Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Line

If you're looking for a new foundation, I've found a little drugstore gem.

This foundation has a wonderful lightweight and fluffy moose formula. It's a dupe for the Tarte Amazonian Clay, but it's a little bit lighter (a bit less coverage but also less heavy). I think it's also a bit more moisturizing than the Tarte foundation.They also have a concealer to go with it. There is a liquid concealer (cooler undertones) and a stick concealer (warmer undertones). I love the liquid one for under eye brightening!

I've done a video review for the youthful wear line:

And here are some pictures and swatches of the products:

 The product and package

The product as it looks when squeezed from the bottle and when blended with skin (it's a bit dark for my hand but it blends in beautifully to my face).

Concealer and package.

The liquid concealer is on the bottom and the stick concealer is on the left.

Stay beautiful dolls <3

Fashion Haul!

So this weekend I went a little bit crazy with my shopping sprees! I got a lot of new make-up/face products as well as some clothes/shoes/other. The make-up I'm going to do in separate posts so I can do swatches and reviews, but here are some of the other goodies I bought!

I bought yellow striped bedsheets! Who can resist this happy pop of color that screams springtime. I swear I get all smiley and warm every time I climb into bed and every morning when I wake up. I just feel like I'm being hugged by the warm, happy color. It's amazing how much color affects mood!

 A converse button down from Target. I have like 4 or 5 of these. This color is an amazing dark blue-green that makes colored eyes stand out. And I love wearing loose fitted button downs with skinny jeans and flats, it's just a laid-back yet put together look.
(for outfit with this button down, check out http://wardrobeconfessions.tumblr.com)

 Beige Flats! These are a staple, they go with everything and they're so comfortable! These are the type of flats that you can carry in your bag and throw on whenever your feet start to ache from heels, and they'll match. Everyone needs a pair of beige flats (and black flats for that matter). I know you're supposed to save on trends and splurge on staples, but I'd rather spend $15 on a staple and replace it when it gets worn (as shoes get worn out quickly).

 Harajuku lovers! I have been wanting to get a perfume from HL for soo long! This one is a limited edition "super G." It smells so good. It's very sweet and flowery, very daytime. If you're not into "young" smells, or very sugary smells, this is not for you. The packaging is beyond adorable however! =)

 What else could a girl need but nude flats and nude heels? These aren't exactly skin tone nude, they're a mix of nude and grey (is "grude" a color?). I've been eyeing these babies from Guess for a while. They are extremely comfortable (wear all day long status) and I love platformed pumps. They have these in every shade (including nude) but I thought this color was more unique and playful.

 A shot of these babies on foot (I'm a size 7 for reference). You can wear them bare-footed or with tights. (pictures of both on http://wardrobeconfessions.tumblr.com)

Lastly, I bought a brush cleanser from Crown make-up through HauteLook. To be honest when I bought it, I thought it was a spot cleanser, but you're supposed to spray your brushes, let them get sit for 10 minutes, then rinse with water. A little dissapointed it wasn't the product I was expecting, but I'll give it a try anyway.

Revlon Lip Butter Alternatives

Looking for a tinted lip balm? Revlon's Lip Butters are the hottest item on the market right now, but I've gathered a few alternatives in case those aren't your cup of tea, or if you're just looking to stock up some more.

In order to be as detailed as possible, here's a video of me testing them out and talking each of them.

And in case that's not your thing, or if you're looking for more, here are some pictures and swatches of each balm:

Covergirl Nature Luxe Gloss Balm - sandstone

Covergirl Nature Luxe Gloss Balm - peony

Carmex Moisture Plus (peach color)

Carmex Moisture Plus (red color)

 Soft Lips Tinted Lip Conditioner - rose

Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer - Toffee

 Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm - Tiger Lily

Smile and stay beautiful dolls <3

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation

Retails for $38 at Sephora.

Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation SPF 15
What it is:
A long-lasting foundation powered by Amazonian clay.

