Full Face Foundation Routine

1. Primer

I always start my face with a primer. I think it helps the makeup go on better and look better. I feel like I use less product when using a primer, and it helps the makeup stay on all day! Ive tried so many different primers.. from Smashbox, Too Faced, Laura Geller, Bare Minerals, to drug store brands, there have been some hits, and some misses..
My current favorite is the Global Goddess Upgrade Complexion Face Primer. - $22.95 @ efficientliving.comI used to use the Too Faced Primed and Poreless primer, but I started working with the owner of GGB and he sent me their primer, which is comparable to the Too Faced one, but it's cheaper, and you get almost twice as much! Iits definitely my go-to primer now!
Im not a fan of brushes for applying primer or foundation, so I just use my clean fingers and apply a little bit all over my face!

2. Foundation

A lot of people conceal, then apply foundation, but I prefer to apply foundation, then conceal. I never really have to conceal blemishes or spots or anything, I really just do under my eyes, so I dont have to worry about perfectly matching my concealer to my foundation.
Ive never really tried any high-end foundations, Ive been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to think of one Ive tried and I literally can not think of any! I always buy drug store brand foundations! Until I tried this..
My favorite foundation right now is the Ahava Rich Foundation. - $23.95 @ Amazon.com.
(mine was sent to me from Ahava, but I cant find on their site where to buy the foundation!)
They also have a light foundation, but I cant use that because I need fuller coverage! But I absolutely love this stuff! Its made from active deadsea minerals, like all of their products, and it is free of oils and dyes, so its super good for your skin! And its great for me because I have oily skin, so anything oil-free is a must!
Again, I just use my fingers to apply this, I feel like brushes make it look streaky.

3. Concealer

Like I said earlier, all I only really conceal under my eyes, and I use a slightly lighter concealer just to brighten up under my eyes!
My favorite concealer is the Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer. - $22 @ LauraGeller.com.
Ive never been a big fan of concealers, I felt like they always made my makeup look worse. Ive tried many high end, as well as drug store concealers, and just never really liked any. But this one I do really like for under my eyes.
I just use my beauty blender and lightly apply a little bit under my eyes and blend it out.

4. Powder

I go back and forth between using a translucent setting powder and a color powder.

So for my translucent powder I have been loving the Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder. - $31 @ UrbanDecay.com.

This has a weird spongey thing on the end that youre supposed to use to apply, but I think they give a weird application, so I just tap it around a few spots on my face then take a brush and kind of buff it out.

And for a color powder Ive been using the Ahava Compact Powder - $27.21 @ Amazon.com.

To apply, I just take a kabuki brush and press it into my foundation. Since I like a slightly lighter under eye, Ill just take a translucent powder and apply it there, and color powder everywhere else.

5. Bronzer

I can not go a day without using bronzer on my face, I feel like it adds so much more dimension to my face, and just pulls the whole look together. 

Lately Ive been using the Bare Minerals Ready Bronzer. - $24 @ BareMinerals.com.

I used to use an angled brush and do a more intense contouring, but lately Ive been using a bigger brush, like a fluffy foundation or blush brush, and just give a soft contouring effect under my cheek bones and around my temples, and slightly down my neck.

6. Blush

Im very picky with my blush, it cant have shimmer and it has to be the perfect color. I have oily skin, so anything shimmery will just make me look like a disco ball!

My every day blush lately has been the Revlon Matte Powder Blush in Perfectly Peach. - $8.48 @ Walmart or Target.

I just use another fluffy blush brush and apply that to my cheekbones and blend out soflty.

So, thats basically it for my every day full face routine. I try to use only matte products, and no highlight, like I said I have oily skin, dont want to look like a disco ball! Ive included links to all products I mentioned, so go ahead and check them out and let me know what you think of these products! 

Disclaimer: The ggb primer, ahava foundation, and ahava compact powder were sent to me for review, all other products were purchased by me! This is just the products I have currently been using and loving. No one is paying me to write this post!

