Mary Kay Lip Liner....and Why Clear Lip Liner is Awesome

Mary Kay has released a brand new collection of lip liner...and they are all amazing! It's a great tool to have to finish off your lips, making them look totally flawless. Not to mention that it's also waterproof and long lasting, so that's always plus! The neatest thing about it though, I think anyway, is that it comes with a built in sharpener in the cap...how cool is that?

The liner comes in NINE gorgeous shades, all of which I've  had the chance to test out and sample: Cappuccino, Caramel, Chocolate, Clear, Dark Chocolate, Neutral, Plum, Soft Blush, and Spiced Tea. My favorite is the clear, and I plan on using it until I decide to get a little more bold with my lip looks and more confident using lip liner in general.

Because at first, I asked what the point of using a clear lip liner was, let alone using lip liner at all, here are some of the reasons Mary Kay offers as to why clear is the best go-to option for beauties:

Dead Sea Minerals Nail Care Collection by Déjà Vu Cosmetics

Happy New Year! I can't believe how fast 2012 came! There is a light coat of snow on the ground and the heat is cranking full blast in the apartment.

Every winter, I struggle with dried out, tired, cracked hands, and not to mention my nails become awfully weak and pretty painful to look at. While I was home, during one of my many lunch breaks spent at the mall, a tiny young woman working at one of those annoying kiosks stopped me. She seemed pretty sure of herself, because she totally disregarded the fact that I was on the phone at that second, and I was ready to tell her off. But then, after spending a few minutes with her, I realized why she was so cocky.


She proceeded to show me the Dead Sea Minerals Nail Care Collection by Déjà Vu Cosmetics that included body lotion, 4 way nail buffer, cuticle oil, and a nail file. I had bought a buffer once before when I was entering high school, but if you asked me where it ended up after a few weeks of use I couldn’t tell you. Since I’m more “beauty-aware” these days, and because I had nothing else to do for at least another half hour, I figured there’s no harm in letting her show me how the kit works, I’ll give her my usual “Let me think about it while I shop and I’ll come back,” line, and I won’t think twice about it.

At least that was my plan until I looked down at my thumb after she had buffed it and I saw how shiny it was, almost like I had a coat of clear nail polish put on. My nail ridges were gone, and the nail was so smooth, I spent my last few hours at work just petting it over and over again. Later that night, I tried out the cuticle oil, and my nails were so soft and no longer ugly and dried out. The lotion is amazing as well, because it has left my hands feeling as smooth as a baby’s bottom, even after I wash my hands and go about the rest of my day. The nail file does the job of any ordinary nail file, so not much to say there that you beauties don’t already know.

Two weeks later, and I’m still in love. I’ve noticed that my nails ARE stronger, growing faster, and cleaner. My hands are constantly soft and hydrated, and I can’t stop touching them. All of my problems with weak nails, splitting, and dry hands seemed to have disappeared. I hope the door didn’t hit them on the way out.

Stay warm beauties!

Xoxo,
Danielle

Top 10 Mary Kay Products for Twenty-Somethings (Pt. II)

I hope Santa was as good to everyone as he was to me – can’t wait to share some of my goodies with you! The past week or so has been REALLY exhausting, so thanks for waiting for the Top 5 MK Products that I use and am absolutely in love with!

5. TimeWise Miracle Set: Cleanser, Moisturizer, Day and Night Solutions: My brother bought this for me for Christmas – how nice of him! I’ve only been using them for about 3 days now but I’m already starting to feel a difference in my skin. The regimen could appear to be a bit daunting at first glance but it’s really not that bad at all. I’ll definitely be using this for years to come… my brother is well trained!

4. Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover: Let me preface this by stating that my eyes are pretty sensitive. The eye makeup removers that I’ve tried have left me with my skin feeling dry, and my eyes feeling so irritated and red that I sometimes have trouble opening them after I take the makeup off. This does neither! It feels so good on my eyes and I can actually see after I’m done using it. Also, I think it smells nice, but that’s just me being goofy.

3. Mini Compact w/Eye Shadows & Blush: This compact is so cute! My favorite part is the magnetic strip on the first layer that makes it super easy to put shadows and blush in and out and, ultimately makes it totally mess-proof. The bottom is for the storage of two mini shadow brushes and a mini blush brush, making this compact the best thing for women of ALL ages to have on the go!

2. Mineral Foundation & Brush: I LOVE THIS FOUNDATION! Let’s start there. It’s so light that it feels like you don’t have anything on your face at all. Not to mention that it lasts all day, no matter what….well, except if you’re like me and you sweat your butt off at the gym, but even then, your face still looks pretty good. The best part about it is that it works really well if you have sensitive skin, like me. Also, the brush is so soft and helps create a flawless look.

