girls just wanna have fun

Saturday, June 30, 2012

girls just wanna have fun


life in black & white

Friday, June 29, 2012

life in black & white


daytime/nightime maxi

daytime/nightime maxi


Movie reviews

Gus and I have seen a few movies lately, so I thought I'd talk about them a little. Let's start with the one I liked the most...


The Avengers - Oh. Mighty. Hammer. Of. Thor. (*fanning self*) There is a lot of eye candy in this movie. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is my favorite - both the character and the actor. I'm a Mark Ruffalo fan, too, and I loved him as The Hulk. Robert Downey, Jr. as Ironman is witty as usual, but we don't see much of Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow). I even liked Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Next is Captain America (Chris Evans). Yeah, he's nice to look at, but I'm not overly impressed with his character. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) were my least favorite characters. It's an action-packed movie & I highly recommend it. You don't need to have seen the previous Marvel movies, but it does help. 5 out of 5 stars!!


Men in Black 3 - Another Men in Black movie. If you liked the first two, then you'll like this one. I enjoyed it a lot. There's even a plot twist at the end that I bet most people don't see coming - I didn't, and I figure plots out all the time (which is why Buddy won't sit next to me, and when he does have to sit next to me he looks at me and says "just don't"). I'm not a Josh Brolin fan at all, but I don't think they could've found a better person to play a young Tommy Lee Jones. He definitely stole the show. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

And one that we saw back before I had the latest surgery:


Underworld Awakening - You know I love werewolves and vampires - and I love the Underworld movies. This one was no exception. Plenty of action, pretty cool plot that definitely leaves an opening for another movie. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is the main focus of the movie this time, and you only get to see Michael (Scott Speedman) in old footage. But there is a new kid on the block, so that's pretty interesting. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

And a couple of movies we watched on DVD:


Tower Heist - this movie stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, so I thought it would be hilarious - especially with Alan Alda as the "bad" guy. Not so much. It was okay, but not as good as I thought it would be. 2.5 stars out of 5.


Apollo 18 - All I'm going to say is that I stopped watching it after the first 20 minutes. It gets no stars.



light grey & ice blue

Thursday, June 28, 2012

light grey & ice blue


Cover Girl Tinted Moisturizers

I've been trying some new tinted moisturizers lately. I used to love Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer, but for some reason, it feels a little heavy and greasy to me now. So when Ulta had their Cover Girl items "buy one get one 50% off", and the tinted moisturizer was already on sale, and I had a coupon for $3.50 off $10, and if I spent $25 I got free shipping and a bag of samples - how could I resist??

I bought the Cover Girl Smoothers SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer in light to medium (they also have fair to light) and the Natureluxe Silk Foundation in Dune. Now I know the Natureluxe isn't really a tinted moisturizer, but it is a lightweight foundation with SPF - and it was on sale for $6.99 (reg. $11.99) - so I wanted to give it a try. I also bought an Aveeno tinted moisturizer, but I'll do a separate review on that.

In the past, Cover Girl and I haven't been friends. I hated the smell of their products, I could never find a color match, the consistency was icky, and my skin was always oily with breakouts. I have to say that I'm glad we can be friends now - I really liked both of these products - and they had great reviews on Ulta.com, so I'm not alone.




The Cover Girl Smoothers SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer has a really light consistency that is easy to apply. There is just a faint hint of product and it's not unpleasant. I did get the darkest color offered and it's almost too light for me - so if you have a dark tan, this probably won't work for you. Once it's applied, it dries in a couple of minutes, leaving your face feeling like you're not wearing makeup. If you have areas that are uneven in color, you will most likely need to use a bit of concealer or add some powder. The coverage isn't the sheerest I've seen, but it's not the best for uneven skin tones. I did apply a light dusting of powder over it and it lasted all day. I really didn't have any more oiliness than usual. With some added protection from a good (matte) sunscreen, this would be great for at the beach or regular daytime wear. As you can see from the pictures, it looks like it's a pretty good color match - but it's really just a half shade too light.




The Natureluxe Silk Foundation is probably my new favorite foundation. I love this stuff!! It has a great consistency that is easy to apply, and it has a bit more coverage than the tinted moisturizer while still maintaining that lightweight feeling of wearing no makeup. It also doesn't settle into creases or lines. There is a very faint scent, but it smells more like "ingredients" rather than an actual fragrance. If you need a little more coverage, you can layer this a bit without it looking caked-on. Dune is a really good match for me and it also pairs well with Amazing Cosmetics' Little Amazing Concealer in Medium Beige. I haven't noticed any more oiliness than usual - and I do top it with a dusting of powder. This product does only have an SPF of 10, so I wouldn't rely on it at all to provide enough protection from UV rays.

What's your favorite tinted moisturizer?


cobalt blue & coral 2

cobalt blue & coral 2


sexy red & black

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

sexy red & black



blue floral dress

blue floral dress


dressy orange

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

dressy orange


pink & grey casual

pink & grey casual


pale aqua & white

Monday, June 25, 2012

pale aqua & white



teal & white casual

Sunday, June 24, 2012

teal & white casual


simple khaki & white

simple khaki & white



summer neon orange

Saturday, June 23, 2012

summer neon orange


chocolate brown & bright green

chocolate brown & bright green


feminine neutrals

Friday, June 22, 2012

feminine neutrals


purple & teal

purple & teal



mint & pastel pink

Thursday, June 21, 2012

mint & pastel pink


10 Beauty Products...

I just read an interesting article on Glamour.com: The 10 beauty products every woman should own ...


Their list:
  1. blush
  2. concealer
  3. eye cream
  4. red lipstick
  5. BB cream
  6. mascara
  7. dry shampoo
  8. deep conditioner
  9. face wipes
  10. sunscreen
I disagree with a few of their choices. I never wear red lipstick. I never use face wipes for fear that the ingredients will cause irritation or breakouts. And I never (well, almost never) deep-condition my hair. So I made a list of my own...

My list:
  1. a good broad-spectrum sunscreen (I like Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion, spf 60 and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock spf 70
  2. tinted moisturizer or BB cream (I'm testing some new ones, so I'll let you know my favorites)
  3. blush (I love Meow Cosmetics' Delusions - they describe it as a soft, dusty pink, but on me it's a peachy pink)
  4. mascara (my favorite is Maybelline's Full & Soft (washable), it's inexpensive & reminds me of Dior Show)
  5. mascara base (IMO, the only one worth using is Shiseido's Nourishing Mascara Base)
  6. concealer (I really like Amazing Cosmetics' Amazing Concealer - I buy the "to-go" size, it lasts a long time)
  7. eye cream (the one I'm using is an eye cream & concealer in one - Olay Total Effects Eye Cream + Concealer - however, I can't find a link for it, so I assume they stopped making it (of course) and I'll soon be on the hunt for a new one)
  8. dry shampoo (I use the one from IFP, but I also like Oscar Blandi's Pronto & I've heard Batiste is good)
  9. YLBB/nude lipstick/lipgloss (the best will vary since everyone is different, but I like Benefit's Full-Finish Lipstick in Lady's Choice & Sally Hansen's Natural Beauty Forever Stay Moisture Gloss in Sparkling Nude)
  10. makeup setting spray (I like Urban Decay's All Nighter)
So what's on your list?


lavender blue

lavender blue


black & white w/ a pop of pink

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

black & white w/ a pop of pink