What is your face shape? Contouring for different face shapes.

Contouring for different face shapes

What shape are you?

Beauty 411 by: Michelle Hibbard

 I mostly write reviews on make-up, but I also want to share tips and other beauty related information. 

I thought this was important because I noticed a huge trend on youtube is to contour like Kim Kardashian. This is fine but we all don't have the same face shape as her. It is important to know yours so here is a guide to learn your face shape ( how many times can I write face shape!) and what your contouring should look like based on your facial features. (didn't say face shape, lol)

My face shape is the diamond shape.

What is yours?

If you are interested in seeing more posts like this and not just reviews please let me know with either a comment or by hitting the google+ button.

Review: Wet 'n' Wild, Fergie Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stain

 Wet 'n' Wild : Fergie 

Vicious Varnish High Shine 

Lip Stain

A Beauty Review by: Michelle Hibbard

I apologize for the horribly shot picture, I didn't realize the lighting looked so bad until I uploaded them on here. 

This is a new product off of the Wet 'n' Wild Fergie line. Before I start my reviews I like to go online and see what the product says on their site about the item I am reviewing. Unfortunately I could not find anything. I went to the Wet 'n' Wild VIP site but found nothing and I was completely confused as to how to work the site. Maybe I would have to sign up to get more info, but I don't purchase enough Wet 'n' Wild make-up to want to join. I also tried a Walgreen's site and another make-up site that were selling this product but had nothing written in the description box. Weird! So I cannot agree or disagree with what they advertise this product to be because I couldn't find anything on the product other than others reviews.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Review:

After buying this lip gloss I tried it as soon as I got home. The brush was bendable at the tip, the applicator was shaped a little flatter than the normal lip gloss sponge and seems to hold and spread more product with this design.

I start to spread the product on my lips and it was super creamy and felt amazing on my lips. It isn't very pigmented but this is actually labeled as a varnish not a gloss. From what I know about varnishes is that they are usually transparent so it basically lets you know in the title is will have little pigment to it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The cons of this product are it is not long-wearing at all! It starts to wear off immediately. The other thing is this is supposed to be a lip tint but I noticed hardly any tint on my lips at all after it wore off. (as you can see in the picture above)

                             Rating Score: 6                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I have given the Wet 'n' Wild, Fergie Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stain a score of 6. Although I do like the formula and the color it does wear off incredibly fast. It also claims to be a lip tint but I saw no results, just a extremely slight tint.  The biggest thing that knocked off points is that it doesn't stay on for very long at all. That is something that most will women look for when purchasing lip products. Overall I would recommend this product for those who don;t re-applying every so often. It does apply very smoothly and looks very nice on the lips.

Influenster Review: Celestial Seasonings Green Tea

 Influenster Review: 

The art of green tea

Celestial Seasonings

 I have actually been drinking Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time, Chamomile tea since I was a child. I now share this same tradition with my children. We make the Sleepy Time tea with a little honey and a small squeeze of lemon juice straight from a lemon slice.  I also still drink this tea on sleepless nights. It is very calming. I now drink the Celestial Seasonings Authentic Green Tea. I use one packet of Truvia natural sweetener in my cup of green tea, I love it!

Before doing this review I wanted to look up the Celestial Seasonings website to learn a little about the company itself. This company has been around for 40 years and I have been a customer for about 25 of those years. They donate to a variety of foundations with donations in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately the writing on their company information blends in with the back round picture making it impossible to read, so these were the only things I could pick up off of their site.


If you don't know what Influenster is it is a website/company  that anyone can sign up for and it is 100% free. You review items, give your input and do some easy surveys about what you like. These aren't the type of surveys where you are flooded with spam after you take one. The surveys come directly from the Influenster site and they are to see if you are what they are looking for to try products for free. After spending some time getting badges for doing surveys and reviews they start to send you free samples and coupons in the mail to review based on the input you have entered in your surveys. You also need to have some kind of social media account where you can review the products to people on that account.

