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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Buy It, Or Leave It? Product Reviews Galore!

You know what I'm not great at, as a blogger? Writing reviews of products that I promise to follow-up on. I always buy something and then say "I'll write a full review after I've used it for awhile" and somehow, that never seems to happen.
This post is going to talk about some products I've purchased over the last little while...I'll tell you if the product is a must-have or if you should pass on it (based on what my experience was with the product.)

I've found myself not using my Clarisonic that often. Maybe once a week for a good exfoliation.  When I first got it I used it once a day, but I guess it wasn't so life-changing that I feel the need to use it daily.  It is a good product, well made, etc...I just don't think I use it enough to justify the cost. Could I use it more?Yes. I guess I just feel like my skin is OK without using it daily.  I also like to use self tanner on my face and I feel this removes that color more quickly.

Buy it or leave it? Leave it. It's a luxury item, not an essential item.



I was anti-curling iron for awhile because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do it without messing up my ends. Then, I watched Tiffany D's YouTube video on how to make volumized curls and it changed everything. I finally had the courage to use my curling iron and so far, so good. I love this styling tool because it had adjustable heat settings and it's a good quality curling iron. It's easy to use and I like the results I get with it. I very much prefer it over my Conair one.

Buy it or leave it?  If you're in the market for a new curling iron, this is the one to have. Buy it.


I'll just be blunt- I prefer plain old baby powder to any dry shampoo I've used, but I do really like this product and the price is perfect (under $5) It's easy to use and it works, bottom line.

Buy it or leave it? Buy it, every girl should have a dry shampoo on hand.


I've been using this eye cream for several months now. I really love it.  The only concern I have is that the cream is not really meant as an anti-aging treatment but as a moisturizing treatment. Either way, it's really important to keep the eye area moisturized. I apply this generously to my eye area before going to bed. It's really rich and thick (but not oily) and it doesn't travel all over your face, it stays where you put it (which I love.) 

Buy it or leave it?  If you're in your 20s I would highly recommend this treatment. If you are 30 and older, you might want something with active ingredients that help prevent wrinkles. OR, if you like to use eye cream before putting on your makeup, this is a lovely choice. I personally only use eye cream at night right now.

This lip treatment is wonderful. It smells great and works well. It doesn't feel greasy which is awesome.  It goes on smooth and really conditions the lips. At $22.50 it's really pricey (I got it for 20% when Sephora had their F&F sale.)  The downside is the price, but it has lasted me pretty long.

Buy it or leave it?  I would say buy it if you'd like to splurge on a lip conditioner.  Otherwise, there are probably other conditioning products that cost a bit less.

This product really gives hair a volume boost!  I like how easy it is to get it on your roots due to the fact that it's a spray formula. I spray it on my roots and then brush it through.

Buy it or leave it?  Buy it!  If you like big, volumized hair, this is a great product to try! I think it retails for about $15 a can (and the can is HUGE!)

I got this liner really recently, but BB products never fail me (so far.) I really love this liner and I prefer them to MAC's gel liners (though there isn't a massive difference or anything, I just think the BB don't dry out as fast.) They cost about $22 but they last for a very, very long time.

Buy it or leave it?  I truly think every woman needs to own at least one gel liner. It's so versatile and the staying power is amazing. You have to use eye makeup remover to take them off- but in the summer heat, that's a good thing because the formulas stay on!


8. MAC Creme Blush  
I picked up one of the MAC creme blushes from the Lily Pulitzer line and I'm not really that impressed. I just don't reach for it very often.  Maybe I just need to use it more, but to be honest, I think the pigmentation and ease of blending the product is inferior to that of the Stila Convertible Color product, which is great to work with.  The color is gorgeous, but I don't love how it feels when I apply it.  I much prefer the Stila cream blush.

Buy it or leave it? Leave it. There are better cream blushes (IMO)

I'm not sure if they still have this color because it came out around the holidays. I never used it because I couldn't for the life of me figure it out, and then LisaLisaD1 on YouTube talked about how she finally realized how to use these NARS highlighters and now I love it!  I basically just use it straight out of the container and apply the product in a line directly on my cheekbones (to highlight.) Then I blend a bit with my finger.  Voila! I was trying to use a brush with it previously and I think that's what the problem was.

Buy it or leave it? It's pricey at about $36, but if you're not into powder highlighters, this is probably the product for you!
 

10. MAC Mineralize SkinFinish in "Porcelain Pink"
This is another product I never reach for. I find the texture to be odd, and I have other MAC highlighters that I prefer (like MAC loose powder in "silver dusk" which every girl should own, it's fabulous!)

Buy it or leave it?  Leave it. There are better highlighters.

I hope this was helpful!

xoxo,

Veronika.



