Conair Curl Secret Tutorial

**Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

I love to curl my hair. I wear it curled almost every day, and currently use my straightener to do so. I have a curling wand, but am absolutely TERRIFIED to use it. I've used it once before, but the entire time, I kept burning my fingers and was afraid that my hair was going to melt off like the girl in that video... When I heard about Conair Curl Secret, I admit I was intrigued. The curling iron is not like any other curling iron I've seen before, and it is designed so that you can't burn yourself! 

So I picked it up from Walmart this week [where the price is only $99 compared to $150 at www.curlsecret.com], and my sweet niece begged me to let her be my model while using the Conair Curl Secret. I took a short video of the process, to show you all, however the camera focused more on the background than on what we were doing. [Of course.] But you still get the idea. Basically you insert your hair into the Curl Secret and close the curling iron, it wraps your hair up in it, and beeps at you when it's done curling. It was easy to use and saved so much time! I was quite impressed with this and can't wait to do a tutorial using it on my own hair! 

During the video, Lana kept saying, "I'm just worried that people are going to think I'm lazy because I'm sitting here getting my hair done and muching on grapes." That girl... :]

Here is Lana's hair before, right after, and then once we brushed it out a little bit. She absolutely loved it, and I'd say the Curl Secret works pretty darn good!

Be sure to follow along with Conair for other fab tutorials and inspiration via Twitter and Pinterest.


Thanks so much for reading, and for supporting the sponsors that support this blog!
xoxo,

Sears Style: Black and White #ThisisStyle

**DISCLOSURE: I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

I have never really been a huge Kardashian fan. However, I have always loved Khloe Kardashian's style. She is so classy and feminine, and it doesn't ever seems like she tries too hard. She always looks so put together, no matter what she is wearing.

This past weekend I went to Sears with the intent to purchase an outfit from the Kardashian Kollection, inspired by Khloe's style. I have never laid eyes on the Kardashian line, nor have I ever shopped at Sears, so this was a new experience for me. Right away, I noticed all of the sale signs. Seriously, they were everywhere, and I was excited. It took H and I a couple of rounds around the store before we had to ask someone to direct us to the Kardashian Kollection. All of the sales associates were very friendly and helpful. I get frustrated sometimes when sales associates are put off by customers asking questions, because that's what they were hired to do. Anyway--the employees were all very personable, complimenting my outfit and making small talk. 

When we actually found the Kardashian Kollection, I was very surprised. In my mind I had the notion that I would have a hard time finding anything of theirs to wear, because I didn't think it would be modest. But almost everything that they had in that store was modest. The skirts and dresses hit the knee, and most of the shirts had sleeves. I definitely had not expected that from the Kardashians. Again, I was very excited.

Another thing that really surprised me was how reasonable the prices were; not to mention the sale prices! And of course, I used my Shop Your Way Rewards card while purchasing!

While picking an outfit, I tried to keep Khloe's style in mind. Something that was comfortable, yet cute; something that would look classy, dressed up or down. 

In the end, I opted for H's favorite--the black and white striped shirt, and my favorite--the leggings with the leather cutouts. [I have been craving a pair just like this, but they were about 5 times more expensive than these Kardashian ones. Win win!] Since this outfit was all black and white, I wanted to add a few pops of color with the accessories. Here is how I styled these pieces:

Top: Kardashian Kollection via Sears // Leggings: Kardashian Kollection via Sears 

Head on over to their website, and feel free to check them out on Facebook and Twitter! And, you can see my Google+ story on this HERE.

What do YOU guys think? Do you like the Kardashian Kollection?

Summer Makeup Trend ft Rimmel

**Disclaimer: I am a member of the Social Fabric Collective Bias community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. *ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Guys, I have to be honest with you. I am kind of a makeup snob. I have never been one to purchase cosmetics at a drug store. I am guilty of spending way more than necessary on high end makeup products. But here is my reasoning-- I feel like most of the time if the cosmetics are more expensive, there is a reason. They are usually better quality and longer lasting. Right now in my makeup bag [and for the past 5 years], the only drug store makeup products I have are: L'Oreal True Match Lumi foundation and maybe a few Maybelline lipsticks. Foundation, bronzer and blush, and mascara have always been products that I refuse to buy at the drugstore. In my defense, I have tried many different brands in an attempt to save money, but I always end up just wasting money. Because to this day, I have not found any drug store product that I would repurchase. [Besides the L'Oreal foundation.]

