Monday, June 29, 2015

The new Too Faced Love Flush blush in Justify My Love- Review and Swatch

Too Faced makeup mess featuring the new Love Flush Blush and Love Palette on my Instagram @adrienneroyale 


Too Faced has done it again! Brought us the cutest new blushes and new eyeshadow palette out this season! There should be no wonder why Too Faced is my favorite makeup brand, not only is their packaging super cute, their products are excellent, high-quality and my newest additions to my Too Faced collection definitely did not disappoint!


I picked up the new Love Flush blush in Justify My Love and the stunning Love Passionately Pretty Eyeshadow collection. I was able to order these off the HSN website before they were even released on Too Faced website or any stores! Woowhooo score! I have been using each of these products for the last couple of weeks so I thought now would be a good time to share my thoughts on them.
 
Sweetheart blushes and new Love Flush blush in Justify My Love 

I knew as soon as I saw the packaging of the new Love Flush blush it would be something I would totally want. These blushes are marketed to be long-lasting 16 hour wear! Pretty impressive! There are 6 different shades, which are Baby Love, Justify My Love, I Will Always Love You, Love Hangover, How Deep Is Your Love, and Your Love Is King. I only picked up one so far since I wanted to try one out before I went ahead and collected them all. Of course I chose the one that was the prettiest pink.
Packaging blush and palette came in

Outside of packaging of the blush and palette 


My first impression of this blush was “Whooooa this is TINY!” I was expecting it to be around the size of the Soul Mates bronzers since it is such similar packaging but instead of the black packing, each blush package matches the color of the blush inside the package. The packaging is in a heart shape, compact and can go with you anywhere. Actually it is bit refreshing since the last packaging of the Sweetheart Blushes were large and bulky. I love how the package is shaped like a heart with the pretty “Too Faced” gold writing! Once you open up the blush (which I should mention is quite hard to open and can be a bit annoying) you have a nice sized mirror. The product is gorgeous and so detailed! The two little bunnies are way too cute! The blush was everything I thought it would be besides the size. I was pretty hung up on that, but quickly got over it once I flipped over the package and saw the blush is 6.0g. While the Sweetheart Blushes may look like they have more product, they actually don’t, they only have 5.5g. I was relieved, considering I have had my Sweetheart Blushes for months and barely looks like any product has been used!
Comparison in size of the Too Faced Soul Mates Bronzer and Love Flush Blush 




While using the actual blush, it comes off as a beautiful bright pink and has tiny little gold sparkles in it. The sparkles are not extremely noticeable, but do give you a nice shimmer finish. I heard the blush was supposed to smell like candy, this is not really the case for me. Nothing strong like the chocolate smell you get from their chocolate line. I can smell a faint “candy-like smell” but also smells slightly like Play-Doh to me. The smell doesn’t bother me, but it is not a selling point like the Chocolate Bar Palettes. The blush is a bit powdery but there is ton of color pay off and very pigmented. I can’t tell you if it lasts a full 16 hours because I haven’t had my makeup on that long, but definitely does last longer than 8 hours. I didn’t have to do any type of touch-ups and there wasn’t much fading.

Love Flush blush in Justify My Love

Overall I love the blush and it was silly of me to say that I wanted to try one out before I picked up any others for my collection, because who am I kidding, I now want them ALL! My next purchase will totally be the shade Love Hangover! Besides being a bit difficult to open and the slight scent there are no downfalls with this blush. I have seen these blushes available now on HSN, Sephora, and Ulta and retail for $26.  I still have not seen these in store but I am sure they will be hitting shelfs soon! If you’re a blush addict like me, make sure to pick-up one of these beauties and let me know your thoughts on them!
Inside of Justify My Love

Unedited swatch of Justify My Love 


Have you picked up these blushes? What are your thoughts on them? Did they meet your expectations? What is your favorite shade of these beautiful blushes?