Review:

So this is my first box and here is my review. I was sent two types of green tea by Celestial Seasonings. The first one I chose was the Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea. I chose this one because I was not decaf! When I opened it there were two tea bags, I thought that was cool. So I tried it alone, and it was good but I like some kind of sweetness to my tea so I added a little honey and a half packet of Truvia natural sweetener. I am in love with this tea! I am a green tea drinker and the type of person that when it comes to coffee and tea I stick to a few but this tea was amazing. It has the perfect ratio of honey, lemon and ginseng. It has a very smooth taste with a little zing. I absolutely recommend anyone to try this tea, especially if you are a green tea drinker like myself.

The second tea package was a surprise to me because I didn't notice until after I started to boil the water that it is a Sleepy Time Green tea with Lemon Jasmine. As I wrote above I have been drinking the Chamomile Sleepy Time tea for almost my whole life. To this tea I added only honey. With my normal Sleepy Time tea I add lemon but this has Lemon already in it. I love this tea too! The Jasmine gives it that Asian tea flavor which I also love.  I used the second tea bag that came in the packet and split it between my two kids and they love it as well!

After trying these 2 different Green teas I am in love with both of them. The box also came with a coupon for a free box of Celestial Seasonings tea. My problem is I don't know which one to get with the free coupon. They are both so good!

I am 100 not being paid for this review. these are my honest opinions and as I receive more boxes I will continue to give you my honest opinion even if I hate the product.

Review: Loreal 24 hour Power Volume Mascara

Loreal 24 hr Power Volume Mascara

A beauty review by:

Michelle Hibbard

When I saw this mascara in the drugstore I fell in love with the look of the brush. It looked like it was going to be the perfect mascara. Was it?
This is in the color blackest black #681
Pricing ranges from $7.54 to $10.99.
The advertisements claim the this mascara has 15 times the impact on lashes, bigger size brush so it will deposit more mascara, claims  that formula will last for 24 hours and has collagen for extreme volumes without smudging, flaking or clumps.

Review:

Some mascaras are packaged with the brush visible and a screw top on the mascara, others have a picture of the brush on the packaging and some it is a guessing game. The Loreal 24 hr Power Volume mascara is packaged with a drawing of what the brush is supposed to look like. When I opened the mascara and pulled the brush out I noticed the ends of the bristles were a square tip, not like the drawing which showed a regular pointed type tip.

The next thing I noticed was there was hardly any product on the brush, which sometimes happens the very first time or two you pull the wand out. This was not one of those times. I put it in wiggled it around and pulled it out, (get your mind out of the gutter, lol ) it just seemed so dry. After doing this a dozen times I decided to just start to apply the mascara. 

The first coat hardly put anything on my lashes. It took 6 coats until I was satisfied there was enough product on them. Its funny because most mascaras start out too wet, this one was like a old mascara I have had in my drawer for 2 years. Even though it was dry and was more work than I liked I was satisfied with the way my lashes came out. There was no clumping, the lashes were very separated which gave them volume without the thick mascara look. In all honesty I was really liking this mascara... which lasted 20 minutes.

 After applying this mascara I sat down with my toddlers to play a game. Twenty minutes into the game I got up to use the restroom. I always have to look at myself when I walk into a bathroom. I was shocked to see that the mascara was already flaking! Only 20 minutes after I put it on! I really was starting to like this mascara but this was the last straw.

Since it was early in the day and I didn't feel like doing my make-up all over again I got a another mascara I own that is a really wet formula and put a coat on top. This actually worked well because after applying the second mascara I had minimal flaking.

I guess if I was willing to go through this annoying process I would use this product because at the end of it all my lashes did look very nice. There was volume and they did not stick or clump, but if I am going to buy a mascara I don't think I should have to use a separate mascara just to make it work. 

