Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

I think its my calling to be an all knowing beauty expert. Whenever I go into the drugstore or Sephora or even department stores, I always look around and think.. hmm what can I blog about next. I always want to try the next best thing. One of the things that I feel I am always on the search for is mascara, concealer and foundation. I feel you can never stick to just one. Everytime I go to +Sephora I always ask them about concealers. I feel like this is one thing that I haven't really found that I can totally live without. I have oily skin but under my eyes is very dry and tends to crease in an instant. I've tried everything under the sun and I just want something that works. Recently I've been hooked on Armani's Maestro Eraser Concealer and I really felt that it was hydrating and I really do love it. I feel that the sheen in it brightens the area and I really like the feel of it on my skin. I went to +Sephora in Herald Square last week and asked about the Tarte Maracuja creaseless concealer and the lady that helped me was completely in love with it. She was saying how she also had oily skin and that her skin was the same as mine and she said that the Maestro one didn't cover as much and that the Tarte one was way better since it was full coverage. 

This concealer is said to be full coverage and it won't crease, flake or have you needing to reapply. It has +tarte's signature maracuja oil in it which helped improve your skin's texture, tone and moisture while having a brightening dewy luminous finish. Since it has the maracuja oil, you will see that it also has all the benefits that you will find in the regular maracuja oil and the actual concealer will help mask any discoloration, imperfections such as acne, blemishes, redness, scars, hyperpigmentation and even dark circles. Its very easy to apply. Even though its full coverage, you will notice that its really easy to blend and it dries to a flawless finish. 

I asked for a sample and took it home to try it. The next morning I put on my foundation and then the concealer. I used a concealer brush since that's what she recommended. I liked how it went on at first and yes I did feel that it did cover better than the Maestro one. The true test for me is throughout the day. I was thinking that this stuff will probably crease within seconds. I went throughout the entire day and nothing. I didn't feel it crease at all. We are in summer so if anything it was going to crease instantly during the summer months but it stayed put. At the end of the day, I didn't feel that my concealer had disappeared or anything or that I needed more coverage throughout the day.

This concealer retails for $24 which is way cheaper than the Maestro Eraser concealer. This concealer also comes in 7 different shades ranging from fair to dark. The shade I chose for myself is medium but there are a range of different shades that you can choose from. All in all, I definitely recommend this product along with this brand. I don't think there has been a product from this brand that I haven't fell in love with. Its definitely something you should pick up. 

Have you tried this concealer? What do you think? Leave comments below and let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

DR. BRANDT SKINCARE dark circles away™ collagen eye serum

A couple of weeks back I went on a Dr. Brandt spending spree because I began with a few products, loved them and decided that I needed to try more. I originally fell in love with the Collagen Booster face serum and raved about it a couple of weeks back. I go on and off with using this since I have so many different other night creams that I need to use but every time I use this one it does wonders for my face. I wake up with a different face I feel. My face is radiant and its just amazing. I was so fond of this face serum that I decided to buy the dark circles under eye cream. This eye cream is said to brighten and diminish the look of tired, puffy and hollow eyes. It has Lumisphere microencapsulated pigments that instantly give you brighter and more luminous looking eyes. The serum is pigmented so it does give you minimal coverage and it will eventually fade your dark circles while breaking down fatty deposits that actually cause bags. Collagen in this eye cream also helps plump the skin which if you notice its very thin and feels different than the rest of your skin. This is why you need to take care of your eyes more because its very sensitive.

I used this cream for about a month straight without using anything else. I have couple of things I want to say. One thing is that when you look at the description of this product it is suppose to diminish tired looking eyes which makes you think this should be put on in the morning under makeup. That is a bold face lie! You cannot use this under makeup because it has sort of a sticky glue-ish consistency. I know its weird that I have to describe it like that but is kind if clumps up the same way glue would if you either rub it in your skin too much or don't rub it in enough to where it creates sort of like a layer under your eyes. It has a metal rollerball applicator which is awesome because it massages your under eyes and the coolness helps debuff your bags but the actual serum is crap. Since I can only use it at night time I realize that it doesn't work as good as other under eye creams that I have. I was really disappointed with this product because it wasn't cheap. This retails for $55 and I would never recommend this product at all. 

Do you have products that you are 100% sure that they are just crap? Comment below I always want to hear about products that are a must stay away from!! 

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

DR. BRANDT SKINCARE CC Glow Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Back to makeup/skincare reviews. Lately, I've been noticing that there are a lot of products that are more of a two in one type of product. They are great skincare benefits and also give you makeup qualities. CC creams are all the rave right now especially now for the summer. Its a light weight, nice coverage, SPF color correcting cream. I love being able to just wear CC creams because it usually means that my face is acting right and I don't need the extra coverage. I also like to use CC creams when I am tanned. Its because a lot of CC creams come in limited colors which means that a medium would probably blend in enough for when I am tan and not tan. I don't go sun crazy on my face when I get sun during the summer. I usually put SPF 20-45. This protects my skin so that I don't have to worry about wrinkles in the long run. Now that I live in NYC, I definitely do not go to the beach as much as I did when I live in Puerto Rico. Oh! I remember when I lived there I was at the beach every weekend at least once a weekend from January to August. Those were the days! Now, living in NYC I am able to have any type of access to anything I would dream of in terms of beauty products but the 'beaches' are crap. 