Make sure to come back later in the week to see my review on the Love Passionately Pretty  eye shadow collection (Love Palette) Thank you for reading


XOXO

Adrienne Royale 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

nuNAAT-NAAT Brazilian Keratin Daily Care hair care line- Review


Complete nuNAAT hair care line 



I have always had long thick hair and took pride in it, until a couple of years ago when I ombred my hair and it literally fried off! I have been a blonde, a brunette, a red head, and even had pink in my hair! Who knew giving into the fade of ombre hair would be such a nightmare? My hair started off mid-way down my back and little by little my hair would break off until my hair was above my shoulders and looked slightly like a mullet! Let me tell you, it was horrible! I cried daily and was in disbelief. Thank goodness for extensions!  I didn’t have to chop all of my hair off and I could go out into the world!


I was trying everything to repair my hair and the only thing that worked really well and actually made a difference in my hair was AVEDA Invati Exfoliating Shampoo and Conditioner. My only issue with it is how expensive it is. It really did help repair my hair so I took the plunge and spent $106 for a 33.8oz bottle of shampoo and another $106 on a 33.8oz bottle of conditioner a whopping total of over $212!  Over the last year they have been my go product, but I just hated how expensive everything was so when I was contacted by nuNAAT to see if I was interested in trying out a hair care line of their products I was so excited! What really intrigued me after doing some research is what their products claim to do, how affordable they are, and how I am able to pick them up at my local Walgreens!


nuNAAT has several different hair care lines depending on your hair care needs and I decided to go with their NAAT Brazilian Keratin Daily Care, I really like how it claimed it would help my damaged hair and repair hair health and I would be able to use it daily if I wanted. I usually wash my hair every other day or every two days but I wanted something gentle enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about using it often. Here are some of main claims that really caught my eye!



The main ingredient in this line is Green Keratin which has great benefits including

· Works with all hair types to repair cuticle damage
·  Regenerates & strengthens hair fibers while restoring natural shine & softness
·  Seals hair cuticles to reduce volume and frizz
·  Makes hair resilient & healthy
·  Formaldehyde & sodium chloride free

BENEFITS Works with all hair types to repair cuticle damage.  Regenerates & strengthens hair fibers while restoring natural shine & softness.  Seals hair cut is to reduce volume and frizz.  Makes hair resilient & healthy.


Sounds pretty amazing right?! I thought so and couldn’t wait to start using the hair care line! In the NAAT Brazilian Keratin Daily Care line I received NAAT Brazilian Keratin Deep Moisturizing Shampoo, NAAT Brazilian Keratin Deep Moisturizing Conditioner, NAAT Brazilian Keratin Intensive Hair Mask, NAAT Brazilian Keratin Liquid Keratin Leave Conditioner and NAAT Brazilian Keratin Serum Ultra Shine. I want to mention the sleek packaging; everything matches perfectly and gives you brief directions on how to use the product on the bottles. All of the products basically have the same scent, which is a faint nice clean smell. I will now go on to review each one of the products that I received and if they really need meet their expectations.

*Side Note* to better understand where I am coming from, I just want to mention that my hair is processed, recently highlighted and damaged at the ends. I have naturally wavy hair. My hair gets extremely frizzing in the warm weather and humidity. I would say my hair is semi course and dry at the ends, my hair gets oily at the roots and my bangs if I go longer than a day or two of not washing my hair. This is just to understand my hair care needs and what my natural state of my hair is. Daily I blow dry, straighten, and curl my hair and spend about 30-45 minutes styling my hair.


NAAT Brazilian Keratin Deep Moisturizing Shampoo

This shampoo is almost exactly like my AVEDA Invati that I was using! Literally but for a faction of the price! It comes in a 10.1 oz bottle and is around $5.99 a bottle. The first thing I noticed about this is how the shampoo does not make huge foam bubbles and if this is your first time using a shampoo with mild surfactants, it can alarm you thinking the product is not getting your hair clean. In fact it is deep cleaning your hair, but doing so without being so harsh. So be aware of this and how you will not get a ton of bubbles out of this product. The formula of this shampoo is very thin so make sure not to use too much product.  If using this shampoo alone without a conditioner your hair can tend to be a little knotting, this happens to me though with any type of shampoo if I skip conditioner.


