Alterre Holiday Launch Giveaway!!!

Hey everyone!! I've teamed up with Alterre to host a giveaway just in time for the holidays. You may enter the giveaway using the form below or clicking the link.

Alterre is giving away one starter kit of their 2-in-one shoe system. This looks great for someone who travels a lot and attends many events but doesn't want to bring a lot of shoes. The kit is valued at $180  and includes a pair of black suede mules, mist grey Jackies, and evening sky Marilyns with a handy travel bag. They look comfortable and easy to coordinate with many holiday outfits!

Make sure to enter and good luck to everyone who does enter!! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this innovative new shoe line. Personally, I find the concept very interesting and judging by their website, it looks like they have many different styles and colors to choose from.
Here's a link to their website:  http://www.alterreny.com

Also, if you want to purchase a pair use code HOLIDAZE for 20% your purchase at checkout from 11/27/15-11/30/15

Bite Beauty- Best Bite Rewind Holiday 2015

Today's review is on the Bite Beauty Holiday 2015 set, Best Bite Rewind. It can be found at Sephora for $25. You get four mini sized lip crayons in pretty universally flattering shades. I love Bite lip crayons, they go on smoothly and have a great staying power. 

These are a matte product but the don't dry out your lips or feel uncomfortable as they wear off. My favorite of the four is the shade Torte. I have pigmented lips and find that it looks like a "my lips but better" shade. All four are pigmented, even Cafe which is surprising to me. Normally lighter shades tend to look chalky on my lips since my natural lip color likes to peep through. 

I highly recommend buying this set, it's a great way to try out a nice variety of shades Bite beauty has to offer without breaking the bank. 

I hope this review was helpful, I'm impressed by this brand and will be looking forward to buying more Bite products. 

Exuviance Giveaway!!!!!! FYI!!!

Hey guys!! So Exuviance is hosting a giveaway! 25 lucky winners will receive a full size Exuviance Sheer Daily Protector SPF 50. To enter, simply go to http://bit.ly/1CAYdrZ and enter your details! This giveaway is open only for the US.

This Daily Protector SPF 50 claims to blend effortlessly on clean skin, or layered under makeup in a daily skincare routine. Broad spectrum SPF 50 protects against photodamage, the primary cause of signs of aging. An ultra-fine transparent mineral sunscreen in a virtually invisible universal tint smoothes imperfections and helps natural skin tone appear more even.

As we all know, protecting your skin against the damaging rays of the sun is one of the best ways to love your skin!  Exuviance is a great brand for skin care, I've personally tried out their Essentials kit and loved it! My favorite item from the kit it their Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex.

Make sure to tag @neostrataskin on Twitter and @exuviance on Instagram with your favorite ways to protect your skin from sun exposure! Good luck with the contest, I hope one of my readers wins!!

Powered by BramdBacker, all opinions my own.

Marriage Equality

Over the last week, people have been going crazy over same sex marriage and the definitions of marriage. It seems like many are confused about marriage as a civil matter vs. marriage as a religious matter. Marriage by law is a contract that two consenting ADULTS enter into. It is different from a religious marriage, which is done according to your religious beliefs.

I support the Supreme court decision on marriage equality, our country does not have an official religion and has many different sorts of people who inhabit it. All of our citizens are to be treated equally in the eyes of the law, to deny same sex couples the right to marry is logically unconstitutional. So if you ask me my view on legally allowing same sex couples to marry, I'm for it.

That's not to say that I don't support the church/religious groups right to not perform a marriage ceremony. I can only speak about the Catholic sacrament of marriage since that is what I am familiar with. I know other religious groups have their own ceremonies but I am not familiar with them and cannot speak for them. The Catholic church does not marry two people of the same sex, nor will the supreme court decision affect the church's ability to deny a marriage ceremony to same sex couples. Church's are not government entities, all this paranoia about forcing priests to perform ceremonies in their church is unwarranted. Civil marriage is NOT a sacrament.

