Saturday's Face of the Day

{Face of the Day}

Contains Press Samples & Purchased Items.

Product Information: 

• Hair: Nelson J Shampoo, DermOrganics Conditioner, 100% Pure Conditioner Yuzo & Pomelo Glossing Conditioner as a leave in, UNITE Beach Waves spray, Shu Uemura Essence Absolute Nourishing Fragrance Oil with Pearls, NUME Finishing Serum
• (Yes I'm a hair product diva, or my curls are at least!)
• Foundation: Lavera Natural Cosmetics Natural Liquid Foundation
• Powder: Palladio Rice Powder
• Highlight/blush: Benefit Cosmetics Boxed Powder Dandelion with Tarte Blissful
• Lips: Vincent Longo Ignition (1 layer)

When applied in more than one layer

This has been my favorite red lately. You can build it up to be more of a bold sexy glamorous red or you can apply it lightly. To get this look, I applied it over a light pink balm to get a brighter lighter reddish-pink.

• Eyes: 
• Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister Eyeliner on lower lash line
• Wet n Wild LE palette Nude Awakening
• Rimmel Flash the Max mascara
• Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof cream eyeliner on upper lash line

Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in black ($6.99): Draw the line with dramatic color that won’t budge. The creamy, soft gel texture provides rich and intense color, and the smudge-proof and waterproof dramatic color lasts up to 25 hours. Build thick or thin lines with the integrated brush applicator. This is a deep deep black. You dip the brush into the cream formula and apply. It took me my second time to get it right. Since it is such a rich dark black I applied a little too much at first, but got it perfect the second time. It is very similar to a Laura Geller gel eyeliner that I own and I was surprised that this Rimmel product really did stand up to that higher end product!

Rimmel London Volume Flash the Max Mascara ($7.19): Take your lashes to the max! This mascara’s quick-setting Lash Expand formula gives you 14x lash volume with no clumps. Go from skinny to fat in 10 seconds flat! This has a nice traditional brush which works really well on my lashes. This mascara has worked better for me than some of Rimmel London's bigger brushed mascaras or fancier designs. Simple does it for me. I would say this is a good quality standard mascara for this price point. I didn't have any flaking or issues in application.

Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister. My new favorite purple liner. Amazing for green eyes!

Wet n Wild Nude Awakening  Palette

Instructions on how I got this look using shades 1-5

This post is a mix of makeup products that have been purchased by me and those that were provided for review from Rimmel London and Vincent Longo. This post reflects my honest opinions regardless of purchase or press sample. All products are equal in my eyes to achieve this look of the day :)
What do you think of the look I created? Which product is your favorite? Don't forget to come visit me on Google+ and +1 this post! +InTruBeauty 

Fitness Friday: My Week in Goals

I had an okay week this week. Since I started blogging about fitness and health and deciding to make changes (4 weeks I believe), I've done really well. I would say this week I would give myself a B-/C+. I'm hoping to jump right back on the wagon and get back to being more active and eating right. My weight constantly fluctuates, so depending on the date and time, I've lost either 1 to 6 pounds which makes it really frustrating to really know how well my plan is working for me. I really want to kick it up a notch this upcoming week. Below is my inspiration for the week, food/recipes, etc. For me fitness means an overall health and well-being. Its going to be a long process, but I'm taking it one step at a time!  Be sure to link up your fitness/health/weight loss/inspirational posts to the widget at the bottom!

I actually made my own sweet potato fries! I'm not a patient or precise person and cooking is a creative outlet for me, so they're far from perfect looking, but they turned out yummy. I sliced a yam into fry looking pieces, tossed in a bag with 2 tablespoons of olive oil along with ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices and then baked them in the oven.

Admiring flowers on a beautiful day at the farmer's market. Every Friday from May-October there is a farmer's market a block away from my house and I've vowed to make use of it. They have bands playing and a lot of people just out enjoying the day and the park.