NAAT Brazilian Keratin Deep Moisturizing Conditioner

Just like with the Shampoo, this Deep Moisturizing Conditioner comes in a 10.1 oz. bottle and is $5.99 .I really enjoyed using this conditioner! It made my hair look silky and free of knots. I would keep the conditioner on for about 2 minutes. The formula has a nice thickness to it and left my hair feeling so soft!


NAAT Brazilian Keratin Liquid Keratin Leave Conditioner

Again the leave in conditioner comes in a 10.1 oz. bottle and is $6.99 . How I used this was after using the shampoo and conditioner from the hair care line I applied a small amount of the leave in conditioner in my hair really concentrating on my ends (that is where I have the most issues) and I let it sit for a few minutes. I then blow dried and styled my hair as normal with my straightener and curling iron. Wow! When using the leave in conditioner it made my split ends so much less noticeable! That is what stood out to me the most! nuNAAT states that “The leave-in is activated by the blow-dryer and a flat iron will seal hair cuticles causing keratin to effectively penetrate hair fibers. Designed for frequent use or as needed”.  I did use this a few times and if you use to much your hair can look weighed down, so using less Is best. This lasts all day leaving your hair soft and frizz free!


NAAT Brazilian Keratin Intensive Hair Mask



Ohh mii goodness! I love this stuff! This is what I was most excited about to share with you in my review! The NAAT Brazilian Keratin Intensive Hair Mask is literally like magic in a tub!  It comes in a pretty large 17.6oz tub and retails for $6.99 . This is amazing! The formula is so thick and feels so nice when you put it onto your hair. A little goes a long way so don’t take a huge handful! You have to leave this on for about 10-20 minutes, all I did was wash my hair with the shampoo, then right away apply this hair mask and go about my shower like normal, shaved, washed my face, and  body and after about 15 minutes rinsed it out. The hair mask left my hair so beautiful. I did not have one knot in my hair. My hair looked and felt so soft and hydrated. It was easy to run my fingers through my hair. This mask is by far my favorite product from the entire line! My hair was so manageable and absolutely no frizz! You should use the hair mask once every week or two. This will be a repurchase!



NAAT Brazilian Keratin Serum Ultra Shine

The serum comes in a 2oz bottle and is only $5.99, while that may not seem like a lot of product it is! You only need a couple of drops of this and your hair will be so shinny and moisturized! I have a love-hate relationship with this serum; I tried it in both wet hair (then blow dried) and in dry hair. I really feel you have to be careful using this because if you use too much of the serum your hair will look gross! You will have a greasy, weighed down mess, and no volume at all! I have used serums in the past and always am left with the same feeling of they just aren’t my favorite product. I like how it left my hair shiny and healthy and helped with my dry ends but I did feel it weighed my hair down just a tad. This is a step I will most likely skip unless I am wearing my hair straight for the day or it is a high humidity day, since this does help with my frizz.



Overall, the hair care line really did impress me! I have never used a hair care line from the drugstore with such salon quality results. My hair feels smoother; I have way less frizz and overall my hair looks so much healthier then when it started off. I went on vacation while using the hair care system and the main thing I noticed was the frizz control! Usually when I spend a lot of time outside, by the end of the day my hair will look like I stuck my finger in a light socket and I’ll have Albert Einstein hair but not with nuNAAT, my hair did stay smooth all day long! My hair has looked very shiny and it is more manageable.


Now nothing is perfect and some of the issues I had with this hair care line is that on the days that I would have freshly clean hair and did the entire process of shampoo, deep conditioner, leave in conditioner, and the serum my hair would barely hold a curl. I think this has to do with how smooth it was from the leave in conditioner and serum. This bothered me a lot since I wear my hair curled on a daily basis. I rarely wear my hair completely straight and I like my hair to look like it has a lot of volume. Wearing my hair curled helps with the layers I have and helping it blend all together. So for myself, if I would skip the leave in conditioner and the serum, my hair would completely curl like normal and I had no issues. Using the serum helps with making my hair shiny but I felt like it does weigh my hair down and is something I don’t see myself using before I curl my hair. If I am looking to wear my hair straight it does work. If you aren’t careful and you use too much of either the leave in conditioner or serum, your hair can look oily and weighed down, so be mindful of that. This is not a negative on the product but really on how you apply it.


