Kenra

One thing I am not quite experienced with is picking out new hair care products.  I have a thing for trying out new brands when it comes to picking out any shampoo or conditioner.  However, there are so many brands out there that it kind of becomes overwhelming.  So when Ulta was having their 1 liter bottle sale a few weeks ago I kind of went a little crazy trying to pick out which one to buy.

Ultimately I went with the Kenra line, which I have never tried or really even heard about.  The description of the products sounded right for my hair type and with the deal Ulta was offering (about $15 per liter bottle) it was definitely a nice way to try it out for a steal.

I have fine hair with a little bit of a natural wave to it, and it has been lightened.  So the type of shampoo and conditioner I usually go for are the more lightweight types that is volumizing.  Anything that will give my hair some body and lift.

Both of the Kenra Shampoo and Conditioner work amazingly well for me.  I was quite surprised because I didn't think it'll actually give my hair the added volume.  After a nice shower with the two products, my hair feels soft and looks incredibly healthy.  I don't even have to give it a blowdry for any volume (which really cuts down on heat damage).  The formula is quite moisturizing, leaving my hair smooth even through the second day.

The products are incredibly lightweight, and just lather wonderfully.  The only thing that bothers me about the product is that both the shampoo and conditioner smells like sweet candy.  This may not be a problem for most people though, I am just sensitive to sweeter smells.  Otherwise, I am definitely happy with the risk I took picking up full liter bottles of these at such a great price.  They'll definitely go a long way.

xoxo,

Eve

L'Oreal, The Old and The New

It's been a while since I've wandered around the drugstore beauty aisles, so I've definitely fallen behind on what's new these days.  However, when I found myself in need of a replacement liquid eyeliner I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.

Of course I wanted to pick up my old favorte, the L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Liner as my replacement liner.  I've been using the L'Oreal liquid eyeliner for years now and I cannot see myself loving anything else.  Nothing's more intense in color, and the felt tip applicator cannot be any easier to use.  A great liquid liner for beginners and makeup experts.

And, as I was picking up my liner, I came across the display for the new L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder foundation.  I recognized the bottle from a few reviews and blog posts I've come across online, and because I remembered hearing a few good comments about the foundation I decided to give it a go.  But I cannot lie, the cute packaging was also another bonus about picking up the foundation.

It's definitely been a long while, a little over a year, since I've given a drugstore foundation a try.  They've usually not worked out so well for me.  However, because L'Oreal has been a trusted drugstore brand for me that I don't think much can go wrong.

Keep an eye out for a more comprehensive review on the L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder foundation in the next week.

xoxo,

Eve

OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!

Now that we're breaking into the Fall season, the cooler, crisp air has be excited to wear more layers and richer colors.  One of my favorite parts of Fall are all of the darker nail polish shades.  I find deep shades of polishes to be very chic and classic, and with that I decided to start off the season with OPI's Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!, which was released in the OPI Germany collection.

OPI has such a great selection of deeper hues, and all of my favorite shades in their permanent collection always that black undertone color.

Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine! is a simply shade of dark grey with a bit of black.  However, when you're in different lighting you can somewhat see a tad of a forest green, which makes this specific shade quite unique in my collection.  

I've worn this shade for about 2 and a half weeks straight now and I am just loving everything about it (please excuse my dry cuticles in the swatch, the weather is really getting to my skin).  Of course OPI does not disappoint when it comes to the wear of their polishes.  And with the color being so dark you can get away with two thin coats, or one thicker coat, for an opaque application.

I'll be breaking into all of my other darker polishes as the weeks go on, so keep an eye out!

xoxo,

Eve

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target

I've definitely been slacking off when it comes to blogging, but I am definitely getting back into the game.  And with that I decided to start off with a post about the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target line, which was released on September 15th (yesterday) morning.

