WELCOME TO MY BLOG THAT WILL CONSIST OF FRIVILOUS GIRLY NONSENSE!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Urban Decay Naked Palette Swatches....and inexpensive dupes.













This is the Urban Decay Naked Palette ($48, sephora)
Most amazing eye shadow palette for doing natural to smokey eyes. Comes with 12 shadows, a primer potion and 2 eyeliners. The eyeshadows in this palette are the exact same size as urban decays single shadows which retail for about $18 each. So if you think about it, getting 12 shadows you would almost be paying $216!!!! So this palette is a crazy good deal. These shadows are silky and super pigmented and easy to blend! Here are some swatches of the colors so you can see them more closely plus give you the name of each shadow if your interested. 


 If you like these colors but dont wanna spend quite as much here are two good "dupes" for some of these colors. NYX is one of my favorite brands and these little palettes are great, pigmented, cheap and compact and come with two lip colors as well! You can buy them on NYXcosmetics.com or at Longs and Walgreens. The colors in these two palettes very closely resemble the Naked Palette!!! The names of these palettes plus price is on the pictures. ENJOY!!!!


My Battle Of Finding My Favorite Self Tanner

Living in Hawaii means constant summer weather but contrary to popular belief I do not live right next to a beach and no one really wants to go to the beach every day lol.  I also am very conscious about my skin and sun damage so I try not to tan naturally that much especially out here in Hawaii where I am more likely to burn than tan. 


Now if you have used self tanners before you know how most claim to be "natural" looking, it will give you a healthy bronze glow, or it wont streak or smell like death. Most times thats false. Most drugstore self tanners are horrible in my opinion. They are orange, blotchy, messy to apply, streak horribly, smell awful, peel and flake off quickly and leave skin very dry. With the exception of gradual self tanners. I do enjoy the Jergens gradual tanner lotion. But if your wanting instant results its a pain to puzzle over sucking it up and being pale, or potentially looking like an oompa loompa. 

This is what I use, and what works for me.

#1) I exfoliate the CRAP outta my body. Anywhere I want the fake tanner to go gets scrubbed and scrubbed again. If you do not have very sensitive skin and have the time and patience I recommend using a sea salt body scrub. It has very large scrubbing particles  and at times can feel like sand paper on your skin but I guarantee it will get every bit of dead skin off. Make sure to concentrate around the joints like elbows, knees, ankles where dead skin collects. If you do not exfoliate your tan will not last long. It will apply blotchy and it will flake off. Guaranteed. 

#2) The self tanner I use is called St. Moriz Self Tanning Mouse. ($8-10 amazon.com) This is a UK based brand so you cannot buy it at drugstores here but I promise you its worth paying shipping for! It is an exact dupe for St.Tropez Tanning Mouse which is the most popular high end self tanner. That stuff retails for around $40 a bottle so for the exact same product but called by a different name why wouldnt you spend $10????? This stuff applies effortlessly.Blends like a dream, doesnt streak, the smell is not as bad as reg drugstore brands, comes in a big bottle. Must be applied with gloves though! I use latex gloves from the dollar store. Hands down best fake tanner around for the price!  Be sure to let it dry for about an hour before you put on any nice clothes, also make sure to keep skin moisturized. 

#3) A good alternative to fake tanning is just to use a one time bronzing lotion. If your going out at night, or have a special event during the day and just want some color quickly but that can washed off then a one use tanning lotion is for you! I use this when I am going out on a date with my hubby and feeling a little pale but dont wanna spend the time using the tanning mouse and waiting for it to dry. This is the St. Moriz Bronzing Body Souffle ($7, amazon.com) Perfect for quick color. Add on color bone, shoulders, arms and legs and your done! Feels like a lotion and will wash off with your next shower! Has slight shimmer. Just an FYI :)




Saturday, January 29, 2011

Skin Care......And Tips For Oily Skin.