What it does:
Get 12 hours of flawless coverage with this long-wearing, skin-perfecting formula with UVA/UVB SPF 15. It's full coverage with a weightless texture. With a broad range of shades available and a supremely blendable and buildable formula, everyone can achieve skin that looks healthy and natural.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

What else you need to know:
Whether oily, dry or combination, "skin-smart" Amazonian clay will intuitively adjust to meet and address your skin concerns for makeup that wears better, longer, and truer. This revolutionary foundation reduces the appearance of pores, discolorations, and imperfections and ensures a perfectly flawless complexion every time.

Research results:
Clinical results reveal up to 12 hours of perfect wear time. Size: 1.7 oz

More colored pants!

Magazines and fashion blogs are still talking about colored pants! I've already done a blog post on them but I thought I'd do another and give you guys another way to style them.

The advice is usually to pair colored pants with a neutral top (black, white, etc. very plain) to balance in out. Another way to style it (although I did go with white...just go with me here) is to color block. I went with white because I added another pop of color with the mint green necklace. The green was also repeated in my bangles and my eyes. The white is repeated in my sunglasses. My flats are leopard print (a little personality!) and the brown shades coordinate with my hair, and the gold buckles with my gold studs.

In order to pull off a lot of colors (and not look like you just pulled random articles of clothing out of your closet), make sure there are repeating patterns. The brown was repeated, as was the green and the white. And to repeat the red, I had a black and red handbag and a white and brown scarf with accents of red. When you repeat a color, it looks deliberate and put together rather than clashing.

Chanel 'Peridot' Dupe! - Nail Polish Review

This little guy has been all the hype recently. Who wouldn't fall in love with it, with it's blue/green/silver sparkles. It looks amazing in the bottle and even better on your nails! The only downside is it's price, $26.

 This little number is by Borghese, which is a great company, on a side note. They are well known for cosmetics nationally and they've been around for a while (think: your mother at 14 painting her nails at a slumber party). And this bad boy retails for $8. That's quite a ways cheaper than Chanel (it's about the price of Essie, but of equal quality.

The color looks a bit different, but the Chanel picture is off of their website, therefore enhanced. And the color just doesn't photograph as beautifully as it is in person. The best part, you can layer this for different shades, it looks beautiful and pale with one coat, or intensely dark with three.

<3

Eye Make-Up

Eye make-up of the day. My eyelashes look super long (put the latise commercial to shame!), but they're my natural lashes with mascara, I don't even have falsies on! All I have is the Revlon color stay mascara, about 2 coats. My shadow is from the physcian's formula glam eyes, in "green smokey eye" and the liner is from the physician formula gel liner for blue eyes (the black sparkles).

ShoeDazzle!

I ordered a pair of shoes from shoe dazzle. I have some pictures of the shoes, and then my general experience.

The only downside of ordering I'd say is that it took forever for my shoes to my house. And, then they were the wrong size so I had to send them back to exchange them, so I'm still waiting for the new ones to come in.

However, they offer really good service. If you do return the shoes for good, I believe they charge you about $5.00 for a restocking fee, but you don't need to pay for return shipping. Also, if you need to exchange the shoes, you don't have to pay anything, they give you a box and return shipping label. Then, the shoes come with a cloth bag for protection and a pink shoe box! :)

The shoe quality is pretty good, but not the greatest (I'd say better than clothing store shoes, like F21 of AE, but not as good as department store shoes (like ones you'd get at Macy's).

The only other warning I have, is once you order a pair of shoes, your account is set up to charge you $39 every month and you are supposed to pick out a pair of shoes every month. I didn't want to commit to this so after I ordered my shoes, I called ShoeDazzle and asked them to disable my account. You can always re-enable the account and order more shoes, but I didn't want to commit to spending $40 bucks a month every month for shoes.

Physician's Formula Gel Cream Liner

I love physician's formula products. They are drugstore priced, but they are beyond amazing, in my opinion. I love their foundations, tinted moisturizers, eyeshadows, etc. Besides nice packaging and good pigmentation, all of their face products also have a lot of spf in them, doesn't get better than that!

So, loving their products, I've wanted to try their gel cream liners for a while. I have a few other ones so I've been holding off (I will be doing a comparison), but I finally gave in. I got the hazel eyes one from their original line (the pink on the left) and the blue eyes one from their glam line (blue on the right). I swatched all of the colors, hazel below and blue above.