People who work for the government and give marriage licenses to the public DO have to issue them. If you feel it conflicts with your religious views you are free to leave your job. As a government employee, you CANNOT impose your religious views on others. Divorce is also something that goes against people's religions but if you tried to deny a divorcee a marriage license, you would be sued. The same goes for people of different religious beliefs, those who do not believe in religion and same sex partners. You cannot refuse to issue them a marriage license, point blank.

Another issue that was raised was allowing child brides/grooms and polygamous marriage. Well, I'm going to put your mind at ease. Children are not able to consent to contracts or enter into them. Civil marriages require two consenting ADULTS. Which means children are automatically out of this equation, and since our current law states that civil marriage is a contract between two consenting adults, it does not allow for marriages between three, four, five (I'm sure you get the point) persons.

Personally, I find it odd that it took this long to legalize same sex marriage and hopefully this will help distinguish the separation between our government and religion. Religion has no place in government, civil marriage is a legal matter. To those who say we are a Christian nation, please review your knowledge in US History and what our founding fathers stood for and believed. You'll be surprised to learn that they never envisioned us as a "Christian Nation".

Congrats to my friends who are now able to marry and enjoy the benefits that legally come with that contract.

Top five Beauty YouTubers I love!

Hey guys! I get compliments on my makeup all the time, people are always asking me how I learned to do makeup. My secret? YouTube tutorials and makeup reviews. Most of the techniques I've learned were through watching different videos, I also get reviews on different products from these five YouTube gurus. These are not the only people I watch, but I find these five personalities to be the most helpful in terms of technique and honest reviews. In no particular order, here are my top five favorites! 

1. Lisa Eldridge http://www.youtube.com/user/lisaeldridgedotcom

Lisa Eldridge is a professional makeup artist who works with many celebrities such as Keira Knightley, Cameron Diaz, and Emma Watson. Her channel has includes simple everyday looks to glamorous red carpet looks with easy to follow instructions. I love her voice, its very soothing to listen to and she often mixes high-end makeup with drugstore makeup. I also love her period inspired looks, she explains the history of different makeup trends and what inspired them. Lisa is the person I recommend to a novice makeup wearer who needs a channel to learn basic techniques.

2. Tati, Glamlifeguru http://www.youtube.com/user/GlamLifeGuru

Tati Westbrook's channel is all about makeup and fashion. She produces content five days a week ranging from product reviews, vlogs, tips and tutorials. Her channel is what I usually have on while I'm doing my make up in the morning and I've bought makeup on her recommendation. I have yet to be disappointed by anything she's recommended! Her reviews are in depth and she tells you what she likes or dislikes about a brand. I have noticed she tends to like more high-end stuff, but her drugstore brand recommendations are always spot on and perform just as good as a high-end product.

3. Shannon, Shaaanxo http://www.youtube.com/user/shaaanxo

Shannon is a beauty blogger from New Zealand, her channel includes makeup reviews and tutorials. She has the best eye makeup looks, she's not scared of veering away from the normal natural and smokey eye looks. Her accent is another one that's nice to listen to and during Halloween she posts some of the easiest to follow costume ideas. I'm not a huge fan of the heavy foundation usage so I mostly watch her to get inspiration for unique eye looks but she knows how to play up her best features. She has one of the biggest makeup collections that I've seen on YouTube. Seriously, her makeup organization and storage system is fantastic, I would invest in something similar if I could afford to!

4. Emily Noel, Beauty Broadcast http://www.youtube.com/user/emilynoel83
                                                         http://www.youtube.com/user/beautybroadcastx
Emily Eddington is a former news anchor who blogs about makeup. She posts both reviews and tutorials on her channels and has a segment on Fridays where her husband reviews different life products. Her approach to reviews is more academic and professional in nature, her news anchor experience is pretty evident when you watch her channels. She tells you the pros and cons of each item, how they perform when compared to other products and she includes a demo of how the product looks on. Her Beauty Broadcast express channel has quick product, to the point product reviews while her Emily Noel channel has videos that are longer in length.