Positives

• Went home for lunch instead of eating out
• Walked to work instead of driving 
• I had slipped up a couple days this week, but I still made better fast food choices such as ordering a meal with chicken and no cheese, dressings or toppings
• I've been using up fresh produce which is a huge change for me. I've been throwing out less and less and using all of what I've bought. 
• I went to the farmer's market and focused more on buying local and buying as close to the "source" as possible
• I went to Barnes &  Noble and bought Bob Harper's Jumpstart to Fitness and ordered a Paleo cookbook. I've read Harper's book and did some of the Jumpstart exercises (and was sore for 2 days!)
• I incorporated some new items into my diet such as ginger and chia seeds. I will list below the health benefits of ginger and chia seeds. I found these in my local supermarket. I also purchased some raw almonds and am planning on making my own almond milk!
  
  
  Instead of ordering pizza, I made my own! I bought some crusts from the food co-op and topped with  pizza sauce I bought from the farmer's market. I then added tomatoes, garlic, chicken slices, green pepper, paneer (Indian fried cheese), onions, mushrooms, pepper, and drizzled olive oil over top. This satisfied my craving for pizza while still creating a healthy meal.
  
  This was just the most perfect color avocado when I opened this up. Yes, the pit looks huge because of the way I cut it. But the color inside was so gorgeous and without any blemishes, I just had to admire it! 

Goals

• Try some new recipes from emeals.com
• Drink more water, eliminate all sodas 
• Fish oil at every meal. I'm about at 1/3 of this goal right now
• Increase workout frequency and intensity 
• Don't grocery shop while hungry! 
• For the last stretch of my dietbet (see our dietbet here), I'm going to do a vegan cleanse for three days. 
• You can join a game on dietbet and contribute $ to the pot and those that have lost 4% of their weight in 28 days get to split the pot. Our buy in was only $5 so it was affordable to all. 

Butternut squash over spinach with feta cheese, walnuts & assorted spices

I'm excited to go the farmer's market again today. I had bought local honey and homemade pizza sauce from a farmer and of course sampled some cheese and pancakes. :)

Health benefits of Chia Seeds

• I ate these in my yogurt and found them at my local grocery store by the organic food. 
• The chia seeds are “super” because, like a superfruit, they deliver the maximum amount of nutrients with minimum calories
• From Dr. Oz's website
• Soluble Fiber, protein & calcium
• Helps keep you hydrated
• Good for digestion 
• Good for endurance 
• Omega fatty acids, Antioxidants
• ounce for ounce, chia seeds have more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon which is perfect if you're not a fish lover like me!

I'm really trying to get out and enjoy the beauty in life and everything around me, like these gorgeous flowers from the farmer market.

Health benefits of Ginger

• I sprinkle this over salads, on pizzas or with pasta, but I absolutely love the taste and smell of ginger
• Helps achy muscles, perfect for when you're working out (fish oil also helps you to recover quicker)
• Helps relieve cramps
• Good for motion sickness
• Great scent and flavor without adding calories
• Possible anti-cancer benefits for ovarian and colorectal cancer
• Immune boosting

What are your goals, successes and even failures for this week? Lets keep each other motivated and accountable!

Mally Beauty's Tricks for Summer

Mally Beauty's Pro-Tricks Eye Palette

$50, www.qvc.com

About: When Mally traveled the world with her A-list clients, she needed every shade imaginable at her fingertips. Short on space and long on demands from photographers and directors, Mally became a master of mixing colors, lightening and deepening shades as needed using special pigments.You can use these 12 gorgeous shades to create any custom look you want. These colors can be as intense or as light as you would like simply by using the unique shade modifiers – the light shade modifier turns any shade lighter, and the deep shade modifier makes any shade deeper.

How to use:

First, apply the shadow base which will allow any color you use to be completely bullet proof. Then, apply the shadow of your choice. Use these shades all over the lid, in the crease, and even along the lower lash line for a smoldering look. Easily lighten or deepen with the shade modifiers right on top of the shadow.      

