Sunday, March 1, 2015

Tried and True & Tested and New

So I love makeup! And so I'm doing a series to showcase some of my favorites and my recent hauls all in one.  So in the first section, here are some of my tried and true makeup items that I am loving at the moment.

I have been loving my Sephora Microsmooth Baked Foundation, it hasn't broken me out and provides great coverage. You can't go wrong with Estee Lauder Double Wear! I have the light version and it is a really lightweight feeling but still has great coverage. I also have the concealer which has awesome staying power. I can't ever put on eyeshadows without primer.  I'll use the Urban Decay, anti-aging primer which helps a little with my crepy eyelids.  I also like using Jordana's 24 hour eyeshadow sticks. The color I use the most is almond cream.  I have two IT Cosmetics products I use everytime I put on makeup. I have the It Cosmetics' Bye Bye Redness cream which I use for my redness around my nose.  It does a great job cancelling the redness out. I also have the It Cosmetics' Bye Bye undereye corrector for my really bad circles under my eyes. Both are staples I always need.  Another thing I need is eyeliner.  I like liquid eyeliner and Stila Stay the Day is great.  It's easy to apply and doesn't fade.  On quick days when I don't have time to blend eyeshadows, I love using Maybelline's Color Tattoos. My favorite color right now is Creamy Beige.  I can't leave the house without mascara! I love Too Faced's Better than Sex mascara. It gives my barely noticeable lashes the volume it needs.  Now when I need something extra special when going out, I always reach for my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder palette. These are great highlighters!

Now onto some of the tested and new products that I have recently hauled.


So I've been on a kick lately with foundation. Three that I've recently bought to try out are Hourglass Immaculate, Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous, and Jouer Matte Moisture Tint. Still trying out Hourglass, I bought it for special occasions and there haven't been many for me to try out this foundation with so still on the fence with this one. Both the Covergirl and Jouer foundations are awesome for quick foundation coverage when I'm on the go. I have also been trying It Cosmetics' Bye Bye Pores Poreless Finish HD mirco-powder. I've heard such great things about this powder. I've only tried it a couple of times and am liking it so far. I don't think it necessarily does anything about the look of my pores though.  I got a tube of Paula's Choice Shine Stopper in my Dermstore Blush Mystery Bag awhile ago.  It does seem to be a great primer that keeps the oilies away. I also got The Body Shop's Honey Bronzing Powder in 02 Fair Matte. It's a very light bronzer that I have been enjoying as a blush and all over color to give color back to my pale skin without looking too bronzed in this winter weather. I just recently hauled a whole lot of drugstore lip products so look forward to that in the next post!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Current Haircare Favorites

With my hair being over 10 inches long now, I have been concentrating on taking care of my hair. It gets so tangly and it doesn't help when I get lazy and don't comb it in the morning, with working at home.  I've been trying the new WEN conditioner ( I got a great introductory offer through Swagbucks).  L'oreal Eversleek is also a good sulfate-free alternative too. It does help make it less oily and helps my hair stay fresher longer but I haven't yet felt anything else yet.  I also have been trying to use up my Redken All Soft liters that I got last last year at Ulta during their liter sale.  When I want to clarify my hair, I like to use Pantene's Weekly Deep Cleanse. I also like using deep treatment masques like Redken's Diamond Oil instead of conditioners. Aussie's 3 minute Moist deep conditioner is always a good go-to as well.  I also got K-Pak Joico's deep conditioner on clearance at Walgreens, so I've been mixing this up with other deep treatments.




After I towel dry my hair, I like to put oils like Suave Natural Infusions Moroccan Oil or Dove Pure Care Dry Oil on my ends of my hair and either my L'oreal Triple Resist Stray or Dove Oxygen Moisture Root Spray in my roots. For days, my dry hair looks frizzy, I like using my It's a 10 leave-in product.


I also like to use dry shampoos on my second day hair to get the oilies out. I like Pssst! and Batiste.  Gotta have a travel size one for traveling or for the car. For styling, I like to use L'oreal Elnett, the unscented version.  For de-tangling before  I comb, I use Pantene's Repair Light detangling spray.  I also use this on my daughter's unruly hair. It's a decent detangler.