Skin Again Review pt. 1

I will have my full review on all of the skin again products soon, I just wanted to do a quick post about one of my favorite Skin Again products, Relief.

Relief, also know as Neutone, is a non-prescription alternative to harsh topicals for irritation, inflammation, itchiness and redness due to skin conditions, rashes and insect bites.
Relief can be used for relief of irritated, itchy, red and inflamed skin due to skin conditions, rashes and insect bites.

The first time I used it, was about a day after I received it in the mail, I took my dogs for a walk and got completely eaten alive by mosquitos. I got home and was itchy allllll over my legs and feet. So I applied this to my itchy spots, and literally immediately felt relief! I admit, it did wear off after a little while and I felt itchy again, but I just applied a little more when I needed to.

My dog has severe allergies to fleas, just one flea on him and he will literally scratch himself until he bleeds. He always has very dry skin already, especially in the summer, and this summer fleas are really bad! We treated the lawn twice for fleas, have bombed the house, and given the dogs numerous flea baths, as well as Frontline every month. But my poor little Rascal is still suffering from itchy skin due to flea bites.
I tweeted @SkinAgainTweets asking if it was safe to use on pets, because my poor little guy needed relief! They tweeted me back and said that it hasnt been tested for pets, but they have used it on their dog for hot spots. It is fragrance-free, paraben-free and gluten-free, so it is safe for even the most sensitive skin. So I figured it shouldnt be bad for dogs? So I applied it to my little guys skin where he seemed to be itching the most. Immediately he stopped biting and scratching!
Since it hasnt been tested on animals yet, I suggest consulting your vet before applying it to your dog, and I am not telling you go ahead and use this on your pets because it hasnt been tested! Im just sharing with you my experience. But I know my dogs skin can handle this and havent seen any negative side effects of using it. So I will continue to use it on my dogs itchy skin!

I absolutely love this cream, it is like a miracle product for me and my little guy, we have tried so many products on him to relieve his itchy skin. This product has helped him so much, and every time I have skeeter bites it is the first thing I reach for! I definitely will be using this for a longgg time to come!

There are 3 other Skin Again creams for other skin problems, which I will be posting about very soon! So if you are interested be sure to click follow (to the right of this post ->) so you will be notified when I post in the future!

Each tube is 4.2 fl oz. and costs around $50.
You can find out more about Skin Again and their awesome products at SkinAgain.com


Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for free from SkinAgain in exchange for a review. This does not change my views or opinions on the products. I really do absolutely love them, and will be purchasing them again in the future! No monetary exchange occurred in exchange for this review!

My Current Daily Hair Routine

I think I did one of these a while back, or at least something similar, but I change my routine a lot, so this is what I currently do basically every day!

You can get most of the products I mention in this post at Folica.com. This is my favorite place to get everything for my hair!
To get 20% off plus free shipping on your first purchase of $50 or more, click here!

Around once a week, maybe once every two weeks or so I like to do a deep conditioning treatment on my dry, dirty hair. I like to use my Surya Brasil Color Fixation Leave-In Cream Conditioner. Youre really supposed to put this on wet or dry hair and style as normal, but I feel like it weighs my hair down too much, so I just use it as a deep conditioning treatment.
So, what I do is take a big glob of it in my hand, and spread it throughout my hair, saturating the ends. Ill clip it up and leave it on my hair for anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours, or even over night. If I plan to do it overnight Ill put a shower cap or something on to prevent it from getting on my pillow, and prevent it from drying and getting sticky and weird.
After you rinse this stuff from your hair it leaves it so soft and smooth. I do shampoo and condition again after. But doing this deep conditioning every so often helps me keep my hair manageable. :)
(Review on Surya Brasil products Ive used before.)