If Loreal were to fix the flaking problem I would totally use this mascara daily and definitely recommend it. it is what it is, a just OK mascara and I only recommend it if you are someone who uses three different mascaras, I could see this being the first coat of the three and maybe working that way. Who knows... maybe I just bought a faulty dried up tube!

Rating:

I am going to rate the Loreal 24 hr Power Volume mascara a 4. Although I did like the outcome it was too much work and I cant get passed the fact that within 20 minutes of just sitting it started to flake. Not just a few flakes but the whole area under my eye was covered in flakes.(Not exaggerating!)

 I am on a mission to find the best drugstore mascara out there! For myself and for anyone out there that reads my blogs. I will find it!

Weekly Random Review: Melatonin Ultra

**Weekly Random**

Get your beauty sleep

Melatonin

As a mother of two toddlers sleep is crucial. I have to make sure I rest well just to keep up with my 2 and 3 year old! Sleep is also very important for many other reasons, such as:

1. Sleep is restorative for your brain
2. Not getting enough sleep can cause weight gain
3. Not enough sleep can cause under-eye circles
4. Sleep benefits your heart
5. Sleep can actually better your mood
6. Sleep can improve your memory
7. Not enough sleep can lead to a shorter life span
8. Not enough sleep can cause depression
9. For children not getting enough sleep can cause ADHD, bad grades and even stunt growth.
10. New research shows that for men Melatonin can cut the risk of prostate cancer by 75%! 

Needless to say sleep is extremely important for our mind, body, health, well being and beauty. I however have been having trouble sleeping which has caused me to gain weight, have extreme fatigue during the day, has made my mood go up and down and it has affected my memory. 

I started looking online for a drug free sleeping pill, I didn't want to take anything prescribed because I have people in my life that had become addicted and were groggy throughout the day. That isn't for me. The first name that came up in my search was Melatonin. I went to the store that day and bought a small bottle. I took 2 3 mg tablets and laid down ten minutes later. That was the first night of uninterrupted sleep I had in a very long time. 

Melatonin is a hormone found in the body, The pill form that is made in a lab is used to adjust out bodies Melatonin so we can sleep better. Melatonin has even been known to help those with insomnia. It is drug free, actually considered a dietary supplement not a drug, it is not addicting and from experience I can tell you I wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy.

I am taking the Melatonin Ultra by Schiff. These are 3 mg pills and for about $8 I get 300 tablets. The prices range from $4 to $14. They are available at any drugstore, most grocery stores, online and Costco. I take two a night and I sleep great now!

This is a great product and I 100% recommend this to anyone with trouble sleeping or looking to get off a prescribed sleeping medication.

If you have any questions please address them below.

Review: Urban Decay Naked Flushed Face Palette

 Urban Decay Naked

Flushed

                      Face Palette

A beauty review written by: Michelle Hibbard

Description: This palette is off of the Urban Decay Naked line. It is a silky milk chocolate colored matte bronzer, a sheen illuminate and a very beautiful rose colored matte blush. Made to give your skin a radiant glow. Description is based off of the Urban Decay website with my own adjectives thrown in.


I purchased this product at Sephora for $30 in store.

I remember seeing this on youtube and thinking, "I HAVE to get that face palette!", So I did. I have fair skin so most bronzers are too dark for me. This bronzer was a perfect match. I really like that it is a matte bronzer too. The illuminate is very sheen shimmer which some like something more noticeable, but for me this is perfect. The blush is absolutely fabulous, very pigmented and the color is very natural. I truly love this face palette! The colors are very pigmented and leave a very natural beautiful glowing look. 

Review:

Even though I am in love with this palette there are a few things you should know if you are interested in purchasing it. It is very light, so if you are looking for heavy contouring this is probably not the product for you. Another issue with it being so light is I don't think women with darker skin tones would have much use for the bronzer. This palette only comes in these colors, so if these colors don't work for you there are no other options with this palette. 

