2009 Healthy Beauty Awards - SELF Magazine

Hey!

My very good friend Jess, who happens to also be my beauty hero (CHECK OUT HER GIJess blog to find out why) has brought the following to my attention last night: 2009 Healthy Beauty Awards by Self Magazine.

This is the 10th annual list of 86 best beauty buys that were selected by 1,370 SELF readers. Some of the picks are considered steals ($10 or less) while others are splurges ($20 or more).

I won't list the products here as I really encourage you to check out the website!
However, I will list the products out of the 2009 Healthy Beauty Awards that I own and give you my personal recommendations.

I am looking forward to trying a few other products that have been voted as the best beauty products of 2009, some of which include:

• Best Hairspray - L'Oreal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray
• Best All-Around Conditioner - Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Instant Melting Conditioner
  
• Best Concealer - Almay Smart Shade Concealer
  

What about you? Do you own anything from the list? Anything you want to try?

Kim Kardashian = BLONDE!

DID YOU SEE? DID YOU SEE?

Kim's Twitter photo

Miss Kim is now a blondie! I love her as a brunette because it is so exotic, but because my current hair color is very similar to her new one (and I feel a bit biased as a result), I am beginning to like this look as well! Her new hair color reminds me a little bit of Jennifer Lopez, and I know Kim is a huge fan of hers.





P.S. It is actually a wig!!!! She fooled all of us :-)

Favorite Drugstore Lip Glosses - Look Hot Saving Money

Who said that you have to spend a lot of money on beautiful lip glosses? Drugstores have a number of great choices that are comparable to MAC, NARS, and other upscale brands. And please trust when I say, I am very picky. Qualities that I particularly avoid in lip glosses are: sticky, watery, oily, too sheer, and too sparkly. Also being the fan of nude/light pink lip color that I am, I am very particular about color payoff. My lips are naturally red, so I need a very pigmented nude color in order to achieve my signature look :-).

Please let's give a round of applause for the three Drugstore lip gloss winners: L'Oreal Bubble Gum, Neutrogena Groove, and Neutrogena Whisper.

(From Left to Right in Both Photos) L'Oreal - Bubble Gum, Neutrogena - Groove, Neutrogena - Whisper

What do you think of the colors? I am in awe :-).

Bubble Gum by L'Oreal is a very light peachy pink and a perfect dupe of MAC Underage! I just put them side by side and they are identical. What an easy method to save $7. It is also a huge plus that the gloss has a yummy hint of a fresh and fruity scent.

Groove by Neutrogena is a typical baby Barbie Pink color, which is VERY similar to Kim Kardashian's favorite NARS lip gloss in Turkish Delight. I like this product even better due to its price, consistency, and smell. I have read positive and somewhat negative reviews for this lip gloss, but I love it completely. Turkish Delight would disappear on my lips, whereas this product stays :-). And once again, you can save about $14!

Whisper by Neutrogena probably resembles another famous and more expensive lip gloss, but I have not thought this far. I just really like the nude lip look that this gloss provides. Simple as that!

Do you have any drugstore favorites?

FOTD's and Product Reivew

I had a small event last night, and thought it would be a great opportunity for me to do a Face of the Day (FOTD) post for you today. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Getting Ready

My make up is done, but the hair still needs some work in this picture.

Face:
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (Original formula) in Sand
Make Up Forever Lift Concealer in #3 under eyes
Make Up Forever HD Powder to set everything
Too Faced Chocolate bronzer
MAC Peachy blush
MAC Soft and Gentle Hi-lighter on upper cheek bones and nose

Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Coastal Scents Neutral Pallet colors (Beiges, Dark Browns, even the very dark burgundy, which almost looks black)
MAC Penultimate Eyeliner (a little on top and bottom)
MAC Smolder pencil along waterline
Maybelline Define A Lash Mascara
#116 Ardelle Lashes - love them!!!

Lips:
MAC Lip Erase (as base)
Sally Beauty Supply thick lip pencil in Shimmering Raisin
Rimmel Lipstick in Frosted

Complete Look My hair is all finished! I used the Enzo Milano Wand, which I absolutely love! I personally have never owned a better curling tool prior to this one.

Hair

What do you think? It actually did not take me long at all (thanks to Enzo Milano). In order to add volume and length I used 4 wefts of human hair extensions in 20 inch and 18 inch (and although I love the look, I don't do this on a daily basis).

BumpitI've grown to love bumpits. Personally, I am not a fan of teasing hair, nor am I a fan of hairspray. By using bumpits I avoid both of those methods. After I finished styling my hair, I lifted up the hair on my crown area and placed the bumpit right along the roots. I shifted the bumpit around in place for a few seconds to ensure security. Once I felt confident that the bumpit would stay in place, I dropped my hair loose over the bumpit. That's it! Oh, and in case you wonder, I wore this handy little tool for over 3 hours without any problems or discomfort.

If you don't already own Bumpits but are interested, click below to either buy them or simply read a little more: http://www.sallybeauty.com/bumpits/BUMPIT01,default,pd.html

Note: Of course, as almost every product out there, this is not for everyone. Not everyone will like it as much as others, but you just might!!

Perfume of the Month

Tommy Hilfiger - Dreaming

This smell is so beautiful, girly, and flirty - a total package for Spring.

Notes are: white peach, tuberose, freesia, white hibiscus, white woods, and orris.

The overall smell is very fresh and radiant, and when I spritz it on, I almost get a kick of extra energy. Weird, right? Although I own more perfumes than you'd ever wish to know, I am quite picky with smells. This one won me over recently, although it has been released over a year ago! I realize that perfume is very personal, and what may smell amazing to one person may not seem as appealing to another. However, I think this particular perfume would cater to most women, especially to those between ages 18 and 34.