Yes, I know..it's a lot of products.  Sad thing is I don't use them often since there's so many that I switch using them up all the time.  Trying to change that for sure though!  Just a little hard for a product junkie like me.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Lots of changes!

Wow, has this past year been full of changes. My family and I moved to a whole new smaller city with no one we know.  I am now working from home.  New home and a new job environment.  So far, the smaller city sucks.  Really dead and no shopping options.  Working from home is awesome. I finally have a work life balance that I never actually have had.  Which leads me to this blog.  I am dedicating for this year to do more, use more of what I have already, and enjoy life!  I really want to start saving for a house and a trip this year.  I need to start eating healthy and hitting the gym.  I want to concentrate on being a better mother and wife, as well.  Hopefully sticking to this blog will help me be more accountable to my goals and keep track of my progress!


Saturday, January 21, 2012

New Products for 2012

Oh my goodness. So many product launches for the beginning of the year. I'm excited to try them all out. So far, I've used Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Tough as Taupe. It was okay. Not too excited about the color. But I did buy it in Pomengrate Punk. Very pretty and I want to try it in a look. I'll probably go and buy the other colors. I only swatched the new L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows and they look awesome. I have continuous cocoa, amber rush, bronzed taupe, perpetual purple, and the dark blue one. I want to get the eternal black one. Kind of hesitant to use them since they are essentially loose powder, even though they are very creamy. I'm not too interested in the Maybelline Bouncy blushes since I've heard reviews they are not too pigmented. I did try the Maybelline Master Precision liquid eyeliner. I like it a lot. Very pigmented and easy to control to get a thick or thin line. I want to try the Covergirl Line Blast 24 Hr. The other things out like L'oreal's lumi line and Maybelline's Illegal lengths, not sure if I'm going to get. Hmm..I'll have to stop by the drugstore.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

My Products of 2011









So here is a list of the top products I used in 2011. Some of them, I stopped using at the end of the year and used new products but for the majority of the year, I used them.


Tarte's Blush in Exposed

-Jumped on the bandwagon and love it as a bronzer and blush. Gives the most natural color to your face.


Benefit Hoola
-Used it mostly for summer. Awesome for contouring.


Missha BB Cream, Skin 79 Super BB Cream

-Loved the coverage and feel. This was a no-brainer for the morning for me. I just had to apply with my fingers and I was good to go. I didn't have to worry about blending. Not too sure about the anti-aging and brightening properties but I didn't break out from either one. Both I felt were the same, although Skin 79 does have better packaging.


Clairisonic Mia

-I started using this in the latter half of the year. I love it. I've noticed less breakouts and my skin feels clearer. I bought this when it was packaged with a skincare bundle. So it was well worth it.


Walmart brand HD blush brush

-I had been using a Sonia Kashuk blush brush in the early part of last year but once I got this brush, I didn't go back. I love how soft it is and the size and angle is perfect for apply blush.


The Body Shop All-in-one Face Base Powder Foundation

-I love to use this to set my makeup, especially if I only used tinted moisturizer or my BB cream.

It never looks cakey and gives me extra coverage. And I love that it hasn't broken me out.


EcoTools Bronzer Brush

-I love using this to put my powder on. It's so soft and dense.


Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer

-I use this concealer practically every day. I love the green and salmon tinted concealer and you can tell that I barely use the other two. If only they made those two concealers separately! Coverage is awesome and the green really neutralizes the red acne marks.


Benefit Creaseless Cream in Lana

-This was an awesome primer and I loved to use it as a quick all over color to neutralize any darkness on my lids. This is kind of similar in color to Urban Decay's Eden. This is one of the products I stopped using because I skipped eyeshadow all together and only did liner and mascara for a long time. Now it's all dried out. :(


Urban Decay Naked

-I had a palette of neutral eyeshadows before but when Naked came along, I was in love. The colors were pigmented and it was so easy to make color combinations. I love Buck, Virgin, and Darkhorse. To think of it, I don't think I have touched my other neutral palette in months.


Maybelline Full N Soft Mascara

-I love this mascara. At one point of the year, I started losing a lot of eyelashes. I stopped wearing mascara and it helped a lot but when I needed mascara, I came to this one. I felt it was nourishing for my eyelashes and it never smudged. This one will always be in my makeup arsenal.


