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.

I am trying to will the warmer weather to exist via body lotion scent

OK, so who else is tired of this cold? Who else is OVER IT with the dry skin, chapped lips, weird hair, etc that just won't stop? Cause I sure the heck am.

To cheer myself up, and to try and will the nature gods to hurry up with spring...I bought a fun citrus scent the other day at Sephora for $5. FIVE. It was a whim purchase, but what a good whim it turned out to be. So good, in fact, that I'm considering buying other products with the same scent.


Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange. Reminds me of the blood orange mimosa's at Marche (Nash peeps will know about this deliciousness) It's light, citrusy with a mix of berry, and a bit musky (but not overwhelming) at the same time. When I wear it I usually don't wear perfume as well because it smells so good. Oh, and bonus that it is also a damn good moisturizer...in a decent size...for FIVE DOLLARS. I would pay full price of $12 for this in a heartbeat. It's also vegan and made with 100% natural products.

On sale at Sephora now. I believe the "limited time" designation is just for this particular size and price...so get yours while they last! Here's the LINK.

New eyeliner!

I don't know where I read about it, but I stumbled upon Revlon Color Stay eyeliner. (Revlon has been really getting it right lately with me...first Photofinish foundation which I STILL LOVE, and now this). I actually like it better than Stila eyeliner (discussed HERE), and it's a third of the price at only $7.49. It goes on smoother than most pencils I've tried, doesn't smudge at all, and lasts all day. It has a small sharpener at the bottom. There are a bunch of colors to choose from. I have Charcoal and Blackberry (a dark purple) that I really like. So, no more Stila for me....I'm sticking with the better and cheaper brand!!

photo courtesy of Walgreens.com

The dress I plan to wear every day until next winter

So I ran to Target today and decided to scan the new clothing...and I'm glad I did. Found this dress for $15. I bought two, one in bright blue and one in navy (stylin it below!) Pretty sure by the end of the day I will have gone back online and gotten black as well. Is it ridiculous to have the same dress in three colors? Maybe. But this dress is pretty versatile, so I think I'll get a lot of wear out them.

Thus my uniform for spring...this dress, a cardigan, leggings, and flip flops. This summer...this dress and flip flops. Easy to dress up or down with cute shoes, jewelry, and such. And I did say FIFTEEN dollars. The sizes are S, M, and L. They don't run big or small, so just get your normal size if you decide you also like this dress! Another plus...you can wear a normal bra with this, the straps won't show!

Here's the deal. Most of the time I work from home, and a girl needs to be comfy, but not look like a slob. I can't concentrate on work when I'm not properly dressed; it's a complex I have. Anywho... I also figured out a few years ago that knit dresses were basically pajamas for all intents and purposes...thus totally more comfortable than any other outfit AND they look cute. Win win situation here.

Target link: Mossimo Juniors Value Tank Dress

Just had to share

Did you know you can make lipstick with crayons? Ha! Cause you can. I read about it on Beauty Blogging Junkie, and she read about it on instructables.com. So click her site or..just click the other site HERE. Make sure to click the little pictures by each step to get the full details.

Seems pretty straightforward...get a chapstick tube, melt the crayon over a double boiler with various ingredients such as jojoba oil and lanolin...viola! Lipstick.

I have to admit...the ChemE in me is EXTREMELY interested in testing this out. I will have to go purchase crayons though...will let you know!

Things I didn't know...but sure wish I had earlier!

Um, so did any of you know that Rite Aid takes returns? As in you bought a beauty product...ANY product...and didn't like it so you can return it for a full refund?

CAUSE THEY DO.

I bought my husband some hair pomade...but accidentally bought the wrong one. We realized once it was opened and being used that it made his hair all Backstreet-boys-circa-99 shiny. Not cool. But I still had the receipt and had seen a small sign last time I was in there about returns. I thought surely they wouldn't take something back that was opened AND used. Wrong...they totally did! $18 bucks (yep, boys have expensive products too) right back in my pocket. I'm pretty sure they just toss the opened products, so you don't have to worry about getting something that someone else has used there.

Of course, be reasonable on your returns. It needs to be pretty obvious that you either never used it or only used it once. Otherwise I doubt they will take it back.

Soooo...lesson learned. If you are trying out something new--lipstick, foundation, shampoo--and realize pretty quickly that it's not going to work, at least at Rite Aid you can return!