And now its your turn! What is your favorite perfume right now?

Aussie Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Insurance

Having soft, manageable, and silky hair is so beautiful, but the price of getting there for some is NOT! Well, you DON'T always have to purchase beyond expensive hair care to have perfect hair and this newly-discovered-by-Yelena product is your proof!

I am talking about Aussie Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Insurance!!

The Description: A true work-a-holic, this leave-in conditioner, accented with Australian Silk Protein, puts in overtime to keep hair strong. Married to its job. burning the midnight oil. Any way you put it (which should be in your hair). Hair Insurance Leave-in conditioner spray is always working hard to ward off hair-related accidents. Add some Roo to your do!

Cost: anywhere from $3-5 depending on where you buy

In addition to being such an effective product (my hair is so soft right now :-), it smells SO GOOD!! Aussie Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Insurance smells like the beach. I can't put my finger, or more precisely, nose on it, but I smell some coconut and pineapple and perhaps many more beachy fuity smells that exist.

Have you tried?

My 4 Week Challenge UPDATE

Besides the fact that I'm working very hard on getting into tip top shape and have lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks, I have a very helpful TIP for anyone who doesn't already know/follow this.

TIP: Eat 6 - 8 small healthy meals a day instead of 3 big ones! I think we all know this (I know I have for years), but we don't always follow this helpful rule. It works though!

It is 12:45 pm right now, and I have eaten:

-lite cream cheese on whole wheat grain bread (9 am)
-Yogurt (10:30 am)
-Beef Jerky (11:40 am)
-Slim Fast (12:30 pm)
Note: beef jerky is actually an awesome snack! Not many calories at all and hardly any carbs!

See, all this could be consumed in one meal, but I broke it up into 4. I will continue to do so for the rest of the day. Eating less quantity but more times will cause your metabolism to speed up, did you know that? And I'm also thinking, this method would cause you to not feel too hungry at any point of the day, which in turn will naturally cause you to consume less (not that you need to but in case that's your goal)

I'm sorry to my readers who have been doing this all along...you are probably thinking, "duh!! this is nothing new, Yelena!"

However, I am so sure that there are many people out there who don't follow the eating 6-8 times a day method, so hopefully at least 1 or 2 of you will see this!

And now I would love to hear from you:

Do you have any tips?
Do you eat 6-8 times a day? If so, do you notice a difference?

Bronzer Battle: Too Faced vs. Smashbox

My curiosity never fails to amaze me...and perhaps that is something that a lot of us beauty lovers have in common!

The picture was taken in a bad lighting so the orangy colors you see are not true to reality. Both bronzer are natural brown.

I have just recently discovered my favorite bronzer by Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder, but what do you think I did yesterday? I bought yet ANOTHER bronzer, which happens to be Kim Kardashian's favorite - Bronze Lights in Suntan Matte by Smashbox.

I compared the two this morning and....want to take a guess?

To my surprise I favored Too Faced Bronzer! I am a huge fan of Kim Kardashian and think she is amazingly beautiful, so I am completely shocked that I still preferred my bronzer pick over hers!

Bottom line: The colors are similar...almost identical. However, Too Faced is much more pigmented and goes on smoother than Smashbox...just a little! With Too Faced, even though the bronzer is matte, your skin will absolutely glow after application simply because of how smooth the product is. You can layer this bronzer and thus achieve flexibility in color. And a huge perk on top of all of its great qualities, Too Faced bronzer smells and even tastes (but you didn't hear that part from me) AMAZING!

Smashbox is a nice matte bronzer too but is not as pigmented as Too Faced. Some of you may prefer that, but I like to work with a bit of pigmintation. Also, although it looked good as far as color went, my skin did not look like anything special after application. It was just a normal bronze contoured face...very every day, very regular, not bad, in fact good, but not better than Too Faced. :-)

Deliciously Phenomenal Bronzer!

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder

Having a glowy bronze skin all year around is the sexiest look in my opinion. You look healthy, refreshed, brighter and even relaxed. I have found some amazing bronzers over the past few years, and I have just recently discovered one more that I truly recommend to all of you - Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder.

According to Sephora.com,

What it does: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder makes getting glam-and-tan downright delicious. Too Face combines the natural, therapeutic effects of real cocoa powder with their signature bronzing pigments, creating a unique matte bronzer that neutralizes red and evens out and enhances all skintones. The complexion is left with a flawless finish, a gorgeous radiance, and a subtly sweet scent.

What else you need to know:Bask in beautiful bronze with this crave-worthy (calorie-free!) compact that's sure to excite your senses. This ultra-sheer formula is easy to customize, so you will always look naturally irresistible—never orangey. Get glowing, golden goddess!

My own notes: This is a perfect brown, matte, super smooth, AND DELICIOUS bronzer (although pricey $28)!! But honestly, this is perfect for any skin color. It is so important to own a matte bronzer, I can't stress this enough. Do you own one?

I'm in love....

Please comment back and let me know if you have tried this :-)

Enzo Milano Fabulosity

FABULOSITY!!!!

That's the only word that kept going through my mind after I opened my UPS box inside of which was no other than the fabulous 1-inch Enzo Milano Clipless Curling Iron that I mentioned to you in my eBay Haul Post!!!!

Can you tell I am excited?

I won't tell you too much about it as it is a pretty simple product (and you can see the photo below), but let me just say that this product rocks! Why? The Enzo Milano iron is light, easy to use, super fast, achieves the prettiest beachy/celebrity waves! Gorgeous yet Effortless!

As I've mentioned in the previous post, instead of dropping over $100, I only paid $32.99 on eBay!

eBay seller: manonspring http://myworld.ebay.com/manonspring/

I recommend :-)

p.s. I am happy with the regular shape of the iron! I used to want the conical shaped one, but no...this one is perfect!!!!