SEDONA LACE YOUR HALLOWEEN FACE!

Time to "Sedona Lace your Face" again! This time the challenge is to show me your best look for Halloween! I'm posting this early so you will have plenty of time to get your look together.

Rules:

1. Follow NV Beauty blog publicly

2. Follow NV Beauty on Twitter and Follow Sedona Lace on Twitter

3. Create on ORIGINAL look for this contest, can not be used for another contest (blog, youtube, etc...) If you want to make a youtube entry, you can. Just make it clear that this look is for "Sedona Lace your Halloween Face" with NV Beauty! **FF entries ok too!!**

4. You must send in full face pictures, as many as you think it takes to really show off the look. One picture must be a "Before". If you want to go all out and show your whole costume, please do!!

5. No combining your entries (yes, you can enter as many times as you like as long as your looks are different) with FOTD or other types of posts

6. Post must be titled "Sedona Lace your Face with NV Beauty" and link this post and Sedona Lace. If you don't have a blog, email me your entry!

As always, rules must be followed to the T. I will not let anything slide on this one ladies! So please read and follow all rules so your hard work doesn't go to waste.

Now, the prizes! The amazing Jason at Sedona Lace is offering the newly improved brush set with roll for the first  winner! I'll be offering the new 15 shimmer palette for the second winner.

***Open Internationally***

I will be breaking entries up into two categories; Advanced and Beginner. I want everyone to have a fair chance to win!

 

Deadline for entries is November 7th, midnight EST time. =)

GRAFTOBIAN CREAM LIP COLOR CUPS

Graftobian Cream Lip Color Cups

"These cream lip color cups are lipstick formulation and are smooth and rich and full of color. With plenty of slip, these colors glide on with the use of a brush for beautiful coverage and yet have long lasting, professional wearability. You'll not find this level of quality in a drug store, yet look at the VERY affordable price!  $3.50."

Cream lip color cup is the perfect name for these lippies! They are so creamy and glide on super smooth! The pigmentation is really great, but I can't say that this is a long lasting lip color. Here's the two colors I have, "Kiss Me" and "Nude." I love the peek-a-boo lid so you can see the color before you open it. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry!

Now the swatches and lip pics:

I much prefer "Kiss Me" to "Nude" for my fair skin, but I still think Nude is a gorgeous color! Before I swatched these, I thought they were very similar...boy was I wrong! These come in 19 shades and you can find them here!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay give-a-way!

I'll be announcing another contest soon! Stay tuned and stay NV'ious!

FTC Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review. I was not paid to write this. This is my honest opinion.



NAILENE SO NATURAL NAILS

I purchased Nailene So Natural nails yesterday and was really excited about trying them. I always buy the shortest length I can find, as I feel they are more comfortable and look natural. I've mostly bought Kiss  nails, so I wanted to see how these compare.

SO many of these nails were huge for my fingernails--I don't have petite nails. There was seriously like, 4 sizes for thumbs and only one was just right, the other 3 must have been for Andre the Giant!! Besides most of the nails being too big, I didn't really think they looked "natural". I suppose if I had looked at the nails closer, I would have noticed in the box they don't really look that natural. The white tip is a bit too thick for the short length in my opinion. Oh!! Also, you know how the nails that have the little twist off tip on them, for you to hold onto while applying the glue and pressing on your nail? These don't have those, but you can feel where one was (I guess during manufacturing) and they are rough at the tips. Gross! I really hate that.

Here's how they looked:

Even though I just put these on last night, they are already off. =( The thumb on my left hand just lifted off...I have no idea why it wasn't staying on. Also, the sides of some of them felt rough--if that makes sense. I used the best sizes I could find for my nails, but they just didn't fit well. Bummer...I was really hoping to like these are they seem so highly recommended. I much prefer my Kiss nails better. If you missed my review of Kiss nails, check it out here!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay Give-a-way!!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. This is my honest opinion, I was not paid to write this review.

SEXY MOTHER PUCKER?

Time for another SG review! This is the infamous Sexy Mother Pucker, lip plumping gloss. I've never tried a lip plumping gloss, as I am happy with my lips. But...am still curious if this stuff really works. On to the pictures, as they say a thousands words, right?

My lips before:

My lips about 10 minutes after I applied the gloss:

Do my smackers look bigger to you? I can't really tell the difference. I thought perhaps if I removed the gloss, as gloss can help make lips looks larger (or so I have heard), here's a pic of my lips with gloss wiped off:

Side by side:

What do you think? Have you tried this? To me, after just a minute my lips began this crazy tingle! It almost felt like how your legs feels when it's "falling asleep". It tingled for about twenty minutes or so. I'm not sure how long the effect is supposed to last, as I am not sure it really worked for me. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay Give-a-way!!!