So until about 5 years ago I had no clue what my skin type was. I just thought everyone was oily. I have always been quite obsessed with my skin care. I was constantly washing/moisturizing my face in High School. Because I was blessed with very good clear skin by my mothers side of the family I was terrified of getting acne. I know this seems extreme, but because often times I would go 6months without one breakout, if I got a pimple I would literally obsess over how to get rid of it. I also started using anti wrinkle lotions and serums on my face around 18 or 19 years old. Yes, once again this seems extreme but I am now 23 and I have the exact same skin I did in high school. I have no discoloration, hyper pigmentation, age spots, wrinkles. SO....yes I may be crazy buying anti wrinkle creams but my face is just something I have always been OCD over. Anyways once I woke up and figured out I had oily skin I started searching for things to matte my face. Now because I am so obsessed with my skin I was constantly buying new products, so I have tried tons of high end to drugstore creams, serums, washes, cleanses, ect. These are just the products that work for me. Now because like I said I have never had an acne problem these tips and tricks are just for me to get rid of oil not to clear up acne. 
  Best  Everday Face Wash:  St. Ives Olive Wash     ($6 drugstores) 
This is very cleansing. Its very light and gets makeup off, makes skin feel soft and clean without leaving an oily residue behind. I use this religiously. 
Best Exfoliator:    Clinique Total Turnaround Instant Facial ($15 clinique counters)
 Although most exfoliators are for people with dry skin because their skin can look dull and lifeless at times, its still important to exfoliate your face if you have oily skin. To scrub your pores where oil sits and gets trapped. Its recommended to exfoliate about 3 times a week. I do it probably 4 or 5 times a week. I just enjoy very smooth skin and this facial gives me that. Another good exfoliator that is a little cheaper is the St. Ives Microdermabrasion ($6, drugstores)
Best Product For Dissolving Makeup:  Clinique Take The Day Off Balm ($22, clinique counters)  
     This stuff is absolutely amazing. If you like to wear waterproof makeup and you know how hard it is to get off, about a dime size amount of this balm rubbed on your eyes dissolves makeup within seconds. Its so gentle and silky feeling. Washes right off!
Best Moisturizer: Boots Shine Control (Target, $6)
Lightweight, does its job, cheap and comes with a lot of product.
Best Night Time Moisturizer: Kate Somerville Total Vitamin Antioxidant Serum ($65, Sephora)
 By far, Kate Somerville products are my absolute favorite skin care products ever. But they are SO expensive. So I only get a few products a year and spread them out, mixing using them with my lower end products. Her products give me the best results but its a pretty penny! Now, if you dont care about wrinkles then as long as your using a lightweight nighttime serum you should be golden! 
Best Oily Skin Product: Boots Expert Instant Matte ($6,Target)
This stuff is my holy grail oil control product!!! After I cleanse and moisturize my face before I put my makeup on I take this little bottle of stuff and squeeze a little on a cotton ball and rub across my most oily spots. It keeps oil under control and keeps makeup looking fresh and matte! 
Best Pore Minimizer: Clinique Pore Minimizer ($14,clinique counters)
Now I do not have very large pores but some days they are a little bigger so on those days I use this lotion after I cleanse my face and it closes them up! I highly recommend if your trying to hide pores!


There you go guys! Hope this helps! :)


Jori

Monday, January 24, 2011

Favorite Discount Beauty Product/Clothes Websites

So I am aware I have been posting new blog posts like a mad woman! I promise I will not be posting every single day! But tonight while I was surfing online checking out my favorite Beauty Product websites I instantly thought..."OMG you guys need to know about these!" Over the past few months I have found tons of discount beauty websites and for those of you girlies who adore high end cosmetics but hate the price then these websites are most defiantly for you!




#1) Cheapsmells.com (I know the name makes the website sound a little, well cheap/tacky. BUT I promise you this site is legit and they sell discounted high end products! Not only fragrance but skin care, hair care, makeup! I have bought makeup brands such as MAC, Benefit, Stila, Urban Decay, Dior. Plus they have tons of high end perfumes and hair products totally cheap! Not sure how they get these products, but really when high end products are 75% off who really cares how they get it? LOL. Recently I purchased an Urban Decay lipstick that retails for $22.00 for only $7.99!!! Insane! Their inventory is constantly changing so my advice would be if you see something you like and its dirt cheap....don't hesitate! Just buy it! Shipping costs are extremely reasonable too! When you go on the site in the right hand corner make sure you click the American Flag so you can see prices in dollars not euros or pounds :)




#2) Hautelook.com     This site is pretty much like an online Ross/TJ Maxx/Marshalls. Except everything is designer. Everyday they have different brands on sale. Ranging from 7 Jeans, Joe's Jeans, home decor, Rock and Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar Blandi, ect. Its an amazing site and you can find some awesome deals. Like Joe's Jeans that retail for close to $200.00 on sale for like $55.00. You just gotta check everyday to see what sales are going on. Kinda tedious....but worth it! ps: If you register on hautelook.com and refer your friends, if your friends purchase anything by your recommendation you get $10 in Hautelook dollars to use towards anything you want on the site. Example:  if you refer 5 friends you get 50 Hautelook dollars! pretty awesome!!!!


