MakeupAlley Swap Haul

Hey girls. So im currently on project '5' pan.. and finding it extremely difficut. I dont understand how project ten panners do it, I havent even finished one product yet! Im definately getting there though, and have a couple of things I think will be finished soon including no7 perfect and protect day cream and 2true concealer. However one thing that has made it a little easier is a makeup alley swap I did last week. I dont think its cheating as its getting rid of something ive already got that I dont use! So I swapped a revlon colourstay which was too light for me (I had held out hope it would be ok in winter - it wasnt!) and a lancome juicy tube for the products below..

The Body Shop Mineral Foundation Brush

This was brand new in the wrapping, I had seen it in the body shop and felt it and thought it was amazingly soft! It really does have a gorgeous silky feel. Ive actually been using it mainly to apply blush and it does a great job, it has replaced my MAC 168 for blush, it just gives a really gorgeous pigmented yet blended look. It also comes with a handy little pouch for travelling ect. Love it.

Rimmel Shine Tempation Lipstick In '112 Tease'

 

This was also brand new. Havent actually tried this on the lips yet as they are in really bad conditon at the moment (reccomendations for actual lip fixers rather than just barriers please?!) but the swatch on my hand is gorgeous. Also seen some really great reviews on this on makeupalley. It has a really nice smell which is kind of watermelony!

YSL Tinted Matt Moisturiser

Firstly, sorry to be random, but the misspelling of matte above is actually the way they spell it on the product. I wonder if this was deliberate? Lol! Anyway, this had previously been used but I was aware of that and not too fussed, I have worn this today and it is pretty nice. Its actually the first tinted moisturiser ive tried. The colour is just a smide darker than my actual skintone, but that is the colour I tend to go for anyway because I like to add a smidge of colour to my skin (I know alot of people dont agree with this but it works for me!) so suprisingly it was perfect on the colour front for me. It has lasted really well for a tinted moisturiser, the only bad thing is the 'matt' finish, I had to add Fix plus at the end too give it a dewy look which I like. However, I know alot of people prefer a matte finish so this isnt really a general bad point, just personal to me. I will definately use it up as its just so easy when you dont want to have a lots of makeup day, but when it runs out ill be trying some less matte tinted moisturisers :)

Have you girls tried any of these? Do you have any other reccomendations?

Top 5 Nail Polishes

1 - OPI 'My Private Jet' This is not limited to just this shade, I've got a bit of a love for OPI polishes at the moment. I'm sure we all know about joliebeautystore on ebay now after lollipop26 mentioned them and I've got to say, they really are great. I've even ordered more this evening, can't wait until they arrive! However I picked My Private Jet because it's on my nails right now and it's the one I got most recently (today actually!!). Just a gorgeous dark yet shimmery shade that I can't get enough of!

2 - Revlon 'Revlon Red' This might sound really silly but I feel so sexy when I wear this on my nails. There's just something about red nail polish that makes me feel good and this is my ultimate favourite.

3 - Barry M 'Raspberry' Barry M nail polishes are all great value for money at £2.95. I've got a few of them but this one is my favourite. My mum keeps trying to steal it so have to hide this one away! haha. Always reach for this or my 'number 5' favourite when I can't decide what colour to wear.

4 - Rimmel Pro 'Beige Style' For me, the perfect nude nail polish and I was searching for quite a while! I also love the 'professional brush'. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not the best at applying nail polish, I can be messy and often have to reach for the cotton buds whilst painting them but this brush eliminates all of my mistakes. Brilliant!

5 - Collection 2000 'Dynasty' As I said above, one of my two 'go-to' polishes. This is the most beautiful purpley pink colour and at £1.79, you really can't go wrong. I also love the shade 'Button Moon' which I also recommend you pick up.

So, that's my top 5 nail polishes. I know I cheated a bit by mentioning others but these shades really are my ultimate favourites, for now anyway! I'm sure there'll be another polish that will knock my socks off sooner or later. I ordered two OPI polishes 'Got a Date To-Knight' and 'Mad as a Hatter' from the Alice in Wonderland collection today and can't wait to recieve those in the post!