FTC Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review. I am not affiliated with this company. I was not paid to write this review, this is my honest opinion.

SOAP & GLORY SOLAR POWDER

You guys know I adore Soap & Glory and I can't wait for their stateside return!!!! I recently wrote to SG letting them know how much I love their products and can't wait to try more! So the lovely Gwen was sweet enough to send me an amazing package with lots of SG goodies to tide me over until their return!!!

So here is the first item I wanted to review for you guys. I have loads of followers in the UK and surrounding areas, so if are lucky enough to be able to purchase them, check this one out!

"Mix-and-match multi-shade bronzer for beautifully luminous skin. FREE brush and Mirror included!

Enough to glow around
Sweep the brush lightly over the bronzer, then dust onto your face, neck and décolletage for instantly sun-kissed skin. (Get into the habit of applying a high SPF sunscreen first, and you might appear tanned and glamorous for years without ever developing a wrinkle)."

Can you say, "Gorgeous!"? Inside are two matte, yes...I said matte, bronzing powders and the adorable Soap & Glory Log on it. The logo is brushed with pink sparkling powder...which sadly is just on the top, after you sweep it once, it's gone. Boo whoo. *hahaha*

It's also got a bottom that pops open and store a brush inside:

I haven't used this and probably won't. It seems to me it would do in a pinch, but might not blend out as much as I would want. I've also got travel brushes, so I'll probably stick with those.

I tried doing swatches for you all, but this is really such a light bronzer and my lighting isn't the best, it was hard to get a decent picture. Sorry! I will post a picture soon with the bronzer on my mug! Do you have this? Do you love it?

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay give-a-way!

FTC Disclosure: These products were sent to me by Soap & Glory. I was not paid to write this review. This is my honest opinion. I am not affiliated with this company.

SEDONA LACE 28 BLUSH PALETTE

After many months of requesting this palette, it's finally here! I have been lemming for this palette, but I wanted to purchase it from Sedona Lace. You can't beat their customer service and prices. Sure, I could have bought this off ebay, paid next to nothing for the palette itself and paid an arm and leg for shipping, and then waited a few or two for it to come...

But the folks at Sedona Lace have excellent prices and the fastest (and best packed!) service around, not to mention that owner, Jason, and promotions manager, Suzanna, are completely amazing and work very hard--so I feel really good at supporting Sedona Lace anyway I can. Ok, enough love-fest....on to the review!

There are 28 beautiful colors of blush in this palette. Some have shimmer, some super silky, and some matte shades. A few colors I looked at thinking, "What am I going to do with this?" but after swatching them, they really all are very wearable when applied with the right amount.  I have been using this over my neutral colored cream blush so the powder blush really gives the color and stays put ALL DAY. If you read my blog regularly, you'll know I often work LLLLLLLOOOONG days and I really don't have time for touch-ups. I have always had a hard time "keep blush on my face". I have found that with the combo of my cream blush and setting it with one of theses gorgeous powders, it gets me through those 11 hour days! No joke!!

Since there are so many colors in this palette, I can find the perfect shade to correspond with the rest of my makeup and even get a great highlight out of it too! Ok, so on to the swatches:

Obviously this isn't all of the colors, but some of my favorites so far!! If you want to see more or a specific one, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to post it for you. If it's not already, put this palette on your wish list!!

Until next time...stay NV'ious!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay Give-a-way!!!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this item with my own money. I was not paid to write this review. I am not affiliated with this company.

MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD....

Please check out my latest guest blog post on Shopoholic! Please comment!! I reviewed Fergie's new AVON Fragrance, Outspoken.

Don't forget to visit Free Beauty Events to enter their latest give-a-way!!

"For the month of September 2010, we will be giving away 10 prizes. Each prize will consist of  these items from Revlon: Powder Brush, File-n-Smooth nail file, Age Defying Concealer, Lipstick, Grow Luscious Mascara, PhotoReady Foundation – a $45 Value! The Contest runs from 9/1/2010 to 9/30/2010, winners will be chosen on 10/5/2010 and notified by 10/15/2010."

Click on the link above to find out how you can earn extra entries!!

And of course, don't forget to enter my amazing Mary Kay give-a-way! A $50 gift certificate!!

AVON HEALTHY MAKEUP FOUNDATION

Introducing

avon healthy makeup

Healthy makeup is… the essence of a beautiful look. A fresh face. Vibrant eyes. Rosy lips. It lets your natural radiance shine through...and your true beauty come alive.