 Top to Bottom: Cappuccino, Brownstone, Mally's Glow

Top to Bottom: Girl Power, Pop Art Blue, Wicked Plum

Sparkling Taupe, Evergreen, Dark Chocolate

Shadow Base, Light Shade Modifier, Deep Shade Modifier 

Cream shadows have a convenient plastic cover over them so they don't dry out! 

Here are some examples of how you can change the shade by applying the shade over the modifiers and how the cream base enhances the appearance of the shadow. This really increases the value of the palette when it includes a base and two modifiers, essentially giving you four different ways to wear just one shadow!

My overall thoughts:

• The first thing I noticed was just how creamy and pigmented these shadows were, even the matte shadows. This provides a really selection of shimmery shades with a couple of matte selections. The light shade modifier also has some shimmer to it as well. I love shimmery shades and using mattes for crease shades, but if you're more of a matte person you may wish there were some more matte options or that the light shade modifier was matte.
• I have this cream base in another palette and I absolutely love it. I use it even when not topping with a Mally Shadow. You can even use it alone just to even out the color of your lid and touch up any imperfections if it matches your skin-tone. You can visually see in the pictures too that the base really does increase the appearance of the shades. 
• I love the versatility of this palette and that each shadow can essentially become 4 different ones. $50 may be a lot for some women to spend, but because this can satisfy so many needs and could be the only thing you pack for the weekend, it's totally worth it! 
• The color selection is really great. Personally all these colors will work really well on me, but I think her incorporation of a lot of neutrals makes this really work-able for a lot of women. 
• This comes with a super sturdy green metal handled brush. I wish there was a way to clip it in or store it with the palette for easier travel. But I love it for applying these shadows which are super easy to pick up with the brush. I had some fall out, but not much. 

*****

Pro Tricks Correct and Conceal Palette 

www.qvc.com, $40

About:

Mally calls her signature contouring essentials her “war paint” for a reason: She uses it when it’s time to do battle against shadows, unevenness, and any other fierce enemies. This expert-level palette combines Mally’s ingenious formulas and pro tips to arm you with three creamy, blendable shades and the pro know how to blend and apply them.

How to Use:

 To highlight and contour your fave features, use a sponge, a brush, or your fingers to apply the lightest shade everywhere you want to make something stand out—cheekbones, the center of the nose, on either sides of the nose, on the brow bones, on either side of the mouth, or in the center of the chin. Next, take the darkest shade and apply it in the hollows of the cheeks, along the hairline, in the temples, and along the jawline. Softly blend any hard edges with your fingers. Use the middle shade for your concealer underneath your eyes and on any blemishes. Finish by applying your foundation on top as you normally would, taking care to blend any remaining lines.Works great for dark under-eye circles, acne scar, rosacea or acne.

My overall thoughts:

This provides three color selections which you are also able to easily blend together to get the perfect color. When I blend the two lightest shades, they become the perfect color for my skintone right now. As it gets closer to summer, I will probably be able to use the middle shade alone. This has a light creamy texture. This doesn't appear cakey, but also isn't the thickest of concealers like Tarte's or Benefit's Erase Paste. If you've got some serious blemishes or imperfections to cover, I personally prefer a thicker more full coverage concealer.

*****

In honor of Mother’s Day, Mally Roncal, Celebrity Makeup Artist and President / Founder of Mally Beauty is asking her fans and followers to join her in supporting two organizations that are close to her heart – Family Lives on Foundation and Mommy’s Light.

On Thursday, May 16th, Mally will post a photo (below) signing a heart. For every “like” on the image, Mally Beauty will make a donation to Mommy’s Light, a part of the Family Lives on Foundation (1 like = $1 donation) up to $10,000 total!

Mally Beauty Facebook Page: www.Facebook.com/mallybeauty

Contains Press Samples