Tuesday, June 29, 2010

OOTD: Zara White Linen Dress & Soft Waves Using Hot Rollers

This morning, I used hot rollers for the first time in awhile. I use ones by Conair that I got at Target. You can buy similar ones here.

Hot rollers are pretty easy to work with, though I find that they don't give me as much of a curl as using a curling iron does (probably because they don't get as hot as my Hot Tools curling iron- which I love, BTW.)

This is how it turned out (kind of softer, looser curls- they don't last as long as curling iron curls but they are pretty- note that I DID use a curling iron just for the front pieces because I ran out of hot rollers.)


I wore my white Zara dress today that I got on sale for $29.99. Zara only has a sale twice a year ladies, so if you can get there soon, go check out the offerings. They had a lot of great stuff and I would say 80% of the store was on sale. Today was also the first time I wore a slip. I bought a nude one at target to wear under this dress because although it's lined, it's still a bit sheer.

Dress- Zara
Shoes- Michael Kors Berkley T- Strap
(buy them here) (and um, yeah, I wear these A LOT!)
Cardigan- Charlotte Russe
Belt- J. Crew (on sale in brown)
Cardigan- Charlotte Russe

It is raining like crazy here today and the pressure has given me a migraine but I think the Excedrin is finally kicking in. Thank goodness!

Do you use hot rollers?  Do you try to wear your hair differently each week or do you pretty much stick with the same do? I definitely do the latter, but lately I've been trying to switch it up a bit by sometimes wearing it in soft waves. It's nice for a change.

xoxo,

Veronika.


Kerry Washington Hairstyle



Kerry Washington hairstyles are eye communicable styles that consistently absorb adroitness and class. She has been accepted to abrasion beeline hairstyles, but is generally apparent donning curls. Here we see her in a agnate look. Washington has a attractive set of bouncing curls, with activity and body. They accept bold address that compliments.

Holiday Fabric Giveaway [CLOSED]


We had so much fun making and sharing the projects we made with the Robert Kaufman fabric yesterday. Wouldn't you like to make some holiday projects too? Just leave a comment on this post telling us what you would do with this stack of fabric and you could win it! The giveaway will end Thursday at midnight MST. Friday we will announce the winner and have a little hint of what is coming next week.

Tanya Dziahileva: Harpers Bazaar Spain / 2010

Tanya Dziahileva: Harpers Bazaar Spain / 2010

And the famous fashion magazine Harpers Bazaar'S resulting in the number of publications in Spain this month, great exposure and Tanya Dziahileva 2010 fashions'To shed light on the Trend offers a beautiful work.








Monday, June 28, 2010

Victoria Beckham Goes Long & Outfit of the Day: Basic Black


When I checked out one of my daily go-to celeb gossip sites this morning (Gawker) I nearly squealed with delight when I saw a photo of Victoria Beckham...with long locks!  I have been waiting for her to wear her hair long again for quite some time. 

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $50 GIFT CARD TO SEPHORA!!!!

I have her book, titled "That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between" and I definitely recommend it for anyone who loves VB, needs a little style guidance or needs to get out of a fashion rut.  I actually never used to think much of her but based on the interviews she's done and her book, I actually really came to enjoy her and think she is lovely, clever and funny.

As a reminder, here she is years ago with her long dark hair (aww and there's the lovely Cheryl Cole with her too):

and here she is with her shorter hair (looking gorgeous, as per usual)

...and here she is today, with her hair extensions: (which I was surprised by because she said she hated "fake hair" in her book, but I guess maybe she got bored of having "the posh" and of everyone and their mom copying hair haircut)


I think she's pretty no matter what her hair is like, but I'm glad she switched it up a bit since she had her previous haircut for such a long time (though, it was fabulous so she was right to keep it so long!)

Speaking of long hair, I snapped this shot today and thought, wow, my hair is looking long:
In other news, I wore black today (I know, I know...)

 Dress- Target (similar here)
Belt- J. Crew (buy here, in brown)
Shoes- "Me Too" at DSW (similar here, with slingback)
Bag- Michael Kors

Hope you had a happy Monday! I am going to try and go to the AT&T store tomorrow to get my iPhone. I am going to get the black one. I've given up on the white one and I like the black one anyways. 


What do YOU think of VB's new hair?
xoxo,

Veronika.

Winners + Projects

The halloween fabric winners as selected by random.org are:


Congratulations Melinda & NanaBeth! Be sure to send your shipping address to us at seiblog{at}shopsei{dot}com to claim your prizes.



Now for those projects we promised with more of the lovely designs by SEI for Robert Kaufman...



Mandi made this festive garland using this tutorial from Sew Mama, Sew! She added an extra scallop in between by scaling the pattern 50%.


Maria made this little half apron for looking good while baking plenty of yummy holiday treats.