I love how affordable these products are and how there are so many locations I can go pick up a bottle if I run out. They even have a store locator on their website which is helpful; you can find a store near you at http://www.nunaat.com/store-locator

I will continue to use these products and nuNAAT now has a new customer! I think for under $10 a bottle they live up to their claims. It is better than having to go to an Aveda store and dish out a ton of money when I have noticed such similar results.

Before and After (using the hair care line for about two weeks) my hair looks and feels a lot softer, looks smoother, less frizz, more manageable and barely any knots!  


If you would like to explore some of nuNAAT products or wondering what else they have to offer here is their website http://www.nunaat.com/

If you’re interested in what I just got done talking about here in their direct link to the hair care line I have been using http://www.nunaat.com/products/naat-brazilian-keratin-daily-care/?cat=323


nuNAAT did live up to their claims, I do feel my hair is healthier, stronger, with way more shine and softness but what I love most is the control on my frizz and how my split ends are less noticeable.

Have you ever used nuNAAT? What is your favorite hair care line and products?



XOXO
Adrienne Royale

Thursday, June 11, 2015

My Total Duds- Products that just didn't work out for me!

Most of my blog posts are on products that I love and speak highly about. I thought it would be fun and something different to do a post on “Total Duds” these are products that I thought I would love and just didn’t work out for me. I have chosen two high end and two drugstore products for my “Total Duds.” These won’t be full reviews, just my thoughts on each product and how they were disappointing to me.


Rimmel London’s “keep Calm” lip balms-

Rommel London Keep Calm Lip Balm from my Instagram @adrienneroyale 


Rimmel London’s “Keep Calm” lip balms, ohh how my daughter and I looked for these for months! We first saw them online selling in Europe and then I saw my friends in Canada were able to get their hands on them. When I finally heard they were here in America and at Walmart our search began. These lips balms are so cute! Might be the cutest packaging out there for a lip balm! They come in a variety of colors and cute “Keep Calm” sayings. I only paid $2.50 for each and couldn't wait to come home and try them out! Oh, was I ever disappointed! Cute packaging, that’s where the goodness ends! These lip balms smell horrible! I usually love different smelling lip products and rave over them! These smell strongly like cheap play makeup, even sort of like plastic. Yet, at the same time have a slight rose sent, like they are trying to cover up the bad smell but it just makes it worse. They are not moisturizing at all and actually feel drying on my lips. It also feels like a residue is left on my lips after wearing them for about 5 minutes. Besides smelling horrible, they taste disgusting! There is no color payoff on any of the colors that I bought and once put on your lips it is barely noticeable. Overall these are the worst lip balms I have ever tried! If it wasn't for their cute packaging I would throw them in the garbage! Hey, at least they look cute in pictures.




Urban Decay Naked Flush Palette-

Makeup mess featuring Urban Decay Naked Flush Palette from my Instagram @adrienneroyale




A couple of Christmas’s ago I asked my husband for the Urban Decay Naked Flush Palette and was so happy when I opened up my first gift and saw the Naked Flush Palette and Naked 3! I was actually more excited about the Naked Flush Palette even more so than the Naked 3 palette. My excitement ended there once I actually tried the product. Over the last two years I have really tried to love this product but I just don’t. The packing is in beautiful bronzed-gold packaging and compact enough to go with you anywhere. It retails for $32 and you can pick it up at Ulta, Sephora, or on Urban Decay’s website. The problem I have with this palette is that it just doesn’t go with my skin tone. This may be a perfect palette for girls with different skin tones then me but for me it is a total dud. The bronzer section is just way to orange! It doesn’t look natural at all! The blush is not a flattering color on me and is way too dark. I do enjoy the highlight and use it once in a while. I wouldn’t say I hate this palette, I just don’t like it for myself so it is a fail. I like the packaging and the big mirror it comes with, and the bronzer, blush, and highlight are all very pigmented. Besides the bronzer being so orange, I also notice that it is not very long wearing and fades away quickly. I urge you, if this is something you have considered picking up to go to your local Ulta or Sephora and swatch it before making the purchase.


