Different Ways to Use Conditioner

Many of us use conditioner and take it for granted... it can commonly be viewed as the step after Shampooing where you slather it all over your hair and then wash it out. Keep reading to find out various ways to use conditioner in your daily routine. All of these tips and tricks are suitable for men or women!

Washing Your Hair

Do you notice that your hair gets greasy frequently? This could be because Conditioner is not meant to be applied all over your hair, it is a smoothing treatment which is meant to be applied to your hair from your ears down. If you try to skip applying the Conditioner above where your ears are, you will see that your hair will be less limp, have more volume and stay non-greasy for a longer period of time.

Shaving With Conditioner, Skip The Shave Gel

Do you run out of shave gel often and forget to re-purchase? Are you sick of spending extra money on yet another beauty product you wish you could double-down on? A great tip is using Conditioner as shave gel. Conditioner will foam less but create a nice slippery barrier between your razor blade and skin, letting you get in for a closer shave. The added benefit is that the hydrating properties of your Conditioner will leave your skin feeling softer, smoother and more moisturized than ever. This can be used on your face, legs, arm-pits or anywhere else you may want to shave! I live by this trick and I love the results!

Reversing Shampoo and Conditioner

If you find that you have dry, brittle hair with no shine and that may be difficult to comb out, you can try this neat trick I picked up. If you reverse the order in which you apply shampoo and conditioner, you will be left with soft, supple and more moisturized hair. The proper way to go about changing your routine is to apply your conditioner when you would have shampooed and rub it specifically on the ends of your hair. Then leave the conditioner in your hair for a few minutes before gently rinsing some of it out. I would advise you to leave some of it still in your hair as you apply shampoo so that the shampoo doesn't completely strip your hair of moisture. I typically shampoo my hair very quickly because I don't want the reaction to take away all of the conditioning goodness. Then, you can rinse your hair out and you will find that your hair is more detangled, softer and generally healthier looking.

This method works for my hair but I have slightly wavy, fine hair. However, this may not work for overly curly or kinky hair as the shampooing final step may leave you with more frizz than before. If this is your situation, you might want to pre-shampoo with coconut or argan oil, or even apply a hair mask before your regular washing.

Non-conventional Uses for Conditioner
I have put together a list of unconventional and unique different ways to use conditioner:

1. Massage your cuticles with conditioner in place of cuticle oil (lip balm works for this as well)
2. Use gentle conditioner as a makeup remover in a pinch (I don't recommend this one if you have sensitive eyes)
3. Deep-clean and condition your makeup brushes with conditioner to leave them soft
4. You can use a small amount as fabric softener when you're doing laundry, also can be used to wash silk "Dry Clean Only" clothes
5.  Conditioner can be used to shine stainless steel, prevent tools from rusting, and even unclogging drains
6. Remove rings that are stuck on your finger by applying conditioner on the skin

I hope you found this article helpful and that it may have given you some new ideas about how to use a product we all have laying around the bathroom!

Beautyblender Dupe Sponges Round-Up

Beautyblender dupe sponges: SOHO Beauty Sponge (Coral), SOHO Petal Pop Beauty Sponges (Turquoise), Miss Adoro Beauty Sponge (Light Purple), Models Own Makeup Blending Sponge (Pink) - all sponges shown dry

I have rounded up various beauty sponges from different companies which try to duplicate or improve-upon the traditional Beautyblender. Since the Beautyblender can be quite expensive, around $17 for one, I chose more affordable options to show you.  The above photo shows the sponges in their natural state, they are not damp.

You can find the SOHO Beauty Sponges (in Coral and Turquoise) at Walgreens or online, the Miss Adoro Beauty Sponge is something I picked up from TJ Maxx (but have also seen them at Marshall's), and Urban Outfitters carries the Models Own Makeup Blending Sponge (it comes in a duo).

Beautyblender dupe sponges: SOHO Beauty Sponge (Coral), SOHO Petal Pop Beauty Sponges (Turquoise), Miss Adoro Beauty Sponge (Light Purple), Models Own Makeup Blending Sponge (Pink) - all sponges shown wet

After running the sponges through warm running water for a few seconds and wringing the excess out, you can see that the SOHO Beauty Sponges (Coral & Turquoise) have increased in size as well as the Miss Adoro Beauty Sponge. However, I see no change in the Models Own sponge's size.

To the touch, the softest sponges are the SOHO Beauty sponges, with the Miss Adoro sponge as a close second, and the Models Own sponge is very dense and hard comparatively.