Jillian Dempsey Avon Global Creative Color Director & Hollywood Makeup Artist.

what is healthy

a new color collection designed to enhance the key signs of healthy skin…

Triple Vitamin & Antioxidant Complex

Infused with skin-loving nutrients, such as Vitamins A, C and E, pomegranate and olive leaf

BEAUTY WITH BENEFITS

I was really excited to see this foundation come out! I bought "B", which looks a lot like the Maybelline Dream Cream Mousse foundation--which I have not tried. The packaging looks very similar to my Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. The texture is very creamy and you can really play with the coverage. Here's my shade!

There are a lot of shades to select from, 12 in all. Though I think AVON is neglecting darker skin tones. Booo!! But I hear that is common with cosmetic companies--which is really too bad!

My most favorite way of applying foundation recently is with my Sigma flat top kabuki brush! LOVE!

It is the perfect size to dip into this pot! I just tap it in there a few times and it picks up the perfect amount.

I'm not wearing too much here, I'd say light to medium coverage. As much as I like this, I still have to reach for concealer for under my eyes. I find that this foundation will last me through a work day, but not one of those horrendous 11 days I've had recently. I notice that it seems to wear off mostly in my t-zone, which is generally not oily, so I'm not sure what is making it come off. Anyhow, this will be available from your AVON rep soon, will be around $9 when it first comes out then will be about $12 after. You can always shop my online AVON store if you are in the US and orders over $30 ship free!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay give-a-way!

FTC Disclosure: I am an independent AVON representative. I purchased this product at a discount rate. I was not paid to write this review, this is my honest opinion.

NICOBELLA VEGAN ORGANIC DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

(Photo credit: Nicobella)

"nicobella vegan organic chocolate truffles are decadent dark chocolate indulgences made with a creamy ganache center that is infused with high antioxidant ingredients.

nicobella is designed for the health conscious individual providing all of the flavor without the guilt.

~ nichole dandrea

Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist"

"nicobella vegan organic dark chocolate truffles take the concept of the decadent truffle to a new level. By replacing the cream and sugar*, that is typically in the ganache center, with vegan natural ingredients and infusing each truffle with super rich antioxidant foods, such as blueberries, green tea, sunflower seed butter, and pumpkin, there is finally something available for the health conscious individual that is lower in fat and sugar AND good for the body. nicobella vegan organic dark chocolate truffles are a tasty and sensual indulgence that will tempt your taste buds, nourish your body and awaken your soul."

While searching for the best products to put in my NV Beauty Boutique, I came across Nicobella Dark Chocolate Truffles. Chocolate that is good for your skin? Count me in! I've never had vegan or organic chocolate before, so I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy these. But you know I'm always willing to give things a chance, so I requested a sample.

Looks yummy right? From left to right:

Blueberry Almond, Ginger Green Tea, Pumpkin Chai, Pure Cocoa Bliss, Walnut Flax seed Crunch, and Sunflower Banana Butter. Sounds yummy too, huh?

Needless to say, my mouth was watering after getting an eye full of these babies! I cut a little piece off each one and indulged! They were actually really good!! I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything as far as tastes go. I'm not vegan, nor do I know much about it, but I guess I was expecting it to be ok, but maybe taste a little funny. Glad I was wrong! I'd have to say my favorite was the Blueberry Almond and then the Pumpkin Chai! They were all good though. Even my two year old loved these!

I took the rest of the chocolate truffles with me to work to get some other opinions. Four others tried them out as well and I am pleased to tell you, they were a hit! Everyone really enjoyed the flavors and wouldn't have guessed they were vegan.

I think Nicobella chocolates would be a great gift for any chocolate lover! I'm thinking these will be great stocking stuffers this Christmas! This box is $13 in the boutique and they ship worldwide (as does everything in the store, so please don't let geography stop you from shopping!)!!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay give-a-way!

FTC Disclosure: These were sent to me for review.

TERRA FIRMA COSMETICS, NEUTRAL BROWN TRIO

Hello my NV'ious beauties! I'm back with another Terra Firma review! This time, it's the Neutral Brown Trio.

From Left to right: Baha, Chesnet, and Dark Chocolate

Baha and Chesnet have shimmer while Dark Chocolate is a great matte color. Cue the swatches:

Gorgeous right? Now the look:

This is a look I did for work, so it's not bold. You can easily foil these shadows for a more dramatic look! I am happy with the pigmentation of this trio pack.  These are easily blended and last me through a work day with primer. You can find Terra Firma products in the NV Beauty Boutique!

Enter my Mary Kay give-a-way!

FTC Disclosure: This product was sent for review. I was not paid to write this review. This is my honest opinion.

WHAT THE HECK?