Another thing, I'm sure I know why they made this palette in these proportions but this doesn't work for everyone. There is a very small amount of the illuminate compared to the bronzer, the blush is a bit bigger than the illuminate, and the bronzer is the size of both the illuminate and blush, so half of this palette is bronzer. The packaging is good but nothing extra special.  

For me it works out perfectly, but I think before anyone buys this they should weigh out their own personal pro's and con's. $30 is a lot of money to spend on something your not going to use.                                                                                                                

7

I have given this product a rating of a seven. I absolute;y love this product and I will purchase it again, however, the issue with the light colors and the uneven proportions have taken it from a 10 to a 7 in my opinion. I do recommend this palette. especially if you have fair to light skin. 

Review: Covergirl Bombshell Volume Mascara by Lashblast

 COVERGIRL

Bombshell Volume

By Lashblast

MASCARA

A beauty review written by:

Michelle Hibbard

Description: This is Covergirl's newest mascara. It is a two step mascara to bring your lashes volume and length. Brush #1/Step #1 is called the extreme volume basecoat. Description is information based off of the Covergirl  website.

I purchased this mascara at Ulta for $11.99, however it is available at Wallmart fot $8.94.

After doing my usual make-up routine minus the mascara I opened up this product to use. First I looked at the brushes. Brush #1 has a plastic spikey brush, which in most cases I do not like. Brush #2 has the old regular bristles, that I like and looks like a nice brush. So I start with the first brush and the mascara is super wet and making my lashes stick together. It not looking good but I am thinking maybe the second brush will separate them and give them that "extreme volume" that is advertised on the package. That was absolutely not the case!  I didn't think it was possible but it made it worse. They were so sticky and clumpy so I grabbed my spooly and tried to do some damage control but it wasn't happening. My eye lashes were all stuck together and it took a really long tome to dry. When my lashed finally dried they were crispy, rock hard!

There was long term coverage, but when I went to wash my face this mascara would not come off! I must have used 4 make-up remover cloths just trying to remove this product. As I was doing this I notices my lashes were breaking off with the mascara!  I was horrified!

Review: 

This is the WORST mascara I have ever used. Not only was the mascara horrible going on and completely useless. I could not work with this mascara at all! That wasn't even the worst part! That one use completely damages my eye lashes!  Tips of my lashes broke off and they are much thinner than prior to using this mascara.

0!!!

Not even one point goes to this garbage! Afeter looking at the reviews on their website I see that others had the same exact problems I did. I am going to return this today! I absolutely DO NOT recommend the Covergirl Bombshell mascara to anyone!!! If you are looking to thin your lashes this is the perfect product, if not stay away!!!

Review:Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter

Revlon

Color Burst Lip Butters

Colors in same order, left to right in top picture and top picture to bottom in lip swatch pictures.             
  Left/top: Cupcake
  Middle: Lollipop
  Right/bottom: Peach Parfait

Review:

Two of these I have owned for awhile, Lollipop and Cupcake. I later purchased the Peach Parfait lip butter. They were $7.99 at my local drugstore. Right now these are the lipsticks I use the most. They go on like butter, are very pigmented for a balm and I just love the colors! They also hydrate your lips so after wearing this throughout the day my lips feel smooth at the end of the day.

Cupcake is a pale pink color that has a gloss to it and is a bit sheen. 

Lollipop is a beautiful pink/fuchsia color that has sparkle to it along with the gloss. 

Then my favorite color of the trio is Peach Parfait. Even though it is my favorite color There is a problem with this formula, the lipstick has a grainy texture. I'm not sure why because the color Lollipop is the same look just a different color. I still wear Peach Parfait and absolutely am in love with this color! 

Overall they go on smooth, hydrate your lips, a variety of sheen to medium colors and they have a sparkly, glossy finish that feels great, not sticky.

 9

I want to rate this product a 10 but I am giving it a 9. I just hate the fact that my favorite lipstick has a grainy texture. Other than that these are fabulous lip butters and I do recommend these to anyone looking for a soft colored, glossy lipstick.

