Why You Should Follow Me on YouTube

Why should you follow me on YouTube?  Let me tell you why...

#1.  It's free.  And it takes like two clicks.  Click HERE to go to the channel, and then find the Subscribe button. Click that.  There.  Done, and it didn't cost you a thing.  Now you have instant access to my wealth of knowledge on all things beauty.

#2.  I actually know what I'm talking about.  I'm not going to teach you how to burn your hair off, give you purchasing advice bought off by the makeup companies, or give you tricks that could cause serious sanitation issues.  I know what works not only my skin tone and shape, but on the skin tones and shapes of the endless clients that I work with day in and day out.  Anything I recommend, I'm going to do so, because it works.  I don't talk about anything I haven't test run on myself or others first.  Same goes for this blog by the way!

#3.  I think I can be pretty funny at times, witty at others, and at my worst not drive you crazy with the sound of my voice.  I'm not going to be crazy and wild and a "what will she do next" kind of girl, but I'll at least make your makeup education not boring.  (And if you've watched YouTube as long as I have, you know that's not always the case for everyone out there!)

So if my words don't inspire you, check out my video above and see for yourself!  Then make my day and make those two little clicks.  Even if you never watch another of my videos again.  Seeing those numbers go up does give me a warm tingly feeling inside! haha!

Want other ways to follow me?  I'm all over!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sueminskey
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And of course on Bloglovin and SheSaidBeauty! 

March Favorites 2013

Here are some of my absolute favorite products from March 2013.  I've been either using or wearing these for the majority of the month and highly recommend them to anyone.  As with all of my product recommendations, I do not receive payment from the brands to promote their products, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am part of an affiliate program through Ulta, so if you are interested in purchasing any of these items they sell, the link provided in the text is an affiliate link to their site.

Skincare:

1. Ren Glycol Lactic Radience Renewal Mask-  This stuff combines the exfoliating power of both glycolic and lactic acid to dissolve dead skin cell buildup on the surface of the face and unclog your pores.  It's got a bit of an orangey scent to it, and it looks quite gross when you apply it. But it works wonders.  You only need about a quarter size amount once a week, so this stuff will last forever!

Makeup:

2. Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation (my color is Ivory)-  I love the texture of this.  It's almost like a silicone primer, but pigmented like a foundation. I don't even use a primer with it, and it evens out my skin and minimizes my pores.  And best of all, it looks like real skin, not heavy makeup!  Even if you build it up to more full coverage!  Better for people with oily or combination than dry skin, as I found that it did start to cling a bit to my drier patches by the end of the day.

3. Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder-  There's not too much to say about this other than-  It's the shiz.  And smells like real chocolate.  Ah-ma-zing.  There's the darker- the chocolate soleil color, and the lighter- the milk chocolate soleil color.  They are matte and really pigmented.  Perfect if you like to contour with a bronzer.  (I forgot to talk about this in my video!  Whoops!)

4. Milani Glosses-  I'm addicted to these things.  I own almost every color.  I love the 3D Glitzy Glamour Glosses best.  They smell like glazed lemon cake.  Yummy!  All the Milani lip products smell so edible, and they aren't sticky and super pigmented.  Plus, they're cheap!  Score!

5. Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer-  I love Tarte, but these guys have got to narrow down their names.  Bonus points for descriptiveness though.  But back to the product... it feels like a lotion going on the skin, so it's hydrating and not sticky or dry feeling like some other eye primers. I can feel it working on my skin, improving the texture of it while it holds my makeup in place.  I don't know if it's actually doing anything, but it feels great and works great so....  it gets my thumbs up!  I also love that it's a squeeze tube, so I can measure out exactly how much I want vs using an applicator to wipe some off on the back of my hand.  (I forgot this one in my video, too!  And thiiiis is why I need to be better organized when I film these things!)

6. Lorac Pro Palette-  (Not pictured)  These eyeshadows are super pigmented and blend really beautifully.  Plus, one half of the palette is mattes, and the other half is shimmers, so you can mix and match to your hearts desire!  

Nails-

7. Essie Spring Nail Polish Collection-  Just tried these for the first time the other day, and while I didn't use them all month, I am a huge fan of them right off the bat.  They are so creamy and pigmented compared to every other brand I've ever tried, that I think I'm a believer for life.  Now I just have to control myself from buying them in every color!  My favorite from my Spring Collection Review is the gorgeous coral shade Hip-Anema.  I have no idea what that means, but its a beautiful color, so what-ev's!

Tools-

8. Real Techniques Brushes-  These are so nice!  They are super inexpensive, and I love that they are lightweight aluminum handles.  I haven't had a single hair shed on any of them, and I've got multiples of all of the collections as well as the individual brushes.  I've been using and washing them all month testing their durability, and they pass with flying colors.  My biggest fav right now is the Expert Face Brush.  Great for buffing in liquid or cream foundation or contouring under the cheekbones.  It's a real multitasker, which I love in a brush.