Philosophy Purity Made Simple

-This cleanser definitely gets all the makeup off. I just don't like the scent and I don't think it does anything to help my acne prone skin. I usually switch this one with Makeup Choice's Alpha Beta Hydroxy face wash and The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil Face Wash.


L'oreal Lineur Intense in Earth Brown

-I loved this eyeliner earlier this year. I did switch to Physician's Formula's Eye Booster which I like but now that it has a fray in the felt tip, I went back to this one and love it again. I like the dark brown color which makes it look more natural.


I had a lot of other makeup products that I loved this year but I didn't have a chance to use them as often as the items above. This year, I want to start using different items and experienting more with color and lipstick. It's just kind of hard with going to work everyday where it is casual wear and then on the weekends, just staying home.
























Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Who am I?

So as one of my new posts of the year and of this blog, I thought it might be good to introduce myself.

I am 24 years old. I am a mother of 2 wonderful daughters and a wife of a hard-working husband. I am a transportation representative at a great company. I am also a lot of other things.

I am a shopaholic...

I admit I'm a big spender. I love to save and I get suckered into a good sale. It just feels so gratifying when I get a good deal. Shopping is a great way to relieve my stress. Although the bills later on, not so good.

I am a workaholic...

I can sometimes be too intense at work. My work entails high amounts of stress and demands a lot of attention to detail. It's hard to slack off at work and at the end of the day, my brain is a puddle. I don't love work but I would be bored out of my mind if I didn't have it. I'm so dedicated and task-oriented, it's hard for me to just relax and be more social and talk with my co-workers about personal stuff.

I am a partyaholic...

No, I don't go all crazy at the club. I love to just celebrate. And I'm not super social but I like the party atmosphere and I like to dance even though I am self-conscious sometimes and I know that I'm not that good. I only like to drink socially never to get drunk. I hate the hangover and do everything to prevent it. I also like planning parties. Even though they are stressful, it's fun to show my creativity.

I am an emotional freakaholic...

I am sometimes overdramatic, especially with my husband but it's just with my husband because it seems like nothing phases him so I have to overemphasize everything for him to "get it". I am hard on myself since I like to be perfect. I am messy and feel disorganized all the time. I can feel guilty very easily. I feel like I need to be a better mother. But on the other hand, I love to get high on happiness and do lots of things that will make me feel good like giving out special gifts that are tailored to people and doing fun family things for Keira like going to CHuckee Cheese or Funset Blvd just because I know she will be happy. I love to do new unique experiences like fly an airplane or go to a Packer game. I am committed and have a strong set of morals. Yes, sometimes I do feel like two different people.

So this was just a brief synopsis for my future autobiography...lol... We'll see in the next post what more it will reveal about me...

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New Year, New Me

Dear Me,

I gotta me more vigilant on a lot of things this year. I have a lot of resolutions this year and am aiming high. I hope this year will be a great year and I'm excited for the challenges.

Here are some of my resolutions broken down in different categories:

-Stop spending money like crazy



  • Start using coupons more wisely


  • Don't get sucked into sales


  • Think before buying impulsively



-Eat more healthy



  • Avoid fast food and pack lunch


  • Stay away from sodium, sugar, and carbs



-Exercise



  • Atleast once a week, do atleast 15 minutes of excercising



-Achieve more at work



  • Be more orderly to avoid missing out on details


  • Pick up the phone more


  • Network and be more personable


  • Grab at challenges and new tasks



-Organize



  • Declutter


  • Get rid of excess


  • Organize paper



-Beauty



  • Start using more hair and skin products


  • Moisturize every morning and night


  • Use my lip moisturizer every day


  • Use a new makeup item every week


  • Shop my stash and avoid buying new items


  • Project 10-pan



-Relationships



  • Spend more quality time as a family


  • Avoid nagging on the husband



Wow..that's a lot to accomplish this year. I especially want to blog more. I want to get a clearer mindset and this will be my outlet for my frustrations, my ideas, my opinions, and anything else. Well hopefully I can look back at this post next year, and say that I improved on becoming a better person.




We shall see...




Sincerely,

Sandy Kue