5. Kristina K http://www.youtube.com/user/Bunchbox

Kristina K is a newer blogger that I've started watching, I believe she's from Australia. Her channel consists of reviews and tutorials, she's one of those people that doesn't really need makeup since she's naturally pretty. She isn't as well known as the other four bloggers I featured, but I think she has the potential to be successful. Her personality and makeup looks are fun to watch, she also uses a lot of drugstore makeup. I feel like she's pretty consistent on using the same products in different ways, while its nice to know about the newest beauty items out there, its refreshing to see someone using the stuff they are recommending often.

These are the five gurus on YouTube that I look forward to watching every week, they have different personalities and experience levels, but you learn a lot through watching them. Just a little disclaimer, makeup is supposed to be fun so don't watch a tutorial and feel like you have to copy every single thing that person is doing. Everyone has different features and skin types so you should keep that in mind when watching these gurus and adjust accordingly. You are not going to look exactly like the person doing a tutorial, but you can tweak different looks to work for you. I hope you enjoyed this review, tell me down in the comment section who your favorite YouTube beauty guru are! 

What's in my bag? Tag!

Hey everyone! Today's blog is the "what's in my bag" tag where I show you what I have in my bag. 

First up, the bag:

This is the "Eight" bag by under one sky. I really like how spacious and compartmentalized this bag is. The flap unzips so that you can put stuff innot, I usually put the stuff I usually put in my makeup bag there. It looks like a small crossbodybag but it actually fits a lot of stuff. I love the gold metal detailing on the front of the bag and the shoulder strap is really comfortable. 

The electronics:

I always carry my iPhone in my bag. At the moment I don't have a case for it since I just got the iPhone 6 yesterday, but normally I do have one on it to prevent it from getting scratched. I also usually have either my iPad mini or Nintebdo 3ds in my bag for the mode moments when I have a few moments to myself. I don't normally have both in my bag, it just depends on if I have a new book or game. My iPhone charger is a staple in my bag and if I have my 3ds in my bag, I'll have the charger and my hello kitty game case in my bag. 

Beauty stuff:

I always put in a hand lotion in my bag just in case I need it, currently I have my Mitchell and Peach hand lotion that I got in my glossy box. My son has Eczema so I have a sample of his Aveeno and medicated lotion that was recomeded for his breakouts. 

I don't know if I'm the only one, but somehow I always end up with a minimum of four lipsticks in my bag, sometimes even more if I forget to clean my bag every week! Currently I have NYC expert last lipstick in "Berry Me", NYC intense lip color in "Riverside Rose", NYX butter lipstick in "Pops", and NYX pump it up lip plumper in "Elizabeth. I always have a lip balm in my bag, this is the new Chapstick hydration lock that was sent to me as a birchbox extra in my September birchbox. 

The NYC eyebrow kit in brunette is another makeup product found in my bag, I like that it has a brush, tweezers, wax and powder in it. It comes in handy when I'm running late and forget to fill in my eyebrows when they're looking sparse or if I need to pluck a few stray hairs. The last item is a perfume sample from Viva La Juicy in "Gold Couture" that I got in my birchbox that I ended up liking. I stuck it in my bag just in case I forget to spritz on some fragrance.

"Other" stuff:

The last things in my bag are just items found in most women's bags. My work ID is on a retractable Hello Kitty clip that I bought from a lady at work. I love colored pens, so I have a nice assortment of them in my bag as well as my Juicy Couture leather wallet and feminine products. I also normally have one of Leo's toys in my bag, he ended up taking  it when I was dumping my bag out! 

That's pretty much what I normally have in my bag, I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! I tag my bestie Lien from love.life.lien (http://lovelifelien.wordpress.com).. What's in YOUR bag Lien? *cheeky grin*

Xoxo, 

Shirley 

Top five under five! Makeup products I love...