Until... [Drum roll please.]

I was sent out to create a "go-nude for summer" makeup look using only Rimmel products. When I thought about it, I realized that I had never actually tried Rimmel cosmetics before. Somehow they had slipped through and I had put them off as cheap drugstore makeup. [And not the good kind of cheap.] So last week I set out on a little Walmart journey to find the perfect summer products from Rimmel.

The first thing I noticed about the Rimmel makeup is obviously how affordable the prices are. Almost everything was $3.97. I find it's easier to spend money on testing out drugstore products when there are prices like this. Sometimes I see drugstore products that are $15-20 and that just seems silly to me. Kind of like an oxymoron. I love that Rimmel offers very affordable makeup.

So anyway, I wanted to do a little tutorial for all of you, using ONLY Rimmel products. Ultimately, I wanted to film a video for you, but my camera was on the verge of dying, and my charger was at my sister's house. So we took pictures instead and I will try my best to explain what I did. I promise it's not too difficult.

BEFORE:

^^just in case you were wondering what I looked like without makeup.^^

STEP 1: Apply Clean Finish Matte Foundation. [I used shade: 220 Soft Ivory.] It was a little bit too dark for my skin, but it was the lightest one they had!

STEP 2: Apply Stay Matte Pressed Powder.

STEP 3: Apply Glam Eyes Quad Eye Shadow. [I used color 019 Sun Safari.]

[I applied the darkest color in the outer corner and crease, reddish color in the crease, and the highlight color in the corner of my eyes and below the brows.]

STEP 4: Apply Natural Bronzer to the cheeks.  [And anywhere else you want to contour--forehead, nose, chin, etc.]

^^the lighting in my room wasn't the best, and it makes the color look a little orange. I promise it wasn't that orange, it was just a bit darker/heavier than my normal color.^^

STEP 5: Apply Scandal Eyes liner. [You can skip this step though if you want a more "nude/natural/beach ready" look.]

STEP 6: Apply Long Lasting Finish by Kate lipstick. [I used the shade 113 Rouge A Levres ]

^^I like this color because it's a peachy nude^^

STEP 7: Apply Stay Glossy Lip Gloss. [I used shade 140 Always Lovely.]

I wanted a pink color that would add a nice sheen over top of the nude lipstick.

AFTER:

Okay. I am going to be 100% honest. I know that this is a sponsored post, but I would never post anything that wasn't true. So I am going to give my complete, honest opinion. I am obsessed with this eye shadow quad. I have been using the Urban Decay Naked Palette for over a year now, and this entire week, I found myself reaching for the Rimmel Glam Eyes Quad. No joke. The colors in that quad are all colors that are similar to ones in the Naked Palette, and I am really loving it. Especially since this Rimmel eye shadow quad was only $3.97 --compared to $50. I will definitely be repurchasing this eye shadow quad and probably some other quad colors as well! As far as bronzers go, it's really hard for me to find a good bronzer. Because I am so fair skinned, most bronzers either look too orange on me, or too muddy. However, this Rimmel Bronzer was the perfect shade for my skin tone. It wasn't too light or too heavy, too orange or too brown. It gave me the perfect glow. I am actually really excited about it. Unfortunately the foundation was a little too heavy and dark for my skin, and didn't really fulfill the whole "going nude for summer" thing. I felt kind of cake face-y. I did try to stay nude when it came to color though. Neutral eyes, light bronzer, and nude lips. Nude lip colors aren't usually my favorite, but I liked that this lipstick wasn't white nude. It was more of a peachy nude. Also, the lipstick was very hydrating, and it smelled and tasted good too! [I hate it when lip products smell/taste bad.]ANYWAY. I am honestly excited that I found a couple of new products to add to my makeup bag, especially for such a great price! [I know H will be happy too!] All of these Rimmel products were only $3.97--you just can't beat that!Feel free to check out some of Rimmel's social media pages: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And check out this fab digital magazine to get some great ideas for summer!

