NEW! CoverGirl Ultra Smooth Foundation + Applicator

PACKAGING:

The foundation comes in a plastic case along with a plastic purple applicator.

Contains .84 fl oz of product

Comes in 12 Shades but may vary store to store (I am in 825 Buff Beige)

Pricing varies depending on where you purchase. 

Average retail at drugstores and drugstore retailers 

$8-15

FORMULATION:

Cover Girl has been stepping up their foundations. Less than 6 months after their release of their Ready, Set, Gorgeous Foundation, Cover Girl has launched another one! What caught my eye with this one was of course the hair smoothing it claims to do. I don't think I have ever seen a beauty company advertise a foundation as something as hair smoothing. The design behind this formulation is that it claims to help tame facial hair on the face. Now you might think that is odd especially since it is geared towards women however even us ladies get a bit of facial hair now and then on our faces. 

The foundation is very smooth and moisturizing and goes on very nicely. I personally found the applicator to be completely useless. It ended up not only streaking the product on my face but actually ended up wiping off most it before it got a chance to blend in. I gave up trying after a while and just used my foundation brush. Although I could be biased because I have been using a beauty blender sponge which is an amazing beauty tool. 

The texture is not too thick or too thin and offers a natural look with medium coverage. For my dry skin it also set pretty nicely. I have had this product on for about 6 hours and even then it looked great. I even sweated a little and it didn't budge. I do recommend a primer underneath to assure the long lastingness. 

As for the hair smoothing claims, I honestly didn't find anything different with this one compared to my other foundations. I have a little problem with facial hair underneath my nostrils. This foundation really didn't do much different.

But overall despite its claims this is a great foundation.

Overall

4.9/5

(This would have been a 5/5 but the applicator sucked)

Current Reading List- December 2015

I have not posted one of these for a long time. Between work and graduate school applications I have had no time to read for pleasure. I was meeting with a client the other day and we were next to a Barnes & Noble so I decided to pop in really quick to get some new reading material. I have a vacation coming up so I thought I can squeeze in some reading (I have actually started reading a little  already as I am typing this post.) I have started buying more books on my Kindle because they are usually cheaper and take very little space and also Audible so I can listen to books while I work, but there is nothing like holding an actual book (Yes I am a book nerd and proud of it!)

So here is what I chose :D

Queen of The Damned

By: Anne Rice

I have been a fan of Anne Rice for a long time and I do know that there is a stigma to some of her writing especially when it comes to homosexuality. But for me I think she is an amazing writer and I am one of those people who could really care less of what others think especially when it comes to MY reading choices. What brought upon me to get this was after watching the Aaliyah movie I went back to listening to some of her old stuff and also stumbled upon some of her old movies. One of those old movies happened to be Queen of the Damned which is based on Anne Rice's novel. The movie itself wasn't particularly great compared to other Anne Rice's novel adaptations like Interview with a Vampire which was amazeballs but compared to Twilight this one was a hoot. After watching the movie I saw a lot of comments saying that the book was much better. And that is how I ended up choosing this novel. Queen of the Damned is part of Anne Rice's famous Vampire Chronicles series which details the lives of various vampires. I have read a couple of them not all and this one being not read. But to keep this short Queen of the Damned is about Akasha who is the mother of all vampires. She has risen from a 6,000 year slumber and wants to take over the world and such. I can't go into too much detail and not because I haven't read all of it but because there are connections with her other books hence these books being chronicles. But so far it has been pretty decent. I am not one of those crazy vampire lovers, but I do have a love for the supernatural and once in awhile I do read some stuff like this, and whether or not you are interested in vampires or other supernatural creatures you should check out Anne Rice's books. She is brilliant.

When We Met

By: A.L. Jackson, Molly McAdams & Christina Lee

I have always been a sucker for a cheesy romance novel especially when it comes to the author Molly McAdams. Her love stories are more realistic and relatable to the average woman or man. When we met tells the story of 4 girls and their problems they are currently going through. Each girl's story is written by a different author (basically an anthology). I love books like this. It introduces me not only to different styles of writing but also new authors to explore. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this little post and try out one of these books! Both of these are available at bookstores nationwide as well as digital form. Prices will vary depending where and how you purchase.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS <3 

Review+ Great Christmas Gift Idea!