Today's blog is about my top five favorite makeup products under five dollars. I've been wanting to do this blog for awhile but kept forgetting to. It was pretty hard to narrow this list down to just five items, there are a ton of drugstore products that I love to use but I would end up with a list of hundreds of items so I narrowed it down to five products that I feel almost every makeup addict could use in their collection. I may do a part two later on, but for now, here are my top five items under five dollars in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Rimmel Clean finish Matte Foundation 3.97-4.99

This is my current favorite drugstore foundation, I have oily skin and this foundation doesn't break down right away like others do, maybe towards the end of my day I find myself getting a little shiny on my t-zone area.. It leaves you with a matte finish and it isn't a super heavy foundation. This is a medium coverage foundation, I find it covers up imperfections decently and doesn't settle into fine lines. The only con I have with this product is that it doesn't come in a wide range of colors, so finding your correct color match can be a little tricky. I find that Natural beige is a decent color match but I do need to warm up my complexion with some bronzer since it can be a shade too light for my skin tone during the summer. Overall, I really do like this foundation and wish that Rimmel would introduce some deeper shades for darker skin tones.

2. NYC Expert Last lipsticks $1.99

I am loving these lipsticks! They glide on smoothly and stay on for a few hours before they need to be reapplied. They go on opaque with one swipe, the only color I really had issues with so far is the Expert last in "Smooch", but I do have pigmented lips and have issues with lighter colors in many makeup lines. I like that they wear off evenly and don't leave that weird outline on your lips. They aren't super moisturizing but they also aren't a drying formula, I think for the price you get a really nice lipstick. The packaging could be better, the lipstick doesn't fully retract down so you do have to be careful when you put the cap back on. They come in fifteen different colors and I personally haven't had issues with the lipstick feathering or bleeding all over my lips. My three favorite ones are "Berry me", "Modern Love", and "Purple Crush". NYC also has a 99 cent lipstick line called the Ultra Moist lip line that's also pretty good, I prefer the expert lip line but my favorite colors in the Ultra Moist line are retro red and sheer red.

3. E.L.F essential eyelid primer $1

One dollar. Yup, you heard me, I said one dollar! E.L.F cosmetics can be pretty hit or miss, but one of their better products is the eyelid primer in their essential line. I use both this and the Urban decay original primer potion ($12) and I can honestly say there isn't much of a difference. I refuse to buy the urban decay version, I only use it whenever I get it as a sample with whatever eyeshadow set I receive it in, but once that runs out I always go back to my E.L.F primer! It makes your shadow go on smoothly and more pigmented and lasts most of the day without creasing. The Urban Decay primer potion does last a little longer and make certain shadows appear a little brighter then the E.L.F version does, but for an eleven dollar savings, I can deal with it! Honestly, I tend to take off my makeup as soon as I get home to reduce breakouts, so it's not like I need it to last longer then 6-8 hours anyway!

4. E.L.F Studio Brushes $3

E.L.F also has a brush line, two to be exact! They have their essentials brush line that retail for a dollar and their studio brush line that retails for three. Personally, I like their studio brush line, I find that the essentials line can be pretty hit or miss in terms of product quality control, but I've yet to have an issue with their studio line. Another item I'd like to mention is their studio eyebrow kit which also retails for three dollars, I didn't want to overrun this post with all of my favorite E.L.F products, but I'll make sure to do a full review and post in the future on my favorite E.L.F products. They also run sales if you buy E.L.F online, you can occasionally catch a 50% off sale and that's a great time to stock up and try out their new items.If you sign up for their newsletter, you'll get email alerts whenever they are doing specials, so I recommend signing up online! Their online store also has a lot more colorsand products then what is found at Walmart and Target, so make sure to check it out here.

5.  Sinful Color nail polish $1.99

The last product that I wanted to share is the Sinful colors nail polish line. This line comes in a large variety of colors and finishes. Many of my close friends know that I'm a HUGE nail junkie, I've tried many high and drugstore brands but this one is one of my favorites. You can usually find many dupes for popular and cult favorites, I've been enjoying their Sinful shine line lately. Most colors are opaque in two coats and I haven't had issues with immediate chipping with any of this brands colors.The quality of this brand is amazing, I still can't get over how affordable this line is!

There you have it, my top five under five favorite makeup products. I hope you enjoyed this blog, make sure to comment below if you agree or disagree and tell me what's your top five under five. See you on my next blog!

xoxo!
-Shirley