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Please let me know if you have any questions for me, or if you have any other drugstore products you can't live without! [Check out my Google+ story HERE.]xoxo,

Sally Hansen #IHeartMyNailArt

**Disclosure: I am a member of the Social Fabric Collective Bias community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. **ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Guys, I threw a nail party this past weekend. And it was fabulous. I had a bunch of my girlfriends over and we attempted to do some crazy Street Style nail art via the Sally Hansen I Heart My Nail Art campaign at Walgreens. We weren't too successful, but we all enjoyed trying out things we normally wouldn't, and the night full of constant laughter.

I used to have girls nights all the time before I was married, but since then, I haven't really had the chance. This nail party was the perfect opportunity to do so--although H did not plan well and ended up walking around stores until I told him it was safe to return home. ;] We all looked up different ideas and inspiration on Pinterest, but in the end, we just kind of came up with our own thing. It really is hard to mimic a look that was done by a professional. I have a board on Pinterest [see HERE] that is mostly dedicated to nail art, but those nails always look so perfect! And every time that I try out a different style [and fail miserably] I get really frustrated. I guess I should just leave it to the professionals. Or at least accept the fact that my nails will never look like those dang models! ;]

To be completely honest, I have never really been a fan of Sally Hansen nail polishes, mainly because I'm not sure if I've ever tried them before. [Besides that top coat my mom had that is supposed to make you quit biting your nails. The taste and smell is awful and maybe I was convinced that all of Sally Hansen nail polish was like that.] But they are definitely my new favorite nail polishes! The colors are bold and bright, and they stay on very well! They even have an Instant Dry nail polish that dries, well, instantly. [Though as much as I love not having to wait for my nails to dry before I can do anything else, if you get any nail polish on your skin, it is an absolute pain to get off.] But really, if any of you haven't tried Sally Hansen products before, I highly recommend them!

^^I loved all of the Sally Hansen nail colors, and the packaging was so eye catching. The colors were all so bright and funky-perfect for creating Street Style nails.^^

^^you can't pass up deals like these, and you all know how much I love a good deal!^^

[AND, at Walgreens this week, Sally Hansen Nail polishes, Nail Art Pens and Salon Effects are buy one get one 50% off! Check it out HERE.]

^^this is only about half of what we purchased!^^

All of the products that we used were Sally Hansen, and I completely fell in love with the Sally Hansen Salon Effects [which were on sale!] and the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens. Both of these products make it so easy to achieve a flawless look! [Although you couldn't tell by looking at my nails. ;] I have had some bad experiences with the paper nails that you press on, so I was very apprehensive to buy the Salon Effects. At $10 a box, they don't seem like that great of an idea. But I bit my tongue and bought a few boxes anyway, and I am glad I did. They were so easy to apply, and they don't peel off after an hour of wearing them, like some of the other products that I've tried. And I always wondered how people got those intricate lines and details on their nails... Well now I know! The Nail Art Pens were perfect for that, as you'll be able to tell in some of the following pictures! They have almost every color, and I am a bit obsessed.

^^attempting the "splatter" technique^^

^^I love these colors!^^

^^don't mind the really cute sweatpants that I cut into shorts; I spilled nail polish on my skirt^^

^^fierce ;]^^

I was in awe of some of the nail art that was created! We are definitely not professionals [and mine did not turn out that great], but everyone else ended up with such fun, cute, and funky nails! I think we may need to do another Girls Night Nail Art party around here, so let me know if you want to join in next time! :]

Make sure to check out some real nail art on Sally Hansen's Facebook and Twitter pages! And you can also see my Google+ Album HERE.

http://iheartmynailart.com/

Have any of you tried any fun Nail Art designs lately? 

xoxo,