I'd love to hear what your top 5 are and if you, like me, love any of the polishes I've mentioned.

Update

For Halloween I did my friends makeup to replicate Kat Von D, and I posted a picture, but I finally got more pictures of her look. What do you think? All the temporary tats are from Temptu. Her lipstick is Nars Dragon Girl lip pencil. Eye Shadow Kat Von D Blue palette.

I've decided The Falsies mascara I've been using on the daily isn't doing the trick like it used to, so I went back to an oldie: CoverGirl Lash Blast. I'll be trying it out tomorrow, hopefully it'll do the charm.

Update on my rockin abs: Since I'm trying to get awesome abs by spring, I've been on a diet. A basic diet, making sure I don't over eat, or eat any sugars. I want my exercise to be less complex, so my eating habits are very important. Right now I have my "dot" so it's really hard to resist my cravings. I can proudly say I didn't dive into the cupcakes my mom had hidden in the house. I sat my ass on the couch with a glass of water, and sucked it up. It made me feel awesome coming up to my room to write this, not before looking in the mirror of course, to see all my hard work is starting to pay off. I've lost 3 lbs. just from watching my food intake, although I'm not trying to lose weight, I knew changing my diet would effect my weight. I can't wait to post my before and after pictures in a few months. ;)

xox

Laura Beth

How I lost the lbs. and my plans for rockin abs!

Someone recenty asked if I could blog about how I lost the weight I wanted to lose last year. So I wanted to share my dieting tricks.

First thing I did was blog about my weight loss need. I asked if anyone wanted to join in on losing weight and we could email one another to encourage eachother. I am a very goal oriented person, so once everyone is expecting something from me, I never want to let them down. So along with 14 fellow bloggers and my mother, I began to dedicate my days to losing the pounds.

My ending weight was 107 lbs.

Other then email motivation, I aso had to exercise and eat well.

Ever night I did crunches. Increasing my numbers every 2 days. I was doing over 500 crunches in just a few days. But keep in mind I've been doing crunches since I was 13. My mother who never does crunches was doing about 25-50. She found it easier after a week to do a bit more.

My mother and I went walking every other day.

That was basically all the exercise I did. But just the walking and crunches really helped tone my body, because rather than my mom and I sitting around eatting by the tv, we broke our habits and did something active.

The hardest part for me was dieting. I love food! So I had to continue to eat the foods I love, but in moderation. I avoided snacking on too much sugar though.

This is an example of my everyday meal plan:

Meal Outlook of the day:
Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Jelly on whole wheat
Starbucks mocha Frappucino with no whip cream (barely drank it though)
Lunch: Tuna Salad with 1 slice of whole wheat bread and mixed berry yogurt
Dinner: Chicken with brown gravy, brown rice, and spinach

This was the way I ate for about 2 weeks, and I reached my goal quickly.

Now this year I want to tone my body into tip top shape. So I plan on doing a hardcore workout to intensify my body. I want rockin abs! So my first step was to purchase the Ab Rocket. It's an ab workout that uses resistance to shape up your muscles. I'll be starting it tomorrow, plus doing some extra cardio. I'm also watching what foods I eat, to make sure I can reach my 6 pack goal asap! I'll take before and after pictures once my goal is reached.

Wish me luck!

xox

Laura Beth

Dior show 360 mascara- flop?

Another mascara from Dior just came out. It's called Dior show 360, because it's a rotating mascara. It turns right or left for all hand types, and also to help while painting lower or upper lashes. It's the same wax based formula from all the Dior show mascaras.

My opinion: Is it really necessary? Like we can't just do the good old fashion wiggling of the hand while applying our own drug store brand favorites. I will obviously not be purchasing this mascara. If I get one from the company to try via work, I'll let you know the deal. But for $36, no thanks.

What do you think? Is this product a must have or a flop?

xox

Laura Beth

New hair/ FOTD/ Whiter teeth

Two days ago I got my hair did! lol. I decided to go with choice no. 1 which was Jennifer Aniston's natural highlights look. It's delicate and livens up the face.