Color: Lollipop

Review: Stila Water Proof Eye Liner Set

                 Stila

Color Outside The Lines Smudge Sticks

Water Proof Eye Liner Set

This set comes with five liners. Colors are in same order in both pictures. Starting from left to right: 

Stingray, Navy, Aubergine, Lionfish and Emerald.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Review:

I purchased this set online not too long ago. I bought them at a sale price for $25, original price is $34. This sale is still going on at ULTA, if interested click on this link: Stila Eye Liner Set 

I absolutely love these liners! They are super creamy going on, smudge nicely, look amazing in the waterline and they are water proof. 

What isn't noticeable in the picture with the swatches is that all of the colors except for Stingray have a but of shine in them. I have used these on my lids, on my waterline and even in my outer V of my lid over my eye shadow to extenuate the look. They work extremely well in every way I used them.  

The only color I haven't used and don't know if I ever will id the Emerald liner. Its a brighter sparkly green maybe on St. Patrick's day! Just a bit too bright for me and it doesn't match the set well.  I own another one of these liners that came with a palette I bought in a color called Starfish, this is a sparkly olive green with hints of grey in it. This would have been a much better candidate for this set. In fact it would be perfect. That's my opinion.

9

                                                                                                                                                I am giving this Stila eye liner set a 9. I love the set, the eye liners are wonderful but I just don't like that there is a color in there that I would never wear. I feel like they could have put a better color in there. To me it just doesn't belong in the set, so I knocked a point off for that. I do recommend this beauty product and if you are interested in purchasing please use the link above and buy it on discount and save $9! You will not regret buying these.                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Review: Lorac Pro Palette

Lorac Pro Palette

comes with

Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow 

Primer

0.19 oz/5.5 g

 Eye shadow colors: (palette and swatches are in same order)
All shadows in top row are matte, starting from top row left to right.
White, Cream, Taupe, Light Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso and Black
All bottom row shadows are shimmery, again from left to right.
Nude, Champagne, Gold, Light Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple and Slate

My review:

I had been trying to purchase this palette for months! Around the holidays is the worst time to buy make-up. Every store I went into told me to either come back after the holidays or look online. Sephora actually stopped carrying Lorac products! So I got online, found one and under the title it said "only a few left!" This just made me want it more. That whole want what you cant have deal, that was me. 

So it finally arrived and I did some swatches. I knew right then I was already going to love this palette. The shadows are beautiful, versatile and the are all color I can wear daily. What I really love about it is that there are 16 shadows, 8 of the matte and 8 are shimmer shadows. Not many palettes with that many matte colors. I does not come with a brush, as the Lorac Pro To Go comes with two, but I am not worried about this because I almost never use the brushes that come in my palettes.

I of course used this palette the next day and it is now my favorite. I have a ridiculous amount of palettes stating that it is my favorite means something. The shadows are so pigmented and they go on and blend fabulously! 
I did try the eye shadow primer that came with the palette, although it works well I am not liking it so much I want to switch from my Urban Decay Primer Potion. It does work well though and I love getting freebies with my purchases!

                                                                8

So my rating for the Lorac Pro Palette is a 8. It would have been a 10 (I love it that much!) however I do not like the packaging. It is that black material that dirties easily and cant be cleaned. I like my make up to look clean so this really bugs me. I almost knocked off 2 points for this but I really love these eye shadows! The second point was taken because there is a bit of fallout. Minimal but still there.
I 100% recommend this palette! Well worth the money!

These are some picture of a look I did with the colors Deep Purple, Pewter in the outer V and crease. Light Bronze, Champagne, Nude I blended like a ombre effect going in from the outer V to my tear duct. Last I added Cream to my brow bone.