Too Faced Melted Kisses (Set)

Too Faced Melted Kisses

PACKAGING:

This particular set contains 4 Melted Kisses (There is a total of 10 colors in the entire collection) in the colors (From Left to Right) Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Fuchsia,  & Melted Berry.

Each Melted Kiss is a deluxe size not full size and contains 0.16 fl oz of product. 

The product is in a tube with a soft doe foot applicator attached to the tube. The applicator is nice and soft and makes it a lot easier for application.

This set retailed for about $25 at Ulta and Sephora stores. This is an absolutely amazing deal if you are interested in trying these out. All 4 colors are easy to wear and looks great on every skin tone. And not to mention if you were to purchase each one separately in a full size you are looking at $21.00 FOR ONE! This is a limited edition set so definitely grab one when you see one. And even though these may not be available online go and check the stores and ask the associates. They will usually have some in the back. This is also a great gift idea whether you want to give all of set to one person or divide it into 4 and use as stocking stuffers! 

FORMULATION:

I personally love the idea of a liquid lipstick. You get the lipstick pigmentation and look but in addition the texture and shine of a gloss. I find sometimes when applying lipstick and gloss separately it can get messy. 

There are a lot of brands out there today drugstore as well as high-end that make liquid lipsticks. Too Faced has finally decided to join the game. I am a huge fan of Too Faced products particularly their eye shadow palettes. I actually never tried any of their lip products until now.

These Melted Kisses are awesome. They are incredibly pigmented with just one swipe and while it is a liquid lipstick it is very light feeling and comfortable on the lips. The wear time will vary. I find that if you don't drink or eat much throughout the day they last incredibly well. If you do eat or drink the color will come off but it leaves a nice stain of color behind. They all start out with some shine and eventually sets semi-matte.

The only issue I had with these was that if you don't moisturize your lips beforehand you are in for some ratchet looking lips. While these don't tend to dry out your lips, if you have dry lips to begin with this will make the flakiness more noticeable. So ALWAYS moisturize!!! 

This particular set contains 4 colors out of the 10 in the entire collection. They are all super wearable colors.

OVERALL: 

4.8/5

Swatches
Top Left: Melted Nude- Basic champagne nude
Top Right: Melted Peony- Light baby milk pink
Bottom Left: Melted Fuchsia- Bright Fuchsia
Bottom Right: Melted Berry- Raspberry color (This one dries very matte) 

WHAT'S NEW @ THE DRUGSTORE!!!

Cover Girl Lip Lavas

PACKAGING:

Comes in a rectangular plastic tube with a red cap. I like the clear packaging which allows you to view the true color of the gloss.

About 7 colors in the entire collection. The color selection will depend on the store.

Available at drugstore & drugstore retailers nationwide for an average retail price $8.99

FORMULATION:

When I saw these on the shelves I was pretty surprised that Cover Girl launched another lip gloss collection. Their last one the Colorlicious line was only launched a couple of months ago. You can clearly see that Cover Girl is trying to step up their game. These last couple of months have been crazy in the drugstore market. Pretty much all the drugstore brands have been releasing products non-stop. Almost impossible to keep up with!

These lip lavas as you can see in the pictures are VERY eye catching. They remind me a lot of MAC's dazzle glasses. 

The texture is quite on the thicker side but surprinsly not too sticky and feels pretty nice on the lips. They last a decent amount of time if you don't eat or drink much. They come in an array of fun colors like purple and orange but also have wearable colors like your nudes and pinks. These glosses have a TON of glitter in them which impacts the color payoff. I wouldn't say that they aren't pigmented their pigmentation is like MAC's Lip glasses. You can see the color come through. After testing them out for quite a bit I recommend wearing these on top of another lipstick. These can definitely be worn on their own but I do have to warn you when you try to wipe it off there will be glitter EVERYWHERE on your face. It took me a good scrubbing around 10 minutes and even then I still woke up with glitter on my face.

Overall though I think these are super fun glosses and great for going out.

3.5/5

Lychee Lava- Pinky Red

Lychee Lava Swatch

Lava-ender- Intense Violet Purple (This one took even longer to get off but a great color for the season)

Lava-ender Swatch

Si's Opinions- Aaliyah: Princess of R&B Lifetime Movie Review: WTH were they thinking?!?!