Check it out:

My new hair color brought some spunk into my eyeshadow today. With all the changes in my look lately I've been getting really excited to try more colors and changes. I went shopping for a new wardrobe, whitened my teeth, and now colored my hair. So my next move was only naturally to spunk up my eyes. Check out the shadow of the day:

Plus my new sparkiling white teeth. I used Target's cheaper whitening brand ($19). I didn't want to purchase an over priced whitener when the cheaper brand obviously does the same thing. Sometimes cheaping out doesn't work well, this is not one of those times... check it out:

Not the best picture, but the results are awesome! I can't wait to rock my brightest red lipstick!

xox

Laura Beth

Next post will be about my weight loss, and how I lost 12 lbs.

Decisions, decisions.

As one of my beauty New Year resolutions I will be adding some life to my hair. I want everyone's helping chosing a style. I'm adding highlights. I want it to be fun and natural. Which of these do you think I should go with?


Choice 1:


Choice 2:

Choice 3:
And this is my current natural hair:

Thanks for helping out.

xox

Laura Beth

I'm back!!!

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Contest Winners!/ blogging break!!

I just emailed the winners of my contests!! Congrats guys!

I will be taking a couple months off from blogging. All contest winners will recieve their gifts asap. I need to take a break and clear my mind and get my creative juices flowing again.

Hopefully I'll be back by Feb.

Thanks all for the support

xox
Laura Beth

"Christmas is in the air" FOTD

Yesterday morning I woke up and it smelt like snow. I swear you can smell it when it's coming, and then today it snowed! Just a few sprinkles of snow but I witnessed it right after the Macy's parade and Santa was shown. SO cute!



Since I was in the Christmas spirit, I followed my makeup according to my feelings. So I did a Sparkly smoky eye with red lip:

Eye Shadow: Urban Decay Uzi and Oil Slick

Lips: Sephora Matte Raspberry pencil and Maybelline Lip Diamonds glodd in red

I'm so in love with my new red scarf too! It goes so well with my black peacoat.
So ready for snow and hot chocolate!

xox Laura Beth

My 5 seconds of fame!

Francesco and I made the local paper, for the contest we entered to win an engagment ring. With all the support from our community, friends, family and blogging pals. We made the top 7, out of thousands!

Thank you all for the support!

To vote click here

To view the paper: click here.

Don't forget to enter my contest: Give a Helping hand!

xox Laura Beth

My face is stressing!

All day today, I've been studying with a sulfur mask dabbed in certain areas on my face.

I am definitely a hormonal girl, because once a month, when I get "my dot" I get those random blemishes. Plus to boot, I've been getting acne from stress as well. School is not helping, every time I turn around I have another exam waiting for me. So I need help!

My skin type is: combination-dry/ weather effects me

I suffer from eczema, luckily not on my face.

I need HELP! What can I do to stop the break out cycle!

Things that I think help:

1. I drink ALOT of water.

2. I avoid soda because I think corn syrup causes me to break out.

3. Ever since I started BC my skin has cleared alot.

Things that DON'T help:

1. Proactiv, ek, made it worse, for me anyway.


I'm not saying I have a spotted face, but who are we kidding, 1-3 blemishes is enough to cause a stir in my book. Plus, They're always monsterous! I wish I was the girl that had a black head and was complaining, but noooo.

Any secrets you want to share?

Perhaps I need to take up yoga?

xox Laura Beth

And my christmas list begins...

New on sephora.com is this set from MUFE. I know I have more than half the stuff in this training case, and yet I need to have this. It's $299 online only. I am adding this to my christmas list!

What do you think? Is this a good deal?

xox
Laura Beth

FOTD w/ Kat Von D inspiration!

I recently purchased the Temptu's limited edition Kat Von D temporary tattoos for my friends Halloween costume. But I just couldn't resist when I saw them in my room today. So here it is...

Okay, first, this morning for class I went more natural:

But after class I added some spunk:



The lip is Sephora collection's new long lasting lip pencils in Raspberry, I love this color!



Don't forget to enter my contest!

xox
Laura Beth

Double Trouble Contest Winners/ much more..

