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Beauty

Makeup Review: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain

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“I want to write a love letter to these”

That was what I told my roommate when I came back from Target with every color they had available of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains. There are actually a lot more colors than pictured above, but these were the only ones available at the store near me.

I have been on a quest for as long as I can remember to find the perfect lip stain. I never wear lipstick because I don’t have the kind of money you need to invest in one that is long lasting, non-smudgy, and highly pigmented. So I have spent hours scouring the shelves of drug stores to find the perfect stain. Stains are fantastic because they go on extremely thin and actually really do stain your lips. They’re the definition of long lasting.

Now, I’ve tried a lot of stains. So many of them are too thin. The lighter colors show up translucent and are completely ineffective. The dark colors tend to turn the skin around your lips a darker color – making your makeup look smudged and messy. On a whim, I picked up the 025 Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain because I wanted a hot pink lip. I tried it at home and was astonished – the color was so pigmented and bold! I fell in love. I wore it all day to work, through my night class, and every meal. I left the dorm at 9am and returned at 10pm. The stain was STILL there! Not only was it still there, but it was the same hue, texture, and color. I was beyond thrilled. When I went to take off my makeup, I literally scrubbed my lips for several minutes because the stain was that strong. I will say that the only difference between 9am and 10pm was that the look was much more matte and not a gloss anymore (which I like better anyways). If you want to keep the glossy look throughout the day, I would just dab on a bit more stain to the lips to freshen it up occasionally. But besides that, there’s no need to touch it up at all.

I was a little weary about buying the 040 color because I hardly ever buy anything with orange in it. However, I was excited to see that it wasn’t a tacky neon  color – but an understated and mellow orange. As far as the other colors go, the 001 is a very natural look – it was the exact hue of my lips which was perfect. I love wearing natural colors on my lips for a polished everyday look instead of just going with some chapstick. The 055 is a deeper red – it has darker tones to it and is more of a wine red than the typical bright red lip. It’s the perfect shade for the holiday season!

Anyways, two huge thumbs UP for these stains! I’m so impressed. Highly pigmented, long-lasting, ability to be a gloss or matte, and very beautiful colors – I couldn’t ask for anything better. I’m so glad I can say I have finally found the perfect lip stain!
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November 21, 2013 by
Beauty

Hairstyles by Me

Hairstyles

One of my ongoing passions is styling hair. I first became interested in doing hair when one of my soccer teammates decided to attend beauty school instead of college. She was always doing hair for girls on my team and I decided to start trying some hairstyles on my own. I got the hang of french braiding, fish-tail braiding, braiding bangs, etc. fairly quickly. I bought myself a wand curling iron and experimented with curling/waving my hair. Soon my little sister started asking me to do her hair for her school dances and Homecoming. I fell in love with it! Since coming to college, there have been so many events that require people (especially sorority women) to dress up and look their best. I’ve volunteered to do a lot of my friends’ hair for different formals and events. I finally decided to make it more of an official hobby for myself and advertised my services on Facebook. Welcomed by a HUGE response of girls asking me to do their hair, I started a Facebook page for my hair styling services. After advertising for only two full days so far, I am already booked up for 5 appointments for a fraternity formal on Saturday and then six appointments for my sorority’s semi-formal in two weeks. Even though I lack professional training, I was overwhelmed by the amount of girls that wanted me to do their hair. Pleasantly surprised, I can’t wait to further develop my skills and learn more.

I’ve added some photos of hair that I’ve done in the past and can’t wait to grow my portfolio even more. My dream is to attend the Gene Juarez academy – a 13 month prestigious program in Seattle, WA – after graduation. I love expressing myself artistically and making other people feel beautiful and confident in their own skin. I have found something that truly brings me joy and I can’t wait to learn more about!

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November 5, 2013 by
Beauty

Personal Challenge: 30 Days of Natural Hair

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I’m terrible to my hair. I heat style it almost everyday and then I complain that it never grows. So I’m taking a leap of faith and going 30 days without heat styling!

Many people might think this is not that great of a challenge. However, my natural hair is quite crazy – it is not curly, straight, or wavy. There are bits that get very straight, bits that are super tight curls, and other pieces that are simply wavy. It lacks consistency. Leaving it air dry results in disaster – a wild, poofy, frizzy, mess.

I’m challenging myself to find ways to tame the beast. Whether this is braiding it while it’s wet, trying out some new curl-enhancing gels, you name it – I’m going to try it. I’ll try to log my progress on this post as to not spam my page with a bunch of pictures of my hair.

I do want to say that there are a couple events coming up that I will need to have completely styled hair – a few sorority events and Halloween (duh). I’m going to try not to use any heat styling products as much as possible, but for these couple days (probably about four total), I will need to use them a little bit.

I will try to keep this updated every few days or so! Thank you so much for checking this out and I hope you find it helpful!

Day One

Here is my hair 100% natural. As you can see, it’s pretty short and wavy. (sorry for the terrible quality)

My natural hair

My natural hair

Day 2
Today it rained (crazy, right?). I felt right at home! I wore my hair in a messy bun with my layers braided back into it!

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Day 3
I showered last night, didn’t wash my hair (gasp! first time ever!), combed leave-in conditioner, and let it dry overnight. I woke up with a crazy wild mess of hair that I tamed with a headband and some hairspray.

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Day 10

We had our sorority initiation this weekend as well as a dinner to celebrate, so I did curl my hair for that one day. It was unfortunate that I had to use heat styling, but when I did, my hair felt way stronger and healthier and looked much shinier. I can already see a difference in the health of my hair and I couldn’t be more excited.

 

Day 28

Well, I am almost there! I heat styled my hair for Halloweekend, but besides that, I’ve been really good about keeping my hair natural. I feel like it has definitely grown, but from the heat styling this weekend, I noticed that I need to get a haircut because the ends of my hair are breaking off.
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October 8, 2013 by