1. Travel Roll-up Bag: Drum roll please! This is my ultimate favorite Mary Kay product…I seriously could not live without this bag. I’m the type of person that likes to be as organized as possible, although that definitely falls through at times, and this does not disappoint.  The plastic pouches are velcroed in, so if you wanted to just bring one of them with you if you’re going somewhere just for the weekend, you could do that. For the times at home, you can leave the bag unfolded and hang it up somewhere so the majority of your makeup and tools are all in one convenient space. I got mine a few years ago, but I unearthed it while I was home one weekend and now I can’t imagine living without it -- everything is so organized!

Well there ya have it – the top 5. Hope you enjoy!

Top 10 MK Products for Twenty-Somethings (Pt. I)

Happy holidays everyone!

Winter break has OFFICIALLY begun for me! I'm so glad...I thought it'd never come! And with winter break, comes Christmas. For those of you who still have some fabulous twenty-something gal in your life to shop for, or if it's just for yourself, I thought I'd talk about Christine's Top 10 MUST HAVE Mary Kay Products! Since I don't want to overload your brains with all 10 at once, here are the first 5:

 10. Really Red Lipstick: I'm not a big lipstick person usually, but I absolutely LOVED this when I tried it. The color is great if you want to make a statement with your look, and is new to the MK Lipstick Collection, is such a great buy. It goes on really smoothly, and it's so light that I felt like I didn't have anything at all on my lips! And I love how it's packaged...for any girl that's the queen of lipsticks, it's great to have a colored sticker on the top of the cap so If you have more of a classic/sophisticated style, or if your favorite look calls for really bold red lipstick, this is definitely a great little stocking stuffer!

9. Ultimate Mascara: Out of all the makeup that I have ever used, mascara is the one product that I've had the most intense love/hate relationship with. However, the Ultimate Mascara, (available in black and brown/black) is just that and so much more. I've found that with some mascaras, in order to get fuller lashes, I have to apply at least two layers. This of course increased the risk of my lashes getting clumpy or the totally unattractive spider lashes. This MK mascara gives you great, full lashes without clumping or getting all freakishly spider-like!

8. Eye Primer: Until last April, if you had given me eye primer, I would have had no idea what to with it. Now that I do, I can't live without it. The primer does so much for anyone's overall look, no creases or smudges, and it ensures that your eyes will look as gorgeous at the end of the day as they did in the morning when you did your makeup. Just dab a little bit on each lid before you apply the rest of your eye makeup, and it will make a world of a difference!

7. Thinking of You Eau de Parfum: This is one of my favorite scents; I've used the body lotion before, so I'm hoping that Santa gets the memo that I'd like the perfume for Christmas....Kris Kringle..get on that! If the sweet fruity scent wasn't enough to make you smile, I think the presentation is. Since blue is my absolute favorite color, the bottle is definitely one of my favorite things about this. Also, apparently the little heart charm comes off and you can put it on a charm bracelet...pretty cute!

6. Foundation Primer: This is another primer that I've fallen in love with recently. Apply this beforehand to get even more out of your foundation. It's almost a bit gel-like, and helps perfect your skin for a light matte finish that leaves your skin looking flawless. Another good thing about this is that it works with any kind of foundation, so anyone can use it, whether they prefer liquid or powder-based. In addition, it leaves your skin feeling so smooth that it's almost unbelievable!





There you have it.. the first five. Come back later this week for Part II where we reveal the top five products. If you like these, believe me, you'll DEFINITELY need to check out our next post!

About Us

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!

I'm Danielle, the blonde one. Well, at least I was when this picture was taken. The other, more fabulous half of this blog is Christine, one of my best friends and soon to be sister-in-law, aka The Fusis. I'm just about half way through my Senior year of college, and Christine is already out working in the real world, and additionally, has just begun a new venture as a Mary Kay consultant!

As a part of my plan to gear myself up for the real world, I started dabbling in makeup to make myself more presentable, and I've developed a new hobby and passion, that I feel like I barely do my school work at times! Christine has been a great role model for me, and has always looked GREAT, since she picked up on makeup and beauty products quite a bit earlier than I did.  Though we have slightly different tastes and I have regarded her as a sister for years now, our love for makeup has definitely made us closer over the past few months.  This little blog idea was just a 'what-if' that we had discussed in the beginning of November 2011, and we are now working to make it into a reality.  We want to review products that we love, talk about some that we try but might not love, and maybe have a few video tutorials thrown in here and there; we aren't entirely sure yet, but we are thrilled about the endless possibilities!

I am really excited for us to begin sharing with you all of the makeup and beauty products, (and possibly some other stuff, too) that help us feel so beautiful not only on the outside, but on the inside as well!  And of course, if you feel beautiful and confident on the inside, it doesn't matter what you do to your outside!

xoxo,
Danielle