Review: Urban Decay, The Feminine Palette

Urban Decay

The Feminine Palette

Swatches on the right: Starting from the bottom of my arm and the bottom of the palette left to right, first color is AC/DC (lavender color). Next is Skimp, (off white, cream color with some shimmer). 3rd up is Bordello (pink to mauve color) Now the next three up will be top left to right on the palette. 4th up Lost (brown with a copper tint). Second to last going up is Hijack (teal with a greyish tone). Last but not least of the shadows is Gunmetal (smokey grey color, looks like gunmetal lol). All shadows are shimmery. The little glob below my hand, and the item in the middle of the palette is a sample size Urban Decay Lip Junkie Cool and Plumps in the color Wallflower. 

The palette itself is really cute and handy. The exterior is purple silky material with a plastic cover. It has a antique black lace design on front and back. It opens and closes by zipper which is very original. On the inside it is just cardboard, I feel they could have picked a better material. There is a mirror on top and then the six shadows and the sample lip gloss in the middle of the shadows. Under the lip gloss is a small piece of black ribbon which is there to help take the gloss out. Pull on the ribbon and the gloss comes up with it. To top it all of the palette itself is removable! You can pull the palette up and it comes right off leaving you with a cute little make-up bag. It is attached by magnets. There is a warning sign under the palette that says you can store whatever you like, but do not put credit cards in it. The magnets will demagnetize your cards leaving them useless.

I bought this on sale for $16 but I believe the regular price is $36. Now let me just say, I really like this palette. It is convenient, handy and I love every color on the palette. Even the lip gloss (which I thought I didn't like) is starting to grow on me. But... I would never have purchased this if it wasn't on sale! Just being honest. 

                                       Review:

The shadows are super creamy, the colors are absolutely beautiful and I love that I can zip it up and throw it in my purse with the palette in it or without. I don't really have anything bad to say about this palette.

                                                 8

I do recommend this palette to anyone, if you can still get it on sale at ULTA I would suggest you buy it. Its a great discount! My rating for this product is a 8. I am very happy with this purchase.

Review: Maybelline New Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser

Maybelline New Baby Skin

Instant Pore Eraser

My skin type: Dry skin, some adult acne at times. 

When my eyes caught this little gut at my favorite drugstore I was like Hell Yes!!! I love the Maybelline Baby Lips and I probably own almost everyone of them so I thought this would be another awesome product from this "Baby" line.

I paid $6.99 verses the $30 I pay for my normal primer of this type, The Porefessional by Benefit. I thought if this is a dupe for my $30 primer I could be saving quite a bit! 

So the following day I decided to try it. Washed my face, moisturized as normal then squeezed out a small amount of the Baby Skin. Unlike the Porefessional this one is clear.  I start applying it to my face, I noticed that after a minute of rubbing it on it wasn't drying like the Porefessional. It really was feeling like I was rubbing grease onto my face. I didn't notice any difference in the way my pores looked. Even though I felt like washing my face again, I continued by applying my everyday foundation and concealer. It made my foundation feel greasy and it started to make it look blotchy. 

After about 20 minutes of messing with this I finally got it to look semi wearable and finished putting on the rest of my make-up. Not even 4 hours later I look in a mirror to see my face looking oily, my foundation off in places, very blotchy, and it made my foundation settle around my nose and under my eyes. This is a foundation routine I have been using for months so I know this is caused by the Baby Skin primer.

There was no touching this mess up! Washed it off then and there!

                                     Review:

This is not a product I will suggest to anyone and I will not be repurchasing this. I will also be disposing of the rest of the full Baby Skin tube. This is a product with truly no benefits. I would never use it again and I would never give that waste of time and money to anyone else to use!

                                               2
I am rating this a 2. It would have been a zero but I do like the fact that it is clear and the packaging is so darn cute! The product itself gets 0 points.

                                              FYI

If you are looking for a product like this and you have a little extra money to spare I suggest The Porefessional by Benefit. It is $30 but most stores that carry this have a trial size for $10. It is so worth the money and it makes my foundation look amazing! Love it!