Lash Chat/Maleficent Review with Liz & Housewife2Hostess

Housewife2Hostess and I saw Maleficent on Monday night and discussed our thoughts about the movie while she worked her magic by filling my lash extensions. Hear our views about the film and see my luscious lashes in this video!

xoxo

What to Wear Wednesday: Covet Fashion App Review - $1000s of Clothes in Your Closet for Free!?

Remember when Clueless came out and we all drooled over Cher's virtual closet capabilities? I still don't have anything quite like that, but guess what: the next best thing is available for free through (where else?) the iTunes store! OK, so perhaps my title for today's post was slightly deceptive. But now that I've lured you in, keep reading, because this app is Candy Crush for fashionistas. You'll be obsessed in a heartbeat. Did you see the Brooklyn Nine Nine Kwazy Kupcakes episode? Yes, that will soon be you my friend, sneakily hiding out in the bathroom or deceptively pulling out your phone in meetings.

Now, let me introduce you to your latest addiction!

Basic Concept: Shopping. And more shopping. Yes!!! (cue evil laugh) The name of the app really says it all. When you first join the app, you get a basic tutorial and an initial budget of $4000 to help you get started. Spend wisely, my friends. Initially, I was a bit hasty and just began buying pretty random items. Little did I know that each "contest" has specific requirements, and if you don't have enough funds to buy what you need, you can't enter the contest. Then, you'll spiral into a deep depression until another contest emerges. 

           

Contests/Prizes: Each day you get a chance to score an easy $500 with the "Daily $500." If your look gets enough votes (enough to increase your score to a 4-star rating), you win the designated prize for that event, which fills it with yet another goody that you can wear in other contests. Additionally, you can enter other "Limited Time Events" such as "Flashback," "Style Master," and various outfit-specific contests. For each one you enter you automatically get $100 and a chance to win a prize. There's also the separate Jet Set Events category, where you enter destination-themed contests that earn you travel points (those give you access to the next destination) and diamonds. You can only acquire past-season items with diamonds, not cash, and some events are limited to wearing items from a specific season.

              

Hair/Skin/Makeup: For each contest you enter, you can choose from a variety of hairstyles, skin tones, and makeup looks. There are definitely not as many options here as with clothing, shoes, and accessories. More looks become available as your closet value increases, which gives you even more incentive to spend. It would be a brilliant idea for the app's creators to incorporate specific cosmetic brands and perhaps hair creations from well-known stylists. Hopefully they read this and listen! 

Designers: One of the really great features about this app, and a genius marketing strategy, is that your clothes are real items from actual designers. There's even a tab where you can shop in "real life" for the item in your virtual closet. Designers with items featured in this app include Rachel Zoe, Rebecca Minkoff, United Nude, BCBG Max Azria, House of Harlow, me TOO, Nanette Lepore, France Luxe, J Brand, Cynthia Rowley, and Hudson.

Caveats: Once you get started, you won't want to stop. However, once you run out of cash or diamonds, your only option is to spend actual money to get more virtual dinero. If one of your Facebook friends joins, you get $1000, and there are a few options such as participating in surveys or getting insurance quotes that will deposit funds into your account. While many contests include items you'll likely already have in your closet, there are others with obscure and often pricey requirements (a particular brand, fabric, pattern, and shape). 

Have you tried this app? Share your thoughts and join the discussion!

xoxo

It's Friday I'm in Love...with Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral & Eye on Shimmer Palettes - Dupes for Urban Decay Naked

Note: Sonia Kashuk tweeted me (I was extremely flattered!) and mentioned that this was a limited edition palette. You can't purchase it from Target online anymore, however, it might be available in your local Target (that's how I lucked out and found it on clearance). 

She mentioned that the Eye on Neutral Shimmer and Eye on Neutral palettes contain the exact same shades. I've included pictures of these and links to them at Target. Go buy them today, because you'll love them!

Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral palette at Target

Sonia Kashuk Eye on Shimmer palette at Target

I recently spotted Sonia Kashuk's Eye on Neutral matte/shimmer palette on clearance at Target (yes, it was a score at $15 instead of $29). Upon closer inspection, I began to notice startling similarities between it and my beloved Urban Decay Naked Palette.

With such a luscious clearance price, I scooped it up in anticipation of richly pigmented shadows that closely mirrored the Urban Decay shades; readers, Sonia didn't let me down!