Models Own Makeup Blending Sponge

Firstly, I have to say that I do not recommend the Models Own Makeup Blending Sponge, it is very dense, doesn't really hold on to moisture (this is reflected in the fact that when it is damp it does not increase in size) and is very difficult to blend anything with. Trying to use this sponge is akin to punching yourself in the face with a stuffed animal... it wasn't a pleasant experience and I have sponges I use to wash dishes which are much softer than this! This sponge sells in a duo pack which retails for $8.00 at Urban Outfitters.

Miss Adoro Sponge

I picked this sponge up at TJ Maxx for the very affordable price of $3.99 and I have been very pleasantly surprised by how useful the shape of it is. The top corner of it is useful for reaching under the eye to pack on concealer and the flatter edge is well-suited for buffing foundation into the skin. The contoured side edges are great for reaching around the nostrils to get foundation or concealer well-concentrated in that area. The sponge is soft, not quite as soft as a Beautyblender, but I found it very pleasant to use and it didn't seem to soak up too much product. This sponge expands when wet to about 33% larger than its original size, making it easier to cover a larger surface.

SOHO Beauty Sponge

The coral-colored SOHO Beauty Sponge (found at Walgreens) is my personal favorite (cost $7.99). The shape is ideal for reaching the inner corner under my eyes, the sides of my nose, and around my eyebrows for precise coverage with concealer and foundation. The sponge grows substantially in size when wet, doesn't seem to waste product (it seems to soak up even less than the Miss Adoro sponge) and is the softest. It has an elongated shape so that you can cover a larger surface area when patting it on the side to buff in foundation, and I found that this saves me time in the morning.

SOHO Petal Pop Beauty Sponges - Leftmost petal is pictured damp

The Turquoise SOHO Petal Pop Beauty Sponges come in a six-pack and retail for $9.99 at Walgreens (that's a pretty great deal for 6 quality sponges!). When wet, you can see that the sponge becomes about 33% larger and they are equally as soft as the Coral SOHO Beauty Sponge. These are my second-favorite of the sponges, since they have a nicely rounded edge for buffing foundation and two different corners. One of the corners has a sharper edge for more precise concealer buffing, I find this specifically useful for when I'm cleaning up the outer corners of my eyeshadow. The outer corner is more rounded, which works very well for blending out concealer in the inner corner under my eye. I really recommend these sponges if you're on a budget and you're looking for an airbrushed look to your foundation/concealer.

Product Review: L'Oreal Silkissime Eyeliner (in Highlighter)

L'Oreal Silkissime Waterproof Eyeliner (Shade: Highlighter)

Recently, I picked up a L'Oreal Paris Silkissime Waterproof Eyeliner in Highlighter from my local Walgreens since I have seen so many rave reviews for this product. I am happy to get to put this to the test myself, and after using it for a couple of days I have formulated my final thoughts on this. Now, this review cannot be for all of the different shades, as I have not tried them, but it will be for the shade Highlighter. I think the name is fitting because as I was purchasing this, I specifically wanted to use it to give my eyes a more "awaken" and refreshed look.

The shade is a neutral pink when swatched, you can see the opacity of the shade with just one swipe and above that, what it looks like when it is layered. These are not the type of liners to use for smudging because they set quickly. The formula of these eyeliners doesn't claim to be creamy, and I find that they are fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of how easily they apply. There doesn't seem to be much tugging when laying the color down, but it doesn't feel overly smooth or soft, either (this might be because the formula is waterproof).

This eyeliner is not a twist-up pencil, it is a traditional pencil and will require conventional sharpening (a sharpener is not included).

When applied, I had to layer the shade on about 5-6x in order to get a good amount of pigmentation on my lower lash line, and even though the formula is waterproof, it is not completely smudge-proof. If your eyes water, the liner may not have a chance to set in your waterline after application if it does not "cure" while your eyes are dry - this is what happened to me. I did apply the liner in the waterline AND lashline, and you can see here after about 30 minutes of wear, it had entirely disappeared from my waterline, but was holding up well on my lower lashline.

Overall, I don't think that this eyeliner is far superior to the Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude, specifically in the shade Highlighter, but I do recommend it if you like the color. I have tried gel-formula eyeliners by Makeon which are much more long-wearing in a similar rose color (shade name is Falling in Love), if you want a gentle, softer-applying formula. I would wait to pick up the L'Oreal Silkissime eyeliners on sale, as I do think that the retail price can be a little steep for the quality (regularly $8.99).

HOT DEAL! 50% OFF Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette & 66% OFF Nail Polish

Great news! The limited edition Pulp Fiction Palette by Urban Decay, which was released during the summer of 2014, is now 50% off at both Ulta and Urban Decay's website (I originally ordered this palette and you can check out my full review of it here). The original price of the palette was $34 and it's now on sale for $16 (that's even more than half!)

I am able to create stunning everyday and dramatic looks, for an example, I created this Mrs. Mia Wallace Eyes of the Day post using just the Pulp Fiction Palette.