When I first heard that an Aaliyah biopic was being made, I was so excited I starting bouncing off the walls. Growing up Aaliyah was and is today one of my all time favorite R&B singers. I wasn't too familiar with the genre growing up and of course being young I haven't developed any musical abilities. It was thanks to Aaliyah why I fell in love with the R&B genre.

This Biopic was utterly a DISASTER. I really can't describe it in any other words. Here are a few reasons just off the top of my head...

1. The songs

Aaliyah's family did not sell the rights of her music to the producers. So Alexandra Shipp (Actress who played Aaliyah) had to sing all the songs. You cannot have a biopic without the original songs. It is like making hot chocolate without the chocolate. It just doesn't work. Shipp is a talented actress and singer but her voice is nothing close to Aaliyah and with films like these you need to be close as possible. Another issue with the songs is the selection. Instead of Aaliyah's most popular songs like Try Again and One in a Million Shipp ended up doing covers like Save the Best by Vanessa Williams and Marvin Gaye's Got to Give it Up. Again why was this film made?

2. Casting

Can we please discuss some of the casting they did for this film? Missy Elliot, like seriously what the heck were the casting directors thinking. And the actor who played Aaliyah's brother Rashad who looked a lot like Drake and happens to be an actor on Degrassi just like Drake was. I was shaking my head so much I gave myself a migraine.

3. Wendy Williams

I don't personally have any issues with Wendy. I do like her talk show. But she really didn't have any business being a part of this project. It was pretty clear before Aaliyah died that Wendy was not one of Aaliyah's favorite people. So it just kinda seems she is just monopolizing on Aaliyah and not really honoring her true memory. 

4. R. Kelly

I was glad that they portrayed the relationship between R. Kelly and Aaliyah since it was such a big part of not only her personal life but professional life (Age ain't Nothin But a Number- one of her biggest hits). However they way they portrayed it made it a little too heartbreaking and not really focusing on the fact that Aaliyah was only 15 when she married the 27 year old R&B legend. And not to mention he's had a thing for underage girls for quite away. It seemed too Romeo and Juliet.

Honestly I could go on and on but who has the time. Although the film was pretty bad I did enjoy how they portrayed Aaliyah's relationship with her family who she was very close too especially her grandmother which reminds me of my relationship with mine. Overall I really do hope someday someone will make a decent and honorable movie about Aaliyah. She was truly a legend and this film just doesn't do her justice. The full film is available on YouTube in case you missed it on Lifetime. 

LINK TO FILM 

JINGLE JINGLE (Christmas Recipes)- Nutella Hot Chocolate

Hey hey y'all! Welcome back to my annual JINGLE JINGLE posts where I share my favorite and delicious Christmas holiday recipes. Today I am going to share with you guys one of my favorite hot drinks that is perfect for the cold weather.

What you will need: Serves 4

 4-6 Tablespoons of Nutella

4 cups Whole Milk

1 1/2 cup Half & Half 

Whipped Cream

Cinnamon

Chopped Hazelnuts

Semi sweet Chocolate Chips

How to make:

Put your milk and half & half into a large pot and bring to a boil. After it starts to boil immediately turn down the heat to a low medium and begin to stir in your Nutella and a handful of semi sweet chocolate chips. One all melted and combined pour into a mug and top with whipped cream, chopped hazelnuts and a little bit of cinnamon. ENJOY!!! 

Review: Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara (NEW)

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara in 00 Blackest Black

PACKAGING:

-Comes in a pretty milky lavender pink tube, very similar to their Pumped Up mascara.

-Contains .32 FL OZ of product

-Available at drugstores and drugstore retailers nationwide 

-Prices will vary upon the store of purchase but average retail is $6-8 

FORMULATION:

Maybelline mascaras are some of the best mascaras in the drugstore beauty market. They have a formula for pretty much all your lash needs. 

This particular one has also become a much loved favorite in a short amount of time. This mascara claims to give a full fan effect and it definitely lives up to its claims. This mascara gave me nice full and long lashes without much flaking. The pigmentation is also very nice and wear time will vary depending on your lashes. I had this on for about 5-6 hours without any issues. It comes with a rubber brush that is pretty flexible which will help you reach those pesky little inner corner lashes despite the large size.

The one thing I do have a little problem with is the texture of the formula. It is a bit on the wetter side. I personally prefer drier formulas but every person is different so definitely give this a try!

OVERALL:

4.8/5