The hazel colors, from left to right, are black, pink, and taupe. And the blue ones are black, blue, and silver (all with shimmer in them). The colors are all beautiful and I was very happily surprised to see how easily and thickly they applied. The colors are very creamy and you barely need to dip the brush to get a strong pigmented line. The colors in the original line were especially easy to apply. The blue shimmer was the hardest to get a visible line, it's a little sheer, but it's such a pretty, shimmery color, that it equaled out. So, if you're looking for an inexpensive ($10.99) and good quality cream gel liner, I would go try this out; and, if you look around, you usually find good sales (like buy one get one 50% off!). And look out for my cream/gel liner comparison, coming soon! Stay beautiful dolls

Dry Shampoo

It's horrible for your hair to wash it every day. It dries it out, causes it to overcompensate by producing too much oil, breaks it, and you end up with damaged, frizzy, oily, dry hair. NOT the look we're going for.

I admit, I fell into washing my hair everyday because I didn't want to deal with oily/greasy looking hair. I've been very strict with washing my hair every other day though. When I jump into the shower, if I'm not washing my hair, I clip it up high so it doesn't get wet. You can even throw a shower cap over your clipped up hair to keep the steam from making it greasy looking.

On days I don't shampoo, if my hair looks like it needs a little bit of help, I use dry shampoo. I picked up this Tresemme one from Target for oily, straight hair. The directions say to shake vigorously, spray it in, wait 1-2 minutes, and brush it out.

Personally, I'm not pleased with this dry shampoo. I'm inserting a picture of my hair, post dry shampoo, below.

I'm not sure how evident it is in the picture, but the shampoo leaves my roots always looking a little bit gray-ish. I have dyed hair; my natural hair color is a dirty blonde. When I use the dry shampoo, it makes my light roots stand out in an unappealing way. The other downside of this dry shampoo, I find, is that it leaves very prominent white marks and I have to brush over where I sprayed for a couple of minutes before the whiteness dissapears. On the upside, my hair does look less oily after use-it gives my hair a shiny, healthy look rather than a greasy, unwashed look. So, overall, I'm not too impressed with this product and I will be purchasing and trying out a new one next time, but it's not completely pointless, and I will probably finish using up this product rather than throwing it out.

Face of the Day

This is the make-up I'm wearing today. I usually just play around with eyeshadow colors, but today I wanted to try something new and play around with eyeliner colors.

close-up of eyes

On top I have an aqua blue color pencil liner from Wet n' Wild. On bottom, for a tight line, I have an NYC duo in a medium purple shade. I also used some gel liner on the outside of my eye, over the blue, in the color egglant from Maybelline. On my waterline I have a black eye pencil from Maybelline.

close-up of lips

On my lips I have Mac's subculture for a lip liner and Mac's pink plaid for a lipstick. It's a matte color. I love matte lips, if you're looking for a little sparkle, Baby Doll from Bobbie Brown is the perfect sparkly gloss to layer over Pink Plaid.

Classy Lady

Sometimes the best outfits come from the most plain or old pieces sitting lonely and untouched in the back of your closet...

I don't even remember where I got this skirt from, that's how long ago I've had it. I paired it with a plain black fitted tee, which I tucked into the skirt, and then black flats (every girl needs a pair of black flats!).

I kept the make-up really simple and classy. I wore fake lashes with black eyeliner and mascara, and then a very basic nude pink lip (pink plaid by mac) and besides a touch of blush, that's all! It looked so put together and classy, and with my hair pinned back in a low ponytail, it made a perfect work classy outfit.

For outside, I threw on my short suede beige coat from Gap and my cashmere scarf from NY which matched the skirt. All these pieces were relatively inexpensive, but together, it had a very burberry, luxe feel.


As an afterthought, here's a different way I've styled this skirt.

E.L.F. Cosmetics- affordable find or cheap trash?