First off this year for Halloween I had to work, so I decided not to invest too much in my costume. I bought a $5 sparkle be dazzle cat ear headband and rocked my cat eye, hardcore!

Check it out:
I'm a vicious cat, lol.
My hair was so soft and curly, I was in love with it all day because it actually stayed curly because of John Frieda's Frizz Ease Moisture Barrier Hair spray. Love it!

I dolled my best friend up this Halloween as Kat Von D, we did tattoos all up her arm, neck and of course her signature stars on her face. What do you think:

Okay now for the winners of the contest:

I used random.org to pick the winners this time around, there was such an overwhelming amount of participants. Thank you to everyone for all the daily support on my blog posts. I really love to write and I'm glad you all like to hear the things I'm thinking.

If you didn't win, no worries, I'll be hosting another contest soon. You know how I roll, I love to give surprises. So stay posted for more fun chances. ;)

Okay here we go!!

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!

First price goes to: Miss Nikka

Second Prize goes to: Jenny (from Canada)

Congratualtions Ladies! Please get in touch with me via email within 48 hours.

On a super cute note:

My neice decided to help me do my hair this morning. How cute is she! I love her!

xox Laura Beth

Huge!!!

I need a favor, my boyfriend and I entered this contest: for an amazing engagment ring. Help us win by voting for us. You can vote on all the things we've submitted, please spread the word. Thank you! Here is the link

Our team name: The next step to-get-"her"

oxox

Laura Beth

A girls first makeup product results/ FOTN

I recently took a poll on my blog asking,"What should be a girls first makeup product?" I was really surprized by the results and here they are:

What should be a girls first makeupproduct?
nailpolish: 9 (21%)
lip gloss: 15 (35%)
blush: 3 (7%)
mascara: 15 (35%)

It's a tie between lip gloss and mascara!! Anyone want to break that tie, then write below what you think the winner should be. I thought the winner was going to be nail polish, it was my first makeup product, and it's the first thing I ever did on my niece. She does love to play with makeup though. She'll run into my room and go straight for my $60 powder brush and any cosmetics she can get her hands on. The cutest thing is she knows the difference between lipgloss and lipbalm. She's a beauty queen at heart. She knows blush goes on your cheeks and mascara on your eyes, and etc.. She's such a girl! She makes her Aunt proud :)

Here she is caught red handed, lol:


Last night I had a batism to go to and I really wanted to feel pretty. Lately I've been getting hormonal acne in my chin area, I'm guessing due to stress of midterms. So I've been using Peter Thomas Roth- Sulfur Masque to zap those problems away. It definitely helped, and quick, so I was able to enjoy my party with confidence.



My hair was a main focus on my look. I really wanted a soft curl like Kim K would do, so I tried my best. My makeup was a smoked out eyeliner (top and bottom) with a Sephora lip gloss in Rosy Glow. The rest of my look is part of my normal routine.



This was the view on from the car window on the way to the party. How gorgeous:



The most beautiful thing in the world to me is sunrise and sunset. I want to travel the world and take pictures of the sunrise and sunsets all around the world. It's on my bucket list ;)

xox
Laura Beth

Sweet Treat news/ false tats!

I'm really obsessed with temporary tattoos from Temptu, they are awesome! Have you ever tried them? Check them out here.

For those who entered my sweet treat, I sent out emails to the winners; however, since the link has leaked on the internet anyway.. Here it is..


xox
Laura Beth

A sweet treat for my dedicated followers!

A sweet treat for my followers! I know I have some dedicated followers, that always comment on my posts and make me smile. So I would like to make you guys smile too! For TWO of my followers I'm going to offer my friends and family discount at Sephora. The offer is ONLINE ONLY, 20% off your whole purchase (valid 10/22-11/3).

What do you need to do?

1. Write below a brief story of something that made you smile recently.
Along with your email.

I will be picking the 2 winners at random in 4 days (10/21).

Something that made me smile recently was going pumpkin/apple picking with my man. I had a fever, but he's been promising to take me for years. So I dragged my bootie out of bed and sucked it up for a few hours. I don't regret it at all. It was so fun :)


xox Laura Beth

:)