While the palette has its flaws (just forget about using the first shadow in the upper left-hand corner because it has zero pigmentation), it's pretty dang incredible. Another plus is its portability. The Naked Palette doesn't easily slip into a standard makeup bag, but with this baby you easily have a bevy of beautiful shades at your fingertips...or the stroke of a brush. Please don't use your fingertips to apply shadow. Or those heinous sponge applicators. They should be outlawed.

Unfortunately, Kashuk's shades don't have names (I would be happy to assist you with that, Sonia.). Thus, I will refer to each shade as a row and corresponding letter. The matte, cream-colored shade (which is absolute crap, but luckily the only bad seed in the whole palette) in the upper left-hand corner is 1A, and the opaque matte black shadow on far right of the bottom row is 4F. 

Now, for the dupes! I tried to match each Urban Decay shade as closely as possible, and here are my results. The Urban Decay shade is on the left in each photo.

Virgin = 1B

Sin = 1D

Naked = 1C

Sidecar = 1F

Buck = 2F

Halfbaked = 2C

Smog = 2E

Darkhorse = 3B 

Toasted = 4A

This and "Hustle" (below) proved to be 

the most difficult shades to match.

Hustle = 4D

Creep= 4E

Note: I used 4E as a match for both

"Creep" and "Gunmetal," (below) and 

simply layered them lighter and heavier.

Gunmetal = 4E

While there's no equivalent to this shade in the Naked Palette, I wanted to show you how much 4F in the palette impressed me with its incredibly dark pigmentation.

That's it for today! I'd love to hear your comments.

xoxo 

P.S. Check out these fabu linkups!

Monday Morsels: Resurrection TV Review

My reaction to ABC’s new Sunday night drama Resurrection in one word: hooked.

When I say hooked, I mean being on the edge of my seat, getting goose bumps, and even being so moved by some of the emotional parts that my eyes watered (forgive me Emma Shepherd). Resurrection’s premiere drew me in more than any show since Nashville or Revenge.

First, it has consummate acting. Omar Epps, Matt Craven, and Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show) lead a strong, appealing male cast. Seeing Samaire Armstrong (who I loved in The O.C.) thrilled me, as she’s gorgeous, and I enjoy her in nearly any role she plays (you might also know her from TheMentalist).  

No one likes a spoiler, unless you’re specifically looking for it, so I’ll just tell you the basic concept of the show without giving away too much. On second thought, I couldn’t give you a spoiler even if I wanted to, because this show reminds me a bit of Lost:  it tells you one thing and leaves you wondering about three more.  Thankfully, I don’t see this show getting as whackadoodle as Lost did at the end (fingers crossed). Then again, stranger things have happened.

The show begins with a young boy gasping for breath as he wakes up startled and confused in a rice paddy in Asia. Omar Epps plays J. Martin Bellamy (Marty), an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, who goes against general protocol and takes the boy back to his supposed hometown. Once he reaches the boy’s home, Pandora’s Box springs open when the parents tell Marty their son died. . .32 years ago.

Intriguing? Completely. Negative reviews? Yes, there are some of those. I believe the people who wrote those are just drooling at the thought of eventually writing a headline like, “ABC Can’t Revive Resurrection,” or “Resurrection: Impossible to Bring Back from the Dead.” Ignore the naysayers, because right now, Resurrection lives and breathes on the ABC Sunday night lineup (I couldn’t resist my own cheesetacular line).

Haircare Review! L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Extreme Reconstructing Conditioner and Mask

Have you ever used a bad shampoo on your hair? I recently read on a blog that the type of conditioner you use is the only thing that matters, and that any shampoo will do.

This is NOT true. I have used a few shampoos that ravaged my hair. One in particular was Bedhead Foxy Curls. Do NOT use this shampoo. EVER. I've used other Bed Head products that are fabulous and I would repurchase, but this one was an extreme disappointment. It left my fine (but I have a lot of those fine strands), naturally curly, colored/highlighted, dry hair feeling brittle, rough, and parched.

Speaking of extreme, on the opposite end of the spectrum, for those of you (like me) looking to save money but still take care of your hair and have it look fabu, I've found a GEM: L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Extreme Reconstructing! At $3.99 a bottle for the shampoo and conditioner, and $5.99 for the deep conditioner/mask, I seriously want to stockpile this stuff. I have no desire to look any further for a great drugstore haircare line. Scratch drugstore...this is a great haircare line, period. Meet L'Oreal Advanced Haircare Total Repair Extreme Emergency Recovery Mask 6.8 FL OZ, the first product I tried out from this line. 