I've purchased a couple of elf products here and there. The product I have most of would be eyeshadows, which I can do in a separate review for the sake of keeping this one relatively short. Here are a few products I was curious to test out and what I thought of them:

The Eyebrow Kit. This product came with a tiny double sided brush, an angled liner brush on one end, and a small flat shadow brush on the other. The brow kit also comes with two steps, the left is a brow gel which is supposed to be applied in strokes with the liner brush to fill in eyebrows where they appear sparse, and the right is a brow finishing power, to be applied with the flat shadow brush to finish off and give your eyebrows a complete and neat look. Both products were pigmented and of good quality; my eyebrows came out quite nicely. The one down side of this kit, however, is that it comes in only one color. I have very dark eyebrows, almost black, so this color happened to work perfectly for me; but someone with lighter eyebrows would probably not be happy with the outcome.

 The Blush. I got this in the color "tickled pink." They had some prettier colors, but they had actual glitter in them, and I didn't think that would be in the least flattering. I tried to swatch the color on my wrist; it's a very faint, wispy, pink, but you can see it. On the cheeks, it comes off as a faint, innocent, pinch of pink glow. It's really pretty and it applies well. It lasted all day and I didn't get any irritation from it (my skin gets easily irritated with products that have chemicals/dyes, etc).

The Brow Gel. I was looking to try their brow gel, and they only sell a duo with a brow gel on one side and a clear mascara on the other. I didn't try the clear mascara because I had fake lashes on, though it says you can apply the mascara over your own mascara or on its own. I feel like it will be good on days I want to wear no make-up but I want my lashes to stand out a little bit more. The brow gel was fantastic. I have very bushy eyebrows that I have to work hard to keep tame. The gel kept them in place all day, and it didn't feel like there was gel or other product in them, which was an unexpected plus!

The Finishing Mist. I was really excited to try this setting mist because I have dry skin and mists are really hydrating and refreshing for when your face needs a pick me up. I've tried the bare minerals finishing mists several times, and a bobbie brown mist. Compared to those products, this one is really the quality of its price. The bottle doesn't mist so much as spray, so a lot of product comes out onto your face, and you have to go in and blot away the excess. The smell isn't as refreshing as I'd hoped it would be, but it isn't bad. Otherwise, the product did help keep my skin looking a bit more hydrated and it helped keep my make-up in place, so it isn't a waste of money, it just isn't as good as some of the higher end products on the market.

The Lip Products. I did a separate review on the lipstick in a previous post. The color is very pigmented and it is relatively true to packaging color. The lipstick doesn't smell like anything. The color wears off quickly however, and you have to keep reapplying, which is sort of a hastle. I'm not in love with it, and I wouldn't buy anymore lipsticks. I was most excited about the lip gloss (look at that gorgeous color!). It came as the biggest disappointment, as a result, when I opened it to find the brush of the gloss sprawled out and misshapen. The gloss is super pretty and sits really nicely on the lips, especially over the lipstick (which helps the lipstick stay on longer too), but I was very sad to see that the brush was destroyed, and therefore, would probably not try out any more glosses from elf that have brushes at the end of the wand.

Dry Skin Fix

I have eczema (dry, flaky, sensitive skin) and I've struggled with it all of my life. It prominently affects my face, leaving it dry, red, and raw, to the point where I can't apply make-up and I have to reapply my daily moisturizer 10-12 times a day-not fun.

For those of you who have equally dry skin or are just looking for a skin pick me-up during cold, dry winter months, I've got just the thing :). There are two tricks I've learned. One is a daily treatment and one is a moisture mask.

The first ritual, I do mornings and nights when my skin needs a little extra moisture. I take vitamin E oil in liquid form (I use Nature's Bounty, but any vitamin E oil will do; they sell them at Vitamin World and in pharmacies). It's always a good idea to take vitamin E supplements daily in pill form, but the liquid oil is equally good for keep skin looking glowy and maintaining its elasticity. After I wash my face, I get a little bit of oil on my fingers and dab it on any dry spots or patches I can see on my face. I let it sit for about 5 or so minutes, and then dab off any excess my skin hasn't soaked up, and then apply my regular moisturizer. This allows dry spots to soak in extra moisture and vitamins without leaving the whole face greasy (perfect grounds for break-outs, yikes!).