My current 2 favorite Shampoos and Conditioners are the
- Silky Sexy Hair Lite. I was given this as a gift, and it is now one of my all time favorite shampoo/conditioners. This stuff, first of all, smells AMAZING. And it leaves my hair so soft and silky smooth. I have become obsessed with this stuff, Ive been using it so sparingly lately, because Im almost out :( But it is definitely something I intend on repurchasing! This is a very close second to my all time favorite, Redken Extreme.
- Sebastian Trilliance. The first time I tried this I was on my annual camping trip at the beach. Me and my best friend had just come back from a hella hot day at the beach. We were sweaty, salty, and my hair was dry and annoying! So I tried this stuff out, and immediately I was like "holy cow, this stuff is awesome!" It took my dry, difficult, beach hair..and made it super soft and manageable. It made my hair super shiny and beautiful! Another product to add to my list of favs! (The only downfall to this product, is its more expensive than both of my top 2 favs, so thats why this comes in at 3rd)

After I get out of the shower, I always towel dry my hair or just twist it up in my towel for a few minutes. Especially in the summer, I usually need a few minutes to cool off after stepping out of the steamy bathroom! So, once my hair is just damp, not completely saturated, not dry. Ill take my current favorite heat protectant spray, Tresseme Keratin Smooth Heat Protectant Spray. Ive always loved the original one from them, but they recently released the Keratin Smooth collection, and I must say I like this stuff SOO much better! It helps me get my hair smooth and straight much much easier.

I then like to run about a pea-sized drop of the Redken Glass 01 Smoothing Serum to the ends and about half way up the ends of my hair. This combination of products makes my hair seriously so much easier to manage, keeps it soft and beautiful.
(Review on some of my all time favorite Redken products.)

Then I use my favorite blow dryer from Sedu. The Sedu Revolution 4000i. I dont think they sell this one anymore, I believe now they only sell the newer version, the 6000i. I havent had a chance yet to try that one out, but I absolutely love my 4000i. It dries my hair so super fast and Ive found my perfect settings to get my hair pretty straight, which makes styling so much easier!
(Review on this blow dryer!)

I use my favorite brush to dry my hair, which is the 2.5" Thermal Nylon & Boar Barrel Round Brush from Brush Boutique by SPI. I looked everywhere to try and find a link to this brush, I got mine at Ulta a few years ago, but I cant seem to find a link. Idk if the company is even still around!

Before I do anything else to my hair I like to apply a little bit of the Bed Head After Party smoothing cream. It just helps smooth out my hair as I style it, plus it adds a little more heat protection. Then Ill either take my blow dryer on cool shot and just quickly dry that, or Ill let it sit and soak in for a few minutes while my styling tool of choice is heating up!

After I have my hair completely dry I will either run my straightener through it real quick to get the little bit of fluffiness and any kinks out..
I use the Karmin Titanium 1" Professional Styling Iron in pink! Absolutely love this slat iron.
Or Ill curl it using my favorite clipless curling iron, the T3 Single Pass Whirl!
(Review on this curling wand!)

Then sometimes Ill take a little tiny bit of my Julep Top Coat for Hair and just mist that over to make it extra shiny, but with all the other products I really dont need it.
(My thoughts on the Julep Maven Program.)

I know it may seem like quite the process, or like a lot of products, but it really doesnt take me very long to do my hair at all, and this combination of products together really helps keep my hair healthy, smooth, and manageable.

Im always up for trying new products, so let me know your favorites!

If you would like to see a full review on any of the products Ive mentioned please let me know!




Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, Some of the products were sent to me in exchange for a review, this is not that review. Just because a product is sent to me does not mean I have to like it, these are just some of the products that I happen to love and continue to use. All opinions are my own.
Surya Brasil Leave-In Conditioner was sent to me to review. Silky Sexy Hair was given to me as a gift. Sebastian Trilliance was sent to me from an amazing PR company I have been working with for a few years. I have been purchasing Tresseme Heat Protectant Spray for a long time. I got my Redken Glass 01 myself from Ulta. The Sedu blow dryer was sent to me as part of Folica.com's Review Program. I got my brush by SPI myself from Ulta. Bed Head after party was also from Ulta. My straightener was sent to my from a company who works with Karmin. The T3 Curling Wand was also part of the Folica Review Program. I got my Julep Top Coat for Hair from a Julep Maven Box I purchased myself!