Is it just me, or has blogger decided to add links to our posts?? I noticed it this morning and just now again while going through my blogroll. If so, can you stop it? I don't want random links added without my permission. Anyone have any ideas?

PEEK-A-BOOB!!

"Finally, we can wear button down shirts without any peek-a-boob! Peek-a-Boob Strips eliminates the gap between buttons on your favorite shirts, hides bra straps, secures wrap style skirts & shirts, conceal necklines, or just a quick fix for a hemline. So put the safety pin away ladies, now we have Peek-A-Boob!"

When I was asked to try this product I thought, "Ok, I'll give it a go." but wasn't really that excited about it. I have some button-up shirts and cardigans (yes, I know it's summer, but it's cold at work!!) so the next time I reached for one of these I went ahead and slapped a few of these babies on. It was another one of those long days I've been talking about lately, so I knew this would be the perfect test. I am happy to report that these were super easy to use, stayed on my sweater all day, were easy to remove, and didn't ruin my sweater at all! I've worn them a few times now and I am SOLD. Just one little tin (which is adorable by the way) has 30 little strips! I'm definitely going to be buying these when I run out! I've already had people tell me they want them! Where can you find these? The NV Beauty Boutique, of course! Check it out, they're only $8!

I also used these on the hem of one of my trousers and actually forgot to take it off before I washed them--no damage!! Wuhu! I am really impressed with Peek-A-Boob!! Have you used these? Did you love them?

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay Give-a-way!

FTC Disclosure: This was sent to me for review. I was no paid to write this. This is my honest opinion. All photos property of Peek-A-Boob!

GRAFTOBIAN HI-DEF GLAMOUR CREME BLUSH PALETTE

Here's the first of several Graftobian reviews ladies! If you remember, a little while ago Graftobian was kind enough to send me some products for review. I have been obsessed with this blush palette since I opened the box!

First of all, the colors are beautiful! There's a really nice range in here as well for all skin tones. Each of these colors are also available to purchase separately. They are .18 oz for $9.99. Doesn't sound like a lot? Seriously, a little of this goes a looooooong way. I barely have to put my brush or finger into this to get great color on my cheeks. I've been favoring my travel SS109 for application.

Here are the lovely swatches:

Now let's blend them out....

Seriously? I love all of these!!! Of course, I'd never wear this much at once, but you get the idea. These are just so creamy and pigmented. I do top them off with powder blush similar in color to really make it last a ridiculously long time. **Remember those 11 hour days I talked about in my last post?** I have never had blush last me that long...until now! There is absolutely no need for me to touch up my blush with these.

And now a picture of moi with the blush on, looking very serious might I add. *hahaha*

This is just the creme blush on top of my foundation, no primer. I think I am wearing either peach blush or vienna rose here. When I've used up this palette, I will definitely be buying a few shades. I'm in love!

Don't forget to enter my Mary Kay Give-a-way!!

FTC Disclosure: This product was sent for review. This is my honest opinion. I was not paid to write this review. I am not affiliated with Graftobian.

SEDONA LACE 88 METAL PALETTE

When I first saw this palette, I thought, "Hmm, it's pretty, but I can live without it." Then of course I kept seeing reviews on it and began the lemming!! The colors in here are really gorgeous but also I noticed, very wearable every day. Sure, there's some colors in here that are a little out there, but this palette is full of colors you can wear to your 9 to 5.

I thought nothing would top my love for the 88 warm palette, which Sedona Lace also carries now! When I bought mine, they didn't have it yet, but I totally recommend Sedona Lace, as they have a great product, great prices, and the fastest **and carefully packed** shipping around! I've made about three orders from them and all have come quickly and safely!

The colors in the 88 metal palette so far for me have been really nicely pigmented, easy to blend, and perfect for adding some color and shimmer to your every day looks. I have had this palette for a little over a week and I can honestly say I have worn it every day!! I've had some long days at work recently and these shadows **with primer** have lasted me through 11 hour days---no joke!! No touch ups needed--even if I had time for touch-ups, I am still bad at doing them! So for me, this is perfect.

Ok, on to some looks from the past week!

These are from the same look. I got so many complements this day! Love it! Like my little "Lauran Conrad" braid I've been rockin' lately?

Here's a more neutral look with the palette.

Something more colorful I wore today! Again, lots of complements, even from the hubby--who never notices anything makeup related...ever!

In a million years when this runs out...I'm getting another!

Don't forget to check out my newest give-a-way!

Here's the first Mary Kay virtual makeover!! Doesn't she look great?

FTC Disclosure: This palette was sent for review. This is my honest opinion, I was not paid to write this review. I am not affiliated with Sedona Lace.