I'll start off with my experience that morning as I prepared myself for an early morning and a big crowd.  I woke up at 6am and found myself online making a few handbag purchases before hitting up the actual store.  I was surprised that the server wasn't crashing since a few of the products were already made available online (I guess not everyone is a morning person).  I was quite happy with the selection that was made available online, it made it quite convenient for me.  I was able to purchase everything I wanted from the 3.1 Phillip Lim Collection on Target.com, everything except for the Mini Satchel.

The 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Mini Satchel was definitely the most coveted handbag from the entire collection since it was one of the few products in the center of their ad for the collection.  Target had not made this item available for online purchase, so I knew I had to brace myself for a trip to Target.

Because this collection was so well advertised, and anyone into the fashion industry dreams of owning Phillip Lim products, I knew there was going to be a large crowd to overcome once I arrived at Target.  Luckily, I arrived at my nearest Target 10 minutes before they had planned on opening and found myself maybe the 25th or so person in line.  As they opened there doors the crowd literally rushed up the stairs and headed for the huge signs pointing toward the collection.  There were people grabbing hangers off the racks left and right (not even checking for appropriate sizes) and just a sea of red shopping carts all along the aisle.

Because I only had my eyes on one product, I just calmly made my way toward the handbags and snatched up the Mini Satchel in a dark taupe color.  Of course I wanted the bag in black, but because it was all sold out I thought taupe would be a great option for the Fall season.

I was quite impressed with the quality of the handbags that were made available for the collection.  The 3.1 Phillip Lim Mini Satchel was priced at a reasonable $34.99.  The mini satchel is small, but definitely makes as big of an impact as a statement bag.  It's structure is beautifully designed with the zipper accents (bringing a little edge to a formal looking bag), and the deep bag does hold quite a lot for being a mini.  I am in love with the quality of the faux leather, and the added top handles and removable straps are just two of the best features.

For being the more affordable collection from such a high end designer, Phillip Lim lived up to the quality of his work with the attention of detail put into every design.

I am definitely excited to have one of his pieces in my handbag collection, and cannot wait until I receive the rest of my Target.com order from the 3.1 Phillip Lim collection.

xoxo,

Eve

It's A 10 Leave-In Plus Keratin

Because my hair is so fine, I am not a huge fan of layering countless number of products on my hair.  However, aside from the usual shampoo and conditioner, one other product I apply almost daily are leave-in conditioners.  Even for having such fine hair, I can have days where I can’t seem to keep my hair under control (especially in certain weather conditions).

I switch leave-in conditioner brands every so often, because just like my shampoo and conditioner, I like to try new hair care products to see what works best.  Lately, I have been hearing great reviews about the It’s A 10 line, so when I saw this bottle on sale for about 30% off at Target I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.  I had just run out of my most beloved Kerastase Crytallyste serum, which has been one of my all time favorite hair serums for a little under 2 years now.

With the It’s A 10 leave-in conditioner, I thought purchasing the Keratin Plus bottle would be best for extra protection and nourishment.  It’s always an added bonus when any type of hair product contains keratin.   If you look at the actual product in the bottle, the consistency looks more like a cream than a light serum.  This had me a bit worried about it weighing down my hair, but I thought a little may go a long way.  It takes a few pumps to work the product up the spray bottle when working with a brand new bottle (possibly because of the thicker consistency), but once you get it going you get the perfect amount of light sprays every time.  I absolutely love that it comes in a spray bottle too because that avoids me getting my hands too greasy.

After towel drying my hair after a shower, I spray a few pumps on my hair (from my ears down to my ends) and then take my fingers to really massage the product into my hair (avoiding my roots).  You can blow dry or let your hair naturally air dry, but you’ll get the same results either way.  In the end, I can feel how soft and moisturized my ends look.  My hair still feels lightweight, like I haven’t applied any extra product to it, and I sometimes can’t resist touching it because of how soft it feels.

The It’s A 10 product works perfectly in the summer.  It can be damaging when your hair is constantly exposed to sunlight and heat, so applying this added layer of protection keeps the ends from drying out.  Now I have quite healthy look hair.