I'm not sure why this palette wasn't more popular, since I find that it has become my go to over any of the Naked palettes and even the Naked Basics palette. The shades have a good matte variety so it's easy to pair them with any other more colorful shadows you may have.

The even better deal is the Pulp Fiction Nail Color that was released in this collection, which is now 66% off on the Urban Decay website! The color is a vibrant oxblood, deep red with a slight shimmer. It originally retailed for $15, but was marked down to $5!!

Product Review & Swatches: Cargo Shanghai Nights (Ulta Online Exclusive)

I'm so excited! I received my Cargo Shanghai Nights Palette from Ulta and I got a chance to take photos, do some swatches & create a look to show you! I was super drawn to this palette from when I first saw the promo photos of it because it has nice shades of gold, bronze, taupe, bright blue and purple! I think there's a great variety of colors to create a multitude of looks.

Now, I have to tell you the truth, I had never touched a Cargo eyeshadow before this, but I had a hunch they may be decent because they came highly regarded by Marlena from MakeupGeek during one of her videos. And let me tell you, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the quality, they are similar to the Lorac eyeshadows, but they feel even more smooth, buttery and richly pigmented to me, I noticed very little powdering from the mattes (this is to be expected of all mattes, though).

The packaging of the Shanghai Nights palette is to die for! It has a nice weight to it, although it's made of reinforced cardboard and its covered by a plastic overlay, it feels sturdier than some plastic palettes I own. I would feel very confident traveling with it and knowing it won't break. You are receiving a nice amount of product for $39, it contains 12 eyeshadows, each at 0.03oz (or 0.8g) - for comparison, MAC eyeshadow singles are 0.05oz full size (or 1.5g). The price here is amazing, this palette retails for $39 regularly, but I picked it up during Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty Sale for $20!

The eyeshadows consist of a wide variety of brow-bone shades (Neon, Hu), crease/transition shades (Wai Tai, Bund, Jin Mao), pops of color (Lychee, Jade, Bar Rouge, Skyline) and shades with depth to them (Street Style, Night life). 

I noticed right away that there were 4 mattes (Wai Tai, Skyline, Bund and Hu), 5 metallic shades (Lychee, Jin Mao, Street Style, Ginger, Jade), 2 satin shades (Neon, Bar Rouge) and 1 glitter shade (Night Life).

So not only is there a great variety of shades that can be used for different purposes, but there are also many finishes in this versatile palette. All of the shades in this palette are limited edition.

Bonus! It even comes with a dual-ended eyeshadow/liner brush, which I used to complete my look today. This brush is versatile because one end can be used to pack on eyeshadow and the other end can be used for more precise application under your lower lash line and above your lash line as well. The bristles are flexible and soft.

These shadows were not applied over primer, they are very richly pigmented, the only one that wasn't as vibrant as I was expecting was Skyline which appears as a gem-tone blue in the pan but swatches more like a navy. I was extremely impressed with Wai Tai and Bund, they are very rich and smooth shades, especially for mattes, and they were very easy to blend out. Jin Mao and Lychee performed very well and true to the shades in the pan and Neon was a tad sheer, but very pleasant.

Night Life was much more pigmented than the black from the Everything Nice palette I reviewed last week, and I found during application that much of the glitter doesn't really stick to the eyeshadow itself and therefore won't show up much, if at all (I'm perfectly fine with this!). Bar Rouge is a stunner, I love this fuchsia reddish purple shade. Jade was also less its namesake and more of an army green with shimmer. Hu, Street Style and Ginger looked exactly the same when applied or swatched as they did in the pan.

Here's the look that I create today with the Cargo Shanghai Nights palette:

I used a whopping 8 shades in my look and I feel that it didn't turn out muddy at all and you can see precisely where I placed each shade, even though I did some major blending! The performance of this palette was spectacular and I highly recommend it. It has treated me better than many of my higher end palettes and I am very excited to start collecting Cargo's Limited Edition palettes.

Here's a guide to show you where I placed each shadow if you own the palette and want to try out this look!

7 New Holiday Makeup Gift Sets (Tarte, Too Faced, bareMinerals, Smashbox, Clinique)

I wanted to do an update post about makeup items that have already been released for the Holiday Season. I won't be re-mentioning the ones that I have already posted about, so if you're interested in the Too Faced Everything Nice and La Belle Carousel sets as well as the Anastasia Tamanna palette, you can check them out in my previous posts.

The bareMinerals READY Convertible Eyeshadow Palette ($39) is an ingenious little gift. You can purchase this set and pop out the inner top third piece of the compact to take "to go" and the 12 eyeshadows are convertible so you can pop them in and out - thus you can create your ideal eyeshadow trio! This is a really cool idea, I like the color selection, and if the quality is anything like the regular READY eyeshadows, this would make a great gift set for the holidays.

The Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette ($39) is another 12 eyeshadow palette, full of glorious shimmery gem-tones, a few highlight shades and some smokier shades. This is a great gift for a shimmer lover or someone who prefers bolder makeup. The pigmentation is smooth, the glitter isn't very chunky and I think this set is very reasonably priced, it is however much smaller in person.

For classic lovers of Clinique, try A Black Honey Affair palette ($36). This palette features 8 mauves, nudes and browns to create everyday looks. These shades were all inspired by the cult classic Black Honey lipstick shade.

Tarte's Brush With Destiny set features 5 bamboo brushes and a beautiful travel case ($44). Each set features the following brushes:

• contourtuinist bambo cream blush & contour brush
• the balancing act bamboo foundation brush
• the buffer airbrush finish bamboo foundation brush
• double-ended bamboo eyeshadow brush
• undercover lover bamboo concealer brush

Too Faced Beauty Wishes & Sweet Kisses set ($34) is an adorable bronze themed gift for the beauty in your life. It features 3 cocoa-infused eyeshadows from the Chocolate Bar Eye shadow palette, a matte Chocolate Soleil bronzer and the Sun Bunny bronzer as well as a deluxe version of La Creme Gloss in Naked Dolly (to be released Spring 2015).

If you're gifting someone who is a huge lover of Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes, you'll be happy to know there's a deluxe, limited edition set Chic to Cheek ($35) which includes the following colors:

• amour (candy pink)
• classic (soft apricot pink)
• prim (plum nude)
• daydream (rosy pink)

bareMinerals has yet another great value, the Magic Act ($39) set featuring 6 of their Ready eyeshadows, 3 blushes and a luminizer.

• Eye Shadows: Celebrate (yellow cream), Fortune (light pink), Shazam (pink), A-ha (brown champagne), Pumped (bronze brown), Foreshadow (brown truffle)
• Blushes: The Close Call (bronze taupe), The Natural High (gold peach), and The Indecent Proposal (plum)
• Luminizer: The Premiere

Stay tuned for my next post all about the Urban Decay Holiday 2014 new releases!

Too Faced Everything Nice: Eyes of the Day Look

Too Faced - Everything Nice Night-time Look - Ambient Lighting

I just couldn't wait to create a look with the Too Faced Everything Nice palette I reviewed yesterday, so today I decided to achieve this Night-time look with quite a few of the colors in the palette. I also started this out with a Daytime look for those of you who are into a more subtle eyeshadow application. I'll show you which colors I used from the palette to create this look.

Too Faced - Everything Nice Daytime Look - Natural Lighting

For the daytime look, I kept it simple and classy, appropriate for work and not too dramatic, this is why I skipped out on using a black eyeliner and just applied mascara (in this case I used L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara). I did not apply any makeup to my lower lash line - I usually avoid doing this in the daytime because if there is a good amount of sunshine, it can be irritating to my eyes and I can tear up, causing makeup to smear.

First, I used Dream On in my crease in a sweeping motion, to create the backdrop for my crease shade.
Then I used Be You as my crease shade in a more precise usage than Dream On. All Over You was applied all over the lid and blended into my crease shade. Turtle Dove was applied to feature out my crease transition as a browbone highlight, right under my eyebrows. Secret Lovers was applied to the outer corner of my eyelid in a V-shape to create a 3D effect.

Too Faced - Everything Nice Night-time Look - Natural Lighting

 For Night-time, I wanted to vamp up the look and really pump it up full of saturated colors, since the lighting becomes more dim, I wanted the colors to really pop and stand on their own.

Too Faced - Everything Nice Night-time Look - Natural Lighting

You can see that my basic look is the same as the Daytime look because I essentially just built on from there, adding on top. Another big difference is the addition of liquid eyeliner at the very end and layering it with Chocolate Moon to get a sparkly slightly smoked out, fully opaque effect. 

I added Too Glam to the inner third of my lower lash line and Head Over Heels to the outer third (be careful with this shade because the large glitter particles can hurt your eyes if you don't stick to the outer edge of your lashes). I warmed up my crease color to by adding more pink to the transition shade using Kindness is Free with a very light hand. Then I took this same shade and went in a large V-shape below the outer third of my bottom lash line for continuity and so there is no harsh break between my skin and the dark navy blue (Head Over Heels).

Too Faced - Everything Nice Night-time Look - Ambient Lighting

 Hope you guys enjoy these looks and I'll try to use the other shades from the Everything Nice Set an upcoming Eyes of the Day post! If you're interested, you can purchase it at Sephora.