elite Eyeshadows online from Ricky’s NYC & if you are lucky enough to live in New York, you can walk right in! (Jealous!)

Can you tell I’m excited? I rarely spend money on MAC eyeshadows anymore so this was a fab find for me! What do you think: Are they dupes? What are some of your favorite dupes?

My problem over the past few months has honestly been too much reading. Too much flopping down on my bed & turning pages & not enough cleaning or filming. Sorry guys. However, if this is my biggest issue, well I shall consider it #1stworldproblems & move right along.

The Chaperone is not my average read. Written by Laura Moriarty, this is the tale of 2 women finding themselves in New York City. WAIT. Yes I know we’ve heard/seen/read/snored to this story before, but this one REALLY IS different. In fact, it is inspired by real-life silent film actress Louise Brooks in the 1920s, an era I rarely read about.

Let’s get this straight right off the bat: This starts off SLOW. Like….too slow. But I promise, if you give it a shot, it will pick up & become one of those books you’re never quite ready to put down. This story centers around Cora & Louise. By reading the description & the cover…I thought it was about one summer. Not so much… This actually chronicles Cora’s entire life. Its a long life.

Cora is the Kansas housewife who is pretty much exactly that stereotype in the beginning. She’s 36 & quite proper. In fact, she’s so proper I didn’t think I’d like her much at all. Louise is 15, free, & a fabulous flapper it-girl. Growing up, all of my best friends were pretty much opposites of me so this dynamic isn’t too crazy.

It’s more the fact that I seriously DISLIKED Cora. She made me ANGRY. But, without giving away too much, this book definitely evolves to form a less stressful story for me to read. This is important to note as books are heavy & the walls in this house aren’t the best. Its one you might have to force yourself through the beginning, but by the end I think you’ll really fall for the characters.

You can join the discussion about The Chaperone by visiting us at the Blogher Book Club.

Disclosure: I was compensated for writing this review for the BlogHer Book Club. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. The model used in these photographs was highly unprofessional, moody, & far too round. Also. I did not ask for a model, but she insisted she was to be a part of this shoot. I urge you to never use Miss Gizmo as a model, however she sure has the attitude on film. Just a photographer’s point of view.

This was such a strangely enchanting read for me. Have you ever read a story that you had no intentions of being similar to your life, but then little by little it was? No? Okay well let me explain. Growing up, we resided near my mother’s side of the family. She is the eldest of 3 sisters & for a long time, I was the only kid. I have a sister (11 years my elder) & a cousin. He is younger than me & a boy. There’s a big difference between forcing a boy to do things & having a very enthusiastic girl. I spent a lot of time with my aunts here & there. I think I had forgotten that until I read this book.

The Care & Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway was instantly a book that drew me in. I’m a sucker for roses. I’m currently trying to garden a bit (mostly herbs) so the scientific bits spread throughout the novel were fascinating. My mother loves roses but man, not the thumb for it. My dad was constantly saving them from utter destruction. She really loved them though. I did too. We even had a bread that was mini rainbow type shades. I remember praying when I started my seedlings that I would take after the rest of my family & not my poor plant killing mother. Lucky indeed.

Gal Garner is the main character, a biology teacher with a true gift & passion for growing & breeding roses. Riley is her niece who gets  dropped on Gal by her addiction-ridden sister. Gal isn’t exactly equipped to take care of a kid. She doesn’t make much money teaching (even less than public school teachers!), is pretty internal, & of course there’s the kidney disease. This is one of those stories where you think “nope not for me” because you just know it will make you cry. But its not what you expect. There’s this beautiful undercurrent of humor & with the rose specimen knowledge being a heavy theme throughout it is so much more than a crying book. Its pretty much impossible not to fall for the characters.

We used to go to the Orchid Show every year as a kid. Orchids are my favorite flower, in fact, I have them tattooed on my shoulder. I would go with my (not addiction driven by perfectly normal) mom & aunts every year. I wonder now why we ever stopped. Did I turn into a snotty teenager? Was it just too far away? Too many people. I think we should go again, it was beautiful.

The Care & Handling of Roses with Thorns will be available on August 2nd, 2012. I urge you to check it out. Please check out our on discussion on BlogHer & please let me know if this sounds like a book that interests you!. Disclosure: I was compensated for writing this review for the BlogHer Book Club. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

I have a confession: I’m consistently afraid of makeup primers. Because my skin is so crazy combination, I have to really be careful about putting oily products in my t-zone & dry products on my cheeks/under eye area. LAME. I love makeup primers, but I stayed away from them when they first came out I tried a MAC version & my face broke out like mad. Since then, I’m timid but willing. Enter, Reviva Labs & their beautifying creation.

What Reviva Labs says: Apply over moisturizer or instead of moisturizer. Lines fill in, pores are concealed, excess oil is controlled. Skin so touchable, so silky smooth, you will find it hard to believe.


What I say: For the last few months, I’ve been addicted to my primers in general from sprays, to bases, to eyeshadow bases. In fact, I have a few more to review 😉 But for now, let’s focus on the magic that is the Reviva Labs Makeup Primer. This applies like liquid velvet which totally makes me want to snuggle with my own face. I use this over moisturizer (because I need it & for spf!) & it feels incredibly lightweight.