The only difference between the It’s A 10 and my Kerastase Crytallyste serum is that the Kerastase serum give my hair that added shine on top of being nourishing.  So if you want more of a shine to your hair I would go for the serum, but if you just want healthy looking hair, the It’s A 10 Plus Keratin is the perfect product.

xoxo,

Eve

Zoya Blu

Continuing with my love for Zoya polishes, I decided to break into one of my newer Zoya purchases for the season.  And let me tell you, I have never been so in love!

I recently picked up Zoya's Blu from my salon a few weeks ago and I cannot be any happier with the purchase.  I love that they carry Zoya polishes because it really takes out the waiting part while ordering online.  That, and seeing the polishes in person makes it easier to decide whether or not I want to actually purchase them.

I was initially attracted to Blu because it's definitely something I don't have in my collection already.  And to find a polish shade I don't already own is kind of rare when you consider how large my polish collection is.  I have been obsessed with creamy polishes, and Blu just looked like the perfect milky blue.  Blu is like the twin brother of Essie's Fiji (only in the shade blue) because they are both very creamy in formula and the milky shades are very similar.  The only thing is Blu is much easier to apply than Essie's Fiji (which is a major plus).

I wore this for most of the month of July, and it worked great while I was a wedding guest.  I received a whole bunch of compliments on the polish and it just works beautifully with any outfit (when dressed up or down).  Definitely a great Summer pick in my opinion.

xoxo,

Eve

Velour Lashes

I am finally breaking into the world of false lashes, and I have to say I am still fairly new and am such a beginner when it comes to false lashes.  The concept of applying false lashes on my own eyes have always been intimidating to me (I mean having to apply glue on lashes and place it just above your eyes are a scary thought).  There were so many negative thoughts going on my mind when I first considered lashes, with one of them being: What if my real lashes fall/tear off from the glue?

But after talking to a few of my great friends that use false lashes almost on a daily basis, and getting tips from make up artist friends of mine I decided to give it a go.  And because my only Brother's wedding was this summer (May 25th), I wanted to really make my eye makeup pop for the special occasion.

So what better way to try out false lashes than splurging for the best? I have read so many reviews on false lashes and looked at so many tutorials to prepare myself for this.  And with all of that, I thought that the Velour Lashes would suit me well.  I wanted something that looked real and natural while still being comfortable.

I picked up two of the most recommended lashes from Velour: You Complete Me and Are Those Real?

Are Those Real? are just every day looking lashes.  They have a natural look to them with a medium length.  So they still give you that added oomph to your look while still looking very simple.

You Complete Me are a little bit more dramatic than the first pair.  They add a bit of thickness and fullness to your lashes, especially at the outer corner of the eyes.  These are still at a medium length so they are not outrageous and can be worn daily if desired.  However, I like to save these for more special occasions to really make my eyeshadow look pop.

Velour Lashes are based in Toronto, Canada and are 100% mink and cruelty free lashes that are handmade.  They are definitely the definition of high end, luxurious and sophisticated lashes.  Packaged beautifully, when first removed from their boxes you can see the how soft and natural the hairs on the lashes look.  They feel so real to the touch, and the quality is just amazing.  They feel so lightweight on the lash line and just fit my eye shape so well.  The band is not too thick, yet stable enough to wear up to 25 times making the price a little more worth it.

I am absolutely in love with these lashes! Although I am still a novice when it comes to application, practice makes perfect! I absolutely love their website because they have the best descriptions and pictures comparing the lashes on the lids.  They also have a How To video, making it perfect for beginners like myself.  And I believe all of their lashes are currently marked down to about 50% off on their website now, so definitely check them out!

What I loved even more was the customer service of the brand.  I am all about customer service, so when I receive great service I always make it known.  The lashes I received were on back-order and I had received and email notifying me of the delay.  Because I needed to lashes by my Brother's wedding date I asked them if they would arrive on time, and they replied to my email within hours.  I definitely appreciate their help and customer service!

Shop Velour Lashes: http://velourlashes.com/products-page/upper-lashes/

Velour Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Velour-Lashes/226187494075284?ref=br_tf

xoxo,

Eve