Finding the perfect deep conditioner seemed to be the bane of my existence, until now. I tried the Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque based upon a great YouTube review. Meh. Nothing special. This concoction, however, = Midas' touch to your hair. You can honestly see the difference when you squeeze the product into your hand. The Extreme Emergency Recovery Mask looks like butter (but say it like Fabio...buddah):

It has a creamy, rich texture (but not overly thick like solid lard or anything, ew) that feels different than any conditioner I've ever experienced. I left the mask on for about 10 minutes, and the effect was incredible. The dry, semi-crispy, processed ends that I've been trying to heal for what seems like forever FINALLY felt satiny smooth and nourished. THANK YOU L'OREAL PARIS!!! The other great thing is that it didn't weigh down my hair in the least. It still had lots of bounce and volume. Va va va voom, vixen. Get this, use it twice a week (if you really want to amp up the benefits, put on a shower cap or wrap a hot towel around your hair), and enter in the Golden Age of hair, whether you're a blonde, brunette, redhead, or somewhere else in the rainbow.

I picked up the shampoo and everyday conditioner at Target two days ago. I'm still using up another shampoo, so I'll keep you posted on how it fares, but I used the L'Oreal Advanced Total Repair Extreme Reconstructing Conditioner yesterday and today. Daaaaaammmmmmmnnnnn (excuse my language...completely going against my refined southern belle heritage). This stuff is incredible. After using the extraordinary mask, I worried that the regular conditioner wouldn't be able to impress me. Wrong. I was once again taken aback by the impressive properties. This potion surpassed any of my expectations. I'd compare most conditioners to skim milk, and this to heavy cream—literally:

Like the mask, this conditioner deeply hydrated and smoothed my hair, without weighing it down. After I use up my current serum, I'm excited to try the L'Oreal Advanced Haircare Total Repair Extreme Split Ends Fixer (15ml). Get thee to Target or your store of choice, scoop this up, and have a great hair weekend!


xoxo

Crest Whitestrips 1 Hour Express: Before & After

Last Friday, I arrived early and sat in my car waiting to meet up with someone from one of the Facebook 24/7 sites (And for those of you who don't know what those are, it's not an anytime online hookup, LOL. It's just like KSL classifieds, but on Facebook.) to buy some wooden crates to try out a home decor Pinterest project. 

What do you do when you're in your car waiting for something? There's always playing on your phone, listening to music, reading, or...closely inspecting your teeth in the mirror. Naturally, I did the latter. To my chagrin, as the sun brightly gleamed through the window, I discovered my pearly whites looked more like individual pieces of giant yellow corn attached to my gums. OK, that's obviously an exaggeration, and a pretty gross picture at that, but they really did look much less white than the last time I performed a multi-point inspection.

I have a custom whitening tray from my dentist, along with a couple of tubes of Nite White gel (only available from your dentist), but I forgot to wear it that night, and I had a party to attend on Saturday. I needed fast results. As I took a gander at the assortment of whitening products on the toothpaste aisle at my local Target, the Crest Whitestrips 1 Hour Express caught my eye. One hour doesn't seem like a lot of time for miraculous teeth whitening. But desperate times call for desperate measures...

I used Crest Whitestrips a realllllly long time ago. I remember them working fairly well, but being a bit slippery in terms of adhering to my teeth. Additionally, I needed to wear them overnight before seeing noticeable results. So I was skeptical about a 1-hour version doing anything noteworthy. Wow. They proved me wrong! First, "Advanced Seal" quite accurately portrays how they stick to your teeth. The strip for the top teeth literally didn't budge. I don't normally whiten my bottom teeth, because they are extremely sensitive, but I decided to give it a go consider the toll my Diet Coke habit has taken on them. The strip for those stayed on fairly well, but not with the Darth Vader death grip of the upper layer.

During

I applied the strips and checked the time on my phone.

Before

I swear they looked worse than this the day I performed the close inspection in my car.

Nonetheless, they were still not Ross Gellar white. 

After

After 1 hour, the result: a noticeably impressive change in whiteness. I took the before and the after pictures in the same location with the same lighting. My lips and skin appear a bit pinker because I did some skincare/exfoliating in the interim. As with all whitening products I've used, I began to feel a slight ache a few hours later, due to my extreme teeth sensitivity. I took 4 ibuprofen and that took off the edge. 

Bottom line? If you're looking for a quick whitening fix before a party or date, or you're just tired of your nasty yellow choppers, get thee to a drugstore and pick up a box of these babies, because they work.