This product definitely lives up to its claims, which I’m finding quite rare these days! It helps conceal (not remove, CONCEAL!) my pores, helps reduce the appearance of my under eye lines, & actively prolongs my foundation wear. Sometimes, I don’t want to go full coverage (especially on a good skin day, I work hard for those!) but my minimal coverage foundations just don’t make it to the finish line with me. They fade off & even begin to look funky, especially on my dry spots.

I really love this on my under-eyes so that my concealer doesn’t bunch up in my lines as well which is something I’ve battled my whole life.  If you have this issue, even with a drugstore primer I have this problem, then definitely try Reviva Labs Makeup Primer under your eyes. Just remember, use the tiniest dot. Even less than that. Oh there you go, perfection. Blend well for velvet perfection.

Price: You get 1 oz of product for $19.50 on the Reviva website & while that may look pricy, its not. No really, it isn’t. I use the tiniest bit of this. No, do not use a full pump. Ever. Unless its for your whole body which I don’t recommend as that’s a bit strange.

Clearly, I love it! Here’s a sneak peek picture of a look I did with my Naked 2 palette. I am wearing my Reviva Labs Makeup Primer underneath which is a lifesaver since my skin is so not happy this week! No editing here folks.  No really, my eyes look like that, weird right?

What are some turn offs regarding makeup primer to you? What do you think of this one? Have you tried any other Reviva Labs products?

Products in this post may have been provided for review from PR/Brand. This in no way impacts my opinions.

So I saw a youtube video doing a giveaway for GoFavor.com which sells cheap jewelry & totally fell for a necklace. I went & shopped their website when I realized soemthing: I’ve seen a lot of this before.

So these are some of my favorite inspirations for this necklace…keep in mind I got mine for around $5 on ebay & if I really stalked it, I could probably have gotten it even cheaper! I love this design which I believe was seen on Nicole Richie. I might spring for a nicer version if I wear it a lot but for now, this necklace is great for me & my wallet!

What are some great deals you have found on Ebay? It might take ages for things to arrive but it sure is addicting! If you guys want to see some other jewelry pieces I bought just let me know, they’re on their way!

Here’s the sister post for the Kohls Jewelry Haul Part 1. Actually, this is like the cool little sister of that post. These are my fun pieces plus the gold coral earrings I’ve been lusting after! Enjoy & please do let me know what you think in the comments section!

I love Kohls. Seriously, its probably unhealthy how much I love shopping there. The key to shopping Kohls on a budget is to check out the ridiculous amount of deals covering pretty much the entire store. I’ve been picking up some clothes for this summer & my vacation but stumbled upon some nice jewelry deals. I actually went to two separate Kohls & got jewelry from each, so here’s part 1.  I THINK all of these are from the APT. 9 line but I somehow lost my receipt… I do have one for the 2nd half though 🙂

This bib necklace was less than $5. I love the colors & the large stone makes it a bit different from everything else I have. Also, not a fringe fan…so this isn’t very long & it probably the closest I’ll get to the fringe trend. I actually think it adds to the reasons I like it.

 These earrings were $3.40. I love blue, especially water types blues for spring/summer. I probably won’t wear them with the necklace even though I’m pretty sure they were selling these with that intention. Too much going on.

 I love this long necklace! These are all off center so I won’t be adjusting it nearly as much either. Its rare I find something earthy (blue, green, brown) in silver tones that I like. This was around $5.

So these 3 are a bit more toned down while the ones I’m posting next are more fun. What do you think? Do you ever shop at Kohls? These were all 60-80% off by the way!

These are just a few of the words I use to describe Vanessa Williams after reading the novel she & her mother wrote. I have always loved her, followed her career, & silently cursed her for becoming more & more glamorous as time inched on. I mean really, does she have magic potions hidden away somewhere? Okay, back on topic! She has been asked to write her story so many times but always declined. I love that she wrote this with her mother, it gives it such depth & their dynamic is phenomenal.

So let’s get this straight right now: This isn’t a happy go-lucky book written by a pretty girl. This is a story of struggle, triumph, & mother-daughter love that will leave you laughing, crying, & hopefully you end up satisfied like me in the end. This isn’t an easy read sometimes though, some of the topics are absolutely heart-wrenching.

 I’m really close with my own mom so to see Helen’s point of view & Vanessa’s was oh so familiar. My mom wanted to protect me from everything while my dad tried to give me freedom to make mistakes. They were a great balance. Like Vanessa, I often did exactly what my mom advised me not to do just because…well…she’s my mother.

My mom & I right after I graduated high school.

For every piece of advice, there’s also a laugh or two. If you’re close with your mom, you’re bound to relate. Heck, even if you’re not, you can’t help but find yourself in the story somewhere. There is a lot of laughter but I also cried. A lot. What can I say? I miss my mom!

To find out more about this book or to discuss it with us on BlogHer, go to our main post & then each week there will be a new topic to check out! Our first discussion is labeled “Do you listen to your mother?”

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

What was in my Birchbox:

– Alima Pure Organic Nourishing Lipbalm in Rhubarb

Here’s the swatch. Top is swatched 3 times & bottom only swiped once. Not much of a difference from my super pale skin eh? Not a fan.

-Benta Berry G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser (in the tiniest sample ever)

-Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift perfume sample


-Lifestyle extra was two tea bags from Le Palais des Thes

What was missing from my shipment was the Willa Clear Face Moisturizer. Birchbox let me know it should be on its way but I will let you guys know how that goes.

I’ve never not had a sample in my box before…have you? This Birchbox was a fail for me, how was yours?  I hope you liked yours a lot better!