I don't have any favorites for hair right now.  I just started going back to my regular stylist after she came off of maternity leave, and there was some color repair she's had to do on my roots.  So I'll be using my Bed Head shampoo and conditioner for the next month or two until it's time to color again to avoid anything interacting with the color process.  Reds are so finicky!  If you have any products you'd like me to test run (that are safe for color treated hair of course!) please leave me a comment below, and I'll add it to my review routine coming up!

Thanks so much for reading!  Be sure to check out my other articles and product reviews and leave me some love.  I always really appreciate feedback, and the random hello's! are fantastic, too!

New Skin Care Routine For Brightening

With winter coming to a close and the weather sllllooooooowwwwwllllyyyyyy warming up, I decided that it's time to switch up my skincare routine again.  I wanted to test some products that help to reduce dead skin build up and resurface the skin for a brighter complexion.  Three main ingredients for this are retinols and glycolic acid (for resurfacing) and Vitamin C (for brightening).  I decided to test-run two different brands/regimines on opposite sides of my face to see which gave a better overall look to my skin.

Here is the photo of my skin starting out on March 22nd. I took this with my iPod at night in my bathroom before putting on the skincare. If I'd thought about it, I would have used a better camera and lighting, but since this is the original image I took I've got to keep it consistent with all the other images to show a realistic change from the products.

Day 1

On the left side of my face (so the right side of the photo) I'm using the Vitamin C with glycolic acid based products.  On the right side of my face, I'm using the retinol based products.  I've detailed the steps below with some product images for you.

Night time:

1. Makeup removal- Roc Max Resurfacing Facial Cleanser. I only use this on days when I've worn makeup, so about 2-3 times a week.  Otherwise, I just use some toner to remove dirt and oil from normal daytime activities.  I use this with my Oil of Olay spinning brush.

2. Left Side- Skin Renew Dark Spot Overnight Peel. Some nights I'll use the Hydroxytone Power Lift moisturizer if my skin is feeling a little dry, but that was only the first few days.

3. Right Side- Retinol Correxion Sensitive Night Cream.

Day time:

1. All over my face- Boots Expert Sensitive Hydrating Serum.  Just a pea size amount.  It has aloe in it, which helps sooth my skin from the effects of the glycolic acid and retinol.

2. Left Side- Skin Renew Clinical Dark Spot Correction Moisturizer on my face.  Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin Rich Hydrating Eye Cream on eyes.

3. Right Side- No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Dry Skin with SPF 15 on my face. 
Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream on eyes.

4. All over my face- SPF 35.  Since retinols and glycolic acid are very sensitizing to the sun, it's essential that you wear sunscreen over it to avoid hyperpigmentation and burning from occurring.  Even though the Boots day cream I'm wearing on my right side has SPF, I put the SPF 35 all over to give added protection.

Here is what my skin looks like after 7 days and 8 nights of use.  The photos don't do the surface texture any justice!  My skin has never felt so smooth!  It's seriously amazing.  On BOTH sides of my face.  I'm pretty amazed right now.  Although, one downside I've noticed is how much my face is peeling if I rub at it.  When the surface is freshly moisturized, if I rub at it, the skin will start to ball up and flake off.  Same thing would happen mid-day for the first week.  I'm a few days past that right now, so the middle of the day peeling has gone away, but it was really weird.  It's completely normal with any retinol or glycolic program, as that's what it's designed to do- slough off dead skin.

Day 7

I haven't notice much help in the dark circles department, but the area is definitely very hydrated from the Boots No 7 cream, and I've noticed fewer fine lines on the side with the Roc eye cream.  I think using the Roc one at night and a Vitamin C and caffeine infused one for the day time would be the perfect combo.

China Glaze Ombres Sets

At Sally Beauty Supply the other day, I found the coolest looking sets for DIY ombre nails.  There were three color palettes to choose from, but naturally I had to pick up all three.  The boxes come with instructions on how to achieve the look, and it looked so easy.  It was, but then again it wasn't.  There are definitely some tricks to getting it to look like the photos, but I think I came pretty close.  The pink set came out the best.  What do you think?

The purple one kept losing color on the tip while I was dabbing trying to blend.  For some reason it wasn't sticking.  Also, if you aren't wiggling it up and down along the nail, it gives it a really textured look from the sponge instead of the smooth blended look in the photos.  If I were doing this on my nails, I'd probably do two coats of color.

It's really hard to see the gradation of the greens, because the two middle colors of green are too similar to see much of a difference at all.  

Here are all of the single swatches of color.  The first color of each I did two swatches so that I could show the ombre on the first and then still have each of the single colors next to it. The pink is really pale and doesn't show well on the nail wheel, and the green is a pure white.  But there's a blank nail in between each color set to keep them separate. The darkest green color is also weirdly matte instead of glossy like all the other colors.  I think the greens are my least favorite set, but the middle two colors are pretty on their own.

The directions show to dab it directly on the nail and wipe the color off the skin afterwards, but I'd recommend either putting cuticle oil around the skin or even using masking tape to make clean up much easier.
 

The pinks came out better because by then I learned to do thin strips of color and not use so much of the lightest when I sponged it out.   I think I'll do this as a video some time coming up if my nails grow out enough.  They've broken off almost every finger now.  Oddly, the middle finger on my right hand is the only left still unbroken!