Maybelline Master Kajal-

When I saw the commercials for Maybelline Master Kajal I literally went out that afternoon and bought it. The commercial made this eyeliner look like it was going to be a dream come true! I love tight and water lining my eyes and I like it to be very dark. This eyeliner looked promising and loved the way it was designed. I also thought this would be good to put on my lower lash line to smoke it out. I went to CVS and bought it for $7.99. I was so excited to use it that once I got into my car tried it on right away! I picked up the color Navy Night. I swatched it before putting it on and the color was beautiful! Then came the trouble, I tried to tight and water line my eyes and almost no color payoff! The color was so faint and barley noticeable. For several days I tried to make this eyeliner work and still grab for it once in a while but every time it is a total dud! The design concept is great! I love how the eyeliner is a large cone shape, going from thick to thin and how you are able to see the entire product. Seems, like it would make for great application and even make perfect cat eyes. While the design is remarkable, the product is junk for what it is intended for! Swatching it on your hand you think you are going to get a nice cobalt blue-navy color, but once you try to apply the eyeliner on your water line you get an iridescent dirty looking blue. Under my water line it just basically smudges away. The only thing I have been able to use this product for is an eye shadow base. If I am wearing a blue eye shadow and want to be extra-long wearing I will use this eyeliner and smudge it all over my eyelid and blend it. The issue with this though is I have to press hard on my eyelid to get a good amount of color pay off and the it blends away so easy! This eyeliner was nothing what I expected and I would not repurchase it again!





Benefit They’re Real! Push-up Liner-


One afternoon my husband came home with a Huge Ulta haul he bought for me, filled with lots of goodies! One of these being the Benefit They’re Real! Push up Liner, it looked so interesting so the next day I used it. I wouldn’t say I am an expert at eyeliner, but I would say I am pretty good and wear cat eyes about 95% of the time and have for at least the last 10 years!  Every day since I have been in 8th grade I have worn eyeliner and I am 31 so that is a long time. My favorite type of eyeliner is definitely liquid but I do enjoy good gel eyeliner. I thought this eyeliner would be like a gel liner with the application of a liquid, best of both worlds right? Was I ever wrong! I have heard so many mixed reviews on this eyeliner and for me it just doesn’t work. There is both good and bad with this liner though. First, the actual liner itself is good; it is extremely long wearing and super dark! It doesn’t smudge and never got flakey on me. This stuff doesn’t smudge and no matter what, you need eye makeup remover to get this baby off! I love that about the liner but what I hate is the applicator! It is SO messy and you have to twist up to get the product out. Once the product comes out it is just one messy, blob of a ball. Then I had to wipe it on my hand a few times to even out the amount of product before applying it to my eyelid. Once you start applying, you better work fast because it dries super quickly! The applicator for me just doesn’t work!  It doesn’t give a nice line and the tip feels so flimsy. I have heard the more you work with it, the better you will get.  Sadly again, not for me.  Each time I used it I wasn’t impressed. It’s just so much work, and I personally feel like you waste so much of the product during each use. When I can just use my go-to liquid eyeliner and be done in 2 minutes. Another thing I noticed is how the eyeliner dries out after every use. Then you’re wasting even more product, I’m sorry but for a $24 eyeliner, it better work perfectly for me and last quite a bit of time! This product was such a fail for me that I ended up taking it back to Ulta and this is something I rarely do. I love Benefit They’re Real! Mascara and couldn’t live without it, just wish this eyeliner lived up to their mascara. After taking it back a few months later after repurchasing They’re Real! Mascara I received a free mini They’re Real! Eyeliner so I thought I would give it a shot again. Sadly, it still doesn’t work for me. What does work though it if I squeeze out some product and apply it with a brush like I would with regular gel liner. Maybe Benefit should make this product in a different applicator and I bet a lot of us would love it!