If you've read some of my past posts, you know that I love the Dr. Brandt brand. I've been hooked on the Glow day and night cream for about 3 months now. This stuff is amazing. It has made my skin look more radiant and the retinol has definitely been cleared up any blemishes that I had and also my wrinkles which aren't a lot but I do have laugh lines along with wrinkles around my eyes. This Glow line also has a CC cream that is available. It is like the Glow daytime lotion with a CC cream. So it comes in the color 'natural' which is a good color for me if I am not tanned but I do think it is too light for me the second I have some color. This is the only bad thing about this stuff, it only comes in one color. But if you are part of the lucky ones that are light to medium complexion, I would definitely recommend this for you. This cream illuminates and brightens your skin with the same ruby crystal complex that is in the Glow cream. This also hydrates your skin so that your skin is smoother which makes your wrinkles and lines diminish and also has SPF30 as an added layer of protection.  It also has a concentrated amount of Vitamin C which does wonders to making your skin more radiant. The tint in this conceals imperfections and it evens your skin tone more naturally because its not a heavy caked on coverage. 

You can find this CC cream online or in +Sephora. It retails for about $39 and I know for CC creams this is expensive considering there are a lot of drugstore brands that are as good in color correcting creams plus this isn't for everyone considering it is only available in one color. I do recommend if you don't have the Glow day cream considering this basically is the same cream but tinted. Hope this review helps you decide whether you need to buy this or if you've been eyeing it but couldn't splurge especially since its a pricey CC cream. 

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

Borghese Stimulating Tonic

I started to fall in love with Borghese since my Twitter/BFF +Nicole YoungWildandPolished started talking about it in her Youtube channel. I've always seen this brand in TJMaxx and Marshalls but since I really didn't have too much information on it I wasn't going to buy it. I decided to finally buy some products and one of the products that I bought was their toner. OMG! This brand is luxury and a half. I do understand why this brand is so expensive. I don't think I would ever buy this stuff in a regular store for the regular price. I was able to buy this in Marshalls down in Puerto Rico one time I was there visiting. 

I don't ever expect a lot from toners because to me they are just a step in my skincare routine. I like how toners usually remove excess oils that were left on the skin. This toner is orange and you need to make sure you shake it before using it because if you let it settle you will see that white I guess it could be powder that accumulates at the bottom. This toner is like a two phase formula that not only tones but it calms and balances the skin after your cleansing phase. This toner is enriched with minerals that activates when applied to your skin and it brightens your skin and restores the tightness to your skin. This particular toner also has oil control mattifying properties. I believe that this is what the white powder that accumulates at the bottom is for. You will notice that after one application you skin will feel soft and refreshed. It has witch hazel in it so this helps refine your pores and it also restores clarity and radiance to your skin. 

This toner retails for $30 which is bizarre for a toner even for me. I would never spend that much money on a toner. This was available for a while in TJ Maxx and Marshalls. It retailed for $7.99 or $9.99 I believe. Which obviously is not cheap for a toner but since now you understand that this brand is a luxury brand and normally retails for $30 then the $10 is a steal. If you find it in TJ Maxx or Marshalls I definitely recommend you trying this out. If you cannot don't waste your money. 

Do you have any of those guilty pleasure beauty products that you've realized are a must have? Let me know in the comments below! I would love to try them!

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

Trish McEvoy Eyebrow Pencil Review

One of the biggest trends now a days are eyebrows. Everyone is trying to get their eyebrows a certain way. The latest trend is to have thicker eyebrows which is a very natural look for a lot of people. The thin eyebrows is definitely out of style and now the thicker ones are in. There are many ways to achieve this look. I've tried a lot of different things and at the beginning I didn't realize that even though my natural hair color is dark brown, you don't want to put dark brown coloring on your eyebrows. I went to a makeup event with work one day and I had heard of this brand before but never really used it before: Trish McEvoy. We went through a whole walkthrough on how to apply makeup and it was something that I was very familiar with and when they asked asked if anyone had questions I wanted to have someone walk through and teach me how to do my eyebrows. 

The Trish McEvoy representative there went into her makeup bag and got an eyebrow pencil. Now this eyebrow pencil was something awesome. I've really never seen anything like this pencil before. Its a retractable pencil and it has a spooly on the end so that you can brush your eyebrow to blend the color. Now this pencil was made easy at least for the color selection which was Brunette and that was pretty easy to pick. She told me that my eyebrows were okay but she could shape them a little bit better. She told me that the arch should be shifted a little bit but other than that it was perfect. After I saw what she did I was really happy and decided to buy the pencil. It was a perfect eyebrow pencil in my eyes. I haven't tried Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz because any time I go in to buy it at +Sephora it's never available and plus I am not sure what color I would need. It retails for $28 which is $7 more than Brow Wiz so it is a bit more but I do like this one. I would love to try the Brow Wiz but just haven't gotten around to trying it. The Trish McEvoy pencil comes in 2 colors natural and brunette. You can buy this brand in +Bloomingdale's and +Nordstrom.

