Carrie Underwood on the cover of Allure

So, girl crush #2 in my life (next to Reese Witherspoon) is Carrie Underwood solely based on the fact that her hair and her makeup (Good Lord her MAKEUP) is always flawless. FLAW-LESS.

I was excited to see her on the cover because they always tell which makeup they use. Here is the link to some pics on Allure.com Check it out! If you're looking for a good read, I would get the whole mag in stores. They have some good articles this month.

I really like how she always has this smokey eye, but it's not overpowering. It's also usually more brown than black, which looks a bit better on me as well (blond, fair, etc).

Alas, they used ALL Dior on her for the shoot. Now, it is not beyond me to spend a silly amount of money on makeup, but I am trying very hard to be much better about my budget lately. I just cannot afford Dior. But, they did list the colors so I tried to mimic. I couldn't find the lipstick, so I just started with the eyes (they are my fav anyway). They reported they used an eggshell color to highlight under her brows but didn't list the name. However, eggshell is a pretty standard color that you can find anywhere.

On her:

Dior Ultra-Smooth High Impact Eyeshadow in Bronzy night ($28 at Sephora)
Dior eyeliner in Deep Brown ($28 at Sephora)
What I bought:

Revlon Satin Luxurious Eye Shadow in Polished Bronze ($4.99 at Target or Drugstore.com)

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Cocoa (bonus 2 pack at Target for $6.99 or Walgreens.com)

I'll let you know if I find a match for the lipstick and blush!

Images courtesy of Sephora.com, Walgreens.com, and Drugstore.com

Review: Sally Hershberger and Aveda

Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted in forever...been super busy. I wanted to drop two quick reviews on you though.

1. Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam I received this in sample size in my Christmas stocking. This product claims to give lightweight to medium hair volume and shine. I've tried it twice, and I'm not sure I'm applying it 100% correctly. The foam feels slightly sticky in my hair. However, it does smell good (like honey) and my hair is shinier. I wouldn't give it the 5 stars that it's rated on Aveda...maybe 3.5 stars for me.

It's available at Aveda for $18.

2. Sally Hershberger Finishing Cream (in the Wavy Hair product line)

I may have found the product I have been looking for basically my whole life. No joke. In case I never mentioned it...my hair is that strange combo of straight/curly/wavy/whatever it feels like being that day. Which means it usually requires some sort of styling with a straightener or curling iron. That can get old on a day to day basis, especially when I work at home and no one sees me anyway. But I don't want to look like a slob either...anywho I digress. Back to the product. Here's how I use it.
A. Dry hair completely using a flat brush and a big round brush (I use the flat at the beginning and then the round brush to finish).
B. Put a dab of this cream (pea size) on your palms, rub together, and then run through your hair. It smooths down all the kinks and flyaways.
Now the pic below is my results from this morning (not the best quality pic...but it's what I can get with my laptop camera). No curling iron, no straightening iron. Is every piece perfect? No of course not. And it doesn't look like a professional blow-out by any means. But for everyday wear it works for me. Plus, the more natural hair is coming back into style according to all the fashion and beauty mags; and finally it's about to be summer. Stuffy perfect hair just doesn't go with summer!

I got this at Walgreens on clearance for $3.19. Yep. $3.19. Normally it's $12. I don't know if they are no longer selling this at Walgreens, but if they do stop you can get it online at the link above or drugstore.com. The website also says it's available at Ulta, but I haven't gone in there yet to double check. I certainly hope it stays available, because I love it so. :)


Pictures courtesy of Aveda.com and Sally Hershberger.com...links are included above.