The second treatment is one I do once a week or when my skin is really in need of a pick-me-up. After a hot shower (so my pours are all open), I pat my face dry, and then apply nivea cream to my face. However, I apply a very thick layer of cream so that it looks like a white face mask. You should leave the face mask on for 5-15 minutes, depending on how dry your skin is (if you have very dry skin, leave on until your skin has soaked in a surplus of the cream; if you have skin prone to breaking out however, only leave the mask on for 5 minutes). Your face should soak in enough of the mask so you start to see your skin underneath, but you should still be able to see a thin white layer everywhere. Then, take a tissue or washcloth and gently wipe off all excess cream. When you've wiped off your mask, take your daily moisturizer and apply as you  normally would. Your skin will feel soft and look hydrated and healthy!

Enjoy dolls, treat yourselves and stay beautiful.

Colored Pants

A huge trend right now is colored pants. Having trouble wearing them? There's nothing to be nervous about, they're so much fun! I put together a classy/French inspired outfit of red pants, a blue and white striped shirt, a white belt, and black flats.

If you're nervous about wearing colored pants, pair them with plain tee's (like one in black or white), or very classic and muted pieces (like the shirt I'm wearing) as well as plain colored shoes. You can't go wrong by treating the pants as your statement piece and keep everything else subtle.

Good luck dolls, stay beautiful.

Lipstick Comparison

I got a few different brands of lipsticks to do a quality comparison. From left to right, they are elf (posh), wet n' wild (552A), rimmel (berry queen), covergirl natureluxe (peony), and mac (syrup). I did not purchase reds from every brand because some of the above were colors I really wanted; I could still do a good quality comparison of the brands though, even with the slightly different colors.

The worst lipstick of the bunch was the wet n' wild. It was on an equal price level as the elf lipstick. Although the colors of both of the lipsticks are rich (as seen by the picture), the quality was evidently equal to the $1.00 they were worth. The color wears off very quickly and leaves lips dry and flaky as well as patchy in color. These lipsticks are good for quick wear, if you need to take pictures or are willing to reapply often; they do NOT work as long wear unfortunately.

The rimmel lipstick is a better quality. The color, as you can see, is a bit richer. The lipstick is more moisturizing and doesn't leave lips as dry (I have pretty dry skin and lips, so moisture is very important to me). The color is also beautiful and very complimentary to a light skin tone. The packaging is also cute, in a rich purple with the rimmel crown on the top of the cap =]. The downsize, unfortunately, is that I still have to reapply this lipstick often. If I wear it for a few hours, I get that ring of color on the inside of my lips and a pale, washed-out red stain on my lips. Maybe my lips just eat lipstick quickly; but with plenty of lip balm and a touch-up every couple of hours, this lipstick is great!

The covergirl lipstick definitely held up where the previous ones lacked. The color of this lipstick is definitely lighter/less potent than the rest, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The color is a great subtle red that is perfect for daytime wear. Whenever I want to wear a brighter/red lip to class, I always reach for this one. Besides its subtle sexiness, these covergirl lipsticks have a lot of moisturizing balm in them. I would compare them to the revlon lip butters-lots of balm and a touch of color!

Lastly, the mac lipstick (saving the best for last!). This was the most expensive lipstick of the bunch, but well worth its price. This color is a lustre, so it applies with a slight sheeny glow. You might be able to see above, but this color had the most shine of all of them when applied. Because the color wasn't a red, you can even apply it without lipliner. I asked the girl at the mac counter for a muted form of a red lip, and she pointed me to the color syrup. The color held the longest. I had to reapply this one the least amount of times during the day, and I also did not have any color residue or ugly inner lip rings of color after applying this.

Stay beautiful.

Intro

Hello dolls, my name is Dani (fashionable dazzle). I'm a girl who has a passion for make-up, beauty, and fashion. I love spending all day looking to piece together the perfect outfit with new and old pieces, designer and thrifty pieces, fashionable and classic pieces. When I put together the perfect outfit, I love to share it with others and see what others have put together; I always look at others' styles and ideas for inspiration. I enjoy watching other gurus online for make-up and fashion ideas. I like playing around with make-up and experiment often with it in my free time. I'm creating this blog to share tips, hints, ideas, finds, secrets, and advice I discover through my ventures and to read others' finds here and elsewhere online. Stay beautiful.