Do you use anything for your eyebrows? Are you into the whole thick eyebrow trend? Let me know what you use and I would love to try this.

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

Nuxe Rêve de Miel® Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm Review

One of my favorite Youtubers is +Amelia Liana and I love it because she is based out of the UK and always reviews stuff that are more popular over there and not so popular over here in the US but surprisingly, we are able to get a lot of those things here in NYC. One of the videos that she posted was a haul video from her trip to France. There were a lot of different things that she talks about and one of her holy grail type product was this Nuxe Rêve de Miel® Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm. She raves about it and how it makes your lips super soft and great. Since this year since NYC has been going through a never ending winter season, my lips have been really chapped and my regular Carmex isn't really doing it for me anymore. I definitely needed something better. I was going to get the Bite Agave Lip Mask because I saw my other favorite Youtuber +Nicole YoungWildandPolished reviewed it and she loved it. I figured that was what I needed since my lips have been just really bad. After seeing the Amelia Liana video, I was sucked into the Nuxe lip balm so I went to Duane Reade to see if it was available and the first one was sold out but when I went downtown, I saw it in a Walgreens! I was stoked.

This is said to be one of France's most coveted drugstore brands and over in France is a cult favorite. The box it comes in says it has been tested in extremely cold weather conditions in Canada and even in that cold weather, users said that it excelled at restoring comfort and moisture, while leaving your lips feeling super soft and protected from the dehydrating effects of your daily life. I used it that night before I went to bed because I learned from Amelia that its what she does, so why not just stick to tradition, lol. The lip balm is thick but not too thick that you can't wear it during the day. It has a citrus smell to it and it isn't balmy glossy. Once you put it on, it has a matte finish to it which I love. This balm immediately moisturizes your lips and doesn't rub off easily. In the morning you can still feel faints on it on your lips which I like because then I know its working. I was able to find this in Walgreens downtown NYC and it retails for about $18 which is a lot for a lip balm but my lips were severely chapped an no regular products were working.  If you want to splurge, I definitely recommend this product and I will see if I can find some drugstore dupes for those who do not want to spend $18 on this. But again, the Bite Agave mask, is basically the same thing and retails for $38 so this is a lot cheaper than that product. 

Do you have anything that you use as a night routine that have turned into your 'can't live withouts?' Let me know! 

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!

Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab Review

Finally getting down to the route of my obsession. I love doing my nails, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you will see that most of my pictures are of my nails. I love doing them at least 2-3 times weekly. I can't stand to see nails that are chipped or not shiny. I am not a huge fan of Deborah Lippmann nail products because they are very pricey especially for someone like me that changes her colors every 2 or 3 days. I do keep up with the products that they have though just to see what they come out with and I saw a couple of months ago...maybe a year, they came out with a Gel Lab. So this is suppose to be just like getting a gel manicure but without having to have a light to cure it. Unfortunately, I've gotten gel done on my nails and I regret it so much. The reason why I got them done more than once was because I thought, maybe it was the brand or the place. First time I went to a local place in Queens, Diva-Licious Nail & Spa and they did a good job with applying it, a little messy but I was happy with the shine. My first time there, it chipped within 3 days (even though gel should last up to 10 days) and I went back and they were apologetic (I didn't get a discount or anything) and this time it lasted 2 days so I was basically done with gel manicures. 

I work at an agency and we have vendors that take us out for mani/pedis and usually are at really nice places. This one vendor saw that I loved nail art so they decided to take my co-worker and me to Valley Nails on Elizabeth Street in the Village. These girls have talent and when I saw the work that they could do, I was so excited so I decided to get gel since the designs are so much cooler with gel. What a mistake! This gel started to peel from the cuticle within 5 days and then when it came off, it ripped my nails. I soaked them right away, being that I am a nail art fanatic, I have everything I needed to remove the gel. I soaked my nails for about 20 mins. Most of the color came off but while scraping it off, it ruined my nails to where it took over 6 months for the ridges to grow out. I've come to believe that gel polish isn't for me. Until I saw this gel labs product.

I started to read about it immediately and I saw everything that I wanted. High-shine, long-wearing finish and cushiony texture that a gel manicure gives you but without the lamps, extra time and damage to the nails. Also, this can be used with regular nail polish as where the regular gel manicures need specific gel polish to actually work correctly. All it is is a two-step system-- a base coat and a topcoat. The base coat has biotin, green tea extract and aucoumea in it which is good for your nails and the topcoat is fast drying that its just easy to use. The base coat actually makes the the colored polish go on easier and it creates a barrier so that its easier to get a better application. The color stays on longer than with other base coat and top coat but I still change my polish every 3 or 4 days when I use this set. 

This retails for $45 and I have to say, no its not worth spending that much money on a base/top coat because the shine still dulls and the chipping still happens. I actually was able to pick this up with a promo that Good Morning America ran that gave it like a 60% off which is why I got it. I still think if I would have tried it, I wouldn't have purchased because I think you can get the same gel look with Sally Hansen or Seche Vite products. 

Thanks for reading and follow me on all my social Outlets Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Email!