#3) Ruelala.com      Almost exactly like Hautelook.com just with different designers/brands. 


#4) Ebay.com      I am serious guys....if you are interested in buying something that maybe these other sites don't have consider looking on Ebay. I have gotten tons of MAC discontinued items for a fraction of what retail is! And its brand new! OPI and China Glaze nail polishes are so cheap on Ebay. And if you don't mind gently worn things you can find designer shoes/jeans at a great price! I found a pair of brand new 7 jeans for $40.00!    Also, if you have things you don't want/haven't worn or opened put it on Ebay! Quick and easy way to get rid of it and make money!




#5) Lastly is allcosmeticswholesale.com      This site is similar to cheapsmells.com. Except on this site they have tons of discontinued cosmetics. So lets say you love a blush from Benefit or MAC but they stopped making it, you can most likely find it on this website. Another thing I love is they do small "samples". Like I love MAC eyeshadow pigments but they are so big and come with so much product and are so expensive for something I will only use maybe a few times a year, so this website does small sample sizes for about 70% off what the full size cost would be! Its a great way to try products without committing to the full size.










HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL GUYS!  As I find new, exciting, dirt cheap, legit websites I will continue to update you! 

Some of my favorite high end duplicates!

I thought I would do a quick post on higher end dupes. I love high end cosmetics because I feel like the packaging, product and variety are such a better quality! BUT....there are a few drugstore/lower end things that are just as good!  Here is my quick list. I dont have a price listing of the duplicates but I am positive everything I mentioned is under $10. When some of the higher end things run up to $45!!!! Enjoy guys! I will continue to do these types of posts if its well received. Maybe once a month I will do a duplicate post? Bye my lovlies! 


ps: I included which items in my opinion were exact dupes or close enough dupes :)


Jori


Urban Decay 24.7 liners/ L'oreal HIP Chrome liners (exact dupe)

Nars Albatross highligting powder/ Elf cosmetics in Gotta Glow (exact dupe)

MAC Jazzed/ Barry M in shade 147 (close dupe)

MAC blacktrack fluidline/Jane Mineral in Black (another good dupe is Wet and Wild Black gel liner) (exact dupe) 






Bobbi Brown shimmer brick/ Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips  (close dupe)

MAC Creme de nude/ Revlon Soft Nude (close dupe)

(Exact dupes)

MAC Modesty/ Maybelline Warm Me Up (close dupe)

MAC Style blush/ Rimmel blush Peach (exact dupe)

Close Dupe

MAC eyeshadow in Cinderfella/ Hard Candy eyeshadow in Black Hole (exact dupe)

Close dupe

Makeup Forever HD powder/ ELF HD powder (exact dupe)

Nars duo in Orgasm blush Laguna bronzer/ ELF duo blush and bronzer (exact dupe for bronzers)

Nars blush in Orgasm/ NYX blush in Pinched (exact dupe)

MAC blush Frankly Scarlett/ NYX Red (close dupe)

Urban Decay eye primer/ ELF eye primer (exact dupe)

MAC MSF highlighter in Soft and Gentle/ Prestige Highliter in Total Shimmer (exact dupe)

MAC Viva Glam Cyndi lipstick/ Nivea Fruity Shine in Cherry (close dupe)
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation/ Revlon ColorStay (exact dupe I have heard. I dont wear foundation so not 100% positive but TONS of people say they are identical!)

Urban Decay shadow in Mildew/ Wet and Wild shadow in Envy (exact dupe)


Coastal Scents Warm Palette is a close dupe for the Urban Decay Naked palette. You get all these shadows for $24!!!! 

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Jori's favorites of 2010!