Now, that you know some of my “Total Duds” I would love to hear some of yours! Are any of the ones I mentioned yours to? Or, do you absolutely love the ones that didn’t work out so well for me?  Thanks for reading!

XOXO
Adrienne Roayle




Thursday, June 4, 2015

Babylips Lip Glosses- review and swatches

Featuring Babylips Lip Glosses from my IG @adrienneroyale 



I have been asked a lot of questions since I posted my picture of the new Maybelline Babylips lip glosses on my Instagram.  So, I thought I'd go ahead and do a quick mini review for you! Can you believe that Babylips now have Babylips lip gloss?!  I was so excited when I heard the news and how they were supposed to be launched in June and I was able to find mine last weekend at two of my local Walmarts for just fewer than four dollars each!  I picked up five out of the six shades; I passed on the red shade.   I'm already a huge fan of Babylips and I have a pretty large collection of them, so I had high hopes for the lip gloss!
Babylips Lip Glosses from my IG @adrienneroyale 


All of the glosses come in super cute packaging that will definitely catch your eye. When I tried them on the first thing that I noticed was how delicious they smell!  They smell just like fruit loops! They have a slight taste but it is fruity and not chemically. The glosses are not sticky at all and feel moisturizing on your lips. Each different shade has a slight tint a color to it. Babylips lip glosses are nice to wear either alone or overtop the lipstick to give a nice glossy effect to your look.

The colors I picked are-

Colors from left to right- Coral Craze, Just a Glimmer, Life's a Peach, Tickled Pink and Taupe with Me


Coral Craze- this is a very sheer and see -through, it almost looks like a clear gloss with a hint of coral/orange color.

Just a Glimmer- this is a clear lip gloss with hints of pink sparkle.

Life's a Peach- this one would have to be my favorite!  It comes off as a pink-peach color.

Tickled Pink- this one has my favorite packaging! I love the pink and teal, (they were my wedding colors) this gloss is a beautiful baby pink

Taupe with Me- this gloss is a very sheer nude color

Unedited swatches- Colors are from bottom to top- Coral Craze, Just a Glimmer, Life's a Peach, Tickled Pink and Taupe with Me


I really enjoy these Babylips lip gloss, in comparison to the original Babylips lip balm's I think that they're both in two completely different worlds.  With the original Babylips lip balm it is something I like to pop on while I'm doing my make up or before I go to bed. They are very moisturizing, long wearing, and they always leave my lips feeling great. With the Babylips lip glosses I feel like I could wear them all day either alone or over a lipstick. The lip glosses are more of what I would wear out on a day to day basis. While the lip balms are something I just wear at home. Both make your lips feel super smooth!

Like, with any other gloss they aren’t super long wearing and you do have to reapply it several times a day. The applicator sponge helps give you full coverage on your lips. The Babylips lip glosses are nice to give you just a nice hint of color but don’t expect them to be like a NYX butter lip gloss or a liquid lipstick. I think these are more like the lip balms and are just to give you a nice hint of color. These glosses are great for all ages, my daughter loves them and you don’t have to worry about it being too much color. The packaging is fun and they are small enough to throw in your pocket. If you’re looking for more of a color payoff defiantly go with Life’s a Peach, that one seems to have the most pigmentation.

Babylips Lip Gloss sponge applicator 

Overall with the Babylips lip glosses I am impressed and they are exactly what I thought they would be like. The price is just right and they give you enough product in each tube that I feel they will last a good amount of time.  The only color I am not impressed with is the Coral Craze it, is so sheer and really gives you no color once on your lips.  If you’re looking for a nice gloss that will leave your lips feeling moisturized and soft then you will want to at least pick up one of these beauties! These would be great with summer just around the corner, you could throw them into your beach bag; you’ll be able to moisturize your lips while having a pretty glossy look!

Have you been able to spot the new Maybelline Babylips lip glosses yet? Are you excited to try them?  What are your thoughts on these new and fun lip products?


XOXO

Adrienne Royale