These are my obsessions and favorite things from 2010. Mostly Beauty but also other things. No specific order and its kinda all over the place. I have done this 4 times with it randomly getting deleted EVERY time so sorry this post is kinda jumbled together. Hope you enjoy! I tried to make sure I had a good mix or drugstore and higher end products! If you have any questions let me know! Hopefully this week I will post my compiled list of good higher end dupes. Like for example a good duplicate for Urban Decay Primer potion thats almost 20$ is the ELF lid primer which is only 1$!!!!! If you guys want I can also do some good duplicates of some of these products I have listed....I have VERY similar things to these products that are extremely cheap!!!  Have a great night my lovlies! 

Joriale

Foundation: MAC pressed foundation shade C4   $29.50




  Brushes: Sigma complete brush kit (sigma.com) They are duplicates of the MAC high end brushes.   $79.99 for 12 brushes

  High End Highlight Powder: MAC MSF Soft and Gentle   $28.00

  Remover: Sonia Kashuk (Target)  $9.00

 Perfume: American Eagle Seventy Seven for Women  (Americaneagle.com)      $19.99

  Hard to get ahold of eyeliner: Avon Super Shock liners (avon.com)     varying prices depending on sales but roughly around $4.00-7.00

Bright Lipstick: Rimmel Moisture Cherrylicious   (drugstores)   $7.00

 Eyeshadows/Primers: Benefit Creaseless Creams (sephora)  $19.00    but you can get mini pots on Ebay to try out for around $6.00-9.00
   

  High End Blush: MAC Earth to Earth (Ebay)   This product is discontinued so on Ebay it was $15.00

Hair Product: ENJOY hair oil.....or Argon oil.    (salons or beauty supply stores) $32.00

Face Product: Boots Instant Matte Liquid (Target)  $6.75

 Mascara: Eyeko Big Eyes (eyeko.com)     $13.00

 Moisturizer: Eyeko 3 in 1 Extra Glow (eyeko.com)    $13.00

 Concealer: Hard Candy Glamoflauge (Walmart)   $6.50

 Blush: Hard Candy Blushes (Walmart)    $6.50
 Setting Powder: MUFE HD Translucent (sephora)    $30.00 but I got mine in a pack of this powder, a mascara and eyeliner from sephora for about $39.00. 
 Eyeshadow: UD Naked (sephora)   $48.00 or on Ulta.com for $35.00


 Eye Primers: NYX Jumbo Pencils (drugstores)   $4.50 at drugstores
   Nail Polish: OPI "Have You Seen My Limo?"   (Ebay)  $5.00


Primer: Perfekt Gel Prime (sephora)     $17.00




 Eyeshadow: Hard Candy Meteorite Shadows (Walmart)  $6.50/each
 Eyeliners: HIP Chrome (drugstores) depends on where you go but typically $5.00-9.00
 Nude Lipstick: MAC Jubilee (Ebay)    Also discontinued at MAC but was only $11.00 on Ebay a good dupe for this that is a permanent color at MAC is "Hug Me" which retails for $14.00

Bath and Body works Candle in Barlett Pear (b&bw.com) $19.99

Favorite Purse Size Perfume: CKin2U Her (ebay) $8.00

Favorite Body Mist: Hollister body sprays $10.00


Favorite clothing: Sundresses!!!!! I have worn a sundress everyday here for 365 days straight! (no joke) You wont catch me in anything but a sundress! :)


Favorite hairstyles of 2010: Topknots (above) so freaking quick and easy and adorable! Also soft waves like Julia Roberts has. I have recently fallen in love with curling wands and I adore this look they give. So much prettier then tight clamped crunchy curls.  

Hair Color Envy of 2010: (above) UK's popstar Cheryl Cole. This red color is to die for and I cant wait to make mine this color soon! I pretty much have body, hair, skin and face envy of this girl. Shes beyond gorgeous!And has an Irish accent! Ugh....why not me God, why not me? LOL

Favorite Movie of 2010: By far Sex and the City 2. I started watching the seasons when I was 18 and became obsessed instantly. I feel like SATC brings back so many good memories from my young adulthood. 


                                   Misc Things:

CD: Taylor Swift Speak Now
TV Show: The Vampire Diaries or Pretty Little Liars
Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy

Other Loves: UK magazines, UK youtube beauty gurus, UK beauty blogs, Temptalia.com, Beautylish.com, Ebay, LUSH, and my new puppy Ruby:)